#He genuinely believes them to be a normal but rich family

[takumiraine]

Once upon a time chapter 10

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Danny slept more soundly in these two little cat naps with Sam and Tucker (and Jason) present than he had in the last couple of years. Really since the ghost shit started. His first awareness was Tucker saying “no dude, seriously, watch.” Right before Danny remembered to breathe.

“Freaky…” he heard Jason mutter.

Danny opened his eyes. “Technically dead, remember?” He yawned, stretching in a way that he had been told most people couldn’t move in.

“It’s still kinda weird man,” Tucker said without a hint of remorse, even as Danny swatted him. “But your food’s done.” That drew Danny’s full attention. He sat up, taking the plate that had been offered to him. Carefully, Danny blew on the rolls, before popping one into his mouth.

“P’f’ct” he mumbled through his bite.

Sam shook her head. “So is your big bat friend aware that we’re coming too, as Danny’s backup?”

“Yeah. I told him. He’s not thrilled but what can he really do. He feels guilty that he missed a chance to help adoption bait.”

“So he doesn’t think I’m going to go villain on you?” Jason shrugged.

“You had plenty of time and motivation to do so to me.”

Tucker’s PDA beeped. He looked down at it. Looked up at Jason. Looked back at it. Showed the results to Sam and Danny. “Does that mean…?” Danny looked back up at Jason.

“Dude. Is your fucking dad Batman?” Danny asked.

“How….?” Jason didn’t have a good answer to that because if he said no, then in like an hour max, Danny would learn of another lie, but if he said yes, it felt like some sort of weird betrayal against B. “What makes you think that?”

“Because Tucker needed to isolate the crack you guys made into the GIW before he could make sure they haven’t done anything about it and… I’m pretty sure the main location came from right where your house is. So it’s either your dad or your butler.”

Jason pinched the bridge of his nose. “Please be surprised when he tells you. And please let me be the one to tell the Replacement that some random guy followed his hacking trail on a goddamn PDA, and was able to deduce Batman’s identity from it. He’s gonna froth at the mouth and I need to be the one to cause that.”

“Who’s the Replacement?” Sam asked.

“The kid that became Robin after me. He and Oracle led the break in to that site.” Danny crunched another couple pizza rolls, while Tucker looked triumphant.

“Watch, they’re like a big creepy family of crime fighting rich people.” Danny nudged his friends between bites. Jason forced himself to laugh along.

“You might never know. B said he was the only one he was going to out tonight.” Jason hedged, trying to play up the mysterious vibe.

The trio shared a look as Danny finished off the rest of his pizza rolls. “Right. Anyways. You’re not going to like blindfold us right? We can just go in like normal people? Or is he going to come to us?”

“He’ll send a car when we’re ready. No blindfolds.”

“Good because I’m not doing kinky stuff with someone I haven’t even kissed yet.” Danny said through another yawn, stretching out obliviously.

Jason stared, open mouthed.

“What…?” Danny asked when he opened one eye mid stretch. He ran back what he just said, face turning scarlet. “I mean… fuck. You know what I mean.” He groused, purposefully not looking at the other three. “You try not really sleeping for five years and see where it gets you.”

Tucker and Sam burst into a fit of laughter. “Called it.” Sam announced, fist bumping Tucker and deftly dodging the swat.

“I can’t believe I’m still friends with you two assholes.” Danny grumbled, still red. “Let’s get this execution over with…”

Bruce sent Alfred in the town car to pick them up. “Master Jason, it is good to see you are making friends.” Alfred’s voice was genuinely caring beneath the dry delivery.

“Yeah yeah. A, these are Danny, Tucker and Sam. Three new people for you to feed.”

“Most excellent, I am always being told that I cook entirely too much.” Feeding a family of vigilantes that never seem to sit still requires a lot of food after all. He opened the back door gesturing for them to enter. “Sirs. Ma’am. Master Jason, I assume you will be taking ‘shotgun’?”

Danny, Tucker and Sam slid into the car, squishing Danny in the middle seat. Jason went around and opened his own door as Alfred closed the back. “Yeah. I’m not feeling like the trunk tonight.”

The ride to the manor was tense, even though Alfred did his best to settle it out by talking about different foods in the fridge that needed to be eaten if ‘you kids’ -Jason included- would be amenable.

For Danny, it was torture on two fronts. First, he had no idea what he was walking into. The second was that even after a pile of pizza rolls, Danny still felt like he had a black hole instead of a stomach. Was that due to the fact his family never seemed to have an adequate volume of non contaminated food, he was a man under 25, a halfa or just hadn’t eaten much recently? Not even he knew the answer to that. He was just pretty used to ignoring the feeling.

When the car drove through the manor’s gates, nobody seemed impressed. Which would have been concerning if Jason hadn’t remembered seeing the Mansons at galas before. Danny seemed like he was trying to melt through the seats, regretting his choice to come there.

“I swear to fuck if it’s Vlad here…” he muttered to the two other teens, so quietly Jason almost didn’t hear it.

“You’d feel it wouldn’t you?” Tucker asked just as quietly.

“Maybe? If it’s not his domain it might take longer…”

“Well do you feel anything now?” From Sam. Jason watched Alfred’s eyes in the mirror. He was listening too.

“No…. Not him. This is the domain of something, but I don’t know who or what.” Danny tried to look out the window, squinting through the glass to look for Jason didn’t know what.

Eventually he shrugged and sat back as the car pulled down the winding drive. It was only as Alfred opened the door to the backseat that something odd happened. Danny’s breath came out in a single puff of winter condensation, and all three of them tensed. Bruce was standing there, watching them, and all three got out, lining up against the back of the car. Danny seemed to be looking at something, distracted while B was giving them the typical welcome speech, and ushering them inside out of the cool night air. Though the other two didn’t seem to be able to see what Danny did, they gave whatever he was looking at a wide berth.

“D?” Tucker asked, hand on Danny’s arm. He just shook his head.

“Not violent.” He murmured back. “Been here a long time…”

That brought up more questions than Jason thought he’d be able to ask in one night. If Bruce heard the exchange he wisely chose to comment on it.

They all followed Bruce into the main sitting room, and the trio sat on the couch while Bruce took one armchair and Jason shoved another to be more lined up with the couch before flopping into it in a way that was sure to make B’s teeth grit.

“Has Jason told you why I’ve brought you here, chum?” Bruce said to Danny once Alfred had brought them all drinks and an assortment of snacks. Danny immediately set in on the food, eating in a way that was just controlled enough to seem bored.

Danny was about to answer when Sam elbowed him in the side. He finished chewing and swallowed. “He said you’d explain everything when we got here. I assumed it was because you thought we were dating and wanted to give me the shovel talk.” A pause. “We aren’t.” Another pause. “Dating that is. These are good snacks.” Danny’s eyes kept darting to something over Bruce’s shoulder.

Jason assumed it was to the portrait of the late Waynes. Those eyes had an uncanny habit of seeming to hone in on you wherever you went. Still, before Bruce could process, Jason put on his best terrible southern accent. “Aw, honey, no need to hide from my father. No doubt you’ll be able to win my dowry in no time.”

“Jason.” Bruce sounded constipated. Good. Serves him right for tormenting Danny. “No, I brought you here because I have something very important to reveal to you.” Bruce waited an appropriately dramatic amount of time, causing Jason to roll his eyes. “I am Batman.” There was a moment before the trio let out the fakest gasp he’d ever heard. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

“What? No way!” God their acting was terrible. Danny was even doing that little nervous laugh thing he did when the topic of families came up in class.

“You knew.” It was less a question and more of a statement, then Bruce turned slowly to focus the full weight of his gaze on Jason. “They knew.”

Jason waved a hand. “Don’t look at me. They figured it out the moment I said we hacked into the GIW. Turns out having one of the hacks originate close to the house meant they could figure it out since they had some basic common sense deduction skills.”

“I….” Bruce sighed heavily and grabbed his mug, looking for the world like he was regretting every choice he’d ever made leading up to that point.

Danny snorted a laugh but covered it with a really badly acted cough. Sam elbowed him and he made a sort of helpless gesture and gestured off to the side of the room. Interesting.

“Care to share with the rest of the class Danny?” Jason asked, watching him as well as he could without actually sitting up.

“Uh… well… it has to do with uh… my powers. The lady over there…” he gestured again to the side of the room, “just told uh…. Mr. Bat…? Mr. Man…? That it’s what children do, and she’s had to watch her “Little Roo” do that to her for years now.”

At the name, Bruce sat up stock straight, looking around the room. “What kind of trick is this?” He growled, defensive. “How did you know that name?” Danny immediately looked nervous, grabbing onto his friends.

“The woman told me. The one in the painting.” Bruce and Jason both turned to look up at the portrait of the Waynes and that was all it took for Danny and his friends to completely disappear.

“Danny, come back. He’s not going to hurt you.” Jason sat up now, trying to locate Danny in the room. He knew the younger man and his friends were still there, he could feel Danny close but it was clear he was trying to reassess the situation.

When Danny didn’t immediately appear again, Jason looked around for something he could throw at Bruce. There wasn’t anything of an appropriate annoyance level immediately handy so he grabbed the pillow off the couch Danny and his friends had vacated and flung it at Bruce, taking no small amount of pride in the resounding thud it made as the fabric connected with his father’s head.

Bruce looked over at him then. “Can I help you?”

“Me? Nah. But you could try to calm Danny down before he gets sick of our shit and ghosts us permanently. He’s hiding here somewhere.” Had he just made a pun??? He needed to spend less time with Tim.

It was only then that Bruce seemed to shake off his shock at what Danny had said to realize that he and his friends were unable to be seen. “Danny? Chum? Jay is right. I will not harm you. I was just…. Shocked by the fact that my mother’s ghost is still here…. And making comments.” There was another moment of silence before Danny spoke again.

“Oh… that being your mom explains a lot. Your dad is here too, but he hasn’t said much.” Slowly, Danny became visible again, floating in the corner with his friends, who seemed far too used to being grabbed and floated off with for their own good. He lowered them to the floor first, and fidgeted with his clothes until Jason reached out and gestured to the remaining food.

“Eat or Alfred will be disappointed.” Carefully, Danny let his feet touch the floor again, and became fully solid and visible. Only once Danny was okay did Tucker and Sam go and sit back down, grabbing a snack for themselves.

“Sorry…” Danny murmured to all of them, retaking his position between his friends.

“Not at all lad. I should be the one apologizing to you. Tonight is the night of unexpected it seems.” Jason noted, that while Bruce should be apologizing, he in fact had not said the words. “I wanted to let you know, personally, that you will be safe from those government stooges while the League still stands. You should not have to be afraid to exist and had we received your messages when they were sent, we would have helped then.“

Danny narrowed his eyes, pausing mid bite. “You’d help some kid you don’t know, just like that?”

Jason snorted then, cutting off Bruce’s response. “Danny, B found like five kids, all with black hair, blue eyes and a tragic backstory. You fit right in.”

Danny looked at Jason for a moment, considering, then at the two ghosts that had stayed in the room. Finally, he nodded. “Alright. I’ll trust you. For now.”

“Excellent. Shall I have Alfred make up a couple of guest rooms?” Bruce looked entirely too happy at the idea of having guests.

“No, I’ve got my own place. But thanks…” Danny said, trying very hard not to look worried at the invitation.

Jason texted something to Alfred, then stood when the butler entered the room with a large ziploc bag. Jason stood and took it, then dumped the rest of the snacks into the bag before pressing it into Danny’s hands.

“C’mon. I’ll bring you home. You look exhausted still.” Jason carefully, but casually positioned himself between Bruce and Danny. Not that Jason didn’t trust Bruce, but Danny had been through a lot and Jason wanted to offer any protection or comfort he could. Danny nodded, standing with his friends. Sam looped one of her arms through his.

“Thank you for the food and assurances of Danny’s safety.” Tucker said diplomatically as Sam pulled Danny after Jason.

[charliehoennam]

hero's homestead

A/N: just a lil blurb I've had stuck on my mind and had to frigging get out since watching Road House

Pairing: Elwood Dalton x f!reader

Warnings: physical injuries, jealousy, kissing, mentions of grief and death

SHARING IS CARING, SO PLEASE REBLOG

Growing up in Glass Key made your face quite familiar around these parts. Everyone knew you, not because you were popular or from a rich family. Lord knows you wish you were.

But because the island was just so small, like a little fishbowl with too many sharks circling around their prey, everyone knew each other around here. However, the small island was full of a strong sense of community.

Your friendship with Charlie started while you were in high school. You were just a freshman and Charlie was six when Stephen and his wife would very often ask you to baby-sit.

Saying no to them was nearly impossible. Not only did they pay you well, but they always offered you a ride home and made you sure you had dinner before leaving. They really treated you like you were part of the family and helping one another in the community was just so normal.

They always treated you with welcoming kindness and respect so, if there was anything you could do to help them, you did it. Aside from baby-sitting Charlie, this included working at their book store.

You were around there most of the time. If you weren't at home or at school, you were at Glass Books.

As you got older, you started to spend less and less time there in order to focus on your own personal and professional life.

That didn't mean you were never around anymore. You still made your frequent stop to buy the new read of the week.

"Why don't you just get all the books you want for the month, so you don't have to keep coming back?" Charlie questioned genuinely curious.

"Nah, I like coming here. I like the service. And besides, you'd miss me too much, kid" you chuckled watching the young teenage ring your book up at the register.

When Stephen told you about his wife's illness, it really took you by surprise. She could've easily been voted the happiest woman of Glass Key. The aura she possessed could make the dullest room become the brightest. Her sense of humor would have even the most no-nonsense person cracking a smile. She was an amazing woman and a motherly figure to most.

The entire community mourned her loss. The blue sky and the tropical environment wasn't enough to brighten the day for your neighborhood's residents. The heavy rains that followed that entire week led you to believe that even the island was weeping for her absence.

Between medical expenses, funeral costs and a growing teenager, Stephen had to learn to be a single father quite fast. And that meant working a full-time job to make end's meet.

He asked you to help out with the store and you happily agreed. Glass Books was his wife's dream. She loved spending her days there, in the cozy little bookstore she'd built with the love of her life.

Although you know Stephen has a lot on his plate, you can't help but wonder if he wants to avoid the store and her memory altogether.

You refused to accept money for it, knowing the shop didn't make so much money. Even so, Stephen would still transfer you a small amount whenever he could and would often bring you breakfast, lunch or dinner because he felt it was the least he could do.

All you wanted to do was help.

He was more than grateful, especially when he saw how you could make Charlie laugh by putting on music and dancing in the middle of the store with her.

He could see her slipping into a dark place after the death of her mother. Dealing with his own pain, he did his best. But, you were the best friend she needed. A feminine figure she could go to talk about more embarrassing situations or just to get her mind off of the loss.

Gradually, it seemed like their small family was beginning to heal. Although the loss was a still a fresh wound, and Stephen would often find Charlie clutching a small portrait of her mother asleep in bed, they were managing to keep the pain at bay.

You understand how important this store to them. It represents so much more than being just a simple local book store. It represents her.

The store was just as special to you as it was to Charlie and Stephen.

It had always been your refuge, but now, it was always the place where you met him.

Charlie, with her overly friendly nature that she inherited from her mother, struck up a conversation with the then stranger just outside the bookstore.

Her overprotective father was soon outside within seconds. Although the friendly streak ran deep within him too, he knew these parts were full of men with bad intentions.

Once he realized the stranger wasn't from around, he felt a little more at ease.

Although you remained inside the shop, you could overhear their conversation as you inched towards the door and opened it to stand in the doorway, eyeing the stranger with caution.

Stephen was surprised to know he'd come out of town to work at the Road House. To be honest, neither of you expected him to last very long. At that place, security never does.

The bouncer turnover never ceased with the riots that broke out there almost every night. So, you didn't bother getting your hopes up.

