#put to rest and sent to the afterlife as one

[useless-moss]

Was writing a fluffy prompt idea and my brain smacked me in the frontal lobe with this idea.

Kissing on the battlefield. A kiss goodbye because one or both are injured and they aren't sure they're gonna make it. A kiss for good luck. A kiss to celebrate, because they think they've won.

Then an arrow is shot, or maybe a spear is thrown. Impaling one all the way through and getting lodged in the other. Medics are too far away or don't have the right supplies, and an injury like this is complicated to fix anyway.

Each movement aches. Each ragged breath shifts the weapon, sending pain through them both as blood bubbles up their throats and stains their tunics. The most they can manage is barely lowering themselves to the ground, where they wait. Hoping friends and allies can do something, but also content to die like this. To die together, in eachothers arms, physically unable to be separated.

[adams-angels]

Plssssass pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls do a adam x reader smut where adam is in heat or anything plssssssss

I had WAAAAY too much fun writing this one 🤭 I was originally gonna do another angel s/o but where's the fun in that? I spiced this up with a sinner s/o

💖 Please send me requests! Send me your own headcanons! I will draw! I'm obsessed rn!💖

Heat

Smut below the cut! Minors dni

Extermination day. Once again. Yaaay! You hid in your apartment and waited. You knew he was coming. He was always coming.

You don't know why, but a couple years ago you were spared by Adam. Ever since then he always comes to check on you. Makes sure you're still alive. He says it's because it's funny watching you get pissed off at every little thing. Every little thing being his annoying ass.

You hear the knock at the door. It's the secret knock Adam made up so you'd know it was him. But this knock was rushed. Desperate almost. It sent a cold chill down your spine. It's not that you like Adam. You just don't want anything to happen to him and would be sad if he stops visiting but you don't LIKE him.

You quickly rush to the door, checking the peephole and there he was. Looking different? You unlocked the many bolts on your apartment door and let him in. He pushed himself past you, "what's up sinner tits?" Dumb name. You shut your door and lock it back up. "Hello, Adam." You look over at him and he looks restless. "You okay?" You ask, cocking an eyebrow in curiosity. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm fine, whatever." He scratched his arm like he was a drug addict. Itching for his next hit.

Your mind raced. What if the exorcists know he's been visiting me? What if he has to kill me? What if- you're snapped out of your thoughts. "Stop overthinking. You do that too much." He groaned. "Okay?" You walk over to him, his body tenses. "Why are you acting weird?" His eyes widen, he takes a couple steps back. "M-me? Weird?! Ha! That's- that's fucking rich coming from you!"

Okay, something up. That stutter screamed something was up. You put your hands on your waist stepping closer to him, causing him to step back. You ended up cornering him once he was stopped by the wall. "what the hell is up with you, Adam. Tell me, right now!"

"I need you." He whined. You don't know if it was the fact he had no where else to go, or you were being quite demanding but you weren't expecting him to whine like that. But God, did it make you feel powerful. This devine being, whining like a whore. "Excuse me?"

"fuck, I need you, y/n. Please?" He pleaded. "Jesus, it's like you're a fucking heat." You joked but his whimper told you everything. "Noooo, fucking way. Do you- are you in heat?" You laugh at him. "Don't fucking laugh!" He grabs your wrist and spins you around, pinning you to the wall.

～⁠♡✧⁠｡ I really hope you enjoyed! I'm not a writer by any means but I appreciate any support I receive so thank you for reading! ｡✧⁠♡～⁠

"I need to fuck you. I don't want to. But I need to. I can't stop thinking about you. No one else is working, so please." He begged, never in your afterlife did you think you'd see Adam begging for you. But here you are. In your apartment, Adam pleading with you. "I'll do it." He lit up. "On one condition." He groaned his forehead resting on yours. "Yeah, yeah, whatever you want, babe."

You look him in his LED eyes, "mask off." He hesitated, removing his head from yours to get a full look at your expression. "What? Why?" He asked, his tone would tell you he was annoyed by the request but inside he was scared. What if you changed your mind once you saw his actual face. "Because I like to look at the person who's going to fuck me." He whines, he's desperate right now, he needs you. He reaches for his mask, hesitates before taking it off.

He looked gorgeous, stunning, and surprisingly embarrassed. "You so-" he couldn't wait any longer, his lips crashed into yours, his tongue explored your mouth. There was no negotiation on who was dominating the situation.

His hands caressed your body starting at your neck tracing down to your waist before getting to your legs, he lifts you up with ease. Sloppily kissing you, as he takes you to the nearest surface, your side table. Sitting you on top of it, knocking off a couple of books, a small plant and a picture frame among other things.

He releases your lips to move on to your jawline then neck, covering you in marks. His marks. You can't help but moan at the sensation. His hands head straight to your pants, gaining access to your intimate area. Once your pants are off he whips off his robe and lifts you up from the side table. Lining up with your entrance. His eyes full of lust for you. He watched your face as he slid you onto his cock. It was perfect, dickmaster is right. It was like he cock was made to fit you. He didn't give much time for you to enjoy the fit before he started thrusting into you.

His arms wrapped around your back holding you close to his body. His teeth sinked into your neck, he moaned into your skin. Your hands found their way to the back and top of his head, tugging at his brown locks. His wings burst out, twitching and trembling as he buries his cock deep inside you. Filling you fully with his member, hitting that sweet spot with each thrust. "Fuck.. so good y/n" he mumbles into your neck. "So tight.."

His hips stuttered, he released your neck and went back to your lips, feeling you moan into his mouth sent him over the edge as he finished inside of you. His wings fell to the floor and you both crashed into the sideboard, Adam leaning on you for support. "Fuck.. bitch, who knew you'd feel so good." "Who knew you liked dirty sinners." You panted. "Don't spoil it."

[ghostbsuter]

"What exactly are halfas?" Constantine asks, cigarette lit and leaning against the table.

They were in the justice league, having attended a meeting previously and now just lazed around.

Batman loses focus on his laptop screen and openly looks at the two, interested.

Green Lantern, Hal, jerks up at the question, looking between everyone still in the room and trying (and failing) to seem uninterested.

Zatara is glaring daggers at Constantine's back, eyes narrowed.

While flash had no context, having just arrived back with his food to sit with the rest, he appropriately tenses as well, from just one glance around the room.

Superman and Wonder woman aren't different from batman, not as discreet as some are trying to be and just staring at the two.

Slightly amused, Danny decided to entertain the question.

"Unlike ghosts and the undead, halfas are created and not born." He explains, looking at the man when he writes it down.

Who knew the infinity realm were this closed off that John Constantine had to get information from the source itself just to keep updated?

"Care to elaborate?"

Clicking his tongue, he does so.

"Halfas get created during extreme circumstances, it has to be right place, right time and correct amount of ectoplasm." Danny catches the lollipop that Batman throws at him, sending the bat a quick smile.

"Not everyone can become a halfa, our race is a rarity amongst the dead."Constantine raises a brow, pursing his lips. "There are only 3 of you right? Is that a normal amount in the realms?"

Another click. "No, thousands of years ago, when our kind reached its peak of over hundreds of people, Pariah Dark happened."

He briefly shares a glance with Martian Manhunter, he wonders if anyone here sent out a message of phantom story time? Why were they all lounging around?

"It was genocide. He killed off an entire species just because he felt threatened." He shrugs.

Constantine jolts, eyes clear as if he'd just connected the dots.

"So his downfall wasn't only because of rights of conquest but— the reason no one joined nor fought between you and the old King was because it was a revenge kill."

Danny ponders the words over, nodding. Yeah that sounds right.

"Many aren't surprised that Pariah Dark went berserk. It was kind of predictable, considering his soul was brought to the Infinity Realms after he'd died in the Phantom Zone as you know it."

Hal straightens up, Batman tenses and Diana leans forward.

"This previous King of yours– he was a past prisoner of Aethyr's Mind?"

The halfa nods, uncertain now that he'd stumbled upon unknown territory.

"Yes, the Phantom Zone and the Infinity Realms are sister spaces. Were you not aware?"

They were not, he quickly finds out.

Fumbling with his words, mind working overdrive as he sorts through information, he speaks again. "They are the two sides of the same coin, Phantom Zone being non-habitable while the Ghost Zone is filled with unalive."

He briefly struggles with his words, genuinely taken off guard with the lack of knowledge.

"Aethyr isn't just a being, but someone who is connected to the realm itself. Its similar to my position as King of the ghost zone." He summons his crown of ice to simple gesture.

"Besides! Phantom Zone, Zero Zone? Anti-infinite? That's literally the opposite of the Ghost Zone, the Infinite Realms!" he exclaims, throwing his hands up.

"Could you tell us more of your realm?" Superman asks, voice gentle and non threatening. "Some of us have been in the Phantom Zone, so hearing that there is a place being the complete opposite?"

The halfa nods in understanding. "Sure, why not?"

Three simple words yet everyone feels the trust put on them with such information.

"The entire realm is an ever shifting space, we categorise eith the sectors of each afterlife. From the Greeks to the Yetis and different eras."

—

(The tale of his realm lasts longer than expected, it is only when Hal started to get ready to leave does Danny address a certain area in his zone.

"The... Emerald Space is also a sector of the Infinity realm. The sector itself is formed in a sphere like form, we aren't sure what's inside since the fallen lanterns keep to themselves rather."

Hal froze, eyes catching the ghosts, and looked away again. He'd tell OA of this, but now he was going home.

Danny watched him leave and declared it down for now, free for more question the next time and left just as fast.

At least Constantine and Zatara can update their books now.)

[that-weird-thing-in-the-woods]

~{ Heyyyy, So not much to say just felt like making this lol }~

•Soul Watcher•

Jason was getting real sick of dealing with cults.

Ok wait let’s back up a bit, So Jason and the bats don’t have to deal with cults in Gotham all to much like only a one or two a year and when they did happened someone else could find them before the cult could really do anything.

But unluckily right now he and the bats were fighting off cultists in a warehouse while trying to get to where some other cultist are in a circle chanting, the reason for them being this late and not stopping the cult earlier is because they somehow got the bat-computer to overlook any suspicious activity from them as well as bribed some cops to get what they want.

And after 14 or so minutes with all the cultists down Jason goes over to the main guy and start to tie him up (As he can’t kill him with Bruce literally 20 steps from him) but before he can finish the guy bangs his head into the concrete floor and as result starts to bleed from his nose and yells something out but what has Jason’s attention and the rest of the bats is the Lazarus green smoke coming out of the summing circle.

Jason of course try’s to jump back, key word try’s. The smoke makes a clawed hand and grabs his ankle and pulls him into the green smoke and than everything goes black..

Jason woke up to the sound of running water and…humming?

So Jason gets up and walks towards the sounds, as he walks he looks at the black marble for the pillars and floor and how there is no sky or land just space with stars and that when he notices that the humming and running water coming from behind a thin-semi transparent fabric going from the ceiling to the floor and somewhat overlapping on itself.

Jason walks up to the fabric as quietly as possible and pushes it back a bit just enough to see what was behind it and that’s when he sees it two streams

One had pure and clean water with white pearls with a blue tint, The other one had gray water with black pearls with a green tint. the two Streams circled around each other but never touching and in the middle was what the closest thing to a nest made out of blankets and pillows.

And that’s when Jason saw the person who was in the nest thing and they saw him…Why was this reminding Jason of a book he read.

-•—••••••••••••••••—•-

•Background•

The G.I.W were so dumb.

They thought that just because ghost were “Non-sentient” and “Dangerous” they decided to fucking NUKE THE GHOST ZONE.

You know which held all of the afterlife’s and made sure everything that was alive….you know exist so if the G.I.W planed actually worked everything would kinda just fall apart and cease to exist.

And it wouldn’t be possible to make a nuke that would actually work but with Government money and the Fentons work, they somehow actually made it and sent it through a portal the Fentons remade in a different location.

But of course you can’t nuke the Ghost Zone so it threw it back to the G.I.W and there world and with how much power they put into that fucker it did what it was supposed to…but with WAY worse consequences for the G.I.W and Fentons, So that world is a lost cause.

Now let’s go over to what Danny was doing.

He was with Clockwork discussing how he’s holding with Dan. After rehabilitating Dan Vlad gave him a clone body so he can walk around without a mass panic over him but after a VERY close call with the G.I.W where they got a lucky shot the clone body started to melt so Danny followed his (Ghost) Instincts and grabbed Dan core and shoved it in his gut.

And like a normal (well as normal you can be as a half-ghost) person Danny starts losing his shit like “Why the Fuck did I just do that?!?” And “Did I just technically eat Dan???” So after a panic attack or two Danny books it to Clockworks tower and tells him what happened and to just…help????

Well Danny is currently starting on panic attack number three Clockwork just grabs his shoulders and make him sit down on some very soft chair and after a minute or two Danny chills out a bit Clockwork explains what this means and that Danny’s essentially pregnant with Dan [“No Danny you did not eat Dan”].

And they now meet every other day just to talk and for Clockwork to explain more about being a ghost so something like this doesn’t happen again while they are talking about things they suddenly feel like the whole Ghost Zone just did something so Clockwork goes to check it out with Danny not far behind him.

And as they try to see what could have gone down and that when Danny sees one of the time string that look like it exploded and points it out to clockwork, And Clockwork looks at the string with surprise and turns to Danny after a moment with knowledge of what’s going to happen and tells Danny that this string was Danny’s home-world. [Now for The Panic Attack: Part four the musical]

After a couple weeks Danny’s mostly okay (He is pregnant he’s emotional and ghost are already extremely emotional beings and he has to deal with everything he’s ever known and lived is dead so leave him alone) and Clockwork gives him the job of Watcher Of Souls with his usual cryptic bullshit.

