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honkytonk-hangman · 1 year

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In Sickness...

Jake Seresin x Aviator!Reader

Summary: Jake feels his pulse jump and his stomach fly when he talks to or about you. Obviously, this must mean he's gravely ill.

Notes: mentions of a cheating boyfriend, jake convinced he's sick when really he is in loooveeee

Masterlist

“Hey, Hangman, can I talk to you for a minute?”

Jake, despite his usual goal of doing everything in his power to get on Phoenix’s nerves, finds himself ignoring the need to be quite annoying. His antics aside, he knew his fellow aviator well enough by now to recognise when she was up for his shit, and when she absolutely wasn’t.

That doesn’t mean he’s not going to be a little bit of a douchebag, though.

“Give me a second, Trace, I’ll need to start my timer.” he makes a show of observing his watch and starting a countdown from sixty seconds. Phoenix ignores him, and in place of possibly giving him a dead arm, she instead comes to a stop in front of him, her arms crossing over her chest in a way that was just a Natasha Thing, and not actually a sign of closed body language-thing

“You’re going to be at Mav and Penny’s later, right?” she asks, even though he knows he’s never given the impression of having any other plans, and she knows it. Jake simply nods, still pretending to count down.

“Right. Well… maybe take it easy on Cricket tonight, okay?” Phoenix asks him, her voice soft and quiet in a manner that makes Jake mess up his countdown, and subsequently drop his wrist and the bit entirely.

“I’m under the impression that I always take it easy on my favourite member of the orthopteran insect family,” he poses, and it's not untrue. He didn’t snipe with Cricket like he did with the others, mostly because she never sniped back, so trying to maintain a faux adversarial relationship would just be boring. No, Cricket was far sweeter and more wholesome than literally anyone he’d ever met, like Elle Woods had a lovechild with Barbie, and instead of banter, he’d found it irresistible and perpetually rewarding to tease her about her Certified Disney Princess status.

(Jake will never let her forget the time a small child at the beach approached her to ask if she was a mermaid, and that wasn’t even the only instance he’d witnessed something like that happening.)

Phoenix shifts uncomfortably in front of him and purses her lips.

“Look, just… give her a break tonight,” she pushes. Jake frowns even deeper, his own mood becoming solemn now.

“What's wrong? Is she alright?” the questions leave his mouth before he can really consider perhaps only asking one, to keep some semblance of cool. Phoenix dances from foot to foot again and nods, but then quickly makes the universal noise, gesture and expression of ‘well, no, actually’.

“She, uh, broke up with her boyfriend a few days ago.” Nat reveals, and oddly, it's the last thing Jake was expecting to hear, and the last thing he’d expect her to divulge to him.

“Oh.” he says, a little unsure of what else to say. Blinking rapidly, Phoenix starts nodding again, this time in a sort of commiserating manner, as if they often gossiped.

“Yeah, she came home to find the prick was fucking one of his colleagues…” She all but spits the words. Her hands form fists where they’re still tucking into her folded arms.

“She's actually really torn up about it, but you know Cricket. She’s not very good at not being positive, you know? So she’s just bottling it up, and I figured, maybe your usual game with her might not be so lighthearted right now. You know she would never tell you if you actually hurt her feelings, so…” Phoenix manages to catch herself before she descends into a full on ramble.

In all the years he’d known her, Jake had only ever witnessed Phoenix fully ramble once, several years ago back in Lemoore, when she and Halo had downed eight shots in ten minutes, and she then proceeded to give him a thirty minute TEDTalk about how cockroaches were basically just incredibly simple AI machines, interrupted every so often when she dozed off against his shoulder, only to pick right back up like nothing had happened.

Pushing the memory aside, Jake takes in her words slowly before at last he releases a deep breath.

He actually finds himself a little taken aback by the sheer depth of anger that lances through him at the thought of Cricket being treated like that. Nobody deserves to be cheated on, but Cricket was simply someone that Jake doesn’t believe anything bad should ever happen to. Around the same time he comes to this conclusion, Jake also becomes aware that as his anger simmers down, he’s struck with the need to seek out his squadmate, and comfort her, something which, if Jake is honest with himself, is not something he has much experience with. He was much more likely to offer space to someone in need, so this sudden urge causes his brow to furrow.

Jake chooses to compartmentalise this oddness for now, but makes a mental note for later to figure out when exactly he’d developed such a strong fondness for Cricket, and more importantly, how exactly that had happened without him knowing.

For now, Jake just gives Pheonix a level nod, and what he hopes is an expression she takes to mean he understands. He then tries to get a hold of his rogue fondness and leashes it with what he thinks is a brotherly, friendly reaction, a more normal reaction for him to have towards his squadmate.

“Does she want him punched or something?” he asks, feeling as though anything more would reveal too much of his scattered, fond thoughts. Jake purses his lips when he realises that ‘fondness’ was quickly becoming an understatement he’ll have to address at some point.

Phoenix's lips curve into a genuine smile, and she chortles softly, shaking her head.

“Well, you’ll have to get in line if she does. I’ve got first dibs.” she states, cracking her knuckles and then her neck, making Jake snort, and shrug, glad to know that perhaps he wasn't the only one suddenly feeling protective.

“I’m sure we could come up with a wrestlemania-worthy finishing move, a la The Hardy Boys to sort him out.” Jake chortles, imagining he and Nat in matching championship belts, and ignoring her raised eyebrow. He knows from that one movement alone that she is filing this information about him away to whip out like a trap card, but compared to the other information she might have gleaned from his reaction to the situation, he doesn’t care so much.

(Besides, Jake felt no shame about his love for Attitude-Era WWE, and if he ever gets the chance to repay her for the thirty minutes of cockroach facts he could have lived his whole life without needing to know, well, now he knew exactly what his topic of choice would be.)

Four hours later, Jake, for some reason, cannot stop thinking about his conversation with Phoenix. He tried chalking it up to the fact that it was an unusual request she’d made of him, but he knows that is bull. Jake is far too invested all of a sudden in your personal life, in your feelings, in a way that honestly, he never has been before. Or at least, has never realised before, because the more Jake lingers on the idea that you were cheated on, he has to confront the fact that these feelings might just have been there all along, and that actually, your happiness and wellbeing are extremely important to him.

He keeps his distance when you arrive with Halo at Penny and Mav’s, but he eyes you hawkishly anyway, uncaring if he’s obvious about it or not. He wants to believe that if he hadn’t known, he’d have spotted your much more reserved demeanour immediately, but honestly, he's not really sure of anything now when it comes to you. Jake isn’t sure if Phoenix spoke to the others, if he was just the last to know, but there is an air of tenderness in the way the others greet you, which wasn't entirely unusual in itself, yet the softness is palpable even from where he sits on the other side of the yard.

He watches you put on a good show, smiling sweetly at Penny as she rushes over to say hello, but the moment you dont think others are paying attention, your features fall and Jake decides that it is basically unacceptable for you to look that sad ever again.

When you disappear through the backdoor, to put the share platter you’ve bought into the fridge he assumes, Jake doesn’t even excuse himself from the conversation he’s supposedly in before he’s beelining for the house. Behind him, he can vaguely hear Javy and Payback protest, but he doesn’t pay them any mind.

Jake steps through the sliding back doors quietly, closing the door behind him and shutting out the rest of the barbeque, if only for a few minutes. He moves softly through the small back room and towards the kitchen, once more surprised to find out just how pleased he is when you turn to look at him right away. That was new… or was it? Jake thinks perhaps he should stop trying to figure things out.

“Hey! Jake!” you greet cheerfully, and he’s comforted a little that your smile reaches your eyes.

“I didn’t catch you this afternoon, so I didn't get to find out your fruit platter preference, but Javy told me anything but pineapple–” you launch right away into friendly conversation, and oddly, this small normality brings him comfort too, after his afternoon of quiet worry. Jake nods at your words as you continue explaining your fruit platter, and if he hadn't other things on his mind, he would have voiced his amusement at the fact you’d somehow managed to cut or arrange all the fruits into the shape of jets.

Anger bubbles in him once again, at the idea that anybody would do anything to cause you to be upset. You, who cuts fruit into themed shapes, and who makes sure to ask every member of the team their food preferences, and who, he’s almost certain, has made the yoghurt dip you're currently unwrapping completely from scratch just for this casual get together.

How could any sane person know you, know how sweet and caring and fundamentally, altogether good you are, and still choose to do something that would hurt you?

More importantly, how could a man be with you and want anyone else?

Jake takes a step forward and fixes you with what he hopes is not an expression that reflects his inner anger, but gives off something more like softness. He’s not sure he’s ever really had a serious conversation with you before, especially not one that wasn't about work, so he’s surprised how natural it feels to show you something more genuine than his usual playful amusement.

“Are you alright?” he hears himself ask you, almost regretting it when your expression drops immediately, and you look away from him, back to your fruit platter which you now seem to be pointless rearranging just so you don't have to look at him. You attempt to wave him off after a few moments, plastering a smile on and scrunching your nose as you continue to not look at him.

“I’m okay. Really. Things weren’t right for a while, so it’s sort of a relief, really.”

Jake thinks that maybe in a few months time, those words might actually be believable, but Phoenix was right. You were such a naturally happy and uplifting person, it’s clear to Jake that you were struggling to let yourself be sad or angry about it all.

You seem to be expecting him to speak, because you glance back at him several times before you seem to really get a look at his face, at which point you stop messing with your platter and turn to face him properly.

“Thank you for asking, though, I… I really appreciate that,” you murmur, wringing your hands together, before realising what you’re doing and smoothing them out over your sundress instead. Jake feels his pulse speed up. Or maybe it slows, he’s not sure, he just knows that his heart beat becomes irregular, and before he knows what he's doing, he’s stepping even closer towards you.

“Cricket,” he begins, a frown beginning to crease his brow, which your eyes flicker to consciously, as if you were concerned about his feelings. “Just say the word, and his nose will be irreparably broken. For the rest of his life he’ll be telling people it's an old football injury. Maybe he’ll even need surgery to fix it enough that it’s even remotely normal again,” Jake watches your eyes widen and blink as he speaks, but he makes sure to keep any trace of humour from his voice, so you properly understand just how serious he’s being. “Hell, it doesn't even need to be his nose. I’ll break his collarbone, I've heard that's the most painful in the long run…”

When you let out a soft sound halfway between a laugh and a sigh, Jake almost thinks he needs to rephrase his offer, but your soft smile and the almost shy look you shoot at him before you drop your gaze for a moment assures him you understood that he wasn’t joking, even a little.

“Sometimes…” you purse your lips and frown, struggling to find the right words, but you begin wringing your hands slowly again and the movement seems to lend you some confidence. “Sometimes I really wish I could be more like Phoenix… or, more like anybody else, really–” Jake has to physically clamp his mouth shut to stop himself protesting that point and let you talk.

“Sometimes, I wish I was someone who would take you up on that offer. I… I feel like I should want to want that… but I don’t…” you trail off and sigh again, but this time, the exhale seems to take a weight off your chest, like simply admitting these feelings out loud was what you really needed.

You look back up at him properly, and smile again. Jake thinks his pulse has stopped altogether now, and begins to seriously consider reporting to medical first thing Monday morning.

“But, I promise that if I ever change my mind about the severe breaking of certain bones, I’ll know exactly who to talk to.” Your smile widens just slightly, a little mischievous almost, like even just joking about it was very cheeky of you. Jake on the other hand, just believes it to be the only correct course of action.

He opens his mouth to respond, but you begin talking again, dropping your fidgeting hands to hang more relaxed at your sides.

“A lot of my life I haven’t really been surrounded by people who’ve looked out for me, or folks who I can really trust… and I know we’re not really friends, more like work friends, but–” you suddenly cut yourself off and shake your head with a little chortle.

“It doesn’t matter, ignore me–”

“–We’re friends.” Jake can’t stop himself from protesting this time. You blink at him like this is surprising to you. “We are friends, Cricket… I know I–” Jake cuts himself off like you had just done and grinds his teeth a little. This was not a conversation he went around having very often, if ever, at all. “You know I wouldn’t poke fun at you if I didn’t care. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t think we were friends,” he says, hoping his words didn’t give away exactly how much he cared. You seem to search his face, but you’re nodding, as if he was the one who needed assuring in this situation.

Jake starts to wonder then if he was actually becoming seriously ill, and all of his reaction to this afternoon has just been one big fugue episode. That idea is genuinely more believable to him at this moment, that Jake is really, actually currently unconscious in the on base hospital, with a skyrocketing fever and some other terrible things, than all of this sudden personal change and inner realisation happening so naturally and smoothly and without him having a say in it.

But then you’re smiling at him again, bright and genuine and all thoughts of climbing fevers and sudden illness evaporate. As sad as it sounds, Jake would never dream of you smiling at him like that, the sight so affecting and sweet that he could never come up with on his own. However, he does conclude he’ll probably be seeing it a lot in his dreams from now on. He thinks this should cause panic in him, he should not be planning to dream about one of his squad mates smiling at him, but unsurprisingly to him now, panic is the furthest thing he feels about it.

“Well, I just know that I’m not always good at asserting myself, but I know that you guys… you guys will do it for me.” You give a little shrug. Jake feels a little shame then, that he’s worked with you for several months now and has not once picked up on the fact that you were completely aware of your own tendency to be a bit of a pushover.

It dawns on him that every time he teased you for being ‘too nice’, and every time you laughed or shook your head in amusement, the real joke was on him. It’s a joke that Jake doesn't find particularly funny right now. He’s not sure he ever will.

