#Kat I am unsure if you are still proud upon seeing the whole piece but I'm prepared for the verdict lmao-

[spotlightstudios]

Why I drew this I do not know, but say hello to possibly the most toxic relationship I've ever put my ocs into 🙏 (Sphynx is on the left, Baddie(Aubade) on the right!)

Bonus version w/o the lighting! And quick lore for these two because idk if I ever posted about Sphynx?

Sphynx is a sinner! He died in the mid 1920s in a grave-robbing incident in Egypt. He had siblings back home that needed money, and he was already known for stealing, breaking and entering, and unsavory deals, so he joined a group of guys and ended up in the business of grave-robbing hoping to make a fortune off the gold.

Of course, after a few successful trips and sales, his crew got trapped in a cave-in, and he left them behind hoping to get out with the gold... only to fall comedically into a trap-pit and be entombed as well.

Sphynx is a lesser-known Overlord (he'd be in the council if he cared, but he doesn't) who makes pacts with sinners for protection. They work for him, gather 'riches' or do tasks, and in turn he ensures no one harms them. Their souls give him enough power to protect them. His main weapon is a golden rope, which has a snake-motif on the end. It can be used to summon little beasts not unlike Alastor's summoned guys, and it can also consume sinners to turn into these henchmen.

Baddie on the other hand is half-imp and half-succubi. Not the most surprising thing, but he's got negative rizz. Everything he says does like, the opposite of a sirens song. He has a knack for ruining nearly any situation he finds himself in. So, he's used to fleeing between the mortal realm and hell and between the rings and more. Several powerful hellborn want him dead (several hundred bounties at this point) and he's just really really good at running away.

His main weapon is a grenade, though guns work too. He's usually seen lingering in the Lust ring since it's harder to recognize him lingering among the other succubi. At least, that was until he was employed by Sphynx.

Sphynx and Baddie are in a situationship? Sphynx is always looking for people who need protection, so he assumed the person being ganged up on in the street was a new and fragile soul just fallen to hell. And he was dead wrong. Scattering the crowd revealed a pretty little imp. Who immediately managed to tick off Sphynx. He tried to walk away, Baddie followed, and things went from there. Baddie murders people for Sphynx when they don't want to be connected or seen in public (especially when it's hellborn, which he shouldn't really kill). Meanwhile, Baddie hides from his hundreds of enemies by staying with Sphynx. Their interactions (when they aren't working) usually consist of Baddie saying something, Sphynx immediately telling him to shut up, and Baddie talking anyways while trying to find a way to sprawl across Sphynx's lap.

They have this weird like, kinda relationship going? Like, toxic employer/employee relationship, but neither one of them are really grasping what they're supposed to be toxic about.

Anyways, I like them a lot. Sphynx has a soft side he doesn't hide, but sure doesn't bring up. Baddie is just a little prick to everyone he meets unless he likes them a lot.

[inexchangeforyoursoul]

chapter 13- that’s my lucky number. too bad it’s wasted on what’s p much filler with Robin lmao

“... that's cheating, you know.” Law took note of the lack of soft thuds and paper sizzles a few minutes ago; that's what made him check on her eventually, turning on his chair sideways.

Kat ignores the remark, and continues juggling the pocket watch mid-air as she teleports it above the other paper pile. Then does it again, and again. After a few more, she responds:

“You say that, but... I'm doing the same thing. Plus wannabe telekinesis, minus property damage. It's a win-win, if you ask me.”

“While you are not wrong, it will also be impossible to tell when you get it right,” he notes, leaning onto the back of the chair.

She shrugs. “Honestly, it doesn't make a difference until I can put my finger onto what's right whenever it works out in the first place.” That, and she's also having more fun with this godforsaken task like this. She has no watch of her own and there's no clock in his room that she's aware of, but she's dang sure the bells rang for noon a while ago. Started doing this right after... a little surprised it took Law so long to notice the change, though.

“...” After some delay, Law sighs and gets up. “Well, do as you like. I'm off to eat lunch.”

“I'll be going, too, then...” she muses. “As long as you're in the hall it's less likely that I run into Shachi. Would be... awkward after yesterday.”

“That it would be,” Law drawls with an amused expression. Having shoved the chair back in its place, he puts a hand under his chest.

“You really are hungry, huh?” Kat asks, ambling direction door herself.

“Guess so,” he replies. “Even though I ate a bit more for breakfast than it would have been necessary for your size... also felt sick for a while. Guess that was your routine speaking.”

“Duh,” Kat rolls her eyes at that. “How were you not in that state yesterday before walk, anyway? Also... I'm surprised you are hungry again? My body is low maintenance, after all,” she adds, wondering. He's had a proper breakfast, and she can get by easily with two mediocre meals a day plus some snacks...

