#others love the monocle i love the chair

[miwhotep]

Might regret this late night post as my thoughts are a mess - but regarding this new cover for Part 2...

... the back of the chair at Liam's head kinda reminds me of an octopus. And adding to this, in the last chapter, Sherlock mentions that they were after an international criminal organization.

So I immediately thought of the Spectre which is an international criminal organization what tried to rule the world through the shadows and the greatest enemy of the MI6 in the James Bond canon and has an octopus as a symbol.

The word Spectre stands for Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion and the organization was led by a person called Ernst Stavro Blofeld (who supposed to die, but his body was never found and came back later to haunt Bond - and who is even aside the body disappearance is really similar to Milverton in a lot of things, but I don't want to make this about him now).

The weird chair, of course, can mean something else too or even nothing, this is just a theory - but when the other time Liam was sitting on a chair on a cover (for the Final Problem arc), the back design reminded of flames...

...and they set London to fire.

[miniy00ng1]

Not Yours

Five Hargreeves x Female!Reader

wc: 1845

warnings: swearing, fighting, lmk if i missed anything!

find my masterlist here

hiii lovelies! i really enjoyed writing this, i will probably make a part two since the ending isn't really an ending, but i just wanted to get something posted! in this piece i refer to Viktor's character as Vanya since in the series at this time he did not come out yet! as always please ignore any grammar errors, give me feedback, and i hope everyone enjoys! thank you <3

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A bright blue flash appears in the foyer of The Umbrella Academy, from the flash comes the Hargreeves siblings, slowly coming to after being disoriented from time travel. The siblings surround the singular round table in the room, sitting atop the table was a newspaper.

Five Hargreeves, the youngest looking of the group, snatches the paper off the table frantically searching for a date. “Holy shit…I think we did it. It’s April 2nd, 2019, the day after the apocalypse.” Five lets out a dry chuckle, surprised he and his idiot siblings succeeded. 

Klaus lets out a cheer of excitement, he rests both arms over the shoulders of his two nearest siblings, pulling them close, “Go team! I mean look at us, we’re so amazing you guys. I think we should celebrate by breaking into Dad’s very special liquor cabinet.” The siblings laugh, all relieved they survived and saved the world, yet again. As the group begins to wander towards the sitting room, Five stops in his tracks–something, no, someone was missing.

Five looks at the bunch ahead of him, he counts their heads once—only five, and then recounts afraid that he’s made an error. He whips his head behind to check for the missing person–his missing person. Five releases a shaky breath he didn’t realize he was holding, panic beginning to set in, “You guys…where’s Y/N?” The siblings immediately become aware to the fact that you were missing.

“Maybe she ended up in another part of the house? We should split up and look for her.” Vanya suggested. The group murmurs in agreement, designating sections of the house for each sibling to search. Before the siblings can break off, something strange catches Diego’s eye, “Hey, why is there a painting of Ben over the mantelpiece?”

The siblings immediately gather around the mantel and stare in confusion at the painting of their dead brother, which was previously a painting of their missing brother. “Shit, that can’t be good…” Five hisses, trying to figure out what was going on. The siblings attention is pulled away from Ben’s painting as a figure abruptly stands up from a nearby chair. The fireplace sheds light on the figures, it was their previously dead father—Reginald Hargreeves.

“Dad, you’re alive.” Luther says softly. The older man scoffs and speaks in his shrill voice, “Why shouldn’t I be? And I am not your father, boy.” The monocled man corrects Luther causing him to furrow his brows in confusion. “What? What’re you talking about? Yes, you are. This is the Umbrella Academy.” Allison questions. “And you would be wrong again. This is not The Umbrella Academy, this is the Sparrow Academy.” As if on cue, six figures appeared near the railing of the balcony in the room.

“Those are my children, The Sparrows. After meeting you lot in the 60s, I was so put off by you that I made it a point not to adopt you, and instead found the others. I was quite successful and adopted eight of them.” Reginald states proudly, his hands behind his back. Another familiar voice grabs the attention of the Umbrella’s, “Dad, who the hell are these assholes in my house?” Ben Hargreeves, formerly dead, but now clearly alive stands before the group. Five squints his eyes at Ben, trying to determine what was off about him. Was it the hair?

“Oh my god! Ben-er-ino is that you? You look so good alive! Well, I mean beside that haircut, but I can look past that. Come give your favorite brother a hug!” Klaus squeals in excitement, approaching Sparrow Ben with his arms wide open. Sparrow Ben meets Klaus with a solid punch to the face. Klaus stumbles back and Luther manages to catch him. “What the hell was that for Ben?” Klaus groans, holding onto his nose.

Five examines the Sparrow siblings, trying to size them up, “You said you got eight. Where is the last one?” Five questions out loud. Suddenly, a small teenage, female figure appears seemingly out of thin air next to Ben. The Umbrella siblings slightly jump at the appearance of another person in front of them before they calm down and realize it’s you. But why are you standing next to Sparrow Ben and why are you wearing a school girl outfit with a sparrow logo on it.

“Y/N?” Five calls out, you tilt your head in response to hearing your name. You squint at Five with confusion, “How the hell does the kid know my name?” You look to Reginald for answers to which he doesn’t provide any. The rest of your siblings join you and Ben in front of the strangers in your home. “I think it’s about time you guys leave.” Marcus states, puffing out his chest. “We’re not going anywhere, this is our house.” Diego replies stalking closer to Marcus. “All right, it looks like we’re going to have to settle this the old fashion way.” Both groups of siblings get into fighting stances, readying themselves to beat the shit out of each other. 

You roll your eyes, your siblings have always had a flare for the dramatics and it’s just never been your style. You use your powers–manipulation of your appearance, to make yourself invisible once again. You study the way the young boy immediately looks for your presence, trying to get even the smallest hint of where you’ve gone. As your siblings start to fight with the strangers in your house you sit back to enjoy the show.

Each one of your siblings is matched up and fighting one of the Umbrella Academy siblings and with the way things are going down, you’re betting on the Sparrows. Marcus is clearly winning against Luther and you’re becoming bored watching them hit each other back and forth. You then come across Diego riding around on Christopher asking him repeatedly about “who his daddy is” this makes you giggle. You then make your way into the foyer where you observe two more pairs of siblings fighting.

Something on the table catches your eye. A sleek, black briefcase rests in the middle, you don’t recognize it, but recall that the Umbrella’s first appeared in this room. You snatch the briefcase and decide to keep it, just in case. “Y/N! Come here and look at this freak!” You hear Jayme call your name from the top of the staircase and follow her voice. Once you reach the top of the stairs you make yourself visible and see the teenage boy, who they call Five, making out with the air. “Guess who the little perv is macking on.” Jayme says wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at you.

“Gross Jayme, why do you have to say it like that?” You say scrunching your nose in disgust. “Let me deal with him.” You signal Jayme to go away. The boy is still stuck in his daydream and continues to make out with the air. In order to get him out of the dream state you hit him in the side with the briefcase, knocking him off balance. Five rolls to the floor, shaking his head trying to re-enter reality. Immediately realizing his compromised position he quickly gets to his feet raising his fists but once he realizes it’s you, he drops his arms.

“I’m not going to hit you Y/N. I would never fight with you.” As Five lets his guard down, you use this to your advantage, immediately swinging your body in an attempt to roundhouse kick him in the face. He blinks away, dodging the kick, and appears on the other side of you causing you to stumble back since you missed your target. You prepare to hit him again but he blinks away for the second time, this time right behind you and pressed to your backside. Five’s arms wrap around your body, holding you in place, the briefcase still tightly clutched in your hand.

“Love, stop this. I am not going to fight with you.” Five says through gritted teeth as he holds you arms down to your side. You struggle against his grip trying to wiggle free, “I am not your love.” In that moment you swing your head back hoping to knock into his head but a flash of blue light surrounds you. You’re back in the foyer with Five and a couple of his siblings. “Someone hold onto her and make sure you don’t lose that briefcase. I’ve got to make sure Vanya’s okay and then we’ve got to get the hell out of here.” Five calls out to his siblings, Luther takes over the hold on you as Five blinks away and snatches the briefcase out of your hand. “I will kill you if you don’t let me go you fat gorilla.”

The Hargreeves siblings manage to “win” the fight against your siblings thanks to Vanya’s powers and take you as hostage without the Sparrows noticing. Luther carries you over his shoulder while the group tries to find a place to rest. Once arriving at a nearby park, the siblings sprawl out and complain about their aches and pains. Luther sets you down on a park bench laying his legs over yours to hold you down. “Get off of me you overgrown monkey! Let me go home or I’ll make you regret it!” You say trying to come off as threatening but Luther doesn’t take you seriously. “You know Y/N, you used to be a lot nicer. Now you sound like Five, and he’s an asshole. Here’s a fun idea! Why don’t you go back to being the nice Y/N we all know and love.” Luther sighs, covering his eyes with his arms and ignoring anything else you say or do.

Five sits up straight from the table he’s sitting at, “Luther quick, hand me the briefcase. Maybe I can time travel us back to the correct timeline.” Luther groans at the thought of having to move, he brings his hand to the floor in search of the briefcase to which he finds nothing. Luther lets out an awkward chuckle, “Yeah…about that…I might have dropped it when that blind one was chasing us with her scary birds.” Luther winces in preparation of Five’s wrath. The look on Five’s face turns murderous, “I ask two simple things Luther, that’s it. So simple even a monkey could do it…or maybe not. Keep my wife safe and don’t lose the briefcase. Is it that damn hard!” 

You let out a laugh and tune back into the conversation at the mention of yourself, “Not your wife short stuff!” Five’s attention is now back on you, his nostrils flaring in frustration, “Yes Y/N, you have made that painstakingly clear. And you’re certainly not as sweet and loving as my Y/N and you’re annoying as hell. But until I can get my Y/N back, you’ll have to do. Not to mention, you’ll come in handy once the Sparrows realize you’re gone.” Five lets out a breath as an attempt to calm down, “We need a game plan and a place to stay seeing as we don’t have one anymore. Anybody have any ideas?” 

part two, part three

[alastor-simp]

Be My Valentine - Alastor x Female Reader

♥️HAPPY VALENTINES DAY EVERYONE! Also I know Alastor is AroAce, but lets just assume in this fic he is not. Enjoy♥️

It was finally Valentine’s Day in Hell, a little holiday that some demons enjoy doing with their partners and others that find it absolutely ridiculous, like a certain deer demon. Alastor didn’t much care for a silly little festivity like this. He found romance a bit ridiculous, but he wouldn’t go as far as to make fun of someone else in a relationship, it wasn’t who he was. He did find Charlie and Vaggie’s relationship adorable, since he saw how happy the two of them were together. The little sparks between Husker and Angel were easy for him to spot, and it led to lot of teasing at the hands of Alastor, which earned him a middle finger from a certain cat on occasions.

Since it was Valentine’s Day, Charlie thought it would be a great idea to decorate the hotel. Heart paper strings were hanging from the ceiling, along with XOXO and heart balloons on the walls. It wouldn’t be Valentine’s Day without some sweets, so Charlie along with Niffty made some chocolate covered strawberries and pretzels for everyone else to enjoy. You were trying to figure out how to help liven the mood. “Music would be nice” you thought. Heading over to the record player, you skimmed for any good songs to play. Frank Sinatra was what you picked, and you decided to play that. The melody began to carry out all throughout the lobby, catching everyone ears, causing them to sway. “Ah! Excellent choice my dear!” You heard Al’s voice call out from behind you. He was sitting on one of the chairs, with a hot cup of coffee in his hand, wearing a pleasing smile. Smiling back, you made your way over to the couch and took a seat, listening to the tunes.

Soon Charlie came running back, “Okay everyone! Ready to start the Valentine gift exchange!” Before the decorations were put up, Charlie suggested that everyone pitch in and do a Valentine gift exchange. The gifts would be exchanged between two individuals: Charlie + Vaggie, Angel Dust + Husk, Niffty + Sir Pentious, and You + Alastor. Everyone got together and presented the gifts. Charlie had given a bottle of perfume and new hair bow for Vaggie. Vaggie gave Charlie a unicorn plushie and T-shirt with their faces on them. Angel got Husk a fancy bottle of Italian wine. Husk gave Angel a popular perfume from the Lust ring plus some mini outfits for Fat Nuggets. Niffty had actually handmade mini plushies of Sir Pentious and his egg bois. Sir Pentious got Niffty some roses plus a new sewing kit.

Now it was time for you and Alastor to exchange gifts. While you did have something for Al, there was something else you wanted to give him, but it was a surprise. Alastor was smiling down at you, hands behind his back, holding a mini box and bouquet. “Here you are my dear!” He handed you the box and flowers. Ahh he remembered how much you loved (your favorite flowers). Thanking Alastor, you opened the box, which contained a beautiful ruby necklace

“W-ow Al! This is beautiful! Thank you.” Holding the necklace up, you looked up at Alastor, face flushed. “You’re welcome, my dear! Allow me!” Grabbing the necklace from your hands, he motioned his body behind you, helping to place the necklace around your neck. Turning back around, you pulled out your gift and presented it to Al, “Happy Valentines Day Al” Grabbing the black box with red ribbon from your hand, he opened it, revealing a new rose tinted monocle. He had broken the one he had before, and didn’t have the time to replace it. “Ah I needed a new monocle. Thank you kindly, y/n!” Smiling you nodded your head and faced back towards the others

Al looked into the box again and saw a little piece of paper that was placed underneath the monocle. Turning away, he took the paper out and read it:

“ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴏᴏꜰᴛᴏᴘ ᴀᴛ 8 ᴘᴍ”

Well well, what was this? Another surprise, perhaps? Smile widening on his face, He placed the paper in his suit pocket, before turning back to everyone like nothing happened. The day continued as normal, with everyone chatting about random topics and participating in some bonding activities like board games and watching some random romance movies. It soon gotten late and it was time for everyone to head to bed, or so you thought. The glances you saw between Charlie and Vaggie hinted that they were going to be doing something else. Even Husk and Angel dust, especially since you saw Angel dragging Husk into his bedroom, well good for them, they make a cute couple. Going to head up and finish your plans, your eyes caught Al who had looked right at you. You smiled and walked away.

**8 PM- Alastors POV**

"Hmm I wonder what the little darling has planned for me?” Al thought to himself, as he made his way to the location you told him in the note. Ascending up the stairs, Al arrived at the door that led to the rooftop and opened it slowly. His eye widen at what he saw. In front of him was a small dinner table with chairs, decorated with candles and roses.

He was left stunned by what he saw. Walking closer to where the table is, he admired the little set-up. "Do you like it?" Turning his head around, Al saw you standing there, wearing a flowy black dress, bright smile place on your face. Alastor looked back at the table, then at you, "Was this the little surprise you had planned for me? If you wanted to have dinner with me, all you had to do was ask, my dear." Alastor gave a soft smile, making his way to you, lifting your chin, "You look positively radiant, darling." His words caused you to flush, "T-thank you. Go and take a seat Al. I'll be right back," Alastor smiled and let you go, heading over to the chair to take a seat.

Soon, you came back holding two plates, the aroma wafting off of them was mouth-watering. Placing them down, the smile on Al's face had widen. In front of him was a tender venison steak, his favorite, along with a side of salad and baked potatoes.

After that, you had grabbed a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, and poured it into the wine glasses for both you and Al. Once everything was set in place, you slowly took a seat on the other side of the table. "This is my first time cooking venison, so I hope you like it." You fidgeted with your fingers under the table. "This looks spectacular! Thank you my dear!" He grabbed his wine glass and held it up in front of you, "Cheers, my dear!" Smiling, you grabbed your glass, bumping it against Al's, letting out a small clink. The both of you started to eat the meal you prepared, well you were watching Al more than eating, monitoring his reaction. You knew about his diet and what he mainly ate, so last thing you wanted was for him to try the venison you prepared and do a spit-take. The fork in Al's hand, held a piece of steak, and slowly it made its way into his mouth. The whole time you were sitting there, gazing at his reaction to see if he liked it. His expression didn't change, but he went back in for another bite, and another, and another. Heaving a sigh of relief, you were happy that he liked the meal, letting you go back to your meal.

Soon the both of you had finished eating, letting out a satisfied sigh. "Delicious!" Al said, wearing a pleasant smile. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. Are you in the mood for some dessert?" You said as you got up from the table, and made your way over to grab the dessert that was hidden. Walking back, you placed a bowl of chocolate covered strawberries on the table.

"My dear, you know I'm not a fan of sweets." Al said to you, while looking at the bowl with strained face. "I made these myself using dark chocolate, so they won't be as sweet, trust me." Grabbing one of the strawberries, you held it up towards all, "Say ahh." Al raised an eyebrow at that, but he shook his head, amused at your actions, before taking a bite. Looking at him, you were expecting him to spit it out, but surprisingly he swallowed, "Not bad!"

Whew, glad he liked them. Now it was time to tell him what you were thinking/feeling. "Um Al? Can I ask you something?" Alastor looked at you, smiling like the joker. "Of course my dear! What is it?" He leaned in, placing his elbows on the table, lifting his head up with his hands. The butterflies in your stomach were going crazy, and your palms were sweating. Your eyes looked down at your hands, until you turned your head back up to look at Al. "W-will you be my valentine?" Alastor eyes widen at that statement, but he continued to gaze at you. Feeling nervous, you looked back down to your hands, "Y-you don't have to answer, I understand you find romance and stuff a hindrance." you said. The two of you were sitting in awkward silence, until you heard his chair scrap across the ground, indicating he had gotten up. You knew it, he was going to leave. You had made him upset.

A hand was placed under your chin, making you look up. Alastor hadn't left, he had only gotten up to get closer to you. "Stand up, my dear." He said to you. Moving slowly, you got up from your chair and stood in front of Al. He continued to look down at you, his eyes flashing crimson. Then he got closer, and wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into a warm hug. "What an adorable request! I must admit, developing relationships with another is still new to me. However! I wouldn't mind forming one with you, my dear. I accept!" He whispered all of this in your ear, causing goosebumps to form. Your eyes got teary, as you hugged him back. After a while, Alastor moved a bit, placing one hand under your chin, and the around your back. He had a small smile on his face and his eyes were soft. "Happy Valentines day, my doe." His head moved closer to yours, causing you to slowly shut your eyes, letting his lips press against yours in a soft kiss.

~END~

Tagging:

@pepperycookie , @yourdoorisunlocked, @ghostdoodlen, @aceofcards0-0, @jyoongim, @saturnhas82moons, @unholycheesesnack , @luujjvi, @forbidden-sunlight, @pinkcrystal44 , @veethewriter , @rains-sleeping @danveration , @demoarah, @cookiekyo , @iiotic, @delectableworm , @91062854-ka , @alastorsgoldie , @lokis-imaginary-friend , @themysteriousslenderman

[kaylopolis]

Alastor's Shadow (18+) - Chapter Eight

Alastor x F!Reader

Synopsis: There’s a new Overlord in town and it isn’t the Radio Demon. Six years after you fell into Hell, you have finally earned your seat at the table as Pentagram City’s newest and baddest, and with the Extermination coming six months earlier than planned, it is now time to implement your ultimate endgame. After all, who doesn’t love a bit of power and chaos? Your plan brings you to the doorstep of the Hazbin Hotel as Charlie’s newest Redeemer, but who you find waiting for you will not only turn your entire plan upside down but also challenge your grab for power… 

Tag List: Slow burn, rivals to lovers, eventual smut

Masterlist Link: Masterlist

____________________________________________

Author note: Dear Hoteliers, I give you my favorite chapter :)

<3 Stay smutty

Chapter Eight - The Headliner

Content Warning: Obsession, Blood, Minors DNI!!!

Fuck.

Everything hurt. 

Was that music? 

You blinked. Hard. Forcing the world into view. The shapes were fuzzy until they formed the ceiling of a canopy bed. 

You vaguely registered Nat King Cole’s “Too Young” playing from the radio on the side table. 

God, everything hurt. Did you already mention that?

With limbs of concrete, you attempted to sit up, but a burning pain shot through your core making the world blur into darkness once again. 

You couldn’t have been out long; “Too Young” had entered its final stanza when you came to. Again, you were met with the red of the bed’s canopy top. 

