#and I love you darkness and I love you horror and I love you hope and I love you broken and shattered and Wrong

[just-my-latest-hyperfixation]

Congrats on 1000 you deserve 10000000 and I love you very many ♥️ for the requests:

J, mafia AU, smut, ring

You know how I like it 😉😘

Mickala!!! 😍😭💖

Thank you so much, I couldn't have made it without all of your lovely support. I'm so happy to have found you as a friend. Hope you enjoy my silly little Mafia AU!

Coup d'etat

Rated: E

Words: 999

Tags: Mafia AU; dark Eddie Munson; intrigue; blood and violence; bondage; nudity; explicit sexual content; consensual non-con

“Nice pool,” Eddie drawls, walking back from the patio into the house. “Could’ve made a bit more of an effort to clean it. I said to leave the place as you’d like to find it, Dick.”

Richard Harrington’s eyes scream bloody murder, but he doesn’t dare speak. Jeff and Frank have him flanked on either side, guns ready in their holsters, and Gareth is manning the door. Just a precaution. Harrington has been in the business for long enough to know he has lost. All of his most loyal henchmen are dead or on the run, and the more fickle ones have joined Eddie’s side.

“Aw, don’t pout.” Eddie pats the man's cheek jovially. “This is just how it works. Survival of the fittest and all that. Now, I believe that concludes our little tour of the house? Or am I forgetting something?” 

Harrington’s face twitches. Jeff laughs and rolls his eyes. 

“The bedroom, Eddie?”

“Ah, of course!” Eddie snaps his fingers, like he only just remembered. “Shall we, gentlemen?”

*

A giant bed dominates the far wall of the master bedroom. On the mattress, wrists tied to the headboard, is a boy. The soft, muted light glows off his naked skin. 

“Ah,” Eddie mutters. “That’s what I’m talking about. Turns out you can follow directions.”

Harrington says nothing. The boy, who stopped tearing at his restraints when he heard the door open, stares at him with wide, panicked eyes. 

“Dad? What- … Who are those people?”

Eddie coos. With a few long strides, he’s at the bed, sinking down onto the mattress. One of his hands finds the boy’s bare ankle, sliding up his leg to a firm, freckled thigh.

“Aw, darling. He didn’t tell you?” 

“Tell me what? Leave me alone, perv!”

The boy tries to shy away from his touch, but he doesn’t get far, bound in place as he is. Eddie chuckles. 

“Shhh, honey,” he scolds, cradling that pretty face with both hands. “It's okay. The name's Eddie, I work for your dad. Well, worked.”

The boy blinks at him, hazel eyes large and confused. Eddie laughs softly.

“See, the firm’s under new management. My management, to be more specific. I’m trying to keep it minimum bloodshed, so your old man’s gonna make himself scarce and I’ve agreed not to bother him. In return, I get to keep this fine house … and everything in it.” 

Understanding dawns in those pretty eyes. 

“No! Don't- don't touch me. Stay away from me.” 

Eddie makes a soft shushing sound and wipes the first tears away as they spill over.

“Oh no, sweet thing. It’ll be alright, I promise. I’ll take such good care of- wait a sec.” 

Because one of his hands has just slipped up to the boy's temple, fingers carding through thick, chestnut hair - only to come away red and sticky. The boy flinches, but Eddie grabs his jaw, holding him in place so that he can comb his hair aside. There’s a large, bleeding bruise on his temple. For a moment, the only sound in the room is that of the boy's hitched breathing. 

“Dick?” Eddie growls. “Explain this?” 

“He fought back,” Harrington mutters defiantly. “What was I supposed-” 

Eddie has him up against the wall, gun to his throat, before he can finish the sentence. 

“Are you kidding me? Trying to slip me damaged goods? I should fucking kill you, you son of a-” 

“Eddie,” Frank mutters. “C'mon, man.”  

Eddie blinks. 

“Right,” he says. “Get him out of my sight.” 

Relief washes over Harrington’s face as the gun disappears from his throat - only to be replaced by incredulous horror a second later, when Eddie holds out his hand before his face, palm up. 

“Go on, Dick. It's traditional, right? A sign of respect.”

Harrington growls. His hands curl into fists. Eddie smirks, raising an expectant eyebrow. Then, quickly, as if the touch will burn him, Harrington bows his head and kisses Eddie’s rings. 

“Not so hard, was it?” Eddie calls after him as he is escorted out. The door clicks shut. 

Eddie's smile slips. 

“Shit, Stevie,” he breathes. He's back on the bed in an instant, tilting the boy's head with gentle fingers to look at the injury. “What'd you go and do that for? I told you not to fight.” 

“And I told you it had to look convincing,” Steve retaliates. “Was I just supposed to let them tie me up and tear off my clothes and thank them for it?” 

Eddie's mouth twists into a grin. 

“We both know that's how you like it, honey.” 

He leans in, claiming those plush lips for a long, filthy kiss. Steve puts up a brief symbolic struggle, but Eddie growls warningly and slips a hand between his legs, and his protests turn into the sweetest little moans. Eddie only allows them to part once they're both out of breath and Steve is starting to buck and grind in his hold.

“Everything went well, then?” Steve asks. His voice is hoarse and raspy, and he needs to stop halfway through for another moan. “The- … the security codes all worked?” 

“Flawlessly, you sly little minx,” Eddie murmurs. He bites down on the perfect stretch of that long throat, rolls Steve’s balls in his hand, and delights in the full-body shiver it gets him. “That old asshole didn’t know what hit him.” 

Steve lets out a breathy laugh, rolling his hips to meet Eddie’s touch. 

“Good. Now untie me, so we can celebrate.” 

“Oh?” Eddie smirks, crawling further down and leaving a trail of biting kisses all over the soft skin of Steve’s chest and stomach. “But I am celebrating already.” 

Steve groans. “Eddie, c’mon!” 

“Ah-ah-ah, Stevie. There’s people out there who think I’m gonna ravage you tonight,” Eddie tuts, grabbing the boy’s twitching hips and blowing a warm stream of air on that pretty, flushed cock. Steve fucking mewls. The sound is like the sweetest music. “Be a good boy now. Gotta make it convincing, no?”

More celebration ficlets

#steddie #steve x eddie #steve harrington x eddie munson #steddie brainrot #steddie fanfic #fanfiction writer #fanfiction #fanfic #my writing #hype's 1k follower ficlets

[most-datable-datable-bracket]

QUARTER-FINALS MATCH 3

Claude propaganda:

"To say Claude has trust issues is an understatement—you have to spend half the game earning his. (Claude isn't even his real name!) Once you have it, though, he's absolutely ride or die for you until the stars go out. He is so full of heart and ambition: He wants both sides of his heritage to get along, he wants to open borders and eliminate xenophobia and promote equality between commonfolk, and deep down, I think he craves a partner to stand with him at that new dawn, or an equal who sees his vision for the future and will fight for it just as hard. Nobody believed in him when he was a kid, but if you put your faith in him, he'll return it tenfold. Some people don't like that he's calculating, or has to leave the player character at the end of the game to go back to his homeland, but both are necessary elements for his goals to change things. He will always come back, and everyone who bets against him and his love for his companions is wrong with a big fat W. #KhalidForMostDatablePrez"

"Claude is a fun little onion of facades. He calls himself the embodiment of distrust, he acts like he's carefree and without worries, an unscrupulous schemer--and so many in universe buy into that hook line and sinker. He's used to others viewing him with suspicion and uses it as armor to obscure his not-so-dark truth: that he cares immensely, that he values minimizing the loss of life, and that above all he has so much hope that people will fundamentally choose to do better given the choice.

His front guards a center that his conflict filled world would be happy to tear apart. As the child of people from two nations in constant conflict--one of which is explicitly isolationist and dehumanizes those outside its church's reach--he hasn't really had a place where he can be without his facade. As a child he thought he could run, but when confronted with the fact that this hatred existed no matter where he ran, he chose to instead try to create a more just and kind world.

His inability to let others in beyond his facade at first may lead to a sense of distance, but isn't it then all the more satisfying when you're allowed in? All he wants is a little trust, a little faith, and--like what he wants to give everyone--a chance to be better.

And like that you got a charming young lad with a fun personality that your grandma would be thrilled to have stay forever."

Milo propaganda:

“they were in the last contest sure but i feel like they could get farther. like they're literally a nonbinary grim reaper that's also an influencer and sure sometimes the influencer stuff can get kinda overwhelming i feel like it's very clear that they care about you and want to be around you. you guys go on a reaping date. their eyes and nail colour change based on their mood too and i think it's a really cute detail!! also SLIGHT SPOILERS but they even reference rocky horror in their special ending. they are perfect to me and i love them and i believe they deserve a second chance <3”

"Vote for Milo because they deserve it

They're literally so attractive

- They are a social media influencer

- They are obsessed with an adorable little kitty and will do everything in their power to make this cat the most beloved creature in existence

- They love makeovers and helping their friends rebrand (this includes working with Damien and the PC to help Jerry the Murderer rebrand so that they really has a brand identity)

- They are a grim reaper and even help the PC plan the PC's own funeral (special ending) and they give a great speech and it's super sweet

- They will sometimes take the PC on reaping jobs with them and shenanigans ensues

So in summation, vote for Milo because, as I repeat, they deserve it"

#claude von riegan #fire emblem #fire emblem: three houses #FE:3H #milo belladonna #Monster Prom #Monster Camp #Quarter-Finals #MDDC 2

[murfpersonalblog]

Carol Cutshall better get an Emmy this year, I ain't playin!

"Cutshall and her team had to embrace a new reality, one initially devoid of the first season’s material pleasures..... Free of their maker, an austere Louis and Claudia flee New Orleans for Europe in search of a coven of vampires to call their own. There they find themselves in the ravaged wasteland of World War II, where sorrow pollutes even the blood they drink."

"It was such a drastic change going into season two. We went from the height of glamour, which we last saw during a Mardi Gras party, to the polar opposite in the premiere. When you look at Louis and Claudia in their shearling coats in Romania and the amount of mud and blood on them, those looks are built for surviving and searching and starting over."

This what I meant when I talked about AMC intensifying the horror for show!Claudia vs book!Claudia. They're starting over, runaway slaves free at last from Massa Lestat's domestic terrorism; following the Drinking Gourd north to the promised land of milk & honey--but their exodus isn't some glorious adventure--it's Hell on Earth!

I adore the juxtaposition Carol makes between the obscene opulence of Mardi Gras NOLA vs the Grimm realities of war-torn Europe. Book!Lou&Claud traveled across Europe in a lavish carriage Claudia picked out, and had the luxury of taking their fancy coffins with them in it.

NGL I was hoping Carol would talk about these outfits in particular:

AMC's Lou & Claud look like they've been sleeping underground/in a battlefield, dressed in animal skins/furs--not the fancy furs PETA jumps folks for, but nasty Caveman Couture rags. And I can't help but think about the furs they wore in the film, looking rich AF, even as Lou complained about how sad he was. 🙄😒

So I am SO IN LOVE with AMC sending Louis & Claudia to WWII Europe. They're in Ploiești/Romania in 1941--in the book they're in 1800s Varna/Germany. Romania was a major ally for the Nazis in WWII, and the LAST place Claud should be--let alone Louis (a gay Black African American man)--let alone because Romania was bombed TF up in the early 1940s.

They're running slow AF like regular humans--no super vamp speed at their disposal to flee from the bombs--cuz they've been STARVING. They're eating the dead like a bunch of ghoulish necrophages (come through, Witcher 3 folklore!).

Like, in the film the big idea was that drinking dead blood could kill a vampire. But in TVL & Blood Communion we know that's not the case when Lestat drinks the corpses Armand gave him, and when Lestat gives the Vampire Court Rhoshamandes' corpse--it's not deadly, but it's not great, either. Drinking blood should be PEAK sensory pleasure; but this just shows what they've been reduced to.

So to see Louis & Claudia tearing into pieces of the dead to suck up what's left is like cannibalism at its rawest, basest & most primitive--straight out of a dystopian zombie apocalypse. There's no transcendent power in the dead like what Maharet & Lestat described. Lou & Claud are scavengers in as battlefield, fighting for scraps just to survive and endure, but not really live.

And I feel so much worse for Claudia, cuz she LITERALLY didn't ask for this mess! Unlike Louis--and unlike book/film!Claudia--she was Born into Darkness w/out her awareness or consent. AMC puts this poor girl through HELL. The things she's seen & experienced made her "built for survival;" but she's also "built like a bird," and just as ignorant about vampires & the Old World as Louis--though they're both bookish intellectuals who THINK they're ready for Europe.

So they have no effing idea, cuz Lestat never told them WHY Europe was such bad news. They're blind and completely in the dark!

And then they FINALLY arrive in Paris--a breath of fresh air after the war.

But glamour returns to their lives as the pair forge ahead in Paris.... Seduced by their habit of living loudly and proudly — at least at night — Louis relaxes into his post-Lestat life, taking up photography and exploring his sexuality in subtle ways. “The look I landed on for him was that of artists and café society, and French workwear with a little bit of a blue-collar look,” Cutshall says. “It’s not the finery that we are used to for Louis, but his fastidiousness in how he wears it — tucked and belted — is still there.” There is a visual hierarchy among these old-world vampires. Louis wears the costume of the common man, placing him below the coven’s creative director, Armand, the so-called love of his life"

The "visual hierarchy" of Louis being "placed BELOW" the Old World vampires had me vibrating in my seat, especially wrt Armand, the biggest baddest boogeyman vs fledgling vampires in the books.