“Yesterday I was wide awake as early as 4 am. I have the suspicion it's your blood pressure fucking you over with breakfast, now that I'm thinking about it,” he says, donning his hat.

“I could see that. Either way... my 'wolf days' hit every other week and I downed a whole pizza, a big plate of soup and spaghetti the other day, so that...” She drifts off; there is one thing she sometimes mistakes for hunger or stomach ache, and that's... “Umm...”

“What is it?” he asks, noticing her vaguely worried expression.

“Actually... I don't think it's your stomach,” she concludes. As Law takes some time to catch on, she adds “I mean the problem is more likely to be here,” pointing at her lower abdomen. This could very well be her uterus making its usual ruckus.

Hearing that, he takes a deep breath and looks around with weary eyes. How conveniently he forgot about all that... first things first, the pads. God, where did he--- or actually, she, even put that stuff?

Before he could start looking for the oversized bag, Kat has already lifted it and peeled the plastic skin off the bunch of clothes levitating in mid-air; the package they're looking for is poking out from right between the layers of shirts and hoodies. Law doesn't even need to move as she's done getting it and repackaging her clothes within a few seconds.

“Godspeed,” she sighs, opening the door as he snatches the pads. Doing so she notes that her neck is getting antsy over such trivial tasks again. Oh well. As they part ways at the entrance, she shouts after him; “See you later, will be on the other ship today if I'm not back.”

“Noted,” he groans, picking up speed towards his private bathroom. Yep, hit the nail on the head.

Boarding the Thousand Sunny, she runs into quite a few of the crew hanging outside despite the cloudy day. Kat also can hear Franky and Zoro doing their thing somewhere unseen, too. It's quite chilly... she should get something warmer from one of those drawers.

“Hi, guys,” she waves, looking out for Sanji while at it.

“Hi, Kat,” is what the council of Usopp, Luffy, Carrot and Chopper say in unison while discussing something with quite some zeal at the railing. Nami and Robin, who seem to be on their way inside, wave back; without further ado, she joins them.

“Hey,” she greets them again upon catching up. Nami just nods and hums as she's already engrossed in the fresh newspaper she's been holding.

“How's it going, Miss Kat?” asks the archeologist with a gentle smile on her face.

“Out on food hunt,” she replies, also breaking into a smile. Seeing Robin being pleased has this... odd effect on her; it's almost as if she was proud of herself. A foreign feeling, but even if she thinks of it as undeserved, it's nice to have. “It feels rude to ask, but do you think I could join you guys today? I'm trying not to anger Law and things... have also gotten awkward on the other ship.”

“Well, we've already finished... but if you'd like, we could ask Sanji for something and you can join us for dessert at the aquarium,” she responds, sprouting an arm to hold the door for Nami, who sings a 'thank you~ ♡'.

“That sounds great, actually.” She does like the place quite a lot, after all.

Arriving at the seats, she stops and Nami plops down immediately, while Robin talks into a door on the middle of the pillar that's definitely part of the ship's main mast; Kat can hear Sanji's enthusiastic voice echo from inside. Whatever's going on, he's been waiting for her arrival.

“What is this?” she asks stepping up to the woman, pointing at the mechanism.

“A small elevator for snacks. Cute, isn't it?” Robin smiles.

“Can't argue with that.” Practical, too... thinking about it, this is right under the kitchen. She peeks a little up the hole. “That's cool... stuff like this has always fascinated me, but I never really took the time to get into mechanics.”

“You should ask Franky or Usopp, I'm sure they'd love someone listen to their rambling,” she says, sitting onto a nearby chair. “You spend quite some time over here now, after all.”

Kat hums; she's right. She could pick up some technical stuff from those two... even botany from Usopp, her mother has a green thumb, after all. Might as well hit up Brook for fencing lessons, she's always wanted to try her hand at that... Could even ask Chopper (or Law, to be honest) some questions about medicine and such, Sanji for some simple recipes while he's still calm around her... the possibilities on this ship are near limitless and so very tentative. The excitement over it tickles her heart.

She has to find the courage and energy to engage any of them, though. But she knows herself better than to wait for that.

On the other hand... “That's a pretty good idea... maybe you could also share some cool stuff I don't know about?” She has little to no qualms chatting with certain people who she finds just... always so easy to talk to.

A small glint appears in Robin's eyes. “And what is it that you would want me to tell you?”

Kat furrows her brows while thinking. “Hard to pick... you know basically everything there is to know know, you know?” With that, she also sits down.

She laughs. “That's a stretch, but a flattering one.”

