#the monocle won't be enough anymore

[esteemed-excellency]

loving the idea of everyone on the airship getting psychic damage except Hiram who's like yepp. that sure is violant :) (he's also getting psychic damage but he's used to it)

[a-hazbin-reader]

Alastor X Reader Headcanons

✅️Romantic

❌️Platonic

Part One:

TW: Angst, Implied SA but it doesn't happen, More K-Drama BS

Description: Alastor and Vox both want you for themselves

The new normal at the hotel has been you doing everything you can to ignore Alastor while he tries to get your attention

Along with Vox showing up at the doorstep to make a point of seeing you or having gifts delivered to the hotel, gifts that you spurn harder than ever before

Which only makes Vox try harder and irritates Alastor further. In fact, their fighting has gotten downright nasty lately

But Alastor has definitely been trying to sweep things under the rug between you two while trying to discredit Vox at the same time

Usually, he saddles up next to you and is quiet for a good minute, making you relax slightly before he opens his mouth and ruins it

"Ah, did Vox give you that terrible contraption? Let me take care of that for you!"

In a flash the phone is snatched from your hands and being thrown away, the sound of breaking glass following

"MY WINDOWS!!"

It always ends in you leaving the room before Alastor even gets a chance to apologize because he can't just be normal about it

All his efforts to smoothly apologize to you just ends up pushing you away and things get more awkward around the hotel. For everyone

Alastor doesn't think to change his tactics because he thinks he has time to get you to warm up to him again

Unbeknownst to him though, the worse things get between you two, the more you feel like you don't belong at the hotel anymore

It's difficult to be around Alastor because part of you feels so drawn to him, but another part of you is still so hurt and angry at him

You had finally snapped at him one day after he had tried to dance with you to some tune on the radio, ripping your hand out of his grip and turning away

"Just leave me alone, Alastor. You've done enough."

You remember how he stopped in obvious surprise, his teeth clenching so hard that he drew blood as he struggles to get his next words out

"...As you wish, my dear."

And on top of that, you're feeling guilty for making things uncomfortable for everyone else at the hotel

So you say your goodbyes to everyone except Alastor and leave, something that's extremely hard for you to do

"Promise you'll come visit us, okay? We're gonna miss you so much!!!"

The poor girl is in tears, hugging you so tightly that you're afraid your body will break. Vaggie has to pull her off of you

"Charlie, please don't cry. It's not like I won't be around.."

It took everything in you not to let your gaze wander towards Alastor watching you on the banister with a tight smile on his face, his claws digging into the wood

You can't help but feel guilty as everyone hugs you goodbye and you make eye contact with him, his monocle cracking as you start to walk out the door

Just as you're about to shut the door behind you, you feel his breath on your neck and his hand on your wrist. You don't fight it as he slowly turns your body so that you're facing him

"Alastor-"

"Y/N, I know you want me to leave you be and I will respect that but please let me just say this..."

You match the intensity of his gaze, noses nearly touching, you can feel each other's hearts beating as hope starts to bubble up inside you

Hope that he'll apologize, that he'll ask you to stay and be here with him at the hotel, hope that swells even more inside you as he leans in

"Goodbye, my dear..."

The radio static in his voice glitches out from sadness, but it's nothing compared to how cold you feel as he takes off a bead from his monocle and places it into your hand gently

You stare at him as he folds your fingers gently over the onyx bead before ghosting his lips over your fingers as if sealing them

He's really letting you go? You can't help but stare at him, searching his face for a sign that he doesn't mean what he's saying

"Think of me from time to time, won't you? Consider this my parting gift."

Your cheek tingles where his claws brush against it momentarily before he's turning away and walking back into the hotel, a defeated aura about him

Watching him walk away feels like the air has been sucked out of you, your chest tight and eyes suddenly feeling hot

You've been trying and trying to get him to just leave you alone in the hopes that it would stop the pain you feel but now that he's truly done it you don't want him to

The moment Alastor is out of sight from everyone, he digs his claws into the nearest piece of furniture, his antlers coming out as he rips apart nearly everything in sight

He didn't want to let you go, but his desire for you to be happy outweighed his selfish desire to keep you

Now that he let you go, he realized the full extent of his feelings, that he had fallen for you and had hurt you deeply

And he's at a loss now of how to fix it

Falling asleep that night was impossible for you, you kept thumbing the bead Alastor had given you and thinking of him

You end up putting it on a piece of jewelry and wearing it, messing with it whenever you need comfort. Which happens to be a lot as you step into your new normal

You're walking back home one day when you're surrounded by thugs, all of them looking at you with ill intent as one of them grabs your arm

"I don't have anything to give you..! Let me go!"

