#vibe isle of man | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

smolvenger · 1 month

Text

My Lord (Prince Hal x fem! Reader Oneshot)

Summary: After you dance with another man, Prince Hal, your royal intended has a confession to make...

Warnings: SMUT! 18+ (fingering, p in v sex, doing it on a desk), historical inaccuracies for the sake of vibes, grammar and spelling mistakes, angst and fluff.

Dick-tionary: Smut starts at “Kiss me again, my dove,” and ends at "You pressed foreheads, feeling his warm breath and how soft his skin felt- comforting, gentle. "

Word Count: 3K

A/N: From @muddyorbsblr's request! It ended up being longer, oops. But enjoy!

A03//My Ko-Fi//My Etsy Shop//Masterlist//Wattpad

Taglist: @asgards-princess-of-mischief @jennyggggrrr @five-miles-over @fictive-sl0th @ladycamillewrites @villainousshakespeare @holdmytesseract @eleniblue @twhxhck @lokisgoodgirl @lovelysizzlingbluebird @raqnarokr @holymultiplefandomsbatman @michelleleewise @wolfsmom1 @cheekyscamp @mochie85 @fandxmslxt69 @skittslackoffilter @mischief2sarawr

Despite your fine dress and the rich wine flowing, you felt somber at your betrothal ball. Not that the ball itself was a sad event. No, you were not merry from everything around you. It was all merry with the throne room decorated with flowers and jigs being played by the musicians. Your melancholy was due to your intended.

Of all the good lords and gentlemen on this green isle, only one was destined to be the next king. And that was who you were going to marry. Your parents were thrilled when the king agreed to the marriage. They smiled and embraced you as an artist hugged their painting. They managed to sell you to the highest bidder.

His Majesty Prince Henry the Fourth of Lancaster. The highest bidder indeed.

Or Hal, as the taverns ruffians called him. Hal. Riotous, dishonorable, pranking, thieving, tavern hopping, wench chasing, sack drinking Hal. Beautiful, princely, decadent Hal. Every time his brothers had to tell their father the truth of Hal’s layabouts…the king would turn red with fury. Not that you were surprised.

Even if the scoundrel you were going to call your husband had been kind to you these past few months. He would be by your side. And trying to win you over or get you to smile. Flirt with you- he did to hundreds of women at this point! No doubt! Your inner giddiness was mixed with a silent rage and you weren’t sure which would pop out first each time he got your hand and kissed it gently. Hal was beautiful. A handsome, handsome man who wore his doublets tight on his lean frame and walked with a swagger, his auburn curls freed about his head. There was a charm to his manner, and feelings were in you when you looked at him. Feelings you didn’t like. Feelings you didn’t dare name.

For that, you remained polite. Never forward. Nice, but nothing more. For what else could you do? The world of court could be deadly and dangerous. The world’s eyes were on you. You couldn’t afford to make a reckless move.

Despite the garden walks and meals, there was that sliver of distrust. If you didn’t see him, he could be on the floor of the filthiest bar in Eastcheap passed out on the floor from drink. Or in a room with two tavern women in positions that would make a sailor blush.

And the last picture of him in bed with other women- it made you want to scream and sob and throw your goblet at the wall until it smashed into a hundred bits and then pick your skirts, march to the other end of the room, and slap him hard across his beautiful face.

You took a deep breath.

It was just your imagination. Nothing actually happened. One inhale, then another exhale. The walls were grey stone, the candlelight yellow, and the music from a flute was playing something fast.

Why were you like this, you had to remind yourself! You didn’t like him! Why should that matter? You had to remember how much you didn’t care and didn’t like him.

He could have every woman in England on their knees for him every night and you would not care. You would go about your merry way and when you didn’t have to squeeze out a son, you would enjoy the monetary benefits of servants, fine dresses, horses, gold, jewels, money to buy whatever thing you wanted, and the freedom to do as you pleased as queen.

You held your chin up. Only glad it was a lovely party. All were taking gentle sips of wine, sampling the roast boar, listening to lutes, and laughing over nothing. You felt like doing none. In a whole crowd of people, you felt alone, isolated, and cut off. Like a foreigner trying to make a friend but never knowing how to speak the language. They gathered and talked…and here you were. The most wanted and yet also the most unwanted.

Taking a deep breath, you continued to walk in to try to get your mind off of things.

There were dances as well. But you felt as if your soles were made of lead. For all were celebrating your marriage to this scoundrel.

This beautiful, delectable, leather-clad scoundrel. Looking at him across the room, something inside you churned. And you were frightened to name it.

He was in the corner, talking to his brothers. You turned your eyes down. For the party was in swing and in a way, as if they forgot you were its purpose. They wanted to laugh and gossip and drink. Forget their worldly cares and be merry.

You brought your eyes up to search for him. Your heart beat a little harder seeing Prince Hal at the other end of the room. How delicious he looked. His tight leather jacket was the color of the wine. He preferred rougher, bawdier parties- that was why he was frowning as his father went up to talk to him. And here you were, just to be tolerated as his bride. It seemed queenhood was a lifetime away, as was your marriage. For all of this fuss over you both being joined, you couldn’t help but feel separated.

Taking a deep breath, you put both hands on your cup and took another sip, resisting the urge to gulp down your wine and let the alcohol take its effect.

As you walked in, the Lord of Warwick went up.

“My lady- here is my nephew, Thomas! He’s going to appear at Court more often!” the lord introduced.

You curtsied and gave a smile.

The Lord of Warwick’s nephew with his own blonde hair and blue eyes and skin that tanned. He was a polite, warm friendly boy. For having just met him, he left a good impression on you. The uncle even stepped aside to let you talk. Then Thomas held out a hand.

“They’re having dances. Would you give me a dance, my lady?”

“I would love to,” you replied.

You enjoyed his company as you danced. He was very good too- Hal himself had no “strength in measure” and was inches from always stepping on your toes the grand total of two times you danced. Passing between couples, joining, parting, and reasoning hands to the lute music. You felt at peace.

Little did you know Hal’s eyes were on you.

They were on you every time you the whole evening.

Prince Hal scowled. He was practically red with anger. The second the dance ended, he marched up to you. Thomas looked sickly pale and you felt your stomach drop. You never saw Hal himself have any anger and part of you was terrified. They always say it’s the ones who are never angry you watch out for.

“My lord, what is the matter?” you asked after your curtsey.

“I would like to speak with my lady intended,” Hal ordered.

Thomas handed you over quickly.

Amidst the ball, Hal grabbed your arm. Fie, his hand- large, beautiful hands taking a whole of your arm and dragging you to the hallways and through a door. Jesu, was he going to hurt you? Hal never once did anything that would harm you. He seemed too mischievous and cheerful to seem capable of raising his hand to a woman, much less you. There was a fierceness on his fast that made your heart race. You didn’t know if you were feeling lust, terror, or both at once.

The room was a study. The night sky shone outside, though there were lights from the torches and candles. None were inside-perhaps at the party. With tall bookshelves and desks, it would have been a comforting room had your heart been beating wildly against your ribs.

He looked at you up and down. He saw your dress, how it formed you well, and hugged you in the right places. A warmth flushed over you, and you realized you were panting a little to deepen your breaths. But his face was still angry. Beautifully, beautifully angry.

“What, what is the matter?” you asked. Hoping to get this over with quickly.

“Quite a bit, that is the matter!” Hal replied, ruffling his curly hair.

You gestured at the door.

“My lord, they will notice we are gone. We have a party to attend to…”

Hal reached up a hand that he held in the air. You looked back at him. His voice remained soft, matter of fact, right to the bone.

“My lady, we have to discuss young Warwick. The way you were dancing at him, smiling at him.”

“Oh, him!” you said. You had deduced it. He just had to say it himself.

“Yes! The look he was giving you like he would be falling before your feet any minute! Your smile at him! And you were encouraging him, and I-”

“Are you jealous, Harry?” you interrupted, blurting out the obvious.

He turned a little pink.

“Yes, well- what if I am? Should I not be if a gentleman dances with my lady?”

“A lady can rarely turn down another man. My mother told me it is impolite to refuse a man’s offer to dance!” you reasoned.

Hal leaned closer to you.

“You have promised yourself to me, not him! You’re engaged to me!”

He paused and his mouth hung in mid-air. You saw his eyes were shining bright, he was…on the brink of tears. The jolliest scoundrel in all of England and…he was crying. When you imagined him with other women earlier…was that the very feeling he was having as well?

You closed the distance to him, you offered your hand and he took it.

“Hal, I am sorry. I didn’t think you would be upset or even care that I danced with him…” you consoled.

He brought up a hand and wiped a tear off with his palm.

“I forgive you, my lady. Only….That the way you were beaming at him, and not at me, I…I don’t even have words for it and- YN- it makes me angry because…because…I wish it were me you were smiling at…me and only me. That one smile. Then I’d know for sure that you’d love me and we could be find a way to-”

You gasped.

“What did you say?!”

Your face was closer to his, your voice even softer. He paused. His tears stopped.

“You…you love me?”

He flushed, hung his head low, and then back up.

“I do, my sweeting. I love you so much. I don’t know how else to say it or what speeches or things to give. If I am under your spell, I never wish to be out of it. I don’t ask you to love me back at all…I only ask you…you… pity me.”

His face was right before words. Your own mouth began to speak of its own accord. The music was softer, and distant, as if the ball was a world away.

“Hal…even with everything in Eastcheap, I…I… I…I cannot help but…but want to see you, and speak to you, I think of you and wonder what you are doing when you’re away. And I…I worry about you. I want you happy- more than happy, safe.”

He closed the distance and kissed you. The first kiss you ever had other than chaste pecks on the hand. You shuddered at it as he wrapped his hands around you, one hand crawling up your back. He knew his way around a woman’s body. And he knew what would make your knees tremble. You melted into his arms, collapsing into the kiss, into the embrace. He tasted of wine, of freedom.

He let go. But it was as if something awoke that was long asleep. You let him keep his hands on you, to feel your body beneath your dress—one on your hip, fingers inches away from the most private, precious of places on you. You kept on babbling despite yourself.

“All the battles your father sends you on and… and…I was worried, worried you would die…worried something would happen to you- and then, the Eastcheap visits….I was worried…worried you and Doll would.”

“There were no whores. Not since we’ve met,” he replied.

You kissed him again, and you leaned closer to him, wrapping your arms to feel his back. Dizzy and drink on him. You heard his moan.

He leaned back on a chair and had you straddle him. You gasped, feeling your legs come apart. Places between you were starting to dampen and it was just over where his most secret places were. You were never this close, this intimate with each other

“Kiss me again, my dove,” he commanded.

You kissed him again, his fingers crawling, up your leg. He found your hip and then moved you. You moaned from the friction, the touching and brushing of your bodies.

But you wanted it, you didn’t stop him.

His hands were over you, greedily touching since you were all his now-his betrothed, his wife, and soon his queen- and he would make sure you never forgot it. He gave you a last grind of your hips.

His hands desperately searched your clothes, trying to find the seams. But you were aching, going up for him, needing him.

“Hal- Hal!” you whispered

“And what if I do? I can’t bear it- the longer I’m with you, the more desire overcomes me- You drive me mad- I can’t, I can’t take it, my dear, my love-I-I have to ravish you, here-now-”

“Yes, you may…”

He slid aside the papers and books so the desk was clear. You swallowed, getting incredibly wet but excited with his flushed face. But his eyes determined, an animal after his prey. And nothing could tear him from his prize.

He kissed you, prompting you to sit. He undid a bit of your bodice, pulling it down, finding your breasts. The cold air touched it as his pupils darkened over the sight of you.

“You’re exquisite, darling, and you’re not his, you’re mine-”

Once they were revealed, he fondled them, thumb grazing over the hard nipples. You moaned appreciatively. All while he kissed your neck.

“Say it, say you’re mine,” he whispered.

“I’m yours,” you replied.

He then freed a hand. It moved up your leg.

“All of this, this beauty, it is all mine-and I’ll drive you there, until you cry out for all of them to hear.”

slid a finger inside and you gasped, feeling it stretch you. You gasped as he curled up- surprised his long finger could go so deep, and find a spot that brought so much pleasure and pain as he discovered the little nub inside you.

“My- my lord!”

He kissed your neck again, then looked at you, smugness spread on his lips.

“Yes….yes, call me that.”

He gathered your skirt up and then undid his codpiece and released his pants, standing at full attention. You gave a small gasp at the sight of his size. He looked at you darkly, a new tone in his voice- deadly and commanding, a king to his whore

“You will be good and make it fit, every bit of it. And you will call me my lord.”

