#(hey at least it's better than thinking about the fact that said brother has completely and totally forgotten about him-)

[astrolotte]

do you think Periwinkle "but Da Rules-" Fairywinkle-Cosma ever thinks about the fact that the only reason he exists is because his brother exploited a loophole

[mastermindmiko]

Enigma

pairing: Sirius Black + fem!reader

word count: 2207

Summary: After sirius moves in, you find it harder to keep your feelings hidden, but when you go back to hogwarts, you start to realise that maybe you're not the only one who has those feelings

Warnings: none, I think maybe some spelling mistakes

Hey! If you think this didn't completely suck, feel free to check out my masterlist.

requests are open

an: In a few days, another Sirius + James' sister one shot will be posted. lmk which one you liked more.

He was what every girl and almost every boy wanted. He had the most beautiful hair and the most charming smile. He was charismatic and chaotic in every good way. He fulfilled some people's fantasies by spending a week with them, but he never stayed for longer than that.

To most people, Sirius Black was a complete enigma, but not to me. He is best friends with my brother, and he'd always come spend a few days with us during the summer, but last summer, he came to stay with us permanently.

I, like most of the Hogwarts' population was in love with Sirius Black. What differentiated me from the rest of them was that I actually knew him. Or at least as much as I could with my brother around constantly.

"Honey! Come down for breakfast!" I heard my dad shout, and I hop off my bed. It was Dad's turn to make breakfast today which made me excited. I loved my mom with every fiber of my being, but I could not ever love her cooking.

I open the door, and I stumble into Sirius. He was coming out of his room just like me. He's room is right across from mine, and the only thing separating them was a narrow hallway. James' room was right beside mine, but he mostly bunked over at Sirius'.

"Hi." I say when he's face to face with me. He gives me a smile, and I nearly faint. He really did have the most charming smile to have ever existed. He asked, "So, Monty's cooking today?"

"Yeah."

"Score!" He said, excitedly. Knowing Dad, what could be awaiting down stairs could range from bacon and eggs to his wonderful pancakes, I really hope he made the pancakes. Sirius steps closer to me and holds my hand. I also hope that he doesn't notice the way my cheeks turned red at the action. Sirius said, "Come on, let's go."

He started leading me down stairs, and I couldn't help but smile. this was the bright side of having Sirius over for the summer, getting to spend more time with him, and not having to worry about him every second while he's with his horrible family.

"Wait up!" James says from behind us, and I groan internally. James jogs up to us and puts his arm around my shoulder and around Sirius'. He separates us with his body, and I feel the need to smack him. I can't though because who knows what my brother will do if he finds out about how I feel about Sirius.

"Potters! How are you this fine day?" Dad says, and I grin. I look at the table that he has set, and I notices the pancakes. I celebrate my triumph and head to the table. I head to sit at my usual place, but Sirius beats me to it by pulling out my chair for me. I grin at him gratefully, though the behavior is odd. James sits opposite to me. Dad sits at the head of the table, and mom's seat is opposite to him.

I feel the chair next to me get pulled out from under the table, and I look up in surprise to find Sirius going to sit next to me. James notices to, so before Sirius can be fully seated James shouts, "Oi! What you doing over there?"

"I wanted a change for a bit. Besides now I can see you better without having to break my neck." Sirius teases James and gives him a flirty wink. James looks at Sirius suspiciously, but drops it when dad puts James' plate in front of him. I feel butterflies at the fact that Sirius decided to sit next to me.

James shoves a large piece of food in his mouth, and he moans at how delicious the food is. He gulps it down, and looks at dad to say, "I wish you could cook for us everyday."

"Why's that James?" Mom says, coming down the stairs. James pauses and looks at mom scared. She heads towards the table and Sirius greets, "Good morning, Mia."

"Good morning, Sirius." Mom greets back and pulls out her chair to sit. She sits down, straightens her clothes then looks back at James. She repeats, "Why's that, James?"

"Because uh because you work too hard everyday and deserve to rest." James stutters, and I hid my grin behind my hand. Sirius on my right is doing the same as me. Mom hums, satisfied by James' answer, but not believing it one bit. Mom turns to me to ask, "How are you feeling, Honey? This years a big year."

It is. I get to take my OWLs and that means studying all the time, except when there's Quidditch of course. OWLs are very very important, and if I want to be an Auror like mom and dad I need to ace them, which isn't an easy feat. I feel my stomach bubble in nervousness every time I think about the exams. I reply, "Fine."

"You don't have to worry dear, I'm sure you'll do great." Mom reassures me, but it quite frankly does very little. James says, "You're a huge nerd, you'll do well."

I'm not sure if what James said could be categorized as an insult or a compliment. Dad jumps on the supportive train and says, "Besides, if you ever need any help your two brothers can help you."

My face scrunches up at the idea that Sirius is my brother. It makes me feel icky, but I hide my displeasure by giving dad a thankful smile. I wondered if Sirius thought about me that way, too. He's known me ever since he's known James, and as James' younger sister, I wouldn't doubt that he feels some sort of sibling connection between us like the one he feels with James.

"We need to get going, the train will leave in thirty minutes." Sirius said, and I glance up at the clock to find out he was right. I quickly munch on my food and so does everyone else. I needed to check that I have everything I need before we get going.

It doesn't take us a long time before we're on the train. I say goodbye to my mom and dad, and they rush to get to work before they're late. We go to our usual compartment where Remus and Peter are already waiting. I squeak in excitement when I see Remus, and jump into his arms.

I laugh as he embraces me just as tightly. Remus was my closest friend out of all of the boys, and I would say my only friend. Being siblings with James meant that it was hard making friends because everyone wanted me to get to him.

I feel a pair of arms wrap around my middle and pull me away from Remus. I frown at the action, and turn around to tell James off, but instead I see Sirius. My frown depends. Remus sits back in his seat, and before I can sit next to him, Sirius beat me to it. Sirius seats me beside him, and James sits next to Peter, opposite to us.

They all chat about their summers before Remus has to go to the Prefect's compartment for a meeting. I try not to think about Sirius' odd behavior and I try not to think about the way his arm hasn't left my waist. My heart hasn't stopped racing ever since he put it there.

Remus leaves the compartment and leaves a few sad faces as he goes. I grin at my brother's childish antics, and Remus reassures them that he'll be back as soon as he can. Remus waves to me and gives me a smile. I do the same, and I once again, pretend that I don't notice the way Sirius' arm tightens around me. The action however brings James' attention to the situation.

"Um, Padfoot." James says, glaring at Sirius' hand that's around me. Sirius frowns and then notices his arm. He pulls it off me and I feel cold at the loss of contact. Sirius apologizes sheepishly, "Sorry Prongs."

"You better not be thinking about my sister like that." James says, half joking, half dead serious. Sirius chuckles, but there's a tinge of nervousness to it. He replies, "No way, you know that Glynnis is my only girl."

I couldn't believe that I felt jealous, especially jealous of a girl who's twenty years older than me and a famous seeker.

~~~

I may be an idiot and I wouldn't be surprised if I am because I'm thinking that maybe this year is the year that Sirius Black falls for me. He's been acting strange, but in a good way. It's only a few things that I've noticed, they're all subtle, but they mean the world to me.

My only problem with these new actions were that they would all be perceived as protective...in a brotherly way. The thought alone is enough to make me gag.

"Potter and Black."

I look up to see that Professor Slughorn has called out the names of the partners. I hate Professors and their need to force inter-house unity. I look to find Regulus not moving from his place but his previous partner packing up his things.

Regulus doesn't move an inch, and doesn't even look at me. I roll my eyes, and head over to his desk with my stuff. Merlin! I hope this is at least a bit bearable. I huff and place my stuff on his- our desk. He doesn't say anything when I sit. I purse my lips and let out a polite, "Hey."

He hums, but doesn't look at me. Professor Slughorn starts to talk about the lesson, and so he starts to jot down some notes. So this is how it's going to be for the rest of the semester? Great. I pull out my parchment paper and start writing down some notes myself, but much less vigorous than Regulus is.

Regulus takes the lead in the potions making, and I'm not complaining. Potters have always been great at potions, but the tradition ends with me and James. We're complete messes when it comes to potions. It broke our dad's heard, but our love for Quidditch mended it again.

"How is he?" Regulus randomly whispers, and I could barely hear it. I frown and look at him confused. I ask, "What?"

"Sirius, how is he?" Regulus says, and continues to chop up whatever ingredient he has and places it in the potion. He isn't looking at me and my heart breaks a little. He still cares about him. I reply, "He's good."

Regulus doesn't reply, but nods his head. Regulus is much like Sirius when he was younger. Up until third year, Sirius was quiet which seems impossible considering how he is now. Sirius lacked confidence due to the way his parents raised him. He always said that being sorted into Gryffindor saved him. I wonder if Regulus was the same, except he didn't have anyone to save him.

"If you um if you ever want to talk or something like that, I'm here." I whisper and for the first time. Regulus looks at me. He looks like a mix between surprised and confused. He clears his throat and looks away. He continues to do whatever he's been doing. He says, "We're going to talk anyway."

"We have to get the project done." Regulus says before I can inquire about his sentence. I notice that Slughorn's rambling on about some sort of project that each pair has to get done by a month. The bells ring and Regulus packs up his stuff quickly, leaving the cauldron for the professor to check. I say, "Bye?"

The Black brothers were definitely going to be making this year interesting.

~~~

"Where are you going?" Sirius asks me as I head out with several books huddled in my arms, heading to meet Regulus to get the project done. He's resting on the couch with his arms spread out just like his legs. I try not to stare.

"Since when are you interested in my whereabouts?" I tease him, and Sirius Black, Mr. Charmer, Sir flirting, blushes, and looks away. The action fuels my suspicions that my crush may not be unrequited anymore.

"Just in case James asks." Sirius answers, and I feel my heart plummet, but I still hold on to some hope. I nod and head out of the common room. I call out once I open the portrait, "If he really wants to know then he can check that map of his."

It's not that I don't want to tell sirius that I'm meeting Regulus. It's that I don't know where they stand. Regulus clearly still cares about his brother while Sirius hates his family, I don't know if that means Regulus included.

I'm already at the library, and I sit down next to Regulus, who already has some books open and writing something. I sit down, and Regulus quips, "Took you long enough."

"I'm two minutes late!" I chuckle, and Regulus wastes no time before saying, "I think we should recreate the polyjuice potion."

"But it's very complex." I say weary of the idea. Even the best potion masters have trouble making that one. Regulus says, "which will make it all that more impressive when we get it right."

"Alright, but you're the one who is trying it, not me." I say, raising both my hands as if I'm surrendering. Regulus smiles, a rare thing that I only get to see every so often. He says, "Only if I get to turn into you."

"I'll have a stack of hairs ready." I say with a grin. Regulus' smile falls, and I miss the presence of it. It made him look much less intimidating. His eyes fall to something behind me, and I look to see Sirius sitting between bookshelves, hiding behind a large book about women's problems in the wizarding world.

"We have a stalker." Regulus says, and I actually am surprised that we can so obviously see Sirius. He's always been the best hider out of all the boys, sans invisibility cloak, of course. I turn back to my work and huff, "He's protective."

"He's jealous." Regulus says, and I look at him bewildered. I scoff and chuckle in a weird way and say, "he's acting like that because he thinks I'm his little sister."

"Now, I know that incest runs in Black blood, but Sirius looks at you the way he looks at Glynnis Griffiths." Regulus says, growing more annoyed by Sirius' presence. I stand up. I sigh, "I'll get rid of him."

I walk towards him, and he fumbles on his book, dropping it to the ground. He picks it up quickly and steps deeper in between the bookshelves. I fold my arms in front of my chest and tap my foot against the ground. I purse my lips and then say, "I assume James put you up to this."

"Yes, definitely." Sirius replies in an instant, taking off the dark glasses that he's wearing. I narrow my eyes and him and fake ignorance, "Weird, considering that James has private practice with the beaters today."

Sirius turns viably nervous, very nervous. He looks down to the ground and fidgets. Does Sirius actually have feelings for me? All the signs are there. I take a chance, "Sirius, do you like me?"

"What?!! Why would you say that- I- what I...yes." Sirius sighs at the end and looks down at the ground. I don't say anything and watch him frown. He rubs his face, frustrated, "James is going to kill me."

"He'll just maim you a little." I say and take a step closer to him. I shrug my shoulders and suggest, "Besides, we don't have to tell him right away. We can just put the idea in his head and make him open up to it little by little."

"Wait? You like me?" Sirius says, eyes wide and shocked. I roll my eyes. Some boys are really just idiots. I don't answer him, instead, I pull his tie and kiss him.

I furthermore realise why so many people that were with Sirius never wanted to leave him. He was an amazing kisser. He pulls away and grins at me. He looks at me in a way that makes me feel like my insides are doing cartwheels. I ask, "What?"

"Nothing, you're just so much better than Glynnis."

[of-pale]

There are but two certainties in life: death and taxes. So it’s business as usual.

Nero walked into the shop, surprised to see Vergil in Dante's chair, sifting through papers, while Dante lounged lazily on the sofa flipping through a magazine.

"What's going on here?"

"Oh, you know, Vergil being Vergil,” Dante gestured dramatically toward his brother as if presenting a circus animal in a grand display. “He thinks he can do a better job at managing a demon hunting business. Not like I've been doing it just fine for decades.”

"Anyone with opposable thumbs could do a better job than you, brother," Vergil replied dryly, scrutinizing the atrociously messy paperwork and accounting. It didn't require a genius to see how badly Dante’s business would be in the red if it weren't for all the money Dante undoubtedly weaselled out of Lady. Still, that's money that has to be repaid, and Vergil didn't even want to think about the returns the loan shark hag expects of Dante.

What truly frustrated Vergil was knowing for a fact that Dante could do a better job at running the business. Annoying as it was to admit, Dante had always been better with numbers. Ever since they were kids, adding up numbers at lightning speed was as easy for him as reading was for Vergil. So this accounting mess? It was like Dante didn’t bother to put any effort in it. And hadn't for decades. From the looks of things, he even got enough jobs coming in to get by, so why…?

“Damn, I wish it was that easy and I could just hire a monkey to do it,” Nero shook his head. “This shit's boring as hell.”

Vergil couldn't help but let his frustration leak through, “Something for Dante to consider then, since it would do a better job than this.”

"Does that mean I can pay you in bananas, Verge?" Dante fired back with a grin.

"A considerable improvement, since you don't pay me at all.”

"Hey now, you get your cut at the end of the demon hunting jobs.”

“You mean the rightful pay earned for a job I complete by myself, from which you take a cut simply because you act as a broker of a broker?”

"Welcome to capitalism, bro. It's how things are run topside.”

"I miss hell already,” Vergil replied sarcastically, massaging his temples. “Please tell me you at least paid the taxes.”

"Hey, I may be the Legendary Demon Hunter, but even I don't mess with the IRS.”

"Wait, you do all the bookkeeping on paper?” Nero raised an eyebrow. “You know we live in the 21st century, right?”

"Eh, it's easier on paper.” Dante shrugged. “Especially if the occasional job needs to be kept off the books.”

“You just said you don't want to mess with the IRS.”

“Oh, if there's one thing scarier than the IRS, it's Lady when she's come to collect her due.” Dante got up from the sofa and sauntered over to his desk, where an open pizza box awaited. “A wise man picks his battles.”

“A fool sets himself up for them,” Vergil muttered, quickly realising the irony of his own words.

Dante grabbed a slice of pizza and took a curious peek over Vergil's shoulder at his notes. “Hm, you got the total amount wrong by a couple hundred. Right there.” He pointed at it before cheekily patting Vergil on the shoulder and continuing on his merry way back to the sofa.

Vergil growled demonically in pure frustration, fighting the very real urge to roll all the blasted papers into a ball and dump them in the bin.

