#this form is kinda perturbing......
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Luffy taking off his chanclas THIS IS GETTING SERIOUS
#this one is so funny ahdkajdk just doing raspberries on his arm#see how mingo laughs.... well it's about to become hilarious i know it...#the white smoke around him hehe i know what is coming#this form is kinda perturbing......#disturbing????#'while reforcing his skin with haki his tension augments' learning physics with doffy#'he is nothing more than rubber' talk about that with enel lmao#luffy needs to grab mingo and throw him into his cage and either he dies or takes it down to survive.... this is my design#talking tag#watching one piece#episode 726#luffy sounding like a pinball machine....#DOFFY IN THE ROCKS CRUCIFIED LIKE WHEN HE WAS A CHILD!!! I GOT THAT REFERENCE#now to confront HIS sins against the people#the commentator blushing when he realizes who luffy is ahdkajs#'are you mugiwara no luffy?' 'eh? huh.'#luffyyyy noooooo :((?#THE FUCKING BRUGESS GUY I WILL KILL YOU#KOALA FINISH HIM#SABOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! END HIMMM!! I WANT HIM CHARRED!!!!!! OBLITARATED!!! TURND TO ASHES!!!!!#now the citizens turn on him!!! disgraceful!!!!#FUCK OFF AND DIE ALREADY MINGO!!!!! FUCK OOOOFFFF#episode 728#MINGO DIEEE ALREADYYYYY#the commentator!!!! omg!!!#i cant see luffy like this i am not strong enough#'it's ace's life. i don't hold a grudge' YOU DON'T?????#i guess thats why you didnt go to impel down to save him.... okay i get it.....#luffy being so relieved sabo got ace's fruit đđ#episode 729
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May I request a yandere bat family with a Venti! Reader who has powers similar including his personality (except the reader doesn't drink alcohol)
I love your writing take care đâ¨â¨â¨
B-but Ventiâs whole personality is about alcoholism-
Iâll try my best tho so here ya go.
TW/CW: Reader takes the form of Bruce/Damianâs ancestor so they have black hair. But it isnât their true self so make of it as you will. Soft Yandere. Multiple Invasions of Privacy.
YANDERE! BATFAM x VENTI! READER
Youâre an immortal wind spirit. You reached the level of godhood quite a while ago and spent your days roaming the Earth.
Letâs say you were friends with Bruceâs (and therefore Damianâs) ancestor long ago, and after their death you took their shape.
Knowing these twoâs genes you were quite the good looking fellow. Almost blending in as their distant relative.
You have no need for food, or other basic necessities. Hell you didnât even need to go to school as your dominion over the wind allows you to know everything that has been spoken.
But you took it upon yourself to always be there to guide your friendâs progeny, and thus you found yourself in Damianâs school as his classmate.
You seemed pretty lax. Carefree. Maybe even lazy. Damian didnât really care much about you aside from the fact that you looked a bit similar to his father. Many people had black hair anyways. Itâs not like you were super cute and his eyes kept wandering back to you or anything.
But then you aced many of the classes.
He never saw you study. In fact you spent most of the class trying to distract him or conversing with his other classmates.
This caused him to do an investigation about you, where he found out that you donât even exist.
At least in the eyes of the government and even the files his father kept.
You meet Tim similarly. Letâs say you three of you go to the same college and similar to Damian, you also decided to take care of the other batfamily.
âŚ
You kind of bullied the poor guy.
You clicked pretty quickly and he was swift to start stalking you. But then also found himself with the same trouble of your ânon-existenceâ. But unlike Damian who launches a full investigation, Tim has a one track mind.
He results to surveillance.
Dude has no care whatsoever about your privacy. He watches you wherever you go.
You know this, and are kinda bummed that you have to pretend to pee and do other human things. But since youâre immortal and well- know everything- you donât have a sense of privacy + donât react like a normal person.
Instead you pay him back by bullying him on his perversions
Like when he jerked off to you changing clothes
Or his secret collage of you which definitely contained photos of you being naked.
People are kind of offput by how Tim is obsessed over you, but are just completely baffled by how you reacted.
Like instead of going to the police or something you breach his privacy back instead and expose him. You donât even seem perturbed just annoyed too.
In any case all this, including Damianâs investigation leads to you confessing the truth, and telling them that you were there to be a guide and whatnot.
Of course, everyone but Tim are a bit skeptical. But ever since you began helping them in vigilantism and showing just how much you knew and helped them they eased up.
Bruce has a little resentment since you werenât there when his parents were killed. But gets over it once he found out how youâve been tirelessly repenting
By stalking them
But I mean at least you tried
The rest Iâll cover more in the other ask that also requested Venti! Reader. Hopefully Iâll get to that soon.
EXTRA: Damian definitely witnessed your exchange with Tim and was jealous that you were giving his predecessor attention.
So he bullied him with you.
#yandere concept#yandere#yandere x reader#yandere imagine#batfam#yandere batfam#yandere batfam x reader#batfam x reader#batfam x you#yan batfam#yandere batman#yandere robin#yandere robin x reader#yandere bruce wayne#yandere tim drake#yandere damian wayne#damian wayne x reader#tim drake x reader#bruce wayne x reader#yandere damian wayne x reader
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đ â intrusion
now presentingâŚ
đ kinktober | week two â mask kink and semi-public sex
đŞ ghostface! miguel oâhara x fem! reader đŞ
𩸠summary: run baby, run⦠(inspired from a tiktok. I tried to put the link, but I can't. Tumblr is being a butt rn)
𩸠content warning: reader and miguel are in an ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP (Yâall freaky frogs), predator/prey dynamic (kinda but not really tho), eccentric behavior on both parties, mask kink (?), anal and vaginal penetration, cat and mouse chase, fucking in the woods, rough sex, VIEWERâS DISCRETION IS ADVISED AND OOC MIGUEL
𩸠word count: +1.0k words (I had to cut this DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY OMG)
𩸠authorâs notes: this was a fic that took a while to work on. viewerâs discretion is advised as this has very dark content as this displays essentric behavior on Miguel and the reader. (AGAIN, MIGUEL IS OOC)
đ not proofread! đ
link to â kinktober m.list
The anticipation killed you, nagging at you like a girlfriend pushing her ignorant boyfriend to spend time with her. After making an unexpected trip to Spirit Halloween with Miguel, the quips of mask kinks came into the store, specifically to the variety of Ghostface masks. The mask was still a prominent item to purchase, either bedazzled or showing its original look. But after the quips turned into a new thing to try, the clerk gave Miguel and you judging looks, with an employee smirking at Miguel. But here y'all were, in the middle of a thicket of woods behind a cabin you Airbnb-ed, after planning this night to the point it felt worn out like old converse to you and Miguel.
You mindlessly run deep into the woods with nothing but a tank top and underwear you picked. The race in your heart skipped a few beats, the pattern becoming unrhythmic and incomprehensible. The drumming became unbearable to withstand as your legs acted before a comprehensible thought crossed your little mind. His hands squeezed around your waist gently, causing you to squeak out into a fit of laughter.
His desire for you grew, seeing you in that white tank top waiting to be ripped off and accompanying the dead leaves. Pinning you down to the nearest tree, his fingers probed at your clothed entrance, the tips of his fingers tracing the slit-like entrance. âEstĂĄs tan mojada, hermosa.â He croons. His fingers bully their way past the gusset of your underwear, shoving the silky material to the side and shoving his fingers instead. Your pain moan filled the empty forest immediately, his fingers bullying their way in while his thumb circled tight, small circles around your clit, coaxing it to arousal.
The palm of his hand covers the bottom half of your face, shoving you against the scratchy, dry tree bark. âKeep it down. We don't wanna get uncalled attention.â He quips. He ooks deep into your eyes, and in the glisten in your eyes, he could have sworn to see little hearts in the shine of your eyes, intoxicated by his touch.
He moved his hand away from your lips and held onto the hem of the tank top before shoving said hem to your lips, shoving the cotton material between your teeth. You happily oblige, your teeth sinking into the cotton, your skin forming goosebumps against the dry material. âThere we go.â His hands caress your figure, hand squeezing your breast and slapping it after.
His hand reached down his jeans, unzipping and freeing his aching, leaky cock, begging for your walls to vacuum him in. A perturbe idea came to mind, causing you to smirk and squirm free from his hold, rushing deep into the forest. His hushed profanity could be briefly be heard had his footsteps follow behind.
âRun, baby. Because when I catch you, you are going to be screaming.â
Being slammed down to the ground sucked the lungs out of both of yâallâs lungs. You giggled hysterically, feeling Miguelâs hands work quickly on the waistband of your panties. Being forced on your hands and knees stung, the dead leaves and sticks digging into your skin, but the warming boil in your lower stomach took over.
You involuntarily squirm your hips to free yourself from the soaking undergarment. âMira lo mojada que estĂĄs para mi.â His fingers run down your entrance, collecting your sticky discharge on his fingers and coating his tip. âYouâre such a good girl, arenât you?â He exhaled through his teeth.
His hand is wrapped around the arousing length and taps his tip against your entrance. Glancing over your shoulder, you shoot an annoyed look. âReally?â You exhale the question. âCanât go breaking, canât I, cariĂąo?â Miguel smirks, your cheek engraving a cheek mark on the loose dirt. You raise your rear to his hips, barely feeling his tip slip into your pussy. âNo, not yetâŚâ He chuckles, moving the tip upwards. âJust trust me on this.â He taps at your tight hole. âOkayâŚâ You whine before the slow stretch and burn overwhelms you. âJesusâŚ!â You cry out, burrowing your face into the dead leaves. âYouâre taking me so well, cariĂąo.â
âYouâre so bigâŚâ You babble to him as your fingers reach up to play with your needy pussy. âTell me something that I don't know.â His voice purrs, shoving your hand away and using his instead, working on your puffy clit.
A string of profanity escaped your lips, keeping up with the overstimulation. âYour ass is gripping me like a vice, like it never wants to let me go.â Your hands grasp onto the dead leaves while your eyes roll up to your skull, the burning subsiding into pleasure. A breathless moan escaped, keeping up with the soft thrusts.
His fingers push in, bullying into your fluttering walls. âGood girl.â He purrs, his soft thrusts whiplashed you, sucking the air out of your soul.
The struggle was in the air as your lungs exhaled more air. Only soft, struggling groans escaped, barely strong enough to produce a moan.
âThere we go, you're doing so well.â Miguel fetes, slowly retreating his fingers away from your greedy pussy. âKeep doing what youâre doing. Being a pretty little thing for me.â
The painful lights of white light brightened the environment. You glanced over your shoulder at the familiar pink phone case above you. âYou look beautiful, querida.â He rasps, and his slow thrusts become harsh and rapid. Strings of profanity escaped both of yâall as you reached down to play against your clit instead. âKeep goingâŚâ He whispers. His hips snapped against yours, his balls slapping against the swell of your rear.
âIâm almost, almost there.â He exhales and yanks off the Ghostface mask, showing his sweaty yet glistening face. The perspiration dripped onto your backside, the sweat droplets rolling down your skin.
The barely comprehensible response you could produce, let alone give is the sound of a soft splash under you, landing on the decaying leaves. âIâm almost thereâŚâ He repeats before he pulls his cock out and groans. The new sticky warmth splattered against your back, allowing his semi-hard cock to rest against the plush of your rear. âYou look so pretty, hermosa.â The shudder sound of the camera on your phone greets you back to reality.
âYou look so pretty in the color white.â
tag list:
@hyjionie @zaunsin @kavimoo
#kinktober 2024#kinktober#miguel o'hara#atsv miguel#miguel x reader#miguel spiderman#across the spiderverse#miguel o'hara x reader#miguel x you#miguel fanfic#miguel ohara#miguel ohara fanfiction#miguel smut#miguel o'hara smut#miguel o hara#miguel x y/n#miguel oâhara x reader#miguel ohara x fem!reader#miguel ohara x reader smut#miguel ohara smut#miguel ohara x y/n#miguel ohara x you#miguel ohara oneshot
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Salvador
|Better Call Saul|
Part I Part II
Word count: 17k
Lalo Salamanca x Fem!reader
Summery: Reader just wanted a fresh start, but when she starts working in a care home, it seemed that she bit off more than she could chew when she meets a member of her clients family.
Warnings: (this story has smut but not in part 1), slow burn, age gap, mentions of past domestic violence/toxic relationship, manipulation, intimidation, pet names (niĂąa, niĂąita, princesita, CariĂąo, Ratoncito) Spanish (have a translator ready),Lalo kinda comes with his own warnings,
Notes: this is dedicated to my dear friend @mandowifey who was a massive part of the creation of thisâŚcouldnât have done it without youđ¤
â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘
Even with a world on fire, we often dare to place our faith in the hands of someone who we hope we are not naive to trust. It is perplexing just what desire and blind devotion will drive a person to do. Even in our wildest dreams we cannot imagine what our actions will bring us, or who.
It is a daring game of chicken, so to speak. Seeing who will break first- you or life. Who will bend. Who will be kinder. Who will show love.
Love in and of itself is a treacherous thing. Itâs beauty when it is alive and blazing, and the sorrow it brings when it whithers and putrefies.
And you knew it all.
All too well.
There was something comforting in standing under the baking sun of the southern state of New Mexico. With just a suitcase that held a toothbrush, bandages, $3026.50 and a change of clothes, you felt like a little waif from a book published centuries ago. Malnourished, exhausted, nerves shot half way to hell, and bruises still healing. You hoped there was a childish charm to how you looked, but you knew that hope was silly; you resembled more of a drug addict than a stubborn child that wouldnât come home for supper.
â-miss?â
The first half of whatever had just been asked of you was lost on you; after you had nearly frozen to the spot after exiting the airport, numerous strangers had stopped to ask if you were alright. You forced your eyes to refocus, and found that you were being spoken to by an older woman who looked half irritated and half perturbed. Despondency had that effect on people.
ââŚIâm- Iâm sorryâŚwhat?â You managed. Perhaps the Albuquerque sun had begun to bake your brain.
The woman sighed. She was decidedly more irritated. âChrist, I just asked if you were taking this cab!â She said, nodding to the yellow vehicle that was just several feet from you.
You stared at her, then offered her a small smile and shook your head. âItâs all yours.â
There was an uncomfortable lightness to your voice as you fought to stay connected to your body and not float away to Mars. Even you knew it. You didnât sound like you. Hell you didnât even look like you.
The woman said something about you taking long enough to answer something simple, but if you were honest you were proud of yourself for even being able to answer her. Just 10 hours ago you had been unable to even form a sentence as your body was plagued with panic; frantically packing what you needed in the span of 5 and a half minutes while your boyfriend - now ex- had been on the phone in the other room. You could still hear the sound of him yelling your name as you jumped in your car and peeled down the street before he could hurt you anymore.
Your heart still hurt from how hard it had been beating.
The taxi pulled away and you watched it go. A warm breeze slipped up your legs, and once it brushed your finger tips, you felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped from a hundred feet above you with you as itâs sole target.
Your eyes stung.
Your fists clenched.
But you had no more tears. Not for him anyway.
You might morn the death of who you used to beâŚthe bright young girl who had a sparkle in her eyes and had yet to see the devil. Your heart broke when you thought of her.
But there was no bloodâŚno bodyâŚnothing left to even hint that she was there to begin with. And there was nothing you could do about it.