🎶And yet we're not too young to know����

Little movements this time. You turned your head, noting the red silk sheets beneath you. Okay, now the fingers and toes - good they were still intact. The legs? Both still present and working. Arms? Yeah, them too. So was it just your torso? You rolled up, but were just met with more pain. 

Okay, let’s try rolling to the side. You rolled onto your shoulder and slowly pushed yourself into a seated position. The effort and pain made you see stars, but at least you hadn’t passed out. 

Okay, where to begin. Instead of your cloak and leather gear, you found yourself in shorts and a white button-down shirt two sizes too big. The fabric was slightly askew, revealing the bandages crossing your chest underneath. You peeked down the shirt and followed the stained cotton to your belly button. 

Fuck, Velvette practically gutted you from your right hip to your left chest. 

Bitch. 

🎶This love will last though years may go🎶

Your arms and legs had been washed, and your other wounds had healed into scars. A poultice soaked through the cotton wrapped around your feet. Whoever took care of your wound also addressed the blisters still plaguing your toes.

How nice.

Your silver hair had been braided into a long ponytail that reached your lower back. And the shirt you were wearing... Images of deep woods after a rainstorm swam in your vision as you breathed in the fabric - it felt almost familiar. 

Slowly pushing yourself to your feet, you wandered over to the glass doors leading to a balcony. Pentagram City waited twenty floors below. You held your arms around your body as you walked, afraid the stitches would burst and your insides would fall out. Shallow breaths only. Deep breaths hurt. 

🎶And then some day they may recall🎶

It was late, City lights illuminated the night. On the balcony sat two chairs, a single table between them. It finally clicked where you were the exact moment the static prickled the back of your neck. 

🎶We were not too young at all🎶

“Alastor…” you spun meeting the demon face to face, but the view took your breath away.

The Radio Demon stood leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, his weight on one hip. He looked disheveled, his hair a ruffled mess, his monocle missing. His suit jacket was probably hanging in a closet somewhere, revealing a white button-down rolled to the elbows. No bow tie, suspenders hanging around his hips, and no shoes. For feet, he had… hooves.

It was the most skin you had ever seen from the demon and it felt oddly intimate. Maybe you should look away and give him some privacy but part of you didn’t want to stop looking. His shirt top was missing a few buttons, revealing his collarbone and upper part of his chest. From what you could tell he was very… defined. 

His arms were stronger than expected, with a layer of muscle that was obvious in the low light. Scars, grey and faded, criss crossed his forearms like battle wounds. His arms ended in a shade of black much like your own - but his hands. 

Alastor wasn’t wearing gloves. 

That got the butterflies stirring in your belly. Why did that make you so excited? 

The Overlord stared at you with a soft smile on his face but a gaze so intense it could knock you over where you stood. You felt trapped. You felt possessed. And you liked it. 

“What happened to ‘Mr. Alastor’?” He purred. 

You pulled your arms in close, trying to hide the shiver his voice sent down your spine. It was deeper than you remembered. 

Keep your guard up, Thestral, be prepared for anything.

“I think we’re past formalities, don’t you?” You gestured to the clothing. “Didn’t know you even owned a pair of shorts. Didn’t take you for the sort.” You raised an eyebrow at him. 

He tipped his head back and laughed, a deep rumble from his chest. “I saved your life, and your first concern is my wardrobe?” 

You fell silent. He took that as a sign to change the subject. 

“Come, I just finished dinner.” 

You stifled a gasp as Alastor turned on his heels. A tail, the Radio Demon had a tail. The black tuft of hair sat at the crest of his hips, a red undercoat where a white tail deer’s white stripe should be. 

“You have a tail,” you whispered, desperately trying to hide the smile fighting to breakthrough. 

Be prepared for anything.... You snorted into your palm. Anything but that!

Alastor froze, his tail shooting up, ramrod straight. He tipped his head back, his eyes nonchalantly finding yours. “I am a dear demon, darling.” 

Yeah, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world! Is that why he always wore the jacket, to hide his tail? Did he not like others knowing or just assumed that they assumed? God, you didn’t know why he would be ashamed of it, it was adorable!

The demon scoffed before disappearing, you following after him, trying your best not to flat-out stare at the thing the entire time you walked. Alastor led you down a hallway and into a kitchen where a pot was steaming on the stove. Pulling a chair out for you, he sat you on the corner to himself. Silently, you waited for him to ladle a bowl of food.

Why did the silence feel so... weird? 

“Be careful, darling, it’s still hot.” He sat in the chair next to you and just stared.

Your eyes locked on his, you tried searching them, tried to figure out what was happening in this moment, but your mind felt so… distracted by the image of him in an unbuttoned shirt. 

“Eat.” He commanded.

And you obeyed. 

“God, this is amazing.”

He smirked. “I assure you, he had nothing to do with it.” His shoulders relaxed when you ate another spoonful, finally allowing himself to join in with his own bowl. Alastor’s tail wiggled as if it was... happy? You reread the demon’s face - neutral disinterest. Hmmm… Interesting. 

“What is this?” 

“Jambalaya.” 

“Ugh, I’m devastated I hadn’t discovered this sooner,” you smiled, taking another mouthful. Swallowing hurt, but in little amounts, it was manageable. 

As the excitement of the dinner waned, a deep sadness began to settle into your heart. “Is Angel okay?” You practically whispered the question. 

Alastor didn’t skip a beat, continuing to eat as he talked. “It took the spider a few days to get back on his feet, but he is doing well, thanks to you. Don’t fret, the Hotel has not been touched in your absence.”

You nodded, taking more small bites. “How long have I been out?” 

Alastor pulled a newspaper from the Void and handed it to you. The headline read “Shadow Presumed Dead. V Tower To Be Rebuilt.” The date was a week later than you remembered, seven days - damn. 

“I missed my headline.” Mimzy is going to be furious. 

“Darling, you are the headline,” Alastor chuckled, his soup spoon collecting the bottom remnants of his bowl. He got up, taking yours as well as his despite it not being totally empty yet. He filled both to the brim and rejoined you at the table, his tail wagging away. 

Page two had a huge photo of Velvette and Vox grieving and some article filled with bullshit designed to garner sympathy. The story, of course, pointed the blame on you as the aggressor - accurate. Yet no mention of Valentino and his cruel ways. Vox controlled the media, so it made sense. 

Folding the newspaper and tucking it away, you started on your second bowl. “So, how long have you known?” 

His tail froze, his half-lidded eyes finding your own. “That you’re the infamous masked Overlord or a Fallen Angel playing Human Sinner?” 

Your lips parted in surprise. 

“Darling, I had you picked the moment you stepped foot off the elevator at Carmine’s office.” 

You clenched your jaw to prevent it from falling open. “How?” 

He paused for a moment, not looking you in the face as he said, “Jasmine.” 

What had the egg bois said to you before you walked into the elevator? They said you smelled like Jasmine. 

“It’s…” you start but wait for the rest of the pieces to click into place. 

“… your favorite tea.” Alastor finished for you. 

You raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Rosie might have mentioned it in passing.” 

Of course, Rosie did. The Overlord hated it but only ever got it for you. 

Oh my God, everything makes so much sense now! He served wine during your midnight meeting, a cabernet - your favorite - as opposed to his usual rye. He gave you the radio not because he cared about your sleep but because he needed an ally at the top of their game. The way he felt threatened by you even as a Hotelian and not an Overlord - why he always had his shadow following you. It explains his heightened irritation with Vox and the attention the media demon gave you. It explains the unprompted kidnapping to the bayou! He was going to confront you about it! Alastor knew from the fucking beginning because, of course, he fucking did.

That's why he's been so interested in you.

“The second mystery was solved as you bled to death all over my bed sheets.” 

My bed sheets. My bed. His bed. Not a guest room bed but his room. His sheets. His pillows. His clothes.

Oh my God, you were in his clothes! 

You felt a blush creep up your neck. “You…” You dropped your spoon with a clunk into the bowl as the realization hit you. “Did you see me naked!?”

Alastor laughed, his tail wagging yet again, “No. No. As soon as I got you here, I had Rolf summon Rosie. She let me help with the less… intimate parts of your injury before kicking me out. She cleaned you up and dressed you after.” 

He didn't see your back. He didn't see your tattoo.

Oh, thank the stars for that woman. She was a gift from above. Heaven really fucked up on that one. Oh, Rosie. She was going to kill you the next time she saw you. 

Wait… 

“Rolf?” You raised an eyebrow. 

“You didn’t think my shadow had a name?” He smirked his iconic lopsided grin. 

You looked down at the darkness swirling about his feet, which snickered in response.

No, actually, you hadn’t really thought of it as something sentient enough to need one. 

You turned back to the bowl, forcing yourself to eat more. You were full, but damn, was this good. 

Having gone a week without food your stomach had shrunk - only enough room for three-quarters of a serving, but that didn’t stop Alastor from refilling your bowl again and again. 

“I’ll summon Rosie in the morning. Have her bring by some of your things. Satan knows she will scold me for not summoning her sooner, but it is late.” 

You checked the time on the stove. It was three in the morning. 

“Why are you still awake?” 

He looked away from you, “I don’t need sleep to function - correction, I need some, but the number is inconsequential compared to others.” 

So his bed was barely used? If at all? Why was it so grand then? Maybe he used it for other… activities. What had Angel said the other day? The Radio Demon has never been seen with anyone. Rumor has it that he was a virgin - well, that was coming from Vox. 

“I’m not a virgin,” Alastor’s words purred in your memory. Your mind drifted off to pondering the number of other people whom he had shared his bed with before you realized what you were doing. 

Wait, what were you doing? 

You were sitting half-dressed in Alastor’s clothes, sharing a home-cooked meal at his apartment.

ALONE. 

What… 

The Radio Demon brought his spoon to his mouth and licked it, sapping up the juices at the bottom of the bowl. His tongue was black and forked. 

Your face heated with the ideas swimming in your mind of what that tongue could… 

No! 

You jumped to your feet abruptly, knocking the chair back and causing the plates to jump on the table. 

A searing burn shot through your core causing you to bend over in pain.

“What’s wrong?” Alastor bent to meet your eyeline, his arms grasping your shoulders. 

Butterflies and bubbles. Butterflies and bubbles. Butterflies and bubbles. You didn’t know what they meant anymore, and it terrified you. 

“I just…” You stepped out of his grip, not daring to meet his gaze. “I can’t…” You turned and exited the kitchen searching for the door. 

Alastor followed with hurried steps on your heels. You tried a few doors, but none of them were an exit. 

Was it getting hot in here? It was definitely getting harder to breathe, but you didn’t know if that was from the injury or something else. 

“Stop,” Alastor commanded, but you ignored him, turning down another hallway. All you could hear was the pounding of your heart and the slaps of your bare feet on hardwood. 

Another door, this one open, leading to a small library. 

Fuck, this place was a maze. 

“Stop!” Alastor’s tone turned dark. As did the hallway. Were you starting to black out or was that his doing? 

“I need to leave…” You breathed, now in a full panic. 

Another turn… There, an elevator! 

You sprinted for it, but Alastor wrapped his fingers around your wrist and spun you around. He gently backed you into the cement wall. Cupping your cheeks, he tilted your head, forcing you to look into his eyes.

“I said stop.” His tone was soft. “You’re having a panic attack. You need to calm down, or you’re going to pass out. Just breathe, Thestral. Breathe.”

You did as he said, squeezing your eyes shut. Focusing on your inhales and exhales, you willed the beating of your heart to slow. You stood there and just breathed, trying to match his own pattern of breath before you. 

“Look at me,” he commanded. 

And you obeyed. 

His irises were a deep crimson, his pupils blown wide in the low light. You felt some sort of veil lift between the two of you, his magic reaching out for your own. It caressed your form, willing your heart to slow, cooling the burn of your blood in your veins. Alastor was somehow calming you down using the connection you had formed between you.  

God, why was he being so nice to you? The last time the two of you were alone together, he was actively hunting you.

“Why did you save me?” You ask, but it comes out as a whisper. 

“We had a deal,” he answers too fast. 

You didn’t buy it. There had to be more to this - more to why Alastor needed you and your power. Technically, your death benefitted him in the long run, didn't it? Killing you eliminated you as a rival, as an Overlord vying for souls, as a Sinner scheming for Charlie's power - whether he actually knew that or not, but Alastor wasn't stupid. He's had an entire week to think about every move you've made, every word you've said. He's had time to piece things together, enough to know that you weren't at the Hotel to be redeemed.

“Why did you save me?” You ask again, a bite in your voice, tears of frustration forming at the corner of your eyes. 

He exhaled deeply, contemplating his words carefully, before finally leaning in and placing his forehead against yours.

“I had the pleasure of arriving just after you shattered the top floor of V Tower. The way you incinerated Valentino from within... By Satan, you were a vision…” 

You went still. 

“I was sure you were going to kill Velvette and Vox as well until Velvette pulled the Angelic blade and sunk it deep into your chest.” His breathing quickened, his voice deepening to a smokey edge. 

“And that’s when I decided that she was not worthy of owning your death.” Alastor’s grip on your cheeks hardened till he had to let go. He placed one arm against the wall, his forearm and elbow flush with the cool concrete, entrapping you in place. His other found your chin, forefinger and thumb gently caressing your skin. “No one was.” He closed his eyes, guiding his nose to yours. The bridge of it rested against your own. 

You couldn’t think anymore. All manner of logic left your brain the second Alastor's forehead found yours.

“If anyone was going to draw your last breath from these lips,” His thumb finds your bottom lip, and you gasp, drawing a growl deep from the demon’s chest. 

Your lips parted even though you begged them not to. Even though you told them you didn’t want this. Even though they disobeyed and you found yourself okay with it anyway. Even though you wanted more…

His claw traced the curve of your lip oh-so-gently, before wrapping under your chin once more and pulling you closer.

He whispered onto your lips, “It was going to be me…” 

DING-DONG! 

“Ow!” You head-butted the Overlord as a loud chime deafened your left ear. 

Tension broken, the demon rubbed his face as he leaned over and pushed a button on a com. “I told you two to go home!”

“Ay, listen here ya’ ol’ timey prick! We tried! Vaggie won’t let us until we have a fuckin’ update! You don’t have a fuckin’ phone for us to call, like a normal person. So, how the Hell do we know what’s goin’ on!?” 

Angel? 

“Give me that.” You heard what you thought was a shove before a different voice echoed through the machine. “Look Boss, Charlie’s been worried sick. She hasn’t been sleeping. She hasn’t been eating. She’s making the rest of us miserable. Angel took her out and got her drunk, and now she’s an emotional wreck. Just give us an update, and we’ll go home.” 

“Husk?” You gasped. 

“At least tell us she’s breathin’ ya’ strawberry pimp…”

You didn’t hear the rest of what Angel had to say as you slid out from where Alastor had cocooned you against the wall and headed for the elevator doors. You managed to hit the button before Alastor reappeared from a puddle of shadows, blocking the exit.

“What are you doing?” 

“You are not going down there.” He crossed his arms over his chest, staring down at you with cold eyes. 

“What!?” You practically screamed, a burn ran up your throat with the effort. Fuck it hurt. 

Alastor didn’t elaborate further. 

You scoffed. “It’s Husk and Angel, Alastor. They’re friends! If Velvette wanted me dead I doubt she’d send them to finish me off!” 

“You are not going down there,” he repeated, cold malice slithered through his voice. 

You stood for a moment, searching his hard eyes, trying to figure out what he was thinking. 

DING! 

The doors slid open. 

“Oh, yeah,” you drew yourself to your full height - well, almost full height. Your posture pulled on the stitches if you stretched too far. “Stop me, then.” Your gaze met his, hardening to steel. 

A challenge, Radio Demon. 

“You know what I am now, right? Go ahead Alastor, stop me.” Arms out to your sides, you waited for the demon to say something. But he was hard as stone. 

You considered summoning blue flame to make your point, to remind him of how easily you had eviscerated Valentino, but you didn’t have to. The demon yielded. Stepping into the elevator, he waited for you to join.

The ride down was far longer than you expected. Or maybe it was the silence that drove you crazy. No elevator music? Or maybe you had ticked the Radio Demon off to the point he shut it all off. Either way, you didn’t care because when those doors opened and Husk and Angel finally laid their eyes upon you, a wave of relief flooded through you so strong you collapsed into their arms. 

It hurt but you didn’t care.

“Holy, fuckin’ shit balls,” Angel breathed into your hair, making you giggle. His sclera were both white. No more black to be seen. His soul contract was over...

“Hey, kid,” Husk grabbed each of your hands, holding them in his paws. 

“Hey, Husky,” you smiled back. 

“You have a lotta fuckin’ explainin’ to do, Hair clip.” Angel crossed his arms, turning on his overprotective big brother mode. “And yous!” He took a step towards Alastor, finger pointed at his chest. “You got a lot of fuckin’ nerve keepin' her locked up this week! We was worried sick! Husk and I thought we watched her die on television, and the next thing we know, she’s locked up 'ere in your ivory tower! No calls! No updates! No nothin’! You…”

Wait, what did he say?

“Angel!” You stepped between the two of them, cutting off the spider demon’s protests. “Did you say television?” 

“Yeah! Vox was filming the whole thang! Well, minus you burnin' Valentino to a crisp. He wanted your death broadcasted so he could claim the stakes of finally unmaskin' the infamous Overlord. Until, he…” He juts his finger back at Alastor. “Shut down the whole grid! All of Pentagram City was plunged into fuckin' darkness” 

Your eyes find Alastor’s but again are met with a wall of cold steel. 

The blood. Did they see? 

No. His eyes seemed to say. 

You pulled the collared shirt closer around you, buttoning an extra level to hide the gold-soaked cotton bandages underneath.

Rosie had taught you how to magick your blood, to have it appear red as opposed to its usual gold. You’d bleed red unless met with an Angelic blade, unless met with a blow promising death, unless you were too weak for the magic to hold. 

Husk and Angel knew who you were but not what. Not yet. But Velvette and Vox? Velvette still has the blade, which means she saw the blood that stuck to it after she cut. Which meant the remainder of the Vees knew what you were - but not who. 

They knew how to kill you. 

Fuck. 

“We searched for you for hours!” Angel hung his head, his voice cracking. “And he had you the whole fuckin’ time.” 

“We thought you died,” Husk added, his eyes shooting daggers at Alastor. 

We thought you died. Died. You never thought about death. Angels never did because Angels can’t die. Even when Velvette pulled the blade, you didn’t think she would kill you. Maime you horribly, yes, but not kill you because Angels don’t die.

But couldn’t they? 

Your mind flashed back to the last extermination. The Overlords always disappeared in the hours before the Extermination. It was policy. Yes, souls came begging for protection - as they always did - but what protection could be offered? You couldn’t fight the Exorcists and even if you tried to hide the souls you owned, it just made for easier pickings when they eventually found you. Groups were targets. 

So the Overlords “left.” Technically, human Sinners couldn’t leave the Pride Ring, so you found other ways to disappear.

You and Rosie always went to Mimzy’s. The three of you sat in the basement and played cards. Mimzy didn’t know who you were; she thought of you more so as Rosie’s adopted daughter before she eventually brought you on as her club’s piano player. 

You were in the middle of a scandalous game of Belot when you felt a familiar tug behind your navel. Someone was using a card to summon you. And that someone was Carmilla. Orange and mint flooded your mouth - fear. Whatever was happening, it was bad. 

You excused yourself to the restroom and slid out the back door. 

Following the call, you found them at the edge of the Doomsday District. The Overlords kept their hiding places secret even from each other. You didn’t know where they were headed, and they didn’t know where you had come from. Your own hiding spot wasn’t in your territory, so why should theirs be? 

Carmilla and Odette were in the middle of the plaza, Clara in a heap of blood and broken bones between them. 

Exorcists flew in a flurry about your head. Sinners were screaming, 

It was a tornado of blood and death. A massacre of the defenseless. You hadn’t seen anything like it since… well, the time of the Old Testament. 

And a beheaded Exorcist lay ten feet from you...

Oh, Carmilla. What had you gotten yourself into? 

“Please, I didn’t know who else to call…” Carmilla grabbed you by the collar of your cloak and dragged you down to the cement. 

Odette sobbed, curling into her sister’s dying form. 

