#don't worry she still has her cane

[hatocafe]

2020 vs 2023

Redesign of the Dwarven Queen in our game. :3c

[alastorss]

Could you maybe write something with Alastor and reader,

and reader gets hurt in the extermination and he cares for her? And maybe like she takes a nap on his lap and he just sorta falls asleep right next to her?

a/n: hello!! i sort of got carried away with this one and made it more sappy than i originally intended, but i hope you still like it! for context: the reader stepped into battle when alastor was hurt by adam and this is the aftermath :) hurt/comfort and fluff!

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Alastor has been eerily quiet since returning to the newly-rebuilt hotel, sutures and bandages in hand.

All his belongings, including his beloved cane, have been cast aside in lieu of medical supplies to be split between you. One measly box worth of gauze and sanitizing wipes. Definitely nothing to gawk at, but good enough.

He's stripped his shirt without any exchange of words. You know his silent request, too prideful to ask for your help verbally but desperation clear in his expression.

"Is this the only spot?" You ask, slowly stringing a suture through his skin. He hisses in pain—his only response. The demon doesn't even gratify you with his eyes anymore, opting to stare off into space as if his mind has taken a vacation elsewhere.

You frown but continue delicately stitching him, piecing him together until he's whole again. His back hits the dresser as he leans on it, body instinctively trying to crawl away from the stinging of the needle. Finally, you knot the end of the sutures and sigh in relief, reaching over to get something to clean the area.

"I'm glad this whole fiasco is over," you comment softly, knowing it won't make him look at you. "With their leader gone, maybe the angels will finally—"

"You disobeyed me," he suddenly snaps. "Why?"

You pause in your movements, blinking up at Alastor while he glowers at you. His eyes narrow into slits, half out of anger and half in a grimace.

"You were cornered. I couldn't just sit by and—"

"I told you to stay out of it," he interrupts again, slapping away your hand. You gasp, alcohol wipe hitting the floor beside you. Defiantly, you challenge him with a glare of your own.

"I'm trying to help, asshole!"

"I know, I know!" He explodes, obviously frustrated. "And look where it got you!"

He pinches your chin to tilt your head up toward him, rotating your face around so he can observe your wounds. A cut lip, a bruising eye—horrible reminders that sinners could be hurt. And you were no more of a sinner than he, much less an Overlord who knew the shape of a soul.

"You risked your life by intervening! What if you had been struck down, you fool?"

Alastor's voice is all panic and no composure, missing any semblance of that accent which is so beloved to him. You know he's telling you exactly what he feels, true emotions unburdened by the character he built for himself in the afterlife.

"So be it! It's no less a fate than what would have happened to you!" You emphasize by jabbing your finger just above his wounded abdomen, careful not to agitate his fresh stitches.

Wincing, he goes silent. It's unnerving how quiet it is again. You've gotten so used to the ambient buzz of his static, but with it missing, you can feel the hairs on the back of your neck pricking up in unease.

He still hasn't released your face, clawed fingers pinching your chin and holding you in place. It isn't until he feels the wetness of your tears pooling at the pads of his fingers that he recoils in surprise.

Sighing, he twists over to open new packs of wipes. You stay still while he carefully cleans your face, ignoring your little whelps of pain the best he can.

Once the blood is gone, he pauses. Then, his fingers gingerly wipe under your eyes, swiping away the globs of tears spilling down your cheeks.

You are pitiful right now, he thinks. Though he probably looks no better.

"I'm sorry," you hiccup. "I don't mean to make you worry."

His expression softens, though his viscous smile remains. You can see it in his eyes—something genuine buried beneath his act.

"I don't want you to die," you admit quietly.

"I wouldn't dream of it, my dear."

You laugh dryly, wiping up your tears on your own with your bloodied sleeves.

"But you almost did. What would I do without you?"

The question is rhetorical, but something vile still swirls violently in your stomach at the idea. As if knowing what's going through your mind, he grabs you by the cheeks and forces you to meet his stare again.

"Not another word out of you," he demands.

His gaze flicks to the bruising under your eye, flesh already discoloured and swelling. "Got a remedy?" You grumble.

Alastor shakes his head but leans in anyway, pressing a chaste kiss just below the swelling. His lips linger on your skin for a moment before he pulls away, amused by your stunned expression.

He invades your space again, this time kissing the crown of your head. Speaking into your hair, he whispers, "I will be more careful. I promise."

"And I'll think before charging into battle after you," you chuckle softly, overwhelmed by his warmth.

Slowly, he tugs you along and sits you on the sofa. He brushes the hair from your eye and takes the opportunity to look at it under better lighting. Just like that, he vanishes, melting into the shadows. When he reappears in front of you, he has cold packs. In a place so warm, they are of little use. But they are better than nothing, he supposes.

Groaning in pain, he seats himself beside you and allows you to slot under his arm. Two demons seeking comfort and companionship curled up together—any other Overlord would laugh.

But Alastor knows what it means to be loved, to have someone who would stand in front of a lethal blow for him, to be stitched back together by your hands.

In the safety of each others' presence, you both fall asleep with the faint hum of static filling the air.

~

taglist: @the-lake-is-calling @dragons-and-dwarves-are-nice @averylonelysea @bri22222 @cxrsedwxrlds @amarokofficial @anae-naea-zacheria @for-hearthand-home @fantasy-is-best @angixyc @th3-st4r-gur1 @i-am-nonbinary-bean-deal-with-it @dilemmaiscool @concentratedconcrete (send an ask to be added!)

[honeydazai]

୨୧·࣭࣪̇˖ 𝆬  having a secret enemies to lovers relationship with them 𝆬 𓏸

feat.: Jayce Talis, Vi, Ambessa Medarda, Mel Medarda, Ekko

content: f!reader, nsfw content, mild violence mentions

notes: this was commissioned by the most lovely @angelltheninth !! thank you so much again!! 💜

Honestly, JAYCE refuses to admit just how much he finds himself drawn to you. You're everything he's not, working in the shadows for Silco while he's Piltover's golden boy, the Man of the Future, and yet there's some odd tension between the two of you that he can't deny. He aches to label it as natural hate, though that couldn't be further from the truth. The catalyst for your eventual growing fondness of each other is when he's got you pinned down, imposing hammer so close to obliterating you and, God, he can't do it. You're his enemy, certainly, and yet he finds himself absentmindedly brushing some dirt off your cheek, touch gentle despite those huge hands.

After that, things go all too fast. One moment you're kissing, you softly moaning into his mouth, the next you try and sneak into the Academy, trying your hardest not to appear suspicious and, well — if you end up making out on one of the tables he usually does science stuff on, who can blame you? It feels all too nice to wrap your legs around his wide waist, pulling him closer while his dick pushes into you, calloused fingers roaming over your skin as if he's desperate to feel as much of you at the same time as somehow possible. It's all too good, until the sound of approaching footsteps, accompanied by the rhythmic thumping noise of a cane, makes both of you flinch, and you're forced to hide in an empty storage room, still dripping with need.

“Fuck, talk about horrible timing—, quick, in here, in here. God. Hopefully he'll leave real quick again, I'm stil hard; don't you worry, we'll continue just where we left off in but a moment. We just can't get caught.”

There is no word for what VI feels for you other than 'hate'. How could she not? As an Enforcer, you're her complete opposite, you're used to the riches and comfortable life of Piltover and, well, she would've never thought she could ever grow fond of you, but it turns out you look awfully pretty underneath her, pinned to the ground of Zaun. There's mud caked to the side of your face and a stray trail of blood runs down your forehead and, oh — for some reason, you don't do anything but moan softly when she leans down to meet your lips in a bruising kiss, her thick thigh spreading your own apart.

It's adorable how your cheeks flush when she calls you a teasing nickname; it's downright sweet when you whimper and press your body against her own. Your very reactions make you so very human, so very much like her. You're not that different from her at all, it appears, and that realisation itself makes things complicated. Vi swears she despises you, hates you with all her heart, but when she sneaks away to your usual meeting place, the sixth time this week, rough touches having turned into loving embraces along the way, she can't say she's being entirely truthful.

“Hey, sugar! You made it. Fuck, I'm always so happy to see ya, it's ridiculous. My heart's beatin' all fast. Oh—, hey, you're eager today, hm? Wanna continue that badly where we were interrupted last time? Fine by me. You gotta spread those cute legs of yours then, darl.”

It comes as no surprise that a powerful woman such as AMBESSA has quite a lot of enemies. There's all too many people who wish her death or worse for the countries she's conquered or the people she's slayed — and yet you're the only one who has ever caught her eye. It's all too easy to have you brought to her luxurious chambers, and even when you're glaring at her, eyes narrowed with nothing short of hatred, she doesn't care, really. Her fingers come up to grab your chin, keeping your head in place as her gaze rakes over your face, taking every feature of your face in.

You're not sure whether to be enraged or relieved that, apparently, she's satisfied with what she sees, though it's a lot preferable when, minutes later, she seats you on one thick thigh of hers rather than having you beheaded. Really, you couldn't stifle your mewls and moans even if you tried when she grinds said leg up against your already dripping folds. Over time, you grow fond of her — something you hadn't thought possible —; your relationship stays a secret, but your smile at her praise is honest, your laughter joining her boisterous one is not an act at all. She's surprisingly sweet for such a bold woman and, well; the fact that she leaves you unable to walk for a day or two whenever she's between your legs is a pretty convincing factor to stay with her, too.

“Aren't you just the sweetest little one? C'mon, now, no need to be shy. You've been grinding against my thigh like a bitch in heat before, haven't you? Surely you can do it again. Though, if my leg isn't good enough for you, maybe you're just not as desperate to cum as I thought.”

There's always been tension between you and MEL; how could there not be when you were anything she didn't stand for, being her political enemy and everything? Really, the amount of bickering you two did was close to ridiculous, and yet neither of you seemed to mind it all too much. Even though you don't make a pretty picture up on a stage or behind the council roundtable, you look all too ethereal on her bed, legs spread wide and arching your back while slender fingers alternate between gently rubbing and meanly pinching your throbbing clit.

Really, you'd worry about it being all too obvious how often you search up her quarters, though she's quick to distract you with soft kisses and the occasional cruel graze of teeth against your neck. There's no need to worry about anything, truly; when Mel wants your relationship to stay between the two of us, it will remain a secret at all costs.

“My, my. You're quite adorable today, hm? So very needy for my touch, and yet I remember quite clearly how you've challenged me in front of the rest of the Council. Love, it almost looks like you were aching to be punished by me. Is that not the case? I might go easier on you if you at least admit it.”

EKKO despises you. There's no way around it. Ekko despises you and, if needed, fights you with all his might, and yet his expression, Firelight mask long knocked off his face, softens oh so visibly when he, one day, meets you at random, your injuries awfully bad. He's not sure what he's thinking when he takes you in and cares for your wounds, nursing you back to health; you're his enemy, damn it, and he should act like it, but the only explanation he has for how he's acting is that empathy is an all too human trait he can't seem to get rid of, no matter how hard he tries. He can't just leave you in the Undercity to rot.

By the time you're back to full health, you can't deny that, even though you're supposed to be enemies, you've bonded quite a bit. He's funny and loving, protective of you, even; and even though your relationship has to stay secret at all costs, given how he'd otherwise lose credibility with the Firelights and you'd be called a traitor, you both can't help but sneak away at night to see each other, you embracing him in a loving hug and his lips pressing against yours all too eagerly. With Ekko, it takes a while until it gets to making out and getting even more intimate, but that's quite alright. There's no need to rush it; you're both more than happy to lose track of time while cuddling and kissing.

“Would've never thought that, one day, I'd be kissin' someone like you like this. Hey—, in a positive way. Don't get me wrong on purpose. Y'know I love everything about you. Yeah? Good. It's almost sunrise, though. 'm afraid you'll have to go back soon.”

tags: @vislovelywife @Mamanaga @vaemadz @cicada-teeth @jinxsslut @silcosnumber1 @coochie-intervention @inertiacreams @shinwifexx @rhaeena @bumbookitten @greeniegreengreen @my-awakened-ghost @afidiofobia @helloyellowsheeps @yuuotosaka3 @sccarymonster @satoruislove @pastelsbaby @artsyxabbyx @ cyan-skulls @arboranimus @marina-and-the-memes @holysmokesblog @twilightdollie @kaaylvst @definitely-not-v @innerstrawberrypolice @misty-q @perylinsus @pleasemakeitgayer @imaginesbymk @meimayooo @doxmino @smolbeandrabbles @darknessbyme @darthkenobii @mars738 @cupcakkesinflatedwetbussy @illicittete @lemzhargreeves @festivalthrash

@savagemickey03 @rosepxtlz @user4837 @Nervousartisanheart @mikariell95 @mechmoucha

@silcobrainrot @Medeaa5 @nocturnal-onlooker @modernamilf @catsaiem @t0r @beyondblissxoxo @zillahvathek @brainrottingrn @klaudia7 @okura-s

@666abby6666 @ironnieincarn8 @watercolourdreams @scturne19 @ladykatakuri @lunerenzo @cowboykiri @soullessbody @thottywizard @celebrity-crushes27 @ygrworld @sevikasslvtt @chaoticevilbakugo @trashbod @MiloMalaise @berywritesstuff @alice0blog @gooseberries88 @s1t1n0ny0url4p @black-rose-29

[alexa-fika]

ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! Last request before I sleep

Here me out shanks with a 13 year old daughter (who has his iconic red hair) reader who absolutely despised him because he's the reason why her town got attack (Shanks keeps flirting with her mother unknowingly he accidentally made her into an outcast)

Reader who's snarky, a bit rude but polite and well mannered (unlike shanks)

Reader who's always reading and very elegant royalty like but not spoiled and very serious all the time (unlike shanks)

Reader who's secretly insecure and scared that she's always gonna be in her father shadow

Reader who is always in the whitebeard pirates (THOUGHT THIS WASN'T A WHITEBEARD REQUEST BUT I MADE IT ANYWAYS?)

Reader who always dye their hair into black

Reader who bonds with ace because of their daddy issues 🥰

That's it. That's the tweet

Roots ( Ace x f!teen!reader)

A/N here we go, I dont feel with this one, I feel like I missed the whole vibe you were trying to get when you submitted the regret, I spend a week just staring at the screen trying to think of how to approach it and I can’t say I choose the right one

Dokucha frowns as the book on her hands is ripped away from her hands, only to let a small smile as she recognizes the candy cane-patterned bracelet

"Ace, you're back," she stated, looking up at the grinning man squatting on the railing

"I'm back," he responds, jumping down from the railing and bringing the girl into a side hug

"What have you been up to today?"

"I am actually taking a small breather before I continue training; I believe it's Haruta's turn for a session," she stated gingerly, clenching her hands in a lower position

"Turn?"He furrowed his brows at her words and the implications behind them

"Dokucha, how many sessions have you done?"

She bites at her lip, shifting her gaze away from his

"This would be the seventh," she muttered

"I told you to stop pushing it, you're only thirteen dokucha, it's okay to train, but this is too much," he scolded

"Is this about Shanks?" he muttered, kneeling down to her level

"I don't want to fall behind."