However, Dalton kept coming back. Every other day, he came in with the excuse of using the computer or buying a book just to strike up a conversation with you and lay down his flirtatious charm.

Charlie was the first to notice he would always come around when you were there and, if you weren't, he'd always make sure to ask when you were.

She had quite a bit of fun poking fun at you, telling you he had a crush on you or mocking the unconscious change in your voice you had when talking to him.

It didn't long take for feelings to develop between you and him. There was no doubt in either of you. Although unspoken, the magnetic attraction was undeniably present.

Some of those talks were deep and you felt you could confide in him to share things you hadn't shared with anyone at all. He, in turn, told you about the night on the train tracks and how the last fight he had in the ring haunted him every night.

There was no denying the bond you were forming. However, the rumors that were spreading around the island about the closeness between Ellie and him made you hesitant to make the first move.

When you casually brought it up into conversation, he shook his head and told you it wasn't anything serious and that she'd took him on a date once. You wanted to ask him if he had feelings for her, but that would be too much.

"So what's the deal with you and Dalton?" Charlie curiously asked, having picked up on the constant courtship that you two refused to act on.

"There is no deal. We're just friends. Hardly that."

"I may be young, but I'm no fool. I know there's something going on between you two."

"Sorry to disappoint you, kid, but there isn't. Besides, I hear he's got a sort of a girlfriend" you replied without looking up at her from the book in your hand.

You were both sat in fold-out beach chairs placed in front of the store, enjoying a couple of white cherry slushies, hoping the ice cold drink could soothe the hot, humid weather.

"How do you have a 'sort of girlfriend'? Either she is or isn't."

"Those things are complicated. I guess they're getting to know each other," you shrugged wishing you could avoid the topic.

"Like you guys are?"

"There is nothing going on. Sure, he's cute and funny and all, but he's seeing someone else. He's not interested in me, Charlie."

"So, you are interested in him?"

"It doesn't matter if I am. She's a doctor, she's smart and she's really pretty and drives a nice car. I know I don't stand a chance, so I'd rather not get my hopes up," you rambled, failing to read anything on the page you were stuck on. "Can we please drop this now?"

"Oh my god," she smirked staring at you. "You're jealous."

You scoffed at her ridiculous accusation and shook your head as you closed the book and set it in your lap.

"I am not jealous. I do not get jealous."

"Yes, you are! You totally are!"

"I am not! I just don't want to talk about this anymore, alright? So can we drop it?"

"Alright, alright. Sorry I brought it up."

She couldn't stop smiling as you opened your book to continue reading. Although you weren't her parents, her mind couldn't stop thinking of a way to parent-trap you into getting together.

However, her plans were brought to a halt when Brandt's lackeys invaded the shop just a few days later.

You tried your best to stand your ground and defend the shop along with Stephen. He told you to leave, but you refused.

After the beatdown you both received unwillingly, a fire had been set and the cruel men left. The adrenaline that surged through your bodies was enough to numb the pain in order to get you both quickly back on your feet to put out the fire.

Between the blood loss and the resurfacing pain, the billowing smoke got stronger and stronger. The flames became too strong too quickly and had engulfed the entire wall across the front counter.

Light-headed and dizzy, Stephen tried to save whatever he could from the store. As you rushed back and forth, you realized that the fire had grown too much and swallowed the front entrance.

The heat of it shattered the glass windows. The open air only fueled the fire more. Coughing from the heavy smoke, both you and Stephen got down on the floor to avoid the unbreathable air and attempted to crawl to the back exit.

Everything went dark after that and melded into one huge blur.

You don't remember when you actually blacked out, but you do remember feeling relieved once you heard the fire department's arrival.

The time you spent in the hospital was short - only a couple of days - but it was enough to make you reflect on your life.

An overwhelming sense of regret washed over you as you thought about Dalton.

You'd only known each other for a few weeks, but what if you could've had something special? What if Charlie's jokes were true and he actually ended up to be your soulmate?

She could be wrong too, but the fact that you could've died and never found out if you ever really did stand a chance ate at your mind.

You hadn't fully realized the extent of your attachment until a couple days later.

You show up at the store with a limp from the beatdown you'd received a couple days ago.

Stephan tries to assure you they're fine, that you need to rest and recover, but you argue that you'll go insane if you stay at home with nothing to do, high on pain meds.

Helping the owners clean and salvage whatever they can, Charlie casually mentions that Dalton and left her and her father a suitcase full of money to rebuild the store before he got on a greyhound bus destined to leave Glass Key.

The same regret you'd felt in the hospital strikes you again and secretly consumes you.

You try to play it off and instruct her to not to tell anyone about the money. You barely understand what she said after that. All you can think about for the rest of that morning is that he left and didn't even say goodbye.

When Charlie and her father invite you to get some lunch with them, you politely refuse, opting to stay back and keep yourself busy. You lie and tell them you had a big breakfast beforehand just so they won't worry.

You promised you wouldn't get your hopes up. You knew better than that. Bouncers never last at the Road House. You know this just as well as any of the other residents of Glass Key.

He's gone now.

You just want to be alone for a bit to process it.

The door opens and the bell above it rings as you sweep away at the shattered glass, forcing you to look back over your shoulder.

The sight you see has you frozen in surprise.

His face is impossible to forget. You could never forget those big blue doe eyes, even with the dark skin that circles his right eye.

You groan lightly at the shooting pain from your broken rib as you straighten and turn to face him, holding the broom by your side as you stand next to it.

Dalton closes the glassless door behind him as he greets you with a silent but friendly smile until the cut on your lip and the black eye remind him of the damage he caused.

He doesn't look too different from you. His eye is still a little swollen but mostly black now, his lip busted and the stitches on his eyebrow are all evidence that business has been handled at the Road House.

"So, the Glass Key hero returns" you smile at him, ignoring the sting on your bottom lip. "Charlie said you were riding off into the sunset. You forget something?"

"I'm not a hero and, no, I didn't" he starts, looking around the burned down shop trying to swallow his guilt.

"Changed your mind?"

"Someone kinda changed it for me, actually. A very wise person told me that heroes don't always have to ride off into the sunset. They can stay and make a homestead instead."

Joy bursts within you like fireworks on new years. You try to fight back the smile that creeps onto you lips.

"Thought you weren't a hero."

"I'm not."

You nod biting the inside of your cheek to mask your excitement. You take the second broom that Charlie had been using earlier and left leaning against the wall by the front door.

"This homestead could use a hand" you smile and offer him the broom.

He takes it with a happy grin, feeling finally accepted as if he finally found somewhere he belongs.

"There's, uh, one more thing" he says in a soft voice.

His hand raises to your chin, tilting your head up as he cranes his neck to kiss you in the most tender of ways.

Unable to forget about Ellie, you place a hand on his chest and gently push to stop the kiss.

Dalton's face contorts with confusion. He doesn't notice the breath he's holding, anxiety settling in as he fears that you'll ask him to stop. Maybe he got the wrong signals and you don't like him that way. He'd respect it, if that's the case, but it doesn't mean his heart won't be crushed.

"I thought you were seeing Ellie?"

He blinks slightly surprised. That's not what he had expected to hear, but it makes him kind of happy that you're not asking him to stop.

"She took me on a date and we kissed, but that was it."

"So, you are dating her?"

"What, are you jealous?"

"Why does everyone keep saying that? I'm not jealous."

"You sound a little jealous" he smirks.

"I'm not. I just... I don't wanna get my hopes up."

"I'm not dating her," he says gently stroking your bruised cheek. "I told her there's someone else for me, someone that I really wanna date."

He gazes into your eyes as you smile up at him and let him continue his kiss. You let his lips linger on yours and smile when you feel them stretch into a grin.

The cuts on your mouths hurt, but neither of you bother to pull away.

His kiss gradually intensifies. His tongue flicks over your bottom lip, politely asking for entrance. His free hand reaches for your waist as the other sets against your cheek, leaving the broom tucked in his arm.

You let his tongue slip past your defenses. The gentle way his hand cradles your face has you holding onto his strong forearm and the other broom for balance as the room spins around you from his vertiginous kiss.

Your chest presses against his as you moan softly into his mouth. It takes him every ounce of his self-control to not pin you against the wall.

The bell rings again, alerting you both of another's presence so you quickly pull apart, trying to quickly compose yourselves. Your eyes shoot to the door along with Dalton's.

You realize who it is, so he shyly lets his eyes wander around what's left of the store and sweeps the ashy floor.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything," Charlie smirks sipping her juice from a straw as she stands in the doorway.

"No, no," you reply nervously as heat pools in your cheeks. "Dalton and I were just, uh, cleaning up."

"Cleaning what? The floor or each other's throats?"

Dalton snickers at her candor, glancing at you until she continues.

"Good to see you're back though. And if you ask me, it's about time."

[nowimjustastranger]

How Stcmo!Ford would deal with the situation of a Stan that was kicked out by Filbrick because his Ford literally framed him for breaking his machine?

Like, a version of Ford who realized Filbrick only cared about the fact that he could be a millionaire to make the family rich and decided that he couldn’t live with that kind of pressure on him all the time, so he sabotaged his own entry in West Coast Tech by making sure that ‘perpetual’ part of his perpetual motion machine no longer applied.

However, Ford still wanted to discover himself as a person and, knowing that Stan would likely still want sail away with him after graduation, left a Toffee Peanuts wrapper near his exhibit, so he could use this a ''prove'' that Stan sabotagaed him, then being able to mad at his brother and don't want to talk to him, being free to going to a college.

And then, when Filbrick kicked Stan out, Ford choose to keep the act of hurt brother and don't stand up for Stan, because he saw this as an opportunity to free Stan from his father's expectations too and since Stan probably would not graduate in high school too, he being kicked out would give him the perfect excuse to drop out school and don't go through the humiliation of having to repeat the last year of high school.

He genuinely believed that Stan always was able to succeed alone, being far better equipped to survive in the world on his own than him, since Stan has charisma, the ability of charming people, excellent social skills, being always good with people, getting to read them like open books, what they wanted and how to talk to them, and being capable of making the best of things, always able to find and bargain what he needed, being very clever. Stan could talk his way into or out of anything, blowing off trouble like it was nothing. Stan also was the normal one after all. Once he was on his own, he surely would flourished, being finally free to be whatever he wanted.

Ford thought that Stan would reach out for him if entered in trouble and then he would be able to apologize to Stan about accusing him of sabotage. Then he would explain were his plan to him and how it was for the best, since they were able to find themselves as separate persons and learned who they are individually, being free from their father's expectations and from their codependency.

Watchdog Ford would consider that Ford irredeemable; a lost cause. Watchdog Ford would approach Stan with the intention of relocating Stan, bringing irrefutable evidence that Ford had set him up (if Stan didn't already figure it out for himself, he ain't dumb). I feel like, in these circumstances, Stan would feel betrayed enough to agree to relocation without the need for the usual amount of coaxing and reassurances from Watchdog Ford.

Best believe he'd be paying Ford a visit after Stan has settled down in his new dimension with a brother that would rather slit his own throat than hurt Stan so deeply.

[maxdibert]

Honestly, if Severus had had emotional maturity, he would have realized that Lily always minimized his harassment by the marauders, like "boys will be boys." If I were Snape, I would have cut off the friendship a long time ago. What would you do in Severus' position?

The problem with Severus and Lily's relationship is that it wasn’t built on equal footing. Lily made a friend, possibly like many others in her life, because she came from a structured family with a solid foundation in interpersonal relationships. Despite her issues with Petunia, we know her parents adored her and were thrilled to have a witch for a daughter, so we can assume her emotional role models were quite positive, which helped her build relationships at school and even become somewhat popular. For Severus, though, Lily wasn’t just a friend. Severus came from a poor and dysfunctional family, his father was abusive, and his mother didn’t seem to do much to protect her son from that abuse. His view of relationships and affection was already deeply distorted by the environment he grew up in. For him, being with Lily, playing with her, was a way to escape what was happening at home. It was a moment of peace, of stability, something he wasn’t familiar with. I genuinely believe he developed a very strong emotional dependency on her and her attention, because, from childhood, Lily represented everything good, everything that made him feel safe and important to someone.

Then adolescence hit, and they had very different interests and goals. I don’t hate Lily, but I do think she was a bit shallow. I mean, ending up with a rich, socially successful bully is pretty shallow. And it fits her character, because at the end of the day, she was a lower-middle-class girl in the Muggle world, and a Muggle-born in the magical world—she didn’t belong to any relevant social class in either. So, being pursued and courted by the most popular guy in her year, who was also super rich and from an important family, must have appealed to her. J.K. Rowling said in an interview, when someone mentioned that Lily supposedly hated James, that “Lily never hated James. You, as a woman (to the interviewer), should understand or know that.” She hinted that all the hatred towards James was an act and that she was actually attracted to him, which tells me a lot about Lily as a person and her values. I would never date a bully, whether or not they had attacked my friend. If I saw someone constantly abusing others at school, I wouldn’t date that person, but Lily did. And I don’t think it was because James made her believe he had changed, manipulated her, or any of the nonsense people say. I don’t think Lily was stupid. I think she knew exactly what she was doing by getting involved with someone who could give her social status, a life of comfort, and a position she didn’t have in either the magical or Muggle world.

Severus clearly went in a different direction. He wasn’t doing well at school, and the rich, popular kids decided that picking on him was easier than going after their rich, pure-blood classmates, because those pure-bloods could get them into real trouble, so it was easier, more comfortable, and safer to go after the weakest link—the poor half-blood. They made life unbearable for someone who already felt that life outside of school was equally unbearable. They bullied someone who was already being abused outside of school, and that’s probably what pushed Severus—if he already had an interest in the Dark Arts—closer to more negative influences.

Lily and Severus grew apart as they matured, and this is completely normal. It happens to all of us as kids. We all had those close childhood friends who took different paths during adolescence, and that’s okay. The problem is that, despite everything, Severus still saw Lily as that symbol of his childhood happiness. She was his happy memory (which is why the whole Patronus thing makes a lot of sense), because he probably didn’t have happier moments than the ones he shared with her. And in the midst of all the bullying and questionable influences at Hogwarts, during the early years, Lily was probably also his safe space. But Lily didn’t see Severus in the same way, and I’m not talking about romance, but rather that she didn’t see their friendship as something necessary, something emotionally vital for her. Severus was dependent; she wasn’t.

In a way, I think that, beyond emotional immaturity, Severus also lacked healthy emotional role models, and therefore he didn’t realize that Lily was actually kind of a jerk. Add to that the fact that he was blinded by her, considering her his emotional anchor, and he probably wasn’t able to see her negative traits. That’s also very common.

I believe that if Lily hadn’t died and Severus had had the chance to have a life of his own without sacrificing all his autonomy and independence to serve Dumbledore, over time he would have matured and gained perspective, because despite everything, he was a smart guy. He would have realized that his relationship with Lily was always one-sided, and I think he could have started fresh and become a functional person. But he never got that chance. It’s been proven in psychiatry that abuse victims who don’t process their traumas remain stuck in the time period when the abuse occurred. In Severus’ case, the abuse started in childhood and continued throughout adolescence, so it’s logical and normal that he ended up being a very dysfunctional adult, unable to manage his emotions properly or set limits for himself when situations triggered him too much. In some ways, he acts like a child. The comment about Hermione’s teeth is childish—it sounds like something Draco would say, and Draco is a teenager. The same goes for many of his remarks to Harry or Neville, which are basically sarcastic jabs from a bratty kid being a jerk. I think we see this best (because it happens between equals, interestingly between two people with significant emotional issues) when he has several confrontations with Sirius. Maybe Sirius’ immaturity is more obvious because he’s a loudmouth and pretty extroverted, but Severus also behaves like a brat, which shows that despite not spending 12 years in Azkaban, he hasn’t grown either. If we think about it, Severus had his own Azkaban: Hogwarts. He had to return to the place where he had a terrible time and experienced several of his worst traumas, to teach, even though he didn’t even want to be a teacher, and he had to adopt that jerk persona to mask all the emotions and insecurities he felt being there. You can’t heal in the place where you were hurt. You can’t heal by giving up your life for a greater good. You can’t heal while feeling guilty over the death of someone who was once the most important person in your life. Severus was stuck in adolescence mentally, even though he was an adult. And this happens a lot with victims like him.

