#if the demon deal didn't work he would have tried every spell in the book to bring sam back

[ima-super-natural]

I love how dead Dean's eyes look throughout this entire sequence. He was never gonna bury that body.

[e1igius]

the series of texts sank his stomach faster than a led ball in water. the light on his phone flashing her name , followed by the misspelled ( even his dyslexic ass could see that ) word for trouble. deciphering what she was trying to tell him took at least five minutes per text , between the fact it was obviously drunk , and he could barely read when things were spelled correctly , it felt like the world was trying to test him. he'd been casually sipping on some rumple in bed , listening to an audio book with his eyes closed , when the first text had come through. and before a request for aid had even been sent he was already getting dressed , not about to leave the newest person in his life , and the only one that could get him to laugh other than --- well a work partner , unattended. he remembered being in the same boat , having no one to call , wandering through the streets of san diego like some drunken menace ready to take on the world when really he was hiding from it.

while he still drank his demons away at times , the years had taught him how to deal with it better. how to hide and miniplate the coping skill to better fit his... non-early-twenties body and lifestyle. the amount of time he had stood by his door waiting on any sort of descriptor with the keys to the chevy silvarado in his hand was too many seconds. blue eyes glued to the screen , waiting for the bubbles to type and send anything that would give him a slight indication of where he could find the girl lost in this huge ass city. oh to be in his twenties again , there was something about turning thirty that changed the outlook at the world. but at the end of the day , he still felt like he didn't know how to navigate it every single day. just like when he was twenty five. just --- with more life experience now , to remind him of how much the world sucked.

when she said she was across town the wasn't a cop in the world that could have stopped him from racing at over ninety an hour to get to that bar. he probably shouldn't have taken off driving slightly buzzed at ninety eight miles an hour in a silverado while texting all at the same time. but he gets to the crowning rooster just in time only to remember that he's wearing wranglers a flannel and boots and last time he was in there everyone had been dressed like an influencer in their tight ass dresses and slacks with sneakers. he's going to stick out like a sore thumb.

so he asks her to come out , only to be met with the fact that shes already outside. slightly annoyed , and certainly worried , he walks around the building body finally relaxing when he lays eyes on the raven haired girl. he didn't realize he'd been holding his breath. and as he walks around the corner he sees her. waving a little only to be met with a smile and a wave in return , annoyance returns for a moment she really was just like his baby cousin. annoying as fuck when they wanted to be. but even as he tried to hold onto the feeling he couldn't , her smile was always contagious as if her being a good and genuine person just rubbed off on everyone in her presence. he doesn't believe in god , or angels , or whatever it was that had created the universe. but if he did , he'd like to think they were like her. he hesitates a little , trying to figure out why she isn't moving. they're just standing there ( well , she's sitting ) , at opposite ends of the sidewalk , looking like idiots.

the man walks over , hands in his pockets , she looks like a mess. but he's not sure he expected anything else. no physical injuries at least which is a good sign , and he doesn't see a splash of throw up on the ground , atta girl. is it wrong to be proud of an alcoholic ? he isn't sure. he kneels down so they're the same height ( though he still manages to be taller than her regardless ). ❝ 'ight look doll see , i told you i'd find ya. ❞ a hand reaches over , ruffling her hair a little. he's grown so fond of her in such a small amount of time. this is what it meant to have people to lose , he hadn't really understood it before. he motions towards where he parked the truck all the way across the street. ❝ 'ight how do y'wanna do this , i'm guessin' those sea legs don't wanna walk. ❞

@bnchee gets cont. from wire.

[eccentric-nucleus]

So, to continue the conversation, I do want to say that in Mark of the Fool, there has been regular progress to this point. From what I see, the main plot has been: Alex wants to be a wizard but gets the Mark ->Alex escapes Thameland and gets dungeon core questions-> Alex secretly analyzes dungeon core ->Alex creates golem with dungeon core ->Alex uses results to convince Baelin to have expedition -> Alex works with Heroes to find secrets of dungeon core. There are also the attacks from the hunters, as a bit of more driving force. So, while slow, I think the story has been chugging along. And it's not like really good books, like the Name of the Wind, don't take forever to resolve main plot points. Think of the Harry Potter series. Isn't Voldemort a plot point that wasn't resolved for 7 books?

Also, Baelin is obviously pan. He's tried everything.

What stories/ books/ authors have you enjoyed? I'm a big fan of Drew Hayes' novels, like his Spells, Swords and Stealth series.

i mean i think harry potter is a good example? in the first book, voldemort is introduced as part of harry's "actually, you're secretly rich and famous!" backstory, and to set up the tension that there might be voldemort followers who might want him harm, leading to the book-long narrative tension about snape wanting to kill him, etc. the reveal at the end that quirrel is possessed by voldemort is a end-of-story reveal, rather than being introduced at the beginning of the book. that sets up voldemort as a recurring antagonist who can drop in for later books. each book after that (well until jkr got famous enough to refuse editing) has a more-or-less self-contained plot with lower stakes, but that usually touches on some aspect of voldemort rising as a threat, until he becomes the actual primary antagonist at the end of book 4.

mark of the fool, meanwhile, sets up immediately that there's this centennial war with the ravener, chosen heroes, weird mystery around 'the fool' as kind of a cursed/useless figure. and alex's motivation to just get out of there & ignore it is totally reasonable from a character perspective, but still, the next time this plotline really gets touched on it's when alex returns to thameland around chapter ~280. i mean there are the three ravener hunters, but... like despite being the inciting incident for everything, the whole mark of the fool thing is more-or-less ignored as a story beat for a really long time and instead treated as a protagonist cheat power.

(so royal road says that mark of the fool is 3k pages long, which isn't fully correct since it has some removed chapters for publishing deals. but assuming that is correct, and... i'm gonna say a 'page' here is 250 words because i have no clue what royal road considers 'page length' but that's a decent average number, and that every chapter is more-or-less the same length, that would mean that it's currently in the rough ballpark of 750,000 words long, and that chapter 280 would be roughly 515,000 words into it. using harry potter as a measuring stick, that would be like halfway into book five, order of the phoenix. imagine if harry potter brought up voldemort as a present, looming threat in book 1 chapter 1, and then aside from him sending three flunkies after him he's first mentioned again four books later.)

plus there haven't really been a lot of plot arcs between that? like i'd chunk it up into "introduction/getting to genesari" (roughly the first 70 chapters?) -> "magic school junk" (to about chapter 280) -> "more magic school junk + return to thameland" (to now). like, sure, tournament arc, demon invasion, but i didn't find those super compelling. they end up not really mattering much, in the sense that they don't really present credible threats to the protagonist and you could skip them entirely and you wouldn't really be left with big holes in your understanding of plot developments going forward.

i'd say a lot of stuff like making the golem, investigating the dungeon core stuff, are goals, because they don't really... fundamentally change the character, right? alex wants to make a cool golem, alex makes a cool golem. now his amount of Progression has increased. "what's up with dungeon cores" hasn't really gotten a lot of advancement, i don't think? like they were introduced as mysterious magical artifacts of the ravener with incredible power, and now we know... they're powerful magical artifacts with a handful of practical applications! the only real development aside from finding out that the magic dust is really powerful is the 'only followers of uldar can do this' thing, which happens 360 chapters into this thing. several full-length novels later!