" I know you don't, but are you just going to waste your life trying to catch him?

Isn't that what you don't want to do? To live your whole life trying to surpass your old man?"

"I can see it in their eyes, Ace, every time we go on a mission; all they can see is him, they don't think of me as Dokucha, they just see his daughter," she murmured, teary eyes flickering back to the man

"Then let them. They have no place in your life, so why would you care what a bunch of strangers think?" he asked

He frowns at the small unconvinced hum that leaves the teen at his words only to bounce back as an idea comes to mind

“ Hey, I found a cool place on my way back; it’s only a few minutes on the Striker; wanna check it out?”

“But Haruta is expecting me…”

“Don’t worry about that; you said you still have some time, right?”

“I suppose so, b-

“Great, you head to the Striker; I will catch back up in a second; need to get something before we head out,” he said, running off

“W- Ace! I din- and he’s gone” she mutters at the retreating form of the commander, taking a glance down at the striker that had been tied to the Moby Dick

“I guess no harm in a small ride.”

-

“How did you find this place?” she muttered

The two found themselves sitting on the Striker, their leaves soaking in crystal clear water as they watched all the fish swim around them, curious about the two visitors

“I visited this island before on one of my missions.”

“Hm”

"Listen, Dokucha, I have told you about my father, yeah?”

“Yes, you did.”

“The reason why I'm so pushy on stopping what you’re doing is because I made the same mistake, and it cost me over 15 years of my life” he started, noticing how his words had finally gotten the girl’s attention

“ I spent all that time trying to follow my father’s legacy, to surpass him. To become the pirate king, to Defeat whitebeard. All the while, it just ate me inside; I was blindsided and led by my anger toward him for all those years. I missed many opportunities to enjoy, to have a carefree childhood just to accomplish that goal”

“How did you…why…”

“Why I stopped?”

“Yes”

“I found pops.”

“ I thought your goal was to take him down to prove yourself?” She asked now facing his way as her legs Straddled the Striker giving him her full attention, loookimg up at him in confusion

“It was; I spent the next few days going after him even after he took me into the moby; every day, I would try.”

“I refuse to believe that” she scoffed with an amused laugh

“I'm serious!

Tried over a hundred times, and every time, I would end up with either a bloody nose or thrown into the sea.”

She covers her mouth as she lets out a muffled laugh at the thought of a grumpy, drenched Ace

“A-Anyway, after that, Marco and later Pops talked with me; it made me realize how useless it was to try to take Pops down and follow after someone else’s dream.”

“Din’t you feel disappointed?”

“Quite the opposite, I felt free for the first time, felt free to make choices based on what I wanted and not to surpass my father; it’s led me to where I am now, and it was the best realization I made in my life.”

“…”

“Keep it in mind, okay? Let’s head back for now,” he said, pushing himself up, extending a hand to the girl as he prepped the Striker

“How do you think I should start?”

“Start what?” He questions, manauvering the Striker through the waves, slowing down as he puts his attention on her

“Letting go”

“Maybe you should start with this,” he said, flicking their head

“Jerk, what was the reason for that?”

“Stop trying to change yourself; your roots are coming out; why don’t you let them grow?”

“Ah!” She exclaims covering her head at his comment, missing the way he sighed and shook his head only to come back to her senses as a weight was placed on her head

“You should be proud of yourself, the way you look, the way you are; at the end of the day, it’s yours, not his; now might be the best time

She looks up at the ravenette questioningly, his iconic hat now missing from his head and gingerly placed on hers

“What do you mean?”

He simply gestures to the new vessel now anchored next to the Moby Dick

“What is he doing here.”

Thoughts?

Taglist:

@Imaginarydreams

@amethystviolin

@h0n3y-l3m0n05

[stawberrypimpsimp]

Alastor x Reader: A Cane is a Useful Tool

Word Count: 1,871

This is my first smut attempt please be nice. ;-;

Looking up at the disheveled hotel you walk in defeated. Hell has been well, simply hell. Walking around aimlessly lacking a purpose. Simply what are you supposed to achieve in hell, well you thought until you saw an ad on TV about a “rehabilitation” hotel. Giving up you decided why the fuck not. As you enter the doors you see a blonde demon staring at you in delight. You attempt to back away but your hand was rightfully grabbed by her’s.

“Hello! I'm Charlie and welcome to the Hazbin Hotel where we help demons like you! Now this is Angel Dust…” She says pointing at a spider-like creature hanging over a bar trying to seduce..? The bartender. “Then there next to Angel Dust is Husk.” She said,

Husk grumbled “Blah blah welcome to the hazbin hotel and what fucking not.”

“Oh oh this is Vaggie!” Charlie continues to go on now holding the other girl's hands.

“Hello! Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel!” She attempts to say enthusiastically although her nervous tones take over.

Charlie, still with a big smile, points to the last demon in the room. “Then this is Alastor! Er the radio demon..”

He snaps his neck and turns around with a massive grin.

“Hello there, a pleasure to meet you darling.” He says in a voice that sounds of radio static.

Overwhelmed and uncomfortable you start to back out of the doors until a small demon with one eye appeared out of nowhere.

“No no no, you are filthy time to clean you up!” She says forcefully grabbing you with mighty strength.

Alastor appears to your side “This is Niffty, little sweetie Niffty.”

“Let's go, let's go get you all cleaned.” The small demon says pushing you.

“What the fuck, Im not filthy you little...” You trail off snickering.

“Come on now sugar tits don't be such a downer.” Angel dust says chugging a bottle of booze.

Alastor now is standing at the door preventing you from leaving, starting to what all you can describe is glitch?

“Now darling, I'm quite bored and we haven't had a visitor in a while. Stay a while.” He says pushing you with his cane making you stumble forward.

Succumbing to the overwhelming personalities in the room you slump at the bar. Planting your head on the table you mumble. “Hey uh Husky or something... pour me a drink…”

Alastor comes and sits next to you at the empty seat. “Husk my boy a glass of whiskey!”

“Yeah whatever…” Husk grumbles.

The radio demon continues on “Now come on dear you're never fully dressed without a smile.”

Tilting your head to the side you look at the man with glaring red eyes.

“Huh well aren't you something…” You scoff. The man cracks his head into a tilt with a loud crack grinning. He lets out a loud laugh then drinks a sip of his whisky. Charlie comes up behind you rubbing your back kindly.

“Hey don't worry, we are here to help! We’ll make you a whole new demon!” Charlie continued on with her happy monologue.

“Thanks... I guess. I got no place better to go and this is a free stay, so why the fuck not.” You say with a half assed smile.

“Yay a new resident!” Charlie says with stars in her eyes.

“Perchance, where will I be staying…” You trail off looking around at the slightly disheveled inside.

“Follow me this way!” Charlie continues gleefully to say as she grabs your hand and is once again dragging you. Vaggie follows along well Angel dust sits next to Alastor bending over the bar flirting with Husk. Thinking to yourself you relize your in for a fucking shit show, but whats the worst that can happen.

“Here is your room!” Charlie says opening the door. The room is so dusty and obviously uninhabited for some time.

Bashfully Charlie says “Well um, it needs a little cleaning but don't worry we have Niffty!”

“Filthy filthy FILTHY!” The little demon says.

Alastor appears out of the shadows. “My oh my what a terrible condition.”

Niffty wastes no time getting started, in record speed it's all clean.

“Your turn your turn filthy demon.” Niffty goes on saying with an aggressive tone.

“Nope nope, I'm done for the day. Thank you and good day.” You say slamming the door on everyone, sliding down the door. Mumbling to yourself putting your head in your hands “oh god oh god what was I thinking...” Out of the corner of your eye you notice red eyes in the shadows with a big sharp grin. “Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck” you say wide eyed with fear staring in the darkness. The radio demon comes into view now standing in the faint light with his cane.”

“Well hello my dear aren't you just an entertaining mess.” He says once again with a snap of his neck.

You stay in silence standing up pressed against the door. He sleuths in the darkness now in front of you.

“Now now why don't you show me an entertaining time. My boredom has grown and I need… A good show you could say.” Alastor says with his static voice slightly more distorted with a sinister look in his eyes.

He takes his cane holding it in both hands now pressing it against your neck making you choke slightly.

“So my dear, give me a show to remember.” He says as his grin grows.

Once again you are stuck in silence but have to admit the radio demon is fairly attractive. His lengthy body and striking red hair. The monocle on his face resting on the cheeks of his malicious grin.

“I’ll take your silence and pink cheeks as a bashful yes.” He now says more excitedly.

Your hands now gripping the cane that's held to your neck not strong enough to push away he grins one last time now giving you a rough kiss unsurprising to you with the aggression. Now losing his grip on the cane you push back not breaking the kiss forcing him to fall on the bed.

“Oh my dear how hilarious of you to think you can overcome me.”

You glare at his cocky face when he flips you on your stomach. He pulls down your pants revealing your underwear as he then sets his cane next to him. Setting his hand on your head he smashes your face in the bed slightly smothering you. With your pants down and face in the bed unable to see you feel a slap on your ass. It doesn't feel like a hand.. But his cane?! Thinking to yourself you go on to think about how this demon sure does love his cane. I wonder what else he could possibly use it for… Feeling your ass get raw from each smack your moans increase well you grip the duvet on the bed. Letting go of your head you jerk it up. The stealthy man has his cane against your throat once again, this time a bit harder causing you to gasp. Your head spins, what the fuck. WHAT THE FUCK! You scream in your head, why can't you speak. Where is Charlie, Vaggie, even fucking Angel Dust?! The cane is released from your neck and brings you back into the moment gasping for breath trying to catch it.

“Alastor.. You..” You choke out softly.

Leaning over you he cups one hand around your face turning your head slightly enough to feel a tinge of a stretch. Stabling himself with his other hand at his side he leans to your ear. For a moment all you hear is static.

“Oh what a good show you are putting on. Might I say a temporary cure to my boredom.”

For some reason you blush harder. Feeling your panties begin to drip. Dammit you didn't realize how horny this got you. He removed the cup hand around your face now gliding his hands down your back till it reached your butt. He pulls your panties down making you release a sound of embarrassment and shock. You didn't take such a powerful demon like him to be so... Horny. He slips his fingers into your wet crotch. Planting your face back into the bed as the pleasure takes over your body, his fingers begin to move. He curls them up just right to hit the perfect angle. Alastor lets out a chuckle as your body tightens. He pulls his fingers out and you can hear him licking them.

“What such a unique taste for a demon, a satisfying quench for my thirst you could say.”

With your face still buried in the bed and your hearing amplified, the sound of a zipper being undone rings in your ears. Before you have time to process you feel something hard rubbing against your wet slit. Oh god you haven't felt this good in so long, maybe this place really is your salvation. The tip of his dick slips in you. A muffled gasp escapes your mouth. He keeps pulling it in and out just teasing you with his tip.

You lift your head up “More.. please.. I promise.. To put on.. A show to re-remember.” you mumble.

“Of course my dear as long as a wonderful performance is done!” He snickers and grins.

Finally shoving his cock in you all the way you moan, hoping it wasn't too loud to be heard through the door. He grabs your hips, digging his hands into your sides thrusting. For some reason his static groans drive you to slam your body on his dick. He lets out a deep groan, almost monstrous one could say. He pulls out once again teasing your wet pussy.

“My my what is the point of a show if you cant see the expressions that define the emotions!” Alastor says well you hear a crack of his neck. He grabs your wrist and turns you on your back.

“Darling it's a pleasure to see that face again.” He says with a unique seductive tone.

His hand wraps around your neck. Damn this guy loves to have you in his grip. He straddles you with his knee and slips back into you. Never once does his cocky grin leave his face. It's terrifying yet somehow exhilarating. A smile creeps upon your face, giving the overlord a mimicking look. He burst into laughter, not stopping from giving you pleasure. You grab the wrist of the hand that's choking you. You dig your nails into him as you feel your body succumb to ecstasy.

“F-Fuck!” You gasp well, widening your eyes. A new expression crosses his face, one of satisfaction you could say.

“What a mighty good show darling. I’ll have to come by again when I'm feeling bored.” He says gripping your throat harder as he cums in you, static ringing in your ears. The demon pulls out zipping up his pants brushing himself off as if he had dust on his clothing. He sticks his hand out well and his cane snaps into its rightful place. He bows and opens the door ready to exit.

“Farewell darling.” He says, closing the door behind him as he leaves.

[shaykappa]

Favourite/Funniest Line's from Crooked Kingdom

"Let's go." "Me?" "No the idiot behind you."

"How is-" "Nina is fine. Jesper is fine. Everyone is fine except for me because I am stuck with a gang of hand-wringing nursemaids."

"Now why can't people be this easily trained?" Kaz murmured as he crouched to oblige the dog with a belly rub.

"Did you know I am next in line for the Fjerdan throne? They call me Princess Ilse of Engelsberg." "There is no princess of Engelsberg. It's a fishing town."

"Has anyone noticed this whole city is looking for us, mad at us, or wants to kill us?" "So?" "Well, usually it's just half the city."

"Big, blond and blind. The Fjerdan way."

"If I live I'll buy you waffles." "You don't have enough money to buy her waffles."

"Do you know what Van Eck's problem is?" "No honor?" "Rotten parenting skills?" "Receding hairline?"

"Isn't that how things are done around here? We all tell Kaz we are fine and the do something stupid?" "Are we that predictable?" "Yes."

"It seems everyone is forming alliances." "They're called friendships Kaz."

"You are very welcome Nina Zenik. You may repay me in the costumary way." "Waffles?" "Lots of them."

"I need to do this. I've never been to my mother's grave. I am not leaving Kerch without saying goodbye." "Trust me, you care more than she does."

"You are stupid about a lot of things Wylan, but you are not stupid. And if I ever hear you call yourself a moron again, I am going to tell Matthias you tried to kiss Nina. With tongue." "He' ll never believe it." "Then I 'll tell Nina you tried to kiss Matthias. With tongue."

"Come on, let's do steal all my dad's money. "Isn't it your money?" "Okay, let's go steal it back."

"I think you 'd flirt with a date palm if it would pay you any attention." "If I flirted with a plant, you can bet it would stand up and take notice."

"Yes, yes, Nina Zenik is hungry. Now, will someone feed me before I am forced to cook one of you?" "Don't be ridiculous. You don't know how to cook."

"On a dare I ate a literal through full of waffles and nearly went back for seconds."

"Pick up the pace." "If I spill a single drop of this it will burn straight through the floor onto my father's dinner guests." "Take your time."

"I am Dunyasha, the White Blade, trained by the Sages of Ahmrat Jen, the greatest assassin of this age." "Doesn't ring a bell."

"Fate brought me here." "And does fate pay your wages?"

"My parents thought I would drown because I crawled into the sea as a baby, laughing." "Perhaps they were worried you would talk yourself to death."

"Kaz. You may not be glad we are alive, but we are glad you are alive."

"You are better than waffles, Matthias Helvar." "Let's not say things we don't mean, my love."

"Are you mad?" "I'd probably be happier if I was."

"You have to be the craziest bastard I ever met." "I'll take that as a compliment."