Honestly, despite everything, I think Severus was quite level-headed and pretty decent. Or maybe I’m saying this because I’m more of a jerk than he is, but I would have made James Potter and Sirius Black suffer a lot. I would have found out all their secrets and made them public, putting all my efforts into making them wish they were dead and even have suicidal thoughts. And if a friend of mine had acted like Lily, who kind of laughed when Snape was being abused, I would’ve beaten her so badly she’d lose her nose. But well, I have less ethics than Severus and maybe more temper.

[iluvstarkey]

Tans and Temptations

series masterlist

series playlist

Rafe Cameron x Thorton Reader

Summary: Y/n Thorton has had a straightforward and easy life. Her parents are rich, and she has the best friends that she could ever ask for. Until her junior year hits, and she starts feeling some unexpected feelings for her brother's best friend, not only that, but her dreams of getting into an Ivy League school start feeling unreachable when she realizes the classes she picked weren't as easy as she thought and starts to feel that she isn't smart and good enough.

Now Spinning: Close to You by Gracie Abrams

1./2./3.

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Ever since you were young, you always felt anxious about your every move. The way you talk to people, how you respond to certain situations, and even how you feel about certain situations. You wish that you could feel free and not worry about your every move. Your Freshman year friend group got you through a lot of your first two years of high school, all up until summer when everything crumbled.

You grew up with Sarah and Kiara you did everything together. They say every trio has a duo, and that explained you and Sarah's friendship to a t. The Thortons and the Camerons were Outer Banks, top families. So, seemingly, you guys grew up together. You and Sarah always had a bond that Kiara couldn't reach all up until the summer before your junior year.

Every year, Topper throws a beginning-of-summer party. Your group always stands by the Keg because JJ swears it is "good luck," but he just wants to be by the alcohol. JJ messed around and knocked over the kegstand, which sent Topper spiraling. Kiara ended up calling Topper a bitch and stormed off. Sarah immediately cut Kiara off for cussing out her boyfriend, and that was that.

Sarah sucked at communicating she always believed that she was in the right. She could completely wrong you and then play the victim, you never knew what side u were on with her. You never stopped hanging out with Kiara, but you never told Sarah for fear that she would cut you off without a warning. This is exactly what she did whenever she saw you and Kiara laughing at the Wreck, she blocked you and just gained a new friend group.

You and Kiara ended up becoming extremely close forgetting about the whole situation. Sarah never tried talking to either of you and you guys didn't try to apologize. Now you, Kiara, Cleo, JJ, John B, and Pope hang out almost every day and are genuinely the best group you could have asked for.

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Like normal, you found yourself by the keg. JJ was trying to balance some type of branch on his head. Kiara and Cleo were laughing about how Pope was drinking, saying he drinks from the side of his mouth rather than in the middle, which naturally, you rolled your eyes and laughed at the stupidity of the conversation.

From the other side of the beach, you saw Sarah and Sofia laughing over something Topper was talking about. Sarah hated every single girlfriend Rafe had ever had, so what made Sofia so different? You couldn't get it, Rafe always scolds you when you hang out with pogues, but he is dating one? You couldn't stomach the fact that Sofia was so different from them.

"Hey, you good?" Kiara looked over at you, noticing your spacing. She followed your eyesight to Sarah and Sofia. "New friend?" "No, Rafe's new girlfriend." Kiara looked back at you in shock. "Rafe and a pogue? Did hell freeze over?" You scoffed at her. "Please, there's no way she's so special that Rafe would date her." Kiara snorted at that. "Someone jealous?" "Please me and Rafe grew up together there's no way I would like him like that." Kiara just looked at you before shrugging and going back to laughing at Pope.

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You try your best to quietly walk into the house, but you're interrupted by giggling and shushing. You walk into the kitchen to see Sofia and Rafe kissing. "Don't you have your own house to do that in?" Rafe looks over, his gaze on you for a couple seconds. "Topper invited us over, he's upstairs with Sarah, we were just getting a couple snacks." "Yeah, well, can you go back up there? I have an assignment, and I always do them on the island." You grab your laptop and put it on the table. "Yeah okay, princess." Rafe ruffles your hair before following Sofia up the stairs.

You groan as you open up your grades. Pope told you it would be a bad idea to take stats your junior year instead of pre calc but you thought you would excel. You thought wrong. You had plans to get into Princeton, you had many of their sweatshirts, t-shirts, and sweatpants, and you even had a poster hanging up in your room. Your dream now seems unreachable. You put your head in your hands not even hearing the fosit turn on.

"What's wrong? Did you get an A minus?" You hear Rafe snicker. "Go away." You mumble into your hands. "I'm just messing with you, what's wrong?" Rafe said before sipping on the glass of water, he came down to get. "Stats is hard." You groan. "Well, I got an A in stats if you want my help?" You finally look up at him "Seriously?" "Yeah, just call me tomorrow, and I'll help you out. He winked at you before climbing up the stairs. After three weeks of groaning at the thought of stats you now were excited at the mere thought of it.

[xjulixred45x]

Can I please request the female douma in hasbin hotel I just saw the new trailer and thought about my favourite demon lazy demon .

Ohhhh, Hazbin Hotel! That pretty cool! Deal ;)

Thanks for the Request ❤️

Hazbin Hotel x Douma Reader

Genre: Headcanons

Reader: neutral

Warnings: Douma itself is a Warnings (Cults, cannibalism), Hell, Alastor, mentions of alcohol, long work.

You died during the Taisho era, in Japan. having lived a fairly long and…full life, so to speak.

You were born with a unique appearance! with Rainbow irises that made you extremely popular in the area where you lived.

So much so that the people in your family believed that you had a special gift for speaking with the gods, so they formed a cult around you.

without knowing that in this way they would be awakening the darker side of your being.

As you grew up, being worshiped by the cult your parents had made, you couldn't really learn to differentiate emotions, which was frustrating. You wanted to feel SOMETHING, anything. have the experience.

and you tried everything.

do good things, do bad things, help the cult people with words you didn't really mean, scam, hurt, hurt animals, hurt yourself, hurt others in multiple ways, etc.

Even if they generated a certain feeling of emotion in you, you wouldn't say that they filled you up.

until you decided to try killing certain disciples and eating them to get rid of them.

and it was a success!You finally started to feel the emotions that others talked so much about!

Although of course, not all good things come for free, when you died there was no doubt that you would fall to hell, and so it was.

Honestly, You were very surprised to have fallen into hell, not because you didn't deserve it, but because you were an atheist all your life, believing that everything you preached was a lie.

And it turns out that it was true?? How curious.

but it didn't mean you wouldn't take advantage of your new playground.

With your natural charm, your unique and striking appearance (almost the same as you were when you were human) you were able to convince several low-ranking demons to trust you with their souls, rising in rank exponentially.

To make it easier for you, with your demon abilities you created a place similar to what your cult was like, there you could more easily control the people who gave you their souls.

In record time you became an Overlord. one quite well known but very mysterious. One that had a striking appearance and powers, but was rarely seen.

You could do anything you wanted in hell! which made the scope of your misdeeds increase exponentially, you couldn't be happier!

If we're talking about interacting with Hazbin Hotel's rl cast, of course you did! You were somewhat curious to know how Lucifer's daughter's attempt at humanitarian aid would fail. Also, bother Alastor? You are in!

Technically you already knew Alastor, you two died at similar times (you died before) and you saw how he rose very strongly among the Overlords, you liked him.

Unfortunately Alastor did not enjoy your company in the least, precisely because it made it very difficult for him to read you, either because of your lack of GENUINE emotion or because, like him, you used the trick of always having a smiling and pleasant facade.

Still, of course, he would rather be killed again than admit that.

But it was really a shame, he found some aspects of you pleasant.

For example, your taste in Canibal cuisine, Alasror recognized that you had good taste in that aspect.

Apart from that, you came from a VERY rich culture and spoke fluently in both English and Japanese, which was a great sight. Alastor normally wouldn't think that someone (at first glance) so airheaded would be able to speak a language like that so fluently.

but he is definitely something like your Akaza.

I mean, every time you push him out enough, Alastor will use Elrich magic on you and destroy you in the most grotesque ways possible.

That's until he realizes that you like it when he does that! That you make him hurt you on purpose because you're a masochistic son of a bitch!

The worst thing is that he doesn't realize this until Husk tells him...having already known you for years.

Speaking of, Husk doesn't trust you, not in the slightest.

he thinks you're a freak, a second Alastor but even worse, at least Alastor is honest about how horrible he is unlike you.

He serves you drinks when you ask, but if he can, he throws the glass directly in your eye or head, simply because he can. for your delight.

He is quicker to realize your intentions than the average person, and if he realizes that you want to turn one of the hotel members into your "dinner" he is drawing the cards SO FAST---

lots of offensive nicknames, to counteract the "affectionate" nicknames you give to people you know.

Don't touch it or ask it by surprise. Have you seen how cats do when they step on their tail? that's Husk when you surprise him.

Charlie...she's insecure about you.

and she feels BAD about it! She is supposed to be impartial and that everyone deserves a chance to change their ways! but you...well, it's you.

Charlie is not so naive, when more than one member of the Staff warns her that you are bad news, she is considerate of them and tries to make you leave, they have already had incidents with Overlords before, she wants to believe that you are different.

but it proves quite quickly that not when you show your more... somber side.

She tries to be cautious, failing miserably because she wants to know everything about you. You are someone very interesting!

Charlie definitely didn't have much of an idea who you were when she met you, your name did ring any bells, but she didn't think it was that important ---

until you casually blurted out the information that you had a fucking cult.

and that you eat demons.

FROM THE SAME FUCKING CULT YOU HAVE.

There Charlie decides to put into practice everything given in "setting boundaries" and tells you that although she likes how... you liven up the atmosphere of the hotel (and the air conditioning in some way) she DEFINITELY does not want to associate with you having Alastor.

if she KNOWS that you are trying to do something against the hotel or any of the staff members (especially Vaggie)...ohohoho buddy, prepare yourself for an ANGRY Charlie ready to show you WHO'S THE BOSS HERE.

(She definitely tries to get several members of your cult to go to the hotel with her to protect them from you).

You get on Vaggie's nerves. A Lot.

not only because you cool everything you touch, but because you are very similar to Alastor.

She knows you're hiding something, that you want something from them but she can't get it out of you easily, so she's content to just watch you from a distance and make sure you don't mess with anyone.

VERY PROTECTIVE WITH EVERYONE WHEN YOU ARE THERE, it increases the hotel's defenses by 130% and keeps you away from where others are.

You definitely like to annoy her by calling her names that are too friendly for your type of relationship or even using her as an armrest. In these types of cases you usually receive a few good punches in the ribs or a headbutt.

If you try to get too close, she applies the pilot's weapon to you, that is, she takes out her angelic spear and threatens you with a lot of violence. cursing you in Spanish in the process.

She's not as intimidated by you as she is by Alastor, but she definitely doesn't think you're safer for any reason.

less after finding out what you do with the people in your cult.

good luck keeping Vaggie from killing you!

Angel Dust is scared of you, like, really scared.

It's not because you're similar to Alastor, or because you're a Cannibal, or because you're a powerful Overlord. not at all.

It's because you are very similar to Valentino.

You pretend to be a good person, that you give a shit about what happens to the people at the hotel, but really no, it's all fake. REALLY fake.

you feel nothing.

and that terrifies him. He doesn't know how he acts around you. so Angel avoids you as much as he can, going near the fireplace since you don't like the heat, or near Husk.

he keeps making jokes at your expense, but it's really his way of handling the situation.

apart from the fact that Angel genuinely thinks you're pathetic, because you couldn't find any other way to enjoy your life and another life other than hurting people.

that's pathetic.

Yes, she won't let you be near the most vulnerable residents, like Niffty (when she's drunk) and she definitely won't let you be near Fatt Nuggets.

Try him and he will show you what he lived by while he was alive.

Niffty isn't scared of you in the slighleast.

In fact she is attracted to you on many levels, but Alastor will NEVER LET you be even a kilometer close to her in his presence.

In fact, there is a high possibility that you and her will secretly become friends, but Niffty better take care of herself around you.

She makes you use your ice powers so she can make things in the snow, snow angels, dolls, kill bugs with snow picks, etc.

she likes you and you like her :) surprisingly.

Sir Pentious is quite similar to Angel with you.

Sir Pentious is very aware of your reputation as a fearsome Overlord and definitely does not want to join the list of victims with his Eggboys, so he stays as far away from you as possible.

He has tried to make inventions resistant to your frozen currents, since it costs Charlie quite a few resources (because you don't pay a shit for what you break, you cheapskate) and certain artifacts that counteract your ice powers.

He brings several of his smoke machines to the hotel when he knows you're coming to visit (and if you come as a surprise, most likely everyone will hide in Pentious's warship because it's very hot in there.

Yes, he doesn't let his Ehgboys be near you in the slightest, he tells them horror stories with you like the big egg-eating monster.

and if you try something with his Minions PREPARE FOR THE DEATH RAY--

In general, you are a pain in the ass for everyone, everyone, always :)

^when they find out You come to visit

Shares, reblogs and comments are very welcome!

Thanks for the Request ❤️

[siswritesyanderes]

OMGGG YANDERE BRIDGERTON PLEASE

Okay, brainstorm.

I'm torn between wanting the characters to be ruthless in the non-violent social sense that leaves their opponents destitute, or leaning fully into "They're rich enough to get away with murder."

So, I'm thinking the Bridgertons are just ALL yanderes. It's just a family thing; just yanderes all the way down. They banter about it. Violet and (the dad; I forgot his name) were yanderes for each other, and their children are all amazed at how well their mother survived losing him so suddenly.

In their childhood, the Bridgertons are all platonic yanderes. (When they do have childhood crushes, they don't usually feel yandere towards those; they're just cute little childhood crushes.) With their friends, they tend to be highly protective, or clingy, or jealous. Any one of them will kill for their family without a second thought and bury the body on their own land. Maybe someone hurts little Eloise's feelings, Daphne tells their older brothers, and Anthony, Benedict, and Colin sink a body in the river that night. Or rather, Anthony and Colin do, while Benedict preserves their alibi.

(At this moment I'm going to write about the canon relationships of those of them who have those. I'm open to asks about what specifically you're looking for.)

Daphne is yandere for Simon. She has modeled herself to be the perfect diamond, and Simon, as much as he tries to be, cannot make himself harder than a diamond. In fact, he is moldable, and fragile, and she adores him. Simon is not a yandere and also doesn't really get that Daphne is a yandere. He hasn't been romantic like this with anyone before, so he doesn't know what a normal level of possessiveness is. He's been taught that women need to be wary of him, not vice versa. Her genuine innocence to matters of the flesh shields her from a lot of scrutiny. How can someone who has never touched herself be thought guilty of taking undue license with a man? How could someone with such wide, naive eyes be thought guilty of manipulating anyone? At every step, she guides him into the palms of her hands, and she loves how he succumbs.

If she ever had her eyes on someone other than Simon, in keeping with my fondness for poly yanderes, most likely she would first verify that Simon likes the person, too. It's not beyond her capabilities to guilt him for liking someone else and leverage that to get him to go along with whatever her plan is to pursue this unconventional relationship. But I think she would pick a gentler way to convince him, and only resort to shaming him if he resists the gentle approach. Maybe the one they both love can be hired as a "nanny" or "tutor" for their children, and they can enjoy their intimate company in the comfort of their own home. That could work even if the person marries someone else, and anyway, who's to say the unfortunate rival won't trip on a slick road or drunkenly fall into the Thames?