"We want to break away from the disguise he had in season one, because he is the mega predator,” Cutshall says. “He's not threatened by anyone. So, in everything he does and wears, he can be like an animal who is not afraid to lie on their back and bare their belly."

Which is precisely what I said about Lestat in his Mardi Gras dress & his Matador pajamas. Cuz Lou & Claud are constantly put on the exact same level--at the BOTTOM of the food chain & the gendered/social hierarchies of vampire covens in both NOLA & Europe.

But what's interesting's that AMC diversified the Theatre--there's Black & Asian vampires, not the all-white coven from the books.

The Theatre has truly become a microcosm of the entire world, highlighting just how sheltered Lou & Claud were in the New World. The history of America is very black and white--or rather: white versus black. After the Native Americans were wiped out, American racism molded & shaped centuries of slavery & oppression specifically designed to keep Black people at the bottom of barrel, even when they were "freed/emancipated." But in the Old World, power & conquest was continental--Africa & Asia & Europe were ALL major superpowers at one time or another, kicking each other's arses. Race & racism still plays a huge part in European imperialism, OF COURSE, but WWII showed how white folk are just as prone to killing & oppressing each other, let alone anyone else. 😂 Louis & Claudia's problems w/ Lestat are radically different from their problems w/ Armand (now a brown Asian, as Russia & Ukraine are also globalized; dispelling the myth about Russians only ever being white people).

But Santiago's an altogether different beast--but eerily familiar.

"Her thirst for attention is surpassed only by Santiago, the extravagant emcee of the theater troupe. For Santiago’s big onstage entrance in episode two, Cutshall took inspiration from performers like Peter O’Toole and Laurence Olivier. “I started with Fred Astaire, but with a bit of a bondage twist for Santiago’s curtain look,” she says. “Who were the top dogs of the time that he would want to emulate? You can feel him striving for that."

What is fundamentally wrong with Santiago (and Lestat) is that he's a HUGE showboat, desperate for attention & validity, specifically from LOUIS, a vampire older than Santiago, attractive & new & interesting, who's approval he actually wanted & expected. But Louis's too mature/smart for Santiago, and immediately clocked him as a clown and a BUFFOON.

AMC dyed Santiago's hair blonde on purpose, ISTG, cuz the parallels w/ Lestat are hilarious. Armand's the coven master & creative director, but Santiago's the emcee & "show pony," just like Lelio!Lestat was back in the day. Les' pony on meth meme is SO apt!

And just like Lestat pulled the rug under Armand at Les Innocents, taking on a leadership role for the Children of Satan and ushering in their new era as vampires who'd join society via the Theatre, Santiago usurps Armand's position as the ringleader against Claudia & Louis. Even though Armand wanted all that to happen, he's more passive than Les & Santiago, far more active & dominant despite being significantly weaker & younger in the Blood than Armand. Wolf Killer Lestat and "top dog" Santiago are cut from the same cloth, down to the pinstripes--which Carol already said were supposed to symbolize cage/jail bars--"back in your cage, sweetheart."

CAROL! I desire you CARNALLY! ❤️

#interview with the vampire #justice for claudia #louis de pointe du lac #the vampire armand #male fashion #fashion statement #fashion history #read a dang history book #mind blown #must see tv #the hype is real #iwtv tvc metas

[lowkeyrobin]

hiii! could you write an mcyt x reader that's like, going outside at night? idrk how to explain it lol, like going to the woods at night or somethin? tyyyy!!! :3

yeah sure!! hopefully I understood this correctly ; thanks for requesting, hope you enjoy!

MCYT ; walk in the dark

includes ; tommyinnit, ranboo, tubbo, badlinu, nihachu & quackity

warnings ; language, mentions of drunk tubbo

masterlist

TOMMYINNIT

he's halfway scared of the dark, mostly because he doesn't know what's in it

he'll happily go on walks with you

"to protect you" though (we know that's a lie, he's the one who needs protecting)

he finds the chilly air and the gust against the trees kinda therapeutic

he understands why you go out so late lol

he'll often share an airpod with you so you can listen to some nice music as well

all fun and games til sabrina carpenter starts playing and you start singing along to feather and espresso

TUBBO

nah he's gotta be drunk to go out in the woods that late at night

scared of bears and/or people because it's a public space

he just doesn't wanna get eaten today, he has a tubbothon to stream man

he streams those walks with you when it's during those streams though ofc

the whole chats trying to gaslight him into thinking there's a bear 💀

you often shittily sing some corny 2000s songs and throw around sticks and rocks

RANBOO

didn't get the hype at first but will happily jump up from whatever they're doing to go with you

so therapeutic, they like the quietness and having a flashlight to guide their path like a horror game where probably nothing will happen

you often take flash selfies and post them when you're out as well

sometimes you edit them before posting and add something to the background, super subtle but noticeable to make the commenters freak out lol

they started believing it too much so you drew a ghost behind you to taunt them lol

loves the internet break though, he loves breathing the fresh air and feeling nature at his fingers

FREDDIE BADLINU

bros got a tent and everything just in case /j

also enjoys the internet break and spending quiet time with you as you walk

he collects rocks that he thinks look cool?

he finds a giant stick every time and uses it like a walking stick

30yo dad core

you also share airpods to listen to music

no judging if there's any crying, get those emotions out dude

counts all the squirrels he sees roaming around lol

"that's like the eighth one I've seen in the past five minutes!"

NIKI NIHACHU

finds it super therapeutic

straight up leaves her phone at her desk

flashlight and granola bar only

she always finds some cute little critter to look at before it runs away

plucks literally any flower and hands you a bouquet of them on the way home

"Oh my God, feel this rock!"

"my tryphobia is aching right now"

ALEX QUACKITY

fake hates it

he likes the music but he doesn't like fearing what's in the dark

"what if there's a bear??? or a raccoon!?"

"what's a raccoon gonna do to you?"

"eat me!"

likes touching everything he can get his hands on

also finds it nice and kinda thereupitic

opens up about his day and everything

peak hugging time

lots of selfies

he found a dead possum once and almost threw up

#lowkeyrobin #mcyt x reader #mcyt preferences #mcyt oneshot #tommyinnit x reader #tubbo x reader #ranboo x reader #freddie badlinu x reader #badlinu x reader #niki nihachu x reader #nihachu x reader #alex quackity x reader #quackity x reader #gender neutral reader #gn reader #they/them reader #gn! reader

[shady-tavern]

Missing Piece

@piperjistic had asked for a forest spirit and while this isn't fully in line with your request, I still hope you'll like it!

Minor warnings ahead for non-graphic violence and a wee bit of body-horror towards the end, though it doesn't happen to the main character. Please be sure to take care of yourself!

*.*.*

For as long as the little girl could remember, it felt like something was missing within her. She could never put a finger on it, but it made her a restless child, picking up and discarding games, struggling with consistently staying interested and some days she just felt very strange. 

Like that one stained glass window she had seen when her parents had taken her to a nearby city. All disjointed fragments that still managed to be a picture, but it would never be one entire piece.

The stained glass window at least had been pretty compared to the ugly feeling within her.

"Have you ever felt like something is missing inside you?" she asked her grandma, who came to pick her up many a day while her parents worked. 

Things were strange between Gran and her parents, she never talked to them and they never talked to her and she never set foot onto their garden, preferring to wait for the little girl at the gate by the little dirt road.

Gran stilled and when the little girl glanced up at her, her face had gone dark and grim and for the first time in the girl's life, her beloved grandma, a joyful soul who loved her with all her heart, looked just a little bit frightening.

But her hand around the girl's remained gentle and the older woman kept walking at a sedate pace so her short little legs didn't struggle with keeping up.

Everyone always said to the girl that she would grow to be bigger and she couldn't wait for that day to arrive. Gran was silent for so long that the girl thought she was never going to answer.

"You best ask your parents about that," Gran said at last, voice quiet and heavy with something unspoken. Strangely, her voice reminded the girl of a draft horse she had seen, who had been forced to pull a too heavy burden, body straining as it slowly and laboriously set one hoof in front of the other.

"Alright," the girl answered and grinned up at her grandmother, hoping to break up the awful mood her innocent little question had created. "Can we make blueberry cake today?"

Gran smiled and it was like the sun returning after a dark, scary storm, her face brightening and looking as kind and loving as ever. "Of course, little chestnut." She leaned in, voice dipping into a conspiratorial stage whisper, "My wife picked an entire basket just this morning."

The little girl giggled and soon the two of them reached the end of the village, all talk about missing pieces and resulting, scary expressions forgotten. The blueberry cake was delicious and maybe a bit messy since the girl had tried to help a bit too enthusiastically and the cute little apron Gran had made for her was stained with purple-blue juice on one corner.

Gran's wife, Tanya, arrived just as they had taken the first bite of a still warm slice of cake.

"You baked without me?" she gasped in a mock scandalized voice. "Oh, the betrayal, how it stings!" She dramatically fell onto the kitchen table and the little girl laughed when the two older women broke out into a full blown performance just to ensure she kept laughing.

Gran brought her back home just as the sun set and a strong, steady wind blew in from the forest, bringing with it the smell of spring moss and damp, cool earth.

"If you ever meet any magical beings, be wary," Gran said as she stopped in front of the gate that creaked noisily as soon as it was two thirds of the way open. 

She looked down at the girl, her face serious. "One day you might and if you do, they will offer you deals and nothing good ever comes from accepting their offers. They will only bring ruin in exchange for empty promises."

As solemnly as the little girl could, she offered her little pinky. "I promise to be careful," she said and a shadow of a smile crossed Gran's face as they hooked their pinkies around each other gently.

Gran leaned down to kiss the top of her head before she left with a glance towards the house and the girl briefly glanced towards the forest. It was an old forest, not quite as ancient as in other places, but surrounded by plenty of stories and mysteries. 

The girl had heard rumors about creatures living in the woods, of magic being alive in ways the mages in the big cities could never hope to replicate. She decided to be very careful whenever she went into the woods to pick berries and mushrooms. She had promised, after all.

She entered her parents' house, neatly putting her boots beside her mother's and when she looked up at her parents, the question tumbled forth without much thought, "Why do I feel like I'm missing something?"

Her mother, who was currently carving leather, stilled so thoroughly she might as well have turned to stone. Her father, in the process of cooking, seemed to freeze in place, the stirring of his ladle abruptly falling silent.

"You're still growing," her mother answered at last, voice quiet and her gaze on her work. "It will pass in given time."

The little girl stared at her, startled silent and with increasing heartbreak as the seconds passed, for she had just learned what her mother sounded like when she lied.

*.*.*

The conversation with her parents stayed with the girl as the months and years passed and she never asked again. Gran said nothing either, but every time she picked the girl up, she now glared at the house. 

Gran knew, the girl realized, but either couldn't say why she felt wrong or she didn't want to tell her.

Though, knowing her Gran, she probably couldn't for some reason. Gran had been born a rebel and she said she would die one, encouraging all of the little girl's bad habits, as her parents called them, with no remorse.

"This world will chew you up and spit you out, if you let it," Gran told her when she picked her up from school, her hand warm and gentle. "So don't be afraid to bare your teeth, little chestnut. Stand up for what you believe is right, that is the only way to slowly but surely kill off all things vile and dark."

The girl wasn't sure she entirely understood, but she nodded seriously anyway. Gran always told her everything no one else wanted to, blunt and direct without scaring her or hurting her feelings.

Gran felt strong, like a rushing river that wore down even the largest, toughest of boulders. The girl hoped she could be like her one day.

It was her Gran's teachings that got her in and out of trouble over the years and her words guided the girl into understanding when something was wrong. And how important it was to do something when she discovered evil.

As the village turned into a cute little town and more and more people moved in, drawing towards a hopeful future by their fertile lands and abundant forest, the girl had grown into a headstrong young woman.

Not once, in all that time, had she shaken off the feeling like she was lacking something. Like something was missing that should be there.

Her parents could no longer deny that something was wrong and their increasingly guilty and troubled looks said it all. It showed in the woman's life, that something within her was gone. As soon as someone looked into the little house she had moved into, they saw that no project was ever finished, every hobby dropped just after she had gained a modicum of skill in it.

She bounced from job to job, working for whoever hired her, before losing that job again, sometimes by leaving, sometimes by more talented, more passionate people coming along.

It was that restlessness that caused her to drift far enough from the town, the feeling of wrongness seemingly guiding her step, to cross paths with what she first thought was a traveling kind of circus.

There was a man leading the entire caravan of wagons, pale and primly dressed, clearly a mage considering his robes and pompous behavior as he hailed her down.

"We are no circus, young lady," he said when she asked about his business, but his eyes were cold and his smile about as pleasant as holding a palm full of slugs. "I am Master Egam and this is my curious collection. I intend to thoroughly impress the local lords."

He made a sweeping gesture at the wagons and she peered past him, at covered cages and grim looking soldiers.

Her gaze almost immediately fell back to the mage, however, and something ugly writhed within her chest. She couldn't put a finger on what it was, but it felt like sharp, uneven edges pressed against her ribs from within, accentuating the feeling of wrongness.