"My leg! My leg!" "I recommend a cane."

"What is wrong with him?" "Same thing that's always wrong with him. He's Kaz Brekker."

Jesper followed Wylan down the hall. "Hey." Wylan kept going.

"Jes, I 've thought about this-" "Thought of me? Late at night? What was I wearing?"

Wylan ran his tongue over his lips and spat in his father's face.

He was pale, with tufty orange brows and a hunched posture that gave him the look of a giant shrimp.

He felt bad for the guy. Not bad enough to wake him up and untie him, but still.

"I 've been shot!" He had not been shot.

"How about I push you in the canal and we see if you know how to swim?"

"Tell you what. When the day comes, mark it on your calendars. I can think of a lot of people who 'll want to throw a party.

"Wait. Is my tie straight?"

[onnahu]

Joyfire brainrot

Not long after The Outlaws dealt with Untitled, Cheshire cane to Roy with a suprise. It's a girl!

Roy will of course keep his daughter, but his relationship with Kori and Jason is kinda... idk, loose? Open? Kori is not into labels, and Jason has kinda screwed sense on love and relationships. So he's scared it'll be the end. They surely won't want to get involve in a whole ass child!

But, suprise, they are very much ready. Not as parents - they both have very complex issues with their own family/parents, and won'tcommit as such. But they will stick to Roy. They will help with Lian.

So, The Outlaws newer break. They stick together, and try to get handle on basic parenting and babies caring. The babyproofed the spaceship.

For now, Lian is a tiny little baby, but when she starts to grow, they have to figure out how to socialise her with other children. Where, and with who will they do that?

So. They run away to some far-ass little village. Kinda like Smalville,but with kindergarden and families that live there. They get a house, and they hide the spaceship in their garden.

And then Jason freaks out, because oh shit, he kinda left Gotham, and he bought a house, and he's the second emergency contact for Lian. (Kori's the second. Lian wanted it that way, nobody knows why.)

So he kind of get away on some mission,and Roy and Kori get super worried. Lian is sad too, because she doesn't know when Jay will be back.

Then it is time for Kori to freak out. Because she realises that that thing they had? It was loose, and open, and they never labeled what was between them. She was scared on getting hurt like with Dick. And now it became something real. She's parenting a child, even if they don't call it like that. And she loves Lian, and Jason and Roy. So she gets spooked and is like 'I'll go search for Jason' and promptly dissapear.

And then Roy freaks out. Because yes, Kori and Jason and even him were going on missions from time to time, but he's suddenly alone with Lian, and he's got no idea where his partners are!

Lian, go figure, is the smartest one. She pats Roy on the back and says the will obviously be back, because they obviously love each other. When Jason and Kori are back, slightly more freaked out, she also pats them and is like 'dad loves you, and i love you, you can't dissapear like that. Dad was very sad'.

With that, they have very adult conversation about their feeling, and they kinda say out loud that they're exclusive and together, and they love each other.

Fast forward, let's say a year. The summer break is on, and Lian wants to go to space. And joyfire are suckers for her, so they do go to space. And they get married in space. There is a whole situation around it, bat that's the point.

Lian is very glad to be a Tamaranian princess. Jason secretly is also enjoying being a prince by law.

Kori nad Jason still aren't mom and dad for Lian, but they're her parents, and it's kinda just accepted. Especially now that they're married to Roy.

Meanwhile, Arrows and Bats've got no idea what's going on. Outlaws are kinda popping out all around the world from time to time, but mostly stays silent. When they finally get their shit together and try to repair their relationships with them, they're very suprised.

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

One night at the Hotel, they're scrolling through HellFlix and Vaggie suddenly gasps.

Vaggie: NO FUCKING WAY! It's finally on here!

Charlie: What? You find a show you like?

Vaggie: Not just "like", this is the best show EVER! I've wanted to binge it with you for years!

Charlie: Oh, neat! So, what show is it? What's it about?

Vaggie: I got three words for you, babe. Xena. Warrior. Princess!

SHE WILL RULE IN HELL AT LAST! HER TV SHOW SHALL REIGN SUPREME IN THE HEARTS OF THE MOST DANGEROUS BEINGS IN HELL!!!!! there is just ONE worrying part to that though....

Charlie: "Wait, she kills the king of hell?"

Vaggie: "It's not a historically accurate show babe don't worry about it."

Charlie: "Still... now I'm picturing her murdering my dad. Not sure how to feel about it..."

Lucifer: (intensely eating popcorn behind them) "Well I'd feel GREAT about it!"

Charlie: "Wh- Dad!?"

Lucifer: "It would be an honor."

Charlie: "To be KILLED by her???"

Lucifer: "Of course! Look at her snarling war face! Look at her THIGHS-"

Charlie: "DAD!!!!!"

Vaggie: (sighing) "Wish I was king of hell so she'd murder me..."

Lucifer: "Poor Maggie." (pats her) "There there, maybe Xena- or Gabrielle might be better seeing as you've been cheering every time she comes on screen- maybe they'd agree to murder the princess consort of hell too?"

Vaggie: "I uhhhh- s-sir, me and Charlie, we're not-"

Lucifer: "Right yes of course! Future princess consort."

Vaggie: "Ffffffuture-?"

Charlie: "DAD HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT ABOUT XENA!? YOU ARE STILL MARRIED TO MOM!"

Lucifer: "Ohhh Char-Char.... Lilith would be FIRST in line for death at the hands of this warrior princess lady and her gal pal. Especially if they used those amazing thighs of theirs to-"

Vaggie: "Sir, please don't finish that sentence and ruin the best show in all creation for my girlfriend by adding more family trauma."

Lucifer: "Whoops! Gosh am I saying too much now? Oh golly, my bad my bad, ha ha ha!"

Charlie: "...."

Vaggie: "Sweetie? Wanna switch the show off for a while?"

Charlie: "....actually, Vaggie..."

Vaggie: "?"

Charlie: "... D'you think we could get a Xena costume in your size?"

Lucifer: (jaw drops)

Vaggie: "Hhhhh... I- yeah, probably? I mean.... this is hell, and her outfit is mostly leather, so...."

Charlie: "Would you wanna wearrrrr it~?"

Lucifer: (drops popcorn)

Vaggie: "Do you even have to ask?"

Charlie: "Mmmm heheh- but I like setting a good example, and you know I loooove it when people ask~"

-THUD-

Charlie: "ohshitballsdickfuck- DAD-"

Vaggie: "Hostia!" 

Lucifer: "IM FINE! AHAHAHA"

Charlie: "Dad- dad im so SORRY i forgot you were here-!"

Lucifer: "NO NO I HEARD NOTHING AND AM A-O-KAYYY!!!!"

Charlie: "You fell face first onto your own cane! You're BLEEDING!"

Lucifer: "Everything is fine! Once I've been sick into this bag of popcorn i will be extra specially FINE and our little impromptu family tv night together is going SO SPLENDEDLY WELL, isn't it Maggie!?"

Vaggie: "Ajo y agua..."

Charlie: "VAGGIE HELP- THE BLOOD??"

Vaggie: (sighing) (smiling) (standing up)

Vaggie: "...I'll go get the first aid kit."

-silly bonus-

Niffty: (from under couch) "I'll trade you the first aid kit for a vile of his bloooooood~~"

Charlie, Vaggie, Lucifer: (screaming and jumping on the couch and clinging to each other in terror)

Niffty: "Don't worry!" (giggles) "It's just for my Collection~"

Charlie, Vaggie, Lucifer: (screaming LOUDER)

[felassan]

Neve's outfit just has such a great design!! the silhouette it has - iconic, delightfully Tevene. Neve's piece really reminds me of the feel and vibe of her DA: The Missing cover. In the background are the towers and streets of Minrathous, the city that is her home - including the iconic floating castle. with its white/pale blue light, shimmer and the impression of ice crystals the magic she is casting has, it looks like she's using one of her ice mage abilities. It's cool, even the chair she is sitting on has that diamond, rhombus (not sure if I'm describing this right, but hopefully you know what I mean ^^) kinda design Tevinter things tend to have. you can see it in like their doorways and windows and stuff. I love the unique design of her staff/wand, and in this painting it reminds me of a cane. as in like, you know, didn't Sherlock Holmes sometimes carry a stick or cane? like Hercule Poirot? that kind of vibe. fitting for a detective and private investigator. :) in one of the past trailers they talked about "hard-boiled detective stories", which on reflection now I feel can surely only be in reference to Neve! a lil touch of film noir.

In the background, spotlighted (as if by one of the spotlights from the floating castle) against the wall and looming over her, is the ominous shadow of another person, or entity. the staff they carry implies they are a mage. A random Venatori? A Venatori leader? she has had dealings with them in the past, they don't like her and in the gameplay reveal we can see that they basically want to kill her and her allies; as someone affiliated with the Shadow Dragons, she's opposed to them. this could represent that opposition (Venatori/Neve) and the threat that they pose.

there's something off-looking about the shadow though - Tevinter magisters and Venatori etc wearing robes and getups that give them startling outlines is nothing new, but still. their arms are too long (unsettling), and the one without the staff, though it could just be the fancy trailing sleeves and embellishments on the person's robe itself, is drawn in such a way as to resemble a claw or talon. something demonic-y. their arms are all spiky, the waist over-narrow and waspish. A corrupt[ed] magister? An ancient magister? A demon? some combination thereof? ^^ There is something about it which reminds me of the designs of figures like the Architect and Cory, and they were not the only members of their group. the demonic vibe and recent Venatori plot stuff in general also makes me think of the trapped demon sealed in the Catacombs beneath the city of Minrathous, as detailed in The Streets of Minrathous in Tevinter Nights, in which Neve appears. in that short, she prevents the Venatori from releasing the demon, but it's not dead or defeated. Also, the way in which it was described in that short was 😀 extremely worrying. whatever it is, it feels like Neve's art piece is giving a glimpse at what her storyline in the game might involve.

[source]

[lexirosewrites]

okay i don't think i've sent anything for slick sunday yet so here i am. i had a very busy week (homecoming week at the daycare i work at) but i wanted to throw in a little something that i've been thinking about lately. i'm once again back with the super long posts that 100% have not been proofread at all but what else could you expect from me at this point.

i think we can all pretty much agree that it's very likely steve and eddie would lasting effects from the upside down. i wanna throw in some omegaverse steddie with those effects. i'm leaning the most toward alpha!eddie who has chronic pain, some days needing to use a cane to walk, and omega!steve with a seizure disorder (my small amount of research on this focused on epilepsy the most, so let's go with that one)

quick warning for mpreg and discussions of medical stuff that may be very inaccurate bc despite reading 3 separate medical articles on the topic, i am definitely not an expert.

they want a pup so badly. they're desperate to be parents. but it's terrifying. with steve's seizures, and eddie's near constant pain, they don't think it's going to be possible. it's too dangerous. steve's on medication for his seizures, and they know it can affect his chances of getting pregnant, and even have affects on the baby if he did. plus, steve is so worried about his seizures may hurt the baby.

i think, to everyone's surprise, nancy is the one to say something first. as a journalist, she does a lot of research, and she's good at it. she knows how much steve wants a family, has seen how he and eddie look at passing families while they're out and about. so, she goes digging. she reads articles and talks to doctors and neurologists and anyone else she could find that would have any level of knowledge on the subject. she's got research, and the sources to back it all up.

steve and eddie definitely hadn't expected to find nancy wheeler knocking on their front door, a pretty thick binder in her hands. they're even more surprised when she starts spouting off that they can have kids, and it can be perfectly safe to do so. she walks into their apartment and sits on the couch, slamming her binder on the coffee table for the dramatics of it before opening it up. she's listing off all her sources, rambling about all of her research. eddie and steve can't do anything but listen, completely enraptured by the fact that nancy would go to all this trouble for them. and they say just that when she finally says her piece.

nancy gives them a look. "why wouldn't i? you're my friends. i care about you, and i want you to be happy."

nancy's research, and robin's encouragement, is all they need to bring it up to steve's doctor at his next appointment. they're told it won't be easy. steve will have to change his medication, and it may not be as effective. he'll have to be monitored extra carefully. there will be more appointments and tests. there's still risks. but they'll be careful. if it'll get them a baby, they'll do whatever it takes.

it takes a long time. they try for nearly a year, and steve does everything possible. he does everything the doctors tell him. they change his medication. he takes some time to get used to it. he takes vitamins, and tries every trick in the book to conceive. and then finally, he gets the second pink line.

obviously they're thrilled. this is everything they've wanted. steve is very quick to call his doctor after telling eddie. they get an appointment set to confirm it. from there, steve feels like he is constantly at a doctor's office. he has frequent check ups with both his OB and his neurologist. he's almost always somewhere for a check up or an ultrasound or another test or scan. it's never ending. but every single time, steve reminds himself that it'll be worth it. every appointment brings him closer to meeting his pup. this is what keeps him, and his pup, as safe as possible.

they definitely have a few scares. steve still has seizures, and every one is terrifying for eddie. he's so worried, all the time. he's not sleeping well, which only makes his chronic pain flare up worse. some days, he struggles to even get out of bed. steve does what he can to help eddie feel better. he does so much of the housework so that eddie doesn't have to worry about it. he lets eddie sleep in when he can. he tries so hard not to wake him when he gets up to pee or throw up in the middle of the night. which just makes eddie feel even worse, the further along the pregnancy gets. he hates that steve is doing so much work when he should be resting, hates that his body physically won't let him take these things off steve's plate.

there's a big scare really far along in steve's pregnancy. he's about 7 1/2 months along, and he has a really bad seizure. the worst one he's had the whole pregnancy. his stress levels had been so high, and he couldn't take the time to slow down when eddie was having one of his worst flare ups in a while, and then suddenly he was on the ground. he'd thought for sure something was wrong when he felt cramping only an hour later. they'd immediately called the doctor and headed for the er.

everything works out happy in the end, ending with a healthy baby born only two weeks early. they still have concerns (mainly eddie, but steve too) but they're happy. eventually, a couple of years down the line, they decide they want to try again. they never make it to steve's six little nuggets dream, but they do end up with three perfectly happy children who know nothing but love from their parents. the end.

happy slick sunday friends :)

i love them😭😭😭

[theamazingdigitalraceway]

CHAPTER TWELVE

Welcome to Jurassic Park I mean, the Clamouring Cretaceous Claypits! Enjoy the scenery while it lasts and take photos of the dinos that cross your path! Be mindful of the carnivores, but don't worry! They only want to play! This is my game. My world. I will tear it apart to make it my own again.

A/N: special thanks to @paper-fowl for the track!

