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littledraga · 3 years

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Messenger Roomba

It had been a quiet day at the manor, for once. Something everyone had been trying to make the most of it. Especially The Spine, as he sat in his room, pouring over a new song. Lyrics had been bouncing around in his head for a while now. He just had to make them make sense.

While he was working away, scribbling in a notepad, a Roomba slipped into his room. Without doors, it wasn’t uncommon, and he hardly gave them a thought. At least until they bumped into his leg and beeped.

He glanced down and raised an eyebrow. There was a piece of paper stuck to their head.

Strange, he thought as he picked up the folded paper to read what was inside. Likely someone had just missed a trash can, but it wouldn’t hurt to look.

Hastily scribbled on one side in glittering ink, it simply read: ‘Hi Spine!’ and was signed with a large R.

Spine sighed and gently pinched the bridge of his nose. Really? He thought to himself. Sitting up a little, he pinged Rabbit over the wifi. “You can just ping me if you want to talk, Rabbit. You know that.”

Nothing.

Another sigh and he put the paper down on the desk. Rabbit and her weird ideas. There were easier ways to talk if she had something to say. It wasn’t like their rooms were that far apart either if she really needed him.

Intent on throwing away the note and getting back to work, Spine noticed the Roomba still sitting there, waiting.

“Oh, fine! But only because it’s you,” he told them as he turned the paper over. In a neat manuscript, he wrote back: ‘Hello, Rabbit.’ And signed it with an S. Putting it back on the Roomba, he smiled at their excited beep as they zoomed away.

A messenger Roomba, not the weirdest thing in the manor. Not even the oddest Roomba. Rollie had finally learned to roll without their training wheels. It was a proud moment for Spine. If this one wanted to pass along notes, he supposed it didn’t really hurt.

Hopefully, that would keep Rabbit busy for a while, and he could get back to work. He wanted to, at least, get the idea written out before turning in for the night.

He at least had a few moments of peace before Roomba came rolling in again and beeping to get his attention. Another note was placed carefully on their top. Picking it up, he opened it up to read it.

‘Whatcha doin’?’ was scribbled on it with the same glittering ink. He didn’t have any expectations that it would be important if she was sending notes via Roomba, but she could have at least put some effort into it, honestly!

All the same, he turned it over again. ‘I’m working on a new song.’ Maybe that would give him some peace.

That was a short lived hope as another note came in shortly after. This was probably the worst way they could be communicating right now. But he humoured her and read the next note.

‘Me too! I’m stuck on the chorus. How many ‘La’s are too many?’

He groaned and put his head in his hand. If she wanted to talk about music like this, they’d be there all night. It wasn’t worth the effort. Instead of answering, he wrote back. ‘Rabbit, this conversation would go a lot faster if you just pinged me over the wifi.’

Less time between visits this time. Rabbit had sent her lyrics over with a few question marks on top.

This was easier at least. Relenting, he went over her song, jotting down notes in the margins, and corrected some spelling mistakes. Honestly, for a bot with built in internet access, why did she misspell so many words? Once he thought he had caught everything he could mention or help with, he sent it back with the Roomba who beeped happily along.

He at least got more time to work on his own song while she read through his notes. It was good to know she at least took his advice seriously, even if she rarely took him seriously any other time.

A simple ‘Thanks’ and a doodle of Rabbit giving a peace sign was all she sent.

He supposed it was polite to thank him, but, ‘Rabbit, the Roombas have work to do.’ He tried to remind her as he sent the Roomba off to, hopefully, get some work of their own done. And maybe, just maybe, he could finish his too.

Or she would just ignore when he reminded her of things she didn’t want to do. But this time, it was a bit longer.

'Isn’t this neat! It’s like sending secret messages! Like before everyone else got on wifi!’

Ah. Now he understood where these notes were coming from.

There had been a time when they were the only ones that could connect wirelessly, at least within the manor walls. Rabbit must have missed it. Now that Spine was thinking about it, he did too. They had told each other jokes and comforted each other when they couldn’t speak.

Sometimes it made the lonely nights in the labs easier. When they were too far away to talk with each other, or when they were too nervous to power down. They could at least talk and feel like they were still in the same room. It reminded him that he wasn’t really ever alone, even if they couldn’t be together.

Now with cellphones and tablets, everyone was buzzing around. A constant drone they had to block out to get some peace. They didn’t talk as freely as they used to.

