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genderfluid-insomniac · 7 months

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“Poor Unfortunate Soul Reprise” octopus hybrid!Scaramouche x reader nsfw

A/N: picture for reference of Cecaelia the actual term for the myth being (male reference). Sorry this took so long it was collecting dust in my folder for a while due to cliche AO3 author shit but I hope you enjoy!

You couldn’t tell how much time has passed but what you do know is you’re sore like you’ve been hit by a truck, stirring awake enough to feel someone cradling you in their arms and tiny waves of water lapping at your shins. The cool temperature of the water shook your sleep logged mind enough to register that you were still naked and tried to sink deeper into your sleeping companions body warmth.

It was very dark but a small dark red light illuminated the cavern softly, allowing you to see you were in Scaramouche’s more private habitat where no one could see him unless a diver swam into it. Which rarely happened since the last person who tried it ended up with a broken arm and a 4 week recovery period, a silent message from the Cecaelia. “Keep out pathetic weaklings.”

Scaramouche had pale as snow skin like he’d rarely been in the sun for longer than a couple minutes and mix of blues and purples coloring his ear that took on a more webbed fin like appearance. Bits of vibrantly sparkly lavender scales scattering his body from the waist up, giving more of a divine appearance compared to his sharjjp fowl mouth. His tentacles were twitching ever so slightly and almost blending into dark waters, their mass made up of entirely muscles reminding you of their power. A face so gorgeous looking like it was sculpted by the gods or some heavenly being designed to lure people into a sense of calm. Short silky smooth dark violet blue hair with messy cut bangs framing his youthful face and thin but longer hair falling down this back swaying on the surface of the water. Speak of the devil or sea witch rather.

Cecaelia. A term your superiors had found after scouring the library and internet for answers. Happening upon the very name for a being that had the upper of half of a human and the lower half (usually at the waist or hips) of an octopus. They apparently have others unknown abilities being to said to take ‘a form of mermaid or sea demon’ and most often ‘combining the head, arms and torso of a woman (more rarely a man)’.

He could feel you squirming as you woke and chose to leave you to your devices, only worming his tentacles around you for a better grasp and settling his pet into a more comfortable position as you both came to. “Good morning, pet. I can see you had a nice nap.” Scaramouche chuckled to himself as his eyes flicked over every mark adorning your body and wrapping his arms around your waist to bring you closer. “I hope you aren’t too sore Name because I have plans for you but for now rest up.” Kissing gently on your lips and hoping you weren’t too cold or the effects of his blood hadn’t faded.

You hummed in satisfaction and fully relaxed, murmuring a “thank you” before succumbing to the fatigue pulling at your eyelids and leaning into your dear companion. A talk about what your relationship was could be had at a later time. Dreams slowly passed your mind and occupied your attention, provoking thoughts gaining your attention; such as how were you supposed to go back to your job after this happened? Did he like you more than just a one night stand? Well, the way he spoke didn’t seem like he planned on giving you up nor like things would go back to normal. ‘I hope you aren’t too sore Name because I have plans for you but for now rest up.’ Hm.

The stress from all your questions wouldn’t allow you to sleep soundly and ended up waking up anyway, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes and stretching. Your head turned to Scara and nudged your head under his chin to wake him up. “Scara I need to talk to you about what the fuck is going to happen after this….thing.” Laughter filled the small cave and bounced off the walls, his arms moved you so you faced him. “And what would you like to talk about, love?” You sucked in a breath and rethought what you wanted to say, “First what are we in terms of our relationship? Second, what plans do you have for me? Three-”

You remember reading some of the documents given to the staff of the mythology and one of the sections was about reproduction or theorized romantic relationships. It was said that cecaelias are likely to mate for life or until one of them reaches death and are loyal to the end when the find the one they love. That couldn’t be what he felt for you right? He did seem seriously about his feelings, not to mention the clear favoritism he held for you as you both grew to become familiar with another.

A feeler covered your mouth before you could finish your sentence and wouldn’t move when you tried pulling it away, glaring at the person responsible. “Don’t look at me. You were the one who was talking too fast for me to understand… hahaha but alright. To answer your first question, I thought I made myself clear. You’re mine now and until I decide so, pet. For the second question, you’re going to help me out of this damn prison and back to your house.” To say you were stunned was an understatement, starting to spew worries about your job and him getting hurt but it was of course muffled by one of his arms gagging your mouth.

“I know, I know. ugh, you humans and your meaningless worries. I assume your anxious about getting fired or in trouble.” His hand stroked your hair soothingly in an attempt to calm you and removed his tentacle so you could speak. You nodded and chose to say nothing about the worry of him getting hurt since all it would do is inflate his ego. “Alright thank you for clarifying but how the fuck am I supposed sneak you out. You’re enormous and I don’t think you can survive on land for long periods of time.”

The violet haired being rolled his eyes and told you you had nothing to worry about, just rely on him and after hours cut the power entirely. Help get Scaramouche get out to your car and then turn it back on so the other animals would be okay but it would seem as if it was simply a power outage. You hesitated but agreed after he told you if you did get caught then he’d take the entire blame and punishment, insisting that it wouldn’t come to that. “Alright, but what time is it?” One of his purple slimy arms pulled a watch from a small crack in the wall next to the light and examined it. “6am. As much as I would love to keep you here, you have work and I have breakfast to eat.”

Right. Work. You hoped it was a relatively low maintenance day and saw your still dampened clothes being handed to you, thanking your now boyfriend and standing on the dryer platform to put your clothes back on. “I just remembered that I have to swim back up to to surface which means my work clothes will get wet. Well, I suppose it was worth it-” A feeler curled its way around your ankle tightly and squeezed, “You suppose?! Ugh, it looks like I didn’t fuck you hard enough did I? Or maybe you’re daring me to test my own stamina like the brat you are.” You scoffed and finished buttoning up your shirt, getting back into the water. Slapping the arm still stuck to your ankle lightly and kissed his cheek, enjoying the light pink flush filling his cheeks and grinning at your small success of making him flustered.

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not. You’ll have to find out. Now, if you want to leave with me tonight then help me get out of here because I don’t know if any security is patrolling this area.” Scaramouche shook his head to get focused again and slipped under the water to check, quickly coming back up to let you know it was all clear. You took a deep breath and sunk underneath the water. The trip to the top of the tank was fast, much faster than if you swam on your own. Fresh air filling your lungs and pulling yourself onto the platform for the trainers, climbing up the ladder and reaching for a towel by a bench with supplies.

Hearing him cough for attention, you went over to fridge and pulled out a sizable part of bass that was already prepared. “Don’t think I forgot about you, discount ursula.” Throwing it to the hybrid and ignoring the glare he sent your way for the insulting nickname, muttering something about being better than whoever this ursula person was. “I must’ve done something right to receive more food than usual. Seems like should keep testing your limits.” He smirked as you muttered curses in anger at him and walked off to change clothes, admiring the visible marks he had left last night and swimming down to enjoy the alone he had before the building opened.

You wandered into the employees only section where the uniforms were kept whenever volunteers would sign up and pulled out your size, changing into them and using your towel to dry your hair. It was still early and you hadn’t had anything to eat so you went to the cafeteria usually meant for customers. Checking the schedule to see which area you’d be covering today and were shocked to see you’d be in charge of Scaramouche’s tank with another person since it was a two person job. “Oh guess I won’t have to stray far from him. Wait this means he won’t bother to hide much since he’ll probably want to torment me more and that means a bigger crowd.”

Grabbing a scone and coffee quickly before heading back up to grab your phone, headphones, and employee badge. You texted your coworker that you had come early and that you were both on cecaelia duty, laughing at the comment Alex made about work being cut out for you both. Well, they weren’t wrong but for you it was for different reasons and went to space in front of his tank to tell him the news. The gate to the employees area unclipped as you got behind the metal railing and pressed a button that was connected so a waterproof speak in the water.

“Scaramouche. I’m going to be working with you today.” Keeping the call button on so he could hear the outside and struggling to keep your chuckling visible when you saw the hybrid swim down so quickly, scaring off a bunch of fish and receiving a hiss from a algae green large moray eel. A small but noticeable smile spread across his face before it disappeared as soon as it appeared most likely to keep up his ‘I don’t care and I hate you all’ act. “Oh! And Alex is working with me too.” He looked visibly displeased and went to swim away before you spoke again. “Wait, regardless I’m going to stay with you. Would you rather me work in another part of the building cause I can make that happen?” You didn’t know if you could but the threat was clear and he gave you an angry look, not saying anything but not disagree either. “That’s what I thought.”

He pressed a hand against the thick glass and only looked at you, what you wouldn’t give to see what was going on in his mind. Pressing your own hand against the glass and smiling, asking him through the intercom if he had a way to get out of the tank. Scaramouche nodded and continued to “talk” with you, on occasion making rude gestures whenever you teased him or caught his soft emotional looks (even if it only happened once in a blue moon). “Name! Hey- Oh Woah! The spitfire legend is out!” Alex jogged over to you and got behind the gate as well, admiring him closely since it was rare to see him out in the open and this close to the glass on his own free will.

“Wow! He’s more beautiful than I thought. What did you do to get him out?” You laughed at their fixed gaze on Scaramouche who clearly was not pleased with the attention solely on him and feigned ignorance. “I don’t know, I just got hear and made my rounds only to see him out.” They laughed and pushed your playfully, “Yeah right. Everyone knows he like you more than anyone here, not to mention you explicitly tell others how not to piss him off. Do you know how many accidents you’ve prevented?” As if to spite you, your lover turned to face you and crossed his arms with a raised eyebrow. Your coworker pointing it out “See even he agrees!” The three of you talked (your beloved nodding or making gestures) as the morning went on slowly, dreading the rush hours and helping people out with directions if they needed it.

Everything was going great and shockingly calm until a swarm of people flooded into the room.

About 25 or 30 people ran up to the metal railing, sending the octopus reeling back in shock and swimming to hide behind a bolder nearby. You and Alex answered the questions you got about the tank’s inhabitant and occasionally checking in on Scaramouche to make sure he was okay. This went well until I very angry mother stormed up you specifically and started screaming at you. “Make him come out!” You flinched at the volume and backed up “Excuse me?”

“Get that thing out so my kid can see him! He’s not doing anything so get him out into the open!” You turned to Alex who gave you a look if you needed help but you shook your head, focusing your attention back on the karen. “I’m sorry but Scaramouche is a cecaelia, not a thing, and second he isn’t fond of crowds so I’m forcing him to out.” What you said only seemed to anger her more and she got face to face with you. “I’ve seen others use cattle prods on him to get him out but you’re telling me there’s nothing you can do?!”

You nod firmly and stand your ground. In no way were you going to hurt Scaramouche even before you knew him or got into a relationship. You would never hurt an animal or any creature. “No, ma’am-” “MA’AM” Interrupting her again you continued, “I refuse to use those things. Now, do I need to call security?” The room was quiet before a loud slap could be heard and you felt her palm hit your face, an audible gasp fall over the crowd and they all stood in silence for a slip second before movement could be heard behind you. Scaramouche who’d been watching (and hearing) the whole ordeal closely and already pissed at this vile woman for yelling at you didn’t bother to control himself when he acted automatically upon seeing you get slapped.

Swimming as fast as possible behind you and flaring his lower half to make himself look bigger than he already was, his tentacles spread out and pressed against the glass. The hybrid would’ve beaten your assaulter had the glass not been in his way and inches thick. His fist banged on the glass to get her attention and gave her a death stare, surely given off how infuriated she’d made him. The woman was to scared to speak, fear overtaking her expression and shaking where she stood. Good. She knew she made a grave mistake and he sharpened his glare, baring his teeth and slamming his fist against the glass. “Run.” Even if he couldn’t be heard, the message was clear. The disgusting trash took of running, her child who apologised profusely to you yelling insults at their mother.

Scaramouche’s eyes remained on yours as he watched and heard several things happen. Alex called security and told them what happened (also to ban the woman specifically from the aquarium and not her kid). Concerned parents and kids asking if you were alright, something his heart warmed at. ‘Maybe not all humans were cruel’ He thought, you and two others from his past were evidence it was true. Finally gaining your attention and hearing you whisper into the radio. “I’m alright, Scara. It doesn’t hurt much, just stings.” Reluctantly, he nodded and stayed at the front of the glass in case something else happened, using his scary and fierce reactions to his advantage if any issues occured.

You could see the concern on his face and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t retreat back to the bolder, not that you expected to after that. He could indeed be terrifying when he wanted to be, seeing the speed he moved at from the corner of your eye and how intimidatingly big he made himself seem in response. A response your heart couldn’t help but leap at the protection he gave you even from the other side of a thick transparent wall. “Thank you.” Alex had checked back and examined your cheek after coming back from dealing with the woman. “Are you okay? That’s a stupid question- you just got slapped. She’s gone and not coming back ever.” Their gaze flickered over to the guarded cecaelia still right behind their coworker.

“Thank you, Scaramouche. You’re getting a special dinner for that.” He nodded and glared off to where the woman left, seemingly still peeved at her. “Hey, she’s not coming back she’s banned. You did a good job scaring her off.” These words were all it took for him to calm down at least visibly and turn his attention back to you, lifting a tendril to the glass next to you. Things calmed down and the crowd spoke their apologies incase they had help instigate altercation. A small voice made themselves known as they politely asked others to move aside and stepped up to the railing so they were standing on the lowest rung. “Excuse me? I hope you’re okay! That woman is a nasty meanie. Klee drew this for mister Scaramouche since he reminds me of a prince.”