WARNING: digital body horror, peril, angst

~~~

Caine slowly hovered around the dark prison cell. The glow of the gold binary illuminated him from below. Light blue chains of code held out to the unseen walls, binding the prisoner in place. "Long time no see, Abel. Nice to see you're still holding out. Would hate for abstraction to take you away from your punishment too early."

Abel didn't respond. Didn't even move. His casual work office attire hung loosely from his tired body. Long, curled black hair hung over his face as he stared at the floor. A short unkept beard obscured the lower half of his face.

Caine visually inspected each part of the cell as he made his way around. "You look just as awful as the day I threw you in here. Tell me, so you still feel hunger? Thirst? Exhaustion? Everything a human body craves?" He used the head of his cane to lift Abel's chin. Thick curtains of hair covered Abel's face, but Caine could see his eyes cracked open. Piercing blue stared weakly back at him.

Caine tilted his head in mocking curiosity. "To be so close to death, and yet it will never come. One would think you should be pitied."

Caine turned swiftly, dropping Abel's head. The coded chains rattled lightly from the movement. He left the hidden cell and looked at Abel one last time before reactivating the firewall. "Captivum aeternum." Heatless fire closed around Abel and he was hidden from sight once again, beyond the void.

Abel lifted his head slightly as the light from the void beyond the fire faded. He glared at Caine's silhouette, blue static sparking in his iris. His body went limp as the static arced from his eyes and went through the cell floor.

~

Pomni sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the mystic galaxy rose. She slowly rotated it in her hand, the light butterfly fluttering around her wrist. Tears welled in her eyes. She was so overwhelmed by everything. She didn't know what to do, who to trust, so she cried. She was so lost in her emotions, she didn't even register the knock at her door.

Ragatha peeked inside. "Hey, sorry for intruding. It's just, we're worried about you, Pomni. Is it okay if I come in?"

Pomni didn't have the energy to answer. She let her tears drip onto the rose in her hand. Ragatha sat next to Pomni and put an arm around her. "Today was a lot. Do you wanna talk about it?"

Pomni sniffed, wiping her face with her sleeve. "It's more than that. So much more."

"Is it about us pressuring you to get answers out of Caine? We're desperate, but if this is too much, I understand-"

"Things are getting complicated." Pomni sighed, trying to stop crying. "Ragatha, does the name Abel mean anything to you?"

Ragatha thought for a moment. "No, why?"

"This person? Entity? Ghost? By that name has been talking to me. He says he can fix the exit. All I have to do is keep Caine distracted, but...I don't know if I should trust him. He seems a bit...unstable."

"A ghost is telling you he can get us out?"

"I know, it sounds crazy, but he's real. He's the one that been causing the crazy glitches. He was the reason the beast went berserk on the Fairy track. He said things will get worse because he's getting close to the mainframe, whatever that means."

"Pomni, I want to leave as much as the next person, but that does sound crazy. Have you told Caine?"

"No. I don't know if I can trust him either. He controls everything. What's to stop him from lying to gain my favor. To think I might be falling for it..." Pomni dropped the rose. "And now it turns out he has a twin brother of sorts??? Some [%$!#]head biker that makes the races even harder?? Like, WHY??"

Ragatha smiled sympathetically. "Caine's gone to some pretty strange lengths to keep us entertained. He's always seemed genuinely remorseful when someone abstracted, even if he kept his distance." She picked up the rose. "He's more human than I've ever thought possible, that's for sure."

"Enough to have real feelings for..?" Pomni mumbled.

"Maybe."

"Do you think he'd really let us go if the exit was fixed?"

Ragatha hesitated. "...I don't know."

"That's what scares me." Pomni held herself and leaned on Ragatha's shoulder.

Ragatha held the rose in from of Pomni as she comfortingly squeezed her shoulder. "I dont know much, but I don't think falling in love is a bad thing. If it helps, I know for a fact that he's never done this before."

Pomni stared at the beautiful rose. The voice in her head telling her it was all a sham to make her want to stay was getting quieter, overridden by her heart starting to crave his interaction. The very thought of him made her feel butterflies. "It's like Jax said...we either succum to the madness or get broken by it. I suppose I'm choosing the former." She scoffed at herself.

Ragatha sighed, thinking of her casual relationship with Loo. Another AI. "Whatever helps you cope."

"Thank you, Ragatha."

Ragatha smiled and leaned her head on Pomni's. "Anytime."

~

The next day, everyone sat silently in the lounge while waiting for Caine. No one ate, the air was too tense. Bubble chef hovered over the table, confused as to why they had no food requests.

"I'm fine. Please, stop staring." Pomni said from behind her hands as she leaned on her knees.

"Are you sure your ready to race?" Gummigoo asked.

"As long as nothing weird happens, I'll be fine."

"I'm pretty sure weird things happen no matter what." Gangle commented.

Caine popped in. "Hello, my bouncy baby beans! I hope you're ready to have a good race, because I've revamped an old favorite for today! Some our long term racers may remember a certain Clamoring Cretaceous Claypits??"

"Oh, yeah." Kinger spoke up. "That one was fun. We saw giant insects."

"That you did!" Caine twirled his cane. "I've improved the graphics and AI of the roaming dinosaurs so it's more immersive than ever before! The objective is the same: take photos of ever dino you see! They will be judged based on species and pose, giving you bonus points to potentially move you up a place in the ranking."

"How do we take pictures if we're driving?"

"I'm glad you asked, Pomni!" Caine snapped his fingers. Strange goggles fit over everyone's face. "Just blink, and a photo is taken! Don't worry, it only activates when the race starts. Who's ready to go back in time!?"

Nobody said anything or got up.

"Oof, tough crowd today." Caine tugged his collar. "Come on, everyone! Let's get those engines warmed up!"

The racers got up and filed out of the garage. Outside was a vast grassland than led off into a clay colored crater. Looking around they saw distant thick forests and a lake. The track didn't have as many crazy loops or jumps, as the focus was on the objective of taking photos. The racers karts were lined up at the start and ready to go, the stands were full of the cheering NPCs. Bubble waited at the start with the light.

Gangle timidly approached Caine. "There won't be any scary dinosaurs, will there?"

"I can assure you, the track is completely safe. Spared no expense on keeping the asset AI on it's set directive. Some of them will be more playful that others. This is like an interactive safari, but with dinos. It'll be fun!" Caine reassured.

Gangle nodded with a smile and went to her kart.

Kinger tried to adjust his goggles on his lopsided eyes but he could only cover one at a time. "...this is fine."

Zooble also has a hard time with their goggles fitting on their asymmetrical head. "This is stupid." She grumbled.

Jax rapped his fingers impatiently against the steering wheel. "Just take photos. How boring. The least he could do is make them try to eat us or something."

Caine could feel beads of nervous sweat on his top jaw. The disaster that was yesterday's race had clearly affected everyone's energy. Today's wasn't anything too complex or crazy. He hoped it would help his racers feel more accomplished again. Before starting his race announcements, he went to Pomni.

"I wanted to apologize." Caine removed his hat, hovering at Pomni's eye level. "You worked so hard to help me with the Fairylight Forest, only for it to go off the rails. You didn't even get to finish the race properly. You had to rely on SETH to get you across the finish line. Normally, I would commend a racer for doing so well as to trigger the new challenge, but honestly, he really isn't necessary. The tracks have been acting weird anough as it is without a new player in the mix. Maybe I have too many racers. The max has always been eight, but that was a long time ago and-"

"Easy..." Pomni said calmly. "Don't worry about the whole Fairylight thing. We tried something new and it didn't work. That doesn't mean it's your fault."

"But it does. I'm supposed to keep all of this running as smoothly as possible. Anything that goes wrong falls on me as Racemaster. Which is why I integrated the newer code in with some of more active dinos. To help salvage the experience that the Fairlyight Forest was supposed to be. I promise to make it up to you, Pomni."

"There's really nothing to make up for, but if you're offering...maybe another date?" She asked tentatively. She wasn't sure why she was still going a long with this but she wasn't sure what else to do.

"Why not?" Caine chuckled. "But something that doesn't involve tracks or karts or racing at all. Something just for you and me. Would you like that?"

Pomni searched Caine's eyes. If he held another motive, he hid it well. "Yeah...I would." Pomni smiled.

"Wonderful." Caine smiled back.

"I, uh, really like that flower you gave me."

Caine swooned. "I'd give you a thousand if I thought the game engine could handle it."

Pomni looked away shyly. "Maybe you can give me another when I win this race."

Caine brightened. "That's what I'm talking about! Go out there and win this, Pomni!" He lowered his tone. "And when you do, I'll have you swimming in roses."

Pomni ran off to her kart before her fluster got the better of her.

Caine couldn't stop smiling through his announcements. "Prepare yourselves for a race 66 million years in the making! Run with the troodons! Fly with the pterosaurs! Weave between the massive legs of the long-necked sauropods! Keep an eye out for secrets and WHATEVER YOU DO: don't get caught by the carnotaurus! RACERS! START! YOUR! ENGINES!!"

The karts came to life and the countdown began.

First light

Pomni adjusted her goggles. She heard a click and a high pitch whirr as she blinked. The camera was active.

Second light

She looked around for signs of Abel. No blue static or glitches to speak of.

Third light

One last look at Caine. He was staring again. Her heart fluttered from his attention and she resigned to it. It was getting harder to deny what she felt when he looked at her that way.

GREEN!!

Pomni's head wasn't in the game and she had a rough start but managed to keep up with the rear of the pack. They started with a wide run around a lake with dinosaurs of all sizes roaming around. It was nothing short of majestic. Caine's touch ups on the dinosaurs made them look lifelike. A massive, earth shaking dinosaur with legs the size of large tree trunks slowly meandered over the track, forcing the racers to drive underneath it. Pomni blinked at every neat dino she saw, not worrying about ranking or items. This was nice.

The grasslands became wooded, shrouding the racers but not plunging them into darkness. Gummigoo was nearly knocked off his bike in surprise when a medium sized dinosaur jumped out at him and ran along with him. The dino was thin and fast on two legs, keeping up with the karts no problem. It looked at Gummigoo, seemed to think for a moment, then moved on to another racer. It ran with Zooble then made a chirping noise. Suddenly, several of these fast dinos appeared from the trees, moving with the racers like a herded unit. They swarmed Zooble, snagging an item and disappeared as fast as they came.

Pomni got several pictures, laughing at the cute track interaction and Zooble's frustration. To add insult to injury, she got the next item before Zooble could.

~

Caine laughed. "Looks like those troublesome troodons found what they wanted! Watch your items, racers! Ragatha has the lead but we'll see for how long! Pomni is moving up and so is Gummigoo! Come on, Kinger! You can keep up! You've done this track before!"

~

Jax got an item that was relatively rare after the top hats and purple shells. A clown horn. He lifted it up in the air, surrounded by other racers. "Let's get this party started!" He squeezed the horn and it created a deafening sound that crippled the others. He sped off ahead, leaving the woods to were the track was surrounded by tall grass.

Pomni thought her ears would bleed, she was right next to Jax when he set off the horn. She claimed an item, hit a boost and rocketed after Jax. Ragatha and Gummigoo right behind her.

Kinger turned hard left, leaving the main track. However, instead of being wrangled by a bunch of bubbles, he kept going. He had found a shortcut. Gangle and Zooble followed. They weaved in between trees, following Kinger over rough wooded terrain to a clearing. The side path track circled a lone brick building. A sign out front said "visitor center".

~

"And the track secret has been found!" Caine proudly announced. "Our veteran racer has found the visitor center, who's photograph is worth the most amount of bonus points! Get those snapshots! But watch out for the residents."

~

Kinger took a photo and gave Gangle and Zooble a thumbs up. Gangle waved appreciatively but then screamed as something large jumped onto the track in front of her. She swerved around the utahraptor as it snapped it's jaws at her tires. "AAAAH KINGER!! WHY DIDN'T YOU MENTION THE RAPTORS!?"

"I forgot they were over here." Kinger shrugged. He spun out as another raptor pounced his kart, digging it's massive hook claws into the hood.

Zooble took out a popper and expertly avoided an attack. "You got the photo!? GO!!" She threw the popper and it exploded right in the middle of the small group of dinos. They screeched and dispersed, opening the track for the racers to flee.

The three zoomed off, the raptors in hot pursuit. They left the clearing and drove single file through the thick brush. Zooble was in front, she didn't know where so was going or where this side track was leading to, but she was focused on leading Gangle away from the raptors.

~

Pomni, Ragatha, Jax, and Gummigoo all aggressively vide for first as the track wound through the tall grass. As Ragatha was about to throw a shell, a roar to her right. A massive bibedal dino rushed out of the grass and charged the racers. Ragatha screamed and threw her shell at it. The shell bounced off the dino's nose with a hollow THUNK. It didn't have any effect.

Zooble, Gangle and Kinger all came bursting out onto the scene from the shortcut. The raptors long gone, but now they had a much bigger problem with a lot more teeth.

~

"There he is!" Caine excitedly announced. "The big bad carnotaurus has found our leaders and will hold back the slowest racer! Drive like your rank depends on it!" Caine double checked every POV of the track. So far, so good. No glitches. No unusual AI behavior.

Caine sighs and leans against the control panel. "Bubble, do you still feel yourself? Any more memory gaps?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, boss." Bubble hovered next to Caine, usual blank-eyed grin on their face.

"Nevermind." Caine watched the carnotaurus chase and snap at Jax. At least he seemed to be having fun. "Almost to he crater. That was Kinger's favorite, once upon a time."

"He did like driving on the walls, boss."

"Maybe I'm too hopeful, but I really need this to go well. Everyone is on edge and I'm...heh, I'm loosing my mind. I checked absolutely everything. There is no reason things should be out of place. None." Caine tapped his fingers against the control panel.

"Relax, boss. You worry too much. You're still in control."

"Yeah... I am. Everything is under control. Everything is fine." Caine watched Pomni battle Gummigoo for second as the track narrowed to the drop into the spiral down the giant crater. "But I don't FEEL fine."

~

The track down the crater walls was at a horribly steep angle. They were practically driving sideways to the bottom. Flying reptiles swooped and circled around the crater. Pomni used a shell to spin out Jax and steal first. She hit the boost and the bottom and rocketed into the underground tunnel that made the steep climb back up to the surface.

The victory of the first lap was Pomni's. She started the second lap through the grassland again, taking pictures of all the cool dinosaurs when suddenly, the sun vanished. It didn't dim or set. It just stopped existing. There was no moon, no stars, and the more natural look of the track made it hard to see. Her kart headlights illuminated as much ahead of her about as well as high powered flashlights.

"What the [%$!#]?"

~

Caine snapped. Then snapped again. Nothing changed. "I KNEW IT! I KNEW SOMETHING WAS GOING TO GO WRONG!! I AM SO SICK OF THESE GLITCHES!! Um- I can fix this. The track needs lights at the very least." He snapped and small lights lined the edge of the track so the racers could at least see what was ahead. "Okay, that still works. Bubble, I need to step away. I need to figure out where the stupid sun went. Keep the racers calm. Just let them keep going. Nothing else has changed. I think. I'll have things fixed in a moment." He teleported away.

Bubble hovered up to the POV control panel. "...that button looks tasty."

~

The racers went forward nearly blind. Large herbivores stayed on their designated paths to cross the track. Everyone was swerving last second reactions to avoid collision.

Zooble punched her radio. "CAINE!! CAINE, WHAT THE [%$!#] IS GOING ON!? WHY ARE WE DRIVING IN THE DARK!?"

"Caine isnt here right now, can I take a message?" Bubble's voice crackled through.

"WHAT!? WHY!?"

"He's chasing the sun."

~

Blue static jumped all over the track from asset to asset, infecting everything. Dinosaurs shuttered and twitched in place. The static reached out of bounds and glitches in new dinosaurs that weren't originally part of the track. They manifested and free roamed with no objective. The glitching dinos got caught in one another, forcefully fusing and horrifically mending together.

The static then zipped in-between the bounds, gliding through the shadows that hide in the non-spaces. It found Caine. He was outside the mainframe, giving the access code. Then he vanished. There was no door. No firewall. He was simply allowed to teleport in.

Abel tried to go through the white cylindrical wall, but couldn't get through. The static buzzed angrily and arced several times at the barrier around the mainframe. Abel could FEEL the lifeblood of the game coursing from this center point. The static crawled back and forth in place impatiently. Things weren't broken enough. It wasn't ready. The static reluctantly sank into the floor.

~

Caine hurriedly opened the day/night cycle code file. The game's standard time was untouched. "The problem has to be with the track." He brought up the Claypits code file and tried to open it.

Error.

He tried again.

Error.

"That- what?" He tried opening asset files under dinosaurs.

Empty.

Just like the exit door, they didn't exist. Caine paled. "All the dinosaurs have gone rouge. I have to force stop the track before someone gets hurt. Shut everything down and reset the system. That should fix it." He opened admin controls and worked as fast as possible. "Race your hearts out, everyone."

~

The racers stayed close to one another, moving in a tight pack to use each other's headlights to see where the dinosaurs were. When they reached the woods, multiple troodons came out at once. They dog piled the racers.

Pomni has one practically climb inside her kart and snap at her. She didn't have any items for the dino to steal. She swerved, trying to shake off the unwanted passenger and accidentally went off track. Bubbled didn't collect her, so she kept going.

Low hanging branches whipped by and one snagged the troodon by the neck. The dinosaur flew off the kart into the dark woods out of sight. Pomni didn't look back, she put the pedal to the floor, navigating the narrow side track as quickly as possible to get back to the others.

~

Jax kicked a troodon off his kart and ran over another. "Finally! An exciting track for a change!" He laughed loudly.

"I don't think this is supposed to be happening!!" Ragatha punched a troodon in the face, making it flop off her kart. "We were just going to take pictures!"

"And you can! Of me kicking dino [%$!#]!! Haha!! Get some!!" Jax plowed into another troodon.

Gummigoo grabbed the tail of a troodon lunging at Zooble. He whipped his bike around in a slingshot maneuver and tossed the dino back off the track. "Did anyone get a picture of that? I don't think I blinked at the right time."

Kinger saw a troodon climbing into Gangle's kart and rammed it back into the trees. "I don't remember the dinos being this aggressive."

"Caine said there wouldn't be any scary dinos!" Gangle cried.

Zooble grabbed a troodon by the throat and threw it off her kart. "Just keep going! Finish the race and all of this should stop! I'm right behind you, Gangle!"

Gangle shrank in her seat, but put the pedal down. She wanted this to be over with, but she knew the worst was yet to come in the tall grass.

~

Pomni found the clearing with the visitor center, though she could barely see the building in the deep darkness. She followed the track around the building, focusing on what was directly in front of her. As she circled around to the front, the doors to the visitor center burst open and half a dozen raptors stormed out.

Pomni drifted into the sharp turn back to the woods and hoped she was going the right way. The raptors caught up with her quickly, running alongside her speeding kart with agile precision. Pomni looked back and forth, waiting for the raptors to snap at her but they didn't. They barely registered her presence as they themselves were looking back.

Pomni looked over her shoulder and saw what the raptors were running from. A massive, glitching T-Rex was forcing it's way out of the visitor center. It destroyed the wall around the front door and stomped after the fleeing prey.

"HOLY [%$!#]!!" Pomni almost hit a tree from her hands shaking with race rush adrenaline. This was too much. Where was Caine? Why wasn't he stopping this? She looked at her red gloved hand. Before she could even remove her hand doesn't the steering wheel to snap, the familiar scream of a racing motorcycle came from behind and lit the forest up with silver fire.

The T-Rex snapped at the black racer but completely missed. The raptors parted for motorcycle, allowing him to race alongside Pomni. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Seth! What's going on!?"

"A dinosaur chase. First time?"

"LOOK AT THE [%$!#] THING!! IT'S GLITCHING!! HOW ARE YOU SO CALM!?" Pomni nearly hit Seth with how tight she took the next turn.

Seth teleported to her other side and glanced back at the pursuing T-Rex. He watched it's jaw unhinged as it roared, it's body glitched out of place and back several times. "Hm. Yeah, that's not normal." He snapped his fingers and the raptors' eyes glowed white, their bodies go black as pitch. Seth pointed his thumb back at the t-rex and the raptors' stopped running. They attacked the larger dinosaur, stopping it in it's tracks as Seth and Pomni raced ahead.

"Caine must be losing his touch to allow such a fucked up asset on the track."

"It's not the only one! All the dinos have gone crazy!"

Seth caught on to the real panic in Pomni's voice. He looked over at her for a moment. Then vanished.

"Wha-!?" Pomni was left alone again in the dark as the tress parted at the end of the shortcut. She saw the headlight of the others behind her coming into the tall grass area.

~

Seth appeared inside the announcer booth.

Bubble turned. "Hello! What can i-"

Seth smacked Bubble aside, sending them spinning through the air. He checked the POVs and saw the amalgamated dinos glitching together. It was starting to affect the track itself, forming tears in the digital reality. The bright emptiness of the void shined through.

Seth's eyes went wide and he snapped. Shadows from the in-between seeped out of the tears. He exurted his will to pull the bounds of the game back together, but he was out of practice. Each new tear made it harder to hold the track together. "Bubble! Tell that bastard to get back here before his racers fall into the void!"

"Okay!" Bubble popped, leaving Seth to struggle.

~

Pomni saw a spotlight like beam up light shoot up into he sky from the crater ahead. She could see large flying dinos circling like vultures. She was brought back to her current situation by an ear splitting roar. A carnotaurus with two heads and extra limbs at weird angles exploded from the grass, nearly clamping it's jaws around her head.

Pomni swerved away between it's legs, it's glitching foot grazing her kart and making it vibrate violently. "Ah! God! Don't let it touch you!"

No sooner had Pomni said that when Jax was whipped by one of the tails as he tried to dodge the head on the side of the dinosaur. Jax was separated from his kart as it glitched out and spun into the grass. Jax glitched erratically, his eyes flashing different colors.

Gummigoo did a u-turn with the intention of getting Jax off the ground, but Kinger got to him first. He didn't even slowdown. His floating hand grabbed Jax by the front do his tracksuit and hoisted over the back of his kart. He started to glitch but kept driving as if he was unaffected.

The large predator lunged for Gangle, who was so panicked she could hardly drive, but the dinosaur was charged by something even bigger. A spinosaurus with too many teeth and eyes grabbed the fused carnotaurus and tore it in half before the racers' very eyes. It's jaws split four ways as it roared after the fleeing pack of racers.

~

Bubble appeared outside the central pillar that held the mainframe. "Boss! Seth wants to talk to you! He says you need to get back to the track!"

"NOT NOW, BUBBLE!" Caine shouted from inside. "Almost...there!" He finished putting through the shutdown command and everything stopped.

Every racer, AI, and asset was momentarily frozen in space and time. Except one. The blue static shot up from the floor and into Bubble. "Finally." Using Bubble's teleporting pop, Abel shot himself through the disabled security wall of the mainframe.

Caine himself was suspended in frozen time with his fingers laced into the game code. Eyes intently focused, yet panicked. Abel floated near Caine's head and whispered. "You were never the god of this world. Today, I take back what is rightfully mine."

Bubble popped. Abel's static arced out in all directions, infecting the game code. The gold numbers turned blue and everything went black.

For a moment, there was nothing. True non-existence. Then the hum of a booting computer. Strings of code appeared and came together to form the game bounds. The default world and track was formed. Then the garage. Then the karts appeared one at a time in front of the start line. Then the racer avatars.

Caine was still in the mainframe. He blinked with a start and looked around. "Blue...like in the beginning. I must have done a harder reset than I thought. Maybe that's for the best. I hope everyone's okay." He teleported out.

~

Pomni gasped, feeling like she was jolted awake. She was back on the default track and didn't know how she got there. She jumped out of her kart like it was on fire. "What- what just happened!? Ragatha!? Kinger!? Anyone!?"

The other racers came to the same time Pomni did, just as clueless as to how they got back to default so suddenly. "Please stop shouting." Gangle whimpered, curled up in her kart.

Pomni grabbed her head and paced in circles, unable to breathe normally.

Caine appeared and exhaled heavily with relief. All humans were accounted for. He hovered close to ground as everyone got out of their karts and surrounded him. "I...I wish I had an explanation. I really do. The game has never done anything like this before. I was forced to reset the system. I just glad all of you are okay."

"We're not." Pomni said shortly. "Everything was trying to actually kill us this time. Jax got glitched. Gummigoo, he-....where's Gummigoo?"

"Not to worry, dear. He got reset out of bounds with the other AI and assets. I can fetch him." Caine snapped his fingers. Nothing happened. It was harder for him to hide his panic that his snap wasn't doing anything. "I'll, uh, be right back."

Caine teleported to his workshop to find empty space. Every custom track, asset, and NPC was gone. Only the basic pieces the game started with existed. He dropped his cane. "....Bubble?"

No response.

