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moog-rt · 2 months

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GO TO HELL [ch. 4]

[Lucifer Morningstar x Fem!Reader]

Previous: Chapter Three

➨ Chapter Four

Next: Chapter Five

Premise:

You love your friends. You really do. But sometimes it needs reminding when one of them accidentally sends you to Hell.

Despite falling into the hands of Hell’s loveliest princess, finding a way back to the world of the living proves difficult as you tiptoe around its king.

A/N: shout out to my very own "power bottom at rock bottom" (aka my roommate) for harnessing her inner Angel Dust and feeding into some of his dialogue.

If you'd prefer to read on Ao3, here is the link:

Otherwise, enjoy!

♡ ♡ ♡

CHAPTER FOUR

The car ride home was mostly silent and incredibly tense.

You also couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. When you looked around to sate your paranoia, you found nothing suspicious and whittled it down to the anxiety having your face plastered across every news channel in hell.

On your way out of her father’s manor, you decided to fill Charlie in about your hands and cheek. She said it was a gamble whether her dad would react well to your being human or not. Being neutral to it, however, was something she would not have imagined. She was just relieved that you were alright.

She theorized that he may have assumed you were just wearing face paint for ‘shits and giggles’ (your words, not hers). There were some demons in Hell that did have skin tones similar to when they were human, so it wouldn’t be too outrageous for you to, as well.

Though it would be no surprise if he jumped to the conclusion that you were human due to your being televised all over Hell the day prior.

Not knowing where his head was at was going to kill you.

But worrying about that wasn’t going to get you anywhere. Charlie believed you two had searched everywhere in her old place that was likely to hold the key to you getting home. To your relief, the likelihood of returning was slim to none.

There was no need to stress over her father figuring you out since you wouldn’t have to risk running into him again.

The only thing you needed to focus on was getting those godforsaken cobwebs off the chandelier in the hotel foyer.

Vaggie was able to get the place mostly cleaned up in the time you were gone, but there were still a few things left that you were able to help with. After all they had done for you, this was the least you could do for them in return.

As you climbed back down the ladder, you saw Charlie pacing and muttering to herself. Even though you only met her recently, you knew how much the hotel and her plan to redeem sinners meant to her.

If this didn’t go well, she would absolutely take it to heart. She seemed like the type to barricade herself in a room to sulk for weeks on end. Or maybe bawl her eyes out whilst shoveling heaping spoonfuls of ice cream down her own throat.

Probably both.

“You know, this place is really coming together,” you said as you walked up to her.

She paused to face you.

“You think so?” she asked, glancing around the foyer in search of anything in need of tending. “Gosh, what if he doesn’t like the color scheme, or—or the motifs? What if he decides he isn’t interested in redemption at all?”

“Hey,” you said to get her attention as you leaned back into her view. “If he weren’t interested in what you’re offering, he wouldn’t be coming by to check things out. And I really don’t think your choice in décor will be what turns him away.”

You chuckled a bit as you glanced at the odd horse statues and slightly tattered wallpaper. It wasn’t modern or trendy, but it did have character. That was for sure.

She nodded with a far-off gaze, ruminating on your words.

“Even if he does decide that this isn’t for him—though I don’t think that will happen—there are so many people down here! I find it hard to believe that you won’t find some who are interested,” you continued. “Think about all the souls that believed they’d be going to Heaven but ended up here instead. They’d probably give up an arm and a leg to be redeemed.”

Her shoulders slacked, and her back loosened as she released a deep breath. Looking back at you, her face appeared more relaxed.

“Yeah…you’re totally right,” she said with a soft smile. “We just need to be patient.”

“I think this guy would be stupid not to accept your offer.” You bumped her arm playfully as you went to continue tidying up.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw her smile and walk off, presumably to do the same.

Everyone was putting the final touches on everything when there was a knock on the front door. You paused in the middle of sliding the sofa across the room so you could get a look at whoever was there.

Charlie and Vaggie looked at each other in surprise.

“I told him to text or call before showing up,” Vaggie grumbled, running a hand through her bangs as she went to answer the door.

He was quite…tall.

You had forgotten their appearances could vary so much. Charlie, her father, and Vaggie were relatively similar to a regular person, despite some slight cosmetic differences. This guy, however, had an extra set of limbs and was covered head to toe in what looked like fur.

Upon closer inspection, he also had what appeared to be three additional pairs of eyes underneath his primary ones.

Was he supposed to be a bug?

You shuffled forward as Charlie introduced herself. She had fixed up your makeup once you returned, so there was nothing to worry about regarding your own appearance. You had double and even triple-checked beforehand.

“This is it?”

“Uh…yes?” Charlie said meekly with her hands clasped in front of her chest.

He gave the foyer a hard once-over.

“Eh, anything’s betta’ than my current digs,” he said with a shrug and started walking around. “You got drinks?”

“No? The point of redemption is to stop engaging in sin,” Vaggie stated, crossing her arms. “Which means cutting out drugs?”

“You’re kiddin’ me,” he said as his body slumped. “What the hell am I supposed to do then? Play checkers?”

“Ooh, Checkers would be a fun way to break the ice!” Charlie sang, clapping her hands together.

This earned her a blank look from the new guest.

“Aha…” she laughed awkwardly at the bland response, then turned to gesture at you. “Well, this is our current resident! We have faith that she will be redeemed very soon.”

You gave a wide smile as you were being shown off. Should you strike a pose? Put your hands on your hips and puff your chest out in pride?

You didn’t mind being a fake example of a sinner-gone-good to help her out. It was the least you could do at this point. Plus, when you finally got the hell out of there, you could all play it off as you being ‘redeemed’.

“Yup, yup. Sin-free life has been pretty great,” you said, crossing your arms.

The guy already seemed exasperated. Vaggie was right when she said he was more interested in free rent than redemption itself.

“What did you say your name was again?” you asked in an attempt to keep the conversation from dying out before it had even started.

He perked a bit and plastered on a sultry smirk.

“Angel Dust,” he said as he swiped a hand through his hair(?) (head fluff?). “If you’re interested in gettin’ to know me betta’, I’ve got a nice collection of videos I can refer ya to.”

“No,” Vaggie groaned. “He’s a pornstar.”

Your eyebrows shot up.

“I mean, more power to you,” you shrugged, and he snickered.

“Wasn’t expectin’ that sorta career choice to fly with someone aspirin’ to cross through them pearly gates.” He tilted his head as he eyed you carefully, leaning down slightly to be more at your eye level.

“What makes you think that?” you asked, raising your chin. “In my opinion, a redeemable gal like myself should be respectful of other’s bodily autonomy.”

“Last I checked, the pious types weren’t so down with cock-suckin’ hoes. I mean,” he paused and smirked, “some of ‘em were down with us cock-suckin’ hoes, but they did their darndest to pray that shit away afterward. The guilts part of the kink.”

Vaggie’s stance tensed more and more with each word that came out of his mouth. You were pretty sure her eye was twitching.

“Good people are accepting people!” Charlie exclaimed, throwing her arms out.

“You ain’t ever have to deal with the living, sugar-tits,” Angel said, draping himself over the couch in a way you were sure would be put on the front cover of a Playboy magazine. “But sure.”

You all began a short tour of the hotel much like the one you got when you first arrived. This time, however, Charlie was really trying to sell her redemption plan to him. She explained the terms of their deal. He would refrain from acts of sin, such as violence, drugs, yada-yada, and he could stay there for free.

As you began filing out of one of the available, move-in-ready rooms, you noticed Angel pause. He was looking at the ground with a blank expression, clearly contemplating something. You assumed he was weighing the pros and cons of Charlie’s offer, but you were no mind reader.

After showing off most of the relevant parts of the hotel, you gathered back in the entryway. Charlie stared Angel down expectantly, waiting in suspense for his decision.

She was overjoyed when he finally agreed.

“There’s no harm in tryin’, I guess.” He shrugged shooting a half-lidded smirk. “But I ain’t makin’ no promises that I’ll be the paragon of redeemability. I ain’t that type of model.”

When he left, he said he had to clear some things with his boss first and then he would start this whole ‘redemption thing’.

The three of you had a miniature celebration—juice, soda, and popcorn to go along with eager chatter—before you decided to address the stack of books you had hauled back to the hotel.

The evening was going swimmingly thus far, and you hoped that good luck would carry on to the very end of the night. Somewhere in that pile was your key to getting home. Your fingers were crossed that you would be sleeping in your own cozy bed that night.

You could finally take up your own offer on a nice hot bubble bath and let it soak away all the stress that had stockpiled within your body.

Sitting in a circle around the books, you began sifting through them.

Your hope dwindled bit by bit with every one you flipped through and set aside. They had everything to do with the living world except for the means of getting there.

Once the last book was deemed useless, you sat in sullen silence. A sort of emptiness settled within your chest.

If that was your best shot at returning, what else was there?

“Okay…that’s okay!” Charlie said in an attempt to lighten the mood. “We just have to try something else. Vaggie, you said you knew people who had access to Earth, right?”

“I said I knew of people,” she corrected. “But I did do a little bit of digging while you were out, and I might have a few leads?”

“Oh, perfect!” Charlie chirped, sitting straight up with her hands on her knees. “How about we look into those tomorrow then?”

You and Vaggie both nodded because what else were you supposed to do? You didn’t really have the option of giving up in this situation. Your life wasn’t going to wait on hold forever. It probably wasn’t waiting at all.

At this point, two full days would have passed since you ‘disappeared,’ but living alone makes it harder for people to notice that sort of thing. You doubted Devon would have reported it since that would likely result in them getting into even deeper shit (in addition to the can of whoop-ass you’d release onto them once you made it back).

And you knew better than to put any amount of faith into Jack. You were sure he noticed your absence. You had the texts to prove it. But he seemed to be convinced you were giving him the cold shoulder, which would most likely result in him pretending he didn’t give two flying fucks about you.

Fuck that bitch.

♡

You wouldn’t say you slept like a baby that night, but you sure did sleep. You slept with the weight of despair threatening to overtake you with each failed attempt of finding a way back home.

And you know what?

It wasn’t half bad. Would you recommend it to someone else? No, not really. But you couldn’t tell them it was terrible.

Wiping the sleep from your eyes, you padded your way down the grand staircase. It was nice not having to wake up early to get all done up, but you still felt groggy. Possibly from sleeping too much.

You also appreciated being able to spend more time in the pajamas you were given, because good lord were they comfy.

Charlie and Vaggie let you know last night that they’d be leaving earlier in the morning to talk to the folks Vaggie believed might be able to access the living world. You stayed behind because you all agreed that dragging you through public in a not-so-durable disguise was a disaster waiting to happen.

However, they planned to be back in time for Charlie’s father to visit.

He had called her the previous night—just before you were all about to go your separate ways—to let her know he wanted to stop by. She told him he could drop by in the afternoon, and that was that.

You planned to coup yourself up in your room for the duration of his visit. You would rather die than address what had happened with the paint. If he had any questions regarding that, he could direct them towards his daughter. Thank you and goodnight (love you, Charlie! Muah!).

There was nothing to do until Charlie and Vaggie returned, but you still wanted caffeine or anything that could clear your brain fog.

They had stocked up the fridge and ‘pantry’ a bit more since you arrived, and Angel would likely move in any day now so there was also that to consider. Yet it was still a gamble on whether or not you could find something appealing.

You kneeled down in front of the fridge and began rummaging through your options.

Mysterious leftovers?

No.

Artichoke Hearts?

Eh…for breakfast? Probably not.

Coconut Milk?

No… You were surprised they even had coconuts in Hell. Unless, of course, they had sinners that manifested as coconuts, then you reckon they could milk—

No, absolutely not.

You were thinking about settling on a popsicle when you heard a knock at the front door.

Nobody should have been stopping by yet. Charlie’s dad wouldn’t be there until later, and you guys weren’t expecting anyone else. It could possibly be Angel, but you doubted he already spoke to his boss considering it was still morning.

The stained-glass doors didn’t disclose much about your surprise visitor. They were merely a shadowy figure, distorted by the odd shapes and colors.

Regardless of who it could be, you needed to hide or at least find a way to get back upstairs without being seen.

Slowly rising to your feet, you locked onto a rather large crate near the edge of the entryway.

You wouldn’t have to cross in front of the door to get there, which was ideal. Even though you knew the person on the other side couldn’t see you clearly, you preferred they not know you were there at all. Once you were at the crate, you could easily make your way around the room undetected.

Just as you were about to slip around it, you heard the front door creak open.

“Hello~” sang a familiar voice.

You hastily dodged behind the crate, your feet sliding slightly underneath you due to the new socks you had been gifted by your hosts. Thankfully, you were able to stabilize yourself before falling into anything.

Your heart was pounding away in your chest.

What was he doing here so early?

You pressed your back against the crate as you carefully sat down to wait for him to pass. Listening to his footsteps crossing the room was doing nothing to soothe your nerves. It was clear that he was in no rush to move on through the hotel. You could hear him as he sauntered around the foyer, pausing every once in a while before continuing on.

If he was taking in the sights, it was only a matter of time before he got to your side of the foyer.

You had to get out.

Taking a deep breath, you hesitantly peeked around your hiding spot to see where he was and whether he was looking your way.

To your relief, Charlie’s father was investigating a portrait on the wall opposite of you.

You wasted no time creeping across the floor to take cover behind the tattered old reception area. There was a body-length mirror resting against the wall just a few feet away that would give you a relatively good view of where he was.

As you were about to lean close enough to see through the mirror’s reflection, you heard him begin to hum just a few feet away. You scrambled to get beneath the desk.

How did he get so close so fast?

You understood the guy wasn’t human, but still. You were able to hear his footsteps clear as day up until that point. He shouldn’t know you were there; you were being so quiet…

Holding your breath, you waited for him to put some distance between the two of you. When you felt he was far enough away, you slowly scooted to the other side of the desk where you could hopefully get a view of the mirror.

Hearing him tampering with something, so you took the opportunity to glance at the mirror’s reflection.

He was prodding at one of the broken columns, testing its stability, it seemed. And his back was facing you. Perfect.

Glancing around the edge of the reception desk, you could see that the stairs weren’t too far away. It was a pretty open area, however, so you wondered if it would be better to beeline it down the adjacent hall instead.

Figuring that was likely the safer option, you checked the mirror once more to make sure his back was still turned.

You met his gaze in the reflection, and your eyes went wide as his lips curled into a wicked grin.

Fuck.

In a panic, you threw yourself out of view and knocked your head into the desk’s edge. The collision was certainly loud enough for him to hear, but you kept your pained whine quiet as you cradled your temple.

Your train of thought was quickly growing fuzzy, unsure of what to do or where to go.

Was it best to run?

What if he was faster?

Would your chances be better if you found another place to hide?

Probably not… He already knew where you were, and you weren’t sure where else you could even go.

All you knew was that you couldn’t stay where you were. If his eyes were still trained on the mirror, you would probably be better off going back the way you came. Maybe there was a gap in the crate that you could worm through to hide. It would be like you disappeared.

You turned back in that direction, and as you were about to dart back to the safety of your original hiding spot, two legs stepped in front of you.

You gasped, sliding to a halt just before you could crash into him.

Charlie’s father slowly crouched down to your level as you tilted your head to look up at him, eyes as wide as saucers. His smile was wide, showing off his large, pointed teeth.

“What do we have here?”