like, the whole thing where the golem might be becoming sentient b/c of the dungeon core dust in its core is more of an 'arc' b/c that would fundamentally change the relationship between alex and the golem & introduce a conflict for when, you know, your war-machine gains independence and maybe doesn't want to be your war-machine any more, or maybe is psychically connected to the ravener and thus compromised, but, claygon gets made around chapter 130 and here we are in chapter 400+, nearly 500,000 words later, with the only development there being "idk sometimes he's maybe looking at me" "once he raised his arm without my consciously ordering him to" "i'm trying to read kids books to him but it's impossible to say if anything is being absorbed". this is glacial.

one thing i've noticed is that due to their serial nature a lot of progression fantasy books have a lot of plate-spinning? the main character will have a bunch of Projects, implicitly being worked on in the background, and a lot of the time the narrative will dip down to be like "hey this thing is still on the table being developed", like each mention of the thing gives the project Advancement Points. and once a project has gotten enough advancement points there's a scene where the project is resolved and now the main character has a new cool power, or whatever. it's kind of a 'level grinding' approach to narrative, where you have to invest enough words into a side plot before it can rank up. it was kind of funny to read the first time i saw it (in, i think, 'retrograde motion', which was maybe my first exposure to progression fantasy though i didn't really recognize it at the time. see how many times the wood release jutsu plant pot thing gets mentioned just to remind the reader that yes she's still working on it but no there's no progress yet!) but it's rapidly outstayed its welcome as a writing technique. but all the claygon sentience stuff falls solidly into that realm: let's bring it up for a paragraph or two every dozen chapters so people know it's still on the table, but let's not actually do anything with it yet.

(anyway i'd agree that baelin has been fairly well characterized as like, having personal interests utterly beyond the capacity of the narrative to express & that including the romantic, it's just a little obnoxious when the first on-screen romantic interest he's expressed has been to a sexy female demon. like oh was it actually just that he's into scorpion pincers on women all this time. by specifying they've dramatically cut down the fun ambiguity of "probably literally everything including sex you couldn't even comprehend" into like, "women w/ chitin plates". it's like that star trek episode where they're like, oh this alien species has three genders, we're gonna have a forbidden romance! and then they cast the third-gender alien as a woman so johnathan frakes can kiss her without it being Gay. i'm not saying baelin has gotta fuck a dude onscreen, but, having him flirt with the demon who's just a scintillating octahedron or w/e would have been much better imo.)

aaaanyway

let's see.

i liked the first book or two of beware of chicken, but now that it's firmly slid from being an isekai xianxia parody to just being an isekai xianxia novel so that's less interesting.

i really liked the essence of cultivation, probably in part because it's short. and also the magic system is fun to think about. i have a file on my computer that's me trying to figure out what some of the magic spells valiance groups would look like. a lot of progression fantasy stories have good openings but then somewhere in the hundreds-of-chapters slog they all just turn into the same grindy power fantasy mess, so probably the fact that this concluded one arc and then went on hiatus forever does a lot.

i've been enjoying godslayers! fun premise, not afraid to have characters utterly fail at things, & i genuinely don't know how it'll resolve its various plot threads, but it's proceeding at a steady clip and producing more and more disasters as it goes so that's a plus in my books.

like i've been reading a bunch of other things also (uhh memoirs of your local small-time villainess, yagacore, surviving the succession, fated to fall, jackal among snakes, soul of the warrior, etc) but i wouldn't say that i'm really enjoying them. i mean 'soul of the warrior' is very funny in how overtly it's just like, the main character is super cool and super powerful and nothing is ever going to even fleetingly gesture at being an impediment to his meteoric rise in power level. pure distilled power fantasy. 'fated to fall' is actually kind of funny also in that the author has talked about scrapping an entire 'turning evil due to cursed amulet' plotline b/c people got real mad, which seems like it would radically change the plot, but, really who knows. i guess maybe not fated to fall after all! but it recently also hit a "and then the characters go to magic school for years" section of the plot after wrapping up what had been the primary narrative tension (evil stepmother constantly trying to assassinate her) so maybe i'll stop reading it.

[snippychicke]

Deal with a Devil --Part One--

Fandom: Welcome to Demon School, Iruma!

Rating: Mature with hints to heavy/somber ideas.

Pairing: Lord Sullivan/Reader (human female)

Summary: You couldn't take it anymore. You had tried to do everything to make your life work and it refused. So, you made a deal with a demon. Things...went sideways from there. (AU, no mention of Iruma or Sullivan plans of adopting a grandchild. Could be see before the events of the series)

Warning for some heavy topics that are touched upon but not explored in depth. Will not update as regularly as For the Sake of a Smile.

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Summon

You had wanted a way out of your life. It was hell; no matter how much you struggled and strived, you couldn't make it any better.

You didn't want to give up, but you were at the end of your rope. 

One suspicious ad led to a rabbit hole that ended up in an occult shop in a back alley. It wasn't dark and spooky like you expected, but brightly lit and organized like any other boutique. 

"This one!" The cheery shopkeeper offered after you awkwardly explained your situation. They offered an old tattered scroll that had been in the glass case. A circular pattern encasing a classic pentagram with forign symbols framing it. "It will grant your deepest wish, but make sure you're willing to pay the price before you agree." 

It showed how desperate you were when you agreed to take the scroll, a couple candles, a handful of various crystals, and a dreamcatcher for the hell of it. 

You followed the directions to the letter, heart thumping as you pricked a finger to let six drops of blood fall onto the scroll.

The blood hissed as it hit the paper, black smoke curling into the air as you chanted the spell.

The smoke grew from a small puff to a large plume. A shadowy figure stepped out of the darkness - human except two golden horns on his bald head and large - pitch-black wings with a span that nearly filled your bedroom. 

"Who dares summon me?" The demon growled as he stood to his full height, sneering down at you with dark eyes behind small glasses. 

"I did," you replied softly but firmly, unwilling to show your fear. "I want to make a deal." 

The demon crossed his arms. "And what, pray tell, would a human such as yourself desire?" 

You had rehearsed this a hundred times, practiced everything in front of the mirror until you felt confident about every clause and loophole. And yet, now it fled all out the window. 

"I want a better life," You said instead, honesty filling your heart. "I've worked hard, gave every bit of myself to make things better, and I always kept failing. I feel hopeless, but I don't want to give up, because I know it can get better. Somehow. I know this might be cheating, but… I don't know what else to do." 

His arms slowly uncrossed as he knelt on one knee to look at you closer, his wings curling around you. "I sense your honesty. Most who summon me do so out of greed or hate, but your desperation and hope moves me. I will give you a better life, but you will need to someday fulfill my own request as part of our deal." 

You swallowed thickly. You had read about this. Demons didn't grant wishes without expecting something of an equal price. "What are your terms?" 

"I want you to be the mother of my children." 

"What?" You squeeked, face becoming warm as you blushed. Surely you misheard him. You? A mother? Children had been far from what you had expected the price to be. Your soul, a blood sacrifice, or something equally dark.

