"They passed in autumn"
Autumn is not just an ending — it’s the quiet dawn of another cycle. Should be a piece for Augustarion Week 4: Astarion + Tav but I'm late
One Nice Bug Per Day
Noah Kahan

@theartofmadeline
$LAYYYTER
Misplaced Lens Cap
KIROKAZE
NASA
The Bowery Presents
Aqua Utopia|海の底で記憶を紡ぐ

No title available
🩵 avery cochrane 🩵
Monterey Bay Aquarium
todays bird
Interview Vampire Daily
Today's Document

Jar Jar Binks Fan Club
Sade Olutola
RMH
No title available
𓃗

seen from Malaysia

seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from India

seen from United States

seen from Chile

seen from India
seen from United States
seen from Canada
seen from United States

seen from Türkiye
seen from Australia

seen from United Kingdom

seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from Malaysia

seen from United States
seen from Canada
seen from United States
seen from United States
@purpleflower19072
"They passed in autumn"
Autumn is not just an ending — it’s the quiet dawn of another cycle. Should be a piece for Augustarion Week 4: Astarion + Tav but I'm late
HANDSOME AS HELL 😍😍😍🙏🏼🩷🩷
The juxtaposition of Shadow doing something incredibly violent in order to protect Y/N from something or someone attempting to harm them and then immediately turning around and in the gentlest way possible making sure that you’re okay and melting into your touch as you assure him that you are safe will never NOT throw me into a giddy haze and make me kick my legs like a school girl.
Chaos control
谁家暗黑派大星啊(不是
the 2005 cutscenes of shadow is by far the sexiest version of him
Leon Kennedy at the end of resident evil 4 probably,,
Here he is, the myth, the moment, the legend, the fakie - Señor Fakiepants! He might not know what he’s voting for, but he knows he needs your vote! Who’s gonna tell him it’s a raffle, not a vote? 🤣 He worked so hard on his photo shoot, I can’t ruin it for him! Thank you to clusterbuckcollectibles for offering a giveaway, Señor would love to be considered! Or voted for, whatever! 🤣
MN Mutual aid
Let's turn someone inside out
I actually do think we should discourage women from becoming housewives. Do not become financially dependent on a man. That's how a lot of women ended up dead over the years. A man gets violent suddenly and you have to choose between homelessness or potentially dying at his hand because you have an enormous gap in your resume and no degrees or certifications or anything that will help you pursue a career that will allow you to be financially independent. He owns your bank account. His name is probably the one on the car. Try and leave and he can report it stolen. Where will you go then?
Don't become a housewife.
And if you do become a housewife, take steps to protect yourself. Make sure you’re legally married, for starters; stay-at-home girlfriends have very little legal recourse to claim their partner’s assets in a breakup. Make sure your name is on the house deed/rental agreement, and have your car in your name, even if your spouse is paying for it. Have your spouse transfer money every month into an account solely in your name, so you can buy yourself things without needing permission, but also so you can save up to leave if needed.
If your spouse fights you on any of this, then don’t quit your job. The tradwife to poverty pipeline is real, and so is financial abuse.
also, many women/people experience controlling behaviour and domestic violence from their partner for the first time during pregnancy. don’t risk thinking “he’s just stressed, it’ll get better when the baby comes” because it won’t. neither you and your child will ever be safe with that man. get out as early and safely as you can
In case things go south, lie on your resume. You as a housewife have skills despite what capitalism says. Make up a company, stretch the time of your employment, and have a friend or family member pretend to be a former boss. Better yet don’t include dates on a resume. An employer doesn’t need to know any employment gaps. Your survival matters more than some white lies or withholding information. Of course when I say lie don’t lie about skills you don’t have, stretch the ones you have.
As aside, we need to get rid of capitalism like yesterday. You cannot be a feminist and be pro capitalism. There are women that fall through the cracks. I understand that OP wasn’t talking about disabled women but when are we going to? I have anxiety and ADHD and I am a housewife because employment is difficult. I last 6 months before I get burnt out. In the U.S. disability is difficult to get and a lot of women go undiagnosed for both physical and mental disabilities. Also disability does not pay people enough to live on and we currently have an administration that cut benefits. The fact that if someone on disability gets married then they lose their benefits is a thing here in the U.S. We need universal basic income, healthcare, child care, college, and housing. All of this would stop people from having to be at risk for abuse or poverty.
Also there are women who don’t have equal access to employment, certifications, or college because of racism, how they present their gender, or their sexuality.
In light of the PlayStation DRM news where any new digital purchase of a game requires a log-in every 30 days or they will revoke the license for the game you paid money for, I'd like to encourage everyone to purchase physical media. If you do not have the option of purchasing that game on a disc, sail the seven seas and do NOT give these greedy motherfuckers your money. If buying isn't owning, then sailing the seven seas isn't stealing.
Team Hero or Team Dark...which will you choose?
Journey back to the 2000s, a decade full of iconic rivalries, unforgettable stories, and yes...lots of adventure!
🎨: Yuji Uekawa
Throwback Thursday to the good old days
A fool in love
Lavender
Pairing: Shadow x Reader
Genre: Fluff, Comfort
Rating: G (General Audience)
Warnings: None
Word Count: 2K
A/N: This idea came to me completely out of nowhere, and I have to admit that I enjoyed every second of writing it.
--*--
It all started a few weeks ago. You had just arrived home from work when you noticed that the apartment was strangely very dark and quiet.
Not even the television was on at low volume, like Shadow usually did almost every day. That immediately caused you a great sense of unease. After all, as reserved and naturally quiet as the black hedgehog was, he usually didn’t leave the apartment in complete darkness without at least some sign of being there.