Grinning a bit to himself, he wrote back. Opting to be just a little cheeky, he didn’t have to be serious all the time. ‘Just be careful they aren’t intercepted.’

Work all but forgotten, he waited for the next note to come.

He didn’t have to wait long.

‘Nah! This one is faster than GG, I checked.’ Along with the note, Rabbit had doodled GG sitting down and pouting.

The Spine couldn’t help but laugh, hard, when he saw it. GG must have been upset to lose. And likely hated that she wasn’t in the know.

‘Good! Then maybe we can get some peace for once.’

‘So! What song are you working on Spine-o!’

Right, he had been working. Looking the paper over, he hummed softly. He could explain it to her. Or he could just send it to her with the help of the Roomba.

Beeping happily, they scooted off down the hall and to his sister’s room. In the distance, he could hear GG yell for them to come to her. He laughed.

When he got his notepad back, it was covered in little hearts in different colours.

He smiled as he looked it over and sat it back down. Along with his music, there was another note.

‘Did you get dumped again?’

Steam rushed through his vents as he heated up. ‘No!’ He hastily scribbled back and sent it back. He hadn’t had a date to get dumped by, but that was hardly the point. Rude!

He was still pouting when the Roomba came back again.

‘We’ve got a real nice blender that just came in the other day, I could introduce you.’

Chuckling, he shook his head while he put the note on his desk to respond.

‘No thanks, Rabbit. We don’t have the same tastes in appliances.’ Still chuckling to himself, he sent the Roomba off. They spent the rest of the evening talking before he gave up on his song and laid down for the night. It was nice to just talk for a while.

In the middle of the night, the Roomba rolled in again, gently bumping into his bed frame.

Groaning softly, Spine rubbed his face before blindly reaching for the Roomba and the note. He didn’t mind the notes, but they needed time to recharge and rest. If it was an early morning pun, he was going to ignore her.

It wasn’t a pun. There were no words at all, just a poor doodle of a sad face. It took his brain a moment to warm up enough to understand what that meant.

It was a bad night again. She hadn’t had one of those in ages. Or maybe, it had just been ages since she had let anyone know. That was concerning, she should know she could always come to him if something was wrong. Rabbit may have been the oldest, but he was the support of the manor.

Sitting up, he tried to wake up enough to go check on her. Only, she hadn’t come when she knew she could. He tried to ping her over the wifi, only to be greeted with silence. So, that’s how it was.

Padding over to his desk, he turned on the desk lamp and pulled out a piece of paper. ‘It’s all right, Rabbit. I’m here whenever you need me,’ he reminded her and sent the note off.

He leaned back in his chair while he waited. Time seemed to drag on forever while he sat there, minutes ticking by too slowly for his liking.

Eventually, the Roomba did wheel their way back to him. He hardly waited for them to stop before grabbing the note.

‘I know. It’s just hard talkin’ about it. Ya know?’

He smiled softly. Yeah, he understood that just fine. If she didn’t want to talk about it, that was just fine.

‘It’s okay, you don’t have to.’ Spine couldn’t draw like his sister, but he doodled a little guitar with musical notes floating around it.

On the really bad nights, they sang together or made up silly stories to distract each other from what was bothering them. It wasn’t the same as connecting to each other, but they talked through the night, changing lyrics in songs to be silly and making jokes until light started to filter into The Spine’s window. He hadn’t even noticed how late it was.

‘How are you feeling?’

‘A lot better, thanks.’

It was a relief. Spine knew he couldn’t make everything go away. Things were never that simple, even when your brain’s composed of wires.

‘I’m glad.’ He doodled his own face with a thumbs up. Or well, as close as he could manage on his own.

When there came no reply, he worried a little. She probably just fell asleep, likely had none at all.

Putting away his pen, Spine looked to his bed. There was time to get some more sleep, at least, but he thought better of it. It wasn’t like he needed a full night's sleep. He wasn’t human after all.

Putting on a fresh suit, he was adjusting his fedora when the Roomba finally came back. Kneeling down, he gave them a pat. “Thanks for all the help, buddy. I really appreciate it.”

Instead of a note, it was a picture. The two of them were sitting at the duck pond and laughing. He could get a hint.

Getting a fresh piece of paper, he carefully sat the picture on his desk to keep.