[shroomystar]

Do you think anything happened to Mickbell's sister (or do you think she's still out there somewhere)?

hi!!! i actually have thought quite a bit about mickbell's family. i haven't settled ~completely~ on how i want his background to be, but i have a general idea & i'm gonna take this opportunity to rant about it on here after all even though you only asked about his sister (tho she is a part of this). sorry. lol

(tw for mentions of abuse, prostitution and sexual assault)

so first let's look at the info we have: mickbell grew up in the slums of kahka brud, which is not a halfling village like the one chilchuck grew up in, so he, unlike chilchuck, grew up around other races (as a sidenote that's not really important here: kahka brud seems to be a dwarven city, but there's at least tallmen, too, since we see one in the flashback where mickbell rescues kuro. so we have a majority dwarfs, but also tallmen and halflings, and since it seems from that to be a city that's not limited to one race we can probably assume people from all races (except elves and ogres and kobolds and the others that are rarer/usually only live in specific places) live there); we don't know anything about his parents; we know he's been alone for what looks like a long time since he's not old, either (he's about 25 in tallman years; 22 as a halfling of course); and we know him and his sister are "permanently out of contact," which could mean a number of things: that they don't talk anymore because they dislike each other, that she's dead, that they got separated, that they simply drifted apart, or things like that.

my first instinct here was to go "this does not sound like she's dead, i think kui would have said if she was dead" and i still think so, but i do think it'd be interesting if mickbell thinks she's dead... though i also like the angle of "they had a bad fight so now they don't talk to each other anymore".

ok, so now that we've got the facts and my initial reaction to them out of the way, here's what i vaguely put together in my head for mickbell's backrgound (again, subject to change):

i think it's very likely his parents were abusive (or at least one of them). mickbell very clearly is not in contact with them anymore, either (they could also be dead, however! but i think that's not as fun; and i think the abuse angle explains mickbell's general view of relationships and other people and also money a lot better than them simply dying), so they're not in the picture. i imagine that they either abandoned, sold, or kidnapped their children bcuz they've always been very poor and they just did not care that much. i also think that mickbell, as an older brother, probably tried to protect his sister as best as he could and tried to feed them both, having only each other; but as i've said, i think the "they had a fight" angle is fun, too, so i generally think they didn't really ger along regardless, lol. but hey, they were still family!!!

this one is a headcanon i mostly developed because mickbell is so weird about relationships (in canon, mostly with kuro, of course), and because i think it'd be interesting for him to be just as weird about sexual relationships and intimacy: i think he probably sold his body to people (mostly tallman; mostly male; which is also why i think he's mostly into tallmen (though mostly women) bcuz it's some way for him to feel like he has control over that trauma) to have enough so he and his sister can eat.

with that all there, what did happen to his sister? genuinely, the most interesting thing to me (the most important person in the universe), is if mickbell doesn't know. if he came home one day and she wasn't there anymore and she never showed up again and he couldn't find her anywhere and he doesn't know if it's because of their most recent fight, or because someone found her and killed her or worse. i think this kind of uncertainty--while still having the distinct feeling of being left behind--would very much explain why he clings so much; why he isolates kuro and freaks out whenever kuro spends time with others, why he seems so, so, so scared of being left out of nowhere again.

so, yeah, those are my mickbell thoughts!!! i think about him a normal amount!!!

(bonus: as for mickbell's sister, for some reason i imagine her to have a similar personality as mickbell; argumentative and mean and loud and annoying, which is why they did notttt get along whatsoever. i do think mickbell loved her a lot, though, if only because she was the only one he still had (which now is kuro, of course).)

[mysticalsoot]

an angel to you

my wilma debut and a happy birthday to my sister, lillylvjy!!

➸ note; i am making this post literally the day before and i am so excited so if this is posted on the 30th instead of the 31st then know lillys birthday is the 31st of october and i just got too excited

➸ pairing; witch!wilma soot x gn!reader

➸ summary; you and wilma live outside of a small town and on an off day decide to have a sleepy day in

➸ warning; fluff, fluff, fluff. maybe implied age gap? dont remember. a gay guy writing for a woman is enough of a warning i think.

➸ age-rating; 14+

➸ wordcount; 1.1k

main masterlist

the city may have been nice for a while, nice and busy and bustling, with plenty to do and see--yet there was something serene about a cottage in the woods by a small town with less than 8k occupants. it was always quiet, and cozy and the weather was stunning. how the snow fell and weighed on the leaves during the winter, or how the rain pattered on the roof, echoing through the house.

but your favorite part about it all, was wilma. she was like a moon to you, lighting your path in the dark without an overwhelming brightness. she was balance, you thought. the mid ground between mysterious and bubbly. a beautiful artist as well and maybe an even better witch.

she was greatly talented in everything she did, she could bake anything and everything, come up with any spell and perform it flawlessly and each of her paintings were better than any masterpiece that may have been deemed the 'best' throughout history. she was wonderful.

when you met her, you didn't actually intend on meeting her. in fact, you stumbled upon both the neighboring town and her cottage completely on accident. the same happened with your brother and his meeting with wilma's brother, you still wonder if both wilma and wilbur intended for you both to meet, but you never worried too much about it.

you and your brother aidan had left your home in the city to sort of travel in the more rural areas of the country, mostly searching for your ancestry. wherever your magic had come from since neither of your parents knew. they theorized it might've been your mother's side, but no one spoke of it so it wasn't clear. plus, wasn't it time to go on your own? at least in a way, you and aidan were inseparable, so leaving home was always done together.

you never found a very sound answer on your family's history with magic, although you're still searching. through your time living with wilma, you've found ways to harness your powers and control them much better. she teaches you everything she knows, and she's a wonderful teacher at that.

it's one of the colder days of the season, around mid october and most of the leaves have already fallen from the trees, laying on the ground and any surface they touch. on the porch, and the stairs, the roof and the old car that wilma still has (it's older than you both).

she had left early in the morning to go into town, you weren't fully conscious, at least enough to make out what she said but all you could gather is she had some errands to run. she kissed your forehead and left moments later, leaving you to sleep the morning away.

you were still waking up when you heard the door click open, smiling to yourself you hopped up out of bed and venturing to the living areas.

"hey, baby," wilma smiles back, a soft chuckle at your disheveled state slipping past her lips, "sleep well?"

you hum, rubbing your eyes before glancing at the paper grocery bags she holds in her hands.

"what do you have there, wilm?" you patter over to her, standing in the doorway of the kitchen as you watch her unpack. mostly herbs and spices, and some other random witchy things. new incense and candles.

"did you forget your lessons, love?" she muses, organizing everything in the cabinet she holds all of her materials.

"sorta," you hum, shrugging as you wrap your arms around her from behind, resting your face on her back as you sigh out.

"don't worry, they're tomorrow. wil's bringing aidan over," you nod softly against her, playing with the hem of her shirt as she pulls away to face you.

"can we just rest today?"

wilma nods, leaning down to press a kiss to your forehead before guiding you over to the couch so you can rest while she whips up a quick breakfast. you don't pay too close attention on what she does, glancing over at her every once and a while despite the way your eyes get heavy and begin to droop.

she smiles at you, glancing over at your resting form. you're not quite asleep but you're close enough. she makes quick work in the kitchen, flipping the pancakes and plating them quietly.

"darling, breakfast," she murmurs, placing breakfast on the table as she smiles at you a moment later. you walk over, sitting down beside her as you both begin to eat, "why dont you take a nap after breakfast, mm? we'll put on a movie and you can just rest. how's that sound?" she croons, kissing your temple as she gathers your plates.

"sounds like heaven," you mumble, getting up to follow her, helping her clean up the dishes before you both get settled on the couch. she clicks on a movie you've both watched a thousand times, letting you lay comfortably over her lap as she pulls out her sketchbook to doodle in while you rest.

you watch as she sketches quietly, a soft smile on her lips as you let your eyes droop closed again, letting sleep take you back. wilma admires you gently, hand rubbing your stomach and fingers tracing over your skin.

she lets you rest, pulling you to lay on top of her as she falls asleep with you. you subconsciously wrap your arms around her waist in your unconscious state, which earns and a smile and an awe from her.

you both enjoyed the serenity and peace of these moments, the time that you both could drown out the world with simple moments shared privately between you both.

you weren't sure how much time had passed once you began to stir, slowly waking up. you smile the moment you feel wilma's chest rise and fall below you, her still hands tangled into your hair where she must've been playing with it. you sit yourself up, curling your legs up against your chest as you silently admire her. the way her hair is sprawled around her face, or how her lips make a soft 'o' shape as she snores. you hum to yourself, before your eyes glance over at her sketchbook, open and facing up.

you take it into your hands, admiring the drawing she must've drawn while you slept. her love for you always amazed you, since you never could quite grasp someone loving you so wholly and in such a deep manner as wilma did. you were her muse in most everything she did and she absolutely adored you. she was devoted to you almost as much as you were her. you loved every second of it.

and in this moment, with her asleep beside you and a physical example of her love and devotion, you felt you might as well be in heaven, and be as loved as you could ever be.

you think wilma is your own angel, and that's the truth, anyone can see.

taglist; @lcvejoy @lillylvjy @ella-fella-bo-bella @lotusanonymouse @willgoldszn @whos-nicooo @zebonos @charlieisverybored

[edenxoconnell]

where: eden's sister's home

when: late december 2023

featuring: @robbie-becker & eden o'connell

Eden:

It was about a month since Eden found her brother after his overdose, a month since she’d nearly lost him, and a month of her sitting with the idea that if she just hadn’t left for a few hours that day maybe she would’ve noticed something was wrong. Logically, she knew she couldn’t have done anything that would have completely changed the outcome, but she felt responsible in a way. It didn’t help that her mother helped put that in her head either.

It was a little over a month since it happened and Eden was spending Christmas break at her sister’s condo or staying the night with Robbie, but she’d found herself wanting to distance herself from everyone mostly. Eden spent hours of her time searching for answers, wondering if she could’ve done anything different, but she kept coming up empty handed. She tried getting her mind off everything but nothing seemed to help. And maybe she was just in her head about what happened- what her mother had said to her, almost blaming her for what happened, that Eden began to feel like maybe all those awful things her mother had said to her were true.

Not merely blaming her for what happened with Arkin, but all the awful things she’d said about Eden growing up, too. All the ways that she made Eden feel small and insignificant and like she didn’t deserve anyone good. It was all getting in her head and she was starting to believe it. To believe that maybe she wasn’t good enough for Robbie.

More than that, Robbie had been there through everything. He was the first person she’d called when she was at the hospital, he was one of the first to arrive at the hospital, and he’d been there for her since. He held her when she cried, he comforted her after nightmares. But Eden had spent the last week convincing herself that he deserved better than that. What she’d been through and what she’d been told had affected her more than she ever could have imagined it would, and she found herself thinking that he shouldn’t have to put up with her, that he moved to California to get an education, not deal with her family drama and how it affected her. Eden began to think that even if she ever had a chance to meet his parents, they wouldn’t like her. Eden thought of herself as a disappointment, someone broken that no one should have to sacrifice anything to put the pieces back together.

Having taken all these thoughts into consideration, Eden believed it was for the best for Robbie to be able to begin his school year without all of her bullshit. For her to put herself back together before continuing to pursue anything more with him. And god, she wanted something more- she was pretty sure she was in love with him and she’d never been in love before. He was something special to her and that was why she felt it would be best to end things for now. Maybe things could get better before she made him worse.

Eden had asked Robbie to come by Addison’s so she could talk to him while her sister was out. She wanted a break, essentially, but she wasn’t sure how long it would take to be better again- to be something good for herself and for Robbie.

“Hi.” Eden invited him in as she gave him a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She’d cried a few times that day already and she knew she would probably do it again after this. She didn’t want to lose him but she felt like she would no matter what, whether he decided he didn’t want her or she broke it off herself.

Robbie:

"Hey."

His voice is soft when he enters the home, one familiar only for the fact Robbie has passed under this doorframe too many times to count. A second family in some senses, Arkin's overdose had dug deep under his skin in its own ways, but in no way comparable to Eden. Robbie would never dare try to say he harbored the same hurt and fear, at least not in the same sense.

Selfishly, his focus had been on Eden for the last two weeks. Arkin had his family to care after him, but in all their focus of course Eden wasn't of their concern. It's not a fault of theirs, of course it would make sense their time and energy went into Arkin above all else, but Robbie stood behind Eden, arms always outstretched and ready to catch her.

Each.

And.

Every day.

The way she looks dim isn't all that much of a surprise to him when accounting for the torrential storm of emotions from the last two weeks, but it still sits heavy in his gut. Robbie doesn't waste any time to place a chaste kiss to her lips in greeting, but the embrace he pulls her in lingers. "Hey," he repeats, much more softly. Then, he pulls back with his hands still on her shoulders. "How are you doing? How's Arkin, and everyone?"

Eden:

Eden felt a swell of guilt in her chest, aching down to her bones as she thought that she didn't deserve him and the way he would show up no matter what. She wondered if she'd made the right decision to break things off for now, but she knew that the school year was starting soon and she wanted him to focus on himself, not worry about her. The kiss only made that ache worsen and she closed her eyes as she took it in just for a moment before she was being pulled against him. It was something she couldn't help but melt into as she wrapped her own arms around him, her fingers gripping the material of his shirt as he held her before they finally broke away. This wasn't going to be easy.

"He's.. fine. It's a little weird being around him after everything. I'm just glad he's getting help. I, uh… well, I didn't really want to talk about Arkin." Eden knew if she delayed this at all she wouldn't be able to do it.

Robbie:

Ever attentive, Robbie's focus doesn't stray from Eden's face. He listens intently, a smile even twitches at the corners of his mouth. He goes to say something about how he's glad Arkin is getting the help he needs, but there is the hesitance to her voice, and how she concludes that sentence that draws cause for concern.

"Is everything alright?" It's a redundant question, but it's the only thing he can think of when there is a silence lingering too long. Then another moment and he clears his throat. "Do we have to talk about it in the doorway?"

Eden:

"Shit. No, sorry." Eden shook her head and invited him to step farther into the condo as she closed the door. She didn't want to delay the conversation but that didn't mean she had to rush it. Robbie was so important to her and she didn't want to completely ruin things between them. It wouldn't be like ripping a bandage off, this needed to be handled delicately.

"Not really." She finally answered his question as she moved to the couch to sit down, wanting him to follow suit. "I just need to talk to you. About… well, about us."

Robbie:

There’s a wave of relief that washes over him when there is at least the invitation in. To do it standing on the ‘welcome mat’ area, per se, would feel off. Damning, in a way, as though he’d have to run out the door. The pressure lifts when he follows after, but there is still worry and confusion that fills his head.

“Not good,” Robbie chuckles softly despite the grim notion that Eden is not alright. “What can I do to help?” Is the question that follows when he sits beside her. He begins to feel a bit unnerved then though, because Eden seems different. Her head swirling with thoughts he can’t take a peak at, or as though she’s holding on some secret.

Then she says us, and his brows furrow, but he still has a subtle smile. “What? Alright, why? You’re not breaking up with me, are you?” It’s meant as a joke, signaled by the way he shortly laughs after, this soft, mirthless sound because the tension begins to set in his shoulders again. “Right?”

Eden:

Eden couldn’t laugh with him because he thought it was so unlikely to be the reason she’d asked him here he made a joke of it. She just watched him, her lips parting as she tried to speak but couldn’t find the words.

“Robbie,” Eden began softly and she took his hand in hers and laced their fingers together on her lap. “You mean the world to me. You do. There’s no question about that whatsoever, but…” Eden trailed off, unsure how she was supposed to do this. “I was thinking that maybe… maybe time a part would be good for us. For you. Not forever. Just… a while.”

Robbie:

What had been a joke quickly is affirmed as reality, but slowly it takes to register. Robbie searches Eden’s face, his mouth parted slightly as he searches for words to say, but really… what is there to say? Quick and succinct, the purpose of Eden calling him over very much so was about what he made joke of, and a pit forms in his stomach.

“You’re breaking up with me…”

He says, his voice quieter as it’s said more to himself to really let it click.

“W-wait - hold up. Why? Did I do something? Because we don’t need time apart. I can fix whatever, just tell me what it is-“ he hopes, because right now he is stunned and clueless about what even brought this on. “We don’t need a break. Everything’s been good between us?” Said with a question as now Robbie, for the first time in their relationship, feels so utterly and hopelessly uncertain.