“I can’t…” You breathed. The feeling of her soul fading was like a whisper against your skin. She was fading fast. 

“Please!?” Carmilla begged. 

“I… I…” There wasn’t anything you could…

And then Carmilla screamed. 

She screamed your name. 

Not Thestral. 

Your name.

Your God-given name. 

She grabbed your arm and ran it against the silver in her leggings. Golden liquid bubbled from your skin and dripped onto the pavement before she thrust the wound into her daughter’s mouth. 

She knew. She knew you weren’t just any Angel. 

Not like a low-level Exorcist. Low-level Exorcists can't heal the dying. Low-level Exorcists can't summon Holy Fire.

You weren't a low-level Exorcist. You were special. 

The three of you held your breath as Clara’s wounds began to restitch themselves, as the blood finally stopped flowing. 

There was a gasp as Clara’s eyes fluttered open. Carmilla collapsed into a heap of sobs, holding her daughter close and whispering in Spanish into her ear. Odette pulled you in, thanking you before joining her mother. 

You were numb to the world until you got to your feet and locked eyes with a Sinner. 

At some point, your hood had fallen down.

He had seen your face. 

He had heard your name.

And so had about fifteen others now standing awestruck around you. 

Fifteen people who had to die. 

Fifteen innocent Sinners who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Fifteen people you turned to ash. 

“We didn’t tell the others what happened.” Angel’s voice brought you back to the room. “They think you were caught in the crossfire.”

“They don't know about Angel either,” Husk added. 

Fuck. 

Alastor must have seen the blood drain from your face because he took one step between you and the boys. “This meeting is over.” 

“What?” The boys gawked. 

He was right. The pain in your torso was throbbing, bringing a sting to your eyes. 

You reached out, hesitating before fingering the edge of his rolled sleeve. The demon turned to you in surprise, a look of… we’ll you didn’t know what sprawled across his face. You waited for the flinch, for the smack, for the scowl, but, to your surprise, he didn’t shove you off. “Twenty more minutes?” You asked, your voice barely above a whisper. “Please?”

Something in his steel gaze softened. He wanted to say no. He wanted to drag you back upstairs and lock you away - but he didn’t. Instead, he locked the front door, pulled a chair from the Void for you to sit, and trudged back into the elevator. 

“Twenty, not a second more. Rolf will keep an eye on you.” 

The shadow detached itself from Alastor’s form and wrapped itself around your torso. For once, you found its coldness soothing. 

“Where are you going?” 

DING! The doors shut. 

“Okay,” Angel started, a pair of arms on your shoulders. “First question, who the Hell is Rolf?” 

____________________________________________

It was like a bomb going off. 

You hit the penthouse first, knowing the Overlords enjoyed a nightcap before turning in. Your weeks of spying had paid off and, luckily, Voxtek’s Angelic Security still wasn’t online. 

Valentino, Velvette, and Vox were spread out along their giant three-piece couch, looking absolutely dumbfounded when you crashed through the window in a blaze of blue flames. 

You went for the moth demon’s throat before he had a chance to react. Wrapping your claws around his neck, you jumped back into the night. You fell, summoning your wings to beat harder, garnering as much speed as possible. 

When you hit the pavement, Val first, an explosion ripped through the Entertainment District, taking out half a block of storefronts, cars, and anyone caught in the crossfire. 

You pulled a broken Valentino to his feet in a crater fifty feet deep. The pimp was barely breathing, his eyes unable to focus on anything. The demon was dead, and he knew it; unable to put up a fight, he just watched you and breathed. 

“This is for Angel,” your deep voice spewed.

And then the burning began. You made it slow and torturous, starting with his feet and the tips of his wings and moving upwards until it consumed him completely. He screamed - his last moments filled with the stench of orange and mint - with fear.

You had killed so many times before, but never had it felt this good. 

And then he was a pile of ash. 

“No!” Velvette screamed. The brat demon and Vox were huddled over the edge of the concave abyss, watching the ash of their fallen partner blow away in the wind. 

“You fucking arsehole,” she screamed. “You’re going to die for this!” 

She lept, her claws sharpened to talons. Behind her Vox transformed into his demon form. Nearly three stories tall, the demon was a mass of electrokinetic energy, his claws digging into the cement of the street as sparks of blue scattered across the street.

Now this was a fight!

Velvette didn’t have a chance to land, for you back slapped her so hard she went flying into the wall of the crater, cracking cement beneath her body. 

Vox was next, but you were faster. A surge of electrical wiring launched at you like a cobra striking its prey. You spun, easily dodging, and blasted through his screen like a missile. It wasn’t enough to kill him, but you were merely aiming to temporarily blind him while you dealt with the Bitch Queen herself. 

Velvette climbed out from the crater, calling you every swear word in the book and then some. 

She pulled a silver dagger from her jacket - a Carmilla Carmine blade. “I’m going to gut you like a fish!” 

And then she attacked. 

Eventually, Vox recovered, using any opening Velvette gave him to compliment her onslaught. And you were holding your own for a while, attempting to find various ways to stall Vox so you could get to Velvette, until...

You sent a wall of flame at the female Vee before turning to Vox and...

“Unknown.” A familiar female voice chimed. “Unknown. Unknown. Unknown.”

“What the fuck!?” Vox screamed, shaking his phone before slamming it against the ground. 

The Soul Scanner. He was trying to get a read on who you are, but the technology couldn’t register your soul.

The media demon paused before his eyes met yours, the gears behind his irises turning in his head. And then something like recognition flashed in his eyes. Before you had a chance to think, a cackle echoed behind you. 

Vox’s distraction left an opening, and as you spun, the female Vee ran that blade diagonally across your body. 

You collapsed, your back to them, golden liquid pouring onto the pavement.

Velvette cackled, “Fucking, finally! Now I’m…” Velvette screamed, her sentence cut off abruptly. 

You needed to get out of there. You needed to flee, but before you could summon your wings, a wave of darkness swam over you. 

In one blink, you were in the Entertainment District; the next, you were outside Pentagram City in the Nothing. The outskirts of the City dropped off to nothing but endless black dirt and red sky going on for what everyone assumed was forever. Natives called it the "Nothing" because that was what was here: nothing. 

A pair of red and white dress shoes appeared at the edge of your vision before everything went black. 

____________________________________________

“And then I woke up here,” you finished.

The boys were silent until Angel leaned in and wiggled his eyebrows at you. “You show me yours, I’ll show you mine.”

“Seriously?” Husk shot him an exasperated look. 

The ex-Overlord knew you from a time when you did not have a reputation nor did you have a name. He didn’t know you were an Angel then. This was as much of a shock to him as it was to Angel. Husk was a business partner of sorts back in the day. What he did know, however, was that keeping your card was important. A friend had advised him to hang onto it. A very powerful friend…

Had they not, he might have just tossed it into an old deck of his and called it a day. Instead, the cat demon gambled it away. How perfect…

Husk did not, however, volunteer this information. For that you were thankful. It would bring up too many questions you didn’t have the answers to right now nor did you have the strength to answer them.

The cat demon knew how to keep his whiskers clean.

“What I wanna see 'er wings! Can I see ya' wings? I mean where the Hell do you put ‘em, anyway? I don’t see you carryin’ a purse or nothin'." 

You giggled, the action burning through your chest. “Uhm,” God, your body hurts. “I can try, but I’ll rip the shirt.” 

“So? Smiles probably has like fifty more up in his castle.” Angel waved it off. 

You looked to Rolf for permission but the shadow was oddly still. “Okay.” 

You stood and summoned your wings, but the wave of pain that came because of it manifested as dizziness and nausea. Luckily, Husk caught you before you fell. 

“Get her upstairs, Rolf,” he passed you off to the shadow who somehow was able to hold you up despite being incorporeal. 

Your vision blurred with the movement as he loaded you into the elevator. 

“Ah, shit! I’m sorry I didn’t know!” Angel? 

DING! The doors closed, and you ascended. Shivers wracked through your body, drowning you in sweat. Suddenly, the lights were too bright, the sounds too loud, and the world began to blur.

DING! 

Alastor was there, his face full of worry, his usual smile replaced with straight-lipped concern. With elbows under your knees and hands behind your shoulders, he carried you back to his room, your dark wings scraping the floor as he walked. 

His face was so foreign in this moment, like seeing him without a smile somehow made him a completely different person. It almost felt like he was sharing a secret with you, one only you knew about and one only he let you hear. 

The demon pushed open his bedroom door with his foot, the lights of Pentagram City illuminating the air about him. Alastor was glowing, his form ethereal as golden hues danced about his ashen skin. He was almost angelic...

And that made the lack of his smile all the more disconcerting.

“Huh,” you slurred as he set you on the bed, the world beginning to blur. “I always wondered what you looked like without a smile.” 

Darkness took you. 

Al - "I will kill you!" You - *actively starts dying* Al- "No, wait!"

The Vox blowup is coming, Hoteliers, don't you worry ;)

-> Chapter Nine

Link to Masterlist: Masterlist

Tag list (Let me know if you want to be added): @sirens-and-moonflowers @wonderlandangelsposts @saccharine-nectarine @goyablogsstuff @mommymilkers0526 @eris-norwega @missgirlsstuff @alastor-the-radio-demons-blog @its-a-dam-blue-brick @sillywormtrixareforkids @cloverresin20

[yesihaveaobsession]

Helping Hands

Alastor x female reader

Summary; to show your appreciation you decide you wanna cook dinner for everyone. In the process you jab yourself with the knife and Alastors protective instincts kick in

WARNING: cutting, no mentions of blood but al is being adorable.

In the kitchen of the hotel, you were moving swiftly around the said kitchen. Pots clanked and pans sizzled as you diligently prepared dinner for the residents. Tonight, you wanted to cook up something nice for everyone, they had welcomed you into their humble abode a few days ago and wanted to thank them.

You were truly loved from each and every one of them, even Alastor. He adorned you and even grown to become somewhat protective of you. As you chopped vegetables with practiced precision, a familiar voice cut through the din.

"Ah, what do we have here? Cooking up a delectable feast, are we?" His eyes were filled with curiosity, as he ventured further into the kitchen and watched you. You glanced up from your task, offering a warm smile. "Indeed, I thought I'd whip up something special for everyone tonight. "Alastor's wide smile only got bigger. he made a show of sniffing the air dramatically. "Ah, the aroma alone is positively divine Do you require any assistance, my dear?"

You looked up again and only smiled at the Radio Demon, chuckling softly, you shook your head. "No, thank you, Alastor. I've got everything under control." He only raised an eyebrow then found himself leaning onto the counter, reaching for a spice that you were using and taking it in-between two of his fingers and inspecting it. He then he observed your culinary skills with interest. However, fate had other plans in store.

As you deftly sliced through a ripe tomato, your concentration wavered for a moment, and the blade nicked your finger. It was a tiny cut, barely a scratch, but the sudden sting made you hiss in surprise. Before you could react, Alastor was by your side in an instant, his expression a mix of concern and urgency. But still had his crescent smile "Goodness gracious, are you alright?"

You couldn't help but let out a chuckle at how he was reacting it was sweet, but you've been through a lot worse than a messily cut. "I'm fine, Alastor, really. It's just a little cut." But Alastor wasn't convinced, surprisingly with gentle assistance which you were fine and didn't need. Alastor gently helped you sit on a chair, holding your wrist up to his level, he moved his monocle and squinted slightly inspecting your cut. You tried to stifle a laugh. His movements surprisingly tender as he inspected the minor injury.

"It may be minor, my dear, but it still requires attention," he murmured, retrieving a first aid kit from a nearby cabinet.You watched in amusement as he cleaned up and bandaged your cut. Once he was satisfied with his handiwork, Alastor straightened up, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. "There we are all patched up. Now, allow me to take over the cooking duties while you rest."

You were going to argue, and he knew you well enough to cut you off. "And don't argue with me dear." He pointed his finger at you still smiling. You only sighed and said "Fine" That's all he needed to hear, he was zooming all around the kitchen humming a tune. You couldn't help but smile at his genuine concern, touched by his unexpected act of kindness. "Thank you, Alastor. I appreciate it."

"Of course, my darling."

[dewdropdinosaur]

Quite Fond

ALASTOR X READER Summary: You are fond of being friends with Alastor and he with you. Except both of you are maybe a touch too fond. Warnings: NONE. Part of prequel to Only for You(along with Hazbin Having Blues) and for my lovely @anon-of-the-void. REQUESTS ARE OPEN!!!! please, I need something to stimulate my brain that isn't thoughts of ponytail Alastor

Alastor, the charming radio demon from the depths of Hell, and you, a spirited individual with a penchant for mischief, had a history as tumultuous as the chaos swirling around the underworld. Once bitter enemies, you now found yourselves in an unexpected alliance of sorts, sharing moments of camaraderie that defied the fiery nature of such a demonic existence. The dynamic had shifted over time, evolving into a peculiar friendship that surprised even the denizens of the underworld.

One gloomy evening, Alastor invited you to his lavish radio tower, a place where often the air was filled with the nostalgic tunes of yesteryears(if not also the screams of miserable wretches who dared to disrespect the Radio Demon). As you both chatted and listened, if the radio demon was feeling reminisce, a bit of dancing also occurred. 

The peculiar structure that was the radio tower pierced the dark sky of the infernal landscape and was quite up there, you internally cursed your red monocled friend on the “climb” to the summit. 

Entering through the metal door, the room echoed with the timeless melodies from the record player, creating an atmosphere that transcended the chaos outside. Transporting you back to an era long past, the room was adorned with antique furniture, and the soft glow of vintage lamps along with Alastor’s typically radio equipment. 

Taking your normal place on a plush velvet chair that Alastor had magiced for you one day, you soon found you had engrossed in the soothing notes of a jazz record with the Radio Demon himself. As the music played, the tension of the day melted away, replaced by an unspoken understanding that transcended previous animosity. This had become the routine. You and Alastor would sit and listen to the tunes of the past that suited both your fancy. Overtime, conservation was eventually struck and you became a pair of unlikely friends. Even going so far as to accompany one another on outings, store runs, or simply things around the Hotel; the other members of Hazbin Hotel soon noticed that both of you were almost attached at the hip. Yet when asked, either of you would fervently deny it. 

Clearing his throat, when a particular number that suited his fancy came on, Alastor offered you his hand. 

“Care to share a dance, darling?”

“Only if you keep your hands to yourself, radio head.”

“My mother did raise me to be quite the gentleman, my dear.” 

Taking his hand carefully, you rose from your chair and joined him in a dance. Swinging and swaying rapidly to the music, it felt like it took over your soul. As the rhythm picked up, so did your steps till the both of you could have been considered for ‘Dancing with the Stars’.(You did not mention this to Alastor, who would not have known whatever show it was that played on the “infernal technological device”)

As the soulful tunes of a bygone jazz age filled the air, Alastor and you found yourselves swaying to the rhythm, all forgotten in the magic of the moment.Alastor, dressed in his signature dapper style, looked at you with an impish grin. 

"Ah, Y/N, who would have thought we'd be sharing such delightful company? Enemies turned compatriots, dancing to the tunes of the past."

Smirking, you continued, twirling around the room, "Well, Alastor, Hell does freeze over sometimes. Or at least, we manage to turn the heat down a bit."

The playful banter continued, each taking jabs at the other's demonic tendencies, whether that be specific dining tastes or fashion items; the atmosphere was filled with laughter, a rarity in the underworld. But, it was always like this with you and Alastor. The music, the banter, you getting so dizzy on joy and dancing you might have considered yourself dead twice. You could swear seeing Alastor’s real smile during these moments but you would always shake the thought away. Why would Alastor, the feared Radio Demon, indulge in things such as yourself for anything other than amusement? It couldn’t be so. 

Little did you know, as all these many nights unfolded, Alastor's charismatic façade began to crumble even to himself. He came to quite like your fiery spirit, one that rivaled him. The way your hair would fall perfectly around your face, how your eyes told so much and would sparkle with joy or mischievious depending on your mood. You hung onto his every whim and had found no fault in his eyes, well maybe except that you like to flaunt yourself around certain men. That he hated…for reasons that still boggled him. Like somehow he would prefer all your attention to himself. These thoughts often hurt his head and confused his black heart, so he too, pushed it to the side. 

"Y/N, you truly have a way of making this Hellish existence a tad more bearable," Alastor admitted, his usual confidence faltering for a moment.

You chuckled, taking his comment for a lead up to another usual quip. "Who would've thought the radio demon had a soft spot? You're not fooling anyone, Alastor."

"You know, Y/N," Alastor began, his tone softer, "despite our initial differences, I find myself rather... fond of you."

Your eyes widened, a mix of surprise and realization crossing your face. Tripping over your feet, you ran back into the record player which crashed onto the floor. Silence now flooded the radio tower, both of you looking at each other in surprise. 

“You…you are fond of me?”

“I did not stutter my dear. I find your company…more tolerable than most.” 

“Alastor…I–I am not sure I am getting this.” 

With a sigh but still any ever present smirk, that did look a little strained, Alastor continued. 

“I am not one for feelings. However, you make Hell a bit better than most and I feel…some form of feeling for you dear.”

 It was then that you, almost as if compelled by the whims of the silence and his words, hesitantly reached out your hand toward Alastor. The demon, surprised yet strangely pleased, extended his hand in return. Fingers intertwined, creating a connection that transcended the bounds of friendship. The warmth of the moment lingered in the air, and the room seemed to hold its breath as Alastor and yourself awkwardly found themselves holding hands.

“I..am fond of you too Alastor.”

A moment of silence enveloped them before laughter erupted once more, a newfound understanding blossoming between two souls that once clashed in the fiery depths of Hell. With a small snap of his fingers, the record player rejuvenated and continued to spin, and as the vintage tunes serenaded the unlikely pair, Alastor and Y/N found solace in the unlikeliest of…relationships. 

Unbeknownst to the pair, the crash of the record player after the loud chaotic sounds of their dancing had been heard below by your fellow Hotel patrons. Charlie looked concerned, Husker continued to clean the bar seemingly unbothered, Angel Dust sat smirking on a barstool, Vaggie was comforting Charlie’s worries, Nifty was worried about the poor dirty state of the radio tower, and finally Sir Pentious was ready to storm the tower to defend you both.

“So ah…ten bucks they both totally fucked.”

A chorus of “ANGEL!!” rose up but then…

“Yeah, I’ll take that bet.” “Sure.” “Oh, does that mean Alastor will be participating in group activities now?!” “Charlie, I am not sure you know what is going on.” “BUGS!! THEY ALL MUST DIE.” “I for one do not appreciate the ssssselling of Ms. Y/N's good name but my gosh, the tension isssss there.” 

All were sorely disappointed, with Husk winning a good sixty dollars.

[abstract-crossverse]

Could you do Phobos x fem!reader headcanons? Pretty please with a cherry and sprinkles on top? 🙏🙏

Weeeell since you asked so nicely… Been a while since I wrote for Phobos lmao, I do love this director, also I'm so sorry I've been away for so long, I got hyperfixated on other things and just been working my life really I got a little carried away… Yall deserve something big for how long I’ve been away lol, enjoy I still don’t know when a name ends in s if I still use ‘s or just ‘ at the end of it when merging “is” to the name…

===================================

Phobos x Fem!Reader // [hc/fic, fluff]

You probably met while you worked as an engineer for Nexus, let's switch things around, I mostly see scientist readers or something, it's not a bad thing but I wanna explore engineers and soldats as well, buckle up

Here’s the thing that I should explain before anything, Nexus Engineers and Soldats are not yellow blooded, those were not made in the labs, alr? These are your everyday Joes who are a little more interesting than your casual grunt with their knowledge, engineers are promoted with their knowledge to fix things and good insight while Soldats are promoted with high combat skills and high ambition, endurance and shit, all of them start as normal agents, got it? Alr lets go

You probably didn't work for anyone in specific, freelancing and fixing anything you could for a quick buck, you had a good reputation as one of the best engineers around Nexus City though. Phobos caught wind of your existence while passing one of your buddies who did work for him, the Soldat was telling their co-workers about your skills and how “you could fix anything you touched”. He's really exaggerating here, but he’s always been supportive of you, we’ll call him…. Tom, for easy reference.

The Director grew skeptical of your skills, it almost sounded too good to be true, and with how highly this mortal was talking about you, you must be good, after all, this was one of his top soldats, he wouldn’t be lying if he knew what was good for him.