The demon smiled, and it wasn't full of simmering rage and hate, or dark pleasure. But a warm, cheerful smile. "I just really want to have children. I'd be happy with just one. And well, I haven't found anyone yet that would be a good mother. But I think you would!"

"I-I don't know the first thing about raising kids, let alone…" Birthing demonic offspring. 

"Oh! Don't worry, I have a ton of books on raising children! I'm also the Chairdemon of a very prestigious school in the Netherworld, so we would have plenty of resources."

"Would I even survive?" You asked, recalling horror stories. You could easily imagine a demonic baby killing its mother during childbirth. Or later. 

He tilted his head. "Survive? Of course! Nothing but the best prenatal care! I will make sure you are cared for and pampered!" 

It was probably a trick, a horrid twist in his words that you couldn't sense. But no matter how you combed through his words, you couldn't find a loophole.

"When would I need to… conceive." Would conception even be the human way? Your eyes roved down his form; tall, skinny… gangly really. Like his limbs were a touch longer than they should be. There wasn't a trace of a wrinkle on his face despite the rest of him giving off a vibe of advanced age, such as his white bushy mustache. 

Still, he wasn't… unattractive. Push came to shove, you could do the whole 'lay back and think of London' from Victorian times. 

It was the thought of bearing them that concerned you more.

And it was proof of how desperate you were for considering the deal in the first place. 

"When you're ready," He answered simply. "I want you to adjust to your new life first, and then we could discuss it."

Ahhhh. There it was. That was his game. As soon as you were happy with life, he'd come to ruin it. 

"When I am ready," You stressed, crossing your own arms. "Then we can discuss it further."

He smiled happily and held out his hand. "That sounds like a deal to me, my dear." 

Home

You should have thought about this. The demon--Sullivan-- never mentioned where your life would be. 

The netherworld. In a small cottage next to his own gigantic mansion. 

"I don't want you to feel like a prisoner," He explained as he showed you the small cottage that had the basics, but plenty of room for decoration. "Would you prefer your own money, or simply tabs funded by yours truly in town?"

"I, uh, don't know," You answered, rather gobsmacked as you slowly explored the house. A kitchen, sitting room, a study and bedroom. 

And a bathroom. With a hot spring-like tub that was calling your name. 

This was so much more than you had ever dreamt of. You had hoped maybe for your own apartment-- clean, livable, but nothing fancy. 

This… this was heaven. In hell. 

"How about both? That sounds fair, right?" 

You looked back at the demon, about to ask what the catch was, and then remembering The Deal. 

"I won't owe you anything… extra?" You cautiously asked. He smiled-- which was something he seemed to do a lot. Calm, cheerful, polite. Not at all like demons in the stories you heard. 

"Of course not! It's my duty to care for you, both as part of the deal and the fact you'll be the mother of my children! Opera can cook your meals if you so desire, I know they cook far more than needed usually anyways. Also!" He held out his hand, and laying on his palm was a small golden key on a chain that you knew hadn't been in his hand before. "This is the key to the mansion, should you ever want to visit!" 

"And… are you allowed to come and go as you please?"

"After today, I swear not to step inside unless you invite me." 

Taste

Months passed quicker than you anticipated. Part of you was struggling with the fact the Netherworld was both such a peaceful place, yet hostile as well. 

But, Sullivan made sure that you were safe no matter what. Protective spells lined the cottage grounds, and little black imps patrolled the area frequently, chittering happily when they saw you - especially when you allowed them to pick fruit from your garden. 

A garden filled with plants you had no names for but enjoyed anyways. Things that looked like tomatoes, potatoes, and other vegetables; dozens of berries and melons. 

You had to admit; even if you ended up hating things later, you were enjoying life right now. You had plenty of time to take care of your little garden, along with  read and research the different plants that Opera had assisted selecting. 

You had time for all your hobbies, and any interest you wanted to pick up. The stress of your life faded, as well as the anxiety caused by the lack of stress. 

You were enjoying life and expected Sullivan's cheery attitude to vanish as he swooped in to… hold you to your end of the bargain. Except, he didn't. It was like it had completely slipped his mind, and you were just his favorite neighbor.

----

The demon had to be six or seven feet, but was crouched behind the fence that barely came up to your waist until his nose and mustache were peeking over the boards. "Are those red devil berries ripe?"

You looked over to the small red berries that reminded you of a cherry crossed with a raspberry. You plucked a few of the juicy berries, carefully placing them in your basket before meeting him at the fence and giving them a handful. 

Sullivan was… dramatic. And you couldn't help but watch as he grew excited before plopping one into his mouth with a satisfied noise. 

"You grow the best berries, even Opera agrees!" He added as you opened your mouth to repute his statement. "Actually, your garden is absolutely beautiful, Suzy would be quite jealous!" 

"She's one of the teachers at your school, right?" You weren't sure when you grew to be comfortable talking with him, but you now enjoyed your conversations. Sometimes it gave you glimpses of the world outside your little cottage and the nearby town. Other times, it gave you glimpses into Sullivan's rather chaotic mind. 

"Devibotany," He confirmed, enjoying a second berry. "One of the Netherwold's leading teachers on our realm's faun -, though to be honest, Balam could probably give her a run for her money." 

"I think I have a few books written by them," You admitted. "They really helped…" You trailed off, frowning as you noticed juice staining his chin. Without really thinking, you gestured him closer and stood on your tip-toes to wipe the red stain away. "Silly," You chided softly, about to pull back and wipe the mess on your pants--already covered with dirt and who knew what else--  when he lightly grasped your wrist, bringing your hand to his mouth as he leaned down and slowly sucked your thumb clean, his golden eyes meeting yours. 

You should be outraged. Angry. Indignant. 

Instead, you felt your heart thump for a completely different reason as his tongue caressed the pad of your finger before he pulled away, his usual smile a bit more…

Devilish. 

You blinked and it was gone, replaced by his usual expression. "I couldn't let a drop of your hard work go to waste!" He explained with a sheepish smile. "Plus they are my favorite!" 

"Right!" You agreed despite yourself, wiping your thumb against your pant leg. But still, it tingled as you easily recalled the feeling of his lips wrapped around it. The slight graze of teeth. "I, uh, could pick some more and bring them over tonight for supper, if you wished?" 

"I couldn't ask for anything more, my darling neighbor!" 

Master

"Have you heard the Babyls Chairdemon has been in good moods again?" 

"One of the teachers says he has an Intended."

"No! Surely not! Lord Sullivan has been the Netherworld's most sought after bachelor since forever! Devi, has someone finally manage to catch his favor?" 

"I don't know, but I envy them if they had. I can't tell you how many times Sullivan has been in my daydreams."

You fumbled at the person's sigh, dropping the bottle of ink. Opera was quick, catching it before the bright color splattered the ornate rug of the shop. 

The cat-like demon held it out to you, barely blinking at your blushing face. "T-thanks," You mumbled, putting it into your basket. 

While you were free to come and go as you pleased, you had to admit you felt more comfortable tagging along with Opera when they went to town. They didn't seem to mind, and in fact would stop by your cottage to see if you wanted to accompany them most times. 