Next Chapter

♡ ♡ ♡

Tag List: @spookysisters @for-hearthand-home @crescent-z @mixplara @juskonutoh @tinywolfiegirl @lafy-taffy @glowinthedarkbones1150 @froggybich @darling-angel222 @preciousbabypeter

#lucifer magne #lucifer magne x reader #lucifer morningstar x reader #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel x reader #lucifer morningstar #demon summoning #occult #charlie magne #charlie morningstar #Vaggie #Angel Dust #Hazbin Hotel Angel #Hazbin Hotel Angel Dust

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xiexiecaptain · 1 year

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The biggest thing I've learned to help manage my ADHD in regards to getting things done is to Follow Those Impulses

(I'm not saying this will work for or is even a good strategy for everyone, but in my own situation it's helped me.)

I'm like allergic to consistency in schedule and cannot enforce one on myself so all it leads to is self-loathing and failure. Trust me, I've been attempting to will-power, shame-fuel my way through it since I was a preteen (I'm currently almost 30.) It does not work for me.

Obviously medication can give me a huge leg up on stuff. But beyond a certain point my brain is simply not wired for long-term sustained consistency.

As in many of my issues, I've found that working with myself gets better results than fighting myself.

When I follow those sudden impulses of interest and motivation, I get things done.

To the outside, I look absolutely haphazard. I'll pause a show I'm watching mid-sentence, stand up, and go empty the dishwasher because my mood/brain/chemicals *ping*ed that it was suddenly do-able and not a huge overwhelming task. Or I'll be putting away laundry and that *ping* will go off and I'll spend three hours re-organizing my closet.

To a neurotypical, this looks like distracted and disorganized behavior.

To me, it's following the way my brain naturally works in order to accomplish tasks.

My ADHD manifests in that I experience very small and unsustainable windows of motivation and interest. So when I feel that window crack open, doing the Thing right then (when the situation enables me to) can mean the Thing actually happens. Even if it's not the thing I'm "supposed" to be doing.

With a neurotypical in that situation, they might be putting away clothes and think: "Oh, I should organize my closet. I have time this weekend, I'll do it then," finish putting away their clothes, and then organize the closet when they had free time that weekend.

I used to try to do things that way too. Because it was how I was taught that "responsible, real people" did it, and had "finish one thing before you start another" drilled into my head. But I'm literally not wired to work that way. And I've been working on undoing that internalized ableism of believing one way of doing things is better and I need to change to adhere to it. I don't and shouldn't be expected to to my own detriment.

For me with the closet example, the weekend would come and I would spend 5 hours screaming at myself to stop working on whatever did have my interest in order to go organize the closet. Sometimes I might ended up doing it. More often, I would not be able get myself to do it even after all that. I would just sit there, yelling at myself, hating myself despite my brain literally not having the chemicals to initiate the activity (let alone follow through) and nothing would get done. Not even the thing I wanted to focus on instead.

The only thing I did accomplish was hating myself for not being able to do "simple" things like other people (read: neurotypicals.)

This is basically how I spent the majority of my schooling; doing simple tasks felt like running in sand. And I internalized all the messages that told me it was my own fault I couldn't run as fast and in as straight a line as those running on pavement.

The past few years, I've been trying to follow impulses more. And its honestly been really helpful.

I get more done even if it isn't a "consistent" amount or I can't always count on having a specific thing done by a certain date.

But the big thing is that I spend less time hating myself for not doing what I "should" be and more time actually doing things when I have the motivation for them. More shit happens, I'm undoing some of that self-loathing.

tl;dr: My advice for fellow adult ADHD-ers is:

Try to learn what your natural rhythms are and, where possible, try leaning into them. Without judgement, try working with your natural tendencies rather than battling them at every moment. See how it feels, see what you accomplish (and not just in the capitalistic "productivity" way--spending 3 hours hyperfocusing on researching the history of wheat germ counts!) See how your brain and body feel.

Your brain is wired different, let yourself operate different.

#adhd #add #neurodivergence #neurodiversity #adult adhd #adhd inattentive #adhd tips #adhd acceptance #original posts

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redpenship · 4 months

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Happy New Year! I’d love to know if you have any headcanons about Mobian culture and/or holidays, either based on things you’ve seen in the games/comics/movies etc OR just stuff you’ve made up for fun. :) Maybe this isn’t really your forte but I thought I’d ask haha!

Happy new year!

I actually don't have too many headcanons on Mobian culture itself. However, I do have HCs for their society in general which I guess would feed into the culture idea anyways. I'm just going to put all of it here because why not.

(Heads up: this post is 1.8k words long).

Thesis I: There is no Mobian state.

If you've read my fic Buzzsaw Dilemma, then you'll have already been given a basic run down on how I think this works. Since I like rambling about this kind of stuff, I will explain everything again, but this time with evidence from canon to support my theory!

To begin, it's always best to define what a "state" actually is. I prefer the Max Weber view as a state being an "organization with a monopoly on the legitimate use of force". Let's break down what this actually means with an example:

The state establishes a rule that you can't assault other people. One day, you feel that someone has wronged you and decide to punch them in the face. A police officer nearby notices this and responds by punching you in the face and detaining you. After spending the night in jail, you're charged with felony assault and the police officer is not. Why?

As a random citizen, you do not have a right to the legitimate use of force. You cannot punch people to get what you want with impunity. The police, as official arms of the state to use against domestic populations, do have a monopoly on the use of force. They can shoot people, put them in prison, and basically do whatever they want (within reason, technically, but the state doesn't like challenges to its authority and will always resist holding itself and its officers accountable for perceived illegitimate uses of force) because they're the only ones allowed to do so! Your boss at work can't kidnap you and hold you prisoner for a year because you broke a rule. The state can do that to you because it is seen as a legitimate use of force.

Now that we both know what a state is, I can explain why I don't think one exists on the Mobian islands. I am going to cite a lot of stuff from IDW since it's allegedly canon now and the games tend not to focus too much on day-to-day life on the islands anyways.

Point one: the Restoration. Since aid organizations apparently don't like working on the islands, which I suspect might be due to the Eggman Empire's fixed presence there, the Restoration was forced to step up after the war to fix up the islands. Although it's true that some states just don't give a shit about their populations, I don't think it's wrong to say that post-war clean up would typically be a job for an existing state. The lack of any central authority points to the conclusion that one may just not exist.

Here are some panels from IDW issue #42:

Here, Zavok is surprised about the lack of security at Restoration HQ. Master Zik explains that Mobians don't see a need to prepare for violence because they aren't violent to each other. This is an interesting assertion given Tails' backstory, but I guess his two tails were just that disturbing to the people at home!

The main takeaway here is that the islands don't really have security guards or police officers. I like these panels for that reason only. I'm afraid the reasoning provided by Zik still implies that police/guards would be necessary if there was violence among Mobians, so it's not really that revolutionary of a worldbuilding moment and realigns the comic with statist ideology.

So, let's summarize: the islands don't have a central authority. They don't have any means to enforce a monopoly on the use of force. Does this mean that they don't have a state? In the absence of government, does the Restoration pave the roads?

In my general opinion, yes. There are some instances that could be used to disprove this theory, such as the Everhold Prison seen in Bad Guys, which is seemingly guarded exclusively by dog Mobians:

The existence of a prison implies a functional penal system, which in turn implies that somebody on the islands has a legitimate monopoly on force. On the other hand, it's never explicitly stated that Everhold Prison is hosted on the islands, so for now I can still cope and pretend it never happened. Yippee!

Thesis II: The islands don't use money.

I hosted a poll on this subject a few weeks ago, in which I learned that most people think there's money on the islands. Allow me to argue otherwise!

The most common theory for the origin of money is that it came into existence because bartering for stuff fucking sucks and nobody likes doing it. Nothing has a standardized value, so if the guy in your village responsible for making shoes is a pompous asshole who makes ludicrous demands such as asking for FIVE bushels of wheat in exchange for a pair of shoes, even though you've heard the guy in the next town over only asks for three bushels, then you're shit out of luck and have to fork over all your wheat. Maybe the shoemaker is on a gluten-free diet and refuses to trade with you, so as a wheat farmer who only trades in wheat now you can't even barter for a new pair of shoes! Sucks to be you, buddy.

Under a monetary system, a bushel of wheat and a pair of shoes both gain a standardized value. A bushel of wheat is $1, and a pair of shoes is $4. After selling enough wheat that you have $4 in profits, you can walk over to the shoemaker, slap some coins down on the table, and tell him to get to work. Now, you might say, "wait, if you're in a captive market, can't he just charge whatever he wants and you have to deal with it?" The answer to that question is yes, but asking economic theorists to consider greed in their theories is a bit hard since they don't really care about fairness at all and still don't understand what's wrong with kids making carpets in factories since their hands are the perfect size for that sort of thing. All these stupid labour rights activists don't understand comparative advantages and it's sickening!

Here's the problem with an existing Mobian monetary system: it assumes greed! Or, at the very least, assumes that Mobians have normalized the hoarding of commodities for personal gain. I don't believe this is the case at all.

Let's recall Zik's statement to the Zeti: Mobians don't steal from each other because they are kind and compassionate to one another. I would argue that the origins of property/commodity ownership implies large-scale theft, as developing something like an apple orchard requires dispossessing your neighbours of a plot of land and claiming it for yourself. Then you grow a ton of apples on your land--that they once could have used as they pleased before you took over--and tell them that they can't eat any of these apples unless they give you something in exchange. But the apples are right there, bro, they'll complain. You can't eat all of those on your own. You'll tell them to suck it up and eventually they'll bring you items (or money) in exchange for some apples.

This doesn't seem like something we'd see the cute Sonic furries do to each other. Since we're talking about farming, here's a panel from there IDW 2022 annual where all the characters are helping out on some kind of communal farm:

Moving on, let's look at why Sonic hates Eggman so much. Eggman has always served as a representation of industrialization, environmental exploitation and degradation, and individualist greed. If the islands had a monetary system, and the ideals required to develop one in the first place, then a lot of what Eggman is attempting to implement would have already existed! Economic development requires exploitation, both of other people and natural resources. Money is the result of economic development. It just doesn't fit for me.

Thesis III: Equity as a norm.

This is basically the section on culture. Leading up to this section, I've established a rule: Mobians live in a stateless and moneyless society. Here are some cultural norms that might have lead to such a society in modern times.

Ecology as a priority. This is consistent with the environmentalist themes in the series, but also with the way that most Mobians we meet in the series seem to really care about the environment. My personal take is that they simply haven't developed the view that they are above nature, which is something seen in Eggman and other industrialists. In Sonic Prime, we see Thorn Rose react aggressively when she notices that her friends harming plants by taking more than they need from them. This may have been because they violated a strict cultural norm! Although this occurred in an alternate dimension, I like to think about its implications for the main universe, too. Is the cultural pressure to maintain and protect the land they live on enough to suppress industrial development? Maybe!

Conformity as a means of social cohesion. Generally, I think Mobian society demands a lot of personal sacrifice from people. A core tenant of collectivism is that you have to put up with not getting what you want most of the time, and sometimes this even comes at a direct cost to you. Maybe your neighbour stole your favourite toy truck and you can't complain about it or everyone will accuse you of trying to establish private ownership over something stupid. Or, maybe, there hasn't been a lot of rain this year and your communal farms are flopping. Out of desperation one day, you wander into the woods and find some bushes of edible berries that could help you survive better for the next few days. However, since eating while your neighbours starve would violate the ethical values imposed on your by your collectivist society, you must accept only having a few berries instead and sharing the rest with your village. If you're someone like Tails, who stands out because of a physical mutation, then tough luck if your village cares about appearances. Everyone knows your business and you're dependent on them for support. As soon as they decide they don't like you, you're going to suffer severely. Upsides and downsides to everything.

Alternate methods of punishment. A society without a state likely wouldn't have prisons. Building on the concept of conformity, social crimes would be mitigated through social pressure--basically, if you do something wrong, everyone will be mean to you and not like you as much as they did before. Fear of risking the judgment of peers is a very strong deterrent for most crimes, arguably moreso than prison itself.

Everything I've written here is my basic take on Mobian culture and society! In terms of holidays, I'm sure they have stuff relating to harvest times and seasonal changes.

Thanks for the question!! Sorry if this isn't what you wanted at all haha.

#yogacatdeskknit #sonic the hedgehog #redposts #long post

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bibbityboppitybillyharvgrove · 5 months

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Always There - Chapter Fifteen: S.Snape

Summary: Y/N Potter was left with a baby to care for after her brother and sister-in-law were murdered by Voldemort. One person was there for her, a person she didn’t expect but soon became her comfort person, Severus Snape. During Harry’s third year at Hogwarts and her third year as Herbology professor, a few old friends come around again. Y/N has to handle the feelings of these old friends being around again as well as handle her feelings for a certain potions master all while she tries to hide these things from her godson.

Series Masterlist

My full Masterlist

Pairings: Severus Snape x Female Professor Reader, Potter!Reader x friend!Remus, Sister!Reader x James Potter, Potter!Reader x Friend!Sirius

Chapter Warnings: Female Reader, Potter Reader(No physical description of reader) probably shitty writing, Harry growing up in a loving home, Umbridge, Fudge, Harry is a little shit, swearing, not proofread

Series Warnings: Female Reader, Potter Reader (No physical description of reader) probably shitty writing, OOC Snape, Harry grows up in a loving environment, mentions of death and murder, poorly written angst, Remus is a shitty friend, poorly written pining,

Please let me know how I can improve my writing and being more inclusive to POC as I am whiter than white. Please also let me know if I have to add more to the warnings! My messages are open as well as my asks!

I am starting a taglist so leave either a comment or something in my asks if you would like to be tagged in any of my works or just this series!

Author's Note: I know this is short but I couldn't think of anything else to write for this chapter, once it gets closer to Dumbldore's Army, I will go back to writing longer chapters.

Please let me know how I can improve or if you find any errors! Correct me, don't be afraid to! I want to improve my writing and become a better writer so any feedback or advise is welcomed!

Word Count: 806

My asks are open for questions, suggestions and feedback!

Feedback is welcomed and encouraged!

Enjoy!

not my gif

It was the day of her observation, to say she was anxious would be an understatement. Y/N had woken up early and skipped breakfast just so she could focus on getting the greenhouses cleaned up and organized before Umbridge had entered her classroom. As her first class filed in, so did Umbridge, still clad in pink. She was carrying a little notebook and a quill so she could write down things about the teachers.

“Professor Potter, how long have you been in this position?” Umbridge asked.

“I’ve been a professor for five years but I was Professor Sprout’s assistant for nearly ten,” Y/N responded gracefully.

“And you are in an intimate relationship with Professor Snape, is that correct?”

“I don’t understand what that has to do with you but yes, we’re in a relationship, have been for a while now.”

“How has the death of your brother affected you as a teacher?”

“Why are you asking personal questions like this? My brother died 15 years ago, not 15 hours ago,” Y/N retaliated back.

“Defensive. Do you favor students, like your nephew and his friends perhaps?”

“No, my nephew has failed assignments in my class before, as has Ron. I do not favor any student in my classroom.”

“Interesting. I shall sit in the back to observe your lesson.”

Y/N went on with teaching as she usually did, Umbridge watching her like a hawk. She treated Umbridge like any other student. She was demonstrating to her 6th years the proper way to handle wolfsbane but not risking having the students try yet. It was merely a demonstration for the students to be learning, it was one of her NEWT classes so they were more trusted to handle more dangerous plants. At the end of her lesson, Umbridge approached her with the observation.

“Although I believe that your behavior yesterday was highly unprofessional, you are a good teacher. You will stay on as Herbology professor but you act as you did yesterday, I will not hesitate to sack you,” Umbridge explained.

