#even if Husk does not actively want to say something all would be needed

[rubra-wav]

The Main Hazbin cast x taking care of sick reader

A/N : I'm going off of flu-like symptoms type sickness for this one

Cw: Sfw, gn reader, Niffty being strange asf - injection mentions

[ Part 2 ] >>

Charlie

- no. 1 caretaker of those who are sick istg (in theory at least)

- She pulls out every single thing; medicine, soup, heating bottles, electrolyte drinks, extra blankets, entertainment stuff, etc. Etc.

- She will straight up fixate upon you getting better so you can come back to group exercises without the others worrying about your contagiousness.

- The only issue with her is that she won't leave you alone like at all.

- Vaggie needs to come drag her out so she'll stop talking about all the 'work' you've missed while you've been away recovering and all the theory behind it while you're trying to rest.

- Charlie 100% gets sick as well.

- Probably will try to keep hugging you and stuff like that, disregarding your grossness because she doesn't want you to feel 'lonely'.

Vaggie

- Understandably a bit avoidant of you, but not straight up averse.

- She needs to stay in top shape to guard the hotel.

- She would wear a mask around you and come see you still in short intervals, though, bringing you some stuff you need occasionally.

- insists you stay in your room so the hotel doesn't have a sweep of whatever the hell you have. Even with you wearing a mask or something yourself, she's iffy.

- Apologises each time she has to pull Charlie out of your room so you can sleep in peace.

- Also apologises when Alastor and Niffty show up to be menaces.

- Wants you to get better probably just as much as Charlie does.

- But mostly so she'll stop having to personally come drag away her overly good-natured girlfriend and the other two.

- Probably ends up getting sick eventually because Charlie ends up getting sick.

Angel Dust

- Avoids you like the plague.

- If he has to give you stuff, he will just leave it outside, knock, then bolt.

- Would probably talk with you over phone calls a fair bit while you're bedridden.

- The absolute last thing Angel needs is to get sick in his mind. It's not sexy at all, and with the hours he works?

- Fucking hell no.

- And he doesn't want to find out if there's a kink about that.

- Sorry, not sorry, but he's staying away.

- Would probably dress in a sexy nurse outfit while he delivers stuff to your door as a joke.

- If you don't answer the door, he'll assume you are asleep and will send a selfie with whatever he's left at your door and send it to you with some kind of 'get well soon' esque message so you know it's there.

- Wants you to get better but isn't gonna actively take any kinds of risks.

Husk

- Would also not want to be around you.

- Another person with a 'I can't get sick with my job' mindset.

- Would probably just purely communicate over messages, wouldn't actually come up to your door.

- May make you special (nonalcoholic ofc) drinks to help you recover and get someone else to send them up to you - makes the excuse that he needs to be at his 'post' at all times so he can't himself.

- I hc him as secretly being really good at cooking and liking to, so makes you lots of soups and things like that.

- Annoyed because he then has to deal with other people complaining about why he isn't making food for them as well.

- He's confident you're going to get better so doesn't really care all that much.

Pentious

- He's genuinely worried.

- Both for himself, but also for you as well.

- He comes from a time where people got what you got and died very quickly with no treatment available, so he's scared shitless about it even if everyone's insisting it's not going to kill you.

- Doesn't go see you in person because he's freaked out about it, but sends his eggs to come talk to you, ask you how you are and deliver messages from him to you every day.

- Will lie and say he doesn't care at all, then probably go cry in private about it.

- When it's clear you're no longer sick, he's going to be so relieved.

- Will probably genuinely show physical affection without thinking about it.

- Glomps you via wrapping himself around you, and then acts like it never happened.

Alastor

- He's such an awful cunt the whole time.

- Always shows up to go see you but its only to laugh at you like you're the funniest thing ever.

- Will bring you stuff, but it's very obviously not goof faith.

- He cannot get sick off of normal things, so he's all up in your business the whole time he decides it's 'go bother (name)!' Time.

- If you're delirious with temperature he'll probably openly talk to you about certain secret things because if you remember and bring them up he can just gaslight you about it.

- "Oh (name), you must be misremembering because you were so unwell!"

- He is the absolute worst about you being sick.

- Vaggie is your saviour in this situation, shooing him out of your room when she realises that he's once again back.

Niffty

- Okay, Alastor is objectively the worst, but Niffty is also fucking terrible.

- She's seemingly good faith with her bs at least, though.

- Acts like the insanest, most unhinged nurse taking care of a child with you.

- Will be there trying to cram food and drink down your throat aggressively, spoon feeding you things while gripping your mouth open way too hard.

- Dresses up like a nurse as well, courtesy of Alastor of course.

- Will show up with God knows what in syringes and try to inject them into you.

- Probably will try get a blood sample from you as well for some terrifying reason.

- You probably end up tripping balls at some point because she's injected you with some unidentifiable substance.

- Also needs to be escorted out by Vaggie so you aren't straight up killed by her attempts to... help(?) You get better. The motivation is unclear.

-

I may also make one about reader taking care of them when they're sick too atsp 🤔

[the-s1lly-corner]

HH characters crushing on the reader 1/3

If the character you want isnt here it will likely be in future parts unless I simply dont write for them!

Characters: Charlie, Vaggie, Angel Dust, Sir Pentious, Husk

Notes: reader is GN for everyone EXCEPT vaggie and angel, reader is masc for angel, reader is fem for vaggie, post mainly focuses on the canon characters

CWs: none

CHARLIE

Oh this poor girl, she's so obvious when she has a crush for someone. She already goes above and beyond for nearly everyone to make sure their needs and comforts are accommodated- but when it comes to you she goes even further! she might even become a little suffocating if you dont set some boundaries... i can see her trying to shoot her shot and doing that awkward laugh with the finger guns if her pickup line goes over your head. shes doing her best... confesses her feelings pretty fast and shes very understanding if you dont return her feelings... very obvious and giddy around you!

VAGGIE

Internalizes a lot of her feelings, especially... these ones... she becomes a little short with you. Not in a mean way, conversations just become more... tense, awkward, short. She doesn't know what to say and she doesn't want to blow it. I don't think she would avoid you, though. I don't think she would outright flirt with you, but she would say some stuff to try to read you if she should go forward with her advances. If you give her signals, expect a confession soon. Otherwise it's likely she's just going to eat her feelings and make herself move on.

ANGEL DUST

It should go without saying that he's going to make his feelings for you very obvious.... though is it obvious if it's hard to tell between his usual behavior and the signals he's trying to show you? Sure he could tone down his innuendos and invitations, and be real around you... but if this prior to Husk getting through to him... it's not very likely. Unless you're already close to him. A lot of the flirting he sends your way is a lot more personalized, more in tune with you as a person rather than something that can be said to just anyone or just to you in passing. He puts thought into it. It's going to take a close eye to differentiate actually feelings from his usual activities.

SIR PENTIOUS

Just like Charlie, he's very obvious. But no where near as smooth... He might just blurt out his feelings before he's ready to confess, and that's assuming you haven't already put the pieces together in your head! Hovers around you any chance he gets to hang out with you and does anything he can to try to impress you. He's so eager for your attention that it's a little.. pathetic... he does remember every little thing you say, though. It doesn't matter how small it is, it's going to bounce around in his head for eternity. Especially if it can give him ideas of things to make for you as a gift for when he's ready to confess to you.

HUSK

Another one who internalizes his feelings. He won't try to bring up the topic, and I feel between all the characters I'm going to end up writing for... the only reason he would end up telling you how he feels is if he gets backed into a corner or you just outright ask him. He's not going to make a fool of himself and lie right to your face if you ask him. But how does he act? He might drink a little more than he already does and become more reclusive. He doesn't outright shut you out but you can tell that there's something going on with him.

[poisonous-honey]

Just Unbuilt, Or Am I Unwanted?

As you try to improve Xiao's build for the 100th time, some of the others finally lose their patience

Who's Here! Amber, Aether, Lyney, Childe, and Paimon. The reader/player is off to the side with Xiao

Contains: Self Aware Genshin/SAGAU (Not The Cult), Childe being stupid (Childe slander), Angst if you squint but it's really just crack

Notes: Saw the idea from @devildomangel and kinda just ran with it. Because I took the idea from her Xiao is the player's main unit in this. Which is kinda unfortunate cause that means he's only talked about lol

---

Walking through Mondstadt, Amber is on her way to Good Hunter for her lunch break when she sees the traveller apparate before the fountain. His appearance usually means the player has logged on again so she swiftly abandons her lunch plans and rushes over to the traveller, waving her arms in greeting.

“Hey traveller! Welcome back to the land of the living!”

Aether turns in Amber’s direction before giving her a little smile and waving back. 

“Hey Amber. Good to be back.”

“Has the player finally logged on again?”

He sighs. It’s just his luck the first person he talks to wants to talk more about you than him. 

“Yeah.”

“What’re their plans today?”

And of course it’s just his luck he has to crush their spirits. What a wonderful way to start his day.

“... What do you think”

Amber pouts at that. You promised you’d build her sometime ago, but it feels like it’s been a year since you said that, and she’s still only level 60! She’s been sitting here off to the side for how long while your ‘darling’ is getting all your love and attention. There are so many characters that deserve some time, promises of stronger builds that need to be fulfilled, but you just won’t! Either you're willingly not doing it or you just forgot. She doesn’t know which one’s worse.

“A-are you sure? Maybe they’re going to work on someone else today! Maybe they’re going to work on Collei, or Lynette, o-or-”

“Amber please,” Aether sighs again and looks quite exasperated as he turns to Amber “... It’s Xiao again.”

As Amber is about to try and counter his claim, they hear the teleport waypoint activate and quickly hide out of view of the camera.

“Kathryn, expeditions, blacksmith, uhh I think I have to go to the Serenitea Pot today- wait what domain was I going to do again?”

Peaking around Marjorie’s shop, they watch as you hand in the daily commissions you didn’t do. Amber was hoping to hear you talk about anyone else to prove Aether wrong please prove him wrong while he wanted to make sure Amber didn’t do anything rash.

“Oh right I was going to farm Marechaussee Hunter today.”

Sparkles appeared in Amber’s eyes as she quickly turned to Aether, “Did you hear that? That’s the Denouncement of Sin domain-”

“It’s actually Denouement of Sin.”

“Oh! Thank you, but more importantly it’s not The Lost Valley! That means it’s not Vermillion Hereafter which means it’s not Xiao!”

Aether doesn’t know if he should be amused or sad for her. “Just give it a second.”

She tilts her head “Why would-”

“With Hunters Xiao basically has 60 CRT rate off hop. Paired with Jade Spear it’s 80… something. I’d barely need any CRT rate rolls and can stack so much CRT damage and ATK. It probably won’t be that much better than the sets I already have, but funny numbers win in the end time to farm for his fourth set!”