‘I’ll see you soon, Rabbit. Don’t forget the feed, you remember last time, don’t you?’

Having a messenger Roomba was nice, but nothing beat talking face to face.

#spg #fanfic

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diabolikotaku · 7 years

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Reversed! Diabolik Lovers AU

Sorry this took me forever, I have a thing called school

- So this starts off with the 6 sakamaki brothers, they’re the sons of the preist Karlheinz and they’re told to stay with a ‘relative’ for a while as he works overseas.

- he basically ditched them in the name of the church

- They all walked in after being greeted by the disappearing butler, Reiji is taking a liking to the interior design and such.

- Then they meet Yui, who welcomes them with a warm smile. You nkow, trying to be a nice host to her new visitors.

- Of course, they start to doubt and put her down. (insulting her (coughayatocough) and crude flirting (coughlaitocough) )

- Yui just keeps a smile on her face and told them that their rooms have already been prepared. She even offers them tea and snacks (in which Kanato took the chance)

- the refreshements were brought out and now everyone was talking to at least get to know each other.

- Ayato was complaining about not having wifi, Shuu was asleep, Laito was only flirting with Yui, Kanato was too busy eating sweets and talking to his stuffed bear but asked questions of the sweets, Subaru was quiet and Reiji was the only one making actual conversation.

- Suddenly, Kanato drops a tea cup and accidently gets his fingers cut on the shards.

- that's when shit does down...

- Yui's eyes glowed and her fangs were poking out, all of the sakamakis instantly backed away.

- "W-What the hell?!"

- Yui snaps out of it, flustered "Oh my goodness! That was so rude of me! I tend to have cravings around blood, but that is one of the faults of being a vampire."

- all is quiet...

- Ayato: "H-Hah? You gotta be crazy...There's no such thing as vampires!"

- "If that were the case, how am I standing here?"

- Subaru: "We can't be related to a vampire..."

- "Huh? Relative? Didn't you father tell you? You're here because you all are sacrificial grooms."

- as if they couldn't hate their dad more...

- And that started off their time here at Komori Manor...

- "Oh, and when it comes to feedings...I tend to loose control, so I apologize in advance! I won't be able to hold back!"

Ayato:

- In denial.

- "You're just delusional, Pancake! Vampires can't exist!"

- He's hit with shock when feeding comes around...

- He was in his room and suddenly he heard her voice beind him.

- "Good evening..." "AHG! W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?!"

- "This is my house, I can go anywhere I want...Yes?"

- "What do you want?" Freaked out and wanted to get out, suddenly she teleported in front of him and pushed him down on the bed.

- "I apologized when we first met, yes? So I don't need to do it now."

- With that, Yui crawled on top of him and of course Ayato struggled but the vamppire managed to bite down on his neck and start drinking.

- It hurts...But it felt good? God he wanted to shoot himself for thinking that...

- "S-S-Stop it! Let me go!"

- "Shhh, it'll be over soon...Just relax babyboy."

- She was sadistic when hungry...But not full on abuse sadistic if you know what I mean.

- After living there for a while and getting used to the routine, Ayato started to think Yui was cute.

- "CUTE?! What the hell are you thinking?! The chicks at school are way hotter than she is!"

- He loved her smile that showed her fangs, her cute laugh and how she would always hum while setting up flowers in pots to liven up the place (they weren't aloud to leave at daytime so she placed in bright flowers to make them feel at home)

- Still in denial about feelings but feels all of the feels around her.

- "Oh my! Are you sick, Ayato-kun?! Do you need to lay down?"

- "N-No! Shut up and leave me alone!"

- Showed her his videogames and taught her how to play.

- Now he's determined to be 'Adam'.

- "Don't even try! I'm going to be Adam and rule over vampires and demons!"

- "Eh? Does that mean Ayato-kun has a crush on Yui-san?"

- "I DO NOT!"

- he does.

Laito:

- At first, he thought she was nice enough to mess around with.

- after all, he was the school's player!

- He said various of things and touched Yui in flirty manners

- "Such a simple girl to play with! What a cute Bitch to ruin!"

- God, he was wrong...

- His feeding happened at school, he was on the roof and Yui appeared out of no where and he playfully talked to her.

- "Aw, does my little bitch miss me?"

- "Bitch? I thought I was clear that you all are the ones in the relationship. I simiply tower over you all."

- "Huh?"

