#discord: tenacity

[hallowedmuses]

discord chat: friendly feast

SUMMARY: Nadia, Murmur, and Honesty meet and befriend a hungry new entity native to the Empty. TRIGGERS: Mentions of torture, depression, PTSD, and trauma WRITTEN WITH: @offallenfeathers (Seir, Murmur, Honesty), @ofbrokenhalos (Courage, Zophiel, Devour), @hallowedmuses (Tenacity, Nadia)

SEIR & HONESTY: Seir was having a good time at this party. After Dagon's speech, more than a few people had congratulated him and Tenacity for their new-ish roles as the right hands to Dagon's kingdom. For Seir, he'd been a right hand before a long time ago, and even this role, he and Tenacity had been doing it for months before it had been celebrated. They didn't mind. He still enjoyed the party regardless. They drank and had conversations with a few different groups before they made their way over to the tables where Honesty, Courage, and Zophiel were waiting for them. "What's on the menu for today?" he asked as he looked over the table's massive array of food.

Honesty had gotten up already to greet her brother. She slipped around Seir and beelined for Tenacity. "Ten!" she said excitedly before throwing her arms around him. "Congratulations on the new position. I missed you."

TENACITY: "I don't know but I know I'm on the menu for tonight," Tenacity giggled. He was still delightfully buzzed which is how he liked to be. He beamed as his sister threw her arms around him in greeting. He hugged her tightly and didn't let go for a while. He'd been to the Empty a handful of times now and he was hoping the more times he was here, he'd remember hugging her like this instead of cradling her dead body on the battlefield. It was getting easier to push those images away and remember the newer ones in their place. "Thank you," he smiled and finally let her go. He'd been a Right Hand before but working for Dagon's kingdom was a different experience than working for Levi's had been. He had good teachers though. "I missed you too. Are you guys enjoying the party? We planning on doing a little dancing later?" He asked the troop as he did a little shimmy.

COURAGE & ZOPHIEL: Up until this point, Zophiel had largely dominated the conversation with a discussion about his latest artifacts search. Courage tried to keep up but he got lost somewhere in the words. Zoph seemed excited to talk about it so Courage nodded along thoughtfully like he understood what was going on. He was a little relieved when Tenacity and Seir showed up at their table. Courage was already overstimulated so he didn’t get up to hug his brother, but he did offer a wave in greeting. “Hey, man, congrats,” he smiled. He wasn’t really sure what Tenacity’s new position entailed, but his brother seemed happy so Courage was happy for him. Dagon seemed like a fair person to work for even though Courage didn’t really know what her job was either outside of the help that she provided in the Empty. “Dancing?” He looked out onto the dancefloor. There were a lot of people there and they were all standing pretty close together. Too close. “No, I don’t think it’s for me.”

Zoph raised a brow when Courage remarked dancing wasn’t for him. He remembered Courage used to love that sort of thing and he was pretty good at it. But a lot about Courage was different these days. Everything about him seemed more reserved so Zoph didn’t question it. “I might bust a move or two with enough drinks,” the young angel grinned.

SEIR & HONESTY: Seir smirked when Tenacity said he was on the menu. "You absolutely are." Seir kissed his cheek and squeezed his ass for good measure. He watched carefully as Honesty got up to hug him, making sure it wasn't too much for his lover.

Honesty held the hug for as long as she could. She hadn't been having a bad time exactly. Seeing Zoohiel had been nice since this was the first time she really got to see him since the war. She didn't know half of what he was talking about, but she asked a lot of questions to try to educate herself on his interests. He seemed more than happy to answer. If Tenacity hadn't shown up, she was sure he wouldn't ever stop talking. She shrugged when Tenacity asked if they were enjoying the party. It was a little overwhelming, but she liked not being alone. She glanced at the dance floor along with Courage. She knew what his concerns were. Even sitting here made her feel a little on edge, but she was managing. If someone she knew was there it'd be a little easier. "Maybe?" She answered. "I don't think I really remember how to dance though, but I could try to relearn it."

TENACITY: Ten smirked at Seir's friskiness. He had a lot to look forward to tonight but until then he was going to do his darndest to make the best of this party. "Thanks, brother," he smiled at Courage. "It feels good to be doing stuff again." Tenacity hadn't experienced the same torture as his siblings but he definitely experienced stagnation while life moved on around him. All three of them were now trying to figure out how to integrate themselves.

He noticed Courage's hesitation about dancing and it pulled a bit on his heart strings. Courage had been always been sort of a spitfire. Ten remembered how his brother used to eat, drink, and be merry with the others in his unit. By the end of the night he usually had everyone on the dancefloor and was leading them in festive circle dances. Tenacity didn't push the matter onto his brother any further though. Tonight wasn't the time or place to push anyone out of their comfort zone. They were out of their zones just by being here. "That's fair," he smiled. "My dance moves are a little outdated, but Seir here is a trailblazer from what I hear. He taught me the Cupid shuffle. Have you guys seen that one?"

COURAGE & ZOPHIEL: Courage nodded when Tenacity remarked that it felt good to be doing something. "Yeah, I get what you mean." He was still struggling with what his purpose was now or if he even had one but it was nice to be doing something that wasn't an endless battle sequence or drowning. He was still trying to figure out what he even liked doing these days and he supposed learning who he was again was a good enough purpose for now. "Cupid has a dance?"

"Oh! The Cupid Shuffle!" Zophiel perked up. "That's advanced stuff." Zoph had a touch of the ADHD so following songs with instructions was advanced for him. "Definitely one of those work your way up to it songs. The macarena though?" He gave a chef's kiss. "That's a nice one."

"Macaroni? I thought that was a food. It's a dance too?" Courage questioned. Too many words looked the same but meant different things. It was like learning about cream pies all over again.

SEIR & HONESTY: Honesty nodded along with Tenacity and Courage. Having things to do helped. It also just helped to have people around. She had to be particular about which people they were, but she felt like there was less chance to be hurt if someone else was around to help her keep the darkness away. The darkness wasn't always about a lack of light either. Belphegor had given her a home where she was allowed to keep the lights on at all times, but even then there could be so many shadows, and more lights only created more shadows. Sometimes, she would just sit in the corner and shine a flashlight in every direction to make sure the Void wasn't in there.

Seir gave a nonchalant smile when Tenacity said that he was a trailblazer. "I've made some moves in my time, but we'll hold off on some of the advanced moves for later on. The Cupid Shuffle is a great dance to start with."

"Cupid Shuffle?" Honesty repeated. She tried to imagine what that entailed. She pictured in her head the way that Cupid used to follow Belphegor around before the war. She still did follow them around, but it was different back then. She seemed to move more in unison with them like they were a unit now that Belphegor understood their feelings for her. Honesty felt a little more nervous about the dance when Zoph said how hard it was. She might've still been willing to try it, but not with so many people around. If they were all doing the same dance and she messed up, it might throw everyone off.

Seir saw the look on Honesty's face and shook his head. "Zoph, don't go scaring them off of a dance just because you can't pay attention. It's actually really easy, Honesty. They have children do it in schools. The song itself tells you how to dance to it. I'm sure Zoph can do it too if he tries. Maybe helping Honesty with it will help you do it," he suggested. Zoph was a good kid, and he tried to help where he could despite his hyperactive nature. Seir hoped his helpful nature might get him to focus for some time. "Or maybe you'll hear the song, and you'll be able to help Zoph with it." He shrugged. There was no telling with these kids.

"I think I wouldn't mind it then if it's not too hard. I can follow instructions pretty well." She was sure she could follow the group in doing it too if it was as easy as Seir made it out to be.

Seir nodded. "Then we'll try it at least once. If it's not for you, we don't have to worry about it. We'll find something for you to groove to." He chuckled when Courage called the macarena macaroni. "Macaroni is a food. It's a noodle in a U shape. It's also an old term we used to use for being fancy and stylish, though I don't recommend using it like that anymore. It's mainly just for the food now. What Zoph mentioned was the Maw-caw-ray-nah. It's also a simple dance. Dummed down it's basically just moving your hands to different parts of your body to a beat and then shaking your ass. The song Macarena doesn't come with instructions. It's actually a song about a girl who cheats on her boyfriend when he got drafted to the army, but the meaning isn't as important as the fun beat of the song and the dance that's easy enough for anyone to pick up. In most cases, you can actually dance the macarena to any song. With some practice, you could even dance the macarena while you're doing the cupid shuffle. The Cupid Shuffle is all feet, and the Macarena is all hands and hips."

Honesty shook her head. "I think just one of them at a time would be better for now."

TENACITY: "Hmmm, that you did," Ten grinned as he remembered dancing with Seir at Vamiel's wedding and then again at Cuphegors. He certainly could move. He chuckled when Zoph remarked that the dance was hard. "If Lucifer can focus enough to learn a few dances, you can do it too," he promised the crew. He nodded with his head toward the dancefloor where Lucifer and Mazikeen were absolutely showing everyone up. It appeared that Lucifer's pride trumped his ADHD. He sighed pleasantly when Courage brought up macaroni. "Seir's also great at making that," he nodded. It was a good comfort food. "We can have some the next time we spend the night here." He wouldn't have minded trying either of the two dances at their disposal. Seir's hips didn't lie and his feet glided on the floor like butter so Tenacity was sure he'd have a great time watching and participating no matter what. "If I had to put money on it, I'd say the Cupid shuffle. Might as well do something named after a friend."

COURAGE & ZOPHIEL: Courage glanced between Seir and Tenacity. He’d forgotten quite a bit. Mostly, he couldn’t figure out if they’d started dating before the war, during the war, or if this was an after thing. He supposed in the end it didn’t matter. The way they looked at each other told him enough. He chuckled when Tenacity remarked that if Lucifer could do it, so could they. Courage glanced at what he now recognized as Lucifer on the dancefloor. His form was much different than what Courage remembered, but the personality was very much the same. Lucifer tended to be all over the place unless he was passionate about something. When Courage knew him, that something happened to be rebelling. Now, it appeared that something was dance. “Macaroni sounds nice,” he nodded. “But that dance…the macarena…sounds like a strange thing to make up a dance to. I’d rather see this shuffle.”

Zophiel rolled his eyes when Seir told him not to scare everyone off. He’d given them a fair warning that he wasn’t good at dance so if he stepped on Seir’s toes he wasn’t going to feel too bad about it. He was mostly just glad to see that his friends were willing to try something. So much about the dead was different these days but they seemed eager to learn and Zoph liked eager learners. “Cupid shuffle it is then,” he concluded. “Should we see if some of the other Virtues want in on this?”

SEIR & HONESTY: Honesty watched as Lucifer and Mazikeen danced. She didn't really know much about Mazikeen. As much as people tried to keep her up to date on what she missed, it was still hard to keep track of it all and who everyone was. Even Lucifer himself looked different now, and it wasn't always easy to recognize him in a crowd without someone pointing him out or him doing something to make himself stand out. The biggest difference right now though was how his face didn't seem to carry the weight of the war while he was dancing. She didn't know if it was the person he was dancing with or if dancing was just fun for him. Probably both. He looked like he was having a good time at least. She wondered if she'd ever get to that point of ease. She felt a little jealous of them for a multitude of reasons between the ease and joy they seemed to have and also just the comfort they seemed to bring to each other. It made her sad and guilty to think of Gabriel and how she'd pushed him away. Maybe if she had just pushed past her fears, she could've had what they were having too, but she knew that wasn't a possibility. Like relentless weeds, memories of torture overgrew thoughts of potential happiness. Dancing turned into the back and forth of battle, and someone was on the ground bleeding. She stared at the mental illusion silently until a question was presented to her. She didn't entirely hear it, but she looked up to try to figure out how to respond. "Hmm? Yeah." She nodded. "What?"

Seir had been a little more aware of the conversation, but he'd also been keeping an eye on the three virtues he was with to stay aware of if any of them needed help distancing themselves from certain triggers. He'd noticed Honesty getting quieter and her eyes losing focus during the conversation, but he hadn't wanted to startle her by drawing attention to it. There was no need to make her feel bad for getting a little lost in her own head. "We were just talking about inviting some of the other virtues to join our dance training."

"Oh," Honesty refocused herself. Dancing with family wouldn't be so bad. At least she hoped so. "That's a good idea. Maybe they can help teach us too?"

Seir shrugged. "Sure." It wouldn't hurt anything whether they were dancing with them or helping him teach the class. "Maybe we can call Beel over too to help Zoph learn the steps." He wondered if the boys focus would be better or worse with Beel teaching him, but it would've been entertaining to watch. He would've suggested Dagon too, but he imagined she'd be pretty occupied tonight.

TENACITY: Tenacity noticed when Honesty's eyes glazed over. Or rather, a more accurate thing to say would be that he could feel the numbness wash over her. That was the strange thing about being a depression demon; he could feel those things in others now. If he was going to be cursed with feeling, he would've preferred being cursed with feeling the whole spectrum of emotion like Dagon. At least then he would know and feel other's happiness too. There would be balance.

He was glad when Seir disrupted her thoughts and brought her back to the present. When she zoned out like that, she looked more...dead. It reminded him of the way he'd found her body after the initial blast following Belgirel's death...so many bodies. He blinked the image away as he grabbed a glass of champagne and discretely knocked back a mystery pill (well, a mystery to everyone but him) with his drink. "I hear Humility is a phenomenal dancer, but she won't admit it." He leaned in conspiratorially. "Between you and me, my goal is to get her to own it by the end of the night." He chuckled when Seir mentioned looping Beel in on the dancing too for Zophiel's sake. "That's not a half bad idea," he agreed. He looked around to see if he could spot any of his siblings or Beel. They all appeared to be scattered around the ballroom. "I see Milly and Prue over there," he replied as he stood up. "It looks like Charity's talking to Beel so Seir you can probably grab the two of them. That leaves Nessie, Patience, Abby, Dil, and Chastity. Does anyone see them?"

COURAGE: Courage nodded his agreement that their siblings could probably teach them. If they made it out onto the dance floor tonight his family was big enough that he wouldn't feel like he was surrounded by strangers the whole time. It was less suffocating that way. He grinned when Ten mentioned getting Milly to admit she was a good dancer. In the time that Courage had been dead, his siblings leaned very deeply into their Virtues. This left them pretty stagnant and unable to really live. They'd been untethered from their virtue thanks to Gabriel's help but they still needed some prodding at times to step out of their comfort zones. He needed some help doing that too. Maybe they could brave their fears together tonight. "I'll help," he agreed. He looked around to see if he could spot any of his siblings. "I see Dil and Patience. Dil might take some convincing but I think I can get him. I'll meet you guys back here." Courage got up from the table and started crossing the room to go talk to his brother.

ZOPHIEL: Either Seir was out to get him or out to make his night. Zoph wasn't sure anymore, but he didn't object to bring Beel aboard. He'd never object to that. "Milly could probably outdance Lucifer if she wasn't too bashful. And the funny thing is Lucifer would probably be immensely proud of her for doing it." That was probably half the reason she didn't. He looked around the crowd. "I see Abby. She's going to take some work to convince too." Abstinence didn't just abstain from sex or drinking or what have you. Sometimes she abstained from fun. But Zoph was sure he could convince her to join. He finished off the rest of his drink before excusing himself from the table to talk to Abby.

SEIR, HONESTY, & MURMUR: Seir paid attention to the way Tenacity tensed. It looked like he was managing okay so far, albeit with drugs and alcohol, but he wasn't overdoing it yet. Seir let him be, though he gave his side a squeeze to let his partner know he was there for him, and he could always come up with some excuse to get him out of there if he needed him to. Thankfully, both Honesty and Tenacity seemed to come out of their harsh disassociations. "You're going to need all the luck you can get if you're hoping to get Humility to admit that," he chuckled. "Maybe try baby steps, and just get her to not look down on her own dancing at first." It was a lot to expect her to be as proud of herself as they all were. He started looking around the room for the other virtues along with Tenacity. Tenacity was right that Charity was talking to Beel. They were eating at another table. It was a shame that Zophiel didn't have to invite them himself. That would've brought it's own humor, but they would've been waiting ages for Zoph to be able to get his words out. "Alright, I'll be right back." He tilted Tenacity's chin up to give him a kiss and a gentle ass squeeze before making his way over to Beel and Charity.

Honesty kept a lookout for her other siblings too. "I think I saw Chastity going towards one of the private rooms with her boyfriend." Given that her sister was the representation of chastity, it was hard to imagine they were getting up to anything inappropriate to witness, even with her tie to her virtue being broken from what it was, but Honesty didn't want to risk being wrong about that. She also just didn't want to disturb their private time together. "I don't see Nessie, but I'll walk around and see if I can find her. Maybe she's outside in the garden." Despite having a plan of what she was going to do, she stayed in place while everyone went their separate ways. It was only once the last person had walked away that she got up. It felt darker somehow when she wasn't with people she knew. The crowds around her felt like waves she had to wade through. She shivered from a cold that didn't exist and wrapped her arms around herself while she looked for her sister. Nessie turned out to be hard to find in the crowds. She kept walking until there was a twinkle of light in the darkness, a pair of voices that had only recently become familiar to her, but their sound guided her outside through the garden. There was a path of straw that led straight to Murmur and Nadia. Honesty felt relief, forgetting her quest to find her sister, when they seemed to brighten up the space around her, even as they argued.

"I told you it wasn't going to fit under that branch," Murmur huffed as he picked up the decapitated head of the straw goat. The goat looked more like a giant table now.

NADIA: The demon grimaced as Murmur picked up the head of the straw goat. "That branch was stronger than I thought it would be." She glared at the tree for having the audacity to decapitate her goat. As her eyes focused away from the gnarly branches, she spotted Honesty approaching them. A witness to their bumbling attempts. Now, that was embarrassing. "Hey Honesty," she waved. "This isn't what it looks like. Normally, we're experts at goat relocation," she explained. "I think Cupid just put in a few more trees to spruce up the place for the event," she snorted at her own joke and turned to look at Murmur. "But, there are silver linings..." She pulled at her satchel where she kept her snacks and some other important items. This time, she pulled out a paper-mache snake crown and a sash that read 'Kingdom of Sloth' in the Kingdom's colors. She handed the sash over to Murmur before placing the satchel next to the nearest, non-offending tree. "It's easier to get the accessories on now."

MURMUR & HONESTY: Murmur rolled his eyes when Nadia glared at the tree. It wasn't the tree's fault they'd run into it. He turned the goat's head around and lifted it up over himself to put on his own head. The goat head was massive, and he disappeared in the straw. He couldn't see Honesty as she approached, but he could hear Nadia. He giggled within the goat head. "Hehe, hay." His hand peaked out from the side of the goat's head, just below the ears, so he could wave at Honesty too.

"I . . . don't really know what this is supposed to look like," said Honesty. She remembered Nadia had told her about the goat tradition they had in the land of the living. They apparently had a tradition of burning the goat, but she thought they'd decided against destroying it. "Maybe the problem isn't that you're not experts at goat relocation, and more just a problem of you two working together."

The goat head moved up and down as Murmur shrugged. "I think I work well with her. She just doesn't work well with me." Despite that claim, His hand that was outside of the goat caught the sash Nadia put in his hand. He climbed out of the goat. He looked back at it with a little disappointment. "It's too bad we don't have a reason to use it as a Trojan Goat."  Honesty looked at Nadia for help understanding what he was talking about while Murmur transformed into a raccoon. He carried the sash in his mouth while he climbed up the goat. He put the sash over the goat's neck. "Okay, but how do we get the head to stay on again."

NADIA: She was the picture of offended when Murmur claimed that the issue was with her. "I'm sorry only one of us is a stubborn old goat and it's not me or straw boy over here." She patted the goat's straw leg. "We're too young." She recognized the confusion on Honesty's face when Murmur brought up the Trojan Goat. “It’s a reference to an old battle story,” Nadia explained. “The Greeks were trying and failing to enter this one city called Troy for the better part of ten years. In a last ditch effort they constructed a huge wooden horse, hid some soldiers in it, and left it at the front gates of the city. They acted like they were retreating so the Trojans pulled the horse into their city as a victory trophy. That night, the Greek soldiers crept out of the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army. It's a solid battle strategy but honestly if the goat was made of wood and hollow inside, I think I'd just put snacks in it." She grinned up at the goat. "I bet it would hold a lot of snacks."

She was a little jealous when Murmur transformed into a critter and scurried up the goat. She always wished she had that ability but she wasn't a full blooded fallen angel like he was. She glanced at the goat head and then back up to where Murmur was seated. "I know a few spells to mend it but I'm going to need you and Honesty to hold the goat's head in position and preferably straight because I need both my hands."

MURMUR & HONESTY: "All I'm hearing is that I'm very mature for my age." He shot a wink in Honesty's direction, but she didn't seem all that enthused about it. "And you wish this guy was more stubborn." He patted the goat's side. "Maybe if he was a little more stubborn about holding himself together, his head wouldn't have fallen off." He knew it wasn't really the goat's fault. They shouldn't have kept pushing it when it's head got caught on the branch, but neither of them were really taking the blame here.

Honesty felt curious about the story Nadia was telling. There were so many minute details that just sounded like they had to be exaggerations. After ten years, an army's best strategy was to construct a horse and hide in it, and that idea somehow worked. She felt like she would've cared more about how dishonest of a tactic it was in the past, but she didn't have that tie to her virtue anymore. Sometimes she forgot that wasn't there anymore. She knew that Gabriel had done something related to disconnecting the virtues, but she also felt like her virtue had been ripped out of her sometime during her torture. Her virtue had been both a blessing and a curse, but it was also both of those things to have it gone. "And the Trojans didn't find anything suspicious about the fact that the Greeks just . . . stopped fighting to build a horse?"

"I think they had a bit of a pride thing going on," Murmur cut in. "They were so sure that nothing could get to them behind their impenetrable wall, it probably just didn't seem like the Greeks could really do anything to them with a horse, and they thought they were deserving of a prize or something like that. It's kinda like how the Titanic was supposed to be unsinkable. You could probably ask Athena for more about the Trojan war though. She knew the guy who had the idea for making the horse."

"What's a Titanic?" She felt like she was constantly out of the loop, but the only way to get in the loop was to ask a ton of questions.

"It was a ship. A really big one. They thought it was unsinkable and then drove it through cold waters, and it got sunk by an ice burg that it ran into. There's a whole movie about it. The main guy looks like Lucifer used to when I was a kid. The Trojan War has books and movies about it too if you want to get into those."

 Honesty nodded. She'd have to remember to look into those things later. "Okay, I can help with that," Honesty agreed. She picked up the goat head and started lifting it towards its neck. Murmur reached down to help pull it up and they shifted it into place. "Is that right?"

NADIA: "Oh, yes, very mature. Like moldy cheese," she remarked in the driest tone that she could muster. She patted the straw goat. "You take that back! He's perfectly fine. We just need to bring him in for a little surgery. It's fiiiiine." She turned to the goat. "You're going to look great." They'd get this goat fixed up as good as new for his photo ops.

"I think I'd be a little cocky too if after ten years you still couldn't get through the walls I built. But yeah, it wasn't their smartest move and it cost them their city." She nodded when Murmur mentioned that Athena would be a good firsthand resource. The nice thing about all of them being immortal was that you could always find someone who was actually there to give you the story. "Oh, I love the Titanic. We should watch that one the next time we're here. We can invite Cupid and the other virtues too because they'll be mad if they missed a rewatch of that one."

Nadia moved a good distance away to get a far away perspective of the goat. "A little more to the left..." She gave them a thumbs up as they shifted the head into position. "Perfect. Hold it right there." She hiked up her dress and shimmied up one of the massive goat legs where she positioned herself at the point where the neck met the rest of the body. "I missed the last few leg days..." she breathed as she did her best to anchor her legs and free up one of her hands. She recited a spell that sounded entirely made up but surprisingly it worked. The hay around the neck spread upward until it was interlaced and intertwined with the hay from the neck. It looked almost like the hay was crocheting itself back together.

Once the work was done, Nadia jumped back down and landed safely on her feet. "There," she grinned. "Good as new." She brushed her hands on her dress to smooth out the skirt and get rid of some of the hay stuck to it. "We just need to put the crown on and move it the goat to that clearing over there," she pointed to the patch of cobblestone near the entry to the party. "And he'll be ready for pictures." Thankfully, there were no more trees for the goat to lose its head on between their current location and the cobblestone patch.

MURMUR & HONESTY: "So I'm a blue cheese then. You just don't have the class to enjoy me," he said proudly, holding his head up high. Honesty didn't really understand what cheese had to do with a class, but the interactions between the pair were entertaining. Everything after death tended to feel so dreary, but Nadia and Murmur were so full of life and energy. It made her feel like she had a little more of that too. She held back laughter as they continued to argue. "He's not perfectly fine," Murmur countered, "but you don't have to sound so offended by it. He can have flaws." He turned to address Honesty. "If you're going to be around Nadia, you'll find she does that a lot where she gets overdefensive if you say something negative about someone or something she likes, especially if it's about Beel." He looked back at Nadia to make sure she didn't take that as him being harsh. "Not that defending people you care about is bad, but assuming the people you care about are perfect and have to be seen as perfect might end up hurting you and them." He just didn't want Honesty to get caught in a situation where she might offend Nadia by being too honest about how she felt and hurt her new friendship. He knew that the virtues were no longer bound to their virtues like they used to be, but he didn't know how much of that still stuck with Honesty regardless. And more importantly, saying all of that made him feel like he'd sound smarter and more mature in front of Honesty too, thereby adding to the evidence of his maturity to prove Nadia wrong. It wasn't like that stuff came from his own head. He'd just heard other people say things like that, but Nadia didn't need to know that.

Honesty hadn't really thought that deep into Nadia's defensiveness despite what Murmur thought. "But the goat can't speak for itself. It might not be alive, but I think it was nice of you to defend it when it can't. It seemed like Nadia wasn't implying that it was perfect because it had no flaws. I think she felt like your words had a negative connotation, and she can correct me if I'm wrong to assume that she was only defending that the goat is perfectly fine even with its flaws. She just doesn't want you to look down on its flaws, especially when it can be fixed." She looked back at Nadia. "But I'll try to be aware of what I'm saying about the people you care about. Courage always tried to get me to be more aware of how my honesty can hurt people." She didn't so much as remember having talks with him about that as much as she remembered a sort of feeling about it, a desire to live up to his expectations about not being confined to her virtue. She wasn't anymore, but the cost had been far greater than she imagined.

