#time to watch exorcist 2 now though!

[babisawyer]

couldn't get the damn app to work to watch exorcist 2 so I watched the autopsy of jane doe instead.

[devilsskettle]

i've watched a lot of good films lately in an attempt to catch up with a bunch of movies that have come out recently, but talk to me was the best movie i've seen in a LONG time

[fallenhunnyapple]

Sketchy doodles for another AU. Details + a bonus in under the cut

An Angel Lucifer appears in Heaven. No one knows why he's there or how he got there, but it doesn't seem as though the Lucifer in Hell has been replaced, this is just a whole second Lucifer. His memories only seem to go so far as the early days of Eden. Days where he was friends with the First Humans but before he had developed any sort of relationship or even real feelings for Lilith.

Adam, sort of shaken but also sort of Eager to reconnect with his first friend and the more pleasant memories of Eden, advocates to let him Stay. This Lucifer hasn't done anything, he doesn't even know about the Tree of Knowledge and it's not like Eden exists anymore for him to try it anyway. Lucifer is granted the ability to live in Heaven, but Adam will have to be responsible for him. Adam agrees and now has to watch over a Naive and Friendly Lucifer.

Lute is Less than Thrilled. She doesn't like that Lucifer is always around and she doesn't Trust him, even if Adam seems to. She does eventually warm up to him, but given her personality it doesn't really seem like she does. But Lucifer notices and he considers her a good friend. He ends up spending time with just her without Adam (she's basically angelsitting because Adam had other things to do) and they bond a bit and she's willing to accept that he's Not the Devil and that he's no more threatening than most non-exorcist Angels.

And once Heaven determines the same, he's tasked with Working with Emily to maintain the Happiness of Heaven's residents. Emily keeps an eye on him, but mostly they are both very positive personalities that play off each other well and they become fast friends. The first time he spent the day with Emily was the day of the first Extermination since Lucifer got there. Someone had to watch him while Lute and Adam were away. He doesn't know about the Exterminations (Most of Heaven doesn't so it's no surprise), and he doesn't even know about Hell. It was deemed... For the Best if he was kept in the dark about that. No one knows how he came to be and they don't want to risk anything happening because he finds out about the other version of him.

Lucifer is Very In Love with Adam. It wasn't immediately or anything. At first he was just really happy to have his best friend back, especially when everything was so different from how he remembered it, it'd been thousands of years after all. But he spent most of his time with Adam and anyone could tell you that Adam was less of a crass asshole with Lucifer around. Not by much, but enough to be noticeable. And over that time, Lucifer still saw a lot of who Adam was in Eden but also came to appreciate who he was (No one understands why)

It took a while before Adam was comfortable enough to take off his helmet around Lucifer. Sure he knew his human face, but he'd definitely changed over the years and his insecurities about his face were made Worse when Lucifer only knew him at his Best. Lucifer finally got to see him maskless one night when Adam let him see him before bed. And Lucifer was super smitten. Yes his face was Different, but not in a way Lucifer thought was bad. Adam definitely looked Older and Tired, but he thought it was Endearing instead of put off. After that he would sometimes watch Adam sleep-

Adam for his part is in emotional turmoil. Yes, he was in Love with Lucifer in the Garden. But completely against his better Judgement, his feelings have evolved and he's in love with the King of Hell. He's reluctant to think about Angel Lucifer that way because he represents a simpler and more innocent time and he doesn't want to corrupt that with new feelings.

Lucifer eventually confides in Lute about his feelings and she tells him that 1) Adam isn't into men and 2) He doesn't do committed relationships. It won't end well for him if he tells Adam. Lucifer is hurt but appreciates her honesty. He decides to tell him anyway because it's getting hard to keep it all to himself when he's around him everyday.

Well, the confession goes about the way Lute said it would. Adam tells him he doesn't like dudes and he doesn't hold it against him because who wouldn't want a piece of him? But they're still friends, that won't change. Lucifer already braced for it and it hurts but he accepts that answer. The only thing is, now that its out in the open, his friendly nature is So Much Easier to read as him pining and him being in love. So Adam has to just deal with Lucifer's love being thrown at him every day. The behavior hasn't changed Too Much, but his understanding of it has. But other people of Heaven definitely Know. Its so obvious to them that Lucifer is in Love with Adam. Some people criticize Adam for leading Lucifer along and bad mouth him. Lucifer doesn't like hearing anyone talk poorly about his best friend and will chastise and scold them.

It's finally when some winner/angel tells Lucifer he should get Adam flowers (as a joke, they think it would be funny because Adam doesn't have an ounce of Romance in his whole body) that things change. Lucifer does get him flowers! And he gives them to him when they're alone and Adam has removed his helmet. This is the first time Lucifer has been Proactive about his feelings and Adam doesn't have the cover of his Mask to hide his true reactions, so he can't deny how the gesture affects him. He was really only ever able to keep himself in check about his feelings for Lucifer because Lucifer wasn't Doing anything different. He wasn't Pursuing him. But now? Now he can't deny it anymore. Lucifer asks for a kiss and he gets it.

Bonus:

As an Angel, Lucifer didn't know or understand much about sex. It was meant for Reproduction and Angels reproduce asexually so he had no interest in it. It was a thing for the creatures of Earth to have, not Angels. So he has No Idea it's a recreational thing and despite the fact that he knows Adam and Lute fuck around regularly, he just Really doesn't understand why and they don't explain it either. So after Lucifer and Adam are together, Lucifer wants to understand Better and discovers the fact that it is, in fact, something that can be done Recreationally and its supposed to Feel Good. So, of course, he wants to experience that with his new Boyfriend. Let him learn what all the fuss is about~

[theamberfist]

Like Father, Like Child | Part 2 | Alastor + Exorcist! Reader

Familial! Alastor + Exorcist! Adopted Child! Reader

Description: The battle between heaven's exorcists and the Hazbin Hotel rages on, but when Adam catches wind of your secret past, a difficult choice is forced upon you.

(Notes: CW Alastor, mentions of murder, fallen angels) (gender neutral reader) (reader is Alastor's adopted child from when they were alive) (Part 2/4 of Like Father, Like Child)

Read Part 1 here

Words: 3,351

"Jez!" A voice called from behind you and you immediately turned around, seeing one of your fellow exorcists about to fall at the hands of more cannibalistic demons. Snapping out of the trance you'd been placed in upon seeing your father again, you immediately rushed over to assist her. Luckily, it seemed Alastor really did have no interest in attacking his own child, allowing you to focus on helping your ally.

You had always been one of Adam's best exorcists. After Vaggie had left, it paved the way for you to rise in their ranks and prove yourself. Aside from Lute, there were few other angels that had killed as many sinners as you; for better or worse.

So of course, you had no trouble freeing your sister-in-arms from her predicament and then rushing into the ever-raging crowd of cannibals; thinning them out.

As you fought, though, you kept feeling as if there were eyes on you; like you were being watched. It was a bit unsettling, especially because you knew exactly whom it was that kept looking your way despite being faced with Adam himself.

'Mind your own business, dad...' You thought to yourself as you stabbed your spear through the body of yet another angel. Though, you'd been having to hold your own self back from glancing up at him this whole time, too. After all, this was the first time you two had reunited in many, many years. Could one have blamed you for being curious about what had become of the man that once raised you, even after all the horrible things he'd done?

Finally, you allowed yourself to spare a look at the roof nearby, where Adam and Alastor were engaged in a fight. For the first little while, you actually couldn't tell which of them would win between Adam's heavenly power and your dad's shadowy magic.

But as the fighting continued, the outcome started to get more apparent. Adam was strong, and unlike your dad, he wielded angelic weapons.

Several times during their fight, you also found yourself in slightly stickier situations due to being so distracted, only for an odd black tentacle-like thing to shoot up from the ground and block whatever attack a sinner might be preparing towards you. It was disorienting, as you were fairly certain those same tentacle-things had just been fighting on the side of those sinners just moments earlier.

Eventually, there was a huge blast of angelic power from the roof of the building and the once radio-static voice of your father now sounded completely normal as he cursed at Adam. It reminded you of the way he'd sounded while alive; almost making tears prick in your eyes.

For a split second, it almost felt like you'd been taken back to that time; when things were simpler and it was just you and your dad living happily in New Orleans. But of course, this was a very different situation. You were reminded of that once Adam called out.

"Jez, get the fuck up here!" He shouted from the roof. You gulped, feeling almost like a kid that had been called to the principle's office, but spread your wings and flew up to the top of the building anyway.

On the way, you caught a glimpse of one sinner in particular that looked familiar to you. With an 'X' over her eye and a big red bow in her long hair, she could almost have been the spitting image of Vaggie.

Could this have been where she ended up?

Could this be where you would end up, now that Adam seemed to be aware of who you were?

You pushed the thought out of your mind as you landed on the rooftop now, looking over at your boss and completely ignoring the sight of your dad laying against the nearby wall; as if he'd been slammed into it.

"Yes, sir?" You asked, appearing as calm and unbothered as you could have been when faced with your dad like this. Adam's eyes narrowed but then he put on a fake smile of his own.

"Great, now that everybody's here, Jez, meet the Radio Demon!" He exclaimed, pointing to Alastor, who's eyes were narrowed into a glare despite the supposed grin on his face. "Oh, wait, you've already fucking met!" You tensed when the angel's tone got more angry but kept your composure, nonetheless.

"I don't know what you're talking about, sir." You replied, careful not to even look at Alastor for fear of giving yourself away. Luckily, he said nothing either; likely still shocked from both seeing you after so long and being so injured by the first man.

"Oh, ya don't, do you?" Adam replied as he crossed his arms over his chest and wore an expression of disbelief. You shook your head but that didn't seemed to be enough for the leader of the exorcists. "Well, if you really don't know the asshole, then I'm sure you'll have no problem finishing him off for me." Your breath hitched.

Adam had to already know about your relation to Alastor, but how had he figured it out? You hadn't told anyone during the entire time you'd been dead, and yet the first time you saw him again, you'd been discovered for who you really were?

Then you thought back to when you'd been fighting earlier; how Alastor's powers had seemed to protect you from even the ones that were supposed to be on his own side. It seemed the man still hadn't been able to stop looking out for you; even after both of you had died. And because of that, he'd likely been even more distracted when fighting Adam, which the angel had caught on to.

Sometimes you really forgot the first man had a brain.

"Alright." You whispered finally, unsure of what else to do. You knew what would happen if you defied Adam; it was likely the same thing that had once happened to Vaggie! But as you turned to look at your dad now, still slumped against the wall, you already knew you wouldn't be able to go through with this.

He may have harmed and killed so many, but he was still your father. He'd still raised you; been loving and caring throughout your entire childhood. You couldn't help but view him as your dad, even after everything.

Plus, there was a deeper part of you that knew you two were one in the same. Just because you hadn't acted on your murderous tendencies in life didn't automatically make you better; especially when you'd gone on to kill so many sinners as an angel in death. It didn't matter if that was what heaven had commanded you to do; you were still a murderer in your own right.

So as you went to take a step towards your dad, angelic spear raised and ready, you already knew you wouldn't be able to go through with it. He seemed to realize it too, because as he pushed himself into a sitting position against the partially destroyed wall, there was a hint of pride in his eyes. He knew his own kid; knew that you'd sooner betray heaven than your only family.

"S-sir," you said, turning back to Adam now, "Are you sure you want me to be the one to-"

"Yes." The angel replied before you could even finish, "Now, get on with it! We have more little bitches to slaughter." So much for making up an excuse not to do this, you supposed.

As you turned back to Alastor, you attempted to keep your body from shaking. With fear, regret, or sadness? You weren't sure, but whatever it was, it was enough to stop you once you were within stabbing-distance of the Radio Demon.

"What's wrong?" Adam asked from behind you; his tone telling you he very much enjoyed the entertainment the situation was bringing, "Too scared to kill off your old man?"

So he did know. Your eyes narrowed, still facing away from the angel, but now that that revelation had come to pass, even when you'd suspected it already, you felt a bit of anger boil up inside you. He was doing this purely for entertainment; using you to make the extermination more fun for him. And you decided now that you weren't having it.

So, to everyone's surprise including your own, you turned around and hurled your spear directly at his face. No matter how murderous you'd felt in the past, you couldn't bring yourself to kill your own father, and it pissed you off that he would even try to make it happen.

"Do it yourself!" You shouted. He took a step to the side so the spear missed his head by a long shot but it had been enough to get your point across.

Adam's eyes narrowed and now you knew there was no going back.

..........

Technically, Alastor had never wanted kids to begin with. As entertaining as they were, he found them to be more responsibility than they were ultimately worth.

However, the people around him seemed to consider them a positive thing; almost a necessity, when it came to human life. There was so much emphasis on that picture perfect family everyone seemed to have; a wife, children, a beautiful home.

...To the point where it was considered odd not to have or want those things in some degree.

Alastor had always known his favorite 'pastimes' were considered unacceptable to the rest of society. That was why he'd gotten so good at hiding it; whether through his smile, his charm, or the rest of his meticulously planned out actions. He always took much care in making sure no one suspected him of being different or 'odd.'

Which was why it irked him once people began questioning his wants in life. "When are you going to settle down?" They would ask, "ever thought about having kids of your own?"

"It's odd to be so happy yet so alone at your age. Perhaps meeting a beautiful woman would do you some good."

Every comment increased his anger, having never felt the need for such aspects of life, but he knew it meant people had started to see him as odd; that he stood out from the persona he so desperately tried to make blend in with the rest of society.

He needed a way to reassure them all that he was 'normal' if he wanted to continue keeping the suspicion off of him. And since he could never bring himself to marry or be romantically involved with another, it had seemed he only had one other option.

Which was how he eventually found himself visiting the adoption agency just a few blocks from his home. Keeping up his cheerful and charming act had been more difficult than ever, considering he'd never wanted to be doing this, but it was necessary, and the very next day, he walked out with the first child he'd found there.

You.

He didn't know where you'd come from before he took you in and, frankly, he didn't care. You were just a way for him to keep the suspicion off himself; a means to continue his 'activities' uninterrupted.

And at first, he only did the bare minimum as your parent. You'd been five when he took you in, which he'd deemed was old enough to be left to your own devices most of the time. He provided you with food, water, clothing, and a space to live in, but that was it. For the first year since he took you in, the only 'fatherly affection' you ever received had come while you were out in public and he'd needed to make sure people questioned nothing. Beyond that, he was just a person that lived in your house.

