#I come here and I see so many angels and monsters and demons and cats and dogs and all others in the community

[wingedarchivist]

Sometimes I worry my partner has a feeling like I am hiding something from them.

It is true, but I am not hiding anything bad, which makes me a bit sadder.

Being otherkin is so beautiful, it's unconventional, sure, but it doesn't have to be normal.

I just am like this and it's amazing! Wonderful! Great!

[dreamsinmoonlight]

Dude, you could do a fic where the reader goes looking for Yandere Alastor at the end of the battle with Adam (where is he mad? Insane?... You know in the last ep)... The reader was worried about Alastor, but found him At the worst moment, maybe Alastor will collapse and go crazy... Maybe because he saw that the reader is also hurt? Or there is a revelation for him where he discovers that he is in love with the reader...

It's up to you, I just want to see a fanfic about it!!

(Here we go, I was thinking a lot about this one because honestly I love me a good old fashion insanity moment because of invocation of the "berserk button is hurting that person" trope. Mmmmm~

Modifying it a little just because I lean into the going insane because someone you care about is hurt (also I have another ask involving finding Alastor after the battle). So instead of being when he gets to the radio tower...

How about we rewind and let it be, oh, during the battle? Hehehe~

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Characters: yandere!Alastor, reader, Adam

Pairing: Alastor x reader

Genre:

Summary: The fight is raging but all you can think about is one very dangerous deer....)

Reckless Abandon

Hazbin Hotel was not falling without a fight, not if the residents and their friends had anything to say about it.

There were exterminators everywhere, angels everywhere and anywhere you looked. It felt, to you, as if the sky itself was falling, was being torn asunder, and though you knew that there was a shield, a barrier you believed in more than you believed in anything else, still something in the depths of your gut couldn't help but worry.

Someone screamed your name and you narrowly avoided a sword coming at you from the side, the mad flickering face of the angel who had tried to kill you so close you could almost make out each pixel in the mask they wore. By instinct you struck out and punched them, though some part of your brain understood it would likely do little; still they didn't seem to expect it from you and it connected, throwing them for a loop and to the ground for a moment.

"Good job toots!" Angel called out with one of those friendly grins of his that you could never help but return; he leveled his tommy guns and continued to shoot away, trying to bring down as many of the flying monsters as he could.

"Thanks Angel!" you called back and looked around; Charlie, Vaggie, Husk, Cherri Bomb, Sir Pentious, even Nifty was running around stabbing admittedly already downed angels. But everyone was doing their best, fighting and honestly there seemed almost to be a chance, a small possibility, they could survive this. You could survive this.

You never meant to die and come to Hell, but no one ever did. Still in the years you'd been there you'd only ever felt actually happy at the hotel; Charlie was such a good kind person and Vaggie's devotion to her was heartwarming. It was never boring, never uneventful, and never anything less than a trip from the very day you came to their door, looking for a place to stay to get away from the far worse denizens than yourself. And somewhere deep down you'd admit, only to yourself, that what made you feel the happiest was the presence of one demon in particular.

You glanced up as you thought about him and almost immediately wished you hadn't. That shield that you believed so in, you saw with your own eyes it crack, you saw it break, and you saw the figure of the scariest of them all: Adam. He'd broken it down, he'd broken...

"Alastor's shield," you whispered, as the others saw it too, as it dawned on them what happened.

He was supposed to be able to keep it up, give them enough time to thin the herd more. No one expected Adam to be so powerful to be able to break something created by the Radio Demon, the Radio Demon. Alastor stood up to Lucifer, to the Vs, to other Overlords, he was the monster in the dark, the grinning Cheshire Deer Cat of Terror, and Adam had punched one of his barriers into nothingness as easily as he could have been punching a marshmallow.

That feeling of worry returned and it tasted of blood. You licked your lips and looked around. The others were worried too but all recovered, getting back to work, not letting this stop them. You tried to do the same, to remember the plan: if the shield went down then Alastor would take out Adam, keep him out of the fight largely so you all could handle the exterminator angels better. He was the most powerful of you, the most dangerous, the most vicious, he could handle this, he could do this, he...

He....

You looked towards the roof of the hotel, towards where you knew that cannibal Overlord was, where Adam had touched down and was now fighting him.

He was....he was too important. To you at least. You ripped a sword from a dead angel nearby and used it to cut through any other that got between you and the entryway to the hotel. You knew you were being stupid and reckless and silly because this was Alastor you were thinking about after all. But still, still, that bloody taste of worry had you and you couldn't get it to go away no matter how much you swallowed.

By the time you reached the roof things had reached a major head. Tentacles, shadows, a split second in which maybe, just maybe this would go better than the dread inside you predicted. But that colossal angelic asshole known as the First Man just had to be a dick and you stepped out in time to see him attack Alastor, breaking his staff and the confusion that filled you was matched by the unfiltered sound of the Radio Demon's voice. "What just happened?....Fuck."

"Alastor!" you called out and moved to try to get over to him.

What could you do? You were just a sinner, another of the souls trapped in Hell, prey to the angels, prey to the Overlords, prey to everyone. You weren't anything special, anything important, just another person who failed to be good in their mortal life and ended up down here instead. This was the greatest demon you knew and the most dangerous angel you knew of, and you, you were nothing.

But seeing Adam slash at Alastor, the Radio Demon go flying, be hurt, you narrowed your eyes and gripping tight the angel blade you'd stolen, you snarled with an intensity you weren't used to, an aggression you didn't know from within you. He stepped closer to Alastor, smirking, gloating, and not paying any mind as you came at him from the side, moving swift and deadly.

The blade dug in deep and the blood came a golden hue that should have beautiful if not coming from him. The grunt that came from Adam was less pain and more annoyance and he looked down at you like he might an ant. "What the hell bitch, you really want to fucking die first? Cuz I can totally do that for you."

For someone so big he moved quick. And his hand gripped around your throat tight, cutting off air and circulation very quick. Sinners shouldn't need to breathe, that was stupid, but you knew this sensation, you knew the feeling of choking and as he lifted you off your feet you struggled, let go of the sword to claw at his hands, to try to free yourself. His mask showed no more mercy than his troops did, the cruelty and sadism of beings who didn't even deign to show their faces when they came down to kill you; you reached out, wanting to at least see if you remove it, maybe scratch out his dumb eyes before he kills you. Give Alastor the time to get something done, to recover. At least you'd stopped this monster from hurting him.

Blood rushing through your ears as consciousness started to wane, you could have almost sworn you heard a chuckle, dark and familiar even without it's filter. Good. He was okay....

Adam was seconds from snapping your neck when a shadow tentacle lurched out and pierced his arm, forcing him to drop you. Already out like a light you fell limply but were caught by Alastor's own shadow that carefully held you in it's arms before returning to his side. The Radio Demon chuckled still, through the blood, through the pain, through the madness threatening to come forth as his form started to twist and deform, taking on his more demonic state.

"Have to disagree with you there," he hissed and smiled, feeling the changes, feeling the crawling of the Winter under his skin, the creature hungry, always hungry, and the chain that held him in place; the shadow moved to cover both of you as he continued, "Radio's not dead, but it is ending this broadcast."

Adam laughed through his own pain as the two of you were teleported away to safety and Alastor groaned as you reappeared elsewhere, hand over the gaping wound on his chest, trying to hold back the madness, the insanity, the Winter. His eyes slipped towards you in the process.

You should have not been up there, you were supposed to be out on the battlefield with all the others, with the fodder and the ones that mattered. You were a fool and an useless pawn, barely entertainment; you were not a monster, you were barely a sinner. You showed up at the hotel looking for sanctuary; you got along with them all and he found your presence....

Not unlikeable. Because you seemed to like him, knowing what he was, knowing who he was. You never treated him as anything less than a terror among demons but it didn't escape his attention how you perked up when he turned his usual gentlemanly facade towards him, as if he could ever be anything but to one of the fairer gender. But you never seemed like the type to try to face Adam knowing it could only be your death and the image of you moving at the much larger angel, sword in your hands, and your expression, it was burned in his chest.

You were not supposed to be there and you were not supposed to anything but something to throw at the angels to distract them, in hopes that Charlie would survive another fight. But the way you called out his name and the way your smile would shine when you looked at him, when he'd pet your head, when he'd tease and torment the other hotel residents, when he made all sorts of silly comments and puns. You, this stupid little sinner who didn't even really belong because what redemption was there for someone who wasn't even really a bad guy? What was your sin?

Alastor realized he didn't even know that one. It never mattered. You never mattered. But now you did.

The realization made his skin crawl more and he started towards the hotel again, arriving back after the battle, to his tower destroyed, to the rubble and debris and his own mind screaming.

He was a monster and he nearly died. He, the great Radio Demon, almost destroyed. For saving his friends. His friends. And then there was you and his mind raced more. No this could not be, no this would not be. The Winter and hunger under his skin crawled more and approaching his equipment he dug sharp claws into the metal, leaving gashes in his wake.

No.

No.

Not him.

But yes. And there you were, still asleep, still hurt; he turned to look at you and saw the bruises on your neck and thought of you clawing at Adam, ready to go down fighting. There because of....

Him.

An emotion he didn't recognize crawled up alongside the hunger and he tilted his head before reaching out with those sharp cruel claws to draw them, all too gently, along your cheek. His smile twitched, his eyes narrowed.

" 'Altruistist Alastor, died for his friends'," he mocked himself, "I'll find a way around this damned deal, just you wait. But tell me little one, what is this emotion I feel creeping up inside me? If you created it I expect you to explain it."

You didn't answer. Of course not. He took you from the shadow and cradled you carefully in his own arms.

Whatever it meant, whatever it was, it made his madness feel both better and worse. The hunger was dispelling a bit but now all he could think about was you.

How strange.

[valerie-is-in-the-cupboard]

Hi, I have a request:

Could you write a One-shot Human GN Reader x Angel Dust and Husk (platonic)?

The reader is a shy human with magic skills (like John Constantine) and when they try to do a ritual, they made a mistake, fall in Hell, where they meet Angel and Husk. The first thing than the reader do when they see the two sinners is run away, think the two guys want to kill the reader, and in their hopeless run, they meet other sinners who don't have any good intents. And when the reader think than they will die, Angel and Husk come to save them.

Sorry if this request is long and specific, but I haven't found so many fanfition about Human reader x Hazbin Hotel Characters than I liked. And I want a Hurt to Comfort with my two favourite characters.

Thank you and Bye

Friends from the Other Side - Husker x human!reader x Angel Dust

Hello! Thank you so much for your request! I wanted to mention that it’s been a while since I watched Constantine, and my recollection of his powers is a bit hazy. So, I hope this still aligns with what you were expecting. I’m sorry it’s a bit shorter than you might have hoped. I really hope you enjoy it! ❤️

(Also, this might appeal to Supernatural fans as well... ;)) )

Words: ~1000 TW: violence and cursing

Your hunting days were long gone. You were never one to be a fan of monster hunting, mostly because you chose to live a peaceful life. You decided it was better to use your powers for simpler things, like tarot or palm reading.

But when two old friends asked for your help in their quest to find a demon, you couldn’t refuse. The ritual was simple, even mundane, something you had done thousands of times before.

The room, lit only by candles, was filled with incantations as you held a bowl of blood and other necessary ingredients. You could feel the connection forming between you and the target, the familiar, slightly unsettling sensation settling inside you. But this time, something was different—something dark was lurking, and the sense of imminent danger made you shiver.

You opened your eyes quickly, and before you stood a man in a black suit. You could feel the dark aura surrounding him, chills running down your spine. The bowl slipped from your hands, the blood splashing across the floor as you stumbled back. "Who… who are you?" Your voice trembled.

The man’s lips curled into an amused smile, his gaze sharp. "I told those two they can't spoil my fun just yet. Sorry, you got dragged into this," he said with unsettling calm. "You’ll be going on a little holiday until I’m done. Oh, and… tell Moose I said hi—if you make it back."

Before you could react, darkness swirled around you, pulling you into a void. You screamed, but no sound escaped. Your body grew heavy, and everything went black.

"Are they dead?" A voice broke through the haze.

"Probably," another replied. You felt a nudge. "Nope, definitely alive."

Your eyes fluttered open. "What the hell…" you muttered, your head spinning as two figures came into view. You couldn't quite see who they were as your vision was still blurry.

"Toots, don’t freak out, okay?" the first one said, leaning closer.

"Freak out...? Why would I..." Your breath caught in your throat as your vision cleared up realizing what they were. Demons. You scrambled backwards, eyes darting around the strange hotel lobby.

“See? Now you’re freaking out,” the cat-like demon said dryly. In your panic, you instinctively cast a spell, filling the room with dark smoke, and blocking their view from you. You bolted toward the massive doors, too terrified to care where you were headed. The world outside was a chaotic, twisted city, and you kept running, ignoring the bizarre sights.

But your escape didn’t last long. You collided with something solid, falling hard to the ground.

"Well, what do we have here?" a voice rang out as you tried to recover from the impact. You opened your eyes, and before you stood a demon, grinning widely as his eyes scanned you from head to toe. "It's been a while since we've seen a nice, lil' human like you..."

"Stay back!" you warned, as golden light encircled your hand, making him step back. But, to your surprise, your hands were immediately immobilized by another demon, pinning them behind your back while a cold knife threatened to cut deep into your throat.

"Woah! Why don't you put those aside, sugar? We don't mean any harm..." The demon stepped closer, running a claw down your cheek, pressing lightly. "Now... me and the boys were really... eager to taste something new today..." he laughed as two more demons approached.

"Please... I don't know how I got here..." Panic surged as you struggled to break free, but the blade pressed harder, stopping your movements.

"Oh, come on, don’t get so worked up... We’re just—"

A loud bang echoed, your ears ringing as the grip on your hands slowly disappeared. You blinked, dazed, as the demon in front of you staggered, blood splattering across his face.

"That's it, fuckers!" You turned and saw the tall, spider-like demon firing two guns, expertly taking down the demons surrounding you. One demon grabbed your wrist, but with a quick move, you sent a blast of energy, propelling him into the air.

"Not bad, kid!" the cat-like demon shouted as he tackled another to the ground, a bullet from the spider demon finishing the job. The demons' screams echoed around you, the fight ending quickly.

You stood shakily, adrenaline still rushing through your veins. "Who… who are you?"

"Name’s Angel Dust," the taller one smirked, holstering his guns. "And that’s Husk. You?"

"I'm (Y/n)... I think a demon teleported me here..." you replied, guilt creeping in. "And, uh- .... Sorry for the spell back there..."

Husk shrugged at your words. "Expected it, to be honest."

"We should head back to the hotel before anyone else notices a human here," Angel suggested, brushing himself off. Then, with a grin, he added, "By the way, that magic of yours? Fuckin' badass."

A small smile tugged at your lips. "You guys weren’t too bad yourselves."

Back at the hotel, it took Charlie a few days to open a portal for you, but there it was - shining brightly in the hotel lobby.

"Do you really have to go, toots?" Angel pouted, resting a hand on your shoulder. "I kinda liked having you around."

"I’ll be back… someday," you promised with a smile, giving him a quick hug.

Husk stood a little off to the side, his arms crossed. He didn’t say much, but there was a flicker of something—maybe disappointment—in his eyes.

"Aww, what’s wrong, Husker? Missin’ ‘em already?" Angel teased.

Husk rolled his eyes at Angel's comment, trying to maintain his usual indifferent expression. "Shut it, ya damn prick…" He muttered, his voice tinged with a hint of annoyance. "Ya better be back… someday." He said gruffly.

"I promise." you said.

"Byeee! And please don’t forget to tell the demons on Earth that the Hazbin Hotel has its doors wide open for them!!!" Charlie exclaimed, her excitement palpable.

You chuckle as you step through the portal, the same overwhelming feeling engulfing you. You felt as if you were reborn again and through the darkness - you saw light.