"Now, which way to the nearest town? It's growing rather late," Master Egam said, his smile wide and winning and yet it caused something cold to drip down her spine. There was a sudden taste of wet iron and rotting earth on her tongue.

It took her a moment to realize why, for she had never experienced anything like it. He had put magic into his words and it filled her mouth with a nasty taste. "This way, about a mile or so."

"Why don't you guide us?" he asked, patting the coach beside him. When she hesitated and saw a flash of curious danger in his eyes, she offered a bland smile.

"Thank you," she said, climbing up to join him, careful to keep some distance between them.

He stared at her for a moment and she resisted the urge to shift uncomfortably. "You seem strangely...familiar," he mused after a moment. "Have I met you before? Or family of yours?" When she looked genuinely surprised, he shook his head. "Right, that is very unlikely. Then again, you country bumpkins all look the same to me."

She was desperate to distract him from her, which was thankfully easy enough to accomplish. All it took was a question about his exploits and soon he regaled her with all the horrifying details. Of the creatures he captured, the magic he had soaked up from them, the power he carried at his fingertips.

He was bragging, yes, but she could tell that every word was the truth. That he had chained a vampire into enduring sunlight at his leisure, that he had plucked all the feathers of a harpy to parade her around naked and that he had a griffin eating out of his hand for his amusement.

That he had caught one the most dangerous beings of all, a forest spirit.

She was deeply relieved when her hometown came into view and then she got to see the effects of his magic first hand. His voice seemed to be made of gold, for all he had to do was speak and people immediately rushed to obey, star-struck expressions and delighted, downright smitten smiles appearing on their faces.

She inched away from Master Egam and ended up by one of the wagons instead. Unable to resist, she tugged a corner of the covering up and peered inside.

Green eyes that shimmered like all the shades of plant life in the forest met hers and broken antlers rose from red and gold hair that tumbled down in long, thick waves. The forest spirit, she realized as she stared at him, wide eyed, his face sun-kissed and freckled and even chained down as he was she could see his innate power and grace.

The broken antlers disappeared, swiftly replaced by wolf ears as he now bared vicious fangs at her, wicked claws scraping over the iron lining the bottom of his cage as he growled.

"Careful with that one," Master Egam's voice made her jump and drop the tarp. "He's the most dangerous one I ever caught. A nasty piece of work."

"Why do you catch them?" she found herself asking and as she looked up at him, she already knew the answer before he opened his mouth.

"Because I can," he said, his smile as empty as his eyes were cruel. "Because the wild powers in this world need to know that they can and will be tamed. Now run along and don't tell anyone about this."

His magic was iron-rot on her tongue as she nodded, hastily pasting a smile on her face. It felt like fleeing as she turned and hurried away, her heart racing in her chest and the ugly, vile feeling that had scraped around her ribcage finally lessened.

The wrongness within her was as present as ever, a constant companion of subtle misery that dodged her steps, silent only whenever she found joy in things. Joy that was taken from her by its steady, suffocating grip sooner or later.

As soon as she was home, she began to pace, her mind whirring. She had to do something and whatever magic Master Egam possessed, she was somehow immune against it. She might be the only one who could think clearly around him.

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to calm. Master Egam was dangerous and she was just a magic-less young woman who was all wrong inside. If she wasn't careful, she wouldn't have to worry about what was missing for much longer.

It wasn't hard, in the end, to find out that Master Egam was staying in the mayor's house, that he had tossed him and his family out and now treated the most lavish place as his. The mayor and his wife and two children seemed dazed but they didn't question what was being done to them, they just went to stay with their extended family.

The wagons were kept by the mayor's house, blocking most of the street and guarded by the soldiers, which were armed and armored.

She watched them as the last sunlight faded, thinking. Beyond the window she could see the mage and people came to his home, bringing downright decadent food with loving smiles and hazy eyes, leaving again empty handed.

An idea began to take form. A foolish one, most certainly, but it was likely her best chance. While Master Egam was busy feasting and ordering people around, most likely fancying himself a king among peasants, he would be distracted.

On second thought, he was most likely not traveling to impress lords, but to work his way up to becoming the actual king of these lands. Maybe even an emperor, holding court among captured creatures and his magic charming everyone into blind obedience.

So she joined a group of townsfolk who came with carefully made little cakes and desserts and they barely acknowledged her. The soldiers didn't even looked at them, most likely long used to this song and dance.

It was less easy to go unnoticed by Master Egam, but the man was easily distracted by the new offerings, already a good way through half the food he had been given.

No human should have been able to consume so much without bursting, she thought and she wondered if this was the price of his magic. That he not only could eat far too much, but had to.

"Bring this to the beasties," he said, gesturing at a little bucket of bones and food scraps and the young woman took a decisive step towards it, keeping her head down as she grabbed the bucket, stepping outside without being stopped. Her mouth was filled with the taste of iron-rot.

The soldiers didn't pay her any heed now either. They looked bored and hungry as they watched another plate of food being brought in, but they said nothing. She wondered if they could even if they wanted to. If they were similarly charmed as anyone else.

"I need to feed them," she said politely to the nearest soldier, who moved woodenly to stare at her with a slightly hazy gaze. Ah, that answered her question. "I need the key, please. Master Egam's orders."

He handed the key over, because why wouldn't he? When everyone was always so fully under the mage's control, there was no reason to doubt. She went to the forest spirit's cage first, ignoring his low growl as she pushed the tarp up and began to look for the lock.

He fell silent as soon as she slipped the key into it and opened the door.

"I'll get you out," she whispered and his head tipped to the side, his wolf ears flicking as he considered her. And then, ever so slowly without removing those intense eyes from her, he tipped his head back, baring his collared throat.

She crawled into the cage, making sure to pull the door almost-closed behind her, the tarp falling down and leaving her in murky darkness with only her slightly fast breathing and pounding heart. She slowly inched forward, patting the ground, until clawed fingers carefully closed around her hand, guiding it up.

The collar had no lock and she stilled, her heart leaping in her chest. What was she supposed to do now?

"Bleed," the forest spirit said, voice such a horrible rasp that she was half convinced his throat was full of glass shards. "Willing offer."

She wasn't even thinking when she reached out with her free hand, gripping his fingers and pressing her palm against his claws. She felt him jerk in surprise, but the pain was already blooming, blood running down her hand in a hot line. She reached out to press her hand to his collar, smearing as much of her blood on it as possible and the next second the collar clicked open, crashing to the floor with a rattle of chains.

The forest spirit inhaled sharply and then she felt his hands touch her shoulder, careful and helping her shuffle a bit to the side. Freeing the path to the cage door, she realized

"Free the others, please," he whispered, his voice no longer sounding like he was gargling gravel, but instead charming and lovely-sweet. Her mouth was filled with the faint taste of meadow-flowers and cool spring water.

Then he was out of the cage and she scrambled to follow him, catching the door before it could slam shut.

The guards were lying on the ground and she saw the forest spirit springing past the last one he had taking down, vaulting over a confused man with a tart and heading straight into the house, face snarling in rage.

The next cage held the plucked harpy, who hissed a high-pitched shriek at her, but fell similarly silent when the door to the cage was unlocked.

Her collar too opened with blood and then the harpy was out, her feathers re-growing with a burst of magic that was almost painful with its relief. She took flight immediately, though she clearly struggled as she escaped, as did the griffin the young woman freed. 

The vampire slunk out of his cage with a look of wild hunger and gratitude before he was gone between one moment and the next. Just in time for all the windows in the house to shatter outward in a massive wave of pressure, the forest spirit crashing to the ground, wheezing and covered in blood.

The young woman was at his side in no time and as she gripped him and saw him in the light of the street lanterns without the distractions of his eyes, she realized just how thin he was. How his limbs shook as he struggled to his feet.

He stumbled, eyes going wide when she dragged him with her, just in time to round the corner before Master Egam came out of the house with magic whipping around him, a howl of rage filling the night as he found all his cages empty, his guards unconscious – or perhaps dead – on the ground.

"What are you doing," the forest spirit hissed, but he seemed unable to free himself from her grip, which told her everything she needed to know. She wasn't weak by any means, but she got the impression that he should be far stronger than she.

"Saving you," she hissed back. "You're in no condition to fight!"

"Return them to me!" she heard Master Egam's voice boom behind her, so loud and rattling it filled the entire town, making people cower and stumble, their gazes going hazy. "And find me the one who did this!"

Her mouth was filled with the taste of iron-rot to the point where she had to gag, but she managed to push on, reaching the little house she had moved into after she could no longer stand the guilty silence of her parents. The moment they were through the door, the forest spirit collapsed to the floor, breathing hard, sweating and bleeding.

"His magic," he said as he stared up at her with wide, bright green eyes that she knew she could get lost in if she allowed it. "It doesn't work on you. Why?"

"No idea," she murmured back. "Come, we have to hide you."

She had managed to empty out a large storage chest and squeezed him inside despite his protest just in time for her neighbors to come knocking.

"No one is here, I came looking," she said, heart pounding and blood still dripping from her hand as she gestured at the hastily strewn about contents of her chest. "I made sure they weren't hiding."

"Come help search," her neighbors murmured, gazes hazy and she followed them outside, hoping that the spirit stayed where he was, that he wouldn't be found.

She searched with the others until they were all ready to collapse and only then did Master Egam order them to rest with such fury that the cobblestone cracked around him. He had long since roused his guards – most of which were still alive – and had sent them out to the forest to capture those that had run for the woods.

"They can't go far," she heard him mutter to himself as he turned around to head back into the house. "Not with the state I left them all in."

He wasn't wrong.

When the young woman returned home, she found the forest spirit still in the storage chest, asleep and looking utterly exhausted. She dropped into her bed and slept until hunger forced her awake. 

The smell of cooking food woke the spirit as well and she stared in astonished surprise as he ate at an alarmingly fast rate. Half her pantry was gone by the time he curled up in front of the hearth and went straight back to sleep. She dropped a thick blanket on him and arranged pillows to hide him from the outside and sat down, thinking.

Master Egam was powerful and she had no idea if she could hide the spirit until he regained his strength, especially if he needed that much food every day. And even then there was no guarantee that he'd be powerful enough to defeat the mage. But, she reasoned, he might be able to escape, which was just as good in her opinion.

She dozed off and woke feeling warm, blinking blearily to realize the blanket was now draped over her, the pillows carefully arranged to leave her in a little nest. Only the floor beneath her was a little hard. Peering around, alarm searing through her, worrying that something had happened, she relaxed as soon as she saw the spirit.

He stood with his back to her, looking at all the half finished projects she had lying around, not having the heart to put them away, even though she already knew she'd never finish them. That this was it and her love for a new hobby she had found was instead curdling into quiet, miserable grief.

"Thank you," he said before turning towards her. He already looked far better than yesterday, less gaunt and shaky on his feet. His injuries were gone as well, leaving only a somewhat tattered, stained shirt and worn, knee-length pants over hale and whole skin behind.

He tipped his head and the way the light of a lit candle reflected in his eyes reminded her of the way animal eyes would look when a lantern swept past them in the dark. "What do you want in return for your help?"

She paused after sitting up, then shrugged. "I don't want anything." Gran had been very firm about deals with magic creatures, that they brought ruin more often than not, her voice harsh and bitter as she had said it. As if there was more to her words than mere warnings.

Besides, the young woman had grown up on stories about daring knights, wise mages and courageous princesses and princes. She had always wanted to be like them, to do good with her own two hands whenever possible. Had secretly dreamed about one day saving someone as she had grown up.

It had been far more scary and harrowing than in her imagination, but she'd do it all over again in a heartbeat.

"You want nothing," the spirit repeated, sounding like he didn't believe her. "Everyone wants something, help is never freely given. Especially not from my kind and especially not when you saved my life. Do not take that kind of thing lightly."

"All I want is for you to be safe," she said. "Don't get hurt again, promise me that."

The forest spirit inhaled sharply, pupils blowing wide until only a small ring of green remained and she felt a warm shiver go through the air. Like something powerful had just exhaled a blessing.

He said nothing for a long moment, before he dipped his head, suddenly looking regal as the wolf ears melted away and antlers appeared that looked far more intact than last night. "Very well." 

He joined her by the hearth, dropping down to one knee and offered his hand. "Let me see your wound."

She held out her hand and felt a tingle of magic, could taste soft, gentle meadow flowers and refreshing water as relief took away the lingering pain. Her palm was unmarred, not even a scar remaining.

"You have no idea what you just gave me, do you?" he asked quietly when she looked at him, his gaze so very captivating it looked like the entirety of the forest had gathered in his eyes.

She offered a small, crooked smile. "I've never been around magic," she said, all too aware that he was still holding her hand, skin warm like sunshine. "You can hide here until you've recovered."

He tipped his head to the side. "You would welcome me even now, knowing who is looking for me?"

"You're safe here," she answered. "He can't charm me and you need time to recover. Just make sure no one sees you."

"What do you desire for your help in return?" he asked. "And don't say nothing again."

She thought of the wrongness within her and wondered if magic could fix it. Then she remembered Gran's warnings about deals and ruin and bit back a sigh.

"I'll think about something," she said, though she didn't intend to. Once the spirit was strong enough, he would either fight or leave, but either way she doubted she would ever see him again.

He didn't look happy about that, but accepted her answer graciously enough. Getting to her feet, the young woman waved him with her to the kitchen corner. If he was eating her out of house and home he could help her cook.