And now we’re here!

-•—••••••••••••••••—•-

•Little Facts•

•The Pearls in the stream are souls of all living things.

•I headcanon that The Ghost Zone is somewhat sentient but it doesn’t have thoughts, Just Vibes

•The old Watcher just stoped caring about it and that’s how so many people got brought back from the dead and how Danny become a halfa

•Vlad is NOT a halfa, he’s just possessing his own corpse that his core is keeping looking alive but he looks very uncanny valley to humans and is very gruesome and uncomfortable for Ghost, Its half the reason Danny hated him on sight the rest is his “Rich Asshole meter” going off

•Clockwork hates the Flash family so much, He would want the Fuckers dead but he doesn’t want them to cause MORE problems for him and Danny

•Danny hangs out with Lady Gotham a lot so he knows who the bats are

•The Bat-fam are freaking the fuck out

•Danny spends a lot of time by the streams and with Dusk he wants to be comfortable so he made a nest :)

•Danny lets Jason stay in his lair until someone comes to get him

•Jason feels like he’s in one of his romance novels and he LOVES IT

-•—••••••••••••••••—•-

•Appearances•

Danny’s Appearance•

~{ And that’s it! Sorry if this is a bit scatter brained I had to do stuff while making this lol so sorry about that anyway hope you gremlins like it until next time byeeeee }~

[wannabespacesmuggler]

L.H. | When You Call My Name

Masterlist | Buy me a coffee

Summary: Decades after the events of 1973, Logan finds himself drowning yet again at the bottom of the Potomac River. Luckily, you're there to help pull him out of his nightmare.

Pairing: Logan Howlett x Reader

Warnings: depictions of drowning, mentions of death, discussion of nightmares, Logan's claws make an appearance, mentions of religious trauma and biblical imagery, mentions of abuse (it's on sight when I see you, William Stryker), mentions of self-deprecating thoughts, hurt/comfort, angst with a happy ending, not really a warning but set after the events of Days of Future Past, loosely based on "Like a Prayer" by Madonna, Logan's POV, gender-neutral reader

Word Count: 2.4K

Author’s Note: So this one got away from me and my own religious trauma may have taken over a tad bit — sorry in advance (If you find comfort and solace in religion, more power to you. This is simply written from my own perspective and lived experience.) This came to me while listening to "Like a Prayer" by Madonna for the thousandth time since seeing Deadpool and Wolverine. Intended this to be shorter, but then I got possessed by some fanfic phantom and this was created. Super proud of the finished product though — hope you all enjoy.

As Logan’s eyes shoot open, he’s only got one thought running through his mind: his lungs are on fire. He attempts to move but is met with a sudden searing white pain shooting through his veins. His eyes, still adjusting to the eerie darkness surrounding him, search for the source of his injury. Panic rises in Logan’s chest as his gaze follows the metallic glint of rebar weaving through his body. He attempts to draw in a shaky breath, and his chest burns as water fills his lungs. 

No. 

It can’t be.

He’s drowning at the bottom of the Potomac River.

Logan wants to scream out of frustration, but it’s impossible. He has no more air left in his lungs, and he has no hope of reaching the surface to take a much-needed deep breath. Even if he could endure the agony caused by his body’s movements, the weight of the rebar Erik impaled him with is pinning him to the riverbed. He’s going to die here. 

Cold. Alone. Suffering.

And yet, a sudden tranquility washes over his body and mind as he realizes that maybe he can finally rest in peace. He knows he placed his trust in the right people — somehow, Charles and Hank will find a way to stop Erik, and finally, the world will see that not all mutants need to be feared. He did his part — he brought everyone back together against all odds.

Logan knew the risks before Kitty sent him back in time, but there was no other choice. Because he also knew what the future would hold if he did nothing — he’d watch the sentinels eviscerate the last of his friends until he was the only one left. And that’s not a future he can live with. But what he can live with is no one remembering his life before 1973 as long as they’re safe — as long as you’re safe.

His body relaxes at the thought. He may not have a future with you in this new timeline, but knowing you’ll have the life you’ve always dreamed of puts Logan’s mind at ease. You’ll finally be able to live a peaceful life teaching at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters instead of being forced to play the part of a loyal soldier. Although Logan is deeply saddened by the fact he won’t be a part of this new life, he has more than enough memories of you from his timeline to keep him content in the afterlife.

Logan’s eyes flutter closed as he begins to feel himself slipping into unconsciousness. His regenerative abilities may be able to keep the rebar from killing him, but it cannot save him from asphyxiation. But before he can completely drift off, something grabs his body, pulling him towards the surface. Once free from the river’s grasp, he begins coughing up water. His body desperately gasps for air, and it feels like his lungs cannot get enough oxygen. 

Logan finds the strength to open his eyes and takes in his surroundings. It’s bright — too bright. He blinks several times to adjust his vision to this sudden change. His attention gets drawn to the sound of several men talking in hushed voices. And as he looks up at his rescuers, the panic in his chest starts growing like a wildfire through his body. Logan might have let out a dry laugh at the sight if he wasn't in excruciating pain. Because instead of being met with any type of salvation, Logan seems to have been cursed with eternal damnation, no matter the timeline,  in the form of William Stryker. Some things never change.

He’s younger than when Logan met him in his timeline, but as Stryker smiles down at him, Logan knows this is the same man — the same sick, twisted man he knows all too well. Panic turns into terror as he realizes what he’s about to endure. Agonizing years of torture and torment that he’ll be burdened to forget. He can’t do this again. Not after knowing a life full of not only hardship and loss but also friendship, laughter, and love. He can’t let Stryker take that from him — all those years of happiness. He can’t let him take you.

Stryker opens his mouth to speak, but instead of his condescending tone, Logan hears your voice call his name. Logan’s brow furrows at the sound. Maybe his extended lack of oxygen caused some sort of brain damage. But then he hears it again — a voice he’d recognize in any timeline. Your voice.

And suddenly, it hits him. This isn’t happening. There’s no river, no pain, no Stryker. This is a memory — a nightmare. 

His eyes snap open, and his body jolts forward until he’s sitting up. He coughs hoarsely, as if his body is still trying to expel imaginary water, as he attempts to catch his breath. A layer of sweat has formed over his toned body, and his muscles flex as he rolls his shoulders back. He shakes his head roughly, trying to get a grip on reality.

And then you say his name again. 

His head snaps up, and he looks at you with wild eyes. You’re standing across the room — arms wrapped around yourself tightly as you watch him worriedly. You take a hesitant step toward him. Logan’s brow furrows at your unsureness, concerned about what he might have done in his sleep. But then he follows your gaze to his extended metal claws, and your hesitancy becomes understandable. This isn’t the first time Logan’s claws have come out in the middle of the night. His eyes nervously scan over your body for any injuries he may have inflicted as he retracts his claws. 

“Did I hurt you?”

You immediately cross the room as he speaks. Logan watches as you climb onto the bed and sit crisscross before him between his legs. You gently take both of his hands in yours and pull them onto your lap — the hesitancy long gone in your actions. 

“No, Logan. I’m okay.”

He lets out a relieved sigh as he leans forward until his forehead meets yours. He takes a moment to simply relish in the warmth of your touch. Logan relaxes his tense shoulders and melts further into you as you draw lazy circles into the palm of his hand. 

“Where’d you go?”

You pull away slightly to meet his eyes, and his breath hitches. Regardless of how many lifetimes he spends by your side, he’ll never get used to the fondness in your gaze as you look up at him. He remembers waking up in this timeline, thinking he actually did drown at the bottom of the Potomac River. Because this had to be heaven: having you tucked neatly into his chest, legs tangled up with his, steady breaths fanning across his neck. But as he felt you stir in your sleep, arms tightening slightly around his waist, he realized that this was real. He’d come to terms with his own death because at least his two hundred years spent suffering on this earth would mean something. But then he woke up from that nightmare, and he’s spent every day since then wondering when he’d inevitably be pulled out of this dream — waiting for history to repeat itself yet again. But he’s still here — and so are you.

“D.C., 1973.” 

You hum quietly before bringing his hand up to your mouth and placing a tender kiss to his palm. Logan waits for you to ask another question about his nightmare, but you silently return to tracing circles into the palm you just kissed. He shouldn’t be surprised; you know him better than anyone by now — better than he knows himself. You know not to push him. And he appreciates it more than you’ll ever know. After years of having his autonomy stripped away, you wait for him to come to you — allow him to open up at his own pace. Soothe him whenever he feels that he is sliding backward instead of moving forward. Healing isn’t linear. This has become your mantra for him on the nights when he’s sure that he’s slipping back into the past — when he longs for the familiarity of his vices and self-destructive tendencies. And you sit next to him with relentless patience through the highs and lows as he continues to navigate and grieve the fifty years he lost.

He’s come a long way since he first woke up. And he still has a ways to go before he can say that he’s processed everything he’s lost. Truth be told, he’s not sure he’ll ever truly heal entirely from his past. But you tell Logan that it doesn’t matter. Every time he begins to think that he’s too damaged — too broken — you reassure him that you love him as is. But he still tries to piece himself back together, for your sake. Tries to open up — to show you that he trusts you more than anyone he’s known during his two hundred years across two separate timelines. And so he continues, letting you into the depths of his tortured mind.

“I was drowning. Again. And it all felt so real. I couldn’t breathe, and I was sure I was slipping into the darkness, but then Stryker was there…”

As Logan trails off, he notices how your body tenses at the mention of Stryker’s name. Your hands tighten ever so slightly around his, and Logan lovingly sweeps his thumb over your knuckles. He knows that name holds as much weight to you as it does to him. He knows about the years of abuse you endured at the hands of William Stryker. He vividly remembers when you confided in him. After months of running into each other in the middle of the night, Logan found you silently crying with your back pressed against the railing of your favorite balcony in the mansion. Without a second thought, he slid down next to you and wrapped an arm around your shoulders. He didn’t know you — not like he does now. You’d recounted how you first met on Three Mile Island when Scott and Jean brought him to the mansion. And he was thankful for the small piece of his past that you gave back to him. But under the dim light of the night sky, you revealed precisely what you endured during your years of captivity at Stryker’s facility. And that night, Logan made it his life’s mission to get revenge against the man. Not for his sake. No — for you. He would tear Stryker apart limb from limb for what he had done to you. 

“You aren’t there. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

Although the words are directed towards him, he knows you’re equally trying to convince yourself of that fact. He knows that even though William Stryker is long dead — after Logan made good on his promise to you — he still haunts you. Unlike Logan, your trauma does manifest in the form of nightmares but insomnia. He thinks maybe this is why the two of you work. After years of feeling alone in this world, Logan finally found someone who understands him and what he’s been through. Although your torment isn’t identical, the similarity in your stories bonded the two of you together. You help him piece together the shared fragments of your past as you heal alongside him. 

“I know, you pulled me out.”

Your brow furrows at his confession. He lets go of your hands and gently holds your face. Your face flushes as he openly admires you. The faint light of the single side table lamp that Logan had left on softens your features, making you look damn near angelic. Logan isn’t a religious man, but his mother was. He was a sickly child before his mutation restored his body. His mother would often sit by his bedside with a bible in hand. And on the nights when he wasn’t delirious from his fever, he would listen to his mother read to him. One verse always stood out to him: “God is faithful, and He will not let you be tested beyond your strength but with your testing He will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” She meant for the words to comfort him, but the words only angered him. 

He remembers finding himself down on his knees multiple times during his years as Stryker’s mindless, faithful soldier. Praying to that same God that his mother once trusted to save her baby boy from the illness slowly degrading his frail body. He begged Him for salvation — to be given the way out that was promised in the bible verse his mother once recited. But instead of an answer, Logan was met with silence. So if the years of physical and psychological abuse he endured were nothing but a test from the Lord above to prove his faithfulness, then that’s no God worth following. 

“I heard you call my name, and it brought me back home.”

God never did anything for him. He didn’t bother protecting the innocence of a broken, misguided child. He refused to provide respite from the harshness of humanity. He never offered him any form of help or guidance during his times of greatest need — but you did. Without even knowing, you came into his life like an answered prayer.

Seemingly at a loss for words due to the intensity of his gaze, you grab onto the front of Logan’s t-shirt and pull him into a tight embrace. Your hands slide under the white fabric and slide across the contours of his back. He melts into your touch — finding relief in the direct contact of your skin on his. He’s never considered himself desirable, but you hold him like he’s something to be coveted. And then you murmur his name again. It’s barely a whisper, but the sound rings in his ears because your voice is heaven-sent.

“You’re a goddamn saint, you know that?”

A melodic laugh escapes your lips as you shake your head at his words. You pull away from him slightly and tilt your head up to meet his gaze. 

“I’m nothing special, Logan.”

You don’t mean it in a self-deprecating way. Logan knows that — knows that you simply see yourself as ordinary. But you couldn’t be more wrong. Because you might not actually be a saint or an angel, but you are the only person in two hundred years who’s managed to restore his faith in what this world has to offer. 

“Well. You’re special to me, sweetheart.”

[cobaltperun]

Darkest Part (4) - Died In Your Arms

Astrid Deetz x female Reader

Summary: You will never, in life or afterlife, if such a thing exists, meet anyone as infuriating, rage inducing, entitled, or frankly awful, as Astrid fucking Deetz. There isn’t a single thing you’d like more than to never be around her, but as your luck would have it, you just can’t stay away from her.