"Is Sullivan… really a Lord?" You asked after a moment as you trailed after Opera  and away from the gossiping demons. You had known Opera referred to Sullivan as 'master' but presumed it was because they served the role of butler, or something similar. 

"Yes, he is one of the Three Heroes: the three most strongest demons of the Netherworld, and the most likely candidate for Demon King," They offered bluntly. You had long gotten used to their matter-of-fact mannerisms, which was so at odds with Sullivan's attitude it perplexed you. 

"So… he's rich and powerful?"

"He is one of the richest, and currently the most powerful, demon living." Opera agreed. 

"But, if that's the case, why… strike a deal with me?" You had presumed that despite his wealth, his mannerisms scared would-be suitors away. But… now it sounded like he had more than a few chasing after him. 

"Master Sullivan is not looking for someone of equal status," They explained. "In fact, status means little to him. Power, wealth, fame, things most demons hunger for, he is tired of. He cares only for two things: the future of the Netherworld, and the students of Babyls." 

You recalled how Sullivan would often regale you with stories from either the students or faculty. It was easy to see his love and devotion. His dreams that you caught glimpses of through his words: a better Netherworld, where children were rightfully cherished as the future. 

"That still doesn't explain why he chose me." 

Opera fixed his golden eyes on you, "That you will have to ask him yourself." 

Thoughtful 

You ate the evening meal in the mansion most nights, just because you found yourself missing the company of other people. Even if your feelings towards Sullivan were mixed at best; he was the demon you made a deal with, who still hasn't received his part of the bargain.

But yet he was so kind, so nice. Such an absolute goof. It was hard for you to believe this was the same Lord Sullivan that the others were gossiping about. 

"I have a question for you." 

"Oh?" Sullivan replied, tilting his head as he gave you his full attention. 

"Why me?" You asked bluntly. "Why did you choose to mother your children? Is it simply because I'm human?" 

Sullivan's smile softened. "Not simply because you are human. I've met quite a few humans in my long life, but those who summon me are usually very demon-like. They care only for themselves; hungry for power, wealth, or riches. But, you were different."

Even after all this time, you had a seed of guilt for your actions. That guilt tinted your words with self-derision as you snorted. "Because I was a mess of a human taking the easy way out?"

He pouted as he moved to the seat next to you, his hand grasping yours. "I can sense a person's true desire when they summon me. Yes, you were desperate like the rest, but not with greed or envy. You were suffering, you had tried everything you could think of to fix your situation yourself, and had no one else to turn to. Your only hunger was for a peaceful life. And now that you have obtained it, you're satisfied. Your only fear now is me." 

You gulped, avoiding his gaze. How could this dork of a demon do that? Just take your inner self and lay it bare.

But what made your heart thump was how fascinated he sounded about it. As if… as if you were some amazing rare creature when you felt like nothing? 

"I won't force you to have my children," He spoke, surprising you. You looked up, expecting to meet his eyes, but instead his gaze was focused on your joined hands, where his long slender thumb was rubbing soothing circles. "I hope that someday down the line, you will be interested, but I realize now having your company is fulfilling enough." 

Words failed you. What could you say to an admission like that? You didn't need to question if he was serious or being truthful, you felt as if you knew him well enough to know he wasn't a liar. But… to give up on his dream like that? 

"So, you just want to be friends?" You finally spoke, and he smiled as he looked up at you. 

"Yes, I would like that very much." 

A soft smile spread across your own lips. "I think I can easily manage that." 

[witching-by-the-willow]

Bittersweet

It's bittersweet to think about the damage that we do

'Cause I was going down, but I was doing it with you

Yeah, everything we broke, and all the trouble that we made

But I say that I hate you with a smile on my face

- Favourite Crime, Olivia Rodrigo

Description: One sleepless night in Hell, Emilia decides to find the kitchen and seek solace in cooking, but instead finds herself in the company of her mortal enemy and maybe-something-more, Wrath.

(I just wanted to write about Princewitch making Hot Chocolate, but it somehow turned into this...)

Many thanks to @city-of-fae for giving me her time of day to beta-read and help me edit this fic. She was the first person I found who wrote for KOTW and her fics are beautiful and you all should check them out. In conclusion, she's amazing. 💕

Hope you all enjoy it! Feedback is always welcome! ❤️

Note: This was written before Kingdom of the Cursed came out, so it does not correspond with the revelations from that book.

Goddess above, have some mercy. Emilia cursed as she turned over in her bed for what she thought was the thousandth time. Sleep had started to seem like a luxury to her over the last few days. When she'd first arrived in Hell, the sheer exhaustion had been enough to have her drained every night. After those initial days, however, it had started becoming common for her to stay up staring at the ceiling or to grab a book off the bed table and get lost in its world.

Currently, she debated going to the library to pick up something new, but ultimately decided against it. Wrath often worked there at night, making a strategy to annihilate some enemy. Perhaps it was her. She wouldn't be surprised.

After a week of hostility from both their ends prior to her wedding with Pride, they had decided to strike a deal. She could do all she wished in his House, and would even have access to all forbidden text in its library, but would not attempt to spy on his nightly planning or practice any magic she learnt from the books on him. Of course, this was only as long as he was out of the list of Vittoria's possible murderers. He hadn't lied to her during their time in Palermo together, she knew that. She had spent many nights analysing every word he'd said in answer to her accusations. None of them pointed to him being the killer. For now.

After a few more minutes of mulling over those events, Emilia finallly got up from the bed. The Goddess of Leisure wasn't going to bless her tonight.

She looked around her room, looking for something to occupy her mind with. The chamber was a thing of beauty, with golden carvings on its black walls and tastefully selected furniture on the same theme. Wrath's theme. Stupid suave perfect demon. Shaking herself, she glanced at the ceiling: a painting of a war she didn't know anything about, though she often tried to count the soldiers on the nights she lay awake. That didn't seem appealing today.

Sighing, she flopped down onto the sofa, and heard a low rumble from her stomach. She hadn't visited the kitchens yet- had purposefully avoided them. Cooking reminded her of her family, and she wasn't sure she was prepared for the homesickness that would bring. Most nights, her books helped her ignore any hunger she felt, but she didn't have their aid tonight. Would going to the kitchen be such a bad idea? Maybe she could use a little reminder of home. It didn't take long to convince herself as she stood and walked out of her room.

~

Emilia knew she was lost the moment she approached a stairway she hadn't seen before. It was grander, forked much more than the others. Cursing every goddess she knew of, she paced in circles, weighing her options. She could try to find her way back or-

She felt a door open behind her. She whirled around and saw a shadowed figure standing in the dark of the doorway, dagger in hand. Emilia froze, a dozen spells leaping into her mind. But as she prepared to cast a body-freezing spell, the person lowered his weapon and stepped out.

"I didn't take you for someone who would murder people in their sleep, witch." It was too dark for her to see Wrath's expression, but she knew him well enough to sense a hint of amusement as he looked her down and up. For some reason, she relaxed under his gaze.

Emilia raised a brow. "And miss the shock in your eyes when I finally kill you? I wouldn't risk that."

"Still overestimating your assassination skills, I see."