Alastor wasn't sure when that dynamic had changed, nor what had made it do so. One day, he'd felt nothing other than basic responsibility towards you, and then the next, it had seemed your young self had him wrapped around your little finger.

He pulled back at first, not wanting to become attached to the kid he saw as nothing more than a tool to continue his murders, but in time, he came to accept it. Even if he hadn't wanted a child of his own at first, it had seemed that was what he'd gotten when he signed up to take care of you.

Somewhere down the line, you became his, and by then, there was no going back.

..........

"What the fuck did you say, you little bitch?!" Adam demanded as he stood up tall, seeming to grow in size now. He came towards you but you stood your ground between him and your dad despite the fear.

"I said I'm not doing it." You replied firmly. It was a miracle your voice wasn't shaking right now with how much fear you felt. "I'm not going to kill my dad for you."

"So you really are that cunt's kid," Adam hissed, "No wonder you were one of my best exorcists; being the child of a serial killer." Then something in his demeanor shifted. "Why the fuck do all my best people turn out to be traitors?" You knew he was referring to Vaggie, which made your blood boil even more.

"At least I'm not too much of a coward to kill a demon myself." You spat. A second later, there was a stinging on your cheek as Adam slapped you; making you fall to the ground with a cry.

"Don't act like you're any better than me!" Adam cried, clearly upset now, "You've killed just as many of these little vermin as I have."

"I have," you agreed, staring him down despite still laying on the ground, "But not anymore." You reached down into your right boot now, pulling out an angelic dagger you always had stashed on your person and launching it at your boss.

This time, it hit, landing in Adam's leg as he cried out in pain; golden blood dripping down his clothes. "You bitch." He spat before taking out his own weapon and slashing at your left eye with it. You screamed in pain, feeling your own blood run down your face. Had this happen to Vaggie too, when she'd fallen?

Wait, were you falling? Was that what this was?

In both your pain and confusion, you didn't notice the familiar black tentacles that rose from the ground now and started attacking Adam, despite Alastor's weakened state. The angel grunted in annoyance more than anything as he slashed through them with his angelic weapon before finally turning back to you.

Off to the side, Alastor seemed both more furious and more exhausted from the brief exchange.

"Someone like you doesn't belong in heaven." Adam spat as he stood over you now. You tried to get out of his way but between your pain and bleeding, it was no use. "You wanna be with your old man so bad? Fine, then enjoy hell, bitch!" And with that, he reached down, grabbing your wings between his hands and pulling so hard that you felt them rip right off your back.

The pain was immeasurable and you screamed in agony; blood now shooting out from the two holes in your back. You'd never thought you would be falling from heaven like this, but now that you were, it was as if everything you once had was being ripped from your hands.

You felt Adam preparing to stab you again and immediately rolled out of the way, crying out when the ground made contact with your now-exposed wounds. Behind you, Alastor was seething and your angel boss only seemed to revel in it more.

"I should have done away with all of you sinners a long time ago," he said finally as he grabbed you by the collar and lifted you from the ground, "starting with you, Jez. Then I'll kill your old man and every other demon here!"

"That's not my name!" You managed to shout, sounding strangled due to Adam's harsh grip on the collar of your clothes. It was something you'd been keeping in for a long time now, and since it seemed like you were about to fall from heaven, now felt like a good time to let it out.

Adam's eyes narrowed at that and then he tossed you to the side, causing you to collide with the very same wall your dad was currently leaning against. Luckily, you didn't hit Alastor but the impact of the wall against your head was enough to finally knock you out. You really weren't used to actually being injured as an exorcist and before today, hadn't even been aware demons could hurt angels at all.

Despite his own injuries, Alastor managed to stand and take a few steps over so that he was now between you and Adam, who scoffed.

"Really, you're gonna protect them now, old man?" He asked with a condescending tone, "Didn't I tell you radio's fucking dead?!" He slashed at Alastor, who managed to block the attack with a small shield that then immediately dispersed.

"Radio's not dead," Alastor replied as he let his shadow grow behind him, panting heavily, "but it is ending this broadcast!" And with that, both you and him melted away into the shadows where Adam couldn't reach.

The Angel in question let out a grunt of frustration before turning to join the rest of the battle. He'd have the chance to deal with you later, he decided. For now, you and your pathetic father had already taken too much of his time.

..........

Both you and Alastor reappeared inside his radio tower, which was in rough shape but otherwise unaffected by the battle outside. You were still unconscious and his shadow gently laid you on whatever soft things it could find; consisting of a small pile of pillows and fluff.

Your face and back were completely covered in your golden angelic blood but otherwise, you seemed relatively alright, which Alastor was thankful for.

Rage enveloped him once again as he thought back to how he'd not only lost the fight against Adam but also been forced to watch his own child be harmed by the first man after not seeing you for so many years. The fact that Adam had even laid a hand on his kid made his blood boil and he swore that if Charlie and the others didn't take care of Adam, he would.

Your dad's shadow provided some basic first aid to you as you slept, though it turned out to be rather fortunate that you weren't awake to witness the Radio Demon's temporary slip of composure. He resolved to have revenge on heaven for what had happened today, as soon as his own deal was broken, that was.

Finally, Alastor sunk into a seat near the radio tower's control panel before glancing back at you. He didn't even need to verbally ask his shadow what it was thinking; instead it seemed to just know as it gently plucked you from the ground and brought your now-bandaged body to him.

Feeling some of his anger melt away at the sight of you, he reached out and pulled you away from the shadow and into his arms, hugging you the way he had many times in life. 

The shadow melted away again as Alastor seemed to relax slightly. "There, there..." He whispered to you, who was still asleep, "It's going to be alright, darling. Nothing else will hurt you." And he meant that.

Alastor may not have been able to protect you from Adam before, but he would not fail again. He would do everything in his power to ensure this incident never repeated; especially now that you were here with him in hell, where he actually could protect you. 

He looked out the window to see the rest of the angels now flying off back to heaven since the battle seemed to have ended. They were leaving you behind as if it was nothing, but that wouldn't matter anymore. They weren't your family; they never had been. He was always your family, and he would never let harm come to you again.

No matter what.

……….

Part 3

Part 4

[shinynewboots]

The Alchemy: Adam x AFAB Morningstar!reader Part 2

AN: Hello all! Thank you so much for all the love and support you have given this story!! Once again want to give a special shoutout to @jennieyeager for the wonderful prompt! I do apologize for the wait. I had a lot of different directions I wanted to go and this was the final project. With that being said:

Confession time: I definitely think this is going to be longer than 4 parts! I kept trying to condense this as best I could but these two idiots really took the plot and ran with it so I hope y'all are ready!

Warnings: 18+ eventually, somewhat dubious consent, language, Adam-typical misogyny

Part 1

The clock on your arm was ticking quickly, time moving at a faster pace than you could fathom. You had made the executive decision to not tell Charlie about your arrangement with Adam until it was too late for her to stop it. A cowardly move, perhaps, but you knew she would try and talk you out of it if she sensed even the smallest hint of hesitation in your decision. 

And there was some hesitation. To leave everything you had ever known to marry this man who had only ever been the boogie man of your nightmares? But you thought of Charlie and her mission and dreams and you knew the answer could only ever be yes. 

There was another part of you, a part that you weren’t completely ready to acknowledge, that was curious and intrigued. No one ever chose you first. Ever. And yet this mythic being upon first glance knew that he wanted you. Now maybe it was the slight resemblance you bore to your mother or desire for his weird revenge but it was still you that he had chosen. That had to mean something, right?

So you left a note for Charlie to find once she finally realized you were missing. 

Charlie,

I’m okay. Please don’t come after me. I went with Adam, the leader of the exorcists. He promised in exchange for me, he would stop the exterminations and give your hotel a shot. Please, Char, I had to do this for you. For us. For…everyone. Please don’t tell Dad, though I doubt he would answer your calls anyway. Please don’t do anything rash. I will try and contact you when I can. I love you. Y/N.

The embassy looked more foreboding than it ever had. The building almost looked like an eyesore along the skyline. Almost too perfect to be seen amongst the squabble of Hell. You glanced down at your watch: 0:05.

Five minutes until your life changed forever. 

You trekked through the embassy, the rooms were just as quiet and dark as when you and Charlie were here only 24 hours earlier. You finally made it back to the meeting room where you had met Adam originally. Light streamed through the cracks in the door and you knew he was there. Another glance down at your watch: 0:02. 

There was no use in waiting for the clock to strike midnight. For your carriage to turn into a pumpkin. It was inevitable, so why put it off? Sighing, you opened the door. 

You looked around the room and only saw Adam, his feet on the table, and leaned back in one of the boardroom chairs, a golden guitar in his hands.. He wasn’t wearing his mask so you got a good view of his human features. He also wasn’t wearing his white and purple robe and instead wore a simple black cotton t-shirt and blue jeans. 

There was no one else present, not even his loyal exorcist from the first meeting. Adam was strumming the guitar, his eyes closed, and his expression was peaceful. 

You glanced down at your watch. 0:01.

You cleared your throat to alert Adam of your presence. The gentle melodies from the guitar came to an abrupt stop and you were suddenly face to face with Adam, who had flown to you with such a speed that you still couldn’t wrap your head around. 

“Hey Babe, good choice.” He said, smirking and taking in your appearance. You found your eyes drawn to his lips and the memory of his smoldering kiss only 24 hours early. My, how much can change. Adam seemed to notice because his smirk became a hungry grin and revealed to you his sharp canines. You found yourself so distracted that you missed his question.

“Hard Candy?” He asked again, holding a small wrapped cherry-hard candy in your line of sight. You looked at him, your eyebrows scrunched. 

“Uh, sure. It’s not poison, is it?” You joked, giving a very Charlie-esque awkward smile. 

“Nah, babe. It's for the travel. You ever portal-traveled before?”

You shook your head. 

“Thought so. Don’t want you puking on me or anything once we get there. This should help.”

You nodded and went to grab the candy from his hand. He had other ideas. He unwrapped the candy himself and held it out in front of your lips. You involuntarily took in a deep breath and could once more taste his kiss from even the subtle scent of the candy. 

“Open,” He whispered and you did just that. He placed the cherry candy on your tongue and it took everything in you not to unravel. To forget your arrangement and to try and find out if his kiss was just as sweet and flavorful as the hard candy that now sat on your tongue. Instead, you chose to swirl the candy in your mouth, the juices emitting their pleasant sweet tang. 

“Thanks,” You breathed out, not trusting yourself with any more expression of language than that measly word. 

“It’s fucking good, right?” 

“Yeah, I, uh, wouldn’t expect anything less from a candy from heaven.”

Adam shook his head. “Nah, that's not from Heaven. They don’t get the cherry flavor right. That’s from Earth.” 

“Oh,” You said lamely, trying to locate this special cherry flavor Adam seemed to enjoy. You wouldn’t call yourself a candy connoisseur but at least now you knew one more thing about your soon-to-be husband: His hard candy preference. 

“You ready to go?” Adam asked, holding out his large hand for your grab. 

“You promise that you’re going to stop the exterminations? And give my sister’s hotel a shot at redeeming sinners?” You asked, just needing one last verbal confirmation that you weren’t making a mistake. You could have tried to hold him to a deal but he was an angel. An angel, who despite being a villain in your parent’s history, had done nothing to conceal his true intentions as far as you knew. And you always felt icky making deals. The idea of owning a soul? Could you even own an angel’s soul?

Adam grinned in a way that could only be described as shark-like, his canines glittering in the light. He held a hand over his heart as if to further prove sincerity. “I promise to do everything in my power to stop the exterminations and give your sister’s stupid hotel a shot.”

You breathed a deep sigh and nodded. You gave him your hand and he squeezed it in a surprisingly gentle manner. His hand was calloused, surprising you as you thought all heavenly things were perfect. But his hand was rough and weathered and worked (especially his fingers, which you attributed to his years of guitar). 

A portal suddenly opened in the wall and you got your first glimpse at the Pearly Gates of Heaven. It was even more beautiful than you could have ever imagined. A piece of your heart began to ache. Charlie should be here to see this.

Adam pulled you forward. 

“Close your eyes,” He whispered, his mouth dangerously close to your ear and warm breath tickling you. “And hold on to me.”

You looked up at him, your eyes wide with wonder and a little disappointment that you couldn’t take in the sight before you for even a moment longer. 

“Trust me, the first trip’s the worst.” He said, and suddenly he pulled you to his side. His body was warm and softer than you had imagined. You closed your eyes tight. He wrapped his arms around you and pulled you even tighter to his side. You heard the flap of his wings and suddenly you felt weightless as the ground beneath your feet ceased to be. You could feel yourself flying higher and higher until…

You felt a rush of air and a glorious sun shining on your face. You felt as though the universe had taken you by the belly button and was pulling you closer to it. Your stomach began to flip and you were very grateful for the candy, as the flavor was helping to settle your nausea, at least for a little bit. 

The sensation was lessening and you felt your feet hit solid ground. You hesitantly opened your eyes and were immediately met with various cameras shoved in your face.Angels, winners, and Cherubs crowded around you and Adam. Your mouth had run dry and you couldn’t think. Lights flashed and you felt yourself melding closer into Adam’s side.

“PRINCESS! PRINCESS! Care for a comment?”

“Princess! Over here! How did you manage to get Heaven’s most eligible bachelor to lower his standards to a Hell Born like yourself?”

“Hey Fuckers, get the fuck off my lawn!” Adam growled.

“YOU HEARD HIM, FUCK OFF!” You heard someone else yell. You looked over to see the same Exorcist angel (Lute?) that had been with Adam at the meeting yesterday. She had a menacing grin on the face of her mask and had a spear pointed at all the reporters. Adam gave her a nod which she returned (after she speared through a camera cherub was holding). 

 Adam decided to act quickly since Lute could only hold off so many reports and so he used his wing to shield you and make a path up to the house. You mirrored his footsteps, though you couldn’t take in the world around you due to his wing. Finally you made it inside Adam’s house and were able to take a free breath. 

“Fuck,” Adam cursed. “Fuck Babe, I’m sorry. I don’t know how they found out.” 

He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. You could still hear the reporters outside but chose to not let it bother you (well, it would bother you at least a little. You had never been one for the spotlight).