Murmur saw the distant look in her eyes. He fidgeted and looked uncomfortable with situation, so he tried to force the conversation onwards. "Yeah, I guess you have a point. Sorry. Maybe we could have a massive movie watch like at a movie theater. We could invite anyone who's comfortable with the themes of the movie. Just give out a list of potential triggers before they come in. The Titanic might have more than a few considering it was a tragedy of a ship sinking. A lot of people died, and there was a lot of panic of the passengers. It might not be safe for viewing."

Honesty had to be aware of her own triggers, and she could think of how scenes of a ship sinking might terrify her. "Maybe it'd be okay as long as there are people there with us." She wanted to see the film, and she didn't want to be held back from being a part of things just because they might scare her. She couldn't just avoid her triggers all the time. She shifted the goat's head into place as Nadia instructed and with Murmur's help. Once Nadia was done, Honesty took a step back to admire the work. Murmur held his hand out for the crown, so he could put it on top.

NADIA: "You're right. You are like blue cheese...an acquired taste," she replied as she stuck her tongue out at him. "Lucky for you, I have a refined palate." She raised a brow when Murmur felt compelled to warn Honesty of her defensiveness. She hardly thought any of her comments thus far warranted that kind of warning. She was aware that the people she cared about were flawed. But despite their flaws, they were trying their best. Did she agree with the way her dad handled the secret about Belphegor? No. Did she understand why he did what he did? Yes. Her dad's choices always held some kind of logic to them. She was just sure if others took the time to understand that logic, they wouldn't be so rude. Of course, she didn't go out of her way to pick fights about it. Most people understood that it wasn’t exactly polite to air your grievances about the Prince of Gluttony to his daughter. The only time she really pushed back was when someone else deliberately started pushing first. "Murmur, darling," she began drily. "Social etiquette says that if feel compelled to warn someone about my sensitive feelings, you should do it in private." How the public perceived her was none of her business. She didn't want to be a part of this conversation. "Thank you, Honesty," she smiled as the Virtue tried to salvage the massive bag that Murmur just fumbled. "That's exactly it."

She nodded her agreement that some of the thematic elements of the Titanic might be triggering. Most of the movie was just the love story between the two main characters, but the last quarter of the movie was pretty graphic. “We can post a list of triggers so people can decide if it’s for them. Declan, I think, was already working on something like that. He’s got them posted to the inside covers of books and DVDs.” He might’ve already compiled the list for the Titanic which would save her and Murmur some time. “We can also come up with a list of alternatives. The movie isn't really as important as hang out with friends is. I think the theater is booked out for the next few days though.” There was an approval process for larger watch parties. “The Lost Boys are watching the Fast and the Furious franchise.” She remembered because she’d been trying to convince Lette to come. “But I think they’ll be done by the end of the week.”

Nadia handed Murmur the crown so that he could place it on the goat’s head. The smaller straw goat that Belphegor made for Nadia was currently seated beside her satchel and it was wearing the same costume. “Perfect,” she beamed. “I’ll take front if one of you wants to take the back. We can move him into position and then get something to eat. All of this exercise has made me very hungry.”

MURMUR & HONESTY: "So you admit you like me then?" Murmur grinned. He knew most of the time that his relationship with Nadia was complicated. They weren't related, not even in the sense that Beel and Nadia were related, but they had similar experiences. Murmur hadn't been that much older than her when she was born relatively speaking, so they'd grown up together. They were like siblings to an extent, and they had all the arguments that siblings tended to have, leaving outside people questioning whether they actually liked each other or not. Sometimes he himself questioned it too when the teasing and arguing got especially out of hand. "Sorry," he apologized.

Honesty felt a little uncomfortable getting caught in the middle of their argument. It wasn't just because of their fighting but the topic of it. Again, it felt like a reiteration of what she'd been told before about how she needed to be careful about how her honesty affected people. Murmur seemed to have trouble with that too, but being a creation of honesty, she could understand why he would feel the need to say what he did without going behind Nadia's back to say it. It made her feel nauseous thinking about it. She wished she didn't have that connection to the virtue, but it was her name. She didn't know how to not be her name, even if that name hurt her. She didn't even know what else she could be called. Maybe she could ask Lucifer about it. He'd changed his name after all.

"I think that's a good idea," Honesty agreed as she came out of her own head. A ship sinking sounded like it would involve drowning, and she knew a lot of people in the Empty had trouble with that, herself included. Having lighter alternatives would be good for them.

As Murmur took the crown and put it on the goat's head, Honesty picked up the back half of the goat. "It might be better if I carry it, so you two don't argue over it. Maybe Murmur can just keep an eye out for any obstacles.

"Aye aye, Captain," Murmur said with a salute still in the form of a raccoon on top of the goat. It was a good lookout spot.

NADIA: "Hmmm, yes, but probably not as much as Ruby does," she winked. Did she think Ruby and Murmur had a crush on each other? No. Maybe. The behind my father’s back friendship was very Romeo and Juliet of them, and Nadia was a thousand precent sure Cupid would agree with her. Just like she was a thousand precent sure Dagon would tell her to leave it alone. Still, after Murmur had just dragged her personal business up, Nadia didn’t feel too bad bringing his personal business up. She nodded and waved a hand at his apology. They were even.

Nadia worked with Honesty to get the goat into position. It was much easier now that there were fewer obstacles. Once the goat was settled, Nadia stood back to admire the work. “Alright, gang.” She pulled out her phone and motioned for Honesty and Murmur to come stand beside her. “Selfie time. We did the hard work. We should be the ones to take the first photo with the goat.” Nadia would tag it on her socials and that would be all the invitation that the others inside the party would need to come out and take a photo.

MURMUR & HONESTY: "A win's a win," Murmur grinned. He could tell that Nadia was trying to insinuate that something more intimate was going on between him and Ruby, but he wasn't really bothered with it. Her dad never really liked him, and Murmur hoped that rumor would spread if only to make him a little more annoyed. Even if he wasn't annoyed, that would show growth on his part, and Murmur felt like that would make Ruby happy too. It was a win win situation, so he let Nadia roll with it. "But yeah, of course Ruby likes me more than you do. She has better taste." He stuck his tongue out at her.

Honesty relaxed a little more as their arguing became less uncomfortable and more sibling-like. It made it easier to work with the two of them to get the goat in place. "Selfie?" Honesty asked as she moved forward in the direction Nadia indicated. She knew what photos were now, but she didn't know all the terminology associated with it. She wasn't sure how a selfie was related to photos.

"They're just pictures you take of yourself," Murmur explained.

Honesty nodded. "So if you take pictures of others, they're otheries?"

Murmur giggled. "They are now." He reached down to her hand and made her hold up two fingers. "That's a good pose for the selfie."

Honesty frowned at the hand gesture. She didn't understand it, but she tried to fit it to her interpretation of it. There were three of them, so she held up three fingers and smiled for the picture.

NADIA: "Oh, is that what you tell yourself? Okay, honey." She grinned. She enjoyed teasing him about partners. Nadia had plenty of siblings, but Murmur was the closest thing she had to a near sibling relationship as far as she'd seen. Of course, her observations were based on how her uncles and the Spiritus family behaved.

"Otheries, I like that," Nadia agreed. She got the camera ready as Murmur helped Honesty come up with a pose. Honesty held three fingers, Murmur had his original pose of two, and Nadia opted for the middle finger so now they were posing as 1, 2, and 3. Nadia snapped the photo before relaxing into a more natural state. She showed the photo to Murmur and Honesty for approval before positing it to all her social media platforms. "There. That should be enough advertisement for our friend here." She patted one of the goats legs. As she did so, her tummy grumbled. She really was hungry.

"I've got some snacks in my satchel back at the tree base," she replied as they started walking back that way. "We can finish those off and then we can head down to the kitchen for more. I can show you guys the escape tunnels in and out of there." They weren't really escape tunnels. They were just utility corridors for the staff to use, but thinking of them as escape tunnel was cooler.

DEVOUR: For countless millennia, he had been bound by the chains of his tyrant sibling, the Void. But now, finally, he was free. Several months had passed since the Void’s death. Sadly, the Empty didn’t transition to one of his kin after that. Instead, the power passed to his sibling’s killer, Belphegor. He had no idea what a Belphegor was so instead of introducing himself to them, he stayed on the fringes of their society, watching from afar as they went about their daily lives. It was a strange and foreign world to him, but he found himself fascinated by it nonetheless. He wasn’t sure what to make of them yet. They seemed to care for their people, but it was hard to say whether that benevolence extended to those who were not the Children of God.

His plan was to observe from the shadows until he had figured them out, until he had a better understanding of their customs and their ways. But fate had other plans once he learned there was to be a celebration tonight. It had been so long since he had participated in anything remotely resembling a celebration. And there was the promise of food, something he had not tasted in what felt like an eternity. He was always starving. He could feed and feed and feed and still that hunger was never satiated. He’d been made with the inability to taste which wouldn’t have been so bad if he wasn’t keenly aware of what he was missing. Once, long ago, before he was locked away, he’d been introduced to the concept of taste. It was only one instance when he actually tasted something, but he’d been craving that high ever since. Perhaps he’d find it again at this party tonight.

At first, he observed the party from the treetops, taking in the festivities from a safe distance. This was fairly easy for him because, you see, he was nothing but inky shadows. He had no form and blended perfectly with the darkness. As the night wore on and the partygoers grew increasingly raucous, he found himself drawn closer and closer. He watched as the speeches were given, the music played, and the people danced. And then, finally, the moment he had been waiting for: the announcement that it was time for food. He crept closer to the door, his shadowy form blending seamlessly with the darkness. He watched as the people walked past him, their arms loaded with plates and bowls of steaming food. He was almost drooling at the sight of it all. But he dared not venture too close. He knew the risks of being seen, of being caught. And so, he remained in the shadows, stealing bits of food whenever he could. He retreated out the door as soon as he thought someone noticed him. Thankfully, no one followed but it was too close of a call. He’d been too bold for his own good.

He was just about to retreat into the forest when he noticed a group of children moving some kind of object across the garden. They weren’t doing a very good job of it. He debated just leaving them to it but then one of the children mentioned having food in her bag. And then, miracle of miracles, said child actually left her bag unattended. It was an open invitation, and he could not resist. As the children slipped away, he dropped from the tree and made a beeline for the bag. He rummaged through it frantically, his hunger driving him to madness. And then he found it: the snacks the little girl had mentioned. He tore into them, devouring the contents of the bag with reckless abandon. So reckless it seemed because he did not notice nor hear their little footsteps as they made their way back to his tree.

MURMUR & HONESTY: "I tell myself the truth," Murmur confirmed with a nod. He was pleased as they all had different poses. If someone looked at the picture, they probably wouldn't understand what it meant, mainly because it didn't really mean anything. He looked up at the goat once they finished the picture. "I hope the people here join in the game." It would've been nice to see them getting into an event like this, but even if they didn't, everyone coming to see the goat would be nice too. Belgirel had put in a lot of work on this too. "What kind of snacks did you bring?" he asked Nadia as they started walking back. She was lucky that he hadn't stolen any of her snacks already. Luckily for her, he'd been distracted by the goat.

Unluckily for her, something else had gotten to those snacks first. Honesty was the first to notice. She was hypervigilant, and half the time after her death, she was always scared of the shadows and kept thinking she saw something in them. Only this time there was something really there. She didn't scream, scared of drawing its attention towards them while also just being frozen with fear. Instead her hand reached out to grab the person nearest to her, which happened to be Murmur. Her hand tightened around his, nails digging in. It looked so much like the Void. She didn't know what to do or how to react.

Murmur felt Honesty's reaction before actually seeing the creature. He sucked in a breath from the pain of her nails. "Ow." He grimaced. He tried to pull his hand away, but she was locked on tight. She wouldn't even look at him, and she looked like a deer in the headlights. He waved a hand in front of her face, but she was still staring straight ahead like her life depended on it. He followed her gaze, and at first he didn't see anything. He thought the tree was just casting a dark shadow until he saw how much the shadow moved. "What is that?" he asked. He took a step forward, but Honesty wouldn't let him get out of her arms' reach.

NADIA: She was certain that at the very least people would want to take pictures with the goat as they left the party for the night. It would take a few parties for this trend to take off fully, but eventually the goat’s attendance at parties would be almost mandatory and expected. She patted it one last time as a farewell before they started walking back toward the tree. “I got all kinds,” she grinned in response to the question. Her bag was spelled to go deeper than expected. “I could probably put a candy factory to shame. But I’ve also got savory treats in there if you’re in the mood for something salty. And I’ve even got a bunch of stuff for the dead to eat in there.” Nadia couldn’t eat those, but she always came prepared. She managed to cool off a few meltdowns in Dagon’s kingdom just by giving the person snacks. She figured the same could apply here so she always made sure to carry snacks for the dead too. Food was always a good comfort tool.

Unfortunately, it appeared someone was already helping themselves to a good dose of comfort. Nadia didn’t really stop to think before she reacted. This was mostly because she assumed the big ol’ blob stealing her snacks was Belphegor. She’d seen them phase through the Empty and there were rumors that they could do other things with their form so it wasn’t an outlandish assumption. “Belphegor, you thieving banshee!” She made a beeline for them. “There better be some snacks still left in there for us! It was hard work curating all of that!” She stopped abruptly as soon as she was close enough to register their energy and realize her mistake. The massive shadow of darkness eating her food wasn’t Belphegor. It was…it was…actually she didn’t know who or what it was. Her breath caught in her chest as she stared at it and it stared at her. “You, uh…I…um…hi?”

DEVOUR: He looked up from his precious horde of food only when the shouting started. One of the children was heading right for him. He recognized her. She was a frequent visitor of the Belphegor. It looked like she thought he might’ve been the Belphegor. She realized she was mistaken fairly quickly given how much her strides had slowed down. She looked at him and he looked at her. There was terror in her eyes, and he did not like it. Just behind her, he could see the two other children that had been with her. They also looked terrified of him. His form sagged a little at the thought. He’d spent most of his life in fear of one thing or another. Mostly, he feared his brother’s temper. The Void was gone now, but some of his other siblings were just as testy. He found it hard to be around them. But he was also too afraid to be here with these strangers.

He still remained as inky blackness but the darkness that was his form shrunk little by little until it was not so intimidating. He pulled his shadowy hands out of the satchel and gingerly held out a turkey leg to the child. It was the only offering he could make. He’d eaten everything else in the bag. Perhaps if he gave her this last bit, she would let him go free. He didn’t want to harm them, but he also didn’t want to be taken prisoner either. Not again. Never again.

MURMUR & HONESTY: Murmur was a little scared. Honesty's reaction to this thing was really what scared him more though. He knew that she'd been through a lot. He'd never seen the Void, but he'd seen some of the powers Belphegor got after killing it. What this thing was doing was pretty similar to those powers. He didn't think it was the Void, at least not at its full power. He was pretty sure it would've already tried to kill them if it was, but it was clearly something similar to the Void. That didn't mean it was as bad as the Void though. Since it wasn't attacking them, Murmur felt like it must've thought that attacking wasn't its best course of action. Murmur pulled his hand away from Honesty's so he could step towards it with Nadia. At the very least, it wouldn't have been right of him to let Nadia go towards it alone.

Honesty wasn't as open to believing this thing might not have bad intentions, and she didn't have Murmur's level of curiosity. There had never been anything good that came from the Empty before Belphegor saved them. She couldn't stop Murmur from moving forward, but she hid behind him as he approached the being.

As the creature shrunk down, it furthered Murmur's belief that the being meant them no harm. If it lived here, he guessed that it had probably been hurt by the Void too. Maybe it was one of God's or the archangel's creations that got sent in here like the other dead. It seemed almost as scared as Honesty was, and the offering it gave was most likely an attempt at self preservation. "It's okay," Murmur assured it. "We're not gonna hurt you."

NADIA: Nadia’s heart pound in her chest as she observed the being. It was like looking into the being that she could only describe as intangible night. There was a saying out there that if you gaze into the abyss long enough, it gazes right back at you. Nadia could feel it’s gaze upon her but it did not make her feel cold or scared. It made her feel sad. Darkness couldn’t posture but everything about the way this darkness held itself suggested that it was more afraid of her than she was of them. She tore her eyes away from it only for a moment once she felt the warmth of her friend at her side. He seemed to understand that this creature did not mean them harm.

Her features softened as the darkness shrunk to something that was more human sized. After a brief moment of contemplation, it offered her a turkey leg as a boon. Nadia nodded to her friends, indicating that she was okay. She extended her hand to take the offering. Sure, this creature could be playing a trick on her, but she didn’t think it was and she was going to trust her gut on that. If she was wrong…well, it was a big mistake to harm a Duchess of Hell. To her relief, the darkness did not pull her in or harm her as she got closer and took the offering.

“T-thank you,” she stammered and took a respectful step back toward her friends. She stared at the turkey leg for a moment before biting into it. “Hmmm, it’s still good,” she smiled and gave the creature a thumbs up. “I…are you still hungry? My friends and I…we were just about to go down to the kitchens to eat.”

DEVOUR: The hesitation was clear on all of their faces. They did not know what to make of him. Truthfully, he didn’t know what to make of them either. He was relieved when the little raccoon boy said they weren’t going to hurt him, but could they be trusted? It looked like they were trying to determine the same of him. The smaller of the three beings seemed to indicate with her head that she believed him. Still, he fought the urge to jump backward as she stepped forward. Their fingers brushed together as she took the turkey from his hands and they both stepped back in unison, giving each other space and distance. He observed her as she tasted the meat. Would its flavor determine his life or death? He certainly hoped not. He hadn’t even gotten a chance to taste the meat. It smelled divine though. But the food in the bag was tricky. He’d been able to taste some of it, but not others. He had similar experiences at the party too while he was loitering in the shadows. Anything meant for the dead had no flavor to him. But the stuff of the living? Now that…that was blissful.

He was pulled out of his reminiscing when the youth made a strange gesture with her hands. He didn’t really understand it. Was she signaling an attack sign to the other two? They made no move to come after him. Still, he’d taken too many risks today. He was about to make a run for it when she asked him if he was hungry. He was always hungry for more, it seemed. He’d been down by the kitchens before. Mostly late at night when no one was around. There was a lot of food there but much of it was in its raw form, and he had yet to learn how to get it from its raw form to its final delectable and truly complete form. But he imagined with a party this big, the kitchen was overflowing with complete, intricately made meals. He supposed one more risk wouldn’t hurt.

With some effort, he willed his form to shift into something that resembled a child of God. He borrowed a lot of features that he’d seen on the beings that called themselves Lucifer and Asmodeus. The darkness that was him took on the shape of a tall and strikingly handsome man. His chiseled jawline was framed by a neatly groomed beard that added to his rugged yet sophisticated appearance. His hair became a light blonde color, worn in a tousled style that gives him an air of effortless cool. He spent a lot of time observing and practicing this transformation just in case he ever needed to blend in. All of that practice paid off because the transition was very smooth.

What he failed to practice was speaking in their tongue. He opened his mouth to form the words that he wanted to say, but they came out as nonsense at first. He cleared his throat and tried again. “I…I don’t want to impose…” he spoke. The words were accented strangely. He’d have to keep practicing to sound more like them. “But food is always appreciated. I haven’t tasted anything like this in many millennia.” He paused to look at the satchel in his hands. It was completely bare now. He held it out to her. “I’m sorry…” he apologized in a voice that sounded both ancient and young at the same time. “I’ve eaten everything here.”

HONESTY & MURMUR: What the hell was wrong with these two? Both Nadia and Murmur were so close to this thing, and Honesty couldn't make sense of it. They didn't know what it was. It came from the Empty, so she would've thought they wouldn't be so ready to trust it. It could've been an act to lure them in. She shook her head back at Nadia in contrast of her nodding. No, this was not okay. She tried to will her into seeing that, but it didn't seem to have any use. She waved her hand across her neck when Nadia invited the thing to come eat with them. Even if she wasn't terrified of this thing, she was sure plenty of the other guests here would be.

Murmur wasn't so unhinged where he couldn't see the dangers of what they were doing. This . . . creature was something from before Belphegor. They didn't really know if it was a danger or not, but it didn't really seem like it wanted to harm them. He tried to give Honesty a look to reassure her that they were being complete idiots about this, but she didn't look reassured. "We don't have to take you down there," Murmur added, to both reassure the creature and Honesty. He didn't think it wanted to go near big crowds the way it was lurking in the shadows. "We can just grab some more food and bring it back up."

As the being began to shift into something else, Honesty took another step back while Murmur stared in amazement. So it wasn't just some sort of mindless creature then. Realistically, it wasn't like this was what their natural forms looked like, aside from Nadia. It wasn't that unlikely that this thing could look like a person too. He was kind of hot, at least in Murmur's eyes. Honesty was still terrified of him. It didn't matter that he'd changed his form. It made it feel more like a trick to her, and like he was using that to get closer to them. His words scared her more. They sounded wrong and not entirely real. "Are you going to eat us?" she asked, scared that he might actually be willing to eat everything and everyone if they didn't get him more food.

"I mean only if you want to," Murmur added with a smirk, unable to help himself. Honesty smacked him on the side of his head.

"He doesn't mean that."

NADIA: Nadia could see the nervousness written on Honesty’s face. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous too, but she knew hunger. She lived in a kingdom devoted to it. If this creature was going to eat them, it would have done it already. It was hard to convey that through looks alone though so Nadia placed her hands behind her back and opened her palm. She pushed down on her open palm with her thumb and a sigil that was previously invisible lit up. That same sigil appeared on Honesty and Murmur’s palm. It connected them mind-to-mind like a magic walky talky. It’s all right, she spoke mind-to-mind. If anything goes wrong, we’re only a few paces away from the party and there are a few hundred ways I can contact my dad. It’ll be a million against one in a manner of seconds if this thing tries something. Besides, it wasn’t like Nadia was going to allow herself to be lured into the woods. She wasn’t Gretal. They’d stick to their home territory, at least for now. If things went well and she made a new friend here today, she wouldn’t rule out exploring his home later.

He kind of reminds me of a spider, She observed as the creature became confused and scared of her thumbs up gesture. You know, one of those ‘they’re more afraid of you then you are of them’ situations. Her eyebrows rose as the being began to change its form to look more palatable to them. Man, that’s not fair. Even he can shapeshift. He’s kinda hot though so I’ll forgive it. Apparently speaking didn’t come as easily for him. It sounded like he had cobwebs in his throat. It sounded like he hadn’t spoken in a while. She wondered if he was the only one of his kind or if there were more. “I’m told that’s a common experience here,” she replied apologetically when he said that it had been a while since he’d tasted anything like this. “But we’re hoping to change that.” She took her satchel from him. He truly did seem sorry for eating all of it. She believed him.

She tried to keep the conversation light and pleasant. If you treated people kindly, they usually returned the favor. “It’s all right. I’m glad you got some joy out of it. Food’s always been a comfort of mine. Like Murmur said, we can bring some up here if you don’t want to go down to the kitchen.” Being in the kitchen would bring them closer to the party, which would be safer for the trio but perhaps this being wouldn’t feel as safe. She gave Murmur an exasperated sort of look when he began flirting with the being, but her features turned more jovial when Honesty smacked him. You deserved that, she told him. Also, you’re like a twig with two berries. A snack more than a meal.

DEVOUR: This form was strange to him, but it would appear that at least two out of the three found comfort in it. Perhaps the third would warm up to it. He certainly was. It would take some getting used to, but he needed the practice. He pondered the offers presented to him. "I would like to go with if that is okay," he replied in his strangely accented voice. “I have been to the kitchen before. I..." he shook his head. "I do not understand it. I have watched but..." he shook his head. He did not understand the process whatsoever. "Will you show me?" He wanted to learn their strange methods. Perhaps he could replicate them so that he'd no longer have to steal. Of course, he'd still have to make these delectables in private. There were more than a few of his siblings who would shun him for trying to be like these three. He did not know what they would do to him, but some of them were as harsh as the Void.

His eyebrows bunched in confusion when one of the children asked if he was going to eat them. “No, you don’t taste like anything,” he replied to the dead one. Much like food made for the dead, the dead themselves tasted like nothing. The Void had fed the souls to him once and out of desperation, he took them. But he had no desire to do so again. The act of eating them was too tedious and there was no pay off for him in the end. He hadn’t tried the living, but why would he when there were so many other things he could try and so many other things that they could show him? “You…” he cleared his throat, taking long pauses between words. “Have shown me great kindness. I…” He hadn’t experienced kindness in a very long time, and it made him emotional. “I do not wish to offend you.” Confusion shown on his face when one of the children replied that he could eat him if he wished. He did not understand the offer. “If eating one another is a custom in your culture…you may eat me.”

HONESTY & MURMUR: Honesty appreciated it as Nadia performed a spell to let them speak in each other's minds. She didn't really feel comfortable talking in front of this creature as they were. She hadn't known how much it could understand, and she was scared to say too much in front of it. She still didn't really feel like it was all right like Nadia was saying. Things can go wrong so fast though. When she'd died, there hadn't been enough time to save everyone, including herself. All it took was the right injury, and people could die in seconds. And we don't know what this thing is capable of. What if it's as strong as the Void was? What if we die before anyone gets here? I know you guys will just end up here again, but me? I'll just disappear. I'll be in the dark again.

Murmur could tell that Honesty was really scared. He put a hand on her back and started rubbing it comfortably the way his moms used to do when he was scared as a kid. Like Honesty had said his moms had been one of the ones who died after death. They were gone now forever. He didn't plan on letting that happen to Honesty too. Well, we'll just make sure that doesn't happen then. Like you said, if we die, we'll just end up here, so I'll protect you. Knight's honor. He would've saluted, but he didn't want Honesty to feel like he was giving too much of their conversation up to the creature. And besides, if you're worried about it's power, Belphegor shouldn't be too far away either. If it takes something of a similar power to defeat him, they should be able to. And they can hear us everywhere, so they should be able to get to us quickest.

Honesty relaxed a little. She was still nervous about all of this, but Nadia and Murmur were right that all of the strongest people they knew were not that far away, and she'd experienced a few times just how much Belphegor could hear. She wondered if they already knew about these creatures, but at least for now, she trusted Nadia and Murmur to keep her safe. She still planned to keep a safe distance from the creature. "You can come with us," Honesty agreed, deciding that it would be better to have the creature closer to where help could come for them if they needed it.

