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crackedpumpkin · 2 years ago

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|| ʙʟᴀɴᴋ ᴄᴀɴᴠᴀꜱ || ᴘᴛ. ᴛᴡᴏ ||

[ 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 ] | [ 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 ] | [ 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 ]

The sun is annoying, and the world can survive without vegetables.

This is the conclusion you’ve drawn after waking up to warm, yellow rays that shine directly onto your closed eyes. You blink groggily, rubbing your tired eyes with a free hand while the other brushes your teeth.

“Honey, you’re gonna be late!”

You mumble out an incoherent reply to your mom from the bathroom, quickly tossing on a thin cardigan after rinsing your mouth to rid the intense menthol sting that lingers on your lips. Entering the kitchen once done, however, provides you with a delicious reminder of how amazing of a cook your mom is.

You grab a fork, devouring the scrambled eggs on toast. Sriracha stains the plate as a result of your messy eating habits, placing the now-empty plate in the basin with a satisfied hum. “Thanks, Mama!” You grab your school bag and rush to the door. You pause at the small alcove before the door, stepping down and slipping on your shoes.

“Bye, Mama! See you later!” You call out before shutting the door behind you. The walk to school is as usual, with loud car horns being beeped as people rush to work while you stroll past graffiti-filled walls on the side of buildings. The street outside your school is already crowded with various cliques chatting away, and you enthusiastically greet some of them with nods and half-smiles as you enter through the main gate.

You polish off your taco, throwing away your napkin after using it to wipe your lips of any grease stuck on them. You look up at the sound of your name being called, grinning once you see a short brunette walking down the hallway. “Morning,” You greet Nicole cheerfully, opening your locker and pulling out the textbooks and notebooks you need for the day.

“What’s with you today?”

You hum at her question, glancing at her with a quick shrug as she scrolls through Instagram. Nicole’s the first friend you made here in Brooklyn High School after transferring here four months ago. She had been the first to approach you, asking to borrow a pencil after she forgot to bring hers to class.

Like any other teenager being forced to move cities to somewhere completely new, you stick to her like glue after that, eventually infiltrating your way into her friend group.

“You know me, studious and independent’s the vibe I got goin’ on,” You grin at Nicole, draping an arm around her shoulder and giving her an affectionate squeeze. She looks up from her phone with a frown, using her finger to push up her glasses which had slid down slightly from their usual perch on her nose.

“Don’t be so uptight,” You chuckle, nudging her side. She sighs, rolling her eyes in amusement instead. You’re interrupted from your conversation on where to hang out this weekend at your name being yelled out from a distance away.

“Eyyyy, que pasa!” You laugh at Michael’s greeting as he comes up to you with an outstretched fist, bumping it gently after removing your arm from where it was resting around Nicole’s shoulders. “Have you studied for the quiz today?” He asks, slinging a casual arm around your shoulders while you walk down the hall with Nicole beside you.

You hum with a quick shrug. “Think so?”

“Man, you gotta get your head down from the clouds, bro.” He chuckles, trying to move sneakily to stand beside Nicole, who simply holds up her hand, stopping him from coming any closer with a glare. He retracts the arm he’s about to sling around her shoulders with a sheepish grin, holding it up in surrender.

“Anyway,” He brushes off her clear rejection, focusing back on you, “I’m planning a hangout with a few friends to celebrate the end of exam season. You in?” You immediately nod with a wide grin, already excited at the thought of goofing around with your friends.

“Of course, you’re invited too. Maybe we can have our own little hangout-”

“I’d rather stab my right arm.” Nicole cuts him off with an angelic smile, though her venom-filled words elicit an amused laugh from Michael. “Ah, how I love that icy nature of yours,” He sighs with a shake of his head.

“Who’s coming?’ You ask absentmindedly, adjusting the two notebooks in your arms.

“Jeremy, Ally, Geoff, Tiff, Miles…”

“Miles? As in, Miles Morales?” Nicole finally speaks, eyes wide in surprise.

“Who’s that?” You don’t recognise the name. The rest you’re familiar with, though. They’re all in Brooklyn High, just in different classes. You’d seen them in passing around the school, and they recognised you in turn as one of Michael’s friends.

“Right, you don’t know him. He transferred a while before you joined. He’s in Brooklyn Visions now. Here,” Nicole holds up her phone to your face, and you squint at the picture on her screen. Huh. He’s kinda cute, you suppose.

“Cool. Guess we’ll meet during the hangout then.” You sit down at your desk, Michael sitting at the desk beside you while she takes her seat in front of you.

“Wait, how do you know Miles?” Nicole rolls her eyes as she turns around in her chair, placing her elbow on your desk as she leans on her palm.

“He helped me out a couple of times.” She answers simply. Michael frowns slightly. “Were you two….?”

“Why? Are you going to be devastated if I say yes?” Nicole smirks. “Unfortunately, it’s actually because our moms knew each other.” She sighs, holding up her free hand to observe her nails.

Before Michael can respond, the bell rings to signal the start of classes. They pass by in a flash, and all too soon, you’re outside the door to the art classroom. You’re hesitant to enter, eyeing the doorknob as if it’d burn you as soon as you touch it.

“Well? Will you stay outside collecting dust, or will you enter?” You flinch at the sudden voice, looking up to see Miss Dawson looking at you with an expectant gaze. Her arms are crossed, waiting for you to go inside.

“Y-yeah, I was just about to, but then I realised I forgot my…. brushes?”

“You stored them in my desk drawer last week because they were too heavy to carry home with you.”

Damn it. You purse your lips, huffing at your forgetfulness. “Fine,” You mutter, grabbing the doorknob and turning it, walking to your usual corner of the room. You pull out your sketchbook and pencil case, leaning back in your chair and waiting for Miss Dawson to start her lesson.

“Today, I’ll be assigning you a task for your end-of-year exams. I know some of you are interested in building up your portfolio to apply for the Brooklyn Academy of Fine Arts or maybe even to other schools in different states.” You perk up slightly at the mention of art school, placing your hands on your sketchbook. Miss Dawson speaks slowly yet surely, looking at each student with pure conviction. When her gaze lands on you, you’re a hundred percent sure she can see every thought that crosses your mind, each doubt that lingers in your heart.

“Your topic is, Your Favourite Scenery.”

Murmurs spread through the class, everyone looking at each other with worry. You bite your bottom lip, chewing on it in thought as you furrow your brows. Sure, the topic might seem simple enough on the surface, but the fact that it’s so broad is exactly what unnerves you.

Having a chosen topic is good as a guideline, even more so when you know precisely what your favourite scenery is. With the addition of inspiration and motivation, it’d be a breeze to complete.

The problem is, you have none of the above.

You’re not sure what scenery you enjoy, much less have a favourite. Sure, sunsets are pretty, and skyscrapers are cool, but not much really struck you as deeply. You’re made aware of Miss Dawson gesturing for you to come over to her desk, hesitantly standing up and walking there while everyone else is discussing among themselves about the topic given.

You part your lips to greet her, only to be cut off when she holds out her hand expectantly. You huff, handing her your sketchbook. She flips through the pages, frowning slightly when she sees the random doodles and mindless sketches until she stops on a specific one.

She hums, taking in whatever’s on the page. You can’t remember what you’ve drawn, but you’re more than reluctant to admit how much of a slump you’ve been in lately. It’s not like you can come into class, declaring your lack of talent whilst waving your hands in the air.

You focus on Miss Dawson's makeshift jar of pencils on her desk, recalling someone else gifting it to her for Teacher’s Day. The blunt nibs are a testament to how much she uses them, a bedazzled one drawing your attention. You pick it up, observing the tiny sequins firmly glued to the wood with a fascinated gaze.

You flinch when Miss Dawson suddenly clears her throat, automatically moving your hands behind your back and focusing your attention back on her. “So, I assume you had an encounter with our city’s local hero?”

“How’d you know?” You ask, eyes wide in surprise.

She simply turns the sketchbook around to face you, the sketch you’d made last night of Spiderman clear as day. Your cheeks warm, the drawing having slipped your mind. “Looking through your sketchbook, it’s obvious that you’ve been in a slump, honey. But this sketch…This is really good, maybe even one of the better ones you’ve done.”

“Thank you?” You’re not sure if she just complimented or insulted you.

“Seeing him must have helped your inspiration somewhat, didn’t it?”

“I guess so. I dunno, it’s not like a switch I can turn on and off anytime I want.”

“Well, you’ll have to learn how to keep it on. And for this assignment in particular, I want you to focus not just on your favourite scenery. I want you to focus on what exactly makes it your favourite.” Miss Dawson hands the sketchbook back to you with a knowing smile, and you take it from her unsurely.

“Right…” You return to your desk with one dismissive wave from her hand, sitting back down with a defeated groan. You prop your chin onto your hand, staring at the sketch blankly.

An art slump is the worst. Besides, it’s just a drawing of Spiderman; although it is admittedly some of your best work, it’s not like you can just channel that again at the snap of your fingers.

You need inspiration. You need motivation. You need….a muse, which can only mean one thing.

You’re gonna attempt to find Spiderman.

Attempt #1: Have a friendly run-in!

“This is such a bad idea; why am I even trying to find a superhero? I’m literally just going to ask him to be my muse and he’s gonna say no, which is gonna be so embarrassing and I’ll never be able to show my face around here again and what if next time I’m being robbed he turns away because it’s me??”

“Okay, calm down. He’s not going to turn away because he rejected you, or he wouldn’t be a superhero. Also, you’re literally being paranoid because I’m not there with you.”

You frown, pulling your phone away from your ear to check if it really is Nicole you’re calling. “That’s not true.”

“I know when you’re lying.”

“Okay, maybe I’m being slightly paranoid, but for good reason! Why can’t you just come with me? You’re good at getting people to do what you want.”

Nicole’s soft chuckle somewhat relieves you, knowing she took it as a compliment. “I’d come over, but I have to help plan the outing with the group, remember? And I’m not the one with a ride to an Art Academy on the line - you are.”

“Wait, outing?”

“Yeah, remember this morning? You’ll meet Miles then; I think you’d get along. Anyway, you’ll do fine. Michael told me Spidey swings by the hotdog cart every Tuesday, so I guess it’s reliable information.” Nicole reassures you, though her last few emotions are filled with a tinge of doubt. She pulls the phone away to mumble something to someone, and you’re sure it’s an insult based on the irritated bite in her voice when she returns to the phone.

“Fine, I’ll see you tomorrow then…” You say reluctantly, unwilling to hang up the phone.

“Yeah, bye.”

The monotonous dial tone greets your ears after Nicole’s curt goodbye. You shut off your phone, flipping your sketchbook to an empty page with a sigh. You rifle through your pencil case, picking up the sequined pencil you’d accidentally taken from Miss Dawson and tapping it against the blank paper.

Draw your favourite scenery.

You look around, taking in the vibrant green trees and serene lake, the joyful laughter of children and parents filling the air. It’s peaceful. Dogs wander around, some leashed and some set loose. One approaches you, but you wave it away, flinching when it gets too close for comfort. It’s no longer peaceful.

“You can go away now…” You mumble, poking its side to hopefully urge it to move away from you. Your legs automatically move up to the bench, drawing your knees close to your chest. “Shoo, bad dog! Where’s your owner?” You glance up to check if their owner is nearby, only for your bedazzled pencil to be snatched out of your hands.

“Hey!” You exclaim angrily, reaching out to grab it from the dog’s mouth. You hesitate when you see the dog drool dripping onto the end of the pencil, eyeing it with a shudder. You take a moment to steel yourself, grabbing the slimy end with as much force as possible, trying to yank it free from its mouth.

“Let go of my stuff! That’s not yours! I have to return it to Miss Dawson, you stupid dog!” Your grip slips, and you land on the ground with a yelp, wincing when your knee gets scraped by the coarse dirt through your ripped jeans.

“Give it back!” You demand, lurching yourself forward and grabbing the pencil again. However, the dog growls playfully, thinking of it as nothing more than a game for entertainment. “This is why,” You grunt between shallow breaths, “I prefer cats!”

Your sketchbook had fallen beside you, the beautiful cover now stained with dirt. You narrow your eyes into a glare, scowling at the dog. “Let go!”

It finally does, maybe because it sensed that you wouldn’t be playing with it. You fall back once more, your back hitting the ground harshly. The breath is instantly knocked out of your chest, and you inhale deeply, trying to force more air back into your lungs with a choked gasp.

You sit back up, holding the pencil up victoriously until you remember that there’s dog drool all over your hand. You groan in disgust, searching for a tissue to wipe it off. Wait. Your sketchbook is missing.

You look around frantically, only to see the exact same dog from earlier now burying a half-open sketchbook into the dirt. Your sketchbook. A strangled yell rips itself from your throat, practically throwing yourself at it with a glare that could rival even Karen herself. You push the dog away, scrabbling at the dirt to uncover your almost completely buried sketchbook.

“Bye, Spiderman!” Your head instantly turns at the sentence, spotting the familiar black silhouette nodding his thanks to the hotdog cart owner, his hotdog securely held in his hand. He flicks his free hand and shoots a web onto the side of a building, beginning to leave.

“Wait! I have a ques-”

He swings off into the distance, already blocks away in the span of a few seconds without hearing your cry. Your arm falls to your side, collapsing back onto the ground to catch your breath while your sketchbook lies buried in the dirt.

Damn it.

Attempt #2: Get Mugged!

“God, I hope this works,” You mumble. The streets around you are dimly lit, and you’re armed with nothing more than your bulky pencil case and a whistle, both stored in the deep pockets of your hoodie. The handbag containing your wallet and phone bumps against your waist, the strap loosely slung across your shoulder.

You’re the perfect walking target to be mugged.

Granted, this is probably one of the worst ideas you’ve had in the history of bad ideas. The chilly Brooklyn night breeze tickles your ears with an icy breath, and your body gives an involuntary shiver. You scan the empty streets hopefully. When was Spiderman – or better yet, a robber, going to show up?

Whether it was desperation or pure adrenaline driving you forward at this point, you couldn’t tell.

But you’re here, and you’re determined to see things through.

Minutes pass of you wandering the dark streets like a fool, and you’re just about to head back home when you sense that something’s off. Your steps slow, and you hear someone else’s shoes scuffle a short distance behind you.

You start to speed up, fingers gripping the heavy pencil case in your pocket. You’d been hit by it before by accident and did not get away unscathed by any means. Your heartbeat quicks its pace in your chest, sensing them get closer with each step.

There he is.

You finally spot Spiderman chilling on the roof of a nearby apartment building, breaking into a run. The mugger behind you grunts in surprise, and you hear him start to run as well. Your breaths are short and ragged, and you finally reach just below the building.

“Stop right there, missy!” Looking up from where you’ve bent over to catch your breath, you see the sharp knife blade held up at you. The robber is slouching, just as out of breath as you are. However, he straightens his back and flashes you a yellow-toothed smirk from under his cap, and you shudder at the bits of dirt clearly seen in his beard.

You hold your arms up in surrender, risking a quick glance up, only for Spiderman to jump down and land smoothly right in front of you. “Hey man, didn’t your mother ever tell you not to play around with sharp objects?” He tuts, shaking his head as he uses his web shooter to tug the knife away from the robber.

The knife lands in his hands with ease, the robber immediately turning to flee. “I don’t like doing this bit, but you leave me no choice!” Spiderman does a quick frontflip and lands before the robber, grabbing his shoulder and tilting his head. “You should’ve known better,” You hear him scold, and spot a light blue electric current flowing from his fingers to the robber, knocking him unconscious.

Spiderman lets go, taking a surprised step back as the robber falls to the floor, unconscious. He winces, dusting off his hands and walking toward you. “You shouldn’t come out here during the night,” He chides playfully, grabbing the knife that had fallen to the floor when he caught the mugger. “You’d be in a lot of trouble if I wasn’t here.”

“Yeah, thank you. Actually, I wanted to ask-”

“Whoop.” He cuts you off, glancing at his watch, “I’d love to stay and chat, but duty calls! You’re gonna want to take a right down here, another left, and then one more right and you’ll be at the main street. Stay safe!” He gestures down to a more brightly lit street, patting your back before shooting his web shooter at a nearby building.

“Wait- Ugh,” You groan in defeat, watching him swing off again without hearing your question. Your arm is outstretched, fingers barely brushing against his arm before he leaves.

DAMN IT.

Attempt #3: If he doesn’t stop and listen to the goddamn question, you’re going to lose it.

“Calm down, pinto.”

“I spilt pinto beans on myself, one time, people. One. Time.” You frown, crossing your arms. Nicole smirks, shrugging nonchalantly in response.

“Yeah, yeah. Michael told me that he saw your Spidey boy swing around the taco truck down the street a couple times every Thursday, so we should keep a lookout. Don’t want your sketchbook taken away from you again, do we?”

“How does Michael even know all this?” You mumble.

“Look, we don’t ask him questions, and he doesn’t ask us any. It’s a two-way street, pinto. Use those brains of yours.” You shove Nicole lightly with a roll of your eyes. Falling back, she leans against a wall, immediately pulling out her phone and scrolling through it.

God, she has a serious internet addiction. You choose to scan the crowd instead, your gaze sweeping over the kids from the Brooklyn Visions Academy filling the street, having just gotten out of their clubs. You look somewhat out of place with your own uniform, shuffling your feet slightly when they glance over with confused gazes.

You raise your brows in response to a few of them, and they leave with a haughty scoff. You roll your eyes. Stuck up snobs, the lot of them. Hopefully, the information Michael provided is accurate, though you’re sure you’ll never know where he gets it from.

“Hey, is the bowling alley chill with you for the hangout? Miles sucks at bowling, so we can team up to obliterate the boys.”

“Sure,” You reply absentmindedly, only to pause and turn to face her. “Is he not free to meet up before, though? I’d like to get to know him first, so it won’t be as awkward.”

“Nah,” Nicole frowns at her screen, “He’s busy on all the days I suggested. Something about homework and stuff. Maybe he’s turned into one of the snobs.” She puts her phone away with a snort. “Also, there’s your Spidey-guy.”

“What?” True enough, he’s at the taco truck right now, ordering a taco and waiting patiently. Spiderman has to have lunch breaks too, you suppose. You watch him tap his fingers against the metal table, bobbing his head along to a beat playing in his mind.

You grit your teeth, grab your bag and keep your now clean sketchbook, having wiped off all the dirt with a cloth and the best surface cleaner you own back home. Your eyes shine with a determined glint, practically marching through the crowd to him.

