#nero was a loud child

[icedlava1]

Some Baby Nero and Dadgil

[actuallysaiyan]

She Keeps It Pumping Straight To My Heart(Vergil x Fem!Reader)

warnings: mentions of having a baby, Vergil is needy, smut, creampies, unprotected sex, mentions of breeding word count: 0.9k pairings: Post DMC5!Vergil x Fem!Reader a/n: This just kind of popped into my brain! Hope you enjoy!

He shouldn’t want this. Not at his age or with the way things have gone in his life. Even with the way things ended up with his first son, Vergil knows that having another child might be the wrong idea. This nagging sensation deep inside of him lately makes him think that you could be the right person to have this with.

Even Dante and Nero notice a change in Vergil. He’s less abrasive, less angry. They even see a smile on his face, which makes them both feel very much at ease. They know that Vergil needs to know real peace, and you are the one to bring it to him.

This all culminates one night into something so passionate and loving. With the two of you freshly showered and now lying in bed, in crisp fresh sheets, you are caressing one another. Sweet, loving kisses are shared.

“What’s gotten into you lately?” you ask, a smirk on your face.

Vergil chuckles, “Ah, so you’ve noticed it as well.”

He then maneuvers you both so that he’s on top of you, your legs spread for him. Still, his kisses are gentle and loving, but you can feel the heat growing in them. He grunts softly as he ruts against you, his cock becoming unbearably hard.

“We’ve been together for quite some time, yes?” he wonders out loud.

“Yeah, almost two years now.”

The words that come from your pretty lips both excite and warm his heart. He never knew he could have a love so pure and so tender for this long. Even at the beginning of your relationship, Vergil thought he’d fuck it up somehow and lose you forever. But you proved to be resilient and determined. You loved him for who he was and you weren’t just going to abandon him. Vergil meant everything to you, especially after he saved your life from a horde of evil devils.

Vergil breathes, “I think…I think I want another baby,”

You giggle nervously, “Another baby? But you only met your son when he was an—”

He interrupts you with another kiss, “You’ll give me a baby, won’t you?”

Your heart skips a beat. How are you supposed to deny such a request? You stutter out the word “yes”, but you nod as well to let him know you’re more than interested. With your arms around his neck, he moves you into a more comfortable position.

“Just the thought of carrying my seed must excite you,” Vergil comments as he uses the tip of his cock to smear your arousal all over your tight hole. “You’re already so wet,”

He continues his teasing for a while, making sure to tap the tip of his cock against your swollen clit. You never thought you’d get to this point in your life, but you cannot deny the fact that having a child with Vergil would be amazing. The thought of making a baby is exciting too.

He captures your lips in a kiss as he presses himself into you. You’re both panting and moaning as he bottoms out, leaving you both a little fucked out already. Vergil smirks when he realizes this is actually going to happen. You’re going to be carrying his child.

Your hands soothe up and down his back as he starts a slow pace, getting you both used to these sensations. Vergil finds it hard to not blow his load from the beginning, as he always gets so over excited to make love to you. He takes a deep breath before pressing your legs to your chest which places you in the perfect mating position.

“You will carry my seed in your womb,” Vergil says, his voice full of need and lust.

“Yes, yes! Please, Vergil!” You cry out, his cock bullying the sweet spot so deep inside of you.

His hand traces down your chest to your core, rubbing the swollen clit that’s just begging for attention. Your eyes screw shut as he begins pounding into you, making you feel that familiar tightening in your stomach. Your cries of love and ecstasy begin echoing off the walls.

“That’s it, sparrow,” he coos at you. “Milk my cock. Be a good girl and milk my cock,”

His words arouse you as much as they surprise you. He’s not usually one to talk filthy like this, and it’s just fueling your fire even more. It takes but only a few more thrusts to send you over the edge.

Tears slip down your cheeks at the intense pleasure. Your spongy walls squeeze and contract around his throbbing cock, milking him for his warm and thick seed. He’s grunting and growling, his voice sounding almost distorted. And with a passionate and hungry kiss, Vergil spills himself so deep inside your pulsing walls.

The two of you continue to grind against one another, riding out the remnants of what is the most intense orgasm you’ve both felt in forever. And when Vergil pulls away, you almost think he’s going to get up to get you something to drink. It’s just that the sight of his thick cum running out of your puffy cunt sends him into a frenzy.

You cry out as he slams himself back into you, clearly not done.

“I said I wanted to have another baby,” Vergil huffs as he fucks himself into you. “And we are going to have another baby.”

[of-pale]

If Nero has 200 IQ, this is the phone he’d gift to the twins.

Yep, the myth, the legend, the one and only indestructible force in the universe - Nokia 3310. I think it would be hilarious if Nero gave the twins one phone, because:

a) they need to learn to share

b) by combining their singular brain cells together into a rich commonwealth of two, they might just figure out how to work the phone

Of course, the indestructibile nature of this phone is a necessary feature. Now, you might be wondering why?

Nero decides to give the twins a call, maybe invite them over for dinner. After only a minute of waiting, Dante picks up. The background echoes with gunshots, exclamations of 'schum’ and menacing demon screams in a clear indication that the twins were out on a job.

“Hey, what's up, kid?”

“Uh sorry, you busy?”

“Never too busy for my favourite nephew.”

“I'm your only nephew.”

“Doesn't make it less true.”

“Suuure. Look, can you pass the phone to Vergil? I need to ask him something.”

“Aw, you're breaking my heart. Here I thought we had something special.”

Next, Nero hears demon screeches growing louder. A loud crack. Some shuffling noises before Vergil calmly answers the call.

Now it's time to play a game of ‘guess what the hell happened there’!

If you guessed - ‘Dante, being Dante, decided to showcase his phone-passing skills by bouncing it off a demon’s skull over to Vergil’ - then you're correct! A clear example of why the twins need a phone that can endure some serious beating. I'm also a firm believer that the Nokia could double as a weapon of great destruction in the field. I doubt getting hit with that brick on the head was easy to shrug off for the unlucky demon.

Real question though, what would the twins set Nero's ringtone as? And vice versa, Nero's ringtone for twins? (I know, I know, Nokia 3310 doesn't have a custom ringtone feature, but shhhh.. Nico works her miracles on the phone.)

Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus?

I mean, teeeechnically the twins are sons of a god? Or could it be Vergil referring to Nero as his son?

Guns N’ Roses - Sweet Child O’ Mine?

Need I say more? Although it would be hilarious if Nero set it as a ringtone for the twins.

He sighs deeply upon hearing the familiar ringtone, knowing it could entail anything from a world-ending cataclysm to another petty squabble. So he pauses his conversation with a Fortuna resident, saying, “Sorry, I gotta get this. Kids are calling.”

“Awww, and how have the orphans settled in?”

“Huh? No, my other kids.”

The Fortunan looks at him in confusion just as Nero finally picks up the call and starts pacing.

“What's up, dipshit?”

“Sounds like a you problem to me.”

“What? No, I won't talk to Vergil for you. What are you, five?”

“Look, you fucked yourself into that problem; you can fuck yourself out of it.”

Nero quickly drops the call and turns back to the person he was speaking to. “Sorry about that.” The resident only gives him a weird stink-eye, and Nero finally catches on to what's the issue. He coughs awkwardly and tries to smooth the situation, “Forty-year-old children, am I right?”

Ghostbusters theme?

Depends on how common knowledge demons are. The Sparda's might be ‘ghostbusters’ as in the myth catchers for hire.