Surrounded by worry, you immediately went looking for him around the place, checking every spot where he could be, like the kitchen, near the coffee bean jars, or even taking a shower.
You only managed to find him in the bedroom, already curled up under the covers, sleeping deeply.
And even though he looked fine like that, you knew better. You knew your boyfriend better than anyone. He wasn’t normal there, you just didn’t know the reason why or when he would get better.
In fact, you spent the rest of the week just waiting for him to feel a little better. Sometimes he needed to isolate himself a bit to think about everyday things. But this stretched on for the entire week, increasing your worries.
Every day when you came home from work, there he was, under the covers.
“Shadow, love… do you want me to make you something to eat?” you would ask, uneasy.
“Don’t bother…” he would murmur sleepily, making you frown.
Besides not having dinner, you were absolutely sure he wasn’t eating properly in the mornings either. And this was lasting longer than you liked.
In the end, confronting him about it, which would be the option most people would take, didn’t work with the hedgehog, who normally didn’t open up much about personal things.
On the weekends, however, you started paying closer attention to him and how he behaved.
Sitting at the kitchen table, you watched him enter the room, deep eyes, messy quills, which alone already showed that he wasn’t doing very well.
The hedgehog walked with heavy steps to the coffee bean jar, but there was a small detail about him that didn’t go unnoticed by you.
All the time, he kept his brow furrowed and constantly rubbed the palm of his hand against his forehead. It took you a while to define exactly what it was, until you heard a small grunt of discomfort from him.
Then it clicked. He had a headache, and it didn’t seem mild. That, combined with the hedgehog’s exhausted posture, raised a clear warning sign for whatever was happening to him.
You knew that a headache alone wouldn’t be responsible for causing such a reaction in him. So what was it, then?
And that was when you decided to investigate more deeply what Shadow was actually going through.
But before anything else, you had to help him in that specific moment.
Quietly getting up from the chair, you left your hot coffee mug behind and slowly went to one of the drawers, opening it and rummaging through until you found the blister pack of pills, smiling softly as you looked at the hedgehog.
Slowly, you approached him, placing the blister pack right in front of him, near Shadow’s hand.
“Take one… it’ll help…” you whispered near his ear.
Immediately, you noticed the expression of shock and surprise that rose on his face.
“How…?” he raised an eyebrow.
“For your headache… take one now to help…” you finished speaking, turning back toward the table.
He stayed there for a few seconds staring at the blister pack, probably wondering how exactly you had managed to notice that he had a headache.
But it was easy. At least for you, who were used to observing and noticing every little detail about him.
You noticed when he shook his head, turning and deliberately walking over to where you were. He stopped just a few centimeters from your chair, red eyes fixed on you.
“You… didn’t need to…” he murmured.
“Relax, I just wanted to help you with that.”
He sighed, and for a second you even thought he might open up a little and tell you exactly what was going on. But he only looked away, clicking his tongue.
“I have to go… I’ve got a G.U.N. mission today…” That was what he said in the end, before, with a small snap, taking the pill from the blister pack and leaving it on the table beside you.
With the pill in his palm, he quickly grabbed a glass of water, took it, and hurried out without saying anything else.
Even though you didn’t find out anything concrete, at least you had managed to help him with something simpler.
But as soon as he left, you didn’t waste your day off, using it to investigate.
Your first suspicion was an excessive workload from G.U.N., always sending the Ultimate Lifeform on the most absurd missions possible. But you soon ruled that out. Despite knowing they overdid it with battles, Shadow didn’t seem to be working many hours in the last few weeks. It didn’t make any sense to consider that.
Just to clear your doubts, you waited for him to arrive later that day.
“Shadow… have you been working normal hours at G.U.N.?” you asked, trying not to raise too much suspicion about what you wanted to find out.
“As always… But overtime doesn’t bother me…” he replied, arms crossed, sitting on the couch, trying to focus on a movie despite his eyelids looking quite exhausted.
And once again, he went to sleep earlier than usual that day.
But despite everything, you didn’t give up on your goal.
That night, while you were lying on your side of the bed, not particularly sleepy, thinking about the hedgehog’s strange behavior, you noticed something.
At a certain point in the night, Shadow simply started turning from side to side in bed, unable to find a comfortable enough position. The constant rustling of his fur against the sheets and blankets went on for quite a while.
And you silently paid attention to everything, keeping still to pretend you were asleep.
He let out an annoyed grunt, and you felt the weight on his side of the mattress ease. He had gotten up, which you soon confirmed by the sound of his footsteps across the apartment floor.
The next few minutes consisted of him quietly moving around in the kitchen. More specifically, drinking a glass of water and staying there for long minutes, sitting at the table chair with his hand on his forehead.
But what exactly made him get up was what led you to follow him that night.
Leaning against the kitchen doorway, you observed his uncomfortable posture.
Slowly, Shadow opened his eyes, which had been closed, widening them when he noticed you there, awake.
“…Sorry… I didn’t mean to wake you…”
But you didn’t reply. You just slowly approached him, enough to wrap your arms around his neck in a warm hug.
He froze for a moment, quite surprised. But soon his gaze softened and he returned the hug, somewhat hesitantly.
“Shadow…” you whispered.
“Hm?” he looked at you, waiting for your words.
“You don’t have to keep things to yourself… you know that, right?” Your voice came out gentle and comforting to him, making his eyes widen once more, surprised by your perceptiveness.
“It’s nothing…” he murmured, trying to avoid the question as much as possible.
“Love… don’t give me that… you’ve been awful for days… come on, share it with me…” you tried to make him talk, hoping he wouldn’t just change the subject or something like that.
