#anyway interpret this however you want. but in my head its like

[nanabansama]

scorpion's heart

Sometimes while thinking about TBHK thoughts will run through my head that I realize aren't universal among the fandom. I have actually touched upon this topic before, but I still wanted to make a quick post for the uninformed about an official parallel drawn between Tsukasa and a moment in a beloved piece of Japanese literature.

Night on the Galactic Railroad is a classic Japanese novel often taught in Japanese classrooms, similar to how English classics will often be taught in the Anglosphere. It's well known in Japan for this reason, and for the sake of this post I'll assume you either haven't heard of it or that you don't know much about it. Regardless, this post is centering on only a small portion of the novel, so you won't come away from it with a total understanding of what it's all about. I encourage you to check it out yourself!

As you might be able to tell by the name, the story involves a boy riding a train through a fantastical version of outerspace. During his trip through the cosmos, he meets others riding the train. One of these people tells him the story of Antares, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpio. Already there is one connection to the story of Hanako-kun, that being Amane's infamous monologue about the star during the Picture Perfect arc.

The story goes as follows: a scorpion was being chased by a weasel. In a last ditch effort to escape the weasel, it threw itself into a well. But the scorpion had no means of escape, and realized it was going to die there. The scorpion bemoans this fate, because as a predator it has only ever taken life away. It regrets not taking the chance to help the weasel, even if it would only help the weasel live a single day longer. And now the scorpion is going to die having helped no one.

So it prays to God, and asks that its body be used to bring happiness to everyone. And as if God had heard its plea, the scorpion's body burst into a brilliant red flame. This same light is said to be the star Antares, the heart of the Scorpio constellation.

...so! Already somewhat superficially you can compare this story to Tsukasa and the Red House. Little guy jumps into hole/well,

little guy makes a wish to a God to bring happiness to others,

little guy bursts into flames...

Personally I find these alone to be staggering similarities, but it leaves you asking: What is the significance of this?

Well, I tend to interpret it as a reflection of Tsukasa's selflessness. I think Tsukasa's intentions as a child were very pure. But later on it seems like this selflessness distorts into something else, something more twisted. Regardless, Tsukasa's motivations involve destroying himself for other people's happiness. His own destruction will bring happiness to Sakura (she needs all the yorishiro to be destroyed to have her wish granted) and also Amane, who has a wish of his own he wants granted.

Anyway, besides Amane comparing himself to Antares in Picture Perfect, we also have this official Night on the Galactic Railroad AU art with Tsukasa bearing the tail of the scorpion:

Note the red flame on the tip of his stinger. (And most importantly note his cuteness. 🦂🔥❤️)

Touching briefly upon Amane's Antares story in Picture Perfect, there aren't many obvious comparisons to draw between it and Night on the Galactic Railroad. However, one thing I'll touch upon is how Antares is a binary star, or a "twin star." It being a binary star isn't talked about in Night on the Galactic Railroad, but Amane mentions it. He also mentions how you can't normally see its twin. This is because its twin is a main sequence star, much less bright than the red supergiant Antares. It was only ever discovered that Antares had a twin when the moon covered the red supergiant and an astromer spotted the main sequence star beside it. Perhaps Amane and Tsukasa are supposed to represent the red flame of Antares in different ways, but it does make me wonder if Amane is meant to represent the little main sequence star too, since Tsukasa is very clearly the red flame in this story. But considering Amane's analysis of Antares is so much more scientific than the fantastical version seen in Night on the Galactic Railroad, I think it's safer to regard these as fundamentally separate stories. Still fun to consider however.

But if we did want to talk about the scientific implications of Tsukasa being Antares, I'd bring up how red supergiants often become black holes, almost the antithesis of what the scorpion wanted to become. The scorpion wanted to bring light and happiness to everyone, but a black hole only devours and destroys, just the thing the scorpion didn't want to be anymore. I don't think Tsukasa started in the same place as the scorpion, who regretted its life of selfishness... but it makes me wonder if he's meant to be the anti-scorpion: a selfless being becoming a black hole of destruction. That's a very sad way of looking at things, but it's hard not to think of it when we see what's happened to him in the series as a whole:

In the context of Night on the Galactic Railroad, the scorpion is regarded as a selfless hero. Although another character expresses distastes for dangerous creatures like the scorpion, the character who tells the Antares story argues that the scorpion is a fundamentally good creature. It's another one of those little things in Hanako-kun that reminds me that Tsukasa, for all his faults, has good inside him too. But it does leave me wondering how far this comparison will go, and what that means for Tsukasa's fate. Will he continue to sacrifice himself till the end? And will that sacrifice be for the good of everyone, or only a few?

My favorite part about all this is there's no answer! It's just a fun comparison AidaIro made that helps recontextualize Tsukasa's character. Is this a meaningful comparison, or just a surface-level one? Will his story end the same way as the scorpion, or will he subvert expectations? Who knows! I mostly just think back on it and remember that Tsukasa started as an extremely selfless character that still displays these traits in the manga today, even as a nefarious ghost. Maybe he is isn't misunderstood like the scorpion, but he's certainly just as tragic. Thanks for reading!

[alchemie-tarot]

Material Blessings

Hello! Long time, no pick-a-card. The Universe has sent me a few things to deal with since my last post, lessons and blessings alike. My creative energy is having a new life and I just want to do it for myself and share it with the world. Yes, that includes sharing more of my photography from past travels.

I meant to post this during my bias season, Taurus, but I have been taking it easy with my body, and trusting the timing with it. This pick-a-card is also shorter than my previous ones.

Anyway. Welcome back. You know the drill: Take a breath. Feel free to choose the pile or piles that call out to you. Some details may not feel like it’s for you and that’s because it isn’t, it’s alright, since this is a general reading. Please don’t take it too seriously as well. Nothing is set in stone. 

Pile 1

Cards: 4 of Cups, 10 of Swords (I had a bit of a mind exercise with this message.)

Your material blessing is something that you will receive, but its purpose is to make you realize that something you already have may have been taken for granted. I see that it’s something shiny to you, “a shiny toy,” whether it’s figurative or literal. It may be something that is a bit of a flex somehow. It may also remind you of something that you wanted in the past, maybe as a child, but couldn’t attain then. It will give you that mood boost and yes, you will enjoy it for a time. But, ultimately, you will find that it does not go as deep as you thought it would.

If you feel like something that you have previously enjoyed is losing its luster, even if it has been in your life for a long time, maybe that is a message for you. Is it really rooted in sentimental value, or is it from a fear of lack?

Eventually declining something that is coming your way may sound counterintuitive for a reading about material blessings. But, heed detached feelings and they will remind you of what really matters. Let go of what has served its purpose in your life, especially if they have pointed out what gives you long-term value. Be true to your principles, that you won’t spend your energy on things not aligned with you. Remember that “all that glitters is not gold.”

Pile 2

Cards: 2 of Wands, King of Swords

A business opportunity, specifically a trip to somewhere. A ticket. Could also be a gift coming from a far place. A box of fruits or wine, specifically, for a few. An invitation to a party, again, for a few. For the majority, travel is really emphasized.

It was 2:22 PM when I was interpreting these cards, and this is the 2nd Pile, and this pile has the 2 of Wands. Amazing. You may be getting two things. A double of something, or some combination of the ones I mentioned.

Whatever you will be receiving will grant you access to something exclusive. Opened doors that will basically, I believe, reconcile two separate aspects of your life (your career and family life, for example). They can be anything. Not only will you be let through these gates, but you will be given the keys to hold them.

You need more structure for this material blessing coming to you. To do that, your guides advise you to lean into your duality. Practice and get good at multitasking. You may have to hold two different things that require a ton of responsibility. Do not waver or be intimidated, however. You are chosen because you are wholly capable of doing this. Self-discipline and judgment are your friends.

Pile 3

Cards: 8 of Wands, 7 of Swords

You are about to get news about something pending. Since this is a material blessing, it is about finances, for the majority. A letter, the approval of a loan, insurance, came at the top of my head. Especially if it is something that you have wanted to do for a while, or have been waiting a long time for. Something that will solve your problems.

For some, this is something that you will gain as a reward for being resourceful. It could be an inheritance, or it simply was someone else’s previously. A specific image for a few, but it is something colorful and could appeal to your creativity or inner child.

Once you receive this blessing, you are advised to gather all your smarts in order to make sure it doesn’t slip from your hands. Don’t get complacent. Make a full-proof strategy for this. Bend the rules when you can. Don’t let yourself be distracted by schemes and excuses to use this for a purpose other than its original one, or somehow turn this into something it is not. Be careful not to give in to greed.

Pile 4

Cards: Wheel of Fortune, Page of Coins

A very unexpected gift, perhaps a long overdue one for something good that you have done in the past, that you may not even recall. A big reward for a big risk you took. Something you worked diligently and pushed the limits for, used your creativity and resourcefulness for, everything. And it comes with a bow on top. For a few, it’s something sweet, could be a food treat? This gift translates into some kind of knowledge that not only benefits you, but a lot of other people as well, a community. This gift will start up a web of connections that root from you.

This is not something everybody comes along often. Set tangible goals to ground this. Lead by example and hope, I’m hearing. Your success has a direct effect on the sacrifices and mindsets of this community looking up to you. You will definitely lift them up in some way, perhaps through a gathering. Maybe you will host a party, or a kind of workshop.

Share these blessings of yours, but not at the expense of yourself. The moment you feel that something is amiss, you must withdraw accordingly, and you are encouraged not to feel bad for that. Boundaries must be established and respected.

Thank you for gracing my post with your presence and thoughts. Take care and be happy!

[heycarrots]

There’s been a lot of discourse about the nature of James and Miranda’s relationship. There’s even been a lot of discussion on my podcast about it. One thing I want to make clear is that my podcast is a platform for discussion on all points of view. I’m not going to agree, 100%, with everything that’s said, but it makes the views of my guests no less valid. There’s no right or wrong, here, because this is art and therefore, it is subject to interpretation.

My intent, however, is to attempt to get as close to the original intent of the actors as possible because we look at a show or a film or a play as going through several layers of distillation. Each level purifies the intended narrative leaving its truest essence.

When we make a reduction sauce using an alcohol of some kind, let’s say a red wine, the heat applied to it burns off things we don’t need for flavor. You’re never going to get drunk off of red wine reduction because there’s almost no alcohol left in it. That all gets burned off, leaving only the flavor components, which is what we wanted all along, anyway. We want that extra element that enriches the flavor of the steak, by adding nuance.

So let’s take apart that meal.

We start with the birth of the idea. The story kicks around in an author’s head, trying to get out, growing bigger and more persistent until it outgrows the confines of the mental box inspiration is stored in and has to be let out. That idea, that’s the cow.

The author raises that idea, feeds it, watches it grow, and then, ultimately slaughters it. That sounds awful, but once you have that idea pulsing, growing, evolving and then finally commit the final draft on paper, it is a kind of death. The life of the story comes to an end and it becomes memorialized in a mausoleum. Readers will come to visit, spend time with it, lay down flowers, cherish it, and mourn its passing.

The next level is adaptation. That’s the steak. There are many ways you can slice the story, large roasts encompassing the whole story or a smaller, hyper-focused character study fillet mignon.

A writers room gets hold of the cow and carves it up. They choose what gets cooked and what gets tossed. A GREAT group of writers saves the bones. They take in the entire supporting structure of the piece and while the whole story may not make it onto the screen, they will have slow roasted the bones for a stock. When you watch a show like Black Sails, where themes are introduced that won’t fully be explained or explored until several seasons later, that’s what that is. It is the stock being used to flavor the whole dish. You’ve distilled the entire cow to its purest essence and so every scene, every line of dialogue, every acting choice, encompasses the entirety of the story. A line from episode one is defined by knowledge of the finale and in regard to dialogue, defined by an actors’ knowledge of a character’s backstory. There are many writers rooms who are creating the bones of the story as they go, which means they aren’t starting with a rich stock. You can’t trace back character motivations or choices to begin with because those motivations changed throughout production.

Black Sails, again, isn’t one of those shows. Steinberg and Levine came into the writers room with their stock pot full and sloshing, spilling story everywhere. The richness of the details they were laying can make season one a bit hard to consume unless you are ready for a story on that level. Viewers need to come to the table with some bread to sop up all those character details because we WILL need them later.

Over the course of finalizing scripts and blocking out episodes, the steak is cooked. Like any great steak, this story is medium rare. More juice comes out with every bite. It’s what makes the show infinitely rewatchable. It continues to cook on the plate, but because it wasn’t overdone, it never dries out.

