#I am so happy they have come further in recent times because trust me. Being in the early SNK rpc. and EVERY time you posted about ur muses

[teufelme]

Fr I spend so much time thinking about my muses and their survival verses that I forget they died in canon...

[hitomisuzuya]

OMG HAPPY BIRTHDAY! This is my first time requesting and I wanted to ask for step brother Scaramouche Fluff for readers because they’ve been really stressed recently about school, 😔 (can we tell this is about me😭) I love your writing tysm!

Stepcest, even though it's fluff, DNI if it makes you uncomfortable. Scaramouche x fem!reader. Fluffy fluff fluff. Soft Scara.

Because everyone needs a little comfort and stress relief🥺

Scaramouche was two kinds of annoyed. Annoyed and really annoyed. With him, two modes of annoyance at the same time was possible. He was annoyed because you were sitting too far away from. He was playing video games in the living room, while you were in the kitchen busy with schoolwork. He played better his beloved stepsister was next to him, praising him in some way for playing well. (He also likes to have you by his side).

But, mode really annoyed was because every time he glanced into the kitchen, he noticed the following things snowballing despite your brave face.

Your fingers were starting to shake. Your breathing, though quiet indicated that your heart was racing. Your posture was rigid and stiff, your body coiling with stress.

Scaramouche did not like it when you were stressed. He knew school was demanding (not like he had to study much cause he got good grades effortlessly), but you were piling too much on yourself at once. And eventually it would to one thing.

One thing he couldn't stand.

One thing he started to hear the beginning to stages of: you started to cry.

His eyes snapped away from the TV the moment he heard the first soft sniffle. He froze, not even pressing pause on his game. He didn't even notice nor care that the monsters killed his character.

You were crying.

And he hates it.

"Scara, I don't know what to do," You said shakily, looking up at him as you hastily brushed tears away from eyes that were way too pretty to have tears like that in them, "It just keeps piling up. I dunno how I am going to get this shit done."

Scaramouche was already getting up off the couch to go to you. "Stop that," He said, and it wasn't said in a mean way. He just can't stand to see you cry. He hastily scooped up your books and notebooks, moving them all the way down the table away from you.

"Scara, I am nowhere near being done yet," You protested, reaching across the table for your stuff. Scaramouche hastily pushed it further down the table.

"No you don't. You are finished tonight," He replied firmly, "You have another week to get this done. What are you doing trying to do it all at once?" He raised an eyebrow at you.

"But Scara, I--" You tried to protest. He cut you off by putting a finger on your lips.

"You are coming to the living room with me," He added, taking hold of your wrist. He knew you looked and felt way too tired to protest or struggle anymore. "I am going to teach you how to play the videogame I just got."

"Scara, I'm not going to be any good. It's a first person shooter, I'm not good at those," However, your feeble protest as he pulled you to your feet fell on deaf ears. You looked more nervous, but in a cute way. Not a stressed one, which was important.

You absolutely were afraid of completely playing badly in front of him. How cute.

Before you knew it, Scaramouche seated you on the couch next to him, restarted the mission (with some quiet swearing at bullshit monsters), and handed you the controller.

You stared at the controller, unsure of what to do. The way his heart fluttered when you looked up at him for guidance. It was such a pure hearted, soft look. You looked at him like he was the only person in this world that you wanted and trusted to guide you.

Fucking hell he is so in love with you.

"I've got you," Scaramouche said, moving so that he sat behind you on the couch. He put his hands over yours on the controller, bringing your back to rest against his chest. "This is what you do, aim, and press A to fire."

His voice was like soothing velvet on your ears. You felt warm, and safe in his embrace. The tension was slowly ebbing out of your body. The rhythm of his breathing against your back quieted your heart rate. Scaramouche is the center of your world.

He guided your fingers on the buttons and joy stick for a bit. When he saw you get comfortable with the mechanics, he took his hands off of yours. He was proud you picked up the game mechanics so quickly. And you let out the cutest little laughs every time you hit what you were aiming at.

You are having fun. His mission was accomplished.

"That's my good girl," Scaramouche put a hand on your head, he always gave the best headpets, "Shooting like a pro," He peeked around to see the shy blush on your cheeks.

"Hey, Scara?" You said after awhile, handing him the controller, "Can I just watch you play for awhile?" You sounded sleepy. "I think one of the bigger bosses is coming up, and I don't think I can handle him."

"Scared?" He teased, smirking when he heard your shy squeak.

"No, I just want to watch you play for awhile," You looked away shyly as you moved to rest your head in his lap. It was always relaxing for you to watch Scaramouche play video games. You got to see his experience playing, plus your own experience watching the game.

Pretty good deal, honestly.

For Scaramouche all was right with the world. As right as it could be, anyways. You were by his side, tucked safely in his lap where he could protect you from, well, life.

Before long, you were asleep. Carefully, so as not to wake you, Scaramouche reached for the blanket on the couch and draped it over you. He would wake you up in a few hours to carry you upstairs to your room.

[pixiecaps]

Heres a portion of Maxo’s ending monologue and some meta commentary.

q!Maxo: And what if I stay? At least they won’t have that planned out. How can I be so stupid? Of course, they know about the bomb. They literally know everything, see everything, its an all seeing eye, of course. They already knew about my plan.. But there’s a plan they don’t know. And it’s that I’m going to stay here. It’s over. Besides, I’m a danger to everybody, I’m turning into a code. I know now that I’m not the only one but at least it’ll be one less, right? It’s the desperation of not being able to do anything against the Federation. They always get away with it, man. They always get what they want. I don’t- I don’t know why I’m even still walking. … They’ve taken my bomb and stolen my idea and now they’re exploding it. They don’t care. At least, we found a way to escape. (Timer runs out)

cc!Maxo: (Closes game) And like that is how he dies. “Are you coming back as a ghost?” As of right now I am not thinking about returning as a ghost. (Plays sad music) Rest in peace qMaxo. Rest in fucking peace. I did all I could chat. I did all I could. … If I had reached the boat I would not have gotten on. I think what I would’ve wanted is to reach the boat, say goodbye to everybody, and die. But I suppose due to the timer the bomb blew up before that could happen. … So I’ve died. That is how it goes. This was the only thing I could do that the Federation could really not control. Killing myself.

cc!Maxo: (When a chatter mentioned the people who didn’t reach the boat) Chat I only know that I’ve died, it’s what I wanted for my lore. That I would’ve stayed there with the atomic bomb. In a fantasy world like the QSMP, of course I could revive, finally turn into a code, or whatever but for the moment all I know is that I’m dead. And I don’t have anything else scripted, from this moment on I’m dead and thats final. Thats the reality, and thats why I’m not… happy because I will for sure miss the QSMP. But since I personally take roleplay very seriously, for me there is no going back. I am dead. I cannot return as cubito Maxo. I can return as a spirit that haunts Roier once in a while, periodically, I could, I could but qMaxo is dead. It’s sad, I’m not super happy because obviously I spent a really great time on QSMP but by my own lore, man, I couldn’t do it any longer. I couldn’t handle returning to Quesadilla Island knowing I couldn’t do anything against the Federation. If I made a fucking atomic bomb and the boss of Purgatory goes and says, “Oh you have an atomic bomb? Okay. In fact, that’s a good idea. Let’s explode it, run to the boat, returning again to the island that you were in, because thats likely what will happen, and you’ll continue suffering.” I can’t do it anymore. I’ve lost Trump, my son, I’ve lost- I no longer trust people who can kill each other amongst themselves, by the lore.

cc!Maxo: The players themselves are super fun people and I’ve had a good time. What makes me feel shame is that, that I can’t roleplay with them anymore. To say it one way or another. Well, there could be things in the future the admins offer but as a player it makes me feel shame. Also, while it is true that recently I hadn’t been logging in a lot, the times I did I had a good time. I did a lot of cool things with these people.

cc!Maxo: I lost SOFIA, I lost.. everything. Everything that I’ve done, every idea that I had thought of for myself and others has been taken by the Federation. … I think that the Federation has so much control that is impossible to do anything against them. And everything you do against them they’ll use to further confuse the people. … For me I will no longer play [as qMaxo] because I am dead, that’s serious to me, I’ve decided my character has died in an explosion. Another thing is that I could occasionally log on as a spirit or something. If they allow me that then great! But if dying means not being able to play on the QSMP anymore then so be it. … This was necessary for the roleplay. … I didn’t die thinking, “Wow I found the answer.” I didn’t want to die because I found any type of answer. I died because of desperation. To say, look man I couldn’t find any answers.

Maxo mentioned it did leave him with a sour taste in his mouth that he didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to everybody since he ran out of time. So a chatter suggested he does canonical pre recording goodbye video to everybody. He said he’d likely consider it and do it so that his character gets the chance to tell the other characters goodbye and that he’s gone.

Rest in peace qMaxo, the original founder of the Theory Bros, and someone who gave his all to escaping the island no matter the cost.

