#tldr; panicked screaming

[thegreatyin]

What is the Scoundrel thinking about as they go through in this ship? Did they get down to the lowest level yet.

...did they find the thing that is in the deck. Admist the wax?

it isn't thinking anything, really. it's just- moving. quickly. no it's not breathing frantically that's just how its chest works. no its hands aren't trembling they just happen to feel a bit chilly today. if they pick on the (now thoroughly blood-soaked) bandages on their arms, well, that's their business!! it doesn't mean they're scared. they're perfectly calm. look at them!!! they're smiling!!!!! they're having a Delightful time!!!!!!!!

now where was that pesky-

oh.

oh, they need to get the hell out of here.

[simplydnp]

.

[thecozygrove]

Time for some LORE!

TLDR for those who don’t wanna read my wall of text: Leshy feels out of place among the old faith and believes the other bishops fear his power and don’t respect him so he makes his own cult. The others don’t like that and try to stop Leshy. Big fight ensues, four bishops injured, Leshy gets imprisoned, and the green crown gets lost in Darkwood.

Leshy, the youngest of bishops and newest edition to the Old Faith had always felt out of place- No. He KNEW he was the odd one out.

War, Pestilence, Death and Famine. They were the four horseman of the Apocalypses. They were a team. Just the four of them.

Originally, Leshy had thought the older bishops simply feared change. That they were stuck in their ways and with his domain being that of chaos, it had disrupted the balance the Old Faith had grown comfortable in .

But it was HIM they feared. They clearly feared the unpredictable powers of the green crown. They couldn't control him and it SCRAED them.

Shamura couldn't teach Leshy their traditions. Tradition was boring and Leshy wasn't one for the strict routine Shamura tried to enforce.

Narinder and Heket couldn't scare him into submission. Leshy had laughed at the idea of his older siblings trying to boss him around like he was one of their followers.

And Kallamar… We'll Kallamar had always been a coward through and through. The pathetic squid god would say what the others were too proud to admit.

There was no place for Leshy in their faith.

Since there was no place for him in the old faith, Leshy would just make his own faith! With a following of those who respected his domain. Then when his siblings saw how powerful he was they would HAVE to respect him.

Leshy isolated himself from his older siblings without warning and focused all of his efforts on making his own cult grow. The older bishops didn't pay any attention to this as they thought Leshy had finally gotten the message and was taking the teaching of the Old Faith seriously. Oh how wrong they were.

His following has always been much larger than his sibling's as Leshy was rather lax with the rules and his followers could usually do as they pleased. This made him more favorable among the mortals.

And as his following grew, so did his power.

It was only when followers started leaving the old faith to join Leshy did the other bishops realize what their youngest brother had been doing. They needed to put a stop to this before Leshy took his "New Faith" too far.

Attempting to confront Leshy was a horrible mistake. A horrible, horrible mistake.

