#and it was like $7 cheaper this time around actually

[eugeniedanglars]

lord help me i'm about to become the patient every doctor hates and argue with my psychiatrist based on google

[a-b-riddle]

Part 7

Can't stop thinking about how the 141 met reader

(she's a long one. not entirely happy with it either so may edit later)

No harm done yet.

You never saw Simon actually hurt anyone. Johnny and Kyle would share stories about poor recruits who fucked around and eventually found out that Simon had no issue beating them within an inch of their life.

You knew he had a reputation and, like the rest of them, had blood on his hands. But it never bothered you. Didn't make you think twice about loving him or seeing him as the protector he had always been to you. To be frank, you could never actually picture any of them being violent.

But his voice... Fuck. His voice. It fucking rattled you. You actually feared for those fucking idiots now. Sure, they deserved to have their asses kicked, but an ass-kicking was probably going to be a welcomed after thought to whatever Simon would do.

You rinsed off, not bothering to wash your hair, but needing to wash up before getting in the bed. Hoping the scalding hot water washed away the uneasiness on your skin that had began to settle into your bones.

Even feeling fresh and laying in clean sheets, you still found yourself tossing and turning wondering exactly what did Simon do?

Did he walk away? Realizing you weren't worth the trouble, did he just tell them to knock it off?

You had stupidly expected Simon to check in. To check if you made it home alright or at least to let you know he was okay. So you waited... And you waited. You had half a mind to call him yourself before remembering it wasn't your place anymore to care. You had cared enough for the five of you.

It was well past two in the morning before you finally called it a night.

The next morning, still nothing from Mr. Riley. Not a 'did you home alright?' or 'are you okay?' text. Nada. Zilch.

Whatever.

Fuck him.

You had to open up shop, but luckily your Saturday mornings were much more relaxed. The shop wouldn't be open until 10, so you had the time to sleep in and enjoy the morning.

By noon, Mere had sent you several texts reminding you that you had promised to go out. You had tried to dissuade her. The encounter with those men last night had brought back sour memories. One involving handsome men coming to your rescue when it was most certainly needed.

You had tried to bail. Giving her any excuse you could: Last night put you on edge. You no longer wanted to go out. After last weekend, you just needed some down time.

Eventually you had realized she was not taking no for an answer after she had shown up to your apartment, already ready for a night out.

"You're not wearing that, are you?" Mere asked. Mere was in her usual Saturday femme-fatal attire. The black leather pants that accentuated her curves and red corset paired well with her freshly box dyed color black hair.

She looked more like a dominatrix than someone who worked at an attorney's office. Even if both professions included bending someone over and fucking them for all their worth. You wondered who would charge more by the hour....

You had pulled out a off white lace square neck top and a pair of high waisted medium washed baggy jeans. A perfectly cute outfit for a night out. Which was your defense when she had suggested you needed to change.

Tab had arrived later than expected (something about a system being down at work), but made up for it by bringing a pre-game snack. Yes, you had officially reached the age where you no longer starved yourself hours before going out to get more drunk quicker and cheaper. No you had to eat carbs or else you wouldn't be able to leave your room the next day as you pathetically nurse a hangover.

Tab wore a denim skirt. If you could even call it that. It paired well with the white tank top that you could make out the shape of her nipple piercing.

But they looked hot. Really hot.

"This is a perfectly acceptable outfit."

"For a day at market, not for trying to get laid."

"I don't want to get laid." You said, rummaging through your closet, yet again. "Getting laid is what got me in this mess in the first place."

A little over two years ago

"Fuck him." Tabitha wrapped her arms around your shaking body as you continued to sob. "He was a prick who didn't fucking deserve you."

"He couldn't even get you to cum." Mere felt the need to remind you as if that would somehow lessen the blow of your heartbreaking into a million shards. The shrapnel feeling like it would kill you.

"I loved him," your voice is small. "I fucking loved him." You had been dating for almost three years. You had his grandmother's ring on your fucking hand for God's sake. "I'm so stupid."

"You are not stupid." Tabitha gave you a squeeze. "He was a liar and a fucking coward." Meredith rubbed her thumb on you bare leg, offering physical reassure. Letting you know even if she wasn't the hugger Tabs was, she was still here.

"You can't keep locked up in this apartment." She was unfortunately right. You had not only barricaded yourself in your apartment for two weeks, but you hadn't returned to your bedroom. The scene of the crime. "You need to get out."

"Yeah," Tabitha rubbed your arm as if trying to coax you out your metaphorical shell. "Get some fresh air. We can go grab a treat. Maybe go out for some coffee." It didn't surprise you that Tabitha was offering a treat to entice you to leaving your sanctuary.

"I was thinking going to a bar." It also didn't surprise you that Mere offered her way of coping. Getting so drunk that you forgot what you even sad about. Or going out and finding someone to fuck the sadness out of her.

"Because getting alcohol in her system in this state is just what she needs." Tabitha was the mom of the group whereas Mere was the fun drunk aunt. They balanced one another out.

"Actually," you said, giving a pathetic sniffle. "Going out would be nice." Getting away from the apartment is what you need. And going out would be the excuse you would need to get yourself all dolled up.

What you hadn't planned for was getting so pissed that you had manage to breakaway from your friends. Searching for them in teh crowd of people. Failing and when you pulled out your phone were met with a completely black screen.

Dead. Perfect.

The same moment you swore the night couldn't get any worse, it did.

He looked the same. Same as he been four months ago when he asked you to become his wife. Same as he had been two weeks ago when you had caught him fucking another girl. The girl he told you not to worry about. The girl he insisted was just one of the guys. A girl you had told him time and time again would fuck him the moment she had the chance.

It wasn't always great to be right.

When your eyes connected, your body had went into immediate flight mode. Every neuron in your body was shooting out signals of RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN. So that's exactly what you did.

You fucking bolted.

Or felt like you bolted. But you could only scurry so fast in chunky heels while simultaneously pulling down your skirt that had decided to ride up. Aching to show your ass for all of London to see.

You had made it a quarter of the way back to your apartment. Your feet aching. Toes pinched together from the strap digging into them.

"Baby, please!" You heard him before you felt his arm clamp down on your shoulder. Hard. When did his touch become something heavy? Something that practically burned you.

You turned. Eyes brimming with unshed tears as you hissed at him to leave you the fuck alone. The begging came, but you turned around. Determined to go home. He didn't deserve the chance to explain himself and he could most certainly shove his apology up his ass.

He wouldn't shut up. Insisting it was a mistake. A one time thing her fault. How she seduced him. As if he were the victim in all of this. You weren't buying it. Not for one moment. One doesn't accidentally invite some slut over and fall balls deep into her while they are in the same bed he shares with his fiancée.

It wasn't until you were in a more dimly lit area that he had gotten the nerve to grab you. His grip was firm on your arms as he held you in place. "Listen to me!" His voice was panicked.

The feeling of anger slowly began to dim as something else began to rise.

Fear.

You were afraid.

You were in a part of town not many people were out and about in at this time of night. No bystanders to really take note of the scene, or at least not any caring enough to stand by and watch; even for entertainment.

Your friends didn't know where you were at and you were tipsy. And alone.

"Cardan," you swallowed, trying to steady your voice. "Please let me go."

"Not until you talk to me," his fingers dug into you. "We can work this out, okay? It was one mistake." He tried to argue, his voice rising, soaked in desperation. "What's one mistake compared to three years?"

"Cardan," you tried to pull away, his grip only tightening. "You're hurting me." It came out as a pathetic whimper. You were so close to crying, too afraid to scream.

"Hey!" A voice barked from behind you. It caused your whole body to stiffen."Get your fucking hands off her. Someone noticed. Someone was here. Someone was here. Someone was here.

"We are having a conversation." Cardan's eyes left you, looking at whoever stood behind you.

"The lass said to leave her be." Another voice. Someone else. Two (three if you counted yourself, but in that moment you couldn't) people against one. There was no a possibility of you getting the fuck out of this situation.

Cardan stood firm. His eyes looking past you. A silent refusal to back down.

"Either you let her go," another voice. Another accent different that the first two. "Or we fucking make you."

"One against four. Odds aren't in your favor, mate." Four. Four men stood behind you. Faceless strangers there to help you.

"This doesn't concern you." Cardan bit out.

"Aye," Scottish. The second guy was definitely Scottish. "I think it does if she's tellin' ye' to piss off and yer bein' a bawbag about it."

"So what'll it be?" The third voice, deep and threatening, yet still so... calming. As if the vibrations from his deep, rich pitch washed over you.

Cardan looked back at you, his eyes not as manic. He realized he didn't have a chance. This was a fight he had to walk away from or else he wouldn't be walking away from it at all. "I'll swing by tomorrow, okay?" He asked.

You couldn't do anything, but nod. Agree that you could talk tomorrow in the safety of the sunlight. Eventually he walked across the street before fading out into the night. Blending in with the shadows.

You turned around to meet your would-be saviors.

Four men. All slightly older than you and so handsome you felt foolish for gawking at them as if this were your first time seeing a man. Hell, maybe it was. At least specimens like this. All of them tall and broad. Towering over you.

No wonder Cardan got the fuck out of there. Tabs was right. He was a coward.

"You alright?" The one who first spoke up asked. You could place his voice. Now just needed to place the other three. He had a hearty mustache and mutton chops. A look on any one else would make you immediately get the ick. But for a moment you wondered if that mustache would tickle... "Do you need us to call anyone?"

You felt your cheeks flush with heat.

"I just want to go home." You said. "Thank you for stepping in. I don't know what would have-" You stopped. Too afraid to think about the possibilities. There was a time you would never believe that Cardan had the ability to hurt you.

There was also a time you believed he would never cheat. You weren't really sure what to believe anymore. "Anyway," you continued. "Thank you again." You turned on your heel before continuing your stride.

You had only made it several feet before you were stopped again. "Which way? One of us can walk you home." You weren't entirely sure. But with a dead cellphone and a unhinged ex probably lurking in the shadows, there was little time to weigh the pros and cons before giving them a general direction of where you lived.

Which just so happened to be the direction in which two of the four lived. The Scot and one of the two who had yet to speak. The first one, who had still yet to introduce himself instructed the two of them to drop you off and let him know you had made it home alright.

You had hoped that the rest of your night would be met with silence, but the Scot couldn't seem to help himself. "I'm Johnny." He introduced. "And the spooky, silent type is Simon." He gave a playful wink. You gave him your name, not wanting to be rude.

"Not my place to ask," he began. "But what was the deal with that fucker? Ex-boyfriend?"

"Johnny." Simon's tone held warning. You appreciated the defense, but frankly didn't care. These were strangers. Who cared what they thought.

"Ex-fiancée," you clarified. "One who decided to fuck another girl in my bed. Not even our bed. My bed."

"Jesus fucking Christ," the Scot swore. "I was right. He was a fucking bawbag." For whatever reason, that made you laugh. For the first time in two weeks you fucking laughed. And it felt like you were breathing again.

Simon was quiet, not contributing to the conversation and just letting Johnny babble. Talking your ear off in a short trek as if it were an olympic sport.

You were so distracted with his voice you hadn't realized how far you had made it until the sound of your keys clattering onto your kitchen counter brought you back.

Back to a situation you didn't know how the fuck you landed in.

Two men (who you don't know) are in your apartment. Your friends don't know where you are. You are a little bit too inebriated to plan and exit strategy. Doesn't exactly help your confidence in fighting them off since they are built like fucking brick houses.

"He won't come sniffin' around here botherin' ya, will he?" Simon asks, speaking for only the second time since he had threatened Cardan. You shake your head.

"No," you said. "I have him blocked on everything. So I think when he saw me tonight it was just kind of an opportunity, I suppose?" You offer. Cardan had showed up to your place one time with a random assortment of flowers and a useless apology you had to hear through the door as you covered your mouth. Concealing your cries. Too afraid to let him know you were there.

Too afraid that some part of you would be weak enough to take him back.

"We'll leave ye' be." Johnny said, nodding his head toward the door. "But if he comes bein' a shite to ye again, you can give us a call."

"Phones dead." You explain, holding up your phone as if you needed to prove yourself. Johnny offered the brilliant, yet simple solution of giving him your number. He sent off a text, knowing it would be there when you turned back on and promising to check in later.

They both gave subtle nods of goodbye before turning away.

And just like that, they left. The door clicking softly shut behind them. You stood, frozen for several beats before walking over and locking the door.

You plugged your phone into the charging cable, waiting until it lit back to life before shooting off a text in your group chat with Tab and Mere.

Sorry I took off. Ran into Cardan and fucking made a dash for it. Sorry if I worried you. I'm at home. I'm okay. Grab lunch tomorrow and we can talk about it? My treat?

You signed off the text with a heart emoji and turned your phone on do not disturb. Too afraid of your friends going all Mama Bear on you for running away while drunk. Even if your reasons were valid.

You had texted Johnny again. Not because Cardan dared to bother you again, but to thank him. Acknowledging that not many men would have done for you what he and his friend did. Johnny assured you it wasn't anything.

Before you knew it, the two of you were hanging out with Simon always tagging along. It took you a while to realize he did actually like you, but his stoic nature was just who he was. You had met Kyle and John, both as charming and respectful as Johnny and Simon.

John had been the first two mention wanting to take you on a date. It didn't go well with the other three. They all had the same intention and a rock, paper, scissors tournament seemed to juvenile to figure out who got the privilege in courting you. Eventually, they had decided to ask you.

Putting you on the spot to answer the question that had begun to tear them apart: which one of them will it be?

Johnny made you laugh. He was the first person you thought about calling when your day was a bit grey. He saw the positive in everything and was the one who made you feel like even the bad days weren't so terrible.

Then there was Simon. The one who you felt like was your safe place in body and mind. You would babble all day talking to him, thankful when he would let you rant. Your mind was able to go on auto-pilot in terms of safety because you knew Simon would handle it. He also gave the best hugs.

John was the one who instilled the confidence in you that you needed. Your bookstore, your writing, whatever aspirations you had, no matter how wild, John would support it. Nothing was too big. After you all started dating, he was the first person you ever let read your book. He gave you praise as well as critique, pointing out multiple plot holes and helping you craft it better. And never once taking credit for it, even when it was due.

Kyle was the most thoughtful one. He was the one who knew you liked trying knew things so he made an effort to always make date nights interesting. A new restaurant, a new activity or experience. He was the biggest giver of the group.