“Really? She’s that good?” Phobos’s voice boomed from the door to the break room, many of the grunts flinched and straightened their postures in the Director’s presence, including Tom, who scrambled to turn around — knocking over his chair in the process — singled out as the rest of the room took a step back. The soldat stammered, caught completely off guard by Phobos’s sudden appearance, tensing as the much taller grunt stepped closer.

“Answer me, Soldat, is she as good as you say she is?” He asked with a dangerously calm tone, it was threatening, as if the Soldat said one wrong word he’d be beheaded on the spot, Phobos couldn’t bother to remember his name. 

Tom swallowed the lump in his throat quietly as Phobos towered over him, his glaring red monocle almost casting a red spotlight on his face, he seemed to take a deep breath before answering confidently, “Yes sir, she is the best I’ve seen in a long time.”

One of the engineers scoffed at that, unfortunately just loud enough to make the Director shoot them a glare, making their blood run cold and lower their head in fear. Phobos hummed in acknowledgment, returning to Tom “... very well.” Phobos drew in a breath, “Lucky for her, we are still in need of recruits, especially engineers, so they can help with the machines and whatever else they do around the Tower. You will bring her here tomorrow for an interview, if she’s as good as you say, she will be hired.” with the demand in place, Phobos stood back up to his full height, looking down at Tom as he slightly shook in his boots.

“... and if I don’t..?” 

Phobos’s glare intensified at the question, Soldats always seemed to be curious about the most insignificant things, how dare he question Phobos’ orders. 

“Then I will personally make you an example as to why you shouldn’t lie about someone’s capacities to me.” He finished sharply, turning on his heel and marching out of the room, nearly knocking Tom over with the mere force of him being hit by his cape.

As soon as the employees thought Phobos was out of earshot, he could hear many of them reprimanding Tom for not shutting his mouth when he had the chance, it did make a grin tug at the corner of his lips, thinking the way most just immediately jumped on Tom for being a little too positive about your abilities and being caught was absolutely hilarious. However, if you truly were as good as Tom claimed, then you might just earn your spot in the Tower, yet another stepping stone for his plan of achieving Godhood.

When Tom came to you with the story, you… didn’t exactly know how to feel, flattered Tom spoke so highly of you? Annoyed he dragged you into this situation? Or scared of what Phobos might do to you if you didn’t meet his expectations… Either way, anxiety shot up, you had been questioning whether to apply to Nexus Core though, maybe actually get a full-time job instead of living off freelance, so this was the best time than any other to actually get that job. Or suffer Phobos’s wrath.

You dragged Tom inside your home to explain to you how the machines in Nexus Core looked so you didn’t have any surprises when going over. It was very bare bones; Tom knew nothing of machines aside from basically what they did, but it was enough to help you through and figure it out yourself.

When the next day came, you put on your self-assigned work clothes and got a ride with Tom to the Science Tower, yawning the majority of the way there. Tom had to go in early as shit due to his status, meanwhile, you usually got to sleep in unless you had a job, you weren’t used to the early routine, but nothing a cup of coffee on the way there didn’t fix.

Going through the Tower was long-winded, to say the least, the thing looked bigger on the inside, and the number of floors… Christ, you were starting to reconsider this opportunity on the 10th flight of stairs you had to go through, and you weren't even in the middle of the tower yet. But going around the rooms you normally would’ve never had clearance to as a normal visitor to the museum part of the place was good to know which type of electronics you’d be working with; they seemed… complicated, and it made you nervous.

Tom had been leading you by the hand because he just didn’t want you to get lost, and then get yelled at for it, so before you knew it you were faced with the Director’s entry doors. The guards were cold in their tones, requesting Tom state his business before letting you both through, and honestly, you were not surprised to see how huge the office was, what you didn’t expect though was to see other scientists working around in the same room, just right there next to the Director, you wondered if these were high-rank employees or if this was a way of keeping them under Phobos’s personal surveillance.

The Soldat let go of your hand and gave you a look of reassurance before you both looked at the towering silhouette at the top desk, seeming to admire his city out the window; the scene looked like something almost out of a movie. Tom took a deep breath before marching up to his office, with you following suit, pausing only for a moment to hear the G03LMs announce your approach.

As you approached his desk, he didn’t turn to you both just yet. Glancing at the other two Soldats standing guard to his sides made you double-take; they looked almost exactly like Tom did in uniform, only these guys seemed to have more buttons and pins on their uniforms than Tom did, those must be a bitch to take off every laundry day. Tom cleared his throat lightly before bowing his head to the Director, motioning for you to do the same before speaking.

“Director, I have brought the engineer you requested.” Tom announced almost as if talking to a king. 

Phobos turned from his wide window to look at you both, the light from the dawn outside highlighted very few parts of him; it almost looked like a painting if it didn’t look oddly terrifying. He seemed to take a moment to analyze you before lifting his hand and lowering it a couple of inches down. “At ease, Lieutenant. You too, Engineer.” he boomed, allowing you both to stand straight again. His tone was sharp, but not harsh, simply an order.

Phobos retracted his hand into his cape, you’re not too surprised he actually wears the thing, Tom’s told you about the times he accidentally or intentionally knocked people over with his cape whenever he came around for lunch. 

“I will take it from here, I’d like to get to know our… Possible recruit. Return to your duties, Lieutenant.” he ordered again, your eyebrows furrowed a bit as Tom nodded and spun on his heel, giving you a pat on the shoulder before marching away. Your anxiety spiked as you were left to stare up at Phobos on your own.

Okay, I'm getting too carried away here, let me speed things up a bit.

Phobos gives you an interview himself, normally it would be someone lower in rank due to his schedule being SO busy with paperwork, but again, Tom gloated about you so much he just had to see you with his own eye, completely valid reason, right? Yea, yea sure. Also, escaping from the amount of paperwork from their projects and agreements with other companies was a little nice.

He got your basic info, you answered his questions, that he had written in little slips of paper with basic answers under them he had a handful of the engineers write, he’s by no means a “tech nerd” like you engineers, but he did his best to grab the essential answer from your longer explanations with a smile on your face, you seem to enjoy mechanics, good, the ones with more passion seemed to give better results.

After all of that, he got up from his chair and walked around his desk to you, damn he was far taller than you anticipated. He said he’d give you a tour of the place and have you fix a couple of things with the other engineers, under his monitoring; we don't need you going somewhere you don't need to be, of course.

So the whole day you followed him around, grouped with a couple of random engineers in the facility; you successfully fixed something — which as much as these machines looked complicated they had pretty standard problems to be fixed so far. Around lunchtime, he took you back to his office which was mostly empty aside from some scientists finishing up work before quickly leaving to get their food and finish it within the 2-hour break Phobos gave them, which was surprising, most jobs didn't even give an hour. You may have off-mindedly muttered about that being nice, Phobos, seeing it as an opportunity to make a better impression and gloat a bit, claimed it was because he understands how huge and time-consuming getting up and down the tower to the food court and back was, plus, he enjoyed the time to himself that the break gave.

One long and unnecessary speech about how great of an asset you’ll make to Nexus Core, how he sees great potential in you, and how he can see you climbing the ranks quickly later… You're hired! Congrats, you work for the minion look-alike now. Yippee.mp3. He gave you a handshake, let you know where you could get the proper uniform for your work, and set you free to go home, saying you’d start that next Monday. Telling the good(?) news to Tom on your way out, he took you out for a celebratory lunch at your favorite place. At least he was happy you’d get to see each other more often; work always got in the way of your hangouts.

Either way, working at the Tower isn’t as bad as you thought it would be, most of the time at least; you got to know a couple of Tom’s other friends and co-workers around your first day, setting you up with one of his most “trustworthy” engineer friend. Much to their dismay, Tom begged them to babysit you until you got the hang of things in return for like… 5 favors he’d owe them in return. We’ll call this one Kai. 

Kai did as promised, giving you a more in-depth rundown of how certain machines worked and what their most common problems to fix were just to give you a heads up, claiming they were feeling generous enough to let you know. Allowing you to take the lead in fixing some of these machines similar to how Phobos did in your interview, quizzing you from time to time on the machines, what they did, or how to fix a certain problem.

As much as they were incredibly monotonous in their voice, you could tell they were just as passionate about mechanics as you were.

Something you did notice throughout the day, however, was that the Director himself was around very often.

“Yep, that’s correct once again, great job [Name].” Kai gave you a tired nod and praise as you answered their question about the cloner in front of you correctly, glad you were paying attention to their ramblings about the machine earlier. You smiled at them behind your mask, hoping they saw how your eyes squinted to know so before they began to speak again.

“Now, this one has been having some problems with faulty wiring, I’ll fix this once since this equipment is so delicate, but I need you to watch and learn how it’s fixed so you-” Their thought process was interrupted halfway through unscrewing the machine’s control panel, raising their head and looking into space for a moment before looking at the doors to the room expectantly, cycling through every couple seconds, did they hear something? You mostly just heard the beeps and scribbles from the machines and the scientists, though… you felt some slight vibration at your feet. “.. is something wrong?” 

“... The Director’s coming… again… don't do anything-” 

“stupid, I know.” you finished their phrase as they continued with their work, feeling the vibrations of his footsteps approaching far clearer than before, ‘there are 3 doors leading to this room, two on the east and west, and one north-east up a staircase, it doesn’t feel like the footsteps are coming from above but I can’t tell where the sound of his boots are coming from, but… I’m willing to bet the… east door?’

The sound of a door opening to your right had half of the people in the room looking towards it, mainly those who were so lost in their work to notice, including you and Kai. ‘huh, it was the east… lucky guess..?’

You didn’t dare look at the Director for too long, after all, you had to focus on what Kai was doing… Kai, who was inspecting what the much taller grunt was doing with interest for a minute or so before going back to work with a light huff, sounded.. Baffled? You wondered what was wrong as you watched them mess with the wires, disconnecting and reconnecting a couple of set wires before starting to close the panel again, they worked fast that’s for sure.

“See? It’s pretty easy once you know which must be reconnected or switched around. Sometimes in a hurry some other engineers or scientists who don't know what they're doing mess up the wires and make the machine faulty.. The nerve of some people…” they muttered with a disappointed look, making you chuckle briefly before nodding in agreement, not before you felt a familiar looming presence behind you, though.

The large hand on your shoulder made you flinch as the Director’s voice nearly reverberated in your chest with how close he was, like a loud bass in giant speakers. 

“Heyy, how’s the work going-... [Name]..! Liking this magnificent Tower so far?" His tone was far friendlier than you’ve heard before, a smile clear in his tone; it seemed like he struggled to remember your name for a moment but you wouldn't blame him if it was the case, with so many workers here and this being your first day…

“Oh! Uh- great! The work- well, the introduction is going great! I do.. Enjoy it here!” you answered a half-truth with a nervous smile behind your mask, you knew he probably couldn't see it but expressions die hard. “Good! Good! And- hello to you too….. Kaaaailee, yes, Kailee.'' The pause with Kai’s name was longer, and the confidently incorrect answer made it painfully obvious he genuinely didn't remember their name; it was almost charming, just a bit.

“Close yet far, sir.” Kai mumbled to themselves as they gave him a small bow “Hello, Director.”

“How’s your work?” he questioned with a small tilt of his head, his hand still firmly placed on your shoulder. 

“Nearly done, sir. I’m just teaching Ms. [Name] here how our cloners work.” Kai gestured to you as Phobos nodded with satisfaction. 

“Good good, delightful. Anyway, I must get back to my duties. You treat our new engineer well, Kailee, we don’t want a 2-week’s notice so soon!” Phobos’s laugh echoed through the room, sounding almost cartoonishly villainous as he gave two firm pats on Kai’s back before walking off through the west door.

You gave him an awkward wave even if he didn't see it, a hand lingering on the warm spot from his hand on your shoulder for a moment, ‘... that was weird’ you thought before turning your attention back to Kai, who looked to be in slight pain, leaning against the cloner for support.

“... you good?” your hand placed on their shoulder gently, concern starting to lace your voice, Kai let out a small groan in annoyance. “He never knows how to regulate his strength… either way, that was quite the odd interaction.” They stood back up straight. 

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t be clueless. You noticed him following us too, right?” You paused before nodding with an unsure look, “Yeah- well, I mean.. It could just be a coincidence, right?” Kai shrugged their shoulders, 

“Maybe, but the patterns are just too convenient…”

“Patterns?” you questioned, giving them way to elaborate “Well, when he comes around, he scans the room quietly before he focuses in our direction, then tries to act natural by looking over other people before gravitating to where we are. Looking over us or- like he just did, and maybe strikes a conversation.”

“It is a little odd when you put it like that, but doesn't he monitor new people like me too? Surely this is normal-” Kai held up a hand, something you caught on to mean he wanted to stop you mid-sentence before speaking, interrupting you but not at the same time. “Not really, no, at least not that I’ve seen.. He never did that with me at least, nor with any other engineers that I’ve trained before.”

You were about to speak before another engineer passed by you, butting into your conversation. 

“I think yer thinkin’ into it too much again, Kai. Yer scarin’ the poor gal.” he softly punched the taller engineer on the arm, holding a box labeled ‘parts’ under his other arm, the thick southern accent being the first thing you noticed before processing his appearance, he turned to you. “Don’t ye worry yer tiny head about it, rookie, I’ve seen Ol’ Bos monitor some other newbies more closely like that befo’. Seems he does this stuff to ones who he thinks are troublemakers or ‘ave had a bad impression o’ him or Nexus as a whole! Ye don’t seem like the trouble kind, he’s probably just tryna give you a good impression or sumthin’.” he shrugged, stealing your bonnet for a moment to ruffle your hair lightly with a laugh before handing your hat back to you and walking off without another word.

Kai sighed with a shake of his head, rubbing the spot he was punched at as you fixed your hair with a light chuckle, “he’s in good spirits at least.” you mentioned as you repositioned your bonnet on your head, “I guess… he could be right, or not, Phobos is… a bit unpredictable at times… I hate it.” Kai complained as you chuckled again, he motioned for you to follow again, your shift wasn’t over yet and there was more machinery to fix.

I love expanding like this, even if this is probably not what you wanted, I’ll try to speed this up again.

Even after your first day, Phobos kept… lowkey stalking you through your first week, especially after Kai stopped holding your hand through things; you boiled it down to just being him making sure you're not getting into any trouble by yourself, though, it started becoming a bit more obvious that wasn’t the true intention as he started ‘accidentally’ bumping into you on the halls or taking the same elevator to places, sometimes even walking into you seemingly without noticing as you tried getting to Tom and Kai, who often invited you to have lunch with them at the break room if you weren't getting food at the patio.

Phobos didn't understand why he felt compelled to see you, he’s monitored newbies a few times, so this shouldn't be any different, yet… it was.

Most would try to get away as soon as possible unless he actively requested to have a talk with someone, no one dared stay around for long, they feared him, it was always the intent, to be feared, respected, to be this City’s GOD. Yet you were different, you weren’t scared; nervous at most, but it didn’t seem to be directed towards his presence completely. You consumed his thoughts when he was attempting to do his work, his mind gravitating to your face, your mannerisms, your laugh… It was frustrating, what had you done to him? It’s only been a couple of weeks and he’s enamored by you, he’s been attracted to other people before, albeit before he became Director, but it never seemed to go past their appearances, but this? This was bigger, this was more.

It didn’t take long for him to make sense of his thoughts, sure, a couple frustrations didn’t go unexpressed as he seemed to be unpredictable around. One day he’d be all gleeful and conversational with you, the other he’d be distant and judgemental, you assumed he was simply having stressful days… but your gut said to ask, to figure out what was wrong with your boss, especially since some of your coworkers found themselves with the short end of his temper.

So you asked, slipping into his office after the doormen left for lunch, you knew he was in there, he said he enjoyed the time for himself. The office was empty aside from his hunched-over shadow up at his desk, he didn’t hear you slip in as your boots clicked against the floor, making your way up to him.

He had his head resting in one hand as his other held a pen to a paper he didn't seem to read, simply staring straight down, taken by his thoughts. Soon you stood in front of his desk, holding his (allegedly) favorite cup of tea you had gotten based on his orders from the cafeteria in your hands, trying to find a way to gently snap him out of his thoughts without it backfiring harshly on you. Pulling down your mask from your face and letting it lay over your upper chest as you called out his name softly.

Took about 3 times and light taps on his desk for him to see you were there, irritation shifting to surprise to see you in his office, much more without your mask, he hadn’t seen your face properly since the interview… Clearing his throat, he asked what you were doing here, you explained that you were worried about him, and how stressed he was lately, so you came to ask if he wanted to talk, to rant, anything to make him less stressed just so he doesn’t end up killing anyone for a minor mistake sending him over the edge.

… You… wanted to talk… with him? I mean of course you would, he’s Nexus’ God-Emperor and Director after all, why wouldn’t you? Your words warmed his chest, you cared? You didn’t seem like the lying kind, and he had no reason to believe you would lie to him…

Of course, your request to spend time with him was accepted with a welcome, if you were anyone else he might have thrown you out of the window though. Your lunchtime was spent listening to the Director rant about anything he felt like telling you, about the worries of a certain grunt going against his cause, the stress of his goals, and the annoyance that was needed to cater to MERC and their demands for G03LMs, the angry and poorly written emails from their manager still sat in his drafts as he tried to word an unhostile email, it was hard!

He didn’t elaborate on certain things, but you didn’t pry, maybe if you did he’d get more stressed, that wasn’t your current goal. Though you couldn’t help but feel charmed by his demeanors, obviously he didn’t pass on opportunities to gloat about himself, but after he was done ranting, he asked to know more about yourself. It surprised you he was interested in your life at all, but he insisted, so you complied.

You both lost track of time, talking and laughing about funny stories from your lives and even gossiping about things outside and in the tower. Your previous image of Phobos had been broken, that intimidation and nervousness vanishing like smoke in the air, he was just like you and the others, if not a little up his ass but he was still a grunt like everyone else; He liked to gossip, he enjoyed technology and what it could do, he enjoyed comedy, horror, and action movies.

The more you talked, the more the both of you fell for each other, at some point he had forgotten to drink his tea, by the time Lunch was over and his guards came back wondering what you both were laughing about, the tea was cold.

You were disappointed to need to go back to work but you had machines to work on, Phobos suggested you pick up your conversation again the next day. And so followed your new routine, you’d come to work, do your thing, and stay with Phobos for the lunch hour until you went back to work, he even started messaging you after a while to send you goodnights or for you to elaborate on certain things he was really curious about from your conversations earlier.

It took a few months for him to ask you out, and even longer to finally ask you to be his. He made a big deal out of it, of course, it was something private between you both but he went all out on it, flowers, tuxedo, your favorite treat, the works. You made it official on the Tower’s rooftop, watching the sunset together.

He loves you just as much as he loves himself, dare I say even more, his diamond, his queen, he wants you to rule alongside him when he achieves Godhood. He hasn’t told you the full extent of his plans though, you know it's important but he won't elaborate on what he’s trying to do.

He loves PDA, getting a kick of showing others you’re his and only his, kisses, handholding, gentle touches along your sides and shoulders, etc. he doesn’t care about who sees you together, in fact, how dare they stare in the first place.

Phobos can be a bit of a jealous partner, getting protective and possessive of you at times if you hang out with your friends for what he deems to be too long. Later when you're both alone, he’ll remind you of who you belong to with long, deep kisses, and hold you against him, trapped in his arms. It’s nothing too rough to overwhelm you, he’d never forgive himself if he dared hurt you, he tries to take it lightly and playfully, trying to make you giggle even if he’s serious about his words.

Regardless he just wants you well, if you’re in any pain at all he WILL just give you the day off, mayhaps he’ll even excuse himself to keep you in his bedroom, staying with you and getting you anything you need, painkillers, water, anything you crave at the time. Spoils the HELL out of you, and will cling to you as long as you're comfortable.

Speaking of that, he’s a HUGE fan of physical touch. He’ll trace his nails along your back and gently rub your thighs when cuddling, trace his thumb along your knuckles when holding hands, touch legs when just sitting next to each other, and can't hold hands, rest his head on your shoulder and hug you if you're sitting on his lap. Playing with your hair… He’ll never admit he’s a fan of romance books, he’s always wanted to do this with someone, and with you he can finally relax and be soft-ish for once.