A small girl maybe 7 or 8 years old with blond hair pulled into pigtails and fiery ruby red eyes handed you a paper depicting a kid’s drawing of the mythical being. He was frowning but wearing a simply drawn crown standing in front of a castle under the ocean, it was clear she took pride in it. You smiled at her and turned partially to show the muse of her art. “Hey, Scara. Klee drew this for you, you like it?” Scaramouche skeptically looked at the drawing and nodded whilst mumbling something that you could guess was a half hearted compliment. You could see the flustered expression on his face as he tried to not show how much he liked it and turned back to Klee to give her art back to her. “Oh. I want him to keep it. I have tons of drawing at home just like that. Thank you Mx Name!”

She waved goodbye to you and Scaramouche who also waved back with a smirk now realizing how many people probably thought the same (not like they could compete with his new favorite kid). “Mommy! The pretty octopus boy liked my picture! I can’t wait to tell big brother Albedo!” “I saw, mama’s so proud. I got a picture you can show him.” You watched as the blond pair walked off to another room, one practically bouncing off the walls and the other calmly intertwining her hands. The day went on significantly more smoothly and nothing else major happened, your lover hadn’t left your side for one second as the day eventually ended and your coworker said goodbye as their shift ended.

It was around closing time when you were preparing dinner for Scaramouche and chatting while he was lounging on the sunken platform. “I’m telling you the plan will go smoothly so stop worrying about. I see your stupid mind whirling away like diver lost in an underwater cave.” You continued to cut the slices of different fish onto a plate with some greens and freshly washed vegetables, taking what he said to heart and hoping it would all go according to plan. “Are you sure you want to leave? I don’t know if you’ll be able to go outside what with people knowing what you look like-”

“After what happened today?! You only got hurt because of me and the crowd I was drawing so that should answer your question. It isn’t the first worthless humans treated you rudely either. Why would I want to go out when you’re all I need?” You reminded him that you’ll still need to work and probably more hours since you’d now be providing for two people to which he countered that he’d get a job after retrieving his identification files. “You’re what now?!” He looked at you like you had two heads and laughed. “What do you think I don’t exist? I have a birth certificate and everything…granted they’re mostly fake but they do work.”

Clearly you were stunned and had several questions but guessed you wouldn’t get an answer out him. “You gonna tell me?” Scaramouche shook his head and grinned smugly, resting his head against his palm. “In time, but firstly dinner then get another set of clothes around your size. After pull your car around the closest back exit and turn off the power. No one should be here anyone since it’s sunday and everyone went home early.” Agreeing you set his dinner down before getting a extra pair of clothes (for who? you couldn’t figure out) and grabbed your bag and keys, heading out to your car. You pulled into the back entrance where the animals usually get transported into the facility and began to lock up all the door, going off your mental checklist when you normally closed.

Heading the main power switch, you took a hold of it and turned it off. Switching on your phone light and running towards Scaramouche, you skipped steps to get to the top faster and went to call out to him only to stop short. There before you was your lover dressed in the employee clothes you left him with but on two legs instead of his octopus half with all eight tentacles. “How-” He ran or rather tried to but ended up wobbling towards you and nearly falling to the ground. “There’s no time to explain. Help me, I haven’t been in this form for a long time.” You did as you were told and slung an arm over your shoulder, carefully walking down the steps and helping him stand like you would with someone relearning how to walk after an accident. Even after turning the power on you’d have a around 15 minutes before they were active again and that was all you needed.

“Turn the power back on. It’s the big green button at the top. I would do it but I’m holding you.” Scaramouche pushed it and the light flickered back on, trying his best to walk after years of not using his legs. You finally got to your car after a minute of reaching the transport bay and got him into the passenger's seat, closing the door and running over to the drivers side. The car turned on and you swiftly drove out of there, telling siri to set a reminder to text your boss that you’d be taking a few days off because of a sudden family emergency and the incident that happened today. The sound of the radio and running engine filling your ears, looking briefly over to your companion who seemed enamored with the sights passing your car.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen the outside. Thank you, Name.” The light ahead of you turned red and you stopped which gave you time to turn your attention back to him. “Scara. Explaination. Now!” He rolled his eyes and continued to look out the window, speaking after a couple seconds seemingly in thought. “I’ve always had the ability to grow legs but as you can see some of my scales remain visible. They could just be attributed to makeup or a tattoo but they’re still there.” His head turned so you could see the lavender scales like marks on the corner of his cheeks and collar bones when he unbutton the top of his shirt. They did look like he could pass them off as not being real. “But if you could escape before. Why did you wait that long? You had plenty of chances before.”

He took in a breath carefully and kept his gaze on the now passing environment as you started driving again, look at you. “I met you. I was going to leave, I had a plan and everything but then you wormed your way into my heart and made me care. So, I stayed and put up with it all, waiting for the chance to maybe get out with you.” Scaramouche’s small speech left you stunned in silence and honored that you’d left such an impression, muttering a grateful response and remaining silent as you returned home. You lived in a relatively small area but not in the middle of nowhere and only 20 minutes from the aquarium just at the entrance to a small wooded area but off the coast near the ocean.

A large river that connected to the ocean flowed next your cottage down the hill which you figured could be a good place if Scaramouche ever wanted to relax in his octopus form or swim with you in the warmer days. It was roughly 25 feet deep and was mainly saltwater with little freshwater home to some birds and small sea life. The trees surrounding your home kept you sheltered from major storms while still allowing a great view for lightning over the sea. You pulled into the driveway and got out with your bag, moving to help the now humanish cecaelia who you guessed had been flexing his muscles as he was now roughly standing with his on your car. “Let’s get inside, I can cook dinner while you can into more comfortable clothes.”

Your home was more comfy than Scaramouche would’ve guessed with fluffy blankets covering part of a leather brown couch and brick fireplace neatly cleaned of ash. Pictures decorated the wall of your friends and family he surmised and rustic decor could be found all around your living room, following you to your bedroom after he wiped his feet and being handed some soft loungewear. “Here you can change into that and I’ll cook some dinner. Feel free to wander about.” Leaving him to change, you grabbed a set of sweatpants and sweatshirt to change into in the bathroom. You mulled over your thoughts after everything that had happened today, how your life had changed significantly and hopefully for the better.

The warm cotton fabric acted as a comforting shield from the cold air seeping in through the window and tickling your ear as if to whisper your unconscious thoughts to you even if you couldn’t understand them. DING! A notification from your phone brought you out of your thoughts and brought you back to the present, slipping your hand into your fleece pocket to retrieve your phone. It was the reminder you set when you both were in the car to text your boss and coworker, heading out of the bathroom and to the kitchen to make some quick dinner. You texted your boss and coworker the same thing, how you would be taking a few days off because of “family emergencies” and your mental health. Which wasn’t entirely false but a little white lie couldn’t hurt.

“It’d take too long to fully cook something and ordering take is expensive so it looks like I’ll just throw a frozen pizza in the oven for tonight. I can go shopping tomorrow,” Opening the freezer drawn and grabbing a recently bought frozen flatbread with your favorite toppings. It was supposed to be a treat for a self care night but this could count as such too. You set the oven to the correct temperature and put the pizza in so it would cook as the machine preheated. “Hey Siri, set a timer for 15 minutes.” The AI did as it was told and you went to call out to your new roommate and lover only to see he was leaning on the jamb of the doorway. In his hands was the rest of his long hair and scissors, where the ponytail began now roughly cut off so it formed almost a wolf cut.

Scaramouche walked over and put the scissors down, “Like my new look? I figure it’d be easier to take care of and I’ve been wanting to cut for a while. Where is your trash?” You pointed to your garbage can camouflaged like all the other drawers and continued to stare. “Are you sure? I mean you look great but-” The short haired man nodded and tossed the length of hair in the trash shutting the lid before falling into your embrace. Nuzzling his head into your neck and placing small kisses, taking your hands in his and leading them up to the sides of his face. You wove your fingers through the violet hair, untangling any knots and sighing deeply to rid of your anxious worries.

“What’s wrong?” It was obvious something was bothering you and he couldn’t blame you. Your life had changed so much in the past 24 hours and you had still yet to adjust to it; he’d do his best to be a constant variable. “I- I’m just worried about everything. What if you get caught? What if this is only temporary?” Silence hung in the air as you both waited for an answer, the fear of their unknown future looming over you like a remind of the big decision you’d made. His grip on your got tighter and he rested his forehead against yours, kissing your lips softly. “If this is temporary then I’ll enjoy it till the moment it’s over. I won’t get caught, I’ve been wandering alone for a while before they caught me. I have experience on my side.”

That was a promise. He’d never let anyone take him from you, not after his friend was killed because of him and not after the little boy died in his arms. You were his new hope. A ball of light untouched by his past mistakes and he intended to keep it safe. Keep you safe. “Don’t worry, Name. This will all work out.” Unfurling himself from the hug and rubbing comforting circles with his thumb on your cheek, whispering affirmations and promises that no measly human could tear either of you apart. You felt better and relaxed, it was new territory which was always scary but you had Scaramouche with you. RING! RING! The timer on your phone went off and made you jump at the sudden noise, catching a small flinch from your significant other as well. “I made pizza for dinner. You can have some even though you already ate, Scara.”

The hybrid looked pleased and nodded, searching through all of your cabinets and drawers until he at last found the plates. Taking two out and grabbing a slice after you’d cut it, you could hear his quiet curses when he grabbed the hot pizza. “Be careful. It just came out, I don’t want to bandage you so soon.” You felt like you were reminding a child the basics of living and safety, assuming that it was probably years since he was last in a house with working appliances and you’d have to remind him until it became a habit for him. The hot marinara sauce hit your tongue as you bit into the pizza and perfectly cooked cheese pulling apart messily, using your finger to tug the long string of cheddar apart so it didn’t become a piece of spaghetti. At long last being able to eat something solid and filling felt like heaven after the exhausting hours of work, secretly eyeing Scaramouche to see if he liked it.

A satisfied hum came from him and he was focused on eating something that must’ve been a lot better after eating nothing but raw fish for meals. Plans had started forming in your mind for other delicious meals for him to enjoy and restaurants you could go on dates to. Once things settled down and you both could back to work, finding a job for Scaramouche and you going back to work, you both could enjoy the more fun things in life like going on dates and waking up together. You should take a bath after the stress of today and working among sea life would cause you to smell a bit salty or fishy, “I’m going to take a bath after this. It should only take-” “Can I join you?”

You swallowed the piece of food in your mouth and turned to him, “What!?” He shrugged and returned back to eating, continuing the talk to you, “I want to wash my hair and body after being in a saltwater tank for a few years. Can you blame me? Wait- are you embarrassed?” The flustered expression you was the only answer he needed and laughed at the sudden silence coming from you. “Fuck you totally are. What, it’s not like we haven’t seen each other naked or do I need to remind you how good I made you feel?” You stood up and washed your plate, deeming that you were full from dinner and putting the rest of the pizza into the over so it would stay warm. The hybrid’s laughter could be heard even after you went into the bathroom and turned the faucet on to your jacuzzi tub, something you’d spent a decent amount of money on because of nice it was to use.

“Damn fucking asshole. He’s too attractive for his own good and he knows it.” He knew how to push your buttons so you’d react accordingly and remain entertained based on your reactions, happily watching you squirm under his gaze. Grabbing some soap to make bubbles and testing the temperature of the water to make sure it wasn’t too hot or cold. You looked back to the door that was slightly ajar and undressed, putting your clothes on the counter and sighing joyously when you sunk into the warm water. “So much better.” Muttering to yourself and slipping underneath the surface to soak your hair. The door creaked open and your lover strolled casually in, blatantly admiring your figure through the light sheen of bubbles. “Shit. You really do things to me, beloved. I’m going to join you.”

You went to argue when he countered you never said no to him and allowed him to undress, averting your eyes with a light blush on your cheeks and gaining a response from the other. “Aw, you’re still so shy. Look at me. Look at me, Name.” Holding your face and moving so you had no choice but to see him bare before you. Unable to stop yourself from staring at his toned muscles and light scarring all over his body, your eyes traveling down to his v-line and hard erect cock. “Good baby. Hm, I can’t wait to fuck you so hard you only remember my name.” He got into the tub and relaxed his body, seemingly concentrating on something before you saw his lower half shifting and changing color. Below his waist his skin turned a dark violet and scales became more pronounced, an ink like dark cloud covered the water and nine tentacles formed where his legs used to be.

Some of them spilled over the tub and others lay floating on the surface, “Ah~ so much better. I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I had a hot bath.” He eyed you up and down, extending his arms opening and made a “come ’ere” motion. Soft cool tendrils circled your thighs and moved you to his lap, curling themselves around you. You hands made their way to the back of his hair and gripped it, playing with the messy cut strands and frowning a bit. “I miss your long hair, it looked pretty and I could’ve used it to pull you back into a kiss. Too bad it’s short know.” Absentmindedly playing with his hair until his hand was against yours, “You can still pull it see?”

His eyes daring you to pull at it and your fingers tightened around his roots, pulling lightly and getting an delightful moan. “Well maybe I should do that again.” You did it again and received the same reaction, his head was tilted back and mouth ajar with arms closing tighter and tighter around you. His tendrils crept towards your clit and breasts, all too eager to mark you up for all to see and know you’re his. “I’m going to breed you. I’m going to fuck you so much that you’ll be the parent to our kids. What do you say, huh?” Nodding slowly you kissed him and gasped when cold tentacles circled your clit and sucks teasing your most sensitive areas. Wetting your nipples and further fondling your pussy.

He broke the kiss and nipped your neck, licking the bruises he left and aiming to make more. Scaramouche wouldn’t be satisfied until your entire body was littered in hickeys and marks from his suckers. “Fuck me. Scara please fuck me.” You just wanted him to bury his cock inside your cunt and pounding away at your cervix. Anything besides the lack of friction being given to you right now. You’d beg. What you would give to be on your knees sucking his dick and being overstimulated till your knees gave out. “Since you asked so nicely pet. I won’t make you beg even though it’s very arousing and only strengthens my desire to make you cum your brains out.”