“Hey!” You stumble back, looking down at the bright yellow mustard on your pristine white shirt. “Are you kidding me?” You growl in frustration, looking up to see a girl dressed in the Brooklyn Visions uniform holding up her ruined basket of fries, the small toppled tub now on its side and most of the sauce on you.

“Watch where you’re going!” She huffs, looking at you with pure disdain.

“Watch where I’m going? Watch where you’re going!”

Oh God, please let him still be there-

Spiderman is holding his taco now, trying to slip away through the crowd. Your eyes narrow into a glare, pushing past the girl with a muttered apology, running as fast as possible to catch up to the superhero.

You spot him jogging into an alleyway, following suit. You stop, however, when you see that it’s empty. “What?” You mumble, looking around frantically for him. You hear a loud coo, looking up to see the very hero you’re looking for crawling along the wall of the Academy dorms.

“Wha-?” Now you’re baffled. You watch him reach a specific window, using an arm to open it and enter before sliding it shut behind him. Three floors up and the last one down the hall. Got it. You run to the entrance, only to be stopped by a security guard.

“Woah, woah, woah. Only students of Brooklyn Visions Academy are allowed inside.” He chuckles, holding a hand in front of you to stop you from entering.

“No, you don’t understand! I need to talk to someone inside.” You try to plead, but he merely raises his brows.

“Okay, what’s their name?”

“W-well. You see, here’s the thing.” You laugh nervously, rubbing the back of your neck.

“Mmhm. Come back when you have their name, and I’ll call them down for you, okay?” He dismisses you, using his hands to turn your shoulders around. He pats your back slightly, sending you on your way.

You frown, brows furrowing in thought for a way to get in. Maybe Nicole would have an idea. She’s eerily good at stuff like this. Your feet pound against the pavement in a steady rhythm as you run back to where you had left her waiting.

“Nic!” You call out, panting heavily once you reach the girl who’s still in the same position as when you left. “I need help; I gotta sneak into the dorms of the snob school.” You say through your gulps for air, your lungs screaming for more oxygen.

“You need to sneak in?” She asks, looking up from her phone with raised brows.

“Yeah. I can’t explain right now, but I really need your help.” You confirm breathlessly.

She mulls over your plea for a moment before shrugging, moving away from the wall and pocketing her phone. She stretches her arm above her head momentarily. “Stay here.” She orders before stepping out of the alleyway and out of your sight.

You wait, albeit impatiently, tapping your foot as urgency consumes you. Nicole soon returns with the Academy’s blazer in her hands, tossing it at you with a grin. “Got it for free; you can keep it. I gotta go for a study session. Will you be okay on your own?”

“Yeah, thanks, Nic.” She never fails to impress you every time. You thank her quickly before returning to the dorm entrance, wearing the blazer on the way. You halt once you reach it, keeping your head down and fastening the buttons securely, hiding the bright yellow stain on your shirt.

God, it’s probably going to get onto the blazer too, you wince. Spotting a group of girls walking into the entrance, you jog over and stick close to them, walking past the security guard from earlier.

Once you’re inside, your tense shoulders sag with relief, a massive weight being lifted off your chest. The atrium is pretty cool, but you don’t have time to admire any architecture right now. You glance at the two winding staircases, signs directing the students to the boys' or girls' side.

You recall the window being on the right side of the building, walking up the respective staircase. Luckily, not many students are around. Most of them have gone out.

Third floor, last room down the hall.

You take the lift up, exchanging an awkward smile with another girl who’s clearly sneaking in as well. She gets off at the second floor, and you spam the button to close the lift doors. As soon as they close, you practically collapse against the wall with a long, drawn-out sigh of relief.

The lift doors open to the third floor. You peek your head out, looking around. Good, there’s no one.

Stepping out of the lift, you pause. Do you go right, left, or straight? From what you recall of the exterior structure, you’re pretty sure it’s the hall on your left. Steeling your resolve, you walk down the carpeted floor, your footsteps muffled.

There it is, the room at the end of the hallway. You raise your hand, knocking on the hard wood once, twice, three times.

Silence is all that greets you.

“Is anyone there?” You call out softly. When no one responds, you grip the doorknob just to check. To your surprise, however, the door swings open with a single push, revealing the room inside.

It wasn’t locked.

“Pardon my intrusion….”

You step over a pile of clothes on the floor, your nose scrunching at the smell. Deodorant and musk fill the air. A picture frame sits on a desk to your left, with a photo of a short boy.

That can’t be him; his stature is too different.

Another picture sits on a small nightstand, and you pick it up to see a familiar face. The boy in the picture with his family is tall, with chocolate brown eyes and raven-black hair. You frown, tilting your head. Where had you seen him before…?

A soft thud draws your attention. Something had fallen to the floor from where it was squashed between the bedframe of the bunk bed and another piece of furniture. You bend down, picking it up.

Spiderman’s mask hangs loosely in your grasp.

You look multiple times from the mask and the poorly-hidden suit to the picture, finally connecting the dots. You pull out your phone, hurriedly texting the one person who could confirm your surefire theory.

yo, Nic. send me the picture of the guy - Miles, i think? - Read, 2pm

Sure ig. dont go stalking him tho - Nicole, 2pm.

The strong vibration of your phone alerts you to a new text. You look down, thankful for Nicole’s fast reply. Opening the text, an image of the ever-so-elusive Miles Morales fills your screen.

Oh my god.

Your eyes widen, your suspicions confirmed.

It can't be.

But it's the only explanation that makes sense.

Miles Morales is Spiderman. Spiderman is Miles Morales.

You hide the mask back where it's dropped out of its hiding place, swallowing thickly when you hear the lift ding, making your swift exit.

Rushing down the hall, the last thing you expect is to bump against the very boy you’ve been looking for. You don’t dare risk a glance, recognising him just by his shoes alone. Ignoring his apology, you run off, making your exit.

Once you exit the dorm entrance, most of the tension leaves your body. Making your way back home, your mind reels from the discovery.

Miles Morales is Spiderman.

While you slip away from his notice, Miles spots something in his peripheral vision. His suit had fallen slightly out of his hiding place. Thinking nothing of it, he goes to stuff it back in when he sees a small spot of yellow on the side of his mask.

Yellow?

He brings the mask up to his nose and takes a sniff. His brows furrow at the familiar scent.

...Mustard?

He wipes it off with a shrug.

#spiderman: into the spiderverse #Into The Spiderverse #miles morales #miles morales x reader #miles morales x y/n #miles morales x you #into the spiderverse x reader #spiderman: into the spiderverse x reader

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frodo-with-glasses · 8 months ago

Text

More Reading Thoughts: In the House of Tom Bombadil

BEHOLD! ANOTHER CHAPTER! We’re making it at a magnificent clip nowadays

Eyyyy it’s Goldberry!

Frodo surprising himself with the poem that springs out of his mouth when he sees Goldberry will never not be hilarious and adorable

It does beg the question of where the heck that came from. Does Goldberry just have that effect on people? Does it have serving to do with Elf magic, like she implies? Does Frodo just have that accidental rizz?? Who knows!

Frodo: “Who is Tom Bombadil?” Goldberry: “Well, he is, of course, silly :-D”

Mighty convenient that Tom has exactly four beds for the four travelers

They DO take a bath before supper >8-D (Don’t mind me, just a comic idea percolating in my head. Some of you know what I’m talking about.)

Tom was waiting for them. Tom was waiting for them. He’d heard word that the hobbits were coming. He wasn’t actively trying to find them, but he wasn’t surprised when he did. I don’t know why that enchants me so much.

Merry and Pippin like “AAAHH NO DON’T TALK ABOUT THE WILLOW TREE” is simultaneously hilarious and heartbreaking depending on how you look at it

Heeheehee nightmare time

Frodo has a dream about Gandalf and Black Riders. Hmm, pity. You’d think he’d have a nightmare about water, given his near-drowning and the way his parents died…but I guess this is important for foreshadowing purposes.

Pippin has a dream about being inside the tree. He feels surrounded and afraid. Understandable.

MERRY has the dream about water and drowning?? Shut up!! If I were him, I’d be way more disturbed that a freaking tree was IN MY HEAD and threatening to kill me!!

“Sam slept through the night in deep content, if logs are contented.” Hilarious 🤣

Much apologies to my girlies on the server who headcanon the hobbits with phobias corresponding to the four elements; sadly, Tolkien is not on the same page as us this time.

Tom: “You’d better not be late to breakfast, or you’ll get nothing but grass and water!”

See, Frodo gets it. Rainy days are awesome. They are beautiful and force you to slow down and admire the world.

“The trees were here before you, mind, and they don’t much care for your shenanigans!”

Ooh, so the Barrow-wights are the ghosts of dead kings that the Nazgul woke up. Fascinating.

Nothing makes the world of Middle Earth feel old and rich in history more than Tom’s stories

Goldberry’s hand being partly translucent is such a vibe

WAIT. Tom and Goldberry. Differences. Tall and short. Blonde and brown. One graceful and ethereal, the other down to earth and joyful. Working together, not in competition. Frodo and Sam. SHUT UP GUYS I’VE CRACKED THE CODE—

Tom is friends with Farmer Maggot!!

FARMER MAGGOT HAS SPOKEN TO GILDOR

Dang where’s my fantasy epic about Farmer Maggot you guys

And this is the part where Tom puts the Ring on his finger and doesn’t disappear, and if they’d ever included this in the movies it would’ve destroyed the gravity and mystique of the Ring altogether

Merry having to bite back a yell like “HOLY CRAP FRODO’S GONE” 🤣

WAIT I CAN MAKE THAT ANGSTY TOO aw heck the brainrot is setting in

“Frodo laughed (trying to feel pleased)…” Relatable, Frodo, relatable

Tom: “And remember, DON’T GO NEAR THE BARROW-DOWNS!” Meanwhile, the hobbits, in the very next chapter:

#tom bombadil #frodo baggins #meriadoc brandybuck #merry #peregrin took #pippin #samwise gamgee #lord of the rings #lotr #my writing #chapter review

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asophiamills · 4 months ago

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Omg I have a blog where I can post real lore dumps okay uh here...

MHMMMM SOPH X SAM LORE ACTUALLY.

Sam x Soph Spotify Playlist

Check my Instagram for my SophxSam IG highlights, it has more info hehe

Ok, so, when Soph moved in, she and Sam met one another, and recognized each other being childhood bestfriends when she lived at the farm with her grandparents. So they're super close immediately, with Sam being a friendly extrovert and Soph being a shy but excitable ambivert, they've developed a cool friendship that lasted say 6 months. BUT- Sam has been crushing on Soph the moment she walked in the valley, because as a kid Soph made flower crowns for everyone in town, and since Sam was allergic, he couldn't wear flower crowns. Soph made him a paper flower crown instead, crudely cut pieces of paper. Since then, he's had a crush on her, but were eventually seperated when she moved back to Zuzu City. Seeing her again has ignited that flame, especially now that shes older and has found a stronger sense of identity, which he finds totally authentic and keeping it real, very punk hehe.

Anyway, Sam's a terrible flirt, he tries shooting his shot, but he fails everytime, this being his first relationship and having little to no experience. And Soph's demisexual, so she needs a long term emotional connection before seeing someone like that, but she is aesthetically attracted to Sam. In the hopes of something more, she's been flirting with him back, slightly getting a little more touchier than she is with her normal friends. She's always either hanging around his house or vice versa, the pair often playing games and her getting a private show of him on his guitar. So, after his 8 heart event, 6 months after meeting, Sam eventually confesses to Soph. Soph, having been traumatized by past relationships and barely believing in love anymore, is immediately pressured by her issues and is scared, running off, unable to take it. Sam runs after her, and calls her out on her flirting and their lingering gazes and shit, and he breaks down crying in front of her. Soph realizes she fucked up. And so she decides to give him a chance if he'd accept it.

That's the hard part DONE. SO. Sam proceeds to court Soph, knowing she needs extra time with her being demisexual and lacking trust in romance. He often brings her home, invites her to dinner. Soph, feeling a little guilty, and slowly falling for him, despite her not knowing, tries her best to respond to his advances too and gives him handmade gifts, and often buys food from the saloon or cooks them herself for him. One whole year later, with Sam finding out she's Filipino (EYYYY), researches a few tagalog words for her, and learns about harana, where you visit a woman at her house and sing by her window until she comes out to either accept or deny him. He tries this, not expecting much and throws pebbles into her window. Annoyed, she goes out, and accidentally gets hit in the forehead by a rock. After an awkward series of apologies, Sam proceeds to sing filipino love songs to her in the middle of the night with nothing but his guitar and a candle. That night, Soph finally said yes, and they're officially dating every since. :DDDD

I HAVENT BEEN ABLE TO DRAW THEM IN THIS STORY EXCEPT FOR THE CONFRONTATION AND THE 8 HEART EVENT...

8 heart event and confession here

Confrontation Video here

#art #art tumblr #stardew valley art #stardew valley #sdv #stardew valley sam #lore #oc x canon #self ship

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desultory-novice · 4 months ago

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EYYYY IM BACK-

okay in all seriousness. I’ve grown curious. So I apologize (hehe) in advance.

Has the sword ever saved you from something? Or like.. Prevented something BAD from happening? Again, touchy subject- I’m sorry.

I hope that bitch on the radio's lying in a ditch somewhere...

...Sorry about your luck, kid, but it's take or be taken here.

Shit! You're awake?! Thought that'd be enough for two little kids...!

I think I've located the experi...Hello there, son. Can I help you?

She deserved it! She's creepy! You BOTH are!

Yeah, I robbed them. So? Surprised you didn't think to try.

That little girl needs a real family. She should come with us!

We'll all be dead soon enough. W-Why not have...a little fun...?

Where have I heard that name before...? Wait, you're...!

That your sister there? And how old did you say you were...?

Hey?! You can't be in here...!!

...Fontaine...? You came back... I had a feeling you would...

"...Keep it a secret, okay, Addie?"

"Okay!"

(secret?)

".......What were you talking to Adeleine about...?"

(what-secret?)

"Girl's talk!"

"......"

(why-won't-she-give-you-a-straight-answer? what-does-she-want-with-your-little-sister? is-she-trying-to-separate-you-two? or-is-this-just-LIKE-WHEN-...)

"Noir. Are you okay...?"

"I'm fine."

(because-you-can-protect-yourself now. finally. you're-well-and-truly-safe. it's.so.easy-too. you-can-silence-them-all-with-a-thought. or-you-can-draw-it-out. it's-too-bad-humans-bleed-out-because-you-could-have-made-HIM-suffer-for...)

"...Hmm? What's that on your nails?"

"...!!"

(what-will-she-think-when-she-sees-the-blood?! will-she-recognize-it?)

"They don't have you doing sewer work now, do they?" "Kidding! You smell too good for that!"

(she-is-too-observant.)

"It's...just some dirt..."

(she-knows-other-things-too. things-Adeleine-mustn't-know. to-protect-her.)

"...Listen, Noir. Think we could talk some later?"

"Yeah, sure."

(...yes.)

"And...in private, maybe?"

(eye-think-we-should.)

"...I think we should."

Noir's Field Trip Masterpost

@kirbyoctournament

#CW: A Cold Hell #Apologies AU #Noir Fontaine #Noir's Field Trip #Kirby OC Tournament #'See you in about four hours then?'#'...8:40? ...Yeah. I'll be there.'

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blackjackkent · 7 months ago

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Fic request, BG3: Karlach/fem Tav, where Tav has died. After the reserection scroll is used, Karlach goes to pieces. Hurt/comfort.

Eyyyy, ty for the prompt! Sorry this took me a little while to turn around. :D Was fun to write, though; I do love me some Karlach romance and some hurt/comfort. <3 I hope you like!

-----

“You hear that?” Tav asks. The half-elf’s eyes narrow, glinting in the pale light of the moonlantern that is all that protects them from the cursed shadows. “Hold on a sec.”

Karlach halts obediently with the others and listens intently. Her head tips slowly to one side like a dog pricking up its ears, and her eyes drift half-closed in focus. But there's nothing.

The shadow-cursed lands are, in fact, eerily quiet. The place is not only devoid of civilization but life - there's no sound of birdsong, no creatures creeping through underbrush, no leaves or plants of any kind. There's not even a stirring of breeze to knock together the dried branches of the long-dead trees.

Karlach hates it. It reminds her too fucking much of the desolation of the Hells, dead and dry and full of dangers. Not nearly as hot as Avernus, she'll say that much for it, and dark as the inside of her boot. But still a little too close for comfort.

“Don't hear anything, Soldier,” she says in a low voice. Astarion and Shadowheart both shake their heads as well. Then Karlach grins, an automatic reaction to the brief moment of tension. “Must've been my heart pounding, eh?”

Astarion rolls his eyes. “Ugh. Gods,” he murmurs tauntingly. “Is that what passes for smooth in Zariel's army?”

Tav grins. “Shut up, Astarion,” she says, giving him a casual punch in the shoulder.

“I'm just saying,” Astarion quips, “if we're going to have to watch the two of you give each other cow eyes every day of the week, you're going to have to come up with some better material.”

Karlach sticks her tongue out at him. “No one asked you, Fangs,” she shoots back. But she's laughing. It's really hard not to laugh these days, in spite of all the terrible shit happening to them. Astarion can mock all he wants - but she's in love, real love, for the first time in ten years. The first time maybe ever, truth told, because she can't remember any quick fuck back in the Gate that ever made her feel like Tav does.

Tav is… gentle. Kind. When she touches Karlach it feels like the whole world is opening up to her, a feeling of hope like everything is gonna be okay. So yeah, Astarion can laugh all he wants, if it makes him feel better. Karlach really couldn't give less of a shit.

She's happy.

Too happy, as it turns out, because she's so lost in thinking these thoughts and watching the way Tav's smile looks in the lanternlight that she doesn't notice the first arrow coming in.

-----

Tav’s scream is like a knife. Blood spatters across the dark ground as the arrow punctures her shoulder.

A lithe, pale figure darts out of the shadows with a high-pitched giggle and throws something around Tav’s neck. Then in an instant she’s gone, vanished with the creature into thin air.

“Tav!” Karlach starts to shout - but it's choked off as another garrote bites sharply under her jaw and she's yanked backwards into the dark.