He looked away, sighing deeply, thinking about what he was going to say.
“…They came back…” his voice came out rough and heavy with emotion.
Immediately, you understood what was going on, feeling a pang in your heart for not being able to do anything about it.
“The… nightmares?” you said softly.
“Yes…” he gritted his teeth, growling as he remembered. “…Those damned nightmares…” He brought his hand to his forehead again.
The last time it had happened was a few months ago, but it hadn’t lasted that long. And if even then he had taken a while to tell you what was happening, this time he probably hadn’t even planned to share with you the deep pain those dreams caused him.
After all, dreaming every night about the Black Arms, and especially Black Doom, wasn’t easy, especially when it came with migraines and stress.
“You should have told me earlier… I’ve been so worried…” you said, your voice full of emotion.
“I… thought I could handle it again…” he confessed, huffing. “I didn’t want to worry you…”
“It’s okay… come on… I’ll scratch your head a little, maybe it’ll help you sleep…” You took his hand, pulling him back toward the bedroom.
Even though he thought he wouldn’t be able to have a comfortable night of sleep, that specific night, with your constant presence there, he managed to overcome the insomnia and the pain, finally sleeping through the whole night.
But even so, you were still worried about him. You didn’t know when the nightmares would end.
And that occupied your mind as you walked home from work. You had been thoughtful all day about it, wondering and thinking of alternatives to help him.
That was when, despite being distracted by your thoughts, you saw it. The possible answer and solution to all of it, purple and glowing in front of the shop. And you had no doubt then about how you would deal with Shadow’s problem.
It wasn’t guaranteed, but you definitely wanted to try.
That same late afternoon, you entered the apartment with a smile on your face and one hand behind your back, holding Shadow’s small gift.
Surprisingly, this time he wasn’t sleeping early. He was in the kitchen, slouched in the chair with a small book in his hands, trying to distract his mind with it until you arrived. The extra hours of sleep from the previous night had really made some difference.
“Hey, love, I’m home…” you announced, stopping at the kitchen entrance.
“…How was work?” he asked without looking away from the pages.
“It was good, like always…” you said naturally, entering the kitchen, still not revealing your surprise.
Slowly, his gaze lifted from the book to look at you, raising an eyebrow when he saw you had something hidden behind your back.
“What do you have there?” he asked, closing the book with the bookmark and setting it aside.
You just bit your lower lip, revealing the gift and placing it at the center of the table.
His eyes immediately widened when he saw the small, beautiful, delicate evergreen shrub in a carefully made clay pot, the contrast between the green leaves and the purple flowers standing out.
“Lavender…” he murmured, recognizing it instantly.
When you saw the plant in the shop, you immediately knew it would be perfect for him. After all, as far as you knew, that beautiful shrub was known for controlling stress and anxiety, as well as helping with sleep and headaches.
It seemed like the perfect combination for him at that moment. That was exactly why you didn’t think twice before buying it and bringing it to him.
And to your surprise, after a few seconds observing the little plant, he opened a subtle smile at the corner of his muzzle. He looked content, and that alone made every cent the plant had cost worth it.
“…Well… thank you…” he said softly, extending his hands to take the pot, bringing it closer to him as he continued to admire something so delicate.
To your even greater surprise, he slept peacefully through the entire night, not waking up even once, nor having nightmares, much less being afflicted by migraines again. Those discomforts never came back to haunt him.
Apparently, the plant had helped more than you expected, and now the hedgehog had a new hobby… watering the little lavender pot every day, with great care and appreciation.
You weren’t surprised when he became fixated on lavender and anything that had that same pleasant scent. After all, whenever he smelled it, he would obviously remember you.
And you couldn’t feel more grateful for being able to help so deeply the hedgehog you loved so much.
before 2025 ends heres shadow saying ass
I have now unlocked new dialogue for my fanfiction
Imitation of an Angel, picture of holiness Part 4
Pairing: Alastor x f!reader
Summary: Alastor and the reader were married in life. Then he got killed. They're reunited when the reader gets sent to hell but her appearance as a sinner eerily resembles angels in heaven. Read part 1 here. Part 2 here. Part 3 here.
NEW ORLEANS, 1933
The house was quiet when he stepped in, quiet in the way that made him straighten automatically, listening, reaching for every sound he could catch. After a day spent smiling too wide for patrons who tipped too little, bluffing men who wanted blood in the local station, and pretending he hadn’t caught the scent of rot on certain alleyways, the stillness of home hit him like a balm.
He hung his hat on the peg.
Then he saw your coat draped over the back of the sofa. He melted. He always did: pathetically, reliably, without resistance.
He loosened his tie in the hallway with a little sigh he would never allow another soul to hear. His shoulders dropped. His posture softened. The mask slid off his face like wax under warm hands.
He was just Alastor here. No smile he had to sharpen. No voice he had to hone to a clever edge.
Just a man coming home to his wife.
You were in the kitchen when he found you, humming, softly, absentmindedly, too sweetly for someone who had no idea their voice could unravel him like a loose thread. There was flour on your hands, a smudge on your cheek, and your hair pinned up haphazardly in a way that made his heart seize because you always did that when you wanted to concentrate.
You didn’t look up yet.
So he stared.
Shamelessly.
Pathetically.
He stood in the doorway like a man struck by something divine.
He touched the frame beside him, not leaning, not bracing, just grounding himself. You were rolling out dough. He could smell butter warming on the stove. He could see the little crease between your brows as you focused. And he felt that familiar, ridiculous ache in his chest.
The thought came to him the same way it always did:
He would kill for you.
He would die for you.
He would do anything, anything, just to walk into this room again.