His hands made your legs come wide apart, he moved you up. He was slow, entering you, so you got used to it. You let out a moan, tugging onto him.

“Yes…take it…like a good girl…take it.”

He forced your legs further apart, sheathing you in with a grunt. You let out a sound, your insides penetrated, clutching onto him, feeling your bare breasts against his leather. Your blouse fell lower, exposing both. He then gave a first, sloppy thrust. Then he was seated inside you.

“My lord!” you cried out.

“There-there- I will make you scream it louder,” he growled.

Then he began thrusting—his moans in your ear. You dug your fingers into his shoulders and grabbed your hips, keeping tight. The desk made a sound as you did. It began slowly.

“My-my lord, oh- gods- yes, there, my lord-gods-gods blood-”

It then picked up, your breasts bouncing and your heart racing. All you knew was him, felt was him. You were moaning even louder. It was a desperate, animal. Pounding his hips into yours.

He released one hand. It found your nub between. You gasped. He then strummed it with each deep, forceful, desperate pounding.

“H-My-My lord I-I-there-oh-oh god-I’m-I’m going-going to-to die, but- don’t-don’t-don’t stop-”

“You’re close, you’re-you’re close, darling-call me that-yes-now-fuck,yes-yes-

“Say it, say it when you cum-I’m-I’m going to cum-cum inside- cum, fie, lady- fie, it’s on me now- cum, fie, lady -cum!”

He picked it up incredibly fast, you held onto him, your pleasure spinning out of control.

“Yes- close, close- come on now, give in- let go-”

With a grunt, his seed shot into you and the release of pleasure broke inside you. You didn't say his title but gasped. The light had hit you and made everything duller, things spun, and you felt as if you were in oblivion.

In a final whisper, you only whispered once more “My…my lord…” Your nails dug into him- your lord, your intended, your prince, and your husband. A marriage not sworn but already consummated.

He pulled out, and then cupped your face, “as you are my lady.”

You pressed foreheads, feeling his warm breath and how soft his skin felt- comforting, gentle.

He helped you off and then readjusted your dress so all was well. Making sure the blouse covered you up and that your skirt was in place.

“Are you not hurt?” he asked.

“Not a bit.”

He wrapped a protective arm around you, leading you out.

“Here…we must return to the party…I will fetch us some wine.”

“And…you can have the next dance, my lord,” you said.

He smiled at you- not a naughty smile, but a kind, genuine smile that burst with love.

“As you have all of mine, my lady.”

His smile shone brighter than any candlelight. He gave you a last kiss before you were on his arm, returning to the party.

#smut #carrie writes #prince hal #prince hal x reader #tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston characters #angst with a happy ending #the hollow crown #prince hal fanfiction #prince hal x you #prince hal x y/n #prince hal smut #prince hal imagine #prince hal the hollow crown

148 notes · View notes

lace-coffin · 5 months

Note

i feel like sending a rq this sappy kinda harshes the vibe of yr delightfully horny slasher headcanon posts but do you have any headcanons about how bubba’s s/o would fit into the sawyer household? like, how The Brothers might react to her bringing someone home or what day-to-day life on the sawyer homestead with bubba would be like?

Thank you for the rq!! I love writing fluff just as much as I do smut so feel free to send me all ur fluff ideas!

No trigger warnings apply!

Requests are open!

Reader is gender neutral and we’re operating on the basis that nubbins is still alive at the same time choptop is back home bc I love the sawyers

How would reader fit into the sawyer household as bubba’s s/o

You and bubba met one day when bubba offered to come help at the gas station, feeling cooped up in the house and not wanting to be alone. Drayton was more than happy to claim you as a victim as soon as he saw you pull up to the gas pump. This changed after your first interaction with bubba.

She was helping restock some shelves whilst Drayton manned the till. Dressed in a loose white sundress as it was easy to move in and won’t make them overheat whilst working.

You came in to pay, offering a polite greeting to Drayton who was putting on his airs and graces to lull you into a false sense of safety. You decided to get a snack, party because you were hungry and party because the run down station looked like it wasn’t receiving much love nor income.

As you browsed the isles your eyes landed on a figure crouched infront of the shelf. Short Soft brown curls tied with a ribbon laid across freckle spattered shoulders. White linen sundress laid gently against his large frame. Arms strong and thick with a fair amount of dark hair. Oh yeah, you were absolutely getting a snack now.

It turns out the snack isle was where the handsome stranger was working, you were going to talk to her regardless but this was a perfect opportunity. You scan over the different snacks available and take your pick. Coughing to get their attention you make yourself known. “I’m so sorry to bother you whilst you’re working but I just need to grab one of these” you point to the item and reach for it. Bubba being the person he is he decides to be kind and get it for you. You both reach for it and your hands bump. you both jolt back in surprise, pausing for a moment before laughing. The moment is sweet and genuine.

You catch sight of bubba’s gold charm bracelet and motion to it. “Your bracelet is so lovely!! Gold is definitely your colour”. Bubba makes a happy noise at this and flaps their hands in joy. Drayton watches the exchange with a soft smile on his face, his soft spot for his little sibling will always be there.

After this pleasant exchange you make sure to stop by the gas station every time you pass by even if you don’t need anything. Bubba isn’t there all the time, only working there on occasion but you still drop by and make comfortable conversation with Drayton. (You often ask about bubba to)

Eventually after bonding over the span of a few weeks and talking about it with Drayton you work up the courage to ask bubba on a date. Needless to say she’s thrilled and excepts immediately. You end up taking him out to a cute American style diner and the rest is history.

How would bubba’s siblings react to them bringing someone home?

Drayton is the least surprised considering he was basically in on it before you even asked his younger sibling out. He’s the one meeting you at the door before dates and giving you the lecture about driving careful and when to have bubba home. He can’t help it, he’s raised them since they were a kid. He’ll deny being protective with everything in his being if you bring it up though. He’ll be happy to finally have you over, cleaning the house top to bottom, he really likes you and wants this to go well for bubba.

Nubbins would be giddy to meet you, having been hyping bubba up before leaving for the gas station. He’s excited to get to meet the person who has his little sibling smitten. You actually might meet him on the road just before getting to the house. He’ll be scavenging for roadkill when you holler out the car and offer him a ride back to the house. Feel free to ask him a few questions about wooing the rest of his family before you get to the door.

Choptop would tease you and bubba, making her groan in annoyance. You take no offence and laugh with him. Chop will be eager to ask you 1000 questions and show you around the house. He’ll drag you straight to his room to see his record collection. Extra points if your alternative! Doesn’t matter what style, he thinks it’s all cool.

Nubbins and chop will definitely tease the two of you, fake gagging when you’re affectionate with each other in front of them. They might act like it’s gross but they’re actually happy for bubba and like his partner, hoping things go well so they can hang out more.

Grandpa isn’t a man of many words but you get on just fine, the conversations are pretty one sided apart from small smiles you see creep onto his face but he’s nice enough and important to your partner. You always make sure he feels included at dinners and family activities.

Grandma is long gone, but I’m sure she’d like you if she was alive 💀

How does reader fit into the house?

You fit in like a glove! It’s like you’ve known them way longer than you have. Drayton may grumble about having another mouth to feed but he really does enjoy your presence. you bring in your own income which is definitely helpful to repair some faults in the house or farming equipment which is very appreciated. You also help lighten his load with the chores, he’s not as young as he used to be and his joints are proving that. If you see him struggling or it’s a particularly bad day for his back then you’ll offer to take up his share of house chores. You spend evenings in the kitchen together washing up after dinner, listening to the radio together.

Nubbins loves to drag you and bubba out of the house to help look for roadkill, if that’s not your thing then he won’t force you but he’d really love it if you did come, using it as a way to bond. He’ll gift bubba bones and pretty trinkets he finds to make jewellery with. Nubbins has a lot of hair, he loves it when you tie it up for him before he goes out so it keeps out of his face in the Texan heat.

Choptop will spend time with you and bubba listening to his records. It’s always fun when you three chill in chops room covered in tapestry’s and mood lighting, the vibe is comfy and calm and complimented by listening to their favourite radio host/station (hi Stretch and LG!)

You often spend most of your day with bubba after he returns from his morning chores, you have more of a choice in your chores. If your good with animals then you’ll be assigned to helping around the farm and with the care of bubbas pet chicken, bond with your feathery friend enough and they’ll eventually start following you across the farm whilst you work. If you’re better with house work then you’ll be helping do more domestic activities whilst Drayton is running the gas station. Sweeping up, doing laundry and dishes, those kind of things. You also might help bubba tend to grandpa, she really appreciates it because it’s not easy carrying grandpa in his wheelchair down two flights of stairs alone. It also means a lot to them since family is everything and he loves his grandpa more than the world it’s self.

After a day of chores you meet back up and go to rinse off, as much as you love seeing her hot and bothered you don’t enjoy being sweaty and exhausted so you help eachother clean off. A few hours after supper it’s time for bed. to start off with Drayton insisted you sleep in separate beds so “no funny business” occurs. Funny business absolutely occurred despite that. You know you were found out when Drayton banged on the ceiling with a broom and yelled for you to “keep it down if you’re gonna be going at it like animals”. The next morning you both sit at the table red faced, nubbins and chop finding it hilarious. After this you moved into a bigger bed together since sleeping apart didn’t really have a point anymore.

You read to them next to the warm light of your bedside table lamp until your eyelids start to get heavy and the words blur together. You snuggle down into his side and let out a sigh of content. With one last sweet peck on the lips you both drift off.

I hope u liked this! Texas chainsaw massacre is actually a special interest of mine so I adored writing this for u!!

#slashers #slasher x reader #slasher headcanons #slasher horror #bubba sawyer #bubba saywer x reader #texas chainsaw massacre #drayton sawyer #nubbins sawyer #chop top sawyer #gn reader #writing #my writing

157 notes · View notes

slasher-catcher · 2 years

Text

Spider Rings - Ch.1

Art the Clown x Reader

(Originally posted on AO3 by Frothy-Frowns -- relax, that’s my NotSFW username, I’m not ripping someone else’s work, lol)

Summary: In cute, playful banter, you accidentally marry a strange monochromatic clown with cold eyes. Congrats! Best of luck to you on your honeymoon~

First chapter is SFW. The next one is NSFW and has two versions for either genitalia, depending on the reader’s preference. Absolutely NO minors, please.

--------

18 Pages/ 8,561 Words ... so, uh, a pretty lengthy read.

Warnings: ... none in this chapter really, other than Art being Art. So like.. mild stalking? General creepy vibes? Some good ol’ fluff. Accidental marriage. Maybe hinted unhealthy obsession. Swearing. This closely follows the beginning of Terrifier.

I completely threw away the whole bathroom scene because that man will NOT be getting any ass if he’s been rolling around like a dung beetle. We have SOME standards, damn. (Reader’s description isn’t enclosed, but I sorta wrote this with them being plus sized in mind, so do with that information what you will. Also Reader uses they/them pronouns.)

“I think I just twisted my ankle!”

“Dawn, really?” Tara laughed in exasperation, propping the stumbling scarecrow girl up on her left, tucking her shoulder underneath her arm for support. Reader took to her right, snickering along with their drunken giggling. The little group had just left a rather rowdy Halloween party just down the street, slowly making their way towards Dawn’s car parked to the curb, a ways further than the line of cars of the fellow partygoers.

The outing sure was… something, as far as Reader could say. Parties weren’t particularly their scene, but Dawn was pretty persistent when she wanted to be (which was often, unfortunately), and Tara may or may not have bribed them with the promise of Halloween treats that were sure to be there. Reader could still taste the sweet icing of the orange and black cupcakes on their tongue. The sugary confection was certainly more welcoming than the aftertaste of a poorly made candy corn jell-o shot, anyhow.

The feverish night seemed to slowly simmer down to a chilly crawl the further the trio walked into the night, their chatter and clicking steps being the only sound in the hushed dark. Streetlights overhead lit the stretch of asphalt, concrete and their hair a mix of blinding white and cold orange, making their wriggling shadows seem a lot taller than what they really were. “Maybe ya wouldn’t have twisted it if you hadn’t gotten on top of that table,” Reader sighed, shaking their head and readjusting Dawn’s weight on their side. Dawn only shrugged her shoulders in dismissal, blonde hair bouncing with the movement. “And dance with clearance-isle Gru and his cluster-fuck of minions on the floor?? Hard pass, babe.”

Tara groaned in mock irritation, rolling her eyes.The print of her ribcage-designed top flashed a smidge in the cool lights every time she twisted a certain way. “Thanks a lot, by the way.”

“For what?” Dawn laughed.