She rolled her eyes at that. It seemed so long ago when she'd summoned him in that cave. Shared cannolis with him. That memory brought a faint smile to her lips, and when Emilia brought her eyes back to Wrath, he was watching her intently, dressed in his signature attire: black trousers and black shirt with golden embroidery. There wasn't ever a moment he didn't look tantalisingly gorgeous.

She burnt those thoughts and threw out the ash.

"Would you happen to know where the kitchen is, demon?" She ignored the questioning look he gave her at the shift in conversation. "Well?"

He nodded slowly and without another word, started walking in the direction she had come from. Frowning, Emilia followed him. They walked in silence for less than a minute before she poked his arm.

"Are you taking me to your killing chamber?" She was only half-joking.

Wrath gave her a flat look and continued walking. So much for small talk.

After a few more minutes, they reached one of the palace kitchens. It was dead silent and yet, entering it, she felt an odd sense of comfort. As Wrath put some lights on, she noticed the room was minimal in its design and utensils. She suspected Wrath had deliberately brought her to that kitchen. It was modest- by his standards- quiet and not flashy. Exactly what she was used to from her family restaurant. Stupid suave perfect demon.

Said demon was presently leaning against the counter and observing her while she checked out the untensils and ingredients. She ignored him. He'd leave soon anyway.

Chocolate. How long has it been since I last had chocolate? Nodding to herself, Emilia took out a pot, a whisk, a few spoons, cocoa powder, sugar, and after looking around for a bit, milk, chocolate and cream. Why does a House in Hell have all of this readily available? She didn't know and decided that she didn't particularly care. After what felt like ages, Emilia was back in her element, and she wasn't going to spend this one night of peace thinking about the logistics of shopping in Hell.

She turned to put her supplies on the counter and stopped short as she noticed Wrath in the same position as before, his golden eyes- with flecks of black- a little darker than usual. She narrowed her eyes and looked down at herself-

Nightgown. She was in a nightgown. A black, thin-strapped, low cut nightgown. In her eagerness to get to the kitchen, she had forgotten to put anything else on....But Wrath didn't need to know that, did he? So, she put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows at him. "Like what you see, Your Higheness?"

Wrath looked away instantly and Emilia couldn't help her smug smile. It wasn't everyday one managed to fluster a Prince of Hell.

"But really, are you just going to lurk there? You have done your escorting duties. You can leave now. It won't be taint on your record of flawless etiquette."

He met her eyes again and opened and shut his mouth once. Sweet Goddess, I haven't ever seen him struggle for words.

Wrath cleared his throat. "Let us say- hypothetically, of course- if I were curious to see whatever human food you were making, how likely is it that you'd try and poison me?"

Emilia smirked at him. "I suppose you don't find my food to be a pollutant for your body anymore." He gave her another flat look and she mirrored it with one of her own. "It's a hot drink called Hot Chocolate. One of my favourites."

A thought came to mind, and she continued. "And the idea that you've been to the human world and never had it is making me question your sanity. You're welcome to try, but you will have to make it yourself. Unless you're incapable of cooking, that is." He scowled at the challenge. She smiled innocently at him.

"Very well, then. Tell me how it's done. Just know that, if in the end, you feel bad about your best skill, you brought it upon yourself."

Emilia winked at him. "Overestimating your cooking skills, I see."

Wrath walked over to her, undoing the buttons at his cuffs and rolling the shirt up to his elbows as he did. Emilia stared, suddenly more aware of her skin. Hadn't she once read a female lead describing her lover's forearms in vivid detail? It seemed strange to her then, but now, she understood her. Wrath looked up and caught her mid-gawking. The beginnings of a smirk appeared at his lips, but before he could open his mouth to undoubtedly mock her, she grabbed the pot and thrust it into his hand.

"I believe you know how to start a fire. So, get to work. No magic allowed." He raised his hands and muttered something that sounded like Yes, Your Majesty, but didn't speak further.

~

A few minutes later, they had a flame and Emilia had a headache, trying to get Wrath to add a little bit of salt into the rest of the mixture.

"You just told me sugar makes things sweet and salt makes them savoury. Why would we add it when we want this drink to be sweet?" He had his arms crossed across his chest, a gesture she associated with his pig-headedness.

She groaned as she tried to explain it again. "Salt balances the sweetness and enhances the flavour. It's not that complicated."

She held out a palm to him as he started to counter. "Why do you add gold on top of your black?" He thought for a moment and finally looked convinced as he added the pinch of salt she'd made him pick out. Thank goddess.

"Quickly now." He glanced sideways at her. "Please." She added begrudgingly. Why had she decided to challenge him in the dead of night?

"Now use the whisk to stir in circles and mix until there are no lumps."

Emilia stepped back to observe him, and when he started turning the whisk with enough force to break the pot itself, she finally cracked.

She doubled over in laughter, and when Wrath turned to look at her with a wary expression, she lost it all over again.

"Here." She went closer to him once she had some semblance of composure back, and put a hand over his holding the whisk. He froze but didn't pull away, so she started guiding him through controlled, gentle turns of the whisk. She was vaguely aware that she was still in a nightgown, but it felt ludicrous to pay attention to that when she could instead focus on the heat of his chest against her back. She could feel him looking at her and twisted her head to meet his gaze over her shoulder. The blazing fire she thought she had seen when he looked at her back in Palermo was back, and she was dazed to realise that she had missed and craved it ever since. His eyes- such frustratingly beautiful eyes- shifted down to her lips and back in the span of a second. She had no doubt he could hear her erratic heartbeat. Some part of her mind was screaming that this was dangerous territory. She was Pride's queen, but was a part of House Wrath. The dynamic was scandalous enough already.

But would it really matter if this scandal got a little more fuel?

A loud crackle in the fire brought her out of her haze, and she jumped back. No, she was acting ridiculous. Wrath was the flame, and she was the splinter of wood it burnt while crackling.

"Emilia-"

"You should put the pot on the flame." Her voice was shaking. Much like my sanity.

Wrath hesitated for a moment, but then did as she asked. They worked in silence for a while, before she ultimately had to tell him to keep stirring every now and then.

~

Emilia felt lost. Everything in this world was so connived. And Wrath, he was as much a mystery to her now as he was that first day in the cave. But he was also her one familiarity here.

He was a flame, yes. But she was finding it harder each day to stay away from him.

Could she not come near enough to let him keep her warm, but not enough to burn?

She watched him, but his attention was devoted to the boiling mixture, a faint smile on his lips. She stared. He was smiling. Not smirking, not grimacing. Smiling. It brought one to her face too. The first real smile since she'd left her home.

She went closer again, this time stopping at a respectable distance. "Time for judgement." She gave him a half-mocking half-encouraging smile. She was glad he didn't bring up what had happened some minutes ago. Grabbing a spoon, she brought one spoonful of the cocoa to her mouth and almost melted from the nostalgia it brought.

It tasted so much like...love. Just like how Nonna and Vittoria always made it. She closed her eyes and relished in its taste. She wanted to savour it as long as she could.

"The verdict, Your Majesty?" She opened one eye and closed it again. Wrath was smirking. Of course he was.

"You're not Emilia di Carlo, but you did a halfway decent job." She opened her eyes and smirked at him.

