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ashintheairlikesnow · 4 years

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Daniel Michaelson: The Party

Anonymous said: Junior executive of the company purposefully setting off Danny to see what happens! Mwahahahaha

This was requested and I put it together! I can’t remember who asked me for this any longer, though. Who was it? IDENTIFY YOURSELF so I can tag you!

CW: Implied/referenced past noncon and violence, forced drinking, Trevor Corey is a dick to a trauma victim, PTSD/trauma flashback, emotional abuse (at the end)

Tagging my people: @special-spicy-chicken, @bleeding-demon-teeth, @spiffythespook

Timeline: Just before The Lucky Ones

“Do you remember me?”

Danny blinks, startled by the loudness of the voice so close by him. His grip tightens on the glass in his hand - rum, St. Germain, lemon juice, and sugar. Little edible sugar violet that had floated on top at first, but Danny ate that. Ryan hadn’t said a word about him drinking flower drinks again, only ordered himself his usual rum and coke and slipped back to the party with a wink.

Danny shouldn’t be here. He doesn’t belong here anymore, with these people - he never did. But Mom and Dad wanted him here, wanted to make a show of family unity.

Like there’d ever been any.

Still, they’d had dinner catered and paid for a bartender and Danny had put on the suit that used to be tailored and now was loose everywhere but his shoulders, even though he’d put some weight back on since he came home. Nate wasn’t here, though - the whole thing about him being at this party was that if Danny agreed to show up and wear his suit and be the dutiful returned long-lost son, they’d give him more money for Nate to go to speech therapy, too, to try and shake the stammer or at least control it.

It was the only way Nate would agree to think about trying to teach again, and Danny would do anything to help Nate start back on building a foundation.

So here he is, at a company party in his parents’ house, trying not to feel his skin crawl with the memory of the way Corrine had kept a hand on his back while reintroducing him to people who hadn’t seen him since a year before he went missing.

Danny had come in and carefully ignored the framed photos in the entryway, family photos, photos of Danny and Ryan as children, the blown-up photos from the People article about his adoption. Michaelson Logging CEO Finds New Purpose With Growing Brood: ‘Family is Really the Most Important Thing in the World’.

Danny had never met the aunt whose startlingly public meltdown and disappearance had been the reason he was adopted. Neither had Ryan - Kells Michaelson, Patrick’s younger sister, might as well have vanished off the face of the earth, although she still sent Christmas cards with no return address.

Wait.

Did he just remember that?

Danny felt a hint of a proud smile on his face, before the hard-edged voice interrupted him again.

“Hey, are you even listening to me? I’m talking to you. You really are a fucking space cadet now, huh?” The voice is a little annoyed, ragged at the edges, and Danny turns to look at who spoke to him and freezes.

Pale blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin, a flash of white teeth in a smile above a perfectly tailored suit.

(don’t tell me you’ve forgotten me, puppy)

(you haven’t been very good for me, have you?)

No no no

(even if I did let you go, I could be anywhere, at any time, you’d never be free)

No, please no

(don’t you ever fucking forget that you’re mine)

In the time it takes for his eyes to widen and his heart to start hammering inside his chest, he realizes it’s not Abraham at all. Abraham Denner is in prison, he thinks, reminds himself, chants inside his head like an incantation. It’s not him, not at all. Younger, his own age, with darker honeyed blonde hair and the eyes are a much deeper, darker blue. Nothing moves beneath the waters.

His skin’s pale, but it’s no paler than Danny’s, less freckled, still perfectly human. The man’s face isn’t eerily pretty like Abraham’s, but has a stronger jaw, a narrower mouth. At first he can’t remember who it is, but then his eyes light on the white teeth and Danny’s brain kicks up dust and supplies the white teeth are veneers, they cost Johnson Corey a pretty penny and were a birthday present for Trevor’s seventeenth birthday.

Trevor. That’s who it is, Trevor Corey.

Trevor Corey has hated Daniel Michaelson his whole fucking life, for reasons Danny never understood, and he’s staring right at him, now.

“T-Trevor,” Danny manages, his voice a little hesitant, shaking a little harder than he intends. Trevor’s smile widens at the recognition, and he holds up his own glass - just two fingers of whiskey, neat - and Danny’s hand moves without him, clinking the glasses together.

Cheers, now what the fuck do you want?

(don’t be rude, puppy)

I’m sorry, I’ll be good

“You do remember me. They said your memory’s fucked all to hell from the blows to the head.” Trevor looks away from him, down the hall and through the doorway at the crowd in the great big dining room. Most of the executives are in the far corner talking animatedly about something that just happened in Japan, while the executive kids (Trevor and Danny being the oldest, the other two dozen or so filtering down year by year to the youngest, little Nathalie - how do I remember all of this but I forgot that I owned a laptop before Abraham found me?) are scattered around the room chatting.

Ryan’s nowhere to be seen - studiously avoiding a group of people that he keeps reminding Danny are his ex’s family and Danny doesn’t remember a single one of them - and Danny feels a curl of nervous fear up his spine.

Alone alone alone.

Ryan’s just going to go outside for a second and be right back, Danny reminds himself. He’ll be right back for you, don’t move from this spot. You used to know this house but you don’t know anything now, you’ll get lost in the hallways by yourself.

Don’t move from this spot.

Stay, puppy.

(that’s my good boy, you’re so good at ‘stay’ now, aren’t you? oh, but see the pretty bruises on your knees)

“I have some, um, my, uh… Dr. Rosa thinks it’s trauma-based memory repression, not, um… not from the concussions,” Danny mutters, more into his drink than to Trevor. “They come back sometimes. Better now.”

He had a dim sense that he’d known his own birthdate for a few hours this morning, the way you just knew things like that. It was gone now - but he thought it would probably come back. Maybe.

If it didn’t, Ryan and Nate would just keep reminding him.

He’d be… whatever the next age was soon enough. Maybe he’d remember that one.

“Glad to hear it,” Trevor replies. He’s close to Danny, too close, and Danny tries to take a quick step back only for his back to bump into the wall, next to one of the large houseplants Corrine kept pretty much everywhere, the ferns and green leaves that grew glossy and dark and silky for her.

Danny had always managed to kill any houseplant he tried to keep alive, even the aloe - oh my god, I remembered the aloe plant.

“So what are you up to these days?” Trevor’s voice, impossibly, is even closer, and Danny swallows hard as the shorter man leans in. His shoulders are hunching, he can’t seem to stop them, and before long they’re nearly the same height. Danny clutches his drink like a life raft.

“I’m, um. I’m at home a lot,” Danny manages. He should tell Trevor to fuck off but he can’t, he’s not that Danny any longer. “I go to, um, to therapy and practice… going out. Sometimes. Trevor, can you, um, can you back up a little bit?”

His voice cracks a little on the question and he sees a light in Trevor’s eyes that he knows all too well. A burst of interest and fascination, and it’s not tempered by concern, not at all.

The scars on Danny’s face suddenly burn as if they’re brand new, like Abraham is shoving the muzzle onto his face right now, while he stands in the corner in a hallway in his own childhood home and Trevor Corey is way too close.

“Do you not like people to stand too close to you, Michaelson?” Trevor’s eyebrows raise, and he leans in even further, taking a sip from his own glass. Danny’s eyes dance to the side and then back, but he’s blocked off by Corrine’s plant, the people in the dining room probably can’t even see him, just Trevor, closer and closer.

Too close.

Too close too close too close

(do you get to choose, puppy? do you get to choose who touches you, ever again?)

“No,” Danny whispers, and the word feels foreign and forbidden on his tongue, coming out of his mouth. He’s not allowed to say no, ever again - but he is allowed to say no, they talked about this in therapy and Nate and Ryan tell him all the time. “No, I, um, I don’t like people to get very close to me now-”

“Why is that?” Trevor raises an eyebrow, and there’s a smirk playing across his face. Danny wants to punch him, to beat the shit out of that stupid smug fucking face he’s had to put up with his entire life - but Red is too scared and Red is sometimes louder than Danny.

“He, uh, he got… he got in my face a lot. I just. Trevor, back off, okay?” He starts out strong, he thinks, but then his voice wavers and breaks again, and he tries to curl his spine, make himself smaller. He could just walk away. He could - just stand up and walk the fuck away. He grew up in this house, even if he can’t remember it any longer, even if the layout is hiding down inside his head with all the things the past four years buried.

He can walk away from this.

But Danny’s legs won’t move, and when Trevor sets his drink down on a nearby little table covered in framed photos of Corrine, Patrick, and Ryan, Danny doesn’t do anything but watch, hear the soft thunk of the glass on the wood, and stare as Trevor turns back to him.

“I heard you flipped your shit at Starbucks a couple weeks ago,” Trevor says conversationally, and leans his hand on the wall, boxing Danny in totally between the plant and Trevor. The condensation coming off of Danny’s drink makes his fingers cold and slippery and he grips the glass as tightly as he can. “Friend of mine was there and told me all about it. Said some girls took pictures of your face.”

Danny’s breath catches and he stares at something over Trevor’s shoulder, feeling the cold slowly wash down from the top of his head, trickling through him, slipping under his skin and into his veins, all the way down to is feet.

“They said you ran to the bathroom with your brother and that friend of yours right on your heels. I have to admit - I’m so interested in what happened in that bathroom, especially since apparently the barista blocked the whole fucking hallway off to keep everyone out. Then, you come out a few minutes later - led out to the car by your friend like a little kid who threw a tantrum - and your brother tips the store a hundred dollar bill. What’d you do, Danny-man?”

I don’t remember. I don’t remember anything after I realized they were looking at me, looking at my scars.

“I hate that fucking nickname.” He manages to get the words out, but they’re small, barely a whisper. The room is getting colder around him. There’s a wisp of fingers through his hair, a murmured (who’s being such a good boy today?) and Danny makes himself take a breath.

Inhale.

My name is Daniel Michaelson.

“You know what, I want to know-”

Hold for five.

“-was it taking the pictures that got you all flustered, or that they were of your fucked-up face?”

His breath stops, caught in his throat, and he can’t remember how the rest of it goes. All he can remember is and I’m the puppy and I want to be good.

Danny’s eyes drift, focus on the wall opposite him, where he can see a photo of himself, a sophomore in college at Ryan’s high school graduation. His hair was cut shorter then, and he’d tried to calm the waves and you could almost see how stiff his hair was with product.

“I don’t, um, I don’t like people looking at my face,” He mumbled, looking at himself, younger, half-smiling at the camera in a deep black T-shirt and jeans, an arm around Ryan who is smiling next to him in his cap and gown, holding his diploma up in the air like a trophy.

I went to a concert later that night. I got so stoned I could barely think, hooked up with somebody. I didn’t know, I didn’t know that I only had a couple of years left. No one told me.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t, either, if I looked like that.”

Danny felt Trevor’s hands close over his around the glass in his hand. “What are you, um-… Trev, you hate me,” Danny whispers, his throat is going to close and he can feel it, can feel the bite of the leather around his neck, the way the little tag bumps against his collarbone sometimes, glinting RED in the sunlight in the clearing…

“Yeah,” Trevor says softly. “And I’ve always wanted to see snobby stuck-up fucking Daniel fucking Michaelson brought down a peg or two without his little brother to nose his way into shit that’s none of his business.”

“Trevor, you have to move, I really need you to, um, to give me space, to stop touching me-”

“No.” Trevor leans in just a little further, his mouth nearly against Danny’s ear. No one can see him behind his mother’s stupid fucking houseplants. No one’s in this hallway. He can hear them talking, just down the hall, but he can’t get enough voice to ask for help.

Ryan, Mrs. Verona… Dad… Mom, even, just somebody, please

(do you get to decide what happens to this body now?)

No, Abraham, no, you decide, you decide what happens now, it’s yours

(who does this body belong to?)

Yours, Abraham, it’s your body, you can make it do whatever you want

Danny’s fingers try to let go of the glass, but Trevor’s are closed too tightly over them and when the rim is tilted up to his lips, Danny opens his mouth and lets Trevor pour the sweet cocktail straight down his throat.

He manages to swallow nearly all of it but some runs down the corner of his mouth, down to his throat, cold liquid warming to his skin.