[gffa]

Okay, not to defend Gotham War or anything, but I think I'm talking myself into liking what I see it's trying to do. Starting with some great tags on this post:

#i get why people are hating on it i really really do. trust me#but TO BE FAIR... zdarsky has been making it overwhelmingly clear that bruce is SERIOUSLY unwell right now#like it's been nonstop Horrors for him for like. over a dozen issues straight. with no rest or time to process. and he doesn't have alfred#who was a HUGE part of his support system not to mention the finances etc etc#iirc there's even a panel that pretty much outright states that this is more of an issue of control than morality#and that includes the choosing sides thing like the batkids seem more concerned w how bruce is going off the fucking rails than#just the moral aspects#anyway (via @clownprince)

#Batman#Bruce Wayne#REAL#REAL REAL REAL#LIKE. Zur En Arrh is a LITERAL Defense Mechanism going Malignant at this point#Not only that but throughout Zdarsky's run there's been allusions to illnesses and Bruce Not Having A Good Time#Not Having a Good Time and Not Having Time At All to take stock of the sheer What The Fuck-ery that's been going on recently#Because it's been a CONSTANT steam of What The Fuck-ery nonstop#And the Worse is yet to come if one considers the future issues synopsis and the ''I am a Gun'' story by Zdarsky#(At most I'm a little bit concerned over how Zdarsky will try to wrap this up‚ but that's a normal concern especially about Comics)#(Especially Batman Comics considering how often Editorial likes to... do things) (via @kaosvrow)

I agree with so much of the criticism of Gotham War, especially that the arguments for or against Selina's plans are absolute garbage by characters who should be making better arguments and that the other characters are being used as bobbleheads instead of actually giving them their canon personalities--and, okay, I will also point out that in the VERY FIRST ISSUE, Selina's plan gets someone killed and so I'm willing to extend some grace that the story isn't trying to push forward that either way is actually right, I honestly don't think it's about that. I think it's a story about Bruce Wayne's mental state, because Zdarsky's been building this up for awhile now, like the issue immediately prior to Knight Terrors? Shows us Bruce's mental state is ALREADY absolute TRASH right then:

Zur-En-Arrh was already leaking through the seams of his mind, he was already feeling the impending doom of everything he cared about being burned away, that his mind literally couldn't watch his kids being happy and together and getting along without feeling like it was all burning to ash.

And then Knight Terrors happened, which was one more thing digging hard, boney fingers into his trauma, and he handled it pretty well in the moment, but it's such a giant, non-stop pile of stress on a mind that is already damaged to hell and back because of his trauma.

Further, the very first issue of the Gotham War storyline? The very first panel, the one that sets up the stage of what's going to happen, makes a very clear point about how this is about Bruce fracturing:

And then on the very next page, Zur-En-Arrh is literally stalking at the bars of the cage around Bruce's mind.

And then Bruce wakes up and it's immediately more establishing just how worried everyone is about him because so much has been piled on lately:

Bruce hides his missing hand from his family, just like he's trying to hide how scraped thin he is right now, and goes out on patrol.

Where his internal monologue is all about how defensive he feels lately, how he feels like the years are catching up to him, how nothing feels right but this, making it clear that Bruce is hanging onto Batman with a death grip because it's the only thing that feels stable to him right now.

And all of this is in the first TEN PAGES of the first issue, this is our set-up, this is our foundation, this is what we're being given to understand what this story is about. Then Batman #137 happens and it's literally ALL ABOUT BRUCE'S MENTAL SPACE, that Selina's plan is the catalyst, not the driving point behind all of it. Again, I'm in 100% agreement that the Batkids are acting like cardboard cutouts because you will never get me to believe that they didn't notice crime going down or that they wouldn't be pointing out that Gotham's wealthy are just going to start making their security lethal in response or that the Court of Owls won't step in, that this is not a long term solution to giving these people lives beyond crime, or even that a lot of them should be agreeing with Bruce, that they don't get to decide who is an acceptable victim. But the story isn't really about changing up the way comics deal with crime, it's about even the Batkids are framing it in terms of how it's about Bruce. Jason is really the only one who seems onboard with trying out Selina's plan, but even his confrontation with Bruce isn't really about that, it's about all their baggage, their fight immediately becomes about how angry Jason is at the way Bruce has treated him. This fight isn't happening because Jason's a true believer in Selina's plan, it's happening because he's angry at Bruce and Bruce is in a shitty mental place, after all the non-stop horrors AND feeling like he's been betrayed by the kids who he thought understood that people being victims wasn't acceptable, and so he lashes out at Jason.

When they fight, it's not because they're siding against Bruce, it's because he's become unstable and dangerous. The why of it doesn't matter, it's not about that.

(And I'm actually okay with the way that fight happened because I can buy that, for example, Cass might be holding back against him, she's a stronger fighter than he is, but he's being ruthless because of the state he's in, while she might be feeling more cautious.) When they fight, it's not because they're siding against Bruce, it's because he's become unstable and dangerous. The why of it doesn't matter, it's not about that. Even further, when Bruce fights against his kids, he's wrong and biased, especially in the fight with Dick, who he thinks has a sloppy offensive and doesn't know darkness like he does--to which Dick just immediately cracks him in the face because, yeah, Dick Grayson does know darkness and Bruce isn't as untouchable as he's trying to make himself seem (because being Batman is all he has right now).

I think it's important that it's Dick who defies his expectations here, because this story is building off context of what happened between Selina and Bruce, that they were truly together for awhile, they were about to get married--Selina mentions that it the first issue, it's a major thorn in that conversation when she throws out how she doesn't believe that Gotham needs Batman anymore, it needs her.

She's giving him what he said he always wanted, she's giving him the thing that kept them apart, he should be happy, should they head to the church now? Saying that he won't because he wants to be Batman more than he wants to solve the city's problems.

The failed wedding between them is important in part because of what Selina's saying here, illustrating that both of them are bringing a lot of baggage to the table but also because of what else happened during that storyline, why the context is so important. Because that storyline dovetailed into one about Bane wanting to take over Gotham and he needed Batman unstable and distracted, which was working after Selina left him at the altar, he was a mess. But you know what was saving him at the time, bringing him back from the ledge? THIS KID:

Dick was the one poking and prodding at Bruce with jokes and warmth and care and it was working. He actually got Bruce to cry in front of him, to release some actual genuine emotion!

Dick makes Bruce more emotionally stable, to the point that Bane had to hire KGBeast to shoot Dick in the head just because he was so good at stabilizing Bruce--this is also why Dick's the one who says he'll go talk Bruce down off his moral ledge in Batman #137.

So, it's Dick that has to be the one to defy his expectations in the fight, has to be the one who breaks through Bruce's offense and knocks him down in what feels like a betrayal even when it isn't, because this isn't a story about who's right and who's wrong, it's a story about Bruce isolating himself because he's mentally fractured to hell and back, because he's not trusting his kids, he's still hurt by Selina leaving him, he's still grieving Alfred's death, he's run ragged physically and emotionally and mentally by a series of exhausting horrors piled on him, he's lost his family's fortune, he's not even living in his own family home anymore. (I focus on Dick here as an illustration of tying this back to previous examples of Bruce crumbling and important context that the storyline is drawing on, but Gotham War isn't really specifically about Bruce and Dick's relationship, but more about Bruce's relationship with all his kids, like Tim and Jason and Damian all have equally important moments. But it's a very direct example of how his children are a huge part of his support system and draw him back from the ledge of being just Batman and back into being Bruce.) That's why the issue ends with Bruce getting the papers telling him that the bank sold Wayne Manor to Vandal Savage, because it's one more thing that's stripping Bruce Wayne away from the character, and leaving him with nothing but Batman and Zur-En-Arrh. Gotham War isn't actually a story about a war for Gotham. It's a story about Bruce Wayne going out of control and everything is written to serve that. The characters' fights are catalyzed by Selina's plans, but they quickly become about Bruce's relationship with the characters. The narrative makes heavy-handed points about Bruce feeling like he's losing his grip, that he's hallucinating and talking to himself, that he is extremely mentally unwell right now. Everything Zdarsky's been writing (like especially the "I Am a Gun" storyline right before Knight Terrors) has been building up to fracturing Bruce Wayne.

[strawberrymilk-sunshine]

The only choice

Love love love the idea of real-world fish biology applying to merfolk

Warning(s): yandere behavior, forced unconsciousness, biting

"You thinking 'bout that cute little betta fishy again~?" Floyd playfully asked.

"W-why would you think that...?" Azul asked, looking away.

"You've been quite obsessed with them recently." Jade said.

"I... suppose you're right..." Azul admitted. "But... I have no idea how I'd even approach them..."

"You 'don't know how to approach them'?" Floyd asked. "That's stupid. You have ten limbs, just grab 'em and make them talk to you."

"Grab them?!" Azul yelled out in surprise. "No- I-I can't do something like that to them! They'd hate me!"

"It may be your only choice, Azul." Jade said. "Use your venom if you have to."

"...maybe you two are right."

He's never actually... you know, spoken to you...

But that will change soon! Soon, soon, you'll be closer than you've ever been before.

You were a beautiful betta-mer with a dark blue and red colouration, your fins were like those things humans wear... what are they called again? Oh right, a dress! Your fins made it look like you were wearing a fancy dress.

Azul couldn't help but feel like he was in love with you.

You looked so... lovely. So he needs you to become his.

Maybe just... grabbing you like the twins suggested is his only option. Maybe he just needs to... paralyze you... and take you for his own.

That would be so easy.

You would be his.

You would be his soon, so soon.

As you were out for a short swim one day, you felt something grab your tail. You thought it was some seaweed, so you shook it off and continued along.

Then, it grabbed you again. And this time it tugged you back. Then it grabbed you a bit further up, and tugged you back with more force.

"Hello, (Y/N)~"

You turned around to see a merman with pale purple skin, grey hair and blue eyes. Instead of a tail, he had tentacles... you were fairly surprised, as octopus merfolk are quite the uncommon sight around here.

"Who... w-who are you...?" You asked.

"Oh right, you don't know who I am... my apologies for not introducing myself, darling." He apologized, placing his hand on your cheek. "My name is Azul Ashengrotto."

"Why did you... grab me like this...?" You asked, brushing some of his tentacles off of you.

"It's because... I love you." A blue blush spread across his face. "And this was my only option."

"What-? No it wasn't!" You yelled out. "Y-you had countless other options!"

"No, I didn't, (Y/N)." Azul stared into your eyes. "If I, an octopus, told you I was in love you... there's no way you would accept!"

Azul grabbed your arm, and his tentacles wrapped around your body, pulling you closer to him and keeping you from struggling too much.

"I'm sorry about this, (Y/N)... but I have to do this."

Azul bit you on the arm.

You screamed out in pain as you felt his teeth pierce your flesh.

You freaked out and tried to escape his grasp, but you couldn't.

"Don't worry darling, it's not a lethal amount." Azul assured you, letting go of your arm and lifting up his head. His teeth were coated with something... not blood, not ink... some kind of yellow substance. "Just enough to paralyze you for a short while."