You fell right back onto your couch, your two friends who probably came to check on you seemingly disturbed by your sudden appearance.

"What the fuck was that?" one of them asked. You took deep breaths, trying to steady yourself as your gaze shifted from one to the other, assessing the situation.

"Which one of you morons is 'moose'?"

Tags: @ratsematary @littlebluefishtail

[wolfoftheblackflames]

Oh boy, I've turned into a fanfic gremlin again... Enjoy! (This is just a headcannon, but I felt like writing it anyway)

It was dark in the hotel as a familiar little cyclops as scrubbing the windows clean, her red and yellow eye scowling annoyingly at the dust that didn't seem to go away. "Why are there so many of you?!" She growled before laughing maniacally. "I'll scrub every last one of you. You've met your end, you stupid mess!"

Though the more she scrubbed, the more dust appeared but also the more her vision began to blur. "Uh Niffty, are you ok? You've been scrubbing that spot for the last hour..." A voice spoke as the small cyclops turned to look at its owner. "Oh my gosh!" The owner was Charlie as the princess gasped.

Niffty swayed a bit but was caught by those gentle hands. "Meeh.. The dust won't go away!" She whimpered, pointing to a clearly very clean window. Next thing she knew she was being lifted up into the taller woman's arms, a hand coming under her red hair.

"You overworked yourself, Niff, see you're running a fever." Charlie stated with concern as Niffty was indeed running a high fever.

The smaller cyclops squirmed but couldn't get out of those arms. She pouted and grumbled. Usually, she'd be able to zip out of anyone's grip, scurrying around like a cockroach, but right now, she felt so tired and weak. Niffty hears those feet move as she grumbled, accepting the help reluctantly. Usually, it was the Alastor she was the most comfortable with, but now here she was in Charlie's arms, the princess taking her to her room.

"Uh Char? Why are ya carrying Niffty?" Another voice spoke as Niffty had her eye closed. "I'm taking her to her room Vaggie, she's sick and needs rest." Charlie responded to the owner.

Niffty made a small 'mrrr?' noise feeling a hand stroke her head. "You two look like parents with the little monster." She knew that voice, it was the other demon in Alastor's contract, Husk. He sounded grumpy as always. "Was lookin' for Niff anyways, though it can wait."

Vaggie rolled her eye at Husk but didn't seem to mind the comment. "So where does this one sleep? I've never been to her room so I don't know. Do you Husk?"

"Nope, I know better than to poke my nose into that little monster's room. Try Alastor he might know." The grumpy cat man took a swig of his booze and left.

Charlie looked down at the small cyclops in her arms. "Well shit, Alastor is out today.." The demoness sighed but blinked, feeling Niffty nuzzle her a bit like a cat.

It was a feverish haze, but Niffty couldn't help herself. She felt like she was once again in her mother's arms, being cradled like when she was a child. "Haha..." (Mama) She mumbled nuzzling closer.

Charlie blinked, tilting her head, Vaggie also looked confused. "Uh, she's normally weird but, but affectionate? Now I feel like I'm seeing things." The grey demoness scratched her head.

However Niffty started to squirm, she jumped out of Charlie's arms. "Nyah! I must clean!" She seemed to be back to her normal self and scurried off.

"The fuck...?" Both women spoke staring as Niffty zipped out of sight.

Angel Dust had seen the entire thing and rubbed his chin. He soon followed the cyclops, who was seen stabbing a roach. "Niff, um, how are ya?" The spider demon asked as Niffty looked over, seeming as chipper as ever. "You uh we're bein carried an all so I was curious see?"

"Oh that was nothing, nope ehehehehe." She giggled though she tripped on the carpet. "Yay pain!" She squeed.

Angel looked unconvinced and picked her up. "C'mere you little twerp." He managed to scoop her up and felt her forehead with one of his free hands. "Ah ha, yer sick and yer tryin ta hide it again." He scolded as Niffty whined. "Alrite yer comin' with me ok?"

Niffty blinked as the next thing she knew Angel was making her some chicken noodle soup in the kitchen. She looked at him curiously. "What are you doing?"

"Makin ya some soup, it'll help make ya feel better. Now take these and drink this." Angel handed her a glass of water with some medicine. Niffty did as asked as she grumbled at the bitterness. "Good girl." The spider smiled a bit and got a bowl of soup for Niffty.

The Cyclops was just confused. Usually, she was the one cooking, but also, it was a man, if you could call Angel that was cooking for her. She sipped the hot soup enjoying the burning pain it gave her tongue as she downed it in one go. "Heheheh burning pain, can I go clean now?" She flashed Angel an innocent grin.

"Nope. Yer gonna do sometin else alrite? How about we go to my room and you can snuggle my baby boy Fat Nuggets. I know ya like cute tings and my little piggy is the cutest there is." Angel stated as Niffty looked at him with a grumble."Katte ni shite yo. " ( do what you want.).

He was stopping her from working, but the thought of snuggling a cute piglet was too good to pass up. She then nodded to him as the spider twink picked her up again.

Once in his room, Angel called over his beloved piglet. The demon piggy scurried over to his owner's call. "Kawaii!!!" The cyclops cooed and hugged the piggy. Angel chuckled as the trio curled up on his giant pink fluffy bed and watched an action movie.

Niffty was grinning at the hot bad boys watching them drive their fast cars and kicking ass. She also had Fat Nuggets in her lap while leaning against the fluffy spider demon behind her.

It felt weird at first being in the hotel with mostly women but it had slowly become like a second home, her new found friends appreciated her for the work she did and didn't boo when she did her little cockroach shows for them. She continued to grin bouncing up and down happily but slowly her fever took its hold and lulled her into a soft sleep, as she soon laid against Angel Dust. "Ani-san..." That phrase rolled off her tongue naturally as she nuzzled into the twink's chest fluff.

(Here you go, folks! I was reading up on some of the characters and figured why not give sick/ overworked Niffty a try. She's a giant ass psychotic weirdo, and we love her for it.)

[lynaferns]

seems like the OC topic is here! how many do you have? and what types of OC you like more? :D espero y tengas un muy lindo dia!

I had to count them... uuuuh, at least 45 OCs not counting my sonas and selfiserts (and DCA AUs), all distributed between 10-ish stories, 33 OCs or so are from the same story and spin off of said story (yeah, I made a whole story and then took the whole cast of characters and put 'em in a completely diferent story and universe). There are many that I haven't posted anywhere yet, some don't have a story yet just the concept and some I haven't even draw them yet lol.

(one day I'll have to make a master post or something of all the OC's)

Y'know what? I'm making a list of the stories I have

(It got long, is under the cut)

A Shadow Between Worlds: Girl born with a shadow entity as her protector has nightmares where she gets chased by a monster she can't see, when she wakes up she's covered in all the wounds the monster made her. One day she gets tired and shearch for an old book her mother kept in the attic, the book contains information about entitys from other worlds. She opens a portal to an utopian world who's population is interested in knowledge, at a point where their world became the Universe's library.

Our Little Wonderland ^^Spin off: Nosy reporter enters abandoned mansion after a few rumours of some teenagers talking about it beging haunted with moving dolls, rooms that changed placement and typical haunted mansion stuff. Finds out the mansion is not haunted but it's magical and dolls want to search for the little girl that lived there with her father but they can't leave the mansion. The reporter finds the girl but she refused to come back to her old home at first. The dolls are fantasy characters from a story setting and needs the girl to do her rol as one of the main characters of the tale so they can complete their purpouse but the girl is not very cooperative.

Syra and Fayne (no title yet): Half human demon escaped her fathers fortress and went to live on earth. Along the ways she meets a forest spirit that decides to acompany her and later on she makes friends with a fallen angel she meets. They both live together as besties.

Robot and Cat (no title yet): Stray cat enters an old abandoned home already claimed by nature and accidentally wakes an old futuristic robot. The robot takes care of the cat and the house and search for evidences of where its owners/creators are and what happened to them.

Spike Boy (angry furries with powers): angry hegdog kid is pissed off with a guy who killed his parents and wants to beat his ass, meets a bunny girl who's parents were also killed by the same guy and she also wants to beat his ass. Said guy is the lider of an organization whos trying to dominate the world to rule it in his own way and make it a safer place but comiting several atrocities in the way to his goal

Khrono Cat (furries and automatons): A baby born dead is taken to the water and time spirits by his parents. Is revived in the lake's water by the spirits and a fallen star. Later on the kids life the spirits call him back to the lake to give him an automaton as his guardian to full fil his destiny of stoping a world catastrophe.

Fase REM (provisional title): There is people who are transported to an Earth like dream dimension when they fall asleep, they have to survive trough the nigth escaping from dangers and monsters. They don't know why but when they enter the dream they are filled with a feeling like they must find a person. If they die in their dreams they die in real life. One day a girl is visited by an entity who comes from the dream dimention and since then she's been afected by this weird event (and tormented by the entity who never left). She has to discover how this entity was created, where did it came from and why all of this is happening.

Heavenly Kids (provisional title, needs revision): Heaven and Hell where at peace at each other but one day corrupted demons started attaking the human realm and Heaven send 3 guardians representatives of parts of the body (bones, flesh and nerves) to save the earth and find out what is going on in the demon realm.

Shadow Family (no title yet, just a concept): A family of shadowy creatures who lives in the forest and sometimes disguises as humans to go unnoticed between them. The parents has some unresolved matters from the past and the kids goes investigate about it (this is actually a dream that I had where it was a show I was watching and got upset when there where no more episodes, then I woke up and got more upset because the show didn't even exist so I drew the family)

Magic Apprentice (no title yet, just a concept): Girl who is abused by her family and neglected finds a secret door inside of her closet that goes to several other closets until she gets to her grandmas house, except that the house now is diferent, is magic, and the world around her too. Her grandma is a witch and made that secret door for her to escape to when she got to be old enough (except that the grandma got tired of seen her grandkid getting mistreated and didn't wait anymore for her to turn 18). The girl becomes her grandma's apprentice and explores the world full of magic. (This is also a dream I had, I think my head mixed Harry Potter with Narnia(haven't even watched this) and Studio Ghibli artstyle for some reason)

I have... to do a lot... a lot of redesigns... and change a few names.

....This got longer than I intended. Well you can see the repetitive concept of non-human worlds or semi-human realms lol, and magic, dreams, and I didn't mention it in the list but there are a couple of stories that involve tecno-magic.

I generally like fantasy-sci-fi and retro-futuristic themes, non-human characters trying to live a mundane life or human and non-human (or diferent especies and cultures) living together. It's actually really hard to tell what type of characters exactly I like. I'm picky too, that doesn't help. If it's a robot I'm almost surely gonna like it, and if the robot has a living being as a friend I'm gonna like it more.

Y gracias! espero que tu también. Me he tirado aquí como 4 horas pero he entrado a archivos viejos buscando a todos mis OCs y he revisitado un montón de ideas viejas, así que gracias por eso también :D

Edit: I don't know what hapened but the cut moved placement and the images are one on top of the other, vertically instead of horizontally, I hope I fixed it. It doesn't let me edit from the phone so I went back to the computer.

[fandom-blackhole]

🕷🕸Happy Halloween 🎃 🕯

Rules-

-Asks can be submitted from Oct 26 - Nov 5 (Edit: Halloween week just went from 0 to I'm skrewed so I am leaving these open longer and will answer them if I have time this week but will probably get to them next week...sorry :/)

-The asks have to revolve around Halloween in some way, whether its in cannon celebration/activity or it's like a monster AU

-If you use a prompt/idea from below, you are allowed to use multiple prompts for one request

-There is no limit to how many requests you can send, but if you send alot all at once I may skip to someone else's and come back to yours so everyone gets theirs answered and its not just a block of one person

-All genres welcome fluff, smut, angst, ect. (just know I am in a mosterfucking mood so those are very welcome atm)

-No minors please and thank you

-Lastly, I am a busy person so my answers may be a little slow and I do hold the right to turn down a request (not that I think this will happen but I just wanna put it out there just in case <3)

Below the cut are a few prompt lists incase you wanna send an ask but don't know what to send <3

Halloween/Fall Activities-

Pumpkin carving

Scary movie marathon

Going to a haunted house

Halloween party

Drinking hot coco/apple cider by a fire

Going apple picking

Going to a pumpkin patch

Doing Corn Maze

Making couple's costumes

Making caramel apples

Baking together

Decorating for Halloween

Trick-or-Treating

Want an activity that's not listed? send it in! I probably just forgot to add it lol

Monster/Hybrid ideas-

Ghosts

Selkies

Werewolves

Vampires

Dragons

Demons

Angel

Monster under the bed/in the closet

Hell hound

Gargoyle

Harpy

Jinn

Orc

Banshee

Succubus/Incubus

Siren/Mermaid

Fae

Nymph

God/Goddess

Witch

Shape Shifter

Cyclops

Satyr

Naga

Doll/Mannequin/ Statue

Headless horseman

Arachne

Gorgon

Goblin

again, I definitely missed some, if you don't see it listed here you are more than welcome to still request it!

Scenarios/AUs-

Apocalypse

Little Red Riding Hood

Trick-or-Treating with your kids/siblings

One of you got cursed

One of you is a ghost trapped in a house and falls for the living person

Sacrifice to a higher being/monster

Human x Hybrid/Monster

Stumbling upon monster's secret hidden home

Corrupting a priest/nun

Priestess/Priest x God/Goddess

One person dies and turns into a ghost that haunts the other person

Finding a cat/dog and taking it home but oops its not a dog/cat

Researcher x Monster being researched

Prince/Princess saved from tower by monster/hybrid!knight

Angel x Demon

Or any other scenario/AU you've got!!

[theoracleofgiana]

Happy WBW! What's the harshest part of your world? Be it a place, a law, something character-created or otherwise, what is just HARSH?

Happy WBW to you as well! That is an excellent question mortal.

The harshest thing I've seen is the hierarchy of species and what it can do. Gena Kingdom is the most accepting of species but it isn't without its faults. Gossip and rumors are all anyone knows about Gena. Since Queen Emblem came into power, she's tried to reach out to other kingdoms to change how they view us. However, so many of us are worried about the discrimination that comes from opening up the kingdom's walls. Even within our walls, people face hate for misconceptions and miscommunication on gossip sites. Anyone with a large amount of money can get whatever they want published in the papers. Even if that thing is harmful, untrue, and damaging. Rumors spread like wildfires here.

In Rosestorm and other places, the witches go through so many problems. The witch wars lasted years and yet even though witches won, there are so many creatures who believe the witch magic is useless. The Hollow barely lets another species in its walls because of it. They just want to be recognized for the work they do and not treated like children or servants. Their magic is seen as pitful and tragic. They are seen as the weakest magic users. At one point a bunch of witches believed the mortal realm might give them solace. Witches now tell horror stories of what happened in the mortal realm. The council that was put in place to help prevent them from being overlooked hasn't done anything. They placed a witch in their group but refuse to acknowledge her skills or arguments. They turn a blind eye to the discrimination of witches and other magic users.

Amore worships angels too much. They turn on anyone who isn't like them and it causes many problems. Demons are treated like playthings or monsters. Cat folk are seen as pets without autonomy. Humanoids are seen as freaks. Shapeshifters are called thieves and dangerous. The royal family does nothing to stop what happens and if anything, encourages it. They pretend to keep these groups close yet do nothing to stop the hate. The royal family refuses to acknowledge their own messed up past and fucked up system.

Aufero Fabula like me are all seen as dangerous. Despite the fact we can't help if we see a memory. We can't control whose memory we see nor when we see a memory. We are not all the same as well. Our powers vary depending on the person but, there are no books on these powers. People fear us despite the fact we were hunted for our eyes for years. Despite the fact, we've gotten used to hiding and running. Some of us don't know if we have any family left. Some of us are dangerous and should be locked up, I admit that. But so many of us are just trying to survive. Most of us keep to ourselves and keep out of trouble. Still, we're seen as criminals for existing. I'm not even sure how many of us are left.