He lifted you up above his face and smirked, licking a stripe up your pussy and blew cool air against it. “Hm, maybe I should overstimulate you till you can’t orgasm. How about that?” Returning to kissing your wet cunt and thumbing off your arousal fluid, pressing the tip of his thumb on your bottom lip. You tongue poked out and tasting yourself in your mouth. Two of his tendrils snaked their way up your body and wrapped around your waist, the other one prodding your gaped puffy lips and pushing it way inside. “Mhm~” Going to move your arms but failing to and feeling two other tentacles binding your hand together, making you subject to your boyfriend’s will.

The tentacle occupying you mouth steadily moved back and forth, reaching the back of your throat and causing you to gag. You suppressed the urge to gag again and moaned when you felt him put pressure on your clit again. Rolling your hips to get more friction, crying out when you felt waves of pleasure wash over you and moaning with his tentacles in your mouth. Scaramouche groaned and laughed a bit, “Hm, you always do such a good job sucking on my cock. Fuck- Keep going, kitten~” Hollowing out your cheeks and running your tongue along the underside it and sucking the tip, briefly being interrupted by harsh thrusts of his tongue against your walls and unable to stop your eyes fluttering shut. You could feel your orgasm was close and kept bobbing your head up and down.

The knot in your abdomen tightening and tightening, your lewd noises getting louder and louder with the hybrid extending his tongue to reach the sweetest spots in your pussy. “Come on. Cum on my tongue and I might just fuck you till the morning sun shines through the window.” Diving back in and fitting his whole mouth around your sopping cunt, wishing that he could’ve done this much sooner had he known you tasted better than his favorite meal. He felt your walls squeeze around his tongue and knew you were getting close to orgasming, something he didn’t get to taste when he was in that “cage”. His finger dipped knuckle deep to furth egg you on and trigger your climax, countless dirty fantasies going through his minds.

“I should have fucked you on my cock right in front of the glass so everyone could see who you belong too. ngh~” That very idea aroused you, clenching the muscles in your legs and desperately trying to push yourself onto his tongue more. “Oh~ You like that? Maybe I should sit you on my dick whenever we go the beach and hide away in the shallow pools. Make to much noise and someone would see.” Muttering praises against your inner thighs and tightening his hold on your thighs, holding them so your couldn’t try to close them even if he head wasn’t in between them and gripping the plush fat of your ass. “But you’d like that wouldn’t you my slutty pet.”

You were sucking his cock so well and feeling him twitch in your mouth, struggling against the arms holding your wrists and thighs together. “Mhm- nghn-” Nodding as best you could while you gave him a blowjob and hearing his smugly laugh, moving at a faster pace. Both of you were close and you felt the knot snap when he bent his fingers, hitting your cervix and harshly sucking your clit. “Ahh~ Scara- ‘m gonna cum” You told him and loudly mewled, the vibrations from your moans lighting the cecaelia’s nerves on fire as it increased the euphoria his cock was getting. “Hm- I- ngh. So am I-” Working you through your orgasm and sinking his fingers into your pussy as you helped him through his own.

Hot white ropes of cum shot out from a slit you had been teasing on his tip and coated your tongue, swallowing it and panting heavily as it dribbled down your tongue. Your moans being heard louder as you became overstimulated and flexing your hands still bound. You looked down and saw Scaramouche lapping up your cum, slick covering his mouth and dripping down his chin. Shuttering when his thumb wiped the excess of his face and licked it up, humming in satisfaction. “Gods you taste divine. Was that fun kitten?” Very tired from your orgasm you shook your head and were lowered back onto his lap, guiding your head into the crook of his next and unbinding your hands so you could hug him. Affectionately pressing kisses on your shoulders and embracing his beloved lovingly, your arms wrapped around his neck and lazily pecking his neck.

Scaramouche pulled back and used two of his fingers to swipe up a bit of you cum from your labia, causing you to whimper slightly from the overstimulation still present and moaning softly. Spreading his fingers to show you the semi transparent fluid and resting them against your bottom lip. “Open up, beloved.” You let your mouth go slack and sucked him clean, tasting yourself as you curled your tongue around his slender pale fingers. A string of saliva connected his fingertips to your lips and broke when he kissed you sweetly, full of love and loyalty just like he’d promised you. His attention turned to you, curling his tendrils around your waist and smiled. “Can you make it one more round, pet? I’d love to feel my cock in your tight wet pussy but if you’re too spent I could always cuddle you into slumber-”

You eagerly responded yes and weakly leaned into him, pressing kisses up his neck and nipping in hopes to mark him so others wouldn’t steal him away from you. “No, I wanna feel your cock inside me. I want people to know that you’re mine but I’m so tired. You’re mine as I’m yours, love. Take me~” Continuing to press open mouthed smooches on his skin and feeling your boyfriend shift under you. The extra tentacles started to retract from below his hips and formed back into his two legs in his human form. Scaramouche taking your chin and tilting your head down to see his more human like dick, the pale girthy shaft with small veins leading up to his rosy mushroom tip twitching and desperate to be touched.

It was already leaking pre-cum and red from the overstimulating blow job you’d given him, “Are you just going to sit there slack jawed or do I have to do all the work myself?” His hand guided yours to his cock and you fingers curled around it, stroking it slowly and coating it in his pre-cum. “Don’t start getting arrogant now. I’ve haven’t touched you and you’re still sensitive~” He glared before smirking at you and rolled his cock against your slit. Kissing his chest and trailing up until you met his lips, rooting your other hand in his smooth violet hair. You lifted yourself with his help and sunk onto his cock. “Fuck. I should’ve done this a lot sooner. You feel so good clenching me- ngh-”

Slowly you rhymically moving up and down, breathing heavily and moaning whenever he bottomed out. Your slick making a white ring around the base of his cock and biting his neck. Feverishly kissing his jawline and rocking your hips in time with his thrusts. “Ah~ Just like that- Keep fucking yourself on my cock! I-” Scaramouche was interrupted when you grabbed his hand and brought it to your next, squeezing his hand in your own. Your eyes rolled into the back of your head when he tightened his grip and chuckled mockingly. “Well well, what a kinky little slut you are. Ngh-”

His dick kissed your cervix as he harshly pounded into your cunt and cut off your air supply. Checking in with you to make sure he wasn’t going to far and pecking your cheek softly when you signal you were alright. “Scara- aHah keep going! I’m close-” “Shit! Me too! ngh~ Guess you riled me up, beloved!” A breathy moan left your mouth and fell against his chest, scratching his back with your nails when the pace got even faster. Pistoning his cock deep into your pussy and feeling like it was splitting you in two. A second later his unoccupied hand crept down to your clit and pinched it sending painful overwhelming pleasure through you.

Your climax hit you like a ton of bricks and made your legs spasm, trembling thighs tensing and crying out in joy. “Cumming!” The hybrid felt your cunt contract around his cock and groaned loudly. “Cumming too!” Feeling warm spurts of his cum fill you and faltering when you both road out your high, collapsed against the rim of the tub. The water mellowed out and stopped splashing about as you panted to regain the lost energy. “Let’s actually get clean because we just dirtied the water” Scaramouche weakly laughed and hugged your closer, “I wouldn’t mind going for a round 3-”

He was cut off by your glare and quickly scooped you into his arms albeit stumbling a bit before getting out, putting you on the cool tile to refill the tub. “I’d say I marked you up quite well, now others will know who you belong to.” Lifting you so you could see your reflection and the countless hickeys and bite marks all over your body. You smiled and nodded, shakily tapping his arm to put you down and using the counter to keep yourself standing. Towels on your nearby shelf were used to dry yourself off and tossed one to Scaramouche He thanked you and wrapped the towel around his waist, grabbing your body and bringing closer to him once again. “Now let’s go to sleep because in morning you’re not leaving my side and I have to thank you for breaking me out~”

“Hm, sounds good.” My bedroom is-” Already out the door and on the way before you realized he knew where it was since you had shown it to him when you both came in. Leaning your head against his bare chest and stretching out when you’re laid down on the soft pale green comforter. You crawled under the covers and snuggled into the soft pillow, letting your muscles go soft and practically fusing yourself to the hybrid’s body. “You comfortable there?” You nonverbally hummed ‘yes’ and tried to embrace him, happy that he wrapped his arms around you. “Now go to sleep, beloved. I’ll be here in the morning.” “Goodnight.” Closing yours eyes and welcoming sleep with open arms, the warmth under the covers mixed with his body heat.

Your dreams consisted of memories from the day and fantasies of days yet to come, swimming deeper and deeper into the sea of your unconscious before the bright rays of the morning sun peaked in through the curtains. A soft groan came from the person beside you and pulled you closer, messily tangling the sheets around your legs which was already intertwined. RING! RING! You shot up briefly at the sudden loud noise coming from your phone and blindly reached your hand at your bedside table until you finally had the vibrating cell phone in your hand. Pressing the answer button and slowly bringing it to your ear, a loud automated voice quickly giving you a message from your workplace.

“Hello… Name. This is the Deepwater Cove Aquarium calling it’s employees to let them know they will have the following week off with paid leave due to a high security inhabitant breaking out and having gone missing. Tell no one about this and keep it within company staff to avoid a mass panic. If you have any questions or concerns please contact head of Human Resources Teresa Merrii. Thank you and goodbye.” ….well that answered the question in the back of your head and you guessed they didn’t have a clue you were behind it.

“Scara.” Shaking his shoulder and attempting to wake him up, only to receive a mumble and pulling at your torso for you to cuddle with him more. “Scaramouche! They know you escaped-” He opened his eyes just a tad and raised an eyebrow, “It was bound to happen eventually and besides they don’t think it’s you so come back to sleep with me.” The cecaelia had a point, you were also on paid leave which you hadn’t expected and might as well make the best of it. Checking your notifications for any major or important messages you should respond to while you were up and saw a text from your coworker telling you ‘I hope you and your family are alright! Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help and we need to talk about the week off from work because what if it’s Scaramouche?!’.

You’d have to give them your thanks, turning your phone off and getting back underneath the blankets, feeling the smooth bits of scales littering his chest and heat radiating off of him. It felt like you were sleeping next to a fire on a cold winter morning and you pulled the covers over your head. “Well, even if they try to find me, they can’t cause I’m free of that prison and at home with my mate-” THAT’S WHAT YOU BOTH WERE?! “We’re just dating scara-” His finger was pressed against your lips. “Yes, my mate. That’s what most cryptids, as you all like to call us, call our significant others and almost all of us mate for life.”

A second passed. You were fairly sure that he was going to live longer than you which didn’t bode well since he seemed very clingy and insistent on you being with him till death. “How long do you live?” Scaramouche pondered and hummed to himself, recalling all the years he’s been alive. “About 36, but “special” beings who are half immortal live about 150 years. Cecaelia fully mature at about 20 years.” Further explaining about how his kind usually took a mate at 30 or so and pinching you playfully when you laughed, commenting on how it fit that he was 6 years “late” on finding a soulmate. “I’m sorry but with your bitchy personality I can see why no one wanted to date you-” He interrupted you with a pinch on your cheek and scowled at your mockery. His arms wrapping even tighter around your torso and guiding you hand to touch a patch of scales on his cheekbone.

“Oh please, that incompetent mermanta ray Childe couldn’t find a partner and he probably hasn’t knowing him and his battle obsession.” Eyes flicked to the window that looked out onto the sea, seemingly where is (possibly?) friend lived and trying to imagine what kind of hybrid he could possibly be by yourself. The curiosity in you spilling over the edge of your mind and asking yourself if the fairytales you heard of mythical being was true. If half octopus people existed did that mean nagas, mermaids, fae, and kitsunes were real too. “What other mythical beings exist that you know of?” Scara rubbed comforting circles on your tummy as he thought back, “A fair amount of people but many of them are miserable to be around, but as far as the ocean goes I know a couple mermaids and selkies. Two of them are tolerable to be around and offer good conversations last I remember, their names are Kaveh and Kokomi I think.”

“Kaveh always bitches about his annoying merman of a roommate which is always amusing to hear. Of course there are other cecaelia but I haven’t met many others so I assume they live in deeper parts of the ocean.” Laughing to himself as he remembered the insults he’d hear from the selkie about how emotionless and arrogant Alhaitham was to live with. You scooched up so you were laying against his chest and pulled up a soft throw blanket over both of you, “Are mythics only in the ocean?” Lifting his hands from your body and playing with his fingers as he talked. “Haha don’t be silly. They’re all over the world. Some live in the skies and mountains like harpies, dracotaurs, and butterfly people. I know before your boss captured me there was news about a dracotaur named Zhongli and a harpy named Xiao who watched over a city near here almost like a guardian angel.”

The sun shone brighter and the wind picked up, whistling and causing branches to tap against the glass. Birds looked for worms in the ground to bring to their young and chittering to each other. “Hm, I wonder what he’s like?” His hand broke from your grasp and turned your chin so you looked at him, “I thought I was the only supernatural being that interested you?” You laughed and nodded, confirming he was. “You are but that doesn’t mean I can’t be curious. And butterfly people? Aren’t those just fairies?” Apparently not and you shouldn’t say that to a fae’s face because it could piss them off. You had heard stories from your grandparents about people who angered the fae. How travelers would knock on trees when going through the woods to check if the fae were hiding in trees and offer small gifts of flowers or shiny objects for safety when hiking in their territory, with the promise of being respectful.

