#also is it just me or the kids seem a lot younger than they originally did on their new mutants run?

[melishade]

It has been done!

I really enjoyed making these, especially Megatron!

I decided that Megatron has a man bun, because… idk, he seems like the type. I only gave him partially gray hair because he is technically supposed to be younger than Optimus (so weird…) but I think it’s fun that his years of stress and adding dark energon just made him gray faster in terms of human translation since he’s literally gray. I honestly adore the fact I gave him an aquiline nose, similar to in IDW comics, I also did similar stylization with the two-triangles shading.

The scars looked more red and raw than I intended, but honestly it looks metal (heh) so I don’t mind too much.

When you were talking about how hard it is to nail Optimus’s holoform… you weren’t joking. I got his hair down pretty easily, I figured he’d want it short and styled back for convenience. I originally wanted to make him ginger but went with what you intended for him, so I just made his hair a reddish-brown instead (the warm lighting more than compensates for it, and I honestly find it cool that his hair just looks bright, firey red in golden hour/sunlight!)

I had to change Opti’s colors so much, but I’m satisfied with his desaturated red jean jacket. I leaned more towards brown, I’m sure it used to be brighter, but working the the Corps gets you dirty and I think he’d appreciate the look of earthy tones (plus, I think kids and people in general like the more familiar and warm palette than the bright red, idk)

I’m rambling a lot but I did want to put as much thought as I could into these bc 1) I adore the concept of holoforms and wished they were used more and 2) Megatron/Mathew is my fav, so…

Just as a last note: if you look at the eyes of both characters, Megs has a triangle purple highlight and two small, blue dot highlights while Optimus has a yellow square highlight and two red dot highlights (they aren’t super visible but it’s the thought that counts 😅)

Thank you for your wonderful work and make sure to take care of yourself!

FIRST OF ALL THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!

Second, yes, it is so wild to me that Optimus is actually older than Megatron, because according to the covenant of Primus and the Aligned continuity, Optimus was reborn as Orion immediately after the War of the Primes. Meanwhile Megatron was actually born during the Age of Wrath.

Optimus looks so pretty, but his smile also looks so sad. He's hiding his burdens and traumas with a smile! Look at the fluffy hem of his coat! It looks so cozy! Also, I really like the shading for Optimus because it looks like the sun is setting behind him. The shading of his hair looks so gorgeous!

Hehe. Looking at Megatron's hoodie, all I can think about is how Megatron who put the hood over his head and sulk when he's upset. And I absolutely adore the different colors that both he and Optimus have. Like you brought up the fact that Optimus has warmer colors and even with the sun shing behind Megatron, you can tell that there are cooler colors being used. Like I can see hints of purple in Megatron's hair.

I actually did zoom in to see the eye coloring that you were doing and I absolutely adore it for both Optimus and Megatron.

Honestly this is so amazing and thank you so much for taking time to do this. I genuinely appreciate it.

#attack on prime #transformers prime #tfp #asks #send me asks #ao3 #tfp optimus #optimus prime #megatron #tfp megatron #tfp optimus prime #maccadam #macadam #maccadams #fanart #EVERYONE GO CHECK OUT THIS ARTIST! #holoforms #humanformers #macaddam #art #artist #fanfic #THERE'S SO MUCH THOUGHT THAT WENT INTO IT! IT'S AMAZING!!!!

[dracaelus]

"i hate when a villainous character gets popular enough to become a hero and writers try and retcon their histories so they never fucked up in the first place" "#magneto" sorry but may i ask if theres a particular example? i'm trying to catch up on the modern comics and i have been bracing myself for seeing this sort of thing cause. you know. nuance is dead lmao

So, I've only recently started to read magneto's comics, and I'm reading mostly some old stuff, so my knowledge is limited, and I can't say if it's a recurring problem in recent comics (I mean, I hope is not, but Idk)

When I tagged magneto on that post I was thinking specifically about the first issue of Magneto's 2023 run, which had been released recently:

Now, I can see the reasoning behind this - magneto was a really one dimensional villain when he first appeared and it is a bit weird to read the Uncanny X-men #01 when you consider his later characterization. And marvel loves trying to give an explanation for everything...

Honestly, now that I finished reading the comic, and thought a bit more about it, I think it was a honest attempt. The comic does acknowledge that his later actions as magneto were not simply an act, that he did let himself get carried away by his rage. Tho still, this explanation does feel a bit hard to believe and makes you go damn man, your logic is weird af and it's so silly. I don't think they were trying to justify his later actions so much as they were trying to explain his first appearance

... without making him look too bad. Because Magneto (1993) already did that, showing magneto's descent into:

But still, I don't mind that much what they did in magneto (2023). I think both explanations are fine when you keep in mind that marvel really wanted to keep the uncanny x-men #01 as canon. As a dc fan I find it hard to understand why... But I appreciate their loyalty. Between the two, I still much prefer the 1993 version bc it has more nuance, and i'm not averse to the idea that magneto had some really low moments and had to go through some personal growth over the years. I'm not whimsical enough to truly like the sillier version, as much as they tried to make it look less silly and more believable.

#i did like magneto 2023 as a comic tho #i'm a simple person seeing magneto holding his younger self in his arms in the last issue made me emotional #also he was cute af buying christmas stuff for the kids on the first issue #tho i was dissapointed to not see him celebratinh hanukkah at the end i think it would have fitted the arc #also is it just me or the kids seem a lot younger than they originally did on their new mutants run? #i'm not sure how old they're supposed to be #in magneto 2023 i would say they look 12-14 at most but they look older in the new mutants #one thing i really didn't like in magneto 2023 was that they implied that magda died with anya #i love the version where she runs away horrified after he uses his powers to kill the man who stoped him from saving anya #i think it makes her more nuanced #you don't know if she was terrified by his powers or the killing or both #hate that they made her an generic death wife #men***** #drac panels #asks #magneto #max eisenhardt #erik lensherr #magneto (2023) #magneto (1993)

[g1rld1ary]

you never disappointed me - part two

part one part two part three part four

➻ synopsis: luke castellan x aphrodite!reader ; percy and beckendorf's plan to set you up with luke is in motion, but you're extremely resistant to any advances (10 things I about you AU)

➻ word count: 3462

➻ warnings: swearing, ooc/kind of loser!luke, ooc silena, she/her pronouns used for reader, sexual innuendos

➻ thank u so much for all the love on part 1 I am such a happy gal!!!!! also, have my first day at uni tomorrow (so pls wish me luck) and sorry if updates slow down!

TAGLIST: @myxticmoon @wicca-void @leeknows-wife @thekittyxo-blog @number-onekidqueen @instabull

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

It turned out that getting you to go out with Luke was harder than he’d originally anticipated. Eager for the whole ordeal to be over and for him to be 50 dollars richer, he’d hopped down from his spot on a fallen log and hurried to meet you by the volleyball courts when your match ended. You, unaware of Luke’s agenda, were fanning your face to combat some of the sweat that had accumulated, quickly tightening the messy ponytail you’d tied. Luke watched you in your own world, unbothered by anybody watching you, unlike the rest of your siblings. Sucking in a quick breath for confidence he approached you.

“Hey there, girly,” He smiled, “How’re you doing?” You looked up at him, inquisitive for a moment but ultimately unimpressed.

“Sweating like a pig actually, and yourself?” You were barely looking at him, skulling an impressive amount of your water bottle quickly. He stared at you, not expecting to be dismissed so easily. He recovered smoothly, not prepared to give up so soon.

“You really know how to get a guy’s attention, huh?”

“My mission in life,” You shot him a cloying smile, now giving him your full attention, unable to help being slightly interested by his boldness. “But obviously I’ve struck your fancy, so you see it worked. The world makes sense again.” You‘d figured out his motives now and had no interest, so began the walk back to your cabin. He followed, much to your dismay. Couldn’t men ever take the hint?

“So I’ll pick you up Friday then?”

“Oh right, Friday, uh huh.” You kept your eyes ahead, dodging a few younger kids as Luke trailed after you, annoyingly optimistic still.

“The night I take you places you’ve never been before,” He said, and you looked at him in disbelief. The ego on this kid!

“Right, like the makeout clearing in the forest? Do you even know my name, Castellan?” Luke could tell that you were mocking him, but he still had high hopes.

“I know a lot more than you think.” He smiled then, a lopsided thing that would have been somewhat charming if you’d actually bothered to look. Instead you were already walking away, calling out a “Doubtful. Very doubtful,” over your shoulder as you picked up into a run, presumably to go tell Clarisse about the bizarre experience you just had. Luke watched you go, dumbstruck in the middle of camp.

Percy and Beckendorf watched the exchange from the porch of the Hephaestus cabin, the latter putting his head in his hands dramatically.

“We’re screwed,” He groaned and Percy winced slightly.

“I’m sure it’ll all be fine, dude. Luke has faced a lot worse than a teenage girl.”

When you sat at dinner that night, desperately avoiding the eye contact Luke seemed desperate on initiating, you almost told Silena about your bizarre day. You’d opened your mouth to start the story when you realised that she’d only be encouraged by Luke’s antics, pressuring you into going out with him for her own benefit and quickly shut it. She’d noticed your odd behaviour and searched for meaning in your face. Panicking for something to replace the conversation, you zeroed in on the necklace sitting nicely on top of her camp one.

“Where’d you get the pearls?” You asked, already dreading the answer. Silena only confirmed your fears, claiming them as your grandmother’s with a coy smile.

“So what? You’ve just been hiding them the last three years?” You were always closest with your grandmother, and you were sure she wouldn’t leave her favourite pearls for Silena over you.

“Daddy found them in a drawer just before summer.” Silena shrugged as if you weren’t sitting across from her, cheeks a blotchy red in your upset. “Besides, they look good on me.” Your hands itched to hit her as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ears, knowing exactly how much she was pissing you off.

“Trust me, they don’t,” You spat, quietly glad when Silena stalked off in a huff, amongst the first to leave the meal. You didn’t know how much longer you could argue with her before starting to cry, which you really didn’t want to do in front of the whole camp. You thought you were safe for the rest of the meal when Drew began speaking instead.

“You could try being nice sometimes, you know, people wouldn’t know what to think.” You rolled your eyes aggressively.

“You forget, I don’t care what people think,” You replied, taking in a spoonful of food.

“Yes you do. Everyone does. You know, with a new look you could have some serious potential.” You ignored her last statement.

“No, I don’t,” You emphasised, “You don’t always have to be who they want you to be.” You knew that wouldn’t impact Drew in the slightest, but you hoped it might resonate with some of your younger siblings — encourage them to nurture their internal beauty rather than accept the vain stereotype Aphrodite children were forced into. You pushed yourself out of the bench you were sitting on, needing a break from your insufferable siblings. As you dumped your dishes where they needed to be you saw Luke beginning to follow you and turned to make dead eye contact. Knowing you’d only scream at him (or worse) you gave him a dangerous look, accompanied with an almost imperceptible shake of your head. Not enough for anyone else to know you’d even acknowledged him, but enough to tell Luke to back off. He was smarter than you thought, as he held up his hands in a show of surrender, redirecting his action to innocently collect up his own dishes.

You may not have had any interest in knowing the boy, but you did appreciate that he knew when to back off. Or so you thought.

You were proven not-so-free from Luke Castellan the very next morning. It was the Aphrodite cabin’s day to check all the storerooms, and you’d volunteered to do the one which held all the weapons and armour near the sword fighting arena. You knew none of your siblings would come near if they could help it, mostly against weapons and the violence that surrounded the area, so you’d get a whole morning alone. It was peaceful attending to the chore, and you were allowed to use some of your Aphrodite eye for beauty. Of course, stacks of swords and assorted weapons could only be made so pretty, but you enjoyed organising them into neat rows, making it look as nice as possible — not that you would admit that to Silena or you’d be in her vanity chair receiving an unwelcome makeover in seconds.

You were just admiring your own sword, which you’d taken the time to polish while you were taking care of the others, when you felt a presence behind you. You didn’t react, assuming it was just some camper coming for a weapon, until he spoke.

“Nice sword, vintage hilt?” You tensed as Luke’s voice infiltrated your peace.

“Are you following me?” You disregarded his statement, an unimpressed frown present on your lips.

“I was training in the arena and needed to polish my sword. I saw you come in a while ago and not leave, I came to say hi,” He explained, and you raised an eyebrow. You weren’t friends, why would he come for a chat?

“Hi.” You promptly turned back to your task, shoving the cloth into the intricate designs of the hilt.

“Not a big talker, huh?” He persisted.

“Depends on the topic. My sword doesn’t exactly whip me into a verbal frenzy.” That wasn’t strictly true — the sword was a gift from your mother, with gold twisting around a blood red ruby in the centre of the hilt. After you’d made it clear that you weren’t going to just sit around during your time at camp she gifted you the sword, her way of saying that if you were going to fight, you should at least look good doing it. You’d had several conversations with Clarisse gushing over the intricacy of it, and profusely thanked Aphrodite for the gift in your offerings. You didn’t quite care to share this with Luke, being a relative stranger.

“You’re not afraid of me, are you?” He asked, and you were somewhat taken aback by the earnest tone of his voice.

“Afraid of you? Why would I be afraid of you?” You couldn’t help the incredulous laugh that crept into your sentence.

“Most people are.” He gestured subtly towards his scar — gnarled and twisted against his otherwise tanned skin. You put a hand on your hip, resigned to conversation now.

“Well, I’m not.”

“Ok, maybe you’re not afraid of me, but I’m sure you’ve thought about me naked.” You were pretty sure Luke was going for smooth or charming, but you thought in this moment he was entirely lame. The wink didn’t help his case.

“Am I that transparent? I want you, I need you. Oh baby, oh baby.” You put on your best Drew impression, nasally and whiny, before handing him the cloth he needed to polish his own sword and turning to leave. There, quickly approaching the door, was Ethan. Seeing you he put on a disgusting smirk and blocked the doorway, effectively caging you into the storeroom.

“Gods, what is it, asshole day?” You asked, not caring that both boys could very clearly hear you. “Do you mind?” You gestured to his blocking the exit. He simply looked down at you, clearly doing his best to appear sexy (and failing miserably).

“Not at all.” His stupid smirk was going to kill you, and not in the good way. You scoffed, giving him a last chance to get the fuck out of your way. Then, sparing a fraction of a glance back to Luke pretending to mind his own business, you slammed the hilt of your sword into his foot, wishing it was the blade instead. You watched him crumble to the ground, holding his foot with both hands.

“You bitch!” He yelled, voice cracking pathetically in the middle. You forced your smile to stay contained.

“Oops,” You feigned innocence, one hands covering your mouth strategically. “You might need some ambrosia for that…” With that you side-stepped him, eager to leave the situation. If you’d have looked back, you would have seen the gleeful, disbelieving smile on Luke’s face, probably the biggest one he’d worn in a while. Although he didn’t get the date he’d entered for, he was beginning to think you were a little more interesting than you let on.

“Did you just cripple Ethan?” Silena shrieked as you entered your cabin to grab your things. “He’s a model, you can’t do that! Has it escaped your notice that you’re completely psychotic?” You pretended to think for a moment, then shrugged nonchalantly.

“Guess your long walks on the beach are gonna have to wait,” You sighed dramatically, leaving Silena to wallow in her pity alone. It wasn’t like it was really your fault — if Ethan had learned how to respond to words or learn the meaning of ‘move’ he wouldn’t have gotten himself into that situation in the first place.

Meanwhile, Ethan and Luke were having a similarly emotional conversation after Luke had — very reluctantly — helped Ethan over to the infirmary to get his foot checked out.

“When I shell out fifty, I expect results.” Luke sighed, could this boy get any whinier?

“Yeah, I’m on it,” He said through gritted teeth, resisting the urge to hurt him.

“Watching that bitch obliterate my foot doesn’t count as a date. If you don’t get any, I don’t get any, so let’s get some,” Ethan said, running a hand through his ridiculously styled hair. Luke couldn’t believe his nerve. First of all, obliterated? He would be left with a bruise for a few days, if anything. Secondly, this whole things was Ethan’s idea, Luke had never given any indication wanting to ‘get some’, especially not with someone so clearly resisting his advances. Just as Ethan left, giving the Apollo girl treating him a douchebag smile, Luke hardened his resolve.

“I just upped my price,” He said, loving the way Ethan’s eyes widened like a cartoon character. “A hundred bucks a date, in advance.”

“Forget it,” Ethan grumbled, moving to leave again.

“Forget her sister then.” The two boys stared at each other, one significantly more amused than the other. Luke knew he had the upper hand in the dynamic, something he revelled in. Then, after the intimidation tactic clearly wasn’t having any effect, Ethan reached for his wallet, Luke admiring the crisp fifty he was handed.

“You better hope you’re as smooth as you think you are, Castellan.” Luke just watched him go, confident tilt of his head conveying his outlook on the situation.

Luke had taken his usual spot overseeing combat training, but his usual thoughts were long gone. Instead, he was entirely preoccupied with you. He didn’t know how to get you to go out with him when you could barely entertain a conversation, and he twirled his cigarette between his fingers as he pondered.

Percy and Beckendorf saw his internal conflicts, slowly moving closer to him under the guise of a very chaotic fight between the two. Finally Luke gave them attention, knowing Percy’s skills would never have him running all over the place like that. He raised an eyebrow, a sign for them to get on with whatever they were angling at.

“We know what you’re trying to do, for Beauregard,” Percy said, and Luke appeared almost startled.

“And we want to help,” Added Beckendorf helpfully, shying away when Luke’s eyes bore into his.

“And why would you do that?”

“Beckendorf here has a major crush on Silena—”

“Gods, what is it with this girl? Does she sweat nectar?” Beckendorf opened his mouth to protest when Percy spoke over him, knowing it would be more beneficial to let Luke lead.

“Look, I think we can both tell that Charlie’s love is pure, well-intentioned, better than, say, Ethan White?” Luke sighed, catching on.

“I’m in this for the cash, that’s it. Who Ethan wants to bang is of no interest to me.”

“There will be no banging!” Beckendorf cried as Percy pushed him behind. He was no use in a delicate situation like this.

“Ok, Luke, it’s just that we’re the masterminds behind this whole thing. We set it up so Beckendorf can get the girl — Ethan’s just a pawn.” Luke paid closer attention suddenly, intrigued by the chess match he’d been pulled into.

“So you two are gonna help me win her over?”

“We’ll do research, find out what she likes. We can be your guys on the inside.”

“In a strictly non-mission type of way,” Beckendorf added helpfully, nervous of the legends he’d heard about Luke’s failed quest. Luke chose to simply ignore that comment, and Percy filled the silence before he could get angry about it.

“Let’s just start here: the Apollo cabin is throwing a party on Friday night, it’s the perfect opportunity.”

“I’ll think about it,” Was all Luke said, a clear signal the conversation was over. Percy and Beckendorf returned to fighting, slightly more regulated now they had gotten what they’d wanted, and Luke brought the cigarette back up to his lips, new thoughts clouding his mind.

Meanwhile, Ethan had found Silena where she was known to hang out by the rocks near the lake. He was hovering next to her, providing snatches of shade as he performed pose after pose, claiming he had a modelling job lined up when he left for the year.

“So which do you like better?” He asked, moving his hands fractionally to the left of his chin.

“The second,” Silena giggled, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear. “It’s more… pensive.”

“Damn,” Ethan kicked the sand softly. “I was going for thoughtful. So, you going to the Apollo party on Friday?”

“Maybe.” She produced her best coy smile, looking up at him from behind her lashes.

“Good, ‘cause you know I’ll only bother if you’re there.” Silena smiled, getting up from her spot on the rock.

“Bye.” Her voice was airy in the way she knew drove boys mad. She walked away leaving Ethan wanting more, her specialty. You scoffed, catching the end of the exchange. You and Silena made momentary eye contact, tension thick between the two of you.

As Beckendorf approached Silena, fishing for more information about you, Ethan had caught you in his sights and wasn’t going to let you go so easily.

“You sister is so cute,” His voice infiltrated your bubble in a way that made you want to hit him so desperately. “Doesn’t have your bite though, a feisty woman is so sexy.” You knew he was just trying to get a rise out of you, but it was so close to working.

“Come any closer and I’ll show you just how feisty I can get,” You snapped, braid almost whacking him in the face as you turned to face him. You could have sworn Ethan looked afraid for a second before he covered it with bravado.

“One day you’re gonna realise that all of this hostility is just your sexual repression. Don’t worry, babe, I’ll be waiting with open arms… And legs.” You almost threw up.

“Gods, can’t you just leave me alone, asshole?” You yelled, trying to push past him to get anywhere else.

“C’mon, don’t be a prude,” He whined, and you were really close to taking him to the ground — not in the way he wanted.

“You heard the girl,” A voice called from behind you, and instantly Ethan took a step back. “She wants you to leave her alone.” Luke appeared behind you, a respectful distance away whilst still making his intentions clear. Ethan shrunk back into himself, making a lame excuse as to why he had to leave, hurriedly fleeing the beach. Reluctantly, you turned to face Luke.

“I’m not going out with you just for that,” You said plainly, daring him to try again.

“You think that low of me?” He laughed, dark eyes sparkling with mirth. You forced yourself not to notice. “I don’t have to want something from you to know that Ethan White isn’t worth your time.” It was your turn to be embarrassed at that, feeling slightly narcissistic for assuming that was the purpose of the conversation (it was, but Luke sure as hell wasn’t going to ruin his chances because you were in a mood, justified or otherwise).

“Oh.” You stared at his shoes. “Well, thanks, I guess.” You moved to leave but Luke stopped you, hand not quite touching your arm, unwilling to have it bitten off.

“So you do have a heart!” He joked, signature grin on his face. You wondered why you were seeing so much of it lately when he’d been so dour since his quest.

“Ha! You wish.”

“Don’t try to hide it, Beauregard, you’re warming up to me.”

“I’d sooner fuck Mister D,” You replied, actually taking your leave.

Luke watched you go, chewing his lip between his teeth. There was more to you than you let on, he was sure of it. He wouldn’t say it was any fondness, but he was starting to have a curiosity attaching itself to this scheme, and he knew that going out with you would satisfy it. He should have known having any personal stakes involved — sentimental or otherwise — would get dangerous.

Your own thoughts had barely budged on Luke. He was still a pain in your side and you figured you knew what kind of guy he was — not the type you had any interest in. Still, you couldn’t deny that you were appreciative he’d saved you from Ethan (and the inevitable washing up duty you’d be punished with when you beat him up), so maybe he wasn’t quite as despicable as you’d initially judged him to be. Close, though.

part three

#giasfics˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ ❀ #love #luke castellan #pjo series #pjo #pjo tv show #pjo fandom #percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson show #percy jackson #percy series #percy pjo #luke castellan imagine #luke castellan pjo #luke castellan imagines #luke castellan fanfiction #luke castellan x reader #luke castellan x you #percy jackson tv show

[soleminisanction]

I've always really liked DC's in-house choice of referring to their various superhero groupings as "families," but it has gotten a little frustrating recently with people both in canon and in fandom seeming to forget that families aren't just a parental-unit-and-kids formation. They're complicated, and a lot of the DC families are too messy to fit into that neat little nuclear family mode.

Which is to say... here's some scattered thoughts/summaries about how these families are actually structured in canon, because I think it's interesting:

Supers -- The smaller, more traditional Superfamily (Clark, Lois, Kara, Kon, etc.) is a pretty traditional Midwestern nuclear family, with Jimmy Olsen filling the role of close family friend/goofy neighbor sidekick (in the Silver Age, he was Kara's would-be suitor) and Steel feeling more like part of Clark's personal circle of friends. The recent line up, though, with Jon, the twins, Kong and Nat? Starts to feel more like some old dynasty or noble house, complete with fostered foundlings and the Steels acting almost like knights under a noble's banner, possibly reflective of what the House of El would have been on Krypton.

Arrows -- Might currently be the closet to a traditional nuclear family structure. You've got Ollie and Dinah, their younger sisters, Ollie's adopted and biological children, and Ollie's granddaughter through Roy, plus by some counts Roy's co-parent and her sister as "in-laws." Bonnie and Cissie King-Jones are adjacent to but not technically "part" of the family, though I believe it's implied at one point that Ollie might also be Cissie's bio-dad. Pretty straightforward, these guys are actually family and they act like it, for good and ill.

Shazam Family -- Also a literal, actual family. Not originally, the original golden age "Marvel Family" was considerably more complicated and only Billy and Mary were full siblings, but nowadays the whole point of the modern Shazam family is that they're foster siblings united by familial love and that's fantastic. Meanwhile your average Black Adam story is 75% angsty family drama, 25% Egyptian mythology references.

Flashes -- Technically closer to three nuclear families (the Allens, the Wests and the Garricks; four if you include the Quicks), two of whom are united by marriage and all of whom are bound by the Speedforce, which, given its semi-spiritual connections to things like Speedster afterlives, can act almost like a religious force that connects them to the additional members like Avery, Circuit Breaker and Max as Bart's foster-dad. They're a big, sprawling tree with more cousins than siblings, the kind of family that functionally has a reunion every Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Lanterns -- Now these guys are the exception that proves my point about the whole 'family' thing not being straightforward. The lanterns aren't a family, they're a corps. Soldiers. Space cops. Comrades-in-arms. They respect each other, have each other's backs, might even like or care about each other, but those last two are optional, and they don't have the same kind of assumed obligations towards each other that a family would have. They're friends and co-workers, not family, but that doesn't mean their relationships are less significant, they're just different.

Wonders -- Roughly half of them are either one of Hippolyta's daughters (Diana, Donna, Nubia pre-Crisis) or related to them through the gods (Cassie), and the other half (Artemis, Yara, modern-age Nubia) use sister as a term of endearment more in a utopian lesbian commune kind of way. I think they brought Steve Trevor back recently? He's basically the Ken in this equation and perfectly fine with that role. None of which should be surprising if you've seen Professor Marston and the Wonder Women.

Bats -- This is the one that people get really wrong when they try to force it into a traditional family structure. Don't let WFA fool you, the Bats are and have always been way more a snarled mess of tangled interpersonal relationships than they've ever been a cohesive family. Whether Dick is Bruce's son or his brother depends on what era you're talking about, and the former reading is much more recent than you think -- as in "started cropping up in the early 2000s" recent. Barbara is both Cassandra's sister and her mother. Duke and Steph both have living parents and neither of them want or would ever dream of treating Bruce like their dad; Tim was the same way until his dad died. None of the Robins ever lived in the mansion together, nor did Cass. Babs considered Jean-Paul Valley her brother and Huntress is so close to Tim she once hallucinated him calling her Big Sister. They're a beautiful mess of people finding places where their broken edges fit together into something that works for them and trying to reduce it down to a cozy nuclear family is just so goddamn reductive and lazy.

Blue Beetles -- Are only tangentially related to each other. Seriously, they never even get direct mentoring, each one just takes over when the previous one dies and works on completely different rules from the other two. They're complete strangers bound by a legacy and that's honestly pretty fun.

Zataras -- There's only three of them and they're literally a father, daughter and cousin.

Martians -- Not really a family because there's only the two of them, but an interesting case where the two survivors of what was functionally a war of mutually assured destruction came together in an attempt to find some peace in the aftermath of what they'd lost.

Titans -- The JLA and JSA aren't really in the "family" category, but the Titans lean into it hard, mostly because they're a textbook found family. They don't mirror a nuclear family structure, they're simply a group of people who came together to form a mutual support network. They're the idealized college friends you grew into your own with, some of them childhood companions and others you only met once you leave home for the first time, but all of them friends that you manage to maintain contact with for life, with everyone coming back together even as you scatter and do your own things.