When it became clear he was actually the better cook, since she hadn't been able to learn too much before her wrongness had kicked in, she happily left him to it and grabbed her money, sneaking out.

The entire town was walking around in a strange sort of haze, half of them still searching and the other half catering to the mage. 

She saw people bring more food to the mayor's house, along with other things. Jewels and prized possessions, feathers the harpy had and griffin had lost and one or two held squeaking bats in their gloved hands, as though hoping they might be the escaped vampire.

No one looked twice at her when she bought as much food as she could at the market and she bit back bitter worry when she saw Gran and Granny Tanya bring blueberry cake to the mage with happy smiles.

Only her parents didn't seem to be out and about. Strange.

She brought the food back home and the forest spirit noticeably relaxed once she was back, thanking her quietly before falling quiet again. The young woman, however, could only stand the silence for so long before she began to ask questions.

Before long she knew that the forest spirit had gotten captured in his sleep, that his home was to the north and that he could sense the power of the nearby forest.

They both fell asleep in front of the hearth and by the second day, the young woman dragged her bedding out into the living room and made a proper place to rest for the two of them. 

The forest spirit was in a better mood today and she realized that under all the tense grimness he was rather playful and enjoyed teasing and, most of all, making her laugh. She noticed as the days passed how he regained his strength, the gauntness disappearing faster than it would have for a regular person.

They kept busy in the small house in different ways. She watched him finish some of her craft projects and taught him to dance, he conjured sprigs of flowers for them to 'pretty up the place with' as he said and he let her brush out and braid his hair after long baths, the bath water never cooling until they were well and truly done.

Every night they curled up on the hearth together and it was then, as he looked at her, hair a healthy, shining red and gold and fox ears perked to listen better, that the truth spilled out.

How wrong inside she felt and he frowned at her in what she recognized as worry.

"May I?" he asked, holding out his hand and she put hers into his without a moment's hesitation. His face went soft and gentle in a way that ached somewhere around her tender heart as he held her hand with care.

Then he closed her eyes and she could taste meadow flowers and cold water and his frown deepened.

"I - you must talk to your parents," he said and as soon as the words were out, his head reared back a bit, ears pinning flat to his head as he blinked, looking startled and irritated. "Oh, how nasty."

She stared at him, wide-eyed and for the first time got the feeling that something was very, very wrong in a different way than she had thought.

"I'll go now," she whispered and he nodded, giving her hand an encouraging squeeze before she got to her feet.

Her parents looked worried and tense when they opened the door, relaxing a bit when they saw it was her, only for the tension to snap back into their frames. She realized immediately that they knew why she was here.

That there was a reason why she and they alone weren't slaves to the magic-charm of a mad mage. That they did know why she felt like a piece was missing.

"What's wrong with me?" she asked, sharp and hard in a way she had never spoken with them and they stepped aside to let her in.

They stood around the living room awkwardly until her father broke first, guilty and defensive and shoulders hunched, the silence around them heavy and thick and oppressive like summer heat without a cooling breeze.

"We didn't know," he said, almost pleading as he looked at his daughter. "When we met that...that man on our travels. We didn't know."

Something hot was wrapping around her heart and throat and a bad feeling unfolded in her gut, wriggling to get comfortable like a cat in a beam of sunlight. "Tell me the truth. Now. You owe me that much at least."

"We asked for a good life," her mother whispered, staring down at the ground, arms wrapped around herself and her head bent, shoulders tense. "We asked for nothing unreasonable, because being greedy only curses you. We asked for a good, warm, house, for enough money to buy what we desired until our deaths and to lead healthy, long and safe lives. We wanted the sort of fortune that would ensure we would have everything we desired until the day we died."

The heaviness in the air seemed to press down harder, like a thick blanket over sticky, sweaty skin, trapping heat and impossible to shake, no matter how desperately she wanted to get rid of it.

"What was the price?" the young woman asked, her tongue almost numb in her mouth. Though, she already knew. Could feel it in the marrow of her bones, could feel it in the stained glass shape of her soul, all disjointed and wrong and missing missing missing. Always missing something.

"You were but a babe," her father answered before she could ask again. "We didn't think...when he asked for a piece of you, something that wouldn't hurt you if he took it, we thought, well, if you grew up without it...you wouldn't know what you were missing."

Her heart shouldn't break, she thought, as pain and anger and grief greedily dug into her chest and belly. It shouldn't break when she didn't even feel all that surprised to hear what they were saying.

She thought of her life filled with things she couldn't finish, couldn't dedicate herself to no matter how deeply she loved, like her hands were too restless, desperately trying to find something to fill the void within her. All the friendships she had lost over the years, the disappointed people she had worked with and most of all, how miserable she had been.

She thought about feeling wrong and disjointed and like a stained glass window made by a clumsy apprentice and with the intent to make other people whisper and point and laugh instead of impressing them.

Weird, strange, not-fitting-in. Wrong.

Wrong, wrong, wrong, had sung through her veins for as long as she could remember and she had walked through life feeling like a part of her was gone, but unable to voice it. Unable to even name what was missing. 

Thinking that, maybe, this was just her lot in life. That nothing could be done about it and she had tried to do her best with the hand she had been dealt by fate.

And all this time, her parents had just...traded that part of her away. For small comforts. For a future they could have made themselves with their own hands had they cared to try. For a life bartered and paid for by someone else, so they wouldn't have to shoulder the burden. 

And then they had lied to her about it, had left her thinking that nothing could be done to make her feel better. That this was normal.

"Who?" she asked numbly and she blinked, realizing she was halfway to the door. When she looked at her parents, hot, angry hatred crawled up her throat like a wave of lava at seeing their wounded, self-pitying faces. "Who did you allow to hurt me?"

"Master Egam," her father whispered, his voice barely audible in the heavy, suffocating silence. "We can't let him see us or he might remember."

She was out the door before he could finish speaking, heart breaking and racing and she wasn't surprised at all, even though she thought she should be. So that was why his magic wasn't working on her – and her parents, if part of their deal was to remain healthy and unharmed at all times. Just what had Egam taken from her to make a deal that protected them no matter what?

She didn't remember the path home, but the moment the door fell closed behind her, she looked at the forest spirit and all the breath rushed back into her lungs. He was waiting with a plate of cookies he had baked that afternoon and his gaze was so gentle and understanding it made the wounded part of her tremble.

He opened his arms, a silent invitation and for a moment there was so much awful anguish in her, she didn't know what to do. Had no idea how to react if someone touched her, if it would drain the pain and anger or make it spill over, ugly and messy and raw. Like a wound that had had years and years and years to grow until it had spread and festered.

Then she moved and let him catch her and cradle her close as she broke down, crying as bitterly and hard as she had never cried before. He held her tightly as she shook apart, her head tucked under his chin and she cried and cried until she felt empty inside. Empty and wrong.

"They gave a piece of me to Egam," she whispered, voice thick and scratchy and he stilled. She tightened her grip on the shirt she had gotten him during one of her trips to the market, where food had started to grow scarce. "In exchange for a good, comfortable life."

He cupped the back of her head and kept holding her, offering no empty platitudes and no 'I'm sorry's, for which she was grateful. She didn't want sorrys. She was...she was too damn fucking furious for that, she realized, now that the pain had momentarily drained away.

"I want it back," she said, biting the words out like they were bones snapping between her teeth. "I want it back and I want this monster gone."

He hugged her tighter and she felt his smile press against her temple, sharp and dangerous and fanged and not the least bit afraid of her rage. Not the least bit judgmental the way others had reacted to her anger over the years.

"Let's shred him," he whispered against her hair, soft lips brushing forehead. "Let's get back what he stole from us."

*.*.*

It hadn't taken too long to prepare. The forest spirit had recovered fully and there wasn't anything in town that could help them against a mage, but in the end, they didn't need much anyway. 

They didn't need fancy things or mage slayers. Not when the mage in question would give them the weapons they needed, born out of his own greed and hubris.

Born out of a deal he had made with her parents and Gran really was right, deals only ever brought ruin. Because she and the part Egam had taken from her were about to become his.

The forest spirit gave her hand a squeeze and they exchanged one more look as they got ready behind her house, his eyes fierce and so trusting it briefly stole her breath away.

"When this is over, travel with me," he said, out of nowhere. "I want to show you my home. The brooks and meadows and mountains and lake."

She smiled back, a warmth that had nothing to do with the burning rage spreading through her, smoothing down her edges and settling around her heart like a protective blanket.

"Gladly," she answered quietly, then her smile turned a bit crooked. "What, you aren't going to ask for anything in exchange, leaf boy?"

He laughed softly and leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her head. "You're too precious for deals," he said quietly and she could taste his magic, sweet and cool and it almost brought tears to her eyes, though she couldn't quite say why.

"Let's go," she said instead and he reached up to gather his hair, pulling it aside to allow her to put the pilfered chain from the wagon around his neck. They had scratched out all the symbols on the inside of the iron, destroying the enchantment that would block his magic.

With a bit of glue it would stay shut for now and he caught her hands, pressing a kiss to her knuckles until they stopped shaking. They both took a deep breath and stepped onto the street, a glamor settling over his skin, making him look gaunt and injured once more. He limped, casting her one last wink before people noticed them.

The townsfolk paid attention to her for the first time in nearly a month as she went to the mage's house. Word must have traveled ahead, for Master Egam was already awaiting them and the mayor's house was saturated with iron-rot. She could see a few hints here and there of the chaos that must've reigned before he had gotten things cleaned up to welcome them, sitting on a padded chair like it was a throne.

"Bring him to me, girl," he said, beckoning and his smile benevolent and his eyes glittering like cold glass shards. His hunger was deep enough to cut and she bit back a shiver at the disgust that crept beneath her skin the closer she came to him.

"My prized possession," Egam murmured, already ignoring her and his magic grew thicker in the air, almost making her gag. The forest spirit pretended to fight, snarling as he was dragged forward, looking like he was too weak to resist. "And you put him back in his proper attire too, good girl."

He absentmindedly patted her on the head and she made herself smile at him, empty and dazzled, like the other townsfolk, swallowing down bile. The spirit had told her that Egam had stolen a piece of his magic too, forcefully instead of willingly, but it was in his hands all the same.

It was time to get back what belonged to them.

She handed over the chain, his gaze on the forest spirit like he wanted to devour him whole. Like the monsters and villains in her stories growing up, greedy and cruel and insatiable.

Egam moved past her, already discarding her as unimportant. As under his control. As just another 'country bumpkin'. He was the powerful mage after all and, as he had said, he already had one of the most powerful beings under his control.

A powerless girl might as well be dirt under his boots.

That was the exact reason he didn't see her nick her hand on a small knife hidden in her pocket. Why he didn't see her smile at the forest spirit over his shoulder before reaching out. 

He didn't look at her and therefore couldn't react in time when she stepped to his side and reached up, pressing her bloody hand over his heart at the same time that the forest spirit lunged forward. 

The mage did react, aiming his magic at the bigger, perceived threat, like they had suspected. And just like they had hoped, his magic slid off of the forest spirit harmlessly, for when the young woman had saved his life and he had offered her compensation of the same magnitude, she had asked for him to be safe.

The forest spirit was unhindered, pressing bloody palms to the mage's chest, right over his heart, sharp, sharp teeth bared and he snarled, "I undo the deal."

"I undo the deal," she spoke simultaneously with him, the words the forest spirit had taught her, steady and patient as each one was nothing but pain in her throat. Because she wasn't supposed to say those words, but then again, parents weren't supposed to give away what didn't belong to them either, so she had a right to this.

A right to undo what had been done to her, as long as she could get through the pain that tried to keep her from speaking. Pain that was worse than any wrongness had ever been, any loneliness and pain and grief and self-loathing for not being like all the other people. 

For never getting to keep doing the things she loved, forever searching for something she hadn't known she'd have to buy back with blood and pain.

It was the worst pain she had ever endured, but it wasn't stronger than the rage in her veins, the taste of iron-rot on her tongue and the sun-warm hand that took her free, unharmed one, grounding and strong. The look of startled anger on the mage's face swiftly morphing into fear was everything in this moment.

"I undo the deal made made without my voice, without my consent, without my agreement. I undo it as it was made, in pain and blood and betrayal," they spoke in perfect unison, their only chance to both get back what had been taken from them.

Their only chance to catch him so by surprise that he did feel betrayed, that he was as helpless as they had been, asleep and a babe respectively.

The moment the last word left her mouth, a sudden relief gripped her throat, releasing the burning agony that had torn through it and at the same time, she felt something warm and big spread through her chest.

The wrongness disappeared in an instant, the feeling of missing turning into wholeness so filling and great she almost stumbled back, her skin tingling and euphoria singing through her so brightly she had to sob. Because that wasn't just a missing piece, a sliver of soul that he had taken and that was now returned to her.

Magic, he had taken magic from her. It glittered like stars in the dark in her veins, spilled through her mind like bright sunlight on shimmering waves and wrapped around her with a desperation like it had longed to return to her as relentlessly as she had wanted it to return to her.

Egam was screaming as he stumbled back and they let him, watched him trip and spill to the ground as he writhed, clawing at his chest where blood smeared, hot and red and the forest spirit gripped her hand tighter.