Masterlist / First part / Previous Part / Next Part

Word count: 5.3k

-Oh I, I just died in your arms tonight, it must've been some kind of kiss, I should've walked away-

This was a good life, hot chocolate, paper taped to the desk as you drew your third sketch of the building you had in mind. Away from all the worries and for a moment free from any obligations.

“How’s it going?” your mom came up to you and leaned over to kiss your cheek.

“Mom, you shouldn’t-“ she didn’t wince, her back didn’t hurt, yeah, it would end soon, and you desperately wanted it to continue. Wanted things to get better, wanted her to be healthy again.

Your phone had other ideas, as the alarm rang and the sound of it startled you awake. Curse your need to constantly change your alarm ringtone, otherwise you’d get used to it and sleep right through it. This new one was ridiculously awful, like someone constantly ringing the bell, but it got the job done. “Am I ever going to wake up well-rested again?” you wondered, feeling like you barely slept a wink. You just couldn’t get used to this house.

Well, considering the tales about it, maybe that wasn’t that strange.

Or it was just the reasonable explanation.

As it was, last night your exhausted body just collapsed onto the bed and you fell asleep, and then got woken up by the chill of the night, because of course you were too tired to cover yourself. What followed was you spending way too long trying to warm up. Winter River indeed, it really was cold. Why couldn’t this be some pleasant warm place, somewhere you could still go around wearing short sleeves instead of already needing several layers of clothing.

The only thing worse than the cold was the Chihuahua that was also in the house. “Why the fuck would I let her be on my mind first thing in the morning?” you slapped your forehead, now even more annoyed. Of all the people you could have thought of at the start your day, it had to be her.

Annoyed, you threw the covers off and immediately came to regret it as the cold air made you shiver. On second thought you should probably stay in bed a bit longer, so you went back under the covers into the warm escape from the chilling cold. You swiftly unlocked your phone and figured you might as well check up on your mom and Alex. You sent each of them a message asking how they were and if everything was fine and put your phone away. It was still too early to call them and if you had to be awake it didn't mean you had to wake them up too.

~X~

Halfway through the day and a lot of packing later, you sat down at the table exhausted with the hot cup of tea in front of you. You really needed that as the warmth of the tea seemed to seep into your very soul. Actually, you also needed a blanket around your shoulders and the nice warm fire accompanied by perhaps movie. It's been a while since you've watched ‘Kill, Baby, Kill’ and you were really in the mood for it after these past few days.

Seeing your favorite movie again would probably make your life a tiny bit better.

No, instead of that you had to deal with someone rather happy getting inside the house with an obvious bounce to their steps. You raised your head, confused and for a moment even terrified that someone actually broke in and just didn't care about making noises. And then that someone walked through the door into the dining room and you would have been a lot happier if it was a burglar.

No. Instead it was the fucking Chihuahua what a wide, frighteningly bright, and happy grin on her face and the world was going to end any moment now. You were fairly sure, and not at all being too dramatic, that Astrid Deetz, also known as Chihuahua, being this obviously happy was one of the eleven signs of the apocalypse.

“Oh, of course you're here. Well, it doesn't matter, not even you can ruin my mood,” she just  walked past you, still happy, and not throwing insults at you. She didn’t do anything! Absolutely nothing! Not even glaring at you and you could not remember the last time you were this frightened.

You scrambled to your feet and rushed outside. “Delia!” you cried out hoping the woman would have some kind of help for you maybe some medicine for hallucinations or a plausible explanation or anything really as long as it helped. You desperately needed someone to convince you that just made what happened up in your head!

It was all in your head. There was no other explanation, which made it even more concerning because Astrid Deetz being in your head and part of your hallucinations was not a good sign for you. Frankly, at this point you had no idea which was worse, Astrid being happy or you thinking about the damn Chihuahua to the point of hallucinating seeing her happy.

~X~

“Damn it Delia, why couldn’t you just get this delivered to the damn house?!” you hissed, a lot like the creatures inside the box you were currently carrying. You knew you had fear of heights before, but apparently you also had a fear of snakes. Which was made a lot worse by the sounds the snakes were making and you were praying that the people Delia bought the snakes from didn't scam her and actually defanged them.

Sure, in theory you were safe. The box was sealed, and safe, but your brain still came up with frightening scenarios. As safe as the box probably was you were still frightened that they would somehow find their way out and bite you and you did not want to die due to snake bites.

‘How many times am I going to risk my life in one single week?’ you wondered, and you really shouldn't have because you had a few more times before the end of this trip.

You finally reached the house and couldn’t have been happier to see it as you rushed up the stairs and set the box on the table for Delia to do whatever she intended to do with the snakes. You really hoped she wouldn't make you go with her because at that point you might actually think staying with Rory would be more pleasant. And just to be safe you immediately turned to Delia when she walked into the room. “I'm done with the snakes, I did my part the rest is up to you,” you urgently informed her before she could get more great ideas.

Delia just laughed. “They are defanged, don't worry,” apparently they were, you weren’t about to check.

You slumped slightly, doing your best puppy eyes to get her to let you stay out of this. “I am still not comfortable around snakes, so please don’t ask me to help you with them,” well at least she didn't look like she would push you to join her as she smiled and patted you on the shoulder.

“Come on, I'm not that cruel,” she smiled at you and then shook her head in amusement at the relief showing on your face. “I thought it would be a good experience is for you to watch, but it’s fine if you don’t. Oh and Y/N, you can rest tonight, you don't even have to go to the wedding,” she was telling you one good news after the other. “We have a few more things to do tomorrow morning and then you can go back home,” Delia surprise you but maybe you should have expected it. She had her moments of kindness and you've been on the receiving end plenty of times, despite all the less pleasant, more dangerous and difficult moments you had with her.

“Thanks Delia, I really appreciate it,” you told her as Astrid joined the two of you.

“Snakes?” Astrid looked at the content of the box, surprised by what she saw and for once you couldn't blame her. Personally, you didn't quite get why Delia got them herself but she wanted them and she got them. Something about Ancient Egypt and Pharaohs from what you understood.

“Actually asps,” Delia corrected her, and you had to admit she actually sounded excited about them.

“Why? Are they a wedding gift for Rory?” Astrid asked, hopeful that the answer would be yes.

“Now that would’ve made it worth carrying them,” you knew that wasn’t their purpose but  no one could force you to stop happily imagining Rory freaking out over the snakes.

For the first time since you've known her, Astrid actually didn't have a rude remark or an insult for you, and actually just rolled her eyes with a smile which was almost freaky but not exactly an unwelcome change.

“Too late they've be defanged, guaranteed harmless! And they're for me.” Delia shattered your dreams well, yours was never even allowed to begin because you knew from the start what she wanted to do with them. Still for a moment you could hope that she would at least use them as a prank. It’s not like they were one se only! She could use them for more than one thing. After all, she already got them, why not just use them on the bastard as a very funny prank. It would not change anything about the snakes, and they could still be used for the ritual thing she had in mind.

Well, you were left with only your dreams.

You left the two of them to check if there was anything left unpacked, you were just about to head back upstairs when Lydia rushed down and you turned around, not sure how to react to the frantic woman.

“You got your wish, we're leaving! Pack up your things, I'm driving you back to school,” Lydia seemed absolutely frantic, like she just saw a ghost, which, well, she was supposed to be able to see them. You watched from the stairs as she went by you and toward the front door

“Wait! What happened” Astrid called after her.

“You wouldn't believe me if I told you,” Lydia denied answering Astrid’s question.  That actually made sense, especially if it had something to do with ghosts, which this house apparently had at one point. So going by their relationship and the issues Astrid had with her mother you guessed it was something paranormal in question.

Delia, however, did not make that connection. “Oh you're calling off the wedding?” she went after Lydia outside and just for a moment you and Astrid exchanged looks do you just shrugged finally realizing that you couldn't even begin to try and have a normal conversation with her. That's how used you were to just fights and banter and insults and everything that came along with this hatred between you.

Eventually you just pointed at yourself then point upstairs and then point at her and outside. The message being clear, you would, rather regrettably, check up on Rory while she would go and check up on her mother.

To that Astrid, just as unsure of how to interact with you like a normal human being, just went and gave you a thumbs up and you both went your separate ways, one up the stairs to the attic and the other outside to talk to her mother.

~X~

Lydia was stuck in the office, just contemplating everything about her and Astrid’s relationship.

Apparently, her daughter was not gay. In fact, she had a date with a boy. Her first date was with a boy, not with the girl as she expected it would be. Did Lydia really mess up that much that she wasn't even capable of seeing how things actually were? Her daughter, who she believed was gay and actually had a crush on you and was just unable to properly act up on those feelings, threw her a curveball and was going on a date on Halloween night with a boy she met 2 days ago.

How did she miss the signs?

Her concerns were now even bigger because, unlike you, this boy was a complete unknown for Lydia. She didn't know his full name, she didn't know his parents, granted she didn't know your parents either but that was beside the point, she didn't know how he spent his time, what his interests were. She didn't know anyone who knew him, and she was now overthinking it and panicking and was getting even more nervous and afraid for her own daughter because this was a mess, and she was disappointed in herself as a mother for mistaking her daughter’s sexuality.

Maybe Astrid was just bisexual. Maybe. Maybe Lydia just got so deep into preparing for a girlfriend that she forgot that there were other options, all equally daunting for her as the mother of a child that would soon start, that actually just stated dating, and find her own love and heartbreak and everything Lydia herself went through all those decades ago.

Also did her daughter actually just tell her that she crashed through the fence and that's how she met the guy? Like it was just something people did for fun? How did that even happen?

Lydia began breathing deeply, huffing and taking very loud, very deep breaths. She could not go down that train of thought.

~X~

He liked her.

Jeremy liked her. Astrid knew that much, she could see signs that he wanted to kiss her, that he really didn't want to spend any time handing out candies to the kids and instead actually wanted to spend time with her.

And she, at least logically speaking, wasn't opposed to the idea. At least it would prove to her that some feelings she may or may not have were, in fact, not real and just her heart playing with her brain so she would kiss him to prove her heart wrong.

Astrid let him approach her, she felt his hands on her, hugging her and she hugged him back, and he held her like he hasn’t been touched in years. Like he was desperate to feel someone’s touch, someone’s kind and positive touch. Astrid could almost feel his breath on her lips and then she just couldn't do it, because there was an infuriating Barnacle plaguing her thoughts at that very moment.

She pulled away, separating from him even though she knew how it looked. “Sorry I just I think we are rushing too fast into this,” she apologized and he seemed understanding at first. At least from the looks of it, he just turned to the window and looked rejected “I'm not saying I'm opposed to kissing you eventually, but we just met two days ago,” she tried to cheer him up but then he turned to face her.

“No, you’re right, I'm- I'm sorry I just got excited because you can see me and for over 23 years no one saw me and I just thought we had something,” she must have heard him wrong but then she looked down and saw it.

He was floating and that's when she realized all the stories her mother told were actually true and she was actually seeing a ghost these past few days

~X~

You were in the living room, with everyone aside from Astrid and Rory, plus Jane, just lazing around on the sofa and texting Alex. You weren’t in a costume, you had no intention of dressing up for the Halloween.

The truth was, you kind of hated Halloween. Well hate might be a strong word, mostly reserved for Astrid and maybe another thing or two. No the actual word you were looking for regarding Halloween was more like indifference brought upon by that's one time you got dressed as a pumpkin and got teased for by your classmates.

It wasn't fun. It was actually horrific and ever since then you just didn't bother celebrating Halloween. So, what if Astrid was currently on her ridiculous date? It had nothing to do with your current mood. Even if you did hated the guy more than you hated her for some reason. You should have felt sorry for him, after all he was the one who had to deal with being on a date with the Chihuahua.

So, no, you did not care about Astrid being on a date with some random dude.

You just realized you’d be all alone. Delia would be at the cemetery doing whatever she seemed to want to do with the snakes and Lydia would be preparing for her wedding and Rory would be giving out the candy. And you were fine with that. You would just be hanging around on the couch in the living room waiting for Delia to sign all the papers and then you could just go ahead and leave, just start packing what little things you brought here and get ready to go back home. Luckily Delia promised she would arrange a car to come pick you up.

“Where's Rory?” Lydia asked out of blue, almost as if she was asking out of obligation, because she should know where he was and not because she actually had to know where he was. Especially since she had Chihuahua’s first date to worry about.

“Supermarket swapping out the candy I bought for carrot sticks, because Rory loves to fun suck everything even Halloween,” of course Delia did not miss a single chance point out the kind of person Rory was, because Lydia apparently couldn’t see him for who he really was. Even if it didn’t change anything you figured she did feel the need to, in her own way, warn her stepdaughter about him because as far as you knew telling Lydia that Rory was not who he was presenting himself as wasn't working. “Gotta run, see you at the church,” she turned back to Lydia and with a hopeful look added. “Unless you're calling off the wedding.”

“No Delia,” Lydia sighed and just noticed Delia was leaving, that was how focused on Astrid she was. “Wait, why are you going to the cemetery?” Lydia asked. It just crossed your mind that she in her panic earlier today did not see the snakes Delia bought.

“To commune with my dear husband spirit,” was all Delia needed to say. She quickly waved at you and was on her way leaving you alone with Lydia and Jane and from the looks of it, Jane was going to leave soon so that would just leave you and Lydia alone in the house for a while. At least until she would go and get Astrid. Oh, and until Rory came back.

Still, it could be fun. You haven't had the chance to be on your own wait the Lydia Deetz and you actually were curious about her. And it had nothing to do with maybe not wanting to be alone while a certain Chihuahua was on a date with a guy she met two days ago, while she spent so damn long hating you. Yeah, that had nothing to do with it.