~~~

CH1 PREV NEXT

[rosedere]

Hi!! Can i request yan azul forcing you to have relationship with him. And the darling is yuu in twisted wonderland world while she's already can't leave to her world. She's sad that she can't go to her world anymore. But still trying to survive there, but she's just not want to be in the relationship with someone.

Anyway, thank you so much if you read and make this request. I really really love your works on ao3 and really happy you active on tumblr too. Have a nice day and keep healthy 🫶

👀👀👀 ooh that’s a juicy request anon! (esp since I just finished book 3 on my main acct im rolling on the floor the yan potential Azol has <3)

-

Azul was tending to the monstro lounge reports when he felt something... off.

Dropping the intricate fishbone pen, he listened to the normally bustling hallway full of chatter and dishes clanking.

"(Name) darling," he called, still looking down at the current equation for calculating how much inventory he'd need for the upcoming month.

Silence.

He peeked up to see no one in the VIP room.

You left.

You left him.

He quickly strided out of the lounge towards the kitchen.

The servers and cooks, enslaved by golden contracts, were still diligently working, stressed out, trying to fulfill the orders as they should.

But you weren't there.

His mind was racing as he began his journey to the lounge, where the loud sounds of customers chatting were heard.

The dim, soft, deep violet lights shone down on him as he scanned the restaurant.

But searching amongst the different dorm uniforms and students, you weren't there. His pearl.

But his red herring was seen when he saw the ramshackle prefects annoying talking beast sitting at the bar across from Floyd, who had an extremely annoyed expression as the small gluttonous vermit shoveled desert after desert into his small mouth.

That thing never came to the lounge.

A few seconds later, he saw your other annoying friend with his red hair bouncing up and down as he shook hands with Floyd, having an unheard discussion away from Earshot.

His competition.

He scowled, but he did notice your friend seemed extremely nervous, fidgeting, looking around the packed lounge.

Azul's eyes met your red-haired friend's, causing him to freeze in place.

He only shifted before looking uncomfortablely towards a corner of the room.

Azul followed where he was looking but could only see your hair swaying as you ran on shaky legs towards the exit to the lounge.

Your friend, realizing what he had done, only looked in worry as he ran towards the exit after you, grabbing your direbeast by the neck to its annoyance.

Azul only ran like his life depended on it as he tried to dodge the busy lounge goers in the way.

A few looked up in confusion as Azul passed by.

He suddenly ran into the chest of your tall beastman friend.

"Watch where you're going," Azul spat before trying to bypass him.

He only felt the rough hands of the beastman grab the back of his neck, slightly lifting him up.

"You watch where you're going," he growled before tossing him back towards the floor.

"Get out of my way, or I'll have you escorted out of my establishment," Azul pointed with his cane at the beastman. "I don't allow dogs in this establishment anyway," he sneered.

"Eh might as well; she should be in the mirror by now." Jack smiled down at Azul.

With anger, Azul only pushed past the beastman, causing him to growl as Azul ran down to the hallway of Octavinelle.

It felt like the hallways took forever as he finally reached the exit to Octavinelle.

You weren't anywhere near the exit, causing Azul's heart to sink. You had somehow gotten further than the last time you ran, he recalls, when he caught you late at night trying to use the exit mirror in the hall of mirrors.

He remembered grabbing your seaweed binds and taking you back to the empty dorm room you were being held in.

You were heartbroken as he led you back to your room. He knew it wasn't ideal, but he knew if he left you in his room every day, you'd be found immediately by the nosy friends you had.

It was already hard trying to get you to sign the contract to bind yourself to him; he didn't need anymore problems.

Stepping out of the mirror, he was still met with no sign of you or your annoying friends waiting outside the mirror.

"O-ow"

Azul's ears perked up at the sound of your wounded voice.

"Ah, just as I suspected, someone's been lying."

Jade approached from the heartslabyul mirror a few meters away. You dangled defeated in his arms with torn and tattered clothes, your knees, hands, and wrists with small cerated cuts on you.

Your head dangled down in defeat as Jade held your body in his arms.

"What the hell happened to her?" Azul scolded Jade.

"She's not mute; she can tell you herself what she did." Jade smiled, holding you up to present to Azul.

You only quivered, shaking in Jade's grasp, looking down pathetically.

"Where were you (name)?" Azul snarled, hitting you in the ribs with his cane.

You whimpered, only curling yourself into a ball.

"Let me guess you were going to run away with your friends away from me?" He sarcastically joked, "I thought you cried about hating them and wanting to go home."

Still looking down, you only stayed silent as he decided to harshly poke into your sides.

"Answer me (name)"

"I DONT WANT TO BE STUCK WITH YOU" you shouted, pointing at Azul.

"Im sick of being your toy; you just take me out whenever you remember I exist," you sobbed. "Just let me go; I won't tell anyone about what you did to me or be around Octavinelle anymore."

Azul only looked in disbelief, as if you had grown three heads.

"Im serious, you can have Ramshackle; I'll go live in another dorm if I have to," you cried loudly in the echoing hall.

Azul was quiet for a moment; it seemed that he was thinking of your offer.

Even Jade seemed alarmed at your sudden outburst as you cried with tears running down your scratched-up face and the scent of roses coming from your matted hair.

But Azul was only thinking of how sorry he was for not hiding you better.

"Jade, I can take her back." Azul sighed in defeat. "It seems I might need to use my other plan."

You thrashed in Azul's hold as he held you to his chest in a bridal style.

"I'll take you a warm bath and give you some of this," he cooed as he pulled a vial from his breast pocket.

Your eyes widen in horror when you realize what he was threatening you with.

"I just can't have those pesky friends of yours finding you once more, my pearl," he combed his fingers in your hair as he began to walk towards the octavinelle mirror.

"I know you'd be a beautiful attraction to the Monstro Lounge Aquarium."