His magic was heavy in the air, making her taste rivers and entire fields full of flowers and even from the corner of her eye she could see how much more vibrant he was now, the glamor dropped. Captivating and downright otherworldly, beautiful and mesmerizing.

"What have you done!" Egam shrieked but his words no longer tasted of iron-rot in the air and she blinked, realizing the power of his voice had been stolen from someone else. As she watched him seemingly shrink down, magic leaving him, her breath caught.

Oh. Her magic had been the first he had stolen. Her magic was what had bolstered all of his and now that it was gone, everything he was unraveled until it left behind a pitiful little man, with eyes so mean and cruel he should belong in a story, not in real life.

"I promised you I would be your end," the forest spirit said and his voice was filled with magic. The sort of magic that had previously been used by Egam to charm everyone. "I think your hunger and greed are better suited in a different shape and form. In something that grows, don't you?"

And Egam tried to scramble to his feet and run, but the magic of the forest spirit was so thick in the air it her own magic sing in return, bright and sparking and the fury was still a living, roiling wave of heat within her. She reached out without much thought, letting her magic wrap around the forest spirit's, who threw his head back and laughed.

He laughed as Egam screamed in a pitch no human throat should be capable of. He laughed as the screams cut off and branches broke out of his back, his skin turning to bark and the mage grew and grew and stretched and the young woman found herself pulled out the house as floorboards and walls, doors and furniture and remains of windows were devoured.

She watched as a tree grew and grew and grew until the trunk was as wide as the house had been and it reached high into the sky, the canopy so thick and wide it sheltered the entire town under its boughs. 

And her magic was singing and singing and singing and she felt so hale and whole she felt like she was floating. The forest spirit turned towards her, grinning and took her injured hand, pressing a kiss to the cut, smearing blood over his lips as he healed it.

"We're free now," he whispered, eyes so very green and then she was laughing and crying and pulling him forward and he followed her, pressing kisses that tasted like fading copper and brightly like flowers and cold water to her lips.

They were free. Free and whole at last and she felt like she was truly breathing for the first time since she could remember. Deep breaths that seemed to fill her entire body, her magic twining with his as it surrounded them, forest and sky and her tears were wiped away with gentle, gentle hands.

"We are," she whispered, sinking her hands into his hair until she had threaded starlight through it. "Let me introduce you to Gran and Granny Tanya and then I want to see your home."

He laughed and picked her up and twirled her in a circle and she found herself laughing as well, flowers blooming to form a crown on her head.

Where previously a quiet sort of misery had loomed in her future, saturating all coming days, she now couldn't wait to see what the rest of her life looked like.

Bright, she thought as she held his face in her hands, their foreheads gently pressing together. Her future was bight and free and full of love and she was still laughing and crying, happy beyond words. And her magic, finally, finally returned to her, sang and shone and at long last, she felt nothing but right inside.

*.*.*

You want to support my stuff? Want more of my nonsense? Want to lord this over your mortal enemies as you laugh down at them from the top of your castle? Please consider heading to my patreon! A new short story gets posted every month =)

#my writing #short story #forest spirit #magic #fairy tale style #a bit dark tho #a wee bit of body horror at the end #and a wee bit of violence #rather non graphic tho #this took forever to write #i have around 11 k discarded words on this little mess #but I loved how it turned out #so I very much hope you'll enjoy reading it too! #also if you wonder #shady how do you come up with names? #i encourage you to spell egam backwards #I'm funny like that (not) #but I admit #his name amused me every time I typed it #alright done with rambling in the tags for now I guess #hope you liked my story! #btw just in case you're new to my stuff #this is LONG #a long short story

[kayleerowena]

THE WITCH'S WINGS & OTHER TERRIFYING TALES, an 'are you afraid of the dark?' graphic novel with three stories based on hispanic urban legends, comes out october 3rd 2023!!!

kick off the halloween season & ✨ preorder it now ✨ if fun, spooky middle-grade horror is your jam!

i'm so excited for people to get to read this book; everyone involved put so much love into it, and i can't wait to hear what people think once it's out in the world. to celebrate how close the release date is, here are a few preview pages from my segment of the book, the tale of the haunting of bus #13!

#are you afraid of the dark #are you afraid of the dark? #the witch's wings and other terrifying tales #ayaotd #horror art #middle grade horror #middle grade books #middle grade graphic novel #horror comics #horror graphic novel #tehlor kay mejia #junyi wu #alexis hernandez #justin hernandez #this is the first time a book with my name on the cover will be in actual bookstores and i may be losing my mind about it slightly #i'm very excited!!! i hope y'all love this book as much as i do!!!!!!

[catofoldstones]

Loving davos

Me 🤝 stannis

#how can they not tell they’re in love with each other while also being so far up each other’s asses #like wow #davos leave that insane fire baldy and follow me into this dark alley pls I will totally not kidnap you #davos PLEASE #stannis baratheon #davos seaworth #asoiaf #i want this middle aged man not carnally but in a I-want-him-to-suffer-e #eldtrich-horrors-that-age-him-50-years-in-a-day #I hope they have more insane moments in adwd #stavos

[jadespeedster17]

Repaid Kindness

Warning: Mind Control, Stockholm Syndrome, Darkish themes, Mild Swearing, and very slight Body Horror.

POV: Second (You/Your)

Note: this idea has got me on a hyper fixation again, which is great because I’ve been on low inspiration for 3 months now (Curse you ADHD). Plus I’m posting my own Submas AU idea later, just still drawing the character designs for Emmet and Ingo. Tagging @peachsodamaa again as this is her idea (If ever in the future you want me to not tag you in these stories just let me know :D also if anyone wants to be tagged if I make more, also leave me a comment or reblog) **Please Read Notes At The Very End** (It’ll be bold)

Summary: You give an act of kindness and you supposedly receive it back in good karma. Though, this guys ‘repayment’ isn’t refundable, and you’re his newest edition.

------

You looked at your phone, having about 45 minuets before your train gets here to take you to your university. Today was supposedly a field trip day, going out to help people in need and pokemon also. Training to be a Nurse was not easy, especially for one learning to care for both Pokemon and People. Yet despite it, you loved to help people. taking the hard work in strides and stress slowly being dealt with.

This was your last year, and then you’ll be certified fully, already looking for jobs to apply to once you get it. A whole life planned ahead, you were looking forward to it. You parents would have been proud of you, a bitter sweet smile at that thought. You didn’t have many friends to celebrate with, between Work Study to make ends meet and tests, you never had time to head out often.

Hopefully, that’ll change with time, maybe a month to yourself after getting your credentials would be nice? You flick through the pictures of pokemon, today your professor said you’d chose a partner to work with you. Chansy, Blessy, Wigglytuff, Slyveon, Clefable, a few others too. You were to choose based upon what type of Nurse you’d be that day. You were lost in thought for a while just scrolling through your phone when you paused hearing something.

Looking up and around you noted the source of the noise. A woman was yelling at one of the Depot Agents. She looked very angry at something, though through the chatter of people around you, you could make out something about a refund. You also noted some people were filming this Entitled Woman’s outrage. Why do people like to me a septically of themselves? Acting more like toddlers than grown ass adults.

Top it off why was it always the one with the nasal tones and fake ass looking faces. Sheesh, most of the agents here has comedically large smiles or frowns, and still this woman’s makeup caked face looked faker. ‘Karen’s’ were always amusing to watch, thinking if they tantrum enough they’d get what they want. 

You watched the woman she was talking to still keep her friendly smile on, now that was a ‘I’m dead inside’ look only one working with the public could do. Trying to calm her down, and explain things. The other with the frown just passively watched with lost in thought eyes. Dissociating possibly, You’ve done that before when you worked in retail. Easier way to drown out the screeches of a bitch.

However you blinked in shock when suddenly the Karen slapped the worker. Some didn’t notice, but others did gapping in shock at that. The Karen looked very pleased with herself, as the female agent looked shocked as did her coworker. Her hand touched her face, and even from this area you could see tears. 

You didn’t hear what the worker said, only that her smile returned full force, and the woman went to smack her again. 

Her hand was caught though, and Karen look red and anger, “Just who do you think you are!?” she asked turning to you, as you held her wrist easily between your thumb, middle, and pointer finger. Despite her yanking, she couldn’t get free of your grip, something you picked up in self defense class. Gym credit was mandatory in college. 

“Hitting people doesn’t even get you what you want.” You said in a deadpanned tone, before pushing her wrist down and pushed back. The Karen stumbled a bit, and looked beyond livid. “I’d suggest an apology, but I think you’d choke on your own tongue if your tried.” you looked at her with a neutral expression.

Her eyes were cold, “How dare you assault me! I’ll have you sued and put in jail.” she screeched like a Whismur. What a noising adult toddler this was.

Amusement danced in your eyes as you shrugged, “I’m sure you could ma’am. But remember cameras are just about everywhere,” you tapped your chin in mock though with a passive expression, “Come to think of it I think I saw at least 4 people filming your little tantrum too.”

This was enough to make the red turn a bit pale as you saw her eyes dart around to see the people filming. You look at her, putting a hand in our side pocket and tilting your head. “Suppose you’ll end up front page on Pok Tok.” you commented, the look of fear and some anger on her face was priceless.

The Karen looked at you then to the Depot Agents behind you, and scowled. “I will be calling the higher ups about this!” she said, no doubt trying to get the last say in. Before she stormed off, her gaudy high heels clicking as she did. 

You tsk lightly when she’s gone and sigh rubbing your left temple, “You’d think people weren’t raised on the rule of ‘Tantrums get you no where’.” you commented out loud, then turned back to the girl with a kinder smile. “Are you alright?” you asked in your softer tone, something you’ve found you picked up at school when working with people.

she stared at you, smile still there, “yes I think so.” she told you, as you motioned for her to move her head. She slowly did so as you looked at the red mark with some blood from the woman’s nails. 

You wrinkle your nose a bit, “Well that’s not good, grosser yet, people have bacteria under their nails.” you huff a bit then looked at her, “If you’ll allow me, I come with fire aid all the time.” you offered.

The agent looked at her partner before agreeing softly, you got your side bag out and a small case. “It’ll sting a bit, but have to clean it so it doesn't get infected.” you explained in a gentle tone, before going to work. Using a saline wipe to get the blood off, then another to clean it. After that, you take out a small tube that read ‘Blissy Egg Salve’ and carefully put it over the three small marks. 

Once done, you dispose of the blood wipes, and put a few small bandages over it. “There.” you said with a bright smile, “Good news is the human face doesn't scar as easy as games like you to think.” you press the small tube in her hands, “Put this on every 4 hours, and it should heal up by tomorrow.”

You close your case and put away your things, “As for the bruising that might happen, that’ll heal up on it’s own in a few days.” you promise as she smiles at you back. “Don’t worry about the salve, my professor hands them out like candy.” you look sheepish with a small chuckle. 

“Thank you.” She said quietly to you, possibly because she was still reeling over the whole thing.

“Professor?’ the male worker asks with a head tilt to you.

You nod to that, “I’m a Nurse Student, hence why I even carry this kit, kind of force of habit by now.” you shrug to him, before the chime was heard over head.

“all boarding for Castelia City please head to Platform 2.” 

You hum lightly, “That’s mine.” you give them one more soft smile, “It was nice to meet you both, if your boss needs me to give a statement I’ll be happy too.” you said giving your name to them and college you go to. Before turning with a wave, “See ya.”

You didn’t notice how the two watched you very closely before you vanished into the crowd. 

-------

The next day was the second part of the felid trip, you were actually at Gear Station this time, helping with pokemon during the Battle Carts. People were excited at the idea of possibly meeting Ingo or Emmet, the ones who ran the place and who were some very strong trainers. 

Today you’d be working without a partner, as one of them was hurt by someone’s pokemon. But it’s alright, you just hope Blissy would be okay. You were standing by now with others, making small talk as their professor went around telling people the carts and trains they’d be stationed in. 

Some would be getting early carts, which were the Honors students, other getting simpler ones as they were starting out. Some were groaning at what they got, others very excited. Until your teacher came up to you.

“You’ll be stationed in the Multi Carts on number 50.” he told you, you blinked in disbelief, cart 50 was the ones Ingo and Emmet supposedly worked in. “Apparently they asked for you by name.” he shrugged, possibly not questioning it. “Do well and consider this your passing project grade.” You could only gap a bit, “Uh... yes sir.” you stuttered out, okay this was... a bit jarring. But, you could do it. Not many got that far up, so it should be simple, but you’d be also working with stronger pokemon. No pressure or anything, and you could feel your classmates envy, just great.

Taking a breath, you steel your nerves, you can do this. Getting your nursing bag and hat on before nodding to yourself. Everything would be okay. Before you headed to your stationed cart to get set up. See there were carts that had nurses in them, slightly smaller, and then ones with the battle area. So that you were out of the line of fire. 

Entering in the area you set down your bag, finding yourself alone for now. You start to get things out and let your mind wander. you’ve never actually met Ingo or Emmet before. Only just seen News articles on them, and heard about people who faced them and got their asses handed. It’s not like you really cared, you never were one for pokemon battles, Trainers were in a league all their own as far as you’re concerned.  Though aware of their status, they were people like anyone else. Guess that’s why the professor had no problems with you being here. You’re not a gushing fan, just a person doing their job. You at least hoped they were snobbish or uptight. 