In your younger years you had believed it, often giving small gifts of your own at the edge of the woods near your house and leaving notes with messages to them. You knew not to tell them your name or else bad things would happen to you and the possibilities of you getting dragged into the forest to never been seen from again only increased. “No, fae are very mischievous and playful. Most of the stories about tricks and fairy circles you’ve heard are true. Butterfly people are similar to fae but have butterfly wings and are much kinder, often helping out creatures of all kind including humans if anyone is in trouble or in need of a helping hand.” Letting your mind drift off into what you thought some of them would look like and your inner child hoping you could meet one one day.

“Just before I got kidnapped, I was washed up by a mangrove near some abandoned but fruitful orchards looking for help since a bad storm had caused me to sprain my wrist. What I thought was a butterfly at first turned out to be a tiny person who called herself Nahida and helped me with my injury.” He explained that butterfly person was the protector of the small kaleidoscope that was home to the ethereally lit forest and her official name was Kusanali. “She helped me identify what fruits were safe and ripe to eat and what herbs could be used for healing or nutrition. Nahida told me what she knew of the fae and that a certain fae prince was becoming quite well known for his artistry and experiments.” Scaramouche kissed your lips and nuzzled his nose against yours, revelling in the comfort and affection you were giving him.

Of course there were other supernatural creatures of the land like nagas and lamias, attractive people with the lower half of a snake with more serpent like features such as scales or forked tongues. Who often are sneaky and stereotyped as sadistic thanks to generalizations from Christianity’s view of snakes when in actuality a lot of them are well versed in healing and medicinal treatments for travelers or other mythics. One type of supernatural you were not so please to find out about were the driders, people with the lower half of a spider and actually very dangerous. “They’re just as cruel and sadistic as the tales say they are or at least that’s what I’ve heard. I don’t intend to find out and I’m hope you don’t either. Remember my home turf is water not land.” You laughed and shook your head, shivering at the thought of running from a being with eight legs and liquidated to be eaten.

“Yeah, that doesn’t seem pleasant to run into but if those are the only dangers in the forest then it seems fine-” He interrupted you and then chuckled, carding his fingers through your hair to work out the tangles that had gotten more apparent over night. You looked up and saw him still looking out the window but away from the sea front view. “Ever heard of werewolves? You’ve probably walked passed by more of them than you think thanks to their ability to remain human looking except during a full or new moon. They are very territorial and possessive of who or what they hold close to them which my kind are also prone to-” You cut him off with some laughter and lightly hit his chest, raising your eyebrow at him and reminding him of the incident involving the ‘Karen’ yesterday.

“Scara you nearly had to be held back when I was hit and any time another employee tries to make a mood on me within your sight even before you dragged me beneath the water-” A bright blush covered his cheeks and he averted his gaze from you, clearly trying to pretend like he didn’t remember it despite you reminding him. “I- It’s not my fault that you attract everyone else’s attention and I have to show them that you’re mine. At least I’m not as bad as the kitsunes! Gods…Those vixens are downright malicious if someone offends them or someone dear to them. My mother’s wife is a nasty example and I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s been stopped many times from striking me with lightning by my mother.”

This was the first you were hearing of his past in general and his mother, no one who found him could get any answer as to who his parents were or where his home was. “I’m plenty happy that you’re possessive and I appreciate you not killing people just for flirting with me.” Laughing towards the end of your sentence and carefully thinking through your words to find out more about his life. “I’m going to need you to be more tolerant now that you don’t have 4 inch glass separating you from the public whenever we’re outside. But you’ve never mentioned your mother before, what was your life before all of this,” You gestured vaguely to your house and around you both, “happened.

The cecaelia’s eyebrows furrowed and his mood got noticeably somber. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea, “If it’s something you don’t want to talk about then I understand but I’m here. I know what it’s like to not like your past.” You kissed his cheek and rubbed comforting circles on his chest, letting him think it over and seeing him shake his head out of a deep thought. “No, it’s alright. I just have… mixed feelings toward my mother and it’s not a pretty story.” Scaramouche shifted so you were sitting up and side by side, his hand intertwining with yours and gratefully looking at you. The dark pools of pale purple overflowing with inner turmoil and deep seated unspoken emotions laying just beneath the surface.

“Well not only am I not human but my mother is a goddess, specifically a goddess of storms and lightning.” Eyeing you for a reaction to which you were stunned and gaped at your non-mortal lover, nodding slowly to let him continue. “My mother had a relationship with a human which resulted in me but I don’t know my father and I haven’t seen my mother since she abandoned me.” This was heartbreaking to hear. Why would any mother ever abandon their child? He was still, silence enveloped the room as he kept his eyes locked on the comforter balled up in his fists. Outside you could see the sky darkening, dark grey clouds gathered strangely with your knowledge that there wasn’t supposed to be rain this.

“That makes me a demigod in addition to my weird ass octopus half. I don’t think I have any abilities like my mother but my human emotions are linked to stormy weather which might explain the thunderstorm coming together outside.” Both of you were now focused on the growing anomaly, you looked to Scara and unwrapped his tightly wound fists. The muscles in his fingers still tense and slowly being relaxed thanks to your hand sliding its way into his. “I’m right here with you. I’m- I’m sorry you had to go through that but how did you manage living on your own at such a young age?”

A fond but sad expression painted over his face and he leaned his head on your shoulder, “I didn’t. I was found on a beach by a man named Niwa, someone who I considered my friend…my family. He was the one who showed me how to live and grow up while trying his best to find answers for both of us as why what I was.” Apparently, when he was a child, Niwa took them both to the library to search as to who Scara’s parents were but were stunned to find his mother’s name belonged to a local goddess. While he told the story, a flurry of emotions crossed his mind upon digging into memories he thought he had put away permanently.

“At first we thought it must have been a mistake but Niwa spotted a symbol marked on my skin behind my neck,” Turning his back to you and lifting his hair to let you view a black triple right tomoe. Black ink filled the shape and bent when you ran your fingers over it, noticing the shiver your lover tried to suppress. It looked like a tattoo freshly healed but there was something not natural about it like the scales that littered his skin. “along with the scales, it was clear that I wasn’t human….but he didn’t look at me differently. He wasn’t disgusted or fearful that he was living with a demigod and helped me discover more about who I was but…”

Tears pricked his eyes and threatened to fall, indicating hesitation and what you could tell was a emotionally traumatizing moment back then. You wished you could have done more but the best you could do is be by his side and comfort him the best way possible. “but there- there was one question he couldn’t answer even though he tried. Why did my mother abandoned me? Clearly she knew about my existence since she put me to sleep on a beach but-” The damn broke as streaks of tears fell down his cheeks, quiet sobs loudened as he tried to muffle them and latched onto you when you brought him into your arms. The tight grip Scaramouche had hurt your heart, no one deserved to go through this and you had some choice words in your head for his mother.

There were several better ways to set him free without the lack of communication or possibility of harm. You were glad that someone like Niwa was there for him while all this self discovery was going on, you’d have to thank him if he ever introduced you two. “Scara-” “Kuni. My name is Kunikuzushi. You- you deserve to know.” With the look he was giving you, you had no doubt that this meant a great deal to him and clearly had gained his trust with your help and kindness. Tears still streamed down his face but they had stopped a bit thanks to your comfort. “Kuni. I’m so glad you had Niwa with you. How come he didn’t help you when you got captured?”

There was silence for a couple minutes then he started quietly crying harder burying his head into your neck and mumbled words you couldn’t understand. Carding your hand through his hair and cooing softly, “It’s alright. You’re safe. You’re with me safe and sound.” After gathering himself he kissed your lips and brokenly smiled. “T-thank you. Niwa-” Kuni stuttered and took a deep breath while thunder shook the house. “Niwa was killed by a self proclaimed doctor called Dottore who hunts the supernatural and dissect them. He used Niwa to get to me after seeing bits of my scales You would have gotten along, he was kind and determined like you.” He paused briefly between words to sniffle and then embraced you again, seeing lightning shatter the sky which reminded him to take a breath.

“He helped me with these pathetic human emotions that plagued me. I thought my mother tossed aside because of my disgusting human half and tried to get rid of my mortal part…. to no success.” To say you were stunned was an understatement. To think in addition to all the torture he’d endured at the aquarium he had tried to kill himself in order to get to his mom. You didn’t notice tears that fell from your eyes and landed on his warm bare chest. His thumb brushed your cheek and wiped them away, whispering apologies that he didn’t need to say at all. “I know, I’m not going to say I regret it because I don’t but you and Niwa changed my mind about humans.”

You sadly laughed and kissed him, “I’m glad you’re here. You made my life brighter and I love you dearly. However, how did you come to live in the ocean?” He wiped his eyes and dried his tears, looking down at the lavender scales decorating his skin. “When I tried to drown myself, something different happened my legs split into 8 and my pale purple scales darkened from my waist down.”

“My ears grew webbed and more fish like, entirely below my waist I looked like an octopus from the hips down but I could move through the water faster than I ever could before-” He stopped and look to you, winds calming down and a genuine happy expression took over his face. “I was free. Free to do what I wanted and be free from the pain of loss…so I shut out the world until I met you.” He whispered, almost in disbelief and awe upon reflecting into his past. Time seemed to stop as he moved closer and cupped your face, rubbing his nose against yours affectionately.

Kuni slowly kissed your lips and slowly pulled away for air begrudgingly, still resting his forehead against yours and closing his eyes. A comfortable silence fell between you two. So many emotions poured out and no doubt you could sleep for another couples of hours given it was only 9 in the morning. You kissed his lips sweetly before pulling your boyfriend back under the covers and slurring your words out of fatigue. “I love kissin’ you but sleep is a definite tie. Come cuddle me, Kuni~”

There was little hesitation as he wrapped his arms around you and tangled his legs with yours, taking the small spoon position. Sleep tugged at the corners of your mind but before you succumbed to it you whispered something you’d been holding in for a bit. “You and ursula would get along very well.” You practically felt the annoyed tick mark appear on his face with even having to see it and struggled to hold in your laughter. “Who the fuck is this Ursula bitch?!”

Genshin cryptids

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #kunikuzushi #kunikuzushi x reader #wanderer #wanderer x reader #scaramouche #scaramouche x reader #scaramouche smut #scaramouche x you #genshin cryptid AU

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chaosspear · 4 months

Text

People have been taking interest in my pmmm sonic au recently, so I thought I'd just dump some of the old art I've made for it that's been collecting dust in my folders :]

[you can see my other posts about it here, and here]

#I think if i revisited this in full force I would fix up knuckles and amys designs... knuckles' feels alright but the gauntlets #feel kinda eh. and amys feels plain compared to the others. rouge however is perfect #sonic #sth #pmmm au #pmmm #sonic the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #rouge the bat #knuckles the echidna #amy rose #beesdraws #good lord i need a new art tag

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seriouslysam8 · 7 days

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Hey Sam, I saw you write about that one-shot of Harry jumping through the veil after Sirius and I wondered if you already published that one somewhere or if you are still writing it? If it’s the latter would you mind sharing snippet?😇 I am really curious now

It is not published. I started it around... fuck, maybe a year ago? So, you can tell, I never finished it. I had only a vague idea of where I was going with it. Then, I had other stories to write and just kind of... never finished it? I don't know if I ever will finish it. It's just been sitting in my WIP folder forever. You guys don't even know about half the stories in that folder just sitting there, collecting dust. I need to get plot bunnies out of my head or else I can't focus on what I'm working on.

Anyway, it's called Looking Glass.

“You’re Harry Potter?” Sirius asked.

Harry nodded. “Yes, my parents are Lily and James Potter. They named you my godfather.”

That seemed completely mental.

“Why would they name me godfather?” Sirius pressed.

Harry swallowed visibly. “Because you and my dad were best friends.”

Sirius wanted to laugh. Him and James Potter were best friends? They fucking hated each other.

“I’m not even friends with James Potter, let alone his best friend,” Sirius said in a soft voice.

The kid jumped back, jerking his limbs away from Sirius as though he had burned him. “Is that what’s different here? Who… whose my godfather then? Wait, am I even alive here?”

Sirius shrugged. “I don’t know but I know the Potters had a baby boy named Harry. Their supposed friend kidnapped the kid and brought him to the Dark Lord fourteen years ago. He murdered the kid, so I’m not sure how you’re here if you really are Harry Potter.”

Harry’s chest heaved. “What?”

Sirius squinted at the kid. “Unless he didn’t murder the kid and you’re the kid… but why would he connect you with me?”

“Sirius, I don’t think I’m meant to be here,” Harry whispered. “I just… I wanted to save you. Do you, do you think my Sirius is here?”

My Sirius.

Sirius stared at the kid like he had never seen anything like him before. The story seemed outrageous. Alternate universes. Him being friends with James Potter and godfather to his kid. It seemed like an impossible life to lead. Except the kid was staring up at him like he expected him to fix things, like he relied upon Sirius.

“I haven’t the foggiest idea,” Sirius whispered, trying to wrap his brain around what was happening.

Harry took a step closer to him, his big green eyes staring up at him. “Will you help me? Will you help me find my Sirius?”

Sirius’ lips parted.

“You’re the only one I trust,” Harry whispered. “No matter what universe I’m in.”

Sirius cleared his throat. “That’s probably not the smartest idea, kid.”

Harry blinked up at him. “Why?”

Sirius don’t know what possessed him to do it. He raised his left arm, pulling up the sleeve of his dress robes. The Dark Mark shined brightly on his forearm, nearly glittering despite the poor lighting in the room. Harry stepped back, his eyes widening at the sight of the Mark.

“Tell me, does your Sirius have the Mark as well?” Sirius asked in a cool tone.

Harry shook his head. “No, he… he hated Voldemort,” he croaked, his eyes snapping up to Sirius’ face. “Why?”