He rolled his eyes. "Maybe you do belong with Pride, after all."

"The Sin Corridor didn't think so. Keep being an ass and you'll find out why."

"I'm guessing because it knew how truly irresistible you find me. Or have you forgotten your little... hallucination back there?" How could she? It was mortifying.

She pointed her spoon at him as if it were a knife. "Bring that up again, and I really will consider stabbing you in your sleep."

He chuckled. "You don't have to make excuses for coming into my chambers, cara mia."

Cara mia. My darling. She blushed all the way down to her neck. Damn him. But that didn't have quite as much effect, considering their location. So she just glared at him until he chuckled again and got the pot off their flame.

Emilia brought out two mugs, and poured the milk out equally. Almost. She gave herself a teacher's bonus. If Wrath noticed, he didn't comment.

They stood leaning back on the counter, staring at the opposite wall, with a cup of hot cocoa in their hands. If she didn't know the position she was in and the events that brought her there, she would think she had found peace. In reality, though, she had managed to find a spot in the precise opposite of Peace.

"What other treasures such as this one are you hiding in your grimoire?" Wrath didn't have a single drop of milk on or around his mouth, while she was certain she had a whole lining around hers. How did he manage to drink like that?

"If I was hiding something, you'd be the last person I'd tell. But am I right to understand that the mighty Prince Wrath, with all this luxury, considers chocolate milk a treasure? Is that all I need to bribe him to do my bidding?"

"I deal in bargains, witch. Not bribes." He paused, conflicted on whatever he was about to say. As he looked straight into her eyes, all traces of emotion were gone.

"How are you, Emilia?" She started on his use of her name. He made it sound like a hymn. It made her wish he'd say it more often, perhaps in other, more pleasant situations. She shook such thoughts out. He'd asked if she was okay. Why did he care? Did he care? She wasn't expecting this display of...was it concern she sensed? No, it must have been a trick of her imagination.

"I'm in Hell, demon. I would say that's enough of an answer as to how I am." He didn't budge. She muttered a useless prayer and sighed. "I'm just trying to survive. And find my sister's killer while trying to avoid getting killed myself. In the midst of all that, I haven't thought about anything else. But that's not a road I'm prepared to go down tonight. Let me be delusional for a few more hours."

He nodded. "I'll drink to that."

"To delusion." She raised her own mug.

A part of her wanted to laugh at how childish it was to do a toast with hot chocolate. But then again, that was one of the less unusual things she had been a part of. They sipped their drinks in silence.

"I do understand now where Gluttony is coming from." His tone was dry.

She blinked. "How dare you associate my hot cocoa with him? Take your words back. Now."