Young Justice -- Meanwhile, this team is the chaotic group of misfits you hung out with when you were a teenager, especially when you were just starting to be allowed to act without adult supervision. You drive each other crazy, none of you know you're all queer as fuck, and you'd fight a bear for any of them even if they asked you not to. They'd probably be insulted if you tried to call them a family. They come out here to get away from their families, thank you very much.

#dc comics #meta #batfamily #super family #arrow family #flash family #wonder women #shazam family #batman #superman #wonder woman #green lantern #teen titans #young justice #kinda rambling #just kinda throwing some ideas together #families of choice #non-traditional families

[doingitforbokuto]

Changes

-> HINATA SHOUYOU X FEMALE!READER

Summary: Hinata has changed a lot since he graduated high school and came to Brazil. He has had a lot of fun with other girls since he got here - why shouldn't he try his luck with you?

Words: 1.398

Warnings: groping, dubcon

Hinata starts having fun in Brazil. Before, he was used to being the small kid everyone thought was kinda cute but never a guy girls would be drooling over, fighting to go on a date with. It probably came down to his size, his biggest insecurity throughout all those years. Even later, when he overcame it in volleyball he never truly overcame the impression other people had of him and the way they constantly underestimated him and thought he was younger than he truly was. In the later months of high school, when puberty started being a bit kinder on his body and made his shoulders broader, his arms thicker with muscle, he still looked like a kid. Even when girls gave him chocolates for valentine's day or confessed to having a crush on him, he could tell what they were thinking. That he was cute.

He tried not to let it bother him but deep down, it always did. So when he came to Brazil and started becoming even taller, broader and stronger, he experienced something for the first time. Never before had he had girls looking up at him, batting their eyelashes like those sexy women in the movies did. Now, they bite their lips, touch him in subtle ways that still express their desire for him. No one had ever behaved like that around him. Like they want him to touch them, to ruin them. They aren't looking for him to be nice to them, they are looking for him to be a little rough with them and he was more than happy to do just that. 

He is still nice, of course. He likes treating a girl nicely, smiling at her, giving her compliments, offering advice when needed. It's just that he also liked getting a little rough every now and then. He enjoyes the new power his now grown up body gives him.

And now that he met you, he enjoyes it maybe a bit more than he should. You met at the beach where he was - as usual - playing volleyball. Hinata caught you glancing at him, admiring the way his tan skin glowed in the sun. You were trying not to stare but still, he could tell. 

"Do you want me to show you a move or two?" He aks you after he casually walked over to you. 

The sun is bright in your eyes and you have to squint to look up at him from where you are sitting in the sand. When you came to the beach you were really only planning to relax a little and enjoy the warm weather but this - spending time with one of the most handsome men at the beach - sounds a lot better than your original plan. Even if it does involve exercising in the blistering heat. 

But to your surprise he leads you down to a more secluded part of the beach. A few trees throw a little bit of shade, a few tall rocks set you apart from the rest of the beach, so high that no one can even see you. The once so loud voices seem dull and far away now. 

"It's a bit easier learning new things when you don't have a bunch of people staring at you, isn't it?" Hinata smiles at you so brightly that you don't even think of questioning his motives. I mean, why else would he have brought you here? 

The moves he shows you are easy enough and truly is a great teacher. Every little detail is observed by him and he never misses a mistake but still he is kind when explaining them to you. He passes the ball to you and tells you how to properly receive the ball. You're not exceptionally bad at it, but it isn't easy either. The ball never seems to fly the way you want it to. 

"Here, let me show you," he jogs over to you and shows you how to place your arms correctly. 

He's standing behind you, maybe a little closer than he should but it doesn't matter, right? Otherwise he would be able to move your hands in the right position, you tell yourself. It doesn't matter that you can feel his warm breath on your neck and your cheek, that his touch erects goosebumps on your skin despite the heat. It doesn't matter that when he retracts his hands he lets them brush against your shoulders and then, when he shows you how to properly squat down while receiving, against the sides of your breasts. You must be imagining it. He probably barely even brushed against you and you're just overthinking it. Aren't you? 

But you don't have time to truly think about it. All you can focus on right now is not whimpering when he places his hands on your hips and pushes you down, lightly and yet strong enough to make it clear that there is no other way for your body to move but the way that he wants it to. Not that you want to do anything but. 

"See," suddenly his voice seems to be a lot rougher, deeper, yet quieter, "if you squat down like that, you'll have a much better angle on the ball when it comes down." 

His body is closer now than ever. His chest is pressing up against your back, you could swear you could feel his hips brushing against your ass. 

All you can do is nod, biting your lip to suppress another whimper that wanted to escape you. Hopefully he wouldn't be able to see the blood rushing into your cheeks. You can already feel the adrenaline rushing through you, your quickened heartbeat was pumping your blood everywhere, to your face, your sweaty hands.. your crotch, your breasts.. maybe you should have worn another bikini, not the thin one you are wearing right now. Already your nipples are starting to harden with the way he is turning you on and you are sure that they would already be noticeable to him if he is to look down. 

"I think-" Is his breath even closer to your neck now? You feel like his lips are only a few millimeters away from you, as if he was leaning down to kiss you. "- I think if you move a little this way.." 

You are not prepared for him to move you over to the side the way that he does. With one finger slipping under the thin lining of your bikini panties, pulling them up and away from your skin. The fabric over your crotch is immediately pulled taut, the pressure on your clit impossible to ignore. The moan that slips from you is louder than you want it to be - you don't want it to be heard at all - but since you've been suppressing all your needy, desperate noises, you just can't help yourself. 

"Oh.. does that feel good?" 

Somehow, you've landed against his chest, with his lips right next to your ear. Your legs must have given out a little and let you stumble backwards against him. You can only nod. Deep inside your brain something is telling you that this is weird and wrong, definitely happening too fast but you don't care. The whole time you've been trying not to stare, not to flirt, not to give into your feeling. But now they've been set free, and the only thing you can think about is the pulsing need between your legs and the delicious, mind-numbing pleasure you get from the little bit of friction he is giving you by still pulling your panties up. So, when he asks you if it feels good, obviously you have to nod. There is nothing else for you left to do. 

Lucky for you, his big, warm arm wraps around your waist and keeps you from falling to the ground. You've literally fallen right into his arms. 

"You want me to make you feel good? Even better than just now?" 

"Uh-huh." You can't even form complete sentences now. 

Hinata smiles at how cute and helpless you are, your hands weakly grabbing onto his forearm for purchase. He's got you under his spell now and he knows it. But don't you worry, he really will make you feel good. 

After all, he is still nice. 

#lemon #hinata #hinata shoyo #hinata shouyou #hinata shoyo imagine #hinata shoyo smut #hinata x you #hinata x reader #hinata shoyo x reader #hinata shoyo x you #hinata smut #hinata x you smut #hinata x reader smut #hinata shoyo x you smut #hinata shoyo x reader smut #hinata shouyou x reader #hinata shouyou x you

[mothmanssweetsucculentass]

Ok here’s my two cents that no one asked for on the current (sort of?) debate going on in the Creepypasta fandom on here rn.

For starters, I grew up with Creepypasta. I also grew up mentally ill. I am also autistic. So I know my way around good and bad mental health rep at this point. And to be honest? A lot of the original stories DID suck balls at representation or just horror writing in general.

However, nowadays I see other people on here, often mentally ill or any other social outcast, taking these characters and reshaping them as their own to fit their own feelings and experiences, and I don’t think anyone has the authority to criticize things like that. Cringe culture is supposed to be dead anyways, nevermind the fact it’s inherently ableist at its core.

We also need to take into account kids still exist in the fandom. Pre teens who got tired of shit like scooby doo and wanted something more “mature” or “edgy” to get into without fully going off the deep end into full blown horror movies. At least that’s how it was for me. Not everyone, especially someone who’s younger, is gonna be comfortable with the grit and gore a lot of Creepypasta “purists” are pushing for these days, and that’s okay! When a fandom gets popular it’s always inevitable and unavoidable to have the popular characters get two dimensionalized.

There’s also the whole mascot horror thing that I don’t wanna get into, but I’m 90% sure that also plays a part in the old favorites like Jeff and slenderman being brought up again. They were and still are recognizable characters. Recognizable characters aren’t a bad thing. Making horror more approachable for younger audiences isn’t a bad thing. People having their own interpretations based out of their own experiences isn’t a bad thing.

Some of us grew up and wanted the more edgy and reality based content, and that’s also not a bad thing! But neither side should be dictating or policing how the other enjoys content in this fandom. If you personally don’t like the way something is written, characterized, depicted, or drawn, no one’s forcing you to look at it. No one’s claiming it as canon. No one’s asking for you to accept it as the end all be all.

At the end of the day this fandom was built on OCs and personal depictions of stuff. I can’t name a single character or story in this community that was created by some outside party like a movie or TV studio FIRST (because I know some got so popular they breached the fandom and got their own shows/movies/comics/etc). Everything here was created by someone who wanted an outlet for their creativity, or their pain, or their coping, or whatever else.

Realism and dark headcanons aren’t bad, and neither are any of the headcanons out there who just wanna make a goofy found family of social rejects as a form of escapism.

A 13 year old drawing a fictional layout of a fictional mansion where these fictional characters live isn’t going to suddenly invalidate the horror, I promise, it’s not that deep and it never was.

A 22 year old making a dark comic on the realistic origins of Jeff who is a fictional character in a fictional world isn’t going to suddenly invalidate the more softhearted side of the fandom.

Sure, there can still be a split if people are so adamant about that, but as someone who personally enjoys both the brutal horror side and the “haha Jeff is 15 and gay” sides equally, y’all need to at least learn to be civil to anyone who has a different headcanon than you. And if that seems like too much still, the block button exists for a reason.

TL:DR this fandom is based entirely off OCs and headcanons and people can do whatever the fuck they want because none of it is real and horror comes in many shapes and sizes and intensities and no one should be bashing anyone on their headcanons or views or rewrites or whatever else.

EDIT:

Actually wait I think I have more to say-

Horror, like any genre, has NO AGE LIMIT. And by that I mean, if someone younger wants to delve into scary stuff, they should be allowed to do so without criticism. I personally grew up on “child friendly” horror media like Scooby-Doo, and the older I got the more horror I wanted to experience.

There’s no right or wrong way to “understand” horror, and I frankly think it’s ignorant and stupid to say if you don’t fully “understand” something, then you shouldn’t be involved in it at all. Horror isn’t always about gore and unspeakable violence and the eldritch entity that wants everyone’s skin inside out. That’s why horror has sub genres for fucks sake. Gut wrenching brutality against innocent people isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and that’s okay!

However, bashing anyone’s tamer headcanons, or calling anything anyone interprets differently than you “stupid”, that’s not okay. God, I feel like an exhausted parent giving this lecture to fellow adults, but this really needs to be said and stressed.

I am an adult. I like when stuff in the fandom takes a dark turn. But for nostalgia’s sake, I also love the fanon so much, because that’s what I was exposed to.

And for fucks sake if it comes down to picking sides, I would rather stick with the part of this fandom that gives zero shits how you see a character as long as you’re having fun.

You can have your serial killer 30 year old Jeff and your canon-accurate-to-that-one-image eyeless Jack, but don’t shit on other people if they don’t want the same thing. Your interpretation isn’t canon, and neither is anyone else’s for that matter.

Realistic, dark, gritty Creepypasta isn’t a new concept, and neither is “adult” Creepypasta. And by the way, Creepypasta was never stated to be for adults. That’s like saying kids and only kids can eat trix cereal. It sounds that stupid on paper.

Let people interpret things the way they wanna interpret. No one is infringing on YOUR character ideas. Creepypasta has no age limit, nor a set way the horror has to be presented. Those who do continue to claim that just sound like pretentious assholes.

Very small side note, I personally think it’s inappropriate and rude to keep using Toby as a “bad example” of mental health rep when the creator has stated multiple times the character is old, not researched, and not even in the fandom anymore. Leave the poor guy alone.

#creepypasta #creepypasta fandom #jeff the killer #rant #I’m not a professional in anything don’t @ me #I’ve just been here for years #so I at the very least partially know what I’m talking about #I personally think this purist mindset and behavior is bs if you go and attack other creators #just be nice to people Ohmygod #update #eyeless Jack #slenderman

[f4nd0m-fun]

So in a lot of these monster hunting fantasy webcomics, you have these things called monster cores. Imagine, if you will, an AU where the Justice League has always been in a world like this. Maybe an alternate earth, maybe the aliens are from different planes instead of planets, maybe you've got magic as the primary force and yet there's some who still manage to stick almost entirely to tech/magitech (like Bruce). These cores are essentially batteries, and the more powerful the monster the more energy you can draw. Also, I love the idea that, if you put it together right, you can technically recharge it.

Enter, the Phamily. Either they are from this world and the Fentons are monster hunters trying to find the origin place of the monsters, or this isn't their original world and they're trying to open a portal home.

Danny, Ellie, Dan, and Vlad if he's there, have cores. These can be considered batteries just looking at the way ectoplasm is used (imagine how much more potent the cores would be than the globs). Jazz, the parents, and Danny's friends if they're there too are liminal. This could mean that magic considers them part monster despite no cores, or maybe they're considered akin to warlocks or sorcerers, looked down upon but not actively hunted or something. Although the presence of the half monster kids and what seems to be a half monster dad... (yes this is probably a family breakfast ship, sue me if you dare) well, Vlad is gonna be determined to fight off the rumors with whatever he's got, there's no need for his darling Maddie to get worked up about idiots, aside from him and Jack of course. (I also love Vlad x Connie so this could either be Vlad is just an uncle or we get Connie in and call it Family Party or something - Party cause alcohol?)

Also not entirely sure on how I'm writing Bruce and Dick here, I want them to be able to access magic in some way, but sensing magic might be more of an Oracle/Barbara thing, I'm not sure, but also they can't do anything big or flashy with it, it's more tiny stuff which is why they rely on magitech. Also the idea that even if people can sense magic, usually they ignore changes aside from moving away from it if necessary cause usually it means a bunch of monsters are coming through a breach. Honestly, not sure how to run this but, eh.

The below segment is written with Native!JL and Isekai!DP in mind.

=====||=====||=====||======||=====||=====||=====

Bruce had been tinkering with his latest animaga, a monster core whose energy had been threaded through one if his favorite inventions, intended to allow him and his ward flight with the use of monster wings.

"B!"

He tensed but refuses to startle as his ward all but jumped on top of him. "Yes Dick?"

"The magic feels weird!"

Bruce paused, setting his tools down. He knew as a half elf, Richard was sensitive to magic, but wasn't nearly as strong with it as most full elves.

Of course, Bruce had always been considered... disabled in that regard, a full elf who could only feel the energy close to him, though it wasn't public knowledge that he knew of. "That's good to know, Chum, why don't you meditate on it and I'll investigate tonight?"

His ward seemed to understand the intent to leave him behind and started to protest.

"Chum, I was going out alone before you showed up, if the magic really has changed, it'll be safer for me to go out and use the radar."

Dick whined but didn't protest again.

Bruce hoped he wouldn't sneak out this time.

As night began to fall, a family of 9 was gutting a strange metallic ship. Well, the three elder ones were, while the younger ones worked together to scout out the area.

Bruce had just arrived to the location, but chose not to interfere just yet. Batman was the embodiment of night to many, a fearsome predator to others, and some even thought he was a monster himself. Reconnaissance was his strength, as was stealth.

"I don't know, Jazz, the energy here is weird. Muggy almost." His form gave off a soft glow, not unlike that of the whisps, though much larger in body.

The girl with red hair, Jazz he presumed, did not appear impressed. "Like you're the expert on energy. Maybe you should ask Sam when we get back to Mom and dad."

"And Vlad."

"Don't remind me."

The glowing one shuddered. "I know him and our parents have been buddy buddy again but why did he take you find along?"

"Because you're still in training, Daniel."

Both children shrieked.

"I see your core has accepted me into your Fraid."

Bruce froze a bit. Core? Thier energy was certainly strange but not entirely monstrous, hence his inactivity, but the presence of a core presented issues.

"Whatever, Fruitloop. Go back to camp."

"I don't think I will, you're being watched and I can't have my son or daughter being in harm's way."

"Give it a rest, Frootloop, we're not your kids." Despite their attitude, something about their reaction and stance suggested they were worried about being watched as well.

Bruce wondered how they knew about him, perhaps he should have asked Lucius for help with a dampening field to hide the energy of the animaga?

"Don't bother flying away, you'll be surrounded before you can think." Vlad placed a hand on Danny's shoulder.

Before Bruce could react, there was a flash of light that all but burned onto his retinas, but the light was all wrong, a deep black instead of a glowing hue. By the time he was back to his senses, Vlad was gone, and in his place was another strange Whisp. Batman didn't have to turn around to find there were identical ones behind him. Clearly, this was an opponent not to be underestimated.

#danny phantom #batman #dc x dp #dcxdp #isekai au #isekai #non-isekai Justice League #native Justice League #of heroes and monsters au

[mono-dot-jpeg]

too aware - express crew

summary; a self aware kid walks into the express and.. they shock the crew more than a stellaron.

genre/extra tags; headcanons, fluff, slight comedy, the child is aware, the child traumatizes the crew more than anything else /j, they have seen it all, reader is implied to be a vidyadhara

[platonic] [6-7 years old! reader] [gender neutral! reader]

a/n; i have,,, no idea if i'll be writing this correctly at all. honestly it's really reminding me of being really self aware, which i kind of relate to KSDJKSJD, so there will be some of that mostly. i've never really written a character like this. but i hope you enjoy.

also possible spoilers for those who havent reached the xianzhou quests yet. sorry.

what can i even say to start...

let's just say you're a kind of new to the express, you were part of the luofu or at least training to be part of the cloud knights

despite being such an old self-reincarnating species, sometimes you just wanted to start from the beginning, have an empty and open mind to enjoy your curiosities.

you would argue that you were the most cheerful vidyadhara out of the comrades you knew for centuries

but some people knew better

you were sweet, don't get it twisted but when the express crew met you for the first time

let me rephrase, when dan heng and welt met you for the first time .. .

"you... know a lot, don't you?"

you whispered to dan heng

you probably just scared the shit out of him so unintentionally.

you totally know who dan heng really is

you're just as old as he is, maybe a bit younger but you're not stupid

and then you look to welt, and you end up introducing yourself with a cute smile on your face as if you didn't look through dan heng's soul 10 secs ago

dan heng felt whiplash as he watches you talk to welt

welt is concerned for you. he knows that look in your eyes, when you know so much, when you're so aware of yourself and everything but you're so happy

"you must be a smart kid.." welt says softly. "do you know a lot as well?"

"i do."

it's a really interesting relationship that kind of develops as father figure and kid.

you connect to himeko and welt very easily with your experiences

you know a lot and you've experienced a lot, you eventually confess to being of the limited species of the xianzhou, vidyadhara

and you're happily proud of it. you're comfortable as to who you are.

with the trio on the other hand, you're really curious about march and trailblazer the most due to their origins

and they gladly indulged you.

"please tell me more about you!" you would tell them and inquire about them quite a bit

dan heng and you had confusing relations, you knew him from the past and he knew you

and you seemed the same despite your physical age

and dan heng.. you wish you knew more about him

so you end up being curious about him

and as expected, you two are the closest to each other

you're sweet to everyone despite the hardships you faced and you always look at the world with realism and yet you find a way to appreciate the good and bad

while everyone is concerned about how self aware and aware of the world you are as young as you are, you carved a place in their hearts and you never fail to surprise them with your outlooks on everything around you.

#honkai x reader #honkai star rail x reader #hsr welt #welt yang x reader #welt yang #welt x reader #honkai star rail welt #hsr caelus #caelus x reader #stelle x reader #stelle honkai star rail #hsr march 7th #hsr himeko #honkai himeko #himeko honkai star rail #himeko x reader #caelus honkai star rail

[slattern-femina]

iris

A/N: originally on ao3 Iris - Chapter 1 - hiraethnefarious, lilsmutqueen - Ghost (Sweden Band) [Archive of Our Own]

Dewdrop nearly trips over Phantom when he tries to make his way to the tour bus bathroom at 3am. He should have turned on a light. But he’s a toughened fire ghoul- dammit- he can find his way to the bathroom fine without help. 

Or so he thought. 

“What the-“ he squeaks as his foot catches on the quintessence ghoul’s outstretched leg, and he feels Phantom recoil in on himself like a cat. It’s so dark in the tour bus that all he can really see is Phantom’s huge, watery, violet eyes. 

Dew sighs and reaches over to sort of pat the area where Phantom’s head is. 

“Why are you up this late, kid?” Dew asks gently as he can. 

Phantom can only look at the bunk, with the curtain closed, with their resident water ghoul resting, but soft sobs and pants fill the air. “Rain is crying again,”

Dew frowns, also hating the noises. “Yeah, I know.”

Phantom wide, violet eyes are tearing up. “I don’t like it.” He says bluntly. 

Dew can only nod. “Yeah… bug, I don’t either. I hate hearing him like that,”

Phantom states at the curtain- then at Dewdrop. “Can I stop it?”

“Ugh.. not unless he asks you yet. It’s okay- I think Mountain is with him right now,” Dew states, judging by the two tails curled around each other, slipping out of the bunk. One comes up and slaps him gently on the chin- as if to make him quiet. Definitely Mountain.

“Fucking ouch,” Dew grumbles and holds his cheek, before getting the hint and leaving. “Here come sleep with me,” Dew says to Phantom, and wraps an arm around the younger ghoul, half hauling him to the bunk. They can all be a cuddly group- but Phantom especially. And especially with him. It makes Dew happy; he remembers he was the same way with Aether- who seemed to never know a minute rest when Dewdrop was constantly at his side. 

Phantom waits for Dew to slide in first then he crawls in, tucking his body around the fire ghoul- nearly purring immediately and relishing the heat that radiates off Dewdrop. 

Phantom actually adores cuddling with Rain- even though Rain was a little standoffish, when the young ghoul was summoned. It’s not Phantom’s fault… none of them were good with change and not having Aether was hard. 

But Phantom seemed to spark such an innocent joy, that no one could avoid him for that long. Soon- they were all over Phantom. Well- they’re all over each other, all the time, it just sort of happens when ghouls are in a sort of pack like this. Everyone fucks everyone and everyone loves everyone. Some ghouls just love a bit more. 

Rain has been known to seek out the young ghoul- sometimes just flopping on him in bunks or in his room- and Phantom curls around him like a little, happy, koala. Which is why Phantom hates hearing him crying. 

“Why is he crying?” Phantom asks Dew. 

Dew quiets for a second and thinks, not exactly sure how to explain it. He’s not always the best with words. He can’t really just say; Oh don’t worry- basically he turns into a rabid sex monster for a week and his body is preparing for him that and it hurts him a lot and no one really knows why and he fucks all of us until we literally can’t move. 

No. Be more eloquent than that, Dew- he internally scolds himself. Phantom has never seen this before- he doesn’t understand why his treasured water ghoul is hurting and no one can fix him. 

“Ugh… basically. Um. Do you remember what Swiss was like two weeks ago?” Dew asks Phantom. Phantom nods, and a faint blush appears on his rosy cheeks- as he remembers having Swiss basically tackle him and they fucked for hours- while Dew and Mountain were catching their breaths in the same room. “That’s what is going to happen to Rain- but it’s just… hurts him more preparing for it,”’

“Why?” Phantom scowls at the thought of Rain hurting. 

Dew can only shrug. “Everyone is different I suppose. Bodies and magic work differently in each form,” at Phantom’s still worried, wide eyes, Dew runs his fingers across the ghoul’s pretty jaw, smiling fondly at the sweet boy. “He’ll be okay- he just needs a few knots and he’ll be fine,” Dew jokes. 

Phantom leans into his hand but knits his brows together. “What’s a knot?”

Ah, crap. 

Dew stiffens. Shit. Phantom has never been knotted before. He forgot. Almost everyone wants to do it to him- but they’re waiting for him to decide who he wants to do it with for the first time. 

“Ugh… knot is … um… okay- special? It’s still… fucking just you get stuck together after.” 

Swiss- who Dew swore was asleep- can barely contain himself in the bunk above and pokes his head down into the curtain at Phantom and Dew. Aurora grumbles as he jostles her in the bunk. 

“Jesus Christ , Dewdrop! Couldn’t you be a bit more romantic describing the beautiful experience that is knotting with someone you love?!”

Dew rolls his eyes and swats at Swiss angrily with his tail. “Oh, fuck off.” 

Phantom stares at them. “… stuck together?”

Dew swears cheeks burn- more so than normal- for the fire ghoul. “Yeah- ugh. You’ll understand more when it happens to you,” he stutters and Phantom doesn’t push him anymore. He just stares at Dew with beautiful, big amethyst eyes. 

When Phantom speaks again- his voice is so quiet, Dew can barely hear him. “Will that happen to me? Hurting… like Rain?”

Dew doubts that. If Phantom was going to go feral or rabid or in heat, he would have done it by now. 

“Nah, bug. I think you’re good.” Dew says fondly and ruffles his hair. Phantom curls up and tucks his face into the crook of his neck, purring. 

“Promise?” Phantom asks, looking at him with wide, purple eyes that makes Dew’s insides feel like they flipped. He really is so pretty. 

“Yeah, yeah, promise,” Dew affirms. 

They stay like that for a few minutes. Phantom seems so genuinely worried for Rain- but then he starts to relax and purr. A while later, once there is only calm breathing filling the tour bus, Dew is almost surprised when he feels Phantom’s erection tenting his pants and he has to bite back a laugh and endeared smile spreads over his face. He can’t fix Phantom's sad eyes- but he can make him feel good, right? He likes to think he’s good at that. 

Dew glances up, hearing Swiss’s snores, and Aurora’s steady breaths. Phantom is already pawing at him, pressing needing kisses to the fire ghoul’s neck. Dew carefully maneuvers him, so Phantom is lying under him. Hell– He’s pretty. So pretty. 

“Be quiet, kid, I’ll take care of you—,” his fingers curl around Phantom’s needy erection and the boy jerks against him, breath coming out erratically as he bites his lip to keep himself quiet. 

And then Dewdrop jacks him, hard and fast, and Phantom is unsure if his can remain quiet. Dew is often gentle; but getting off hard is sometimes what Phantom craves and Dew seems to always know when that is. 

Dewdrop’s hand feels a million times better than his own and he was already so, so close being so close to Dew. He really loves the fire ghoul. 

“ Dew ,” he groans, gasping in pleasure when Dewdrop’s head dips down and nips at the junction of his neck, biting down but not hard enough to leave any evidence. The fire ghoul grins against his skin, soaking in all the beautiful sounds he’s making.

“God, baby, you sound so fucking good,” he growls, resisting the urge to grind his hips up against him. He’s not going to “Can you come for me?”

“Shit—Dew— I—,” he pants, legs beginning to shake, his eyes glowing a bright amethyst, and he presses more of his body against Dewdrop to steady himself. 

Purposefully Dewdrop drags his thumb over the head of Phantom’s cock, rubbing into the sensitive slit, and Phantom nearly loses it.

“Dew—!” It almost physically hurts Dew to have to cover the boy's mouth; but he can’t risk waking anyone else up. Or … giving them more fuel to torture him with if they’re already listening. 