“It’s okay. It’s fine,” You said softly, placing a hand on his arm. He looked over at you with curious eyes and you felt your heart stop. And then you felt yourself accidentally swallow the cherry candy. You immediately began to cough and choke as the candy slid down your windpipe.

Adam’s eyes widened in shock and fear. He ran up behind you and began to push on your stomach in a pitiful attempt at the heimlich maneuver. Fortunately, you weren’t solely reliant on him to save your life, and you coughed up the remaining cherry red candy. A sliver of what it had been when you had been given it early. Really Sexy Princess Morningstar, real sexy.

Adam must have been relieved when you stopped choking, at least enough to make a joke. “Fuck Babe, don’t choke again unless its because of me.”

Ah, there was the asshole you had originally met. You had let his kind, sexy gestures fool, but the asshole was still there. 

You scowled at him and began to look around the house. It was a modest house, the perfect size for one or two people. Cleaner than you expected too. You had honestly expected trash and leftover food to be strewn around the house, but you were pleasantly surprised. 

A sound at the front door caused you to jump and you looked to see Lute entering, an irritated look on her face. Adam walked over to her, his hand up to give her a high-five which she begrudgingly returned.

“Thanks Bitch, I don’t know how those fucking reporters found out.”

“You made a bit of a spectacle of yourself, Sir. Apparently one of the Saints let it slip that you requested the Hell Spawn.” Lute said, eyeing you with disgust. The feeling was mutual and you could feel your demon form bubbling under the surface, your eyes beginning to turn a reddish color.

“Fucking Peter,” Adam scowled. He glanced over at you and seemed to feel the irritation seeping from your pores. “Babe, she doesn’t mean it.” 

“Yes I do.”

“Yes she does.” You said, crossing your arms and stepping closer to Adam. 

You and Lute glared at each other. 

“Okay, okay ladies reel it in. Lute, you’re a real one. I fucking appreciate it. Just let the girls know I won’t be at training for a few days while I get Y/N settled.”

“Of course sir. Hell Spawn.” She said, nodding at Adam and then you. Your eyes narrowed. 

“Bigoted Cunt,” You responded, giving her a just as condescending nod. Lute bristled but one look from Adam and she quietly slipped out the door. 

Adam turned to you, suddenly more sheepish than you had seen him in the past 24 hours. He rubbed a hand behind his neck. “So, uh, I only have 1 bedroom. I mean I have more rooms, I just haven’t had a chance to get more beds or anything. So I put your suitcase in my bedroom.”

You know, this is the part of the story where the main character gets nervous. Worries that her very sexy, very annoying husband-to-be is going to ravish her and take advantage. Her mouth would run dry and her palms would get sweaty. Only one bed? Give me a break. 

But you weren’t the main character in the trashy romance novel and he certainly wasn't the main love interest material. And you could make do with the idea that maybe living in a romance trope. And he seemed sheepish enough that it was genuine. 

So instead of doing as you would if you had been the same person you had been in Hell, only a few hours before, you decided to draw on some newfound confidence. You closed the distance between yourself and Adam and looked up at him, a coy smile on your features. “Lead the way.”

This seemed to him, as his features brightened up considerably and he grabbed your hand to guide you to the bedroom. Butterflies fluttered in your stomach and you could feel your nerve breaking the longer you walked with Adam. 

When you entered his bedroom, you were surprised to find it to be rather plain. Very few features had been added to the space to make it homey aside from a guitar propped against one of the nightstands. Not a picture or painting or any decor to be seen. Like the rest of the house, it was shockingly clean. On the bed, your forgotten suitcase sat. 

“I’ll leave you to get settled. I'll grab some wine or beer or whatever you drink down below.” Adam said, motioning towards you to begin unpacking your suitcase. You smiled at him, feeling as though you were seeing the real Adam already in the few moments of insecurity he had let shine through. 

“Wine is good.” You said. He nodded and made to move towards the door before stopping and turning back to you. He stood in front of you, his golden eyes meeting your own before they looked lower at your lips. Emboldened, you licked your top lip slowly and looked at his own before devilishly looking back at his eyes. 

His large hands cupped your cheeks and suddenly his lips were on yours. Your senses were once again overwhelmed with that delicious taste of cherry hard candy. Feeling more and more impish, you licked the seam between his lips, a soft request. 

Adam responded in kind and opened his mouth, tongue meeting your own and licking in a controlled, hard manner. Your hands found their way into his hair and tangled in his soft brown locks. One of Adam’s hands left your cheeks and snaked its way down to your waist, pulling you closer. His large hand cupped your hip and squeezed with a firm pressure that sent a pleasant chill up your spine. His body felt so warm against your own and you could feel your resolve weakening. 

(But would it be so bad if it did?)

You reluctantly pulled away from him, your lips missing the feel of his against your own. His cheeks were flushed and his golden eyes were bright and alert. 

“I uh, I should unpack,” You whispered, untangling your hands from his hands. Adam nodded, though you weren’t sure he heard you. 

He coughed awkwardly and you tried to avert your eyes when he tried to discreetly ‘adjust’ himself. “I’ll go get the wine.”

“I’ll unpack,” You replied, mentally kicking yourself for the repetition. You nervously brushed a piece of hair behind your ear. Adam nodded once more and left the room, leaving you alone.

You sighed and tried to calm your breathing. You unzipped your suitcase and smiled forlornly at the picture that sat on top of your clothes. It was a picture of you, Charlie and your parents. You and Charlie were children, grinning wildly at the camera. 

You folded the picture so it just showed the two of you. You placed the picture on what appeared to be the unoccupied side of the bed and continued to unpack.

Tags: @jennieyeager @tati-the-fangirl @alastorswifeee @randomgurl2326 @marxo5 @dragovegogrimborn @ella-janehaven @honestlyshamelesskid @miniaturetalent @klorinda @turtle3586 @naniiiii12 @belladonnadeath

[wh0re43van]

Just friends- (Peter Maximoff X Reader)

Summary: While staying with the Maximoff family, you admit your feelings to your best friend, and he doesn’t seem to feel the same until you inform him that you’re going on a date with another guy

Word count: 4K

Warnings: angst, sad Peter, a brief mention of Unsolicited groping

I’m so thankful for the Maximoffs. They’re allowing to stay with them for a couple months after getting kicked out of my parents’ home. I’m rooming with my best friend of four years, and I’ve never been happier. As soon as he heard about my situation, he welcomed me into his home- into his bedroom- with open arms.

“Honey, I’m home,” The goofball announces as he walks into our temporally shared room holding two pizzas, a 2 liter of dr. pepper, a bag of breadsticks with all the fixings, and a rented copy of The Exorcist.

“Wow, what’s the occasion?” I giggle, sitting up in our his bed, setting down the book I had been reading.

With a fwp, he’s turned down the lights, popped the movie in and arranged the food at the foot of the bed before sitting beside me, now in his pajamas.

“It’s a party!” he gives me a cheesy grin, popping open the pizza box and pulling out two slices, handing one to me.

“Oh god, Peter are we really so lame that this is what we consider a party?” I laugh before taking a bite of the greasy pizza, still hot since Peter was able to get it here in less than three seconds.

“This is the best kind of party! Hanging with your best friend, piggin’ out on junk food, and watching a bitchin’ horror movie? What else could a dude ask for?” He says as he stuffs his face, licking his greasy fingers. I cant help but laugh at the man child sitting beside me, even though it hurts my heart a bit knowing that he only considers me his friend. Don’t get me wrong, I’m more than grateful for Peter (and his mother) being in my life, but I just always hoped for more. It’s been four years and nothing’s escalated despite my many attempts, so I guess it’s time to accept that. I mean, we’re out of high school now, were adults. If he hasn’t shown interest by now then I guess it’s a lost cause. “Besides,” he smacks his lips, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. “The main thing that makes this a party is the fact that you’re here,” he gives a goofy wink, making my cheeks tint pink- but he doesn’t seem to notice.

“How flattering,” I nudge him playfully before opening the 2 liter, taking a sip out of the bottle then handing it to Peter. He mimics my action, then lets out a loud belch.

‘how in the hell does this man have me absolutely smitten over him,’ think to myself as he shoves an entire breadstick into his mouth.

“Whatever,” he chuckles looking away for a second.

“God damn Peter,” my eyes go wide when I see that he’s already eaten half a large pizza.

“What?” he asks as he holds his head up, his arm extended as he lets the cheese slide off the crust into his mouth. “Gotta fuel my metabolism, these rock hard abs don’t just appear overnight,” he snickers before lifting up his shirt, revealing his toned stomach, then takes another gulp out of the soda bottle.

“I guess your body does look pretty good for someone whose diet is 50% carbs and 50% sugar,” I tease, thanking whatever deity it is above us that the lights are too dim for him to see the blush rushing over my face as I stare at his bare stomach.

“You’d think the chicks would be all over this,” he wiggles his eyebrows before deepthroating another breadstick. “They wouldn’t know charm if it bit ‘em in the ass,” he mumbles through a mouth full of bread as marinara sauce drips down his face. “I mean come on, how do I not get girls?” He snickers as he wipes his grubby hands on his pants. I roll my eyes at the messy boy.

“Peter, I know you very well,” I reach for my second slice of pizza. “The reason you don’t get girls is because you can never tell when they’re flirting with you,” I tease, but meaning every word. He’s the dullest guy ever when it comes to picking up on social cues.

“I know,” he chuckles as he turns to look at me. “Real shame too. Sometimes I realize it after they’ve already walked away. Sucks cause I probably coulda’ lost my V-card by now if I understood the first thing about gals. I really can’t pick up on flirting” he says matter-o-factly as he takes a sip of soda.

“Oh, I know all too well, Peter,” I laugh out, my eyes focused on the tv screen. He gives a soft, almost confused laugh, then he’s silent for a minute before speaking up.

“Wait a minute,” he sits up straight in the bed. “Are you implying that even you’ve flirted with me?” he asks with wide eyes full of skepticism. I take a deep breath, sitting up to be eye level with him.

“Peter,” I start, he’s staring intently at me with his brows threaded in confusion. “The only reason I talked to you for the first time was because I thought you were cute,” I laugh out. How can he be so dense?! He stares at me in bewilderment in silence. I can see the gears turning in his head as he thinks back to our first encounter all those years ago.

“Oh my god!” he comes to the realization. “You were flirting with me that summer day in the arcade?” he asks still shocked. It makes my heart happy that he remembers the first time we met. “How did I not realize. God I’m stupid,” he slaps his palm to his forehead.

“Only took ya four years, Quickie,” I tease before taking a sip of Dr. Pepper. “Wasn’t the very first thing that I ever said to you: ‘You’re really good at that, handsome’?” I say and he repeats the quote with me, smiling and nodding. He remembers it word for word. “Come on man, how did you not know?” I chuckle. His eyes are still full of disbelief.

“I was really focused on the game!” his face turns red as he has another epiphany: “That probably wasn’t the only time, was it?” he asks, rubbing his hand on the back of neck, letting out a small laugh.

“God no,” I chuckle, a bit embarrassed but enjoying reminiscing on our friendship none the less. “Remember, two weeks after that, I invited you out to go roller skating?” I ask.

“Yeah of course, you were wearing that limited edition ‘Eagles’ shirt that you still to this day won’t let me touch,” he laughs. I thought that having this conversation would help me get over him, but hearing how well he remembers all our fondest memories together makes me swoon.

“Well, when I asked you, I meant it as a date,” I admit, watching his face once again fill with bewilderment. “But the whole time you were calling me dude and roughhousing me, I just assumed you either didn’t like me that way or you were to dumb to realize it was a date. Lucky for you, I had a lot of fun and chose to ignore it,” I nudge him playfully. He face palms himself again.

“Y/n, I had no idea. I never in a million years thought a girl as rad as you would be interested in me in that way, so the idea of a date never even crossed my mind,” he flops back on the bed, processing all of this new information. “Wait do you still flirt with me? How oblivious have I been? Oh my god am I still missing stuff?” he shoots back up in the bed once again..

“Peter,” I say flatly. “Just last week I changed right Infront of you. I literally stripped into just my bra and panties right next to the tv when you were playing Space Invaders,” I can’t believe this guy. He blushes thinking back to that moment.

“I thought we were just really comfortable with each other! We change infront of each other all the time,” he chuckles nervously. “I still tried not to look out of respect, but I’d be lying if I say I didn’t sneak a glance or two though,” he admits but looks away, avoiding eye contact.

“It’s alright Peter,” I sigh as I close up the pizza box before laying back to watch the movie. “Once a girl comes along that you’re actually interested in, I’m sure you’ll pick up on her signals,” I say not looking at him, accepting my defeat. He’s quiet for a moment.

“Well, how do I know?” he asks genuinely. I look at him, raising my eyebrow, waiting for him to elaborate. “Like, obviously I know a hot chick when I see one, but how do I know when I’m actually interested. I’m clueless y/n,” he lets out a light laugh after the last part, seeming a bit embarrassed as he intently awaits my answer.

“Well,” I prop myself up on my arm to look at him. “I guess it would have to be more than physical attraction. If you’re genuinely interested, then you’ll want more than her body, but also want more than just her friendship. You’ll want to talk to her, to just be in her presence. You’ll care about what she thinks about you. Stuff like that,” I shrug, not sure how to explain what attraction feels like to someone who claims to have never felt it before. He nods silently, absorbing my words. The fact that he hasn’t laughed in my face yet for admitting to liking him is giving me false hope that he could possibly feel the same way. I need this conversation to end soon.

“So it would have to be someone I can see a future with? Someone that I want to impress? Someone that I genuinely care about? But also someone who’s super smokin’?” he asks, wanting a genuine answer. I smile downwardly.

“You’re getting it now,” I sigh. “I’ll be jealous of whatever girl wins your heart over,” I laugh, holding my breath in anticipation for how he’s going to respond to that, preparing to have my hopes crushed so I can move on.

“Oh don’t worry,” he smirks. Here we go. “I’ll make room for the both of you,” he winks. And there it is. My stomach drops, but it’s out now. Now I know that he’s not interested, I know for sure that I’m going on this date tonight. Part of me hoped that Peter would admit his feelings and I could cancel this stupid date, but I have to get out there. “Oh! No, y/n I didn’t mean-” Peters smile drops, and he reaches for my arm.