â˘Three months laterâ˘
âMrs. Creaner, I know the water tastes funny but I told you- you canât keep asking your granddaughter to smuggle in alcohol now hand it over.â
âThis is supposed to be a free countryâŚâ she grumbled as she rooted around over her thigh in her wheel chair, and produced the flask.
You suppressed a smirk at her antics, and held out your hand.
âMaâam your granddaughter is 7 years old.â You sighed, handing her a styrofoam cup as she begrudgingly handed you the little metal flask.
âSmarter than a lot of you in here too.â She folded her arms and slumped in her wheelchair, âIf youâre going to take that from me at least do your job and take me to bingo.â
You nodded and took the handles of the chair and began to push.
The job opening at Casa Tranquila had been a godsend to you all those months ago. Living out of a cheap motel was not ideal, and working in a comfortable retirement care facility on the outskirts of Albuquerque was just what your nerves needed. It certainly came with its difficulties, namely mediating your emotions and avoiding getting your ass pinched, but it paid your bills and gave you a great sense of purpose. In some way it made you feel as if you actually had a family that cared about whether you woke up in the morning.
It was no dream job, but it was what you needed. It kept you occupied and kept the heavy sense of loneliness at bay.
â- we do have to move you. Hector come on now, itâs just like everyday.â Came the voice of one of the senior nurses, Ellie.
You glanced over your shoulder and watched as she wheeled a very displeased elder man in the same direction as you were walking Mrs. Creaner. With careful steps so as to not trip, you turned and cast the man a greeting glance.
âGood afternoon Hector.â You said simply but cheerfully, then nodded to your co-worker in acknowledgement.
The manâs permenant frown twitched.
Hector Salamanca was a fairly new addition to the home, having been emitted just two months after you had started. And if you were honest, he was disliked; staff and patients found him difficult to deal with- which you found unfair. It wasnât his fault that he could only communicate via the tapping of a single finger, blinking and limited facial expressions. It wasnât as if he wasnât coherent too, you knew very well that whoever Hector was before his stroke, he was still very much present behind those greying brown eyes. Certainly he was a grumpy old man, but if you had been in his position you were certain you wouldnât exactly be a peach.
If anyone took a moment to watch most of the residences, theyâd see just how alive most of them were despite their aging bodies; Hector was no different. He had fellow patients who he disliked; enjoyed knocking various objects over to make nurses have to bend over; he had his specific things he liked and didnât like.
He was still every bit a red blooded man.
And while you werenât one to play favourites, he was probably the closest thing to it.
You liked that he didnât hide himself away. He was brash and blunt in his ways- non-verbal or not. Then there was a loneliness in his life that reflected your own; kindred spirits in a way. It pained you to see it at an old age like his. He had very few visitors, aside from when he had initially been dropped off by two men who must have been identical twins. You knew he couldnât be all bad, and knew that a great deal of his anger must have come from his lack of contact to what family he had, and his inability to communicate. He was only human.
Just as you had expected, Hector made no move to acknowledge that he had heard your greeting. As per residence policy, each client was called by their first name, but since the first day you met that man, you had noted that he seemed more displeased by the informality. He looked furious when he had been wheeled around that first day and introduced as Hector; corners of his mouth pulled tight and down to his chin, eyes wild, nose twitching. Irate.
Your suspicions were only reinforced when you âaccidentallyâ called him SeĂąor Salamanca; he had actually looked you in the eye. A rare occurrence.
With that level of pride, you pondered that he must have been respected or feared before being placed under your careâŚor simply had a massive ego. And if he wasnât around for that much longer and was barely existing, you saw little issue with making him feel like his old self by addressing him more formally.
Hector didnât like a lot of people. Didnât tolerate them. But he liked you.
Plus you gave him the best jello flavours.
Once the senior nurse placed him in the spot she deemed appropriate, you watched her walk away before dipping your head down to his level, like you always did.
âBuenos dĂas, Sr. Salamanca.â You said, and smiled when you saw his head twitch ever so slightly in your direction. And that smile only grew when you saw him tap his finger. You hoped it was his way of returning the greeting, either that or he wanted to tell you to shove said greeting where the sun donât shine.
You hoped he was saying hello. You hadnât accomplished a great deal in your short life, and you liked to think that making the grouch at work a little happy could be added to your list.
Your days looked very much the same. A nightmare would wake you up at 5am almost every morning, as much as you hated to admit it. You hated how small you felt. Visions of being back with him, under his thumb and living to please him with no favour returnedâŚno love to feel. His voice in your headâŚhis manipulations. You often awoke with your stomach in knots.
You could never get back to sleep after.
By the time the alarm you set sounded at 6am, you would be ready to leave your small apartment. Then it was a half hour drive to work. At Casa Tranquila, you would check in, bring your assigned patients their morning medication and start their routine. The same faces came and went, it was almost a blur some days. But you loved the blur. You needed it. Your mind had only started to heal once your days became blurs that bled into each other, and you were uncertain of what might happen if you changed that.
You pulled your keys from the ignition, and took a long breath deep into your chest. You felt an ache in your chest with how full your lungs were, and only released when you began to feel lightheaded.
Another day.
Having finished with the lunch duties, you took a moment to stretch your back in the nurseâs station before squaring your shoulders like you were tougher than you were. You began your rounds, checking on each elder during visiting hours, and went to enter the main seating area when you stopped short of the simple room.
Your feet ceased to move.
Your eyes went wide.
For the first time since you had met Hector Salamanca, there was someone sitting with him that wasnât paid to.
A man, to be specific.
He was knelt down in front of Hector with his back to you, and spoke with an almost child-like glee to him. A ringing formed in your ears, and it took you a long minute to finally realize the ringing was not just in your ears at all; the crisp sound of a service bell rang out in the room, and as you stared, you came to find that the sound was coming fromâŚHector.
Indeed there was a small bell catching the sunlight on the arm of his chair right where his mobile finger usually sat.
You felt happiness fill you as the initial shock subsided. It was a mutual loneliness that had made you take interest in Hector to begin with, and you foolishly hoped that perhaps someone would cure your solitude like this man cured his.
You were staring.
Evidently too long as well, as another harsh ring snapped you out of whatever trance you had been in. Now, however, you could see Hectorâs harsh gaze on you- his mouth twitching as he rung the bell again. Clearly having Hector not fully pay attention to him made the man pause whatever he had been discussing. He murmured something to the elder man, and Hector rang his bell again.
You told yourself to just keep walking. But you couldnât.
The man sat before your patient seemed to catch on, and followed his gaze, which lead to him turning his head, and finally seeing you.
It was his eyes that struck you first.
They glittered like warm honey.
The man looked between you and Hector and murmured something to him, which was met with the usual verbal silence, then he muttered something else and it resulted in a ring. You hoped to God that meant something positive because you had just noticed yet another man standing who you had never seen before standing just a few feet behind the crouched man. He looked very much like some kind of body guard, rather than a friend or family; your heartbeat picked up and you began to wonder just who Hector was. Certainly you had thought he must have been the head of a family and perhaps a business owner, but there was something so militant about the way this man standing there was guarding them.
It couldnât have been longer than 7 seconds since you had become rooted to the spot, but it certainly felt worlds longer. Once you realized you had frozen, you blinked and forced a polite smile onto your face as you continued your path.
âBuenos dĂas, Sr. Salamanca.â You said as casually as you could, hoping your nerves didnât seep through. You hoped you would be able to make it past the men without incident, and you thought you hadâŚbut then another ring struck your nerves. There was a pause followed by murmuring, which you didnât understand but went something along the lines of:
âÂżMe estĂĄs diciendo que te las arreglaste para que esta linda niĂąa cuidara al tĂo? Creo que pronto tendrĂŠ que retirarme y unirme a vosotros, ÂżsĂ?â then another few rings followed by a laugh.
His laugh- the man with the glittering eyes.
You had no idea what he had said, but something about the way he said it made a warmth creep up the back of your neck, and spread to your cheeks at the sound-
Snap
You stopped.
Snap
You turned far more jerkily than you wanted, and to your horror, the man crouching was now staring back at you intently with that smile still on his face, albeit more curt. He held his hand out and beckoned you over with two fingers. You swallowed, but fought to keep your face pleasant. Visitors didnât usually interact with staff unless they needed something, or it was time for them to goâŚand you hoped this was one of the two.
You came to stand a few feet from the men, wanting to remain respectful, âHola gentlemen, itâs nice to see Sr. Salamanca having some visitors.â The professional grin on your face didnât reach your eyes. You were too nervous for that.
âMy tio was just talking about you.â He told you brightly, âSays youâve been looking after him, hm?â The kneeling man seemed to have no issue with dominating a conversation; you chanced a glance at the bald man standing, but he barely reacted. Goosebumps sprang up on your arms when you looked back at Hectorâs nephew; unfamiliar with the direct attention.
âWell IâŚitâs what Iâm here for, SeĂąor.â You managed. There was something about this man that made it difficult to look away. The way his dark hair was combed neatly, and how the stripe of grey on the crown of his head swept into a curl that barely stayed back; how his brown eyes looked black in the shadows, and how the deep lines on his face made his expressions so defined; how his smile stretched so charmingly; how when he stared at you it was like only the two of you existed.
He scared you.
And he could tell.
He wagged his finger at you, âAhh a humble girl, eh? If my tio likes you thatâs good enough for me, niĂąaâŚbut you know- this is perfect!â He smiled even wider as he spoke almost animatedly, but you noted how the smile failed to reach his eyes now. ââCause now Iâll know just who to come to if my tio needs anything.â The manâs smile fell to rest as he blinked up at you, speaking so casually, yet you couldnât help but note the menacing undertone of his words. Your brain was working overtime as you tried to piece things together; all you could come up with was that you didnât want to upset anyone or say the wrong thing. You were certain these men were not your ordinary visitors, and you didnât want to find out anything beyond that.
âConsider me accountable, SeĂąor.â You heard yourself say.
A moment passed, and you so desperately wanted to break the stare he gave you, but then it as if nothing had happened when his stellar grin returned. He barked out a laugh at you.
âEsta niĂąa, lo juro...â he said to the man standing, then turned back to you, âEduardo Salamanca, but you can call me Lalo.â He beamed. His smile was infectious and you found the corners of your mouth tugging up a little, despite your nerves.
Like a wolf lulling a lamb into false security.
There was something expectant in his gaze as he told you his name, and you assumed it was him waiting to know yours. Tit for tat. The theatrical, charming nature of him coupled with whatever made his smile resemble a predatorâs made your stomach flip. He was both sides of a coin simultaneously, and you struggled to process it.
âY/nâŚy/n l/n.â You replied to him. Lalo repeated your name a few times, rolling it around in his mouth. Your eyes felt glazed over as you listened to him; like he was hypnotizing you. You hadnât even noticed how you were wringing your hands, nor how you hadnât torn your gaze from his.
Lalo patted his uncleâs arm after a moment, âYou said no oneâs visited my Tio?â His face turned inquisitive and concerned, though almost cartoonish. Like there was a joke you were missing.
You shook your head as you snapped back to your body. Somehow your anxiety was starting to fade, and you chalked it up to having a name to put to his face- it made him feel more human to you, âNo. I- I almost started to wonder if- if he had family, SeĂąor Lalo.â
He nodded, which caused the curl of grey in his hair to finally fall over his forehead. Your eyes instantly latched onto it.
He was handsome.
Then faster than lightning, Lalo turned and shot a look to the man standing, then nodded his head understandingly. Almost as if to check with the man to see if what you said was true.
âThat will changeâŚyou know, you should see us Salamancas- we breed like rats.â He said proudly, and chuckled.
He had a nice voice. Rough and low with an easiness to it.
You felt your cheeks warm at his statement, then nodded and remembered to blink. âWellâŚIâm happy to hear that- that people will come t-to see him that is.â You murmured, stumbling to correct yourself.
You watched his smile pull into a boyish smirk and you looked down to wipe away a nonexistent fluff from your uniform.
âI promise, youâll have to smoke me and Nacho outta here. Iâm looking after the family business so youâll see lots of us.â He laughed, and nodded to the man behind him.
You looked at the other man, and smiled a little as if to aknowledge his presence. The stare he gave back to you wasâŚbordering on sympathetic. Not what you expected.
You suddenly felt as if you were bordering on something you shouldnât, despite your softness for the elder Salamanca.
You decided to trust your intuition.
âWellâŚI donât want to intrude on your visit anymore. Iâll leave you gentlemen to itâŚSr.Salamancaâs nurse should be by to take him in a little while.â You gave both men a small smile and nodded to Hector, who frowned deeper at the mention of his caregiver.
Lalo seemed to notice the change, and his smile dropped a little in curiosity. You sighed, and came a little closer to Lalo so no one would hear, âSr.Salamanca doesnât like herâŚand between you and me I think heâll be even more UhâŚvocal about it with this beautiful bell.â
Laloâs eyes went comically wide, but the smile tugging under his moustache betrayed him. He was ecstatic. âReally? Will that be an issue?â
You noticed he didnât clarify if he was talking about the bell or the nurse.
His charisma began to draw you back in, and you shook your head, âThere wonât be an issue.â
He nodded and clapped his thigh, âExcellent!â
His reaction seemed to put you at ease, not that it should have. This man was playful in a very odd way and you didnât know if feeling comfortable around him was a good thing. But you werenât sure how long you would keep up with his banter, so you excused yourself.
âRight, wellâŚenjoy the rest of your visit.â You smiled slightly again at both men, and backed away before turning and walking quickly out of the foyer. Your hands were shaking- you werenât used to such direct conversation- with a stranger at that.
You heard Lalo say say âAdios!â to you, and you cast a quick smile back, but you didnât stop. Panic began to rise in you as you recalled the last time someone had shown you such an amount of charmâŚthe bastard had eaten you up and you had had to crawl out of his stomach. And there you were: hiding.
As soon as you were down the hall and out of view, you gasped and braced against the wall; your heart was working over time.
âYou alright sweetie?â One of the male nurses stopped next to as you as he passed. A nice older man named Jim.
You sucked in a breath and forced a smile, âY-yeah, thank youâŚjust one of those days.â You reassured him. The man pursed his mouth, but didnât press anymore as he nodded sympathetically. It was was well known that you were a private person, and you appreciated when someone respected that.
As your chest slowly unclenched, you felt your head grow light. Your poor nerves were so shot that you truly were unsure as to whether that man was just charming and witty, or if he was just trying to get in your head. You couldnât tell the difference between a genuine interaction and a narcissistic one anymore.
You rolled his name over in your head, and found that you enjoyed how it sounded.
LaloâŚ
You found yourself mentally throttling your brain over how it began to assume the worst. That you had chosen to lightly insert yourself into an old manâs life when you shouldnât have; that you were being selfish. Stupid. Dependant. All of the above. You felt the weight of your guilt strain on your shoulders, and you let it.
You were being selfish and childish. You didnât have a family, and you needed to stop pretending you did just because an old man didnât hate you.
A little over a week passed since you met Hectorâs eccentric nephew, and you had to admit that he had entered your mind a few times despite you actively not trying to think of that family. You felt a pang of hurt in your chest every time you did. You had no business envying them- it wasnât your place.
That Wednesday was a very pleasant day; there was a light breeze that cooled the air and dried the sweat that gathered on your brow. You rounded the corner of the main living area that fed out into the patio, and as you stepped out, the fresh air made you inhale deeply. As you looked up and down the outside area, you felt yourself pause. He was back. You were met with the amusing sight of Lalo Salamanca retrieve a flask, pour out the jello vitamin mix that sat in front of Hector, and pour a hefty serving of liquor inside the cup. You almost laughed. These elderly people loved their alcohol.