One of the demons gives you an oily malicious look, pulling you up to his chest as you try to push him off of you

"Oh, I think you have plenty to give us, beautiful~"

You shut your eyes tight out of fear, knowing you're outnumbered, one of them grabs your face harshly and forces something bitter down your throat

"There~ Now you should be nice and pliant for us!"

You shudder in disgust as a tongue paints a horrendous smelling stripe across your neck, about to cry out when you're abruptly yanked away

Alastor!

You feel yourself pressed up against a firm chest, curled into strong arms, and instinctively wrap your arms around his neck

You hear static and shrieking but don't dare open your eyes for fear of tears falling and looking more pathetic than you already do

Once it goes quiet then you open your eyes, unable to keep the smile off your face at the thought that Alastor came to save-

"Vox..?"

He doesn't put you down, instead opting to carry you as he walks away from the bodies littered on the ground, a pleased look on his face

"Y/N, what are you doing out here all alone? You could've really gotten hurt if I hadn't stepped in!"

You do your best to quell the disappointment you feel and try to push off Vox's chest to look him in the eyes, only to find yourself overwhelmingly tired suddenly

You start to feel feverish, resting your head on his shoulder as your eyes grow heavy, a small part of you registering his hand on your forehead

"Don't you worry, baby. I'll take care of you."

You fist his shirt weakly as you start to lose consciousness, your free hand rubbing the bead Alastor had given to you

Your last thoughts are of Alastor and how you wish it had been him who saved you before everything goes to black

Vox carries you all the way to his home, letting the paparazzi take all the photos they want of the two of you and holding you close

It was pure luck that he happened to run into you, part of him can't help but think of how perfect it is as he lays you down in his bed

He strokes your cheek gently before pulling the covers over you, giving your forehead a gentle kiss before moving off the bed to go sleep in an armchair

Only to stop when he sees a bit of jewelry with a single black bead on it, taking it off of you for reasons he doesn't entirely understand

Reminds him of Alastor in a way he supposes

He orders some new clothes to brought up for you in the morning, settling down in the chair to watch over you

It feels right to have you here with him, after so much time and effort spent trying to convince you that you two would be good together

Hopefully after this you'll feel it too

As Vox drifts off to sleep, part of him hears you mumbling Alastor's name, but he chooses to assume you're having a nightmare

The next morning at the hotel, everyone is suspiciously silent when Alastor walks into the lobby, Husk quickly hiding a newspaper when he sees him

But he was too late, and Alastor zeroes in on him, his staff tapping menacingly on the floor as Alastor approaches the bartender

"Ah, hiding something from me, are we? My daily paper, no less!"

Husk nearly goes white when Alastor yanks the paper out of it's hiding spot, Charlie suddenly trying to distract the overlord

"Alastor! I was actually needing your help! Like right now-"

Alastor shoves her face out of the way of the paper, humming in slight annoyance at her outburst

"Now Charlie~ It's quite rude to interrupt someone like that."

Angel and Husk grab Niffty then dart out of the room as Alastor raises the newspaper to his face. Charlie and Vaggie watching nervously as Alastor's body tenses and there's an audible crack of glass

Suddenly, the newspaper is crumbled together, then violently opened again just to be torn apart

"Breaking News! VoxTek CEO has new beau? Love birds caught after wild night out!"

All the pain of missing you and the regret from letting you go finally boiled over as he read the headline. The photos made his blood boil, and Alastor knew he had to do something

The entire hotel shakes as Alastor abruptly stands up, his smile a twisted snarl as he pulls his coat on to leave

Charlie is the one who stops him, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving him a worried look

"Alastor! Where are you going?"

He has anger radiating off of him, Charlie can see that he's seething as he shakes her hand off and exits the hotel in a huff

"I'm going to get Y/N back."

Part Three:

[fulcrum-agent]

010. Heady [FFXIVwrite2021]

His voice comes over the Linkpearl unexpectedly.

"A-Aquila......Father is here...I don't know what to do; he's standing right outside Calcifer.....what do I do?" He says in a slightly panicked tone.

"You stay the fuck in the lab and let me deal with him," she replies immediately.

She's given a timid reply, "Ok...."

"Once some ground rules are out, I'll let you know," she explains to him. "But he gets to find out all the ways he will die if he messes with you."

His voice pitches upward a little as he asks, "A-are you bringing Leth? Rolno? Locke? any kind of backup?"

"Locke's still recovering, Rolno's about to get laid, and Leth got shanked earlier," she explains calmly. "Besides, I don't NEED back up now, thanks to Merrick."

Sounding more than just a little concerned, he murmurs, "Alright..."

