Tumgik
#excuse me for the bad editing
m1lflov3rrr · 4 months
Text
Tell me that this isn’t Lady Dimitrescu
Tumblr media
582 notes · View notes
catcze · 6 months
Note
NO BC LISTEN.
WIRO REACTING TO HIS CRUSH/LOVER WEARING A SUIT. LIKE IT FITS THEIR FRAME SO PERFECTLY AND SNUGLY AND WDYM “WHY IS HE LOOKING” OFC HE’S LOOKING LIKE HELLO???
I can’t tell if he would shameless let his eyes roam or would avoid looking at them KDIDKSKSK WIRO BRAINROT IS SO REALL
KAJNSDSA BROOO OMG okokokok something along the lines but 👀
Reblogs are greatly appreciated !!
Tumblr media
You're fiddling with the cuffs of your suit as you exit the changing room, a frown on your face. You're nervous— of course you are! It's not often that you're invited to a high-profile, black-tie event like this, and you'd rather not stick out like a sore thumb.
Wriothesley, who sits comfortably in a plush armchair, has been invited before though. But time and time again he's turned down the invites with some of the most ludicrous excuses. 'A monster is attacking the fortress' is one of his most used ones, closely followed by 'a bird shat on the shoulder of my suit.' But you wonder why he's accepted this time, despite his distaste for the limelight. Well, you shrug, pocketing the thought for later. At least you won't be going alone.
"What do you think?" You pose the question to him, still frowning as you look down at yourself. Did you look okay? Was the fit alright? Did this color wash you out? You had splurged on this (well. Wriothesley splurged on this, technically. He had said it's a gift) and had the suit custom-done, so it should fit your measurements to an exact, but... you frown, not able to shake off the nerves.
And it doesn't help that Wriothesley hasn't said anything since you've stepped out, either. Merely stares at you, eyes roaming your figure. Even at your question, he acts like he hadn't even heard it. Does the suit look that bad?
"Wrio?"
That seems to reach him, and he blinks, finally registering that he's been staring at you— and that you've begun to stare back.
"Oh, uh. Yeah, it looks nice on you. The tailor did a very good job," he says, glancing away, hoping you don't see the red tinge to his cheeks or his ears.
"Really?" You ask, evaluating yourself in the mirror with a frown. "I don't know. I feel like I look like a mess."
"if you look like a mess, then I dread to think what I look like," he says, glancing at you for a second, getting an eyeful of you in that damn good suit, and feels his mouth dry up again. Wriothesley turns his eyes to the corner of the room, finding the fake palm plant there incredibly interesting. Barely more interesting than you. In that very flattering suit. It emphasizes your body very well, he thinks. Makes him see just enough of you while still leaving some to the imagination. And the color you chose for it... red and black, to match what he'll wear, you said. He sighs, troubled, because just the mere memory of it has his heart racing and his palms sweating.
You keep criticizing your reflection for a while longer, and it takes just enough time for Wriothesley to work up the self-control to look your way. "You look good," he says at last. Then clears his throat. His face feels hot. "Better than good, even. You don't have anything to worry about, I promise."
It placates you, because you finally give your own reflection a rest. You back away from the mirror, humming. "If you say so. Thank you, Wrio," you tell him, flashing him a small, shy smile just before you back up into the changing room once more to take it off.
Once you're out of the vicinity, Wriothesley drops his head into his palms, groaning softly.
if he's this much of a mess around you at a fitting, he wonders how much of a fool he could make himself at the actual event.
Tumblr media
837 notes · View notes
vellichorom · 1 year
Photo
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
so maybe he’s taken the sexysweep loss a little hard,
( NOTE; this comic does NOT reflect the views of the artist or is in ANY way meant to chastise / guilt the opposing side OR fault the voters, this is just a little in-character fun on my part & in no way was created with malicious intent! )
CONGRATULATIONS @braisedhoney, I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT! & ANOTHER THANK YOU TO @tsp-narrator-ask​ FOR FEATURING MY NARR IN THE COMPETTITION! earnestly looking forward to seeing who brings home the gold!