For a couple seconds, you allowed yourself to take in Laloâs appearance. You knew he was handsome since you first saw him, but you felt as if you could appreciate just how well he cared for himself now. A rich purple polo that pulled tight around his biceps��neat hair and moustache, a polished gold necklace just peaking out against his chest-
Stop it.
You shook yourself and forced your mind to push any thoughts of him out. Your trust in your ability to judge a character was under great scrutiny every sinceâŚsince you got away.
This man was charming, and that was it.
It was company policy for no alcohol to be on the premises, but instead of making Hectorâs day even more miserable, you let him have a few sips as you stayed just out of their view until Lalo hid the flask. Once you stepped out, you let your professional smile settle onto your tired face.
âGood afternoon SeĂąor Salamanca, SeĂąor Lalo.â You greeted them; your nerves were already starting to amp up in his proximity, but you managed to speak with a little less discomfort than last time.
As if to return the greeting, you heard Hectorâs bell sound just as the younger of the two turned to you and smiled, âAhh the humble seĂąorita.â Lalo leaned an arm over the back of his chair- opening his stance. His voice was a pleasant rumble in the back of his throat. You noted that he appeared to be far more at ease this visit. First visits were often the hardest for family- seeing their loved ones in a nursing-home could be a difficult pill to swallow.
Lalo continued, âYou got a pretty sweet deal here.â He look at around appraisingly as he took in the patio. Admittedly it was one of the more favoured sections of the home and recently renovated. But he was right, it wasnât that bad of a facility.
âI canât complain too much.â You agreed, and folded your hands in front of yourself as you stood between the men. Laloâs personality was far louder than what you were used to, and the part of you that craved human connection urned to keep up with him; once upon a time you might have had the abilityâŚbut not anymore. You admired how quick and bright-burning he was- like a firecracker.
Lalo smiled. âPolite.â
Your brow furrowed, âSorry?â
He shook his head- smile growing- and looked at Hector then back to you, âHey thereâs nothing wrong with it- youâre humble tooâŚyou some kinda saint? You gotta be to work in a place like this- Iâd lose my mind.â He laughed and leaned more into his chair.
His statement made you pause for a moment. It wasnât that far off from the truth- the need for patience that is.
âTaking care of someone can mean accepting them like a part of your familyâŚthereâs a real selflessness that you have to find in you, SeĂąor Lalo. For myself itâs a bit easier than mostâŚI-I donât exactly have much of a family, so Hector fills a pretty big void at the moment.â You said simply. It was the honest truth. You shared your patientâs happy moments and their worst moments; they trusted you with their well-being, so it was only fair that you cared for them blindly- job or not.
It was no small admission- to say that you were isolated- but Lalo had a way about him that loosened your tongue.
He stared up at you for a moment, then huffed out a laugh, âBe careful with a Salamanca, we bite.â He pointed at you playfully, though you gathered that while he was indeed teasing, there was a more serious connotation to his words.
Laloâs dark eyes glittered with mirth as he regarded you.
âEven you, SeĂąor Lalo?â You tilted your head to the side slightly, and watched him shyly.
The older manâs smile formed into an amused smirk, âKlah- me? Never.â He scoffed, but his bright eyes betrayed him.
This man was trouble.
Your lips tugged upwards as you nodded to both men; his jest was not lost on you. It was as if he wished you would ask him how hard his bite was, but you knew that would likely be a poor choice on your part. âPrey can bite too, SeĂąor,â you quipped.
Evidently your response surprised the man as his thick brows rose up. You felt regret pull at you for engaging in his game, but you didnât want to immediately back down. Shock was a nice expression to see on a man so sure of himself. You nodded to both men, and took a step back, âEnjoy your visit, SeĂąors.â
You continued your route, and made your way onto your next check-up; the feeling of eyes burning into the back of your skull followed you as you went, and a few eager dings from Hectorâs bell rang in your ears.
When you finished with one of your oldest patients, Thomas Lee - who did not get along with Hector at all- you tentatively looked back at the far table; it was empty now. Even Hector was gone. You sighed and pursed your mouth, knowing you were playing with fire with this man. A part of you hoped that he would stop coming, or visit on your couple days off.
Stupid.
You were being stupid, and that was that.
The day ended like every single one before that. With you and your coworkers exhaused, hungry, covered in sticky grime, and back sore. You stood in front of your locker, taking a drink from your bottle when another attendant you knew walked to hers. SamanthaâŚyes, her name was Samantha.
âHey.â You greeted her, smiling sympathetically at eachother.
âGoing home too?â She asked as he took her hair down from its curly bun.
You nodded and retrieved your bag, hoping you had something in your fridge to eat. âSure amâŚâ
She unlocked her locker and smiled a little, âSaw you talking to that visitor of Hectorâs todayâŚheâs not bad on the eyes hey?â She smiled.
You felt your cheeks flush, âOh, yeahâŚhes nice.â You replied, not wanting to get into itâŚbut then a thought crossed your mind. âSam?â You asked her.
She turned to you and nodded. âMhm?â
âDoâŚdo you know anything about Hector? Ab-about his family?â You murmured, looking up at her.
Her brows hopped up and she shuffled a little closer to you, âMr. Salamanca?â She confirmed.
You nodded after a moment, not fully certain you were ready, but your curiosity was too strong.
Sam looked around briefly, âWellâŚI mean you know weâre not supposed to really ask questions or anythingâŚâ she began, ââŚbutâŚIâve heard a few things.â Sam nodded her head and you noticed her playfulness lessened.
You turned to her fully now and gave her your full attentionâŚshe seemed to understand that you were curious. That, and she had been trying to talk to you properly for months and was likely over the moon that you werenât being skittish.
âI- Iâd like to knowâŚâ you said a little more gently than you usually did.
She sighed, and nodded. âApparentlyâŚthose guys that dropped Hector off were really strangeâŚdidnât speak, and just gave Ronny- the reception guy, remember he quit last month? Yeah him, anywaysâŚthey gave him this folder with all of Hectorâs information and there was no spot open for the old fartâŚbut after a few phone calls, there was suddenly a spot open. It was so weird, but- I donât knowâŚâ she stopped her speculation but you wanted to hear more.
âPlease- it- itâs okay, this is between us.â You reassured her, and you meant it. You had expected her to just brush you off or say no, but now it was as if the name Salamanca was a curiosity to you all.
A beat passed before Sam finished with her locker and shut it. âIt justâŚI donât speak much Spanish but they always speak so secretivelyâŚjustâŚI donât know they might just be talking about family gossip but sometimes itâs fun to imagine theyâre actually someâŚI donât know a mafia or cartel family or something.â
As the words left her mouth, you felt the blood drain from your face. Everything that struck you as strange flashed before your eyes and it began to make sense-
âBut honestly theyâre probably just weird- you should see my folks, theyâre nuts. I just like to make stories up for everyone to make the days go faster! See you tomorrow.â She smiled and walked past you, leaving you there with this new possibility weighing heavy on you.
Once you finally pulled yourself from the locker room, and waved a few dazed goodbyes to the staff you saw, you stepped outside and walked out to the parking lot. Your car keys caught on your nurseâs mask as you pulled them from your bag and you tsked them. You were preoccupied with the task as you made your way in the direction of where you parked, and once you freed them and looked up, you froze in the middle of the parking lot.
You knew that curl of grey anywhere. Lalo stood leaning against your car, with his hands in his pockets and a friendly smile on his face pointed at you. Since meeting him, You had yet to see him stand up, and now at his full height, his sturdy frame overpowered you even from a few meters away. He was tall and broad and confident, and you felt very small all of a sudden.
âSo! Where are we going?â He said. His smile didnât reach his eyes and he didnât even try to hide it.
âWha-?â You asked as you managed to go closer.
He rolled his eyes âCâmon- you hungry? Iâm famished.â He stood away from the hood, and his tone was so persuasive you almost forgot about what Sam had said.
Almost.
You shook your head and tried to be as friendly as you could in an effort to hide how your hands shook, âReally itâs alright, Iâm ââ
His smile finally dropped. âGet in.â
His statement made you contemplate running. Getting back inside the retirement home and locking yourself in a closet, but you had a sneaking suspicion that it wouldnât end well. Hell you doubted youâd even make it a few paces from him before his big hand grabbed your hair. So against your better judgement, you nodded and wordlessly handed him the keys.
âThere she goes, Atta girl.â He smiled again, and accepted the keys joyfully; this time the creases around his eyes deepened. Lalo slid into the drivers side and started the car. As he went to back out, he cast a look around the inside, and seemed to note that you didnât take the best care of the car.
âYou need a tool box?â He asked.
You buckled yourself in and barely caught what he said as you mentally screamed at yourself for getting in the car. Were you really that stupid? âWha- huh? Oh-â you caught where he was looking and cursed yourself for being so sloppy.
You backseat housed several materials you carried with you in case you car broke down -which it had the tendency to do. A pair of wire cutters wrapped in duct tape and some pliers to match, a lug wrench, a jack and a pylonâŚnot to mention a first aid kit and a blanket. âIâmâŚI uhâŚjust havenât had the time.â You murmured, âSorta new here.â
The older man frowned exaggeratedly and rose his brows as if to say âAlright then.â And silently put the car in reverse. He backed out with one hand on the wheel and the other on the back of your seat, and you had no choice but to smell his scentâŚyou didnât know if it was cologne or something else but he smelled of smoke and whiskeyâŚand something sweet like syrup. Like he had been sitting in front of a fire drinking after dessert.
âSo! Why donât you tell me about yourself.â Lalo navigated easily through the streets, and looked over at you like you were old friends.
You thought for a moment, having taken an interest in a hangnail on your thumb. âNot much to tell, SeĂąor.â You said as you looked up. It wasnât a lie. Your story was a sad one and not a terribly interesting one at that.
âCmon.â He dragged the word out, âYou said you count my Tio as familyâŚany normal person wouldnât say that in a million years.â The older man laughed and tilted his head to chase your gaze a little when you averted your eyes.
âWhy do you say that?â You asked as you looked down again.
Lalo gave you a pointed look. âSmart girl like you can figure that out, niĂąita.â
You sighed. It wasnât as if you could just walk away from the conversationâŚhe had you. Regardless of his motivations, Lalo was undoubtedly protective of his uncleâŚand you had to respect that. You wished you knew what it was like to have someone so protective, but you could imagine it was liberating.
âYou think I have some kind of alterier motive behind my kindness to your uncle.â You said simply, trusting your intuition.
Lalo looked out the window, and you wondered if he had even heard your answer.
âYou hungry?â He asked, pointing to a burger joint as he already turned his indicator on to pull in.
The sudden change in topic made you blink, your brain lagging. âI-âŚsure. Donât stop on my account though I have food at home.â You squeezed your hands out of anxiousness, but he was already going to the drive thru. You had completely forgotten about how hungry you were for the last hour when you saw him in the parking lot. Now seeing the menu, your stomach growled.
âWhatdya want?â He asked expectantly.
It felt soâŚdomestic. You had gone from being certain you might end up being interrogated in a warehouse to him taking you for food in a matter of seconds. You felt your stomach tighten with unease at the memory of the last person who had taken you through a drive thru; that time however you had been disassociating so badly you didnât even remember ordering nor eating. Ungrateful he had called you.
Snap snap
Your eyes refocused and saw a large hand in front of your face having just snapped a couple times to get your attention.
You swallowed and sighed to steady yourself.
âWhatâs good here?â You asked, turning to him.
One of his full brows was raised at your odd behaviour, but his face went back to his playful demeanour instantly. âDependsâŚbut their number 2 and number 8 are good.â
You nodded thoughtfully, âWhat do you get?â
He held up two fingers, pulling the car up through the drive thru to the speaker, âIâm from the south though so I like to add extra spice. Burns your mouth right off but god itâs worth it, you know?â The lines around his mouth and eyes deepened when he smiled and spoke.
Your couldnât help but return the smile a little at him. You gathered he could probably befriend anyone he set his sights on. A people personâŚregardless of how intimidating he was.
âIâll get the sameâŚbut um, I think Iâd like to keep my mouth.â You said the last part a little shyly, hoping he wouldnât take offence.
Lalo laughed, âToo bad, I was looking forward to seeing how red your pretty face would get!â
YouâŚwere not expecting that. You didnât have time to reply or ask him to repeat himself before he was leaning out the window and adding extra fries to your order.
âYou ever been to Mexico?â Lalo asked as he started driving again up to the window.
You shook your head, âNoâŚhavenât been to a lot of places.â
He gasped, âNo! Really? Ahh man, youâd love it. Best food in the world.â
When the window came into view you instinctively reached for your purse when you saw Lalo already producing a $20, and re-pocketing a wad of cash. He tsked you when he noticed you.
The woman at the window handed him the two bags of food and drinks and he smiled charmingly. âGracias!â Lalo beamed, depositing your order in your lap, then began his way through the city again.
âPlain number 2 for you and fun number 2 for papi, you like orange? I got you an orange soda, youâre gonna love it. Used to smuggle these bastards when I was a kidâŚmy Tio beat the shit outta me for it.â He laughed as he handed you the drink; shaking his head as he steered the car one handed and rifled through his paper bag with the other.
You accepted the orange coloured soda, brows shooting up. He wasâŚgenerous. The smell of the burger hit you, and you felt your mouth water. It had been ages since you had a proper meal, even if it was take-out. You tentatively took your food out, and took a bite. You swore stars erupted in front of your eyes as the taste filled your mouth; pleasure sensors in your brain lighting up.
The older man beside you watched you out of the corner of his eye as he ate and drove. A proficient multitasker. You were hungry. Seemingly non-threateningâŚskittishâŚbut you werenât off-putting. Tired. Definitely tired.
Lalo pulled off the main road and began the drive into the neighbourhoods; he continued to take the occasional bite of his food as he drove. You wondered how he could be so relaxed constantly. You wondered if he had a single tense bone in his body. He was always at easeâŚlike he was always 10 steps ahead of everyone. He was handsome, and you wondered if he used that as a distraction for what lay underneath; perhaps he was a calculating, plotting and scheming man under all the smiles and goofy theatricsâŚ
Your food was gone within 5 minutes.
When Lalo finally looked over at you, he barked out a pleased laugh when he saw the empty wrapper and your last few fries in your hand.
��Shit, Iâd better be careful or you might eat me!â He joked, and took a sip of his soda.
You hadnât realized it but your shoulders had dropped and your fists had unclenched. You were relaxed.
And the older man beside you knew it.
âTell meâŚwhat do you know about us Salamancas.â He said as if he was commenting on the weather.
You knew the question was coming, how could he not ask?
You put your drink down, and thought carefully. âYouâre all veryâŚintense.â You replied.
Lalo laughed, âGood one. What else?â
This time you fiddled with a napkin still in your lap. You didnât want him to think you actually knew anything, because you honestly didnât. You used your brain and speculated and observed, but you didnât know much at all. You knew Hector likes grape jello more than raspberry and that Laloâs necklace was that of Saint Anne- the Mother of Santa MariaâŚbut that was the extent of what you knew for certain.
âYou run some kind of businessâŚhere in AlbuquerqueâŚand IâŚI think youâre not just some nobody with an uncle in a nursing homeâŚâ You murmured almost to yourself. You half hoped he would ask you to repeat yourself so you could come up with something elseâŚbut his ears were as sharp as a fox.