“Jesus fucking Christ, look at you,” Trevor breathes against his cheek, into his ear. Danny’s heart races, too fast, it can’t beat this fast or Abraham will know, he’ll get mad, he’ll get so mad and then he’ll be in trouble, he’ll be punished. “You’re such a fucking mess now, Michaelson. You used to tell me to fuck off every time you saw me and now you just stand here like a pretty little doll. Did he fuck you up in those woods, Danny-man? That’s what our guy in the courtroom said. The Coreys had someone there every day to see what your dad didn’t want us to know about, but we found out, didn’t we?”

“Yes,” Danny says softly, because that’s a rule. Always answer Abraham’s questions. Abraham always knows when you’re lying.

“Guess we know why Patrick Michaelson stopped talking about his sons inheriting the company and he only talks about the one now, even though Danny came back from the dead, huh?”

My name is Red.

(I’ll call you anything I want, puppy)

Trevor laughs, tipping the very last drops of Danny’s drink into his mouth. He takes them, he’s good, and Abraham likes to make him drink this way. Danny finds some dim part of him wondering what he’s put in the drink this time, and hopes it’s the stuff that makes him feel good first.

There’s a chuckle - it’s not quite right, it doesn’t shake through him the same way. “We found out that that Denner fucker went up there on the stand and he told everybody how good you are now…”

(don’t you want to be good for me, Red?)

Blue eyes turn to colorless ice in his mind. He sees the monster underneath.

He looks up into Abraham’s eyes. “I am good,” Danny replies, automatically, hearing the edge of a whine in his voice. “I want to be good.”

When Abraham picks the glass of brown liquor up from a small table behind him where it was sitting next to a houseplant, puts Danny’s empty glass down next to it, his eyes follow the movements but he doesn’t move.

It’s not his body, any longer, and Abraham will tell him what to do.

“Drink,” Abraham says, and Danny leans his head forward, moves his mouth to rest at the rim of the glass, and it’s bourbon - it’s bourbon Abraham wants him to drink now. Warmth in his shoulders, burning in his throat. He’ll get to feel good, first, this time.

It’s not so bad, then.

“Oh, you’re fucking gone, now,” Abraham says with delight. There’s still something wrong, something off, but Danny can’t figure out what and his brain moves like mush. He’s struggling under the weight of obedience - he shouldn’t think. He can’t think. If he thinks, he’ll break a rule. Instead, he drinks the rest of the bourbon sip by sip, and feels the world go warm around its edges, while Abraham watches the flush rise in his face, covering over the scars until they nearly look pale in comparison. “Hey, what’ll you do, like this? Shit, I gotta tell someone, I’ve waited my whole fucking life to see your bullshit torn down like this…”

Abraham pulls out his phone - it’s not the one Danny remembers, the black case with the bumpy ridges. This one is camouflage-patterned and something in him knows that’s not right, that’s not what Abraham’s phone looks like. He takes a picture of Danny’s wide blue eyes, dazed and fogged over and frightened, with the glass still pressed against his bottom lip, with the last little bits of brown liquor on his tongue.

“Now that photo I’ll keep close to home,” Abraham says. “That’s for my collection. I wonder if I could find some of the ones they talked about in court, they said that shit put them on the internet… Whatever. Let’s see what else I can get you to do.” He sets the glass back down on the table, empty now, and Danny feels the two drinks, back to back, settling into his veins, fogging the world around him.

“Anything,” Danny says. He knows how this one goes, what feeding him drinks means. He puts his wrists together and holds them up in front of himself at chest level. Sometimes if he guesses what Abraham wants to do, if he’s right, he gets hurt less for being good that way, too. “I, I can do anything you want, Abraham. I want to be good for you.”

“Oh, shit.” Abraham goes still, staring at him. “Is that what this is? You think I’m him now? Oh man. This is even better than I-”

“Trevor Corey, what are you doing with my son?”

Her voice. Danny hears the sudden snap of disappointed irritation and feels his brain click back into place, dropping his hands back down to his sides. Trevor steps back and away from him - not Abraham, it was Trevor the whole time, it was never Abraham - and Danny swallows hard as he sees his mother standing in the hallway, arms crossed, in her black cocktail dress and pearls.

For just a second, he thinks his mother’s eyes are glowing.

And purple.

“Mrs. Michaelson.” Trevor smooths down his suit along the front, clears his throat, standing nervously. “I was just talking to Danny-”

“You were bothering him. Go rejoin your father in the dining room.” When Trevor hesitates, some part of him bristling at being spoken to like a child when he is a grown man, Corrine’s eyes narrow. Not glowing at all. “I said go, Trevor.”

“Mrs. Michaelson, I was only-”

“I know what you were doing to him. I saw you take a photo of his face, and I saw what you did with your drink. You will not push my son any further tonight or you will find yourself regretting every moment from your birth until this second. I’ve changed your diapers, you know. Don’t think you intimidate me for one single solitary moment. Go find Johnson and hope to God I decide not to tell him what I just caught you at.”

When she points down the hall, Trevor shoots a glare full of hate at Danny, but he goes.

Only when he’s gone does Corrine turn her eyes back to her son, who stares back at her wide-eyed, uncertain, feeling suddenly weighed-down and exhausted. “Are you all right, Danny?”

Danny swallows, hard - he can still feel the liquor, the buzz in the back of his mind, making it all feel a little bit smooth and strange. Slowly, he nods, stepping away from the wall, crossing his arms in front of himself and hunching over just a little. “I’m okay,” He says, softly, voice a little shaky. “I’m okay, Mom.”

“Did he hurt you?” Corrine looks him over brusquely, brushes at his shoulder, ignoring the way he shudders a little at the sudden touch. “Do you need to lie down?”

“N-No. I’m, um, I’m fine. Can I… do you know where Ryan is?”

She stops mid-motion, picking a bit of lint off his sleeve. Her eyes go to his - the odd honey-colored amber eyes that she and Ryan had in common. Why had he thought they were purple? Was that part of his flashback somehow? “He went up to his room, dear. I think he got a call from, well, you know who.”

“Oh. His ex called?”

“Yes, well, I assume, since he didn’t want me to overhear it.” Corrine steps back to look at him again, and something in the hard lines of her face gentles, just a bit. “Oh, Danny. What are we going to do about all of this, hm?”

Danny’s eyes drop to the floor. He feels fourteen, not… however old he is now. Twenty-something, at least. “I don’t know, Mom. I’m… I’m so sorry. I’ve been better. I don’t know what happened. I’ll try harder.”

“Hush. That wasn’t your fault. That wasn’t anyone’s fault.” Corrine’s hand pats the side of his face, and Danny is so good, he doesn’t even flinch. “Go upstairs and find your brother. I’ll let Dad know you’ll be heading home in the next few minutes once Ryan is done with his phone call, how does that sound? We’ll keep this between us. No one tells anyone, understood?”

“Sure, I, I won’t tell anybody-”

“Don’t tell your brother.” Corrine’s voice drops into seriousness and Danny blinks at her confused. “I know you two tell each other everything - you’ve always been inseparable - but he’ll only kick up a mess if he finds out Trevor acted that way. And we don’t need that sort of hostility at the company, do we? Over a little misunderstanding?”

“A… a what?”

“Trevor just didn’t understand what he was doing, did he?”

“M-Mom, he fed me my drink, he-”

“He’s always had a thing for you. Clearly he drank too much tonight and made a mistake, that’s all. Go find your brother and don’t tell him anything.” When Danny hesitates, Corrine sighs. “Right. I forgot. Go upstairs, Ryan’s room is the third one on the right. Yours is the fourth. I need to get back to the party. Will you be all right, Danny?”

“Um. Yeah, Mom. I’ll be, I’ll be fine.”

“Good.” She pats him on the back, and he digs his fingernails into his palms to keep himself from pulling away. “Thank you, darling. You’re so different now that you’ve come back to us… It’s odd, isn’t it?”

“Is it?” Danny asks, because he doesn’t really remember who he used to be, before.

“You went through all of that horror… and you came back sweeter. People will always surprise you.” Corrine shrugs and waves him away, turning herself to head back for the dining room.

Danny stands staring after her for a long time before he looks around himself, down the hall, and tries to remember where the stairs are.

Like hell he won’t tell Ryan.

He’ll go upstairs and tell Ryan everything.

Assuming he still remembers any of it by the time he figures out how to get upstairs.

#Daniel Michaelson's story #daniel michaelson is a tall smol bean #Corrine Michaelson is a bad mom #and also more than that #request fulfilled!#whump #recovering whumpee #broken whumpee #recovery whump #tw: trauma flashback #tw: implied/referenced past noncon #intimate whumper #creepy whumper #bystander whumper #whumpee can't catch a break

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hiraethhh-h · 4 years

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Scorpion and the Frog

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel (H.H. belongs to Viv, all I own are my characters!)

WARNINGS: Descriptive blood and gore, implied smut, lime (starts/ends at †~†), gore (starts/ends at ✵~✵), references to non-con, strong language.

Word count: 9.1k

Notes: Hahaha- This is one of my longer fics :’) Also, translations are at the bottom!

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Anger was all she felt as she awoke. It surged through her body as she sat up, clutching at the ground below her. The red haze of the sky didn’t help calm her, nor did the large pentagram. Blinking, Pandora slowly composed herself, looking around in a confused manner. Creatures seemed to walk around, some doing some gruesome acts on the sidewalk. Pandora frowned as she watched a fox-like creature stab another in the back, laughing crazily as it repeatedly did so. Her head snapped to the loud honking of a car as it ran over a smaller creature, Pandora grimaced at the sight of the blood splattering all over the front of the vehicle and the road. What in the Hell was this place?

Shakily standing, Pandora walked forward towards the other patrons mindlessly shuffling along the sidewalk. She trudged alongside a few tall looking monstrosities, soon stopping to peer into a shop window that had many televisions. The news seemed to play, Katie Kill-Joy, the news anchor spoke about the current happenings within Hell. Pandora processed her words, panic rising inside. Did she just say Hell? Pandora pushed her way to the front of the small crowd that gathered in front of the glass, her eyes widening as she took in her new form. Her figure was much slimmer, Pandora’s hair was longer than usual and a deep, dark, blue split into little peaks in the middle, vibrant orange and green designs littered her hair, along with the same colored eyes as the designs. She had an owlish face and a sharp beak, her eyes void of any pupils or iris, just a white sclera. It covered her body in light blue fur; she wore a dark blue dress that tapered at the ends; the top opened up a bit to reveal her bust. Soon lifting a feathered finger to her mouth, Pandora pulled up her top lip, revealing her sharp shark-like teeth. Pandora’s hand fell back to her side, shock filling her to the brim. How did she die? Why was she in Hell? Was she really a demon now? Pandora could barely remember much, but one name came into mind. Alastor.

Emotions soon swelled up inside her, love, passion, lust, sadness, happiness, anger. Anger. Her lips twisted up in a violent sneer, revealing her teeth as she lowered her head. Pandora clutched her hand so tightly, marks formed on the inside of her palms because of her claws. It was him who made her this way. Memories flashed before her eyes. Their fight, how he knocked her out, brought her to the pier in the swamp, how he drowned her and left her body for the gators.

All because she found out the truth about Alastor, who he really was and what he did for a living.

Pandora gave a soft giggle as Alastor twirled her around, their gramophone blasting ‘catchy tunes’ as Alastor liked to call it. “Al, I have to get back to making dinner!” Pandora smiled, attempting to pry herself from his grasp. “Just a moment longer, my dear, we’re nearing my favorite part!” Alastor pleaded, giving her hands a small squeeze as he pulled her close. Pandora huffed, “Okay, okay, but then it isn’t my fault if the food gets burnt.” she pouted playfully, knowing full well she could never say no to Alastor’s charming smile. “Perhaps tonight I can take care of you tonight, my dear,” Alastor spoke in an almost seductive tone now, Pandora blinked, looking up at him in confusion. “Why I know just how to treat you!” he beamed, pausing for a more dramatic flare. “A massage, because my dear, your knots look so tight, you could kill someone with them!” he laughed, Pandora huffed as her face flushed. “You, Alastor, are such a tease,” she grumbled, pouting even more now. He rose a brow, his grin widening. “Only for you, my strawberry,” Alastor cooed in a suave tone. Pandora felt her heart skip a beat. Surely if she were a teapot, steam would billow out of her ears at how flustered she was.

