#mimi writes

It's cool—works just fine, though it has some parental restriction codes that were quite the inconvenience to get through, but it's free. That's right. Zero dollars. You just visited Miss Toriel one day like you thought any good neighbor would. And luckily for you, she asked if you could take her television off her hands, because no one in the family used it anymore, and it just brought back memories she didn't want.

So you helped Miss Toriel and got a free TV. Sweet.

It sits in your house, affectionately nicknamed "Tenna"—because of its long antennae that almost seem to squirm when you touch them. You know it is far from the most modern form of entertainment, but it is entertainment nonetheless, and besides—you've reluctantly grown attached to this television. Late nights on the couch, just you and it, have become commonplace. Sometimes, you even fall asleep.

And on one of those nights, the dreams begin.

You are in a place so dark it's light again—bright, saturated colors in checkered patterns marking the floors, infomercials everywhere, and tons of little flyers with the same fuzzy TV silhouette your eyes can briefly make out.

Okay, what kind of fever dream this is, you don't even know. Might as well just make the best of it.

You pick up a flyer.

"Coming Straight From Your House—Mr. (Ant) Tenna's Marvelous Mystery Board!"

Some sort of game show- wait, did that flyer just talk?

There is suddenly a spotlight on you.

"That's right!" Continues the voice, with the same chipper yet even timbre of a gameshow host. From the wall behind you pops out-

A man with a television head.

A very hot man with a television head.

You would be remiss not to admit it, really. Sure, he does, well, you know, but the TV-head is really just a bonus! On top of that surprisingly charming suit and nice ass, the TV-head fills your brain with ideas that make you wonder if you are deranged.

You decide not to give them the time of day just yet.

Meanwhile, the man with the television head continues to race about his gameshow.

"Special prizes, physical challenges, and more, only on-"

"I'm in," you say, and for all his bravado, the television man—Mister Ant Tenna from the poster, wait, your TV is named Tenna, wait, are you seriously dreaming about your TV as a hot gameshow host—startles noticeably, antennae going ramrod straight.

"You are?" He says. You nod.

"Uh, yeah. Seems cool."

He claps his hands with excitement, and suddenly, a thermometer appears on screen, immediately cracking with excitement.

"Magnificent! Splendid! The Fun-O-Meter's off the chart folks! Mike, play the applause!"

And pre-recorded applause ensues. You wonder if anyone is actually watching. Except no one is watching, because this is a dream.

You go through the motions—play the games, win the prizes. You get Z Rank, because you have what many would call a massive skill issue. But Tenna does not mind, regarding you with the patience of a saint.

The credits roll, but Tenna seems hesitant.

"Maybe- another round?" He suggests. You nod.

"When I come back," you say, before he can get the wrong idea. "Every good show needs an intermission.'

With that, you leave your dream, certain that it really was just that. A one time dream.

But then, the next late night on the couch comes, and you find yourself in that same dream once again.

Tenna's antennae droop as he speaks to you in private afterwards.

"You sure took a lot time!" He says, trying to sound cheery. It fails, though, considering the way he shrinks in discontent. "It's alright though, I get it. It was fun enough, just me and the board- I've- never been good company anyways, and-"

He's trying so hard to sound alright with it that it just makes you feel even more guilty. His antennae droop, and you avert your eyes in a desperate attempt to stop the guilt from stabbing at your heart. It doesn't work.

"You're great company," you say, in lieu of asking how come it was just him and the board when he has all those employees under him. "You know what? I'll stay as many rounds as you want! Seem fair?"

Immediately, he perks up, rapidly growing in excitement, antennae perked back up.

"Absolutely wonderful!" He says. The Fun-O-Meter once again explodes. Applause roars as Tenna starts rambling.

You play and play as many bonus rounds as you can until Tenna is something akin to satisfied. At last, you wake up.

You have slept through the entire day. Angry messages await you, as a result of obligations miserably unfulfilled. You don't even want to check them.

But you do. Typing out responses and making amends.

You wish you were back there, in that dream of yours.

So you stay by the television and fall asleep once more.

And once again, Tenna greets you.

"You came by faster today, darling!" He says. You find yourself liking the nickname, if only because it is him saying it.

You nod.

"That I did."

"Miss me?" He asks, and if he had eyes you just know he'd be batting them innocently.

"No," you start, trying to set up some sort of coy flirtation, but you immediately regret it when he visibly deflates.

"Oh," he says. "I- should have seen that coming. I mean, hah, you're absolutely stellar, darling, and I'm... Just..."