“No, I get it. It’s cool, man,” I force a smile, standing from his bed, checking my wristwatch. “I gotta get ready for my date anyway. I didn’t even realize what time it was,” I say honestly as I walk over to my suitcase.

“Woah, what?” he zooms in front of me, blocking my bag. “Date?” he asks, a bit of panic in his voice. I scoff, pushing him to the side.

“Yeah, I went to the arcade yesterday while you were out with your mom, now I have a date,” I smile weakly as I strip, then slip into my dress before I walk over to my mirror that I hung on his wall to fix my makeup.

“No- y/n- i- that’s- who… whos your date with?” his words fall out a stumbled mess as if he can’t sort his thoughts from one another.

“Steve. Ya know, the one from the arcade that’s always trying to beat your high scores,” I explain as I brush my hair.

“Steve!?” He shouts in disbelief. “That asshole? Y/n come on, man!,” he almost sounds angry.

“Yeah?” I shrug as I apply some lip gloss. I see Peter pacing behind me in the reflection of the mirror.

“Steve? Really?” he throws his hands up.

“He’s cute. Plus, you know I have a thing for nerds,” I remind him. His face turns red. Why is he acting like this? He just crushed my dream of being with him and now he wants to act jealous?

“Cute?! You mean you’re not just going to be nice?” He sounds so shocked and almost hurt. I turn around to face him.

“I- of course Peter why would I-,” I’m completely flustered. “No.” I say sternly. “No Peter. You don’t get to do this. You had four years man, and just 15 minutes ago I admitted my feelings for you and you said that you didn’t feel the same,” I’m getting frustrated with him, I can feel my blood pressure raising out of anger and embarrassment.

“But that’s not- I didn’t- no you misunderstood!” he starts to raise his voice, laced with panic. “What if I do have feelings for you?” he asks with pleading eyes.

“Do not do this. Peter please don’t do this to me! You can’t suddenly have feelings for me just because I have a date with you nerd enemy!” I shout as my ears burn red with anger. “Don’t be immature,” I poke my finger to his chest, completely irate. He looks like his mind is running a thousand miles a minute. It takes him a couple seconds to rebuttal.

“No! I never said I don’t have feelings! Y/n I didn’t say that!” he shouts, but his voice isn’t angry, it’s worried as he places a hand on my heated cheek.

“No Peter,” I say calmly even though I’m beyond frustrated as I pull away from his touch. “You’re really hurting me right now. You’re the last guy I ever expected to fuck with my emotions like this,” tears well up in my eyes. I can’t believe what he’s doing. My ego was already bruised when he didn’t respond to my confession and now he’s trying to keep me from a date just because the dude plays video games just as well as him. Peter stares at me, his hand still outstretched in the air where he tried to console me. He doesn’t say anything.

Honk! Honk!

Steves car horn sounds from outside the Maximoff home, beckoning me.

“Please don’t go,” his voice is feeble. “Please just give me some time to think. Just five minutes to figure this out,” he pleads with desperate eyes. I almost give in, but I stay strong.

“Peter, there’s a guy outside this house that already has his feelings sorted. You stay here and figure it out. I’m leaving,” I seethe as I stare at his confused and hurt expression, almost making me apologize, but I’m too hurt and embarrassed. He doesn’t say anything, he just grips his fists so tight that his knuckles turn white, his jaw clenches, and I see that he’s holding back tears. I immediately turn to run up the steps because if I look at him for one more second, I would be holding him in my arms, telling him I’m sorry and letting him cry it out. Not today.

•

•

After Steve picked me up, we went to dinner, then to the drive-in theatre. I’m having… a decent time. He’s a little boring compared to Peter, no one can make me laugh like he can. I’m also a bit distracted at how I left my best friend. I think I may have been too hard on him. Now that I’ve calmed down, I think he really was just trying to sort things out. I know that Peter isn’t the most emotionally mature and definitely doesn’t have a way with words.

‘oh god, what have I done?’ I think to myself in horror.

“What do you say, huh?” Steves deep voice shakes me out of my thoughts.

“I’m sorry,” I smile sweetly. “What was that?” I bat my lashes at him, hoping he doesn’t notice that I’ve been thinking about another guy the whole time he’s been speaking to me.

“I said: Why don’t we move to back?” he smirks motioning towards his back seat.

“Uh,” I know exactly what he’s alluding to. Do I really want to go down that road? “Yeah, okay,” I smile. I guess I do. We get out of the vehicle and hop into the back. He immediately pulls me into his lap. I’m a bit taken back by his sudden grip on my body.

“You ever been touched by a real man?” he asks as he peppers kisses all over my neck as his cold hands slip under my dress without even asking. I’m shocked, disgusted, and confused.

“I-uh- can you stop please?” I pull arm out of his grip and crawl out of his lap.

“Hey, I paid for your food and your ticket. You owe me!” he shouts, grabbing my arm again. I have so much pent up rage from earlier, I didn’t even realize it when my hand shot out to slap him across the face full force. He looked at me stunned before getting out of his car, opening the door and literally throwing me out. He picks me up by shoulders and tosses me onto the dusty, bare, dirt. He drives away without a single word.

“What the fuck,” I mutter to myself as I stand up, brushing the dirt off myself. A young man from the next car over rushes to the scene, asking if I’m okay. I simply thank him for his concern, then take the walk of shame back to Peters house.

Now I remember why I waited for Peter for so long; He’s the only decent guy I’ve ever met. As if the silent, cold, horrifying walk back to the Maximoff house at midnight wasn’t punishment enough, once I arrive and enter his bedroom, the sight I see makes my heart break completely in two. I feel physical pain when I see Peter.

His room is dark as he’s laid on his couch, curled up In a blanket, staring at the starter screen on his Tank video game on the box Television. The flashing light reflects on his blank face, allowing me to see his bloodshot eyes, red nose, and puffy lips from crying. He hasn’t seemed to notice me enter the room. My own eyes immediately fill up with the tears I was trying so hard to hold back.

“Peter,” I let out a somber whisper. He jumps up, looking at me with wide, puffy eyes.

“Are you crying?” he zooms up to me, grabbing my arm. “Did he hurt you?” he asks, putting a hand on my cheek. How can he still care about my feelings after how I left things?

“I’m okay Peter,” I lean into his touch. “I should have listened to you, though. You were right about him,” my tear stained eyes meet his. His face flushes in anger.

“What did he do to you? Is he still here? I swear I’ll kill the guy!” He raises his voice with every sentence, balling his hands into fists.

“It’s- I, uhm, would rather not talk about it,” I look down avoiding his gaze.

“Y/n, did he hurt you, yes or no? That’s all I need to know,” He gently lifts my chin to meet his gaze again but I close my eyes. I can’t look at him with out the guilt from making him cry making me feel sick.

“…Yes,” I Whisper, not wanting to elaborate. With a fwp Peter’s gone. I hear the front door open, I rush out to the sidewalk.

“Where the fuck is he?” Peter screams in a tone that I rarely hear from him. He turns to look at me, his once sad expression now pure unfiltered anger: A look I’ve never seen on him before. I’m almost scared.

“He’s not here Peter, I had to walk home from the drive in,” I sigh. Peter looks at me as if he doesn’t believe what I’m saying. He kicks the neighbor’s trash can in anger. With a loud clang, the metal bin is sent flying down the street, his foot mark now permanently indented in the can.

‘Steve’s lucky he isn’t here right now. Jesus Christ’ I think to myself.

“Let’s just go inside, please. I need to talk to you,” I say softly as I grab his tensed arm. He looks at me, his expression softening before he allows me to lead him inside.

I bring him in and sit him down on the couch, it’s silent for a few beats, neither one of us want to look at the other one.

“I’m sorry,” we both blurt out at the same time, snapping our heads to look at each other. The awkwardness subsides as we smile at each other. We both try to start our apology at the same time, then erupt into giggles.

“Let me go first,” I put a light hand on Peters knee. He shakes his head ‘no’.

“No. I’m going first. I finally got everything sorted out,” he takes a deep breath. “Y/n, I do have feelings for you and I’m sorry. I’m just a stupid boy that never learned how to process emotions. You’re amazing! You’re my best friend and I feel so horrible that I hurt you. When you were explaining what it felt like to be attracted to someone, you just explained word for word how I feel about you. I was just confused, everything happened so fast, and I honestly thought you were joking with me at first. I’ve always kind of had the hots for you, but I never in a million years thought that you could ever be attracted to me, so I locked those thoughts away. I’m sorry that I couldn’t express this sooner. I’m so so sorry,” he says in a rush of words, I almost have trouble keeping up with the words coming out of his mouth. His big brown puppy eyes scan my face for my reaction. I just smile at him, tears once again swelling in my eyes for about the third time tonight.

“Peter, you’re such a sweet guy,” I grin and his face beams with joy. “I was such an asshole to you earlier… I’m sorry. My ego and my heart were hurt and I should not have taken that out on you. The way that you still cared about me when I got back from that awful date even though I had upset you right before I left just shows how amazing of a person you are. You are the best thing in my life,” a tear rolls down my cheek, Peter quickly wipes it away.

“Hey, come here,” he says softly before pulling me into his chest. As he pulls me into his strong arms, the scent of his cologne and the warmth of his body makes me forget about every problem I’ve ever had. The steady rise and fall of his chest and his fingers running though my hair could put me to sleep in an instant. “I don’t blame you for anything. That situion just unfolded really poorly and we both said some things we shouldn’t have, but that’s over now,” he kisses my forehead as I snuggle further into him.

“Thank you, Peter,” I yawn as I wrap my arms around his torso. He continues brushing his fingers through my hair and tracing mindless designs on my back, I feel myself drifting off to sleep, all the stress I had been feeling now completely subsided. I lay in his arms, wrapped in comfort as if he’s a warm towel straight out of the dryer. I hear him whisper,

“Goodnight, beautiful,” as he clicks off the tv with the remote. A small smile creeps onto my lips as I slip off to sleep.

[tonguetiedraven]

Yukio is a Pragmatic Babysitter and Rin is a Chaos Gremlin

Part two of my Critically Reading about Yukio. Part one is here.

We're going to look over a couple of chapter in this analysis with a focus specifically on Yukio's job and role as Rin's guardian and secret keeper, because god love him, Rin is not a secret keeper.

Have you ever tried to babysit a hyper toddler who doesn't listen to you? Yukio has. It's become Yukio's job at this point.

I also feel I should state that I am writing this as a middle sibling. I have both older and younger siblings and have, like most older siblings, been responsible for my younger siblings more than once. I have also been responsible for my older ones on more than one occasion, often to the point that I feel my own life on hold. But I am now an adult unlike these characters and have proper independence.

( ദ്ദി ˙ᗜ˙ )

When last we left our two leading characters, Rin had discovered he was sharing a dorm room with his twin and that Yukio had basically been set at his babysitter. Yukio had agreed to watch and protect Rin and knows he is his brother's babysitter.

Rin cannot let anyone know he is the son of Satan. If he does, Mephisto makes it seem very much like there will be an execution. These are the stakes they're playing with. The flames cannot be spotted and Yukio is responsible for guarding his brother and keeping those flames hidden. Rin is not to step out of line and ignite.

Should be fairly simple. Just go to school, go to cram school, get your meisters (once Rin learns what those are) pass the exam and certification, and hey-ho, we have exorcist Rin. Do not ignite and don't stand out. That's the end of chapter 2.

Both twins receive these instructions. Both twins do not follow these instructions. One twin follows it to the letter, one twin half asses it.

It is important to understand that about Rin. He doesn't typically go with things he disagrees with, and he is lazy. He doesn't understand anything about the world he's found himself in and thinks the rules and regulations in it are stupid. He is late for classes, sleeps through them when he can, and fails a lot of tests, possibly from lack of studying, though we don't really see a lot of his study habits. What we do see points to him not doing much of any of it until later on in the series when he starts to study more with his friends. (Namely Konekomaru, Shima, and Ryuuji.)

From the get go we know Yukio is smart. He is the sort of straight A honor student that drives siblings nuts for over achieving. When we find out he's had a job and been training since he was seven, it just pushes the stark difference between these two.

Rin: Lost a job in the first chapter of the manga on his first day.

Yukio: Has had a super secret job for two years while maintaining stellar grades. He also doubled up on that job. (Doctor and Dragoon meister.)

Rin: Somehow miraculously passed middle school despite fighting and not attending. Presumably Shirou begged a lot and went to a lot of parent teacher confrences.

Yukio: Graduated with honors and got the position of top student in the new class. A scholarship too.

Rin: Unpopular and prone to fights. People seem to typically dislike him at the first interactions. In a word? Rude.

Yukio: No one is better at being polite and managing that customer service smile at all times. Even Mephisto cracks that façade quicker than Yukio. Very popular with his classmates and praised by his fellow exorcists.

Rin: Won't follow through on tasks he deems dull or unimportant. (Candles are a great example.)

Yukio: Will do the mindless task even if he doesn't want to and will follow orders. (Until much later when he very dramatically won't.)

Rin: Knows nothing about the world of exorcists, Assiah, or Gehenna.

Yukio: Immensely well versed in it.

There are a lot more I could do, but this gives you the idea. These two brothers are immensely different with Yukio being the smarter and better equipped for their new circumstances in most every way.

Chapter 3 opens with Rin reading one of Yukio's mangas and not studying. Yukio takes it back and gives him a book to study.

First, Rin might have the fire powers but Yukio is the one doing the burns here. Bible for kids xD so rude and pointed. Each of the titles and font choices and illustrations are so good.

Two, the shot of Yukio's exorcist coat and Rin's school uniform is brilliant. The levels of skill and knowledge are right there, beautifully subtle. As is how put together Yukio looks and how sloppy Rin is. Kato does a lot of story telling like this. Details in the design and backgrounds that tell a lot.

Yukio tells Rin to study and is going on a mission. Rin does not want to study and wants to go on the cool mission he is not qualified for. He has no training at all and couldn't sit through a single class without making a scene. All of his demon fights and interactions so far have ended with flames.

Yukio points this out nicer than I would have.

Rin doesn't listen to the no and will honestly never listen to Yukio's no. At any point. The early chapters set this up very clearly. Yukio, who was given the assignment to guard and lead Rin cannot get his brother to listen to any of his orders.