- Yui pinned him to the wall and started doing the touches he did to her and he was squirming by her cold touch and she smirked.

- "Oh? What a cute boy...Flustered by my touching. Even though you always have the audacity to grope my ass and call me babygirl in public. Don't like it when I'm the one holding you down like this~?"

- "W-Wait, I...I..."

- "Hmmm, nah. I'm too thirsty anyways!"

- Once her fangs sunk in, Laito was suddenly in another world...First it was pain like any other person but he slowly got intoxicated with the buzz he felt and wrapped himself around the smaller girl.

- Hungry Yui did a lot of hair pulling.

- Cheeks pink and moaned like a pornstar.

- "You need to be quiet, or people will hear you...Unless, you like the risk of getting caught? Does it make you feel nice, babyboy?"

- "Funny...Who's the bitch now?"

- It took him a little bit to accept this, but he fully enjoys getting bit.

- He started having 'dreams' about being bit if he was driven crazy enough.

- Laito fantasized with all of the nicknames Sadistic Yui gave him (Babyboy, babe, honey, baby, prince, puppy)

- It took a while for Laito to stop seeing Yui only sexually, but once he started to think more clear he started to appreciate the little things about Yui.

- He made Yui smile a lot, hearing her laugh made his heart fill up.

- He would surprise her with little things (with the limitations of not being able to leave the manor besides school playing in hand)

- They would do those things you do at school in a cheesy romance movie (being together in a library, making fun of the teachers etc)

- Really honest with his feelings.

- "Hm...I like Yui-chan a lot, so I'll become Adam!"

Kanato:

- Didn't really care about Yui

- Thought of her as someone pointless.

- Would yell at her (you know, usual kanato)

- Still eats her sweets without a problem, demands for them too!

- Will admit that she had a nice sense of fashion.

- She wasnt the pushover he thought she was...

- This happened in the kitchen, Yui happened to be in there and Kanato came in demanding for sweets (like always)

- "Make me cake!"

- "Oh my, we aren't using our words...Are we?"

- Yui quickly sat Kanato on the counter and held him there while he kicked and screamed.

- "Stop being a brat, you wanted something right?"

- Yui was about to bite into his neck but stopped and sighed, "...You probably need something to calm you down...Well, I don't mind."

- With that Yui kissed him, Kanato was frozen with shock...His first kiss was with a vampire and...She tasted like raspberries.

- Suddenly she bites his lips and licks it, tears start to flood out of Kanato's eyes. She sees this and smiled at him with a sadistic glint in her eyes.

- "I know it hurts, it supposed to make you feel good. You boys like those types of things, right? Just relax and let me do all of the work and everything will go along smoothly." Then she proceeds to bite his neck.

- Of course, Kanato kicks her off and tries to run but the doors are locked and she comes along and pulls his hair.

- "Cute, now don't ever try to run away again or I'll punish you more."

- Yeah, Kanato held grudges for a while so he hated Yui for a while, especially when she came to feed on him.

- One day, he started to tolerate her since she was insistant on helping him out.

- The more time they spent together, the more tight his chest felt and he didn't like it at all. He would consult to Teddy and it didn't help him a bit (I wonder why)

- Her sweets became even sweeter to him, he loved it.

- Sometimes he would sneek into her room and sleep with her and made sure she didn't know (she knew but didn't say anythign to make him happy).

- He fell in love with her raspberry kiss (kissing happened only when Hungry Yui came out to play)

- She would mend Teddy with the greatest of care, Kanato fell for her motherly-like personality (since his mother wasn't in his life).

- "Yui-san, I think you would look great in this!"

- "O-Oh, I'm flattered you think so!"

- Kanato would show his fashion drawings to her, drawing her dresses that were only deemed perfect for Yui.

- "I wanna become Adam! She loves me more than all of you!"

Shuu:

- Didn't really care about her.

- Tolerated her since she was just being nice.

- Called her annoying most of the time when she was interupting his sleep.

- "At least she cooks good food..."

- His feeding happened when he was sleeping, it was going out fine until he felt the bite on his neck and his eyes shot open and he tried to get up only to be pushed down again.

- "Don't mind me, go back to sleep."

- "...How in hell am I supposed to if you're draining my blood?"

- "Sarcastic one, aren't we? Just told tight and it'll be over."

- "...Heh, what a perverted woman to come and attack me while I slept."