“Chérie,” he finally murmured.
You jumped softly, then laughed when you saw him. “Alastor! I didn’t hear you come in.”
He smiled, his real one. Smaller, softer, not meant for the public. “I didn’t wish to disturb such a devoted chef.”
You huffed, amused. “I’m not a chef. I’m just making biscuits.”
“And yet,” he said, stepping behind you, “I would wager a month’s pay that your biscuits will be the best thing I taste all week.”
His hands slipped around your waist of their own accord. He always tried to pretend he wasn’t desperate for touch, but the way he pressed his forehead to the back of your shoulder gave him away.
You leaned into him easily. Naturally. Like you always did.
“You’re tired,” you murmured.
He exhaled. “Mm.”
“What happened?”
A pause.
He didn’t answer because the day hadn’t been bad, not by his standards. But it had been long. And loud. And he’d spent hours being charming and cunning and sharper than the people around him to get half of what they were handed, hours watching the worst of humanity and pretending it didn’t affect him.
But here he didn’t have to be anything but a man who’d missed his wife.
He shook his head. “Nothing of note, my dear.” Then, quieter: “I simply missed you.”
You turned in his arms, flour dusting his waistcoat as your hands slid up his chest.
He should’ve complained about the mess.
He didn’t.
You cupped his jaw. “You saw me this morning.”
“Yes.” He leaned into your palm like he’d been starving. “But it felt longer.”
Your smile softened. “Poor thing.”
He huffed, embarrassed by how relieved he felt at your touch. “Don’t pity me.”
“I don’t,” you whispered. “I adore you.”
His breath hitched.
He ducked his head just enough that his forehead brushed yours, embarrassed by how easily that sentence unmade him.
“You’re cruel,” he whispered, voice warm and frayed at the edges, “when you say things like that.”
“How is that cruel?”
“Because I never recover.”
You laughed softly, and he kissed the corner of your mouth.
And yet, even then, the fear lived in him quietly, hidden: that this was too precious to keep. That one day he’d come home and you wouldn’t be here, and the silence would swallow him whole.
But you never left.
And he pressed his face into your shoulder and held you tighter because of it.
The radio crackled as dusk settled over the house, the warm orange glow of the lamps softening everything into honey. You were curled on the couch, listening as the announcer’s crisp voice cut through the static.
“...residents are advised to remain cautious. The Bayou Butcher has claimed yet another victim. Authorities warn that he is armed, highly dangerous, and remains at large…”
You shivered. Alastor, seated beside you, did not. He leaned back comfortably, one arm draped across the back of the sofa, the other holding a small plate of pastries he’d brought home the previous day. The scent of powdered sugar and butter competed with the creeping unease curling in your stomach.
“…victims appear to be exclusively men over twenty found in isolated areas outside the city limits...”
“Here,” Alastor murmured gently, lifting a flaky piece of beignet to your lips. “Open.”
You gave him a look. “Alastor.”
“Open,” he repeated, amused.
Despite your worry, you obeyed, letting him press the pastry to your mouth. It tasted sweet, soft, familiar. Comforting.
Which was more than you could say for the broadcast.
You chewed, frowned, and finally set your hand on his knee. “You’re not even listening. The killer struck again.”
“I heard.” He offered you another bite as if that settled the matter. “And you, my dear, have nothing to fear.”
You pushed his hand lightly away, exasperated. “That’s not the point.”
Alastor tilted his head, smile warm, eyes half-lidded with affection. “Isn’t it? The Bayou Butcher only targets grown men. It’s very consistent. Organized killers often follow a pattern, and this one is nothing if not methodical.” He punctuated the sentence by brushing crumbs off your chin with his thumb. “You are quite safe.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re safe,” you shot back. “Why are you so calm about this? What if he goes after you?”
His smile sharpened a fraction, just enough for something glimmering beneath the surface to peek through.
“My love,” he said softly, almost laughing. “I can assure you, I’m in no danger.”
“You don’t know that.”
“On the contrary.” He leaned closer, voice dropping into that velvety murmur he used when he wanted to soothe you. “You’ve seen me hunt. You’ve watched me heft sacks of grain. You know I can shoot. I can track. I can handle a blade better than any man I’ve met.” He kissed your temple with gentle finality. “I’m hardly easy prey.”
You still frowned, unconvinced.
Alastor hummed and finally set the plate aside, choosing instead to pull you gently against his side. “You worry too much about all the wrong things, sweetheart.”
You crossed your arms but didn’t resist when he tucked you under his arm.
“Wrong things?” you repeated.
“Yes.” He brushed his fingers over your hair, slow and affectionate. “The killer on the radio is the least of our concerns.”
“Oh, really? And why’s that?”
His hand stilled briefly, just briefly, before he resumed smoothing your hair.
“Because there are far worse men out there than the ones they report on broadcasts,” he murmured. “Men who don’t make the news. Men who don’t follow rules or patterns or leave evidence behind. And those,” he tapped your knee lightly, “are the ones I want you to watch out for.”
A strange chill pricked your spine. You pulled back slightly to look at him.
He smiled at you with that familiar boyish fondness.
“I mean it, ma chérie. No talking to strangers. No wandering around alone after dark. If you need to go somewhere, you wait for me. Understood?”
“You’re acting like I’m the one in danger,” you said, confused.
“And you are.” He tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, voice turning firm in that way he used when he wanted the topic to be closed. “I want you to be cautious. Promise me.”
You hesitated.
He raised a brow.
“…Fine. I promise.”
Instantly, he softened again, pleased, leaning in to kiss your cheek. “Good girl.”
Heat flooded your face.