This would be the first and hopefully last time any of the bishops would ever seen raw chaos magic in action as they witness the power of the green crown and for the first time see Leshy's eldritch form.

~~~ BATTLE AND AFTERMATH ~~~

-Kallamar was the first to be attacked by Leshy. Kali's ear's were permanently damaged by being too close to Leshy screaming while he transformed into his eldritch horror form. Kali was left deafened immediately after the attack. Leshy then flung Kali through the forest with his tail and chased a panicked Kallamar until their other siblings arrived. Kali chained the tail shortly after Heket managed to restrain Leshy for long enough.

After the battle, Kali's paranoia only grows as he believes Leshy is still watching him from the shadows. Now unable to hear, Kali is constantly looking over his shoulder and hold his weapons at the ready, much to the dismay of his followers who might get a blade pointed in their face. He does suffer from auditory hallucinations which only make the paranoia worse

-While attempting to muzzle Leshy, he grabbed Shamura in his mouth and burrowed violently through the ground until Narinder captured him. Shamura experience permanent head trauma from the attack which had also left them severely traumatized. They chained the upper body.

Shamura was left a shell of their former self. Not only from the brain damage but from the grief they feel over failing their youngest sibling. It was Shamura's job as the oldest and wisest bishop to teach their ways and they failed to reach Leshy. If they had only tried harder. Tried to understand how the chaos god saw their world. Shamura had the powers to stop any of this from happening and yet they still failed them all.

-Heket's throat was slashed open by one of Leshy's antlers while putting the collar shackle on him. This was the only attack from Leshy which was purely accidental. Heket was the first to successfully chain Leshy. She chained his neck.

Heket now has to speaks telepathically through her crown as she was muted by the attack and it pains her to try and speak. She was the sibling Leshy was closest too and his betrayal hit her hard. Was she too hard on the young god? Was she not hard enough? For the first time in her long life, Heket questions her choices. Her uncertainty manifests itself as unbridle rage as her iron grip over her cult only tightens.

-Narinder was the last bishop to arrive shortly after Shamura, he had gotten his left arm bitten off while attempting to restrain Leshy and rescue Shamura from the jaws of the rampaging worm. He chained the lower body.

After almost dying at the hands (mouth?) of Leshy, Nari has been struggling with the concept of his own mortality. The god of death himself being afraid of dying? How painfully ironic. Despite all this, Nari is the one to visit Leshy the most out of all of the siblings. The two of them, were never that close by any means but Nari will occasionally check in on the youngest god...

[gallavich-headcanon]

hi this is my 3rd time writing it (my app keeps crashing) and ngl im kind of annoyed so ill keep this short and sweet cus the last time i tried writing the idea out here it just disappeared, so:

a magic au

mickey is a dealer of sorts, he gets his clients all and any ingredients they need for spells and potions, as well as other things they might need. he gets a new client and the first meeting doesnt go well, the person isnt too keen on his gruff and no-bullshit attitude. they end up fighting and mickey is cursed into a cat, the only way to break the curse being to get someone to treat him the way he treated the witch.

ian is a healer witch, he meets mickey in one of the worst ways he could - as hes walking out of the corner shop he almost knocks the cat out with the force with which he opens the door.

the cat - mickey - hisses at him, his tail held out stiff and straight very obviously unhappy with being hit. ian, lover of all things living, immediately feels terrible crouches down and takes something out of one of his grocery bags and holds it out to mickey.

the cat looks at him doubtfully but smelling the piece of ham the red head is holding out in his palm mickeys tummy rumbles almost painfully (its been two days since hes been turned and hes had no luck in getting anyone to feed him or finding anything to eat in the wild) so he carefully moves closer to the man and takes the ham out of his hand quickly and practically devours it.

ian feeds him a few more pieces until the cat visibly calms down, he even pets it scratchingg behind its ear as he whispers apologies. then he stands up slowly and with one last look at the cat moves to get to his apartment. he doesnt notice the panicked look on the cats face.

it takes mickey all of 3 seconds to decide that hes going to follow the man. in the last 2 days no one seemed to even notice him, he cant chance another 48 or so hours of hunger and general misery.

he follows the man home and hopes the stranger will at least give him some more food before he closes his doors in his face.

ian doesnt notice the cat is following him until hes in front of his house, and by then he feels like he has to get the cat in for at least one night.

he makes dinner for both himself and the cat and after spending the evening in front of the tv he goes to bed. during the night mickey wakes up and decides its as good time as any to get started at annoying the man until he shouts at him. admittedly he feels kind of bad to be pushing stuff to the ground and digging in the plants but its his only chance at getting back to being human. by the time hes done its almost dawn and the sky is turning grey, he curls up next to the bed and waits for the man to wake up and start screaming.

except he doesnt. when ian gets up, moves out if the bedroom and into the combined living room and kitchenhe notices the mess right away, but instead of getting angry he just chuckles to himself lowly. he did bring a cat home and as far as hes aware cats need entertainment to stimulate their brains. he quickly cleans up before getting breakfast (for himself and the cat), getting dressed and leaving for work. when he comes back, hes carrying a bag filled with different types of cat toys.

mickey is so fucked.

-------------

tldr;

mickey gets cursed into a cat and to break the curse someone has to treat him the same way he treated the witch (i.e. yell at him) ian finds him in front of the grocery store and feeds him, mickey follows him home and ian takes him in after which mickey gets fed again only to decide during the night that if hes ever to go back to being human he needs to piss the guy off in a major way, cue mickey knocking stuff off the table, and other places. it seems to be going well, the destruction not too much but seemingly enough to get yelled at. except ian doesnt yell, he doesnt even get mad. he lets out a barely audible giggle and as he comes home from work later that hday, hes carrying a variety of cat toys.