( ps also featuring @tomi-chuu‘s stanley because how could i ever not )
490 notes · View notes
cowardlykrow · 1 month
Note
I just needed to say: I LOVE YOUR ART SM
It's great and I am obsessed--!
THANK YOU SO MUCH OTL
My gut tells me you would appreciate this scribble 💚
Tumblr media
55 notes · View notes
aphel1on · 8 months
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
text post meme xuexiao edition
148 notes · View notes
Text
Day 19: "Please Don't" / Adrenaline Crash
@febuwhump prompt: "Please Don't" @badthingshappenbingo prompt: Adrenaline Crash
Fandom: The Bad Batch Characters: Hunter, Omega, Wrecker, Tech, Echo (Did you read Day 5: Rope Burns / Bound & Gagged and Day 12: Semi-Conscious / Over-the-Shoulder Carry? This is a continuation! Follow the links above to catch up on the story so far) Word Count: ~3005 Click here to read on AO3 Also available in Russian (with thanks to @tech-o-mania for the amazing translation!)
Synopsis: Hunter loses control as he hunts down the mercenaries who captured and injured Omega.
Tumblr media
Art by the awesome @collophora of my gorgeous Feral Hunter! Thank you so much for this beautiful pic and letting me post it with my fic, everyone go view collophora's original post HERE and tell them how great they are! <3
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Omega swings her legs as she sits on the edge of the table, watching as Tech methodically extracts embedded strands of hessian from the wound on her left wrist. Her right is already swathed in bandages, the bacta gel bringing a soothing numbness that dulls the pulsing pain to a background throb.
She draws her breath in as a hiss though her teeth at a particularly painful pull, and Tech glances at her to check she is okay. He doesn’t continue until she nods to give him permission to do so.
The com at the engineer’s wrist crackles to life. “Come in, Tech.” It is Wrecker’s voice, low and urgent.
Tech pauses his ministrations to answer the com. “What is it, Wrecker?”
“I need backup.”
The big clone’s voice over the com is deadly serious, none of his usual joviality.
“What is your status?” asks Tech, his voice taking on a more clipped edge.
“It’s Hunter.”
Tech quickly looks up at Echo, and Omega doesn’t miss the alarmed look that passes between them.
“Will you and Omega be alright by yourselves?” Tech asks, putting the tweezers back in the medkit and standing.
Echo nods, resting a hand on Omega’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about us. Go help Wrecker.”
“Help Wrecker with what?” asks Omega, getting to her feet and looking first at Tech, then Echo. “Are they in trouble?”
“You are still in need of treatment,” says Echo firmly, trying for a smile which comes out too tense to be reassuring. “I’m sure Tech will manage without us.” He gestures back to the table. “Sit back up, and I’ll finish your wrists.”
Tech is gathering his equipment, and Omega leans past Echo to see him set his pistol to stun.
“I want to go with Tech,” she protests softly. “I want to check that Hunter and Wrecker are okay.”
Echo and Tech exchange another look. Omega is getting pretty tired of the unspoken conversations they share with their eyes.
“Finish attending to Omega’s wounds,” says Tech eventually. “Then you may follow… carefully.”
*
Hunter’s pistol is in his left hand, balanced on his forearm which is crossed in front of his body, vibroknife held blade outwards. The hum of adrenaline is in his veins, pulse pounding, slowly building to a tense knot of pain at the base of his skull which will surely become a migraine later.
Two more mercenaries up ahead, just out of sight. He can hear them.
Hunter doesn’t have to think about softening his footfalls. The predator’s stealth comes naturally to him.
In moments he is around the corner and the two men are ten paces ahead, weapons out as they scout the corridor.
They don’t know that death shadows their movements.