Wrath huffed out a laugh, and Emilia figured that if a night of delusion meant that she could have a second of pause from her world crumbling around her, she'd take it with open arms.

~~~

Author's note: Okay listen, it's been a while since I wrote anything, so whatever feedback you all have, please send it my way! Don't hesitate at all. I know this isn't as romantic as most of you probably wanted, but I'm just a little hesitant to write elements of romance, because frankly, I don't trust myself much with it and don't want it to be awkward.

And yes, I went through all of Olivia Rodrigo's lyrics to find one to use as the track for this fic. I have no regrets.

Anyway, there...I did it @ghostiewriter . You better act on your end of our bargain now. I'm waiting. 👀

Also, shoutout to @feysandfeels for telling me about the endearment "Cara Mia" which I've been told is Italian for "My Darling". This concept lives rent-free in my head.

@ssardothien @kingandfireheart @evolving-dreamer @bookologist @godscursedd @sirendeepity @gwynlaithlunel @tea-istic @polaroidsintheocean @dadopedirectioner @trowen @effervescent-bean @snickerdoodlechittybangbang @doesitmatteratalltoyou @deepdive-with-aurelius @wrathscannoli @lysandra-ghost-leopard + the 3 people I mentioned at different points above (Liss, Saarah and Luisa...I don't want to spam your notifs more than I have to, so tagging you once seems enough. 😂)

If anyone wants to be added to or removed from the tags, let me know!

[chronicalchaos]

Wick modern AU: Explained +Some fun facts

Uhm, i was gonna wait until i finish this AU's synopsis and new book cover, but both will be taking a while until they get ready...

And i wanted to post this "overview" for a while now, anyways, here's some fun facts and a summary of the story:

Old book cover:

I'm really proud of Sam's shading, but the twins look weird and Tom looks old...I won't use this cover, 'cus Travis and Duncan are main characters as well and i want to include them on the cover. +My art style changed!

Story summary:

Just a quick thing! I changed quite a few things to fit the narrative and the modern days setting, i hope you understand!

The story of this AU happens in September 2014, a little less than a month until Sam’s birthday, where the Weavers aren't dead– Well, most of them aren't...

The narrative is centered on a curse, that was based on the audio that plays when you pick up Benny's bible, where 7 people are affected by it: Tim, Tom, John, Sam, John's brother/Sam's dad(I won't name him), Mary and James.

Sam's, Travis' and Duncan's side of the story will be more on the investigative side maybe with a bit of comedy(I'm not good with writing that, so it will most likely be just investigation), while Tim and Tom's side will be the more angst and unusual/horror side. Sam will have a bit of horror as well, since he's linked with them by the curse, but the twins will definitely have the spotlight when it comes to horror/unusual stuff.

Fun Facts:

General:

The story happens a week, maybe a bit more, after summer break

Even tho one of the first chapters is set on school, them going to school will probably just be mentioned or implied, Example: Them leaving a school bus

For some reason, i saw a few stories where everyone knew what polio is and how it works, which i felt it wouldn't be realistic, so that won't happen here

It has a lot of paranormal stuff

The summer camp by the Weaver's property is closed and has been like that for a few years now

Just Mary and James call the twins Changelings, the rest of the city knows there are "changelings" walking around, just, not that the twins are them

There's no changelings, they think there is, but in reality it's just a curse(like that's something lighter than a demon switched with a child at birth)

The song that helps me get in the mood of this story when I'm writing is "Far too young to die" by Panic! At the disco

Timas Weaver:

Tim is 12, he'll be 13 in...approximately 3 months

He was born December 30th 2001 and is the oldest between him and Tom

He's almost an inch shorter than Tom

He has a huge burn scar! It goes from a bit more than half of his chest, both his arms, his palms and his whole neck, he got that scar when he was 3 years old

He's does not have asthma, but he does have extreme pyrophobia on it's place

He has flat affect, his face doesn't match his emotions/he looks serious most of the time(I'm so sorry if I don't portrait it right! Please give me constructive criticism if I do something wrong here!)

He's a theater kid and would be quoting a lot of musicals if Mary didn't isolate him and Tom from the world(The theater part only exists because of his and Tom's masks)

The whittling thing exists here, but like, it won't be of much importance to the story, the knife will! But not the whittle part

He despises spiders and it's Tom's fault!

He climbs trees (there's not much I can say here to be honest)

He has this...i don't know if you can call it a quirk, but, he tends to tilt his head to the left, it's kinda random

He's ambidextrous, was left handed, but Mary forced him to learn to use his right hand

He teached himself how to throw knifes...don't mess with him

Paranoia!

Needs therapy

Tomathy Weaver:

Tom is 12 and will be 13 in approximately 3 months

He was born December 30th 2001 and is the youngest between him and Tim

He's almost an inch taller than Tim

He doesn't have Polio now, he did when he was...around 5 years old

His left leg is bigger than his right one, his right feet reaches his left ankle

His left ankle is paralyzed, that's why he uses a leg brace

He's claustrophobic, he developed that on the same day Tim got his scar and pyrophobia

He won first place on a spelling bee before he got Polio and he used to spell when he got anxious, but after John's disappearence he started shuddering, shaking and cracking his joints instead, very similar to how he shudders on the game

He loves spiders!

He is really flexible, but, because of his polio, he can't play around with it anymore

He likes to draw

He has pretty bad scoliosis

Paranoia #2!

Socially awkward baby

Went to therapy when little, needs to go back

Caleb Weaver:

Caleb is 9 years old

He was born August 19th 2005

He's almost the same height as Timas

He was a year old when Tom had polio

He's actually James' kid, not John's

He won first place in 2014's(the year the story happens) county track meet

He dislikes Tim

Lillian Weaver:

Lillian is 5 years old

She was born February 28th 2009

She's a bit tall for her age

She's notorious for making little deals between her and her siblings, like helping them get away with something in exchange of something(getting her out of class during their recess, buying a new plushy, etc.)

She's a really curious and affectionate kid, loves hugs, kisses and especially being picked on someone's lap

She loves bunnies(even tho this isn't a surprise)

Benjamin Weaver:

Benjamin is 14 years old and will be 15 in less then a month

He was born October 24th 1999

He's just really tall compared to the twins (it's kinda funny, Tim and Tom are 4 years older than Caleb, but they are just an inch taller than him)

He's really religious and prays a lot for his siblings' health and safety

He's been trying to take care of Tom after John's disappearence, since Mary doesn't do it, much the opposite, she hides Tom's medicines on purpose

Mary Weaver:

I didn't give her neither an age nor a birthday...i probably need to do that

She had an affair with James, when the twins were 4 and Benny was 6, Caleb was born from this affair

She doesn't hit any of her kids, but she does neglect most of them

On the nights between Saturday and Sunday, she doesn't sleep, she spends this time praying with a candle, then, before they go to church, she writes everything that happened that night on her diary

She has a lot of diaries, she keeps them in the attic

She's a little bitch(i don't know what else to say about her)

Pastor James McAlroy:

James also doesn't have an age nor birthday (i only have the Weaver kids and Sam's birthdays)

He won't appear much, but he does have a big role on the story

He's Caleb's biological dad(i mentioned that like 3 times already)

He tried doing a "honest-to-god exorcism" on the twins, it was just a cover for an attempt of murder

He's a toxic little shit(there's not much I can say about him)

Samuel Burton:

Sam is 12 years old and will be 13 in less than a month

He was born in October 2nd 2001

Him and Travis are Brothers on their mom's part

He's cousin with the Weavers, minus Caleb, they just don't know each other

He can be just as smug as Travis sometimes

He absolutely hates going on ghost hunting, he thinks it's dumb

He has long hair and freckles all over his body

He's just too lazy to tie his own shoes

He's the only one that remembers to bring a backpack when ghost hunting

While Travis is the camera man, he's the flashlight guy

Travis Burton:

Travis is 15 years old and i don't have a birthday for him, well, he would be born in 1999 just like Benny

He doesn't like wearing glasses, but doesn't have other choice, he either doesn't take proper care of his lenses and gets his eyes irritated or he just lost them

He's the face of his and Duncan's channel

He tries to drag Sam to be part of the channel, but he doesn't really want to be part of it

He cusses way too much

He's brave, only because he goes face first into danger without thinking

Duncan:

Duncan is 15 and would also be born in 1999

Big ass coward, sends Travis and Sam to go investigate on his place every fucking time

Entitled as fuck

The "brain" behind his and Travis' channel

He's suspiciously good on researching, he'll find the most unexpected things about you

He's a little shit as well

...i think that's it! Now i can go continue the first chapter and maybe finish it soon

[blueangelicrose]

A New Beginning: Chapter 9 (part 1): The Sister Arrives

It was a bright and sunny day outside. Flowers blooming and birds singing, it was the perfect day for having a picnic or just having a good time in general. Unfortunately that wasn't the case for Josephine. It had only been a week or two since the convention and had gotten back to work, and she was already in a bind. She was trying to retrieve an ancient relic that had been stolen from a sacred church that laid hidden deep in Inkwell Isle's forests. The church was once Inkwell's most powerful influence of Christianity since way before the Devil made his presence known on the Isle. It was referred to as, "God's doorstep", for it was believed that once you took one step in the church, you would immediately feel as if you were almost in Heaven itself! The church was so highly revered and spiritual that even the atheists paid their respects to the congregation of the church. They even donated money and items just to get on the church's good side. Back then, the church was God's most divine house and was not to be disrespected. But as the years went by and the Devil had set up shop in the city, the church goers became less and less. Eventually, all the citizens either gave up hope of ever being freed from the Devil's grasp or had just forgotten that the church was there in the first place. And of course it didn't help when the Devil placed several of his minions to lead the church goers astray from attending the church. The church then faded away from Inkwell Isle's history books and the citizens memories. But God wouldn't let the precious place that His people worshipped and loved him in to go to ruin. He sent his angels to guard and keep up the place in order to keep His spiritual powers flowing throughout the building in order to protect all the living creatures that lived in the surrounding forests. God also decided to use the church as a place to store some heavenly relics for the angels to use just in case of an attack on them, the church, or some of the other priceless treasures from Heaven. Unfortunately, just a few hours ago, one of the imps from the casino somehow managed to sneak into the church and stole a sacred dagger that was used in one of the wars between Heaven and Hell. It was said that it could cut through even the most thickest of armours, weapons, shields, and even spells. This weapon was called, "The Dagger of God's Wrath." And only the good Lord knows how such a low level demon managed to sneak inside the church and steal such a priceless treasure. But now it was up to Josephine, who, by the way, volunteered to take the mission for personal reasons, to retrieve the weapon, interrogate the suspect, destroy the suspect, and then put the weapon back to where it belongs.