"Yeah, we can show you. Nadia's an expert on it. She's been working with Belphegor to help the dead be able to eat things they can taste again." He could cook too, but he was average at it, and he hadn't tried to cook the food for the dead, so he wasn't experienced with it like Nadia was.

Honesty was more relieved by the fact that she wouldn't taste like anything to this creature. It still didn't mean this thing wouldn't try to kill her, or her friends. It also could've been lying. Since death, she couldn't tell as easily when people were lying, and this thing felt even more like a mystery. Her fear and paranoia over this thing also clouded her judgement. She was overly cautious no matter how she tried to look at things.

Murmur was the opposite. He grinned as the creature offered to let him eat it. "We do eat each other a lot in our . . . culture, but you're not going to offend me if you don't let me. It's more of a . . . reciprocated thing. We only do it if both of us want to do it to each other."

NADIA: She gave Honesty an empathetic look. She could understand why the Virtue was hesitant. She had more to lose here than they did. She nodded her agreement when Murmur reassured Honesty that they wouldn’t let anything happen to her. If anything happens, the two of us will fight and you run toward the party and alert the others. Sure, people would be upset with her and Murmur if they died but they’d both just end up here in the end and that wasn’t so bad. She was glad when Honesty eased a little. Nadia couldn’t read emotions, but something about the being before them and the way it held itself felt genuine to her.

“You’ve been to the kitchens before?” Nadia hadn’t noticed this being there before. It must have been pretty stealthy or perhaps it just showed up when she wasn’t around. Either way, he was kind of growing on her because he had a lot in common with the people of her own kingdom. They, too, were also stealthy in manners of food theft. She nodded her agreement when Murmur called her the expert. “It’s my day, night, and weekend job,” she grinned. She was going to be running a few cooking classes here and she wanted to invite Honesty, but she didn’t want to do it in front of this creature. It felt rude and like she’d be excluding him. If he wanted to, she could probably teach him how to cook too, but it would have to be off the clock. If Honesty was afraid of him, other people would be too so she couldn’t have him come directly to her class. She’d figure something out eventually. “Come on,” she gestured with her head for everyone to follow her. “I’ll take you guys down the staff entrance so we can avoid the crowd.” She began walking toward the side entrance.

She snorted as Murmur continued to flirt with the being. “He means that in a non-violent way. It’s a pleasurable feasting. But before we get too deep into the customs of our culture, perhaps we should know your name. I’m Nadia, Duchess of Gluttony, and these are my friends Sir Murmur and Lady Honesty. What do we call you?”

DEVOUR: The child who was dead seemed to be the one that was most afraid of him. He did not blame her. If the Void was willing to torture its own siblings, he could only imagine what it did to strangers. He shifted on his feet. Perhaps he should’ve given the turkey leg to her. Maybe if he learned to cook, he could make something for her too. He didn’t know why he felt compelled to apologize for the Void, but he did. “I—only a handful of times,” he lied. He went to the kitchen almost every night. But he didn’t know if it was wise to admit that. He wasn’t sure what a job was but from the glowing recommendation that the young male child was giving on behalf of the smaller blonde child suggested that food was her specialty. She had the air and confidence of an expert.

“Thank you,” he remarked as they agreed to let him join their expedition. He was nervous and excited all at once, but he minded his position and kept his distance from the dead child of God. He did not wish to cause her further distress. He listened to the beings describe their customs. “A pleasurable feasting?” He wasn’t sure he understood. “Is it because you regenerate?” He’d seen some of them get injured before and the wounds closed up fairly quickly. Still, he wasn’t sure that was too pleasant. He nodded when the young girl, Nadia, introduced herself. “Nadia, Duchess of Gluttony.” He tested the name on his lips. “Sir Murmur.” A nod at the gentleman. “Lady Honesty.” He nodded but did not meet her eyes for he did not want to see the fear in them. He tilted his head to the side in an expression of confusion when he was asked what he preferred to be called. “I am the absence of taste. Or, perhaps, I was once.” It was what some of his siblings wished he would remain. But he’d tasted from the fruits of their trees and he could not go back. “I’m not sure what I am anymore. You may call me as you see fit.”

HONESTY & MURMUR: Honesty still wasn't fond of the idea of just abandoning Nadia and Murmur to their fates. She didn't want them to die for her, but she also didn't want to experience what would happen if she died again. She didn't think she could talk Nadia and Murmur out of this though, so going with them seemed like the best option.

"And you didn't get caught?" Murmur asked, impressed. He was usually pretty stealthy himself when he tried to be, and it was a quality he admired. It was actually pretty surprising to him that Belphegor hadn't caught onto him. He wondered if Belphegor even knew he existed. He knew that Belphegor could hear just about everything in the Empty, so it was hard to imagine that they wouldn't know about him, but he'd never heard them mention this guy. Of course, maybe they were worried about reactions like Honesty's. It was probably best not to worry anyone about it if they could. "We do regenerate, but that's not what it's about." He could tell that this guy wasn't going to understand them if they were too subtle about it. He was kind of like how Belphegor used to be. "We don't so much eat each other as we do . . . taste each other. There's certain parts of our bodies that feel good when you touch them in the right spots in the right way. You can use your hands to do it, but using your mouth, and more specifically your tongue, on someone lets you taste them while you're making them feel good. If you do it right and make them feel good enough, they'll make a fluid that you can either swallow down or spit out at your discretion. If you want to try it out sometime, I'd be happy to try it with you and show you how it works. I could bring some food, and we could try-"

"Okay, that's enough of the sex education," Honesty snapped, glaring at Murmur. She already didn't want to be around this thing. She could only take so much of hearing Murmur flirting. She didn't really care about him explaining what sex was, but making her hear about him with something that seemed so much like the Void made her nauseous. She wanted to get this over with, and she could do without Murmur being so horny. He just shrugged and bowed when the creature addressed him, tossing a wink in his direction. Honesty still looked frozen as she was addressed. The creature avoided eye contact with her, but she couldn't take her eyes off of him. She was looking for any sign of deceit or harm. There wasn't any, but she was too scared to stop looking.

"The absence of taste?" Murmur asked. That had to be a strange experience, and it looked like he was tasting now, or he had been before they took food away from him. "But if you care a lot about food, maybe your name could be eating related." He liked the idea of getting to name someone. "Her dad's already Gluttony. But there's not many similar ones I feel like you could make names out of. Gorge? I don't think I like that one for you. It just feels like I'm calling you George with an accent. That's boring."

NADIA: She got the vibe that he’d been to the kitchen more than a handful of times but she didn’t say anything. If he really did manage to go undetected that was pretty impressive. As long as he remained harmless, she didn’t plan to snitch on him. Now that she knew he made visits to the kitchen, she’d leave some stuff for him when she could. “Murmur for the love of Hell…” she sighed and rubbed at her temples. He wasn’t just flirting anymore. He was straight up propositioning the man. Thankfully, Honesty cut him off before he could go any further though Nadia wasn’t sure how much further one could go without offering a demonstration right then and there. “At least you offered him food beforehand.” That was the nice thing to do when you wanted to eat someone out. You had to make sure they ate first.

She smiled and nodded at the man encouragingly as he repeated their names back to them. It was interesting that he had no name himself. He was a construct. But then again what was a name if not a construct to begin with. “Murmur already thinks you’re a snack, so Snack is a good one. But it sounds a little too close to snake and that’s my mom’s mascot.” Dagon wasn’t her mom, but it felt too complicated to get into that right now. She paused for a moment at the door to the staff entrance. “What about Devour?” she asked as she swiped her card to unlock the door. She entered the well-lit corridor and motioned for the others to follow her in. The sounds of the party could be heard one floor above them, and she found that to be soothing in its own way. It was like being part of the crowd without being overwhelmed by it. “That’s how we found you and it’s a pretty badass name too.”

DEVOUR: He was quiet for a moment as he debated what he ought to say. Some of his siblings would've demanded he say nothing. They very well could cut his tongue out for just talking to these three. But these children were disclosing information about their families so perhaps it was safe to tell them about his own. If he bothered to look deeper within himself, he might've allowed himself to see that he was also telling them this information because he wanted to keep them safe. There was an innocence to these Children of God that he had not seen in a very long time here in the Empty. Innocence did not last long here. If he did not tell them what lurked in the shadows, it was possible that the shadows would find them unguarded. "It's possible my siblings know where I disappear to, but if they do they haven't said anything," he allowed.

He listened intently as the young male, Murmur, described this pleasurably feasting. To taste one another but not eat each other sounded like quite the test of wills. "Ah, I see. So the goal is to get to this fluid? That is the meal?" Fascinating. It sounded like both the feaster and the feasted received some kind of reward in the end. All of their food so far tasted phenomenal so what must their fluids taste like? "Yes," he grinned. "I think I'd like to try."

He kept up his pace with the children as they walked toward an entry point he hadn't seen before. He wasn't sure what a snack was but it sounded like a kind of food he wanted to try. He wasn’t sure what a snake was either. “So, you are not a Child of God?” he asked when Nadia mentioned a mother. The Children of God had no mother, and she radiated an energy that was different from the two beings before her. What was she?

As she door opened, he could hear the sounds of the party above them. Walking down the corridor was an experience he knew he’d struggle to put into words for Echo later. It was like being a part of the party…a part of their mysterious world. Their music was so beautiful even when it was muffled. And based on the fragrant smell of food just up ahead he knew she was leading them down the right path. “Devour…” he repeated the name. “Devour.” He nodded after a moment. “You may call me Devour.”

MURMUR & HONESTY: When Murmur had asked him about not getting caught, he'd meant that he hadn't been caught by the staff here or by Cuphegor themselves. Honesty had understood what Murmur was asking too, but the creature's response made it seem like getting caught was more of a concern with their siblings than with the rulers of this realm. "You have siblings?" Honesty asked. She'd known that he gave off similar energy to the Void, but she hadn't considered the idea of them being siblings. That would've made her more scared if it didn't sound like he was concerned about his siblings doing something to him. "They aren't . . . around, are they?" She glanced around, but if they blended into shadows so easily, she was scared she wouldn't be able to see them easily.

"What are they like?" asked Murmur. "You said you were the absence of taste, right? So what are they? What was the Void?" Murmur had a lot of questions, and so did Honesty. Thankfully, they didn't throw out every single one they had all at once. They both knew too many questions could be overwhelming, but Murmur was more than a little excited by his answers. He wasn't perturbed by Honesty or Nadia's reaction to his explanation of eating out. He personally felt like he was being helpful by explaining it to they guy. It sounded like he experienced so little of life, and as much as Murmur wanted to hook up with him, he didn't want to feel like he was tricking him or trying to push him into something he didn't understand. He was like a virgin. He probably was a virgin if he didn't understand eating out. "The goal is mainly to make each other feel good, but the fluid, cum, is the signifier that you are doing that." Murmur grinned as he agreed to his offer. "Great! I'll show you a great time after we get some real food in you."

Honesty had to hide her face in her hands from the embarrassment of being around Murmur when he was like this. At least for now, it distracted her from her fear of the creature they were traveling with. "How are you just like Andras?"

"I learn from the best?" He answered with a grin. "He'd be proud of me." Honesty didn't feel like that was really a good thing here. "Technically, neither of us are children of God," he said as he indicated at himself and Nadia. "Her mom and dad are at that party, and my moms are . . . well one's basically dead, and the other one is double dead, but we're basically like . . . children of the community. There's more than a few people who look after us as if we were their children." He smiled when Devour seemed to like then name they'd picked out for him. "And how do we call you, Devour?" he asked, though he wasn't asking about his name. "You don't have a phone, right? Is there a way we can get in contact with you when we want to see you again?"

NADIA: She stiffened slightly when he mentioned his siblings. The way he spoke about them sounded a little bit like the way Ruby spoke about her father. Her sister also did things in secret with the hopes that her dad wouldn’t find out because she was afraid of what he might do if he did. It sounded like Devour held the same fear in regard to his siblings. She held onto her questions as Honesty and Murmur asked their own. Devour already seemed a bit skittish. If they went into interrogation mode, they might scare him.

She bit back her laughter when she saw Honesty’s secondhand embarrassment for Murmur. It was kind of sweet. At this point in her life, Nadia had witnessed Murmur embarrass himself so much that she hardly felt embarrassed on his behalf anymore. If you think this is bad, you should see him hit on the wood nymphs, she giggled through their mind connection. “If you’re still feeling a little hungry afterwards, just let me know,” she grinned innocently. She could feed him any which way he’d like. Maybe one day they’d show him the buffet that was an orgy.

She nodded her agreement when Murmur explained that neither of them were Children of God. “We’re more like…the Grandchildren of God though I wouldn’t even claim that title.” They were asking Devour a lot about his history, so it was only fair to exchange some of their own. “I’m from a subspecies called Lilim. We’re the children of fallen angels who mated with a being called Lilith. Depending on the strength of our angelic linage, some of us end up here in the Empty when we die so you might see a few of them walking around. Like Murmur’s mom, my biological dad’s is frozen in a state between life and death. And my biological mother hasn’t been seen in centuries. But my adoptive parents are here. The party we’re having is for the person that I, really we, choose to consider mom.” She knew she wasn’t the only one who considered Dagon in that way. Honesty had mentioned that she’d felt that way about Dagon too when she was alive. And Dagon cared for Murmur pretty similarly too. “Her name is Dagon. She’s got the snakes in her hair. She took over Belphegor’s position as the Demon Princess of Sloth. And the person that I choose to consider as my dad, his name is Beelzebub. He’s the Demon Prince of Gluttony. They’re very nice. I’ll introduce you sometime.” Nadia had enough sense to know that none of her family members would be too thrilled with the risk that she and the the others took on today but once they got to know a little bit about Devour she was sure they'd like him.

DEVOUR: “I have seven, but they are not here currently. Most of them do not venture into your territory.” Though there was talk of changing that. The dead were not native to this land even if their God placed them here. And after being under one oppressive being who kept them locked up, some of his siblings weren’t too keen on sharing land. They wanted their home and land back from the perceived colonizers. He hoped they wouldn’t do anything. They were vastly outnumbered. And having observed some of the older Children of God and the power they held, Devour could already tell that the fight would be bloody. He didn’t have it in him to fight after centuries of torment. He just wanted to eat. “They, too, are the absence of things such as sound, light, smell, touch, form, happiness, and thought. The Void…” his voice flattened as he tried to control his fear. “It was a pit of cruelty and the absence of empathy.” And I’m glad that it’s gone. He was afraid to say it out loud for fear that even in death the Void might hurt him. But his eyes showed enough.

He nodded when Murmur elaborated on the goal of the activity. “I look forward to trying your cum and I will repay the favor.” He was surprised when Nadia offered him seconds. He did not know why these beings were so generous to him, but he appreciated their kindness. It had been such a long time since anymore cared to be kind to him. “Thank you,” he replied with genuine gratitude. “I will.”

As they moved forward down the corridor he listened to the Children—Grandchildren—of God explain their origins. Fascinating. One was the offspring of two Children of God and the other was the offspring of a Child of God and another being. “Lilim. Yes, I believe I have seen a few.” He tilted his head to one side as she described how she’d chosen her other family. Community children. That was a new concept to him. He didn’t know it was even possible to designate familial roles to someone who wasn’t your family. Granted, for most of his life he didn’t have anyone except his siblings, but that was changing now that the Empty was free from the Void. He glanced up to where the party was still ongoing. So, this was for their chosen mother. And their chosen mother was someone who was taking over the Belphegors previous position. Things were making sense now. He’d seen the snake haired woman in the Empty a lot and she did appear to be close to the Belphegor. “Dagon. I’ve seen her too. She and the tall blonde one…they are prescriptive.” He thought they might’ve seen him more than a few times, but he always fled before he or they could confirm anything. He considered her offer as they stopped at the entrance to the kitchen. “If they are like you then yes, I would like to meet them someday.”

His brows knitted in confusion. “Phone?” He wasn’t sure what that was. There were no easy ways to reach one another here. The only people Devour really had to talk to were a handful of his siblings. “The Void cut off most ways of communicating here though The Empty can get you to me. But before I tell you how, I need you to promise me one thing.” He looked at them with upmost seriousness. “I’ve seen the wardings at the edge of your land. You must promise to stay within them. You cannot seek me in the forest. Do you understand?”

HONESTY & MURMUR: "Seven?" Honesty asked with horror. One of the Void was enough, but the idea of seven of his kind sounded terrifying. She was a little relieved to hear that they didn't venture into their territory, but it didn't make her any less scared of them. Devour had come all the way out here after all. What if the others did too?

Murmur found himself more intrigued by the list of Devour's siblings. "You and the absence of sound seem like you'd make up Nadia's dad together. He's always hungry, but he's so quiet when he moves that he scares her mom all the time without even trying." It was hard to imagine how some of the absences worked though. The absence of form sounded a little like the demons of hell who didn't fall from heaven and weren't born from Lilith. They didn't have full forms outside of Hell and could only go to earth if they possessed someone. "The absence of happiness sounds like Dagon's whole kingdom. They're all severely depressed too." He didn't think they couldn't experience happiness, but they were deprived of a lot of it. "And the absence of touch sounds like Valefar. She's not exactly my mom, but she took me in after I lost my moms. Whenever she touches someone or something she cares about, it turns to gold, so she tries not to touch anyone." It didn't stop some people, like his mom or Nadia's dad, from getting turned to gold though.

"And we already have the absence of thought right here," said Honesty as she patted Murmur's head. "Are you sure this isn't your sibling?" She felt like it had to be with how much he kept opening his mouth to say the worst things. It felt like a bad idea for him to be talking about Dagon's kingdom like that. He didn't seem to learn anything from how he'd talked about Nadia just a few minutes ago. Both Honesty and Murmur got a little quieter when Devour mentioned the Void. Murmur knew the Void was a sensitive subject for Honesty, and he watched her to make sure she was okay. For Honesty, her empathy outweighed her fear of Devour. She could tell by the way he talked that he must have had a horrible time with the Void too, even though it was his sibling. "But the Void's gone now, and it can't be cruel to us anymore," she said reassuringly to both Devour and herself.

She felt like she was going to be sick as Nadia also offered herself up as a meal for Devour. "Nadia, not you too. . ." she sighed.

Murmur couldn't help giggling as Nadia joined in with him on the offer. "I look forward to tasting yours too."

"If you want to kill me now, ceasing to exist doesn't sound that bad at the moment."

"She doesn't mean that." Murmur put his hand over her mouth, worried that Devour might take her seriously. He didn't think Devour wanted Honesty to die, but he could tell that the creature struggled to understand them and might take her words as a genuine request that would make her happy. Devour seemed to be doing most things that he thought would appease them.

Murmur could tell they were getting close to the kitchen now. The smells of cooked food were so strong. He'd eaten already, but his tummy still rumbled. "Asmo?" he asked, assuming that's who the tall blonde person was that Devour was talking about.  "Or maybe Raphael. Or Ramiel?"

"Not if it's someone perceptive," Honesty muttered. She didn't remember a lot of what he'd been like before the war, but he didn't seem all that perceptive now. She mainly just heard him whining about how his best friend wouldn't come see him. "But I doubt he's going to know which one it is by their name anyways." How was Devour supposed to know who was who.

"Oh right," Murmur nodded. "Does he look like this?" He changed his form to look like Asmo, "or like this?" and then he looked like Raphael, though only for a moment before he was back to himself. It felt unnatural being in those forms. "Yeah, they look like this." He held up his phone. "I could give you mine and then-"

Honesty snatched his phone out of his hand before he could hand it off. "It's honestly too complicated to explain right now." It wasn't her only reason for stopping the hand off, but it really was complicated. She practically had to take a whole class on how to use those things, and she still didn't really understand them.

Murmur frowned. He tried to grab his phone back, but Honesty kept it away from him. He planned to steal it back when she wasn't paying attention, but he was perplexed by Devour's demand that they make a promise about not going into the forest. "No, not really. Why can't we go in the forest?" They would've already struggled to get through Belphegor's wardings keeping them in, but he wanted to know what they were supposed to be avoiding.

NADIA: She raised her brow at the mention of seven other siblings. That was definitely a lot more than expected. She wondered if Belphegor knew about them. They had to given how connected to the Empty they were. She didn’t know how much they knew but she knew this was an opportunity to gather more information for them. Perhaps if they collected enough history, the consequences of their actions tonight wouldn’t be so bad. “Are there anymore creatures out there like your siblings and you?” she asked.

She smiled and nodded her agreement when Murmur remarked that Devour and the sibling that was the absence of sound were similar to her dad. “It’s pretty funny,” she grinned when he brought up how that combination of things often led to her dad scaring the shit out of Dagon. She gave a look that conveyed I mean, he’s not wrong when he remarked that Dagon’s kingdom sounded like the sad guy. “They’re on the mend though,” she threw in. Perhaps his sad sibling would find something to bring him joy too. Maybe they could help him. “That’s how our parents got stuck in that state between life and death. They’re frozen in gold,” she added for context.

She bit back a laugh when Honesty remarked that they had the absence of thought here with Murmur. “You beat me to the joke by like half a second,” she giggled. Her smile faultered when he brought up the Void. She got the sense that despite being the Void’s sibling, he did not have a good time under the Void’s rule. “I’m sorry. If it’s any consolation, Belphegor isn’t anything like that. They struggle to understand some things about emotion from time to time, but they are not cruel.”

Her smile returned when Honesty started complaining about the flirting. “I’m being hospitable,” she grinned. She nearly choked on how sincere Devour’s promise was that he looked forward to the activity. It reminded her a lot of Belphegor before they had Asmo’s grace. She was pretty sure if she could just get Devour to meet with Bells, they’d get on swimmingly. But for now she at least got him to agree to meet with her parents. “They’re very much like us,” she grinned. “I’ll let them know and maybe we can set up lunch one day. My dad loves any ol’ reason to cook.” He might not be pleased with this one but he’d understand.

She wasn’t surprised Devour had seen Dagon around. She spent a lot of time in the Empty with Belphegor and their twin. Nadia couldn’t help the pang of jealousy as Murmur began to change his forms to try to pinpoint who the other person was. That was a talent Nadia did not possess as a half breed. But that wasn’t Murmur’s fault so she pushed the feeling away. “Preceptive sounds like Raphael. They’re an Archangel. They along with my mom have an ability to read emotions. Sort of like the opposite of the Void. I imagine my mom must’ve felt your hunger and thought you were my dad.” If he kept hiding in the shadows while he was hungry, he probably ran the risk of Dagon’s snakes coming at him because they thought Beel was messing around. Or Dagon might bring it up to Beel that he was being weird hiding in the shadows. Nadia smiled at the confusion that might cause.

Nadia gave a tiny applause at the quick speed at which Honesty snatched the phone from Murmur. Death had not dulled that reflex at least. Phones were a hard concept to pick up and there were still a lot of security risks. They’d have to go with some of the older methods of communicating. “We can leave you food with hidden messages at a designated drop off spot. One of my Knights did that with his sister after the war and it worked out for them.” She raised a brow when he remarked that they had to promise to stay away from the forest. Nadia wasn’t going to lie. She’d gone down to where the wardings were. They were pretty impenetrable. “I’ve heard my parents talking about what’s beyond the wardings. They said something about God’s wasteland. Creatures that he scrapped. Is that what we should be avoiding?”

DEVOUR: “There are all manners of creatures here, but none quite like my siblings,” he replied. He had yet to meet any that were more than beasts. He listened as Murmur related his siblings to things that were similar in his own world. It would appear their lands were not all that different. “The intangible is known to do similar things,” he remarked when they brought up the quiet footed sneaker. “But I do not feel his energy here tonight,” he assured them. It saddened him to hear about an entire kingdom that lacked a certain degree of happiness like his own sibling. He hadn’t seen that particular sibling in a very long time actually. He wondered if perhaps the Numbness was dead. “I’m glad to hear they are healing from their troubles.” If the Numbness was alive, perhaps they would heal too one day. His brows furrowed in concern when they brought up the Child of God known as Valefar. “And what of her favorite food? Does that turn to gold too?” That sounded heartbreaking.

He chuckled when the small one joked about Murmur possibly being one of his siblings. “He still has too much forethought to truly be the thoughtless,” he replied though he did not meet her eyes as he spoke. “The thoughtless would not remember they even met with you once you are no longer in his presence. He’s harmless as long as you keep your wits about you. Though, I don’t think you’ll see him much. He will likely never be able to follow the path here without getting distracted.” His eyes finally met the small ones when she remarked that the Void could no longer be cruel to them. He nodded softly before averting his gaze once again. His attention turned to Nadia as she began her defense of the Belphegor. He wasn’t sure what to think. “The Void seemed to believe they were kindred spirits…” he remarked. His sibling had been obsessed with the Belphegor, but if they truly were Kindred then the Belphegor would’ve have just continued the Void’s torture cycle. They hadn’t…at least not yet.

His brows rose when Honesty asked to be killed. Up until this point, she seemed very frightened of that possibility. He nodded in confused understanding when Murmur remarked that she did not actually mean it. That was a relief. He had the stomach for a lot of things, but violence was not one of them these days. “Will you get in trouble?” he asked when Nadia remarked that she would set up lunch and let her parents know. He did not want any of them to be brutalized for his transgressions.

He observed Murmur attentively as he changed from form to form. He knew most of these individuals could manipulate their forms, but he rarely saw it occurring. Most seemed to stay in one stable, comfortable form. “Raphael,” he nodded in confirmation. “They were the other.” He was utterly fascinated when Nadia explained why it felt like those two were staring right at him when they looked into the shadows. “Empaths,” he marveled. “I did not know such creatures existed. And they are close with the Belphegor?” To have something be the antithesis of everything his brother was and to have those people be the closest to the Belphegor. Perhaps there was merit in what Nadia was saying about the Belphegor. Still, he couldn’t shake all of his fear. Meeting the Grandchildren of God was one thing. He could downplay the encounter to his siblings if they found out but meeting the Belphegor was both frightening and hard to downplay.

He glanced briefly at the thing called the phone. He was going to examine it when Honesty took it away. Apparently, there was a learning curve to it. He trusted her judgement on that front. He nodded in agreement with Nadia’s idea about hidden messages in the food. “There is a small creek near the edge where our lands meet yours. It’s still within your boundaries. You may leave food there and I will come to collect it and meet you appropriately. Should you need me more urgently, you may place your wishes and manifestations in the pebbles near the creek and toss them into the waters. The Empty will carry the message to me,” he instructed. “Your parents are right. There are creatures in there that are dangerous, but none more than some of my siblings. I do not wish to frighten you. Not all of us are like the Void, but there are some among my ranks who do not like the noise. You must promise me you will never go into the woods,” he urged again. It was clear that their promise was perhaps more important to him than any food they might have to offer.