They go to the Moriyamas' supply shop, and I plan on doing a separate post dedicated to Shiemi and Yukio's relationship later, so we're going to glance over this chapter and summarize it.

Rin is told to stay because there's a lot going on in this shop and you have to be a certain rank to even get inside it. He is told very specifically not to wander around and touch anything, and in typical Rin protocol, he's wandering around by the next page.

This is mostly because he's annoyed and frustrated at Yukio bossing him around. At this point I want to remind everyone that MEPHISTO PLANNED ON THIS. Mephisto the Manipulative King of Time and Space has played this rodeo before and is actively pushing and prodding at his pieces (he has referred to all the characters in the story as pieces on his chessboard) to get them to act certain ways. He wants this tension there. These boys are unknowing pawns in his hand.

Or Rin is at least. I rather believe Yukio is a knowing pawn.

Rin wanders off, breaks a demon warding gate, and gets called a demon by Shiemi.

Rin is indignant about this (his exact words are: "I...I'm not a demon! I'm not exactly human either, but... Don't judge me!!" I can only hope part of that was under his breath, lol.)

Things escalate here and it ends with Yukio manipulating Rin into being a distraction for the demon and exorcising it while Rin flames up and unsheathes his sword.

(I do wonder where the hell Miss Moriyama was to not see this. With her connections she'd definitely tell people about a blue flame boy causing chaos in the garden.)

Importantly three things happen here.

One: another tension between the twins is created. Shiemi. This will be in a separate post but I'm just acknowledging it here.

Two: Yukio shoots someone for the first time and we learn about nutrient bullets. They are magic type bullets that look real and apparently do no real damage. Yukio uses these all the time. Usually against Rin, but that'll be later.

Amazingly, I hear a lot about him shooting Rin and have never heard anything about shooting Shiemi, but then almost no one ever talks about when Shiemi is abused so guess you gotta be someone else for it to matter ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

(I am opinionated on the way fandom treats Shiemi and the abuse, verbal, mental, emotional, and physical that she receives.)

Three: Shiemi joins cram school.

It has been one day of them working together and Rin has already not followed orders and Yukio had to rework his plan to anticipate that and did.

Chapter 4 is all about Ryuuji (my favorite character) and has no real Rin&Yukio advancement outside of Yukio telling Rin he should study like Ryuuji does, but does have an immensely important scene for Yukio at the end.

Yukio is standing by watching the drama of the reapers and Rin and Ryuuji fighting, and he is very clearly armed. Was he to shoot the reaper or Rin? Place your bets. Bearing in mind he has already failed to shoot Rin once when he did not have nutrient bullets.

Chapter 5 is an Izumo and Shiemi focused chapter and really only shows Rin actually sending for Yukio for back up and Yukio sweeping in to save the day.

Also it's important to note that we are five chapters into this story and Rin has flamed up in every single one of them, a little or a lot, and this one he very nearly did because he was trying to draw the sword in full view of Izumo and Shiemi. Rin also loses his shirt and the manga makes a gag about him trying to hide his tail, but don't forget that he has been ordered to hide who he is. Five chapters in and four of them have had that stipulation and Rin seems to be doing very little to really hide himself.

We the readers see all this through his point of view and symphathize with his choices. He has no training and doesn't know how else to fight anything, and he doesn't know a lot about the world to know what is and isn't dangerous. Each situation feels dangerous and like he has to flame up.

But he also won't study and learn other methods. Three of his classmates in the next chapter will show that they know how to fight a demon like this. All of them are in the same classes and have access to the same materials.

One of them will even step up and fight and be hiding a big secret themselves. Technically four of the classmates are hiding secrets at this point, but Shima is the one that can summon a god with his khakkara and just uses it like a bat instead. So it is possible to not reveal ones self and fight.

Rin had other ways, but as Yukio pointed out, he is a bit stupid and doesn't think things through.

Anyway, chapter six happens and the students are brought to the creepy dorm the twins live in for their 'practice' exams. A fight breaks out because Izumo is a bully and it escalates.

I also have to point out that the fight starts while Miss Angeline the aria teacher is in charge. She walks out of the room and leaves Yukio to deal with it. His coworkers are lazy and not a lot of help. Tsubaki has left a class to fend for itself so he could attend a booty call, and what we see of the others in Kyoto show that there is a serious lack of dependable teachers in True Cross. This directly puts more on Yukio's shoulders. He gets responsibilities from everyone.

The test happens and Rin runs off to try and pull the naberius away form the other students. This was a terrible idea especially when Yukio had just finished lecturing about exorcists not fighting alone. He left the other students to fight the remaining naberius alone and weakened the team. It also heightened suspicion around him when he defeated that demon alone. He didn't know there was a second, but he didn't do anything to check or make sure they were safe.

He reveals himself to Igor Neuhaus, the magic circles and summoning teacher, and that is the important beat for this chapter as far as the twins go.

Chapter seven is one I want to slow down and focus on because it has a lot of twin development and Yukio development. He's been more in the background for the last few chapters, and he shines in this one.

Post certification exam, Yukio catches Igor Neuhaus in the office and calls out to him.

We learn a few interesting things here. One, Yukio is a king at pointed business talk. All stern politeness here.

Two: Neuhaus knows who Rin is, Yukio knows he knows who Rin is, and they both know he swore to keep the secret. Rin knows none of this, of course.

Neuhaus gives Yukio some awful news. Mephisto Pheles told him to do it. To push Rin specifically and to try and make him feel in mortal danger push him to use his powers.

Yukio has been told to stop his brother and now he finds that the Demon King who ordered him to do that also told someone else to do the opposite, and Neuhaus knows Yukio is supposed to be the breaks but Yukio did not know Neuhaus was meant to be the gas, meaning that Pheles did not share equal information.

If he didn't tell Yukio that, it is like he has kept a lot else secret.

Yukio goes entirely into serious mode and lies.

Yukio very rarely believes anyone, and he doesn't believe Neuhaus.

Rin has, at this point, not shown himself in control of his emotions and only sort of shown himself in any kind of control of his powers. Yukio knows this first hand and has had to do most of the dealing with Rin's inability to do either of those things. He is the one cleaning up each of the messes and distracting everywhere he can so Rin isn't revealed.

Yukio will unhesitatingly lie to protect Rin and to misdirect when needed. We learn this early and cannot forget it. Rin is not always a dependable person to lean on for pov with his quick and often inaccurate assumptions, and Yukio is not always telling us the truth. These characters require us to pay attention.

More Yukio and Shiemi stuff happens, and we'll cover it later. It's enough to say he's trying to get Shiemi to decide if she wants to be an exorcist or not.

In the middle of their tea this happens.

Yukio has killer instincts. He is always thinking and analyzing something even if he looks to just be enjoying tea and smiling like all is well. Keep that in mind when you're reading. It holds true even when we're not viewing a scene from his pov.

It seems to hold fairly true for this scene as we see the next several panels showing Neuhaus seeming to stab a sleeping Rin, but psych! Yukio had already moved Rin and Neuhaus stabbed a pillow. Yukio is standing there behind him with his gun cocked and Neuhaus has walked into his trap.

Neuhaus summons a lot of hands and runs off and Yukio gives chase. They get to the roof and Rin wakes up, gets an explanation from Shiemi, and runs after both of them.

On the roof Yukio is trying to demand answers and not getting them. It is chapter seven and this will be an immense drive for Yukio. He will keep asking questions and keep not getting answers.

This too I think is a manipulation of Mephisto, and why Mephisto wanted Yukio to know that he gave Neuhaus the orders to be Rin's gas.

Anyway, Yukio seems to be losing (he isn't) and Rin arrives on the roof to take on the summoned monstrosity that Neuhaus created, and Neuhaus, and Yukio is left to his own devices. Rin is getting hammered and looks to be losing, and when things get terrible--

Yukio does what he was clearly planning to do the entire time and just breaks the chalk circle with his foot. Neuhaus himself told the entire class to do that if a summon gets out of control, and Rin even tells Izumo to do this.

This is probably the most useful thing we have learned in class and almost everyone makes this mistake at least once in the manga. Everyone but Yukio.

Neuhaus keeps trying to kill Rin and Yukio pleads with him to stop because Neuhaus is now at the dangerous point of blood loss and will probably kill himself in this endeavor. Neuhaus doesn't stop and stabs Rin through the gut with a summoned arm.

Rin diffuses the situation by telling Neuhaus he can take it and to keep dishing it out if that'll make him feel better, and Neuhaus walks off not to be seen again for quite a while.

Yukio hurries forward to do what he always does when he's frustrated. Lecture because Rin didn't listen to him and put himself in danger.

There are two thins I want to discuss here.

One, Rin sees no problem with just being torn the hell apart in a fight if it saves someone else from being injured, regardless of whether it is the best method forward. He sees himself as being able to take it so why bother thinking things through further than that? He can take the hit so he will take the hit and someone else can figure the rest of the plan out.

Two, Yukio will continue to grow more and more frustrated with this part of Rin and with any situation where Rin refers to himself as demonic or seems okay with the 'monstrous' parts of himself.

He does not want Rin to be a demon. He cannot accept the blue flames and what they mean for both of them. He doesn't want to see this part of Rin. He is obviously grateful Rin is healing, but it means Rin is more and more demon.

Shiemi comes up and berates Rin for bleeding all over the place and fighting her on patching him up. That leads to this:

This is about more than Shiemi picking the meister and choosing to be an exorcist. As an exercise on critical analysis, and a nod to teacher Yukio, I'd like to ask what you think it means for him as a character. What all is he referring to? What has Rin done that he can't? How does this further what Kato has already shown us about how these brothers see each other? Do you think Yukio's assessment is accurate? A bit rosy? A bit harsh?

The students all get told their exwires now and Mephisto pays for the cheapest kind of dinner as a reward. We know this is cheap because the poor students will continue to eat here because they be broke.

The chapter ends with this scene between Mephisto and Yukio.

Now I skipped over it, but in chapter 4 Mephisto called Amaimon the Demon King of Earth over specifically to continue testing Rin. He'll show up in a few chapters to beat the hell out of Rin.

Mephisto is openly lying here. He knows it and Yukio suspects it, and the way he is staring at Mephisto makes it obvious they both know Mephisto is full of shit.

Yukio is, as ever, polite. Polite and the slightest bit threatening, and thus the pawn pieces are moved and this pawn piece is showing that he is aware of the manipulation and not promising to be a compliant piece.

These handful of chapters set up a reoccurring cycle for the twins that is vital to understanding Yukio. Rin is impulsive and reckless and always putting himself and his secret at risk. He is wildly careless about his secret and it will result in his sword getting stolen, his flames being forced out, Shiemi nearly being crushed by a lot of rubble, and a large group of exorcists seeing him walk off a hard headbutt from a cat the size of an eighteen wheeler. And that's just a flyby of two chapters.

Over and over and over again Rin disobeys his directions and does what he thinks is best and it is usually on others stepping in to get him out of the situations. He has the power to probably handle things himself, but he is not to show that without forfeiting his life.

And likely Yukio's, thought Rin doesn't ever seem to think about that and might have changed his ways if he did.

Yukio is shown having to always stay on his toes and constantly be on guard against outside threats trying to manipulate Rin and Rin's own naivety or stupidity almost revealing him. Each chapter is pushing more and more responsibility on Yukio while Rin thinks of himself as getting more and more capable, though he has yet to show he is trustworthy.

He is loyal and willing to take any hit and won't stand by to watch violence, but that doesn't mean one can trust him. Yukio can't depend on him to follow any direction given and it is causing the weight of their shared secret -- that they're the sons of Satan and Rin has Satan's flames -- to fall unevenly on Yukio's shoulders. He is the one having to cover the tracks and manipulate the narrative and throw distractions to keep this secret.

It is important to bear this in mind when looking at Yukio as a whole. They are both the same age and both students at this school, but never once is Yukio treated as being the same age or treated as another student. He is always looked at to be the adult and responsible one. The one that should have let Rin know something or should have stopped something from happening. Always held as the responsible party for when things go wrong. Always the one looking a little deeper and not taking things at face value.

And this is just chapter seven.

I'll try and get us through to the forest training camp in the next installment, but we'll see how that goes because Shura is about to show up and make all of this deliciously more complicated.

[weclassybouquetfun]

The new piece of art in Louis de Pointe du Lac's meditation room has been ID'd and the artist is a friend of Rolin Jones and producer Adam O' Byrne, whom they have both known since drama school - actor Peter Macon of Fox's THE ORVILLE and KINDGOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES.

Raka aka the Gay Ape

Tell me you don't watch the show, and haven't read the books or have watched the film without telling me you do not watch the show, haven't read the books or haven't watched the film. Vampire Louis Armand? I can see that being their joint email address. The one they use to procure their art.

As the series two finale says, that's the End of It. There's Nothing Else...

until series three, which a ways off. Until then, a few memories of the past two seasons.

Lestat and Armand, I'd be obsessed, too.

Sometimes the Interview is the friendships we made along the way.

Eric Bogosian tapped friend and BILLIONS costar David Costabile to play Leonard Michael the interviewer in the series two finale.

Sam asked if his THE NEWSREADER director Emma Freeman could come aboard and she ended up directing episodes 6 and 7 of this season.

Everyone loving on Ben Daniels...as it should be.

Rolin, who was Daniels' showrunner on Fox's THE EXORCIST, would love to bring him back, despite Santiago's death.

Jacob should have a homie hook-up. This season Jacob wanted Josephine Baker to appear on the show as a way to showcase how Paris was a refuge for Black artists. He was even supposed to become friends with Gordon Parks, which answers how Louis knows so much about Parks' process of spending a lot of time with his subjects. Jacob could have pitched his GAME OF THRONES costar Nathalie Emmanuel as Baker.

-I have only ever seen Jacob refer to himself as "Jake" once and now I'm seeing a S1 interview with composer Daniel Hart and he too calls Jacob "Jake".

That's a thing??

Costume fittings for Jake.

-This is how I'm reacting to Jacob's surely diminished role in series three. I know Rolin Jones says not to worry, but he has said he doesn't want to RASHOMON the series, so I don't think we will be getting a lot of Louis in Lestat's flashbacks. And while Sam has said Lestat had his own version of Dream Louis, I don't see them using that convention again.

Honestly Assad/Armand.