When the actors get ahold of it, that’s the reduction sauce we were talking about. That sauce provides nuance and flavor. That’s the emotion. A line of dialogue on a page is just ink. It’s nothing until it’s spoken aloud. And like any bit of language in this world, it’s subject to interpretation. In this case, it’s the actor who does the interpreting.

I spoke on the podcast about the art of subtext and how huge a role it plays in Black Sails. One example we used is Jane Eyre. It’s one of the most frequently adapted novels in the English language and with each adaptation, we get a new version of our characters. The most volatile and subject to change is Rochester. There are MANY versions of Rochester that I find appalling (including the original beast in the book), but each actor has formed him into something else, based on their performance. Toby Stephens takes Rochester and turns him into a silly tragic romantic, broken many times over by a society he never really fits into, despite the status of his birth. He connects with Ruth Wilson’s Jane because she fully and happily inhabits that space on the fringes that Rochester thinks he needs to climb out of. Jane takes his hand on the outside of the wall, turns him away from the guarded palace and shows him the wild world that was at his back this whole time.

This is what Toby Stephens, Luke Arnold, Louise Barnes, Zethu Dlomo, and really all the actors for whom their subtextual choices make them reflect like prisms, have done with their performances.

In the final distillation, character motivations and emotions are finalized by the actor. Writers can pontificate, the source material lies dead in its lovely tomb, but stories live and breathe by their storytellers.

What we’re left with is Toby’s face telling the world how deeply Flint loves Silver. Every single choice tells this story.

We’re left with Luke showing us how much Silver is repressing in his feelings for Flint. Luke’s face shows us an incredible depth of feeling and a door slamming shut.

We’re left with the incredible intimacy between James and Miranda, which speaks of a decade of shared physical intimacy. There’s an openness, a freeness to it until the moment in episode 3 when Miranda learns that James has found the Urca and is leaving soon to pursue it. She gives some of it away when she says “I thought I’d have you all to myself”. She is mourning the loss of intimacy that she only gets in short windows of time. They aren’t strained because James isn’t attracted to her, but because he’s rarely there. She has him for a few days at a time before he’s off on another hunt. The coldness starts from the moment he tells her he’s leaving in a few days because I believe she thinks he won’t be coming back, that this is the hunt he won’t survive and she’ll finally have lost both James and Thomas. From the moment Richard Guthrie darkens her door, she’s looking for a way to weaponize him and get them out. For her, it’s a race against the clock and she’s willing to sacrifice a bit of her relationship with James in the present to secure happiness for them in the future.

This is also why James still has sex with her before leaving, even though he’s furious for her reading Meditations to Richard. This is how they connect. They connected through physical intimacy in the flashbacks, as well. Him stroking her thumb in the carriage before the kiss. Tactile contact to seal their understanding of each other. Miranda bracing her hands on his chest during important moments in the Hamilton’s home, something she also does to Thomas, to show physical connection, physical intimacy. Miranda thrives on physical touch.

To think that, for 10 years, James is lying there like an object for Miranda to use, is, to me, short sighted. To think that James doesn’t love Miranda outside of a group, is also ignoring the fact that, 10 years on, James will not leave on a hunt (angry as they both are) without physically connecting with her, trying so hard to reach beyond his anger and the wound freshly opened from sight of that book he’s chosen not to look at for probably the better part of those 10 years. The way his hands hover over her back after she comes and he desperately wants to be with her in that moment, like the best of their moments, but he just can’t, speaks to the depth of his love for her.

So many fans of the show point to this sad sex scene as one of the most important character moments for James and Miranda, but I consistently come to the opposite conclusions about WHY it’s important and what we learn from it, because I’m taking my cues from the actor’s choices, not the director or the writers. On the page, in plain ink, he hates having sex with her. Toby and Louise show us, however, that they are trying to recapture a thing that is fleeting, reaching out to each other to patch up an old wound from which the scab has been picked off, leaving it seeping and raw.

From Toby’s performance, regardless of the words he uses years later to describe it, we see not a character who “loves men” or a character who “loves women”, but a character who LOVES. I don’t see Flint defining that love in terms of boxes and parameters. He’s a character who must be coaxed out, but then loves without reason, without a safety net, as he proves with his love of Silver. As was also referenced by a guest on the podcast, he places a sword in Silver’s hand and says “do it”.

Anyway, this post got away from me and took several turns, but the love between James and Miranda being dismissed by so many in the fandom has been bugging me for a while and I just needed to emotionally vomit on tumblr.

[katz-chow]

im a ghost girlie but my love for soap is literally incomprehensible and i have this headcanon where its ghost x reader but soap third wheels all the time and its not like in a mean way at all, they’re just a trio that is basically inseparable. i also hc that they make so many jokes about being a throuple to the point where its not rlly a joke anymore lmao. anyway, this is all to ask if you’ll write some headcanons about that dynamic. fluff ofc! if u feel comfortable writing a little bit of poly soap x reader x ghost, i’d be very gracious 🙏🏽 but no pressure!

soap, simon, and the not-so-single parent

warnings: gn!reader, ghost x reader, soap x platonic!reader, my interpretation of ghost & soap, domesticity, fluff, johnny being johnny, simon being simon, reader being the concerned parent, third-wheel soap

a/n: this shit be on my mind constantly that johnny just loves to annoy and thirdwheel reader & simon. some of this is inspired by irl stuff. i'm not really into a poly triangle personally and i just can't imagine them, especially simon, to be okay with it, sorry!

humble beginnings

johnny didn't find out that simon had a romantic partner until you two reached past your 1 year anniversary. it happened by pretty much chance too, here's how that went: simon forgot a file, you were off of work, you drove to base, you dropped off said file using your dependent clearance, he kissed your cheek goodbye right in the doorway of his office (masked), johnny turned the corner, and as simon pulled away, you looked at johnny who was desperately trying to seem busy on his phone as he walked away hurriedly. he was on the calculator app. simon and you gave each other a look and he nodded, knowing that you've been wanting to meet the colorful coworkers (and his closest friends) for a while now. you called him over, soap, as you've remembered, not everyday you see a mohawk. johnny freezes and turned around to see you beckoning him back to the frame of the office, and simon with his arms crossed, staring a bit annoyed actually. he was chill when you two introduced each other, not wanting to embarrass himself. his eyes lit up though, when he heard you invite him over for dinner. "lovie..." simon started out, a gentle hand on your back. you hit his chest with the back of your head playfully, "no, no, this will be good for us. first diner party in our new house" "HOUSE? HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD SOMEONE" he wanted to scream at simon's face, what came out however was a "i dinnae want to be a bother to you both" you insisted and he felt bad (but also curious), so dinner it was. simon took off his mask to please you and well, it was the comfort of his home. he rolled his eyes as johnny quipped that he certainly was "quite the opposite". from that day forward, it was the three of you against...manchester i guess?

children, the both of them

johnny tags along whenever you two are running errands on leave or on off days when they're both stationed at home. sometimes it's just you and him, or him and simon, or all three of yall. it started with a "we're having brunch, wanna join?" and now it's more like "we're going to the zoo, 9 am, get there" they make up the weirdest challenges and it feels like you're babysitting them both. simon, doesn't see it, he's a grown adult man, he's not silly. johnny says it's just in his nature like how it's natural that wombats poop in cubes (he walked ahead to read that tidbit and walked back to regurgitate it back at the two of you). challenges include: simon and johnny getting into a long debate about which is better, the smoked salmon crepes or the chocolate crepes, and when they mix them together, who can eat it all without puking? who can get to the butterfly sanctuary the fastest without running? who can find your favorite fish in the 30,000 gallon (113562.35 liter) fish tank WHILE holding their breath as if they were swimming in the water johnny telling you that his jokes are the best, simon butting in and using the "i'm your boyfriend, surely my jokes are better" card. you wanted to throw them both out of the car as they kept going back and forth with the most stupidest, tasteless, dad jokes ever. johnny saying he can drive better than simon. simon saying he can fly a broken helicopter and land safely. you're in the driver's seat. simon quipped that he would be a good artist compared to this shit's canvas (picasso) and johnny saying that his cat can paint better. simon said dogs can do it better. johnny said- you get the idea simon threw up after the 8th time on a rollercoaster. johnny threw up on the 9th. you, however, went through a nice scenic boat ride :)

quiet mornings

you three are closer than yall think. whenever they're both away, you always miss the noise they bring in the kitchen, trying to figure out how to make muffins or...popcorn. the three of you doing the daily wordle, crossword, and sudoku. "what's c for?" "c4 is an explosive, bonnie" "no johnny, what does C STAND FOR? fucking idiot..." mornings when you both are expecting johnny are never quiet, especially when he announces that he's there by knocking on the front door and saying "it's johnny!" when someone opens it. even when he's not there, you can at least hear simon's almost silent breaths if it wasn't for how close you two were. you miss them when they have to leave, you know it can't be forever, but damnit you missed the buzzing of them both. you don't miss, however, johnny and simon playing drunk monopoly.

[talxe]

Reading the Iliad, Book 10 thoughts

This is my first time ever reading it and I know next to nothing abt greek mythology so if I interpret anything wrong by all means pls correct me

Im reading the Robert Fagles translation

This book is short but does not lack in the entertainment department

Agamemnon can't sleep bc how can he with the war going the way it is?

So he goes out to find Nestor but as he's doing that he runs into his brother Menelaus who also cannot sleep and is doing the same thing Agamemnon is abt to do

Menelaus pitches the idea that they should send someone to spy on the Trojans. However, he's almost sure that no one is going to want to do this job bc its super dangerous

Agamemnon agrees bc the very thought of Hector is making him sweat hard asf

So they split up to gather a council. Agamemnon says he'll get Nestor and tells Menelaus to grab Ajax (Greater), Idomeneus, Meriones, and Nestor's son.

I don't think they say the name of Nestor's son in book 10 or maybe they said it in an earlier book bc I don't know who tf Nestor's son is lol

But Menelaus asks "Um where tf am I supposed to meet you after I'm done??" I really like how NO ONE clears anything up unless asked too

They decide to meet back at Agamemnon's tent

Agamemnon ends up scaring the shit out of Nestor when he enters his tent.

Nestor's like 80 you can't be scaring him like that😭

Nestor suggests they grab Dio, Ody, Ajax (Lesser), and Phyleus for this meeting too

Then Nestor starts shit-talking Menelaus out of nowhere???? LMAO😭😭

"Ur brother's so fucking lazy lol, we still need to get Ajax and Idomeneus but they're on the other side of camp." -Nestor

Why is he acting like Menelaus hasn't been pulling his weight this WHOLE time? Hello?

Then Agamemnon says "You're right as always buuut Meneluas is doing that very thing as we speak so..."

Menelaus catching strays this book ig

Odysseus gets super pissy at Nestor for waking him up so I'm going to assume he's one of those ppl who are just in a bad mood after being woken up. He doesn't seem to be a morning person at all

Nestor shouts at Diomedes to "WAKE UP." A complete 180 from how he woke up Odysseus btw

"Why are u yelling at me?" - Diomedes

After everyone is rounded up in Agamemnon's tent Nestor presents their plan in a way that really told me a lot abt his character

He's like "Hmmmm I wonder who would be willing to spy on the Trojans for us? It has its risks ofc but think of the glory he'd receive upon his return, all the gifts? All the men will ask him to their feasts" (it's a feast not the fucking prom💀)

I really like the way Nestor says it. I can just imagine having been a young man himself at one point he knows how to play into the egos of the men around him

Diomedes is the first to jump at this opportunity

But Dio says he needs a partner and everyone stands up to volunteer

But he picks Ody

Jump to the Trojan camp: Guess who had the same plan as Menelaus? Hector, they have like, the exact same plan.

Dolon who is just some ugly guy decides he'll be the Trojan spy

Both teams of spies run into each other

And Dolon starts running for his life

Diomedes and Odysseus end up catching this guy and he automatically starts crying

Ody asks him a whole bunch of questions abt their camp

Dolon is the world's worst spy bc he tells them everything and by the end he asks "You guys are going to spare my life now, right?"

And Diomedes just goes "Nah.♥️" and CUT THIS MANS HEAD CLEAN OFF

They loot his body and give the armor to Athena

Anyways they get to the Thracians who are currently asleep and Ody and Dio see that the Thracians have some nice ass horses

Diomedes kills 13 of them while they sleep, one was a king.