You teleport away, none the wiser to the despair you just put Amber in. All Aether does is pat her back before getting ready to teleport himself.

“I tried to warn you not to get your hopes up.”

Amber barely hears him as she drowns herself in self-pity. Looking like a husk of the person she is “... He’s getting a fourth. I don’t even have one.”

Aether winces, but can’t think of anything to say that might lift her spirits. He doesn’t think there is anything that can, so he teleports to Fontaine.

---

As he lands at the closest waypoint north of the domain and starts walking towards it, he notices a certain top hat individual staring in the direction of Denouement of Sin. As Aether gets closer he hastily turns around upon hearing his footsteps. Getting over his slight panic he brightly smiles.

“Oh ho if it isn’t the traveller! What brings you to this part of Fontaine during such a fine afternoon?’

“I’m here to keep an eye on our player Lyney. As usual. Seeing as you’re not making your way over to the domain I assume you’re not here to do the same?” Aether questions in a deadpan voice and crosses his arms, not up to deal with Lyney’s antics at the moment.

Lyney’s lips twitch downwards and a look of sadness crosses his face for a split second before he puts up his smile again. “Getting right to it, I see. Well I actually was here to watch our dear player, since they are technically farming for me as well today, but on my way over I happened to notice someone enter the side entrance to the domain. That’s not so suspicious on its own, but they were being awfully secretive about it.”

Aether’s eyes widen “Wait. Do you think they’re going to the backroom where the artifact codes are?”

“Bingo! I had stopped to ponder what my next course of action should be, leave and get help or spy on them by myself, when you just so happened to show up! Don’t you think we should go see what they’re up to?”

---

Aether and Lyney quietly enter the hidden side entrance in the mountain. Spawning on the outer regions of the domain they swiftly make their way to the backroom through the trees while trying not to slip on the wet grass into the water.

After a few close calls and one save from a floating jellyfish, they jump from the broken bridge into the backroom behind the Petrified Tree. There, standing in front of a clear screen with a heap of intelligible jargon and surrounded by machinery and wires is-

“Childe?” “Master Tartaglia?”

“Oh hello comrades!” He turns around and waves. Like he didn’t just enter territory that the Archons personally had restricted.

Seeing Childe standing over the console with the code open alarms both the other men at the scene.

Aether ignores him and sharply walks over to turn off the console when Childe blocks his path. Aether sends him the hardest glare he could.

“What do you think you’re doing Childe?”

“Hm? Oh, you mean the code! I’m just looking there’s no need for you two to worry!”

“With all due respect Master Tartaglia,” Lyney interjects as politely as he could to his superior while still being stern “That’s not exactly believable when barely anyone in Teyvat can even understand the player's written language.”

They all stand there in silence for a second before they hear Xiao’s plunge attacks and your laughs from the room over. This ticks off Childe more than he’d like to admit.

“Okay you got me I wasn’t initially here to just look, but, like you said, I can’t decipher what any of this means, so I was going to leave it alone anyway.”

Aether puts his hands on his hips with a disappointed look while Lyney crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow.

“So what were you going to do before?”

Childe turns back to the code “Well I was wondering if changing the rates to impossible odds would convince our dear player to finally see that they don’t need to work on some washed up warrior anymore and start building someone else for a change.”

In exasperation Aether pinches the bridge of his nose “Do you really not realize how stupid your plan is?”

“What no it’s great. After a little while they’d realize that continuing to build this guy is a waste of time when he’s been done for so long already. Maybe it’d get them to finally finish my own artifacts.”

“Doing this would cause the opposite effect of what you’re looking for. Just wait your turn.”

“It hasn’t been my turn in ages, comrade.”

Aether getting increasingly more done with this conversation pulls his sword out at Childe. “Step away from the console.”

Childe forms his hydro weaponry in retaliation and points one in Aether’s direction “Like you can get me to do anything by only pointing a sword in my direction.”

Lyney, realizing that starting a fight while the console is still on and the code still visible might not be the best idea, goes to step in between them. “Listen I don’t think-”

“WHAT’S GOING ON HERE!?”

“Paimon?”

The outburst from Paimon causes Lyney to instantly turn around, and he loses his footing, causing him to fall straight into Childe. Childe in turn quickly puts his hand onto the wall next to him to stabilize himself and keep Lyney from crashing into the floor.

Childe pushes himself off the wall and puts Lyney back into a standing position. 

“Thanks, I-” Lyney suddenly stops and stares in horror behind him.

“What? What is it?”

Childe turns around and sees the jagged hole in the screen and the machinery behind it. It stutters and flickers, scrambling the code before finally shutting down. He winces when he realizes he forgot to make his hydro weapons fade away. He tries to shrug it off, but can’t help the feeling this is the worst way his issue could’ve been solved.

“Well, I guess that’s one way to solve a problem?”

They all look at him in disbelief and soon Paimon is stomping in the air angrily.

“UGH! Paimon didn’t take you to be this big of an idiot! How did this happen? Why are you all even here??”

“We were following Master Tartaglia to see what he was up to. He wanted to change the artifact rates to be near impossible. He didn’t explain what about the rates he was even changing.”

Paimon backs in shock “WHAT? Why would you even do that. How does that solve any problem you could be having?”

For the second time Childe tries to get his opinion across. “Once the player sees they’re not getting anything good from this domain, surely they’ll pivot and work on someone else. Preferably me.”

“PAIMON CAN’T BELIEVE PAIMON’S OPINION OF YOU COULD GET ANY LOWER! That’s not what’s going to happen at all! All the player is going to think is that they’re getting really unlucky and will keep trying. Why would getting ‘unlucky’ make them try to build someone else when they think the artifact rates are the same everywhere. It’s just going to make building Xiao take even longer!”

It finally sinks into his head how bad this decision of his was and pure dread spreads across his face. 

He grabs Aether by his shoulder and swings his free arm in the general direction of the broken code “No wait surely we can fix this. It was just an accident I didn’t mean to actually go through with it.”

Aether sighs and crosses his arms “I’m sure the only beings capable of fixing this mess are the Archons.”

Hearing that the Archons might have to get involved stresses Lyney out of his mind.  “Are you sure? I can’t see the gods taking kindly to us even entering this room in the first place, let alone destroying the code.”

“I could ask if Albedo knows how. Though I doubt he’d fix it much faster than someone like the dendro Archon could.”

Paimon nods along with the traveller “Yeah! He’d also treat you way worse than the dendro Archon since it’s the player you’re upsetting. Nahida is probably your best option.”

“What do you mean ‘your’? This is partly your fault too Paimon.”

Paimon starts to argue with Aether that she was barely in the room, so there’s no way it could be her fault, while Lyney silently hopes Lynette is doing well. Childe wants to argue he could handle anything that either god or human would throw at him, before your voice suddenly rings throughout the room. 

“Damn nothing again? I guess I just started, but I’d like to get something with at least CRT damage. I just want to see some funny numbers game.”

Paimon leaves them to their frenzy, discretely slipping back to your side. The three hooligans all look at each other before hurriedly exiting the domain and rushing to Sumeru to get anyone to try and fix it.

You get nothing good out of that domain for the rest of the month.

[bella-goths-wife]

Imagine V’s pet just starts calling Vox dad and the other two uncle and Auntie, they don’t even do it intentionally it just slips sometimes.

Would Vs pet call Vox dad accidentally?

Warnings: Valentino, mentions of SA and abuse, dehumanising reader

If I’m being honest, I don’t think you’d call Vox dad unless you were trying to manipulate him

He would absolutely do the “please, call me dad” or the “I’m practically your dad” line on you and you’d just look at him with a cringing expression

Because you’d be thinking about why on earth you’d call the man who regularly abuses you, lets others abuse you, exploits you and is actively holding your soul hostage dad?

Like, why couldn’t he just be absent like your real dad?

So i think you’d only ever do it if you wanted to manipulate Vox into giving you something or letting you refuse a request from the others

As for velvette, you call her auntie and she’s beating your ass

Your not a real person to velvette, your an item she obsesses over and a pet that brings her entertainment and fulfils her needs

She doesn’t view you as family because then she’d have to view you as an equal

If she’s in a good mood she’ll allow you to call her a shortened nickname like ‘vel’ but that’s very rare

If you have to call her a nickname she’d want you to just stick to calling her boss

Auntie just doesn’t fit her image of herself, or her image of the relationship you two share

Now I could see Valentino being weird or playful and saying something like “come spend the day with your uncle Val”

But apart from that I doubt he’d like it if you called him uncle

He views you as more of a person than velvette does, but he still also sees you as just something that fulfils his needs and give him entertainment

Calling him uncle would give him a small realisation of how he’s treating you when he’s touching you or sexualising you

And he does not like to be self aware of his actions, he wants to pretend that he is untouchable to judgement or morality

So being reminded that what he’s doing is actually abuse to a person who he finds himself caring about is an unpleasant experience for him, and he doesn’t like to experience negative emotions

If you did call it him, it would be a similar reaction to how he reacted in the breakdown fic

He’d just stop his actions and let you leave while he contemplates what he’s done

He’d probably go to your room or voxs room in the middle of the night and ask to be held

He’d demand to be praised and reassured that his actions are justified

All in all I think the characters you’d accidentally call auntie, uncle, dad or mom would probably be Charlie, vaggie, lucifer, Rosie, alastor, angel, husk and cherri bomb

But that’ll probably become self explanatory in future fics

Tag list so far :)

@lilyalone @the-faceless-bride @corvid007 @repostingmyfavs @buttercupfangirl

[miranyx1337]

Alastor x reader

FEATHER chapter III

Tags: fluff (for now ) enemies to lovers, kissing, being protective, cuddles, sleeping problems, flirting, possesive reader is an angel, fem reader

He needed a new plan, something that would change her mind about him. He had always been able to enchant women, making them fall for him completely. Maybe that's what he needed now; since the fear of Adam wasn't enough, he needed something deeper – love. It was a strange word for him, when he tried to imagine it, all that came to his mind was a deep desire and craving.

Y/N was definitely one of the things he desired most throughout his afterlife, a gateway to freedom. Escape from the curse he brought upon himself.

The memory of her momentary outburst of anger made him blush, and his hand instinctively went to the ear she had touched.

He was not angry, her touch and closeness weakened his contract, unlocking dormant potential. It made him feel like he had a radio playing in his chest.

This cute angel had to desire his presence enough to bind her soul to him for eternity.

"Vaggie, my dear, how do you feel?" a cheerful radio voice filled the room. The fallen angel quickly scanned the room, looking for his spear.

"Calm down, sweetheart. I just need some information from you," he said, sitting on the other side of the bed, twirling a cane in his hands.