It’s a horrific battle, one of the worst they’ve faced since the nautiloid. The meazels - little shits, every one of them - are quick and cunning, separating the party out into the searing darkness, silencing spells, bleeding them dry. Karlach doesn’t need spells, though, and her usual battle-rage is bolstered by a stunning degree of pain and an entirely unexpected violent panic.

She wrenches her axe from the corpse of the meazel that grabbed her and tears off through the dark. Unheeding of both the blood pouring from her neck and the necrotic energy chewing into her skin, uncaring of what other enemies might hear her, she bellows at the top of her lungs. “Tav! TAV!”

“She’s here!” That’s Shadowheart, her voice weak. “Karlach, over here!”

Karlach almost trips, so quickly does she change direction towards the cleric’s call. Like a rothe maddened with fear, she leaves the path and crashes directly through the desiccated underbrush, dead plants shattering apart around her with every step.

Tav is dead when she gets there.

Shadowheart is crouched over her, a useless healing spell in the process of drifting off her fingers. Astarion, blood dripping from his lips, crawls from the darkness opposite her. But Karlach’s eyes are locked on the form of Tav’s body in the dim light from her torch, the eyes blank and staring, the garrote wound flowing freely.

“Oh, no,” she whispers. “No, no, no, no--”

“It’s all right.” Shadowheart’s voice feels oddly far away. “I have a scroll, I’ll revive her-- Karlach, for gods’ sake, breathe!”

She is breathing - too fast, too shallow. The cut at her own throat throbs with each pulse of her heart. She drops the axe with a clang onto the ground and she falls on her knees at Tav’s side, grabbing the smaller woman’s hand and holding it between both of hers. “No, darling, no…” she mumbles. “Gods, don’t-- don’t look at me like that…”

How many dead people has she seen in her life? Could fill a library writing all their names down… But none of them have been her… those blank eyes are so wrong in her face which is always so full of life and humor and warmth… nothing like Karlach’s inferno heat but warmth and safety and home…

“Bring her back…” she rasps out desperately. “Please…”

The magic of the revivify scroll swirls around them as Shadowheart murmurs the words. There’s an achingly long pause during which Karlach finds herself reviewing every single moment of their brief time together and passing through every stage of grief in order; she’s just about reached “depression” when Tav’s eyes flicker open.

“K-Karlach?” she whispers, and then her body spasms around a sudden fit of coughing as she gasps for breath.

“Oh, gods.” Karlach’s whole body sags with a relief as overwhelming as the grief was. Without thinking, she reaches out and pulls Tav up and into her arms, tight against the heat of her chest. “Oh, fuck… Soldier… Tav… shit…”

The words tumble out, one after the other, and she’s startled to realize that each of them is a sob, raggedly dragging out of her throat between hiccuped, jerky breaths. She’s alive. It’s not over. It’s not over. Oh, thank the gods…

“Hey. Ow. Hey…” Tav mumbles. It’s muffled from how Karlach has her pulled close; her face is sort of squished into Karlach’s shoulder. “It’s all right. Darling, it’s all right, but I can’t breathe.”

“Oh. Right.” She forces herself to loosen her embrace enough for Tav to draw her head back. “You-- sorry. Fuck. You scared me. I thought… I thought…” She can’t say it out loud. The words don’t come out.

“You’re hurt.” Tav gently touches the garotte wound in Karlach’s neck, wiping at the blood there.

“You died!” Karlach says with a sudden, hysterical laugh, flinching backwards. “Don’t worry about me! Just… you just sit there and… and breathe, or whatever, and… oh gods…” The tears blind her.

“Karlach…” Tav sits up in her lap. She’s unsteady, of course, because revivification is a brutal process at the best of times, but her eyes are clear. That hideous blankness is gone from them and they’re full again with the light that drew Karlach to her first. “Shhh.” She cups Karlach’s face gently with both hands and kisses her. “It’s all right… I promise. I’m here. All limbs attached, everything accounted for. And heart very much beating.”

Karlach gives her a watery smile, tries and fails to quiet her choked breathing into something manageable. “I just-- I saw you there… like that… and I suddenly realized… how much shit has gone wrong in my life… how it all changes so fast… but you’ve been good… you’ve been so fucking good, Tav…”

“I’m here. I’m here…” Tav presses her forehead to Karlach’s and draws a slow, shaky breath. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise. I promise…”

Slowly Karlach begins to settle again, feeling the gentle brush of Tav’s breath on her lips. It’s not over. “You’d better not,” she mumbles.

She realizes suddenly that they’re alone. Shadowheart has taken one of the torches and bodily dragged Astarion off some distance away, leaving them more or less in private. Karlach’s grateful for that; she’s not sure she could handle Astarion’s acerbic wit right at this moment.

“Fuck,” she whispers after a short pause, a little more calmly now. “Sorry, I--”

“Hey. Don’t you ever apologize for anything,” Tav says softly. “Least of all for loving me. You don’t get to say sorry for that.” She kisses Karlach again gently. “You ready to get Shadowheart to clean up that cut?”

“I… yeah. Yeah.” But it takes her a moment to loosen her arms and let Tav out of her embrace. “I do love you,” she says quietly. “So much. And I just got scared as shit about it.”

Tav smiles. “Best kind of scared I know,” she says.

#bg3 fic #bg3 fanfic #karlach #karlach cliffgate #karlach bg3 #karlach x tav #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #this was a fun twist since i have almost exclusively written about her with hector thus far #strange to write her with a different tav but nice to be encouraged to mix it up :D #really hope you enjoy! ty again for the prompt <3 #poor karlach needs all the hugs for always #i love her so much #also taking this opportunity to proclaim my hatred of the meazel fight forever and always #cos fuck those guys

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tansyuduri · 6 months ago

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Merlin Loregasm Rewatch S1E7

Hi Everyone! Welcome to my rewatch of Merlin focusing on the lore. I am a giant nerd so pretty excited about this. We’re on THE GATES OF AVALON

Okay so them being atacked in the forest and Arthur not batting an eyelid means that this can happen fairly often and is not that strange. Uther claims he saved Camalot from anarchy and I expect he did in most villages but the roads and wilderness are not always safe. (Good news for fanfiction writers.) This is the first time we see this is the case I believe when it's not a magical attacking issue. HOWEVER Arthur and Merlin still go out alone a great deal.

Tir Mawr legit just means "Large Land" in Welsh.

The wiki assumes that Tirmawr is a land in Avalon. I dunthink so based on Uther seeming to know what it is, and the fact that the name is Welsh while sidhe spells are in old Irish.

Funfact Caerleon was the home of King Arthurs Court in the original Welsh version. Caerleon is now a town and comunity in Newport Wales. In the iron age (pre roman) it was home to a warlike tribe and the center of a wealthy trading network. It later became a Roman Port. In the 5th century (relatively around Merlin times) it became part of the new kingdom of Gwent.

What trouble? Does he mean her visions? It could be because he reminds her not to tell Uther about it. But if she did with previous dreams you would think Uther would have jumped on it one way or another. I think he means somthing else by how Morgana reacts. I bet she was a huge prankster as a child or kept doing non girly things and trying to learn fighting, or pushing limits. and since "Morgana can do no wrong" in Uthers eyes he looked for someone else to blame. (I may be slightly biased here since it fits my headcannons about young Morgana just a headsup.)

EYYYY First sidhe staff blast and first appearance of eyes turning red during sidhe magic! Sadly we don't see the blast on screen and just hear it.

Arthur: Well I'm supposed to be on Patrol with the guard and my father this morning.

Ok! So part of Arthur's duties seem to be going on patrol with the guard and Uther. This is probably a fairly normal thing. But I expect its happening right now more due to the fact some nobles were attacked in the woods recently.

Urged to tell Uther about her vision of Arthur drowning (More on this later) this is how Morgana reacts. Later Gaius tells merlin the Seer's Art is separate from magic but close to it. But I think Morgana just thinks of it as magic because Gaius never tells her anything. I mean she does have other magic, but at this point she doesn't know it.

Merlin confirms these are indeed tomatoes in an earlier line. Which means Camalot has tomatos, I have my wizard theory but my freind @catsconflictscopicsandchamomile And I talked about another theory she has. About Perhaps the Vikings in the Merlin world formed a bit earlier, and reaching more into America and starting a bit of a trade network. That these American crops were indeed grown in Briton BUT were gone by the time of the Norman conquest because the soil was not right for them.

I further propose that perhaps the volcanic winter of 536 and the subsequent late Antique little Ice Age (which lasted from then to 660) could have killed them. The battle of Camlan was supposed to take place in 537. However in this chronicle Arthur is pretty old then, while Arthur dies young in Merlin perhaps setting the battle back a bit in this timeline, Or even if it is not. It would have taken place at just the beginning of the late antique little ice age.

Okay first attempt to enchant Arthur its clearly starting to work but his eyes are not at all red yet. It gets broken off by a bandit atack and when he wants to go home she doesn't try again. It's possible Sophia is not the most powerful of sidhe and needs her victim's guard to be down.

Merlin: (About being put in the stocks) Honestly it wasnt my fault. Arthur wanted to get out of going on a patrol with Uther and the guard. so I covered for him and took the blame.

Gaius: And Arthur was prepared to let you do this?

Merlin: it was his idea!

Gaius: what made him neglact his duties? it must have been somthing terrably important

Merlin: Sophia

Gaius: The girl from the forrest

Merlin: He wanted to take her out for the day. he is besotted!

I find this conversation really interesting partly because it implies Sophia was working to enchant him before the first scene we see in the woods. That Sidhe enchanting the mind and making someone not act like themselves might be a long slow process. Gaius is surprised Arthur let Merlin take the fall because it is very out of character. And it is. We see Arthur take the blame for Merlin at times. And he never asks Merlin to take the fall for him EXECPT In these episodes when enchanted by the sidhe. Hell he doesn't do it when enchanted to fall in love with Lady Vivian, or when really in love with Gwen!

This furthers the idea I mentioned above.

Second eye reddening! This one had so magic he's just angry!

First look at what Sidhe think of humans. Also Arthur is neither weak or feeble so it implies Sidhe might have increased strength. Or she's just referring to him being mortal.

Okay so either Morgana has been jealous of other women Arthur has fallen for. OR Arthur has chalked up previous incidents to Morgana being jealous. I wonder how many times they might have crushed on the same woman growing up, or what else happened. Did she like see Arthur breaking an arm and be like "HEY bro! Don't try to impress the new girl that way!" Arthur all "hahaha you are jealous Morgana! *Falls and breaks arm* or was she actually jealous!?

Reasons why I think Arthur needed Gaius to dress him in season 5 is a practical joke.

Also Arthur asks merlin to cover for him again despite him being in the stocks. However he tells merlin to make sure he doesnt end up in the stocks. This is another sign of the enchanting being gradual. Weird music plays when he talks about Sofia as well. DID I MENTION GRADUAL? ALSO Merlin mentions potatoes thrown at him MORE AMERCIAN CROPS

She starts incanting and Arthur asks what are you doing. I think it's interesting. I mean he could chalk it up to her speaking in another language but when she continued without telling him he just stares. Either this is due to the GRADUAL enchantment or Arthur doesn't know enough about magic to clock it's what she is doing

When the enchantment finishes Her eyes glow red and then so do Arthurs. They don't stay red all the time but we now know he is udner the enchantment. So let's pay attention to WHEN his eyes glow red from now on.

Gaius: What do you know about seers?

Merlin: Not much, They're supposed to be able to see the future like Prophets

Gaius: it's said to be an innate ability. Those who have it are born that way. Some aren't even aware what they see is the future. It comes to them in their dreams Merlin: what's that got to do with Sophia Gaius: The night before she and Aulfric came to camalot, Morgana had a dream. Sophia was in it

Merlin: Before she arived in camalot?

Gaius: I've been watching Morgana since she was very young. And though I've tried to Persuade myself otherwise, I realized some of the things she said she dreamt came to pass. I kept it secret from uther of course, The gift of prophecy is to close to the work of magic

Merlin: you think Morgana is a seer?"

Gaius: I don't think it I fear it.

Okay so! Apparently a prophet and a seer are two diferant things. Prophets are never mentioned again but I think there are two possibilities both of which kinda mix Since seers are inate and born with the gift. It's possible that Prophets are people who gain the ability later in life. OR perhaps they are magic users who gain the ability to see with tools (Like Merlin does)

I think Gaius mentioning being afraid of it and trying to persuade himself otherwise is intersting. I think IF the theory that gaius actually kinda agreed with Uthers viewpoint about magic because he saw so many bad things happen is true, this might have been his turning point. He saw Morgana who he took care of being a seer and decided not to tell Uther. It also fits a lot with what we know about Gaius even if that theory is not the case. If he cares about someone with magic he will keep their secret. (or perhaps if he knows them as good).

Sophia: Our love is strong you feel the same way too

Arthur: I'd never let that happen

Sophia: you may not have the choice. There are some here who don't want us to be together. I'd never let them come between us

Arthur: I'd never let them come between us

Sophia: Because we are in love

Arthur: because we are in lvoe

Sophia: You must seek promission for us to marry so we can be together

Arthur: till death do us part

Sophia: till death do us part

Okay I think its intersting arthurs eyes are not glowing here, we know that when he wakes from the spell that he is appalled "WHAT WAS I THINKING" But they are also alone here. If Sophia was keeping his eyes from being red in the later marriage asking scene to not raise suspicion, he does not have to here? So when do eyes glow red. I think its when what is being done is VERY against what the person would normally do and when the spell is being placed. Which means Arthur here is not going fully against his normal behavior. If he loved someone he would be willing to throw away other people's objections in the end. He might try to marry someone inapropriate if he loved them. (Cough GWEN COUGH)

His eyes however DO glow red again when she leaves. NOT when she is encanting the spell again. Not when she kisses him Only when she says the last "till death do us part" and leaves I think this is because with her saying that then leaving part of his brain goes "WHOA HOLD ON" and then the sidhe magic is like NOPE you are doing what was asked!

There is more than one sidhe Elder. Later Merlin will kill one of them.

Sidhe being so fast Merlin has to slow time to see them is interesting. I think it is a nod to the fact that in celtic stories of the otherworld a lot of times someone can only stay there three days or three years, If they set foot on the real world again they die or find hundreds of years have passed otherwise because time passes differently in the sidhe world. (Can You tell I did a lot of research on this for a fic?)

I also love the gold clothing they wear and the fact Sophia has a lot of gold in her outfit. I think this is a reference to the Irish version of the Celtic otherworld which is said to have a lot in the way of precious metals in their architecture (CAN YOU TELL I DID A LOT OF RESEARCH ON THIS FOR A FIC?)

Those lights in the water do not move as they sidhe do, they are a reflection of what is in Avalon not what is in our world. Avalon is lit with pretty blue crystals I'm calling it!

Aufric: I promise you the soul of the greatest prince of all, Arthur Pendragon. Even the Sidhe are like you know this Arthur guy? Pretty rad not gonna lie. Either that or they are measuring greatest by fighting skill.. or care for their people or something. WHAT IS THE MEASUREMENT HERE.

Gaius: Avalon-what you saw at the lake, It's Avalon, it must be

Merlin: Whats-

Gaius: the Land of Eternal Youth. Mortals are only supposed to glimse it in the moment before death.

Merlin: I've seen it and I'm still ehre

Gaius: extradenary what did it look like

Merlin: Does it matter they are going to sacrifice Arthur! This fits best with the Irish version of the Celtic otherword in which it is not actually the place where dead people go but a paradise, with yes Eternal youth

(CAN YOU TELL I DID A LOT OF RESEARCH ON THIS FOR A FIC?)

Gaius: I found writing like this at the top of Alfrics's staff Its Ogham an anciant script "to hold life and death in your hands" From the writing on his staff and what you saw at the lake. I'm afraid I'm not certain. We're dealing with the sidhe

Merlin: that does not sound like a good thing

Gaius: They're masters of enchantment Merlin: you think Arthur's been enchanted? Gaius: Almost Certainly

Ok Ogham is an anciant script. It was used in Irland and parts of the UK beween the 5th and 9th centuries. So we have YET ANOTHER possible Irish conection. Also to hold life and death in your hands sounds a lot like the magic over life and death we see later!

This happens when Arthur tells the king hes gonna marry Sophia no matter what Uther says. Uther threatens and his and mentions executing them Arthur backtracks and he lets them go.

BUT SERIOUSLY WHOA Either Tirmawr, is REALLY not an important land. Or Uther does something really stupid here, Or he has absolute power on an insane level

See arresting nobles that are not from your land usually leads to war if you are not doing it while at war. If it's your own nobles you better have a good reason or the other nobles are NOT going to be happy. This kind of thing did happen with excuses in places where power was nearly absolute. But almost always with excuses about them being traitors or breaking laws ETC. The entire court can see Uther arresting them just to make a point. HE EVEN THREATENED TO EXECUTE THEM WTF UTHER!

Arthur: (packing) Get out

Merlin: I thought the king was a bit harsh

Arthur: I don't need sympathy Merlin, Especially not from you

Merlin: But I did think he had a point

Arthur: I ordered you to get out now leave me

Merlin: I know what you think youa re doing, and I know you think you are in lvoe with Sophia Arthur: Who Are you to tell me what I'm thinking!"

Merlin: I'm your freind

Arthur: No merlin you're my servant

Merlin: you don't know what you're doing. Shes cast a spell on you you're enchanted

This conversation is interesting because his eyes are not red, Some of these things are things he might say but NOT in the tone he uses and some of them seem OOC But his eyes are not red, so either the fact that they are close to things he might say in a diferant tone, Or they might be things he might have said to a typical servant at this stage in his development, might be causing this. I'm inclined to thing its the first one. Or perhaps my way of judging when eyes turn red is wrong.

Sophia: I told you people would try to keep us appart

Arthur: I won't let that happen

Merlin: Don't listen to her shes controling you

Sophia: we can elope together get away from this place these people Merlin: I saw you. I followed him they're planing to sacrifice you

Alfric: you let your servants speak to your guests this way

Merlin: I know what you're going to do because I followed you to the lake and I heard everything

Merlin: (turning to arthur) You have to belive me!

Sophia: Don;'t listen to him Arthur. Let's go, LEts leave tonight

Merlin: Shes going to kill you, Sophia plants to sacrifice you to buy a life of importality. if you go with her You'll die

Arthur: (Confused) "It doesnt make sence we're in love

Merlin: they're magical being look at the writing on the staff *tries to grab alfrics staff)

Alfric: (Tries to pull it away eyes growing red )

Merlin (speaking as Arthur is turned away from us) Look at his eyes look at them, Do you belive me now, I love this bit. It seems to support my theory. Arthur almost breaks out of it because he trusts Merlin and then the red eye comes back because it's against Arthur's nature not to trust Merlin. Also Merlin gets sidhe blasted making our Merlin death count reach two!