“For promising you weren’t gonna get shit faced tonight.”

The girl pulled an innocent face that neither Reader nor Tara believed. “Guys kept buying me drinks. I can’t help it if people find me interesting!” “Yeah, it was definitely your mind that they were after,” Reader snarked sarcastically, earning them a swift pinch on their shoulder before Dawn fully pulled her arm off of them, retrieving her phone from her patchwork pockets. Tara easily caught sight of the cell phone’s glow and twisted her head, trying to sneak a better peek. “Who’re you texting?” Dawn raised her nose high into the air and tucked the screen against her shoulder, hiding it away from her prying eyes. “None of your business!”

Reader’s eyebrow raised as Tara pulled away from under Dawn’s arm, leaving her to fully walk without both of their support. “You gave that asshole your number, didn’t you?” Tara asked accusingly, nearly scoffing in disbelief. In hindsight, she really shouldn’t be so surprised. This was Dawn they were talking about. The girl has zero restraint for most everything that comes her way.

Dawn wagged a finger in her face back and forth mockingly. “Oh my god, you’re SO jealous.”

“Of what? That kid was talking to like, five other girls!”

Reader rolled their eyes and gave their head another shake. They could hardly believe that anyone would want to give their number to the meatheaded viking guy that kept purposely spilling his sticky, watered down witches brew punch on nearly all the girls at the party for a chance to chat, but Dawn was just a different breed, they reckoned. It wasn’t too long until they finally reached their designated curb, slowing down their pace when the car came into view.

“Oh, stop being such a bitch, just get in the car.” Dawn scooted past the both of them to round the vehicle, only to be stopped mid stride by Tara taking hold of her wrist. “Oh, you are not driving.”

Dawn dangled her car keys in her hand, letting them clink and clack, as if the gesture alone proved her sobriety. “I’m fine.” Tara wasn’t having any of it. The girl herself had thrown back the odd drink or three too, but at least she could walk a decently straight line without any assistance. Well… not much, anyway. Although, those Jekyll & Gins were beginning to talk back to her.

Nevertheless, she held her hand out to Dawn expectantly. “Give me the keys,” she demanded.

Reader nudged past them to lean against the side of the car, arms folded across their chest as they watched the two throw a minor fight over the keys, patiently waiting for them to finish. The ends of their long, billowy black sleeves fluttered from the chilly breeze that flew past. Their fingers tippy-tapped against their arms, tongue idly prodding at the little extensions they stuck onto their canines. In all honesty they were pretty impressed that the fangs had stayed intact all throughout the night – they were certain when they were sticking them on that they would pop right off in the middle of the party. Hooray for little victories! While the little group hovered around the car, across the way were a man dressed from head to toe in a clown costume, trudging along. The steps he took in his rather large black shoes padded louder the closer he walked towards them. The black trash bag that was slung over his back crinkled when his gloved grip tightened around it. After what felt like an hour – but what was definitely only a few heavy seconds – Dawn finally caved, letting Tara take the keys from her hand and slumping back into the cool metal of the car. Reader frowned in disapproval, arms crossing a little tighter against their chest when Tara gave a little stumble of her own. “Really don’t think that’s such a good idea either, girly. You smell pretty flammable yourself.” “Then why don't you drive us, Reader?” Dawn released a long, drawn out groan, beginning to lean her weight more and more on the hood of her car. It seemed like all those poison apple martinis were finally dragging her down into a full stupor. Oh boy. They sighed and scratched awkwardly at the back of their neck, fingers catching on the black lace, jeweled choker wrapped snugly around it. They sure did hope they didn’t accidentally rub off the two little fang bite marks they dotted right above it with red marker. “You already know I can’t drive. Besides, my place is nearby. Can’t very well drive you home and make it back, D.”

The blonde scarecrow only gave an unintelligible drunken grumble under her breath at that.

Tara groaned and stuffed the keys into her pocket. “Yeah you’re right, Reads. I’m fucking lit. But if I get something to eat, I can drive us, okay?”

Footsteps stopped more than a few meters away from the trio, crunching leaves silencing. The clown paused when their squabbling finally reached his ears, snapping him out of the set daze he had been in. With a frown he watched them from the shadows, as silent as the night around them. Pitch black eyes studied the three persons closely, as if memorizing their images for later.

“Did you say food?? Is there even a place that’s open late?” Dawn sat up a little from her perch on the hood, a light cringe stretched across her face. Reader nodded, sticking their thumb out and pointing it in one direction. “Well there’s a pizza place just ‘round here. Could give that a go, yeah? I can stay with you guys a tick longer until you get your bearings.”

Tara gave a short nod at the suggestion. “Yeah, that’ll work fine. Come on D, let’s-”

“Okayokayokay. Just give me… one minute.” Dawn mumbled, holding up a hand as her eyes fell closed. Reader hummed with a little concern, biting their lip until just a little fang poked out over their black painted lips. As aggravating and nerve-wracking as Dawn could be, they certainly didn’t take much pleasure in seeing her aching like this. “Fuck me,” Tara groaned, throwing her head back in annoyance, black hair spilling across her face. “Like, one minute, for real.” Dawn pleaded softly before falling silent, needing a moment.

The skeleton gave a sigh, shifting her weight until she stood comfortable enough to wait ‘one minute’ out. Her eyes began wandering around to take in the not-so-interesting scenery before they caught sight of someone in the shadows. Her brows furrowed as she stared at the tall, thin clown standing stock still, a rotten toothed grin stretched across his face and accented with heavy black grease paint as he stared right back at her. A chill shot down her spine.

“Take all the time you need, it’s okay.” Reader pulled their cross body bag a little closer, digging into it until they retrieved an unopened bottle of water and of ibuprofen, handing both it and the pills over to Dawn. The scarecrow didn’t hesitate to toss the medicine into her mouth and wash it down with heavy gulps of water, nodding a silent thank you towards them.

The vampire raised an eyebrow, snorting in amusement. “Y’know, I could have just handed you a couple of fentanyl and you took them without even looking at them. For shame, Dawn. For shame.” The water bottle crunched loudly as Dawn drained it empty, gasping when she finally pulled it away from her lips. “At this point I’m willing to suck twelve dicks if it meant my head would stop spinning.” Reader choked, barking out a surprised laugh. “Jesus christ you’re a hazard to society! Your mother must be proud.”

Dawn grinned, tossing the plastic bottle into her car carelessly. “Who do ya think taught me, Reads?”

And just like that, Reader’s laugh turned into a thread of strained wheezes, leaving them to clutch their stomach.

Neither friend noticed Tara’s stiff stance as she continued to lock eyes with the clown nervously. Her shoulders fully tensed up when the clown’s dark eyes released their grip onto Tara and darted swiftly over to land on Reader as soon as they began laughing at whatever they and Dawn were talking about.. A bead of sweat began to form on her brow from her rising anxiety. Just what was this guy's damage? “.. D. D, Reads, look.”

Prompted by her urgent hissing, they both turned their heads towards where she was staring.

“Holy. Shit.” Dawn began laughing at the stranger in the shadows. Reader blinked, taken quite aback when their gaze fell onto the man in the shadows of the buildings, who already had such a piercing stare settled onto them. Not a shred of light seemed to reflect in his gaze.

Did.. did he recognize them from somewhere?? He couldn’t have been at the party they just left, he was coming from the wrong direction. That, and Reader was pretty sure that they’d remember a unique face like his. The sharp, protruded cheekbones with an equally sharp chin that jutted out, a large hooked nose with a little black dot on the tip and heavy makeup lined around his eyes and mouth sure did stand out, even in the dark. They could tell that he certainly put a lot of work into his costume, and it definitely showed.

They raised a hand and gave a polite little wave, their sleeve swaying with the movement. “Uh, hey there! Lovely night, isn’t it?”

“Reader!!” Tara hissed and grabbed their waving wrist, tugging them back and making them give a little squeak in surprise. “That is not funny. I’m about to scream.”

Reader turned to look at Tara, face twisted in confusion as they rubbed at their wrist. “I.. I wasn’t jok-”

“Heeeey, handsome!!” Dawn called out, waving widely to him, laughing loudly. “My friend wants your number!” “Dawn, cut it out,” Tara grimaced, looking back and forth between her heckling friend and the menacing stranger. “I’m gonna fucking kill you.”

Dawn disregarded her friend’s demand, always looking for a way to further stir the pot of trouble. “Come buy us dinner!!”

As the two quarreled, never did the clown’s piercing stare leave their vampire-dressed friend. A little trickle of worry began filling Reader when they realized that he never blinked once. Their hands slowly closed into one another, twisting with concern. Aw man, was he needing something? He seemed so unnaturally still. They took a short step towards him, tilting their head to the side. “Hey, um.. do you need help with something? Is it … your bag? I could help carr-” “Oh my god you guys, stop!” Tara’s breath got momentarily caught in her throat when Reader took a step closer towards that.. thing. Her hand shot out to once again grapple their friend and yank them closer, keeping her hand around their wrist. “Just shut the fuck up.” Their eyebrow twitched in annoyance with their friend, yanking their wrist out of her grip with a silent huff. Heaven forbid they manage to get one word in without her interrupting. “T, please. I was just saying hello. That’s not a crime.” “Maybe he’ll drive us home,” Dawn snarked at Tara, swiping the keys from her to dangle in front of her face.

“Seriously you guys, I wanna leave. Now.” Tara deliberately looked away from the stranger, not being able to handle those ice cold eyes peering at them from the dark. Of a clown, of all things, a fucking clown. They gained some weird creeping Peeping Tom and he just HAD to be a clown.

Reader pinched their brow in frustration before calling out to the lingering clown once again. “I’m sorry for my friends, sir, we…” When they had glanced back towards where he had been located, the shadows were bare. Their face creased with confusion and gave the whole street a quick look around, frowning lightly. “... where did he go??”

At their ominous words, Tara whipped back and glanced around as they had, feeling her anxiety increase tenfold. A sticky ball of dread began growing inside Tara’s belly, forcing her to nudge Dawn awake from her slouched, lethargic fog. “Let’s go. Come on, let’s just go.” She tugged her off the car’s hood, pulling her along. Reader trudged along right behind them, arms beginning to hug around their center. The encounter succeeded in throwing them off their kilter a bit. The guy hadn’t even said a word and the girls had treated him so awkwardly. Oh, they could already tell that this will eat away at them for at least the next few nights.

●・○・●・○・● ●・○・●・○・●

The large, brightly glowing sign that read PIZZA, WINES & LIQUOR buzzed over the pizza shop with a hum. Inside the shop, rock music accompanied both Tara and Reader as they sat together in one of the few booths provided in the small closure. Reader lightly swung their feet, keeping themself occupied by sipping on the drinks that were provided and carefully folding the napkins they plucked out of the table's dispenser. They hummed along with the overhead guitar solo as they slowly created a little origami creature.

Tara leaned against the pale bricked wall of the inner booth, thumb sliding across her screen every couple of seconds. She was going through the reel of selfies that were taken at the party, many of the three friends laughing along and having fun.

"Oh yeah? You dressed up?" At the main counter, the owner stood with a telephone pressed to the side of his face, rapping his knuckles against the counter as he spoke. "Oh, you sick fuck… where am I gonna go, back to my wife?" He replied as if whatever notion the person on the receiver had said was incredulous.

Tara’s eyes pulled away from her screen and glanced over her shoulder at the pizza man, unimpressed with the one sided conversation. Out of curiosity she looked back at Reader to see if they too were listening in, but they seemed to be completely into their own little world.

The man's chatter went on and Tara decided to sink herself back into the photo reel, until a brightly flashing red battery icon took over the screen, before it completely turned black. Her tired face reflected back at her. "Great."

Almost as if summoned by the dying battery, Dawn’s heels clacked loudly on the tiled floor as she made her way back from the bathrooms, the toilet still running loudly in her wake. The restaurant phone began to ring once again in the background as she slid into the empty side of the booth, groaning in relief.

"That was the longest piss I have ever taken."

Tara placed her phone back into her pocket, sarcasm dripping off her reply. "Thank you for sharing that."

Reader snickered under their breath, fangs poking out from their lip as a smile tugged on the corners of their mouth. "Charming as always, D."

Dawn made a face at them before pulling her own phone out, scrolling through her notifications. "This guy wants me to meet him at his apartment right now."

"What a shocker," Tara replied easily, taking a peek across the table at her phone, as if to read the message herself.

Reader glanced up from their napkin, giving Dawn a raised eyebrow before returning to their folding and creasing. "Are you gonna do it?"

The scarecrow shrugged, a mischievous smirk pulling at her lips. "I told him I would."