HONESTY & MURMUR: Devour's response was both a relief and a concern for Honesty. She was glad that there weren't too many things out there like the Void, but that didn't mean the other creatures were any less dangerous. At least the others didn't seem to be here either.

"Dagon will be glad for that." Murmur didn't think Dagon would've been happy about someone else sneaking up on her, so he hoped the intangible kept their distance. "Yeah, it's a slow progress, but the same goes for most of the people here. We're trying to get them all help, but you can't expect progress that fast." It was possible some of them wouldn't actually improve at all. Some of them had to be kept asleep for the fact that they just couldn't handle being awake. "It's a little complicated." Murmur rubbed the back of his neck and frowned as he thought about how to best explain it. "She can eat, and a lot of the food she eats is really delicious, but the way her curse works matters more on how much she values something or cares about it. She likes a lot of foods, but she doesn't really . . . care that much about them. I know you haven't had a lot of food you could taste, but back where we're from, we have these things called comfort foods. They're not necessarily our favorite foods, but they're foods that usually make us feel good, and, well, comforted. They might be different foods at different times too depending on your mood, so for Valefar, she tends to be careful about what she eats. I don't think she really has favorite foods anymore. Once it becomes a value to her, it does turn to gold, and she can't eat it anymore. She usually eats something different every day, so she can't form attachments to the food." It didn't stop that from happening sometimes though. He'd seen her get halfway through a meal before it turned to gold. She didn't feel like eating for a while after that. "Luckily, it's not like she has to eat. If she doesn't eat, it doesn't hurt her, and she can find other things to comfort her, like shopping. Or she'll just spend some time with her siblings. She can't touch them, but it keeps her from feeling to lonely just to be around them."

Honesty felt sympathetic to Valefar as Murmur explained her condition. She had heard about Valefar's curse, but while it had sounded sad originally, she hadn't really thought that deeply about it. To not be able to be touched by anyone you cared about did sound lonely. She couldn't recall what Valefar had been like before she died, but she imagined the change to not being able to touch anyone you loved was a hard one. She hadn't considered the fact that it didn't just extend to people either. You couldn't get comfort even from food from how Murmur described it. Honesty had been picking on Murmur a lot, but this also made her aware of the fact that he could never have gotten so much as a hug from her either. She wasn't going to give him a hug herself, but she felt bad for him, at least until Devour said he had too much forethought to be the thoughtless, and Murmur gave the most prideful grin. "Maybe a distant cousin then," she allowed.

While Honesty was uncomfortable when Belphegor was around, it wasn't because she thought they were personally like the Void. It was just because they carried its energy. "From someone who has been around them both, they're nothing alike. When I was alive, Belphegor was a healer. They still are. All the Void knows how to do is hurt people. Belphegor might not have understood a lot of their own emotions or others, but they always tried to understand. They've been spending so much time trying to help everyone here in the Empty, and if you want to see how loving they are, just watch them with Cupid."

Murmur thought about it for a moment. Would they get in trouble? Probably. Valefar tended to get more upset about those kinds of things than Dagon and Beel did. She'd probably give him a stern talking to, but it wasn't anything too bad. "They might give us a lecture about talking to strangers from the Empty, but it's not like we aren't adults. We can make our own decisions. We used our best judgement to figure out you don't mean any harm, and we didn't get hurt, so no harm no foul, right?" he shrugged. If they had gotten hurt, that might've been a different story. "We'll be okay. Even if they do get mad at us, they're just looking out for us because they love us."

Honesty nodded when Devour asked about Belphegor being close to Dagon and Raphael. A lot of her memories weren't entirely there anymore, but there were some things she remembered. Because of how close she'd been to Dagon, it was easier to remember the other two. "Yeah, a lot of the healers are empaths. Belphegor was kinda the odd one out on that, but it didn't stop them from being one of the best healers. Raphael's one of their older siblings, and Dagon's their best friend."

Honesty recalled the creek he was talking about. She didn't usually get that close to it. Something about the water was off-putting to her. It had a similar energy to the Void, and sometimes she felt like it was watching her. It didn't help that it was at the edge of the boundaries Belphegor had made, which made it feel even spookier. She wasn't sure she'd be too keen about going there again, but if Dagon and Beel were there, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. She would've felt a little safer that way. She was getting a little more used to being around Devour too. He was starting to feel less like a monster and more like a person. It seemed like he did care, and he didn't want them doing anything dangerous either.

Murmur was curious how the water would get the message to Devour, but he thought he might just get to witness how it worked when they'd go to do it. He wondered what kind of creatures were out there. Surely if Devour was so nice, maybe some of those creatures would be just as nice too. He was excited by the idea that he might get to meet some of Devour's nicer siblings too. If they looked as good as Devour did, he didn't think he'd mind too much if some of the meaner ones roughed him up a little either. It sucked that he wasn't supposed to go into those woods. Being told not to only made him want to do it more.

"We won't," Honesty promised, and she meant it. She had no reason to ever want to go out of the safety she had now. "After today, they'll probably treat us more like Zoph and have someone keeping an eye on us at all times, so we don't do something like that."

NADIA: She nodded, grateful that there weren’t too many beings out there like him. The last thing the Empty needed was more things that could hurt the people here. Granted, seven siblings was a hefty number. That was the same amount as the Demon Princes of Hell. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that. If Belphegor let them meet with Devour a few more times, maybe they could get a grasp on the level of power of these beings.

She smiled when he voiced concerns about Valefar’s ability to eat her favorite foods. He’d fit in very well with the Kingdom of Gluttony because they, too, were concerned about that. Her smile faded a little bit when Murmur began to describe the limitations that Valefar’s curse placed upon her. “We’re working on finding a cure for her curse, but we haven’t had much luck. In the meantime, my Uncle Asmo gave us these,” she pulled out a plastic skeleton hand from her satchel. “It’s not much, but we use them to give Valefar assurance and high fives.” She demonstrated by patting Murmur’s shoulder with the skeleton hand. “And sometimes to annoy her.” She used the pointer finger of the skeleton hand to give Murmur a wet willy. “It’s the least we can do,” she giggled.

“Too much forethought to be the Thoughtless. Amazing. Well, at least you still have object permanence, dear,” she grinned at Murmur. She nodded her agreement to Honesty’s defense of Belphegor. “I’ve never met the Void, but I grew up with Belphegor, Bells—that’s what we call them. They’re genuine. A little cranky at times, but I think that’s cause I overwhelm them. Still, I know they love me. Our family fucked up and kept a lot from them about the Void. For a while, I didn’t think Bells or my mom would forgive any of them, but they did because family is important to them. The wellbeing of this place is important to them. Keep watching and you’ll see,” she promised.

She took his question into consideration. There was a likelihood that they would get in trouble, but she didn’t think it would be terrible. Belphegor could ban them from the Empty, but she would wear them down in time. Being banned might be a fitting punishment for her and Murmur but it wasn’t really fair to Honesty to lose her friends after having lost so much. It wouldn’t take too much work to get Belphegor to see that and relent. “Yeah, I’m sure there will be consequences, but they’ll be mild. We were stupid but we were smart about it,” she reasoned. “I don’t really like keeping secrets from my dad. It’s better if we come clean to them than if they find out by another means.”

She smiled as he marveled at the ideas of empaths. She could see that it appealed to him that there were beings out there that were the opposite of the Void. “They’re Belphegor’s top advisors,” Nadia said proudly. It was proof that Belphegor and the Void couldn’t be Kindred. The Void would never surround itself with empaths. “And Belphegor’s wife, Cupid, she’s the angel of love. Her existence makes love of all kinds possible.” She didn’t think the Void was capable of love, but Belphegor was not only capable of it, they were married to it.

Nadia tried to visualize the creek. It took her a moment, but she was able to recall its placement. She nodded at Devour’s instructions. Pebble messages in case of emergency and food for all other messages. They could do that. She wasn’t surprised that not all of Devour’s siblings liked the new arrangements. In a way, the dead did not belong here, but they hadn’t chosen this as their final resting place. God had. However, in Nadia’s opinion, if they weren’t meant to be here, the power of the Empty would’ve gone back to the next in line in the Void’s family, not to Belphegor. “We’ll keep our distance from the woods,” she promised. “Are there any particular siblings of yours we should absolutely steer clear of?”

DEVOUR: He listened to Murmur describe Valefar’s affliction. It sounded terrible and extended far beyond the reach of just not being able to eat her favorite meals. It sounded like a truly awful existence, like one of the Void’s designs. “I do not understand,” he replied. “Why would their Father God make them like that?” Devour’s knowledge of God was limited. The Void had ensured they had very little information about God or his children. All that Devour knew was that the Children of God existed and at some point they started appearing in this realm in droves. It was not long after that that all of them became enslaved by the Void. He observed the plastic hand as Nadia pulled it out of her satchel and explained the sentimental value behind it. “I’m sorry, I ate the other.” He seemed to get smaller, as if he was afraid he would be punished for his transgression. The hand which he’d eaten had no flavor and he really had no way of making up for what he’d done. Thankfully it appeared that his transgression did not seem to sour her mood.

He tilted his head as he observed the two teasing the young male. Their words could be construed as harsh, but their delivery wasn’t. He did not really understand their bond for he did not have a similar relationship with his siblings. His siblings words and their delivery of those words were always matched in cruelty. He listened quietly as the two provided their testimonials about the Belphegor. Perhaps they were right. The Void’s judgment couldn’t be trusted. The way it saw things was always twisted. Perhaps it saw more of itself in the Belphegor than was actually there. The Void was no healer nor was it capable of forgiveness when you wronged it. He nodded his agreement. He would have to keep watching and see for himself.

He appeared relieved when they remarked that their punishments would be mild. He had a hard time imagining that, but they seemed confident in their answers. It would appear that they were raised to be honest despite knowing that there were consequences to that. Someone out there either made them feel safe enough to be honest or scared enough to never lie. He hoped it was the former rather than the latter. “I apologize for any trouble, mild or otherwise,” he offered.

He was surprised when Nadia brought up that the Belphegor was married to an angel that represented love. He had a hard time wrapping his head around that one. The Void would never marry a love entity. He was pretty sure the Void had no idea what love—platonic, familial, or romantic—even was. It seemed obsessed with the Belphegor, but Devour did not think that was love so much as it was a claim of ownership. “My sibling would have never been capable of such a thing. You’ve given me much to sort out,” he agreed. “You can tell them I mean no harm. If, after this, they wish me to stay off their lands I will do so.” He wasn’t ready to swear fealty to this new ruler, but he wouldn’t disobey their wishes.

He nodded, satisfied with their promise to keep away from the woods. He thought about her question carefully. He had conflicted feelings when it came to many of his siblings, but it still felt wrong to talk ill of them. Instead, he decided to just provide information. “The darkness does not like all of the light and color you’ve brought with you. The odorless finds the smell of this place overwhelming. The incorporeal longs to have substance, but I don’t think there’s anything in your lands that can give him what he wants so he’s likely to stay away. They are not always terrible, but your world is overwhelming to them,” he explained as gently as he could.

HONESTY & MURMUR: Murmur squirmed when Nadia put the skeleton hand in his ear. He snatched it away from her before smacking her on the back of the head with it. Honesty took it away from both of them. "He didn't originally make them like that. Val used to be able to touch people just fine. She actually was very touchy. She loved physical affection." Honesty wasn't there when Valefar's curse first started though, she didn't exactly see what happened, and Dagon didn't tell her all of the details.

Murmur didn't know all of the details of the curses either. He was just a child when he started, but in the midst of the trio, he was the only one alive when Valefar's curse started. His mom was one of the first of Valefar's knights to rush to her aid when she'd turned the first person to gold. They hadn't actually known what was going on or the fact that simply touching her would condemn them to a life as a golden statue. They'd simply thought their prince was under attack. For a while, they still didn't understand what happened. A lot of them thought it might've been a delayed result of the fall. Some of them thought that one of Valefar's enemies put a curse on her. Being a child who'd lost his last remaining parent, he was confused during a lot of that time, and it wasn't until Lucifer's curse came to light that Murmur really started understanding it. "God's a lot more like the Void. He didn't care about them. He just wanted to punish them for disobeying him. They went against him, and he made them suffer for it. He's not a good guy, but I guess he's gone now at least."

Honesty still had some reservations about Devour. She wasn't going to say she trusted him completely, but she was more relaxed around him now. "It's okay," she nodded. She wasn't really scared of whatever kind of discipline they might receive from Dagon and the others, though she was worried about how her siblings might feel. She had kind of disappeared after walking away from the group. "I'm sure they'll appreciate that." Like herself, she didn't think Belphegor would necessarily believe that statement on its own, but Devour's actions would speak louder than words. "I think as long as you don't scare the residents, you should be okay." Honesty frowned at Devour's description. She felt almost bad for them. They didn't choose for anyone to be here, and she knew what it was like to feel so overwhelmed, but the Empty was a big place. there was plenty of room for everyone.

NADIA: She gave Murmur her most offended scowl when he smacked her with the plastic hand. She was about to go rummaging for the other plastic hand so she could do battle when Devour remarked that he ate it. "It's alright," she assured him. "We have a reserve back home." She'd find one that Val already turned to gold and enact her vengeance upon Murmur with that one.

She nodded along when Honesty explained what Valefar was like before the curse. Nadia didn't know that Valefar because her aunt had been afflicted with the curse since before Nadia's existence. She did hear stories though that suggested Aunt Val was very affectionate before everything. "He's an awful being." Her voice shook with emotion, not just for the curses God had dealt out but also for the unforgivable things he'd done to her dad too. "If there's anyone that's Kindred to the Void it would be Him."

Her features softened once again when Devour apologized for the trouble he felt he was causing them. He apologized quite a lot for things that weren't his fault. "Don't worry about us. We'll be okay. Are you going to be okay when you leave here?" The Void was gone but he still seemed like he was afraid of something out there. He was choosing his words carefully when it came to talking about his siblings which was fair. Nadia was also choosing her words carefully when deciding what to reveal about her family.

She nodded when he remarked that his siblings were overwhelmed by their world. "My mom gets like that too sometimes. She picks up more than she wants to with her abilities and it can hurt her or others." Nadia had been instructed to not tell anyone under any circumstances just how Dagon's depression manifestation was being kept in check nor how she was able to get in and out of the Empty freely. But she could reveal other things. "We have wardings designed to create safe spaces and quiet zones for people like her." Nadia touched the door frame to the kitchen and activated the warding in question. "Maybe my family can find something that can help damper the effects of our existence on your kin." That way maybe Devour's family would be less cranky and he wouldn't be so scared. "You don't have to decide now though." He'd only just met them. She was sure there was a lot of trust building that still needed to happen before he fully believed in their benevolence. "It's just food for thought, I guess," she grinned. "And speaking of food..." she pushed the doors to the kitchen open. "I'm starving. Come on, let's see what we can find." / END

[lilaclily00]

Booty McTooty

Booty McTooty

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

01/30/2024 OFMD Crew Recap

TLDR; RenewAsACrew Farewell; Notes on the Farewell; Cast & Crew Sightings; Rhys Darby; Kristian Nairn; Lindsay Cantrell BTS; Samba BTS; Upcoming Events; Watch Parties: #OurFlagMeansDeadloch; LubeAsACrew; StewAsACrew; #WhatWeDoInTheShadows; RelaxImFromTheFuture; Cast Appreciation Events: Damien Gerard; Samba Schutte; Articles; Videos; TV/Radio Times; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Tonight's Taika

==RenewAsACrew Farewell==

Tumblr / Twitter / IG

Alright lovelies, we're gonna have a little chat for a moment here. Please take a moment to read this part. I know a lot of you are feeling ansy and uncomfortable right now. It feels like something that we were hanging on to for a long time for support has suddenly fallen out from under us. That's a valid feeling. Feel it. It's good to feel it. We got this far with #RenewAsACrew, and it's scary to think that support isn't there anymore. I want to point out though, the most important part of that sentence, and that is "WE". #RenewAsACrew was a leadership team that steered us in a direction so that WE could hone our creativity, tenacity, love, support, and unhinged-ness towards our common goal, and you know what? We FUCKING DID IT. WE DID. ALL OF US. This campaign is not just #RenewAsACrew it really is ALL OF YOU. Every single one of you has stepped up and done something to support this campaign, stepped out of your comfort zones, supported each other, and you have accomplished SO MUCH in so little time. We can appreciate #RenewAsACrew, and all they did to help steer us, but we can and we WILL keep going. I know a lot of you have already heard and have even joined the #SaveOFMDCrew that is now stepping up as our navigator. I joined their discord last night, and I have to say, their organisation, passion, communication, problem-solving, is all top notch. They listen to us, the crew, they help provide support, and I have every confidence that they're going to keep us headed in the right direction. So please remember, this is not an end. Take some time tonight, vent your frustrations and fears, and feel them, and then come back tomorrow knowing we're all still here. I'll say it again-- we are not losing ground, we are not losing speed, or momentum, we are pivoting. We are changing course so that we can keep doing what we do best, and that is kicking ass, supporting one another, and fighting for our show and for queer and diverse representation in media. We will get our joy back in some form or another, even if that form is just this amazing found family we've all stumbled into. We got this. Now. Onto the fun stuff.

==Cast & Crew Sightings==

So I just have to say.. it could be the whole end of the social media strike thing, or just new week new stuff, but the cast and crew SURE does seem to be a lot more active today. Take that as you will, but I'm using it to fuel the "good stuffs happening" vibe many of us have been feeling. They really are watching what we're doing if Lindsey's comments are any indication

=Rhys Darby with Another Picture Trying to Murder The Internet=

Rhys decided to grace us with a lovely story on his Tiktok with a quote from Dazed & Confused, "You just gotta keep livin man, L I V I N"

=Kristian Nairn updating us on Wee John Wednesdays=

Couple pieces of news, looks like Wee John Wednesdays will now be Mondays! Still staying tuned for more information. You can follow him on his Twitter if you have that platform to keep up to date.

He also has a podcast and new track out on IG, here's a link to his podcast on mixcloud per @yronnia's request as well as Apple Podcasts

=Lindsey Cantrell with more BTS on Instagram!=

This woman is amazing. She SEES us trying and decided to give us a little treat, check out these IG Stories she posted.

= Samba Schutte also graced us with BTS! =

There were lots of videos too so please visit Samba's IG to see more

== Upcoming Events! ==

==Twitter Watch Parties!==

Holy hell there are a lot of watch parties going on. First day of #OurFlagMeansDeadloch went well! Please tune in tomorrow for Episodes 3 and 4!

Watch Party Hashtags:

#OurFlagMeansDeadloch

#SaveOFMD

#AdoptOurCrew

= Reminder! LubeAsACrew =

#LubeAsACrew is back on 1/31/24 at 4PM PT, 1PM ET. Next up are S1 Episodes 5, 6, 7.

== Stew As A Crew! / Rewatch Party==

February 4th is National Soup Day! Share soup pics, jokes, recipes, etc while rewatching Season 1 of OFMD!

Watch Party Hashtags:

#StewAsACrew

#AdoptOurCrew

#SaveOFMD

== What We Do In The Shadows Watch Party! ==

Tuesday February 6th, 9PM GMT, 1 PM PST, 4PM EST

Watch Party Hashtags:

#VamPirates

#SaveOFMD

#AdoptOurCrew

== Relax I'm From the Future Watch Party! ==

Sunday February 11th, 1 PM PT. 4 PM ET, 9PM GMT

Watch Party Hashtags:

#PiratesFromTheFuture

#SaveOFMD

#AdoptOurCrew

== Appreciation Events ==

Day of Damien! A day to shower Damien Gerard (Father Teach) with support and kindness for all he's done for our fandom! He has been hitting #SaveOFMD events pretty hard trying to support us! When to start: Saturday February 3rd, 6 AM CST, 7 AM ET, 4 AM PT, 12 PM GMT Hashtags: #DayOfDamien

== Smiles for Samba ==

Samba's birthday is February 1! Thank you to @shaney4prez for the info!

There's a thank you scrapbook they're putting together along with a gofundme for Los Angelos LGBT Center.

== Status Updates! ==

Petition got over 83K!

=Our Flag Makes A Difference=

The new fundraiser is almost at 20% in less than 24 hrs!

==Articles==

7 TV Shows Are Canceled in 2024 (So Far), Including 4 From HBO!

Not specifically about the show but PR wise interesting and something we can quote: Apple TV+ Is the New HBO

Wells Fargo Downgrades Warner Bros. Discovery Stock on Lower Earnings Outlook, ‘Less Favorable’ M&A

== Radio Times / TV Times! ==

Uk Folks, OFMD is showing up in Radio Times and TV Times!

Thanks @lamentus1 for the deets!: "While the Radio Times might seem negative it’s been pointed out a few times that just having a write up is a big deal. It’s been picked as the one new thing on that day that should have a bit more written about it. Which is a big deal. He’d have been very limited by word count to, so we should cut him some slack for consolidating what he had to say. "

==Videos==

Thank you to @fruityedge05 for their post on this video by MsMojo! "MsMojo posted a video about OFMD, and started the video by saying "Today we're looking at the most chuckle-worthy scenes in this outlandish pirate comedy that was cruelly canceled before it's time." Please check out their post and the video below!

== Side Notes ==

I'm in the process of compiling as many resources as possible into a documentation repository I use. It'll take a couple days to catch up with them so I'll be a bit scarce while that's happening because it's a lot of information! Also, FYI: I am taking Saturday the 4th off -- it'll be my first day off in 5 years and I'm going to the hotsprings nearby with some friends, and that night we're going to drink and watch OFMD and GO! So there won't be a recap for Saturday from me at least (pending if I get sick again), you're all welcome obviously to put one up if you'd like!

== Love Notes ==

It's been a very long day lovelies. You did an amazing job. Just know whatever you did today, we are proud of you, and you could never disappoint us here on the crew. You're exceptional, and we see the ever wonderful you! Bonus: A little love note I found on IG I thought you might like:

== Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika ==

This video edit courtesy of @vigschainsaw on @Tiktok

[henrysglock]

Superspy!

This post is just me breaking off the UD double agent section from my time loop theory post (14 Jan. 2024). It's not new, just wanted it separate for ease of referencing.

I'm not sure if anyone else outside the my discord server has noticed this, but in every season there's at least one instance of the UD just...offering up information.

"It does?"

Yup! Let me explain.

On first glance, we look at things like Nancy's vision and even El's vision with Billy in the cabin, and we go "Oh, it's because [insert "the bad guy's cruel/he wants to scare her/his hubris will be his downfall/all serial killers want to be known for their crimes" etc here]"...but maybe that's not the case.

For example: Vecna told Nancy his backstory, and then he immediately went

"Oh hey, so not only am I revealing my identity (Which may help you find out more about me via lab records later on, things like...maybe a list of my abilities, or my weaknesses, like the fact that I have a nut allegry. Allegedly.), but I'm also gonna give you a sneak peek of my apocalypse plans. For free. As a treat. Don't use these to prepare or anything. I'm totally not giving you a head start".

Terrifying, yes. A taunt and a threat on surface view, yes...but also showing his hand. "I want you to tell Eleven everything you see" Why. Why would he want that? He may be confident in his plans, arrogant, even...but he's not that stupid.

I'm serious, though. Check it out in comparison to Henrys visions of the future. The pattern is patterning:

We can track that back to El's cabin scene with Billy, wherein he tells her she shouldn't have looked for him, warns her that they all can see her, and that they're going to be coming after her...and he cries about it. That's vision Billy. That's someone else who piggybacked into El's mind from Billy's mind. Billy doesn't have powers. He can't piggyback into minds. That's not real Billy, just like how Billy in Max's vision wasn't the real Billy. That's someone with the ability to piggyback into minds (sit with that for a beat, it'll come to you). The person giving El that vision warns her.

Why on earth would that person tell her that they can see her, that they're coming for her? That's sensitive information! It would be smarter to let her think she's safe and use that false sense of security to catch her off guard.

In fact, this pattern patterns so well that I'd like to argue this: Henry's TFS visions, Nancy's vision, and El's vision are all the same type of behavior displayed in NINA's chess scene, just in different contexts.

Henry ("Henry") gives some kind of scary prophetic information ("He and the others are going to attempt to kill you", "I would very much like to show you where I am going", "You're going to kill me, aren't you?"), and then we're left to question if it's a scare tactic, manipulative misinformation, or helpful inside information.

It's not that the Mindflayer or Vecna can't hide things from people (see: "Somewhere he didn't want me to see")...like, say, the fact that the Mindflayer is now able to see El, or that Vecna's planning to open 4 gates with his 4 kills.

It's always this miraculous "Huh! Weird info-dropping behavior from the UD's side. Shouldn't look that gift-horse in the mouth though. It's probably just a writing oversight or a shoehorned exposé, so really there's no need to question it." situation where it's just...information that's offered up with no real explanation.

Some of my favorite examples:

...and it's all topped off with Max's line:

"He's been telling us his plan this whole time".

That is to say...You're telling me:

The first message from the Upside Down isn't any of the messages that are concretely Will's, but instead it's the one that's a repetitive Henry line...and it's conveyed in a distinctly not-Will style? A message that saves Joyce, something that's definitely not in the UD's best interest given her tenacity in finding her boy...but is definitely coming from the UD nonetheless?

Will, who fell total prey to the Mindflayer in less than 3 days, was not only able to figure out how to defeat the Mindflayer, but was also strong enough to convey it in Morse code? The Mindflayer, who is able to keep secrets (see below), just...let that information slip?

El, who acknowledges that the Mindflayer is more than able to hide things from her, is suddenly sent into Billy's memories and allowed to find the source completely unimpeded? (and she was sent, you can look at the positioning on "Billy's" hand in real time if you think I'm exaggerating)

The Mindflayer, as "Billy" (Remember: not actually Billy, because Billy can't give visions or invade minds), is telling El that because he's able to see her now, and that she shouldn't have looked for him? The Mindflayer, which was supposedly building the Fleshflayer to track El down and kill her? Suddenly he's telling her she shouldn't have done the very thing that allowed him to find her more easily?

Vecna's giving up all the information about himself and his plans before he's even gotten the 4th gate open, despite him being so secretive about it up until that point? He's not cocky enough to broadcast his plans earlier, but he is cocky enough to tip off the girl who found his family and drew all the connections...the "detective" of the group in ST3, about what's happening/going to happen...and tell her that she needs to tell Eleven, the girl who kicked his ass into Dimension X as an eight year old, all the future plans she sees?