Yeah, I'm gonna stop this long rambling shitpost here. Otherwise, I could keep listing ringtones on and on.

[icycoldninja]

DMC incorrect quotes (pt 3)

Vergil: Are you drunk? Dante: Only on the spirit of Christmas! Nero: And the spirit of whisky.

Nero, to Vergil: Why is Dante not talking? Vergil: I'm playing the silent game with him. Nero: Well, then you just lost. Vergil: I lost two hours ago. I gave him ear plugs and told him to close his eyes. It was the only way I could think of to get him to shut up.

Dante: I don’t even use tubberware anymore. Vergil: What are you saying? Say it again. Dante: Tubberware. Vergil: Say it again. Slow. Dante: Tubberware. Vergil: Slow, very slow - actually, say the first syllable. Dante: Tub. Vergil: Wrong. Dante: What do you mean, wrong? Vergil: I thought I caught that. You’re saying tub. It’s P. Dante: What are you talking about? Vergil: Tupperware. Tupper. Dante: It’s tupper! Vergil: It’s tupper, always has been, always will be. Dante: I thought it was tubberware because it kind of looks like a tub.

Nero: Why is it that I always lose things as soon as I need them? Dante: Actually, it's not that you lose things when you need them. You lose them a while before. It's just that you LOOK for things when you need them. Nero: Okay yeah thanks Dante, that's great but WHERE'S THE FUCKING FIRST AID KIT?

Dante, grinning: Before you were what? Vergil: Before I was- Dante: What? Vergil: Before I was inter- Dante: Before you were interrupted? Vergil: Cut me off one more time and I swear I'll- Dante: What? Vergil: makes frustrated sound Nero, nervously: Stop that. Before he hurts you.

Dante: Do crabs think people walk sideways? Vergil: …Dante, what the hell.

Vergil, as a child, reading their school assignment out loud: I love my library because… Vergil, mouthing words while writing: I love reading, fuck you.

Vergil, after getting a library card: Now I know what true power feels like.

Nero: Did you buy eggs like I asked? Dante: Even better! Nero: What the fuck did you- Dante: holding up a chicken Her name is Fluffy.

Dante, on the phone: Uh. . Hey, Lady, i uh, I’ve been stabbed. Nero: WHAT? WHERE ARE YOU? Dante: Wait- You aren’t Lady. Sorry- I didn’t mean to call you- Nero: NO, WHERE ARE YOU? IM COMING THERE. IM NOT GOING TO LEAVE SOMEONE ALONE THATS BEEN STABBED.

Nero: Would you like your pizza cut into six or eight slices, Dante? Dante: Oh just six, I don’t think I could eat eight.

Dante: Hopefully Vergil has learned a lesson about respecting other people's feelings. Vergil: Oh, shut up and die Dante.

Nero: Ayo, what the FUCK is this?!? Vergil, sitting down, surrounded by corpses: I won Mafia, that’s what.

Nero: Silence is golden. Vergil: Duct tape is silver.

Dante: Big day today, Vergil. holds up two shirts Mustard stain or ketchup stain? Vergil: Mustard– looks less like blood.

Vergil: I’ve never been in a snowball fight before. I don’t know the rules. Nero: What? Vergil: Is there a point system, or is it to the death?

Dante: I’m so tired. Vergil: Did you get to bed late? Dante: No. Vergil: Did you do something strenuous? Dante: No. Vergil: Then why are you tired? Dante: I’m alive. Vergil: Sounds exhausting.

Dante, slamming pots and pans together to the rhythm of "Give it to me, I'm worth it": I didn't get no sleep cause a' y'all! Y'all never gonna sleep cause a' me!

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

Amathyst MSM Gate Mortgage Remix • Theme to Navigate the Day-Glo Buy Grid • Thomas Kinkade Puking it All Back Up • Chicken & Cheese 2 • Sable Leathery Wings • Open Up the Last Unicorn Loud • In the Hollow Mountain of Generic Consumer Goods • Grand Inquisitors Theme • Preset Arvo • Help Me Find My Child or the Gold • Lexus Made of Bones • Rome • Everyone Here is a Guard • Rolex Nike Air Low Low Interest • This Will Be the Sales Event of the Year • Business Versus Nature • Events are Stripped of Their Meanings • Mascara Running Everywhere • Human Artifacts Found Underwater, Best Dressed Lists • Enter Text Find Words • Hero Reconsidering • Children Smiling Laughing Thumbs Up Beached Whale • Arrogant Cobbler • Bent Choral • Wooly Mammoth Stomp • Stately, Wrong • Morlocks Take Manhattan (Nero's Day at Disneyland RMX) • Beautiful Beachfront Properties • Carnival Infernale • Shattering Two Peals • GQ Male Pushing Old Lady Over & Throwing Change at Her • Chicken & Cheese 2 • Happy Meal • Technology Will Save Us From Nature and Ourselves • Heaven's Gate

YouTube

[see-arcane]

I hope we never make it past the moon.

I hope Mars is never terraformed.

I hope there are no spaceships, no colonies on the soil of other worlds, in civilizations that have never had to endure the human race.

I hope whatever poison it is we allow to fester within a privileged handful that’s allowed to siphon every resource, every extravagance, every life and right of the cattle-chattel majority never makes it off the burning bloody sewer it is making of this world.

Active evil.

Active, careless, hateful, bottomless, gold-lined evil is there in the heart of every nightmare headline I have read since I was old enough to make the mistake of looking at the news.

Entire peoples robbed, tortured, slaughtered, and razed over maniacal idiot hate. Dehumanized into less than dirt, less than the virtual vapor of a videogame enemy. For what? Breathing in the wrong place? As the wrong race? For oil and money and a grudge of faith the murderers pretend to follow?

And the empires feeding the killing, lying as fast and loud as they can to a public that has long since learned to stop believing them over the reality of the carnage bleeding out of their screens and dripping from their hands? How are all these heyday Romes doing, Neros?

Bodily autonomy rotting, bigotry booming, literacy in a nosedive, theft-programs lauded as the end of artists and writers, child labor given wholesome glamor shots, inflation waved as a tissue flag while companies gouge and gouge and gouge until a grocery trip becomes a luxury. Buy paper straws and don’t eat meat to lesson your carbon footprint!

As our countries fund a massacre to steal the treasure under the bloodstains and build hotels on the rubble where libraries and hospitals once stood. As private jets and satellites and uncapped lights blot out the stars. As winter and autumn melt into myths.  As the poor and the scrabbling give the most that they can under the table, supporting what their supposed governments refuse to approve, shouting and marching and sharing aloud what their supposed governments must either smother or cry propaganda over.

I hope we get better. I hope time excises these tumors in suits, the botfly campaigners and companies and killers eating holes in the bright beautiful animal of what humanity is. What we could and should be. What so many of us are.

But I have to apologize to the astronauts. The ponderers and dreamers in the space stations.

I hope we never make it past the moon.

[hehee88]

----- Sybilla's backstory pt.2!

5 years later (in dmc 5), Sybilla, or who now went by the name 'Renate' or 'Renie' for short, was found by Nicoletta Goldstein and Nero, and she ended up hanging around them as a form of support (supporting with her healing powers of course, she doesn't use any of her forms until way later). She forms a bond with Nico and Nero (all platonic), with Sybilla staying in the van for the most part. She has known Nero since she was ten years old, so she was already somewhat familiar with him, Nico was a different story. At this point, she is 15 years old and have grown significantly, also due to the fact that she has a birth defect called "gigantism", making her almost as tall as Nero, only a head shorter than him. Sybilla was approx. 205 cm tall back when she was 40, so she is around 170 cm at 15 years old.