"I- I didn't mean it!" You hastily amend. "I was just joking. Really, I don't even know what I was thinking; I'm sorry!"

He smiles at that, placing a tentative arm on your shoulder.

"You-" he starts, before clearing his throat and trying to regain his composure. "You won't mind if I do this, then?"

And before you can ask what he means, he's pressing a fiery, impassioned kiss to your lips.

It's half-loving, gentle, like you are the most precious thing he has ever held within his arms, half an act of possession, like he wants to lay claim to you in a way no one else can. The possessive half is carried out guiltily, you can tell, the way he gently licks at all the bites he leaves, consoles you when you yelp at the little electric shock he gives.

You've never wanted anything more.

The kiss ends, and you find a gutted sob escaping you. Tenna startles.

"Was that not alright, darling?"

"This- This can't be a dream," you say. You feel pathetic, longing for a relationship conjured up in a fantasy like this. A man born from your own furniture, who obsesses over your happiness like it is his sole priority. That can't be what you want, and yet it is. "Please don't let this be a dream."

You suddenly feel a comforting hand on your back, the touch initially sending a shock down your spine."

"It's not a dream," Tenna says, breath tickling your ear. You can only hope he's right.

You wake up with a start, dreading the day.

——————————————————————————

The relationship of your dreams is half fantasy, half nightmare. Tenna is a sweetheart, indeed he is, always fretting over your every concern and comfort, letting your worries melt away with his games and challenges.

And then sometimes he'll snap, scold you or break, and mere moments later, he'll be on his knees, begging not to leave.

"Please stay," he begs you one night, the blow of the wind that should have been pleasant chilling you to your very core. "You're all I have. Please-"

"I will," you nod, gulping. He doesn't believe you, face contorting into its familiar motion, and regardless of having no eyes, it's oh-so expressive that it immediately makes you shoot up with dread.

"Say you love me," he whispers, shaking you with a manic sort of feel. "Say it."

"I love you."

"I don't believe you."

"I- I love you," you say. "Please."

And like some sort of trance has been broken, his head jerks, the hands that were only just shaking you now cradling with the gentleness you normally know.

"I'm sorry," he murmurs, kissing reverently as if that'll prove anything. "Don't leave me. Please."

You know you won't. You can't. You'll keep waking up later and later in the day, letting him take more and more out of your time. He is greedy, absolutely ravenous when it comes to you, and he'll devour you whole if that's what you offer.

And yet you offer yourself whole anyways, because you just can't say no.

Time passes. It's all a blur. You remember less and less of your day to day activities, and more and more of your dreams. Of Tenna, sweet and charismatic and pleadingly manic the next. How he beckons for you to stay even when the ring you now recognize as your alarm screams for you to wake up.

And how could you not, when his kisses are so inviting?

It all comes to a head one night.

"Stay," he murmurs, serving you dinner. You sigh.

"You know I will," you say.

"Not like that," he says. "Stay here. Forever."

"For- ever?"

Your eyes widen as the implication of his words catches up to you all too late.

These dreams- no- they're-

"I have a life back outside," you say, panicking as his antennae twitch in displeasure.

"Then you'll leave me to rot...?" He asks, falsely resigned. You gulp. You know him better by now. You know how intelligent he is. How assured.

He knows exactly what you'll say, that he knows you know but you'll do it anyways, damnit-

"That's not what I mean," you say. He sighs.

"Of course you can tell yourself that!" He says. "I really am insignificant... Just a tryst-"

"I'll stay," you say at last, acquiescing as you always have. He beams, kissing you like a touch-starved puppy, and you forget yourself for a few moments.

As far as any of your friends and family know, you will never wake up again.

💝 Firefly, while an emotional person at heart, knows that she can never truly be with you. She’s the biggest yearner around, she wants to be normal just like you! She wants to have those sweet days with you, but considering the danger she could put you in, by virtue of her being a Stellaron Hunter and  you being a normal person, she would never do that. She’d rather hurt herself than see you in pain.

💝 This isn’t to say she’s good at hiding her crush– far from it. Basically every other Stellaron Hunter immediately caught onto her schoolgirl crush on you, and Silver Wolf is the one who noticed that she’d been getting almost obsessive over you.

💝 Even though she believes she can never know you, or be with you, she is still your protector in a sense. If you have people after you, or danger on the loose she is immediately there to rescue you.

💝 If you get to the point where finally see her for herself, and not just her mech, she is actual putty in your hands. Not that she wasn’t before, but Firefly was already an extremely possessive and protective yandere. Of course; she still has her own moral compass it’s just that to her, the ends justify the means when it comes to you.