Did Sam stop himself for going into how lonely this season was for him because he realized, he was in fact in every episode - even being on set when he wasn't needed?

Jacob and Sam joked that they were trauma bonded like Louis and Lestat. They're the ones traumatizing themselves!

Bit from the TVGuide interview with Rolin and Jacob when the topic of Louis and Lestat's reunion comes up. "Anderson demurred when asked for specifics, though he acknowledged it as one of a few Season 2 sequences that he and Reid found too big to talk about afterward."

What someone pointed out: the finale added New Orleans' SuperDome to the skyline. In the preceding episodes the Eiffel Tower was added next to the Burj Khalifa.

[kibbles-bits]

Hi! Big fan of your au, got some questions

1. What's Vox's routine like in hell?

2. Now that Vox has been in hell for a while, are there things that make him uncomfortable (aside from wifi problems) and what things he finds interesting or actually likes?

3. Who's attention do you think is "worth" for Vox to win over? Winners or sinners? Or, maybe, everyone??

Thank you!

Vox's routine: Wake up E A R L Y Avoid whatever eldritch shadow booby trap that red radio guy set for him, if present. Communal breakfast! To socialize and BOND. (evidence suggests friendships and connections is a key part to redemption) Depending on whether Angel Dust works in the day or night, Vox will spend his working day helping Emily and Charlie with whatever activities they have Angel doing. He drafts and films commercials too - though getting them aired in good channels and in good timeslots is tricky. And since certain events led to him learning how to… handle himself, he'll brush shoulders with other sinners in Hell to track down anyone that might be interested in the hotel. He also wants to get sinners used to seeing him, an angel, walking around. He wants sinners to Trust Him so he can do his job. Free time is spent with Emily at first, then leans more towards Val, who mostly hangs out in a variety of clubs.

Which has gotten Vox pretty used to that sort of crowd. Before, he'd wait in a backroom or outside of a club to talk to Val but now he has no problem going inside and just hanging out with him. Val will occasionally take him to his place or Velvette's studio where its more quiet if he feels the angel is a bit. Twitchy.

Seeing dead sinners on the street and hanging from lampposts makes Vox uncomfortable. Like he doesn't know what happened or how and that unnerves him. He feels a need to know. Strangely, he doesn't mind seeing the act of murder happen. It's a shock when it happens suddenly, but it doesn't bother him. That was a weird thing to discover about himself.

Things he likes? Idk. Val. Velvette. Maybe the fast food. Some risque humor. Heaven's better, though. He misses Heaven. And Vark.

The only attention Vox genuinely values is from Emily and other Winners. Sinners are only potential future Winners. He wants to turn Sinners into Winners, then he'll start valuing them. Maybe. Pentious was kind of annoying. There's no one's attention in Hell worth winning over - it's not like he's staying there forever.

Charlie and Lucifer show an interest in him, so he treats them politely and respectfully enough, but he doesn't seek their attention. Lucifer is a high power but he's still the one who caused all of this so Vox kind of wants to avoid getting too familiar with the devil. Charlie just isn't respected by sinners so the only value she has is her status and ownership of the hotel. She's also like… annoyingly friendly with Emily. Vaggie feels like the other Winners back home - even though she's an Exorcist. Ex-Exorcist. Whatever. As long as she chooses to live in Hell, Vox isn't interested in her either.

Valentino and Velvette are different. He's graciously giving them attention. At least they're grateful for it and happily let him into their space and let him watch whatever he wants. Much better than other sinners - some winners, even! Don't tell anyone he said that though.

He'll take their attention for as long as they freely give it.

(Read the Heaven's Best AU HERE)

[correlance]

Rewriting Vaggie's Character Arc and Backstory in Season 1 of 'Hazbin Hotel'

One of my biggest issues with Season 1 of Hazbin Hotel, and the Charlie/Vaggie relationship, was how Vaggie's character and arc for the season were written - or, specifically, the lack of solid, thoughtful writing, as well as character and relationship development for Vaggie.

First up are the two main songs in Season 1 that feature, or relate to, Vaggie specifically: "Whatever It Takes" in Episode 3 ("Scrambled Eggs"), and "Out For Love" in Episode 7 ("Hello Rosie"). Both notably feature Carmilla Carmine, who serves as a foil for Vaggie in the show.

I've seen "Whatever It Takes" compared to "Do It For Her" from Steven Universe, except the latter has several seasons and dozens of episodes' worth of character development for Pearl, as well as the exploration of her relationship with Rose Quartz. Meanwhile, "Whatever It Takes" comes in just Episode 3 of Season 1 of Hazbin Hotel, and the song feels really out-of-place. It sounds like a song that should be later in Season 1, or even in Season 2, and not Episode 3, which I feel made the song seem shoehorned in due to the fast pace of Season 1, and lessened its impact, for many fans and viewers.

We also have no prior character development for Vaggie that would explain how and why she is singing those particular lyrics, especially for first-time viewers who never watched the original pilot episode. This is a big problem for the song itself, and its notability, overall.

The way the song is written and framed also gives off the impression that Vaggie and Carmilla have some sort of prior connection, or that Vaggie may be one of Carmilla's daughters...only for this not to be the case in Episode 7. Even Carmilla's song, "Out For Love", in Episode 7 makes a lot more sense, if you consider the possibility that Vaggie may have been originally written to be one of Carmilla's daughters in early drafts of the show. Many also assumed as much from the song.

However, once Vaggie's backstory was changed, the songs were still kept in, which led to highly confusing lyrics which make no sense. This is because we're never told what Vaggie's motivations actually are, outside of her wanting to be a protector for Charlie in Episode 3. However, this is also a problem, because it reduces Vaggie's character to just being "Charlie's girlfriend", with no other attributes. I think Vaggie could've been written to be a more compelling person.

Here's what I think Vaggie's original character arc in Season 1 was, prior to rewrites due to a short episode count: Vaggie was one of Carmilla's daughters, and a moth sinner, as opposed to an angel. The angels went after Carmilla and her daughters, and Vaggie killed one of the exorcists to protect Carmilla and her sisters. However, Adam and Lute are now hunting for Vaggie, so Vaggie has to go into hiding.

The Hazbin Hotel provides the perfect opportunity for Vaggie to do so. Vaggie doesn't believe that sinners can be redeemed, though she does befriend and fall in love with Charlie, and helps her with her project.

Vaggie and Charlie bond over how much the exterminations suck, but Vaggie wants revenge on Heaven, and hates Heaven, for murdering so many sinners in cold blood, and is more militaristic - wanting to use Carmilla's angelic steel weapons to fight against Heaven - whereas Charlie is all "eat, pray, love" and "kumbaya", and wants to find a peaceful solution (redemption of sinners) with Heaven instead.

Things come to a head in Episode 6, when Vaggie has a fight with Charlie over where the Hotel is headed - as redemption isn't working - and how they should handle Adam, Lute, and the exterminations. Vaggie's hatred and self-loathing eventually lead her to Carmilla's doorstep, where Carmilla then sings "Out For Love" about how Vaggie should fight because she loves Charlie, and not hates Heaven.

There, I just wrote a better and more interesting character arc for Vaggie than just "hurr durr, let's just copy the most popular fan theory about Vaggie, something something, lazy and boring writing".

[theliterarywolf]

Mononoke: The Phantom in the Rain

Otherwise known as:

Holy FUCKING shit, the anime industry finally giving Lit something she wants, Holy FUCKING shit whose dick do I have to suck to keep this train going

...Ahem.

For anyone who's followed me for a long time, the knowledge of my love for the anime Mononoke is pretty common. Back when I was a member of the YouTube countdown community, I made a whole giant video dedicated to it (which has now been lost to time, thank you YouTube copyright system), I went out of my way to buy the blu-ray set of the series the moment it was available, and my first ever Nendoroid was the Mr. Medicine-Seller one they announced earlier this year.

Which is still in its box because I'm not sure if I should put it together or keep it sealed...

But, anywho, safe to say: I love this anime. And the two major elements of that love are the unique art-style the series utilizes and, of course, the mysterious Mr. Medicine-seller (or Kusuriuri-san).

Literally, let me type out my exact reaction the moment Mr. Medicine-seller had his first line in the movie:

Mr. Medicine-seller: *says one word* Me: I LOVE YOU!!!!!!

Going back to the art-style, however, it is one of those that immediate catches the eye as a fusion of classic Japanese art and pattern-utilization that bears similarities to anime such as Gankutsuo: The Count of Monte Cristo.

I'm realizing that I'm spending a lot of time gushing over my love of the series and not focusing on the movie itself. Let me shift focus:

The movie takes an interesting approach to the IP in presenting Mr. Medicine-seller either as a younger version of himself or an alternate universe version of the Mr. Medicine-seller we got in the OVA and series. I've seen arguments for both interpretations though I'm personally in line to believe the 'younger version' side.

We're presented a setting of two young women, Asa and Kame, arriving at their new jobs at the Ooku, the inner quarters of Edo castle that hosted all of the women who work for the Emperor in one way or another.

Right off the bat, the audience is given some insight that something is a bit off-kilter in the form of all of the Ooku staff being required to throw their most treasured possessions into a well to symbolize the start of their new lives as well as the ceremonial water all of the Ooku staff drink every morning having a foul smell and taste.

And, honestly? That's all I want to divulge in with the plot because, just like the OVA and the series, this film is definitely a piece that is better experienced blind.

However, I will go into a few specific stand-outs that, while not being spoilers, could still lean into things that people may not want plastered in front of them.

The stories that Mononoke centers on involving the horror of the female experience in one way or another.

This definitely has not changed and I am so glad that it didn't.

2. Mr. Medicine-seller's new VA.

Admittedly, when I first heard Hiroshi Kamiya's take on the character in the trailer, I immediately winced a little. Not that it was bad, but the portion of my mind dedicated to all things Mononoke still had Takahiro Sakurai's performance on the altar. However, upon watching the movie, I can say that the change in VAs isn't a detriment. Also, if the film is your first experience with this IP, then you wouldn't be bothered in the first place.

3. Mr. Medicine-seller's new Exorcist Form.

Not going to lie... I miss the gold version. Like, they're both good, but the gold version has more of an actual presence that matches the nonhuman nature of Mr. Medicine-seller's design.

However, again, if we go with the interpretation that the movie trilogy is using a younger version of Mr. Medicine-seller, then I can just hold onto the headcanon that he gets the gold version with more strength and experience.

All in all, I loved the movie. Like... LOVED the movie. However, some might say that I'm a little biased. Either way, I can't wait for the rest of the trilogy.

Final score: 9/10

[queenariesofnarnia]

never underestimate the bunny pt 2

Alastor x F!Bunny Reader 🖤🦌❤️

wc: 707

-extermination day- 

You stood in your room admiring the new bodysuit from Carmilla and her daughters. At least you’re fighting in style. Taking a deep breath before heading downstairs to meet the others. Quietly taking your spot between Angel and Cherri. Who both wrapped an arm around you. Your gaze was casted to the floor as everyone spoke, until a shadow caught your attention. You look up at Alastor, who is upstairs overlooking the lobby full of sinners and cannibals ready to fight. His shadow wraps itself around you taking you to him. 

“You look distraught my dear” he says placing his hands on your shoulders. 

“I was just lost in thought Al” you place a hand over his giving it a light squeeze. He lets out a soft hum at your words. A few moments of silence between you until Charlie begins to guide the fairly large group outside. 

“I would make you stay hidden if I could cher” Alastor’s voice void of the radio sound it normally carried. 

“I know Al, but these are my friends. I know this is your entertainment, but this is all I have now” you look over everyone. He pulls you into his side, his claws tracing your waist. “Be careful Al”  your soft voice reached his ears. Only offering a nod in response before letting you go join the others. 

You rejoin Angel and Cherri outside offering them a toothy grin before the slaughter. The same shadow stayed with you. Intertwining with yours, it calmed your worries even though you weren’t aware of it staying with you. Once Al’s shield was up exorcists were falling left and right. Rosie’s cannibals feasting, getting their fill.  Until the shield was broken by Adam, your mind immediately going to Alastor. 

You want to be by his side during this. Before you could run through the hotel you disappeared into the shadows. Appearing on the roof, between the two men. 

“Who’s this little hot thing?” Adam asked looking you up and down grinning. “Almost makes me want to spare the rest of this ugly place” his statement causing you to roll your eyes. 

“Darling go back to the others” Alastor’s simple request piqued the interest of the first man. 

“You’re with this freak? No fucking way!” He said disgusted at the thought. 

“Do you ever shut the fuck up?” you ask tilting your head in curiosity. 

“Oh so you do talk! You even sound hot” he says placing his hand on his chin. Instinctively you move back towards Alastor, who gently pushes you to the side. 

“Back to why I’m here though. To kill you!” he says laughing, and lunging for Alastor. The shadows held you in place as you watched, their conversation only seemed like them mouthing the words. You were too worried to focus on their words. 

“Let me help him” you plead to the shadow after Alastor’s microphone breaks, it reluctantly let you go. “Get away from him!” you yell launching an angelic knife into Adam’s shoulder, putting yourself in front of Alastor before Adam swung his guitar axe. The world stopped for a moment, as you fell back into Alastor’s arms, eyes slowly shutting 

“Radio is not dead. But, it’s ending this broadcast” you hear him before the world goes black. 

-time skip to where the hotel is rebuilt-

You’re alive, but you’re in a coma. The injury across your chest has healed with the help of Lucifer. Alastor hasn’t left your bedside since, Angel brings him food at the end of the day to check on your progress. Giving Alastor a sad glance when he leaves the room. The rare time Alastor actually falls asleep you stir awake. Your coughs immediately wake him. You look at him with a tired smile. 

“Hey Al” your voice still weak. 

“Hello my dear” he says a rare soft smile that is reserved for you on his face. He cups your cheek gently as you nuzzle into his hand. “It is a pleasure to see you awake” you place a soft kiss on his palm.

“You know what they say Al. Never underestimate the bunny” you say laughing, making him join you. 

“You are absolutely right about that darling” he agrees kissing your forehead. 

[circeyoru]

[Question for the Collector Series]

Does anyone, aside from Trick, from the heaven embassy like the Elders and the Seraphims know of our existence?

Does Seraphim Sera or Seraphim Emily know of our existence?