“Sorry, I’m being so dramatic and grim!” you say suddenly, and this time your mood change isn’t fake or put on. Jake shakes his head at you, and at last feels some of his regular programming begin to seep back in. He chooses to make a show of leaning back against the counter and carefully crosses his arms over his broad chest in a way that he knows looks incredibly sexy (Javy has assured him), a small smirk slowly spreading over his features.

“Cricket,” he drawls out slowly, somewhat relieved that he feels more himself again. You double take as you look back up at him from where you’ve started fiddling with your fruit platter again, your eyes blinking rapidly as you now quickly try to avoid his whole side of the room. Jake’s grin grows ever so slightly when he has your attention, even if you seem too nervous to look at him now.

Unlike most of the women Jake had worked with, you didn't seem to try to, or perhaps you simply were unable to, hide the effect Jake had on you, how he could so easily make you flustered. It's not something he’s totally unfamiliar with, after all, plenty of women around the Hard Deck were the exact same, but the fact that you aren't some civilian looking to get laid, and are in fact one of the best aviators he knows, makes it all the sweeter.

(Jake had once tried to reconcile the way you handled yourself in the air, with the way you were at all other times, but he could never quite do the maths on it, so it was better for his brain if he didn't think about it at all.)

Honestly, Jake knows his getting a reaction out of you is an act of self ego-stroking, but he loved making a spectacle of himself, just to watch how you would sputter and go all mushy, and if he’s even more honest, a big part of his enjoyment lay in the thought that perhaps, he was doing you a favour, giving you something to think about, boyfriend be damned. He supposes he doesn’t need to worry about that being a problem anymore.

Jake then pauses then, and wonders when exactly you having a boyfriend had become a ‘problem’, a threat to him specifically, because the more he thinks about the idea now (hypothetical as it is), the more his skin starts to itch under his shirt.

Perhaps he was getting sick after all.

“Yes, Jake?” you ask, still avoiding looking his way, and trying to use a tone of voice that was either exasperated or ignorant, but your slightly higher pitch gives you away.

“You didn’t say that I was your friend, too,” he faux complains, watches you shake your head a little, but fail completely at keeping the smile off of your face.

With your platter now deemed ready, you pick it up and turn toward him, holding it out for him to take. Jake, without thought, does so.

“You are my friend, too, Jake,” you tell him, far more sincerely this time, and Jake feels his pulse do that odd thing again. He swallows thickly, and nods, before you direct him out the back door.

For the rest of the afternoon, Jake can’t help but hover, never moving too far away from where you are, and when he doesn’t have an excuse to linger close to you, he always keeps one eye directed your way.

#jake 'hangman' seresin x reader #jake seresin x reader #jake 'hangman' seresin #jake seresin #hangman #hangman x reader #jake hangman seresin x reader #jake hangman seresin

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kame-writes · 11 days

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Media Overlords drabble - Girls night

Velvette turns up at the Hotel

Charlie rushed to open the door, surprised to hear it being knocked so late in the afternoon. There was a giddy, optimistic part of her hoping that it was someone interested in staying at the hotel. And despite the fact that it hadn't happened yet, she still greeted the person on the other side with a Dazzling smile. “Welcome to the Hazb-”

“Zip it Princess, nobody cares.” The impatient cockney voice instantly gave away who it was, and she didn't sound in a good mood.

The Vees generally didn't come out to the hotel, except Vox who was a naussance on a debatably regular occasions. Valentino was out right banned on pain of something about Alastors shadow, which had been a huge relief to Angel Dust. So Velvette standing with her hand on her hip in the doorway was a very odd sight indeed.

“I'm just here to pick up my number one bitch for the day.” She explained, pushing her way through the door and into the lobby.

“Uh Angel Dust?” Charlie guessed, not sure who Velvette meant. Angel was a good guess, since he was always in fashionable clothes for his shows, which she assumed came from the social media overlord.

“Pffft as if. He wishes he was number one.” With a scoff Velvette brought a hand to her lips and let out an ear piercing whistle, before screaming. “Girls night!”

Immediately, there was the sound of quick, tip tapping sounds as someone ran down the stairs. A red and white blur rushed past Charlie and launched itself into Velvette’s arms.

“Niff, how you been girl?” Velvette grinned, pulling her into a spinning hug, before settling the much smaller sinner on her hip, able to hold her almost like a child since she was so much smaller. “Towers been boring as fuck without you running around causing chaos.”

“I'm in a war with the cockroaches!” Niffty beamed, excited as always to talk about her unusual little hobbies. “You should see my collection, hehe, I put on puppet shows with them!”

“Good for you. Now then, the boys have pissed me off today, so we're going all out. I'm talking spa day, retail therapy, the works. If we don't max out at least one of Vox's cards, we ain't doing enough.”

“Ya know. Al gave her a job here. He ain't gonna like you taking her away like this.” Husk pointed out from the bar.

“Stay outta this pussy cat. If that Deer bastard’s got an issue he can come back to the tower and hash it out with me personally. Hear for himself just what I think of him demoting my girl to a fucking janitor.”

“I like to clean!” Niffty grinned, not seeming to see the same Issue Velvette was.

“So. You're taking Niffty shopping? Is she going to be gone long?” Charlie asked, clearly a bit apprehensive about letting their weird little maid leave by herself with an Overlord.

“I don't think it gives us a good image, if our staff is seen out and about with the Vees.” Vaggie pointed out, making herself known from further back in the foyer, glaring at the young overlord suspiciously.

“Oh please. What kind of Hotel only has, like, two guests anyway. One or two posts on my Sinstagram and your crummy little hotel could be crawling with patrons.” Velvette almost giggled, turning around to hold up her phone for a selfie.

“Aheh. I wouldn't do that if I was you, little lady.” A familiar staticky radio voice spoke out, a second before its owner materialized from the shadows, leaning forward on his cane with slightly narrowed eyes aimed at Velvette’s phone camera. “Unless of course, you wish for the first shop you visit to be buying a replacement.”

“If you break one more of my phones I swear to-”

“Let's, uh, not get into a fight shall we?” Charlie cut in, anticipating this to only get worse if it was allowed to continue.

“This hotel is not in affiliation with the Vees. As I have made very clear on multiple occasions.” Alastor's voice was a casual firmness, being polite instead of argumentative. “It is a place for sinners who honestly want to give redemption a shot. Not some tacky, tourist photo opportunity for your social media scrutiny.”

Alastor straightened up from his forward lean, walking over to put himself between both Charlie and Velvette, slightly to the side so he could address them both equally. “However. If Charlie wishes to allow you some form of promotional material. Perhaps you may ask her to join you on your outing today? Ask some questions, take some photos together. Be seen supporting our darling princess in a few of your posts.”

“I'm not letting Charlie go anywhere with an Overlord. It's bad enough that you're here. And even then I'm only about sixty percent sure you're not a threat to us.”

“Sixty? My, I've gone up in your estimations.” Alastor laughed, backed up by a condescending laugh track. “But very well, I suppose it would be remiss to leave you behind.”

“Hold up. This ain't some kind of playdate.” Velvette snapped, putting Niffty back down on the floor to instead stand with both hands on his hips, hip checked to the side with very obvious attitude. “I'm here for Girls night with-”

“And the last time I checked, both Charlie and her paramour were of the female persuasion.” Alastor said, more firmly this time. “Girls night seems like a wonderful bonding experience for all of you!”

Charlie looked back at Vaggie, who was holding her spear to the side, not looking thrilled at the idea, but not outright rejecting it either, and Niffty was bouncing on the spot with a hug grin stretching wide across her face. “I… guess it wouldn't hurt to get to know eachother. I mean, if your a friend of Al's, and wanted to help out.”

“Ooooo! Girls night got bigger.” Niffty gasped, practically vibrating with excitement.

“Urgh.” Velvette groaned, racking a hand down her face in annoyance. But the fond look she gave at seeing how happy the idea made Niffty softened the blow somewhat. “Fine. I suppose being seen with the princess isn't cramping my style too much.” The resignation in her voice was palpable, and the knowing look she shot Alastor only validated his smug expression.

“Wonderful! Anything Charlie buys, you may take out of my personal account.” Alastor said brightly, stepping aside to allow Charlie to pass. “I look forward to hearing all about it this evening.”

Vaggie reluctantly followed the others out of the hotel, moving besides a bewildered but optimistic Charlie, who already looked like she might break into a full round of twenty questions at the drop of a hat.

“And don't you fret princess. I'm sure the boys and I will have things completely under control here until you get back.”

#hazbin hotel #hellaverse #helluverse #hazbin hotel au #media overlords au #hazbin velvette #velvette #hazbin niffty #niffty #alastor #hazbin au #hazbin alastor #hazbin charlie #charlie morningstar #charlie magne #hazbin vaggie #vaggie #charlie

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wolfoftheblackflames · 2 months

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I had plenty of fun doing this fic, and once again I spoil you my misfits as I give you more. As I said before I plan to release the full thing on Ao3 so enjoy the parts as I create them.

The Devil and the Innocent: Pt.3

Vaggie watched as the blonde Devil came back over growling softly. “Come…” She ordered as Vaggie nodded.

“Why should I?” The smaller woman asked glaring.

“Do you want to stay in the dungeons? I'm offering you a chance for a room at least.” The Devil replied growling

“Fine..” With that Vaggie followed the Devil.

The two walked in silence but Vaggie couldn't help but noticed how well dressed the Devil looked, in a worn out red suit with ripped slacks that showed those powerful legs ending with red hooves, a flowing white and red cloak draped along those broad shoulders, and a neatly button up white shirt that was open slightly to allow some blonde fur to peek out. “You never told me your name…” Vaggie asked cautiously since she knew this beast could easily throw her around.

“It's a name forgotten by time but… If you must know it's Charlie.” The Devil replied looking sad. “Everything besides the west wing is available. This is your room.” Charlie opened a door to a rather cozy looking guest room. “Goodnight.”

“Hey.” Vaggie replied as Charlie looked at her. “To answer your question. I'm Vagatha, or Vaggie for short.” She looked at Charlie who blinked. “Goodnight Charlie..” She vanished into the room, closing the door.

Charlie lingered there for a moment, her eyes falling to where Vaggie once stood. She soon turned to leave trying to ignore the guilt that rose up since she was forcing the brave woman to stay. “See it's already workin’ on the giant.” Angel smirked watching the princess look a little calmer somewhat.

“I wonder if this is the one who'll save her broken heart?” Alastor replied, looking a little annoyed. He didn't like the fact his blood thirsty mistress was turning soft again.

“Well she fuckin better be, I can't stand being this stupid ass monkey!” Cherri growled, waving one of her symbols.

“Patience Misssy, we'll be normal soon enough.” Sir Pentious added but winced when he saw his crush turn away crossing her arms.

Husk sighed but couldn't help but wonder if what Alastor said was right. “First time she's let someone actually stay. Even if it's forced..”

---

Inside the rather nice lavish room, Vaggie sighed sitting on the comfy bed. She wondered if Carmilla got home alright. Though those thoughts were interrupted by a soft dull pain. A knock came as Vaggie blinked heading over since it was something to distract her. “Hello?”

“Hello darling, my name is Rosie. I've come to see if you'd like some tea, and maybe some snacks?” The beautiful teapot spoke, causing Vaggie to back up.

“What the fuck..” The Latina uttered bumping into a red and purple master dresser.

“Oy watch the merchandise!” A shrill British accent popped out of it as Vaggie blinked, falling onto the bed.

“Velvette dear, try not to spook the guest.” Rosie scolded.

Velvette huffed as Rosie poured some tea into Niffty’s cup form. “Not another woman… Can't I just go clean instead?”

“Not right now darling. Now be a good dear and listen to your mother.” Rosie nudged her with her spout.

“Fine..” Niffty casually hopped over not spilling the tea mixed with sugar.

Vaggie blinked but she noticed the little cup waiting for her. “I'll admit you're kinda a pretty little cup..” She picked up Niffty who blinked at her.

“I like to squish cockroaches with my body.” Niffty added making Vaggie wince a bit.

“That's nice…” She hesitantly drank the tea but blinked as it felt nice and warm.

“Don't mind Niffty darling. I always give her a soap bath when she does that.” Rosie added.

“Well I ain't staying in this ugly bitch’s room.” Velvette casually hopped away making Rosie look annoyed.

“We'll get you a new less chatty dresser darling. Sorry for that one.”

Vaggie sighed. “It's been a long night. Might I just sleep?” She groaned softly as Rosie nodded. “Of course darling. Though I couldn't help but notice you're holding your eyepatch.”

Niffty had already zipped out once put down happily running down the halls. “Just something from the past…” Vaggie muttered but blinked seeing a little table scamper in with a bottle on top.

“It's a small thing, dearie, but it'll help with the pain.” Rosie bowed and hopped off.

Vaggie just blinked as she took the small bottle into her hands with some odd clear liquid with herbs inside. “Um thanks..” She replied as the table followed Rosie out, leaving Vaggie alone. She couldn't wrap her head around this strange place, talking everyday objects, ruined old portraits that litter the halls, some which had depicted a family at some point, but claws had torn them up, and that monster, the Devil. Vaggie sighed softly and took some of the potion offered. It really did help with the phantom pain, much to her surprise. “I suppose it won't be so bad here..”

----

It had been only a day since Vaggie came to live at the castle, she didn't mind it but a part of her missed her routines with Carmilla, or the snarking banter of Odette and Clara. She sighed softly wandering around, the many demonic looking statues along the walls and halls gave her the creeps. “The West wing..” She looked over at it. It was the one place Charlie forbade entry too despite everywhere else being free roam. She later returned to her room once she was done exploring.