i got this idea at 2am yday and couldnt get it out of my head or write it down in a way that made sense so here is a bunch of words that seemed to make sense to me, hope you dont mind. also would really appreciate your thoughts♡

xx

HOLY SHIT MARS! OKAY I AM SO EXCITED!

mickey is a dealer of sorts, he gets his clients all and any ingredients they need for spells and potions -> This reminds me of a fic I read but I can't think of the name...

mickey is cursed into a cat, the only way to break the curse being to get someone to treat him the way he treated the witch. -> okay this is very fucking cool. So he treated the witch like shit and now he needs someone to treat him like shit...

ian, lover of all things living, immediately feels terrible -> of course he does! I would too! poor kitten! He's so tiny and pretty.

he doesnt notice the panicked look on the cats face. -> poor Mickey! he's probably so tired, especially after finally eating for the first time in two days. he probably needs a warm place to take a fucking nap.

but instead of getting angry he just chuckles to himself lowly. -> Oh Ian you're such a sweet man. Mickey is never turning back into a human, isn't he?

MARS I need more! I am not kissing you better continue this story! This is such a cute idea. Mickey will try to do the most fucked up things and while Ian probably punish him (no snack, spray him with a water when he tries to eat the plants) he doesn't yell. Mickey tries to bite him and Ian thinks that they're playing.

But life as Ian's cat isn't so bad. He gets cuddles and warm bed and food, He can watch tv while Ian is at work. I'm dying to know how long it takes Ian to realize this isn't a real cat.

[hot-take-tournament]

Klapollo isn't for everyone obviously so I won't say that it is, but they actually foil each other really well and I think that's where the shipping aspect comes in. Apollo wears his heart on his sleeve and is super distrusting of pretty much everyone. Klavier hides his true thoughts and feelings away to be the person he thinks others wants to see and throws himself into trusting people, he wants it so desperately. The people closest to Apollo trust him while the people closest to Klavier don't. They're both grieving so many things, running from and fighting them. They have the potential to help each other in a way that no other characters presented can (in aa4 imo. Not out here saying you couldn't possibly ship them with anyone else, I'm a multishipper myself lol). Some people might be looking for wrightworth, but tbh this ship is the opposite of them. I totally understand not liking the ship, it's hard to be as compelling as wrightworth when capcom decided to do ALL THAT to Apollo rip my guy, hope you can reconcile your 8 backstories, and then do absolutely NOTHING with Kalvier rip my guy, hope you're doing something somewhere and didn't like join Clay offscreen or something. Probably moved to Borginia with Apollo's mom /j I could say more but idk the character limit on an ask and you don't want my essay in your ask box.

TLDR; It's not for everyone but it's not baseless.

(so... now that persona 3 is getting a remake, i can't stop thinking about this one time i was on my way home and i passed by this weird family-owned sweetshop i'd never seen before. so on impulse i decided to go in and buy something, and i ended up buying this huge novelty lemon sherbert, because i needed to study and i wanted something that would last a long time. so i get back home, sit on my bed and look for some calming study music to put on, and for whatever reason the first thing i think of is kimi no kioku from persona 3. at this point, i remembered i had the sherbert, so i put the song on loop, went to get it, and then got back onto the bed to eat it. and because i live alone and there was no one around to make fun of me, for fun i decided to eat it all sexy like cleopatra eating grapes (you know, when you lie back, tilt your head towards the ceiling, hold it above your head, and lower it into your mouth). but as i'm holding it over my head, the sherbert slipped out of my fingers, bounced off my tongue and went straight down the collar of my shirt. i immediately forgot where i was, panicked, awkwardly fished it out and just flung it straight into the back of my throat and accidentally swallowed it whole - at which point it immediately got lodged in my oesophagus and completely cut off my airway, and no matter what i did, i just couldn't get it out. so i stumbled out of bed and started frantically clawing at my throat as i tried to find the door, unable to breathe, unable to scream, until my vision began to darken around the edges and i couldn't see - and the next thing i know i'm lying on my back gasping for air, with a dumbell that i had left lying on the floor now lodged between my shoulder blades, and the massive sherbert fused to my eyelid. so what must've happened is i'd blacked out, toppled backward and fell on this dumbell in just the right way that it dislodged the sherbert and launched it out of my throat, sending it arcing through the air and landing it on my face. and ever since that day i've always wondered - what if i had just died there? if i had fallen very slightly differently and missed the dumbell, would i have died alone on that carpet, desperately begging for help that i knew would never come? and if i did, how long would it have been before someone even noticed i was gone, let alone care enough to come check on me? and what would've happened when they did? since i had the song playing on loop, and my laptop was plugged in, there's a chance that when they did finally find me, they'd find me lying on my back, eyes closed, with kimi no kioku playing on repeat in the background)

[themaddoctorappreciationclub]

The Receptionist

(AKA: I couldn't explain the basic concept of this blog without going overboard) TLDR: You are an investigator that must get information, but are trapped in the club's hideout. So... Ask away!

TW: Possible Blood Mention ("red stains"), Captivity

"Oh! Welcome! Welcome! Please, come in!"

You flinch at the sound of the receptionist's voice. Looking ahead, you see a strange man sitting at the dirty, dingy desk of the check in area. He waves you over, bright eyes gleaming behind his cracked glasses. Standing, you walk over to him.

Your job is simple. You are an undercover investigator, trying to figure out whatever this "Mad Doctor Appreciation Club" is truly planning, as well as the crimes that have been committed. By pretending to be a simple visitor, you plan to sneak in, get information, then sneak back out. You WOULD call the information in as you get it, but your phone has no signal here. Plus, someone might catch you.

The receptionist introduces himself, his movements rather stiff and robotic as he makes a dramatic gesture towards himself "I am Mr. [INFORMATION REDACTED]! You can just call me Mr. Receptionist! What is the reason for your visit, along with your name?"