Henry's visions in TFS are scaring him into resisting the Mindflayer, making it less likely that he's going to upgrade to killing humans, i.e. the very thing the Mindflayer wants him to do?

None of that makes any damn sense...until we hit this last point:

Orderly Henry is known for giving inside information about "Papa" to El with no clear motive other than getting her to leave the lab.

So, with this new frame of view, I'd like you to chew on this:

"He's been telling us his plan this whole time." vs "He's been telling us His plan this whole time."

By which I mean: "He's been telling us some other man's plan this whole time."

[Mike voice] Superspy.

As a parting thought, I made it all into a nice, neat set of collages:

I'll leave you all with this final, parting bit, too:

None of this even touches on them shoehorning in an entire arc about a spy who goes by the name Enzo/"Henry".

He isn't actually named Enzo/Henry (he's Dmitri), though (hello Edward), but he is working as a guard and feeding inside info about the KGB (CIA equivalent) to Hopper/a "bald" American:

...in hopes of setting said bald American free from prison/hell:

...only to get himself caught up in a creature massacre:

That kills off all the other guards and shaved-head inmates (while he himself is the sole "inmate" with longer hair) and sent on the run afterward.

Okay. I guess. That's fine. Nothing smells Creel-y about that.

Not mention, of course, the interpretation of the Russia arc paralleling Vecna and Hopper rather than El and Hopper. Local father figure gets his ass kicked and sent to "hell" from which he has to escape to go home. Like. Yeah, I get it.

I'd like to posit that this might be a spot for further exploration irt multiple parallels -> multiple versions of events, as per my series on the NINA fight (which showed us at least 3 tangibly different endings for the 4.07 fight). We could very well have one version focused on a Murray/Yuri type deal, one with a Hopper type deal, and one with an Enzo type deal depending on which ending they were involved in. That's just speculation atm though.

[totothewolff]

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CHOOSE YOUR DRINK 👇 When you feel ready, tap the button that matches the drink's color on the menu, and I will prepare it for you! -Toto Barista

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[glitchy-npc]

Tenacity

Done as a discord prompt, Tegan and Ortega have an impromptu sparring session that goes...poorly. Sidestep era days, pre face reveal. 1,051 words.

The training mat is supposed to soften the blow and while it's better than concrete, it still hurts when Ortega’s throw lands you flat on your back. Maybe you shouldn't complain, it wasn’t hard enough to activate your pain gate and it would have been far more embarrassing if he caught you. You have an audience after all. Steel and Anathema watch from the sidelines, having paused their own workouts to watch your impromptu sparring session with Ortega. 

He had been the one who suggested it, with a cocky smile and a challenge that was impossible to say no to. You're starting to figure him out, how he likes to bait people, throw them off guard. A guard you put up once more after picking yourself up off the mat, ignoring his outstretched hand. You won’t let him coddle you, not with witnesses.

You watch his feet as he moves hoping they’ll telegraph his next move since the static hum of his mind reveals nothing. It's inconvenient, like fighting with a blindfold. Maybe you should have asked him to fight with one hand tied behind his back. But this is something you need to prove to yourself. That you're strong enough, good enough to run with the Rangers. 

You should have been watching his hands. His left hook catches you by surprise, cracking against your cheek bone and you know it will bruise because you feel your pain gate kick in, slowly muddling the sharp sting of the blow. It's a sensation you’re becoming increasinging used to. At least your mask hides the damage. As well as your expression. 

Ortega winces in sympathy. “Oof, I really thought you would have sidestepped that one.” A wink is all he offers by way of apology. Not that you would have accepted one. No one has ever apologized to you in your life, no reason the Marshal should, just because he’s friendly. 

Friendly when he's not trying to kick your ass in front of his coworkers. Focus. You need to get past that reach. No way you can slug it out with how much taller he is and there's nothing near you besides empty space that you could use to your advantage. Part of you wonders if Steel and Anathema are keeping their distance out of concern for stray lightning bolts. It's been known to happen. 

No, you’ve got to get him off his feet, on the ground. If you can get him into a lock you might be able to get him to tap out. 

You duck low under his raised guard and lock your arms around his torso. With your pain gate active you barely feel the body blow he gives you and you sacrifice your footing for the aid of gravity, sweeping your leg behind his dominant one, using your momentum to bring him off balance. He doesn’t fall like you wanted him to, rolling to diffuse the impact, but you’re still locked together. And what's worse, he's on top. But while your arms are pinned, so are his. He has the audacity to smile at you and you're sure it's not just your imagination that reads the suggestion in it. 

Ok. Time to fight dirty, your enemies would. You crack your forehead into his nose as hard as you can, your pain gate saving you from the worst of it, not so much for Ortega. 

He swears in Spanish but the surprise blow is enough of a distraction to roll him off of you. Not that he lets you get to your feet. 

He’s fast but then again you knew that. He grapples you down again. Longer reach, heavier body, what were you thinking? It's not long before he has you pinned, face down, one arm trapped beneath you, the other locked behind your back. You struggle despite it but your kicks find no purchase.

“Tap out!” The Marshal voice. Looks like he's not playing anymore. 

Drops of something wet and coppery smelling hit your mask. Blood? Did you break his nose? You’ll call that a victory even if your arm beneath you is shaking with the effort to get him off you. You push with every bit of your strength, trying not to think about how you’ll feel once your pain gate resets.

“I said tap out!” The pressure increases on the arm he has a hold of. You don’t feel the pain but there's a tightness in your shoulder that worries you. He could break your arm. 

Easily. 

“Fuck you!” It’s all you can think of to say as you feel your eyes sting. What made you think you could take on Charge of all people? He’s been in the hero game for years, there's a reason he was made the Marshal. And you? A runaway little cuckoo who was never made for combat. Small. Weak. Everything your blue-skinned siblings said you were. You squeeze your eyes shut hard, half to push back the tears, half to muster the very last ounce of strength you have.

You feel your bodies lift ever so slightly and then…

“Enough!” Suddenly all the pressure is gone as Steel drags the Marshal off of you and you quickly scramble to your feet. Anathema stands in front of you, close but not touching you as Steel stands in front of Ortega, barriers between you two. 

There's a strange look in Ortega’s eyes as blood flows freely from his nose, you’re not sure if you approached him now if he would hit you or hug you. 

“You should have yielded…” His voice is softer than it had been before, unsure, not a tone you’re used to hearing from him.

“I think we're done for today.” Steel says with a finality you can feel. Even if he’s an asshole, he’s at least good at keeping a cool head. He offers the Marshal a towel and suddenly the sight of his blood makes you nauseous. You need to get out of here. 

“Whatever.” Is all you offer by way of goodbye, turning on your heel to storm out of the training room.

“Sidestep, wait! We can-” Anathema’s voice calls out to you but you’re already out the door. You walk as fast as you can, it takes all your willpower not to run.

Nobody stops you.

[efadefoks]

I decided to put everyone into one post and to talk about some assosications I have with the characters and their cards

The Fool (Folly, mania, extravagance, intoxication, delirium, frenzy, bewrayment. [If the card is] Reversed: Negligence, absence, distribution, carelessness, apathy, nullity, vanity.) Of course it is Han Juwon in the begining if the story. "In many esoteric systems of tarot card interpretation, the Fool is interpreted as the protagonist of a story, and the Major Arcana are the path the Fool takes through the great mysteries of life." He is a Fool afterall: careless in his investigation, doesn't think about the people around him. He thinks he is the smartest guy in the room and the bestest boy in the area.

The Lovers. Here I decided to interpret it in the most literal way. But the card itself provides quite a nice explanation too. "6. THE LOVERS.—Attraction, love, beauty, trials overcome. Reversed: Failure, foolish designs. Another account speaks of marriage frustrated and contrarieties of all kinds." I really love the ending. The whole reunion thing is straight out of the romance story. That's why I chose this image to represent this card. The moment of piece at last.

The Hermit. When I first thought about this collage idea I was absolutly sure who should represent this card. "9. THE HERMIT. Prudence, circumspection; also and especially treason, dissimulation, roguery, corruption. Reversed: Concealment, disguise, policy fear, unreasoned caution."

The High Priestess. Oh Jihwa my beloved. There were several posts about her recently. She is a wonderful character. "Secrets, mystery, the future as yet unrevealed; the woman who interests the Querent, if male; the Querent herself, if female; silence, tenacity; mystery, wisdom, science. Reversed: Passion, moral or physical ardor, conceit, surface knowledge." Tell me this is not about her, I'll wait.

The Sun. The Moon. The Star. I thought it would be really symbolic to choose three young (and dead) characters to represent this cards. (of course, LDS is alive and old now but I think we can considr his younger self to be buried somewhere really deep in his mind. He wasn't the same person he'd been before his sister disappearance). Another thoought that I had in mind while making these three pieces was that scene from the first episode. The dialogue with Mother and her friend. "You are so lucky to have your daughter. Such a pity the God decided to balance it with your son." How almost everyone thought that Lee Yuyeon was a blessing and her brother - just a delinquent.

19.THE SUN.—Material happiness, fortunate marriage, contentment. Reversed: The same in a lesser sense.

18.THE MOON--Hidden enemies, danger, calumny, darkness, terror, deception, occult forces, error. Reversed: Instability, inconstancy, silence, lesser degrees of deception and error.

17.THE STAR.--Hope and bright prospects, Reversed: Loss, theft, privation, abandonment; another reading says: arrogance, haughtiness, impotence.

Kang Minjeong is a little star flickered out too soon.

The Magician. "Tarot experts have defined the Magician in association with the Fool". "While the upright Magician represents potential and tapping into one's talents, the reversed Magician's potential and talents are unfocused and unmanifested."

The Strength. One of my favourite cards and my favourite brave girl. I need to come clean I am not a fan of a lor of women portrayals in asian culture. But Yoo Jaeyi just stole my heart. She is kind, she is angry, she is loving, she is grieving. She is real. She is her own person. I love this image of her. "8. FORTITUDE.—Power, energy, action, courage, magnanimity; also complete success and honours. Reversed: Despotism, abuse of power, weakness, discord, sometimes even disgrace."

The Devil. Do I even need to explain myself? Well probably yes. Another candidate for this card was you guessed it - Han Kihwan. But after some thinking I finally decided on this one. "15. THE DEVIL.—Ravage, violence, vehemence, extraordinary efforts, force, fatality; that which is predestined but is not for this reason evil. Reversed: Evil fatality, weakness, pettiness, blindness." While Juwon's father is the evil person and the real villain of the story I do consider Kang Jinmuk the Devil.

[sensualnoiree]

astro notes: daily transits 6/8

This Saturday 6/8, the ingress of Mars into Taurus marks a significant shift from impulsive, action-oriented energy to a more grounded, steadfast approach. Simultaneously, the day is colored by challenging aspects, particularly the Venus-Saturn square and the Mercury-Eris semi-square, which could lead to miscommunications and emotional coldness.

Mars Ingress into Taurus

Mars, the planet of action, drive, and assertiveness, transitions from fiery Aries into the earthy sign of Taurus at 9:34 p.m. This shift from Aries to Taurus represents a move from spontaneity and immediate action to a more deliberate and steady approach.

Determination and Persistence: In Taurus, Mars expresses its energy through determination and persistence. Taurus is a fixed earth sign, known for its reliability, patience, and focus on tangible results. Mars in Taurus is less about starting new projects with a burst of energy (as in Aries) and more about seeing things through to completion with unwavering tenacity.

Stubborn Resistance: While Mars in Taurus brings a commendable level of endurance and stability, it can also manifest as stubbornness. Taurus is resistant to change, preferring familiar routines and reliable outcomes. This can make it difficult to adapt to new circumstances or let go of outdated methods, leading to potential conflicts when flexibility is required.

Sensual Pursuits: Taurus, ruled by Venus, values comfort, pleasure, and sensual experiences. Mars in Taurus may channel its energy into pursuits that enhance physical well-being and enjoyment of the material world. This can include anything from working on long-term financial goals to indulging in sensory pleasures like good food, music, and nature.

Venus-Saturn Square

Earlier in the day, the cold-shouldered Venus-Saturn square (19°02' Gemini-Pisces) dominates the morning hours. This aspect often brings challenges in relationships, financial matters, and our sense of pleasure and enjoyment.

Emotional Distance: Venus-Saturn squares tend to create feelings of emotional coldness or distance. There may be a sense of restriction or limitation in expressing affection and warmth. Relationships might feel more like obligations or responsibilities rather than sources of joy and comfort.

Financial Concerns: This aspect can also highlight financial concerns or limitations. There might be a need to take a more cautious, conservative approach to spending and investments. It's a good time for practical, long-term financial planning, though it may feel less enjoyable.

Constructive Efforts: On the positive side, this square can provide an opportunity to build more solid, reliable structures in our relationships and finances. By facing challenges head-on and addressing weaknesses, we can create more stable foundations for the future.

Mercury-Eris Semi-Square

Adding to the day's challenges, the contentious Mercury-Eris semi-square can lead to miscommunications and misunderstandings. Eris, a dwarf planet associated with discord and disruption, brings a provocative and rebellious energy to the mix.

Miscommunications: The Mercury-Eris semi-square may exacerbate tendencies toward misunderstandings, arguments, and mental friction. It can be easy to misinterpret others' words or intentions, leading to unnecessary conflicts and tension.

Provocative Communication: This aspect may bring a tendency to speak impulsively or provocatively, stirring up issues that could have been avoided with more careful consideration. It's important to be mindful of our words and strive for clarity and empathy in our communications.

Integrating the Influences

Balancing Determination with Flexibility: As Mars moves into Taurus, focus on channeling your determination and persistence into productive, long-term goals. However, be mindful of the potential for stubbornness and resistance to change. Strive to balance your steadfastness with a willingness to adapt when necessary.

Navigating Relationship Challenges: The Venus-Saturn square may bring up issues of emotional distance or financial limitations. Use this time to address any underlying issues in your relationships and finances, working towards creating more solid, reliable structures. Remember that challenges can be opportunities for growth and strengthening your foundations.

Communicating Mindfully: With the Mercury-Eris semi-square in play, be especially careful with your communication. Strive for clarity and avoid impulsive or provocative statements. Take the time to listen actively and seek to understand others' perspectives to minimize misunderstandings and conflicts.

Embracing Sensual Pleasures: Mars in Taurus encourages us to indulge in the pleasures of the material world. Take time to enjoy sensory experiences and activities that bring comfort and relaxation. This can help balance the more challenging aspects of the day, providing a source of grounding and pleasure.

follow for more astro insights like this and support me over on yt @quenysefields or instagram sensualnoiree

[alleightbits]

Idea for an ending to 20020

(credit to @stellar-revolution and @salted-arctic for inspiration in a fan Discord server)

Picture this: Nick and Manny finally making the trek back to San Diego’s home field. It takes them centuries of dodging adversaries to build up the necessary OBT all over again, but they decide to do it together. They do not want to be separated any more.

And then they make it. They embrace. They kiss. And as they both collapse down on the field in disbelief, taking it all in, they discuss how the other teams have probably seen their scorecards update. How, despite history texts becoming interminably long stretches of boredom in the wake of stagnant immortality, perhaps only finely perused by true diehards, they’ve permanently etched their names in them.

And as they both agree that the beauty of life sprouts from humanity’s tenaciousness, we segue to the probes, watching this momentous occasion unfold. Nine and Ten notice Juice is unusually quiet. Privately, he wishes he could celebrate as fully as the Californian duo can. He wishes he could cry joyful tears.

They cautiously ask if he’s okay, and the words that spill out of him are unlike any ramble he’s done before. How he created and managed this national-sprawling game out of love, and pride. How he was so excited to show Nine, who admired the state of American football right upon discovering it, something more complex, more exciting, with more detail that he’d hope they’d be receptive to when it’s explained. How he wanted to impress Ten, who’d had an equally-attentive eye to football, but would never admit to appreciating its present-day eccentricities.

And the humans? Well, it took a lot of rule negotiations, and a metric ton of put-on seriousness as commissioner, but Juice knew they’d excel. Humanity, in its infinite lifespan, needed new amusements, and that suited Juice just fine. It was all for moments like this one, ones that help them realize that they’re happy to be alive, that life can be beautiful. Ones that the probes, in their status as eternal observers, can experience vicariously.

As his speech degrades into bunches of typos and keysmashes, Nine and Ten reassure him that his efforts weren’t wasted, that they love him as much and as deeply as he loves them. In that moment, a silent understanding forms among the trio that tenacity truly does bring beauty.

[sweet-child-of-night]

the horrors growing up and realising that life sucks but also realising that at the end of the day there are things and people that make it worth the suckiness

The chrysalis cracks, not with a bang, but with a dull ache, a slow, agonizing peel. we emerge, blinking, into a world that seems less vibrant, the colors dulled by a film of experience. There is loss of luminescence of once there stood my childhood's illusions, like fireflies, fleeting , hoovering, their magic replaced by the humdrum of responsibility, the gnawing awareness of ticking clocks. the ache of understanding, time's arrow neither stands still nor reverses. It merely marches forward.

It settles upon us, slowly at first, a dust that gathers in the corners of your laughter. The stories you wove, vibrant tapestries of dragons and heroes, begin to fray at the edges. The adults, once giants walking in legend, shrink, their faces etched with lines that speak of battles fought and lost. A disillusionment, cold and metallic, seeps into your bones.

Life, you discover, is not a heroic ballad. It is a symphony of discordant notes, a relentless march towards an unknown horizon. There are days that steal the color from the sky, days that leave you breathless with a bone-deep weariness. The realization claws at you – the world is not built for happily ever afters.

But then, dear soul, in the quietude of twilight, a hand reaches out, warm and calloused. A familiar voice, weathered but full of love, cuts through the din. Her words peeking of sunlight, a name that reflects the hues of horizon.

In the crinkled corners of a loved one's smile, you see a reflection of a world not yet extinguished. A shared joke, a whispered secret, a simple act of kindness – these become the embers that rekindle the spark within you.

Perhaps the world is not a place of sunshine and rainbows. But in the flickering lamplight, in the shared laughter that breaks through the tears, you discover a different kind of magic. The magic of resilience, of finding beauty in the broken pieces. The bittersweet realization that while life may hold its horrors, it also holds an obstinate, beautiful tenacity – a stubborn insistence on finding joy, even in the face of the inevitable decay.

So you walk on, dear heart, with eyes open and a heart that aches. But you walk on, carrying the embers of love, the promise of shared journeys, the knowledge that the world, though flawed, is not entirely devoid of wonder. And in that persistence, in that refusal to succumb to the darkness, you discover your own quiet heroism, your own defiance against the dying of the light.

[bentosandbox]

don't block me for this bento lol but while yes i get that her being Huge is hyperbole, i just can't suspend my disbelief that her being tall for a typical IRL asian woman jives with her in-game quote about having trouble getting through doors. she's the only op (outside mudrock i guess) who even has such a line, while men bigger than her have no problems or worries about banging their heads off the supposed tiny doorframe. i'm just being nitpicky about environmental implications i guess lol like why does she have this problem that no one else seems to have. gacha be gacha c'est la vie

also, what was the right line hoshi said to bagpipe? this is the first i've heard of it being mistranslated? :o (thank you for your TL work btw you're one of the few bastions of sense in this wasteland)

you're welcome + all good dw i have a pretty high block threshold for better or worse

Yeah i get it! BUT here is my copium reasoning

184cm + horn height (if as long as her face + average face length = 20cm) + boot heel height (about 3cm) = 207cm which is just very slightly over average door height (here?) which is 205cm and my view is that just slightly missing a few cm is way more troublesome than going through a door that's obviously smaller than your height since you'll definitely know when to duck than having a perceived illusion that you can make it through without bending down a little and then BANG the rhodes door frame has a little hole or something

I mentioned it here in a little rant i did last july but i'll explain it more in detail below (i thought i did before somewhere. probably twitter but i can't find it so i'll just do another one here)

I'll do a more literal TL first

风笛: 那个......我的钱包和护照都丢在莱塔尼亚了。 Bagpipe: Um...I lost both my wallet and passport while I was in Leithanien. 星熊: ......我是不是该佩服你？ Hoshiguma: ...Should I be admiring you? 风笛: ——被炸得一点不剩了。 Bagpipe: ——They got blown up with not even a shred left. 星熊: 我确实该佩服你。 Hoshiguma: Indeed, I should be admiring you.

And 佩服 really does mean admire

'what's wrong then' But admire has like 2 main definitions

And whoever translated it went with the second definition instead of the first; it's not admire in the 'oooo you have an admirer' (someone who fancies you) way, it's admire in the 'wow i admire your tenacity to make your way all the way from Londinium to Lungmen even after almost getting blown to bits otw'

'what makes you so sure its that reading over the other' just read the context of the conversation + I'm well aware of my bias for the JP loc but like. it's because their TL track record is pretty good (esp with characterisation) so I sometimes check it to double confirm my readings, and they use 褒める here which is homeru for you weebs and for everyone else

So back to the lines, admire sounds strange in context, but the idea is that hoshi is so impressed by her tenacity that she goes 'wow should i praise you?' so I would use 'impress' here

Bagpipe: Um...I lost both my wallet and passport while I was in Leithanien. Hoshiguma: ...Should I be impressed? Bagpipe: ——They got blown up with not even a shred left. Hoshiguma: Yeah, I should be. (Or 'Yeah, that's pretty impressive.' to flow better but it loses the 'should' which I prefer because Hoshi has a tendency to be very passive in her speech)

also also sorry i need to get this out lol i know they want swire to be as bratty as possible or whatever but :\ aghdgfhfgffff as someone who also calls their dad 爸爸 with cantonese tones and not mandarin im just really fucking bummed ok the rep would have been cool it, also has the slightly childish vibe to it that 'daddy' has so (without the discord kitten vibes even /shrug) Yuxia calls her dad 爸 if anyone was wondering

bonus since i mentioned chen's op rec in that og post

insane that swire's oprec was the last of her batch and chen is the first of the batch after so theyre next to each other in the medal list

TL is fine for the most part but man this is some 'parents making you call them by their first name' level of americanization (they took out most of the 警司 especially the one in their 'first' meeting??naur way...)

[hallowedmuses]

discord: here (in your arms)

SUMMARY: Dagon and Belgirel lose each other and find each other in the chaos of her coronation party. TRIGGERS: NSFW mentions, panic attack, PTSD, Depression WRITTEN WITH: @offallenfeathers (Belgirel, Seir, Athena, Murmur)

DAGON & TENACITY: Dagon, Tenacity, and Seir strode into the room where Belgirel was waiting for them. Dagon was already a little tipsy and giggly. Tenacity had been helping her pre-game to keep the nerves at bay before the crowning ceremony. He knew her well enough to know what the right amount of drinks was to get her buzzed without going so overboard that she lost her ability to control her empathy manifestation. He was doing a fabulous job because she seemed to practically glide on air as she walked over to Belgirel and threw her arms around him. The train of her beautiful tulle dress swooshed behind her with the effort and her crown would’ve fallen from her head if her snakes hadn’t adjusted to accommodate for the movement. She giggled when Gears caught her. "I missed you.” She leaned in and kissed him deeply.

“Ah, young love. So beautiful. So horny,” Tenacity teased as he leaned against Seir. “You clean up good, Gears.”

BELGIREL & SEIR: Seir was glad that Tenacity was making sure that Dagon had a steady dose of alcohol to keep her feeling light. He hadn't always been one for the pageantry of ceremonies for royalty, but that might've just been because he hadn't had his best friend throughout most of it until recently. Tenacity had a way of bringing more fun into these kinds of things, not that Seir couldn't have fun on his own. Tenacity just made it better. He smiled as they led Dagon to her boyfriend.

Belgirel had been sitting at the table looking bored before he saw Dagon and lit up as he got up to meet her. He giggled with her when he caught her.  "I missed you too." He used his free hand that wasn't holding her to pet the snakes in her hair, giving a few of them some kisses too. "How are you feeling?" He asked. Obviously she was drunk, but drunkenness could easily turn against you. Besides, he imagined all the pageantry would be overwhelming for her. "We could always just go home and skip all this, get in bed under the covers, and you can tell me about your day while I rub your back," he whispered.

It was sweet to bear witness to, and it made Seir feel a little like he did before the war where the people he loved and cared for were happy. He wrapped his arm around Tenacity as he leaned against him. "Somehow I don't believe that he'd just be rubbing her back. I know I wouldn't if I took you home. Well, I might rub something, but it wouldn't be your back." He smirked.

Belgirel looked up when Tenacity spoke directly to him. "I always have." He grinned. He may not have been clothes savvy, but he knew people always thought he looked good. "Val helped with the clothes though."

DAGON & TENACITY: Ten was glad for this party. Waking up and realizing how long he'd been unconscious and how much life he'd missed out on had made him terribly upset and regretful. He had a talk with Seir and Dagon about it independently and came to the conclusion that he could either wallow in that feeling of missing out or he could start living life again. He'd chosen the latter and he didn't regret it one bit. The pageantry and attention was fun, especially since they'd all been part of the planning process. But he had even more fun in those behind the scenes moments where they were just waiting around or walking from one place to another. He liked the way Dagon and Seir's faces seemed to light up as they danced to whatever playlist he put on or the way they got so animated when they drunkenly told stories about the past. These past few months had felt heavy, but today…today things finally felt light again.

Dagon’s snakes squeaked happily at Belgirel’s touch. The few of them that he kissed turned a pink color before fainting and melting back into hair. It appeared as though he had an avid fanbase. Dagon laughed and soothed down some of her snakes. “I’m doing okay,” she promised him. “These two have been keeping me above water.” She meant that literally. Her usual instinct at these parties was to slip out and find her way to the sea. As nervous as she had been with all those people watching her, the thought of running away hadn’t crossed her mind today. But today wasn’t over yet. There was still a party downstairs. “At any normal party we could probably get away with that, but I think my absence will be noticed at this one.” She leaned in to whisper in his ear. “But, we can certainly devise an escape plan if we do want to sneak out for a little bit to do some rubbing,” she giggled.