Charlie walked towards the guest room and knocked. “How are you liking it here..? I noticed you left your room earlier. Are my staff tending to you well enough?” She asked, still being growly.

Vaggie blinked, surprised hearing the Devil, no Charlie being so attentive. She didn't feel like leaving the room, after all it's still a prison if not a neatly decorated one. It's what a murderer like her deserved. “Why is she…” Vaggie muttered sitting on the bed. “I don't understand this at all..”

“Hey blondie, invite her to dinner.” Angel nudged as Charlie gulped.

It came out more forceful than she wanted it to be. “You'll join me for dinner, it isn't a request..” She growled as it left feeling so awkward. “Shit shit shit!” She growled as she's sure it must've scared Vaggie.

“How about no?” The Latina replied.

“What?!” Charlie snapped growling.

“Try uh being lesss growly?” Sir Pentious asked.

Charlie looked at the little objects but grumbled. “She's being a little difficult, understandably so… But fine.” The Devil sighed and gulped. “Would you like to come down to dinner?” She tried not to sound growly but it came through regardless.

“Try adding a please.” Sir Pentious smiled.

“Please Vaggie?” Charlie added, still sounding growly but she started to fidget.

“I already said no.” Vaggie replied looking slightly annoyed.

“You can't exactly stay in there, you know?” Charlie growled, fighting back her demonic urge to rip the door off.

“A la mierda eres un terco.” (Fuck you're a stubborn one.) Veggie hissed softly. “I can and will, after all it is my room now right?” She snarled, adding some sass.

Charlie couldn't hold back the cursed beast from roaring out. “Fine then, go ahead and starve!” The Devil growled huffing before turning towards the others. “If she doesn't eat with me, she doesn't eat at all. Understand?”

“Yesss…” Sir Pentious looked away as Charlie stormed off.

“Oh good the demon came out again.” Alastor grinned.

“Not now radiohead.” Angel stated glaring.

“How about you stay here and keep an eye on our guest?” Husk stated as Angel nodded.

Charlie went into the west wing and tried to hold back her anger. “Of course it had to fucking come out. This damn curse…” She growled but then went over to a small bowl resting on the table. “Show me Vaggie, please…” She spoke looking down into the water. It shimmered with soft magic and showed Charlie what she wanted.

Vaggie leaned on the windowsil looking out at the forest below. “Baap!” A friendly little goat plush waved at Vaggie.

“Baap baap!” Another came beside her.

“Look she fucking took my mentor hostage, and now I'm stuck here. I can't even see my family again because of this deal.” She growled looking away. “I don't want anything to do with an asshole like her.”

Charlie started to tear up slightly and lightly scratched the image in the water away. “I'm sorry… I guess I'm only going to be a monster to you huh…” She fought the urge to cry. “What can I do to make things okay… There's still hope, right?” She muttered, releasing some tears. “There has to be..”

---

Vaggie pinched her nosebridge. “What the hell are you playing at?” She couldn't figure the Devil out. But she then blinked, searching the leather bag she had on her for the book. “No fucking way…”. It had been a short children's story to keep the little ones from venturing into Hellfire forest, but now that she was here, it started to make sense. The Devil who looked so monstrous and spoke so viciously was indeed the princess who lost her heart to the prince.

“I see you're one who likes to read.” A voice piped in as Vaggie blinked, turning to the speaker. “And seems gears are turning in your head, eh?” She heard it say she couldn't believe her eyes. It was a white and red rubber duck with a slicked back hairstyle and white top hat.

“Uh… Who the fuck are you?” She blurted as the duck looked offended.

“Why I'm the cursed King of course! Lucifer Morningstar of the Pride Kingdom, at your service.” He politely bowed.

“As in the king who vanished, leaving his only child alone?” Vaggie looked angrily at the duck.

“It wasn't by choice, I swear! My lovely wife went missing seven years prior to all this, and I was held up in the East Wing of this place. Then some old crone enchantress decided to turn me into this, and my baby char-char into a monster!” Lucifer squeaked, flapping his plastic wings.

Vaggie looked skeptical. “So everything here is under a spell?” She asked not buying it.

“Yes! Oh please miss, save my little applepie, I'm powerless in this form and that stupid witch cursed me so all I can do is quack around Charlie and the others!” He took her hand into his own little wings. “She doesn't deserve to suffer anymore…”

Vaggie gave a soft look and gently picked up the duck. “Alright fine, but I'm shit at lying and even worse at comforting people.” She started and narrowed her eye. “So how the fuck can I help the princess?”

“Well you're literally all I got. So figure that out, and hurry. I don't think we have a lot of time left.” Lucifer stated “Now attend that dinner Maggie!”

“It's Vaggie..” The Latina replied looking unamused. She plopped Lucifer down and went to change behind the dressing screen. The ducky stayed put, being polite as he waited for his comrade.

Lucifer smiled sitting with the goat dolls. “These two are Razzle and Dazzle by the way. I also heard you denied going to dinner?”

“Yes? Because she was literally being an asshole.” Vaggie replied casually from behind the screen.

“Oh please go down and talk to my little sweet baby, she's just a lonely little girl with a broken heart.” Lucifer pleaded.

“Baaap!” Razzle added his voice pleading as well.

“Baap bap!” Dazzle sounded sadden.

Vaggie looked over at the clothes that had been laid out for her. She sighed softly. “Alright, quit sounding so pitiful, I'll go down and see her…” She groaned, putting on one of the many outfits.

(Thanks for reading this part my misfit ^^ Don't be afraid to leave a comment, I love feed back and such ^^)

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enemyoflactose · 1 month

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Most of My Ryou Head Canons

He is bilingual and speaks English and Japanese fluently.

His mom is Japanese and his dad is mixed (English and Indian)

He learned how to cook from the collective help of his mom and both sets of grandparents.

Everything he makes tastes like heaven.

Sometimes, he forgets his friends can't speak English as well as him and he'll just start talking and have no one understand a single thing he says.

He hates coffee. It's disgusting and bitter and smells bad.

Whenever he can't find a figurine of a character he likes (or there just aren't that many), he makes them himself.

Ryou's favorite animal is a tapir because they're cute, and they look like bakus.

He thinks yokai and other folk spirits are incredibly interesting and loves learning about them and talking about them.

His favorite drinks included Calpico, ramune, blueberry lemonade, and vanilla tea.

He is a femboy, he's just a little embarrassed about it because he thinks his friends will make fun of him. (They won't. Except Duke)

He admires the fuck out of Kaiba and thinks he's the coolest guy to ever exist.

Despite living away from all of his family, Ryou is still spoiled with gifts and letters. It just isn't enough because he wants his family there with him, but some evil spirit scared him into moving away and never seeing his family again.

Ryou is an anime fan. His favorites include Violet Evergarden, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Black Butler, Nichijo, Disastrous Life of Saiki K, Madoka Magica, Panty and Stocking, Nanbaka, Nana, and Mob Psycho 100.

The reason Ryou's hair looks so fluffy is because he pins most of it up into layers so he can better avoid being told to cut it. When the pins are out, his hair reaches his upper thigh.

Ryou's Monster World campaign group is the other minor characters +Honda and Malik.

He's a picky eater and doesn't like things like milk, lentils, beans, most cheeses, mushy vegetables, or sea food.

If the other summoning types were available in DM, Ryou's favorite would be synchro summoning.

Animals love Ryou. He's like a Disney princess to them. However, Ryou is terrified of dogs and cockroaches. Yami Bakura makes them leave for him.

Ryou is attracted to two things: scars and muscles. This means being friends with Jonouchi, Honda, and Malik is fucking torture.

He and Duke are rivals, he just doesn't know it yet.

He loves Vocaloid! His favorite producers are Maretu, Kikuo, Pinocchio P, Deco-27, and IMO.

Ryou is genuinely just really good at art. Fantastic at making figurines, he can draw really well, and his writing is amazing.

Yami Bakura was the one that made Ryou's friends’ figurines and that's why Ryou's is in a different style. Ryou also made Zorc and Zorc's human form.

Ryou's favorite vocaloid song is UFO by Kikuo (listen to it)

He loves cats! They're his favorite pet animal.

Whenever Ryou gets asked to do something for Yami Bakura, he does it without much question. That's his friend!

He loves costume parties!

While Ryou loves the occult and learning about ghosts and spirits, he isn't much of a horror fan (unless it's Junji Ito).

Honda is Ryou's best friend.

Ryou gets sick easily, and whenever he does he becomes even more useless and airheaded. Yami Bakura usually took care of him, but After the Millennium World arc Honda started helping instead.

After Battle City, Ryou bought a shirt that Jonouchi had in order to show him support during tournament duels. (You know the shirt I'm talking about)

If Ryou has a lot of leftover food from the night before, he brings some of it to Jonouchi and Honda.

Ryou’s eyelashes are really thick, and Yami Bakura's eyelashes are longer than life itself and thin.

Ryou's loves games like Undertale, Zork, Stardew Valley, Little Miss Fortune, Fran Bow and Fire Emblem.

Ryou is smart enough to understand school and his interests, but dumb enough to not understand anything else. He has a case of stupid.

He is constantly dozing off or staring into space.

He is constantly forgetting to eat due to doing something he enjoys a little too much, or finding everything in his apartment disgusting (he buys his own food).

He likes cosplaying.

Ryou uses anti-meta or back row reliant decks. If given the opportunity though, he would use special summons reliant decks like Mayakashi or Tearlement.

His favorite monster card is Curse Necrofear.

He always tries to make friends with everyone, even if they were really mean to him at some point.

He likes pastel colors.

Sometimes, he tries to make his own Stop Motion videos. Sometimes, they look good. Sometimes, they look like ass.

Ryou harbors a special hatred towards Bandit Keith Howard.

He's very jealous of Yugi and Yami's relationship. This has led him to try and avoid them as much as he can.

He loves any game that involves Miis. Miitopia, Wii sports, Tomodachi Life, if it involves Miis he loves it.

Ryou has played every single Fire Emblem game.

Was almost diagnosed with an eating disorder, but wasn't due to the doctor “disappearing”.

Listens to Universe Cat Drowning on repeat.

If he met Astral, they'd be friends.

Zorc Necrophades was designed like that because Ryou was sick, sleep deprived, and hadn't eaten in a while. Also because horny.

He loves nicknames and pet names.

Tries to buy his friends nice gifts all the time. He is constantly told “no”.

He enjoys gardening, but only when he can plant flowering plants.

Ryou can sleep on his own just fine, but he'd sleep even better if there was another person with him. Preferably if they were holding him.

Certified monster fucker.

Forgets to drink water yet somehow cries a lot.

He lies a lot, mostly for laughs.

He does not like Dungeon Dice Monsters.

#yugioh #ryou bakura #i just think he's neat #i have self projected a little bit on to him

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walmarttrashbag · 4 months

Text

Hurt - Mike Wheeler Pt.2 TW: bitchy, annoyed Mike. hurt-part-one Suggested by: Https-Lola It was finally over! You finally had gotten over the stupid fucking dumbass Mike Wheeler crush of a lifetime, and you have never felt any better! You've turned your life around for the better. You feel so much healthier and happier after the loss of feelings for Mike. Mike, however, couldn't help but stare from afar with a frown. Why did you become so beautiful? Why was your smile so sparkling and outrageously perfect? Who let you go outside and look like a miracle from beyond the stars? Mike had a little over too many questions just about your pretty face. That night while the party was playing DnD, Mike just couldn't shake the thought of you out of his head, and it was like a bad song.

"Mike, are you okay? You're not raging at the fire-breathing dragon coming your way," Dustin pointed out, but Mike was still in a trance. Lucas rolled his eyes and walked over, giving Mike a forceful shake, "Wake up, Lover boy, the dragon awaits!" Lucas said in a jokingly wizard-like voice. Mike flinched, "Lucas, don't do that!" He said, getting defensive over nothing.

Lucas scoffed, "Sorry, sleeping beauty, I didn't know you were dreaming of your princess charming. Just get over Y/n already, I heard she was dating someone anyway!" Lucas said, not realizing all hell broke loose for Mike.

"SHE WHAT?!" Mike screamed out, standing up as he banged his fists on the table, making the characters and dice jump slightly.

"Michael!" Karen yelled from upstairs, "Quiet down!"

But this was no time for being quiet, and Mike quickly jumped to questions, "Who is he? What does he do to her? Why is he with her? What did he do to earn her?! TELL ME!" Mike yelled at his friends. Will spoke out, "I don't know much about him but I heard he's from Maine or Maryland or Missouri or one of the M states," He shrugged. "Yeah, and someone told me he's got a thing for Hawaiian shirts, and being the class clown," Dustin continued from Will's statement, "He honestly sounds really cool," Mike scoffed, "Yeah, who's this bozo's name anyways?" Mike asked, looking at the 3 expectantly for a clear answer. "It was like Rory Turner or something," Will replied. "No, it was something like Remi Taylor," Dustin told Will. Lucas rolled his eyes, "No, dumbasses! It was Richie Tozier! His name is Richie! And Mike, he looks exactly like you!" Lucas pointed the finger at Mike. Mike gasped, "Me? So you're saying I still had a shot with Y/n if she's bagging this Richie guy?!" "Guess so," Will replied, making Mike's blood boil. "That's it. Tomorrow I'm gonna find Richie and give him a piece of my mind," Mike promised himself. "Great, now can we please get back to defeating the dragon?" Dustin asked the party since so much time had been wasted on this dumb conversation.

The next day, Mike got up to school and saw a new bike on the racks. Mike had heard that Richie always biked to school as well. It was like Richie was a big stupid copycat! Mike had a note of description. Hawaiian shirt, shorts, converse, and giant stupid thick-framed glasses.