Nothing at all!

You did not care where that stupid Chihuahua was or how quickly she fell in love like dumb ass.

“The closest we ever got to Disney was when Astrid dressed as Cinderella’s dead mom,” you absolutely did not filter out what Jane mentioned about her daughter and scouts or whatever group her daughter was in and you absolutely did not think Astrid’s costume sounded exactly like her.

Jane said something something fruit salad mortgage something something non triggering and then asked the question that was annoying the hell out of you, that is, she asked where Astrid was.

Lydia had this soft, yet somber smile on her face. “On a date,” she said, like a parent learning to accept their child was growing up. “Her first. I think I'm more nervous than she is. The boy lives over on Jefferson,” Lydia really did sound nervous when she said that, and you guessed between their rocky relationship and all the things that happened Astrid’s first date at this moment wasn’t something Lydia was entirely prepared for.

Something something perfect sales records something something on the market for years something something once more you're pretty much tuning out the words of the woman the Deetz family hired to sell their house. And you were doing good, tuning her out, that is until she said three words: the murder house and you immediately sat up and stopped texting Alex. A sinking feeling inside of your guts was almost telling you to pay attention because you just had a bad feeling about what was going to they said next.

“Murder house? Which house?” Lydia asked now frantic and you sort of pieced together that's maybe the house show left Astrid at wasn't that far off from looking like a murder house. Because if the house looked normal and if Lydia you got to see the parents or that boy she would not be looking this afraid right now.

“125,” James said and just from the look of Lydia's face you knew that was the house Astrid was in and so you jumped to your feet and rushed to get the car keys.

“Fucking hell Chihuahua, what did you get yourself into?” just as you've got the keys you saw Lydia rushing out. “I'm going with you!” you quickly told her and followed after her into the car. The woman was clearly in shock but all she cared about was just getting to Astrid, nothing else mattered.

You did not dare to tell her you would get there in time. You had no idea how all of this worked, sure you believed in ghosts and you've been seeing glimpses of strange things throughout your life. You still had no idea how any of that actually functioned. You had no idea if they could harm Astrid.

If the guy she was with was bad news then she probably was in danger and especially if Lydia, the most competent person to judge if her daughter was in danger from ghosts was also panicking. “He killed his parents 23 years ago!” okay, Astrid was definitely in danger. “If I just didn’t let her into that house, if I just went in with her! What kind of mother am I if something happens to her-“ Lydia was mostly talking to herself.

“Hey, wait, wait, don't go there you couldn't know!” You tried to get her to calm down. “You're the expert but you couldn't know! Just focus on saving her so you can berate yourself later,” you needed her focused because if she wasn't, you had no hopes of getting Astrid back in time. And you really, as much as you didn't like Astrid, did not want her dead or in danger.

~X~

The moment the car began slowing down in front of the house you just ran out, without even waiting for it to stop and ran up the stairs ignoring the for sale sign in front of the house. You ended up bursting through the doors so hard the handle might have gotten a bit damaged because the doors were old.

You stumbled when you entered the house, you felt sick for a moment when you saw the man. But you did not see him clearly, it was like there was a mist around him.

"Astrid!" Lydia yelled and it snapped you out of your confusion. That man was a ghost, mist meant ghost, at least at this stage of your ability to see ghosts. So, you rushed right through the woman going down the stairs.

"Wait! Deetz!" you yelled as loud as you could as you ran up the stairs two steps at a time. You saw the light and broke through the door, but Astrid just walked through something.

"What the? Barnacle?" your eyes met and you reached out to her but the ghost guy grabbed her forearm and pulled her along and the portal closed before you could reach out and grab her hand.

"Astrid!" Lydia cried out, but it was too late as well.

If only she reached out to you. For the first time since you met her you cursed yourself for not being at least civil with her. "Damn it!" you slammed your fist on the old table, right next to some thick book. "What do we do now?"

Lydia grabbed the book on the table, your outburst probably caught her attention. "Come on, I have a crazy idea," you saw uncertainty in her eyes, fear that maybe not even what she had in mind would be enough, but she had to hope. You both rushed down the stairs, every second mattered and you couldn't waste time on just talking. "Can you drive?" she asked, clearly intending to go through the book.

"Of course," you nodded and ran to the car, starting the engine once more as Lydia sat down next to you.

~X~

You had no time to waste, as you drove around the house and parked the car right in front of the entrance to the house, not even caring that you would somewhat block the path for the kids. They could avoid the car, it didn't matter, you just had to be quick and find a way to rescue Astrid, so up to the stairs you drove.

“Y/N?! Where’s the rush? You're nearly drove into the house!” Rory exclaimed as he was on top of the stairs preparing to hand out the candy to the kids, but you just ran past him not really wasting a moment to stop and chat. You didn’t even turn the engine off, just parked the car.

Lydia gave him some excuse or whatever as you both rushed upstairs. She already told you where to go so you just grabbed the crowbar on the way upstairs and started removing the boards Delia and Lydia put there just an hour or so ago. By the time Lydia came up the stairs as well you were almost done and you both pulled the last wooden board out of the way and went into the attic and from that point on you could only watch her as she found the solution.

The first thing that caught your eye was the small scale model of Winter River, done in amazing detail, and if things were any different you would have spent hours studying it.

“I can't believe I'm doing this,” she took a deep breath. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice!” you had no idea what was going on as she repeated that word? Name? Whatever it was three times.

And then the freakiest thing happened the mist slash smoke surrounding the paranormal vanished from your vision as the zombie-looking guy with green hair and striped suits and rather unhealthy-looking skin emerged from the Winter River model. “The juice is loose,” he said and vanished, only to appear right next to Lydia.

“I need you to tell me what this means,” she skipped the formalities and just showed him the pages of the book she found in that room where Astrid was.

“Let's have a look,” he pulled out a magnifying glass. “Long story short, your daughter is screwed,” well, fuck! “She decided to trade lives with a boy, he gets to come back while she's stuck on the other side, permanently. One way ticket to the Soul Train,” this guy, Beetlejuice, explained and you were just absolutely confused about what was going on. Afterlife actually existed, and people could come back.

More importantly… “She did what?! Why would she do that? Who does that?” you demanded. Astrid was smart! What did that ghost offer her to make her accept giving up her life? Or did he just outright trick her? “Shit, we need to get her back,” you turned away from Lydia and Beetlejuice and ran your hand through your hair, not even sure you would make it in time.

“The Soul Train?” Lydia asked for further explanations.

“That's right! The last stop, The Great Beyond,” he said and you just leaned back against the wall. Was there even anything you could do at this point? Astrid was on the other and you were over here in the living world. But then again Beetlejuice was from that other world. Was that why Lydia called him? Because he could somehow move the two of you into the world of the dead?

Wait, were you about to go into the world of the dead for Astrid? Not knowing the risks, or the consequences, or if it would be dangerous? You knew nothing about it, it was a complete unknown that you weren’t even sure existed five minutes ago!

Somehow you knew the answer was yes. You would take all those risks to take her back, because you plain and simple couldn’t live with yourself if you just let her die.

“Can we go in after her?” You asked as you once more turned toward Lydia and Beetlejuice.

“Quid pro quo, I want something in return,” while he replied to you he was looking at Lydia, as if he would only accept something from her.

Maybe those were the rules? Since she summoned him?

“Of course you do. What do you want?” Lydia asked ready to give him anything he asked for as long as it would save her daughter.

“Well I've got this ex-wife-“ Beetlejuice began and you've spent enough time with Delia and you knew a tangent when you saw one.

“Get to the point!” You exclaimed. Each second could be vital in keeping Astrid alive, and you did not want to waste it on his tangents.

“You want me to marry you,” Lydia knew what he wanted, and you just turned to look at her because what the fuck was that about? How would that even work? All of this was too much and the only reason you were keeping your sanity was because you had a goal in mind.

You weren’t sure you’d be keeping your sanity for much longer as so you watched this Beetlejuice act like getting married was Lydia's idea, like she just proposed to him because she wanted that. And then he made her sign some contract because apparently, he needed that in writing. You were in the most absurd situation possible and you half- expected to just wake up and see that everything was fine. Like this was all just a fever dream and you would wake up go to the work at the library you'd see Astrid there being annoying and being a Chihuahua and getting on your nerves and not on the way to swap lives with a ghost and die.

“What's the plan on getting in?” Lydia had enough of his bullshit as well and just demanded to know how you all would get in.  

Beetlejuice just vanished again and appeared in front of the wall, crouching and drawing a bomb with the fuse. He then just went and lit his thumb on fire. This was all absolutely ridiculous because the drawn fuse just lit on fire and the bomb exploded and instead of looking outside of the house you were looking into some office.

“Deetz, you're gonna be the death of me,” you said, ready to just go through.

“Trust me kid I know the feeling,” Beetlejuice said.

“I did not ask,” fuck it, you were going in, and you were not getting out without Astrid.

Taglist: @alexkolax @osnapitzmel1 @bee-keeping @nebthetautora @lololauser

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Masterlist / First part / Previous Part / Next Part

[boymanmaletheshequel]

I see…

- I see Lady Persephone when I devour a delicious palm full of juicy and gemmy pomegranate seeds, or cleanse my face with pomegranate skin

- I see Lady Persephone when I mourn the loved ones I lost, the memories I have of them, and the ones I one day will lose, and as I seek them and their love from the afterlife

- I see Lady Persephone in the Lily of the valley that spring from the cold spring dirt after a rainy day, and in the mushrooms that pop out of the soil to bring new life from nothing

- I see Lady Persephone in the animals that are taken by a busy road, and i also see her and her compassion in those who are sent to fetch them, to spend their time and energy to make the effort to put them to rest with closure.

- I see Lady Persephone when I think about my own fate, and how I have become rather comfortable with it. I’ve loved, I’ve lived. if death were to come for me now? I can say I’ve lived a life worth living.

[qu1cks1lversb1tch]

I love ur works so i just HADDDD to request!!!! Ik its impossible for sinners to even have children buuttt,,,, Vox w his bio toddler daughter hcs??👀👀 Hope its not weird or anything, i js find it soo cutee. Would love a sprinkle of angst too!!

A/N — Your honor, I love this ask. I've been imagining so many characters as girl dads lately, and Vox was certainly one of them. I feel like it's moreso implied angst at one point than actual angst — however, I hope you like these! I may come back in and add more if I think of more, but this is all I could think of with my tired brain lol.

Little Sunshine

Wildly protective, without a doubt.

If his daughter taped a paper tiara to his screen, he's wearing it all day (he sometimes forgets it's there — you know how many times he's worn a poorly colored paper tiara on live television? . . Often.)

He loves that she looks like her mother, but already thinks just like him.

Vox only dresses his little girl in the best, which is usually something Velvette made just for her.

He pretends to be upset when he finds her running around the penthouse with his stolen overcoat draped over her with the sleeves and coat tails dragging on the floor.

He really finds it adorable.

There's a hefty amount of people he doesn't trust to be in a room with his daughter. It's Hell, he doesn't really trust anyone.

Especially not with enemies who have tried to force his hand by using his only weakness — his precious little girl — as leverage.

All parties involved were promptly handled by a very angry, very protective father.

He insists on her being nearby all the time, needing to hear his daughter's giggles or see her sitting on the floor playing with a stuffed shark.

Speaking of sharks. He let her name his second shark, so now he has Vark and Spark (his name is really Sparkles, but he calls him Spark to everyone, unless she's around, then he's Sparkles.)

Generally cute and funny moments.

"Come on, sweetheart. . . Put the flour in the bowl." Then she flicked her wrist and sent half a cup of flour into his face.

She stood there for a few seconds and then turned to look at her dad, bursting into a fit of contagious giggles at the sight of him standing there, dumbfounded, with flour coating his front. "Oopsies."

He can't stay mad at her for anything, especially when she looks up at him with those big, pretty eyes and grabby hands.

She has his temper, so he sometimes finds himself standing toe to toe with this strong willed, opinionated toddler.

Anything she wants, she gets. It doesn't matter how big or small it is. Candy? He buys all her favorites. Toys? He gets all the new ones he knows she'd have interest in.

Just because he spoils her, doesn't mean she's undisciplined.

When she does something particularly bad, her punishment is spending a couple hours with Velvette (which isn't much of a punishment because mini Vox loves her auntie Vel).

He tries not to laugh when she argues with Valentino or makes some blunt comment that has the moth overlord on the edge of losing his shit.

The only think keeping Valentino from saying something he shouldn't, was the fact that Vox would end him if he even made so much as a single tear run down her cheek.

He reads her bedtime stories and stays with her until she falls asleep.

Sometimes he even dozes off next to her, her little head resting in the crook of his neck.

Stickers. Glitter. Gemstones. So. Much. Glitter. He purposely buys stuff without glitter, yet the penthouse always ends up with glitter covering some surfaces (he later finds out that she found Val's body glitter).

His daughter is the light of his afterlife. Something good in a realm of absolute shit.

[mango-bango-bby]

Ghost Gojo. Reader is send to investigate

And or exercise an building and discovers Gojo. Reader try’s to exercise him but because he’s Gojo it doesn’t work. So not wanting to be alone anymore he takes reader to be with him the for the rest of his afterlife.

♡ Ghost Hunting ♡

Content Warning ⚠️: Yandere, paranormal stuff, ghost au, mentions of sacrifices, kidnapping

Halloween Prompt: 👻 Ghost 👻

Summary: Your sent to exercise a ghost from a home but the ghost wants you (Yan!Gojo x GN!reader)

︵���︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Being a ghost-hunter wasn’t exactly the most respected job, many thought it was ridiculous and that you were a scammer. But you believed it, you knew it. You were helping people, exercising their homes of spirits so that they could live in peace.