So when they did ask you, you answered honestly.

"I can't choose." They insisted that you didn't need to spare their feelings, but you stood firm in your decision. "No. I can't choose. I'm interested in all of you." When they pressed on why the fuck you didn't say anything earlier, you told them to avoid this kind of situation. Where you had to choose. You were fine continuing on as just friends if that meant you got to keep all of them.

Mere and Tabs were great friends, but they are the ones who helped pull you out of the slump. The ones who made you feel lovable. The ones who made you feel like a woman again.

"Helloooooo." Mere's hand waved in your face while another held something she had found in your closet. "So are you going to change or not?" Your eyes darted to the skimpy glittery black dress. The same one for your first date with them. Your stomach twisted as you took the sparkly dark fabric in your hand.

You nodded as if trying to shake the memory out of your mind. "I'll change and we can go." Better just to get it over with.

The place that Mere had dragged you to was a club that played music that you would only listen to while encapsulated in the aroma of cheap liquor and sweat. Your outfit form-fitting. The material too stiff to be comfortable, but it was cute. The hem of your dress coming to rest just below your ass cheeks. Hugging your body in a way that made you feel self conscious the moment you stepped out of your building.

Mere had run into some work colleagues. Names you couldn't and wouldn't remember. There had been a high profile divorce going on. Very messy. She had been so encapsulated by the gossip that she hadn't notice you and Tabitha had slipped off toward the bar.

Tabitha insisted on shots and you needed something to get your mind off the less than exciting night. Your expectations weren't high, but fuck. You would have been much more comfortable wearing the jeans. You felt like a piece of fucking meat. It would have been so bad if someone were gonna buy you a dr-

"This seat taken?" It was a cliche introduction attached to a slightly better than average face. Decent enough where it didn't hurt to look at him, but not attractive enough to be a seat.

"By all means," you said turning back to Tabitha who looked at the guy now sitting to your left and raising her eyebrows. Fucking hell. Not her too.

"It's pretty packed tonight." He commented, attempted to make small talk. You hated small talk. At least unless it came to Johnny who would get into discussion on politics, religion and why on the side was the best way to fuck because it gave him 'a perfect view of the front and back of ye.'

"You come here often?" You asked, not wanting to be a total bitch, but having absolutely zero desire to be entertaining him.

"When I can." He said. "I prefer the Artifact a couple of blocks down. Not many people heard of it. A bit of a hole-in-the-wall place." Oh cool. A fucking hipster who liked to act superior at knowing a place that is underground. You could feel any possibility of getting your pussy wet, dry at the thought of this man actually wanting to come onto you.

Jesus, when did you become so harsh.

I blame Simon.

"Oh," you say, no longer interested in entertaining the conversation. "Sounds lovely. My friend and I just came out for a bit of girl-" you turn to look at Tabitha who had somehow miraculously disappeared in the 45 fucking seconds that your back was turned....

Little bitch.

"Bathroom, I suppose." He laughed. It was the sincerity in his voice that irked you. God, why was he pissing you off just trying to start a conversation?

"I suppose." You gave a soft smile back, turning once the bartender had come over to grab your order. Which the stranger next to you had insisted buying. Nothing quite as arousing as obligated conversation.

"There's no need for that-"

"Percival." He introduced. "But my friends call me Percy." Your immediate thought was who the fuck names there kid Percival. The second was to offer him a fake name. Real enough to be believable, but fake enough where if he tried to search you up on any social media, you could just deny having any.

"I hate to be brash," he started. Then don't. "But I can't imagine a girl like you being single."

"Not really looking for anything romantic at the moment." You say, the first time you've been truthful this entire conversation. Percival leaned in closer, before asking in a low voice that he was doubt trying to convey as sexy, "Are you sure?"

And there it was. The final ick that nailed the coffin shut.

You offered in a soft smile before swallowing hard. "Percival,"

"My friends call me-"

"I'm going to be frank." Your voice is soft, as if explaining to a small child why we don't always get the things we want. "I just got of a very long and deep and meaningful relationship and the idea of being near another man in any intimate or emotional capacity wants me to cause very serious bodily harm to said man."

His expression fell.

"I appreciate your confidence in coming over here and making small talk, but if you're wanting to fuck me or even attempt to be friends, I must inform you that is no only not in the cards, but not in your best interest." You turned, downing the rest of your cocktail.

"Time for a trip to the bathroom myself, I suppose." You stood from your seat, having to readjust your dress.. "Have a good night."

You were washing your hands when a red-faced Mere walked into the bathroom. Tabitha on her heels with a concerned expression.

"What did you do?" Mere asked.

"What are you talking about?" You asked. You had half a mind to ask them why the fuck they pulled a disappearing act after insisting you go out.

"You told Percy you would castrate him?" You looked as if you had been slapped. The pieces falling into place to reveal a totally fucked up puzzle.

"You fucking tried to set me up." You seethed, a finger pointing accusingly.

"Well, fuck, what did you expect me to do?" She asked. "You were sulking."

"Listen to me!" You cried. "I want you to listen to me. I was with them for two years. It hasn't even been two weeks and you're going behind my fucking back and trying to set me up with fucking Percival? How the fuck do you even know him? Do you even know him?" She ignored your last question. How convenient.

"I thought it would be good to get it out of your system." She tried to defend, her pissyness now matching yours. "You always do this. I was just trying to help."

"What do you mean 'I always do this'?" Your eyes turned into slits.

"Why don't we just calm down and-" Tabitha tried to stop the escalation. Mere, very obviously, ignored that cue.

"You get so hung up on a guy, or in this case guys, it takes you fucking weeks to recover." You stare at her. Unsure if she was really comprehending the bullshit that had come out of her mouth.

"I'm certain you aren't trying to make me feel bad for grieving a relationship that I was in for over three years to a man I was engaged to. To find him fucking in my apartment, in my bed the same week I was going to get my wedding dress."

"It's not just Cardan," she went on. "Issac in our second year of school?" You gave a humorless chuckle.

"Oh yes," you said condescendingly, "the boy I had dated from 14-years old- until I was 19. The boy I gave my virginity two months before he told me he was not only not interested in me, but women in general." As if that somehow lessened the blow. "Absolutely shouldn't have bothered me a bit."

"You only went out for classes and food for two months!" She said as if you had hit a pedestrian with your car. As if you were a fool for being so distracted by a breakup you couldn't be bothered to carry on with life as normal.

"I'm sorry that I actually take the time to grieve my relationships." You said. "I forgot that it may be hard for either of you to comprehend what a relationship is like considering the only relationship either of you have is with your work or with each of us."

"Hey!" Tabitha said. "I understand your pissed, but there isn't need to attack us like this."

"Attack you?" You asked. "Attack you? This isn't me attacking you. This is me responding to an uncomfortable situation that you put me in. I told you I didn't want to even think about me. I didn't want to fuck someone else and you go and do this?"

"He seems like a decent guy." You roll your eyes.

"Probably why he's not your type, right?" Mere crossed her arms over chest. Eyebrow arched as if she were hoping the words enticed you to realize that you had a history of going after the wrong guys.

Unfortunately, it did not.

You sucked on your teeth, carefully choosing your words before World War III broke out in a nearly vacant bathroom in South London. You took a deep breath. Calming yourself as best as you could.

Before saying fuck it and letting it loose.

"Just because your idea of coping is getting drunk and fucking someone you plan on never speaking to again, quite literally discarding them like trash, doesn't mean the rest of us cope the same way." You hoped it hurt. You hope it stung the same way she had tried to sting you.

You had hoped that your word would be the final blow before both sides called a treaty.

"You mean like they did you?"

And just like that, you heart stuttered. A rapid dum dum dum in your chest as it had been tripped up by her words. The truth in them heavy. The shift in the air was almost immediate;.

"Sweetheart-" Tabitha had tried to reach out before you jerked away.

"Enjoy your night." You said, grabbing your purse where you had left it by the sink. "I'm going to go home and wallow in my self pity." You exited the bathroom, hearing your named called again before shifting it into gear and getting the fuck out of there.

Weaving through the sea of bodies like water flowing around rocks.

Who the fuck cares if you want to cry? To grieve? To be angry? To get closure? To move on? Who cares if you don't want to be the girl who gets her heart shattered and not fuck somone else? Who wants to feel the comfort of a familiar body, a touch that feels safe one last time before you go back into a world where you will only be touched by a stranger?

It didn't matter that you were the one to breakup with them, even if the relationship was broken. It's foundation cracked.

What did matter is that the people who should have supported you and in the way you were dealing with your loss in your own way, didn't. And that's the part that they seem to forget. It is a loss. It's mourning someone who hasn't died. Someone who is still living, yet still no longer there.

"Off already?" Percy cut in the way, blocking your escape. You weren't in the mood.

"Listen-" you started before he cut you off.

"Not anything romantic, I know," he raised his hands as if in defense, "but maybe like another drink or a dance?"

You closed your eyes, wanting to hold off starting a scene and tearing him a new asshole. "Like I said, not. interested." How much clearer could you spell it out?

"Come on." He said, his hand coming to rest on your hip. The grip on it weak. You were by no means the type of woman that could take on a man like the ones you still held in a chamber of your heart. But you could most certainly handle your own against Percival. "I'm asking for a dance. After what Meredith told me, I figured you'd be down for at a little more than that."

"I don't follow." Your blood ran cold. Your heart praying that any assumptions that were running through your mind were wrong, they were wrong.

"She mentioned you having a group of like guys you fucked, but stopped fucking." He shrugged, offering a coy smile that you ached to wipe off with the back of your hand. "I don't judge. It's kind of hot honest. Did they run train or-" You felt it then. His hand had traveled from your hip to the curve of your ass.

And you froze. You froze like a coward. Too afraid to speak or scream. Too ashamed to push him away, cause a scene.

But you didn't need to do any of that.

In an instant, Percy's hand was off of you. It took you a moment to realize that a figure dressed in black stood beside you. Your own personal grim reaper.

"Put him go!" You pleaded, breaking out of your trance. You took hold of his arm putting all of your body weight on his arm, trying to break his hold. He didn't falter.

You could handle you own against Percy.

But Simon could fucking kill him without breaking a sweat.

You looked at Simon's face. His eyes were darkened. The soft brown you had once loved staring into were now almost black. You could even make out the dark circles, even in the unsettling flickering of strobe lights in the club.

"You touch her again and I'll slit your fucking throat. Understood?" Pure venom fell from Simon's lips, but you knew he wasn't lying. Simon was the type of man who didn't say something he didn't mean.

You knew that all too well.

Percy choked out an ineligible, gurgled response as Simon's hand held firm on his throat. "He understands, goddammit, no let him down!" You ordered hitting at him as if it would stop him. "Simon, please!"

It was only when you said his name, did Simon loosen his grip. Letting Percy drop to a heap on the floor before he started a having a coughing fit, trying to suck in as much air as he could.

Simon looked down at you and the exit before scooping you up and hauling you over his shoulder like a sack of flower.

You wanted to die. You wanted to crawl in a hole and die and never show your face again.

"Get in the car." He at least had the decency to open the door for you. Simon wasn't a flashy man, by any means, but he was still a man. A men did love their cars.

He stood, waiting for you but you didn't move. You glared up at him. He had carried you out of there in the most humiliating way possible. You had to fight against the hemline of your dress or else everyone would have gotten an eyeful.

Hand still on the door, he leaned down, getting closer and closer to your height. "You get your ass in this car right now," his breath warm against your ear. "Or I'll have you over my fuckin' knee." His tone was sharp. It wasn't seduction in form of a threat. It wasn't even a threat.

It was a promise.

"We're over." You reminded.

"Do you think that'll fuckin' stop me from spankin' some sense into your bratty ass?"

"It doesn't give you the right to fucking do that to people, Simon!" You huffed. "You could have killed in."

"Could have," he agreed. "But didn't. You're welcome." he nodded toward the car. "Now, in you go or I'll do it here. You already know I don't mind an audience."

The heated seats were a bit to warm for your liking against your bare ass. The tension in the air was uncomfortable. Your hands ached to touch the radio. Anything to stop the silence between the two of you.

"I got home fine the other night by the way." You said, looking out the window, hoping to make him feel like shit for not checking in like he should have.

"I know you did."

"What do you mean you know I did?" You asked, turning to look at him. He shrugged as if it wasn't anything out of the ordinary, not stopping.

"Just did." Was his only answer.

"Are you fucking stalking me, Riley?" That made him laugh. You would have felt better if there was at least a sense of humor in it, but, instead, only disbelief.

"Oh, Riley now, is it?" He asked.

"You're not my body guard, Simon." You snapped.

"Not trying to be," he said. "I was never trying to be." You caught it. A very small slip, but it was something... something you couldn't place.

"Then why?" You ask, your tone softening. "For someone who makes it very apparent to be done with me, you sure do show up at convenient times. Hard not to think your keeping tabs on me."

He didn't say anything. No explanation or excuse. Not evena smart ass comeback or remark.

His hands reached forward and turned on the radio, turning the volume just loud enough that if you were to try and continue the conversation, your words would be drowned out.

He pulled up in front of your building, yet you made no move to get out. You turned off the radio, soaking in the silence once more. You wanted to know why? Why was he appearing out of nowhere like a fucking ghost? Why was he helping you?

He sighed before putting the car in park and stepping out. Coming around to your side he opened the door. "Get inside. Go to bed." There he was again. Fucking bossing you around as if he still had a say.

You wanted to cuss him out. To spew hateful words just as he did you.

But you didn't.

You were tired.

So fucking tired. And the idea of going to bed did sound pretty good in that moment. You made it to the door of your building before he spoke again. "And if you need to out at this time at night call a goddamn cab."

"Why?" You asked, turning around. "Getting tired of having to follow me around on foot, Si?"

There was a pregnant pause. Neither of you speaking. His body shifted forward, as if contemplating getting closer to you. As if the pull you once had was still there.

With his eyes trained on you, you felt a chill run down your spine. Twice you had seen that look on Simon's face before. The look that he had given the figures concealed in the shadows last night. The same look he had given Percy.

Only this time, it was directed at you.

One that personified the saying, 'if looks could kill.'

"Because," he growled out, "the next time I find someone else touching you that way, I'll fucking kill them."