By the time you finished the cart door opened and you looked over to see thw brothers walking in. A smile and a frown on their faces, it’s no wonder they were called the Muppet Men. You gave a polite smile, “Hello sirs,” you said in a formal tone to them. Ingo, who you knew the be the one in black, tipped his hat to you, “No need for that, just Ingo is fine. Glad you were actually here for this.” he told you dull eyes looking at you.

You just nod, “This counts for a big part of my grade, missing it means failing, which I’m not too inclined for.” You joke lightly earning a chuckle from Emmet. You were curious as to why they asked for you, but you decided not to ask, might come off as rude. However it seems you didn’t need to ask as Emmet smile grew, “I am Emmet. Heard about what you did for one of our agents yesterday.” he commented as who looked flustered at that, wondering if he was upset. Instead he ruffled your hair, “I wanted to thank you, they work for me personally, hadn’t appreciated what that woman did to her. I am verrry happy” his eyes grew dark though when he talked about the Karen, even if the small stayed.

You gelt your cheeks grow warm, “Oh it’s no trouble, I mean what kind of nurse would I be if I didn’t help people.” you said rubbing the back of your head feeling a little embarrassed by the high praise.  Ingo hummed in agreement, “The woman was delt with for her assault on our workers, so don’t worry, you’re not in trouble.” that did get some of the load off of you.

After that Emmet grinned widely, “Well, we’ll be waiting a while for people to get up here, takes a good hour.” he sat down dramatically on the seats as Ingo rolled his eyes at how the man sprawled out like a Starmie.  “You just like to make things difficult for me.” Ingo said as he sat at the very edge in a tight spot as Emmet looked pleased with himself. They truly did act like brothers. Emmet pressed forward to try and push against Ingo. “I’m not moving.” Ingo said stubbornly as Emmet pouted before laying his head on his brother’s leg. 

“You know I like the seat to myself.” Emmet whined to him, as Ingo looked unimpressed at him, with a neutral face and eyebrow raise. You snicker to yourself taking a seat across from them as Emmet just stared at his brother in silent annoyance.

Ingo looked away opting now to ignore him, which had Emmet make an indignant noise. He looked at you instead, “Have any rotten siblings of your own?” he asked as Emmet looked offended by such a term. “I am not rotten, if anything you’re the ones who causes the most problems.” he ‘maturely’ stuck out his tongue.

You find yourself smiling at how easy going they were right now, “No, I’m an only child luckily.” you tell them as Ingo tilts his head. “Parents didn’t want anymore kids?” he asks you as he did start messing with his brother’s hair. Which seemed to work in making him stop pouting. 

You shake your head, “My parents died when I was 14, so they never got the chance. Sickness.” you said calmly, it was fine now, you were older, so you didn’t mind sharing. Ingo’s eyes looked softer at you, “I’m sorry.” he said in a quieter tone, you shake your head again with a small smile.

“It’s fine, it’s been years, and I’ve gotten only better. I lived with my aunt until I turned 18 then headed straight for college.” you shrug, he nods along with your statement. Emmet speaks up then with a smile at you, “I am Emmet, and at least you might have found verrry good friends, right?” he asked curiously.

You look away from him with a sheepish laugh, “yeah... friends.” you said, even though you were lying, you had no friends. The twins shared a look between each other, and you found yourself lost in thought. Maybe someday you would make friends.

you blinked out of them when the bell chimed, Emmet got up at inhuman speeds enough to pop his back. You were kind of shocked he didn’t get a headrush, “Alright! Someone got here early!” he said in a chipper tone. “Time to make them cry!”

Ingo groaned from the statement, “Emmet, that’s not the idea to go for.” he says getting up with more grace than his more energetic brother. Pinching the bridge of his nose and taking a breath, but you did see his lips quirk slightly from amusement at the other antics.  Turning to you he tips his had again, “we’ll be back shortly.” he promises before following Emmet out the cart.

time passed on after that, you’d heal their pokemon when they came back, and made a bit more conversation with them. Finding out interesting things. Emmet, despite how chipper he was, liked bitter and sour things mostly. While Ingo preferred sweet things and spice. You also found out that Emmet was a well of knowledge in pokemon facts, which you quickly were able to keep up with. Ingo also liked to talk about trains quiet alot, and though you couldn’t make conversation, he seemed all too happy to just talk and you listen.

In return you told them a bit about yourself, things you liked, books you’ve read, movies you’ve watched, and what you wanted to do once you graduated. Even a bit on your life with your aunt... it was just easy to open up to them. You felt like you could trust them, they made you feel at ease.  They would nod along, and pitch in with their own stories if something you said sparked a memory for them. They were very kind and made for great companions on this long train ride.

Eventually you find yourself sitting between them as you talked, they both were pressed up against you, but you didn’t seem to mind. It had gotten a bit colder as the day progressed, and soon you’d be needing to leave. You mentioned as much, passively that you’d have to get back to your class, and felt them sightly tense for a moment... or you could have been imagining it.

The brothers stared at each other, as if having a conversation with their minds, staring each other down. You weren't sure for what, and honestly if twins really did have telepathy, you didn’t care. You were also worn out from the day, and couldn’t wait to get home.

**Emmet’s Ending**

Ingo then sighed and stood up as he popped his body, “Think I'll go find us some snacks, you haven’t ate in a while.” he said to you, and you blinked... come to think of it yeah, you had been so lost in talking with them you forgot about lunch.

“er... thanks.” You said looking a little flustered again at how easily you forgot a meal. Emmet waved to his brother as he left before smiling at you brightly.

“I am Emmet, and I have a question for you!” he said in his chipper tone, you smile, starting to think his first part when speaking a ‘verrrry’ was a tik of his.  Not that you were judging, but that was the best explanations you got, “What is it?” you asked curiously.

The smile grew a bit, as his eyes closed up due to it, “I was wondering if you’d be interested in working for me.” 

You stared at him, the world blanking for a second as the question sank in your head. Emmet stared at you, waiting for you to respond. Though he did speak up, “Please? I’d be verrrrrry happy if you did.” he pleaded with you a tilt of his head.

Finally you blinked and gapped, “W-Well... this is unexpected.” you admitted, you were looking for a job after school. “I don’t even have my degree yet though so you’d have to wai-”

“I am Emmet! I’d be more than willing too, so would my brother. We think you’re a perfect fit to be one of the stationed nurses here.” he tells you hand gripping your own, he had a very tight grip also. You look bewildered by how insistent he was, but... a chance like this wouldn’t come again anytime soon. You heard Depot Agents were paid well and loved their jobs. Not just anyone was chosen for them, as it’s said Emmet and Ingo were very picky.

After a moment you give a smile of your own, “I.. I guess I could, if you both really do want me.” you told him, a pleased look came across his face. Something in your stomach churned at how... not human the smile now looked. But Emmet wouldn’t hurt you, right? What reason would he have too, he’s had more than enough time now..

“Great!” Emmet told you, hand reaching up slightly as you look confused. “Just need to do one small thing for this to be official.” he tells you, something about his tone make your hairs stand on end. But you felt a bit numb and stiff as he placed a hand on the nape of your neck.

You give a small, little nervous laugh at how close to your personal space he was. Nose to nose, ghost of breath on your chin, and void eyes staring int your own. Emmet beamed, “Call it... initiation. So just hold still my newest play-thing.” he near purrs, you opened your mouth to ask what the fuck was up with that nickname.

Only to let out a squeak instead as something gripped the back of your neck, sharp claws digging into your flesh. What the- Something pushed it’s way into your head, you could feel it sliding up from your neck to the base of your skull. Your body was stiff, and eyes wide as you stared at Emmet’s smile that almost held all sharp teeth in the low lights... how had you not noticed before?

A smooth gloved hand touched your cheek as Emmet cooed, “That’s it, just give in my human.” he told you as it felt like something gripped your body. It hurt for a moment, you tried to look around, but you body just wouldn’t listen.  Emmet was smiling still, “I’m verrry pleased, you’re doing so good. I knew you’d be a good play-thing.” he said in a happy, excited tone. 

What was happening? It hurt to move, so you have no choice but to stay lax. Emmet put his arms around you and hummed against you skin as he hugged you. ‘Good... this is nice... Just obey, and everything will be okay.’ a voice that sounded like his purred in your head.  Hands carded through your hair, ‘I’m verrry pleased you helped one of my other play-things. I knew then I had to have you as one of them. You’d fit in so nicely, and be so happy.’ he told you in your head as you could feel others around you. Some were sad, others were impassive, and some were just numb. 

You felt calm and comfort from them though, it was okay, despite your racing heart and unable to move... you felt so happy. A smile formed on your face against your will. Emmet beamed at it when he saw it. “Remember to smile!” he teased you poking your nose. “And I’ll take good care of you my human.” he giggles lightly. ‘And all that matters is me.’ a darker voice of his said in your head. “You’re mine, and that’s all that matters.’

And despite the tears that he brushed away you found yourself nodding and parroting, “I’m yours, and that’s all that matters.” your voice said back and the dread sank to your very core..

It was very warm here.

**Ingo’s Ending**

A beat of a breath then Emmet groaned a bit and sat up, “Fine fine, I’ll go get some snacks then brother.” he grumbled, as if the two just got done silently arguing on who’d get what. You looked at Emmet as he smiled back at you and booped your nose.

“Be back with something to eat soon, you need to eat something.” he teased, you stared back at him. Oh right... you forgot all about getting some food. You flushed a bit, “Oh uh... right right.” You echoed making him smile brighter before waving to Ingo and heading out.

As the door closed behind Emmet, Ingo shifted his gaze back to you. Eyes blank and seemed to glow with how white they were. He stared at you looking you up and down, and you just gave a weak smile back.  “I wanted to also thank you for your help from yesterday.” he told you after a long moment. “Not many would have stepped up for another.”

You just stare dumbly for a moment, then shrugged, “It’s no problem like I said, I enjoy helping people.” you tell him, and that was the honest truth, you thought you needed no reward for just being kind.

Ingo’s face didn’t change, but his eyes did seem to light up a bit more in amusement. “My brother you see cares deeply for those who work for him. He’s very attached to them, guess you could say because of how strict we are on who gets employed, we grow close to them.” a tilt of his head and a relaxed sigh.

A nod is all you can give, they seemed nice enough, and none of the Depot Agents ever seemed like they hated it here. And despite how loud Ingo could be, You felt calmed by his deep tones. They were steady and strong when he spoke, easy to see how people could listen to him with the authority he held. There was a pause between you two, that felt comfortable as Ingo seemed to be thinking on something. He hummed as you watched him turn to fully face you on the seat. “Which is why I wish to offer you a position here.” he finally said.

“W-What?’ was the only thing you could say back the look of chock on your face made him chuckle.

“Yes,” Ingo began again, “I wanted to offer you a job, you’ve proven yourself capable today to my brother and I. He quite likes you, but has agreed that me being your Boss would be better given your personality and history.” he explained eyes staring into yours.

You gap at the offer, and seemed to be in shock for at moment, before clearing your head. “I uh... still am in school though, I’d have to-”

Ingo cuts you off by a shake of his head, “We know, I know... and we will be willing to work with you until you get your license. And take care of any legal problems there is. Start you off easy, then once we’re fully ready, you can work full time at a nurse here at the station, we are in need of another.” he explained very thoroughly.  But given the guy was rambling just earlier about safety checks and such, was it any wonder he would be the one to cover all his bases? 

Your eyes met his again, the frowned stayed on Ingo’s face, but it felt like a more neutral expression as he waited for your reply. You hadn’t noticed his hands gripping your fingers. His stare was a bit unnerving with how he didn’t seem to blink, how had you missed that? Come to think of it, something about his face seemed off in this light the longer you stared. But as you blinked, it vanished... Ingo didn’t interrupted your thoughts as you bounced the idea in your head for a moment.

This was a big offer, one you knew they didn’t make lightly. How in the actually fuck had you managed to endear yourself that quickly to them!? You weren’t even trying, and hadn’t even thought about working for them. But... your professor always said opportunities were like Drifloons, one wind and they were gone.

“S-Sure.” You finally managed out to Ingo, “I’d love to work for you Ingo.” you finally managed out with a small smile.  Ingo’s eyes brighten, even his frown went to more straight than before. One of the hands moved from yours to your shoulder. A friendly gesture, “That’s great! I was hoping it’d be easy.” he said, you looked bemused at that statement.

Something brushed against the back of your neck, “Most of my Guests are a little harder than this.” you here him say, guests? That was an odd- You yelp a bit like a Yamper who was bit by a Joltik, something just cut into your neck! You went to move your hand to see what it was, but found it stayed still on your lap. You mouth stayed slightly open as Ingo watched you, “Just relax, the process is a bit uncomfortable at first, but so longa s you don’t struggle, it won’t hurt that bad.” his voice boomed out as you could only stare.

Your body felt weird and wrong all over, something something was gripping your joints, your very nerves, and stringing them up. Despite the fact you stayed perfectly still, you were told to stay still. But why did that  matter? Why did you have to do as your told? Your heart started to race, you wanted to move, but that thought and effort make you whimper... it hurt, like you nerves were being electrified when you went to move against... whatever was holding you.

Ingo was gripping your hands again and shook his head firmly, “Don’t move.” he said again, “Please, it’ll hurt worse if you try. Just give in... just obey me.” that statement rang in your head, like you were hearing both from his mouth and inside your mind. When had you started crying? Overwhelmed possibly as your body was being hijacked by, whatever Ingo had put on your neck! What the fuck was he even doing!?