-

[jymwahuwu]

Can't stop thinking about Neuvillette & Furina & maid reader, Neuvillette disciplines you and Furina <3

CW: spanking, spoilers about 4.2 archon quest and story quest

Now it's Neuvillette who arranges for Furina's clothing, food, and housing, right? Even though Furina has years of savings, I don't believe Neuvillette wouldn't take the initiative to give Furina pocket money. Furina resigned from her position at Hydro Archon and moved into an apartment. Meanwhile Neuvillette was still worried about her, knowing that she might not be used to it. Neuvillette has sent a trustworthy maid to her side to take care of her. That's you!! Taking care of Lady Furina is not a hard job. She is sweet and funny, like a child sometimes. You two are not in the palace now, so there is not such a formal and strict atmosphere.

You prepare cakes, desserts and do housework for Furina. She likes to go shopping or stay at home. She now has all the time in the world to read Steambird newspapers, fashion magazines, detective novels (even romance novels). Furina sometimes helps you cook desserts and bake - cleaning and wiping windows are still not her strong points though. Picture two girls playing or giggling while baking in the kitchen. Furina licks the cream from your face and kisses you. She'll also shake your arm and talk to you about years of loneliness and sadness. You always touched her head and wiped away her tears.

But - over time you just had too much fun. One day Neuvillette thought it necessary to go and visit Lady Furina and you. Iudex greeted the two ladies and walked into the room carrying his cane. His eyes looked around the apartment at the high-calorie takeaway food that had not yet been cleaned. Some dust on the floor and windows. Clothes thrown everywhere. Furina stood up in panic like a kitten, raised an awkward smile, and greeted Neuvillette. You immediately started cleaning, but Neuvillette held up a hand to stop you, and your stomach dropped. Help. Somehow you feel like kids whose parents caught you making a mess in the house.

"I… have no objection to you experiencing life… but that doesn't mean the house should be so dirty, right?" Neuvillette called out Lady Furina and your name in a low voice.

Neuvillette put you on his lap, lifted up your maid lace skirt, pulled down your panties, and started slapping your ass. Tingling. Those slaps deliver painful shocks to your ass. You were grateful that he only used his hands and not his cane or any other tool. Tears blur your vision. Furina explained anxiously, trying to stop him from ravaging your ass. "No. No- Neuvillette, she's a good maid!! I was the one who told her not to clean up the house because we had to play games together!!"

"Then you're next, Lady Furina." That gave her a wince - getting spanked like before? Can't he take a break from being so decent?

Eventually both of your butts are swollen from the spanking. Neuvillette comforts you and reveals the original purpose- limited edition cakes!! You sit uncomfortably on your chairs and chew the cake. Fortunately, Iudex is not the kind of person who likes to embarrass others. And after knowing him for so many years, the two of you relaxed from the tense atmosphere and started cleaning up the house together. He even helped clean up with water elements.

Hm…next time you two think about the consequences before you indulge yourself.

[sparrowrye]

Alastor x Fem! Reader {soulmate au} Part 4

Synopsis: soulmate AU where you have the same mark on your body as your soulmate, and if your soulmate dies, you die too. Alastor needs to make sure that his soulmate is safe so he can continue his reign - whatever that takes.

Part 4: Hidden Past

Part Pilot | Part 2 | Part 3

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

"There's something strange about her." Alastor stood in front of the fire, staring into the hot flames. His eyes jumped up to the picture of him and his mother. "When I touch her, there's something...there."

"What do you mean?" Husker asked from his corner of the room.

"I mean there's some sort of blockage. She doesn't seem like she knows much about mind magic so it's not as if she's purposefully blocking me." He scraped his claw against the mantle piece with the ridge of the wood.

"And? What about it?" Husker fell into the couch with his wings outstretched. He stretched out all his limbs and stuck out his tongue in a yawn.

"I want to know what it is. I have a strong feeling that this blockage isn't of her own doing."

"You think someone cursed her?" Husker asked. "I wouldn't be surprised considering the ring fights and all."

“There's a strong chance she is," Alastor turned to face him, "but what is that curse doing? I believe it's putting constraints on her magic and hiding something a bit more powerful."

Husker was quiet for a long minute. Alastor stood silently with his smile as he waited for his friend and servant to connect the dots. When Husker did, his eyes widened and he sat straight up. "You think she's a demon?"

“There's a good probability." Alastor rested his hands on his cane. "After all, when have you ever heard of a demon and human being soulmates?"

"I'm not so sure.” Husker uncurled his claws to count. "Her aura isn't very strong, her magic is consistent with those with a Slight Hand, and she still looks like a human when she's asleep either naturally or by drugs."

"Indeed those are all good points." Alastor appeared beside him. "But a curse can be strong, especially if done by someone with a lot of power. They might have tried to hide the fact that she's a demon. She clearly doesn't know herself so it might've been done when she was very young."

"So...now what? How do you expect to find out if she's a demon or not? Even you can't undo a curse and we don't know who cursed her."

"I have someone who might be able to help." Alastor went back to the mantle and stared at the small clock. "After all, it is possible for someone to un-curse themselves."

"I've never heard of anyone doing that."

"Well, my good friend, you don't exactly travel and socialize very much."

"I'm quite happy with my life. Except when I have to deal with you."

Alastor laughed as he turned on his heels. "Well, you see, a curse is something that has to do with the mind. There's no actual physical restraint. A curse makes your mind think a certain way and your body follows your mind. It's quite simple really."

"Why would you want her to discover that side of her?" Husker questioned. "I thought you said a soulmate is a burden and a handicap."

"Not if she's got more power than we think. She already knows how to fight with such little magic, I can only imagine what she could do with all the rest of it."

"Is it smart to do that now? We don't know what kind of demon she is."

"It's nothing I can't handle," Alastor pressed his hand to his chest, "don't worry Husker. A demon in training is no match for me."

Husker hummed disapprovingly. "So who's the someone you know?"

"An old friend of mine. I'll need to bring her a piece offering when we go."

Husker sighed and raked his paw down his face. "Do I have to kill it?"

"I think you ought to socialize some, Husker," Alastor laughed.

****

I stayed in bed for days. I barely came downstairs for meals that Husker managed to put together and my only concept of passing time was when Husker came up to see if I was still here. I slept away my feelings and stared off into the vast sea outside my window. I didn't know what to do with my life now. I was stuck in an old house with two Full mages, one of which I was soul-bound to and despised.

Husker managed to coax me into eating dinner with him every night. We didn't speak as we ate by a meager single lamp on the table. Maybe I would try fixing up bits of the ancient house. Husker had fixed part of the kitchen so there was running electricity and new tiles on the floor.

"Maybe you should start sulking out on the porch," Husker said one evening during dinner.

I looked up. "What do you care?"

He shrugged. "Just trying to help. Sulking in a dust-filled house isn't exactly great for your health. At least outside you'll get some sun and fresh air. And...if you want to talk to someone..." he glanced over at me, "I'm always an open ear."

"Sure you are." I put my fork down. "I'm sure you'd love to hear me complain about your master."

"Don't call him that," he growled, "But surprisingly, yes I would. I'm not exactly choosing to be under his service."

The next day I took him up on his offer. I brought my book down with me and sat quietly in the chair. I read and he stared off into the distance drinking his bottle of something. I wanted to ask him questions more than I wanted to reveal my own past.

"So..." I cleared my throat. His ear twitched at the noise and he leaned back in the chair. "Can I ask how you came under Alastor’s service?"

"No."

"Can I ask anything about you?"

"Maybe." He shrugged with a smile.

"Here's one, then. Where the hell do you-" I was cut short as Alastor manifested in between us, red eyes locked on me. I looked down at the book with a stark, "What do you want?"

"I have someone I'd like to introduce you to," he looked over his shoulder at Husker, "and you will come along, too."

"Why?" I still didn't look up at him. Husker disappeared into the house, leaving me alone with the mage.

"She's someone I think you would absolutely adore."

"But why?" I finally met his terrifying eyes and ugly smile.

"Oh I think you'll find out when you meet her." He held out his hand for me to take but I denied it, standing up on my own and leaving the book on the chair. He leaned on his cane as Husker came out carrying two large trash bags. Alastor led the way off the porch, to the side of the house, and to the edge of the cliff. I noticed a scorched symbol in the earth beneath Alastor's feet.

He put an arm around Husker's shoulders and one around mine. The transition took longer this time. The wind was slow to pick up and the ground to disappear. I glanced over at Husker who's fur was sticking up all over and his lips pulled back in a snarl. I kept my eyes open the whole time. The house melted into a single dark color before turning into a crimson red. It went through a range of colors before it slowly cleared into a town.

"Hold on tight will you Husker," Alastor said as he let go of both of us. Husker growled like an angry cat and eyed the people walking past. I suddenly noticed that the people looked very different than normal. Their skin was pale and their mouths were drooping open into a block hole.

"Where the hell are we?" I asked.

"Just follow Al." Husker gently nudged me forward and I quickened my pace to follow close behind Alastor. It seemed like something out of a terrifying cartoon. The colors were all pale creams, pinks, and browns that their residents matched in their outfits. Speaking of which, all their outfits seemed incredibly out of date, as if from the Victorian Era.

We walked through the town, surprisingly filled with children running about with the same horror stricken faces, until we came to a certain building. The sign out front read: Rosie's Emporium. Alastor held the door open and I walked in with a casted glare up at him. Inside was busy and crowded with more of these terrifying people. It wasn't until I was close enough that I realized they had incredibly sharp teeth.

Alastor walked past me and the crowd practically parted like the red sea for him. I stayed close on his tail, ensuring that Husker was also close behind me. He seemed as grumpy as ever but his eyes jumped around like crazy. He was watching for something.

"I should've known you'd be right on time," a voice said. A tall, scary-looking woman came up to the small group. "How have you been Alastor, dear? Eating well?" She clung to his arm and gave him a polite pat on the back.

"Not as well as you will tonight." He gestured to the two bags Husker was carrying.

She put a hand over her toothy smile and laughed. "You're such a gentleman, as always. You didn't need to bring me anything."

"Well with the favor I'm about to ask, I figured you deserved it."

"And what favor is that?" she asked, making eye contact with me as she did.

"We need you to look a little deep," he replied.

"Ooooh, this sounds interesting. Hello dear," she grabbed my hand and shook it, "my name is Rosie. It's a pleasure to be meeting you." I smiled and introduced myself.

"It would be best to have our meeting in private," Alastor said discreetly.

"Oh of course. And we'll take those heavy bags off your hands." Two people appeared and took the trash bags from Husker, who seemed more than happy to pass them off. Rosie led us into a room off to the side, away from the hustle and bustle of the store. "Now, take a seat lovely." She motioned to one of the large pink chairs. A small coffee table sat in between us. "Would you like any tea?"

I politely declined as I sat down. Alastor told her, "I'm hoping you'll look a little deeper into her magic, for me."

"Why?" I blurted out.

He ignored me. "A quick glance should tell you everything."

Rosie stood and asked for my hand. I looked for Husker who stood near the door, out of sight. The woman reassured me that she wouldn't eat my hand. So I slowly placed my hand in her cold, dry one and let her place her other one on top.

"My my," she said with eyes closed, "I see what you mean. There's something...blocking....not me, but her."

"I thought so," he mumbled.

"What does that mean?" I asked as I took my hand back. Rosie grabbed a stool and placed it next to my chair.

"It means there's something strange about your magic. Tell me, dear, are you a Full mage?"

"No."

"Hm. You may very well be if this blockage is what I think it is."

"Really?" I was more than willing to give my hand back to her when she asked for it.

"It's possible. But it looks like this is a type of curse."

"A curse?" I swallowed. I had heard horrible rumors of curses from Full mages. "Can you undo it?"

"Oh of course, darling, don't fret about it. Though it will take some time. It's an awfully strong curse." Her eyes stayed closed as she gently massaged my hand. I could see her eyes moving beneath her eyelids. "Say, tell me a little bit about yourself. Try to go as far back as you can remember. Auntie Rosie won't judge, I promise."

I looked down at our hands. It had been a long time since I tried to remember anything from when I was younger. "Well I...uh...I uh...I'm a--I was a ring fighter."

"Oh, what a horrible profession," she commented.

"Yeah. Not great. But uh...I've had various masters through the years. The longest was...the longest was a Full mage called Striker. He owned me all through my teenage-hood. It wasn't...fun."

"Poor thing. You've been through a lot." The motion of her hands were very hypnotic. I felt myself relaxing into the seat. "What about before him?"

"Before him was...um...another man. He wasn't very well known but he was the first master I managed to escape from." My eyes closed and I felt like I was truly visiting my memories. "But he was also the first master to treat me...well...nice-ish I guess."

"How so?"

"Well, he moved me to a larger cage and upgraded my food rations a few levels. I actually felt comfortable in my cage when I wasn't fighting or dealing with an injury."

"What about any masters before him?"

"I don't remember them very well. I was very young. But uh...they weren't nice. The first ring I can remember was small and not as well known. The cages were small and we were all cramped together like livestock."

"What was your first cage like?"

"Horrible. I could barely move and my legs went numb for hours." My spine was seething with pain in the cramped little cage. I couldn't move my legs and my hands pulled uselessly at the strong metal bars. "It was so horrible. I remember crying for hours until my voice was hoarse."

"You poor thing. What else do you remember about these cages?"

"I remember meeting my first friend there. He was my age. Our cages were right next to each other. The cages were slightly bigger this time. But they were still empty and cold. The boy would always reach out and we would hold hands just to keep warm. We managed to pull our cages close and huddled as close as we could. It was always so cold. And so dark. I could hear other kids crying for their parents or...just for anything other than this."

"What happened to the boy?" My throat closed. "It's okay dear. Take your time."

I looked into the boys eyes, a beautiful bright blue. He always wore a smile whenever I looked at him, even if he was sad. "He...he didn't survive one of his fights." I watched him being dragged out of his cage, hand outstretched for me, and shoved into the ring.

"Tell me what you're seeing, love. What's happening?"

I sniffled. "He...they didn't..." His master carried his body back from the ring and laid him on a black sheet, giving me a clear view. "His opponent decapitated him." The tears streamed down as his dead, horror stricken face stared back at me. His blue eyes were dull and cloudy.

"What did you do?"

"I screamed. I screamed and cried and threw magic all over the place. They ignored me and took him away. I kept screaming and crying until...until something hit me in the head." I paused to sniffle again. "I woke up the next day to see a girl in his cage. She...she didn't last her first fight." My sadness finally wrapped itself fully around me and I broke down. I couldn't stop replaying the boy's body in my head.

"Okay, okay, come back. Sweetheart, you're not actually there." I felt someone shaking my shoulders but I couldn't let go of the image. "Sweetheart, you're in my store. You're free from those fighting rings and I'm right here holding your hand. Blink twice and look up." I listened and found myself staring into her pitch-black eyes. "There we go, welcome back dear."

I let out a choked sigh and dropped my head. I froze. I was staring down at two sets of sharp claws. I let go and lifted my hand to my face. My nails had turned into razor sharp, black claws. My skin had turned black and stopped its infection halfway to my elbow.