Mike skittered through the hallway like a cockroach and found a guy who matched the description perfectly, just without a Hawaiian shirt. Mike tapped the guys shoulder, "Hey, are you Richie?" Mike asked the guy.

The kid turned over and it was scary how much he looked like Mike, "Yeah, why?" Richie asked Mike, nudging up his glasses. Mike now knew this was the guy he should be shitting on. "Just know, your girlfriend, Y/n, liked me way before you did. You're just my rehash. The only reason why she's with you is because you're just me in a reskin," Mike told Richie, spitting out venom at the guy.

Richie's face scrunched up before he made a big obnoxious laugh in Mike's face, "Oh that's rich! That's really rich! I know who you are, Mike! And Y/n has told me all the things she's done to try to get you to like her back, and from what I've heard, you're a selfish prick who didn't take the chance when you got it! I've got the prettiest girl on earth, and you're kicking rocks! Go blow your dad before you spit out shit that's not real," Richie gave a condescending smirk to Mike, whose face went beat red in not only embarrassment but anger too.

Mike threw the first punch, and the hallway went from school to hell. Michael Wheeler and Richard Tozier fought things out. Some people get on Mike, and others get on Richie making the school out to 50/50, but before things could be settled out for the last time, you ran to the both of them. "Stop it! Stop fighting! Mike what the hell is wrong with you!" You lashed out at Mike, making him shocked. "Y/n! Come on you still have the chance for me! Why not ride the Wheeler train?" Mike said heartbreakingly as held his left eye.

You were grossed out by Mike as you helped Richie up, "Oh, Richie... Your nose..." You said, wiping the blood from under Richie's nose, before turning to Mike, "Mike, you're just a prick! You avoided me like the plague and you beat up my boyfriend because you're a petty jerk!" You went off at Mike, making his heart hurt on the inside. You walked Richie to the nurse's office, and Richie looked back at Mike, giving him an evil smile signaling that he had won your side once again, which was deserved.

Mike slowly but surely got up, "I'll win her back one day, you're stupid rehash!" Mike yelled out to Richie as the hallway crowd fanned out with no conclusion to the win. Mike was determined to get you back, one way or another, no matter what. He was gonna see Richie fail, and he was gonna King up to the Jester of all jokes.

#finn wolfhard #finn wolfhard x reader #finn wolfhard x y/n #finn wolfhard x you #mike wheeler #mike wheeler x y/n #finn wolfhard imagines #stranger things #mike wheeler x reader #mike wheeler x you #richie tozier x you #richie tozier x reader #richie tozier

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stuffymcstuffsworld · 8 months

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Princess rescue 101

Step one: As a parent of 13 trouble makers, if your danger senses are going off immediately, identify the threat.

Step two: After identifying the threat and where it will approach, ensure none of your children are within harms reach.

Step three: neutralize threat before further damage can be done.

It was only three simple steps. A very effective method that you used. And there was no way a mere child's shield was going to destroy your magic. You could feel the surprise from everyone in the room as you grasped the magical chains restraining the mad demon.

Tightening your grip, you pulled back harshly, yanking the stronger demon to the ground. While he was dazed from his fall, you urged your magic further. The chains now restricting any and all movement, and you hissed a paralyzing spell to be safe.

That would be a battle of wills power, but you didn't really sense any fight in the powerful demon. How strange... you approached still maintaining a tight grip on your leash. Sense the other powers disappearing.

You tsked in annoyance you'd have to find them later then. You noticed many frozen mid stance as if not sure what had happened. You scowled. "Some help you were. Aren't you supposed to be the best of the best? Why in hell did you panic and hesitate?"

"To hesitate even for a second is to die where you stand." You thought you spotted a familiar figure in the crowd. Was that the freaking cockroach atori?!?!? Just as you were about to hunt that bastard down, a hand reached out from behind and tugged on your shirt.

"Huh." You blinked and stared down at a little girl... a crying little girl. You gasped. Princess Shura, a scared little demon looking up at you with relief. "Oh. Baby, don't cry."

You scooped her up and held her in one arm, quickly wiping her tears. "You were scared, huh? Nasty demon ruined the party. Nobody is going to eat you." Reassuring her as as you handed your chain over to Henri, who was dressed up like Narnia. You didn't really care to ask why.

The princess started using her magic to ask you rapidfire questions, and you just laughed, swatting away other demons from taking her. "No way, she's my flower child now. I haven't got one of those yet." You teased before bestowing a kiss to her forehead.

The dark blush painted her face as she tried to hide behind her mask again. "Oh my devi! You are so cute!" Setting her down away from the damage, you fixed her dress and hair quickly.

"Come over to the house any time for a play date, kay. The door is always open for our pretty princess. You kissed her cheek, watching her speak and squirm. Way too cute!

!@#$@$^&$!%&&#! Baal's pov &^$%&*&*&%^&^^*

He threw his mask at the wall. How could this happen? Years of planning wasted in a single night. The carpet ripped from under him by an unknown factor.

The rage almost consumed him then and there. Nothing should have gotten past that shield. He should have been the one to kill the 'monster' and save the princess. Now, he was without her support. He looked at his minions.

"What went wrong?" The question rumbled through his chest like thunder. Atori shuddered remembering those haunting eyes locking onto them.

"I think they knew from the beginning something was up. They might have spotted me! The chills I got when I felt their eyes focus on me. They wanted to give me the beating of a lifetime. I knew it deep in my core. But they didn't follow me outside." The multi-limbed demon pouted.

Ocho shuddered and gripped his neck where a bite mark remained. "Nothing will stop them from catching you. They may not hunt you today, but when they do, they will go for the throat."

"They shattered my sheild! Even my precious little Kohai couldn't manage that. His despair was so lovely, and they they ruined it by making it through! It was vexing, but now I want to see them dispare when they seem me eat sweet iruma!♡" Kirio sighed dreamily.

Baal frowned. Yes, you would have to suffer for this. He would see to that personally. You would be placed at his feet as he built up a new hell as an example for all to see.

#mairimashita! iruma kun #welcome to demon school iruma kun #reader #sabnock baal #amy kirio #atori #ocho

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moon-spirit-yue · 3 months

Text

Divorce?

(I just had a silly little idea. Aulia will refer to Raya as Ma and Namaari as Mom. The ao3 link will be up right after this bad boy. Enjoy!)

The dinner table was tense tonight. Raya got in a fight with Namaari earlier that morning and she's pretty sure the whole palace could feel it.

Genuine fights between Raya and her wife were surprisingly a rarity in their marriage. In the years they've been a couple, including the time they were dating, they've only had three or four truly serious fights. Even then, all of those fights were due to concern for each other and were wrapped up in a timely manner.

The little spat from the this morning is just that, a little spat. It was a minor issue that Raya knows will get resolved within the next couple days.

But as of right now, she will be glaring holes at the little binturi's head. The chief of Heart is very irritated and she will not hide it.

"Ma! Mom! Hi!" their daughter exclaimed as she ran up to the table.

Well, looks like now Raya has to hide it. She felt like her and Namaari were pretty good at not letting their daughter feel the effects of the few times they fight.

"Hello, Starlight. Did you have fun with grandpa?" Raya asked with a light smile.

"You better choose your answer wisely young lady!" Benja laughed behind her as he dropped her off.

"Yup! We got to ride on Tuk Tuk today! It was awesome!" the five year old princess exclaimed.

"What else did you guys do today? Sounds like you had a pretty big day, little one," Namaari grinned.

As Aulia continued on with talking about her day, Raya tried her best to focus on what her daughter was saying. Unfortunately, this task is more difficult than she hoped.

God, she hated fighting with her wife. It always leaves a small pit in her stomach that can't go away until their issues have been resolved. This totally sucks.

"How was your day Ma? Anything fun?" Aulia brightly asked.

"No, my day wasn't even half as interesting as yours. Man, I haven't been able to have a Tuk Tuk ride in a while," Raya said thoughtfully.

"Oh, maybe you me and Mom can go after dinner! It'll be fun!" Aulia offered excitedly.

Huh, maybe that is a good idea. That way Raya can kick Namaari off the damn pillbug.

"If Mom wants go then I think it's a great idea," Raya said while giving Namaari a quick glance.

"I'd love too. I need to get outside, anyways. I've been coped up in my office all day," Namaari responded.

Good answer, you evil little cockroach. After all, there's no reason to kill Aulia's joy just because they're in a disagreement.

Once Aulia found out she could see Tuk Tuk and hang out with her mothers, the little princess practically inhaled her food in an attempt to get going as fast as possible.

"Careful, Starlight, we can't go anywhere if you end up chocking," Namaari told her in amusement.

Aulia didn't verbally respond but she did eat slower. Oh, Raya's baby looked so excited. She had started kicking her feet and even while eating Raya can see the smile on her daughter's face. The Heart woman truly can not get enough of that adorable smile.

Within a few more minutes and a whole lot of rushing from her child, both Raya and Namaari were ready for a late night ride. Aulia practically flew out of the dining room to get to Tuk Tuk.

Both Raya and Namaari laughed as they watched their child dash away. When Aulia was out of their line of sight, the laughter died as they looked at each other. Raya was the first one to break eye contact and follow after Aulia.

Now is when Raya is starting to regret saying yes to this night time ride. It would have been better to wait for a couple days when this whole thing has blown over so that all participants could enjoy. It's not like they can just go back on their word so tonight is going to have to do.

Eventually, both Raya and Namaari made it down to the stables where Aulia was already chatting with Tuk Tuk.

"Man you guys are slow. Are all old people slow?" Aulia asked.

Both Raya and Namaari gasped in pure offense. How dare she say such things to her mothers!

"I'll have you know, young lady, that we walk normally. You're just a speedy girl," Raya huffed.

"You better be careful what you say, Starlight. You don't want the tickle hands to come out now do you?" Namaari asked as she began wiggling her fingers towards Aulia.

"Ah! No! Not the tickle hands! Ma, protect me!" Aulia yelped.

The little princess quickly moved to hide behind Raya. The Heart chief laughed when she felt little arms circle her leg.

"Oh I don't know if slow, old people can help you. You might be on your own this time," Raya drawled.

"No! I take it back! You guys aren't slow or old! Mercy please!" Aulia squealed.

"Alright, you're safe for now," Namaari relented.

"Phew!" Aulia yelled.

Yet again, both Raya and Namaari couldn't stop themselves from laughing. The little 'phew' noise she made is just too cute. If anything can drag the two chiefs out of a bad mood, it's Aulia.

"I want to sit up front! Grandpa let me! Pretty please?" Aulia asked.

Oh, and how she's batting her eyes up at Raya and Namaari. Man, she's gotten really good at the big puppy eyes. It couldn't have been Raya that taught her that, right?

Naaaaaaaah!

"I suppose we can allow it. But, I will still be the one steering," Raya agreed.

Aulia pumped her fist in the air in celebration. Raya giggled as she got Tuk Tuk's saddle situated. Once the saddle was secure, Raya picked up her daughter and put her in her desired spot.

Once Raya herself got on the pillbug, she automatically reached a hand out for Namaari to take. Even after all these years, her wife still had difficulty getting onto Tuk Tuk without help.

To Raya's relief, Namaari decided she did not want to be petty and ended up accepting Raya's hand. The Fang chief hopped onto Tuk Tuk's shell with ease.

"Thank you," Namaari said.

Huh. Good to know binturis still have manners.

"You're welcome," Raya cordially replied.

"What are you waiting for? It's rolling time!" Aulia exclaimed excitedly.

"You got it, Boss! C'mon Tuk Tuk, you know what to do," Raya said while lightly kicking his sides.

And off the pillbug went. Tuk Tuk was trained well enough to know that when Aulia is on his back, he has to stay at a relatively slow pace. This isn't the Druun days, no need to roll so fast that Raya can't even hear her own breathing due to wind in her ears.

Raya looked up and smiled at how bright the stars are tonight. The moon was almost completely full and the night air felt incredible on her skin. This ride may not be so bad after all.

"Hey Ma, Mom, what was your favorite date you ever had with each other? Grandpa told me about the his favorite with Grandma," Aulia asked out of the blue.

God damn it, she doesn't want to reminisce on their cute memories while she's pissed at her wife. While Raya was contemplating if she should even answer, Namaari spoke up.

"Well my personal favorite was the first date we had after we officially got engaged. I was so thrilled that your ma said yes so I planned a night out for us the very next day. We went to a restaurant that had the best dumplings in all of Kumandra and we saw a play that I really loved but still can't remember the name of," Namaari huffed.

Raya can practically see Namaari's thinking face despite the fact that she's right behind her.

"It was called 'Now and Forever'. For someone who claims to love the play so much, you always forget the name when you bring it up," Raya said with a giggle. She couldn't help it, her wife literally could not remember the name for the life of her.

"The play itself was memorable but-" Namaari began.

"-but the title was not. Know how I know the end of the sentence? Because of how many times you forgot the title," Raya grinned.

The Heart chief glanced back at her wife to see a look of amusement on her face. Namaari was thankfully able to sense that the comment was intended to be playful instead of an actual insult.

"Sounds fun! Did anything else happen?" Aulia asked.

"There was a firework show after the play. It was beautiful," Namaari said with a very smug voice.

Raya was very happy about the fact that no one could see her face because it turned bright red. During that particular firework show, Namaari and Raya ended up slinking away from the crowd to have sex. In their defense, it had been a while since they'd seen each other.

They could not have cared less about those fireworks.

"Ma, your turn! Favorite date, go!" Aulia said (ordered).

Raya thought about it for a moment because honestly, there were so many good dates to choose from, but she was able to find the best one in her eyes.