"What do you need, freak? And what are you doing in my and Charlie's bedroom?" she questioned.

"As I said, it's a matter of great importance, and I need information.

Speak before I wake up enough to kick you out."

"What does Y/N like? Generally, what do angels like, what do you find appealing in others? Why did you fall in love with Charlie?"

Vaggie needed to rub her eyes and analyze what the uninvited guest had just said. Why this sudden interest in Y/N? What did he want from her? She was an angel too, there must be something only Y/N could do.

"Listen, I don't know what you're plotting with that devilish smile, but nothing will come of it. She's an ANGEL, and a higher-ranking one at that. Why would she stoop to your level?"

"Let's say that majestic little angel charmed me from the first glance. So, what made you fall in love with Charlie?"

Vaggie couldn't comprehend this sudden alastor interest in love.

"I don't know if you'd understand even if I told you."

"So let me try," his tone sharpened with growing impatience.

I fell in love with Charlie because she was full of love."

This answer didn't help him at all, it even confused him more. Someone being full of love was the complete opposite of him, and yet, many had fallen for him before.

"I told you, you won't understand. She is an angel, she loves goodness, harmony, people ready to help and love."

So, he needed to become a lovely person. Nothing he couldn't do.

She sat behind the bar, helping Husk, occasionally lifting Niffty to dust the shelves, and with one wing, she created a breeze to dry freshly painted Angel nails. She was definitely full of love. Her long white hair tangled in the midst of these various activities.

Ugh he was doing it again, observing her from the shadows when it was time to act. He teleported in front of the counter.

Hello, everyone. What's with all the commotion?"

Charlie said she had a new plan to defeat the attack, so they were preparing for her speech - Niffty explained.

Alastor knew exactly which plan they were talking about, specifically his cannibalistic plan, slowly being put into action. Maybe if he suggested to the little angel that he killed Adam deliberately for her, she would fall at his feet?

Well, she would quickly flew back to the heavens. The death of Adam was no longer an option. A sudden, indescribable fear and shiver ran through his body at the thought. What if she truly left, and he never saw her again?

"Alastor." Snapped out of this sudden panic, he looked directly into bright blue eyes.

,,Alastor, you've turned pale. Is everything okay?" Her hand on his forearm made him feel better.

"Yes, don't worry, sweetheart. It's just a momentary weakness. You, on the other hand, need a little help."

She looked at him disoriented.

Remembering his last thoughtless move, he decided it was better to ask.

,‚Can I?" - pointing to her twisted hair.

Embarrassed by this fact, she turned around, trying to locate the tangle. Indeed, she should tie them up for cleaning. Long fingers in black gloves conjured a thin, decorated comb. Alastor began to slowly and gently untangle her hair, humming an unfamiliar jazz tune under his breath.

The atmosphere became quite specific and romantic, which Angel dust quickly noticed. Quietly, he grabbed Niffty's arm and signaled Husk to go with him to the exit. Some time ago, he noticed that Alastor behaved strangely in the company of his new friend. Especialy when he returned from work and caught him holding one of her lost feathers to his lips. Of course, he pretended to be too high to notice.

Alastor and Y/N didn't even notice that they were left alone, lost in their own thoughts. Y/N couldn't remember the last time someone had combed her hair, let alone so gently. Her attention was drawn to the sudden silence when the demon finished humming behind her. She began to feel awkward, trying to find some point of contact.

"I put a gift from you in the room," - she mumbled.

Alastor looked at her as if awakened from a dream - "Oh, that's great. You like it?"

"I like your touch too; it always makes me feel calmer."

"I'm glad to hear that."

Wait, what did she say? His touch always made her feel calmer. The only time Alastor could remember touching Y/N before was in the hallway when she was furious with him. The only direct touch he remembered.

Alastor swallowed.- "What do you mean, always?"

"Oh, you know, your little games with my feather. You know when you're sleeping with it, I also feel company in my bed ?

He didn't know what to say. She could feel that, every single time he kissed, touched, or bit that little thing, she could feel it.

"Y-you knew? Why didn't you just take it back?"

"Maybe I didn't want to take it back and stop you?"

For the next hundred years, Alastor wouldn't feel as embarrassed as he did at that moment.

Y/N looked at him with those pure eyes, clearly flirting with him. Was that enough? Showing some heart and affection to make an angel fall for you?

She leaned closer to him, their breaths almost touching, and he tightly gripped the edge separating them.

What could he do? No sensible answer appeared in his mind, and he couldn't just turn away or escape. So, he did something he always saw in those cheesy romantic comedies his mother used to watch.

Not knowing exactly what he was doing, he gently and quickly kissed her. It was like the first innocent peck in kindergarten, even though it was his first.

[irkimatsu]

Husk needs all the love. So maybe fem!reader and Husk have been dating for awhile and even though he loves the affection and attention she gives him, he's still a little hesitant because of past experiences with relationships. But then she tells him "I love you" for the first time ❤️

Good/bad news, depending on your perspective - I went for an angsty hurt/comfort route on this one. I love Husk so much, I just want to take care of him...

Reader is questioning their relationship with Husk, Husk comes home injured one night, care is given and feelings are exchanged. Husk is a mess but he wants to be better, even if he thinks it's hopeless. Sex is mentioned, but over all SFW. About 2k words.

You and Husk have been together for about six months… you think. It depends on how you define “together”.

In some ways, he dotes on you. He loves giving you gifts, whether those gifts are physical items that immediately made him think of you, or songs he writes and performs just for you. He often takes you out for dinner, shows, and dancing, and has a great memory for the types of meals and shows you enjoy. Even the physical intimacy is incredible. He may not be one for public displays of physical affection, but behind closed doors he’s such an adoring partner. He told you from the start that for him, sex should be an experience shared by all parties involved, not just something that one side gives while the other takes, and oh, the way he shows it! Whether cuddling, making out, or having sex, Husk never leaves you wanting, and always makes sure you’re comfortable before it’s time for you to go to sleep or part ways. When you think about how attentive he is, you feel like you couldn’t ask for a more perfect partner.

But when it comes to emotional matters, it’s like dating a brick wall.

You spend so much time with him, and yet you barely know a damn thing about him. Sure, he’s shared some pieces of his past, like his dreams of being an internationally renowned performer that he crushed beneath the weight of his own vices and weaknesses. But in the present day, if he has any emotions besides “drunk”, you’re not aware of them. Sure, he seems happy when he gets to spend time with you, but he actively refuses to say so out loud.

“I like spending time with ya, but that’s all this is. We both know I’m gonna fuck this up eventually. Let’s just enjoy this while it lasts.”

He didn’t even seem upset when he told you that he knew his time with you would be limited before he hurt you. To him, it was simply an inevitable fact of nature.

You’ve tried so hard to break down his walls and offer him some much needed affection. He does genuinely seem to love it when you cuddle him and compliment him. He brightens at how well you remember what little he’s told you about himself, from his favorite songs and movies to the exact way he loves having his back massaged. And even though he refuses to admit to any of it, you can tell when he ends a night even more agitated than usual. He may tell you not to bother when you offer to keep him company after he closes the bar down, but he’ll accept it after some pressing, and you know he appreciates the attention from the way he starts clinging to you and purring.

But if you actually try to ask him exactly what has him agitated, he’ll refuse to answer. Maybe he’ll bitch about Alastor, but he’s never been clear about what his relationship with the Radio Demon is, and he won’t offer any other clues about anything that bothers him.

You once tried to tell him you loved him. He snapped at you not to say that shit before the phrase had fully left your mouth.

“What did I tell you about not getting too close to me?!”

It’s not like you don’t see where he’s coming from when he calls himself a fuckup. You don’t think you’ve ever seen him sober, and you’ve tucked his barely-coherent self into bed on numerous occasions. He’s had to cancel dates last-minute because he gambled away your concert tickets, and he often disappears in the middle of the night and refuses to say where he’s been. Sometimes you have a guess when the next morning involves a date cancellation, but other times all you can tell is that his nightly adventure has set him so on edge that he won’t leave his room or accept your company.

Why won’t he tell you anything? Why won’t he let you care about him? For all his talk about how people need to be honest and open about their feelings, he sure as hell isn’t saying shit about his own.

It’s the middle of the night, and you can’t sleep. You’d initially hoped for Husk to ease you to sleep with a hug and a lullaby, but he’s not answering his bedroom door. You didn’t find him in the lobby, either, so at this point you figure he’s either passed out drunk or out gambling again. It’s not the answer you want when you’re looking for your partner, but you’re still trying to be patient and accept that he has inner demons you’re nowhere near equipped to fight for him.

Patience. A man like Husk needs patience. But how much more patience can you have when he won’t even let you try?

You’ve given up on trying to sleep for now, and are instead lounging on the lobby couch and reading a book, not truly absorbing the words on the page as your mind wanders to thoughts about the relationship you’ve found yourself in.

You’re snapped out of your thoughts and your book as the front door to the hotel creaks open, followed by a familiar voice quietly cursing. Husk limps through the door, which is your first of many clues that something is terribly wrong.

He’s hunched over even more than usual, and he swears or hisses through his teeth every time he puts pressure on his right leg. It takes him a second to get moving again after every step. He’s clutching his left arm, and both of his wings are drooping and slightly crumpled.

“Husk?!” you shout as you spring up from the couch and run to him, all doubts about your relationship flung completely from your mind. “What happened?!”

He seems surprised to see you at first, but he swallows down any visible emotions as quickly as he can. “I’m fine,” he grumbles as he limps past you. “Just tired. Long night.”

“Of course you’re not fine! Come on, lean on me.” You grab his good arm and pull it away, and are horrified to see the bloodstained fur surrounding a nasty gash in his arm. “Husk!”

“I’m fine…” he repeats, even while breathing heavily through the pain.

“I’ll get you cleaned up. You’re not going upstairs alone.” You sling his good arm around your shoulder, and you slowly walk him up to his hotel room.

—

He keeps insisting he’s fine, but he’s not physically fighting your attempts at taking care of him. You’re not sure if it’s because he really does want your affection or because he’s too tired and in too much pain to protest, but either way, you’re glad he hasn’t chased you out of the room yet. You’re not a medical expert by any means, but he does seem soothed by the warm, wet rags you’ve wrapped around the wounds on his arm and his leg. For now, he’s laying on his back with his head in your lap and letting you gently stroke his head.

“What happened?” you ask.

He responds with a hollow laugh. “Told you I’m a fuckup,” is all he has to offer.

“Who did this to you?” you continue. “Why?”

“Does it matter?” he asks. “You don’t need to get involved in this shit.”

“I just want to help…”

“Yeah? How are you gonna help? You know a secret to getting me out of a million different debts with the fucking mob?”

Well, that’s more information than he’s offered before. “You’re in debt?”