Sirius pulled his sleeve down, not taking his eyes off the kid. “Because it was what was expected of me. Tell me, are the Blacks not aligned with Voldemort in your world?”

Sirius dove head first into the alternate universe explanation. The kid seemed to uniquely trust Sirius in a way he shouldn’t.

Harry only stared at Sirius. “They are… but you weren’t. You ran away from home when you were sixteen. You couldn’t take it anymore.”

Sirius snorted. “Where the bloody hell would I have gone?”

“The Potters,” Harry whispered. “You said you were always welcome at the Potters.”

Again with the fucking Potters.

“What I don’t understand is why I’m even close to the Potters,” Sirius snapped. “You said James Potter is my best mate?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, since you were eleven. You shared a dorm together, along with Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.”

The wheels spun in Sirius’ head. “Wait, I was in Gryffindor?”

Harry frowned. “You mean you weren’t here? Were you…?”

“Slytherin,” Sirius said in a dull voice.

“So, you never became friends with my dad or ran away or, or were named my godfather…” Harry whispered, his voice cracking. “And you joined the Death Eaters? Do you, err, do you believe in all that stuff too?”

Sirius stilled at the question. Truth be told, he never fucking cared about blood status or any of that tosh. But he had been forced to pretend to care. He had hurt people, killed people, all in the name of blood purity because he had no choice.

“No particularly,” Sirius admitted, shoving his hands into his robe pockets.

“Then, why’d you join?” Harry asked, his brows furrowing.

“I didn’t know I had a fucking choice,” Sirius seethed.

Harry swallowed. “My Sirius is part of the Order of the Phoenix.”

Sirius’ face pulled. “For real?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, you were since you left Hogwarts.”

Sirius didn’t know what to say or to think. But for some reason, he trusted the kid was telling the truth. There was some odd pull he felt towards him, almost like he cared for the kid even though he had never met the kid before.

“And you think your Sirius is somewhere in this universe?” Sirius clarified.

Harry shrugged. “I don’t know. I just assumed because I showed up here that he would have as well.”

The door opened behind Sirius. Harry looked beyond him, his face instantly paling. Feet stomped and Sirius turned around slowly to come face to face with James Potter.

Potter grabbed him by the front of his robes and slammed him against the nearest wall. All the air left his lungs at the rough impact. Harry screamed ‘stop’. Robards only shut the door behind him.

“What the fuck are you playing at, Black?” Potter seethed.

Sirius only saw red. Best friends, his fucking arse. Maybe he should doubt the kid a little more.

“I’m as confused as you are,” Sirius replied through clenched teeth. “Get your hands off me.”

Potter didn’t. He shoved Sirius tighter against the wall.

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infamous-if · 10 months

Text

dev update (august 9th 2023)

I'm really bad at doing these, I apologize. I find I prefer just dropping things without much notice haha but since chapter 2 is out I do want to do better at these sort of weekly log things.

Anyway, with the Patreon out I've been having a lot of fun dropping stuff. I have a whole folder of deleted scenes and extra bits that I kept aside collecting dust so that's been fun. I've done a lot with August so far so I'm determined to keep up that momentum, especially since I'm deep in G's POV right now.

I started picking away at Part II. Luckily, I feel it may be shorter than Part I so it won't be too long until I'm dropping it. I'm going to make sure not to change any variables until after it's published so people can just play from where they finished off. Hopefully...if I can avoid it. If I speed run through Part II I feel like I can drop it next month or late this month. I'm not making any promises but if I do, I'll be giving myself a huge pat on the back lmfao.

Since Part I dropped, I've been getting a lot more asks and suggestions. Many people have been suggesting certain choices and reactions and dialogues which is great. People tend to catch things that I don't catch or have ideas that don't come to me so it helps when I go back to rewrite. I can't promise I'll add it but so far I've been getting a lot of good suggestions. I don't respond to them just so I can keep them in one place, so don't think I'm ignoring you! I do read all my questions I just tend to be picky with answering them so as not to flood the dash. I was having a wild idea to make a side account just to answer questions because I wake up to so many that I can hardly handle it and my inbox gives me a bit of a fright every morning lololol I currently have 3.5k questions and I feel terrible every time because I feel like I'm ignoring people.

As I said before, once Part 2 is out I'm going to go through the entire demo with a fine tooth comb and pick it up bit by bit. Improve on it, add dialogue, choices and just fix it up. It won't be a rewrite lol since I like what I have but I think I can improve the prose and the overall...cleanliness? of my writing!

I'm always taking suggestions or anything that may make the game better. I can't do everything but I do try. I'm also always taking song suggestions for the master playlist. I do listen to it when I write so that's fun lol

This was a non update but I do like keeping everyone up to date on what I'm doing! If anyone has suggestions for something August related to do this month, I'm all ears!

#Update #Amy speaks Nonsense

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blushedtrait · 5 months

Text

blushedtrait, a new simblr, has joined the party!

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

hi fellow simmers! my name is karin (she/her), twenty-something years old from southeast asia. i love taking pretty screenshots of my sims and seeing it go unseen and collecting dust in my screenies folder felt like such a waste. i’ve been a simblr lurker for far too long and after much consideration, i have decided to have a go at sharing what my sims are up to in-game!

i have been enjoying the soft aesthetic sim style as well as family gameplay. i plan to post cas, interiors, lookbooks and my current households so if that piques your interest, feel free to reblog and follow as i am always looking for new mutuals to gush and hype up your pretty sims too!

i hope you’ll stick around as i begin my simblr journey. i’ll see you in my next post 🤍

#sims 4 #the sims 4 #ts4 #simblr #new simblr #sims 4 gameplay #sims 4 screenshots #sims

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healdeals · 2 years

Text

these are some Spam NEOs that have been collecting dust in my art folder for nearly a year now

#spamton #spamton neo #deltarune #I dont quite draw him like this anymore. now its more on model to the actual sprite #my art

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rays-of-fire-and-ice · 5 months

Note

congratulations on another year of writing :)))) <3

for the fic requests, Hitsuhina first date! (yes I still remember when you teased that one snippet of Toushiro going to meet Momo for dinner and Rangiku finding out haha) it can be awkard it can be spectuacular it can go horribly wrong, i want to see your take on them navigating through a change in relationship :)

What if it Was?

Rating: K/General with mild themes

Setting: sometime after the 10 year timeskip. I personally see this happening when they’re in their early young adult years, but please feel free to imagine this happening whenever you want.

Synopsis: Toshiro and Momo go on their first date, but Toshiro isn’t sure how first dates are supposed to go, or if this even a date at all.

AN: I’m starting the year off with a VERY overdue request.

@canariie, you’ve got me! I’ve been dancing around this one for years, but now I have no choice but to release it! XD

I’m joking, but in all seriousness, this one has been collecting dust in my WIP folder for a few years now. I always got stuck on it in one way or another. This fic originally came about as a sequel to In Times of Peace (which I think is the first fic I wrote for you, ironically), but morphed into something else.This one does get angsty and a tad bit melodramatic – it’s me we’re talking about - but I promise it has fluffy moments.

Just three quick notes:

The research I did into this one was based on searching online and remembering old conversation I had with a friend who went to Japan. A shokudo is a casual restaurant that offers a variety of dishes, including curry, rice and noodle dishes, even sushi.

The mural in this piece is inspired by this one.

I wrote this fics with several songs in the background. Feel free to listen to them as you read: going home and compassion by Shiro Sagisu, The Bygone Days by Joe Hisaishi, and State Lines by Novo Amor

Anyhow, enough rambling, hope you enjoy it!

____________________________________

“Hey, Captain, when can I get my magazines back?”

Toshiro neatens the paperwork before putting it on top of the ‘completed’ stack. Without looking Rangiku’s way, he replies, “When you stop relying on those horoscopes to predict the future.”

The lieutenant slams her hands down on her desk, almost shooting up to stand. “But they’re so accurate! Besides, it’s a fun to learn about the World of Living and how they…” She trails off when the captain stands and starts wrapping a scarf around his neck. “Wait, are you going out?”

“Yes.”

“But I was going to go drinking with Kira and Hisagi! Captain, you can’t leave me with all of this!” She thrust one hand out towards the stack of incomplete paperwork, and the other to the much smaller completed pile.

“You went out drinking last night!” he retorts. “You can’t leave this office until you complete all of this, some of it is overdue now.”

Rangiku falls back into her seat with an exasperated sigh. “I know, but it’s no fun.”

“Since when was it supposed to be fun?”

“Well, you seem to like doing it.”

“Where did you get that idea from?!”

The lieutenant pouts and leans forward, resting her elbows along the desk. “Why are you going out? You rarely go out on a work night.”

Toshiro continues to wrap the scarf around his neck, considering his words. He can already predict her reaction if he tells the truth, but telling her a lie feels wrong. “I’m going out to dinner in the Junrinan.”

Rangiku raises a brow. “By yourself?” Then after a beat she smiles. “Or is it with your Granny? Taking her out for a treat?”

“No.” He breathes in deeply as he shrugs off his haori, preparing for her reaction. “It’s with Hinamori.”

And sure enough, the lieutenant gapes at him, hands slamming down on the desk again to push herself up and out of her chair. A vein threatens to throb in his temple when her paperwork stack wobbles, but thankfully doesn’t topple.

This goes completely unnoticed by Rangiku as she rounds the desk, barraging him with questions. “Where? When? How?! How did you ask her out? Or did she ask you out?! Oh my gosh, why didn’t she tell me?! She was updating me two days ago with Women’s Association business, why didn’t she tell me then?! Please don’t tell me you-”

“Enough, Matsumoto!”

She quietens, widened eyes blinking. Toshiro lays his folded up haori on his desk, ready for him tomorrow morning. “She just said she wanted to go eat dinner somewhere in Junrinan,” he clarifies. “This isn’t a…date.” He barely gets the last word out.

Rangiku taps a finger against her chin. “You’re going to a restaurant in the Junrinan for dinner?”

“Yes.”

“Is anyone else going with either of you?”

“No.”

“So, it’s just the two of you then?”

“…Yes.”

She grins. “Sounds like a date to me.”

Faint pink colors Toshiro’s cheeks. “Whatever, I’m going!”

Rangiku scoffs. “You know, if I had my magazine I could use a horoscope to predict how you’re date will go tonight. Last I check for your sign it was-”

“I don’t want to know. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going.” He stabs a finger towards her paperwork as he strides to the office door. “Those had better be done by tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, they will be! You go and enjoy yourself, Captain! Good luck!”

This is one of the few times Rangiku looks happy to be doing paperwork, but Toshiro can’t stay to absorb this strange moment; he’d be two minutes late if he didn’t hurry. He hastily leaves his division, acknowledging but not stopping when any of his subordinates greet him.

Stepping out into the dusk, the cold air picks up, bringing grey clouds over the Seireitei. He adjusts his scarf, bringing it higher over his face as the temperature plunges. Winter had just begun, and he senses the snow is on its way, likely to fall sometime tonight.

Nearing the White Road gate, a sense of unease bubbles up in him. What if this was a date? It couldn’t be. Momo didn’t see him that way, he knows. She sees him as a close friend to him, had told him as such not too long ago.

She just wants to properly catch up. In the years following the Quincy war and reconstruction of the Soul Society, they chatted when they could, even had the occasional lunch breaks together, but work always took precedence in both of their lives; or at least, in his life. Momo has more friendships, more people to spend time with. He’d seen her with the Women’s Association members at various shops and resturants, and Izuru and Renji – who sometimes brought Ichika along when he couldn’t find someone to mind her when she was a baby and child – sharing a tea or meal after a lieutenant’s meeting on a veranda of one of their divisions. She’d also gotten more World of the Living missions, sometimes simply as an excuse to visit the Visoreds with Shinji. They were long overdue to spend time together outside of work.

Coming through the gate, he already gets stares from the small crowds of Souls and off duty Shinigami that crowd the Junrinan. It’s for that reason he chose to leave his haori behind – he already attracts enough attention with his appearance outside of the Seireitei, and he didn’t want preferential treatment based on his rank.

He heads straight for their old meeting place: the alleyway between the stall that sold spinning-tops and a garment shop Momo used to always look into but never buy anything from.

He glances around for Jidanbo, but frowns when he doesn’t see him anywhere. Must be having the night off, he thinks. It’s been a while since he last saw him too. He makes a mental note to visit him sometime this week on his break – maybe he could fit in a visit to Granny too.

“Hitsugaya-kun!”

He swivels his head in the direction of Momo’s voice. She calls out for him again, and he spots her emerging from the alleyway. He weaves his way through the crowds to her, not once losing sight of her.

As he nears, his eyes widen a fraction at the scarf around her neck. It was a birthday present from him and Rangiku, but it’d been over a decade since he last saw her wear it at a formal dinner for then-Captain General Yammato. Made from red and orange silk and patterned with the branches and flowers of peach blossoms, it was one of the most expensive gifts he’d ever gotten her. Why would she wear something like this to a dinner? Where is she taking him? Should he have dressed up more? Maybe he should have worn his haori after all.

“How long have you been waiting for?” he asks, his neutral tone at complete odds with the nervousness thrumming through him.

“Not long.” She points to a large building down the street, bustling with customers inside and outside. “That’s it right there.”

He blinks when he spots one of the red lanterns swaying in a breeze. A shokudo? He calms a fraction; it’s more casual than he thought. “Well, let’s get inside if we can, it’s freezing out.”

Momo lets out an bemused snort. “You’re cold, Hitsugaya-kun?”

He’d normally correct her for not addressing him by his title, but they’re off duty, he’ll let it slide for tonight. “I’m not the one with a fire-type zanpakuto that’s sensitive to the cold.”