"Mine happened while we were still just courting. I think we had been together for about two years at the time. Your mom was visiting Heart to 'help with festival preparations' but we all know she just wanted to see me so bad she couldn't wait," Raya explained.

"Yeah, Mom's got attachment issues," Aulia agreed.

"Woah, I did not come on this adventure to be ganged up on. Just because it's true doesn't mean you should say it," Namaari grumbled.

"As I was saying, she had come around a few days before the festival and I wanted to show her this field that had a bunch of flowers in it. I ended up getting us lost, but we found the most beautiful waterfall. It wasn't in the plans, but we ended up having way more fun at the waterfall than we would have with the flowers," Raya said.

Now that she's thinking about, that date also ended with sex. Man, that was a really good day.

"What other fun dates have you guys gone on?" Aulia asked.

Both Raya and Namaari spent the next half hour telling their daughter about their fun times together. They knew it was time to turn in when Aulia leaned against Raya's back and closed her eyes.

Raya made sure to gently steer Tuk Tuk back to the palace's direction. Due to how dark it is outside, the Heart woman didn't see the rock that Tuk Tuk rolled over. Raya gasped and quickly wrapped her arms tightly around her daughter. Namaari cursed quietly and leaned forward to wrap her arms around Raya so that she wouldn't fall.

"This is why I like my serlots," Namaari whispered.

"Not everyone can look those heartless creatures in their eyes and not get eaten when you hop on their back," the Heart woman whispered back.

"Oh don't even start, you and I both know you wouldn't let Bubbles leave your arms last time we were in Fang," Namaari pointed out.

"It's quiet time, Mothers. Some of us are growing girls that need rest," Aulia mumbled.

Raya snorted and she could feel Namaari shake her head. This kid. Good thing they were pretty much right at the palace.

Namaari slid off of Tuk Tuk first so that Raya could put Aulia in her arms. The Heart woman did just that and slid off herself.

"Night buddy. Hope you have good dreams about bugs," Raya cooed as she stroked the top of his head.

"Well, I'm going to put our little princess to bed and then I'm putting myself to bed. I'm exhausted. You turning in now or later?" Namaari asked.

"Later, I'm wide awake right now. I should finish my paperwork anyways," Raya sighed woefully. The joys of being chief.

"Alright. Say goodnight to Mama, Starlight," Namaari quietly told her.

"Mmm, night Mama. I love you," Aulia mumbled sleepily.

Raya had to physically bite her tongue to stop herself from cooing over how cute her daughter is.

"I love you too, sweetheart. Sweet dreams," Raya said before giving Aulia a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I'll probably be dead asleep when you come to bed, so goodnight. I love you," Namaari told her.

"I love you too. Goodnight," Raya smiled.

The Fang woman's lips quirked up ever so slightly as she walked off to Aulia's room. At this point, their stupid fight from this morning was a distant memory. Raya's positive that once she talks to Namaari tomorrow, it will be put behind them.

For now, Raya's going to have to suck it up and finish the paperwork she has been heavily procrastinating.

On the way to her study, Raya ended up running into her father.

"Hey Ba. What're you up to at this hour? Isn't it past your bedtime?" Raya smirked.

"You think you're so damn funny, don't you?" her father huffed.

"I really do," Raya sincerely told him.

"I just remembered a really good book that I never actually finished so I'm headed to the library to try and find it. How did your night ride with the girls go?" Benja asked.

"It went well. Wait, how did you know we went out?" Raya questioned.

"I overheard your discussion when I passed the dining hall. So do you want to talk about what's going on with you and your wife?" her father asked bluntly.

"Oh come on, we couldn't have been that obvious!" Raya groaned.

"You weren't, but it's like I said, I had to walk by the dining hall a couple times while you guys were eating. You two didn't even look at each other. I'm honestly surprised you both agreed to go out with Aulia," Benja explained.

"Well first of all, of course we agreed, who can say no to that little face? Second of all, we got into it this morning," the Heart chief frowned.

"To your first point, that's so true. As for your second, I'm an excellent listener if you need me to be," Benja reminded her.

Ah, well, Raya doesn't see why not.

"We haven't been able to figure out how to deal with the conflict in Tail. You know how it's getting out of control. I don't know, it just felt like Namaari was completely dismissing every idea I had. In a way that made it seem like she didn't hear a word I was saying. So when I get irritated, she got irritated and it kind of escalated. I probably reacted more severely than I should have but it really bugged me. I'll sort it out with her tomorrow, I'm pretty sure she's asleep by now," Raya sighed.

"I know just how you feel. Your mother and I had our own fair share of squabbles over how to best take care of Heart. It's just part of being chief. You guys will figure it out," Benja smiled.

"I know," Raya agreed.

Honestly, after that Tuk Tuk ride, Raya's not even that upset anymore. She just needs to talk it out with Namaari and all should be as it was before.

"Alright, I just wanted to check in and make sure everything's okay. Looks like you two have it under control. Goodnight Dewdrop, love you," Benja smiled.

"I love you too Ba. Sleep well!" Raya said as she walked away.

The Heart chief, unfortunately, made it to her study with speed. It was time to do to get shit done.

And get shit done she did. A few hours later that is. Raya ended up becoming hyper focused on her work which made her completely lose track of time.

Only when she looked away from her desk did she realize how tired she is. It burns to keep her eyes open right now. She needs to go to bed immediately.

Raya yawned before making the trek to her shared room with Namaari. The Heart woman has absolutely zero idea how some couple sleep in separate beds when they get into fights. Raya and Namaari find it to be almost impossible to sleep without each other. The utter relief she had felt when Namaari laid down in bed with her after an argument at the start of their relationship overwhelmed her.

Even though it felt like a ten mile hike, Raya managed to make it to her room. She walked to the edge of the bed and flopped right onto the bed. Damn, this is one comfy mattress.

She looked to the side only to realize that Namaari wasn't laying next to her. It wasn't uncommon for her to need to use the restroom or get water in the middle for the night, so Raya's not worried about it. She gave the ceiling one last glance before closing her eyes and succumbing to sleep.

Raya had one thought in her mind before she completely drifted off. Was her room smaller than before?

*************************

"MA! MOTHER! OH GOOD YOU'RE HERE!" Aulia yelled loudly.

Raya can't lie, hearing her daughter scream for her is a very startling way to wake up.

"Morning, Starlight. What's with the volume? It's way too early for that," Raya grumbled.

The Heart woman's eyes were still closed as she physically could not bring herself to open them. That's why it didn't really register in her mind that her child was crying.

"Ma, please don't get a divorce!" Aulia sobbed.

Divorce? The hell?

"What are you talking about? Who am I divorcing?" Raya yawned.

Now her eyes, with much effort, have blearily opened. That means she can see her poor baby clutching her stuffed bunny like a lifeline with tears streaming down her face.

"Oh baby, what's wrong? Come here," Raya frowned as she opened her arms.

Aulia quickly ran into Raya and curled into her. The Heart chief firmly wrapped her arms around her daughter as she cried. Seeing her daughter cry is easily one of the worst experiences as a mother. What on earth could have gotten her so upset?

"Starlight, talk to me. Why are you crying?" Raua asked worriedly.

"I-I don't want yo-you to divorce Mom," Aulia whimpered.

"Aulia, we're not getting a divorce. Where did you get that idea?" Raya frowned.

"My friend Lei's parents got a divorce and she said it started when they would argue and not sleep in the same room," Aulia explained sadly.

"Okay, I'm still not entirely sure why you think Mom and I are divorcing," Raya told her.

"Do I have to spell it out for you woman?! I know you guys fought yesterday! And you guys didn't sleep in the same room last night!" Aulia yelled with frustration.

Ah, shit, Raya thought they covered their tracks in the fighting regard better than they actually did. Still, one thing isn't right about this explanation.

"I'm sorry that you overheard our fight yesterday, but we still slept in the same room like we always do," Raya said.

"How silly do you think I am? This isn't your room, Ma," Aulia huffed.

"I think I know my own room-" Raya started as she looked to the side for her favorite painting.

Huh. So the painting isn't there. Odd.

Raya looked to the other side and noticed the bathroom isn't where it usually is. The bed is a lot smaller than it should. The room in general is a lot smaller than it should be. None of Namaari's things are here either.

"Aulia, I don't think this is my room," Raya bluntly stated.

"Oh gee, where did you get that idea?" Aulia deadpanned.

Raya desperately wants to know where her child got all this sass from. She would ask later. For now, she had to talk to her daughter and her wife. Namaari was probably flipping out without Raya next to her.

"Alright, Aulia, my beloved daughter, your mother and I are not getting a divorce. Yeah, we fought yesterday, but every couple has fights. We argue, then we work through it," the Heart woman gently told her.

"But then why did you sleep here?" Aulia asked.

"Well, I stayed up way past my bed time last night. I was so tired that I honestly thought this room was mine and your Mom's. It was just an accident," Raya shrugged.

"Oh," Aulia sniffled.

"Yeah, oh. Now dry those tears, young lady. There's not going to be any divorces in this palace," Raya confidently told her.

Aulia smiled rubbed her little hands over her eyes to dry off her tears. Poor baby. Raya pressed a small kiss on the top of her head.

"Can you tell me where Mom is? We've got chief things to discuss," Raya said once Aulia was finished drying her tears.

"Last time I saw her she was in your room. The real one," Aulia ever so kindly elaborated.

"Ha ha," Raya drawled causing Aulia to giggle. The Heart woman is just happy her daughter's feeling better.

As Raya walked down the hall, she couldn't help but wonder how she could have been exhausted enough to the point where she didn't even know where her room was. Now Raya's worried about Namaari. She doesn't know how seriously the Fang woman took Raya's absence.

Raya opened the door to her room to see her wife sitting on the bed. The Fang woman was hunched over with hands covering her face. Well now Raya's really worried.

"Namaari, what's wrong? Did something happen?" Raya questioned.

Her wife looked up, clearly startled, and Raya was heartbroken to see tears in her eyes. She sat down next to Namaari and held onto her arm. What a miserable morning this is turning out to be.

"I am so sorry about the stupid fight we had yesterday. I'll take full responsibility, just please don't do anything rash. You and Aulia are the best things that ever happened to me and I could not stand it if that stupid fight caused our divorce," Namaari rushed out.

"Wow, okay, what is with you Fang girls and talking about divorce! Nobody is even considering divorce!" Raya exclaimed.

"Wait, seriously?" Namaari asked, clearly surprised.

"Man do you want the divorce? I feel like everyone is talking divorce today but me!" Raya huffed.

"Of course I don't want a divor- wait what do you mean everyone?" Namaari frowned.

"Aulia came into my room and started crying because she thought we were divorcing. I guess her friend's parents got one and the fight plus me not coming to bed with you freaked her out," Raya explained.

"I had no idea. Our poor girl," Namaari sighed.

"I know. Seeing her cry like that was so awful. Took me a bit to convince her we're okay, but I managed," Raya said.

"Are we? Okay, I mean," Namaari asked.

"Of course. I just felt like you weren't really listening to what I was saying yesterday and I got upset. Granted, I blew it out of proportion, but I'm good now," Raya assured her.

"You were totally right. The Tail issue has been making me lose sleep. It wasn't just you, I haven't been able to focus on anything else lately. I'm sorry, dep la," Namaari apologized.

"It's okay, my love. It's just, did you really think we would divorce over something as small and dumb as that? I mean come on, give me a little credit to not bail on you the moment I'm annoyed," Raya huffed.

"It's nothing you did. I don't know, I've been incredibly critical about every aspect of my life, including our marriage. The past few months whenever we fought, I just had this voice in the back of my head telling me that this was your last straw and you're finally done with me. I mean, last night I thought we were fine but you never came to bed so my mind just leapt to worse case scenario," Namaari admitted.

Raya scowled and smacked Namaari's arm. This little binturi!

"Hey! I just poured my heart and soul out here and you attack me!" Namaari exclaimed.

"That's what you get! You need to tell me these things, idiot! Before it all explodes and you actually think our marriage is ending! Cause it's not! Honestly, as long as you don't cheat on me or become a violent serial killer, divorce isn't really an option," Raya explained.

"Well it's good thing I will not be doing either of those things," Namaari snorted.

"Exactly! You proposed, you knew what you were getting into. You're stuck with me now, binturi. No returns on this item," Raya smriked.

And finally, finally, Namaari laughed. The Fang woman then pulled Raya into such a warm hug she melted almost immediately.

"I love you so much," Namaari mumbled.

"I love you so much too. Just tell me the next time you feel like our little spats mean more than they really do, yeah?" Raya yawned.

"You got yourself a deal. Now, I need to ask this question. Why didn't you come to bed last night if you weren't legitimately upset?" Namaari wondered.

"I actually have a reasonable explanation for that," Raya smiled.

"So you say," the Fang woman teased.

"I do say. I didn't come back to bed because I honestly thought I made it to bed. When I finished my paperwork I was so exhausted that I ended up going to my favorite guest room instead of our bedroom. It was an honest mistake," Raya explained.

The Heart woman could see her wife's body visibly relax at the revelation.

"Oh thank toi. That was one of the worst sleeps of my life," Namaari admitted.

"I agree. It feels like I didn't sleep a wink last night," Raya frowned.

"I think in order to celebrate our reconciliation, we should take a nap," Namaari said as she crawled into bed.

She did not have to tell Raya twice. The Heart woman quickly got on her side of the bed and threw one of her legs over Namaari's body. The comfiest nap position there is.

"Hey Maari?" Raya mumbled.

"Hmm?" Nammari breathed out.

"You were the best thing to ever happen to me too. Along with our beautiful child, of course," Raya smiled.