“Ugh… didn’t mean to say that…”

“Husk… please talk to me. You’re always letting me talk to you when something’s bothering me…”

“This is way bigger than you can handle, doll. It’s been going on for years before this hotel even existed.”

“I still want to know… I want to know what’s going on with the person I lo- the person I care about.”

Husk groans, either in exasperation or pain. “You better not do anything stupid with what I’m about to tell you. I haven’t been able to save myself for years. Like hell you’ll be able to do anything about it.”

“At least let me hear you out,” you insist.

“All right… I’m in debt, like I said. It’s hard not to be when you’re a fucking gambling addict. There’s debts I’ve owed since back when I was an Overlord.”

“You were an Overlord?” This part is news to you.

“...I’ll tell you about that later,” is how he closes that subject. “I’ve been going out trying to win my way out of those debts, but more often than not, gambling just puts you further in the hole. The group I played with last night are an especially ruthless bunch. I got desperate enough to try to cheat my way into a win… and I got caught.”

“And then they…”

Husk scoffs. “Yeah. They weren’t happy. Probably would have killed me if they had any angelic weapons on ‘em. They still fucked me up pretty badly. I’m not as strong as I used to be, and even if I was, ten-on-one ain’t great odds. Would have been worse if I didn’t somehow manage to crawl out of there.” He sighs. “I’ll be fine. It’s not the first time I’ve gotten roughed up over a bad hand of poker. I was just able to hide it from you until now.”

“I wish you would have told me,” you say. “I could have taken care of you…”

“Why are you so desperate to take care of a fuckup like me?” he asks. “It’s not the first time I’ve gotten myself into some deep shit, and it’s not going to be the last. This is what you’re signing up for by insisting on hanging around me. What are you getting out of this?”

“You’re not a fuckup, Husk. You’re a performer, a dreamer, an artist… you’re attentive, patient, caring… you’re my best friend. You have issues, but who doesn’t, especially down here? But I know who you are underneath it all, and it’s more than worth it.”

He doesn’t seem to believe you, but he doesn’t say anything about it either way. He simply falls silent and closes his eyes as you stroke his hair.

“Husk?” you say after about a minute.

“Mm?”

“...I love you, Husk.” It’s out of your mouth before you can stop yourself. You don’t care how he reacts to it; it needs to be said.

“Even when I’m like this?” he asks.

“Especially when you’re like this,” you assure him. “Especially when you need it most.”

“I’m not gonna get better. Is this really what you want to be stuck with?”

“Who says you won’t?” you ask. “There’s nothing stopping you from trying, right? And you know I’m here to help you, if there’s anything I can do…” You gently stroke at the tuft of fur on his chest, lightly pulling out the tangles.

“...I don’t want to hurt you,” he finally says. “I never wanted to hurt anyone who loved me. But I couldn’t fix myself for them… what if I can’t fix myself for you?”

“It’s enough for me if you try. You have me, you have Angel, you have Charlie… you’ll get through this. It’s not too late.”

“You really believe in Charlie’s mission, huh…”

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think it was possible.”

He relaxes in silence for a few minutes as you continue to stroke his chest. 

“...I wanna go to sleep,” he finally says.

“Of course.” You help move him up to his pillows, going slowly and carefully to not aggravate his wounds any more than you have to. Once you have him in position, you go into the bathroom to get some clean rags, then return to change the makeshift bandages you’ve made for him.

“Do you want me to leave you alone tonight?” you ask as you tuck the rag around his leg.

He doesn’t even need a second to think about it. “No. I want you to stay.”

“Then I’ll stay.” Once you’re sure he’s comfortable, you join him on the other side of the bed. He groans in pain, but still moves to wrap an arm around you and pull you close. His wings don’t blanket you like they sometimes do, but you know it’s for the best if he doesn’t move them right now. You pull him in against your chest, finally feeling ready to fall asleep.

“Hey…” he says quietly just before you drift off.

“...I love you, too.”

[strawberryfloofs]

Caregiver Alastor Headcanons!

Tw: Cursing and mentions of Hell

I think Alastor would really prefer regressors who have a little age old enough that they can run around and be chaotic. He'd definitely fuel their energy and have all sorts of physical activities or play they can do! Bonus points if they're a high energy regressor!

He's the type of caregiver to go with the flow of whatever you want...until it's too dangerous. I think he'd be really hot and cold, like one moment he's cheering you on and then once you cross the line, he stops you right there.

"I think that's enough, darling. You should stop right there."

For this reason, he's not big on rules, he mostly just orders you on the spot and they're never written. Overall, he wouldn't have any unless you told him you wanted some.

Alastor definitely calls you his little hellspawn, darling, devil, gremlin, rascal, kiddo, and makes up little names for you

Alastor doesn't have a need or preference for any caregiver nickname. You don't have to call him one, nor does he want it, but that doesn't mean he opposes it either. He'd be okay with anything you came up with.

He doesn't mind having you in his radio tower, actually, he enjoys your company! When he's not busy, you two color up there, play games, and he'll even do shadow puppetry for you! Anything you'd want, he's down for it! But when he's busy, he makes it a rule to wear noise-cancelling headphones so you don't hear his work, but also he has pillows blocking your view or he casts his shadows to cover his work instead

This isn't because it would be too graphic, you live in hell, you're used to it, he just doesn't want you to see that side of him while regressed.

Will let you play with the radio tower's microphone, but only while it's off! He doesn't want to accidentally broadcast the things you say or some babbles/gibberish that comes out of your mouth.

He tries his best to keep you a secret for your own safety. Alastor knows he has a lot of enemies and people who would use you to force his hands, or at worst harm you, so only the main crew knows about you and your regression! Charlie, Vaggie, Angel Dust, Husk, Rosie, etc!

Alastor isn't really big on giving physical affection other than headpats and pinches. Those are his favorite to give, and he wouldn't give any others unless you particularly asked for it. He wouldn't be opposed to receiving it either, but he wouldn't go out of his way to ask for it.

Whenever you're bored, he'll do magic tricks with his powers for you to watch. You wanna see his antlers poke out? Him knock over books? You got it! Hell, he'll even corrupt part of the world around you if you'd like! If he needs a little break or is busy, he'll cast a shadow to be your playmate, or babysitter (only for a short amount of time)

He'd spawn demonic toys for you to play with as well.

If he needs you to be entertained, and or babysat a little longer, he'd prefer to hand you off to Rosie, but he's alright with giving you to Charlie and telling Husk to make sure you're safe and that she doesn't do something dumb. Charlie's always making sure your happy and safe! She's one of the best babysitters you could have, so you don't mind.

Allows you to play with his microphone staff, but only while he's watching. He's very weary to lend it out to anyone, including you, even though he knows you wouldn't do anything bad with it intentionally.

Alastor reads the best bedtime stories, he's very used to talking in a way others find entertaining, so you're no different! You'll be out like a light by the time he closes the book.

I actually think he'd be really good at pretend play. I mean like, the BEST actor around. You need him to be an angry Karen for your restaurant? He NAILED it! 5 star actor on your hands with his dicton and exaggerated mannerisms!

While at the hotel, he let's you do whatever you'd like with him. Ruffle his hair? Tug on his antlers? Climb up and crawl all over him? Bite/nom on his leg? That's fine by him! You can unleash yourself and go full gremlin on him, he'll pretend like nothings happening while he's talking to the main crew, unless they point it out.

"Oh don't mind the hell spawn, but yes I have business to take care of."

Although, outside the hotel he warns you not to do that for the sake of your safety....but mostly his reputation. He couldn't dare to let the other sinners of hell see him like that.

You know how there's a mom stare? Alastor has one for his regressor, too. A warning is when his eyes turn mostly black. When you're pushing it, his antlers peek out a little, and when you're going too far...yeah they're coming all the way out and the environment will be partially corrupted.

I don't see him as having to dish out punishments a lot with how stern he is, but if you go past that point he'll put you in timeout with telekinesis. Yes, when he says 5 minutes, he means 5 minutes in the air.

Doesn't like you watching television at all, so you have a screentime limit. Yes...I know, boring, but he can provide much better entertainment in his eyes! (He looks at TV the same way most people look at IPads for kids)

Teaches you how to be a menace and trick with others. It's free entertainment for both of you. No further explanation.

Lets you curse while regressed, and has no problem with it. It doesn't exactly encourage it, but he doesn't punish it either! He's definitely neutral, Alastor's just happy that you're communicating with him.

Will sing for you, or tell you something through a song. Did I mention he'll be dancing during it as well?

Alastor loves to tease you and play fight with you alot, he's very good at coming up with remarks or silly things to say!

"Darling, you really shouldn't pick a fight while you're awake, I'll just broadcast your snores later. Backing down now, are we?"

Can you tell I'm really into Hazbin Hotel rn?? Just binged it and I love it sm!

[frostyhelltime]

I See You

(ft. HuskerDust)

Warnings: Little bit of angst on Angel's part, but this is mostly just hurt/comfort.

Prompt: "I see you. I see you, I always have and I always will." Prompt from @unfriendlywriter

Set before they're dating, but sometime after 'Loser, Baby'. I had a lot of fun making their graphics for this as well. Hope everyone likes it!

There's a blissful silence in the air as Husk polishes glasses behind the bar. No static that would allude to Alastor being near, no Nifty obsessively cleaning, no Charlie planning new group activities. Just. Peace.

Until a certain tall spider comes lumbering in, shoulders slumped low, and head pointed towards the ground. Husk doesn't even think Angel Dust is even aware of the weary sigh that leaves them as they trudge in, barely having the energy to even shut the front door behind him.

Husk is already grabbing a bottle and a glass for him but as soon as he pops the top off he hears Angel speak.

"I'm good Whiskers. I just...I just wanna go to bed. Maybe tomorrow." Angel waves him off sluggishly with two arms, which only makes Husk furrows his brows as if trying to analyze him.

"That bad huh?" He offers as he puts the lid back on the bottle, hesitating only a moment to see if Angel changes his mind and wants a drink after all. When Angel just sighs and keeps walking, Husk does finally put the bottle away.

"Wanna talk about it? People don't have to buy a drink to sit at my bar." He says before giving Angel a toothed grin.

"Least you don't anyway."

He's speaking genuinely, but also hopes the remark might make Angel chuckle even just a little. He doesn't, but he does let out a huff of air that Husk thinks could be close enough to a laugh that he thinks he's successful.

He does manage to get Angel to crack a smile with that one, though it is weak. But still, a smile is a smile.