Eden:

Eden knew this wouldn’t be easy but nothing prepared her for the look on Robbie’s face or the hurt in his voice. She gave his hand a squeeze as she shook her head. “Nothing! You did nothing wrong. I- I just…” Feel like I’m holding you back. Not good enough for you or anyone else. I’m completely falling apart and I’m scared I’m going to take you with me. “You’ve been nothing but amazing to me, especially since…” Eden’s voice trailed off, she didn’t like talking about it at all because she was ridden with guilt and brought back into those moments of panic. “It’s been really hard on me a- and I know it’s affecting you because it’s affecting me, but the school year is about to start. You shouldn’t have to worry about me when you should be worried about your future.” And as far as Eden was concerned, even if they took a break, she believed that they were both still in each other’s futures. “It doesn’t seem fair to ask you to stick around when literally everything’s…” Eden paused and let out a humorless laugh. “Everything’s fucked. My family is fucked.”

Robbie:

It's an odd thing. Feelings he can't quite decipher beyond the blow he feels to his gut. Metaphorical, of course, but the assurance that it wasn't at all his fault in any way feels like a solid punch right in his stomach. It almost sucks the air out of him, and he falls silent, mouth parted slightly as though he wants to say something but nothing manages to come out. The only thing grounding him to his moment is the hold Eden has on his hand.

Then, as she concludes, he rips his own away almost as if he'd just touched fire.

He snaps, "That's not for you to decide. What affects me, or doesn't, that's my issue to deal with. Not yours."

If it has in any way, it's Robbie's attention being so focused on Eden. He cares about her more than he ever thought he'd care about a person who isn't family. Love is such a silly thing in concept, but when he said it, he meant it. She filled him with joy, she filled him with exhilaration, and at times, she filled him with fear. All of the things that come in tandem with such an emotion, one he so contently held for through all the hard parts of it, the good parts outweighed them.

"And you think it's fair to just assume that?" On reflex, Robbie stands so he can take a few unaimed steps, then spins back to face her. His nervous energy feels like it's bunching up and springing into his limbs. "I want to stick around, Eden. What's so wrong with that? I want to be there for you, isn't that what a relationship is about? Sometimes you can only give twenty or ten, but that's alright. I can give ninety percent until you're okay. I'm willing to do that." (edited)

Eden:

Eden waited for what felt like an eternity for him to respond, her focus was entirely on him as she watched herself hurt one of the people she loved the most. She was worried that maybe she’d gotten this wrong, that maybe this was a huge mistake.

Robbie snatching his hand was made Eden flinch and her eyes widened as she looked up at him. She hadn’t exactly considered that it wasn’t her choice, really, but she believed she was doing the right thing. This was her taking care of him, right?

Eden was standing now too, her hands wrenching as she nearly paced in front of him as she spoke

“I- it doesn’t. It doesn’t seem fair for you to have sleepless nights and hear me cry over the things going on in my life a-and I… I don’t know. Robbie, I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I don’t know how to make things right or to be fair to you. I haven’t been myself lately and I’m scared that—“ That you’re going to leave. “I’m scared I won’t ever be the same. There’s nothing wrong with you staying with me, I just… I feel like you…” Eden trailed off, trying to decide if she should quit holding back her feelings and thoughts on the matter. “I feel like you deserve better than me. Someone who can give you more than twenty percent, someone who can actually take care of you.” Because heaven knows she couldn’t take care of her brother. “I don’t want this to be forever- being apart, I mean. Just until I can be okay enough to give you more than that twenty.” Eden stopped then, her hands clenched in fists at her sides as she faced him, her eyes searching his through the tears that pooled in them.

Robbie:

“So you think this is fair?”

Robbie looks at her, and at first, he thinks the expression she wears is completely alien.

Except, no, maybe he’s wrong. It takes him a minute, but he recognizes it that instant. As she speaks, her vulnerabilities are laid bare. It’s been two weeks to him, but it feels that much more to her, doesn’t it? Every minute is a day, every hour a month, sifting and navigating through the mess left in the wake of Arkin’s overdose.

For the first time ever, Robbie thinks he hates him.

That thought is rescinded the moment it crosses the forefront of his mind. He knows better. Addiction isn’t a person, it’s a disease, and with a shuddering breath he stuffs that feeling deep down into a dark place never to be touched again.

“What? What do you mean until you can- what the fuck, Eden?” Robbie winces and gives her a sharp look. “You can’t just put me on a shelf until you’re ready to pick me back up again.” The tears he previously wished to kiss away do nothing but stab anger through his heart, and he still can’t make sense of it. “I can give more than fifty until you can! That’s the point. You find someone - okay, you find a person who cares about you and lifts you up when you’re down, even through all of the hard shit.”

Right?

Robbie shakes his head and throws his hands up until they fall to his side in a light swing, and he looks at Eden for a long moment. Quiet, eyes dulled with a wetness clinging to the corners of them. His expression otherwise remains stoic as he says, “This is it, Eden. If you want to end things because you’re throwing a pity party by yourself, we’re done. Either we work through it, together, or we’re done.”

His voice trembles at the last part, his throat runs dry, and he finishes with,

“That’s my stipulation. All or nothing. I’m not going to sit around and wait until you're good and ready again. Not for a maybe.”

Eden:

Eden didn’t know what to think anymore. In her mind, through all the fog and hurt and anxiety, she believed this was the right thing. All that bullshit about loving someone so much that you let them go was turning out to be just that- bullshit. Was it really fair to let him carry her through her hurt when it wasn’t his fault? It wasn’t Robbie’s fault that Arkin had overdosed or that Eden was the one who found him. It wasn’t his fault that her mother shoved lies and ideas down her throat that it was her fault and she should’ve seen the signs and she should’ve understood just how bad Arkin’s addiction was. Eden was with him that week after all, so why didn’t she notice it? Why did she leave that day when she did? If she just hadn’t left or she’d been a bit more attentive, would things be different?

Eden wasn’t even sure if there were signs that could’ve led her to realizing what was going to happen. Addiction was what made her hide in her books as a child. It was her mother who would drink herself into oblivion and when she wasn’t passed out, her words spewed out like poison. Eden hid from it all and she never paid close attention apart from how to keep some form of peace in their home. What not to do to provoke the beast.

And now? Now Eden, who’d successfully spent years away from her mother and out of that toxic hell hole the O’Connells once called home, she had been met with her mother’s verbal abuse once more. With her constant blame for bad things that happened to them. It was easier to believe those were just lies for a while- a way for her mother to feel better about herself and make sense of terrible things by putting Eden down and making her take the blame for it, but after a while it was hard not to believe it.

To Eden, she was never enough and it took her years to heal enough to understand that wasn’t true, but past decades of horrible words she’d heard had come back. And at times she wondered if Arkin blamed her for what happened too. She wondered if he was hurt that she hadn’t realized just how bad things were for him. It was going to be difficult to even face him again without that image of him when she had to call an ambulance for him and that constant worry that he’d resent her and they’d never be the same again. She worried Robbie maybe believed those things too and it was partially that insecurity that led her to making the decision to take a break.

Eden had never heard Robbie speak this way before and she hated that it was because of her and the hurt she was putting him through. She opened her mouth to speak, to explain herself more and in a way that hopefully made sense to them both, but Robbie referring to her feelings as a pity party was enough to leave her speechless. She’d been gaslighting herself for weeks, wondering if she even had a right to feel the way she had about all of this and that felt like confirmation that she didn’t. Eden closed her mouth and didn’t say another word.

Robbie:

The silence is shuttering. Robbie stands there, his eyes trained on her face. A year and a half is slipping through his fingers. The person he thought he could experience more of life with beside him is shutting him out. But what else can be done? Or even said? He swallows the lump in his throat.

'Well?' sits on his tongue, wanting to come out and try and prompt something. Robbie remains wordless, Eden's silence louder than anything.

No answer is answer enough.

He sniffs and nods, still standing in place, his eyes dropping to the floor. The only thing that comes out of his mouth is a quiet, succinct, "Okay." An inhalation of air to steady himself, a quick clearing of his throat and another, "Okay." He doesn't even bother to look her in the face again when he turns to head to the door, and the only thing that signals his departure is the click of the lock and then the door shutting behind him.

[mahi-does-some-art]

Oh damn everyone living in the same house would be chaos, but hey Sakuya is happy he gets to live with Mahiru, and Licht gets to see Mr. Fox and Mr. Cat more

Sakuya is SOOOOOOOOOOO happy he gets to live in the same house as Mahiru! He's not so happy that everyone else is there. Team M has made it an infuriating habit to bother the both of them when in common areas together. Sakuya wants to strangle his stupid family.

Licht is a menace. The Servamps all try to avoid being in their animal forms at first but Licht starts kicking them and demanding the animals so they have no choice sometimes.

Ildio is Mahiru's worst nightmare because he keeps eating more than Mahiru would make and forces him to completely readjust his grocery budget and fucks up all his pricing planning sheets and shit. After Mahiru adjusts to his appetite, its a nightmare because Ildio insists on trying to cook everything he sees that he thinks would taste good and makes a mess Mahiru will have to clean up the majority of. Niccolo helps expand Mahiru's budget as apology.

Kuro now has to get the complete Sibling Experience as an older brother and his siblings keep coming into his room so often to mess with him that they had to call C3 in to install locks on all the bedroom doors. It barely helps.

They have a music room! It has a piano for Licht and a lot of other instruments that some of the servamps know how to play + a violin for Mikuni. Sakuya sometimes scopes the place out to make sure its empty to practice his guitar because it sounds better in this room than his bedroom.

They do karaoke sometimes. Enough said, really.

Sometimes Tooru visits. He visits far more often than he would to his apartment because C3 needs someone to go check up on them and Tooru is least likely to get into a fight with anyone there. It makes Mahiru happy to see him more and he even stays the whole day sometimes and has dinner with them. Sakuya is a bit more nervous around him bc of the whole C3 and "I memory fucked your nephew in order to shimmy a spot in his life and you know and I know you know" thing.

That being said, Tooru has gotten into a fight with one of them before bc it was a particularly shitty day for Hyde and he thought he could pull it off. He could not. He got his ass handed to him and now he has a crush on Mahiru's uncle.

They end up living there for a very long time, all going about their individual lives but coming back to live together now that things were mended. So long, in fact, that the teenagers are no longer teenagers and everyone got to watch as Mahiru and Tetsu grow up to be hunks. Misono ages into an adult beautifully, of course, but he barely grows any taller. He's extremely mad about it.

Now, a tibit of the drama that i love especially:

Lily and Belkia would constantly, and I mean constantly, be at each other's throats. They are throwing shade at each other like nothing else and bitching and insulting each others fashion sense and choice of shades of pink. Everyone there is very lucky they don't have to share a bathroom.

Once, Tsubaki hid one of Jeje's wip ship-in-a-bottle and got shot when Jeje found it and found out he hid it.

Sometimes Ryuusei and Koyuki come over to visit Mahiru and everyone they dont know gets insulted hardcore at first before they get familiar. Freya really likes Koyuki bc he's interested in plants and loves her apples. Ryuusei once asked to work out with Ildio and Tetsu and... well... Never again. Lawless and Tsubaki are the ones that get subjected to Koyuki's rare verbal smackdowns and they sulk for like a week because of all the things said. They behave a little more around him. Sakuya has both of these incidents on record.

Kuro and Sakuya warm up to each other enough that Sakuya gets to bother Kuro without concequence (Sakuya and Kuro are like cats in a very similar way so they chill together mostly) and Kuro's siblings think its so unfair the first time they catch them cuddled up together playing their video games. Mahiru loves it.

Tsubaki and Team M play so many fucking pranks its insane. They prank Mahiru at a distance after the one time they scared him and Mahiru punched Tsubaki square in his face and broke his nose.

Higan hit on Tooru once and almost got jumped by Mahiru.

Speaking of Higan, he and Hyde are feuding, and he avoids Lily when he can.

Sometimes Tsurugi visits for Mahiru and causes some chaos.

And sometimes he drags Touma with him and many fights have to be stopped each time he sets foot the front door. This is why they send Tooru.

Mikado visited once but got so intimidated by all of the vampires that he swore he'd never visit again. Tries to get Misono back in Alicein Manor but it doesn't work and he sulks about it. Boohoo bitch.

Thats all I got for now.

[measuringbliss]

Spider-Man Read-Through 022: The Master Plan of the Molten Man... and Dracula is also there (ASM 132-133, GSSM 1)

MASTERPOST

In this duo, we see an old friend... or two. And then, we meet a vampire. OoOoOh~!

I really enjoy the Molten Man's new design! Gorgeous cover.

It may be January in the Marvel-verse, but we're in May 74, publication-wise!

Liz is back! Hasn't been seen since issue 30, which explains why I keep mistaking Betty and her.

I don't know why, but I remembered this specific (and very ugly) maid. Poor lady.

Anyway, Raxton is hot, there I said it, we can get on.

When I first saw those panels, I thought it was exactly like how Romita would draw Liz... then I checked the credits again... and it's him! His soapy style is gorgeous as ever. Peter says she never got on with MJ, but given that MJ appeared for the first real time in #42... I don't know what he's on. The art of the retcon!

Ned, who's investigating the maid's intel on Raxton, almost dies as Raxton (actually the Molten Man) makes his room explode. I like that Ned (and the rest of the cast) are more involved! I miss them.

The Molten Man has apparently not been seen since #35, which checks out. It's the occasion for the artists to put gold, which is a shade we don't see so much.

Look, is this a safe space? Can I say what's on my mind?

The feet are really nice. I'm not particularly into feet (I know, TMI) but I'm really impressed by how it looks good. And the rest of Raxton's body is obviously quite well-done too. I'm not saying that Spider-Man comics made me gay, but they sure aren't beating the allegations.

Ned is very badly aged, but I like the damsel in distress look.

Raxton's radiation has a bad influence on Peter's metabolism, and he might very well die by the next issue...

Oh, who are we kidding?

In the readers' letters, it seems like Gwen's death has now mostly been forgiven, and someone is praising MJ--and she deserves it!

Even men want to see more of Peter! I'm afraid the situation isn't exactly adapted, however.

As a matter of fact, Spidey has already planned to party in a sauna with another man. Better luck next time!

(I love those smoke effects.)

Liz reveals that Raxton is her brother, which I completely forgot about.

We rarely see that kind of comedy, hahaha.

So. Um. It's a classic story of Spidey kind of being a jerk. Um. So Liz's brother is dead. For now. Maybe. Oof.

In the comments, there's also people talking about Russia's attack on Ukraine. Gerry Conway's run is really provocative, huh! I'm kind of loving it. His shaking of the status quo, not the attack.

I wonder if we'll get to see Liz's reaction :(

I'll do Giant-Size 1 later, it's currently more than 3 am. Hey, do you know what we'll get next time? A big batch... and Harry's big moment as, you know, the, the...!

Oh, you'll just have to wait!

______________________________________________________________

And here's the late addendum of Giant-Size Spider-Man #1!

I'm into that, actually!

So May's dying again (isn't she always?) and Peter needs to get her a vaccine. Ross Andru thus entertains us with a brilliant perspective shot.

Their homoeroticism never fails. Reading the summary of Marvel Team-Up 23 actually was a treat, because I finally got the answer to a years-old question of mine: did Iceman really rob a bank in the first few pages of this issue?

No, he didn't, folks!

Yes, you're getting a ton of screenshots for this part, since I know there's no more issue in this batch after this one.

Anyway, Dracula... Could you please breed me?

To me, Peter and Dracula crossing paths was like, an interplanetary event. It gave me chills. In fact, it still does and I think I should write Peter/Dracula smut now so thank you to the whole team, you've made a mess out of my brain, ARE YOU HAPPY?!? (It is 3 am.)

At least three factions are out there to find Maxfield, either to kill him (Dracula), use him for bartering (the Whisperer and Simian), and naturally Peter just wants to heal his aunt.

I remember that exact cosplay!!!! Funny what the brain remembers and doesn't. Sir, if you thirst so much, maybe I could come to your aide. You just need to ask. Okay, that's actually optional.

The Whisperer's men have a run in with Dracula and think he's Maxfield, which totally offends Dracula. As revenge, he decides to homosexualize his assailants.

Muahahaha.

The writing team then attempts to gaslight me into thinking Dracula isn't hot as fuck.

They're not doing a good job, I can tell you.

A woman is attacked by Dracula, Peter hears her, alerts the captain, who makes Dr. Maxfield come... and Simian follows them.