You were breathing heavily, you could feel your body going numb, starting from where he bit you.

"Please, don't panic. It'll be ok if you just relax." Azul told you. "I'll make sure you don't die. You trust me, right?"

There was a horrible, throbbing pain in your head. Your chest felt tight. You were dizzy and felt like you were about to feint.

"You'll be just fine, darling." He seemed very happy with himself. "Oh! My mother will be delighted to meet you! Come on, let's go, (Y/N)!"

You could barely tell what was real.

As Azul pulled you along with him, he eventually realized that you were being suspiciously quiet.

"Oh dear, they're unconscious..." Azul said to himself.

You looked so adorable while asleep.

"I'm so glad I did this... because now I have you, here with me forever. All mine, only mine..." He sighed contently, pulling you into a hug. "It seems my only choice was the right one to make in the end."

[polyamorousmood]

My partner and i recently had a talk about polyamory stuff and like, we both agree that its just the thing for us. So some time they told me they had a requited crush, but of course thry wanted to ask me if its ok first and all that, which i said yes to because it really genuinely is!

But, i do get a little bit jealous and stuff, do you know like, ways to deal with it? Im sorry if this isnt the right spot to ask, im just a lil new to some of this and i also talked to them about my being a bit jealous sometimes, but im also afraid of coming off as like, pushy and whiny

Oh my gosh I'm so happy for all three of you! 🥰 And I'm sure you're really happy for your partner, but its still a big step, especially the first time! Its totally okay for you to have some mixed feelings and take some time to figure things out in a way that works for you all 💟

I do have some ways to help deal with jealousy I've found, and I encourage followers to weigh in too. Buckle up, cause I give long answers😅

Talk about it.🗣️ And you did! So you're already doing good! This is really stock advice, you'll hear it from any poly person you talk to, but that's because it really is that important. I feel like sometimes we just say "talk about it" as though that'll solve the problem though. It won't always solve the problem. Don't expect it to 100% solve it. There's more to it than just talking. I have a lot of thoughts on how to talk about things productively, so those will go below the cut.

Know your feelings really well.🧠 Metaphorically engage with them as you would a cat that doesn't know whether to trust you yet: be gentle, be curious, don't get upset with them for not reacting how you'd like. Try to observe the feeling from an outside perspective rather than sitting in the feeling and reacting to it. There's a lot of information on being mindful of your feelings available with a quick google, so I won't go into it any further than that, but you have to really know your feelings to be able to talk about them and to be able to know what exactly you need to work on (and what you may need to ask of your partner).

Be okay with feeling unpleasant feelings sometimes.😕 That's a lot easier said than done, and it'll take some practice. Over little twinges of jealousy, practice saying "ah, that's not nice. But no biggie. 🤷" and moving on. For bigger bouts of jealousy, it'll be harder, but the same method of acknowledging how you're feeling but not letting it rule you is still helpful. On that note..

Practice self-soothing.🌱 Your partner should be willing to help you with your emotions, but they are, at the end of the day, your responsibility. Say to yourself, out loud if you need to, what the "problem" is and an affirmation for yourself: "I am feeling jealous because they're having fun with [crush] without me, but they still love me and want to hang out with me, too." Say it a few times. Depending on how much it bothers you, it may help you to make a list of things that are special between you and your partner, or a collection of affection your partner has expressed to you for you to review when you're upset by your jealousy.

Distract yourself.🤹 Of course you're gonna feel like shit if your partner is out bowling and making out with someone but you're sitting at home, staring at the wall, feeling sorry for yourself and waiting for them to come back. Do a hobby, arrange to see friends at the same time, treat yourself to a dinner you like but you rarely have because your partner hates it, try something new. Make it into a positive time for you too.

Get reasonable accommodations from your partner.🤝 This will tie closely into talking it out, and this is harder to give definitives on because so much is going to hinge on what your partner is comfortable with and what exactly your situation is, but its totally fair of you to at least ask certain things not get mentioned if you know they'll make you more jealous than you can handle, for example, or you can ask for occasional reassurance they don't want to de-escalate the relationship. Your partner may not be able/willing to make every accommodation you ask for

With that in mind, back to talking about talking

"Talk about it" is near-useless advice if the conversation isn't mutually respectful and productive. What that looks like for you and your partner, you know better than I do, so please remember this is general advice and may need a good bit of tweaking to fit in your relationship. But in general, when I say "talk things through with your partner," that includes:

You and your partner should both enter the discussion from a place of non-judgement and (unless someone has crossed a previously established boundary) non-blame.

You and your partner should both understand what is happening with the discussion. Do you want to explore solutions, ask for a change, or just vent?

Part of that understanding, in a healthy relationship, will be that its you and your partner vs the problem, not you vs them.

Things should be allowed to change. Your feelings and the situation will evolve. You both need to be allowed to say "I thought this would work, but it isn't, I need to revisit this."

Not hiding shit. Even if you're not sure how you feel or what you need, say that.

Self-awareness enough to have that conversation while adhering to all the other points. Being about to say things like "I know this isn't what you're meaning, but I feel like..." or "I understood it this way, was I mistaken" instead of shit like "You make me feel" or "That's not what you said before." Classify your emotions appropriately.

Classifying your emotions appropriately. Ties in with the previous point, but don't let knee-jerk reactions dominate your end of things. Don't let your partner's knee-jerk reactions get to you more than they should.

Assumption of good faith. Get used to saying "Can you clarify what you mean by that/why you think that?" Literally. Say it 10 times aloud right now. Miscommunications happen. If your partner says something wildly out of character or hurtful, take a breath, assume there's a misunderstanding, clarify that misunderstanding. If you sincerely believe your partner would try to fuck you over in anything, leave them now. If you don't believe that, don't act like you'd think that when things get tough

Hear each other out. Self-explanatory, ties in with several other points, important enough to mention again.

And of course, all of these things go both ways. No matter how well you handle things, if your partner isn't assuming good faith, you can only get so far, and vice-versa.

That's a lot, so you can see how its easy to breeze past that and just say "talk it through." It sounds like you and your partner have a pretty solid foundation in most if not all of these (at least I hope so!💖), so hopefully some of those feel obvious, but not everyone has that! Some people "talk about things" by playing the blame game and then are confused why nothing improves, so I wanted to cover my basics.

So what does that look like in practice? Well, tumblr ask limitations mean I don't know enough about your relationship dynamic or what's bothering you to say with certainty, so I'm going to make up a more specific example based on what I got, and trust you to translate it as you see fit to your life 👍Okay cool

In this scenario, you've gotten used to spending most of your time with your partner by default. So you've already told your partner you're feeling jealous (again, that's really good!) Hopefully they reassured you they love you and stuff. After examining your feelings for a bit, you determine that while you're happy your partner is happy with this new person, you're jealous of that new relationship energy and feeling sidelined. Its hard to be away from your partner, and you dislike how much time they spend texting their crush even when its just the two of you.

You go to your partner and say, "I'm really happy you and your crush seem to be going well, but I am struggling with getting less of your attention. I'd like to discuss what we can do to make this easier on me." Partner: Yeah, of course, what's up? You: I got really used to doing everything with you, so its a hard adjustment having you away. I think it'll be easier if I have something to do while you're out, so I was thinking about trying to set up a weekly board game night with [group of friends], and hopefully that could be 'you guys's time'. Your partner takes a second to process what you said, before explaining "Crush's work schedule isn't consistent enough to commit for sure to one day a week, and if things keep going well I'll probably want to see them more than that anyway. Having said that, I'm happy to make that Crush's and I's date night when the scheduling works out, but I still want to see them when it doesn't." You nod, that's disappointing but it makes sense. "Yeah, okay. When I talk to [friends], I'll ask about making it a floating game night and maybe we can all schedule together if that's okay?" Partner: Yeah, if your friends can be flexible, that's fine with me, but if that doesn't work out, I still want to be able to see Crush on my own terms. You: That's fair. I think it will still help even if it only works out half the time anyway. Can we give it a few weeks and see how it goes and check back in? Partner: Yeah, sure. Thanks for talking to me about things You: There's one more thing, too. I'm really glad you're so invested in Crush and that you feel comfortable enough in our relationship to text them around me, but it can be a bit much sometimes. I'm not really sure how to fix it because I don't feel its fair of me to be able to demand you stop talking to them whenever I want, but I don't think I can handle it all the time either. Your partner doesn't have an answer either, and you both agree to give it some more thought and come back to it later. After a couple days your partner asks, "Would it help if we have some time set aside that's just for us? Where I don't text Crush and we watch a movie or something?" You: yeah, that sounds really nice... I think that'd be a big relief to me and help me feel special and important to you. Which I know I am, but like, it'd help me feel it more. How often would you be willing to do that? Partner: [thinks a minute] Once a week sounds fair? That's how often I'm having special time with Crush, too. You: That is fair, but... :/ I had hoped to be a little bit higher priority than Crush still. Could I at least be able to like, ask for your attention outside of that time for even just for like 15-20 minutes when its really bothering me? Partner: You knew I didn't really want to prioritize my relationships formally, plus, I thought we agreed it wasn't fair for you to tell me to stop just whenever? That's not really what you had meant, and you ask your partner for a second to collect your thoughts before saying, "I don't want to be able to do it all the time, I just-- If I need to talk to you about something really important or I'm having a really hard day and need some extra affection, I just want to be sure that's not going to cause problems." Partner: Have I not been doing a good job of that anyway? I had my phone away when you were talking about that stuff with your family the other day. Like, I still care about you, and I'm not going to be texting them while you're having a breakdown. You: You know, yeah, you have, sorry. I think that was just an anxiety creeping up on me. Thank you for pointing out it wasn't a reasonable one. And then you kiss!!1!

That last step isn't necessary, but its nice, in my experience. Obviously, this isn't going to be the whole picture. You'll see how you and your partner feels after you implement the changes. And of course, there are a lot of other solutions everyone could have come to and a lot of reactions there could have been.