"Maybe...I dunno. I don't wanna take up ya time and space if someone else comes in." Angel shrugs, looking for excuses for Husk to not comfort him. It's something foreign, having someone care about how he's doing. He's used to people only pretending to care to get what they want, usually his body or whatever it is they need. So his instinct is to try and dodge those attempts at care because it's hard to handle when they aren't genuine. He certainly wouldn't be able to handle it if Husk's care wasn't genuine. But that's a whole other issue to dig deep into as he's falling asleep.

But Husk doesn't hear any of Angel's thoughts, only what Angel says, so this time he waves Angel off with a lazy wave of his wrist.

"Most everyone is out as far as I know. And if someone does come in I can always take a break." He assured the taller one, who shifts nervously from foot to foot as he considers maybe...it would be okay to show that vulnerability to Husk again? Just this once of course. Husk busies himself with cleaning more glasses to not make Angel feel pressured into a decision one way or another.

"...Maybe but...I dunno. I just...talkin' out here in the open where someone can walk in...Maybe another time but thanks." Angel stumbles over his words until eventually he talks himself out of it and even Angel winces at how lame it sounds. Husk eyes him a moment, as if analyzing him like a math problem. He's trying to figure out how far is too far to push, but he doesn't feel good at all about letting Angel go in this state.

"...Break time it is."

"W...Wha?"

"I've decided it's time for a break. Let's head somewhere quieter to talk. Problem solved."

Husk says it so casually with a shrug of his shoulders that it just confuses Angel even more, as if it was natural to stop what he was doing to help him. By the time he processes what his feline companion has said, Husk has already put things away and is standing next to Angel, waiting only a little impatiently.

For the first time tonight Husk looks a little anxious standing next to him, hands in his pockets and waiting to be directed on where they're going to go.

When Angel comes back down to earth, he blinks a few times, standing up a bit straighter.

"Right. Yeah. Uh. We can talk in my room I guess?" Angel says, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Husk only nods and gestures for him to start walking.

Neither Angel nor Husk can tell if the silence between them as they walk is peaceful or awkward, but either way they're happy to reach the door once they get there.

Angel goes in first, plopping down to sit on his bed as Fat Nuggets immediately crawls onto his lap, nuzzling into Angel eagerly to try and cheer him up.

Husk lets out a small chuckle at the admittedly adorable display and he shuts the door behind him, taking a seat right next to Angel Dust.

"Alright. So what's bothering you?"

"...The Big V. Who else?" He scoffs venomously, looking away.

"And Charlie enjoys singing. I figured that much. What did he do this time?" Husk relaxes as they begin talking im earnest, leaning back a little bit and getting comfortable.

"I just...I don't even know how to describe it. He makes....he makes me feel so worthless. Like all I'm good at and good for is his stupid fuckin' shoots." Angel grits out, hands pausing on Fat Nuggets a second.

"And when I can't even do that right..." He trails off, letting the end of his sentence go unspoken.

"I just feel...so damn invisible there. Even when all eyes are on me it feels like no one is really looking at me."

Angel hates that his voice takes on a choked sounding quality the further he talks, the tears welling up in the corner of his eyes. He turns away from Husk as if that would actually keep him from finding out.

It takes a moment for Husk to figure out what to say and then he reaches out to place his hand on top of one of Angel's, hesitating halfway there eventually deciding, fuck it, and placing his hand on top of his and giving a small squeeze.

"I see you."

It's the softest Angel Dust had ever heard Husk speak and it's so jarring he snaps his head back to look at Husk, forgetting he was trying to hide his tears moments ago.

"...What?"

Husk clears his throat, giving him his best comforting smile.

"I see you. I always have and I always will." Husk speaks with a little more confidence.

The tears that were only beginning to gather begin to flood now and Angel doubles over as his body is wracked with sobs, unable to stop himself, especially after the day he's had. Somehow it was both exactly what he needed to hear and also what pushes him past the tipping point. He doesn't know why it makes him snap, he just knows it does.

Maybe it's because he really is starting to believe Husk could be genuine, and somehow placing that vulnerability in another person's hands is terrifying and overwhelming.

But Husk doesn't judge him, just sneaks his free hand around to rub soothing circles on Angel's back as he lets him get it all out. Neither of them says anything for the duration of it, Husk out of respect and Angel out of shame.

But eventually Angel's cries do settle down into sniffles and he sits back up again, wiping what's left of the tears off his face before looking at Husk again.

"Yeah. Sorry. I...I don't know what came over me." He mumbles apologetically but Husk just shrugs. Angel only barely sees it in his peripheral because he's looking anywhere but at Husk.

"Nothing to be sorry about." He assured him, his voice soothing and neutral.

Husk's words just keep ringing in Angel's head over and over again though.

'I see you. I always have and I always will.'

Angel can't help but snort out a laugh now.

"Fuckin' liar. You didn't always see me. You hated me when I first showed up here." Angel laughs, although he still appreciates the sentiment.

But Husk just smiles like he knows something Angel doesn't.

"... Technically I didn't lie. Back then I saw you were hiding your real self. I didn't know why but I knew the you that you were presenting wasn't real...and I was right." Husk is appropriately wearing a mischievous Cheshire grin as he leans over to playfully poke Angel in the chest.

"So I still saw you, even if I was annoyed you weren't being honest." Husk's grin only grows wider when he sees the flush of red that finds itself on Angel's cheeks.

Angel opens and closes his mouth a few times as he struggles to think of words to say. But he comes up empty.

"...I...I...Thank you." Angel eventually whispers, smiling at Husk, genuinely smiling. It's a tired and exhausted smile, but it's genuine and it makes Husk relax, smiling back.

"Anytime. I'm going to head back to the bar and let you sleep." Husk pats his back as he stands up and Angel realizes how cold the top of his hand feels without Husk touching it and he's immediately standing too, Fat Nuggets letting out a small squeak of surprise before he lands on his feet on the ground. He only lets out one small huff before he seems happy again, his tail wagging, so Angel isn't too worried.

"Well since I feel better...maybe...a nice drink to relax after work doesn't sound so bad?" Angel isn't even sure what he's saying, he just knows he wants to follow him.

He thinks Husk knows it too because he flashes Angel the smile of a gambler on a winning streak and it makes his heart race.

"I'll make something extra good for you when you come down. See you in a few minutes?" He offers, wanting to allow Angel time alone to collect himself before going if he needed it.

"See you in a few." Angel nods, confirming their plans as he sits back down on his bed a moment, watching Husk wave goodbye as he leaves, shutting the door behind him to give Angel some privacy.

He can't help the goofy smile on his face as he fixes himself back up to look presentable before he heads back down to meet Husk at the bar, who is already standing there, waiting with a knowing grin and some bright pink concoction that suits Angel Dust perfectly already sitting in a glass on a napkin, waiting for it's owner to take a seat.

[haithamuse]

☆ ANAGEPSIS

the feeling when one no longer loves someone they once did — ft. ayato, thoma, diluc

cw. angst (falling out of love) so good luck 👍 0.7k wc

  ˖˚˳⊹ KAMISATO AYATO

Ayato was in denial. Could this really be happening? Never once in his life had he even dared to imagine that falling out of love is something he could experience.

Truly, he really thought that he was incapable of it. And yet here he was, slowly coming to the realisation that maybe — this might be what is happening to you right now.

The Commissioner didn’t know how he it got to this point and he loathes himself for it. This is not what you had deserved — a marriage with broken promises. He is not the husband anymore who had promised to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. Ayato is but a husk of that man now — he still tries to hold justice to his promise, to love and honour you all the days of his life.

But with each passing day, it gets harder and harder to keep up the facade. The passion he held for you isn’t there anymore, that candle has been burnt out. He wonders — where did it all go?

Kamisato Ayato may be a man that can shield his true persona from the rest of the world, but you see his feelings slipping through the cracks before he does.

He loves you, but not in the way it used to be.

˖˚˳⊹ THOMA

Thoma doesn’t even realise it. He doesn’t notice how he rushes towards his next tasks before giving you a quick goodbye. When his back turns towards you, he doesn’t see how your arm still lingers in the air, reaching out to him, longing for his warmth for just a second longer.

Ignorance is bliss, they say — it saves him the view of your heartbroken face that yearns for its lover.

Thoma doesn’t see how he pulls away from kisses much quicker than before, offering you an apologetic smile. You’d ask him if everything is fine, is there anything he wants to talk about?

“Don’t worry!”, he’d reassure you while scratching the back of his head, his signature smile flashing back at you. “I’m just busier than usual lately.”

And it broke you — his words not offering any comfort to you at all. Instead, they hurt you even more and instilled anxiety on you. Thoma doesn’t seem to register, but you immediately do.

He doesn’t call you by endearing nicknames anymore — the ones he’d always insist on using as if his life depended on it.

˖˚˳⊹ DILUC RAGNVINDR

Diluc seems to regress to the man he was before courting you — distant and reserved.

You were used to the fact that your husband needed space every now and then, and you gladly gave it to him. Afterwards, Diluc would always make sure to repay you — telling you how much he loved you and how thankful he was that you respected his needs and wants. You’ve always been patient with him, as he has been with you.

Yet, your endurance slowly but surely runs thinner the longer Diluc seems to draw this out. He actively avoids you, staying out long deep into the night and taking over more shifts at the Angel’s Share. Even Kaeya has commented on his behaviour, much to his brother’s dismay.

Diluc seemingly snaps at everyone and everything — taking his anger out on everyone but you, because he wouldn’t want you to be the last victim to the battles he has with himself.

You don’t even know if he comes home to sleep in your shared bed anymore. Waking up to an empty and cold bedside, you don’t know if it was because your lover left early or because the sheets have never been occupied for the night.

It wasn’t until you stayed up for days and nights in hopes to catch him that you’d get a confession. In your mind you had already planned out and mulled over the conversation dozens of times, ready to release all those pent-up feelings. But when Diluc finally stepped through the front door, you were too tired to even muster up a greeting.

Though there was no need to do so anyway. When your husband saw your worn out and exhausted figure, he broke down — spilling out all the unsaid thoughts and feelings he had for you.

“Please”, he’d beg in between sobs. “Give us a chance to fix this.”

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[verosikastrikerstellaexcuser]

completely agree with your sto-litz vs Husker-Dust analysis- and wanted to add another little thing that just...kills my possible enjoyment of the former even without the horribly abusive context- the show never bothers to show them having a good time together. Never bothered to show them as friends.

Either it's Stolas harassing Blitzo, him being visibly aggravated and....angst. Lots and lots of angst. Like even if that owl wasn't the literal worse why would I enjoy a ship that....doesn't enjoy themselves? Like Hazbin's latter half being so rushed affected all the meaningful interactions- Husk/Dust included- but I still got to see some genuine moments from them post-episode 4 where they were friends- like Angel dropping Nifty on Husk's head and going full "deal with it bro" or them doing target practice together before the war- those little glimpses of comradery and playfulness you see in people that like the other. Y'know, friends.