Don't even get me started on changelings. I'm sorry for going on a long rant. I suppose it still hurts me how nothing seems to be happening to fix these problems. I hope I've answered your question well enough. I hope you have a good day today, mortal. Please do not be afraid to be yourself and take pride in who you are.

-The Oracle

[misssolitudesmusicblog]

My Music for February 2023

Dear Tumblr,

Roses are red, vinyl records are black and did Lana Del Rey just say fuck Valentine’s day and fuck all these men, this is the experience of being an American Whore on her new track? I’m loving it and here for it. Anyways, here is Miss Solitude hoping your February was divine. With February being the shortest month of the year I didn’t think I would have so many songs to cover with my audience here nevertheless the music that dropped was just incredible. I’m looking forward to seeing some of these artists this year perform at concerts and festivals I will be attending this year.  I’m really looking forward to Kali Uchis and Lana Del Rey’s new album coming out this March. I have already pre-order Lana’s new album on vinyl record and look forward to that being the 1st record of 2023 added to the collection unless I ever get The Movements “Feel Something” album that I ordered back in November of 2022 from Merch Bar…so annoying that I have not received my vinyl record yet. But anyways here is the link for February’s music on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2q8wAM8gL5qp4cG34nih69?si=c52131c7e8a24ed4

Without further adieu coming in at … 

61. Sculpting With Fire by Atmosphere

60. I Swear That I’ll Change by FIGHT THOSE DEMONS, JAVARIS X, OG REG X

59. Silhouette by Thrice

58. Under A Killing Moon by Thrice, Sam Carter

57. Cold Cash And Colder Hearts by Thrice

56. High Hopes by Sweet Pill

55. Cut by Sweet Pill

54. Fool by Aislinn Davis

53. Head Case by Island of Love

52. 3am by Skrillex, Prentiss, Anthony Green

51. Tormenta by Gorillaz, Bad Bunny

50. Gato de Noche by Nengo Flow, Bad Bunny

49. Otro Atardecer by Bad Bunny, The Marias

48. Get Together by Louis The Child, Duckwrth

47. What The World Needs Now by Cat Power

46. Sabor A Mi by El Chicano

45. New Song by Alice Phoebe Lou

44. Good Looking by Suki Waterhouse

43. Who I Am Without You by Aislinn Davis

42. Voicemail by Aimee Vant

41. Ring by Cardi B, Kehlani

40. What You Did  by Mahalia, Ella Mai

39. Mala Excusa by Nina Cobham

38. Ghosting by Biig Piig

37. Solita by Kali Uchis

36. Same Ol’ Mistakes by Rihanna

35. Moonlight Kali Uchis

34. More Than A Woman by Aaliyah 

33. Cupid by Alexandra Savior

32. Distance by Israel's Arcade

31. SPIT IN MY FACE! By ThxSoMch

30. Ball w/o you by 21 Savage

29. Neva by Megan Thee Stallion

28. TQG by KAROL G, Skakira

27. my.life by J.Cole, 21 Savage, Morray

26. Some things Cosmic by Angel Olsen

25. Tears of Change by Turnover

24. Dizzy On The Comedown by Turnover

23. About You by The 1975

22. This Body of Mine by Franci

21. Truth Faith by Lotte Kestner

20. It’s Not My Fault by Princess Nokia

19. My Flowers by Tkay Maidza

18. Special by Lizzo, SZA

17. Gods & Monsters by Lana Del Rey

16. Babygirl by Anthony Green

15. Strange Froot by TOKiMONSTA, Ambre

14. Capital Karma by Manchester Orchestra

13. Breathe (In the Air) by Pink Floyd

12. Talk to Her by The Marias

11. Kill Bill by SZA

10. I’m a Firefighter by Cigarettes After Sex

9. Tulsa Jesus Freak by Lana Del Rey

8. Flowers by Miley Cyrus

7. The Archer by Alexandria Savior

6. MTT 420 RR by IDLES

5. Bones by greek

4. Naked by Louis Culture

3. Space Ghost by BOYO

2. Lucky Girl by Carlina

1. A&W by Lana Del Rey

Thank you to my reader and listener out there for stopping by on my music blog. I hope that the music that comes across your daily life brings a smile to your face and makes life that much richer. Like Lana Del Rey’s new song says; “It’s not about having someone to love me anymore This is the experience of being an American whore”

Yours Truly,

Miss Solitude

[sethadams-cursed]

"Polish? Me too, but only on my mom's side… I'd say it shaped most of her personality…" He'd spent far too many family summers in the Polish woods instead of on a beach somewhere. Which probably was better for his delicate pigmentation, but still, when Jerry and Peter are telling you all about their bikini-filled summers and all you've got to add is that you spent yours on your ancestor's old sheep farm… getting burnt ain't exactly a big drawl back.

He didn't blame her for not hearing him. The Ghost Train was LOUD. The area filled with fake mechanical screams, real ones, and everyone else anticipating which would be louder. "Oh, I was just saying,--" Actually, what had he told her? Something about Salem, something about it being good here, and something about comparing it to New York or was it Boston? "Actually, I forgot." He laughed, hands slipping into his pockets as he swayed back onto the balls of his feet, wondering what kind of places in Salem she thought were cool. She had a vibe. He was getting that, but was it stick a Morbid Angel cassette into your player or was it a shop-till-you-drop at the old Salem mall kind of vibe? Hopefully, he'd get to the bottom of it tonight.

"Talent Agent? Wow. I think I saw Vivienne Young earlier by The Love Tunnel." Talk about every man's dream. He kept that tidbit to himself. Though, truthfully, he would've loved to speak to her, not as much as he'd have liked to speak to Steven Wayne (in person), but he rated her quite highly on his list. "You know Vivienne Young?"

"I'm a vet. I took an extra year to graduate because I wanted to specialize in exotics, you know, snakes, spiders—" hold it together, man, "iguanas. Not much use out here, unfortunately." Though, every now and again he did make a house call to a man in Ipswich who had a rather big assortment of poisonous snakes in his possession. "Are you more of a dog or cat person?" He'd say both, but it did say a lot about a person if they were one or the other.

"Yes, and who is calling?" What?! He still hadn't got her name yet.

He scoffed. "What you mean? Like in real life? Big Foot and the Wolfman?" He laughed, "I mean no." He loved horror movies, but the ones about 'monsters' and stuff always made him laugh. He much preferred slashers; like Halloween and Friday the 13th.

"Now, that—that I'm more inclined to believe," he mused, recalling the story he'd heard around some makeshift campfire when he'd been eleven. "You hear the story about a lone driver, I forgot her name, so let's call her Sarah, making her way home, her heart pounding with each mile. Suddenly, she notices headlights in her rearview mirror, following her every move. Sarah's nerves are on edge as she speeds up, but those lights stay right on her tail, never fading, never blinking. Panic sets in as she recalls the stories of a menacing figure lurking in the backseat of unsuspecting drivers' cars."

The cart turned, another piercing mechanical scream ripped through as a Demon popped out. Seth didn't blink. "So, with trembling hands, she pulls into a gas station, her heart racing as she leaps out of the car. Her breath coming in quick, shallow gasps, when she sees the occupants of the car behind her rushing towards her, their faces etched with concern." Seth pulled some fake cobweb from both their faces when their cart decided to take some of the display along for the ride with them. "Anyway, they explain that they had been trying to signal her because they saw a man hiding in the backseat of her car, waiting to…." He raised his hands and yelled, "strike!"

With a relaxed demeanor, Seth leaned back in the cart as it continued around the tracks and put his hands behind his head. "But yeah, I'm game… where did you have in mind?" That was an invitation to a date, right? Sure, Maggie might have been taking her nods in the hospital right now, but that wouldn't stop him from calling the hospital and having them wire him into her room in order to tell her he'd just scored a date to a graveyard or the abandoned mental hospital a few miles outside of town (high possibility) with a pretty New Yorker.

"You know I think this is almost the last turn.. unless they've got something up their sleeves for their grand finale, we might just have to go splits on that corn dog..." He wouldn't have suggested it earlier, but now that she was suggesting 'dates' and stuff, well. "Fair?"

"Well, I guess if you survived all eight Friday the 13th movies without a hitch, you're clearly immune to fear — let me guess. You never wet the bed either when you were a kid?" It sounded like she was teasing, enjoying her time in his company. In reality, it was the same game, just with a little more...splash. The carnival added something to her otherwise dull day, and the need to tease cured boredom. To embarrass? Even better. "With extra toppings—hope you brought your appetite and your financial advisor! I'm sure your wallet is the true horror story here."

Was she insulting? Yes, unfortunately so. But as always, she painted it to look pretty, because to her humans were toys, mere playthings to feed her and pass her time. She'd once been one of them, had cared about what happened to them. But slowly, over time, that humanity had been stripped from her. Bit by bit, until this woman was left standing before Seth: an actress, a performer and a monster with fangs that could pierce skin as easily as a needle could pierce fabric. She chuckled softly, a sound that seemed to echo in the dark space. "Scared? Me?" the amusement that took over her features was a beautiful blend of humored, and a smidgen of adoration at the oblivion. It wasn't sweet, oh no, it was predatory — it was like looking at a slice of meat after days after starving for a human. It was the warmest blood that ran in his veins that invited her in. She had nothing to be scared of, but this man, on the other hand, with that puppy-like demeanour, had the corner of her lips curling. "Oh, darling, you have no idea."

Her eyes flicked to Seth, noting his boyish excitement that most of the men she'd come to know over years passed lacked. Something akin to childish wonder in those eyes that could've almost sparked something close to humanity in her briefly, but just as quickly as it sparked, it died. Her heart long since cold and dead. Decrepit. It would be almost charming, in a way, and once upon a time she might've found herself almost endeared by his clear innocence. Untouched, pure. For now. Her predatory instincts were never far behind, always there, always reminding her of the hunger gnawing at her. Always reminding her that he was weak, breakable. And self-preservation far outweighed his measly life.

His question had her pausing. She could lie, she could be truthful. She'd long since lost her European accent, but it still slipped through from time to time. "New York," she paused, momentarily pushing through the gate as the light indicated it was time for them to fit into the ghost train booth, "Although, originally Poland. I have great, great ancestors...they immigrated years ago." How easily the lies slipped off her tongue now, as years had gone by. Lowering herself into the cart, her brow arched upward.

The second the spiel was over, Merida was quick to realise that Seth liked to talk a lot about...Salem. She understood, somewhat, that the topical conversation was because of their location, but still..she began looking around, boredom seeping in, before her eyes snapped to his. "Sorry, were you saying something?"

She just hoped he didn't repeat it all over again. Could he read a room?

It took only moments for her to slip into the cart, finding comfort in knowing that it wouldn't be long before that hunger stopped clawing at her stomach, screaming and begging. Food, food, food. But her dinner wasn't as easy as picking up something at 7/11. No, she had to hunt, to find the person that would tick all the boxes and appetite needs. AB, baby.

The speech, the legs, just...Seth? Over the span of her life, she'd met some interesting people for sure. But Seth was...not an exception to the rule exactly, but enough for momentary intrigue. Enough that her brows tugged into a downward v, her eyes sliding to him. Different, innocent, unlike most. She'd take a little...unless it was delicious, then she might just take the lot.

Her humanity was fleeting.

"I'm a talent agent, y'know, models, actors...sending them off to go find their dreams in LA. It's all the rage now, they say by the mid 90s, it'll be the only place that's important to be in show business." In truth, she wanted to bleed them all dry....literally. "And you?"

And off they went.

"So, Seth, is it?" A grin spreading across her mouth, large and beaming. The ride moving, the atmosphere beginning with a fake fog, and haunting sounds that would've fooled most teenagers into girly screams, and a chance to hold their crush's hand. She wouldn't tell him her name. There were some things that were better left a mystery.

"Do you believe in monsters?" she whispered, tone wicked but masked. That grin to the normal person looked like she was having the time of her life. And don't get her wrong, she was, but for all the reasons they would never guess to think. "It's always nice to have an open mind." she let a slight pause. The silence of the ride said enough, a jump scare was close. "You never know what might go home with you."

Or leave it's mark.

The first thing up – a haunted graveyard, complete with fog machines and skeletal hands reaching out of the ground. Merida couldn't help it, slowly clapping as she turned to Seth. "Wonderful, truly, let me guess...the grim reapers going to jump out any second and tell me I'm going to hell?" she paused, inching a brow. "Maybe next time, I can take you to a real haunted spot. Salem's full of them."

After she found out if he had any family, anyone that would miss him. She'd take enough not to rouse suspicion, not here. The witches, the wolves... she had to keep her wits about her.

[shyanshippingsociety]

Shyan Shipping Society Fic Promo - July & August 2022

last post

hello hello hello! i’m so delighted to bring you the fics our lovely members have written in july and august!

July

[Podfic] like you want to be loved by roseszain | T, 1:32:06

"Settle down with me", Shane says without thinking and as Ryan looks at him with wide open eyes, all he can think of it's how many of Ryan's secrets he knows, how Ryan likes his coffee, and the fact that he has loved him since the moment Ryan first looked up at him and smiled.

Podfic of like you want to be loved by poetdameron

Death Takes an L by denimwrapped | M, 1K, complete

Shane's had to handle a lot of horrible deaths - it's his job to investigate them, after all. But his biggest mystery yet starts when the bodies stop coming in.

Here We Go Again! by Golden4278 | T, 1K, on-going

What if the one who got away came back?

Mama Mia! AU

Stim Boys Drabble Collection by Gilded_Quill | T, 15K, on-going

A collection of one-shots and drabbles based on a list of Autism-Centric Writing Prompts.

Featuring Stimming, Special Interests, Hyperfixations, Meltdowns, and two boys navigating the highs and lows of neurodiversity. Each chapter will be a stand-alone, and their relationship status won't be consistent throughout. Nor will the timeline be.

hellbent on drugs 'cause they turn you on by Artemis | E, 2K, complete

Ryan wasn’t exactly sure what he got himself into. He was laying across a bench on a yacht with a man he just met snorting a line of coke off his ass. It wasn’t exactly what he imagined would happen when a man with a margarita strolled up to him on the beach and asked if Ryan wanted to check out the yacht he just bought.

August

The Last Days Of The Bergara Gang by PhyllisDietrichson | E, 40K, complete

“Plus,” and he smiles with all of his white teeth, “if we’d left you there much longer to cardsharp that crew, likely your night would have ended with a knife to the throat.” He reaches out as if to graze his fingers over Shane’s clavicle, then remembers himself at the last minute. His hand hovers in the air. “And what a shame it would be, to mar that throat.”

“Do you—what do you want, Bergara?” Shane stammers out. He winces at the waver in his voice.

“You,” he responds, his eyes sweeping up to meet him with a gaze that pierces Shane between the ribs.

instincts by TokyoTiger91 | G, 700, complete

Shane had always had a love and fascination with birds despite being part cat

How to Befriend the Monster in Your Closet by Golden4278 | G, 141K, on-going

Ryan: Hi God, it’s me again. I just moved to LA and I’m really lonely. I need someone to be my friend, someone who understands me. Maybe… you could send me an angel? Yeah! The nicest angel you have.

Demon Shane: *LAUGHS MANIACALLY*

if you want to read some more fics, you can always check out our ao3 collection! see you soon! ♡

[cryptmonsteruniverseimagines]

Hello! Hc Look-see & Shelly w s/o who have the ability to communicate with supernatural things from the underworld like ghosts, etc... pls 🥺

I have so many drafts and so many asks — and have been cursed with ADD. 😔 I’m so sorry for everyone who requested stuff, I’m trying to give this blog attention that it deserves.

(Romantic) Look-See and Shelley with a medium s/o

Look-See

Ooh, what an interesting lil’ thing he’s stumbled upon.