“And,” Alastor hummed along to the song, “Now!” he spun her around, Pandora giving a soft squeak because of being surprised. Swaying to the music, Pandora quickly caught on to Alastor’s movements. They moved in tandem as they reached the climax of the song, Alastor spinning her once more and bringing her closer to his chest. Pandora couldn’t help but sigh contently as she felt Alastor’s hands cradle her waist. She knew to enjoy this moment since Alastor was never really the touchy-feely type, and she was okay with that. Pandora knew to respect his boundaries, and he would do the same for her.

“You know Al,” Pandora began, looking up at him, “I love you, with all my heart,” she breathed. Alastor gave a deep chuckle, emotions swirling in his eyes as he looked down at his wife, “As do I, my little strawberry.” he murmured, pressing a featherlight kiss to her forehead. Pandora shut her eyes, resting her head on Alastor’s chest as they slow-danced to the music. Pandora wished things could stay like this, worry-free without a care in the world, but all good things came to an end. The air suddenly smelled of burnt food, Pandora shrieked as she quickly pulled away from Alastor, practically zooming into the kitchen. “The jambalaya!” Pandora rushed to the pot, throwing off the cover and beginning to stir feverishly. Alastor peered at the girl, an almost devilish smile on his face as he watched her silently. Things were going all accordingly.

Soon enough, morning rolled around. Pandora sighed as she shifted beneath the covers, the loud chirping of the birds outside awakening her. Groggily opening her eyes, she felt that Alastor’s side of the bed was empty. Oh, that’s right, she had almost forgotten, Alastor had a big day today since a special guest was coming in from New York to be on his show. Seeing a note on the table, Pandora couldn’t help but crack a tired smile upon recognizing the neat cursive handwriting.

‘Big day today! Wish me luck, and have a great day off my dear, can’t wait to take you out for dinner tonight! ~ Love, Alastor’.

Giving a soft chuckle, Pandora slowly stood, heading to their bathroom to freshen up for the day. She turned the radio on, tuning into Alastor’s station to listen in on him and his special guest. As she brushed out her ginger hair, her mind couldn’t help but wander off. She thought of that box the killer had given her. Pandora frowned, slowly setting down her comb and peering over to the closet door. Why did her mind have to wander there, when she was keeping it off of her mind by distracting herself? Releasing a strained sigh, Pandora’s emotions were at war. She could risk opening the box, but at the cost of her and her family being hunted and slaughtered like prey? It really wasn’t worth it, yet Pandora caved in. Padding towards her closet, she slowly opened the door. Alastor’s voice seemed like a distant haze as she used the sunlight that filtered in to rummage around for the box.

After finding it beneath a heap of clothes, she carried it into the bathroom, grunting as she placed the item on the countertop. Pandora frowned as she stared down at it, her grey eyes full of uncertainty as she soon looked around. What if the killer was watching her now, waiting for her to open it so he could close in for the kill? Her frown only deepened, her nails digging into the hem of her nightgown. No, she would see this through, because once she fell in line with something, she was determined to get it done. Inhaling deeply, she placed one hand on the latch of the dark red mahogany box, the polished wood glaring up at her as she undid the lock.

Slowly lifting the cover, she peered inside the box. Inside was a glass jar full of… Something. Grasping the glass, she lifted it out and into the light so she could see it properly. A loud cry left the girl’s lips as she dropped the jar, the glass shattering into pieces, spilling out its contents. They were teeth, for God’s sake. Some gold, some silver, some looked fresh, and some had even rotted. A piercing scream left her lips, her hands flying to cover her mouth as she stumbled away from the shards of glass and teeth. With wide eyes, Pandora whimpered as she tried to compose herself, taking slow, cautious steps towards the mess. Grabbing a towelette from beside the sink, she cleaned the teeth and glass. She hissed in pain when she accidentally pricked her finger, blood dripping onto the floor. Shaking her head, Pandora ignored the cut for now, tears in her eyes as she threw the teeth and glass into the trash can. Sniffling, Pandora soon mopped up the drops of blood, tossing the towelette into their dirty laundry basket. She rinsed and cleaned her finger, grimacing slightly as the water stung the cut. Soon, she put a bandage over the small wound, her attention going back to the box. That cursed box. Whatever else was in there couldn’t be good news. Eyeing the wood, she approached it again, God forbid what she was about to discover.

✵~✵

Pandora lifted the cover once more, deciding to take out all the items. She pulled out a paper bag, grimacing as she saw the splatters of some brown liquid on it. Next, she retrieved some hunting knife. The sheathe was a deep velvet red color, encrusted with golden designs, and it looked large too. Setting the contents on the counter, Pandora continued to trifle through the box, shutting it once she found nothing more. Pandora glanced at both of the objects, deciding to start with the hunting knife. Undoing the clasp, she removed the cover, inspecting the blade. Pandora blinked, seeing it was sharp and shiny since she could see herself perfectly. The girl frowned now. Why would the killer give her his weapon, of all people? She shook her head, placing the blade back into its sheath and putting it back on the counter. Her hand hovered over the worn, crumpled, and stained paper bag. Silently praying it wasn’t hair or any other body part, she slowly stuck her hand into the bag. Pandora grasped a clip. She pulled it out to inspect further. The girl let out a strangled cry, her hands flying to her mouth as she held back her bile. The stack of small pictures fell to the floor, Pandora rushing to the toilet to empty her stomach.

Beneath the first clip was a picture of a girl, or what was left of her, anyway. Her ginger hair was being held up by a black glove, the girl’s face mangled and her jaw missing, exposing the top part of her mouth and the back of her throat. Her tongue hangs out loosely, blood trickling down her bare chest. God, what in the fuck did she get herself into? Pandora retched up whatever remained, shakily reaching a hand up to pull the string connected to the toilet. As it flushed, she stumbled over to the sink, running cold water and cleaning her face and rinsing her mouth. With a tired sniffle, she slowly reached down to pick up the pictures, wearily staring down at the first photo before undoing the clip that held the mini-stack together. She set the first photo down, turning it over. The next one was no better than the first. A pale man’s head sat in a sink, his face frozen with fear and shock. The man’s hands were laid beside his head, his ring finger missing. Pandora gagged softly, placing a hand over her mouth to stop herself from vomiting again. A deep frown was carved onto her lips as she felt a paper at the bottom of the stack. Stashing the photos away, Pandora picked up the faded paper, the same messy handwriting scrawled on it. ‘Got you.’ A photo of her sleeping was glued to the page, Pandora shook uncontrollably as she quickly moved to clean everything up. Slamming the box shut, Pandora scooped it up into her arms and buried it under the same heap of clothing.

✵~✵

Breathing shakily, she glanced at the clock mounted on the wall, ‘1:23’ the numbers glared back at her. How long had she been fumbling through the box? Pandora rubbed her forearms as goosebumps rose on her skin. Casting a glance around, she got ready for her and Alastor’s date. She drew herself a hot shower, remembering the radio was still on, Pandora turned the volume up, finding solace in Alastor’s voice. Picking out a blood-red flapper dress, golden designs sewed into the cloth. It was Alastor’s favorite dress on her. Taking out a similar-looking fluffy coat, Pandora put her evening outfit together. Soon, Pandora stripped her clothing, stepping into the running water. Pandora stood below the water for a while. She gave a soft sniffle as she rubbed at her eyes. Images flashed before her eyes, the mangled girl, the dismembered man, their screams for help and for the killer to stop… Pandora shook her head, opening her eyes and carrying on with her shower. She scrubbed at her body furiously, trying to rid herself of the events that had previously occurred. Pandora wanted to take her mind off of everything that plagued her, and she hoped her date would take care of that. Maybe Alastor would call in a favor and take them to one of Mimzy’s shows, Pandora gave a faint smile at the thought as she turned off the water. Drawing the curtain back, she reached for her towel, drying herself thoroughly and wrapping the towel around her body. As she continued to get ready, thankfully, her mind thought of what she and Alastor could do tonight. Mimzy’s show would be spectacular, as it always was. If she was lucky enough, Pandora could catch her backstage for a quick chat.

Turning back to the radio, she turned the knob, trying to make out Alastor’s words as he gave another news report. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have more news of the Bayou Killer on the loose,” he began, Pandora immediately turned the volume up. “This morning, the authorities discovered two more bodies, one male and female, both missing organs and dismembered-” Pandora blinked as she processed his words, freezing in place as she recalled the pictures. One was male, and the other was female. They could’ve been the killer’s latest victims. Fighting the urge to vomit again, Pandora hastily dressed and did her makeup.

As time flew by, Pandora had found some sense of relief as she did a once-over of herself in the mirror. She flashed her reflection a weary smile, her eyes were still filled with worry and her skin pale. The girl gave a frustrated huff, surely Alastor would notice her odd behavior and comment on it, he was rather observant. Shaking her head, Pandora ran a hand through her hair, gently tugging at her ginger curls before glancing at the clock mounted on the wall. Alastor would arrive home anytime now. She knew he would take an early leave to make more time for her. With a shaky sigh, Pandora pinned the flapper fascinator into her hair, the feathers fading from black to a blood-red. A rose pin sat in the middle. Pandora soon put her red heels on, gently smoothing out the bottom of her dress, fixing the sleeves accordingly before going into the bedroom to retrieve her small handbag.

“Honey, I’m home!” a familiar voice called as he shut the door, Pandora gave a soft chuckle at Alastor before going into the living room to greet him. “Evening Al,” Pandora giggled as she did a small curtsy, Alastor’s grin widened. “Evening to you, my beauty,” he hummed, adjusting his suit and repositioning his bow. “I’m going to run to the loo for a bit my dear, I won’t take long,” Alastor said now, gently brushing past the girl and heading into their bathroom. Shutting the door behind him, he looked around. His grin stretched impossibly wide, Pandora had opened the box he had given her. He didn’t think she would be foolish enough to do so, but then again, the girl gave in to her nature almost too frequently, which was what allowed him to wrap her around his finger so easily. Looking around, he gave a soft hum, chuckling to himself when he spotted a tooth that rested in the crack below the small overhang of the bathroom sink. Taking the item beneath his fingers, he tossed it into the trash with a flick of his wrist. His eyes darkened slightly, his smile holding malicious intent as cogs turned in his head.

Oh, handling Pandora would be entertaining.

A loud bang outside snapped Pandora out of the memory. She ran a hand through her hair frustratedly, glancing off to the side as Vox and Valentino discussed things about their turf and such. Vox cackled softly as Valentino made a face due to what he said. The tv-headed man gave a toothy grin as his shoulders shook from laughter. Valentino rolled his eyes, giving a soft huff as he shifted in his seat. Vox’s attention soon turned to Pandora, who was awfully quiet for once. “Looks like Dickwad is on her mind again.” Vox gave a gruff chuckle, knowing that bitter and sour look plastered on her face. Pandora huffed, “Don’t test me bitch.” she shot back, sending him a small glare. Valentino gave an amused chuckle, leaning back in his seat as he peered down at the shorter female demon. “Looks like someone needs to be taught a lesson,” he gave a soft laugh at his own words. A grin spread across Vox’s face, “You know, he ain’t wrong.” he hummed, Pandora gave a soft snort, rolling her eyes at their antics. “If either of you lay a claw on me, I will fucking feed your hands to my snares.” Pandora snarled, the mass of green-orange vines resting by her feet gave threatening growls at the larger demons.

“Mmm… So he’s got your panties in a twist,” Valentino leaned towards the girl, “Tell me, was he good at sex?” In a flash, Pandora gripped Valentino’s coat fluff in her feathered hands, a deep scowl on her face. Pandora’s dark hair flared up as the designs glowed more vibrantly, the eyes in her hair sharpening as they glared down at the demon. Her bones cracked as she grew slightly. The ground shook, splitting open and releasing a thick fog, along with green and orange snared vines that had a bud that opened revealing rows of sharp teeth inside. “Shut the fuck up Valentino.” Pandora snarled, Valentino scoffing as he pulled away from the girl. “Learn to take a joke, toots. And keep your grubby feathers off, I just got this dry-cleaned today,” Valentino huffed, smoothing his coat down and doing a once-over of himself.