Also, he’s big spoon when you cuddle, he enjoys holding you more than anything, but if you insist on him being little spoon he won't protest much, being held is nice too.

If you have a spot when you keep your things at the tower he’ll take the time to leave you little gifts, mainly small things that you mentioned you’d like to buy some time or something, flowers, treats, even just little notes to lift your spirits. He enjoys being romantic, and if it means it’ll bring a smile to your lovely face then so be it.

Some of your co-workers are slightly concerned about your relationship, warning you of his manipulative ways at times, others can't be bothered to say anything because you keep Phobos in good spirits, and keep them from being yelled at so whatever. But he’d never manipulate you I’m sure… right?

Nicknames! My Dear, Starlight, My Love, My Queen, anything to do with your name, usually he’ll put “My” before the nickname because he enjoys reminding himself that he somehow managed to bag such a lovely person. It’s the only thing he questions about how he got so lucky.

He loves you beyond everything. It’s really gonna sting when he dies… Hope you’re ready for that.

===================================

[pussyydestroyer]

"Good taste"

Pairing: Rosie x fem!reader

Warning: +18, fingering, blood, blood kink, crying, pain

Word count: 3k+

You had seen Rosie a couple of times before while walking around town, but you never gave it much thought.

The few times you could exchange glances, she would smile at you out of kindness and you would smile back. You thought she was someone kind, even though you had never talked before.

But since that day when you started accompanying Alastor to Rosie's emporium, you began to see her in a different light.

At first, she greeted you with a big hug when she saw you, which always made you blush since due to the difference in height, your face reached her breast. She knew the reaction she provoked in you when she hugged you and that's why she did it.

After a while, she began to greet you with her typical hug, but also with kisses on your cheeks that as the days went by began to be more kisses all over your face.

You didn't find it strange that she did that since you believed that was her way of being. But every time she gave you kisses on the cheek, your heart would start racing and your cheeks would turn slightly pink. You never gave much thought to your reactions, you just enjoyed her affection.

But she did notice, and she started doing it more often. Whether she was busy or not, she would kiss you, flatter you, or pamper you.

She wanted to see how far you could react to her touches and caresses or what other types of effects she could generate in you. So she planned something.

It was late and with Alastor they helped Rosie to tidy the tables and clean her emporium.

"Oh dear, thank you so much for the help" Rosie thanked them showing her wide smile that characterizes her.

"You're welcome, it's always an honor to help a friend as precious as you" answered Alastor with a proud smile while he fixed his monocle.

She lets out a giggle as she extends her hand tilting it down mischievously "You flatter me Alastor, you always know how to flatter a lady. Why don't you two stay for tea?. The house invites" she offered politely after both of them had helped her the whole day.

"I would love to stay with you, but I have other pending matters. If you'll excuse me, I'll be leaving" he says goodbye while bowing before getting ready to leave.

"Always so mysterious, but okay, it'll be for another coercion" she bows back and then heads to a seat that was near the counter.

You watched as these two said goodbye until you remembered that you also had things to do "I'm so sorry, I won't be able to stay either" you said as you followed Alastor from behind until you reached the door.

"Dear, can you stay for a moment?" She interrupted with her authentic tone of voice while showing those sharp teeth in a smile before you could walk through the door. At this point, Alastor had already left.

You thought for a few seconds about the things you had to do later, but since you were only going to stay for a few minutes you accepted "Okay" you said happily as you closed the door and turned to walk towards where she was.

"Close the blinds, will you?"

“Maybe it's because it's late” you thought when she asked you to do it, then you closed one by one to finally go where she is.

Rosie made a gesture for you to sit on the chair that was next to her with her hand. Without thinking twice, you sat down and turned slightly to be in front of her.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing... I just want to spend more time with you, alone"

"Okay?" You hesitated for a few moments and then accepted. "Alright"

"We can never be calm together" you could hear her voice somewhat afflicted. She knew she was pretending to be vulnerable to attract you more.

"Yes I know..." you play with your hands that were on the table and sigh "When Alastor is here, you always talk more with him"

"Mmm, yes that's true. When he's here I don't give you much priority" her voice suddenly turns sweet as she puts a hand on your thigh. You just nod, feeling the warm weight of her hand.

"Honestly, it doesn't bother me, not at all" you tried to sound like you didn't care that Rosie doesn't pay much attention to you "I'm happy with just seeing you"

"I like seeing you too, darling" as she said this, she began to gently caress your thigh and then slowly move her hand higher "but I prefer to be closer to you"

Her caresses on your leg made your skin tingle, it was comforting and pleasant. But when she moved her hand higher than normal, your breathing began to shorten slightly and your cheeks turned slightly red. Instinctively, you put a hand on top of Rosie's hand so that she wouldn't keep moving it? You didn't know, you just did it.

Rosie watched as you immediately placed a hand on top of hers when she raised it higher than usual, which made her smile grow wider as she saw the effects she had on you.

"What's wrong darling?" You look really tense- she leaned forward slightly to touch your cheek with her free hand.

"W-What? No, I'm fine" you tried to act natural, but your nervousness got the better of you and Rosie clearly noticed it.

She gently but firmly squeezed your thigh, which made your breath catch in your throat.

"Are you sure?" She took her hand off your cheek to grab your chin and pull you closer to her and then kiss your forehead. You knew she always played with you like this, which is why you didn't protest.

She began to leave warm kisses all over your forehead. "Y-Yes" Since you were further below her, your sight was right on her breasts which made you blush more and move your head slightly looking away when you realized that you had been unconsciously looking at them for a few seconds.

Rosie felt you look away and how your grip on her hand loosened which made her smile as she continued kissing your forehead.

Her hand that was on your thigh began to slowly move up your pelvis until it got under your shirt so she could touch your waist.

You were startled when you felt her cold hands on your bare skin, her movements were soft and provocative which made you arch your back and let out a soft gasp. They had never gone this far and you were no longer sure if this was just caresses, you were suspecting if she had other intentions with you.

Rosie knew she was achieving her goal and felt proud. She moved your face slightly to the side with her hand that was still on your chin to leave soft kisses on your cheek while her movements on your waist continued.

You closed your eyes to enjoy her kisses. Your breathing began to become more labored thanks to the closeness of both of them.

She filled your cheek with kisses and then moved your face to the other side. Your faces brushed against each other because of that movement she made, feeling her breathing very close. Your heart began to beat strongly. Then she began to leave kisses on your other cheek.

Your suspicions became reality when her hand unexpectedly went down to your belly. You startled again, bringing one hand to her shoulder as if to hold on to her while your other hand was held to your chair.

You opened your mouth to speak, but the words didn't come out, instead a gasp came out.

Rosie smiled victoriously when she heard your gasp, she moved away from your cheek to look into your eyes. Her distance wasn't too far.

"Do you want me to stop?" Her voice was a soft whisper while her movements never stopped.

You already knew where this was going and the idea fascinated you. You quickly responded in a pleading whisper "Continue"

Rosie didn't waste any time and moved closer to your cheek to kiss it again. Her kisses went down to your neck, this caused you to shudder. Your hands clung tighter to her shoulder and the chair.

Her hand that was on your chin lowered to your waist while her other hand moved to the button of your pants to unbutton them.

You put your arm around her neck as she pulled down your zipper. Her kisses were wet on your neck and you gasped at the feel of them. You really loved the feel of her lips on your skin.

She slipped her hand under your pants feeling the wet fabric between your legs. You gave a muffled moan when you felt her hand.

She smiled into your neck at your moan, this caused a shiver in you.

Now her kisses began to be small bites as she ran her fingers up and down the fabric of your panties to tease you a little.

You bit your lower lip to suppress a moan as you desperately moved your hips against her hand in search of more friction.

She laughed lightly into your neck as she felt your hip movements. She brought her hands to the bottom of your pants to pull them down along with your panties. She pulled away from your neck to look at you as you raised your hips so she could take them off more easily. Your gaze was lost in her hands and how she pulled them down to your ankles.

As you raised your head, your gaze met hers. Both of you were too close to each other that you could feel each other's breathing.

You moved closer to kiss her and she closed the short gap between you with a kiss.

Meanwhile, her hand went to your crotch while the other rested on your thigh moving it to the side so you would open up more. You gasped at this and instinctively parted your lips to let her tongue pass through. The kiss slowly became more intense and she began to run two of her fingers through your folds, slowly and liberatingly from top to bottom while her other hand squeezed your thigh.

Feeling her fingers moving against your crotch and her nails scraping your thigh made it difficult for you to keep up with the rhythm of the kiss, as you gave shaky gasps against her lips.

She noticed your complication and smiled into the kiss before slowly inserting one of her fingers inside you.

You moaned softly against her and your grip tightened on her shoulders as her finger moved inside of you. You broke away from the kiss to tilt your head and look down at where her hand was.

“Does it feel good?” She asked softly with a smile on her face. Hearing you moan, she sped up her movements slightly.

You bit your lip as you continued to be mesmerized by her hand in you. “Mhmm,” you nodded. “Really good,” you said in a choked voice trying to suppress a moan.

Her movements gradually sped up more. You continued to bite your lip to suppress all your moans and your eyes were half-closed as you continued to stare at her hand, not wanting to look at her. Until you felt her hand gently grab your jaw.

“Look at me, Darling,” her voice was soft and demanding as she tilted your head up by your jaw for you to look at her. Her other hand continued to do its work on your pussy.

You gasp at this movement she forced you to do. Your cheeks flushed as you looked into her eyes.

"Good" her praise sent a shiver of pleasure through your body.

She scanned your body up and down, all flushed and excited by her movements on your pussy.

She saw how you continued to resist letting out moans so she abruptly inserted a second finger inside you, ready to see you fall apart from her touch.

Your gaze was lost in hers and the pleasurable sensations she caused you. Slowly your eyebrows curved and you let out a long moan as you unexpectedly felt another finger from her. You completely closed your eyes as her fingers went in and out of you.

She smiled triumphantly as she heard your moan. Your lip was too red from all the pressure you put on it by biting it earlier.

Her fingers were going in and out of you now at a faster speed, finding a suitable rhythm. You smiled in satisfaction at this as you took your hands off of her shoulders and placed them on the edge of your chair to hold on.

She enjoyed hearing you moan and seeing you completely lost under her touch. Her thumb found its way to your clit and pressed it gently.

Your head automatically threw back and your smile faded to drop your jaw and moan. You placed your hand on her forearm, gripping it tightly silently motioning for her to continue.

She chuckled, perfectly understanding what you wanted. Her thumb began to move slowly and painfully in circles. “Rosie…” you moaned as you felt your swollen clit being touched.

She licked her lips as she heard her name in your moans and pleas. As she increased the speed of her thumb, your grip on her arm and the chair became firmer and firmer.

She kept thrusting her fingers in and out of you in coordinated movements along with her thumb. The heat in your stomach grew more and more suffocating as you felt yourself getting closer to your climax.

"I- Im…" You tried to explain how you felt, but your mind was clouded by pleasure that you couldn't form coherent words.

She felt the tension in your muscles, but she wanted to have some more fun. Her hand moved down your chest, scratching the fabric of your shirt, going down enough to then slip her hand under it and gently touch your stomach.

Her two hands working to give you the most satisfaction possible was driving you crazy. Her hand touching your body while the other continued to thrusting you was what was necessary for your climax to be soon reached.

Your moans and gasps were music to her ears, and she was willing to give you everything you needed for your orgasm to come. But in her own way.

Her hand moved all over your torso, from your belly to your neck. Your back arched into her touch as her hand moved up to your neck.

She wrapped her fingers gently around your neck, applying light pressure. And with a mischievous smile, she dug her nails in.

A shiver ran through your body as you felt her nails dig into you. Your eyes half-lidded as you looked at her and gave a moan of pain and pleasure. Blood dripped down your collarbone, staining your shirt.

Her hand began to move down from your neck to your chest. Making a path of blood as her nails continued to dig into your skin.

Tears were building up in your eyes and you hissed in pain as her nails went deeper and deeper into your skin. But the pleasure was greater.

You moved your hips against her hand in search of more pleasure, feeling like your climax was just seconds away.

She dug her nails even deeper into your stomach. Your grip on the chair tightened as she dug her nails in deeper, knuckles white from the pressure.

The shallow wounds that started from your neck gradually turned into deep wounds.

Your previously white shirt was now bathed in blood that spread all over your body.

She knew how close you were, your tense muscles and groaning moans let her know.

Her nails went down to your belly putting even more pressure than before while her other hand, which previously thrusting you, now curved them against your inner walls.

Tears ran down your cheeks from the mix of pleasure and pain you felt.

Her fingers curling, her thumb in circular motions on your clit and the pain of her nails on your flesh was what was necessary for your orgasm to hit you hard.

You gave a long, high-pitched moan as you brought one hand to her shoulder and your head moved even further back.

The hip movements slowly decreased as your climax was expanding.

She watched happily as you fell apart under her touch while her movements slowed down as well.

Your chest rose and fell in search of air and your body trembled after the immense climax you just went through.

She watched as you tried to pull yourself together, examining your tired and blood-covered body.

She abruptly pulled her nails out of your belly making you startle and writhe in pain as a jet of blood came out of the already open wound, staining your shirt even more.

She brought her fingers to her mouth one by one as she tasted your blood. You watched her with your tired eyelids and slightly flushed cheeks. You didn't expect it to get to this point, but you loved it anyway.

She continued sucking on her fingers full of your blood as she smiled mischievously at your expression. She then leaned forward to run her tongue over the marks her nails had left on your neck.

You let out a shaky sigh as you felt her wet tongue again. You brought your hands up to the side of her shoulders as you felt her lick and suck your blood.

She chuckled at your automatic action "You don't have a bad taste" her words were muffled by your neck.

Hii, this is my first smut fanfiction so I hope you don't be too harsh on me 😭

Some places I mentioned may not be identical to the ones in the series. I haven't watched it in a while and my memories of that scene are very vague lmfao

[macabr3-barbi3]

Welcome to Kinktober 2024 everyone!!! I'm so stoked to be part of this with a group of such amazing and talented writers- you can find the Masterlist for the Coven right here, where everyone else's phenomenal works will be compiled and updated so you know what's on the menu and what's already been served 😈

thanks to the coven for letting me be a part of this super exciting month 😁 @hazelfoureyes @minkdelovely @sugoi-writes @synamartia (who made the stunning banner above), as well as my beloved @fraugwinska who made all of my work banners bc she is a gem and I love her 💗

Summary: Vox owns a club, Val insisted on putting a gloryhole room in it. Imagine his surprise when two unexpected guests show up on either side of a wall

Maybe Vox should have been paying a little more attention to the cameras at the entrances, rather than watching Valentino try to recruit more whores (on his dime) at the bar. His short-circuit during a fight with the Radio Demon the other day had perhaps played a large part in six of Val’s actor’s getting flash-fried during a pool shoot, and he was trying to get back into the moth’s good graces; he had given him the company credit card, got him a new Carmine angelic gun, he had even agreed to the suggestion of putting a fucking gloryhole room in the back of his new club. His eyes had hardly left Val all evening, and it wasn’t until he noticed a familiar screen malfunction from his peripheral that he realized who had entered his club undetected and slipped into the very room that had made Val’s anger with him diminish.

Maybe if he had been watching anything besides Val he would have seen Alastor’s shadow slip in through a window to let him in the employee entrance and walk unbothered to the room with the holes in the wall.

As soon as he noticed he choked on his tongue, hacking up a lung as well as he could without turning away from the feed. It really was fucking him- the screen was glitchy but he could still see the red of his suit and his fucking hair, that goddamn cane that he rested against the wall in a position that made it seem like it was staring directly into the camera back at Vox.

What the fuck was he doing here? And more importantly- which side of the wall was he on?

Because fuck if he remembered what system Val had set up for determining which side of the wall was for sticking your cock through and which was for the warm hole on the other end. He thinks he deleted it from his drive as soon as Val mentioned it, so thoroughly unconcerned with anything but appeasing him that he hadn’t bothered to listen. And he’s cursing himself now, as Alastor divests himself of his coat and removes his monocle.

He could go down there, Vox realizes. He could put himself on the other side of the wall of Alastor, and Al would never know. Vox would know though, and it would fuel every jerk-off session for the rest of his afterlife. He hadn’t thought Alastor was interested in this sort of thing, had never even fucking considered that it was a possibility beyond his fantasies back when they were still friends. He stands, ready to zap into the cables for the short trip across town when the door to the other side of the room opens.

And twice in less than five minutes Vox feels like he’s low on oxygen, because no fucking way was that Lucifer.

He lets himself plop back down into his chair, wishing he had moved faster... but curious now as to where this would go- it was no secret that the king had almost as much beef as he did with Alastor. Maybe if he let this play out he could use the footage down the line as leverage- blackmail Lucifer, humiliate Alastor, maybe both depending on how desperate they were to keep the video under wraps. There’s a conversation happening on the screen, but he doesn’t care so much about that, can’t pick up their hushed voices anyway. He starts focusing again when Lucifer strips his shirt off and starts to undo his belt, a golden flush beneath his skin as he pulls out his cock.

A moment passes, then two- Vox isn’t sure he’s even breathing anymore as he waits for the next move, for confirmation of which side of the wall was which. His head drops back against his chair with a regretful groan when Alastor sinks to his knees, hands pressed against the thin wall that bisects the room, his mouth open and waiting. 

Lucifer wastes no time, dragging his fist up and down his shaft twice before he feeds it through the hole, hips pressed flush to the wood and hanging tightly to the handles that Val had insisted on installing. He resolves to focus more on Alastor- the whole thing was recorded anyway, he could always screen an encore- who presses a soft kiss to the tip of the king’s cock before licking down his length, his eyes appearing to flutter from what Vox could see through the distortion. The movements of his tongue are long and languid, like he’s savoring the taste of it between every swipe, fingers curled into claws against the wood.

It could have been him at the other end of that worshipful mouth. The thought wails in his head like a dying animal as he watches one of Alastor’s hands come down from the wall to palm between his legs, finally coming back to the tip of Lucifer’s dick and taking it into his mouth.

“Fuck,” Vox finally hears the microphones pick up, and it has to be Lucifer because Al’s mouth is now full of cock. “Fuck, that’s so good.” His hips buck forward and Alastor’s moan is muffled but still staticky enough to make the audio crackle in Vox’s ears. “Come on, honey, you can take a little more.”

Was that an error message crossing his face? Maybe- he dismisses it with a subtle shake of his head, unwilling to take his eyes off the screen for even a moment as Alastor heeds the king’s words and takes more into his mouth, the hand in his lap fumbling with his buttons to free his own cock and fisting it with a whimper and slow, even strokes after he shoves his pants below his ass, shirt falling down to cover him in the back. Vox is following him before he can even think about it, his hand diving down his pants and taking himself in hand while he watches Lucifer close his eyes in ecstasy, panting harshly against the wall.

“Baby,” Lucifer gasps, and who knew the King of Hell was one for pet names with anonymous sex? “Oh fuck, that’s it, fucking perfect- ohhhh…” His moan trails off as Alastor leans further forward, taking more of the king’s cock into his mouth, and fuck, Vox can see the bulge of it down his fucking throat as he sinks down, nose pressed to the soft, curly hair at the base. His own prick twitches in his hand, and Vox gives it a couple of pumps in time with the slow bobbing of Alastor’s head, tip leaking and easing his way as he jerks to the sight on the screen before him.

After a few minutes of this, Lucifer pumping slowly in and out of the warm, wet cavern he’s been presented with, Alastor pulls back- his eyes are teary, voice absolutely ruined when he speaks, and his cock is weeping with precum where he holds it in his hand. “Please,” he says, just loud enough for the mics to pick up, and he’s smart enough to leave the static filter he usually has off so the person on the other side doesn’t recognize him. “Please, more-”

“I’ve only got so much to give you here, sugar,” Lucifer remarks from the other side, a cocky smirk in place. “I might have something to help you out though, s-sweet thing,” he stutters out, as Alastor takes him to the hilt again. Lucifer’s eyes flutter shut, his brow creased in concentration as he snaps his fingers. A golden portal opens on either side of the wall; on the King’s side it’s just about level with his shoulders, and for Alastor…

For Alastor it was behind his crouched figure. Lucifer releases the handle held in his right arm and slips his hand through the portal, coming out the other side and petting a hand gently down Alastor’s spine. Alastor jerks at the contact, his eyes going wide and panicked for a moment before Lucifer offers him a couple calming shushes. “Don’t worry, I can’t see anything,” he promises. “I just thought I’d offer you a hand- you’re welcome to turn around and check if you want.”