[safination]

Partners in Death...and Life

Part 8: The Calm Before the Fall

|Part 7: Me and You In Eternity| |Part 9: The Vows That Bind Me [Finale]| |Masterlist| Ao3| Taglist| Series Summary: After a seven-year absence, you find the man you were married to in life, not only back in town, but also helping... *checks notes*... the Princess of Hell run a hotel aimed at rehabilitating sinners who were sent to the bad place for a reason. Pairings: Alastor x wife!Reader Tags: fem!Reader, AFAB, Established Relationship, Asexual! Alastor, Alastor is in hell for a reason, Reader is in hell for a reason, dishes, being a simp for your partner, Asexual! Alastor, husband! Alastor. demon!Alastor School is killing me. I have like an exam tomorrow that I should be prepping for. Somehow, this was more important

ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

Morning of The Extermination

The bustling of preparation echoes around the hotel, crowding the once empty halls. There’s a cannibal fortifying some stray windows. Every bang of her hammer rings your ears. Boxes are being dropped and discarded all around you.

The bomb thrown from Angel Dust’s friend doesn’t help soothe the pain in your ears, nor does his gunfire. They’ve been practicing some ‘special takedown moves’ since the crack of dawn. It was the same routine yesterday, and the day before that as well. It’s a small consolation that they’re practicing outside, muffled by the hotel walls.

Another booming explosion makes you wince, and it jostles some feathers right out your scalp. With a sigh, you pocket the strays.

Lys and Heme startle, bumping into each other as they follow behind. Lys glances around, taking a step closer to the group. Heme doesn’t seem too bothered by the sound. Their eyes filter around the tacky décor of the hotel.

Heme leans closer to you, whispering. “At least there isn’t much pink here.”

You snicker into your shoulder, and wave Charlie and Vaggie over when they round the corner. Charlie grabs Vaggie’s hand, dragging her closer.

“Come meet my interns,” you say and gesture to Lys and Heme. “They’ve agreed to participate in today’s extermination. There’s quite a number of cannibals fighting, so I thought I would call for some assistance.”

“That makes sense,” Vaggie nods, shaking their hands with a firm handshake. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Charlie smoothens the skirt of her dress, waving at them. “You guys all work together?”

“I was a paramedic back up top,” Heme says, waving back at Charlie. “Your cannibals will be in good hands.”

“And I was an ER nurse!” Lys gives them a thumbs up. “I never expected to become a doctor here in hell. The tuition fees are so much cheaper. I thought the fees would be ridiculously impossible to afford, but it’s practically free! A bit surprising since we are in hell—probably some kind of off-brand humor.”

“Neither did I,” you say, humming. 

Alastor insisted on paying for your education. It’s one of the very rare times when he refused to accept a ‘no’ from you. The tuition fees were being paid by him, and that was final. It’s good that the tuition fees barely dented his fortune, considering Alastor didn’t bother checking how much money exited his pocket every term.

“Shall we do names?” Charlie smiles at them. “This is Vaggie and I’m—"

“Charlie Morningstar,” Lys finishes for her. “I saw you on the TV.”

“From the commercial, hopefully.”

“From the news with Katie Killjoy,” Lys says. “You put up quite the entertaining display.”

Charlie laughs awkwardly.

You clear your throat a little. “This is Heme, and that’s Lys but we call her K sometimes.”

“You could also just go AAA as well.” Heme snorts into the air. “I certainly do when I see her in the morning. Her hair just puffs up like some kind of eldritch horror.”

“Absolutely not!” Lys elbows them. “K or Lys will do.”

“I really hope that isn’t your actual government name.”

Lys rolls her eyes, huffing. “And why would it be?”

“So…,” Heme begins, cringing a bit. “You willingly choose that name?”

“As if ‘Heme’ is any better.”

Another loud explosion jostles more feathers right off your scalp. Those go into your pocket as well. If Angel Dust and his friend survive the extermination, you will shove a bomb down their throat and smile as their blood streaks the fucking pink of your office walls.

You place a hand on Lys’ shoulders. “Yes, yes, you are both raging nerds—we get it,” you say, swatting your hand in the air. “Now be polite and say hello to Charlie and Vaggie.”

Lys and Heme both say their hellos.

Vaggie tilts her head, and some strands of her hair shift to her eyes. Charlie brushes some strands away. “K?” Vaggie echoes. “How do you get K from Lys?”

You smile at Vaggie. “If you don’t know why, then you don’t know why.”

“Well, either way, I’m so glad you’re willing to help.” Charlie’s eyes shine as she rocks on the balls of her fist. “I really appreciate how willing you are about helping out.”

Heme raises their hands in surrender. “Don’t thank us just yet.”

Lys shakes her head, rolling her eyes. “What Heme means to say is that we were offered extra points to be here.”

“It’s going to be dangerous,” Vaggie tells them, placing a hand on her hip. “Are you sure you want to be here? I mean…for extra points…?”

Lys laughs.

Heme laughs.

You laugh.

Lys grabs Vaggie by the shoulder, clutching it as she bores her eyes into Vaggie, pulling her closer. “I would do anything for extra points.”

Charlie’s smile stiffens as she peels Lys' fingers off Vaggie. She takes Vaggie’s hand pulling her closer, and turns to Lys with a smile that shows off her teeth. “I wish you luck, then.”

Somehow, you doubt if Charlie actually means that. Vaggie doesn’t seem to notice as her smile becomes a bit dopey.

Heme brings out their arm to separate Lys from Charlie, showing off their own smile. “We really appreciate that,” they say. “Thank you, your highness.”

Charlie places a hand on her chest, bringing out her hand to offer Lys a handshake. Heme takes it for her, smiling with a gentleness that would be foolish to believe. Alastor would love to witness such a sight. It seems he has trained the princess well, but your own pupil isn’t keen on losing either.

“We shouldn’t take too much of your time. I’ll let you guys go back to work,” you say, clearing your throat. “I’ll be here preparing the station inside the hotel. Lys and Heme will be smoothening the secondary site. If you need anything, we’ll be around.”

The group disperses and so does the tension. Vaggie pulls Charlie by the hand, and the filter off. She has to use the tips of her toes to steal a kiss from Charlie. Goodness! Not even you and Alastor are so unrefined to show off such cheesy displays. (Right…Right?)

You pick up a small crate of vials, hauling it off to its appropriate shelf. It’s quite heavy. Everything needs to be organized. It’s going to be chaotic once the extermination begins. Things need to be in order for quick and easy access.

The shadows below you flicker for a second. Alastor slithers out of your shadow. He doesn’t need to specifically slither out of your shadow. It could be any other shadow, but for some reason, Alastor chooses to pop out under yours anyway.

Alastor snatches the crate from you, inching ever so closer. “We wouldn’t want you breaking such a brittle back, would we?”

You roll your eyes, bumping your shoulder. The vials in the crate clink. “Thank you for bringing me here, Al,” you say. “I like this place. It’s a shame that I’ll have to leave soon.”

Alastor slots the crate when you point to the empty slot on the shelf. He summons his microphone with an annoying type of flare, using it to lean closer. “I doubt you actually think that.”

“It’s only because of the trees in your room.”

Alastor gives you a pointed look.

“Don’t look at me like that. It’s your room until the trees are present,” you say, crossing your arms as you lean on the shelf. “I feel like there are animals that watch me sleep at night.”

Another loud boom has you jostling into the shelf behind you. It ruffles the feather right off your scalp. Alastor inches closer, placing a hand on your ears to muffle yet another boom.

“If you step inside, and actually take a look, then there would be no reason to be frightened,” Alastor tells you, presenting the fallen feathers with a smile that shows off the yellow in his teeth. “It’s quite a nice place for a picnic. You would know that if you got over such ridiculousness, and allow me to take you.”

“Are you going to watch television with me?”

Alastor squints at you with annoyance but still, he places his hands on your ears to muffle another boom. “Absolutely not.”

You show Alastor the most innocent smile you can produce. “Then I’m not bringing a single feather into your forest that’s in your room. Although…I am eager to go to our home where there are no trees.”

Alastor shakes his head at you.

The halls are strangely silent. If you strain your hearing, the cluster of Sinners loitering outside catch your ears. How lovely. It seems the bomb assault on your ears have ceased as well.

Alastor leans forward until his bowtie reaches your vision. It’s crooked. You reach out for it, straightening it for him. The pads of your fingers smoothen the creases of his bowtie. Your hand trails down his chest until your fingers hook on his lapels, and adjust the fit of his coat. It’s all so solid.

He pushes his fingers on your cheek to force a smile. “What’s on your mind that’s got you frowning so deeply?”

“There’s much to frown about. I’m worried about you, deerest.” You fix his bowtie once more. It’s already straightened. “Scared, if I’m to be honest, and confused as to why you would volunteer to fight Adam alone.”

“Would you join me then?”

“I would.”

Alastor’s claws dig into the wood until a portion snaps away. “Don’t you dare.”

He pushes your cheeks once more, and doesn’t stop until you show him a smile. A reward comes in the form of a cheek kiss. His lips linger on the skin of your cheek, nudging his nose closer.

“Either way, what an absolutely silly thought. This is nothing I can’t handle.”

“Silly and stupid, maybe,” you say, turning to the shelf behind to arrange a box of vials that’s already been re-arranged. “Even if it makes me a fool, I am… unfortunately …a fool who happens to be serious. A silly, silly, foolish wife.”

“I only said it was a silly thought. There’s nothing foolish about you.” Alastor places a hand on your head, patting some feather down. “I would leave if you asked me to.”

You lean into his touch, humming as you take in the truth that’s being presented to you. “And what would you do if I did ask?”

“I would take you.” Alastor’s smile softens for a moment. It’s in the way he hides his teeth, and how his smile reaches all the way up his cheeks.

“Just me?”

Alastor glances around before placing a kiss on the very edges of your lips. It causes you to bump into the shelf. A hand shoots out to press back whatever that threatened to tumble off the ledge. “Only you.”

“What else?” you say, playing with the tips of his fingers.

“We would go to our home, and I would sit on the piano, playing while you do your stitching.” Alastor traces the ring on your finger. “Later, the news will play from the radio and we’ll hear all about how the hotel toppled and everyone died.”

“Why—because you weren’t here?”

“It’s because you would be with me, eating breakfast,” Alastor says, smiling. “Then we’d have our coffee. In the evening, I would come home to you and this cycle would repeat beyond eternity.”

The pads of your thumb go up and down as you caress his face, accepting whatever truth Alastor displays for you to see. “But something tells me you can’t.”

“Yes…but I can’t,” Alastor affirms, placing a hand over your hand to nuzzle further into your palm.

“Just like you can’t tell me about whatever mess that caused you to disappear on me for several years,” you say, trying to show him a smile. It doesn’t work. “You could have at least taken me. I would have followed you to the edges of this world.”

Alastor closes his eyes and connects his forehead with yours. His lips open and close as if there are words he wants you to hear. Whatever they are, he doesn’t say them.

Did you make a mistake? The question roars through your mind. Are you saying too much? Are you displaying too much of your soul for him to see?

“My, most precious, Al,” you call out to him, forcing a light chuckle and a smile as you swat him playfully. “I think I would have even settled for a goodbye or some assurance that you were to return to me. Look at me now. Ha! Oh, how you have absolutely ruined me.”

Alastor summons his microphone. It lands with a harsh ‘thunk’ as he it to place a glaring distance between.

Oh…oh…

There’s a proud and dismissive smile on his lip—it almost hurts to see such a sight. He uses the microphone like a cane, leaning on it as he divides the space between you and him.

You reach out to touch him, trying to shorten the gap he’s forcing.

Alastor inches backwards, ever so slightly. It’s the smallest of movements, but it hits you with the gentleness of a crashing wave.

There’s nothing you can do to hide your frown. Once more, you turn your back to him, rearranging a perfectly organized set of glassware on the shelf. The glass clinks together as you move it. What did you say? Did you say too much?

Alastor studies you for a moment. His eyes flicker to you. Somehow, you’re able to give him a small and dismissive smile before turning away to rearrange another box. The cracks are beginning to show again. Not in front of him. Anywhere, but in front of Alastor.

He inches his own hand closer, tapping your fingers with the very tips of his nails.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Three taps in quick succession.

Once more, you reach out to touch him. Alastor meets you halfway, leaning into the hand that holds him. You swipe your thumb on his cheek.

“Will you trust me?” Alastor asks you.

“Not when you smile at me like this.” Both hands go to his cheek, smoothing his face with the pads of your thumb until there’s only a tightlipped smile. It’s better than whatever dismissive smile he thought to give you. “But you tell me—should I trust the Radio Demon?”

“It would be unwise to do such a thing,” Alastor tells you. “But you can trust me, and I need you to know that.”

The cheeky part of you wants to be annoying, and ask who ‘me’ is. There’s no need to question it, not when you already know. It’s the Alastor when you are with him and when he is with you.

“Why the sudden question?” you ask. “I trust you…I always know that I can trust you, deerest.”

Alastor takes both your hands, holding it in his. He presses his lips on your ring, kissing the smooth metal. “Because there is a difference,” he says. “There’s a reason why I will not explain myself to you. Not when it’s much safer if I don’t.”

He pulls you into a hug, clutching your head to press you deeper into his chest. Questions swirl around your mind but the way Alastor cradles your head, brushing your feathers ceases all questions and heeds into Alastor’s silent request. 

You snake your arm around his back, clutching the fabric of his coat to pull him tighter. Alastor leans his head on your shoulder, bending his back to fully curl into your arms.

Alastor pulls you closer to the shadows, shifting you so his back faces whatever Sinners that could walk in. He pulls you even closer, arching his back to press even closer.

You lean your cheek on his head, and the base of his ears flicker. “While the thought is deeply appreciated, I still don’t like it.”

“I never expected you to.” Alastor pulls away to pick a feather off your scalp.

There’s a box in your pocket. It would probably be safer to leave the thing in your room, but you couldn’t part with it. No…not that. Instead, you slip the ring off your finger. “I want you to keep this for me.”

Alastor’s smile wobbles, and his ears flicker for just a moment. “Ha! Is this your way of asking for divorce, dearest?”

You reach up and plant a kiss on the edge of his mouth. “As if I can ever bear to get rid of you, my love,” you say, taking his hand in yours. “It would be hazardous to wear it later, and I can’t have it falling out of my pocket. You’re the only one I trust to hold it for me.”

The ring slips into Alastor’s fingers easily. There are two rings on his finger now.

Alastor inches closer, and your back hits the shelf. “Is that all?”