†~†

Vox leaned closer to the girl, “You need to relax, dollface,” he murmured, his claw trailing up her arm, tugging at the strap of her dress. Pandora grumbled, saying nothing in protest as she leaned into his touch, the ground resealing and the vines soon retreating to their original spots. Vox tugged her dress down, the straps catching themselves near the top of her shoulders. Valentino smirked as Pandora glanced over at him, “Please,” he cooed, “Don’t stop on my account.” he chuckled, watching the pair with half-lidded eyes. Vox grabbed Pandora’s shoulders, pushing her down onto the couch and blocking her from Valentino’s view. Valentino pursed his lips, almost as if pouting. “You’re no fun, Vox.” he rolled his eyes. Vox gave a low chuckle as he dug his claws into her side, his other hand reaching for her throat.

†~†

“Stop.” Pandora grabbed his wrist, Vox’s grin immediately flickered into a frown. “The fuck toots? You got me all worked up for nothin’.” Vox scoffed, grunting as Pandora pushed him off. Pandora rolled her eyes, “Whatever, I’ll treat you later, I’m heading out.” she said, pushing her dress back up and fixing her hair as she stood. “Oh, so there’s a later now, huh?” Vox called after her as she exited the VIP Room. Ignoring Vox’s comment, she walked down the hall, paying no attention to the workers and obvious loud noises from some rooms. Pandora shook her head as she exhaled shakily. She hated days like these. Pandora felt vulnerable, weak, naked even, on days when she couldn’t keep her emotions in check.

Exiting the building, Pandora was greeted with the barren streets of Hell. Since the extermination had only ended a few minutes ago, the carnage was still freshly strewn about on the streets, denizens of Hell beginning to crawl out of their hiding spots to pick at the fresh corpses and return to their daily hellish lives. Pandora rolled her eyes as she saw a multi-eyed lizard creature pluck a head from the street, placing it into his cart of demon limbs and wheeling it away. Pursing her lips, Pandora paid her father’s venue visit. He and she ran much of the drug and mafia industry in Hell, making her one of the higher ranking demons because of her father’s status. Grabbing her phone from the pocket in her dress, she dialed up her chauffeur, waiting for the sleek blue limo to arrive. Within a few minutes, a dark blue vehicle pulled onto the streets, running over a small carcass before coming to a stop beside Pandora. A three-headed dog demon exited the limo. Each had dark brown fur lining their faces, the middle a more tan-brown color. The dark-brown tux-wearing dog demon approached Pandora, stepping to the side to open the door for her. “Hal.” His ears twitched at the sound of her voice, a crooked grin spreading across the three heads as Pandora ducked down to step inside the vehicle. Hal shut the door, striding back to the driver’s seat. He closed his door, his six red eyes looking at Pandora through the rear-view mirror. “Your dad’s been expectin’ you,” Hal told her, soon looking back to the road as he took off abruptly.

Pandora gave a bored hum, taking a cigar from the side compartment and grabbing a lighter to ignite the blunt end. Tossing the lighter into an unknown spot, Pandora leaned back into the cushioned seats, taking a long drag from the cigar. “What does he want?” Pandora breathed out, smoke billowing out of her mouth. The smoke caressed her face, the wispy creature purring before disappearing. “Dunno, you know he don’t let me tell you the details unless he gives the word.” Hal shrugged, the limo jerking violently as he hit a deep pothole. Pandora grunted, shaking her head as she tapped the cigar over an ashtray, slinging her arm around the seat as she threw her head back. She inhaled as she took another whiff of smoke, exhaling with a hum. The same wispy figure appeared above Pandora, peering down at her happily as it gave a small dance. Pandora chuckled softly, “I wouldn’t expect any less from Papa. He loves to kill with suspense.” she hummed, shifting in her seat as she shut her eyes.

Soon glancing out of the window, the red sky peered down at her, countless buildings passing by. The denizens of Hell roamed the streets, going about their daily, sad, boring lives. The surroundings got more familiar and familiar as they drove into her father’s territory. Pandora saw a few of Valentino’s workers, seeing as he and her father were close, she wouldn’t be surprised if she saw Valentino himself hanging out at the speakeasy. Hal pulled into a garage, the large door shutting behind them as he parked. Pandora huffed, putting out her cigar with a grumble as she ran a hand through her hair, fixing her appearance accordingly so her mother didn’t complain. Hal opened her door, Pandora silently exiting. Some demons examined her father’s collection of cars. A taller, skinnier demon watched the others carefully, his dark slender figure looming over the small crowd. It wore an entirely black suit with a white undershirt and black tie to top it off, standing nearly 9 feet tall as it turned to look at the newcomers. Their skin was translucent, almost smoke-like, save for singular red dots that represented its eyes.

“Reid,” Pandora called, the man craning his neck to look at the girl. “Pandora, dear, it's good to see you,” the shadow cooed, bending down slightly to reach the girl’s height. “Yeah, likewise,” Pandora hummed, flashing him a brief smile. “Hal, take over for me, please.” Reid called to the demon as he lit a cigar, “Mmm.” Hal replied. The towering demon wrapped an arm around Pandora, leading her through a doorway and up some stairs where a few other patrons lingered. The walk was mostly silent, though Pandora couldn’t help but feel at home when they stepped through a velvet curtain, the speakeasy bustling before them as a familiar face sang on the stage. Looking around, Pandora saw nothing out of the ordinary. The drug addicts were on one side, testing out the latest batch before it was sold, the gambling addicts playing an intense game with high steaks, the harlots walking around and doing their best to find a demon to hustle. Pandora felt more at ease, even letting her hips sway to the music ever so slightly.

The shadow by her side glanced down at the girl, “Glad to see you’re loosening up,” Reid commented, leading her over to a large doorway, one that stood out from the rest. Pandora hummed, “Long day.” she sighed as they walked down the hallway. Here, it was dimly lit, save for the ultraviolet lights. This area had private rooms, many of which their best clients had rented out. Vibrant colors stood out against the walls, the patrons within the rooms laughing and chatting amongst themselves. Workers dodged Reid and Pandora as they neared the end, boisterous laughter heard behind the velvet curtain. “Pandora,” Reid said now, stopping in front of the red silk and turning to look at the girl. Pandora rose a brow. But deep down, she knew one of his talks would come up. “You’ve been hanging around Valentino and Vox, haven’t you?” Reid began, Pandora rolled her eyes with a soft snort. “Yeah, so what-” “It isn’t ‘so what’, Pandora, you know what your father says about them.” Reid voiced his concerns, which was rare for him, since he mostly kept to himself until something bothered him or if he was told to spill by her father.

Pandora let out a long sigh, running a hand over her face. “I know, I know, I’ve heard the talk a million times over... Vox and Valentino are dangerous overlords, and they could manipulate me into making a deal that sucks my father into an in-escapable pitch and eventually brings down the business and his territory altogether.” she recited in a monotone voice, her lips pursed together as she looked up at Reid in a bored manner. The shadow gave a small nod, shifting to say something more, but deciding against it. Turning around, he opened the curtain for Pandora, gesturing for her to enter. She was greeted with the sight of four demons seated at a round table filled with various drinks. Her father, Owen, was a tall and slim man. His features similar to Pandora’s, dark blue hair, light blue fur, vibrant green and orange designs, but on his face were six green-orange eyes. He brushed a hand over his pristine dark blue suit, a deep chuckle slipping from his lips as he reached up to shift the cigar in his mouth. Her mother, Opal, was seated beside him. She was rather short and skinny much like Pandora, her fur was almost a silver-like color, her hair was a light grey color, filled with pastel pink and blue designs. She too had six eyes that matched the designs in her hair. Opal wore a black dress that highlighted her figure, a large grin on her face as she joined in on the conversation.

Pandora blinked when she saw an all too familiar face seated across from her parents, the demon who would be, and literally was, the end of her yet again.

Alastor the fucking Radio Demon.

The girl grit her teeth together, seething as Alastor let out another loud laugh as her father said something, Alastor replying with a smug look on his face. Her father would never let him step foot into his speakeasy, let alone the private back room after what he did to her. Not unless it was for business reasons. Pandora didn’t like the looks of this, and from what she saw, her father seemed to be okay with whatever Alastor had in store for her. Reid led her over to the group, “Boss,” he called, all pairs of eyes snapping up to look at the newcomers. “Pandie, sweetie, how good to see you,” her mother stood from her seat, striding over to embrace the girl. “Thank you Reid,” Opal dismissed him, Reid gave a small nod, silently exiting the room. Draping an arm around Pandora’s shoulder, Opal brought her over to the table. Owen gave Pandora a nod of acknowledgement, exhaling out a large cloud of smoke as he shifted the cigar in his mouth.

“Ah, Pandora, how good to see you!” Oh, how she despised that voice. Pandora’s gaze hardened as she locked eyes with the infamous Radio Demon, baring her teeth at the taller male as his grin widened at her reaction. He was treating their little reunion as though they were close friends and hadn’t seen each other in ages. She hated every moment under his gaze. Opal chuckled as she sat the girl down, Owen clearing his throat to catch everyone’s attention. With a wave of a hand, Alastor cleared the table, save for a few glasses full of fine brandy. Pandora let out a soft sigh, knowing that whatever they would discuss would be important. Especially if Alastor was this quiet. “Now, the reason why I summoned you here, Pandora,” her father began, his six eyes locking onto Pandora as Opal shifted, letting go of her and reaching for the glass in front of her. Pandora pursed her lips, gazing at her father silently, Owen scanned her face, seemingly choosing his next words carefully as to not set her off.

“Alastor requires your… Services.”

Pandora blinked in confusion, even the eyes in her hair mimicked the same action. After a moment of silence she eventually spoke in an eerily calm voice, “Excuse me?” Pandora looked at her father, a fire burning in her eyes as anger began to flare up inside her. “You expect me to work with him?” Pandora gave a strained laugh as she gestured to the red demon, Alastor simply watching with a smug look on his face. “Basta, Pandora.” her father said in a stern tone, plucking the cigarette from his mouth. He twirled it between his index finger and thumb, “I will explain myself,” he huffed, shaking his head as he murmured something to himself. “One of my close colleagues instructed a raid on part of Alastor’s territory,” Owen informed her, “I’m sure you could take a wild guess as to who it is.” he grunted, shaking his head at the thought of the male. Pandora sighed, “Lix?” she said, knowing the fox-demon had his own ways into gaining the upper-hand. Owen nodded, soon looking to Alastor. Alastor chuckled, the radio static in his voice shifting slightly as he began to speak, “Oh, yes, indeedy!” he began, looking at Pandora. “His presence on my territory has been quite an annoyance, and your father suggested that we work together to rid both our land of a parasite!” Alastor gave a hearty laugh at the end of his sentence, an audience laughing along with him for a moment.

Pandora let out a long sigh, “Pandora,” her mother spoke now, causing the girl to look over to Opal. “Your father is doing this to assert our authority within Hell, not to do you any harm,” Opal told her with a kind smile, which soon turned wicked, her eyes hardening as she glared at Alastor. “We both are fully aware of what he did to our bellissima bambina,” Opal spoke, her tone becoming colder and colder with each word as the temperature dropped within the room. “Your father and Alastor have negotiated certain terms, one of which being Alastor is to do you no harm under any circumstance.” Pandora glanced at Alastor, his eyes shining with an unknown emotion as he locked eyes with her. Looking away, Pandora gave a silent nod. “When does this job start?” she asked now, her eyes shifting to look at her father. With a sigh, Owen motioned for the two demons at the door to leave, it was silent for a while before the two guards returned with a female feline demon.