I want to draw attention to some of the ways some of the numbered items earlier got implemented, just so we're extra clear. You started the conversation by establishing clear expectations on what was happening, and made it clear you didn't blame them for your feelings and were wiling to contribute to a solution (Note: in a relationship where this is common, less formal check-ins probably don't require so much of a disclaimer, but I think its good practice to still do when you're doing A Big Thing). Your partner also didn’t blame you for getting jealous, while still not compromising on things that were important to them. You allowed for the fact you weren't certain how things would make you feel and future adjustments might be necessary when you agreed to check in after a few weeks. Both partners took time to think things over when needed to avoid knee-jerk reactions. You classified emotions appropriately by realizing something at the end was a baseless anxiety instead of an actual problem.

Wow this got long! If you’re still around, I hope this was helpful! 😆 Feel free to send follow up questions if you have them, and let me know how it works out!

[roughentumble]

Did a Tarot reading for myself using my new Silicon Dawn deck from a friend! Decided to write up my interpretation of it, as a preview for my etsy shop

      2

3 1   5

      4

1 Theme

2 Present Situation

3 Influences

4 Challenges

5 Final Outcome

+moon card

1. King of VOID

The theme of my situation is absence. Emptiness. The card depicts a spacesuit with no body left inside-- a chariot without a rider. Maybe it's a happy ending and the spaceman has transcended the need for a suit, or maybe they were vaporized, but either way what we're looking at is the leftovers. Bitter and lonely and cold in the emptiness of space.

2. The High Priest

The High Priest in this deck represents wisdom, learning, the end of things, but also caution and wariness. Are you learning what you ought to? Should you trust your teacher? Perhaps the answer is yes, but take everything with a grain of salt. Where The High Priestess is directly experiencing the divine, The High Priest is the divine filtered through human interpretation and passed on indirectly. Second-hand knowledge of something bigger than the self.

3. Seven of Wands, Reversed

The feeling I've failed at some Great Potential has weighed me down, encouraged me to sleep amongst the snow, rest my weary legs in the worst possible conditions. I've gotten back up from this reprieve, and am dusting myself off, but the pain of feeling like a failure still haunts me and influences my every move. In conjuncture with 2, I'm seeking a teacher because I've felt so lost, and I need to be careful and not trust blindly in the first hope I find. In conjucture with 1, this reinforces to me a sense of emptiness that I'm perhaps seeking to fill, with knowledge and experience.

4. Two of Wands, Reversed

Change is about to happen, it NEEDS to happen, but I'm hesitating. The path diverges before me, but I don't place my foot on any one way, sitting instead at the crossroads. While 2 warns me not to trust just anyone, 4 tells me that I should trust SOMEone, the road must be started down if I'm to reach the end of it!I'll make a choice, and I'll change, and it may or may not be the best change but it will be MY change, and it needs to happen.

5. Seven of Swords, Reversed

The book that comes with this deck has the line "You really should stop before you go further down this road-- it just gets worse." To me, this card says that I will pick a path, and I'll change, and it will have been the wrong path. Perhaps the reversal indicates that I have some time yet to change my choice, to really think on who I follow, to avoid this outcome, but I also feel a sense of reassurance that a wrong path won't be the end of the world. It'll just be another setback in the great scheme of life. There's always a new way to approach a problem, and there will be a way out. I just have to go through.

Moon Card. Ten of Pentacles, Reversed

This card in this deck warns against being a dictator, against working all for yourself. Sometimes you need to be the big one tearing everything down, but most likely if you do that everyone in your life will rise up against you for your tyranny. Now, this deck DOES have a tendancy to tell me to tear down my life and commit my everything to some sort of deity that will burn me up from the inside with holy fire, but the reversal I think is trying to tell me that the different path I take should be one that is in service of both myself and others. I'll get more out of it if I learn how to move forward not just for myself, and allow some of my control to slip through my fingers. It won't fall apart if I get rid of my death-grip on the reins.

Lots of reversed cards, implying a lot of stagnated energy, and the suit of VOID makes an apperance, unique to this deck and implying an absence of something, to me it's an absence of motivation to move forward out of the reversed stagnation. Sevens can imply spiritual mastery, which is nice because I've been getting back into Witchcraft recently, but can also imply a sort of stagnation as well, where sixes are closer to completed cycles, sevens are one "off" from that, and sevens often have someone waiting for the resolution. Seven of wands sits in the snow and waits with the pain of failure, seven of swords waits for the fight they know they can't win to end.

OVERALL:

I find myself stuck in a pit of stagnation and pain, feeling like a failure. And my first steps forward might lead me down a path that ends in futility. But I still need to move forward and change, without a white-knuckle death-grip on my future. I probably will go down the wrong path at some point. The only solution is to accept it, approach the problem from a different angle, and continue to grow and change. Learn from the right teachers, pick your path carefully, and then move forward, because if you stand still you'll never go anywhere.

[joyandeggs]

OK I REALLY HOPE THAT YOUR WRITING REQUESTS ARE OPENN

i saw ur writing with knuckle and shoot, and im fan girling so hard right now 😭😭

(tw!!) been going through a tough patch recently. if you could maybe write head canons on how they’d react if their significant other attempted suicide, i’d be forever in your debt 😔

TW: Talking about sad stuff, suic*de, intrusive and depressing thoughts

Hey! I saw this the other day, and...can I just say how thankful I am? For you checking out my writing, and for wanting to message me. Seriously, thank you so much.

I am so sorry you have been going through a tough patch lately. To be completely honest, so have I. A lot has happened to me the past year or so, and it hasn't been that great. I get too deep into my own head, overthinking everything and letting awful intrusive thoughts take me over. Depression tries to get the best of me, especially when I genuinely feel like the world would be better if I was not here. That I have no purpose in life, that my loved ones really do not love me like I do them, that nobody would ever even care about me. All of that is not true. It is not true for you, and it is not true for anyone reading this who needs to hear reassurance right now. Absolutely not. I have been doing much better than what I was for a long time now, despite the new year personally getting to me. Life for me right now is just...unfullfilling, conflicting, and stressful. Hopefully, I will get through my own rough patch. It just takes time. In the meantime, I have been sticking to making my own happiness, taking it one day at a time, and trying to stay positive. It is what it is.

I will keep you in my thoughts. ❤️‍🩹

You Are Not Alone

Knuckle

Knuckle has had his fair share of his own awful thoughts. With his unspoken past, what all he has been through growing up and making his way to become a highly ranked Beast Hunter, he has come a long way to get to where he is now.

Seeing you attempt anything leaves him wide eyed, panicking over your safety. Heartbroken, shaky, holding onto for dear life. At first, he doesn't know what to do or say, other than think of how could you possibly want to do something like that to yourself?! You are too good, too special and too important to him and to others-- But of course, he doesn't say that. He knows you, but he doesn't know what all you're going through. The best thing that he can do for you right now is, if you are comfortable with it, hold you to his chest and quietly reassure you with calming words that he can manage at the time.

"_____... Please know that I am always here for you. If you ever need someone to talk to, someone to sit with when your thoughts get to be too much, tell me. I don't care if it's the middle of the night or I'm in the middle of a mission, I will answer the phone if you call! ...You probably want me to shut up, huh? Heh, I can do that. I just want you to know how much you mean to me. How much I love you. Alright?"

Shoot

Shoot knows of these feelings well, and it breaks his heart to hear and/or see someone else going through the same. He has been through so much throughout his life, the struggles of becoming a Hunter, losing his arm, becoming stronger physically and mentally...

The moment he sees them attempt something life threatening makes him act fast. Don't. One word, and he is holding onto you, your hand, your face, or hugging you to his body. At first, he is going to awkwardly stand there and hesitate what to do, but that's just because he wants to know what he can do for you. He doesn't want to make you feel uncomfortable or anything by doing something you wouldn't want (if you prefer a bit of distance compared to actual touch and closeness.) Shoot just wants what's best for you. That being said, he will softly talk to you in order to distract you from any further bad thoughts.

"I am so sorry you're going through all of this. I know how hard it is. Trust me. I...I struggle with the same thoughts. You're not alone, _____. We'll get through this together. If you ever need anything, I will always...always be here for you."

[thesuitelife547]

Gongchan News1 Interview [ARTICLE TRANSLATION]

I did combine both of the interviews into one. But enjoy!

- Marisa

Original articles:

Part 1 | Part 2

B1A4’s Gongchan has said that the year 2023 will be busier and a year of growth. It’s a promise to go further as both an actor and a singer.

The Gongchan who is working hard will have his first step in the release of the BL (Boys Love) drama, ‘Unintentional Love’ (written by Shin Ji An, directed by Jang Eui Soon) that will be released this year. Based on Pibi’s webtoon, it’s the story of two people whose relationship started out as a lie and later developed into true love, a recovery of trust romance. The country’s first BL drama was ‘Where Your Eyes Linger’ and this drama will be a collaboration between Shin Ji An, who wrote the script, and the director for ‘Peach of Time,’ Jang Eui Soon.

In this project, Cha Seo Won plays the role of Yoon Tae Joon and Gongchan took on the role of Ji Won Young. Specifically, Gongchan is Ji Won Young, an employee of the general affairs department of a large company that has to win the heart of the president’s favorite artist, Yoon Tae Joon, if he wants to be reinstated. Ji Won Young is someone who has a bright nature and is a social butterfly who likes to help people and always has people surrounding him. It’s a story of how he meets Yoon Tae Joon and becomes entangled with him when Won Young is suddenly on the verge of losing his job.

Gongchan has steadily built up his filmography as he started acting in 2015 with the web dramas ‘Delicious Romance,’ ‘Dear My Name,’ and ‘Mokkoji Kitchen.’ He’s also appeared in the MBC Every1’s ‘Dating is Annoying, but I Hate Being Lonely!’ among others. He’s back after around two years with a new project. Although Gongchan was unfamiliar with the BL genre, of which has yet to become popularized, he said that he was drawn to the authentic story and thanks to that, he was able to immerse himself well.