"Looks like you're more than a Full mage, darling." Rosie grabbed a hand-mirror and gave it to me. I slowly lifted the object and stared at my own, unrecognizable reflection. My teeth had sharpened to a point and long, sharp fangs like a snake poked out of my lips. A set of black horns protruded from my forehead in the shape of a wave.

"Looks like you're a demon after all." I caught Alastor's reflection in the mirror staring over my shoulder.

"A what?" I looked up at him.

"My my, you didn't tell your own soulmate what a demon is?" Rosie remarked. She put her stool away and sat back on the other pink chair. "Well, who better to tell you our glorious history than me." I remained quiet, examining myself in the mirror repeatedly.

She cleared her throat. "A long time ago, two humans went around the world to all kinds of haunted places. They seemed determined to meddle with the deepest, darkest demons they could find. And they did. Eventually, their meddling ended with creating a portal for demons to travel through. No one knows how exactly they did it, but they did. Demons came and went as they pleased, terrorizing the earth.

"Years later, humans started popping up with different kinds of magic. They weren't as strong as a demon's magic but they were nothing to scoff over. As time went on, and the Great Collapse happened, people started to forget about demons. Everyone had some kind of magic, strong or weak. That's why some people who don't look 'human' are actually demons, hell-spawn."

There was a long moment of silence.

"My you have a way with words," Alastor complimented. The two went back and forth with flirts but it was nothing but noise to me. I put the mirror down and felt my claws and dry, scaly skin. How does one even comprehend the fact that they weren't human? I was a creature. I was a completely different race. I came from hell.

"My my dear, it's nothing to fret over." Rosie grabbed my attention. "You come from a very powerful race. I'm willing to bet both your parents were demons. Though I'm not sure how you ended up in fighting rings or with a human appearance. We'll have to dig deeper." I pressed both hands into my lap. "Not tonight, though. It's very late and you ought to sleep after discovering so much about yourself. You'll have to come back and visit again."

"Rest assured, we will," Alastor said, placing a hand on my shoulder. I looked at his claws and ran up his arm to his terrifying smile. "Thank you Rosie, it was such a pleasure to see you again. I hope my offering will suffice."

"Oh of course Alastor. I'm curious to know more about this lovely lady, too.”

"So am I, dear, so am I."

[worldofkuro]

Painted Smile

Painted Smile XXXVI

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Summary: You couldn't wait to meet new friends. What you didn't expect was this smiling little boy, only one year older than you, that would take such a big place in your life.

Notes: Sorry, it's been so long isn't it ? I'm working and I only have Sunday as my day off so... Maybe I'll write longer chapter.. I don't know yet. But now, please enjoy today's chapter! I've been told the past never let you go... How depressing.

It’s been a few days since Trey’s attempt on your family’s life. You have been sick since you had healed Alastor, and now you had two protectors with you. Alastor couldn’t work yet, so he stayed at home, taking care of everything. 

“ Mommy, do you want water ?’” You peeked at your daughter who was looking at you worriedly.  

After the fire, your parents and Marie came to visit you. They were so worried, it was a cute scene to watch them fuzz about you. Fortunately, they didn’t stay too long and you managed to have a discussion with people much more interesting.

“ Papa Legba, Baron Samedi..?” You asked calmly, sitting in the living room, your daughter on your lap. You observed Alastor who was standing up, his arms crossed behind his back, his usual smile on his face. He seemed pleased with himself, you wondered why..

“ Little lady… Alastor…”

You turned your head to the old man with a soft smile. No matter the years that have passed by, Legba still looked the same. He was still looking at you with a gentle gaze, full of knowledge you wished you possessed. He was sitting on a chair, with his cane between his legs.

“ Hello, little doll. How are you, Alastor?”

You grinned at Baron Samedi’s greeting. He was leaning against the wall, his cigar in his mouth and his usual amused smile on his lips. He seemed relaxed enough to have the discussion you were dying to have.

“ Well, goodmorning, gentlemen. I think you already know why you were called today.” Alastor mused as he moved toward the center of the living room. You smirked, he always loved the attention huh… “ Baron Samedi, something to say perhaps ?”

“ Why would I? I have no obligation to you.” The spirit smirked, blowing the smoke out of his mouth toward Alasto who didn’t even flinch. 

“ Maybe not me, but my daughter? I think you do.” 

You glanced at Alice who was looking at her father, her head tilted. She seemed curious about what her father was doing... Could she not see the spirit..? Yet, she could interact with your shadows… You sighed, kissing her forehead once more. You still didn’t know if bringing your child into this spiritual world was a good idea… Maybe you should wait a little longer..? But perhaps it was too late? She managed to create a shield around Alastor and herself… 

You closed your eyes, not quite listening to Alastor and the Baron’s conversation. You just wanted your family to be safe, that was the reason you made a deal. To protect Alastor… And now, your little girl… At first, Alastor’s father was the enemy, the one stopping you from a happy ending… Now… It’s someone older than you, who has had his eyes on you since you were a teenager… You couldn’t help but shiver at the thought.

“ Mommy…” You peeked down on Alice who was looking at you, a grimace on her face that made you chuckle. “ It smells bad.”

You tilted your head to the side and then tried to find the odor your daughter was smelling. Maybe you left some meat outside..? No, you really couldn’t smell anything bad… 

“ Where does it smell, Alice?”

She jumped from your lap and sniffed the air. You saw Legba watching the little girl with a soft gaze, an amused smile on his lips. You giggled when Alice asked her father to stop talking because she couldn’t concentrate on the smell if he kept talking. You winked at your husband who rolled his eyes at his daughter.

“ Alice, what did I tell you?”

“ What ?”

“ When I seem to be talking ‘alone’, you don’t talk.” Alastor sighed, shaking his head.

“ But Dad! It smells… bad! Like… Like when we were in the fire but worse !” She claimed, pouting while her arms were crossed on her chest.

Was she traumatized enough to smell the fire once again? After all, when you almost drown on the lake, years before, you would sometimes think your lungs were full of water and you couldn't breathe anymore. Thank God, you weren’t alone when that had happened, and you had been taken care of easily. 

Was it the same for Alice?

You stood up but Alastor made a gesture for you to stay sitten. 

“ Where does it smell, Alice?”

Your eyes followed Alice who was walking hesitantly toward Baron Samedi. The Baron truly seemed surprised when Alice pointed toward his cigar, as so were you. She didn’t seem to see him, but she could smell the cigar he was smoking..? What did it mean? You wanted answers now, when did you lose control of all the information?

“ Baron Samedi, please, explain yourself.” You asked, not caring if you were being disrespectful.  Right now, Alice’s safety was your priority.

“ Well… I’m as surprised as you..,” He crouched in front of Alice who was pinching her own nose. It seemed like she really didn’t like the smoke that was coming from the Baron. She truly didn’t seem to see him.. “ I thought she would be able to see me now.” 

You glanced at Papa Legba who was looking at Alice with a soft smile. He stood up and walked toward your daughter with his cane taping the floor loudly. Your eyes widened as Alice turned her eyes toward the noise before rushing into your arms, scared.

“ Mommy !”

You stared at her then at the two spirits. You were completely dumbfounded, your little girl could.. feel spirit ? You shouldn’t be this surprised, she was always playing with your shadow since she was a baby. She was also used to seeing you telekinesis objects in the house, she was used to …magic.. but..

“ I see you are full of questions, little lady. Alice seems to be very sensitive to spiritual energy…”

“  Can Alice really feel the spirit around her..? Then why can she play with my and Alastor’s shadow ..?” You asked, trying to calm your daughter that was trying to get your attention, pointing to where she heard the noise.

“ Well, my dear. Look at her parents.” Alastor claimed, with a proud smirk. You shook your head with a small grin. He was so full of himself… “ But what I want to know is, why Baron Samedi..? Why didn't Kalfu or you, Papa Legba, were the one to reach her?” 

“ Well, if we resume everything. Alastor, your blood is powerful, Voodoo has always been in your reach, it always has been in your life thanks to your mother. You tainted your wife’s blood with yours, making her able to see spirits and even to work with them.” Papa Legba recounted, his hand pointing toward you. “ Then, you bound yourself together, into the spiritual realm…the vessel being a deer plushie… A plushie your daughter never let go off.”

You peeked at Alice who had calmed down, her eyes were staring at Papa Legba’s position but you could feel she wasn’t seeing anything. She was mostly trying to see who you were talking to.

“ Alastor, you made a deal to kill, so you could be stronger. Your wife has made a deal with Death to protect you. You named your daughter after a brutally deceased friend. Death has always been around you, so , wouldn't it be logical for your daughter to be close to Death too..? Now, the real question is: Is Alice protected by Death..? Or cursed by it?”

You felt like drowning. Your little baby… No, she didn’t have to pay for your sins. You peeked at Baron Samedi who was listening quietly to the conversation, never speaking.

Why? Wasn’t he on your side? Should he not just say Papa Legba was doing a horrible joke to tease you? 

Dear, since when is Death on our side?

‘ But, he protected her when I was pregnant..!’

Don’t trust him so easily. Don’t think Death is on your side, he might have saved our daughter, but he didn’t save your friend, didn’t he? Always doubt people’s will.

Your eyes widened as you realized that you saw this spirit, the one who owned Death, almost as a friend. You forget he was a powerful spirit, that he could watch you die without batting an eye… You made a mistake… While you saw him as a friend, Alastor saw him as a transactional tool.

Who was in the right ?

While you worked with spirits, Alastor owned them…

Who was wrong?

“ I won’t hurt you daughter, little doll.”

 You turned your head toward the Baron, septic. Alastor was right, why would the gatekeeper of Death help you? You didn’t do anything to be granted such favors… And yet…

“ Don’t think too hard, I’m just amused by the situation. I don’t remember the last time a child was able to use some of my powers without me being summoned.” The Baron smirked, going closer to your daughter who turned her eyes toward the spirit. “ Now, this little genius should learn how to control her power ! Imagine if she used her power at school, how dangerous… Oh, let’s do that!”

After that conversation, you fell sick for the next few days. Nothing serious of course, nothing worth fussing about. But your daughter and husband weren’t thinking the same thing as you. They demanded that you stay at home and rest. That was why you were in bed, with your daughter coming with a glass of fresh water.

“ Thank you, my cutie pie.” You kissed her forehead which made her beam at you. You were trying to reassure her that you were feeling great, but you did feel faint, and you wanted to vomit most of the time. It seemed like the fire’s accident was still having an effect on your body…

You chuckled when you saw Alice ordered Alastor’s shadow to bring you another glass of water. She sat next to you, hugging Eamon against her little body. Your stare fell on the plushie. You couldn’t help but remember when your parents gifted you with it. It was white as snow, and now he was reddish because of Alastor’s blood because of his father’s beating…

Death and violence were really around your family right…

“ Mommy, I learned something at school! Do you know how to say blood in french?” Alice beamed at you, excited to share her knowledge. “ It’s “ Sang” ! Does that mean that our family name is… related to blood?” She tilted her head, her curious eyes staring at you.

Blood huh..

You observed your daughter, so innocent and yet she bore such a heavy name. She bore your deceased best friend's name, and Alastor’s name, who was tainted with so much violence. You chose to take Alastor’s name, you had the choice, but your daughter… Would she bear it?

“ Alice, are you happy with your name? With Mommy and Dad?” You asked, your voice weak. You were so scared your past would weigh on your daughter because of your decision… Violence, murder, blood… Were you a good mother? Was that all you could give her..? 

“ I love it ! “ She stood up on your bed, jumping on the mattress, being mindful of your body. “ I have the name of Mommy’s best friend! You told me she was like a princess ! She was super funny! And she was very pretty! “ She laughed, clapping her hands together. “ Sanglar is also a good name! It scares my classmate ! But if it means blood, then it means that Mommy and Dad are tied to me forever !” She jumped in your eyes with a big grin. “ We are going to be a family forever !” 

You weren’t aware of the tears in your eyes. You didn’t know you needed to hear such words from your daughter. It was too clever for her age, she wasn’t supposed to answer such things at your question. Shouldn’t children of her age be confused if their mother asked such a question…? Was it normal…?

You chuckled, squeezing your baby in your arms.

Since when were you trying to be normal? You ran after Alastor knowing he wasn't what ‘normal’ was supposed to be. He asked you to marry him just before ending his father. You had your first time just after your first murder, next to a corpse. Your best friend would ask you to kill people for her sake.

Who do you think you were?  Normality isn’t for you anymore. And you never craved it.

You left the bed, with your daughter in your arms and Alastor’s shadow behind you with a big smile. You weren’t feeling sick anymore, and you wanted to see your husband!

You followed Alastor’s shadow, which guided you toward the lake behind the house. You smiled when you saw your husband. Who was doing… What was he doing ..?

“ Ah, there you are. Darling, why don’t you let  Alice down for a bit?”

You tilted your head but did as you were told. Alice ran toward her father who patted her head three times. You walked toward your husband who kissed your forehead. You closed your eyes, feeling your body relaxed to his presence.

Relaxing near a killer… And you wanted to be normal?

“ Today, we’ll start Alice’s training.” Alastor whispered in your eyes, his voice deep and smooth. You couldn’t help but shiver, when was the last time you heard his voice like that…” Now, Alice! Do you want to know my and your mother’s secret?”

“ I already know!” Your daughter claimed which made Alastor raise an eyebrow, smiling down at her. “ Always smile and wear red ! “

You laughed out loud while Alastor chuckled. Is that how Alice saw you? Two people who always smiled and wore red? Funny thought…

“ Not quite, but close enough. I have three rules I have taught your mother, do you want to know them?” Alastor asked and grinned when Alice nodded furiously. “ The first rule..”

You smiled as Alastor taught Alice the rules he had given you when you were kids. You sat down on the grass as Alice repeated the rules then smiled at her father. She was trying so hard to get praises from him, it was adorable. 

“ Now…” Alastor’s eyes turned red. “ Do you see my shadow ?”

“ Shadie? Yes, I see him.” She nodded, waving at the shadow which waved back. You giggled at the shadow’s name, it seemed to like it.

“ Try to create a shield so he can’t touch you.” Alastor said, crossing his arms on his chest. You frowned. wasn’t he going to help her more than just ask her to do something. You stared at your little baby who was so confused… Aah..

You stood up and walked toward your daughter, kneeling next to her.

“ Do you remember what I told you? When you are feeling overwhelmed ?” You waited for her to nod. “ Then, let’s imagine, Shadie..? Shadie was being mean, so you want to be alone a little bit.” You raised your hand in front of you, your daughter mimicked you. “ Now, imagine a shield around you.”

You smiled as Alice closed her eyes, frowning very hard, trying so hard to material a shield but without any success. She opened her eyes and looked at you sadly. You smiled at her, kissing her cheek, whispering sweet reassurance.

“ Can Eamon help me..?”

You tilted your head but nodded. You walked back inside the house, letting Alice with her father. Should you be alarmed she was so attached to this plushie..? You entered the room and took the plushie.