Tenacity lost it. He was a flurry of giggles both at Seir’s comments and at Dagon’s general drunkenness. “Sounds like a promise to me,” he teased Seir. He hoped that things would stay like this, but the room downstairs was a wholly different beast. They probably needed a little bit more liquid courage to battle that behemoth. He strode over to the liquor cabinet and examined it. “Val knows how to pick good outfits,” he agreed. Dagon looked Belgirel up and down in an admiring fashion as though she also agreed. “And Lucifer knows how to pick out good booze.” He plucked several bottles from the cabinet, ones marked for the living and some marked for the dead. “I’ll make us a drink for the road.”

BELGIREL & SEIR: Belgirel loved Dagon's snakes. He was glad that one of his creations was able to bring her some support even with him being dead, but they also provided a lot of insight to how Dagon felt most of the time too. She wasn't really hard to read, but it felt nice seeing it displayed in this way. They could be overdramatic at times, but he liked that. "That's good. Thanks guys." He nodded to Tenacity and Seir. Seir gave him a casual salute. "Who's to say we can't get away with it? I'm great at getting away with things. They'd have to track us down, and I've found a lot of hiding places while living here."

Seir smiled while Tenacity broke into a fit of giggles. Seir was drunk too, but not as much as Tenacity and Dagon, not yet anyways, but he was working his way up there. "Just don't forget the fact that Belphegor can hear you," he reminded Belgirel. He understood that the dead archangel wanted all the time with Dagon to himself that he could have, but it might've worried their twin if they disappeared. "I don't think you want a redo of them walking in on you two . . .rubbing . . . again." Hearing about that had been hilarious, but he didn't think Dagon wanted to experience it again. Seir followed Tenacity to the liquor cabinet and examined the bottles he had pulled, paying attention to the distinction between the alcohol for the living and the dead. There were large stickers in bold writing on the alcohol for the dead that said "NOT FOR THE LIVING, MEDICAL ATTENTION CANNOT SAVE YOU IF YOU DRINK THIS!" He was sure some people would still drink it if they weren't watched. "It's too bad we can't effectively do a taste comparison. I'm curious enough to want to know what the alcohol for the dead tastes like, but I'm not dumb enough to drink it. Was Belphegor able to taste it when you helped them make it? Or did the dead just taste to see if it was good enough?"

"It was a bit of both," Belgirel explained, straightening up, though he he didn't let go of Dagon. "Figs tried it, and a couple of us tried it with them."

DAGON & TENACITY: Tenacity inclined is head in a polite bow when Belgirel thanked him and Seir. “All in a day’s work,” he grinned. He didn’t know how Dagon managed without the two of them for all these centuries. Poor thing. Dagon didn’t doubt what Gears was saying, but she also wasn’t lying when she’d indicated she wasn’t overwhelmed to the point of needing to run away and hide yet. Her right hands had done a wonderful job at keeping those tendencies of hers at bay. For a moment, she wondered if Belgirel was trying to tell her that he was overwhelmed and wanted to run away. Maybe he’d seen the ceremony and deemed that the party would be too much for him, and he was trying to communicate that to her now. She couldn’t run from this party, not immediately anyway, without sending the wrong message. But just because she had to do these things, it didn’t mean Gears had to subject himself to it too. She could complete these pageantries on her own, show her face among the crowd for an hour or so, and then disappear to find him again.

Or maybe he just needed reassurance that despite the crowd gathered in the ballroom below, she still planned to give him her attention fully and wholly tonight. She just needed to make one general welcoming speech and then she would be at his side for the rest of the night. Her soft features scanned him, trying to read the situation. She was picking up many things but the alcohol in her system made it hard to sus out what feelings were Belgirel’s and which ones might’ve belonged to Tenacity or Seir. She determined that she would ask Gears once her right hands departed. A snake nuzzled against his neck to silently reassure him that no matter what path they chose tonight things would be okay. “Oh gods,” she snorted, a blush turning a handful of snakes pink in the process, when Seir brought up Belphegor walking in on her and Gears. “I was trying to forget about that, thanks.”

Tenacity broke into another fit of giggles. They were never gonna let Dagon forget about that but he’d gladly let her dream. He glanced at the bottle in his hands when Seir remarked that he was curious but not stupid enough to drink it. Tenacity turned to bottle in his hands and admired the glittering liquor in it. Seir might not have been stupid enough but something about the bottle was calling out to Ten. He must’ve been staring at it for too long because of one Dagon’s snakes gently bopped him on the hand to get his attention. He patted it’s head to assure her he was just thinking about it, but he wasn’t going to do it. He’d learned that these little intrusive thoughts beckoning him to test the limits of his immortality were ironically called ‘calls to the void.’ He was learning to ignore such calls. “I hope they had fun making it,” the fallen virtue grinned as he mixed together some drinks for the four of them. Fun seemed to be something Belphegor was deprived of a lot these days. Tenacity distributed the drinks to his friends and took a bottle for himself. “To the four f’s of life: family, friends, fun, and fucking.” He cheered, clanking his bottle against their glasses before the four of them all knocked back their shots.

BELGIREL & SEIR: Belgirel smiled as Dagon's snake nuzzled up to him, patting its head. He could tell that she was trying to reassure him about not being able to leave here, but he didn't really mind. He didn't think he'd have any problems with the crowd here. He'd always been a people person, and most of the people would be more focused on Dagon anyways. Tonight wasn't about him. It was about her, and he was here to support her. He laughed when Seir brought up what Belphegor had walked into. "Hey, if Figs doesn't want to see that kind of stuff, they should learn to knock." Belphegor had gotten better about that since the incident. They didn't tend to slip through the floors in private areas like bedrooms, though Belgirel and Dagon didn't always keep their intimate moments to just the bedroom. Thankfully, they hadn't had something like that happen again, mainly because Belphegor was overly cautious. They didn't want to see their twin and their best friend fucking, and everyone was glad for that.

Seir watched as Tenacity eyed the alcohol for the dead, making sure that he wasn't stupid enough to drink it either. He understood it was tempting, not so much in a suicidal way but more for curiosity's sake. So far, there was only one person who could taste the food of the living and dead. He was glad that Dagon's snakes kept Ten from going too far. "I'm sure they did since they were doing it with your help." Tenacity knew how to bring more fun to most situations, so he couldn't imagine Belphegor not having a good time with it. "I hope someone's making sure they're drinking tonight too, but they are the designated driver." Only Cupid and Belphegor could get home, so either everyone was spending the night here, or Belphegor and Cupid had to spend the rest of the night as the taxi service. They all clinked their glasses together and cheered. "Well, I guess we should get this show on the road then. I think it's about time we head out there." He held out his elbow for Tenacity.

DAGON & TENACITY: The sound of Belgirel’s laugh was like kindling to Dagon’s soul. She wanted to do nothing but hear him laugh again and again and again. “It serves them right, really,” she giggled. “I saw things I couldn’t unsee when they had Asmo’s grace.” They were horny any time they thought of Cupid and it turns out they think if Cupid very often.

“That one was my favorite,” Ten smiled. “Very educational…for them.” His smile only grew when Seir assured him that Belphegor must’ve had a lot of fun making the drinks because he’d been there to help them. That was the important thing, really. Tenacity didn’t care for the process of making alcohol so much as he cared about Belphegor having a good time doing it. He saw the small, concerned look cross Dagon’s face when traveling was brought up. Tenacity patted her hand. “We’ll make sure they don’t overwork themselves tonight. The ferry goes out twice tonight. If people miss it…” He shrugged. “Guess they’re sleeping over then.”

Dagon squeezed his hand and gave him a grateful look. She wanted Belphegor and Cupid to have a good time tonight, but she didn’t know if she’d be able to keep track of them while she was forced to mingle with the other leaders gathered here. She laughed and echoed the cheers that Tenacity came up with before knocking back her drink. It’s warmth and slight sting brought renewed color to her cheeks. “Hell be with you, gentlemen,” she winked and made the sign of the cross over them as Tenacity looped his arm under Seir’s.

“And also with you, Princess,” Tenacity beamed. He used his free hand to knock on the heavy oak doors and they opened up. Dagon watched as he and Seir disappeared down the hall. Right before the door closed again, she could hear the swell of orchestra music begin to play down below as it announced their grand arrival.

As the room fell into silence again, she turned and looked at Belgirel. Warmth filled her chest again. Valefar really did outdo herself with this outfit choice for him. Dagon had to remember to thank her. She leaned in and kissed him deeply. She swore kissing him had more of an effect on her than the alcohol. She felt dizzy and dreamy when they pulled away. “I really did miss you,” she murmured as their lips brushed against one another. “It’s a big crowd out there. Are you sure you want to do this?”

BELGIREL & SEIR: "I don't think I want to have walked into what they walked into, but I wish I could've been there when Figs first got his grace." Belgirel had missed a lot while he'd been dead, but the whole idea of Belphegor with Lust in them was such a strange concept to him. When Cupid had come into the Empty, he'd seen them openly flirting and kissing, and that was strange enough, but the idea of them being ridiculously horny was just so unimaginable to him. He could barely believe it when he'd been told the two of them had sex at all. It just sounded so bizarre that he wished he could have witnessed some of it.

Seir nodded when Tenacity said they'd make sure Belphegor didn't overwork themself. He was sure a bunch of the people who had come wanted to spend the night anyways, especially Belphegor's siblings, who he was sure wanted to use this party as an excuse to see them. They had recently worked through their death touch, and he was pretty sure they were all ready to dogpile them. Belgirel seemed relieved by that as well. Seir was happy that they could relieve the pair some of the weight off their shoulders before they left the room.

Although Belgirel was happy to see Dagon's two right hands, he was also relieved to see them leave, so he could have a little bit of time with Dagon to himself. Once they got done with the ceremony, they'd be back together, but they wouldn't be alone like this. He fell into her eyes as she leaned in for a kiss. He held her close with one hand, and used the other to play with the snakes in her hair, giving them as much affection as her. "I know. I missed you too." He glanced towards the door when she mentioned the crowd. He hadn't really seen much of it while he was waiting in here for her, but he didn't really feel intimidated by the idea of a crowd. He'd always been a people person. He thrived in crowds, and he never really had a problem with the groups in the Empty. "Me?" he laughed. "I'm not the one they're all here for. I'll be fine. It's you I'm worried about." She might've been basically running her kingdom all of her life, but that didn't mean it made it any easier to deal with crowds with the kind of depression and anxiety she felt. "But I'm sure you're going to be fine. You look stunning, and everyone already loves you. Genuinely."

DAGON: "Asmo says he's always happy to give them another donation of his grace," she laughed. She was pretty sure Asmo was serious about the offer, but she hoped Bells would never take him up on it. She was glad Asmo's grace opened the way for understanding but she was also glad to have her Belphegor back.

She let out a pleasant little noise of contentment when Belgirel's lips fell upon her. Her snakes playfully nipped at his fingers. She deepened the kiss causing him to pull forward until she was backed into a sturdy wall by the time they pulled away from each other. She trailed a few kisses down his sculpted jawline and neck when his head turned to survey the door. The demon nodded softly and moved to kiss his adam's apple when he remarked that he could handle the crowd. "I just have to make one speech," she replied as a snake gently tipped his chin in the other direction so Dagon could give this side of his beautiful jawline the attention it deserved. "And then I'll be right back at your side." She pressed a kiss to a sensitive spot just below his ear and grinned. She could feel exactly what her attention was doing to him. "But we don't have to go out there just yet. After all," she kissed that sensitive spot again. "A Princess is never late, nor early. She arrives precisely when she means to." A devious twinkle shown in her eyes. "And she really missed you."

BELGIREL: "Belphegor probably isn't as easy to convince though." He wasn't all too sure how Belphegor really felt about all the graces they had to take in. There was actually quite a lot that Belgirel didn't know about his twin, but at the moment, that didn't really weigh on him. He was too distracted by Dagon and all the attention she was giving him. Belphegor might not have lust anymore, but Belgirel sure did. He relished in every kiss Dagon gave him, and he returned it in equal measure. He picked her up, pinning her between his hips and the wall, so her legs could circle around him. While he held her, he kissed her jaw like she'd done to him. She deserved to feel what she was doing to him in ways other than empathy.  "Mmhmm," he nodded as she explained that she just had to give one speech. He was glad she was getting recognition, but he'd be more glad when she'd be done, so they could get back to doing things like this. He groaned as she kissed a particularly sensitive spot. "I missed you too." She had enthralled him. He pulled her away from the wall, spinning around to lay her down on one of the booths, so he could crawl over top of her. He pulled off his suit jacket and set it on the table. Leaning in close to her ear, he whispered, "How about we both arrive together?"

DAGON & CUPID: “Well, if they can’t get hard, they gotta make sure convincing them is,” she giggled. She actually didn’t think it would take too much convincing. They’d spent the majority of their long lives as depression demons. Sex had a way of keeping those feelings from drowning you out. For Dagon she got nothing out of casual sex. She needed and craved emotional connections like the one between herself and Gears. Everything about his touch felt electric and made her come alive. She didn’t stop kissing him as he picked her up and pressed her against the wall. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer and grinding against him. She moaned softly and ran her fingers through his hair as he returned the kisses down her jawline and neck. Gently, her snakes nipped at his ear lobe. Tonight, might’ve been about recognizing her accomplishments, but hearing him moan under her touch was all the praise she needed.

Her lips found his again as he spun her away from the wall and laid her down on the booth. She groaned when he pulled away slightly to take off his suit jacket. Her snakes began reaching out and demanding that he come back. Of course, the view of him stripping away that piece of clothing was enough to placate them and they fell back into place. She wrapped her legs around him, grinding herself against him with a renewed sense of urgency as he whispered in her ear. “Yes, please,” she moaned. Her lips found their way back to his and they began to explore each other hungrily. She relished in the taste and feel of him. She moaned his name into his mouth when his fingers brushed against the thin fabric covering her breasts. Her hands traveled downward, gently teasing the hard bulge of his pants. She undid the button on his trousers and was about to pull the zipper down when she heard the creek of the door opening. Dagon glanced over Belgirel’s shoulder in time to see Cupid standing at the door.

Cupid, for her part, looked like a computer that was trying to process what she was seeing. She’d felt lust radiating from this room and fully expected to walk in on Seir and Tenacity. She was going to scare them and then shoo them out to the party so they weren’t holding things up. She hadn’t realized the pair were already at the party. When they’d made their grand entrance into the ball room, she was still ushering people into the Empty. When she was fully rebooted and realized it was in fact Belgirel and Dagon she was seeing, she squeaked and backpedaled out of the room. She slammed the door shut as if she could shut out the memory of this with it. “Sorry!” she apologized through the closed door. “The guests are ready and it looks like you guys are too,” she cringed at her own joke all the while she could hear Dagon giggling.

“We’ll be right out, Cue,” Dagon called out to her. She listened as Cupid’s footsteps disappeared down the hall. She was no doubt going straight for the drinks so she could try to block out this memory. Her appearance had squelched some of the fire. The demon pulled her boyfriend in for one more kiss. “We’ll have to pick this back up later tonight,” she replied apologetically. “I’ll make it worth your while though,” she grinned. There was enough of a twinkle in her eyes to let him know she meant every word of that.

BELGIREL: He giggled along with Dagon. Most of their intimate moments like this usually involved more giggling than he'd experienced with past partners. Sex had always been fun to him, but he found new ways to enjoy it with Dagon. His breath quickened as she grinded against him, and he whispered her name like a prayer. He moaned loudly as she teased him. He started to return the favor. His fingers glided up her inner thigh to the waistband of her undergarments. He didn't hear the door creak open as he started pulling them down. "Don't stop," he pleaded with her when she stopped trying to take off his clothes. He'd assumed she was just teasing him by holding back until he heard the door slam. Finally, he stopped to look back. He saw the shadow of feet under the door, and then Cupid's voice came through. "Well, we were," he sighed, knowing that the interruption probably threw off the whole mood for Dagon. "Do we have to be right out?" he asked her, hoping they could just get back to where they were already. He'd already gotten all riled up, and it was harder for him to come down immediately. Everyone was going to be greeted by a massive boner if he went out now. As she pulled him down for a kiss, he started a new trail of kisses down her jaw and neck. "Please?" he whispered. He was willing to give it up if she wanted him to, but it was worth one more plea to try. "Stay here with just me a little longer? A princess arrives whenever she means to, right? They can wait for us."

DAGON: She didn’t want to stop. She was just as wound up as he was. Cupid's presence threw her off her groove, but there was still a fire burning deep inside her. She needed a release. She needed him. She moaned, her toes curling and her back arching a little as he began kissing her again. She tilted her head to the side, exposing her neck so that he had more surface area to kiss. "Fuck," she groaned when he whispered his pleas. Stay with me... She was completely undone. "Yes," she whispered. "Yes." She captured his mouth again and kissed him with such hunger. Her hands returned to work as she undid the zipper on his trousers and released him. There was nothing quick about this quickie as the two of them thoroughly enjoyed each other until they were spent. She felt completely at peace as he laid atop her still trying to catch his breath. "We probably should've cast a silencing ward around the room," she giggled. She was pretty sure the entire hall on this level must've heard them. She was not known to be this voyeuristic but Belgirel's knew how to light that spark in her and he tended to that fire with great passion. She tipped his chin up and kissed him gently, softly, sleepily. He was like the puzzle piece that made her feel complete. "I love you."

BELGIREL: He smiled as she moaned. He pressed closer to her as her back arched. She wasn't trying to get away from him, and it made him giddy as she leaned into and shared the same desires as him. Neither of them wanted to stop this just for one little interruption, and as she cursed, he knew she was all his until they finished each other. Both of their hands moved quickly to undress each other now that they knew there wasn't going to be a stop to this. They only slowed down once they were undressed and they could touch and feel each other as much as they wanted to. They had done a little bit of damage to the room in the process of making love to each other, but it had calmed now. He laid down with her. They were on the floor now. The booth hadn't had as much room as he'd liked to get into the positions he favored, including the one where they could just lay together when they were done. He rested his head on her chest with his right ear listening to the steady rhthym of her heart beating and her lungs breathing. Belgirel didn't have a heartbeat anymore, but he still liked to hear hers. "That's alright. If anything, all we would've done was encourage them to have a good time too, though what I experienced was better than what anyone else could," he grinned. Pulling himself up closer to her, he brought his body down, so his head was just over her. He rested his elbows on the ground on either side of her, so he could hold her face in his hands and look her in the eyes. "Dagon Spiritus, my princess of the sixth kingdom of hell, my heart and my soul, I am desperately, passionately, and irrevocably in love with you too." He leaned down to kiss her deeply before coming up to breathe. "You ready to go get your crown?"

DAGON: She lay comfortably on the floor with him. It had been such a long time since she felt this level of desire or this content afterwards. They were exposed to the world, but nevertheless she didn’t feel bashful or nervous. She felt safe, wanted, and loved. Her fingers lazily combed through his hair as he listened to the sound of her heart beating. She wanted to stay tangled up with him forever. She giggled when he remarked that their lovemaking must’ve only encouraged others to enjoy this party as much as they were. “You are absolutely right,” she agreed. Her heart skipped a beat as he pulled himself forward. There was so much love in those beautiful eyes. She could and would get lost in them for hours if he let her. A warm and happy tear slid down her cheek as he told her just how much he loved her. She held him close and kissed him tenderly. There wasn’t a thing she wouldn’t do for him. He had her completely. Mind, body, and soul. “As long as you’re with me, yes,” she smiled. She kissed him again before willing herself to untangle from him. Even that was an effort. Her body craved his warm and tender touch. She finally managed to find spot where she’d thrown her dress. She had considerably fewer layers than he did, but she figured she could get dressed and then help him with his clothes. She slipped her dress back on with ease and turned her slender back to him. “Zip me up?” she asked. Gooseflesh peppered her skin in anticipation of his touch. By the seven kingdoms, leaving the comfort of this room, their private sanctuary, was going to be the hardest thing she’d have to do today.

BELGIREL: He loved hearing her giggling, especially when he was laying on top of her and could feel the way her laughter shook her body. It was such a contrast to what he'd experienced in the last centuries since his death. It made him forget he even was dead. It felt too impossibly good to believe that anything bad could've happened to him before when she was here with him now. "Are you okay?" he asked as he wiped the tear off of her cheek. He didn't think he'd said anything to upset her. She didn't look upset, but she might've been overwhelmed. Her kiss dissuaded that belief. No, this was good. "I don't think I'm part of the ceremony, but maybe we can tweak it, so I can sit in your lap while they crown you." Most of his siblings would probably find it funny, but it didn't inspire the best confidence for a kingdom's leader. As much as he wanted to stay by her side, he respected her duty. He pulled himself off of her and helped her up, kissing her before they separated to pick up their respective clothes. He managed to get his pants on before Dagon asked for his assistance. He stepped over to her and lightly pulled her hair away from the zipper, exposing her neck. As he pulled up the zipper, he took the opportunity to kiss the back of her neck several times. "What if I got you a new necklace," he spoke suggestively, "made entirely out of the love I could put on your neck? Let everyone out there know that you're mine, and I'm yours."

DAGON: “Yeah,” she smiled as her thumb gently traced the curve of his lips. “They’re happy tears,” she promised. She knew it could be hard to tell with depression demons. They cried when they were happy and they cried when they were sad. But in this moment, she was feeling nothing but true bliss. She chuckled when he brought up the ways he’d tweak the ceremony. “They crowned me in front of my kingdom, so we may have missed the opportunity for that.” As much as she would’ve liked that portion to take place in the Empty too, it wasn’t appropriate for her to be crowned in a foreign land. It had to take place in her own Kingdom with the people she was ruling over. That being said, Belphegor and Cupid did a great job setting up livestreams of the ceremony. Her only obligation now was to officially start the afterparty. “But there’s plenty of things we can do on that throne out there once the party’s over,” she grinned deviously. She bit her bottom lip as he zipped up her dress while trailing kisses along her neck. “Fuck,” she moaned as she turned around and captured him in another kiss. She knew she needed to be the sensible one, but how could she when he was so good at getting her riled up? She knew she could only keep the crowd downstairs waiting for so long. She pulled away a little before they got too deep into it and started again. “We can get matching ones,” she grinned, kissing him again. “After the party. Come on, get your shirt on and I’ll help you with your tie.”

BELGIREL: He kissed her thumb when she pressed it to his lips. He felt a little proud of himself for making her cry happy tears instead of sad ones for once. Given all the hardship they'd both gone through, he imagined she didn't have many moments where she cried over something good. "I know," he sighed. "I just thought that maybe we could do it again." It was nice being able to watch it happen, but it wasn't the same as being able to be there with her. Even tonight, the amount of ceremony that would happen didn't involve him going with her. They'd already talked that over, and he didn't really feel hurt by it anymore. However, that didn't stop him from just wanting to stay by her side the entire night with any excuse possible. Luckily, he was easily distracted by the proposition of all the things they could get up to at the end of the party. "I'd like to see what you have in mind." He grinned, relishing in the way she unraveled from his kisses and his touch. To her credit, she was trying to get back on track. He just knew that what she wanted was far from that crowd out there. "How about I give you one now, just for you?" He didn't sound as suggestive as he had a moment before. He was pulling a chain out of the pocket of his pants, and he clasped it around Dagon's neck. The pendant of the necklace was an imprint in clay of one of his feathers. He took a step back, admiring her and his work while he grabbed his shirt off the floor. It was a little crumpled and wrinkled, but he didn't really care. It wasn't him on display tonight.

DAGON: Her features softened. "If it's any consolation," she kissed him just below the ear, "I think there will be more important ceremonies for us in the future. One in particular..." Another tender kiss. "That will bestow you with the title of Prince and Husband." Her grin turned a little more devious and hungry when he remarked he'd like to see what she had in mind. Imagines of one of them wearing nothing but a crown and the other kneeling prayerfully filled her mind. "You'll see," she promised. "You just have to be patient for a little while longer."

She watched him pull a necklace of his own design from his pocket. Her heart thumped merrily as he helped her clasp it around her neck. Her fingers admired the craftsmanship as she admired the design in the mirror. Happy tears formed in the corners of her eyes again. She had a lot of sparkly jewels on tonight but none of them meant quite as much to her as this. "It's beautiful, baby," she kissed him tenderly and with all her love. "Thank you."

She held him for a moment longer, savoring this last bit of alone time, before pulling away to find his tie. She helped him adjust it to his liking. There were spells she could've used to take care of the wrinkles on his shirt but she liked the way he wore the look. She helped him fix his hair and handed him a wet wipe so that he could wipe some of the lipstick stains on his neck. As he did that, she located her crown and secured it back in place before touching up her hair and makeup. She attempted to adjust her dress, but it definitely did not look as impeccably put together as it had when she walked in here earlier. The signs of what they'd been up still lingered on them, but she didn't mind. She stood in front of the mirror just as he walked up behind her. For a moment, she admired the way they fit together. "You ready?" she grinned.

BELGIREL: Belgirel technically already was a prince in the Empty. Although Belphegor didn't have him doing much yet, the role was still there, but he liked the idea of being her prince in Hell too, and her husband even more so. "That is a pretty big consolation. You sure you'd want to do it?" He loved her, and he didn't think it was a trick or that he was just misunderstanding his feelings this time. He felt safe with her. He felt loved and free. He would've married her tonight if he could, but with what they'd both been through, he understood that it was better to wait. There were still some things he needed to work through before she just got stuck with him and his issues. The mystery to what she had planned was enticing and made it harder to hold back from his own horniness. "I've been told I'm not a very patient person. How soon do you think we can get this party to end, so we can get to that?" Maybe they could kick everyone out as soon as she gave her speech, so they could get to what they wanted to do.

He knew she'd be pleased with the necklace. As much as he was aware she would've been happy with a necklace made of hickeys, he knew that she also just liked what he made when he did pottery. This wasn't exactly a pot, but it still held his love for her in it. "Not as beautiful as you," he said lovingly. "You're welcome." He dreaded the feeling of losing her touch, but he soon had it again as she put his tie on him and fixed his hair. He would've let it be messy if he could. It was a symbol of what they'd been up to tonight, though he was sure more than a few people out there would be aware of what they were doing anyways, particularly Asmo and Cupid. He didn't mind her hands in his hair though. It was just another way they could be closer for a moment longer. He frowned at the wipe she gave him. He didn't really want to remove the prints of her lips, but he would do it at her request. He wiped away all except one. He deserved to be able to keep one for himself.  He put on his suit jacket while she tried to fix her dress. He wrapped his arms around her from behind once they were both done, and he gave her another kiss on the back of her neck. "I guess so. If I have to be." He would've chosen to never be ready if he could just stay in here with her. He walked with her towards the door, pausing just for a moment once they reached them to look at Dagon and make sure she was ready or if she wanted to hang back too.