(obviously) This is for {Collection of Overlords}, check MASTERLIST for the work

Okay, good question and this can actually go both ways. So I’ll answer that first. As a whole, both Heaven and Hell are not aware of the opposite’s True Ruler/Supreme Being, Trick/Noir or Collector/you respectively.

Now I say that in the sense that its realm residents, so angels for Heaven and demons for Hell, don’t know what you and Trick are or the truth of what you are in the world/universe/etc. Obviously, the elders and angels in Heaven listen to Trick’s words through ‘divine messages’ or go along with what Trick has arranged through ‘divine intervention’. Then for you, you have your thing of being involved but not at the same time. 

However, it’s the basic realm residents that have absolutely no idea who or what you and Trick are, they don’t even know you two exist. As for the higher ranks of both sides, it’s different and how my answer is what it is in the beginning. Let’s break it down.

To what degree do Heaven’s higher-ups know about Trick?

A weak degree in simple terms. 

See, Trick is not like you, they don’t and didn’t make themselves know to anyone outside of you. While they the Heaven’s higher-ups that there is a god, Trick is most certainly not one. Noir played the role of god in the eyes of Heaven and Earth because it felt like the right thing to do with their powers over light and holy elements in contrast to yours. While Noir played that role, they still never made themselves known.

If we’re going with what was revealed in the show, or canon, there are the Elders, Seraphim, Exorcists, Angels (human souls that died and judged to be in Heaven), and Heaven borns (not sure if they are called angels or not, but there’s also the Cherubs from Helluva Boss’ canon). 

What about you? (explained with Trick)

⇒ Elders (incorrectly) know that there is a higher power than them. Trick’s existence is a guess but a wrong one since they view Trick as the ‘god’ of the universe. By default, they don’t even think that there’s a possibility of someone on equal or greater footing than their so-called god. So yeah, the elders don’t know about you nor do they guess that there’s someone like Trick in Hell. Since Trick is (in their minds) THE god of the world.

⇒ Seraphim. Now, there are 2 that we know of; Sera and Emily. 

So Sera is a no-brainer, no knowledge or guess to your existence. In terms of Trick though, she follows the Elders’ incorrect view but magitize it to seeing everything that’s unexplainable to be a ‘divine message’ or ‘divine intervention’ like needing guidance from the one above or to be shown that she has done something wrong. For example, when Sir Pentious appeared, Sera’s expression is that of shock and disbelief in a sense that she can’t understand why redemption was allowed for Sinners. Sera is more focused on doing right and just to please her god, so she also doesn’t see a being higher or equal to god, naturally you’re non-existent to her.

In Emily’s case, while she too follows the Elders’ teachings, she doesn’t stress it all too much because she is the one that brings happiness, so she can’t stress too much on it. In her view, as long as she is doing right, she’s fine. BUT! She does feel watched from time to time, she does ask Sera and the Elders about it, though it’s not the answer she wanted. They tell her that she was under the watchful eyes of god (when in reality it is Trick watching her and she feels it), it shows that her place in Heaven is secure and protected even though she isn’t as important. It’s after the end of Season 1 that Trick disguises themselves as a weaker resident of Heaven to talk with Emily. Trick does see potential in her that is missing from the others and is mimicking what you’re doing in Hell, just more focused on one individual. All in all, Emily has no knowledge or speculation of your existence.

⇒ Exorcists. Straight answer. No knowledge at all. Even when they have been to Hell to kill Sinners. That includes Adam, Lute, and Vaggie (formerly). You purely hide yourself even in Hell, you think they’d know?

Adam, even though he’s the first man, never even saw a or the god that the Heaven Elders and Sera are so obsessed over, so he doesn’t believe it no matter how many times they tell him. In his mind, if this god is so great, why did Lilith left him or why did Eve leave him too or maybe why did an Angel like Lucifer even get the freedom to rebel?

For Lute, she could care less, mainly because this god or divine being was never around nor was she punished for her actions. I mean, where’s the divine punishment when she cut Vaggie’s wings off and left her in Hell? She made the conclusion that she just needs to act like she cares in front of the higher-ups.

Other exorcists? Yeah, they don’t care much too. For all of them, when they don’t even care for Trick’s presence, yours is not even in their mind.

⇒ Angels. I mean this in the sense that they are the human souls that were allowed into Heaven after their death. This answer may surprise you. Some would guess your presence, specifically those that doesn’t believe in that one god. It’s the mindset of “if there’s a god of Heaven, then there’s a god of Hell since Heaven already exists”. They just never voice it out because Heaven is strict on rules and to talk about Hell’s ruler is like a major taboo. They just mostly stay within their lives and boundary, not caring about the bigger picture.

⇒ Heaven borns. Err… Not sure if this is even right. But if you watch Helluva Boss, you’d know what I’m referring to. The Cherbubs protects humans, it’s like a service provided, think guardian angels from in animal form. Granted that they go to Earth and interact with humans, somewhat. However, they are heavily strict on the rules as well and on top of that, focused on their work. Similar to Angels, they don’t see the bigger picture of concerns like god or whatnot. I mean, Hell’s not even on their mind, so yeah, they have no knowledge or even speculation of your existence.

[theamberfist]

Like Father, Like Child | Part 4 | Alastor x Exorcist! Reader

Familial! Alastor + Exorcist! Adopted Child! Reader

Description: When an angry mob comes knocking at the hotel's door, Alastor is more than prepared to defend his kid. And, as it turns out, so is said kid.

(Notes: CW Alastor, mentions of murder, fallen angels) (gender neutral reader) (reader is Alastor's adopted child from when they were alive) (Final part of Like Father, Like Child)

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

You blinked, letting what you'd just witnessed on TV sink in. Not only did all of hell know you, an exorcist, was here now, but it seemed an entire angry mob had gathered under the command of that TV-headed demon to come and kill you. Amazing.

"...Maybe they'll lose interest before they get here?" Angel Dust said, reminding you that he was still there sitting beside you. On your other side, Vaggie didn't seem to think that outcome was very likely with the worried expression on her face. 

"I'll go warn Charlie." She decided finally, getting up from the couch and leaving the room before you could even say anything else.

"Angel," you spoke, turning to the spider-like demon with a serious tone now, "Tell me honestly; how bad is it?" You weren't familiar with the sinners in hell so you really weren't sure how brutal they could be about things like this yet. Would they really kill you just because they'd found out you were a fallen exorcist? 

There was a bang at the door, followed up by a series muffled shouts. You winced at the sound, realizing your time was likely up now and that the mob had arrived. "On a scale of one to ten?" Angel asked and you nodded, turning back to him eagerly as you hoped he'd reassure you, "an eleven." So much for reassurance. 

"I'm so dead," You groaned, pulling your knees up and burying your face in them. You didn't have much time to dwell on your fast-approaching demise, though, because another familiar voice spoke behind you. 

"Nonsense, darling!" It was Alastor, and the second you heard him you snapped up, looking over at the deer-like overlord. "If that pathetic mob of sinners think they can break into this hotel and harm one of its guests, they clearly need to be taught a lesson." he didn't add the unspoken fact that that resident was also his kid, but he didn't need to; you knew it was the main reason he seemed so upset.

"Since when have you cared about any of us?" Angel asked in confusion, pointing to you, "They just got here, like, ten minutes ago!"

"All the more reason to ensure they're left alone!" Your dad replied as he straightened his bow-tie and then began heading for the front door. 

"W-wait, what are you going to do?" You asked, calling after him. He paused for just a brief moment, glancing your way with the sinister smile you'd come to expect from him now. 

"Nothing they won't have deserved." And with that, he seemed to blink right out of sight and the sounds of screaming outside became louder. Only, now, they weren't screams demanding you to come out; they were screams of pain as the sinners begged him to stop whatever he was doing. 

Your jaw dropped as you stayed frozen on the couch. You weren't sure what to do. Angel seemed to notice your concern because he just waved the situation off. 

"Eh, don't worry, toots." He told you, turning back to the TV, which was playing his favorite show again. "I know you're an angel and all, but smiles has killed plenty of people so this is nothing new. Trust me, it ain't your problem." He had expected you to give up and turn back to the TV too, but instead, you stood from the couch and headed for the nearest set of stairs, determined to see just what your dad was doing with the screaming sinners outside. 

"Hey, where ya going?" Angel called, "You'll miss the finale!"

"Record it for me!" You called before running up the stairs as fast as you could. Angel sighed but shrugged as he hit the record button and then continued watching his show. 

Meanwhile, you finally made it as high-up as the stairs would allow, reaching a balcony somewhere on the second floor. There, you looked out at the carnage your dad was currently causing. He'd grown a lot bigger than he was inside the hotel before and black tentacles extended from his body, grabbing various sinners and tossing them into his mouth to eat. The sight was more than a little terrifying, but at the same time, you wanted to follow after him.

Even if your dad was a know killer, and even if you were supposed to have been an angel, something inside you didn't want to make him do this alone. You wanted to help; especially since you knew he was out there killing people for your sake. 

But as a former angel, shouldn't you have known better than to fall to your own murderous urges? You'd been dealing with them all your life and afterlife so you couldn't give in now. 

"Fallen angel?" A voice to your right spoke suddenly and you practically jumped out of your skin, turning to see...Lucifer? It was undoubtedly the king of hell; sitting and drinking tea out of what looked like a duck-themed cup as he gazed at Alastor's actions. Remembering the story of what happened to him, you couldn't help but relate a bit as you finally relaxed and then nodded.

"...Yeah." You turned to look back at your dad, who had now grabbed a huge group of sinners and was biting their heads off like it was candy. Your face scrunched in disgust at the sight but Lucifer seemed either unbothered by it or too bothered to be bothered anymore. "And I'm assuming you know him?" He asked, pointing to your dad. You nodded awkwardly. 

"Yeah...We're related," You admitted reluctantly. You weren't sure why Alastor had been hesitant to tell everyone about you being his kid, but maybe it was to avoid a situation like the one you were in right now. 

"Yeesh," Lucifer replied as he took another sip of his tea, "That's gotta be rough. No wonder you feel from heaven too."  You paused at that; surprised by how he wasn't even questioning you.

"What am I...Supposed to do now?" You asked after a second. Lucifer froze, glancing back at you in surprise. 

"You're asking me?"

"I guess." You admitted with a shrug, "You fell once too, didn't you?" After a moment he nodded, setting his cup down on the table. 

"Whatever you want, I suppose." He told you, "I always wanted human souls to have free will, which is how we ended up in this shithole in the first place." He stood, leaning against the balcony as the sounds of more screams filled the air from the Radio Demon's actions, "You can try to get back into heaven or just...Exist." He seemed pretty deflated as he leaned half his body over the railing now; practically falling off.

Still, you considered his words. Do whatever you wanted, huh? 

You'd tried to avoid killing, no matter how much you wanted to, for your entire life. Now, you were dead and you'd already killed countless sinners for the 'greater good,' and permanently, at that. You'd ended up in hell already, so it wasn't like anything mattered anymore.

So what did you want to do? 

You paused, contemplating the question for a moment before finally coming to a decision. You turned back to the king of hell with a bright smile once your mind was made up. "Thanks, Lucifer." His expression seemed to soften at that and a smile even made its way onto his face.

"No problem," he told you genuinely, "I'm always happy to help a young sinner and-" He cut himself off when you turned and jumped right off the hotel balcony into the bloodshed. From there, you seemed to instinctively figure out whatever powers you might have had, either from being an angel or being fallen, and began assisting Alastor in killing off the crowd of demons around the building. "-enable their murderous behavior..." Lucifer finished his sentence with a regretful sigh. Why did he even bother with these sinners again?

Meanwhile, you felt more exhilarated than you'd been since before you died. It turned out you had some sort of light-related power. You could shoot small beams of white light from your hands, blasting holes right through sinners like a laser. It probably wouldn't kill them permanently, but the memory and pain would be enough to stop them from ever coming after you again.

Being down there and fighting sinners was one of the most natural moments you'd experienced in a while. You supposed it came from being the child of a literal overlord, but it couldn't have been more fun. Alastor seemed to notice your presence on the impromptu battlefield now too because one of his tentacles gently reached down, picked you up, and then placed you on his giant shoulder. 

"It seems the power of a former exorcist is quite useful, isn't it, darling?" He asked before throwing another five sinners into his mouth. 

"Sure is!" You replied with a smile that rivaled even your dad's, "I can see why you became an overlord now; this is the best!" Alastor's own grin only widened at that; pride swelling in his chest. Most of the sinners were gone now thanks to both his power and your angelic laser beams, but there was one still nearby that caught his attention. 

Vox attempted to scramble away but wasn't fast enough; being plucked from the ground by Alastor's hand. He hadn't even needed a tentacle to grab the TV demon and now he simply held him by the back of his shirt for the both of you to see. 

"Now, this is who brought this crowd here today." He informed you, even though you already knew. Alastor glanced at you, still on his shoulder. "Would you care to do the honors?" 

You brightened at that, immediately nodding. "I'd love to!" Alastor cackled, turning back to the terrified Vox.

"Let it be known," he said, "That this is what happens when you mess with the Radio Demon or his child!" Alastor was more than aware of the fact that there were likely cameras on you three right now, figuring what better way to announce his relation to you? With that out of the way, you shot a laser beam at Vox, melting through his body and then his head, ensuring it would be a long time before he finally regenerated. 

Once you were done, Alastor turned and chucked Vox's temporarily-dead body across the entirety of Pentagram City; you weren't even sure where it ended up landing. 

Your dad began to shrink back to his normal size now, gently placing you on the ground nearby to ensure you didn't get hurt. Once he was back to normal, he turned to you with the widest smile. 

"Very well done, my dear!" He exclaimed with nothing but pride, "I didn't think you had it in you, but it seems we'll make a hellish overlord out of you yet!" You laughed as his hand gently ruffled your hair, feeling all the anger and grief you'd once held towards him melt away. It seemed embracing your murderous tendencies really had done wonders for your emotional state. 

"Thanks, dad." You replied, hugging the deer-like demon for the first time in many years. His smile somehow widened even more as he pulled you closer, ignoring the surprised looks of the hotel guests, who'd come out now to see if the fight was over. 

"Dad?!" Angel repeated in shock. Meanwhile, Charlie and Vaggie were too stunned to speak. Cherry seemed to not know what to think of it, Nifty was beyond touched by the scene, and Husk couldn't even be surprised by any of Alastor's actions anymore. 