You stand up off of the floor of the empty house, the wind outside making the old home’s wood creak.

You had been called to this home to exercise a ghost. But after hours of trying to communicate, nothing works.

The owners of the home reported the ghost of a man with white hair, often wearing a blindfold but sometimes not. It was your average haunting, doors slamming, whispers in the darkness, things moving around when they’re not in the room… it was average for you, really.

Except nothing had happened. You tried everything to summon this ghost so that you could exercise it.

You tried a spirit box, you tried offerings, you tried an ouija board. But this ghost would not show himself, he wouldn’t even make a noise.

You look around the room, looking at the dusty furniture and cobwebs. You couldn’t even get a simple knock or slam from the ghost.

It was a lost cause, you would have to tell the family that you couldn’t get the creature out.

You sigh, walking across the creaky wooden floor. You reach out for the doorknob, but it doesn’t budge. You have got to be kidding me, you think, trying and trying to open the door. You pull and jiggle the doorknob but it won’t budge.

“Hey!” You yell out, banging your hand on the door to hopefully make some noise. You know that the home is in the middle of nowhere, you know no one will probably hear you… but it’s worth a try.

You yell once again, staying silent after. The only noises you hear is an owl in the nearby woods and the rustle of the curtains on the old windows. The creak of the old wood.

You let out a small scream when an arm snakes around your waist, pulling you against a cold body. You turn immediately, trying to push off a tall man with white hair and vibrant blue eyes.

“Shh, shh, shh, shh…” He man smiles softly at you, but it’s almost a smirk. “Mmm… usually when I’m given a sacrifice, they’re not so cute…” He hums, putting his hand over your mouth. His touch is ice cold.

“I might have to keep you”

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿

Thank you for reading, darling!!

(A/N: I’m gonna be honest, this one didn’t turn out great 😭😭 But I’m going to post it anyways for you all because I’m trying to stay on schedule 😭)

Masterlist ➸ ♡

Prompt List ➸ ♡

[pacing-er]

Krakoa Era Reading List Cherik Version (part 7)

Disclaimer! There are a lot of titles I'm skipping in this period, simply because they focus on characters and plotlines that I don't care about. This story is complicated enough without side plots.

22. Hellfire Gala: Fall of X

I really liked this one! Any comic that shows off Charles powers is a 10/10 for me and this one is no exception. Added bonus is that he is wearing this super cute angel-inspired costume:

Also he looks so freaking pretty here omfg.

As is standard for all Hellfire Galas something goes horribly wrong, but this time it is much harder to come back from. Moira and Orchis show up with a bunch of Nimrods and reveal that they had interfered with the Mutant's medicines for mankind and installed a kill-switch which they use to take humankind hostage. Threatening Charles with mass human death, they force him to mind control all of the mutants on Earth to send them into the portals and off of Earth. Little did he know that they also hacked the portals, effectively turning them into meat-grinders which he just forced all of his people into (as far as he knows at least). Orchis then activates the kill-switch and many humans die anyways, but Charles in an act of desperation extends his powers to make it so they feel no pain and die peacefully. Idk I just thought that was a nice detail. The comic ends with a majority of mutant kind presumed dead, Emma leading the few survivors and an emotionally broken Charles sending Rogue off to "Avenge Krakoa". Very bleak stuff. It's all downhill from here folks!

23. Immortal X-Men (Issues #14-18)

Very cool, very convoluted. Basically covers two storylines: Xavier uncovering vital truths with the help of the Sinister that had been implanted inside of him, Hope and Exodus leading the mutants in the Noplace they'd been sent to after Hellfire Gala. A whole lot of twists and turns and it ends with a big reveal that I thought was super cool so I won't spoil it. Mother Righteous continues to ruin things for the mutants, and it's revealed that she was the one who hacked the portals to send them all to the White Hot Room (the mutant afterlife) in order to use Jean's power to become a Dominion. I liked Charles part in this comic a lot despite him spending a lot of it sitting around depressed in the ruins of Krakoa. At first we are led to believe that he is using his telepathy and newfound telekinesis to massacre the Orchis agents that Shaw brought there, but it is revealed to be the remnants of Sinister inside of him doing the killing. I like that it allows us to see how efficient and deadly he could be without conflicting his morals. He also has a beard in this comic which is... Something. I don't hate it.

Charles dynamic with the Sinister inside of him was very enjoyable imo. Hope and the other mutants were also very interesting, and I dig the Jewish parallels with them all stuck wandering in the desert "diaspora" in search for the Promised Land. They actually use those exact words.

That's the end of the Immortal X-Men run! This title in particular had some of my favorite moments so I'm definitely gonna pick up a physical copy for it

24. Jean Grey

Technically a prelude to the previous entry, in which we see Jean explore several different potential outcomes for mutantkind as she waits to be resurrected. It explains her appearance in the White Hot Room. Charles and Erik are in the first issue of this title, with special emphasis put on their relationship. We see Jean put Magneto into a catatonic state, believing that it would be better for mutants if he was out of the picture. Charles of course freaks out and immediately kicks the X-Men out of the mansion, and when they later return they find that Charles has restored Erik's mind and the two of them are living together. Due to the lingering effects of Jeans powers Erik is now wheelchair bound, so they're matching! The rest of this title covers Jean's various relationships and sort of serves as a character analysis.

25. The Resurrection of Magneto

I think that enough is explained at this point to read this story. Arakko was not affected by Charles command to walk into the portals, but they were busy dealing with a civil war so they are late to the game. Ororo goes into the mutant afterlife to retrieve Magneto's soul, since after the events of the Hellfire Gala Charles is no longer stable enough to lead the mutants. Some really epic symbolism and references to various moments in Magnetos history are shown, including the iconic scene from the original Trial of Magneto comic. Overall a great analysis of Magneto as a character, but the cherry on top was the focus put on Charles and Erik's relationship. Man is obsessed with Charles and it shows. Definitely a must-read for Cherik fans. I'd include some screen caps but I'd basically be sharing the full comic so I recommend you just read it.

I'm taking another break to read some older X-Men comics I got for the holidays so I'm cutting this one shorter than anticipated. Next are Fall of the House of X, Rise of the Powers of X, and X-Men: Forever! Then I need to go through Duggan's X-Men comics and see what I missed since the reading order lists I'm using and the titles on the free comic site don't match up and it's a whole thing. But I'm almost to the end! The next Krakoa era reading list should be my last 🎉🎉🎉

[citrusbatsandhoneybees]

-Guess You're Stuck With Me-

-Lucifer Fluff One-Shot-

A/N: Omg I'm finally writing again, I've been really busy for the past couple weeks, adjusting and stuff, but I can finally work on my unfinished projects now lol. Either way, flying kind of killed me, but I wrote some of this during it and I just finished it. Not my favorite, but I thought it was still cute. Hope you enjoy! <3333

Lucifer x Reader Fluff

Synopsis: The reader gets stuck in the airport, and during her wait she meets the King of Hell.

Surprisingly in Hell there are a few small flights that connected some of the outskirts of town. Unsurprisingly the security you go through is its own Hell in of itself. You already didn’t enjoy going through security in your lifetime, but you could swear on your afterlife that the hell born and sinners that ran the airports enjoyed the misery that they put everyone through. The constant changing rules that they would arrange became unreasonable in hell as they realized the control they had over the people that had to go through. Besides that, they are decidedly rude to everyone, yelling at everyone that came past, and unreasonably going through other’s luggage if they decide to on a whim. 

You were on your way to meet one of your friends on the other side of Hell, and after a long couple hours of checking in and working your way through the other processes you were finally on the other side of security waiting for your gate to announce your group. As you found a leather seat in the waiting area, you held your carry-on close, and took it. Notably nearly all the seats that surrounded you were empty, but you didn’t put much mind behind it. 

A heavy breath of relief escaped from your lips after finally being able to relax. As you sat, unwinding and leaning further back into the plump leather, you pulled out your Hell phone. Your thumbs tapped quickly against the small screen, after you selected your top contact. 

      [ At the airport now! Seeya soon! 🥰

After looking over the text a few times, a quiet whooshing sound resonated from the little speaker as you sent it. Pulling open your music app, you grabbed your beloved sound-proof headphones to set over your ears and selected a curated playlist for the day. You let out a long sigh as you slid further into the seat. Because you had gotten there quite early, you still had quite a bit of time before you had to board, so you allowed your eyes flutter shut, and decided it was best to just lounge around in this area as you waited. 

About 45 minutes later, your lids abruptly flew open as you felt a set of vibrations in your back-pocket. Sliding up into a more alert position, you pushed your large headphones back, and pulled your Hell-phone out of your pants, looking for what it could be. The moment you removed your headphones, sounds of continuous small thuds and sizzling flooded your ears, and you turned your head to the grand windows that lined the building.

Acid Rain, and not just a drizzle. Heavy, pouring, acid rain spilled down from the sky. The quick realization of your prolonged stay hit you like a bus, and a heavy groan reverberated past your throat as you turned your attention back to your device. As you thought, your flight was delayed for another few hours. Before you pushed your device back to its earlier position, another quick blurb of text was sent to your friend to let them know that you wouldn’t be able to see them for a while. 

       After realizing you were going to be in that airport for a lot longer, you picked up your things, stood from your seat, to find a more comfortable area. Once you had got up, you rolled your shoulders back, soothing the aching muscles in your back. You took a few steps out of the gate area, and looked around the building you would be staying in during the next dreaded period of time. Between the gates of the airport, the rest of the area was lined with bars, fast food joints, and shameless clubs to aid the long wait times between flights. You took your time walking down the hall, and eventually found a quaint, dingy bar close to the very end of the hall. Inside there was a mahogany counter, with various bottles of alcohol and glasses lining the wall behind it. The room was enveloped in a welcoming, dimmer lighting compared to the airport’s sickly incandescent lighting. As you spotted the quieter environment with homey seating along the walls, you took a step inside. 

       You approached the mahogany bar and looked over a small menu that sat on the wood, of course being in hell the prices were marked up to an atrocious price, but you ordered a simple drink anyway, and waited for a few moments. Looking along the wall in front of you, you fidgeted with your thumbs as you waited, until another man approached the bar beside you. He held an impish appearance, with two sweet, circular, white cheek marks and horns that bent back towards his head, but what took you aback was his smile. It was genuine and almost too charming. He ordered a fruit flavored drink with a smooth voice, and once he finished, he turned to spot you, basically gawking at him, and you swiftly turned your gaze away from him to the drink you ordered. A prideful smirk pulled at his lips, and he turned back forward waiting for his drink to arrive. After a few more moments you fell to the temptation to sneak another glance towards the man, and were met with his eyes looking over you before the bartender handed him his drink. Warmth flooded to your face as you were caught, and turned back away from him as you took another awkward sip and tried to focus on the soothing sound of rain that surrounds you. 

       Suddenly the sound of synced buzzes sounded between the two, and the both of you pulled out your phones to see the identical notification that the flight delay had another hour added onto it. Just more of this torturous wait for you to go through. A small groan ran past your lips, and the man beside you spoke up. 

      “You too?”

You lifted your head to look back at him a little confused, but it was explained easily after a small glimpse of the notification on his phone.

       “oh, haha yeah.” 

You answered and gave him a small smile as you continued the conversation. 

      “Annoying huh? Hopefully it stops pouring soon.” 

The man responded with his own charming smile that had your heart fluttering against your chest again. Your fingers felt the condensation against the cool glass as you wrapped your fingers around it and you lifted it to your face once again to take another long sip of your drink, trying to distract yourself from the flustering feeling. 

      “Where are you supposed to go?” 

As he continued the small exchange, you turned your head away from the glass to return your gaze back to him. 

      “Just outside of the city, I’m supposed to hang out with a dear friend of mine. Hopefully she doesn’t get too upset.” 

This gave you a small reminder to notify them, and you looked down towards your phone to give her yet another disappointing update on the status of your flight, and looked back towards the man who gave you a sympathetic smile. 

      “What about you?”

He responds fondly and enthusiastically. 

        “Oh I’m taking Ch- my daughter and her friends over to Lu Lu land! Heard of it?”

He stuttered for a moment, and you suppress a snort at his endearing enthusiasm. That wasn’t something you came across too often around Hell, and it definitely wasn’t something you were expecting to see. 

      “Definitely have heard of it, but sadly never have had the chance to go. I’ve always wanted to though.” 

You drifted off as you thought over what you imagined Lu Lu Land to be like in the past, and after you finished you looked back at him. Quickly you were surprised by the expression painted across the man’s face. His eyes basically sparkled, and his smile had grown wider to a prouder one. heh cute... wonder why? 

      “Oh you have to go! I- I mean it’s magical! Made for royalty by royalty!” 

Your company gestured widely and dramatically as he described the park, you smiled and laughed lightly at his small passionate rant. He felt entranced by your laughter. His grin didn't fade as looked back over to you with a raised eyebrow. 

     “Sorry, it’s just that you seem really sweet.” 

He was taken aback by your reasoning, Realizing a little too late that your statement was kind of bold you flushed slightly. Reasonings, excuses, and sorries started to fill your throat threatening to flow out, but before you could rescind or apologize, he spoke. 

      “You seem sweet too.”

You looked over to him with a warm smile, and soon he matched yours with his own. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

      Eventually the synced buzzes between your phones became a more welcome sound during your hours together, as you were both able to help soothe the painful wait you both had to go through. The conversations between the two of you flowed like an easy melody, and you moved to settle in a plush leather booth that sat in the corner of the room. You were grateful to be able to admire his features from a closer angle. 