âAhh see, clever girl. I thought so.â His smile slowly faded into a calm line. âWhy do you care for my Tio? Donât tell me heâs your type- youâll break my heart.â Laloâs cheeky grin came back.
The jest did lighten your anxiety a little, just as the food had, but you noted that he ignored the mention it the business. He was evasive. And he was charming while he did it.
You knew Lalo had his doubts about youâŚeven if it was for the home itself and not just you, you were th# lucky bastard who he had chosen to interrogate. If you wanted him to understand exactly why it was that you were so at ease with caring for grumpy elderly people - specifically Hector- you needed him to see your perspective. If this was any other relative of a patient, you would have jumped out of the car or booked it before he could have even gotten you insideâŚbut you had a nagging feeling that the only way this would end well was if you saw it through. No matter how painful it was.
âYou didnât see him for the last 2 months, SeĂąorâŚâ You said gently, âHeâsâŚheâs been alone. Completely. No visitors, no friends amongst the other patientsâŚheâs- well non-verbal patients have a difficult time as it isâŚbut paralysed oneâs have it even harderâŚand I- wellâŚI donât exactly have anyoneâŚat all really. Donât have contact with anyone soâŚI think thereâs just a certain level of recognition between people who are alone. Iâve been looking after Hector for two months nowâŚyou donât know how hard it is to see him sit alone during visiting hours- for any of my patients that have to do that for that matter. I wouldnât wish loneliness on my worst enemy, SeĂąor. He didnât have anyone and if he died tomorrow I wouldnât sleep knowing he didnât at least think someone cared enough to look after him, blood related or not.â
You meant it. You knew your fate was likely destined to be a lonely one, but if you could change that for someone else, then you were going to do your damned bestâŚof course you had to chose a more complicated person but it wasnât as if you were a terribly lucky person.
Lalo didnât take his eyes off the road, and it wasnât until the car stopped that you realized you were outside your little apartment building. Lalo tapped on the steering wheel for a moment, then he turned in his seat to face you.
âYou mean that?â He asked, turning his gaze to you.
You went to open your mouth but he gave you a look that pinned you to the spot. He didnât need to say anything for him to convey âdonât fuck around with me.â.
âYou seem to be a busy man, SeĂąorâŚmaybe a wife or even a family,â You mused aloud while you ripped a piece of napkin. Your distracted gaze meant you missed how Laloâs nostrils flared when you mentioned him having a family, âYou must have a comfortable lifeâŚone way or another. But not everyone has that. A lot of people donât. IâŚI donât have muchâŚmy work is my life right now. Sure theyâre not the most lively people to engage with but my patients mean a lot to meâŚbecause they take up a lot of my lifeâŚand after- wellâŚright now I donât mind it.â You said with conviction, then sighed, âSounds sad now that I say it aloudâŚbut donât doubt me.â You turned to look at Lalo in those dark eyes of his, âDonât you dare doubt me.â
As you spoke, Laloâs mouth faded into a firm line under his moustache. But even then, his eyes glittered. He was quiet for a few moments, then he hummed.
âYou got a mouth on you, kid.â He rumbled.
You held his stare for a moment. You were certain you had crossed a line with telling him off.
Then, just when you were certain he might jump on you or worse, he broke out in a laugh and smile, smacking the wheel in amusement, âI see why Hector likes you. You got a bite for being a ratoncitoâŚIâd hate to see someone knock your teeth out.â He dropped your keys in your hand and in one fluid motion opened his door and stepped out.
His sense of humour was borderline morbid, but seeing him smile while saying it more reassuring than him not.
You followed suit, and stepped out of the car; Lalo joined you on the sidewalk as he seemed to inspect the neighbourhood. Then as he stood there with his hands at his sides, you remembered that he had no way of getting back to his own car at the nursing home.
âI- Thank you for driving me home, SeĂąorâŚcan I- can I call you a cab?â You didnât know what else to say. This man had practically interrogated you, bought you dinner, and drove you home. You didnât know what to do with an interaction like that; weâre you supposed to run and hide or thank him?âŚor both? You didnât know why, but regardless of his intentions, you couldnât quite bring yourself to be scared of himâŚnot really. He was intimidating and imposing, certainly, but it wasnât as if he was threatening you.
You hated that you couldnât come to a concise evaluation of the man.
Lalo shrugged and looked down at you. âNah.â He said playfully.
Your brows scrunched up in confusion and you were about to protest, but then a red car pulled up almost directly behind him with the same man who had been standing with him that first day. Nacho? Nacho.
âSeĂąor Lalo?â You called as he opened the door. The older man turned to you and looked at you expectantly.
âWhat, still hungry?â He replied.
You forced yourself to look him in the eye.
âIf you insist upon giving Hector alcoholâŚI suggest the second to last table on the patio towards the west. Much fewer eyes.â You said simply.
Lalo smiled widely and pointed his index finger at you. He did that often, you noticed. âIâll pour you one next time, eh?â He laughed.
You smiled a little. âI donât think that would end well.â
âI look forward to it!â He smiled even wider and you pursed your lips to keep from returning it. You didnât want him to know that he was wrapping you around his finger whether you liked it or not.
Lalo sat in the the car, and he waved briefly before they pulled away and left you there with your head still reeling. You didnât even remember walking up to your apartment or undressing or getting into the showerâŚbut there you were under the warm stream of water trying to understand and rationalise what had just transpired. You were frightened, then at ease, then thankful, then suspicious, then open, thenâŚyou head spun. You had become to accustomed to your little quiet bubble with minimal interactions outside of itâŚand this man had forced his way through it like a freight train.
And what frighted you the most was that you didnât want him not to.
Your hands shook as you remembered the last time someone had seemed so charming and sweet. You rolled your eyes.
Arms length. You would keep this man at arms length- just like you did with almost everyone else.
Three weeks passed before you saw Lalo Salamanca again.
It wasnât as if you expected to see him often, or even at allâŚbut the man had a certain way about him that made you miss his presence. He was so all-consuming and confident that it was noticeable when he wasnât there. You also noticed how Hectorâs mood began to drop again. You didnât blame him.
In an attempt to make the man a little easier to handle, you started teaching yourself some simple Spanish when you had the time. It helped greatly that several clients and staff members spoke it well, and they humoured you in teaching you a few things each day. You supposed they were mostly taking pity on you, but you didnât mind too much.
You started to feel a little more normal since coming to the scorching cityâŚlike you were starting to grow away from where you had run from. You even made a joke that made Jim laugh.
In the back of your mind, you did feel something odd though. Like there was something in your peripheral that you just couldnât catch. You had sworn that youâd seen the same car on your route for a few daysâŚbut you also knew that your paranoia was still very present.
By the second week, you begun to notice how much the language helped around the home. Staff taught you basic things that you said day to day, and your patients helped with more conversational languageâŚyour empty head was thankful for the distraction and soaked it up like a sponge. You were tired of the nervous and stressful thoughts that usually occupied the space.
It was early on a Friday when you heard the unmistakable sound of Hectorâs bell ringing. You hoped it was that he had gotten his favourite breakfast and not that he had been seated beside someone he didnât like- you gadnt had enough coffee yet to deal with angry seniors.
There was very little to do following breakfast as the clients enjoyed some free time before activities started; you indulged your curiosity and followed the ringing sound. You sought it out until you came to the patio, and you felt a tiny smile on your lips when you looked past the array of wheelchairs and nurses; there at the second to last table sat two very engaged Salamancas facing away from the entrance you came from.
You saw Lalo give his uncle the occasional sip from the styrofoam cup on the table, and you already knew that was no vitamin mix in there. As you inconspicuously made your way over, checking on a few clients as you went, you began to notice just how tense Lalo seemed from behind. You didnât want to think that you knew he body language perfectly, but for someone who was usually aloof in his mannerisms, having tight shoulders was far more noticeable.
You slowed your steps once you got closer; they were in conversation. A one sided one but you knew they communicated regardless of Hectorâs muteness.
Then you made the poor decision to listen. Your Spanish was very juvenile, but you had come to pick up on a lot - especially phrases and words that were similar to English. Which was why you started to realise that what you were listening to Lalo say was not meant to be heard by anyone but his Tio.
With what you knew and could piece together, you heard a few words that sounded familiar enough; secreto, hombre pollo, establecimiento, restaurante, and quemar. The last one you knew very well thanks to an elderly woman named Pricilla pouring hot tea into the lap of an elderly man named Jerry -evidently his admission of love to her was false and she found out- and his cries of âQuemar!â still rang in your ears. Your mind worked to add everything together and from what you could gather was that there was a restaurant of some kind that could very well end up burned to the groundâŚand you were fairly certain that Lalo disliked the owner or manager.
Hectorâs dinging continued, and you could almost taste the tension growing.
You were about to take the last few strides right up to them, but one word stopped you.
âŚCĂĄrtel.
Every muscle in your body froze simultaneously.
It was no confirmation, but it might as well have been.
It fit.
The respect Hector seemed used to, the rumours, Nacho standing like a guard dog, the lack of visitors, the sudden admission of Hector into the home, the low conversationsâŚyou thought back to when he had driven you home and added intimidation tactics to the list. The wad of cash in Laloâs pocket too.
Then, you felt yourself unclench and a morbid sense of peace washed over you. It wasnât as if you were reassured; it was that you were still alive. It didnât mean a lot, but it meant that they either liked you, or had a better use for youâŚand by god you hoped that use was simply to look after Hector and not to swallow baggies of drugs to smuggle across the border.
And of all people, you had chosen them to befriend.
âThere she is!â
You refocused your eyes and as your gaze landed on the man with the skunk stripe on his temple, you let a polite grin grace your features. He was half turned in his chair to greet you- that smile already pulling under his groomed moustache.
âSeĂąor Salamanca, I see youâre enjoying your special juice.â You gave both men a knowing look, then turned back to Lalo, âSeĂąor Lalo, itâs been a little while since I saw you last. I hope youâve been alright.â You heard yourself say.
You supposed there was no point in trying to run. They had you, and you had let them reel you in; there was no reason to be cold to them. It wasnât as if you were a cookie cutter Mary-sue yourself.
âAhh you know how it isâŚla vida es una locura.â He waved his hand aloofly, resting his arm over the back of his chair. You noticed that he did not elaborate nor answer your query.
âI think I have an idea.â You confirmed both his English and his Spanish.
The easy smile on Laloâs face seemed to go still. It no longer reached his eyes, and you took a little reckless satisfaction in that.
âReally?â He asked with a prodding tone. You had a feeling he was quick to catch your double meaning.
You smiled tightly, adjusting Hectorâs chair since his nurse hadnât. âTruly.â You replied. âYou must be busyâŚBusiness doesnât run itself, Iâm sure.â You were walking on ice, and you knew itâŚbut you enjoyed poking at the beast a little.
Laloâs lips parted at your quip, then he barked out a laugh and pointed at you, âYou got some eyes on you.â
You couldnât remember the full story of Icarus, but you knew he died because he flew too close to the sun regardless of his fathers warningsâŚand you felt very much like that foolish Greek man. Lalo was a scorching flame and you were standing far too close.
âAlways good to see you, SeĂąor LaloâŚenjoy your visit.â You nodded to Hector who had been watching the exchange between the two of you, and he dinged his bell at you once.
âAdios.â Lalo gave you a two fingered wave, and you excused yourself.
As soon as your back turned from them, your hands began to shake; adrenaline moved through your blood like a poison or antidote. You didnât know which.
Jim passed by you with a greeting smile and nod, and you schooled your face quickly. âCould you take Thomas into the bingo room? Itâs 2:30.â He said to you, and you welcomed the task to ground you.
âSure thing.â You murmured.
You didnât fully remember the rest of the day- you were too busy trying to remember everything you had heard Lalo say to his TioâŚjotting things down on sticky notes with poor spelling and guessed words. You almost feltâŚresponsible for what you heard. You knew you were in deep, and you knew that by being curious you were digging yourself even deeper, but somehow you couldnât stop. It was a sick need to know exactly what you were dealing with.
The day ended like every single one before it; you were exhaused and aching and only had a few thoughts in your head and most of them were of how comfortable your bed would be once you got home. The only difference that day was your anxiety over the notes you had made that day- hoping you didnât forget any.
You swore under your breath when your keys once again were caught on something in your bag-
âFancy seeing you here, niĂąa.â
Your head snapped up despite you trying to keep yourself as calm as possible. You swore the older man just liked making you jump.
âDo you practice those lines in the mirror SeĂąor Lalo?â You asked softly, tilting your head up to look at him; Lalo was leaned against your car just as he had taken to doing now.
âYou wound me!â He gasped, placing his hand on his chest.
âHow long have you been out here?â You asked, standing almost toe to toe to him as he refused to move from his place.
You knew he likely wanted something, and he was using his perfected charm and relentlessness to get it. You internally braced yourself for him to tell you to get in the car againâŚthat he knew you knew more than you let onâŚand that you should make peace with whatever god you had before putting an extra hole in your head. You didnât want to think the worst of him and his family, but if that did indeed happen, you wouldnât be shocked.
But Lalo didnât move, and he didnât say anything at first. His smile didnât falter, though it did lower a little to sit comfortably under his moustache. You watched as he unfolded one of his arms from across his chest and extend his hand to you- what was in it more specifically. There was a little yellow piece of paper folded between his forefinger and middle finger.
âNo bedtime stories alright?â He pointed at you with a teasing and cheeky grin on his mouth as he winked down at you.
You took the paper, and felt his skin brush yours for half a second- he was warm. You chose to ignore that, and you focused on unfolding it. It was just a number. His. He had given you his phone number. A cartel phone number. Your brain started reeling again. Then, as you looked at it, you make a mental note that the writing was slanted the opposite way than you usually saw, then you thought for a moment.
He was left handed.
You grinned to yourself at the realisation. You didnât know why you saved that information, but it made the enigmatic man in front of you seem more human- like knowing he had a belly button or that he had baby teeth that fell out at one time. It was perhaps childish but you liked knowing more about him.
âI-âŚThank you.â You said as you placed it neatly into your purse. Once upon a time you would have refused the number and told him it was alright- that you didnât need it, that if he wanted to get in touch with Hector he could go through the homeâŚ.but you supposed you knew better now. You knew he didnât take no for an answer, and you supposed you should show some respect to him for giving you something so personal.
âAtta girl. Donât work too hard, eh?â He finally moved out of your way and began back to his own -much nicer- car.
âLikewise!â You called to him and he seemed pleased with your answer as he smiled.
You watched the older man get inside his Monte Carlo, and you mirrored him. Your car was hot and the seat radiated unwanted warmth into your back, but you could barely focus on that. You pulled out, and passed his as you went to the exit. Lalo watched you go, and while you waved, he returned it with two fingers extended up from the wheel.
You knew you had errands to run, but you simply couldnât bring yourself to. The notes you had made yourself were burning holes in your pockets, and your want to know what they meant was outweighing your need for groceries and laundry detergent.
In fact, you were so preoccupied with getting home that you didnât even notice the car that was following you; just as it had been for weeks.
The sticky notes sat arranged neatly on your floor, and your computer stared back at you as you considered your options.
Option 1: try to find proper translations of what was said and risk knowing too much and possible death.
Option 2: tear the papers up and pretend you heard nothing and act like the Salamancas are just an honest business owning familyâŚand possible death because you were naive and didnât know what you were getting into.
You felt your eye twitch.
Both such tempting options.
But the more you thought, the louder that one word became.
Cartel.