"Would you call this...A reverse redemption?" Lucifer asked, leaning over to his own daughter and feeling slightly responsible for the horror he'd just released upon hell through you. She didn't reply but you and Alastor both turned back to the hotel now, heading over to the group as if this was the most casual situation.

"Now, how about I make some jambalaya?" Alastor suggested as your eyes immediately lit up. 

"That was my favorite when I was alive!"

"It sure was!" Alastor agreed, tapping your head with his radio-cane as you smiled. As you walked past the rest of the hotel guests, they all remained frozen in shock. 

"Is this ever not gonna be weird?" Angel asked no one in particular. He hadn't expected to receive a response, but then you called from inside.

"Probably not!" After that, all that followed was the sound of yours and your father's combined laughter.

Like father, like child. 

……….

Tags for those who requested: @avitute @deadgirldreaming

[shinynewboots]

Staring at the Sun / Adam x Lute Chapter 1

Summary: After the battle, Lute attempts to flee with Adam. They find themselves unable to return to Heaven and must adjust to life in Hell.

AN: Hello all! I have been obsessed with Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss for the past two weeks and got this plot bunny that wouldn't leave me alone! So excited to be writing for this fandom! This chapter is relatively short but I wanted to go ahead and set the scene for the rest of the story. Hope y'all enjoy!

Warnings: Violence, gore, 18+ eventually, Adam-typical misogyny eventually

Chapter 2

“NO!” Lute screamed, running towards Adam. Golden blood dripped from her dismembered limb, leaving puddles of golden tears as it fell. She could no longer feel the searing pain in her arm. No, that pain now belonged in her chest at the sight of her beloved leader being stabbed in the back.

Adam lay face forward, golden blood gushing from his multiple stab wounds as the Damned could only stand and watch in awe as the small demon pulled her knife from Adam’s back.

Lute fell to her knees beside Adam and used all the force in her body to roll him over, the remains of her left arm hanging against her side. 

“Sir! Stay with me sir!” Lute screamed, almost demanding. Adam gave her a soft smile. It had been a long time since she had seen his face, but it was just as handsome as she had remembered. Blood dripped from his nose. His golden eyes were soft but empty, losing light. His hair was messy and full of dirt and debris. His beautiful heavenly robes were stained with blood.

“Adam!” She screamed. Had she ever called him that before? Tears welled in her eyes and she took in the sight of her beloved leader. His eyes closed, and his breathing grew shallow. 

“It’s over,” The Princess of Hell said in a dark tone behind her. Blood pulsed in Lute’s ears and saliva pooled in her mouth. 

“Take your little friends and go home,” Lucifer exclaimed, fire blowing from his mouth in a rage. His voice was low and threatening. All around them, the other exorcists had stopped fighting and Lute could feel all the eyes of Hell upon her. 

“Please,” Lucifer added, a snarky smile on his face. Lute breathed deeply and grabbed Adam’s halo.

“Retreat! All exorcists fall back.” She screamed. Exorcists filled the skies and fled the scene as though it were a crime. The group of Hellions watched on, triumphant looks upon their faces. 

Lute knew she could not leave him. He was better than all of these demons and sinners. He was Adam. He was the First Man. He was…everything.

Lute took in a deep breath and used all of her remaining strength to pull Adam onto her shoulders. It took a few tries as she could not balance him due to her loss of forearm. Finally, she felt secure enough with him on her shoulders. He was much bigger than her and would weigh her down as she flew but she had no choice. She couldn’t leave him. 

She unfurled her wings, beginning her ascent back to Heaven. Exorcists filled the skies, almost all back through the portal that Adam had originally opened. The fucking cowards had not even bothered to try and help her bring back the body of their leader. Fucking bitches. 

Lute could feel Adam’s blood soak into her back. She could no longer hear his breathing. He couldn’t be dead!

He was Adam!

“Don’t you dare fucking die on me Adam,” She whispered as though it were a prayer. Despite being an angel, she had not prayed in decades. What was there to pray for in heaven?

She flew much slower than she ever had, weighed down by Adam and her own exhaustion. Her arm was dripping blood back down to Hell like holy raindrops from above. All of the exorcists were back through the portal.

She was so close!

Just a little further!

But wait.

Why did the portal look like it was getting smaller the closer she got? 

Her eyes widened in realization as the portal closed leaving her flying toward the Pentagram sun, the sky around her empty.

How was this possible?!

She couldn’t open another portal.

She couldn’t—

Falling. 

She felt herself begin falling. 

Her eyes grew heavy. 

She was so tired. So dizzy. She just wanted to rest. 

NO!

Adam. 

Adam needed her. 

Adam was—

Falling too

Everything went dark. 

How long had it been since Lute had been in the dark?

“Dad!!” Lute heard someone scream. Hell Princess maybe?

Adam. 

She had to save Adam.

Adam—

[animebw]

Seasonal Reflection: Fall 2024 Anime

I'm not exactly sure when I realized this year's fall anime season was shaping up to be a dud. It started out so strong, with one stellar premiere after another promising a stacked slate of excellent shows. But at some point, it started to sink in that I was only keeping up with most of them out of obligation, the initial spark they started with long since flickered out. I barely even finished half the shows I usually do, and a good half of those didn't feel worth the time I wasted on them by the end. On the bright side, this season's two best entries- Re:Zero's third season and the spectacular Orb: On the Movements of the Earth- are still ongoing, so I may end up feeling more positive on fall in retrospect. For now, though, I'm mostly left with disappointment. So let's say farewell to this mediocre end for an otherwise pretty solid year for anime and take stock of its few entries that are genuinely worth your time.

Mecha-Ude/Mechanical Arms: 4/10

The best way I can describe Mecha-Ude is that it feels like someone stole a rough doodle from Hiroyuki Imaishi's sketchbook. From the intensely angular, frame-dropping animation style to the breakneck pacing and constantly escalating sense of overstuffed Anime Bullshit plot mechanics, this sci-fi yarn about inter-dimensional arm-shaped biomechanical organisms kick-starting an insecure young boy's journey to manhood would feel right at home among any of Trigger's offerings. And at first, I was really digging it! The first few episode have such a wonderfully stupid sense of humor that sell you on its absurd premise effortlessly, and while the CG-blending mecha animation takes some getting used to, it results in some really damn expressive action scenes. Unfortunately, it's only a matter of time before the plot rears its ugly head, and the second Mecha-Ude tries having an actual story it pretty much falls apart. The story barrels ahead at a disorienting pace, rushing through plot beats too fast to understand what's going on or why we should care. And the characters are hit with some of the most contrived decision-making I've seen in a long time to justify the increasingly hackneyed drama of it all. Seriously, it's been a while that I've been this aggravated at the Obviously Bad Choices every single character makes in this show. And then they stop letting the cool action girl do cool action girl things on top of that. What a disappointment.

Blue Exorcist: Beyond the Snow (1st Cours): 4.5/10

I've tried my best, but I think I'm finally starting to lose my patience with Blue Exorcist. There's only so long I can watch a story I love slog through this subpar adaptation before it becomes painful to keep holding out hope for it to recapture the magic it once had. The huge, earth-shaking direction this season heads in just can't stand up to such weak production values, let alone the crushing weight of too much lore and backstory that, frankly, is never as interesting as the show seems to think it is. And it doesn't help that Beyond the Snow's introductory arc is easily Blue Exorcist's worst arc yet; in trying to bring some welcome depth to Shura, it instead face-plants into some of the most condescending and sexist writing I've seen out of shonen in a hot minute. Blegh. At this point Rin and Shiemi's romance is the one joy keeping me from jumping ship just yet. Let's hope that remains true.

Ranma 1/2: 5/10

Once again, we have a modern remake of a Rumiko Takahashi series that leaves me very conflicted. If nothing else, Ranma 1/2 is instantly a more credibly sincere love story than Urusei Yatsura ever managed to be; the way Ranma and Akane's prickly chemistry develops in the first arc is genuinely kind of lovely. But this is still very much in the mold of an endless will-they-won't-they that's going to live or die on the strength of its wacky supporting cast rather than actually developing its main couple in any sort of timely fashion. And it kind of stings more knowing Ranma and Akane are doomed to a nigh-endless parade of misunderstandings and wacky hijinks when I actually care about them, as opposed to Lum and Ataru who I never gave so much as a half-shit about. I dunno, maybe I'm just too much of an early zoomer for this show to hit the same way it does for the people who grew up with its particular cocktail of mind-expanding gender hijinks. Or maybe Mappa just isn't the best studio to adapt this kind of slapstick-based action gag comedy. Eh, whatever, I'll still check out season 2. Hopefully it'll click with me the more time I spend with it!

Magilumiere Magical Girl Inc: 5/10

This is one of those shows I like more in concept than execution. I've always thought there's loads of untapped potential in stories about grown-up magical girls (magical women?), and Magilumiere has an excellent approach to the subject: what if magical girls were an actual industry in today's business landscape? How would large and small companies differ in the hiring and training processes? How would it intersect with other, more mundane industries? What's the ideal way for a magical girl to carry out her mission and protect people in a world where they're as commonplace as pest exterminators? There's so much fun thematic and worldbuilding territory to explore here. Unfortunately, I think Magilumiere is a little too eager to explore all of it. Because it just can not stop making its characters turn to the camera and explain every last bit of subtext or nuance directly to the audience's face. It's like every time I was starting to form my own conclusions naturally, the show slams on its brakes and says "IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, THIS IS THE MESSAGE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS ARC." And it gets annoying very fast. Try trusting your audience, show, most of us are smarter than you seem to think!

Acro Trip: 5/10

For such a simple show, it's hard to know what to make of Acro Trip sometimes. It's a lighthearted magical girl spoof about Date Chizuko, a gloomy girl who moves to a new town and instantly falls head over heels for its magical girl defender, the peppy and radiant Berry Blossom. But upon realizing she has a knack for playing the bad guy, she teams up with Berry's current antagonist- a sopping wet kitten of a man named Chrome who just can't quite live up to the evil mastermind he wants to be- to give Berry the challenge she needs to show off how cool she is. So I guess picture Gushing Over Magical Girls if it was family friendly instead of, well, you know. Whatever the case, though, it's a janky-ass show, seesawing wildly in quality over the course of any given episode with a production seemingly held together with glue sticks and a prayer. At its best, it lets lead actors Miku Itou and Nobunaga Shimazaki flex some truly remarkable comedic chemistry; any time it's just Chrome and Chizuko fucking around, its a blast. But most of its side characters are forgettable, all its attempts to have any sort of grander story fall pretty flat, and it feels like there's a missed opportunity to develop Chizuko's relationship with Berry in her civilian life while scheming against her behind the scenes. Seriously, you had a perfect excuse for a villain secret-identity double-life between the protagonist and her Big Gay Crush/Rival, and you did nothing with it? Disappointing.

Blue Box (1st Cours): 6/10

To be honest, I'm a little surprised Blue Box has had so much trouble winning me over. On paper, it's got everything I could ask for; a grounded sports drama and rom-com following two adorkable teens pursuing their own inter-high dreams while developing feelings and pushing each other to do their best. Add a mostly solid production and a cast of high school kids that feel genuinely down to earth, and I feel like I should at least be enjoying this enough for a 7/10 on principle. But in execution, something about Taiki and Chinatsu's budding relationship leaves me cold. Perhaps in such a grounded show, it stands out so much more blatantly how Chinatsu has been constantly sidelined and objectified by the narrative, reduced to a gorgeous porcelain trophy we only ever get to see from the outside instead of a character in her own right. She clearly has some interiority, but the show consistently fails to explore her perspective, or focus on her struggles, or use her as anything other than a lodestone for Taiki's growth. That might be starting to change as of the last episode of this cours, but if Blue Box genuinely wants me to care about her and Taiki getting together instead of stubbornly rooting for Obvious Best Girl Hina to the bitter end, it better start treating her side of the story with the importance it deserves, and fast.

NegaPosi Angler: 7.5/10

If I said the feel-good masterpiece of the season was the show that opens on the protagonist trying to hang himself, would you believe me? I know it took me a second to re-adjust after that whammy of a first scene. But believe it or not, that contradiction between life's joy and its bitter misery is the beating heart of NegaPosi angler. Shackled by debt and struck with an illness that leaves him only two years left to live, it's no wonder college dropout Tsunehiro Sasaki isn't exactly in a great mental state when we meet him. But when a chance encounter introduces him to a motley crew of fishing enthusiasts, he finds himself drawn into their wake as he tries to make sense- or rather, tries to stop running away from the existential terror- of what his life means now that it's got an expiration date. It's a genuinely touching tale of self-discovery and self-redemption, and I love how it's not afraid to let Sasaki be messy and imperfect as he grows into a better person. At times, his short-sightedness and myopia are painful to witness, but that just makes his moments of clarity and change hit all the harder. And it helps that the supporting cast is all so lovable and diverse in their own dysfunctional ways. This show just gets the healing power of community, man. If you're willing to face the mundane misery of human existence to find your happiness within it, I can't recommend this show enough.

Dan Da Dan: 8/10

Listen, do you know how frustrating it is that I can't recommend Dan Da Dan wholeheartedly? Do you understand how much I wish I could sing this show's praises uncritically and happily suggest it to all my normie friends? It has everything I could possibly want! Gorgeously rendered supernatural action! One of the most infectiously adorable main couples in recent memory! Some of the most expressive storyboarding in the entire modern anime industry! A gonzo sense of imagination that makes each new dive into the occult and paranormal feel as fresh as the first time you learned about aliens and ghosts as a kid! The sheer badassery of Momo Ayase owning every single scene she's in! As a long-term defender of goofy, sincere anime nonsense where superpower teenagers punch demons in the face with the power of love and friendship, Dan Da Dan is one of the finest examples of the form I've seen. But I can't recommend this show without the one fucking caveat of that lurid attempted rape scene in the first episode that has no business being here and is completely irrelevant to the story moving forward. Literally just five minutes of an otherwise spectacular shonen thrill ride prevent me from sharing my love with this series as widely as I want to. Why do you do this to me, anime? Why???

DROPPED SHOWS

Blue Lock Season 2: Dropped at 2 episodes because of a catastrophic drop in animation quality.

Ron Kamonohashi's Forbidden Deductions Season 2: Dropped at 4 episodes because I realized I just didn't care anymore.