Once it's time to go Athena has to come down and tell Diomedes that it is time to stop and go home. (they take to horses)

Apollo watches this whole mission happen and wakes up the Trojans

Dio and Ody make it back to camp, Nestor asks where those nice ass horses and that's the end of the book

[die-pink-maus]

A Weekend in Vienna 🇦🇹

While vacationing in Germany, Chantelle’s (OC) best friend, Adrian (also an OC), books an impromptu trip to Vienna to visit extended family. Chantelle decides to join her for the last few days of her trip, where she meets an interesting friend of Adrian’s family who offers to show the two around the city for the weekend🤭

TW: Pretty much none, not for this chapter anyway, but things will get 🌶️spicy🌶️ in the next parts. Also there is an age gap between OC and König, she is 25 and he is about 36-37.

CW: FemOCs, female pronouns used, while both characters are technically OCs please feel free to imagine them however you’d like, ultimately the main character is the reader, I just didn’t want to use “Y/N” so I gave them names 🙈

Word Count: 1,516

*DISCLAIMER*

This is my first time EVER writing any kind of fan fiction so please go easy on me 😭 if you like where things are going, likes and reblogs would be greatly appreciated! If you’d like to see anything in particular in the next part or part(s), I’d love to hear it!

This version of König is based on the above interpretation drawn by @lettaniko (I hope you don’t mind me using it! I absolutely love this drawing it’s perfect! 🫶🏼)

I like a nice build up to the smut so if you like to get right into it this is probably not going to be for you…but if you can wait I it out I promise it’ll be worth it 😂

Enjoy! 💋

7:30am. There’s approximately 30 minutes before my train departs for Vienna, and I still haven’t reached the train station yet. I scrambled as I dashed out of my hotel room, hoping I’d left the place in a somewhat decent state and I hadn’t forgotten anything valuable as got into the elevator. I’ve been exploring Munich for the past two weeks and I’ve been having the absolute time of my life. Although traveling alone can be quite scary, oddly enough, I’ve never felt more at home. Munich is such a vibrant city, filled with all kinds of exciting things to do and I’ve met so many incredible people, it’s definitely been the experience of a lifetime. To say that I am not looking forward to going back home to Vancouver would be an understatement, but all good things must come to an end. I’d spent about a year and a half learning to speak German, and promised myself that I would plan a trip in celebration of achieving fluency, so here I am! Now, Vienna wasn’t initially on my list of places to visit when I decided to come to Germany, but my best friend, Adrian, ended up booking a spur of the moment flight last week to visit extended family in Austria and suggested I come hangout with her during the last few days of my trip. Seeing as its only a 3-4hr train ride from Munich, I figured why the hell not! I’ve heard Vienna is beautiful, and Im at all not opposed to exploring another city.

Upon arrival at the train station in Vienna I was greeted by Arian, excitedly jumping up and down while holding up a large white sign that read “Willkommen in Wien, Schlampe!” I rolled my eyes and shook my head, laughing as I got off the train and ran over to her, tackling her in a tight embrace as she laughed hysterically. “Did you have to let the whole station know that I’m a bitch or…?”

“Honestly, they should’ve known the moment they saw you.” She said jokingly. “How was the ride over?” She asked.

“Amazing, I haven’t slept that well in years. It also didn’t feel like a 4 hour train ride.”

“Trains in out here are quite quick so I wouldn’t be surprised if it somehow took less time. They definitely shit on the ones we have back home.”

“Oh for sure.” I agreed as we began walking over to the car.

“So a family friend of ours just came back from a mission in the states, he’s in the military bee tee dubs —“

“Yeah kinda pieced that together when you said ‘mission’.” I chuckled.

“I don’t drive out here so he’s gonna give us a ride back to my aunts, cool?”

“Sounds good.”

“He’s also a lot more familiar with Vienna than I am, so he offered to show us around a bit later on this evening.” Aw how nice of him. Knowing Adrian, the first place she’ll want to be taken to is the nearest bar, that girl can drink! If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my time in Germany, and my 10 years of friendship with Adrian, it’s that Europeans love their liquor. There are people from all parts of Europe in Germany and that’s one thing that remains quite consistent across the board. I also love my liquor, which is probably why I ended up fitting in so well.

We finally arrived at the car and opened the trunk to begin loading all of my luggage inside. I’d brought a small carryon suitcase, a duffle bag, as well as a large suitcase that was full of clothes I’d over packed from home, and a bunch of other clothes and souvenirs I’d bought in Munich. “Okay this one’s gonna be a tad heavy.” I warned as Adrian grabbed hold of the handle on the top. I reached forward to try to help her lift, but neither of us could manage the weight. “I got it.” His voice was low, but gentle. He had an accent, but it wasn’t overwhelming or harsh, nor did it make anything he said hard to understand. I wasn’t expecting to see the person I saw when I’d finally caught a glimpse of him…I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man like this in my entire life. Adrian and I stepped back as he grabbed hold of the suitcase, lifting it with absolute ease, as if it were light as a feather. His arm muscles bulged within the confines of his olive green long sleeved shirt as he tossed the suitcase inside the trunk. My heart began to race, It felt as if I was watching him move in slow motion. “Easy peasy.” He smirked as he turned around and looked down at me, his dazzling dark blue eyes awash with amusement at Adrian and I’s prior struggle. Jesus Christ…This man is an absolute unit. He’s gotta be at least 6 foot 7, if not taller. He’s incredibly easy on the eyes in a rough and rugged kinda way — a nice low trimmed beard, medium length dark brown hair, and a smile that is captivatingly dangerous to say the least. His presence alone exudes a confidence that causes me to grow weak in the knees. “I’m König,” he smiled knowingly as he stretched his hand out towards me. I know I’m definitely not the first woman to look at him the way I am. Even though I’m trying to keep my composure, it’s very clear that he can see right through it. “And you must be Chantelle?” He asked, eyes slowly roaming about my frame from head to toe. He bites his lip slightly as they return to my gaze, suggesting so much without saying any words at all. “I — yes.” I blushed, sheepishly brushing my hair behind my ear as I shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.” He said. “Oh yeah, König Chantelle, Chantelle König.” Adrian yelled from the backseat. He laughed and shook his head as he closed the trunk.

We arrived at Adrian’s aunts house about 45 minutes later. König helped us load all of my things into the foyer before letting us know he’d be coming back in a few hours to take us out to this bar that he and a few of his buddies on his task force frequent whenever they’re home. I’ve been thinking about him ever since he left — those mysterious blue eyes, the way he slightly bites his lower lip just before laughing at something ridiculous Adrian has said, the way his arm muscles swell beneath his shirt with the slightest movement…God, he’s sexy. I could think of a million different ways I’d want him to ruin me. The thought alone of being trapped beneath his large brawny frame writhing in pleasure as he thrusts into me over and over has me clenching around nothing. Though I’m not usually one for a one time fling, I have a feeling he’d be able to convince me. “So, you wanna tell me what all of that was about?” Adrian asked as she helped me settle into the guest room. “What are you talking about?” I asked. “Since when are you a shy girl?” She giggled. Sigh. I figured she was referencing my unusual silence during the car ride over here. “He’s hot as fuck but I’ve never seen you like that before.”

“Ugh!” I groaned as I covered my face with a pillow. She’s right. I’m not very easily intimidated. I’m quite the confident woman and I ensure everyone in the room knows it, but this was different. Almost as if our energies were fighting for dominance, and mine didn’t stand a chance. “Hey if it’s any consolation, my jaw dropped the first time I saw him without his mask too.” Mask?

“Mask?” I asked.

“Yes…the last time I was here he was on base training recruits, so I’d see him often in full tactical gear. He’s a snipper, so he wears a mask to hide his face in the field. I mean, that was hot too, but in a Ghostface kinda way”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the comparison, but I was curious to see what his entire ensemble looked like. “How old is he?” I asked.

“I think he’s in his mid to late 30s? I’m honestly not too sure, and it doesn’t matter to me either way.” She winked. “I was sensing some unspoken vibes between the two of you in the car though. Don’t think I didn’t see both of you stealing glances at each other every now and then.” She smirked.

“Stop,” I scoffed. “A man like that is definitely not single, and even if he is…I don’t know” I blushed. “I didn’t see him looking at me..”

“K well I see everything, he definitely likes what he sees, and clearly the feeling is mutual on your end as well. Looks like tonight will be interesting.”

“Nothing’s gonna happen, Adrian.” I laughed as I rolled my eyes. Nothing’s gonna happen…right?

PART II 👉🏽 A Weekend In Vienna 🇦🇹: PART II

PART III 👉🏽 A Weekend In Vienna 🇦🇹: PART III

[nottivagos]

Just read your last stalker! Carlos post and oh my days 😻 anyway just some more headcannons or drabbles for him pls 🙏 also I absolutely love your work!!

Welcome Notti's "Not So Innocent" Notebook where I write some filth to make your Wednesday a little bit better <3 || 18+ mdni pls and ty

an: oh nonnie... you're in for a treat with these headcanons... these are more into carlos's psyche or atleast, my interpretation of it. <3

taglist: @orangeblossomsintheair - thank u von for brainstorming these with me :)

Stalker!Carlos - "The Golden Son"

Carlos has always gotten what he wanted when he wanted it. Basically spoon fed privileges and demands all his life by his parents, so when it comes to having you all to himself it's the same. If he wants you, he'll get you. No questions asked.

So when he eventually kidnap you and you ultimately fall for him, he obviously sees it as an opportunity to introduce you to his parents! This is a great opportunity for you to meet your forever family, right? Carlos did cut you off from your parents, it was an action of care you didn't need them when you had him. He only wanted you to be happy in this "forever ever after" he'd created. You may as well make his parents your mama and papa too, right?

Wrong! You're ecstatic, you can't wait to tell them what their son has done and get him arrested once and for all. The only problem.. Getting Carlos distracted so he's not glued to you. He knew something was up from the way your eyes lit up as you basically bolted for his parent's door. Poor bunny, so beautifully scared, running to anyone for help.

However, this all backfires when they exclaimed to you about how "privileged you are to be the girlfriend of their wonderful son". You try to reason with them to which Carlos’s eyes darken angrily in response to you nearly being a blabbermouth on your situation. When you catch eyes with him, your skin becomes pale with fear and your eyes widen in shock of their ignorance. And he just replies with a smile, wrapping a large arm around your waist before pressing a loving kiss against your temple.

How I imagine the conversation to go down afterwards when you're both in your shared bedroom for the evening:

"you puta! how dare you try and open your mouth." he hissed in your face, before slapping it with such might, expression contorted into rage. "me and you were meant to be together," he sounds so confident, so sure that you're meant to be with him. it confuses you. you love him, of course you do, your life is great! but this isn't Carlos. this is some monster, a wolf growling at your bunny as it bares its sharp molars at you, getting ready for the kill. "you're happy, aren't you?" harsh interrogatives follow as you become a trembling mess, confused by his sudden change in attitude, the sheer fright in your expression at his explosive anger. he comes to grab your jaw, silencing you as you go to speak, to plead, anything. he's offended that you have the nerve to challenge him in any way, "not another word." he warns, voice low as his nails sink into your flesh, the piercing sensation and grip of you nearly turning you to tears. "if you ruin this for us, then i'll ruin you." the comment is bold as he whispers it with such malice, such cruelty in his actions, hot breath fanning against your plush lips, as he shoves you away with an irritated huff. (should i make this an actual fic)

Stalker!Carlos - Romantic Delusions

I feel like the whole "kidnapping" ordeal for Carlos was a downward spiral into some form of psychopathy.

It started tame. These things always do. You were new to the neighbourhood and Carlos was smitten. Ever heard of the red string theory? He took that theory of being soulmates and being "destined for each other" and put the whole theory on steroids. He's built up this messed up romantic delusion in his head that as soon as you're kidnapped and in his care forever that you'll instantly fall for him.

Well. When that doesn't happen he's confused. You'd crossed paths all the time before this "new life". He purposefully switches the mail in your mailbox JUST so you'll have to speak to him. He purposefully cuts the flowers in your flowerbeds so HE can knock on your door and give you more, JUST to see that gentle face light up at the shrubs he's gifted you.

The confusion makes him angry. Maybe that's why he's so aggressive with you when you try to escape in your early days of being "his girlfriend". Maybe that's why he has to drug you senseless so you follow his every word. Maybe that's why he's a hopelessly romantic freak. He's so deluded that he's built this haven away from civilisation so he can live in his dreams. In your dreams. Together, and forever always.

like stalker!carlos? fancy sending me an ask in my inbox so that you can be included in my notebook! - notti <3

[dr-spectre]

Which do you think is a better concept, sanitized ink(and sensitization in general) or the fuzzy ooze?