In his ear, the com pings. Hunter shakes his head, shutting it off irritably. Not now. Whatever his brothers want, it can wait.
He rolls to his toes, picking up speed. Closes the gap in a sprint.
One shot with his pistol. The laser-burn eats through the first man’s skull. The second turns but Hunter is on him, and the vibroknife tears out his throat before he can cry for help.
Hunter pauses for a moment, surveys his work. That makes four of them he has eliminated now. Four of them who harmed his Omega. Four of them who will never threaten her again.
A high-pitched whine, like tinnitus, sets up in his head. He pulls his helmet off, rubbing his ears, trying to chase away the source of the sound.
His helmet is dropped to the floor, forgotten, as he sets off to find the rest of his quarries.
*
Tech tilts his datapad towards Wrecker. “I have picked up the bounty hunters’ com channel. They seem concerned that they cannot raise a number of their companions.”
Wrecker looks up from fitting binders to the two mercenaries he has captured. “Hunter won’t waste any time,” he says gruffly.
“He may have deactivated his com, but I can still track his locator beacon,” says Tech. “Leave these two here. We must catch up to Hunter as soon as we can.”
*
Hunter crouches on the narrow gangway, watching the knot of mercenaries in the hangar below. Five left. Their conversation drifts to him but it is just noise. He can’t make his head understand the words.
It doesn’t matter what they are saying. Hunter will be among them soon, and their words will give way to screams and then they will be dead. He plans to make sure of that.
The migraine closes its vice-like grip on his consciousness and Hunter pulls his bandana off, trying to ease the pressure at his temples. A faint aurora halos his vision, sparkling in the periphery. His back teeth ache.
He creeps along the perforated metal walkway, feeling it sway a little from the suspension cables that keep it aloft. He holsters the pistol, curling the fingers of that hand around the rail instead. His right hand continues to clutch the vibroknife like it is an extension of himself.
Almost directly above them. From here he can drop onto the group, break his fall with one of their bodies, before wreaking his vengeance.
Hunter climbs silently to the railing. Leans over the edge, gravity pulling at his body, braced now on the outside of the walkway.
Ready to drop.
*
Echo spots the pair of bodies before Omega does. He stops her with a hand on her shoulder and ventures forwards cautiously, already knowing what he will find.
He is surprised to see the half-skull of Hunter’s helmet staring up at him from between the fallen mercenaries. He scoops it up and checks the wiring. The com is undamaged. It has been deliberately disabled.
Behind him he hears Omega.
“Tech, come in. Did you find Wrecker and Hunter?”
She has her bandaged hands pressed to her com, trying to raise her brothers. Echo hurries back to her, Hunter’s helmet in hand. Omega’s eyes go wide as she sees it.
“Is Hunter okay?” she asks in a fearful whisper, reaching out to brush the side of the helmet. The fresh bandages across her palms come away stained red.
“Don’t worry,” mutters Echo, “it’s not his blood.”
There is a moment of confusion before the meaning of his words dawns on Omega. She leans past him to peer down the corridor. Two bounty hunters. Not unconscious. Dead.
“Oh,” she says in a small voice. Then, looking up at him with a determined frown, “We need to find Hunter.”
*
Wrecker and Tech press tightly to the door-frame, one on either side of the corridor that has brought them to this hangar. Tech’s datapad says this is where Hunter should be, but all they can see are the clustered mercenaries.
Wrecker is the first one to look up. His hands move in a quick signal sequence, drawing Tech’s attention to their brother in his ambush position.
“Hunter,” breathes Tech. And as though it is a command, Hunter drops.
The chaos is immediate. Hunter is amongst the mercenaries, pistol forgotten, knife indiscriminately biting through cloth and armour into flesh. Panicked cries answer his sudden appearance. Blaster fire greets him.
Tech and Wrecker recognise Hunter’s grunt of pain like it is their own. They take a single moment to share a nod, and then they too join the fray.
