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mattodore · 9 months

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The BOLD THE FACTS tag with Imani

tagged for my choice of oc by @pralinesims and @raiiny-bay <3

The Rules are simple! Tag people and name a character you want to know more about! If you want to let the person you tagged decide who to showcase, then don’t name a character and they can pick somebody. Easy! The person who is tagged will then bold the remarks below which apply to their character and, if they want to, include a picture with their reply!

[ PERSONAL ]

$ Financial: wealthy / moderate / poor / in poverty / other ✚ Medical: fit / moderate / sickly / disabled / disadvantaged / non applicable ✪ Class or Caste: upper / middle / working / unsure / other ✔ Education: qualified / unqualified / studying / other ✖ Criminal Record: yes, for major crimes / yes, for minor crimes / no (despite his attempts matthias has never successfully roped her into any of his mess lmao) / has committed crimes, but hasn’t been caught / yes, but charges were dismissed

[ FAMILY ]

◒ Children: had a child or children / has no children / wants children ◑ Relationship with Family: close with sibling (but it's complicated... imani has real love for her baby brother but she's also aware of the difference in how her parents treat the two of them and it's definitely impacted their relationship) / not close with sibling(s) / has no siblings / sibling(s) is deceased ◔ Affiliation: orphaned / adopted / disowned / raised by birth parents / not applicable / other

[ TRAITS + TENDENCIES ]

♦ extroverted / introverted / in between ♦ disorganized / organized / in between ♦ close minded / open-minded / in between ♦ calm / anxious / in between ♦ disagreeable / agreeable / in between ♦ cautious / reckless / in between ♦ patient / impatient / in between ♦ outspoken / reserved / in between (she's more outspoken when she's just with romeo or matthias, but when she's around her parents she gets quiet) ♦ leader / follower / in between ♦ empathetic / vicious bastard / in between ♦ optimistic / pessimistic / in between ♦ traditional / modern / in between ♦ hard-working / lazy / in between ♦ cultured / uncultured / in between / unknown ♦ loyal / disloyal / unknown ♦ faithful / unfaithful / unknown

[ BELIEFS ]

★ Faith: monotheist / polytheist / atheist / agnostic ☆ Belief in Ghosts or Spirits: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care ✮ Belief in an Afterlife: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care ✯ Belief in Reincarnation: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care ❃ Belief in Aliens: yes / no /don’t know / don’t care ✧ Religious: orthodox / liberal / in between / not religious ❀ Philosophical: yes / no

[ SEXUALITY & ROMANTIC INCLINATION ]

❤ Sexuality: heterosexual / homosexual / bisexual / asexual / pansexual ❥ Sex: sex repulsed / sex neutral / sex favorable / naïve and clueless / other ♥ Romance: romance repulsed / romance neutral / romance favorable / naïve and clueless / romance suspicious ❣ Sexually: adventurous / experienced / naïve / inexperienced (she's had sex before but her experiences have been few and far in between) / curious ⚧ Potential Sexual Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all ⚧ Potential Romantic Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all

[ ABILITIES ]

☠ Combat Skills: excellent / good / moderate (she's taken a self-defense class before and matthias has taught her a couple nasty tricks in case she ever needs them) / poor / none ≡ Literacy Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none ✍ Artistic Skills: excellent / good (she sketches while she's waiting around; she's often drawing her own designs, fairies, flowers, snakes, pointy scribbles, or spirals) / moderate / poor / none ✂ Technical Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

[ HABITS ]

☕ Drinking Alcohol: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / alcoholic ☁ Smoking: tried it (disliked the taste and the smell) / trying to quit / quit / never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / chain-smoker ✿ Recreational Drugs: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / addict ✌ Medicinal Drugs: never / no longer needs medication (used to take meds for an old ballet related injury but she's good now) / some medication needed / frequently / to excess ☻ Unhealthy Food: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / binge eater $ Splurge Spending: never / sometimes / frequently / shopaholic ♣ Gambling: never (she's too disciplined for that) / rarely / sometimes / frequently / compulsive gambler

tagging @cowboycid for val, @helltrait for chris, and @tau1tvec for isa! and let me just rapid fire some of you who i think might have fun with this tag game!! @birdietrait, @wildmelon, @diwns, @fangs-trait, @deehya, @bunmou, and @spurgees