“Thank you professor Umbridge. I apologize for my behavior yesterday, you are right, it was highly unprofessional, I shouldn’t have shouted,”Y/N replied, playing into the woman’s game.

“I appreciate your apology, professor.” With that, the pink toad had left her classroom. Y/N waited a few moments before rushing to the dungeons to go tell Severus what had happened. By the time she got there, Umbridge was waiting out in the hall before it was time for classes to begin for the next hour. She rushed past the woman and straight to her partner who was surprised to see her.

“Hello, love. How did the observation go?” Severus asked.

“I get to keep my job! I mean I am on thin ice but she thought I was a good teacher!” She told him happily. Severus pulled her in for a tight embrace, kissing the top of her head and rocking them side to side.

“I’m happy for you love. Now go before the next hour begins. We will celebrate tonight if all goes well,” He told her with a smile on his face. She kissed his lips before happily skipping out of the room as his students began to file in. He chuckled to himself before returning to his desk, waiting for the rest of his students to enter and before the start of his observation. He knew he’d get a pass but he was still slightly nervous. However, Y/N was happily teaching her first years how to properly care for dittany and the usual properties of the plant.

As the end of classes for the day approached, her happiness hadn’t worn off yet. She was cleaning up her classroom after some messy second years, Harry had entered the room to hear his aunt humming as she cleaned. “Aunt Y/N? Can I talk to you?” She turned around to look at her nephew, a smile gracing her face.

“Of course my love. Come sit, do you want some tea?” She told him.

“No thanks,” Harry replied as he sat on a stool beside his aunt, “I want to apologize for what I said the other day. I get it, you’re just trying to protect me and keep me safe and I was out of line saying that to you. You are my family, you always will be, no matter what.”

“Thank you for apologizing, Harry. I understand why you said it but, you need to start thinking before you speak when you’re upset. Words can do just as much damage as your hands or a spell.” She motioned him for a hug which he gladly accepted. She finally felt like everything was falling into place, that everything was working itself out, that she was finally going to be okay.

taglist (if your user is crossed out it means I can't tag you)

@acupnoodle @chxelsxaa @fluffyrat365 @fanficwriter5 @atanukileaf @v3lv3tvampir3 @jspidey5 @mija-novella @leo4242564 @crazyunsexycool @livillain00

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gotafewtricks · 6 months

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Holy shit Hc's for a Kitsune!reader w kiriko? I think it'd be so funny and cute with how her spirit animal and reader might interact with each other 💀💀

Also hope you're having a good day!

(Might send a crap load of requests cause my brain can't stop coming up with things 😭)

★ O' fox spirit...

Hey !! I love getting requests, and if you're the same anon that requested Genji with a dog!reader, then I'll call you silly animal anon lmao :3 unless if you want to assign yourself w/ a name, that is!

With first impressions, Kiriko would've been pretty pumped about it all!

It wasn't an everyday occurrence that you'd see a yōkai out and about. If you are taking on a human form, then she'd know not to cross with you—not just because of your heritage, but because she knew wise you were! As she has practiced under many ceremonies relating towards the kitsune, she understood the nuances of those mythical creatures; how elegant, yet sly they were with their cunning attitudes.

Kiriko would be very understanding of many things, and would not go around and tell everyone that you were a kitsune—considering her most loyal companion is one, and there'd be no use in letting really anyone know about that without your permission—if you were secretive about it.

She'd love to know how you were doing, and would equally love the chance to strike up some small talk.

The girl would laugh at the silly interactions between you and her companion, always wondering what'll happen next.

Her fox friend would be very interested, I'm sure! I like to imagine that it doesn't appear very often, only in times of need (such as combat) then it'll be summoned. Or, around the comfort of Kiriko and her family. Not everyday you'll see a ghost, eh?

That's how she'd know that you were a kitsune; if you did not have anything outright screaming at her that you were one. If you didn't have the tail(s), ears, or a mask (though, she understood that people may wear them for just apparel), judging by the energy you give off—Kiriko would sense something. Also, it's terribly obvious if her kitsune is also reacting to it, as well.

If you were comfortable with turning into your animal form, she'd then lovingly sigh, as she's crouch down to level the height of the two foxes before her. She'd jokingly chide the two of you to behave; which you two do... sometimes. Causing mischief has never been more fun!

Kiriko would always respect you, and understand if you ever need your time and space. Spirits get busy, and she gets busy—so, it's only fair for her to try her best to ensure that you're okay.

She knows that you can take care of yourself; without needing anyone's help. Judging by your abilities and powers, you were older than the oldest businesses here in Japan that she could think of. If you needed help with anything whatsoever, specifically in reference to adjusting towards human life, she'd do her best!

If you were reluctant with interacting with others, she understands. Humanity is pretty terrifying at times; especially with the Hashimoto now clogging up the streets of Kanezaka. Kiriko would say that, even if those criminal organizations keep up piling on and on, if you were to try and persevere, and focus on the good you're doing now—it's worth it in the end. Even if you just make a few people smile, it's still worth it; even for those few people.

Kiriko would be all up for causing some fun-loving trouble, however, she will back out if things get too dicey. If you wanted to help her with the current yakuza problem, then sure! She'd hate to rope you into something that you may not want to get involved in, so she would want your ultimate consent.

Hanging out with her would be so fun! You're surprised by how she is able to think of so, so many things.

Having trouble with cleaning? She understands! Either that's helping you pick out the best shampoos for your fur, or brushing out and straightening it all—she's got you. Though, be careful about shedding everywhere...

Want to go win some costume contests for Halloween? You guys could go as, well, kitsunes together! Though, Kiriko may say that she'd rather go as something else; knowing she could excell in such a costume, the fox spirit, so she'll dress up as other things—witch, fortune teller, or cosplays from her favourite animes.

All in all, she would adore to have you—even if her hands were already full with her current fox, she's lucky to've been able to meet you.

#overwatch x reader #ow x reader #kiriko x reader #kiriko kamori x reader #kiriko yamagami x reader #x reader #gn reader #gender neutral reader #overwatch headcanons #req #reqs open

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maemisnippets · 15 days

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3rd ask for the week HAHAHAA

What if KEPLER became..tech students, what job will they pick as tech professionals?

Oooh interesting ask hmmm. Since idk how "tech-savvy" Kep1er is, imma try to answer based on my idea of their personalities and my idea of the personality traits that fit different jobs in tech. Here goes:

Yujin: UI/UX designer - She's creative and detail-oriented, and I think she can understand people's needs and preferences and knows how to adjust accordingly.

Xiaoting: Service desk - She's a not very patient person, as per every service desk person (jk). But seriously, I can't really think of Xiaoting as like a tech professional type, but she's very observant and detail-oriented, and can do anything she's tasked to do.

Mashiro: Project Manager - She's a natural leader and is very organized. She also knows how to communicate with different people and is herself a great example of proper work behavior.

Chaehyun: QA - She likes to focus on the smallest details. She's very thorough and meticulous. But what makes me think she'd fit well in QA is that she can be very brutally honest (xD) and she's not afraid to be straightforward.

Dayeon: Software Developer - She's a creative problem-solver, and is the type who doesn't stop until she solves the problem she's working on. But also she has a love-hate relationship with QA (Chaehyun) so it works out LOL

Hikaru & Bahiyyih: Tech marketing (idk if this counts lmao) - Can't really imagine these two working different jobs, so in this "imagine" they're gonna be partners-in-crime. Hikaru's a creative type I think and is optimistic. Like she knows how to see the bright side of things. Hiyyih on the other hand knows how to appeal to people, and she's more conscious of how they want to be perceived by people. Basically, Hikaru is more on product marketing and Hiyyih is more on brand marketing.

Youngeun: IT Consultant - Idk, she seems like the type to be naturally good at everything. She knows her shit, and can explain things clearly (at times). She's like the person you'd go to for help on different things and will deliver.

Yeseo: Technical Writer - She's a smart girl; she can research and understand complex topics and be able to explain things well. Of all members in Kep1er, I also feel like Yeseo would be the only one who would be able to put up with documentation LOL

#asks #siopaomew

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peach-fiz · 5 months

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I actually didn't even bother watching the second season of Loki because of the cheap marketing and inconsistent storytelling.

It just felt like the plot was lifted off somewhere it would have made sense, and a character with a similar ego was replaced with Loki and goes through an arc that might have made sense for a blank slate character, but not someone who already has a backstory.

Loki doesn't even feel like Loki after three episodes in S1. The whole point of having a show like that just seems to be about the TVA and Sylvie.

Also the whole genderfluid thing. They 'confirmed' it in the promo and had a line in the script that went completely against anything they just said.

I knew at once that the writers, directors and other parts of production were really just pulling it in different directions and it would probably sound like a jazz trumpeter and a metal guitarist trying to improvise after knowing each other for 15 minutes.

I've been meaning to watch it just so I can have educated opinions on all of it but it's just,, so hard to get into. I definitely agree the marketing was cheap, they did with the 80s McDonald's like they did DB Cooper!Loki and made it centric to the advertising because McDonalds was also getting something out of it which is kinda ass seeing as realistically Loki Laufeyson would burn 6 of them down before he ate in one 😭

I personally don't like either of the major ships in the show but the forced Sylki shit in season 1 really got to me. Like not only did she completely replace him as the main character in HIS show, she's also a variant of him who he wants to make out with and overall it just reads as lazy writing and it's extremely disappointing that Mike Waldron has been put in charge of Multiverse of Madness and The Kang Dynasty since, due to the popularity of the Loki TV show. I was talking to my boyfriend about this last night but it kinda reminds me of the complaints people had ab the last Indiana Jones movie but opposite? Like everyone complained his best friend's daughter was gonna replace him bc she's a Mary Sue and she rlly isnt, she's more reminiscent of Marion in Raiders of the Lost Ark she just doesn't wanna fuck him. But the difference is Indy is a character who's majorly blank for little boys to project themselves onto. Which is great!! It works for those kind of movies, but they're not character development centric like the individual mcu movies tend to be. Loki is characterized in a way that he's drowning in identity issues and family problems and he experiences growth in every installment whether it be positive or negative. It doesn't make sense to take the formula of an Indidna Jones movie where he meets up with a woman who's typically a love interest and has her own issues that are only slightly touched on because that's not the focus, and they go do the plot.

Sylvie is not an Indy Girl, they straight up are trying to replace Loki with Sylvie. And you can tell the character wasn't supposed to have as much importance as she does in the show bc the character was worked on more after the actress they chose was buddies with a producer ( and this is no hate to the actress I'm sure she's delightful everything I've seen her in in terms of interviews has been lovely ).

I also absolutely agree they should've just made a tva mini series to introduce the tva rather than bringing back a dead character who soon will not make much sense anyway because Tom Hiddleston is getting older (and also he deserves to branch out in his career).

The genderfluid thing was a cash grab and it sucks ass, they just want money for acknowledging things already canon in the comics, same with confirming him as bisexual.

My boyfriend is actually writing a fic on ao3 called Find Me that's rlly good if you want Loki content that isn't related to the show.

(YES this is shameless promotion sshhhhshshsh) but fr the loki TV show makes me more confident in my screenwriting bc t h a t got put on disney plus. I'm also working on a Loki show rewrite in my spare time!!

#kid loki #loki (marvel)#loki and thor #loki laufeyson #anti loki show #anti lokius #lokius #anti sylki #tom hiddleston #screenwriting #fic rec #loki fic #logyn #logyn fanfic #mike waldron #peachy rants #long post

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bettsfic · 9 months

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possibly dumb question but… what exactly is structural editing and how do you do it? i assume it’s shifting the order of stuff around in a draft but how do you do that to end up with a cohesive story that flows in the end? it sounds very daunting!

not a dumb question at all!

structure is, at its core, the organization of a story. for the most part, stories are organized chronologically. we are given information in the order of time passing, and often at the same time the narrator experiences it.

if your story is chronological, structural editing will mostly involve major turning points for the story, ensuring that your tension (even if it is a very loose tension) is escalating. for the most part, writers focus on the escalation of external events while drafting, but the internal escalation sometimes needs to be reorganized or totally re-envisioned. your narrator's epiphany lands after the sequence of events that would prompt that epiphany. i know i have a terrible habit of making my characters realize important things far too early, and in revisions i have to move that realization later, which, yes, involves cutting and pasting and changing the order of things, but also affects the narration based on what the character does not yet know, and sometimes even the action of the story.

so it's cyclical logic in that way, which is why revision can be so hard and frustrating: if you change the character's inner growth, that may affect their actions in the story. if you change their actions in the story, it may affect the rate of their inner growth.

an example is the fanfiction italicized "oh." in other words, the moment your narrator realizes their feelings for their romantic interest. let's say in drafting, you put it in the climax. the narrator spends the story grappling with their feelings, then realizing them, acting on them, and then the romance culminates in a confession and/or a kiss and/or sex, and the story ends.

but how would their behavior change if "oh" was the inciting incident of the story? if they figure it out during the exposition, or maybe even before the story begins, and spend the rest of the story pining, with some other conflict keeping them from expressing their feelings?

very often my developmental edits for people involve something like, "your resolution is the inciting incident of the story you're really trying to tell," which no one ever wants to hear. but it's a good practice when pre-writing to ask yourself if the end of the story you're trying to write is actually the end of the backstory.

drafting (or what i sometimes call the discovery stage) is the order in which your story arrives on the page, and revision is working with what you've written to figure out the order of what must be known. one of the hardest parts of writing is figuring out what your reader needs to know and when they need to know it in order to have the contextual information and emotional priming of what happens thereafter.

although i do very much love when weird shit happens that makes me go ??? and *then* i'm given context in a form of a reveal, or what i call an illuminating moment that casts light on the previous events of the story. many people mistake this for a "twist," which is when the story sets up an expectation and subverts it meaningfully.

of course, you're not obligated to write chronologically. in fact i don't anymore. i prefer framing devices, long backstories, multiple timelines, and alternating points of view that sometimes overlap in time and space. a lot of writing advice will tell you these things are bad. they're not. they're just hard to pull off, because it requires an extra step: telling yourself the story in the order it comes in, figuring out the cause and effect sequence, fixing the cause and effect sequence, and then figuring out the order you want the information to be revealed in beyond the constraining device of time. never let anyone discourage you from experimenting with structure. it can be fun and challenging as both a writer and a reader.

tl;dr: structural or developmental revision is the process of putting your story in the order of the clearest escalating tension and stakes, both internally and externally, with an eye on the organization of the information revealed in the story as the reader would experience it.