- "Eh? How am I the pervert when you're obviously enjoying it~?"

- "Wha- I'm not-"

- "Don't, I can already tell you're lying. Ah...I like you already, you're fairly easy to dominate."

- After that, he would tease her about it and she would become flustered.

- Her bites did hurt a lot. He just didn't showcase the pain.

- After a while...He guesses that he likes her?

- She was really gentle and soft usually, that's what he likes in girl unlike the noisy ones at school.

- Hungry Yui can be a little bit of a pervert, one time she snuck up behind Shuu when he was bathing and fed off of him

- Seeing her hurt was the last thing Shuu wanted to see on his list, she protected him from wolves and got seriously injured and he thought he was going to have a heart attack.

- "..H...uh? Shuu...san...Wha are...you...?"

- "Don't move, you didn't need to proctect me...Please don't scare me again.

- He would play piano and violin for her sometimes and she enjoyed it a lot.

- "...Hey...Let me become Adam."

Reiji:

- He was being polite to his new host.

- After all, he needed to set an example for representing the church.

- He and Yui would have conversations of the architecture of the manor, all of the books available in the library, subject matters and so on.

- "She has allowed us to stay in her house while Father is away, be more polite would you?"

- His feeding happened in the library, he was just studying and suddenly Yui came up behind him.

- "You might want to put the book a bit farther away, the pages might get ruined."

- "What do you mean-" *bites*

- Ever since then, Reiji has been on guard around Yui. He doesn't know when she'll attack him again for blood.

- Yui has done various of things to make Reiji trust her again, such as bringing different teas she had to show, showing the science lab she had and other things.

- Of course, Hungry Yui came along and brought the trust meter down.

- One day, enemies of Yui's family came by and the boys were in danger. One of them was about to attack Reiji but Yui stepped in front of him and fought him back.

- They weren't serious injuries but Reiji still tended to them, after all it was basically his fault that she got hurt.

- Eventually, Reiji slowly trusted Yui and just accepted that he was there as a feeding bag when Yui was hungry.

- They would have tea together.

- Yui liked watching his projects, they always amazed her and Reiji couldn't help but feel proud of himself.

- Was it odd that he liked the motherly side of Yui a lot? (because he didn't any from his own)

- "As a representative of the church and to be a model leader of vampires and demons, it is only suiting that I'll be the one to take the role."

- Shuu: "Just admit you like her..."

- Would rather die than tell anyone that he sorta liked getting bit.

Subaru:

- Hella angry

- "You can't tell me what to do, woman!"

- Didn't care Yui.

- The only thing good about the place is that the garden was impressive.

- broke a lot of things that Yui cleaned up

- Yui apologizes a lot to Subaru and he just huffs.

- For Subaru's feeding, he was in the garden around midnight and suddenly Yui appeared out of no where.

- "Fucking hell, can't you leave me alone or something?"

- "..."

- "What do ya' need? Quit staring at me like that!"

- "Goodness, can't you just be a good boy and not blow up every second?"

- "Hah?! What am I to you, a dog?!"

- "Hmmm, maybe I can reduce you to one. Great idea!"

- Yui shoved him onto one of the stone seats and pinned him down, she was a lot stronger than Subaru so he felt only a little bit intimidated.

- "Get the fuck off me!"

- "What a filthy mouth, do I need to train you to be quiet?"

- Yui kisses him, of course Subaru fights back but for some reason he's lulled to stop moving and Yui grins at him with pointed teeth.

- "Good boy, now sit back and let me drink your blood~"

- It doesn't hurt as much since Subaru's skin was a bit thicker/rougher than the others but there was still a pinch of pain in it.

- Would rather die than confess that he actually liked it.

- Ever since then, Subaru became flustered and stubborn around Yui.

- "Do you need help on the history lesson, Subaru-kun?"

- "F-Fuck off!"

- Yui does nice things for him and he still a complete Tsundere.

- She was soft, gentle and natural...He was reminded a lot of his mother.

- He help her sometimes in the garden with collecting flowers and putting them in vases.

- These guys at school wouldn't stop hitting on Yui so Subaru came in and literally punched one of them in the face (he got 3 day suspention)

- Still tsundere as fuck when he realizes that he likes her.

- "I don't care, just pick an Adam already!"