You play with the edges of his fingers before intertwining your hand togethers. “I want to keep existing with you, deerest,” you say. “I want to keep doing the dishes for as long as you keep cooking for me—”

Alastor places a finger on your lips, hushing you into silence.

The feathers on your scalp bristles as he shushes you. Part of you wants to chomp off his finger for such an audacity.

“I don’t want to hear another word from you.”

Your lips twist as you take in his words. Once more, you look away and rearrange some syringes that have already been rearranged thrice.

“You speak as if I won’t return to you, and even when I do, I won’t.” Alastor presses a kiss on your forehead. “But I shall keep the ring for now if it proves to you that it will be returned. How ridiculous you are.”

“Is that a deal, my deerest, darling, husband?”

Alastor boops your nose. “What is the worth of a deal when we have our vows?”

“Then I will hold you to it,” you say. “Afterall, it would be troubling to have to find myself a third husband.”

Alastor raises his eyebrows, trapping you between the shelf and his body. “That implies you’ve already had a second.”

“Oh darling,” you say, placing a hand on his cheek. “You are the second.”

“Am I now?” he says, inching closer. “How come I’ve never heard of this supposedly first husband of yours?”

“He was the most handsome radio start!” you tell him, flaring your hands as you smile. “But I prefer you much better. What is five years compared to decades of existing with you?”

Alastor’s smile widens to show off his teeth. “I happened to enjoy those five years with my first wife.”

You laugh, and Alastor’s eyes flicker all over your face. “Those five years were everything to me.”

“You’re doing it again—speaking as if you’re trying to convince me to stay,” Alastor says, softly. “I will return to you.”

“And I trust that you will.”

“My, most, dearest, your eyes crinkle when you smile,” he tells you. “Have I…Have I ever mentioned that to you?”

You show him your widest smile. “Does it?”

“It always has.”

Everything will be alright. The extermination will pass, and soon you’ll have that ring returned to you.

ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

The full force of the extermination shakes the building. Every boom shakes the walls. The chandelier jerks with every shoot of the canon. Angels fly above the glass ceiling, their swords raised with flared wings.

They’re ethereal.

What makes them fly? Birds have hollow bones to lighten their bodies for flight. Do angels have similar physiologies? Do their insides bleed the same way humans bleed? The things you would do to have their bodies splayed on your table, ready for your scalpel. And those wings…Alastor would love those wings.

You place a hand on your heated cheeks, sighing with delight.

What kind of smile would Alastor show if you presented angel wings to him? Would he be delighted with your gift? Part of you hopes he will. The base of their wings should cut off easily enough. They would look grand displayed out in the living-room of your home.

The shouting and clanks of steel jostle you out of your day-dream. Cannons mixing with the bombs and gunfire are downright excruciating.

The door slams open.

Someone barges in, clutching their arm. Their forearm is missing. The cannibal strides towards you, straddling what’s left of his arm. Blood drips down and pools on the carpeted floor. The bones that stick out are jagged, as if it’s been blown off rather than sliced.

You wave him over as Lys and Heme rush to your side, and ignore their own patients.

The cannibal takes a pensive sit on the cot, showing off what’s left of his arm. Strings of muscle and skin dangle from his elbow, revealing the long-jagged bone of his ulna. Holy energy corrupts the tissues of the skin and patches of his skin droop and fall off by the second.

Right then and there, you knew that there was no saving this arm.

If the holy magic isn’t removed from his body soon, then the death of his tissue would continue to creep up his arm, and corrode the healthy tissues that remains. That is if the blood loss alone isn’t going to take him first.

How absolutely lovely! This cannibal isn’t screaming.

“Oh…goodness,” you say, trying to fight off a smile. “This is the sixth one already, and it hasn’t even been an hour yet!”

Groaning and wailing echo around the hotel. Their desperate pleas for reprieve are ignored in favor of the cannibal with the corroding arm. Holy light consumes what’s left and burns his arm like acid. The cannibal’s face contorted with pain, biting the inside of his cheek to drown the scream.

“Deep breaths,” you tell him. “Once we remove the holy light, your body should heal right on his own. That’s quite lucky, right? Had you been human, I would have needed to clip some blood vessels and cut off your nerves.”

There’s a polite smile on Lys. “Do we remove the holiness?”

The blood on his arm pools on your gloves as you take it in your hold. “That would take too much time and resources, unfortunately.”

“Then…can we cut it off?” Lys asks, and her smile turns downright sinister.

You bite your lips, letting it quiver as you hold your smile. It doesn’t work. “I believe we can.”

The cannibal gulps as Lys and Heme crowd around him. Heme takes his intact arm, pinning it down to buckle the shackles around his wrist. They move on to his head. Lys makes quick work to chain his legs, and buckle his torso with the straps.

Heme takes a deep breath and sighs with bliss. “Shall I grab the morphine?”

“There’s no time,” you say, giving the cannibal a small and reassuring thumbs up. “If we wait, there will be nothing left to cut off...just a tourniquet, please.”

“Of course.”

You turn to the cannibal, pointing to your opened mouth for him to mimic. “Say, ‘Ahhhhhhh’. Can you do that for me? Ahhhh. Don’t worry, it’s just for your safety. Ahhhhh.”

The cannibal opens his mouth, obeying the request. A cloth gets shoved down his throat as Heme tightens the strap of the tourniquet.

“Hello there!” you say, smiling brightly as you lean down to meet his eyes. “Thank you for keeping silent so far. Try and keep it up! Don’t worry, I promise to be extra gentle.”

Lys hands you the bone saw. It’s surprisingly light as you take it from her. This saw is battery operated, and every bit automatic. One press of a button, and the saw revs, its sound reverberating around the busy room.

Modern technology is so useful! Back when you were alive, amputation was done using the strength of the person.

The cannibal begins to trash around to resist, but the straps hold him down too tightly. The saw goes through the tissues of his skin and muscles. He’s screaming now, his whole body taut as you press the saw deeper into him. The bone takes a second longer to cut through, but the force of the saw eventually wins over.

The cannibal passes out.

Lys inserts a morphine drop while Heme wraps his arm with bandages. They filter off right after, the thrill on the amputation obvious in their steps.

Someone barges into the room, cutting the line of Sinners waiting to be treated. It’s a female cannibal this time. She drags another cannibal in her arms, letting the legs drag limply on the floor. The weight of the body collapses her to the ground.

You walk up to her, placing a hand on her shoulders and kneel to meet her eyes. “Hello.”

“Please,” she chokes out, clutching the body tighter. The squish of blood squirts on your coat. How disgusting. “He…Help him.”

There’s a hole where his lungs should be. It’s as if someone punches a cavity straight into his chest. This Sinner is dead, and his entrails are slipping out this very moment.

“Do you know him?” You brush stray hair behind her ear. “Come on, now. Talk to me—Do you know him?”

“Y-yes,” she says, tears spilling from her eyes. “This is my husband.”

A stray tear drips down her cheek. You brush the next one away. “Are you hurt?”

“What does that have to do with him? I’m not here for me!” She clutches your coat, wrapping her fingers around the fabric.  “Please, you have to help. The princess said you were here to help. So, help him.”

The blood staining her palms transfers to the fabric of your coat. How revolting. You peel her fingers off.

“I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” you say with a bright smile. “You’re free to leave your husband in the deceased pile and pick up his body later. The next room is open if you can’t fight anymore. You could always pick up a stray weapon. Do whatever pleases you, but you can’t stay here.”

“…What?” Her teeth sharpen as cracks appear on her pearly white skin.

Interesting.

Had Rosie and Alastor not been on such friendly terms, you would have opened a cannibal’s insides a long time ago. It’s a shame the deceased pile will be used as food. Should you ask Alastor to negotiate a deal for one of their bodies?

Alastor … Alastor…Oh, how he would enjoy some angel wings.

“Toss her out.” You stand up and brush away the flakes of dried blood. “Tag the husband, then toss him on the pile. I wouldn’t want eyes to start appearing here. They’re rather creepy.”

You give the cannibal a small wave as inky shadow puppets drags her out the door, kicking and screaming.

Lys walks up to you, ignoring the growling wails around. There’s so much work to do—a break is taken when a break is found. “Wow,” she says, whistling. “That was harsh.”

Heme appears next. It seems they too tired of their patients. “It comes with the job.”

“Of course, I know it comes with the job. You don’t care for those you don’t care about.” Lys turns to you, smiling. “Hey doc, would you cry if we were here?”

“Probably from the loss of such amazing talent!” you tell them as if you would. Not a single tear would leave your eyes if they died. It would be deluded to think you would, but it’s quite a lovely fantasy. “I see you’ve been practicing—”

The glass ceiling shatters, and glass rains down.

You shield your eyes as Vaggie and some other angel crash to the ground on a dragon. It’s quite sad to see such a majestic creature go to waste. Should you preserve some of its bones after the extermination? Surely, Alastor would love some dragon bones…or perhaps its whole head.

Metal clinks as angelic steel crash against one another. Vaggie swipes her spear, but the angel dodges it easily.

This place is no longer safe.

“Evacuate the secondary site!” you exclaim. “Grab who you can, and…eh… just leave anyone who can’t stand on their own. Forget about the body pile. Just go!”

Heme nods and brushes stray glass out of Lys’ hair.

You grab your things, keeping an eye out as Vaggie and the angel exchange blows. Should you help her? Vaggie’s part of Alastor’s little pet project.... It’s not your fight and thus, not your problem. It seems you wouldn’t need to help. Vaggie’s wings burst forth, and uses her spear to dislodge some concrete to drop on the angel. 

A chain reaction of falling debris ensues.

It has you pressing backwards to narrowly dodge being crushed, and traps you into a corner.

Great! Lucky you. Love that.

Now, you have to climb your way out. Of course, this happens to you. The secondary site should already be prepared if it hasn’t already been run over by angels. The screams of Sinners grate your ears as you step on stray debris.

An angel bursts from the broken ceiling. She swoops down, plunging her sword through the neck of a stray Sinner. Ugh, what a waste of resources. If the cannibal was going to die in the end, then he should have just died the first time. How irritating.

You climb the rocks, dropping to the ground.

The angel turns towards you with her sword. You raise your hand in surrender.

“Are you a doctor?” The angel asks you, taking a step closer.

Fuck…

You take a step back. “Do you angels not have a rule against targeting medical personnel?”

The light reflects off the angel’s sword as she raises it higher. That’s a really sharp sword. A proper sharp sword. A sword with a very, very, sharp edge.

You’re running.

The muscles of your leg aches, and every breath you take burns your lungs. There’s something to live for. It’s not a waste of energy if there’s something to live for.

The building lights glitches sporadically. A buzz grows into the air, and tingles up the nerves of your spine. Your shadow spreads as if darkness itself urges it to grow. It climbs up the wall, and paints the whole space darker. 

The angel looks confused, taking a step back to assess what’s happening. A bright green hue streaks the edges of the shadow. Static builds. It starts off as a soft crackle until it’s all you can hear.

The symbols that carve itself in the air bring out your laughter. “Oh, just you wait until my husband arrives.”

An arm creeps out of the shadows below you. The bones are bent and the claws attached to the arm scratch the floor. A second arm joins the first one, pressing on the ground to haul itself upwards. Alastor climbs out of your shadows, and the air glitches with a sharp static. His antlers are growing, increasing like tree branches.

Blood drips out of his smile, and pools on the floor. Stitches appear on the edges of Alastor’s lips as his snarl widens to bare his teeth. Radio dials replace his usual red pupils.

Alastor presses a kiss on your cheek, the blood on his mouth transferring to your skin. A blissful sight escapes you. “Hi, honey,” Alastor says, a thick radio filter glazing his voice. “I hope I’m not too late.”

Green tendrils snake up the leg of the angel, wrapping around tightly. With a harsh tug, the angel crashes on the ground, trashing against her restraints.

“Not at all!” you say as Alastor’s bone snaps back into place. Gone are the proud antlers and the radio dials that strike your core. What a shame. “Dinner’s being pesky. Can I trouble you with some help?”

“Tell me you’re alright.”

Tiny voodoo dolls creep out of the shadows. They turn their heads, and their bones creak and snap as they turn towards the angels, crawling towards her.

Alastor grabs your shoulder, spinning you to face him instead of the angel. You try to turn, but he pokes your cheek then brushes the back of his fingers down.

His gaze harshen as he looks at the angel, a cold look in his eyes. “I’d appreciate an answer, my love.”

“Just went for a slight jog,” you say and take a deep breath to calm your beating heart. You’re so out of shape that it’s not even funny. “See? Not a feather out of place thanks to you. I just need a minute to calm down.”

Alastor turns to you, and it’s funny to see how fast his gaze turns from cold and harsh to warm and soft.“I thought it was a waste to run.”

“Well, it’s not a waste if you’re running because you have something to live for,” you say as screaming replaces the radio static. It’s loud and shrill, grating your ears. A woosh of the sword, but nothing seems to connect. “Aren’t you supposed to be on the roof?”

Vaguely, Adam and Lucifer exchange blows as they duel across the sky.

Alastor smiles at you, and there’s still blood dripping down his smile. You reach out for him, swiping the blood on his lips with your thumb. It leaves a streak. “I was.”

“Help me…” The angel reaches out. Its wings and part of its legs have been bitten off. “Please… Mercy … mercy.”

“Hush now, darling,” you say, placing a finger on your mouth. There’s a smile on your lips as you bare your teeth. “Mommy and Daddy are talking.”

The angel screams louder. She reaches out as the voodoo dolls chomp their teeth into her skin.

Alastor grabs your shoulders once more, forcing you to meet his eyes. “What happened to Adam?” you ask.

He inches closer. “He isn’t important.”

The angel ceases her screaming, but the sound of squelches doesn’t stop. What a truly gruesome sight.

“You could have saved the body for me,” you tell him, pouting. “I’ve never seen the insides of an angel before…and I wanted to gift you wings. I think you would have liked it.”

Alastor presses his lips on the edges of your mouth and more of his blood transfers on you. He brushes the dirt that sticks on your skin. “This one isn’t worth your time,” he tells you. “I’ll find you someone better. One with less intestines sticking out their guts.”

Somehow, your smile becomes dopey as the taste of iron fills your senses. “Oh, I love it when you flirt with me.”

“You have a very ridiculous notion of flirting.”

There’s a loud and sharp ringing that forces you to clutch your ears.

It’s like a build-up of power. The sound grows, echoing in your eardrums. The pain forces you to your knees, and you clutch your feather to muffle more of the sounds.