#writing advice #structure

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ohwell-itsme-but-danganronpa · 2 months

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Co-parenting Found Family

[Miu (has a baby), Rantaro, Tsumugi & Kokichi friend group, Saiouma]

Me: you ever read a crackfic one-shot and realize you'd want to read a serious longfic with the same premise? cause now I am thinking of this stupid.. pregnant Miu shows up to saiou's apartament, asking Kokichi for help but instead of going with the crap about her not realizing she's pregnant for this long, I would like it to be angst inspired by her lhs

Clown: Yessss!!! I read that one!!! Absolutely loved it, mostly because I'm a sucker for them navigating something like this so ridiculously

Me: I liked it too, the joke about her not being able to tell rubbed me the wrong way, but it was actually nice after that, I would read more of it if they write a continuation

Me: basically, Miu ghosts everyone for a few months, not that unusual, she can disappear in her projects, she pops back up to brag about the prize she got for it when she's done, but not this time, this time she shows up to saiou's apartment, severely pregnant and devastated turns out she jumped headfirst into a relationship with some guy, tried to go through with her baby-trapping idea from LHS, because, hello abandonment issues, and for a bit it looks like she's exactly where she wants to be, but then, only weeks before she's due the guy ditches, leaves some note about realizing he's too young to be a father, and he's gone also, I'd add https://archiveofourown.org/series/976308 friend group to the mix, so while Ouma is the first person she comes to, the whole gang unites to help her

Clown: The friend group coming together instead of another potential partner is clenches fist so good. Miu is someone who is pretty fixated on relationships, it's almost as though in her mind she won't really be completely until someone loves her that way. So to give her a chance to move past that in this situation is just so interesting AND ITS JUST SO GOOD! In my mind for her to come to ouma of all people. Because he provided some familiarity to her, some safe space where she can in her own way step back into her usual. And Ouma would low-key go "shit. I'd jump shit too" and shuichi sends him a look but doesn't dare say anything because he kinda agrees. And it's a complete wreck but it's good

Me: yeah, if it's platonic relationships being as important as romantic ones, if not put first (actually, love Kokichi kicking Shu out so he can focus on comforting Miu), I am an insane person unapologetically I just think. found family coming together to raise a child. like if you agree I've done it before with DICE adopting a kid and I'll do it again

Me: Kokichi would agree with being the father, he's going to use it to gaslit their other ex-classmates (I imagine this is a few years post-HPA) into thinking he's the one who ended up with a kid their friend group + Shuichi know the truth of the arrangement, but that's it she might have been in a state of shock when she suggested it to him, but he's embraced it he Will be "the ultimate dad", (she regrets coming to him instead of Rantaro or Tsumugi when she sees all the custom print tees he got) he's telling Kaito about His pregnancy and childbirth experience the next time he comes over, he's preparing stories when it's aliens that got him pregnant, but no it was actually one of those dinosaur foam pills he swallowed, unless… Kaito, who just wanted to eat lunch with Shuichi: Shuichi, who is a simp: [relieved emoji] he won't help you, Kaito

Aalliyah: He swallowed a watermelon seed

Clown: He's taking this so seriously jagdjdhs He laid an egg [pensive emoji] I love shuichi just going along with it. Everyone expects some sort of something from him and he's just "We planted him in our garden from a toe nail and-"

Ves: this is gonna be the most spoilt baby

Me: on some bigger (as in just about the whole class is there) reunion, (probably a regular event organized by Kaede, like a movie or boardgame night) they look to Rantaro, who's always been the most reasonable of their group, and he's just mentally in the hehe hoho I'm an uncle and doesn't have more to add, he's zeroed-in on the baby, will get back to you later, maybe. [replying to Ves] oh, absolutely Tsumugi is part of the problem, always making something but. there is always somebody who wants to carry the baby never left out of sight

Clown: How do the squad [sunglasses emoji] , eventually find out??

Me: I think after Miu cries herself to sleep Kokichi texts their group chat using their emergency code (sacred, extempt from lies) to get Rantaro & Mugi to come over the next morning so they can tackle it together because in reality, he's a little overwhelmed too, and in the moment doesn't know yet if Shuichi will adjust to this with him so they all eat breakfast together, reassure Miu that they'll be there for her no matter what, start making a plan, a shopping list, beginning of a schedule, then Kokichi has to take the first scary step of the plan - talk to Shuichi about it; but Shuichi is like: yeah, of course because how could he expect his boyfriend not to help out? this is literally why he loves him, of course he will go a little overboard when it's for his found family he knew he had to prepare himself for Something when he saw Miu crying on his couch, at least it doesn't involve committing crimes against whoever hurt her, for now.

Clown: It's a big step!! (And very sudden) Even if it'll be a shared responsibility It's an entire new person! One that ouma is already in his mind accepted he'll be there for. He wouldn't immeadiately expect Shuichi to agree to something like that on a whim, but to know Shuichi is willing to look for solutions, to stay and work through it with him without question because of course. Sobs. Yeah. They've GROWN!!! Planning would be hellish though. Oumas filling the table with hundreds of scribbled papers and everything. Yes absolutely we need to sign this bitch up for maternity classes. Fuck it, Rantaro you go too, check in with us later. Tsumugi!! Need 3 months of baby clothes STAT! SHUICHI!! you just sit there and look pretty…SIKE ERRAND BOY GET THIS FOR ME

Me: let's be real, he's the first to sign up for those parenting classes and buying books about it but yeah, he does make Miu go too, for sure

Clown: Yeah he would!! He wants to be prepared

Me: also not to take from egg's family au directly but https://eggs-can-draw.tumblr.com/post/711383943783579648/omg-i-just-thought-so-byakuya-would-be-like Togami's motherhenning = Kokichi here and, while this is all sweet, I think Miu also needs to get mental health help, get that girl some therapy, she needs to work out the flaw with her logic, because, while it was already proven wrong when the guy left her, she needs to be given alternatives and you know, I think she would struggle with her feelings about the kid, it was supposed to be her ticket to being loved, and the kid is certainly getting a lot of love, but… maybe she would want more attention for herself? how is she meant to score a relationship now? she's going to need help understanding that those people are her family and that she's already loved

Ves: yeah!!! i think kokichi would b pretty blunt abt it too he tells her to shape tf up

Clown: YEEEAHHH. Honestly having a lot of people helping her out, some who give out reassurance easier than others, is a good start. But she is in that place where she's looking for something else to latch on. Usually that's the kid. I feel like had she gone through this alone she'd be one of those mothers constantly flipping through "You ruined my life" and "your the only thing in my life that loves me unconditionally" towards her kid. Ouma definitely helps in the way that he doesn't sugarcoat a thing.

Ves: local cluster b morons try to make a child well-adjusted baby'll be ok tho i think

Clown: Yeah baby will be ok! Everyone gets therapy [gun emoji] by law

Ves: praying that includes whatever poor man miu fucked up RIP king the kid is gonna be FUNNY when it grows up tho

Clown: [2 sob emojis] they'll be the ultimate comedian

Ves: saihara please pretend to be normal they need a balancing influence

Apollo: That kid is gonna commit crimes and use the skills Shuichi teaches them to get away with it

Clown: Somehow they pick up only on saiharas ingrained need to find the answer to questions The question is what would happen if a fork goes into an outlet

Apollo: They manage to somehow get the baby proof thing off the outlet and Kokichi fucking dives to stop them

Clown: Miu is just "let it happen. This is how I learned!"

Apollo: Kokichi just looks at her, blood dripping from the cut in his forehead and mumbles about how 'That explains a lot' Kokichi acts like kids will be kids and thus they get injured so there's no need to panic but the kid trips and he freaks the fuck out Like the kid doesn't even fall over. They stumble slightly and Kokichi is instantly there

Clown: He's the doting one. He's sobbing going, "my god. Your going to hate me one day. I'll be cool!! You can do a drug!"

Apollo: Poor Shuichi wakes up to Kokichi sitting up in the middle of the night because he's stressing over if he's cool or not and Shuichi has to remind him that the kid isn't even a year old yet and thus, has no idea what cool even means

Beez: smh shuichi just lie to him and say he is

Clown: Shuichi for real he needs to know, is he the lamest guy at the daycare?

Apollo: He's too tired to lie right now. Kokichi bursts into tears because is this his way of saying he isn't cool?

Clown: The pure betrayal!! From the one he trusted most!!!

Apollo: It's 2 in the morning [sob emoji] Kokichi has to have his devices taken away because he's staying up searching up how to be the cool guardian Ves: miu and him fight over who's the cool one when the kid is older (it;s neither of them)

Me: I can see Miu and Kokichi arguing about which one of them is cooler, but it's definitely Miu who lets the kid get away with things (like not brushing teeth) to be cool, and would likely mean the letting them do drugs thing, Kokichi would scold her for that and then his version of cool is teaching them lockpicking and making the scary faces, which in turn, she tells him off for

Apollo: Kid says it's Rantaro and both of them decide that he must go /silly Rantaro is riding the high while running away from Miu and Kokichi

springbug: it [rising the baby] surprisingly goes well too sure the kid might pick up on swearing at the age of 5 BUT THAT'S OKAY

Apollo: I mean, kid's gotta learn at some point Okay but father's day at daycare and just Shuichi, Rantaro, Kiibo and Kokichi all show up [idek why Apollo added Kiibo to the mix, he wasn't mentioned before, I didn't skip anything like that]

springbug: "i'm the father" "no i am" "what are you guys talking about? i look just like them" "sorry ma'am, im actually the father"

Me: nah, daycare, kindergarten etc. people think Miu and Kokichi are divorced or something if they come together they probably have some of their barely censored banter; sometimes Kokichi comes in with Shuichi, or it's Shuichi who drops the kid off on his own while he's on the way to work, kid refers to him by his name and calls him "dad's boyfriend"; sometimes uncle Rantaro or aunt Tsumugi come to pick them up; both Miu and Kokichi love to act like they're a single mom, works three jobs when other kids' parents try to ask them about life, and sometimes complain about each other

springbug: imagine gonta taking them to the park and showing him all the cool bugs [smiling face with tear emoji]

Me: once the kid is a bit older they let Rantaro and Gonta organize a camping trip for them and their friends, Kokichi is crying when letting them go because he's a motherhen and his baby is growing up and not scared to sleep away from home and him because the bugs will kill them

Clown: Miu and Kokichi giving their all to be divorcecore so true Everyone has ideas of the outrageous affair that ended their marriage that never happened

Beez: u just know the tea is PIPING among the staff

Clown: They're picking sides for sure

Me: imagine someone on the staff is homophobic so one of those days when it's Shuichi's turn, he gets told that his gay agenda is the reason the kid has to live in a broken family he's so confused the asshole is dealt with, but the anecdote lives forever also, I think Kokichi is the parent that always takes the chance to help out at school when they ask for a volunteer to join the trip or some event at school idk, if it's an universal thing, but here it's common practice that when little kiddos go on trips around town one or two of the class moms are asked to join after the first time the teacher is like "does anyone other than mr. Ouma wants to join? [sweat smile emoji]" but he persists he's just a little to prepared for anything to happen and kids feed into that energy and it becomes entirely beyond the teacher's control

Clown: OUMA BECOMES A PTA MOM AKSHJDHD The children are the next in line to be a part of his criminal organization so he needs to see them regularly, duh

#ndrv3 #danganronpa #miu iruma #kokichi ouma #kokichi oma #oumasai #saiouma #shuichi saihara #rantaro amami #tsumugi shirogane #gonta gokuhara #made by me #writing prompt #writing inspiration #kaito momota #kaede akamatsu

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canirove · 4 months

Text

In The Name of Love | Chapter 7

Previous chapter | Next chapter

Masterlist

"Ferran, is this allowed?"

"Not really" he shrugs. "But you aren't the first girl we are sneaking into the hotel, and won't be the last" he smirks.

"What if they see us?"

"I'll deal with that, don't worry."

"And what if he doesn't want to see me?"

"He will, Val. For the past month he's been looking like shit again, like when they made him play every game under the sun. But you should have seen his face on the bus on our way to the stadium. His smile. That was my Pepi."

"You need to stop calling him that, he doesn't like it."

"I know" Ferran winks. "And this is his room."

"How did you manage to get the key?"

"I can be very charming" he smiles.

"That charm didn't work on Luis Enrique's daughter, did it?" I chuckle.

"I had not missed your witty comments, Val. Anyway, go make yourself comfortable, he'll be here any moment now. And try to fix things before fucking. Or first fuck and then talk. I don't know, whatever works for you."

"Thank you, Ferran" I say, rolling my eyes.

"My pleasure" he replies, taking my hand and kissing it like he always does before saying goodbye. "See you around, Val."

"Bye" I say, walking into the room.

Just like his own back home, it is an organized mess. There are shoes on the floor, a towel thrown on a chair, a phone charger hanging from the bed's headboard… And a book on the bedside table. "Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban."

"You've kept reading" I smile, touching its cover.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"You spend hours traveling and in hotel rooms. Why don't you pick up a book instead of playing FIFA all the damn time?"

"Because reading is boring."

"Not if you find a genre you enjoy. For example, what movies do you like watching?"

"Anything Marvel" Pedri says, his eyes fixed on the tv.

"Those are comics, you could read them."

"But if I've already watched the movies, what's the point?"

"Sometimes, if not always, the books are better than the movies."

"Sure. And 5-0. That will be happening in real life very soon" he smirks.

"Militao and Alaba won't allow it" I reply, sticking out my tongue. "But that's not what we were talking about. What other movies do you like?"

"I don't know… Harry Potter?" he shrugs.

"Have you read the books?"

"They are for kids."

"Said the old man" I laugh.

"You know what I mean" he says, trying to tickle me.

"Pedri, don't" I warn him, moving away from him. "But you've given me an idea."

"Tickling contest followed by sex?"

"No."

"Then I'm not interested."

"We are gonna have our own movie and book club."

"What?"

"You'll read a book, then we'll watch the movie together, and then we'll discuss which one is better."

"You won't be reading with me?"

"If I have time, I will. I promise."

"Ok…"

"Do we have a deal, then?" I say, offering him my hand.

"We do" he replies, taking it and using it to pull me against him.

"Pedri!" I laugh while he moves me until I am straddling him.

"Can we now have my tickling contest followed by sex?" he smirks.

"We can skip the tickling" I say, wrapping my arms around his neck. "But tomorrow we are going to a bookshop and buying you the first Harry Potter book."

"Fine" he sighs. "Can I kiss you now?"

"You can… Pedri Potter" I laugh.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"Val?"

"Oh, shit" I say, coming back from my memory, the book falling from my hands.

"What are you doing here? Who let you in?"

"Ferran" I say, standing up and leaving the book on the small table.

"Ferran, of course" he scoffs. "Was this his idea?"

"Kind of. I didn't want to sneak in, but I needed to talk with you, so" I shrug.

"Talk about what?"

"Us. Me. I want to explain everything to you."

"We can't talk while you are wearing that."

"What?"

"My shirt. I can't focus knowing that my name is on your back."

"Oh, sorry" I say, playing with the hem of the shirt. "I thought you would like it, but I can put on a jacket or something if it bothers you."

"It doesn't bother me, Val. Well, it does, but not in the way you are thinking."

"What?" I ask again, looking at him.

"It bothers me because you don't know how many times I've pictured you wearing it. How many times I've imagined us fucking while you only have my shirt on. And now here you are" he says, slowly walking towards me. "In my mind you are always wearing the Barça one, but oh well."

"That will never happen" I reply, my voice shaking a bit.

"I know" he says, getting closer. He's looking at me as if I was his prey, as if any moment now he will jump at me and devour me. And it is turning me on. Big time.

"Then…"

"Then we are gonna have to do something about this" he says, now just one step away from me.

"About what?"

"Me wanting to fuck you."

"Aren't you still mad at me?"

"I am. I'm mad. Disappointed. Sad. Confused. And fucking hard, Val. I want to bend you down on that bed and make you scream of pleasure while I see my name on your back."

"Then do it" I hear myself saying.

"But you came here to talk."

"We can talk later."

"You'll be too exhausted to talk after I'm done with you."

"Nothing like trying" I say, closing almost all the space between us, my heart feeling like it is about to explode inside my chest.

"Are you sure?" Pedri asks, arching one of those perfect eyebrows of his.

"I am. Are you sure you can do everything you are bragging about?" I tease him, moving until our noses are almost touching. "You kids like talking and then…"

"As if I had ever disappointed you" he laughs. "That was your ex, not me."