Their father takes a sip from the cup in front of him as she arrives. Upon seeing him, she draws her blade, assuming the same stance that the former Blade who owned it used.

"...what are you doing here?" she asks coldly.

The man, without looking up, speaks - his cold, nearly monotone, and emotionless voice carries over the wind.

"Is that any way to address your Father? Daughter of mine, I taught you better."

He finally stands up and brushes himself off, and faces her fully, his hands neatly folded behind his back. His eyes looked down at the sword, then back to her; a slightly raised eyebrow was the only indication that he had acknowledged the weapon.

"You PROGRAMMED me - you didn't teach," she corrects him harshly, not taking well to him using that particular phrase. "Not that such'll save you anymore. One of your little projects saw to that."

The man tilts his head. "Oh?"

"Yeah. C-04-01B. Merrick. Somehow, you managed to make him even more monstrous than yourself," she retorts sharply, blade still ready to strike. "Again. Why. Are. YOU. Here."

Her father seems lost in thought for a moment.

"Interesting, I was sure I destroyed him when he malfunctioned.....I suppose he must have found an escape and has since degraded since his creation," He did not seem too concerned with the escaped Clone. "It took me quite a while to find you and Liocyon; I've come to bring you home....seeing as you failed to even do that."

"Spoilers: We're not going, and you've lost the power to make us," she immediately slings at him, still debating on just attacking him. "It was NEVER in the plan to go back, especially after finding out why Lio left."

He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose as he replies, "These antics of yours are growing tiresome, my child."

"You created them at the end of the day," she points out. "I'm pretty sure you were entirely aware of how trying to enslave me was gonna work out."

She's given what passes for an incredulous look by her father as he echoes, "Enslave? is that what you think I was doing?"

This finally breaks from her calm tone of voice.

"Septimus is DEAD because of what you did!" she shouts at him, giving him a gaze that likely has made some random primal rollover disturbed in their sleep. "YOU should be the dead one."

He gave the barest hint of emotion at the mention of Septimus's name; his eyes seemed to soften just slightly.

"What happened to your brother....was a tragedy," He said in a slightly softer tone, "Believe me when I say....that I grieved with the rest of you."

"If that's fucking so, why did you even programme me to kill our family!" she shouts; for the moment, the last vestiges of the conditioning can't fight past her seething rage. "I nearly killed LIO because of your bullshit!"

The almost emotionless state returns the response, "Better to die at the hands of a family member than one of these barbarians."

"If not for these 'savages', Merrick would have succeeded. You're only dealing with me because they rescued me," she retorts hotly, clearly provoked by his words. "If not for them, Lio would be dead. Because that's Merrick's goal - to replace my brother."

This actually gives her father pause before he brushes the information off again.

"That clone is delusional; I never made him for that purpose, for replacing Lio."

"Intent or not, that's what's going on, Father," she counters, the last word sounding like pure venom. "You've created one hell of a mess. He's MURDERED dozens of people - 'savage' and Garlean alike."

Her father furrows his brow as he flatly states, "A pity but hardly my problem or my concern."

"Oh?" she slowly lowers Talekeeper, assuming her...perceived lack of a stance. "Actually, it is. And you're going to fix it."

She's given what passes for a quizzical look as he states, "There is nothing to fix."

"Yeah. There is. Put on that damned monocle and LOOK," she orders him. "There's something only you can repair. It's the only reason you're not dead."

Without bothering to do as asked, he questions, "And what is that?"

"I have an aetherpool. Two pre-teen kids worth of aether. Enough to use aether," she explains to him, like he's five, "but not enough to dispatch your monster."

He makes a motion for her to continue, seeming undisturbed by this news, and she sighs a little.

"I...need you to finish what he attempted. So that I can eliminate the threat he poses to Liocyon," she explains, voice returning to that sort of mimicry of his own. "But don't think I won't stab you, somewhere non-fatal, if you do ANYTHING to Lio."

The man quirks his brow. "You want me to...expand your limited aetherpool?"

She nods at Cicero, "Yup."

"If this conversation had happened a few years ago, I would say it's impossible...." he ruminates before stating, "as it stands, I think I have knowledge and capability to do as you ask; there is one hiccup, though."

Her eyes narrow at him.

"Hiccup? The fact your lab in the Capital can't be accessed?" she asks him.

The man's lips form a thin smile as he gives what might be a mock-praise, "What a smart girl you are."

She smirks a little at that.

"Smart enough to know how to get all your equipment out," she almost teases him.

"Not only my lab equipment but my research notes..." he emphasises, "unless you have a team willing to infiltrate Empire territory and access my lab."