- Kanato : "Huh? I thought you wanted to be picked too...Teddy heard you-"

- "I will take that dumb teddy bear and toss it into the fire."

I’ll do Mukami and Tsukinami later probably?

#diabolik lovers #au #headcanon #diahell #dialove #anon #request #yui komori #shuu sakamaki #reiji sakamaki #laito sakamaki #ayato sakamaki #kanato sakamaki #subaru sakamaki #vampire! yui #human! sakamakis

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hush-falls-the-evening · 6 years

Text

The Devil in camp

Characters: Edward Nygma (Detective), Jonathan Crane (???), scriddler

Rating: T Words: 4,262

Chapter: 2/??

Misc Info: Murder/Mystery/Fantasy au, Slowburn, Scriddler

Synopsis: Detective Nygma had no say whether he wanted any part of this. What was supposed to be a case of missing people in a small town quickly turned into a most bizarre affair.

There is no way to tell whether the threat comes from the forest cradling them in its overwhelming embrace... or if true evil lies where everyone can see.Whoever Edward decides to believe, the people who sought his help or the shadow haunting his dreams...

There is one thing the detective knows for sure.

There's something very, very wrong with this town.

Follow the story on AO3

Small towns. Edward never bothered with small towns.

Glory Hills was, contrary to what its name might suggest, a rather humble town. It might had seen success a long, long time ago when it was first founded toward the late 19th century, but that qualification hardly applied on this dying town, slowly bleeding out of its younger population who preferred seeking opportunities in distant cities. Smart kids.

It was rather isolated from the outside, for a start. The town had settled its economy on various resources over the years. A bit of lumbering. A bit of mining. A bit of hunting. Farming was not the most efficient with the type of soil they were living on but, somehow the land had never failed them, or so he’s been told. They tended to rely on themselves foremost and only required, or sought, external assistance for the occasional lack of said necessities. The closest neighboring town being 20 minutes away on the highway is probably one of the reasons they set to be self-reliant on the first place. That, and a stiff stubbornness in regards of modernization.

They did have Wifi though. So that was a comfort. It was spectacularly spotty, however.

Though, it could be said the scenery was quite compelling at various time of day, if you had a thing for that sort of rustic aesthetics. The slight groove it was built into was cradled by hills and the looming forest furnishing them. There was a creek originating from the dark folds of said woodland. Since his arrival, he had been told that if everyone stopped and paid attention to it, they could hear the sound of rushing water, humming like a voice. compelling, growing, engulfing....

.... Moving on. to Edward’s annoyance, the town’s inhabitants were not particularly warm to outsiders. Or perhaps it was the late September’s chill affecting their manners and.... hospitality.

There was, however, one thing Edward did knew about small towns. They kept their history very close to their chests.

All he had to do, was ask the right questions.

“And here we have a painting of Mayor Mansfield, who was in office for nearly 20 years before passing his seat to his son-in-Law, Mayor Redfields Senior, who you might recognize as our current Mayor’s grandfather.”

“Ah yes. Tell me, Mrs. Redfields. Did you-”

“-And finally, here we have a portrait of the Redfields’ Manor, up on the eastern hill. You see, Glory, as we call it, had a change of heart in the 20s, and we were extremely lucky to have a type of soil that favored certain kind of flowers. The Mansfields, who originally built the manor in 1923, made the economy boom through commercialization of our local variety. That business lasted... oh, ten years? Give or take. Then the flowers actually spread outside of the area and, it’s been regarded as little more than weed by the locals. Still, every spring, you can see them everywhere, particularly on your way up the hill to the manor! It is luxurious and rich and covering the lands like the blood of our nation!”

Edward nodded amiably at the stout woman, tightening his fists behind his back as he awaited for his client to finish “an important call”. Mrs. Redfields must had been in her late 50s, with a obvious habit of smoking for the looks of her teeth and a subtle yellowing of her fingers... Unless the nearby spittoons were actually indicative of a tobacco chewer. Either way.

Her eyes were somewhat sunken deep in her skull. They were alert and alive with the newfound opportunity of sharing the history of their town to any politely inquisitive visitors, and had commandeered the conversation ever since Edward had uttered his first unfortunate question.

At any another time, perhaps Edward would had enjoyed this kind of tour. But he had the growing impression that his client had either forgotten he was expecting to see him or, plausibly, that the lady herself had not actually informed her husband of his arrival as soon as she saw the possibility to ramble the excess of information held into her thinning cranium and never had the chance to spill at any of the jaded locals.