There’s a good chance Look-See may have been drawn to you because of this power. After a recent tragedy, you’ve noticed a lot more terrified souls floating around, and they’re fairly recent, too. One day, as you’re trying to talk to one about how they died, you feel an unsettling presence behind you. You turn around, and there he is, watching you while perched in a tree like some fucking cat.

He wonders if you’re bullshitting at first, but he soon realizes that you’re legit when you tell him exactly how many souls have started flocking around him looking for vengeance. Assuming you can channel these spirits, Look-See will have a terrifying time trying to evade you while he waits for the spirit to leave your body.

If you’re a more empathic soul to the monster’s victims, perhaps you’ll find yourself using your skills to help people reconnect with their deceased loved ones so they can find closure and move on. Then Look-See won’t have to kill them, and lives won’t be lost.

He tries to be really considerate of any spirits that might be wandering the house. Before he sits down somewhere he’ll sign “is someone here?” just to make sure he doesn’t accidentally sit on a spirit. Surprisingly considerate for a demon that kills people for being petty.

Shelley

She probably met you while she was being a passive ghost and wandering around the halls of Avon Manor. You’re a new faculty member at the school when your spirit senses start going off. You had expected this, as you’ve heard the rumors that a poor student died here in 1989, but you had hoped the poor thing would’ve been able to move on.

She really likes talking to you! It’s so nice to have someone acknowledge her existence after all these decades by herself. She’ll tell you stories of the field hockey matches she won and tel you about all the crap she’s seen here over the years. Bad teachers, bad kids, education scandals, the works. Shelley’s been here for a while and she has all kinds of tea.

Just because Shelley’s a typically passive spirit doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a poltergeist streak. She’ll defend those who are being picked on, teachers and faculty alike, as some kind of avenging angel. But since she has a tendency to turn murderous, you’ll have to coax her into being more PG with her revenge.

Students picking on a teacher during class? They get smacked upside the head. Teachers being lazy with their students? They come back from lunch to see “do your goddamn job” scratched into the blackboard. Don’t even get her started on what she does to the teachers who try to groom students. You’re the only one that knows who strung up Mr. Noah on the basketball hoops.

Shelley is somewhat technologically challenged, so it’s utterly amazing when you hear that she somehow managed to disable school security system so you guys can hang out after-hours. She may be stuck in ‘89, but she’s a resourceful young lady. You guys hang out in the library, you have races down the halls, and sometimes you play field hockey. And sometimes, there may be a few less brownies for the school lunch tomorrow.

[dmcvergillament]

Bedtime Stories [Part 1]

Fem!Reader x Vergil

Summary: Unable to sleep, young Nero requests a bedtime story. You happily oblige and weave a tale that Vergil recognizes. Nero falls asleep to the legend of the dancer and the dragon and Vergil remembers how he fell in love with you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tucking little Nero in for the night, Y/N kisses his forehead. "Sweet dreams, my little angel."

Vergil picks up toys off the floor.

Nero catches Y/N's hand to stop them from leaving. "I...can't sleep without a story."

Vergil looks up from studying a blue bird plush he found. It looked oddly familiar...

Y/N smiles and sits back down on the bed to brush aside Nero's bangs. "Alright. What story shall I tell?"

Nero snuggles up to his chin in his comforter, eyes shimmering with curiosity. He waits for his mother to begin.

"Ah! I know: how about the legend of the dancer and the dragon?" suggests Y/N.

Vergil pauses as he sets the bird down alongside a black cat on a shelf. His interest is also piqued. What fantasy is Y/N spinning now?

"In a land far, far away in a time long, long ago..." begins Y/N, twirling her hands.

'There they go again with that dramatic voice,' thinks Vergil. Still, he cannot deny how his lover never fails to spark wonder in their son's eyes. Only a few words in and she has Nero's full attention.

"...there was a dancer who could mesmerize entire palaces with every step. When they moved it was like watching petals on the breeze. The soft colors of their clothes twirling around their long legs. Stories spread across many kingdoms of not only their unrivaled skill but also that of their bewitching beauty. All that bore witness to their dance were charmed. It was like a magic spell only they could use," continues Y/N.

"Were they as pretty as you, Mama?" mews Nero, tilting his head in that way that always melted Y/N's heart.

Y/N reaches over to stroke their son's ivory hair, before opening her mouth to say---

"What a foolish question." Gliding over to the bed, Vergil sits opposite of Y/N. His eyes flicker to Y/N before he continues, "Do not compare a rose to a field of dandelions."

Nero seems satisfied with this answer.

Y/N gestures for Vergil to not interrupt before she adds, "So one day the dancer gets invited to the royal palace to perform. Afterwards, the King becomes so enthralled, he begs them to stay and marry one of his sons. The dancer politely refuses and leaves. This was not the answer the King had hoped for and so he hired a famous knight to find her and bring her back to the palace."

Rubbing his chin, Vergil wonders, 'Why does this sound oddly...familiar?'

"This knight always wore brilliant, scarlet armor, so the people called him the 'Crimson Knight'. Legends spoke of how he could slay any monster and of the sword he carried upon his back. It was a grand sword said to be enchanted with an ancient magic that allowed it to cut through even dragon hide," explained Y/N, waving her hands like she was trying to make the sword appear.

"He was a dragon slayer?" asks Nero curiously.

"No matter how tall or dangerous the monster may be, he was always victorious. While many claimed to have been witness to such a feat, no one knew for certain if he had slain a dragon. After all, dragons were the most powerful of foes. They were cunning, proud, and equipped with immense magic," answered Y/N.

"Could he beat a dragon?" questions Nero.

"He most certainly believed he could. After all, he was the Crimson Knight: the warrior of all the human kingdoms. Whenever a monster appeared, he was called in to defeat it," replied Y/N with a nod.

"Sounds like someone I know," grumbles Vergil.

"Shhhh."

"But here he was faced with a strange request: to hunt not a beast but a woman. A woman armed with only an aptitude for dancing. This was not a job for the Crimson Knight. The King---afraid he'd decline and she'd slip away---lied. He told the knight that the dancer was harboring a curse set upon her by a demon. That if she was not found and brought back to the palace to be purified, she would die. Now this resonated with the Crimson Knight. How could he let such a beauty wither and wilt from such misfortune? So he set off to find her," continued Y/N.

"How could he lie? She's not really cursed, is she?" asks Nero with a frown.

Vergil interrupts, "People lie because..." He clears his throat. "Sometimes they lie to get what they want."

"She's not really going to die, right?" whispers Nero.

Vergil glances at Y/N. "No, she won't."

Y/N nudges him with an elbow. "Shhh, no spoilers."

"So without even knowing she was being followed, the dancer hopped from town to town to perform. Rarely did she stay for more than a few days in the same area. Her heart was set on adventure and she enjoyed the journey even if it was tedious without a horse or carriage. She felt as free as the birds in the sky. With her spirits soaring, she set out for the neighboring city. However, along the well-trodden path, a man appeared. Whipping his cart into a frenzy, he was approaching fast. Spotting her, he jerked on the reins and nearly fell off the bench. 'Young lady! Young lady!' he gasped. 'Turn back now! Only death and hellfire awaits at the end of this road!' Stunned, the dancer asked him to explain. 'A dragon has appeared! He has built his den inside the ruins of the castle and he strikes down all who disturb him! The people are terrified! Protect yourself and run while you still can!' Then with a crack of the reins, his cart was disappearing down the road in a cloud of dust. The dancer stood there flabbergasted. How can there be a dragon of all things? Were they not creatures of myth? Not believing in the danger, she continued onwards despite the warning."

"No! Don't go! You'll get eaten!" gasps Nero, burrowing deeper into his comforter to hide.

Vergil snorts. "Depends on what you mean by 'eat' her."

Y/N shoots him a look. Luckily, she seems to be the only one to catch it. Nero is oblivious as he is too busy trying to blend in with his pillows.

"Anyway..."

"Our heroine reached the city and was hit by a startling revelation: it was quiet. Walking through the marketplace, she found stands of fruit abandoned and carts of goods unprotected. Where was all the hustle and bustle? Where were all the people? Further up the road, shutters rattled and there were hints of movement. The dancer wondered if she'd even be able to perform here if there was no one to be the audience. Then an idea stuck her: what if she could coax the people out with her talents? If not dancing, then maybe a lute or harp would soothe their spirits and rekindle the city's vigor. So she sought out the very reason she had come to this territory specifically: the grand theatre. There all kindred souls of music and art showcased their passions. She had hoped to connect with other performers here who were as dedicated to their craft as she was. Spotting the gold rooftop shimmering in the evening sun, she scurried towards it with a renewed excitement. Throwing the doors open, she gleefully announced her arrival."

"Only to be met with silence."

"How can a place of boisterous joy be silent? On hooks and shelves, all the instruments sat idle. Not a single string was singing. Even the tables were vacant with not even a crumb set out for the mice. 'What is going on?' she wondered. Still, she was even more determined now. Picking up a lute, she played a few notes. Testing its voice, she listened to the hearty tones and wondered how anyone could have put it down. Jumping into an energetic melody, she smiled to herself. This hall echoed the sound perfectly: each note complimented each other rather than drown in a sea of cacophony. Erasing the silence eased the chill that had settled in her chest. That is, until someone snatched the lute from her hands. 'Are you mad?!' hissed a man, 'You'll draw the beast right to us!' Confused, she asked him to explain. 'Music attracts him. If you keep playing, he'll come back!' She asked him if he was speaking of the dragon she heard about. 'Yes. He has settled into the castle on the hill. Both the castle and its lord perished many years ago. The city has never been quite the same since. Now this monster has taken over and the peace in our hearts have been shattered.' The man's words sowed worry in her heart. Yet, something struck her funny: if this dragon was so vicious, then why did it only attack, when he heard music? Did music have some kind of power over him?"

"Did the dragon not like music? Why?" Nero peeked around the edges of his blanket.

Y/N fixed her son's hair behind his ear. He was already nurturing the start of a bird's nest.

"The music made him remember..." Vergil's eyes were glossed over. Y/N could tell he was somewhere else. "Remembering was...painful for him."

Not expecting a co-narrator, Y/N waited to see if he would continue.

"See, the dragon was cursed: his memories stolen from him. Hearing a melody sometimes brought those memories back in bright flashes. Remembering what he had lost pained him more than the sharpest blade. Rather than endure his past, he silenced the melody any way he could. Even if it was...cruel," explained Vergil, his voice dry.

Was that a twinge of guilt Y/N could hear?

[Continued in Part 2...W.I.P.]

[charliedawn]

Imagine being the only angel that still believes in Lucifer's redemption part 2

https://charliedawn.tumblr.com/post/646303435890769920/imagine-being-the-only-angel-that-likes-lucifer 1st part

Lucifer doesn't know what to do..He had woken up to a bunch of children poking him with little sticks, with no sign of you or Gabriel. He had no way to communicate with you and was feeling that the gates of Hell had closed their doors..He couldn't enter. Gabriel had made sure to block all of his usual accesses and even Mazikeen couldn't enter. He sighs loudly out of frustration before joining his hands and looking up, wondering if you could still hear him.

" I don't know if it will work but..I miss you, angel..I know that you thought you were doing good in replacing me, but I..I'm afraid that your decision may have altered things too much. I do not hear the souls of all those who should be suffering in Hell, and I feel empty without you by my side..You don't belong down there. It isn't your cross to bare.."

He takes a drag of his cigaret and let's out a puff of smoke before chuckling bitterly to himself.

" You know..I've noticed something. During your last visit, you said that you loved me at least 3 times..But I never thought about saying it back..In fact, I don't remember ever saying it back..Not once in 50 times you decided to come visit me.."

He seems to freeze for a moment at the realization before hitting his forehead with the palm of his hand, trying to hide his tears from the world as the guilt takes over him.

" I'm such an idiot, angel..You must feel so lost and confused right now.."

He tries to keep his cool, but it is becoming harder and harder. His hands are shaking and he feels the tears welling up at the corner of his eyes. Even his tears sting as he thinks of you, ruling Hell and scared of being caught. The thought only making him grip his hair tightly and groan in frustration. Chloe had tried to cheer him up the best she could, but..

"..She isn't you.."

He finally mumbles to himself and suddenly, his grief turns into rage as he remembers that you had defied him..HIM ! He was supposed to be the one keeping Hell, you had disobeyed his direct order, as if what he had said was of no importance..You are mad..There is no other explanation..

" I won't leave you there ! You hear me ! Can't you see the state in which I am because you're gone ?! My little angel..Your trick won't last long..And then ? What will you do ? Any demon could get their hands on you and..?!"

He closes his eyes and inhales deeply as thousands of thoughts of what those creatures would do to you..He had seen what they were capable of, and many wouldn't bat an eye before dismembering you for their own sadistic pleasure..The thought alone makes him shiver and turn his eyes red.

" If you can hear me, angel. Run. Get out of there. I don't want you to see to which extent this place is depraved, to which extent humans are. I don't want to see the faith you have for them falter..nor your love for me.."

He pauses before admitting that last part, knowing that that was his own selfish desire. He sighs loudly, he needed to get out of here and teleports himself to the nearby beach to take a big inspiration of the salty air and relaxes before continuing with a heavy heart, knowing that it would hurt you if you heard his next words.

" We should have never met, Y/N..I tend to destroy everything that I touch..You were only an innocent little angel and we both knew that, one day, this relationship would lead to something disastrous..I'm so sorry for not having reacted sooner..Dad was right..It would have been better for me to erase all of your memories, instead of keeping the first ones. They only paint a very different version of me..If you come back, I promise to give you everything back. I know that some of the memories will make you hate me, or even feel disgusted..But, that way, you will finally see the monster that you're trying to help.."

He lowers his head and nearly jumps out of his seat when he hears a voice behind him.

" Talking to someone ?"

He turns around swiftly to see you standing there with a small smile playing on your lips.

" Aren't you tired of praying someone that can't hear you ? It's been 5 years, brother..She can't hear you. She's been ignoring my calls as well.."

He only groans in annoyance when he recognizes the condescending voice of his twin and turns towards the counter as fast as he had turned around. But, unlike what he had previously thought, Michael doesn't leave and sits next to him, asking a glass of wine to Mazikeen that first glances at Lucifer for approval, which his finally gives with a slight nod of his head.

" So..What brings you to my charming little establishment, brother?"

Lucifer asks when Michael has his drink, that he gulps in one go to Lucifer's astonishment. Well..So much for the vow of sobriety..

" I know that you know where she is, Lucifer..Even though you won't admit it. An angel can't just disappear without you knowing something about it..I won't ask you where she is, I just wanna know if she's alright?"

Lucifer would have normally made a joke about him becoming attached to you, gladly invited him to leave or ignored him all together..But, surprisingly, he didn't have the will to and he sounded so genuine in his worry that Lucifer has to admit with a loud sigh.

" I don't know, Michael..As you could have guessed, every communication with her has been answered by a deafening silence..Wherever she is, she doesn't want to be found.."

Michael mimics his sigh and, for a moment, the same expression of worry and silent contemplation appear on both their faces as they stare far ahead at an invisible spot in front of them..Angels were archangels charge, not important enough to inform Father himself. But, still..Michael couldn't get you out of his head..Not that angels didn't frequently disappear, either slayed by some demon or wanted to become some guardian angel of Earth..But, this was you they were talking about. You had never left this long before and were too weak to be of any particular interest for any demon..However, that didn't mean he didn't worry about you. Where have you gone to? Knowing that he wouldn't probably find any answer with Lucifer, he decides to stand up and take his leave. However, to his surprise, Lucifer asked as he looks at him with a small mocking smile.

" You know that your an idiot, right?"

Michael frowns in incomprehension and also a bit vexed by Lucifer's insult. Lucifer that picks on his confusion as to what he was talking about, adds while pouring himself another glass of whiskey.

" You've had so many occasions to tell her how you truly felt..But each time, you were too much of a scaredy cat to do anything about it. Even when I was up there, it was so painful to watch. It's funny how we were born with the same face, at the exact same time and place..But, we are so different..I immediately knew what I felt for her the moment our eyes met, and I didn't waste my time like you did.."