💝 To you, Firefly is a sweet girl, who wants to be a normal girl. But to someone she sees as a rival, she is quite possibly one of the worst matchups you could have ever gotten. (Out of the Stellaron Hunters, Kafka would actually be the safest). She can be extremely violent when she deems it necessary, though if you ever saw her like this, it would break her heart in two.

💝 She does not want to kill people, but if they insist on getting in your way; she will do what she believes must be done. Despite believing her feelings for you are inferior and that she can never act on them, she can be kind of hypocritical when it comes to keeping you “safe”.

💝 Despite not believing she is worthy of you, she is actually a yandere who can be easily manipulated to kidnap you – all she needs is a little push in the right direction, and she’ll justify it to herself that you need her protection, you’ll be safer with the Stellaron Hunters. 

💝 However, knowing outside of the Dreamscape that she could never see you outside of SAM would break her heart, but if she has already made the decision to kidnap you, she will go through with it. Firefly knows this world is dangerous, and a normal human like you is just going to be fodder if you stay where you were any longer and she can’t have that. She won’t.

Two days ago, Makoto as the head (in all but official name) of the Fourteenth Division, went to speak with leadership from a well-established local gang. Through the gang’s ability to move freely about the city, they’d been able to gain a foothold of control there. This, despite the way that old collapsed rubble made travel between sub-settlements within the city difficult. Using this mobility, they would offer protection… and a domineering presence over the locals. Which was a problem when the Future Foundation arrived to provide aid, as any civilians were afraid to ask for help from outsiders due to the risk of the gang seeing it as an insult to their authority.

During their short meeting, Makoto was warm towards them. He offered cooperation, recognized the good that the gang has done for their community, protecting them from lingering members of despair. He proposed a way they could work together. …And in return, they gave Makoto complete disrespect. Throwing his words in his face, talking down to him for his age, questioning him at every turn… Refusing to work with him. As Izuru stood at Makoto’s side, silent through it all, the only thing that kept him from striking each one down until they had no choice but to kneel, was that Makoto would be upset to witness violence.

And so, to protect Makoto, Izuru must be thorough. Careful to leave no trace when he broke into the administrative system for the Future Foundation and gave himself a job for the day in that town. Careful when he baits the gang to the very edges of their territory with false indications of a roving group of despairs planning an attack. And careful when he finishes his assignment with just enough time to not raise any eyebrows about his brief absence from either the Future Foundation headquarters or his work site.

Perfection, Izuru knows, while envied and strived over by many, is often not truly necessary. It was one of the reasons Izuru was so reluctant to put his hands to tasks that any ordinary person could accomplish. Tasks that were inherently beneath him. This however, serving Makoto… Izuru could not imagine anything less than perfection would be acceptable.

In this way, by giving him a purpose, Makoto has transfigured Izuru utterly.

From his worksite to the outskirts of the city where he would meet the gang in full force, Izuru moves through shadows and in and out of blind spots. There would be not a single person who could say they saw Izuru there. He arrives ten minutes and thirty-six seconds after completing his assignment. And as appealing as the prospect of dragging this out for hours might be, Izuru has conservatively, five minutes to get this done. He descends into the tunnels under the city, which are the real reason this gang has any power in the first place.

As with many things, Izuru is normally indifferent towards violence. He is familiar with human pain, human anatomy, the psychological processes of fear and bargaining. But this will not be an empty act of violence. Instead, it is an extension of Makoto’s will. Not a direct order or even the implication of one, but the very essence of Makoto’s desires. There is a barrier between Makoto and success and Izuru will strike it down, unrestrained by the title of Ultimate Hope.

Izuru’s hand curls into the makeshift wiring zip tied to the pipes running along the walls of the tunnels. A sharp yank, and the lights go out all at once. The sudden darkness doesn’t slow Izuru at all. He pulls a length of pipe from the wall, testing the new weight in his hand. Below him, he can hear shouts of confusion from the men gathered, and unhesitating, he jumps over the railing of the spiral staircase leading downwards.

Cutting through the noise of the gang members comes a thin, toneless whistling in the darkness. The men go silent. Izuru descends on them.

If he wanted to, Izuru could easily justify his devotion to Makoto. The luck that Makoto carries is endlessly fascinating- erratic in a way that Komaeda’s isn’t, seemingly following no cycles at all. Or he could frame it as carrying out the results of the experiment he ran with the Neo World Program. Izuru intended to see which was stronger- Hajime’s hope and will to live, or Enoshima’s despair and desire to use Izuru as a weapon. In the end it was neither and Makoto was the one who freed him. So then it should logically follow that Makoto was the winner of this gamble. Or if not that, Izuru could simply tell himself that Makoto is true Ultimate Hope, that Izuru as a tool for hope, has no better master than him.