It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. Ḯ̶̝͝t̵͇͝h̸͚̲̐̄ũ̵̺r̵̰͎̈́̀ṱ̷͈̉̓s̸͈͕͋̅ í̷̠͎͠t̸͚̥͋h̴̖͌û̷̧r̸̜̉ͅẗ̵͕̯́͐ŝ̴̨ ǐ̵͈̀ṱ̴̻̂̐h̷̻̄͜ǜ̵͈r̶͕̣̈́t̴͇̝̅̕s̷͇̖̈́ ḭ̷̡̈́ţ̵̔h̸͕̱̿ú̸͙̂r̴̯̈t̶͇̖̄s̴̹̆ ḭ̷͗t̸̨͑h̵̭͗̄û̵̞͓͝r̸̭͚̐͌t̸͓̬̃s̵̤̎̂ͅ

Vaguely, you feel Alastor’s hand on top of yours. He presses into your palm to help muffle the sound. His lips are moving. It’s too loud to hear him. Tears prickle your eyes as you clutch your head tighter. He pulls you closer to him, bringing you into his chest as he cradles your head.

With a deafening boom, the building explodes in half.

ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

The dust settles eventually.

Light bulbs shatter to the ground, and the brightness of the morning streams into the broken building, illuminating the ruined hall.

The building cut in half. One large beam, and destruction surrounds Alastor everywhere. So much destruction, and loss of Sinner life that eyes begin to carve themselves on the very foundations of the walls.

Power drums through Alastor’s veins, but it would take more than one haphazardly shot beam to destroy the entirety of the Hazbin Hotel.

His wounded pride isn’t important. Not right now. Not at this very moment.

Alastor brings his hand up and down the feathers of your head, smoothening the ones that sticks out. Your shoulders tremble as he presses you into his chest, and he feels every shake under his palm.

The way he holds you, cradling your head with a tightened grip around your body, flares the wound sliced into his chest.

Every single fiber of him hopes you don’t notice. Alastor will take care of that later, and only when you’re safe and far, far, away the crumbling building. Not a second before that.

Alastor pulls you closer to him, even if the pain burns his chest. “Tell me you’re alright,” he says. “You need to tell me nothing hurts.”

It’s more of a plea than an actual demand.

He looks down at where he holds you, tightly pressed against his chest and crumpled between his legs. You’re both crouched on the ground.

Alastor pulls away, just enough to meet your eyes and not any more or any less.

Your hands press into your ears. There’s a blank look on your dusty face. He’ll clean you later. Safety first—you’re safety first, always and forever.

He trails his fingers until they hook on your chin. Alastor tilts it to force you to meet his eyes. “Come on, now,” he says. “This is not the time to be foolish. Tell me if anything hurts.”

There’s a strange look on your face as you bring your palms out in front of you. Blood stains your palms. The light that streams illuminate the space just enough for Alastor to notice the blood on your feathers as well.

It’s weird—strange, almost—how Alastor can hear the way his heart thumps.

“Alastor… oh god …Alastor,” you call out for him, voice an octave higher than usual. “I can’t hear anything. Alastor, I can’t hear. It hurts. I can’t … Alastor … Alastor—”

“I’m right here.” He holds your face in the palm of his hands, careful not to pierce you with his claws. Always careful. Forever careful. Always and forever careful.

You shake your head, trembling between his legs. “I can’t hear, Alastor,” you say with desperation. “I don’t like this.”

Alastor brushes a feather away, reveling in the way you call out for his name. “I’ll take care of that later.”

He pulls you back into his chest, pressing you deeper into him with tight arms. Even if the pain of you propped directly above his wound forces him to bite down on his lips, Alastor still holds you until you stop shaking.

He brushes his hand along your bake. It takes about ten minutes of sharp pain, and carefully labored breaths until you ease into his hold. Alastor would endure another ten minutes because he is your husband, and this is something he can handle. Even if he couldn’t, he’d still endure it for you.

You pull away, looking straight into him with eyes that shine brighter than the sun itself, and give him a bright smile. “Much better?”

A bright smile? Your smiles are rarely bright. They’re soft or gentle or wide or innocent or annoyed, and Alastor can keep on listing. They are bright, sometimes, but this is the wrong type of bright. This one barely reaches your cheeks, and your eyes aren’t crinkling.

It’s a smile for the sake of showing him a smile. It’s controlled and meant to hold your emotions.

Alastor steals a kiss from you, pressing kiss after kiss until your eyes crinkle. That’s better.

“Tell me if anything hurts,” he says, pressing one last kiss. “Come on. Tell me.”

“I’m assuming you’re asking if I can hear,” you say, and Alastor nods like he did. “The ringing stopped, but it’s all still muffled.”

Alastor brings you to your feet, clutching your hand.  The pads of his thumb go up and down. It’s a habit he doesn’t fully notice. “We’re leaving.”

You’re patting your pockets.

The shadows spread around you and his own clutches your hand, pulling it possessively.

It’s easier to travel alone, harder when there’s another person. It takes a significant portion of his magic to bring another person with him. Alastor doesn’t care, not when it’s you he’s bringing.

The shadows snake up, ready to transpo—

You push him away, stepping out of his grasp. “It’s gone! I can’t find it,” you mumble, whipping your head around. “It was right here. It should be right here.”

There’s panic in your eyes as you dash to a pile of rocks. It’s in the way your eyes open wider and your mouth hangs slightly open. Alastor sees every little detail on your face, even in the dark. Anyone who wasn’t looking would miss it, but he’s always looking.

“It was just in my pocket.” You’re in a frenzy now, digging your nails into whatever debris you find.

There’s a loud snap that echoes, but you don’t hear it.

Things were crumbling around you, but you didn't seem to notice. Or was it that you didn't care?

Alastor grips your arm, pulling you away. He narrowly saves you from a light fixture crashing right on your head.

You push on his chest, right above his hidden wound. Pain flares just enough for Alastor to ease his grip, and you pull away.

There are debris that escapes your notice. You trip on them, landing on your ass with a wince.

Alastor should laugh at you. He can’t find it in himself to do so. Not when it hurts in a different way to witness your push him away so… so effortlessly. The base of his ear flickers downwards at the sight of such apathy. Alastor forces them up.

He offers his hand to you. Still, you shake your head.

“No, no. nononono,” you tell him, pushing back. “Later. It should be right here. It was just in my pocket. Where is it?”

Your nails scratch the ground as you push away whatever’s in your sight to keep digging. The feathers on your scalp sharpen as you allow your emotion to take over.

Alastor grabs your arm once more, and he doesn’t care that your frown deepens. “We are leaving, now.”

Just as easily as before, you push him away.

“Stop being foolish!” he snarls at you, even when he knows you hardly hear him. “Whatever it is, I’ll get you another one.”

“It’s important, and I lost it,” you say, still entrapped into a frenzied daze. “I can’t lose it as well. Don’t leave me…Alastor, don’t leave me. Where are you?”

There’s a sharp edge on the concrete you’re trying to push away. It slices your palm open when you push it away. Somehow, you don’t pay any mind to it.

Alastor takes your hand, and kneels on the ground with you. “I’m right here,” he says, and shows the two rings around his finger. “I’m not leaving until you are.”

You pull on his hand, but Alastor grips it tighter. “I have to look for it,” you say, weakly. “It’s important.”

There’s a handkerchief in his pocket that has his name on it. Alastor takes it out, studying the stitches. It’s one of hundreds that you’ve gifted him. Actual hundreds. He counted each and every one.

“Nothing is more important than you.” Alastor wraps the handkerchief around your hand, holding it tightly. “Late me take you, and I promise I will turn every stone in this pathetic building to find whatever it is you’re looking for. It’s not worth your life. Not to me.”

Alastor presses his forehead on your shoulder, curling into you. Shadows pool around, and it grows with his command.

You’re pushing on his shoulders, trying to squeeze out of his hold. “Alastor…no, no. Please!”

He doesn’t listen to a single word. The shadows grow higher. Alastor tightens his grip on your waist, even as you push him away.

“Alastor, no,” you beg him, still pushing on his shoulders. “It’s right there. I found it. It’s right there. Please, let me get it. Let me get it, and we can leave. Please!”

The shadows stop. They recede back into him. It heeds into your demand because your lips were not meant to beg.

Alastor peels himself off your shoulders, swiping your cheek with his thumb. “Tell me where it is.”

You point towards a flipped couch, near the edge of where the building cuts in half. Alastor places a hand on your shoulder when you try to stand.

“Stay here, it’s safer,” he tells you, and your eyes scrunch as he brushes more dust off your face. “If I get it for you, will you finally stop being ridiculous by pushing me away?”

Your head tilts as you lean into his palm, but you nod. It seems you still can’t fully hear him. Alastor goes to get it for you. It’s propped up right at the edge. It’s good that he went. You could have tripped and fell right over.

The box is smooth against his fingers, and the paint has long faded away. All this fuss for such a simple box? Alastor doesn’t understand why you treasure such an item.

He tosses it, and the box lands on your lap.

There’s relief in your eyes as you grab it, and a smile forms on your lips when you check what’s inside. You look around, eyes fluttering until it lands on him.

Alastor’s smile widens into a snarl before he controls himself. Not you—never you. He offers a hand. “We’re leaving, now,” he says. “I don’t appreciate having to repeat myself.”

A crack echoes across the walls.

You take a step towards him, reaching your hands to try and meet him halfway. Alastor will take you out of here. Somewhere safer. Somewhere that doesn’t threaten the life of his very reason for existing.

The Hazbin Hotel.

The war with heaven.

Freedom from his deal.

None of it will matter if you weren’t safe. Everything he’s done so far will become useless.

Another loud crack.

The tips of your fingers are so close. If he can just reach it, Alastor can take you out of here. He can bring you to solid ground where you will be safe. Just one step, and you will be safe.

One last sickening crack, and the floor crumbles beneath you. There’s a soft smile on your lips as the shadows claim what belongs to him.

Beautiful.

You are beautiful.

ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

Some of you really wanted Alastor to fuck around and find out. So this is him fucking around and finding out. I have the ability to do the funniest thing ever and just…end the series here <3. Reader fell and that’s it. The end. Gosh, I really hope at least one of you know how K and AAA are taken from Lys. T___T Id be such a nerd if at least one of you didn’t huhuhuhuhu Writing for Alastor is like, just so fun. He’s such a meticulous character so everything he says and the way he says it has a double meaning. Taglist: @mybrainsautocorrect @ray-rook @valentique @qardasngan @valentique @teavibesaf @tobyisher3 @amoraneuro @okay-babe @alastorssimp @aestheticgals-blog @reikamasama @slaggylemon @lyralibra @holymusicalmothman @amoraneuro @littledolly2345 @b-o-n-e-daddy @infinitefox @ayyyyyy-vase @kny-kween @thehiddenvase @stclen-sweethearts @obessivlyonline

[gambleofstars]

Electrician Reader as Vox's Assistant (Pt. I)

₍ ⌨ ᶻᶻᶻ gambleofstars is typing ... ₎

↳ ❝ [a/n: I actually left an ask of this concept in another writer's blog in here anonymously but I felt enough energy to write it now, so if you see some similar posts, that's why] ¡! ❞

Pt. II

⋆♡*  When you arrived in hell, the first thing going through your mind was: man that hurt like a bitch. Dying from electric shock was not the way you wanted to go but eh, fuck it. Not like your life was going anywhere far.

⋆♡*  Great news though: you're immune to electricity related risks!

⋆♡*  Soon enough, you got the hang of how things were run down here and it wasn't that different from the overworld (isn't that just food for thought) and adapted. You weren't above scheming and using people on earth, so why would you hold back on it in hell? There was a reason you were here, after all.

⋆♡*  You did some random jobs: cleaner, courier, the whole nine yards to scrape some money together and move out of the shitty hostel - of which you tricked the owner of to let you stay.

⋆♡*  After that, it wasn't long until you got into your groove again with the exact thing that got you killed - Electrical work.

⋆♡*  At first, it was just fixing little things, like TVs and phones for much cheaper than their manufacturer would. You knew it would bite you in the ass sooner or later because the big companies in hell (much like on earth) don't play nice when it comes to their money.

⋆♡* And the day arrived one hellish morning when you were promptly dragged to the HQ of Voxtech with not even a coffee in your system.

⋆♡*  Didn't take too long until you got a job here. Not any job, mind you; you were now the personal assistant of the most annoying CEO ever - Vox.

⋆♡*  You're pretty sure the reason was the fact that when he got into his usual hissy fits, throwing around monitors and overcharging every corner of the room, you had no problems withstanding the voltage.

⋆♡*  This manchild will look you straight in the eyes and froth at the mouth of how he hates the radio at least 5 times a day- oh- oh wait....... Make that six now.

⋆♡*  (Of course you signed an NDA, don't be ridiculous)

⋆♡*  Every day fell into a routine. You were out of the house by 7:00, signing in at the front desk by 7:32, by the coffee machine by 7:45 and standing with a double shot espresso in front of Vox's office by 8:00 sharp.

⋆♡*  He didn't shy away to let you know he appreciated the punctuality and if you were late in the future it would be showing accordingly on your next paycheck.

⋆♡*  The other Vees find you amusing, if anything. Maybe because you don't get intimidated by your boss' tantrums and stand unfazed, with a, now fizzy, coffee after them

⋆♡*  Valentino will pick you up like a ragdoll with all his four limbs and use you as a meat shield when Vox wants to bite his head off because of another PR nightmare he will have to deal with.

⋆♡*  (Of course he asked you to perform in one of his... movies, but the only answer he got from you was a dead stare and a loud sip of your coffee) (He did want to tear you apart after that, but you were called to Vox's office)

⋆♡*  Velvette, on the other hand, uses you as her personal mannequin whenever you're on your lunch break. Standing wearing the latest fashion items while eating your sesame bagel is a normal occurrence at this point. Don't spill anything though, or she will ask Vox to add after hour work for you (she has done it before).

⋆♡*  She does enjoy having someone to listen to her yapping when Vox doesn't want to (or when he's having a monologue of his own) even unwillingly.

⋆♡*  Finally, in the after hours, when the otherwise empty office is only illuminated by only your computer, you'll go out on the balcony, in the windy night of the pride ring city, light a cigarette and close your eyes for a bit.

⋆♡*  Just for a second, this feels like home.