“Language, but I’m just connecting you to me and the others, no need to be afraid.” Ingo told you brushing away the tears on your face. your mind was forced to open up, you could... feel others, but not see them. But the most overwhelming one was Ingo, pressing on your thoughts with his own will. 

‘Good my Guest, very good... I’ll be a wonderful Host to you. The processes will take a bit longer, but with time you’ll know each of your workers and me well.’ Ingo’s voice in your head promised. You felt like he was smiling at you, as your shocked turned to a soft frown like his, and your eyes dulled over. ‘I’ll take care of you, you won’t feel unsure or scared anymore with me... you just have to..’

Ingo was hugging you, you could feel him as much as he felt you... it was so strange, calming, so very calming. Your heart stopped racing and the tension left you limp against the strings.

‘Trust me.’

With those words, you mouth moved without you telling it too. You heard your voice, but couldn’t control what you said. You felt yourself nod, “I trust you Host.” was what you said next. 

You felt his happiness at the words...

And you couldn’t even feel terror, as it was just so calm here.

-------

End Notes: So yeah, to explain it bit to you guys, as some of this was Peach’s AU, but some was my headcanons for it.

1. I picture Ingo and Emmet are different to people they er... ‘help’ ? . . .  Ingo is very calming, his presence in your head forces you to not feel terror or uncertainty. As a Guest, you feel secure in everything you do, say, and move. He basically eliminates fear from you, because why would you need to fear when he’s always with you? Just trust him, and all will be well. Emmet however is possessive as fuck, you are his, no one else... well besides his brother, he doesn’t mind sharing sometimes with people who are family. Everyone else can fuck right off. You feel warmth with him, coldness isn’t a factor to you, you always feel like he’s mentally holding you. Why would you need to be shivering when Emmet’s always here? You’re his, that’s all that matters.

2. Ingo dislikes people who swear and reprimands you for it. Emmet is mildly okay with it, but they are not sailors, they work in a Train Station.

3. With each twin it’s different what happens when you do just.. give up.  For both it doesn't hurt as much anymore, sure you can still feel the strings on your body, but they don’t hurt as you’re not tugging against them. This makes it easier on them, as you move less robotically and more like a human. (You can always tell who has been there the longest by how they move.) Ingo, after you stop resisting him, it feel like you’re just sitting there. You watch the world go by like a movie, and everything is silent and still. You can sense everyone, their feelings and thoughts, you’re all connected. Sometimes, if you close your eyes, you can see through their eyes... if only in brief moments. And by this point, you feel happy to be so connected. Emmet however is different, you are watching yourself move. But you always feel arms around you in your head. Sometimes someone is messing with your hair. You don’t feel unloved, because you can feel the others around you. You sometimes will shiver when new people come in, because they are just so cold. But you fully believe with Emmet they will be fine, after all you’re fine.

4. Both twins have an easy time getting people to trust them, with their status in Unova, it’s not that hard. But they got about it in separate ways. Ingo might use his Guests to talk to you first, mans is shy at times coming face to face with people without Emmet. Only after learning about you through them, will he approach you himself. Despite being a good Host, he does have uncertainty in his own booming tones, afraid he’ll scare off any potential new guests. Yet is always happy to find that his voice is what actually sooths people the most. Emmet is very straight forward of the two, sometimes ‘personal space’ doesn't click with him. He wants to be close to you, he wants to know what you smell like, what you sound like, and how your skin feels. it’s taken him a while, and Ingo to explain, that humans like their ‘bubble’ unlike their species. He’ll approach you fast, and it can be draining to talk to him, but you can’t help but like his personality all the same. But that’s also how he lures in new Play-things. Both firmly believe the ‘Hive Mind’ is the best thing for their puppets. Eventually you’ll see that too, all new times puppets have a hard time adjusting, but their here, and they’ll love and cherish you till the end.

and 5. My idea, the twins are very much immortal... well fuck.

Finally, if you’ve ever followed me in the past for me Sander Sides content you’ll know I can write more... ah... intimate things. Given most of you still to really be into Mind Control, if ever you guys want me to do something more for Submas and Mind Control, just let me know.  Send an ask or leave a comment and I’ll see what I can give you. :)

that is all, hope you enjoyed Reading!

#hivemind au #submas #subway master ingo #subway master emmet #tw mind control #tw body horror #tw dark themes #tw stockholm syndrome #fanfic #second person pov #based on another post #hope you guys like this #I love this idea too much #ah adhd a blessing a curse for writers #gonna be working on my ao3 idea next #so I don't leave it unfinished like all my other words #please read the notes #please read warnings people

[bellshazes]

could i ask the reasoning behind your dungeons and dragons dislike? is it with the format of the game, the general playerbase, the material, or something else? i dont play and i always think im missing context when i read your posts, but appreciate them nonetheless

haha so for specific context it's probably important to disclosed my first ever job was teaching board games & i did that for ten summers from age 14-24ish. so i have a particular exposure to/long-running beef with certain parts/aspects of the games industries which are both serious & well informed but also kind of inside jokes to some degree with my fellow GMing friends.

Wizards of the Coast have so many problems i don't know where to start, but the recent licensing changes suck for all the poor folk who have cared enough to try and fix their crappy system, a lot of the lore is racist, and I'm friends with MTG fans but not qualified to start explaining what the fuck is up with all that. but even disergarding that, D&D itself has gone through so many evolutions thru its editions that even hardcore fans will disupte which ones are good and which ones are total shit. (the intersection of "catholic priests who are intense about church canon" and "3.5E diehards" is really funny for instance, in my overly specific experience.)

but honestly my beef is that in the wake of the truly absurd and evil fearmongering of the stanic panic, generations of nerds have clung to D&D as the end all be all of TTRPGs to the point that total newbies are told it's a good entry point for the medium which ???? it's not ????

the only reason D&D is a good "first ttrpg" is because it's the most likely be something people you know already know how to play. it is a self-sustaining monster that gobbles up impressionable people curious about this weird, kind of cool hobby. and watching people homebrew D&D to be the game they wish they were playing in total opposition to the core, fundamental design principles of the system because they have been told it can be anything they imagine.... even when the mechanics hinder that. D&D was a dungeon crawler that took over the world, it's a combat game, it can be PLAYED narratively-focused but if that's what you want, you can do so much better i prommy. i think modding games (video or ttrpg) can be its own joy, but D&D isn't even particularly friendly to it without turning it into a different thing! & at that point, you're better served tweaking something else!

it is no individual person's fault. but please for the love of god play ltierally any other game: you can give your money to a passionate indie creator instead of WOTC, it will cost you less, you can work much less hard to get the gameplay you crave, there's something for everyone, there are less complex-to-start/explain systems, etc. noooooooo don't play d&d your so sexy lol <3 and here's beau @beeelderly's RPG training wheels doc for ideas on where to start!

#peter answers #also addtl disclosure i taught Arkham Horror for 7 consecutive years which I ran as a GM despite it not requiring one; it's a co-op game #i had to teach catan once and it was so bad i hate catan too. can we abolish that as well #personally even for mainstream-ish stuff if you love the narrative possibility give Blades in the Dark or similar PBTA systems a try! #this is not super coherent i'm afraid but i hope it clarifies. i'm not angry i'm so sad watching friends play dnd #unless they WANT like. combat-centric dungeon crawlers or mechanically intricate dice rolling stuff. in which case you are my friend matt.

[thebirdandhersong]

The Ponds, Mary Oliver / Courage, Anxiety and Despair: Watching the Battle, James Sant / tr. Anne Carson / Curses, The Crane Wives / The Archer, Taylor Swift / Antigone, Félix Resurrección Hidalgo / Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up), Florence + the Machine / Hope in the Dark, Rebecca Solnit / Penelope and the Suitors, John William Waterhouse / i thank You God for most this amazing, e.e. cummings / Invocation: A Fragment, Nadine Sabra Meyer

a glimpse into Petra Wilder's soul

#petra is pandora antigone and penelope all at once i think #pandora because DANG girl you need to look in the box again you forgot hope #antigone because she's constantly dancing with death and a part of her is compelled by the darkness where her loved ones are #penelope because she's weaving and weaving and weaving now and she won't stop despite the horrors #round 2: songbird's inklings challenge story

[todayisafridaynight]

WELL. I guess Someone's Getting Shanked given Yokoyama did say the demo features scenes that wouldn't be in the actual game LMAO I absolutely thought of KH too 😭😭ON TOP OF HAVING TO FINISH THE ENTIRE GAME TO GET TO IT... I imagine you could manage it over break though, it's supposed to be maybe 20 hours long or so!

But I'm glad to hear your wrist is doing much better! Fingers crossed for next week :)

bruhhhhhhhhh im gonna literaallly blow up his house in minecraft im LEAVING I CANT DO THIS AGAIN

#snap chats #yoko dont be doin this You Gotta Get The Tamagotchi To See This Lore shit I SWEAR ILL GO MAD #im going to your house and stealing all your knives THEN how are you gonna make a blt #'?????' its a cold dark lonely world when a man cant make a blt... you never know what you have until its gone... #anyway yeah 20 hours is doable LMAO thems Y3 numbers #Y2 even... #WAIT WHYD YOU ASK ME IF I THOUGHT THERED BE STUFF IN THE DEMO BUT NOT IN THE FINAL IF HE ALREADY SAID. #masu tryna make me look a FOOL well THANKS PAL but i can make myself look stupid MYSELF #i hope we get some silent-hill-2 ending type shit. i want the dog from y1 to be in the rgg boardroom #look what happened to the dog you left behind kiryu it became director and now its putting your ass through horrors #the fuck am i wafflin on about. obligatory daigo dlc mention They Made Him Support Cause If He Was DPS He'd Clear Instantly #man i love daigo.. whattaguy... #i havent had a nonsensical tag ramble in a while let me cook LMAO #anyway. optimitic thinking for my wrist :) theni can finally stop typing like this 👁️💋👁️

[blujayonthewing]

I think about that time aubree got a casual hookup a lot I think largely because it was a time something nice happened to her with no downsides

#I am imagining her being treated softly. I am imagining her being touched gently. I am imagining her falling asleep in soft arms. #aubree talks about cooking with a gnome who named herself after an herb and drinks wine and has sex and wakes up and makes coffee for two #and doesn't think or talk about The Horrors even once. for twelve blessed hours. what a concept #I've had three glasses of wine and I am now crying about my blorbo ahskfdlsh she just has NO SUPPORT in the PARTY!! #justin has built a world full of kindness and goodness where being kind makes a real difference #where you can form real and rewarding connections with people in a living and responsive world and it's so wonderful #but we travel because we're adventuring!! so aubree only has the party actually present!! #and the party consists of a bard who works overtime to be rude and mean and make a BAD impression everywhere we go for no reason #and an overwrought teenager whose trauma is 1) the only trauma that matters and 2) overpowers ANY of those real and meaningful connections #her player constantly like 'ooOHhhHh justin your GRIM WORLD you are PUTTING LISBET THROUGH IT hohohooo' #ACTUALLY the entire POINT of this grim world is to highlight the power of love and hope in the face of darkness and despair!! #but you keep CLOSING YOUR EYES TO THAT!! and CHOOSING TO PLAY GRIMDARK NO MATTER WHAT!! #so I'm just sitting here like :) this is a world full of kindness and hope and aubree doesn't get any #cause she's the only one IN the party BRINGING any!! #and we don't stay long enough with any one NPC for them to be there for her #LAYS on the FLOOR. #it's a weird contrast with mel who is ALSO profoundly lonely because mel doesn't understand that #and if she DID she HAS friends she could lean on-- zhartook at the very least and probably also claire #aubree grew up in a big family in a tight community-- she KNOWS she needs connection and right now doesn't feel like she HAS anyone #sucksss #about me #aubree

[starlightshadowsworld]

Palestinians are not "animals."

They are not "children of darkness."

Little kids are rescuing cats and trying to comfort them when they themselves are terrified.

A doctor broke down when his father and brother came into the trauma unit.

And several of his colleagues hugged and gathered to comfort him.

Journalists are playing with babies.

Doctors are refusing to evacuate hospitals because their patients can't and refuse to leave them.

There's a little boy who gives tea to the journalists and thanks them for spreading their stories.

He's displaced at the hospital, his home is gone.

A kid was asked what he wants to be when he grows up and he said kids in Gaza don't grow up.

Kids are writing their names on their arms so they can be identified.

Momin Kireka is a Palestinian journalist who was disabled by an Israeli attack in 2008.

And despite the difficulty in moving around, he vows to continue to show the world the truth.

Awni, a young Palestinian boy has a gaming YouTube channel he loved so much.

He was killed in the bombing.

Mohammed Sami was an artist who's dream was to open an art gallery.

He was playing with the kids to raise their spirits. And the next day he was killed.

They are victims.

They are going through unimaginable horrors and still find it in their hearts to be kind.

They have hopes and dreams just like you and I.

They are people.

And they deserve to be recognised and known as such.