The fake Hawkgirl attacks one of them and is knocked unconscious. They escape with the man, Peter escapes too...

I'm all giddy!!!!!! Don't know why, but I love that "oh it's not the end yet... or rather, at all! I'm loving this romp. It's a complete joy.

In a great feat of misdirection, Simian and his men find Spider-Man... but actually, he's just a rando in a costume! That's funny and foreshadowed (given that everyone's in a costume anyway). And if I remember, this isn't the only misdirection...

The guy on the right is a fun one.

Meanwhile, Dracula is just as uncomfortable watching Babylon's first 10 minutes as I was. (It's a great movie, go watch it.)

Great mise-en-scène! The Whisperer has trapped the guy, but a bat follows... and hits Simian with its gay ray. Hurray!

Gosh, Dracula is such a girlboss. "I have been harassed--attacked--INSULTED..." Iconic.

Dracula eventually escapes, convinced that he just threw Maxfield overboard... but Spidey caught fake Robin Hood!

And thus, the biggest twist arises!

What a girlboss too.

And that's how it ends. A stellar issue! Loved it.

[selfdiagnosedeyemotif]

Chapter Three (Tyrri), pt. 1:

Hey did you think Cunningsworth is a big city? Get ready for Whitecrux

Sitting pretty at the very centre of the Hearthlands, this thing is a metropolis

It’s very much in the same vein as Cunningsworth though: lots of back alleys that make for a much better path to the university than the main roads

Additionally, there’s some kind of really dumb roadblock on the main road. The stupider the better.

Tyrri makes it through the back alleys with little issue before reaching the university, and sitting in the highest tower is Headmaster Tasslemore

He’s a much older man than Professor Elber, much more classic wizard-looking (rather than Elber who was wearing basically just a tweed jacket, this game exists around the same time as OT2 because suits in a fantasy setting are fun)

He asks to see the water samples, and after a little bit of looking, comes to two conclusions

One: the non-elemental magic in the water appears to be biological in origin

Two: the filaments that make up the crystals very closely mimic the muscles in the heart

He says that he’s going to take the rest of the day to look further into it so he can draft up a preliminary report, and sends Tyrri away

He isn’t very fun. Not that I care.

The road is still blocked so Tyrri takes the back alleys again

Something bad finally happens to the university student walking alone in alleys as a pair of people try to steal her messenger bag (which has all of her notes and equipment)

Fight ensues, the two assailants are notably casters

After thoroughly trouncing the duo, Tyrri demands to know why they would go after a research student of all people

She’s broke as hell and her equipment matches that

They explain that they’re independent researchers and are just completely starved for gear

Why not go to the university? They look around that age and it would be a crime to make schooling so unaffordable that people straight-up couldn’t take courses

Like, no one would be awful enough to not at least have a basics course at a cheaper price

Well you’re not gonna believe this but

The duo leave her alone after it becomes clear that they’re no match for her

Tyrri is NOT sleeping good that night. Something something her black-and-white view of the world being challenged by the idea that a person who helped her being bad actually

In spite of the fact that she was supposed to go bright and early to head to the university she returns back to the place the duo almost mugged her because what they said is messing her up

She returns to find them in the same place and starts talking things out

Their names are Willie and Dante, they’re brothers, and their parents moved to the Hearthlands from the Deltalands in hope of better education for their sons

 The University of Whitecrux, in addition to its many other descriptors, is also hellishly expensive to get into

Tyrri is pissed but refuses to explain why, stares at a wall silently for a bit, and then says that she’s going to go beat the everliving shit out of the headmaster

Willie and Dante are free to tag along and do so gladly

As the three march into the university, a guard spots them

“INTRUDER ALERT. THOSE DAMN KIDS ARE BACK.”

“Guys what did you do.”

“Yeah we may or may not have tried to pull the same trick we did on you, on the university.”

With that delightful bit of dumbassery that most certainly should have been brought up beforehand, we jump into…

The Third (technically second) Dungeon: University of Whitecrux

You’d think that you already explored here but you’re WRONG

The first time Tyrri came here it jumped to a cutscene as soon as you opened the door and cut straight to her entering the headmaster’s office (jokes about it being too many stairs for her 4’11” twig frame ensue, she SMALL)

The enemies here are exclusively elementals paired with a single spellcaster, and armoured guards

Why does a university have armoured guards on its payroll? Don’t ask me. Ask the headmaster.

It’s fairly linear, just heading up and up towards the top of the tower

Definitely lots of hidden goodies to find like in Professor Elber’s office; there are going to be side quests here later on

Tyrri continues her streak of having real shitty dungeons because I truly have nothing to say about this

It’s a university with a bigass tower on it. What else do you want me to tell you.

Opening the doors to the headmaster’s office once more, a verbal spat breaks out

Headmaster Tasslemore demands to know why Tyrri would do this, Tyrri can easily explain as much

She was a street kid growing up, but she was able to scrounge and save enough from an early age and get schooling, work her ass off for scholarships, and get into the University of Cunningsworth (UoC is like. The Qamarian standard for how expensive a university should be. Its still too high but its closer to reasonable than THIS)

It was a truly awful time and she wouldn’t wish it upon anyone, even if they had tried to rob her the day before (quick glance back at Willie and Dante)

Headmaster Tasslemore. Does not like that. He does not like that the preliminary report he had drafted up had been for one of those rats

The natural thing to do? Throw it out the window. One of the siblings is thankfully able to intercept him before he can do that but some magic-enhanced keep away ensues

The room steam with rage on both sides, we leap into…

[otakusheep15]

hey im the anon who said ill hit rook once in my life if he existed irl.

I totally agree with what u said about rook's potential being wasted. It too made me uncomfortable watching his interactions and but then at times i end up laughing because of the exaggeration or his actions like when in the halloween event he just started singing out of nowhere very cheerfully in contrast to their stuation. But then i think, what if they deliberately wrote his character to not be very likeable to the viewers because hes based off the huntsman

"Yes, Vil appreciates his opinions and perspectives, but many other characters don't, and they express this heavily, especially the non-human characters" Yep this is what i mean by when he gives unsolicited advice and him failing to be socially appropriate. I really want him to read the social cues. I really hope to see his character development cause we didnt really get that in ch-5 or 6 cause while we do get sides of rook we dont normally see he still hasnt stopped being entirely a creep or or trying to improve on it. While rook's intentions arent bad his actions are very uncomfortable, i really wish the writers would give him his character development so i wouldnt have this like-hate feelings towards him even if it means they graduated nrc cause at least my man got better

"So we can't really confirm if his traits are a result of trauma like the others." the fact that we dont know much more about rook makes it much harder to bear his presence at times, we know more about vil and epel and a got more than a glimpse to understand what their relationship with their parents but with rook.....everything about him mysterious we dont really know much even about his family while we know that epel has a grandma and ace has a older brother,etc and generally doesnt like speaking about himself. I hope to see him open up to someone or seeing the world from his eyes from the past to the present.

"Plus, unlike the majority of characters, Rook is not based on a villain, he's based on the huntsman from Snow White. So, realistically, he should be one of the morally best characters, and he shouldn't be as bad as some of the "villain" characters."

not really,the huntsman isnt really a good character, he is introduced to us as a villain in the beginning who plans to kill snow white and spares her. The Huntsman is not necessarily good, because of his agreement to kill Snow White, but the reason he couldnt bring himself to kill her was because of how much she resembled an innocent child and after failing to complete his task he's try to deceive the queen because he wants to save her and himself as well. This shows the huntsman had a little bit of conscience despite him agreeing to take another's life and almost succeding to do so if she hadnt turned towards the huntsman direction and giving a shriek which was the final straw that he couldnt do that. He is a villain but not a major one at that. His morals are also in a grey area when u consider that and that the queen wouldnt assign a rookie who just killed animals to kill a human being. And rook isnt morally bad and could possibly be consider good because he saved neige from drinking vils poison and trying to help vil in the process in both chap-5 and 6. He has mostly all the time been honest and isnt morally bad in theory but in practicality he sucks at interacting with others even if he doesnt mean it.

"I wish that I could like Rook more, I really do, but he just gives me too much ick, and I apologize to all Rook lovers for that."

Please dont apologise for not liking a character. U have very valid reasons for not liking him. I hope in the future that rook is more considerate of others and that u slowly start to like him a little bit. The fact that u tried to see him in a better light even tho u couldnt is still admirable for the fact u tried to see the better inside of him and for that i thank u because most of the fandom just disregards him and takes no weight of his actual character

Honestly, I can agree with you. There are moments where I do enjoy Rook's character. The Halloween event is probably the only time he hasn't made me feel super uncomfortable, and I found myself actually wanting to see more of him, especially with how funny his dynamic between him, Trey, and Sebek was.

I also really want to see his character development in game. I remember absolutely hating characters like Riddle, Azul, and Vil during their feature chapters, but then loving them after they get their character development. Even more minor characters like Ruggie and the Tweels were much more enjoyable once they were redeemed, so I do hope the same happens to Rook at some point.

As much as I love mysterious characters, I do wish to learn more about Rook. He seems so fascinating, and I want him to open up more about his life. Like, he's the only non-beastman character who comes from Sunset Savannah, and I wanna hear more about that. Is he secretly part beastman? Is that why he's so obsessed with the non-human students? I really wanna find out.

I do see where you're coming from about the Huntsman not technically being a "good guy," but I do respectfully disagree. In game, the characters use void magic, as I'm sure you know. Most of them have dark void magic, but three of them are different. Rook, Kalim, and Silver all use a light form of void magic. Silver and Kalim are both based off of non-villain characters (Aurora and the Sultan respectively) which makes sense. The fact that Rook is the only other character with light void magic leads me to believe that, at least according to the devs, Rook, and therefore the Huntsman, are not villains. However, I do agree that Rook isn't morally bad at all, and I do genuinely believe that most of his off-putting nature stems from a lack of social skills. I lowkey headcanon that he didn't have many friends or neighbors growing up, leading to his strange form of interacting with others. I think he could honestly benefit from someone teaching him how to talk to others without creeping them out.

And, yeah, I do have a tendency to apologize when I disagree with someone. I just don't want them thinking I'm trying to start something with them or anything lol. But, really, I do try to see all characters in a good light at least once before I immediately start hating them. In my opinion, all characters deserve a chance, especially in a game where most of them are based off of villains. I do want to like Rook so bad because I love the Huntsman character from Snow White, and Rook does have such an interesting character design to him, both in looks and personality. I hope the devs give him some type of story arch, or at least a side story that delves more into his character.

Also, side note, I like how you cited quotes from my previous post. As someone whose favorite subject in high school was english, it made me laugh a bit, in a good way ofc /pos.

[pesterloglog]

Calliope, Roxy Lalonde, Rose Lalonde

Act 6, page 5613-5625

UU: hello!

TG: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TG: ...

TG: calliope?

TG: that u

UU: yes, it is i!

TG: holy shit

TG: the most pious and reverential of shits

TG: turd in a church callie

TG: you startled me!

UU: sorry! :u

TG: but yeah so

TG: hey!!!

TG: nice 2 finally meet you

TG: wow wee ur pretty

TG: so when you said you werent good looking it turns out that was a bunch of baloney?

UU: no, roxy. i am afraid it was not a helping of yoUr delicioUs earth baloney.

TG: aw dont say that

TG: also you said you were a cherub

TG: but if i am not mistaken you appear to be a troll

TG: unless cherubs actually look like trolls?

UU: alas, we do not.

UU: this is not my trUe appearance. i have taken the form of my trollsona.

UU: i wanted to look more presentable for oUr meetUp. UnfortUnately my trUe visage woUld likely repUlse or frighten yoU.

UU: that is not the first impression i woUld like to make.

TG: girl please

TG: trust me theres nothing you could look like that would make me scared of you or grossed out

TG: i am your friend and i know youre nice inside no matter what, so

TG: could i see the real u?

UU: that is so kind of yoU to say. i can believe that a lovely person like yoU woUld be able to stop herself from recoiling at the sight of my monstroUs face.

UU: bUt it is oUt of the qUestion. i am mUch more comfortable appearing to yoU this way.

UU: really it has more to do with my own dissatisfaction with the way i look than any lack of trUst in yoUr character.

UU: yoU Understand, don't yoU?

TG: yes

TG: its ok callie you can go on keep being a cute troll

TG: im just happy to see you

UU: likewise!

UU: i wish it coUld be Under better circUmstances thoUgh.

UU: we may not have mUch time here.

TG: wheres here exactly

TG: am i still dreamin?

UU: yes. i have led yoU to a dream bUbble of my own design.

UU: my imagination and thoUghts dictate what yoU see here.

UU: as i told yoU earlier, my brother is hUnting for me. so i have created a little sanctUary in space to stay hidden from him.

UU: that is why i coUld not speak to yoU earlier. not oUt loUd at least. he is highly sensitive to my presence, so it is very easy for me to get his attention if i'm not carefUl.

UU: bUt as long as we stand in the centre of this vortex, we may speak as loUdly as we like! no information can escape this dark pocket, so long as i maintain it.

UU: and seeing as yoU are a hero of void, yoU make an ideal gUest to bring home for one who wishes to remain hidden. thoUgh i will say the fact that yoU are my best friend is a lovely bonUs. ^u^

TG: best bonus!!!

TG: 4 real though its so nice to finally see you no matter what you make urself look like

TG: ive wanted to tell you all about whats been going on with me and my friends since we got together

TG: its been so fun hangin with them even in spite of lets be frank, some truly SELECT teen drama

TG: mmmm see how im kissin my two pinched fingers here? mwah it was like that

TG: the embarrassing teenanigans have been SUMPTUOUS and come highly recommended

TG: no but really its been great, and after some time irl with them it started feelin weird to think we were ever even apart

TG: yet sadly it was not complete because the moment i met them all was also the moment i totally lost touch with my other cool bffsy from THE WEBS

TG: i tried calling and calling your name but you never answered

UU: i know.

UU: i am sorry. u_u

TG: dont be sorry i knew youda answered if you could have

TG: i guess maybe you hid yourself so deep in this dream i couldnt wake ya?

TG: damn this must have sucked spending all this time here hiding from your asshole brother

TG: like i know hes a dick i talked to him enough times to get that but

TG: whys he tryin to kill u so bad?

UU: he is not trying to kill me.

UU: he has already sUcceeded at that.

UU: on the day he foUnd a way to kill my dream self, i was done for. thoUgh to be honest, i doUbt i'd have fared mUch better regardless.

UU: i think his half was always meant to predominate.

UU: my will was simply not strong enoUgh to overcome his. yoU know as well as i how stUbborn he is. i don't think he has ever had even a smidgen of doUbt in his thoUghts, or remorse for his deeds. whereas i was always plagUed by sUch feelings.

UU: on some level i always knew he woUld win. bUt i fooled myself. i thoUght i coUld overcome his ego by looking beyond his negative qUalities, staying optimistic, and working together with him in a game to accomplish something extraordinary.

UU: and that in doing so, perhaps i coUld begin to help him change. to teach him to evolve beyond his hatefUl natUre. and as he changed for the better, slowly but sUrely, he woUld become more like myself.

UU: that was how i thoUght i coUld predominate. it was how i was going to win! and really, if he grew closer to me in that way, by learning kindness and compassion, we both woUld have won. my predomination woUld not have meant his absolUte death, but oUr trUe Union.

UU: bUt sadly, i Underestimated how consUmed he was with the need to destroy me.

UU: now he is completely obsessed with finding my soUl and wiping me oUt for good, even if it means tearing apart the reality that sUrroUnds Us.

UU: he will never feel he has won Until all traces of me are gone.

TG: uuuugh

TG: hearing all that just makes me so unreasonably mad

TG: FUCK that shitlord

TG: i feel so bad knowing you died and there wasnt anything i could do

TG: no matter how much i said your name :(

UU: don't fret. yoU did all yoU coUld.

TG: isnt there some way we could bring you back

TG: some baller fuckin magic, or a bomb ass faeryspell

TG: i mean could we find an answer in like, for instance

TG: YE ENCHANTMENTES?

UU: very Unlikely.