Arthur was underwater for 1 minite 36 seconds If Arthur was unconscious when he hit the water (And I think he should be considered such) he was likely fine, did not get water in his lungs much at all, and started breathing on his own after getting out of the water If he was awake he would likely NOT have fallen unconscious in that amount of time.

#merlin loregasm rewatch #merlin lore rewatch #merlin lore #merlin meta #merlin bbc #bbc merlin #bbc merlin lore

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starscoffeecreamer · 7 months ago

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eyyyy megop anon here. Glad I killed u I’m just doing gods work 🫡 ur so right elita does deserve two babes. She should totally get to fuck them while they’re on the milking machine and grope their titties. I was thinking it was more of a public duel bc it would be hotter with all of their soldiers watching, and it slowly evolved from an actual battle to just them fucking and the troops watching in shock. Anyways elita tops them both and they end up pregnant 🫃 wars over the leaders are preggers and need to fuck for political reasons happy ending for everyone <333

holy shit anon please stop I'm already dead (don't stop these are delicious)

she def tops in the relationship. she frags their processors out while they're getting drained, listening to their mewls and moans as she gropes em

yep the wars over go home everyone

#valveplug #titformers #chubformers #g1 megatron #g1 optimus prime #g1 elita one #elita one #elita 1 #t&t answers anons #megoplita anon

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b4rbi3l4nd · 2 years ago

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SOS — last night i cried

TYSM FOR ALL THE SUPPORT ON THE PAST 2 CHAPTERS. This chapter is a bit shorter because it is a follow up to the last chapter but dw y'all, expect a new chapter to be out by Thursday. It's currently Tuesday where I'm at LMAO. Please keep supporting 'SOS', I'm lowkey having fun writing this and dw y'all, the smut is coming soon, you just gotta wait 😭Also btw, I DELETED the other part so yeah y'all LMAO, I combined it together. Also, thank ALL of you for the support on "SOS", I LOVE YOU ALLL

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐋

GIF by mandalor-din

series summary: you broke up with shuri a few years ago and left wakanda for good until namor. now that he's killed the queen and multiple wakandan civilians, he's seen as a great threat and as former second in command at shuri's lab and wakanda's loyal warrior it is your duty to return and fight for your country. but a certain somebody makes the mission way too hard to deal with.

episode summary: shuri is starting to feel like you're seducing her and you decide to play into her game. might as well make it fun while you're here right? wrong. shuri has finally lost her cool with you and demands you out of wakanda but as you discover a shocking truth about her "beloved" girlfriend, things take a turn for the worst

genre: ANGST, slow, slow, slow burn

pairing: shuri x black fem reader

episode warnings: mature dialogue, cursing, this is a series. you are currently looking at the second/third chapter of the series, please go to my profile to read the previous chapters before continuing (if you haven't read the other chapters yet, if so, please continue)

taglist: @yvxmpire, @sweetalittleselfish-honey, @xxmilli, @queenofsimpsblog, @ziayamikaelson, @shuriislut, @atssukoo, @widowmakker, @cuddl3s4shur1

proofread?: no but if there are errors then it's grammarly's fault.

word count: girl idfk

inspirations: 'SOS' — SZA

song: 'SOS' — SZA

send your thoughts and requests

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You blinked twice before waking up abruptly and looking around. You were still in Wakanda. You sighed, touching your head before looking on your bed, you bonnet laying peacefully.

"Of course, no matter how tight I make you, you still love to wrestle off my head." You mutter to yourself as you yawn and check your phone to look at the time. 12 PM.

Squinting your eyes, you feel like you're forgetting something but brush it off. You get out of bed and stretch before looking in the mirror. You were wearing a black shirt that went just right below your tummy. Underneath was your white lingerie set, complete with the knee-high laced socks with ribbons. You fixed your bonnet back on your head before walking over to your mini kitchen.

You fixed yourself a cup of coffee before leaning over the counter, looking through your phone, and taking small sips.

How peaceful.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" A voice came from behind you as your door swung open, almost breaking down.

"EYYYY..." you voice out starting to yell before you look and see who it was, Shuri.

"What the hell dude?! It's 12 in the morning." You start, motioning at the door.

"12 in the morning, 12 in the fucking morning, in the AFTERNOON you mean. I TOLD YOU I NEEDED YOU AT 10, SHARP!" She shouted, abruptly, causing you to drop your cup of coffee.

"That's what I was forgetting.." You sigh, putting your hands on your hips, looking away and then back at Shuri who seemed to have quieted down now. She slowly walked into the room, closing the door behind her quietly, her eyes fixated on everywhere but your face.

She looked you up and down, mostly focusing on your hips and the way your hands rolled over your curves. You crossed your arms, raising an eyebrow.

"Hello?" You say, breaking her out of her trance.

She looked back at you, the anger still on her face. She pointed a finger at you, making you put your hands up.

"I invite you to my country and you just...you just.." Her voice trailed off as she noticed more of the lingerie under your shirt showing when you raised up your arms.

"Just..get dressed and meet me in the lab or you're fired!" She says, turning around. She paused, taking a deep breath before walking out of the room, and slamming the door behind her.

"What's got her panties in a twist..?" You look down at the mess at your feet and carefully pick up the glass, throwing it away.

After finally cleaning up, you got cleaned and dressed. You but on a white bodycon dress that revealed some cleavage...I mean...a lot. Like Ramonda-type cleavage that Namor was highkey eyeing down. You fixed your hair, putting it in a slick back ponytail at the back, your long curls sitting pretty behind you as you brought out 2 strands at the side and fixed your edges.

Putting on matching pumps, you grabbed your phone and left your apartment in the palace to the lab. As soon as you entered, the voice spoke again, causing you to slightly jump, placing a hand on your chest.

"My queen, an unknown woman has entered the lab."

"I heard, Griot." Shuri said, not even looking over to your way, talking to another woman.

You pulled down your dress before walking up the stairs to see a younger woman there. Her hair was in cornrow braids and she looked around 19-20?

"DAMN." She said as soon as you appeared into view. The American accent catches your ears. Ugh, Americans.

"I'm sorry, it's just wow. I haven't seen a good-looking girl around here yet."

"That's an inappropriate work outfit." Shuri said, looking at you in eyes with nothing but hatred.

"Thank you," you said with a smile, ignoring Shuri before you raised your eyebrow at her. "Who are you?"

"Oh I'm Riri." She said, putting a hand out as you shook her head.

"I see, you're the one who took up my old office."

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't know. They were using it as a closet space before me, my bad."

Your grip on her hand unconsciously tightened as your smile became less genuine and more so agitated. As a small 'ow' left her mouth, you quickly left go of her hand and tilted your head. "It's alright, don't worry. I won't be here long anyway."

"Why? Aren't you Wakandan?"

You didn't say anything and just turned to Shuri who surprisingly had not added any snarky remarks. She just looked away from you, going back to her work.

You turned back to Riri. "You wouldn't mind showing me what you guys are working on would you?"

"Of course not! Come on,"

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Your heels sounded through the hallway as you walked towards the throne room. Your hair was in a tight afro puff on your head, your reading glasses lowered slightly on my face, it normally happened when you were working. Stacks of papers with calculations and blueprints occupied my hands as well.

You paused when you heard quiet mumbling and slowly shuffled over to the door. Nosy. As you peeked through the door, you saw Shuri and Riri talking.

“I don’t even know why, I shouldn’t even be feeling this way.” Shuri sighed, defeated

“It takes more than 4 years and a side bitch to move on from someone you shared all those special connections to yknow?” You heard Riri say.

Are they talking about me? You leaned in closer and put your ear to the door to listen in closely.

“Malia is not a side piece Riri, don't call her that, she might become my queen one day" Shuri warned as you rolled my eyes.

"Yea...okay." Riri said sounding unamused.

"So if you love Lia so much? Why are you having thoughts about ripping the clothes off your ex and fucking her in front of the window?" Riri voiced out causing your eyes to widen as you practically choked on oxygen.

"Eyyy....not so loud, someone might hear you."

Too late, you already did.

"And no, you're twisting my words. I never said I wanted to indulge in any sexual activities with her. I just said-"

"You literally ripped me from my work to tell me you're 100% sure she's trying to seduce, be for real 'your honor'" Riri folded her arms as I raised my eyebrow.

"I didn't say that either. I'm just saying that she never dressed like that before when we used to date. I mean, ever since she got here, all she's worn is bodycon dresses that leave little to no imagination to what her breasts look like...and the lingerie." Shuri added, sounding embarrassed that she was discussing this. "Like who is she trying to impress? The elders?"

Tell that to your girlfriend.

"Maybe she just gained confidence after breaking up with you." Riri suggested, putting her hands on her hips. "Look, if you want her so much then have her, if you don't then...don't. You're the queen of Wakanda, don't disturb my life with your girl problems please."

"I don't have..." Shuri paused almost as if she realized something and then I watched as her fists balled up and anger fixed on the face that was once embarrassed. "I don't even know why I'm stressing over her. She left me, she's an asshole."

You stopped listening after that, your eyebrows furrowing at that. Yeah, yeah go ahead and tell everyone I'm an asshole when all I wanted was my girlfriend to look at me as more than an annoying piece of distraction. Gosh.

You looked down at your papers, she had to sign some of them. If she's so convinced you're trying to seduce her, then might as well right? She doesn't know who she's messing with.

You took the pen from your ear and hung it on your dress with the back. Right next to your cleavage. Hmph. I'll make this harder for her than she thinks.

You take a few quiet steps back before walking towards the door, opening the door to the throne room. The noise caused the two women to look up.

"Wow, you have amazing timing." Riri said as she looked between you and Shuri slightly.

She looked at you with pure hatred in her eyes, almost as if the whole conversation you just listened to didn't happen. You sigh and look at her sternly.

"Miss Udaku, I brought my calculations and blueprints of the dehydration machine like you asked." You say, handing the papers to her. "All you have to do is sign here to approve.."

She barely skimmed through the papers before shaking her head and looking away and saying no. "This won't work, do it again."

"I've done these calculations like 15 times because you weren't satisfied, this isn't basic math you know that right?" Your eyes widened slightly.

You didn't eat breakfast for this. You missed lunch for this. While you've been in the lab slaving away, Malia had no problem posting the picnic date Shuri took her on, as well as all the food they got on the way. Ugh seeing her smug smile on your phone screen made you lose my appetite.

"Holy shit, this is like 40 pages of calculations," Riri said, looking through the stapled papers you had presented. "And the blueprint. I think this looks goo-"

"You think." Shuri cut her off. "You don't know. I am queen and I know how to properly defend my country.

"No one said you didn't." You cut her off.

"I've been handling Wakandan tech for all my life." She started again as you rolled my eyes.

"So have I. I know what I'm talking about." You say again, looking her dead in the eye.

Shuri took a deep breath like she was about to smack you before looking around. "Pen." She said signaling to both you and Riri to see if you both had pens.

You ran your hands along the side of your dress before looking away. If she wants the pen, she's gonna have to get it herself.

It took a few moments but then you felt the movement of a hand above your cleavage area. She was reaching for the pen. You breathed in, causing my chest to rise. Her hand did more than graze over your cleavage at that point, it almost grabbed a fist full of it.

She immediately realized and darted her hand away, grabbing the pen while doing so.

You turned around to see her looking down at the papers more flustered than ever. You scoffed under my breath.

"Fine, here. Approved, now leave." She said, not even looking up at me. You took the papers but then paused.

"You can keep the pen, I have plenty more."

You turn around on my heel before exiting the throne room just in time to hear Riri go

"What the hell was that?!"

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"HA!" you sighed as you got the last hit on one of the Dora Milage warriors before sighing.

"She still has the moves." Okoye teased as all the warriors, including the one you just beat in the sparring, praised and clapped for you.

You steadied your breathing before smiling and moving your hair to the side. You had changed out of your work outfit and you were in a white cropped tank top with black basketball shorts and sneakers.

You twisted the spear in your hand before placing it in the ground, causing another wave of applause.

"Thank you, thank you" You joked, laughing. But your face soon dropped as soon as you hear a voice behind you.

"Why is she here?"

You rolled your eyes to the back of your head so hard that it hurt. Of course, she trained with the Dora Milage. You sighed and picked up your spear turning around as Okoye talked on your behalf.

"I know you guys don't like each other but please, this is a training area so please just keep the pettiness out of the room?"

You fix the low ponytail at the back of your head, smoothening out your hair with your hand. You eyed her up and down, taking in her uniform. She was dressed similarly to you in a crop top and shorts but her tattoos really highlighted her body in the best way possible. You can tell she was training by herself for a bit because her hair was a bit wet. From her toned abs to her posture, everything about her was just so...attractive.

"Again, why is she here?" She asked again, not even bothering to look at you.

Way to turn somebody off.

You look away as your mother stepped up.

"My queen, Y/N is just training with us for now. She has always been in the front lines of Wakanda and with this war with Namor-"

"She will not be fighting in the front lines and that's final." Shuri says almost too quickly making every surprised.

"By my queen."

"No."

At first, you looked away, hiding a smile. It reminded of you of when she would always hold you and beg you not to go into battle because she was always afraid of you hurting yourself. She used to be so sweet, especially towards you. Memories of you guys working on lab tech and laughing away together filled your mind but before you could get lost in it, the argument quickly pulled you away from your thoughts.

"The only reason she was brought back here was to help with the calculations. I don't need any more useless bodies dropping out there."

"Wow." was all you could voice. What she said was hurtful and you're not going to lie. Even when you guys were breaking up, you never degraded her. No wait, that's a lie.

Your face expression tightened as your mother looked at Shuri full of rage like she was about to kill the only remaining queen of Wakanda. She does not play about you, which is why both you and Okoye had to put a hand on her shoulder to move her away from Shuri.

Shuri looked at you with hatred in her eyes, like you were the one that killed her family.

"You know what, you don't even belong here."

"What's got you so mad?" You ask, offended. She wasn't so angry when you say her about 2 hours ago. Was it a thing with Malia?

"You've overstayed your welcome. Now leave."

"Wakanda? My home?" You asked out of disbelief, there's no way. You haven't even been back over to visit your tribe yet or the marketplace.

"No. The country you left years ago. The country that you abandoned." She said coldly turning away. "I don't like repeating myself. Leave."

"No! You have no right to kick me out of my rightful home, are you crazy?! I'M ALLOWED TO BE HERE!"

"Shuri, maybe we should all calm down before making hash decisions..." Okoye said, stepping in for you.

"I AM YOUR QUEEN!" Shuri turned around angrily, suddenly raising her voice at everyone. "WHAT MATTERS IS WHAT I WANT AND WHAT I WANT IS HER GONE, NOW. LEAVE!" She said, yelling at you, towering over you again.

You sniffed as tears in your eyes began to fall, her expression never changing. "Fuck you, real shit." You push her away and angrily walk out of the training area.

As you walked through the palace hallways, you began to sob uncontrollably. The last time you left, you weren't the one sobbing like this. You almost dropped to your knees, You had to hold onto the doors. You hadn't been back here for 4 years, all the nostalgia hitting...you at least wanted to visit your dad..and T'Challa.

You missed their funerals because you were too hardheaded to come back over here. "I didn't even get to bury them...and now I can't even say goodbye." You choke out, wiping your tears which were soon replaced with tears of rage.

Your eyes turned red as every bone in your body felt like they were on fire. You were taking deep breaths as that moment replayed in your head. You just wanted to throw her across the room and rip out every fucking bone in her body.

"Hey, are you okay?" A voice from behind you said.

You quickly recognized her as Malia.

"Go away, I don't want to talk to you." You roll my eyes, dismissing her.

She kept pestering you though. "You're going to have to start referring to me as your princess...queen. You know that right?" It's almost as a small chuckle left her mouth.

This bitch.

"But seriously though. Are you okay?"

"I SAID GO AWAY." You turned around rapidly, moving your hand in a swift motion. Immediately, she went flying across the wall, hitting her back on a pillar hard and sliding down, leaving a trail of blood behind her.

Fuck, it happened again.

"SHITTTTT" You heard another voice speak out as your head turned around swiftly.

It was Riri, she had her hand on her mouth as she held a phone in her free hand, the camera facing you. She just caught you on fucking video.

"Delete that footage!" You said, starting to walk towards her when your foot hit an object. You looked down, noticing it was Malia's phone.

You noticed she was texting someone under the contact name "Daddy 💞." You were about to ignore it until you saw Shuri's name in their conversation.

You squinted your eyes, picking up the phone as you looked at the picture for the contact.

"No fucking way."

You scroll through the messages as fast as you can, seeing a bunch of pictures of her and her father who you're CERTAIN you've seen from somewhere before.

Namor.

"Ain't no fucking way, this has to be a joke, a set up."

But it's true, pictures of her when she was little, pictures of them underwater together. They were definitely not taken on a phone but it was definitely them.

"God this idiot was seriously going to marry the daughter of her enemy.."

"MALIA!" Shuri shouted as you turned around to be met with her squatting, eyes wide open at her girlfriend's unconscious body. A bunch of Dora Milage warriors looking at it and then everyone turned to you.

"I DIDN'T TOUCH HER, I SWEAR!"

Which was technically true. You didn't but she did.

"Arrest her."

The warriors were hesitant at first until Shuri screamed on the top of her lungs.

"ARREST HER!"

Your mother and Okoye looked at you with tears in their eyes as they approached you.

"Mom.."

As they tried to capture you, you slipped away from their grip, shaking your head.

You darted down the hallway as a chase ensued. You heard Okoye calling for more warriors through her kimoyo beads.

They were on your tail. You quickly turned around a hallway to see more warriors waiting for you. You turned around when the original warriors had you cornered.

You looked to your left, darting down through a hallway and then up multiple flight of stairs, Malia's phone tucked into your pocket tightly.

You made it over to the hallway where the apartments were and rushed into yours. Taking deep breaths, you turned around as a small group of warriors cornered you. You start taking steps backwards, them taking steps forward.

"I didn't touch her."

They didn't seem to listen and as you kept backing away, you felt your body almost fall through the open window.

"Shit!"