"I am (Y/N). I just want to look around and ask these doctors some questions. I have always admired their work." You watch as the odd man cocks an eyebrow, saying "I never thought a private investigator would be interested in the work of our beloved mad doctors. That is no problem, however. I shall give you the... GRAND TOUR... Of our beloved hospital." Suddenly, the man shoots to his feet, beginning to walk into a random hall.

Following him, you look around the old walls of the hospital. It looks like the place they are staying in has been abandoned for a very long time. The walls and floors are cracked, with the lights barely holding onto their place in the ceiling. Down the hall, you can hear a bunch of shouting and screaming. "Mr. Receptionist, may I ask what is going on down there?"

He stops abruptly, turning on his heels to face you. "This shall be the first batch of doctors you meet! They hang around the cardiac ward, which is here. There is the Medic, Dr. Ludwig, Dr. Randolph, and Dr. Takuto Maruki. A few others like to roam the halls here, but reside in different wards. Dr. Hauser stays in the library near here. Go inside while I go fetch him."

Slowly, you nod your head. You take a few steps towards the room, only for Mr. Receptionist to call out "HEADS UP! Most, if not all of the doctors there speak English as a second language, and like to talk to each other in their mother tongue. They will speak English for you if you don't understand German or Japanese, or just want to speak in English. I just wanted to let you know, because if you hear them speaking to each other in a language they know you don't understand... they might be plotting something. Or gossiping, I don't know really. Except for Dr. Maruki. He's a sweetheart who wouldn't hurt a fly! Ta-ta!"

You sigh, rubbing your forehead, before walking over to the tattered door and knocking. The various voices behind the door all grow silent, before it suddenly swings open. The man who answered has a very concerned and panicked look on his face, clasping his hands together as he asks "Are you here to pick me up? Please! Tell me you are! I really don't belong here! That's not to say anything negative about the others-" "Maruki! Give the person some space! Also, come back here! We need you for this next test!"

Suddenly, the poor fellow is yanked back by a red gloved hand, with a new person stepping into the doorframe. He adjusts his glasses, grinning like a madman as he speaks, his voice holding a German accent "Ah! Hallo! My name is Dr. Ludwig, but call me Medic. There's another Dr. Ludwig in here, after all. Come in! Come in!"

You are shocked still by how... eccentric this man is, as well as how the other man was practically dragged back into the room against his will. However, you enter the room, not wanting to upset him. Knowing that this place is probably filled to the brim with madmen, madwomen, and mad-anything-in-between means that the best course of action is to not upset any of them.

He room is a mess, with medical tools all strewn about. There's an operating table at one side of the room, which seems to be covered in red stains. The room is also extremely loud, not due to any arguing anymore, but instead due to the various birdcages filled with what seems to be doves. Besides the birds, the room is also a bit crowded. There's the man who answered the door, which you are pretty sure is Takuto Maruki due to what the Medic said, the Medic himself, a man who looks almost exactly like the Medic that is comforting Maruki, and another man sitting at a small desk while talking on a rotary phone.

The Medic grins, clasping his hands together as he gestures around the room at the various people. "That man over there is Dr. Maruki. Don't listen to him about not belonging here. He is insane in his own way! The man who looks like me is the other Dr. Ludwig. Call me Medic, and him, Dr. Ludwig. The man on the phone is Dr. Randolph. He has a bit of a temper, so make sure to be careful! Any questions?" You look around the room, trying to think of something to ask, before responding "Uhhh... yes. Is umm... is he okay? He looks a bit pale?" You try to point over to Dr. Ludwig in a manner that isn't obvious, but are pretty sure you failed, as Ludwig himself is the one to respond.

"I'm fine. Just tired. How about you ask Medic about-?" Dr. Randolph suddenly spins the rolling chair he is in, beckoning the Medic over to him, saying "We need to talk. Ask Maruki something, instead. Be quiet."

You stand awkwardly, sighing, before asking "So... Dr. Maruki... how did you get here?" He runs his hands through his hair, sighing "Well... I don't know. I just woke up here, randomly, and now no one will let me leave." "I'm sorry to hear that..." "You are an investigator?"

You tense up, tilting your head at him. "How did you...?" He shrugs "Well... when you spend so much time in a room full of people who like to speak German, you pick up on some of it. I just heard Dr. Randolph say something about an investigator."

As if on cue, Dr. Randolph asks "What's your name?" "Uhh... (Y/N)." "Alright. Thank you, Mr. Receptionist." Then, he hangs up the phone. He points to you, saying "We can't let you leave, now. You have been designated to a... What did he call it? Oh, yes. You are now a permanent visitor. Congratulations on being the first."

Well... at least you'll now get a lot of information... even if you can't share it. There's no use in running when most everyone here could probably destroy you in an instant.

[transsweets]

SPrOmPt

Catra jumps off her Horde skiff ordering her soldiers to fan out and look for ambushes. This was supposed to be a surprise attack on the village, but there are none of the usual signs of a village panicking to hide as quick as they can. It looks like everyone already went into hiding and if the column of smoke by the other end of the village is anything to go by, they set smoke signals to call for help from Adora.

Unfortunately for these villagers, Catra already made sure Adora and her sparkly friends would be distracted for this mission. Catra doesn't have much trouble finding a hiding villager, time to find out how she got rumbled. Only when questioning the villager, they insist they're hiding from a monster sent by the Horde. Catra just thinks its a lie until she hears screaming coming from the direction of the smoke stacks.

tldr: what does catra do when she invades a rebel town only to discover it is under assault by monsters from the whispering woods?

[kuunibal]

between panicking over my crush maybe just using me to get free cigarettes (the amount of evidence to contradict this is godly but im anxious) & feeling like my angel hates me (theres no way he does but again anxious & we're both just sick & drained my fucking god why am i worrying but also fuck what if he hates me fuckfuckfuck) I think I'll go fucking insane.