TG: dangit

TG: ok then

TG: if i cant do that

TG: then i guess the next best thing would be

TG: to find your lil shit of a bro and feed him a steady diet of his own ass

UU: ^u^

TG: that is what we are supposed to do right

TG: i mean

TG: from what i gather

TG: the dude is ridicubad news

TG: just such brutal and stinky news

TG: so eventually somebodys got to kill him

TG: and that is probly us aint it?

UU: it's trUe that he deserves a comeUppance like few others.

UU: bUt slaying him is not actUally yoUr responsibility as heroes now.

UU: in fact, if anyone mUst bear that bUrden, it might be me.

TG: oh yeh?

UU: possibly.

UU: as we speak, there are hUndreds of soUls oUt here in the fUrthest ring working to defeat him.

UU: some search for a fabled treasUre. a weapon said to spell his certain demise.

UU: while others say that i myself am this weapon. :U

UU: and so they search for me.

UU: they band together in great nUmbers for this caUse, and attract his devastation in hopes of revealing the path to the weapon.

UU: while at the same time, they draw his attention away from me. and it is a good thing that they do.

UU: i mUst remain hidden from everyone for as long as i can.

TG: why?

TG: why not come out and be all like

TG: here i am yo its me! secret weapon ghost callie ;)

UU: becaUse i am no sUch thing!

UU: i was already Useless against my brother when he was jUst a brat who liked to tease me.

UU: now that he is an exceptionally mUscUlar and invincible adUlt, my chances are laUghable.

UU: no, if i am to contribUte, i need more time.

UU: i mUst go in search of my own weapon.

TG: what weapon?

UU: ironically, the same weapon which many of them are looking for.

UU: me!

TG: ??

UU: it's the only sliver of hope i have.

UU: i have reason to sUspect there may be another iteration of myself oUt here.

UU: one from a doomed timeline, who has kept hidden for a long time, jUst like i have.

UU: bUt Unlike me, she sUpposedly came from a reality where she predominated instead of my brother.

UU: and not by the means which i described. hers was not a mild Union of reconciliation.

UU: amazingly, her predomination was absolUte! a major feat of will, jUst as his was with me.

UU: as sUch, she went on to play the game, and...

UU: well, i cannot even imagine what followed, aside from the fact that she eventUally mUst have died for existing in an offshoot reality.

UU: if she exists, i woUld be eager to meet her. it woUld be a chance to get to know a version of myself who was strong enoUgh to override the will of my brother.

UU: someone i might have become if i had a little more coUrage. u_u

UU: and if she is sUch a person, then i really believe all i have heard mUst be trUe. i believe she is the key to defeating him.

UU: so i have no choice.

UU: i mUst go in search of myself.

TG: you sound like a real popular lady out here

TG: even you are looking for you!

UU: indeed.

TG: well i hope you can find her

TG: but

TG: if thats your job

TG: to find bizarro calliope and go wollop ur bro

TG: then what is our heroic biz?

UU: it's the same as it always was.

UU: to win the game.

TG: oh yeah

TG: duh

UU: it is as i once told jane.

UU: with victory yoU may finally exit this vast whirling storm.

UU: by claiming yoUr reward yoU woUld bring closUre to a very wide coil of caUsality, one not tracing a continUoUs path like a snake, bUt intricately woven like a wreath.

UU: a ring of coUntless little rises and falls, ascents and descents, on its way Up and down a pair of mUch bigger ones itself.

UU: from alpha to beta, then beta to alpha, as if a moUntain to be scaled and then climbed back down. its peak toUches the eye of a storm which cannot end Until the moment yoU all walk throUgh that door.

UU: only then will there be calm.

TG: ._.

UU: ah, bUgger. forgive me, sometimes i forget myself and begin speaking in riddles.

UU: it's jUst a habit that is in the natUre of my people.

TG: yeah i know

TG: at least yours r better than your bros stupid games

UU: don't remind me. in my opinion they do not qUalify as anything of the sort, mUch the same as his "shitty twists". >:u

TG: so then from what im surmising here is we dont need to beat him to win our game

TG: like dealing with him directly is kinda out of our domain?

UU: as the one who provoked the breach in paradox space which i jUst coloUrfUlly described, he has always exerted his inflUence on yoUr realities from afar, and from many different angles. throUgh Unwitting sUrrogates, oUtsoUrced manipUlation, oUtright enslavement, and even petty harassment. bUt most of all, he prevails throUgh the simple inertia of inevitability that has always been on his side, as a lord of time.

UU: and as the one who is to blame for foolishly allowing him access to sUch power, it's only proper that i take responsibility for finding a way to defeat him.

UU: bUt even thoUgh his methods of inflUencing yoUr session are indirect, they are still formidable.

UU: there will be a nUmber of powerfUl foes who stand between yoU and victory.

UU: tomorrow, a terrific battle will take place.

UU: when yoU wake Up, i sUggest yoU begin to prepare.

TG: ummmm ok

TG: how

TG: like make more sick gear

TG: i could hustle up another batch of illwicked guns

TG: just a big ol pile of guns

TG: jake can have the wimpy smaller ones

TG: make jane like a fancy new fork or spoon or such

TG: like an elite endgame spoon

TG: whatever that is

TG: like uh

TG: the chowderfucker 5000

TG: janey be flippin her godspoon round bopping monsters doing like

TG: CUCKOO damage

TG: wont bother make nothin 4 dirk since hes basically married to his boring anime sword

TG: like u could even pry that thing from his rad dead cadaver

UU: yes, i'm sUre new eqUipment woUld come in handy.

UU: now that yoU mention it, well before i died or even realized i woUld not live to play, i made special exception to my rUle of staying linear with conversation. i messaged jane a birthday gift.

UU: yoU see, i had a brief vision from skaia which sUggested to me she coUld Use a boost in morale on this special day, so i offered her something very dear to me. jUst a little token to show appreciation for her friendship.

UU: i hope it will cheer her Up, and moreover that it will prove at least somewhat UsefUl to yoUr party.

UU: bUt really, at this stage if yoU wish to prevail against sUch stacked odds, collecting boons sUch as new weapons and treasUres will only go so far.

UU: i think yoU will need to embrace a far more sUbstantive gambit.

TG: like what

TG: omg are we gonna have to enlist fefeta

TG: is fefeta the secret weapon

TG: its fefeta isnt it

TG: poor, sweet, dear, precious fefeta :(

UU: it is not fefeta!!!

UU: i am sUggesting a measUre that is mUch more extreme.

UU: i believe yoU shoUld all strongly consider ascending to the god tiers.

TG: oh

TG: ok that sounds cool what do we do

UU: well of coUrse it soUnds cool! bUt it's not necessarily as easy as it soUnds, steeling oneself for death. believe me.

UU: bUt if yoU can find the resolve, then here is what yoU mUst do.

UU: since none of yoU have any dream selves left, it won't do any good to sacrifice yoUrselves on the qUest beds foUnd on yoUr respective planets.

UU: and even if yoU did, there is not even a battlefield from which to rise anew. no, yoUr void session had only one path to ascension all along.

UU: yoU mUst travel to the centre of the moons of prospit and derse, and there in the crypt yoU will find yoUr sacrificial slabs. yoU mUst lie on them, and then...

UU: then yoU all mUst die. one way or another. u_u

TG: alright

UU: alright?

TG: yea

TG: fuck it

TG: lets do it

UU: doesn't the thoUght make yoU nervoUs?

TG: well

TG: gettin offed on a moon slab aint my idea of primo funtimes or anything

TG: but like

TG: you end up with super powers after that right?

UU: yes.

TG: and some kinda semi immortality?

UU: yes. :u

TG: and cool costumes???

UU: yes! :U

TG: then what is even the fuckin holdup

TG: lets plop our asses slabward and get down to dying

UU: yoU seem qUite cavalier aboUt this, roxy!

UU: don't yoU have doUbts?

UU: woUldn't it cross yoUr mind to wonder, "what if i never wake Up again?"

UU: i know it woUld for me.

TG: i guess thats a fair point

TG: but

TG: you say ill be fine right?

UU: yes. i believe yoU will.

TG: then thats good nuff 4 me

TG: i trust you

UU: ...

UU: ^u^

TG: but it sounds like we dont have much to pull this off

TG: because foes are a comin?

TG: who are all these foes you say we gotta beat

UU: those who i mentioned my brother has been exploiting as his pawns from afar.

UU: the most obvioUs woUld be the one responsible for the extinction of yoUr race.

UU: and who also happened to be responsible for this most fortUitoUs nap.

TG: huh?

TG: wait

TG: how DID i fall asleep?

UU: yoU don't remember yet?

TG: i remember

TG: a party

TG: and

TG: a sad jane

TG: a poor sad jane with shitty fella problems

TG: and a ruined cake! it was going 2 be so delish, but no

TG: it was claimed by the cruel and unforgiving sands of lopan

UU: ...

TG: i remember

TG: gcat

TG: GCAT!!!!!

TG: god DAMMIT gcat!

TG: he poofed me away with cat magic and i got ko'd by a floor

UU: bUt which floor?

TG: it was

TG: a derse floor?

TG: aw man

TG: was i captured?

TG: the batterwitch has me doesnt she

TG: THATS who you meant

TG: what is she gonna do with me?

UU: as i said, she is his servant, and is obligated to do everything in her power to facilitate the cycle of his existence.

UU: and while nearly all she has done on earth and on derse has been to advance that scheme, that does not mean she's withoUt her own agenda.

UU: i know that she woUld like to see my brother defeated as mUch as anyone else. for her enslavement, for doUble-crossing her, and for orchestrating her people's extinction.

UU: he always did loathe trolls. i've sUspected i may be to blame for their misfortUne as well, considering he knew how mUch i fancied them. u_u

TG: ok so if she wants him dead too and has her own personal secret plans or whatever then whats she want with me

UU: i believe she's looking ahead, beyond the fUlfillment of her obligation. she is likely making plans for after she is liberated. she has lived as a rUler and conqUerer for very long time, and probably coUldn't have done so withoUt sUch gUile and foresight.

UU: if she has captUred yoU, it's certainly for a good reason.

UU: i think she wishes to exploit yoUr abilities as a rogUe of void.

TG: pfahahaha

TG: WHAT abilities

TG: i dont have any abilities

TG: except making screens dark which as superpowers go is lame as hell

UU: none that yoU have gotten in toUch with yet.

UU: bUt rest assUred, yoU have them!

UU: it's like i told yoU before, remember?

UU: a fUlly realized rogUe of void can do remarkable things. things which even other god tiers woUld view as miracUloUs.

TG: like what?

UU: why don't yoU see what it is the qUeen woUld have yoU do?

UU: then yoU may look inside and determine whether yoU have it in yoU to do it.

TG: man

TG: whatever she wants

TG: even if it IS an enemy of my enemy kind of thing

TG: i dont think i could ever bring myself to help her :(

UU: that is Understandable.

UU: jUst do whatever yoU feel is right. i'm sUre yoU will make the correct decision.

UU: yoU see, i trUst yoU too, roxy. ^u^

TG: daw thanx callie

UU: oh no...

TG: what?

UU: OH NO!!!

UU: WHAT IS *SHE* DOING HERE???

ROSE: Mom? ROXY: mom?

CALLIOPE: NO NO NO NO NO! THIS WON'T DO AT ALL!

CALLIOPE: A LIGHT PLAYER? A LIGHT PLAYER???

CALLIOPE: HAVE YOU GONE MENTAL? WHY DON'T WE JUST BURN A BLOODY BONFIRE IN HERE!

CALLIOPE: HE'LL SPOT US ANY MINUTE! ASSUMING HE ISN'T ALREADY ON HIS WAY TO BLOW US ALL TO KINGDOM COME!!!

CALLIOPE: NOT THAT IT HASN'T BEEN DELIGHTFUL! BUT EVERYBODY OUT!

CALLIOPE: OFF WITH YOU, LOVE!

CALLIOPE: SHOO SHOO SHOO SHOO SHOO SHOO!

[cheemers-writing-archive]

Nothing Else Like It: Chapter 15

Hi! It's almost been a full year since I've updated this, huh? I would love to say that in typical fanfic writer fashion, something insanely dramatic happened to prevent this chapter, but that is not the case. I just felt like I couldn't write. I do think the fact that I almost flunked out of college TWICE before I updated this fic is connected somehow. Anyway, I hope this chapter is worth the wait!

Oh, one more thing! This is a crossover with my other fic, Crusader of Life 3! If you wanna see all of this from Emily and the others' perspective, I'd suggest you read it! The two books before it are kinda bad in my opinion, so I wouldn't suggest reading those first, but you can if you want I guess.

“Hey! Kai! Stop swinging that around!”

“But Grandad, I’m being careful!”

“You’re swinging around a mace! Just because Dedun can form its hands into anything you can carry doesn’t mean you should wield a weapon right now! We’re in a submarine!”

Kai sighed, calling Dedun back. He walked towards the couch, about to lay down on it, before he saw Jotaro sitting there. He gave his brother a glare before sitting on the chair next to the couch.

“I kind of miss being sleepy all the time,” Kai sighed. “Now that I’m not sick anymore, my body has no reason to let me rest. But I guess it makes me less of a burden, huh, Jotaro?” The last sentence was said louder than the others, with Kai turning his head towards his brother.

Jotaro huffed. “Okay fine, maybe I was a little harsher than I should’ve been-”

“A little?”

“But you have your Stand now, so what’s the big deal?” Jotaro was sitting straight up now.

“The deal is that you called me a burden!” Kai snapped. Without warning, Dedun’s fist materialized, swinging at Jotaro. Star Platinum’s hand materialized shortly after that, catching the fist before it hit its user.

Jotaro stared at the caught fist for a short while before turning his head back to his brother, exclaiming, “What the hell, Kai?” However, he could see that Kai was stricken with terror for a few moments before hardening his face as best as he could.

“Serves you right,” Kai said, voice wavering. He called Dedun back, then ran to the restroom.

Jotaro sighed. “He needs better control of his Stand,” he muttered. “Avdol, since you’re back, why don’t you help?”

“Don’t just brush off what happened, Jotaro!” Kakyoin said. “Calling him a burden, even if it was sort of true, was completely unwarranted. Kai’s not completely in the right, either, but you should at least try to patch things up, since this was kind of your fault in the first place.”

“Kai’s overreacting.” Jotaro shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve said worse things before and he’s gotten over it.”

“That doesn’t make this okay,” Joseph said. “You hurt your brother’s feelings. I’m not going to force you to apologize like before, but that’s because I want you to mean it when you do.”

“I’ll go make sure Kai’s not too shaken up by Dedun acting on its own,” Avdol said. “Mr. Joestar, can you pilot the submarine while I’m gone?” Joseph nodded, and Avdol went to the restroom, with Kakyoin following close behind.

“Kai?” Kakyoin lightly knocked on the door. “Kai, are you in there?”

There was no answer.

“Look, if you don’t want Avdol and I to come in, say so now, okay?” Kakyoin continued. “I’m not hearing anything from your side, and that worries me.”

Still no answer. Kakyoin pressed his ear to the door, and there wasn’t even muffled sobs coming from the other side.

“Alright, I’m opening the door now,” Kakyoin said. He turned the knob, and gasped when the door opened completely. Kai wasn’t there.

“Everyone!” Avdol shouted. “Kai’s missing!”

“Missing?” Polnareff asked. “How? We’re in a submarine!”

“He’s not in the submarine,” Kakyoin said. “We don’t know how he got out, or whether he was forced out by an enemy, but he did!”

Jotaro stood up. “Well, are we going to find him or not?”

Suddenly, Joseph let out a pained scream. The others turned to him, seeing that the steering wheel had morphed into a sword and sliced Joseph’s artificial hand off. The sword then batted the metal fingers straight into Joseph’s neck, causing him to pass out.

“Before we find Kai, I think we’ll have to deal with the enemy at hand,” Avdol said to the others. “It seems we have another Stand user attacking us.”

***

Just moments before, Kai slammed the bathroom door, then bent over the counter, breathing heavily. “What was that?” he asked Dedun, who materialized right beside the boy. “Why did you attack Jojo?”

“You were thinking that you wanted to punch him, so I simply did as you ordered me to,” Dedun bowed.

“No, I… I didn’t actually want to punch him!” Kai dug his fingers into his scalp. “This is bad. If every thought I have turns into an order for you, who knows what’ll happen? Someone I love could be injured, or killed!”