He pretended not to notice, though his smile said otherwise.
And as another grim warning echoed from the radio, he reached for a third pastry, lifting it toward your lips with a gentle hum, as if the world beyond your living room simply didn’t exist.
The mud was soft beneath his shoes, the smell of the bayou thick with pond rot and sap. Alastor wiped his sleeve across his brow as he tamped down the loose dirt over the corpse, his last corpse for the night, he told himself, and perhaps for a long while.
He was in a good mood.
An excellent mood, in fact.
The ritual with Rosie still buzzed pleasantly under his skin. That old devil of a woman was glad when he completed the summons correctly. The spirit had risen obediently from the hellmouth he’d carved into the dirt, and the deal had bound itself with a clean, efficient snap.
Power.
Guaranteed.
Upon death.
Not that he intended to die soon. He was far too young, too healthy, too careful.
But the world was ugly and full of idiots with guns, and he had no intention of leaving his darling wife unprotected should anything ever happen to him. No, if she ever ended up in that pit below…he would be waiting as the most powerful sinner hell had ever seen.
And if she ended up in heaven, as she deserved, well, then she’d never have to know anything except that he loved her.
He stepped back from the shallow grave, brushing dirt from his hands, mind wandering exactly where it always wandered when his work was done:
To you.
You’d been tired lately. The bed squeaked. Every toss, every turn, every shift in the night woke you, and then, of course, woke him, because he always woke when you did. You had mentioned it absently while brushing your hair that morning:
“I know it’s silly, Alastor, but I can’t sleep through the noise anymore.”
He’d kissed the back of your neck and told you he’d think about it. And he had.
He’d need to set aside some money. Replace the mattress. Maybe replace the whole frame. Perhaps he could pick up a second radio narration for the upcoming week, though the thought of dealing with those smug incompetents at the station made his jaw clench.
Still…for you, it was worth it.
He smiled at the thought of slipping into bed beside you later, your warm body curled against his chest. Maybe he’d get home early enough to see you before you drifted off. Maybe...
Crack.
A twig snapped.
Alastor froze.
The distant rustle of underbrush.
The harsh pant of dogs.
Boots pounding earth.
His fingers twitched toward the revolver holstered under his coat...but too late.
A lantern beam cut through the mangroves.
“Thought I saw somethin’ movin’ out here...”
“There! In the trees!”
Alastor stiffened, weight shifting, not panicked, but annoyed.
Men. Hunters.
Idiots every one of them.
He’d avoided them for years, slipped by unnoticed. But tonight his mind had been elsewhere, full of mattress springs and your sleepy sighs and the promise of coming home to you.
A grave mistake.
“Hold on, what is that? A buck?”
The lantern swung, its light catching on the curve of his silhouette, his tall frame, the slight shape of his hair the wrong shadow at the wrong angle.
“What the hell...? That’s gotta be the biggest damn deer I ever...”
Alastor opened his mouth to speak.
To correct them.
To mock them.
To step out and show them exactly who they were pointing their cheap guns at.
He should’ve ducked.
He should’ve moved.
But he hesitated, just one fatal heartbeat, because he was still half in the world of peace.
Just half a second.
But enough.
BANG.
The shot cracked through the bayou like lightning.
Alastor jerked...and then stilled.
He would've liked to say that his last thought was of your face. But no. It was just annoyance. At hunters. At himself, for forgetting how the world worked. Kill or be killed.
Then everything went black.
HELL: 1933 (to Alastor)
He woke to heat.
Not the swamp’s humid press, not the wet warmth of Louisiana summer air, but a dry, smothering heat that tasted like iron and smoke.
Alastor inhaled sharply and sat up.
He wasn’t in the bayou.
He wasn’t in his own skin.
He wasn’t alive.
He blinked, trying to force the world into focus. Mist curled through the barren landscape. The ground was cracked, glowing like veins of magma. A hiss of distant screams echoed like wind.
Hell.
He was in Hell.
The thought didn’t frighten him.
It irritated him.
He stood, dusting dirt from his vest. His clothes were clean. His hands…different. Clawed. His fingers tapered into elegant, alien shapes. Something heavy sat on his head, horns. Tall, sharp. His shadow twisted on the ground like it was dancing.
Death had changed him.
Fitting, he supposed.
He looked around: no bodies, no hunters, no grave, no swamp. The entire affair was finished, cleanly and without his involvement.
Which made one thing hit him like a hammer.
He hadn’t finished burying the body.
His pulse, whatever passed for it now, skipped.
The corpse.
Half-covered.
Fresh.
They’ll find it.
A low static hiss filled his ears, his own breath, unnatural now, like a broken radio searching for a station.
“They’ll find it,” he muttered aloud, voice sharper than before. “They’ll follow the trail. They’ll…”
They’d know.
The authorities.
The townspeople he’d lived among.
The coworkers he’d tolerated.
The neighbors he’d politely smiled at each morning.
They would know exactly what he had been doing at night.
And you...
His stomach twisted, a dry, hollow lurch.
She will know before anyone else. They’ll knock on the door, won’t they? They’ll knock and ask where I was that night. They’ll tell her the body wasn’t cold when they found it. They’ll ask why the grave was in the woods. They’ll ask her about my late hours, my absences, my “odd hobbies.” They will tear her apart.
His breath hitched, static warping around him again.
People would talk.
People would sneer.
People would whisper.
The killer’s wife.
She must’ve known.
She must have helped.
What kind of woman lives with a monster and doesn’t see it?
And you, sweet, trusting, gentle-hearted you, would face all of it alone.
While he was here.
His hands curled into fists.
He imagined you sitting at home, the radio helplessly buzzing warnings that now named him, his face plastered across news bulletins, posters, police reports.