I just want to scream honestly I'm sick I'm lost I'm done I don't want to be too much of a downer in ur askbox so I wont go into the current issue (tldr: both ppl who I've offered to cut their names into my thigh for have declined for very reasonable reasons but consider the following I'm obsessed and need to show that) but just hhhhhhh im done I'm just. fuck. why am I insane? Why cant I be normal? What causes me to be like this? Why do I have to be the one to ruin a perfect love & a good friendship? I'm fucking...why? Where did I go wrong? I just want answers sometimes...

- 🎀 Dollienon 🎀 (sorry this is incoherent im just. trying to not go absolutely insane in your askbox cuz I have the ventblog to do that to)

I cannot give you the answers you desire, but it is not your fault that you feel this way. I think only mental health professional could determine the causes, but regardless, from what you have said thus far, you have not actually "ruined" your relationships. It sounds like you are terrified of ruining them and fear they are just using you or hate you rather than returning the deep feelings you have for them even though, as you've said, there is a plethora of evidence stating otherwise. You did not do anything wrong. I am willing to bet they still care about you immensely.

[whatsnewalycat]

For the ask game -✨ 🎶 🍓 🎀

🍓- one secret about yourself

OOOOOOOO let’s see… I thought I liked sushi because I like California rolls, but the more I tried different kinds, the more I found I don’t care for it, but I’ve committed to “liking sushi” so I’ll still go out with friends and eat it. Even though I get grossed out by the raw seafood 💀

🎀- any question you want

ANY QUESTION?! I choose “🔪- scariest/creepiest experience?” bc I wanna tell spooky stories lol.

I have a lot of spooky experiences, paranormal and not, but I think the most scared I’ve ever been was this night when I took two of my (femme presenting) friends to a haunted graveyard that’s nearby my hometown. I’ll put it under the cut because long lol but tldr: dude followed me and my friends from a graveyard with his lights off.

I had been there several times at night and it’s definitely a spooky-ooky place. The vibes were always absolutely atrocious and it’s in the middle of fucking nowhere, just like… among a fuck ton of corn fields lol. Normally when I went we’d park in this tractor entrance that goes up the side of the cemetery so that the vehicle would be hidden from cops or whoever might drive by.

This time, though, I parked at the front gate, which has a ditch on each side. We were in the car trying to psych ourselves up to go in (because like I said, terrible vibes, very ominous), when a pickup truck pulled in behind me and parked us in. I got out and stood next to my open car door, waiting for them to get out or say something, but they sat there for a few minutes. I couldn’t see them because their headlights were on.

Eventually a guy asked what we were doing out there and I told him we were looking at the graveyard. He told me there were dead people in there, then asked where we were from, so I told him, then he sat there for a few more minutes while the three of us fucking panicked and tried not to show it.

When he finally left, we did, too. And we were driving away talking about how fucking scary it was, then headlights turned on directly behind us. He was following us with his lights off.

I’ve literally never been more scared in my life lol. All of us screamed and freaked the fuck out and eventually he turned off. I’m sure he was just fucking with us, but we were 3 young femmes and we were legitimately scared for our safety.

[catsockpuppet]

tagging @sunny6677 and @cupcake-catastrophe11 because you guys wer econcerned,.

basically, tldr, i’m fine, i just get really anxious when my room’s a mess and i panicked.,

i’ll explain more under the cut i guess ?

basically, a few years ago this government guy came to our house to like, ‘make sure my dad was still providing a healthy environment’, and, i guess i didn’t really understand why he was coming until my dad told me “ethan, if our house us a mess today he’ll think i’m not taking care of you and take you away.” which like, i think put the thought into my head that “oh. if things go wrong i’ll be sent to live with my mother again” which is bad because, for reference, i have consistent nightmares about living with my mother, in which i spend the entire dream scream sobbing as i try to escape her house and get back to my dad. I Do Not Fucking Like Her. now i like,, whenever something mildly upsetting or bad happens i panic and start cleaning everything i can get my hands on because i’m convinced that hey! if you don’t clean and make sure everything is perfect then you’re fucked!

ignore;

it’sso messy i think i’m going to die. too messy, too too messy i can’t breathxi can’t breathe i’m going to die. they’re going to kill me it’s too messy i’m gonna die i should’ve cleaned my room earlier i’m going to die why did i cjt last night everything hurts nowu. cant clean it hurts it hurts i hate it

[digital-dhampirs]

vnc 56: some scattered thoughts

I went into Vanitas no Carte chapter 56 expecting the side story mochijun told us we’d be getting this month. Something cute and fluffy and probably relaxing after the absolute madness of VnC 55 and the emotional heft of VnC 55.5.

So I wasn’t really expecting to end the chapter by jumping out of my chair and collapsing dramatically on the floor.

Tldr, chapter 56 manages to be an adorable side story while also elevating my levels of hype for chapter 57 from their already high “oh boy, I can’t wait to see Domi and Jeanne’s conversation!” to the next level, which is apparently incoherent screaming.

As always, this post contains massive spoilers for VnC chapter 56 and will probably not make sense if you haven’t already read it. With that, here are some scattered somewhat incoherent thoughts on VnC 56…!

Luna, Mikhail, and XXXX

These three are adorable.

Luna. I love them. Luna being a parent to Misha and Vanitas is fuel for my soul. They can’t tie their hair up right. They were planning on getting the number of fèves wrong from the very start. They were also planning on making a cake involving a plant with a face on it and some kind of floating black rock. god I love Luna so much—

Something interesting seems to be happening with Vanitas’s memories of Luna. It isn’t that they’re changing, exactly. But the tone of the memories we see— the memories Vanitas allows himself, and the audience, to revisit— is absolutely starting to shift from antagonistic to much more familial and warm.

And I think this change in how the memories are presented is (at least partially) happening due to Vanitas starting to let himself accept that he truly did love Luna. During previous arcs he doesn’t just hide his memories from Noé— he hides his memories from himself. He’s constantly irritated when he remembers them, and only lets himself revisit the moments where he insisted he disliked Luna. The only time he’ll admit that he didn’t truly hate Luna is when he’s feverish and at his lowest point, separated from the Book and Noé.