Alastor’s whole body shivers, his ears twitching on top of his head before he appears to concede. He pulls off the dick for a moment to mutter, “if you make me regret this, I will eat you,” and then he’s back to choking on Lucifer’s cock like it’s the most important thing to him in the world. He doesn’t even turn around to make sure he was telling the truth.

“Unholy fucking shit,” Vox whispers under his breath as the pale fingers of Lucifer’s hand bunch Alastor’s shirt up, exposing the soft curve of his ass and the hidden fluff of his tail. Another snap and they’re dripping with lube before he brings them to the cleft, moving too slowly to be doing anything more than rubbing at the puckered entrance with the pads of his fingers. Vox was cursing himself for skimping out on the cameras back here- he should have done with the ones on the track that he could shift around the room, because he was at the point that he would give up his entire empire to get a better view of what was going on down there.

Already, Alastor was louder; his whimpers echoed in the bare room, his hand moving faster against his own cock (a rhythm that Vox found himself imitating without conscious thought). Vox can tell when a finger actually enters him, his whole body jerking at the contact before his hips start pushing back against the intrusion.

Over the noises that Alastor was making, Lucifer kept a steady stream of spewing from his own mouth as he slowly worked another finger in. “Fuck, so tight- wish I could fuck you, angel, you’re so good for me. Bet you’d feel fucking perfect- just like your throat, fuck,” he hisses, his hips snapping forward, his fingers thrusting at the same pace. “Shit, you’re gonna make me come- tell me what you need, baby, want you to finish with me.”

Alastor pulls off his cock with a pop, his guard evidently down enough -finally- that there was no distortion on the screen; Vox could see with stunning clarity the tears that ran down his cheeks, the flush of his face, how unfocused and fucking needy he looked from having a dick in his mouth and fingers inside of him. “More, please, I’m so close…” His own erection is straining, precum drooling from the tip over his fingers, and the sight has Vox’s mouth watering, something in his head crackling at the sudden excess moisture.

“Whatever you say, darling,” Lucifer chuckles, and he guides himself back into Alastor’s mouth with a hard thrust of his hips, fingers pistoning with sudden intensity that Al clearly wasn’t expecting if the cry he lets out around Lucifer’s cock is any indication. And Lucifer seems to be very familiar with where the prostate is, because Vox can tell when he hits it dead-on. Alastor’s entire body trembles, hips bucking forward and back with every brush of Lucifer’s fingers against that sensitive spot, his muffled noises growing in volume and desperation. “Fuck, fuck, I’m- oh fuck, cumming,” Lucifer mutters, hip held tightly between his teeth as he throws his head back with a harsh groan. Alastor stays where he is, throat moving as he evidently swallows all that the ruler of Hell has to give him before he spills over his own fingers with a muffled shout. 

Vox doesn’t even get to see the aftermath of it. He comes so hard across his desk that he blows a fuse in his head, connection to the security system short circuiting and causing the entire grid to go dark.

📻🍎📻🍎📻🍎

While Vox dealt with the whole city block of the club being offline, Alastor used his shadows to shift to Lucifer’s side of the wall, peering up at the camera that no longer held a blinking light. “How long do you suppose until he reaches out to one of us, mon ange?” He asks, sliding an arm around Lucifer’s shoulders to pull him to his chest.

“Hard to say,” the King replies, snapping his fingers to open a golden portal for them to step into, back to the hotel. “I’d say a week, just so he has time to jerk off to the footage before he bargains it away.”

By the time the club powers back up, Vox’s eyes searching desperately to see if either of them were still there, Alastor’s echoing laugh had faded from the room.

[ox-imagines]

In the Vault

Tohma Ishibashi x f!reader

2.5k words

CW: smut. sex. MINORS DNI!!

“Come with me,” your boyfriend’s voice was hushed, unusually urgent, his arm hooked tightly to yours. Tohma had asked you to meet him at Frostheim’s dorm; you’d barely made it through the door before he’d latched to you to whisk you away. He led you to the grand, icy staircase, taking you downstairs. To the Vault, you presumed. Your feet moved quickly to keep up with him down the stairs.

“Is something wrong?”

He didn’t answer, his eyes fixed ahead. Once you reached the hall at the end of the staircase, he wasted no time in pulling you through the door. As soon as the door was closed your back met the cold wall. Tohma had you caged, his steely gaze darkened and locked to yours, his chest rising and falling harder than it should’ve been. “I’m- sorry for this lapse in judgment, but…” his eyes trailed down your form before his lips met yours roughly. Your head was pressed back to the wall for a brief moment until his hand replaced the hard surface, his fingers tangling in your hair as he kissed you more insistently. Though shocked, you yielded to him, your hands running up his back as you parted your lips enough for him to slip his tongue in. He groaned into the warmth of your mouth and fully pressed his body to yours. The unmistakable bulge already tenting his pants rubbed against you and he huffed softly, his eyes fluttering closed as he pressed his hips harder against yours. When he was out of breath, he pulled away and began loosening his tie. “Here,” he panted, gesturing toward his desk.

A shiver of anticipation ran through you and you did as you were told, moving to sit on the edge of the table. 

His sharp eyes darkened predatorily and he shook his head slightly. “Oh no, love. Turn around.”

His words went straight to your core and blood pounded in your ears as you turned to face the desk. He hummed appreciatively, the sound accompanied by the soft fabric rustle of him discarding his jacket and top on one of the chairs. You expected the sound of his belt next, but instead were greeted by the warmth of him behind you. His large hand moved your hair over and his lips connected to the sensitive skin of your neck, his other hand intently fondling over your hips and breasts. He began unbuttoning your shirt, the Vault’s cold air embracing your skin as he revealed it. After a moment, he released you and stepped back. “Finish undressing.” The tone he used made it clear to you he’d be watching you do so, his voice dripping with piquant lust. 

While you did as you were told, the sound of him undoing his belt finally greeted you. You trembled, an innate, unintended reaction to the noise. You could imagine the hungry smirk on his face as he watched. Ignoring your better judgment, you stole a glance behind you at him. His pants were undone and pushed down enough to free his bulge, veins faintly trailing paths up his defined abdomen from under the edge of his boxers; his muscular forearms flexed as he removed his monocle and gloves. He caught you looking and raised an eyebrow. 

“Did I say you could turn around?” Though Tohma’s tone was soft, you knew better than to trust it. It was the voice of a shepherd addressing his flock, but you were a lamb being led to slaughter. You immediately faced away from him again and the click of his shoes against the tile drew near to you. You’d stripped down to your undergarments despite being instructed to finish undressing. Such impudence wouldn’t be permitted. Two of his fingers slipped between your skin and the fabric at your hip, drawing it away from you. “What’s this?” It was a rhetorical question; you held your tongue. He knew you knew your mistake the same way you knew not to answer the question. Behind you, he crouched slowly, sliding your underwear down your legs. A brief tap on your ankle signaled for you to step out of them. “I’ll be keeping these as payment for your little transgression until I see fit to return them.” Great. You’d be going back across campus to your dorm without underwear, then. He smirked softly at how wet the garment was, the thought of how wet you must be.

You placed your palms on the desk in front of you for support as you began to feel lightheaded. His fingers ghosted just above your spine, sending a shiver through you, then unclasped your bra with practiced ease and slid the straps from your shoulders.

“Bend over.” The statement was nothing short of a command. An ecstatic flurry of butterflies swirled in your stomach as you obeyed, leaning down onto the desk. The icy surface quickly sapped your skin’s warmth, but you didn’t mind; you were far more focused on the fire burning hot at your core. Fingers rubbed carefully between your legs, prodding, teasing, his skin cool against your heat. He didn’t provide enough pressure or depth to give you any gratification, no, only enough to further excite you. Meanwhile, his other hand slipped up your back, lightly and tauntingly, before sliding into your hair. 

All at once, his hand was gone, his torso was pressed to your back, and, consequentially from how he was now laying against you, his arousal pressed against your ass. You could feel his warmth through the fabric of his boxers, the way he was straining against the garment. “Now,” he whispered, his breath tickling your shoulder, “I wish I could take my time with you today, but unfortunately I do have other business to attend to, so we’ll have to make this quick.” As soon as his warmth had appeared over you, it was gone again. Though you missed the feeling of him blanketing you, you wouldn’t trade it for the sight of him. Long, even strides carried him around to the other side of the desk. There wasn’t a single visible sign on his lithe, confident form that would suggest he was bothered by the frigid air of the Vault; just lean, rippling muscle and that perpetual smug smirk. He knelt and opened a drawer, producing a nondescript box. You couldn’t see in it from where you were, but as he returned the box to its spot, you caught the increasingly familiar sight of a shiny square of plastic in his hand.

You stifled an anticipatory whine as you watched him circle back around the desk toward you, condom in hand. “Somebody seems quite ready, hm?” He chuckled, a warm, deep amusement in his voice that belied his usual chilled demeanor. “Don’t worry, love,” he leaned toward you once more, his lips brushing your ear and his voice dropping hair-raisingly. “I’ll give you everything you want and more.” In one swift motion, he tangled his hand back into your hair, his forearm pressing along your spine as he shoved you back down toward the desk. Your breath fogged the polished surface of his desktop. “Look at you,” he purred as he drew back, admiring you. His voice was accompanied by the crinkle and tear of the condom’s wrapper, then a soft hiss from him as he freed his cock from his boxers. You felt his warmth draw near before you even felt his touch. “We don’t have time for the prep I usually give you, love, but you’ll be fine,” his voice was like honey in your ears; thick, warm, sweet; convincing you you’d be fine, telling you you’d be fine. “You always take me so well.” 

This time you couldn’t restrain yourself from letting out a whimper, his words and tone coaxing it out of you almost willingly. 

“Good girl,” he was smiling wickedly as he stepped closer, placing his hands on your waist and lightly squeezing. He leaned closer, kissing your back, the softness of his lips turning into a subtle sting as he marked you. Fresh, purple bruises bloomed on your skin as he worked, scattered among fading yellow ones. As he leaned in to you, his cock brushed against you; it was so deliberate, everything he did was so deliberate. His level of self-control was immeasurable, you figured; how else could he possibly maintain such composure whilst so obviously aroused?

One of his hands left you, his body drawing back from yours, and you tensed in anticipation. A soft, thoughtful hum left him, then he put his hand back, lifting your hips up with ease and using his foot to slide your legs further apart. You sighed eagerly at his effortless manhandling, your eyes fluttering as you let your weight shift more onto the desk.

He set you down, one hand once again moving off of you as the other slid lower, to the side of your thigh. Then he was close again, closer this time, his tip pressing against your slick lips before pushing in. A throaty, appreciative hum escaped him as the wet-hot tightness of your walls swallowed him. Meanwhile, whimpers and whines fell from your lips at the painful sting, as if he was splitting you in half. He pressed in, stretching you, his fingers curling into your plush thigh and his other hand coming to rest on your shoulder.

The pain melted into pleasure as he filled you, a strangled gasp falling from your lips as his length pressed familiarly against your sweet spot. “Tohma,” you breathed his name out quietly as a satisfied ecstasy flooded you. You needed more, so much more, but even now you felt so full of him, and it felt so right.

“I suppose that means you’re ready then, love.” His tone was devious, corruptive; you could hear his expression, his grin and his darkened, narrowed eyes. He knew full well you’d hardly had enough time to adjust to his girth, but it didn’t matter. After all, you were on his time and under his control. Without further warning, he pulled nearly all the way out of you with a barely-audible sough, followed by a marginally louder moan as he thrusted back in, hard. You yelped, but didn’t even have time to recover as he repeated the motion again, and again, and again, setting a relentless pace.

“Such a pretty little slut for me, hm? So sweet and obedient and needy,” the mild degradation was spoken tenderly, more like an admiration even as his words sent chills up your spine and drew more whines from you. Each sentiment was punctuated with another forceful thrust.

You moaned pitifully as he fucked you into his desk without repreive. The sturdy wooden fixture bore witness to nearly every aspect of Tohma’s life with how much time he spent in the Vault nowadays, so it was only right it got to witness and participate in this scene. It supported you as it bit into your thighs, each of Tohma’s thrusts driving you harder against its polished surface, each slam of his hips sending another wave of heat through your stomach and another burst of stars behind your eyes.

His name was drawn out of you incessantly, a desperately mewled plea. By now the side of your face was pressed into his desk, the appliance and Tohma’s grip on your waist the only things holding you up now. Your knees were pressed into the front panel of the desk lest your shaky legs gave out and the top half of you was melted onto the desktop. Despite the Vault’s chill air, a sheen of sweat glistened over your body; drool pooled between the corner of your mouth and the desk as mental faculty gradually gave way to delusion. 

Like a spring being coiled tighter, tension spread through your body, each of Tohma’s thrusts somehow sending even more pleasure crashing through you than the last. “P- pleasee,” you begged to be released from the ever-increasing tautness spreading through every inch of your body, more a noise than a word.

“I know, love,” Tohma’s voice was mildly strained, his breathing ragged, but his tone was still smug, velvety. Of course he knew you were close; you were splayed tensely under him, the exertive tightness in your every muscle causing you to tremble a little more with every second that passed. The hand that had braced him against your shoulder slid down callowly, a sharp contrast to his usual deliberation. His fingers found your clit, rubbing harsh circles against it as he tried to keep the pace of his thrusts steady.

You were gasping for breath, a futile cause as the air you took in left in the form of wanton moans. Shaking uncontrollably, your walls clamped down on his length, drawing a sharp inhale and then louder groans from the ghoul. His lips were on your back again, the softness of the gesture a stunning foil to the intensity of literally every other action between you at the moment. “Good… come undone for me, yes,” he mumbled against your hot, damp skin. You had no other choice but to obey, the words breaking down your final vestiges of control.

Tohma held you as you cried out, his hand leaving your increasingly sensitive nerve bundle so he could wrap his arm around your waist. You trembled violently, clenching rhythmically around him, your hands balled into fists against the desks. Your head began to clear rather slowly, his thrusts easing up without fully stopping; moments later he bit into your back to muffle himself, his moans vibrating against your skin. Panting, he stilled. His softening cock still inside you, he laid against your back, his arms loosely wrapped around you while he calmed himself down.

“Thank you,” Tohma whispered after a long, quiet respite, lifting himself from you. “Here, love, let’s get you presentable.” He tenderly helped you stand up, picking you up once you’d faced him and gently setting you on his desk. After quickly stepping away to retrieve his pocket square from his jacket, he returned and knelt before you, carefully wiping you clean with the rich, soft piece of fabric. It was set aside while he gathered your clothes (besides your underwear, of course) and helped you into them, straightening them out caringly and fixing your hair. With you taken care of, he turned his attention to himself, removing and disposing of the condom and retrieving the pocket square to wipe himself off as well.

He tucked himself back into his boxers and re-zipped his pants, then looked up at you with a fiendish grin. “Since I have something of yours…” he tucked the damp, stained pocket square into your hand, chuckling as he turned to finish dressing. You couldn’t help but watch the way his muscles rippled under his skin as he pulled his shirt on. “Now, why don’t you go home and take a nice warm shower? Have some water or tea after.” He leaned into a sweet kiss, any hint of his domineering facade melted away as he cared for you. “If I don’t see you tonight, I’ll at least make sure to message. I love you.” With one more kiss and a faint smirk, he sent you on your way, leaving you to walk across campus sore and with nothing on under your skirt.

[tastefulsimp]

A Quiet Evening

I’ve never written anything like this before, but I needed some writing practice, and I cannot get Hazbin Hotel out of my head. I wanted to explore his complexity and write something that aligned with his character, our oh-so-scary-and-charming peepaw.

I’ve heard that some ace folks have an interest in reading romance and spice as a way to access certain emotions. I relish the idea of Alastor enjoying a romance novel from time to time. (and yes, the quotes from the book are really in the book) female reader | not spicy | tension

— Prologue

In life, Alastor always loved a good book. John Steinbeck, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and H.P. Lovecraft were among his favorites. But, the radio demon had a soft spot for a the author Elinor Glyn. While he was out running some errands this morning, he spotted a copy of "It" and Other Stories in the window of a book shop.

It had been so long since he enjoyed a good book. Most of the hotel crew would be out with the provocative one and his explosive friend tonight anyway. A quiet evening accompanied by a good book did sound quite lovely.

Once he finished his hotelier duties, he asked poured himself a glass of Sazerac, tuned the lobby radio to some jazz and swing at a low volume, and settled into the sofa.

He forgot how much he enjoyed a good read. In fact, the film adaptation of “It” was one of the only films he had seen while he was alive. Mimzy dragged him along to a showing one evening. In truth, he never cared much for the medium, but the story was entertaining at least. And, anything is enjoyable in good company.

“I should lend this to Rosie” he thought as he crept through pages of the novel, “she would enjoy this character’s— what does she call it? Ah, yes.. moxie.”

— Part 1

Emerging from your bedroom, you’re confused to find silence in the hotel. Your lively group of sinners must have left for the club already. Feeling a bit relieved, that you’re no longer required to socialize, you make for your bedroom once again. The faintest sound of music hits your ears just before you cross the doorway.

When you became a guest after the last Extermination Day, no one knew what to expect. Charlie was elated to have two fresh faces join the crew. But, after your counterpart bailed in the first week, you were the only remaining new guest.

As you approach the end of the hallway, the sound of swing music is grows louder with each step. Quietly descending the stairs into the lobby, you’re surprised to see Alastor relaxing on the sofa, reading a book in the dimly lit room.

You couldn’t help but be curious about Alastor. You knew the stories of the Radio Demon, and you saw the broadcast of their fight with Heaven. He was scary, sinister, and powerful… yet he had been nothing but kind to you so far.

Quietly approaching the lobby sofa, Alastor doesn’t seem to notice your presence. You peek over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of what title has him so invested. Your eyes catch on the sentence: “John was aware of the sex magnetism in her. He instantly wanted to kiss those cherry lips…”

Your breath caught in your throat as you realized, Alastor was reading romance..? There’s no way. Peeking again, you scan the page, your eyes landing on the words “analyzed, dissected, and stripped her.”

Yep. That’s a romance novel.

Alastor cleared his throat and stretched his collar just a bit. You watched, bewildered as he turned his head toward you with a smirk. “You’re not a very good spy, you know” Alastor quipped.

“I’m sorry,” You replied sheepishly. “I didn’t realize anyone else was still here.”

“I thought the very same.” He said, eyes returning to his book. You crossed over to the arm chair across from him and took a seat.

“Not up for a night on the town, my dear?” he said casually, glancing at you over the top of his book. He had traded his monocle for a pair of reading glasses, he was wearing a tied red silk house coat over his white button up, and some loafers. He looked so relaxed, you thought.

“Not really my thing, honestly.” you say, your eyes never meeting his, “It’s loud, it smells, and I can get a better buzz here anyway.” He lowers the book slightly to reveal his signature smile.

“Hm. I often wonder how you ended up down here, Miss ___,” Alastor jokes. You laugh, “My ticket to hell may have been coated in blood, but those petty sins have never been my style,” you reply smirking at him.

“What are you reading?” you ask, crossing one leg over the other in your seat. His eyes trace over your outstretched leg, before meeting yours once again. “Elinor Glyn. A novel called, It” he replied in a dry tone.

“What’s it about?” you asked, thumbing through the redemption lesson plans that were strewn across the end table next to you. His eye twitches. He let out a big sigh, “I was rather enjoying my solitude.” He shifts in his seat a bit.

“Is that all you were enjoying, Alastor?” you teased.

“I suppose I was enjoying the music as well, my dear” he replied, meeting your eyes over the top of his book once again.

“Oh, yes it’s lovely. But, I figured you were enjoying her cherry lips, or maybe her… sex magnetism.” You smirked at him. Annoyance washed over Alastor’s face as his eyes shifted back to his book, and closing it sharply.