#@ed twenty ppl all together so hopefully if any of you wanted to join in then you got an @ :3c #river dipping #imani haut #echthroi #oc extras #ts4 #this took me so much longer than i thought it would thanks to ea wanting me dead and me having too much fun in cas but anywayyyyyyy #MISS MODELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL #MOST GORGEOUS WOMAN EVERRRRRRRRR #imani is probably the third most important character in the echthroi universe #sehyuk is kinda tied with her but that's really only bc he's how matthias and theo meet. shrugs.#like sehyuk is plot important in that way but imani is close with matthias and she gets close to theo later on <3 #theo's friends aren't rlly like that bc they mostly all dislike or in some cases hate matthias......... jdkfhnkhdnfjkhgjkdfgndkfkhndfhj #which like tbf............. would YOU trust your friend to MATTHIAS of all people? i rest my case #anyway i rlly wanna get into the backgrounds of all the echthroi side characters on here more but that would #require me to stop thinking exclusively abt mattodore for a few hours...... but. like. how could i do that. how.#but yeah...... i think imani sehyuk jordan and dutchie have the most fleshed out backstories out of all of the side characters #ummmmm anyway <3 this took a lot longer than i thought like where did the time go……. but okay.#i'm going to go back to my activity feed now bc i actually hadn't finished reading the posts i was tagged in in the first place 🧍#i swear the last two days i’ve been like okay time to log in and catch up and see how everyone’s been doing lately 🧎#only to then end up doing something like this for 4+ straight hours #i’m actually normally asleep by now but here i am…. i need to at least get thru my activity feed before sleeping like i need to do this 🔫

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eyelessfog · 1 year

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Blood in the Water

A Red Snow minific with the idea of if they found Martyn after the end of Limited life.

"Martyn?"

He can't see. He can't feel anything, smell anything, taste anything but blood.

But he can hear, and he can hear...

"Martyn?"

Ren.

---

Pearl peels back Martyn's eyes and moves her head out of the way so that she doesn't block the sunlight. Ren watches from the side.

"Uh, so. His pupils aren't dilating or anything. Which means..."

"He's not dead," Ren says.

"Well, that's not what it means, but also... No, he's not dead," Pearl agrees. "He's breathing. Honestly, the hell happened to him? He's... I don't know." She flicks a finger at his forehead.

"...I don't know either," Ren says.

"Then what do we do? Leave him here?"

"No." Ren's voice is forceful, and Pearl flinches back.

Martyn breathes something that sounds like a word, and Pearl whips her head to stare down at him.

"What?"

"Ren," Martyn whispers.

"No," Ren says again, eyes wide behind his sunglasses. "We're not letting him die."

---

In the end, they bring Martyn into the sort-of clock tower not far from where they found him. It has a table, which they lay Martyn on after clearing away the plates and dry steak, and has a significant amount of supplies to scavenge through.

Pearl presses a hand to his forehead to check for a fever, and then pulls her hand back and hisses.

"Pearl?" Ren asks, looking over from where he's arm deep into a chest.

"He's burning up! Like- like ow my hand kinda burning up!" Pearl shakes her hand out, face twisted in pain.

"Is he?" Ren walks over and places his own hand over Martyn's forehead, then blinks. "Oh. Ow."

"Yeah! This is... So much worse than any fever I've ever seen." Pearl swallows heavily. "He'll need something... Cold. I should- Um-"

"Water," Ren says. "I'll get snow later."

"Right. Thanks," Pearl says, and then hurries out where there had once been an iron door. A moment later, she runs back in and adds: "Take off any heavy layers he's wearing. Lighter clothes the better. I think." And then she's off again.

"Sure," Ren says to no one.

His eyes fall down to the sash around Martyn's waist, and he pauses. He picks up one of the ends, where there is a white zigzag against the red. He knows this. He knows this very well.

"My Hand?" Ren asks.

Martyn doesn't answer.

---

"So," Pearl says.

"So?" Ren asks.

"You saw the, you know. The thing."

Ren tilts his head, and Pearl watches his ears flop against his head. He'd taken off the crown the day prior, leaving it lying on a shelf with his fur cape, and making his ears far more expressive than usual.

"What thing?" Ren asks. Pearl makes a gesture, and Ren blinks. "What??"

"The- his-" Pearl groans, then tries once more. "The thing!"

"If you mean his bits, yeah, I've-"

"NOPE!" Pearl shrieks. "Nope! Didn't need to know that, I meant-" She walks over and tugs at the collar of Martyn's shirt, where a red lichtenberg scar runs down his neck and chest.

"Ah, yes. I saw that, yeah," Ren says, nodding his head.

"Aren't you curious what it means?" Pearl asks, frowning at it.

"Uh, well... I assume it means he was hit by lightning?"

"Ren."

"Listen!" Ren says. "I just want him to wake up, and then I'll find out what's going on from him."

"If he-"

"He will," Ren promises. "He has to."

Pearl looks down at Martyn doubtfully.

"Pearl, if you found a Tilly-"

"Right," Pearl says, eyes softening. "He has to."

---

"Did you think we would ever find another area like this?" Pearl asks.

Ren laughs. "After how we ended up last time, I'd hoped not. I mean, what if it was- you know."

"Yeah. I don't- I didn't want to, you know, fight again." Pearl lowers herself further under the water until Ren can only see her eyes from where he's lying on a makeshift chair. It's not particularly comfortable, but it's good. The sun is warm on his skin, and he's still able to see Pearl, so.

"I'm glad we're here, though," Ren tells her.