I feel like in order to say which is "better" we need to break it down into parts.

In terms of the general theming and aesthetics, i think that sanitization clears the Fuzzy Ooze. Like just look at this.

The sickly green and blue. The darked eyeballs. It looks so acidic and gross, and i like that. It really gives off the vibe of a poison and something you don't wanna touch.

Compare that to Fuzzy Ooze and it's just... purple trippy ink and fur. I mean it looks cool, i like the effect, but it doesn't hit the same as the Sanitized Ink.

Now the actual effects? I'm gonna be real. I don't realllyyyyy like either of them to an extent.

Oh wow, Sanitized Ink is brainwashing goo that removes memories and makes you into a mind controlled zombie that follows the orders of Tartar, how fun! Yay! So interesting... I love when the Splatoon series uses the same tired trope of "it's the thing you know, but it's EVIL NOW!!!!!!!" wow... Really creative huh Nintendo... I'm sure that it won't cause a wave of millions of people to not properly look into the stories and just take them at the surface level and just say that everything is the same affliction..... yay.... ugh... i hate everything...

I will say though, i like the sort of medical undertones of Sanitized Ink and everything to do with Acht is very interesting and cool! Although in Side Order they kinda fucked it up by saying that Acht was forced to make music for Tartar due to the goop instead of being a thing where Acht wanted to make music without the doubts in their head. So... yeahhhh... I don't know how to feel about having YET ANOTHER thing in the Splatoon series that's just "oh it's this evil thing that makes stuff evil!! ooooo!!! brainwashing oooo!!!!"

I'm tired of it. I had enough. STOP!!!! ENOUGH NINTENDO!!!!!!! YOU'RE NOT SMART! YOU'RE NOT INTERESTING! BE MORE CREATIVE! DO BETTER!!!! IF YOU MAKE FRYE GO UNDER A SIMLIAR THING AND IF THE COMMUNITY CALLS IT BRAINWASHING YET AGAIN OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOHOHOHHOHOOO!!!!! IM GONNA RIP MY FUCKING HAIR OU-

Anyways, Fuzzy Ooze on the other hand is kinda... vague? Like really really vague. What we do know is that it makes a creature "lose their sense of self" whatever the FUCK that means i do not know. Sometimes it makes Inklings and Octolings turn into fuzzy little creatures, or it gives them weed eyes. I guess both options aren't as bad as becoming zombies. I guess....

However, i think this vagueness really opens the door for very interesting fan interpretations. I love seeing people make fuzzy versions of the characters and turning them into these feral monsters that have claws and sharp teeth, it's so fucking sick and way cooler than just "oooo brainwashing oooooo!!!! its the thing you know but EVIL!"

I would rather take a fuzzy au over a sanitization au you know? It opens the door for more creativity.

To wrap it up, i like the aesthetics and thematic undertones of Sanitized Ink, but i prefer the vague effects of the Fuzzy Ooze as it opens the door for interpretations.

Also, Nintendo, YOU BETTER EXPLAIN THE FUZZY OOZE MORE IN SPLATOON 4! THERE'S THOUSANDS OF FUZZY OCTARIANS TRAPPED IN ALTERNA! YOU GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT?!?!

[itsallmouthwashing]

Ghost Adventures AU- Survivor!Curly (Part 1)

Alright fellas, I got stupid high last night and rubbed this out with some editing while I'm at work. Please enjoy and feel free to write your own interpretations of this AU!! I don't really want to claim 'ownership' or whatever (if that's even a thing with AUs? Listen I haven't been in fandom for a while before Mouthwashing. It hath risen me from the soil like a necromancer and I am it's silly little skeleton minion) I just want to see what everyone else thinks may be going on

Anyways, please enjoy part one (out of Only God Knows) of the Ghost Adventures AU!

“Are we ready? Cameras are rolling? Yeah? Alright… We’re here at the site of the historic Tulpar Massacre-”

God, I thought I could handle this. He’s not even said anything but Tulpar. Fuck, I need to tune it out. The images are already flying through my mind. I’m reliving it all at lightspeed and it keeps fucking repeating. Every second I’m seeing it all-

“Behind us is a long-haul freighter that belonged to a company known as Pony Express. This corporation was known for cheap and speedy deliveries, along with being one of the last few companies to rely on human employees in an age of automation.”

I hope they know. We’re all heroes today.

“However, while Pony Express may have provided jobs to hundreds of people, the abuse these employees suffered is the real root of this tragedy.” Zac puts his hand up and turns his head to me. “Would you like to say a few words?”

“Huh, oh- No, I trust you.”

He nods, short and with a small smile like he’s seeing it all happening behind my eyes. Maybe he knows I'm not listening. Trying to, anyway.

“Employees aboard Tulpar were only allotted a mere FIVE hours for rest. This does not include recreational activities, which they were not allowed to do in the other nineteen hours in their day. NINETEEN hours, non-stop working around Tulpar.”

His eyes are on me. He wants to know if I’ve changed my mind.

“That’s not the worst part, oh no, friends,” He says when he realizes I won’t, “For a company that claimed to care deeply for its employees, they made it hell to file complaints or go to upper management for help. While on this year long trek-”

My stomach is in hell. I cover my mouth, pretend I’m stifling a cough, and swallow the vomit before it floods their headquarters. Think about something else. 

Anything, Anya. Anything.

“Joining us for our lock-in tonight is the sole survivor of this tragedy, Captain Grant Curly.” He opens his arms to welcome me into the frame. “We’re happy to have you here, Captain.” He says, shaking my hand.

“Happy to be here with you, fellas,” I lied. 

We aren’t even to the door and I already see the inside. We’re simply standing in a residential space travel unit, on the landing pad, which connects to the main door. To the lounge, my quarters. The cockpit, the medical bay. The lounge. Utility. The Pod.

“Captain, off the record,” He nods for his partner to turn off the camera,” In all seriousness, I want to express my appreciation. Please know that at any point you can bow out. Or if you don’t want to be in the episode at all. You just let us know if you need a break or leave all together.” 

I smile. I have to or else I may break. 

“Of course. I think more people need to be aware just how awful Pony Express was to us. It’s great that you guys are covering this.” 

They’re all waiting for me at the door. Swansea and Jimmy cross their arms and grumble something about dying to get started. Two grouches on the ship could be difficult. But Anya and Daisuke are chatting about expectations. She’s stitching the air, mimicking the motions shown in a textbook on her lap. Daisuke copies her and she rolls her eyes playful, remarking that she’s glad he’s not her intern. Swansea tells her to not give him ideas.

“Captain, where’d you go-”

“Besides, who is a captain without his crew?”

“You really loved them, didnt you?”

“Yes,” I say.

They were my responsibility, I don’t. 

Zac smiles back at me before stepping back and observing the map of the ship. He mumbles something to his crew, all of two other people, and they go separate ways to gather equipment. Zac marks something with what looks like a bingo blotter around the blown-up image of my ship. 

“Zac?”

My face looks back at me in question. I’m in my uniform, bent over the blueprints of my ship. My belt buckle, a gift from the company when I was promoted to Captain, shines in the harsh light of the ship. 

“Yes, Captain?” I ask. 

“Uh,” I start, running a hand over the dim and rusted buckle of my own, “Why do…” I have that look. The one like he sees it all before it all comes back to the front of my mind. Zac blinks and leans forward.

“What’s up, Cap?” He asks. 

“Can you read minds… or something?” 

“Ha!” He laughs, hearty and true. “No, nothing like that Mr. Curly.” He wipes moisture from his eyes. “I’ve been told I’m something of an empath."

“Ah, no wonder you’re so kind.”

Zac starts to say something, but his crew is back and dropping equipment on the floor with heavy grunts and sighs. 

“Guys! You need to be careful-” Zac rushes over, but I’m still standing at the table.

[heretyc]

Hi! I’m the anon with the maneater wife for Franco and I just wanted to say thank you so much! You met and exceeded my expectations ten fold with my request I really liked what you did and if you ever wanted to write more for it I’d absolutely love to read more! ♥️

(Also you were right on the money with the naming scheme I personally envisioned the mantis myself but you can absolutely leave this up to everyone else’s own interpretation)

I 100% plan on writing more! It's addictive I s2g. [NSFW ahead. Not kidding, I got real dirty with this lol]

Franco meeting you was totally unexpected; he was roaming the streets of Havana, trying to locate a buyer who pussied out on him to no avail. He stole Franco's money, and as a result, his trust. Nobody fucked with a Barbi. This shit was next to impossible, with how many dark alleyways there were in this place. However, he didn't expect to see such a gorgeous woman standing over the man who fucked him over. Your face bloodied and your throat seemingly purring with delight like a cat with fresh cream. Franco wasn't disturbed, no. He's seen much weirder shit. He just raised a brow, "Good, is he?" "Very." You licked your lips free of blood to no avail, your face coated in the substance, "However he tastes a little...bitter." "Considering he ingested my fuckin' goods..." Barbi smirked, growing amused at how you described your fresh kill, "I wouldn't be too surprised." It took you no time at all to connect the dots. Havana was known for its drug rings, so you merely raised a brow, ready to rise. "Did I take a loyal customer from you? My mistake." "Loyal ain't the word I'd use to describe him, doll," Barbi sucked his teeth, growing a little irritated at the reminder, "Fucker stole my shit." "...Ah." You nodded, moving to rip a lung from the corpse's midsection. "May I continue?" "By all means." He didn't understand why he had a hard-on, but he's not one to question the body's desires.

He couldn't let you go. Absolutely fuckin' not. That'd be a crime against his carnal desires. For some odd reason, he found himself captivated. You were a woman who knew what you wanted, and you wanted to steal hearts. Literally. So he got to know you a little bit. This is what he learned; A runaway from your home country due to your strange craving, you abandoned your life after a series of murders. You've always found yourself enamoured with the delectable nature of human flesh, and after your father cheated on your mother and left you two with nothing, you had even more of an urge. So on your 17th birthday, you were found eating him. His body cut into sections, his new, young wife - whom he cheated on your mother with - found her step-daughter with hands full of intestines. She didn't live long, either. Your 17th birthday was satisfactory indeed. The government, however, did not agree. You were messy and you left fingerprints after his wife's family called in for a wellness check. A little hard to call her family when her head's in the toilet and her cunt is stuffed full of knives. So you hid on a cruise ship to Havana, and have lived there ever since, surviving off of your cannibalistic urges and theft. So you were the infamous maneater, he questioned. You certainly had a reputation here...albeit quite niche. You ate only men. Sure, you tried to eat evil men, but all men were good enough to your palate. He was obsessed already. Was he a little intimidated? Absolutely. But that's even better. You grew to enjoy his company. And for the first time in your life, you didn't immediately think of ways to devour him. He wasn't edible...to your mouth, anyway. But your heart? Definitely. You wanted more.

Your first date was held at a restaurant that he co-owned. Well...co-owned meaning he tied the owner up in the back and threatened him if he had plans on ruining your date. His men held guns at the staff, and threatened them to continue on with their duties. He even went as far as to hire a chef known for working with human meat. Nicknamed "Havanabal" [Hannibal and Havana], it was fate. Franco was more than enchanted, leaning his head onto his gloved hand as you spoke of random topics, occasionally sipping on wine. You were, however, rudely interrupted. "Hey, boss," one of his henchmen walked inside of the empty dining room, and Franco couldn't stop his hands from clenching. "We got somebody wanting you.." "You were told not to fuckin' bother us." "I know, but there's a potential buyer wanting to see you," the man whistled, "Lookin' mighty rich." "He better be rich with patience, then," Barbi rolled his eyes, "I'm fuckin' busy." The henchman just nodded before looking you up and down, a smirk forming onto his face, "Damn...and I can see why. She's worth it." He didn't have the time to notice Lupara's barrel firing into his jaw, and the other men working under Barbi didn't think to expect one of their allies laying on the floor, bone shards and flesh littering the floor. You weren't even bothered, either; you simply smiled, "I like my men how like I like my popcorn...popped." You teased. Franco snorted before snapping his fingers, "Clean this shit up, and cut him into pieces. Put this fucker into mia bella's meal," he cooed at you, before turning to look at the men beginning to drag the corpse away. "Keep the fuckin' bones intact...I have an idea." Thankfully, no questions were asked, and the chef came out within the next half hour with two dishes. "Carbonara for the sir," the chef hummed, but he purred the moment he placed yours down, "And livernese for the cultured lady." "Thank you," you hummed, putting your hands together in delight, "it smells lovely...blood in the sauce?" The chef grinned, nodding, "Of course...it's the perfect taste and colour, no?" "Absolutely." He soon bowed, and left you two to eat. Now, Barbi should have gagged. This was against human nature...but he wasn't one to give a shit about human nature. He watched with interest as you slurped a piece of liver, moaning at the taste. "So...rich." He wasn't fond of eating another person, but even your reaction had him curious about the taste.