Before she could continue, the mechanism next to them is put into motion and once the elevator hits their level, a muffled 'bon appétit, my fair ladies~' resounds through the shaft. Or just the floor... he must have been too much into it and made a pose facing away. Either way, that was damn fast.

Robin takes out two sets of cake slices and what appears to be cocktails and passes one of them over to Nami a bit farther away through some extra limbs.

Noticing that, she looks up from her newspaper. “Robin, you really didn't have to...”

She just smiles back at her, then returns her attention to Kat, who has carefully lifted out the glass of orange juice and a plate of what appears to be a dish consisting of a variation of mashed potatoes and some fish with dressing. The glass of white wine remains inside.

“You don't drink?”

“No. Well... at times I drink a cider in summer, and am willing to down a glass of champagne at New Year's, but that's about it,” she says, rather eager to dig in; the food smells really nice. “I don't like the bitter taste of alcohol, nor its effects.”

Robin leans onto an arm and watches her for a little bit, then hums. “Had some unfortunate experiences with it, I assume.”

Kat swallows the food she's been shoveling inside. “Eh, that too, yeah.” She's kinda thankful to her grandfather for trying to make her drink wine when she was about five years old. She's always hated bitter things, and that sealed the deal for a lifetime: one less alcoholic in the family.

“It's understandable. You know,” the woman starts after taking a sip of the reddish drink, “how about you tell me about yourself a little first?”

“Oh... I... already talk too much about myself whenever I don't pay attention, though,” she protests, settling her eyes on her plate.

Robin cuts a piece of cake, contemplating. “I've yet to hear one of your famous rants... Since you are unsure about what to talk about, it would make my job easier to decide where to start with this 'basically everything' I know, you know? How about this question instead: what kind of life would make you happy?”

Kat stuffs another spoonful of those delicious potatoes into her mouth. This sounds like a school assignment for children... not a terribly hard to answer one, either. “A simple one. With a small and comfortable place to live in, close to some settlement and next to the woods. I would earn enough to buy the food and drink I need, or the material for anything I'd like to draw or make. Maybe participate in fairs with my junk, and bake cookies for schools around some bigger holiday.” She nods. That's the basics. “A library of my own... and some animals would be nice, too. Chickens, a cat... some goats, maybe.” She's always found them rather charming. But she doesn't trust herself with taking care of anything, be it animals, children, or even plants, so it's all just fantasy. It wouldn't be so lonely with either, though. She wouldn't leave the house for human contact if she magically had everything at home that money could buy, after all. “All in all, just take up as little space I can... then disappear without a trace.” With noone to mourn her. As if she never existed.

She hums with another piece of sweet dough in her mouth. Those were more the words of a disillusioned child than that of a budding young woman technically co-leading a successful little business. “Quite a romantic image. That's not a whole lot, though.”

Looking back onto her near-empty plate, Kat takes a deep sigh. The air feels so heavy in her lungs. “It's not... that's why it always weirds me out when I think about it. That it's so little to wish for and yet seems unattainable, I mean.” External and personal hurdles notwithstanding. What she has now is likely the closest she could ever get, and it's fine that way.

Robin takes another long sip from her drink. “True.” Putting the glass down, she continues; “Would you like to see what kind of stuff I've dug up lately, then?”

The archeologist sees Kat's eyes light up before she gives some decisive and enthusiastic nods as the last remainders of her lunch interfere with a verbal answer. She smiles anew- children do love playthings, do they not?

“You'll love the panel painting and grail we've found hidden in a cave that turned out to be the entrance to an old burial place,” Nami chips in as she walks over with the empty dishes in her hand and the haphazardly folded newspaper under her arm. “Nice stubble, by the way,” she giggles before continuing her read, leaning against the counter behind Kat with one ear open.

Latter touches her face- welp, Nami's not wrong. Didn't seem to be that bad in the mirror and with soap on, but realizing how prickly she's gotten will annoy her on the long run. Will have to ask Law about that. Later. There's a much more exciting topic to pay attention to now.

“What are they like?” she asks, swinging the seat under her to the sides.

“They need a little restoration, but are fine and elaborate pieces from about three hundred years ago,” Robin states. “Long missing pieces from a monastery in the West; we must have found the stash of some long dead thieves or pirates,” the older woman sighs. “The actual graves were from a much earlier period than the artifacts, though, and still had human remains in them.” She can't help but wonder what else may have been there before the savages disturbed the bones...

Kat is all ears while slurping her juice. Sometimes she thinks about giving up archeology as soon as she started learning about history- keeping track of all the numbers and dates she acknowledged she wouldn't be able to do, after all. Even that wouldn't have changed dropping out of college, though. Either way, she wants to see this.

“I'm so skipping the sucky training for this tomorrow,” she states with enthusiasm to both of the girls' amusement.