"Y/N!" Your mother cried out as she took slow steps towards you.

"Baby, step away from the window please, we can talk it all out with Shuri, figure it all out."

"Y/N, you're going to hurt yourself please." Okoye pleaded with your mom.

Another Dora Milage warrior suddenly darted towards you with handcuffs, causing you to slip and fall.

"Y/N!"

You closed your eyes momentarily before you couldn't open them anymore.

I cried, I cried, and I cried.

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erinptah · 5 months ago

Photo

Annotated You Belong At Pride

I didn’t give a specific “extended acronym” here because we’re constantly cycling through new ones. Possibly the earliest one was “GBLTF” — with the F standing for either “Friends” or “Fiends”, whichever you preferred. Just off the top of my head, I’ve been around for LGBTTSQQIAA, LGBTQQAAIIP2K, MOGAI, and QUILTBAG, and all of those had fallen into disuse by the time I wrote this strip, let alone the time this annotated version comes around.

Cookies if you can unpack them all now without googling.

The point is, whatever letter(s) you go by: as long as you support all of them, you belong. “I’m a straight cis ace, can I still–” Yes, as long as you’re gonna be cool, show up and be welcome! “My hobby is saying mean things on the internet about trans people, but I’m gay, so–” No, you’re being a dick, go away, I don’t care how gay you are. And so on.

Had to resurrect Jessica Lake to fill up the “ally” panel, because she, Naresh, and Köhler are very nearly the only straight/cis people in the entire cast. (…Ann Walker counts too, but she wouldn’t show up to a pride parade. Miranda doesn’t count, since she falls under “questioning.”)

The labrys lesbian flag, on Connie and Jany, was designed in 2000 by Sean Campbell. Sharon’s skirt has my favorite “present-day lesbian flag redesign.”

If you love and support LGBT+ people, you belong at Pride.

Doesn’t matter if you’re the L, the G, the B, or the T,

or if you prefer one of the other letters in the latest version of the extended acronym,

or even if you are the straightest, cis-est person in the world. Or maybe you don’t have yourself all figured out yet. That’s fine too!

Naresh: Eyyyy. Miranda: Okay, definitely not you.

You can be here to celebrate yourself, your family, your friends and your loved ones, and/or basic human decency.

– I Love My Gay Sister – LGBT Rights Are Human Rights

As long as you champion our rights to love who we want, live who we choose, have access to whatever medical treatment we need and all the legal equality we deserve,

then you belong at Pride. No matter who you are. Come out and celebrate with the rest of us.

(Originally posted here on But I'm A Cat Person.)

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bitterkarella · 10 months ago

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Midnight Pals: House

Paul Jessup: submitted for the approval of the midnight society, i call this the tale of the glass house Jessup: and this house? Jessup: let me tell you Jessup: it is Jessup: so hot Jessup: you will want to fuck this house King: King: uh Barker: shut up steve let's see where this goes

Shirley Jackson: [mumbles] Mary Shelley: shirley has a question about this house Jessup: yeah? Jackson: [mumbles] Shelley: she wants to know how the bricks meet there Jessup: firmly Jessup: they meet firmly

Shelley: zat right? what about the floor? Jessup: the floor is neat Jackson: [mumbling more excitedly] Shelley: yeah yeah i'll ask Shelley: what about the doors? Jessup: all sensibly shut

Jessup: this family is moving into a house Jessup: and, boy, this house is just perfect for them Jessup: just so perfect for them Jessup: so hot and horny for them Jessup: just wanna walk through your tight wet doorways, house Jessup: local slut houses are waiting for you

Jessup: oh! house! shh, i have a secret Jessup: time for some home repair Jessup: oh no it looks like you got a leak Jessup: oh no it's getting everything allllll wet Jessup: tee hee hee King: um King: are you talking to the house Barker: shut UP steve let's see where this goes

Jessup: so this family moves into this sexy house Jessup: but who's more messed up? the family or the house? Jessup: the dad previously made a documentary where he buried his daughter alive in a coffin Jessup: which, you know Jessup: kinda fucked up Shelley: i could take it Jessup: yeah well we're not all you, mary

Shelley: i could be buried in a coffin, no problem Shelley: it'd be fun, i'd enjoy it Shelley: i'll do it right now if any of you fuckers have a coffin around Poe: can we please not talk about this Shelley: why not edgar? you scared? Poe: no i just King: yeah edgar's got this whole thing about being buried alive Poe: i do not have a thing

Shelley: oh yeah sorry i forgot you were scared of that Shelley: i forgot you were a big blubbery baby Shelley: a big blubbery scaredy baby Poe: look i Poe: it just makes me uncomfortable Shelley: aw lookit edgar he don't like being buried alive Poe: it's a perfectly reasonable thing to dislike!

Shelley: let's do it, i'll do it now Poe: well no one here has a coffin so Charles Addams: i have one Poe: Poe: why do you have a coffin Addams: you know, for sleeping in Poe: Poe: yeah ok why not Addams: chicks dig it Poe: sure fine

Jessup: but get this Jessup: there's a ghost in the house Jessup: named Jessup: mater suspirium Dario Argento: eyyyy mama mia!!!

#midnight pals #the midnight society #midnight society #stephen king #clive barker #edgar allan poe #mary shelley #paul jessup #dario argento #charles addams #shirley jackson

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avionvadion · 10 months ago

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Part Four of "I have no self control, so here ya go."

Lucifer x Fem!Human!OC

Warning: I don’t know how to write songs, so please don’t judge the Lucifer song too hard. T_T That said, I'm actually fairly proud of how this one turned out?

By some miracle, dinner went fairly well.

Eleanora was rather uncomfortable the entire time, forced to tag along by the anxious Lucifer who absolutely refused to let her run away and made to suffer the awkwardness that was conversation. Lucifer was very expressive as he spoke, as he always was, but in his panic his voice went all over the place, raising and lowering in pitch and even cracking as he barked a few laughs.

To save him from a panic attack, seeing the poor man on the verge of hyperventilating, his white face turning a bit blue, she stood up from her seat and declared she was thirsty, asking cheerfully if anyone else would like some water.

From there, she got everyone some glasses- but gave Lucifer an especially tall one in case he chugged half of it in one go. Which he did. And then laughed, saying that was some quality water.

“Gotta hydrate or die-drate.” Eleanora joked, attempting to save him from his own awkwardness, sitting back down. “And~ I’d rather you all stay hydrated.”

Lucifer choked on his water, while Charlie let out a small laugh. “Aww, Ellie! That’s so sweet!”

Vaggie smiled. “Yeah, thanks. I, uh… appreciate the sentiment.”

Eleanora just flashed them all a wink and finger gunned them. “I got you, fam. Maybe next time we can have some… quali-tea? Ey? Eyyyy?” She looked at Lucifer, who was gaping at her, his red eyes wide. “No? Not funny? Man, I thought that joke was tea-riffic.”

She sighed and folded her arms over her chest, pouting.

“Water we going to do now? That really didn’t land the way I was hoping.”

Silence.

“...O~kay, no more puns. Got it.”

Charlie snorted, bringing a hand up to cover the lower half of her face, and Vaggie shook her head. From beside Eleanora, Lucifer bit his lip, holding his half-empty glass of water with both hands as his shoulders began to shake. Everyone turned to look at him in surprise when he leaned forward, a weak yet almost relieved chuckle escaping his lips as he looked up at the brunette, his eyes crinkling fondly. “That was horrible.”

Eleanora made a face. “I thought it was hilarious.”

“I’m starting to think you truly believe that.”

She gasped, turning in her chair to properly face him. “Excuse me! Those jokes were classic!”

“Mmhm.” Lucifer hummed, a grin spreading across his lips as he lifted his glass to take another drink. “I’m sure they were.”

“Hah!” Despite her behavior, Eleanora wasn’t actually offended; she actually found the banter quite delightful, as evident by the smile on her face. “Rude.”

He just raised a brow at her, a slight smirk on his lips, as he took a sip of his water.

Fuck, I’m already crushing.

She could be so hopeless sometimes, honestly.

Eleanora forced herself to turn her head away, picking up her own glass as she tried to ignore the burning in her cheeks. Damn him and his audacity. He was so anxious not even five minutes ago; where did this sass come from!? Maybe her puns were a little too effective.

“Thank you for cooking, Vaggie!”

Vaggie offered a smile. “Of course. Thanks for actually joining us for once.”

At that, Charlie cringed while Eleanora looked uncomfortably to the side, her good mood immediately gone. The blonde-haired princess turned to look down at her girlfriend, frowning. “Vaggie…”

“What? I meant it.”

Lucifer blinked, watching as Eleanora poked what little remained of her food with her fork. He glanced back at Charlie and Vaggie. “Ellie doesn’t normally join you for meals?”

“It’s okay!” Charlie hurriedly said, already attempting to do damage control. She held her hands up in the air, smiling as brightly as she could. “It’s been… a lot for her to process, and a lot of Hell’s food isn’t exactly what she’s used to either, so… it’s been an… adjustment. She does eat! I think. I’m pretty sure.”

Vaggie snorted and leaned back into her seat, folding her arms over her chest. “Yeah, bread.”

“Which is very filling!” Charlie exclaimed, holding a finger up in the air.

“And eggs, I guess.” Vaggie added after a moment of thought. “But that’s… not that filling.”

Eleanora was looking more and more uncomfortable with each thing said. “At least I’m eating.”

Lucifer hadn’t thought much about it earlier, but her plate wasn’t exactly filled with a whole lot when they first sat down. Eleanora had eaten everything he created earlier, and there was a lot of food, but for as happily as she devoured all of that earlier her dinner plate had only a store-bought roll and a few small scoops of fried rice. She completely avoided the pork chops Vaggie cooked.

It’s been hours, so she should be hungry, but she didn’t… eat as much as she should.

No wonder she was so thin. “How long have you been in Hell?”

Eleanora paused, turning to give him a confused look. “Almost a week…? Why?”

Lucifer hmph’d and lifted a hand, snapping his fingers.

The human woman yelped when the leftover pork chop suddenly vanished from the tray on the counter and appeared on her plate. As that happened, several plates and bowls of various dinner foods appeared on the table- ham, mashed potatoes, freshly baked bread, gravy, baked macaroni.

Eleanora, Charlie, and Vaggie were all shocked, but the devil king just looked stern.

“Eat.” Lucifer told the brunette, standing up and reaching over to stab a couple slices of ham with a two-pronged fork, plopping them on her plate. “My little Charlie and Maggie-”

“Vaggie.” Charlie helpfully supplied, a smile blooming as she laced her hands together in front of her chest. “But, please, continue.”

“-wouldn’t prepare anything that would be detrimental for you.” Eleanora leaned back in her seat, mildly intimidated by the sight of Lucifer leaning in front of her, holding onto the fork he stabbed into the ham. He frowned. “You’re human. A living, breathing human. You need to eat.”

Well, fuck. “O-Okay…”

If the King of Hell is getting on her case about it, she can’t really argue it.

Lucifer’s expression brightened immediately. “Wonderful! Now, eat up!” He sat back down and patted her back with a laugh. “You’ll need your strength if you wanna survive Hell! Haha! Oh,” Turning his head, he beamed at Charlie and Vaggie, “feel free to dig in, you two! It’s for everyone!”

Vaggie was baffled, reaching over to grab a scoop of baked macaroni. “What was even the point of me cooking…?”

“I enjoy your cooking!” Charlie sang, leaning over to gently bump her head against hers. Vaggie blushed, her expression softening. “Just think of it as fancy seconds!”

Somehow, by some strange miracle, dinner continued a lot more smoothly after that. Eleanora chewed the pork chop slowly, trying to get used to the strange and unfamiliar Hell meat, before digging into the ham with a lot more gusto. Charlie offered her a piece of bread and she took it, listening while she ate as Charlie excitedly rambled to Lucifer about some of her plans for decorating the hotel.

He didn’t look like he was entirely following along, most of it most likely flying over his head as he unintentionally zoned out and then zoned back in, startled and confused when he realized he missed something, but definitely seemed happy his daughter was enjoying herself. That was as good a start as any.

It’ll take a while for him to ground himself in reality again, to not get lost in his head, but he was trying to listen for his daughter and that’s what counts.

Baby steps.

“Well, I should… probably get going now.” Lucifer made himself say a while after everyone finished eating, a couple hours of conversation passing by- conversation that was mostly Charlie and Vaggie talking at Lucifer and trying to drag Eleanora into it. They were all in the lounge again, having done another tour of the hotel just because that’s where their feet led them. He flashed his daughter a warm smile. “It… It was really nice seeing you again, kiddo.”

“Same.” Charlie beamed, tears stinging her eyes. “I can’t wait until I can come over! I think I should be able to visit in a couple days. I’m thinking Wednesday?”

“Uh, great! Yeah!” He nodded. “...What’s today?”

“Sunday.”

“Oh, wow! Haha! Is it?” Wow, of course today would be that day. The day the devil reunites with his daughter is the day religious humans go to church. “What are the chances!? I’ll… see you Wednesday, sweetheart!” Lucifer then flashed Vaggie an awkward grin, stepping back and pointing finger guns at her. Eleanora tried not to cringe, realizing he was mimicking her in his panic. “Look after my baby girl for me, Maggie! Hehe.”

Vaggie offered him a polite smile, reaching out to hold Charlie’s hand. “Gladly.”

“And~ you! Ellie!” He spun on his heel, looking at the woman who was standing in the corner watching the goodbyes take place. She startled, having not expected him to call on her. “Thanks for the help! I’ll… start working on my half of our deal! Cool? Cool! Make sure you eat whatever Maggie cooks you! Charlie!?”

“Yes?” His daughter perked up, red eyes sparkling. “What is it, Dad?”

Lucifer hesitated, looking very reluctant to leave. He observed her face like today was the last day he’d ever get to see it. “I…”

She pulled away from Vaggie and stepped forward, voice softening. “Yeah?”

Lucifer reached out, gently grasping her hands in his, giving them a slight squeeze. Charlie did the same, looking down at her father with misty eyes. “I… I love you, Charlie. And I’m… sorry- that… I was gone for so long. I… shouldn’t have been.”

“Dad…”

“B-But I’ll be here now!” He promised, leaning forward on his tiptoes as he looked up at her. “I won’t ever leave you alone again! So… I’ll be waiting! Wh-What day did we agree on again?”

“I’ll text it to you.” Charlie said, smiling shakily. “That way you won’t forget.”

“Right! Y-Yeah, that would… that would probably be best.” Lucifer cringed. “My… memory isn’t what it used to be. Heh. Kind of why I don’t watch television anymore; it scrambles the brain!” He stuck out his tongue and made a few weird noises, giggling. “And mine’s scrambled enough! Haha!”

Charlie just pulled him into another hug, leaning down and wrapping her arms around him, squeezing him tight. “That’s okay. We’ll find a way to work around it.”

“O-Oh!” That surprised him.

Lucifer’s features softened. It didn’t take long for him to melt into the hug.

He rested his face against his daughter’s shoulder. “Thank you… Charlie. For giving me a second chance.”

“Of course, Dad.” She held him tighter before releasing him, her hands resting lightly against his arms as he smiled up at her. “That’s what the hotel is all about, you know; giving people second chances. I’ve… been wanting to give you one for the longest time.”

The devil king almost started crying then and there, but somehow managed to hold his tears back. “I’m… so sorry, Char.”

“It’s okay. You’re here now.”

“...I’ll see you soon.” His red eyes flashed determinedly. “I promise.”

Charlie beamed. “I’ll see you Wednesday, Dad.”

With that, Lucifer took a deep breath and vanished into a burst of red mist- teleporting away back to his castle. Eleanora felt herself relax.

Unfortunately, no sooner had she done so did Charlie spin on her heel to face her, panic written all across her features.

Eleanora squeaked when the blonde ran at her, grabbing at her shoulders and shaking her. “What happened between you two!? What’s going on!? How did you end up working with my dad!? What was that in the dining hall!? Why was he holding your hand!? Why were you holding his hand!?”

Fuck.

Vaggie seemed to realize there was no calming Charlie down until she got her answers, but did at least try and pry the princess off of Eleanora, coiling an arm around her waist and tugging her back.

It was a very messy explanation Eleanora gave her, fumbling for the right words and stuttering all over the place, but the brunette made sure to emphasize to the panicking Charlie that she was merely being Lucifer’s emotional support and that there was nothing between them aside from… friendship. Because Lucifer called her a friend. So the hand holding was solely a platonic in-search-of-encouragement kind of thing.

Charlie’s face was utterly flushed as she fanned herself, giggling awkwardly as she leaned against her much shorter girlfriend. “O-Oh! Okay! That… makes sense. Okay. Yeah. S-Sorry, I was just- I mean, you just got here, but i-it looked like you two were flirting a-and I didn’t know if Dad was finally moving on from Mom or if I would have to start treating you as my step-mom-”

“Yeah, no!” Eleanora fervently waved a hand in the air, shaking her head. “Y-Yeah-ha-ha! Uh, we were not flirting. He definitely was not flirting. Um. I’m not gonna be your step-mom. But good for him if he does ever decide to remarry! I hope you’ll get along well with whoever that is. And… take the whole thing well. Haha… but no. No, no, no.”

“Oh…” Charlie blinked, looking almost… disappointed?

“I mean, he’s gorgeous- you definitely got your looks from him,” Eleanora was rambling now, hands moving about as she spoke, “and I’m starting to think a lot of your personality came from him, too? So, hey! The apple didn’t fall very far from the tree! Hehe. Because he’s… Lucifer? Who gave the apple to humanity? And… when a child is similar to a parent the saying’s- oh, forget it. I wasn’t flirting with your dad!”

The blonde’s face was completely blank.

Eleanora looked nervous.

She watched as Charlie lifted a hand to her chin, going deep into thought. “It really felt like you were, though…”

Heaven save her. Eleanora felt like her face was going to combust it was so red, her voice raising a couple octaves. “I wasn’t!”

“...What if he was flirting with you?” Charlie suddenly asked, thoughts clearly running a thousand miles per hour. Vaggie looked up at the princess curiously, wondering where she was going with this. “What if… Dad really is trying to move on? I…”

Charlie was silent.

For a long moment she looked sad, but then her eyes lit up and she brightened. “I think it would be really good for him! Kinda awkward,” Charlie deepened her voice, making a face and wave a hand sideways, before smiling widely again, “since we have the pact and all, and we’re kinda friends, but overall I think it’d be great!”