Wrecker charges in, shoulder down, crashing into a mercenary and knocking him away from Hunter. Tech skirts the edge of the hanger, diving into a roll to evade a stray blaster bolt. He comes up with his pistol ready, gaze flitting over the knot of combatants before choosing his target. He knows this is the quickest way to end this.
Omega’s voice comes over the com but doesn’t answer. He needs all his considerable wits about him if he wants to take down his younger brother.
He steadies his aim.
He fires at Hunter.
*
Somewhere beyond the roaring in his ears Hunter is dimly aware that he is injured. There is a lingering trace of heat as the laser-burn crawls against his skin, softened from deadly to merely painful by the layer of his armour. It slows him, but he doesn’t let it stop him.
He ducks a wild haymaker meant to knock him to the ground and comes up inside the man’s guard. The mercenary yells as Hunter’s forehead connects with his nose, blood gouting from the broken cartilage, and Hunter winces at the shout pierces his already tender headache.
The migraine is stabbing behind his eyes now, his vision winking in and out in bright flashes. He has to finish this fight soon, or he won’t be able to.
The sudden jolt of a stun blast catches him in the back. He feels the sensation ripple forwards across his chest, electric, followed by numbness. The blast threatens to short out his enhanced senses.
With difficulty he fights the blackness that follows the stun bolt, dragging his awareness back to the fight. Two others still standing. To his surprise, he realises Wrecker is one of them.
Then Hunter feels an attacker leap onto his back. He howls in panic and anger; instinct directs him to dip his body, rolling the assailant over his shoulder. He grabs them and slams them into the floor, a blow designed to stun.
Recognises the helmet. The goggles.
“Tech?” he slurs in confusion.
And, “TECH!” The shout is echoed by Wrecker, scooping up their fallen brother.
The final mercenary takes advantage of the distraction. Two blaster bolts hit into Wrecker’s back, staggering him, and he clutches Tech to his chest protectively. Hunter watches as the bounty hunter retreats, fleeing for the bikes they came in on.
His prey's footsteps are still reverberating at the edge of Hunter’s enhanced hearing when others approach from behind him. He whirls, sees Echo and Omega.
“What happened?” demands Echo, crossing to Hunter. With one hand he pushes Omega behind him, making sure she doesn’t step round and see the Sergeant. Doesn’t see the feral gleam in his eyes, the sharp and dangerous expression of his open-mouthed panting.
“I’ll find him.” Hunter’s voice is a subhuman growl. “I’ll end it.”
*
Omega paces anxiously, glancing towards the farthest exit to the hanger. Tech is conscious but dazed, propped up against a storage crate as Echo checks his pupils. She worries for Hunter, but she has been told to stay put.
Wrecker finishes restraining the still-living mercenaries and rolls his shoulders, easing out the stiffness of the injuries he sustained. His own blaster is loose in his hands, still set to stun.
The bodies have been hidden to one side, smeared trails of red marking the route they had been pulled. So much for out of sight, out of mind. Omega curls up over her injured hands, rubbing at her wrists through the bandages. The rope burns itch under the healing bacta gel.
“Tech will be fine,” reports Echo, “but one of us should stay with him. Omega?”
“I’m going after Hunter,” she announces, before she can be asked to play medic. She turns and looks at Echo with her mouth set in an unhappy line.
Echo calmly meets her gaze. “Hunter won’t want you to see him like this,” he says softly.
“Hunter needs me.” She is the embodiment of stubbornness. “I know it.”
Wrecker’s big hand touches her shoulder gently.
“I’ll keep her safe, Echo,” he says, voice strained with an ache of worry. He pushes his helmet back down onto his head, the snarling skull hiding the concern in his eyes.
“Let’s go, kid.”
*
Hunter is exhausted, muscles trembling as he forces them to continue. He has to do this. The image of Omega’s injuries is burned behind his retinas, the scent of her fear cloying. He failed to protect her once. He won’t do so again.