⋆♡*  Better than home.

hihi, first time writing here and hopefully not messing up haha 💋

signing off, gamble

[wormdevourer]

decided to show toji some love with a list of headcanons today <3

———————————————————————

———————————————————————

Toji Fushiguro Headcanons

As a friend:

-Toji lets you brush his hair, paint his nails, and decorate his hair with pretty bows - but only you.

-When you call Toji ‘bestie’, he loves it a lot - although he doesn’t understand the word fully.

-Whenever Toji trains with you, he can’t help but notice how admirable your skills are. He watches so much that he doesn’t even notice how he’s staring…

-He likes to go everywhere with you - partly to protect you, and partly to enjoy your presence.

-He goes shopping with you, but you always end up paying for him. He’s broke, after all…

-He owes you like $200 at this point, but he’s too stubborn to repay you.

-He tries his best to spoil you on your birthday with the money he has.

-Toji is the funniest to text. This man doesn’t understand emojis at all.

-His favorite season is summer, because then he gets to see you more when he’s usually off of work.

-The two of you like to work out together <3

-He loves when you take him out for food (because he’s broke and also because he likes hanging out with you). He prefers when you pay for things, for obvious reasons…but his favorite foods to get with you are ramen, egg rolls, and boba.

As a lover:

-He absolutely loves cuddles. But he loves you more.

-Let’s just say that his love is very…rough. He’s not a naturally soft or gentle person.

-It’s not a coping sort of love where you remind him of his late wife, but instead it’s a more comforting feeling that he uses to move forward. He loves you now, and he accepts that his first wife is gone. What I’m trying to say is that your relationship isn’t unhealthy like that. (Sorry if that doesn’t make sense 💀)

-He wakes you up by either laying right on top of you or giving you gentle forehead kisses until your eyes flutter open and you see him leaning over you with that cute, sleepy smirk of his.

-He’d gladly spoil you with possessions if he had the money, so instead he spoils you with affection.

-When he gets flustered, he either completely shuts down and won’t respond or he pouts and acts annoyed (he’s not, he loves the attention).

-He loves it when you give him soft headpats and tap him on the nose, but he’ll never admit it.

-He really likes cuddling in warm blankets. He just likes being warm <3

-Pet names he uses for you range from ‘sweetheart’, ‘my lovely’, or ‘honey’. He barely calls you by your actual name, he prefers pet names <3

As a coworker:

-He very highly admires your fighting skills. Although he’s certain he’s better than you (he’s cocky, what can I say?) he still recognizes the talent within you.

-You two often train together, and although Toji usually works alone, he keeps you by his side 24/7.

-He gave you the weapon you use as a birthday present. He even signed it for you.

-Because of the nature of Toji’s work, the two of you often bounce from hotel to hotel to prepare for missions. But usually, it’s cheaper to just book the one bed~

-Toji is also your personal healer (not in a medical sense, but he patches you up the best he can after missions), as well as your protector. He always watches after you, but not because he’s doubting your skills - he simply finds you more precious than anything else.

-He has you in his phone as ‘Nuisance 💕’.

-When you two are lying in (the same) bed in a hotel before a mission, you notice that he sleeptalks and kicks in his sleep. It’s kind of cute but really funny…once, you caught him mumbling ‘who’s Megumi?’ in his sleep. That wasn’t as funny.

-Speaking of Megumi, he never brings up his son around you unless you ask. Even then, he avoids the subject. Deep down, he feels guilty for abandoning him, but he knows that it was necessary at that time. Yet, some part of him wishes to meet his son now…

[your-resident-boat-person]

Hi! I saw your post about your top ocean liners! If you're still answering questions, what do you know about the Adriatic? Feel free to include another ship as I'm trying to learn more about ocean liners!

So, the Adriatic occupies a strange position in the Ocean Liner community. If you were to ask someone which of the Olympic class was their favorite, you'd get various answers, including the Britannic. However, very few people would say they picked Britannic because "she's the best version of the Olympic class". Most people would discuss her building, or her World War 1 service. Meanwhile, most people who I have spoken to about the Big 4 prefer the Adriatic because "she's the best version of the big 4". And, I mean, they're right, but its strange. She's the largest, the fastest, and the most luxurious. She was the first ocean liner to feature a swimming pool and Turkish bath, and all of her accommodations were generally a significant upgrade from her predecessors. But it's strange to me how THAT is the reason everyone prefers her. I mean, it's why I prefer her. She's the ultimate ship of the Big 4. But like I said earlier, very few people who prefer Britannic over Olympic and Titanic hold that opinion because she was (planned to be) more luxurious.

Anyway, here are some cool facts for you.

1. The Big 4 was almost the Big 5.

After Titanic sank, White Star apparently put in an order with Harland and Wolff for "A new Adriatic class ship". This is VERY strange considering the Big 4 had since been superceded by the Olympic class. As far as I know, no company EVER ordered a new ship from a previous generation like this, other than this instance. The ship was to be named RMS Germanic, after the SS Germanic of 1874, from the Britannic class. She presumably would have followed and improved upon Adriatics design, just as the Adriatic improved on the design of her predecessors. RMS Germanic had her keel laid down right around when World War 1 started, but the war delayed her construction, and she was eventually canceled.

2. The name

Like the Germanic, The RMS Adriatic was named after another White Star ship, the SS Adriatic of 1871. The SS Adriatic was the 5th ship in the Oceanic class, White Star's first class of ships. Like the RMS Adriatic, the SS Adriatic was an enhanced version of her predecessors. However, the SS Adriatic was later improved upon by the SS Celtic. The RMS Celtic of the Big 4 was named after this ship.

3. The Specs

The third ship of the Big 4, the RMS Baltic (named after the SS Baltic from 1871, also from the Oceanic class) was significantly larger than the previous two ships. However, Harland and Wolff left her engines unmodified. This meant that she was slightly slower than her predecessors. The Adriatic was even larger than the Baltic, but Harland and Wolff made her engines significantly more powerful. This meant that the largest of the Big 4 was also the most powerful, and the fastest. Her fastest crossing time was 7 days and 6 minutes. Also, her top speed was around 17 knots.

4. Coal consumption.

The Lusitania and Mauretania were the fastest ships in the world. From 1907 to 1929, their speed was unrivaled. The Mauretania specifically held the record for 19 uninterrupted years, and even beat her own record once. This, however, came at a cost. The Lusitania and Mauretania consumed 1,000 tons of coal PER DAY. The Olympic, only a few knots slower, only consumed 650 tons per day, despite being nearly 10,000 GRT larger than both of them. I actually discussed this in more detail in a previous post. Anyway, the Adriatic, by comparison, only consumed 260 tons per day. Now, she was nearly 10 knots slower than the Mauretania, but you can see how much more economical it made her by comparison. Because this was before late stage capitalism, these savings were passed on to the consumers. Tickets for the Adriatic (and by extension, the rest of the Big 4) were SIGNIFICANTLY CHEAPER than other competing ships, even the Olympic, and the RMS Oceanic, the predecessor to the Big 4. Also, after the first World War, most Ocean Liners like Olympic and Mauretania were converted to burn Oil instead of coal. This had several advantages.

1) Oil made the refueling process several magnitudes easier and shorter.

2) Burning Oil instead of Coal made the ship marginally faster (the Olympic was 1/10th of a knot faster after the conversion).

3) Burning Oil made the ship produce much less smoke, increasing the air quality in EVERY PORT THESE SHIPS WENT TO.

4) Because fluid takes the shape of its container, you were able to store MUCH more of it, greatly extending the ships range.

However, an unintended consequence of this was the Stokers. Generally, a ship like the Olympic had 350 men stoking the boilers with coal. After being converted to Oil, this number dropped to 50 or 60. Also, because Coal and Oil boilers were so different, coal stokers would need to be completely reeducated to work on these new ships (contrary to popular belief, stokers were considered skilled labor at the time, and required very specific and specialized knowledge and training. It wasn't just a matter of finding a strong guy and handing him a shovel.) As a show of good faith to their employees, White Star didn't convert any of the ships of the Big 4 to burn oil, to help ensure that the coal stokers could maintain employment. This was especially appreciated once the Great Depression hit in 1929.

🌟~B-B-B-BONUS FACT~🌈

The RMS Adriatic was launched on the same day as Cunard's RMS Mauretania. Because of this, as well as the fact that the RMS Lusitania was launched earlier, the Adriatic was the only member of the Big 4 to not hold the title of "largest ship in the world".

⚓️🛟🚢 - BONUS B O N U S FACT - 🚢🛟⚓️

The longest trip the RMS Adriatic did was her voyage to be scrapped in Osaka Japan.

Now that I've infodumped all over your dash, here's a disclaimer:

90% of this was from memory. I occasionally checked some sources for specific numbers like speed and coal consumption, but otherwise this was all stuff I just knew off hand. Before you use ANY of this information ANYWHERE, I'd reccomend fact checking it to make sure I didn't get anything wrong.

If you have any other questions, feel free to reach out and ask! This is my favorite thing in the world.

[melonteee]

Since you brought up the OPLA den den mushi… I honestly think they’re pretty unimpressive as far as animatronics go. Both in their construction and how they’re used in the show.

Not only are the den dens far less articulate than the animatronics seen in shows of a similar caliber (see: Farscape) but they don’t even achieve the level of articulation of most hand puppets. To me it sums up what sums up how the overall production just seemed to have weird priorities; $10,000 a pop to give these snails realistic skin textures, human lips with moisture glisten, human hair, and off-putting bloodshot eyes only for those elements to be squandered on lifeless mouth flaps.

But they also just don’t work in how they’re framed by the show. In the original series, the Muppet-like simplicity of the den dens’ designs is used to help sell that the mundane whimsy, which combined with how characters treat the den dens makes their relationship with humans feel mutually beneficial. The live action though? If the “kill me” expressions weren’t enough, it’s clear that the directors treated the den dens as set props instead of living animals in the context of the world, and that bleeds into how the characters interact with them. The only characters who use den dens in the whole show are antagonists, Nami’s ear bud den dens sputter and squeal in pain after being submerged in salt water and she throws them back in the water in annoyance when they don’t work, and worst of all Garp flips his desk in a tantrum with his den den still on it where it gets smashed on the floor. Replace the den dens in any of these scenes with a carrier pigeon or a ship cat and the tone suddenly shifts into a huge “fucking YIKES.”

Which to me is a crying shame, because the prospect of seeing Muppet-esque den dens and similar creatures was kinda the only thing that piqued my interest. One Piece is absolutely a series where you should be able to visualize the characters having in-depth conversations with most Jim Hensen creations, but it feels like the show’s budget is already bursting at the seams given how this same issue is prevalent in other areas of the production. I can already tell that the existence of the den den earbuds means they’ll likely phase out the den dens at some point in favor of having characters talk into the middle distance. The Golden Den Den Mushi that triggers the Buster Call to Enies Lobby might end up being a Golden Bluetooth if the series gets that far.

Yeah it feels like the Den Den Mushis were treated so cruelly in the live action, which is just adding to the 'edginess' of the world I guess ??? And it's a shame cause when Sanji crushed the radio in water 7, Oda got someone asking if the Den Den Mushi was okay, and Oda said don't worry! The radio isn't actually the Den Den Mushi, it's just placed on it! So Oda has taken very careful care in his own world to not hurt these little snails, but it feels like the live action just shoved them in not to world build but...like you said, just as props HHH

And yeah the lifeless form of the Den Den Mushi animatronics really aren't that impressive are they, the original Den Den Mushis have little arms that flail around while they openly laugh and scream and cry. Every time a Den Den Mushi got a distress call and acted it out in the manga/anime, I remember thinking "good job little snail." But the live action Den Dens are so...nothing?? They just don't even feel like living creatures lmao

The live action Den Den Mushis feel like a good sideshow attraction where u can let people talk through it for the mouth to flap, but otherwise...why in the world spend 10k (or whatever it was) per Den Den Mushi if you could just make a hand puppet, or even include some CGI, for a LOT cheaper and have MORE movement and expression??? Like you said, the priorities of production were bizarre.

[capitalisticveins]

Guy meeting Honey Headcanons (Ft. Geordi)

i REALLY wanted to write this as a oneshot but I can’t write oneshots, so hopefully this isn’t bad? It’s also my first time writing dialogue so go easy on me? Maybe? Constructive criticism is encouraged, and GENERAL headcanons will either. be released tonight or tomorrow since I still have to write DAMN headcanons

Also this features the headcanon that “Geordi and Guy are friends”

- Okay well to start these off

- Guy and Honey attended the same college within the same year, but neither ever noticed each other

- Until Honey and their “friends” (Honey would call them acquaintances) ordered a pizza while having a sleepover

- Guy, wanting a little more pay, took the order and drove over to the designated address

- Honey was busy complaining to their friends about how expensive the pizza was compared to another pizzeria’s pizza, but they already ordered it, so it’s not like they could cancel it

- Even though they very much could

- Guy eventually made it to the address after 15 minutes, and rang the bell

- One of Honey’s friends piped up and said “Since you’re not willing to play Smash with us, why don’t you get the pizza?

- It was supposed to be a joke, but Honey was willing to do it if it meant they didn’t have to hear anyone else yell about falling off the stage

- Honey gathered the money, still muttering about “expensive and shitty pizza”. Although they were going to tip the delivery guy because it was a quick delivery.

- When the door opened, Guy couldn’t help but stare at the absolutely gorgeous sight displayed in front of him. Honey hadn’t looked at him yet, making sure they had the right amount of money

- “It’s $31.89, right? Seems pretty expensive, especially for 2 boxes of pizza.” Honey couldn’t help but unconsciously pout, which only made Guy blush a tad bit harder.

- “Uh, no! No it’s actually just uh, $15! We’re currently, uh, having a discount on Thursdays so it’s just $15.” His lie wasn’t obvious, but it was ridiculous.

- “Really?” Honey looked at him for the first time, and took the tie to stop counting the money to look for any hint of a joke on his face. “But the lady on the phone said-”

- “Oh she’s new, she doesn’t know about the discounts, we’ll look into it, but yeah it’s a small $15 for tonight!” Guy hated how awkward he was being, but as long as this was the only time he’d have to interact with them, it’s fine.

- But he didn’t want this to be the last time he spoke to them! He delivered to attractive people before, but this was a whole new level of wow. 

- Honey was a bit more content that the pizza was cheaper than they thought, and paid for it without any more complaint, even giving him a $7 tip for telling them about the discount.