“Terrifying thought, is it?” a woman’s voice asked. Kai turned around to see a woman behind him. She had fair skin, dark purple hair, and sunglasses over her eyes. “To have the power to kill, right at your fingertips?”

“Who are you?” Kai demanded. Dedun stepped in front of his user.

“Oh, I’m nobody important,” the woman said with a smooth voice. “However, you’re very important, which is exactly why I’m here.”

Before he could react, the ground beneath Kai opened up, making him fall onto concrete. While he was regaining his footing, the woman jumped in with him, then closed up the sky. “Ah, good, I was afraid you’d have a version of you in this world,” she said.

“What did you do to me?” Kai asked. “Where am I?”

“You’re in another world,” the woman answered. “My name is Maya Valentine, and I dragged you here with my Stand, D4C.”

“What does that stand for?”

“It doesn’t really stand for anything,” she shrugged, “but that’s not the point. I dragged you here because I need you to take someone out for me.”

“Like Hell I will,” Kai said. “I won’t kill somebody just because someone else tells me to.”

“Fine,” Maya shrugged. “I guess you don’t want to go back to your world, then.” She started to walk away.

“Wait!” Kai exclaimed. Maya stopped and turned around.

“Who do I need to kill?”

Maya’s mouth formed into a smile, and she took off her glasses. “There’s a girl who’s the daughter of a mafia boss. Her name is Gionna Giovanna.” Maya handed a picture to Kai, a portrait of a girl with blonde hair and green eyes. “If she’s killed, her father’s spirit will be broken, and his hold on the underground will be loosened.”

“Do you have any idea of where I can find her?”

“She should be asleep right now,” Maya said. “In fact, I took away the hard part of finding her for you. The window to her bedroom should be right there.” She pointed to a window just a few yards away. “Just go in, kill her, and go out. If you can do that, I’ll send you back home.”

Kai gulped as he walked over to the window. If I can just make it sound like I killed her, I can go back home without that on my conscience, he thought to himself. Luckily for him, the window was open, so he jumped through, landing on the creaky floorboards. In the room were two beds on either side. Kai looked to one side, where there was a girl with red hair about the same age as him. He turned to the other side, expecting to see the girl in the picture, but instead there was nothing.

“Who are you?”

Kai gasped, quickly turning around. The girl on the other side was sitting upright in bed. She looked past Kai and at the empty bed behind him.

“What did you do to Gionna?”

“Wait, wait! I promise I didn’t do anything to her!” Kai put open hands in front of him.

“But you were planning to do something to Gionna if she was here,” the girl said. Kai was suddenly lifted up into the air, being violently thrown out of the window. When he regained his footing after rolling on the ground for a moment, he saw the girl go out after him, flying in the air. “Once I’m done with you, I’ll go find her.”

You don’t understand! I was only pretending to kill her! Kai wanted to shout. However, the threat of Maya being nearby kept his mouth shut. The only thing he could do was keep up the act in front of her. He summoned Dedun, transforming its hand into a gun.

“So you do have a Stand,” the girl said. She revealed her own, a golden, human-like figure, with flowing hair that merged with the head.

Kai aimed the gun at the girl’s shoulder, then shot it. However, before it hit her, the bullet magically stopped in front of her, falling to the ground.

So, she can stop objects in midair with her ability, Kai thought. I’m starting to get a clearer idea of what her Stand is capable of.

Just a few moments after Kai shot his gun, the girl zoomed towards him. With the way she was moving, Kai would never be able to get a clean shot to the shoulder, so he had Dedun change the gun into a knife. The girl noticed this, pulling up before Kai could do anything. While she was in the air, her eyes widened while she looked down at something.

“Gionna!” the girl shouted. “Wake the others up! I need some backup!”

Kai gulped. If I don’t tell her what’s really going on soon, I might never get the chance.

The girl was flying down to Kai again. He looked down to the ground, seeing Gionna running to the window. He started to run towards Gionna, hoping that Maya would believe he was making a mistake of forgetting about the girl in the air. Sure enough, the girl grabbed Kai by his arms, lifting him up into the air.

“Did you seriously forget about me?” the girl asked. “I thought you’d be harder to deal with.”

“I didn’t,” Kai said. “I need to tell you something out of earshot of the girl who’s watching me.”

The girl stopped, suspending the two of them in the air.

“Don’t stop flying yet,” Kai whispered. “I don’t know how good she is at picking up context clues.”

The girl continued flying, and while she did, Kai explained who he was and how he was put into this predicament.

“Is Dedun your Stand?” the girl asked.

Kai nodded.

“Why didn’t you just explain this to me before I started fighting?”

“I didn’t know if Maya was watching me, and I didn’t want to give away my plans.”

The girl nodded, then asked one more question. “What’s your name?”

“Kai Kujo.”

The girl almost stopped again, but kept her composure and continued flying. “Kujo?”

“You know that name?”

“Yeah. My dad’s friend has the same last name.”

Kai narrowed his eyes. “What did you say your name was, again?”

“Emily Kakyoin.”

“Your dad wouldn’t happen to have the name Noriaki, would he?”

Emily gasped. “How did you know?”

Kai laughed. “I’m dating Noriaki right now! And if my hunch is correct, your dad’s friend is my brother, Jotaro.”

Emily laughed, as well, but it quickly died down. “We’re going pretty far from the house,” she said. “I think we need a plan for bringing you back so we can talk more. There are still things I need to know.”

“What if you just knocked me out?” Kai asked. “It’s a good way to get me inside your home without Maya thinking that I’ve teamed up with you.”

Emily tilted her head. “Are you sure?”

Kai shrugged. “I’ve passed out plenty of times before.”

Emily let out a small laugh. “You’re weird, you know that?” she said. Before Kai could respond, Emily threw him down.

While he was falling, Kai laughed, too. “You’re just as weird as me,” he said to himself, before he hit the ground and lost consciousness.

Meanwhile, unknown to anyone else, Maya was watching the scene unfold from an area inside of her Stand. “I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and say that you’re gaining the enemies’ trust, Kai,” she said to herself. “However, you aren’t getting back to your world unless you give me the head of Gionna Giovanna.”

***

A muffled voice. As Kai regained consciousness, he heard a muffled voice. He slowly opened his eyes, the light blinding him before he adjusted to it. As he continued waking up, the voice that was talking cleared up. Kai noticed that it sounded like Emily, but he still couldn’t make out what she was saying. It sounded like she was speaking in a different language.

He tried to move from his spot, but he was paralyzed. No, that wasn’t right. He could move very slightly, but if he tried moving any more, the bindings all around his body would restrict him. Kai also apparently made a small noise, because all four heads suddenly turned to him. Besides Emily, there was a boy with black hair, a boy with brown hair, and a person with dark purple hair.

Emily walked around to the back of the chair Kai was sitting in. “How long have you been awake?” she asked as she undid the rope that held him down.

“Not that long,” Kai said. Once his restraints were lifted, he stood up and stretched his arms out. “What’s everyone’s names?”

The other three furrowed their eyebrows and tilted their heads.

“Oh, giusto!” Emily said. “Ragazzi, non capite il giapponese. Kai sta chiedendo i vostri nomi.”

The others’ confused looks went away.

“Lucio,” the black-haired boy said.

“Marco,” the brown-haired boy said.

“Nadia,” the purple-haired person said.

“Pleased to meet you all.” Kai stood up from his chair and bowed. “I’m sorry about causing you worry with Gionna.”

Emily translated once again for everyone else. Nadia said something that Kai didn’t understand.

“They’re saying not to worry about it,” Emily told Kai. “You did what you had to do.”

Kai looked back up, letting his muscles relax. Once he sat back down, everyone else started to talk to each other, leaving Kai unable to communicate with anyone else. I at least wish I could talk with Emily more, he thought to himself.

After a little while, Emily turned back to Kai. “So, right now, our plan is to, well, come up with one between Nadia, Marco, Lucio, and I, then tell you about it to see if you have any additions to make. Also, Lucio said that if you wanted a more comfy place to hang out, you could go to his room and rest there.”

“Thanks,” Kai said, and left for the hallway. Once he started to leave, the others started talking. While he was walking down the hall, looking at the rooms, he saw Gionna sleeping in her bed. She’s alone right now, he thought to himself. If I want to get back home as quickly as possible, now would be the perfect time. His pace slowed a bit as he found himself lost in thought, before shaking his head and putting his focus back on finding Lucio’s room. I’m not going to kill someone who doesn’t deserve it, even if that means I’ll never go home.

Luckily for Kai, everyone had labels on their room, and he had paid attention in English class enough to read the romanized alphabet. He read the letters; M-A-R-C-O, L-U-C-I-O, N-A-D-I-A. Marco, Lucio, and Nadia. Kai entered Lucio’s room, and laid down on the bed. “This is the worst,” he mumbled.

“If you want it to end, you have the power to make it end right now,” Maya’s voice said. Kai jolted up, seeing Maya close up the sky that she likely just opened to arrive. “Gionna’s alone right now.”

“Maya!” Kai exclaimed.

“Look, thinking of a plan to trick me into thinking that you’ve killed Gionna won’t work, because I can spy on you whenever I want,” Maya said. “If you want to get back to your world, you’ll have to take a life. Whether that happens or not depends on you.”

Once Maya was done talking, footsteps started to make their way down the hall. “Well, it looks like I have to go,” Maya continued. “If you ever decide to actually take Gionna’s life, I’ll support you however I can. See you soon!”

And just like that, Maya opened up the ground and left, leaving no sign she was ever there in the first place.

Suddenly, a knock came from the other side of the door. “Kai?” Emily’s voice said. “Are you in there?”

“Huh? Yeah, I’m here,” Kai said, heart still beating. “You can come in.”

Emily opened up the door, and her eyebrows immediately furrowed. “Is everything okay?”

Do I really look that freaked out? “Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” Kai said, forcing himself to smile. “I just saw a bug and it freaked me out a bit.”

“Oh, yuck,” Emily laughed. “Well, the rest of us came up with a plan, if you’d like to hear about it.” She nudged her head towards the door, beckoning for Kai to follow her. Kai got up from the bed and walked behind Emily as she started talking.

I can’t give anything away, Kai thought to himself. I have to look like I haven’t seen Maya yet. If they know Maya can spy on me whenever, it’ll put all of us at a disadvantage. I’ll have to act like their plan will work, and come up with something on my own.

“So, right now, our plan is to create some fake blood, and spill it all over Gionna’s bed,” Emily said. “We’ll probably spill some on you, too, so that Maya can be more convinced you killed her. How good are you with acting?”

“I’m… decent?”

“Do you think you can act shell-shocked?”

“I guess so.”

“Good.” Emily smiled. “Once we get the preparations ready, you go find Maya and tell her that you killed Gionna. Make sure to act like you’re utterly terrified with what you did, so she’ll believe you easier.”

Kai nodded. “How long do you think preparations will take?”

“Oh, not that long. I’d say just long enough for me to ask all the questions I’m dying to ask.”

Kai let out a laugh. “You’re not the only one who’ll be asking, you know.”

“Well, since you’re on board with this idea, I’ll tell the others.” Emily patted Kai on the back, then stood up and turned to everyone else, once again speaking in what Kai thought was Italian. While she was talking, Kai thought of ways to defeat Maya on his own. I have to be able to use Maya’s ability to appear anywhere to my advantage, but how? She can spy on me whenever, and is probably watching me right now. I can’t let her know I’m figuring something out on my own.

Kai decided to zone back in just as Nadia and Lucio were leaving. Lucio was waving a hand with a smile on his face, and Emily was rolling her eyes with the same smile.

“You seem to be really good friends with… Lucio, I think his name is,” Kai said once they left.

Emily scoffed. “Oh, please, he annoys me to no end.” She sat back down, and eagerly turned to Kai. “Enough about me, though. You’re from another world. That’s so much more interesting than my life.”

And from there, the two shared lots of different parts of their life. Kai learned that in this world, there was a woman named Lily who married Kakyoin, and the two of them had Emily. She told Kai about Morioh and a man named Yoshikage Kira, about how he brutally murdered Lily. She told him about Daichi, and about Giorno Giovanna, and about how she got into this mess in the first place.

While the two were talking, Kai was thinking through his plan. If I can attack while others are present, they can attack Maya, too. I don’t know what everyone’s Stands do, but I at least know that Emily can restrain her. It just might be what I need to bargain my way back to my world.

Sometime during their chat, Kai noticed Nadia and Gionna uncovering a rug and opening a trapdoor on the floor. So that’s where she is, he thought.

“Huh,” Emily said. “That’s something new.”

Kai tilted his head.

“I’m fairly new here,” Emily continued, “so I don’t know about everything they have. I had no clue there was a trapdoor there.”

After some time, Nadia came back out by themself, then covered the trapdoor up with the rug again. They said something in Italian, and Emily nodded.

“We’re almost ready,” she told Kai.

“Well, if we don’t get another chance, I just want to say that it was nice meeting you,” Kai said. “I wish I could’ve met you in different circumstances.”

“Same here.” Just as Emily finished her sentence, Lucio came up and spoke to Emily. She stood up, telling Kai that they were ready. He stood up with her, and the two walked back to Gionna’s room with Lucio. When they got there, Marco flicked a dark red liquid all over Kai.

“How do I look?” Kai asked Emily.

“Like a murderer,” Emily said, “but not a regretful murderer.”

“Oh! Right,” Kai said. He changed his expression, making his eyes go wide, looking at the ground.

“Oh, wow, that’s amazing!” Emily laughed. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you actually killed her.”

“I guess we’re ready, then,” Kai sighed, shaking his body. “Let’s hope this works.” And let’s hope I can keep up this act whenever I come back.

As everyone was walking to their rooms, Kai left the house, walking a ways away from it. Once he was far enough away, Maya opened up the sky and landed on the ground.

“I see you didn’t let your friends know about me,” she said. “I’m guessing you’re ready to kill?”

Kai nodded, keeping his expression the same. “I’m ready.”

“Good!” Maya chirped. “I’ll help you however I can, then.”

And that’s going to be your downfall, Kai thought to himself. Maya fell through the ground again, and Kai started slowly walking back. Once he got back, he opened and closed the front door louder than usual, hoping to alert the others. Sure enough, Emily and Marco appeared from the hall entrance.

“It didn’t work?” Emily asked.

Kai slowly shook his head. “There’s only one other thing I can do in this situation,” he said, then summoned Dedun. The Stand’s hand formed into a ball and chain, then it slammed into the floor right under the rug, breaking the trapdoor. Kai quickly jumped down the chute and ran away from Walking on Sunshine’s range before Emily realized what was happening.

Making his way into the basement, Kai realized why Nadia was okay with him seeing the secret trapdoor. To call the place a labyrinth wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Still, he couldn’t hesitate in going every which way to look for Gionna, because to stay still would be worse than getting lost.

“Turn left here,” Maya’s voice said. It sounded like she was speaking from Kai’s back. Startled, Kai stopped running and put a hand on his back, feeling a small hole in his clothes.

“I can place my portals anywhere I want, and I don’t necessarily have to travel between them if I don’t want to,” Maya continued. “I know where Gionna is being hidden, and so I’ll guide you there. Turn left here.”

Kai did as he was told, steering himself left. He kept running in the same direction before Maya said, “Turn right.” Kai obeyed, and turned right. He continued like this, turning when Maya said so, until he saw Emily, Marco, and Nadia running from the other side. Nadia said something in a panic, then the three turned into a corridor.

“I’m sure you don’t need me anymore, huh?” Maya said, then went silent. Kai turned where the others did, and saw them surrounding Gionna.

“Give up, Kai!” Emily shouted. “You’re outnumbered!”

“He may be outnumbered right now, but I can change that,” Maya’s voice said. A portal opened right above the three, and she suddenly grabbed Nadia, pulling them up into the portal and closing it.

After Nadia disappeared, Kai started slowly approaching Emily and Marco. He summoned Dedun, forming his hand into a sword. Emily stood right in front of Gionna, screaming, “Don’t do it!”

“What choice do I have?” Kai screamed back. “I can’t stay here forever!”

“I don’t want to kill you!” Tears started to form in Emily’s eyes. “Don’t make me kill you!”