He is also a member of the boy group B1A4 and has done activities as an artist. He has said that he wishes to meet fans as the complete B1A4 when fellow member Sandeul is discharged from the military. Gongchan continued by saying, “A steady person, I want to become someone who does not let go of their goal and who continues to run. There are times when I’ll rest, but my goal is to have fun and be happy while promoting or being active.”

Gongchan plans to spend the Lunar New Year holiday with his family this year. They’re planning on having a peaceful holiday by making jeon [Korean pancakes] together and giving his grandmother New Year’s bows. He also brightly conveyed New Year’s greetings to News1 readers. I recently met Gongchan for this interview.

How are you planning to spend the Lunar New Year holiday this year?

My family is going to all get together and we’re going to make jeon [Korean pancakes] together and also give our New Year’s bows to my grandmother.

‘Unintentional Love Story’ is going to be released this year. If you were going to describe the project?

It’s based on a webtoon. A relationship that started with a lie turns into a true love romance. I play the role of Ji Won Young, an employee of the general affairs department of a large company. I am excitedly waiting for it to be released this year.

Have you read and referred to the original webtoon?

I read the webtoon while preparing for the role and thought that Ji Won Young and I have a lot of similarities. Despite having a bright personality, he doesn’t tell others when he’s having a hard time. It touched me because it felt like I was looking at myself. Isn’t the original version very popular? I paid a lot of attention to the details while filming in order to make the character seem similar. Won Young is a bright fellow, so I really thought a lot about what would work best to express his kind of energy.

How did you come to join the project?

I had received an offer for the role of Ji Won Young. They had said that my image resembled that of his, so they decided to contact me. After I received the offer, I immediately read the project and thought, “It’s so interesting, it would be even more interesting as a drama.” I didn’t want to miss the opportunity. Thankfully, the director and the head of the production company looked at me favorably during our meeting and my appearance was decided upon right away.

It��s difficult to say that the BL genre has yet to become popular in South Korea. It’s a time when related works are now just appearing, so did you hesitate to appear? Did you reference any other works?

It is true that I was previously unfamiliar with the BL genre. However, when looking at ‘Unintentional Love Story,’ I liked the story of how two people with painful scars slowly open their hearts as they get to know one another. Therefore I decided to try to focus on the script and act from that. Before filming, I tried to look back on and refer to the drama ‘Semantic Error,’ the movie ‘Call Me By Your Name,’ the Japanese drama ‘Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You A Wizard,’ and others.

How was it acting with Cha Seo Won?

When I heard that Seo Won-hyung was cast, I thought he was the same as Yoon Tae Joon in the webtoon and also thought that the production team really delicately found the character. I saw him in ‘I Live Alone’ and also in a daily drama that I watched with my mother [t/n: I think the daily might be Second Husband]. When I first saw him, he was like a celebrity (Laughs). It was difficult in the beginning, but isn’t he quirky and cute? He’s very playful and the atmosphere on the set was good, so we became close quickly. Even when filming, he guided me a lot and we also cheered each other up through laughter. All of the actors became very comfortable with each other so it’s a pity that we can’t promote together because he enlisted.

What is a point to observe about the project?

It depicts Won Young and Tae Joon growing closer and closer, so pay close attention to each of their detailed emotions in each situation. There’s also going to be a tickling excitement about it.

What kind of evaluation do you wish to receive after ‘Unintentional Love Story’ is released?

I wish to hear the people that watch this project recommend it and say “The actor Gongchan here is pretty good.” I would be very grateful if I were able to become an actor that people know about.

You started working as an actor in 2015. What was the reason you started?

I was originally very greedy to act. When I was actually able to try it, I was able to see that it had a different charm than standing on stage and I therefore gradually fell in love with it. I’m trying to work on at least one project every year.

It seems that there are roles you’re greedy for

I want to play a villain someday. I really like the drama ‘Bad Guys’ [t/n: a 2014 drama] and want to play a character like Park Hae Jin’s role.

You’ve been active as B1A4 for a long time. I’m curious about the secret of your teamwork

I see CNU-hyung and Sandeul-hyung quite often. We talk about recent updates, our daily lives, and about the album we’ll release later. It seems like the secret of how we can last for so long is our humble virtue towards each other. Even when talking about things that need to be improved, we don’t take it too heavily. Although I’m overflowing with passion when faced with work, I’m the type who receives it well.

Aren’t B1A4 on a break due to fellow member Sandeul’s military service? Are you not greedy for a solo album?

I am greedy, but I’m too afraid. (Smiles). It’s become late because I think about things such as whether the concept that I want to do will come out well.

Sandeul will be discharged in August, will we be able to see a B1A4 album?

I want to quickly come back as a complete group when Sandeul-hyung is discharged. I wish to have one come out within this year, but nothing has been specifically decided upon.

Aren’t you also actively communicating with your fans?

Communicating with the fans is so much fun. Similar to how real friends communicate, it’s nice to hear about what the fans are doing. I also like to share what I’m doing with them. Because the fans seem to like that, I tend to communicate with them a lot.

What is your goal?

A steady person, I want to become someone who does not let go of their goal and who continues to run. There are times when I’ll rest, but my goal is to have fun and be happy while promoting or being active

What kind of year would you like 2023 to be?

I hope it’ll be a year where I’m busier, where I’m growing, and a year of fun activities. I’m already looking forward to this year because even if there’s a lot of work, I don’t think it will be hard.

Would you like to say Lunar New Year greetings to News1 readers?

I hope you have a pleasant holiday while eating plenty of delicious food. Happy New Year!

[ladylynse]

happy halloween! if you're still doing these, trick or treat

(no prob if not ik that i have a late timezone)

“Luz?” Hunter’s voice was barely a whisper. “Are you awake?”

She’d been awake more often than not recently, even when she was bone tired. “Yeah.” She sat up and carefully eased her way out of the bed and of the room, trying not to wake Amity or Vee in the process. Amity hadn’t been sleeping well, either, and Vee still startled awake at times.

Luz met Hunter at her doorway and nodded when he pointed towards the kitchen. They left the chairs where they were—they were prone to squeaking—and sat together on the floor with their backs to the cupboards instead.

“Another nightmare?” she guessed when he didn’t speak. Nightmares were more common than dreams these days.

“No, I— I never got to sleep in the first place. I couldn’t stop thinking. It’s different during the day. I can focus on other stuff, but when everything stops and it goes quiet….”

“You can’t help but think of everything you were avoiding.”

“Yeah. I…. I don’t know how to tell them. I don’t want to tell them, but I don’t know if I can’t not tell them. Especially—” He broke off and looked away, but she could guess the rest of his sentence anyway. “Is it bad? That I’m still keeping secrets? Won’t that just give them more reason not to trust me?”

She found his hand and squeezed it. “It’s your secret, not one they have to know. And they’ll trust you even if it does come out, whether that’s in a way you want or not, because we’re family now—the good sort of family that supports each other.”

She heard him take a ragged breath. He still wasn’t looking at her, but her hand was trapped by his. He was holding her tightly enough that it hurt, but it was a good hurt. “I don’t think you understand what I am. What being a Grimwalker means. How bad this is. It’s…. This changes everything. All my life— What even was my life?”

“That stopped mattering when you stopped trying to kill us.” That got Hunter to look at her, but she meant it, and she hoped he could hear that in her voice. “You aren’t what Belos made you to be. You’re you, not anyone else. The fact that you changed your opinion about, well, everything proves that. Or changed it about anything, really. Because that means you’re thinking for yourself. You’re a good person, Hunter. You know that, right?”

He didn’t answer her, but she let it go and sat with him in silence as he worked through his own thoughts.

She wasn’t expecting him to break that silence.

“What’s keeping you up?”

“Nothing.” The word came too quickly for her to pretend that it sounded like anything other than a lie. “I’m just worried about Eda and King and everyone else.” That wasn’t a lie, at least.

It just wasn’t the whole truth.

Hunter didn’t tell her that everything would be okay, though. He didn’t offer her the same reassurances she’d routinely given the others. “Me, too,” was all he said. “There are some people I….”

He didn’t finish.

She didn’t press him.

She didn’t want him to press her further, either, or she might find herself telling him all the things the others didn’t need to hear right now.

Flapjack woke them just as the night was starting to fade in the east with the promise of the sun. Hunter slipped silently downstairs again, having long since learned where the creaky spots were, and she made her way with old familiarity back to her room.

This hadn’t been the first time they’d fallen asleep out of their beds. She doubted it would be the last. They never said much, but they didn’t need to, most times. It was enough to know the other person understood some of what was haunting you—and that they agreed to share that burden so the others wouldn’t have to.

Not yet, anyway.

She wasn’t ready to share her thoughts with the others any more than he was.

But she’d get there.

And so would he.

Eventually.

Ask box trick-or-treating - receive a snippet if you drop by - Happy Halloween, everyone!

Halloween snippets | see more fics

[lisxdumbr]

LIS!! I was about to come here to cry about yuuta bcs i missed him this is a great opportunity qwq

the question itself is whats your thoughts on how the others in the cast would react to yuutas shift in personality!! its not the exact term i would use to describe his recent doings but ig thats how it would seem from outside so

just. im actually such a sucker for outside povs it always gives such nice perspective for characters its one of my favorites <3 i also love him so its a great mashup i would say

-🌟

HELLOOO STARRY. thank you for always saving me in these cases <3 both of us miss him, good timing then.

THIS ended up being long, looong as always. I'm sorry I can't help it, but I hope you enjoy.

“Yuutakun Yuutakun, what have you become..?” thoughts

Replying to your question. hmmm, I think it depends on the person. Undead were definitely the beta testers already, alongside Hinata.

Let's see, Yuta used to be perceived as "one of the twins" just like that. And the twins were perceived as poor and miserable by all the yumenosaki students after Setsubun. You know how Mika says that it's "his duty to look after them" because it's a collective agreement in yumenosaki? As for the people close to him, I think they've always perceived him as a calm but cheery person except when it comes to Hinata. Everyone who has been 5 minutes talking to him should be able to notice that there's always this little pinch of boiling rage when something has to do with Hinata.