- Guy stood at the door for a solid 2 minutes after it shut, still in awe at the person he just saw. 

- ‘What was their name? Are they single? Oh GOD, are they my age or are they some super old person obsessed with looking young?’

- Thoughts raced around his head like a train, until he realized he had to cover the other $16 they didn’t pay because of him.

- The next day, Guy was ranting to his friend about the person he delivered to, describing their appearance as if it were from a poem

- Geordi, his friend, raised an eyebrow and questioned him, “You mean Honey?”

- Guy was surprised Geordi knew someone who fit his description, or in the least knew their name. “Who’s Honey?”

- Geordi looked around the hallway swiftly before pointing to his left. “Them.”

- He glanced to the direction Geordi pointed at, yet only saw a crowd around a locker, before noticing the person from last night being inside of the crowd, opening their locker and chatting with one of their friends, a tiny smile evident on their face

- Guy was in shock with his face read ‘They’re HERE? Then they must be my age. Why is that what I’m worried about, what if I make a fool of myself? What if they don’t remember me? Well no SHIT they don’t remember me I’m just a pizza guy from last night!’

- Geordi, being a chronic overthinker, noticed Guy’s mind was running a mile a minute, and snapped his fingers in front of Guy’s face

- “Y’know you could just…talk to them, right? Honey’s a little off-putting from what I’ve heard, but they’re still just another person here.” Geordi wasn’t lying, Honey usually has a RBF towards anyone they didn’t know- scratch that, Honey usually has a RBF towards everyone, but they were just another student that attended the university, even they knew that.

- “Talk to them? TALK TO THEM?” Guy said that last part a little louder than he wished, so he began to whisper the rest.

- “I can’t just talk to them! I’m not someone you just casually talk to, not even you talk to me casually. How do I even talk to them? Just go up like a 5 year old and ask to be friends?” He whisper-yelled in Geordi’s direction. Geordi would’ve flinched at the tone if Guy wasn’t his panicking best friend of 4 years

- Geordi took a moment to think before responding. “Well, Honey’s a smart person, maybe they’re a tutor? That way you could find a reason to talk to them and get some help with your classes. Lord knows you need the help.”

- Guy chuckled at the joke, or at least he hoped it was.

Taglist: @niyahbear

This took hours to write so part 2 to the meeting will be released within a week

[moiravim]

Rainy Nights

Fem (gender fluid) Loki x GN Reader

Fluff

You worked in a small library in New York. Most of the books were used, but costed one to two dollars, so sales were great. Expecially during summer when everyone had time off to read.

You sit near the cash register, typing on your computer. You were currently writing a short story. Not that anyone would read it, but you had your dreams just like everyone else.

A familiar face walks up and you realize Loki is buying another book. She comes almost every day and you wonder if she actually reads all the books she buys.

"Hey, yn. It's nice seeing you again" she says as she smiles and hands you the book she's buying. "Hey Loki, it's nice to see you too. You know, with how fast you read these books it would be much cheaper to use a library..." You respond to her.

She just smiles at you. "I'd rather just keep the books.. it's nice having them, it's almost like a trophy" you smile and nod understandingly.

Loki is beautiful. You can't deny it. The only problem was that you were too shy to ask for her number or ask her on a date.

She starts to walk out when you stop her by stuttering out; "hey, Loki- um.. I was wondering if you'd want to maybe go on a- go to dinner with me."

She smiles as she turns around and responds "I'd love to. I've been waiting for you to ask me out". She giggles as you stare in shock.

At least it was nice knowing she felt the same as you did. She waves as she turns around and shouts "I'll meet you back here at 7!"

You stare as she walks out the door. You look at the time to see it's 5:30. You plan to close the store at 6 and get ready for the date.

As you get ready you think of where to take her. You probably should've planned this much earlier...

You remember a nice pasta place nearby which recently opened. It was in your price zone and had good reviews.

When she gets there you see her in a stunning black dress and look back down at your cheap (suit/dress).

She smiles at you and says; "I got you something". She hands you a green beaded bracelet and lifts wrist to show how she has a matching one.

You smile back as you put it on and thank her. You hook your arms as you guide her to the restaurant you picked out.

You get a table and sit in the booth across from her. "So... What do you do in your free time?" Loki asks you. "I write. I also enjoy reading... Obviously." You respond akwardly as she chuckles. You smile.

The waiter comes over and you both order. "What about you, what do you like to do? ...Other than reading." You ask her. "I like to paint." She states happily.

The room grows quiet when your food comes and you both start eating. You focus on the music in hopes to avoid the awkwardness. She seems so much more calm.

You wonder if she can tell your anxious. Your question is answered when she puts her hand on yours and asks you; "are you feeling okay?...you seem very nervous."

You nod. "Yes, I'm okay. I just get anxious... I'm sorry." She looks at you sadly. "don't apologize. That's not something you need to apologize for."

You both finish your food and pay. As you open the door you realize it's pouring rain. "Oh no... I'm so sorry-" she cuts you off by giggling and pulling you into the rain.

You take your jacket off and put it over the two of you as you run through the rain. Eventually the jacket was soaking wet and was no longer protecting you from the rain so you took it off, tying it around your waist.

You two stopped at a park, still soaking wet and ran through the beautiful nature trails. You stopped near a fountain and sit on the bench in front of it.

Even though your hair was a mess and her makeup was running down her face, this moment was still perfect. She leaned in and kissed you as you kissed back.

You got back up and the two of you playfully ran around the park before stopping at a small booth in the park.

You went up to the sad, wet man selling ice cream and bought two with a smile on your face. His face lit up as he handed you two ice creams.

The two of you started walking out of the park while eating your now wet and melting ice cream.

Nothing could change this happy moment. By the time you both finished your ice creams you just got back to the bookshop and went next door to your small apartment.

You gave her a towel and a change of dry clothes as you got dressed yourself. You made a bag of popcorn and put blankets on the couch, making it as cozy as possible.

When she got back you let her pick a movie as the two of you cuddled on the couch. "Let's do this again soon.." you say with a grin on your face. "How about Friday? I'll plan it this time." She responds playfully.

[dani-dance]

Cosplay progress:

The cons are upcoming weekend! I am in panic and stress mode

• Started painting the leggings. This’ll be slowgoing because I have it wrapped around a plastic wrapped roll of bubblewrap my mom let me borrow. In one “painting session”, I can do maybe a quarter of a leg before I need to let it dry (otherwise to paint more I’d have to roll it over and my mother would not forgive me for getting paint on the placemats).

The roll is also not the same size as my thighs - but we’ll see how it goes. I’ve decided I’m less worried about having every spot perfectly painted pitch black on the leggings tho. So the paint will be less even, and lines a bit less sharp. Oh well.

• Ordered more paint just to be sure. Those leggings will need a lot. It’ll be delivered tomorrow, luckily.

• Hairsprayed the boas I will sew onto the jacket! The yellow and black one still sheds a bit, tho.

• Cut the jacket to mainly be sleeves attached by a strip of fabric. This’ll allow me to hopefully only have to cut a boa once (the lime green and black one, for the bottom half of the sleeves).

Since the boa’s string is braided, I’m honestly not comfy with cutting it at all, but I’ll have to in order to make it work. At least the boas are very long. I might actually have to cut it more if they’re too long in general. But we’ll see.

• Tried some makeup stuff. I have a blue tinted lipbalm and a sparkly blue-ish lipgloss. I tried layering them but due to them being sheer and my lip colour, it just made me look like I was hypothermic or bruised. So I’ll likely be doing only the lipbalm; it’ll help during the hot summer day too if I need to keep applying it (which I probably will, honestly)!

I don’t really do much other makeup in general, but I might look through my eyeshadow to see what works. I don’t really use eyeliner or anything so that won’t be happening. I can maybe use a coloured eye pencil/lip liner for the freckles though they wouldn’t be pink (because that wouldn’t work on my normal skin, it’d look like a skin condition). Honestly even eyeshadow is dubious since it’ll be a long day and I have sensory issues. Oh well, we’ll see!

- I’m ordering train tickets tonight! Took quite a while to figure it out since most of the people I’m going with are like, 16-17 and can buy a day card for 8 euros, while I am 19 and thus. Can’t. And adult train tickets are expensive. So we had to figure out who was participating in the group ticket so we’d have a discount. I attempted to get all 7 of us who are going on Saturday and traveling that day on it so we’d all pay only €14 euros, but no luck. A group ticket for 3 it is! Still way cheaper than buying a normal ticket though. (Seriously 50 euros for a to-and-from ticket to Utrecht is insane. Glad that with the group ticket it’ll only be 22)

- During all of this I’m also working on applying for a job for the first time. My CV is done I just need to make a good email. This is not cosplay related it just needed to be said.

[dogtiber]

journal update because I haven’t done one of those for a hot minute!!!

vet stuff: vet has Tiber back on a prescription diet following a lack full of improvement in his stools after his last tummy bug treatment.

he’s been on it for like a week and is already doing so much better tho! definitely happy even if getting the food is a pain in the ass and expensive. vet is trying to get us discounts for the food but there have been issues with getting that to go through, so that’s on hold for now much to the dismay of dadtiber’s wallet.

he’s been protesting the Sidewalk Snack Stopper. we did training to make sure he we comfy and happy with the muzzle but he has opinions lol. he’s happy to put it on and wear it around but I get pouty sits and dirty looks every time it actually prevents him from eating trash and poop.

he just sits down and makes the most affronted faces lol.

he’s also got a new lump we’re keeping an eye on this week, but vet thinks it’s benign and just some inflammation around a possible bruise. unfortunately she couldn’t prescribe the usual anti-inflammatory since last time Tiber had it, it made him sick. and she said he’s a bit young for her to want to put him on steroids. but he doesn’t seem to be in any pain, so just slower recovery time and monitoring for now.

she’s also got him trying a little natural anti-anxiety medication. tbh I’m a little frustrated at having to do the otc options first, since we’ve tried various sprays and calming treats already, but I get that she wants us to try all our options first before SSRIs. and she seems concerned also about introducing a new med to his system while we’re still sorting out the Tummy Troubles.

I am mostly just worried since we’re moving overseas spring of next year, and I think starting anxiety meds will really help with his home alone training, which will help in case we need to transport him via cargo.

I am starting the process of sorting out all his travel paperwork and vaxxes and also looking into options for cabin travel and boy oh boy are they expensive.

he’s just a tad heavier than where most airlines cut off for pets as carry ons, so having to look into either boutique airlines with higher weight limits or booking a private charter. which even if sharing costs with other people flying pets, is still gonna run north of 7k. 😭

the current boutique options are still in the thousands, and looking like I’m gonna have to do some road-tripping with him down to Europe and then fly from there to the states and then road-trip from NJ to wherever we end up on top of that.

and that’s IF we’re in the states lmao. dadtiber’s work might also put him in Japan (which he would love to get and is trying hard for) so we’re still going to be up in the air about where we’re moving for a while.

yay me for having to sort out several different moving contingencies for puppy lmao. it would be so much easier and affordable to send him via checked baggage or cargo, but god I know it would probably traumatize him. and we’d prefer to be able to choose to just pay the expense for the best option for *him* over us. but goddamn. 7-10k$ is. tough.

but I’ve got a year to work on it so fingers crossed either I find a more affordable option or can get his separation and confinement anxiety managed. (realistically trying to find a cheaper travel option is gonna be more feasible even if it’s near impossible let’s face it lmao Tiber is like 17 anxieties and a bad tummy in a dog-shaped trench coat :’))

but!!! time for fun update stuff!!!

he has been learning to bring the ball back reliably when we play fetch! I figured out finally that throwing the ball again was a better reward for him than treats, but I’m too slow to throw it again for him to make the connection that bring-to-me equals ball-goes-again-asap until I tried using two balls that I could throw immediately once he dropped it. such a simple solution lol but he finally got it! we’ve been having much more fun at the park now. I think he’s liking having the high energy activity, and I like that throwing a ball takes less energy out of me than longer walks.

he is learning to be a better snuggler! 🥰 finally figuring out how to cuddle up instead of sitting on you in the most inconvenient and uncomfortable ways. he does still come to sit on you though sometimes. his favorite way of comforting me if I seem tired or upset is still to put his butt on my head.

his recall has been improving lots too, and he’s consistently polite on the lead now too. still having trouble being *neutral* about other dogs, but he’s being much more polite now, and won’t run over without permission. very proud of him! it’s also kind of funny to watch the gears turn in his brain too. he will usually sit down like “mom I’m being so good and calm see sitting down very calm PLS PLS PLS can I go play with other dog now????? if I stay extra still and make good eye contact with you I can go play??”

reintroducing his crate is going nicely too. I haven’t worked up the bravery on my part yet to do more than just close the door and immediately reopen it on him, but he goes to hang out there frequently and happily now. so glad that at least he seems to feel consistently positive about it now.

it’s just been so nice watching him grow up into himself and spending lots of time hanging out with him and doing Tiber things. I’m loveb him so much. he is the silliest goose.

these last few weeks have been a bit rough since dadtiber and I have both been sick, so we’ve been exhausted by him. but even when we’re run ragged he really is just a good little companion. just the neatest little guy! in my home! licking my knees! dogs are great man. Tiber is best puppy.

[madamebaggio]

Notes: Previously...

***

7 - Sexy lingerie (maybe get the edible type?)

Chapter 13

If there was anything more awkward than meeting one’s casual partner after he’d gone out to drink with one’s brother… Sansa didn’t know about it.

She didn’t want to think a lot about it -for obvious reasons -but… Well…

Jon hadn’t canceled on her so that must mean something.

What it meant she wasn’t so sure. They hadn’t actually talked since the last time he’d been to her place. They’d just exchanged messages to confirm he’d be coming over.

Would he change his mind after talking to Robb?

Sansa remembered very well that his relationship to her family had been a big concern for Jon when they first talked about this. He probably felt guilty he was sleeping with his best friend’s little sister.

Men.

He didn’t feel guilty when he was telling her all those dirty things and doing all the naughty stuff. But one word from Robb and he’d…

Her doorbell rang and Sansa’s soul almost left her body. “Oh my god.” She took a deep breath in.

It was fine, Jon was there.

Why was she even concerned?

“Let’s not complicate this.” Sansa whispered to herself. “Jon’s been nothing but great. Don’t freak out.”

Then Jon was there. “Hey, San.”