“Ah, so you were spying on me.” He places the book down on the couch and rises to his feet. He grabs his glass of Sazerac and slowly starting toward you, static rising in his voice. “Perhaps it’s time you learn your place, Miss ___”

Panic floods your body as the Radio Demon approaches you, static in the air growing stronger. His pupils turn into black dials and he emits a glowing green aura. He could kill you right now.

You uncross your legs, and shift nervously, backing up slightly into your chair as he steps closer, and closer. Despite your fear, a depraved thought crossed your mind. This was kind of hot. NO! It’s not the time for that.

His faces is inches away from yours now, you can feel his breathing, and he can certainly feel your hitched breaths, but you never break the gaze you both hold. Within a millisecond its over. His eyes return to their normal round saucers, and the static dissipates from the air. “Do you understand, my dear?” he asks in a low voice.

His eyes stay locked on yours as he speaks, making your body tense. Are you seriously turned on by this situation?? This close to him, you realize he’s wearing a woody, citrus scent, and it smells incredible. You feel your face begin to grow hot, as a blush reaches your cheeks.

“Yes, sir.” you respond feigning innocence, giving him your best doe eyes.

“Good girl.” he pats your head then turns around to grab his book. “That was a lovely chat, Miss ____.” he says turning slightly to smirk at you, “sleep well.”

Another depraved thought crossed your mind, and this time you headed straight for the bar.

[conartisthaiji]

[image description: 9 slides from a slideshow. The slideshow has a white background with black text in comic sans. Each slide is as follows.

Slide One: Witch Hat Atelier, by a little witch academia fan (sorry in advance)

Slide Two: Basic Overview

NOT to be confused with Little Witch Academia 

yes, they both have a cheerful bad-at-magic lesbian who is in love with a grumpy magic prodigy lesbian (...i think) and yes, the uniform features cute little hats and robes and yes they are at a magic school and yes the two main teachers have homoerotic tension and…huh.

Just don’t call it witch hat academia (<-has done that)

Next to the words is the cover for the first volume of Witch Hat Atelier, which shows a blonde girl, Coco, cheerfully jumping down.

Slide Three: Blonde Akko Kagari

She’s blonde 

Her name is Coco 

Very sweet looking like i bet she’s just the nicest 

Probably had something tragic happen to her i bet it’s qifrey’s fault

Oh my god maybe this IS little witch academia 

Next to the text is the cover for the first volume of Witch Hat Atelier.

Slide Four: Not Olruggio

Lesbian (my mutuals told me so) (okay actually one of them had Agott over a lesbian flag as their profile but that’s basically the same thing) 

I did confuse her with Olruggio wha but no, she is a lesbian and her name is Agott. 

Rhymes with fa-i am forcibly removed from the room.

I just know she’s emo as hell like she looks like everything thirteen year old me would LOVE. unfortunately I am in my twenties. 

See next slide for blorbo.

Next to the text is the cover for the second volume of Witch Hat Atelier, which shows Agott sitting in a chair and staring out with a bored expression on her face.

Slide Five: Richeh!!!!!!!!

Blorbo-in-law 

I mean, she’s gonna be my blorbo now.

Look at her i love her she can do no wrong.

Her eyebrows are my fave thing about her like they are so expressive

Next to the text are two manga panels of Richeh, one showing her eating noodles from a bowl, and one showing her cheering with her arms raised. Text behind her says, "Riche is sold out!" Next to these panels is the cover for the fourth volume of Witch Hat Atelier, which shows Richeh sitting on the side of a cliff.

Slide Six: The little pink one

She’s…pink 

I hate to say it but i do not know anything about her 

Not even her name

Sorry to all fans of the little pink one 

I bet she’s the energetic/upbeat one of the group though

Next to the text is the cover for the fifth volume of Witch Hat Atelier, which shows a pink-haired girl leaping gleefully into the air.

Slide Seven: Qifrey without a U

It’s QI-FREY. No u. 

Now why is he wearing a one-lens sunglasses. Sun monocle. 

It’s probably just the cover art sorry Shirahama

Gay and sad i just know it 

Honestly i got nothing on this man

Next to the text is the cover for the third volume of Witch Hat Atelier, which shows Qifrey holding a book in one hand. One of the lenses on his glasses has been darkened.

Slide Eight: Not a teenage lesbian

So Olruggio is actually a teacher.

Upon closer inspection i see that his hair is not curly. I truly thought it was. Sorry Agott.

Qifrey may be gay and sad but Olruggio is gay sad and tortured about it 

Whatever is wrong with him has nothing on whatever the fuck is wrong with Qifrey i bet

Why is this picture so fucking pixelated.

Next to the text is the cover for the sixth volume of Witch Hat Atelier, which shows Olruggio jumping with his cloak flowing behind him. The picture is far more pixelated than the other images in this slideshow.

Slide Nine: Ok the end because i don’t know who else is part of witch hat! But go read witch hat atelier! Or just wait for the anime but i’m gonna go read the manga (and maybe i’ll rewatch little witch academia too teehee) /end id]

so sorry wha mutuals i didn't pay enough attention to your wha lectures 🙇🙇🙇

[pandorafallz]

Vampire AU | New histories and in sights

News of the spirit tree did spread between the camps in the few days that passed and Jake was well aware of those for it and those less willing to try it out and it became a discussion over the radio of who was going and when (based on Mo’at’s availability) and the aftermath of the connection which would upset the camp’s balance until people had adapted to the new connection.

Morgan, Bree, Kim, Jerome, Kendra, Ashley, Harper, Zane, Zeke, and Xavier were straight off the bat interested in connecting to Eywa (those with avatars would go there in human forms for their native bodies to adapt)

Eliza, Maria, Danielle, Kung, and Matthew all were disinterested in connection. The rest, Wei, Sean, Marcus, Will, Ming, and Austin were willing to connect but would wait until another time to do so, very casual about it. Nadine was the only one who wanted to go but was unwilling to enter the cave system to get there. Moran wanted to as well but had concerns with compatibility with his cranial implants that lived under his skin.

A mixed bag of cats but Jake was glad to see so many humans were willing to try it out and see. One day, those disinterested would connect. The hot springs were still a hit, despite the initial mood-killer but Jake had taken the time to visit again the next day (and to properly wash the human clothes from his camp) in a far better mood which really helped restore the caves for him.

Jake’s attention turned up to Ruby as her tail once again thumped irritably against his back occupied in gently spinning together at Hometree. The slight recoil was the only indication he was being softly struck since he was human today. “You okay, Ruby?” he decided to ask after the third time.

“Hm? Oh yes.” Ruby nodded. “It’s…nothing.” Her tone wavered a little.

Jake eyed her expression for a moment, noting the pull between her eyebrows and her… lack of concentration on her actual work as she spun her fibres. Working on auto.

“If you want to talk, I’m about or Mo’at. I heard she took Bree and Zeke down to the caves to connect to Eywa this morning and let them rest up quietly in her den.” Jake offered.

Ruby paused, expression turning frustrated. “I wish she allowed me to go down today.”

“You know why.” Jake said softly, “I’m… I know I don’t get why and I won’t ask but… I think Mo’at probably needs to understand why you need to feel Eywa’s love so intently.”

Uncertainty lingered in Ruby’s yellow eyes. “It’s… complicated.”

“I figured as much but… Mo’at is doing her best to try and help humans. She’d been helping Nadine with her PTSD from the wars and had been learning how humans interact by learning from us. She is the spiritual leader and a healer for a reason. She could help you if you let her. I can try if you want.”

Ruby chewed her lip for a moment before she set the spindle down and stared at him for a moment in quiet contemplation as she clearly weighed the options. “Zane’s at camp so… I can’t bring him along for emotional support. I can… I’m willing to trust you to not spill what I say to Mo’at, right?”

“You have my confidence,” Jake promised because… he hoped this was a good step for Ruby to evolve. To reach out to someone else and while he wasn’t the brightest person, he’d be someone that they could rely on.

Ruby nodded and gestured softly as a means of asking to pick him up. Jake nodded, raising his arms and settling his arm onto her shoulder and she grabbed his chair with her other hand.

Up the spiral, the den was quiet, the familiar bowls with fire in to light up the space, Mo’at was tending to Kim’s pregnant belly, carefully feeling the bump with expertise and Eliza was off to the side with a tablet and ultra-sound, examining what looked like a scan of the babies.

Bree was there, sitting up against the wall but drawing in her sketchbook a little listless but focused nonetheless. Zeke on the other hand was conked out asleep and it looked like someone had drawn a moustache and monocle on his mask. Probably Bree.

“<Your children feel healthy. Their tsalnu sacs seemed to have separated fully from each other which will is good. You’ll be able to birth them separately and safely. That is why your belly has grown a little.>” Mo’at spoke, sparing a second to the scan Eliza had to be certain.

Kim let out a sigh of relief. “<That’s a relief.>”

“<You’ll have a little over two months before you deliver.>” Mo’at carried on, “<It will be wise for you to move into Hometree for the duration of the tsalnu maturation before they’re fully birthed to the world. Since there are two, they’ll have to be delivered earlier than that of a single birth.>”

“<I’ll talk to my mate about it but we make no promises.>” Kim said, unsurprisingly before she sat up though she smiled softly as she saw them though it turned a little concerned. “You two okay?”

“I got a…private talk with Mo’at I think I… need to address,” Ruby said, nervously, her grip tightening a little around him like he was a teddy bear. “Preferably now, or I might chicken out.”

Bree paused a little, looking their way from her book “Let me get my ear pods.” She reached slowly for her bag and tugged it close, rummaging around before she pulled the little case out and set them into her ears before pulling out her tablet to start the music. Loud enough for them to just about hear it.

Kim sighed deeply, annoyed. “We’re kinda in the middle of a check-up, guys…”

“Sorry for the interruption, Kim, but… please give us at least twenty minutes, Kim.” Jake gave his campmate a solid look, feeling Ruby’s arm tighten more and she felt her reluctance return. “It’s important.”

Kim’s jaw tightened a little, lingering on him for a moment then up to Ruby. “Fine.”

“You can stay and listen if you want,” Ruby stated her tone a pitch higher. “It’s not a pleasant story.”

Kim shook her head, her hand coming to her belly with an annoyed sound. “One of my kids is pressing on my bladder. I think that’s telling me something.” She waved away Mo’at’s offer to help her onto her feet, pulling her loincloth straight, both front and back, and waddled out quickly.

Eliza, not saying anything set her tools away and also took her leave but no doubt would return when they were gone. She patted Ruby’s blue leg in passing.

Mo’at sighed softly but collected her tools together. “<I wish she’d allow herself to accept more help.>”

Jake snorted a little. “<She’s a stubborn person. It’s easier pulling teeth.>” He was gently set down a few feet from the Tsahìk onto Kim’s former mat, taking a moment to organise his limp legs before Ruby sat down a little beside him, dwarfing him easily as her long blue settled around him. Her fingers tapped along his shoulder absently for a moment.

“<So…>” Ruby hesitated. “<I… my childhood isn’t a good one. I’ve… never spoken to anyone about it properly except to Zane and it’s… why I can’t go back to Earth and why I want to keep connecting to Eywa. Jake said… you might be more understanding.>”

Mo’at finished setting her tools away, turning her attention fully to the gatherer. “<I know you mentioned to myself and Neytiri it wasn’t pleasant but I didn’t feel it was the time to ask for more. You do not have to mention more than you’re willing to share.>”

Ruby nodded, her ears shifting a little as she contemplated. “I… I know it’s something I need help with and I… don’t like asking for it. I’ve spent a while not emotionally relying on people around me. It’s easier for me.”

Mo’at nodded softly. “<You closed your heart.>”

Ruby nodded. “<I had to.>” She admitted. “<I… hours after I was born, my birth mother tried to dispose of me by abandoning me into a trash canister outside at night.>” Ruby’s ears pinned, pained as the words left her lips. “My own mother didn’t want me… and I don’t understand why she didn’t give me up at a hospital or… a fire station. She had nine months to do that or abort the pregnancy. Instead just… left me some random bin in nothing but a kitchen towel.”

Mo’at’s expression turned sorrowful. “<That is awful, I cannot imagine how painful it is for you to have gone through that. Children are a gift and should be treasured.>” She paused for a moment. “<May I ask, what is a> fire station?”

“Fire stations are facilities designated for fire control for the surrounding public.” Jake spoke softly to Mo’at softly “But they also provide public aid or a safe zone for adults or teen parents to leave their babies or children if they cannot look after them or have a reason to not keep them. Hospitals are medical areas. Any children abandoned after birth can be given up there safely and the child rehoused to a family willing to take them in.”

Mo’at nodded in soft understanding. “<I see.>”

“I would have been better if I had been given up somewhere safe.” Ruby shook her head. “I only survived the trash heap because I was found by a school kid when he was bin surfing for tech junk. He heard me crying and took me home with him in his backpack. His mom got the cops when she found out and I was put into a care system. No one wanted to adopt me.” Her hand moved, pulling her tail around to fiddle with the puff of hair at the end.

Jake reached forward, patting her knee but his heart also ached a little. He couldn’t fathom all of that and while she no doubt knew this all from second-hand, it didn’t erase anything or the turmoil that came with it. It still happened to her. The knowledge that hung over her head.

“I grew up in the system. Foster family to foster family. A few okay ones, a few shit ones who could barely afford to eat…” Her eyes looked far away, “I got to another foster family when I was ten. I thought they were going to be my family for good. Two parents, an older brother and sister, and their second cousin who became orphaned so he had to live with them. My… foster parents at that time were distant. Not there for anyone emotionally but I got on well with my new cousin, Marty, he was… a good guy.”

Jake distantly remembered his fate with a wince. A good guy was lured away and killed; only to be found six months later as bones.

Ruby’s face lost a lot of colour, her eyes brimming with unshed shed as she carried on without stopping. “When…I was fourteen, my foster brother… assaulted me in my room. Said it was okay because we weren’t blood-related and… he wanted to practise.”

Jake closed his eyes, his jaw clenching. Mo’at inhaled deeply but understood the implication, no doubt through Neytiri. It wouldn’t have been an easy conversation but necessary.

“I...I got the police involved, and got him jailed for it but… everyone at school found out what happened…the story got twisted by his friends. I got bullied and blamed for the assault and said that I ruined a good boy’s life and he had a good future ahead before I split. No one even considered what he had done to me or what scars he left on me. That he had ruined my life.” Ruby’s breath shook. “I got out after a year of saving up money. Some friend has a friend who I paid off to get me out. I… changed my name, new date of birth, and new identity codes for myself to have a life. Once I had all that I just… disappeared from that life. Shut away the feelings to concentrate on where I needed to be.”

“You became Ruby Carr, a brilliant scientist.” Jake offered quietly. “You made it all the way to Pandora.”

Ruby nodded airily. “I worked hard in the new school I enrolled in. Worked a side job to afford it and a place to sleep. The only meals I could eat were at school because those were free. I scraped by and got good grades. Got the RDA’s attention to get a scholarship to the sciences. When I was old enough, I signed up for their labs for a few years before I applied to come here and join the Avatar program when I was twenty-three. For a while, it was okay. I had no problems until I learned my former foster brother had joined a gang in prison. I always kept taps open on him as a precaution and… my fear wasn’t misplaced. His new friends had connections everywhere and he was able to find out my new identity and where I was. If I went back home, I’d lose the RDA protection and… I can’t return back. I know he’d come for me if given that chance. I couldn’t give him that chance.”

Mo’at leant down, her hand soft and slow as she touched the Dreamwalker’s face. “<He will not find you here, Rubycarr. You are safe with the people. You are safe with your friends.>”

Ruby stared at her for a long moment then broke her gaze. “I know that here.” She reached up and tapped her temple. “But not here.” She tapped over her heart. “<Eywa… she makes me feel safe and protected. Like a home I never had.>”

“<The great mother provides you with an ocean of unconditional love.” Mo’at dropped her hand to rest on her shoulder.. “<An ocean can be welcoming and beautiful under its surface but… sooner or later you have to resurface or you’ll down within and lose yourself.>”

“<But it’s the only way I can feel happy.>”

“<No, child.>” Mo’at shook her head. “<Happiness is around you and in arms reach. You’ve guarded your heart for so long that you do not see the walls you’ve put up. You look out, not inwards. Happiness is there. You have your friends now to help you. Zanemadaki, who you’re courting would no doubt help you.>”

Jake squeezed her knee softly, looking up to her softly. “<We’re all here to help. Messy feelings and all. Now is a time for healing and community.”

Ruby’s low ears perked up a little, her eyes still large and tearful. “Zay makes me happy. I know I love him.”

“Does he know?”

Ruby nodded softly. “<I told him after we started to date more seriously… I didn’t want to start with lies and… I didn’t want us to rush or anything. It took over a year of us dating before I invited him into a more… physical relationship. He waited until I was ready. Such a gentlemen>.” She smiled fondly. “<I know I can’t rely on a single person for it. Not fair on him but it’s just easier.>”

Mo’at remained quiet for a moment then sat back. “<You carry a massive burden from your past and it will take time for you to let those walls down and find the connections to others to bring you joy more naturally.>”

Ruby’s tail swished from her fingers, frowning softly. “<I don’t know how to really let people in>”

“<You can relearn. I still have much to do but I will spend some time at your camp tomorrow and start the process if you allow me.>” Mo’at offered.

The Dreamwalker’s head tilted before she hummed if a little reluctantly in consideration. It was probably a little overwhelming for her but he hoped she’d stick with it. She had a lot to give if she allowed it. It’d be great to see her open up as well but in all honesty, he was well aware how sparse he had been with his human defectors with his training.

Jake patted her leg, her head turning down at him. “It’s okay. Zane can be there as well if you need.” He assured. “She wouldn’t offer if she wasn’t able to do it. You’re not going to burden her.”

Ruby chewed her lip and then sighed deeply. “I… suppose. I… it’s... sounds like such a task.”

“You’re worth the trouble.” Jake said, “It won’t be easy for you but if you want to feel that connection and happiness, you need to put that work in as well.”

Ruby’s jaw tightened but she understood her part in it. “I know.” She released her breath, her hand coming to rub her face.

The mood was still a little… fragile with that all out in the open and he could tell Ruby wasn’t sure what to do now, so he decided to step in and crack that ice.

“If… you don’t mind me asking, what was your name before?”

Ruby let out a heavy sigh, her hand dropping down into her lap. “Nancy Bane.”

“Nancy?” he couldn’t help himself on the echo but… it was such an outdated name. It was rare on his side of the pond. The English, maybe, but they were a weird folk to keep those old names about still, like Margret or… Patricia.

Ruby snorted, with a little more life to it. “I was never fond of the names. I always liked the gemstone ruby so it wasn’t hard to change it. I let the guy who changed my identity choose my last name. I didn’t care either way. A new name was a new name.”

“I’m included to agree. Ruby’s a far better name.” Jake agreed. “So, is there anything else you wish to discuss?”

Ruby paused, “Er… I may need some herbs to help with my human body. I’m… getting a little constipated and indigestion a lot more. Eliza’s meds are okay but harder to come by. I’d rather start moving onto more easy-to-come-by remedies and save her meds for more dire needs.”

Mo’at nodded, “I’ll find you something before you leave tonight.”

Ruby collected Jake back up as she took her leave, carrying him back down though she looked… more content, he noted, her posture far loosened up.

“What?” Ruby asked, setting his chair down.

“Have… Have I been too absent from people? Like, the humans?” Jake asked, sliding into his chair. “I know I speak to people when they come here and when we’re on the radios but… I feel like I’ve missed out on getting to know people more personally, you know?”

Ruby hummed shortly. “You’re a busy man when you’re in your avatar; Neytiri works you hard when training and you’re in your own bubble when you’re human here. I’ve always considered that to be your mental vacation from training.”

“You’re too kind,” Jake said, a little dissatisfied, shifting a leg to rest more naturally. “I need to do a lot more than be in my own bubble. Once training’s done, I’ll try and be about for you all. We should all go down to Homebase one night. I have a projector. Have a movie night?”

Ruby’s eyes lit up a little. “You have movies?”