When V joins the team, she was already by his side most of the time, healing him between foes when she could. Though she was thrown off slightly by Griffon and his loud mouth, but she only shook her head at his words and continued to support V in the form of the Healing Hunter ability, knowing how fragile he can be.

Though she was in a different world for now, Sybilla could still hear Nukzeh's commands from literally worlds away. She just doesn't react on it, the voices will haunt her forever at this point, but she pushes through, staying strong and focusing on the present.

When meeting Lady, and Trish, she was uncerntain about them at first, but she warmed up to them pretty fast aswell. She was flexible with people, which was the only good trait she had. She stayed with Lady in the van after she got out of the demon, and also kept her company.

When fighting Urizen, she would distract said demon half the majority of the battle (which was a bad idea, you will see in a second). She ended up getting caught in the crossfire and knocked out of battle, she didn't die, just pretty wounded and stabbed in the torso. As V merged with Urizen and Vergil was back, Sybilla wasn't conscious enough to fully comprehend what was going on. She found herself in the dmc van, bandaged up and laying on the couch, confused about what happened.

As we skip to the fight with Vergil on the top of the Qliphoth tree, that's when Sybilla finally uses her Sar'Hingaro (Ahri'Tahmuk) form to fly up to the top of the tree. And it takes her a while (give her a break, Ahri'Tahmuk is not the fastest flier of all), but before Dante, Nero and Vergil could engage in the fight, she arrives at the top. Though she doesn't land, she glides around the platform, large wings only flapping a few times to gain momentum. The three heads watch over the three confused men, the fight pausing temporarily. The enormous beast that is Sybilla, is peaceful, and doesn't engage with the three, just merely keeping an eye around them and killing off pontential danger.

After the fight was over and Sybilla finished surveying around the tree, the three headed beast landed on the platform of the Qliphoth tree, not even bothering to turn into a human at the moment. It lays down, the three heads resting on the platform as each of them let out steam out of its nostrills from using her light beam so much (the little frills on the noses opened aswell hehe)

Of course, Dante, Nero and Vergil were concerned, not going near the thing because they didn't know that it was Sybilla. After a while though, and with a flash of very bright light, the three headed dragon was gone and there fell a very tired and worn out child onto the ground.

Nero and Dante became concerned, and Vergil was confused. But after making sure that she was alright, the conversation between the three men continued.

After all of this, Sybilla returned into the dmc van, sitting right behind Nico's seat as she was forced to explain herself after what Dante, Nero and Vergil saw (the Ahri'Tahmuk situation). She did explain, every detail, even telling her real name, but asked to be called 'Renate' or 'Renie' still.

[irenespring]

House MD- Hunger Games District Two Victor AU: Victor!House and his Mentor

Actual fic! I stir from the depths of writer's block.

---

Author Notes:

I'm back for sort of some writing! I found @lorata's world and character building for District Two so comprehensive that sometimes when I get attached to a messed up character, I start applying them to their District Two world. I've written posts about who House MD characters' mentor would be, and I was inspired to actually write some scenes.

This one isn't dialogue heavy (shocking for me) but I did think it was necessary to set up the fusion of the House characters and Hunger Games world. It's primarily hurt/comfort.

The timeline of the character victories is very unrealistic (the gamemakers would never let District Two win this much) but oh well, this is a weird AU/crossover fic. The Hunger Games divergence here is what if Cashmere couldn't face what her life would be after her victory? So the 62nd and 63rd Games would go to Two. Also Enobaria's victory in the 62nd with Nero as a mentor is replaced by Lisa (Cuddy) with Nero as a mentor. Later, a "what if one of the District Two tributes listened to their mentors and killed Finnick in the bloodbath of the 65th" for Wilson's victory. Sorry to Finnick and Enobaria, but this is still technically a House AU.

Also Hunger Games tech is weird. The kind of prosthetic I describe I think fits with Capitol technology.

Lorata's District Two holds that volunteers ditch their last names so as unnatural as it is, House is Gregory, Cuddy will be Lisa, and Wilson will be James. I know, I know.

Many thanks to Lorata for their permission to use their characters. And for their work in general. It's absolutely stellar.

---

Trigger warnings: references to child abuse, depictions of violence, ableism, dystopian government horribleness

---

The story:

The first connection he makes when arriving at the Victor’s Village is with his mentor, Adessa. Good, obedient Victors bond with their mentors in the Capitol, seeing as the mentor is always there. And saved their life, or something. But Gregory is and has always been dedicated to ignoring tradition and making his own rules. Which is why it is super fucking annoying that he found someone whose rules he listens to. At least he was able to maintain his rage for a couple weeks. That’s almost something.

If he were the type of person to say sappy shit like she’s the parent he never had, or that he would be way more tolerant of authority if they were all like her, well, he would say it. But he’s not, so he doesn’t, end of story. Well, not out loud at least.

But he did hate her at first. On account of waking up in the Capitol hospital missing his leg. 

He remembers the final fight, Cashmere sticking her poisoned knife into his thigh as he barely managed to dodge, knowing it should have struck something vital. He also remembers when he ran her through with one of his short swords, and she leaned in close with blood staining her teeth, looked at his leg, and whispered that at least he’d have something to remember her by. 

He couldn’t shake the feeling that she had planned for him to win, even though he knows she hated him. That maybe the thought of him being the one to kill her was outweighed by the fear of what victory would mean for a girl from District One. Hurting him was the only way she could make it clear that he hadn’t beaten her. They had fought in training after it became clear she didn’t find him funny. During the almost mandatory pack banter, they played up the kind of sexual tension that only works when built on actual loathing tension. They tried to kill each other in the career pack split. She had been fighting for keeps then, he is certain. But he doesn’t know about the finale. One of the first things he let Adessa help him with was the feeling that she, his enemy, had gifted him his life and victory, only hurting his leg as a token of her (lack of) esteem. 

Hell of a token, though. After the adrenaline of the fight he felt the pain, the agonizing pain, worse than anything he had felt in his eighteen years of enduring torture. But he made it to the hovercraft walking on both his legs. 

He had his leg. He woke up without it.

He hated his mentor for the entire week it took to get back to the district. He endured the doctors talking about the newest prosthetics. He only barely listened to Adessa’s instructions on the proper humility to show to President Snow in order to avoid being summarily executed. He hated it. He hated looking the President in the eye and talking about how happy he was that he would be an ambulatory cripple, and how thankful he was for the Capitol’s mercy. He hated Adessa viciously, blamed her for taking away his choice even now that he had won and should have some fucking control over his life, but he listened because what she said made sense and he wasn’t suicidal.

After they finally got to the Village, it was another week until she was sure he was physically healthy enough for a hike. She took him deep into the forest under the guise of helping the prosthetic map his old neural pathways. When they were far enough she was certain no one or nothing would overhear, she gifted him with the truth.

No coddling, no hiding, no softening the words for the fragile, crippled baby Victor.

She told him what she overheard the doctors talking about. How the muscle in his thigh had died. They could save his leg, but they would have to remove the muscle almost entirely. He wouldn’t be able to walk without a cane, and he would almost certainly be in excruciating pain for the rest of his life. And then one of them had commented on how living with this “challenge” would be such a show of District Two bravery at its finest. The other had waved the comment off, but did say that it would show District Two that it wasn’t invulnerable. It wasn’t immune from the pain of the Games. Wouldn’t want them to get cocky, now that they’ve won twice in a row.