[Inspired by this anon here] Franco's support of your lifestyle had meant the world to you, and it was clear you were meant to be the moment he took you shopping to places. The bar, the grocery store, the sex club. You'd be leaning into him as he pointed at random men, hoping to help you find something to quench your thirst. "What about that fucker?" He picked his teeth with a toothpick, his free hand placed onto your hip with affection. His eyes were on a priest, speaking with a man. "Hmmm...tempting," you murmured, "priests tend to be quite...unholy. Unfortunately that transfers into their taste," you sighed, shaking your head. "Next one." "Alright...what about him?" He motioned to a man twitching out of his mind, seemingly shouting at nothing, "Nobody would miss him, darlin'." "He's high off of something...the only product I take is yours," you quipped, shaking your head. "Besides, I feel like the demons would miss him." "Touche," he clicked his tongue, before finally narrowing his eyes at a man walking past. "Him." You looked at the individual, noticing how...shady he looked. "Fucker's a rival of mine." "Oh...well, in that case..." You chuckled, taking his hand into yours. "Give me a hand."

[NSFW, blowjob] Your second date was in a hotel; it was moreso forced, seeing as he started a gunfight over your little cannibalistic habits, but he told you to meet him in the hotel across the city. You'd be safe there, he promised. And so, you separated. You stuck to the shadows and he shot at anybody who dared look at him. You took a little too long for his liking, and he worried if you got caught...until you walked into the room, coated in blood. A trademark look for you, but he simply raised a brow. "Sorry...I ordered takeout," you joked, sucking on a finger. God, if only you knew the effect you had on him- "Oh?" You purred, making your way over to him to place a hand over the bulge forming in his dress pants, "Am I making you...excited, Franco?" "I'm not the lying type, sweetness," he bit his lip, his breaths becoming shallow, "You make me fuckin' harder than steel." You simply laughed, pushing him onto the bed before locking the doors, and pulling the curtains over the windows. "I had a feeling...I saw your little friend get excited the day we met." You winked at him, your steps silent as you made your way to the bed. You took no time at all to pull his pants and boxers down, and you whistled at the size of the cock bouncing free from its confines. "Sorry...big friend." You snickered, a bloodied finger moving to trail down the shaft. A mere 9 inches and deliciously thick, you traced your bloodied nail along every vein that seemed to throb each time you came close, and you drank up Barbi's frantic breaths like water in the desert. "Does this excite you?" You tilted your head, beginning to stroke his cock with a slow pace. "Knowing a maneater is stroking your cock...knowing I could bite it off in one bite." "Fuck...yes," Barbi growled, a gloved hand gripping the sheets as the other gripped your scalp, "I could...fuck, I could die happy thinking about that shit." You smirked, your tongue peeking out to lick the bead of pre-cum forming on his cockhead. His cock was turning a sickening red, a result of the blood on your hands wiping off onto the thick organ, "You could, hmm? Tell me more." "Tear my fuckin' throat out, crown me with your halo of crimson," he began to pant, his cock beginning to twitch out of eagerness, "FUCK, you excite me, you vixen. Take me into your mouth, please," he huffed, his eyes wide in excitement. You felt like a drug with how desperate he was. He didn't have to ask; you were quick to take half of his length into your throat, bobbing your head as you moaned at the taste. The combination of his musk, the blood, the sweat...god, it was addictive. His hips showed no mercy as they began to thrust. "Bite me," he choked, "bite my fuckin' dick. Show me how much of a danger you are, you fuckin' TEMPTRESS," he groaned, tossing his head back. He cared not for the sirens outside, or the screams of people in the streets. You grazed your teeth along his length, not yet biting down, but making sure he knew they were an available threat should he thrust too hard and too fast. The thought of having you rip his cock off...fuck, why did that excite him? He felt his balls begin to tighten, and he yelled out in pleasure, cum rushing from his cockhead to travel down your throat. Nothing was more erotic, more divine than seeing you pull off of him, bridges of bloody saliva connecting your lips to his softening cock. You chuckled breathlessly, laying a kiss onto the cockhead, "I think I've found my new favourite taste..." Oh, how he became a whore for that sentence. A shame neither of you noticed Clyde Perry sneaking in during your moment of bliss.

[blacknight7890]

welp, essay time, lets talk about the clown in the room.

the amazing digital circus spoilers below!

so, Kaufmo's room.

The room of a mad man and a recently "abstracted" human. we don't know much about Kaufmo, other than he told unfunny jokes and was looking for a way out. He lost his mind at some point and got "abstracted" as the result.

What this means and how it happens is hard to say for sure as of now, but madness seems to be the main cause of it. Before he turned however, he has spread his madness to the rest of his room, so lets look at what we have here.

Most of it is simply the word "exit" over and over and over and over again with some disturbing art as well.

"EXIT EXIT EXIT EXIT EXIT EXIT EXIT EXIT EXIT EXIT"

However, there are some exceptions. Certain spots have partially readable writing on them. To start with, the head of his bed.

"CAN'T SLEEP"

Its partially obscured, but its location behind the pillow make it obvious what it says. They say that they don't need to sleep, but this implies that he wanted to sleep, but couldn't. If that is due to just his madness, or something else its hard to say. Hard to know what that means as of now, but its something to note.

Now the sketch on the back wall. The phrase is fairly self explanatory, as far as we know, there is no way out of the circus. Not much to say about that, but the drawing is interesting. A fanged Cain chasing after Kaufmo. Seems he has a fear of the ringmaster, understandable at first, but further thinking makes you ask some questions.

"NO WAY OUT"

We see at the end of the episode that Cain actually tried to make an exit for them, but never finished his simulated version of the outside. When we first see him dancing around the idea of an exit door, we assume malicious intent. However, its more likely he was referring to this exit, rather than an actual way to leave.

This place is clearly a fabrication of the world outside The Amazing Digital Circus, one half built by Cain. He said he made it because everyone kept asking about it, but never finished it and didn't want them seeing his unfinished work. He also didn't want them ending up in the void, a slightly more important reason to keep it locked up.

But regardless, he did try to actually appease them, give the trapped humans the closest approximation to freedom he could. Its clear that Cain is not in full total control of the circus, its possible that even he doesn't know how to leave.

Anyway, back to my point. Cain is weird, strange, and insane, but he's not really "evil", so Kaufmo's depiction of him doesn't make total sense. But then again, the eyes of madness are hardly a reliable source. We will need to see more of him to learn his true intentions, but for now he just seems unhinged rather than actually bad.

Back to the room though, there is one more thing I want to go over, the foot of his bed.

"WHAT DID THE E------ SAY TO THE C--------"

this one is hard to determine, but thankfully for us, this isn't the only place we see this sentence. We also see it scrawled onto one of the paintings in the wide shot.

"WHAT DID THE EXIT SAY TO THE CLOWN?"

Now at first this seems nonsensical, but remember who wrote this. Kaufmo liked to tell jokes, this is the only real thing we know about him. In that light this is clearly worded as the setup to a joke. This begs the question on what the punchline is, but it also implies that the supposed "exit" somehow communicated with him. Probably not but its something to note.

We have no idea what the punchline could be at this moment sadly. It could be that him abstracting could metaphorically be the "punchline", or the lack of a response from the exit might also be it, hard to say.

"NO EXIT"

This is all what I can really determine from what we have seen in this room, other than interpretations of his various framed paintings, but I'll leave that to an art major or something.

Of course we have to ask if the "Exit" that he refers to even is the same exit Pomni found. They might have found something else, or maybe that exit door is a lot more important than we know. Maybe that weird computer is important.

Pomni seemed familiar enough with it that the mere sight of it sent her laughing mad. That vr headset looking thing is probably what she put on to get there.

All of this is just observations and speculation on the future, and I can't wait for the next episode!

[engie-ivy]

(Short fic of Remus being a disaster😋 for @wolfstarmicrofic)

2nd: Rogue

Remus only dates so-called 'bad boys', because he isn't interested in falling in love, but also doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, and with those types, he doesn't have to worry about either. When he goes on a date with Sirius Black, however, Remus quickly realizes he's made a huge error of judgment.

Wasn't Looking For This

“You need help,” Mary states as she’s scrolling through Remus’ Tinder matches.

“Don’t you dare start swiping for me!” Remus warns.

Mary shakes her head. “No, I mean like professional help. Have you considered talking to someone?”

“Please.” Remus plucks his phone from her hands. “I don’t see any use in paying a ton of money to have some therapist psychoanalyse how my dating life is problematic.”

“I agree,” Lily says, sprawled out on the couch flipping through a magazine. “You don’t need to be a licensed therapist to psychoanalyse what’s wrong with your dating life. Instability during your childhood that lead to an insecure attachment style, causing you to develop a great fear of commitment, and resulting in you only dating men you know you’ll have no risk of falling in love with. Men I would describe as rogue bad boys. Overconfident, narcissistic, inconsiderate, too full of themselves to care about anybody else’s feelings. Men who definitely aren’t looking for an emotional connection, so you don’t have to worry about not only you getting feelings for them, but also them getting feelings for you.”

Remus glares at her. “Rude.”

Mary sighs. “So, is tonight’s guy a rogue, self-centred bad boy with too much confidence?”

“We actually haven’t spoken much,” Remus admits. “But he definitely has the right vibe. He was wearing a leather jacket in the bar, everyone was throwing themselves at him, but he hardly seemed to care, and he had this haughty air about him. Plus, the reason we didn’t talk much is because he had his tongue in my mouth five minutes after saying hello.” He grins. “So I’m hopeful.”

Lily rolls her eyes. “You’re an absolute disaster.”

Remus gets to his feet and presses a kiss to Lily’s cheek. “Love you too, Lils.” He turns to the girls before going out the door. “Don’t wait up,” he says with a wink.

Lily groans and Mary shakes her head. “You have issues.”

Remus made a huge mistake.

He realizes this immediately as he wakes up in a bed that is most definitely not his. He’s relieved that Sirius isn’t there, which gives him some time to think.

Yesterday, Sirius had taken him out for dinner at a nice restaurant. Afterwards, some drinks and a lovely stroll through the city at night-time and its beautiful city lights, ending at the front door of Sirius’ apartment.

Sirius had been charming and funny, and sure, that happens sometimes. With his habit of dating vain bad boys, Remus isn’t surprised anymore at how charming they can be when they want to. But then Sirius had also been kind and caring and actually interested in what Remus had to say, and that most definitely wasn’t what he signed up for!

Sirius had been a true gentleman, holding out Remus’ chair as they got to their table. He had smiled at Remus with a smile that was so much brighter than Remus remembered from the badly lit bar after a couple of drinks. As soon as they sat down, Sirius had said that his resting face was often interpreted as haughty, and how that ‘so not was who he was’, and that he was glad Remus wanted to give him a chance anyway.

Remus had wanted to scream.

In hindsight, he should’ve fled right there and then. But no, he had stayed. And of course Sirius had offered to share a dessert and then let Remus eat all of it, of course he had insisted that he’d pay for dinner, of course he had asked ‘is the okay?’ when he took Remus’ hand in his as they were walking side by side.

And if that hadn’t been bad enough, it turned out Sirius loves animals. He had shown Remus pictures of his dog, beaming with fondness as he told Remus about her.

The cherry on top of this miserable pie that Remus definitely didn’t order, was that Sirius is a doctor. A bloody doctor. He works in the ER and he loves his job, because ‘it’s just so rewarding’.

When he had gently pulled Remus close and kissed him under a streetlight, Remus’ stomach did this fluttering thing.

It was awful.

Remus gets out of bed and starts putting on his clothes. He’ll shower at home. Right now, he needs to get out of here. He should’ve left yesterday, he shouldn’t have stayed the night. Maybe he shouldn’t have gone home with Sirius in the first place, but he just can’t bring himself to regret that, because holy shite. He’s only human, after all.