Anthony thought he felt that Bridgerton obsession for Siena; he pursued her relentlessly on the basis of what he believed he was supposed to feel. When that didn't pan out and he still felt basically like his normal self, he decided that he must not be like the rest of his family. And good! Because he didn't want to fall in love anyway.

Then he met Kate, and suddenly his ruthless self is unleashed in full. She was the sun in the morning, the air he breathed, and he needed as many hooks in her as possible to make sure she didn't go anywhere. When she seemed to distrust and resent him, he courted Edwina. Now Kate had to be around him. But as he wormed his way closer to her, she planned to leave for India as soon as Edwina was married. That couldn't be allowed. Every step he took was contrived to erase the possibility of Kate leaving him. Honestly, we could say that he deliberately caused her to fall off her horse, if we wanted to. Kate does recognize that he feels and behaves abnormally toward her, but once she comes to terms with being romantic with him in the first place, she's able to handle his yandere side pretty easily.

If he ever had his eyes on someone other than Kate, he might kidnap them in secret. Again, he just needs them not to leave. Kate finds out, because she's on top of everything always. She isn't really yandere, but she already manages his obsession with her on a daily basis. Now, she manages his obsession with the new person, the ethics of kidnapping, and the need to contain the scandal of what he's done, by basically helping him to craft a plausible narrative around what happened. (Maybe they found you in the woods, having gotten lost and ill, and were keeping you in their home until you were well enough. You're still not allowed to see anyone; who would question the Bridgertons? Kate makes sure you're comfortable and reins in Anthony where necessary. He worships her for being so understanding of his needs.)

I haven't seen season 3 yet and so I don't have a full handle on Colin right now.

Benedict will gladly pine forever. He has a kind of romantic enjoyment of the sensation of yearning, so he could paint his love and watch his love and tease his love forever. But, given the expectations of the society they live in, his love might be obligated to marry someone. He will very amicably ruin anyone his love courts. Scandals everywhere. Without the slightest dip in his wistful smile, he will set everything into place to have his rivals socially destroyed, in the ton, and when his love is left with no one else to court, then he will appear with all the love in his heart. If the person is looking for a husband, then he's their last chance. If they're looking for a wife, then Benedict will cleverly contrive it so that they read as best friends, artistic partners, whatever else. Maybe his love has found themself to be inexplicably cut off from any money and resources they once had. The crucial thing is that he will never have to vie for attention. He only has to introduce himself, and they will concede to his love willingly. And then he'll unload his deluge of paintings and sculptures and poems onto them. He might do this with Madame Delacroix.

Also, maybe Penelope's a yandere? Just separately. Idk, she has too much subtle power to ignore.

[abiatackerman]

A twist of destiny

Event: @levievent "Levi Month 24"

✨Day 31: Reincarnation ✨

Canon universe! Thug Levi X Reincarnated Reader! Introduction chapter! First meeting! 870 words!

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

Everyone who knew about your habit of listening to songs through earphones with a loud volume while walking through streets had forbade you to do that.

And you were a good girl so you always listened.

But today's a day where you can't help but act on your old habit again. You went to a birthday party and the party lasted till midnight, which is a good thing. You got kinda drunk and called Uber to pick you up but your fate sucked....

The car's engine stopped when you were only five minutes away from home. The driver apologised and didn't take his payment out of regret and you just got out of the car, not wanting to hear his whining.

You'll just walk home, since it's a five minute walk after all....

But it's 1am and you're a girl, alone on the streets, in a party dress. What if some drunk pervert will jump on you suddenly? You're kinda drunk too and you won't be able to stop them....

So to calm your nerves down, you plug your earphones in your ear, raise the volume to its fullest so that's why you didn't notice the car rushing towards you at high speed until you noticed the light and....

Boom!

You open your eyes again and the first thing you see is some people looking down at you with adoration.

Are you in heaven? Are they angels? But don't angels have wings behind their backs? They have none... They look like normal people.

"Awww, she has opened her eyes! Look, her eyes look just like yours, darling."

A woman in her mid twenties says with intense emotions and presses you against her cheek. You cringe.

"Hey what the fuck are you doing?"

You hiss, trying to push her face away but....

All you can hear is a baby cooing. Not only that but also your hands which are trying to push the lady's faceare tiny too.

That's when it hits you... You have already died but you born again!

What the fuck? You reincarnated?!

You sigh walking through the streets of Mitras, remembering your memories. You never thought out of all the people, you would be reincarnated.... This is crazy!!!!!

"You're the girl who treats orphans for free?"

You pause, hearing a rough voice coming from an alleyway. You furrow your eyebrows, looking at the guy who shares the same height as you. His white shirt's collar is unfolded and the brown sleeveless coat is making you look up at him with confusion. His clothes look cheap but they're clean enough to make people believe that he lives in Mitras. He kind of looks arrogant and confident enough like the other people who lives here.

"Yes, I am. I'm doctor Abiat Adel. And who you might be?"

After you reincarnated, you started a whole new life. Just like your past life, you decided to study medicine in this universe too. Since Mitras is the capital and everyone is rich here you mostly work for orphan kids who are saved from the underground. Underground, a city which is right under the capital and where people can hardly survive. Which kids are luckily saved, a private orphanage takes the child in and takes care of them.

And that orphanage is established by the Adel family, your family. Your mom is a doctor just like you and your father is a rich yet kind merchant. So they have willingly established the orphanage to help the homeless kids.

"My sister is sick, so I thought you would help her too."

You look at him with confusion.

"Gladly, but again who are you?"

"A thug from underground.

He responds so casually that you become speechless. Like who proudly announces that he's a thug?

"So are you coming?"

His words pull you out of your thoughts and you chuckle awkwardly.

"Well, I can't go underground. I'm concerned about my safety."

You clearly point out and he pulls out a knife.

"I can assure you I'm pretty famous there. You'll be safe. That's my responsibility."

His words sound so genuine and trusting that you sigh.

"Well, now?"

You ask, chucking. You hate your curiosity. It always gets the best of you.

"Yes, now... She's not in a good state."

You nod and take a step towards him. You know it's risky as hell, you're going underground. You're going there with a guy you don't know anything about. He can rape you, kill you or anything might happen. But you have a peeper sprey hidden in your bag and you know some martial arts so you're trusting yourself.

Because danger has never stopped you from being adventurous.

Because your curiosity has always gotten the best of you and you discovered a lot of things because of that.

And now that you know a girl is sick and in a bad state also now that you've met a mysterious-handsome-confident thug.... You're not stopping yourself.

'I'll be trusting you then, let's go. Also what's your name?"

He turns his head towards you to take a look to see if you're following him or not. Then running his index finger through the sharp line of the knife and replies in a bored tone.

"Levi"

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

A/N: It's actually the first chapter of my new long fic where the reader dies in an accident in the modern world and gets reincarnated in the AOT universe as Abiat Adel. When Isabel gets sick, Levi decides to take her help and she gladly agrees. This is how their friendship starts and slowly their relationship turns into something else which none of them ever expected.

Note: The first chapter is only for the "Levi Month 24" event! The other chapters will be published on my Ao3!

[watmievendoing]

i came across a video showing some of class 1a's dreams/desires and just wanted to talk about them. the first dream is like a teaser for you to decide if you want to continue reading

WARNING: long post ahead, don't bother reading more if this isn't what you're looking for

starting with todoroki's which is pretty easy to interpret. it's so sad but cute at the same time cos bro just wants a normal childhood. i can't even call it a good childhood it's just him and his siblings literally doing normal children things without the endeavor bullshit. the fact that todoroki wishes for touya to still be alive is so cute and sad at the same time as well. wouldn't consider this a dream doh, cos i don't think he can achieve something that has a context set in the past, it's more of a wish/desire for him, bro just wishes he had a normal childhood

now we've got iida and tsu, which again is easy to interpret. iida's dream is for his brother to have never gone through the whole stain ordeal so that they can be heroes together. tsu's is another family related dream, she just wants to sing with her family. added details i noticed in tsu's is that she's in her hero costume, which to me reads as she wants to go back to her family having become a pro hero and still have time to spend with them

moving on to what i think is the cutest dream of them all, that being shoji's. his mask is off in his dream, which further adds to it imo. i went to do some digging and confirmed that shoji comes from fukuoka, i even went ahead to search "fukuoka countryside", to which the results do kinda match the one in the anime (i know searching "japan countryside" will probably yield more or less the same results but i prefer interpreting shoji's dream this way). moving on to the dream, to me it reads as shoji would like to move back to the place he is from and start a family in the countryside, and in a society where he can be himself without fear of how others will react (hence no mask). more details i noticed is that he is with a little girl, so i think shoji's the kind to hope for a girl when he and his partner are doing those "guess the child's gender" type of things. boy wants to be a girl dad, and i see it happening

denki's and little shit's is. it's something. i don't like it, but it's something.

i like how jirou's has her rocking out in her hero costume. to me it implies that her dream is to be a hero while still having time for her passion/hobby. sero's is, very mha, bro wants to be a hero, that or he wants to play the best trick in halloween. believe me when i say i genuinely thought ojiro was aoyama before i zoomed in and realised it was ojiro. bro wants to be not normal cos wtf is that, boi u r fine the way u r but slay i guess. for uraraka, we are moving into the "i'm probably theorizing and interpreting a little too far zone". cos i am so very confused as to what this girl's dream is about, i'm reading it as she wants to be "in the clouds", "living the high life" where she's got that bank that she became a hero for. or maybe it can be read as she wants to be on cloud nine and just be happy. those or she wants to improve her quirk to the point where she can literally lay in the clouds (which, dream big uraraka, but i don't think that's feasible in scientific terms, maybe in anime verse terms that's possible so, you go girl)

now we have izuku, and the way i interpreted the whole scene is that he is already living his dream at the timepoint where the anime is taking place. you cannot tell me that the room baby izuku is standing in is not his current room/dorm room, and the way the scene switches to teen izuku after baby izuku encounters all might is the part that makes me think that izuku's dream has already became his reality

and last but not least is probably my favourite dream interpretation, mostly because of how it contrasts momo's circumstances. momo is, rich rich and has a quirk that allows her to make almost anything, but her dream is so very simple. like i said, ms girl has the money, so she can quite literally drink tea and have tea (as in the food) anywhere else in the world. but that is her house. girl just wants to go home. idk which point the show is at when the dream quirk struck, but girl is probably tired of all the bs. her wish is to go home and drink her tea there, and that simplicity is what makes the dream pretty chef's kiss to me. it's so goofy, but it's cute at the same time

i'm probably too bored or something, but if you made it this far, thanks for reading my nonsense. hope it was at least semi-interesting

[copepods]

ok arcane s1 act 1 misc thoughts (SPOILERS)

-i like that a lot of the rich characters (cait's family, some council members) have transatlantic accents. i didnt really notice at first but upon rewatch of ep 2 it was super apparent and i love it

-i never got super into vander's character bc by the end of ep 1 i was like Yeah this guy is super dead. the 2 other kids who died as well (never even learned their names lol). also there was a lot more vander + silco than i thought there would be? like they laid it all out at once. i kind of knew they knew each other in the past from fandom osmosis but i expected it to be more of a slow burn reveal i guess

-im interested to see what the show does with ekko specifically. i know he becomes more prominent later on AND has stuff going on with jinx/powder, which i was honestly expecting them to set up more? like have them be friends or like talk to each other once lol. anyway he was pretty minor thus far so im intrigued in what they're gonna do with him

-i know vi goes to prison after this, but the guard who chloroformed her seemed to be trying to save her??? so i have no idea what's happening actually

-i knew silco was gonna adopt powder but i was honestly expecting it to be more? calculated? on his part? like he finds out powder was the one who blew up the building, and is like ooooh new talent. hey kid. do you want to join my gang of evil drug warlocks. but nope he genuinely reached out to her in a moment of grief against his better judgement. kind of a baller move mr. lesbian i respect that

-also powders eyes turned purple for emotional reasons and not magic drug reasons? cool. didnt know peoplw could do that

-Heimerdinger War Flashback last episode was kind of really funny im sorry i cant take this guy seriously. but i also got distracted because there were horses in the flashback and for some reason that surprised me? it did not occur to me that horses exist in the arcane universe. they just don't fit the vibe. also this guy is transparently what if yoda were lorax

-also i wanna know how the fuck jayce and his mom and the wizard (viktor probably) got to piltover after all that in the flashback. did the wizard summon a honda civic to drive them home or what. also, what were they doing there??

-and jayce keeps saying "magic real. ive seen it" but refusing to elaborate??? if i got saved by a wizard who warped space and time then gave me a cool rock i would make it my personality. which i guess he kind of did but you'd think he'd be telling people about it more. maybe he thinks people won't believe him? silly jayce. magic tech isnt real. you escaped the siberian tundra through the power of science. athiests on christmas waiting for charles darwin to come down the chimney etc

-i cant tell if mel is just one councilmember and not like above all the others OR straight up the president or whatever? she clearly has influence but i cant tell if she's everyone elses boss or not. maybe they said something about that in dialogue and i missed it. also is piltover an oligarchy or do they inherit their council positions or what? somehow i don't feel like normal democracy is on the table here

-what is it exactly jayce (and viktor) were trying to do WITH the magic? this always bugs me in tv shows when they just say "im working on some Science Tech Inventions" and dont elaborate on what those inventions are. are the magic balls a source of infinite renewable energy??? please tell me what you're actually doing with the sparkly zero-g machine

-vander's dying words being "protect powder" and vi immediately doing the opposite of that is crazyyyyy sure hope that doesnt haunt her for the rest of her life lol

-was genuinely distracted by the cool ass crab logo on the abandoned building. that was sick as hell. i love crabs

[no-name-blu]

Hello blu! Can you tell us a more about your other AU? Theater

I'm surprised you even heard of the AU. I keep trying to draw and make content for it just for the AU to get overshadowed by a different interest so many times

Anyways

BROKEN THEATRE AU

This is the only refs I made for the characters:

Inspired by The Show That Goes Wrong this AU is about a theatre company with big dreams but terrible outputs. Just for AU reasons, they are all terrible people. Like genuinely, they are all egotistical and even fight each other a lot (it's normal) but in the end, they all love each other and have a close bond to this group they have formed found family core

Unfortunately, I wasn't a theatre kid so my knowledge for this AU isn't going to be accurate.

But I had @rae-ven13 to help me out with it and I made her co-writer for this forgotten AU

More explanation of the AU down here

the theatre group, the characters, and more doodles I made! :D

Welcome Home Organisation of Real Entertainment

This is the name of their little theatre group, only consists of 8 members, with Home (Wally's rich father) to support the organization.

It started out with Sally and Barnaby having a double act show together in college, with the help of Frank and Poppy backstage too.

Then when they graduated Sally found Wally and manipulated befriended him to convince his dad for a show. Which he agreed, only as long as he gets to join the group too.

And that's how they got the organization to this day

Bonus: Barnaby came up with the name for their theatre group, and Sally learned not to give him that trust ever again.

MEET THE CREW

Sally Starlet

Role: The Director, The Writer, Actress

She started the whole group and made herself the leader.

Sally believes she is surrounded by amateurs, her actors are immature and full of problems. But no reason, she is a great director despite the anger and outburst caused by these people. Of course, she believes he is the best out of all of them and would've have a great show if she had gotten a little more respect. But in the end, without her, this group would be lost and confused.

Barnaby B. Beagle

Role: Actor, Writer

He is a self proclaimed co-leader to Sally despite the arguments they always have. Barnaby is actually the most egotistical in the group. One of the reasons he considers Wally as his best friend is because they can both be shitty people together. He's a little mean to the others and has a hierarchy built in his head. But the gang still loves him, no one slanders him for his actions and it made Barnaby have a soft spot for them too. He doesn't mean to be such a jerk, he genuinely cares.