Now, as for the recent.. meltdown and explosion of personality, we have three phases. Entering the darkness (sandstorm), walking that dark tunel without hopes of finding the exit (mirage), finding the exit and being able to see outside's light again (love letter).

Many characters experienced a phase of it already, we could even claim that everything started in nightclub and everything, but that was just a brief moment. A brief taste that Rinne offered him so that he could see the world through his eyes.

I think Yuta is very conflicted himself, that's why he keeps deprecating and carrying burdens (please take him to therapy I am begging) BUT OK, moving to what's important, what's everyone reaction to this? how do they feel?

Starting with undead in sandstorm, we saw them raging and confused about his actions. Specifically Koga who was a step away from throwing hands. I believe Rei is the most important key in all this, since he felt hurt more than anything else. I believe Rei not only felt betrayed but felt like he did something wrong, since y'know, he 'raised' the twins in yumenosaki. This idea is further expressed in Love Letter, where he finally understands that Yuu is just.. changing, but that he isn't alone.

Speaking of, Hinata is devastated. Hinata has lived that change right before his eyes and he's absolutely terrified that he will loose Yuta. I spoke about this in my little liveblog of Love Letter when it dropped, but the twins are in a very unstable place. For Yuta to be happy, he needs to separate himself from Hinata, but this is exactly what will end up hurting Hinata, so now Yuta is growing while his brother is sinking in depressive thoughts all over again (at least Wataru helped a bit with that and thank god).

We see a couple more characters who witness the process. Shinobu? Absolutely terrified too. Shinobu, despite being Yuta's best friend, knows little to nothing about his true self, his true feelings. Seeing his friend get corrupted by those emotions scares him and also hurts a lot. He said it in Mirage even, he just wants Yuta to open up and trust him and understand that he isn't alone, but again, Yuta was in a blinded state of mind in which the pain overcame him and didn't listen at all.

I believe. the only person who took this positively has been Rinne. Rinne is. very very proud of him. Rinne is happy that his advice was able to reach him. He took the father figure that Rei previously had and embraced it. Rinne, despite his personality, truly cares about the ones he loves, so I think it's pretty normal that he feels proud and tries to help Yuta in his journey, specially when he sees himself reflected on him (yeahh read hotlimit).

ANYWAY. I would love to see Sora's opinion though, I'd love to see if his color has changed though I know that if it did, Hinata is going to cry and I do not want that.. but ! He's growing, I'm very proud of him.

[krahenschrei]

An Aquarius Opening Up

Random journal-ish entry because I need to get the feelings out somewhere or the Bees™ in my head will detonate.

For a whole lot of reasons I'm not the sort of person who likes to talk about their feelings or anything about myself that isn't like basic surface level things and that's kinda always been the case. I keep everyone in my life at a certain level of distance, some closer or further than others, but not my family, my therapist, or friends have ever gotten to any really deep layers of who I am or anything like that.

But something changed recently. I can't pinpoint when and I don't know if there was any specific trigger or if it just happened gradually without me noticing.

I've been with my boyfriend fo a little over two years now and I've always felt comfortable telling him mostly anything but even he unfortunately was held at a certain distance. Closer than anyone else has ever been, certainly, but still something in me kept me from letting down my walls entirely. I know part of my issue stems from having to be the strong one my whole life for everyone - family, friends, etc. - I was the tough, stable person that held it together for everyone else and made sure things were taken care of or at the very least, anyone affected by something was able to talk to me about their feelings and basically use me as a sounding board to process and usually that would turn me into the therapist friend as well. I was not 'allowed' to have the same courtesy though because if I spoke about my feelings, I was invalidated or made to feel guilty for expressing myself because I "made them feel bad" and was told more than once by specific people in the past that me just wanting to discuss something bad that happened "upset them" and I was made to drop it, even if it had nothing to do with the person I was talking to.

But lately I've found myself just saying things to my boyfriend that are usually things I would keep to myself. Nothing weird or bad, just thoughts and feelings that sit deeper inside me that I would've never expressed to anyone else. There have been times I've said things and realized it but felt no embarrassment or shame like I might have if it had slipped in front of anyone else. I've been taking stock of how I feel during those times and it's an unusual sense of calmness and just… being okay. Like I don't feel excessive happiness or anything, it's not a euphoric moment, it's just… natural and good. It feels safe. I have never in my life felt safe with anyone, not even family members that I knew did genuinely love and care about me - because I felt they would still betray my trust somehow at some point.

He makes me feel safe. He makes me feel okay. I feel comfortable and have this deep sense of understanding that there's no shame or guilt or fear here. There's no need to compete, no need to argue and debate to make my feelings be taken seriously or validated. There's no need to posture and express an unhealthy level of generosity in order to 'prove' that I'm worth keeping around.

Last year was hard. The first quarter of this year has been hard too for different reasons but now, coming into May, I just feel… good. I feel content. It's an unusual sensation. Trauma, mental illness, and just being an annoying air sign has made my whole life feel like a constant state of needing to prove to everyone around me that I deserve to be here, that I deserve love and care and to be heard, that I am not somehow less important than those around me just because I'm different than they are. There's just been these little moments for the last month or so that make me stop and think like… Yeah, this is good. This is right. I'm okay. I'm safe. I'm loved. This is what it should feel like.

I feel authentic. I feel like my genuine self thanks to him. I feel like for once, someone doesn't think I'm some alien weirdo that can't function properly and just doesn't try hard enough or feels things the 'wrong way.' I don't get into constant panicked states worrying if he's losing interest in me. I don't constantly stress myself out and worry myself physically sick about making some frantic display of reminding him that I'm there and don't want to be replaced and I'm good enough. I don't have to fight for his attention, he just gives it because he wants to, because he wants me, and I guess part of me is still learning how to accept that. No one's ever wanted me without it being conditional somehow.

It's a lot to process and there's still even more I haven't fully wrapped my head around. I hope I'll be able to give him that same sense of safety and acceptance. He deserves it. I hope I can love him as perfectly as he's loved me.

[lauriepinkney64]

Backing off

Created: Monday, February 13, 2023 5:33 AM

Updated: Monday, February 13, 2023 6:44 AM

i am knowing that my divine counterpart will be approaching me regarding an admission and declaration of their feelings for me. i am ecstatic! and terribly impatient. so recently i was given the message from source to back up and chill out! because, how would i feel if someone was right in my face whenever i woke up or had a thought or whatever, i was informed that i was hovering, eesh. so i have consciously retreated and will maintain a reasonable distance to give privacy yet allowing my presence to be near so they don't feel my absence and become confused. i will hold space, not hover. damn! what a balance. i will provide protection with my energy during this healing work. i appreciate them so much for going thru this process, (it is grueling and not for the timid) not only to meet me where i am, but because i can see that they have so much goodness to offer the world, i've seen this healing ability first hand.

also have been asked to trust source regarding my present circumstances. it is deeply important to me that those i care for now have a soft safe place to land when i move forward. i am assured that i know nothing, lol, and it is handled. i only have to decide that i want this new life. the one i manifested for myself. Naturally i do. however i don't understand yet why i was not able to manifest this for my loved ones as well. but i feel they are not moving forward with me this time. this situation has lasted nearly 25 years. i feel guilty for wanting and accepting this other life that is approaching, like i am being disloyal. but if i am loyal to them, i will be betraying myself and i am here to break this terrible ancestral cycle, that sacrificing myself for another is somehow laudable. it it not. i must trust myself even when it is uncomfortable. its so important to not abandon myself any further, and trust the universe to guide and provide. i am often reminded, i don't know all things that Source and my spirit team know. i am glad for this tho, the knowings i have been entrusted with are heavy and lonely at times. i am happy for source to guide and direct me toward my best interest to attain the life i desire.

i am being made aware that the ex friend has, and is continuing to attempt spell work against me, sad woman. i feel compassion for her in that she is so desperately trying to avoid this coming to the carpet moment with Source, regarding this spell work, i wonder who she thinks she is praying to?? there is only source, and any evil is human produced and far weaker than Source energy, furthermore, the rules of the universe dictate that you cannot assert into another's experience without consent. this is an attraction based universe, so be mindful who you are allowing into your energy field. but fear not, for the Source of all that is will protect you from those who seek to do you harm.

at any rate, we each got something from this brief connection, then she was ushered out of my life as suddenly as she appeared. she had something of value for me even tho she was being deceitful on many levels. this is assurance to me that i can ramain open and oblivious to peoples ugliness and still obtain a blessing and share a blessing and remain unharmed and protected.

i learned i can put down my defenses and even when things go twisty i will always be guided and protected. I am releasing my defensiveness and my personal armor, i don't need them anymore because i have learned how to boundary up instead. i hear advice frequently that says to establish boundaries, i always thought that meant armor or defenses, defensiveness, but that was only effective when i was young and couldn't make my own choices. now that just blocks the good stuff too. i had to learn first the need for boundaries then what that looks like and how to use them. so i built them but neglected to remove the armor. now i am becoming braver and allowing the armor to fall away and when i am faced with the internal reaction to defend, i catch myself and pause to find the boundary and myself within it and assure myself of my safety in this moment, that i can trust me and my Source to be in the moment without defending. i don't have to be on guard all the time to avoid these conflicts. i can establish my boundary and when it is not respected i can choose to address the breach or move away from the energy. if said energy pursues me in my retreat, then i may defend, from a place of love for myself and for the harmony of all.

And so it is.

[grandpageepa]

Patience

Here I am sitting on an empty cold floor, in what used to be my comfort zone. It is bittersweet to depart. I remember the day I first moved in, enthusiastically unaware of all the trouble I would experience in the months coming. LOUD, PERSISTENT, intrusive banging, furniture moving, a child screaming, unkept, inconsiderate, rude neighbors above and most recently, the straw that broke the camel’s back - flooding. 