However, Izuru knows the truth of the matter. It is nothing as clean as simple logic that has him here, in the sewers below a nameless city.

Driving forwards, Izuru’s pipe crunches into the ribs of the man in front of him. There is no way for him to scream with collapsed lungs. He chokes and folds in on himself, sputtering blood weakly. Izuru steps over the body and moves onto the next, soundless, save for the whistling of his pipe through the air.

No, not logic at all. Hope defies it. Stands boldly in the face of it. Everything Izuru believed was impossible because of the immovable facts of the very universe- it’s all been shattered completely. Because of who Makoto is, he would not let Izuru be a tool for him. Instead… Makoto has transformed him. Pygmalion was a selfish and shallow man. The myths should be rewritten for Makoto, who took Izuru with his heart made of stone, formless in his own limitless potential, and sculpted him into a person. Makoto, whose love overflows so much that it seeped into Izuru until he could also love.

Panicked shots ricochet off the walls of the tunnel in answer to the whistling, a flash of gunpowder igniting, fully pointless. Izuru snaps the neck of the gang member closest to him and moves onto the next.

Whistling, then silence. Over and over again.

And at last, Izuru is standing in still darkness, breathing air thick with blood. As Izuru catches his breath, he finds that the emptiness that sometimes accompanies performing his talents does not come. There is no room for it. Izuru has someone he must return to.

In the end, though Izuru got a negligible amount of blood on his person while out- a smattering over his shoes, a bit on the cuff of his blazer, the extra change of clothes he prepared still feels necessary. He draws his coat over his shoulders and bundles up the old clothes in the plastic bag that just housed the fresh ones, reaches up to open a panel in the elevator ceiling, and then promptly tosses the bag through.

When Izuru first woke from the Neo World Program, it was to Makoto’s smiling face. And later, when it came out that Izuru was still himself and not Hajime, he was the only one who didn’t look disappointed. Even in the face of Izuru’s betrayal, Makoto has never once tensed in fear around Izuru. He does not think of Izuru’s continued existence as a failure of the program. He doesn’t hesitate to touch Izuru. He treats Izuru not as a god or a monster or an object, but as a person…

Makoto is kindness incarnate. He is not Ultimate Hope because of a talent embedded into him, but because of who he is fundamentally. And Izuru cannot help but be consumed with him.

Izuru is out the doors as soon as the elevator opens, and then he is down the hall, around the corner, and opening Makoto’s office. (He leaves it unlocked and Izuru has done this enough to know that he is welcomed here.) It’s only then, when he sees him, that Izuru pauses at all.

Makoto is seated behind his desk, working. Pale light from the laptop in front of him washes over his face, draining it of color, highlighting the bags under his eyes which would not have been visible otherwise. He’s hunched slightly, a little furrow between his brows that is so utterly mundane and yet not boring at all. Izuru walks towards him, drawn those last few feet until they are together again. Soundless, Izuru sweeps in behind Makoto before he settles his arms around him, resting his cheek against his hair.

“Human!~ Come on!” I unsheath my sword, giggling. “No more running away…!”

Experience. I’m looking for her. To get her Experience. It’s been destined to be mine…!

The ever-growing urges in my brain keep getting louder. They tell me to just kill the human and get it over with. This is it. This is the moment I've been waiting for. Waiting. For so, so long.

Do it, Elizabeth, my thoughts scream. Do it. Kill that girl. Do it now. Experience is your number one priority, remember?

I can't handle it anymore. I just want to kill her.

“You… Haha… G-Get over here…!"

My eyes catch the magenta of her henley shirt. Finally. I focus on her as my heart starts beating with primal excitement. My legs move automatically towards the human, sword in hands. 

I forcefully push the human flat onto her stomach, in perfect position. She is begging to me. Begging, pleading for her life to be spared. Just how I like it. But while I was trying to get my sword out from behind her, I accidentally cut some hair off from how sharp the blade is! I think seeing the hair on the ground just made my episode begin to get more intense…

"I wanna just… stab you right now, and… w-watch the blood drain out of your body…! I-I'm gonna slash your throat with the steel of my blade!" I laugh at the human. It's a sickening laugh. "And… i-if you survive that, I'm gonna bash your head on one of those tr-trees over there. I'm finally gonna get your Experience. Finally. F-Finally… Ahahaa…"

I really can't take this adrenaline rush any longer. My heart is beating so fast just from the thrill alone! And it’s so loud I can hear it in my ears… The stress is pushing at the muscles and tendons in my arms, along with my blade. I've already sliced some of her hair off, why not go further..?