"There always is a first time for everything."

"Not with me, and not today. Definitely not today" he says before kissing me.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"Morning" I yawn.

"Good morning" Pedri smiles.

"Have I ever told you that I love your smile?"

"You've said that you like it, but I think this is the first time you've said that you love it."

"Well, I do. I love… fuck" I complain when I move.

"Sore, uh?"

"Yes."

"I warned you."

"Shut… ouch!" I say when I try to hit him.

"Do you need me to carry you to the bathroom or something?" he says with a teasing smile.

"I can do it myself, thank you" I reply, slowly moving to face him while trying really hard to not complain again.

"Are you sure you don't need my help?"

"I'm fine, Pedri. I've been this sore before."

"With whom?" he laughs. "I'm sure your ex never did what I can. Or made you feel the way I do."

"He didn't, no. But last year Emma convinced me to go to one of the classes she takes at the gym, and for the next four days I felt like this."

"So you are just out of practice, uh?" he smirks.

"I am, yes. A month of doing nothing, and look at me. I'm getting old" I sigh.

"You aren't old, Val" Pedri laughs. "And I can help with your fitness. Because I'm a professional athlete and all that."

"Of course" I laugh. "Anyway… Is it ok if we have that chat now?"

"Sure" he smiles.

"Ok" I say, taking a deep breath. "I've rehearsed this many times in my head, so let's hope I remember everything."

"There is no rush, take your time" he says, caressing my cheek.

"I have time, my plane doesn't leave until late in the afternoon. But yours?"

"That doesn't matter now, Val. Talk."

"Yes, ok. So, umm… I guess I should start from the beginning, right?"

"For example" he chuckles.

"So… Marc and I have basically known each other our whole lives. We went to the same school, same high school, same university… And I think I always had a crush on him. Like, I can't remember a moment before we started dating where I didn't think he was… perfect. He comes from a really good family, very posh to be honest. And he is charming, intelligent, super nice with everyone, handsome… The man every mother would like for their kid. And when we both were 15, he asked me out. We were in the same group of friends with Silvia and Isabel too, and half the girls in our high school were in love with him. But he chose me. The girl who didn't drink or partied, the one who knew Real Madrid's starting eleven by heart instead of how to do her makeup, the one who didn't dress fancy, the one who wasn't considered one of the hot girls but neither an ugly one. I was just… there. And he saw me."

"Because you have something, Val, I already told you. I still don't know what it is, but… It is there."

"Yeah, well, thank you" I smile, feeling my cheeks getting warm. "Anyway, after he asked me out we started dating, and that made many girls jealous, Isabel the first of them all. Looking at it now I can see that she bullied me for years, but back then I didn't understand what she truly meant with her comments."

"And Marc didn't do anything?"

"No, he didn't. I think he didn't notice either. Or that's what I want to believe" I shrug. "When we went to uni, Isabel was sent abroad, and during those years without her, everything was perfect. I had met new friends, I was loving what I was studying, and Marc and I were better than ever. But then we both finished our degrees, and everything changed."

"Isabel came back?"

"Among other things, yes. Even though we had just moved in together, I felt like our relationship wasn't going anywhere. Silvia had just met Pau for example, and I kept looking at them or some of our other friends and then at us, and something was missing. And then I found myself jobless. Marc had been offered a position on the bank where he had done his internship the moment it was over while I had nothing. I didn't know what to do, if I should keep studying or what. I even started having doubts about teaching, wondering if I had wasted my time and money on a career that I didn't truly like, on something that I wasn't made for. And seeing him thriving while I had all that in my head, wasn't helping our relationship."

"Did you ever tell him?"

"I tried, but he always was so busy…"

"And he didn't notice something was off with you?" Pedri asks, putting a lock of hair behind my ear.

"Never."

"What a shitty boyfriend, then."

"Yeah" I chuckle. "Thankfully everything started to change when I met Emma. Silvia had booked us a pottering lesson and she was there all alone, so we asked her to join us and we instantly connected. Back then she was working at an academy teaching extracurricular lessons with kids of different ages and that they were looking for people to cover for someone who had just retired. She asked me if I was interested, I said yes, and I suddenly found myself with a job and feeling alive again. It was as if all my doubts and fears had disappeared, as if I was me again. The only thing stopping me from moving on and enjoying myself again, was Marc."

"So you broke up with him."

"I did."

"How did he take it?"

"Really good. He said that we had made it to a point where we were more like flatmates sharing the same bed than boyfriend and girlfriend."

"But he never bothered to talk about it with you. He sounds like a bit of a coward, doesn't he?"

"He is, yes. After we broke up I moved in with Silvia, but I still wasn't feeling completely like myself. And then, the night at the opera happened."

"The night… I'm lost" Pedri says.

"Remember when I told you about the engagement party, that it was themed as a night at the opera?"

"Oh, yes."

"Well, six months after Marc and I broke up, he and Isabel were going on a date to the opera and sharing their first kiss."

"Six months?"

"Yep."

"He didn't waste his time, did he?"

"And neither did Isabel. The moment she found out we had broken up she was all over him. This was her chance and she wasn't gonna let it pass."

"And she didn't" he laughs.

"She did not, no. I was so angry when I found out. The person I had shared my life with for a decade was now dating the woman who had bullied me for years. And according to most of our friends, I didn't have the right to feel like that because I had been the one who had broken up with him."

"What?"

"Yeah" I sigh. "Anyway, a couple of years passed, I got used to them, dated some guys here and there and started to work at my current school, but I still couldn't let go of that anger, I couldn't close that chapter of my life. Then they announced their engagement, and I met you."

"And I made you forget."

"Exactly" I say, moving closer and caressing his cheek. "You were exactly what I needed to finally leave them in the past, to move on, to fully enjoy this new life I had started after breaking up with Marc. You made me forget about them and my anger, but also made me stop thinking that I was a failure because I had wasted the best years of my life with a man who didn't deserve me or because I wasn't getting married and having kids like everyone else. You were the key that closed that door, but also the one who allowed me to completely open the one of my new life. The life I wanted, one that was mine and no one else's."

"Then why didn't you tell me about Marc? Why didn't you tell me all this?"

"Because I was afraid, Pedri. Afraid of losing you because you are still young and knowing all this about me could scare you and make you run away. Afraid of opening up to someone again after everything I went through. Afraid because maybe telling you could open that door again and make me realize that I had been lying to myself, that he isn't in the past."

"And is he?" he says, wiping away a tear.

"He is. He definitely is, now I know it, 100%."

"Good. Because Val…" Pedri says, cupping my face and making me look him in the eyes. "I have feelings for you. I'm not sure about what they are exactly, at least not yet. I have never felt like this with any other girl I've been with, you know? But I do know that I want to be with you. And I want you to be able to trust me, to open up to me, to tell me everything and anything that worries you. I'm here for you, Valeria. I'm not going anywhere."

"Thank you" I smile between sobs. "But I like it better when you call me Val."

"What?"

"Marc always called me Valeria. Always. And I found it so annoying… Not even my mum calls me like that, only when she's angry with me."

"Ok" he laughs. "Then I will only call you Valeria when I'm angry with you."

"And during sex."

"What?" Pedri laughs again. "Is that some kink or something?"

"When you moan my name it turns me on" I smirk.

"Interesting" he smiles.

"Are we ok, then? Have we made up?"

"We have."

"Thank God" I sigh.

"That much did you miss me?"

"I did, yes. You can ask Silvia and Emma if you don't believe me. And before you say it… I missed everything about you. Not just the physical part."

"One would start to think that you've caught feelings, Miss Val" he says with a teasing smile.

"And one may not be wrong. But step by step, ok?"

"Step by step" he says before kissing me.

#pedri #pedri gonzalez #pedri fanfic #pedri imagine #pedri gonzalez fanfic #pedri gonzalez imagine #football fanfic #football imagine

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darkficsyouneveraskedfor · 2 years

Text

Worlds Collide

Request: I wish Andy would save his reader from her parents.

Warnings: this is a dark drabble and will include elements such as noncon, age gap, and coercion. Not all elements are explicitly flagged, proceed at your own risk.

Note on Sleepover Drabbles: keep in mind that these drabbles may not align with the overall storyline of the Campus AU as they will focus on matching characterisation to given requests.

I would truly appreciate any thoughts and reblogs on these drabbles in spirit of the sleepover. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend and thank you for joining me!

“You would’ve loved Barcelona,” your mother gives a derisive look in your cupboards, “oh, honey, all this sodium,” she takes out a packet of ramen, “do we need to hire you a chef again?”

“Mom, no,” you plead, “it’s fine.”

“Your father would have a heart attack if he saw all this. We pay very good money for you to have a private dorm but honey, you have to take care of yourself. We’re not going to be able to coddle you forever,” she reprimands. “And he is so sorry he had to fly out so quickly.”

You frown and hug yourself. This is what happens. You don’t see your parents for months, then they lecture you for hours about everything you’ve done wrong in their absence. Yet, you can’t argue. They pay for everything, they fund your existence, even if they resent it. You know they do; their trips, their focus on careers, you are just a regrettable obstacle they throw money at.

Your phone vibes but you ignore it. Too much screen time and she’ll start again. She takes a plastic bag and starts shoving food into it.

“Mom, what are you doing?”

“We’re going to get rid of all this and get you some fresh organic veggies,” she declares, “and they sell this boxed soup, it keeps very well–”

Another vibe. You bring your hand to your neck and tap your fingers. Her incessant nitpicking drives you to madness but the equally persistent shaking of your phone isn’t helping. It buzzes on the table as she babbles on about a Mediterranean diet.

You start to pace. You hate when she does this. You remember the exercises the therapist taught you. Yes, that was another expense, another way of shrugging off their parenthood. Obviously, you need counseling if you’re crying into your textbooks. Not a break, never, because you can never stop overachieving.

There’s a knock at the door. You freeze. Your mother looks over and you try to act like nothing happened.

“You’re expecting company?” she asks.

“No, it’s probably just my neighbour. It’s fine.”

The rapping comes again. She strides towards you.

“Mom, it’s fine–”

“Don’t be rude, I’d love to meet your neighbour. You never introduce me to any of your friends.”

“Really, she just always complains about any noise, it’s not worth it,” you lie as you follow her and swipe up your phone. Shit. Andy’s name fills the notifications bubbling across the screen. “Mom, just ignore–”

She opens the door and flinches in surprise. You deflate with knowing as she blinks dumbly and looks back at you as you hover behind her.

“Um, hello,” she chirps, “I think maybe you have the wrong door,” she smiles at Andy. As you look between them, it sinks in how fucked it all is. He’s not far off her own age.

“No,” his brows furrow and he looks at you, “you must be the mother.”

“Professor,” you say between your fingers, “please…”

“Professor?” your mother turns to you, “oh, oh, yes, you must be here to tutor her? Or maybe, some career guidance–”

“Ha,” his mother slants, “not exactly. We have a date,” he checks his watch.

You don’t. You don’t have a date because you told him your parents were coming. That argument hadn’t ended well for you but you thought it was enough to hold him off.

“Date?” she curls her lip, “no, that’s not possible. She’s… nineteen.”

“She’s an adult,” he says calmly.

“That is a clear conflict of interest. You teach law, you must be aware–”

“She is no longer in my class so no, it’s not.”

You slip your fingers into your mouth and bite down, panic swelling in your chest. Your eyes tear up in humiliation. No one knows about you and Professor Barber. No one. But you’re mother finding out, the disappointment in her eyes and voice, it’s too much.

“How old are you?” she snarls, “is this what you do as a professor? Prey on your students?”

“Not at all. In fact, I take care of her,” he says defiantly, “because no one else does.”

“Excuse me–”

“I know about your trip to Barcelona, you left her alone at Christmas. I know she never gets an answer when she calls you, I know that you have your assistant organise every part of your interaction with her,” Andy grips the door frame, “I know she needs someone and it’s not you.”

“Please,” you gasp as you cradle your cheeks, “go–”

“Sir, we are practical. Atheists. We do not celebrate Christina holidays. She has everything she requires.”

“How would you know? How long has it been since you saw her? Seven months.”

She blusters and looks at you, “are you fucking him? Really?” Your mother shocks you with her profanity.

“Mom, please–”

“Your father is going to be so disappointed,” she flicks her lashes dramatically.

“You and your husband should be disappointed in yourselves,” Andy declares, “now, if you’re done making your obligatory act of parenthood to your daughter, we are late.”

“She’s not going with you–”

“Are you going to stop us?” Andy drops his arm and steps closer, looming over her as she leans back in fear.

“Are you threatening me?” she utters.

“Hardly, I haven’t made any declaration of intent towards your harm,” he defines clearly, “I’ve asked a question.”

“You won’t go with him,” she turns to you and pushes the door blindly.

Andy stops it with his fist, the door quivering at his strength as he keeps it from closing.

“Honey,” he speaks to you, “get your purse.”

You stare at him and refuse to look at your mom. As much as you dread your mother’s disapproval, you fear him more. You scurry away and grab your purse and jacket. As you go back to the door, your mother watches in disbelief.

“You go with him and me and your father will be severely reevaluating your funding,” she warns.

“She’s a smart girl, she’ll find a way,” Andy insists as he reaches for you and guides you out into the hall, “besides, like I said, I take care of her.”

#andy barber #dark andy barber #dark!andy barber #defending jacob #drabble #dark drabble #dark!drabble #campus au #au #campus sleepover

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dottoreparadox · 4 months

Text

Theory: How did Dottore make his Segments?

To start off this blog, let's get right into one of my favorite living Harbingers.

That's right, it’s essay time, baby. Let’s fathom out how Dottore made his segments.

(Tl;dr included at the end if you only care about the conclusion and not how I reached it and what evidence I have for it because this shit gets looong. Over 3k words long, in fact.)

What we know about Dottore’s segments:

They were created by Dottore. Yes, that seems like a very obvious statement to make, but I do need to establish that these are not things he found but rather an invention of his own making. We’ll get into it later.

We have seen them referred to with the terms “segments” and “prostheses” in canon (also as “surplus” but that’s just Dottore being Dottore). A segment is defined as: “each of the parts into which something is or may be divided” while a prosthesis is: “an artificial body part, such as a leg, a heart, or a breast implant.”

I would like to make a note here that they are not referred to as “clones” despite the widespread usage of this term in reference to them by the fandom. I’ve certainly done it myself. It's important to note that they are not clones. Clones would imply that these are genetic copies of the original and/or organic in nature. This is not the case (I’ll get into the not organic argument in a bit). If they were mere clones, they would be their own person. Instead, these are “the eyes” that Dottore “placed in the dimension of time.”

They ARE Dottore. Not copies of him. Think of them more like time travelers in some kind of stable paradox rather than clones.

Also, they likely share a mind space in some capacity or other based on the overlapping dialogue we saw when Dottore erased his segments and the implications held in this statement:

“What did you see when you were imprisoned [by the Akasha]? You were observing me, and that's how you know I've long grown tired of their doubts and endless arguments. ”

The Omega build was able to speak to and listen to the other segments while he was in Sumeru and they were not present (having just sent the one segment that was helping him back to Snezhnaya).

(I would like to take a second here to clarify that while the many segments may have shared a mindscape of some sort, they were not a hivemind as we’ve previously seen in Genshin. A hivemind, as we saw it in Alhaitham’s story quest and as it is often used in science-fiction, is when multiple individuals all share a single “mind.” The segments all had their own minds. They could not have all been constantly arguing with each other if that was not the case. (Remember how the hivemind made by Siraj fell apart.) So they shared a mindscape where all their minds could touch, while keeping their own mental boundaries.)