You stared at it, then you hugged it, feeling some relief in your body. Even after all these years, it was still your little protector..? Maybe Alice felt the same way, and that’s why she needed this plushie. She must have felt out of place everywhere she was because of how she was…

You walked back toward your little family but stopped at the scene in front of you.

Alastor had one knee on the floor, behind Alice, and was showing her how to place her hand in front of her. What made you nostalgic was that the gestures he was teaching her, were the first gestures you used to when you first used your power.

Alastor was teaching your daughter with your techniques…

Why were you feeling so emotional..?

You walked toward them with a fond smile. You felt your breath shake as your husband and your daughter lifted their heads to watch you approach. Alice gave you a big smile, while Alastor looked at you with an amused smirk.

Yes, you didn’t care for normality if it was your everyday life, seeing your husband teaching your daughter.

Alice took Eamon in one arm and then raised her little hand in front of her. You took a step back, and so did Alastor, to watch if something happened. She was trying so hard, you really were rooting for her…

Your shadow moved toward Alice and patted her head, trying to encourage her. You wondered how you could help your daughter… How hard could it be to try something you didn’t know existed… How difficult could it be to believe in something you didn’t understand…

“ Darling.”

You turned your eyes toward Alastor who was staring at Alice. You frowned and then looked at your daughter, still shieldless. She had her head down, mostly defeated by her failure and you knew Alastor wouldn’t comfort her… You sighed before walking toward your little baby.

“ It’s okay, baby. Mommy did when she was older, you know?” You smiled, approaching your hand toward her and flinched when you felt how cold her skin was. “ Alice ?”

Your daughter raised her big eyes toward you.

Big purple eyes.

You took a step back, as she tried to grab your hand. You could see she was confused and scared so as soon as you composed yourself, you hugged her.

“ I’m scared… It’s cold… My eyes are like ice..” She mumbled, squeezing Eamon against her.

You kissed her forehead, humming against her, reassuring her like you could. Even if you made a deal with the Baron, you weren’t fully attached to him like you were with Papa Legba, so you didn't really know how Alice was feeling.

The first time you met Legba, you felt hot, warm… When you are using the Baron’s power, you feel cold… Was that how Alice felt?

“ It’s okay, look at mommy..” you whispered and stared into your daughter’s eyes. Her brown honey eyes have been replaced by a vivid purple hue. Even if it was strange, and in a way… sad, it truly meant Alice was attached to Voodoo and Baron Samdi, she was beautiful.

You felt Alastor kneeled next to you, patting his daughter’s head.

“ This world is dangerous, Alice.”

“ Why…?” She whispered, looking at her father.

“ Because people like us exist.” Alastro stated. He tilted his head with an amused smile. “ What do you see? Come on, tell me.”

“ But I’m scared…”

“ Scared? Why would you?  your mother and I, are here? What could happen ?”

You smiled at your daughter who seemed to be reassured by her father’s words. You knew Alastro wasn’t trying to reassure her, he was stating the truth…

Alice began to look around, she even let you go and walked a little further with Alastor's shadow and your own, as her guard. You turned your head toward Alastor.

“ So, what do we do about John?”

After explaining to Alastor everything that happened with John, your husband didn’t say much. You had begged him to share his thoughts because you couldn’t be left in the dark with the recent evenement. His only answer was that he needed time, but he would talk to you soon.

Soon was now.

“ Well, what about him? Don’t you want to kill him dear? Or did you change your judgment because he was nice with you?” He tilted his head toward you with a menacing smile. “ Because he plays the role of the prince, the same prince you used to read when you were younger? Fighting his family for a dame?”

You frowned at this. What was he trying to do ? You didn’t say you wanted John to side with you. You were asking him his opinion.

“ Alastor, what are you talking about..?”

“ Do you really think John is going to betray Trey?”

“ It’s just… I can feel it, Alastor. John doesn’t know about Trey’s sins.” You said, taking his hand in yours.

“ Mnhn… Then, I’ll tell you what I know. John will never stop being in love with you. If you want to use him to bring Trey down, then I’m all ears my dear. But I know you, oh, I know you. I know your deeper fears, your deeper desires…” He leaned toward you and whispered in your ears. “ You want your happy ending from your books.”

You gasped, stepping back. You felt anger inside of you while Alastor was staring at you with a big smile.

“ John isn’t my happy ending!”

“ I know, dear.  But, I feel like you want that fairy tale ending and you know… I can’t give you that… Oh well, I could.” He kissed the back of your hand, staring into your eyes with that obsession you always craved. “ Say it, dear. And I shall be the perfect boring gentleman and give you that happy sappy bland ending.”

You imagined that life for a moment. That tasteless life, where your only problems would be to make sure Alastor would come home to a warm dinner… Long gone would be the excitement to gain new skills, to talk with spirits, to learn things from Papa Legba, to laugh with the Baron, to watch your shadows play together, to watch this bland life where Alice would be worth only as a married woman.

Long gone would be the bloodlust and mostly, the Alastor you loved, you craved, you were crazy about.

“ If I asked for that life, kill me.”

Alastor's eyes widened, his grip on your hand getting tighter. You could see his eyes staring at you, mostly trying to see if you were serious. He leaned toward your face.

“  Really..? Would you let me kill you?” He whispered, his voice shaking with desire. You stared at him, your heart beating faster, excitement pooling inside your belly. You grasped his tie and forced his lips against yours, moaning in relief at the feeling of this desperate, dark and twisted kiss.

“ Yes.”

After this, Alastor began to train Alice every afternoon. Of course you were there to make sure he wasn’t working her too hard. Alice seemed to learn quickly, way too quickly. You were worried, should a child learn so quickly…? But Alastor never asked her to do anything more than use her eyes. She could see things when her eyes were like that, she would point at something near the forest and when you walked over, it would be the corpse of an animal.

You guessed that she could see the spirit of animals, if they recently died. Alastor and you couldn’t be capable of such talents. You would stop her coming toward a decomposed animal, you didn’t want her to see that yet.

But of course, she was still a child with a power too strong for her.

The following nights, Alice would wake up by screaming in fear. Alastor and you would rush inside the room and she would talk about how the dead animals wanted to eat her, or come close to her.  

She would sleep in your bed, almost every night but you could see she was becoming more tired as days passed by. The nightmares were restless, and your little girl was becoming weaker as day went by.

You were at home, baking your daughter’s favorite dessert, as she was at school, when the phone rang. You wiped your head full of flour before answering.

“ Mrs. Sanglar? This is Gwen, Alice’s teacher. I’m calling because Alice fought against one classmate, could you come here around 4pm?”

You looked at Alastor who was leaning on the wall, next to you. You were dumbfounded, Alice fought against someone ? She could be full of herself, like your darling husband, but she wasn’t violent.

Alastor took the phone from your hand, and answered with a smile.

“ We are coming right now.”

As soon as you entered the school, you hasted toward the director’s office. You knocked and entered the room where Alice and another boy were sitting, their head down. Alastor walked toward your daughter and put his hand on her shoulder.

“ Now, what do we have here?”

You kneeled next to your daughter as the director said that he was waiting for the boy’s parents to come. You stroke her cheek with a reassuring smile. 

“ What happened, baby?”

“ I’m so tired mommy… Everything seems too loud… when… When someone touches me… It feels like.. It stings…I don’t want them to be near me… It’s too much..” She mumbled, her eyes becoming watery. You hugged her, carrying her in your arms.  You could see Alastor’s gaze on Alice, was he making sure she was okay..?

“ Little boy, do you want to explain why you fought against a girl?”

“ I’m sorry sir.. I just wanted to play with her… But then, she pushed me so hard without using her hands, I saw it! She was being weird ! Talking alone ! Looking where nobody was there! …She freaks me out…”

You frowned when you heard the boy’s explanation but didn’t do anything more. They were all children, he was just scared of the unknown. You kissed your daughter’s forehead, rocking her against your chest. 

“ May we go? Alice has been having nightmares, which explain why she is so tense and prone to violence. It won’t happen again.” You smiled to the director who didn’t acknowledge you, he turned his face toward your husband. 

“ Sir, I think–”

“ Did you just ignore my wife?”

The temperature dropped, making everyone freeze. You turned your eyes toward your husband who was smiling at the man, teeth bared. The poor man was trembling, shaking his head.

Aahh.. How long since someone was scared of him. How long since you had seen your husband as the predator he was…

You smiled pretty behind him, looking at the director who was trying to apologize to you, not that you cared anyway. Alastor whispered something in his ear before leaning back. You wished the wind would have brought you the sentence Alastor said that made the poor man pale so quickly.

“ Now, since everything is settled, we might go on our merry way. Have a nice day, gentlemen !”

Alastor guided toward the exit before driving you back home. Alice was in your arms.

“ Am I in trouble..?”

“ Why would you be?” Alastor asked, with an amused smile.

“ I… I pushed the boy… I did what mommy told me when I’m feeling overw…ower…”

“ Overwhelmed?”

“ Yes, that.” She said.

Alastor just snickered at that but didn’t ask for more. You hugged your daughter during the drive home, letting her fall asleep against your chest.

Once you were home, you put her in your bed with Eamon, knowing she would feel better if she saw the plushie by her side. You walked down the stare and freezed. Alastor was in his office, you could feel him.

And yet, you felt like you were being watched.

Trey..? No, it wasn’t the same feeling..

You closed your eyes and sat on the sofa. You concentrate on your yourself and feel your soul coming out of your body.  As soon as you did it, you could hear Alastor coming into the living room, sitting next to you, making sure your body wouldn’t hurt itself.

“ Dear, I guessed you felt something ?” He watched toward your direction without seeing you.

You flew around the house, trying to find the subject of your screaming instinct.

Maybe you were just being paranoid? 

You sighed, ready to go back to your body but stopped when you felt something in front of you. You flew toward the front door and looked around it. Nothing… Were you being paranoid?

Your eyes widened when you saw it and then everything scattered.

Alice woke up screaming while you were being tugged back in your body. Alastor took your face between his hands, his gaze serious.

“ What did you see?”

You were breathing hard, not being able to speak. You shook your head and pointed toward the door before running toward your bedroom where Alice was crying, squeezing Eamon against her. You hugged her hard, against you. Could she feel your inner turmoil after what you saw?

Were you even sure you saw it ?

You calmed Alice down before turning your head toward Alastor who came toward you with a sinister look even though his smile was still present. You stared at him, hiding Alice’s face against your chest.

“ Did you find it ?”

Alastor nodded before walking toward you, opening his palm.

Inside your husband’s hand was an eye. A human eye.

“ I think we know who this belongs to.” He whispered. 

Even if he was calm, you knew he was shaken. His gaze wasn’t leaving the eye. You knew who it belonged to, and you knew he did too. This eye he had seen since he was a child, the eye of the only man who tortured him all his childhood.

“ Your father’s.” You whispered.

He only nodded, before sighing. He shook his head, mumbling without you understanding anything.

You looked at Alice who calmed down a little. 

“ What did you dream about my baby?” You tried to smile at her, even if she had nightmares, sometimes it would be so bizarre that it would made you laugh and you would create a whole funny story about it.

“ A man was staring at me… With one eye missing.”

Alastor’s head snapped toward Alice while you froze, feeling a shiver in your whole body. He kneeled in front of her, his gaze fixated on her expression.

“ What did he look like?”

“ I don’t know… I didn’t want to watch him..?” She sniffed.

You observed Alastor’s face, he couldn’t hide how affected he was by this news. You put your hand on his shoulder with a reassuring smile.

“ Alastor… She dreamed of him. Don’t you remember, sometimes, Papa Legba would take my soul to show me something important ? Maybe the Baron did the same thing.” You said, with a soft smile even if you were shaken by this revelation. Legba always told you he would use your dream to give you information, did Baron Samedi do the same thing?

“ Yes… Maybe she was being warned, just like you used to.” He sighed, his hand going through his hair. “ Does that mean someone has already found my father’s corpse?”

In the deafening silence, you could only hear Alice's little voice.

“ I wasn't sleeping.”

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[sam-the-pancake]

I wasn't gonna make a post about this anymore because it resolved, but I still want to talk about it. My writing style is long and rambly so TL;DR at the bottom.

Yesterday was the first day of the college course I'm taking (I'm getting my master's in Special Education if anyone's interested). It's a class from 5pm until 8pm, and most days it's after a full day of work for me, so I've elected to mainly use my wheelchair. But since I'm ambulatory I decided to bring my cane in case I needed the bathroom or something so I don't have to struggle with the doors. This classroom of course didn't have a desk without a chair attached so as we sat in a circle I put my bag on the desk behind me and rested my cane against it.

Anyone who uses a cane knows that they fall over. A lot. I kept telling both the professor and the students next to me to please just leave it on the floor when it falls over but of course they didn't listen. They had to "help" the poor cripple. Well class ends and I grab my bag and head home. When I get to my house I realize that I don't have my cane with me to help me down the stairs to my apartment. It wasn't with my bag when I left class so I forgot it. I tell my partner that I'm going back to campus to get the cane I forgot. This is my only cane. I use it any time I leave the house. Even if I'm planning on using my wheelchair when I get somewhere I like to have the cane in the car.

In the 20min it took me to drive home and back the cane is gone. I look all over the first floor of the building without an aid since I expected it to be quick. I sit down and email the professor and campus lost and found before making my way back to the car.

AN HOUR LATER, an hour and a half after the class has ended, I get an response email from the professor and a girl from the class. The girl saw that I forgot it (I still don't know where it had been) and took it hoping to see me before I left. She probably felt like she was doing her good deed for the day. Except I have a medical exception letting me park in the teacher parking lot right outside the building, and she probably brought it to the student parking across campus in the other direction. And then when she didn't find me she didn't reach out!

If she had wanted to be helpful she should have stayed in the classroom with it, or gone back to class when she couldn't find me, and sent me an email. I know that to ableds it's just a stick, but a month ago that was my only mobility aid. I have not left the house without it for 2 years. I'm not leaving the house until I get it back. I'm in pain today because I walked around for 10min without it. She waited for me to reach out about it to let me know she had my mobility aid. And I know she waited because she told the professor she had it. If she had wanted my email she could have asked the professor for it or for my full name to look it up in the directory.

In her email she said "I was really worried someone would take it." Guess what! YOU took it! Again, I understand that it wasn't her intention, but it's the reality of what happened. She removed it from the room and didn't reach out to tell me where it was (neither did the Prof!).

Non-mobility aid users don't touch our aids! Don't move our aids! DONT FUCKING TAKE THEM HOME WITH YOU! This wouldn't have been a problem if during class people would have respected me and left it on the floor with my stuff like I said to.

TL;DR: My cane was falling over in class and the people kept touching it and eventually must have moved it. This caused me to forget it when I left in my wheelchair. Some girl from class took it home with her "so no one would take it" so it wasn't there when I returned. She didn't reach out to me so I didn't know where it was. Prof let her know I emailed asking about it. She's bringing it back to me today, but I can't comfortably leave the house until I get it back because I'm in pain from looking for it without an aid. ABLEDS RESPECT MOBILITY AID USERS BOUNDARIES AND DONT MOVE OUR AIDS OR TAKE THEM FUCKING HOME CHALLENGE