The Judge's Story - Tumblr Posts
Day 1 - Tender
His hands are oh, oh so tender Providing sweet protection While around you shadows render Shapes of wild, toothy nightmares
Your name on his breath a reminder Of his unbridled, fearsome power To throw your heart into the grinder But the want outweighs the fear
Sensual and fond, he raises you Above the doubts you drown in But praising whispers melt into Warnings of the coming fall
Your soul bows in brief surrender Before your body catches on Because this new master is tender Unlike all who held your leash before
-- poetry by Ismaire
Boy, Ashe has a lot of contenders for Darr's... heart. Yeah.
Day 2 - Favorite Treat
Ashe has the tastiest blood, which is great for a ravenous predator like Darr. And Darr is willing to indulge, which is great for willing prey like Ashe. What a partnership~
Day 3 - Forgiveness
Elise is really one of the kindest characters in this story. She just doesn't want to lose her only brother, so she can get a bit testy when Ashe comes by after nearly getting his head bitten off by some nasty creature.
And she's not wrong about how much time he spends watching Darr when he should be concentrating on his work.
Day 4 - Secret
No one was supposed to know what Bradie came from. Who told them?
It sucks when people at your workplace learn private things about you and gossip about them openly because they don't think you have real, human feelings or something.
At least she'll learn that her team will always back her.
Day 5 - Cuddle
The nightmares come every night, but they're a lot less terrible when I'm holding you.
Day 6 - Target Sighted
I figured it's about time I actually draw Darr and the crew doing their spook-hunting thing. Since, you know, it's a major aspect of the story, right behind Darr and Ashe driving each other to crazytown.
... Oh no, it looks like the monster on the hill isn't the only target that's been sighted. OnO
Day 7 - Happy Birthday
The heat of the combat test had worn off, and left the two thoroughly punished teens leaning against each other as they waited for results, or dismissal, or... anything. In the brief lull, Darr finally mumbled what he'd been debating over all day - no one else would say it to the boarding school's cold-hearted queen bee, so he should.
"... Happy Birthday, Cee."
Cecilia startled faintly against Darr's back. He felt her crane her neck toward him, taking some pride in the fact that it probably ached to do so.
"You remembered." It was hard to tell if she was glad or annoyed.
"Sure."
"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" She elbowed him - right in the ribs where she'd clawed into him earlier. "Got in trouble so Dr. W would put you in this test with me."
"Nobody should be alone with Sr. Rayos on their birthday." He shrugged against her.
Her uncomfortable pause said enough. Even she didn't want to be tested against Vidal Rayos, the school's hulking disciplinarian, and her only choice of opponent if another student hadn't gotten himself in hot water just in time.
"God, you're stupid. But... thanks."
Day 8 - Morning Routine
If an evil villainess wants to get anything done, she's GOT to have a morning routine~
My half of the trade with hubby Izzy ♥
Ashe stole Darr's jacket in hopes of getting his attention after work 😗 As far as that typing indicator goes, though, it's been stuck like that for a minute lol
Favorite Treat (Sketchtember 2024 - Day 2)
[The Judge]
Ismaire: Day 2, here we go~!
Eden has an absolutely mad sweet tooth, and Bradie loves teasing him about it. The smol friend perched on Eden's head is Matthew, and I'll explain him at some point. He's very much involved in everything they do, and they're grateful that he is.
Secret (Sketchtember 2024 - Day 4)
[The Judge]
Ismaire: The trio sleep soundly in their most recent safe house, charms and wards hung, painted and strewn around to hopefully keep any wandering monsters from taking an interest in their spot.
Eden and Bradie share a handful of secrets by this point in the story, but the most important one is Matthew. When they first met Matt, he was a huge and terrifying monster… that acted like a human. He learned from them, imprinted on them, and even put himself in harm's way to save them - an act of sacrifice they thought had ended him at first.
Matt survived, though he now has to regenerate from the very small piece of himself that was left. He will devote himself to being their big, fierce guardian again someday, but for now they're the ones guarding him, teaching him to be a human, and keeping him a precious secret.
Their world might be ready someday to accept a good-hearted man like Matt who just happens to look like a beast. But for now…
Cuddle (Sketchtember 2024 - Day 5)
[The Judge]
When you're the newly-minted queen of Hell and you are supposed to go end a long and bloody war with a godlike weapon of shadows, and pretty much every other plan has been tried and failed, except for…
… Kindness.
Sometimes the most badass thing you can do is be the first to put down your sword.
Lol what does this have to do with The Judge? Everything. It will eventually come together I swear.
Happy Birthday (Sketchtember 2024 - Day 7)
[The Judge]
Ismaire:
Darr gets this Day 7 prompt for the second year in a row, whoops. He just has that kind of luck, I guess~ But where last year I showed him saying a happy birthday to someone who really needed it, this time he's wishing he could say it in a situation where it's just better for everyone if he doesn't.
He'll never send that text. He can't. This is supposed to be a one-way communication channel, and it's not worth the risk.
Guilty Pleasure (Sketchtember 2024 - Day 9)
[The Judge]
Ismaire: I guess it's about time I dragged Darr and Ashe into a sweet prompt together, huh?
Let this be proof that, at least much later in the story, Darr finally lets his death grip off the gas a little and learns to relax… sometimes. Almost exclusively with Ashe, and still not as much as he should, but he's learning. He still tends to feel like anything done for personal pleasure is a 'guilty' pleasure, but the two of them just love jamming together so much.
I mean, he painted those lilies on Ashe's guitar for him, for hell's sake. He's so dumb sometimes. Still, progress~
Support (Sketchtember 2024 - Day 11)
[The Judge]
Ismaire:
I'm pleased I get to show off another member of Darr's hunting team in action. Reba is a fantastic team support, both in terms of her skillsets and her personality.
On the skill side, she is the "heavy" expert in the team, trained in using some of the most complex and dangerous equipment that HOST's operatives have access to - like a giant arm-cannon that requires a generator backpack and a delicate balance of timed shots in order to not risk overloading. Thanks to her body-building hobby, she's also able to use most of this equipment completely without implanted enhancements, which she is very proud of.
On the personality side, she is willing to drop pretty much all notion of self-preservation and rush her freckled ass into danger for the life of any teammate or bystander. She's an absolute determinator and would fight until the life leaves her body no matter how dismal the circumstances.
Worst Fear (Sketchtember 2024 - Day 13)
[The Judge]
Ismaire: Matthew's worst fear is losing Eden and Bradie. And much to his own horror, especially as he continues regenerating toward his previous full size, he realizes one of the things most likely to cause that to happen is… his own monstrous instincts.
When he was injured, Matt's body had undergone a hard-restart. Growing back to full size was like growing up all over again, and just recently he had started experiencing these insanely strong hunting urges, as if for the first time. It had caught him off guard, and Eden had… he didn't know, maybe just moved the wrong way at the wrong moment, and something in Matthew had screamed--
-- 'PREY.'
Guarding Eden's bedside that night, Matt promised himself he'd ensure this never happened again, or he would leave.