What used to be, was no longer. I am saddened but understand the placement. There is resolve now.  

I wanted to touch on something. I wish I would have pulled out on the previous after 2 years. It was time to go but I didn’t go. I stayed and pretended that things would change. I feel like a lot of women, namely, in my own experience - wait around for things to change because they are so abruptly blown away when the script changes years into a relationship. It’s stagnant, asking them to go out is like pulling teeth, and why torture ourselves to ask someone to make good on themselves? to care about how the other person feels? The sacrifice is there, they are unwilling to make it and the more you pester them, the more they resent you for it because the lines are clear. They would rather live their own truth than to bend and live it with you. It’s a harsh reality. I went through it. I dated my ex for almost five years. I remember the day he bought his computer, after that, it was like we never saw each other face to face anymore. It was always en route to somewhere in great urgency so he can return to his video game addiction 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The most painful part is psychological. You think someone is wrong with you because you are not being looked at, you are not being thought of, you are being shoved aside because your usage is not bringing the same satisfaction as the video games are. Then comes the drinking, the blatant disregard for your feelings and instead they put up a brick wall to protect their own selfishness. If i could talk to my younger self, I would tell myself to stop wasting my own time, to pursue the things I wanted to do, on my own. Eventually I did, I rebuilt the relationship with myself and that’s the relationship that matters the most. If you wonder why you do the things you do, you ask yourself. If you wonder why other people do what they do, observe their actions because actions are the best determinant of further actions. When we are not getting what we deserve, I implore you to leave. Stop wasting your time, giving yourself a million excuses why you can’t walk your own way. You can and I would have grabbed my own hand and lead. This is the only pathway I know now. Through times of solitude, great need of company and being deprived of that, looking internally and finding the hurt, you can soothe yourself and bring yourself to a place where you can trust yourself to follow through on your own decisions. We let ourselves down. We write our own novels. We have the power to move forward. I wish I could have listened to myself. I was too ashamed, I was too much into the habit of putting myself down, I wasn’t worth shit and I wasn’t shit. I let other people tell me who I am, but who I am has the furthest to do with, who you think I am. That shit is irrelevant. If the shit is not working, if there is no effort being put forth, do yourself a fucking favor and maximize your freedom and your happiness. It begins with, this person can not make me happy,  I can only make me happy and the more I expect someone to make me happy, the unhappier I become because I don’t trust that I have all the tools to fix my own vehicle in which I am in the driver’s seat. 

[miekasa]

call me (levi ackerman)

↯ pairing: levi ackerman x (fem) reader

↯ genres and warnings: fluff, humor? you can be the judge of that i suppose, levi is quiet and often practical, but you cannot convince that there’s not a small part of him that doesn’t enjoy having shit to hold over people lol

↯ notes: this is also cross-posted from another blog, but i tweaked it a bit to fit levi and rewrote/edited parts i wish the world had never seen </3 also i’m reposting bc i was an idiot who accidentally deleted it on mobile rip 

↯ word count: 1.3k

↯ summary: drunk you is not amused by the man who keeps trying to coerce you into his apartment; even if that man is your boyfriend and that apartment is his apartment.

“Alright mister, I’m trusting you for now because you’re Erwinnie’s friend, and Erwinnie is my best friend,” you hiccup, wagging your pointer finger as threateningly as you can in your current state, “So if he says you’re a good person, you’re probably a good person. Or good enough.”

Levi holds back a knowing smirk, and loops his arm through yours to steady your balance. He doesn’t know how or why Erwin let you get this drunk, but he’s at least glad the blonde was sober enough to call him to pick you up instead of letting you get in a cab; or worse, attempt to take the bus.

“I’m so very glad you trust me,” he says, voice flat as your wrap your other arm around his bicep. You hum back, a little spacey and like you maybe didn’t hear what he said.

You’re honestly pretty cute when you’re drunk. It’s not something he gets to see often, as you don’t allow yourself to let go frequently; nor do you usually have the time to. And it’s not that he particularly wishes for you to be drunk to the point where you can barely stand, or remember his name, but all things considered, Levi is happy that your general drunk disposition is happy, too. 

He waves Mike goodbye as he wrangles Erwin into his car, not holding back his smile this time as you wave over-excitedly at the blonde in the passenger seat, calling his name loudly to tell him goodnight and that you’ll miss him, like you hadn’t already told him goodnight three minutes ago, or spent the last three hours with him drinking. Yeah, you’re cute. 

Thankfully, Levi doesn’t live too far from the restaurant you and Erwin were at, so the both of you are home after a twenty minute walk—what should have been fifteen minutes, but was prolonged by your drunken fascination with a squirrel on a public bench.

You start to wobble more when Levi unlaces your arms to get his keys out of his pocket, and he moves his right hand to rest against the small of your back so you don’t fall. However, drunk you is not so entertained by the idea of his hands anywhere near your waist as sober you would have been.

“Hey, hey, hey—hold it right there, mister!” you stutter, words a bit too loud for the confined space of Levi’s hallway at three in the morning, “I am not going in—into that suspicious apartment with you.”

You stumble as you try to remove Levi’s hand from your waist, and he tries to steady your balance again, but push him away more forcefully, staggering into the wall behind you.

“Ah, bitch,” you curse, holding your head and groaning. The pain clearly isn’t enough to stop your accusations against Levi, as you’re back to wagging your finger at him, even hunched over from your drunken stupor, “See, this is your fault.”

Levi sighs. He doesn’t know why you’re holding your head, because you hit your back, and from what he can tell, you shouldn’t have hurt yourself that badly. He’ll take a closer look at you once you’re inside. That’s if he could get you inside to begin with.

He can’t wrangle you and open the door at the same time, so he goes for the latter, finally pulling his keys from his pocket to unlock his apartment door, then attempts to move you inside. Keyword: attempts; because anytime he puts his hands remotely near you, you slap them away.

“Come on, we have to go inside,” he grunts, trying again to get a hold of your arm, but you whack him away harshly. For a drunk person, you seem to have the strength and dexterity of a pro-athlete all of a sudden. Where was all this coordination when he was trying to get you up the stairs five minutes ago?

“No!” you growl—once again, too loudly for the time and place. “Haven’t you heard of the saying no means no, mister? I might be drunk, but this is not my apartment, and I am not going in there to have sex with you!”

“I’m trying to help you go to bed. I’m not going to try and have sex with you.” Levi takes a deep breath. This could sound really bad if anyone else woke up and heard the two of you. 

But you’re not having it, crossing your arms and turning your body so that you’re now facing the wall, your back towards a less-than-impressed Levi. “Well, I don’t believe you. I’m going to call Erwinnie tell him you’re being a bad friend, and then Erwinnie is going to call my boyfriend and he’s going to come and pick me up.”

“Oh yeah?” Levi drawls, leaning against his door frame, watching your silhouette as you clumsily search for your phone in your pockets, “Why don’t you just call your boyfriend then?”

You turn on your heels as best you can, and muster up your most menacing glare. It’s not menacing in the slightest, and it actually makes Levi crack a smile, which you do not take lightly; but that only makes him smile further, because sober you doesn’t like it when he’s not fazed by your self-proclaimed intimidation tactics, either.

“Fine,” you huff, finally putting your phone to your ear, “But you’re going to be sorry, because Levi is going to come here and kick your ass.”

Levi chuckles, feeling his own phone ring in his back pocket, “I bet he is.”

“He is,” you insist, stomping your foot for dramatic effect, “He might not be that tall, but he’s strong as hell, plus he’s handsome, and he doesn’t let people fuck around with me, so say your prayers, mister.”

The following afternoon is far less than pleasant. You feel groggy, tired, and like everything is moving in slow motion. Piece by piece, your memories of your night out with Erwin start to come back to you, but you can’t seem to recall anything beyond your fifth margarita.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Levi calls, sarcastically, upon entering the bedroom.

His voice and presence surprises you, but then the realization washes over you that you’re in his apartment and not your own. You’re not sure why yet, but you could probably take a guess.

“Did you take me home last night?”

Levi hums in acknowledgement, nodding his head towards the bedside table, where you find a bottle of water. Levi watches you as you move to hang your legs off the side of the bed and reach for the bottle, groaning in the process. He mentally notes that he should make you breakfast—or, well, at this point, brunch—after you go shower, so that you can take an Advil for the pain.

He moves across the room to sit beside you on the bed, careful to not disrupt too much as to make you spill the water on the sheets. “You know, for someone who’s so happy-go-lucky when they’re drunk, you put up quite the fight yesterday.”

“I did?” you turn to him, capping the bottle, eyes wide with surprise, “You were probably sleeping and you had wake up and come deal with me, I’m sorry, Levi.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he assures you, an almost uncharacteristic and sly smile playing on his lips, “You always say something interesting that keeps me entertained. It makes up for it.”

“Dear god, what was it this time?” you groan, throwing your head back, “I didn’t confess my feelings for you again did I? This is, what, like the sixth time since we’ve been dating? I’m such an embarrassing drunk.”

“Not a confession this time,” he chuckles, “The opposite. Maybe worse.”

Levi fishes his phone from his pocket, and pulls up his voicemails before handing it to you. Curious—and a little bit scared—to find out what could possibly be worse than confessing to your boyfriend of almost four years that you’re in love with him and sad that you’re not dating him? You’re not sure that it could get more embarrassing than that until you click on Levi’s most recent voicemail and hear your own voice crackling through the speaker of his phone.

“—What, hey, fuck off, mister! I don’t want to go into your scrubby apartment! I am happily dating Levi Ackerman, and when he gets here he is going to grand slam your sorry ass into the ground!”

[pen-observing]

request: how lucifer, mammon, satan, belphegor and diavolo react and find out about you having 'I now own your soul' under the terms and conditions of a webpage.

Lucifer:

While Lucifer is certainly busy all the time, and tries to balance it by having you in his study as he works, he can’t hide how tired he has actually been for the past 4 weeks.