And when the show DOES try to show them as friends it's just....so bad. Like the whole childhood friends mess that I won't touch with a 20 meter stick and episode 2x2- ie Stolas ignoring his missing child (again) in favor of getting onto his obsession's pants LITERALLY EPISODES after their whole"break up" moment in Ozzies.... these two can't even be friends, how the hell I am supposed to believe they can be a couple? Again, it's just not fun to watch.

Ah thanks anon! Glad you liked it. I know people have issues with H*skerdust and I really do get why as their ship involves a lot of contentious topics. And Hazbin was so so sooooo insanely rushed. You are basically forced to fill in bits using your own head which you shouldn't have to. But, it still works to me.

I think if you're doing unrequited attention -> requited attention in a story then it can be really tricky to get it right. Especially when it involves very sexually charged attention and not more reserved attention. But I'd say that making Angel a forced sex worker who's being hypersexual to cope is a lot better than making someone with immense class power and who is sexually repressed then go crazy and become obsessive about one specific lower class person he met as a kid and had his dad buy him to entertain him likeee ????

Husk sees through what Angel's doing with his act and he sees some of himself and how he is trapped too. So he pushes him to be better and once they reconcile with Loser Baby he continues to encourage Angel to be better and only THEN does he start to reciprocate affection or admiration or any positive kind of feelings, only when Angel changes and shows that he can be something other than a pot of lewd jokes towards Husk. They they reach that moment of understanding. They become happier together. They don't just make each other actively worse. They had angst but they overcame it. I could see them also having further angst potentially yet overcoming it again in a believable way.

While St*litz? Yeah it really is just misery misery and more misery and there's nothing wrong with making a ship that involves misery. The problem is lying to us that a miserable ship isn't miserable. We as the audience see so much damn misery and little else like you said, yet we're supposed to love their ship and believe deep down they're madly in love in a way that can totally be healthy and they're a great end game? They always seem one disaster away from a huge emotional blowout if they're not having sex, and everything constantly being sexual is only adding fuel to the fire of their issues. They have nothing in common. Huskerdust both have addiction issues, soul contracts, seem to like similar things I'm sure Angel would gladly play poker with Husk or they would go bar hopping together etc. While you have a booksy library nerd and then you have a guy who's just not into any of that. And that could still work but they need to establish other things they DO have in common. Right now we've only really seen the differences.

What would St*litz do if hanging out together? I feel like everything St*las would suggest would just have Blitz disinterested and disrespecting it lol. St*las has been obsessed with Blitz since birth like some kind of weird fixation. Love at first sight... as a child? Wtf? That look St*las gives Blitz all blushy as a child is while he knew NOTHING about the actual Blitz and who he is. That's the kind of crush as a child you grow the hell out of to still be thinking about 1 day as a child years later to that extent is insane and not healthy.

While Blitz meanwhile never thought of him again. Then only had sex with him when they met again as adults out of pity after seducing and tying him up to distract him so he could escape his house. And may I also add that St*las put that idea into his head to flirt with the weird "You're here to ravish me" and "nefarious intentions" comments.

St*las makes this face as he says hes going to take Blitz to his room and handle him. And then says all those comments to Blitz while the two of them are now alone in St*las' bedroom. St*las. Why did you decide to take Blitz to your bedroom. Why did you make that face. Why did you say those comments to someone you had only met as a child for one day and then they broke into your house. Its apparently all not serious, those weird sexually charged comments you began making towards someone you met once as a child and barely knew??? Then. Then why say them at all. Whats the joke? Why would you tell who's basically a stranger alone with you in your bedroom with you a joke like that? That's such a bizzare fucking thing to do.

So then Blitz starts to get physical and flirts back and St*las says he was just kidding with the flirting/jokes (the writing for St*las is so inconsistent and dogshit I s2g) and he tries to back out. In a panic over the book and escaping Blitz keeps going and ignores St*las wanting to back out (fucking GROSS that they wrote Blitz as doing this). Then St*las gives into it? Its just so fucking awkward and gross feeling that entire scene. And its the foundation for their entire adult relationship going forwards. EW. Husk and Angel's foundation is Husk getting him to snap out of being hypersexual and boundary crossing for both their sake's. Blitz and St*las, they never seem to make each other better they just seem to be miserable and constantly lie to each other. They barely seem to know or care what the other wants and needs.

Blitz being around St*las just encourages St*las' insane hypersexual behaviors which bring out the worst in him because yeah those are harassing behaviors and have a weird racial/species fetishizing undertone. For Angel they were a way of pretending he really did like being a sexual object and that's why when Husk called it enough and said he should recognize that his situation is bad instead of trying to pretend he likes it he stopped; Husk wasn't the thing actually motivating the issues. While Blitz absolutely is with St*las, St*las is unhealthily obsessed with him. And that motivates him to abuse his power and to ignore his daughter's needs. St*las shouldn't be around Blitz because it clearly causes him to act in ways which hurt others and himself because he clearly doesn't know how to act right towards Blitz in any capacity. His attraction is not normal or healthy.

[snowyh2o]

Every Demon’s Rainbow AU

@redactedtimes

Oh 100000% she’d be horrified. Part of Charlie’s goal and reasoning with the hotel is that redemption should be a choice for the residents, not something that’s forced upon them. And (here’s where I get to talk about world building lol) it’s worse in this AU because the reason the Hotel’s got this influence is due to Charlie herself!

The Hotel’s Redemption Be Upon Thee! Powers come from Charlie’s own deep seated belief that there’s genuine good inside of every demon (hence the name Every Demon’s Rainbow). In this AU, she and Vaggie have been living inside the rundown hotel and working on her redemption plan for a couple of years now. And Charlie’s reality altering magic ends up seeped into every creak and crevice of the hotel. And since this is Charlie’s magic, and also because she isn’t consciously using it to cast a spell, the magic ends up taking a life of its own and latches onto Charlie’s greatest belief/desire. Which would be that every demon is capable of redemption and change and Charlie wants to create a place that can give those demons the opportunity to do so. (The end goal being that redemption means there would be no need for the yearly exterminations or at the very least the ones who ascend to heaven will be safe).

What the hotel actually does is bring out or amplifies the best/good traits in the souls who stay there for an extended period of time. Makes it easier for demons to choose to do good things— suppresses the hang ups someone might have for saying sorry, for example. Nothing the hotel makes people think or do are things that they haven’t thought about doing before. If I had to describe it, it’s like an enabler, but for good or more positive actions/thoughts/traits? And creates an atmosphere/environment that would make said souls more likely to act on their good/positive thoughts.

The effect is actually really subtle (and different for every resident), which is why no one else notices it aside from feeling more at ease and generally happier while staying at the hotel. Which can be explained away as just the hotel being a genuine relief to go back to compared to the rest of hell. And that the people there are also much more pleasant to be around, something that Charlie actively works to cultivate.

Alastor’s just a little bitch stupidly in tune with himself and who he is and when his thoughts and actions are his own that he notices the effect the hotel has (so he gets to deal with intrusive positive thoughts :P). And that’s not until he’s stayed at the hotel for a while (Still working on the timeline). But because he knows himself so well, and also because he’s arguably the worst of the people who’s staying at the hotel/has the most baggage and issues that he actively represses, he feels the Hotel’s magic affecting him all the more keenly. And it grates at him that this is now another part of his life he’s slowly losing control over, and it’s not even because he wouldn’t consider improving the quality of Husk’s bribe booze or put together something to celebrate the hotel’s (minimal) success— but that he’s actively considering it at all that makes him recoil and actively fight against/reject it. Especially when a big part of Alastor’s self image is the reputation he’s crafted for himself, the persona of the Radio Demon, a charming but cold heartless murderer who’s only ever out for himself and couldn’t care less about the people around him aside from the mild entertainment they could bring. Everyone knows who the Radio Demon is. Everyone is scared of the Radio Demon. (Even the Radio Demon’s friends are never sure of when he’ll turn on them <- complete lie that he likes to believe in, all his friends will say he’s actually quite pleasant to be around) He can’t have people thinking, seeing, the Radio Demon has a soft side. That he could care about people, that he is, at the end of the day, just another human soul stuck in hell.

This, however, is also why he’ll never on the threat of death tell Charlie about the Hotel’s magic. Because it’s a weakness and he’ll be damned if he ever reveals something as vulnerable as that about himself. So he just, deals with it as best he can.

If Charlie ever does find out about her inadvertent magical hotel, it’d probably be through Lucifer. And either only after they’ve rebuilt the new hotel, or right after Lucifer’s visit to the hotel. Which would be a whole thing that ends with the two of them undoing the spell on the hotel. And, if I ever get into after finale AU speculation, the new hotel also won’t have any magical compulsions tied to it— not that Alastor would know lol.

[disneyanddisneyships]

@gyubby99 okay I wanted to figure out how alastor would react to Aponi's birthday.. so like..... :D

No triggers. Happy things.

I'm actually so obsessed with this rn

"Angel, my friend, why are you bustling about? Shouldn't you be at work?" Alastor asked when he walked into the hotel that morning.

"I took the day off. It's a big day!" Angel replied as nifty walked in to clean the hotel.

"It sure is! Oooh! Angel did you get her favorite flowers?" Nifty asked.

"Ofcorse I did, toots! Didja tell her to go to the store?" Angel asked as well.

"Yep! I told her to get all kinds of fake things so she should be out for a while!" Nifty replied as she dusted.

"Who, may I ask, are we tricking?" Alastor asked with a raised eyebrow.

Angel just looked at him as if he was on another planet. "Shes YOUR performer. What ya didn't know when her birthday was? All you do is fuckin stalk her," Angel replied with a smirk.

"Birthday? She never told me. I wasn't aware they were still a big thing for the girl!" Alastor argued.

"The woman died at 19, of course they're a big deal to her still," Angel stated.

"19?" Alastor repeated. He didn't know that either.

"I'm assumin that means ya didn't get her a gift? Ya can't piggyback off'a me and Cherri's. We both pitched in and it was from our hearts," Angel explained.

"No need, my feminine fellow! Say... what activities does she like?" Alastor asked.

"Uhhh well.... she's a ballerina. And last I checked, her ballet shoes were shit. But I dunno how ya'd find ballet shoes in hell. Good luck, strawberry pimp," Angel stated as he walked out of the door.

"No need to worry, Alastor! I'm sure you'll find something! Although Charlie already got her a necklace with a butterfly on it, vqggie already got her some weapons, and husk already got her some of her favorite tea! But I'm sure you'll find something to get her!" Nifty ranted.

Alastor shook his head in amusement before walking out of the hotel. And walking to the cannibal colony to Rosie.

An hour later Aponi almost walked into the door when she was stopped.