“Come for me, baby,” Dewdrop growls, lowly, into Phantom's ear. It’s the last push Phantom needed, mouth opens in a nearly silently scream under Dew’s hand as he finally reaches his orgasm. His eyes roll into his head and Dew nearly loses his goddamn mind. God, this kid is unreal. 

After Phantom finally regulates his breathing- Dew kisses him, slowly, before getting ready to clean him up. 

From the above bunk- Swiss snickers. “That wasn’t a knot!” 

✧.*

In unison- from both Mountain and Dewdrop in their respective bunks- a glorious “Shut the FUCK up!” Rings out in the air. 

In Rain’s bunk- he is nearly curled around Mountain, also panting, and sweating, but not for the same reason as Phantom. Normally Mountain loved seeing him doing that- but not the time. It’s not because of pleasure, that Rain is doing this, it’s because of the unbridled pain he is in. Mountain grimaces and pulls the water ghoul closer to his chest. 

Sure- some of them get… ugh. Well there’s no good way to describe it. Feral, heat.. whatever you want it to be called. Swiss and Cumulus are known to be nearly rabid when it hits them every few months. 

It’s just Rain’s lead up to is always so painful for him. Waves of cramps and fevers rack his body- and especially when they’re on the road with no big bodies of water in sight- it’s difficult for the water ghoul to find any sort of comfort. 

Rain has his face scrunched up; more sweat, and more water, dripping out of his body. Mountain slowly maneuvers around him to fish out his phone - seeing if there were any bodies of water close to them. He has no shame in asking the bus driver to stop and throwing (or gently laying, whichever is more efficient) Rain into water so at least he could have some of his element close to him; but Mountain can only scowl- no water in sight. Just trees and hills. Great for Mountain, awful for Rain.

“I wish I could take you home to the abbey, baby,” Mountain sighs and rubs Rain’s back. 

Rain only grimaces. “Can’t… show,”

Mountain sneers. “Fuck the show. You’re in pain. And I hate it.” But he has to hold a certain resolve, if not for him then for Rain’s sake, since he will only be worse if he thinks Mountain is upset with him. Which of course he isn’t; but the water ghoul isn’t exactly thinking clearly right now. “Okay… just… let me know if you need anything?” Mountain says softly as Rain curls up in his chest- humming in response. 

Somehow- in amazing strength- Rain played the show the next day, without much difference. He was definitely not as mobile as normal- but his skill was still out of this world. Only a few times did he have to duck behind the drum set, behind Mountain, to curse and double over as waves of pain hit him with unrelenting vigor. 

The entire night; Phantom was close to him, barely letting Rain out of his sight for a second. Sometimes; Rain even leaned on him to keep him upright. The fans went insane. 

Inwardly; Phantom was crying because Rain was in so much pain. 

Finally- it's time to go back to the hotel they’re blissfully staying at for two nights- with no show tomorrow. 

It still feels like shit for Rain. But at least there’s a bed and a bathtub. 

On the bus ride there; Rain stayed curled up on Phantom, something about the ghoul makes him feel calm. The rest of them watch closely, as if to jump if they need anything. 

It was not surprising that Ghouls became a pack like this. Being brought into this existence can be a lonely life if you don’t find comfort in your own kin. And here at the Abbey or on the road; they all rely on each other. 

They had pulled into a hotel for the night and the other members wanted to go to the bar- with Rain’s request and approval. There’s really nothing they can do to help him right now. But Phantom refused and came into Rain’s room to help him. 

He starts out so well, he really does. He gets Rain to drink water and eat something, run a bath when epsom salts for him which he soaks in for nearly two hours. 

Phantom even got him heating pads and human meds for his cramps, he holds him as he falls asleep. Will human medication even work? Other substances work- why not those? Well they’re there for Rain if he needs them. 

Phantom really wants his little group to be proud of him, and wants to show he can take care of Rain. He may still be young; but he’s not weak. And he loves Rain a lot. 

For the first few hours he is a good ghoul. But then, later- when Rain is sleeping, Phantom feels restless. Like he’s missing something. So he lets his eyes wander, and spots Mountain’s sweater on the edge of the bed… but it feels out of place. Just slightly, but Phantom notices. And suddenly, it’s all clouds his mind. He very gently wriggles out of Rain’s tight grip, and manages to escape without waking him. 

He goes to the bed and moves the sweater, holding it tightly. 

Would Rain be upset with him for moving it, or touching it? That’s a weird thought to think, Phantom can’t help but to say to himself. 

Rain will have to fix it up anyway if he doesn’t like it, right? Phantom decides he can apologize to Rain later. 

But the next feeling that hits Phantom makes him hiss and his tail snap in discomfort. A burning, aching pain hit his gut. It didn’t do that before. It feels like it knocks his breath out of him, and he shakily reaches for the desk to catch himself. 

He is still holding the sweater so he brings it to his face, inhaling Mountain’s scent. It makes his head a little bit fuzzy. With gentle hands, he folds it and places it on the bed in just the right spot. 

He picks up a blanket without thinking, folds it in half and spreads it over the corner of the mattress. That’s so much cozier, and Rain will like it better like this anyway. Probably. He can’t help but chirp with satisfaction, until another wave hits him and he nearly yelps out in pain. What is happening to him?!

Dew said it wouldn’t hurt- not like Rain hurts. Did Dew lie to him? Why, why would he do that. 

Tears pool in Phantom’s amethyst eyes and he chokes back a sob. 

He forces himself to look at the room and… tidy it. Make it feel… good. Something deep inside him feels settled in a way he can’t describe when it’s down. He basks in the warmth of the nest borders, of the smoothed blankets underfoot. It just feels right… safe.

Or...no, not good. Not safe. 

Not safe?

There’s a door right there, anyone could burst through, and Phantom and Rain’s human made phones still lay on the bed- what if someone tries to call, and wakes Rain? Rain can’t leave their hotel room… it’s not safe. The idea of stepping out of the room right now himself makes Phantom feel terrified and on edge, but he knows he needs to make this room safer for them. 

His eyes slowly draw to the dresser against a connecting wall. That...that could work. It’s not screwed in to the wall like most hotels. He could move it. 

His gaze flips to Rain, still asleep. If he’s asleep, he’s calm, which means Phantom is doing a good taking care of him. He’ll need to be quiet. As silently as he can, he drags the white wardrobe across the hotel room carpet to use as a barricade. It’s heavy- but no worse than a road case.

Once it’s in the spot, pressed against the hotel room door where it will stop anyone bad, at least a little bit. His chest feels so light, his gut hurts so badly...and suddenly, he’s so tired.

He stumbles back to the white hotel bed… and wriggles his way back into Rain’s arms. 

✧.*

When Rain wakes, he feels several things all at once.

Confusion and he feels like he’s going to puke.

Hot. So. Hot.

Like his torso is inflamed.

The pain is something he has to learn to live with, because Rain’s lead up have never been easy. A schedule of pain meds, being submerged in his lake, and heating pads when he isn’t keeps him…Mostly sane, but the pain never fully goes away. He looks down and stiffens as he realizes why he is suddenly so hot. 

The ghoul, cuddled into Rain’s chest, is sweating uncontrollably, pale lavender face scrunched up even in sleep. Is he sick…?

The sweat drips from Phantom’s clammy skin and seeps into Rain’s bed shirt. It’s already soaked.

Then the smell hits Rain. That’s from Phantom too. Rain doesn’t know how he didn’t notice the source of it at first, but it’s so strong. Sweet, but cut with copper- almost like… vanilla? No. He can’t place it. Phantom has never smelled like this before. Most ghoul don’t really have scents aside from when they go feral for a week. Swiss smells like cinnamon. Cumulus smells like honey suckle. 

Rain doesn’t know what he smells like. No one has even really said. Rainwater maybe? That doesn’t really smell like anything. But- that doesn’t matter. He focuses back on his main worry of the absolutely ill looking ghoul on his chest. 

None of the other ghouls even thought for a remote possibility that Phantom would get like this too; feral. And worse- it looks like it pains him, like it does for Rain. 

Rain sighs heavily and puts his hand on Phantom’s head. “Sorry… if it hurts you too,” 

He’s always smelled like… just him. The Sister’s that Phantom had spoken to had just told him that he was just a ghoul with a very weak, probably undetectable smell. That it wasn’t a problem, a lot of ghouls don’t have a strong scent. And yet, here he is, smelling… good? And all Rain wants is to bury his face in his neck.

So what the hell has changed? And why does the ghoul look so illl? The boy is asleep and fisting a handful of Rain’s shirt with white-gripped knuckles, like he’s afraid he might lose Rain if he lets go. Should he wake him?

It takes a second, a wave of cramps hitting with a hiss, before he can gather himself to gently sit up. Phantom doesn’t let go. Rain reaches to the nightstand to see what time it is, to text Mountain.

shit- where’s his phone? He had it earlier to play a game, it must be somewhere here. Maybe Phantom is sleeping on it. 

He glances at the wardrobe to see what time clock reads, only to notice that the dresser has been moved to block the hotel room door. 

Rain is so confused . 

Why would that be pushed there?

What had Phantom been doing while he was sleeping?

His hotel room is completely different, carefully organized and folded clothing in neat lines along the edge of the bed. The change doesn’t bother him really but why would he-

ah

Rain leans down- pressing his nose into Phantom’s neck, breathing slowly. His smell gives him away. The first feral space is always the most instinct-heavy, so these actions aren’t out of the ordinary. His instincts are telling him he needs to make the area safe. Logic isn’t easy when slipping into a feral headspace even for ghouls. 

Rain almost cries out at the next wave of cramping, and his eyes water.

He finally reaches his phone under the sleeping ghoul. Phantom hissing and looking like he’s in pain. 

01:12 am

To: Mountain 

I need you to come back rn. Swiss and Dew too. Dont tell others. Something going on with Phantom

Not thirty seconds later, Mountain responds “ Coming ”

And then- only a minute later-  he strokes Phantom’s hair until the boy drifts. Rain’s pain hits him like an absolute wave and he hisses- his hand stilling, and Phantom starts whining in his sleep, and Rain smells the rusty tinge of pain in his scent. 

His thoughts are interrupted by a knock. “Rain—  It’s us... why won’t the door open?”

Hm. Rain didn’t consider this. There’s still a huge dresser in front of the door, so the three can’t get in that well. “Um... there’s something in front of the door.”

“Huh- what did you say?” Mountain asks, but Rain already has his attention diverted because Phantom snaps up again. He looks dazed, not quite as immediately alert as he was the time previous. Rain stares at Phantom- worried he will start panicking and… yep, there it is. Sure enough it seems to hit the sleepy ghoul, and Phantom’s hands reach for Rain’s shirt. 

“Phantom, you need to let go- I need to move the thing at the door,” Rain tries to say but a wave of pain makes him nearly crumple. Phantom looks startled but then he can hear Mountain outside. He likes Mountain, and Mountain loves Rain, so he should come in. Rain is in pain- so Phantom  will need to move his little barricade. 

Rain groans loudly, holding his stomach, and Phantom gently rubs his back. He knows they’re being loud enough for the ghouls to hear through the door, and they’re probably very confused.

✧.*

Mountain, on the other side of the door, has no clue what’s going on, even with this out-of-context conversation. He’d gotten an urgent text message from Rain and now he and Swiss were panicking, but none of them could open the door, despite Swiss nearly throwing his shoulder against it. 

“What the fuck is against the door!?” Swiss snaps as Mountain tries calling Rain. 

There’s something more there, too. Mountain can smell it even stronger now that he’s outside the room- it smells...it smells… weird? Sweet. It’s not Rain’s scent. Rain smells.. Clean for lack of better words. So where’s the other scent from?

Mountain can hear struggling behind the door, and he presses his ear to it, when a large thump as something is moved. “I... I can’t move it anymore… I’m sorry… Can you get in?” Phantom’s voice is muffled behind the door and Dew feels like something is physically compelling him to bolt through the door to get to him. “Please, I can’t-”

Phantom sounds like he’s sobbing. “Yeah, yeah, we’ll try,” Mountain reassures. He shares a look with Swiss and Dew, who’s just as stressed as he is. 

Dew goes in first, since he's the smallest. He opens the door carefully, and it stops after about a foot- blocked by something heavy. It should be enough room… though Mountain will need to half throw himself in due to his size. First to squeeze through after is Mountain, closely followed by Swiss who fit much easier. 

Dewdrop- who was unusually quiet during this whole event, felt like his heart hadn’t been beating when he read that something was wrong with Phantom. And when he rushed into the room; Swiss hot on his heels, as he saw Phantom curled in the floor, fat tears were rolling down his face, sparkling like crystals, but the pain was so… so obvious. Dew drops to his knees but Phantom flinches and cries as another wave of pain hits him. With every cry; Dew feels like his heart is being torn to shreds. 

“You- you said it wouldn’t- wouldn’t hurt– me” Phantom chokes out in between sobs. Dew is crying now. 

“Christ- kid- I'm sorry, I'm so sorry… I didn’t know it would hit you like this-” Dew can only choke, just running his hands through his sloppy brown curls, but Phantom just looks so devastated. He hates that he looks like that. 

Before Dew can say anything else, Swiss has shoved him away from the quintessence ghoul and has Phantom scooped into his arms, carrying him to the bed, to be laid next to Rain. Rain is, unlike Phantom, completely silent and not moving an inch. But he is biting his lip so hard it spills blood onto his lip. It seems like if he moves, if he makes a sound, he is scared he will be in the same way as Phantom. 

“Rain… baby, hey, can you speak? Is it that bad?” Mountain asks, terrified, at the absolutely and eerily silent and still ghoul. The water ghoul looks ghostly grey, like the blue hue of his skin has been evaporated. 

Dew simply stares as Mountain holds Rain and Swiss is trying to calm Phantom down. Dew feels angry and lost- again. 

Fuck. He hates this feeling. He especially hates the desperate look Phantom had given him with his huge, amethyst eyes, almost pleading for Dew to make this stop; make him feel good, like he always does, to fix this. 

Dew had said it wouldn’t hurt- and he had lied to the one ghoul that trusted him so fully. 

Another cry makes Dew’s heart shatter and he looks at his feet. Dewdrop always fucks things up, doesn't he?

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

3: 04 am 

Finally- after a lot more tears from Phantom and horrible silence from Rain, they end up in a weird pile on the bed; Rain and Phantom in the middle, Mountain lying next to Rain, Swiss behind Phantom, and Dewdrop shoved right in the middle of Rain and Phantom because he acts as a physical heating pad for the cramping that the ghouls are experiencing. 

Swiss is lying on top of Phantom- his hand rubbing the fragile ghoul's back as he whimpers and cries in his sleep and Dew feels like he wants to just keel over and die. Rain is asleep with his head buried into Dew’s neck and his body half sprawled on top of him for the heat he provides. A string from Rain’s hoodie is half in Dew’s mouth but he’s pinned between them- and all he can do- is spiral into pathetic self-pity. 

“Oh - hell- I fucking suck,” he whispers into the void of darkness that he’s staring at. He’s lying straight as a board in between the quintessence and water ghoul, his red eyes simply staring at the ceiling.

“Dew, you don’t suck, but shut up,” Mountain hisses as he glances at Rain to make sure he’s still sleeping soundly. Normally he’d always try to comfort Dew in his moments of self-pity, but Phantom and Rain’s current states make Mountain very anxious and he wants them to sleep. 

Dew barely hears him as he continues rambling. “… I lied to the kid…“ 

“Dew, I will rip your throat out if you wake them up,” Swiss snarls quietly. “You didn’t lie. You didn’t know .” 

Dew is crying again. His tears fell into Rain’s cheek; making the water ghoul’s face scrunch. Swiss notices and hisses as Dew continues crying. “… And the kid trusted me and now he’s crying and…“ 

“Dew, I swear-“

“And did you see him?! He was in so much pain, I should have known-“

Swiss growls and it knocks Dew out of his self-pity for a minute. “But none of us knew. He didn’t show any signs like Rain does, he wasn’t moody or sore, and he was just himself like normal. It came out of nowhere,” Swiss whispers- still trying to comfort Dew, his love for him still trumping his annoyance that he may wake up the two sleeping ghouls.  Swiss focuses on Phantom again and rubs the boys’ sloppy brown curls off his face as he says this; feeling an endearing adoration blossom in his chest for Phantom and Rain all over again. Swiss loves everyone. But Phantom and Rain are just… special, not just to him, but to everyone in the pack. 

“Maybe being around Rain… sort of… pushed it? I don’t know. Maybe their magic just sort of… melded and Phantom was pushed into this state earlier than he should have…? Actually, scratch that, I really have no idea what I’m saying,” Mountain mumbles out loud, defeatedly. He does remember how much Phantom was glued to Rain’s side lately, but tonight especially. Mountain mentioned maybe calling Aether for advice, but they haven’t gotten to do it yet. 

As if he can sense they’re talking about him, Phantom whimpers and his face scrunches in his sleep and he turns, burying fully into Dew, his arms wrapped around the fire ghoul- and he cries in his sleep. Dew wants to just… fix this. But he can’t. So he just lies there while Phantom almost looks like he’s trying to envelope himself inside of the fire ghoul for comfort. 

A soft voice breaks through the air. “…. Mmm…. Pizza,”

Swiss, Mountain, and Dew all snap their heads to look at each other to see if they just heard right. 

“Did he just say pizza?” Swiss whispers. 

“Maybe he’s dreaming about it? I mean I dream about pizza all the time,” Dew adds. 

Mountain huffs, his arm still wrapped around Rain. “Dew- stop saying you dream about pizza-“

Rain’s eyes finally fly open and he cracks his beautifully calm and still façade of control he was holding on to. He was in and out of sleep this entire time, but the pizza comment woke him up completely. 

“Oh my fucking god, all three of you shut the fuck up and get him his fucking pizza!” Rain finally snaps the anger part of his lead up seeming to have kicked in. Mountain nearly rolls off the bed in surprise at Rain’s sharp voice. 

Mountain turns and cradles Rain’s face while the water ghoul looks like he might rip his head off- or seems to still be weighing the consequences. 

“Hey- what do you need? Bath?” Mountain asks but Rain looks at Swiss this time and his watery blue eyes prove that he wants Swiss to run the bath and take care of him, which is a typical request he has during his feral lead-ups. He’s not sure why - maybe it’s because Swiss makes him laugh when he’s feeling so miserable. 

Swiss gets it immediately and gestures for Mountain to switch places with him, so the giant earth ghoul can cuddle beside Phantom- so the boy is protected by both him and Dew. 

Ironically- despite being a bit shorter- Swiss can easily carry Rain, even with the water ghoul's gangly long limbs. He's so lithe and agile, that most of the ghouls can carry Rain if the situation warrants it. He scoops him up out of the bed and carries him to the bathroom quickly. 

The bathroom is pearly white; a jar of Epsom salts still sitting at the edge of the claw foot bathtub. Swiss carefully perches Rain on the edge of the tub, and turns the water on, so steamy hot water begins flowing into the tub. 

“How bad is it hurting, Rainbow?” Swiss asks him as he gently shrugs off the water ghouls damp shirt, then his black joggers.��

Rain just shakes his head- unable to vocalize his answer. His lower lip is nearly mangled with blood from him biting it to stop him from screaming. 

Swiss dumps the Epsom salts into the tub and swirls it with his hand before gently leaning Rain into it. 

Swiss grins at Rain, coyly. “Hey, Rain?” 

“Hm?”

“Want to hear a joke?”

“No.” Rain responds. A total lie. Of course, Rain wants a joke; that’s the whole reason he wants him involved in the first place. 

Swiss grins at Rain's petulance as he grabs the water ghoul's tail and tucks it into the water. “Why was the octopus laughing?”

“Shut up,” 

“Because he had ten tickles. Get it? Like tentacles,” Swiss says, with soft glee. 

“Just let me drown.” Rain deadpans. He knows he can’t drown. And he secretly loves Swiss’s jokes. 

Swiss cradles the back of Rain’s head until the water ghoul is completely submerged in the water. He much rather put him in a lake or ocean- but this is the closest thing they have. 

Swiss curses at the whole situation. He gets feral too- why couldn’t he just have all this fucking pain? Why didn’t it go to him- why did it have to torture Rain and now Phantom too?! 

Swiss curses his biology. 

Swiss has a theory though. He isn’t sure if it’s true but he half wonders if Rain and Phantom might be able to… carry kits. No one really knows a ton about how it works, their biology. But maybe that’s why it hurts. But in the end, no one really knows. It hasn’t happened yet to Rain. 

Or he doesn’t think it has. 

Or… if it did happen, and he lost a kit, he never mentioned it. Which is unfortunately a frightening option. Rain is notorious for still hiding his emotions from the pack and has been known to be cooped up for days in his room sometimes, refusing to let anyone in or tell them what’s wrong. Swiss always feared and wondered why- but anytime he tried to bring this up with Rain, it was like the water ghoul would shut down mentally and it took a lot of care to get him to open back up. Swiss didn’t want to force him to do that anymore or talk about anything emotionally heavy, it seemed so mentally exhausting for the water ghoul. 

Swiss looks at Rain and debates asking him about his theory, for lack of better words. But no. It’s not the right time. Rain is already hurting too much. 

Rain settles into the tub; his aching body is so happy to be in his element. He sighs and lets himself nearly submerge right away, even though his gangly limbs stick out of the tub a bit- but his face is covered by water. 

Swiss watches him as he submerges his face in the tub and Rain wraps his tail around his wrist as a thank you. 

But in the water there; Rain is feeling angry. At everything. His body, his magic, how much Phantom is hurting… all of it. The weight of it all sits on his shoulders. 

And he knows he needs Dewdrop right now. Dew is feeling like shit right now. And a soak in the tub would help the former water ghoul too. 

“Can you send Dew in please?” Rain mumbles. He hears a flurry of movements when he says this- as if Dew was listening in on them too. Despite Phantom whining at the loss of the fire ghoul and the subsequent hurried sound of kisses and apologies, Dewdrop comes in and immediately knows what the water ghoul wants from him. 

Swiss gives Rain’s horns a rub before he stands and returns to the bedroom. He shuts the bathroom door on his way out so they can have privacy and dims the lights in the bathroom so only a soft glow is cast on the bathtub. 

Dew is awestruck as he enters the bathroom, as he can only look at Rain for a moment and marvel at how beautiful he is; in the low-lit yellow glow of the tub as he floats in his element. 

Dewdrop sheds his sweater and jeans on the floor, before going to the tub, climbing in behind Rain. The feeling of the water, his former element, still calms him. He’ll never quite understand why they took his water element away from him, but he's glad he still finds serenity in its depths. He wraps his arms around Rain’s lithe shoulders and buries his face into the ghoul's soft curls with a sigh. 

Rain leans back into Dewdrop- before one of his hands reaches up, ghosting over the scars where Dew’s gills once were on his neck. Dewdrop never lets anyone touch them- only Rain. Sometimes when they’re fucking, Rain will press slow- deliberate kisses onto Dew’s scars, enough that makes the fire ghoul cry. But never enough to ask him to stop. 

Occasionally, especially during the lead-up to his heat, Rain muses over the idea that he is suffering because of what happened to Dew… What Rain’s role could be in why they changed him from water ghoul to fire? Dew never told him directly what happened, but Mountain admitted it one night when they were talking in the kitchen. 

Rain can’t stop thinking about the event; how Dew was dragged to Sister Imperator's office; how they chanted over him, how much he screamed as they burned his element from his small body. He spent months in his room in the abbey-  trying to learn to breathe through the smoke and fire suddenly coursing through his veins, as his gills had been burned off. It must have been terrifying; to be shredded apart and then put back together as a new firey being; and to Rain’s knowledge, no one ever offered Dewdrop an explanation as to why. 

“ ‘Suffering can refine us rather than destroy us because the Creator himself walks with us in the fire’… that’s the only thing they told him,” Mountain admitted to Rain that night with teary eyes. 

Rain doubts Dew will never forget that sentence. Apparently- the Sister Imperator chanted it like a prayer. It likely haunts him to this day. 

During his inner tirade, Rain hisses audibly, making Dew raise a brow at him. Rain hates what they did to his Dew. He would rather have not been summoned at all; if Dewdrop could have been spared that. But he wasn’t. Neither of them was spared the pain- and now Rain feels like the universe is making him pay for the sins of others because if he was never summoned maybe Dewdrop could have been protected. 

Rain turns in the tub places a quick kiss on Dew’s chest and shuts his eyes, arms wrapping tightly around Dew’s as they hold him in the water. Dew’s bare skin against his is the best feeling in the world.

Rain whimpers when his stomach cramps painfully, his tail spiralling and sending a splash of water in his face. Dew looks at him worriedly. 

“What’s wrong?” Dew fuses, “Do you need more meds or—“

“My stomach,” Rain lies flat on his back against Dew to try and get a better, more comfortable, position.“It hurts.”

Dew’s hand is already on his stomach, massaging it. His hot fingers splay over Rain’s abdomen and the ghoul sighs in the water, “Better?”

“A little, yeah.” Rain whispers. His stomach is cramping and his head felt like it was going to explode. What worries Dew is how he is breaking out into a fever; going from being ice cold and then being boiling hot, even in the water. 

“I’m sorry for how much this hurts you, baby,” Dew says quietly against the water ghoul's neck. 

Feral headspace seems to grip Rain as tears still come out of his eyes. “I deserve it. If I didn’t get summoned… they never would have hurt you. I don’t wanna do this anymore… it hurts too much-“

Rain's words make Dew tighten around him instinctively and the fire ghoul's heart stops. 

The weight of the words settles on Dew’s shoulders as he realizes what Rain’s saying. He’s leaning in before he can stop himself, pulling Rain into a fierce embrace in the tub, his body drawing close around the sobbing ghoul, as tightly as he can. “Don’t you fucking dare. Don’t say that. I need you here, we all need you here. I would go through that shit 100 fucking times, let them turn me into whatever if it meant having you. Fuck, I… Rain-Don’t even think about that, okay?”

When Rain doesn’t stop crying, Dew manages to maneuver himself in the tub so he’s still sort of cradling the naked ghoul but can look him in his watery, wide blue eyes. Rain really is so beautiful; even when his skin is still grey with fever and the blue of his body is not as dark as it should be. Dew gently brushes his fingers over Rain’s gills, which makes the water ghoul shudder and look at him. “Rain- look at me, baby, please… you were worth all of the pain I went through. And I’d do it all over again for you. All of it. You hear me? You are worth everything. And you don’t deserve this pain at all. Okay?” Dew says, urgently, his hands holding Rain’s face. 

Rain doesn’t answer just drop against Dew’s neck in the tub. The water was starting to cool- but Dew was so worked up that it immediately began to heat up again, causing more steam to rise. 

“Don’t leave… Dew,” Rain mumbles exhaustedly, his eyes fluttering shut as his strength leaves him again. 

Dew kisses the base of his horns and digs his face into Rain’s hair. He smells good. Sweet. “I’m not letting you out of my sight- Rainbow. You’re staying right here with me, okay?” Dew soothes, and Rain nods.

✧.*

Outside; it sounds like Swiss and Mountain are ordering Phantom’s pizza- and he can hear the boys’ tired, but happy chirps at the idea of food. That’s good- and Dew will need to get Rain to eat too. 

After the pizza was ordered- Swiss finally had time to think about this whole thing. 

Swiss loved everyone. That was his curse and blessing. He loved everyone deeply. When those he loves hurt, Swiss hurts with them. 

The thing about Rain and Phantom is everyone just sort of adored them more than most. It was likely because of Rain's pain, and Phantom’s sweet innocence; everyone felt drawn to and protective over them naturally. 