The Fang woman gave no verbal response. She just wrapped her arms around Raya and held her close. Finally there were both at peace.

"HEY MA! MOM! WHY ARE YOU GUYS HANGING OUT WITHOUT ME?!" Aulia yelled.

The young princess hopped on the bed which prompted Raya to grab Aulia and pull her under the covers with them.

"You are now my prisoner. You have been sentenced to a nap. Accept your fate," Raya told her.

"That is so rude," Aulia huffed.

"What's really rude is how bright the sun is. Can't even close my eyes," Namaari grumbled.

"I can fight the sun for you if you want. I'm a very good warrior," Aulia proudly told her.

"I believe it. If you can fight the sun, all previous crimes will be erased which means no nap for you," Namaari smiled.

"YEAH! WATCH OUT SUN! I'M COMING FOR YOU!" Aulia yelled as she scrambled out of bed.

"If anyone could fight the sun, it'd be her. I mean, look at how awesome her mothers are," Raya giggled.

"There's not a doubt in my mind she can make it happen. She's very good at making people bend to her will. Those puppy eyes certainly help," Namaari said.

"I know right? Wonder where she learned that trick."

"Oh you know damn you're the culprit I don't even want to hear your defense-"

#raya and the last dragon #rayaari #namaari #raya x namaari #namaari x raya #ratld #raya and namaari #ratld namaari #raya disney #ratld raya

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howcouldtheyletmebeanadult · 10 months

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My brother and i just had a small argument after I explained to him the current situation with togachako, and he proceed to say how It was "out of nowhere" and a "mistake" and how It was "just like Marceline and Princess Bublegum" and i tried to explain that he was wrong, but he refused to listen. I gave up but still felt a little upset.

A few minutes later, a cockroach (a bug he not only hates, but is afraid of) appeared on his bed and freaked him out LOOOOOOL!!!!!

#cheered me up instantly!#mha #shipping #bnha #togachako #mha manga

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waltwhitmansbeard · 11 months

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go on, claim my heart: chapter thirty-eight

see my masterpost for what came before this.

Keyleth cannot move, yet her heart thunders wildly in her chest. Her blood is rushing so fast in her ears that she can barely hear Vallen speak.

And he is speaking, leaned back against the wall of her chambers, arms crossed casually as if they were discussing the merits of a chess strategy and not his elaborate and violent scheme to take control of the Ashari Nation.

"You have no idea how long I have been working toward this, Keyleth—may I call you Keyleth?" His grin is carnal, bestial. "Anyway, yes, these pieces have been in place for some time. I suppose you ought to know; it isn't as if you'll be divulging my secrets once we're done here."

He means to kill her. Even beneath the blaze of terror, she cannot ignore the flick of annoyance at yet another attempt on her life.

She is sitting ramrod straight on the settee, and Vallen comes to perch just on the edge of the little table in front of her, so their eyes are of a level. "I suppose you ought to know that it is I who killed your mother."

Her heart stops.

"Not personally, of course. There are those who take money for such tasks—like that bastard assassin you married. That..." He chuckles, and the sound sours Keyleth's stomach. "...that was a surprise, to be sure. But then, you're full of surprises, aren't you, princess?" He says the word with scorn, with derision. "But yes, your mother. I know what you're thinking: oh, Vallen, but you're so young! Impossible for you to be involved in a murder nearly a decade and a half ago!" He gestures toward his pointed ears. "It's the gnomish blood, of course. I look far younger than one might guess.

"Ah, stay on task, Vallen." He stands and begins to pace, and Keyleth's eyes dart to the door. Surely Vax will be returning at any moment. He's already been gone for so long. "I meant to kill your mother before she could create a new generation of Zephran heirs, but there were political matters at home in Vesrah, boring affairs, not worth discussing, but it meant delaying my plans a bit. Now you might find my methods distasteful, and fair enough, but I would never kill an infant.

"So I waited until you were a bit older, no longer so reliant on your mother for survival, and then, well, poison looks quite a great deal like illness when no one is looking for poison."

Despite her inability to move, tears slip steadily down Keyleth's face. Her mother had been murdered. All this time, and she never knew. Her father died not knowing the truth, and now is she to take it to her grave?

"My plan for my own family took longer. Grandmother is a powerfully paranoid woman, and it took some...finagling, shall I say, to put all of those particular ducks in a row. She is finally of an age where death would not be a surprise, even if helped along by a brew of toxins, and then, of course, the family gathering in Syngorn was simply too good an opportunity to pass up."

"But you!" He gestures to her grandly. "You weren't even supposed to be there!"

Keyleth frowns, confused, but the confusion is swept away by the shock at being able to frown at all. Vallen's control over her is waning. She attempts to surreptitiously gather in a large gulp of air so that she may scream for help, but Vallen clicks his tongue and snaps his fingers again, and her muscles harden in place once more.

"My apologies! Such a brief spell, needs constant management. But as I was saying: yes, you, of course, were meant to die on the road to Syngorn. Serves me right for hiring cheap sellswords. It was part of my deal with Finefirn: his men kill my brothers and father and aunt, and I make sure that your death on the road was pinned on Draconia, thereby continuing the war that was so profitable to him.

"But you're like a little cockroach, aren't you, Keyleth?" The jovial, charming tone slips away, leaving an annoyed snarl in its place. "One wouldn't think killing a single silly, sheltered princess would be the hardest part of my plan. Wouldn't die in the woods, wouldn't die in Syngorn—hell, you wouldn't even die when Finefirn came after you!" She did die then, but there is a perverse satisfaction in knowing that he does not know that.

He sighs. "And then you had to go and spawn another obstacle for me." Keyleth feels as though she's been doused in ice water; there is so little distance between him and Vilya. "I told you, I'm not interested in slaughtering babies. My friends in Whitestone, however..." He trails off with a conspiratorial smile, waiting for Keyleth to put the pieces together.

Of course. She'd wondered how the Briarwoods knew about Vilya, why they would take such an extraordinary risk in taking her when surely other infants with magic in their blood exist in the world. They, too, had been one cog in Vallen's grand machinations. “They were good people, the Briarwoods.” He snorts. “Who am I kidding? They were terrible people. But then, so am I, and I’ve always appreciated the tenacity of those who will stop at nothing to achieve their aims. I’ve been helping them for a while—becoming immortal is no small feat, after all, and few deserve the honor more than my dear Delilah—and they, in turn, have been helping me. It was they who recommended Finefirn; apparently he’d done good work for them in their initial onslaught on Whitestone. I could never have made it this far without their help.

"Of course, once again you and your merry band of misfits meddled in my schemes. But at this point, Grandmother is almost certainly dead, and you'll be gone before the sun sets, and then, well, the young princess will need a regent, won't she? Who better than a minor duke who never had any aspirations for the throne?" He laughs at his own joke, then grows serious. "Of course, she'll have a terrible accident when she's, oh, seven or eight. Children are so clumsy, aren't they?"

He snaps his fingers again, and once more her loosening muscles tighten, and Keyleth wishes she could vomit. Vallen stomps over to her, fumbling about in the pocket of his trousers. "I'm done talking. This—" He pulls a stoppered vial from his pocket, and in it is a clear liquid, one that, if she had to guess, would turn to sludge shortly after being exposed to air. "—with any luck will actually kill you this time. It'll seem to the outside as if your heart gave out under the weight of your grief. Such a fragile thing you are." He traces a finger mockingly down her cheek, and she wishes she could snap her head to the side and bite it off. Her eyes dart to the door again, and he notices this time. "Don't worry about the guards." Another snap of his fingers, and a sound fills the room: weeping, quiet, feminine, hers. "They won't bother you in your mourning."

He seizes her jaw then, clutching it painfully in one hand as he jerks her mouth open. He thumbs off the stopper of the vial and pours the liquid, completely flavorless, down her throat. She has little choice but to let it slide down, seeping into her roiling belly. He grins. “Your destiny awaits you, princess. And I must go claim the one I built for myself.” He shoves her head away and she falls back against the settee. "Tell your father I said hello." He pockets the empty vial and strides toward the door.

Keyleth can no longer see him—can no longer see much of anything as blackness starts to creep in along the edges of her vision. Her heart races even faster now, the beating of it competing against the fast-acting poison seeping through her veins. She is dying. She can feel it. She can't remember if she kissed Vilya before Vax took her away. What was the last thing she said to her husband? She wonders if there is room for her beneath the twisting roots of the cherry tree.

When this darkness takes her, it almost feels like peace.

Vax takes long strides through the halls of the castle, guilt chewing at him like a dog with a bone. He shouldn't have taken so long to return to Keyleth's side, but once again, he found himself requiring near superhuman strength to pull himself away from Vilya. He knew that she was safe, could see the phalanx of guards surrounding the cottage and the sharpened blade hanging from Derrig's belt inside, and yet removing himself from her presence felt as impossible as removing the sun from the sky.

He nods his hellos to Grog and Jarett, who are stationed outside Keyleth's old chambers—it is so striking, to have once stood outside these same doors for hours on end, only to sneak in and fall in love with her every single night, and now he walks through those doors during full day, in plain sight of the guards on either side—and pushes into the room. It's quiet, save for the fire dwindling in the hearth, and he doesn't see Keyleth anywhere.

"Kiki?" He moves over to her dressing screen, thinking perhaps she wanted to change clothes, but no, nothing back there. He goes to the fireplace, then, and his heart stops in his chest when he sees her, slumped in a pile on the floor, very much not moving.

"KEYLETH!" He crashes to his knees beside her, knocking the table out of the way to gather her into his arms. His shout alerted the guards, who now rush inside, weapons drawn. He pays them no mind; Keyleth isn't breathing.

One of the guards behind him blows a terrifyingly familiar whistle, and the sound shatters Vax's ribs. He presses two fingers to the underside of her jaw, but his panic is overwhelming him. He shudders in the deepest breath he can manage, holds it, and lets it out. He tries again.

There is a pulse. It is thready and so very, very weak, but there is a pulse.

Vax brushes the hair from her face, which is clammy and pale, and rests his hands on her cheeks. Bowing his head, he prays with the force of a winter's storm to the Raven Queen. He pleads for the magic required to save her life, and, failing that, the mercy of his matron to spare her one more time. He feels that prickling cold emanating from his hands, seeping into her skin, yet her chest remains obstinately still, refusing to rise and fall with new breath.

Please, he prays, thoughts barely coherent through his own sobs and the shouts of guards behind him. Please do not take her from me. Do not take her from our daughter. Do not take her from her people. He feels the energy quickly sapping away, his finite magic reaching its limits.

He holds his breath. He removes his hands from her face. Her eyes stare up at the ceiling. They are glassy, unseeing, lifeless.

#YOU SLY DOG #YOU GOT ME MONOLOGUING #critcal role #critical role fic #cr fic #vaxleth #vaxleth fic #vaxleth au #vox machina #vox machina fic #vox machina au #tlovm #tlovm fic #my fair lady #go on claim my heart #my fic

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gendervapor14 · 1 year

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gen's ship one piece fanfiction masterlist!

um so my original masterlist became impossible to edit because it was too long so i decided to split it in half! so, now the old masterlist is purely my gen content (romance is not the main focus) and this masterlist will focus on romance and ships.

updated 08-12-23

doflamingo x viola/violet

i hate this ship as much as i love it. i suffer every time i write them. anyway. here are the fruits of my labor.

a gift and a curse

rating: T warnings: creator chose not to use archive warnings status: complete! oneshot, 2,916 words genres/cw: soulmate AU, enemies to lovers, angst, attempted murder, sexual tension, power imbalance, suicidal thoughts, canon-compliant characters: doflamingo, viola summary: They were equals now. His wild, reckless motives threatened her vitality as much as her desire to restore her kingdom threatened his. He could have the build of a cockroach, but Viola was just a delicate little princess. A knife to the chest would easily kill her, if he didn't want to play by her rules. Judging by that expression when he looked her way, that disgusted scowl, he was dawning upon the same conclusion. additional notes: this was written for a rarepair event in feburary. a friend challenged me to write a soulmate AU (not a huge fan of them). it turned out pretty dark, so be mindful of that.

cut it (out)

rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! two chapters, 1,755 words genres/cw: angst, canon compliant, power imbalance, blood and injury, implied alcoholism, insomnia, unhealthy relationships characters: doflamingo, viola, dellinger summary: gerascophobia ~ the fear of aging additional notes: two separate stories that focus on doflamingo's relationship with viola, and aging.

façade

rating: T warnings: no archive warnings (check tags) status: complete! oneshot, 1,897 words genres/cw: canon compliant, unhealthy relationships, identity issues, pre-dressrosa, manhandling, hurt no comfort, threats of violence, death threats characters: viola, doflamingo summary: “What happened to the princess I used to know…?” The bridge of her nose crinkled as she maintained her balance. “She stands before you.” “This,” Another harsh jostle. “Is a façade.” additional notes: written for the "manhandling" prompt i got for the bad things happen bingo. yeah. i hate it too.

corazón/rosinante x bell-mère

corabelle my beloved. these two are hysterical, a great fluffy/humorous escape from my angstier works. (except for when they BECOME the angstier works. then we have a problem. a good one. but a brain-eating one.

how to bed your captain

rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! oneshot, 3,111 words genres/cw: humor, pining, sprinkle of angst, only one bed, canon-compliant characters: rosinante, bell-mère summary: Staring ahead blankly, Rosinante decided at some point between negotiating a room with the innkeeper, and getting into this bed, he’d died and gone to heaven. additional notes: probably my favorite corabelle story i've done so far. great pairing for this trope.