The water bubbles violently in what Ren recognizes as Pearl laughing, and she sits up, coughing. And also still laughing. Presumably at him.

"What! What did I do?"

"You would say that, huh? After finding Martyn-" She bursts into another round of laughter.

"What? What! Come on, I didn't even- I found my friend and-"

"You found your hand," Pearl says, making her voice deep and giving herself an even worse Scottish accent than the one Ren uses.

"Me hand-" He can't finish what he wants to say, and ends up bursting into laughter too.

It's not really funny, but they haven't laughed like this in a while, and it's warm, and things are sort of looking up, and... There's some sort of giggly glee in the air, and they're both soaking it in.

It's not like when they found the first game Pearl had played. Found the Shadow Tower and the Snow Fort and the Southlands and all that. It's not cold and dark and scary and angry and sad. They aren't fighting. They aren't alone.

They're on the beach, pretending everything is okay, and this time, it's working.

---

"Do you think he's actually dead?"

Ren, who had been playing with the fur of his cape, pauses.

"What?"

Pearl shifts on the ground so that she's facing him. "He's... We found each other alive and well, right?"

"I wouldn't call it well," Ren says, offering a breathy laugh. There's no humour in it.

"No. But we were up. I saw you on the hill, and you were alive. You were alive. We both..." Pearl shifts again, staring up at the stars.

The wind is cold against both of their skin, but it's worth it to be outside. They've been cold for a very long time. They can handle being cold for a little longer.

"It's been a while," Pearl says, instead of finishing her sentence. "He might not wake up."

"And we won't know until he disappears. But for now, he's here. We can see him. He's here."

Pearl stays quiet, and Ren decides that's the end of their conversation. He rolls over, back to her, and closes his eyes.

A bit too long later, Pearl shifts again.

"Ren," she breathes, wind nearly stealing her voice away. "I don't know if I know how to exist with someone new." She breathes in, a shaky noise. "It's just been us for the longest time. No danger, no animals, no sound, just... us. I don't know how to let him into the mix."

"We'll figure it out," Ren tells her. "We're survivors. We adapt." Then, again: "We'll figure it out."

"Right," Pearl says quietly. Even quieter: "I wish I had Tilly."

Ren wordlessly turns to face her, and she runs a hand over his head, scratching at the base of his ears. It feels nice, and even beyond the want to sleep, he can feel his head turning to mush and his eyes closing against his will.

"I'm sorry," he hears Pearl say before he falls asleep completely. "I won't doubt it again. I know... I know you need him."

And then he's asleep.

---

At some point, Ren started lying down next to Martyn when they went to sleep, soaking in his warmth and, hopefully, offering him some cold. Pearl, who'd long since gotten used to sleeping curled up next to ren with his fur cape over them, didn't take long to decide to sidle up beside them.

And so, somehow, between cooling him down and forcing him to eat and drink, they managed to bring the fever down.

A couple nights after, Martyn actually wakes up.

Ren and Pearl don't notice it for a while, busy having found the hidden second storage room after noticing how loose the rock in that part of the floor was. Ren had gone down, and was looking around, while Pearl just lay down, arms and head in the hole, holding a conversation with Ren as he explored.

"Can you get any good enchants?" Pearl asks.

"Yes, but I'm not sure what we're looking for here. We haven't needed armour in months-"

"Might be a year, now," Pearl interrupts.

"Point proven, then," Ren says with a sigh. "No need to enchant any of these leftover armour pieces, and... What, mending? Do we want mending?"

"No mobs to get quick experience from. Wouldn't be worth it."

"Then? We don't need anything to help with defense, we don't need anything to help with offense, we can't use mending..."

"Ugh, and we got so excited over the enchanting table too..."

"I figure that's why you stole it from us, huh?" a scratchy voice behind her croaks.

Pearl turns around quickly, but she was halfway into the hole already and the shift of weight sends her toppling down, three blocks deep.

"Ow," Pearl says, teeth gritted.

Ren hurries over, looking down at her, brow furrowed in worry. "Pearl?" he asks.

Past him, Pearl watches Martyn's eyes go wide. "Ren?" he breathes.

"Martyn," Pearl says, just to finish the circle.

Ren looks up, and his breath pauses in his chest. "M' hand," he whispers.

"My liege," Martyn returns.

Pearl lets herself fall limp on the ground and waits for them to finish with this ritual of theirs.

---

"What do you mean by 'all this?'" Martyn asks, leaning away from Pearl as she presses her hand against his forehead for the fifth time. "And can you stop that? I'm fine."

"You're warm," Pearl says by way of explanation.

"No warmer than normal," Martyn tells her, then puts a hand to his forehead. "... A little warmer than normal. It's fine, I'm not sick. Probably. I think."

"You've been sick for a week or so," Ren adds helpfully.

"Right! So I've finished with all my being sick stuff, and now I'm all good," Martyn says, nodding confidently.

"I actually meant that you're probably still sick, considering you've only just woken up," Ren says.