They didn’t know Adessa had overheard. Five minutes later they “briefed her” on the options. She asked them whether removing the leg entirely would lessen the risk of chronic pain. They admitted that it would, almost entirely, but insisted they could save it. She ordered them, as Gregory’s medical proxy, to remove his leg. They talked up their surgery, she insisted on amputation. They invoked the President’s support of the brilliance of the surgical technique, Adessa had held firm, affecting District Two's distrust of new technology.

She then looked Gregory in the eye and explained to him that yes, he would have to do insufferable press about living as an amputee. But it was nothing compared to the nightmares they’d force him through with a visible limp or mobility aid. The realistic-looking prosthetic, and its robotic technology helping him walk, would lessen the image image the Capitol press wanted. If Adessa had chosen the surgery, they would want to see Gregory's scar in every interview. They would only ever describe him in terms of his cane and gait. They would expect him to be soft and welcoming and unobtrusive— because surely an obviously disabled Victory couldn’t be frightening.

And even that was nothing compared to the inescapable pain they would make him endure with a smile and a humble word. 

Nothing compared to how much danger he would be in if the President decided District Two was getting uppity, and forced Gregory onto morphling to cope with his pain, with the purpose of getting him addicted— thus showing the district one of their symbols was “weak.” How even then he would still be expected to praise his torturers.

She held eye contact and told him that he had been unconscious, and she had used her decades of experience navigating the Capitol to make a judgment call. 

She hadn’t been able to stop her first Victor from falling into the claws of the Capitol, and she wouldn’t let it happen again. 

She wanted him to recover and finally live without the constant threat of physical pain. He had to stop himself from widening his eyes when she told him that he deserved a life with as little pain as possible.

So, she made them cut off his leg, she concluded. It seemed to her the only rational thing to do.

And then she did something the Centre had told him no mentor would do. Because mentors made choices for their Victors and took it as their due. She told him if he still thought she had made the wrong decision, she would apologize. She would make it up to him. He should have had control over his body, she had said with a viciousness he knew couldn’t be just about him.

He had stared back at her, shocked, feeling as though the world had been shaken from its axis. 

It somehow hadn’t occurred to him that she genuinely cared if he suffered. That she wasn’t just blindly exercising her power, as every authority in his life had done before her. She didn’t want him to hurt. She respected him. She talked to him as someone worthy of the facts. He was a person to her, not just a symbol of her prestige or the district’s strength. He was a person, and she wanted to help him.

He scanned her face, looking for the slightest hint of falsehood, he didn’t find it. Her stare was firm and unwavering. It wasn’t warm, but it was honest. 

He wanted to believe her, he wanted to trust her so badly it shocked him. Something in his chest hurt, because he couldn’t shut out the hope that this time it would be different. He should know better, but that knowledge was drowned by the desperate chorus in his mind that maybe, maybe, someone cared.

It allowed him, for one moment, to force himself to take her at her word. To consider the merits of the argument she presented.

In a moment that will definitely have sweeping strings behind in the soapy biopic he’ll make about himself, he realized she had made the right call. 

She made the right call. For him. Even though the Capitol didn’t want her to. She put his needs ahead of the Capitol— he’ll maybe leave that part out of the script.

When he makes the movie, he’ll definitely also leave out how his next thought, that repeated in his mind over and over, was that maybe he’d be safe now. 

Safe. 

He had never, ever, in his life, been safe.

And for some stupid fucking reason this robbed him of his ability to communicate beyond a nod, and produced a shit-ton of tears. He blamed the psych meds then and he blames them now, but still, a shit-ton of tears. So. Many. Fucking. Tears.

But before he could start properly hating himself for showing he wasn’t worthy of her respect with such a weak display, she moved into his line of sight. She carefully placed her hand on his shoulder, giving him time to register it as no threat. 

She didn’t crowd him into a suffocating hug. She didn’t force him to speak. She didn’t patronize him with stupid “comforting” nonsense. 

She let him cry —loudly and messily, like a small child that had never been forced into an ice-bath and thus didn’t know to shut the fuck up before someone heard— and she let him feel her steady, calm presence behind him. If he moved one of his hands to grasp her hand, just for a second, neither of them needed to talk about it. 

When he calmed down, he let his eyes reach hers again, blue meeting brown. And they stayed like that, not speaking but understanding each other, for a long moment. Finally she nodded, and he nodded back, and they exchanged small, barely-there smiles.

“We should continue our walk,” she told him. “The prosthetic does work better the more impulses it receives from the brain. Additionally, it is unseasonably cool today, and therefore we will be less likely to dehydrate on a longer journey, compared to tomorrow’s forecast.”

That made sense. Something making sense grounded him. It let him start thinking clearly. Maybe he’d feel better if his new leg worked more like his old. 

He still didn’t want to look at it, but the prosthetic no longer made him want to rip it off his body and beat everyone in the vicinity, especially Adessa, to death. 

“That’s a good idea.”

They returned to the village’s main hiking path and continued towards the lake. Gregory hated the walk prior to their conversation. The not-quite-connected prosthetic made him slightly unsteady, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that if/when a tribute burst out of the bushes, he wouldn’t be able to fight. He had felt helpless, like his mere presence would bring someone violent and angry to hurt him in his weakened state. When he had looked at Adessa, he wondered if she was judging him, or if she was enjoying having her power over him cemented in such a physical way. She could do whatever she wanted to him and he couldn’t even run. 

After The Talk (as he would forever call it, earning an amused smirk from Adessa) it was different.

He still felt helpless, for fleeting moments. But less so. When he felt the tell-tale squeezing in his chest, he subtly looked over at his mentor, walking a comfortable distance away, but still next to him. This time looking at her was strangely comforting.

It took him a while to place the not-unpleasant feeling that had settled across his mind: he felt less alone. 

He felt like maybe he really did have someone that would protect him.

He’s the messed up kind of person that needed to win the damn Hunger Games to get anything good in his life. But at least it worked. 

He and his mentor still walk to the lake often, and she keeps him safe.

[amberthefantasy]

Nitimur in Vetitum

chapter twenty: ortus (rise)

On the Nones of December (5th December)

Lucretia groaned. "You got this," Livia said from the doorway. Lucretia glared over at her. She did not know how long she had been in labour, but it was getting worse every second.

"Where is Agrippa?" Lucretia hissed at Antigone, who was knelt at her feet.

"I am unsure Lady," Antigone grimaced. Lucretia let out another loud groan when a shock of pain ran through her stomach. "The babe is close," Antigone said, placing her hand gently on Lucretia's leg.

"Well it better hurry!" Lucretia snarled. Livia walked over to place a comforting hand on Lucretia's shoulder. Lucretia let out another groan and gripped her friend's hand tightly.

"I'm here!" Agrippa's voice called through the house. "Am I too late?"

"Not quite," Lucretia groaned. Just as she said it though, she felt another shock of pain and Antigone let out a gasp.

Agrippa burst into the room just as Antigone raised the babe into the air. "A girl," she said, handing the baby to Lucretia and placing her in her mother's arms. 

"A girl," Lucretia repeated. Agrippa walked over to her side, placing his hand gently on the messy baby. "We have a daughter."

"A daughter," Agrippa repeated. Lucretia looked up and saw the shine in his eyes that told he was very pleased with the little girl.

"What will you name her?" Livia asked, reminding everyone she was still in the room.

Agrippa paused for a moment to think. "Lucretia Vipsania," he said finally.