Swiss sits with Phantom, cradling the still distraught and confused ghoul to his chest, as Mountain lies on Phantom’s stomach- trying to add pressure to counteract the cramping. 

Finally, a small voice breaks the silence. “What’s it like?” Phantom asks as he grips Swiss shirt with white knuckles. 

Swiss glances at him. “What’s what like?” 

Phantom has a tear running down his cheek. “This… feral.. the- pain?”

Swiss frowns, pressing his head against the quintessence ghoul's sweaty forehead. “It doesn’t hurt for me. It’s just… you feel… ugh, desperate and empty and one thing can fill it. You’re sort of in one-head space. Like how I couldn’t keep my hands off you- it’s just… like that,”

“So— that’s what knots are for?” Phantom pieces together. 

Swiss nods to encourage him to ask more questions. 

Phantom seems to be thinking; his amethyst eyes looking at the dark ceiling and his lilac brows knitting together. “Do you knot with only one person forever?”

“You can. Or with anyone you want to. Normally it’s… someone you love especially. It’s how you show them you love them,” Swiss says, fondly. 

Phantom nods slowly. “Do you knot?”

“Yes,”

“With or from people…?” Phantom inquires loudly. 

“Both.” 

At the answer- both Swiss and Mountain suddenly stiffen, knowing where this is leading. It happens almost in slow motion as Mountain swears and grips Phantom’s waist; as the boy begins to cry. 

“Why has no one... ever wanted to knot me?” Phantom asks with hurt etched into his pretty features and Swiss feels like his gut was punched. 

“Oh… bug, no…. We all… we all would have done that with you. For you- or have it done by you. But we didn’t want you to feel pressured. We were waiting for you to tell us you wanted it. And for… you to tell us who you wanted it from first.” Swiss tries to say- but his words are lost on the feral idled mind of a ghoul who is spiraling. 

Phantom, who’s always too loving, too happy, and feels just too much- look at him with wide, watery amethyst eyes. “No… no . None of you even told me about it. None of you wanted to do it with me,” he cries out; any logic leaving his feral idled brain- leaving him feeling absolutely unwanted, uncared for, and unloved by those he loved so much. 

Swiss pulls him closer- cursing- at seeing the boy like this. It breaks whatever heart he has. “Bug- no, I’m sorry we should have talked to you about this, told you what it was- we let you down, I’m sorry,” 

At his intense and urgent whispers- Mountain is clutching Phantom so tightly one of his ribs might break; unsure what he can add to comfort… because he can’t. Phantom is right- no one told him, asked him… no one did anything .

Mountain buries his head into the boy's back- wishing… he could just make him feel okay. 

It wasn’t only the knots that were making Phantom cry; apparent when Phantom’s fingers grazed over the soft bite mark on Swiss’s neck. 

Ah .  

They all have mating bites on their necks- multiple. It’s done in the most intense moment of love and passion and their devotion to each other. 

They all have scars from their mates' bites, carrying the love with them wherever they go. 

Except Phantom, whose pretty, freckled lavender neck- is completely untouched. He’s noticed- but seemed to never ask about it. Likely he was waiting for one of them to do it for him… but no one ever bothered to even mention it. 

They all fucked him all the time, leaving him panting and flustered, never bothering to knot or bite him; and never bothering to tell him why they weren’t doing it. Of course, he felt confused. 

As Phantom sobs, the alarm clock on the bedside table begins shaking violently before exploding next to Swiss. Both Mountain and Swiss jump and look at it; shocked at the potential power Phantom might process. But with no time to dwell on it, they return to trying to calm the hysterical ghoul. 

Swiss and Mountain cuddle the sobbing ghoul and both internally curse themselves for letting it get to this point that the boy feels so unloved when that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Rain and Dew sit in the tub for nearly another twenty minutes; completely obviously to the world outside them. Rain has switched positions, so his longer body is positioned behind Dewdrop- supporting the tiny fire ghoul's hot body. It soothes him- despite the exhaustion and pain he’s experiencing, he runs his hands through Dew’s long, tangled blond hair, working out the knots; still sweaty from the performance the night before. 

It’s the smell of pizza that finally lures them out of their little sanctuary. Dew perks up right away. He should be a pizza ghoul at this point. 

Dew stands first, not bothering to offer to dry Rain because the water ghoul prefers his skin to be wet. He cuddles with Dew, his entire body engulfing the fire ghoul like a blanket. 

Dewdrop can’t help but snort. “Ha. You feel like a wet blanket,” 

Rain huffs. “No ‘m not,” he protests weakly- his voice muffled by Dew’s head. 

When Rain finally walks out of the bathroom- his instincts flip and he’s hit by a very sour scent, and a very uncomfortable feeling. He immediately looks over and sees Phantom, sobbing, feverish, and throwing up into a waste paper basket on the floor- after Swiss and Mountain tried to feed him.

Rain growls. Actually growls. 

Swiss, Mountain, and Dew all stare at him.

It even catches Rain off guard when he does that. He has no idea why he growled; he doesn’t usually growl that deeply ever. But all he sees is Phantom, in pain, sick and no one taking care of him properly and there’s a deep need in Rain to protect him. 

“Get away from him,” Rain snarls. 

That definitely catches Swiss, Mountain, and Dewdrop off guard. The three of them stiffen and look at each other unexpectedly- but when Rain growls again- they do what he says and slowly step into a huddle by the bathroom door. 

“This is weird- I’ve never seen him so instinct-heavy,” Dewdrop whispers. 

“Is this even feral? What would this be called?” Mountain muses out loud. 

Swiss grunts. “Oh, for fuck sake, brainiacs- of course this is feral… ugh… something. Rain just never exhibited this behaviour around anyone else before because maybe he didn’t need to…?”

Before Dewdrop and Mountain can ask what he means; a glaring look from Rain makes all three of them tumble into the bathroom, shutting the door, so Rain and Phantom can have some time alone.  

Behind the door- their faint voices can be heard. 

“… Damn it… we should have grabbed the pizza-“

“… Dew - I swear-“

Rain grumbles and pulls Phantom off the floor, and into the bed, ignoring the voices. He sees the shattered remains of the alarm clock. 

Huh . That’s weird. 

Rain adjusts them, so Phantom is straddling him, needing the closeness for himself as much as Phantom might need it. Once Phantom is firmly placed in his hold, he sighs and drops back onto the bed, almost boneless, and Phantom climbs to lay on top of him, his body weight providing nice pressure to soothe the older ghouls' pains. Phantom is barely talking anymore; seemingly exhausted, his cheeks still tear-stained. 

Rain can’t explain the possessive feeling he has over Phantom right now. Sure he’s always liked him, everyone did. They cuddled and fucked but this is different. Instinctual and powerful. Rain doesn’t have many words for him, just holds him tightly, their tails wrapping together and Rain buries his face into Phantom’s sloppy curls. 

“I’m so sorry you’re hurting,” Rain murmurs. It’s the only thing he can say. And he wishes he could take it all away. 

“They didn’t… you didn’t want me,” 

The voice is so quiet, it’s barely a whisper. Rain piques and leans down- having trouble hearing the boy through his muffled voice against his shirt. 

“What?” Rain asks. 

“Bite… knot… none of you ever wanted to do it with me,” Phantom cries into his shirt and Rain feels like a pile of bricks falls on him. 

Fuck . 

He never even thought about that- he always assumed one of the other ghouls told Phantom about their instincts. And Rain had… a lot of other things he needed to focus on, at a personal level, before thinking about Phantom’s knowledge of knots or mating bites. Maybe before- he would have been too guarded and cold to even act like he cared. Though he did care; deeply. But he didn’t always let himself show it. 

But now- with this intense protection suddenly blossoming in Rain, he feels like a true failure. 

Rain feels tears in his eyes. He fails so often. More than he ever dares admit to his pack. 

And, now, he failed Phantom too.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Rain always liked learning about things. 

He loved learning about the fish and wildlife in his lake, and the rocks that dotted the shore. He loved looking at books in the library- filling his head with knowledge he never really would need but likes to have. He’d sit, perched in the library window for hours, reading page after page, especially while it rained out. 

He liked hearing Cumulus’s favourite joke- over and over again- learning curves and lines of the excitement etched on her face when she said it. 

He liked learning how to cook Mountain’s favourite food. 

He liked learning about Papa’s views on life. 

He really liked learning how reactive Dewdrop is when he kisses his scarred, former, gills for the first time. 

And in this moment; as he holds Phantom in the hotel room, still battling with his feelings of intense disappointment and letting the boy down- he is still captivated by the idea of learning about Phantom. He wants to learn his reactions and his favourite places to be touched, wants to learn everything he can about his bug. 

His… ?

Rain doesn’t normally call Phantom his. Actually- he never has. But now it’s all he can think about. How the quintessence ghoul is his . Phantom fits into Rain so well. He is moulded against his body like he was made to be there.

Rain is still feeling the crippling anguish, from failing Phantom. He holds the boy tightly against him. When Phantom starts whimpering against him and feeling feverish in his hold, Rain’s instincts begin taking over and any rationality in the water ghoul's mind fades away. 

Phantom pushes himself closer, pawing at Rain’s clothes- whining. Rain tries to settle him by petting his hair and gently kissing his forehead but Phantom is restless, and losing his composure quickly. Compelled by his need to please the quintessence ghoul- Rain wants to undress Phantom, and himself, to get skin-on-skin contact. He always finds that skinship calms his feral mind- he hopes the same for Phantom. He drags his fingers from Phantom’s soft curls, down the nape of his neck, up over his Adam's apple and then around his collarbones over the neck of his worn, grey t-shirt. Rain recognizes it to be one of Dew’s old shirts, oversized and large, despite how small Dew is. 

The younger ghoul goes still at the touch- almost pliant. His breathing goes steady and he starts relaxing back into the pillow on the bed. 

“ Good boy ,” Rain praises against his ear- making Phantom whine under him. 

Rain continues his downward path- dragging his nails- on the arm furthest from him. He starts on Phantom’s shoulder, where his shirt rests on the skin on his arms, and then down his inner forearm. This causes Phantom to shiver and a deep purr settles in the boy's chest. And Rain hisses in satisfaction- Rain's feral mind is overtaking him, just as fast as Phantoms. He grabs the quintessence ghoul’s lavender hand now and brings it to his lips. He places soft kisses on each knuckle, pressing empathy and support into Phantom’s skin. Rain hears his breath and purrs get caught in his throat, the boy's body arching a bit already. 

 Phantom's reactions to such small gestures are driving Rain crazy . He moves to the hem of Phantom's shirt and pulls it from his body, swiftly. The quintessence ghoul is so out of it, that it takes him a minute to lift his torso to help Rain remove the shirt- more wines escaping his throat. Rain watches Phantom’s shirt peel off his body- leaving his curls tousled and his wide eyes blinking slowly. 

He's ethereal . 

His violet eyes, wet, distant, and almost sleepy in his instinct to submit to someone taking care of him. Phantom whines again- craving more skin, and Rain is eager to please. Instead of letting himself dwell on the boy’s exposed body, his hands go to his black sweatpants- and Rain immediately pushes down both his pants and underwear. 

The water ghoul’s whole body freezes when he notices a spot on Phantom's thigh. He recognizes it but has never seen it there before. Like two upside-down triangles, delicately on top of each other, faded, like an old stick and poke tattoo after years of weathering. 

He has a similar marking on his hip…that’s weird. But Phantom’s whine; forces his attention back to the boy. Forcing himself to keep moving, and remove the rest of Phantoms and his own clothes. He gets back on the bed where his lips immediately meet the feverish skin of Phantom's neck. The ghoul hasn't stopped purring and is now gripping Rain's back. His hands do not stay in any one place, just digging his nails into Rain's skin, on his back, his shoulders, then down to press his thumbs around his hips. This surprises a moan out of Rain's mouth. Phantom touching the mark on his hip sent electricity and clarity right through him.

"Woah…" Phantom breathes into the air above Rain's head. 

Rain feels a rush of heat and groans. "Did you feel that?"

Phantom gulps a breath of air. " Yeah . Wow." 

Rain curses under his breath. This is good. Fuck . 

"One second, tell me how this feels?" Rain leans back to sit on his heels and then reaches down to touch the mark on Phantom's thigh. He barely touches it, when Phantom arches off the bed and lets out a whimpery moan. 

" Beautiful ," Rain rasps, doubting the other ghoul even heard him. 

"More… I need more- " Phantom starts begging softly and Rain thinks where his mark being touched shocked him into clarity, Phantom's has made him even more desperate. 

Rain whimpers this time. "More what, baby? Want me to touch you more?"

"Just closer, want you closer," Phantom cries. He's pulling Rain's arm and shoulder towards him so Rain falls forward onto Phantom. He doesn't even let Rain adjust his position, just wraps his arms and legs around him. His face is buried in Rain's neck and his mouth is opened- and his lips and tongue are latching onto the heated, sweet-smelling skin there. Rain sallows hard and lets his head fall back reflexively, baring his neck for Phantom. But when Rain feels teeth- his eyes snap open- and clarity comes back, albeit fleeting. He knows he needs to push Phantom away. This is where they already fucked everything up and Rain needs to start fixing this. 

Rain feebly paws at Phantom, trying to be clear, but the heat in his face and body makes it difficult. " Baby , baby, stop…”

"Don't wanna'" Phantom slurs into his skin.

Rain pushes more firmly, "No,” he says- despite Phantom’s cries. “Bug, we need to talk first..." 

Phantom finally relents with a whine and lifts his sad eyes to meet Rain's intense gaze. 

Rain takes his pretty face in his hands, making sure he looks Phantom in the eyes. "You were getting really close to doing something important. I know your instincts are going crazy—,” When Phantom whines, Rain tightens his grip on his chin.  “But please , I need to ask if you know what you were going to do with my neck?" 

Tears well in Phantom’s eyes, as his brain processes what he is thinking, and feeling, before he answers in a hoarse, choking voice. “I wanted to bite you… You smell so good, and I want to… to taste you. Is it bad ? Did I do something wrong? Should I not bite you? Isn't that how you guys have those marks? I want marks too, Rain— Why doesn't anyone want my marks? Or leave their marks on me ? Am I not good enough?! I-I’m sorry I was summoned here… and threw off the band… when Aether left. I’m sorry I was forced to join your pack." Phantom sobs into Rain’s hands. Tears are streaming down his flushed cheeks and his words are shattering Rain’s heart. 

Rain’s words nearly pour out of him- scrambling to fix this- make his bug feel okay. " No - no. That’s not… I’m sorry that’s not what it is at all. Of course, I want your mark, Phantom... You're the sweetest… sweetest creature I’ve, we’ve , all met. You're just… so precious, that none of us wanted to take advantage of your kindness and innocence. We didn't want to take more than you wanted to give,” Rain says and Phantom sobs more, at the idea that no one wanted him, and Rain continues, desperately. “That was so stupid of me. We were all so stupid. I can't… can’t apologize or make up with you in place of everyone, but I want your mark. I want to have those pretty fangs imprinted on my skin. But I need you to want to do it to me. Not just … feral you. Not just instincts. I need you to want to do it,”  Rain is desperate to make Phantom understand his love for him and understand the seriousness of this choice. 

Phantom is eyeing him nearly suspiciously, but the look falls when his fingers come up and graze over Rain’s mating bite. “… Really? You promise you mean that?" Phantom's wide eyes are still trying to find any lies in Rain's actions.��

Rain cradles Phantom's face between his palms and places the first soft kiss on his slack lips, wanting him more than anything. Rain whispers, “Please bring us as close as you want, bug. I'll do whatever you want." Phantom's tail slowly drags over Rain's thigh and wraps around his waist. 

Phantom is breathing heavily and pulls Rain closer, holding onto his pale blue shoulders. "Come closer and show me the best way to bite you okay? Maybe… Maybe you could do it first so I know what to do?" 

Rain blinks at him. At what he’s asking. "Of course, bug..."

Rain’s hands travel from Phantom's cheeks and bury themselves in Phantom's hair. Phantom moans when Rain's fingers get caught in his curls and force his head to tilt back. He always did love having his hair and horns pulled- Swiss, always loves doing that at random times, making the boy whine and pant even when they’re all having dinner. 

As the boy writhes under his hand- Rain can't help but smile at his willingness. Rain has a soft, buzzing feeling and he is not used to having such a calm, soft experience during his pre-feral times. He’s normally so sore, so angry, so desperate. But now, it’s like something in Phantom and forging their bond is calming them. The pain is still there but more bearable, almost like they are sharing it rather than fighting against it and their instincts. They were meant to share this together… Rain is convinced. Phantom is his- he was made for him. 

With that in mind, Rain lays his body flat over Phantoms. The boy is hot under him, his body feeling like pure magic. They are aligned from knees to hips, to chest, and Phantom's head is pushed into the pillows. Rain’s mouth is at Phantom's neck- breathing heavily, making the quintessence ghoul’s neck erupt in goosebumps. Neither ghoul is still, both bodies feeling insanely restless to complete the bond. Their hips are moving in a slow grind, neither realizing how hard they are until the small movements force soft sounds out of both of them. 

"Ready, baby?" Rain whispers into his neck, feeling like he can’t hold back any other. His fangs are dragging over Phantom’s skin already. 

A keening whine sounding vaguely like a drawn-out ‘yes’ is the only reply he hears. He presses one… two… three soft kisses into his neck before opening his mouth and sinking his sharp fangs into the pale, violet skin. 

The sensation explodes between them. Phantom screams - loud- while his whole body arches under Rain. Rain can feel him shake and spasm, knowing he's probably just cum between their naked bodies- spilling onto their stomachs. The bond doesn't have to be made through sex, but in this feral state, his body is forced through everything and honestly, it's beautiful . Rain is getting desperate to feel his bond with Phantom solidify when Phantom bites him back- he needs it, fucking desperately, he needs it. He holds Phantom while he rides out his orgasm and feels the mind-numbing sensation of the bond. 

Once Phantom stops shaking and panting, and goes slack beneath him, Rain lifts his head and pushes Phantom's hair out of his eyes- needing him. "You okay, bug?” Rain asks as he licks at the bite- dutifully lapping up the blood on his neck. 

"Yeah," Phantom pants- his neck craning to give Rain more access to his neck. 

Rain looks at him, tilting his head already… he wants that bite. "Still… still want to try? On me?”

The words are barely out of his mouth before Phantom whines and kisses him. " Yes !" Phantom exclaims. 

With unexpected enthusiasm and strength, Phantom pushes Rain to his back and straddles his hips. Rain is a little surprised but immediately turns his head, exposing his throat, and holding his breath in anticipation. Phantom uses his fingers to gently explore Rain's neck, picking his spot among the other marks already there. When firm fingers push his chosen spot, Rain moans and his body shivers. This must encourage Phantom because the next thing he knows is he feels breath on his neck, warm lips on his skin, then- 

Fuck . 

The flood of…. everything that is the younger ghoul. He feels his body lock up, he's probably cumming like Phantom did, but this is better than any orgasm. Is he screaming too? He doesn’t know, doesn’t care. He holds Phantom close, even after his body falls back to the bed. Phantom is lapping at his neck, licking the blood, kissing the bite mark. Phantom is praising him, saying how much he loves him, how good he is, against Rain’s ear. He also kisses away the tears Rain didn’t realize he was crying. By the time the bond is fully formed and he comes back to himself; he hears voices in the bathroom over the ringing in his ears. 

✧.*

Protect. Hurt. Scared.

The only thought running through Dewdrop’s mind is he has to get to Phantom. He has to. 

“We need to get out there, fuck!” Dewdrop is nearly screaming- pushing his body against Swiss- who was nearly standing in front of the bathroom door like a barricade. 

Dew and Mountain are nearly rabid to get out of the bathroom and back to the bedroom. Swiss, still the only one with any sort of logic left- snarled at them to keep them back. 

“Dew- no . Rain doesn’t want us there. We have to respect that,” Swiss snaps- his voice a higher whisper, trying to not alert Phantom or Rain. 

“They screamed. I heard it. Swiss, move,” Mountain snarls. His mossy green eyes open in surprise. Mountain is always gentle and soft-spoken- especially with Swiss, and he is surprised at the surge of anger he feels towards the multi-ghoul. But Mountain wants to get through that door, now . 

Dew is also nearly losing his mind in the bathroom. He's trying to respect Rain, like Swiss said, and let him help Phantom - but right now, Dew’s instincts are stronger than ever. 

He's never felt like this before. He needs to see Phantom- and hold him. Satan knows he doesn't deserve it but every inch of him is screaming to be near Phantom. When he heard Phantom scream- his heart shattered. Swiss- who is stronger than most- held both his arms out- and kept Dew and Mountain at bay, just barely.  He wants to be out there just as badly but he knows Rain will let them know when he wants them back. 

It’s a mere moment later, when Rain finally calls out, like he heard Mountain’s heated words.  “It’s- it’s okay- you can come out,” 

Dew almost breaks down the door in his haste to get out trampling Swiss in the process. Mountain is hot on his tail and, Swiss follows behind, shocked at the others' intense reaction. 

Mountain reaches Rain first- his large hands on the water ghoul’s hazy face, as he sees the bloody bite mark on his neck- then Mountain looks at Phantom, putting the pieces together. The screaming, the panting. 

“Oh, fuck. They…” Mountain begins, but Rain’s whimper brings his attention back to him.

Swiss is next to Phantom, examining his bloody neck. “Shit- bug- did you… did you ask for that?” Swiss whispers and Rain looks at him, wide and watery blue eyes, at the insinuation he would have bit him without consent, breaking through his feral headspace for a minute. 

Phantom is crying and looks at Dewdrop; the fire ghoul hovering by the side of the bed but still not touching him. 

Phantom stares at Dew- desperate, longing. Why… why won’t he touch him?!

But it’s like something in Dew is preventing him from moving. He doesn’t deserve Phantom. He used him, fucked him, never bothering to even knot or mate him. He should have known better. It should have been his teeth on Phantom first. No one else’s. 

Swiss looks at Dew. “Fuck sakes, Dewdrop. Please don’t do this to him,”   

Dew takes a step back- his hands up as he fights against every single urge in his body to shove Swiss, off Phantom, and gather the boy in his arms. He has to cover his mouth and nose with his hand, trying to stifle Phantom's sweet vanilla scent as it makes his head spin. He forces himself to take another step back- and Swiss growls, kneeling over Phantom. 

“I c-can’t… I don’t deserve him- you take care of him,” Dew forces out, his voice muffled from his hand. Phantom hears this and lets out a cry. 

“Dewdrop- fuck - just-“ Swiss begins but Phantom sobs loudly, interrupting him. Rain shudders at the sobs- blindly- reaching for Phantom, even as Mountain has begun to press fevered kisses to the water ghoul’s jaw.  

“ Dew , please… why don’t you want me?!” Phantom sobs and reaches for him. The sight of the naked quintessence ghoul, eyes blown open, feverish and desperate reaching for him, wanting him, sobbing for him. 

Swiss, sitting on top of Phantom, is shaking now. He hates seeing Phantom like this. And hates seeing Dew being so stubborn. Happiness has never come to Dewdrop easily- and Swiss can see the pure joy and adoration that Dew has when he so much as looks at Phantom, let alone, when he touches him. And Dew is denying himself that- because of some damn, selfish, self-pity. 

But, Swiss knows yelling won’t help right now. It’ll only upset Phantom, Rain… honestly all of them. Swiss grabs the fire ghoul's free hand and looks at him almost pleadingly. “Dew… he doesn’t want me right now. He doesn’t need me. He needs you,” Swiss clarifies gently. 

It’s not often Dew just… freezes. But he stares at Phantom, knowing he… shouldn’t. He should walk away, he doesn’t deserve Phantom, he didn’t treat him well, and he- 

“Dew- Dew , I need you, please,” Phantom finally sobs, from the bed, staring at him with watery, desperate amethyst eyes. 

With that, any self-control Dew has, any self-restraint, is gone. 

He nearly shoves Swiss off the bed, making the multi-ghoul tumble into Mountain. 

Dew takes the place on the bed, grabbing Phantom, and pulling the young, crying mess into his arms. 

“Hey, hey- it’s okay- I got you,” he lets out in a stream, clutching the quintessence ghoul close to his chest.  

At Dew’s words, Phantom pounced into his lap as he belonged there, settling his body weight in Dew’s thighs, running his hands in Dew’s hair, and dragging his mouth to Dew’s. 

The taste of Phantom was something that could bring Dew back to life- he’s convinced. He begs he’ll never lose it. Same as the feeling of him. 

Hands settling on Phantom’s waist, he quickly followed a path up and down his sides, over his back, down to his lithe waist. He slipped his hands under Phantom’s shirt, devouring the moan the boy in his lap made at the contact. 

It should be a sin, Dew decided, how Phantom rocked his hips down into his. He moved easily, feeling like liquid sex melting against him. Fuck this boy… is his.  

“… Phantom,” Dew groans, breaking away when the ghoul rolls his hips again.

“Dew,” Phantom hummed in response. He trailed his lips over the scruff of Dew’s chin, teeth coming out to scrape across his jawline. He sank his teeth into the skin of his neck, not hard enough to break the skin, but enough to leave a giant bite mark. The motion sends a thrilling shiver down Dewdrop’s spine as the bites got rougher, and more animalistic as he went on. There was no doubt he’d have bruises and teeth indentations scattered across his throat and neck for the next several days. And maybe.. His mating bite…

Dewdrop tries to stop. Phantom deserves better. Phantom deserves everything good, everything perfect in the world… everything that’s not Dew… 

But any logic quickly leaves Dewdrop’s brain. 

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

“… Phantom,” Dew groans, breaking away when the pretty ghoul rolls his hips again.

“ Dew ,” Phantom hummed in response. He trailed his lips over the scruff of Dew’s chin, teeth coming out to scrape across his hard jawline. He sank his teeth into the skin of his neck, not hard enough to break the skin, but enough to leave a giant bite mark. 

The motion sends a thrilling shiver down Dewdrop's spine as the bites get rougher, more animalistic as he goes on. Phantom bites hard, even shaking his head a bit as he does so, breathing heavily into Dew’s neck. There was no doubt he’d have bruises and teeth indentations scattered across his throat and neck for the next several days.

If Dew could, fuck, he’d have Phantom’s teeth marks on him always. He’d be littered in Phantom’s bites, bruises, everything from the quintessence ghoul. He’d be a walking testament to Phantom’s adoration. And he’d have the mating mark, deep and obvious. He wants it all so badly. He wants Phantom. 

Dew’s mouth goes slack as Phantom bites him. Fuck he’s so close… 

It takes nearly all of Dew’s self-restraint to jolt a bit, so Phantom’s bite loosens. 

No, Phantom deserves better than him. Dew didn’t think to knot or mate him before this, spending so many times between Phantom’s legs and never taking care of him the way he should have. 

Dew feels tears well in his eyes as he thinks about how differently he has treated Phantom, compared to how Aether knotted Dew. Aether was big, and strong, kissing Dew and reminding him how adored he was the entire time. He talked clearly- telling him what he was doing, why he was doing it. Dew felt so good. 

Dew is horrified Phantom will never feel that now. He should have done this before; not just knotted him during a time of high emotion and feral headspace and heat. 

But before Dew can dwell on it, Phantom kisses his attention back. Phantom is so desperate on top of Dew, he needs to try to get the upper hand so he can make this good for Phantom, actually help him and make him feel better. The smaller ghoul is almost frantic in his movements and Dew knows he needs to take the edge off, for both of them, if he's honest. 