She clapped her hands together, leaning down so she was closer in height to the much shorter human. Eleanora leaned back, intimidated, her eyes wide as could be and her face as red at Charlie’s suit.

“Yeah! We’re all mature adults here! Why don’t you go for it, El?”

Eleanora looked like a statue with how she had frozen completely still. “...Hah?”

“If my dad likes you… and you like my dad…” Charlie circled her index fingers around each other, grinning ear-to-ear. “Why don’t you go for it!? You’re a good person! I trust you. Dad probably needs someone by his side anyway, and he seems to like you enough that he’s willing to hold hands with you and rely on you!”

At that, Vaggie finally stepped in- reaching an arm out for the second time to separate Charlie from the very startled Eleanora. “Charlie. Babe. El is human.”

“And?” She looked confused. “My mom used to be human before she fell down with my dad.”

Wait, what? “Who was your mom!?”

“Lilith!” Charlie answered brightly. “She was one of the first humans.”

Eleanora looked deeply confused. “I thought Adam and Eve were the first humans?”

“Lilith came first.” The princess kindly explained, smiling at her. “It’s a long story. I have a book! I can read it to you tomorrow, if you want?”

“Uh… sure?”

“Anyways!” Charlie stood up straight and rested her hands on her hips, turning to look down at Vaggie with furrowed brows and a bit of a pout. “What makes you think Eleanora can’t be with my dad?”

“She’s a human.” Vaggie repeated. “One who didn’t fall or die and wind up here. If she gets with your dad, she won’t be able to go back home.”

Charlie’s eyes went wide and she gasped, her mouth going agape. “Ooooh… that’s… y-yeah.”

She brought a hand up to her chin, fingers resting over her mouth.

“Good point. But… it’s not like we even know how to get her home in the first place…”

Eleanora puffed out her cheeks and huffed, throwing her hands up in the air. “Are either of you listening to anything I’m saying!?”

The two women turned to look at her, surprised by the outburst. Around them, the human was normally quiet and behaved. They’ve never even seen her act as silly as she did at the dinner table until today, and she’s certainly never raised her voice at them.

“Lucifer and I were not- and I repeat, not- flirting! We were just holding hands because he was scared he’d screw things up and needed the support! He’s been terrified of contacting Charlie for years because he was scared she’d hate him!” Eleanora bit her lip, glancing to the side as she gripped the hem of her blue button-up. “I was just… being a good friend! Good friends support each other. Admittedly I just became his friend today, but… the point still stands.”

She looked back up at them.

“There’s nothing more to it.”

Charlie looked shocked at the information the human just gave her, but didn’t focus on it for very long, her features shifting into one of disappointment. “If you’re sure…”

“Trust me, hon.” Eleanora made a face, her smile a bit strained as she clapped her hands together. “I’m sure.”

That conversation was probably the most draining thing of the day.

As Vaggie pulled Charlie away, saying they should probably start getting ready for bed- the girlfriends going to take a shower before dressing in their pajamas- Eleanora could hear Charlie mumbling as they walked away.

“Dad was definitely flirting… wasn’t he? I mean, he’s eccentric but he’s not… normally like that with other people.”

“If he’s anything like you, babe,” Vaggie said, patting the blonde’s back, “then I’d give it a strong maybe.”

Eleanora smacked a palm to her face.

Jesus Christ-! He was not flirting!

Lucifer would never.

Not wanting to hear anymore about her and the devil king, Eleanora rubbed her face and marched up the stairs to where her dingy bedroom was waiting, tossing on her black star patterned joggers and loose blue tank top, and collapsed on her bed to sleep.

Today has been such a mess. She was exhausted.

…What they said earlier was lingering in her head, though.

If she was to get together with Lucifer, she wouldn’t be able to return home. Is that because she’s a human and he’s a fallen angel? Or would it be the same if she were to get with anyone that wasn’t human? Whether it was a demon or fallen angel, if she were to marry them, would she be trapped forever?

She has absolutely no intention of doing so, but it did make her curious about what all the rules in Hell were.

Reaching over to her desk, still laying on her back, Eleanora picked up her phone and flipped open the screen. She scrolled through her contacts and opened the app she normally used to message her second eldest sister.

Her eyes starting to sting, worrying her bottom lip, Eleanora spent about ten minutes rereading previous conversations, as well as new messages- messages that were being sent to her, yet she was unable to respond to.

In a feat of kindness, Charlie had made it so she could access Hell’s internet and social network with her phone from Earth. She’s been receiving texts and messages from her family, who have all been losing their minds over her disappearance, but nothing she’s tried to send has gone through. She’s just been… watching them slowly lose their minds.

It’s been killing her bit-by-bit inside, more and more with each passing day.

She’s always wondered how they might react if she one day disappeared, but she never actually expected it to happen. She never expected them to care so much. The reason they were still messaging her after the several days she’s spent down here is probably because they see she’s reading their texts. Maybe they’re hoping she’ll respond back one day, or they can use her smartphone to track her.

But… Eleanora doubts a GPS can pinpoint Hell.

Setting her phone back down and plugging it in, she curled up into a ball under the thin blankets, grabbing one of the extra pillows and hugging it close to her chest.

“It’s okay, it’s alright…” She sang quietly to herself, hoping it would comfort herself as much as it seemed to comfort Lucifer. “To play the fool has always been my plight…”

Lips curling back, she squeezed her eyes tightly shut.

“In this tiny circus show…”

She inhaled shakily.

“I’m the nameless Pierrot.”

…

If it wasn’t for Charlie knocking on her door the next morning for breakfast, Eleanora would have slept all day.

She grimaced and sat up, yawning loudly with a tired, “I’m awake!”

“Oh, yay!” She heard the blonde exclaim from the other side of the door. “Vaggie’s heating up some of the leftovers from last night, so feel free to come down and join us once you’re ready! We’re having ham for breakfast! Hehe.”

There was the sound of footsteps, and then Charlie was gone.

Eleanora fell back down onto her back, sinking into the rickety mattress, and sighed. She shot an arm out to fondle the desk for her phone, bringing it over to stare at the screen. She had multiple texts from her second eldest sister asking how she’s doing, if she’s okay, and even telling her about her day. Her oldest sister was asking where she was at and if she could please respond already. Her brother…

Gods, his depression had already been so bad before, but now-

He wasn’t even asking her questions. His messages were just very short, “Hey” and “You there?” and “Hey” over and over again.

Leaning her head back, Eleanora closed her eyes and swallowed back the lump that caught in her throat, resting her phone against her chest. She wasn’t a Sinner, but it honestly felt like she was being punished for something she had no control over. It wasn’t as if she wanted to be summoned into Hell.

Feeling her phone vibrate again, Eleanora bit down hard on her bottom lip, her heart feeling like it was being torn apart. She had half a mind to just ignore the messages.

They would stop after breakfast, then pick up again after lunch all the way until dinner. Then it would be radio silence until the next day.

But… her phone was still vibrating…and in a way that wasn’t the usual string of texts.

It was almost like she was getting a phone call. Something that shouldn’t be happening, seeing as she can’t receive the calls despite being able to read the texts. She’s gotten so many missed calls because of it, all of them being sent immediately straight to voicemail without her phone ever vibrating. She shouldn’t be getting a call.

Greatly confused, she forced herself to lift it up and look at the screen- only to blink, startled when she saw it was Lucifer who was calling her.

That checks out, she supposed.

She really needed to set a ringtone for him.

Voice a bit raspy from sleep, she answered the call and went, “Hello…?”

“O-Oh! You picked up! Haha!”

“Yeah… uh, good… morning?” This was weird.

“Good morning~!” The devil king sang, sounding quite chipper. Eleanora was not a morning person, but she wasn’t going to be upset at hearing his singing voice first thing after waking up. It oddly brightened her mood a bit. “So, have you eaten yet? A human in Hell needs their nutrients~! Oh, what about Charlie? Has she eaten?”

“Uh… we were about to. She’s with Vaggie getting it ready.” Eleanora squinted and sat up, fixing her tank top. “I… just woke up.”

“Oh! Wow. Um. So I called you right on time then?”

She made a face. “Kind of…?”

“Fantastic! Well, I’ll… leave you to breakfast! Call me once you’re free, okay? I, uh, wanna talk to you about our deal.”

“O-Okay…” Frick, she almost forgot about that. “Will do.”

“Great! Make sure to finish whatever Maggie makes you! And make sure Char-Char eats her fill! My baby girl needs to stay healthy.”

“…Have you eaten?”

“Huh?”

Eleanora isn’t sure what possessed her to ask that question, but she found herself pulling her knees up to her chest, hugging them close as she spoke to Lucifer over the phone. “M-Make sure you eat, too, okay?”

When all she received was silence, she felt her heart twist a little, but she soon relaxed when she heard him respond, “Y-Yeah… I’ll… do that.”

“You can’t run Hell on an empty stomach.” Eleanora tried to joke.

“Ha! Haha!” Oof. Forced laughter. “Touché! Well, uh, I will, um, let you go. Until later. Don’t forget to call me back!”

“Aye-aye, Your Majesty.”

She waited until he hung up, then stared at her phone blankly, wondering what possessed the devil king to call her so early in the morning, before deciding not to think about it and instead headed to her bathroom to wash her face, brush her teeth, and get ready for the day.

Seriously, what the hell was that? Normally he waited until at least noon to start spamming her with calls to ask about his daughter.

Well… it’s fine, she supposed.

A little weird, but fine.

What would be a good ringtone for him? Ducktales? Nah, too obvious. Hrm…

Once Eleanora was dressed, she went downstairs to the dining hall where she awkwardly greeted Charlie and Vaggie, who were setting the table and getting ready to eat.

Charlie immediately began talking about her plans for the day once they sat down and started eating, informing the human about how she and Vaggie were going to go into town looking for recruits. She asked Eleanora if she could stay in the hotel where it’s safe, telling her Razzle and Dazzle- two little flying dragons with the doofiest and cutest faces she’s ever seen- would protect her until they got back.

Eleanora nodded, agreeing easily, not exactly keen on heading out into dangerous territory. She was also quite fond of Razzle and Dazzle, always having had a special interest in dragons and enjoying lizards in general due to her oldest sister’s own special obsession.

Dragons were the best, and~ Razzle and Dazzle were itty bitty dragons. How could she not love them?

“I’ll show you the book before we leave!” Charlie promised. “It’s something my mom left behind for me, but it pretty much tells the story of how she and my dad ended up in Hell, and why all the Sinners arrive here.”

Ah, the true story behind the forbidden fruit. A grin crossed the brunette’s face. “I do like apples.”

“Huh?”

Eleanora blinked, realizing she said that aloud. She flashed Charlie a small grin. “Sorry. I, uh, was thinking about Adam and Eve. The apple? I like apples. Can’t blame her for eating it. They’re delicious. Apples are actually my favorite fruit. Grapes are a close second, though. Oh! And watermelon- but I’m picky about the texture.”

Charlie just stared at the brunette then, something strange flashing in her eyes, before her face lit up. “My dad loves apples, too! Or, he did when I was little. I think he still does? He was obsessed with caramel apples for a time-“

Oh, gods, mistakes have been made. “I was just-“

“You two sure do have a lot in common!” She laughed. Charlie flashed Eleanora wink, sending her a finger gun. Vaggie hit her head against the table, groaning. Charlie was truly her father’s daughter. “No wonder you guys hit it off so well yesterday! Haha…!”

Eleanora took a deep breath to calm herself. “Charlie, sweetie, you remember what I told you about my relationship history?”

The princess faltered, becoming increasingly disheartened. “You don’t… date?”

“Mmhm.” Eleanora stabbed a slice of ham with her fork, lifting it up to her lips with a sickeningly sweet smile. She tried not to remember how Lucifer piled food up on her dinner plate last night, the devil king having shown a surprising amount of concern for her wellbeing. “I don’t drink, I don’t do drugs, I don’t smoke, and I don’t do relationships.”

“B-But that’s because you’re scared of being betrayed!” Charlie exclaimed, standing up and smacking her hands against the table.

Eleanora jumped, startled by her behavior and the sudden callout, and Vaggie lifted her head in shock, having not expected her girlfriend to be so passionate about this particular subject.

“You said it yourself; you’ve seen dozens of people be abused or cheated on, and your own siblings be betrayed and threatened by their past partners, so you don’t want any of that! You don’t want to be used and abandoned. But my dad would never do anything like that!” Charlie’s eyes welled up with tears, looking heartbroken as she spoke about the brunette’s reasoning for avoiding relationships. “I know he’s the King of Hell and that can maybe give off the wrong impression, but he would never hurt you! You can trust him!”

“Do you seriously want me to be your step-mom?” Eleanora choked.

Charlie opened her mouth to give a retort, but hesitated. “I… I just want you guys to be happy. If we can’t… find a way to get you back home, El, you’ll be stuck here.”

So… what? “That doesn’t mean I have to date your dad.”

Eleanora can not believe those words just came out of her mouth. She can’t even believe she’s having this conversation.

“Besides,” The brunette made herself continue, about to take a bite of her ham, “I doubt I’m his type.”

Charlie looked like she wanted to protest, but Vaggie grabbed her arm and caused her to look down at her. The silver-haired beauty shook her head slowly, giving Charlie some very sympathetic eyes. They both turned to look as Eleanora attempted to calmly finish her breakfast, avoiding eye contact with both girls as she munched on her ham.

“If I’m stuck in Hell forever, then I’m stuck in Hell forever.” The human rationalized as she set her fork down, furrowing her brows and staring with narrowed eyes at her empty plate. She tried not to think about the hole forming in her chest as she spoke. “I don’t see why I have to enter a relationship just because of it. I’ve been happily single, by choice, until now.”

Besides, he’s… Lucifer Morningstar.

She’s lucky enough he’s even considering her as a friend, although the only reason he’s doing so is because of his daughter. Without Charlie, Lucifer wouldn’t even glance in Eleanora’s direction.

Why am I even thinking about this? Why is she even upset about it? I need to go home.

“Charlie, I…” Eleanora faltered and took a deep breath, struggling to find the words. When she looked up, her expression was pained, and Charlie met her gaze with sad eyes. “I… appreciate… what you’re doing for me. What you’re… trying to do. But it’s not gonna happen. It’s not gonna work. I have no interest in dating-“

Maybe only a smidgen of curiosity.

“-and your dad has no interest in me. He only talks to me to ask about you,” Although the phone call this morning was really weird since it didn’t feel as Charlie-focused as usual, “and- okay, sure. Maybe I do… find him… pretty, but attraction doesn’t equal affection and I sincerely, sincerely, doubt he’s attracted to me. So.”

She held her hands up in a sassy dismissive shrug.

“Yeah.”

Charlie just gaped at Eleanora, before slumping forward and smacking a hand to her face, dragging her fingers slowly downwards. She looked disturbed. “Bringing this up feels like a mistake. I never wanna hear anyone describe or talk about my dad being attractive ever again. I regret everything.”

Vaggie snorted, patting her on the back, while Eleanora barked an awkward laugh. “So stop bringing it up!”

“I-I’m sorry, I just-!” The blonde held her hands out in front of her, before brushing her bangs back, frustrated and flustered and concerned. “I want you to be happy, and I want my dad to be happy, and you two were really hitting it off last night at dinner so I thought- maybe- you two could find… happiness… together?”

Charlie shook her head, propping her elbows up on the table with a groan.

“I… I’ll admit, I’m not… really over my parents divorce yet, but I want them to be happy! I really do! And while I’d love for them to get back together, I… I know that’s not gonna happen! So… if it’s possible, I’d like for them to find happiness… even if it’s separately. If being with you could make Dad happy and make you happy, then…”

She peered up at Eleanora, giving her the saddest puppy eyes in existence.

“I really wanted to encourage you guys to go for it! I mean, I know Hell isn’t your home, but… if push comes to shove and we can’t get you back, I… want to help you find a home. If that home just happened to be with my dad, then, well…” Charlie shrugged, giving the brunette a bashful smile. “I’d be okay with that.”

Charlie was… so insanely sweet and caring, it was hard to believe she was technically the anti-Christ.

Holy fuck.

“I… I appreciate that, but…” Eleanora breathed in a little shakily and rested a hand against the lower half of her face, leaning back into her chair as she tried to process this.

Charlie must have been up all night thinking about this despite how much Eleanora tried to deny the claims yesterday. To think she came to such a decision so quickly-

Her emotional maturity was truly something else. “There’s really nothing going on between me and your dad.”

The princess pouted. “Okay… fine. I’ll give up. But just so you know, if you guys ever do start catching the feels…”

Charlie waggled her fingers at her and flashed her a big toothy grin, resting a hand against her chest. Her eyes crinkled affectionately, her expression soft.

“You have my blessing.”

A conversation has never felt so uncomfortable and yet so wholesome. “…Thank you?”

Charlie giggled. “You're welcome! Oooh~ how about we get to reading now!? Vaggie and I have a big day of wandering town, so we should go ahead and get this out of the way! Come on, come on, let’s clean all this up!”

Everyone having finished eating, the three women got to work clearing the table. Eleanora did the dishes while Charlie wiped down the table, and Vaggie dried everything Eleanora washed. It was a fairly efficient way of doing things, although Vaggie scolded Eleanora lightly for splashing her with water when she was trying to rinse off a spoon.

The human apologized profusely for it, but the woman just took it in stride and laughed, nudging her with her elbow. “Relax~ I’m not mad. Just be more careful, okay? What if you sprayed Charlie?”

Eleanora immediately looked horrified at the thought, which only made Vaggie laugh harder.

“We won’t kick you out, promise! Her suit’s just a nightmare to clean.”

Ah. That makes sense.

“Awww, are you guys bonding!?” Charlie popped out from behind them, causing the two women to yelp and shout in surprise and mild fright, and they turned to see the princess cooing at them. “We’re making friends! Oooh, I just knew today was gonna be great!”

Eleanora yelped when Charlie tugged her and Vaggie into an abrupt group hug. Being the shortest one there, the human felt a little like she was suffocating.

“Just you wait and see, El! Even if we can’t get you back to your old home, I’ll show you Hell can be the perfect place to make a new one!”

Wow. “Sounds like you’ve, uh, really given up on me going back, huh?”

“What? Oh, no!” Charlie let go of her and Vaggie immediately, stepping back and holding her hands up in a panic. “No, no, no! That’s not what I meant! I just- I was just trying to say, it’s good to keep an open mind! We never know what’s going to happen, after all!”

