This Probably One Of The Best I've Read On Here.

Born to be

Zeph finds a certain fire ghoul in the kitchen. (post-transition)

Characters: Zephyr, Dewdrop Word count: 586

“Dew?” Zephyr walked into the kitchen, leaning heavily on their cane. It was late already; the moon had long risen, but they were thirsty and, even though everything hurt, they didn’t want to ask someone to fetch them something.

The ghoul that sat on the countertop was a surprise, though; a bag of Cheetos in his lap. His transition had been four days ago, but Omega and especially Aether insisted on keeping him in the infirmary for another week, just to make sure everything was truly alright.

“Zeph!” Dewdrop had at least the decency to look caught. He was wearing a way too big shirt, the smell of Aether wafting over to the air ghoul, and they gave the other an amused look but said nothing about the fact that Dew had escaped the infirmary.

The taller grabbed themself a cup and groaned at the motion, as the pain in their back got worse from it.

“You need some help?” the smaller ghoul asked and already stood up to take the cup. “Tea?”

Zeph let out a sigh, but nodded and moved over to sit at the table, while the ghoul poured water into the cup and then took some tea from a box. But instead of heating it up in the microwave, he sat down next to Zeph, his tail swinging. Both hands wrapped around the cup, the water began to heat up, and the grin on Dew’s face was straight up adorable.

“Thank you,” Zephyr took the tea and watched the smaller ghoul with a soft look. It had been long since they saw Dewdrop that happy; his whole aura had changed. His tail never stopped swinging, and he looked like he was completely at ease with himself.

“So I take Aeth doesn’t know you are here?” The air ghoul chuckled, and the guilty expression he got as an answer. “I won’t tell him.”

“Thanks,” Dew tilted his head to the side, the smile not vanishing from his face.

“You fell good, hmm?” they asked him then, but it was more of a statement than a question.

“Very,” Dew answered. “I feel fantastic!”

Zephyr gave him a nod. “I get what you mean. It’s great to be yourself, to feel like you’re finally yourself…”

The fire ghoul grinned a bit, his hands fidgeting as he avoided eye contact. His cheeks flushed from excitement.

“I just… I don’t know how to describe it. But I feel so much better, so much more comfortable,” he tried to explain. “It’s like my whole me is finally me and the stuff I can do now! It’s so cool!”

The air ghoul felt their heart melting for their pack mate. He seemed so innocent like that, as if he had always been a fire ghoul, always been that joyful. But the moment was destroyed as their knee decided to send a new rush of pain through their leg, and they felt kind of guilty for ruining Dew’s mood with it.

“Can I?” Dew asked instead, the happiness not disappearing. He had his hands raised and Zeph understood what he meant.

“You can.”

They sat like that for another hour, Dew’s hand caressing the spots that were hurting the most, heating them up, soothing the pain. Zephyr watched his face most of the time, how he concentrated not to make it too hot and to keep the heat constant. And three things were for sure: Dewdrop was happy, he was complete, and he was born to be a fire ghoul.

__________________ i don't like it again, but idc

reblogs would be appreciated nonetheless

Your beauty never ever scared me

Or other e-readers. I have a entire folder filled with epubs. I save all my favorites.

Tumblr. Why did I only just realise I can download directly from ao3 onto my kindle? I’m glad I only downloaded like 6 the hard way before realising!

*runs directly to @jimothybarnes latest post to download all the things*

Mushy may prompt list by the wonderful @forlorn-crows

Divider by the lovely @ghuleh-recs

(also if you haven't checked out @autumnblooms art, you should! Their Phantom/Aeon/bug is always the way I picture him in my head 🖤🖤🖤)

Day 15: painting on each other. Swiss/Aeon

Swiss sits back, glancing down at the bare expanse of Aeon's back. He's settled across the back of his thighs, the Quint stripped down to nothing, the warm spring sun peeking through the curtains, wanting a chance to taste the nighttime sky for himself.

Swiss dips his finger into the gold paint beside him, shifting his hips to reach the base of Aeon's neck, the little starburst mark that trickles down into galaxies. Swiss knows them all, has traced every single inch of him, had tasted each one.

He watches Aeon smile when he touches him, when he paints down along his spine, leaving the knobby path to the side, to trail over a light patch, to add color, his color, to Aeon's body.

Swiss bites his lip when he thinks about it, how he likes to believe Lucifer left spots blank on Aeon simply so Swiss could fill the space, so he could blend into him, to mark him as his, a claim so beautiful it belonged in a museum.