You really know how to pick âem y/nâŚ
You sighed and rolled your shoulders as you began typing. You knew that whatever translator you could find wouldnât be perfect, but you just needed enough to understand. The English to Spanish dictionary you had bought two weeks ago sat open beside you are you poured over the notes you had made. The more you typed and searched and double check, the more your mind began to race- evidently there was indeed more to that family than you had anticipated when you initially befriended their patriarch.
You stared at the translated sentences now, and heaved a sigh.
âWe need to burn that restaurant to the ground. Iâll burn it like last time, uncle.â
âIâll take care of it.â
âThe chicken manâs establishments are blinding him, canât see past his greed.â
âHe thinks his secret is so fantastic.â
You knew they werenât perfect translations, but you got the message. There was unrest, and Lalo was sent to deal with it. Whoever this âchicken manâ was, he was causing problems.
You let your eyes glaze over as you started to think.
A restaurant.
You checked your notes.
âRestaurants.â Plural.
So a chain of restaurants.
With chicken?
Chicken was a code name? NoâŚLalo wouldnât do code namesâŚhe mocks people and pokes at their weaknesses, but heâs not the CIA or FBI. He was being literal when he called him the âChicken man.â
Did he smuggle drugs in chickens? Use it as a cover?
Chicken is their speciality?
You stared at your original note with Spanish.
âLos pollosâ âŚyou had seen that somewhere before. You felt your brain stretch as you tried to recall. A restaurantâŚLos pollosâŚyou started to run the two ideas around in your mind.
RestaurantâŚLos pollosâŚrestaurantâŚLos pollos-
Your head snapped up and you frantically scrambled over to your pile of spam mail that you had been ignoring. You knew that name. You did.
You grabbed a chunk of the mail and started sifting through it carefully, scanning every new cellphone, ever greasy pizza place, every-
Your hand gripped blue and yellow ad a little tighter.
The two chicken logo stared back at you.
Los Pollos Hermanos.
No. There was no way.
You couldnât help the little laugh that came from your chest- either from stress or shock, you werenât sure. Perhaps a mix of both.
You had driven past it a few times. It was always so clean looking, and you remembered the nice smell you always caught through your window when you passed by it.
You were about to tell yourself that you were being delusional, and that you were too invested in thisâŚbut then you supposed the saying of âitâs always the quiet onesâ could apply to more than just people. Nice, cookie-cutter restaurants could perhaps be fronts for a drug dealing cartel.
The initial shock began to wear off, and you slowly started to look over what else you had translated.
âIâll take care of it.â Lalo had said.
Burn the restaurant down, more likeâŚ
You wondered what he was capable of. Had he killed people? How many?
Your thoughts strayed to the man himself.
Trouble. That was what you first thought of him.
You thought about his charm and charismaâŚhow he carried himself. He was a confident man in every sense. He adapted his tactics to fit the people he wanted something fromâŚyou knew he used it on you too. He was kind and a little pushy but not enough to scare you. He bought you food and drove you home with no immediate expectationâŚhe made you smile and welcomed you. He made you feel seen. Criminal or notâŚhe saw you.
A stupid idea crossed your mind. You knew you were in deep already, and with each passing day it was as if you took a shovel and continued to dig deeper. The thought you had was fuelled purely by your own involvement with the Salamancas and juvenile selfishness.
A stupid impulse to help the two people who made you feel like a human.
Without another thought, you grabbed your bag, checked the stove clock, and were in your car within 5 minutes. You didnât even bother the change. The route that took you by Los Apolloâs was almost muscle memory, and you were able to let your mind wander as you went. Anything to keep you distracted from what you were doing.
It was closing time once you reached the restaurant. Lights were being shut off, and you could see several workers leaving, and a few more mopping the floors. As you pulled into a parking spot across the street to watch, you noted that there was a level of order to the way duties were carried out. It was methodical and you wondered what kind of training these kids went throughâŚ
Every so often, you would see an older man come out to the front and inspect something. His back was straight was he moved just as carefully as the staff cleaned; he was in a yellow dress shirt and tie- nothing significant. The manager or owner you assumed. Your interest was peaked.
You sat there for two hours until almost every single person left. Almost. You waited an extra 20 minutes before leaving, and you were glad you did. If you had left after that those two hours, you wouldnât have seen that same older man you have observed off and on for 120 minutes exit the building, only now he resembled almost an entirely different person. He was in a sharp black suit, and the change had you so distracted that you didnât even catch the bulky, black SUV pull in around where the man stood off to the side of the building. Of course, it could have just been nothing- it wasnât up to you to judge what someone looked like or did after workâŚbut things were clicking together far too easily for you to just gaslight yourself into thinking everyone was Mr.Rogers.
After what you heard Lalo say, you felt your gut sink as you decided that you were indeed not looking at an average business owner. Your I tuition had let you down before, but something about the heat of Albuquerque had you seeing people much more clearlyâŚand if Lalo wanted this man gone, then you had a sneaking suspicion that was a big deal.
The black SUV drove away with the man in it, and you decided that was enough for one night. All at once, your suspicions and thoughts and curiosities were all but confirmed; all you needed was a sign on that manâs back that said âYou were rightâ. You drove home, and welcomed the sight of your small apartment. A morbid part of you half expected someone to be waiting for you when you got backâŚsomeone who saw you watchingâŚor perhaps even Lalo himself- perhaps you had become a loose end? But there was nothing. No one waiting for youâŚjust your quiet 400 square feet. Your thoughts were whirling, and sleep seemed like a far away fantasy as you sat on your couch and stared at a crack in the paint.
You had indeed gotten mixed into something far bigger than you- there was no denying that anymore. However, now that you had very nearly completely solidified everything you had wondered, you knew there was no chance in backing out now. You could certainly play dumb for a whileâŚbut Lalo was so smart it scared you, and he would figure it out sooner or later.
So you kept digging.
Against your better judgement, you repeated your stakeout the following night. You sat there with a container of takeout, and watched closely. Just like the night before, the business ran, closed, was cleaned and shut up like clockwork.
Methodical.
Careful.
It was fascinating.
This time, however, that older man you had watched last time left in a car already parked there, and it looked far more civilian. You supposed it would draw suspicion if he constantly left work in a black suv. You almost laughed. It was all so ludicrous.
You felt like you were having a strange dream instead of your more constant nightmares. It was far more enjoyable but no less concerning. Where you usually woke up with a tight chest and heart beat so fast it hurt; sweat on your skin and hair sticky, you hope that perhaps if this was a dream that you might wake up and laugh at the idiocy of it all. How silly you were in it. But the more you sat there in your car, and as you drove home, and showered and ate and stared out your windowâŚyou started to realise that you were in no dream.
You really were being an idiot. A stupid, impulsive traumatised idiot.
Two days went by after your last visit to the restaurant. Two days of contemplation.
You knew why you were doing those things. You did. But you still found yourself asking yourself why. It was like you craved the anxiety or the adrenaline that came with doing something you know could end badly. What did that say about your mental state?
The file in your hand sat open as you stood behind the reception desk. You had been trying to focus on reading it for two minutes but your eyes repeatedly unfocused as your mind strayed. You just needed to check one of the clientâs family memberâs number, but you couldnât seem to even pull yourself together enough for that. You blew the strand of hair that had come free and hung in front of your eyes for the fifth time; you had given up trying to move it.
You heard the main door open and you briefly looked up out of habit, but you took a second glance when you saw that familiar face walk through.
âGood morning SeĂąor.â You said, brows raised in surprise as something stirred in your chest at the sight of his confident strides. This was the first time you had actually seen him enter- most of the time it was like he just materialised out of nowhere.
Lalo rounded the desk to where you were coming out and leaned against it. âDo you know that theyâre charging 25¢ more for parking here? Itâs criminal, man.â He shook his head.
His statement made a little smile escape you but you schooled it fast.
âI apologise, would you like a word with the owner?â You asked with a little sarcasm, âIâm sure you could talk some sense into him.â
He nodded as if weighing the option, then waved it off and looked around the foyer. âHowâs my tio?â He asked calmly, âThe old dog up yet?â Lalo looked back at you and flicked his gaze between your eyes. You couldnât look away. Caught.
You finally tried to tuck the stay hair away again to no avail, and swallowed, âHeâs in the activities room. He tipped two full cups of juice over this morning already to look at nurseâs asses when they bent over.â You said as straight faced as you could, though the image had made you giggle to yourself earlier.
Lalo chuckled, âEse perro viejo no cambia...no harm done, eh?â He reached out and tucked the piece of your hair back behind your ear, then casually started to walk in the direction of the activity room and you took that at your cue to follow him. You had gone still when he had touched you, and you did your best to not let on how shocked you were by the gesture.
Lalo was speaking about something, but while you wanted to listen, you couldnât quiet find it in you to pay attention. It wasnât that he wasnât interesting, or that you didnât careâŚit was that you had a startling realisation. You had missed him. That was what you had felt when you saw himâŚit was happiness. The pleasure of seeing him again. Then when he had moved you hair, you realised how badly you had wanted to lean into his palm.
It startled you.
You scolded yourself. It was a a fantasy. That was it. You were just latching onto him because he spoke to youâŚhell you might have done the same to the greeter at a supermarket if he was nice enough. It was silly. Just like you.
You walked quietly until you came close to the door, then you stopped and let him go ahead. âDisfrute de su visita, seĂąor.â You said, and the older man paused. Lalo turned to you, but you were already starting to walk past him.
âGracias, NiĂąa.â He called and you turned and nodded.
You didnât turn around again, but Lalo watched you walk away for a moment. You didnât need to see him to know it- his gaze burned. The older man stood there for a moment longer and flexed his hand. You were trouble.
That night, you sat in your car, parked on the street just out of the ring of the fluorescent street lamp light; eyes unfocused, medical mask in hand. It was 3am, and you hadnât slept a wink. All you could think of was what you were very ready to do.
Another ten minutes went by before you refocused your vision and blinked. You looked across the street, and stared at the empty restaurant. It had been vacant for hours- the only movement you saw were the odd couple pulling into the parking lot for a quick drunken blowjob. Besides that, it was just you and the task you had given yourself.
Breaking and entering wasnât a skill you appreciated havingâŚbut thanks to your ex, you did. He had taken to harvesting copper wires when money got tightâŚand he had always coerced you into coming with him despite your discomfort and anxiety. âYou n me, baby, câmon.â He would say as he dragged you out of the car. But you always had the sense that it was only you and him until you got caught. Asshole.
You sighed and threw your door open. You might now have known a lot, but you knew how to open a lock and mess with wiring without getting yourself fried in the process. That was enough.
With those old wire-cutters of yours in hand and mask on, you threw up your hood, and moved with the shadows. You rounded the restaurant, and snuck to the back where the staff entrance was locked up well. You half wished that the lock would have been enough to deter youâŚthat you didnât know how to pick a lock at all. But it didnât, and you did.
You reached into your pocket, and took a couple small gadgets that you still had from the asshat, and began fiddling with the thick padlock. Your heart was thudding in your ears while you worked away.
What are you doing?
You screamed at yourself mentally, wishing you had an answer to your internal question but you came up with nothing. Only that you needed to do something.
Click
A sigh of relief huffed from your mouth when the lock popped open. Your shaking hands quickly slid it out of place, and you were about to push on the door when you wondered if they had a security alarm set in place. It was entirely possible. But you knew you had your hands covered in gloves and your car not too far if the cops were alerted.
You decided that even if there was an alarm you had enough time to run. With another deep breath, you tugged on the handle of the door, and pulled. To your good fortune, there was indeed no additional alarm.
Once the relief faded, and your focus returned, you made quick work of finding the electrical box. It was on the wall just down from the back door. You thanks god that it was small. You carefully opened it, and stared at the web of wires and switches that greeted you. You groaned a little, and looked at the pliers in your hand, then back at the wires. Your hands trembled more now than you recalled they used to. You supposed your body was forced not to show weakness in front of himâŚ
You shook your head. âFocus.â
Just to be safe, you flicked off a few of the switches that looked to be connected to the wire sets you were eyeing as your target. The last thing you wanted was to get zapped and pass out. It wasnât as if you were going to clip anyâŚyou didnât want things to completely stop working. Just a few mistakes that would cause a big enough issue for the restaurant.
A half hour passed before you were finally content with the work your had done. Indeed, the web of wires before you now had exactly three faults that would slowly weaken and cause issues throughout the restaurant. Machines not working, and if left long enough they would likely cause a fire. It would mean a plethora of further issues too if an anonymous tip was called in regarding a poor and unsafe work environment.
With a deep breath and a few prayers, you flipped the power back on. The emergency light turned on and the box in front of you fizzed for a moment with the newly damaged wiring, but to your relief nothing exploded.
Your nerves started to come back now that you were finished. You flicked your eyes around and patted yourself down to ensure you left nothing behind, but just as you were doing so, you heard voices. A shot of fear surged through you, and your fight or flight kicked in. The latter won. You were out the back door within seconds and snapping the lock back into place as your mind went into hyperdrive. Your blood ran cold as you heard footsteps rounding the building; you breath felt too warm against your mask and your fingers barely managed to get the lock in place before you had to bolt. You hid in the shadows and crept along the side of the building until you could see your car and you ran. Your heart beat as fast at your legs were moving, and you didnât stop until you were behind the wheel, and driving away. You felt like you were missing something, but you couldnât stop to check even if you wanted to.
The sun had risen long ago, and you half wished you had to get ready for workâŚanything to get yourself busy and distracted from what you had done that night. It was a warm afternoon, and your hands were clammy as you sat on your couch with your phone sitting in front of you and the thick Albuquerque phonebook beside your thigh.
Just pick it up. Pick. It. Up.
Pick it up.
Pick-
You sighed and scratched your head before snatching the receiver up dialling the number you had your finger on in the phonebook.The ringing set your nerves alight as you waited. The monotonous tone lulled your for a moment, so when someone picked up, you almost jumped out of your skin. The person greeted you and introduced themselves with a name you didnât hear. âHow can I help you?â They asked.
You swallowed, but you had to do this unless you wanted the problem you had created to get even worse. âHello, I-Iâd like to make a complaint regarding unsafe working conditions? No, Iâd like to remain anonymous pleaseâŚYesâŚyes thatâs right. Huh? Oh, at Los Pollos Hermanos.â
âBELOVED LOS POLLOS HERMANOS UNCOVEREDâ
It was on the front page two days later. Evidentially a tip had been called in that there was severe malpractice in the restaurant, and after a health inspector had been sentâŚthey had found exactly that. Issues with basic wiring- a truly unsafe working environment. Due to something so simple being so wrong, every other aspect of Los Pollos was thus being investigated, and the business had been shut down until further notice.
It was the talk of the nursing home when you came to work, and you forced a look of surprise as people groaned about it. However, while you did feel a small sense of guiltâŚyou couldnât hide the creeping satisfaction that began to settle in you. It had worked.
There was the tiniest secret smile on your face that got you a few strange looks, but you brushed it off with a âI just slept well.â A part of you was mortified that you had done such a thingâŚworrying that somehow they knew it was you and that police officers would pull up at any moment to arrest youâŚbut it never happened.
You carried on your day like any other, and you began to seek out Hector in hopes that he had somehow heard what had happenedâŚor perhaps that you could tell him yourself. Then as you walked, you began to feel worry creep into your thoughts.
What if I crossed a line?
What if I ruined one of their plans?
What if Lalo had wanted to be the one to take care of the restaurant?