That made Tara’s eyes snap back to their friend. "What??"

Dawn pulled up from her phone with a roll of her eyes. Jesus, sometimes Tara’s nagging really grinded on her nerves. “I’m kidding. I have a little more self respect than that.”

“If only you had a brain.” The skeleton replied, side eyeing their friend with a smirk, folding her thin arms and propping them on the table. Dawn sent a snarky face at her in response. “I’ve been wanting to use that one all night.”

“Congratulations,” she sneered saucily before tucking back into her phone screen. Just as the word had left her mouth, the door of the shop was tugged open with a clatter, doorbell tolling with a ding of the new arrival. The monochromatic clown that they had unofficially met in the street pulled his way through the door, trash bag sitting heavily over his back.

Neither the scarecrow nor the vampire looked up, too preoccupied with their activities to take notice, but the skeleton sure did. The bell caught her ear and had her looking over, only to feel her heart drop hard at the sight of the clown. Her chest began hurting with rising anxiety when she saw that his seemingly soulless eyes instantly targeted and locked onto Reader as he made his way to the booth parallel to their own. He stuffed the trash bag in first, pushing it against the wall and sliding in after it. His gloved hands folded together and were placed onto the table before him, settling into a comfy position. His gaze never faltered.

Tara took a slow, shuddery breath before nudging Reader’s side. “R.. Reader…”

Reader’s eyebrow twitched, a little stamp of tongue sticking out from between their lips in concentration. After making one final crease, Reader finally sat back against their seat in triumph, lifting the folded napkin up off the table. In their hands sat a little bat, its wings stretched out wide. “Look! It’s a little baby! A stinky sky puppy!” They grinned, little fangs flashing. They turned towards Tara, holding the creation out in front of her. “Tadaa!”

Tara shook her head, lazily swatting the napkin off their palm before taking their shoulder into her hand, pulling them closer to her. She tucked her face low, whispering into their ear. “That guy is back.”

Reader blinked, frowning when she had slapped the origami creature out of their hand. Rude.

It took a second longer for her words to register in their brain. “..Guy??” Prompted now, their head swiveled to the left and gave a surprised little jolt when the previously empty booth beside them was now preoccupied by the mystery man from the shadows. A shiver rolled down their back. Had he been staring at them the whole time?

.. They found it a little concerning that they found that a little exciting.

The bat had smacked into Dawn, making her sputter and swat it away from her, looking up to make a comment on it, but paused when she noticed that both Tara and Reader were looking off to the side. She followed their gaze, and laughed. “Look, it’s your boyfriend~” She winked at the vampire before returning to her phone.

Reader’s cheeks warmed a little at the teasing, but otherwise hadn’t looked away. They seemed to have entered a staring contest with the clown man. The rock music overhead still strummed along as their eyes stayed locked. They could already feel their own eyes beginning to sting. How could he go this long without blinking?? Honestly they were beginning to feel pretty impressed. Reader’s ears twitched as the sound of the shop owner’s voice sounded in the background, him talking to a new caller. “I told you this a week ago.” He spoke, tone irritable. “We’ll go to your mother’s…. I don’t know, six weeks from now.”

The clown didn’t seem to notice anything else in his environment, fully focused on the vampire sitting across from him. Slowly, his head tilted to the side, gaze never breaking. Almost instantly, Reader did the same, head slowly tilting to the side, mirroring the stranger. Something about the exchange felt so … intimate. In a way that Reader could neither comprehend nor explain. A smile broke across their face.

The clown stayed absolutely stationary, but Reader didn’t miss the way the black corner of his mouth twitched upward.

The pizza man seemed to have finally taken notice of his newest customer and tugged the phone away from his face. “Ey I’ll be right with ya, buddy!” Not a second later he was mumbling back into the receiver, scoffing under his breath. “You gotta see the shape of this fuckin’ guy that just walked in.”

If the stranger had heard any of the man’s words, he didn’t give any indication that he had. He stayed, frozen in time, as still as a professional New Yorker statue performer. Which is why it made Reader jolt again in surprise when suddenly he sat rod straight in his seat, shoulders pulling back and flashing a bright grin at Reader. Were his teeth that red before?

The goofy face and the absurdity of the situation had Reader finally snapping. Their face cracked into a wide grin, fangs flashing brightly as they released a sudden burst of laughter, lifting a hand up to cover their teeth. The clown’s head tilted again, their odd reaction seeming to catch him off guard. His grin faltered for a moment, eyes searching the giggling vampire trying desperately to muffle their noise. Slowly, his red and black toothed grin stretched even wider, dark eyes crinkling as an actual authentic smile took over his face. Oh, he liked that reaction… he liked that a lot.

Tara had been keeping her eye set on the stranger as well, not trusting anything about him. Something was off about him, she just knew it. Reader’s sudden outburst of giggles made her damn near leap out of her skin in surprise, snapping to look their way. Did they not see it too? Even with the way he’s been just oogling them??

She dropped her hand back onto their shoulder, swiftly pulling them back to facing her. She lowered her head to them, aggravation etched heavily in both her expression and voice as she hissed to them. “Reads, stop it. He’s fucking creepy. You’re only making it worse!”

The vampire only shook their head in dismissal, waving her off with a lighthearted smile. “Oh it’s fine, T. He’s just playing around.”

“It’s creepy.” She repeated, not relenting.

“I think it’s pretty charming, really. Look!” When they both turned to look at the clown again, his position changed once again. His elbows were planted into his table, gloved hands had their fingers laced together for his pointed chin to settle right on top of them, smiling brightly at Reader as if he had been waiting for them to look at him again. Their pleased reaction made his grin widen just that much. Reader returned the toothy smile, cheeks warming under the heavy attention. It wasn’t something they were used to, and in most circumstances made them uncomfortable, but the way the monochromatic stranger looked at them so warmly had their chest doing.. something. Something they couldn’t quite put their finger on, but it sure did feel fluttery. Exciting. They easily fell back into another eye lock with the stranger, enjoying the silly faces he pulled, and the rather cute toothy smile.

Tara gulped silently, painted lips twitching into a harder frown. Something was wrong about this. He was wrong. Everything about him was wrong. She didn’t like how his eyes bore so deeply into Reader. She shook her head, short black hair gently fluttering along with the movement. Reader’s second burst of giggling after the clown made yet another weird face – this time, he lifted a knuckle up to his large hooked nose and gave it a little cranking motion, sticking his nasty tongue out, face scrunched – made her shudder, arms wrapping around her middle.

Almost miraculously, The scarecrow finally pulled her nose out from her phone screen again. Her brow furrowed as she took in Tara’s tense posture. “Are you okay?” She received no answer, and turned her head to follow their gaze to, surprise surprise, see that the clown was still upsetting her. Reader seemed fine enough, so why couldn’t she be?

Tara slowly pulled her eyes off of him to finally look back at her friend across the table, gaze hard. “I think we should get our food to go.”

“Why?” Dawn frowned back, not at all pleased with the idea of leaving after they’ve just got settled down. She followed the skeleton’s stiff gaze as it flicked back across Reader and landed on the clown man once again. “Him?”

As far as Dawn could see, the guy was just a fucked up looking weirdo. Reader seemed into it enough, so what was the deal? She didn’t want to get up just because some ugly guy had the hots for their friend. She knew Tara could be a little protective of them – and her, on occasion – but jesus, sometimes too far was too far.

“Seriously, I wanna leave.”

An annoyance dripped off Dawn as she yanked her phone off the table and pulled out from the booth. “Jesus christ.”

Tara’s heart dropped again that night, feeling a cold sweat forming as Dawn made her way to the clown. “D, stop.”

She took no heed of Tara’s empty words as she stood in front of the guy. Despite her being literally right there in front of him, he seemed completely zeroed in on Reader, eyes not wavering for a millisecond off of them. God, this freak had it bad, huh. “Um, excuse me. Excuse me.” Dawn batted his arm. It was like she was just a gust of wind, because he didn’t acknowledge her existence. Or anything, for that matter, outside of Reader.

Reader blinked when Dawn scooted herself in front of the clown, brow raised in curiosity. What was she planning to do? They certainly hoped that she wasn’t planning to bully or embarrass him, as she was pretty known to do every so often. It’s not like he was doing anything wrong, so what was the problem?

The man didn’t seem to see a problem. Hell, his dark gaze stayed absolutely locked onto them, even with Dawn lowering her hand to hover right in his face and beginning to snap loudly not two inches away from his face. He didn’t even blink, painted lips tilted upward and eyes lidded lightly as he stared deep into their soul. It… made a shiver crawl down their body, though definitely not an unwelcome one. They swallowed, feeling the air between them become more and more intimate the longer his lidded eyes glued to them. Hoh boy.

“Can I get a picture with you??” Dawn persisted, head tilting until it completely covered his eye’s path, golden hair falling from her shoulders and down in a curtain, further blocking his way. Reader suddenly took in a breath of air, not realizing that they had been holding it for the majority of their locked gazes. Had their heart been pounding in their chest this whole time?? Slowly they placed a hand over their chest, as if to steady the beating muscle.

Dawn’s light irritation grew when the clown’s gaze seemed to stare right through her, as if she were just air. You’ve got to be fucking kidding.

“Dawn, come on.” Tara urged, hugging herself tighter.

“Shut up.” She waved her off like a pesky fly, trying to grab the clown’s attention again. “Hello? Helloooo??” She blinked in annoyance. Finally she reached out and grasped his closest arm, lifting it out of the way and dropping it over the back of his booth seat. “Okay, I’m gonna take that as a ‘yes.’” She surged forward, plopping herself right onto his thigh, moving to press her faux straw covered chest against his, making herself comfortable. Reader blinked in surprise at Dawn’s sudden invasion. They frowned at her, suddenly feeling heavily shameful at her intrusion of his personal space, as if they made her do it. “Jesus, Dawn! Sir I-I’m sorry, she’s..” Their words tapered off when his deep, dark eyes once again met theirs when Dawn took her seat on him, moving out of the way. They became flustered once again. Even with their rambunctious, personal-bubble-popping friend making herself cozy on his lap, his attention never faltered, never waned, never blinked. Reader felt their face beginning to heat up once again. Why did that make them feel so warm??

The scarecrow wiggled, making herself comfortable and preparing him for their photo shoot. She reached up and began tugging on the little black hat that sat on top of his head, purposely pulling until the string that held it in place around his head snapped against his face, hat dropping from her hold and tumbling to the floor. The pop from the string seemed to finally, finally break him of his concentrated gaze, slowly turning to look at the blonde who invaded his personal space. The lidded, pleased stare from before fell into something cold and unreadable, mouth falling flat. Tara shuddered at how quick his expression fell.

“Uh, oh.” Dawn reached a hand up, tapping a finger on the tip of his hooked nose, right on the little black dot that sat there. “Sorry.” She batted her golden lashes at him innocently, not at all registering the cold, unimpressed glare he laid on her as she bent over, swiping the little hat off of the tiled floor and setting it right back onto his head. His head slowly lowered, glare seeming to get icier when she wrapped an arm around his shoulders and arch her chest up, pressing it right against his own as she posed. Her arm stretched out with her phone in hand, clicking as she began taking pictures with him. Her hair effectively covered half of his face, sticking to the white and black makeup.

Tara couldn’t believe Dawn, shaking her head in disapproval, hand reaching up to rub at her neck anxiously. Of course the outgoing brat would pull some shit like this, just to rub Tara’s fears and concerns right in her face. It was times like these that seriously made her question their friendship.

Dawn pulled away from the camera to look back over to the clown, suddenly snatching his chin in her hand, squishing his prominent cheeks inward until his black painted lips puckered outward. Pleased, she turned back to the screen and puckered her own lips into a duck face, pressing the side of her face against his and taking two more pictures with him. He stared coldly into the camera. When the scarecrow decided that she’s had enough, she released his chin from her grasp, a fake smile flashing as she tapped his nose once again. “Thanks.”

She pulled herself out of his lap without another word, returning to their booth. The man stayed frozen in the spot she maneuvered him in, arm still slung over the back of the booth, frown prominent. Reader frowned with concern. They knew Dawn could be a bit much, especially to people who weren’t already used to her antics. They hoped that the stranger wasn’t too upset with her forwardness.

Tara fixed Dawn with an icy glare when she slid back into her seat. “What the hell is wrong with you??”

Dawn grinned, already beginning to post the pictures onto her media. Her followers will definitely get a kick out of this weirdo. “What, didya think he was gonna hack me up into little pieces or something?” She scoffed, as if the very notion was ridiculous, thumbs tapping away.