king of christmas

rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! oneshot, 5,136 words genres/cw: modern AU, christmas fluff, humor, slice of life, domestic fluff, drunken shenanigans characters: rosinante, bell-mère, law, nami, nojiko summary: nojiko ruins santa for nami. bell-mère finds the perfect jolly, blond replacement. additional notes: wrote this one for christmas! thought about rosinante in a santa suit and this was born.

king of karaoke

rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! oneshot, 1,778 words genres/cw: modern AU, humor, fluff, slice of life, dates characters: rosinante, bell-mere, law summary: bell-mère takes rosinante (and a begrudging law) to a karaoke bar. rosinante feels the need to prove a point. shenanigans ensue. additional notes: i wrote this in like an hour when i started depressing myself writing angst

happy belated

rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! 3 chapters, 13,530 words genres/cw: modern AU, humor, fluff, awkward romance, rural setting, friends to lovers, domestic fluff, awkward date, suggestive themes, birthday party, dinner, snowed in, deep talks characters: rosinante, bell-mère, law, nami, nojiko summary: bell-mère helps rosinante catch a break. additional notes: SHE'S FINALLY FINISHED WOOOO

rise & shine

rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! oneshot, 1,212 words genres/cw: modern AU, mother's day, fluff & humor, romance, suggestive themes, domestic bliss characters: rosinante, bell-mere, nojiko summary: bell-mère gets a few surprises on mother's day additional notes: i think this is the fluffiest thing i've written so far. it's very sappy and a bit suggestive, verging quite close to M territory.

from the heart, for the heart

rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! oneshot, 2,340 words genres/cw: modern au, father's day, domestic fluff, slice of life, holiday blues, found family, hurt/comfort, law is a little shit characters: bell-mere, rosinante, law, nami, nojiko summary: rosinante gets a bit glum every father's day. bell-mère and law give him a reason to smile. additional notes: another piece of the corabelle family holidays series which was totally created intentionally

set in stone

rating: T warnings: major character death status: complete! oneshot, 2,836 words genres/cw: canon compliant, angst, financial struggles, slice of life, tragic romance, suicidal thoughts characters: bell-mere, genzo summary: “He, he was a nice guy. Terrible at charades, but I guess we were both pretty banged up.” “Did you become good friends?” “We held hands.” additional notes: a follow-up to Matching Set by @crowbarsolo because he thought he could just, write a story like that without breaking my heart and making me write a copium fic

high tide

rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! 2 chapters, 9,643 words genres/cw: modern au, birthday fluff, beach vacation, light angst, drama & romance, domestic fluff, slice of life, suggestive themes, recreational drug use, referenced drug addiction characters: rosinante, bell-mere, law, nami, nojiko summary: rosinante uses his birthday as an excuse for a family vacation. things do not go as planned, but he sure does have a great time additional notes: yes the title is a pun. this fic is probably not great i don't even remember writing it

smoker x corazón/rosinante

i truly adore this pairing! not a whole lot out there for them to my knowledge. i'd like to write more, but for now, here's some tooth-rotting fluff.

from one home to the next

rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! oneshot, 2,030 words genres/cw: modern au, college au, fluff/humor, established relationship, romance characters: rosinante, doflamingo, donquixote parents, smoker summary: maybe returning to campus this semester wouldn't be so bad. additional notes: a cute little corasmo gift for the lovely @gali-la based on the little universe they have for them! ♥

crocodile x corazón/rosinante

one of my favorite all-time pairings!! not nearly enough content about these two out there. (they are kind of random i guess) but hey i don't care i love them anyway. the two stories i have here so far are... extremely different, so be mindful of that 😅

all bark and no bite

rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! four chapters, 14,207 words genres/cw: modern AU, fluff, humor, slice of life, fake dating, undercover missions, drunken shenanigans characters: rosinante, crocodile, bell-mère summary: rosinante gets an odd new client who is definitely a crime lord. bell-mere helps him get to the bottom of it. additional notes: somehow this story became one of my all-time favorites. rosi the boarding kennel owner and croc the... totally innocent client.

broken fingers hold tightest, broken hearts bleed brightest

rating: M warnings: creator chose not to use archive warnings status: complete! oneshot, 3,588 words genres/cw: canon-compliant, angst, unhealthy relationships, brief smut, power imbalance, arguing, mildly dubious consent characters: rosinante, crocodile summary: “Grow up.” Crocodile’s tone was flat, hand furled casually in his pocket. “I’m not here to kiss your ego. This mission was your choice—” “And this relationship was your choice.” Rosinante pushed, “If we can even call it a relationship. Starting to feel like I’m just your…goddamn plaything.” A dry chuckle. “Perceptive, aren’t we?” additional notes: somehow i am capable of writing both of these crocorosi stories. i don't know either

corazón/rosinante x katakuri

this pairing may seem like it comes out of nowhere because it does. but i am always happy to fill in another spot on my rarepair bingo sheet.

donut miss your chance!

rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! oneshot, 5300 words, (may add more chapters later) genres/cw: modern AU, fluff, humor, slice of life, blind date, awkward date, anxiety, reference to selective mutism characters: rosinante, bell-mère, katakuri summary: bell-mère sets rosinante up with "a cute baker." a 7'2" punk-goth behemoth is not exactly what rosinante had in mind. additional notes: a gift for @gali-la! we've both succumbed to some major katacora brainrot from the wonderful fanart by M.BD on twitter and this was born in the span of like, 10 hours. might add another chapter once i actually watch WCI and feel more comfortable characterizing katakuri and the charlotte fam

corazón/rosinante x sora (oc)

sora is an oc from 01746! she's rosinante's superior, and helps track his coordinates for tsuru while he's undercover. this story can be read without reading 01746, but some inside jokes might not make their mark.

secrets secrets (can be fun)

rating: E warnings: none! status: complete! two chapters, 6669 words genres/cw: canon-compliant, secret relationship, humor, dark humor, angst, banter, smut characters: rosinante, sora (oc), sengoku, tsuru summary: “One of these days…” Sora raised her head reluctantly, as if she’d rather keep staring into his heart. “One of these days…?” “One of these days…” His palm settled at her nape, fingers weaving through dark hair. “We’ll actually do some work in this office.” With a light laugh, Sora urged herself up onto her toes, tugging him down for a quick peck. “Not today.” “No, not today.” additional notes: my first rated E fic! yeah it's uh. rated that way for a reason. ya'll asked for this, okay. once upon a time it was one chapter and it was rated T, lmao

fill your cuts, spill your guts

rating: T warnings: none! status: complete! oneshot, 5,835 words genres/cw: canon divergent, blood and injury, whump, cora lives au, bullet extraction, mild gore, referenced suicidal thoughts, mental health concerns, confessions, romance characters: rosinante, sora, law summary: She took the canteen for him and put it aside, helping him remove the tattered, soaked shirt. Corazón’s flashy pink shirt. Such an iconic garment. Looked so much prettier in those wanted posters, but now that it was here in her grasp, it was nothing but a threadbare, rusty, well-worn scrap of cotton. Might have been Corazón’s choice of attire, but there was still a man beneath that garish, streaky makeup. Her man. additional notes: this was festering in my drive so i posted it and doctors hate me for it

sora (oc) x bell-mère

another spicy little blurb involving sora. did my best to make this compliant with the 01746 universe, too!

temptation, torment, and tangerines

rating: E warnings: none! status: compelete!, 4 chapters, 23,522 words genres/cw: canon compliant for the most part, enemies to lovers to friends, sexual tension, angst and hurt/comfort, feminist themes, misandry, smut, some humor, conflict of interests, moral dilemmas, arguing, size difference, implied/referenced human trafficking characters: sora (oc), bell-mere, rosinante, tsuru summary: “I’m not, we’re not doing anything. I’ll let you go, for now, but you need to get serious. If I hear of any other misdemeanors after this conversation, I will report you.” Bell-mère sauntered towards the door with her hands out in an exaggerated shrug. “You owe me a tangerine, by the way.” Sora scoffed and folded her arms. “You’re supposed to salute your superiors upon entry and exiting.” “I’ll salute ya as soon as I respect ya, toots.” ~ takes place in the 01746 universe, but can be read standalone ~ additional notes: i wanted to address the fact that i have no f/f fics in the OP fandom so i wrote this. there are undertones of f/m at the end! but yeah the main pairing is bell-mere and sora 👍

corazón/rosinante x sora (oc) x bell-mère

uhhh i have. very little explanation for this. some friends told me a threesome with these three would be funny. did my best to deliver.

trouble, trouble, toilsome trouble

rating: E warnings: none! status: complete! 4 chapters, 21,265 words genres/cw: modern AU, polyamory, demisexuality, aromantic, bisexuality, fluff and humor, drama & romance, online dating, some smoking and drinking, insecurity, slice of life, okay. bring forth the porn tags, smut, first time, hand jobs, S&M, exhibitionism, rough sex, inappropriate use of kitchen utensils, vaginal fingering, voyeurism, threesome - F/F/M, anal fingering, pegging characters: rosinante, sora (oc), bell-mère, smoker's there for 5 seconds summary: How many times could he doom himself? Giving Smoker his phone. Dating Sora. Sleeping with Sora. Encouraging her to seek a new partner. Encouraging her to bring that partner into their home. Encouraging her to fuck that partner in front of him. The words, “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind giving it a try.” His seven deadly sins. And he tripped, stumbled, and faceplanted into all of them. additional notes: yeah this story is odd idk why it happened either

law x monet

yeah this is a random pairing idk

paper meets coffee

rating: T warnings: none! status: incomplete, one chapter, 4224 words genres/cw: bookstore AU, coffeeshop AU, canon universe? it's weird i know, humor, sexual tension, enemies to lovers characters: law, monet summary: A coffee bar. Installed in her bookstore. It was an outrage. additional notes: do not remember writing this. i don't know when this happened. i do know a friend gave me this random prompt generator and this is what i got.

gladius x monet

a true rarepair. have to enter them into ao3 manually every time i write about them. they're sweet though!! i think they'd have a lot in common.

until hell freezes (us) over

rating: gen warnings: none! status: complete! oneshot, 1,190 words genres/cw: canon compliant, goodbyes, character study, self-consciousness, angst characters: gladius, monet summary: His sleeves, not ideal for absorbing fluids, smeared the vapor around to create a smudged, translucent portal of reality. Although, as those talons clattered to the glossed wooden surface, claws carving into grain, Gladius wasn’t entirely sure reality was what stood before him. additional notes: my take on a light, pretty piece to highlight the tragedy of this ship. kind of tried to write the story to frame it like a blizzard, if that makes sense.

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local-starry-catboi · 12 days

Text

Kuraigana

Date: 22.09.2020

Fandom: One Piece

Characters: Mihawk, Zorro, Perona

Theme: Halloween on Kuraigana

OPA Challenge: #FallWriting

Crossposted: One Piece Amino

An island long deserted in Paradise.

Its twisted beauty will mesmerize.

Its fallen kingdom old, forgotten.

Kuraigana left barely untrodden.

Not too long ago raged a war, horrible.

To Marineford it's easily comparable.

From past events Humandrills learnt.

Dwelled in the ruins they had usurped.

Take cover from those raging beasts.

Stride past all ruins, follow the streets.

Careful not to draw the creatures' wrath.

Do not ever turn 'round or leave the path.

These monsters don't seem to fight fair.

Of your surroundings, always stay aware.

Don't worry, soon you're not alone anymore.

When the time comes, I'll reward your valour.

Let me make clear one thing, my dear.

I'd love me some company, to be sincere.

Come join this nocturnal waltz of mine.

Let us dance in the moon's soft shine.

A swordsman arrived soon, is he pale.

Did not mind the place's gloomy veil.

Made himself a home in the castle.

Alone; by his side not a single vassal.

Said man, Dracule Mihawk, is his name.

For himself a high title he could claim:

A Shichibukai, a Warlord of the Sea.

Facing him, it's either fight or flee.

For a man like him, a favourable place.

No one was there to disturb his grace.

Even the violent Humandrills feared him,

Yet they helped the man appearing grim.

Little did he know about the future ahead.

Soon, two more mouths would need to be fed.

Out at war was the golden-eyed man for now.

People he'd allow to stay with him, somehow.

Let me make clear one thing, my dear.

I'd love me some company, to be sincere.

Come join this nocturnal waltz of mine.

Let us dance in the moon's soft shine.

Barely anyone disturbed his peace.

However, the number soon'd increase.

The Thriller Bark's princess stranded

Without a zombie she had commanded.

Kuma had sent her on a journey there,

To leave her in someone else's care.

Together they had to get arranged.

Life in the castle now would change.

Despite often being a drama queen,

Perona got used to her new routine.

Often lent a hand for the chores.

Mihawk was not the one who deplores.

Horo-horo-horo-horo-horo, hauntingly.

First, the gothic lolita laughs tauntingly.

But only until she sees her biggest fear.

Cockroaches.. can't they just disappear?!

Let me make clear one thing, my dear.

I'd love me some company, to be sincere.

Come join this nocturnal waltz of mine.

Let us dance in the moon's soft shine.

Each night, the sky dyed in many hues.

Some purples, teals, greens, and blues.

Dozens of stars and a crescent moon,

Singing each night a lullaby's soft tune.

The princess stepped into the high halls.

A perfect place for masquerade balls.

If she only had Kumashi by her side.

Over the dark marble, she would glide.

An orchestra would play dark melodies,

Shadows dancing past her in her reveries.

The ballroom lit by chandeliers, golden.

A cute, young prince her heart had stolen.

Out of all, her gown would be the cutest.

"Oh, could I be her", you of course wished.

Her precious daydream, it has to end.

If she soon will have another friend?