Poppy Partridge

Role: Actress, Tech

She started out helping tech work with Frank since she's too scared to act. But there was an accident that got Sally knocked out temporarily and she had to replace her. She was scared, but as the show goes on she actually enjoyed acting, even though she had to wrestle with Sally for the role throughout the show. But after that chaos, Sally has never been more excited to finally give Poppy acting roles on stage.

Frank Frankly:

Role: Head Tech, Stage Manager

Sally tricked him to join by saying their shows will give extra credit. He still sticks around anyway and became Sally's most reliable and sane member of the group. Although he is overworked and stressed out mostly due to the whole stage keep crumbling over. His temper was just as bad as Sally's and they can be seen arguing a lot (If it's not Sally and Barnaby, then it's Sally and Frank) But, he's proud to be the most reliable member of the group and also the voice of reason.

Wally Darling

Role: Actor, Prop Design

He knew from the beginning that Sally was manipulating him and he still lets her have her show, only if she lets him join. Wally just wants to be a lil shit and play pranks, sometimes with Barnaby too. He's not good at acting and people would see him as a spoiled brat because his adoptive dad owns the theatre 💅✨✨✨ But he grew to love this group he's in and would always ask Home to keep supporting it.

Eddie Dear

Role: Actor, Tech, and Prop Design

He is supposed to be only tech, but Sally needed more actors and forced him into it. The problem is that Eddie keeps forgetting his lines and cues. It would lead to the entire plot being derailed. He even spoiled the plot twist by doing his cue way too early. It's frustrating that it happens, but to his surprise no one yelled at him for forgetting, he didn't get fired for it too.

Howdy Pillar

Role: Actor, Tech

He is the best out of everyone here. It's not an opinion, Howdy is an amazing actor and singer, he's very helpful in backstage works, but he's always overshadowed by others that people barely notices his talents. The only person that actually noticed him is Wally but Howdy doesn't have a nice impression towards him for being spoiled. Other than that he stayed humble and everyone still considers him an important member of the group.

Julie Joyful

Role: Actress

The newest member of the group! She used to be famous with her sisters until Julie lost her status and got cancelled online (idk what she did yet). Sally took this as her chance to invite Julie to the group so that they can probably gain some fame for it. She started out as a high status mean girl, she's cold and cruel, takes acting in this terrible show way too seriously. Sally considers her to be her best actress. But then also, Julie slowly takes the mask off the longer she stays with them and she's just as zany as the others, the most unhinged out of all of them to be honest.

So idk if I'm going to do any more content with this AU, if people are interested I might draw more. Glad these see the light of day, they've been sitting in my google docs for months.

ANYWAYS Here's a few more doodles

Text: The set is created upside down & Sally's character is on her death bed

(It's also a redraw of a scene in the show that goes wrong)

old art ew

[whatswrongwithblue]

The Fire in the Sin

Chapter 9 - Wretched and Joyful

Word count: 9,210. Read on A03. Series Masterlist. <- Previous Chapter.

Summary: Alastor and Mina reunite a year after he tried to claim her soul. Adorable, "young love," fluffy smut. TW: canon typical language, self image insecurity, smoking, drinking, mentions of incest and statutory rape - not involving Alastor or Mina, breeding cycles, fingering, oral - fem receiving, p in v, creampie, light biting.

Series Summary:

In the 1950's, Alastor met the woman he would eventually marry but unfortunately his Radio Demon persona went for her soul rather than her hand. He has to learn what it means to love, and cherish, without possessing and he does. Their relationship is beautiful, strong, unbreakable . . . but he carries a dark secret through their marriage for decades until eventually he has to face the consequences of that secret and leave her, without warning, for seven years. He returns, finding her at the Hazbin Hotel, and has to convince her to forgive him, while being literally bound to secrecy, unable to tell her any of things he now is desperate to explain to her.

(This is a duel timeline fic, timestamps will be a the top of every chapter.)

Chapter 9 - Wretched and Joyful

1953

Pride Ring

These parties were even worse than Alastor remembered.

Most of the Hellborn royalty worth a damn were here tonight and therefore most of Pride Ring’s most prominent Overlords were in attendance. It would be poor form if he hadn’t made an appearance, but he found the whole thing really . . . stupid.

He was a man of principle and believed in keeping one’s manners in check when appropriate but the over-the-top air of sophistication, of white collar, blue blood privilege among these Hellborn’s made Alastor’s skin crawl. It reminded him far too much of the type of people he had to associate with while working in radio as a human. He had to dress nicer, change his accent and speak with more refinement, force his hair straighter . . . hell he even spent as little time outside during the daytime to keep his slightly tanner than Caucasian skin tone as light as possible.

These days, he only made a point of showing up to these parties to see how uncomfortable he could make the Goetia Ars family before dipping out in less than an hour’s time. Some of their lower status members had been a few of his first targets when he had come into power there in Hell and he always made a point of re-airing their family members’ screams to his broadcasts for days in advance before arriving to their palaces.

There was only one reason he was still hanging around that evening and it was the woman who he had just watched make her exit out onto an empty balcony.

He hadn’t seen Mina in over a year. Not since his mishap with attempting to get her soul. He had known very quickly in their budding friendship that he genuinely enjoyed her company, but it wasn’t until he had tried to force her hand, and she had nearly died, that he realized the depth of his feelings for her. And it had made him extremely uncomfortable, to say the least. He had meant it when he had told her that he never wanted to see her again.

Or . . . at least he thought he had.

But then he had seen her that evening from across the ballroom, eagerly speaking with an owlish royal easily twice her height.

Like him, she hadn’t arrived in anything fancier than she normally wore, although her usual dress was classy enough to not stand out. The long, loose fitting black sleeves of her top were modest but the sweetheart collar and bow around the front of her waist accentuated her curves pleasantly. The dress ended with a long flowing skirt of burnt orange, the rich color of a southern sunset he hadn’t seen in decades.

Alastor had always enjoyed the company of women. Although he admired their beauty in a purely aesthetic way, he found he related to them better and preferred their company over that of men’s. Therefore, almost all of his closest acquaintances were women. But it wasn’t until that night, when he was forced to come to terms with how much he had missed having her in his life, that he felt a stirring of something he hadn’t experienced since his teenage years, when even his hormones had been challenging to control. Still hesitant to approach, he’d watched her from a distance; debating with himself on whether or not to act on the stirring of emotions he could feel brewing inside him.

And then. . . Mina looked upset. She walked through the large glass doors, clearly agitated, and went towards the edge of the outdoor balcony, out of his line of sight.

Perhaps it was because he had separated himself from her completely over the last 15 months, allowing both of their tempers to cool off enough to think. Or maybe it was just the utter distraught look on her face that drew him to her. Or maybe, something in his dark and twisted mind had finally softened; matured enough to allow him something more in this afterlife.

Whatever the reason, Alastor could no longer find a reason why he shouldn’t allow himself to be around her. Taking his still full glass of scotch with him, he stepped out onto the balcony, and shut the door behind him.

Mina was at the corner of the balcony, elbows on the railing, and holding a cigarette. She looked over her shoulder at him, then turned away again, and with a slight tremble in her hand, brought the cigarette to her lips and took a long drag.

“You were right, you know,” she said once she exhaled. “These parties are terrible.”

He chuckled as he approached her, leaning one elbow on the railing himself but turned more directly towards her. “It’s almost criminal that I tried to get you to make a deal for the chance to go to one. Really, I’m ashamed.”

Her face broke into a smile then. “I did sneak off and find this amazing library upstairs. There were texts so old they were in scrolls. Even a few clay tablets. None of it in English, of course.” Her smile fell and she took another drag. “No one here even thinks it’s of any interest. These Goetia’s, they’re so ancient and powerful, they know so much about . . . everything. And they spend their time doing this? Standing around in outfits and jewelry that costs thousands of dollars just to talk shit about their children and make jokes about who their husband is fucking. I don’t know why I thought they’d be different. Turns out Hell really isn’t much different than Earth.”

“And yet they’re one of the few who are summoned by living humans,” Alastor agreed. “Oh, the irony. What I wouldn’t give to make deals up on Earth.”

“Didn’t you kill a few of them?” Mina asked.

“Ages ago, but yes. Still one of my finer moments,” he said, taking a sip of his drink.

She was staring at him openly now, a small smile playing across her lips, as she eyed him up and down.

“You look . . . really good,” she said after a beat.

He brought his glass down, and though he could tell she was flirting, he pretended to be confused. Glancing down at his red pinstriped jacket, he said, “I look how I always look.”

“Sorry,” she said, flicking her cigarette out over the edge without bothering to stamp it out. “I’m not myself tonight. Forgive me if I seem a little . . . irritable and forward. Could you conjure me one of those?” she asked, eyeing his glass.

“Jameson?” he asked, assuming.

“Please,” she scoffed, “Bourbon.”

“Developed a different taste while you were in the south?” he teased and produced the glass with a flourish.

She took a rather large gulp before answering. “It’s sweeter.”

Mina pulled her hair over one shoulder, fanning air over the exposed skin with her free hand and sighed. “I know it’s Hell, but does it always have to be so God damn hot?”

Alastor noted that it was actually a cooler evening as far as Hell was concerned and quite comfortable until suddenly, he understood. Mina was shaky, on edge, flushed, and eyeing him like he was a cool drink of water, even more so than she had before he had betrayed her trust. And she was drinking liquor, which he had never seen her do before. He didn’t know much when it came to the biology of demon women, but he knew then that Mina was in heat. Probably just the later stages of it, but still.

She was drunk and hormonal, and he had been flirting with her.  

“Alastor?” she asked, after he hadn’t responded to a single thing she had said.

Normally the idea of someone being attracted to him either amused him or it was like a bucket of ice water down his back, completely repulsing him. But he was realizing now that Mina’s attraction to him, which was remarkably still there despite everything he had done to her and was surely a sign of her susceptible state of mind, pleased him. He felt warm and happy and suddenly perversely excited about her aroused state.

She was watching him, and he had to think, think of something he would normally do or say, and not how much he wanted to touch her. That could come later, if he still wanted it, but he could not lose control of this situation and take advantage of her.

“I don’t find you to be irritable at all. You are being remarkably pleasant, given the circumstances in which we last parted,” he finally managed to say with a confident smile, thankfully always there to hide his inner turmoil.

“It’s funny how much a year makes a difference,” she said, inching a little closer to him and taking another sip of her bourbon. He should not have given that to her. “I figure, if you wanted to hurt me, you would have done it that night. Instead, you let me be. You let me live. And after a while, I really had to start asking myself, why? Why didn’t you just kill me?”

“I didn’t have a reason to,” he answered, sounding much more composed than he felt.

“Bullshit. I’ve seen you kill people for less.”

He had no smart response for that. She was right. Anyone else would have at least faced a painful death before respawning but likely would have ended up on his radio broadcast as a permanent entertainment piece.

“It wasn’t all for show, was it? The time we spent together?” she asked when he failed to answer.

“No,” he admitted, and looked down to see a lock of her hair now wrapped around his fingers. When had he done that? “No, I’m afraid . . . none of it was.”

She shifted her weight, processing what he had just confessed.

“Then why-“ she began, and now she was running her hands over the lapels of his jacket, “-why did you do it? Why couldn’t you just let things continue the way they were going?”

“I suppose,” he swallowed, and he was sure not even his smile could hide his exponentially growing desire for her any longer, “I had forgotten how to do that.”

She smiled back at him, seemingly satisfied and believing that answer.

“Let me show you how,” she whispered.

She raised herself up on tip toes and kissed him. It was soft, gentle, and surprisingly controlled. Despite the rush of hormones Alastor could practically smell coming off her, she wasn’t losing herself in the heat of the moment. If she had been all tongue and grabbing hands it might have snapped him out of it but instead, she was sweet and almost shy with him. And now he was good and turned on and he was the one deepening the kiss, getting handfuls of her hair at the back of her head, and pulling her towards him.

His tongue danced across hers and God bourbon had never tasted so good. He had barely had a double of his own drink and yet felt more drunk than he had in years with the feel of her pressed so well against him. She was so right for him, understood him so easily, wanted him as much as he wanted her-

A glass shattered and Mina broke away from the kiss. Without stepping out of his arms, she looked down at the glass of whiskey she had dropped in order to grab hold of his jacket with both hands.

“Oops,” she said and then broke into a fit of giggles.

Right. She hid it well but was clearly more drunk than he had initially wagered.

“You should get yourself home,” he said reluctantly. “Who did you come here with this evening?”

“Rosie,” Mina answered. “But she already left.”

“Did she now?” Alastor said, and then laughed. “Mina, my dear, I believe we’ve been set up. She’s the one who talked me into coming here tonight but you’re right, she’s nowhere to be found.”

“It’s not a problem, really Alastor. I’m a big girl, I can see myself home,” Mina said. “There’s just one more thing I need to do.”

As if on cue, a Goetia woman opened the doors and stepped out on the balcony.

“Do you mind?” Alastor asked, irritated at the intrusion. Even if there was a chance that this was this owl woman’s house, he and Mina were clearly in the middle of a private conversation.

“Don’t tell me what to do, Sinner,” she said.

“It’s alright, Alastor, I asked a favor of her," Mina said, placing a reassuring hand on his arm. “Actually, would you be a dear and step inside? Close the doors behind you.” She leaned in and whispered, “And just to be safe, keep a bit of a distance, would you?”

Alastor caught a sinister look in Mina’s eye and catching on, nodded to her.

“My apologies, my lady,” Alastor said as he turned to face the hostess and made his exit.

“Alright, what is it you wanted to see now?” the heiress said to Mina without acknowledging Alastor further. She sounded impatient and bored.

He did as he was told and quietly brought the two doors closed together and stepped away from the glass. Though he couldn’t hear a thing, he could see Mina turn and face into the night, the broken glass at her feet forgotten.

After a moment, he watched in fascination as the Goetia’s body stood a bit straighter and stared at Mina as if in a trance. After what must have been only another 10 seconds, Mina finally turned to face the Goetia who then turned away and went back through the doors, with Mina following close behind.

The heiress walked wordlessly out into the middle of the large hall full of other demons while Mina stopped at Alastor’s side, watching the Hellborn with a coy smile on her face.

Wordlessly, the heiress began to rip off her ballgown.

She tore it off in chunks; first bits of the sleeves and then large strips of the skirt, exposing layer upon layer of silk and tool, before finally revealing skinny, scaled legs that were far from appealing to Alastor’s gaze.

“Darling, what are you doing?” another Goetia said with alarm and ran towards her from the other side of the room. “Gwenore! STOP!”

“I’ve been fucking your nephew!” the woman screamed in what must have been her husband’s face.

“Oh shit,” Mina said with a laugh. “That’s even better than I expected.”

“My neph-“ the man said with a pause, “BUT HE’S FIFTEEN!”

“You did this to her? A Goetia?” Alastor asked, tilting his head.

“IT WAS MY COUSIN BEFORE THAT!” the woman shrieked and as her husband let go of her, she began ripping out the beautiful long feathers that fell down her shoulders from her head.

“I only managed it because she was so unsuspecting but . . . yes. I just put the suggestion in her head that she make a fool of herself,” Mina answered. Neither of them had taken their eyes off the show.

“And sometimes . . . sometimes . . .” the woman was hyperventilating and cackling with hysteria now, eyes gone bloodshot as she continued to rip off bits of clothing and feather. “Sometimes I wonder how good our son will be when he’s more grown!”

A resounding gasp came from all the onlookers at that. ‘Gwenore’ hadn’t screamed that confession as loud as the others, but it was still plenty audible to the dozens of people around her.

“I may have also made her confess her deepest secrets,” Mina said and giggled the same light laugh she had made when she dropped her whiskey glass. “I guess she’s even worse than I judged her for.”