He imagined the knock on the door.
He imagined your expression when they told you your husband had been killing men in the woods. That he’d died like one of his own prey, shot through the skull. That they’d found the body he was burying.
He saw you crumble.
He knew you would.
He knew you’d blame yourself.
knew you’d think you should’ve noticed something, knew you’d think your love had made you blind.
He squeezed his eyes shut.
He would give anything, anything, to be there. To shield you. To lie if he had to. To take the blame with his own, living hands instead of leaving it to strangers.
But he was dead.
And you were alive.
And you were left to drown in the wreckage of what he’d done.
A voice cackled behind him.
“Well, well. You’re early.”
Rosie stepped out of the shadows, all soft curls and wicked smile, parasol resting on one dainty shoulder.
Alastor’s eyes snapped open.
“You,” he said, breath shaking with something that wasn’t fear. “You didn’t say anything about this.”
She shrugged lightly. “Darling, I told you the deal would take effect upon your death. I never said you’d have any control over when that death occurred.”
His jaw clenched.
His shadow twitched like a snare.
“I need to go back,” he said.
Rosie raised a brow. “Impossible. You’re rather permanently here, sweetheart.”
“My wife is alone,” he forced out. “They will accuse her. They will tear her reputation to shreds. She’ll suffer for my sins when she didn’t...!”
He stopped.
Rosie’s expression softened, not kindly, not sympathetically, but knowingly, the way someone watches a man finally realize he has lost something that mattered.
“She’ll manage,” Rosie said. “Humans break. But they also bend.”
He ground his teeth.
Rosie stepped closer, tapping his chest with the tip of her parasol.
“And you, dear Alastor…you will learn to live with what you’ve done to her.”
He stiffened.
“You wanted power in Hell,” she mused. “And now you have it. But power never fixes the mess you leave behind.”
Alastor’s voice dropped to a razor-thin whisper.
“She deserves heaven.”
Rosie smiled faintly.
Almost sadly.
“Then pray she gets there when her time comes.”
He looked away.
He didn’t pray.
He wished, a fragile, trembling thing he’d never allowed himself when alive, that you would be spared any punishment for loving him.
But wishes didn’t change reality.
And the reality was this:
You were alone in the world above.
He was trapped in the world below.
And both of you would pay for the life he’d carved out with blood.
Alastor adapted to Hell quickly, almost suspiciously quickly.
His deal with Rosie held strong. Power built upon itself like a house catching fire. Sinners whispered his name before he even introduced himself. Overlords learned it the hard way, when their territory cracked beneath his heels and their shadows bent to his.
But it didn’t matter.
It didn’t fill the ache.
The ache was constant.
Like something tugging at the place where his heart used to sit.
Like phantom pain.
He missed you in the mornings.
When he would have woken to the smell of coffee and the soft sound of your humming in the kitchen.
Hell didn’t have mornings.
Hell didn’t have you.
He missed the domestic softness he used to step into when he came home exhausted, your hands pulling him to sit, your laugh filling the room, the warmth of your body against his.
Here, when he came “home,” there was only silence.
And static.
And shadows that twisted like restless limbs.
He missed your questions.
You always asked about his day, even though he lied through his teeth about half of it. You asked with such sincerity, such sweetness, as if every word mattered.
No one in Hell asked about his day.
No one cared.
They were too afraid.
He missed your voice most of all.
Your gentle chastising when he tracked mud into the house.
Your worried tone when he came home late.
Your warm laughter when he teased you.
You’d scold him when he forgot to eat.
You’d nag him to fix the squeaky bedframe.
You’d talk to him about the most ordinary, mundane things...
...and he would give every soul in Hell to hear them again.
Because above all else, you had been his dearest friend. Someone he could trust would never betray him. So even though he never shared his nightly activities, he considered you the one who knew him best, his favorite person.
You never pried, never tried to seduce him, didn't go around town asking your girlfriends how to ignite attraction in a man over tonic water and gin, didn't assume he was cheating. You simply let him be. Accepted his affection when he offered it, didn't question why he'd insist on sleeping in the same bed but wouldn't perform the marital act.
Nothing of the sort. He'd kiss you somewhere other than your lips before bed, and he enjoyed laying his head on your chest while you rubbed the back of his neck which sometimes felt stiff from leaning over the script and microphone at the radio station all day.
The radio helped. A Little.
He built a station from nothing, a tower of bone and metal and stolen tech. He broadcast his voice across Hell not for fame, not even to terrify the masses, but because talking into a microphone was the closest he could get to imagining you were listening.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” he would croon in that velvet-murderous tone.
Sometimes, in the quiet moments between songs, he pictured you curled by the old radio at home, listening proudly.
But then he'd remember.
You weren’t home.
You weren’t listening.
You were alive, human, grieving the monster you’d married.
He’d freeze.
Static would buzz louder.
His claws would tremble against the controls.
And he’d turn the volume higher to drown his thoughts out.
He avoided looking at his reflection.
One day, he caught a glimpse of himself in a shattered mirror, horns tall and sharp, eyes glowing, a predator’s smile stitched into his face.
He flinched.
You would have been frightened of this.
You would have touched his face anyway.
He lifted a hand to the glass, touching the monstrous outline.
“Would you have followed me here, my dear?” he whispered, voice cracking just once, barely audible.
The mirror didn’t answer.
So he smashed it.
Rosie always noticed.
“You’ve been awfully quiet lately,” she’d say, twirling her parasol. “Unusual for you.”
Alastor would smile politely.
“I’m simply…thinking.”
She’d laugh. “Thinking about your wife, you mean.”