"Oh."

Pearl tries to put her hand on his forehead again and he bats her hand away.

"Dude. Stop. Anyway, what do you mean by 'all this?'" Martyn asks again.

"I mean... Clearly something happened here. A game, I'd assume. I just... What's the story? What happened?" Ren asks.

"Oh, um. It's a long story," Martyn says, grimacing. "Besides, why didn't you just ask Pearl?"

Pearl sits back on her heels, giving him a blank look. He stares back. She turns to look at Ren, and they stare at each other.

In the end, Pearl turns back to him and goes, "What?"

"What?"

"I haven't been here. Ren and I have been kinda busy outside the border."

"What? But you- what?"

Ren interrupts them. "Hold on, I think we should introduce ourselves. Properly."

"I already know you two though-" Martyn tries.

"I," Ren says loudly, and Pearl rolls her eyes at the dramatic tone of his voice. "-Am th' Red Winter King." He makes a sort of bowing motion from his chair. "Ye may call me RenDog."

"Or Ren," Pearl says.

"Your turn," Ren tells her.

"Right. Like, the way I introduced myself to you?"

"Indeed," Ren says.

"I'm blaming you for bringing back his accent," Pearl says to Martyn. "Anyway, I'm Pearl. People used to call me the Scarlet Witch, but I always preferred the Scarlet Snow Witch, myself."

"Oh," Martyn says. "You aren't- neither of you are-"

"From this game?" Ren asks. "No. But you are, and it would be cool to know why this server is... Like this."

"There's a lot of dirt in the sky," Pearl mentions, in case anyone forgot.

"Right," Martyn says. "Skynet. Um, with that in mind, this is going to be a long story."

"We have time."

---

"Where's the clock?" Ren asks curiously, a bit after Martyn has explained everything to them.

"What do you mean?" Martyn asks.

"I had to strip you 'cuz of your fever and you didn't have a clock on you. So where's your clock?"

Martyn frowns and pats at his hip, where it always hangs.

It's not there.

"What?" Martyn looks down. No clock. Lower on his priorities list, but still something he'll panic about later, no dogwarts sash either. He pats at his pockets, and then his back pockets, and then freezes. "Did you take it?"

"No? I didn't see a clock when I took your stuff. That's why I asked."

"Where did you find me? When you first got here, where did you find me?"

"Uh, just down the hill. On the way to the tower." Ren's brows furrow. "Martyn-"

Martyn bolts out the door.

Pearl, working the Clocker's farm out front, makes a noise of surprise when he appears, and calls after him. There's Ren's voice too, but they don't matter right now, because he's just realized something and he needs his clock to know if he's right.

He nearly trips on the way down the hill, his eyes already scanning the gravel for any golden glint. Nothing. Nothing. Where is it?

He kicks at the ground, looking for any hint of it. Glass, gold, anything.

He turns to the side a bit and finds it.

It seems to have rolled, maybe when he... fell. He scrambles for it, picking it up and inspecting its face. The glass of the clock is cracked, and when he looks under his sandal, he can see shards on the ground. The hands on the clock - which, really, is more like a timer - have broken off, or maybe just disappeared. Ash and dust cover it, and Martyn uses his sleeve to wipe it off.

"Martyn!" Pearl calls from just behind him, voice as worried as he's heard it since he woke up.

"M' hand?"

Martyn turns around. "Found it!"

Pearl's face falls in relief, and she goes limp on her feet, doubling over and heaving the biggest sigh. Ren tilts his head, brows furrowed in a cross of worry and confusion.

"The clock," Martyn elaborates. "This was my clock." He shows it, face up, to Ren, who peers at it curiously.

"Uh, cool," he says.

Martyn flips it over. "Sure, yeah. But the important part is what's going on in the back."

"Ehe. That's what she said," Ren says quietly. Pearl elbows him anyway.

Martyn ignores them. "Look," he says, at the heart on the back.

"Looking," Ren says obediently.

Martyn shoves his nail into the seam between the heart and the rest of the clock and pops the heart out. Underneath, there's an empty space in the shape of a diamond.

"Ah," Martyn says.

"What?" Pearl asks, angling for a better look.

"Fragment obtained," Martyn says tiredly.

Pearl and Ren exchange a worried look.

---

"No, sorry, wait," Pearl says suddenly, the day after. "You teamed up with Scott?"

"Yes?"

"Oh, hey, yeah! What? Scott?" Ren calls over.

"After my game?" Pearl asks skeptically.

"After our game?" Ren adds, sounding terribly pouty.

"Well, I mean, hey, listen. We all teamed up with different people this time around. Sometimes you were against those people in a different game! It happens," Martyn tells them, hands up in surrender. "I mean, hey, you teamed up with BigB! And Grian, at the end, I think."

"I didn't," Pearl tells him, turning up her nose. "That was a different Pearl." She pauses. "Also I don't think I had a rivalry with either BigB or Grian for either of my games."