DAGON: "Eventually, yes," she smiled. She'd always craved some form of comfort and stability. "But probably not for a while." There were still things they needed to figure out. He hadn't yet seen what she was like when she was fully lost to her depression and she still didn't know all the ways his trauma would manifest either. She loved him, but any number of these unknowns could turn into a deal breaker for the other person. They needed time and thankfully now that the Empty was free they had all the time in the world. Still, it didn't stop her from daydreaming that they'd get there one day. She felt she could hardly be blamed for that. She was friends with Cupid after all. "Your biggest obstacle to ending this party will be the Fae," she laughed. "The Spring and Summer Courts can keep a party going for days. I don't think Belphegor would let it go on that long though," she smiled.

She blushed and the few snakes that were still in her hair turned pink when he told her she was beautiful. She felt beautiful in his presence. She giggled as he watched her tie his tie and adjust his hair. If he kept looking at her like that there would simply be no leaving this room tonight. The way he grumbled about leaving told her he felt the same. She kissed him one more time. As they reached the door, she looped her arm under his. With her free hand, she knocked a couple times and the door opened on its own.

As the two of them stepped out of the room, orchestra music began to play down below. This was to signal the room that they were arriving. "I love you," she smiled and squeezed his hand. The two of the walked down the hall and stood at the grand staircase as the herald announced their names. From this vantage point, she and Belgirel could see exactly how many people were gathered down below. "Holy shit..." she whispered. Gods, she hoped she wouldn't trip.

As her eyes scanned the room, she saw Belphegor standing at the bottom of the steps. They were waiting for her. Her smile brightened at the sight of her friend. She decided to focus on getting down to see them. With Belgiel's hand firmly in hers, the two of them descended down the stairs.

BELGIREL & BELPHEGOR: Belgirel was glad that she sounded so confident in her answer. It was essentially how he felt too. They'd rushed pretty fast already in developing their relationship so far, but they'd known each other a long time and felt a need to make up the time they'd lost. All he really wanted was to spend time with her. As long as he got the love he needed and the love he was finally allowing himself to give, he was content with what he had. "I'll fight them off if I need to," he assured her. As much as he liked parties, he was looking forward to the time spent with Dagon more. The way she looked at him just made him feel alive and whole.

He patted her hand softly when the door opened to reassure her that he was here to support her through dealing with this large crowd. "I love you too." Lights turned to them as they made their way down the stairs. There were a lot of faces here. Belgirel knew some of them, but a lot were unfamiliar to him. Even ones he knew felt somewhat unfamiliar to him. As they approached Belphegor, his twin looked so different to him. They looked somewhat like Raphael, not so much in appearance but in maturity. They felt like an authority figure, like someone he was supposed to look up to now. It wasn't because they were the ruler of the Empty. They'd just changed internally. He was both proud of them and scared of what that meant for his relationship with them. He felt behind like he needed to catch up.

"Are you ready now?" Belphegor asked softly. They held out their hand, and Belgirel bowed backwards so Dagon could take their hand and go with them. Belphegor walked with Dagon up to the thrones on the stage, and Belgirel slipped back into the crowds to watch his girlfriend.

DAGON & CUPID: She smiled and shook her head when he remarked that he’d fight the fairies at the end of the night if they wouldn’t leave. Depending on the Fae Court, they might enjoy it. Some were as wild as the Lost Boys. She made a mental note to introduce Gears to some of the more tame ones. There would be plenty of introductions to be made tonight, both to new and old friends.

As they descended down the steps to meet Belphegor, Dagon could feel the complicated emotions bubbling inside Belgirel at the sight of his twin. While Belphegor’s progression into this final self was something gradual to everyone else, Dagon knew it all felt very sudden to Gears. He hadn’t been there to witness the shifts. It frightened him to not know Belphegor like they used to, but to be fair, Belphegor also didn’t know Belgirel. Still, she understood in a way. Maybe not fully since she’s seen them change more gradually, but she wouldn’t lie that the change was jarring even to her. This trial, that fight…it had taken quite a bit of Belphegor’s whimsy. It felt as though gone were the days when she’d get word that they slipped out of some gala to trail Aamon and War.

She beamed and nodded when they asked if she was ready. Before taking their hand, she turned to Gears and kissed him both for good luck and because she wanted all the pantheons to know he was hers and there would be no funny business. As Gears stepped back, Dagon stepped forward and took Belphegor’s hand. Music swelled and the crowd parted like the sea as the two of them began their walk toward the raised podium at the front of the room just like they’d practiced. The other pantheons all bowed politely as she and Belphegor passed. It felt like she was riding a wave in the ocean and that gave her some comfort and kept her steady.

When she and Belphegor arrived at the front, all of the Princes were already seated in their individual thrones. Dagon bowed to them before turning to her esteemed escort and beloved friend. She was supposed to give the same formal bow to them, but emotion filled her features, and she threw herself into their arms and hugged them. “You, my darling, will always be a part of this family. My family. I love you,” she whispered to them. “Thank you for being my friend.” A few tears slipped down her cheeks but she didn’t bother to hide them. She did not feel any shame for her emotions or the love that she had for her friends.

The room itself seemed to fill with tender emotions as the pantheons witnessed their embrace. Lucifer wiped a few tears from his eyes and Zatanna rested her head on Michael’s shoulder. Andy looped her arm through Gabe’s and squeezed his hand. Tenacity stood on his tiptoes and kissed Seir. Cupid was standing next to Belgirel and tears were streaming down her face too. So much platonic and familial love circled around Bells and Dagon. It was beautiful and it warmed every bit of her. Someone deserved to see this with her. Cupid held her hand out to Gears. “Do you want to see what I see?” Cupid asked Gears.

BELGIREL & BELPHEGOR: Belgirel grinned after she kissed him. He wasn't an empath, but he could interpret the message she was sending. If the hickey he'd left didn't say it, that very public kiss would. He was hers, and he was proud to belong to her. Even though she wasn't in her own kingdom, it was clear that Dagon held authority as the crowd parted for her to get through. It might've also been because Belphegor's touch carried death on it, and most people didn't want to die, nor did they know that Belphegor had gotten better control of it. The fact that Belphegor was holding Dagon's hand just fine wasn't something they realized.

Belphegor expected Dagon to give them the same bow she'd given the rest of their family like they'd already practiced, but they weren't entirely surprised by her reaction. They both tended to have different reactions in the real thing than in practice. The hug they shared with her was lighter than it used to be in the past. Although they had gotten control over their abilities, the thought of accidentally hurting their loved ones still scared them, so their touches were just lighter to be on the safe side. "I'd prefer you join mine than me join yours if that's alright," they joked. "But I love you too. And that's best friend, thank you." They were a lot more to each other than just friends for all they'd been through together.

Belgirel glanced over when Cupid spoke to him. She was an emotional mess. He hadn't ever seen auras the way she did, but he knew empathy could be overwhelming from what he'd heard from Dagon. He considered her offer for a moment. "How long will it last?" He asked, not wanting to be stuck with it all night. As pretty as it might've been, he preferred things as they were. He had a hard enough time focusing on anything but Dagon as it was. He'd be staring at her all night if he saw her aura.

DAGON & CUPID: "It will last for as long as you hold my hand," Cupid explained to Gears. She couldn't make the magic travel any further. It wasn't like her ties with Belphegor. Those were a little more permanent.

Belphegor's hug might've been light but Dagon's was bone crushing or as bone crushing as a regular angel could get in comparison to something of Bells power. She hadn't been able to hug them up until this point and she was going to savor every moment even if it knocked her out again. She chuckled when they remarked that they'd rather she become their family than the other way around. "I don't think you can separate it," she giggled. She and Andras already thought of Belphegor as their third twin. It's just how it was. She gently pulled away, still squeezing their shoulder. "The very best," she agreed. Her hand moved, gently touching their elbow and then their hand until she willed herself to let them go entirely as they stepped back.

She gently lifted the hem of her skirt and took a step toward her throne. It was stationed between Beel and Asmo, just like her kingdom. She tried not to look at the latter but she could practically feel him smirking and giggling. If she made eye contact with him, she was going to lose it too. They were about that level of mature together. Dagon stood at before her throne and faced the crowd. They bowed again now that all seven royals were together.

The music died down and faces lifted to look at her. Dagon inhaled softly to steady herself and began. "I'd like to thank all of you for coming out tonight to celebrate with us. It's not often that we get together like this. Things have happened in the recent past that have highlighted the importance of family and friends and I'd like to think we'll have more of these get togethers in the future. Tonight isn't just about celebrating a new monarch. If you know me, you'd know I'd actually prefer you didn't." Laughter swelled among the crowd. Most of them knew Dagon's escape artist ways when it came to parties.

"But, if we must recognize me, then I'd like to take a moment to recognize a few important people in my life too. I'd firstly like to recognize and thank my boyfriend, Belgirel. Thank you for always looking out for me and also for giving me something to look forward to at the end of the day. Loving you is the most rewarding feeling." She meant every word of it. "I'd also like to thank my best friends and the hosts of this party, Cupid and Belphegor Valentine," she glanced at Cupid and Bells. "Eternity would've been absolutely insufferable without you two and so would I."

"I'd like to thank my family: my twin, Andras; my sisters, Ouelette and Abaddon; my brother, Azazel; and my niece, Ruby. Thank you for being there when I need you the most. If there's ever a battle to be had, I know you guys will have my back," she grinned.

"I'd also like to thank the two most glamours stars of my Kingdom, Seir and Tenacity. You guys make coming to work fun. You make me laugh and help me see the bright side of things. I am immensely grateful to be entering this journey with you two," she smiled at them before her eyes turned to the individuals to her left and her right.

"I'll start with Asmo next, but don't get a big head about it, asshole," she laughed and the crowd laughed with her. "Thank you for looking out for me, protecting me like a big brother, and also annoying the shit out of me like a big brother. Really makes me feel like a part of the family," she smiled.

She turned her head to look at Beel. "Beelzebub," she smiled warmly. "Thank you for loving me when I needed it the most. Thank you for helping me heal when I couldn't heal on my own. And thank you for absolutely putting up with everything and the kitchen sink because I sometimes literally throw it at you when I get scared," she grimaced apologetically but the crowd laughed.

"By extension, I also want to thank Beel's right hand and daughter, Nadia Fames-Cladoselache," she turned to look at Nadia in the crowd. "If sunshine could be personified it is you, my love. You remind me every day what it is to be kind both to yourself and others. You are welcoming, and warm, and kind and you make it look effortless. When I grow up, I want to be just like you," she smiled. Nadia hadn't expected to be part of Dagon's speech and it caught her right in the emotions. She found herself crying but she blew the Demon Princess a kiss and Dagon pretended to catch it before turning to address the next Prince.

"Valefar, we haven't always been close but we've gotten closer this past year. Thank you for always trying. Thank you for not giving up on yourself, on me, or on this journey we've started. I will ride with you to any battle and I will have your back," she smiled.

Her eyes turned to Levi next. "Leviathan, we haven't been the closest but I do see you trying. You are breaking the cycle we've been forced to repeat again and again and that takes bravery and strength. I see you and I recognize your journey. I send you well wishes, kindness, and gentleness." She meant it. He deserved to feel at peace just as much as the rest of them.

Her features turned more emotional when her eyes fell upon the next Prince. "Aamon," her lip wobbled. "I'm not crying because I'm scared. The opposite actually. Thank you for making me feel brave and strong and competent. Thank you for always having my back and for talking me off of the ledge more than a couple times. Thank you for believing in me and guiding me when I needed it the most. I can't picture a day when I'll ever not need you." Her eyes said the rest. She loved him like a father.

She finally turned to look at Lucifer. "Lucifer Morningstar," she smiled. "If Asmodeus is like an annoying older brother, you're like the annoying younger brother," she grinned. "Thank you for making me laugh when I'm being too serious and thank you for trusting this kingdom and these people to me. I swear loyalty and fealty to you not because you are my King, but because you are and will always be my family." Lucifer beamed at her and bowed his head. She curtsied back before turning to address the crowd once more.

"There are innumerable others that deserve my thanks and gratitude, but I've kept you waiting long enough. So, without further ado, I'd like to extend my warm welcome to you." She executed a sigil into the air just like Nadia had instructed her to do and food appeared on everyone's table. "Please enjoy the food that's been provided to us by our lovely Kingdom of Gluttony and please enjoy the music of our Heavenly Symphony. The night will cap off with lights display but until then please eat, drink, and be merry." She took her seat on her throne just as Belphegor tapped their scythe against the ground and the dinner and music began.

BELGIREL & BELPHEGOR: Belgirel took Cupid's hand and watched as the colors lit up the room. Although Cupid and Belphegor had brought light and color into the Empty, it was extremely different seeing it like this. He felt like he hadn't seen color before now. Belphegor and Dagon seemed to radiate the most of it as they hugged, but the rest of their family became more bright and colorful as Dagon addressed them all. He beamed as Dagon addressed him specifically. Some of the guests didn't seem to care for the declaration of love, but he held onto it.

Belphegor had moved back to Cupid's side once Dagon had let go of them. They wrapped their arm around her while Dagon thanked them. Belphegor conjured a glass and raised it to Dagon. Belgirel easily spotted Dagon's siblings when she addressed them, but Ouelette strangely seemed to be missing. Belgirel didn't think that much of it though. He probably just didn't see her. Tenacity and Seir were blatantly obvious though. They also raised a glass before Seir dipped Tenacity just for show and dramatically made out with him. He was glad that Dagon felt so close to his family. He never really had to worry about her being excluded from them. If anything, she was more included with them than he was, but it was mainly because he was dead and couldn't see them as often. He felt a little uncomfortable when Dagon spoke to Beelzebub. He had some deep set insecurity when it came to the fact that Beelzebub had dated Dagon before. He knew that Dagon didn't have feelings like that for him anymore and that Beel felt the same way towards her, but it felt sometimes like maybe she would've been happier staying with him. He knew that it was an irrational thought to have, but it still weighed on him regardless. He wasn't sure why Dagon needed to specify that she wasn't crying because she was scared. Aamon wasn't a scary person, and he didn't think Dagon had ever really been scared of him as long as he'd known her.

Finally, the speech was over. As food filled the tables, the crowd started to move around more. Belgirel was glad for it. He was going to go back to Dagon, but he got caught by some people who wanted to talk to him. He didn't really mind. It was just some of the Lost Boys who wanted to catch up with him. He felt a little guilty as they spoke. They mentioned all kinds of things that he assumed he must've done with them in the past, but he couldn't remember most of it. He nodded anyways, pretending like he knew what they were talking about.

DAGON & CUPID: Cupid watched Belgirel’s face as he took in the colors. She loved showing people the world as she saw it. It was overwhelming at times, but very beautiful nevertheless. It was a kaleidoscope of colors. Dagon’s aura shone with beautiful reds and pinks when she thanked Gears in her speech. Shades of blues were familial love and those shone brightly when she addressed Cupid, Bells, and the Spiritus family. Yellows were for friendship and those came through when Dagon addressed Seir Tenacity, and the Archangels. Cupid felt Belgirel tense up when Dagon addressed Beelzebub. “Yellow is friendship,” she softly reminded Belgirel as she squeezed his hand. Both Dagon and Beel’s auras were shades of deep yellow when they acknowledged each other. It looked nothing like what her aura was when she spoke to Gears. Her aura shifted back to blue when she addressed Nadia and then Aamon. It didn’t surprise Cupid. Those bonds had always felt familial to Dagon. As Dagon wrapped up the speech, Cupid and Belgirel let go of each other’s hands. “If you ever need a pick me up, you should see what it looks like when she’s running toward you,” Cupid smiled at her friend. She’d show him another time so as to not overwhelm him.

As the food and music began, Belgirel was immediately pulled in one direction by Lost Boys who were visiting for the first time and Cuphegor were pulled in another direction by the Virtues. Dagon stayed by her throne for a moment and conversed with a few of the Demon Princes. She excused herself with the intention of going to rescue her boyfriend from his friends when she was intercepted by Nadia. The young demon asked her for a dance and Dagon obliged. She figured one dance couldn’t hurt. The two girls were laughing and spinning each other around while Nadia was telling her a tale of terror about something that had almost gone disastrously wrong in the kitchen but was averted by her quick thinking.

When the story and the music wrapped, the two girls bowed respectfully to each other. Nadia stepped backwards to find her friends and Dagon turned around to go find Belgirel, but found Cassian, High Lord of the Winter Court of Fae, behind her. He asked for a dance as well. Dagon nodded and obliged out of politeness. She had to mingle today, but she was hoping to do it with Belgirel at her side. He made talking to people easier. As Cassian regaled her with some story during the dance, she found her eyes wondering around the room, searching for Gears. She spotted him also engaging in conversations with other leaders. Guilt filled her chest. She promised him she’d be right there.

As the song ended, she excused herself from Cassian and started making her way through the crowd again. She was a decent way in, and a decent way toward Gears when she was stopped again by Morrigan, Right Hand to the High Lord of the Night Court. Dagon had helped Mor with one of her dogs once upon a time and the girls were good friends. She chatted warmly with her for a moment before excusing herself again. She’d lost sight of Gears and it took her a moment to find him again. As she tried to go to him, she was once again interrupted by another leader. It kept going on and on and on. She was beginning to wonder if she’d ever make her way back to Gears or if he’d be the carrot that was dangled before but always out of reach for the rest of the night.

BELGIREL: Belgirel hadn't even thought about the fact that the colors had meanings. He just thought they were pretty to look at. He was pretty sure it would take more than a few classes to actually remember them all, but he didn't think there would be many times where he'd really try this. He flinched when Cupid told him that yellow meant friendship. He never really liked it when people saw through him to what he was thinking about. It made him feel exposed and vulnerable. Cupid wasn't going to hurt him with what she knew, but despite knowing that, he still felt uneasy. He didn't want anyone to know that he felt intimidated by Beel and Dagon's past relationship. He felt guilty for feeling that way at all, like it was going to cause problems if he was too obvious about it. Dagon had already made it clear she didn't feel that way about Beel anymore. Cupid confirmed it with her powers, but he still felt dread when their past relationship came up. The only thing that made him feel better about it was just not talking about it, but he couldn't always do that. "Yeah, thank you," he told Cupid. He didn't want to make her feel bad just because he didn't feel better. He appreciated her trying anyway. "If she's running toward me, that's already the pick me up I'd need." He smiled thinking about it. He wanted her to do that now, but they both got dragged away in different directions.

It was okay at first. Despite not knowing a lot of what the Lost Boys were talking about, they were still his friends. Most of them hadn't really changed all that much from what few things he could remember. Some of them had gotten more into sex since his death, but he didn't consider that much of a major change, at least not compared to the changes he recognized in himself. The ways in which they viewed him seemed so different from how he saw himself now. He wasn't correcting them on it. They were having a good time, and he didn't want to ruin things for them, but he still felt like an imposter. Dagon called it masking, and he felt that almost literally, like someone might peel off his skin to reveal something else underneath. He ignored that feeling. After all, it wouldn't be long before he could get back to Dagon, and then he wouldn't feel that way anymore.

Unfortunately, things didn't work out that way. Even once the Lost Boys let him slip away, he got caught up in another conversation. He didn't know the person. They didn't seem angelic or demonic. They knew him more than he knew them, and their presence unsettled him. Appearance-wise, they seemed pretty and elegant, but their eyes felt like they stared into him. They confirmed that he was Dagon's boyfriend and also a prince to Belphegor's realm of the Empty. None of that bothered him as much as their questions about his experience in the Empty before Belphegor's new leadership. He felt wholly uncomfortable when they asked him what kind of tortures he was subjected to and if he thought they were particularly effective or not. Belgirel didn't usually run from conversations like this, but he found the quickest excuse to get away from the person. He looked for Dagon in the crowd. She was talking to someone else he didn't know.

He tried to walk over to her, but again, he got pulled into a conversation with more people. They were some younger demons who had heard stories of him from the older fallen angels, but he didn't know how to talk to them. It wasn't just their lingo that confused him but their perception of him that he didn't know how to handle. They all seemed to look at him like he was some kind of hero or legend, but he just wasn't. His skin felt like it itched, and he scratched at it relentlessly. As he moved from crowd to crowd trying to get to Dagon, it just got worse. Some people started to notice it, and it just made him more anxious. He saw an open path to the balcony, and he booked it that way, giving up his mission to get to Dagon for now. He needed to get to open air to breathe. Once he was outside he sat next to the doors where no one could see him to come find him. He promised himself he'd go back inside once he collected himself, but his skin continued to feel wrong.

ATHENA: Athena enjoyed this party more than most she'd been to, and she'd been to quite a few. She had also avoided and found reasons to leave even more parties. Some of them could just be too much, or the people were too much. Here, there was a mixture of all different kinds of groups. There were a few members of her old family, the one she'd disowned, but she didn't hate her whole family. Some of them had come to Hell with her, like Hestia who was in the kingdom of Gluttony. Others had found their own paths, like Dionysus who just set about making alcohol. It was pleasant to see most of them here and talk to them again, not that she didn't ever talk to them. The ones she liked she made time to talk to. The others she avoided. Artemis had been taking up most of the conversation with Athena. Although Artemis focused more on hunting, she didn't lack intelligence, and Athena enjoyed what she had to say. She'd been working with some of heaven's units on correcting humanity's effect on the environment, and Athena was proud of her.

Artemis didn't have Athena's full attention however. She kept her eyes on the whole of the party. She saw where the archangels were, and she knew the location of each member of group's leader. Belgirel and Dagon had most of her attention, partially because Dagon was the center focus of this party and also because the pair were important to the Prince she served. Aamon would've been beside himself if anything happened to the two, and they both looked miserable. She noticed the agitation first in Belgirel. She could see that he was trying to get to Dagon but was unsuccessful due to the obligations of being social. His family seemed to notice too. Athena didn't miss the way Sovereign Belphegor and Queen Cupid looked his way before the ground shifted subtly enough to slide the people to two sides and give Belgirel a straight path to the Balcony.

Athena elected to help the other half of the couple. She excused herself from talking to Artemis and slipped through the crowd. Dagon was dancing with another official, and Athena had no problem interrupting. "May I steal this dance?"

DAGON: Dagon was quickly becoming overstimulated. She wasn't used to parties where she was the center of attention. Even her birthday was shared with another person whom she generally let most of the attention fall on. She was also regretting wearing her hair loose. As she danced with the High Lord of the Autumn Court (who was pretending this was the first time they'd met despite the fact that they'd met several times before) her snakes flitted about. They stole food from plates and also played peek-a-boo with some of the children at the party. They hissed at people who got a little too close. Any moment now, Dagon was certain they'd start shoving and biting people in order to give her a wider berth. She would have to excuse herself after this dance so she could figure out how to best braid them or put them up, but the bathroom felt so far away.

All of these thoughts were racing through her head when Athena cut in. Her snakes squealed their delight at the sight of the familiar face. Dagon curtsied politely to the High Lord as he excused himself. Meanwhile, her snakes engaged Athena in some form of girl talk as they admired her shoes and bracelets. One of them nudged the necklace on Dagon’s neck as if to show Athena the craftsmanship. Dagon laughed and gently brushed the snake away. “I’m sorry. They’re a little unruly today,” she apologized as she and the Goddess took up the next dance. One of Dagon’s snakes nudged her urgently against the ear. “Whaaaat?” Dagon asked it. The demon just wanted to concentrate on not tripping over her legs, but instead she was booped on the head by the snake as if the snake was trying to tell her to remember something she’d meant to ask Athena. Dagon recalled what it was. “Right now? We’re at a party.” The snake gave Dagon an apathetic look. Dagon sighed. “Well, I guess she’s right,” the Demon Princess remarked as she pushed the snake away.

“Now’s as good a time as any in case I forget. Raphael and I are starting a new program here next week,” Dagon began as Athena spun her. “We’re going to be offering group and individual therapy to the people here. We want to do it right which means we have to do data collection and trend analysis to figure out the general needs of the population, what modalities are working, and which ones aren’t effective with this population. Unfortunately, my Kingdom tends to be high needs, so I don’t have time to do data analysis. Raph’s in the same boat given how much the Guardians do. We’re hoping to outsource the analysis part of the job. We’ll collect the data and make sure that private patient information is protected.” They’d redact names and make sure none of the information was specific enough to be linked back to any one individual. “But we need someone to analyze the trends. I figured you’d be the best person for the job,” Dagon grinned. “Declan seems keen to help too. And Raph says Deck’s younger brother, Zophiel, is good at that kind of stuff too. I figured they could be your interns on this project. That is if you want to take it up.”

ATHENA: Athena smiled as Dagon's snakes squealed at her. While they had sadly tragic beginnings, she was glad that they brought her some comfort and safety. She gave the snakes her thanks as they admired her wardrobe for the night. It was a red flowing dress with folds that were reminiscent of the robes of Ancient Greece. Over top of it was a golden corset with metalwork that implied two owl wings protecting her waist. Her armor cuff bracelets showed similar metallic plumage with the feathers spreading up her arms. On her neck, a red ruby was inlaid into a golden necklace, and her hair was set into a bun with a crown of a golden olive branch. The shoes that the snakes were admiring were a pair of knee-high golden boots that spiraled around her legs. She admired what the snakes had to show her in equal measure. The snaked didn't exactly explain what the necklace was. It wasn't exactly made with expert craftsmanship. She could see certain flaws that had popped up in the clay that should've been corrected before being put in the kiln, but from her own knowledge of Dagon, she knew who would've made it for her. This was surely crafted by her new boyfriend. After being dead so long, it made sense that Belgirel would want a soothing activity like pottery and crafting. Her snakes were proud of the work, and Athena didn't think the flaws that other expert craftsmen would care about really mattered here. In this case, they weren't flaws so much as symbols of an attempt being made and from what she had heard about Belgirel, it was also an acceptance and recognition on his part that what he made didn't need to be perfect as long as it was loved by the person who received it, in which case it was perfect based on how much Dagon adored it.