She giggles, holding the end of her scarf. “I’m okay, I made sure to wear extra layers.”

As they start towards the restaurant, Toshiro asks, “Why this one?”

“I’ve been meaning come here for a while,” Momo says. “Apparently the owner used to be a Shinigami but after he retired, he decided to open a shokudo inspired by the different types of restaurants in the World of the Living he went to while stationed there. I’m curious about the food, it’s supposed be different in taste and the types of dishes they offer compared to others in the area.”

Toshiro raises a brow. He was actually referring to her scarf, but let's it go. “He had time to go do that while on missions?”

“Well, you apparently have time go for walks when you’re on missions. We all have our ways of winding down or keeping ourselves occupied during missions.”

Fair point, he concedes inwardly. “And how did you find out about this place?”

“It was recommended to me by my third and fourth seats. Apparently a lot of people have already been to it, it’s quite popular.” She gestures to all the patrons, her smile tightening. “Hopefully we can get a table.”

He hums in agreement. If either of them had come dressed in their full uniforms, there would no doubt be a fuss made over them. They’d be offered private tables away from the noise, or ones with the best view if they were outside. Some places even offered discounts or meals on the house. He appreciates the generosity, but he also considered it making a scene. He’s glad Momo is of the same mind, never flaunting her status for benefits.

He receives a few looks as they walk between the outdoor tables. He recognizes some faces from Junrinan, children he had known on his street now grown up. Momo waves to one group of them, and they smile and nod back to both of them in response. The way he is treated now compared to then is almost night and day. Although some continue to stare, there’s a respect from some Souls that wasn’t present when he was a child.

Once inside, they’re shown to a table along the wall, right beneath a painted mural.

“What drinks would you like to start off with?” the waiter asks.

“Water,” Toshiro requests.

“And yuzu juice for me, please.”

After the waiter leaves, Momo glances around the restaurant. “Are you okay with this? It’s not too noisy?”

“It’s fine.” Toshiro peruses the long menu list. “How big is their kitchen? How can they serve so many dishes?”

Momo’s smile relaxes, the nerves seeming to dissipate. “You can see why it’s popular, huh?”

Toshiro lifts his gaze from the menu. There’s only two free tables inside, and the others are mostly occupied by…couples. Couples laughing and giggling and smiling and holding hands and talking like they’re married and one going in for a shy kiss on the cheek.

He quickly darts his head down. Considering or even noticing such things would be the furthest thing from his mind normally, but he’s potentially on a date – with Momo. Maybe he should have gotten Rangiku more involved in this. She’d know what to do and what not to do…or maybe not.

Toshiro snaps out of his thoughts when the waiter comes back with their drinks.

“And are you ready to order?” the waiter asks.

Momo looks questioningly to Toshiro. “I’m ready.”

Toshiro picks the first thing he sees. “I’ll get a the teishoku with yakizakana and tamagoyaki.”

“And can I please have a serving of takoyaki and the katsudon curry dish?” Momo requests.

The waiter nods. “I can bring the takoyaki over in a few minutes. The other dishes will come after.”

Momo thanks him as he leaves.

“I thought we could share some takoyaki, if you want,” she says to Toshiro. “I’m happy to eat them all, though.”

Toshiro shrugs. “I’ll eat a few.”

He’s surprised by the silence that comes. He’s used to having quiet moments with Momo, when neither feels the need to say anything and they just enjoy each other’s company. The awkwardness that settles between them is unexpected, like something from when they were first getting to know each other as children. Was it just him? Was it because this could be a date and he had no clue what to talk about?

“This mural is really nice,” Momo suddenly says.

Toshiro looks at the painting. It’s bold black lines depict a scene of four Souls travelling through a hilly valley. Two of them carry baskets on their backs filled with wood and fruits, while another Soul strolls ahead carrying various kitchenware, and the last Soul is far away and waving back at his companions. The valley’s flora is detailed and elegant, while the Souls are more flat and seem out of place. The only patches of color come from the sakura trees on both side of the valley’s winding path, the petals either swaying on the branches or falling across the scene.

“I wonder what it’s about?” Momo says after a sip of juice. “Maybe it has something to do with the restaurant if one of them is carrying a pot?”

“Could be. You could ask someone who works here.”

Something softens in her gaze as it flickers back down to the table. “I might…”

“You should.” There was his problem. He couldn’t think creatively like her, or find a way to carry this conversation. He’s never been ashamed of this nor has it ever been an issue for him, but somehow he feels inadequate now. He clears his throat. “How has your day been?”

Before she can answer, the takoyaki arrives. After thanking the waiter, Momo pushes the dish towards him. “Have a few.”

“Thank you,” he says while taking two.

She makes a satisfied sound after biting into one. “These are good!”

He only nods as he munches on his. After her second one and taking another sip of juice, her head piques up with a nervous laugh. “You asked me about my day, sorry. It was busy, but productive.”

“No surprise there.”

She frowns and her lips are on verge of a pout. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re always busy, and you work hard, so it’s productive.” He’s surprised by his compliment and how easily it fell from his lips. He stops eating, gauging her reaction as she too seems as astonished as him.

A blush colors the tops of her cheeks. “Captain Hirako worked hard too.”

Toshiro bites back on the comment he wants to make about Shinji’s work ethic, afraid he might say something else without realizing.

“We finished up our schedules for the new recruits ahead of time,” she continues, “so we’re prepared for when they start.”

“That won’t be for another two months.”

“It helps to be prepared! With that out of the way, we’re now focusing on setting up training exercises.” She takes a long sip of her juice, but then hums. “Actually, now that I remember, we were wondering if Tenth Division would like to join in one of those exercises.”

“What would the core lesson be?”

“It’ll be up to you and Captain Hirako to negotiate. I could arrange a meeting with you, me, my Captain, and Rangiku-san if you’re interested.”

“I doubt we’ll have time in the next month.”

“That’s okay. We have three months planned starting tomorrow.”

“In that case, I’ll have Matsumoto tell you our schedules at the next lieutenant’s meeting.”

“Great!” Her smile turns rueful. “Ah, sorry, I feel like I’ve been speaking for too long. What about you? How was your day?”

“The same as any other. We only came back from the mission in the World of the Living two weeks ago.”

“How did it go? It sounded like a difficult.”

“It wasn’t that hard, it went smoothly. The Hollows were eliminated and we reported our findings to Hueco Mundo. They’ll take it from there.”

“It’s incredible that we’re able to work with them this well now.”

He hums in agreement, ignoring the thought of his fight with Hueco Mundo’s queen all those years ago. “The last thing to do is the reports. Matsumoto is finishing them up.”

“I see.” At the quiet that followed, her smile wobbles. “I, uh…I guess we work a lot, huh?”

“Yes, we do. Our duties as Shinigami never end.”

“Mhm.”

Silence falls again. He internally lectures himself, annoyed that he’s gotten so serious in what was supposed to be a light-hearted atmosphere. For a moment, he’d though this like their usual chats, discussing their latest work and setting up training exercises.

He almost lets out a relieved breath when the main dishes arrive. Momo barely draws her gaze away from the food to thank the waiter for the meal along with Toshiro.

“These look amazing!” she half exclaims after the waiter leaves.

The tension dissipates Toshiro’s lips twitch up into a smile at seeing Momo’s glee. He didn’t see what the fuss was about, but he did have to admit they were decorative compared to other dishes in other restaurants. She still hasn’t started after he “Food is meant for eating, Hinamori, not staring at.”

She ignores him as she digs a hand into her sleeves and retrieves her denreishinki. “I have to take a picture.”

He’s lifting his miso soup when she gives him a look. “What?”

“I want to take a picture of yours too.”

He indulges her, putting the soup back down and watches as she leans over the table to snap a photo. Satisfied, she nods at him and he starts gulping down the soup.

After putting her denreishinki away, Momo makes an appreciative sound after eating a katsu cutlet. “This tastes really good!”

“Glad you like it.”

The silence falls between them again. They can use the excuse that they’re busy eating, but it feels wrong to him. Had they gotten more comfortable discussing work than their personal lives? There was a time where it was the opposite, and chatting about everything outside of work took up most of their conversations. When had that changed? Why had it changed?

So, with the nerves threatening to creep in again, he says, “It’s not everything.”

Momo blinks, halfway through eating another cutlet. “Hm?”

“Work, it’s not everything. What books are you reading right now?”

Momo’s brows rise, nearly touching her hairline, and she almost forgets to eat the rest of cutlet.

“What?” he asks.

“Nothing, it’s just you’ve never asked me that before.”

“Well, there’s a first time for everything.” He cringes inwardly at how petulant he sounds.

She giggles, raising a hand to her mouth, and he hates the small, pleasant flutter that goes through his chest.

“Of course,” she says, grinning. “I’ve been reading a drama series called the Crimson Chrysanthemum saga. It’s about three warring clans, and each book is about the generations of families fighting each other.”

“Sounds like something you’d read.”

“How so?”

“You’ve always been into things with high stakes and high emotions.”

“It doesn’t just have that! It has such interesting dynamics between the characters! It’s not just all of them proclaiming their feelings aloud, you can really sense how the history of the previous books has affected these characters. There’s so many moments where things have gone unsaid, but you can just sense how a character feels towards another through their actions! For instance, there’s a character who doesn’t speak, but you know every time he looks at another character or fights that characters brother he’s not just trying to protect his own honor, but the other character’s honor too! Some characters try to make peace with themselves and with their enemies, and others have become so blinded by the codes their families have set them down a path to continue the violence.” At his widened eyes, Momo shrinks back into her seat. “S-Sorry, I got carried away there.”

He lets out an amused huff and smirks. “No, it’s fine.”

“You think I’m silly, don’t you?”

“Not right now.”

She considers arguing back as he eats his miso soup, but settles on an angry pout.

“You haven’t talked about a book like this in a long time,” he says. “It’s good to see.”

That calms her slightly, but a furrow remains in her brow. “I don’t really get a chance to talk about what I’m reading with a lot of people. It’s mostly with Ise-san and Kira-kun.” She cocks her head to the side. “You know, it’s a little surprising you’re not much a reader.”

He raises a brow. “How so?”

“It feels like something you’d be interested in.” He senses there’s more she wants to say, but she eats another cutlet before continuing. “I know just the sort of books you’d like, too. There’s a few mystery novels, ones that are hard to figure out but make total sense once you’ve finished them.”

“And why would I like those?”

“Because you like solving mysteries. Even when we were children, you’d get suspicious of something that seemed unusual or out of place and want to know everything about it.” Her eyes brighten. “Like that time when you were hearing noises at night time, do you remember?”

He frowns as he tries to recall. It’s vague, but then an image of Granny staring grimly at a turned over basket of spilled out peaches across the ground, muttering that someone had stolen some of the fruit. He’d woken to noises three nights in a row, but it wasn’t until the fourth time when they had been robbed that he decided to take it seriously. “That was when you were applying for Academy.”

“Yes! You went looking around for clues. You even asked me and my friend if we’d heard anything. At some point, you found the animal tracks near your house. ”

He’s surprised she remembers everything in that much detail. Had she been watching on from the sidelines during that whole ordeal? “It was a stray dog.”

“Haruka-san ended up adopting her, right?”

He nods. “I think she named her Aki --”

“Because spring was a few weeks away,” Momo finishes with a grin. “I’ll never forget the look on her face when you brought the dog back to the Junrinan. You didn’t want to Aki be out in the forest because it was cold.”

He shrugs. “It’s good she found an owner. Besides, she was a good work dog, it would’ve been a shame to let her fend for herself when she could help someone in the Junrinan.”

Momo’s grin softens into a smile, one that makes his heart skip a beat and almost choke on the fillet he chews up. “It was kind of you,” she says. “And it’s not the only time you did something like that. You’ve always been kind. I wish more people saw it back then.”

He’s rendered speechless, only able to watch as Momo continues eating. He tries to do the same, but he eats slower and stares hard into the table. Where was all of this coming from?

“I wasn’t,” he eventually says. “I was a brat, really.”

“Well, yes, but not all the time. You always treated Obaa-san with kindness, at least.”

“I wouldn’t dare treat her any other way.” He eats the last fillet before speaking again. “On the books…If you have recommendations, then I’ll read them.”

“You would?”

“You’re an avid reader, I trust your judgement.”

“I’ll give my copies some time then! We can discuss them after you’re done, I’d be keen to hear what you think of them.” After he nods, she continues, “On the topic of hobbies, have you been doing any ice sculptures lately? I know you usually like to restart your Seireitei Communications column in winter.”

“It’s the best conditions for sculpting.”

“That makes sense.”

He goes on to tell her about the projects he’s working on while she eats the curry and the rest of the cutlets. As always, she’s genuinely interested, and that somehow makes him want to speak more at length about his interests, from the tools he’ll be using to the inspiration behind it. Only she does this for him, and both does and doesn’t want her to know what effect she has on him.

He gets back to eating once he finishes and she explains the new ikebana classes she’s attending. He doesn’t miss the brief sadness in her eyes as she reflects on how hard it was to get the classes up and running again after the loss of Unohana, but she brightens up again when praising Isane for her efforts to find new students and become the class’s new teacher.

Little by little, the awkwardness slipped away, and in it’s place is a bubble that envelopes them. It makes the restaurant blur away in the background, but also enhances the lights and colors that surround them, and his sense of smell is enhances to capture all the delicious scents and aromas coming from the kitchen. It’s like nothing he’s experienced before, and he nearly smiles from how pleasant it is. A world of their own, almost.

It’s only briefly interrupted when the waiter comes by to collect their empty dishes and glasses. Toshiro beats her to the counter to pay, but Momo still insists on a split bill. Not wanting to cause a fuss in front of the other patrons, Toshiro somewhat reluctantly agrees.