One more mercenary, and the job was done. There would be no-one left to threaten her. And if this group didn’t return, perhaps whoever was hunting them would think twice before sending more agents to kidnap her.
Protect Omega. Blood pounds in his head. Every footstep is a hammer-fall on the anvil of his overwrought senses.
Protect Omega.
A blaster shot hits his right hand. The vibroknife is flung free of his grasp, spinning into the air and embedding in the wall above his head. Hunter startles, the pain in his hand almost enough to stop him from evading the follow-up shot aimed for his heart. He twists at the last moment, the blaster bolt grazing his chest-plate.
Then his feral instincts are back, taking over, shutting down the thoughts that are distracting him and driving him forwards into the fight.
Hunter lunges, closing the distance to his would-be ambusher in a burst of speed that belies his injured state. He doesn’t remember that he has a pistol. Instead he barrels into the man, tackling him to the floor. The two of them roll, fighting for dominance, and Hunter comes out on top. Slugs the man. Pain explodes in his knuckles but he doesn’t stop. Again. And again.
Under the onslaught the mercenary’s face is transforming to a swollen, bloody pulp. He writhes and bucks under Hunter, throwing the sergeant off and scrambling for escape. Hunter leaps after him and they are back to brawling, only it isn’t a brawl. The man is sobbing, arms over his head, trying to shield himself from Hunter’s incoming blows. Pleas dribble with bubbled blood from broken lips. The man weeps for mercy.
Hunter’s onslaught continues. One more mercenary, and the job is done.
Protect Omega. Protect her at all costs.
*
Omega and Wrecker round the corner and Wrecker pulls them up short. Hunter is locked in combat with the final mercenary, the sickening sound of fist hitting flesh and the crepitus of broken bone reaching them across the otherwise empty room.
Omega recoils, watching the scene with fascinated horror. The brutality makes her sick to her stomach, but she can’t look away.
Hunter’s hair is loose, missing the bandana that usually tames it, and hangs lank and sweaty about his face. Blood streaks his fists and spatters his armour. The air is punctuated by his soft grunts and laboured breath, and the moans and whimpers emanating from the figure that is huddled beneath his fury.
Wrecker lays his hand on Omega’s shoulder, trying to coax her away. “Omega,” he says, and his voice quavers. He crouches in front of her, interposing himself between her and the brutal scene, and pushes his helmet back on his head to lock gazes with her.
“What is he doing?” Omega whispers in horror, brown eyes wide as she searches Wrecker’s face for answers.
Wrecker merely shakes his head. “You should get outta here, kid. Head back to the Marauder, wait for the others.”
He stands and turns away from her, dropping the blaster and moving towards Hunter with his hands held up defensively. It is like he is approaching a wild animal, wary of attack.
“Hunter, stop it. Please, vod. He’s down, he surrendered. This isn’t right.”
If Hunter hears him he gives no sign. His punches keep flying, sluggish but solid. His victim lets out a single broken sob.
Omega’s com chirps.
“Omega, are you alright?” It is Tech, his voice weak-sounding as he recovers from concussion.
“We found Hunter,” she whispers, riveted on Wrecker’s careful advance.
Wrecker nears Hunter and his victim, one hand extended. “It’s me, Hunt,” he says, softening the brash edge of his voice. “Time to stop. Okay, vod?”
Hunter doesn’t hear him. Or ignores him. It is hard to tell.
“Is Wrecker able to handle the situation?” asks Tech.
Omega shakes her head. “No,” she says, voice trembling with determination. “But if Wrecker can’t make Hunter stop, I will.”
“Be careful, Omega,” Tech warns her, and she steels herself for what is to come.
She steps past Wrecker, ducks to evade his grasp as he tries to stop her. On shaky legs she closes the distance. Hunter, her Hunter, is a creature she does not recognise. Ruthless, bloodstained, no glimpse of gentleness or mercy.