He traces his lightning, the electric storm that surges through his veins, decorates the midnight sky of Aeons back, bolts of lightning to bring out the starlight freckles. He weaves delicate trails like his smoke, little wisps to curl around and connect the constellations.

Aeon glances back over his shoulder, a little smirk pulling at his lips. "I'm chilly."

He knows he's not, knows he's burning hot but he's hungry for touch and Swiss would never deny a request from Aeon's lips. He presses forward, plants his chest against Aeon's back, the still wet paint smearing between them, two canvases making one masterpiece.

"Better?" He kisses his shoulder, tastes gold paint and lightning and starlight and Aeon.

He wiggles until Swiss let's him turn over, until they are chest to chest, neither caring about the paint on the sheets. It doesn't matter when Aeon can feel Swiss' heart against his, when he can feel each breath add a little more color to his skin. He glances down, looks along the line of the bodies pressed together, the way the paint looks on him versus how it looks on Swiss.

Colors, their colors, blended and beautiful, swirling together like the knots that weave their souls.

He smiles and kisses him, watches color flood Swiss cheeks, watches the gold of his eyes fill with fire.

"I am now."

Cryptid Biology Season 2: Something Special

[Previous entry in this series: Here. The ghouls participate in a time honored tradition in celebration of the summer solstice... or Dew has an encounter with Special in the woods.] Below the cut.

Dew can feel his heart beating in his chest as he runs through the darkness, ducking and weaving to avoid branches and thorn bushes that appear just inches away from him before disappearing into the black surrounding him.

He curses, feeling his muscles scream at him to slow down, to stop, but if he does, he'll get caught.

Breathing heavily, Dew stumbles over a root, but manages to keep his footing... only to trip and fall over the next one, landing upon the ground with a heavy thud that would hurt a whole heck of a lot more if not for the bed of decaying leaves on the forest floor.

He groans and attempts to scramble to his feet, but when a boot against his back keeps him from rising right away, he relents, flopping back down with an angry huff.

"First you failed to outrun me during the Imbolc hunt, then you ran into me at the one for Ostara, and don't get me started on that pathetic attempt to hide from me during Beltane... and now here we are again." the ghoul above him chuckles, eyes glowing red, face just barely visible with Dew's lackluster night vision, "I think you're getting in my way on purpose, Tadpole."

"Stop calling me that, Special, you prick..." Dew grits out, "Maybe you're the one chasing after me, huh?"

Special hums and grinds his foot down.

"Mn, no, I don't think so." he says, crouching down, "I'm not much of a hunter, you see, I've always been more of a scavenger; I take what the others leave behind, so normally I'd wait and see who's left..."

He moves to press his knee into Dew's back, applying more pressure as he leans forward to whisper into his ear, "You're too much work, so for me to catch you, either nobody wanted you this time, or you're deliberately making it easy for me, because after our first encounter, you've been aching for more..."

Special brushes the hair from his neck and presses a kiss there, "...Haven't you?"

"Shut-" Dew starts to shout, but can't as Special's jaws lock onto his nape, it stings, both from the act itself, and from the toxin dribbling into his wounds from the ghoul's mouth, "Uh-huunh..."

"There's a good boy." Special coos, licking Dew's blood from his lips, swiping his tongue over his teeth for good measure, "Feels better than when a quint fucks your mind, doesn't it? I know it does... It's such an instant relief."

His hand comes down the massage the wound, grinning as the skin heals over from his touch, while also aiding in spreading the venom faster.

"There we go..." he says, finally lifting himself from Dew's body and flipping him over onto his back, "Well, look at you~"

Dew's whole body feels flush, and his breathing has yet to settle from his mad dash through the forest, so he has to look like a sweaty mess, but Special doesn't seem to agree, reaching down to cup his cheeks with his hands, shaking his head teasingly back and forth.

"Aren't you just the sweetest thing?" he grins, then pats his face lightly, "Hm, guess we should get this show on the road then, huh?"

Dew mumbles something and raises his arms slowly, wiggling his fingers, and Special blinks at him for a moment before snorting, "Oh, poor baby, can't take your shirt off yourself? You need me to do it for you?"

"Feeeel allll... wiggly..." Dew supplies unhelpfully, giggling as Special hooks his fingers under the hem of his shirt, pulling it up and over his head in one fluid movement, "Umph!"

"The venom's making you a little silly, isn't it?" Special squishes Dew's face again as he wads up his shirt and tucks it under his head, "That's good, you always seem so uptight..."

He spreads his fingers over his chest, thumbs poised beneath his nipples, "You know..."