Kai didn’t answer, instead continuing to approach. He could see an aura around Marco, signaling that he summoned his Stand, and suddenly, Kai ran into an invisible wall. He blinked a few times, trying to get a hold of his surroundings. Once he did, he slowly reached his hands out, trying to understand what happened. Sure enough, his hands pressed against that same wall, but he realized that there was a light pink tint to it.

Once he had a feel for what was happening, he brought a plan into action. He had Dedun’s sword morph into a ball and chain again, swinging it into the shield that blocked him. Each time, the ball made a loud boom, threatening to break the barrier. Behind the others watching carefully, Kai saw Maya sneak up behind Marco.

Maya said something in Italian, and Marco jumped. Suddenly, Kai’s attacks made a crack in the barrier. However, his plan was never to break the wall. His plan was to lure Maya out from hiding.

“Now’s your chance!” Kai shouted. “Restrain her!”

Emily stood still for a moment, but quickly summoned Sunshine and lifted Maya up and away from the portal she made before she could escape.

“You…” Maya growled, scowling at Kai. “You tricked me!”

“And you used me to do your dirty work,” Kai said. “I’d say we’re even now.”

Emily, still holding Maya in the air, immediately became more relaxed. She spoke to Marco, who spoke back. The two kept talking, until Marco sighed, saying one more thing. Suddenly, the light pink wall in front of Kai disappeared, and he calmly walked forward, calling back Dedun.

As Kai continued to walk, Emily sat down on the floor as she talked to Maya. Maya continued to have an air of confidence at first, but it quickly started breaking the more Emily spoke. Eventually, Nadia was dropped from a portal, and another portal opened up. This one showed an image of Jotaro, Kakyoin, Joseph, Avdol, and Polnareff, along with a dog that Kai had never seen before.

Once Kai got a good look at the other side of the portal, he looked back up and nodded. “Yup, this is my world.”

“So this is where we say goodbye?” Emily asked.

Kai nodded. “I guess it is.”

“Well, then it was really cool meeting you!” Emily said. “I’ll never forget about you, so you better not forget about us!”

Kai looked back at everyone, giving a small laugh. “Don’t worry about that. It’s hard to forget a bunch like you guys!” he said. And with that, he jumped in the portal as it closed right behind him. He didn’t fall for long before he landed in the sand.

“Everyone! I’m back!” Kai shouted. The rest of the group didn’t move from their spots and didn’t speak either, instead just looking back, horrified.

“What’s wrong?” Kai asked, walking towards the others. “Come on, it’s me, you know that!” He suddenly stopped, realizing what could be going on.

Was I sent to the wrong world?

The more Kai thought about it, though, the less it seemed likely. If Kai was a stranger to these guys, they would’ve immediately gone on the defensive. No, something else was going on. He looked around, then noticed Kakyoin completely passed out, with blood dripping from his eyes.

“Oh, god, Noriaki!” Kai shouted. “What happened to Noriaki?”

“Kai, look out!” Avdol shouted. Kai looked back at the man, seeing that he was running straight for him. Avdol tackled Kai, and suddenly, Kai saw a stream of water cut off a piece of Avdol’s neck. Before he could process anything, though, he hit his head on the sand just right, and passed out.

[beantothemax]

Chapter Three:

Hey did you think Cunningsworth is a big city? Get ready for Whitecrux

Sitting pretty at the very centre of the Hearthlands, this thing is a metropolis

It’s very much in the same vein as Cunningsworth though: lots of back alleys that make for a much better path to the university than the main roads

Additionally, there’s some kind of really dumb roadblock on the main road. The stupider the better.

Tyrri makes it through the back alleys with little issue before reaching the university, and sitting in the highest tower is Headmaster Tasslemore

He’s a much older man than Professor Elber, much more classic wizard-looking (rather than Elber who was wearing basically just a tweed jacket, this game exists around the same time as OT2 because suits in a fantasy setting are fun)

He asks to see the water samples, and after a little bit of looking, comes to two conclusions

One: the non-elemental magic in the water appears to be biological in origin

Two: the filaments that make up the crystals very closely mimic the muscles in the heart

He says that he’s going to take the rest of the day to look further into it so he can draft up a preliminary report, and sends Tyrri away

He isn’t very fun. Not that I care.

The road is still blocked so Tyrri takes the back alleys again

Something bad finally happens to the university student walking alone in alleys as a pair of people try to steal her messenger bag (which has all of her notes and equipment)

Fight ensues, the two assailants are notably casters

After thoroughly trouncing the duo, Tyrri demands to know why they would go after a research student of all people

She’s broke as hell and her equipment matches that

They explain that they’re independent researchers and are just completely starved for gear

Why not go to the university? They look around that age and it would be a crime to make schooling so unaffordable that people straight-up couldn’t take courses

Like, no one would be awful enough to not at least have a basics course at a cheaper price

Well you’re not gonna believe this but

The duo leave her alone after it becomes clear that they’re no match for her

Tyrri is NOT sleeping good that night. Something something her black-and-white view of the world being challenged by the idea that a person who helped her being bad actually

In spite of the fact that she was supposed to go bright and early to head to the university she returns back to the place the duo almost mugged her because what they said is messing her up

She returns to find them in the same place and starts talking things out

Their names are Willie and Dante, they’re brothers, and their parents moved to the Hearthlands from the Deltalands in hope of better education for their sons

 The University of Whitecrux, in addition to its many other descriptors, is also hellishly expensive to get into

Tyrri is pissed but refuses to explain why, stares at a wall silently for a bit, and then says that she’s going to go beat the everliving shit out of the headmaster

Willie and Dante are free to tag along and do so gladly

As the three march into the university, a guard spots them

“INTRUDER ALERT. THOSE DAMN KIDS ARE BACK.”

“Guys what did you do.”

“Yeah we may or may not have tried to pull the same trick we did on you, on the university.”

With that delightful bit of dumbassery that most certainly should have been brought up beforehand, we jump into…

The Third (technically second) Dungeon: University of Whitecrux

You’d think that you already explored here but you’re WRONG

The first time Tyrri came here it jumped to a cutscene as soon as you opened the door and cut straight to her entering the headmaster’s office (jokes about it being too many stairs for her 4’11” twig frame ensue, she SMALL)

The enemies here are exclusively elementals paired with a single spellcaster, and armoured guards

Why does a university have armoured guards on its payroll? Don’t ask me. Ask the headmaster.

It’s fairly linear, just heading up and up towards the top of the tower

Definitely lots of hidden goodies to find like in Professor Elber’s office; there are going to be side quests here later on

Tyrri continues her streak of having real shitty dungeons because I truly have nothing to say about this

It’s a university with a bigass tower on it. What else do you want me to tell you.

Opening the doors to the headmaster’s office once more, a verbal spat breaks out

Headmaster Tasslemore demands to know why Tyrri would do this, Tyrri can easily explain as much

She was a street kid growing up, but she was able to scrounge and save enough from an early age and get schooling, work her ass off for scholarships, and get into the University of Cunningsworth (UoC is like. The Qamarian standard for how expensive a university should be. Its still too high but its closer to reasonable than THIS)

It was a truly awful time and she wouldn’t wish it upon anyone, even if they had tried to rob her the day before (quick glance back at Willie and Dante)

Headmaster Tasslemore. Does not like that. He does not like that the preliminary report he had drafted up had been for one of those rats

The natural thing to do? Throw it out the window. One of the siblings is thankfully able to intercept him before he can do that but some magic-enhanced keep away ensues

The room steaming with rage on both sides, we leap into…

and because tumblr is. i dont know stupid or homophobic or something it's not letting me send the full thing. stay tuned.

the roadblock on the main road is that there’s a single cat sleeping in the middle of the road and there’s a huge crowd of people gathered around it just. watching it

also I’m understanding the ‘classic wizard’ vibes from tasslemore. you really put him in a wizard tower huh.

ALSO tyrri learning that the university is stupidly expensive to get into and IMMEDIATLY deciding she’s going to go beat the shit out of tussle more is absolutely perfect. I love her more than I already did

and ooo cliffhanger!!!

[bisexualbumblebee-writes]

Friends- Steve Harrington x OC

Steve Harrington x Ella Warner

Description: After Jonathan and Ella get into a massive argument, Ella decides to call up the person they were arguing about for comfort. 

Word Count: 2k

It had been such a good day. For the first time in quite a while, Ella was finally feeling okay with her life again. After what happened with the Mind Flayer and Demogorgon babies, she never thought things would be okay again. And yet here she was, thriving. She no longer had to worry about school, she had more friends (though most of them were at least five years younger than her, but what could she do?) and she now had an amazing boyfriend. 

That’s right, after all that happened to them, Steve and Ella had ended up bonding enough that he asked her out just a month later. They became official another month after that and had been happy together ever since. Yeah, things were going pretty great for Ella.  Of course, she hadn’t accounted for one thing, and that came back to bite her. 

Ella had nearly been scared to death by a sudden loud knock on her front door one Saturday morning. She stared at the door from her place on the couch confusedly, then jumped again when another round of knocks sounded. A deep sigh left her lips as she begrudgingly stood, not wanting the person on the other side to break down the door. She was thankful that her parents were both working or else she’d have to hear their complaining. Upon looking through the peephole she was considerably confused to see Jonathan standing on the other side of the door not looking too happy.

“Jonathan?” She greeted curiously as she opened the door. “Uh, hey. What’re you doing here?” 

“You’re dating Steve Harrington now?” He questioned immediately, tone accusatory as he completely disregarded her question. Ella was taken aback by it, and her brows furrowed. His question had not appeased her confusion. He had come all the way over to her house for that?

“Uh, yeah?” She answered, though it was more a question than a statement. The boy looked even angrier now. Ella frowned and crossed her arms. 

“Is there a problem with that?” Jonathan laughed humorlessly. 

“Are you kidding me? After what he was like in high school?” Ella rolled her eyes at his dramatic response. 

“Oh, I see. So Nancy can go back to him twice, but once I find happiness in him, suddenly it’s a big no-no.” She realized her mistake almost immediately after saying it when she watched a look of outrage appear on Jonathan’s face at the mention of his new girlfriend.

“Steve was the entire reason we were losers in high school,” he snapped. 

“That’s not fair Jonathan,” she retorted defensively. “He didn’t know what was going on between me, Tommy and Carol because he was never around when it happened. And as for you, he has tried so hard to make up for what he did to you even before he and Nancy broke up. He’s been getting better after seeing the error of his ways.” 

“I highly doubt that,” he scoffed. 

“Well, it’s a good thing that his character development isn’t solely based on what you think of him,” Ella shot back impatiently. “He’s risked his life for both you and your brother and apologized multiple times for what he’s done. Hell, he even bought you a camera after he destroyed yours. He’s said his apologies and attempts at making amends, but he can’t wait forever for you to forgive him. He has to move on from it, and so should you.” Jonathan didn’t respond at first, and she could tell that he was trying to come up with an excuse. She spoke before he could though. 

“What’s your deal, anyways? You haven’t had to worry about him in months,” she continued. 

“I just don’t like the fact that Steve is taking away my best friend,” he finally answered, crossing his arms. That’s when Ella finally got mad. He actually had the audacity to call her his friend at this point? His best friend no less. Disbelief and anger coursed through her, and she let out a humorous laugh. 

“You’ve got a lot of nerve trying to call me your best friend after all this,” she said in a low tone. “I haven’t been your friend since Nancy came into the picture. Jonathan got super quiet at that, then he responded. 

“That’s not fair to bring her into this,” he muttered in the same low volume. Ella pursed her lips then shrugged before grabbing the front door again. 

“Now you know how I felt in high school.” And with that, she slammed the door in his face, locking it afterwards. 

Almost immediately after doing so Ella broke down crying. She crumpled to the floor, leaning against the door as whimpers and cries left her lips like a broken song. Up until that point everything that happened between her and Jonathan had been temporarily swept under the rug as they had more important things to deal with. All the history they had that’d been pushed aside by Nancy was hidden in a box never to be opened again. She had been forced to essentially suppress everything she felt until everything was over, and now that it was over her feelings were out in the open. 

Ella was at her house phone before she even realized it. Her vision was blurry from the tears that continuously spilled down her face like a broken dam, but she managed to dial the Harrington residence. As she held the blue receiver she realized her hands were shaking, and she was gripping it so hard that her knuckles were almost white. Thankfully, she only had to wait for a few rings before the other line connected. 

“Hello?” Steve’s mother’s voice came through the receiver. Ella pulled it away for a moment in an attempt to calm herself down, but it didn’t work and she was forced to answer with a trembling voice. 

“Hi, Mrs. Harrington,” she greeted shakily, trying to sound happy. 

“Ella? Is everything okay, dear?” The woman asked worriedly, apparently having not missed the girl’s despaired voice. 

“Uh, yeah, everything’s fine,” she lied (unsuccessfully). “Is, um… is Steve home?” 

“Yes, let me just call him downstairs.” Ella thanked her, then listened as Mrs. Harrington called out to her son faintly. Just a few seconds later she heard the phone be put into another hand before she heard her boyfriend’s voice. 

“Hello?” The girl all but cried in relief at the mere sound. 

“Steve?” She whimpered into the phone. Almost instantly Steve’s tone changed from polite to one hundred percent serious. 

“Ella? What happened?” He asked worriedly. 

“C-Can… Can you just come over? Please?” She asked, voice still trembling. 

“Uh, yeah. Of course, I’ll uh, I’ll be there in ten.” As he answered, she could hear keys jingling in the background and the sound of a door opening - most likely his front door. 

“Don’t forget to hang up, babe,” she reminded him with a weak laugh. For a moment the sound on the other end of the line ceased. At first she thought that he’d hung up, but then he chuckled. 

“Right, thanks,” he muttered, sounding embarrassed. “I love you, be there in ten.”

“I love you too,” Ella responded before the line disconnected. She shook her head as she set the phone down. Even when she was feeling her worst he managed to make her feel better without even trying. 

Just as promised, ten minutes later Steve was standing at her doorstep knocking on the door. Ella was quick to stand and unlock it. As soon as she opened the door she was bombarded with a hug from her boyfriend. The way he cradled the back of her head comforted her so much that it actually brought tears to her eyes once again. A quiet sob emitted from her as she buried her face into his chest. Steve swayed with her, quietly shushing her in a soothing way. They stood there in her doorway for who knows how long until she managed to calm down enough that she wasn’t physically shaking anymore. 

“What happened?” He asked softly. 

“H-He- I… Jonathan,” she stuttered. 

“Jonathan Byers?” He questioned, pulling her away from his chest to look at her, earning a nod from the girl. “What did he do? Wait, hold on.” He moved away to lead her inside, closing the door behind them. The two of them walked to the living room and took a seat on the couch, Steve keeping a hold on Ella’s hand. 

“Alright, tell me what happened. Take your time,” he requested, just like he’d been talking to her before. The girl took a shaky breath and wiped away her stray tears with her free hand before launching into her story. She told him everything that had happened starting from when Jonathan showed up (leaving out a few details about how Carol and Tommy treated her), explaining what almost happened between her and Jonathan that connected Nancy to the argument. 

“It’s just not fair for him to try and come back to me after basically ignoring me so he and Nancy could play Scooby-Doo and realize that they were developing sexual tension,” she vented frustratedly. And the fact that he had the audacity to accuse you of not changing as if what’s happened in the last year just didn’t exist; like yeah, I know that you weren’t the best person when you were still friends with Tommy and Carol. But he can’t just ignore the fact that you’ve really been trying and apologizing for everything since seeing that you were in the wrong, you know?” 

By the time she finished, Steve had been sitting with his back to the arm of the couch with her resting against his chest. Ella’s sadness had been replaced once again with anger as she went over everything. She huffed as she leaned back against Steve’s chest once again. His hands went up to her shoulders and rubbed them gently as he answered. 

“Yeah, I get it,” he spoke. “It’s not fair to you for him to do that.”

“It’s not fair for you either,” she retorted, tilting her head a bit to look at him. He shot her a patient smile as his hands stopped their ministrations to take her hands. 