Reader sighed, raising a hand to rub their nose bridge. “D, really. Silence doesn't equal consent. You shouldn’t have done that, and you know it.” She rolled her eyes and sent a short sneer Reader’s way before burying back into her Instagram. “Not you too, now. Relax, it’s not like I fucked your little boyfriend or whatever.”

Both Tara and they cringed and Dawn’s crude words. Jesus, she really had a way to make people uncomfortable.

By the time the pizza man had hung up on his call and made his way over to the clown, the mystery man had shifted back to his previous objective of fixing Reader with a rather smoldering stare, hands clasped together again and settled on the table. “What can I get for ya, buddy?”

To nobody’s surprise, the clown didn’t answer or even acknowledge the shop keep, only keeping his eyes locked on Reader. They tilted their head once again, feeling warm under his gaze. Was it getting a little hot in here?? It was beginning to feel so bizarre, how his eyes could go from iceberg cold to blazing warm with just a mere glance.

The pizza man’s patience seemed to already be thinned by the previous calls, making his tone snap a little when he pressed further. “Hey. Hello?? If you don’t order anything, you’re gonna have to leave.”

“You already have eight liiiikes~” Dawn tapped her phone screen with her nail, making a light clack, clack noise as she called over to the clown in a singsong voice. Her comments were already beginning to flood, asking about the creep.

“Can you hear me in there?” The man pressed further, lowering himself until his face was eye to eye with the clown, trying to grasp his attention like Dawn had. But just like he had the scarecrow, his dark eyes zeroed right past the shop keep, as if locked into tunnel vision and Reader was the only focus. They shifted a little in their seat, biting their lip and studying the clown. Seconds later, the pizza man gave up, standing up straight and dropping his hands in exasperation. “Oh god, it’s gonna be a long night,” he grumbled, walking back into the kitchen.

Reader’s eyes trailed after the shop keep as he walked off, before flicking back to the clown. They fumbled with their fingers a little, brows furrowed in concern. The poor guy must be so uncomfortable now, making them feel for him. They shuffled in their seat again, as if working themself up to talk to him. Finally, they found their nerves and opened their black painted lips. “Hey, um.. are you alright? Dawn can delete those pictures, if they make you uncomfortable. I’m sorry about all that.”

“Tch, like hell I will,” the girl injected, scoffing. She tossed her hair over her shoulder with a flick of her head, not bothering to pull up from her cellphone. “Everyone’s eating this shit up.” Reader’s eyebrow twitched in mild irritation, fingers tapping hard on the table before them in an attempt to relax themself. Maybe if their fingers wiggled around, they’d lose the sudden urge to wrap them around her throat.

The clown’s head tilted slightly to the side, eyes boring into theirs for a moment or two longer, before suddenly sliding out of his booth, standing up tall. They leaned back slightly, taken aback. They didn’t expect him to be so tall. Tara tensed beside them as they both watched the man approach one of the other empty booths. The table still had paper plates with crumbs and pizza crusts on it. In the middle lay a small pile of money, a dollar bill and coins for a tip. The clown looked over his shoulder at Reader and back at the table, as if making sure that they were watching him. And watch him they did, both confusion and curiosity painting their face.

His dirty fingertips that were uncovered by the rest of his gloves reached down, pinchin the quarter off the table, and lifted it up. The overhead lights caught on its face, making the coin shine a little as he held it up for them to see. He then made a show of turning on his heel until they were facing his back, taking a knee in front of the toy capsule vending machine slots that sat right next to the entrance to the little shop. Reader leaned to the side, trying to see what he was doing. Tara only shook her head, squeezing her thin arms around herself as if for protection, sinking lower into the booth seat.

The sound of the quarter slotting into the machine and the loud cranking of the knob made their eyebrows raise higher. Was he getting himself a toy??

The clown took a moment to crack open the capsule, plucking the item out of its container, before swiftly pulling himself up from the tiled floor. With a giddy smile, he nearly skipped his way back over to the trio’s booth before once again taking a knee, kneeling in front of Reader. Tara pressed herself against the pale brick wall in agitation. The man’s movements caught Dawn’s attention and she looked up from her screen, wanting to see what would happen next.

He raised the toy up for Reader to see, other hand waving at it in a silent ‘tadaa!’ Between his index and thumb fingers rested a little ring, metal with two hearts stuck side by side. He grinned expectantly at Reader, gesturing to the ring.

Reader leaned further back into their booth seat, blinking in surprise. Was.. was this for them?? Oh, that was rather cute. Their face began warming again as their eyes flickered between the ring and the clown’s face, lips parted in silent question. From across the table Dawn snickered, not believing what she was seeing. “Aww.”

“I-is that for me?” They asked shyly, lips beginning to quirk upward.

The clown nodded gleefully, showing off the ring once more, before holding up a finger in a ‘hold on’ gesture. Before they knew it, the mysterious man was reaching out and taking their hand in his, making Reader’s breath catch in their throat.

Tara’s shoulders lifted up, putting her own hands on top of the table’s surface. “What are you doing??”

The clown paid no mind to her as he lifted up Reader’s hand with care. Another shiver ran down their spine when they realized just how much bigger his hand was compared to their own. Slowly, the clown slid the double hearted ring onto their ring finger, until it finally rested at the base of their digit. He held their hands a moment longer, as if admiring the metal adjourning their finger, rubbing his large thumb over it. With flourish he released their hand and waved his own around it, as if showcasing the little thing with pride. His head tilted to the side, smiling almost bashfully as his hands came down to clasp over his chest in adoration, eyes lidding.

Reader’s face burned hot through the whole transaction, mouth fallen open. Oh, oh that was just precious. A bright, toothy smile stretched across their heated face, lifting their other hand to cover over their mouth, bashful. “Oh, oh my. This is so sudden. I do!” They giggled, eager to play along with the silly, silly man. Their words had him shimmying his shoulders almost shyly, red teeth glinting brightly under the lights.

Suddenly Reader’s eyes widened in realization. “Oh, just a sec!”

They pulled their cross body bag up into their lap, sticking their tongue out as they dug around for what they were looking for. The clown watched curiously, hands still pressed to his chest in endearment. Once they finally caught hold of what they were searching for, they smiled wider, pulling it out and holding it up for him to observe.

In their hold was a little plastic spider ring, one that they had collected off of the cupcakes they scarfed down at the party. They loved it when the treats had little garnish toys and picks, especially when they were silly little rings. Apparently holding onto the thing was a good decision, because the way the clown’s dark eyes lit up at the sight of it had their chest feeling that certain little fluttery warmth from before.

“Reads-” Tara began nervously from beside them, not liking this one bit. It was bad enough that the creep came over to initiate the act, but they didn’t have to encourage him! Reader paid her no mind as they carefully took hold of the clown’s hand, much like he had theirs. With a soft smile, they slid the ring onto his much larger finger. They couldn’t push it up very far, what with the rest of his glove stopping them, but it was on nonetheless. “See? Now we match!”

Dawn was pressing her hands over her mouth, trying desperately to stifle her loud laughter and the absurd act that was taking place in front of her. The clown slowly retracted his hand to hold it up to his face, expression soft as he turned his hand in different angles, admiring the little plastic spider as if it were a three carat diamond ring.

Reader smiled, pleased with the soft expression of happiness he held. “I know it’s not as fancy as mine, but I hope it’ll suffice?”

Their words seemed to snap the stranger out of his haze, blinking for the first time that night as he’s brought back from whatever he had been thinking. With flourish, he took hold of their hand once more, lowering himself further to press a kiss to their ring. Tara felt like she was about to be sick as the clown pressed kiss upon kiss on the little metal hearts, moving onto pressing his lips to their much smaller knuckles.

The vampire choked, sputtering at the sweet little kisses. Oh my god, oh my god that’s so cute??! Their face burned an entirely new shade of red and they began giggling in both bashfulness and disbelief, laughing harder when the clown began kissing up their hand and slowly making his way up their arm.

He never ceased and didn’t seem like he would, lacing his fingers with theirs and trailing his lips up their sleeved arm to their shoulder, trying not to smile too hard as he did so. Their laughter cracked into a gasp at the feeling of his lips landing on their uncovered collar bone, lips leaving a black smudge in his wake. Oh shit, oh fuck, when did it get so damn HOT in here???

“Hey, you can’t-!” Tara sat up straight, wrapping her hands around Reader’s arm closest to her and yanking them towards her, pulling them away from his creepy attacks. They gave a surprised yelp at the sudden interruption, whipping back to look at Tara. The clown’s curved eyebrows shot up high when they were pulled away from his grasp, parted lips suddenly pulling into a snarl. He slowly pulled up from his knees and stood ramrod straight, staring over Reader’s head at Tara, fixing her with the chilliest, most hateful glare she had ever been given. Her eyes widened in fear.

“Oh shit??” Dawn choked, fumbling with her phone in her hands, quickly swiping until her camera was pulled up. If any drama was going to go down, she’d be damned if she didn’t record it!

“Ey, what seems to be the problem ov-” The pizza man returned, hands holding paper plates of large slices of pizza. The clown’s threatening, towering stance and nasty bearing teeth had him pausing. “Oh hell no, I don’t think so, pal!”

The shopkeeper plopped the plates onto the booth table behind them before gripping onto the clown, grabbing fistfulls of the back of his black and white costume and forcefully shoving him towards the front of the restaurant. “Fuckin’ FREAK! Get outta here!”

The trio all watched, wide eyed as the much shorter man shoved the clown out of the door, bell dinging as the clown stumbled into the street, whipping around in anger. The man quickly stepped back to snatch up the black trash bag that had sat in the booth, tossing it out with the clown. “Take your shit and don’t come back!”

Tara felt immensely better without having the creep hovering around them, but Reader stared through the glass door at their silly clown, hands clutching onto the front of their chest. What had happened?? They just looked away for a moment, what could the clown have possibly done to warrant such a forced leave?? They were just playing around, that wasn’t bad, was it? Their shoulders fell, unsure of what to even think.

The clown stood fuming, fists clenched tightly into balls at his side. His head snapped back to glare through the glass, but fell short when Reader’s crestfallen face caught his eye. His shoulders and hands slowly released their tension as he met their searching eyes.

Slowly he lifted both of his gloved hands up, pressing them against the cool glass and leaned his face in. Reader watched, brows beginning to knit together, lips parting. Just what was he planning to do? He couldn’t come back in.

Reader’s mental question was quickly answered as the clown’s tongue fell out of his opened maw, and slowly dragged it up the glass, hot breath fogging around the muscle’s path. His wide eyes stayed locked onto theirs the whole time, pulling back only to repeat, running his tongue slowly up the glass.

Their jaw fell completely open, face feeling so hot that the color was surely spreading to their ears and down their chest. Not once did they look away. They couldn’t. Not with how heavy his gaze had gotten. Not with the way his chest seemed to heave up and down as he breathed heavily. Not with the way his fingers gripped hard against the glass, as if struggling hard not to just rip the thing open to enter again. Not with the way he licked the glass like he wanted to do it to them.

They swallowed thickly, lifting their hand up to attempt to cover their flustered face, but it was much too late. The clown’s mouth twisted into a hungry grin. He already saw it.

And boy did he seem to like it.

“I said GET! GET OUTTA HERE!!” The man whipped back around when he noticed the trio still staring at the door. The man’s face grew a ruddy color as he grew angry. “I’ll call the police, freak!”

Slowly, oh so slowly, the clown removed his fingertips from the glass, pulling himself away from the door. He momentarily broke eye contact to haul the hefty black bag over his shoulders. When he looked back at Reader, he gave a toothy smirk and a saucy wink, fingers wiggling in a wave goodbye as he slowly left their eyesight.

“... Holy shit,” The scarecrow bursted out laughing, smacking the table. “Oh my GOD, that guy was obviously turned on by you!”

Tara finally sat up properly in the booth for the first time in what felt like hours, releasing a long breath and glaring heatedly at Dawn. “You’re fucking sick, you know that? That was insane. Insane! Right, Reads?”

Reader didn’t reply, staring at the wet strip on the door. They rubbed their cheeks bashfully, looking off to the side. Wow, what a night.

“You three okay?” The pizza man grabbed the paper plates from the other table, placing them in front of the trio. Dawn wasn’t hesitant to swipe her plate, beginning to fold her piece. “Oh, he’s harmless.”

Tara paused, but eventually gave a short nod, beginning to pick at her pizza’s toppings.

The man placed his hands on his hips, looking down at the vampire. “You okay?”

Reader fingered the little double hearted ring that still sat on their finger, nodding absentmindedly. That seemed to please the man well enough as he patted the back of their booth comfortingly. “Don’t worry ‘bout him, he won’t be comin’ back. I’ll make sure of that.”