Which, to an extent, Edward sympathized with. However, he was not above hypocrisy.

Before he could make his 5th attempt at placing a word in the conversation, the tall doors leading to the Mayoral office opened on a balding man with a permanent wrinkle up on his forehead. His brows were knitted as he ran his eyes across the hall. “Margaret, have you seen- OH! Oh, Detective Nygma, welcome! I was expecting you earlier, I was worried you might have gotten lost on your way here...”

Edward tried not to shot his eyes through the lady next to him who, he could see from the corner of his eyes, was puffing her chest, standing as tall as her height permitted. Shamelessly daring anyone to question her reasoning.

“It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Mr. Redfield.” Edward crossed the distance swiftly, shaking the man’s hand. His palms were sweaty and left a sticky sensation over his own.

Mayor Redfields briefly grinned apologetically, though it was not very convincing a grin. Everyone was quite aware of that, and he did not try further. “Let us begin, then. Please, come in. Have a seat.”

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The Mayor’s Office was, in a similar taste as the rest of the house, old-fashioned with a hint of decay around its edges. Edward made sure not to point them out and focused on the content of the office itself, which featured books and papers at various places obviously not made for books and papers. It was messy, is what he was trying NOT to say.

Many pictures of those infamous red flowers as well, whom the redhead could recognize as Morning glories.

The detective sat in a pink-cushioned chair with his legs crossed, his hands patiently folded until he heard the ridiculous favor he had been asked to perform for this man.

“I must say, Mr. Redfields, your friends were... quite convincing when I was told I was required to assist you in this.... case.”

“Ah... yes. It’s been quite a thorn in my side for the 2 past years-.”

“Which I’ve come to understand,” Edward cut him, grinning unpleasantly. “has to do with disappearing citizens? Would you mind elaborating on that, or should I go the old-fashioned way and interview each and every single one of your constituents? However, I trust you could offer some valuable insights?”

He should had been mindful of the condescension in his tone, but his patience had ran thin until this conversation. He had lost valuable time, and he would gladly appreciate a quick briefing on what he needed to know to begin his investigation and get done with this hellhole.

He saw the other man straightening himself, leaning his elbows over the desk. “Of course... Well, there have been a few... disappearances, in the past few years. Some we just assumed people who left and never returned, having shown signs of those kind of behaviors in the past. However..... We recently found how... one of our most skilled hunter have met a most... dreadful end. It-... It has been a week now so, of course our police department have investigated the crime scene and removed the corpse from it’s.... confinement.”

“Confinement?” The detective emphasized, observing every detail of the man in front of him. From his shifty eyes to the shaking of his hands.

Redfields fetched a cloth he used to wipe the pearls of sweat on his forehead, rising to retrieve a folder from one of his drawers.

“We took pictures of everything, of course. I’ve... not looked at them much myself. It is a rather upsetting sight for me. Acker was a good friend of mine...” he trailed off, looking anywhere except at Edward’s perceptive glare.

Edward leaned to take the folder, opening it to reveal.... a rather peculiar death.

Well.

“Intriguing.” Edward carded through each pictures. Taking a moment to notice the details of every frame. “Mr. Redfields?”

The older man turned to him in mild astonishment, as if he had only noticed him now. “Yes?”

“Has this ever happened before?”

Edward kept a close eye on the man, and what he saw only made him more.. curious.

“No! No... This is, not anything I have ever seen. You.. You can clearly see the branches had gone-..... oh god”

“It’s quite alright, sir. Please sit back down.”

And the man did just so, looking particularly upset. He resumed wiping at his bald head while Edward looked at the pictures a second time over.

Admittedly, if this murder had been staged, which it must had been... someone had put incredible efforts to make it look like a tree had somehow engulfed the man into its trunk, branches and leaves sprouting out of his permanently escaping corpse. His arms reaching out for an escape he had obviously no power to reach...

What was most striking was the utter look of terror in the man’s expression. If all of this was true, the hunter had seen some unspeakable horror.... Well. Theoretically, dying in that fashion would be quite horrifying, you didn’t need to be a genius the likes of him to know that much.

Which was nonsense, really. But, a possibility.

“Any idea how he had got himself stuck in there? Unless that is a hobby around these parts...”

“Oh, no, no... We, truly do not know.”