"They're alright," Athena reassured her. Dagon seemed to have her mind everywhere tonight. Despite being a warrior of the mind, Athena couldn't actually read minds to know what Dagon's snakes seemed so urgent to get her to talk about. "Yes, I've heard about the program. It's a good idea." It was definitely something the people of the Empty would need if they were going to see any progress. Once Dagon brought up data analysis, she could see where the conversation was headed, and she was thrilled. "I'd love to work on that. I've been looking for a new project to start anyways. It sounds stimulating. Just let me know when I can start, and I'll reach out to Declan and Zophiel. Speaking of projects that should be taken up, Cupid and Belphegor's project of their garden turned out well. You should see it from the balcony. I can distract the others, so you can take a break out there." Her eyes glowed golden, and a second pair of them appeared, dancing around them while they disappeared to the rest of the crowd.

DAGON: Dagon beamed when Athena agreed to do the data analysis. She knew she could count on her. “Thank you,” she replied as she squeezed her friend’s hand gently. Her eyebrows quirked when Athena mentioned Cuphegor’s garden project. Dagon practically lived in the Empty for the better part of the last few months so she was well acquainted with the garden. She didn’t think there were any new projects that she hadn’t already seen. She realized fairly quickly that Athena was trying to give her a polite way out. Dagon didn’t really need to be covertly corralled out. She’d take any opportunity to escape. She grinned when Athena made an illusionary version of the two of them dancing. “Thank you, Athena. I owe you one,” the demon replied. As the Goddess spun her one last time, Dagon squeezed her hand appreciatively before letting go and disappearing passed the balcony threshold.

By the grace of the Seven Kingdoms, the balcony appeared empty. Dagon shut the door quietly and muttered a spell to lock it. She released a deep breath and slumped against the door. “Oh, to have Belphegors floor melting powers right now,” she whispered to the snakes as she rolled her shoulders. She allowed her body to relax and come down from its hyper alert state. As she took a few calming breaths, she heard something shuffling to her right. Whoever or whatever was there with her was obscured by a rose bush that decorated the balcony. Dagon focused on it and realized it was a person. They were radiating large levels of anxiousness and chest aching panic. Dagon didn’t want to startle them, so she ran her hand over the rose bush as pre-cursor before she stepped around the corner of the bush to peer over and see if they needed help. “Hi, I—” she began but stopped when she realized who it was. “Gears?” Her snakes perked up, automatically concerned. “Are you all right, love?”

BELGIREL: Belgirel felt like he was falling deep into his own head. Some of the things people had said tonight were sticking with him, playing in his head over and over. What was his torture like? Was this not an extension of his torture? Had he even left? The other words he remembered shifted into the Void's voice, and he was shaking. He couldn't remember. Was he who he said he was? He didn't know. He didn't feel like he was the same person everyone else saw, and it terrified him. He wanted to be who they saw him as. He didn't want to ruin this perception they had of him, but he could feel it itching to come out. He was itching, but no matter how much he scratched, there was just more skin underneath. It peeled and peeled, but he never got to the center. He barely perceived the sound of the doors opening and closing. The shuffling of feet and the brushing of the bush were too faint to his ears. For a moment, he didn't even see Dagon until she spoke.  "Dagon?" he asked. With anyone else, he might've tried to control himself a little more, but he was hyperventilating as if his body was accepting that he could safely freak out if she was here. "No. I can't- I couldn't do it anymore. I can't- I can't breathe." He was choking as his panic got the best of him.

DAGON: "Oh, honey..." she whispered and approached him in a few quick strides. Her snakes fussed over him. He was in bad shape and guilt bit at her chest. If she'd been with him tonight like she promised she would, maybe she could have prevented this. She rubbed his arms soothingly. "You're having a panic attack," she explained. "They're not deadly but we do need to get your body calm again." She used magic to form together some ice. She gently placed the ice onto his covered chest just above a regulatory nerve. "Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, my love," she instructed. She demonstrated the technique before taking one of his free hands and placing it over her heart so that he could use the rise and fall of her chest and the warmth it provided to ground himself. She continued to instruct him to breathe in through his nose, hold for a count of four, and then exhale through the mouth for a count of four. As his breathing slowed she quieted down and simply allowed him space to coregulate until their chests were rising and falling in time with one another.

BELGIREL: A panic attack? It felt like it was so much more than just him panicking. He felt scared, sure, but it was more than that in his eyes. Did a panic attack cut off your ability to breathe? Did it make you unable to stand or think? Did it make you feel like you needed to tear your skin off. Did it make you sweat and shake and feel like you were going to vomit like a true illness? Did it make you feel like you were dying the mortal death of a heart attack? Did it matter? Regardless of what it was, he did his best to listen to Dagon's instructions. Breathing properly wasn't easy. He tried to breathe through his nose, but he kept gasping for air through his mouth. It made him dizzy and light headed. It took a few minutes, but eventually, he started doing it right. He could feel the beating of her chest now that it was a little easier to focus. He breathed in with her and breathed out with her, soothing himself more with just her breathing the more time they spent there. He leaned his head against her chest and closed his eyes, trying to push out those other feelings, not wanting to let them overwhelm him so much. After a few minutes of sitting there, he let out a low sigh. "I'm sorry."

DAGON: It wasn't the first time that she'd caught a glimpse of the pain underneath. He didn't sleep much, but when he did he had nightmares. She'd coached him through a few of those before, but they'd never gotten to the level of a panic attack. She relaxed a little more as his breathing calmed. She held him close to her and ran her fingers through his hair as he collapsed into her. She kissed the top of his head and her snakes rubbed his back. "No, honey, I'm sorry," she apologized. "It wasn't supposed to be like this. You shouldn't have been left alone in there." They were supposed to do this as a team. She'd tried to get to him, but she wasn't swift enough. She'd do better to forgo casual politeness next time. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked now that his breathing was calmer. "We don't have to, but it might make you feel better to give that feeling a voice so we can better understand it."

BELGIREL: Dagon had always been a soothing presence. He felt content sitting with her and even more relaxed as she ran her fingers through his hair, but that didn't fully solve the problem at hand. The panic he'd felt didn't entirely go away. It was just more manageable now. So maybe he had been having a panic attack. He didn't see why Dagon needed to be sorry for it. It wasn't her fault. He shouldn't have been entirely dependent on her presence just to be able to handle a party. "I wasn't alone." If anything, it was the fact that there were so many different people was the problem, and knowing some of them didn't make things easier. He wasn't sure if he wanted to talk about it. More specifically, he didn't know if he knew how to put it into words. "I feel . . . wrong. I've been working on trying to be more . . . honest about how I'm really feeling with the guys, but it's like- like I'm walking around in someone else's skin. I can't get away from that guy, that past me who doesn't exist anymore."

DAGON: "Physically, no," she agreed. He'd been alone in a more emotional way. One that left him without a buffer person to help facilitate conversations and fill in the blanks. She nodded when he replied that he felt wrong. She'd seen how uncomfortable he was in his own skin from time to time. "It's not fair to you to try to live up to that image," she soothed. "He's entirely fictional. Not in the sense that you made him up, but in the sense that we did." His death allowed them to spin this image of Belgirel that was entirely unattainable. "Maybe it's time to shed that skin." Her snakes nuzzled around him. They were supernatural beings so they didn't exactly shed but the real models of them did. "I know it's scary. For a long time, this skin has protected you from so much. But it no longer represents you and that's okay. It's okay to no longer be that person. And it's okay to not really know who or what you want to be. The beings that love you will love you no matter what form you take or how much it changes."

BELGIREL: Dagon seemed to understand what he meant when he said he felt wrong. She always seemed to understand him no matter what he said, even when he didn't fully understand it himself. "I don't know if he's fully fictional." There were probably parts of him that had been true. Everyone had so many stories of him, so he assumed some of them had to have been real. It just wasn't true anymore. "But that person died, and I'm not him anymore," if he ever even was that guy, which was part of what he was struggling coming to terms with. He felt so detached from the past version of himself that he wasn't sure if he was a continuation or some construction of the Void's design to trick everyone into thinking he was the same person they loved. What if he was a trap designed to not know what he was? What if he was a monster under this skin? But the skin- it itched, and he needed it off. "If I'm someone different, how will you know you'll still love me? What if I'm someone you don't like?"

DAGON: She'd been reading him stories of Peter Pan and those had largely taken inspiration from Gears life, but they were based on a true story in the same way modern movies were based on true stories. He seemed to recognize that in part. "It's okay to mourn that person, but you don't need to wear a form that no longer fits," she soothed. His friends were used to fluidity. Belgirel himself already had two forms that he happened to share with Belphegor. The ground work for acceptance was already there. He just needed to take the leap and trust that his friends would help him fly again. "Immortal beings are a different brand, my love. I've seen hundreds of versions of Belpegor and Cupid and others and their changes don't make them any less my friend or family.  I've been through a thousand iterations of myself too. To live as long as we do is to accept that everything around us, including ourselves and the people we love, changes. You might change, but I'm willing to ride out that change with you. I'm not afraid of it because at the end of the day I know you're a good person and that's one thing that will never change."

BELGIREL: He didn't know if he was trying to mourn that other version of himself. Was that why he was struggling and trying to hold onto it. He just felt like he needed to. Maybe he was scared. He didn't know what or who he was without that other guy either, but she was right that it didn't fit him anymore. It wasn't really just that he wanted to look different or anything. A change in form for him was like accepting both internally and externally that he was different. "But I'm not even really immortal. I'm just- I'm dead. I get to see you, and I get to act like the living, but I'm still just dead at the end of the day." That was one of the hardest things for him to accept and part of why he needed the change. He wasn't the same person as before. He had died, and with death, a change was inevitable. Both death and life seemed to come with changes, but it was a comfort to know that at least she was comfortable with those changes. "Okay, I love you." He took in a deep breath, and as he exhaled, his skin shed off. His body changed its basic structure. His hair became darker. His eyes became a darker brown. The scars were still there, and if anything they were more prevalent, like he wasn't trying to hide what he'd been through. He looked at Dagon again. "So this is okay?" He asked. It felt better. He didn't feel as trapped in his own skin.

DAGON: "Death, like life, doesn't have be stagnant," she assured him. "Not anymore." He'd been frozen for so long in nothing but a state of torture and he'd always carry that with him, but it didn't mean that he or his form needed to be stuck in that state. "Death changed you as much as life changed us and that's okay. We'll keep changing together. We'll grow together. We'll cry together. We'll make love together." Everything that she could do with him, she would. She squeezed his hand. "I love you too," she told him. She watched with twinkle and wonder as his form changed into something he was more comfortable with. There was a beauty in it. Not just in the physical sense, but in the sense that he was allowing her to see him inside and out. He was allowing himself the peace of becoming something that felt true to him. There was nothing more lovely than that. Dagon leaned in and kissed him. "Yes." Another tender kiss. "It's better than okay. It's you, inside and out."

BELGIREL: He supposed she was right to an extent. Some parts of death weren't stagnant anymore. After coming into it, Belphegor seemed to be changing it for the better constantly. They'd implemented help for the people who had been tortured. The dead had more options now on how to spend their time. There were groups, safe spaces, activities. The main problem they came across was a lack of purpose and the fact that they couldn't leave. "You don't feel stagnant being with me?" he asked. "I can't exactly go where you go or be with you for certain important events like other couples get to do." He wished he could've been there for her actual coronation, and it felt like she did more to support him than he was able to do for her. Did that not make her feel stagnant? But she seemed so certain. She was smart. She had to have considered these things already. "I want to do everything I can with you too." He just hoped it would be enough. The change in him didn't seem to deter her. He wasn't an empath, and he didn't see the auras Cupid had shown him, but he still saw the love in Dagon's eyes. She wasn't pulling away. She was pulling him closer. She'd always been accepting of him, but he was still delightfully surprised when she met his change with a kiss. His cheeks colored in pink as he relaxed against the wall. This was okay. This was good. He leaned into her kiss the second time. "It's me," he agreed. His hands moved up to hold her face. "Thank you for helping me get there."

DAGON & NADIA: "No, baby, I don't feel stagnant with you. I feel..." She tried to think of the best word to describe what se felt. "I feel whole." She smiled warmly. She felt complete. "I miss you at those events, but I know I'll get to see you afterward and that's the part I look forward to the most. I feel lucky that I get that much because before I didn't get to see you at all." He might not physically get to be there but she always carried him in her heart and mind. He was the first person she wanted to call when anything big happened.

She smiled when he remarked that he wanted to do everything with her too. "We will," she promised. The Empty was getting bigger every day. The more it expanded, the more they'd get to experience things together. She was excited to show him what it meant to let yourself feel free again. She smiled as he kissed her back and held her face. Her eyes twinkled as she admired the look of this newer, truer form. She brushed her thumb over his lips. "I knew you'd always get there," she smiled. She leaned in and kissed him again. As she pulled away, her eyes caught the sight of a giant straw goat moving through the garden.

"What the hell...?" she muttered.

 "Murmur, that was the fourth hedge you ran him through. Cupid's going to hang you upside down from a tree and I'm going to let her," Nadia scolded him.

Dagon heard them crash through another hedge as the goat stalled just below the balcony. She could see the tips of its horns from where she and Gears were perched. The demon snorted and buried her laugh in Belgirel's chest. "Well, that's definitely hell..."

BELGIREL & MURMUR: Although he knew deep down that she didn't feel held back by him, it was better to be able to hear her say it. He wanted to say the same thing back to her, but it wasn't entirely true. It wasn't because of anything she lacked. It was just the fact that he currently still felt like pieces of him were missing. She had been one of those missing pieces, but there were more. Some of them were his missing memories, which he wasn't sure if he'd ever get them all back, and the other part was basically just his life's essence. The Empty might've been named that because there used to be nothing in it, but the people here who were in a state of non-living had an emptiness inside of them. As long as they were dead, they'd remain like that, but some things and some people made it a little better. Like Dagon. "You make me forget I'm dead when I'm with you." Maybe that wasn't the same as feeling whole to her, but it was just as important to him. She had an optimistic light to it, being happy with what she had because of what she'd lost before. He was a little more greedy and more jealous. He got a taste of a good thing and saw what he missed out on. He always wanted more of her. Even as close as they were now, kissing under the starless sky of the Empty, he wanted more of her. He felt saddened when she pulled away and wasn't looking at him anymore. He turned his head to see the giant straw goat he'd built for Nadia's stealing game. He guessed it was time to move it.

"You're the one who's running it through things. You keep pushing me forward when I'm trying to turn," Murmur grumbled. "And you make it sound like getting hung upside down is a bad thing. I'd love to do it." He huffed, but they continued walking.

Belgirel smiled as Dagon laughed into him. He still barely understood what was going on with the goat, but he liked seeing her laugh. He kissed the top of her head. "Let's just stay here awhile."

DAGON & NADIA: She smiled when he remarked that she made him feel like he wasn’t dead. He’d described the sensation of what it felt like to be dead before and the emptiness that came with it. She was glad her presence filled some of that and made him forget. She trailed a few kisses down his jaw and neck before resting her head on his chest. She could still hear the last of the kids argument filtering in.

“Me?” Nadia squawked indignantly. “You’ve got the coordination of a 3 legged giraffe today. If Dagon were to spot you, she’d adopt you and rehab you. And, you know what, maybe you need it!”

Dagon giggled into Belgirel’s chest again. “I didn’t realize both me and Murmur were invited to a roast today,” she whispered. She watched as the goat moved again and the arguing continued. There was much sparkle and mirth in her eyes as she listened to the kids simply being kids until the sound of their voices disappeared. It was clear she loved them both. She nodded when Gears asked to stay here a while. She lifted her head up, kissed him, and then relaxed back into his arms. She’d stay here with him forever if she could.

[talthorn-sylvoran]

The Hearts of Tenacity Festival ( WoW N-RP Event - May 19-21st 2023 )

The Hearts of Tenacity Festival is coming up fast! Embrace this incredible experience with fellow community members with a passion for performances and storytelling! Talthorn and Konietzko Syl'voran are your captivating hosts for this weekend of magic! ✨✨✨✨✨✨

We host our event at Tenacity Isle, a lone isle that is unnamed in game though we've given it a name! The proxy is located as seen below, within Pandaria near the Kun-Lai Summit!

Please join for our DISCORD the most current info or check out our CARRD SITE! https://www.tinyurl.com/HeartsDisc https://heartsoftenacity.carrd.co/

[tsukikoayanosuke]

Twisted Wonderland Daemon AU (but my brain is not that big), or just Animal Companion AU - Heartslabyul Edition

The Basic Gits: Daemons are the external physical manifestation of a person's 'inner-self' that takes the form of an animal. Usually the daemon will have the opposite gender from their human. During childhood, daemon can change into any animal but when human matured, their daemon settle into a permanent form (you can’t choose the final animal form). When a human die, their daemon will turn to dust. And it’s taboo for a human to touch any daemon except their own.

It has been a long time since I watched/read The Golden Compass, so I might get some points wrong. I technically made this before the whole Yana Toboso interview that said there would be more familiar. And in the discord server I was like “My daemon au is confirm!” XD 

This is a personal choices with a help from a friend. This is harder than I thought it would be. Discussion is much welcome. I’ll be only making for the humans. So, no beastman, mermaid, ghost, fae, or any mythical creatures.

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Ace Trappola

His daemon name is Penelope. In Greek, the name means ‘weaver’. It is also the name of the hero Odysseus’s faithful wife.

Penelope settled into your regular urban raccoon. Raccoons are known to be a trickster, just like Ace. The culprit who knock down your outdoor trashcan. The black mark around their eyes resemblance of a thief mask, thus they’re often associated to thievery. But this also show their intelligence to be able to steal food without anyone noticing. And with the busy and dangerous city road, a raccoon need to adapt and be resourceful with their surrounding. Thus, they can also represent craftiness, resourcefulness, problem-solving, tenacity, adaptability, and endurance.

I want a raccoon representation in this AU, so I’m giving it to Ace lol.

Deuce Spade

His daemon name is Carwen. It’s the female variant of Carwyn, a Welsh name means “blessed love”.

Carwen settles into a flame skimmer dragonfly. From many colors available, we get an orange one that will compliment Deuce’s blue aesthetic. Dragonflies may represent, growth, transformation, impermanence, ephemerality, or adolescence. Because dragonflies, both as nymphs and as adults, are such prolific hunters, dragonflies may also be connected with acuity, agility, and ferocity. In addition, dragonflies are typically born in the summer, and as we know, it’s the holiday. But can also be the time of nostalgia and connection to the youth.

Right from the get go I wanted Deuce to have something that symbolize change/metamorphosis. I can’t pick butterfly because we all know who will get that, so a dragonfly it is.

Cater Diamond

His daemon name is  Avyukth. It’s a Sanskrit girl name means "Peace of Mind; Clear as Crystal; Name of Lord Krishna." Cater gave her “Avie” as a nickname.

Avie settles into a potbellied pig. Pig symbolism is fascinating and varied depending on which side of the world you're in. In English language, there are many idioms where pigs become the subject, like "pearls before swine", "when pigs fly" dan "whole hog", thus giving pigs the symbol of gluttony or slovenliness. But, in China, pigs become the first animal to be domisticated, thus connecting it with domesticity, the home, and the success of the family. It can also symbolize status, wealth, prosperity, honesty, and virtue. Not to mention, pig is one of the animal in the twelve zodiac despite overslept and took up the rear.

For Cater, I was looking for “animal that's kinda sus” and found out that ‘Sus’ the genus of wild and domestic pigs. After that, a friend suggested those little teacup pig. I’ve never heard about it so I looked up and hoo boy it did not disappointed. With the many symbolism of the pig, we can take this as not really knowing Cater daemon’s true reason of her settled animal.

Trey Clover

His daemon name is   Frideswide. It’s a  modern form of the Old English name Friðuswiþ. It is formed of the elements frip, which means ‘peace’ and swib, which means ‘strong.’

Frideswide settles into a Newfoundland god. When you think of dogs, the first thought is usually the term “a man’s best friend”, an animal that will give you unconditional love and devotion. They are also a fierce protector and a faithful companion with their endurance, perseverance, domesticity, and playfulness in life.

I kinda joked around that I’ll be giving Trey a companion animals, and the first pick is a dog. For the breed, Newfoundland dog can be a great mama (other than Labrador Retriever), and also a symbol of hard work and genuine loyalty.

Riddle Rosehearts

His daemon name is   Aurealana. It’s a combination of two words; ‘aurea’ which means “golden” in Latin, and “alana” which  can be derived from the Irish language term "a leanbh" for "child".

Aurealana settles into a Northern mockingbird. From it's habit of "mocking", these birds represent learning, memorization, plagiarism, and music. Mockingbirds are also socially monogamous and will go out of their way to choose a partner who aggressively defends the nest and is an active and devoted parent, thus they can also represent communication, stability, defense, protection, parenthood, or commitment.

From the beginning, I know that Riddle has to have a bird daemon. It’s the usual ‘bird can fly, flying means freedom’ and Riddle being in his mother control feels like ‘a bird trapped in a birdcage’. I also headcanon Mama Rosehearts has a big cat daemon, or something like a lion or tiger, which makes it scarier compare to Riddle’s small bird.

[ozomatli]

tell us about eddie. please. and thank you 🤲

long explanation: eddie rowan (aka wade dinero) is a homebrew dnd character i made in 2020 to ship with a friend who slowly evolved into my biggest ever comfort character/self insert and has lived rent free in my brain ever since. there are over 50 alternate versions of him that exist across various discord roleplays, dnd sessions, story wips and paper doodles.

^my first ever attempt at visualizing him vs. now v

i drew a lot of inspiration from characters like yzma (emperors new groove), bill cipher (gravity falls), nisha kadam (borderlands), and max (sam and max) as well as a healthy dose of my own psychological hangups and issues to build his personality. he's a sadistic and manipulative liar who will seemingly chase his every whim and desire at the drop of a hat, with the charisma and tenacity to do so quickly and effectively. he likes making people squirm, in all ways of the word.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Dianne Feinstein, the woman who represented California in the US Senate and was the longest-serving female senator in history, “blazed trails for women in politics and found a life’s calling in public service”, Hillary Clinton said.

The former New York Senator and Secretary of State, who in 2016 was the first woman to win the presidential nomination of a major US party, paid tribute to her fellow Democrat shortly after the announcement of her death. At the time of her death, Feinstein was 90 and still in office.

Clinton added: “I’ll miss her greatly as a friend and colleague.”

From the White House, Joe Biden saluted “a pioneering American.”

The President added: “Serving in the Senate together for more than 15 years, I had a front-row seat to what Dianne was able to accomplish. It’s why I recruited her to serve on the Judiciary Committee when I was chairman – I knew what she was made of.”

“… Often the only woman in the room, Dianne was a role model for so many Americans … she had an immense impact on younger female leaders for whom she generously opened doors. Dianne was tough, sharp, always prepared, and never pulled a punch, but she was also a kind and loyal friend.”

Gavin Newsom, the Democratic Governor of California, will select Feinstein’s replacement. Calling Feinstein “a political giant”, he said she “was many things – a powerful, trailblazing US Senator; an early voice for gun control; a leader in times of tragedy and chaos.”

“But to me, she was a dear friend, a lifelong mentor, and a role model not only for me, but to my wife and daughters for what a powerful, effective leader looks like.”

Feinstein’s “tenacity”, Newsom said, “was matched by her grace. She broke down barriers and glass ceilings, but never lost her belief in the spirit of political cooperation. And she was a fighter - for the city [San Francisco, where she was the first woman to be mayor], the state and the country she loved.”

There was some discord among the praise. David Axelrod, formerly a senior adviser to Barack Obama, pointed to recent controversy over whether, given her evidently failing health and absences which affected Democratic Senate business, Feinstein should have retired.

“How sad that the final, painful years will eclipse in the memories of some a long and distinguished career,” Axelrod said⁩. “RIP, Senator Feinstein.”

Many users cited a recent piece in New York magazine by the writer Rebecca Traister, about Feinstein’s declining years, which asked: “She fought for gun control, civil rights and abortion access for half a century. Where did it all go wrong?”

John Flannery, a former federal prosecutor turned commentator, was among those who had a rejoinder: “I hope some of those who hounded her in her dying days will remember her contributions.”

Many tributes highlighted Feinstein’s contributions to attempts to combat the problem of gun violence.

Though Feinstein “made her mark on everything from national security to the environment to protecting civil liberties”, Biden said, “there’s no better example of her skillful legislating and sheer force of will than when she turned passion into purpose, and led the fight to ban assault weapons.”

Chris Murphy, a Democratic Senator from Connecticut and a leading voice for gun control reform, said Feinstein would “go down as a heroic, historic American leader … an early and fearless champion of the gun safety movement as author of the monumental Assault Weapons Ban of 1994.”

“For a long time, between 1994 and the tragedy in Newtown in 2012 [in which 20 young children and six adults were killed], Dianne was often a lonely but unwavering voice on the issue of gun violence.”

“The modern anti-gun violence movement – now more powerful than the gun lobby – simply would not exist without Dianne’s moral leadership.”

From the US House, Maxwell Frost of Florida, one of the youngest congressional progressives, called Feinstein “a champion for gun violence prevention that broke barriers at all levels of government.”

“We wouldn’t have had an assault weapons ban if it wasn’t for Senator Feinstein and due to her tireless work, we will win it back. May her memory be a blessing.”

From outside Congress, Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, a pro-gun control group, pointed out that Feinstein was “one of the first among her colleagues to support gun safety – including Democrats”.

Inside Congress, as a government shutdown loomed, Feinstein’s desk in the Senate was draped in black cloth, a vase of white roses placed to mark her death.

From the other side of the political aisle, the Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins called Feinstein “a strong and effective leader, and a good friend.”

Newsom has pledged to pick a Black woman to replace Feinstein until the midterm elections next year.

On Friday, Barbara Lee, a Black Democratic congresswoman running for the seat, said: “This is a sad day for California and the nation. Senator Feinstein was a champion for our state, and served as the voice of a political revolution for women.”

Among commentators, the MSNBC anchor Mehdi Hasan highlighted what will to many prove a complicated political legacy.

“The high point and low point of … Feinstein’s long and storied career as a US senator both relate to the ‘War On Terror’,” Hasan said. “Low point: voting for the Iraq invasion. High point: going against the CIA to expose their torture programme.”

In his statement, Newsom said: “Every race [Feinstein] won, she made history, but her story wasn’t just about being the first woman in a particular political office, it was what she did for California, and for America, with that power once she earned it. That’s what she should be remembered for.”

“There is simply nobody who possessed the poise, gravitas, and fierceness of Dianne Feinstein.”

Jennifer Mercieca, a historian of political rhetoric at Texas A&M University, put the case for Feinstein perhaps most simply of all.

“Dianne Feinstein was on the right side of history,” she said.