You started to wring your hands as you walked out to the patio, but your head snapped to a table where you heard a laugh you knew very well. There was no coincidence that Lalo was sat there with his uncle that day- you knew that. And judging by the ringing of Hectorâs bell, he was in a good mood.
You werenât sure that you were ready to speak to him after what you had doneâŚyou were filled with so much uncertainty. If he didnât like what had happened then he would likely track down who had done it and when he found youâŚthat would be it.
You took a deep breath and went to walk back inside, but you were stopped short when a whistle caught your attention. You hated how fast you stopped and turned to it.
Sure enough, that man with the devious smile was staring at you openly with a friendly wave. You hoped to god that he was genuinely happy and not just luring you in. With one last internal whimper, you began across the patio and came to the two men.
âBuenas tardes Sr. SalamancaâŚSeĂąor Lalo.â You nodded to them both, but you noticed that Lalo simply refused to take his glittering eyes off you- mirth swimming in them.
âBeautiful day, no?â He beamed mischievously, gesturing to the cloudless blue sky.
His charm was still very much in place, and you counted that as a good start, but you knew his mood could change on a dime.
You looked out at the saturated sky, âIt is. You seem to be in an extra good mood today, SeĂąor.â You said, then bent down to Hector to gently ask him if he was comfortable or needed water. He didnât ding he bell, so you assumed Lalo had already done those.
âYou ever see what a mouse can do in a house, niĂąita?â Her asked, still smiling.
You thought for a moment, âY-yeah I have.â You said, recalling when mice got into the basement of your childhood home and ate through the Christmas decorations.
âThey scurry around and get into everything but you never fucking see them. Fast, yâknow? Chew through everythingâŚpequeĂąos bastardos destructivosâŚâ he chuckled and shook his head, âI have aâŚvery strong sense that there is a little mouseâŚright here in this city.â Lalo leaned forward on the table- his forearms flexing. âCausing some serious damage too.â His gaze was heavy and intense. You found yourself starting to feel afraid, but you did your best to keep it at bay.
âA- a mouse, seĂąor?â You asked.
He hummed, âYou know what the thing about mice is though, niĂąita?â
You tentatively shook your head.
âThey make tremendous pets.â He grinned.
âI-I suppose youâre right.â You hoped your skin blanching wasnât as visible as it felt.
Lalo chuckled and leaned back again, and you released a breath. âSomeone made a fool out of some competition of oursâŚtheir tactics reminded me of a pequeĂąo ratĂłn, you know?â
âOh?â You asked as casually as you could.
âYep.â He popped the âpâ, âThereâs this restaurant which, admittedly is pretty good,â he began joyfully, âAnd youâll never guess what happened to it.â
You shook your head and shifted a little.
âTell me.â You said, hiding your shaking hands behind your back.
âGot shut down.â He said like it was a huge secret, âYeah, something about a wiring issue. Morons,â he shook his head, âCrazy eh?â
âYeahâŚwho wouldâve thought.â You agreed, mirroring his shock.
âYeah. Bonkers.â His smile faded from his eyes, but remained on his lips. But there was no anger there, which you counted as a positive thing.
Silence settled over you and you started to squirm. âItâs a good thing thoughâŚisnât it?â You couldnât help yourself from asking. You needed to know what he thoughtâŚwhether you should say your goodbyes to this world or if you could actually breathe.
Lalo smiled again. âSĂ, algo muy bueno.â
Your ears started ringing as his words settled into your brain.
He wasnât furious.
He wasnât vengeful.
You nodded, trying not to show how relieved you were. âWellâŚit might be unfortunate for that business but I hope your family does well in the meantime.â You sighed as calmly as you could, and picked up an empty cup on the table- anything to hide your trembling hands. âItâs always good to see you SeĂąor LaloâŚuntil next time. Sr. Salamanca your nurse will come get you in twenty minutes alright? Please donât try and make her deaf this timeâŚâ you added after having the memory of the woman yelling every time she spoke for three hours following Hector ringing his bell non stop for 15 minutes. Poor thing could barely hear.
âAdios, niĂąita.â Lalo murmured just loud enough for you to hear it, and you cast him one last look before you left. You were certain you would never get accustomed to his stare.
The remaining part of the day passed in a blur. Before you knew it the next shift of workers were signing in and you were signing out. The receptionist on that evening bid you goodnight, and you finally felt yourself fall back into your body.
You said a few goodbyes on your way out the door, and you absentmindedly played with your keys. You ran the day over in your head, and while you did feel relieved that Lalo wasnât angryâŚyou couldnât help but feel uneasy. You swore you forgot something when you had âŚwhen you had gone to the restaurant. You hadnât had the wits to look over everything when you got home, so you were hoping it was just some remaining guilt in you still festering.
There was a light breeze that night. It crept up your spine and tickled your cheeks. You breathed it in as you climbed into your car, and you let yourself relax a little as you pulled out and drove home.
Your building came into view but just when you were climbing out, a body came right up in front of you- caging you between your door and the sidewalk.
âHola pequeĂąa!â
You stared up, and felt your cheeks warm at the proximity to the older man - his grey streak prominent in the golden setting sun. You felt your skin prickle with goosebumps and your fingers tingled as you fought to find something to say.
You forced a small smile despite how flustered you were, âH-hello SeĂąor.â You said softly.
âJust the person I was looking for. How lucky am I?â He smiled- one arm over the open door and the other on the roof. You were stuck.
âOh I- r-really?â You hated that you couldnât stop tripping over your words.
His grin only deepened, âYeah, you knowâŚalmost as lucky as I was when a little mouse decided to meddle with that restaurant, hm?â
You stared at him, not knowing what else to do or say. Your anxiety began to creep back as you started to think that the joy he had shown in front of Hector was just an act after all.
âIf you say so SeĂąor⌠I hope no one was hurt.â You managed to say as his warmth and scent radiated into the air around you.
He laughed and shook his head. âNah not this timeâŚbut I will say that whoever did it was a little nervous I think.â He said as if it was a conspiracy, tilting his head just so.
âOh?â You asked. Not your most genious of replies but your brain was starting to turn into white noise.
Lalo nodded, and you could tell he was feigning concern; his mouth was in a frown but his eyes were filled with amusement. He was playing with you. âYeah they left their shitty wire-cutters behind.â The older man reached into his back pocket, and you felt yourself blanch.
âI went by there you knowâŚthe day after to give my condolences on the unfortunate findingsâŚAnd I just so happened to find these. Such an amazing coincidence too.â He smiled, wagging the cutters at you as he spoke.
You continued to stare, as if you moving would cause him to blow your head off; you still couldnât tell if he was pleased by what happened, and each passing moment didnât seem to help clarify anything.
âCoincidence?â You asked a little breathlessly.
He nodded brightly.
âYeah, I mean donât you have a busted pair like these in your car?â Lalo pointed the metal at your vehicle.
He knows he knows he knows he knows-
âI-I I didâŚbeen donating some things though I think they were in the last l-load I did. Havenât seen them for weeks.â You felt your brain working overtime as you fought to find something to convince him with; you were fine with him not knowing it was you even if he was happy about itâŚbut you werenât leaping at the chance of telling him that it was you and him not being pleased.
But then, Lalo tsked and leaned away, âToo badâŚhere I was thinking I might owe you a favour. Guess not.â He shrugged and tossed them into the window you now saw was open. You didnât remember opening it, and you realised he must have opened it when you were working to check if your wire-cutters were missing.
Then you felt your heart sink. He knew you were lying.
You sucked in a breath and shrugged.
âEven i-if it was meâŚyou wouldnât owe me anything.â You said, holding your ground as he towered over you.
His brows rose comically.
âNo? Some say a favour from a Salamanca is as good as gold.â He rumbled. His breath fanned across your cheeks and he readjusted his hand by your head. You felt yourself almost gravitate towards it.
You nodded and tried to ignore how you couldnât feel your fingers.
âIâm sure youâre right, seĂąorâŚâ you replied, âTu tĂo no me odia y has sido generosoâŚthatâs enough for me.âYou watched that mirth return. An morbid amusement.
You watched something in his head click ad he pieced things together in two seconds.
âAh, ella ha estado aprendiendo... Una chica muy lista.â He winked and wagged a finger at you as he stepped away from you and onto the street.
You might not have gotten every wordâŚbut you knew there was a little bit of pride in what he said. Like he was amused by you learning and speaking his native tongue.
âMy apologies for interrupting your evening. AdiĂłs!â He was out of your space and walking to his Monte Carlo that you somehow missed when you pulled in.
âG-goodnight, SeĂąor.â You watched him walk. There was a certain carefree confidence to the way his arms hung by his sides. You wondered what that was like.
He drove away with a two fingered salute, and you returned the gesture with a little wave. There was a surge of turmoil coursing through you as you pried yourself away from the sidewalk. On one hand, you hoped against hope that he wasnât buttering you up only to turn around and end your existenceâŚand the other part of you was trying to stop the first part of you from being so naive.
You strode into your apartment like you had soggy socks- slowly and uneasily. You sat on your couch and stared at the wall.
You fell asleep that night just like every other- suddenly and not knowing that you were being watched. Not that you would ever notice. Hectorâs men might now have been as intelligent and inconspicuous as Laloâs own back home, but they did the job. Every night like clock work; they followed you home, watched your window, and stayed quiet about it. It had been months now. At first it had just been to see if you were an informant or a plantâŚbut after a few weeks, some uneventful phone taps and 24 hour shifts later, it was clear that you were justâŚalone.
Lalo knew your routine better than you did. Knew that you often sat for stretches of time on your bed or couch upon getting in the doorâŚusually not even doing anything. He knew that you only ordered a full meal from a restaurant once every two weeks. He knew that you had nightmares too- sudden crying or screaming in the night had spooked the men stationed outside your window at firstâŚbut after a few nights they got used to it. He could still remember his mother having them when he was a boy and his father would disappear for daysâŚher cries from her room. He knew the sound all too well.
You werenât a threat. Not really. Lalo was still trying to work out how you had managed to get under Hectorâs skinâŚbut he had a feeling that your respect for him gave him a familial sense about you. Like a niece. NoâŚno Lalo wouldnât get rid of you any time soon, not while you still pleased his Tio, and now apparently looked out for the cartel.
When the men had told Lalo about your late night escapade, he had indeed paid a visit to Los Pollos HermanosâŚand he admittedly hadnât laughed that hard in a long time when he found those old shitty wire cutters of yours. He knew you had spirit but he had to admit that he hadnât expected that of you.
You were this skittish little thing , but the older man couldnât help but feel entertained at your antics. You were juvenile and fearless despite your anxious nature. So eager to prove something.
So they watched you.
The following few nights after your impulsive crime, the men had taken to start making little bets. Would you do something else crazy? Was it a one time thing? They kept busy.
You were dull, but you were cute, and they didnât mind.
They knew you never had visitors, so a week later, when they saw a taxi pull up, and a man get out in front of your building they didnât perk up. They watched him enter, and lazily observed him; it wasnât until they noticed how he loitered outside the front door until someone left and he caught the door that they looked at him a little closer.
The man disappeared inside, and they were begining to grow bored of waiting to see if anything if happened until your apartment light turned on.
They watched what they could see of you move through your apartment. One of the men had his binoculars in hand, pressed to his eyes to see more, but all he could make out was your door being flung open, and your home going black.
That was enough for them.
One of the men pulled out his phone, and pressed a speed dial, and waited as it rang.
â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘
#tony dalton#lalo salamanca#better caul sall#breaking bad#Lalo Salamanca x reader#breaking bad imagine#better call saul imagine#lalo salamanca/reader#lalo salamanca imagine#bcs fic#better call saul fanfic#tony Dalton x reader
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Hi, really love and enjoy your work. I wanted to request a Wednesday imagine. Its Wednesdayxreader but Platonic. The reader gets bullied and talked about and goes to Wednesday. She comforts her and cuddles them until they fall asleep. When reader wakes up Wednesday is still cuddles up to them, but later on they found out what she did to the bullies
A/n: since Wednesday ainât the verbal type to comfort someone but I like to think that she shows her form in comforting someone by doing small mediocre things.
You reminded Wednesday too much of her brother; weak, lack the even the basic knowledge of self defence, susceptible to the manipulative nature of others and emotionally reactive in certain situations. So when you came to her one evening, soaked to the bone and looking like a wet dog. Wednesday couldnât help but be remembered of the feeling she got whenever her brother got picked on, pushed over, forcibly tripped, shoved in a locker bound and gagged with a apple in his mouth like a roasted pig and or locked into the janitors closest.
The same protective feeling she got now as she looked into your sad, defeated eyes. Funny, she enjoyed seeing such devastation and disheartening on a persons face but whenever it came to you, Wednesday felt the exact opposite. She hated not being the primary reason for you grief and suffering much like she hated not being the reason her brothers suffering; after all it was her job to be a thorn in your side and sheâd be damned if she let anyone else become the bane of your existence instead of her.
âWhat happened, you look as though youâve just been thrown into Lake Eerie.â
âThatâs because I have been thrown into Lake Eerie,â you told her as you squelched your way into the dorm, wet footprints trailing behind you, unceremoniously dropping your equally as soaked school bag to the floor; trying not to convey how cold you really were after being plunged into an unforgiving lake of pure ice. âBy who?â Wednesday asked as she continued to type on her typewriter, uninterested but internally she was sharpening her throwing knives. âSome earwigging Harpies, why does it concern you.â You replied sourly and a little hurt that Wednesday didnât seem all that perturbed, then again it was kinda your fault for getting hopeful about a potential upgrade of your relationship from aquatints to friends.
âYouâre right,â Wednesday got up from her chair and moved over to her wardrobe where -with some help from Thing- she drew out a black long sleeved shirt along with some checkered sweats before placing them neatly on the edge of her bed, âit doesnât concern me, what does however is the fact that your sogginess is going to make the floorboards mold.â You scoffed but before you could open your mouth Wednesday pointed towards the door that lead into the bathroom. âTake a shower, your chattering teeth are starting to irritate me.â Just as you were about to make your way towards the bathroom Wednesday spoke once more before sitting back down at her desk, âtake the clothes Iâve prepared on the bed with you.â You did as you were told before closing the bathroom door shut behind you, locking it for good measure.
Once you emerged from the bathroom wearing the long sleeve and checkered sweats you noticed that during your much needed shower, Wednesday had prepared her bed as though she was going to call it a night but once she saw you from the corner of her eye, she drew back the covers and gestured to the bed before saying pointedly, âget in.â You blinked once, twice, three times before finding the voice to ask, âwhat?â Wednesday sighed, annoyed at the prospect of having to repeat herself although she was certain that the dunk you took didnât do any vital damage to your hearing to hear her clearly. âI said get in the bed, youâve exhausted your usefulness for today.â
Confused and unwilling to test her wintering patience, you walked over to her bed and began to make yourself comfortable as you drew the covers over yourself; just about ready to go to sleep when Wednesday did the most uncharacteristic thing youâve ever seen her do and lay on top of the sheets next to you, her head rested just a mere centimetres from your neck but you could feel her warm breath all the same as her arm came across your waist, holding you there. âWhatâre you doing?â You balked, looking at Wednesday as though she mightâve been body snatched by something that obviously didnât do their homework on how Wednesday Addams works. âIâm comforting you, now quit wasting your breath and sleep before I smother you.â You couldnât help but allow a smile to slip across your face as you closed your eyes, eager to embrace sleep.
âYou sure are something else Wednesday Addams, always keeping me on my toes.â You mused with a small chuckle.