"Most people come to these hunts so they can do nasty, freaky things in the woods without consequence." he says, teasing the small bud, "But you, and pardon the joke, are something special, huh?"

"You just wanna be loved.... adored, taken care of..."

Dew mewls as Special descends to nibble at his neck again, fingers rolling his nipples around in soft, slow motions.

"Are they not treating you right, sweet thing? Hm?" Special asks, "Should I talk to that water ghoul you like so much and tell him he doesn't need to be rough?"

"I like... I like rough..." Dew replies meekly, eyes shutting, "S'okay..."

Special makes a disappointed little noise and pulls back.

"You know I don't like liars, Dewdrop." he chastises, "But if that's what you want-"

Dew's eyes widen as Special's hand begins to wrap around his neck.

"Do you want this?" he asks, applying pressure to his throat, "Or do you want me to treat you like you really want?"

Dew groans and kicks his legs slightly, squirming under his grasp.

"Want-"

"Yes?"

"...Don't wanna say it..."

Special pouts.

"But I want to hear it, c'mon, baby, when you're with me, what's your name, huh? How do I treat you?"

"Pri..."

"Yes~?"

"You're a prick." Dew cackles, and Special sits back, rolling his eyes.

"You may be easy to catch, but you're hard to break, I'll give you that." He sighs, "But I'll be damned again if I don't love picking you apart."

"Hehe~"

The multi-ghoul slides down and begins undoing Dew's pants, but the zipper refuses to open and he gives a frustrated noise.

"Just pull 'em off..." Dew says, struggling to move his legs around from under Special's body.

"I have a better idea-" The ghoul tugs Dew's pants down to about mid thigh and leaves them like that, the dense, folded over fabric restricting his movements, "-that's much better."

Dew wriggles, trying to slide them down further, but he can't get the leverage and gives a defeated hiss.

"I could just..." Special pushes his legs back towards his chest, "Yeah, I can work with this."

"H-Hey now-"

Special cranes his neck at him, "What? Suddenly you're embarr-Oh. Oh-ho-ho-ho~"

Dew's ears have flicked back, the tips almost as red as his face.

"What do you think? Should I take you like this, or perhaps I should lay you on your side? What is my princess thinking now, hm~?"

"Just-"

A stick snaps and Dew goes stone stiff, whereas Special lowers himself over his body, territorial, a growl emanating from his throat, wholly unexpected from such a usually jovial, prankster type like him.

What or whoever was approaching seems to get the hint and approaches no further, but the ghoul above him remains locked in his protective stance, glaring out into the darkness.

After a minute passes, Dew can finally hear the sound of retreating footsteps, and not even a second later, he feels something prodding at his entrance, causing him to tense and squeak.

"How annoying..." Special mutters, hastily working Dew open, not giving him any time to adjust, forcing a series of involuntary chatters and chirps to escape his mouth, "We'll have to rush things a bit now, I'm sorry."

"Who was-" Dew tries to lift himself up to look around, but Special pushes him back down, "Hey-"

Special clicks his tongue.

"Humans."

Dew furrows his brow.

"The siblings-"

"Not them." Special hisses, then tilts his head back, letting out an annoyed groan, "Dammit..."

"Then who? The gardener-"

"Outsiders."

Dew forces himself up onto his elbows, wobbling as Special helps him tug his pants back up.

"Careful now, don't want you falling down again..." Special chides, wrapping his arm around his waist as they stand, "...Fucking, of course, those bastards would sneak around on a night like this... I bet they're running back to the other side of the lake now."

"We should go after them-" Dew starts, but the second he tries to pull away from Special, his head starts swimming, "-Fuck, Phil, how much venom did you give me??"

"I wasn't expecting our little rendezvous to be interrupted by a pack of mortal morons, so I gave you a little more than last time..." he pinches his brow, "We'll have to inform the other-"

A loud cracking sound startles them both, making Dew stumble, but he is quickly captured by Special, who narrows his eyes in the direction of the noise.

"Do you think that was the trespassers or..."

A second, louder crack echoes through the woods followed by a chorus of human screams.

Dew cringes and Special begins to make a clicking sound, a common distress noise among ghouls, neither of them is sure what's going on at this point, and the lack of any other sound once a third crack sounds sounds has them both on edge, until...

"You better run, you fuckin' little shits! I have more where that came from!"

"...Bea, I think they got the point, put the bb gun down-"

...Ah.

Mountain heaves a heavy sigh, taking the gun from the gardener, who looks positively miffed, even in the lowlight cast by the lantern in the earth ghouls other hand.