Alastor looked down at Mina, and saw all at once, the potential of having her by his side. Not under his control, not limited by his own ideas and fancy. Completely free and standing next to him as his equal, simply because of her own desire for him. She was more than cruel; she was creative about it. Took pleasure in it, just as he did. And even outside of her remarkable power, Mina was lovely to be around.

“You are stunning,” Alastor said, still watching her.

She looked up at him and her malicious grin turned back to that sweet, innocent smile she had used on him earlier.

“Take me home?” she asked, and what was he to do, but oblige her?

  ____

Mina had been polite and well-mannered during the cab ride home, looking very composed and in control of herself. It was impressive to Alastor, who had heard tales of women losing their minds to their various animalistic hormone cycles. His own rut got the best of him occasionally, making him more aggressive and likely to lash out than normal. Thankfully the sexual urges were rather dormant in him, even for those two weeks out of every year, and were nothing he couldn’t take care of himself in the privacy of his own place.

But Mina had all the signs that she was aroused now that he was looking for them. Her vertical pupils were completely round, she had a red blush to her face and even across her collar bone, and she fidgeted often with her legs, crossing, and uncrossing them several times. To an untrained eye, she was nothing less than a lady while seated next to him in the small cab that was barely tall enough to accompany the height of his ears, but Alastor could tell she was doing a fine job of restraining herself.

Once the excruciating ride back to The Pit was over, Mina casually took his hand and guided him towards her apartment. This area of the neighborhood must have been far from where most of the torture took place as it was fairly quiet, only the occasional scream came from the lake of fire he could see from between the apartment buildings. It didn’t have the same quaint charm as Cannibal Town, but Alastor had to admit, the gothic splendor of the place was admirable.

“Well, I guess that settles it,” Mina said as she walked him up to a front door he gathered to be her own. “You must really have no ill feelings towards me.”

“Did I just pass some test I wasn’t aware I was taking?”

“Oh, definitely,” Mina answered, that wicked smile back in place. “No one can cross the threshold into Abadon’s territory if they mean harm to anyone who lives here. You would have burst into flames the second your feet hit the pavement here.”

He felt his ears shoot straight up in surprise.

“You were willing to set me ablaze to make sure I wasn’t still after your soul?” he asked, shocked and impressed.

Mina shrugged and turned her back on him, producing a key and unlocking her front door.

“You were willing to burn me to get my soul. Fair is fair.”

She held the door open for him and gave a welcoming gesture for him to follow her in.

“I really shouldn’t,” he said.

She frowned at him. “Why not?”

“Because if I go in there, I’m afraid I might actually stay. And tonight . . . tonight is not the right night for that.”

Now she was positively pouting at him. “I’m not langered, Alastor. You don’t have to treat me like a child.”

“That is not-“ he began, and then sighed and tried again. “I’m sorry if I don’t know a more polite and proper way to address this issue, but I’m concerned that your . . . ‘timing’ . . . if I may, paired with your alcohol consumption, may allow you to consent to things you wouldn’t normally consent to.”

Her jaw dropped and for a moment, Alastor worried he had deeply offended her.

“You burned down a bar and caused damage to an entire city block.”

“That’s not exactly unusual for me-“

“You locked my best friends up for hours!”

“Again, Mina-“

“You trapped me in an alley and tried to burn me alive!”

“I’m not sure I understand where you’re going with this.”

“And now you’re being a gentleman?!”

He opened his mouth to try and speak again, but once again, Mina left him speechless.

She started laughing.

After a beat, Alastor’s own smile turned to that of strained confusion to genuine affection. She had a point. It sounded a bit silly when put that way, but it didn’t mean he was going to change his mind.

 “You’re insane,” she said, “and I think I really like you.”

He stepped closer into her space, tilted her chin up slowly with his index finger, and placed a single, lingering kiss to her lips.

 She sighed as they parted. “Are you sure?” she asked in a small voice.

“Yes,” he answered, “I’m very sure. Because I’d very much like to have more than one evening with you, and I think if I take this one, I will have ruined that chance.”

“Wow,” she said breathlessly, “that is the loveliest thing a man has ever said to me.”

“Dinner then? Two nights from now?”

“I can’t wait,” she smiled. “Where?”

“My radio tower. I’ll cook.”

Alastor had told her a year ago, before he had sent her running, that he had never had a guest there before. He was counting on her remembering that and based on the shocked but pleased look on her face, she did.

_____

Two days later, Mina was feeling much more in control of herself. She still wasn’t sure if she really would have thought less of Alastor if he had stayed the night with her that evening; especially because in her fantasies, it had been a wonderful time. But the fact that he had been so considerate of her, she knew in the long run, only made the sudden return of her feelings for him much stronger.

Alastor made her feel like an addict falling off the wagon. It wasn’t a gradual decent; she was right back to that evening in the park before he had offered her his first deal. Mina was falling for him, hard and fast, all over again, after having spent hardly an hour in his presence. And the only part of her that even cared a little was her pride. Mina had enjoyed her years as a strong, independent bachelorette. Although it was often lonely, and sexually frustrating, it gave her a sense of freedom that she had killed for when alive. But her heart and her body wanted Alastor so damn much, that together they drowned out that pesky voice of independence as she stood under his radio tower, looking up.

She knew where it was; everyone in Pentagram City did. The giant, black and red tower soared over the heart of the city and was impossible to miss. But it was raised up on a deadly looking lattice of support beams, with no ground floor entrance, or even a ladder to climb.

How was she supposed to get up there? How did he get up there?

Something in the corner of her eye moved, down near her feet, and she glanced at it too late. The shadowy hand had broken free from its camouflaged surroundings and already had her by the ankle and even her cat-like reflexes weren’t fast enough to react by the time she was dissolving into darkness herself.

She felt the sensation of being pulled up and seconds later, was looking out over a red-tinted cityscape.

“I suppose I should have warned you,” Alastor’s voice said from behind her, “but it really is the easiest way up here. Believe me, you wouldn’t want to try and make that climb. Everyone who has, has ended up in the airwaves.”

He was setting food down on a small rectangular table set for two, pressed up against a large window, as if to give the diners a perfect view.

Mina turned a slow 360, taking in the whole room.

It was nothing like what she imagined a typical radio tower to look like. She had envisioned a cramped, windowless room, with walls consisting of nothing but dials and controls she couldn’t even begin to understand the workings of. She had seen videos of phone operator rooms, women wheeling back and forth, placing wires into one port after another, and that was the closest thing her early 20th century mind could come up with.

This place was exactly the opposite of all that. It was a large round room, surrounded by several floor to ceiling windows that gave the occupants a nearly uninterrupted view of the city below. There was only one small control panel with a few dials, and one old-fashioned radio from the 1930’s sitting on a stand next to it. Alastor must have done the majority of his work using his magic rather than actual technology, which appeared to be only supplemental to his tasks.

And the décor was cozy, giving the room a lived-in feeling, rather than what one would expect in a professional setting.

There were antlers and wildlife paintings mounted on the few narrow walls of the room, and a long and deep-seated couch placed against the opposite window from the dining table. A few cabinets and shelves placed strategically throughout the room, holding everything from books, to liquor bottles, to shrunken heads.

“Not what you expected?” Alastor asked after she turned back around to face him.

“It’s lovely,” she answered truthfully. “You live here?”

“Well, it’s not the only room, but it is my favorite.”

She quickly scanned the room again. There were no doors indicating the existence of other rooms. Or an exit. Mina should have felt trapped then, but instead she felt safely secluded, much like she did in her own home.

“Ah, yes, well,” Alastor said, realizing what she was noticing. “Since no one else has ever been here, I didn’t have to think of a design that would accommodate anything other than my preferred method of moving about.”

So, he just moved from room to room, via shadow? For a man who could conjure just about anything he wanted with a snap of his fingers, Mina supposed that made sense.

“No one else has really ever been here?” she asked.

“No one,” he answered, and pulled a chair away from the table, indicating for her to sit down. She did and he joined her, sitting opposite from her.

“And why me? Why now?” she had an idea, but she wouldn’t be a woman if she didn’t like to hear it said out loud.

“My biggest problem with you, Mina,” Alastor began, “is that for some inexplicable reason since we’ve met, I’ve been desperate for you to know everything about me. And vice versa.”

Mina felt her face grow warm. He had been honest then, when he admitted to her that their time spent together wasn’t all just to get her soul. Their hours and hours of conversations, often deeply personal, had been as real and intimate as she imagined.

“Speaking of,” Alastor continued, “please, try the food.”

She did, taking a tentative bite of rice and sausage. It looked to her like some kind of curry and must have taken at least a couple hours to make. Just the first bite had such an explosion of flavor and mixed spices, far more than her European palate was used to. This is what he should have tried to bargain for her soul over.

“That’s positively deadly,” she said with a smile.

“Not too spicey?” he asked. He was smiling as well, as always, but something in his eyes and the extra crackle in the static of his voice made Mina think he was a little nervous.

“No. I mean, it’s more than I’m used to, but it’s incredible. Really.”

He visibly relaxed a little then and Mina’s heart gave a little flutter. Alastor really had been nervous, and it was entirely too sweet to think he cared that much about her opinion.

“It’s called jambalaya. It was my mother’s recipe,” he admitted.

Oh . . .

Mina felt the significance of the evening shift into something more serious. This was the closest he could come to introducing her to his mother and men didn’t do that unless they were pursuing something serious. Her heart began to beat just a little harder at the realization, but less out of nerves, and more out of excitement. That notion sat just fine with her.

“Here,” he said, setting a glass of red wine before her. There was no bottle in sight, but again, this was Alastor. She wondered if she would ever get used to his ability to just create things out of thin air like that. “It’ll help if the spice starts to build up too much for you.”

Mina recognized the flavor as a Chianti, which was normally a dryer wine than she preferred, but she had to admit, it paired wonderfully with the spice of the jambalaya. She would never have though to mix Italian with Creole, but clearly, Alastor knew what he was doing.

It was hard to say how long their dinner lasted. Their conversation continued far longer than the meal and it seemed there wasn’t a topic they didn’t cover.

He spoke in much more detail about his mother than he ever had before, and Mina felt an empty kind of ache that she hadn’t acknowledged in years. She never had such an unconditional bond with anyone. Even her baby sister, who she had loved more than anyone, had distanced herself from Mina by the end of her life. Rather than feel envious of Alastor though, she felt relief. This man, as deadly and cold as he could be, had a soft side. Was capable of love and empathy for another person. If Mina were ever to let herself be with another person again, he would have to toe the same line between psychopath and caring partner that she did.

The conversation turned more to their work, both while alive and in Hell, and how it had defined them so much as the people they were now. They shared the same love of music, were driven by the same desire to not be controlled by the kind of people they loathed the most, and to be powerful enough to feel free.

It was so easy to talk with him about these things, to be here in the comfort of his home for hours, when normally she would begin to feel her social battery draining and get the urge to leave for the peace and quiet of her own solitude. She wanted the opposite of that. She wanted to stay here with him and never, ever leave.

Eventually, the conversation did come to a lull, and Alastor asked if she would like to dance with him.

Mina felt that feeling return, that this was really the start of something big between them, something that could be permanent, and eagerly took his hand.

The radio hummed to life as together, they strode to the middle of the room, and Mina stepped into his arms as the music began to play.

Life is a song, let’s sing it together

Let’s take our hearts and dip them in rhyme

Let’s learn the words, let’s learn the music together

hoping the song lasts for a long, long time

Life is a song that goes on forever

Love’s old refrain can never go wrong

Let’s strike the note Mendelssohn wrote concerning

spring weather

Let’s sing together and make life a song

Mina was familiar with the song, although love songs had never really been her cup of tea, and it had been popular on Earth a few years after her death. She couldn’t help but pay more attention to the lyrics now though, as Alastor moved them in gentle circles around the room. If she had read a scene like this in a book, she would have scoffed and called it cheesy and unrealistic. But there in real life, feeling for the first time how easy it was to fall in love with someone when they were actually right for you, Mina began to understand what those romance novels were trying to tell her all along.

As the last of the lyrics were sung, before the music had completely faded out, they were kissing. Mina should have been out of practice, but just as their kiss on the balcony had been, it was perfect. There was no hesitation in it, but it was slow and tender . . . at first. She could taste the spices and wine on his tongue, smell the lingering scent of Spanish moss and cypress on his skin, and feel the strength of his power emanating from his body beneath her hands.

This time it was her who increased the intensity of the kiss, moving her hands from his jaw line up into his hair, playfully scratching at the short clipped black hair before tangling her fingers in the longer red strands. She felt Alastor’s arms tighten around her in response, his own hands wandering lower until they were gripping her hips.

He broke away from her lips only to then leave a trail of kisses across her jaw and she moaned when his mouth reached her neck, using the sharp points of his teeth to take a feathery light bite out of her pulse point before kissing away the playful marks. She tilted her head back while still holding the back of his, encouraging him to continue.

Alastor was a full head taller than her, and while standing it was difficult and awkward for him to go any lower. His breath was hot and heavy against her exposed neck, a signal to Mina that he was just as needful for her as she was for him.

“The couch?” she managed to pant out, wanting desperately to be somewhere where he could be properly on top of her.

He shook his head. “Allow me,” he said, and with another kiss, Mina felt that now familiar feeling of shadow wrapping its essence around her, and the room dissolved into darkness.

When they reappeared, they were in a much smaller, windowless room but it wasn’t cramped or claustrophobic. Rather, it felt like the bedroom in a quaint, cozy cabin. The walls were wood paneled, in a well-done, rustic kind of way. The only pieces of furniture were an extra-long bed tucked into a corner, made neatly up with a dark green quilt, and a small mahogany dresser on the opposite wall. There didn’t seem to be a closet of any kind, but there was one door that was left just slightly ajar that appeared to lead to a bathroom that must have been near the size of the bedroom itself by what she could see of the distant wall. 

Mina noticed all of this in a distracted, half paying attention sort of way, considering her focus was almost entirely preoccupied by the red deer demon looming over her. Their mouths were on each other after half a second of her processing their new location; their hands exploring each other in a much more forward way than before.

Her hands slipped under Alastor’s jacket, grazing over his shirt in an attempt to feel as much of him as possible. Quickly losing patience with the restrictiveness of the item, she pulled her hands back out from underneath the jacket and began unbuttoning it until she could shove it off his shoulders and discard it behind him. He dutifully helped pull his arms and hands out of the sleeves and once free, they were back on her own body, untying the sash made up into a bow at her navel to loosen the fit of her blouse so that he could pull the hem out from the top of her skirt.

Alastor’s hands found skin as they explored under her shirt, ghosting up her sides and tickling her ribs. She froze at the contact, pleasurable as it was, as it occurred to her for the first time that she’d have to take her blouse off.

“What’s wrong?” he asked her, noticing her sharp intake of breath.

“Nothing, I just . . .” she tried to explain but hesitated.

“We can stop,” he said simply, not a trace of disappointment in his tone.

“I don’t want to stop,” she responded quickly; desperately. His small grin twitched at the corners at her reply.

“Then tell me what I just did wrong,” he said, his voice teasing but understanding.

“Nothing, you . . . you’re perfect,” she sighed, knowing what she had to do. “I need to show you something.”

Mina reached behind her and undid her zipper herself and pulled her blouse up over her head, standing before him in her bra. She knew he would be able to see the beginning of her spots across the tops of her shoulders, even if he couldn’t see them trailing down her back from his position.

His smile widened further, though he looked a little confused.

“I was hoping to see more than that tonight,” he quipped.

Mina frowned. “You don’t mind them?”

“Are we talking about the same things?” he asked with a playful tilt of his head.

She rolled her eyes at his inuendo and gestured with her chin to her shoulders.

“Oh,” he said, eyebrows raised in understanding. “No, of course not. Why would I?”