He’ll do the awkward goodbye, where Sirius might mutter something about breakfast and maybe having some yoghurt left in the fridge, which Remus will politely decline. He’ll leave and forget all about this. Forget that guys exist who are actually interested in what he has to say, forget that guys exist who look at him like he’s actually worth something, forget that guys exist who can make him feel like he’s actually worth something. Forget that Sirius Black exists.

As he enters the living room, though, he stops in his tracks at the dreadful sight in front of him.

The table is set, and Sirius is in the kitchen, wearing only his boxers and a t-shirt, his hair haphazardly tied in a messy bun, baking what appear to be pancakes. Sirius turns around and smiles at him, and Remus is floored by how he can look even more gorgeous like this then he did yesterday in his dress shirt and suit jacket. His stomach does that weird fluttery thing again, and Remus hopes against his better judgment that it’s due to yesterday’s wine.

“You’re awake, good,” Sirius says. “Since you told me yesterday how you have quite the sweet tooth, I couldn’t let you go without trying Potters’ Perfect Pancakes! Recipe from my chosen mother Effie, and I’m not even overselling when I tell you that they’re the best thing you’ll ever taste. Come, sit!”

Remus’ brain is shouting at him. Run! Get out! Just leave! But Remus’ body moves to the chair, sits down and starts buttering a bloody pancake.

It’s like watching a car speed towards a wall, knowing it’s going to crash, but there being nothing he can do about it.

His feeling of impending doom are interrupted by his first bite of pancake. It’s fluffy, and chewy, and gooey, and smooth, and creamy, and everything in one. “Oh my god,” he says.

Sirius is leaning forward in his chair, looking at Remus with an eager smile, his face brimming with excitement, his eyes sparkling. Remus can’t help but think that he’ll do anything to see Sirius smile like that. “It’s good, innit? I wasn’t exaggerating?”

“Really good,” Remus confirms. “And you definitely weren’t.”

As Remus digs in, Sirius places a mug of tea in front of him. Remus takes a sip, and it’s exactly the way he likes it. A warmth spreads through his body, that has nothing to do with the tea itself.

Then a beautiful girl walks into the kitchen. She has shiny black curls and she’s happily wagging her tail as she barks at Sirius.

“There she is!” Sirius drops to his knees and starts scratching her ears. “You were a little sleepy head, weren’t you? Yes, you were. Yes, you were. Who’s a good girl?” Sirius coos, as his dog starts wagging her tail even more and tries to lick his face.

And that’s just it for Remus.

The car has crashed. There’s nothing for it anymore. He’s done for.

The car has crashed, and all Remus can do now is hope that he’ll make it through in one piece.

Well, at least he has a doctor with him.

[shesadollette]

⊹ ࣪ ˖ ❝ König x Antsy Masked Recruit ❞ - II. One Step Forward ࣪ ˖

(➳ Prologue)

Note: I think… there will be a few more chapters to come, they’re not predetermined to be either in bullet points or narrative style yet, however I’ll write whatever is on my mind the very second. I tried writing König based on his voice lines + the very little lore that we’ve gotten out of his wiki fandom page + how I interpret him to be as a colonel so if he comes off to be “meaner” than what most of the COD fandom population make him out to be, then you know why :))

The door creaks — discreetly, you hope, at your best attempt — noticing that most of the lights in the faction are off. Your head makes itself conspicuous of its weight as your feet drag themselves out the door. Too awake to fall asleep, gotta sleep but you’re too anxious.

You merely equip a pocket-sized dagger, just in case. Other than that, you are mostly unarmed and completely unmasked, leaving only your survival skills and instincts to rely on. You merely hope you’ve made a normal decision out of the (unfortunate) impulsive decisions so far, just this time.

It’s beginning to feel eerie, silently eerie. You swallow, heartbeat stuttering.

Whatever, it’s not like something’s gonna pounce on you from the back and stab you or something… right? That would be one hell of a ridiculously hilarious death.

Dislike taints your features, you place your hands on your hips as you click your tongue, not wishing to jinx it. You frequently loathe your intrusive thoughts as you reassure yourself that you’re just gonna pace around for a few meters and go back no matter the case. Or… should you just get inside and force yourself to sleep anyway?

Whatever, back to plan A, forcing yourself to sleep would only cause you to feel more stressed and anxious. Perhaps you could also use this opportunity to familiarize yourself with the foreign surroundings while there’s nobody around… hopefully. Win-win, eh?

You do not realize how long you’ve been walking for until your brain endeavors to once again be logical.

Perhaps you ought to head ba—

A subtle rustle appears out of the blue.

You feel as if your breath is knocked out of your lungs as your heartbeat stoops to your buckled legs, faint panic flaring as your flight or fight arise. There was movement, which means there is definitely something — or someone in the room with you.

Fear has imprisoned you first than your ability to turn back.

Something flat and heavy lands on your shoulder, forcing an audible gasp and an involuntary curse in your native tongue out of your lips.

You clumsily swivel around, only to have your wrists gripped firmly with a dull thud, your arms in mid-defense stance at an awkward position with the dagger pointing at a complementary angle away from the figure instead. You look up, in between exhales you dreadingly realize that the way the figure stands in front of you…

Is someone…

You gulp.

…you are undoubtedly frightened of.

You are certain of who it is, given his trademark figure swallowed up by the darkness. Your body is however frozen dead, your mind still not awake from the flight or fight.

To your dismay, you do not have your mask on, you could only pray he wouldn’t be able to see your face as you cannot see his. Quietude sings to fill the tension, until…

“Sir, what are you doing here?” Your mutter comes out soft-spoken, strangely the very opposite of how you wanted it to sound like.

He barks out a dry chuckle, “What are you talking about?” Your face picks up on his hot breath fanning from his mask, “I find it funny, because I should be the one asking you instead.” Grainy words enveloped in a thick accent pushed out through gritted teeth.

You stagger back to balance yourself, yet his grip stays firm on your wrists, nigh punishing. You swallow then hang your head down, staring at your feet, guilt and embarrassment and anger crawling due to being caught, and even in such uncomfortably close proximity. A weightful lump forming in your throat due to the trepidation of what’s going to happen to you next.

Thoughts of how you should respond and with what begin waltzing rapidly in your mind as you try to wrestle your fright.

“I-I’m sorry, sir. I…” You pause, nibbling your lower lip. “I didn’t mean to,” your voice thickens with pressure and wavers, “I was just… taking a walk to clear my head. I’ve been feeling anxious and because of that, I cannot sleep and I need to take a walk because of… that.”

Deafening quietude ensues.

“You’ve been acting slightly off this morning,” he sneers, “And to top it off, you are still loitering around in the middle of the night — with a weapon of choice.” He brings your wrist with the equipped knife in front of you, gripping it firmer and shaking it. “What exactly are you up to, huh?”

You swallow. “I’m sorry again, sir. I won’t do it again. I promise. Please don’t kill me.”

“You are up to no good, are you?”

“No sir, I—”

“Be quiet, I do not need an explanation. Off you go to your quarters. Do not let me catch you one more time.”

”… Right away, sir. Thank you, sir. Sorry.”

• • •

You are lying awake in bed when you realize how your cheeks and ears have been ridiculously dampened and your lids heavier than stones. You cover your face with your palms as you let out short, shaky sobs. Perhaps it would be easier for you to fall deep in slumber now that your eyes are going to be sore.

(➳ III. Two Steps Back)

[arthenaa]

Dark Red - Sebastian x gn!reader x Ominis

PLOT SUMMARY: while the world perceives the heavens and the underworld as realms clashing against one another in pursuit of building a world for their philosophies, the truth is that change is not so far beyond them. Especially when an angel and a demon begin competing against one another to pursue one of the overseers of purgatory: you.

WARNINGS: fluff, a bit of crack, reader is a heavenly figure, devil! seb, angel! ominis, sebastian and ominis r simps for you, ominis and sebastian are also dense af w each other, imagine not being aware that ur in love with the person u want to kill so bad, reader is both wingman, love interest, and just unbothered as fuck, ominis is referenced to be gabriel, modern setting, angels and demons are in an office setting its kinda funny, you're a tired girl boss just trying to make sense why these two idiots keep visiting you during work hours, God is kinda not happy w that, heavy christian ideologies and imagery, religious references, references to demons and the underworld, inaccurate and fictional connections of religious terms and biblical figure, norse terms cuz y not

TERMS: Highgard = Heaven, MidPath / Middle Path = Purgatory, Underworld = Hell, Fallen = devils / demons, Midgard = Earth

note: heya hihi <3 doing this in the midst of writing comms so that my head can get a break ueue. also a little celebration for my 20th bday and having 1M followers! tysm for enjoying my writing hehe. ive been thinking of this prompt for the past few days. anys enjoy <3 lmk if yall dig this kind of concept. did not proofread cuz im too lazy ig.

Whenever lost souls wander in the abyss, more often than not their questions pertain to one subject of interest.

What happens in purgatory?

It happens more than one can count—a series of experiences with those who have reached the end of the light, one can only deduce the general curiosity of humanity with the realm that keeps the heavens and the underworld in balance.

What is purgatory? While humans believe it to be a place of penance and purification, one would like to think of it as a place of sorting. A waiting room if one would find it amusing enough to resort in humor.

At least to Ominis anyway.

Ominis considers himself to be knowledgeable enough of the inner workings of the realms. He, after all, is one of the honored beings who got to work closely with the Lord. He proudly can say that he's done a lot for the glory of his creator to know things beyond what a normal being can perceive. He's a protector of the light and life that Yahweh brings.

However, there are still things he can't help but be curious about—like the cycle of good and evil with humans. Despite countless tries and efforts to save them from damnation, humanity still somehow finds itself on the brink of chaos. Despite that, their perceptions of the unknown continue to become more and more entertaining by the day.

Another is their perceptions of heaven and hell. Their enigmatic portraits and artistic interpretations fuel their imaginative ideals, influenced values, and understanding of the heavenly principles. While Ominis truly admires their dedication and faith in creating an ethereal image of the divine, the contrasting imagery of perception and reality somehow prompts a chuckle from this old man's lips.

If they knew the changes of the worlds beyond them, they might just have to change everything they know about it.

For starters, suits are mandatory. Everyone wears it here. It's become a staple for simplicity and formality. There are of course no limits to styling it but the suit and tie are a must.

Second, there are no conflicts between demons and angels. Well at least now. After coming to a proper agreement between the creator and the fallen, a civilized community has been built. Each is filled with roles and duties fit to serve the balance of the universe.

Third, it is exactly what you think it is. Desks filled to the brim with paperwork, scritching of pen against paper, and chattering of workers here and there. Highgard has become a modern-day office. Ominis hates the coffee on the 10th floor.

The archangel has already surrendered himself to normalcy, adapting to a new era of management and control. While this does seem to be more simpler and adept compared to the olden days, he does miss the times when he could feel the holy aura of his spear strike through a fallen's heart. In today's context, that's considered murder.

Now what does this relate to purgatory? As mentioned before Ominis still has a lot of things to be curious about and one of them are the things that happen within the walls of the Middle Path.

Specifically, the overseers.

While yes, he is considered to be at the top of the hierarchy. The overseers seem to nullify the authority of those at the top. Only the creator seems to have control over them, otherwise, they're at most the next level of superiority to him.

("The Horsemen of the Apocalypse," His brother, Nier, had mentioned as he leaned against the counter—stirring a cup of coffee with a wooden stick. "He placed them there to keep the balance. It's a land for neither the dead nor the living–a middle ground. They're natural seeds of chaos, of course. It's innate for them to destroy worlds with life and what better way to keep them at bay than to place them in the neutral zone?"

"I see," Ominis hums, fingers tapping at the desk as he leans back against his seat. Nier glances at him before throwing the wooden stirrer in the trash.

"What's got you interested in the overseers, Omi?" The nickname prompts a curl of his lips. Count Nier to be sentimental. The raven-haired man sips quietly as he awaits his response.

"Nothing," He replies. "It's just that out of all the realms, they seem to be less affected by the change."

Nier chuckles, taking a few steps forward to place a caring hand on his shoulder. "It's a place for judgment. We have too much love for humans while the fallen are too detached. The overseers are driven from humanity, they understand them better.")

The words of his brother ring within the depths of his mind, each making a resounding echo as he walks across the white halls.

To tell you the truth, this sudden interest in the middle path was formed not so long ago. A chain of events that prompted a burst of interest from this heavenly figure.