      Your beloved company proudly was telling a story between him and his daughter when she was much younger. A laugh ripped from your throat before you took another sip of your drink. 

      “Luke! I can’t believe you did that!"

He joined in on your laughter as he defended himself. 

      “You don’t understand how cute she was! That little duck onsie was perfect! How could I not!?” 

      “Everyday???”

You exclaimed towards him between your giggles. It was a really sweet story, but you couldn’t believe the indulgent manner of it all.

      “It was clean!! I made sure of it!” 

He leaned forward and nudged your side playfully to emphasize his point. His heart warmed seeing you laugh so genuinely and wholeheartedly. The man moved to sit back in the booth but spotted a piece of hair that had fallen to your face and mindlessly pushed it back. Time slowed as your breath stuttered, feeling the affectionate action, and you could almost feel his hot breath against your cheek. His eyes met yours in this frozen moment, and quickly the urges to lunge forward and kiss him weighed heavy on your mind. 

The seconds felt like hours during this tense moment, but time sped forward once again as repeated vibrations sounded once again in your back, and his coat pocket. Lucifer hesitantly resumed sitting back in his seat, and an awkward laugh fell from his lips after the interruption. 

      “Guess you’re stuck with me for a little longer.”

You returned the awkward laughter, and nodded with a smile. 

       “I really don’t mind” 

He gave you a affectionate grin, and the sentiment stuck in the air for a few moments before you stood to break the silence. 

      “I- I’m going to grab us more drinks, same thing?” 

Lucifer gave you a nod, and watched as you left the booth. Silently he cringed to himself over the hesitation over the previous moment, and the situation he had gotten himself into. This was one of the most genuine connections he had in a while, even after only meeting you that day, but he was conflicted on how to handle it. Would it change if you knew who he is? Would you run after finding out? 

       You on the other hand were reeling from the tender back and forth between the two of you. Even if it was awkward now maybe you had a chance? You ordered your drinks, and quickly returned to the man with a new found confidence. Handing over his drink, you allowed your fingers to graze his as you removed your own. A small gesture, but he noticed, looking down at his hand. The worrying thoughts were still were fresh in his mind. You looked over to him as he stared at his drink, and a pit started to stir in your stomach. Did you assume wrong? 

      “Something wrong?” 

You sat in the booth, across from him as you examined his face. He returned your gaze up to you and rigorously shook his head as he reassured you.

      “No no, just thinking.” 

He wasn’t very convincing, but you didn’t want to push him too much. 

      “Wanna talk about it?”

He bit his bottom lip in contemplation for a moment as he answered carefully. 

      “Do you still want to talk after this?

You were both concerned over the same thing. You sighed a little to yourself with a small laugh as he asked, and your heart banged against your chest as you continued. With the push of your new-found confidence and the liquid courage you’ve been drinking throughout your time with him, you looked him deeper in the eyes; you placed a hand to his chin running your thumb over the white spots on his cheeks. 

       “Yes, Do you?” 

He stuttered under your daring move, and gave you a nod. After the confirmation, you gently moved forward, moved some of his hair out of his face, and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. 

       “Ask me out then.” 

He watched as you gave him a small teasing wink before pulling away to sit back in your seat. His lips turned up to a smile and he opened his mouth to do exactly as you said, but was interrupted once again by the sound of his usually cheery daughter, walking in. 

       “Dad??” 

Charlie called loudly from across the room, searching for her father. A harsh wrinkle formed between his brows and his shoulders tensed before he gulped and called back. 

      “Over here sweetie!”

You looked up past him and towards his daughter, expecting a small imp woman who resembled her father, but instead was faced with the tall blonde princess of Hell. A few confusing milliseconds past before you fully comprehended what was happening. Shocked, you turned back to look over at who you now understood to be Lucifer Morningstar. He glanced to you apologetically, and turned back towards his daughter. 

       “What’s wrong?” 

For a moment a relieved look spread across the princess’s face as she turned to see her father recognizing his imp disguise, Then she turned her head slightly to see you across from him. 

      “We uh- should get going.” 

She looked between the two of you inquisitively, and Lucifer let out a sigh as his golden magic enclosed around him, revealing his true identity. For a moment your breath hitches seeing the king across your way.  Realizing that you had been flirting and touching royalty the entire time made your face flush in embarrassment. 

      “Why do we have to leave Char Char? Did something happen?” 

      “No, they canceled the flight, didn’t you see it?” 

You pulled out your phone to check on your own flight realizing that yours was canceled a while ago too. All of that wait for nothing. Well... not nothing... 

You pushed your phone back into your back pocket, before stepping out of the booth. The other two Morningstars turned their eyes to you in surprise, and Lucifer’s heart tugged. You turned towards the king and gave him a warm smile still feeling the heat in your face from embarrassment. 

      “My flight was canceled too. It was nice to meet you Luk- wait sorry um- Lucifer.. or your highness?” 

Your words broke into stutters as you tried to wish him goodbye. You were about to offer him an apology for your manners, but he stopped you. 

      “Lucifer hun.. Lucifer’s fine.” 

The butterflies returned your stomach at the sudden nickname, and you gave him a small nod and smile before leaving to buy the closest tickets possible and heading back. Charlie continued to look between the two of you curiously as Lucifer almost instinctively reached for you but stopped himself short of actually grabbing your wrist. He wondered if that was it. He never got any way to contact you, so he assumed that the two of you would end up like two ships passing each other in the night. 

As you held your things close and wandered back to the ticket counter at the front of the airport, you wondered how he felt about everything. What he actually said seemed truthful, and you didn’t doubt that all your conversations between the two of you were genuine, but a large portion of you worried that you were being deliberately delusional, looking for romance where it isn’t. He was the king after all.  

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once you were able to arrange replacement tickets, you decided to stay at a hotel connected to the airport because you were unable to travel under the acid storm. Next thing you know you were at the airport once again. You took the next flight to the outskirts of hell, hoping there wouldn’t be any more issues. You went through the dreadful security once again, making sure to do everything perfectly to avoid getting yelled at, and as you finally passed through check out and security once again you walked up towards your gate. 

This time you were able to actually board the plane at the time it was scheduled, and you settled in your seat as you waited for everyone else to board. You bent over and pushed your carry-on under the seat in front of you. Then after you turned down the brightness of the vox-tech screen attached to the seat in front of you, a long breath of relief passed your lips. 

As you sat back in your seat, others joined you, strolling towards and sitting in periodic seats throughout the plane, and soon you heard a cheerful and bubbly female voice not that far from you. Your eyes flutter back open to peer over your seat and look towards the entrance to view the blonde-haired princess walking in and enthusiastically inspecting her surroundings. A cold shiver runs down your spine as you recognized Charlie from the night before, and you quickly pulled out a magazine from the seat pocket in front of you as you slid down and hoped that she wouldn’t recognize you. You weren’t sure how you didn’t put it together that you could be on the same plane the next day, but your nerves were spiked as you flushed from the embarrassment of the night before. You opened a magazine wide, and pulled it to your face, as you, noticeably, peered over the magazine to watch her other friends walk through the aisle right behind her with her father being the last in line. He seemed almost bored as he looked around and fidgeted with his apple atop of his cane as he made his way down the plane. As you continued staring, the line had progressed enough for Charlie to spot you behind the paper you held. Her eyes narrowed for a moment, and popped open wide, giddily, as she realized who you were. She nudged her girlfriend behind her as she looked over to you, beaming. 

You whipped your head towards the princess as she giggled past you and looked back at her dad to see if he had noticed. Her line of guests kept walking with her, and her grin grew as she whispered excitedly with her girlfriend. You watched them walk by, and a spider-like demon looked you up and down with a smug smile and a prideful glint in his eye. Slightly confused, you met his eyes, searching for an answer until he eyed the magazine you held. Turning your eyes down to the issue, you recognized his resemblance on the cover and flushed as you felt your stomach drop. Frantically you rolled up the Valentino brand magazine and bunched it into the seat pocket. 

       “wait I- it isn’t, I wasn’t!”

Your panicked, and the failed attempts to cover yourself were picked up by the king and he observed past his line of guests. Once he spotted you his own heart broke into a quick rhythm, as his mind raced through things to say. You glanced towards him and met his eyes for only a moment before looking back at the porn star. The demon chuckled as he gave you a teasing wink and continued walking past the rows to his seat. The others followed with him, and you fiddled with your thumbs, hearing the loud drumming against your chest, as the man approached to walk past. Lucifer glanced towards you, and opened his mouth to say something, but came up silent. In the fleeting tense moment, against your own logic, you turned your head to give him an awkward smile, but a smile, nonetheless. His heart came to a shocked stop, and he gave a simple smile back, with a small bit of resurged confidence he was about to speak. However another sinner behind him had the gall to tap his shoulder, and he realized he was holding up the line behind him. You watched as he continued walking, joining the others in their assigned seats in first class. 

Once Lucifer had sat with his daughter and her residents of the hotel, he was bombarded with questions within her daughter’s excitement for him. He had resolved his daughter’s curiosity as he told her the night before what had happened between the two of you, and it seemed to only fuel the romantic in her. He on the other hand was still quite concerned with how you felt.

      “Soooooo!! Did you talk to her??”

He set aside his cane as the others joined her to stare over at him. 

     “Char Char, I only had a few seconds.. but no not really” 

Her disappointment only lasted a moment though, as he spotted a few napkins in their area. His nerves still held the reins, but he persevered as he grabbed a paper square, and summoned a golden fountain pen. 

      “Awwww! Dad, you're gonna write a note?”

A simple nod was sent her way as he bit his bottom lip, and he scrambled together a note. 

      [Wanna go out for drinks again? -Lucifer] 

His eyes scanned over the note, and he shook his head with a groan. 

      “What? no no no that sucks.” 

Lucifer murmured to himself. He then crumbled the note in his fist and bunched it into the seat pocket as he grabbed another blank square. Quickly he scribbled his cursive handwriting down again. 

      [Would it be weird if I asked you to go out with me?]

What? Don’t ask that! He thought as he scoffed at his second failed attempt, and repeated scrunching it up and shoving it down the seat pocket. He gained the others attention once again as they watched him continue to pull out napkins to only waste them away. 

        [Remember me? The guy who you had drinks with last night, and lied about his identity? Yeah wanna have drinks with him? He’d love it if you would! -Lucifer] 

As Charlie’s dad spoke through his last note with a exaggerated tone she took it from him, and tried to calm his rushing thoughts. 

      “Dad, just keep it simple! You’re thinking too much!” 

He looked over to his daughter who held his forearm, keeping him from starting another attempt. He let out a small sigh as he remembered the night before. Although the number of interactions were limited, just the thought of your smile was enough to give him butterflies again. Compared to before, Lucifer held a calmer exterior. His fingers held onto a corner of another napkin and placed it down to his tray and wrote simply. 

It had been quite a while since your brief interaction with the king of hell. You took in an understanding as the plane started to take flight that this was probably the last time you would interact with him, and tried to accept it as the plane finally was settled in the air. However your thoughts were interrupted as someone spoke over the intercom. The pilot had finally given the go ahead to use your trays, and quickly, with a small flourish of glittering, golden magic, yours had unlocked and laid in front of you. Then a rubber duck with Lucifer’s likeness appeared with a napkin in its beak. After the initial surprise, you brought the rubber creature closer to inspect. Memories of the stories Lucifer had told you the night before flooded in, and you giggled to yourself. Keeping the duck close, you removed the small note from its beak, and unfolded it. In graceful handwriting it said,

      [Thank you for last night. If you are still interested, would you like to go out for that date?  -Lucifer] 

Delight enraptured your heart as you felt butterflies, and you traced your thumb over the large glimmering signature over the bottom of the note. The burdensome worry that he wasn’t actually interested in you was chipping away. After a few moments, you pulled out your bag, and pulled out a few items to complete your response back to the king. You flipped over the napkin, finished your note, and folded the soft paper together, before looking for a flight attendant on the plane. Your small search was over as you found one was walking past a few rows checking on the flight guests, and you kindly asked her over before asking her to bring the note over to the King. With some convincing and a small payment, she finally agreed and took the note from you. 

Lucifer anxiously picked at his claws and bounced his leg as a short flight attendant strolled into first class.

       “This is for you.” 

She said straightly and handed him the slip before returning to her job. Lucifer abruptly faced her and ceased his fidgeting as he took the note back. Hope filled his soul and the others' anticipation grew, as he took in a deep breath, and unfolded the square. Warmth thrummed against his chest, as he stared down at your response.

      [I would love to.] 

A set of numbers and small mark of lipstick laid boldly next to your lettering, and Lucifer’s grin grew as he read and reread the simple note again and again.

[savethepinecones]

youre an outlaw with a posse you trust with your life. they betray you and youre hung for your crimes while they leave with reward money. you curse them and one by one they die, sudden and violent. your body is sent to various places to be used as a prop or attraction. you curse these places and each of them falls to ruin. some dumbass rips your arm off so you curse him too. your body is finally laid to rest and you think your cursing days are behind you. then that same dumbass shows up at your grave. he tells you that he understands you, that he sympathizes with your situation, that hes inviting you into his posse. its metaphorical, since youre long dead, but you appreciate the sentiment anyway. he tells you that he understands how painful it must have been for you, being betrayed and going through your entire afterlife alone. he asks you to lift the curse you put on him. you decide to listen. then a few days later this guy that the dumbass is obviously so devoted to breaks his heart in order to protect his own.

you curse him.