The vampire hummed emptily at his words, not really feeling much comfort from them. They.. they really liked the silly clown guy. It was a shame that they couldn’t get to know him a little better. Now they’d probably never see him again. That thought alone had them sighing silently, propping their head up in their hand, leaning on the table disheartenedly. Tara side eyed them curiously, picking off bits of her slices and chewing them.

●・○・●・○・● ●・○・●・○・●

“And you’re sure you’ll be fine heading back by yourself?” Tara asked persistently, giving Reader a searching look, as if looking for any reason to walk them home. Lord knows they didn’t need another Halloween freak tailing after them like a lovesick dog.

Reader laughed quietly, patting her arm reassuringly. “Yes, mom. Seriously, I’m solid. My place is just a block away. You should worry about getting home yourselves.”

Dawn tucked her phone back into her patchwork pocket, stretching her arms high above her arms. “We’ll be fiiiiine. We’ll even text ya when we get there.” “That might be a little tough, considering my phone died a couple minutes ago,” they winced, smiling strainely. “I’ll put it on charge when I get home. G’night, guys!”

“See ya, babes.” Tara and Dawn parted, beginning their trek back to their ride. Reader let out a tired sigh and turned the opposite direction, walking down the sidewalk. The walk back wasn’t very difficult, but it did sting a bit from being in their pinching shoes all night. A bad decision on their end, really.

They climbed the steps to their apartment and paused at the door, sliding their hand into their bag to fish for their keys. They blinked in surprise when their fingers clacked against something.. rectangular??

Curiously, they grabbed hold of the thing and pulled it out, baffled.

When the hell did a VHS tape end up in their bag??

The next chapter(s) are still being worked on. I’m unsure when they’ll finally be finished, but just know that they ARE being worked on. I’m just trying to make it a nice, long read. I haven’t seen Terrifier 2, so if I write something in the next chapter that seems off with the new info, that’s why. I’m too short on muns right now from moving into my new apartment to go see the movie. (And boy lemme tell you just how SAD I am about it ;;;; )

#x reader #reader x character #slasher x reader #clown #art the clown x reader #coulrophilia #terrifier #all hallows eve #long post #ao3 #clown x reader #minors dni

1K notes · View notes

merotwst · 1 year

Text

DRAGGED MY FEET RIGHT DOWN THE ISLE !

‹ . housewardens ›

. ficlets

⇝stuck in a failing and/or loveless marriage with them.

[ n: thank u for 600 followers, everyone! special thanks to @v-anrouge and @/love-thanatopsis for helping me so much with this fic i love u sm this is for u i hope u like it ! not proofread. ]

{ - - - → tw. angst. cheating, alcohol, arguments, aggression, mention of children on kalim's part, gaslighting, mentions of divorce, unhappiness and basically anything u would associate with marriages that just aren't working out exdee. just sad vibes here so stick around if ure in the mood to cry </3 }

⑇

riddle rosehearts ‹ heartslabyul ›

he sat behind his desk, rubbing his temples in exhaustion. but despite the lingering tiredness of the day, you would think riddle would be ready to head himself to bed and get some proper rest, right? wrong. he feels like a man being sent off to war.

he'd have much rather spent the night in his office with a blanket and a pillow on the couch. the neck pain would be an easier form of misery to endure than having to spend an hour in a room with tension he often compares to a sinking ship with no lifeboats.

it almost seemed like you lived in separate worlds. he worked, you did whatever it is a dutiful partner does. only you did it far, far away. to your parties you went and talked to your friends, to his meetings he went and shared some good brandy with his own company. you both come home and head to your own separate chambers.

when you're out together you put on a good display of affections for everyone to see. holding hands, kissing each other on the cheek, smiling as if it were all just you against the world. how suffocating.

but behind the facade is an empty world. an empty house. empty hearts. just the clinking of sliver ware on the quiet dinner table sitting eight feet away from each other on both ends. silence was the only way to keep yourselves afloat. distance was your own form of a makeshift lifeboat because your vows at the altar were your own ways of saying it was ‘every man for himself’.

you were two strangers forced to live under the same roof.

and if it were not for his mother trying to salvage your miserable marriage—the marriage of her own engineering—by getting you both to sleep in the same room together, he would have been perfectly content with that dull, dreary, miserable lifestyle. the lifestyle once again, enforced onto him by his beloved mother.

the redhead leaned forward from his leather chair. a breath through his nose, exhaling through his mouth. his hand reached for the whiskey on the table and took one last sip before standing up, mentally hoping you were out to a party with your insufferable company of people. because if not, it's going to be another long night of sad, silent agony in a king sized bed—a sinking ship with no lifeboats.

⑇

leona kingscholar ‹ savanaclaw ›

“open this door right now, [name]! stop acting like a damn brat!”

as the prince yells out that last word he pounds on the door more aggressively than he initially did. it echoed across the halls. the sounds reverberate and bounce back to reach his ears reminding him of the torment of his existence. all his efforts, efforts he never wanted to exert, all come in for naught. this always happens to him. this was the bane of his existence. falena gets the light shone in his face and the cheers and acknowledgement of everyone around him, he gets to pound on a door trying to get his partner to come out of their bathroom because they are late to the party where it was essential they should attend.

‘it takes two to tango’, they say. how does one dance when the other party can't even sit down for one second and look you in the eye without making you feel like you're the biggest burden to have ever arrived in his life? how does one cope with the resentment that's so evidently there? the contempt held for you when you enter a room together and he immediately drops your hand the second everyone starts looking away? you aren't his partner. you are nothing but a prop to him. to get his family off his back. he couldn't even do as much as acknowledge you whenever you entered your chambers alone.

people surround you day after day but you've never felt more alone in your life.

and as leona banged and screamed and twisted the knob the way he twisted your heart up and squeezed it dry, you pulled your knees close to your chest. biting your quivering lower lip till the metallic taste of blood filled your senses.

the light from the open door illuminates the room. your comfortable corner in the bathroom invaded by the lion's dominating presence. and as he watched you, gripping the fabric of your attire like it was your only other anchor to sanity, you felt him soften. ever so slightly, his shoulders eased up. his eyebrows raised a little from their initial cross direction and his eyes showed a hint of melancholy—no... pity. his shadow loomed over your curled up form, cast from the light outside that only reached you and him.

he did not do anything else. he just slightly clutched the key he held in his hands that he used to open the door a little tighter. he watched you for a moment, as if he were observing a small animal being cornered by a predator. silence enveloped the room only broken by your occasional pathetic sniffle and sob. he then turned on his heels.

“change your clothes, they're all wrinkly now. we leave in ten minutes.”

he closed the door to the room and the darkness enveloped you once more.

⑇

azul ashengrotto ‹ octavinelle ›

the vase shattered as it hit the wall barely missing your husband's head. all the jewelry on your dresser tossed and strewn all across the floor. the clothes, the shoes and all the other vain things he'd given you as a consolation for never being home, never being available, never being a husband.

the thing about azul was that he could be a good actor whenever he wanted to be. it's essential for a businessman to know when to play a poker face, when to seem interested or whatnot. he'd mentioned that in passing back then when he would actually talk to you before you were married but now you forget the details. now that you think about it, back then he must have been acting, too. to gain your affections. to make you fall in love with him. so he can achieve his own greedy little goals. you look over at him and can't help a bitter laugh escape your throat.

he gave you a sharp look, “what is it that you find so humorous in this situation, darling?” the businessman asked in a mocking voice, “finally gone mad, have we?”

you turn to him, a small, resentful grin on your face, “oh honey you know i'm always mad for you!” you scream the last part as you hurled one of your favorite shoes at him. your husband was quick to evade this causing it to fly directly to one of your bedroom lamps. the two items fell to the floor with a clatter and smash. the sound of breaking glass mirrored your breaking heart.

azul opened his mouth, a string of insults flowing from his tongue so freely and you mirrored this by shooting your own painful words at his direction. the mingling angry voices bounced across the four walls of the room.

this was not the life you envisioned with him. where was the sweet, suave man that held your hand so gently and softly as he brought you to dinner? where was the kind, generous soul and took a short portion of his day to see you and personally deliver his flowers to you? where was the funny, charismatic person that charmed your family so much they were practically begging you to marry him? where was the husband that vowed to love and to cherish you at the altar?

that man was replaced by the empty space on your bed, the flowers delivered to you by random people you didn't know, the shoes and clothes and other ridiculous things he probably doesn't even pick out himself. and you would sit alone at your home, in front of a full sized mirror that reflected your pathetic state by showing you the tears that streamed down your face night after night that azul spent on his stupid company. the company which you made possible for him by marrying him. what a fool you are.

objects flew, tears shed, hearts broken.

but the saddest of all is that each and every one these things only seem to come from your side of the room and not his.

⑇

kalim al-asim ‹ scarabia ›

you sat in your bedroom, watching the seconds tick by. the clock's hands showed it was two in the morning. normally you would expect a married couple to be in bed together asleep at this hour, but not for you. these days, it seemed to be a somewhat better though. as of late, he was usually out because of the hectic pressures of being head of the family and jamil would attest to this fact.

he'd promised you he wouldn't see her anymore. you wanted to make it work. you begged him to try to make it work with you—even if only for the children. and he agreed. and somehow, this sparked some home in your bitter situation. and that made it bearable for you.

you sat, then stood, then paced, then sat again. restless energy built up in your body thinking of what to say to him when he comes through the door. things were looking up and you wanted to help him relax after another very stretched out day. it's the least you can do for him. after all, no matter what the situation, kalim was always kind to you. he always made you feel like you mattered and listened and made you feel valid. you are essentially the parent to his children and so he made sure he was treating you well to an extent.

but that... that just isn't enough. you're his partner. you needed to feel like his partner. someone he could turn to, someone he could talk to, someone he could run to whenever things got bad. but kalim always kept you at arm's length. he was your husband but he could never completely be a husband.

because he did not love you.

he loved—loves her.

it shows on his disheveled hair. it shows on the perfume that you smell on his clothes. it shows on the lipstick stains on his neck. it shows on the look of shock on his face when he sees you awake. waiting. disappointed.

your twiddling fingers drop to your sides the same way your heart dropped and shattered on the floor. the exhaustion evident on your features when you sit down heavily on the soft cushions of the sofa.

“[name]... i... i thought you were asleep...” kalim sputtered out. he sounded like a child who was just caught snooping around the kitchen late at night.

if only it were as simple as stealing cookies from the kitchen cupboard at two-thirty.

“and i thought we were trying, kalim,” you replied flatly.

he didn't respond. you didn't want to stay. you couldn't. so you stood up and looked him straight in the eye—they looked guilty. and... they feel sorry for you. you hated it.

you turned around, not giving him time to finish whatever ‘explanation’ he had come up with again. you couldn't bear it. you refuse to cry for him—not anymore. you're exhausted and you couldn't bear to be inside that suffocating room with him any longer.

“i'll sleep with the children tonight.” you say before heading to the door leaving your husband and your broken heart along with him.

⑇

vil schoenheit ‹ pomefiore ›

‘there's no business like show business!’

this is true for the most part. it has its ups and downs but vil personally never had much of a say in the matter of whether he would be in the public eye or not. all his life he'd been under the spotlight. the blinding flashes of the cameras, the bright lights of the stage, the softboxes and umbrellas that would make any normal person squint and and turn away don't even make him flinch. but that's not to say it wasn't exhausting.

of course that was the small price to pay for a profession such as vil's. he has made the many greater sacrifices to get where he is in life. and although people who don't live the lifestyle he had would feel the intimidation of the showbiz world, he was surprised you didn't seem like it bothered you much at all.

the people of twisted wonderland adored you when you both started dating. it all seemed like a perfect fairy tale whenever they saw you and vil liked that. of course they weren't really far off. at the beginning it did seem like a fairy tale. you were perfect and even to himself it felt too good to be true.

and sure enough, it was.

majority of your dating life with vil was private but later down the line, after you got married, you both became more public about it. posting more pictures, going out together, attending events.

headlines of ‘the perfect couple’ turn into ‘the luckiest man alive’(referring to vil), to ‘[name]! the real star of the show’.

wherever vil went, people would ask for you. even in movie interviews meant for him—starring him. they were looking for you. they wanted you. they, “only really came because we thought [name] would be here!” in events where he was supposed to be the main attraction.

it's always you, you, you.

and at first he didn't mind. he was proud to have you as his partner. he even did feel like he was the happiest man alive for a while. but the more people asked for you, the more he felt the disappointment and sadness morph into something more bitter. his years and years of endless hard work and silent suffering against neige all came crashing back down in a repeating dance of fighting for acknowledgement. to be recognized as himself. and he thought he was finally over all that. working twice as hard and feeling—being overlooked. but you... he knows you don't do it on purpose. it's not your fault you're so easy to love. vil knows you would never purposefully overshadow him but whenever he sees you in the red carpet waving and smiling at the crowds all cheering and chanting your name like you were some sort of otherworldly being, he couldn't compete.

the way they all run to you without even so much as acknowledging his presence beside you felt the same as getting thrown tomatoes at and booed to him. and he remembers he was even booed at some point for not bringing you along on a public trip!

he didn't know when the sadness fully morphed into bitter resentment but whenever you were alone he found himself criticizing your every move. his subtle, snide remarks of your (perfectly well) clothes turned into full on insults. sometimes he would even guilt you into not attending events you were exclusively invited to.

and he knows you would never betray him. so you take it all quietly. you knew leaving vil would only villanize him more in the public eye. no matter what, he was still your husband and you made a sacred promise on the altar.

you both smile for the cameras in public, the mirage of the most perfect couple to be advertised to the whole of twisted wonderland. but behind closed doors are the heated arguments, the endless screaming, the nights you spent alone in your once lovely home curled up in bed.

your husband might have loved you once, and this hurts him just as much to admit—but vil can never love you again in circumstances like this. but you're both given no choice but to bear it.

there really is no business like show business.