These series of events had formed a routine. There were 3 important things that you need to take note of in this scene.

One, the hallway Ominis is currently on is a bridge from Highgard to the gateway to the Middle Path. It's mostly known to be a connector and pathway for demons, angels, and any heavenly figure with the right permit.

Two, at the end of every hall, is a vending machine that serves coffee. Now, vending machines are not scarce in their company services. In fact, there are at least 5 machines stationed in every building. So, Ominis is quite sure that MidPath has more than enough vending machines to serve a batch of souls.

Third, at exactly 3 PM in Midgardian Time, there are approximately only two figures seen roaming about the halls of the connector.

One is Ominis himself and two, you guessed it.

An overseer.

Ominis walks toward the vending machine, slipping in a few coins before punching in his desired coffee. He takes a breath and takes a look at his watch. Just then, as the shorthand strikes the 15th, he hears the familiar click and clack of heels against the marble tiles.

They're here.

He hears them clear and perfect. The rustling of clothes against one another, the brush of their hands against the fabric, and that same walking rhythm.

Click.

Clack.

Click.

Clack.

Count Ominis to be a little obsessed but you really can't help but be interested in such a being. Neither angel nor demon—a seed of humanity so pure to the core that one horseman can produce an apocalypse.

An event personified.

It wasn't even God that made them but a natural occurence to life.

How interesting.

He hears the click of their shoes stop beside him, waiting for the brewing of his coffee. There were a few beats of silence, and the only thing Ominis could hear at that moment was the thumping of his heart.

"Gabriel," The overseer greets him, placing their hands behind the small of their back as they wait for their turn.

"Conquest." He greets back. The seed chuckles and heaves a sigh before silence ensues once more.

Same two words. Same format. Repeated for God knows how long he's been doing this. He punches in a latte, wishing the coffee would drip slower but heaven services always work out no matter what and so he gets his cup of coffee within 20 seconds.

He grabs the cup, sidesteps to the left, and takes a sip. The overseer steps forth, punching in their regular. Iced Caramel Macchiatto. The order takes the same time. 20 seconds.

They take the cup with swift movement before turning and making their way back to their department.

Once again, Ominis stands in the deserted hallways–a cup of coffee in his hands and another same old conclusive deduction of one of the horsemen of the apocalypse.

Coffee is an angel's desperation and fuel for conquest.

Ominis doesn't know what to feel about demons.

Beings natural to the abyss—they represent everything opposite to that of life. They thrive in the concepts of darkness, both figuratively and literally. Ominis is well aware of the millenniums he endured seeing the dust of broken horns and seething snakes crumble under his spear. He, after all, has seen everything from the moment the Lord has gathered his army to rule his rightful claim over his creations.

However, there are times like this when he decides it's okay. Demons are okay.

"I think there's a prejudice against smaller horns," Amit grumbles as he spreads a thin sheet of mayonnaise on his bread. His eyebrows are furrowed and his lips formed into a pout. Ominis curls his lips at the tone of his voice. "Mine are perfectly well-sized! I-I don't see why this should be a problem at all."

"You're making it a problem, that's the issue," Ominis hears Poppy chime from his left. Amit glares at her response. Poppy's feathers ruffle as she stretches them out, flapping her wings gently to ease the tension on her shoulders.

The three of them were currently in the communal room. The day was slow and there were not many souls to be bustling and carrying on about. Ominis considers days like these a blessing and it was also partially because it was nearing Sunday.

Amit reaches his free hand and touches the spike of his horns. "My mother gave me these horns. I just think people are jealous."

"You're right," Poppy chimes as she tilts her head to give him a mocking smile. "Amit is always right. Can we talk about something else now?"

"You're too mean for a Principality."

"You're too much of a loser for a fallen," Poppy retorts with a nonchalance that almost prompts a chuckle out of Ominis. The demon gasps in shock which the angel giggles at.

"Just because we're on break and one of you is my superior-" Sharp glare comes from Poppy. "-doesn't mean I won't reprimand you two," Ominis cuts forth their humorous conversation with a stern approach. Poppy pouts while Amit grumbles. Then the blonde contorts his face into a wistful look. "However, I'm in a good mood so I'll let it be."

"Oho!" Poppy grins as she scoots her chair closer to him. "You do look even more dashing today, Ominis. What's got you in a good mood, hm? Perhaps, a promotion from upstairs?"

It was actually because he was able to, yet again, interact with the overseer but no one has to know about that.

Amit, ever the inquisitive being that he is, leans forward with raised eyebrows. "Are you in for a promotion to be in the middle order? I hear things start to get weird in that division."

"That's because most of the higher-ups don't look like us," Poppy responds with a bite of her sandwich. Ominis nods with his eyes closed. "At least in the middle and low. Both divisions were made to be accepting to the human eye, most specifically the low order. Ascending that high reveals true nature. The same goes for your monarchs."

Amit hums at the knowledge. While Ominis truly wants the opportunity to serve Adonai directly, he does feel worried about seeing his true self when ascending into a powerful duty. He supposes being an Archangel is too perfect of a role for him to let go of.

"Nah, I don't think I'm that holistic yet," Ominis responds with a shrug of his shoulders. "I still have a lot to do as Adonai's blade."

Just as the conversation resumed its course at the prompt of his response, a pair of cold hands makes its way to his shoulders—the tip of its finger brushing ever so softly against the skin of his neck. Ominis shivers but he does not let it affect him. Although his jaw clenches at the arrival of whoever this is.

"And what of Adonai's blade?" The voice asks, cunning and cool. "Does he perhaps fancy a cup of coffee?"

The arrival alerts the low-ranking figures beside him, pursing their lips in silence as they stare at the figure behind him.

"Leviathan," Ominis announces his presence. The brunette-headed monarch smiles at his true name.

"Mm," The demon hums. He taps his finger against the collar of Ominis's coat. "As much as I like hearing that name off of your lips, I prefer being called Sebastian."

Ah. Yes. This is what Ominis means when he says he's not okay with Demons. When he misses the feeling of his heavenly spear darting through the backs of the fallen.

No offense to Amit. He's too wonderful to be a spawn of a monarch but beings like Sebastian are what he means when he's overcome by a terrible urge to fulfill his original purpose.

He's fought him before. Countless times actually. In the Great Wars of Light and Dark—the famed descent of the Son of Man into the world is tainted with the hands of the fallen. They were carefree and manipulated life freely in their own hands as if it were toys.

Levia–Sebastian, rather, had always been a figure in both the underworld and highgard. A figure of snakes that classified demons as a whole. He was an icon to many and a formidable foe to most. He was surely one of Ominis's favorite things to drive a spear through.

Unfortunately for him, demons never die. They only go back to either hell or earth. A never-ending cycle of death. He supposes this is why the Lord has agreed in a civil approach with the beings of the dark.

"He's surely thinking of ways to murder me, no?" Sebastian sighs dreamily as he sits on the empty chair to his right. Poppy hesitantly laughs while Amit falls silent at his superior. Sebastian then turns to the two.

"Principality," He nods to Poppy, "Comrade" Amit. "If I may, can I please have a few minutes to talk to dearest Ominis? I just have a few things to discuss with him with regards to a war brewing up north in Midgard."

He beams, like the ever-so-manipulative nature of his character. The two sigh, gathering their food before moving to another table, a few meters away from them. It's better to just follow through with a monarch like Sebastian. He somehow has the irritable charm that allows him to get anything that he wants. Ominis is not surprised if he receives another harassment ticket for just existing.

"Was it so important for you to disrupt my leisure time?" Ominis grumbles at him. Sebastian chuckles, placing his elbows on the metal surface of the table. He intertwines his hands and perches his chin on top of it.

"And here I thought you loved that dear little humanity of yours."

"Please," Ominis scoffs, crossing his left knee over his right. He crosses his arms over his chest. "The last thing you'd do is be desperate enough to ask someone like me for help. Disasters are your expertise. What do you want?"

Just like that, Ominis has him cornered. Not that Sebastian would mind that since this is what he originally came for in the first place. Those ruby eyes that seem to never leave the Archangel pairs with a devilish smile before sighing. "Am I ever so deceitful that you think I'm asking for help with a catch?"

"Yes." Ominis answers plainly.

The demon rolls his eyes. "Right sure". There are a few beats of silence before Sebastian speaks once more. "I came here to confirm something with you."

Ominis hums, not bothered to direct his full attention towards Sebastian. He learned enough that wasting his time and attention in believing uncivilized monarchs like Sebastian is just a fiasco waiting to happen. He tries to take some of it in but never really injects full effort to do what they want. After all, his job only entailed in keeping peace and order within the flow of time in the human realm. What demons do is out of the question.

Sebastian hums beside him before speaking. "Do they like tea?"

Ominis stiffens in his seat. "What?"

The demon grins at finally grasping the old man's attention. "I said do they like tea?"

"Who likes what?" The angel is beyond confused. Who?

"Oh come on, Riel," The nickname pops a vein on his forehead. The demon leans close to whisper. "I mean that friend of yours in the gateway."

Ominis finally tenses at the revelation. How the fuck did this guy manage to find out about that?! He subtly turns his face towards the sound of his voice. He doesn't find it in him to reply as the demon prompts a few chuckles from his lips.

"I'm quite excited to be meeting them next time," Sebastian lets out a grunt as he stretches up from his seat and finally stands. He places his hands inside the pockets of his slacks, smiling down at the tense Archangel. "15th of the hour, right?"

"You're insufferable," Ominis grumbles under his breath as the man laughs at his demise.

"You're not the only one interested, Ominis." Sebastian smirks before turning and making way to the exit of the communal room. The clacking of his shoes do not produce the same satisfaction as the seed of Conquest.

He let's out a groan as he indefinitely will have to deal with Sebastian later on. His little interactions with them had been his highlights of the week. Not everyone can have the opportunity to come across a horseman of the apocalypse. Sebastian had to go ruin his little moments of peace.

How can his day get any better?

Ominis is exactly 10 mins earlier than the designated time.

The hallway is deserted and the air conditioning is functioning at its highest. It's safe to say that he's been paranoid ever since Sebastian had made his interest in one of the seeds of chaos. He doesn't know how exactly he knew but he wasn't going to take any chances in allowing him to steal his spot.

Even though the aftermath of 5 lattes a week proves to be quite detrimental to the linings of his stomach.

It's fine. He's immortal anyway.

He swings back and forth on his heels as he waits for the clock to strike the 3rd. He's not sure why he's more nervous today and only hopes that maybe it's because of the damn lemonades Amit brought this morning because her mother had made too much. Bless her soul.

He sees the shorthand of his watch finally strike the 15th hour of the day before he hears the same click-clacking of heels against the tile floor. At the prompt of their arrival, he immediately brings out a couple of his spare coins and begins punching in his latte. He waits, hands tucked in his slacks, at the familiar greeting of their voice.

However, things seems to be way different today.

"Ah, so it's more of your role to be the judge, right?" An all too familiar voice disrupts him off his reprieve. He tenses at the added presence. "Where to place the souls and all that."

"Yes," Conquest hums, a bit detached but their interest in the conversation is there. "I allow passage based on their time of living. The same goes for my siblings."

Ominis's jaw clenches as he hears the fake facade of gasps of interests and the unrhythmic pattern of another's footsteps. Sebastian.

"That's so interesting-!"

"What are you doing here, Sebastian?" Ominis grits under his breath as the pair finally reach his vicinity. Sebastian smirks at the presence of the Archangel.

"Ah, I just passed by Midpath to pass some documents and caught Y/N over here walking towards the gateway," Sebastian coolly responds as he glances at them with a smile. "It's not every day you'd get to talk to a seed outside of their workspace. Your department is the busiest after all."

If he hated Sebastian before, he hates him even more now.

"Ah yes, Leviathan was kind enough to keep me company," Conquest responds. If they were both alone right now, he would've collapsed. This is the most he's talked to them and he can't even handle it on his own. What a joke.

"Please! Just Sebastian is fine," The demon chimes in with a gleeful tone. "Are you well acquainted with Gabriel?"

Ominis is not sure what Sebastian is planning but the demon sure as hell is enjoying this little charade.

"Mhm," Ominis answers for them. "W-We always get coffee here."

"Ah," Sebastian nods. "How adorable. Must be honorable for you, hm? Keeping this little interaction for yourself."

There's something in his tone that seethes at him—buried under layers and layers of fake smiles and enthusiasm. Ominis wants to strangle him but he has to keep up with the expression. After all, despite ruining his moment, this is the most he's spoke to Y/N—he can call them Y/N right?