He's been aching since the bathroom door opened, and Phantom's heat scent engulfed him. It had attacked his nose, making Dew weak at the knees. God, Phantom… so perfect. 

Pulling himself together and gently coaxing Phantom off his lap is tougher than he thought it would be. The younger had latched on to Dew’s clothes, wrapped his tail around his bicep and clenched his thighs tight around his hips, grinding his body against Dew’s, his strength keeping the fire ghoul pinned under him. 

Dew kisses Phantom’s jaw, gasping. “ Bug , you gotta let go, sweet boy. Dew's gonna help, but you gotta let me up,” he is trying to be as clear as possible for the feral boy. 

Phantom answered by whining and letting his claws come out, ripping through Dew’s shirt to get a better grip on his shoulders. Dew hissed at the sharp sting of claws, his back bowed and hips jerked up into Phantom's pelvis. The pain is delicious when coming from Phantom, and he grunts as blood comes out of the claw marks lacing his shoulders. 

The full-body reaction Phantom has to Dew thrusting into him is the perfect chance for Dew to catch him off guard. He can free his legs and flip Phantom under him, finally giving him the upper hand. The startled gasp Phantom lets out is very satisfying, it’s music to his ears, and Dew can't help but smirk. He keeps Phantom pinned with his hips and sits up to remove his shirt. 

When his hand touches a wet spot on his pants, Dew swallows hard. Fuck. Phantom is soaking . Dew feels his hard cock throb at the realization. He loves it when Rain is feral and in heat because he gets wet, soaking wet, like this too. It drove Dew wild . 

He shuffles down the bed, barely hearing Phantom's disappointed cry before it turns to a near scream of absolute pleasure. Dew has Phantom folded in half with his tongue licking as much of Phantom’s flowing slick into his mouth as possible. He isn't being careful, he's frantic in his desperation to taste his most precious Bug. Slick is dripping from his chin and Phantom's involuntary movements are causing it to spread from his chin up the bridge of his nose. 

Fuck, he tastes perfect. 

He's drowning in it, the same way Phantom is drowning in his pleasure. Dew can’t keep his hips still against the bed. His pants are rubbing against his sensitive cock in an almost painful way, but Dew deserves that. It keeps him from forgetting that this is temporary, he doesn't get Phantom like this for real, doesn’t deserve him. 

Just for now. Just while he needs help through his heat…

A hard tug from Phantom’s fingers in his hair pulls him out of his head. “ I got you bug,” he returns his mouth to Phantom's wet hole and drags one hand from Phantom’s thigh, up to his weeping, pulsing cock. A few tugs of his fist and a well-placed movement with his tongue has Phantom drawing up tight, bowing off the bed and nearly bucking lithe Dew off the bed, with the intensity of his orgasm. 

Dew hastily removes his pants while Phantom takes some deep breaths. Phantom’s, now messier, cock has not deflated in the least. It's dark head pulsing against his taut stomach, every little vein and ridge straining with how desperate he is to finally get the knot he wants so badly. 

Phantom seems exhausted at this point, his body finally stilling, but no less needy. “Please Dew. Knot. Me. Now.” It’s slow words, but intense, punctuated and sure. How could anyone say no to that?

The look of absolute petulance on Phantom's face is the last push. Dew lines himself up and enters Phantom in one smooth thrust. A little rougher than he intended but he's losing control- barely had any as is. He's shaking and trying to be gentle with the young, feral ghoul under him. Phantom's face broke into the softest smile feeling Dew bottom out . So pretty.  

His eyes are closed so Dew can stare at his face without feeling guilty, well guiltier. 

“Move, Dew,” Phantom whispers softly. At his beautiful, soft command, it's like Dewdrop’s body isn't his own anymore. Phantom’s words go to every fibre of his being. 

He thrusts fast right from the beginning, hands and arms wrapped around Phantom to keep him as close as possible. His sweaty body melds against Phantom’s perfectly, sticky skin making lewd noises as Dew absolutely loses himself in the quintessence ghoul. 

Only a handful of thrusts later, with a broken choke, Dew feels his knot swell, and it's swelling fast. It's never been like this before, he can't stop himself, he can't even think, he can only fuck. Fuck himself into HIS Phantom; his perfect ghoul. 

One, two, three… Hells , he's coming. His knot is being milked by Phantom's muscles contracting as his body empties yet another load onto his sweat-soaked body. 

“Fuck, Phantom, baby- hell-” Dew’s words are barely legible, his eyes rolling into his head as his knot pops. 

Phantom is sobbing, feeling so full, and he somehow cums again, spilling between their bodies as more slick flows between his thighs and over Dew. 

✧.*

Swiss glances at Dewdrop and Phantom, fully entangled. 

Fucking finally. Dew FINALLY did something smart. He loves his fire ghoul but he makes stupid decisions with his heart sometimes. 

But now that Phantom is satiated, Swiss can focus on the other ghoul suffering in the heat. Usually, Mountain takes care of Rain for his heat, but there are times, like today based on the look the earth ghoul is giving Swiss, when Mounty is just well, too big. 

“I shouldn’t,” Mountain mumbles as he holds Rain’s face in his lap, stroking his hair with his huge hand.

Rain is sensitive at the best of times, during his heat sometimes he can't take the sheer size of Mounty’s knot and needs one that won’t inflict pain on him. So, Swiss, always willing to offer a knot and lend a hand, takes over. The three of them work together to soothe Rain's needs. Mounty holds Rain close as Swiss moves from Phantom's side of the bed to run his hands over Rain's bare legs and up over his hips. 

The earth ghoul is pressing kisses to his forehead but Rain is trying desperately to lick into his mouth. Swiss can't help but find Rain's debauched behaviour incredibly provocative and if the heat scent in the air wasn't enough, he's almost fully hard in his pants. Swiss is always turned on by Rain, the water ghoul’s pretty body and calm demeanour just lurs Swiss in. 

Swiss pulls his shirt over his head as he watches the other two. Mountain and Rain are lost in each other, their hands and mouths running over any part of the other's body that they can reach. Rain cries against Mountain, gasping and rubbing his face in Mountain’s neck. 

“Good, you’re good, you’re okay,” Mountain whispers into Rain’s ear, kissing him again. “Swiss is going to make you feel so good,”

Swiss is removing his pants when Rain looks at him and beckons him closer, with a shaking nod. Swiss is on him instantly and they share a filthy kiss of their own, making the big guy watch this time. Mountain grunts and his eyes are nearly hazy with lust of his own. Swiss makes room around the other ghouls so he can guide his cock into Rain- he can’t wait anymore. 

Rain arches his back right away, Swiss’ tight grip on his hips the only thing that keeps himself from slipping from Rain's dripping entrance. He’s so fucking wet. It sends everyone into a frenzy; Cirrus and Swiss especially though; something about how wet, and desperate, Rain is especially during his heat is fucking irresistible. 

Mounty’s the one that moans into Rain's shoulder at his beautiful reaction. Mountain is so gone on Rain, it's adorable to watch, Swiss smiles at the two while starting to build up a bit of a rhythm. Rain's body is getting restless again, feeling Swiss’s more average-sized knot grow against his entrance with everything, deep thrust. 

“Do it, Swiss,” the earth ghoul grumbles before biting against the mating bite on Rain’s neck. Mounty knows Rain so well that he's the one to urge Swiss to force his knot into the feverish ghoul at just the right time, triggering Rain's orgasm right away. 

“Fucking hell,” Swiss chokes as Rain squeezes around him. Swiss’s hands go to Rain’s dark locks, fisting them tightly. 

Rain is sobbing as he cums, Mounty holds his treasure through it while Swiss freezes above them, his own orgasm hitting nearly instantly, so he rides out his own waves.

Finally, Rain seems a little calmer, not in so much pain at the release. Mountain guides them down, so they can arrange themselves a bit more comfortably, to wait for Swiss knot to go down. Rain dozes instantly, he’s always sleepy after an orgasm, with his face in Mounty’s neck and his hand holding onto Swiss’s.

✧.*

Similarly situated, with Phantom seeming blissed out of his mind- his pupils blown in ecstasy, his chest rising and falling slowly. Dew is so lost in the feeling of pleasure, that when the guilt finally creeps back in, it slams down on him like a pile of bricks. 

Fuck, Dew, you fucked up. Bug deserves so much better. 

As soon as Dew’s knot deflates, he scrambles off Phantom, tears in his eyes as he runs to the bathroom- shutting the door. The sudden, jerking movement scares Phantom, making the boy cry almost instantly. 

Dew fucked up. Fuck - he fucked up so badly. Phantom deserves better- so much better- than getting knotted for his first time in some hotel room, next to Swiss and Rain getting it on, with Mountain watching all of them, for hell’s sake. 

Dew slams his head against the door- his eyes shutting as he hears Phantom’s muffled cries, as Mountain offers comforting words to the ghoul. Dew shudders as he slumps against the door. “I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry kid,” he chokes out. 

Smoke is choking his body, heat and fire running through him, as smoke spills out of his ears, and nose, and he coughs out smoke from his lungs as biting tears spill out of his eyes. His heart is hammering in his chest as he grabs the doorknob with a shaking hand to lock it.

Mountain tenses as he sees Dew nearly bolt off Phantom and the giant ghoul’s normally calm demeanor snaps, as he scrambles to grab quintessence ghoul in his big arms. Why the fuck would he do that?! Dew knows better. 

“Hey, no, don’t cry- it’s okay- little bug, you did nothing wrong, you did so well. Please, don’t cry, you did so well,” Mountain murmurs and rubs his cheek- pulling Phantom into his lap, his huge torso wrapped around Phantom. “You’re so good. Dew is having some problems- it isn’t you. Do you hear me?”

Phantom is still coming off his waves of euphoria and emotions and the beautiful, lavender ghoul stares at Mountain. “He… doesn’t want me-”

Mountain cradles his face tightly. “He does. We all do… but him especially. He does want you… he just… he’s having an issue with himself, not you,” the earth ghoul tried to clarify but it fell on deaf ears. Mountain’s heart breaks looking at the quintessence ghoul and he wants nothing more than to make him feel so good and so loved. 

Mountain is furious with Dew but heartbroken for Phantom. He wants to simultaneously pummel Dew but protecting Phantom in his delicate state is the top priority. Dew is beyond careless with Phantom right now, abandoning him like that, after his first knot without so much as a fucking word. 

Mounty's reassurances to Phantom taste like ash in his mouth. They're empty words, he can't explain anything in Dewdrop’s brain, but he can support Phantom and stop him from spiralling. The giant ghoul takes the band's tiny bug in his arms to settle him back on the bed. The boy is still sobbing but no longer with loud or wet noises, just quiet; his little heart is still shattered. 

Mountain isn't great with words, he always was better with actions. He starts petting Phantom’s curly hair to get it out of his face, tucking it around him on the pillow. Phantom really is beautiful and Mounty will never understand how he ended up in their pack, be he's never going to complain either. He loves all of the members dearly. He hasn't been as close to Phantom since he's arrived but he will be definitely changing that, starting right now. How he hasn’t before is a mystery to him, but Mountain is normally so enamoured with Rain around it takes up most of his attention. But this pretty ghoul was in front of him the whole time and he barely touched him. He wanted to, fuck, just never did. Idiot . 

He places gentle kisses on Phantom's forehead, holding him down with his body as a living weighted blanket to ease the boy's distress. Phantom latches on to his long arms and legs, silently begging not to be left alone again. Phantom's body heats up as another wave of pain starts to hit him, the respite from Dew’s knot is gone. 

Mountain feels him clenching in pain underneath him, and he kisses everywhere he can reach to comfort him. Phantom is whimpering softly at the gentle treatment and heat pain. Mounty knows what Phantom needs but also knows that he could end up hurting him the same way he does with Rain sometimes, and he’s terrified of that. 

 “Hey, bug, can I help you now? I know you're heating up again?” Mountain mumbles into his neck. 

 “Please, Mounty. I need help.” Is his whispered reply. Rain and Swiss move a little closer to offer support for the couple, a little awkward considering the situation. Rain especially is shaken out of his trance as he can nearly feel Phantom’s pain. Mounty has renewed determination as he goes from pure comfort to helping Phantom with his heat. 

His touch is less gentle, more frenzied, and soon Phantom stops crying, and is reacting to one of his potential mates making his body sing. Their naked bodies were already pressed together, now moving to seek more friction. Mountain can't stop kissing and licking his sweet-scented skin. Phantom lets out a loud moan when Mounty goes near his mating mark with Rain. He mouths over the still tender bite and it makes a primal feeling overtake him, and he grunts, his huge body reacting by thrusting firmly into Phantom. And that's when Phantom stills. 

Mounty knows what's going to happen next, and he's getting ready to simply finger Phantom until Swiss or Dew are ready. He's too big. He's going to hurt those he loves again… fuck, he should have been more careful. 

He goes to pull away, but he feels Phantom's small hand reach between them, and wrap around his fully hard cock, the knot already obvious even though it's just starting to swell. 

“ Oh, ” Phantom sighs. “It's so big.”

Before the giant ghoul can answer, Phantom turns his watery eyes onto his Mounty, “Please. It's so big. Please put it in me, fill me up,” he’s begging. 

Fucking hell. Who could say no to that?!

Mounty is so turned on his cock twitches in Phantom's hand and a bead of precum runs down, getting caught on his small fingers. Mounty groans into Phantom's shoulders, as Rain lets out a chuckle next to them. The giant quickly returns to his previous kissing and licking, now knowing that Phantom wants this, and wants him. His neck and shoulders are addicting, even littered with marks from the others, hell especially because of the fresh mark from Rain and little bruises from Swiss and Dew. Mounty can't focus on anything else. 

Mountain is completely overcome by the intense need to bite the beautiful ghoul. “Oh, fuck,” he groans, his head pressed into Phantom’s neck, breathing deeply, as his tongue and teeth drag over the ghoul’s skin. The impulse to bite him, mate him, claim him clouds his mind. 

Phantom bares his neck almost immediately- panting and eager- and Mountain mouths at the sweet-smelling spot in the crook of his neck. His hand goes to the base of Phantom’s hair, fisting it, and pulling his head down further. 

Swiss, still knotted in Rain, breaks his gaze from the water ghoul and looks over. “Careful, big guy,” Swiss warns as he kisses Rain’s jaw. 

The water ghoul opens his hazy eyes, focusing on the scene in front of him. Mountain is close to biting Phantom. His green eyes appear almost glazed over, his fangs dragging over Phantom’s speckled neck, and the quintessence ghoul nods eagerly. 

“Wait… wait… bug, are you sure?” Rain says hazily, trying to force some sense of clarity into his voice to make sure his bug is aware of what this means. 

“Yes… don’t you want to do it?” Phantom replies with tears in his eyes and he looks at Mountain. Hell. He is beautiful. 

“Fuck, yes. Wanted to for so long,” Mountain replies desperately, but he snaps his mouth shut and looks at Phantom, carefully, before kissing along his neck. “You sure you want me to, little bug?”

Phantom is gulping, and his head nods fast. “Yes, please ,”

Confirmation enough for him, Mountain proceeds to wrap the ghoul's legs around his waist and pull him close, firm against him. He leans back just far enough to push himself into Phantom's waiting body. His reaction is stunning. Even after fucking two people and being knotted once, Mountain’s knot is so big he might as well have been a virgin. “ Mountain ,” Phantom wails. He's panting. The feeling is extremely intense, almost like it shouldn't fit but it does. 

Mountain can't help but watch as all three of them are enraptured by the stunning ghoul. “Now. I want to bite you when I cum this time,” Phantom has to pant between every few words like he's barely coherent anymore, the pleasure too much. 

Any remaining doubt is thrown out of the earth ghoul's mind as he leans forward to the quintessence ghoul’s bared neck and bites hard, right next to Rain’s, almost overlapping. 

Phantom almost shakes apart from the euphoric feeling as their bond starts to solidify within him. It’s overwhelming and he's pulling Mounty’s head away frantically, but gently. Mountain spares his neck a few licks before Phantom has his teeth on a relatively clear spot on his neck; ironically, they find out later, it's right next to Dew’s. Phantom mouths as the spot and bites. The bite lasts a little longer than Mounty’s because Phantom cums immediately, as the earth ghoul thrusts his full knot gently, and their bond is completed. 

Spiralling words and praises are falling out of someone’s mouth- Mountain isn’t sure who. He is only feeling pure pleasure as he rides out his orgasm, pinning the ghoul into the bed like he is trying to fuck him through it. Mountain couldn’t help but marvel at how small Phantom was compared to him, the bulge appearing in Phantom. Mountain can’t help himself, his huge hand slips down and he palms the spot on the ghoul's stomach, making Phantom sob. Mountain kisses the tears, reminding him that he is so good, so good for him.

✧.*

When Mountain finally manages to pull himself off Phantom when his knot deflates, Swiss is quick to switch places, and holds Phantom tightly, rubbing his horns, and threading his fingers through the boy’s curly hair. He presses kisses to the Phantom’s sweaty forehead. Sweet boy. 

“Do you want them?” Phantom mumbles into his skin. 

Swiss looks down at him, pressing his lips onto Phantom’s forehead. “What?”

Phantom breathes out before his pretty amethyst eyes go to Swiss. “Kits,”

Swiss debates this question for a second. He’s never really thought about it... Or never let himself think about it, too much. No multi-ghoul has ever carried kits- but he could have them with someone else. He can’t lie and say he’s never thought about it with Rain… But he answers the quintessence ghoul. “Maybe? One day I guess. I don’t know,”

Phantom looks at him and purrs. “I do.”

Swiss smiles and ruffles his hair. “They’d be lucky to have you if you decide to have them. But you’re still young. You have time. We all have time,” Swiss says, and as he thinks about it, he smiles, overcome with the daydream he has more than he likes to admit. “A little kit in the pack? How sweet. We should have had one sooner,” Swiss jokes but almost instantly- the atmosphere in the room plummets. 

Beside them, Rain’s entire body stiffens from under Mountain. His entire energy, magic, and aura shift almost immediately- and both Swiss and Phantom notice. Phantom especially tries to shuffle forward to Rain, reaching for his sweet love. “Rain… Rainy , what’s wrong?”

Rain is so heartbreakingly sad, his huge blue eyes watering. “Please don’t talk about them...” He snuffles out as he cries against Mountain’s chest. “I don’t deserve them,” Rain mumbles, so softly, it’s like he was saying it only to himself.  

Swiss hear him well, also shuffling over, so they’re crowded against Rain. Mountain has woken up, his groggy eyes focusing on the distressed ghoul under him. Swiss looks confused. “What do you mean you don’t deserve them, Rainbow? You deserve everything good. You’d be so good with a kit-“

Rain shakes his head. “No. No . You don’t… fuck! You don’t understand!  I don’t fucking deserve anything. I’ve lost all of them. All of them. I was never able to carry one for any sort of time. Fuck . I’ve lost them and I miss them every fucking time. They deserved more. Life. They deserved a carrier who could actually protect them. But instead, they got… me. Fuck,” Rain chokes out. His eyes shut as if he is reliving the brutal experience of losing a life he wanted desperately to carry, to nurse, to adore. Fuck. He would have adored them- so much. 

The weight of the words slam onto Swiss. 

He was right.  

Rain lost kits- oh hell- he’s lost more than one. And he mourned every crippling loss, alone, never admitting the pain he was going through. 

Phantom is out from under Swiss in record time, his lithe body nearly wrapping around Rain. His hand goes to Rain’s hair, dragging his face closer to his neck, and his tail wraps around Rain’s legs, as he hugs his arm around his waist, tightly. “It’s okay- you’re so good, Rain. It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Phantom whispers reassuringly and presses soft, loving kisses to the water ghoul’s distraught face. 

Rain almost seems to try to shove him off- anger rising in him- but then he also grips at Phantom’s lithe waist. “No- shut up. Shut up. Fuck off. You don’t know. It’s my fault. Fuck… it’s all my fault.”

Phantom, a protective, low growl comes out when he grabs Rain’s face. Despite the fact they’re still in a pile in between Mountain and Swiss, Phantom props himself between them, hugging the water ghoul against his naked body, and keeping the other two ghouls off him, for the time being. 

“No. Stop it,” Phantom tells him firmly. But the tears don't stop. But just by being next to him, Phantom’s calming adoration and love for Rain seems to flood the ghoul. Words don’t matter right now. What matters is Phantom is trying, from his entire core, to remind Rain that he isn’t a bad thing simply for experiencing loss. He’s not. He’s good and pure and doesn’t deserve the pain life has dealt him. 

The bathroom door opens, and Dew comes out, on shaky legs. He was listening to everything. One look between him and Rain, and Dew slides back into the bed nearly instantly. Phantom is too lost in his instinctual need to be with Rain to be angry with Dew for abandoning him. 

Dew and Rain always shared a bond, something so strong and protective. He cradles Rain onto his chest- his heat radiating through his body. “It’s not your fault. You need to know that. Fuck. You didn’t deserve any of this shit you’ve been through,” Dew mumbles. It isn’t exactly a soft words of affirmation, but it’s a reminder for the water ghoul who is often too hard on himself. 

Rain doesn’t respond, not to anyone. The praises and constant reassurance almost make him feel worse. Not worthy of it, fuck. He just buries his head into Phantom’s neck for the time being- ending the conversation for now. He’s too feral, too fragile, for any good to come out of this anymore. 

When Dew’s hand inadvertently slips to grab Phantom’s, Swiss snarls lowly and swats it away. Dew blinks hard and tries to avoid his own tears. 

It’s a haze of cuddles and long limbs being strewn over each other as the pile of five remains on the hotel bed. Dew and Phantom huddle close to each other, despite the boy's still heartbroken look at being abandoned after Dew knotted him. 

When the fire ghoul starts kissing along Phantom’s jawline, making the quintessence ghoul melt against him, a look of confusion flashes over Phantom’s features. Phantom tries to conceal the tears and Swiss finally growls. He grabs Dewdrop, ripping him out of the bed, ignoring the surprised whines and cries from Phantom and Rain, and the questioning look from Mountain. 

Swiss loves Dewdrop. But he loves Phantom, too. And Dewdrop is hurting Phantom whether or not he means to. And as much as Swiss adores the fire ghoul; it isn’t fair to bug for Dew to be treating him this way. 

Swiss grabs Dewdrop, as he slams the bathroom door shut, pushing him against the door and growling. Dew looks surprised, but he’s used to rough treatment from Swiss- when he asks for it. Swiss fucks him rough, and loves him hard. But Dew can see the anger.  “If you can’t give that boy what he needs, be the person for him that he wants- you gotta let him go. Don’t touch him, confuse him, don’t do anything with him again. His state is way too fragile now. You knotted him then fucking ran off him like a bat outta’ hell. The fuck is wrong with you?!” Swiss snarls at Dewdrop. 

Dew stares at him. Not be with Phantom— at all? No. No. He can’t do that. “I can’t,” Dew chokes out. 

Swiss yells at him now. “You have to let him go!”

Dewdrop yells back at him, aggressively. “I can’t! I can’t!” 

“Then fucking do better,” Swiss snarls at him. Swiss loves too deeply to see the quintessence ghoul ever cry like he did because of Dew abandoning him. And Swiss loves Dewdrop, and fuck, the stompy, stubborn fire ghoul deserves happiness. And Phantom is happiness. Why would Dew deny himself of that any longer? 

“He loves you most,” Swiss admits. 

Dew sighs and sags under his hands, as the multighoul holds him against the bathroom door. “Don’t deserve him. He’s too good.” 

Swiss tightens his grip. “You deserve happiness , Dewdrop. You do. I know it doesn’t come easily but for your sake, his, for all of our sake… just… let yourself find happiness because it’s right fucking in front of you.”

It’s Rain who asks Mountain to be with Swiss to the bathroom, so he can have time alone with the fire ghoul and Phantom; both of them needing it. Rain will watch to make sure Phantom isn’t hurt. He's more clear-headed but still protective. 

Dewdrop comes out, looking defeated, and looks at Phantom with wide eyes. “I’m so sorry… kid. I’m so sorry you are… fuck… just everything. And I didn’t feel deserving of you. But I shouldn’t have done what I did.” 

Phantom looks at him, hurt still, but his eyes soften when he finally reaches for Dewdrop and pulls him into the bed. No more words for the time being. Phantom just wants to be with him. 

Rain and Phantom are immediately on either side of the fire ghoul, pressing kisses to his neck, and jaw, anywhere they can get. Phantom entangles his hand into Dew’s long, blond hair, so his head is tilted back so he can reach his pretty mouth. 

“Good- you’re so good, Dew. Fuck, so good,” Phantom praises. It nearly makes Dew sob instantly at the praise. He doesn’t feel deserving of it, none of it, but Rain and Phantom make him feel so good and so loved. 

Rain kissed the scars of his gills, Phantom sees it, but knows it’s not his place to touch. 

Phantom is kissing Dew; kissing away the tears that’s coming out of his eyes on his flared cheeks. Steam rises from the contact of the liquid on his hot skin. Rain works his way down the fire ghoul's body until he finds his cock, kissing it and wrapping his long fingers around it- making Dew gasp and buck into his hands. 

Phantom is mouthing at the spot on Dewdrop’s neck and the fire ghoul almost immediately drops his head, baring his neck. 

They don’t need any guidance from Rain for this. Phantom kisses his neck, before sinking his fangs deep into Dew’s skin, piercing the flesh, and making the fire ghoul cry out, his eyes fluttering shut, as he comes in Rain’s hand almost immediately. 

Phantom laps up the blood- kissing the wound- as Dew fists his curly hair in his hands. “Good- so good, Dew,” he praises. 

Hells, the praising. Dew doesn’t deserve it. 

But even though he doesn’t deserve it, Phantom is so willing and wants to give it. So, why keep denying himself something so good, so pure? 

Phantom— the missing piece that no one knew they needed, and now they can’t live without. 

Phantom guides Dew’s head to his neck and the fire ghoul breathes in heavily, the sweet scent filling his nose, as he turns and slots himself between Phantom's leg, grinding against him. 

“Okay?”

Phantom nods eagerly. “Yeah… yeah. Please,” 

Phantom screams when Dew bites his neck, coming again, and crying. Good, so good. 

Rain is watching, protectively over his bug, but also… so happy, to see the love radiating through the room. 

✧.*

Swiss, Mountain, and Dew are amazed that the two ghouls manage to play the shows they had lined up for the next day. They were all over each other on stage- making the fans go wild- but it was magic how they seemed to support each other and manage to still perform.

Finally, back on the tour bus, Mountain and Swiss somehow manage to cram into the same bunk as Rain. The water ghoul, who is nearly pinned underneath them, his lanky limbs stuffed into an unimaginable angle, whines. 

“Ah, fuck, you two are heavy- get off- Dew, help ,” Rain muffles, as both Mountain and Swiss try to snuggle him. Dew is out at the back, smoking a cigarette, unable to hear the water ghouls' voice.  

“You get him all the time!” Swiss snaps at Mountain, moping. 

Mountain, so full of love and adoration, just smiles and hugs Rain tighter. “I can’t help it. Where is the other one?”

Said other one, Phantom, came out of the bathroom- with big, curious eyes, as he heard Rain’s voice. He shuffles down the corridor, before Swiss nearly scoops him up by the scruff of his neck and the quintessence ghoul lets out a surprised cry. “Hey, wait- what?! No, I can’t fit!” Phantom whines as Swiss drags him into the bunk- which is absolutely, definitely, not made for four ghouls. Swiss stuffs Phantom on top of him, his limbs wrapped around him tightly to keep him from falling and somehow Phantom winds up on top of Rain, sandwiched in between Mountain and Swiss. 