⑇

idia shroud ‹ ignihyde ›

there is no doubt idia shroud is a clever man. he’s a genius in more ways than one. he knows how to stand out in his own. he knows how to turn a situation in his favor and this isn’t just because of his years and years of experience in strategy games or looking for ways to try and escape social situations he hates so much, but also because he’s just a master at running away from situations.

the only situation people thought he could never escape from was standing with you at the altar. the “most horrifying” day of his life.

to think a hermit shut-in nobody like him would find himself in a lifelong commitment with someone is just absurd. but here you are in your miserable state of trying to get him to get out of his room. constantly bugging him to spend time with you—he’s already married you! is that not enough?

idia shroud is a clever man. he’s a genius in more ways than one. he knows how to turn a situation in his favor. and he’s spent enough time with you to know exactly how to break you without getting his hands dirty.

he finds himself buying a different house, far from where you are. under the guise of working better with no distractions. lies of saying he would call but never did.

endless nights of you pacing your room, phone to your ear hearing the ringing over and over and over again.

it just kept ringing and ringing and you wanted it to stop. you needed it to stop. you needed an answer.

and when the other line of your connection was the sound of company—of a companion—who was willing to give you the attention you deserved from such a cruel life, idia finally shows himself.

idia shroud is a clever man. he’s a genius in more ways than one. he knows how to turn a situation in his favor. and he’s always known how to win a game. you've fallen into his trap. he has the receipts of your conversations with the other person you were seeing, the photographs, the evidence. and as he slid the piece of paper and pen towards you on the other side of the table, a cocky grin on his face feeling like he'd finally got exactly what he wanted, he caught a glimpse of your sadness.

your melancholy in the way you picked up the pen and read through the divorce papers of his orchestrating. idia felt a tsunami of guilt wash him away as the sight of all the pain he caused you was so vividly clear to him now. but instead of signing, you drew a line across the piece of paper that was his path to ‘freedom’. and what idia saw that replaced the sadness in you was anger. resentment. betrayal of the worst kind.

there is no doubt india shroud s a clever man. he’s a genius in more ways than one.

but he is also a fool to think you were going to take all these hits lying down.

⑇

malleus draconia ‹ diasomnia ›

people had given you a heads up before you got married that malleus draconia was a serious man.

he married you, sure, but you didn't know what you expected out of this marriage. after all, a marriage arranged by two families didn't really promise much on the love department and your made peace with that.

but you didn't expect the lack of affection to be in this extent.

he wouldn't touch you, let alone even look you in the eye. malleus was constantly busy in his study or going out to attending other formal gatherings. The only times he would come around to spending a portion of his day with you was during dinner. and they were long, painfully quiet dinners.

he had a duty as the prince of briar valley, after all. but you understood that. but sometimes you lie around your empty bedroom thinking about how your life could have been so much more better. the agonizing silence, the awkward touches, the forced smiles. it all felt so terribly depressing.

surely your husband could at least pretend to be comfortable when he's spending the day around you. but somehow it's always just some form of... indifference. whenever you would show small forms of affection like touching his hand or giving him a kiss, he would just stand there, not returning. not reflecting the same amount of affections as you did with him.

and of course you tried your best to make it better. consulting those closest to him to you try to understand him whenever he talked about things he was interested in. you tried to show support on his projects and his interests. you even tried to get invested into the gargoyles and architecture he so dearly loved and finally you thought it worked.

the occasional invite to tea, the small acknowledgements, the small talks about the things he liked. you felt like all your hard work started to pay off.

but when you made your way through the long corridors of the castle with a box of something special in your hands picked especially for the prince one afternoon, your feet came to a halt in front of the mahogany double doors of his study.

two voices—muffled by the barrier between you and the people in the room but it was enough to hear the all important parts of the conversation.

“it all is such a pain, lilia,” he said, “they're constantly trying to catch ny attention. to show me affection. but it all just feels so... miserable.

“i have tried to take your advice. to be more open and responsive to their advances but it just doesn't work. i cannot love them the way they want me to.”

the conversation goes on but you could no longer listen. the ringing in your ears were far louder drowning out any other sound around you.

you made your way back to your chambers silently slipping away.

that night malleus asked about the present left in front of his study and you only sighed softly in response

“it's simply my misery, sir.”.

997 notes · View notes

ayoitspatricia · 2 years

Note

Hi do you still write for disney's descendants? if so can you do headcanons of being siblings with the VKs? and if possible the siblings came with them to the school. sorry for my bad english

Being siblings with each VK + going to Auradon with them would include :

IM BAAAAACK!! It has been a while since I have posted so I am currently working through requests :)

Mal :

Homie would be overprotective af

This lady ain’t having any Auradon dweebs getting you on her watch

Always encouraging you to be the best version of yourself

Or in Maleficent’s case the worst

Y’all are not that big on boys, girls etc before Mal meets Ben

Mix and matching leather jackets

Being the biggest chaos causes wherever you guys go

Finding it hard to be positive about school when Mal wants you to be miserable about it all

Her helping you to control your powers which are cool im gonna be honest

Sharing differences and similarities with Mal

She just wants to keep you safe from bad people in the world

Ironic for a VK right?

Especially from rats in Auradon

Feeling pressured by your mom when she wants you to steal the magic wand

Liking Ben and not finding it difficult to adjust to being good

Evie :

Now this one encourages you to interact with others

She wants to get you as far out of your shell as possible

Cause poor girl ain’t got a clue what will happen if you all get caught stealing the wand

Wanting you to get a partner

But asking them lots of intimidating kind questions if you do

Doing group sewing + art!

Always trying on each other’s clothing

Having matching magic mirrors

Creating a Chad hate club

Evie being the favourite child but always defending you

Going on shopping sprees when you arrive at Auradon

Trying hard to empress everyone

But then realising that it is really impossible

Evie wanting to dye your hair

Her chasing you around with the hair dye

Actually secretly wanting to be good from the beginning

Carlos :

Always being super close to each other

Thing 1 = you / Thing 2 = Carlos

Actually quite liking dogs

Lol your brother did not like that one

Until you got Dude obviously (you was his fav)

Always having super fluffy jumpers or cardigans

Enjoying sweet treats with him at midnight

Literally menaces to the cooking club

Softest member of the VK’s

Collecting stuffed animals to annoy Carlos

Then proceeding to throw them at each other

Fairy Godmother actually really liking you

You going into Remedial Goodness 101 early so you both can have a chat

Honestly loving the Auradon vibe

Cheering Carlos on when he plays Tourney

+ shipping him with Jane!!

Literally acting like kids the whole time

Wanting to open an animal club in Auradon

Tbh you was already sliding to the side of good as soon as you arrived

Jay :

My mans is on a whole other level of protective

Like you thought Mal was bad

Whether your on the isle or in Auradon this boy has your back

Him always glaring at the boys whenever they look at you for too long

Even at poor Carlos, who has no clue what is going on

Teaching you how to steal

Reminding your father of Jasmine

You + Evie + Mal are the perfect trio

Doing laps around the museum to try and find any lamps

Not your proudest moment ngl

You plus Lonnie equals BESTIES!!

Jay making you always watch him play sports

Stealing his beanies all the time

Hiding in spots around Auradon so he has to try and find you

You best hope that none of them princes disrespect you

Cause they gon get an ass whoopin

Honestly not caring about whether you’re good or not

As long as you have your brother and your friends

#x reader #y/n #reader insert #x fem!reader #x female reader #x fem reader #x female!reader #fluff #would include #descendants x reader #descendants #evie grimhilde #mal descendants #jay descendants #carlos devil

815 notes · View notes

sepublic · 1 year

Text

Anyhow, I want people to understand the significance of me crying over TOH ending because. I generally do not cry. It’s hard for me to cry, I feel sadness and grief sure! But tears themselves are difficult. And as much as I love media, it’s very rare and hard for it to make me genuinely cry. Other cartoons and shows I’ve gotten into haven’t done it, but...

The Owl House genuinely made me cry. After the grief of Agony of a Witch, the lonely despair of King’s Tide, and so many other painful moments. The Owl House finally made me sob, genuinely, wails I had to cover up, hot tears, sore eyes and a dripping nose. I heaved and made myself cry even more, because goddamn is there such a relief in the catharsis of feeling this pain, and knowing it means you’ve felt something, you’ve felt happiness to begin with.

So yeah. The Owl House has always been pretty special to me. But I think this expression of how I felt was low key what I was waiting for, working towards, after the finale. The absence hurts, but it makes me appreciate all the more the presence it entails for TOH in my life. For the community, for the experiences, the analyses, the genuine fun and laughter and speculation! The hype and friends I’ve made along the way, me building up my own skills as a reader thanks to this show!

I remember being enamored by The Owl House’s first announcement in February 2018, the first ever, possible public reveal of that show; You could’ve only known it beforehand if you worked at Disney and/or were one of Dana’s friends. Something about Luz, about Eda, about King... The very premise itself, the magic. Something about this show felt special to me, I had a really good feeling about it I couldn’t explain.

I ended up checking Dana’s Twitter obsessively for updates, was excited when she posted this one art of Luz and King having an ice cream run, while Eda was displeased with a little demon trying to get her dessert. I expected mostly casual things, but something about the vibes, the magic and wonder experienced through the lens of Luz... It got to me in a legitimately depressive state of my life.

Because I was depressed. Suicidal, even. It was perhaps the worst phase of my life ever, and I hope it’ll stay that way. The beginning of 2018 felt like me finally getting over the big hurdle, that enormous halfway point at the top, and how it was all relatively smooth, downhill sailing from here. So it feels fitting that it was the beginning of the easier part that TOH was announced for me. All I knew were Luz, Eda, and King; I eventually gave up checking Dana’s accounts for art, because I was SO excited and impatient for this show, inexplicably.

That’s probably why I missed Dana’s little sneak peek of Amity Blight, haha... But anyhow, TOH gave me something to look forward to. Something to live for. And when I finally got a shot of Eda throwing treats to Luz and King, the former taken aback by the eyeball, the latter having it bounce off his skull. It didn’t make it to the final cut obviously, but it was my first glimpse of how the show itself would look.

I was in despair when The Owl House was delayed to 2020; I had to wait another whole year for it! And going from 2018 to 2019 was painful enough as is! But man... Was it worth it. The first teaser, the mystery and wonder it promised. My Bionicle brain freaking out over the reveal of the Boiling Isles as a giant corpse.

And then the theme song. Me learning Luz’s VA, scouring very obscure media to get an idea of how she might sound like. And finally I heard it, we got other announcements; Eda by Wendie Malick, who made perfect sense, and King by Alex Hirsch, cue those obnoxious Bill Cipher theories I still hate to this day!

Some crew members announced cupcakes they made, complete with banners like “Drinkers Coven” and I got hyped for this little content. I wanted to try cashew meringues because of it, and later recognized the repurposed frames of Luz, Eda, and King in actual episodes. I saw some concept art and expressions removed from the show, and was glad to recognize them later, as I did a frame-in-process of Luz wondering about her magical destiny.