Michael doesn't turn around, he only turns his head just enough to catch a glimpse of Lucifer's face when he replies.

" Is that so? Then, tell me, how did that work out for you, brother? She would have done anything for you, and you still find ways to hurt her..How many times must you fall before you realize that she is the only one to have ever truly and unconditionally believed in you?"

Lucifer doesn't respond and Michael doesn't wait for and answer as he walks towards the door..Fools. They were both fools in love with the same damn angel. Unaware to the both of them that someone was spying on their discussion..

" Master ?"

You had been so concentrated on listening to the discussion that you had failed to hear that the demon besides you was talking.

" Mmh?"

You mutter at the end, clearly not interested in whatever he was saying. However, the demon doesn't seem that surprised, Lucifer surely wasn't the most attentive angel after all..

" What do you think we should do with the rest of the murderers on level 4?"

Before you could truly think about the answer, you say out loud.

" Oh..Uh..Forgive them?"

The six eyes of the demon widen at the same time and he quizzically looks at you with confusion.

" My lord?"

The demon seems to not comprehend your demand and you want to face-palm yourself so hard..How did Luci ever managed to know what to do?!

" I mean torture them! Why are you coming to me for that, don't you know how to do your own job? Must I send you in the pit of eternal fire for you to finally understand not to disturb me?!"

If you were being honest? You loved pretending to be Lucifer. He was free and spent most of his time just barking orders on his throne. Since the humans were all sinners down there, nobody cared to do paperwork and everybody was obeying you..While in Heaven, you were just an angel, not a high-ranked one either..The only advantage you had was that power, the power to shapeshift. You usually used it to prank people of joke light-heartedly while mimicking archangel Gabriel when he would come and lecture you..Most of the other angels never understood you, and maybe this is why you had never assigned a higher post in the hierarchy? Not that Gabriel would ever let you become an archangel..You smile at the man that you had learned to consider as a big brother and a friend..It was thanks to him that you had met Luci. One day, as you were welcoming a new soul, a man that you recognized as archangel Michael came to supervise your work. To say that you had been stressed would be a huge understatement. Of course, he couldn't exactly fire you, but you knew that angels could be sent to Hell to take care of the bad souls..or worse. You remember Gabriel telling you that archangels, unlike common angels had the power to "kill" angels, or make them disappear anyway..This is why, you had decided to be on your best behavior that day, however you hadn't counted on Luci being there. You didn't ask when, in the middle of the meeting, Michael had excused himself and left, only to reappear a few moments later with a huge grin..

" So, how's the angel business doing?"

You forced yourself to smile and look back at him to list him a bunch of names you had processed that very day. Many angels did not see the point of your job..However, Luci was different. As soon as you looked up at him, his smile faltered and he frowned, as if he knew that you weren't genuinely smiling.

" Stop that."

He had ordered you and you had looked confused at the time.

" That. Don't smile..You look fake.."

You knew better than disobey an angel's direct command and stopped smiling.

" Does my appearance displease you, archangel Michael ?"

You asked, wondering if it was your face that was not to his taste or your whole appearance in itself ? He shook his head negatively before turning around and sighing.

" I thought you would be more interesting..A shame. From what I heard, you like to think outside of the box and make sure that everybody gets to laugh in Heaven..However, I've been following you since this morning, and you haven't succeeded in making me crack up even once..Care to explain why ?"

His accusative tone caught you by surprise, the great Michael wanted you to..make him laugh? That was unexpected..But, since he asked..A true smirk appears on your face as you think of some human joke that may earn a reaction from the archangel.

" Okay..Let's see..Do you promise not to get mad ?"

He arked an eyebrow, intrigued before smirking.

" Depends.."

Well, here was nothing..You had very few information on mankind and the future..Only Father had this sort of information. However, you all had been given the book of Truth that guided humanity..including the passage which talked about his son falling and being crucified to save humanity..You knew better than to joke about that, but what could you do to try to make the great Michael to laugh?!

" Why doesn't Jesus trust mankind ?"

The eyes of Lucifer widened, he hadn't expected that..

" Why ?"

You looked around, as if you were afraid that someone might hear you before whispering.

"He's afraid he'll get double crossed.."

At first, Luci stayed still, but soon his mouth etched into a grin and his eyes brightened with a certain amount of amusement.

" Ah ! I think that joke nailed it!"

His answer made you blank for a moment, but soon, you felt excited. When you had told your joke to Gab, he had simply sighed in utter despair, quickly reprimanding you on how this was no laughing matter..However, knowing that Michael could understand dark humour was the best surprise you'd had for centuries of existence.

" Listen, I have to go..But, keep up the good work and I'll be sure to check in once or twice.."

You smiled genuinely and nodded vividly, impatient to see him again.

" Ah! Here it is! You have a rather beautiful smile, angel..Try to use this one more often.."

You blushed at the compliment and Lucifer winked at you before walking away. Was that just your imagination or did the archangel Michael gave you a compliment ?! You squealed and let yourself do a little victory dance, interrupted by someone coughing loudly behind you. You turned around to see Michael standing there and blushed even more as he eyed you up and down with an amused smile.

" May I know what inspired that sudden little demonstration of happiness, angel Y/N ?" " You decided to ignore his question and ask teasingly instead.

" Did you perhaps come to hear one or two more of my jokes, archangel Michael ? Couldn't get enough ?"

Suddenly, archangel Michael walked straight towards you and lean in so close that you were starting to wonder if you hadn't made a mistake..He arked an eyebrow at you before replying quizzically.

" Weren't you informed that I was supposed to see you today ? The inspection ?"

Your eyes widened, stammering your answer.

" B..But you already d..did ? No?"

He raised an eyebrow in surprise before sighing loudly, understanding what had happened.

" You must have met my brother..Lucifer can be a little eccentric. Do not mind him. I hope that he wasn't too much of a hassle ?"

You turned around to hide your embarrassment, as you had confused Michael with his brother ! However, Michael didn't seem to really mind and only sighs before looking at the files you had made on the advantages of laughter, which earned you a small smile from him.

" I must admit, we were impressed by your work..Especially, the "twin prank". Me and Lucifer had a lot of fun in trying it on the other archangels..and even Father who laughed when we both started dressing as each other and walking around to see who would recognize us..But, what was the funniest, I must admit, was your own reaction. You created that idea, and yet had trouble recognizing it..Wouldn't that mean that we outsmarted you?"

Michael looks up at you with a mischievous grin and you can't help but smile back. At last, you had found other players among all of the archangels..Lucifer and Michael, huh ? Well played..Well played, gentlemen..

" No..Not at all..It just means that the rematch will be sweeter for me.."

You start shifting to their appearance and take one step towards Michael with a daring smile.

" See, archangel. When you try to prank the prankster, you must always expect the game to go on. Now, good luck to differentiate me to your brother.."Am I him ?" You'll both ask yourselves and I will be enjoying immensely your confusion as you both lose your heads.."

Michael, far from feeling threatened, smiles at you..You were different from the other angels he had ever encountered, that was for sure..He suddenly tookyou by the waist and watched as you blushed intensely. He then lowers his face to whisper in your ear. " I've got other ways to find out if your my brother or not.." You both hear a chuckle behind you and and look at Lucifer, smirking widely as he looked over the both of you. This is how you three had bonded: over a prank. And since then, you had never left their sides..Or at least until Lucifer's great fall..

The scared voice of the demon besides you gets you back to reality.

" No! Of course not my lord! I'm sorry..Please, forgive me..The level 4 is overcrowded and we must find a new place to put the new arrivals. Maybe if your majesty could create more space in this area?"

One of tree things that you had not predicted however is that Lucifer was a being capable of manipulating Hell's pit, as he was the one that had created it. Whereas your power only consisted in copying the physical aspects of a being, not its powers..

" I..I.."

You try to find an excuse, but nothing comes to mind, until a hand puts itself on your shoulder.

" No problem. I'm sure the lord is just feeling a bit lost after his long stay in the pitiful human world.."

You look up to find a demon with half of his face burnt down to a crisp and who looks at you with big green eyes. Somehow, he seemed far more intimidating than the other one and also intelligent as his eyes seem to pierce right through you. You shiver at his devilish smirk and quickly stand up to face him, in order to not make yourself even more suspicious.

" And who are you to tell me if I'm lost or not?! Who even gave you the permission to touch me, hmm?"

The demon suddenly takes a step backwards in surprise and kneels on one knee in front of you, his head lowered in respect.

" My apologies, my king..I didn't think that you would find my gesture so inappropriate. I am Azrath. Your second-in-command and faithful servant.."

Perfect ! You had just gave away that you had no clue that the man in front of you was your second-in-command ! You take a profound breath before taking back your emotionless mask and smile.

" I know who you are, Azrath..Your presence is just unexpected..What are you doing here ?"

The demon stands up again and you suddenly are very aware of how tall he was compared to you..His pale face contrasting with his half eaten half worm-infested chest. You have to look away in order for him not to see your eyes prickled with tears at the stench. Not that Hell smelt good in general, but the throne was so high above everything else that it was bearable, which you couldn't say for the walking corpse next to you..

" I just wanted to see if the rumors were true..You did come back.."

He seems almost disappointed for a second, but quickly composes himself and then gives you something that make your eyes widen as big as saucers..hearts..bloody hearts !

" Also, I took the liberty to gather the fresh hearts of the new arrivals..Just as you like them. Still beating."

Lord..Help me. You could see them moving and it takes all of your self-control not to throw up your own heart at the sight..However, you can feel it beating more widely in your chest..Even though you technically didn't have one, the feeling of pure horror conjured one..You force yourself to smile up at the demon and take the bag, trying your hardest not to look back at them..

" Thank you ! This is...lovely..."

This time, both demons seem to be taken aback by your words and you frown, what have you said this time?! The less intelligent of the two, noticing your confusion, takes it upon himself to answer your silent question.

" My lord..You've never "thanked" anyone before..You even forbid anyone to say it in Hell 1000 years ago.."

You understand and sweat profusely at the realization..The other demon remains silent, but the way he was staring at you suspiciously was enough for you to have doubts as to whether he was starting to understand what was going on..You had to do something, quick. You grit your teeths and yell as loud and as scary as you could.

" I am tired of this! Now, I've been gone for a while and wish to be left alone with my thoughts! Would it be possible or is it too much to ask?!"

Both demons fly away and you let out a sigh of relief. You look around and your eyes fall on a little demon that was flying by, transporting some letters. You frown, wondering what it was doing until you notice that it is going towards the gates. It must be a messenger! You summon paper and start writing a letter to Gabriel and call the little demon.

" You ! Send this to archangel Gabriel !"

The little she-demon quivers in fear, but doesn't dare refuse and takes the letter to the only communication link between Hell and Heaven. The tall and lanky skeleton that had talked to you earlier was sure to become a problem..He was far too smart for his own good..You would have to find a way to make him believe you somehow..You sigh loudly in frustration before running you hand through your...his hair..Suddenly, you smell something rotten just behind you and don't have the time to turn around before a dark chuckle sounds nears your ear.

" Archangel Gabriel, huh ?"

Your eyes widen and when you turn around, you find yourself in front of the same clever demon from earlier. His eyes seem brighter somehow and he is covered in..You have to muffle your mouth not to let out a scream or even vomit at the guts hanging from his shoulders and limbs..Oh my Goodness..The demon seems to perceive your uneasiness and hangs his head on one side, wondering what was wrong..You close your eyes and, after a few minute, open them again to see the monster actually smirking mockingly at you.

" What is the matter, Lucifer ? Did the human world affect you so much that you can't even stomach the sight of blood anymore ?"

He laughs at your horrified expression and suddenly takes you by the arm to yank you harshly forward, making you nearly fall from the throne.

" What are you doing?! Unhand me!"

You scream, but he only does a crooked smile before asking, almost expectantly.

" Aren't you going to use your wings, "my lord"?"

The way he had mockingly pronounced the two last words make you quickly understant that he was on to your masquerade and you glare at him.

" I won't let a pitiful demon like you intimidate me..I am your king and I am to he respected as such!"

However, far from feeling threatened, the demon only gets out something that you had forgotten about..the sword of Lucifer..

" The sword of Hell..Only demons or lord Lucifer can wield it..If any other etheral being were to try to use it, they would fall to the core of Hell to burn there for the rest of eternity..And one of the only weapons capable to kill even angels..Now, tell me..Still going to pretend to be our great master?"

You know that what he is saying is true..The sword is as sharp and bloody as it was the day Lucifer got rejected from Heaven..You didn't know what to do, so you admit reluctantly.

" I am angel Y/N, caretaker of humans joy and laughter of sector 45."

You were sure that he would pierce your body with the sword as soon as he would know, but the pain never comes and you open your eyes to see that the demon was now facing you. His wide green eyes were dancing around their sockets and his smile goes from ear to ear, showing his sharp and yellow teeths. He runs his tongue over them and has something in his eyes that makes you shiver in fear..hunger. He eyes you up and down and laughs darkly as you try to get away from him. However, you slip and fall. Not having any choice, you open your wings and all of the demons turn their heads towards you, the blinding light catching their attention. As soon as they see you, they all screech or roar in your direction and fly up in the sky to attack you. You start flying towards the gates, followed closely by waves of demons and Azrath that yells at the guards to cut the entrance. The two huge demons at the doors try to catch you with their bare hands, as if you were some kind of mosquitoe and you have to do multiple spins in the air to escape them. You know that their must be an entrance somewhere since the little demon messengers were able to pass. However, you didn't plan on the said entrance to be tiny orifices, big enough for the little demons to go through, but not you. You turn around to see the wave of demons coming closer..Well, looks like Luci was right..You hadn't totally thought that through..You would probably die here. You close your eyes and smile. At least, you had bought some time for Lucifer to live as he wanted among the humans for 5 whole years..However, suddenly, you feel a hand around your wrist. You open your eyes to see Azrath, dragging you towards the gates where he gets out the sword of Lucifer and cuts you with it. The burn is insufferable and you scream in pain as Azrath forces you to put your injured hand against the door.

" What are you doing?!"

You scream incredulously at his strange behavior, but he only lets out a spine-chilling groan before answering you.

" My great escape, sweetheart ! And if you want to leave, I would advise you to do as I say and shut up!"

You open your eyes wide as he starts pushing against the door, trying to get it open. You look behind you and see the demons flying in circle in the sky, wondering what their boss was doing..

" W..Why are you doing this?!"

You finally ask and, just as the door starts bulging, he answers you with terrifying smirk.

" I'm going to get back Lucifer..I've had more than enough of this place and I'm sure that if he is so reluctant to come home..then that means the human world must be a very nice place. Now, are you going to stay here with the nice little other flying monstrosities, or are you going to follow me, angel Y/N?"

He extends his hand towards you and look back at the screaming harpies and horned devils flying above your heads. You finally sigh and take his hand. As soon as your hand in his, his grin only widens and he runs outside, followed by you. You close your eyes and try to communicate with Lucifer.

" I'm sorry, Lucifer..I've failed."

On Earth, Lucifer was sitting besides Trixie that had grown into quite the young lady, as you had predicted..He finds himself smiling as the door opens and he sees Chloe come in with a loud sigh.

" Today was absolutely crazy at work..There has been some calls all over the cities..missing cats. Can you believe it?! Cats?! What are we?! The Cat Police?!"

The girl and Lucifer look up at her from the sofa while Chloe arks an eyebrow at them.

" What?"

They both look at each other with a serious expression, both nodding understandingly at each other and smile widely before looking back at Chloe with their hands joined together in a gun shape.

" You are under catrest !"

" Paws where I can see them, detective !"

They both yell at the same time and Chloe snorts..Of course those two would do cat puns..typical. However, she acts her part and raises her hands in the air.

" Oh no! You got me!"

They all smile, all the sion having left the room..But then, a loud caught catches their attention.