Martyn thinks about it for a second. "Well, I guess so."

"And yet!" Ren calls. "You have had two game long rivalries with Major- two!"

"Ah- hey! I'd call each of them only, like, half a game long each. One full game total! C'mon now."

Pearl makes a face. "That's still proving my point."

"Look," Martyn says, sighing. "No harm, no foul."

"There was so much harm involved?"

"No... hard feelings, no foul?" Martyn tries.

"Hm," Pearl says.

"Whatever. What's for dinner?"

"Bread!" Ren says brightly.

Martyn looks tiredly up at what's left of bread bridge. "Blegh. I've had enough bread for... 72 days."

---

"So," Pearl says, sidling up to Martyn. Martyn gives her a suspicious side eye. "What's with the lightning scar?"

"The?"

She points at his collar. "The lightning scar."

Martyn looks down at his chest, then makes a big show of screaming and falling back, pressing a hand over the scar. "WHAT IS THAT?"

"Did you- did you not know?" Pearl asks, leaning over to look him in the eye.

"Oh, no, I knew," Martyn says, sitting back up properly. "Wasn't too sure what you were looking for though. Figured playing it up would work out well." Pearl makes a face, and Martyn shrugs. "Didn't hit right. Tough crowd, I guess."

"Right. Well. What's up with it? Like, why do you have it?"

"It's probably from when I died."

Pearl tilts her head.

"When people's time ran out, lighting would strike their bodies and they'd... Disintegrate, I guess." Martyn wiggles a bit in his seat, uncomfortable. "My time ran out after everyone else's, and the lightning came down, and... that was it. I mean, I thought I died. Everything went black, everything went quiet, you know, all the 'probably dying' stuff. And then I heard you and Ren, and then I woke up."

"Then... The lightning was because you were supposed to die at the end."

"I always thought that, maybe, if you did it right, the winners would get to survive," Martyn tells her. "But, no, I was supposed to die like everyone else."

"But you did survive," Pearl reminds. "I did too. The winners... I mean, I guess they do, don't they?"

"Then what about the winner from the other game you were in? It would have been Ren or Scott, right? And that," Martyn jerks his thumb towards the door of the Clocker's tower, "Isn't the right Ren. Besides, Ren didn't win his game either. He died before I did. So this isn't about winning. This is something else."

"Ren didn't win?" Pearl asks.

"What? No. What?"

"I always just assumed that... Oh. Huh. Okay."

"No, it's something else." Martyn lies back onto the table again, spreading his arms out. "What else do we have in common?"

"A lot of things," Pearl says. "Too many."

Martyn laughs. "So much that it loops back around to nothing, huh?"

Pearl falls back onto the table beside him, face scrunched in annoyance. Martyn laughs again.

---

"I'm glad you're awake, Hand," Ren says as he and Martyn walk around the server in search of supplies.

"You know, I've noticed you don't use that accent when you're talking to Pearl," Martyn tells him.

Ren sighs. "She's bullied it out of me. By the time we got to- well. Apparently it makes things feel less serious, and we need to have serious conversations."

"I think it sounds very serious!" Martyn tells him. "Too serious, maybe. Very grave and... serious."

Ren laughs. "I appreciate that. And I appreciate that you're here, honestly. I missed you."

"Awh," Martyn hums, touched. "Thanks, man! I missed you too."

Ren goes quiet for a moment, looking up at the deepslate platform the Nosy Neighbours had planned on using.

"I missed you," Ren says, voice low and heavy with meaning.

Martyn pauses behind him, brows furrowing. "Right," he says, feeling a little unsure. He doesn't know Ren's situation. He doesn't know Pearl's. But they do this sometimes - somehow make the quiet of the world sink deep into his skin. Make him feel like he's alone through just the tone of their words.

Something happened. Something he doesn't understand.

"...We should get Pearl a Tilly," Ren says, and then continues walking.

"What?" Martyn asks, lagging behind. "I thought- I thought you said you haven't seen any other living - or even undead - things since your game ended! How are we going to-?"

"No living things, no, other than Pearl and you. If we can find players, we'll get her a dog."

"What, is that an order from the Red King?" Martyn laughs, a little hysterical, a little worried.

Ren doesn't respond for a minute too long, but in the end: "Yes. We're going to get Pearl Tilly back. That's an oath."

They rest of their exploration of the area is quiet.

---

"Why are you here?" Martyn asks as Pearl searches for eggs in the clocker's storage.

"Tryna' make a cake," Pearl says, pulling a face as she half organizes the chests in their owners' absence.

"Right. Obviously."

"Obviously," Pearl parrots. "How do they not have eggs but have three buckets of milk?"

"To show off that they own cows," Martyn answers. "But no, I meant, why are you and Ren still here? Like, within the borders? You told me that you left your game the moment you woke up, and I'm fine, so you don't need to stay back for me."

Pearl pauses. "Well... It's not staying back for you, you."

"I feel appreciated," Martyn comments dryly.