She had dark purple fur which lightened around her torso and underside of her arms. Her dark violet hair was pulled into a ponytail, framing her fluffy ears and highlighting the light purple designs that framed her face, bringing out her vibrant pink eyes that had yellow slits in the middle. The feline demon wore a bright pink off-shoulder crop top with a heart shape around the top of her bust, a pink collar around her neck. She wore a pink mini-skirt that came up to around half of her thighs and matched the designs of her top. A dark purple tail that faded to a lighter shade swished behind her as she walked in, the girl’s pink heels clicking on the floor as she scanned the faces within the room. Giving a dramatic gasp, the taller demon rushed towards Pandora, throwing her arms around the girl in a bone-crushing hug.

“Pandie! It’s been ages since we’ve talked!” the feline cried, Pandora grunted upon being met with a faceful of soft, dark purple, fur. Pandora awkwardly patted her back, “Do you mind, Fizzie..?” she murmured, Fizzie giving a loud giggle as she pulled away, taking Pandora by the shoulders. “But seriously,” she said now, “What the hell happened to you after our last job together?!” Fizzie whined, shaking the girl violently. “You went completely dark after- Mmph!” Pandora’s hand shot out to cover her mouth, “No more talking!” Pandora said with an awkward laugh, Owen rose a brow at this but said nothing. “Pandora,” Owen soon called to the girl, “Inizia ora, è la tua principale fonte di informazioni. Non mancare di me, Pandora.” he told her, sending her a stern look. Fizzie let go of Pandora, the girl fixing her dress and brushing off her shoulders. “Yes Papa.” Pandora said, pursing her lips as Alastor came up behind her. “Perhaps we should get going, we have lots to do after all!” he beamed, tapping Pandora’s leg with the end of his microphone cane.

Pandora’s brow twitched in irritation as she glared at Alastor, Fizzie giggled as she watched the two. “We’ll be back,” Pandora soon told her parents, opening her mouth to say something more until Alastor spoke. “Pleasure doing business with the both of you, I look forward to working with your daughter.” he grinned, “Thank you, Alastor, and I hope Pandora feels the same way.” Opal looked at her daughter for a moment, before giving Alastor a small nod. Fizzie interlocked her arm with Pandora’s as the trio exited the room, Alastor humming a small tune as they walked down the hallway. “So, Pandora my dear, how are things down here?” Alastor turned to her with a shit-eating grin, Pandora gave a soft growl, a sickly sweet smile slowly creeping onto her face as she played along with his antics. “Oh, everything was doing just swell,” she said in a fake happy tone, “Before you showed up.” Pandora scoffed, Alastor laughed at her words, the same audience laughing alongside him. Static shifted in his voice as his laughter died down, “You never fail to keep me entertained.” he told her, adjusting his monocle with a hum.

“Oh, you two are like an old married couple,” Fizzie giggled, Pandora’s eye twitched, “Fiz.” she said through clenched teeth. Alastor chuckled, wrapping an arm around Pandora and leading her along, Fizzie keeping up with their long strides. “Do any of you happen to get nauseous easily?” Alastor piped up now, watching the two females as they came to a stop outside of the VIP hall.

“Um… Well, I typically have-” Alastor cut Fizzie off by opening a portal, several patrons of the bar looking at the trio. A violent gust of wind swept over them, Pandora blinking as she looked into the black abyss. “After you ladies,” Alastor cooed, outstretching his arm to the portal. Fizzie looked at Pandora unsurely, “I’m not so sure…” she murmured softly. Pandora gave a soft sigh, she shut her eyes for a moment as she ran a hand over her face. “I swear to God… If this is some fucking trap, I will end you,” Pandora snarled, pointing a finger at Alastor. He simply tilted his head, his grin widening as he gave a low chuckle. “Why, whatever do you mean darling?” his eyes flickered with that same emotion she saw that night he ended her life. “I would never lay a finger on you.”

Pandora rolled her eyes, turning to step through the portal. The darkness engulfed her, she felt things clawing at her feet, but she simply walked on, loud whispers calling for her help or saying incoherent things. Pandora jumped when something grabbed her arm, until she felt the same fur texture Fizzie had. The feline held onto Pandora’s arm tightly, burying her face in her light blue fur as they continued to walk through the darkness. The familiar sound of tapping shoes was heard behind them, Pandora gave a tired sigh at the noise as she continued to walk towards the red light that grew bigger and bigger.

Pandora blinked as a bright red flashed across her vision, her eyes adjusting to their surroundings. Fizzie groaned as she stumbled slightly, grumbling as she stabilized herself with Pandora’s arm. Alastor snapped his fingers as he walked through, the portal shutting behind him. Pandora pursed her lips, shaking her head as they saw they were in Alastor’s territory. It looked awfully similar to their old hometown in Louisiana, Pandora would be lying if she said a bit of didn’t nostalgia wash over her. Hell, even a few of the shops looked similar, save for the few apartment buildings. She saw swamps lining the outskirts of the territory, he had really gone all out, even going as far as to add alligators, more so hellish renditions of them.

Pandora saw one beast resting on the bank, it looked as three times as big as it did on the surface, it’s yellow glowing eyes boring into Pandora’s with… Curiosity? Pandora gave a soft snort, shaking her head as she turned away, awaiting Alastor’s next commands. The male demon simply hummed as he strode forward, casting a proud look around his territory as he softly sang a familiar tune. Pandora and Fizzie trailed behind him, it was mostly silent, until Fizzie soon spoke. “Sooooo…. What now?” she asked, toying with her sharp claws in a bored manner. Alastor grinned, “Glad you could ask!” he beamed, stopping his walking and turning to look at the females. Oh no, Pandora recognized that ‘I’m planning something that’ll probably get you hurt, but it won’t be my fault’ look, one she knew all too well.

“Why, we need a distraction! And I hear there’s no better actress than you!” Alastor looked at Fizzie eagerly, the feline gave a soft giggle, waving her hand dismissively. “Oh Al,” she smiled, “Flattery will get you everywhere.” she hummed, beginning to adjust her clothing, particularly trying to make her bust pop out more. Pandora could’ve sworn she saw Alastor’s face contort at the sight for a brief second. Fizzie hummed, “Where’s Lix at anyway?” she looked at the radio demon, Pandora doing the same as she rose a brow in a silent question. “He’s just around this block, in one of my newer buildings.” Alastor told them, twirling his microphone cane in his hand. “I would rid him myself, but I do not wish to get my hands dirty,” Alastor said darkly, his features contorting slightly as the static in his voice became louder and his face sharpened. Just as quick as his mood changed, he went back to his usual cheery self. “Now, why don’t we begin our extraordinary plan!” Alastor straightened himself up, his voice becoming more clear. Fizzie sent Pandora a concerned glance before looking at the building before them.

“Don’t disappoint now, Fizzie!” Alastor chided, gently nudging her forward with his microphone. Fizzie grunted, huffing as she brushed the spot off where the cane touched her. She took steps towards the entrance of the building. On the outside, it looked like a normal storage building, but Alastor knew the lay of the land like the back of his hand, and he knew of the activity going on below the building. Narrowing his eyes slightly, Alastor watched as Fizzie headed to the open garage of the warehouse. Two demons unloading boxes quickly stopped their actions to peek at the new intruder. Pandora grabbed Alastor’s arm, his head snapping to face the girl as she dragged him away to a more secluded spot so they were out of sight.

Taking his arm out of her grip, he hummed as he dusted the spot off with his hand. Pandora shook her head, peering around the corner with a grumble. She watched as Fizzie flirted with the two guards, a sly look on her face as she gently brushed up against the bear-looking demon. Pandora looked away in disgust. She looked at Alastor, taking this moment to size him up. “Alright Al, what the hell are you planning?” Pandora said, narrowing her eyes. Alastor chuckled, placing both hands behind his back with a large grin, “Why, whatever do you mean?” he asked, feigning innocence as he batted his eyelashes at her. Pandora gave a low growl, practically glaring daggers up at him. One day, she would wipe that stupid smile off of his face. “You know perfectly what I fucking mean,” she hissed lowly, gesturing to the scene before them. Fizzie walked off with the two demons. One had an arm around her waist as they led her away. Fizzie glanced over her shoulder, her ear twitching as she sent Pandora a wink, signaling for them to follow.

Alastor stood properly now, looking over to Fizzie with a hum. “We can finish this discussion later dear, I’m afraid we have business to attend to.” he said, holding his hand out to her. “Your hand if you will,” he chirped, Pandora eyed him closely, huffing in frustration as she placed her hand in his. The shadows consumed them, their surroundings warping into faint outlines of structures as they moved forward. Looking to her side, she saw Alastor’s shadow. It was taller, the antlers longer and sharper, his limbs long and thin, his hand had wicked claws, his teeth sharp and his eyes a bright and somber red. Her attention soon turned to their new surroundings. They seemed to stand in an office of sorts, the surrounding voices distorted, but Alastor seemed to understand every word. Pandora squinted as she saw a familiar figure, besides Fizzie’s, one that didn’t seem to be good news. Her eyes soon landed on the outline of Lix, a small scowl on her face. He was a rather short demon, though, he had sharp teeth and claws, his matted fur a white that faded into black, along with piercing red eyes. Fizzie seemed panicked then, their voices becoming louder. Pandora jumped when she heard a voice coo in her ear, “That’s our cue.”

The office lights blinded Pandora as they came out of the shadows, the temperature in the room dropping as the sound of loud radio static filled her ears. Snapping out of her daze, Pandora’s head turned to the muffled shouts of Lix as he called for backup. Fizzie gave crazed laughter as she tackled the fox, her form much larger as they fell to the ground. Pandora heard the door burst open, a familiar face coming through. The female was almost as tall as Alastor; she had deep blue skin and black hair that fell loosely around her waist. A necklace of skulls hung around her neck, her four arms outstretched that revealed beady white eyes staring at those in the room. She wore a grey crop-top, followed by a grey cloth wrapped around her waist that tore at the ends. A grey shawl, a golden headband sitting on top of her head obscured her face, along with some white-black three-eyed creature wrapped around her shoulders. The creature gave a loud cry as its owner made a weapon appear in her hands, a long, curved machete in one and a whip in the other.

“Kali…” Pandora hissed lowly, the same vibrant plant-like creatures rising beside her, fog pooling at her feet as her form changed. Black tendrils dove for Lix and Fizzie, prying the two apart and grasping Lix tightly. Kali seemed to assess the situation, Lix continuing to shout in protest as he eyed Alastor in fear. The grinning Radio Demon snapped his fingers, the tendrils hurling themselves at Kali. The demon rose her head, watching the black masses silently. As they closed in on her, she took a defensive stance, Pandora’s vines snaking behind the girl. The creature around Kali’s neck suddenly launched itself at the tendrils, its bones cracking as it grew into a beast with a flow-y dark mane, glowing yellow eyes, striped blue fur, with sharp teeth and claws. It cut through the shadows as if they were nothing, a soft glow emitting from the beast as it snarled loudly. Kali twisted around, spinning gracefully as she cut the snares off of their bodies, the headless vines wriggling around violently before dropping to the ground and giving loud screeches as they died. Kali’s attention snapped to Lix. She dodged the incoming tendril and sliced at the thick limb encasing the fox. Taking him into one of her arms, she held Lix close as she prepared to escape. Alastor tilted his head, his pupils turning into radio dials as the static continued to become louder.

Pandora summoned two more snares, the two beasts snarling at the blue creature who snapped at the black masses. “Polim, keep them busy,” Kali told her pet, Polim’s eyes gleamed as he continued to stand his ground. Kali turned on her heel, the building beginning to shake, papers and other trinkets falling around the room, furniture rattling as glass shattered. Alastor surrounded the area with his defenses, wayward shadows drifting through the holes the tendrils made in the building. Giving a soft growl, Kali held Lix closer, swiping at the few shadows that tried to pry Lix from her grasp. Fizzie crept up behind them, pouncing at the duo in her larger form. At this, Polim stood on his haunches, launching himself at the feline with a roar, Fizzie crying out in pain as his claws sank into her stomach. Pandora watched with wide eyes, snapping out of her daze. “Fiz!” she cried, Polim and Fizzie crashing through the wall. Pandora’s arm shot forward, the two thorny vines shooting after Polim and Fizzie, the fog beginning to seep throughout the floor of the decimated room. “Looks like it's your curtain call, Kali!” Alastor beamed, his voice having a demonic tint to it as a laughing soundtrack played. Kali gave a soft snort, a triumphant smirk on her face. “Think again, Alastor,” she sneered, tightening her grip around the whip’s handle, the spiked leather wrapped around Pandora’s ankle.