"Right," Sebastian seems to have read his thoughts. "This is Y/N. Have I mentioned that?"

"Clearly," Ominis grits his teeth. The seed of conquest, ignorant of the tension between two side steps to reach the vending machine. They notice the finished latte siting lonely, perched on top of its container.

"Ominis." They call for his attention. The blonde's breath shifts. Oh Heavens, they said my name. He knows he shouldn't panic or else that would look weird and so he awkwardly turns towards her with a tense look on his face.

Y/N only stares at him with vague interest before grabbing his hand and gently placing the cup of coffee in his grasp. "Your latte," They say.

"T-Thank you." He speaks as if that's the first time he's ever held hands with a handsome person. Y/N then turns to punch in their order, opting for a hot option instead of their usual cold beverage.

Without speaking the duo watch as they tilt their head back with mild interest, waiting for their coffee, hears the familiar ding of the machine, grab their order—gives not one of them a glance and only makes way back to their department.

There's a few beats of silence—the only background noise being the whirling of the air conditioner from the vents. They're both oddly entranced by what just happened.

Sebastian shifts in his position as he turns slowly towards Ominis with a slightly curled up smile.

"Is it normal to be this turned on?"

"You're fucking weird."

Ominis doesn't know what's happening.

There's this weird competitive aura between him and Sebastian ever since that altercation last week and it's as if who can interact the most with Y/N had been set as a competition between the two of them.

He's not really the one to complain since his pride enjoyed the stakes of a competition. However, his dignity has doubled down and screeched and clawed at his mind—begging for this to be done and over with.

He admits. He might have been a little too interested in the seed of conquest but that's what he wanted it to stay as! It was already good enough for him that he was able to interact with them on a weekly basis but now, he's not so sure if he can back out of this one.

Sebastian had been a bit too overwhelming in his efforts to gain their attention. From Underworld cuisine to Highgard flowers and even Midgardian music. He's done it all. The bastard is a monarch after all and so his pay is a little bit higher than his but who cares about that?! Ominis thinks he's utterly unfair in trying to squeeze his way through his and Y/N's leisure time of getting coffee.

He too... has tried several ways to... Y'know. To just keep with the nature of competition. He comes out of his breaks a little early so he can actually try and catch up with them for a walk. Made them sweets here and there. Made sure he was done with his work so he can assist in helping out with Y/N's paperwork. If it's not much obvious—Yes, Ominis is very competitive.

The unspoken attention war had stretched out over the course of the next few weeks. A few co-workers had begun to notice Ominis and Sebastian's odd behavior. It was odd enough that a monarch is lounging in Highgard departments but no one really gave a fuck enough to care.

(Unless it's Imelda, Poppy, and Amit.

"Is the coffee in the gateway really that great? Or do they just have a fucked up death wish of a diarrhea for ordering at least 10 cups of coffee a week?" Imelda grumbles from her spot at one of the tables in the communal room as the three had full-on front seats to Ominis and Sebastian pushing each other and racing for the double doors.

Poppy sighs beside her. The Principality had also noticed the suspiciously efficient work of Ominis. While the Archangel was organized and efficient enough to accomplish his work on time, the speed of doing such works even if it was weeks away on the assigned deadline was far too suspicious.

"They say they're pining over a married Dominions officer," Amit chimes in from his eating galore of glazed donuts. Imelda glances at her co-worker with a crunch of her nose.

"If you were human, that would've already killed you."

"I could possess one if you want?" Amit jokes to which the two angels snap their heads to glare at him. "Right, my bad.")

"They like tulips more than whatever that is." Sebastian grumbles as he assesses the disarray of sunflowers, roses, and whatever Ominis picked up from Midgard. The blonde rolls his eyes at his quips.

"As if giving them tea was enough," Ominis seethes. "I'd have you know that they actually dislikes tea—especially chamomile."

"You sure do know everything, huh?" Sebastian retorts as he takes a step forward. "If I remember correctly, It was because of me that you were given an opportunity to talk to them in the first place."

Ominis scoffs. "Oh, get off your high horse. I would've talked to them either way!"

"You'd take millennia to even do that," Sebastian chuckles, tone mocking and sarcastic.

"Says who?"

"Says me," Sebastian raises his eyebrows, taunting him. "You couldn't even put a spear through my heart if it hit you right in the face."

Ominis tenses. "What nonsense—!"

"Blah blah!" Sebastian taunts like a child. If anyone were to see both of them, they would surely have a field day in the office. A monarch and an Archangel fighting over someone. What a gossip. "I know you always miss the shot. Always a centimeter off, an inch short, a few limbs past—You're too soft. Even for someone like me."

Ominis breath hitches at the revelation. It's true that among all the Archangels, He was considered to be the most accurate out of all of them. That's why he preferred long-range fights, hitting enemies with his spear through a distance. But Sebastian is Ominis's first short-range duel and he's always been meant to fight Ominis after that. Somehow, he always manages to fail killing him, allowing a millennia's worth of suffering because of it.

His brothers would give him comfort and reassurance that someday, he'd be able to strike him off. However, despite countless opportunities, he's managed to fail every single one. He doesn't have the heart in him to admit that he's purposely missing the target because who would believe an Angel having mercy over a fallen?

He has too much pride to admit that.

Somehow over the long silence emitted from Ominis's lack of response, a cough alerts them of a new presence. The two turn around to meet Y/N, standing ever so casually behind them.

"Are you two done?" Y/N tilts their head, eyes half-lidded and a cigarette hanging off their lips. They take a short and swift inhale before pulling the stick from their lips and blowing it towards the two.

The smoke causes them to flinch back and cough. The seed of Conquest takes this opportunity to breeze through and punch in their order from the vending machine.

"Y'know, for a couple of idiots, you two sure are dense as hell," Y/N chuckles as they tilt their head to the side—glancing at them with a smile. They extend their hand holding the cigarette, tapping it towards the trash can situated near the machine. They eye him with vague interest. "A millennia. A fucking millennia—Not even one but a couple actually—" Y/N takes a hit of the cigarette. "That's amazing."

The seed of Conquest blows another whiff of the stick and this time, the duo are prepared at the scent of the chemicals.

"I-I'm sorry, what are you talking about?" Ominis asks, pressing his need for clarification. Sebastian remains silent beside him.

Y/N grins underneath the fingers that snugly carry the stick between their lips. "You two."

"Us?" Sebastian raises an eyebrow.

"You seriously never thought about this? Y/N raises an amused eyebrow. The silence after confirms their thought which prompts a gleeful giggle from their lips.

Sebastian and Ominis take a pause to revel in the beauty of their laughter.

The seed of conquest then takes a step forth and gingerly presses an index finger against Sebastian's chest, "You keep finding him," Then Ominis, "You keep avoiding the inevitable," They then take a step back, taking a whiff of the cigarette before exhaling. "Doesn't it ring a bell, hm?"

It takes at least 25 seconds for the two to come to a realization. Both take it quite differently. Ominis pales while Sebastian flushes. Y/N thinks the colors contrast quite beautifully.

"How adorable," They coo before the machine finally beeps. They take their coffee with ease and take a few steps towards the two fumbling idiots. They lean close, whispering into their ears in the space between them. "Next time you two try and disrupt my work hours, I'll have you know that I can purposefully trap you in a never-ending time loop of a prison. Got that?"

The two nod carefully at their words before Y/N smiles and pats their shoulders. They make quick steps back towards their department before suddenly pausing and turning quickly with a smile.

"Also, you're both wrong," Y/N sighs as they tuck their hands inside the pockets of their coat. "I prefer Baby's-breath and milktea is my preferred choice of drink. 50% sugar with boba."

The two gape at her information. They tilt their head with a smirk, strands of hair falling ever so perfectly against their face.

"Do it right and maybe I'll agree to be taken by the two of you on a date."

And just as she says it, she leaves with the elegance and swiftness of a heavenly figure. The two couldn't even sneak a word in with what just happened, only grasping their gifts apologetically within their hands. In just a matter of a few minutes, Y/N has yet again made them speechless.

Not that the two of them would complain. There's just something about them that just leaves a breath of awe whenever Ominis and Sebastian get a chance to interact with the seed of Conquest.

Sebastian turns toward the Ominis who licks his lips in thought. "They did just say both right?"'

"Yes, Sebastian. They did."

"Are you in love with me?"

"I—"

"I think I'm in love with you," Sebastian hums, thoughtfully as if he's taking a pick which menu he'll be eating for lunch today. "I think maybe I am."

It's times like this that Ominis thinks that demons are insufferable. But then that's their charm, no? Having the ability to continuously infuriate you despite the circumstance. Ominis thinks that maybe he can try to live with that. After all, a couple of millennia with Sebastian had already been proven to be quite a taxing experience—what more a couple more years could do?

If Ominis could answer the questions of the lost souls that venture their interests in the realms beyond them, there's one thing he could definitely answer.

That demons are pricks and also can be the love of your life (you just maybe haven't noticed it yet because you're too busy driving a spear through his heart!), there's a hot overseer he can't stop thinking of, and that angels can also have gay panics.

How livid would humans be when they find out about this?

Well, I guess we'll never know.

A/N: yieeee im 20 now!! HBD TO ME!! (my bday was on the 4th, I was just too busy to post this) I hope y'all enjoyed this! Will consider doing a part two for this baby (NSFW if it has good views teehee) lmk!! love y'all!

[spotty-bee]

Hazbin Hotel Headcannon

I've been thinking a lot about Adam, Lute, Vaggie and the exorcists. How they all work and everything that we've learned over the course of the show about them. After looking over the pictures of them without their masks and all the back dealings with heaven I was kinda starting to think...

What if their all related?

Adam and Vaggie have the same skin colour. Lute has Adam's nose. They all have golden pupils (Though Vaggie's sclera is red, many have head cannoned that being from living in hell.) Vaggie and Lute both have white hair. Theres a lot of similarities between these characters physically and while that can be due to the art style, I do start to wonder.

However WHY would Lute , Vaggie and possibly all the exorcists be Adam's daughters? Well it starts to make sense when you remember that Sera wanted to keep the Exterminations under wraps. If you have Heaven Born or Saint (Dead humans who got into Heaven) warriors doing the exterminations, word would eventually get out. These people have lives outside of their work and all it would take is talking to a spouse or one of them feeling guilty before news spreads. IF you have warriors who's entire life was Exterminations, then they would A- be less likely to tell anyone and B- Be less likely to feel guilty if they weren't taught anything else.

As for where all these woman came from, my guess would be cloning. We know for a FACT that Heaven has Science.

A good way to get warriors that won't have outside influence/ loose lips is if they don't have any parents that will be wondering whats going on. Cloning would also ensure that warriors will walk off the assembly line fully grown and ready to train. Adam likely used his DNA and then mixed it with donated DNA from other Heavenly Residents . All he then had to do was train his army.

OF course this opens up some rather dark things to consider. There are at least 100 Exterminators. All of them are female. The likelihood of that happening by happenstance is extremely low. Adam had to have chosen to only have woman in his army, and when you factor in Adam's misogynist, narcissistic attitude, that dose not paint a pretty picture. We also need to consider that Adam was left to train/educate these woman with almost no outside interference. Sera made it clear she wanted as little to do with the Extermination business as possible and she maybe one of the few who knew about the army's creation. IN FACT I know she had nothing to do with the army because, apparently, Adam got to name these girls and nobody, and I mean NOBODY, stopped him from naming Vaggie after female anatomy. (I wouldn't be surprised if Vaggie is a nickname and she's actually just named Vagina.)

They seem to have lived a life of constant training and battle. Its also heavily implied that Vaggie (and Lute to a lesser extent) were taught to view themselves as disposable. Worthless if they didn't have someone to serve. We see it when Vaggie tries to lead the trust exercises, when she beats herself up for not making a proper commercial for the hotel, in fact she seems to have little personal life unless its training or Charlie is involved. Lute herself rips off her own arm just to try and help Adam. If Adam did raise/train them, then these are some pretty bad signs.

These are just some things I was thinking about looking over the show. I am also not making this to bash anyone who ships Adam and Lute. This is all speculation and personal interpretation. I've just never felt anything romantic between Lute and Adam, but they were clearly close. I took that last, tearful goodbye in the finally as a distant, estranged Father- Daughter relationship.

Anyway, what do you think? Its highly unlikely this is true, but could make for a fun, dark fan fiction or Au!