Lucretia smiled softly at her husband. "I love it," she said. "Lucretia Vipsania," she flicked the baby's chin.

---

14th Day Before the Kalends of Ianuarius (19th December)

"She is gorgeous," Livia said softly, rocking the baby in her arms.

Lucretia smiled from where she knelt on the floor with Fabia, Julia sleeping in her arms. "She is... I wonder if she will inherit my hair like Fabia did?"

"Maybe..." Livia said, playing with Lucretina's fingers. "Fabia does take after you very much."

"Mhm," Lucretia nodded. "Just as Tiberius does you... I wonder if the little one will follow." She nodded to Livia's very swollen belly.

Livia shrugged. "Maybe... I think Tiberius looks more like Nero... maybe he will grow to be more like me."

"Let us hope his heart is like yours," Lucretia said with an eyebrow raise. 

"Let us pray," Livia sighed. "I hope he dies soon."

"Livia!" Lucretia gasped in fake offence. "You must not say those things about the father of your children, and he is still legally your husband."

"Not for long," Livia sighed. "The moment this child is out of me, Gaius and I may wed. Finally."

"Finally," Lucretia agreed. "It will be nice to have you at events, no longer having to deal with these men alone."

"I remember those events," Livia grimaced. "I imagine they have not grown more enjoyable."

"No..." Lucretia paused to shift Julia in her arms. "I do enjoy politics, I would not be so close with my brother if I didn't. But it is the idiocy I cannot abide. Octavia was the only welcome sight, but she is in Greece with her husband and new daughter, so I must endure alone or with Horatia."

"You are friends with Horatia?" Livia cocked her head.

"I am," Lucretia nodded. "But she does not enjoy politics or gossip as we do, she prefers staying with her children."

"The quintessential matron," Livia drawled.

Lucretia hummed. "A role we of course also fulfil."

"Of course," Livia smirked, a wicked glint in her eyes.

---

Kalends of Ianuarius in the Year of Pulcher and Flaccus (1st January, 38 BCE)

Livia sighed, leaning back into Lucretia's arms. "I want this baby out of me," she complained.

"Soon, little dove," Lucretia comforted, rubbing her hand on her friend's stomach. "Soon."

Livia grunted. "I pray."

Lucretia felt her eyebrows pull together in thought. "Do you really? Want the babe gone?"

"Of course," Livia said, her own eyebrows furrowing. "After I give birth I can marry Gaius."

"Right," Lucretia nodded. "But you'll lose the child."

Livia swallowed. "I will. But... Nero may have threatened me but I am sure that Gaius can convince him to let me see my children. And, no one lives forever," she smirked.

"True," Lucretia nodded. "But some men do seem to live longer than they should."

"Hmm," Livia hummed. "Maybe."

"Gods," Livia grunted, leaning forward. Lucretia, who had stood to grab some more grapes, almost jumped back to Livia's side. "The baby is coming," Livia grunted. 

"Okay," Lucretia nodded. "Get the midwives," she snapped at one of the slaves, who had taken a step forward towards them. "Come on Livia, let's get you to the bedroom, more comfortable."

Livia grunted but Lucretia managed to get her up and walking towards her room, stopping every now and then when a surprise pain made Livia stumble. "Where is Antigone?"

"I don't know," Lucretia muttered. "Find her," she said to Pompona, who nodded and ran to find the freed woman. 

Livia groaned and yelled as she pushed, gripping the arms of her chair tightly. "Antigone?" she called tightly.

"She's coming," Lucretia soothed. "She's coming." Livia just grunted again. "Come on, that's it." Livia almost snarled, pushing the midwife away from her with another groan, calling out Antigone's name.

Footsteps echoed through the house and Antigone came running into the room. Livia relaxed at once and Lucretia stepped back slightly to allow Antigone, who had rushed to pull off her cloak, access. "It's fine. It's fine," Antigone repeated over and over. "It's fine, I'm here now." She helped Livia stand, Lucretia grabbing her friend's other arm to assist. Antigone muttered reassurances the entire time they moved.

"You're doing good," Lucretia added, rubbing Livia's back. "Keep pushing."

"One more push," Antigone comforted. Livia groaned and yelled.

"Doing so well," Lucretia said. "So well."

"I can see it," Antigone said after a moment. "Great!" Lucretia glanced down and saw Antigone pulling the babe from between Livia's legs. Livia reached down for the babe. "It's a boy," Antigone said.

"A boy," Lucretia whispered. "You have another boy Livia."

"We can keep the babe for a week," Gaius said softly, rubbing his hand on Livia's shoulder. He and Agrippa had arrived a few moments after Livia had finished her labours. "Then we have to return him to his father." Lucretia whimpered, leaning into Agrippa, who rubbed her arms in comfort.

Livia looked up at him, her eyes blank. "Of course."

---

3rd Day Before the Nones of Ianuarius (3rd January)

Fabia bounced on her feet and Lucretia bent down to still her, "calm my love."

"Play," Fabia whined softly.

"I know," Lucretia comforted. "Just a little while longer." Fabia whined again but went still as Gaius walked out from a doorway. He was dressed in a white and gold tunic that Lucretia had made herself, and she had done a fine job in her opinion. It matched perfectly with the toga he had begrudgingly added to it.

"Come on," Agrippa muttered. Lucretia sighed, fixing her pale dress. Once again her and Agrippa had been asked to perform the ceremony for Gaius.

She grabbed her daughter and picked her up, ignoring the annoyed whine Fabia let out, and taking her to Horatia. "I'll make sure she stays out of trouble," Horatia said as Lucretia put Fabia down. 

"Thank you," Lucretia said, smiling at Lucilius and Aulus, who were both standing by their mother's legs. Lucretia backed away and joined Agrippa in the centre of the room, waiting for Livia to join them.

Libo was escorting her this time, her legal guardian since her father's death. Livia was dressed in a matching gold and white dress to Gaius' tunic, and she looked just as gorgeous as she had on her first wedding day. Lucretia smiled as she reached them. "Welcome friend," Agrippa started. "To the wedding of Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus and Livia Drusilla." There was a pause as Gaius and Livia stepped closer together. "Great Juno, Goddess of Marriage and Fertility, accept this gift of life and blood from this great house of Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus." Gaius had provided the goat for sacrifice, because Livia had no father to provide one. Lucretia winced at the sound of the goat's throat being cut.

"Livia Drusilla," Agrippa spoke again. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Livia said, her voice strong.

Agrippa gave a single nod. "Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, do you agree?"

"I do," Gaius' voice was just as firm.

"Then she is yours," Agrippa smiled.

Lucretia gave her own smile, stepping forward to place Livia and Gaius hands together as cheers erupted.

NiV masterlist / post masterlist

[icedlava1]

Vergil takes Nero to McDonalds. Orders Black Coffee, leaves.

[chaos-vulpix]

Rockshot Rave: Cole

This has been... a few months in the making...