“Shit tons. Haven’t watched too many since we’re out of here but I think it would be fun to have a weekly thing for us lot. Nadine can’t go in the caves but I’m sure we can get a few to watch with her as well at another camp.”

“Zeke’s a good option.”

“Ooh, Zeke watching a movie, oh that’ll be fantastic!” Jake realised; at least half the entertainment would be generated by the man’s verbal reaction alone. He had heard Bree had set the creepy puppet doll up in the shack module’s airlock in the mountains as a prank when they were still cutting the shacks up and everyone there knew when Zeke found it. He was kinda sad to have missed that.

Ruby laughed. “Yeah, he’s fun to watch a film with. I only had a few and we’ve watched them over a few times.”

“Next time, I’ll bring a tablet or maybe Morgan or someone can visit and drop off a tablet and you can download from there,” Jake promised, wheeling now back towards the spinners where he could see a few of the miners were set up with bead making he couldn’t help but notice now Marcus was about but looking a little distressed.

Ruby broke away to find Harper so Jake pushed on to Marcus’s side, sparing a look at his cause of concern.

Bead organisation.  There was a small pile of beads that were in one basket and often made by many hands and it was preferred to be separated by colour for artists to draw from when they continued their pieces more easily unless they made their own beads with specific purpose.

It was an easy task that children could do, toddlers even.

“You okay?” Jake asked.

Marcus let out a frustrated sigh. “I need to learn Na’vi. The lead guy put me on this and… I can’t do it.”

Jake looked at the beads and then at him before he realised why. “You’re colour blind, aren’t you?”

Marcus nodded slowly. “Tritan colour blindness. I don’t know how to tell them without them thinking I’m stupid or something. ”

“Ohh…” Jake spared a look around, “You got a tablet?”

“In my bag.”

“Can you get it? I assume you have a camera on it?”

Marcus nodded, relieved as he stood up and hurried to his bag set off by the side to be out of the way and return a moment later with it. Looking at it, he noticed it looked regular, but turning it on, he realised the screen was monochromatic. Black and white. Simple.

“Mind if I turn the colours on? I’ll turn it back once I’m done.” It felt polite to ask at the very least given it wasn’t his tablet.

“Okay?”

Jake nodded, relieved. “<Ten’nel, can you come here please?>” He called.

The Na’vi in question looked up from examining his apprentice’s work of small beads along a string before he got to his feet and came over.

“<Is he not done?>” Ten’nel asked eyes on the pot still. “<I thought he would have finished by now.>”

Jake clicked his tongue. “<Marcus here doesn’t know enough Na’vi to tell you that he had a visual disability. He cannot do this task.>

Ten’nel’s head turned to him sharply but he looked more serious now than before. “<A disability? Poor eyesight?>”

“<He cannot perceive certain colours. Humans call this colour blindness.>” Jake answered, he leaned over and took a photo of the beads Marcus had been set to do then moved to the editor to add a filter over it. “<Humans have a few variants of colour blindness depending on which colour rods in their eyes are affected. Some humans cannot see Red, yellow, Green or blue. In some cases, everything is grey, not colour at all. Marcus here, while he can see everything in clarity, he cannot see yellow or blue.>”

He held out the tablet for the bead maker to see, watching as the man’s eyes slid to the screen in fascination at the filter and then to the actual colours the real thing had beside it; comparing both.

“<The yellow is a pinkie-grey?>” Ten’nel’s voice was filled with genuine intrigue. “<Fascinating…>”

“<Is there a task Marcus can do here that doesn’t rely on colour?>

Ten’nel hummed in soft consideration, still looking between. “<He could remain to simply make the beads or assist with crafting of pieces>”

“You good to stick with just making beads?” Jake offered to Marcus, “Not a lot of colour work?”

“Hm, I might not stick with beads. It’ll pass the time for now but I’m still looking about for something that calls, you know.” Marcus stated, scratching his chin under his mask. “Maybe I’ll try the leather working route or spinners. Weaving is kinda of interesting but… too many colour-dependencies. I’d rather not need to check with people constantly on my own work.”

Jake hummed softly. “I suppose there’s still plenty of time to find out your thing.”

“<Is everything alright?>” Ten’nel asked.

“<Yes, just offering the suggestions for him.>” Jake answered before he looked up at Ten’nel for a moment before he looked down at the tablet. An idea sprung to mind. “<Can… Can I take a photo of you? I wish to see what he sees when he looks at Na’vi. He cannot see blue or yellow.>” And Na’vi were blue and yellow.

Ten’nel allowed him with a curious nod and Jake blinked at the result.

“Na’vi are green to you?” Well, not a deep overly green; they looked closer to turquoise than anything but still… and their eyes, like yellow beads, were grey but with a hint of pink to them. Any red naturally stood out, unchanged and very vibrant.

“Yeah?” Marcus snorted a little. “Like, I mostly know the difference between blue and greens based on shade intensity but it depends on the saturation levels the colour has.”

“How did you make it this far to Pandora with this colour blindness? I know they don’t discriminate based on disability but… you’re a geologist.” There had to be a story there.

“I signed up as a miner; to work in the mine but some of it was bull-shitting, white lies and help. Alejandra helped a little in adding symbols to colour systems when we were working.”

“Wait, you’re colour-blind?”

Jake’s head turned suddenly to see Kung standing a few metres away, a basket of fibres in her arms looking a little baffled and annoyed.

Marcus’s eyes widened a little before he sheepishly nodded.

Kung set the basket down, her hands coming to her hips. “Why didn’t you say anything? I would have been less of an asshole.”

“Because you would have moved me off elsewhere. I know I’m supposed to note that down for my superiors but you ran the mines by the book.” The blond said, gesturing up wildly before clambering to his feet. “I wanted to keep my job, Zee.”

Kung’s brow pulled in before she clicked her tongue, picked up her basket again and walked away without another word.

Marcus huffed, his hand coming to his face but was stopped by the mask. “Aye yai yai…”

Jake looked between the man and the leaving major. “You two got history?”

Marcus nodded. “We took to her bed a few times.” He answered, “I’ll… get back to work.” He decided, moving towards the maker’s side of the area.

-

Tsu’tey led the hunting party back with a glint of satisfaction at each of his student’s work. The human of the group, MingWu was a surprise; having to succeed with a clean kill. Ashleysloan wasn’t a surprise at all she had shot her yerik straight through the frontal eye and killed it instantly. Ka’ani and Saeyla had taken down the same prey but both shots were true.

Iknimaya would be granted to all accept MingWu, as a human could not bond with an Ikran. A known statement but he would need to confide with Mo’at and Eytukan to find an alternative rite of passage for the human that did not involve tsaheylu that would allow the woman to hunt freely as the people. Not all hunters had Ikran but often hunters had Pa’li to ride on to travel. She couldn’t even do that.

It was a little of a headache to think about but he had an idea.

At Hometree, his trainees separated after his word to other tasks as the afternoon was drawing in, Ka’ani leading the kills towards the butchers with Ashleysloan who requested some of the meat for her camp.

Tsu’tey eyes sought over the people, noting the humans, the small form of Jakesully by the weavers stood out by the yellow of his wheeled chair with some dissatisfaction. He moved his gaze on before he moved toward Eytukan who had returned as well with a high head but also was ascending up to the higher level.

Tsu’tey followed. “<I see you, Olo'eyktan>” He greeted politely to draw the clan leader’s attention.

“<I see you, Tsu’tey. How were your hunters??” Eytukan asked as he set his bow down on his personal rack.

“<True shots. MingWu included.>”

Eytukan hummed in surprise. “<The human, interesting.>”

“<MingWu has surprising dedication but due to her species, she cannot pass Iknimaya as an Ikran Makto without a tswin.>”

Eytukan led on towards the Tsahìk’s den, the sounds of her moving about unmistakable and her soft voice.

“<Have you considered options?>” Eytukan asked, pausing outside the den “<There are a few that aren’t easy or feasible for a human. They are tiny and weaver than a Na’vi.>”

“<The Great Hunt, three weeks away.>” Tsu’tey suggested. “<She will have to ride as a passenger onto a Pa’li but if she strikes true among the talioang migration, then that should be a tremendous task achieved much like Pa’li Makto.>”

Eytukan let out a considering hum. “<That’s a good suggestion for the human hunters. What of the Dreamwalkers?>”

“<Ashleysloan had defied all expectations and can put Manu to shame in skill. She would go far in the clan if she was not held back by being a Dreamwalker.>” A sad fact really. It didn’t go unmissed that she had the attention of a few men and women who valued skill and, even by Tsu’tey’s standards, her Dreamwalker did have an attractive face. However, the extra finger was still a firm reminder of what the woman was under the false skin.

“<You sound disappointed>” Eytukan chuckled.

Tsu’tey tittered a little, pursing his lips discontented. “<She doesn’t have my interest beyond that of a mentor to a student.>” He was to be mated with Neytiri and so, he had no reason to look elsewhere. A Dreamwalker was not a suitable mate to even consider, so he didn’t. But he could appreciate the work this Dreamwalker put in with the clan. Tolerantly, even. “<Why was Jakesully not in his Dreamwalker today? I expected him to join the group in the hunt>”

“<Neytiri will see his first successful hunt tomorrow.>,” Eytukan said, “<I believe today is his duty to care for his native body.>”

“<I look forward to her verdict.>” He paused, noting the slight tenseness in the Olo'eyktan’s posture. “<Was your hunt successful?>”

Eytukan hummed, turning discontent. “<I did not hunt for meat. I found bones of a Palulukan within a cave. Years old by the state of the bones but… signs of the Cold Ones. I heard rumour of these bones so I sought them out for truth>”

Tsu’tey felt his insides turn tense, cooling with a flicker of fear. These blood demons had killed a Palulukan? It took many warriors and many arrows to down a beast of death and often there were casualties. They were creatures of both fear and respect for a reason. “<Was… what signs did you see?>”

“<It’s neck was broken. Not cleanly. The… ribs show claw marks that have five fingers to them. It has one cleanly broken leg and smaller fractures along the rest of the legs. The cave itself bears claw marks of both kinds so it likely died within and with great ferocity.>” Eytukan let out a firm breath. “<This knowledge carries a heavy burden.>”

“<If a single one can kill a Palulukan…>” He didn’t finish. What hope did the people have against these creatures? Eytukan had been wise to not let these creatures be his focus but the more he heard, the more he knew how harder it would be to protect the people.

Eytukan’s hand reached out, grasping his arm intently. “<As fearful as we are, Cold Ones have sight of Eywa. As long as there is no provocation, we should not gain their attention.>”

“<Wise worlds, beloved.>” The Tsahìk’s words echoed out, reminding them both where they were.

Eytukan ducked into the den first, empty of people and humans and Mo’at was finishing up her organisation. The two leaders closed the distance, grasping each other and Eytukan touched her cheek with fondness and her head tilted into his touch.

“<How was your day?>” Eytukan asked. “<I heard you went down to the caves again, to the spiritual tree.>”

The spiritual tree, Tsu’tey had heard about that with the rest of the clan. One tree for the sky people and… it was still a little hard to believe that Eywa would create such a blessing with a species like the Skye people in mind but he was not the one to question the Great Mother. He hadn’t seen such a tree and didn’t have the intention to either.

“<Yes, two connected and have experienced their communion Eywa. I will be busy tending to their communions. Once Neytiri is free from training Jakesully, I will need her attendants to watch and take over the communion until all are connected. I still have our people to tend to. I fear I will be too pulled away from my duty here now that the tree is discovered and so readily available..>” Mo’at spoke, worried. “<the humans that are with us are… uncannily driven to connect. Some more than others.>”

“<Is that a trouble?>”

“<The more I hear of their life in their home world, the sadder I am for them and for all that they have gone through>” Mo’at sighed deeply. “<The social complexities are beyond simple navigation. Their destruction, their closed hearts and their need for walls to hide themselves. Some have not even experienced love from their own family. Like it is a foreign concept but is desperate to feel it like children begging for food>” Mo’at looked genuinely upset. “<If anything I have learned, there is no life on Earth; only survival.>”

“<That is a very… bold statement.>” Eytukan said.

“<It rings true in my heart, my love. You should spend more time with the humans and see for yourself.>” Mo’at said. “<They need help but I cannot do it alone. The clan can guide these people to a better sense of self. To live beyond survival. To see the world in new life. I believe that is how we can achieve peace with the sky people.>”

Masterlist

[karasuoc-kai]

The Waitress’ Sweet Recommendation

My favorite seat was by the window, the whole restaurant inside my vision. Like this, I could observe people, things, and maybe Hisa if I’m lucky. He’s not in charge of the restaurant today, though. It was the cheerful girl, U-chan.

I waved my hand and the staff member dashed to my place. “What can I do for you, Kai-san?”

I never looked at the menu, instead I asked, “What’s the recommendation for today, U-chan?”

I always loved seeing her purple eyes lit up. “Today, Shin-chan is making seafood tempura! I tried it and it tastes awesome. I really recommend that. He made several dipping sauces too. You should try everything, Kai-san. There’s one that’s spicy, savory, sour and sweet, but my favorite is the sweet one! Let me get those for you, okay?”

I nodded several times as she eagerly explained the seafood tempura. It did sound delicious when she told me like that. “Yes, please, U-chan,” I couldn’t say no to it, could I?

U-chan skipped her way back to the kitchen. So it was Shin’ya’s turn to cook today, huh? I’ve never tasted his cooking before, only U-chan and Aoi-chan’s before this. Well, what to expect when I’m only here for three days? There haven't been any changes to my room so far.

I started observing other customers, like usual. Only a few of them got their check in faces. What I meant was the faces we brought when we came in. Shin’ya finally told me that I had the face of an old camera film when I checked in. That face disappeared when one found out their identity, their names. That meant only Hisa and Shin’ya knew how my face looked before.

My eyes were following an aquarium face when U-chan came back with a big plate. “Whoa,” I gasped. I never thought the plate would be this big. It took almost the whole table. The tempura were still sizzling and it smelled amazing, though. I listened as U-chan showed me the small sauce plates, but honestly I really couldn't wait to eat them.

I finished it all in a blink of an eye.

I sighed and leaned onto the chair. Why did all the tempura go so fast? I loved them. Gosh, they were the best dish since I got here. I need to give my appraisal to Shin’ya when I meet him later.

My eyes wandered to the sunset and my brain blanked out for a bit. This is a very nice time to sleep-

Suddenly, my body shivered. Ooooh, I really didn't like this feeling. I repositioned myself, pretending to stretch my arms out, and carefully scanned the room.

It’s him.

The man with horns and monocle.

I didn't know why, but my body also reacted every time he got near me, or even just in the same room. I was confused, was he a murderer? Was he a judge or some being from hell? He definitely wasn't human, but I didn't get the feeling with other ‘beings’ to be fair.

The porcelain Manager was fine, but not him. I believed I had to interact with him somehow, some day. Philos, if I recalled his name from Eleanor. Ukio was taking his orders and I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to get out of here. Sorry, U-chan, leaving without saying anything wasn't my style. I would make it up to you!

[radioaf-a]

Maybe this wacky little plan of the princess was working after all. "No you didn't even get a choice in the end." There was that word again. Choice. Alastor knew he would have to make a choice again soon. Of course he still loved Vox why else would have gone to so much trouble in keeping his wedding band. They were young and dumb when everything fell apart. What broke them was their lack of communication with each other.

Even when he hated Vox he still loved him, that didn't change it was just a feeling he made a choice to hide away rather than admit to for the last what fifty years. Love was always a flaw in his code, something he was adamant that he didn't need or want. Vox had always been the flaw in that code. An unexpected surprise to even him. No, the truth is the radio demon never thought he could be loved, especially not in the way vox loved him. Damn picture show always had to prove him wrong in the end.

There is genuine laughter as Vox fingerprint smudges his monocle. "I don't have to imagine to hard." There a shake of his with smile as take off said monocle so he could wipe clean it on his jacket. "I suspect it's rather annoying for you."

When had Charlie and Vaggie left them alone? He hadn't even noticed that they were now over by the bar. He hums as he does consider the question Vox proposes to him. Clawed fingers tapping at the arm of his chair. Could their marriage work again after so many years apart? He smiles at the TV overlord. "Asking the hard hitting questions, some things never change." He chuckles, oh what the hell what was the worst that could happen? they go another sixty years with the petty rivalry or they could work together again. "I'd be willing to see if the cat can be cat can be fully revived, that's if you are." This time it's his turn to offer out a hand to Vox. "We could start with me finding out my ring."

It's strange to be here, now, decades after they had gotten married and see the things that had always made perfect sense in his head be revelatory. Of course he watched old game shows because he couldn't smoke. Of course he'd coded his own drugs to make up for the fact he couldn't take them any other way. Of course he still loved Alastor and had, despite everything. "I didn't abandon my chemical dependencies for health related reasons." He deadpans. The cravings still came and went, but at least he hadn't been subjected to withdrawal when he fell.

Alastor had known him for too long in some ways, mirrors as much as married some days. They had both been performers at their core for longer than they'd been dead and those habits stuck. The mediums might change, the trends, the audiences, but the underlying motivations... well that was always the same. His hand twitches where it's resting on the arm rest, the temptation to reach out for Alastor strong in the moment. He's sure if anyone could parse the hidden bands of his broadcasts it would always be a beating bloody core of affection.

Instead of reaching for his hand he laughs, and reaches over, gently pressing his finger to Alastor's monocle. He missed his glasses some days, he'd worn them from childhood until death, and the only reason he didn't down here was because he couldn't. "Now imagine if that was your whole face and not just a tiny corner."

Vox nods. "Been down here seventy years and I've never received a royal summons quite like this." He smiles, and a somewhat traitorous part of him has to wonder if they couldn't try again, if Charlie's insane idea was actually working. "Does that make our marriage a net neutral then, where the cat just walks away dead and then revived?" It's too hones to ask 'are you still curious about me?'

[psychospore]

Loki's Tinker Belle

A/N random smut - please read at your own discretion. #mature #sexualthemes

Warnings: 18+, sexual themes, mild smut, fingering

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

You are aloof and eccentric - at least that's what the rest of the Asgardians see you as. You love to tinker with the mechanisms of Asgardian technology, and you love to hide away in one of the high towers that Odin has accommodated you in. You have no parents but your genius mind is what keeps the Allfather interested in keeping you, despite all your eccentricities. He was not aware, however, of your relationship with Loki.

You both feel like outcasts in society and you find solace in each other's presence. He prefers to read in your room as you work on your new inventions. You have done way more for each other, and with each other, but try to keep it low-key, and without labels to avoid complications. You prefer it that way anyway.

One evening, as you were working on something, donning large monocles to see better, Loki visited you. You did not bother looking, as you were well aware that nobody visits you except him and you were engrossed working.

He wraps you around his slender arms from behind and nuzzles deep into your neck. You took a deep sigh, he smells so good. You feel like something or someone is making Loki feel downhearted so you dropped everything you've been working on to give him your undivided attention.

"It's been a while, is something the matter?" you asked as you turned your swiveling chair to face him.

"The usual, I missed you and I wanted to come here for your comfort and company, if that's alright with you" he mumbles.

You looked straight into his deep emerald eyes, and cups one of his cheeks. "I am always here for you, Loki"

He grabs you by the waist and lifts you up, never breaking his stare at you, he kissed you passionately as he straddles you to your bed.

You sat on his lap as he starts to lift your skirt, bunching them on your lap. He opens the front of your dress to bury himself deep into your breasts, sniffing and sucking wherever he lands those beautiful lips of his.

He works his way up your warm mound and starts to make lazy circles around your clit, wetting yourself before he inserts his digits.

"Oh Loki" you said in a raspy voice that seemed to rile him up further. He moves his fingers faster as he sucks one of your nipples and you were overcome by a sweet release, seeping through the fabrics of his pants where you continue to straddle.

With a flick of magic, his pants drop to the floor. You position yourself to prepare his entry. As the tip grazes your overflowing mound, he lets out a moan. You decided to drive his member deeper into you and started to rock yourself on top of him. You pull his hair as you both cry out in drunken pleasure.

Not too long, you feel his member pulsating as he released his seed into you. and you both drop on top of each other in exhaustion. You cleaned each other up, with Loki now beaming in happiness.

He kissed you goodbye, looking forward to another wonderful moment with you as you go back working, "now where was I," you think to yourself