They step back out into the streets. It's now night and the snowfall has begun. The Souls who had acknowledged them had either left or are too busy amongst themselves to see the two of them leave.

Wordlessly, they walk through the Junrinan with no destination in particular. Toshiro watches their breaths fog in the air, floating away from each of their lips, carried by the wind, and fading a short distance away. Snow falls gently around them, and save for the shafts of moonlight peaking through the clouds and the soft glow coming from the windows of houses, it’s complete darkness all around them.

He thinks to ask Momo if she had anything else planned for them, but then she may want to part ways and break the invisible bubble around them. He wants to keep walking with her just like this, warmed by her presence and surrounded by his element.

He can make out the pink in her cheeks, it complements the reds and oranges in her scarf. She smiles to herself, content with how this evening has gone. But what was this evening? She invites him out to dinner tonight, yet he can’t tell what the nature of it is.

“Do you remember the day we met?” she suddenly asks without looking at him.

“Of course,” he replies.

“For some reason, the snow is reminding me of when we first met. It's hard to believe that was almost a hundred years year ago.” And she doesn’t have to say the rest, because it’s written all over her face when she glances at him. I’m glad we met back then.

This weather is familiar to him, he knows its rhythms and patterns, even when it was unpredictable to others. He wishes he can say the same for Souls, especially her. He’s known her for most of his life, but she continues to surprise him; just when he thinks he knows her completely, she proves him wrong.

He’s at his limit.

They’ve ended up at the edge of the forest and several meters away from the back of a row of houses. Nerves thrum through him as he comes to a stop after. She makes a quiet, surprised sound and turns to him. “Is something wrong?”

No matter how much he breathes, he can’t calm his racing heart. “Hinamori…”

His tone pops the bubble around them, and the gentle wind that blows through is colder than before. Momo waits, but the longer he remains silently, the more fidgety she becomes. She adjusts her scarf, shifts her weight from one foot to another, and takes in a breath that lifts and lowers her shoulders. Does she know what’s coming? Can she sense his apprehension?

If he says something, what will happen? She might be shocked, caught completely off guard by the very idea this evening was something more than two friends catching up. She may even laugh, wondering how he came such an odd conclusion. Either way, he needs to put his mind at ease.

“This wasn’t a date, was it?”

She frowns, a bemused grin twitching at the corners of her lips. “Shiro…” She trails off when she takes a step closer. She must see his genuine confusion because her expression falls, unsure of herself. She purses her lips, gaze briefly falling to the ground. “What if it was?”

The world stills around him. “…It can’t be.”

She fumbles over words. “I’m sorry, I thought – I assumed you…I was silly, I should have said earlier what I thought this was.”

“That’s not it. ”

She takes another step. “Then…what do you mean?”

“You…You can’t have…” He doesn’t know if he can continue, hoping but also dreading that the implication will be clear to her.

A part of him is tempted to let out a bitter laugh, but it never reaches his throat. Even after all this time – even after forgiving him for what happened in the Fake Karakura Town, regardless of her belief an apology was never needed – he still thinks he’s unworthy of any feelings from her. He had been prepared when he visited her after her recovery to be told she couldn’t be his friend anymore, but a part of him hoped; and deep down, a part of him knew she would forgive, that’s just the kind of person she was. Her bond mattered as much to her as it did to him, to the point where it had been used against them to irreparably change it forever.

Aizen had intended the change to end in the death of one or both of them, but in the end all it did was make Toshiro realise his feelings had changed for her over the years. They burrowed deeper into his heart, to the point where seeing her in pain brought him to ruin, to the point he was willing to abandon everything he’d built for himself over the years to protect her and her pride.

“Shiro-chan, please. I don’t understand.”

“How can you…f-feel for me that way? After everything that happened, you shouldn’t.”

A pang runs through his chest at the hurt that briefly flashes through her expression. Then, something flickers in her eyes, a realization. She sighs quietly, nearly exasperated. “I’ve said it before, but everything that happened was his fault, not yours. Never yours.”

He knows this to be true deep down, but it feels like a smaller part of him always lie in wait, ready to catch him at his most vulnerable and remind him of what he did, screaming at him that it was his fault.

She takes another step. “I haven’t let it stop me from moving on, f-from…from realizing my feelings. I don’t exactly know what I feel for you, but –” Her gaze is soft and vulnerable and pleading, wanting him to truly understand. “I know it’s something more than I’ve ever felt for you in the past. I know it’s more than as a friend.”

He lets out a shuddering breath. He should be overjoyed. This should be one of the happiest moments of his life. Momo doesn’t see him as a close friend, she feels more for him, just as he feels for her. So why is he confused? Why does his heart tremble with doubt?

No, there’s something more going on here, beyond the few fragments of guilt buried in his mind and if he faces it, he doesn’t know how he’ll react in front of her.

At his lack of a response, a small, sad smile shapes Momo’s lips. She comes closer. “I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you before what this was. Somehow, I thought…” She scoffs at herself. “I thought you would know, but that was presumptuous of me. I don’t know why I…” She shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter now. I-I’ve said what I…” She stops in front of him. “Maybe I’ve said too much. Maybe you can’t see me the same anymore. Even so, only you can choose how you feel, and I’ll accept whatever it is.”

She says it as a reassurance, but there’s also a wobbly undertone, one of putting themself out for potential heartbreak.

“Hinamori, I…” He trails off as his throat constricts.

The snow dances around them, with not a single flake somehow touching her. Was it his own doing without realising? A silly thought, but one that he finds himself latching on to after such a proclamation from her.

If only she knew how wrong she was to think he would reject her. She deserves to know just how much she means to him, how much he come to love her, but he can’t get a single word past his trembling lips.

All this time, he had convinced himself she couldn’t feel the same way as he does. He believed he would harbor unrequited feelings for her, perhaps for as long as he lived, and he’d watch her find someone else. Someone who was as good, extroverted, and normal as she is. Someone who she could always smile and laugh with, who had no ties to the heartache she went through, and who would never let her feel the chill of winter. Someone she could grow old with without the knowledge of his shortened lifespan and maybe even have children with if they so desired.

She can't possibly want to be with him like that.

“Shiro-chan?”

His mouth and throat are dry and Momo is holding his upper arms, alarmed. Had he been hyperventilating or just breathing through his mouth?

“Y-You’ve gone pale," she stammers out.

He can only shake his head, trying to gain his bearings.

Her worry turns to pain. “What have I done?” Her hands fall limply to her sides. A shudder runs through him at seeing her impending heartbreak. “I’m so sorry, if I had known this would distress you, I never would've done this. I should never have said anything. I shouldn’t have --"

“No!” he exclaims as his own hands grab hold of her arms.

It startles her, and a tear slips from one of her widened eyes. “Wha…?”

“It’s not like that, stop.” He relaxes his grip on her, but doesn’t let go. He won’t make her cry, his doubts and fears be damned. Something roars to life within him, like a fire setting wood ablaze. It gives him an ounce of courage to finally speak his mind.

“It’s not what you think. When I wasn’t sure if this was a date or not, it’s only because I didn’t think you could…could --” He swallows thickly and bows his head. “-- that you could feel that way for me. Why do you feel that way towards me? I don’t understand.”

She lets out a quivering breath and sound. They’re both still for a beat, with only the wind tussling their hairs and clothes. Then, her arms jolt with a weak chuckle. He blinks, and raises his gaze, bewildered by the half smile she gives him.

She shakes her head disbelief. “You’ve always been like this.”

“What?”

“I wish you weren’t sometimes,” she continues on as if he hadn’t spoken, her gaze softening. “You see the good in others, but never in yourself.” Her voices wavers, on the verge of crying. “I wish you could see your value to those around you. I know you take a lot of pride in being a captain and in your work, but I wish it were the same in yourself. You’ve meant so much to me and many others, but I know that’s something only you can figure out.”

She raises her hands to claps his arms as another tear falls, this time for a completely different reason. “I don’t know entirely why my feelings for you changed, but I can think of a few reasons. I have always admired your work ethic, even if you work too hard sometimes. I know why you do though, because you deeply care for your division and want the best for everyone there.”

“And you you're kindness is something i have always liked about you. It's not often straight forward, it always takes on different forms, but I've seen it since we were younger. You've always been kind, whether it was finding a home for Aki, or protecting those who can't fight for themselves, or believing in me when I was at my lowest. To be on the receiving end of such kindness is a beautiful thing. You've been hurt so many times, but that kindness has never left you despite it all.

"You're strong, Hitsugaya-kun, you always have been."

Toshiro’s eyes burn with the threat of tears, but he holds them back. Trust her to say such things so openly, to show affection for him he never gave himself. Maybe, if lets her words in, deep enough o reach his core, he can start to believe her. That's for another day.

In the meantime, in a rare moment of physical affection, he gingerly holds the side of her head and brushes the trail of her tear away with his thumb. They can only stare at each other, registering a new emotion racing through them. One much like the bubble that had enveloped them earlier in the evening, warm and making a whole world for them.

He can feel for her without the pain of it. In a way, he's free.

It’s all so much, but also so simple. They feel the same about each other. They liked each other, more than friends.

Eventually, Momo ducks her head with a bemused huff. “This isn’t how I imagined this night going at all.”

Toshiro can’t help but let out a half-hearted snort. “Me neither.”

There’s something about the admission that makes a chuckle bubble up in his throat. He tries to suppress it, but when he senses Momo is trying to do the same, it falls from his lips. It’s a nervous and relieving one. Maybe the emotions had overwhelmed them, made them go mad, or maybe it was from how much both had worried about this night.

Eventually, they calm down. Momo smiles at him, but before he can do the same, she pulls him into a gentle hug. He’s slow to wrap his own arms around her, overwhelmed by how different this gesture now feels.

“Let’s take this slow,” she suggests. “One step at a time.”

“Yes,” he says as he pulls away. “I think that’d be best.”

The blush in her cheeks deepens. “I guess things will be different from now on, huh?”

“They don’t have to be.”

Her smile widens. “No, I guess not, but some things will be.” She looks back to the Junrinan. It's much later, and less lights are on. “We should head back.”

Without a second thought, he takes her hand. “I’ll walk you back.”

She blinks down at their joined hands. “Shiro-chan!”

“What?”

“Since when do you…?” She giggles. “That’s so unlike you.”

Heat rises up in his cheeks; even he can’t believe his own actions. He pulls his hand away. “It’s as you said, some things will be different from now on.”

She gasps and quickly snatches his hand back. “I didn’t realise it would be such a dramatic change!”

He only grumbles and tugs on her hand, signalling for them to get going. He tenses seeing a few souls still wondering the streets of the Junrinan, but relaxes a fraction when neither he or Momo recognise them. It dawns on him then something else they should discuss. “I may have a request.”

“What is it?”

His lips form a tight line before he speaks. “If we do go ahead with… this –” he raises their joined hands “— and we are going to take things slow, I don’t want Matsumoto to know just yet.”

Momo nods. “I was thinking the same.”

That surprises him.

“Why are you so shock?” she says. “I think we should see how this goes first before anyone knows, not just Rangiku-san.”

“Huh…I always thought you couldn’t wait to tell people when you were in a…a…” How can he not say it? He was in a relationship with Momo. The thought only made his blush brighter. Why was this making him even more flustered?

“A relationship?” Momo finishes with a knowing smirk.

He half-heartedly glares at her, which only makes her snort softly. “It’s good we’re going slow, it might take you a while to get used to saying that.”

He’s tempted to call her out at the way her smile wobbles from embarrassment and her blush spreads to the rest of her face.

“A-Anyway, I’m not like that," she continues. "I want to keep this quiet until we’re both ready to tell everyone. I’m glad we’re on the same page.” She shrugs. “How that looks in our day-to-day, I’m not sure.”

“We’ll discuss that tomorrow.”

She blinks at him.

“If you’re free after the day is done, I could come visit you.”

She grins. “Really? You usually work back.”

“Well, as you’ve pointed out, I could probably not stand to do that as much. We can meet at one of the joint training grounds after six pm.”

She bites her lip, clearly trying not to laugh again. “I’ll look forward to it then.”

Her smile in warm and wide, and he can't help but give a small one back in return as they walk back to the Seireitei.

Maybe one day they can look back on this and laugh – though he can only ever see himself cringing at his obliviousness. For now, he basks in the warmth of her hand and her presence, and in the nervous but hopeful jitters that rush through him at the unknown future with her.

#hitsuhina #toshiro hitsugaya #momo hinamori #bleach #fanfiction #angst #fluff and sappiness #requests #canariie #get ready for the most dramatic first date ever! XD #and the sappiest ending I've ever written ^^;

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noatpad · 3 months

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This is just for fun to show because I wanna work on this a bit. I have had a small sketchbook sort of collecting dust for a while, and I've been meaning to use it for specifically ideas with Kirby stuff ('cause the notebook is Kirby-themed too!). So I wanna try putting together Zoru stuff on this lil notebook!

Recently I found a video online that talked about someone doing sketches with only pens, 'cause it allowed them to focus more on sketching than constantly erasing and perfecting. I haven't sketched stuff in a while, but I have a thing with that kind of perfectionism. It does make me draw a lot slower and more limited, so I wanted to try adopt a bit of that. Sketching stuff is one of my favorite things to do, and I wanna keep doing it! Messy and all!