âWhat did I just say about wasting your breath.â She warns, voice conveying a potential threat on your life should you continue to test her. âAlright, alright, Iâm sleeping now. Geez, see you in the morning I guess.â
The next morning arrived and you were still breathing thankfully enough but to add on to that, Wednesday was sleeping soundly next to you in the same position as she assumed last night; However her head was now fully resting on your shoulder as her arm mustâve pulled you into her last night as it was fully encasing you almost like a seat belt. Just before you could say anything Enid bursted through the door with Yoko and Divina, who chose that they very much liked their tongues in their mouths and refrained speaking up on how Wednesday was practically laying on you like a cat. âY/n! Wednesday! OMG you both need to come see whatâs going off down at the Quad. Stat!â Enid cried, waking Wednesday, before darting back out into the hallway with Yoko and Divina as their chattered loudly.
âRemind me to threaten removing Enidâs canines should she wake me like that ever again.â Wednesday said as she hoisted herself up from the bed as you did the same and were about to leave the dorm for yours to change into some fresh clothes. âIâll make a note of it and give it to you when I meet you at the quad.â You quipped as you left her dorm without another word spared between the two of you. Once you and Wednesday arrived at the quad, you both noted how crowed it was with students that it was almost impossible to see what everyone was gawking at; Luckily Xavier and Ajax were easily seen up at the very front with their height as they both laughed at whatever they were seeing.
âHow are we meant to see what Enid was raving about when thereâs too many people in the way obscuring the view.â You complained loudly, which caught the boys attention as they turned to look at you before they each grabbed ahold of you by the shoulders, positioned you in front of them so you could see what everyone was finding so funny. Standing there humiliated, was the group of harpies that shoved you into Lake Eerie but one would hardly be able in calling them Harpies when they looked like featherless newborn chickens with all their feathers removed. You almost chocked back on your laughter when you saw them before looking over at Wednesday who had a look of pride in her dark eyes.
You leaned over next to her, âthank you.â You whispered in her ear. Instead of out right denying your assumption that she was behind the Harpies humiliation, Wednesday merely shot you a glance and said âno one gets to torment you but me.â
#Wednesday imagines#Wednesday imagine#Wednesday fic#Wednesday fanfic#Wednesday x reader#Wednesday x you#Wednesday Addams x reader#Wednesday Addams x you#Wednesday Addams fanfic#Wednesday Addams fic#Wednesday Addams imagines#Wednesday Addams imagine
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POSTALTOBER DAY 16:
PERTURBATOR - FUTURE CLUB
kinda proud of how this came out!! despite it being in a shitty chibi-esque style reminiscent of all might's small form but whatever
#matryoshkamark's art#art#artwork#digital art#clipstudiopaint#coloured sketch#postal dude#postal#postaltober#postal 2#running with scissors
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@anderwelt: As the rain descended upon the desolate landscape, she stood in awe, surrounded by the artificial darkness that cloaked their world. Despite the absence of visible clouds, the incessant downpour showed no signs of abating, a relentless force against their fragile existence. "It's raining!" she cried out, her voice a mixture of excitement and disbelief, her form drenched to the core. "Rain, in this forsaken place!" The Drow twirled momentarily in the rain, her precarious dance interrupted by a collision with Gale, who, aided by his staff, struggled to maintain his footing against the added weight. "Ceres! You'll catch a cold!" Gale chided, torn between the discomfort of wetness and the allure of Karlach's steaming form. "Fine. You're all such killjoys." Yet, she understood the gravity of their situation; this land held no sanctuary. Also... she still hasn't confined into anyone she was unable to remember anything before the crash. While the rain may have been deemed unwelcome by others, for her, it was a solitary delightâa chance to revel in the first rainfall since her memory vanished. In the midst of collective disdain, she found solace in this simple pleasure. "Ah, right. Thank you, Karlach!" she said with a nod of appreciation, finally accepting the offered coat. Drawing it over her head, she used it to both ward off the rain and conceal the delighted grin that spread across her face at this unexpected turn of events.
Where everyone else seemed perturbed by the sudden rain, Ceres took it in her stride. These mannerisms are what drew Karlach to her in the first place - someone else to enjoy the little things with! Avernus didn't have rain like this, so to feel it again when she first returned felt incredible. Even if she didn't really feel it since it had already turned to steam by the time it brushed past her skin...
It seemed the others were tied between staying close to Karlach for warmth, or stepping away to get away from the light steam cloud surrounding her... Karlach couldn't blame them, if they were ambushed it would surely get in their way... Or in her way. Perhaps it was best to find somewhere out of the rain...
"Course, soldier! I'll be honest, I wouldn't have the first idea on how to look after you if you did get sick." She smiled, nudging Ceres lightly with her elbow. "Though, I can't be the only one thinking it's kinda weird to have rain here... These lands are so fucked up I wouldn't be surprised if this turns out to be some kind of weird cursed rain or something."
Though, she certainly hoped not.
#v; ~fury of avernus~#put it in a post here to get rid of the ask box on replies - hope thats alright!
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When Ricky said âThere are no accidents. Itâs kinda like how Dr. Lorenz tried to predict the weather on a computer but the computer couldnât do it. Infinitesimal perturbations of initial condition form a chaotic dynamic system leads to large variations; chaos theory. However, the idea of chance comes at each stage of the progress of our knowledge where we are still not aware that we are on the brink of a deeper reality which still eludes us. Heh! All things have meaning in relation to the whole, we are just not ready at this point in humanity to fathom it. All things, no matter how perceivably minute, have meaning in regards to their relationship to the very existence of the entirety of the whole! So scientifically speaking! There are no accidents!
*gasps*
Level up!â
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(if the ask game is still open) megamind au for the mha crew? đ
Ok so when I think of the megamind aesthetic, gonna be honest, the only one who can come close is Toshinori's villain outfit so expect this to get derailed...
1- on his home planet, Toshinori is considered weak and powerless, but Mirai, his family minion, can receive visions of the future and declares Toshinori will be very strong one day. Uh, and also that the planet is going to explode. His parents put Toshinori and Mirai on a lot escape pod and yeet him as the planet dies. On a neighboring planet, a shapeshifting baby, even younger than Toshinori, is also yeeted.
2- Toshinori grows up on earth around the dubious influence of Sorahiko (no hero system to conveniently align his morality to), Nana (has more convictions than Sorahiko but doesn't exactly prioritize legalities either), En (straight up thief), Giran (you know me), and while he always has the drive to help people- especially after learning that he can charge up power from the yellow sun in order to get up to three hours of strength in a boosted body- the first attempt at this goes... Badly. He helps save a family from a car wreck, but his inhuman eyes and smoking form scare them and he's attacked. But he tries again! And this time a young woman shows up dressed like a superhero in a comic, declares herself Lady Nagant, a natural born hero, and shapeshifts her arm into a gun. Toshinori quickly exits when he realizes he won't be able to talk her down, and on getting home, everyone decides if he's going to be treated like a villain and monster for trying to help people, might as well embrace that. Cue an absolute incredible villain costume
3- Mirai has a vision of a scientist working to help them engineer weapons to give them an edge against Nagant, so Toshinori and he go to Professor Shield. Mirai suggests kidnapping the man's daughter to hold as leverage, but Toshinori doesn't want to involve children and also is pretty sure that's a great way for David to put a bomb in anything he builds for Toshinori to hold closely. But turns out David doesn't need convincing! He's 100% on Toshinori's side, but the decide that to protect the Shields, they will all pretend that they are hostages. This means whenever Toshinori is arrested, Mirai grabs Melissa and leaves, and it's a fifty fifty chance if David follows because he can't lose her too, or if he's rescued for a few days before Toshinori escapes and collects him again. David is kept in increasingly secure bases each time in an attempt to stop this from happening but nothing ever works lol
4- the only person who suspects something else is going on with that professor is photographer and reporter Tokuda Taneo, but he's still chasing the story behind both villain and Nagant. Endeavor is the warden and he has a completely one sided rivalry with Toshinori, even attempting to get his kids in on it. Only Touya throws himself into this with enthusiasm, and Toshinori is kinda perturbed that Enji would use a child like that. This offends him, since Toshinori clearly doesn't have a problem using the Professor's child against him, so really Enji is worthy of it too. Toshinori decides to leave that bag of crazy alone and focus on escape plans.
5- so, Nagant landed in the home of a rich politician, but when she was young she was fully turned over to the government to make a superhero. She was happy for this at first, and gave herself bright purple hair (she was under orders to look human, but she pointed out that would be possible with hair dye, and it did make her look more like a comic book hero. She also made herself look older than the teenager she was at her debut). But eventually she got worse and worse orders, and kept being told to just kill Toshinori instead of taking him in, and the branch broke when they told her to kill the Shields as well, since the hostage thing was a farce. Nagant pointed out that even if David was a villian, Melissa was a kid who was a baby when this all started. Her handler doesn't care. The worst Toshinori's really done is waste taxpayer money on the prison continually being rebuilt. Her handler doesn't care. They want to finish up this All Smite job so Nagant can move on to more important cases. Nagant picks up that this is bad, but her only way out would be if she dies so....
A fake death it is! David is pretty sure he's used copper in other machines before but ok, whatever, they won! And Toshinori mostly leaves ruling to Mirai because he believes it's important for the city to have a hero and they accidentally gave another kid shape shifting abilities, but young Keigo wants to be a hero so badly and is picking it up too like a natural! And turns out Toshinori really likes mentoring... But then Keigo gets grabbed by the government too and leaves a note that he's running away with his mom for a better life, so Toshinori, alone, isn't having the best day when he runs into a boy even younger than Melissa who asks if he can be a hero without a power. Toshinori wonders why he never thought of that, and says he can.
Mirai does not approve of Toshinori wasting time training another new hero, this one without any powers- but when he has a vision of Keigo standing over Toshinori's body, bloody feather in hand, he gets even more desperate to convince him. When Toshinori refuses, Mirai leaves.
(in the other room, David frowns, and begins working on altering a hologram so it can fit around a person in disguise, making them look like Toshinori. He's learned over the years that Mirai's visions can't be prevented, but they sure as hell can be misinterpreted)
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Head on his shoulder, Guinaifen let out a content hum as she'd scroll through endless of updates on her social medias, the buzzing life of the streets around them fading on occupied focus. All it took was a feed, the comfort of her lover and a soft drink in hand to bask in the artificial warmth of the sun above them. Quick scrolling, occasionally showing him hilarious pictures, and then... a pause.
Who was that ?
Finger scrolled back up, clicking on a video that would display a woman with purple hair and a great set of legs. Wow. Guinaifen needed both hands for this, fingers zooming in on the female figure. It was a news report, something that went straight past the performer's head as she paused on an image shown of her full figure, sword in hand.
"W o w, look at this woman -" Not just any woman, but a woman the trailblazer might find it in him to recognize as she exceeded every bit of reputation tied to her name (destiny's slave, Kafka) would be held up before the two of them, a nudge to his side. "Her legs are awesome ; I'd love to get my hands on that outfit ! Do you think she's like a celebrity or something ? She looks awesome... and kinda hot, but I think that's the outfit's fault ... Hm..."
There'd be a glance down at her own legs. "Mine might be a too long for that outfit though - What do you think, babe?"
Caelus's own hands were no better. A rhythmic, constant flow of the thumbs repeatedly raining perturbation upon his foes, and the gallant strides required to avoid their lethal, eldritch brand of powers on the other. Comfort like this genuinely feels rare, how even in open space they're basically treating it like their own house. Once again their 'infamy' has made them a common sight, either in mischief, testing new frontiers or just this.
From the bottom of his heart, the Trailblazer knew he could get use to this.
There's a moment of tension from her figure, and from that, a natural assumption that her attention might've been snagged as a volatile, original plan may be in the makings. "Mm? Just what did you--" Eyes drifting to the side, for a moment the delinquent's heart found itself stunned to a pause, his phone nearly dropping as the velvet like confidence of quite the infamous face found itself parked on Guinaifen's phone.
Exactly as he can remember or imagine, the way how life itself is played to her silk, the devilish glow underneath those eyelashes as the entirety of her form was utterly recognizable to him. Should he tell her? "Dude, that's--" He begins, that nudge succeeding in jostling out any thought that would come. Only for this moment to heighten it's prominence by the opinionated addition that, due to knowing these two worlds, watching them converge made his jaw hang in utter speechlessness.
Her legs are awesome---
SHE looks awesome.... and kinda hot.
Caelus could not refute that statement. All the same, his heart ping ponged within his ribcage as this obscure combination of amusement, shock, stunned, how the hell was he supposed to feel about this?! In the gleaming eye of his imagination, that image briefly comes to life, Kafka's calculating eyes practically peering up towards them as if the epitome of innocence. As if she was wholly conscious of the chaos woven by her hands.
...Did that goddamn image of her just wink at him!? He swears it did at this moment!
"You've-- legs." Of course she has legs, Caelus. The image of those form fitting tights would be imposed upon the mind, drifting from the image of Kafka's natural confidence to his Firekiss, except rather than her sunny disposition, here she was wearing that same confidence as the Stellaron Hunter in question! It led to his face growing warm, this image of Guinaifen holding those razor edges, donning an outfit similar to Kafka's as within moments, his eyes sailed down to the glory of those lovely and strong legs of her's.
For an instant that phone was dropped, impulse overtaking him as he press a hand onto her thigh, drifting it over the current fabric and the warm shape of that lovely curve, prompting him to give it the most appreciative of squeezes. Somehow, his body was host to a spiritual form of autopilot as he pictures a different fabric adorning them. A low hum of confirmation escapes as he peers back up to her.
"We'd find the length if you like-- That, considering how beautiful your legs are?"
.....
"Firekiss, I'd stay buried between them for the whole day if I saw that."
Caelus what.
@avaere
#avaere#| Shuttle Mail#Caelus & Guinaifen | It was never the Stars. No. My warmth is the Sun you've always been.#There is so many layers to this ask#Where do we begin#Shame left shot in the streets#Cause his mind has found a vision with his Gui
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Apart from metal, are there any other music genres you like to listen to, even just occasionally?
dgksldg no tbh I'm like one of those ~ everything but country ~ kinda people. BUT ACTUALLY I LIKE SOME DARK COUNTRY STUFF TOO I GUESS. Is it still country if it's like cowboy goth or graveyard Americana? idk. Really above any genre I just always want music that's kinda dark and gloomy or weird and erotic.
I consider myself a goth as much as I consider myself a metalhead, though! (Don't make me start a lecture about how goth subctulre is about music above aesthetic but...) So goth music is the other heavy hitter. I think I listen to them in equal parts! And when I say GOTH I mean like, trad goth but also the industrial umbrella. I think synthwave/darksynth belongs in here, too, because it's kinda spooky LOL and I MEAN METALHEADS LOVE PERTURBATOR dsahgk but I think you'll find that live shows definitely have goth scene overlap. On my quest to find like beautifully layered writing in goth/industrial music I also wound up getting into some psytrance like Infected Mushroom and others like them, so that's a fav area too.
And I listen to a lot of classical/neoclassical and film scores. And I listen to a lot of neofolk ! (Neofolk also has a huge metalhead overlap because of the black metal influence like Gaahl being a forming member of Wardruna, etc.)
I also really like jazz but I'm not very articulate about it! I like listening to a lot if it's gloomy enough but I sometimes just throw Spotify mixes on and I don't know a lot of the artists very well. I got really into Esperanza Spalding last year after seeing a live jazz group that did a cover of her!