Anyways, the shared mindscape is another important bit of evidence in proving they are not mere clones and are instead multiple versions of the same person. (Well... maybe. It could also be taken as evidence that they're all robots running using a single, remote central processor; but I don't have any evidence for this besides the likely shared mindscape; so I won't be exploring that theory further.)

Okay, now that I’ve quibbled excessively over the terminology around Dottore and his segments and brought up a bunch of interesting but kind of irrelevant points, let’s get into the actual purpose of this analysis and theory: how did Dottore make his segments?

The only direct statement we have to go on for answering this question is this line of dialogue:

“Segments are extraordinarily difficult to make. They require extremely rare resources and enormous amounts of time and effort.”

The time and effort seem like they go without saying for any kind of creation at the level of complexity as an entire functioning human being. So we won’t be going into a deep analysis of this part. Instead, let’s focus in on these “rare resources” and what they might be.

To start off, we need to establish what kind of work Dottore does. After all, if his specialty was in organic life, he would likely have made clones rather than what the segments are.

Let’s start with the one hundred percent confirmed work he has done rather than the speculated accomplishments. We have definitely seen Dottore work with:

Ruin Machines (the ruin guard factory we visited in Childe’s story quest, Zandik's legacy note series if that does end up being him)

God remains (Dottore invented Delusions and, at least in Inazuma, the Delusions were made using the Tatarigami energy left behind after Orobashi was killed. He also released the Tatarigami energy in the first place during the Tatarasuna incident. In the manga, he used god remains to suppress Collei’s Eleazar.)

Robots (Krupp in the manga, Scaramouche’s mecha body in game)

The Akasha (I’m not entirely sure how to define this one. God power? Cognition? Software? Maybe all of the above. But he could use it so well that he could edit people’s minds and trap Nahida’s consciousness in the Sanctuary of Suresthana, so let's put it on the list)

Human enhancement (based on the wise doctor’s pinion from the pale flame artifact set and just about every soldier we’ve seen from Snezhnaya. I’ve seen lots of comments along the lines of: “what are they putting in the water over in Snezhnaya to make everyone giant?” Yeah, the answer is Dottore. He’s doing weird shit to people again.)

Human cognition (this one kind of falls under the enhancement section above, but I felt his work with things like manipulating minds and dreams was its own category, see the second event in the Apple Island Archipelago. I can't remember if it was directly stated that Dottore made that machine... but it almost definitely was him.)

And more! (I’m sure we’ll learn about new and more exciting atrocities he’s committed as the game continues. Also I probably forgot something, oops.)

Out of all of that, the best basis for building a body would be his interest in machinery. This assumption is backed up by what we are told in the Pale Flame artifact set:

“"A human is nothing more than a machine of a certain level of complexity." Thus declared the youth from his lectern in the seedbed of wisdom. If one were to disassemble a part of this machine and make enhancements to it, Its performance could be greatly amplified. With or without a Vision, and irrespective of their physique or combat skills, "Enhanced humans" would surely display strength far beyond the average.”

Now, if we also pull on some evidence that is most likely to have been done by Dottore (even if it hasn’t been confirmed that it was him), then we can put stronger emphasis on his interest in Ruin Machines. Dottore is almost definitely Zandik from the Zandik's Legacy series of notes. Zandik was fascinated by the Khaenri’ahn machinery to the point that he was reprimanded for his interest in such dangerous technology. He was ultimately denied permission to bring parts of the Ruin Golems (or other Khaenri'ahn machinery, it's unclear) back to the Akademiya and instead had to help seal them up. (His interest could explain the Fatui’s later knowledge on how to reactivate a Ruin Golem that we used in the Tanit quests. Just a bit of further evidence on Dottore being Zandik.)

Pulling from Zandik’s Legacy again, we know that he wasn’t a member of the Amurta darshan, so I think it is fair to say that his interest here lies in machinery rather than human biology/anatomy. (Though, honestly, the darshans are so weirdly laid out that who even knows where any one topic of study will show up.) I’m not going to speculate here on which Darshan Dottore might have been in (that’s a future post I'm considering making) because I don’t think it matters due to the fact that we’ve seen three (or maybe four depending on how you count it) separate Darshans work with machinery.

Even if we ignore Zandik’s Legacy, we know that Dottore has definitely studied Khaenri’ahn machinery from Childe’s story quest where we visited his old Ruin Guard research lab.

I wish we had a better answer to exactly what he was doing there (was he just studying them? Was he making his own Ruin Guards?), but it is fair to say that he has likely formed a comprehensive picture of Ruin Guards due to the fact that he abandoned the research lab later on. He doesn’t seem like the type to leave a question unanswered, so he most likely figured out whatever interested him about Ruin Guards.

So if he understands how Ruin Machines work, he is capable of repairing broken ones using pieces from other machines (as mentioned in Zandik’s legacy notes),

"...It should be possible to repair this titanic machine's primary weapons system using components salvaged from abandoned mechanisms, but to avoid attracting the attention of the other team members, I have simply made some basic measurements for now."

and is capable of making human machines (Krupp in the manga);

then I think it is very likely that the prosthetic bodies created for his segments were made using Khaenri’ahn technology (or at least took inspiration from them because he found them so ingenious).

This actually might explain why his segments are so human. Ruin Machines specialize in biomimesis. Every single Ruin Machine we have seen so far (except the Perpetual Mechanical Array, but that’s based on the Algorithm of Semi-Intransient Matrix of Overseer Network (never make me write that out ever again, oh my god), so it’s still mimesis even if it’s not biologically based), has mimicked biological life forms including humans.

So the idea of using Khaenri’ahn technology to create a realistic human is not far-fetched. It would need some sort of skin to complete the mimicry, but that honestly seems much easier to create than the entire functioning robot (but I’m no robotics expert. I could be wrong about that) plus we’ve already seen evidence that Snezhnaya has that kind of capability. Just look at Katheryne. She’s some kind of robot but appears fully human. She might have even been a prototype for the segments. (Though she could equally be a creation of Sandrone's. We don't know enough yet to say. It's equally possible she is a collaboration between the two of them or that they both based their humanoid robots on Khaenri'ahn tech. If my theory about Sandrone's identity turns out to be right, this is actually highly likely.)

(A very human looking and acting robot, Katheryne is.)

Using scavenged Khaenri’ahn technology to build the body would also explain the rarity of the parts needed to build a segment better than the segments being made using purely Snezhnayan technology.

Just building any old robot would be easy for Snezhnaya. Based on passing mentions of their nation having things like trains, they are most likely in the midst of some kind of industrial revolution, so we know they can create intricate metal work with complex moving pieces and engines (also like, Katheryne, again). Plus we’ve seen the mass produced clockwork mecha from Fontaine. It’s not unreasonable to assume that, since Snezhnaya seems like it’s more advanced than Fontaine (compare Fatui elemental guns to the Fontaine muskets), they could produce something similar.

Pristine Khaenri’ahn technology, on the other hand, is a rare find and disabling machines that still work in order to get their parts would result in damage, possibly to the very pieces that Dottore would need. Likely, it takes a great number of Ruin Machines to build a single segment and on top of that they might require specific, potentially rare pieces (such as the Eye of the First Field Tiller that we found with Dainsleif, but that's just an example of a rare piece, not something I think Dottore actually needs to build segments) rather than the run-of-the-mill mass produced legions’ pieces. This is speculation though. We really have no idea about the full intricacies of Ruin Machines.

Now, I hope that was convincing enough on it’s own to establish that Dottore most likely used Khaenri’ahn technology or Khaenri’ahn inspired technology to build the bodies of his segments.

Because my closing argument is the model of what is under his mask and that is understandably not a reliable resource as it hasn't been seen in game.

I know the color scheme is off, but it does remind me of a Ruin Guard's eye. And I don't think anyone can deny that it's very mechanical, even if it doesn't look Khaenri'ahn per se. Before you dismiss this evidence entirely, may I remind you of the monster version of Dottore from the storybook.

Beyond the immediate similarities in the images, I would like to direct your attention to the single eye the monster has and the fact that it was wearing a suit to hide its true body. These are weird details to use if they just wanted to establish that he was a monster. The foxes were happy to accept a cat as a fox. Dottore didn’t have to have a fursona. And if he did, he didn’t have to be a strange, bird-like cyclopes. He could have just been a bird.

(Honestly, I just found myself caught on the detail of the single eye and was sort of confused by the decision until I saw that data mine/leak/whatever it is. I thought it was pretty cool attention to detail, even if they weren’t details we knew about yet. And don’t come at me saying Genshin doesn’t pay that kind of attention to detail. They absolutely do. I remember how Venti's Vision didn't glow in the Unreconciled Stars event because it isn't a real Vision.)

I wrote all of that and then reread Scara's 4th char story and it straight up says he got the segment's bodies from studying Scara, who in turn was based on Khaenri'ahn tech. So I guess I'm right, but not for the reasons I thought. OTL.

So if that’s the body of a segment accounted for, what about the aspect of time?

I’ll admit, his work with god remains threw me for a bit of a loop at first. My initial, tentative speculation was that he had somehow found remains of Istaroth, the god of time, and used them to get his different perspectives of time. This mostly came from the fact that Istaroth was the name of the god of moments in Greek mythology and that fit the idea of the segments very well. However, I am pretty sure this is not the case.

For one: we don’t even have definitive proof that Istaroth is dead. Well… maybe. Neuvillette’s story about Visions included this little gem: “all fragments of the primordial were driven to devour each other,” which might be a reference to the four shades, of which Istaroth was one. In that case, Istaroth would be dead, but the state of their remains, pardon my channeling of Cyno for a moment, remains a mystery.

(Get it? Remains? Cause they're remains that remain? I’ll stop now.)

Anyways, we don’t know exactly what “devour each other” might entail, so we can’t say for certain that Istaroth is dead. They might exist in a different form now instead.

For two: we have another, much more reliable, accessible, and established place where Dottore could have gotten different versions of himself from time: Irminsul. It is well established in canon that Irminsul contains the entirety of a person’s memory/data in Teyvat, and we also know that it is possible to visit Irminsul and access the data stored in it.

So the next question becomes: what proof do we have that Dottore used Irminsul? We’re going to go on a little side track about Irminsul really quick to answer this question.

Remember what Nahida said about Irminsul?

"Irminsul's inner region consists exclusively of torrents of information."

This inner region in question was noticeably blue. And as the quote above, plus other comments and observations made during our foray with Scaramouche into Irminsul suggest, all of the data stored in Irminsul takes on that same glowing, blue color.

This quest is not the first time we have seen the color blue in reference to memories obtained from Irminsul. Remember: all ley lines are roots of Irminsul. What blue phenomena do we see in relation to ley lines? Blossoms of Revelation.

They are described in the adventurer’s handbook as follows:

“A flower blossom known as "Revelation" which grows from the Ley Lines in response to someone's desire for battle. Perhaps the treasures within it can help one recall the perils that they have experienced once before… ”

Computer: zoom, enhance.

“Recall.” Blossoms of Revelation tap into the memories stored in the ley lines. We also know that ley line disorders can disgorge past memories from various quests and events. (Such as during the Caribert quest where we literally experienced our twin’s memories after the Abyss Order messed with the ley lines in the area. There were several others in Inazuma from what I remember but I don’t feel like looking up their names rn. It’s like 2:30 in the morning idgf. This is well established fact. Google it yourself.)

Also, it gives you experience books. Experiences are relived via memories. I really don’t think I need to go further into proving what’s up with the Blossoms of Revelation.

Now what does establishing that blue has to do with memories in Irminsul have to do with Dottore? Let’s take another look at Dottore. In fact, let’s look at every segment of Dottore we have seen so far. The versions from the manga and the game are pretty wildly different.

So what’s the one common point? That’s right. Their blue hair! He can have multiple versions of himself because he has blue hair!!!!

I’m kidding. I mean, that is a common point, but the actual important detail here is that earring.

The earring has held my attention for quite a while because it’s such a strange detail. Why does he have a weird glowing blue vial as an earring? Is it just to show that he loves science? I mean, maybe. We can’t rule that out. But I think it might be something more important. It is the one thing that was not changed between cow-mask Dottore and yassified Dottore. And it��s the same shade of glowing blue as Blossoms of Revelation and Irminsul's heart (and fruits and sapling fragments/information packets and-- I think you get the point).

So my theory is this: the earring contains some form of past data extracted from Irminsul. This is the “save file” that the segment is operating from. Or at least part of it. I’m not convinced Dottore put his entire “brain” into an easy target like that. If we look at the segments we saw in Sumeru, we see some other parts of his outfit with that same blue glow. So it’s more likely that this is simply some overflow or a backup or some other function I haven’t thought of. Or maybe he’s just bragging and it really is his memory drive sitting around as an easy target because he doesn’t think anyone is smart enough to realize what it really is. Fuck if I know.

I think it's also worth pointing out that Scaramouche seemed familiar with navigating the inside of Irminsul. Presumably, this means he's been there before on at least one occasion. (anyone remember if this is directly stated in the quest?) This would imply that the Fatui have had business with Irminsul before. So either they're editing time for their own reasons or Dottore made Scaramouche go fetch these copies of him for him.

And before you say that Scaramouche deleting himself from time means that Dottore couldn't make the segments without him, remember that fate is fate and always happens no matter which form it takes. If Scaramouche couldn't get the data for him, then it would happen in another way. The same applies for him getting the Segment's bodies from studying Scaramouche. (Also, I feel like if Dottore knows about Irminsul's ability to edit memories, he probably would have come up with a way to get around it? That seems very much in his wheelhouse. So we can't be sure that he doesn't remember Scaramouche. I have my own theories about the scope of Irminsul and how you might be able to dodge its edits by being in, say, the Abyss or another place outside Teyvat proper. So if Dottore stuck a segment in one of those places... But that's speculating. And wouldn't apply to the Scaramouche deletion anyways as he'd just erased them all.)

To sum it up: I think the Doctor is getting his past versions of himself by extracting copies of his own data from Irminsul somehow. Perhaps he has a way to make Irminsul give him fruits containing his own data from certain points in time. I have no idea how he's doing it. (If someone else has any ideas of how, please let me know.)

Now, before anyone comes at me all: "um actually we also see blue energy like that from Desheret's civilization, explain that." You're right. We do.

Primenergy (name stolen from Alain Guillotine) is indeed another possibility for what the blue light is. If it's Primenergy rather than Irminsul juice, then it's probably the power source that Dottore has decided to use to power the segments instead of azocite. Which I guess makes the earrings something like a backup battery? And leaves us with no clues as to how he's playing around with time. (Still probably Irminsul as it's the only thing we've seen such capability from.) But there you go. Possibility explored. The Segments could be a mix of Khaenri'ahn and Desheret's technology. It's as likely as any of my other ideas. Hell, it might even make more sense than it being condensed Irminsul juice.

I don’t know that we’ll ever actually get an answer to how Dottore built his segments as we don’t know if he’s going to build more or not. And even if he does, we don’t know that the game will go into how he’s done it. It’s not super relevant to the plot. This was just me satisfying my own curiosity and figuring some other people might have had the same question as me.

Tl;dr: Dottore built the bodies of his segments using Khaenri’ahn technology and put his mind in it using saved copies of himself from Irminsul, which are possibly stored in the glowing blue earrings he wears.

So there we have my theory on how Dottore built his segments. Please, feel free to give me your thoughts and possible refutations/further evidence (comments, reblogs, asks, in the tags, however you feel comfortable talking with me is fine). I would love to know what the rest of you think.