But, from what should've been a simple task, is turning out to be a major pain in the butt! She chased, hunted down, searched high and low, and chased again the little imp until she came upon the city limits. She knew that if she were to continue chasing down the little imp into the city with her wings on full display, she would definitely cause a ruckus. So she shape shifted herself into that of a humanoid cheetah woman to keep herself on low profile. She then charged after the imp at full speed. The imp looked back, and was frighteningly surprised that instead of a pretty angel chasing it, it was a menacing but attractive looking cheetah lady! It continued running for it's life until it reached an alley corner and hid behind it. As it nervously peeked out of the corner to see if she was there, it sweated profusely and swallowed hard, fearing that she was right there. But as it looked back, she was nowhere to be found. It raised a brow and looked back and forth to see if the coast was clear. All seemed calm and clear. It breathed a sigh of relief and wiped its nervous sweat and without a care in the world walked away hoping to get to the casino before Josephine caught up to it. Unfortunately for the creature, it was not so lucky, kinda funny and ironic since it worked for a casino and had supernatural powers. As soon as it turned the corner of the block, it literally bumped into a pair of slender feminine legs. He nervously looked up, and saw a very ticked off cheetah lady with arms crossed and giving it a look that said, "Really? You think I'm THAT dumb?" Responding to this development, it slowly backed away, turned away, started to walk away, then made a break for it. Josephine sighed, continued to chase it until she was in front of the imp.

The imp then tried to run in the opposite direction, but was inevitably caught. She picked up the imp by its scruff and had it look her in the face. Without saying a word, she held out her other hand for the imp to give back the blade. The imp looked back and forth between her eyes and her open hand, until it finally got the message. (Not very sharp, is it?) It smiled nervously and held up one if its hands up to tell her to hold on for a minute while it used its other hand to, what seemed like it was going to hand her the blade. But really it was digging around its bag to grab something else. And she wasn't able to find out until it was too late. The imp flung a dark purple colored powder at her face, literally BLINDING her! As she screamed in pain, she had no choice but to drop the imp and try to wash the stuff off. The imp took this chance and made its escape. Unfortunately for the imp, it accidentally ran into a gang of werewolves, who by the way, owed a great deal of debt to the Devil's Casino. They recognized the little imp and decided to take away the bag to see if there was anything valuable in it to trade in for some cash to pay for their debt. Although stealing from the Devil just to pay back their debts that they owe to the Devil, is probably not the smartest idea in the world. They pretty much took everything that looked valuable in the bag and LITERALLY threw the imp away from them. And when the imp tried to get the bag back, one of the werewolves gave a menacing glare and snarl basically telling it to back off and for it to scram. The imp got the message and swore to them that the boss will hear about this and that they were going to regret it. Most of them didn't pay much heed into it, but the somewhat smarter and paranoid ones were a little more cautious to the little demon's warning. They decided to change to another one of their secret hangouts until they were in the clear. Then trade the stuff that were in the bag to various pawn shops to earn enough money to pay off their debt.

While on the other side of this perplexing situation, Josephine was writhing in agony as the powder in her eyes was starting to burn like fire. It was so intense that it felt like Hellfire had been thrown at her face by the Devil himself. She didn't want to make this situation any more worse than it already was and attract any unwanted company. So using her teleportation abilities, she moved to somewhere more private and secluded to remove the powder from her eyes. There was only one place that she could think up on the spot that matched those descriptions. And in an instant, she teleported to the creek in the woods where she and her sister first met the Cup Brothers. Ever since her childhood days, she always wanted to go back to the woods where she and her sister spent that wonderful year with their Earth family. Those were happier and simpler times. Where she and her sister could relax and be actual normal kids without the fear of their lives being at risk at every single corner that they turned. And she could never forget the day where her sister fell in love for the first time. She never felt so happy for her sister before in her entire life when that happened. Josephine dubbed the creek where it all started as, "First Love Creek." So when times got tough for her and her sister, she would remember her favorite memories to make herself happy. And her sister falling in love on that day was definitely in the top five of her most favorite memories. As she was wrapping up from traveling down memory lane, she carefully inched close to the rushing water. When she reached the waters edge, she fell to her knees and started scooping the water with her hands and started to wash her eyes out. She managed to get the powder out from her eyes, but the magic effects from the powder wasn't so easy to get rid of. She finally recognized what the powder was and was immediately infuriated. The imp had thrown at her, "Blinding Powder", and just like the name suggests, when thrown in someone's face, it blinds them for 24 hours, if the victim doesn't get killed while doing something stupid. Josephine knew that she was going to have her work cut out for her for the next 24 hours. The first thing she needed to do was to find a temporary home to live in until she could find that imp, or somehow break into its boss's headquarters and retrieve the dagger. But most of the money that she had was spent on sea fair, necessities for hunting down demons, and of course, fashionable clothing and such. She had no choice but to earn some quick cash for her to be able to afford living anywhere.

About an hour or so later, she had reverted to her human form, she decided to wear more or less showy but still fashionable clothes, and painfully reported back her situation to her superiors. They were a little shocked and a little irritated that something like this happened. But they digressed, and told her to do what needed to be done in order to bring back the relic. But not to harm any civilians and not to get discovered at any cost. She agreed and promised that she would do her absolute best to abide by those rules. As soon as she signed out, she grabbed her guitar, a fold out chair, and a pair of sunglasses that she had stashed away in her own angelic inventory. She then headed towards Inkwell's most busiest and populated place for people to go and relax; Inkwell Isle's Central Square. She figured if she could use her angelic voice to get her enough money to get to a decent place to stay, then she was willing to give it her all. She placed her little setup right in front of a beautiful water fountain. With her guitar at hand and the guitar case open wide on the ground for people to put money in, and of course with her brilliant disguise as a normal human woman on, (sunglasses included), she was ready to sing! She sang for hours and hours, and even though she was blind, she could still see the gray blurry figures going to and froe not even stopping to listen to her sing. And even though she was blind, she could tell that not a single person had thrown any money in the case. Frustrated at the harsh treatment, she decided to just sing to herself some songs that her mother taught her from all the travels that she spent going back and forth between dimensions. She figured that it could relieve her from the harsh critisim and a chance to reminisce about the happy parts of her childhood. She started to quietly play a sad but sweet lullaby that was written and played by an up and coming Mexican mariachi musician. As she played quietly, figuring that no one wanted to hear her sing, she started to wonder how her sister was doing, and if she met up with their mother at the convention yet. As she was lost in her thoughts and was playing the last music notes of the song, she suddenly heard clapping and then a charming southern like male voice. "Well, well, well~ ...... I heard a lot of things in my day, but I never heard such a sweet and soothing sound as your voice my dear. And that's coming from me! Do you mind if you could play that song again for me, but a bit louder this time?" She wasn't sure what to make of this strangers compliment and request. She was about to ask him who he was, but she was cut off. "Oh dear! You're blind? But you can still play the guitar! That's quite something! And I see that no one has had the courage to give you payment on your wonderful services! If I may, would you please play that song again and teach me the lyrics? But of course you will be rewarded most generously." He gently grabbed one of her hands and put a couple thousand dollars in the palm of her hand then closed it to tell her that it was her money to keep. She couldn't read how much there was but could tell that it was a lot judging by the thickness of the bundle of cash in her hand. She was about to refuse and say that it was too much. But the man cut her off again saying that he just wanted to hear her sing. She couldn't help but be flattered by his words and agreed to his strange song and teaching request. She sang a song that you can find on You Tube under the singer that my character sounds like: Song: Remember Me from the movie Coco

Singer: Anna

YouTube name: annapantsu

Lyrics:

"Remember me~

though I have to say goodbye,

Remember me~

don't let it make you cry,

for even though I'm far away I'll

hold you in my heart,

I'll sing a secret song to you each

night we are apart,

Remember me~

though I have to travel far,

Remember me~

each time you hear a sad guitar,

know that I'm with you the only way

that I can be~,

until you're in my arms again~,

Re~mem~ber~ Me~!!!!"

To Be Continued....

End of chapter 9 (part 1).

To be continued in chapter 9 (part 2).