Eleanora hummed, not giving it much thought before shrugging. “Yeah, fair enough.”

That said, she can feel her phone vibrating like crazy inside her pocket as her siblings continued to send her one-way messages. It was driving her insane trying not to look at them, and even more so knowing she won’t be able to respond. They should have stopped by now, but they seemed especially unsettled and frantic today.

So, to distract herself, she plastered on a smile and followed Charlie and Vaggie into the lounge, where they plopped down on a worn sofa. Holding her hands out, a red book with golden accents appeared in a puff of smoke onto Charlie’s lap, and the princess held it up with a big grin.

“Okay, here we go!” She exclaimed, opening it up to the front page. Charlie looked at Eleanora with a big grin. “Are you ready?”

“To learn the Story of Hell?” She asked, raising her brows as she leaned against the armrest, propping her chin up, quoting the title of the book. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

Charlie squealed, to Vaggie’s amusement, and looked down at the pages. “Okay, okay! Here goes.”

She took a deep breath, relaxing as her girlfriend casually leaned against her side, Vaggie holding her arm as she snuggled up with her, before starting to read,

“Once upon a time, there was a glowing city protected by golden gates known as Heaven. It was ruled by beings of pure light- beings known as Angels, who worshiped good and shielded all from evil.” Charlie read with a surprisingly strong and clear voice, adding emotion only when necessary. “Lucifer… was one of these angels.”

Eleanora nodded along slowly, listening intently to the tale that was being told. “Okay, that’s… pretty close to what I know.”

Charlie just flashed her a sad smile and continued, “He was a dreamer- one with fantastical ideas for all of creation. But… he was seen as a troublemaker by the elders of Heaven, for they felt his way of thinking was dangerous to the order of their world, and so he could only watch as the angels began to expand the universe in their ways…”

The human sat up straighter, moving to try and get a look at the pages in the book, noticing it had artwork. There was a heartbreaking image of a silhouette being scolded and ignored, abandoned, by disturbing creatures with multiple eyes.

Lucifer…

When Charlie flipped the page, Eleanora saw two tall figures- a man and a woman- drawn standing in a garden. “From the dust of the Earth, they created Adam and Lilith- equals as the first of mankind. But despite this… Adam demanded control, and Lilith refused to submit to his will. She fled the garden of Eden.”

“Now this is what I didn’t know.” Eleanora murmured, gazing at the artwork closely. “I thought Lilith was some kind of angel turned demon, but she was the first human woman… even before Eve?”

“Earth’s gotten things a little confused.” Charlie confessed. She flipped the page. “Drawn in by Lilith’s fierce independence, Lucifer found her… and the two rebellious dreamers fell deeply in love.”

Page by page, the princess continued to read aloud, and Eleanora found herself fascinated with the illustrations. There was something so grim about them, even in the pages that spoke of beauty and light.

Most fascinating was perhaps the way the apple tree was drawn, and how the leaves were dyed red and how you could see the roots that dug into the ground. Almost like it was supposed to represent the roots of evil.

From this point on, the story followed what Eleanora was pretty much taught by her parents and the churches she went to when she was young; Lucifer wished to share the magic of free will with humanity, so he offered the fruit of knowledge, an apple, to Adam’s new bride, Eve, who gladly accepted it. But, unlike in the old biblical stories, Lilith was there beside Lucifer as they fed Eve the forbidden fruit.

And… according to the story book, that gift of knowledge came with a curse.

“With this single act of disobedience, evil finally found its way into Earth.” Charlie told her, expression and voice both solemn as she read. “A new realm of darkness and sin was formed, and the order Heaven had worked to maintain was shattered. As punishment for their reckless act, Heaven cast Lucifer and his love into the dark pit he had created, never allowing him to see the good that came from humanity, only the cruel… and the wicked.”

The princess became sad, running her fingers across the image of her parents falling into the abyss of evil, only to turn the page once again and keep reading.

“Ashamed, Lucifer lost his will to dream. But Lilith thrived, empowering demon-kind with her voice and her songs- and as the numbers of Hell grew, so did its power.” Eleanora made a face, wondering if Lilith was the reason everyone in Hell liked to sing. “Threatened by this, Heaven made a truly heartless decision.”

Wait, what?

“Every year, they would send down an army, an extermination, to ensure Hell and its Sinners could never rise against them.” Taking a deep breath, Charlie closed the book and turned to face Eleanora with a bittersweet smile. “That’s… the story of how my parents met and how Hell was created… and why I want to open this hotel and help Sinners redeem themselves so they can get into Heaven. What do you think?”

“Uh…” The brunette blinked. “I’m sorry, I’m still processing that last part. Heaven commits yearly genocide!?”

Charlie cringed and Vaggie’s face went dark, turning away and not looking at either of them. Resting a hand on her girlfriend’s arm, book sitting safely on her lap, Charlie’s smile became a little more strained. “I… try not to call it that, but… yeah. Basically. The next extermination is gonna happen pretty soon. We have around two weeks left.”

“WWWWWhat!?”

There was so much Eleanor felt she needed to ask.

How could Heaven be Heavenly when it’s committing one of the worst crimes in existence? Will Eleanora even be safe during the next extermination? What will happen if an Angel sees her? Will they try to drag her into Heaven? How many people do they normally kill at once?

But… she couldn’t quite get the words out. “Uh, o-okay. Um. Yikes.”

“Yeahhhh.” Charlie scrunched up her nose. “It’s pretty bad. But hey! The hotel will put a stop to all of that! Vaggie and I just… need to go out and recruit some people first.”

Eleanora flashed her a weak smile. “Good luck?”

Charlie brightened. “Thanks! Well, Vaggie and I should get going now… so… see you when we get back!” She stood up and set the book on the sofa where she had been previously sitting. She cupped her hands over her mouth. “Razzle, Dazzle!”

At her call, the two little dragons flew over from wherever they were upstairs. Charlie flashed them a beaming smile as she rested her hands on her hips.

“Look after El for me, okay? I’m counting on you!”

Neither said anything, not a single thought behind those big eyes of theirs, their tongues sticking out like they were puppies, but Charlie took that as their response and stepped forward, giving them some scritches.

“That’s my wittle bodyguards~ you do such a good job, yes, you do! Protect the human for me, okay? Thank you~!” She gave them each a kiss on the head before turning to her girlfriend, who was sliding off the sofa and making her way over to the hotel’s front door. “Wait for me, Vaggie! Hehe. I just know we’ll find someone today!”

She took off running, waving at Eleanora as she got ready to leave.

“Bye, El~! We’ll be back!”

And with that… Eleanora was left alone in the hotel- accompanied by only the two dragons who had stopped flying to plop themselves beside her on the sofa, and… the demon cat, Keekee, who was surely lounging about somewhere.

Leaning sideways, Eleanora slumped across the armrest, her phone vibrating like crazy again.

“I guess… I should call Lucifer now?” Charlie and Vaggie left, and the constant vibrating of her phone reminded her of her conversation with the devil king from this morning. “An extermination… holy shit… I mean, I guess the Bible did have some pretty fucked up stuff, but… Heaven committing genocide?”

She looked at Razzle and Dazzle.

“Can ya’ll believe this?”

Heaven was crueler than Eleanora ever imagined.

Not only did they completely crush a man who just wanted to share the wonders of the world with humanity, but now they’re committing mass murder. She wondered if this played a huge part in Lucifer’s depression- alongside the very painful and obvious fact that Lilith and Lucifer apparently fell down together, were punished together, and had likely been together for thousands upon thousands of years before getting a divorce.

It’s no wonder why the man still wore his wedding ring; he must have been truly, wholly, deeply in love.

If the person Eleanora fell into Hell with and had suffered eternity together with had decided to up and leave her one day, after having already lost everything once before, she’d fall apart too.

Holy fuck, that’s messed up.

Charlie has been taking her parents divorce remarkably well all things considered. Princess of Hell? Lucifer may as well already hand her the crown because she is a queen.

Especially since she’s actively wishing her parents can find happiness even if it’s no longer beside each other. She’s such a good kid. Such a good kid, in fact, that she doesn’t realize how impossible it would be for Eleanora to even try and compete with a woman like Lilith if she ever decided, against her better judgment, to try and pursue Lucifer.

How is she even supposed to call him after the conversations she had with Charlie? There’s no way she’ll be able to look him in the eye.

Oh, gods, she’s in trouble.

Unfortunately, she can’t just not call him… since he’s the King of Hell. That’s just asking for something bad to happen.

With a flustered groan, Eleanora dragged a hand down her face before picking up her phone and dialing the devil king’s number, anxiously petting Razzle- who had climbed halfway onto her lap- as she did so. She was startled at how quickly Lucifer picked up.

“You called back!”

“W-Well, yeah…” He told her to. “I said I would.”

“Ha! Fair enough. Uh, are you free right now?”

“Your daughters left to find some hotel recruits, so… yeah.”

“Ah.” Odd response. “Well, since you aren’t busy…”

She heard something like the snap of his fingers, and jumped up onto the sofa’s armrest- apologizing to Razzle for startling him- when she saw a flicker of gold appear, like a tear in the fabric of reality, before it expanded into a circular… portal? “What in the holy macaroni mackerels is that!?”

“…What?”

“Don’t ask. What the frick is that thing!?”

“It’s a portal. Walk through it.”

“…Why?”

“So we can talk in person?”

Eleanora slowly slid off the sofa, patting the floating Razzle on the head before hesitantly approaching the portal. She couldn’t see anything through the golden light. “Do you have any idea how suspicious this is? Why should I trust this?”

“Well~ if you want that bank account I promised… and if you want to learn how to call on me if you ever end up in danger…”

Ah, damn it. “You… ugh, fiiine.”

He’s lucky he’s cute.

“But! Just so you know!” She said into the phone, glaring at it. “If this is a trap and I die, I’mma come back and haunt you! Angel or Demon, it don’t matter. I will come find you.”

She heard Lucifer snort. “Good luck with that, sweetheart.”

Eleanora balked at that, wondering if she misheard him, before she shook her head and dismissed it, her face burning hot. He was clearly just messing with her. Taking a deep breath, she made a face and stepped forward, reaching out with a hand to tentatively touch the light.

She blinked in surprise. “It’s… warm.”

If Lucifer was still on the line, he didn’t say anything.

Eleanora glanced over her shoulder at Razzle and Dazzle, eyes widening when she saw Keekee peer at her from over on the main stairwell. She hasn’t seen much of the demon cat- to her chagrin, as she loved cats- so it was interesting she was coming out now of all times, but Eleanora chose not to linger on it, instead turning back around and bravely stepping into the light, squeezing her eyes shut.

All she felt was warmth, a gentle heat that brushed over her skin. It almost felt like she was walking through water, yet rather than being met with resistance it seemed to be guiding her forward.

When the warmth faded and she opened her eyes, she blinked and looked around with wide eyes, realizing she was standing in Lucifer’s office. Eleanora spun on her heel, gasping in amazement, before pausing when saw Lucifer sitting at a table, a teacup held to his smirking lips, one leg crossed over the other. His phone was held close to his face. “Uh… hi.”

“Still going to haunt me?” He asked, voice right in her ear due to the call still going on.

Eleanora’s face burned.

To make matters worse, Lucifer had chosen to not wear his jacket today, instead showing off his white-and-red striped vest and pure white button-up. He even had his sleeves rolled up, showcasing his forearms as he had apparently decided to wear short gloves today. He also had on the cutest hat?

It’s the same one he wore when they first met, but she didn’t pay it much attention before in her panic.

It was a white top hat with a red sash and red inside, but it had a golden snake coiled around it, an apple that was very deceiving but clearly fake tucked inside it on the left. There were three little golden spikes resembling a crown behind them. It was adorable.

And it took everything Eleanora had to end the call, tuck her phone away, and shove her hands into her pockets, turning to the side with a flustered pout. “Maybe.”

Lucifer laughed- the sound so genuine it left her stunned. Whipping her head around, the human gazed at him with big eyes, and watched as he set his teacup down on its little saucer. He tucked his phone into his pants pocket.

When Lucifer smiled at her, the rosy dots on his cheeks were a bit brighter and bigger than usual, and Eleanora stood in place, frozen, as he laced his hands together under his chin and leaned forward, elbows propped up on the table.

The devil king waved a hand at the empty seat across from him, inviting her over. “Please, take a seat. The sooner we get this whole deal~ business figured out, the better.”

Eleanora did as told.

She felt incredibly awkward as she sat down, attempting to push all memories she had of her conversations with Charlie into the back of her mind, but found it rather difficult to do so with the way Lucifer was grinning at her, his sharp teeth bared wide as could be.

Once she was comfortably seated, Lucifer reached out to pick up the elephant teapot, pouring her a cup of tea. She murmured a small thank you, earning another smile from him, only to blink in surprise when he waved his hand and several small sandwiches and sweets appeared on a fancy three-tiered tray.

“So!” He cleared his throat, leaning back into his seat as he picked up a tiny caramel coated peanut. He had some dark circles under his eyes, like maybe he didn’t sleep well, but otherwise appeared to be in a good mood. “You… remember the terms of our deal, right? You~ help me with Charlie, and I~ make your life in Hell go as smoothly as I can.”

“R-Right. Yeah.” She gave Lucifer a small nod, hesitating before grabbing a tiny sandwich, noticing with glee that it was just cheese and meat. “S-Something about being your assistant?”

“Exacto-mundo!” He exclaimed, tossing the peanut in his mouth and snapping his fingers at her. Chewing quickly, he swallowed and stood up, palms smacking the tabletop. “It’s not your typical assistant job, but I’ll pay you well for it. You just answer my calls and come over when I ask you to, and answer any and all questions I have about Charlie. You’re gonna be spending a lot of time with my little girl, so… you can tell me whatever it is you find out- likes, dislikes, enemies…”

Lucifer said that last part with a bit of a demonic growl, his red irises turning into slits, leaning forward as his eyes glowed, and Eleanora tensed up, feeling a lump catch in her throat as goosebumps ran along her arms. Her mouth suddenly felt very dry.

That should not have been as attractive as it was.

Just gonna… casually take a sip of my tea.

She lifted her cup up to her lips, nodding along to Lucifer’s words. He beamed at her. “Little things like that! Okie dokie?”

“S-Sounds good.”

Lucifer’s eyes softened, something warm flashing in his scarlet gaze, and Eleanora awkwardly shoved the little bite-sized sandwich she was holding into her mouth. The less she talked the better, because she knows once she starts she probably won’t be able to shut up. “Hm…”

There was something very snake-like about the smile he sent her, none of his teeth showing yet still somehow managing to be intimidating. It almost looked like he was trying to see through her.

“Y’know, Ellie… you’re being oddly quiet today.”

“I-I just…” She gave a stiff shrug. “I just don’t have anything to add. I dunno how this “deal” stuff works. I barely understand the pact Charlie made with me.”

Lucifer scrunched up his face, sticking his lips out in a sour pout as he sat back down. “Riiiight… that was a thing, wasn’t it? The pact. The one you made with my daughter. Ugh.”

He leaned into his seat, uncrossing his legs and stretching them out to the side as he tilted his chair backwards dramatically, hands just barely onto the table

“I can’t believe you made a pact with my little Charlie! I can’t- I've been trying to wrap my head around it, but, wow, I just… can’t believe it! Do you know how hard it is for humans and demons to make pacts normally?” His chair thumped against the ground as he leaned forward again, one arm draped against the table and his other hand hanging in the air as he gave her a look. “A pact is formed maybe once every century, and that’s following all the exhausting ritual rules and doing the correct chant for the proper demon, lighting the right number of candles, setting up the proper music, and blah blah blah- it’s so much work and so rare!”

Lucifer huffed, practically blowing a raspberry as he sunk even further against the table, before abruptly shooting up and tossing his arms out to gesture to her.

“But then you just waltz on in here, unaware and unintentionally, and then bam! Bada bing bada boom! You made a deal with the second most powerful being in all of Hell! My daughter! The King of Hell’s daughter! Ellie, sweetheart,” Lucifer shook his head, utterly baffled by this turn of events, nearly knocking his hat off as he ran his fingers through his bangs, “I mean- make it make sense!”

“To be fair...” Eleanora cringed, flashing him a weak smile, earning a wide-eyed blink in response, the fallen archangel staring at her in disbelief. “I didn’t know she was the princess until you showed up…?”

He scoffed.

“And! Also!” She felt the need to defend herself. “I didn’t have any say in the pact until after it was already made; Charlie just did it on her own to save me! I was kind of dying from an asthma attack after we made it back to the hotel? It was sort of a do-or-die situation and she chose to do instead of letting me die, so… y’know… rather than get mad at me I’d say be proud of your daughter for caring enough to save a total stranger?”

Lucifer was silent for a long moment, squinting at her, before slumping back with a dramatic sigh. “I suppose that’s fair… but if it had been anyone other than you, my baby girl could have ended up in who knows what kind of trouble!”

He picked up another caramel coated peanut, eying it for a moment before tossing it in his mouth and chewing.

After a minute, swallowing the treat, he spoke again, gazing at her with narrowed eyes. There was a bit of an edge to his voice, a warning of sorts. “If a pact is made without careful consideration, one party may have an advantage over the other. If you weren’t so… you, then my baby girl could have ended up in serious trouble!”

“…If it’s any consolation,” Eleanora began, thinking about it as she lifted her teacup for another drink, trying to appease the King of Hell all the while keeping herself safe, “I’m pretty sure Charlie has the advantage here. She made the pact, and the terms we agreed on afterwards was that she keep me healthy and safe as long as I help her out.”

The brunette looked down at her tea, worrying her bottom lip.

“If I don’t… help her out, chances are I’ll just… keel over.”

Eleanora has no choice but to do what Charlie asks of her. She doesn’t think Charlie will take advantage of her- she was far too nice for that- but the fact remains that if she wanted to, she very well could. There’s no medicine for her here down in Hell. If Eleanora wants to live, she has to rely on the grace and mercy of the Hellborn princess who saved her.

“Hm.” Lucifer considered that. “I can accept that.”

The brunette would’ve spat out her tea if she hadn’t expected that response. She sent him a dirty look, then proceeded to down the rest of her tea and set her cup down, scowling. “As you should.”

“So~!” Feeling a lot better now about the whole pact situation, Lucifer sat up and grinned at Eleanora as he poured her another cup, his free hand curled against his cheek. “Ellie… what say you and I write up a proper contract?”