[dirtytransmasc]

I want to amend this post, I need multiple things from Criston next season (and season 3, cause why not?) or I will be rioting (in no particular order, with various levels of angst/delulu-ness):

Calling all three of his boys "son" and similarly Helaena "daughter", that or his "sweet girl/boy" both would be preferable.

kissing his kids heads/foreheads. some instances could be; kissing Aegon's forehead as he carries him away from Rook's Rest. kissing Aemond's hair as he holds him outside of Aegon's chambers, his boy thinking he killed his brother. kissing Hel's temple when he visits his grandbabies (Hel angst coming later, savor this while you can).

Criston taking a private knee to Aegon, swearing to him like he had his mother, promising a duty that goes beyond what is expected of him.

comforting Helaena as she is plagued by dreams and prophecies.

playing with his grand kids.

sitting at Aegon's bedside while he heals.

Dad jokes.

bear hugging Daeron when he returns from Oldtown, lifting him all the way off the ground.

the dad "one armed hug shared in moments of fondness and laughter" thing, with Daeron.

Daeron and Criston sharing similar quirks and habits (not necessarily a conscious act by either party, but I still need it)

helping care for Aegon, being one of the few faces that keeps him some semblance of calm after everything, helping change bandages or sponge him clean. just soft moments of pained vulnerability and softness between a dad and his grievously injured eldest son.

praying for his children.

more... handsy... with Alicent, for lack of a better word. just soft comforting touches, like you would expect partners to share with each other. her family has been maimed, murdered, and/or sent to both battle and madness, let him comfort his (platonic) wife goddammit. let them hug actually, that's what I need, I need him to hug her.

sitting with Helaena and Jaehaera after B&C, trying to comfort them the best he can. Helaena going in and out of tears, sometimes she recognizes him, sometimes she doesn't. sometimes she is heartbroken beyond words, others she is angry. no matter what, he is there to protect her. give me a scene of him holding her as well, she needs it, she deserves a hug.

threatening Larys, especially if he pulls a stunt against Alicent like I think he might, knowing he can't kill him, that he's to much of an asset than they can risk going with out, but still hating him for what he does to his Queen. (see this post to understand what I mean by stunt)

embracing Aemond and Daeron, doing the forehead touch thing, each time they go separate ways, knowing any battle could be their last.

his last words being him begging Alicent and his kids to forgive him, apologizing for failing to protect them, for leaving them.

if we do get Afterlife scenes out of this hellish show, give me a scene of him reuniting with his grandkids, kids, and eventually his (platonic) wife. I'm begging.

putting aside a knife of his own to be given to Jaehaera if and when he passes, as a final means to protect her, even from the grave.

let him be emotional, in passing, when he's alone, let him shed a tear or two. I want to see the stress ooze from this man. I want to watch as the pain and death that follows his family breaks him down.

a clear difference between how he advises Aegon in front of the court and how advises him in private. risking a daggar in the throat on account of his son's blind rage and grief to protect his image amongst the court, but sharing a similar blood lust when it comes to avenging his daughter and grandchildren.

at least one shot of him standing with one of his kids' dragons.

just give me Criston being a good dad and (platonic) husband.

[fallingstarnovel]

Chapter Eleven

It turned out that being Hogger’s right hand corpse was the luckiest position to have in the rubbish tip. He had clearly staked his claim over this landfill, and had amassed a collection of bodies to work for him for, apparently, free.

It made sense. Of course dead people didn’t need payment. They didn’t need anything at all.

Evan dutifully stood just behind Hogger and watched him manage his field of detritus.

His workers - Evan didn’t like looking at them too much - would approach the house whenever they found something that Hogger thought was interesting. The first time it happened, a corpse with only one arm and nothing below the knees shuffled up to the porch and presented a corded mouse, dropping it at Hogger’s feet with its teeth.

“What is it? Jeeves, bring it here,” Hogger said.

Evan assumed he was Jeeves now. He unwillingly got closer to the bedraggled, stumpy corpse, and gingerly picked up the mouse. It was one of those old ones which had a ball inside.

When he brought it back to Hogger, the demon snatched it away and felt it all over with his hands. He brought it very, very close to one of his small eyes, before grunting with frustration and going back to feeling with his hands.

Evan was right. He couldn’t see very well at all.

Finally, Hogger nodded. He threw it back at the crawling corpse on the ground. “Add it to the market pile,” he said, and the corpse crawled off, undignified and wormlike, into the dust.

Evan shuddered. He wondered how these bodies got down here. They had been normal humans like him once, right? Was this what happened to sinners that got thrown into hell? They got made to do manual labour for the rest of their afterlife?

This happened a few more times. Evan saw Hogger get presented with a very worn out plastic doll, which he chewed a little before tossing aside with a “bah”. Next was a dinner plate that had miraculously survived the fall. Hogger liked this a lot, and tucked it under his chair for safekeeping.

A collection of small plastic toys, clearly free from some kid’s meal, was sent to the market pile. A man’s shirt, only a little torn, was also added to the market pile. The dead dog that made Evan shudder before was dragged before him - Hogger called the corpse that brought it an idiot, and made it throw the dog away from the house.

Every now and then, the piggy little demon would take a big swig of the brown liquid he called cider from his mug, and then Evan would quickly fill the mug up from the bottle Hogger gave him.

When the bottle ran out, Evan could only hold it in mute horror, wondering if this was how he got caught. When Hogger asked for a refill, and Evan poured nothing from the empty bottle into his mug, thankfully he just sighed.

“Mark me well,” Hogger said. “Go behind the house. Find the large trough. Open the stopper and fill the bottle up. Then come back.”

Okay, Evan had to admit - he appreciated an employer who gave clear instructions. If it weren’t for the constant fear of getting murdered by demons or eaten by zombies or dying from breathing in too much dust, he might have liked this kind of job. He’d been a dishwasher in a kitchen before and been treated worse than a walking corpse in a hellish dump, somehow.

Still, he couldn’t stay here much longer. His legs were aching from standing for so long, and his knee was definitely about to give up soon. He needed to come up with some kind of plan. Hogger probably wouldn’t notice if Evan slipped away when he wasn’t looking, right?

But then where would Evan go? Maybe this was just hell, forever. Big dusty landfills and mute corpses. Was that better or worse than endless brimstone and lava?

The trough was exactly where Hogger described. It was like one of the big half-barrels Evan saw farmers put in cow fields to water their cows. Inside, it was filled with wet rotten fruit in brown water - mostly apples - and swarmed with flies and maggots.

Evan held back a gag as he gingerly filled the bottle up with rotten, fermenting apple juice. He couldn’t hold it back anymore when he saw a clump of mold slide into the bottle.

Surely this wasn’t what Hogger meant.

Feeling pure dread, he shuffled back to the demon’s side, and poured him a new glass. He waited for Hogger to sniff it and retch, to call him gormless, to smash the mug.

But the demon sighed appreciatively.

“Good batch of scrumpy this month,” he said, and then took a long sip.

Evan once again gagged, though he managed to keep it silent. He had to look away and think about unrelated things for a while.

The situation was becoming desperate. Evan was slowly remembering that he didn’t have a big breakfast this morning. He wasn’t sure how many hours he spent at Hogger’s side, but the demon never took a break. Or maybe he was on perpetual break - maybe he spent his whole life sitting on this chair, examining useless bits and pieces, chugging rotten swill, and being waited on by lost John Does.

When Evan bent down to pick up a broken desk fan, his stomach gave out a long, loud grumble. Oh, shit. No no no.

He slowly straightened up. But Hogger just huffed out that old sigh of his, voice gruff with frustration. “Don’t tell me you’re beginning to rot, Jeeves! I knew I never got any lucky breaks down here. Gormless thing. I’ll get Pevel to touch you up when she stops by.” He took a swig, smacked his lips, and dismissed the corpse that brought the fan. “Don’t touch reanimation myself. Narsty, horrible complicated, and too much risk of getting bit. Just don’t go slimy on me now, Jeeves, or I’ll have you out in the field turning over morsels.”

Evan didn’t say anything, obviously, but he wondered if this was his chance. He had no interest in meeting the mysterious Pevel at all. If she reanimated bodies, like Hogger suggested, then she’d probably realise he wasn’t dead at all.

Then he would be in big trouble.

Maybe, if he pretended to decompose a bit, Hogger would dismiss him - and then he could explore the tip and see if there was a way out. Ugh, he didn’t know what to do. Couldn’t he just run away right now? What was this old demon going to do about it?

The more sore and hungry Evan got, the more convinced he became that he could take this piggy thing, if it came to a scuffle. He just… wasn’t sure how.

Evan had never been in a fight. Well, maybe he did and now he couldn’t remember, but the point was, he didn’t know how to fight. He was sure it was fairly self explanatory, right? Just hit someone a bunch with your fists. Even better, if he could nab a weapon.

Before this train of thought could get much further, there was a sudden ring of distant bells. Hogger sat up, tiny eyes widening just enough to flash a rim of red at the edges.

“Oh ho, speak of the devil! Jeeves, go prepare my fine tea set.” When Evan didn’t move quick enough, Hogger slapped the arms of his chair impatiently. “Go into the house, gimwit, go into the cupboard, and bring out the tea collection! Wait, wait, wash it first, and bring the fermenting loaves too. Cut them up fancy.”

Evan’s ears pricked up when he heard “cut”. Maybe there was a knife inside the house. At least he could use it for self-defence, if nothing else.

Slowly, wincing as his knee complained the whole time, Evan dragged himself to the doorway of the dilapidated house and managed to pull the rusty door open.

Inside, it stank. Evan tried to breath through his nose. There was a bed in the corner, stained brown and yellow, and evidently a source of much of the bad smell.

On the other side, there were some cupboards and boxes full of junk. Taking his time, Evan scrabbled around for a knife, pulling aside old tea towels and kettles and plugs and mismatching plastic bowls turned bone yellow with age and dirt.

He found the tea set. He assumed it was a tea set. It was covered in chintzy flowers, weirdly delicate, as if it had just been pilfered from some grandma’s fine china cabinet. It was all chipped and cracked, but at least it wasn’t completely shattered.

Outside, the sound of heavy footsteps suddenly filtered through the chicken wire windows. Evan slunk up to the window, to see who was coming.

A hand drawn cart made its dusty way to the back of the house. Pulling at the front were two big guys - nope, bodies, definitely dead, but huge.

In the back sat a smaller demon wearing a very large hat. She had feathers for hair, and snaggle teeth sticking out at random from her mouth, but she couldn’t have been taller than Evan’s thigh.

Evan drew back a little and watched her. She rummaged around in the cart for a big, and then shrieked out:

“Hogger, I got something for you.”

Hogger yelled back, “well, come around, daft bint, and show me what it is!”

With a strength that didn’t match her size, the small demon pulled a body from the bed of her cart. Its limbs were stiff and skinny. It looked like a teenage boy.

Evan looked away, concentrating on her instead. He didn’t like the sharpness of her black talons, long and wicked, at the end of her fingers.

She trudged around to the front of the house, and threw the body down on the floor. “Eh? Eh? What about it?”

“What about it indeed,” Hopper said, groaning and pulling himself off the chair stiffly. Evan watched through a gap in the door, careful to stay in the shadows out of sight. “It’s blighted small. Where’d you get it?”

“Field of teeth,” she said, stretching out its limbs. “Reject from the Northern Army. Too small, the warlord didn’t want it. Immediately thought of you.”

Hogger huffed. “You saw a rejected runt and thought of me.”

“Yeah, you daft pig. But I also thought, eh, it’s small, it can reach into all those nooks and crannies. Go on, what do you say.”

Hogger whacked the legs and arms with his cane a few times. “Not bad quality. Hey! Wait a minute, his ankle is broken.”

“Do you want him or not! I’m not wasting a scroll on him if you’re not interested.”

After a moment of thought, Hogger nodded. “Alright, crank him up. He’ll replace my crawler soon enough, once that gives up the ghost.”

The new, small demon - this must be Pevel, Evan thought - got to her hands and knees. She felt for something in her coat where Evan couldn’t see, and then pulled out a scroll of black paper. In milky white paint, she had drawn some kind of complicated mixture of lettering and shapes - but then she pulled her hand out of sight, towards the corpse’s head, and Evan didn’t know what was going on.

“Jeeves! The tea set!”

Oh no. Hogger wanted him. Evan didn’t know what to do. Carefully, he gathered up the china in his arms, and then hobbled out the door.

With shaking arms, he placed everything carefully on the table. Pevel didn’t look up at him, too absorbed in her task - which was, he realised, slowly inserting the scroll into the corpse’s ear.

“Bah, bring out more cider too,” Hogger said. “And where are those fermented loaves? Go, go!”

Evan went back into the house, and started looking for a knife again. It was as he bent down to search under the cupboards that he heard a noise - a dry thump, a series of cracks, and a low voice whispering something he couldn’t understand but gave him goosebumps.

When he stood up and looked outside, the corpse was slowly pulling itself up off the floor.

Ah. So that was how it worked. Weird demons put paper in their brains and that made them walk around, somehow.

“I hate it when you do that,” Hogger said. “Is it obedient now?”

“I told it to do everything told, just like usual,” Pevel replied, clearly grinning. “Now cough up.”

Hogger muttered, but handed over the plate he had stashed under his chair. “How’s that?”

“It’ll do.” Pevel took a seat on the porch, watching the newly made walking corpse amble around as if confused. “It’ll take a moment to calibrate. You know how human bodies are.”

“Held together with string and spit,” Hogger agreed. “What I wouldn’t do to have a soul on my hands. None of this reanimation malarkey.”