"Ya can't come in! Here! Your ballet shoes! Go do that!" Angel shouted at her as he shoved her shoes into her face.

Aponi sighed and smiled at her amazing friends. Of course she knew about the party. And when Angel went to find her when they were ready, that would be fine.

She took her shoes and walked to the dance studio just behind the club she performed at for fun.

She hummed as she laced up her shoes.

As she stood up she walked over to the radio to turn the music on, complete with "the greatest showman" disc she stole from a shop nearby.

As the music began Aponi took her place and began dancing with the moves she created as a young child when experimenting with the song.

As she danced, she wasn't able to hear someone walking into the studio. Not even the static from his microphone notified her.

He took a seat in the dark as he watched her in wonder, and something else he couldn't place... he never was one for emotions.

As the music picked up, Aponi gave two advanced spins on her tiptoes before she jumped in a pirouette.

Her eyes were closed and alastor could tell it was as if she herself was the music.

He wondered why she had never told him about how she could dance like that. In fact, for all the stuff he though he knew, he really knew nothing about her.

In the middle of the song however, there was a loud cracking and Aponi fell.

"Ah! Shit!" She called out before taking her broken shoe off. "Damn it! You were hard to come by ya know!" She yelled at her own shoe.

"Having some trouble, darling?" Alastor asked.

"Oh. Hey. My stupid shoes just broke. 15 years of having them. On earth and in hell. And they break because of a stupid misstep that I've made for years," Aponi complained as Alastor helped her up gently.

"Ah I see. You're a very talented dancer, my dear!" Alastor exclaimed as he admired the clothes aponi was in.

"Thanks. I've been doing it since I was 8. My mom made me sighn up," Aponi explained before taking a drink if water. "I'd tell you to try it, but you're much too skinny," Aponi teased.

"I could if I wanted!" Alastor argued.

"I disagree!" Aponi replied as she put her coat on.

Alastor was silent for a moment. "Happy birthday!" He perked up.

Aponi's eyes widened.

"Oh... thanks... I'm assuming Angel told you?" Aponi asked.

"Correct, my friend!" Alastor replied.

"Yeah. He found out about my birthday months ago and swore on the devil himself that he'd throw me a party every year i was down here," Aponi explained with a small smile.

"Ah I see. How old would you have been?" Alastor asked.

Aponi smiled. "I would've been 22 this year...." she muttered.

Although alastor was smiling, he could sense the sorrow in her eyes. He had figured she had killed herself, due to the mark on her neck, but he still didn't know why.

"Ah how wonderful!" He exclaimed, not being one for emotions. Besides. She was just someone he could use to get what he wanted. Wasn't she?

The two of them walked back to the hotel in one another's company. It was the longest they've ever spoken to one another and Alastor had no idea that she was so funny.

The doors opened to the hotel and out popped every single one of aponi's friends.

"Suprise!" They all called in unison.

Aponi gasped. "You guys! This is so sweet!" She shouted, acting suprised even though she knew about the party.

alastor smirked. She could lie fairly well. It was impressive.

"Happy birthday toots! Cherri and I have som'n for ya!" Angel exclaimed as he gave Aponi a box.

"Open it or I will!" Cherri pushed with a smile on her face.

Aponi giggled before pulling out a beautiful orange dress.

"Oh, Angie! It's beautiful! Thank you Cherri! I love you guys!" Aponi cried out before hugging her best friends.

"Here, I got you thus to go with it!" Charlie exclaimed before handing aponi a small jewelry bag.

Inside, there was a small, real Monarch butterfly encased in amber on a necklace chain.

"Charlie.... how did you...?" Aponi trailed off as she looked at it. She hadn't seen a real butterfly in 3 years, and none of the others have seen one in longer.

"I practically begged my mother by blowing up her phone. I never got a call back, but in the mail this morning, there it was!" Charlie explained.

Aponi smiled as she hugged Charlie.

"Thank you!" She stated, before the group made rheur way over to the couch so they weren't just standing there.

Alastor hung out in the corner of the room.

"Mines next!" Vaggie exclaimed as she pushed a medium sized box into Aponi's arms.

"Oh my goodness!" Aponi stated excitedly as she opened it to reveal knives and guns with butterflies painted on them. "They're beautiful!" Aponi smiled.

"Here's mine," husk stated as he gave Aponi his gift.

"Tea!" Aponi gasped as she immediately smelled it. "Caffinated?" She asked.

"Yep!" He replied.

"Thank you so much!" Aponi stated.

"My gift was the decorations!" Nifty exclaimed.

"And you did a wonderful job! Thank you all so much! You really didn't need to do all of this for me," Aponi stated with a large smile.

"The day isn't over yet! Come on! Nifty also made cake!" Charlie exclaimed as she and the rest of the group stood up and walked to the kitchen.

"You comin?" Angel asked alastor.

"I'll be back later tonight. I have some.... duty to attend back in the cannibal colony," Alastor replied before walking out of the hotel.

Hours later, it was dark and the party was over. Aponi made her way back to her room to out away her things when she heard a knock.

"Come in!" She called out.

Alastor walked in and cleared his throat when he saw her.

She had a black nightgown on that sat lightly on her body.

"Oh. Hey Alastor. What's up?" She asked as she brushed her hair.

"I have a gift for you, my dear!" He replied before handing her a box.

"Oh? Thank you!" She stated as she opened it gently. She gasped, and a smile made itself known on her face. "Alastor? Oh they're beautiful! Ballet shoes!" She exclaimed. "How did you know my shoe size?" She asked.

"I noticed it on the bottom of your old shoes. I had a good friend make them. Under such short notice, it costed quite a bit, but it was worth it for you, my dear!" He explained.

Aponi blushed and smiled. "Thank you, Alastor,"

[perilegs]

Ati: secret, skin and pain :3

And maybe hunt and nightmare for Nathkiira?

yess thank youu!! :3c questions from this post

Ati:

secret: What's one secret your OC never wants anyone to know about them?

Ati doesn't actively have any secrets she's keeping as far as i can remember, but some of her emotions are something she doesn't think others have the right to know about. Ati cares so much about those around her. She won't say it, not even admit it to herself, she'd be mortified if she had to verbally pour her heart out. She will do little acts of service in secret, or otherwise say or do things that delight others. In a modern world, Ati would lie she doesn't really care for pickles in the presence of a loved one who likes them a lot. Sometimes she lets her "softer" emotions slip up and then she immediately dies of embarrassment. Maybe this all culminates to her secret being that she thinks these things make her not as tough as she wants people to believe. Don't get me wrong, Ati is resilient and strong and capable of so much and more, but she has her issues on how others perceive her.

skin: How comfortable is your OC in their skin? Do they grapple with anything that lives inside them—a beast, a curse, a failure, a monster? How do they face the smallest, weakest, most horrible version of themself? Are they able to acknowledge it at all?

You'd think with the amount of cockiness and self-confidence Ati has, that she'd be deeply unsure of herself but no she's just like that as far as she knows. I don't think she's capable of fearing death being the way she is at her age, she thinks she's invincible. But, what lives inside her, is the taint. It will eat her from the inside out until she's left nothing but a hollow husk like those she's slaughtered hundreds, maybe even thousands of. I don't think she acknowledges it. Otherwise she's very comfortable in her skin!

pain: What's the worst pain your OC has ever felt? Do they have a high pain tolerance?

I would say Ati's pain tolerance is fairly average, maybe a bit higher than usual considering how much she's seen battle so she has gotten used to a lot. She hasn't gone through any notable physical trauma, so it's hard to say what has caused her the most pain. Though I feel like she was at her worst in the tower of Ishal since getting out there alive required Flemeth's help.

Nathkiira:

hunt: Who or what is your OC hunted by? A person, a feeling, a past mistake? Is your OC able to let their guard down, or are they constantly alert?

Oh Nathkiira is a 100% alert at all times. I don't know if she has ever really relaxed in her entire life. Well, Nathkiira has her moments but she doesn't experience day-to-day peace y'know? She knows there's a possibility of people, some lolthsworn, being after her and her siblings. Nath's been living a fairly peaceful life in Baldur's Gate so far after everything she's experienced, but she has a bad feeling about it all, and is constantly on guard.

nightmare: What does your OC have nightmares about? How do they deal with their nightmares? Do they tell people, or keep it to themself?

I want to say that at camp, Nathkiira keeps all of her nightmares to herself. However I don't think she's actively hiding them. If she gets up and moves around (<- she does some light exercise to deal with any possible nightmares. i dont think thats good for u. nathkiira needs to sleep--meditate- a bit more i think. anyways she doesnt go back to bed after a nightmare) and someone catches her, she might mention having a nightmare, as there's no harm in saying that. I think her siblings may know of some of the nightmares she has, as at least those concerning her deceased brother and parents are something someone who has lived together with her for a long time would know about.

[blue-rose-soul]

Au idea where Alastor is a Shadow kingpin where he isn’t an overlord or a known one and that’s by his design. Rule an empire of sin from the shadows.taking Vox’s deal but actually being the boss of Vees and the silent boss of Canibal town.

My ask what is the

Hotels reaction to finding all this out

The thing is, I can't really see Alastor operating that way unless he was literally forced to. Like, in the Kid Alastor AU the reason he keeps his identity a secret is because he's just not capable of commanding the same sort of respect and fear due to his childlike appearance. Not because he isn't fearsome, but because adults just do not respect kids. Alastor loves being in the spotlight, commanding people's awe and fear. He can't do that while operating from the shadows.

And I frankly can't picture Alastor taking Vox's deal, except maybe to dismantle Vox's tech empire before it can even get off the ground. Alastor's very particular about his hatred of new technology. Not because he's ignorant - we know he knows how to produce a fairly decent television commercial - but more out of... I almost want to call it sentimentality towards the time period he lived through. He's also uncompromising; he doesn't need to adapt or change himself in order to rise to the top of Hell's Overlords, he will reach the top by doing things his way!

But... let's say there were some circumstances that forced Alastor to step back and operate like this. It might be something along the lines of Vox owning Alastor's soul, with Alastor nonetheless manipulating Vox while looking for a way out of the deal. Or maybe he'd suffered a near-fatal injury that left his powers severely limited. In either case, I highly doubt Alastor would be happy about the situation, so his hiding it wouldn't just be out of necessity but pride as well. I think the rest of the hotel residents' reactions would be highly dependent on what his exact circumstances are, but given what a showy dick he is, I'm sure they'd all suspect on some level that he had something bigger going on where they couldn't see. Angel Dust I think would be the least surprised because he grew up in a mob family and could likely see the signs.