I checked Tumblr but it seemed like I was the only person actively anticipating, and not just including TOH as part of a larger collection of media posts. I wanted TOH for itself, someone was curious if it had owls, I scoured the first teaser for a screenshot to satisfy them! I wanted more people in on it! I saw some clips, figured out Luz’s ethnicity from her squealing “Ay que lindo!” in response to King.

I made a few ancient posts, my first TOH post was me admitting I was excited and wondering if anyone else was. It got NO traction, at least not until much, much later... But that didn’t stop me! I had a dream where Luz was revealed to be disabled, her legs were prosthetics and Eda ended up giving her new magic prosthetics styled after owl feet. This would prove weirdly prophetic... Less so, my dream about Luz being the Anti-Christ (this was framed as a good thing), hence why she found the isles.

I speculated Luz was an orphan who had nobody, hence why she found the isles; But then an article mentioned her mother Camila. I went with that spelling until some end credits confused me with a typo that gave us Camilia, which led to a big fandom debate later until Dana clarified.

I analyzed the trailers, trying to figure out the plot and trajectory, wasn’t quite right there. I was happy to see TOH would have full 22-minute episodes, allowing them to get nitty gritty and elaborated, instead of truncated into 11-minute segments. Boy did that pay off, and looking back I can appreciate what a rarity that was, an achievement. People pointed out the anagram for me...

I speculated on the titles, confused bits from Covention with scenes from the first episode, wondered if Escape of the Palisman referred to the tower. And in the end, the first episode finally came out, after I was enjoying Infinity Train Book 2, and I was enamored. It was wonderful, it utterly blew me away and was all I wanted and more. I had to get more! The moment Luz spoke of liking editing anime clips into AMVs and all that other stuff, I felt seen, and that was just the beginning.

I spoke my praises, but alas there was no fandom. The next week, I was surprised to find posts for the next episodes so early, and learned the episode was released ahead of time on DisneyNOW, so I immediately subscribed. I was excited to meet Amity Blight, Willow and Gus; And I was caught by surprise by how openly mean Amity was when she debuted! But I analyzed the sub-text of her actions and dialogue, and was vindicated.

Amity was such a fun and interesting character because she really felt like a puzzle that we unlocked more and more pieces of, to better understand her. And I really got the sense of TOH’s re-contextualization and surprising character continuity, such as when King’s B-plot in one episode actually became the focus of the very next! You could tell the writers really cared about making a deeper story for kids and teenagers.

One nice memory was when I wrote a post appreciating Willow and Luz’s friendship, the idea of Willuz as a ship; I took a shower and went back to check afterwards, and got notes! I analyzed the mechanics of glyphs deeply when they were first revealed, getting nitty-gritty; I remember the events of a few nights and what happened around me writing a post, comparing glyph magic to artificial replication of dragon breath!

I looked for crew art, which alerted me ahead of time to the existence of Emira and Edric, thought I didn’t know their names, and was delighted to learn Amity had older siblings!!! They were hers! Shoutout to @anistarrose who was one of the few people in the tag at this time. I really appreciate that post where you called out people constantly trying to make King into Bill Cipher in a serious manner, and the annoying implications of it. And how you realized a tweet poem by Dana foreshadowed Warden Wrath and the Emperor’s Coven... AND THE CODES TOO!!!

I distinctly remember this one meme video in the tags, a song singing “This girl is a lesbian” as Amity showed up as the punchline. I thought it was cute and loved the idea, I had no clue...! I even tried to analyze the dates on her diary entries because I was so obsessed with the show and wanted more, trying to see if I could figure out a calendar...

Spoiler alert, I didn’t. but it was FUN trying! Putting in all of this unnecessary effort for a detail nobody cared much for, because you could tell the crew were people who did the same, Dana even confirmed it later for herself! I remember being shocked about Eda having a curse, that one theory it was a Blight who did it. I suggested King being the Boiling Isles Titan, some Youtube channel even asked permission to use my post in discussing that theory! I was skeptical but checked and it was legit, and was pleased.

I went through that godforsaken Witch’s Apprentice game, realized too late the artifacts represented each episode and gave hints to the rest of 1A. I watched Look Hoo’s Talking, with Owlyvia and Horus, shout out to those who remember! I was amazed by Eda’s self-awareness in deciding things for Luz, especially after Luz briefly called it out in Covention. I found myself so ATTACHED to the characters, which makes sense since I hyped myself from the start!

I remember being surprised to see King wasn’t an overlord... Or was he? The original 2018 announcement suggested as such, but the way the show played around even after the premiere seemingly disproved it was fun. I speculated on what Luz’s magic track would be, enjoyed fanart of her in Potions as Eda was. Seeing Young Eda was a blast, and I remember being so distraught at the idea of her being cursed! I made a post wailing about it and Cat-Harman Mitchell commented LOL as I ranted about taking vengeance on the curser. Little did I know...!

I was afraid of a cliffhanger with Season 1A, but nope! Eda made it out despite the demon hunters! With a hiatus, I was left impatient and needing more. I scoured crew art, speculated on what Emperor Bellows would be like; Covention’s subtitles mispelled him as such, and Dana had to clarify in a tweet when 1B’s trailer released! I got into deep discussion with @fermented-writers-block about the show, about the mysterious owl mural.

I guess TOH was my first start at really analyzing a show from the start, especially since nobody else was around to do it for me. And coming fresh from reading the meta of those who did inspire me, I went HARD, reasoning that even if it was disproven, the process was fun! I analyzed snake motifs, the mysterious green hand that stole King’s crown. I made a whole diagram about parallels between Luz, between King and the Gildersnake, between ‘human counterparts’ to Amity and Willow and Gus. This definitely fed the revelation of Creepy Luz later on...

But yeah. To think the snakes did pay off with Luz’s palisman Stringbean; Back then people speculated as such with the title’s design, and I’m so happy to see it came through! I speculated on lore, wrote my first TOH fics, The Bile Coven and Amity’s Diary Entries, the latter of which I feel particular pride for since it was a character study of her that proved rather on the spot!

I was obsessed with the worldbuilding, came up with my own ideas. Imagined what Bellows and Kikimora were like. I waited IMPATIENTLY, and even had a dream where Eda was captured by Lilith, Kikimora, and Wrath, as well as some covenscouts... But then it was revealed her curse was a result of possession by the creature depicted on the mural; And it progressed to the next stage of converting her body to its own as she got more feral and escaped on her own!

The airship used by the Emperor’s Coven proved prophetic. And after 1B seemingly disproved this idea, 2A brought it back after all and I was delighted! TOH was and is a show that keeps giving for me, makes me feel rewarded for engaging with it, and is grateful even when I’m wrong, as Any Sport in a Storm’s B-plot attests. I made jokes about King being Mata Nui because I was a Bionicle fan. Someone saw a Grom poster in the background of a shot and suggested Lumity, but I didn’t get my hopes up... Hah.

There was a trailer that alluded to an episode of Luz and Eda in a snowy place; I knew of an article on TOH that mentioned a ‘Witch’s Arena’ at the Knee and guessed this was it. I liked the song that played because I associated it with TOH, found out for myself.

Rebecca Rose, shout out to one of the OGs talking about the show on Youtube! She made a wonderful video discussing Amity’s development and potential, speculating on her, and I felt SOOOO vindicated and followed her for it! As you know, she became THE fan channel for TOH, and was eventually ascended to a full-on crew member for it. We’d all watch her reactions and discussions afterwards.

Adventures in the Elements leaked, I correctly guessed it wasn’t the next episode but the one after it. I was delighted to see the twins be good siblings, and Amity’s casual outfit... Before that, I read a fic during the hiatus of Lilith adopting Amity from abuse (Remember when we thought she was that functional?), and it understandably depicted the twins as mean-spirited and basically apathetic. It was a good fic.

I remember joke-speculating that Bellows would be short, because I was projecting analyses of the Pale King from Hollow Knight onto him! I considered making an animatic of Farquaad’s reveal from Shrek but with Bellows, but alas I’d never actually done an animatic and had zero clue lol. I had another dream about Bellows coming in with the Emperor’s Coven to apprehend Eda, who became an even larger version of her Owl Beast form in response.

Then Summer 2020 came around. What a wonderful time of my life... New fans came in when they saw the possibility of canon sapphics with Lumity, and I was exhilarated! So careful not to get my hopes up, but look now... I was hyped to see Belos’ appearance. I analyzed the 1B trailer, took screenshots and organized them to guess which episodes they were. Rebecca Rose found foreign titles of 1B and translated them, and I did note how translations could skew the intended anagram. I remember “Mini-Problems” being an episode title...

You can probably guess the rest from here, since this was about when the fandom really kicked off. And boy did people stick around for it all. I felt delight in knowing Grom was sooner, due to Understanding Willow being paired with Really Small Problems on the same day! Two episodes at once, instead of the original plan for the last two episodes of the season together! I ended up regretting that low-key with the angst and pain of Agony of a Witch, which made me realize how much I cared for Luz, Eda, and King, and made me the closest to crying from the show.

I felt vindicated to see a popular artist like MoringMark begin making fan comics, I had no idea that’d be THE thing he’d be known for, after I knew him as the Gravity Falls guy. I followed Matthieu Cousin on Tumblr, got excited for that trend of dressing up TOH characters for Grom and sending in your designs, with a winner announced! I don’t think that ever happened. Anamanaguchi’s Prom Night became a thing thanks to a crew member, and who can forget Little Miss Perfect? Kwame rolled with the success and I was glad for him. Eda’s gray eye appearing after the season finale in the end credits shocked me.

There was the Reddit AMA, where I prepared lore questions afterwards and had none of mine answered, but we learned a good deal! Especially the telling “Clawthornes are a bird motif” from Dana, her being put into a headlock by a nun. Amity and Lilith weren’t close but as I mentioned a while back, Dana expressed that she also made connections with cartoons as a kid. Odalia liking her kids color-coded, hence Amity’s hair, and Alador being interesting. Which led to a bunch of fanart that proved off the mark but also not? Alador wasn’t THAT well-put but otherwise...

And that stream! That wonderful stream! I contemplated spending so much money via donation to get something. Eda drinking Apple Blood, Spencer Wan almost spoiling Lilith having a Raven form. Our first sneak peek at Hunter’s face, not counting his appearance as the Golden Guard in S1; We all guessed he and the Golden Guard, or “Owl Mask” were the same. I was stumped and baffled how he fit into Belos’ dynamic... Hoo boy. And we all thought Hunter was an adult, even Alador at first, because of those eye bags!

I wanted to see the coven heads, based on their banners we saw; I liked the Potion Head especially and even when his design proved different than I expected, it was still my favorite! I thought Darius might be a Blight grandfather and he DID have a connection... I had a dream of the twins working for Osran at a library and messing with him, recognized Mason from Covention, and dreamed Terra was named Botanica.

Christmas art of the cast came out, I was happy to see Emira and Edric happy there, after being saddened by Dana’s Grom art of them and even writing a whole fic about it, which I’m chuffed about! She also drew Mattholomule... I recall in the wait for Season 1B, she did some art of the characters. Gus playing games, Mattholomule losing to him; King despairing over stubby thumbs.

Fanart of the kids in quarantine, Amity declaring it’d be easy to stay away from Luz, to Luz’s sadness; Boscha being mad because she couldn’t talk to her friends. Remember when Boschlow was a big thing, until Understanding Willow killed off some of the hype? And confirmation that Willow worked out, which we saw come to fruition in Season 2; People were surprised but I wasn’t! And of course, Frewin being his own entity from Bump, and not Bump himself.

But back to chronology, I guess this is where I should end off. Sorry, this ended up being MUCH longer than I intended, and really you could write a book about my experience with TOH and the journey on a meta level. But those were interesting times, those beginning eras. Back when I didn’t feel the need to always add screenshots to posts unless necessary. And it’s making me nostalgic. It’s making me appreciate everything we’ve been through, the roots of my hyperfixation. And how it all led to me finally crying, because I really did build up THAT much of a love for the show.

I found my first fandom I really felt a part of, found so many people who enjoyed my meta and validated me for it! I feel I’ve grown so much as a person because of TOH. And as I nostalgically reminisce on how different the show was then, I appreciate all the more how far we’ve come, and what it is now. Snapping back to the present does make me sad over how much has passed and changed, but I also appreciate it while remembering the ideas I once had.

I’ll miss that era, and TOH as a whole. And boy do I associate that classic ending theme, how I loved the melancholy of those end credits, speculated on them paying off in the finale. And they did...! It feels good to hear it one last time after a year without it, due to the end credits being removed or redone. There was something so idyllic and dreamlike about that original sequence, capturing the feeling of coming home, and I’m glad TOH did that once more with it.

#the owl house #ramblings #long post

206 notes · View notes