“Funny you should mention it. Rumour says there’s a real human what fell into hell, soul and all.”

Evan stopped breathing. Uh oh.

“So what? They do that all the time. Daft things.”

“Yeah, but this one’s been claimed. Huge bounty on that soul.”

“Really now? By who?”

“By the western warlord,” Pevel said, voice dripping with intrigue. “He says the soul and the body are his, and he’ll shred anyone who separates them.”

What the fuck? Evan desperately wanted to know more. Who the hell knew he was down here already? Why did a warlord want him? Okay, obviously for nefarious purposes involving his human soul or whatever, but was that why the other demon chucked him down this slope? He didn’t want to get shredded?

Hogger let out a low, long whistle. “He scares me, Pevel, I’m not shamed to admit it. Crazy bastard. That poor human.”

“It gets worse.” Pevel’s voice got even lower, somehow. “There’s an angel been spotted rampaging towards the western warlord’s castle. Nobody’s got close enough to ask what for, but it’s obvious, int it?”

Evan’s heart suddenly bounced around his chest, so loud and strong he felt like he was going to fall over. Ruth? Did Ruth find out he fell down here? An angel coming to find a human - that had to be him, right? Evan couldn’t help but suddenly feel a wash of relief and hope.

“A blasted angel? What for?”

“You can go ask, not me! I don’t fancy being turned into ash today!”

He had to get to Ruth. Ruth would save him.

“How’d you know all this?”

“Cause I ran into old Chopper who knows Caver who trades eyeballs with Bobble, and he saw Flat Eye Hobert on the refuge road, and Flat Eye told him that two idiots tried to ransom a human to the western warlord and he wasn’t getting involved, no way. Apparently he chucked him down a rubbish pit. Idiot.”

“Hah, that’s funny,” said Hogger, suddenly thoughtful. “I just got a fresh body today. Looked like someone chucked it in the pit.”

Evan didn’t move. There was a long, heavy silence.

“You what,” said Pevel.

Quickly, he looked around. There was a gap in the wall leading to the back of the house. If he squeezed through…

“We can have a look at him,” Hogger said, clearly curious and skeptical at the same time. “Jeeves! Come here!”

Evan wedged himself in the gap. He was slightly too big - his belt buckle got caught on a bit of metal sticking out, and he got stuck.

Shit, shit, shit.

“Eh? Where is he?”

“He’s a bit slow. Jeeves!”

The metal screeched as Evan pulled himself free. His shirt got torn and his ankle twisted sharply, but he spilled out the other side, right behind the cider trough.

“What was that? Hogger, are you sure he’s dead??”

“Quick, quick, go in the house and grab him!”

Where could he go? Evan looked around. It was dark and foggy, sure, but he didn’t know which was was out. The cart had left a trail in the dust on the floor. Maybe he could follow it and escape.

“He’s not in here! He’s - oi, Hogger, he’s out back! You! Stop there!”

He had no time to run. Brain scrambled, he did what came naturally after watching his housemate play hours of GTA V on the living room TV. He hopped into Pevel’s cart, right into the driver’s seat, and looked for a way to make it go.

“Oi! He’s in my cart!”

The walking corpses yoked to the front didn’t move. Evan took a deep breath. Maybe they were like that teenager out there - maybe they just had a scroll in their brain that said “obey everything told”.

“Run,” he yelled.

The corpses picked up the handles to the cart, and started running.

“He’s - he’s alive! Human! Hogger, you wait here!”

Pevel burst from around the side of the house. Her eyes were blazing under her hat, feathers flapping as she started running after him. Evan made uncomfortable eye contact, and then yelled at the corpses louder: “run faster! Get out of this rubbish tip! Go, fuck, go the way you came!”

“Idiots!” Pevel screeched. “Don’t listen to him!”

The corpses slowed down. Evan yelled, “do listen!”, and they sped back up.

“Don’t listen!”

“Do listen!”

“Don’t listen!”

“Don’t listen to anyone but me!” Evan yelled. “And go faster!”

The corpses went at full tilt. Pevel was running fast, but her pin legs sank deep into the dust. She was making rude gestures at Evan, and even though he didn’t understand them exactly, he got the gist of it.

“Keep going,” he said, as the house, and the two demons, faded into the fog. “Don’t stop for anyone unless I tell you.”

Did the demon really not plan for this? He just told them to listen to him, and they did. Did nobody steal bodies around here? Evan was baffled, but thankful.

He clung to the front of the cart, watching the rubbish pit speed by. Dust flew in his mouth and his eyes again, but it was good to finally rest his legs. Everything hurt a lot, but nothing seemed broken somehow. Even his twisted ankle felt better now the pressure was off.

The cart seemed to retrace the way it came, judging by how it followed the trails in the dust. Around them, ambling bodies shuffled past, all looking for treasures in the junk. The slope of the ground gradually evened out, and as it did, the piles of rubbish got smaller and flatter.

When they went over a small bump, a corpse by the side of the road suddenly rang a bell. This must have been Hogger’s version of a security alarm, he thought, and then stared at the road ahead. Maybe this was the end of his territory, or whatever he thought the rubbish tip was.

The way ahead was just a packed dirt road, surrounded on all sides by looming black stone, which rose from the dust like sharp teeth. The dust cleared a little, but the ominous black clouds kept roiling overhead. The stink of sulphur came back. Evan’s throat ached with it.

He didn’t dare slow the cart down. When he looked back, all he could see was the dust cloud kicked up by the cart, obscuring anything behind him. It stung his nose and eyes. Everything smelled like charcoal and ozone.

The black rocks turned into a gorge. The rocks started getting higher and higher, almost joining above Evan’s head. Everything was cast in darkness, and the air was thick and stank down here. When he looked up, he spotted figures with ropes dangling into the gorge, as if trying to fish for something. He ducked down, hiding his face, hoping he was still covered in dirt enough to pass for a dead body.

Ruth was going to the western warlord’s castle, the small demon had said. Maybe he thought that Evan was already there. If that was the case, then if Evan went to the castle too, then they’d at least be closer to each other.

If anyone could help him bust back out of hell, it was his guardian angel.

But how could he get to the castle? It wasn’t like he could stop and ask for directions. The demon who heard him speak seemed to work out he was a live human pretty quickly, so he could only assume corpses were usually dead silent. Haha.

Maybe the corpses hauling the cart knew where it was. It was worth a shot.

“Excuse me,” he said to the corpses. “Take me to the western warlord’s castle. At full speed. Please.”

There was no acknowledgement of his words. Just blank empty stares, clumsy rapid footsteps, and hanging open mouths. Evan shuddered.

Settling back in the cart, he decided to have a rummage around and see what he could find. Pevel seemed to be some kind of wandering body trader - a reanimator, that was the word they kept using - but thankfully she wasn’t hiding any more bodies in here.

There was a cloth sack and a wooden box rattling around. Evan opened the wooden box first, hoping for something edible, but it was just a bunch of black paper scrolls. When he dug a little deeper, he found velvet bags, but they were just full of small dry bones and strange dice and old leaves that smelled foul.

They probably weren’t edible, so Evan put the box back.

When he opened the cloth sack, he found another, smaller cloth sack. Frustrated and unamused, he quickly untied the top.

There was another, even smaller, cloth sack.

So sue him. He was hungry and tired and in pain. His fingers weren’t working properly, and there was dust in his eyes. The cart was wobbling and jerking around on the uneven dirt road.

Maybe he wasn’t as careful as he should have been.

When he ripped into the final cloth sack, a burst of glittering pink powder bloomed out, right into his face. He accidentally took a deep, powdery breath. The soapy taste of lavender went down the back of his nose and burned his sinuses.

Evan didn’t move for a half second.

Not a smart move, he thought, and then-

✨⭐️✨⭐️✨⭐️✨⭐️✨

author’s note:

Thank you all for reading so far!! Next update soonish :) let me know what you think!

If you want to, you can come join our discord (link in the pinned post!)

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Also, look at this gorgeous sketch of Hogger drawn by the lovely CloverGhost on the discord :o :o :o isn’t he beautiful???

[slugterra-twisted-ends]

The Undying and the Deathsworn

Mira's great ancestors; Arabella the Undying and Levi the Deathsworn Knight.

Before the war between fallen Shadow Clan Cheiftain Lucifer and Shadow Clan Priest Amenadiel over one thousand years ago, the caverns could be accessed at ease. Trade routes between the Shadow Clan members and the cavern natives was common place, using the gateways to transfer goods.

However, when the war did rear its ugly head, Amenadiel sent off five messengers to seal off the gateways and protect the elemental slugs where they were stationed.

During the war, Arabella had laid down her life for the slugs and was granted a second chance by Uni himself to be his messenger and save all the caverns. She had proven herself as a protector of the slugs which convinced Amenadiel to allow her to pass through the gates. With her trusted Boon Doc by her side, she was tasked to find the five elemental slugs resting in the other cavern systems; Fire within the Pacific Caverns, Air in the Eastern Caverns, Energy in the European Caverns, Water in the Southwestern Caverns and Earth in the Southern Caverns.

Once all five elemental slugs were collected and the trials of the messengers passed, Arabella returned to the 99 and faced Lucifer and his army of corrupted Shadow Clan. Amenadiel, his clan, Levi and Arabella put up an incredible fight to put an end to Lucifer's rampage. That came at a cost; Levi was killed on the battle field by Lucifer's mutated foot crushing his rib cage. On the edge of the living and the spirit world, Levi could not accept his death. Then Uni came to Levi with a friend; Tarrothorn the Deathsworn; the ferryslug of souls. Uni and Tarrothorn offered Levi a position to save his life but at a cost; to become Tarrothorn's Deathsworn Knight, another ferryman to guide souls to the afterlife. Not wanting to leave his wife behind and die under the evil of Lucifier, he accepted.

Levi's body rose up, his cloak following with souls. The battle was on once more, Arabella and Levi taking the final blow to Lucifer. His soul was now marked for enteral punishment upon his death. He and his followers were banished to the Deep Caverns where the Shadow Clan sent all their traitors to rot. In fear of the potential harm that could be caused by the lingering members that had been caught yet, the gateway portals were sealed off.

Little did they know this mistake would make things far more troublesome in the future…

This all in turn led to the lack of history prior. The Priests were the only ones who held onto the knowledge of the gateways and even more so, the want to see how the other caverns were handling things.

Only Arabella and Levi had the means to travel through the caverns, even then so having to leave their children within each cavern so they may protect them with their healing abilities.

(Tarrothorn was made by my partner)

[schmuckered]

Lil first draft snippet from a future chapter of AA

“Can I just ask, and I know that this isn’t like, super popular for a question, but like… why didn’t you guys bring back Kip?” 

Ruben was nervous that he just offended Riz with the question, seeing as the goblin looked up at him with a piercing glance, but then he remembered that’s just how Riz looks at everyone. Riz sighed and put his hands together, resting his chin on them as he leaned forward onto his desk. “Do you remember Penelope Everpetal or Dayne Blade?” 

“Uh, vaguely? They were seniors when we were freshmen, right?”

“Yep. And they fought us, and they died, and they didn’t get brought back.” 

“Right…”

“Ragh also fought us, and also died, and we did bring him back.”

“OK… so um, what was the difference there?”

“Not much of one.” Riz said flatly. 

Ruben blinked. “Huh?”

“There really wasn’t much of one. We brought Ragh back because we needed info from him. That’s it.” The detective’s tone was so monotone that his words sent a chill up Ruben’s spine. 

“Oh.” 

“But then we let him live because we found out he didn’t really know anything. He was just being used.” 

Ruben nodded, still a little unsure about what was translating directly to his original question. 

“We brought you guys back because it looked like you were just getting used, too. And I’ll be honest in saying I don’t think all of us agreed that you all needed to come back. I think it’s good that you did, but still.”

Ruben licked his lips. “But not all of us.” 

Riz nodded slightly. “Not all of you. You know what the difference between you and Kipperlily is? It’s about as similar to Ragh and Dayne or Aelwyn and Penelope. The difference is: choice. Ragh’s choice was to follow the orders of one of the few good men in his life or get his life ruined, and not know that any of it was bad. Dayne’s choice was to kill innocent people or not and he followed every direction to a T and knew what it all entailed. Aelwyn’s choice was to follow the orders of an evil familiar of a dead god or die. Penelope’s choice was to sacrifice people she loved for just pure power and a title, and that’s it. You chose whether or not to be angry and live or die and be tortured in an afterlife for possibly an eternity. Kipperlily’s choice was whether or not to sacrifice her friends and possibly the whole world so she could finally feel special. That’s the difference, Ruben. That’s why we didn’t resurrect Kipperlily. Some people are misguided into doing wrong, some people are threatened into doing wrong. They deserve a second chance. Some people choose to do it only because they can benefit from hurting others. And those people deserve to stay in hell.”

A little voice in the back of Ruben’s head, the voice that reminded him of all of the times Kipperlily looked out for him in battle or hung out with him after class or was just a regular teenage kid, that voice made him speak out one last little defense. “But Kipperlily might’ve just gotten manipulated by Porter, right?”

“And maybe Penelope just got manipulated by Kalvaxus. Maybe she would've grown up to be less self-centered. Or maybe Dayne got manipulated by Daybreak. Maybe he would've grown up to be less racist or homophobic. But I went to hell in my sophomore year and I saw those two, and you know what, Ruben? They were thriving in hell. And I think Kipperlily might just be thriving there, too, from what you’ve told me. And I don’t want to see someone who thrives in hell walking the same streets as people that don’t want to hurt each other just for some kind of profit.”