She couldn’t help but smile at him. “Hey, yourself. How are you?”

His mouth curled up softly at the corner at her attempt of small talk. “Fine. And you?”

Sansa rolled her eyes at his smart-assery. “Fine.”

She wasn’t going to ask about Robb.

“Did you miss me a lot?” Jon teased.

She narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms. “I missed parts of you.” She answered brattily.

It took Jon’s smirk for her to realize how that had sounded.

Sansa blushed. “I did not mean I missed your… Your…”

“Smile?” He offered.

“Shut up, Snow.”

He laughed and came closer, putting his hands on her waist. “I missed you.”

She huffed. “Which parts?”

Jon dropped a kiss to her neck. “This one.”

Sansa felt a shiver ran down her body. “Not a very interesting one.” She managed to mumble.

Jon kissed her chin. “This one too.” This made her giggle.

He pinched her chin, so she’d look at him. “But I missed this the most.” He murmured before kissing her.

Sansa sighed in relief against his lips. It felt as if she’d been waiting forever for this.

She put her arms around his neck and pressed her body tighter against his. Jon’s hands slid down her back and grasped her ass.

Sansa bit his lower lip, then pulled away from him. “One minute.”

Jon frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Did you forget what’s on the list for today?” She teased.

Jon seemed to be having a hard time remembering it, and it made Sansa very pleased with herself. “Maybe a hint?”

She snorted, then pulled at her dress’ bow. She’d worn a wrap dress exactly because of that.

And the look in Jon’s face? Princeless.

“This is your hint, Snow.”

Sansa had gotten really excited about this one. She loved wearing pretty things and she’d wanted to have a new lingerie set for this.

Margaery had suggested buying something from La Perla or Agent Provocateur, but Sansa didn’t have that much money to throw at a lingerie set, even if it was gorgeous.

Besides, this one had been way cheaper and it was still gorgeous.

By the way Jon couldn’t tear his eyes away, it looked like he agreed.

She’d chosen the baby blue set because she liked it better than the darker ones. The panties barely covered the necessary and the bra was a demi and doing a bad job of concealing her nipples. It was the first time she’d worn a garter belt, but it made her feel sexy.

Although, Jon was making her feel even sexier.

“Are you breathing?” She decided to check.

“I’m trying to decide how to touch you without getting any of that off.” He said, without moving his eyes from her legs.

Sansa laughed. “Why don’t we take a more hands-on approach to this?”

Jon immediately advanced on her and pressed her against the wall, his mouth already attacking hers. His hands went to her legs, feeling them and squeezing her thighs.

Sansa pushed him away just to get his shirt off, then pulled his mouth back to hers, her fingers sunk in his curls.

Jon felt ravenous. He kissed her neck and her collarbone, dropping sweet kisses and light bites as he went along. He cupped her breasts, then sucked her nipple through the bra, and it felt like nothing before, the lace adding to the feeling.

She sighed his name, and he grunted his approval.

He gave attention to her other nipple, while his hand slid down her body and into her barely-there panties.

“You’re perfect.” He told her and he touched her.

It was funny how she was starting to believe him when he said things like this. 

Jon slipped a finger inside her, finding her wet and waiting for him.

Sansa managed to get her hands between them and open his belt and jeans.

“Wait.” He said before she could push his pants down.

He pulled a condom from his pocket and put on the console table close by. Then she finally pushed his pants down.

Sansa - not so shy anymore - wrapped her hand around his cock. They watched their hands on each other, labored breaths mixing, until Jon cursed under his breath.

“Let me take you to your room before we do this against this wall.” He pressed a hard kiss to her mouth.

“Wait!” She asked, the haze making it hard to focus. “Can you really do it? Like this?” Her eyes were round.

“You mean fuck you standing?”

“Jon!”

He smirked. “Sorry. Aye. I can. Why do you think I work out?”

“To save kittens from trees?”

“No. To fuck you like this.” He pressed her against the wall.

“Jon!” She laughed even as she tried to look scandalized.

“Wanna try it?” He asked, a grin on his lips.

“Yes.” She said immediately.

Jon went to lower her panties, only to realize the garter holding her stocks was in the way.

“Oh.” Sansa frowned. “I didn’t think of that. I guess I’ll have to get that.”

Jon was eyeing the garter belt. “That’d be a shame.” His finger traced the panties. “Are these expensive?”

“Well, not really expensive…”

“I’ll get you new ones.” He promised, before wrapping his fingers around the band and pulling it until one side snapped.

“Oh my god! Jon!” Now she sounded properly scandalized as what was once her panties were left hanging from one of her legs.

“Oops.”

“You owe me new panties. Later.”

He laughed as he got the condom. “I’ll redeem myself for that one.” He promised her.

Then Jon put his hands on Sansa’s thighs and picked her up.

Her hands went to his shoulders. “That’s pretty impressive.” She confessed breathlessly.

“You’ve seen nothing.”

Someone was feeling cocky….

She helped him get in position and then Jon thrust in, pushing her harder against the wall. Sansa lost her air for a second, but not in a bad way. For some reason this felt so much hotter -and dirtier -than anything they’d ever done together.

“Eyes on me, sweet girl.”

Sansa’s legs tightened around his waist, as her eyes found his. Jon thrusted into her, and Sansa’s moan spilled in his mouth.

She kissed him again because it felt wrong not to, especially when he was doing this to her. His hands were holding her up, so she felt it was essential that she touched him more. Her mouth on his, her nails running down his chest, her fingers on his hair…

When she came, she was calling his name.

It felt great, as it did with Jon.

However… Sansa couldn’t shake the feeling that something was different.

[ineffectualdemon]

i'm just curious. how did you meet your husband? you said in one of your posts that you moved countries to be with him. did you meet him online?

I did!

We met on a fan forum and we had no intention of being a couple because of long distance even though everyone on the forum was like "you guys are a couple"

We were talking every day, he was staying up until 3am to talk to me and I was scheduling my classes at the community college around when he was available but we were "just friends"

Then he went travelling around the world after uni and was meeting with lots of people from the forum and I was one of them and as soon as we met face to face I was like "oh shit. I'm gonna marry him"

He became a couple officially shortly after and then did 2 1/2 years long distance before I had an opportunity to visits the UK or transfer to a 4 year university to get my BA.

Fun Fact! He was the one who argued for me going to university instead of England the hardest! He said he didn't want me to miss out on university experiences just to see him. Which helped me decide what to do because going to another country might be an experience I could only have once and I wanted to see England with or without him being there.

We had like 7 months together and before I went back to the states we were engaged.

I proposed actually!

We were both really sick with the flu and I said wistfully "marry me" and he said "yeah ok" and then I spent 30 minutes confirming he was serious

Then I was back in the states for 9 months while we sorted out marriage and visa stuff. Got married in the states (cheaper) and then I moved to the UK.

He would have moved for me but I love living in England and he would have been miserable (I would have been too)

It was a wild series of decisions to make at 19/20 and I would not recommend them to someone else at that age but by god it was some of the smartest decisions of my life

By the way when it comes to education I am starting my final year of university at the Open University so this time next year I will hopefully finally have my BA and I'm glad I didn't go straight to uni because I was extremely burnt out by the time I got married and shortly after my marriage I crashed and crashed hard and then my health went to shit

Husband has really held up the "for better or worse, in sickness and in health" promise

[bizkitsnuggets]

GOLD FISH?

masterlist.

Lunch time finally rolled around. Every one of [Y/N]’s classmate scurried to the canteen as today they were serving the special Korean corndogs. The canteen is pretty awful, it’s always full of germs and bacteria. It’s like the janitors aren’t paid enough. The food they serve is decent, at least.

[Y/N] didn’t bother to follow her hungry classmates. She instead pondered about what to do next. She didn’t know much about cigarettes and smoking. Hell, she didn’t even know Jotaro Kujo that well or what he likes.

He’s so mysterious… What’s up with that?

Jotaro never spoke much from what [Y/N] remembers. And if he did speak, it was mostly a bunch of smart comebacks he came up with. He never participates in class discussions. And from what the girl has seen, he rarely pays attention in class. Most of the time, he’d just sleep or zone out.

She wasn’t one to judge, but acting like that in his third year of High School is really risky. [Y/N] has never seen him actually putting up a full conversation with someone.

[Y/N] headed out of her classroom in search of Jotaro. She figured it was best to ask him straight up instead of guessing, even though she knew the chance of him actually answering is close to 0.

However, she had no clue where he could be. The first thing that came to her mind was his usual alley-way spot. But if she was wrong, she would just be wasting her time. So the girl instead asked someone nearby.

“Hey, did you see Kujo-san anywhere?” [Y/N] spoke to her classmate she didn’t bother remembering the name of. “Oh, yeah! He went to the cafeteria with his pink haired friend. He had cherry earrings, It looked expensive. But I’m pretty sure he bought it in like a thrift store though-” [Y/N] cut him off before he could continue with a simple “okay, thanks.” And left him alone.

But as she was walking away, the guy shouted, “Why, huh!? You like him? I didn’t take you as someone who liked delinquents!” He snickered. [Y/N] grunted in response and headed towards the canteen.

Ugh… it’s so crowded… I can barely move…

[Y/N] thought to herself as she was squished between students. In the midst of the crowd, she spotted the twinkling cherry earrings. And beside him was that smoke-loving freak.

It was pretty surprising for her to see a human being beside the Jotaro Kujo that he didn't just shove away. It seemed like cherry earrings is the only one Jotaro could stand in this god forsaken school.

Man, that guy doesn't even look like a delinquent. He has such a gentle face… if a smile could kill, his would wipe out this entire town.

The girl sighed in defeat as she thought it was best to just ask later when she isn’t suffocating.

After zoning out in history class and English class, it was finally time for the 2nd lunch. The girl stood up and headed straight to 7/11.

What? Did you think she was going to talk to Jotaro? With an empty stomach? Yeah, no.

The walk to the store was quite peaceful. Minus all the harsh winds that made [Y/N] adjust her skirt more than five times. It was almost winter and the school didn’t bother to make longer skirts for the girls. Even schools that were cheaper than this could afford longer skirts.

Frustrated by this skirt dilemma, [Y/N] kicked a pebble that was in her way. The school had a habit of not cleaning up path ways, most of the time they’d just leave piles of leaves and pebbles around.

A couple of seconds later, she arrived at the store. But upon entering, she noticed cherry earrings. They were practically begging for the girl’s attention. But, [Y/N] paid no mind to him and went along with her business.

She was at the bento aisle when she realized,

Shit… why don't I just ask him? He might know something.

[Y/N] scurried to the cashier, hoping that cherry earrings was still there. And bless the lord, he was.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” [Y/N] tapped his shoulder. “Huh.. Oh, sure” he responded with a confused face.

“By any chance, do you know what’s Kujo-san’s favorite cigarette brand?”

“Oh, yeah. It's that one over there.” The guy smiled at her warmly. [Y/N] was so close to melting.

“Great, thanks.” She went over the the cigarette row and took out two packs of Jotaro’s favorite.

“If you don't mind me asking, why are you buying them for him?” Cherry earrings asked as he watches the girl pay.

[Y/N] sighed, remembering why she had to do this in the first place. “I'm his project partner for art class but everytime I try to talk to him he just avoids me. so I'm gonna bribe him with these.”

“Oh, damn. But... two? they're quite expensive..” The girl chuckles, “we're taking about Kujo-san here, one pack isn't enough. And it's fine, I've got the money.” She winked.

“Alright then, I wish you luck." He laughs in return.

“Yeah, thanks again… uhm…”

"Noriaki Kakyoin. Kakyoin's just fine.”

“Thanks kakyoin. I'm [L/N] [F/N] by the way.”

Both Kakyoin and [Y/N] exchanges smiles before he left the store.

Ugh.. man, I hope this works cus I just wasted my money on that prick.

School ended and [Y/N] hurriedly went to her auntie’s tea shop for her Wednesday shift. He shifts were on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. It wasn't her choice, though.

Arriving at the shop, she greeted her oranda fish. They were in a basic bowl, with minimal decorations. [Y/N] thought of getting them a bigger bowl but she has to spend her money wisely.

“Hmm… what if I just make them the project topic.” She thought out loud. “Nah. Gold fishes are way cooler.” a voice responded. It was Masato Daiki. He's been working there since his first year of High School.

“Huh… not a bad idea.”

[helly-watermelonsmellinfellon]

I'm nervous about Friday because we don't have any plans and the van is still broken down. The order for the new part thing apparently never went through(or was never even placed but the guy will never admit that). So we have no way to get out of here and no way of paying either.

The other place supposedly claimed that we can finally go back there since it's past July and all relevant holidays are over, BUT we'd have to go back to paying full price which is like $130 a night instead of the $60 Dave was getting. We got the discount after we paid for an entire month ahead of time back in November 2022, and they'd let us come back with the discount a few times. But now it's a new year and literally almost a year since then, and they can't keep losing money I suppose.

Dave makes between $70-$80 a day if his boos isn't extra dickish, and there just isn't money for the full price of the room we were in before. Paying for a week versus 7 days individually is cheaper, and of course paying for an entire month ahead of time is much cheaper than day by day, but we don't have it.

So, I'm just panicking over Friday.

And the problem is that room we were is has remained on the site the entire time. No one has reserved it in the entire time we've been gone. We did not have to leave. We could have simply stayed the entire time and wouldn't be dealing with any of this right now.

We don't have the money to reserve this room where we're all cramped and I'm on the floor(the other place had a sofa I slept on). Dave's boss doesn't want to pay for the whole week ahead of time and then just have Dave come into work each day. He's got a terrible attitude and constantly screams at Dave and blames him for everything going wrong when it's literally the other guy fucking everything. This dude is 81 and his 60-year-old son has even taken Dave's side and said he's been doing good work and his father is overreacting and should fire the other guy who is also homeless(he's an alcoholic with anger issues and apparently beat his elderly father so terribly he was hospitalized. Dude got arrested and was in jail for a bit, and now his dad's whoever has power of attorney won't let him back on the property, so he has nowhere to live now and has been camping in their boss' back yard) for being a shitty worker and lazy, abusive asshole.

I just wish things could stay consistent. We'd had a good thing going with the discount and Dave managing to put away some money left over each day just in case. And now we're stuck like this again and it sucks.

I spent my birthday panicking about being trapped in a 100-degree van that can't actually go anywhere. And it's no better now. We're literally just hanging around and waiting for shit to drop.