" Sorry to interrupt this..whatever this is..But, I must talk to Lucifer."

Here was Gabriel, in their living room..after 5 years of absence and Lucifer's smile automatically goes downwards as his eyes take a bright red tint. Chloe, sensing the danger, urges Trixie to go in her room. As soon as the girl is upstairs, Lucifer is quick to react and jumps on Gab to choke the angel.

" You! How dare you show your face again?!"

He shouts angrily, his eyes flashing a bright red. It takes Chloe to grab him by the shirt to yank him off the angel that stands up again to answer him between each pant.

" It's..It's Y/N..I..I made a mistake.."

Lucifer growls at him and responds sarcastically.

" You think?!"

The etheral being looks up at Lucifer with, for the first time in ages, an apologetic glance.

" It wasn't meant to last that long..You were supposed to get back down there a year later..But, she closed the gates, Lucifer. I couldn't come in myself. She closed the gates to anyone but the souls and now, I'm afraid that she may be in trouble, because of me."

Lucifer, far from feeling any compassion towards the angel, is bewildered by his apology and smiles in astonishment at his brother's admittance.

" Oh well..My heart bleeds for you, Gab..It really does. Not even recognizing your own brother must be terrible.."

Lucifer doesn't wait for an answer before pushing Chloe to the side on the sofa before punching Gabriel in the nose. Gabriel stumbles back with the force of the impact and raises his hand in surrender and repeats.

"I know that you are angry, brother..But, I'm not joking, Lucifer. She's in trouble."

Lucifer, astonished by the nerve of this angel that dared come to him for help, can't help but replying ironically.

" Oh! You're not joking?! Well good..Because neither am I !"

His eyes lighten up in orange and he nearly growls at Gab that gets out the letter you had send him to extend it towards Lucifer.

" She wrote me this..One of the demons is on to her..And, as I said earlier, I can't go in there. Not only did she close the doors, but you know as well as I do that I can't go in there without Father's permission.."

Lucifer snickers at Gabriel's pathetic excuse and shakes his head.

" No. I am not going to read that. Fuck off. She chose to disobey..She chose to replace me and she told me herself! She finds my job "extremely complaisant and entertaining". Even if I were to go there, she wouldn't want my help..Plus, as you said, she closed the gates! Only the spirits are allowed in..How do you suppose I get in?!"

However, it's Chloe that reacts first and grabs the letter out of Gab's hands to give it to Lucifer with resolution.

" Open it, Lucifer. You still are the king of Hell! Act like it!"

His eyes widen at Chloe's sudden agressive reply and his voice softens as he looks down at the woman and finally opens the letter to read it.

" Gabriel, my brother and my friend..It has been 5 years now that I've sealed the gates of Hell. I know you must be pretty furious, as our deal ended 4 years ago..However, I couldn't deny Lucifer of his happiness. I know that you can't understand my decision, nor why I did it..But, it's not that bad. I succeeded in blending in among the demons. I think Lucifer would be proud. However, I wanted to know if you could please enlighten me on one of the demons that just arrived in Hell. His name is.."

Lucifer's eyes widen at the familiar name and he looks up at Gabriel with shock..The name of his second-in-command was written on there, but he had deserted eons ago..Why come back now? It didn't make any sense, unless..His jaw clench and he fixes the letter intensely..Unless he had found his sword..as he had asked of him..And if it was the case, then his little angel had some serious problems on her hands..However, before he could voice his concern, he feels a vivid pain in his chest that cuts his breath off..He can feel that you're in danger somehow..But how to find you?! He groans in agony, trying to think of how to find you..until he remembers that there had been mysterious disappearances of cats in the neighborhood. He looks up at Chloe that is by his side, supporting him as he doubles on the floor in pain.

" The..cats.."

He tries to utter, but Chloe doesn't understand and leans in to have a better hearing.

" The cats..Where were they going? Where did the largest number disappear?"

" Around the old church..Why?"

He looks at Gab that instantly understands and nods before disappearing. Asrath was also known as the master of cats, this is why it had been easier for him to search for the sword undetected..He just had to believe that Gab would arrive in time. Chloe frowns at him and asks, bewildered.

" Well?! Are you going to stay there?? Go save her !"

He looks up at her with widened eyes, astonished that she would ever suggest it.

" I can't..I can't leave you, Chloe.."

Chloe takes a big breath before looking up at Lucifer with a small sad smile and caressing his cheek tenderly.

" Go, Lucifer..She needs you. We'll be fine.."

He finally nods and smiles up at her before kissing her on the forehead.

" I love you.."

She smiles with tears in her eyes and forces herself to nod.

" I know.."

And with that confirmation, Lucifer disappears as well, appearing near the old church and the pain worsens with every step he takes. When he enters the said church, it is filled with cats and he sees Gab, fighting Azrath. He looks around to spot you huddled near the cross, your face hidden behind your Y/C hair and then..he sees the blood. You were bleeding from your upper arm and he sees red. His body feels hot and overwhelmed by a new-found energy. He looks up at Azrath that was handling HIS sword against Gabriel that was struggling with fighting back. He walks towards them and as soon as Azrath notices him, he smirks and gets rid of Gabriel by throwing him against the cross that breaks in two. Gab wants to get up, but he feels a pain to his side and sees that Azrath had succeeded in wounding him..In normal circumstances, his wound would close itself immediately. However, this mighty weapon was one conceived especially to kill archangels, and Lucifer had made it with his own hands..The wound would take longer to heal and he felt himself fall unconscious. You whimper and try to help Gab by applying pressure on the bleeding wound, but Azrath notices you and stops you. You back away in fear, your wide eyes full of terror and Lucifer then sees why he had felt your pain..Azrath had carved an upside-down cross on your forehead, sending him a direct invitation..His blood is boiling in his veins as he sees what the vile creature had done to his poor angel, while Azrath seems proud of himself as he takes you by the hair and yanks you forward so you fall to your knees at his feet. It takes you a few minutes to look up, but when you do, his heart stops. In your eyes, the innocence and joy were gone..replaced by unbidden fear. He tries to help you up, but you scurry backwards and his eyes prickle with tears, as you were now afraid of even him.

" Oh..angel.."

He utters apologetically at you before glaring up at Azrath that frowns in incomprehension.

" Why are you looking at me like that?! She's an angel!"

He stands up and Azrath takes a step back as he senses the radiating rage of Lucifer that walks calmly towards him and extends his hand towards him expectantly.

" The sword. Give me the sword."

Azrath takes back his blank expression and shakes his head negatively before looking at the bloody sword in his hands.

" I'm sorry, Master..But you know I can't do that..You need to come back with me. Your kingdom needs you and this sword is the only thing hat can force you to come back.."

Lucifer sighs, knowing that he wouldn't give him without a fight. He suddenly tries to surprise him by sending him a punch, but Azrath, having premeditated it, uses the sword as a shield. But Lucifer, far from being bothered, takes the sword with his bare hands before kicking Azrath backwards. Azrath growls at him, showing his sharp teeths and snake-like tongue. He hisses, his voice dripping with venom.

" You really are going to fight me for her?! She's only an angel! The enemy!"

Lucifer glances back at you and smiles reassuringly at you before looking back at Azrath with eyes glowing in the dark.

" No.."

Azrath seems to be relieved by his answer, but it quickly fades out when Lucifer takes his original form and shouts between gritted teeths.

"..I'm going to kill you!"

Lucifer couldn't just control Azrath, he was too powerful for that..and had always been by his side since his great fall. Azrath closes his eyes and inhales deeply before looking up at Lucifer with his bright green eyes in which his pupils turn to slits and raises his hands in the air.

" As you wish, Master..Know that I never wanted this.."

Suddenly, the cats surround him and cover him from head to toe, melting into a sort of black armor. The great armor of Azrath. Great..Lucifer cracks his head to the side and grins up at his ex second-in-command.

" Always the attention seeker, aren't you Azrath?"

Azrath would have only ignored his comment normally, but this time, his comment earns him a slight chuckle, knowing that one of them would die tonight.

" You know me, Lucifer..I guess I took some things from you.."

After this exchange of ironic comebacks, they both become serious and in a flash, they are both at each other's throats. Azrath bites his shoulder hard and Lucifer slashes his face. Both of them are panting, but in their eyes the same fire burning bright..Suddenly, someone crashes inside through the window and interposes himself between the two demons.

" What is going on here?! What are you two doing here?! Hell is chaos and I find you both here?!"

Michael booms in obvious discontent, not having noticed the sword in Azrath's hands yet..Azrath takes it as an opportunity and raises his sword to strike him down.

" This is for you, Lucifer!"

He brings it down, but you use your last strength to stand up and stand in front of Michael. The three men are shocked and Michael is the first to react, he gets out his lance and decapitates Azrath in one swift blow. As for Lucifer, he quickly kneels besides you and takes you in his arms. He looks at his hand in horror, recognizing the smell and color of blood. He shakes you, trying to wake you up while crying out loud.

" No. No! No! No! Angel! Stay with me! You hear me?! Stay with me!"

He sobs and gets the hair out of your face, cradling your face kissing your face over and over again, hoping for your (Y/C) eyes to open again..Michael, after having made sure that Gabriel was alright, turns towards you and, for the first time in forever, feels tears prickle in his eyes at the realization. He falls to his knees by your side and gently pets the top of your head. He then looks up at the sky and asks for a miracle, begging his Father to bring you back..

" Dad! Please! Do not punish her even more! Please, bring her back!"

But his prayers are unanswered and the only one who seems to be affected by his words is Gab that gasps loudly as he wakes up. He looks at his wound and smiles as he sees that there is nothing left..However, when he sees your cold body on the ground, his smile turns into a pained grimace, his whole face twisting in sadness.

" Why? She saved Michael..She saved your son!"

Lucifer shouts, his eyes pointed towards the sky, not expecting an answer.

" Because, this is Michael's punition.."

They all look towards the direction of the voice, their eyes widening as they see Gab, his kind eyes looking above all of them with a numb stare, having finally understood why Father hadn't said or done anything.

" Michael, you really thought Y/N wouldn't know how you felt ? Your jealousy of your own brother..Jealousy that only grew to win the love of one being and threatened to destroy Heaven and Hell..The very same being that only wished for you two to be happy..She tried to make things right and replace you, Lucifer..Father gave her what she wanted, and what you both feared more than anything..She knew the price, but she asked HIM for your salvation and redemption."

Lucifer and Michael both stand up at the same time and open their mouths to voice their disapproval and utter outrage when Gabriel interrupts them, wanting only one thing now.

" Let's go home.."

He takes your body and looks at both brothers with tearful eyes.

" I hope you will be able to appreciate the second chance she has just both given you..You are both free."

And with those last words, he flies up with your body in his arms. Lucifer and Michael both look at each other and, without them knowing why, they both start tearing up. However, Lucifer forces himself to talk through his sobs.

" We can't..We can't leave her..She didn't deserve this..I know what punishment looks like, and she didn't deserve this! She didn't deserve to be sacrificed for our sakes!"

Michael, for once, agrees with his brother and extends his hand towards his brother.

" I know we had our differences in the past, brother..But, we need to show Dad that we are more! That we can be more than just hateful beings, if we want her back..Are you with me?"

Lucifer nods, and for the first in the History of the World, the Good and the Bad were to become allies in order to save you..

You open your eyes wide and straighten up to look around you, frowning in confusion at your surroundings. You were in the middle of a luxuriant forest with tall trees and bright purple fruits..Where are you? And most of all, how are you alive?! You look at your stomach to see that your wound has completely disappeared.

" How are you, my darling?"

You look up with astonishment as you see a tall woman with a bright green dress making her way to you. Her smile and welcoming expression make you think that she is not a threat, but you still have to ask.

" Hum..Thank you for saving me but, who are you? And where am I?"

She only chuckles at your question, as if it was the funniest joke.

" I'm sorry, my dear..Those are very good questions but, it's been a while since I've got some company so..hearing another human voice is quite exciting.."

You don't reply, waiting for her to answer your questions, which she does and you whiten at her answers.

" My name is Lilith..And this is my prison. I would say that it is the garden..but I've been locked up in here for so long that I can't remember much."

You had heard about Lilith, the first woman, the mistake, the mother of monsters..She had died so many millenias ago. And if you were with her, then that only meant one thing..

" Welcome to the Other Place! The place where angels and demons come when they die ! Of course, as not many angels or demons truly die..They stay here until Father needs them again..Come. You're the first one to get here since a few centuries..I'm sure you've got many stories to share."

Lilith extends her hands towards you with a wide smile and you look at her hand hesitantly for a few seconds before finally taking it with a small sigh.

" Yes. I guess I do.."

[philliamwrites]

compromissum

Fandom: Genshin Impact

Pairing: Xiao/Aether

Tags: #blood, #angst, #hurt and comfort

Words: 2.5k

Summary: [lat. compromissum: “mutual promise”] In which Xiao has made his very own contract with Aether, and in Liyue, the Land of Contracts, one who breaks their contract shall suffer the Wrath of the Rock.

Commissioner: CrystalNines

Notes: I swear, one day I'll learn how to write happy endings.

compromissum

     All is quiet. The shack hiding in the shadow of a cliff is abandoned and left to rot, its wood mouldy and old. No one has been here for a quite a long while and no one desires to visit this forsaken place tugged away in a corner of Qingxu Pool. Then, a figure breaks through the roof, destroying half of its construction.

    All air is knocked out of Xiao’s lungs as he slams onto the ground, but there is no time to catch his breath. He rolls to the side not a moment too late before a Geovishap drops through the opening in the roof and smashes into the ground right where he was laying seconds ago. It snarls, showing a row of razor sharp, enormous teeth the size of Xiao’s lower arm. The corner of Xiao’s mouth twitches as if to reply by bearing his own teeth.

    Blood, warm and wet, runs down his arm, making his grip around his polearm slippery and he shakes his head to clear the dizziness from the Geovishap’s blow earlier. There’s shouting from somewhere above his head, voices echoing over the valley with fear and worry palpable Xiao tries to ignore. He doesn’t need anyone to look after him. So many years have passed where he was out on the hunt by himself without anyone watching his back.

    But there’s one voice he’s learnt to pick out from a crowd, one that no matter when and where lures Xiao in even at a time like this when he’s facing a thirty-thousand-pound monster that can easily break his spine.

    The Geovishap charges. Xiao uses the end of his polearm to gain additional height and jump over it, its amber horn almost grazing the tip of his foot. Before the monster can turn, Xiao lunges forward, his polearm raised to strike and unbalance it, so he’d get access to the soft skin of its belly. But the Geovishap is surprisingly fast for something this big and sturdy, and it whirls around, smashing a giant fist, hard as rock, into Xiao’s side and he cries out, feeling his ribs break. Pain like someone split his side open bare-handed sears through him as he’s thrown against a wall and crumbles to the ground. Black dots dance across his blurred vision and the taste of iron fills his mouth. He spits out blood, his arms trembling from the effort to get back up.

    A shooting star crashes into the Geovishap—no, not a star. Aether. He plunges through the broken roof, fire blazing in his golden eyes as he brings his sword down on the reptilian creature in a single, deadly strike. The Geovishap roars a last time, then falls into himself and remains lifeless n the dirty shack’s ground.

    In his long life, Xiao has gotten used to seeing creatures lose their lives, often by his own hand, but it never ceased to make him wonder how something this big and wild a second ago becomes an empty shell, void of life—how easy and fast, seamless, the transition from alive to dead is. How nothing in this world cares about technicalities like good or evil for all is equal in death.

    In front of him is Aether, beautiful Aether with his sword still raised, its tip glinting in the setting sun like freshly tempered iron in heavenly fire. The sight reminds Xiao of this creature he’s read about a long time ago: Angels, they are called, that descend upon the mortal ground to bring justice in the name of something holier than them. Looking at Aether now, Xiao doesn’t struggle to imagine such a creature—the warm, red horizon illuminates his golden hair. A halo.