Inspired by my initial Atershock playlist, I've put together my largest playlist so far, all to create the most Clubbing Vibe that only Cole could facilitate

Enjoy :)

7/11 - Beyoncé

A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got) - Fergie ft. Q-Tip & GoonRock | The Great Gatsby

Addicted to a Memory - Zedd ft. Bahari

After LIKE - IVE

Aftershock - Cash Cash ft. Jacquie Lee

Alive - Krewella

All Around The World - Justin Bieber ft. Ludacris

All Night (Louis The Child Remix) - Chance The Rapper ft. Knox Fortune

Angels - Vicetone ft. Kat Nestel

Applause - Lady Gaga

Bad Memories - MEDUZA & James Carter ft. Elley Duhé & FAST BOY

Bang Bang - Rita Ora & Imanbek

Bass Down Low - DEV ft. The Cataracs

Blah Blah Blah - Kesha ft. 3OH!3

BOOMBAYAH - BLACKPINK

Break The Ice - Britney Spears

Build The Cities (Empire of Sound) - Karma Fields & Tristam ft. Kerli

Burn It Down - AtellaGali & Rvssian ft. Fuego, Konshens & Satori

Butterfly Effect VIP - Koven

Call Your Girlfriend - Robyn

Catching On - Elephante ft. Nevve

Clarity (Virtual Riot Remix) - Zedd ft. Foxes

Closer (Xan Griffin Remix) - The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey

Club Can't Handle Me - Flo Rida ft. David Guetta

Come & Get It - Selena Gomez

DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love - Usher ft. Pitbull

Erase - The Chainsmokers ft. Priyanka Chopra

Evacuate the Dancefloor - Cascada

Every Single Day - Benassi Bros. ft. Dhany

Everything Black - Unlike Pluto ft. Micah Martin

Excuse Me - AOA

Feel This Moment - Pitbull ft. Christina Aguilera

Finest Hour (Madison Mars Remix) - Cash Cash ft. Abir

Fire Burning - Sean Kingston

Gecko (Overdrive) - Oliver Heldens & Becky Hill

Get Low - Zedd & Liam Payne

Ghosts 'n' Stuff - deadmau5 ft. Rob Swire

Give Me Everything - Pitbull ft. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer

Goodness Gracious (The Chainsmokers Remix) - Ellie Goulding

Guaya - Eva Simons

Hella Good - No Doubt

Hello Good Morning - Diddy-Dirty Money ft. T.I.

Hit My Heart - Benassi Bros. ft. Dhany

Hymn For The Weekend (Alan Walker Remix) - Coldplay ft. Beyoncé

I Don't Like You (Kygo Remix) - Eva Simons

In My Head - PNAU ft. Kira Divine

Into The Night - Nero

Into You - Ariana Grande

Karma (Alpharock & Devan Remix) - Robinson

Kick It - NCT 127

Kickstarts - Example

L'Amour Toujours (Tiësto Edit) - Dzerko & Torres ft. Delaney Jane

Lavender Haze (Snakehips Remix) - Taylor Swift

Let's Go (Vicetone Remix) - Calvin Harris ft. Ne-Yo

Like a G6 - Far East Movement ft. The Cataracs & DEV

Look Into My Eyes (Syn Cole Remix) - Brando

Lose Control - MEDUZA, Becky Hill & Goodboys

Lose My Breath - Destiny's Child

Mad At You - Navvy

Make You Say - Zedd, Maren Morris & BEAUZ

Medicine (The Chainsmokers Remix) - Daughter

Miami 82 (Vocal Mix) - Syn Cole ft. Madame Buttons

Middle (Mija Remix) - DJ Snake ft. Bipolar Sunshine

Never More (DJ Yummy Remix) - Shoji Meguro ft. Shihoko Hirata | Persona 4

OTW (Hälder Flip) - Khalid

Other Side - Illenium, Said The Sky & Vera Blue

Overdose - Ciara

Papercut - Zedd ft. Troye Sivan

Party Rock Anthem - LMFAO ft. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock

Pon de Replay - Rihanna

Rabiosa - Shakira ft. El Cata

Radioactive - Rita Ora

Red Lights - Tiësto ft. Michel Zitron

Release Me - Agnes

River - PNAU & Ladyhawke

Roll 'n Rock - Bali Bandits

Round & Round - Selena Gomez & the Scene

Sandstorm - Darude

Say Aah - Trey Songz ft. Fabolous

See Tình (Cucak Remix) - Hoàng Thùy Linh

She Wolf (Falling to Pieces) - David Guetta ft. Sia

SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK (Loud Luxury Remix) - Joji

So Close - NOTD & Felix Jaehn ft. Georgia Ku & Captain Cuts

SOS - Rihanna

Stranger Love - PNAU ft. Budjerah

Stronger - TheFatRat, Slaydit & Anjulie

Takeaway - The Chainsmokers & Illenium ft. Lennon Stella

Talking Body (Gryffin Remix) - Tove Lo

Technologic - Daft Punk

The Girl Is Mine (Club Mix) - 99 Souls ft. Destiny's Child & Brandy

This Is Love - will.i.am ft. Eva Simons

Tonight I’m Getting Over You - Carly Rae Jepsen

Where Have You Been - Rihanna

Wild Ones - Flo Rida ft. Sia

Wings (Nu:Logic Remix) - Birdy

Words - Feint ft. Laura Brehm

Yeah! - Usher ft. Lil Jon & Ludacris

You (à la) - SACHI

Your Affection (fu_mou Remix) - Shoji Meguro ft. Shihoko Hirata | Persona 4

Your Spell - Bad Computer

[sinful-morningstar]

Spartober 2023 Day 7 Brood (Vergil)

Author's note: this is just a look into Vergil's thoughts and there are hints of VerDante of course but other than that it's just a bit of angst, Enjoy! Prompts by whatisanapocolae1 (I use a combination of SPartober and Devil MayTober Prompts)

{I am almost finally caught up to all the prompts now i can start doing daily posts starting tomorrow!} 7: Brood (Vergil)

Vergil stood at the top of the Qliphoth as felt the breeze blow past him closing his eyes he took it all in, he had returned to Dante after years of his absence, when he was a shell of himself ;his vessel used like a puppet for Nelo Angelo…he had little strength to separate himself and put himself back together again… He had a son..Nero.. that was a long time ago..the circumstances were unknown as to why and how he had Nero in the first place. He shook his head gently. His memories were not what they once were, after all the hardship and trauma it did get to him in the end. His focus is still on Dante… “Dante..” Vergil sighed softly he knew he would do as he was told, Heal his wound..get Stronger.. They would soon settle the matter he was sure of as he created a seat for himself so rest and contemplate all that had happened, Urizen and V combined in his mind sharing different memories and different thoughts but they all held one thing in common..Dante.. he remembered what they once shared..would they continue that dreaded ballad of Determination or would they finally yield to their swords…breaking up themselves into something lesser?. Vergil wasn't so sure..he just Sat there wondering where he went wrong. He tried not to let the thought enter his mind..but it did ..and it hurt..it hurt like hell..this all started this all happened because he couldn't protect Eva…he was weak..a child …but he still fought with each breath he fought knowing he could do better, be better, he remembers seeking out power in others. Falling for Arkham's tricks and manipulation as a young man. Images of previous battles with Dante. Impaling him with the yamato leaving him to his own devices. He sighed, shaking his head. He hadn't been plagued with these thoughts in so long that part of him even wondered what the point was moving on and pressing forward. He clicked open the sheath of the Yamato pulling it out admiring the blade as he recalled the blood dripping off of it every time he had hurt Dante everytime he had to prove himself..but to whom? You ask? He wasn't so sure himself… Yet here he sat waiting knowing that Dante was on his way …and he was ready…

Vergil looked out to the distance exhaling slowly as he held the blade in his hands tracing over the intricate details of the handle and sliding his fingertips over the sharp edge as beads of his own blood formed.

"That day, if our positions were switched... Would our fates be different? Would I have your life, and you mine?” he wondered out loud.

He heard Dante’s footsteps as he sighed gently knowing he was approaching, he sighed to himself wiping the blood off his fingers on his coat as he got up from the seat making it vanish with the snap of his fingers.