"Give that back-" the hotheaded woman starts, but instead of giving her back the gun, Mountain scoops her up and jostles her around a bit before tossing her over his shoulder and lumbering back off into the forest, "YOU BITCH!"

Special and Dew watch the retreating pair in silence, looking at each other after the two are gone from sight again.

"...I'm getting too old for this..." They both sigh in unison.

"Still though, how did they get passed the barricades?" Dew wonders aloud and Special shrugs.

"They could have swam to this shore for all we know." he remarks, "It's happened before, so I expect the next budget meeting will involve putting something in place to prevent this from happening again..."

"We can't just magic some shit in place?" Dew questions, "Like with the woods along the main road?"

"People getting turned around in the woods is one thing, because they usually make their way back out, if we turn them around in the water, they could drown..." Special reasons, adjusting his grip on Dew, "...Not that they wouldn't deserve it with all the signs we have posted about these kinds of things. They've probably learned their lesson for now."

Dew hums.

"...So."

"So?"

"...Now that they're gone-"

"Yes?"

"...You know what I'm thinking?"

Special looks him up and down.

"...That we should track them down and eat their bones?"

Dew pinches the bridge of his nose.

"No, I-"

"-want to get railed within an inch of your life to make up for that frankly unnecessary distraction?"

"...You really are a prick."

"And you happen to like them very much, so it's a win-win situation for us all, isn't it?"

The poll spoke loudly. Y’all really ship Phantom / Aeon with Swiss, but Aether was a close 2nd which was surprising. Using Phantom as the name today… Special mention of Sunshine bc I forgot her in my poll.

Adult themes; but no actual smut (sorry!) However, I could be persuaded for a part two…

Phantom’s first time - below the cut:

Garden of Eden

The need is there. Held tight beneath layers of sinew and skin. Burning deep inside, begging for release.

He can feel their gaze upon him.

Hungry. Wanting.

He knows he’s fresh from the pit, the shiny new toy topside. He’s also young. Younger than the others, but by no means inexperienced in the grand sense.

He’s aware that they are all together. It’s ghoulish nature to fornicate. But what he is surprised to find here is the closeness they all share. Dew and Rain are together more often than not. Cumulus and Cirrus don’t stray far from each other, with the exceptions being for Mountain and Sunshine. He knows they’d gladly welcome him but his thoughts are drawn elsewhere.

Aurora has had her time occupied with Swiss which doesn’t bother him at all. He huffs at himself for even being the slightest bit jealous. The big ghoul with his broad shoulders and warm skin, stretched tight across his back and arms. And his hips.. the way those lines disappear into his pants when he’s shirtless in the den.

He’s been caught looking and flushes straight to the tips of his pointed ears every time. Making excuses and fleeing the room.

He spends most of his time with Aether. The older Quintessence ghoul providing him education and a safe space to learn. Leaning over him to point out a line in the text or to show him a tricky bridge in one of the songs. His large chest pressed against Phantom’s back, with a warmth he can’t help but sink into.

It’s comforting and he can’t help but imagine what it would feel like to let him in. To let Aether be his first, to be encircled in those strong arms, pinned underneath.

“Ahem…” Aether clears his throat. Smirking at the daydreaming ghoul before him. Caught and blushing. Cute, he thinks.

“Did you want to finish this later? We could go watch a movie instead? I know it’s been a long day.” Aether prods. Violet eyes glittering, a tiny quirk of his lip bares the slightest hint of fang. Sliver capped and glinting in the light.

He shivers imagining what that feels like.

“Sure” he gulps as he swallows, sure this is it. The moment he’s been waiting for. Finally ready to experience all the earthly pleasures that await him. They exit the practice room and head back towards the den.

“I’ll go grab some snacks - why don’t you wait in my room? I’ll grab us some drinks too.” Aether veers off towards the kitchen, indicating his room down the hall.

Phantom enters, turning the knob, and pushing the door open, ignoring the tremble in his hand.

Catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror - pale and wild eyed.. he’s got to get a grip. It’s just sex, but what if Aether didn’t like him like that? What if he just wants to watch a movie?

He hesitated before taking a seat on the end of the bed. Toeing off his shoes as Aether enters. He smiles at Phantom finding him perched on the very edge the bed.

“Come on, let’s get comfy..” he prods, climbing onto the mattress and flopping on his side to face Phantom.

“What movie are we going to watch?” Phantom asks, glancing around and realizing that there’s no tv visible.

“Actually, I’ve got something better in mind.” Aether grins, as Swiss slips through the door. The click as it closes makes Phantom gasp, head cranked around and eyes wide as he realizes he’s caught between the two ghouls.