This feels like such a mistake. “What… kind of contract?”

“Just one stating the terms of our deal. Nothing too fancy or complicated. Easier than writing a letter, definitely. Hehe- y’know what I mean?”

Uh-huh. “Okay…”

“Such skepticism!” He gasped, setting the teapot down, lifting his hand to rest over his lips. Lucifer snickered and giggled, before shifting his fingers so only his index finger was over his mouth, his lips spreading in a large toothy smirk. His eyes narrowed in a way that could have been easily mistaken as sinister if not for the mischief in his gaze. “I’m a devil of my word! I promise you, Ellie, I won’t do anything that isn’t directly stated in the contract.”

Eleanora leaned back and scrunched her nose up at him suspiciously, brown eyes staring into glimmering red, her hands gripping the table’s edge, before she finally gave in and let out a tired sigh. “Yeah, okay, fine. But I ain’t signin’ nothing unless I can read through it all first.”

Lucifer let out a whistle. “Well, look at you! You’ve clearly heard the stories about making deals, haven’t you? Huh? Huuuuh? Heh.”

His lips curled in a sly

“To think- you’re smart and pretty.”

Eleanora’s eyes went wide at that, knowing for certain she didn’t mishear him this time, but Lucifer didn’t say anything else on the subject as he snapped his fingers, a golden glowing piece of parchment paper appearing in front of them alongside a red-feathered quill.

The short king quickly got to work writing.

“For as long as you’re in Hell, you’ll answer when called and come when asked.” He stated, not looking at her as he focused on the paper, his tired eyes seeming to dull over as he worked. It was as if he aged ten years in a single minute. His voice even lost some of its pep. “You’ll help me look after my daughter, Charlie, and I’ll guarantee your safety and make your life here as comfortable as I can.”

Something about his wording was… weird, but maybe that’s just Charlie’s voice in the back of her head trying to make her overthink things.

“Should you ever end up in danger, call my name.”

“Lucifer?”

The immortal man startled, and he looked up with big eyes to stare at Eleanora, seeing her gaze at him with those doe-like brown eyes of hers. His mouth opened like he was about to speak, but no words left his lips, and he watched as she furrowed her brows and tilted her head at him, nervously reaching out to grip the striped teacup he had prepared for her.

“D-Do I just… say it like that? Or… does it actually have to be, like, scared? Like… Lucifer! Or… Lucifeeeer!” She ducked her head down, acting like she was cowering from a random attack, and glanced up at him with flushed cheeks. “H-How do you know the difference? What if I’m talking about you to Charlie and your name slips out?”

“…Trust me.” Recovering from whatever stupor he ended up in, he flashed her a confident grin, sitting tall in his seat. He grabbed the rim of his hat, tilting his head at her. “I’ll know.”

Eleanora didn’t look like she believed him, but she had no choice but to take his word on it. “Okay. Um… is there anything else we need to write down?”

The King of Hell looked back down at the parchment. “As part of our deal, I’ll send money to your Hellish bank account once a month. I’ve already gone ahead and got it set up for you.” He propped a fist against his cheek, pouting as he huffed. “What else…?”

Oddly enough, this deal almost feels like it’s in her favor. “Is there anything else you want?”

Lucifer paused. He looked up at her with confused, tired eyes. “What… I want?”

“Yeah.” Eleanora blinked at him. “Is there anything I can do for you that isn’t related to Charlie?”

“Like… what?” His face scrunched up.

The brunette woman stared at him, then lowered her gaze to her teacup. Gripping the handle gingerly, she turned it and watched the liquid ripple. Her reflection stared back at her.

Eleanora looked up at Lucifer. “You said we were friends, right? So… if you ever need a friend to help you out for something, like… needing someone to ramble nonsense to or to vent about your day… I can be there. I might not be able to offer advice, but I can listen.”

“Uh-huh…” He squinted an eye at her, raising a brow. “And if I said I needed a hug, you’d just… give me one?”

Leaning back into her seat, Eleanora set down her teacup and casually lifted her arms, holding them out as if to invite him into an embrace. Lucifer’s eyes widened, recognizing the pose as she had done the same thing back when she first sang to him.

Though her cheeks were flushed, her expression and voice were blunt. “If you need a hug, you need a hug.”

Was she a little uncomfortable sitting there, telling the King of Hell, Lucifer Morningstar, she would hug him if he asked? Yes. Did she mean what she said about wanting to help him? Also yes.

It felt like she was getting way more out of this deal than he was, and- while that was probably a good thing since she was literally dealing with the devil himself- it felt… wrong.

Unfair.

Eleanora didn’t like it. “Also! Alternatively! If you just want a gossip bestie, well…”

Lowering her arms, she grabbed her teacup once more and lifted it up, flashing him as pretty a wink as she could manage- which probably wasn’t all that pretty and just more plain cringey- and crossed one leg over the other.

“I always enjoy hearing some piping hot tea.”

She took a sip.

To her delight, Lucifer looked like he was fighting a laugh, biting his bottom lip as he raised his right brow high on his forehead. “I’m not much for gossip.”

“Well, shucks.” Eleanora pouted, clicking her tongue. “Here I was hoping to hear about whatever idiot likes to bug the big boss of Hell. Damn. Guess I’ll just listen to Vaggie complain about men.”

At that, Lucifer actually snorted, smacking a hand over his face. Eleanora grinned.

“What? It’s true.”

He coughed into his fist, clearing his throat. “Y-Yes, well, most of the ones down here aren’t… good. They’re Sinners for a reason.”

“Fair.” Eleanora held her cup with both hands, pretending to think. “Charlie says you’re a good one, though, so…” She pointed a finger gun at him, smirking. “Guess you passed the “menace” test, huh?”

Lucifer stared blankly at her.

“B-Because… you can’t spell “menace” without “men”? But you’re one of the good ones, so rather than being part of the “men” in “menace”, you’re a good “man”? No?”

Understanding dawned on him. “Ah. I get it.” He made a face. “Where do you come up with this stuff?”

She shrugged. “America. I told you- we’re practically regressing back to the nineteen hundreds. Besides…”

Eleanora pouted.

“Vaggie thought it was funny.”

“Oh, I’m sure she did.”

Shaking his head with a chuckle, Lucifer wrote down the added terms to their contract. It didn’t take more than five minutes, the man letting out a small yawn as he did so and taking a large gulp of his tea. The quill dripping magical ink, he signed his name with a flourish, and once done he lifted and turned the contract around so the human could read it.

“Shazam~!” Lucifer exclaimed, watching as Eleanora leaned forward, eying his handwriting with raised brows. It was impressively elegant. “Anything else to add or are we good to go?”

Eleanora tried to keep a neutral face, finding it rather alarming how much the first half read like a marriage deal. Maybe it'll be fine. She’s probably just overthinking it. “Um… n-no, I… I think it looks good.”

“Fantastic! Now, all you have to do is sign it.” He set the paper down and held the quill out to her, which she tentatively accepted. She looked down at the bottom where she saw his name drawn out in big dramatic letters. “Yup- right there. Go on.”

He waved a hand at her.

“Don’t be afraid, Ellie.”

She lifted her head to give him a look. “Telling me not to be afraid makes me wanna be afraid.”

Lucifer just grinned. “Don’t be scared~ it’s just a deal with the devil!”

Eleanora rolled her eyes and shook her head, hating that she found that amusing, and hesitated just briefly, a thought coming to mind. “A-Actually, can I add one more thing?”

He stuck out his lips, squinting an eye at her. “And~ what would that be…?”

“Just a little something in case… I dunno, things go haywire? I turn evil for some reason?” Lucifer blinked. “If, for some reason, I end up hurting Charlie- intentionally or otherwise- the deal becomes… void, annnd~ you can come after me with a bloody vengeance?”

His eyes went wide.

Grinning as wide as could be, Lucifer leaned forward, his eyes sparkling. “I knew you were a good one! No wonder I liked you! Yeah, okay. We’ll add that in!”

Eleanora wrote it down as neatly as she could in the corner, praying it was legible, before pointing the quill at the blond. “That said, just remember, I ain’t afraid to come back and haunt you if this contract screws me over.”

He laughed. “Of course, of course.”

Deciding they were both in firm agreement about the deal and that they had reached an understanding that Eleanora would very pettily follow Lucifer around as a ghost if the contract hurt her in some way, and that he could very well kill her if she hurt Charlie, Eleanora felt a little more secure in signing the contract.

She wrote her name next to his, first and last name akin to chicken scratch, barely legible next to his beautiful handwriting.

No sooner had she written the last letter and lifted the quill pen off the paper did Eleanora and Lucifer’s names shine brightly, glowing a bloody crimson, and the woman was watching the paper rise in the air with a look of awe before suddenly finding herself letting out a small cry of pain, yanking her left hand towards her chest upon feeling something burn along the length of her ring finger.

Lucifer looked just as startled as she did, standing up with his palms on the table and leaning over to watch with big eyes as a black snake coiled around her finger, a ring of thorns drawing itself into the skin just above where the snake’s tail curled around her knuckle.

“Uh…” Lucifer blinked, clearly having not expected the sudden tattoo. “What is that? Wait, no, fuck-“

Eleanora only grew more alarmed when he ran around the table and reached out to snatch her hand, holding it up so he could stare at the demonic ink. He looked both horrified and confused, and after observing it for a moment he turned to read the contract he wrote out, grabbing it out of the air with his other hand. Eyes widening, he released the contract and it puffed out of the material realm- most likely going into some storage area or an alternate dimension for safekeeping.

“Well, uh… golly. Um.” Lucifer scratched his cheek, cringing a little. “That’s my fault. Phrasing, damn it, that always gets ya in the end, doesn't it? Haha… oooh, that’s embarrassing. And after all that stuff I said earlier, too…”

“What… What happened?” The human asked, deeply concerned by the way he was acting. She had a sinking feeling about what the tattoo meant. The snake clearly represented him, but the thorns most definitely symbolized something else. “What does it mean?”

“Uh…” Lucifer looked at her with big eyes, lips curling back as he started to cringe even harder. “Don’t… worry about it.”

“Luci-“ Eleanora was starting to panic. “Lucifer, what does it mean!?”

“Ohhhh, nothing~!” He tried to play it off, laughing awkwardly as he waved his left hand at her. His right was still holding onto her newly tattooed one. “It’s just a, uh… physical representation of the contract. You know, kind of… bonding you to me- that sort of thing. Haha. Like… Like your pact with Charlie! Yeah!”

He held up a finger, leaning in close, his eyes and smile wide as could be as his anxiety grew.

“Th-That’s all this is! We aren’t- I mean, there’s no way I’ve got a ring tattooed on my hand, so, it’s fine! It’s fine!”

Eleanora’s expression went blank, and her attention drifted to the hand he was holding up. Seeing her gaze focused on it, he quickly hid his hand behind back. She looked back at him. “Your Majesty…”

“O-Oho, why, I think we’re way past honorifics now!” He joked, voice sounding quite weak as it cracked. “Wh-Why not just stick with my name? We’ll… be seeing lots of each other from now on, I’m sure!”

Oh gods, say it isn’t so.

“I mean, you used my name just fine earlier! Not to mention yesterday when you were singing to me all sweetly and-“ He cut himself off, cringing a third time, ducking his head, and clicked his tongue. “Brain, this is so not the time. Fuck! I can’t believe I did this. Why did I think a contract would be a good idea!? Stupid, stupid, stupid-“

“Hey!” Her voice snapped him out of his self-deprecating scolding, and he looked up with big eyes, inhaling sharply upon seeing her brown gaze bore fiercely into his red one, the woman leaning in quite close. “What. Does it. Mean?”

“Well…” His voice cracked, and he looked away to the side, deeply uncomfortable. “I mean…

Lucifer gave up, letting out a defeated sigh.

He brought his left hand back into view and up towards his lips, and rather than removing his old wedding ring and glove he settled for tearing the fabric on his ring finger off, revealing an identical snake on his hand. Though it was covered by his old ring, Eleanora had no doubt he had a thorny ring inked into his skin to match her own. “We’re… kind of… in a contract marriage now?”

She blinked.

Grabbing his hand, Eleanora remained utterly silent as she moved to hold their left hands beside one another, comparing the snakes. They were truly identical.

One minute passed, then two.

She let go of his hand. She stood up.

Eleanora marched around Lucifer and the tea table for a third minute. And then… she came to a halt, before running at full speed and launching herself into a random pile of rubber ducks, screaming bloody murder, somehow not being killed by the vast array of magical toys.

Lucifer made a face, mildly offended. “Gee, thanks.”

“Shut up!” He frowned at that, turning to give her a look, a hand on his hip as he watched her sit up on her knees. Eleanora pointed at him. “That’s not what’s wrong here! I can’t-“

“Can’t what?”

“I can’t be married!”

Tears welled up in her eyes, and Lucifer was greatly alarmed when she- a human woman who had wound up in Hell, spent nearly a whole week getting accustomed to the strange animal meat and the horrid blood red sky, who had danced with the devil and made a pact with his daughter, and who had absolutely no qualms about comforting him or throwing a rubber duck at him in his own house- began crying.

“I never dated anyone in my whole life! A-And now I’m just- married!? A-And- And-!” Eleanora was starting to hyperventilate, bringing her hands up to cup her face as she tried to calm down, several rubber ducks falling around her. “I-I can’t get back home! I won’t be able to get back home! Vaggie said- Vaggie said I can’t get back home if I…! If I…! Aghhhhh!”

She hunched over, hands digging and tangling into her hair as her forehead touched the floor.

At that moment, as if to torment her even more, her phone began vibrating again- so much so it fell out of her pocket and onto the ground. “What did I do that was so wrong!?”

Lucifer said nothing, merely staring at her as a shadow fell over his face. He walked over silently, kneeling down to pick up the device, and his red eyes darkened even further when he saw the text messages being received.

Desmond: “Hey, little one. Day six now…”

Clair: “Pls say something, anything. You’re not dead. I know you’re not dead. Call back!”

Maia: “Asshat coworker picked another fight again. If he tells me to give up on you one more time I’m gonna rip his fucking dick out I swear to gods. You wouldn’t just vanish like this. I KNOW you’re not dead. So just… respond when you’re ready, okay? I love you.”

Maia: “I love you so much.”

Maia: “I miss you.”

Maia: “I can’t lose you, too.”

Maia: “Please come back home.”

Desmond: “Are you there?”

Lucifer set the phone back on the floor. It seems God was punishing her for being a live human in Hell, even though she had no desire to be in this dystopia. Or perhaps the punishment was for making a pact with Lucifer’s daughter? Honestly, it may just be a bit of both.

Taking off his hat, Lucifer set it over the phone to try and muffle the sound of its vibrations before he reached over and rested a hand gently against Eleanora’s trembling back.

She stiffened at the touch, only to hiccup and sob even harder when he pulled her into his lap, resting a hand on her head as she sobbed against his legs.

His lips pulled into a heavy frown, his shoulders slumped and his expression so empty and hollow it only gave way to the immense pain in his eyes. “Father is… truly cruel, isn’t he? I mean… well, look. He tossed me out of Heaven just because I… had some silly ideas that… the elders didn’t like. I wanted to prove them wrong, but… everything went wrong and… now I’m trapped down here. And as for you…”

Eleanora’s sobbing quieted a little, and she sniffled when she felt him cup her face and lift her head, making her look up at him.

“You~ didn’t ask for this,” He softly sang, voice barely above a whisper, “but down here you fell, trapped by a spell you had no say in~! We’re alone in this mess, you and me… and no one can see the misery~ we’re lost in.”

A gentle piano began to play in the background, the barest trace of a string instrument making itself known.

“And sure… we made some mistakes, but does~ that make~ us the ones in the wrong~?” Slowly, Eleanora began to sit up, and Lucifer carefully helped her stand, holding her forearms to steady her, her hands gripping his own arms in her unsteadiness. “You didn’t ask~ for this~!”

“You didn’t… intend for this…” She choked out, and somehow, strangely, something in Lucifer’s chest grew warm, soaring upon hearing her actually try to join in the song.

“We didn’t wish~ for this~!” He sang, and he slid his hands until they were holding hers, tugging her into a light spin. “But here we are now, trapped for our whole lives long~!”

Lucifer leaned forward, his eyes closing tightly shut as he rested his forehead against Eleanora’s, tears of his own threatening to fall.

“We didn’t ask for thiiiis~! We didn’t wish for thiiis~! But Father up in Heaven said we’re the ones who’re wrong~!” He squeezed her hands, and after hearing her inhale sharply, knowing he was talking about God, the almighty being in charge of the universe, he felt her squeeze his hands back. Eleanora closed her own eyes when she heard Lucifer’s voice, quiet and so heartbroken, murmur, “How could he be so wrong…?”

“…What did I do that was so wrong?”

“What did I do~ that was so wrong?”

Eleanora’s lips curled back and she opened her eyes, only slightly surprised to find a pair of red ones staring back at her. “Why are we trapped here-“

“-when we did no wrong~?” Lucifer finished, singing a little louder now after receiving her encouragement.

He nodded at the brunette, who followed after him as he led her into another dance. His expression twisted, growing frustrated as the song grew louder and more fierce, and with it… his voice.

“We did no wrong! I didn’t intend for this~! You didn’t plan for this~!” Lucifer shot his left hand out and a golden wave of magic flew towards his hat, sending it flying towards him, which he caught and set on his head, before using his magic to make Eleanora’s continually vibrating phone rise in the air. “Others made their choices and they silenced our two voices, and now they make us suffer in this land! But we will not suffer at their hand.”

The phone drifted over to them, and Lucifer grasped it in his palm, narrowing his eyes at the device. His yellow sclera flashed crimson and he crushed the phone in his grip.

Eleanora was frozen, stunned and utterly horrified by what he just did, but Lucifer just turned towards her, a soft smile on his face. “You… will not suffer at their hand.”

Dropping the shattered phone, he lifted Eleanora’s fingers to his lips.

“Contract or some other~ for you and for my daughter~ I will hold your hand. You will survive this land. I promise… on my pride as fallen angel, devil, and man…” When he looked at her again, she saw his irises were yellow. “I will lend you my hand. We aren’t~ in the wrong and I~ oh, I~ won’t allow them the last song…”

Lucifer’s lashes fluttered, and Eleanora inhaled sharply when his lips brushed the tattoo on her ring finger.

“That… would truly be the wrong.”

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