But after the Exposition Universalle arc, it seems like Vanitas has become a lot more willing to remember the good. Actually, that’s not exactly true— the first time we see Vanitas positively remember Luna is right after he uses their power to cure Chloé and save Gévaudan. And I think that’s pretty interesting. Just as Vanitas is panicking over his newfound romantic love for Jeanne, he’s also (on a much more internal level) starting to realize that he also really did love Luna.

In a way, I think this panic might be at least part of the fuel for what Vanitas does during the Exposition Universalle. His shell is starting to crack— he’s letting himself remember those warm, happy moments with Luna that he’s pushed away for years, he’s developing romantic feelings for Jeanne. And now he’s faced with someone who combines aspects of what he loves about Jeanne and what he loved about Luna, someone whom he (arguably) feels even more strongly about than either of them at this point, and he can’t let himself love Noé too. So he makes that one desperate last attempt to rebuild the walls he’s held onto for so long. If he can cut out the root cause of all of this change, if he can kill Noé, maybe he can remain loveless. Maybe he can remain “free”.

But this isn’t a post about Vanitas and Noé this is a post about VnC 56 so let’s try to stay on track.

The whole reason I brought up Vanitas’s shifting memories of Luna in the first place is because I think we’re going to see a similar shift in how Noé remembers the Teacher in the future. Just in the opposite direction. This is just a guess, but I think we’re gonna see a lot fewer happy memories and a lot more… less great ones. Our protagonists don’t have gaps in their memories of their parental figures, they just seem to unconsciously choose which memories they remember and which ones they bury. And I think being confronted with a side of Comte that cheerfully admits to nearly killing Dominique and Vanitas during the course of the Exposition is gonna make Noé start to face the memories he may have buried.

Returning to the chapter at hand! Mikhail’s horrific expression as he tells Vanitas he wants to choose his own piece is just fantastic. Vanitas disliking the cake, but eating more of it anyways so Mikhail can’t realize that there were three fèves hidden in it all along is adorable. Luna is Luna and they’re such a good parent and I love them.

Mochijun ends the flashback by once again calling attention to Vanitas’s redacted name, this time putting it in direct contrast to the name he’s currently going by.

Ever since Chapter 55 I’ve been paying more attention to what the characters of VnC call each other. Fun fact, the only person who actually calls Vanitas “Vanitas” this chapter is Noé— Amelia calls him “Monsieur Vanitas”, Misha calls him “brother”, Luna calls him “XXXX”, and Dante calls him “quack”.

That’s pretty much all of my thoughts on the flashback part of 56, so with that, let’s go…

back to the present

The adorableness continues as Vanitas bakes Noé an apology tarte tatin. Noé is adorably excited, and Vanitas is adorably annoyed, and Amelia is ador— actually, Amelia is quite sus the whole time. Maybe it’s just because we haven’t spent this much time in the hotel in a while, but I just can’t shake the feeling that Amelia is acting off. But looking closely at how she acts, she seems just the same as always. Why does she feel so off? Is this just me being paranoid about Comte’s shapeshifting? Where the hell is Murr—-

Dante arrives on scene, and he seems… off, too. At first I couldn’t quite place why, but unlike with Amelia, I think I’ve figured it out. In the past, Dante’s always been energized when giving Vanitas new information, excited to shake his buddy down for cash in exchange for the latest scoop. Thirty minutes ago he was loudly berating Vanitas for all the chaos he caused the other day. You’d think he’d at least tease Vanitas a bit for baking a cake for his sugar daddy. But now he just seems blank. He blandly comments on the baking, stares at Vanitas and Noé for a moment, and immediately cuts to the chase. Why?

And then my brain started adding it up.

Dante works for Vanitas, but he also works for Marquis Machina. There’s absolutely no way in hell he doesn’t know the Senate is looking for Chloé and Jean-Jacques. And now the two of them have shown up right under his nose.

What’s a dhampir to do?

Come to think of it, what did Dante do in those thirty minutes when he was gone?

Dante’s in an absolutely epic dilemma and I can’t wait to see where it goes. Based on the story he tells himself, the party line he’s been insisting on since the very start, his course of action should be very clear. Dhampirs only care about other dhams, so Dante should to do what’s best for the other dhams— tell Marquis Machina where Chloé is and profit.

Who cares if doing so betrays the trust of the first non-dhampir to ever truly treat Dante as an equal? Who cares if it directly causes harm to two vampires, who cares if it hurts the guy Dante cheered for during his battle with Astolfo, who cares if it hurts someone Dante won’t quite admit he sees as a friend? None of those people are dhams, so Dante doesn’t care… right?

This is where we’re gonna start to hit…

Speculative Territory

Chloé and Jean-Jacques are in Paris. This is. Feckin delightful. Did they come to Paris because Vanitas told them to? Or has something gone horribly awry? Why would Vanitas tell them to come to Paris? Does he have some plan for where to hide them? Is Chloé just taking a nap or is something w r o n g?

There are two main parties looking for Chloé and Jean-Jacques— the church, trying to erase the evidence of their past crimes, and the senate, trying to find the vampire who could reawaken Faustina.

But these parties are each made up of their own unique factions, each with a different motivation. Ruthven, who’s working with Gano, who’s working for the Vampire Eradication Faction within the church, who’s being investigated by fellow paladins Roland and Olivier. Antoine, who acts like the perfect senator, but actually seems to be working on behalf of the de Sades, whose younger sister just so happens to have overheard some hot gossip about her siblings needing to hunt down that d’Apchier vampire.

Thinking about it, every single character in Vanitas no Carte has some connection to the tinderbox that is the senate vs church situation.

This is why I ended VnC chapter 56 lying incoherently on the floor. Chloé and Jean-Jacques are a lit match and Mochijun has just tossed them into the mix. I don’t know how high the flames are gonna fly but I absolutely cannot wait to watch the fire burn.

the end (…for now)