"I like you fine- No, no, I hold a grudge from the last game, actually, so that's a lie! But I... Yeah, I probably would have left a day or two after you woke up. And that's assuming I didn't pick out what I wanted from everyone's chests and just leave you on the ground." Pearl throws a bundle of stone to the side. "The thing is just that Ren likes you. Ren likes you a lot. You were really important to him during his game, and then he died, and then he was alone for a really long time. Before I found him, he was... I don't know. It wasn't good. He wasn't doing good. But he missed you, and now you're here, and I won't take him away from you."

"And what about you?" Martyn asks. "He could stay. You could leave. Why don't you?"

"We already did that." Pearl looks too focused on the chest. "We... went in our separate directions, once. I think I almost died. I think he almost died. We're not doing that again."

"Better together," Ren says from the doorway of the Clocker tower.

"Better together," Pearl agrees. "Anyway. Why do you ask?"

"What did he ask?" Ren asks.

"Wanted to know why you guys stuck around," Martyn answers.

"Oh," Ren says. "'Cuz you're here."

"That's- that's sweet, dude."

"I am sweet," Ren says proudly. "But we have been here a while. We scoped out all the bases, so I think at this point it's raid, pack, sleep, 'n then go."

"Yeah?" Pearl asks. "I thought you were going to stick- I FOUND EGGS - stick around a little longer!"

"Congratulations!" Ren says politely. "And I kind of was, but... Martyn, do you want to come with us? We should leave, but I don't see why we can't have you along."

"I- me?"

Ren makes a show of looking around the room. "I think you're the only Martyn around," he says, teasing.

"Well, hey, I'm not gonna say no to such a nice offer!" Martyn says brightly. "Thanks!"

"Happy to have you on the team! This cake is now a celebratory cake. It'll be ready when you two get back from stealing things!" Pearl shoos them towards the door.

"Just us?" Martyn asks. "What are you doing?"

"Baking a cake, obviously," Pearl says, rolling her eyes.

"And avoiding responsibility," Ren finishes wisely.

"Baking a cake," Pearl repeats, and then places an iron door in the Clocker's doorway. "Bye, have fun, don't come back with stupid stuff!"

Martyn makes a pitiful face at Ren, and Ren cackles in response.

---

"You shoved us out pretty quickly," Martyn tells Pearl that night.

"I know. I was the one who did it."

"But why?"

Pearl gives him a look. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"Well, the answer, had you not asked that question, would have been no. But now I'm curious, so the answer is yes."

"I don't want you to come along," Pearl says. "You're not... You're not the Martyn I know-"

"Yes I am? I played in your game too. And the one before that, and Ren's before that."

"I mean! Yeah, I know, but you're not just the one who played with me. You're someone different now. You're not Ren's Martyn, or my Martyn - you're... Who you are now." Pearl sighs, a heavy thing. "And that means that I think I could grow to like you. I could learn to care about you. Because you're not like who I hated."

"But?" Martyn prompts.

"But you're still a lot like him. You're still Martyn. And I don't know how long it'll take me to forgive you for that."

"For being me?"

"Well," Pearl says. "When you put it that way, it sounds kind of weird."

"Naw," Martyn says. "I get it. And for the record, I'm sorry."

"Huh." Pearl looks at him with something like awe. "I didn't think I'd ever hear you say that to me."

---

"Okay, okay, okay," Ren says as they leave the boundaries of the game. "So, I'm the Red Winter King, and Pearl's the Scarlet Snow Witch-"

"I still think that it's important to mention that they both equate to blood in the snow," Pearl adds.

"Of course," Ren agrees. "Obviously. Now, since that's us, what do you think you should be?"

"I need a code name?"

"Well, not a code name," Ren says.

"No, I think he's right," Pearl tells him. "I think these are code names."

"They're not! They're titles."

"What's a title if not a code name?" Martyn asks.

"It's not- c'mon now!" Ren cries. "You know what I mean!"

"I do!" Martyn agrees. "Am I supposed to be sticking to your theme?"

"The red snow theme?" Pearl asks.

"Yeah. I mean, you two came up with yours independently, I know, but... Do you want mine to be like that too?"

Pearl taps her lip thoughtfully and Ren shrugs. "You don't have to," Pearl says.

"Right. Well then... I'll be the blood in the water."

"Ooh!" Pearl gasps. "Oh, that one's good, yeah!"

"Like blood in the snow, but... Melted, you know?"

"Alright," Ren says, grinning. "You're the blood in the water."

#[written in stone]#red snow duo #and martyn i guess <- hes feverish and dying like. the whole time. edit: or not. hes awake now #rendog #renthedog #pearlescentmoon #inthelittlewood #martyn inthelittlewood #itlw #literally killing me why does martyn have so many tags. lordy #okay anyway WOAH. MAN. DUDE. took me so much longer than i thought it would. and is longer than i thought it would be #unedited so. thumbs up emoji. we live. we go on with our lives

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meinqiwu · 2 years

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57th’s coolest cop in town

#kim kitsuragi #my beloved #i just think he’s neat #okay time to crawl in a hole and rest now #this took longer than i thought #kim kitsuragi fanart #disco elysium #disco elysium fanart #harry du bois #digital art #fanart #illustration #sketches #digital illustration #meiq art

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oleander-comic · 8 months

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Tuesday….