“So be it..” he hummed as he faced Dante one last time…

[icycoldninja]

(dmc) if the gangs signature swords were turned into humans for a day, what do you think they'd be like?

Excellent notion, I'm glad you brought it to me.

If the DMC boys' swords were human headcannons!

🔥Devil Sword Dante 🔥

(Idk if this is classified as his signature sword since he has a lot of those, but since this one has his name in it I'm gonna write about it)

-Devil Sword Dante would manifest in the form of an old, yet muscular, ex-rockstar-hobo-looking dude, aesthetically similar to Dante.

-He would wear a punk leather jacket with a red undershirt that reads "Let's Rock Bitches" and would possibly have a long scraggly wizard beard, a bandana, and maybe even an electric guitar strapped to his back.

-He and Dante would shake hands, bump fists, then declare each other BBFLs (Best Bros For Life)

-They would immediately trash Devil May Cry by throwing a massive pizza party and rock out so hard the windows blow up because of the sound waves radiating from their electric guitars.

-These two would singlehandedly buy and eat up all the pizza from their local Pizzahut.

-At the end of the day, Dante and Devil Sword Dante would bro-hug and bid each other farewell. Devil Sword Dante promises to fight alongside Dante for the rest of his days while Dante promises to take good care of him when he's not in use.

-Dante secretly wishes he could turn the sword back into a uuman, permanently, because it feels like he just lost the closest, greatest friend he'd ever made.

❄️ The Yamato ❄️

-The Yamato would become the essence of motivation itself: It would manifest as a Vergil clone.

-The only difference is that this clone is mute, and does not speak, and that his arms and legs are actually blades.

-Vergil may have been frowning on the outside when he met the human manifestation of his sword, but he was smiling in the inside.

-The Yamato has no emotions, but it has motivation. Though it couldn't speak, it motivated Vergl to do things like beat up his deadweight child again he would have never dreamed of doing until now.

-Because The Yamato doesn't speak, Vergil finds the peace and quiet (a very rare occurrence until now) incredibly calming.

-He doesn't exactly miss The Yamato when it returns to sword form, but he does have a renewed respect for it. To him, it is no longer just a sword; it is a part of him.

🟥 Red Queen 🟥

-Unlike the first two swords, Red Queen does not manifest as an adult human. It manifests as a child.

-This kid is exuberant, loud, and has a penchant for mischief. Nero has his hands full, chasing it around and trying to keep it from hurting itself.

-The kid somehow conjured up some crayons and markers and began drawing all over the walls of Devil May Cry and Nero and Kyrie's house. Eventually, Nero nabs the little gremlin and takes him back to his home, where Kyrie cooks up a massive meal for it.

-Nero is exhausted after just 1 hour of dealing with this menace, but at the same time, it's growing on him. He even gave the kid a name: Little Monster.

-When Little Monster eventually has to return to sword form, it gives Nero a big leg-hug and says goodbye, saying it had a lot of fun and that it wishes they could play again sometime.

-Nero is more than happy to have that little troll gone, he kinda misses it, after a little while. Ah well, at least now he's prepared for parenthood.

[deviljaythey]

Darksider - A Vampire Story: Prologue

Rain covered the village, putting out the flames set during the battle. Each home that had stood there for decades was destroyed, now just splinters and ash. The fight went into Second Night, the stars retreating and giving way to the moon’s gentle light. A vampire loomed over a dying man, blood slowly draining from him as he succumbed to his injuries. 

“Any last words?” the vampire asked.

The man looked up, his red eyes fading to gray. He coughed up blood as his lungs gurgled out something. “He’ll beat you.” the man said with a wheeze. 

The vampire stared coldly. “I doubt that.” he said, plunging a thin black blade through the man's heart. The man could only manage a sharp gasp before his eyes turned gray. After a long battle, the man was dead. Thunder sounded off as his body sank into the mud, the vampire turned his head up to the moon. He prided himself on his composer, but the fight made him break that. His pale orange hair had come undone from its usual braid, now sticking tightly to his almost white skin. The rest of him was soaked, his white frilled blouse and black trousers were ruined. His yellow eyes glowed in the moonlight, almost flickering due after exerting so much magic in his fight with the man. 

“Lord Nero!” A soldier called out.

As soon as his name was uttered, he composed himself. His staggered breath now leveled out into its usual rhythmic hum. Two other vampires approached, both wearing the uniform of the High Coven’s elite guard. 

Nero approached the two of them. “Have you found the boy?” He asked them. 

“Yes sir, we found him hiding in one of the nearby buildings. We’re apprehending him now.”

“Good, this night can finally be over…”

One of the guards for a moment looked past Nero and to the man, now laying dead in his own blood. He quickly looked back to his superior. “What kind of man was that? He took out one hundred of our soldiers on his own.”  

“His identity doesn’t matter, he’s been dealt with and that will be the end of it.” Quickly, Nero began to make his way to where the child was located. The soldiers were congregated around the house but none of them were going inside. 

“Be careful men!” One of the soldiers shouted. “His powers could go off at any moment!” The group readied their spears, waiting for any signs of danger. They wait a minute, then ten minutes, then twenty minutes. 

Nero was growing impatient. “You’ll get nowhere if you just stand here waiting.” He looked around and pointed to one of the soldiers “You there, go inside and retrieve the boy.” 

The soldier froze. “But sir! If he really is the one then he could be extremely dangerous.”

“He is but a boy, it should be simple for someone of your standing. You should be much more scared of me than you are of a mere child.” Nero’s composed gaze turned into a glare. A spark of magic lit the air, as Nero’s eyes glowed brightly for a moment. A sheer force ripped through the air and knocked into the soldier, knocking him off his feet. With a grunt and clang he hit the ground, his armor now covered in mud.

“Go now before you further test my patience.” Nero stated.

The man staggered to his feet, almost slipping back into the mud. His attention shifted from Nero to the house, still deathly quiet. Spear pointed forward, he approached and slowly threw the door open. The battalion readied themselves as if something would jump out and kill them all at once. But seemingly, nothing happened. The soldier froze once again but after a moment quickly went inside. The silence returned once more, each moment feeling like an eternity. However, a sudden noise broke out from inside.

“AHHHHH!” the soldier screamed in pain. On the outside, everyone was on guard, readying their spears once again to face whatever threat was inside. A loud crack and a tear were heard, the snapping of bone and the ripping of flesh, as the soldier stumbled backward out of the house, now with his left arm torn off. Two soldiers grabbed him, putting him behind the spear line to shield him from the danger. 

And the danger was felt by everyone. They couldn’t see what was inside, but they could feel it, all of them could. A wave of fear slammed into everyone, like the tide crashing into a boat. It rocked through the soldiers, they stumbled back, some even dropped their weapons. It was if they had just uncaged a den of Beasts, ones that wished to be undisturbed. Nero stood tall as ever, seemingly unaffected by this strange phenomenon. However, even if no soldier or onlooker could notice, Nero’s left heel had ever so slightly shifted backwards.

He turned to his men “Get a hold of yourselves! You’ve faced worse haven’t you?” He asked. “Or are you unfit to serve the High Coven?” 