He stiffened.
Rosie sighed, softly, almost pitying.
“She isn’t coming here, darling.”
He knew.
He knew that better than anyone.
You were good.
Too good.
Almost angelic, his only divine thing in life.
You weren’t meant for Hell.
You weren’t meant for him.
But knowing didn’t stop the longing.
So he kept killing.
Not for pleasure.
Not for sport.
But because every battle, every hunt, every overzealous overlord he tore down and absorbed power from helped keep him from thinking too hard.
He needed to keep moving.
Because the moment he stopped…the grief caught up.
His shadow would curl tightly around him and he’d stop breathing (if breathing even mattered anymore), and he’d think:
She must hate me now.
She must be terrified.
She must think I lied about everything.
I’d give anything to tell her it was only the killing I hid, not the love.
But Hell didn’t let him say it.
Hell only let him grow more terrifying.
More monstrous.
More alone.
Some nights, when the room felt suffocating, he’d speak into the dark.
As if you were sitting in your reading chair.
As if he hadn’t ruined everything.
“I hope…” he murmured one night, shadow curling around him like a blanket, “I hope they treat you kindly. I hope you’re not afraid.”
He laughed once, quiet, empty.
“You always said I needed to talk more about my feelings.”
A pause.
Static flickered.
“Well…that opportunity has passed, hasn’t it?”
But sometimes, before drifting into Hell’s version of sleep, he whispered the same thing every night:
“I miss you.”
HELL: PRESENT DAY
The decision not to think about it, redemption, heaven, leaving, had been mutual, quiet, almost contractual in the way your fingers threaded with his. You saw the tension leave his shoulders in increments, like a radio dial being turned down from static to something gentler. His shaking had eased. The room was dim and warm. The red-glow lamps cast soft halos across the floorboards. For once, Alastor didn’t bother turning on the radio. He didn’t need the noise.
You sat on the edge of the bed first. He hesitated a beat, an old nervous tic, that flick of his ear, the second of uncertainty, but then he lowered himself beside you with an ease he seldom possessed. He didn’t always understand what it meant to rest, but tonight he tried.
His tail flicked once. Twice. Happy, subtle, betrayed by the soft rustling sounds it made against the quilt.
You lay down, turning on your side. He followed instinctively, as if pulled by a magnet buried under your ribs. His hand settled at your waist, tentative at first, then firmer, curling around you with a kind of reverence he tried not to let show.
“There,” he murmured, voice lower than usual, radio-static softened to velvet. “Comfortable?”
You nodded, and he hummed, pleased.
A moment passed before he spoke again, quieter still. “You…won’t mind if I stay close, I trust?”
He said it breezily, as though it were a joke. It wasn’t. It was a request.
“Stay,” you whispered, tugging him closer by the lapel.
His breath hitched, barely perceivable, but you felt it where his chest pressed to your back. And then all his careful restraint broke, not dramatically, but in the deeply domestic way he buried his face into your shoulder. He wrapped around you with long arms and longer legs, a tangle of warmth and sharp angles that somehow held you perfectly.
You could feel him smiling against your skin.
A real smile. Not the manic showman’s grin. Not the one that meant violence or theatrics or threats dressed as pleasantries.
A tired, relieved, utterly besotted smile.
“Ah,” he breathed, almost sheepish, “I should warn you, my dear, I may very well be…insufferably content right now.”
You laughed softly. He pretended not to melt at the sound.
His fingers traced idle, affectionate patterns along your hip. Every so often, he’d nuzzle your shoulder or your neck, small, instinctive touches, as if making sure you were real. As if you weren’t going anywhere.
“Al?” you murmured sleepily.
“Yes?” He perked up immediately, too eager, too obvious.
“You’re happy.”
An embarrassed rumble vibrated in his chest. “…Nonsense.”
“Alastor.”
A pause. Then, a tiny, involuntary kick of his hoofed foot in the blankets: pure, unmistakable deer joy.
“…Perhaps,” he conceded.
You covered his hand with yours. He squeezed once.
He did not think about heaven. He did not think about redemption. He did not think about losing you.
He thought about your warmth beneath the blankets. About how you breathed. About how, for the first time since the bayou, since life, since death, since hell, he was going to sleep next to the woman he loved.
He tucked his forehead to your shoulder, sighing like someone finally home.
A happy deer.
For once.
And god, he clung to the feeling as tightly as he clung to you.
You woke up first.
Which was impressive, because Alastor had practically fused himself to your spine sometime during the night. One arm under your waist, the other draped over your stomach, one knee wedged between your legs, cheek pressed between your shoulder blades like he intended to hibernate there.
You tried to shift.
He only tightened his hold.
“Al…” you whispered, tapping the hand across your waist.
A groggy hum vibrated against your back, low, warm, and unwilling to move. His antlers bumped lightly into the pillow as he nuzzled closer.
“Five more minutes, my dear,” he murmured, voice still sleep-rough. “Or five hours. I am flexible.”
You turned in his hold, and that woke him up properly. His eyes snapped open, pupils dilating, ears perked. He looked thrilled, embarrassingly thrilled, to find you staring back.
“Good morning!” he said, possibly too loud for someone who usually didn’t breathe.
You blinked. “…You’re in a very good mood.”
“Am I?” He arranged his face into aloof neutrality. It lasted two seconds before he broke into a wide, toothy grin. “Splendid!”
He sat up abruptly, pulling you with him so fast your head nearly whiplashed. He was arranging your hair before you could fix it yourself, straightening the hem of your sleep shirt, brushing a thumb across your cheek like polishing a gemstone.
“You look radiant,” he declared. “Positively divine.”
You raised an eyebrow. “I always look like this.”