#LOOK IM SORRY THIS TOOK LONGER THAN I THOUGHT #SCHOOL HAS BEEN WHOOPING MY ASS #BUT ALL I HAVE LEFT IS THE TEXT OK AND ILL BE DONE SO UPDATE THIS TUESDAY OKAY OKAY #oleander comic #info #info ish. this counts i think.

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sungbeam · 10 months

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describe your favorite mutuals & their bias/biases <3

omg i always feel so much pressure for these cuz i have quite a handful of moots but i shall try my best !! thanks for ur ask anonie o7

@justalildumpling & na jaemin — both just uber delulu and mutual orgasm donors 😭😭 their astrology/horoscope reading says they'd be good for marriage, but i think WE r a much better match 😚 anyways, i love u j my beloved wife and soulmate !!

@jaehunnyy & jung wooyoung — bro i didn't know which teezer to pick for u 😭😭 but since the craze lately has been mr wooyo 😗 chip is just the sweetest and most wholesome bean ever?? (except lately 🤡 woosan is getting to her) but she deserves the absolute world

@winterchimez & lee sangyeon — my parents !!! absolutely adore ally :')) she's always encouraging my shenanigans and one of the most supportive people on this app. i feel like every day i learn that we have another thing in common w each other LOL

@ethereal-engene & lee jihoon — NO CUZ EKFNEKDK when i tell u ash looks like woozi (゜-゜) im not even kidding, they both look SO good in specs and i love ash sm, she GETS ME and im so convinced we're like actually long lost relatives 😭😭 the way she puts up w my shit and supports me all the time :')

@loveliestfelix & choi yeonjun — omg no because nana is supermodel material?? supermodel gf and bf say HUH???? her writing is something to fall head over heels in love w !! my beloved angst queen 🫂 ilysm im always thinking of u <3

@tranquilpetrichor & (i wanna say) yoon keeho??? — eris i just realized i don't really stan some of the groups u do and i haven't seen u talk abt ur biases recently 😔 SO PLS DO TELL ME ABT THEM !! but i wanted to include u here bc it didn't feel right without u 😭 but she's so underrated and one of the chillest people ever, and a literal ballerina like 😳 that shits hard bro

@zzoguri & ji changmin/kim sunwoo — MY FELLOW KYUBODAN MONI AHHWHDINEJDJD they are AMAZING at writing??? i guarantee u will fall in love w their style, and they're also just so easy to vibe w and talk to 🤧🤧 hope to get to know u even better bestie :'))

@haet-sal & ju haknyeon — CAKECEYYYYY 😩😩😩 ik the ship name is hakcey/hickey LMAO but cake 😎 anyways LMAO lacey is prob who i aspire to be?? 😭 like u guys don't understand how pretty this girl is and the fact that she's SO COOL TOO?? i feel like i'd be so intimidated by u irl tbh 😳

@goldenhypen & jake sim — my canadian counterpart and chinese 04 twin 💖💖💖 i miss u sm omg i will always uphold that em is one of, if not, THEE nicest person on this app. like if u touch her I HURT YOU 😐🔪 she is sooo so compassionate and caring and just wah i love u sm i hope ur doing alright :'))

@sseastar & byun euijoo (i think? im sorry i don't stan &team 😔) — yet another author here who's style of writing absolutely blows me away skdnkendk like the slice of life ghibli movie vibe of her writing makes me SING and she's also a very cool woman in stem™ </3 she's also so soft and sweet, and i only have the most tender of thoughts toward her

@hqrana & omg im so bad i know eric sohn for sure 😭 — we actually haven't talked about many other groups besides tbz and svt skdnekdk OKAY BUT MY MARVEL MOOT !!! i treasure noa so much, like what a star and the way we literally have so many fandoms in common??? for the longest time (and still) i look forward to interacting w her just cuz she is absolutely SO fun to talk to 💖 ly bff

#sungbeam strikes again #lovely anon <3 #moot ❧#okay that took longer than i thought it would 😭😭 i just realized a lot of u prob know my biases but idk urs 💔💔

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atlasglitter · 2 years

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A Butlers Duty

Pairing(s); MC x Barbatos

Fic type; Angst

Trigger warnings; One sided crush, barb has a panic attack

Ever since barbatos came to serve diavolo he knew his role well; a butler that tended to almost all of needs. And barbatos was fine with this arrangement, tending to the prince filled Barbatos with joy; but like most of his inhabitants of the devildom he had his own doubts about the exchange program diavolo had thought of. Despite putting the human under the protection of the 7 brothers there was still a chance this plan to reunite the three realms could go terribly; but even he knew at some points you can’t talk diavolo out of something and the only thing he could do is hope and trust that diavolo knew what he was doing.