I've had a last.fm account since 2005 LMAO and it's funny because my yearly top artists always kinda reflect what type of fics I've been writing. But this is my top artists of the last year. Opeth is the only one that's metal! It's spooky folk & sad piano stuff that I listen to when I write. đĽšđĽšđĽšđĽš
this is my all time though since 2005 THAT'S ALMSOT 20 YEARS HAHA đĽ°đĽ°đĽ°đĽ°
anyway I'm listening to my Tumbleweed playlist right now, which is for Keith Voltron; lyrics don't matter but it's all music I can daydream an AMV to where he's grieving by himself in the desert and this extremely gloomy song is on at the moment đĽ°đĽ°
#metal is still my no. 1 love and i identify with the metal subculture so much and it's so special to me#and idc what anyone says but being queer and being a metalhead are extremely interconnected for me#i forgot to mention ive been listening to my like PERIOD APPROPRIATE MOLLOY MUSIC playlist all month#its mostly 70s rock#i grew up on 70s rock and its also like my metalhead heritage#IM GONNA KEEP REMEMBERING OTHER GENRES I REALLY LIKE AND FEELING BAD THAT I FORGOT TO MENTION#BECAUSE I LIKE A LOT OF MUSIC I JUST REALLY LOVE MUSIC
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(x) Alois is, everyday, surrounded by demons. Demons can change their forms whenever they want. Male, female, whatever they want.
Alois would be canonically perturbed, but secretly heâs probably like â:0â (demons have it so lucky. Also Alois and Grelle would be an unbeatable force and Grelle would call Claude Dee-Dee⌠or Webby.)
Definitely, heâd probably try to ask Claude about why he chose his form and maybe if heâd ever lived as a woman/something else. (I also think Alois might wish he could look different, in body or face, just because he has problems with his self image and how others view him in general but I donât want this answer to be too depressing lol). Hannah might actually give him more info and heâd think sheâs kinda cool for once.
I love Grelle and Aloisâ imagined dynamic. Theyâre very similar in how dramatic and theatrical they are, both extroverts who have attachment problems except Grelle has a couple decades on Alois about how to navigate it. Sheâs just his chaotic aunt now. Sheâd shoplift dresses for him (even though Alois is like âGrelle I have money stop thisâ) and would teach him how to do makeup properly. Grelle would totally flirt with Claude because heâs definitely her type, but he brings such an uncomfortable energy to the studio that sheâd probably give up and just tease him to see if heâll react.
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don't look if my nude form perturbs the soul
i kinda ate this ngl
also one of me crying the other day
tho this guy i met on grindr has been really nice to me ab it and frankly he's the only person ive been remotely able to talk to recently about being so in the dumps. wish that wasn't the case but alas
i shared drinks the other day w my brothers gf tho and that was fun. my sister was there too and had somehow never seen my drunk before so it was funny seeing her reaction. for being twins i feel like i don't know her enough
i actually kinda feel fish sometimes now so like, e works whoda thought
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Desmond nodded.
"They call themselves the chess pieces, a bunch of villains that work together and their boss, has a quirk that can...er power, whatever you'd probably call your power. They had multiple powers, King can use his to surgically remove a person's limb and graph it onto himself or another person, and that's how those idiots formed their band. M.T as I call him; cause it pisses him off." Desmond smirked to himself on that mention.
"Big idiot basically goes around looking for quirks to steal, he kinda became my personal enemy cause I know most of his weaknesses; he can open portals to wherever he's pointing, then last week it was to wherever he was thinking...so we have dinosaurs in the forest now...normal ones." Desmond looked at Rexhemoth who nodded at him before returning to the form of an older man in a trench coat.
"So you mentioned a device, can Tourmaline describe it so I can send the idea to stone and my tech team? I uh can't build, I'm more like a fighter with no real skills." Desmond blushed embarrassed by his lack of big brains.
'Need I remind you who came up with that plan? That was you Desmond, don't sell yourself short.'
"A compliment? From you? Maybe I'm the one in a different world." Desmond playfully nudged violet.
'...I'm gonna crash Daisy.' Kal-li spoke casually.
"Not my baby!" Desmond protested before Kal-li laughed about teasing him, the scenery started to change from being city to more country like.
"Hold on..." Desmond stopped the truck with a groan, next to a cow, it looked like just a regular cow. "Hey! Bessie, you KNOW better than to be out here, you can't cross the threshold you know what you did , you know how many places you're banned from?" The Cow looked at him slowly, then started moving faster in the opposite direction towards the city.
"Hey hey hey hey, no! come here!" Desmond ran out the car, the was some struggling and yelling. "Get in the back, get in there." Desmond pushed the bovine into the back with the guest. "Sorry this one's my grandma's if she gets into the city ha ha pandemonium..." Desmond bowed to everyone before putting Bessy in the back. Then returning to the front.
Bessie was not perturbed by the tigers and people at all, which made her blank stare all the more unsettling.
"Sorry again, Machine? What's it look like?" Desmond returned back with his hair messy and a hoof print on his face.
Violet sat up front with Desmond as they traveled as the rest of her group was in the far back with the tigers as they felt safer that way. "No the device didn't come with us but Tourmaline saw it and with her brothers they have an amazing memory so we need to re-build it based on what she saw and try and figure out how it ran" Violet explained. "Barring we get it correct I suspect it won't be the only thing we need to do. you mentioned someone used a power that also was a portal of some kind I suspect we will need him and that power at the same time to open the portal to get us back home"
#team vlts#|| hunters and heroes ||#[what the des doing?] ic;#//get to meet the best characteron my blog
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feeling your pulse (ft. tighnari, gn!reader) 1.3k words
notes from tori: kinda shitty and has a bad ending. i love him so much though, and iâm currently writing an extremely long fic with him in it for halloween!! sorry for being so absent, hopefully this makes up for it!
His hand wound around your wrist like a bracelet, holding your twitching fingers still as he prodded at the wound on your forearm, frowning at the jagged gash that bled down your flesh.Â
Tighnari was gentle, but there was something harsh in the way he smeared a personally engineered disinfectant across the injury, the pads of his fingers calloused. The breeze blew against your sweat dabbled neck, and you shivered.Â
âDonât move, please.â He commanded, âYouâve caused enough harm as it is. How many times do I have to tell you to be more careful?â An exasperation soaked his words in a way that sank guilt into the pits of your stomach.Â
âItâs not like I did anything crazy.â You murmured bashfully, training your eyes on the way he rolled out a string of taupe bandages, the contrast striking against his copper skin. Tighnari sighed, looping the fabric around your arm a few times before speaking once more.Â
âThereâs a reason why itâs a common mistake and a reason why we have rules in place to prevent things like this from happening.â He scolded, ripping the bandage from the roll, tightening the vice grip it had around your limb. âA quick side-trip to an area where rishboland tigers are known to nest â unaccompanied, mind you â may seem unassuming, but if Collei hadnât managed to find you, youâd no doubt be a carcass by now.â You winced as he tucked the frayed edges of the wrapping in with the rest, dragging his eyes from your hand to your face. You couldnât bear to meet his gaze. âMust I remind you that you donât have a vision? Not only that, but youâre still a trainee! The rule isââ
âI know, I know. Trainees can only patrol with an expedition team or a master forest ranger, but Tighnari, you were busy, andââÂ
Your explanation held no weight, and you could practically feel the chagrin rolling off of the man in waves. Bearing the brunt of his frustration was almost worse than becoming tiger food (Tighnari would insist that you werenât going to be food, it wouldâve been a territorial attackâ), and you wished more than anything that you could push his perpetual look of disdain into that quaint smile he always seemed to wear around you.
A weighted silence humidified the air, and each breath you took seemed to get heavier and heavier before it crushed you, and you finally mumbled an apology, staring holes into his patiently resting hands.
âMâsorry.â
His fingers stilled, and a knot formed in your chest as they moved to cradle your arm once more, his thumb sliding over the inside of your wrist, the other folding around your fingers. Finally, finally you found it in you to flick your eyes up to his, the vibrant greens melting into a warm brown that loosened the anxiety beneath your ribs. His lips were turned down disapprovingly and you watched his eyebrow twitch before relaxing, his dark lashes fluttering against his cheekbones.Â
âGah, You know I canât be mad at you for long,â He relented (somewhat perturbed by the influence you had on him), and pursed his lips momentarily before relaxing, training his soft gaze on your form. âBut promise me youâll be more careful. I canât be sending you out if I donât have full faith that youâll follow the procedures we have in place.â Swallowing thickly, you let your head bounce affirmatively, ignoring the accelerating thump of your pulse just beneath his fingertips.Â
âI promise. Iâm sorry for worrying you.â You expressed, your tongue heavy in your mouth, throat dry under his speculative eyes.Â
âThere you go. Now, how are you feeling? Is the wrapping too tight? I can loosen it just a smidge for you if itâd be more comfortable, but itâs better if itâs taut.â His fussing warmed your cheeks, and you shook your head, the pit of guilt sprouting and growing around your body.Â
âItâs not uncomfortable. Thank you for helping me again.â The melancholy swamping your voice did not go unnoticed by the forest ranger, and for a moment, he quieted, the sound of the wind rustling through the trees filling the hut.Â
Whatever expression he was wearing was impossible to read. His ears twitched, the dangling earring tinkling, his eyes hardened, then softened, and his nose wrinkled for just a moment before he inhaled, struggling to find whatever words were on the tip of his tongue.Â
âAre you worried that Iâm disappointed in you?â He finally settled on asking, and you sucked your bottom lip between your teeth, chewing anxiously. Perhaps you were. Was it so wrong to crave validation from him? The ache in your chest told you there was more to your longing.Â
âA little.â You admitted, blinking. A haze fell over your vision as you pondered his question, his visage blurring into a watercolor of green and browns. The scholar had exceptionally high expectations for his forest rangers, and although originally youâd brushed past his strict demeanor, months spent in his company flipped your opinion on its head. You were snapped from your thoughts at the brush of his hand against your cheekbone, vision refocusing as you tuned in to his doting head tilt, his ears sagging just a bit as he watched you, something sweet laden carefully behind his eyes. Â
âI donât think disappointed would be the correct word. Exasperated, perhaps. Concerned.â His tone was colored with a coo, a sugary fondness trailing like an aftertaste, the brush of his thumb against your skin raising bashful goosebumps you were sure he could feel. âYouâre too reckless.â This reprimand felt plush, soft like a pillow; you wanted to fall into his care.Â
He offered you far more leniency than you likely deserved.Â
âThatâs arguably worse,â You huffed, the words puffing out relentingly as you leaned into his touch, the fullness of your cheek molding to the curve of his palm. His finger twitched against your skin, and you allowed your eyes to flutter closed, zoning in entirely on the shakiness of his breath, the warmth of his skin, the sound of a hum rumbling from his throat.Â
âA guilty conscience would do you some good,â He murmured, the practicality of his statement overshadowed by the tender lining of the syllables. Scoffing, you let his words float in the space between you, the soft bustle of forest rangers filingl the silence of the hut with contentedness.Â
Your brow twitched as a bird chirped, and his pinky brushed against the underside of your jaw, your heartbeat catching with the motion.Â
âYour pulse is racing,â He commented, and you couldnât decide if the observation was oblivious or otherwise. Parting your lips, you raised your eyelids just enough to catch the wide, curious gaze of Tighnari. He was leaned in suspiciously close, enough that his breath wafted against your chin. Chills raced down your spine; how could they not?Â
He was beautiful: the vibrant greens of his eyes just bright enough to stand out amidst the vivacious forest, just bright enough to snag your heart on a string and draw it closer and closer.Â
Your lashes bristled and you leered nearer, simmering at the sound of his breath catching in his throat, his entire countenance falling still, taking in your motions carefully.Â
âTighnari?â It came out light, a near plea, and the atmosphere shifted, the particles in the room expanding and contracting with your shaky breaths.Â
âYes?â Inquisitive.
âHonestly⌠Iâm sort of happy you were worried for me,â You confessed, finally blinking up to gaze at him, his eyes half-lidded, following yours as they wandered to his gently parted lips. âIt makes me feel like you care about me, and itâs a nice feeling.â Tighnari seemed to chew on your words, swirling them around on his tongue and swallowing them for what they were before he offered his response.
Patting your cheek, he pulled back slightly, gaze slightly skittish as it avoided yours, cheeks puffed out bashfully, but the determined curve of his lips warned you of his words.Â
âI guess that means you havenât learned your lesson then. Would two weeks of clearing the road be sufficient punishment? Or shall I give you more?â
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Heart's Defense
Characters: A good 90% of playable characters + unreleased harbingers (not all of them tho)
Summary: How do they protect their heart from others?
CW: Kinda, really angsty..., some duplications cause I felt they fell into both sections, not proofread, maybe some OOCness, kinda an x reader but also kinda not, VERY sorry for the formatting - Tumblr has something against me for some reason???
They pull you into the falsehood that they're open to telling you anything, and you're left unable to think any differently with how friendly they present themselves. Always willing to help or hang out. They lend a listening ear and before you know it they know so much more about you than you know about them. You'll be privy to surface facts, but the moment anyone asks something even remotely personal you're struck with an indescribable sense of loss. When did this friendship become so one-sided?
Childe, Venti, Hu Tao, Jean, Ayato, Zhongli, Itto, Beidou, Sara, Lisa, Heizou, Columbina
Masters of stringing the right words together at just the right time, they simply dissuade the topic to that of another. You won't notice it until it's too late - or maybe you see it right from the start but say nothing, catching the hint. But you can never miss the shift in their gaze, a quiet, unspoken sadness. Unknowingly they've revealed what they tried to hide, but you stay silent still. The least you can do is grant them this lie that keeps them from crashing and breaking.
Kaeya, Kazuha, Yae Miko, Ningguang, Beidou, Eula, Gorou, Fischl, Thoma, Yoimiya
There were never any openings to begin with, not a single way left for outsiders to wiggle their way in uninvited. You can't ask if there's no opportunity. As always thought, there are the select few that breach past the seemingly impenetrable barrier. To those people, they are met with yet another brick wall - they'll ask their unsolicited questions only to be answered with silence. Any persistence is followed with a facial warning - a blank look, a glare, a perturbing smile. Do not continue, for my sake and your ignorant bliss.
Rosaria, Diluc, Xiao, Albedo, Eula, Shinobu, Shenhe, Yelan, Baihzu, Arlecchino, Dottore, Capitano, Scaramouche, Childe
Every fiber of their being screams to share how they feel with you, a flicker of trust forever burning in their heart no matter how many times they're beaten to the ground. Humanity isn't all that bad right? They've seen it time and time again, so they continue to pour tiring faith into those around them. It doesn't mean they're entirely blind to the truth. So, when the cycle falls to you, hesitation takes over, a fear festering in their mind that you are like all that came before you. Perhaps, if they stay silent, refuse to let you in, you'll remain by their side. If that's the price, so be it.
Collei, Aether, Lumine, Yanfei, Yun Jin, Kokomi, Amber, Chongyun, Bennett, Barbara, Ayaka, Venti
Tag list: @spoopy-fish-writes // @that-enby-alien // @xenuuu // @x-zho // @mariposa666haruka // @psycho-nightrose // @kaerui-kaisen // @stage-lucida // @genshin-impact-writings
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#kaeya x reader#childe x reader#diluc x reader#genshin impact x reader#genshin impact#venti x reader#zhongli x reader#xiao x reader#kazuha x reader#ayato x reader#itto x reader#gorou x reader#genshin angst#genshin impact angst
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