As for Cannibal Town... Well, I think that Alastor very likely does have a good deal power and influence in Cannibal Town already. He's on very good terms with Rosie, who is not only willing to drop her customers at a moment's notice to greet Alastor, but actively points him in the direction of a good deal without asking for anything in return. Not that she expects nothing return, more that they have a good enough rapport that she knows he'd repay her without it needing to be discussed. On top of all this, Alastor seems to be both known and liked by the residents of Cannibal Town, so while his position may not be that of a 'silent king,' I would say he does have some pull.

The only way I see Alastor stepping in to a more active role controlling Cannibal Town is if Rose weren't there. Let's say, if it was Rosie who died in the extermination instead of Franklin*. We don't know what Alastor's relationship with Rosie's late business partner was, but given the pattern in his other relationships with men compared to his relationships with women, and the fact that neither he nor Rosie bring Franklin up, we can imagine it wasn't very good. More than likely, he would back Franklin into a corner, ensnare him in a deal, and then 'allow' Franklin to continue running Cannibal Town from the end of Alastor's leash.

I actually wouldn't be too surprised if Alastor controls a good deal of territory this way. I'm not certain of this myself, but I've seen people discussing whether or not Husk still owns and runs the same casino he ruled as an Overlord, and while we've only seen Husk and Niffty, we don't know how many other souls Alastor has under his control. I wouldn't exactly call this a shadow empire though.

(*For those who don't know, in the pilot episode we see Rosie on the balcony of her emporium in the aftermath of an extermination, crossing out the name 'Franklin' on a sign reading 'Franklin and Rosie's Emporium.' Franklin himself is never seen, so his appearance and personality is pure speculation.)

[rainbow-scarab]

Elder Hu and Infection in Fungal Wastes

Elder Hu, dream warrior you can fight in Fungal Wastes. Called the god of “travellers and sages” in the Hall of Gods. Said by the Hunter to have “Travelled the world tending to those affected by the plague.”

I’ve marked his location on this map with an orange star, as well as the location of the Mantis Village.

You may find his grave up there. When he first speaks to you, he gives you this dialog:

Have you come to tame this savage, ruined land? Many have come to purify this place, but all who dwell here are eventually consumed. Yes, even the wild bugs lurking below us. They were once proud like you, but now they are only monsters. Beware dreams of glory, child. Turn back, and do not return.

Elder Hu is suggested to have been infected, and still be stuck in the mindset he had when he died. He was killed by the mantises, when he tried to “purify” them. His mindset is still warped after death, keeping his incorrect perception that the mantises were infected. It’s possible that’s why he calls them “savage”.

The “savage” and “wild” part of his dialog is not quite what I want to examine right now. This is again another time where I was making a larger theory (which does deal with these aspects), and it turned into a huge tangent that needed its own post.

Right now, I’m wondering about his mission to purify.

He expects that Ghost has come from elsewhere to “tame” or “purify”, and says that others have before. As his journal entry says he traveled to treat people, I am thinking that he himself is from outside Fungal Wastes. And…well. Backing up a bit. I do think he specifically is referring to Fungal Wastes when he says “savage, ruined land”. I considered the possibility that he was talking about all of Hallownest. But it would be a bit of an odd situation for someone to travel into Hallownest from the outside for helping with this I think, rather than to stay away. (And as I talked about in a recent post, people can be referred to as travelers even if they’re only traveling within the kingdom). I also think it would be odd for him to say that “all who dwell here are eventually consumed” if it was in reference to all of Hallownest.

—Now, even though I say this, if it was in reference to Hallownest rather than just Fungal Wastes, it would actually be a true statement. Nowhere in Hallownest is safe from the infection. But Elder Hu presumably lived and died long ago. Traveling the land to tend to those infected, he presumably had not have given up on those he was treating. (Unless his “tending” was only to kill the infected, since he’s a warrior, which would be incredibly messed up and…well, I wouldn’t entirely put it past the game to do that with all the other messed up things in it. But I’m assuming this is not it). He may try to discourage others due to the dangers, as he tells Ghost to turn back. Someone still actively trying to help, I don’t envision saying something so pessimistic as to imply everyone would fall to infection. Plus…where would he think Ghost would have to turn back to? To leave the kingdom? It seems unlikely to me, when it seems a universal belief that your mind will be lost if you do so.

I do have another possible interpretation though, for why he would specifically be speaking about Fungal Wastes being infected. When infected, the Radiance may warp what is already within a bug. He found it his duty to “purify” the mantises and died in the attempt, probably because it was a warped version of who he was, rather than someone entirely overwritten. I wonder if there might be a reason why he was in Fungal Wastes in particular. Even if he traveled all of Hallownest for his work, it’s possible that Fungal Wastes had already been in need of healers for other reasons.

Fungal Wastes is home to “fungified husks”. The journal entry says: “The bugs of Hallownest are so pathetic that being infected by poisonous fungi actually increases their chances of survival! They really are absurd creatures.”

Here we have a reference to an infection that had nothing to do with the Radiance. Fungal Wastes are said by multiple characters to be full of noxious spores. Could Elder Hu have expected that Fungal Wastes in particular was bad for bugs, due to fungal spores? There is a single husk hornhead in this region, but other than that, the only “standard Hallownest bugs” (those basic husk enemies like can be found in Crossroads and the City) are the fungified husks.

There are also a pair of ghosts in Queen’s Gardens (probably grasshoppers), Caelif & Fera Orthop, where one of them seems infected with fungus. The ghosts themselves make no reference to it though, and their dialog only indicates that they had been exploring Queen’s Gardens and didn’t know which way to go. Perhaps they had previously traveled through Fungal Wastes, but there’s really no way to know. The fungus does seem to be a different type.

Could these fungified bugs be treated? I don’t know. Perhaps it could be treated in its early stages. In any case I expect it would be easier to treat than an infection of mind. Even so…I would expect if Elder Hu really had had a long career as a healer, he would naturally try to help when this new infection came on the scene.

These fungified bugs are also not the mushroom people or the mantises who are native to Fungal Wastes. Elder Hu is called a god of travelers. I do wonder if his primary focus was on these bugs who end up moving into the region. “All who dwell here are eventually consumed”, he says.

Anyway. His grave is marked “We remember the Elder.” It’s also not particularly close to the Mantis Village, where he died. Someone must have remembered him fondly to make this grave for him.

One last point. Fungal Wastes are primarily home to the mushroom people, and the mantises. Obviously the spores are fine for the mushroom people and may very well originate from them. The Hunter says, on Shrumal Warriors:

Something queer in the air has caused these mushrooms to grow hearts, minds, and even faces! This means they now fear for their lives, like all other living creatures.

The whole area of the Wastes always has spores in the air as well.

The spores look the same as those when you have the spore shroom charm, and those spores from the charm have the ability to damage others. They clearly can be dangerous, and also have a connection to the mushroom people and their hive mind.

But even so, the mantises live in the region seemingly with no issue.

The mantises are able to resist the infection from the Radiance. Were they already used to resisting infection from the spores? Or, could you even say it as, resisting being taken over into the mushroom hive mind? –mm, depends how you want to frame it I suppose, as a more physical infection (with possible consequence of making you connected via mind), or something more mental that would then affect your physical body. Not sure. But the point is, it’s possible such preexisting resistance would help them stay strong against the Radiance. They are, as it seems, the only ones able to resist as a species, the only ones of the infected seemingly having done so on purpose.

It all makes it particularly ironic I think. Elder Hu attacking the one species that the Radiance could not get a foothold on. Perhaps she particularly tried to get him to attack them, because of this. But that’s just speculation.

[iniziare]

The half-draconic abomination swam through the air in blasts of lightning. Its body, enough to swallow the very horizon, sundered yet another floating isle. Its wails were as loud as the clamors of a thousand clashing swords. She felt her Core Esse boiling, like a ripe wheat grain about to burst out of its husk and swell to infinity. She saw herself trapped in childhood nightmares again. The ominous planet is swallowing her overhead, and she, but an insect, cannot even struggle.The woman tore off a spread of black silk from the edge of her skirt and covered her eyes. The thunder struck. She leapt up with her sword towards the draconic abomination. In a dreamlike illusion, she felt her flesh surpass its limits, beginning to disintegrate. It was as if innumerable silken threads bound her, taut across every limb and bone, each one slicing through the last vestiges of her consciousness, bit by bit. Suddenly, she heard those words: "I will cut down even the stars in the sky."

Muse Navigation: All | Threads | Meta | Little Notes | Wishlist Affiliated: inominati (Jing Yuan), avaere (Jing Yuan), daybreakrising (Blade and Yingxing), vidyadawn (Dan Heng/Dan Feng), resolutepath (Yanqing, Dan Heng/Dan Feng).

Important Meta — TBA.

Some tidbits that are incredibly important for my portrayal of Jingliu: (I will be adding to this list over-time and editing these! Last edited: August 20th, 2024)

'Villain'. Simply put, no, blatantly writing her off as any such thing when we, as writers behind the scenes, know better would be a gross misjudgment of the information that we were given throughout our stay in the Xianzhou. The High-Cloud Quintet is a rather intricate bunch of 'outcasts' (as Jingliu herself notes it), and a decision transformed into one of the biggest mistakes imaginable, with incredibly dire consequences in multiple ways. As much as the events following Baiheng's death were rooted in largely good intentions, they resurrected (unknowingly so) their lifelong friend into a massive half-draconic abomination ("Its body, enough to swallow the very horizon, sundered yet another floating isle." As noted in Jingliu's 4th character story) that seemed semi-sentient and aware of who it was (source: 1, and 2), who fell only at Jingliu's own hand. And in the process, fell to an agonizing and incurable illness that leaves anyone who bears it to suffer endlessly. Calling her a villain, or turning her into one is incredibly short-sighted and I'll even say: rather disrespectful considering the nuance.

Shipping. While this is not something I actively seek to focus on for her character at any point in her timeline, I will be reserving the potential of shipping to the members of the High-Cloud Quintet at this point in time. I may have a 'favorite' amongst them, which is based fully on what we're told within canonical details, but that does not mean that I will reserve the potential to merely them. For the sake of clarity, I want to specify that yes, this pre-disposition lies with Jing Yuan due to rational reasons (his voice-lines, reactions to any mention or presence/absence of her, and even when he found she had succumbed to mara). Now, before anyone points any sort of finger, let me note that it is absolutely imperative to say that I see this potential (and realistically, it might not even happen) only once he is a full fledged peer of them all within the High-Cloud Quintet; where I also need to remind people that the long-life species are exactly that: long life, which means that their perspectives are vastly different from our own in our current world. This is what creates the possibility of potentially romantic dynamics between different species or such as (but not limited to) Dan Feng/Yingxing, Yingxing/Baiheng, Jingliu/Jing Yuan, and Jingliu/Yingxing realistically possible. But as a last note, I am not actively searching to write these dynamics as romantic, but am simply open to them.