He looks around and whines. “Help,” he says to Rain. 

Rain snorts- before kissing the mark on Phantom’s neck. “You think you need help? I’m getting suffocated down here.” 

Dew comes back to the bunks after his cigarette- his brow raised as he sees a pile of tangled limbs and tails from behind the privacy curtain on the bunks. He raises an ashy blond brow and snorts. “What’s going on in there, shitheads?” 

“They captured us,” Rain groans, and Mountain laughs. 

“They won’t let us go!” Phantom squeaks. 

Dew scowls, before somehow managing to grab Phantom's tail, playfully tugging it, and the ghoul whines before climbing out of the bunk and nearly falling into Dew’s awaiting arms. “Sorry. He’s mine for the night,” Dew tells them. 

Back in their familiar bunk on the tour bus, Dew sits next to Phantom, cradling the freckled ghoul’s face. Phantom is in one of Rain’s blue hoodies, and a pair of Dew’s sweatpants. Dew smiles at the sight, as he peppers kisses over Phantom’s face, making the sweet boy giggle and hug him tighter, so tightly over his torso. He’s strong. 

Dew winces a bit but doesn’t ask him to loosen his grip. It’s fascinating to see Phantom’s magic and power fluctuate and grow, and Dew will spend as much time as he can observing the quintessence ghoul. His emotions are intense and deepened, even more than before- reflecting in his magic. He’ll need to get Aether to have a look at him too. 

“You have a lot of magic, kid,” Dew mumbles into the boy's hair. Phantom is nearly glimmering in the dark. 

Phantom’s brows knit together. “I don’t understand it yet,” he admits. In the dark bunk; the freckles on Phantom’s face nearly glitter and shine like small galaxies painted over his skin. 

Dew presses kisses along his cheeks, following the outline of stars on his lavender hue skin. But his face falls when he thinks about how cowardly he was earlier. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, for what I did… leaving you after that. I don’t talk about shit well. But that… was so stupid of me. You deserve so much better-”

Phantom kisses him to make him stop talking. “Stop it. You were scared. I get it,”

“No, no, kid. No matter what I felt, I should have thought about you first. I promise I’ll do better.” Dew whispers. Clutching his face and kissing him, tears in his eyes. 

Phantom smiles and presses his body as close to psychically possible. “I know, love, it’s okay. I love you. I love you, Dew,” Phantom reminds him, and soon they’re a pile of limbs and bodies as they curl together in the bunk. Phantom kisses over his bite on Dew’s neck, making the fire ghoul shudder. 

“Mine.” Phantom breathes. 

✧.*

Back in the abbey, in Rain’s little outcove, Phantom had come for a visit. Phantom loves the outcove, in a crumbling part of the abbey, where spring water is collected in a glittering pool. It’s cold and smells like earth. Reflections of the rippling water dance off the crumbling grey stones, and water plants grow all around. Outside the window, the lake is visible. 

In contrast to the cool atmosphere, in Rain’s bed, it’s warm and cozy. Rain has a thick fleece blanket he nipped off Mountain. It’s brown, warm and ragged from use. Phantom cuddles against Rain, draped in the blanket, and his head pressed against the slight swell of the water ghoul’s stomach. His lavender hand is holding onto Rain’s chest, the other on his hip, and he presses soft kisses along Rain’s ribs and stomach. 

“You’re like a cat,” Rain murmurs as he dozes against the quintessence ghoul’s touch. 

Phantom purrs, proving the point. He reaches up, holding Rain’s cold hand in his. “You don’t cry as much these days,” Phantom observes out loud. 

Rain smiles. “Yeah. Don’t feel like I need to, I guess. I have a lot more to smile about,” Rain brushed over the mark, making Phantom shiver. “Glad I found you… little bug. You’re probably the most precious thing I ever could have wanted. Didn’t even know I was missing something in my life till you showed up,” 

The quintessence ghoul doesn’t answer- he seems to be listening to something intently. His head is on Rain's soft stomach still, the pads of his fingers tracing the water ghoul's damp skin.  His eyes pop open wide and he grins. “Little water lily,” 

Rain stills but doesn’t answer. Nor does he ask for Phantom to elaborate, yet. His fingers go to the mark on Phantom’s thigh and he runs the pad of his thumb over it, making the ghoul shiver again. “Maybe. Maybe one day.” 

Phantom seems to understand. But it’s like can see it in his mind; a beautiful, little pale thing running around. Giggling, happy, created out of love. One day. Sooner than they would all think. 

Phantom snuggles closer to Rain, feeling sleepy and safe in the water ghoul's embrace. And feeling loved. Endlessly loved, with the marks on his neck to prove it. 

Rain, who always felt so undeserving of adoration, feels settled and safe in Phantom’s comfortable embrace. For so long, the water ghoul felt terrified of life. It was daunting and scary, and he didn’t understand why he was made. Dewdrop went through so much pain because of him. Rain was heartbroken often, and sad, and his bandmates always tried to remind him they loved him, but he felt so undeserving of it. He lost… so much. 

Rain deserved nothing. Sometimes, he felt that it would be so much easier if he just… wasn’t there. 

But he found love in his pack mates. But especially in Swiss’s constant kisses, Dew’s fiery love for him, hugging him around the waist and kissing his hair. And Mountain’s firm, steadfast love. He holds him during the nights, his gentle voice reminding him how loved he is. 

And now, Phantom… being the missing part of his heart, he never knew he needed. He lessens his pain, and makes him feel safe and whole. 

Rain starts crying, but not because he’s in pain. It’s quite the fucking opposite. Rain hugs Phantom tightly. That kid is pure magic. 

And everyone is lucky to have him. And he’s lucky to have them. 

#the band ghost #ghost #nameless ghouls #dewdrop ghoul #rain ghoul #phantom ghoul #ghost the band #mountain ghoul #mountain ghost #swiss ghoul #polyamorous ghouls #phantom x rain #phantom x swiss #phantom x dewdrop #rain x mountain #rain x swiss #rain x dewdrop #mountain x phantom #mountain x dewdrop #mountain x swiss #dewdrop x rain #dewdrop x mountain #dewdrop x phantom #angst #fluff #smut #ao3 fanfic #ao3 writer #phantom

[rayshippouuchiha]

Thank you! So here I am to infodump, full of gratitude, and you can post this if you want no problem it's just a bunch of scattered ideas so yeah. Feel free to chuck suggestions at me too! I really don't know what to do with these... building blocks just yet.

Akatani Mikumo is Midoriya Hisashi.

Toshinori gets sandwiches by the Midoriya couple and it turns into an OT3 but that's much later down the line.

Hisashi is a journalist, keeps getting into everybody's business and Knows™ more than he frankly should.

Hisashi is a Cryptid™. But of a different energy from his son who is all lightning-in-a-bottle jittery On The Verge Of Throwing Hands feral sort of cryptid, Hisashi is mostly of this... supernaturally unflappable blank-faced chill entity.

Who keeps spooking people bc No Footstep sounds.

And might possibly be partially mute or just ridiculously soft-spoken bc when he tries to speak at normal volumehis fire-breathing quirk goes ballistic.

Might or might not have bloodline relations to AFO. Origins ambiguous, Inko just literally plucked the (then) teen off a back alley like he was a stray cat.

Also might or might not have more than one quirk, see the probable AFO connection.

Izuku got his mumbling thing from Hisashi.

A cryptid man who seems normal enough except a little off-kilter, like two inches to the left of what's a “normal” man? Weirdo but nobody can pinpoint how or why. That's the sort of vibe I want with this Hisashi.

And some Wack™ backstory lore I came up w for Hisashi, I dunno what I'll do w it but:

Cw: mention of infant murder, bc I'm Me™ and I was thinking about Yotsumegami (it's my favorite game) and how my version of Hisashi would tie in with it.

Yanno how in Yotsumegami “unwanted children” (children with disabilities, the younger of a twin pair or every sibling except the eldest in triplets or higher, etc) would be killed (it's a real historical practice in Japan, mabiki, they called it) or something like that? Would be kinda fun if an offshoot of that variety existed in the BnHA world, even if it's not outright child murder kids would be abandoned, especially in the chaos of the Dawn of Quirks. People who were scared of quirked people would abandon their quirked child, quirkist folk abandoned their quirkless children, it's chaos.

It would be more prominent during the initial chaos, though I guess laws and stuff would've been passed later on to prevent it or at least cut down the numbers— and the practice fizzled out but there's still a few remote rural villages who accept “unwanted” children.

One such secret community could be like, giving the surname “Akatani” (red valley, for the red of spider lilies used in mabiki in times past) to the children that were discarded at their metaphorical door. Do they still practice mabiki? Debatable. But it's like a giant secret orphanage with questionable, cult-like mentalities.

Akatani Hisashi was one of those until he miraculously escaped and tried to survive in the outside world.

Or maybe he didn't have the Akatani surname at first bc nobody in the remote village had any surname but once he got out he might've created the surname as a way to hm, not quite honor but carry his origins into his new life.

(maybe Yoichi was almost mabiki'd too, like I said I'm still not entirely sure where I'm going with this)

So Izuku gets to grow up w two parents who care a great deal for him. Maybe they move away, resulting in Izuku not having to deal w Bakugou in his childhood. Maybe Izuku makes friends with some other future 1-A classmate.

The Commission keeps trying to track down this one rogue “vigilante reporter” whose name is unknown. And they keep failing because Hisashi (along with his son and excessive gaggle of... comrades? followers? does the Midoriya family accidentally create an organization of rabid info gatherers?) is a certified cryptid.

Izuku has his hands in so many pots. He's a lot more nosey than in canon probably?

Endeavor had better be prepared bc his entire way of life is about to go up in smoke

I don't know why but I just have this very strong feeling that Stain doesn't like Hisashi for one reason or another.

I... wouldn't be entirely opposed to the AU just chucking Bakugou out the window so that he's not in 1-A (or in UA at all, fuck that pomeranian) and instead is replaced by another loud blond...

Fucking Monoma, LMAO.

A lot of the AU is just ?????? for now and most of it is Hisashi backstory but hnnnnng I want to do something with these jigsaw pieces I just don't know what

Also I'll be sending in Hisashi's design in a non-anon ask but could you append it to this ask's answer instead? Thanks!

I adore everything about this!?!?!

Also I didn't get another ask, anon or not, so Tumblr might have eaten it

#RayRambles #BnHA #MHA

[primalbeatsourhearts]

Agility Courses

This is based off a small prompt I found on @kenvamp 's page! Here!

Thought it was a really fun prompt, and decided to do it myself! Enjoy!!

---------------------------

"No."

"Twilight! Come on, this will literally be the best way to get enough rupees for all of us to sleep at the inn tonight!" Wind practically whined. As if the other didn't know full well that Twilight was stubborn enough to sleep in freezing cold rain just to keep a little bit of his pride. 

And maybe a bit of his sanity cause dealing with all of the chain’s antics can really put it to the test.

And while the Rancher won’t admit that he’s probably a bit to prideful for his own good, the rest of the group knows how much he despises acting like a true dog (or wolf) when he is in the other form. So Wind asking Twilight to compete in a dog agility course as Wolfie was frankly an insult to the Rancher. 

“It’s literally 1,500 rupees! 1,500! That could easily give us an entire week! And fill up Wild’s slate with all the provisions we need and more!”

Twilight did have to hand it to Wind. 1,500 rupees really was a lot, but usually Wild had a lot more. However, the other had to spend the rest of his rupee’s on red potions since he ran out of whatever he needed to make them. They also had no way to replenish the rupee shortage unless they stayed around town and completed odd jobs here and there, or end up in Wild’s Hyrule so he could sell off all the ores he somehow keeps finding. 

He really needed to talk about his cubs hoarding tendencies. 

“No Wind, frankly it’s just insulting that you would even ask me that!” Twilight snapped, his eyes narrowing on the younger who put his hands on his hips as if it would make him seem more intimidating. No matter that Twilight stood at least a foot taller over the kid. 

“Come on! It would be so easy to win! You are so much smarter than all the other dogs, and I even checked to make sure Wolfie could participate and he can!” Wind said excitedly, “Wolves are entirely allowed, well Wolf dog because technically full wolves aren’t allowed” 

Well there goes that question. Still, he refused. He wouldn’t do something as demeaning as a dog competition. 

“I said no Wind, and that’s final!” he said, his voice leaving know room for argument. Which of course caused the younger to practically groan dramatically. 

“If we end up sleeping outside tonight, I am blaming you!” The sailor then declared, before going to storm off when he was suddenly stopped by Wild. Wind running face first into him and Wild quickly put his hands on the pirates shoulders to help steady him. 

“There’s a dog agility thing, Twilight you should join as Wol-”

“If you continue that sentence Wild, I will shut you up” Twilight hissed, causing Wild to freeze. “Seriously! I am not doing some dog thing!”

Wild gave an annoyed look to Twilight, as though it was this time Twilight was being the dumb kid. Even though it was usually Wild on the end of those stares. Which the kid definitely deserved due to the crazy shenanigans he has found himself in. 

Twilight only crossed his arms at Wild’s stare. “Don’t look at me like that! I don’t think it’s that bad for me to say no! It’s not even gonna-”

Cue the sound of thunderclap in the distance, and Wild’s knowing look that caused Twilight to glare even more harshly than before. It did always annoy him that Wild was eerily good at predicting the weather. But he was the survivalist of the group for a reason. 

“I talked with some of the people there though, it really would be an easy win. I even made to sure get a map so we know the course pretty well, plus I already signed us up”

“What! You-” Twilight growled, standing up straighter as he approached Wild who seemed entirely amused at the Rancher’s reaction. “You signed us up? Without my permission? What makes you so confident that I would even do this!”

Wild just still had that really annoying smirk on his face, confidence in his eyes. “I wasn’t going to originally. But when some fancy lady said that my mutt couldn’t win against her purebred, I put Wolfie down immediately because screw her”

That made him pause. Someone called him a mutt? What? He couldn’t help the little growl that escaped him, the wolf inside him practically twisting in offense. “What kinda dog did she have?”

“Pretty sure it was some sort of poodle”

“This lady thinks her poodle could win against a wolf?” Twilight hissed. “Oh we are going to prove that lady so wrong! Come on Wild, Wind, we are leaving now!” 

He pointedly ignored Wind and Wild’s laughter, and Wild’s hands signing to Wind that he told Wind not to worry, and that he’d get Twilight to join. Whatever. He didn’t care that Wild basically played him like a fiddle, because if there was one thing that Twilight hated more than being called a dog. It’s being called a mutt. He would prove that lady wrong, and win that competition better than that stupid poodle of hers.

————————

Twilight was beginning to regret this. Already he could tell how severely out of place he was amongst all these various breeds of dogs. Especially considering he’s much bigger than all of the other creatures here, and while Wild was one of the shortest in the chain. It didn’t help that he was basically half the other Hylian’s height. 

When they had arrived, he could instantly spot who Wild was talking about. The lady one of the most ugliest looking outfits that Twilight had ever seen and it took everything he had to not curl his snout up in his disgust. No. He had to focus on acting like a proper wolf and frankly he should have a lot more experience in this since he practically raised Wild. 

Then again, Wild didn’t even know the difference between a wolf and a Hylian for the longest time so he may not be a good candidate in knowing how well he can act. Plus, no one was really casting suspicious looks his way. The only ones that were, Twilight was sure they were looking at him because they didn’t know if he was a wolf dog like Wild and Wind said he was. 

Either way, he did not like the lady. To the point where he almost felt bad for her poodle since it’s fur was entirely dyed pink, and not even a pretty pink. 

Probably one of the most obnoxious pinks he has ever seen in his life. Standing beside her seemed to be a younger man, maybe around Wild’s age. He’s probably the one that actually trained the dog and most likely the one to guide him through the course. 

In fact, that was Twilight’s biggest worry. Cause he refused to do this stupid competition without being sure that he would win but Wild promised he already studied the course layout and said they are one of the last to go so Twilight can study the other dogs. Much to his annoyance. The fact that he has to study actual dogs to win this thing. 

“Twilight your growling” he heard Wind whisper, lightly nudging the Rancher’s side. Breaking him out of his thoughts, to which he sees that Wind was right. He needed to calm down if he didn’t want to drag anymore unwanted attention to themselves. 

Wild was off getting them snacks since Wind loudly declared how hungry he was, and Twilight mentally agreed with him. There was about 7 other dogs to perform before them so they had plenty of time to eat. Especially since they all agreed that it would be Wild leading him through it. The two of them were instinctively bonded in a way that none of the other chain was, even with Wolfie’s instincts getting in the way. 

The others didn’t really understand that when Twilight was Wolfie, he did follow his more animalistic instincts more than his human thought. Wild was the only one who could properly understand him in this form, so if Wolfie ever need to make an appearance, Wild was the one in charge of taking ‘care’ of him.

It didn’t take long for Wild to come back with a few bags of what seemed to be popcorn…with caramel on it? Twilight tilted his head as the sweet smell entered his nostrils and practically made him drool with excitement. His tail slightly wagged as Wild handed one bag over to Wind and set the third one on the ground. “Only needed 5 rupees for three bags, so I had enough” Wild signed.

Wind did express his worry for not having enough Rupee’s to get anything, but thankfully Wild did seem to have at least some stuff left over. “Told you, I just don’t have enough for all of us to be in an Inn”

Twilight quickly stuffed his mouth with the popcorn, the sweet taste flooding his sense as he heard Wind snickering behind him. “I think Wolfie likes it” he teased, but Twilight only gave an annoyed ear flick in response. 

“Don’t eat to fast Wolfie” he then heard, the champions hoarse voice familiar but uncommon to hear. “Don’t want you getting sick”

Twilight only gave a whine in response but he did slow down his eating. Wild was right after all. 

“I wish we could’ve at least brought the rest of the group here, I really think they would’ve enjoyed watching this” Wind then chimed in, seeming to let out a disappointed sigh. 

Wild only rolled his eyes, throwing in another piece of popcorn in his mouth before signing “You know Twi would kill us if we did, he’s already embarrassed enough. Now keep working on that story you promised him, we need to explain how we got so many rupee’s once we win”

Wind only grumbled at that, as the three of them watched the course go. Of course, the poodle was sectioned right before them. The dog walking with an aura of smugness that really shouldn’t be possible for a creature like that. Then again it might be his own annoyance for the little thing, which definitely didn’t deserve his ire. 

“Now announcing Princess Rosa and her trainer Doron! This purebred poodle has been the champion for the last three games now, and quite a champion she is! Let’s see her grace in action, so judges whenever you are ready!” the announcer shouted, causing Twilight’s ears to perk up. While he was studying the rest of the dogs, it took only two competitors for him to realize just what the course entailed. It really shouldn’t be too difficult to perform. His only issue would be his size so he’s not as maneuverable as some of the smaller dog breeds. However, he is confident that he can figure it out on the fly. 

He was a hero after all. How difficult could a dog course be?

Yet, while watching Rosa, she went through the agility course with ease. A creature with limited intelligence did this course with a certain sort of grace that Twilight didn’t think he could live up too. Shit. How is that a dog moving with an ease that Twilight couldn't even begin to do. He knew he took a lot of practice from actual wolves, when it came to learning his new body alongside Wild who was raised by a small pack.

But maybe he should also take lessons from show dogs and agility dogs, who move with such confidence in their strides. Working with the smoothness alongside the orders of their pack, but with such confidence to stand out on their own. Wolves taught you to blend in. It seems this poodle knew how to take the space given to you, and own it. 

Though it was still a poodle, and he refused to let it win. 

He pointedly ignored Wild's knowing look however, but he knew the other was studying Rosa's movements just as much as Twilight was. 

She finished with almost perfect scores and Twilight was pretty sure she even beat her previous score. How was he going to even win that? He's not even sure if he can jump through the hoops that quickly or slide through those weave poles as easily as Rosa did. However, he knew he would try his best. 

"Now! We have a new dangerous duo this competition! Introducing Wild, and his wolf-dog Wolfie!" the announcer then shouted after Rosa was done. Twilight immediately stood up, a certain form of determination in his step as he knew he would be trying his best to still win against a dog. 

Him and Wild easily fell into step together as they walked to the center of the course. Twilight's eyes scanning the course and mentally going through it. Wild kneeled next to Twilight, having the wolf stare at him in the eyes. Before Wild's eyes closed and head butted him. Twilight's ears going back as he leaned into the touch. 

They didn't really need to do this, but for them they swore it helped with their bond and getting on the same wave length. Helping them become one mind, one heart, one spirit before separating and doing what they needed to. Usually it happened before they hunted together and while they would enjoy being able to do it before a fight, they simply don't always have time. However, they don't do it just because and usually there has to be certain situations that really need them to really focus together. 

It seems as though this was a moment, as ridiculous as it was. 

Twilight then found himself sneezing, causing Wild to snort and roll his eyes in amusement as he pulled away. Flashing the wolf a large smile and a thumbs up and Twilight's ears only flicked in response. He still had to seem somewhat normal after all. 

Twilight easily slipped into position, right next to Wild's size as the two of them easily fell into stride. Now simply waiting for the bell to ring, and the two of them would be off. 

--------------------

"We're back!" Wind shouted to the small little campsite that Time and Warriors seemed to have thrown together. Twilight and Wild were following right behind, both of them having amused looks on their faces as Wind excitedly went to show Time their winnings. Much to Time's surprise. 

"How in Hylia's name did you guys get this much rupees?" Time said, narrowing his eyes at the three of them. Though Wind was the one most likely to have sticky fingers, it was clear there was way to much for even a pickpocket to get. 

"Don't question it Time" Twilight then stepped in, giving off an aura of innocence cause frankly he was still way too embarrassed to admit where those winnings came from. "Let's just go get that Inn, Wars and the others can pick up the camp"

Time only narrowed his eyes at the other, before giving a tired sigh. Which was understandable, having to deal with the chain's shenanigans all the time. "I'll get it from you guys eventually, but I am really too tired to care and I want a bed"

The three of them only smiled at each other.

#linked universe #lu wild #lu time #lu twilight #lu wind #lu wolfie #ficlet #writing prompt

[jaetyun]

infrunami.

"can you come back to me? cause i was blind to see that you were right infrunami."

heeseung x f!reader

this is the original draft to the now smau, see if you can spot all the changes i made from oneshot ver to smau ver! also warning it ends very abruptly because its unfinished lol

wc: 4.9k

You couldn't remember how your life was before Ningning. Your best friend had moved to your street in the 3rd grade, your houses straight across from one another.

Ningning seemed straight out of a dream you had, with her closet full of the Justice you never got to own. Her hair was always perfectly groomed, and a pretty headband in place to keep it down. She was the kindest person you had ever met, and though you hadn't met many people at the ripe age of 8 you had guessed she must be the nicest person in the world because why else would she hand you sugary snacks from her lunchbox every day?!

She was comforting. Predictable even. Which is why it was such a shock when you met her older brother, Heeseung. He was the most confusing person in the world- scratch that- the *Universe*. He was always looming in the background, his closet being anything but flashy. Seriously, a black Nirvana shirt in elementary school?!

Because of this, you found yourself constantly trying to talk to him, to figure him out. Even though his shy demeanor pushed you away, you'd always come running back. Heeseung would never admit it, but he appreciated your company. A lot.

In middle school, it became even harder for Heeseung to express this sentiment. 'hey Yizhuo, is Y/N coming today?' became 'I hope to God your little friend isn't staying over', it was just a product of hormones and deep teenage angst. He couldn't help it!

As you both grew, he figured your childish interest in him would disappear. It was simply curiosity, nothing more. so when you stayed clinging onto him, Heeseung was left shrugging you off, his disinterest only feeding into your infatuation with the boy.

"You with barcode boy again?"

"Piss off, limp dick!" You sneered, tugging Heeseung closer to you as you both strode in the hallway.

"You don't have to do that y'know.." He muttered words barely above a whisper. You turned to face him, tilting your head. "Do what?"

"Defend me. or hang out with me in general" He looked away, staring at the lockers instead of making eye contact with you. You stared at him for a moment before looking away, your grip on his arm tightening.

"Don't be stupid." Heeseungs parted lips closed, unsure of how to respond.

"I'll always be here, Seung. Nobody will hurt you under my watch" You proudly grinned, giving him an enthusiastic thumbs up. He just nodded, the same tight-lipped expression he had before.

"Yeah, guess I couldn't get rid of you if I tried."

You snorted "Was that the goal?"

"Damn it! You caught me" He smiled, finally turning to face you. You grinned, softly meeting his gaze.

"I take it back, only *one* person can hurt you"

He cocked an eyebrow, tilting his head.

"Who?" You quickly unlinked your arm from his, punching the now-open area right above his waist. You gave his ribs one last shank for good measure before pointing to yourself with your thumb.

"I can!"

As the years passed, that mostly held up. What started as relief turned into humiliation, as he continuously got comments about your company.

What was even worse than the teasing was you: A generally popular cheerleader about half his height and a year younger berating anyone who dared to talk about Heeseung. How was he *ever* supposed to get a girlfriend at this rate?

It didn't help that you were practically an arm away at all times, given that you were with Ningning 90% of the day. Heeseung understood you just wanted to keep your oath, but he felt more than ever like a sad loser who resorts to being with his sister's cheer team rather than being his own person.

Heeseung tried to reason with himself. The people snickering were most likely just jealous! High school kids weren't known as the most accepting people in the world, so he took it with pride.

At least.. he tried to.

But the only thing worse than the people in his grade were the ones in *yours*. The glares the cheer team sent his way never went unnoticed, the already self-conscious boy only curling over himself more throughout the years.

He could hardly talk to you inside school anymore, with your presence becoming an honor more than a regular site. It didn't help that his friend was almost always whining about sneaking off to the library to play games on the computers, a sheepish smile on his face as you nodded in understanding.

He knew you were growing up, and that you'd change, that you'd both change. Heeseung told himself it was natural, that he shouldn't feel so bad every time he saw your new friends. People change, and they go with people who suit them. It became increasingly clear to him that you two didn't suit each other after all this time. It was time for your childish interest in your friend's older brother to leave, and for that interest to be with people who suited you. People that weren't Heeseung.

"You don't have to do all this for me"

"But I want to" You smiled, lazily swinging your backpack off your shoulder and placing it on his desk. You took out an old hoodie Heeseung had overgrown (It didn't quite fit you either, but trying to take it from you was like talking to a wall), swiftly sticking your arms through the holes to cover your sweaty cheer uniform.

"Which episode of Mob Psycho were we on?" He sat up, closing his laptop. You hadn't noticed, too busy grabbing materials from your backpack to see his uneasy expression. "15 right?"

"You should be with Yizhuo right now" You glanced up, eyebrows furrowing.

"She's with the team, they're out bowling" You laughed it off, looking back down at the perfume and makeup you had placed on the black wood. He cleared his throat, catching your attention again.

"That's what I mean. You should be out bowling" He offered, watching the way you waved him off with a laugh. "I like hanging out with you, don't worry about it"

"I know you do.." He trailed, Heeseungs expression saying what he didn't have to. You squinted, your hands slowing from your bag.

"Do *you* not like hanging around *me*?"

Before he could clarify, he felt the teenage angst start kicking in. Fuck, fuck! The last thing you needed was the wrong idea, but before he could stop himself from construing his own words puberty went to work.

"I just don't understand why you keep lingering around. you're forcing something that isn't working!" He threw his hands up, watching you mirror the gesture. "You think I'm forcing us? Is that what you really think?"