“Well they’re . . . they’re hideous,” she said in a small voice.

“Mina,” he chided, “I don’t think you know what hideous is.” He leaned over her and placed several small kisses along her shoulders, his hands coming behind her to trail his claws down the pattern of spots before cupping her ass and pulling her tightly against him. “You look absolutely delicious.”

The heat between her legs rekindled at his words and she aggressively began kissing him again, growling a bit when he responded in kind, biting at her lower lip. She got back to work undressing him, finding his belt buckle and making quick work of it, before untucking his shirt from his pants and working first at his bow tie and then at his shirt buttons.

In seconds she had everything undone and began yanking his shirt off him the same way she had made quick work of his jacket.

She broke the kiss to get a glimpse of the present she had just unwrapped and then took pause, sucking in a sharp breath at the sight before her.

“I told you, you don’t know what hideous is,” Alastor said, in a quiet, calm voice, but his smile was the smallest she had ever seen it.

Mina touched some of the scars etched into the skin of his chest. There were dozens of them, all jagged and irregular, many of them clearly made by teeth. Scars were so rare in Hell, as Sinners always healed eventually from their injuries, unless they were made by very specific weapons or magic.

She didn’t find them to be hideous at all but they made her incredibly sad, even before she knew the cause.

“What happened to you?” she finally asked.

“Nothing. Not since my death, at least,” he answered. “I was quite far gone by the time the dogs started in on me, I didn’t feel any of it. Who knows how or why we take the forms we do as souls.”

Mina thought back to her own last moments of life there on the beach, the jaguar’s weight on her, and the teeth that ripped open her neck. She must have seemed very foolish to Alastor for being insecure about her spots. It really dawned on her then, that though he was a powerful Overlord now, he was once a human like she had been. Fragile, mortal, and very capable of succumbing to violence.

She ran her hands down his chest and then wrapped her arms around him, pulling him as close as possible, and buried her face in his chest, kissing several of his scars as she did so. The hurt in her heart for the life he had led, and the way he had died, settled in her chest like a knife.

“Mina,” he whispered, soothing her, and guided her chin upwards, as he leaned down to capture her lips with his own.

The rest of their clothes were divulged more slowly after that, each item being removed as if exposing the most precious gift imaginable. They explored each other’s bodies with near worshipful touches, delighting in the similarities and differences. They caressed each other’s ears, admired the way their limbs almost matched in skin tone, as they each darkened at the elbows and knees, down to fingertips and toes. Mina stroked his antlers with her hands, as her mouth found a sensitive spot on his neck, and her toes playfully ran across his hooves that began at the balls of his feet.

They were lying in bed together then, on top of the still made-up quilt and both completely naked, his erection teasing her as she felt it against her stomach, making her ache for more. He was busy still tasting every inch of her skin that he could get a hold of when she noticed a surprise flicker of red in the corner of her eye and peered down his backside, getting the first good look of what would soon become her favorite piece of his anatomy; the little secret only she was ever able to know about him.

“You have a tail!” she gasped out in surprise.

He made something between a groan and a sigh, his mouth occupied with sucking and biting at her right breast.

“Alastor!” she squealed and pushed at his shoulders until he relented.

“Unfortunately so,” he huffed, not enjoying the interruption as much as she was.

“Let me see it,” she said, trying sit to up.

“Later,” he said, keeping her down.

“Please,” she pouted, “you see mine all the time.”

“Yours is not an insult to your character,” he replied, not budging.

She reached her own long tail around, using it to stroke the back of one of his calf muscles.

“Pleeeaase,” she said, sultrier this time.

He reached and snatched at her tail, sliding his hand down it until he had it by tip, and brought it to his lips for a quick kiss before letting it go, and settling his weight on top of her with finality.

“I said ‘later’.”

“Tease,” she said before he quieted her mouth with his own, and then reached between them and down between her thighs. A finger spread through her already wet folds, easily stroking her up and down from opening to clit.

“Oh, fuck,” she panted against his mouth, feeling the vibration of his low chuckle, clearly pleased with the reaction he was getting from her.

No one had ever touched her that way, besides herself. Every other time for her had just been a quick fuck, the man taking what he wanted with her until he was finished. It was always just enough to leave her desiring more but completely unsatisfied, like an itch that was never properly scratched.

She was almost mortified when she felt herself begin to purr but Alastor quickened his pace, circling her clit in tighter, faster circles, spurred on by her reaction. It was enough of a sign from him that he liked her purring, so she relaxed and let her body react the way it wanted to.

Then he began working his way down her body, kissing her neck, spending a moment at each breast, and then her stomach. Her nerves got the better of her when he tried to go lower, and she shot upright moments before he settled his face between her thighs.

“What are you doing?” she gasped.

He looked mortified at her reaction, eyes wide and smile strained.

“Do you not like that?” he asked, reaching out for her hips. She let his hand settle there, thankful for the reassuring touch, but still felt tense and unsettled.

“You-you don’t have to do that,” she stammered.

His eyes stayed steadily on hers. “I know I don’t have to, Mina. Why don’t you want me to?”

“Men don’t . . . men don’t do that to women,” she said, sounding naïve even to her own ears, but she just couldn’t fathom being on the reciprocating end of oral.

He seemed to relax a little as understanding came to his features.

“I promise you, the good ones do,” he said, guiding her back to laying down beneath him.

She followed but was still insecure.

“You don’t have to,” she repeated, but his mouth was already on the flesh of the inside of her thigh, making her shiver with desire and nerves.

“If you don’t like it, I’ll stop. But please, allow me to try?” he asked, peering up from her, mouth only inches from her sex. When she gave a small, hesitant nod, she felt the breath of his sigh warming her flesh before his mouth was on her and she was suddenly very okay with what he was doing.

His tongue matched the rhythm his fingers had made moments before, alternating between long strokes and quick circles. Although she had no experience with it, Mina knew there was no getting better at this than he was. She felt her face heating up as the pleasure overwhelmed her, overstimulating her senses until she was no longer purring, just gasping for air and moaning loudly. She felt tingly from head to toe and when he shifted his weight so that he could curl two fingers inside her, stroking her walls as he sucked at her clit, Mina reached down and took hold of his antlers, watching him work her until she began to see stars. Within seconds she was cumming hard; a deeper, longer orgasm than she had ever experienced.

She collapsed back on the bed, breathing deeply as she felt her body going limp. Alastor had released her from his mouth, wiping his chin with his free hand, and she had a moment where she realized she hadn’t felt the sharpness of his teeth or his claws during that whole wonderful experience, before he was crawling back up her, repeating in reverse the kissing trail up her body until he was back at her mouth. There was a slight lingering scent and taste of her own sex on his face, and surprisingly to her, it only helped turn her on all over again.

It was then she noticed his fingers were still inside of her, and as he lazily stroked his tongue against hers in a deep, sensual kiss, he began moving his fingers again. Long, slow movements, right at the shallow part of her entrance, curling his fingers so that the pads of his fingertips put just the right pressure on that sensitive internal part she barely had registered the existence of before that evening.

Mina moaned against him as he worked her up again, impressively fast, considering she could still feel the aftereffects of her first orgasm.

Right as she was beginning to feel her walls clench at his fingers in earnest, he pulled away from her and settled his weight differently until their hips were perfectly aligned.

“May I?” he asked, but she was already spreading her legs to wrap around him.

“Oh please,” she begged, feeling the tip of him right at her entrance. “Please, please, please,” she whispered.

He was big and now she truly understood his need for foreplay with her in order to prepare her to take him. He guided himself in until he was buried as deep as he could go, the girth and length of his cock stretching her to the point of stinging for a moment before she felt herself relaxing. Alastor looked into her eyes as if searching for any change of heart or hesitation from her. Finding nothing but wanton eagerness in her expression, he began to move.

Mina would later find him to be a rather quiet lover, not one for dirty talk or frequent noises in general, but he did moan quite audibly with that first thrust; a low sound, the static affect breaking it up and making it sound much deeper than his normal voice. She cradled the back of his head as he breathed into her neck, stroking the base of his ears and playing with the soft tufts of fur there.

Together they found a rhythm, a lovely friction that completely filled her up, stroked her inner walls, and rubbed against her clit just right when their hips came together. Mina would never understand why missionary was considered such a ‘vanilla’ position. She loved being face to face with Alastor like this, watching his eyes go black with desire, while also being chest to chest, and hip to hip. He was everywhere, holding her, on top of her, filling her up. No other position could give her this kind of intimacy and paired with the physical pleasure of it, it was perfect for their first time together.

She was so close now, feeling right on the edge of her second orgasm but she needed just a little more. Changing the tilt of her hips, she was able to relax her hips into spreading wider, encouraging Alastor to go deeper and harder into her. He responded immediately to the lusty noises she made as the change in angle built her up, stretching her to the point of nearly being painful, and it was delicious. Her orgasm slammed into her, making her clench hard onto his cock and it was all she could do but whimper as it seemed to continue on forever. Letting go of her grip on the mix of hair and fur near the base of his ear, her hand found an antler again, surprised and aroused that it had grown much thicker and longer as he chased his own completion.

Her body finally began to relax as she came down from her orgasm, just beginning to feel the first stages of overstimulation, when his movements became erratic, and she felt the stinging bite of his teeth into the flesh in the crook of her collarbone as he came inside her. For the first time, without the worry of pregnancy involved in the act, she found she loved the sensation of his cock twitching inside her as he coated her walls with his seed, making her feel incredibly satisfied. She basked in the feeling of being bred; the feminine pride of being claimed, by both his cum and his bite.

Alastor was slowly coming down from his own high; his antlers retreated back to their usual two-pointed form, the blackness in his eyes returning to their normal shade of red.

“I’m sorry,” he panted but she was already purring again. “Was that too . . .”

He trailed off, and she brushed her nose against his, until he gave a soft laugh and responded with the same motion and kissed her.

“I like you like that,” she said. “You can do that to me again, anytime you want.”

They smiled at each other, like the two idiots absolutely smitten with each other that they were, and enjoyed another tender kiss before Alastor finally pulled out of her and shifted onto his side. Mina snuggled into his arms, burying her face into his scarred chest, and began purring in earnest as he lazily stroked her hair and the backs of her ears.

In post orgasmic bliss, they fell into a light sleep like that, still on top of the blankets and tangled up in each other.

A short while later, Mina began to stir, feeling a chill against her bare skin as the heat of their lovemaking finally dissipated from her body. Alastor moved against her, also waking up, and Mina smiled when she noticed the sound of a radio humming to life that accompanied him when he awoke. As much as she would come to love watching him sleep, she would always find that little sound affect to be the most fucking adorable thing about him.

That, and his tail.

She sat upright.

“Alright, love. Let me see it.”

His eyebrows came down in a frown, already knowing what she was asking for, and was not amused.

“I’d rather you join me in the bath,” he said, trying to lure her into something else. Anything else, really.

“You said you’d let me see it!” she whined.

“I only recall specifically using the word ‘later.’ I did not specify when that would be.”

“Alastor,” she said sternly.

“Fine,” he huffed but then continued to lay where he was rather than moving and making it easier to see.

“Well?” she asked, gesturing for him to move.

“I am neither standing for this, nor will I lay on my stomach. This is not a physician’s exam and I refuse to make this anymore humiliating for me.”

“Jaysus Christ, you are a child,” she huffed and got up on her knees so she could more easily peer over him to see his backside.

He curled forward and bit her on her outer thigh, making her jump and squeal, but she didn’t relent.

There it was, in all its fluffy glory, red like his hair but with a black stripe along the bottom side where most deer had stripe of white. It was . . . really cute. But she would never tell him that as it would devastate his massive but fragile ego, and she had a feeling that was exactly why he hid it from view.

She reached over and touched it, feeling the incredible softness for only a second before he reacted viscerally, turning around and grabbing at her hand.

“Are you kidding me?!”

“Sorry,” she said, immediately regretting it. “I’m sorry. If it really bothers you that much, I am. Really sorry.”

He sighed, relaxing at her apology, and pulled her down with him to return to the position they had been in before.

She peppered his chest with kisses, purring again as it seemed to soothe him, and listened as his thundering heart began to slow down. He really was incredibly insecure about that tail of his.

“You know,” she dared, once she was sure he had finally calmed all the way down, “you might like it being touched if you just let me try again.”

He rolled on top of her, kissing her hard and pressing her into the mattress, before standing up and leaving her in bed.

“Ready for that bath?” he asked, holding his hand out to her, completely ignoring her statement.

Next Chapter ->

She took it, eagerly following him out of the room, enjoying the full view of his tail and naked backside that it awarded her, but she didn’t dare try to touch it again . . . that night.

@saccharine-nectarine, @inuhalfdemon

[fierceawakening]

I want to pick bits of this to quote but it’s all so good. Quoting most but not all of it:

Empathy—the ability to truly feel and understand what someone else is going through—is at the heart of what makes us human. It’s what connects us, helps us build relationships with other humans, animals and nature, and allows society to function with kindness and fairness. But what happens when that empathy starts to fade? When people stop seeing each other as fellow human beings with emotions, struggles, and dreams, and instead view them as obstacles or tools to be used? The consequences reach far beyond individual interactions—they shape the very fabric of our world.

We are already witnessing the dangers of this decline in empathy in various aspects of society—whether in politics, economic policies, corporate greed, or the increasing desensitization to human suffering. The consequences are severe, affecting individuals, communities, and global stability. And when powerful figures, like Elon Musk, have the gall to suggest that empathy is a weakness rather than a strength, it signals a highly disturbing shift in societal values.

1. Rising Social Divisions and Polarization

Empathy helps us step into someone else’s shoes, making it easier to understand different perspectives and find common ground. Without it, society becomes divided—people stop seeing each other as individuals and instead see only labels like political party, race, religion, or social class.

2. Normalization of Exploitation and Injustice

When empathy fades, people become more accepting of systemic injustices. Exploitative labor practices, wage gaps, and the mistreatment of the most vulnerable populations become "just the way things are."

Those in power—whether corporations or governments—capitalize on this indifference, prioritizing profit over people.

The result? Worsening working conditions, increasing homelessness, disease, and a growing gap between the ultra-rich and the struggling masses.

3. Desensitization to Human Suffering

A lack of empathy numbs society to the pain of others. Its why people scroll past tragic news stories without a second thought. Its why homelessness is ignored, why mental health crises are stigmatized, and why war and violence are accepted as inevitable rather than preventable.

4. The Decline of Meaningful Human Connections

Empathy is the foundation of relationships—romantic, platonic, familial, and professional. Without it, relationships become transactional rather than genuine. People begin to see others as replaceable, expendable or as competition rather than as loyal companions or allies.

5. Increased Narcissism and the Worship of Self-Interest

A lack of empathy fuels individualism in its most toxic form—narcissism. When society rewards those who prioritize self-interest above all else, it creates a culture where power, wealth, and success are valued over kindness and community.

The rise of billionaire "tech overlords" and oligarchs and corporate monopolies at the expense of everyday workers is a direct consequence of this shift.

Elon Musk, a man revered by many as a 'genius' entrepreneur, has been outright vocal recently about his disdain for empathy, going as far as to claim that Western civilization suffers because of empathy.

While Musk said he believes in empathy and that “you should care about other people,” he also thinks it’s destroying society.

This statement is not just revealing about his persona—it’s totally false and very alarming.

Musk’s belief that empathy is a weakness rather than a strength reflects a worldview where only the strongest survive, where success is measured in wealth and technological dominance rather than collective well-being.

His disdain for empathy aligns with the belief that people who struggle should fend for themselves, rather than expecting societal or governmental support. This ideology is eerily reminiscent of social Darwinism—the idea that the "weak" should be left behind while the "strong" (wealthy, powerful individuals) dictate the future.