Thanks for reading these somewhat coherent scattered thoughts on VnC 56! As per usual, everything in this post is just my interpretation of VnC and should be taken with a massive massive grain of salt! In case you couldn’t tell I am insanely hyped for where this upcoming plotline is going to go and can’t wait for the next chapter. Chapter 55.5 was the chapter that mochijun has been setting up for since the very start of the manga, and I think this upcoming arc is going to set us on a course towards the overarching church vs. senate storyline that’s been running in the shadows of the past 56 chapters. I am so goddamn excited to see it happen.

Thanks again for reading u r a god

[thermitetermite]

Super-powered asks, let's go, Bugaboo!

Based on a fic I'm planning to write:

Telekinesis.

And shrinking people or objects and then bringing them back to their original sizes.

Powers: 🥏🔍

All the best,

@heroes-villains-side-blog

Authors note - Thank you for waiting! I hope you enjoy!

Prompt #12 - Telekinesis x Shrinking Powers

Tldr: Villain shinks Hero and Hero messes with them. Villain is terrified of tiny Hero. Hero is just trying to finish an investigation when new information is brought to light

CW: swearing, threats of being squished and thrown in a freezer, kidnapping mentions, handcuffs, needles

"What did you do to me!?!?!" Hero shrieked at the top of their now tiny lungs.

Villain loomed over their shrunken foe and gave a gravelly laugh.

"Oh Hero~. Clearly someone didn't understand the assignment."

The "assignment" for Hero was to subdue Villain quietly and throw them in the Villain Intelligence Learning Enclosure, or VILE for short. An anonymous tip told the department that Villain was responsible for the mysterious disappearances of city leaders.

Regardless, this was supposed to be an easy stealth mission. Get in, telekinesis the power dampening cuffs on, walk out with Villain, interrogate them at VILE.

Simple!

They had specifically recruited Hero because of their telekinetic powers. Villain had to touch things to shrink them, use a Hero who could trap them from a distance.

Makes sense!

What they didn't account for was Villain getting the jump on them. Long story short, they were now shrunken, trapped in Villain's sewing room, with no way to turn back.

Hero could only imagine how their friends would laugh when they told the story. If they ever got out that is. They'd probably say something like "why couldn't you convince Villain to undo it by offering a lighter sentence for good behavior?"

That would be a great idea. Wonderful even. Slight problem though. They managed to get the cuffs on Villain right before they were shrunk. The key for said cuffs was in Hero's suit. The now shrunken suit that Hero was wearing. Meaning the key was now shrunken and useless. Like Hero. Great.

They snapped out of their initial shock and looked up at Villain (which was super odd because of how short Villain normally was compared to Hero. Their head was at Hero's shoulders for goodness sake!)

"You know, you're acting pretty cocky for a powerless Villain!" Hero spat trying to annoy Villain to get them to talk, but Villain only laughed again pulling their wrists apart to rattle the cuffs.

"And you're acting pretty cocky for a 4 inch Hero. You only cuffed my hands, nothing stops me from stepping on you." As if showing off, Villain dramatically went to step on Hero while making those dumb airplane noises. Villain was completely caught off guard when Hero levitated out of the way and towards their face.

"Oh God, you fly!" Villain panicked like a bug they wanted to kill suddenly flew at them. They ran out of the sewing room, locking the door as they left screaming. That was odd but Hero wasn't one to be choosy right now. Hero breathed a sigh of relief before examining the room for an exit.

Unfortunately it seemed that this random sewing room in Villain's basement was locked up to the teeth. Hero wasn't sure what to expect from Villain's house but it sure wasn't a craft room that doubled as a prison cell. At least there were enough needles in here they could pick up telekinetically and hide to surprise attack Villain.

It was around this time when Villain returned, unlocking the door before kicking it open. They were brandishing a handheld vacuum cleaner like a weapon of mass destruction.

Well shit.

"Here's Johnny!" Villain yelled, switching it on and running into combat with their miniature enemy.

Hero wishes they could say they elegantly weaved around Villain, shut off the vacuum and flew to freedom. Unfortunately they were caught by Villain's vacuum in the doorframe.

"Ew, ew, ew! Get in the vacuum! Get in the vacuum!" Villain shrieked as Hero was sucked down the vacuum tube. They kept it on for a good 30 seconds afterwards while shaking the tube and crying. Like full on sobbing. Did they really see Hero as a bug?

They calmed down when they saw Hero in the clear dust container.

"I should just throw you in the freezer for all the mental anguish you've put me through!" Villain said while glaring at Hero through the plastic. Their hair was a mess and their eyes were puffy from tears.

"Hey! I'm not the idiot who shrunk a telekinetic Hero and then didn't expect them to fly!"

"I acted in self defense! You, however, broke into my house and put handcuffs on me! I get a free pass on this one!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever! At least I'm not scared of tiny things" Hero grumbled. Villain gave an offended gasp.

"How dare you! I'm not scared of tiny things!" Hero gave a tiny eyebrow raise. "Just tiny living things..."

"Really? You expect me to believe that? That you're scared of tiny living things and you had nothing to do with the disappearance of half the city's council."

"I'll do you one better and prove it to you!" Villain growled with a newfound anger before taking the both of them out of the sewing room and into another room in the basement.

Hero expected a torture chamber, death pit, gadget room, something of that nature. They were caught off guard once again by Villain when they turned on the lights to reveal a tiny town.

Hero thought this was a confession to taking those people when they noticed the place was completely empty. All of the buildings were tiny shops that had disappeared in the past with a tiny museum in the center of town. Hero had no doubt that it held all of Villain's prized treasures stolen over the years.

Villain showed them around the town with suppressed pride and opened every door to prove no people were in there.

"Happy?" Villain hissed.

"No. I'm not." Hero flatly said causing Villain to look at them in shock.

"What do you mean no!?"

"This only makes me worry more. If you had them they aren't here anymore. If you've never had them then you're being set up. Whatever is the case, I don't know were they are. The could be dead as we speak and you'll get the blame if they're discovered." Hero looked sadly throughout the town. It really was a shame too, because it was clear that Villain cared a lot about this little town.

The bonsai trees in the little park were well taken care of. The shops didn't have an ounce of dust anywhere. The community pool was chlorinated and beautiful. Villain cared a lot for their secret town.