Swiss steps forward, his warm golden eyes luminous as he smiles, predatory at Phantom.

“I bet we can put on a show of our own, don’t you think Aeth?” He chuckles.

“What do you say, bug? Do you want to play with us?”

“Both of you?” He stammers. He’d never even considered this possibility and no way was it happening right now.

“We’ve seen you watching us. Thought you might want this.” Swiss purrs.

Swiss steps closer, nearly between Phantom’s knees, putting his hand on the side of Phantom’s face, thumb brushing across his cheek and dragging down his bottom lip.

Subconsciously, his tongue darts out to chase it, and Swiss rumbles something that ends in a low growl.

His eyes widen as he looks up at Swiss, his pupils dark, hungry. His magic tingles in his veins, considering the world of unknowns and a universe of possibilities.

He feels the heat of Aether against his back, suddenly on his knees behind him, arms slipping around to caress his chest, his warm breath on Phantom’s neck.

He shivers involuntarily as he steels himself, considering his options before uttering a single word.

“Please…”

This is some funny shit. Like, did you just randomly decide to go a Ghost concert not knowing who they were?

Sometimes I feel that someone should do a welfare check on that guitar

it’s not even 8am why must you do this

Ghoulbangers Ball 02 - Glasgow

Hi i don’t care if everyone is asleep right now i NEED to share the little thoughts i had while making midnight grilled cheese

(Takes place in a timeline where Dew retires alongside Copia’s ascension to Imperator)

As much as Dew loves his music, loves touring, he thinks it’s time. It already felt off without Aether there, he does not wanna know what it feels like without Copia. He’s done the whole switching frontman act and he was not a fan. Plus there’s something he’s been wanting to do…

They’ve discussed it before, whisper in the dead of night, but it was never feasible with him and Aether touring. When Aether retired the conversation was brought up again. It stayed in the back of Dew’s mind the entire six months they were gone. Now that he’s also decided to settle he brings it up again. He thinks it’s time they finally have their kit. It’s a very long discussion with a lot of tears from both sides and a few self deprecating words from Dew, but ultimately they agree. They’ve waited long enough.

They go back and forth with the Sibling/ghoul duo who heads the nursery at the abbey for a little, just to get things in order. The day comes where Aether and Dew will head down just to visit and Dew is so nervous he’s ready to pass out. Aether is nervous too, but it translates into trying to calm Dew down. They’re both just a mess but in different ways.

Once they’re down there it’s completely different. Dew is so quiet when he sees the little piles of sleeping kits, too afraid to disturb them. The way his tail wags at their little purrs is enough to communicate how he’s feeling though. They don’t really except to find a kit that day, really just meeting them and learning their stories as the Sibling and ghoul walk them around.

That was the plan until one of the little water pups woke up crying. Dew was the closest to her and something in him told him to just…pick her up. He didn’t even stop to think about it, he just did. He’s never held a kit before and he had no idea why she was crying, so he just held her. He tucked her tight to his chest and she responded by nuzzling his nose into his neck. He nearly cried when she licked at his healed over gill scars.

Aether had never been more in love with Dew than he was right then and there. He cleared his throat before asking the Sibling and ghoul how she ended up here. He knew it didn’t matter what they said, the soft look in Dew’s eyes told him everything. But he was curious.

They told them she had been surrendered upon birth by her parent from a smaller branch of the Ministry. They weren’t given many details, just that her parent supposedly lost her mate and did not want to raise a kit on her own. She was named though before she was given up. Pearl. Her name was Pearl.

There was no better name for her. She was completely white with iridescent scales that shone when the light hit them right. The tip of her tail didn’t have a fin on it, but it was longer and thicker than an average water pup’s at that age. Same with her fangs, sharper and longer than what they should be (think leucistic/white alligator).

They decide right there that Pearl is their kit. They finish whatever paperwork the Sibling and ghoul need and the rest is history. Dew’s a little afraid he won’t be good enough, especially since he doesn’t have his water anymore, but he’d be damned if he left Pearl there. He was raised as a water ghoul so that’s not an issue, but when her element really starts to develop they may have to tap in Rain. It hurts a little he’ll never be able to really swim with his daughter though.

It makes him smile every time he thinks about it. His daughter. Aether’s daughter. Their kit. The first night she’s home in the den they kind of just stay up and watch her, the realization still setting in. Aether ends up falling asleep first. Dew promises he’ll always try his best for her and he asks her to forgive him when he inevitably fucks up. He’ll try not to fuck up. He says fuck about three more times before a very groggy Aether tells him to watch his language.