“Maybe. But, it’s just like you said: I’ve apologized to him and tried to make amends, but I can’t wait for his forgiveness for the rest of my life. I’m able to move on from it, but you haven't had the chance to do it yet because of everything that’s happened. I’ve already worried about myself in the past and got over it, now it’s your turn.” Ella couldn’t help but smile. He was a lot smarter than people gave him credit for. 

“Well, what do you think, then?” She asked softly. The boy’s chest rumbled as he hummed in thought. 

“I think it’s good that you finally told Jonathan how you feel. Of course I’m not really good at that psychology stuff, but I’m pretty sure holding in those feelings isn’t good for your health. If he wants to be a good friend and care about you, he’ll come around and be happy that you’re happy no matter who you’re with.” The girl considered his words, then nodded. 

“I guess you're right,” she muttered with a sigh. 

“Why do you never sound happy about that?” Steve joked, which made both of them laugh. 

“Thanks for coming over, Steve,” she said softly, adjusting her position so she could comfortably rest her head on his shoulder. “I know this probably isn’t exactly how you wanted to spend your day off.” In return Steve wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her like a warm blanket. 

“I’ll always be there to cheer you up,” he answered simply, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. A content smile formed on her face as she cuddled into him, ready to spend the rest of the afternoon in his arms.

[devcted]

it had been exactly two months since her brother cedric was killed, two months since her entire life had completely changed. her dad got a new job and decided to move the family to this small town, saying they needed a fresh start bee just thinks her parents were trying to run away from their grief by setting up in some small catholic town and joining the church.

bee hates being a cynic, she tried to find beauty int everything but something about church and god and all that jazz just made her feel uneasy because if there was some kind of higher power who loved all his children why would he take away the best? what kind of god takes the life of a 18 year old boy and leaves a family to suffer without his light? it seemed like a flawed system, something she didn't understand no matter how many sermon's she heard by now or how many of the other church goers went up to her with some speech about how cedric is in a better place, that he's watching over her and would want her to move on...they didn't know him and how would they know that where he is is somehow better if it's without here. anyway, despite all of this she tries to keep up a happy face, be a good girl so her father would stop looking at her that way for once.

it wasn't all and though, despite leaving her two best friends behind in scotland she met some pretty cool people, like hannah abbott who was captain of the school cheer squad and quickly took bee under her wing, getting her to join the team and spending every weekend having sleep overs together, then there was astoria greengrass, she went to the same church and they were instant best friends as they had a lot of the same interests and last but not at all least there was regulus black...he was like your typical it boy, on the football team, top of his classes and the perfect catholic boy with a pretty girlfriend on his arm. bee could feel the way her heart pitter patters everytime she sees him, with those green eyes that had this certain glow to them when the sun shined on them just right and a perfectly sculptued face as if their god had taken his time with this one, wanting every detail to be just right so he could perfectly ruin bee's life with how much she thought about him.

but she was only one of many girls longing for the attention of the prince who lived up in his perfect tower, with his blonde queen by her side...a blonde queen in which seemingly wanted bee's head on a pike for some reason.

regulus has always been nice to bee, making her smile and laugh more than she has since her brother died maybe he was just that charming or maybe her crush on him was making her look that stupid, either way...she found herself wanting to be around him all the time which seemed wrong considering the fact he was already seeing someone. daphne was the perfect catholic, in every sense of the word. captain of the celbicey club, her hair was always perfect and her shoes never had a spect of dirt on them. she was everything a guy like regulus could want and more, so why would he pay mind to someone like bee?

it's a few minutes before mass and she's already starting to feel overwhelmed being in a stuffy room full of teenagers. so, she excuses herself from the consequences with astoria and gets up to walk around a little when suddenly a familiar voice comes up from behind her, chest pounding as the voice as smooth as butter sends shivers down her spine and she's quickly turning around to look at him.

her cheeks flush red as he towers over her, that charming smirk on his face as his eyes meet her own. "hey!" she says with a smile, hoping it's not too obvious that she's literally burning up right now. she peaks over his shoulder to see samantha staring daggers at the pair of them, making bee retreat a little as her eyes find regulus again with a shy smile. "hey...i totally, i just said that...but in case you didn't hear it the first time...can never be too cautious" she laughs, realizing she's doing that nervous rambling thing as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

the way he looks at her makes her heart race but it's the words he says that takes her feel like she's floating in the air. the smile on her lips growing even brighter as she chuckles shyly. "I'd love to." she says a bit too excited before containing herself by biting down on her lower lip. "you've been thinking about me? why...i mean, not that I'm complaining...I just...I guess I'm curious cause I'm sure a guy like you has a lot to think about, with school and football and other stuff..." did he really have room for the new girl?

it’s sunday mass and daphne’s friend, samantha birkin, is telling regulus all about a mission trip her family has planned, but she keeps laughing even when nothing is funny and he very quickly realizes what she’s actually doing.

he has no romantic or sexual interest in samantha, the same way he isn’t actually interested in daphne. but he and daphne’s families have been friends his entire life, both of their parents encouraging them to start dating because they would be a ‘good fit’ in their community. regulus is pretty sure his mother only wants him to date daphne because she’s a ‘good catholic girl’ and can be easily controlled and molded by their family, but he’s too tired to argue anymore, wanting to be a good son and succeed in every aspect he can.

maybe to others it’s strange that regulus hasn’t had much interest in girls, but he’s busy most of the time, focused on grades, football or his family. his brother had a falling out with his parents before he was born, but they reconnected recently after their uncle died and left the house with sirius. he wanted to offer his brother a home away from their parents, which regulus was grateful for but confused by.

unlike sirius, he still loves his parents, despite how awful the arguments can be. he doesn’t want to disappoint them, even if his mother triggers his temper occasionally. truthfully, regulus only wants to be the best at everything, even being a son. which is why he’s in AP classes, plays quarterback and never misses sunday mass.

he even attends bible studies during the weekdays, which is one of reasons why samantha birkin won’t leave him alone now. her mother ran them and samantha gave him heart eyes the moment he began attending.

none of the girls that kept flirting with him respected that daphne was his girlfriend— maybe because he didn’t seem into it, or maybe because there was no promise ring yet. 

that, or the real reason is because these people only worry about themselves. the most selfish people he knows go to this church, including his mother, who subjected everyone to her whims.

but there was one girl here who was different from the others– he could already tell and he had only known her for a week. she moved here for the start of the new semester and everyone was talking about her because of her beauty. regulus shared biology and astronomy with her, quickly noticing that she was far more than just her looks. she seemed kind and gentle as well as smart; three traits that not many had around here. but of course no one talked about those things; only about her face and body, which he couldn’t deny were just as perfect as everyone claimed.

she and her family had started to attend his church since moving to town. regulus heard from his parents that the diggorys had suffered a loss recently through their oldest son’s death– it was apparently why they were here again, returning to catholicism.

bee, the girl, seems incredibly strong to shoulder such a loss and still remain warm to so many strangers. especially because the other girls didn’t seem to like her in church– most of them were daphne’s friends, who noticed that regulus’s attention was solely focused on bee.

in fact, regulus is already thinking about her again, barely hearing a word samantha is saying when bee happens to suddenly walk past them. he smells flowers in her wake; a soft scent of peonies and roses lingering in the air. swallowing, he says to daphne’s friend, “sorry, excuse me,” before turning to go after the auburnette.

“wait,” he says, stopping her. he can feel samantha glaring daggers at them, but he doesn’t care. bee has turned to look at him, her beautiful slender face lighting up. her eyes are the prettiest blue he’s ever seen, like the sky on a sunny day. she’s wearing a beautiful floral printed dress, a shade of white that matches the bow in her hair. he’s never seen anyone so stunning before, down to her perfectly shaped nose and lips. he feels a surge of heated desire, wanting her. the warmth reaches his green eyes, glancing down at her lips before speaking. “i know mass starts in like thirty minutes, but i was wondering if you wanted to take a walk with me. i haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since we were partners in biology.” he loves the sound of her laugh and the way her blue eyes light up; it’s like nothing he’s ever seen before. besides, daphne and her family are running late and what they don’t know couldn’t hurt them. / @devcted

[moemoemammon]

Following that "least favorite" request could we get their reactions to being to told that they're their favorite, but to not tell the other brothers so their feelings don't get hurt? Maybe because they relate to them the most or just get along really well. Thanks!

You're My Favorite! But Don't Tell the Others-

(Feat. GN!MC and the Demon Bros)

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Lucifer

There are no words to explain the overwhelming satisfaction ion Lucifer’s face after you tell him that. Of course, it’s only natural that he would be your favorite, all things considered.

The Avatar of Pride won’t ever forget this moment. He carefully considers your words and agrees not to tell anyone, as much as he’d love to bring it up, because he knows more than anyone what kind of chaos would ensue should the others (especially Mammon) find out.

But they can tell something’s up when the eldest has been heard humming all day. He moves about the house with even more grace than usual, and hasn’t scowled even once.

But the REAL shocker was when Mammon tried hiding a bill right as Lucifer walked in... and the eldest let him off with a warning. A WARNING! The brothers thought the Devildom must’ve frozen over, but you and he knew different.

“MC, I would like you to accompany me to Le Pluvier this afternoon, once you've finished your studies. I've already made reservations, so be sure to get ready on time. I've made sure to consider the things you might like to eat, so I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself. Don't be late." "...I'm grinning? I don't know what you're talking about."

Mammon

The gigantic grin on Mammon’s face is so bright, it could rival the sun. You’ve seriously made his day. No, his year. Actually, he’s pretty sure he could ride this high for the next millennia! There’s nothing in this world that could dampen his spirits right now! 

He feels like he just won big at the casino! Of course he’s your favorite! He WAS your first demon, and now he’s gone and claimed his rightful spot as your number one! Good luck trying to keep him from saying anything. Mammon’s gonna throw it around in everyone’s faces for as long as he can milk it.

And you thought he was clingy before, just wait till you see how he treats you after hearing that. Despite always calling you his ‘servant’ or his ‘human’, you’d  think your roles were reversed. Mammon spoils you every chance he gets, buying you clothes and trinkets, filling the spaces in your room with the things he knows you like, monopolizing you completely until nearly everything you own is a gift from him.

Your words also help soothe that jealousy of his a little. Only a little, though. It’s easier to watch you talk to other demons when he knows he’ll always be your first man.

“Didja really have to stay after class that long? I know you were talkin' to that demon that lent you a book, but you outta ask ME for stuff! Tch... you're lucky I'm in a good mood today! But I guess I don't have to worry about some low level demon like that, seein' as I'm your favorite!"

Levi

Wait wait wait....Come again? Did you seriously just say what he think you said..? That had to be a mistake! Some kind of...uh..verbal typo! Because there’s absolutely, positively, NO WAY in all of the nine layers that he could be your favorite demon. And yet you still insist that you’re telling the truth, and Levi feels like he’s died and gone to heaven. 

Red faced and stammering up a storm, Levi looks like he might die. Is it really okay for a shut-in otaku to feel this giddy? Seriously, he hasn’t felt like this since he got his hands on a signed copy of a Ruri Hana audio drama! No no, this definitely beats that!

You’ve managed to inflate his nearly nonexistent ego, and now he feels like there’s nothing he can’t do! Maybe he could even go to Majolish right now?? THAT’S how good he’s feeling!

Almost as bad as Mammon in keeping it a secret. He doesn’t tell anyone right away, but they’re suspicious when they notice how much time he’s spending out of his room. And then when he and Mammon get in another petty argument, he drops the bomb that he’s your favorite demon in the entire Devildom, and you can guess how things go from there.

“Uuuoooo...!!!!! I've decided..! Since I've got a serious stat buff, I'm going to open a booth at the next convention coming up..! I'll sell my Ruri-chan fan art and spread her influence all over the Devildom! I'd never have the guts to do it normally, but I feel like I could do anything right now! Y-you'll go too, won't you MC?"

Satan

You nearly made this man spit tea all over his book, and now he’s coughing and spluttering and trying to figure out what could’ve prompted what he’s taking as a confession. You.. do realize what you’re saying, don’t you? And you know the kind of effect your words have on him?

Satan isn’t the type that wears his heart on his sleeve, so you have to look for his subtle expressions to tell how he’s feeling. But there’s nothing subtle about the redness of his ears and how he’s begging you not to look at him right now. For the sake of his sanity, give him a minute to recoup.

When he does recover, he agrees to keep it a secret for obvious reasons. And it’s hard to tell that he’s in a good mood, other than the fact that he hasn’t tried to pull any pranks on Lucifer lately. But Asmo sees all, and literally hounds him into spilling the tea.

He tells him a lie of course, but now the other brothers are noticing just how happy he is. Satan's smiling way too much today, isn't he? And he didn't even get mad when Beel got whipped cream on his jacket! Well, not THAT mad, anyway.

"Haaah... everyone's been harassing me all day, claiming I'm smiling a lot. I'm sure I look the same as I always do, but I'll admit that I've been happy ever since you told me that this morning. Wait.. you did think I've been grinning too, do you? I have??"

Asmo

Asmo always jokes about being your favorite and announces it as if the two of you are married, but when you actually confirm that his longing for you isn’t one sided, he ends up smearing lip balm across his cheek in shock. Did you... really say that just now? He knew it all along, but hearing it like that is just...!

Ooooh, he’s so happy he can hardly contain himself! Asmo throws his arms around you, peppering your face in kisses until you feel sticky from lip balm, wipes your face clean, then marks it up all over again. Good luck getting rid of him, because he might never let go.

Immediately posts it to Devilgram. Did you really think he’d let such a momentous occasion go unannounced? You must not have been paying attention to the kind of person he is! Asmo would put you on a pedestal in front of the world like a precious jewel if he were able, but this’ll have to do. He won’t hide his love at all!

Of course, the others don’t take too kindly to it, not that he cares. He never leaves your side, pampers you like crazy, and has even attempted to get you to move into his room. Lucifer put an immediate stop to that, though. Boo...

“I just can't get enough of you, MC! Just being near you gets me so excited that I can hardly stand it! You'll take responsibility for what you're doing to me, won't you? And in exchange, I'll take my time showing you just how much I love you. After all, you're my favorite, too!"

Beel

Beel never has a problem with choking while he eats, and it comes as naturally as breathing. Unfortunately neither of that applies right now, since you just made him choke on a meatball sub.

He usually takes your words with quiet acceptance, but this might be the most emotion you've ever witness from the stoic demon. His eyes are wider than that time that laid on an entire gingerbread mansion, sparkling up with such deep emotion you wouldn't be surprised if he cried. Instead he softens up and immediately embraces you.

...And doesn't let go. Sandwich long forgotten, he's been carrying you around all day, and ignoring any questions or protests from his brothers. Also insists on feeding you throughout the day. The food tastes better when he can enjoy it with you, so why not just bring you everywhere?

When he isn't carrying you, he's following you around subconsciously, either close up against you like a protective wall, or just far enough that you're within his line of sight. As far as not telling anyone, he... tells Belphie immediately. It was an accident though, since there's not much he keeps from his twin.

"MC, I won a meal ticket for Godevil Chocolatier. Let's get something for dessert today. Ah, you can get as much as you want, too. I really want to see what things you choose. They might become my favorites."

Belphie

There's nothing in this world that can wake Belphegor from his sleep, unless he allows it. No loud noises, no amount of shaking or smacking, and not even dragging him around the house. But the moment you whisper that he's your favorite demon, the Avatar of Sloth is wide awake.

Hey, you're not just saying weird things to get a reaction, are you? Because if so, this is a new level of cruel. Yet you confirm that you mean it and swear him into secrecy, and Belphie tries his best not to show how happy he is. A smile keeps creeping up on his face that he struggles to force down. It's annoying...

As funny as it’d be to tell everyone the news, he's good at keeping secrets. Instead, you've noticed that he's been sleeping a little less that before. When he does take one of his hundreds of naps, he finds some way to be closer to you. He's even been seen sleepwalking to your exact location somehow-

It's hard for him to believe that you're not teasing, though. How could HE be your favorite demon here? Belphie doesn't do anything special to win you over, yet after everything he put you through, you like him enough to deep him your favorite?

"You're weird, MC. I mean... me? I won't deny that I'm really happy though, but I guess I'm in disbelief. You should spoil me even more until I believe you. Lend me your lap for a few hours, okay?" "...I wonder what Lucifer would think if I told him, heheh."