    Someone places a small hand tentatively on Xiao’s wounded shoulder and he recoils, finally tearing his gaze away from too beautiful Aether.

    “This looks bad,” Barbara says. For someone looking this frail, her grip is firm, and she doesn’t allow Xiao to wiggle out. “Let me take a closer look.”

    Xiao hisses, “No need.” It takes effort to get back on his feet, his muscles scream in protest but everything in him refuses to appear weak. “We still have one bounty left.”

    “Forget the bounty,” Aether cuts in, sharper than his sword’s edge. He closes the distance in a few strides and ignoring Xiao’s protests, Aether slides one arm around his waist and ducks under Xiao’s arm to steady him. “We’re going back to camp,” he declares and looks around, at Barbara and at Amber whose eyes are big and round with worry. No one objects.

    Except Xiao.

    “I’m fine.”

    “I don’t know what ‘fine’ meant for you back in your time but nowadays it doesn’t mean what you are right now.”

    “I am well aware of its meaning—” Xiao hisses when Aether leans a little too much into his hurt side.

    “Yeah,” Aether deadpans. “This sure looks fine.”

    Xiao can’t remember a time Aether has ever talked to him like that: Cold, dismissive, sneering almost. Not soft, kind Aether who starts to cry whenever one of Amber’s stray arrows accidentally hits a squirrel and they spend the afternoon burying it under a pine tree. This Aether doesn’t spare him another glance. He helps Xiao all the way to their campsite hidden inside a little cavern with a grim expression, his mouth pressed together into a thin line.

    When they finally reach their camp, Xiao disentangles from Aether and retreats to a corner further inside the cavern where a boar’s hide is laid out on the ground as a makeshift bed. It was easier to ignore his wounds with adrenaline pumping through his body but as it always does, the pain catches up to him in the end and leaves him paralysed with agony. When he lays down, slowly and carefully, gritting his teeth against any pained noise, he hears hushed whispers, his company’s mumbled conversation about him and what they’re going to do with him. Xiao doesn’t care. But this scene is familiar, and when he closes his eyes, his mind transports him to the past, to a time when the ground grew ill from soaking up too much blood and he’d lied on hard, unyielding stone that leaked grime and misery, falling into a dreamless slumber to four familiar voices.

    Xiao startles out of sleep, jolts right into awareness and almost smacks Aether across the face who dodges just in time as Xiao’s fist whirls past his jaw. They stare each other down for a long moment like two cats assessing each other to decide if they could trust each other. Eventually, Aether crouches down next to Xiao. He holds a little bamboo box in his hand and Xiao can smell the distinctive bitter note of the du huang mixture Granny Ruoxin gave them as thanks for driving off Hilichurls camping in the bamboo forest at the foot of the mountain that gently cradles Qingce Village.

    “Your wound. Show me,” Aether says quietly, even though there is no need to whisper. Looking over his shoulder, Xiao doesn’t see Barbara or Amber. They’ve left camp, probably to collect some berries or fetch water from the nearby river, which means he and Aether are alone and that’s something he’s tried to avoid lately. But that isn’t right either because it feels like the absence of a magnetic centre, and without it nothing makes sense at all.

    Xiao tries to sit up, but his limbs are still sore, and he feels like someone wrung him completely dry. The pain in his shoulder is a dull throb and he feels a rib poke somewhere it shouldn’t. His breathing is shallow, but he is breathing after everything and that is enough.

    “I can take care of it myself,” he says, his voice lowered as well as if they were talking about a small animal that might flee any second. He holds his hand out to Aether who stares at it as if Xiao has grown an additional sixth finger.

    “You’ve been with us for months now,” Aether says. “Why can’t you trust us? Why can’t you trust me?”

    Xiao’s hand drops back in his lap. In his whole life the amount of people he’s trusted can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Two had slaughtered each other, one had grown mad from the burden she couldn’t carry, one had abandoned him and the last had died by the hands of those who walked on the soil he prepared for them. Trust is a fragile thing, kept locked and hidden away and not even too beautiful Aether with his eyes and hair of golden sunshine and mind of gilded kindness could bring him to trust again.

    His silence appears to be answer enough. Aether’s eyes drop to the ground, disappearing behind a thick curtain of bright lashes like the sun setting behind the distant horizon to unimaginable places. Something inside Xiao uncoils at that sight. But then Aether does what he always does, something he’s unnervingly good at: He doubles back to strike when one least expects it. His eyes rise to meet Xiao’s and with a conviction that leaves no place for doubt or objection he says, “I don’t mind waiting however long it takes. You said to speak your name and you will appear to vanquish my demons and foes. But know that when you speak my name, I will come and carry your burden.”

    “Why?” Xiao demands.

    “Why not?” Aether asks with an intensity that Xiao isn’t equipped to handle.

    He huffs a little breath of annoyance. “I am not your problem.”

    “You’re not a problem,” Aether almost snaps at him, mirroring his annoyance like a shot deflected and cast back. Something in Xiao stutters like a flame struggling against the wind that tries to extinguish it. He remembers words Rex Lapis had told him many, many years ago after he’d saved him from the hands of an evil god that had marked him with ink that would never let him forget who he once belonged to: Even after all that darkness he should never stop looking for the light in everything and everyone.

    “Because people will come, and they will teach you about love and forgiveness. But you have to let them in, Xiao. First you have to accept this slight moment of vulnerability, and then you will be rewarded with goodness. Never lock away your heart, Xiao. It pains me to think you might be all alone forever.”

    Xiao closes his eyes, conjuring Rex Lapis’ face in his mind. What he would give if only he could see him one last time.

    Aether stirs, ready to return to his side of the camp but Xiao catches his wrist. At some point during the evening, Aether has taken off his gloves and now Xiao can see a line where they would end. The skin below is slightly paler, and his fingers are long and slender, beautiful. Hands made to be captured in coal paintings, so history won’t forget them. One part of him wants to put them to his lips and worship every single digit to engrave Aether’s taste onto his tongue, the other imagines cutting them off one by one and wearing a bloody necklace of Aether’s fingers, his own good luck charm for eternity.

    Without a word, he turns around and offers Aether his wounded shoulder. Behind him, Aether is very still first. Xiao can only imagine what horrid wound Aether’s eyes lay upon: The skin parted by jagged claws, left unattended while the blood has dried on his skin. Yaksha heal faster than mortals, but they are not invulnerable or immortal. Any other person, this blow would have killed for sure.

    Then Xiao feels a cool mixture carefully applied to his wound by warm, warm hands which doesn’t surprise him. Everything about Aether is warm.

    They sit in comfortable silence, the soft crackling of the fire in the background the only sound that fills the dimly lit cavern. Shadows dance on the wall and Xiao observes them for a moment, recognising this daemon and that impure ghost from his past until they all merge into an undistinguishable shape and he closes his eyes to block them out and simply feel Aether’s careful motions, the balm slowly warming upon his skin, the pain fading until, like everything else, it becomes a memory.

    When Aether is done, his hand lingers on Xiao’s back, his fingertips slightly grazing another scar that dips just below his ribcage. Xiao’s body tells his history in scars and he can still recount which daemon left which. Mortals tell you time heals it all and soon you forget, but Xiao doesn’t, he remembers everything. Xiao remembers everything.

    He turns slowly, and finds Aether still kneeling in front of him. Trying to meet his eyes, they are so close Xiao could count every eyelash framing Aether’s round, kind eyes. He takes Aether’s hand, a small hand, studies it and intertwines their fingers as if he already misses Aether’s small hand in his palm.“

    You know I would give my life for you,” Xiao says, for his contract to protect Liyue has been terminated with Rex Lapis’ death, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t set his own rules, live by his own contract.

    Something in Aether’s expression changes; an almost forlorn look but whatever he tries to find in Xiao’s face, Xiao can’t give it.

    “Xiao, we can still—” he starts, but Xiao silences him by lifting his other hand and grazing Aether’s cheek with his fingertips.

    “We already talked about this,” he says in a voice as if he’s trying to explain something to a child. “I serve, but I do not love. I cannot love for my first master has taken that ability and it was lost with his death.”

    His feelings for Aether could be love in a different world, a different time. But right here, right now, they are what is left of it; a shadow, only a memory. Desire maybe, worship, yes. But love wouldn’t leave this bitter taste in his mouth whenever he thinks of Aether. It wouldn’t.

    Aether looks gutted. His mouth twists, as if he’s trying to hold in tears; Xiao knows the feeling and he hates seeing it on Aether’s face, hates being the reason why Aether looks heartbroken, why he is heartbroken. In a different world, Xiao could be kinder to Aether and give him what he deserves. But in this, with marks upon him that will never disappear and the taste of dreams still fresh on his tongue as if he has never stopped devouring them, he is not what Aether needs.

    But he will make up for that. He will serve Aether until his dying breath and either fall in battle for him or remain by his side even as old age claims Aether, should he age like mortals do. It would be an honour to die for Aether and until that day comes, Xiao will stay by his side and only after that, he will allow himself to rest and let the kind, soft tunes of a flute carry his soul to the next world, hoping even one as tainted as his is allowed peace and respite. That is the compromise he has constructed, the contract he has agreed upon with Aether, and in Liyue, the Land of Contracts, one who breaks their contract shall suffer the Wrath of the Rock.

[ackermans-freedom-inc]

Masterlist

Heya! Thank you for visiting! I will post all of my writings here, so please feel free to browse at your leisure. 

If you want to send in a request, please feel free to do so, unless my blog description says requests are closed. If they are indeed closed and you wish to send something in anyway, you are very welcome to do so! I may or may not get to it though I will try my best. 

__________________________________________

Levi Ackerman 

Fics

Train Pt 1 

All My Choices - “All my choices lead to you” prompt

Hot and Cold - He would compliment you one moment, and hurt you the next

Just a Drink - Someone came to hit on you at the bar...

Nothing More - You and him were friends with benefits...and nothing more? NSFW

Remember - You succumb to the thoughts in your head, and he’s there to remind you

Monster - “Why do you have to make me into a monster?” prompt

Snow - You get lost in blizzard and Levi is worried sick

By Your Side - What happens when your cheesy pickup line loving self gets paired with a handsome bodyguard?

Education - You are a poc, and somehow the world will not leave you alone

Counting the Days - Levi just wants to do the do, but his son gets in the way. NSFW

Bows - “I just wanted to be pretty for you” 

Carry a Tune - (LawyerAU) Levi gets jealous.

Never - He broke up with you out of the blue

Alleged Allergies - (LawyerAU) Levi and your cat adoption adventures

Fish - You’re feeding your baby and Levi couldn’t be more supportive

What More Could You Ask For - You and Levi with your kids on a beautiful morning

I Miss Her Too - Your best friend was gone. How could you ever heal?

Tease - (LawyerAU) You have to entertain an important client for the firm...your boyfriend is NOT pleased

Pep Talk - Hanji’s messy cat comes over to meet your cat...what could go wrong?

Next to You - He opens his eyes, and sees you, fast asleep.

Never Expected - He breaks up with you, but you loved him so much. So why?

For the Night - You met his eyes from across the club. Memories that weren't your own swirled in your head. One night of passion ensued. NSFW

Treading Water - You fall into the water after a titan attack. You can’t swim.

Poopyhead - You and Levi’s darling son goes missing one day

The Sham - You were arranged to married to Levi. It was a sham. 

Your Touch - Levi was so so stressed, so you do what you can to help him

Uprising - You loved him so much, but the moment never seemed right

Someone You Loved - He watched as you fell out of love with him

I Wish - Him and you were over months ago. What more could he have to say?

You Weren’t There - You were missing in action for weeks. No way you were still alive. Right?

Mergers and Accusations - (Lawyer AU) Your boyfriend couldn't have leaked your confidential files...could he? 

The Mop Job - Levi, Isabel, and Farlan and Levi’s broken ankle 

Where You Belong - You and Levi were expecting. So what happens when one of you loses their memory?

A Matter of Time - It was only a matter of time before one of you caught feelings

Hold On - There was nothing you wouldn’t do for your sister...who also happened to be Levi’s girlfriend.

Dibs - You sought out Levi for comfort after a breakup

Mirrors - You felt insecure in your body. Levi comforts you

Pumpkin - You tell Levi you’re pregnant against a gorgeous fall background

His Touch - You have a phobia of intimacy, and you thought you were ready to try something new

You Never Liked Her - You stood by Levi through it all. What about your own feelings?

Stressed - You were so stressed over exams, and Levi helps you out

Pet - You were a high ranking demon. And then you met him

Treading Water 2 - he was so glad to have you back and he wanted to show you (tiny bit spicy)

About Damn Time - the other vets act as ScoutWingmen because you and Levi were taking too long

Pointe - Levi finds you alone in the mess hall in the middle of the night. Dancing?

Zoom - the 104th kiddos see a cat...in two zoom calls?

How Many Times? - how many times does Levi have to ask you to be his?

Diamonds - (MafiaAU) Fluff/angst

Just a Trim - haircut with Levi drabble

Whirlybird - domestic drabble

Moot - LawyerAU, nsfw | watching Levi demolish opposing counsel made you feel a certain way...

Headcanons

- Levi’s Ideal s/o - kinda turned imagine/scenario, some nsfw

- Levi with a Med&Science s/o

- Levi with s/o with eating disorder  - tw eating disorder mention

- Levi with a s/o who has a fear of intimacy

- Levi with a s/o who cries after sex - mention of past trauma, fluff, kinda nsfw

- Levi with a s/o who is RIPPED 

- Cheater!Levi with a badass s/o

- Cheater!Levi with a badass s/o PT2 

- Levi when his s/o has a miscarriage (tw) 

- Levi with a smaller male s/o

- Levi with a s/o with narcolepsy 

- Levi with a smaller bratty male sub! s/o NSFW

- Awkward sub!Levi in a relationship - SFW, fluffy af

- Levi when he meets another full Asian girl

- Levi slow dancing with you

- Levi with a dom!male reader

- Levi with a s/o who looks like an angel but is kinda the devil

- Levi with a s/o who likes to laugh/tell jokes

THIRSTY THURSDAYS - NSFW AF Y’ALL. 18+!!!!!!!!

#1  - oral reader receiving | You just wanted to try sitting on his face...

#2 - first time, smut, choking kink | You waited for him to be your first

#3 - Sub!Levi, tied up, slapping | He wanted to prove he could take orders

#4 - Dom!Levi, jealous/possessive, edging | You spent time with Erwin?

#5 - Waxplay, sensation play, edging, dom-ish Levi | You wanted to try this...

#6 - Omegaverse, ModernAU | Your heat was coming and the sauna helped

#7 - Dirty talk, modern AU | You just wanted to watch the dang movie

#8 - Pegging, prostate stimulation, sub!Levi | You wanted to try something...

#9 - public sex, oral, dirty talk | A fun time in the waterpark changeroom

#10 - dirty talk, sex, modernAU | You wanted him to do more than just your taxes

#11 - bathtub sex | Levi saw you training cadets...and oops you’re hot

#12 - Modern AU, dirty talk, name calling, domlevi | You were worried Levi wasn't enjoying himself

#13 - hurt/comfort, comfort sex, fluff | After the [redacted] Levi was worried you were avoiding him 

#14 - jealous/possessive dom!Levi, rough sex, choking, slapping | You got a little carried away squealing over your favourite actor...

#15 - MIKE X READER - daddy kink, size kink | no plot just fucking Mike while calling him daddy

#16 - oral female receiving | He was too busy to give you attention...

#17 - older!reader (31) x Levi (25). No kinks just sex | it had been so long since you were with someone...then you met him

#18 - public-ish sex | you and him were friends with benefits for years. But one day, beneath the stars and against the wall...

#19 - oral, slight voyeurism | you, in a dress. Him under the table...what could go wrong?