"Pfft. We HAVE your notes already. Tana grabbed every tomestone that wasn't nailed down when she left," she explains to him. "What we don't have, currently, is any of your equipment or anything close enough to it. All that shit here is Sharlayan."

He shrugs and continues, "If you can bring me my equipment, I can work on your little request...I have a condition, though."

She rolls her eyes faintly. "Because, of course, you do."

"I want to see Liocyon."

"And I have conditions on that," she retorts immediately, voice razor-sharp. "You do ANYTHING harmful to him; I will make you regret it. Slowly."

"To the pain."

With a faint sigh and a small wave of his hand, he agrees, "Your theatrics are noted. I assume he is inside that......establishment."

She nods once.

"Yeah, but Calficer's more likely to kill you than let you in," she somewhat smugly points out. "I can go get him, though."

He makes a motion, "By all means."

She decides to prove a point before such. Without warning, she blinks into the Lifestream only to reappear with her sword right across Cicero's neck, edge gently touching such - enough to leave an extremely thin red mark but not enough to cut deeply.

"Just remember my conditions, "Father," she states before blinking again, displacing back to where she was before turning to get Lio. Talekeeper stays out.

Her father seems unphased by the threat "Noted."

She enters the House of Mystery, looking to her pacing brother immediately. "He's aware of the conditions."

Her twin turns paler shade. "He's not g-gone?"

"Nope. We've a little arrangement. He's allowed to speak to you, so long as he doesn't do anything shitty," she explains to her twin. "If he does ANYTHING harmful, I'm corps-a-corps'ing his dick."

He takes a deep breath, his body trembling slightly.

"Alright..." he says weakly. "Ok...just....stay with me, please."

She nods at Lio, grinning. "He can't stop me anymore," she reminds Lio, "so I'll be right beside you unless I have to suddenly castrate him."

Her reflection nods before looking to the door. "Alright then..."

Aquila Aurelius returns with Lio in tow, the rapier still out and perhaps at the ready. Her lack of stance is maddening to anyone who knows how to sword fight.

After they exit the house, her brother stands behind her. "H-hello F-Father...." *He says weakly, his eyes looking towards the ground.*

Cicero Aurelius would calmly watch his daughter and son exit the building, a small smile turning the corner of his lip* "Liocyon....you've changed quite a bit since I last saw you, have you finally embraced science?"

She mutters, "...wears the coat better than you ever did..."

Her twin looks over at her before looking back to his father, trying to explain himself, "I have...it was...it was required, someone needed it..."

Their father looks over to her for a moment before looking back to Lio and nodding.

"Good, good..." He takes a few steps forward as he speaks, "You look so much like your mother....she wanted to be here, you know.."

She glares at him at the mention of their mother, despite the accuracy. "Then why isn't she?" she retorts sharply.

Their father gives her a look as he answers, "It is unsafe for us outside of the safehouse."

Her twin takes a step forward as he eagerly asks, "Mother is here? what about the others?"

She moves her blade between her reflection and their father.

"Ah ah ah," she notes to their father. "And who the fuck's fault is it that she's not safe?"

"The fool that sits on the throne now," the man said simply. "He turned our country into a damn cult."

This causes her blade to focus on their father again, pointed aimed right at his throat as she retorts, "Nah. YOU made it, so none of us are safe outside the estate."

Shaking his head, the man intones, "Everything I did was to make it safe for you and Liocyon."

Her brother gently places his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her, softly murmuring, "Aquila.."

Reluctantly, she drops the sword away from their father's throat, though Talekeeper remains out.

"I don't think experimenting on your own kids and turning them into monsters is really for the best," she points out with a huff.

"Perhaps one day you will understand what I was trying to do,"

their father sighs, "In any case, fine....bring me my equipment, and I will expand your aetherpool...after that, perhaps we can sit down and discuss things as adults?"

Her twin looks between her and their father, moving closer to his sister.

She shakes her head at her brother a little bit.

"...he wasn't supposed to know that, but...fine," she concedes, looking at their father before adding, "...but the conditions stand, even then."

For his part, the man makes a mock 'oops' face as he flippantly states, "My mistake, but fine."

"...I have a shorter blade that I can use," she points out. "Won't kill you, but it'll hurt."

Their father waves his hand as he mocks, "Yes, yes, you're threats are noted...I will take my leave; contact me as soon as you have my equipment."

She nods once, Talekeeper remaining out until he's well and gone.

"Yeah, sure. Say hi to mum for us," she quips.

The man looks back at Lio. "It was.....good to see you again, son."

Her reflection nods as he murmurs, "Father..."

In a flat tone, as he turns, their father states, "Aquila."

"Father."

((Adapted from an RP with Liocyon.))