“Alastor-!” Pandora called, giving a loud yelp as the whip yanked her forward, the demon slipping and violently banging her head on the floor, a searing pain shooting up her leg as the spikes from the whip tore at her flesh. Alastor narrowed his eyes slightly, banging his cane on the ground twice. Shadows formed around him, taking on their most wicked forms as he commanded them to focus on the other three. Pandora groaned from her disoriented state, a hand flying to her head as she tried to form words. “Al, nu-uh!” she called, “She’ll-!” Too late.

With a grin, Kali’s weapons disappeared from her hands, Lix cried out as she dropped him onto the ground. Quickly, he scampered behind Kali’s legs, cowering in fear. She outstretched her arms, the eyes in her hands glowing brightly, Polim looked up at his owner as he snapped off the vine’s head, the other writhing around beneath his large paw. A soft glow emitted from Kali, Alastor preparing for whatever counterattack she would try to use. The shadows clawed at her, and Lix, leaving marks on them. Lix gave cries of pain, the shadows inflicting deep cuts on him and grabbing at his limbs. “Shield yourself!” Pandora called, Alastor’s head snapping to the girl, then to Kali as she reared her arms back, preparing to clap. The shadows gathered in front of Kali, attempting to make a wall that blocked her oncoming attack. With a grin, Kali clapped all four of her hands together.

“No!” Pandora yelled, using her arms to shield her head as she ducked to the floor. A loud boom resounded through the room, decimating the remaining foundations of the building and the shadows in front of her. A wave of harsh air hit the demons, even leaving them with some cuts. Pandora found herself scrambling for something to anchor her down, the building began to shake violently as crumbs of ceiling and wall fell. Kali gave a crazed laugh, one that sounded like a mix of voices. She muttered something to Lix, throwing him to her feet and disappearing in a surge of air. Lix gave cries of protest as he was left to their mercy, Polim following his master. The building began to fall apart, many chunks falling around the remaining demons. “Alastor, now would be the time to get us the hell out of dodge!” Fizzie called as she jumped away from a piece of the ceiling that landed near her, she stepped on Lix’s back to keep him immobile, reaching down to twist his arms behind his back. Alastor gave a soft huff, “Trust me, we will escape!” he said. Pandora yelped as a wall collapsed beside her, a large chunk hitting her head.

Pandora’s ears rang loudly, her vision blurring as she gave a sluggish groan. Everything sounded jumbled, her eyes fluttering closed as her body shut down. The last thing she felt were arms lifting her up and holding her securely.

“-amn, she’s been out foreva…” a voice said, “She’ll come around…” another muttered. Pandora gave a soft huff, slowing opening her eyes, she drank in her surroundings. A pink and white mass leaned on the wall, crossing its arms as it glared at her. A white and red girl stood next to her bed, a grey female moth-looking one beside her. Once her vision focused, Pandora locked eyes with the two girls standing beside her. One wore a red pristine suit with black pants, the cuffs red at the end. She had pale skin, wavy blonde hair and blotches of pepperoni on her cheeks. She regarded Pandora with a kind gaze and smile, the other girl, however, looked the opposite of kind. She had long white hair with bangs covering her other eye slightly, an ‘x’ beneath her bangs. Her outfit was interesting. It was an off-shoulder cropped dress that ended at her hips, grey ‘x’es over her covered breasts, she had grey arm sleeves going down both her arms, as well as a grey stocking, the other a striped pink-grey.

“Oh, oh, she’s awake!” the red-suited demon grinned, “Can you get Alastor, Angel?” she looked at the pink and white demon. “Yeah, yeah…” it waved one of its hands in dismissal before leaving the room. “How are you feeling?” she asked Pandora now, gazing down at the girl with a slight look of worry in her eyes. “Like shit.” Pandora rasped, her throat feeling a bit scratchy. “Well… I’m Charlie, this is Vaggie,” Vaggie gave a small nod in greeting, eyeing Pandora silently. Pandora took a moment to take in her words, she furrowed her brows. “Charlie… Charlie Magne..?” she murmured, Charlie’s smile widened slightly. “Yep! In the flesh.” she nodded, Vaggie turning around as the familiar sound of tapping shoes entered the room. “Hey Alastor,” Charlie greeted, stepping back as he approached. Vaggie scowled slightly at the sight of the man, Pandora silently glanced between them, soon looking at Alastor. “Glad to see you’re up and at ‘em darling!” he grinned at her, adjusting his monocle with a chuckle. Pandora grit her teeth, “Don’t act like you care, you pompous bastard.” she snarled, Charlie blinking in shock as Vaggie’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh, you wound me,” Alastor pouted playfully, placing a hand on his forehead as he reared back dramatically, an audience’s laughter playing. “I’m merely checking in on my wife,” he smirked. From the other side of the room, Angel spit out his drink, “Tha fuck?!” he said with wide eyes. “What-” Charlie looked at Pandora, Vaggie’s mouth dropped slightly.

“First off, I stopped being your wife, and second off, you. Don’t. Own. Me.” Pandora seethed at the man, her hair flaring up in defense. Alastor straightened his posture, tilting his head slightly as he looked down at Pandora. “Oh darling,” he began, a dark chuckle leaving him as his voice lowered, the static clearing as he spoke almost clearly.

“I owned you the day I first laid eyes on you in that restaurant of yours.”

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

TRANSLATIONS:

Basta - Enough

Bellissima bambina - Beautiful little girl

Inizia ora, è la tua principale fonte di informazioni. Non mi deludere, Pandora. - Get started now, she is your main source of information. Don't disappoint me, Pandora.

#hazbin #hazbin hotel #hazbin characters #hazbin charlie #hazbin vaggie #hazbin angel dust #hazbin hotel oc #angst

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missingsyllable · 6 years

Text

Blog 2: Tech me out

The Asus Zenfone AR is a great demo for augmented reality and Daydream virtual reality, even if it shows AR is begging for more great apps. However, it’s a tough sell when the phone costs as much as a Galaxy S8 Plus but has a less striking design, no water resistance and less power.

GOOD FOR

Great screen

Good camera

Great demo for mobile AR/VR

NOT GOOD FOR

Relatively plain design

Very expensive

Second-tier CPU

The Asus Zenfone AR is the first phone to be certified for both Google Tango and Daydream. These are the augmented reality and virtual reality platforms that set some standards for AR and VR on Android. So we’re not just left with barrel-scraping stuff that makes phone VR seem hokier than those blue and red 3D glasses that used to come free in cereal boxes.

It comes with the Google Daydream Viewheadset if you pre-order from Asus, which helps to take at least one spike out of the porcupine attack-like sting of the price.

At £799 (around AU$1,320) the Asus Zenfone AR is a direct alternative to the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus in the UK, though early US pricing puts it at a slightly more palatable $648.

The price sticks out further when you realize the Asus Zenfone AR doesn’t even have a latest-generation chipset, with the Snapdragon 821 instead of the 835 you get in the Samsung Galaxy S8 (US version), OnePlus 5 and HTC U11.

To get on with the Asus Zenfone AR, you need to disconnect the phone from its price. And as we’re here to deliver buying advice above all else, that’s a problem.

However, if you find a good deal for the Zenfone AR or just don’t care about spending an awful lot of money on a phone that won’t necessarily make that many friends jealous, it is a very strong mobile.

The screen is great, the camera array very good and it’s one of the best phones in the world right now for VR, beating the Sony Xperia XZ Premium and LG G6, and at least matching the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus

AR plus VR and other high-end goodies

Triple rear camera for augmented reality

Large OLED screen

Powerful, but not the most powerful around

The Asus Zenfone AR is a large, high-end Android phone with an important “first”, as a phone that launches with Tango and Daydream support. Daydream in particular at first seemed something that would quickly filter through to loads of Android phones. But it hasn’t.

The Asus Zenfone AR has what it takes for good phone VR thanks to its high-resolution OLED screen. It’s 5.7 inches across, with a resolution of 1440 x 2560.

The CPU is a high-end, but no longer top-end, quad-core Snapdragon 821. While there are versions of the Asus Zenfone AR with a mammoth 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, the phone we’re reviewing has 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.

That’s a lot, but no more than some competitors, such as the OnePlus 5.

The camera does have more to show off than most, though. Instead of keeping the megapixel count low to improve low-light performance, the Asus Zenfone AR has a very high-res 23MP main camera and 4-axis optical image stabilization to help out at night.

There are two extra cameras on the back too. One is a lower-quality depth-sensing camera with IR, the other used to track motion. This trio is what makes the Asus Zenfone AR ready for Tango-grade augmented reality.

On the front, you get an 8MP selfie camera, but the rear team is what grabs our attention.

Other neat parts worth noting are a fingerprint scanner on the front, a leather-effect finish on the back and a dual-LED flash on the back.

The big question of the Asus Zenfone AR is whether these features are worth the price. Having spent a good while using the Zenfone AR, it’s a great phone but a tough sell.

Design and display

Big, bold, high-res 5.7-inch OLED screen

Stainless steel sides, faux-leather back

Front-mounted fingerprint scanner

The Asus Zenfone AR is a big phone made for the enthusiast. Who else, after all, would be willing to spend this much on an Asus phone? No-one we know.

From a distance, it’s not as striking as something like the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus. There’s some screen surround, which is rapidly disappearing from the most expensive phones, and the front of the Zenfone AR is not curved. Flat is so 2013.

The Asus Zenfone AR is also less stylish than some other phones at the price. Other top phone makers resist plastering their brand on the front as it’s not a great look, and the stainless-steel camera housing on the back has a whiff of Swiss Army Knife to it. But there is a lot of tech to show off.

Get closer and you’ll see it’s not the mostly-plain rectangle of black it may at first appear. The sides are smartly-finished aluminum and the back has a leather-effect finish rather than glass, basic plastic or metal.

While it’s synthetic rather than real leather, it looks and feels similar to the real stuff. And it’s less of a cringey show-off than previous leather phones like the LG G4.

It’s nice to handle. It’s well-made. But the Asus Zenfone AR doesn’t quite have the visual impact of other phones at the price.

One of the main practical omissions is water resistance: there isn’t any. The Samsung Galaxy S8, LG G6 and HTC U11 can all survive a soak.

Hardware-wise you get a clicky finger scanner below the screen that acts as a normal home button if you don’t use finger security, and light-up soft keys to either side.

This isn’t the fastest fingerprint scanner around, a beat slower than something like the Honor 9, but only those who have spent altogether too much time with phones will notice.

The nanoSIM lives in the usual tray that pops out of the Asus Zenfone AR’s side, and there’s space for a microSD card if the 64/128GB of storage isn’t enough for you.

The phone’s screen is a 5.7-inch 1440 x 2560 OLED panel. It’s big, sharp and punchy, with an excellent 515ppi pixel density.

Like most OLED screens, colors are vivid and contrast is superb. Asus also gives you comprehensive control over how the display looks.

As standard it’s set to a mode called Super Color, which has a classic OLED-style oversaturated look, much like a high-end Samsung phone. There’s also a Standard mode with slightly calmed-down color and a manual mode that lets you choose the color saturation and even the hue.

You can make the Asus Zenfone AR completely monochrome, or its colors flat-out wrong. Less wide-ranging control would probably be more useful, less off-putting. However, as with any of these controls most people are likely to leave it on the default setting anyway.

The Asus Zenfone AR also has a blue light reduction mode, designed to cause less eye strain and be kinder to your circadian rhythms if you go on a late-night Facebook binge.

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amoresomnia · 3 years

Text

6/2/21

poor in feelings

poor in cents

pouring deep

to kill the scent

your porous soul

seeped too intense

into this fabric

of mine

now my pillow reeks

and my sleep don’t speak

like whiskey bourbon

spilled, once neat

our pleasures gone

the treasured dawn

comes to beat

me down again

like winter mornings

with the curtains drawn

i’m on my own

in my own

head again

5/27/21

red skies

a sign of storms ahead

white lies

your words better left un said

be baptized

by the light of the life you led

5/25/21

cause i can’t seem to grow at all

with these two black thumbs i stand

prepare to climb the wall

backs against the ropes and im already anticipating the fall

can’t help but get going

going with the flow

can’t help never knowing

that we can’t know

so we put up no resistance

saddle up a sad existence

is all you’ve have to show

5/17/21

how many conversations can i simulate

before the voices (in my head) stay forever

codeine kicks the fever dream

but i’m not feeling any better

there’s a warm sky that lie

somewhere deep within my bones

and i think i might die

before i ever make it home

5/15/21

want to speak

to the melancholia in you

i want to speak

the darkest flavors of blue

the sleepless mornings

sleepless nights

a begging feeling for a light

i want to speak so i can see

the misery of love atrophied

the bitterest pill of blessed be

a highlight lining what you need

i want to breathe your ragged air

take the sunshine never share

your life is priceless beyond compare

but i want to speak

if only to see

a little darkness underneath

5/8/21

every drop in the bucket makes a ripple

4/16/21

sweet temptation

she calls me by my first name

4/13/21

needing to find the means to monetize our leisure

the way that man is measured

a man’s time is his most precious treasure

3/15/21

feeling like i’m filling time

listless and just killing my mind

actions in apathy speak for my unwillingness to climb

like each and every thing we seek

will eventually be fine

Why i gotta be this way

Been feeling blind to others thoughts of me

Less of a feeling and more a furtive display

taking actions to display my apathy

wondering what the watchmen see

wondering what it really means

is this another depressive episode

another tick tack beat on the metronome

ten missed calls and ya mamma left wondering when you coming home

wondering what’s it like when ya left alone

where’s the means to make amends

where’s the bridge i’ve burnt at both ends

maybe i can just pretend

3/5/21

each of my hours cost me days

3/3/21

the end is still forever and a day away

2/6/21

the melancholy of a forgotten dream

the broken pieces never fit back together it seems

at least not in the way that we mean

1/22/21

and i can curve my spine into an s shape

last week i ate a berry in the woods so i could see

deaths face

and sometimes i think about how we’re all staying in

this place

the same state

somebody shelter some more

the house you built see it gon’

keep you dry and safe from the storm

this sickening shame

slurred words share no blame

keep blending it together til everything

feels the same

it’s all so awfully humbling

when these walls can all come crumbling

down

then we’d be in the

same state

1/16/21

and they said i was the oldest one

born to break the records

fated to steal the sun

oh they said i was the oldest son

picture perfect

memorabilia on the wall

gloria gloria

why can’t i hear ya

as i continue this eternal fall

to slip as easily as me

to fall from grace

effortlessly

who’s to say

now that i’m not the only one

11/15/20

and i been feeling like an echo

11/15/20

and i am just a passing moment

walking through

stranger over yonder

yes that sense of sonder

i feel it too

i am just a passing moment to you

11/13/20

it’s not funny this is a nervous laughter

what comes from the work

follows after

the most recent episodes

of our disaster

this is a nervous laughter

11/10/20

what’s the use

in using

decisions made without our choosing

pinpricks gave us the solution

can’t save us from this ablution.

Said i don’t wanna feel this way

mama i’m only tryna numb the pain

1/28/20

“If you have the ability, then come.”

The sound of leather boots brushing across fallen leaves moves forward.

The clean image of the morning’s light fog is shattered.

One clean cut of the blade slices a falling leaf and the mist around it.

Feet shuffle two steps back as the split leaf flutters to the ground.

A second cut, this time a collision. The crisp clink of two honed edges turned against each other.

A step. A slide. The men dance in the wind kicking up dirt. Two yearning urgently to spill the day’s first blood. To tinge red the rising sun.

The birds have long silenced and the stillness is only broken by the beaten breathing of two who lie on the floor.

Swordsmen and traitor stricken in fighting made little more than stains upon the earth beneath the shade but still ever so far from hearth.

1/22/20

chasing fates flow

1/19/20

a dusting of snow on the shingles

lightens and whitens the roof

while the bird feeders have frozen over

grandma’s in the kitchen

where there’ll be breakfast in a moment

this quiet northern home

stands still for but a second

in the morning

1/2/20

so she said savor every second

cause each moment could be our last

although it’s not forever

we’ll keep pushing past

making sweet memories

that we won’t recall

come morning

making sweet memories

it’s a storm come without warning

it’s something we’ve been searching

for

so ever hard to find

it’s a little less than so much more

if we can bide our time

and savor every second

cause in this moment i swear

i’m dyin

1/2/20

and to all a piece

of the validation machine

we submit

12/12/19

i still feel a filter

a thickness engulfs me

i just wanna connect

but i can’t quite see

something’s been ticking

the wrong way

something been ticking

inside of me

ain’t quite say i’m sick

or dying

but there’s a weakness speaking out

inside of me

said i still feel some static

my attitude crude and dramatic

it’s a poison i’ve been seeking

it’s a poison i’ve been thinking

it’s a poison silly sinking

somewhere deep inside of me

ain’t been nothing more than

platitudes and gratitude

for the people pick me up

from the floor.

2/8/20

Maybe we were meant to toil

Under this blazing sun. Bare backs burned by the blistering heat.

Maybe we were meant to have our hands, till-deep, in the soil.

Sifting seeds between our fingers

searching out the signs of life and

planting them deep within the land.

Maybe we were meant to toil

Not for

this comfort and complacency.

Not for

this sweet space we seek.

Sheltered

from the sun and from the storm.

Maybe we were meant to toil

12/4/19

tonight

i think

i’ll lie awake and

look lovingly

at this

beautiful

vague shape

that’s sleeping next to me

cause i can’t quite

make out

your features

your facets

or your lines

cause the lights gone

and nights come

and i’m just

a little bit blind

but i know

it’s you

that’s sleeping next to me

][

so tonight i

think that i’ll lie

awake and take a

second just to breathe

soak in just a moment of

your lovely vague shape

while you’re sleeping next to me

next to me

11/18/19

deep beneath

the surface

something

screams

purpose is

nothing

but a lie

how ya gonna live your life?

11/12/19

like god's little flies

we are dropping one

by one

11/11/19

last goodbye i’ll offer

youve taken every penny

every copper from my coffers

11/17/19

the most effective way to enact change is to participate in it

10/14/19

Big capital speaks louder than the cry of common man

When the dollar has been made by creating shortcuts

How much is that dollar really worth

08/?/19

your lips are stained blue

from all that you’ve been drinking

and no amount

of blood that they’ve been sinking into you

will be enough to save ya now

09/17/19

handed a glass

half full

they drank it

til it’s dry

said this is the state of the world

and not a single tear’d they cry

09/19/19

and i’m thinking about boats and

a placid lake with murky water choked by reeds

and i’ve been thinking about boats and the sound that thinking’s been making lately

for me

you see when you place one boat one ship on this inland sea see it’s all alright

right

there’s room to move or sail or go forward in any direction

and then you place another ship another boat on those calm waters

and you don’t falter not for one second

you still have space on this peaceful lake

the wind is carrying the breeze and these ships across the ride and

then you place another ship

and another ship

and the wakes these ships create start to intersect and the waters that were peaceful feel a fearful rising tide and

then you place another ship and there’s no room to move and it’s bow to bow and scrapes along the side

but you can’t just take the ships out

where would they go

and now upon your placid lake a laden waste made manifest you start to think

and hope for that wide clear wave to ride a peaceful placid hope to hide within

again

so you start to sink the ships

the boats have aged have weathered and worn their rails have scrapes sails untethered and torn

and they go down beneath the surface and the fresher spawn have room to breathe while asleep and out of sight the old sink deep

still a piece of the lake

but left to apathy

and you have a nice pristine water to weave across with your less populated crest

and then you add another ship

and another ship

until the bottoms ready to give in a mountain made of wreck to ruin this blessed home you’ve learned to stew in

born out of a desire

to be free

but then

when there is no more space

what then

?/?/2019

fresh blades of green burst through

the ivory horizon

foreboding the first false coming

of spring

before the frost snaps and

breaks bare any inch of color

that dare pervade

the pure still space

07/05/2019

placid lucidities

angry and afraid

we fail to see

all that’s been made

in our solemn search

for agency

07/02/2019

dirty jilted sister

left beside the waterfall

whiskey bourbon

turned to mist

to satisfy the masses

mend it all

accomplishments are minced

til satisfaction stalls

and all these things

we’d missed

hang like mirrors on the wall

09/03/2019

for too long we been

looking out instead of in

dancing freely to the

cadence of our sin

08/31/2019

CAUSE THATS NOT HIRING

THEY SAY DO WHAT YOU LOVE

YOULL NEVER WORK A DAY INYOURLIFE

CAUSE THATS NOT HIRING

THEY SAY DO WHAT YOU LOVE

AND YOU JUST MIGHT BE ALRIGHT

BUT THEYRE STILL NOT HIRING

THEY SAY DO WHAT YOU LOVE

DESPITE THE POVERTY LEVELS RISING

CAUSE THATS NOT HIRING

WERE ALL WASTING AWAY WALLOWING IN WEALTH

WHILE THE PEOPLE EXPIRING

BUT THATS STILL NOT HIRING

They say do what you love

and youll never work a day in your life

06/18/19

more like

broken glass

under apathetic feet

05/29/19

There’s a difference

Between Control and Concern

And i’m not quite sure

You’ve learned how to discern

it just yet.

0 notes

itsredminote5review-blog · 5 years

Text

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Review: Good Smartphone

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 is the newest version of the popular affordable lineup, which has gotten big updates this year. Unlike previous models, not only the innards were changed (new processor and RAM), but also the overall design. Here we have the new 18:9 screen and dual camera with AI! So, is it any good? Let’s take a closer look.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 The Redmi lineup and overall the larger models like Note have always drawn my attention. They have their certain magic which grows rare in modern age of consumerism and dry marketing. It seems impossible that there is a really good smartphone that costs only $200.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5

Usual pros of Redmi Note – good specs, nice screens and battery life – are all here. There has only been only one big issue – really bad cameras. But the day Xiaomi puts an end to it is here: here you have a phone that has all that was good about the predecessors plus a dual camera with AI. A camera that can compete with much more expensive flagships.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5

I was stunned. I didn’t believe Xiaomi, but still I had to check if there was some truth in their words. I ordered the phone on GearBest, choosing the cheapest black model with 3 GB of RAM and 23 GB of storage. The device costed me about $200 and after a month of active use I can finally say was it worth it or not.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5

What’s in the box In the bright orange cardboard box we have the phone, a microUSB cable, a 5V 2A charger, SIM eject tool and a good opaque silicone case, toned black.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5Xiaomi Redmi Note 5Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Xiaomi Redmi Note 5Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 The case is thin and won’t really protect your device if you drop it, but it makes the phone less slippery and improves the grip.

Design and materials The design is ordinary, and the phone looks a lot like the previous Redmi Note devices. But at the same time, the appearance is a lot different. First, of course, is the new 18:9 screen. There is no notch here, but there are large enough bezels on top and bottom. Side bezels, too, are noticeable. In any case, while maintaining the overall dimensions of the classic 5.5-inch smartphone, Xiaomi increased the screen size to to 5.99", thus expanding the work area. This is very good news.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5

Also in Redmi Note 5 the manufacturer moved away from the central location of the camera above the fingerprint scanner and opted for a protruding vertical block of the dual camera on the left. We know all too well who inspired them. I can only say that lots of companies did exactly the same.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5

The front panel is made of glass, the back panel is metal with plastic frame and edges on top and bottom. Very similar to Note 3, except that the height of plastic parts is not so large, and the metal is predominant.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5Xiaomi Redmi Note 5Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Redmi Note 5 looks nice and feels good in hand. The metal is slippery, so thank the maker for the case.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5

I tested the black model. You can also buy gold, rose, blue and red variations

Key Features:

Dimensions: 158.6 x 75.4 x 8.1 mm Weight: 181 g Elements’ Configuration and Ergonomics On a large area above the display we have all the traditional elements – an earpiece speaker, front camera, flash (!) and light and proximity sensors. There’s nothing below the screen.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5Xiaomi Redmi Note 5Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Power buttons and volume control are on the right. On the left there’s a hybrid slot for two SIMs (nano) or one SIM card and memory card.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5Xiaomi Redmi Note 5Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 On the bottom are a speaker, a microUSB port, a microphone and a 3.5 mm jack. On top is the second microphone and the infrared port. A dual camera unit with a dual flash and a round fingerprint reader are located at the back.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Due to streamlined shape and slight curvature at the edges of the back, the smartphone comfortably lies in the hand. The buttons and the scanner are conveniently located under the fingers. It's difficult to use the smartphone with one hand, but it's possible if you have long fingers.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5

Matte back surface is hardly a fingerprint magnet – especially if your hands are dry.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5

Corning Gorilla Glass (version unknown) is installed on the front part and boasts excellent oleophobic coating – even some flagships have it worse. The prints are wiped off easily.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5

In general, the ergonomics of the smartphone is all right. If you are used to the 5.5-inch classics, then Redmi Note 5 will feel familiar.

Screen Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 has a usual IPS screen of medium quality. It has a good range of brightness. The maximum level slightly falls short of modern flagships. The minimum brightness is slightly overstated, but not critical. The viewing angles are fine. The color rendering of the matrix is close to natural, although is a little to “cold” for my taste.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5Xiaomi Redmi Note 5Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 In the screen settings there are simple tools for adjusting the color and contrast; you can choose the three color tone options (warm, natural, cold) and contrast (automatic - depending on the lighting, higher, standard). Fine color adjustment is nonexistent.

xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-8xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-9xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-11xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-12 There is also a reading mode (similar to the night mode with blue filter), which is activated either manually or according to a schedule, but also completely automatically - after sunset. How exactly it works is not entirely clear. There’s another neat feature: wake the smartphone with a double tap on the screen.There's no support for using the phone with gloves.

Auto brightness adjustment works correctly, but always tries to lower the current level. I never liked how it works. Fortunately, you can adjust this moment by using the slider in the notification bar and the system will gradually remember your preferences for different levels of lighting.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5

Key Features:

display diagonal: 5.99 " type of matrix: IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen aspect ratio: 18:9 resolution: 1080x2160 pixel density: 403 ppi the ratio of the screen area to the frontal part: 77.4% Performance In terms of speed, everything is predictable. For the comfortable Android experience the new Snapdragon 636 is more than enough. The smartphone works quickly, but there are nuances associated with the flaws in the software shell. Namely a new way to use the smartphone with gestures (I'll talk about it later). When you activate it, the animation starts lagging. If you control with the traditional on-screen navigation buttons this does not happen. Most likely this bug will be fixed in the future.

Key Features:

Processor: Qualcomm SDM636 Snapdragon 636, 8-core, 4 × 1.8 GHz Kryo 260 Video Accelerator: Adreno 509 Memory versions: 64 GB, 4/6 GB RAM or 32 GB, 3 GB RAM, support for memory cards up to 256 GB Multitasking in Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 directly depends on the amount of RAM on board. The device with 3 GB of RAM can keep running only 3-4 simple applications, which is quite enough for the average user. If you are more demanding, then it’s better to look at the smartphone with 4 and 6 GB of RAM.

In general, opening applications and switching between them is not instant, but quick enough. You don’t feel like you’re using a cheap device. Of course, it’s not as fast as some of the flagships. But there’s no reason for such comparisons.

As for games, everything is okay here. The phone is powerful enough to run virtually any game from Google Play. Of course, some heavy titles require you have to lower the graphics intensity. In the specialized 3DMark Sling Shot Extreme test the results are not impressive. But we must understand that tests in complex synthetics have little in common with real games and rather show the potential of a graphic subsystem. There’s no real potential here. But in the "old" Ice Storm test, which corresponds to the current level of graphics of modern games, the smartphone earns the maximum result. Yes, the benchmark writes: "This test is too easy for your smartphone." Overall, you can play on Redmi Note 5 no problems, but this is clearly not flagship level.

In any case, Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 is at the moment the most powerful smartphone of the lineup. Before it was Redmi Note 3 Pro with Snapdragon 650. The current phone is about 1.5 times more powerful.

Cameras AI in a budget phone is a big deal, and the marketing team made sure we know it. Allegedly, AI selects the best shooting parameters that correspond to the current scene. In practice we can’t understand whether it really works it not, because the AI does not show itself in the camera software, as it happens with the other devices with similar functionality, where at least there's an icon corresponding to the currently applied preset of artificial intelligence. Actually, the user also can not influence automatic mode in any way. And yes, in the settings there is no way to disable the AI in order to see the difference, if there’s any. How good is AI and whether it’s actually there we cannot know. It’s a mysterious and magical camera, and let’s leave it at that.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5

If we forget about this AI nonsense and just judge the photos for what they are, the results are great. This is arguably the best smartphone camera for this price. That’s to be expected with the module like that. This is very unlike the previous models.

Key Features:

The speed of the camera is average. There is a way to start the camera from sleep mode using the volume button. Also the volume key works as a camera shutter button.

As for the camera features, there is Auto HDR. Focusing methods are: phase and Dual Pixel. The autofocus is fast. Also there is PRO mode, although it’s not very serious since you can adjust only ISO and white balance.

When making video, electronic stabilization is available. The maximum video resolution is 1080p @ 30fps. Quality is average.

The front camera has a resolution of 13 MP, f/2.0, pixel size of 1.12μm. There’s LED-flash for selfies and advanced face beautifiers. But let’s not dwell on that.

Battery life Beginning with the third generation Redmi Note smartphones started getting good batteries. The current device also has a 4000 mAh lithium-polymer battery.

In combination with an energy-efficient processor, we get an excellent result. Good battery life is the most obvious pros of the phone. More than 12 hours of continuous work with an active screen is a possibility. In real life, of course, no one will use the device for as long. Therefore, depending on your perseverance, Redmi Note 5 will work a day, two or three on one charge. 7-8 houts of active screen is pretty good. And all of that if you do not bother with the settings of energy saving and background processes. If you want, MIUI has such built-in tools to further prolong the battery’s longevity.

xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-68xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-69xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-70 Redmi Note 5 supports fast charging (Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0), although Xiaomi decided to cut costs, and bundled the usual 5В 2А charger with the global version of the device. Want fast charging - buy a compatible adapter separately. Remind you of anyone?

Nevertheless, even with this shabby charger, the smartphone charges quite quickly. Here is a listing of charging from 15%:

00:00 - 15% 00:15 - 24% 00:30 - 38% 00:45 - 55% 01:00 - 68% 01:15 - 80% 01:30 - 90% 01:45 - 95% 02:00 - 100% Sound Curiously, Redmi Note 5 sounds great. I was pleasantly surprised: too often companies completely ignore sound in affordable devices. The main speaker here is loud with wide frequency range. Be sure, you won’t miss any notifications. It’s more than enough for movies and games as well. There’s no stereo, but that’s to be expected.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5

The earpiece speaker is of a flagship level; the sound is clear and very nice.

Let’s talk a bit about sound in headphones. First, there’s a 3.5 audio jack that’s located in a very convenient place on the lower edge. Second, the sound quality is very good, and it can even be better with the help of the built-in MIUI utility that allows you to choose the type of headphones. What it does is it selects presets of the equalizer and panoramas. Better find one that suits you. There's also manual adjustments of the equalizer. All of this helps archiving a very good result.

xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-59xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-61xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-60 Communications There are no issues with cellular network. Same goes for WiFi - even 5 GHz support is there. Bluetooth functions normally, just like GPS. As a bonus, there’s an infrared port for controlling household appliances.

There are two disadvantages in communication aspects: absence of NFC module and microUSB port. microUSB is annoying, but understandable, but the absence of contactless payments is a much bigger issue. If you’re not already used to it, then it’s probably not a big deal for you. Personally, I feel somehow uncomfortable without NFC. But again, I understand people who do not need it.

Key Features:

Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, hotspot Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE Location: GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS FM radio Port: microUSB 2.0 Firmware and software Here we have the traditional MIUI, which is both loved and hated by many. Personally, I am not a fan of the shell, but I know it well, I understand many aspects of architecture, accept it and can safely use it without righteous anger.

I started using the smartphone on stable version 9.5, but then installed MIUI 10 Beta - just to see what's new. I did not see much. Of the visible changes - a new notification bar (looks like something I saw 5 years ago), multitasking menu in the form of tiles and indicators of volume control.

xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-31xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-29xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-30 xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-67xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-54 xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-52xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-55xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-57 Both 9.5 and 10 work satisfactorily fast, with smooth animations. There is customization with themes and many different functions and built-in tools for setting up the system and optimizing its operation.

xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-71xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-72 The main motto of the shell at the moment is "infinity", that is, working with large screens using gestures. You can turn off the onscreen navigation buttons and use gestures from the edges of the screen; swipe from the bottom and go to the desktop and multitasking menu, if you hold your finger at the end of the gesture. Swipe on the right and left in the lower half of the screen to go back, and if used with a delay to switch to the previous application. Swipe in the upper half of the screen to call the application menu.

xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-63xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-65xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-64xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-66 In general, it is convenient, and at first I was delighted, but there are several moments. Firstly, when returning to the desktop, the animation noticeably lags. This happens only when you use gestures. Secondly, I, for example, use the Gboard keyboard with continuous input and when I want to start inputting a word that starts with the letters closest to the screen edge, the system often perceives this as a gesture "backwards". It is necessary to get used to this feature; sometimes stuff like that is bound to happen.

Even MIUI 10 has a bug that just refuses to go away. This is a problem with displaying Cyrillic in the curtain when using standard font. There is a workaround - to install a custom font in the system through the theme manager, but to be honest, I did not find anything normal. In addition, in many cases it becomes even worse and the letter "И" turns into an "N". So if you’re using Cyrillic font, be prepared for some nastiness.

xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-4xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-58xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-2 In general, I recommend to stay on MIUI 9.5 and not rush to upgrade to 10, especially to a weekly beta. In addition, there can also be problems with rollback. There are rumors that when you roll back from MIUI 10 to 9, the device turns into a brick. I have not completely figured out whether it will happen in the transition between stable and development branches. So I did not take risks.

A bit about the fingerprint scanner. It works flawlessly. It is quick, and in addition to unlocking the screen the scanner is used for authorization in applications and password-protected partitions of the file system. There is no other type of biometric unlocking in the smartphone. There’s no trendy face recognition onboard.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5

In general, the firmware is alright, especially the stable MIUI 9.5. Bugs of version 10, of course, should not be taken into account. The firmware is stable, performs all its functions fast.

But there is a moment that I do not understand at all. I am talking about the non-removable leftmost desktop screen with a limited set of widgets. This peculiar clone of Google Now is some kind of a half-assed dashboard, which nobody needs, but cannot deactivate. Be prepared to just never go there. I recommend that you turn off all the widgets so that they do not burn the battery. Or adapt and use this "tool". Still, this is very lame and something Xiaomi needs to work on.

xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-32xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-33xiaomi-redmi-note-5-screen-38 Verdict I see no real reason to not recommend Xiaomi Redmi Note 5. With this price, it’d be a great purchase for anyone. You can easily use it on a daily basis. It’s a massive upgrade for anyone who uses cheaper or older devices. 2-3 year old flagships aren’t really better that this.

In fact, the more I was using it, the more I though that modern flagships aren’t really worth the price and are quite overrated. Sure, when the euphoria is gone, you see lots of differences, but for usual buyer this smartphone is a rare find. A real hit from Xiaomi. Only another Redmi device can beat it.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5

Among the pros: sturdy plastic/metallic body, good build quality, decent 18:9 display, fantastic battery life, all communications, infrared port and stable firmware. And the main thing is a camera with AI. There’s no better camera for that kind of money.

And cons: no NFC, no face recognition software, old-fashioned microUSB and, well, firmware, which is also a pros. MIUI is great for most of the users, but it’s not for everyone. The phone’s also not dust- and water-resistant, and doesn’t support wireless charging, although that’s not really a minus – even flagships don’t always have that.

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