Hunter leans back, winding up for a huge hit. Omega darts in front of him, catching hold of his fist, levelling her intense brown-eyed stare into the wildfire of his fury.
Omega positions herself directly in front of the exhausted sergeant. Hunter is on his knees, tattooed face glazed in sweat and blood that almost certainly does not belong to him. His shoulders heave as he gulps in great lungfuls of air.
“Don’t,” she says. A plea. A command. “Please don’t.”
For a moment Hunter’s eyes turn glassy and unfocused, pupils trembling with rapid dilations before he eventually blinks and manages to fix his gaze on the girl before him.
“Omega?” he croaks weakly, and staggers to his feet. He sways a little, then replants his feet and braces a hand against her shoulder to steady himself. “You’re meant to be with Tech.”
Unexpectedly, he retches. Omega takes a startled step back as Hunter heaves bile, his whole body trembling. When he is done he wipes his mouth slickly on the back of his hand, glancing round in confusion.
Wrecker steps forwards, caution still written in his posture. “Hey, Hunter,” he says softly, a greeting to his brother as he returns to his senses.
Hunter sags against Omega, his arms going round her in relief, and she can feel the uncontrolled quaking of his body as adrenaline fatigue truly sets in.
Quickly Wrecker steps in to support him, taking some of his weight from Omega. But Omega wraps her arms tightly round Hunter’s waist, pressing her face against his chest, ignoring the scent of blood and blaster-fire as she feels his trembling hand run through her hair.
“I forgive you, Hunter,” she whispers, fingers digging into the cracks of his armour as they both cling to each other with equal ferocity. “I forgive you.”
Tumblr media
58 notes · View notes
tallyhoot · 5 months
Text
Tumblr media
32 notes · View notes
alangdorf · 14 days
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Sorryyyy for dropping off the face of the earth; got kinda shy after that last post but mostly I’ve just been writing though I cannot guarantee that any of that will ever be finished (also I’m very insecure about my writing AAAH). Figure I might as well post the valentines I had done (like two months late lol); interestingly this turned into more of a hand lettering exercise than I was expecting lol
#len’en#yabusame houlen#suzumi kuzu#tsubakura enraku#haiji senri#art#digital#there was one more but I’m not confident it’s like. funny? and I have stuff I’d eant to change abt it#and these four have pretty good comedic timing as a set so I’ll just leave well enough alone#also had plans for a Kuroji and uhhh Xeno a but those haven’t panned out#you’ll have to excuse me I’ve been going off the rails and also have not fixed the meds situation (I’m completely out atm)#started like four fics; yes they are all suzutsuba and there is. so much sex (not described/on screen but STILL)#didn’t manage to stay away from Hamal Cine Bad End either jfhshsjfb#too nervous abt talking yo pol rn to leave comments but zaranthropy if you’re reading this I owe you my life#also I think I said I was inspired on something by dissociation constant and then when chapter 2 came out I relized it was something I had#completely misinterpreted but I’m too embarrassed to actually go and check lol……#*talking to ppl sorry I had to turn off my autocorrect cause it was being compeltely unreasonable#OH YEAH also this Haiji design was a little bit inspired by a redesign of them from uhhhhhhh who was it. idk most of their blog is gone but#I’ll go check my likes#anyway I like how they tuned out also that joke came to me several days after valentine’s and gave me the idea for this whole thing#edit: can’t find the post anymore for some reason but I think yhe name was like chiosu or something?#did somebody go delete their blog while I wasn’t looking
17 notes · View notes
kradljivac-kostiju · 1 year
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
PVRIS
GODDESS
111 notes · View notes
sunspinecity · 2 months
Text
50$ to print 10 of the same skin has always been so insane to me. you're telling me it's 50$ to print....only 10.....of a single skin....and that's normal. And not only is that normal, that's what's required for a skin shop. where ppl may not even sign up for 10 runs. and then you're left in the shitter with at minimum 1-4 skins nobody wanted (not to mention if some people decide not to pay afterward) that you have to just pray someone finds & buys on the auction house. And it's 50$. Uhuh. And then that's just the artist's issue and fault and we're gonna blame them instead of the fact that a 10 print run costs as much as groceries.