Heeseung's jaw tensed, of course it wasn't. But it'd be selfish of him to keep you to himself. "If you actually cared you'd leave me alone."

You scoffed, throwing the hoodie back into your bag as you spoke "I told you I wouldn't leave you anytime soon. You never seemed to be bothered by it until now"

"I don't need charity work. You're a cool girl, but you're supposed to be Yizhuo's friend, not mine."

"Y'know what? You're right, I should've been bowling right now. But instead, I'm watching anime with a fucking loser. 'Cause I liked you more than them, my bad for not getting the hint it wasn't mutual"

You gestured to the perfume left on his desk, slinging your backpack over your shoulder. "I don't want it anymore. The scent reminds me of you, tell Ning it's a gift"

You shut his door on the way out, leaving him alone in engulfing silence. Well shit, this isn't remotely what he wanted. Fuck puberty. He'd rather drag you back in here and argue with you than sit by himself, the only thing he had left to think about is your words. You had done exactly what he asked, and he made it impossibly clear what he wanted. So why isn't he happy with the result? Why did it feel like this was gonna come back to bite him? Heeseung was no master of social cues, but even he knew he couldn't text you with a simple 'Hey soz lol I was having a bad day 🙏💯" and expect you to be happy. Making his sister talk to you for him was possibly the second worst idea he had ever had in his 16 years of life (The first was the time he convinced Ningning to get into the toddler swing in middle school. She broke her hip.)

Heeseung felt at a loss for words. At a loss of emotion even, complete suspension of thought in his mind.

He glanced at the perfume, squinting to see what scent it was.

Japanese Cherry Blossom from Bath and Bodyworks. A scent so feminine no man would ever willingly keep it, let alone use it. He had to give it to his sister, he was never gonna be caught *dead* with this in his room.

*spritz*

It was surprisingly strong. No wonder you used it after cheer practice, it makes sense how you never smelt bad even when sitting right next to him, the laptop on each of your thighs so it's an equal viewing experience. The smell was the only comforting thing to Heeseung at this moment, no well in hell he was getting rid of it. He took the bottle and shoved it into the corner of his nightstand: Out of sight out of mind!

--

As Heeseung expected, now that you were out of the equation the teasing went down by a mile. It also helped that any rumors of the two of you were shut down by the entire team, all of them seemingly having a consensus it was no hard feelings. Or at least, a consensus to tell people that. Heeseung also found himself becoming slimmer and gaining muscle, most all his time was devoted to basketball to take his mind off that night.

But moving on would be simply too easy. Whatever God or deity exists was most definitely on your side, or at the very least, not Heeseungs.

When he found out you had gotten with one of his middle school bullies, he was distraught. you had seen how much Sunghoon bothered him every day, the nickname 'barcode boy' still being used on Heeseung all these years later.

Though he and Sunghoon were on decent terms now, he couldn't help but feel as if it was a targeted decision. Getting with someone you knew hated him after having a blow-up fight sure was an odd coincidence at best and bafflingly petty at worst.

"You guys are seriously so cute" Kazuha gushed, your phone in her hand as she took the role of cameraman for your insta.

Sunghoon had his arm wrapped nonchalantly around your shoulders, a peace sign being his attempt at posing for the camera. You puckered your lips, kissing his cheek as the camera flashed. "Thank you, Zuha" You took your phone back, blowing a kiss that she quickly snatched before Sunghoon had a chance. you showed him the photo, smiling up at your boyfriend.

"Still can't believe how long it took for me to realize you liked me"

He shrugged, a sheepish laugh escaping his lips. "Didnt exactly express it well"

Ningning tilted her head "I thought you two hated each other, I know Y/N did for a while"

He shook your shoulder, a proud smile on his face. "Nah, I was just jealous of Heeseung and took it out on him" You tutted at the name drop, the simple mention of him still catches you off guard. Ningning snorts, leaning onto the diner's table in sudden interest. "What? You thought they were into each other?" You nervously laugh along with them, your eyes darting wildly now that your brain has been kicked into high alert with the new conversation topic.

"Still did up till she asked me out"

"God, this is so cheesy" You deflected, your head buried into his chest from embarrassment

Heeseung had arrived a few minutes ago to pick his sister up, watching the conversation in horror. He knew you'd be there, that was a given, but he figured it was a girl hangout and he'd possibly have the chance to talk to you. Instead, you were curled up next to Sunghoon, who had his arm wrapped around your back. The casual mention of his name drove him crazy, he hated how you were no longer protective over him. He hated that he lost your loyalty.

"Speaking of Heeseung, where is he? He should've been here by now"

You stiffened under Sunghoon, resisting the urge to rip away from him and look at your best friend after she offhandedly said he'd be here. Right next to you.

Sunghoon noticed, speaking for you "You need your brother to pick you up?"

"I don't have my license" she reasoned, scrolling through her contacts to find him. "And unlike all of you, I'm on good terms with him"

"Hey! I never hated Heeseung" Kazuha crossed her arms, clearly offended. Ningning looked back up at her, an unimpressed expression on her face "You talked shit about him every time Y/N couldn't join us"

Heeseung almost yelped when his phone audibly rang, revealing his presence at the front entrance. He cleared his throat and shoved his phone into his back pocket, big brother mode turning on.

"I just got here, Gyu was holding me up" The table physically relaxed, a relieved look on everyone's face. Ningning stood up, kissing Kazuha on the cheek while saying her goodbyes. Sunghoon gave Heeseung a short wave, an awkward wave back from the latter before they were on their way.

Heeseung wished that was the worst part about you dating Sunghoon, the fact that they had middle school beef. Something as stupid and trivial as that, and that deep down you were happy and living your best life while he was bitter he wasn't in it.

He wished the worst part wasn't the fact that Sunghoon, your first love, tried to fuck your best friend. Heeseungs little sister.

It certainly didn't help that you gave him a second chance and reassured everyone you knew it'd be a one-time thing. until it wasn't, and you walked in on him and another girl

Heeseung remembered you rushing into their house, broken sobs as you begged for forgiveness from Ningning.

He had just made a new bad decision that had to make the top of the list (beating out the broken hip incident by a long shot), and it was the moment you told Ningning what happened.

His biggest regret was not running out of his room and hugging you, comforting you, just *seeing* you. Instead, he chickened out like he always did.

How many regrets can one person blame on puberty? At what point does it become your personality, just a part of you that you can't deny?

Heeseung listened through a closed door, whispering how he was gonna beat Sunghoons ass into next year. Lies, he knew he couldn't do anything. He was simply the barcode boy, the boy that couldn't stand up for anyone or anything. He felt so useless, wishing he could do more than listen

The cherry on top was he was graduating that year, shipping himself off to university that summer. Without a proper chance to say goodbye, you went 3 years without a single word exchanged with one another.

-

"She's going to some preppy art school an hour away" Ningning complained, throwing herself onto her mattress without a bed frame.

"You'd rather have her come to us with our tuition rate? hard pass" Heeseung was on the opposite side of the room, placing boxes in a miscellaneous order. Ningning rolled over, now on her back as she continued to whine.

"Going to art school on a full-ride scholarship is about as embarrassing as wearing a varsity jacket after high school"

She peered at her brother who was in fact, wearing his varsity jacket after high school.

"Mom paid a lot of money for this!" He reasoned, pointing toward her. "You better watch your mouth before I leave you to unpack by yourself" She sheepishly smiled, mumbling an apology.

"Why do you have so much shit??" He continues to nag, opening the boxes to see what in the world could've made them so heavy and full. "You're gonna end up throwing half of this.." He trails off, not finishing his statement as his attention began to drift. Peeking through one of the box's flaps was a picture frame of the 3 of you. Heeseung could only half listen to what Ningning was saying, too preoccupied with flipping the box's lid with his backhand to get a better view. It's been years and there are absolutely 0 reasons he should still be hung up over you, but the sense of yearning for what could've been has been looming over his head like a notification he couldn't swipe away.

"They're filled with memories you heartless asshole!"

"That's what a hoarder would say" He scoffs, now kneeling over the box with the picture in his hand. Ningning fell silent, pulling herself up to get a better view of Heeseungs dejected sigh. His eyes flashed with so many thoughts and memories she couldn't even begin to imagine what he was thinking.

"She came to the party crying when you guys had that fight. She kept asking me if you never liked her" His heart sank to his ass, and at that moment he wanted nothing more than to shit out all the guilt pooling in his stomach. "It was for the better, she's happy"

"Have you been happy, Heeseung?"

He closed his lips together, forming a thin line over his teeth before pushing it back out to make a pout. "That's irrelevant"

"Not when she would ask how you were doing every day"

"I thought you were just being a caring sister!" Heeseungs frown was met with Ningnings evil cackle, putting her elbows on the bed and sliding so she was on her stomach.

"God no!" She snorted, tilting her head as if a thought bubble had appeared on the side of her temple. "it was always 'Is Heeseung okay? what's he up to? Has he made any new friends?' and I'd always have to be like 'well...'" she trailed, smiling mischievously when she saw his annoyed expression.

"Wait.. she was checking up on me?"

"The whole time." She hummed before shrugging "Not sure if it makes you feel better or worse, but I hope it helps you make the right choice"

He furrows his brows, placing the frame back into the box carefully, and he could barely spare his sister a single glance when his gaze was busy lingering on your giddy smile.

"What choice?"

"She's coming to the party later tonight."

Party was a bit of an overstatement, it was closer to a medium-sized get-together. Now that Ningning was a freshman at her brother's university, he gathered his friends (reluctantly after they practically begged to see her) and some of their acquaintances to hang out at Jake's fraternity house. Although it was optional, everyone was also welcome to bring a plus one. Heeseung had joked she was gonna bring you but hadn't expected her to take it as genuine advice.

"Does she know what it is?" Ningning brought her hand up to her shoulder, shaking it loosely. "So-so??"

Heeseung deadpanned, tilting his head in a final show of how unimpressed he was, leaving Ningning to drop her head with a sigh.

"I'm just saying. I want you to be happy again Seung." She lifted her head back up, and pursed her lips as she thought for a moment. "Y/N wants you to be happy. I'm her carrier pigeon" She finished, finally drawing a short laugh out of her brother.

"Yunjins my plus one" Heeseung breathed out, his expression turning sour at the mention. Ningning furrowed her eyebrows, her mouth tugging itself into an unamused smile. "Okay? You're not trying to fuck my friend are you?"

He quickly shook his head, hands coming up defensively. "No! She just never liked when I was around other girls."

Ningning face curled into disgust at the insinuation "You last talked to her when she was 15, I think she can handle you having a girlfriend."

"Not my girlfriend" He groaned, standing up to resume his task of relocating all the boxes.

"Whatever, just don't be stupid!"

-

An hour into the party, Heeseung was sure his sister had just bluffed. He had yet to spot you, which was embarrassing when he took a good look at himself in the mirror.

He had worn his best sweatshirt, paired with baggy jeans he only wore on special occasions. Though it wasn't obvious to any onlookers, to Heeseung the fact that he had dressed to impress you only reminded him of the anxiousness he possessed as a teenager.

Staring at his reflection, Heeseungs eyes widened once he peered down lower, a strip of pictures you two took in a photobooth sticking out his pocket slightly. Yeah, definitely resembling himself 3 years ago.

Now exiting the bathroom, he could hardly hold back the frown etched on his face, his mood undeniably soured.

"Didn't know you cared so much about losing beer pong" Jake teased, an arm slinging around his friends as the other arm handed him a red solo cup. "Hey, no hard feelings. just had to get back at you for the other day"

Heeseung tried his best to put on a more lighthearted expression, the corner of his lip quirking at the mention of his victory. "I've always been better at basketball" He nonchalantly shrugged, Jake's unimpressed glare working the other corner up into a full smile.

"But seriously, what's with the attitude?" Heeseungs eyes perked up the question, a confused furrow of his eyebrows functioning as a reply. "You look like you wanted to leave since you got here"

"Ah," He started, his gaze faltering when he realized he wasn't as secretive with his emotions as he had hoped. "I just, I dunno.." He continued, open hand going to the crook of his neck as he scratched absentmindedly. "Guess I acted weird cause of someone"

Jake frowned at the vague answer, tutting as he unlinked his arm from the other boy. "You can't wear your best for a girl you've been ignoring all night"

Heeseung winced, slowly moving his eyes from the crowd to his friend. "Am I that obvious?"

"Dude, you are *not* as slick as you think you are." Jake laughed, taking the untouched cup back into his own grasp and taking a sip. "Yunjin thought you were mad at her"

Heeseung blinked, worry turning into confusion. Jake was so incredibly close to hitting the mark, and then completely avoided it in true Jake fashion.

"Well I'm not"

"Tell that to Yunjin, she's been with Yizhuo and her friend the entire time. By the way, do you recognize her? figured I'd ask 'cause no one else does" Jake points to their general direction.

Absolutely nothing could've prepared Heeseung for the sight.

The reason he's been ignoring everyone, the reason he was nervous to show up today, the reason he had a stupid photobooth strip (that had to be at least 5 years old at this point) stuffed in his pocket.

There you were, laughing away with a small group of girls right by the assortment of drinks.

All he could do was gulp, a silent nod was all he could manage. "Knew I should've asked you first! Who is that?" Heeseung was utterly unresponsive, his eyes boring into every inch of you. Jake watched for a moment, cracking a grin eventually. "You're helpless," He chuckled, giving his friend a light shove in your direction. "Go talk to your girl!"

It completely flew over Heeseungs head that Jake had intended to tease him about Yunjin, his mind now coming up with a plan. He had to show he wasn't the same kid he was when you last saw him. He had to prove that he had grown.

And that he was really.. really sorry about that night.

The same question kept repeating in his mind: how can he act cool? What should he do to show you the best first impression he can?

What would Jake do? What would Jake do?! Since Jake always seemed to have a roster at any given moment, Heeseung figured he had to be doing something right. so if he just used the advice from his somewhat womanizing friend...

"Guess who?" He spoke lowly in your ear, covering your eyes with his hands.

Holy shit. Heeseung wanted to curl into a ball and roll off the face of the earth from how corny and absolutely *not cool* he was being.

You softly gasped, arms tugging away at his and turning around in complete shock. "Heeseung?" Your eyes beamed, looking him up and down as if you couldn't believe he was real. Though in a split second, all emotion drained from your face as you glanced back up and made eye contact. "What the hell was that?" He opened his mouth to respond, but he was quickly cut off by Yunjin.

"You guys know each other?" Her curious glance at the close proximity made the moment suddenly awkward, both of you nodding wordlessly.

The question was.. hard to answer. With your complicated relationship, neither of you were sure how exactly to answer without going into detail.

"We grew up together" Although you said it as more of a question than a confident response, you earned a nod of approval from both Ningning and Heeseung. you turned back to Yunjin, smiling as you took his arms and crossed them over your shoulders to prevent him from running away.

"This is the first time he's ever approached me first actually" The passive-aggressive comment had made one thing clear to him: you were most definitely still mad at him.

"Really? He's not that shy.." Yunjin looked back up to the boy for confirmation, earning a sheepish laugh.

"I used to be"

"Aww, that sounds kinda cute" She smiled, eyes never leaving his. Ningning groaned, a waving hand in dismissal

"Can you guys *please* not flirt at my party? Save it for the ride home"

You turned around, an unreadable expression as you glanced at Heeseung. He blinked as if he was asking you a question with his eyes, one you answered with an annoyed eye roll. "Looks like there's some catching up to do"

Ningning's eyes rose in realization, mouth forming an 'o' as she slowly nodded. "I guess I never told you, did I?"

"Let's not talk about it right now! It's so embarrassing" Yunjin had a shy smile, staring down at her cup with a finger circling the rim.

Your eyes never left Heeseungs, a passive-aggressive smile stabbing daggers into him. "A *lot* of catching up."

you let go of his wrists, waving a short bye before signaling to the bathroom. As if Heeseung was in a trance, he watched dumbly before walking after you wordlessly. He resembled a puppy as he mindlessly followed wherever you went, waiting outside the restroom with an awkward lean against the wall.

When you exited, your eyes widened with another unreadable expression. You had since stopped your motion of rubbing the excess water onto your skirt, arms crossing as though you were about to say some snarky remark to Heeseung. He cleared his throat, trying his damn best to fake nonchalance. The one question popping in his head over and over: What would Jake do?

"Didn't notice you there" You snorted, face visibly relaxing. "You didn't?"

His demeanor faltered, hands combing through his hair as Heeseung longingly glanced away. "Nah."

You took a wide step to the left, using your hands to gesture to the room behind you. He blinked, unsure of what your body language is implying.

"If you're not here for me, you need to use the bathroom." Heeseung eyes slightly widened, his eyebrows jerking upward before it falls back to his neutral expression. Your eyes crinkle as you smile, stepping back in front of him. "You're the exact same dork you were when I last saw you."

He couldn't mask his expression this time, his eyebrows furrowing in worry and his eyes now losing focus.

There's no way he was the same person. That's not possible, not when everyone treats him so differently. He must have changed drastically if he went from being bullied to having a best friend in a fraternity.

"I am?" You nod, your hard expression softening into a chuckle.

"I can still read you like a book."

"You can?"

"You've never been good at hiding secrets anyways, but you did the thing you always do when you're caught in a lie"

His mouth falls open, the defensive mode automatically kicking in for him. "I don't do anything when I lie" The teenage angst was about to take over until Heeseungs parted mouth closed, realizing what had just happened within his brain.

Fuck, maybe he hasn't changed.

You mimick the eyebrow flicking, your eyes widening and your eyebrows quirking up like a twitch.

"Is that you trying to hit on me?"

"Were *you* trying to hit on *me* when you did it?" You both blink for a moment, the pause only catapulting the two of you into a fit of laughter.

#enhypen x reader #heeseung fluff #heeseung x reader #enhypen #heeseung enhypen #heeseung drabbles #heeseung oneshots #heeseung fanfic #heeseung imagines #enhypen fanfiction #enhypen imagines

[haunted-xander]

Hsr age headcanons except I also explain my reasonings bc I read everyones lore to get it more accurate.

(Also, a few things to note that will be relevant to my explainations: Some of these I'm not 100% certain of the age groups I put them in here, so some might not be as specific. Blade will be considered his age prior to being mara-struck for the sake of this post. Imbibitor Lunae is a stand in for Dan Feng.)

Let's begin, shall we?

Child (6-12)

Hook: I believe she's around 7-8. She's very obviously a kid, but I don't think she's like, a toddler or anything. She's smart enought to pull the clever little tricks she does, and has enough awareness to understand some harder topics (like Fersman's declining health and the reality of her birth parent's deaths).

Clara: I originally figured she was around 14 or so, but since one of her stories claim she's of similar age to Hook, and one of Hook's stories has her note Clara is a few years older than her, I think I'd put her around 11-12. Maaaaaybe 10, but that feels a bit too young for her.

Early to mid teens (13-17)

Arlan: Probably around 17 or so. We know he's younger than Asta, who met him when he was a kid and offered him a job for her family, and she also mentions that she took him in during her companion mission. Herta also says in her voice line about him that he's probably one of the "exceptionally gifted" kids Asta gave money to.

Lynx: She's much younger than Gepard and Serval, obviously, but she's also probably around the same age as Pela (who is confirmed to be 16) given how close they are and how they interact. Her companion mission also largely revolves around her trying to escape her older siblings protectiveness, which I feel is relatable to a lot of teens lol.

Late teen (18-19)

Silver Wolf: Tbh I don't have any solid justification for this, mostly just vibes. She's definitely younger than Kafka, but other than that I don't really have much to go off of. Probably 19, but I could see her maybe being early 20s too.

Guinaifen: I'm not completely sure about this one tbh. She's definitely a teenager, she says she's close to but not yet an adult to Bailu after we chase her and the Heliobus possessing her. She's also very close friends with Sushang, (who is confirmed to be around 16-17) so it makes sense for Gui to be a similar age too. The thing that's tripping me up is that one of her stories says she spent all her teenage years on the planet she lived on prior to coming to the Luofu, which would make her 19 at minimum. It could also just be exaggerating, or not counting 18 & 19 as teen years (that one seems unlikely though).

Young adult (20+)

Trailblazer: Well, obviously, Trailblazer is actually like a few months old at most seeing as we start the game by being "born" but, ya know. They're treated as an adult by everyone around them, not to mention they're clearly meant to be around the same age as March and Dan Heng, who are also depicted as adults (Dan Heng has been seen drinking in official art, for example). I think maybe like, around 20-22 would fit.

March: There's what I mentioned previously of course (being close in age to Trailblazer and Dan Heng), but the whole "girls like me/my age all like this and this" thing is a very typical mindset of late teens & very young adults. The way she talks about taking pictures of food in one of her stories also sound very much like how a young adult would explain it lolol. Like Trailblazer, probably around 20-22. Tbh I'm not sure how to explain my reasoning when basing it off of her behaviour without it sounding like I'm saying all girls her age do this, I'm not 😅 but it is common enough I feel like it adds to her feeling that age, ya know?

Asta: As mentioned with Arlan, we know she's notably older than him. I would say her position on the space station means she has a decent amount of life experience for her to do it so well, but this is Hoyoverse and anyone can do anything regardless of age, so that doesn't really work lol. That said, she clearly has had the position for a long time, so even if she wasn't an adult when she started, she definitely should be now. Probably around 23-24.

Bronya: She's been in the Silvermane Guards for long enough to be well-known and trusted for her skills, and with how easily she took up the position of Supreme Guardian, she has a lot of public faith and trust as well. She needs to have been serving for a good amount of years, to get all that. That said, I do think she started young, so I'd put her at around early-to-mid 20s. probably around 23-24 like Asta.

Seele: Canonicly around the same age as Bronya, so probably about 23-24 again.

Luka: Not much concrete to go off of, but he's probably around the same age as Seele given their interactions. He's also obviously an adult, or Hook would've dropped the 'honourary' part and just make him a proper Mole lolol. Around 23-24 again.

Topaz: In her voice line about Bronya she says they're around the same age. March also notes that she's pretty young for an executive, and her character stories explain that she started working for the IPC at a VERY young age. Probably around 23-24 yet again.

Adult (30+)

Sampo: He's a notorious scammer who's being doing his work in Belobog for a long enough time to become notorious, so him being in his 30s seems likely. I don't have any other reasoning besides that, really. probably around mid 30s, like 35-36 or something.

Himeko: She had already finished college when she found the express, so she was already an adult then. It's been many years since then, so she's definitely not some young 20-something year old lolol. probably mid-to-late 30s, like 37-38 or the like.

Gepard: Mid-to-late 30s. He's younger than Serval, so he's below 40 (not that I really thought he was middle-aged anyway) and he's probably older than Bronya, as in one of her stories he comforts her after the first death to happen under her leadership, clearly having already gotten used to it. Also, apparently he has a bachelor's degree? (According to the fandom wiki's trivia section). Anyway. Around 37-38 probably.

Luocha: I couldn't really find anything that indicates anything in particular, so I'm just gonna say he's mid 30s based off of vibes alone. Like 35-36 or something.

Kafka: Her age is only ever stated as "unknown" and, like Luocha, I couldn't find anything that indicates anything in particular. So I'm just gonna say she's mid-to-late 30s like Himeko and call it a day. 37-38.

Argenti: His character stories show a variety of different scenes throughout his journey as a Kmight of Beauty, so he has experienced a great deal. Mid 30s, probably. Like 35-36. I don't have much else to go off of.

Middle aged and beyond (40+)

Herta: We know she's like, really old. Like really really old. I don't know exactly HOW old, but old. I think she's still within a human lifespan though, so maybe like 70-80 or something. Physically speaking though, she herself states that her current puppet body looks "70% like I did as a child" so. Yeah. Baby grandma.

Natasha: She raised Seele and was the main caretaker at the orphanage she grew up in, so she ain't exactly young (despite what hyvs aversion to portraying older people properly will tell you). Probably late 40s to early 50s. 49-50 maybe.

Serval: Canonicaly the same age as Cocolia, who raised Bronya for most of her life. Bronya also recognizes Serval as Cocolia's old friend from when she was a child. Mid-to-late 40 probably. 45-46 maybe.

Blade: Yingxing is refered to as 'middle-aged' in-game at around the time it all went down, and he's shown with visible aging and with grayed hair (that is, assuming Blade's current black hair is his natural haircolor?). Probably late 40s, like 48-49 or something.

Canon age

Pela: 16, as stated by Lynx in her & Lynx's companion mission. People have pointed out that this is a plot hole due to other information we have about Pela, but 1) the only thing that goes against this is the claim she was a founding member of Serval's band, which I can 100% believe is either a mistranslation or a case of a writer not cross-referencing properly. (also, I don't remember where this is ever claimed in-game, so if anyone can point me to it I'd appreciate it.) And 2) her being a teen makes more sense with how she's written, imo, so I don't really care if it's actually a plot hole.

Sushang: One of her stories says she's "around 16 to 17 years old". Obviously, this isn't her REAL age since she's a Xianzhou native, but it is the age she is equivalent to for a short-life species.

Welt: 80+. He arrived in the hsr universe at the time of APHO, which takes place in 2025. Since Welt was born in 1947, this would make him 78. While we don't know exactly how long he's been here, he seems to have been here a quite a while, so, 80+ it is.

Long-life species

(equivalent to) Child (6-12)

Bailu: She's been described as a child many, many times, including by herself (multiple times). Although she's probably older than she looks, as both she and several others remark that she has trouble growing bigger for some unknown reason. I'd say maybe around 10-11.

(equivalent to) Early to mid teen (13-17)

Qingque: She reads to me like a 14 year old being forced to take up a summer job by her parents because 'you need to get experience so you can get a job easier when you're older!'. Actually I think that's literally what's going on except summer jobs don't exist on the Luofu so now she has a full-time job at 14 years old. Yeah I don't actually have anything else to go off of other than the level of control her parents have over her life.

Yanqing: His character stories say he is 1) not yet of age (so below 18) and 2) a teenager. Very simple. Not sure why people are arguing about his age so much when it literally says right there in the game that he is a teenage boy. Probably 15.

Huohuo: Honestly not much to go off of. Probably around 14, based solely on vibes.

(equivalent to) Young adult (20+)

Dan Heng: Depicted as a young adult of similar age to Trailblazer and March, as mentioned previously. Pretty simple. That said, I do want to note that one of Blade's stories describe him as a teen. But, based on the way it's written, this seems to be Blade's first encounter with him, so it's probably not accurate to Dan Heng's current age.

Tingyun: Her stories describe her as pretty young, but the way she carried herself and the sort of businesses she did makes me think she was at least 20. Like 20-21 probably.

Fu Xuan: Once again, not much concrete to go off of. Her stories give me the impression she joined the divination comission rather young, and I think she's been the master diviner for quite a while now. Maybe early 20s, like 22-23 or something.

(equivalent to) Adult (30+)

Dan Feng: We don't really know how old Dan Feng was when everything went down other than that he was older than Dan Heng is currently. I'd put him in mid 30s, solely on vibes. I mean, he got engaged and quite literally made a child, so I'd say 30 fits. Ignoring the fact neither of those things have much to do with his age at all. 34-35 maybe.

Hanya: Honestly I have no clue and her stories just confused me. She has the vibes of a 30-something year old so I put her here. My view on her age will probably change once Xueyi is out if only bc I might be able to figure Xueyi's age out better and Hanya would then be somewhere under that.