All you know is that Diavolo has made the meetings more frequent and they are taking a toll on him

And since he means that much to you, regardless of if you wish to acknowledge it or not, you have to ask what is going on once he stands up and walks over to reach for another bottle from his shelf Lucifer does not drink that often and he certainly doesn’t try to avoid work by drinking.

Just what could be making him act this way?

“Lucifer, you have to tell me what is going on.”

He stands on his side of the desk just pouring another glass down.

Curse him for being elegant and showing his forearms while doing so!

And then he dares to look at you with full focus and furrowed eyebrows and he is about to say something and he looks like-

‘no. You are human.’

Fuck.

“Come on! You know I won’t tell anyone!”

He does trust you at least after so long.

"Very well. I will tell you since it has something to do with a human. If, by any chance, you spread the information, the price you pay will be a heavy one."

He can’t intimidate you that much but you know when he is serious.

"You see, recently, Diavolo has had more issues than ever with someone we like to call ‘code soul stealer"

“Uhn,, and that is?”

He takes a sip of his drink and holds the glass while looking at you.

“Apparently, a pesky human added ‘I now own your soul’ in their terms and conditions on a web page and some application. With this, they have stolen many souls and Diavolo has grown even more concerned these past few weeks since the page is just gaining popularity.”

Oh fuck, oh fuck. Thats you that he is calling a pesky human! You only did it as a joke because you saw a meme! It wasn’t supposed to make an enemy out of you to the prince of hell!

How are you supposed to tell Lucifer that? How will he react?

Maybe if you do tell him it will actually create more good than harm?

Or, you could hide it for the rest of your life and- no! The honest way with Lucifer is the best way. He trusts you enough so you have to trust him too!

“Lucifer...I am the pesky human you are referring to...”

He drops the glass. 

“I swear I had no idea souls were actually real and now I own a lot of them! O-On the good side I went viral 4 weeks ago so...oh, that is why you’ve been so busy....sorry.”

Lucifer says nothing.

He just falls into the chair in the most dramatic way you’ve ever seen.

He covers his face with both hands and groans into them loudly.

If you were not ‘code soul stealer’ you would laugh at him right now. But he has to figure out a way to protect you now.

Mammon:

You see, dating Mammon means that you two will bicker plenty.

However, it is usually silly stuff that you bicker about like; are gold or silver lines better on this cup of tea or not?

He just loves you too much to get into a serious argument with you.

However, Levi dragged you both to play a spy/heist game that just came out and Mammon cannot accept to lose such a challenge.

He is not proud that people call him thief, but he is proud and believes he has the skills to back up his many enrichment-plans

So the fact that you won against him for 3 times in a row is UNNACCEPTABLE under this dark, dark sky.

Mammon denies it all. ‘i went easy on you’; ‘I did it cuz you are happy when you win’ and ‘please, don’t you know who I am? I am THE Mammon!”

And while he is cute while bickering, sometimes it becomes unbearable.

So, you do what any normal human would: you challenge him by listing your biggest ‘heist’ ever.

“You don’t know who you are talking to! I have created a heist unlike any other! I have stolen a million souls so far! The DevilTV refers to me as – unstoppable soul collector!”

Levi left long ago so Mammon is standing there completely stunned with the stupidest look on his face so far. He kind of looks like a blowfish.

Still, he runs and puts a hand over your mouth and whispers:

“Don’t yell! We don’t want others to know that we run that business!”

Excuse him? Who is this –we- he speaks of?

“You will add your boyfriend to those plans, won’t you?”

Mammon will not let shock stand in the way of money or souls. You can explain to him how you managed that later but for now – just add him as your accomplice.

Satan:

You love your boyfriend.

You really, really do.

You love seeing him so excited and focused on finding clues to the newest Devildom mystery that you chose to let him have his fun by not telling him YOU were the one he was searching for.

And while you love him that much, you are about to ruin the whole game.

Why does he think it is appropriate to own 48 pairs of the same Sherlock Holmes outfit with THE UGLIEST MATCHING HATS YOU HAVE EVER LAID YOUR EYES ON.

First, he wore them in his ‘detective office’ only. Also known as the Lamentation house storage room for cleaning products. And that was fine, it was.

But then he started to wear them inside the house and in the garden. The saddest day was when a cat knocked the ugly hat off and ran away with it. Oh praise that cat! Praise the little paws!

However, he has gone too far.

He knows no bounds and shows no signs of stopping.

He started wearing the outfits OUTSIDE! In the middle of cobblestone paths of the main street while you were trying to have a nice date!

"Who knows where the soul snatching culprit could be hiding? I must wear this outfit everywhere to catch their clues. Trust me.”

That is it.

If one more iguana-looking-ass demon points their finger at you two and snickers as you walk past – he will have a rude wake up call.

How is it possible that he is trying to catch the culprit that is you but doesn’t pay any attention to you?

So, when you arrive home and he walks into the mop closet to add another unrelated photo to his crazy whiteboard as a clue – you tell him to sit down for a moment.

“Satan, honey, I have something to tell you about your soul snatching culprit.”

That definitely got his attention.

Finally! He is actually looking at you!

You lean down and gently kiss his head.

“I am the culprit you’re looking for. How does it feel to completely miss something right under your nose?”

He freezes up and throws a pen towards the whiteboard. It just bounces off and hits him in the back.

“You....you mean to tell me that,,, the biggest Devil Mystery TV phenomenon is ACTUALLY YOU?”

You are met with complete disbelief. Satan demands a detailed explanation on how you did it. He even tells you to use his whiteboard to retrace your steps!

...good luck...

Belphegor:

Will Belphegor ever actually publicly say that he has changed because of you? No.

Will he ever actually admit that to other brothers besides Beel when they’re talking in the late hours of the night in their room? Oh, absolutely not.

Will he tell you? Yes.

Yes but.. He will leave something out.

Sometimes Belphie looks at how you smile and remembers things that make him famous in this realm.

Yes, he is one of the most powerful demons and yes, he has a reputation of rebellion and the biggest steak of unattendance in RAD but

He is also a fairly famous scholar.

His papers and research are cited on the regular.

But when you smile and say a witty joke – he remembers that most of them focus around him proving just how dumb or naïve humans actually are.

But, you’re human and he hopes that you never see those.

Except that you do.

Because he is so famous it is no surprise that while looking for research papers to reference for your next assignment you saw his name while browsing through

And while you love him - you will not allow him to just diss the whole mankind.

So, you grab one of them from the library. Walk home, go to the attic while he is napping and open it up, putting it right on his face.

It takes a couple of seconds but he feels something is wrong and his hand reaches for it.

When he pulls it away, he is met with his thesis that was further developed from the seduction speech class assignment.

It sets it up as: ‘Seduction speech as a matter of blatant deception that humans always fall for but could never recreate.’

You are not even that mad at it to be honest.

But proving him wrong is always fun. And little does he know about your biggest secret ever.

“I will cut right to the chase and say – fix your bangs I want to see the way your eyes look when I tell you this!”

“I wonder who messed up my bangs with the academic paper in the first place?” is what he replies but his hand is already on his forehead.

“Whatever. Prepare to be amazed! I am the one the elders of the devildom are always ranting about on TV! Yes, I am the ‘pesky little human’ who is stealing away ‘edible’ souls! How is that for your thesis now? Is that not true deception?!”

He likes your smile still. You’re standing in front of the bed looking at him with sparkling eyes and clenched fists while striking a pose. It is silly really but he smiles.

Because you are.

And while he will ask you a bit more about that claim, he is just happy to know that maybe his next academic paper (which everyone eagerly awaits) will be tad more positive to your kind.

Diavolo:

You got an urgent call from Barbatos.

On the doorstep he told you that Diavolo needs you in his study.

What could you do that Barbatos can’t and will help Diavolo? Does such a thing even exist?

You walk inside of his office and are pretty sure Barbatos did not want to go inside because of the fact that a rat could be hiding under the mountain of papers that are all around the room.

Usually, Diavolo immediately stands up, lights up the room with his smile and stretches out his hands for a hug.

Now? He hears the doors open and looks at you with a weak smile while his head is resting on his elbows from behind the desk.

He has never looked worse.

“Barbatos said you called for me?”

You are unsure where to begin with this so you state a fact while thinking of questions to ask.

“He has? I have done no such thing?”

Great. Now both of you are confused.

“Can you tell me what is going on?”

Diavolo sighs and his smile is still nowhere to be seen.

“The elders have been so annoying lately. I understand that the biggest threat to the Devildom and everyone’s life here still has not been identified but there is nothing I can do except search!”

Just what threat is that? What could be making Diavolo so miserable?

“They keep comparing me to my father without actually offering any ways of fixing this!”

“I will try to offer some way if you tell me what the threat is!”

There you are, making a grand exclamation and promise while trying to avoid papers on the floor. Diavolo sighs again.

“A human is ruining our business! They somehow set up a page that allowed them to own souls by consent in some application under the terms and conditions. I mean, this has never happened before! Humans were never expected to think of that or have access to such means! And the name they used was fake. How am I supposed to find them and then burn them in the darkest pits of hell as the elders want me to?”

You stop trying to avoid the papers.

Did...did he just say darkest pits of hell? Did he just say the elders want YOU burned?!

How are you supposed to fix this? It was a fucking joke! You did not imagine this could ever happen!

“Diavolo you promised you would protect me no matter what, right?”

His eyes are serious when you say that. “Yes. I will. Is something amiss?”

“Diavolo.... I am the enemy your elders want to burn.. PLEASE DON’T LET THEM! MY SKIN JUST ADJUSTED TO THIS TEMPERATURE!”

Diavolo looks at you and laughs like never before. It is cute, it is childlike. His laugh finally lights up the room.

He thinks you are joking.

He thinks you are joking and abruptly stops once he realizes that you did not join in on the laugh.

You were just trying to crack a joke and make him feel better, right? There is no way that is true, right? But judging from your reaction he knows it is.

So, he grows serious once more.

He runs to embrace you.

“Please tell me you are willing to make a compromise because the elders do not care about how your skin adjusts to the temperature.”