As the exchange plan went on Barbatos definitely had underestimated the human, they had proven they were more than capable of surviving and in fact made quite pleasant company, the many afternoons they had spent together with Barbatos serving them fresh sweets with a carefully picked blend of tea for them to enjoy as they recounted the various squabbles and events that happened in the mansion with a fond smile on his face. Eventually though Barbatos fell into a similar pattern, seeking out the human, sleepless nights just thinking about them. Barbatos had fallen for the exchange student.

Since that moment Barbatos hadn’t gotten a single night of good sleep, the thoughts in his mind had been filled with the transfer student and he couldn’t get rid of them, their smile, their simple little gestures and habits, the way their eyes lit up when they talked about things they cared about, he never thought a human could have a hold on him like this but as usual the transfer student surprised him. While preparing to leave RAD the human had come up to him asking him to teach them how to bake, according to them beel had eaten all of belphie’s sweets and beel wanted to make it up to him. Stifling back a chuckle that threatened to emerge he nodded

“It would be a pleasure to teach you how to bake Y/N.”

Eventually the day they had both decided on rolled around and everything had started off normal, until you had once again filled his thoughts, how he so badly wanted to wrap his arms around your waist as he held you close to him listening to your soft hums that escaped your lips as he placed gentle kisses on your neck, snapping out of his fantasy he noticed he had slipped some vegetable oil on the floor he had just mopped. Fighting back the urge to sigh out his frustration he went to go retrieve something to clean it up, though it seemed to have slipped his mind to tell you as when you walked towards him you slipped on it your body falling forward. Barbatos quickly caught you his arms wrapping around your waist to keep you steady; as he was about to utter out an apology he noticed how right your body felt in his arms, the way your scent and warmth engulfed him made him only fall deeper into whatever spell you had cast on him. Regaining his composure he made sure you were steady on your feet again before bowing

“Please excuse me for a second Y/N”

Quickly and tightly shutting one of the many bathroom doors in the castle he sighed and leaned against the doorframe closing his eyes.

“What am i doing?”

He muttered to himself as he ran a hand through his hair; just what was that back there? How did he lose his composure to easily back there. Was he really that weak to Y/N? Maybe..maybe they had the same thoughts as him back there, but as usual his mind couldn’t even entertain the thought before reality set in. There was no way Y/N could like them back, he was merely a butler who spent all day serving a prince. He couldn’t provide and make time for them like they deserved. Hearing a ding on his device he pulled it out of his pocket and saw a text from Y/N, merely asking if they were okay followed by an emoji causing a smile to spread on his lips, even in these moments they were still thinking about him; how cute. He texted back that he was okay and he would be back in a few seconds. Slipping the device back into his pocket he exited the bathroom. He was usually the type to give up easily but for you he was willing to put in the work to have you.

As time went on Barbatos couldn’t deal with these one sided feelings and knew he needed to start dropping hints. He had planned to do some subtle flirting over their usual tea time before he overheard your voice mixed with diavolo’s. He peaked his head out from the kitchen to see you and diavolo talking about something, but he knew that look on the prince’s face, he had seen it on multiple other beings and one he had been given you for the past few weeks; Diavolo also had feelings for you. Dread immediately filled his stomach as he quickly went back to the kitchen setting the tray down he slammed his hands down on the counter. He couldn’t breathe; ringing filled his ears as his hands tightly clenched the marble beneath them. After about a minute and the feelings passed he left out a heavy choked breathe. After he was able to get his breathing under control he sighed.

You, you have no idea how much he loves you, his days had become so much brighter since you had come to the devildom; he would be willing to fight the three realms to have you. But with somebody like his young lord courting you he can’t even compete, he was just..a butler in comparison, one who couldn’t give you the attention and care you deserved. No matter how much he wanted you, he couldn’t have you. Sighing he gently gathered the tray again and walked towards the pair with his usual slime on his face

“Young lord, would you like to join me and Y/N for our tea time today?”

He asked but just as diavolo was about to interject barbatos interrupted

“Please my lord, i insist”

Unable to argue with his butler diavolo nodded, barbatos led them to the royal guardians as he heard the chatter amongst the transfer student and the prince in the back before he started to set the table for the two of them. Setting down two cups of tea and a tower of sweets he left the two of them to their devices as he went to go clean up the kitchen. As he washed the dishes he sighed, he wasn’t going to lie and say it didn’t hurt; but maybe there was a timeline where you were together and that would have to satisfy him. Since if you and his lord were happy in this timeline that was how it would have to be, since he was a butler; and his masters needs came before his own.

#obey me barbatos #obey me angst #obey me fic #barbatos x mc #barb has a breakdown but it’s okay #this took a lot longer than i thought it would #one sided crush #oh look it’s time to yearn

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