“Yes,” he said, absolutely smitten. “And it continues to ruin me.”
He reached for your feathers, instinctively grooming them the way he did every time he was anxious, affectionate, or both. This morning it was both. He fussed relentlessly, muttering things like, “Out of place, terribly undignified, I won’t have it,” even though nothing was wrong.
“Alastor,” you said gently, catching his hand. “Are you trying to charm me?”
“Always,” he replied immediately. “It’s a lifelong endeavor.”
“You already won.”
A dangerous thing to tell him.
Because he stopped. Completely froze. Blinked at you with a stunned expression like you’d just handed him the keys to heaven.
Then a violent tail wag. He tried to hide it behind a cough. Failed miserably.
“Well!” he said, voice cracking on the first syllable. “Breakfast!”
He practically teleported out of bed, straightened his suit, and held his arm out for you with the enthusiasm of someone presenting a marriage contract to the sun.
Everyone was already gathered, Husk already drinking, Angel sprawled over two chairs, Niffty darting around with a platter. Charlie and Vaggie whispered over coffee.
The moment you and Alastor walked in, still arm-in-arm, the room fell into silent speculation.
Alastor pulled out your chair for you like he always did, but today he practically bowed over it.
Angel choked on nothing. “Since when is Bambi the gentlemanly type? What, did you two...?”
Alastor slammed his hand on the table and smiled politely. Too politely. “Angel, darling, do finish that sentence. I’m positively riveted.”
Angel clamped his mouth shut.
You sat, amused. Alastor immediately shifted your plate half an inch to the left, for optimal placement. He adjusted your napkin. He poured your drink. He hovered behind you just enough that if you leaned back you’d bump into him.
Husk grumbled, “Why’s he bein’ weird?”
“This is normal,” Charlie whispered.
“No, this ain’t normal.” Husk pointed a claw at Alastor. “He’s glowing. Look at him. He’s like…like a happy swamp cryptid.”
Alastor, still beaming, replied, “I simply slept well.”
Angel cackled. “You look like you got...”
“Angel,” Vaggie warned.
Angel leaned back. “Alright, alright. But seriously, what’s got you all…cuddly?”
Alastor’s smile twitched. He did not want to say, My wife stayed with me.
He did not want to say, She didn’t run.
He did not want to say, I’m indescribably relieved and pathetically in love.
So he said briskly, “Nothing of concern!”
You rested your hand on his knee under the table.
He jolted like he’d been tasered.
Husk stared. “Oh yeah. He’s gone.”
You hid your smile in your cup.
Alastor pretended he didn’t notice.
a/n: In the next part, Alastor has to leave to go to an Overlord meeting. The Vees, still baffled by the brief announcement of Alastor's marital status and seeing his wife, attempt to dig deeper. Chaos ensues.
About the taglist, I will add you to it if you comment you want to be added to the taglist, but some blogs are not being tagged even when I add them! So if you aren't getting tagged, it's not because I didn't put you in! In that case, please follow my blog on your own to keep yourself updated on my fics. Every fic is in my Masterlist in the pinned post.
Taglist: @genderlessdude92 @th3-lady @shadow-pancake9 @el-hajj @sugarrush-blush @purplefluffycows @guessstrikeone @wonderlandangelsposts @krisamu @hungrynessforfics @feelya @fandomgoddes05 @vanillapinkrose @silverqueen24 @creativasahobby @auty-autumn @cyb3r-slumb3r @nishayuro @chimmie-darling @newbieschaos @theangryvaleria @ihatereiji @notshortscaramouche @diyanalovesturnips @mariii-0001 @mytrinketsandknickknacks @thebasicbiatch @tavie-tales @nobume-imai02 @bat-yo-us @mikadskny25525642 @akiqvq @mirxko @aluminum-canz @sseleniaa @tmrs-basilisk @applemalfoyday @loveforlangdon @dezzyartz-mh1228 @edudake
@toribug2020 @sxgacxbe @spooks-ez @sugusshi @jellypotato66 @tissaiasblog @whimsiecat @i-am-lokii-of-asgard @dahl14 @bibiii10 @alana1523 @ccoristu @petaltheory @starshapedteeth @hawke1917 @legendarypenguinbitch @crowleysthings @z0mbi345 @touyatodorokidefender @rafacoralova @lovingyeet @sirenitym @thatoneweirdgirl17 @starentityy @orangethecarrotcoloredpaperred @lstarryl
@a-midwinter-night-dream-86 @notlikeothernerds @cherry-4200 @paninibit @randomgirl-scrollinghere @misshale21 @whimflower @sam-quinn @mpoet @flirtysnakes @coos-coos @spookysisters @kiruoris @gummakie @fan-g0rl @moon-poe @heudhdie @zoleea-exultant @reader3 @izouizouletdownyourhair @dark-mark @sharkb0i11 @canine-main @luna327374747 @mukurochr @anastasia-426 @hallowungus @jamera-ash @detective-kitsune @savagedoggs @heavenlylostnagel @urdariingdoll @movvic @mantumuncher223 @nela222
@chaoticwitchfun @bontensbabygirl @thenorthnightingale @mightilycuriousglacier @sarraisme @fries11 @pinkielovespink @call-me-cheese @marvpottr @otakusimp1 @victoria2054 @frost20026606 @frvv @jackieispeak1 @lindsayjoy444 @caliscious @perfectlyloudgalaxy @b00b00b00baby @alana1523 @thecutienadq @the-simp-of-killers @titan-angel @izkayfleks @prettyboychoso @juskonutoh @sarah22447 @sammylazy @flirtysnakes
I love how soft Alastor is in this!!!