Let me make clear one thing, my dear.

I'd love me some company, to be sincere.

Come join this nocturnal waltz of mine.

Let us dance in the moon's soft shine.

All separated on Sabaody, Zorro arrived.

Thanks to Perona, he luckily had survived.

To retrieve his swords, he earned her trust.

To survive here, they both needed to adjust.

Neither of them had noticed Mihawk's return.

Defeating the Humandrills was their concern.

Zorro got informed about Marineford's events.

The thought of being unable to help, he resents.

His situation he viewed rather realistically.

Compared to Perona and her stay, cynically.

Nonetheless, he defeated all his opponents.

The creatures caused the postponements.

Eventually, to Mihawk had Zorro bowed.

To become the strongest, he had vowed.

Dracule accepted and began the training.

The following two years would be draining.

Let me make clear one thing, my dear.

I'd love me some company, to be sincere.

Come join this nocturnal waltz of mine.

Let us dance in the moon's soft shine.

How time flies; it's already late October.

Sweet, Halloween at last had come closer.

Horror and scary stories below we'll bandy.

Did you really expect to get some candy?

Werewolves, vampires, reapers, zombies.

Jack-o'-lanterns, will-o'-wisps, banshees.

Let's dance around the fire, all you witches.

Scarecrows show their face full of stitches.

Join us, all you dancing and singing skeletons.

Tonight you shall become humans' predators.

You too, my dear mummies, Devils and demons.

Because this is by far the best of all seasons!

Enjoy tonight, for we shall spook the mortals.

Whoever scares the most will win the laurels.

You heard right, dear, tonight is Halloween.

This very night we monsters become serene.

Let me make clear one thing, my dear.

I'd love me some company, to be sincere.

Come join this nocturnal waltz of mine.

Let us dance in the moon's soft shine.

#local starry catboi #one piece #one piece mihawk #one piece zoro #one piece perona #perona #roronoa zoro #dracule mihawk #mihawk #poems on tumblr #poem #original poem #original poetry #poetry #halloween

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drawnbadly-blog · 17 days

Text

Hellish Bells 8: On The Air

“-COCKSUCKING WHORE!”

Vaggie stared flatly at the cell phone. “You know, if you didn’t want to do it you could just, I don’t know, say no?”

“I won’t do SHIT to help that BASTARD!” Vox shouted through the screen.

“You sure?” Charlie’s eyelids lowered halfway. “It’s rather big news.”

“Fuck. NO! Alastor is an ancient fucker that doesn’t deserve even a SECOND of airtime on MY NETWORK!”

“Okay!” Charlie acted like she was going to disconnect. “We’ll announce it on Alastor’s radio show then.”

Vox seemed to come to some of his senses. “Wait. What is this supposed ‘big news’?”

“You honestly think we’ll tell you so you can announce it on your network without us? Yeah, no.” Vaggie reached over to genuinely disconnect.

“Rrrrrr…” Vox chewed on his lip, a red line falling from his lip down his screen. Finally he said, “It’s something involving Alastor and the Princess of Hell.” It was obvious he was trying to figure it out. “What, are you building an asylum next?”

“It’s alright, ladies,” Alastor said from his chair across the room. “It’s obvious that that loser doesn’t want a scoop as hot as this one.”

Vaggie rolled her eye as that got Vox going again. “FUCK YOU, ALASTOR! YOU’RE the loser, NOT ME!”

Alastor got up from his seat and walked over. Once he was on the screen, his radio signal began making the video lag and jerk. He reached out, his hand enclosing on the screen. “Oh Vox, my pathetic little boy, looks like you’ll have to find out with everyone else!” Alastor’s grin turned vicious as he said, “Once again, you’ll be out of the loop!”

“YOU BAST-wait, what’s that on your fin-” A spark flew from Alastor’s hand that completely fried the phone.

“Here you go, Vaggie dear!” Alastor said, handing the broken phone back to Vaggie.

“Gee, thanks.” Vaggie sighed. “I need to start charging you for all of my phones you break.”

“Add it to my tab,” Alastor quipped back.

“So, that didn’t work out…” Charlie put lightly.

“I didn’t expect it to,” Alastor replied.

“Why the hell did you want us to do that if you thought that he wouldn’t say yes!?” Vaggie growled.

“For the entertainment, of course!” Alastor laughed, an actual laugh. “Listening to that mediocre media host lose his mind because I’m going to be one of the people making an announcement? An announcement that might be the biggest one of the century? The stewing he’ll be doing, trying to connect dots that he doesn’t have, investigating like a little cockroach in the apocalypse only to come up empty? It will drive him ab-so-LUTE-ly bonkers!” He examined his nails. “I must find my entertainment somehow seeing as I can’t.”

He didn’t cut himself off. He just stopped talking. His expression didn’t outwardly change. It was very…strange.

Vaggie and Charlie stared at him for a moment. Alastor didn’t move or say anything, merely looked between the two women neutrally. Vaggie was the first to speak. “You’ve got your fun. Now, let’s be serious. You won that bet, and now I’m pressing you to keep it.”

Alastor’s expression changed subtly. “Oh? You’re going to ‘make me’ keep my bet?”

Her eye narrowed. “Yes.”

“You merely want that because I suddenly seem reluctant.” Alastor gave her his version of a frown - a tight-lipped smile - before he switched over to a genuine toothy grin. “See? This is why I’m rather fond of you! So forceful, even in the face of a superior! Rather recalcitrant of you.” He twirled his cane. “I wouldn’t dream of not collecting my dues. Oh no, I’m simply needing some time to craft my script! A bit of a commercial break, if you will.”

Charlie had been about ready to assure Alastor about not being ready for such a big step. Trapping them in a soul deal was one small step in comparison to letting everyone know that you’re involved with those you want to spend eternity with! She was more convinced by the day that he was doing his own version of reaching out for help, for a bond, even with his dickish behavior.

“That’s okay, Alastor! We’ll go get drinks while you make your script!” Charlie didn’t know why he needed a script. It didn’t really matter; he wanted some alone time, and it would make her and Vaggie bad partners if they didn’t give it to him.

Charlie made for the stairs down from Alastor’s main living area. Vaggie sighed as she followed behind her. Once they were heading down the wing to the main foyer with the bar, Charlie said, eyes sparkling, “We’re making ~*progress*~ with him!”

“‘Progress’?” Vaggie shook her head. “Charlie, you have too much faith in the goodness in others. It’s obvious he’s covering something up. There’s no way you didn’t notice him suddenly stop talking, right?”

“We don’t know why!” Charlie defended. “He could have been about to admit that he was going to stop using the hotel to entertain himself. That would’ve made him vulnerable . He can’t handle that!”

“Uh-huh.” Vaggie stewed on that all the way to the bar. Tom was the only guest there, drinking something dark brown and fuming at the bartender.

“And THAT BITCH dumped hot coffee on my lap ON AIR!” He slammed his fist down, glaring at the television posted up above the bar where Katie Killjoy was giving a report.

“ I know ,” Janine not-Mayberry, as she for some reason liked to be called after that fiasco with her husband cheating on her, said while she cleaned glasses. “You keep telling that story! EVERY NIGHT.” It was then that she noticed Vaggie and Charlie coming up to the bar. Her expression lightened considerably as she waved them over. “Hello, girls! The usuals?”

“Yes please!”

“Sure.”

Janine went to work, mixing up a Shirley Temple for Charlie and an Old-Fashioned for Vaggie. She joked as she sat them down in front of them, “On the house!” Laughing at her little joke, she went back to Tom to collect his cup as he stumbled away.

“Let’s stay here at the bar tonight to drink these. I think I might want more than one,” Vaggie said.

“Oh! Uhm, okay?” Charlie was confused, thinking as they sat. Why would Vaggie want more than one drink? Was she really that depressed about announcing to the world that Alastor managed to trick them into marriage?

Charlie didn’t ask. Instead, she let Vaggie take her time to think on her words. Sipping her Shirley Temple, she let her gaze wander through the foyer.

It was a much larger room than the old hotel. It had dedicated nooks, like an Irish bar, scattered about to allow for some privacy for the Sinners staying in the hotel. There was a big main area similar to a conversation pit in the middle, comfy pillows scattered about. There, a group of demonesses that had all come in together after leaving their fashionista boss were gossiping, having a good time and relaxing. There was a little miniature boardroom off in the back similar to the Heaven Embassy where a group of demons were ‘roleplaying’ with their imaginations.

Vaggie still didn’t get it.

“Look, Charlie, I…” Vaggie spoke up only to quiet down again. Charlie looked over to her. Her eye was staring a hole in her glass as she chewed a lip. Finally she continued, “I love you. So much. But only you. I’m not sure…” She heaved a sigh. “I don’t think I can love anyone else.”

“Huh?” Charlie was surprised. Wasn’t love universal? A split-second later she got it. “Oh! You mean Alastor?”

Vaggie nodded. “I know you want us all to be one happy group since we’re stuck together. I can’t…I can’t love anyone but you.”

“I think we need to aim for ‘less hostile’ before we go anywhere near the ‘L’ word with Alastor,” Charlie said, motioning with her hands. “And even then, I don’t expect you to love him. Just, don’t force your hate, don’t force indifference, don’t force any of your emotions! I want you to at least get along.”

Vaggie’s gaze shifted to Charlie. “And you? What’s your end-game for this? Sunshine and rainbow him until he rescinds the deal?”

Charlie decided to be honest. “Firstly, you know he’s as trapped as we are now-”

“From what he claimed.”

“- second , I’ve seen some things in him, Vaggie!” Charlie reached and gripped Vaggie’s hand. “There really is someone decent in there, trying to reach out. Why else would he trap us like this unless he’s lonely?”

“Because he wants power? He literally claimed that he wanted the whole political marriage thing,” Vaggie said.

“YOU’RE the one that thinks that he’s hiding things and you don’t think he’s hiding something with that claim too?” Charlie spread her arms wide. “You know Alastor! He’s been our friend for years ! Do you really think that there isn’t more going on?!”

“Of course there’s more going on!”

“Then why not help me figure it out? If you’re so concerned that it’s something fishy, wouldn’t it work out better if you help me dig deep to find what’s going on in his head?” Charlie asked.

Vaggie stared, looking lost for words, before her shoulders slumped. Rubbing her head, she said, “I won’t stand in your way of trying to ‘bring the good’ in him out. I’ll help the best I can. I’m not as willing as you in believing there isn’t something sinister going on.”

“And that’s fine!” Charlie now took both of Vaggie’s hands in hers. “The fact that you believe in me enough to help with this means the world to me!” She pulled Vaggie into a soft hug. “Thank you.”

Vaggie buried her head in Charlie’s shoulder. “I would do anything for you.”

They sat like that for a while, simply enjoying each other’s body against theirs. Cuddling in public was something that both of them liked to do. Showing affection so everyone knew how much they loved each other. Let each other know of their love.

“Oh shit, looks like we have breaking news!” Katie shouted from the tv before she was shoved aside suddenly. That caught Vaggie and Charlie’s attention as they broke their hug and turned to watch the news. In her place was Vox, who looked positively giddy.

“Attention all of Hell,” Vox said, smug and full of himself. “Breaking news!” A picture appeared on the screen. A screencap of Alastor from the discussion earlier, static blurring him mildly as his hand was focused on and enlarged. An animatic circled the black ring on Alastor’s finger. “That bitch-ass pathetic demon bastard Alastor has been facefucked by the Princess of Hell!” He laughed psychotically. “That’s right! That fucker has been enslaved by that bi-erm, Charlie Morningstar. That ring has pact magic in it!”

Janine squinted at the screen. “What ring?”

There were confused murmurings on the air. One demon slipped on screen and whispered to Vox. He grumbled, “What? What do you mean ‘there’s no ring’? How can you miss it?! It’s that chunk of black on his finger!” He reached down and grabbed Katie, shoving her at the screen. “You see that, don’t you?”

“See what, some blurry cocksucker’s hand?”

“No! The ring .”

She looked at him like he was dumb. “There’s no ring.”

“WHAT?!” Vox looked around, staring between all the people at the studio. “None of you can see it?!” After a moment, he shouted, “FUCK!” Then he made a neck slicing movement. “Cut to commercial!”

As the screen went to a commercial for Loo-Loo Land, Charlie laughed while Vaggie chuckled. Vaggie said, “Okay, yeah, that was actually really funny.”

————————

“Hello, my dearest brides!” Alastor waved them into his studio at the very top of his tower. There were two seats set up with their own microphones ready to be used. The two sat down as Alastor began getting his equipment running. He asked, “Are you ready to announce ourselves to all of Hell?”

Vaggie sighed, reluctant. “I guess.”

Charlie gave him a thumbs-up.

“Excellent!” Alastor pushed a button and the ‘On Air’ sign lit up. “Good day, my fellow Sinners! Rejoice, for the real breaking news is on the radio!” It didn’t look like he was reading from a script. “Now, here in the studio with me I have Princess Charlotte Morningstar and Angel Vaggie! Of course all of you know these two, they’ve been mentioned on my radio show countless times!” He pushed another button on his console. The lights on the microphones lit up. “Now, my dear ladies. It’s time to make the announcement and take questions.” Only Charlie and Vaggie saw the amusement that didn’t show in his voice as he said, ��Charlie! Did you want to break the news?”

Charlie looked at Vaggie before nodding. “Yes, I will!” Clearing her throat, she pulled the microphone close and began, “My people of Hell…”

#bananarama is a word #chaggistor #charlie x vaggie x alastor #romance #eventually anyway #charlie has two hands #hazbin hotel #demiromantic alastor #asexual alastor #asexual demiromantic Alastor #slow burn

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