Tumblr media
16 notes · View notes
theliterarywolf · 6 months
Text
The amount of people willingly forgetting that cuts are common in promotional footage/teasers is... worrying.
20 notes · View notes
pharawee · 1 year
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
I won't leave you. You're not alone, Name. You have me [...].
» BONUS:
Mom. I feel sorry for Name.
Tumblr media
133 notes · View notes
Text
Excuses
NOT A PR0MPT
******
“You are not welcome here.” The words were punctual. Strict. Demanding. Maybe they would have been intimidating if Hero hadn’t been shaking beneath her covers.
“Trying to cast me away like a spirit? It won’t work.” A glowing smile emerged from the darkness, one so bright that it was nearly blinding, but so direct that it was far from illuminating the room. The smile was all Hero could see.
“You are not welcome here.”
“Did saying it again satisfy your fear?” The smile grew. “I’m no spirit, Hero. Only a shadow in the dark and a smile to haunt your dreams.”
Why? the hero wondered. Why did her brain punish her like this when she only killed one man? Villain killed tens of people every day- for information, for revenge…for fun. Hero only took out a threat.
“Did they haunt you?” she asked, voice so quiet that Villain would not have been able to hear it- even if he were human laying beside Hero in bed. “The people you killed, did they haunt you?”
His response held no callous, no maliciousness. It was calm, matter-of-fact. “No.”
Hero shook her head. Of course not. Villain had no remorse, no nagging part of his brain which told him ‘You’re better than this.’ Villain, she thought, was evil. Maybe he hadn’t always been that way, but he sure as hell was now, even now that he was a dead, opaque shadow of a man.
“What was there to feel guilty about? I had my own means, and they were all expendable.”
Knowing Villain, Hero imagined that slow blink he used to give. Arrogant, careless. She used to admire that; his ability to ignore everyone else, to do things for himself- and himself only. Not many people knew how to take care of themselves, but Villain sure did. It only became too much when Hero realized she was as regular as everyone else to Villain. She was just as replaceable.
***
“You are taking this too far. How many people have to die for you to make a point!”
Villain’s hands were bloody, and they had been for as long as Hero could remember anymore. Red, always red.
“As many as it takes.”
Hero wasn’t even sure what the point was. Villain was- he was a murderer, and the explanations he was giving were starting to become dull. Did he ever have a true purpose?
“Someone does you wrong and you have to destroy everyone for it?” Hero questioned, voice uncontrollably raised. It was a simple and unfortunate situation that Villain was so worked up about, that he killed multiple undeserving people for.
“It was hardly everyone. You’re still alive, aren’t you?” He walked to the sink and Hero shuddered when his red hand touched the handle. She would disinfect it when he was done.
“You might as well have. So what if she got the promotion and you didn’t? Do you really think she had it out for you or anyone else who applied for it?” Hero swallowed. “What if it had been me instead of her?”
“It wasn’t.”
She argued, “But it could have been. Answer me.”
He turned the handle back, stopping the water flow, and not able to find a rag, shook the excess water onto the stovetop. The water hissed against the burner as Hero had had soup there just before Villain arrived.
“What if it had been me instead of her?” 
How was it that Hero had been putting up with this for so long? Why did she let any excuse to kill another human become an excuse? There were none for what Villain was doing. He was killing. He was killing for the sake of killing.
“I would do whatever I felt like doing, just like I’ve always done. And if you had a problem with it”- he shrugged, then didn’t finish.
So, he would kill her, if the time arose- if he felt like it, if he felt angered enough, if something happened which wasn’t her fault, if he felt like something was her fault. He would kill Hero.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.” His voice was neutral, with no trace of harm like there had been last he’d spoken.