(equivalent to) Middle aged and beyond (40+)

Jing Yuan: Listen. He's seen shit. He has lived a long ass time. And it's canon he basically raised Yanqing, he's a dad ya'll. probably early-to-mid 40s, like 44-45 maybe. I don't know.

Yukong: She's old. Like actually old. Technically much younger than Jing Yuan, but since foxians lifespans are shorter than other long-life species, she's equivalent to a lot older than he is. She's 249 and foxians live up to 300. She's OLD. I'd say she's like 70 or something.

Jingliu: Also old. She's like, 2000 years old or something, she's a grandma. Probably equivalent to up to 80-something. Except she looks 30 bc Mara. And also long-life species don't actually age past a certain point, so she physically is not capable of looking above 30.

#lots of xianzhou characters have very inconclusive ages #which i guess makes sense given they dont view aging the same way as short-life species #this was hell to write out btw i cant articulate for shit #enjoy. hope everything makes sense and remember these are HEADCANONS i am NOT SAYING THESE ARE ALL 100% FACT #anyway tag time except im not tagging everyone FUCK you #trailblazer #caelus #stelle #dan heng #march 7th #himeko #welt yang #sampo koski #gepard landau #serval landau #bronya rand #seele #jing yuan #kafka #blade #jingliu #yanqing #pela #pelageya sergeyevna #li sushang #silver wolf #luocha #honkai star rail #hsr #xander rambles

[yuyuconfessions]

"I've noticed that younger fans seem to have trouble connecting the dots that a lot of adults on this website were kids younger or close to the age of Yusuke when this series was originally airing back in the 90s in Japan and the 2000s in the west.

Although these fictional characters' stories ended for them at 18 it doesn't mean that Yusuke and the gang stop being important, interesting, or compelling to us. It also doesn't mean that we have to stop loving these fictional characters and their stories after we turn 19.

If you as a minor 14-17 or someone aged 18 - 25 thay feels comfortable shipping these characters, viewing art of them, and reading fic about them ESPECIALLY NSFW art/fic; but your skin crawls that people older than you are creating that content, then you need to sit down with yourself and ask yourself if fandoms that are literally older than your existence are places that you are ready to be socializing in.

Fandoms that are older than your existence will have fans that are MUCH older than you and they are making content and having interactive conversations.

Yu Yu Hakusho is not an Adult Only fandom but it is a fandom that is Mostly Adults.

I fell in love with this show when I was a pre teen. I'm in my mid 30s. The show's target audience is teenagers. But here is the thing: it's target audience was teenagers back in the 90s and 2000s and that's still most of its audience today because Togashi told a fun and resonant story that tends to stick with its audience.

If you can't handle shipping content or adult conversations (conversations about mature topics and themes not necessarily 18+/NSFW but these are definitely present also) about Yu Yu Hakusho then you should try to avoid adult spaces when searching for discussion or content and stick to spaces specifically for minors.

A space specifically for minors would have a ban against all 18+/NSFW content that is strictly enforced. It would not have an 18+/NSFW section at all.

Tumblr and most of the discord servers for YYH that I've seen are adult spaces. Because there is an expectation that while minors are allowed on the websites they must be over a certain age with parental permission because adult conversations happen here where minors could see them.

All of this to say: Unplug from the adult spaces if you feel uncomfortable with adult themes and content or 18+/NSFW content.

Talk to friends irl about Yu Yu Hakusho or find a minor focused space online to talk about it. Come back to the adult spaces in a few years.

This applies to the 18 - 25 crowd also. If you can't handle seeing someone ship these characters or if someone ships them in a way that you don't agree with and it's so upsetting to you that it's causing you a great deal of anger or distress then you need to consider if you really want to be in the Greater Online Yu Yu Hakusho Fandom at this particular point in your life. Or if maybe you want to filter tags on tumblr and drop sites that you can't filter to make your fandom experience more smooth.

If Yu Yu Hakusho has lasted 30 years then it'll last another 3 or 5 years while you get adjusted and engage with Yu Yu Hakusho in minor focused or safely filtered fandom spaces. Trust me. Yu Yu Hakusho will be somewhere on the greater internet when you're older and you've gotten better at self regulating your intake of content online and your response to seeing content online that you don't like.

Yusuke, Kazuma, Kurama, Hiei, Keiko, Botan, Shizuru, Yukina, Genkai and the rest will be here when you get back. That's the great thing about resonant media. It sticks around because people connect to it.

You can love them as long as you want to. They'll always be there. They're not going anywhere."

This mod would just like to add

No one shipping Yusuke x Keiko is sexualizing or exploiting minors; yes, even if the person shipping is 35 years old. These are cartoons, fictional, 2d drawings. If you want to play cute with "but they're 14!" No. Yusuke was created in 1992. He is 31.

If any of the above makes you, a minor, uncomfortable, then get out of adult spaces. Back in myyy day (que groans), any show I liked and looked at online had adult content, like Inuyasha or Naruto, even Teen Titans. I'd be 12 and see suddenly complete porn of Raven, and as a teen, I'd just exit out of it. Now, kids see things online, things they shouldn't see because the internet is NOT safe for kids without parental oversight, and their response is to... yell at the people making the content... for other adults.

If you wouldn't walk into Spencers and yell at the employees there for the vibrators, don't yell at adults drawing porn of Yukina and Hiei fucking. Exit out, or ask your mommy and daddy to put restrictions on what sites you can access. The internet is NOT your babysitter.

#yyh #yu yu hakusho #幽遊白書

[koorminii]

SHOW ME HOW | hwang hyunjin (m)

When you were young, you were friends with a neighborhood boy who liked the same things as you. Both of you were dirt poor, but it didn't seem to matter; as long as you had each other, there was always a make-believe adventure right around the corner. He grew up to be a star actor and, now that he's wealthy beyond imagination, seems to have forgotten where he came from. You haven't talked to him in years, but now he’s back, for reasons unknown to you, where you reconnect and reintroduce him to the life he left behind. (original prompt)

This is a little something I started writing last year, it’s actually the last thing I wrote and actually liked, before I seemed to forget how to. I’ve tried and tried to make it into something more but maybe it’s time for me to let go of it so I can let something new make it’s way in.

pairing: hyunjin x f!reader

genre: romance? very pg. childhood friends to strangers to one-sided enemies to lovers

word count: 1.5k

warnings: just feels; small towns, old friends, mentions of heartbreak, angsty, childhood friends to strangers (??) to one sided enemies (??), idk. a lot of secrecy.

missed u guys <3

p.s listen to it almost worked by tv girl for a better reading experience !

You never understood Hyunjin. Not after all those years when you were kids and especially not now. Not when you’d seen him cry every year on his birthday, not when he’d tried and failed to be friends with every newcomer in town, not when he’d stopped talking to you for days after you made fun of his dirt-caked sneakers (I’m sorry Hyunjin, I thought I’d earned that privilege!), and especially not when he’d left you, nineteen years old with not even a look back as he left to be something great while you were stuck being the younger version of your parents— a nobody.

You’d watched him grow up. You watched him mature from the young boy he was and into a man, and in turn he’d watched you as well. You were there when his voice deepened, when his mole started to fade— you were there when his eyebrows thickened and he lost all his baby fat. You were there when he had a huge growth spurt that left him hovering over you more often than not, even when you had always been the tallest. And in turn, he’d watched you. He was there when you decided to grow your hair out and also when you’d decided to cut it— he was there when you’d started to grow in your body and boys and girls started to take notice— he was there when you’d found something you loved, and he was there when your heart broke for the first time.

You were there to watch him bloom— standing by his side all the while as he did— knowing somewhere deep in your heart that he was meant for much more than the shoddy town you both had grown up in. It wasn’t horrible, no, you’d had a lot of fun growing up there. You never lacked fun, or something to do, or friends to make, but it wasn’t a place for flourishing.

It was a place where everyone knew everyone, where everyone went to the same spot to get alcohol, where everyone knew the best spot to get a fake ID; it was a place where the older generation couldn’t fathom why anyone would want a place in the city, where the docks still held old boats from the 70’s and the houses still held the same structure from years ago. It was a great town, one that held memories, but one that lacked growth.

You were there when Hyunjin flourished, when he grew so tall and bloomed so wide that he could no longer fit in your shoddy little town. When his wings spread so far that if he stayed he’d have to slouch a little— crouch down just to fit in. You were there when he found something he loved, when he found the one thing that made him happiest, when he found a dream to chase after.

You were there through his firsts— when he’d gotten his first job, his first rejection, when he’d gotten his first bad grade and his first perfect grade. You were there when the first argument with his parents turned into frequent ones. You were there during his drama lessons, during his practices, you were there when people would tell him he would never amount to anything— when people said he’d be a failure just like his parents— and you were also the one to stand up for him, throwing your first punch in his honor.

You never understood Hyunjin but you knew him. How he’d pick holes into his jeans when he was nervous, and dye his hair when he was really angry— how he’d sometimes just give you a hug, no warning and no words, just his warm embrace and for seemingly no reason at all, but you knew. You knew how he laughed when he was really happy, when he was being fake, when he laughed something small and sad. You knew what every twitch of his brows meant. You knew what he was trying to say when he’d look at you and his lips would quirk up for a split second— that was all you needed to know what he was trying to say without really saying it. You never understood your best friend, but you knew him. He was yours, and you were his. You didn’t need to understand because you knew. You were there.

You both liked to play the same video games, and every day after school you’d play before pulling out your homework. On the first day of school and every friday afterwards you’d both wear matching T-shirts— and whenever you’d manage to scrape up any money that was always what you spent it on. Something you both could match with. Weekends at the arcade in the next town over, going to the fair in the summer every single day until it closed for the year, swimming in the lake behind your house on the hottest summer days. Going to Mielle’s Diner like it was the best treat that your young minds could ever dream of. You both watched the same movies over and over again and would cry at the same exact parts. You’d read books together and yell at each other about them all the while, and watch whatever new drama was out — falling head over heels for the leads.

Now, the Hyunjin you see is a stranger. Twenty-six years to your twenty-four, he’s unrecognizable— in the way he dresses, in the way he talks, in the way he moves— even in the way he breathes. It’s clear that you no longer know Hwang Hyunjin from eight years ago. And of course that’s normal. After eight years you might not recognize what used to be your favorite song, or your childhood dog, your favorite TV show— if you hadn’t seen your parents in eight years you might not recognize them— but for you, someone who had always believed you and Hyunjin would be best friends forever— as childish as it was, looking at Hyunjin now feels like betrayal. Like heartbreak, one much worse than what made you stay all those years ago— it feels like coming home after a long day just to see your stuff thrown on the porch. It feels like going on a date expecting a proposal only to be broken up with. It feels like getting rejected from your dream school.

Seeing Hyunjin now isn’t familiar. You’ve seen him every once in a while on TV, in a magazine, in a cameo of your favorite show— but that wasn’t Hyunjin. Not your Hyunjin. That wasn’t the Hyunjin that used to throw rocks at your window and help you sneak out to go to karaoke. That wasn’t the Hyunjin that would always come to the diner where you worked and tip extra with the money he barely had. That wasn’t the Hyunjin that bought you your first pair of sneakers after fifteen years of hand-me-downs. That wasn’t the Hyunjin who’d rubbed your back and cried with you on the worst day of your life.

Yet, somehow, it is him. In the way he laughs, in the way he stands just a few inches taller than you, in the way his lips curve up and dimples form in a way you’d never seen before. It’s in the way he says “hey” and wraps you up in a hug like those eight years were really only eight seconds— as if he was just coming back from a week long vacation. It’s him in the way he brings warmth everywhere he goes, embracing you so tightly, so utterly comforting, that it feels like you’ve been rolled up inside a heated blanket on a cold, winter day. You’ve seen him every once in a while, on TV, in a magazine, and realized— that is him. It was him in an interview with dogs, cuddling and cooing at them for twenty minutes straight. It was him doing a tour of his home, books littered everywhere, canvases with the most intricate designs on his walls, it was him, when he still lit up at the sight of anything new— because those things don’t go away. Those old habits and interests that are ingrained so deep; so painfully deep, don’t just go away.

Seeing Hyunjin again is like finding a forgotten trinket in the back of your closet, like finding your favorite book or shirt after months— years, even— of thinking you’d lost it forever. It’s a sudden bout of nostalgia, a remembrance of something you used to love, something you cherished. But maybe the shirt doesn’t fit you anymore. Maybe the book doesn’t interest you. Seeing Hyunjin is like that— someone you used to love more than anyone; someone you used to cherish, but he’s a thing from the past, and eventually you’d always lose those items again. They’d lay in the darkness of the deepest corners of your closet, waiting for the chance to be found again or forgotten forever.

You don’t think seeing Hyunjin again is much different, except you’re the thing in the closet, and you’re fine with being forgotten.

It’s been eight years. You never understood Hyunjin, but you knew him. You knew each other better than anyone else could, but the Hyunjin you see today is a stranger. This is not the Hyunjin you know, and you hope he leaves as quickly as he came so your heart can’t be broken for a third time.

#hyunjin x reader #skz x reader #stray kids x reader #hwang hyunjin #hwang hyunjin x reader #stray kids imagines #stray kids drabbles #skz imagines #tysm for reading <3

[all-risejd]

In Which No Dresses Were Harmed…

Exert from “After Shine”, this is a future scene for the fic - set just before Hall of Fame. Rhea and Danika steal sometime for themselves. Kinks to be aware of: breeding, scratching, biting, dom!Rhea, subspace, aftercare, choking, I’m sure I missed some - if I did, please let us know. 

“This seems like a lot for one night.” Danika murmured, as she gazed at the dress Rhea had tossed in her direction, the label made her squirm a bit. “Also, there is a lot of skin going on here.” It was a red number with cut outs. “Not that I mind showing skin, but like…” She trailed off, unsure. “This seems a lot more like a red carpet sort of dress, and I just had that photoshoot that got everyone talking about if I was pregnant or not…”

“Are you?” Rhea teased, as she made a move to rub her hand over Danika’s stomach.

“No, I’m not pregnant, that I know of.” Danika rolled her eyes, and shoved Rhea’s hands away. “Do you want me to be pregnant?” Danika cocked her head to the side.

“It would be the absolute worst time.” Rhea shrugged, “But we’ve established you make cute babies.”

“Oh my god, you're worse than the men.” Danika swatted at her, “Freaking breeding kinks all of you!”

Rhea openly snickered, “Dannni, you know you like being bred.” Rhea caught Danika’s hands as she started to swat at her again, and yanked her forward onto her lap, Danika didn’t even bother to put up a struggle, but did let out a exasperated sigh as Rhea snickered in her face, “Say it.” Rhea ordered, tightening her hold on Danika’s wrist where Rhea had forced her arms behind her back.

“Say what?” Danika asked, batting her eyelashes innocently.

Rhea leaned forward and bit her cheek, hard. “Say you like being bred.” Rhea whispered directly in her ear.

“Fuck, yes, Mami, I like being bred.” Danika whined, all the tension seemed to evaporate from her body.

Rhea twisted them, tossing Danika down onto the dress she’d originally wanted Danika to try on, before caging Danika in, by straddling the younger girls hips, and pinning her wrist above her head. The pair had been in their pajamas, which amounted to cropped t-shirts and underwear. Rhea bent over her, a smirk on her lips as she gazed down at her prey, “Say it again.”

“Mami-” Danika twisted slightly, “I like being bred.” She said it with a bit of defeat.

“Good girl.” Rhea shot forward and slotted their lips together, kissing her in a way that promised violence if she misbehaved, Danika melted, body going soft and limp under Rhea’s. “Such a good little brat.” Rhea hummed as she moved her lips down Danika’s neck, to her exposed collarbone. “Wanna play without the boys?” Rhea asked, seriously, as she gazed up at Danika, the younger nodded her head quickly, “Gonna learn how I take care of my mouthy little brats.” Rhea promised, even as she pushed both of Danika’s wrist into her left hand, pulling her right hand down to cup Danika’s chin, forcing her mouth open, Rhea slid two fingers into her mouth, and grinned as Danika immediately tongued at them and started to suck on them, “Gonna fuck you like I do Dom, sometimes.” She promised, “But not in here. I wanna fuck you in my bed.” Rhea pulled herself off of Danika, and yanked the younger woman up, tossing Danika over her shoulder, slapping her asscheek hard as she carried her out of the room and toward the room Rhea shared with Dominik. Danika let out a noise of protest at being manhandled. 

“Demi, please.” Danika wiggled in her grip, “Nails hurt.”

Rhea paused mid-step, Damian and Finn probably didn’t scratch and claw at Danika with pointed nails, “Ok, kitten.” Rhea loosened her tight grip, making sure her nails weren’t pressing as hard into Danika’s soft flesh. Danika let out a warm giggle, a muffled thank you, Mami sounded against Rhea’s side, even as she resumed her march across the bus. Rhea tossed her onto the bed Rhea and Dominik shared, “Strip.” Rhea ordered, watching as Danika hurried out of her layers. The boys were out with the kids at a trampoline park, the pets were seeing a local veterinarian to get their shots and grooming out of the way, she had maybe two hours to play with Danika.

“You're so obedient.” Rhea muttered, mostly to herself. Dom still had moments where he’d sort of question what was going on, but Danika (just like with Damian) had just melted into subspace with so much trust it made Rhea’s heart clench. For a moment she had to breathe, focus - what was Danika’s safe word, Damian had drilled it into them - it was Wesson, yes, ok. She smiled down at Danika, kissed her on the nose, and instructed, “Stay right here, I need to get stuff ready, ok?” Danika nodded her head quickly, “You can hold my shirt.” Danika liked to hold onto Damian’s shirt when she was in subspace, Rhea knew that from experience, so she hauled her pj shirt over her head and pressed it to Danika’s chest, the tiny woman curled her hands around it, brought it to her nose, and breathed in. If Rhea had thought Danika couldn’t be more of a turn on, she’d been wrong before. 

Rhea went to work then, dragging out the black rolling suitcase that housed her strapon, harness and various attachments. She didn’t want to hurt Danika, so she’d need to tone things down this time, but maybe someday she could work Danika up to one of her bigger dildos. Rhea tapped her chin thoughtfully, and went for a fairly normal sized eight inch long realistic dildo. Rhea stripped down herself, eager for skin on skin contact, as she attached the dildo to the harness, she wiggled the harness up her hips, secured everything where she needed it, then yanked Danika to where she wanted her down the bed, pulling her legs apart as she did, in one smooth motion she yanked the shirt free of Danika’s grasp, and caught her wrist again, pushing them above her head, making Danika’s back arch upward, Rhea bit at her bottom lip, before forcing her tongue into Danika’s mouth, the ever adorable little kitten met her tongue with kitten licks and moans. A smile pulled at Rhea’s lips, as she pushed Danika’s wrist together, and reached back into her metaphorical bag of tricks to grab a bit of silk rope, she tied Danika’s hands together above her head. Rhea moved her hands to cup Danika’s face for a moment, “Pretty kitten.” She purred, before pushing Danika’s chin down and spitting into her open mouth. 

True to what Danika liked, Rhea kept a hand loosely around her throat, and tweaked her nipples with her free hand, Danika kept her gaze on Rhea’s face, tongue darting out and licking the spit that hadn’t made it into her mouth off her cheek, Rhea smiled at how filthy Danika could become with just the right amount to pressure, Rhea careful of her nails, slid her free hand down Danika’s sternum, not digging in like she would normally remembering how sweetly Danika had asked her not to, before she twisted her wrist, and inched her hand down to cup Danika’s mound, “Look at you, cunt already sloppy wet from just a bit of rough attention.” Danika whimpered as Rhea squeezed her throat just a little, Rhea bit at her collarbone, as she pushed two fingers into Danika’s eager and tight little core, side stepping her clit completely. Damian might be sadistic, but Rhea knew exactly how to play a pussy like a well tuned guitar. She wasn’t gentle in the way she fucked her pointer and middle finger in and out of Danika, but did let up on her collarbones and chest, to capture her lips in a kiss once more. Danika was always greedy for kisses, Rhea had learned, the girl loved to make out, and would gladly do it for hours if that was an option, so Rhea rewarded her good behavior with dominating wet kisses, not caring one bit about how much saliva was going to end up on both their faces. 

“Mami?” Danika panted when Rhea pulled back, her pupils were blown wide, a flush on her cheeks and face, “Please?” Rhea grinned down at her, releasing the loose grip she had on Danika’s neck, and pulling her fingers free of the vice grip that Danika’s pussy had on her. Rhea flipped her over on her stomach, and nudged her legs apart again, she bent forward and bit both globes of Danika’s perky little ass, even as she reached for the lube in her bag of goodies, she coated the almost two inch thick dildo generously, before she pulled back the hickie she was leaving on the top of Danika’s right ass cheek, to pull her cheeks apart and gaze down at first her cute little asshole - they really should work on convincing Danika to let them fuck her ass - to her fluttering little hole, Rhea knee walked forward enough to line the tip of the dildo up, eyeing the way Danika’s body had tensed, then relaxed as the head of the silicon cock pressed the first couple inches into her. 

Rhea bent forward, sinking into Danika, to wrap her arms around Danika’s waist, and haul her upward to where she wanted her, Danika let out a shuttering gasp, as Rhea continued to guide Danika up and back onto the dildo. Once the whole of the silicone dick had disappeared into Danika’s tight body, Rhea grabbed a nearby pillow and shoved it under Danika’s hips to help her stay in the perfect position, before Rhea started kissing sweetly across her shoulders, brushing her long hair out of her way, so she could force Danika into another punishing kiss, Rhea rocked her hips backward, then surged forward, fucking into Danika roughly, the smaller girl yelped, but held herself as steady as she could, “Good girl, kitten.” Rhea whispered, even as she started rolling her hips a little more coordinated into Danika’s from behind, “Doing so good for me, want you to taste me when we are done.” Danika bobbed her head, agreeing instantly. Rhea set an even pace, if not aggressive. Rocking into then gently rolling out of Danika, until the younger girl was crying softly, and begging for release. Rhea flicked her gaze to the clock, she’d been fucking in and out of Danika for almost thirty minutes, and the girl had only just started begging - a whirl of positively filthy thoughts danced through Rhea’s head wondering if they ever got enough free time if the men would agree to taking turns fucking Danika along with Rhea, they’d probably have to convince Dominik…

“What do you want, kitten?”

“Wanna cum for you Mami.”

Rhea grinned, before sinking her teeth into Danika’s shoulder, hard enough she broke skin. Rhea felt the girl’s body tense, then tremble as she full on screamed. Rhea slowly eased out of her, followed by a gush of Danika’s cum, leaving a puddle on Dominik’s pillow and their comforter. Danika was shaking slightly even as Rhea hurried out of the harness, and hauled Danika into her arms, “Shh, I’ve got you.” Rhea wiped her eyes, as Danika’s body continued to shake in her arms, Danika pressed her face into Rhea’s neck and let out a weak little keening noise, her thighs were still clenching, and her stomach muscles were actively tightening, Rhea watched half amazed as another gush of cum dribbled out of Danika, this time against Rhea’s thighs. Rhea kissed at her lips, soft and sweet, wanting Danika to come down enough to drink something. Rhea had gatorade on the bedside table, once Danika could drink, Rhea helped her drink, and continued to rub soothing circles on her lower back. Danika sort of hovered for a few seconds, between worlds if Rhea were being poetic. Then, her eyes cleared enough that Rhea knew Danika was at least semi back with her. 

“Wanna taste you now, Mami.” Danika had a slight pout to her lips.

“Drink a little more, and then you can.” Rhea countered. Danika eagerly accepted a few more drinks before her pout was back in full brat mode, “Alright, little kitten, lay down, I’ll let you have what you want.” Rhea watched her shakily move to stretch out on the bed, careful not to lay in the wet (and now cold) puddle she’d left. At least it was laundry night, Rhea thought to herself, as she crawled over Danika’s body, knees bracketing Danika’s head, Rhea wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to this. The hungry way Danika craved pleasing them all. Danika held onto Rhea’s hips, soft as always, and hungrily licked between Rhea’s pussy lips, before nuzzling her clit, soft and sweet. Rhea groaned, Danika was a menace even when she was getting one off. Danika focused on Rhea’s clit, grazing her teeth over the sensative nub, before she’d suck hard enough Rhea let out curses, then she’d flatten her tongue against Rhea’s clit and lick downward, letting her tongue lick into Rhea’s core, Daniak’s little talented tongue would turn pointed and probing when she lapped at Rhea’s slit, as if she could fuck Rhea with just her tongue, and damn if Danika didn’t give it her best. 

“Just like that, kitten, flick my…er, yes.” Rhea drove her hips down, forcing Danika’s tongue deep inside her, “So good, kitten.” She promised, even as she raised up to let Danika breathe on her own again, Danika redoubled her efforts, focusing her talented tongue on Rhea’s clit, more than grazing her teeth against her sensative numb, almost fully biting her, when Rhea felt the pulls of her orgasm, between fucking Danika and the little brat alternating between biting her clit and sucking so hard on her clit it was borderline painful, Rhea came hard, with a shuttering, “DANI.” On her lips, as she pulled her now over-sensitive and pulsing clit free of Danika’s mouth, and pulled the girl into her arms to kiss her, tasting herself on Danika’s tongue and lips made Rhea grin into the kiss, before she was pulling back, “I need to clean your shoulder off, we might as well shower.” 

“My shoulder?” Danika looked at her confused, it was an adorable look.

“I brought blood when I bit you, Danika.” Rhea swiped her hand through the blood on Danika’s back then showed her. Danika’s eyes widened and her pupils seemed to dilate again before Rhea’s very eyes, “We don’t have time before the kids are back for me to fuck you again, sweetheart.” Rhea kissed her forehead, “Come on, let's get cleaned up, we still need to make lunch and figure out if you can wear that dress with your shoulder now sporting my bite mark.”

“I like when you and Damian and Finn leave marks on me.” She admitted, with a grin.

“You and Dominik are going to be the death of me, come on.” Rhea stood on still shaky legs, hauling Danika into a bridal hold and heading them for the bathroom. They could take a shower together, as far as she was concerned. They showered quickly, Rhea bandaged Danika’s shoulder, after she cleaned it out thoroughly because mouths were full of bacteria. Once Danika was dressed in shorts and a tank-top Rhea sent her to the kitchen, hoping the woman would make something yummy for dinner, while Rhea moved to strip her and Dominik’s bed, as well as clean up the multiple messes (starting with cleaning the dildo and harness), and pack everything not appropriate for small children to see away again. In her own t-shirt and shorts, she joined Danika in the kitchen about thirty minutes later. “I have to go pick the animals up from the vet, do you need me to pick anything else up?”

Danika exhaled, “You should probably pick up some pregnancy test, I know we were joking earlier, but…”

“But we aren’t always as careful as we should be.” Rhea kissed her lips, “I’ll get condoms, I know roughly how big everyone is, and I’ll get test.” She agreed before she kissed her again, “Whatever you're cooking smells good, mamacita, can you put my clothes in the dryer?”

“Sure, Dems.” Danika grinned at her, “See you soon?”

“So very soon.” Rhea promised, as she ducked out the door. When they had a chance to arrive at a location early they usually found a RV park or campground they could hang out in, since they were going to be between LA and Hollywood for the next week or so, they’d found Castaic Lake RV Park, and had quickly made it their home base. They had gotten two rentals - one an SUV and the other a sports car. The RV Park was close to a theme park called Magic Mountain that Rhea was desperate to go to. Sliding into the driver's seat of the Porsche, she headed out of the Park and into LA proper to pick the animals up. 

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