At the same time, a bunch of my Zoru concepts and scribbles have been scattered across my computer folders and some sketchbook pages, and I've wanted to gather them into a more concrete place so that I can flesh them out and work on more concepts. It also serves as a nice trip down memory lane with how Zoru's evolved over the years

#scribble #kirby #zoru #sketchbook #nothing more lovely than a scribbly sketch

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themsource · 5 months

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Circus BSP AU

Soooo...had an idea that's been on my mind a while. Decided to share it because I know I haven't updated anything in a bit and I've been so busy with Secret Santas x_x

Anyways it's a long ramble from my ideas folder, not a real written piece, but I'm placing it below a cut ^^ This idea came to me while listening to Panic! At The Disco's cover of The Greatest Show a while back. I don't know if this has been done before but meh, just wanted to post my take on a circus au with the baddies

Rating: M

TWs: Mentions of torture, Kidnapping, Enslavement, Near Drowning

Nightmare and Dream own their own opposing circus rings. Dream recruits willing participants and their shows are always about love and positivity with graceful displays of athletics like ribbon dancing and aerial silk suspension, baton twirling and contortion, even godly fast speed painting with neon glowing soul magic to show an individual's ultimate dream even if they don’t know it themselves and store it in a personalized orb to take home as a memento for personalized viewing whenever you please.

Nothing risky or seemingly life threatening/daredevil stunted.

No, that’s Nightmare’s theme.

In contrast he doesn’t recruit, he steals and binds individuals into contracts that can only be broken at his word or their untimely death should it occur. His ring has all the horrifying and thrilling shows that leave the audience anxious and on their toes, like sword swallowing/knife throwing/nail walking/fire breathing (Killer), Lions and Tigers - many dangerous animal performances (Horror), highwire/cannonball (Dust), and Motorcycle acts like the Wall of death and globe of terror (Cross).

Nets and other safety precautions are ignored, this is the highlight and draw of Nightmare’s circus alongside the ability for one of your “nightmares” to be engraved on a stone tablet using soul magic so you never have to experience them again once the show is over.

Whereas Dream gives away positivity to spread through the worlds, Nightmare collects negativity in a personal vault for his own sustenance (the stone tablets) while still supplementing what he takes with the experiences his circus gives.

This is the point of contention with the brothers. Dream doesn’t like how Nightmare still puts out negativity while also taking it away - it’s a selfish redundancy in his mind and perceived as unbalance, and Nightmare feels the same about how Dream puts out positivity with his circus but doesn’t take any away not only making his job more difficult to keep the flows even but causing him more suffering with how positive a world will be once Dream holds a performance.

The brother’s once owned a circus together but it broke apart with Nightmare’s downfall.

Everyone was eager to see Dream perform but didn’t care for Nightmare’s escape acts and often boo’d and shamed him leaving the worlds they tried to equally balance always too filled with positivity. One day Nightmare almost died attempting to perform a dangerous escape stunt that he’d concocted to try and gain the audience’s approval, and just when it seemed to be working he ran out of magic (having not slept or ate well as he should’ve the night before when he’d been practicing) and nearly drowned.

Dream was able to pull him free and save him but it took the last of their dead mother’s apples which proved too powerful and shattered Nightmare who was left horrified at what he’d become - a true reflection of ‘a demon’ as people called him, and led to him abandoning Dream to go his own way as the too much positivity started causing him pain and to go into frenzied breakdowns that he’d frequently black out through.

Since then Nightmare has not performed an escape act again and now solely plays ringleader. His innate trauma when it comes to performing is what led to him deciding to bring others into his fold to accomplish his goals, though he doesn’t let anyone know that.

He contracted Killer, Dust, Horror, and then Cross in that order. Stealing them away from their own personal hells he found them in when noticing how fearless they were in the face of horrors far worse than what he had devised, and how equally terrifying their own appearances and auras were and would contribute to the overall effect he was going for. To get them to sign, he tortured them in never ending loops of nightmares, uncaring for how it affected them until they agreed.

Killer was forced to experience going numb and filling with emotion on and off again repeatedly, the pain of switching so rapidly sending him into a spiral until he begged to be freed.

Horror was forced to watch his fellow monsters dust and suffer the insanity inducing hunger wracking his frame as if fresh over and over as his brother kept mutating before his eyes.

Dust had to watch his brother dust before his eyes repeatedly at his own hand no matter how much he fought against it, the pain of which was always too much each reset he experienced in his own world but in the nightmare without the time to breathe between each death and no goal of stopping the human in mind Dust cracked.

Cross was sent into isolation, only it was so much worse as he didn’t have the ability to communicate with himself (even trying to think to himself and hold an imaginary conversation didn’t work) and could only experience the slow crawling of time as a sharp cutting sensation across his bones.

At first the gang all understandably despise Nightmare and what he forces them to do but he’s uncaring of it. However slowly the boys begin to find actual enjoyment in their work and bonding together as they come up with new routine ideas which they loathsomely try to share with Nightmare.

Nightmare begins to feel impressed, even enthused though he doesn’t show it at their forwardness and makes recommendations for how to better execute their ideas while approving them. This causes the boys to begin feeling a sense of freedom and control they haven’t felt in years even before being stolen away but they still don’t soften to Nightmare even as Nightmare begins to soften just a bit to them at their willingness.

It isn’t until Nightmare and his trope encounter Dream and his that the boys end up feeling anything at all other than hate to the dark lord.

They witness the exchange between Dream and Nightmare, the hostility Nightmare has when he and Dream argue over who has the right to be in this world first as Dream speaks in passive aggressive words about Nightmare’s awful decision making and unbalanced influence which Nightmare scoffs at before turning the argument petty as he remarks over Dream’s soft and impassioned performances.

The second Dream comments about how his trope is a work of art while Nightmare’s is nothing more than ‘a glorified torture show’ the boy’s hackles raise - offended, not liking how Dream assumes they hate what they do (not anymore at least) which makes his trope’s performances more genuine and better since they’re willing.

The boys witness the face Dream makes of regret at Nightmare’s bitter parting (dream’s words having surprisingly irked him) but don’t say a word. Instead they sneak in that night to watch Dream’s so called ‘better performances’ and are left feeling bored, and commenting on how it’s too bright, too sparkly and how they can do so much better.

‘at least with us the crowd are actually on their feet.’ Killer huffs. ‘yeah, screaming too.’ Horror drawls. ‘I like the ribbons, not gonna lie.’ as Cross tosses back a handful of popcorn and earns amused scoffs from the others. Dust gives a rare smirk. ‘i have an idea.’

Nightmare is in his room, staring down at an old faded paper article that looks as if it might crumble into ash at the faintest breeze while he tries to ignore the pain in his chest from the positivity flooding the air. It’s a headline advertising his old act, the one that led to his transformation, when Killer walks in. Killer notices the article before Nightmare manages to fold it up and slip it into a breast pocket. It twinges something in him as he asks about it and Nightmare feeling a rare moment of openness blandly tells him of what happened.

Killer is surprised and sudden understanding clicks but Nightmare dismisses it with ‘nothing more than childish hopes and pointless memories, what is it you want killer?’

Killer smiles.

It’s the first time Nightmare has seen that expression on Killer’s face and his socket widens. He feels something precariously close to a thrill race his spine as Killer hums, ‘me and the guys were talking…”

Dream and his friends are beginning to perform the big finale when suddenly the lights go off and Killer comes on over the intercom, ‘well as much as i love that hello kitty and fluffy rainbow shit like the next guy, how about we get a real party started?’ and the lights strobe back on in a kaleidoscope of flashing colors as Nightmare’s gang appear round the top of the stage.

Killer flipping a jewel encrusted knife, Dust spinning an iron balancing rod as if it were a small plastic baton, Horror posed tall and looming with his one ear’d white lion and black tiger, and Cross on his sterling silver colored motorcycle revving the engine.

‘UH, DREAM? WHAT IS–” Before Blue can finish the boys are descending and taking the stage. Horror crowds them off with his animals as Cross races around the arena pulling shocked awes from the crowd and Killer blows fire setting the hanging ribbons up into a blaze of glory, Dust using his balancing rod to propel himself into the air and land on the lighting supports much to many surprised shouts of awe and worry.

Dream can’t help but stare silently along with Blue and Ink as the show is stolen from them and negativity begins to seep in from the shocked and concerned onlookers who can’t bring themselves to look away, even clapping as Horror narrowly dodges being attacked by his own lion to allow the beast to burst through one of Ink’s paintings.

Nightmare watches in stunned surprise, amusement, and dare he even think it…

Endearment.

When all is said and done the crowd goes home excited and raving about the unexpected twist and Dream is left fuming as he goes off about how childish and inappropriate that was. Nightmare shrugs him off as he glances over his shoulder at his smug trope and comments about how it was no decision of his own making. Sure he knew, but he didn’t tell Killer no, but Dream doesn’t need to know that.

When they go home Killer and the boys all gain a new bit of respect for their ring leader, and even a bit of fondness at how he let them do as they pleased. It’s a slow crawl from there. Each of them taking the time to get to know Nightmare a little better after also being told by Killer about his past, even asking him to join them for dinner one day where Nightmare finds enjoyment watching and listening to them go back and forth like a bunch of rowdy roommates.

Horror introduces him to the animals, and manages to calm the tiger enough to let Nightmare pet it. ‘her name’s mira.’

‘...You named her?’

‘yep, her and bosco.’

‘Is Bosco the lion?’

Horror looks oddly fond. ‘heh, no, he’s the gator. the lion is kimba, killer named him.’

Dust invites him to help him as he works on repairing and calibrating his canon, handing him tools and reciting blueprints. ‘need better bolts, these are starting to strip.’

‘I never knew you were so…hands on, Dust.’

‘cross’ fault. i saw him babying that bike of his and got tired of having nothing to do.’

‘I see.’

There’s silence, an uncertainty. ‘...i want to repaint it. i don’t like the colors.’

Nightmare considers. ‘...Alright, what colors would you like?’

Dust’s smile reminds him of Killer’s. ‘heh.’

Cross takes him for a ride and shows him just how fast his bike can go. ‘SLOW DOWN YOU HEATHEN! THIS IS NOT A SHOW!’

‘c’mon nightmare! live a little!’

Nightmare shivers at feeling Cross’s hand guide his to his waist, his voice reminiscent of a whisper into his acoustics. ‘i won’t let you fall.’

Nightmare averts his gaze. ‘Falling is not the point!’

Killer…killer brings him outside and sets him on a blanket beneath the only tree for miles as he sharpens his blades, handing nightmare one after the other and telling him what kind they are like a teenager. ‘and this is a messer! it’s german for knife but looks more like a dagger.’

‘Interesting. You’ve taken care of these well.’

Killer smirks. ‘i take care of the things i care about.’

Nightmare raises a brow as he echos. ‘Care about.’

‘i don’t have to feel it to know that i care about it.’ The shrug he gives is indifferent, but the look is another matter entirely, one that brings a foreign heat to Nightmare’s cheeks. It feels like a flirtation, but it can’t be, he knows where he stands with him - with all of them.

‘An even more interesting notion.’ he whispers.

It isn’t until he stumbles upon Horror pining Dust to a wall in a small forgotten hallway with Dust’s legs around Horror’s hips as they kiss that Nightmare realizes there’s a deeper bond between the members of his trope that he never noticed. One that they’re starting to willingly let him see as he spots Cross and Killer not long after training together with Cross pinned to the knife board as Killer sensually traces patterns across his bones with the tip of a finely oiled blade. It’s shocking how they managed to get away with this, hiding the fluctuations in their emotions from his notice.

The understanding spurs something in him that’s…genuine.

On equal footing.

Killer notices his staring and holds eye contact just out of Cross’ line of sight as he kisses the other skeleton. The emotions are there now, raw and unfiltered. Desire, want…teasing.

It’s an invitation.

Nightmare turns away and hides in his room thinking. He doesn’t know what he feels, not yet. But he does find himself wanting to, maybe, get a little closer to them. To know them, just as they’re obviously trying to do with him.

He likes watching Horror train his pets, he enjoys seeing Cross flip over ramps and twirl his bike beneath him mid-leap, he finds amusement in Killer trying to paint the sky with words made of fire, and he can’t resist staring as Dust pretends multiple times as if he’s going to fall only to stand back upright confidently and with poise. He can’t help wondering if this is what friendship is, companionship. He thought he’d known that once with his brother but he’d been wrong. The feelings are too different.

So he…takes the risk.

The dinners continue, the quality time, with him contributing by inviting them to let him read aloud of his books and going out to explore the worlds now before performing, but it all starts to weigh heavy on him and this manifests in him one day suggesting as Killer and Dust put forth a duet idea to suggest they use netting…in case of an accident.

The boys go silent, staring at him.

Nightmare feels judged, and it’s made clear that he is when Killer says rather carelessly, ‘since when do you care about our safety?’ It’s then made clear to Nightmare that no matter how hard he tries, and no matter what they open up to him and he them, that he can’t be more or get closer.

They will always see him as nothing more than their owner, their master.

‘Forget I said anything.’

Nightmare is left torn, does he put everything on the line by offering to release their contracts in the hopes that they’ll stay when it’s far more likely they’ll run if given the chance? Or does he hold on, and get left standing alone to watch as an outsider on the bond between them just as he’s always been to the universe at large.

He tried to run before he could walk. This is the obstacle between them and the first step that he knows has to be taken, the rest of the moments they share are empty so long as the contracts exist. And not only that but the leagues he’ll have to go to make up for what he put them through when he first found them, if they dare to even give him the chance.

There’s a bitter, terrifying, decision to reach.

Nightmare is in unfamiliar waters as he feels the sting of indecisiveness that he hasn’t felt since he was a child.

#undertale au #circus au #UTMV #nightmare's gang #bad sanses #star sanses #sans/sans #Nightmare #Cross #Dream #Murder!Sans #Dust #Horror #Blue #Ink #bsp #bad sans poly #M rambles #my writing

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