The threat of that indignity was far greater than any enemy, and so the soldiers steeled themselves and retook their formation. They waited once again, holding the line for any sign of movement. Soon enough, they would see something, but it was not at all what they expected. From the incredible aura they felt, they imagined some kind of fearsome Beast. Instead however, a small hand crept on to the door, with a small child revealing himself. He was a tiny thing, he looked to be no older than five years old. His hair was a deep black, long and in a ponytail. His skin was pale, his eyes were a deep red and his mouth and fangs were stained with blood. The only thing he held was a small fox plush, it looked to be sewn by hand. The soldier's stance slacked, they were expecting a Beast but all they saw was a boy. The child was shaking with not just fear but rage as well, his eyes were filled with tears. He couldn’t make out any words, just a mix of sobs and what almost seemed like growls. 

Nero stepped forward. “Apprehend him.” he commanded. The men stepped forward as ordered. The boy stepped backward like a cornered animal. And just like a cornered animal, that is when he bites. The shadows in the house began to come to life, the sounds of snarls and gnashing teeth spilling out. Behind the boy, the glowing eyes of animals now ready to pounce on the soldiers. The army stumbled back once again, their fears confirmed as the shadows began to move closer. 

Nero’s eyes widened and he immediately went into action. He stepped forward, raising his hand and commanding the shadows around the child. They rose up, transforming into solid objects, chains that quickly wrapped around the boy. They restrained him, the animals he had conjured now fading back to simple shadows. The boy struggled, trying to find some way to break out. 

“Once again I must do everything myself.” Nero said. He looked to the soldiers. “Your pathetic performances today will be noted, such cowardice is an affront to what the High Coven stands for.” The men looked fearful once again, some trying their best to stand at attention while Nero spoke. He pointed to two of them “You two, stay with me. The rest of you leave us.” The troops compiled and left as two of their soldiers stayed behind. Nero picked the boy up by the scruff, raising him to look at him eye to eye.

“Of all the Incarnations I’ve met, you are certainly the most troublesome.” The boy tried to bite Nero but ended up with nothing more than air. “Can you speak or are you more of an animal than I think you are?” Nero asked. 

“My name is Arlin!” The boy growled. “Let me go!” 

“As much as I would love to be rid of you, my mission concerns you.” 

The child began to cry. “I don’t like you! I don’t want to be here, I want my-”

“Silence!” Nero yelled. He waved his free hand as darkness muted the child. “My mission requires you alive but it does not require you to be uninjured, you will quiet yourself or I will do that myself. Are we clear, boy?” Arlin sniffed back his crying, now hiccuping out of fear. 

“Good.” Nero stated. With another wave of his hands the darkness around Arlin’s mouth disappeared, he set the boy on the ground as well to begin. “I will only explain this once so be sure to listen closely. You are the Shade Lord, an eternally reincarnating soul that acts as the king of the Umbra Valley. Once you come of age, you will take the throne and lead Monsterkind to conquer the Kingdom of Man. I believe that should be clear enough.”

“What? But I’m a kid, I'm not a king!” Arlin yelled.

“You’re right, a Beast like you would make an improper king, that is why you will be taken in and trained to become a proper Shade Lord. I only wish we could have started sooner, now we must fix whatever you have become.” 

“I don’t want to do that! I’m just a kid, I don't want to be a king!” 

“Unfortunately your compliance is not a factor. This is the law of the land, and you do not have the will to change it.” Nero placed his hand on Arlin’s forehead and in an instant the child was now unconscious. The wild thrashing and biting now stopped as he fell into a deep sleep. 

“Sir.” One of the soldiers asked. “What do we do with him now?” 

Nero looked back. “He’s unfit for the capital, we’ll need to take him somewhere no one can reach him.” 

The other soldier stepped forward. “Sir, if you would allow me, may I speak freely?”

Nero sighed. “I’ve allowed more than enough today, good ahead.”

“Well it’s just, this boy is strange. Not just because he’s the Shade Lord. The place we found him, the man he was with, do you think he may be a-” 

“I suggest you don’t finish that sentence, I won’t entertain that idea.” 

“But sir, you have to admit the circumstances are strange enough as it is, don’t you think it’s at least slightly possible.”

“A possibly like this, even if it is ever so slight, is dangerous. You all should know how dangerous that knowledge would be if let out.”

“Then, do you believe it could be true?”

“I would hope not.” Nero fixed his hair, beginning to braid it once more. He looked to the moon, a supergiant mass that illuminated the Second Night sky. “If it is true, then it could lead to the end of the Umbra Valley as we know it.”

[irkimatsu]

what would opposite irk be like?

opposite nero would be an outdoorsman, built like a brick wall, fuzzy like a bear, hypermasculine, super loud and boisterous. opposite nero would be a functioning alcoholic and a deadbeat dad of 3-5 kids that he actively tries to evade paying child support to. opposite nero would have no idea what these chinese cartoons or viddya games everyone his age is so obsessed with are

Opposite Nero sounds like an asshole but also I saw "fuzzy bear" and blacked out, what are we talking about again

Anyway! Opposite Irk! Totally understands fashion trends and make-up. Super femmey, loves being a woman, gets all her understanding about feminism from make-up TikTok. She's a boss-ass bitch and she proves it by buying expensive beauty products to prove that she's worth it, the commercial said so! Is super skinny because she keeps to a fad diet with no scientific backing, and makes her gaggle of kids and her resentful husband keep to the same diet. Her husband doesn't have much of a personality, why are they even married. Straight as an arrow, though she totally accepts the gays, really! Except the weird ones. Doesn't understand adults who still watch cartoons or fantasy, play video games, or otherwise have fun that doesn't involve alcohol abuse.

...that got a little bitchy, didn't it.

[matcheadz]

HoS/ Host of Seraphim Early update!

I'm going to be insanely fucking busy until the next year, so I thought I'd just post this now. Chapter 16: Fair Eleonora is very trigger heavy and has some odd formatting. I've put the details in the notes in the beginning, but I still believe it shouldn't be hard to read.

How could I forget, my heart?

Here's a spoiler-free snippet below:

“Dan..te?” Vergil rasped, trying desperately to blink away the heavy. Silence. The room exploded into a loud, rhythmic booming. Laughter. Vergil groaned again, dropping his head onto the cool stone. If its hum shook the room, its laughter shattered windows, toppled support columns. Vergil braced himself for some form of impact, however much he could from his prone position. The Thing caught its breath, cutting itself off as if recognizing its mistake. That’s when the screaming began. A chorus of piteous wailing. More demons? It certainly sounded like it, but there was something else… Too far to make out. His head pounded with effort. Oh, look what thee hath’t done, Angelo. The Thing tittered, almost scolding. And thee calleth thyself father. Thee hath’t awoken the children. “You son of a bitch!” Nero was suddenly animated. He emerged from the dark just enough for Vergil to make out the glow of his eyes. Nero began to shuffle towards him on his elbows and knees, his teeth bared in some bloodied snarl. Child, The Thing warned now, a hint of exasperation in its tone. The adults art speaking. Nero growled something wet and guttural in the direction of the darkness, sitting side-by-side at the control panel with his demon. “I’ll tear you a new fucking asshole, you scum piece of shit!” There was another sound of hissing, like the slow release of pressurized air. A dual-tone emerged, some rasping hum from the The Thing like a lullaby echoed along the stone of the large chamber. That sour sweet smell, like rotten fruit seeped through Vergil’s senses, rankling his devil. Nero’s snarl wavered suddenly, his eyes drooping. “I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you for…what you…” His trigger overcame him with a sudden burst of energy, his devil recognizing a predator and its phytotelma. He dug a stubborn elbow into the stone of the floor one final time, letting loose a small reverberating whimper of confusion. “Dad…?” Vergil winced as Nero’s skull clacked against the floor.