As for future areas I’d like to get some answers on, please hoyo, explain what the fuck he was talking about when he said “A long time ago, I made a major decision in hopes of preserving all my perspectives of how I observed the world.” What the fuck was the major decision? It can’t just be making segments. Does this imply that he had to do something to himself to become capable of making segments at all? Did it have to do with accessing his past records in Irminsul? Did he turn his original body into the first segment? Like, probably that last one, as he should be somewhere between five hundred to four hundred years old, but I demand answers!

(Actually, on that topic, I would really like an answer to whether or not there is a "prime" Dottore, as the fandom likes calling him. We don't actually have any clue what's up with his original body. We just know that all the segments except the Omega segment got deleted. So is Omega the last Dottore or is there still an "original" around as well? Or is Omega original Dottore and all the others are earlier versions of him as he never grew past that age?)

#genshin theory #genshin impact #dottore #dottore segments #yes i am aware some of my points are kind of shaky #i still think they're plausible with what we currently know

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fanartandfanfiction · 2 months

Text

HUMBLE chapter four

Summary: a fairly fluffy chapter of the blooming friendship between charlie and alastor. And we find out that Vox and Charlie have history....

“THAT FUCKER’S BACK!” Vox slammed the doors open to the large apartment he shared with the other Vees.

“Which fucker would this be?” Valentino asked without looking up from his phone.

“Who else?! The radio demon!”

“What? That grandpa’s back in town?!” Velvette’s jaw dropped.

“That’s not all. He’s teamed up with Charlie.”

Velvette and Valentino blinked at him. “Who?”

“Morningstar! Charlie Morningstar!” He was still met with blank stares. “LUCIFER’S DAUGHTER.”

“Oh, FUCK!” Velvette dropped her phone. “How’d you find this out?”

“Because he crashed our fucking date!”

His partners stared at him, and that’s when Vox remembered he’d withheld that little bit of information. “Yes, I went on a fucking date with her, ok?! Kind of.”

“Kind of?” Velvette asked.

“She thought it was a business meeting, even gave me a binder and a 45 minute presentation about her little hotel. But at the end of the date-“

“Meeting.” Valentino smirked.

“-she was totally into me. Things were progressing, I was making my move, and that red motherfucker shows up OUT OF NOWHERE and interrupts us. Charlie looked mortified, and then he’s got his grimy little claws all over her-“

“Is she fucking the radio demon?” Velvette asked.

“WOULD YOU LET ME FINISH?!” Vox’s screen flickered.

“Calm down before you fry your circuits again.”

“Sorry, he just pisses me off. Anyway, he’s got his claws all over her, and suddenly she’s calling him AL-“

“She’s totally fucking him.” Valentino smirked.

“NO! No, she’s not. She seemed upset that he was there. Anyway, turns out they’re business partners and running the hotel together. And then he just up and vanishes with her! FUCK!”

Velvette and Valentino exchanged glances. “I don’t get it.” Velvette finally said.

“Don’t get what?”

“Why you’re acting like a whiny little bitch right now over some girl!”

“She is NOT some girl.” He huffed and straightened his jacket. “It’s a long story.”

“Then give us the short one.” Valentino rolled his eyes.

“I fucked up the chance I had to go out with her a long time ago. And I’m not going to fuck it up again.”

“But WHY? What the fuck is so special about her?!”

“You wouldn’t understand! It doesn’t matter, my FRIENDS should be supportive of me!”

“We are, when you’re not acting fucking insane!” Velvette walked over to him and grabbed his shoulders. “We’re in the middle of a fucking turf war. We’ve got bigger things to focus on than your FEELINGS about some girl! Who, by the way, won’t want SHIT to do with you when she finds out about all your dirty little secrets. So I suggest you GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER, put on your big boy pants, and get the fuck over it!” Velvette stomped off.

“She has a point. She’s too good for you. And I don’t mean she’s out of your league, you’re leagues above her in my opinion. I mean she’s too kind hearted.”

“You don’t get it. That’s what I like about her.” Vox sat down and looked defeated. “She’s not like anyone I’ve ever met. She’s good. ”

Valentino sighed and sat by his friend. “Personally, I think she seems like a pain in the ass. And where do you think this is gonna go? You’re gonna date the holier-than-thou princess who wants to rehabilitate sinners? And she’ll just be ok with how we run things? No. She won’t. She’ll get in the fucking way. I gotta ask- why did she think it was a business meeting?”

“Because…I mentioned that the Vees were interested in investing in the hotel.” Vox grimaced.

“Are you fucking kidding me? We’re not investing in that shit hole!”

“You don’t have to! I will!”

“Uh-uh. You’re not attaching the Vees to this. We have a reputation. And doing charity work for the little do gooder doesn’t fit our image. So if YOU want to give her YOUR money, fine. But you’re not attaching us to this.” Valentino groaned. “Can’t you just fuck one of the blonde whores from the club? Or any of them and we can put a wig on them?”

“It’s more than that. You wouldn’t understand.”

“I really don’t. Things are so much easier when you leave feelings out of them.” He left Vox alone with his thoughts, and they drifted to the first time he’d met Charlie.

-a long time ago-

Well this sucked. Why did all the other demons get things like animal heads? He had a FUCKING TV SCREEN. He could hear the others snickering at him and making fun of him. He wondered how long he was obligated to stay at the party.

“Hi there!” A cheerful voice said from behind him. He turned around and saw an angel smiling at him. She had to be an angel, with her golden hair and bright white skin. She was gorgeous.

“Hi.” He gave her what he hoped was a charming smile.

“Welcome to hell! It’s probably not what you expected, right?” She giggled. “I’m Charlie! Nice to meet you!” She stuck her hand out and he shook it.

“Victor. Victor Octavious Xavier.”

“Wow, that’s certainly a mouthful! I should tell you, if you do want to change your name, this is your last chance. Not that there’s anything wrong with your name! A lot of people just want to choose something else.”

“Is that what you did?”

“Me? Oh, no! I was born here.” She gave him a nervous smile. “I’m…Lucifer’s daughter. Charlotte Morningstar, princess of hell. I don’t really like to lead with that. It tends to make people nervous.”

He let out a nervous peal of laughter. “You’re joking, right?”

“Nope. And I know what you’re thinking, isn’t Lucifer the big ugly red guy? But everyone forgets, dad is a fallen angel. Anyway, I have to give the orientation speech, but I hope to talk to you more later! Enjoy the party.” She smiled and walked to the stage.

“Welcome to Hell! I know you probably have a lot of mixed feelings right now. Maybe you don’t know why you’re here. Ooor maybe you know exactly why you’re here. Anyway, it can be scary to start over, which is why I host this welcoming event! I’m here to help you get your feet on the ground. To your left, you’ll find pamphlets of information about hell, as well as information about the overlords and districts, and some of the opportunities available to you. To your right, you’ll find answers to frequently asked questions! Also, counseling is available to you! Maybe you need to talk it out or just need a hug, but I’m here for you.”

“HOW BOUT A BLOW JOB, BABY?” A voice in the back shouted. Charlie let out a nervous laugh.

“Aaaanyway, you don’t have to go through this alone. I’m confident that if we all work together and try to make this place better, tomorrow will be a happy day in hell.”

She was met with a roar of laughter. “Is this bitch for real?!”

“Yep, that’s pretty much what I expected.” Charlie sighed and walked off the stage. He found himself following her to the bar as she got a drink and downed it.

“I really liked your speech. I think it’s admirable what you’re doing.” He smiled at her.

“You’d be about the only one.” She rubbed her temples. “It’s like this every week.”

“You do this every week?!”

“Yeeeeah. But I don’t mind! Even if I can make things better for one sinner, I’ll know that I made a difference.” She smiled.

“I’m sorry, I just…how are you here? You seem so-“

“Nice?” She smiled. “I’m the devil’s daughter. I can’t change that. But I can try to use my power and my knowledge to make things a little better. Dad thinks it’s a waste of time, but I don’t care.”

“I think it’s really great. You’ve certainly made me feel better.”

Charlie’s eyes welled up. “Really?”

“You have. And I think I am going to change my name.”

“Oh yeah? What did you have in mind?”

He gave her a small smile and took a drink. “Vox.”

-the present-

Alastor wasn’t sure if Charlie would be in the kitchen for breakfast or if she’d be avoiding him. He opened the door and saw her holding an egg. She tapped it lightly on the countertop and nothing happened. She tried again, a bit harder and frowned. CRACK! She’d pretty much blown up the egg.

“Fuuuuck!” She grumbled.

“I always use my thumb to puncture the middle, then pull it apart.”

She didn’t even jump this time when he spoke. “Shall I take over?”

“Thank you, but no. I need to cook an egg.”

“If this is about what I said yesterday-“

“Of course it is. And you’re right. I am HUNDREDS of years old and I can’t cook an egg? So I will!” She gave him a determined smile.

“Charlotte, I really don’t mind.”

“I need to do this.” She picked up another egg and whacked it on the counter, splattering herself with egg. “Why are they SO FRAGILE?!”

“Charlie dear, look.” He picked up an egg and put it in her hand. He placed his hand over hers and guided it, lightly tapping it on the edge of the pan. “Then you use your thumb to break the rest of the shell and pull it apart.” The egg plopped down into the pan.

“Nice! Thanks Al.” She began pushing the egg around in the pan, scrambling it. He watched briefly with amusement before pouring a cup of coffee. He fixed Charlie a cup too with a god awful amount of sugar and set it beside her. They were off to a good start.

“Delivery for Charlotte Morningstar.”

Charlie looked up in surprise. “Oh! That’s me.”

“Sign here.” A delivery demon shoved a clipboard at her.

“I wasn’t expecting a package. Vaggie, did you order anything?”

“Nope.”

The delivery demon headed out to a van and unloaded an embarrassingly large bouquet of roses. “Oooooh god.” Charlie watched with wide eyes. The demon brought them in and dropped them in the middle of the floor and left. Vaggie and Charlie gaped at it.

“Uh…that’s…wow.” Vaggie cleared her throat.

Charlie walked over to it and plucked the card off, though she knew who it was from.

“ Charlotte,

Please forgive me for my behavior last night. I hope you’d be willing to give me another chance. I must admit my interest in you isn’t entirely professional, but you should know that in no way affects my investment in your hotel. Voxtech will be investing regardless.

Give me a call sometime if you’d like to go out again. If you prefer to keep things professional, I can always send Valentino or Velvette to meet with you.

I hope you have a great day and that these flowers made you smile.

-Vox”

Charlie grinned at the note. “YES! Voxtech wants to invest!”

“And that required an elaborate bouquet of roses?” Vaggie asked skeptically.

“Oh, um, there was some other stuff too.” Charlie blushed.

“Charlie. You can NOT be considering going out with this guy.”

“I don’t know, he seems sincere! And this is a really sweet note.”

“I’m sure it is, because he’s playing you.”

“Is it so hard to believe someone would actually want to go out with me and not want something?!”

“When they’re a demon overlord? Yes, it is!”

Charlie was shocked. “Vaggie, why are you acting like this?”

“Because I’m sick of seeing you letting the wrong people in! You only end up getting hurt. You trust EVERYONE.”

“I’d rather trust everyone and be wrong than trusting no one.”

Vaggie was silent. She had an expression on her face Charlie couldn’t read, then walked quickly out of the room.

Charlie ran her hands through her hair in frustration. What was Vaggie’s problem lately?!

“Weeeell! Someone’s trying to make a good impression.” Alastor said, coming to stand beside her and look at the flowers.

“It’s…kind of a lot. I don’t really like things like this.”

“Flowers?”

“No, big showy displays like this. It’s basically saying ‘look at all this money I have to blow!”

“Roses ARE a classic symbol of romance, though.”

“I know, but…no, it’s sweet. I shouldn’t complain. Oh! The good news is thaaaaaaat:” she paused for dramatic effect. “THE VEES ARE INVESTING!” She handed the card to him with a grin.

Alastor read the note and his smile grew tighter. What was this asshole’s game? “Wonderful. Though it’s not my area, I believe this place could benefit from some new technology. It would draw people in.” He handed the card back to Charlie with a smile.

“Listen, now that I know your feelings on the matter, I won’t call him and we can work with the other Vee’s.”

“Nonsense! I can behave myself. Now, in what sense are you returning the call?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you calling the Vee’s, or calling Vox?”

Charlie looked conflicted. “Um… is it weird that I kind of want to call him? You know what, it’s weird. Never mind.”

“You should call him if you want to, Charlie.”

“But you-“

“There’s no reason for your personal life to affect our partnership. My problems with Vox are my own.”

“I mean it, Al. You’re more important to me. Your feelings matter.”

There was a loud crackle of static. “Oh Charlotte, don’t worry your pretty little head. Go out with him! Let him spend some of his excessive wealth on you!” He patted her on the head and left, leaving Charlie feeling confused.

A few days passed and everything was fairly smooth. Alastor and Charlie had breakfast every morning and worked together through the day. It was a perfectly normal platonic partnership. Until that evening…

“Hey Al, have you seen Angel?” Charlie asked.

“He left about an hour ago for work. Is there something I can assist you with?”

“Thanks, but this is really more of Angel’s area. It’s ok, I’ll figure it out.”

“Come on now, doll! What do you need?”

Charlie looked embarrassed. “…my date is tonight. And I don’t know what to wear.”

“Ah, fashion! I’m not entirely incompetent about it, I’d say I’m a pretty sharp dresser myself.” He gestured at his well tailored suit. “I’d be happy to lend a hand.”

“I’d really appreciate it. I’m not very good at this sort of thing.” They went up the stairs and Charlie walked in her room, while Alastor stood in the doorway. “Al?”

“Forgetting something, doll?” He held up his hand and it was as if there were an invisible wall.

“Oh! Sorry. Alastor, enter freely and of your own will!” Charlie grinned.

“Thanks, sweetheart, now I feel like Dracula.”

Charlie’s brows raised in surprise. “You know Dracula?”

“Of course! Excellent book by Bram Stoker. A delightful read!”

Charlie walked over to her bookshelf and waved him over. “It’s my favorite book. I have eight editions! I’m a sucker for a pretty cover.”

“You know, there’s a whole thing about not judging books by them.”

“That’s true. I just like collecting different versions. I like to see the different designs. This one is my favorite. It looks the fanciest.” She plucked a black book off the shelf with elaborate gold detailing.

Alastor let out an appreciative whistle. “My, my, that IS a sharp looking cover!”

Charlie put the book back on the shelf and opened her closet doors. He was taken aback by the enormous amounts of bright colored fabrics. “Oh my. Hurts the eyes a bit, doesn’t it?”

“I know, I really need to get rid of some of it, but who has the time?!” She began shoving mountains of fabric aside.

“And yet, I’ve never seen you wear anything besides that red suit.”

“I know, I just feel like it’s the most professional. This closet is full of stuff I’d like to wear. But that’s a separate issue. Ok, here’s what I’ve narrowed it down to.” She grabbed an armload of dresses and brought them over to her bed. “I’ve got a little black dress, a red dress, a pink dress, and another blue dress.”

“It’s difficult to choose without seeing them on you, doll.”

“Right! I just didn’t want to take up too much of your time. I’m sure you’ve got better things to do.”

“Such as?” He smiled.

Charlie blinked. “I actually have no idea what you do in your free time. I feel like I probably don’t want to know.”

“HA! You crack me up, Charlie girl! If you’d like to have our appointment tomorrow, I’ll show you.”