#from the river to the sea palestine will be free #free palestine #pro palestine #free gaza #Gaza #palestine #anti israel #anti zionisim

[novablisters]

“oh btw you have to be this gender and it defines how people perceive you and how you have to act and also you have to play an emotional puzzle game full of pins and needles and knives to love in this specific way to be fulfilled and it has to be with this gender and they have to look a certain way or else you’re a moron with low standards and you have to dress this certain way and if you for some reason don’t have enough control to do this we will try to strip you of the inherent value you have by merit of being alive in the eyes of man and regardless you will have to do gymnastics to figure out how to survive in this complicated system we built that doesn’t care about you as anything more than a replaceable cog”

awesome! great! one question, can I as a living sentient being have my own feelings? two questions, actually, can I decide how I want to live? three. can I decide anything about who I am. why do I have to live by your rules. do I have freedom in any way that matters. do you even want me to. you will continue to try to stomp me out as if I am a pesky fire. will I burn you?

#started from gender dysphoria but the first sentence snowballed because it’s almost valentines day #and then #bashing my head against the wall #there’s million things I could tag this with but you know what I Don’t Fucking Care #I am built to LOVE I AM BUILT FOR JOY AND PLEASURE AND #NOBODY IS LISTENING EVERYONE IS PLAYING THE GAME I WANT OUT I WANT OUT OF IT I AM SHACKLED AND CHAINED BY THINGS NOBODY BATS AN EYE AT #I am so lonely in ways that nobody understands #the salmon are kissing and it sounds like the words of god #I just want to love #but the way I do is wrong #I cannot love myself because I am Wrong #but I do anyway #and I love you and I love bizarre campy shit and I love childish things and I love diversity and I love living and I love freedom #and I love art and I love life and I love subtle small things about nature and even human society #I love the complex and the nebulous and the indescribable and I love you formulaic and I love you pain and I love you light #and I love you darkness and I love you horror and I love you hope and I love you broken and shattered and Wrong #is it so selfish to want to be loved in return #to be loved for all that is both understood and impossible to understand about me #to be loved by someone who can also see the destructive force in car exhaust and fall in love with it #but also see the creek flow and fall to their knees because it is so beautiful that by chance we have water and therefore life #to be loved in a way so raw that to deem it romantic is to dumb it down #but nothing can ever be Truly understood #science is an endless game of desparately clinging to sense #as we write what we find only to discover something else completely is true #maybe we’re all the atom #model after model is drawn but we may never really know what and why and how #we try to draw it but it can never be so simple

[hotvintagepoll]

Congrats to the ultimate winner of the Hot & Vintage Movie Men Tournament, Mr. Toshiro Mifune! May he live happily and well where the sun always shines, enjoying the glories of a battle hard fought.

A loving farewell to all of our previous contestants, who are now banished to the shadow realm and all its dark joys and whispered horrors—I hear there's a picnic on the village green today. If you want to remember the fallen heroes, you can find them all beneath the cut.

What happens next? I'll be taking a break of two weeks to rest from this and prep for the Hot & Vintage Ladies Tournament. I'll still be around but only minimally, posting a few last odes to the hot men before transitioning into a little early ladies content, just like I did with this last tournament. The submission form for the Hot & Vintage Ladies tournament will remain up for one more week (closing February 21st), so get your submissions in for that asap! Once the form closes, there will be one more week of break. The first round of the Hot & Vintage Ladies Tournament will be posted on February 29th, as Leap Year Day seems like a fitting allusion to leaping into these ladies' arms.

Thanks for being here! Enjoy the two weeks off, and send me some great propaganda.

In order of the last round they survived—

ROUND ONE HOTTIES:

Richard Burton

Tony Curtis

Red Skelton

Keir Dullea

Jack Lemmon

Kirk Douglas

Marcello Mastroianni

Jean-Pierre Cassel

Robert Wagner

James Garner

James Coburn

Rex Harrison

George Chakiris

Dean Martin

Sean Connery

Tab Hunter

Howard Keel

James Mason

Steve McQueen

George Peppard

Elvis Presley

Rudolph Valentino

Joseph Schildkraut

Ray Milland

Claude Rains

John Wayne

William Holden

Douglas Fairbanks Sr.

Harold Lloyd

Charlie Chaplin

John Gilbert

Ramon Novarro

Slim Thompson

John Barrymore

Edward G. Robinson

William Powell

Leslie Howard

Peter Lawford

Mel Ferrer

Joseph Cotten

Keye Luke

Ivan Mosjoukine

Spencer Tracy

Felix Bressart

Ronald Reagan (here to be dunked on)

Peter Lorre

Bob Hope

Paul Muni

Cornel Wilde

John Garfield

Cantinflas

Henry Fonda

Robert Mitchum

Van Johnson

José Ferrer

Robert Preston

Jack Benny

Fredric March

Gene Autry

Alec Guinness

Fayard Nicholas

Ray Bolger

Orson Welles

Mickey Rooney

Glenn Ford

James Cagney

ROUND TWO SWOONERS:

Dick Van Dyke

James Edwards

Sammy Davis Jr.

Alain Delon

Peter O'Toole

Robert Redford

Charlton Heston

Cesar Romero

Noble Johnson

Lex Barker

David Niven

Robert Earl Jones

Turhan Bey

Bela Lugosi

Donald O'Connor

Carman Newsome

Oscar Micheaux

Benson Fong

Clint Eastwood

Sabu Dastagir

Rex Ingram

Burt Lancaster

Paul Newman

Montgomery Clift

Fred Astaire

Boris Karloff

Gilbert Roland

Peter Cushing

Frank Sinatra

Harold Nicholas

Guy Madison

Danny Kaye

John Carradine

Ricardo Montalbán

Bing Crosby

ROUND THREE SMOKESHOWS:

Marlon Brando

Anthony Perkins

Michael Redgrave

Gary Cooper

Conrad Veidt

Ronald Colman

Rock Hudson

Basil Rathbone

Laurence Olivier

Christopher Plummer

Johnny Weismuller

Clark Gable

Fernando Lamas

Errol Flynn

Tyrone Power

Humphrey Bogart

ROUND 4 STUNGUNS:

James Dean

Cary Grant

Gregory Peck

Sessue Hayakawa

Harry Belafonte

James Stewart

Gene Kelly

Peter Falk

QUARTERFINALIST VOLCANIC TOWERS OF LUST:

Jeremy Brett

Vincent Price

James Shigeta

Buster Keaton

SEMIFINALIST SUPERMEN:

Omar Sharif

Paul Robeson

FINALIST FANTASIES:

Sidney Poitier

Toshiro Mifune

and ok, sure, here's the shadow-bracket-style winner's portrait of Toshiro Mifune.

#hotvintagepoll #hot men finals #a winner crowned! #fuck that old man (requiem) #shadow bracket #toshiro mifune

[ozzgin]

Santa baby are you really there?!

*hears a voice in my backyard*

FUCK SKIN WALKER

- you make Yan skinwalker i’ll do anything to get a skin walker to love me … yes I am 100% mentally stable

I'm not sure if you had something horror-esque in mind, because my immediate idea was Reader accidentally getting cursed and continuing her life completely unaware with a ""dog"" everyone is freaked out by, but she finds it cute. So more like dark comedy vibes. You be the judge. :D

Disclaimer: I have changed the name to Shapeshifter as to not delve into potentially offensive takes on native folklore. Thank you for informing my European ass.

Yandere!Monster x Reader [Shapeshifter]

On your last hiking trip, you've stumbled upon a helpless, lost dog. Or rather, it stalked you down to your cabin and spent the night in front of your window. You didn't have the heart to abandon the poor soul and so you brought it home with you. Strange things have been happening ever since and no one knows how to tell you that the monstrous coyote-like creature might be to blame. You're oblivious to everything.

Content: female reader, dark comedy, monster romance, reader is cursed and proud

It wasn't your intention to return home with a new pet. Some might say it was written in the stars, this fateful encounter of yours. You had finished packing your supplies for a day-long hike, vehemently refusing to join your group of friends that would be guided around by a native. They’d warned you many areas of the mountainous forest were supposedly cursed or haunted, so you just scribbled the limits on your makeshift map and promised to stay on the main trails. After all, this was your chance to commune with nature. As the sun begun to set, you wondered if going by yourself was indeed a smart idea, given your lack of spatial awareness and difficulty to navigate maps. You flipped the piece of paper several times, deep in contemplation. Could it be that you’ve reached the forbidden lands? You quickly surveyed the area: based on the stuffed rag dolls hanging from old branches, and the animal skulls arranged in patterns among patches of burnt grass, it was very much a possibility. Perhaps the improvised slab that said “Stay away” in dripping crimson letters should’ve been enough of a warning, but you assumed they’d just been creative with trail markers.

You didn’t have the time to panic. Just as you were furrowing your eyebrows in a final attempt to decipher the map (at the time upside-down), your ears picked up a faint shuffle of leaves. Further away stood a dog, its glossy eyes fixated on your form. A lost puppy? It seemed to be on the larger side, but then again some breeds grow rather fast. You lowered yourself and patted your knees, whispering diminutives in an effort to call the animal over. It remained in place, staring quietly. Alright, then. You focused on finding your way back instead. Every now and then you'd turn back and see the dog, motionlessly eyeing you at a constant distance. Oh, dear. Was it lost? Frightening affair.

Back at the cabin you told the others about your discovery, with a hint of worry in your voice. You hoped the little pup had found proper shelter. You'd expected a similar reaction coming from your friends, but one of them suggested: "What if it was some shapeshifting monster? There's many legends and stories from the area." Everyone laughed and you joined hesitantly, mildly annoyed by the lack of empathy. That night you barely slept, twisting and turning under the heavy feeling of being watched. You woke up tired and nervous, dragging your feet towards the window for some fresh air. That's when you saw the same forest creature, fully awake and tall in its glory, positioned before your room. This was no coincidence. You had been plagued by the guilt of abandoning a vulnerable quadruped and you weren't about to continue as a passive observer. You strode out without a word and lifted the large dog with a huff, carrying it back in to figure out the transport logistics.

Thus started the unexpected companionship. To you, it's a lovely tale of two lost souls finding one another. Most people seem to disagree. Can you blame them? The rescued puppy you often speak of is, in the eyes of everyone else, a monstrous beast by all definitions. It resembles a coyote more than a dog, but even this description is too gentle. The fur is always raised threateningly and the protruding clusters of fangs remind one of the anatomical anomalies displayed in museums. The eyes, oh, the worst of all perhaps, bottomless depths that pull you in until you run out of air. The creature stares with the all-knowing gaze of a human. "Don't be rude", you snap at whoever dares to point these details out. "It must be a mixed breed or something."

Their persistence is truly ridiculous. You've even had guests run out in panic, claiming the dog stood on its back legs and whispered in a language unknown. Or that its shadow would morph into a grotesque man with claws and crooked antlers. Or that they've found it hunched over your sleeping form, its spine twisted outwards with jagged peaks breaking through the wild fur. Rubbish, all of it.

Strange things have been happening, no doubt, but your adopted fur-child has no blame to carry. You've been trying to distract yourself, going on dates and occasionally bringing potential suitors over. They all vanish overnight, nonchalantly leaving an empty, ruffled bed for you to wake up to. "Am I just unlucky?" You sigh, running your fingers through the coarse fur of your dog. It lowers itself under your touch, visibly enjoying the affection. For a split second, it glances out the window. By the time you come out of your depressed slump, the birds should've finished feeding on the remains. He made sure to tear and grind everything fine enough to not leave any marks behind.

That's how curses work, after all. He didn't expect, however, that you'd be utterly unaware of it. He has to give you the credit, not many people become stalked by an ancient curse and continue their life in blissful ignorance. Even more, for them to just casually pick up the haunting entity and bring it inside their home willingly...You're, uh, certainly a special one. Hence the change of plans. He was supposed to torment you into an early grave, but he's grown rather attached to your bizarre antics. And you do provide some damn good chin scratches. He's therefore satisfied with causing anguish and destruction to anything and anyone in your immediate vicinity instead. Since you've been complaining about the resulting isolation...

You wake up with a gasp, wiping your drenched forehead and checking the sheets. The dog is curled next to you, although its head is now tilted in your direction. "O-oh. It might be the loneliness talking...but I had the strangest dream." How troubling and embarrassing. Your beloved pet had turned into a deformed, monstrous man instead, pinning you down and hungrily grazing your skin with his sharp teeth. Your fearful protests eventually turned into shameless moans, your frail body at the mercy of the mysterious beast. It unfolded so vividly that your core feels sore. You stretch a sheepish hand towards your pet and abruptly stop halfway, noticing the marks diffused into your wrist, like violet smudges of watercolor. What the hell did you do last night?

The dog buries its head under the sheets and nuzzles its snout into your soft flesh. Heh. How many more disappearing guests will be needed for you to figure out your situation? He does find your obliviousness terribly amusing, as well as your willingness to clutch onto him despite his unsightly appearance. He was feeling particularly cheeky and thought of giving you a little scare, only to be once again taken aback by your neediness. He has to wonder who exactly is trapped in this situation, because your reactions to everything he does are frighteningly tempting. Maybe tonight he'll finally let you know, just as you're about to come undone beneath his heaving body. Something like, hmmm. "By the way, love, this isn't a dream." He could even add a little "woof" to tease you more.

#yandere #yandere x reader #yandere x you #yandere x darling #yandere headcanons #yandere imagines #yandere scenarios #yandere monster #yandere monster x reader #horror #monster x reader #monster romance #yandere oc #monster smut #monster boyfriend #terato #teratophillia #monster fucker