For someone like Musk, whose wealth is built on relentless ambition, the sweat of others, cutting costs, and automation that ultimately replaces human labor, empathy is an obstacle. It forces leaders to consider how their actions affect people’s lives rather than just focusing on profits and innovation. By dismissing empathy, Musk and others like him justify mass layoffs, unethical business practices, and the exploitation of workers under the guise of progress and reform.

If Musk’s belief that empathy is a weakness were widely embraced, the world would become an even harsher, more unforgiving place:

The social safety net would continue to crumble, leaving the vulnerable completely abandoned.

Corporations would face fewer ethical obligations, accelerating worker exploitation.

Mental health crises would worsen, as emotional support systems disappear.

Extreme wealth inequality would become permanent, leading to unrest and societal collapse.

Simply put, a world without empathy is not a world that most people would want to live in.

Empathy isn’t just a feeling—it’s a skill. Teaching emotional intelligence from a young age can help create a more compassionate future.

Billionaires and politicians who dismiss empathy should be challenged. Public figures shape societal values, and when they promote toxic ideologies, it’s crucial to push back.

Empathy is not a weakness—it is the glue that literally holds high functioning societies together. The moment we dismiss it, we open the door to a world ruled by greed, selfishness, and cruelty. Elon Musk’s dismissal of empathy as a problem is not just misguided—it’s dangerous. It reflects a growing detachment between the ultra-rich and the rest of society, a mindset that prioritizes power and efficiency over human connection.

If we allow empathy to fade, the consequences will be irreversible. But if we actively nurture and protect it, we can ensure that the future remains one where humanity—not just technology or wealth—thrives.

[andreal831]

I found it so absolutely crazy that the Mikaelsons (especially Klaus and Elijah) were constantly throwing Marcel’s background back in his face and just the fact that they lived in/on the same plantation that he was a slave on was absolutely wild. Marcel was so blatantly “othered” by the Mikaelsons, even though they said he was family, they always reminded him that he wasn’t ever one of them/a mikaelson and Klaus would always remind him that he was a slave before. Someone made the analogy that it’s like when a racist white family adopts a black child and make it clear that he’s not one of them and that’s quite LITERALLY what happened.

I would go as far as to say that Marbekah is not just weird because Rebekah knew him as a child, but also because of that strange power dynamic of her being a rich white woman and him being a black slave boy and that subtext there and it just doesn’t feel right (and this is a feeling I don’t get from normal interracial relationships, just THOSE TWO). And if you like Marbekah, that’s great! I just don’t lol.

And the fandom always says that “it’s just Klaus’ personality that he does and says these things to Marcel, etc” like… ugh.

And there’s other poc in TO that deal with the racism like Vincent and Inadu, etc

I love the Mikaelsons but they were so problematic to the point that I have to retcon certain things or at least insert headcanons to make me not hate them. Because you are absolutely right. It was literally a racist family playing white savior. People try to give Klaus props for killing an enslaver and freeing Marcel, but we see him kill one enslaver and free one person who was enslaved. He didn't do it because he was morally opposed to slavery. He did it for his own selfish reasons. Otherwise we would have seen more of this. People using the excuse that "oh it's just x's character to make racists comments" is very telling. It means the character is racist. They are literally saying it is part of that character. The Mikaelsons thinking it was fine to live on an actual plantation both when it was functioning and after is proof of this.

I personally do like Marbekah but they are not necessarily in my top favorite ships. I love both of the characters but I also hate how they began (same with Freelin, but I'll go into that in a moment). But again, you're absolutely right. There is not only the inappropriate dynamic that she helped raise him, to some extent, but yes, that he grew up being treated as a second class citizen, not only when he was enslaved but also when he was taken in by the Mikaelsons. There is also the bad dynamic of how possessive Klaus is over Rebekah and her romantic life. People love to say Klaus daggered Rebekah when he found out about Rebekah and Marcel because he was protecting Marcel, but let's be honest, he wouldn't have cared if it was anyone else but Rebekah. Klaus didn't have any issues going after teenagers, why would he care that Marcel was being groomed by an older woman? Klaus always treated Marcel as more of a friend than a son and we all know Klaus is not a good friend. I, once again, have to insert my own headcanon that Rebekah was not heavily invovled in Marcel's upbringing. I pretend Klaus was just as possessive of Marcel with Rebekah as he was with Elijah. We only see the one scene of Rebekah training him so I just pretend that was a one time thing and they hardly interacted outside of that. This not at all what the writers intended. They loved creepy, grooming relationships so it is completely understandable to not like them.

Marcel was treated as more of a possession than anything. I'm biased so I like to believe Elijah saw Marcel as a child at first and wanted to mentor him before Klaus got in the way. You mention Elijah throwing Marcel's history in his face, do you have an example? I am genuinely asking. I've seen people make this comment before and make comments of Elijah calling him "boy" but I for the life of me can't remember when he does, because yes, that is obviously racist. I am trying to think past my Elijah blinders, but welcome any help. Elijah is definitely condescending to him and it would be foolish of me to assume part of it isn't racism. Again, I insert my own headcanon that it is more to do with his elitism and how he speaks to everyone (i.e. the scene where he calls Klaus and Hayley "chiiillldddreeen" for bickering). But I also acknowledge that my headcanons are my own and we still need to call out the characters for their problematic behavior. The fact that Elijah doesn't lift a finger to help a single person who is being enslaved or to even condemn the slavery when he very much had the power and privilege to do something about it shows his racism, if not overt racism than at the very least covert.

I personally headcanon that Celeste set Elijah straight while they were together and got him more invovled in the abolitionist movements, because I refuse to believe Celeste was fine being with a man who was fine with slavery. I also love Elijah and refuse to love a racist so I have to insert my own head canons to fix the racist writing. I would also be remiss to point out how problematic it is that Elijah is constantly given partners who are women of color but the show only emphasizes his white counterparts. There is more love for Eelijah, a crack ship, in the fandom than Celijah, one of the two people Elijah loved by his own admission. I love haylijah, but how the women of color he dated were treated by his family, the writers, and his family, even by him, speaks volumes to their racism.

But back to Marcel. It would have made sense for Rebekah to be a mother figure to him since she is always talking about wanting kids, but the show makes it clear that there is a distinction between biological children and adopted. Here the Mikaelsons have a chance to be parents and they all squander it. It's hard to not talk about Marcel's race in that discussion. Rebekah loves her time taking care of Hope, who, while her blood, is still not her biological daughter. Why wouldn't she jump at the chance to raise a frightened boy who lost his mother at such a young age? Why wasn't he given a mother figure? Hope has like five. Marcel isn't even given a father figure. Again, Hope has like five. Because Marcel was never viewed as a child. This is a common trope where black characters, especially boys, are not seen as kids. Rather they are forced to be more mature and treated as adults, while their white counter parts are allowed immaturity. Marcel was never allowed to be a kid because the Mikaelsons didn't want a kid. They all had their own selfish desires for Marcel and they were all terrible.

I do think the Mikaelsons are also just a toxic, dysfunctional family. Literally none of them treat the others well. I love certain relationships over others, but it would be lying to say they weren't all toxic to each other. So it's no wonder all of their relationships with Marcel were toxic. Klaus undaggers Kol and instead of being angry at Klaus for keeping him in a box, he turns his anger and frustration on a literal child. You would think this resentment would fade when Kol starts dating his nephew's daughter (sorry, couldn't help myself), but it doesn't. Marcel and Kol still harbor so much animosity for each other and Kol's is merely based on Marcel being more included in the family, which is sad considering how little Marcel is included in the family. But even that extent was too much for Kol.

The writers had a fresh slate with The Originals. There was no book to attempt to follow or even to dictate character relationships. They could have done anything with Marcel, but they chose to make a black slave from the 1800s that Klaus "saved" in order to play into the idea that Klaus was a good guy underneath it all. So instead of focusing on Marcel's trauma, the story is told through the Mikaelson's perspective, the white perspective. It reminds me of so many movies, The Blind Side comes to mind. Media loves to focus on the white saviors and praise them without mentioning the trauma they actually caused while playing savior. In these stories, the white families aren't adopting a "child" they are "investing" in what that child can do for them.

I mentioned Freelin earlier and I don't think it is a coincidence that the only two instances where a white Mikaelson's endgame invovled a person of color there is a massive power imbalance. I want to love Freelin so much because I like both the characters but I struggle to get past how they met and how quickly it changed. Freya never even felt guilty or apologized for literally kidnapping and torturing her. The show loves to match up characters, especially women and especially woman of color, with their abusers with no repercussions to the abuse.

I could write forever about the blatant racism in this show.

Thanks for the ask! I hope I answered everything. As always, please let me know what you think or if you disagree with anything I said.

[a-twistedheartslonging]

https://www.tumblr.com/a-twistedheartslonging/776097505690697728?source=share

Thinking of this post ^^^ and kalim talking to someone online and they click together but they think he's some guy who's a part time scammer pretending to be some rich guy. They talk to him cause they vibe but they think Kalim has a job as a scammer and phone service person or something.

It's refreshing they treat him normal and there's a genuine connection but he's frustrated that they don't believe him and refuse to take any of his offers of money and gifts. For once he kinda wishes they would just leech off him if only so he can help them out but they're nice and also don't know he's an Asim. He knows they're chill (his family did a background check on them) but he's frustrated.

If it's monster au like in the post then he's probably some djinn/genie or perhaps some type of minor wealth/fortune/luck deity (like those river guardian type monsters and divine yokai)

Human being all mean and not letting him spoil them. 😔 Jamil thought it was funny at first, but the whining is getting to him and he's half ready to just swipe you and drop you off to Kalim.

[boarloved-art]

the mdzs british gameshow au resides in my heart so firmly recently, its so dire, so heres some throwaway headcanons i have abt it bc i fear i shall go insane 😌😌😌 under the cut bc im insane and rambled far too much 😆😆😆

-jgy is still evil purely bc its Hilarious. everythings a normal Modern British Au Where Most Of Them Work In Daytime Television but jgys still evil? flawless. but only kinda evil! his whole "i have been overlooked my entire life bc of my low status and now i long for the ability to prove every1 wrong" thing still stands. except instead of murdering people and condoning experimentation on live humans, its now just ruining peoples careers so he can get a promotion. loser.

- 3zun messy love triangle REAL TO ME! walk with me as i describe the following. jgy starts his working life as an assistant for the nie's Sunshot Campaign band, him and mingjue get kinda close theres some homoerotic tension that never gets worked out, mingjue then starts dating xichen. nielan break up for unknown reasons, then jgy swoops in and starts dating xichen. theyre engaged now, wow theyre so in love shoutout xiyao. except. nmj and lxc still very in love, everyone seems aware of this Except NieLan themselves. all of them have feelings for eachother, None of them are normal about it.

- Huaisang has been live tweeting this entire 3zun saga to his mutuals. hes based a fanfic on it. wangji has tried to subliminally message xichen about the concept of polyamory (aka watching documentaries while xichens home), in the hopes that maybe just maybe they'll realise that theres a very real answer to all of them liking eachother, except its just resulting in xichen thinking that wangjis polyamorous. wangji withers a little bit when hes hit with the "if this is who u are thats okay you can tell me <3" talk from xichen. the brotherly equivalent of how he felt in canon about "so you like mianmian, right?!"

- huaisangs a real renaissance man, noone knows what he Does. it seems to be everything and nothing at all. hes an art student (maybe? whos to say? mingjue called his uni to ask about him and they said they didnt have a student called nie huaisang.), hes the Sunshot social media manager (definitely. they didnt even Have social media before him which is Insane), sometimes he does their album art, wuxian Thinks huaisang works at a B&Q ? once again , hes Seen huaisang in the uniform & working at a till but any questions to the actual shop turn up stares of confusion and "we dont have an employee called huaisang..?", huaisang may or may not be the owner of the popbase twitter account, he writes fanfic but refuses to divulge what fandom its for. the only detail anyone knows is that it's one of the most bookmarked fics in his fandom. huaisang has so many random connections and skills that wuxian genuinely thinks that Maybe hes an immortal but most of the skills are So specific and Mostly Useless that he Doesnt Want to believe it.

- jiang yanli and jin zixuan ALIVE, raising their BEAUTIFUL SON JIN LING, with the help of his MANY UNCLES! wuxian and jiang cheng, upon learning that not only is their sisters boyfriend rich, but his Brothers Engaged To The Host Of The Chase, are horrified to think that they might be Nepotism Chase Contestants. jin zixuan doesnt know what being a Nepotism Chase Contestant would even imply but they bring it up so often that hes considered a handwritten apology because they seem genuinely distressed (they arent. theyre fucking with him. but he doesnt need to know that.)

-the jiang family are Baffling in family photos. madame yu is very elegant and cool, fengmian has clearly had his outfit selected by madame yu, jiang yanli is v soft and pretty, wei wuxian is an emo, and jiang cheng is a bloke who goes around in footie tshirts 99% of the time. you can tell when yu ziyuan has styled them because wuxians hair is lacking any volume, completely flat and slicked, and in a LOW pony so you cant see it in photos, and both boys are stood there in shirts and trousers like theyre off to a wedding. wuxians biggest relief about being disowned was that he'll never suffer hairgel again.

- the wens have been living with their grandma, an uncle, a Nebulous Baby Relative and a wei wuxian. wuxian latches onto them so fast. as is par for the course with wuxian & the wens. he loves that baby. a-yuan starts calling him dad one day and noone can tell him no, so now he just kinda Is. ayuan sucks up Wuxians Little Shit Energy far too easily and now hes Factually The Funniest Kid In The World. he calls wuxian broke once and wuxians entire brain rebooted a bit. my real life nephew did this to me multiple times.

- ayuan luuuuurves game shows and quizzes, wen qing & wuxian working on one Fixes this child. hes enamoured. he needs to watch his daily Chase-Pointless-Catchphrase-Tipping Point rotation or he cant sleep.

- wangxian are EMBARRASSING!!!! anytime they see eachother its Unstoppable Force (wuxian trying to hint that hes bisexual and single) vs Immovable Object (wangji being CERTAIN that wuxian has no interest in him). wangjis a PATHETIC little man for this northern emo, he hides it well and keeps up his Sensible & Emotionless thing, but his thoughts are like a sopping wet kitten. he thinks hes handling this crush sooooo normally and then wuxian posts a selfie on instagram and wangjis opening google to search Wedding Ring Shops Near Me as if thats a proportionate response to a selfie. wuxian isnt any better. wangji likes his instagram story and wuxian cheers out loud, to which the only response is a loud sigh from wen qings room.

- for wuxians first episode of pointless, he does a celebrity episode so he can pick all his faves and have them bring whoever they want along with them. he was not expecting lan wangji but oh god is he thankful for xichen in this moment. the second he sees wangji also at xichens podium, he decides that xichen is now his second- sorry, third- sorry fourth favourite person. A-yuan, Yanli & Wangji are joint first. when hes chatting with the contestants about their lives, an OBSCENE amount of his time talking with wangji is poorly disguised flirting. twitter tears him to SHREDS for how desperate he clearly is. huaisang is also here but hes not mingjues teammate, hes a random radio hosts teammate. another enigma for wuxian to add to his huaisang conspiracy board.

- wuxian has a rotating cast of cohosts on pointless until wangji applies for the job, at which point wuxian becomes sure that god is real and that wuxian is gods favourite. much like every other time theyve been near eachother, their first episode together is mostly poorly disguised flirting and soppy eye contact. huaisang has now based a fanfic off this.

-Sunshot Campaign 5 album is never happening and wuxian needs to move on but he CANT! he craves that album. he doesnt CARE if mingjue is a top gear host or something now! he doesnt CARE about mingjues self help book, or his home renovation show! If he wanted to stan someone with side hustles, he'd stan huaisang, damnit! he abuses his Huaisangs Best Friend privileges to ask when an albums on its way and everytime he is told "im pretty sure da-ge sold his drumset 5 years ago ngl"