Something in his voice made Edward shot his eyes back on him, this time, the mayor found himself pinned from a severe glare.

This was the second time the man had lied to him, and he was itching to find answers.

“Truly?” the detective repeated, irking a brow at him.

“Well..... well there is...”

“I need all the information I can work with, Mr. Redfields. So I suggest you tell me what’s troubling you so much.” He kept his sight on him for a spell, then tilted his head. “Unless you want me to find out for myself?”

Redfields didn’t answered right away, but managed to mutter an explanation.

“It all started when my great-grandfather became mayor of this town...”

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Something new had come into Glory Hills.

From the depth, It hummed to his ears like a rumor through the leaves. It traveled like shimmer through the thickest of branches.

It pulled at his core, at the bones at his feet, at the roots feeding on them.

From the Unseen to the cursed... and in their silence, bound into completion.

It led him back to their civilization, breathing in the foul stench.

And his whole kingdom inhaled as one.

Something new had come into Glory Hills.

The air tasted of rust. Stained those who stayed too long on these grounds. It moved around them, it moved from them. Seeping into their clothes and drowning their thoughts with the promises of mortality and decay.

The time had come again.

But this year would be... most memorable.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“So what you are telling me... is how this town has been haunted by a creature of the woods for the last century?” the redhead was incredulous. He was also irritated. He was going through a lot at the moment.

Folk tales..... of all things.

“Well... It never came to this before. They stayed near the perimeter of the forests... Acker was a good man, he would had never gone to... to that place...” Redfields rubbed both of his meaty hands over his tired eyes. He looked near exhausted. “They never bothered us like this before.”

Edward made a note to... entertain the idea. Although the thought alone was royally insulting his intellect. He let the silence grow between them until the other man managed to look at him again.

“That place you’re referring to being the crime scene?”

“Yes...”

“I suppose you were not expecting me to shy away from a crime scene on the account of it being haunted?”

“It isn’t haunted, Mr.-”

“-Detective.”

“.... Detective Nygma, but no... Despite my beliefs, I know we must find answers first...”

Edward nodded at his conclusion. The mayor filled him in on additional details, showing him a map of the events which Edward borrowed shamelessly as he stood to take his leaves. The sun was setting and he had half a mind to go back to his...... “residence” before going to the next logical step of his investigation.

Hitting the local bars.

“The answer is evident to me, Mayor Redfields,” Edward approached almost amiably, putting on his emerald green coat and favored bowler hat on, a cane he had begrudgingly left behind when Lady Redfields had pried it out of his hands with aggressive hospitality. “do you believe the disappearances are connected to this affair?”

“Oh no well, not all of them I’m sure... We do lose a few kids every year to the appeal of the city.” He tried to grin, like this was some kind inside joke which Edward did not have a witty banter to reply with.

“I will see you tomorrow at noon. Until then, Mayor Redfields.”

The man offered once more that esquisse of a smile as Edward turned to open the door, leaving behind this troubled man who, even if he hated to admit it, had quite a mystery on his hands.

Perhaps, aside for all the nonsense of it, Edward has found a puzzle worth his time in this dreadful place.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

As the eccentric "detective” left the driveway of their home, Geordan Redfields stood where he was last seen for as long as he could hear the sound of wheels on the crumbling pavement. As he turned to walk back into his office, he found his wife Margaret standing there with a basket of fresh baked goods, a look of disgruntlement as she held it with one hand, the other on her bony hip.

“You forgot the basket, Dan.” She sighed, almost dropping it carelessly on a table-stand. “How is he going to stay plump if you let him run around so much?”

“Patience, my flower.” Geordan’s attitude at completely changed as soon as the man left. He exhaled loudly and ambled back to plant a kiss between her brows, her eyes throwing lightnings at him, he had no doubts.

“We still have a month ahead of us, do we not?”

Author’s notes: Hey guys, thank you for reading this. I owe a great lot to my friends and those who encourage me no matter the moods.

I'll see you guys on the next cliff hanger. I love you all, please stay warm <3<3<3

ps: Comments are appreciated. Dammit. I love ya’ll but give me some damn feedback so I know what you want.

#scriddler #Jonathan Crane #edward nygma #scarecrow #riddler #fantasy au #fae au #monster au #murder mystery #horror au #dark fairy tale #there's a lot of aus man #slow burn

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