And that's when I break.

I thrust my sword into her back, and the blood immediately starts seeping out of the wound.  Another huge wave of excitement fills my body as I slowly pull the blade out. I try my hardest to hold back a moan. My sword’s covered in blood now… My breathing quickens as I plunge it in again. I love every moment of this. Then I pull it out again. In, out. In, out. I repeat that about 8 times. And then I stop.

I can't believe it. I finally did it. That human's Experience. It's finally going to be mine…! I've needed it for so long. So long. Hahahaha. I need her Experience. I need Experience. Experience ExperienceExperienceExperienceExperienceExperienceExperienc ExperienceExperienceExperienceExperienceExperienceExperienceExperienceExperienceExperienceExperienceExperienceExperienceExperi

“My heart… C- Can you feel it, human…? Can you feel my heart…?” I turn her onto her back and place her hand on my chest, right where my heart is. It starts beating even faster just from her touch. A sickening grin grows on my face from the sensation.

“Mhh… It’s beating so hard… j-just for you…!” I giggle. “Just ‘c-cause… you’re here…! I can f-finally get your… Your… Hahah…”

My eyes flicker to her stomach. It’s been stained red from when I stabbed her. I look back in the human’s eyes, and back to the mess of blood. The sight of all the blood makes me almost drool on myself. My breaths get faster taking it all in. A laugh dies in my throat. I don’t even think the human’s going to notice my episode anyway. She’s practically unresponsive. 

But after an unnecessarily long delay, I continue to try and kill this girl. I set my hand on the grass to her left - my right hand on my sword, already aligning it to the perfect throat-cutting angle.

I look the human dead in her eyes, but I realize she's barely looking at me back...! Damnit, is her vision fogging up from blood loss…?

Well, it really doesn't matter. I giggle again, right before slitting the human's throat open. And I think I cut that "carotid" artery, thank Jacob. Her blood splatters all over me. On my sword, my gloves, even my face.

Her warm blood feels so good on my face.

Her Experience feels so good on my face.

It feels so good to have something I've hoped for for so long finally happen.

The human finally bleeds out and dies about a minute later. Oh my CODE. I did it. I actually did it! Her Experience, all to myself…! It's been destined to be mine! It always has! But still, I wish she’d gained more of it beforehand. Because then I could have even more. I need more Experience.

And without thinking, I drop my sword and my face flies to her neck, while I try to put my mouth over where I slashed it. After I find the best spot, I clasp my lips over it and start sucking the blood out. Still warm. That metallic penny-ish taste that I’m so familiar with instantly fills my mouth. A feeling of warm pleasure comes to my mind. I can’t believe it…! I get a few gulps of the human’s blood. I lid my eyes from the sensation as a moan escapes my throat. I honestly forgot blood could taste this good when it’s just come out…! 

I need more of her Experience.

But I'm too tired to get more.

Well, I suppose if I'm too tired, I ponder to myself, I guess I could just spend the night laying on the human...? It'd probably be more comfortable than a real bed…

I take my own advice, and curl up against her still warm body, right where my head goes on top of her blood-stained abdomen. The weight of my head makes a little more blood from her neck spurt up and land back down onto itself. I wish it landed on me instead...

Well, no bother, it's not really that much of a big deal. I close my eyes and try (keyword: TRY) to fall asleep. My heavy breaths from pleasure and bloodlust are still apparent, and they make it hard for me to, you know, do the "sleeping" thing. I try to do some breathing exercises I remember from back when to attempt to calm myself down—in for four seconds through my nose, and out for six seconds from my mouth.

It seems to work a bit, but all of my excitement from finally getting the human’s Experience is still yet to fade. It’s just, I've been waiting for so long. I've tried to kill her for so long. And she's finally dead...! I finally have her Experience! 

After a short while, I finally manage to fall asleep. I experienced the best dream ever… It was the same situation I was just in, except the human didn’t die, and she had unlimited blood, so I could just stab her over and over and over again…! And all the wounds and cuts and holes that I created just regenerated themselves, and the blood was still available for me to do whatever I want with it! I had so much fun tormenting the dream-human… I cut off her arms, her legs… I even cut off her head, and the sight of all of the blood alone just made my mind feel so good! I really wish I could experience it forever and ever…

Image I made for this story:

Accompanying audio track: