dreams-of-sirius

[dreams-of-sirius]

Would anyone be interested in betaing a Simeon/OC fic I'm writing?

The details on it are below:

Title: Fly Me to the Moon

Summary: Rose once played Obey Me, an otome game on her mobile. When she dies, she reincarnates as an angel in the Celestial Realm. Can she use what she learned in the game to change the fates of the characters for the better? (Eventual Simeon/OC, set before the Celestial War)

Please message me if you're interested in betaing. Thanks for reading this.

[dreams-of-sirius]

The Seven Deadly Sins are being taken too literally

Another hot take from me? So soon? Apparently so!

The Seven Deadly Sins are extremely misunderstood, particularly in American “Christianity”. Though, with how bastardized it’s become, American “Christianity” doesn’t resemble Christianity at all- but that’s a topic for another time. Let me explain how I see the deadly sins, as also according to some more historical contexts.

Pride: Taking pride in your accomplishments and knowing your value, worth, and skills is not a sin. Hell, all that shit is healthy! There’s such a thing as being too humble. What is bad is an excess of pride- being cocky, thinking others are lesser than you, thinking you’re better than everyone else.

Greed: Wanting nice things for yourself isn’t bad! Spoil yourself a little, treat yourself. What the sin of greed is supposed to be is basically “infinite growth”, never being content with what you have. A desire for more and more profit and/or power, no matter how much you already have. Think capitalism, landlords, lobbyists, ect.

Wrath: Getting righteously angry with someone who hurt you is not a sin, nor is being angry at an evil person. Anger, like all emotions, has a purpose. Anger is the part of you that cares, the part that wants to protect you and the people you care about. Wrath is something different. Wrath is causing needless harm because you can, wrath is taking advantage of the power you have over someone weaker than you, wrath is bigotry, wrath is animal abuse, or abuse from family, or a partner, or even a bully.

Envy: Feeling envious is perfectly natural! Especially if you’re not doing too well, yourself. However, it’s what you do with those feelings that matter. Taking it out on someone that’s doing better than you is not the way to go, neither is trying to take the thing you’re envious about away (that is, unless we’re talking about the greedy people from the Greed section above).

Lust: Sexual attraction and libido isn’t sinful, it’s completely natural for most people! And if you don’t have it, that’s okay, too! However, the sin of Lust isn’t even necessarily sexual! It ties in a little with greed, with lust for: sexuality, love, money, and/or power. Think perverts, rapists, incels, abusive people that desire to control others, dictators, big companies like Google, Walmart and Amazon, ect.

Gluttony: Gluttony is supposed to mean is hoarding wealth while others are poor and suffer because of it, indulging in feasts while people go hungry. Think billionares, like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. Hoarding more wealth than you could ever possibly spend in a lifetime, buying “luxury” items just because you can afford it, like a third yacht, while people are poor. Think “let them eat cake”. Think McMansions that are unreasonably big and could in fact house multiple families, but only belongs to one person, when people are homeless. That’s what gluttony is.

Sloth: Sloth is a tricky one! Because there is truly no such thing as “laziness”, but that’s not all the sloth is. Sloth’s meaning actually doesn’t have much to do with so-called “laziness”, but more-so abandoning one’s responsibilities and not caring about it, and/or being selfish. It’s in humanity’s nature to care for others, and Sloth is the opposite, only caring for one’s self. Anyone with the “I’ve got mine, screw yours” attitude is exhibiting this sin. Many people with mental disabilities or illnesses, whether diagnosed are undiagnosed, are accused of being “lazy”, but they’re not. Actually, oftentimes, those people are trying much harder than normal people, and have many more roadblocks they have to face in order to be successful. To those people, myself included, it’s not your fault.

As you can see, society’s view on the Seven Deadly Sins has become extremely warped over the centuries, especially in modern American culture. The Seven Deadly Sins aren’t outdated, just misinterpreted and twisted into things they don’t actually mean. I think it’d be a good idea to bring the true meaning of these sins back, because oftentimes the true sinful behavior isn’t being viewed as sinful.

Now, I may have grown up catholic, but I’m agnostic. Take my words with a grain of salt, look into it yourself. Ask yourself what is truly harmful and sinful, and what behavior has only been painted that way by the people that are actually harmful/sinful.

[dreams-of-sirius]

devildom ambience - solomon’s room

•  The clocks are almost never synced up. You have no idea how he manages to keep track of them all, each unlabelled and seemingly always operating on a different time, repurposed as stop watches and timers and then back to keeping track of time zones across the realms.

• His room smells a little different every time you visit. There’s always a faint smoky undertone, mixed with parchment and the old yellowing books that fill his bookshelves. Still, it’s almost always overshadowed with whatever chemical he played with last - thankfully he keeps the more unpleasant and dangerous ones (sulphur, mercury, the hundreds of unnamed plants and substances he makes use of-) contained, both out of consideration for you and to Simeon who despairs at the mess and clutter that no amount of cleaning is ever enough for.

•  You run one hand across the deep button tufted leather, sleek and red, and less comfortable to sit on than you had initially expected. Not uncomfortable, per say, but there’s a grounded firmness only found in unused furniture. (Solomon later confesses later that you are, in fact, the only one to really use it. Solomon is rarely one to rest, and he’d picked whatever he thought might seem welcoming for guests. He doesn’t get many.)

•  Crackling fire, bubbling, simmering liquids, concentrated fluids that drip-    drip-    drip-     down into empty glass.

• He lets you help, sometimes, when he can trust that he can keep you safe, guiding you through the specifics bit by bit, shaving thin curls of some gnarled root into cauldrons, cutting up plants and peeling rough skin off strange fruits. It’s an arduous and particular process, and Solomon ever-lighthearted, becomes remarkably critical, picking and choosing at each ingredient and transferring each piece to its proper place.

•  He always has something new to show you, even when he invites you to hideaway in his room from everyone else provided you ‘don’t expect him to be a good host’, he just can’t help but get…distracted. Boyish, eager for feedback and admittedly needy, he can only spend so much time tinkering before he feels the need to show off just a little. Once, silently tapping your shoulder to show you dried, ashy seed pod heads on twirled stalks, pouring bright blue kernels into the mortar. He picks up the pestle - just as old and well-loved as its partner - and carefully, carefully, splitting the seed in two, and you watch as it crackles and pops, keening like a firework as it sputters multicoloured sparks and flickers of light.

•  They’d offered to soundproof his room when he’d first joined - an offer he appreciated, but not one he ever accepted. The artificial silence that came with that sort of thing gave him headaches, he’d said. Listening faintly through the walls of the Purgatory Hall, you can’t help but just…find it more homely. Footsteps in the hallway, students bickering outside the darkened windows, little things like that, and - on days where you’re lucky - faint singing. His temporary home is alive.

•  He shows you pointed crystal growths along the shed skins of strange creatures, glass-like teeth from the maws of sand dragons and the green, moss tangled furs of rain deers. Clay and ochre and blood and ichor, though he spares you his most unpleasant ingredients, he can’t help but want to revel in sharing it with you, ever fascinated by the unending resource of learning, creation without exchange, or loss.

[dreams-of-sirius]

"i have to eat him" you literally dont

[dreams-of-sirius]

you know what? fuck it (unproblematics your fave)

[dreams-of-sirius]

you either had a gaara phase or you’re a fucking liar

[dreams-of-sirius]

AWAKEN BARBATOS STANS, ARISE

[dreams-of-sirius]

Hey, do you have any AU ideas? Preferably fantasy. :)

Here Are Some Fantasy AU Ideas!

General

Angels and Demons AU

Fairytale/folktale Retelling

Game of Thrones AU (AKA rivaling noble families AU)

Greek/Roman/Norse God AU

Greek/Roman/Norse Myth Retelling

Modern magic AU

Pirate AU

Vampire and Werewolf AU

Enemies to Lovers

Rival knights fighting for the hand of the king's heir, only to fall in love with each other instead.

Warlocks from competing apothecaries across the street try to sabotage each other

A knight falls in love with the shapeshifting dragon they're supposed to slay

Students from rival magic academies

A siren falls in love with a pirate they meant to drown

Demons in competition to see who can buy the most souls

Childhood Bestfriends to Lovers

A farmer's child with incredible powers and the satyr who lived in the woods nearby and would help with the chores

Grew up in the same magic academy

Witch x familiar

A fisherman's child who grew up on the docks and the mermaid whose love they have to keep a secret, lest the mermaid be hunted

A noble heir and the ghost that haunts their castle

An angel is still in love with their childhood bestfriend even after they've fallen.

Fluff

Magical picnic in an otherworldly setting

Panicked human intensely studies the culture of their magical creature lover to see what the most heartfelt gift would be

Domestic magic slice-of-life

Pushing an aquatic lover around in a tank on wheels to show them the human world

Werewolf exhibits all the traits of a dog, perhaps with a vampire lover (à la Sarah Anderson)

Teaching their human creation experiment (ie. Frankenstein, Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas, etc.) friend how to be a real person

Angst

A hero cursed to sleep must be woken with true love's kiss...though the true love is not whom they were expecting. The supposed "true love" must come to terms with the fact that they are not The One.

A foolhardy wizard must slay the dragon/beast they'd hatched and raised themself.

A noble heir A is arranged to marry heir B while being in love with their knightly escort, C. A and C must love one another in secret, all while B slowly falls in love with A.

A forest creature must watch its ancient homeland be cleared for farming or development

An ancient immortal being cries whenever it thinks about how its mortal friend/lover is growing old.

There is no treasure at the end of the line. It was all for nothing.

[dreams-of-sirius]

I find it strange that out of all the brothers, the writers for Obey Me! picked Belphie to be the one who rebels against Diavolo/Lucifer and has a vendetta against humans. Sloth is meant to be apathy/despair, you'd think being driven by vengeance and misplaced wrath would be an antithesis of the sin Belphie supposedly embodies. (I know Satan wasn't technically alive yet when Lillith died, which is why he isn't the one in Attic Jail.) Idk, I think it's Interesting. Wdyt?

Obey Me: The Theory of Sloth

Sloth is an interesting sin, in that it is the most vague yet far reaching of all. Words like pride, greed, envy, wrath, lust, and gluttony all describe a rather specific act or state of being, whereas sloth represents far more than just laziness or sleep.

Originally, the sin was named Acedia, a far more specific term than the later Sloth.

Acedia described a mental and spiritual dejection, and sloth was merely a symptom of this profound state of disconnect from the entire world. In fact, Acedia was once warned as the hardest of all sins to avoid and the one that tempted even the most devout monks to abandon their priestly ways.

The temptation to stray from one's religious studies, even to take a seemingly harmless midday nap, was the fault of Acedia, the demon of noontide.

When Acedia became Sloth, the seventh deadly sin, it was folded in with another forebear - Tristitia, the sin of despair. Just as sloth was seen as a symptom of Acedia, so sadness was a symptom of Tristitia.

Combined, they formed a powerfully horrible combination: utter mental and spiritual disconnect and despair.

It is Acedia that Dante sees in hell, that in fact leads him to begin his descent into the Inferno in the first place.

Chaucer described symptoms of Acedia as despair, somnolence, idleness, tardiness, negligence, indolence, and anger.

Pope Gregory I, when combining Acedia with Tristitia, noted that the latter brought malice, rancour, cowardice, and despair.

~~~

Sloth then, is far more than mere laziness or apathy, but a complex notion of mental despair and anguish, with a variety of symptoms and signs.

If you are someone who suffers from severe depression, this has perhaps been an eye opening read, because that's pretty much exactly what these sins are describing.

It was originally thought that this sin afflicted women and holy men to the greatest degree, thus the focus on spiritual dejection (because who cares about women? not medieval cis men).

Depression is of course a strong enough force to part even the most devout man from his prayers, and to turn entirely from the world. To this day, stigma around depression is huge, so it's no great surprise it was once considered the fault of being tempted by a/the devil.

The Deadly Sin of Sloth manifests as a lack of care over the entire human world, as well as rebellion against god, and having no love for oneself.

One way in which Sloth, Acedia, Tristitia, and severe depression can all manifest, is anger.

Anger not only at oneself or one person, but anger towards everyone. In times of deepest depression, sometimes giving way to anger feels like the least terrible option, to try and keep oneself from drowning in the complete void of emotion, to feel something, even as it engulfs you in flames from the inside out.

Despair and a profound disconnect from the world and value of life itself, can lead to an inferno of rage.

~~~

A demon of Sloth is one who struggles to feel emotions fully, to feel connected to anyone, to love himself let alone another.

Belphegor's TSL equivalent is revealing here - the Lord of Emptiness.

For him to feel overwhelming love for humans, for his sister, to introduce them to one another, only for the former to result in his beloved sister's death...

He learned the true cost of emotional connection, and the grief that followed was enough to spill his darkest depression for a thousand years and more.

When he feels anything, Belphegor feels rage, because it's the only emotion he still has rare access to, the only escape from the void of desolation.

And when he unleashes his rage, he feels not an ounce of regret, because anger is the only option he has.

Until he hears that his sister lived. That the one he killed, resurrected in front of his eyes, is her heir. And his heart splits open with love once more, eclipsing his anger and his severance from the world.

It's an unfortunate truth about depression that when one eventually emerges back into the light, it's hard to remember what one did when in that dark place - the harm done, the words said, the hearts broken.

The depression wipes the memories of its presence, and just as when it is in control it promises that you have never ever felt a glimpse of happiness before, so in its absence it pretends to have left no wreckage in its path.

Belphegor's mood turns on a dime, and that's a difficult reality for his victim to accept - the monster turned devoted friend, his anger seemingly easily forgotten.

What Belphegor actually needs is to be held accountable for his actions, and to take responsibility for the harm done. To understand why he did what he did, and how to avoid it in the future.

~~~

The demons in Obey Me are controlled by their sins, though it isn't always evident, but they also define themselves by how they overcome that control.

Lucifer puts his pride to one side, to be close to the one he loves, and to guard over his family.

Mammon gives money to save a young girl, to keep her safe, and acts as guardian demon.

Levi finds a true friend, and shares everything with them.

Satan lets his love get close to him, to accept him for who he is, and his anger dims.

Asmo pampers his loved one instead of himself, without needing anything in return.

Beel loves nothing more than to share his food with his beloved.

And Belphie learns to feel emotions again, to make a connection... But his rage still lies in wait, ever watchful.

~

Further reading:

The History of the Seven Deadly Sins & Lords

[dreams-of-sirius]

Short Prompt #1047

"I used to think that my biggest dream in life was to kill you," the villain mused outloud, walking back and forth before their captured nemesis. "But no..."

They stopped before the hero, clasping their chin with an iron grip as they hissed, "My dream... is to make you suffer."

[dreams-of-sirius]

Prompt (123)

"Me? In love?" The villain laughed.

It was cruel sound that made the hero's heart break like glass smashed on the floor.

"Then, why did you kiss me?" the hero demanded.

They were currently being pressed against a wall by the villain. It was night time, far away from the closest street lamp. The villain leaned near in the dark, almost touching the hero's lips.

Then, they whispered, "If you think this is love, I must have been too gentle the first time."

[dreams-of-sirius]

romantic confession dialogue prompts 

"i can't pretend anymore."

"you need to know that i have grown to care for you. deeply."

"i've loved you since the moment i first laid my eyes on you."

"you deserve to know."

"it's you. it's always been you."

"are you really so oblivious?"

"there isn't anything that i wouldn't do for you."

"i was made to love you." 

"i cannot bare to be apart from you anymore." 

"please. please just listen to me."

"don't make me say it. i can't say the words."

"you are all i can think about."

"i can't fathom the idea of my life without you in it."

"i dream of you. all i do, is dream of you."

"i am so very in love with you."

"is it so obvious how infatuated i am?"

"for years i have yearned for you, in secrecy and silence."

"we have just met and yet it feels like i have known you for a lifetime."

"you are everything. everything."

"it hurts me, just how much i ache for you."

"i don't know if i can't bring myself to speak it."

"i know that this is not what you want to hear..."

"after everything you've done, i still love you. with all i am."

"it's true."

"i cannot stand you, and yet i also cannot stand to be away from you."

"please...say something."

"i feel your absence in everything that i do alone, in every place i go without you."

"your smile brings me so much joy."

"i'm falling for you."

"i am sorry that you found out this way."

[dreams-of-sirius]

soft prompts to make you yearn

resting your head gently on their shoulder

them running their fingers through your hair

them gently tilting your chin

and looking into your eyes

so that your eyes lock in a deep gaze

placing a soft kiss on their forehead

interlocking your fingers while holding hands

back hugs back hugs back hugs

embracing them from a sudden hug from behind

and whispering in their ears, “i love you,”

soft kisses on both cheeks and tip of the nose.

cupping your face in their hands and them telling you, “you. you are the one i love.”

[dreams-of-sirius]

I’m seeking a beta for a fic I’m writing.  Details for it are below:

Title: Fly Me to the Moon

Summary: Opal once played Obey Me, an otome game on her mobile. When she dies, she reincarnates as an angel in the Celestial Realm. Can she use what she learned in the game to change the fates of the characters for the better? (Eventual Satan/MC) 

Fandom: Obey Me (you don’t need to know anything about this fandom to understand the story) 

Rating: Teen 

Length: currently have 4K. Seeking to make it 50K. 

Looking for: general feedback, don’t need grammar help, just impressions of how the plot if developing and if there’s anything that doesn’t make sense 

What I can offer: proofreading and/or general feedback. Idea bouncing as well. DM if interested!!

[dreams-of-sirius]

[dreams-of-sirius]

Pastel starcore Leviathan icons for myself, feel free to use with credit

- mod nao 💞

[dreams-of-sirius]

She found him in the library, where she often did, alone. The Avatar of Wrath, for all the deafening thunder of his fiery reputation, lived for the solace found in quiet corners of the Devildom. He was most at home in the library or his room with a book, a cup of tea, and the hum of a fire to quiet his thoughts. - family therapist strikes again

pairing: satan/mc (she/her) word count: 1,725

read on ao3 want to be tagged when i post fics? spoilers for after lesson 16!

She found him in the library, where she often did, alone. The Avatar of Wrath, for all the deafening thunder of his fiery reputation, lived for the solace found in quiet corners of the Devildom. He was most at home in the library or his room with a book, a cup of tea, and the hum of a fire to quiet his thoughts.

"Hello," she said, "I knew I'd find you here."

Satan gave her a gentle smile. 

"I'm easy to find, if you know where to look." There was an intimacy implied between them; she always knew where to look.

The events of the week before had been taxing for everyone. The revelation of Lilith's human life and the repercussions of Lucifer's deal with Diavolo reverberated through the House of Lamentation like a bell had been rung, calling them to mourn their sister anew.

The elder brothers—Lucifer, Mammon, and Leviathan—sulked in their collective guilt while the younger brothers—Asmodeus and Beelzebub—worried after the recently freed Belphegor.

Satan, as always, was caught in the middle, twisting silently with complicated emotions. He’d escaped to the solace of the library, leaving his brothers to their grief. It had almost been prophetic of a Diavolo to assign him the role of the middle child. It suited him, the oft-forgotten fourth brother, as he was long-suffering despite his fatal sin.

“How are you?” She asked, sitting carefully on the arm of his chair. If he were in a better mood, she’d turn and rest her legs across his lap or drape an arm across his shoulders. If he were in a better mood, he’d loop an arm around her waist or pull her from her perch and into the large chair with him.

His hands remained firmly on the book in his lap. She kept her distance.

Satan turned, looking her up and down. His expression was soft but reserved, like he was holding back crashing waves with nothing more than an umbrella.

“Family therapist,” he accused.

She only shrugged. The joke held a piece of the truth. She’d been checking in on all of the brothers since the incident, offering an empathetic ear. And, on a grander scale, she was always attentive of the brothers’ feelings.

In the beginning, this had been a method of survival—she’d felt it prudent to avoid demons in poor moods for her own safety. Now that she no longer feared the brothers, she found that a lot was to be gained by allowing them to open up to her. She’d made herself indispensable to the Devildom, just by being a good friend to her hosts.

"Your friend," she reminded him, though she'd be lying if she said she didn't desire to be more. And there'd been whispers between the brothers that Satan felt the same.

They all cared for her, that was abundantly clear in the way they doted on her and fought constantly for her attention, but they were starting to catch on to the special care she gave to Satan in return.

Just before the incident, she'd finally made her pact with the Avatar of Wrath. The other pacts had been easy enough—any reluctance had been mostly for show—but Satan had been more sanctimonious about the ordeal. In private conversations, he’d expressed that he feared for the transmutation that their relationship would undergo by way of the pact. He was afraid of the commitment, too. Her reassurances had been enough, in the end, as well as the knowledge that she'd been afraid of the same things.

When the pact was finally formed, it was true that something had shifted between them. There was that same supernatural feeling of trust that she'd been imbued with, just like with the other pacts. There was that same intimacy, as well, when they touched foreheads and she got the tiny glimpse into his mind that such contact afforded her. There was something else with Satan, though, that took some time to appear.

By the time she'd fully inhabited the feeling, they were swept up into Lucifer's revelations and into Belphegor's escape from the attic. There was no time, with the brothers so out of sorts in the fallout, to wonder after the pit in her stomach.

Satan hummed noncommittally. Fear of his fatal sin kept him from allowing himself closeness to others, she knew this. Still, she pushed.

She didn't fear him.

Really, of all the brothers, she'd always felt safest with Satan. He was soft-spoken and stoic but he never came across as cold or intimidating. His characteristic silence came with a strong, calming aura. Silent moments by his side felt like taking refuge in the shade beneath a tall camphor tree.

"You know, you don't have to talk to me if you don't want to," she said, "but I enjoy hearing your thoughts."

Satan usually responded to gentle prodding. He needed to know that she cared, that she wasn't just checking with him out of some sense of obligation.

"My thoughts are complicated."

She laughed. "Aren't they always?"

Satan sighed, dropping the book from his lap onto the table next to him. He surprised her, then, by taking one of her hands into his own. He was careful, balancing their interwoven hands on her knee.

He didn't like to be touched when he was upset, so, even though he'd initiated  contact, she kept still so as not to overwhelm him.

"Tell me," she said, after a moment of silence passed between them. "Even if I don't understand, I'll listen."

He squeezed her hand and began, "You know that I wasn't born in the Celestial Realm like the others, right?"

"Right." She didn’t understand this exactly, but she knew enough to follow the threads of worry that extended from the event of Satan’s creation.

"That means that I never met Lilith. I know about her, but she was gone before I was..." He hesitated to say 'born.’ That wasn't quite the right word. He shook his head. "I have these bits of me that aren't me and all of those pieces remember loving her."

She held tight to his hand as he shuddered. Though she couldn’t quite grasp the way Satan had come into being, she knew that he struggled with feeling like some part of him would always belong to something or someone else.

It was where his anger toward Lucifer stemmed from, this feeling of a debt forever unpaid.

"Do you wish you had gotten to know her?" She asked, unsure if this was the right question but hoping it would keep him talking.

"Maybe." He frowned. That wasn't it. "I think... I resent the inauthenticity of the feelings."

The answer was so precise, so narrow. He'd pinpointed the issue exactly. She wondered how long he'd had to sit there, half of his mind occupied with a novel while the other half grasped for the perfect verbiage to wholly encapsulate his frustration.

“That is complicated.”

The problems that the demons had were far beyond her as a human, though this was something she’d never admit to any of the brothers out loud. She usually found herself unable to offer advice. This time, though, she had a unique perspective in that Lucifer had offered insight on this same issue.

While Satan was created from Lucifer’s wrath and bore the curse of this as his fatal sin, his positive traits were all his own. He was uniquely able to mitigate the effects of his flaw, and uniquely steadfast in his concern for doing so.

It was a testament to Satan’s will that Lucifer so often found it hard to relate to him. Those parts of Satan that held foreign memories weren’t so much pieces of Lucifer as they were the foundations of Satan’s own life.

These feelings for his sister and these echoes of the Celestial Realm were as much Satan’s as they were Lucifer’s—they were his birthright.

She took a breath, wishing she shared Satan’s grasp on language as she searched for the proper words to express all of this. 

“You’re going to hate that I’ve heard about this from Lucifer,” she began, finding it easiest to come clean ahead of what she had to say, “but I know he worries about most of the same things you do.”

Expecting anger, she paused, waiting for Satan to object. Instead, his face remained fixed, his mouth a thin line, his brows furrowed as he listened intently.

It struck her, in times like these, how much the brothers trusted her. Against all odds, against everything they’d been taught to believe about humans, they cared for what she had to say.

“All of those feelings are yours, because they’re a part of you.” She spoke in a soft voice, hoping to convey that she believed this to be a good thing. “That’s enough. There’s no use ignoring the way you feel just because it doesn’t make sense.”

“Hm.” Satan was thinking, there was no use for words as he took in what she was saying.

“When I made the pacts, there was this sudden wave of trust and affection every time. Those feelings are real, even if they originated from some place outside of me.”

“Right.” He nodded, looking away. She could see the ideas shifting behind his flickering eyes.

She squeezed his hand, bringing him back to her.

“I’m sorry if I’m speaking out of turn, I just worry about you.”

“I know.” He laughed. “You’re the only one who ever does.”

“You know that isn’t true.”

He turned back to her, flashing an odd grin. “I’m not just taking your word for it.”

“Fine.” She could convince him that his brothers cared for him another day. It was enough, in that moment, that he knew she cared for him. That war had seen many a losing battle.

“Thank you,” he said. “For finding me.”

Satan wouldn’t admit it, but she could tell by his lightened mood that she’d gotten through to him. This was as close as she’d get to him admitting that she was right. The problem wasn’t solved, necessarily, but he could move forward with new, more hopeful datapoints to tangle with.

He raised her hand to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to the inside of her wrist.

“You always know where to look.”

-

i want to maybe do one of these for each of the brothers and i was going to write them in birth order but then a satan event happened. also my allegiance is to the smart, stoic ones. i mean, have you seen the way i write? like obviously. obviously!

comments/reblogs appreciated. pls yell with me about these men. <3