Charlie laughed. “That’s a funny way to say hanging out.”

“Hanging out?”

Charlie took her dresses into the bathroom to try them on. “Spending time together as friends! Which we don’t have to have an appointment for. Just ask!”

Alastor was perplexed. Were they friends? He supposed they were. “I was referring to our deal.”

“Ok! What time?”

“How’s 7 PM?”

“Sure! Ok, here’s option one.” Charlie came out of the bathroom in a little black dress. It was fitted and flared at the waist, giving her a cute silhouette, but it was short.

“Alright, very lovely. Though a bit short, don’t you think?”

“That’s what happens when you’re six feet tall.” Charlie smirked and headed back into the bathroom.

While he was waiting, he was DEFINITELY going to snoop around. He walked back over to her bookshelf and saw a picture of Charlie with a green demon. She had her arms around him and was grinning widely. The green demon just looked smug.

“Here’s the red one.”

He turned around and let out an involuntary crackle of static.

“Uuuuum, I don’t really know how to interpret that.” Charlie smiled.

“It’s a lovely dress. If you’re a STREET WALKER.” The dress was short, tight, and had cutouts on the sides.

“You don’t like it? Angel gave it to me.” She walked up to him and smiled widely. She did a slow turn to show him all angles. When she turned back around he was looking at anything but her.

“I don’t think wearing something out of Angel’s wardrobe really suits you.”

“What’s the matter, Al? Are you alright?” Charlie moved even closer and smiled sweetly up at him, but he saw the mischievous glint in her eye.

“Just fine, dear. Just worried about your modesty.”

Charlie couldn’t contain her laugh any longer. “I’m only teasing, Al. I just wanted to see your reaction. There’s no way I’d wear this ANYWHERE.”

“Then why do you have it?”

“Angel gave it to me. He said I needed a clubbing outfit.” She shrugged. “Onto the next!”

He continued to poke around her room, examining the different photographs. He stopped in front of a family photo and was surprised that she looked more like her father than her mother. She and Lucifer shared the same big eyes and smile.

“I feel like a cupcake.”

Alastor turned around and laughed. “You LOOK like a cupcake, doll.” It was a ballerina style dress and enormously puffy. She turned around and headed back into the bathroom. A moment later, the dress came flying out of the bathroom. “Just burn it, it’s awful!”

Alastor chuckled and picked up the dress. “What’s the story here?”

“A stuffy wedding.” She replied. He realized she’d left the door cracked open and he could see her. She was beautiful. He quickly turned away.

There was a knock on her door. “Want me to get that, doll?”

“Would you?”

Alastor walked over and opened the door. “Hello, Vagatha! How can we help you?”

Vaggie was stunned. “What are you doing here?!”

“Assisting. Did you need something?” He smiled widely.

“Yeah, to talk to Charlie. Is she here?”

“Yes, she’s getting dressed. Charlotte! Vagatha is here, should I let her in?”

“Sure! Out in a sec, Vaggie!” Charlie’s voice called out.

Alastor opened the door wider with a shit eating grin. The little moth girl was pissed. “Make yourself comfortable. Charlotte, may I make a suggestion? I don’t think we’ve had any winners so far.”

“Go for it!”

He walked over to her closet and began going through the clothes and humming.

“What the FUCK are you doing?” Vaggie glared at him with her arms crossed.

“Helping Charlotte select her outfit. She asked for my assistance.”

“I find that hard to believe. Outfit for what?”

“Why, for her date tonight!”

Vaggie’s face fell. “Date?”

“Ok, this one is pretty but kind of a pain in the ass.” Charlie walked over to them. It was a blue cocktail dress, but with a corseted bust that had to be laced up.

“Hmmm.” Alastor examined her and circled her like a shark. “I guess it depends on whether or not you’d like to breathe.”

Charlie laughed. “Well then you’d better find something better or it’s the black one! Hi Vaggie, what’s up?”

Vaggie looked stunned. “Oh, uh, I was going to ask if you wanted to do something tonight, but apparently you’ve got plans.”

“Yeah, my redo date with Vox is tonight. Didn’t I tell you?”

“No. I feel like we’ve barely seen each other.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry! I’ve been so preoccupied with the hotel. How about tomorrow night: you, me, pjs, and entirely too much junk food?”

“I’d like that.” Vaggie smiled.

“Don’t forget, I have you from 7-8, doll!” Alastor added with a smile.

“Yeah, it’ll have to be after 8. But that still leaves us plenty of time!”

“Are you sure you can work me into your busy schedule, or are you too busy hanging out with any other overlords?” Vaggie glared.

“Vaggie…”

“I’m sorry, I just…can we talk privately?”

“Sure. Be right back, Al!”

Alastor continued sorting through the racks of clothes and sent his shadow to eavesdrop.

“What are you doing, Charlie?!”

“What do you mean?”

“Why is the radio demon answering your door and going through your closet?”

“Because we’re friends, and I asked for his help.”

“You could’ve asked for MY help.”

“You hate this sort of thing. Vaggie, what’s going on with you lately?”

“I just…I’m worried that you’re letting the wrong people in. You’re so kind and I know you want to see the best in everyone, but you have to be careful.”

“I don’t really know what you’re worried about. Al hasn’t once tried to murder me or overthrow me. He’s been really kind.”

“EXACTLY! He’s NOT kind. Do you have any idea how many people he’s killed? How many souls he owns? He’s known for causing chaos and terror, so it doesn’t strike you as odd that he’s picking out your outfit like you’re girlfriends?!”

Charlie sighed. “He’s given me no reason not to trust him. And yes, I’m aware of the things he’s done, and I don’t expect him to change overnight and suddenly be a saint. But he’s here. He’s helping with the hotel. And I think it’s really unfair to keep treating him like this. I know you’re worried about me, and I’m lucky to have a best friend like you looking out for me. But I also need you to trust me a little bit. Alright?”

“Alright. I will. Just be careful, Charlie.”

Charlie hugged Vaggie tightly. “Thanks for being such a good friend. Think about what movie you wanna watch tomorrow night, ok?”

“Sure. Have fun on your date.” Vaggie gave her a weak smile.

Charlie returned to her closet and found Alastor holding up a light blue dress. “Give this one a try, doll.”

“Oh, that’s pretty! I don’t remember this one.”

“How would you know, with everything you have stuffed in here?”

“It seems a little…dated.”

“Just give it a shot!”

“Alright…” she took the dress into the bathroom.

Alastor wasn’t entirely sure WHY he’d created a dress for her. He just didn’t like the idea of her going out in any of those other so-called dresses. Charlie was elegant. Those dresses were not.

“It’s not my usual style, but… I think I like it!” Charlie came out of the bathroom and did a little twirl. The puffy blue dress flared out around her. He’d modeled it after a 1950s style dress, which was fitted up top but full at the bottom. Since it was a formal occasion, the neckline was off the shoulder.

“You look FANTASTIC! Just a few finishing touches…” he pointed his microphone at her and placed a delicate pearl necklace around her neck and fashioned her hair into a more vintage style.

“Al, you’re AMAZING! I might have to have you take over as my stylist instead of Angel.” She giggled and looked at herself in the mirror.

“Angel should not be giving fashion advice to anyone. I’d recommend not taking ANY advice from him.” Alastor came up and stood behind her in the mirror. “See here? Beautiful and elegant, without being provocative.”

Charlie started to move, then stopped and bit her lip. “Something wrong, doll?”

“I wanted to hug you, but I figured you wouldn’t-OOF!” He’d crushed her against his chest. Charlie grinned at her victory. He finally let her go and she smiled up at him. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, sweetheart!” His grin was genuine. “Though between you and me, this is all going to waste with that squawk box.”

“Speaking of…what are you NOT going to do?” She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

“Hmmm, I don’t know what you’re referring to.” He smiled.

“ Alastor.”

“I wouldn’t DREAM of ruining your little date, dear.” He tweaked her nose. “Why, I thought you were going to burn the hotel to the ground last time!”

“I just…I don’t get to do this much.”

“Do what, doll?”

“Go on dates. People aren’t exactly lining up to go out with the princess of hell. Most people think I’m a joke.”

“Those people, darling, are imbeciles. Total, utter idiots.”

“I mean, I get it. I’m different. And my dad is literally the king of hell, so the idea of having to meet him one day…he’s scared off quite a few boyfriends. A few girlfriends too. And friends in general…”

“Would this happen to be one of those boyfriends?” He summoned the picture of her with the green demon.

“Oh. No, dad didn’t scare him off. He was just an asshole.”

“Then why do you keep his picture displayed?”

Charlie took the picture and chewed on her lip. “He was important to me. And this night was important to me. Dad FINALLY let me go to a dance. I was so excited. I made sure I had the perfect dress…but it wasn’t a great night. I mean, it started out that way. This picture was taken early in the evening.”

She jumped when she felt Alastor’s thumb on her lip. “Stop that. You’ll chew your lip right off, young lady!”

“Nervous habit. Anyway, it was over after that night. But I kept the picture because, at the time, I was ridiculously happy. I’m not sure anything has made me feel like that since then. Being young and in love…it’s a powerful feeling.”

“I wouldn’t know.” He plucked a stray hair off her shoulder.

“Really? You’ve never been in love?” She looked at him with big eyes.

“Sweetheart, I never even LIKED anybody.” He grinned.

“No one? There wasn’t a SINGLE PERSON you liked? Tolerated, maybe?”

“I loved my mother. That was all.”

“I find it hard to believe there was not one single person you remotely tolerated.”

“Nope. Just me and my audience!”

“So radio was your thing even when you were alive.”

“Of course! That’s how I became the radio demon.”

“But Vox is a television demon and he has a tv as a head. You have fluffy ears.”

“FLUFFY EARS?” He scoffed.

“Or is that your hair?” Charlie got a wicked smile on her face and stepped closer.

“Careful, Charlotte.” He gave her a matching grin.

“If you’d juuuust let me touch-“ she reached her hand out and he grabbed it.

“You’ll have to try harder than thaaaat!”

Husk and Niftty looked up at the sound of a scuffle, which was coming down the stairs. There was a red blur as Alastor came streaking into the lobby with a blue blur after him. “Give up, dear!”

“NEVER!”

“What the HELL is going on?!” Husk shouted as the pair crashed through the lobby.

Alastor paused long enough for Charlie to leap onto his back. “HAHAAAA!” She shouted triumphantly. She rubbed his ears and smirked. “I win.”

“Holy fuuuuuuck….” Angel walked in the front door with wide eyes. “I’m gone for two hours and she’s jumpin’ strawberry in the lobby?”

Alastor and Charlie froze. Charlie was on his back with her legs wrapped around him, which he was holding to support her, and she had one arm around his neck and the other on his ear.

“Oh! Hi guys! This…is not what it looks like.” She let go of Alastor, but he hadn’t let her go yet. “ Al!” She hissed. He dropped her legs and she fell to the floor with a thump.

“It LOOKS like you’ve got a death wish.” Husk was still gaping at them.

Charlie stood up and cleared her throat. “Sorry, Alastor. I got a little carried away.”

“Quite alright.” He appeared to still be frozen in place.

“I, uh, better go straighten up before my date. Thanks for your help, Al!” She smiled brightly and headed up the stairs.

The lobby was silent. Alastor was still frozen in place, trying to process what had just happened.

“I SHIP IT!” Nifty screeched.

“You what?” Husk asked.

“It means to want two people to be a romantic thing, even if they ain’t.” Angel answered.

“I ship you and Angel!” Nifty said to Husk.

“The FUCK you do!” Husk glared.

“Relax, she also ships me and the strawberry pimp.” Angel gestured to Alastor, but he was gone.

“She say she had a date?” Angel asked as he sat at the bar.

“Yeah. She’s going out with that dumbass tv demon.” Husk answered as he slid Angel a drink.

Angel’s face paled (as much as it could, he was covered in white fur.) “WHY?”

“Fuck if I know.”

“I gotta talk to her.” Angel ran up the stairs to Charlie’s room and began knocking.

“Go away, Al! I’m busy!”

“It’s Angel, toots.”

The door opened a minute later. “Oh! Hi Angel. I thought you went to work?”

“I did, but Val sent me home early, which is why I need to talk to you.”

“Oh! Ok. Come on in.”

Angel began anxiously pacing. “Look, I don’t like to stick my nose where it don’t belong, but I’m worried. Vox is NOT a good guy. You’d be horrified if you knew some of the stuff he did. But I also know you’re gonna say everyone deserves a second chance or some bullshit like that, so forget it. But what I’m worried about is Val.”

“Really? Why?”

“Cuz I went to work like I always do, and Val tells me I’m gonna be working all night. Big surprise. But anyway, I’m there like two hours, we ain’t even really gotten started yet, when he gets a phone call. I could tell it was Velvette cuz that bitch is loud. She was yelling at him about needing to take care of something. Then suddenly Val has to go and sends everybody home.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Do you think Val, my pimp and owner of my soul, is gonna be happy about his business partner going after you? You’re like the anti-Val!”

Charlie absorbed the information. “But…why would he be so upset? I know we have our differences-“

“Because if you knew the things he did to me and the way the Vees treat people, you’d wanna take them down. Business comes first for Val. And if you’re a threat to it…”

“You’re talking like he’s gonna try to kill me.” Charlie snorted.

“He might.”

“Look, I know he wants to protect his business, but attacking the princess of hell would be incredibly stupid.”

“So he might not attack you. He might take it out on someone you care about.” Angel looked at her and she read between the lines.

“No. Angel, no. I would NEVER let something like that happen because of me.”

“Look, this could just be me being fuckin’ paranoid. Go on your date. Maybe he’s a charmer and I’m wrong about everything. And Valentino wouldn’t do anything right then. He’d just threaten you. But be. Careful. Why don’t you ask strawberry to play guard?”

“Because that would only make things worse. They have…issues. I’ll be ok. And I’m not completely helpless. Especially when it comes to my friends.” She hugged Angel tightly and he rested his head on hers.

“Look, I know I give you a lotta shit, but you’re one of the only people that gives a shit about me. And I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“I promise I’ll be safe. Thank you for telling me.”

“You’re welcome. Now what the hell are you wearing? You look like you’re from the 50s!”

Charlie was puzzled. Alastor had said his problem with Vox was that he’d hurt someone he cared for. So there WAS someone! She’d have to think about that later.

Alastor had been in his room trying to process everything that had just happened. The thing that confounded him most of all was the sheer JOY he had, running from Charlie and acting like an idiot. He hadn’t even minded when she caught him and touched his ears. It felt pretty nice actually. This was all dangerous, unfamiliar territory. He meant what he’d said. He didn’t even LIKE anyone. But somehow, Charlie had wormed her way in and planted a seed.

He was FOND of her. He LIKED being around her. It was weird. He didn’t like not having control over everything, and that included his feelings (or usually lack thereof) so having FONDNESS for another person was incredibly frustrating.

He felt like he should apologize if he’d made her uncomfortable. With what, he wasn’t sure exactly, but he saw the horror on everyone’s faces. He headed out into the hallway and was about to knock on her door when he heard her conversation with Angel. He stood there and listened, feeling anger begin to boil inside him. That disgusting, low life pimp had better not lay a FINGER on his Charlie-

Woah. HIS Charlie? Where did THAT come from? He didn’t have time to question it because the conversation was ending and Angel was about to leave. He knew one thing for certain:

There was no way in HELL she was going alone.

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel fandom #hazbin hotel fanfiction #charlastor #charlastor fanfiction #charlie x alastor

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