#20 - oral, vaginal sex, slight voyeurism | you and levi get walked in on

#21 - touchstarved Levi | just sex no kinks, fluffy

#22 - Eren x Reader, modern AU, soft + sweet, no kinks, fluff

Multi - Chaptered

Abeille: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6

Not Levi 

Sneakers - Annie x fem!reader - Annie goes to the mall to get a pair of sneakers...what she didnt expect to find was you 

She - Mikasa x fem!reader - You just loved her so much. But she...

[brynfelan]

The One Where Hajime Only Knows Class 77b Because He Works At A 24-Hour Grocery Store

it’s DONE, it’s BAD, it has all the pacing of a POORLY-WRITTEN SNL SKETCH, but I can’t give less of a shit I am tired and putting it out into the world. @idnek83 I told you I’d fucking write it. It’s 5am and this was written purely out of spite. also, the credit for this idea goes to them. the only reason i wrote this is because they were too much of a coward to.

Word Count: 3272 Summary: Hajime Hinata works at a 24-hour grocery store and only knows class 77-B because they all come in at different times to buy some weird shit. Chaos ensues. This is crack, just straight up crack.

There are worse things than working the graveyard shift. It pays a little extra than day hours, there’s less work to do at the counter, and the only thing Hajime really has to worry about is a drunk customer getting rowdy. Actually, he enjoys it in a weird way. He just stands at the counter, runs people up, and then leaves at six in the morning to do whatever the hell he wants with his day. Usually sleeping, but it’s also nice to be free all the time.

His favourite part of the job is the set of students that come in between the hours of two and five almost every day. They aren’t usually together, but he’s pieced together that they’re all in the same class by descriptions that he’s gotten from the more talkative of the bunch. He doesn’t know all of their names, some of them he only knows by nicknames, but he does know all of their faces.

Kazuichi Soda for example, comes in at around two in the morning every Friday night. He usually buys shitty beer or cheap liquor, and complains that he’s the one that got sent out from the party to get more booze. Sometimes he also picks up random assortments of tools or screws. Hajime thinks it should probably be illegal to sell a man a 40 of cheap whiskey and a power drill at two in the morning, but he learnt to stop questioning the combination of things that people buy at this kind of hour. He dreads to think of the drunk creations that Soda makes.

On the other hand, Mahiru only comes in around once a month. Hajime knows her name is Mahiru because the first time, she drunkenly introduced herself to him and tried to explain that her combination of items were for a photoshoot and not for any kind of nefarious purpose. He isn’t quite sure what kind of crime she could commit with several bunches of half-dead flowers, a whole cream cake and a bottle of champagne, but he’d definitely like to see it.

It’s four in the morning on a Tuesday. Hajime gets off in two hours, and he’s currently dealing with one Gundham Tanaka. He knows his name is Gundham Tanaka, because he announces it every single time that he gets rung up.

“Huh. Sunflower seeds and hamster bedding. You got any pets?” It’s an innocent question, but at this point he really should have learnt not to question Gundham.

“You fool! I, Gundham Tanaka, have my four Dark Devas of Destruction at my command, ready to strike at any moment for insinuating that they are mere pets as you mere mortals call them!” Ah, good. This happens every time. “You may also notice that I am purchasing this protective potion. This is a defensive measure to protect myself from the very devils that seek to feast on my demon blood!

Hajime looks down at the mosquito spray. He’s definitely not getting paid enough for this.

“Right, yeah. Sorry man. I hope those, uh, devils don’t bother ya too much. That’ll be twenty-two fifty-nine.”

Four hamsters poke out from Gundham’s scarf to deliver the money to Hajime. He isn’t sure if that’s sanitary, but at least he gets to see some cute animals during his shift. For “warriors”, as Gundham calls them, they’re pretty sweet and don’t seem to be adverse to getting pet when they hand (mouth?) him the bills.

Even if it gives him daytime freedom, this job isn’t worth ten seventy-two an hour. He sometimes thinks about switching to the day shift, but he gets paid more to work nights and effectively does half the work. Hajime knows that it’s the best job he’s gonna get for a while, and it pays enough to get him through college. Still, he reminds himself to check for something better when his shift’s over.

Gundham is the last of the class he sees that night. He’s definitely eccentric, maybe the most eccentric of the bunch, but he’s never caused a real scene. Except for one time when he managed to smash three bottles of red wine in quick succession, but it happens. Hajime didn’t have to clean it up, so he’s definitely not paid enough to care.

The next night, it’s Sonia that walks in. She’s never formally introduced herself to him, but Soda never shuts up about her, so Hajime has a pretty good idea of who she is. She’s buying nearly his month’s rent in skincare products and murder mystery novels. She talks the whole time too, about how this store is so different to ones in her home country, how he must get so many interesting experiences working at these hours.

“Yeah, you sure could call it interesting,” He snorts a little, “You get some interesting people come in at these hours.”

“Ah, of course! You are a respectable man to hold a necessary job such as this, I believe I would be, as they say, boned without you here! Is it customary to tip workers in institutions such as this?”

Jesus, how much money does this girl have?

“Uh, not grocery store workers ma’am. Cash or card?”

When she pulls out the cash from her purse, Hajime nearly faints. He decides that she must either be a foreign dignitary or deep in some criminal ring in order to have this much money on her person at any one time. It’s not even in exact change, and she’s a hundred over her total.

“This is too much, ma’am. Here, this is yours.”

When he tries to give the hundred back to her, she steps away from the register and puts her hands behind her back. She’s smiling, and shaking her head.

“Oh, no. I shan’t be taking that! You must keep it.”

She’s either an angel, or Satan trying to tempt him with nearly double what he makes in a night. Arguing with her is pointless, she refuses to take her items until he pockets the cash. He hopes that he never has to explain that to his manager, because he hasn’t read the company policy but he’s nearly a hundred percept sure that accepting personal money is very much against it. She finally leaves nearly half an hour later, after insisting he keep the money. He can’t tell if he hopes she comes back, or that he never sees her again.

He ends up keeping the hundred. That’s way too much money to be given to pass up.

If Hajime had to name a favourite customer out of the students, it would have to be the girl that comes in a couple of nights a week to buy snacks. He doesn’t know her name, but she always talks about video games. They share the same taste in them, and he likes hearing about his favourites from another person’s perspective. He doesn’t really have anybody to play them with, but it almost feels like he does when she comes in and asks how far he’s gotten in whatever just came out that week. He thinks about her during his shift sometimes when things get slow.

That same night, a boy with all the manners of a particularly pissed off cat comes in. He’s with a girl that towers over him, and Hajime would laugh if he wasn’t afraid of getting his ass handed to him, since he’s pretty sure the girl is carrying a sword. He’s buying twelve packs of cookies, and a single toy bunny. He pays with a black credit card. Neither of them say anything to Hajime. He’s pretty sure that’s the “Baby Gangsta” that Soda has spoken about on a couple of occasions, but definitely doesn’t want to ask just in case he gets sliced in half. He only notices that he was holding his breath when they leave.

An absolutely giant man walks in just as Hajime is about to clock out. No really, he’s huge and all muscle. Hajime might be scared of him, if he didn’t have such a huge smile on his face. He occasionally comes in early in the morning to buy a hideous amount of protein powder and other groceries. Every time he does, he invites Hajime to “train” with him. Hajime is too scared to ask what training involves, and turns it down every time. By the size of the guy, he’s pretty sure any amount of training would kill him.

Hajime doesn’t know when he clocks in the next night that it’s going to be the most hellish night of his life. He doesn’t know that tonight is the night he hands in his two weeks yet. He’s pretty optimistic when he walks in, freshly showered and having just gotten back a pretty decent grade for one of his classes.

It starts at five. Kazuichi Soda walks in first, already drunk and talking to Baby Gangsta about some motorbike he’s going to jack up so much it won’t be road legal anymore. The Giant Man is close behind, talking to a girl about doing “it” (Hajime has no idea what “it” is and frankly he isn’t sure he wants to know). That’s the first sign. No more than three of them have ever walked in together at any one time.

Lagging behind a little is Gundham and Sonia, followed by Mahiru and the tiny girl that sometimes accompanies her. The only thing Hajime can remember about her is that she called some other girl a “toilet clogging bitch” one time. Three other men follow behind, one with light hair that looks just a little too skinny to be healthy, one that looks nearly exactly the same as him except taller and heavier, and one that’s even shorter than Baby Gansta. A girl with her eyes glued to a Game Girl trails behind them, the Sword Girl almost steering her out of the way of a promotional stand for donuts. Behind them is Ibuki Mioda, a girl that comes in sometimes to buy Monster Energy by the crate at three in the morning, talking to Mikan Tsumiki who usually accompanies her to run of the health risks of drinking too much caffeine.

Behind all of them is the devil himself, dressed up like an angel. Hajime doesn’t know he’s the devil yet, but he will in about an hour.

They’re in the store for all of ten minutes before shit starts going south. Hajime can hear things being tossed around in the aisles and shouting. He definitely isn’t paid enough to deal with that, so he stands at his register and hopes it calms down.

“C’mon, we just finished our finals, Ibuki wants to go hard!”

That’s never a good thing to hear when you still have two hours of your shift left.

Now, part of the reason why Hajime likes working the graveyard shift is that it’s quiet. Nothing happens, except for the one time a guy in a Scream mask came in and robbed his register at axe-point, but he’d already been working at the store for two weeks and couldn’t give less of a crap whether or not the company lost money over that. Tonight, it isn’t quiet. Tonight, there are sixteen students that Hajime thinks might give him a migraine if they don’t shut up for five minutes.

The worst part is when they disperse through the store. Before, all the noise was coming from one place. Now it’s everywhere. Hajime thinks that some of them are having a competition to see who can make all the toys that make sounds go off in the quickest amount of time. He can hear shouting and squealing and laughing (and is that crying? Is one of them crying in his store?) and he wonders if it would be worth it to just walk out and let them take whatever they want.

It doesn’t end there. There’s a loud smashing sound, and then the high-pitched whine of the girl who looks too young to be buying booze but Hajime has never cared enough to card because it’s not his job to parent her.

“You snot-nosed bitch! I bet you’re trying to make Hope’s Peak look bad, you drunk whore!”

“I’m s-sorry! I didn’t mean to!” The crying gets worse the more the short one yells, “I-I’ll clean it up and pay for it, don’t worry! Please forgive me!”

Hope’s Peak is that exclusive private place down the street, right? Hajime passes it everyday, but couldn’t have ever dreamed of getting to study there. He isn’t even really sure what they teach, besides that they always push out the greatest in whatever field of study they run. No, Hajime chose the cheaper option, and while it might have been nice to go somewhere so prestigious, it definitely wouldn’t have been good for his wallet.

From the other side of the store, he hears clapping and laughing. He doesn’t even want to think about what fresh hell is going on in the DIY section, where he’s pretty sure he can hear Soda spilling paint everywhere if the swearing from Baby Gangsta is anything to go buy.

Half an hour or so after they all walked in, Hajime is ringing up fifteen people. He’s the only one working tonight until the cleaners come in, and this is more people than he’s ever had to deal with in his life.

Sonia has bought sixteen bottles of the most expensive champagne the store sells. Hajime doesn’t want to think about the ordeal he went though last time she was here, so when she pushes an extra hundred into his hand he doesn’t bother arguing with her. Gundham, on the other hand, has apparently bought up every single vegan burger that was in the freezer section. He’s also got all the buns, and what feels like a hundred different condiments and salad options. Through tears, Mikan apologises for the trouble she’s causing while trying to pay for whatever bottle she broke – while at the same time picking up enough hangover medicine to cure an army.

By the time he’s rung everybody up, he’s exhausted. He wants to go to bed and never get out of it, to never see anybody again. He hates customers at the best of times, and these people might be excellent outside of this setting, but in his store they’ve been an absolute nightmare.

They’re all packed up and ready to go when the girl with her nose in the video game pipes up.

“Hey, where’s Nagito?” She asks through a yawn.

Then, it happens. Hajime hears a “whoops” from the back end of the store, and everything he’s ever wanted to not happen on his shift happens.

One shelving unit goes down, then another, then another. The sounds of shattering and splintering echo through the now otherwise silent store. They go down like dominos, each falling shelf worse than the last. It’s five fifty-seven in the morning, and Hajime can only watch as his divine punishment for choosing to work in a grocery store near a college is shown to him. Bottles are smashing, toys are crushed, he’s pretty sure that whatever happens in the fish section is no longer safe to look at with the naked human eye.

“I’ve never thought about committing murder before,” He says, “But now I think I understand.”

Everybody is quiet until the dust settles. The white-haired demon walks out completely unscathed, with an innocently shit-eating grin on his face.

“Ah, I can pay for this. I’m so sorry to have caused such trouble,” He says, waving his hands like it’s no big deal, “Please, allow me to pay for the damages. My terrible luck is a scourge on this Earth, I simply can’t apologise enough.”

Hajime sighs, and looks at the clock. It’s five fifty-nine. There isn’t an enough money in the world to pay him to deal with this.

“What the fuck happened?” Baby Gangsta asks, from the back of the crowd, “Seriously, you’ve had some bad fuckin’ luck before, but this shit takes the crappy cake.”

“Oh. I tripped.” He dusts his knees off, and smiles again.

It’s unnerving that he’s so calm about this. Hajime dreads to think what else he’s done in the past that would make this seem so natural to him. Can you bar somebody from your store for accidentally wrecking every single item that you have to sell?

“There is some hope to come from this, Kuzuryu, don’t worry!” He pulls out a tiny stuffed dog from his pocket, “Please, how much will this be?”

All Hajime can do is stare. He isn’t sure what god he pissed off to deserve this. He doesn’t believe in karma, but he hopes that whatever he gets in return for this is pretty damn good.

Six in the morning rolls around. The day-staff have walked in to the mess that is the store, and his manager is just staring at him. Hajime looks at him, and just shakes his head.

“If you want the story, talk to the guy with the white hair. I don’t even know what’s happening anymore.”

Immediately after he says that, he hears a whoosh. Then, everything starts feeling a whole lot warmer.

“Shit, store’s on fire. Komaeda, you’re going to get us banned from this store!” Kazuichi yells, running as fast as he can to the exit.

The others follow, and Hajime gives his manager a “what-can-ya-do” shrug, before following. This store isn’t worth getting a lungful of smoke over. Hell, he isn’t even sure working here is worth the extra cash that Sonia seems adamant to give him every time she comes in.

Sixteen students, Hajime, four other co-workers, two cleaners, and a General Manager stare as the building burns. Before his manager can open his mouth to speak, Hajime looks at him and says, “Nope. I quit. I’m leaving. Now. This isn’t my fault, and you can’t pay me enough to deal with it.”

There’s no argument. His manager just lets him go. The sixteen students get a lifetime ban. Hajime also gets a lifetime ban. The white-haired devil writes a check and walks away basically scot-free. The store is going to be closed for the next fuck-knows how long until it can get repaired. From the number of zeroes on that check, Hajime’s pretty sure this is an expensive problem to fix. He doesn’t care, it isn’t his problem.

“Hey, Mr-Store-Clerk Guy!” Ibuki grins at him, “Wanna come and party with Hope’s Peak? We just got done with finals!”

“Ibuki, that’s a fantastic idea! To repay our debt to him for causing so much trouble, we simply must invite him to part-ay with us!” Sonia claps her hands together and smiles like Ibuki’s just discovered Atlantis, “Please do come with us! But first, might we get your name? We all see you so often, and have never thought to ask!”

It’s six in the morning. Hajime rubs his temples. Any sane person would say no, because he’s tired and just quit his job so he’s going to need to find another one as soon as possible, and having a store burn down on your watch is not good on your resume.

It’s six in the morning, and if there’s any day that Hajime wants to start drinking at ass-o-clock in the morning and not on his dime, it’s this one.

“I’m Hajime Hinata. Please don’t burn anything else down.”

“Oh, don’t worry!” Nagito calls from where he’s standing by the manager, “I’m sure that after that I’ll have some incredibly good luck!”