“You don’t mean it. You’re saying it because it suits you in this moment- because you know I would leave right this moment if you didn’t say it.” But what did it matter? Hero didn’t mean anything to him anyway if he was willing to kill her for nothing. “I’m your coverup,” she said. “You’re using me to avoid suspicion.”
His response was as chilling as winter’s first breeze. “You think so?” he asked, and it would have seemed so innocent if not for his straight, unchanging face. Hero suddenly felt nervous being in the kitchen- so many sharp knives and scissors and meat mallets and...and he was grabbing a glass cup. Glass was breakable, harmful, weaponizable.
***
That night, it was Hero’s hands covered in blood, and that blood belonged to Villain.
***
"Am I as entertaining to you now as before- asking questions you’ve been waiting for me to ask?” Hero wouldn’t let Villain’s ghost bother her. She would suffer her own guilt in her own time.
“It’s all I’ve looked forward to.”
Hero’s chest tightened. After declaring she wouldn’t be affected, she still was. Villain was a ghost, a paranormal being she used to make fun of at the mention of it. “Then I’ll stop asking.” She pulled her blanket up to her lips. “What will it take to get rid of you?”
“Maybe a kiss goodnight would do,” Villain said. “You can blow it to me if it makes you feel safer, more comfortable.”
Sinister. Villain was sinister, and evil, and every negative adjective in the dictionary.
“You’re powerless right now- a white sheet with eyes and a voice. You’re nothing else.” Hero said this more to herself than Villain. “When I close my eyes, it will be like you were never here. Your voice will be a nightmare that I’ll forget in the morning.”
She did close her eyes, and when Villain persisted that he be her waking nightmare- not only her sleeping one- Hero ignored him. She was already dreaming, she told herself in the confines of her own mind. Villain was practically see-through; he couldn’t hurt her. He would taunt her and make her feel intimidated, but he couldn’t truly do anything. He had no power.
Hero wouldn’t say goodnight, but she would say the guilt she felt was fading. The fact she killed someone no longer mattered.
She had an excuse.
But didn’t Villain have excuses as well?
58 notes · View notes
pentacass · 1 year
Note
Why is your OC so cute when she looks at Lana?
cos brain go Stoobid when see Wife
Tumblr media Tumblr media
41 notes · View notes
the-wardens-torch · 9 months
Text
Tumblr media
Some suddenly-much-more-relevant Mamool Ja lore from the Great Gubal Library hard mode!
17 notes · View notes
aethericfist · 1 year
Text
Tumblr media
Dear grandma,
I hope you are well.
Should Oschon will it, you have received my Rhalgr's Reach-arrival letter a month or so earlier, which you are of course encouraged to show to my dearest parents.
This one however, I pray you not show them. I've heeded your advice, "follow thine belly", wise words truly, as my eyes seem to have temporarily betrayed me.
You see, I walked through Rhalgr's Reach trying to speak to the locals I've accidentally walked into a fight. Not my own, mind you, but the two "monks" that were sparring when one lost his bearings, and bumped into me with a very sharp fist-weapon.
During and after my recovery, I inquired more about their curious sport... and I have to admit I did play a little bit on their guilt to have them show me their arts.
Incredibly interesting I have to admit. Thus I've decided to document their strange use of aether and "chakra". And since a gentlemanly visitor with affiliation to this so-called "Fist of Rhalgr" had been visiting as well, they've allowed me to participate in some of their training.
I hope to soon ask them about the actual topic of my thesis, but for now, I will use this as a way of bonding with them to eventually tickle out further information.
I hope to be able to visit you in due time.
Be well,
Fin
P.S.: Ser Buncleberry seemed very unhappy about not having been included in the letter, so I have attached an instant painting I had a local take of us, who was more interested in bunc
Tumblr media
13 notes · View notes