"What!?! I'm being framed!!?" Villain registered snapping Hero from their thoughts.

"Yes, and I have no idea who's behind this. I think it's clear that you probably didn't do any kidnapping considering how terrified of me you are."

Villain mumbled something that sounded like gratitude before going to panic in the corner. Hero banged on the side of the plastic container they were still holding to get their attention.

"Hey! We're going to figure this out ok! I know this is probably a lot to you, trust me it's a lot for me too. But right now you need to calm down. You built this town as an escape right?" Villain nodded eyes now focused on Hero. "Good. You did a good job on it. Can you give me another tour of it?"

Villain shakily got up to show Hero the town again. Villain started out their presentation still panicky but noticably calmed as they started showing off their valuables in the dollhouse museum. At the end of the tour Villain gave a relaxed sigh.

"Thank you, I guess, for listening to my dumb tour. Usually I shrink myself and visit here when I need some away time but it was nice to finally show someone else. You aren't going to use my tour as a confession, right."

"Probably not. If you help me find those missing council members I might conveniently forget this whole thing."

"Deal! I'll do anything to clear my name!"

"Well we might have to start by breaking into HQ to get keys for those cuffs."

"...ok, we can try."

"You might also need to let me out of the vacuum."

"...I need like 15 more minutes to work up the courage."

[cvntdracvla]

Ok sooooo ummmm penny for your thoughts on all this???

okay hello! hi this shits All Over the place so forgive me for this mess

sooo we all knew what we were getting ourselves into right. we knew what this was. a toxic relationship between Vampires. not ur run of the mill romcom. a gothic romance. this is a regular sunday for gothic romance enjoyers lol

lestat punched through a mans HEAD in the first episode & then turned around n gave a Beautiful heart touching speach ab how much he loves louis. hes has never shied away from violence. they r vampires. they feed on ppls blood n kill to survive so why is this such a big suprise to everybody ???

yeah i was suprised they would go there n really lean into the gothic part. but this is not a relationship between two men. they have supernatural abilities, speed, strength etc. n can do all kinds of shit. this is not exactly a shocker now is it ???

louis has self-admitedly been poking n proding lestat. constantly reminding him of claudia, being cruel to him n ignoring him. lestats love is all consuming, encompasing. hes a hedonist who lives to indulge himself. n they have been baricading in the town house for 7 long years. louis wouldnt even speak to him, has been feeding on animals so u can imagine what kinda company he was for lestat whos longing to be loved n to feel his love. ppl have been saying that there are "two brothers" living in their house. am i justifiying lestat beating louis to a pulp ??? no. but he did have his reasons to snap.

claudia has been Real stupid w her kills, acting like a child, which she only looks like n has not been for a while. n when lestat has to deal w louis n claudia constantly moping around screaming ??? i would have been a bigger bitch than him. he only made her a vampire on louis request, nay Begging. he never wanted to be a father and honestly cant blame him. its not just family drama n nuisance now police r lichrally Monitoring them. n then claudia blames him for everything n somehow louis is absolved of his crimes cuz they have a special connection lestat n her dont. his parenting is sadistic but on the other hand, louis' is too human. when none of them are humans anymore and the human rules no longer apply.

so she goes out into the world, sees that independence is not All That its cracked up to be and then comes back to take louis from lestat ??? n now lestats panicking cuz he sees how louis suffered & longer for her & suddenly shes asking him to chose between him and her. so hes reasonably affraid that louis will leave him for her. especially after the downfall of their relationship cuz its been Rough babygirl.

and then they start speaking w thier minds n he goes crazy cuz he could never do that w them. so hes helpless n resorts to violence. backed into a corner so what r u gonna do? when claudia says "let him go. its me you want." n its like No baby its exactly the opposite. he only wanted louis for himself. he never wanted tou and he never wanted to share his love and he says it himself.

and THEN he hits us w "i have waited... i have patiently waited in vain... for you to love me... as i love you" he basically said reject me so i can move on lol.

also "all vampires are created from trauma" when u think ab the way lestat has been created........ hits different

so TLDR what im saying lestat is a cunt but not for no reason. emotional abuse can hurt just as bad as physical can and when its all said and done they All have their fucking problems (lestat most lets be real), but thats why we love them n thats why i tune in for the fucking drama & the poetry & beauty & horror this show gives me. they understand love is pain, its complicated and its all consuming etc etc

[dreamteamspace]

Some positivity about this Tales Of The SMP because I feel like it. MAJOR SPOILERS

Technoblade being in character and hilarious at the same time

Karl says he’s a minecraft streamer fully in character and it’s treated as being the equivalent of a billionaire for the rest of the tales

Everyone having awful rich people accents

Fundy is an old person

Technoblade is just hilarious I don’t make the rules

NIKI NIHACHUUUUU FUCK YEAH!!!!!

Ranboo is the butler and can only communicate in enthusiastic or panicked nods for 90% of it

They try to throw Quackity out of the party the moment he walks in the door. His name is Drew P. Pe- [gets shot]

Karl and Quackity keep falling off the railings and it’s sometimes plot relevant and sometimes not

Techno: “Poor people don’t get healthcare”

Karl trying really hard not to laugh throughout the entire thing, mostly cause of Technoblade and I can’t blame him

Techno, whispering about Quackity: “Butler, feed the poor man poison!” Quackity: “You can say that to my face you son of a bitch.”

Techno: “Sir can you spell ‘economy’?” Quackity: “Of course. A-” Karl: *laughing into his elbow*

Technoblade and Quackity are the funniest people on the planet I don’t make the rules

Technoblade keeps flexing on poor people and I can’t even be mad at him

Quackity: “I’m gonna cough on you!” Everyone: *FERAL PANIC, SCATTER IN ALL DIRECTIONS, HIDE UNDER THE TABLE, SCREAM*

Techno: “Butler, did you feed this man poison yet?” Ranboo: *Tosses Quackity a poison potion.* Techno: “Ah, there it is. Now drink that.” Quackity: “Now why would I do that?” Techno: “It’s high in vitamin B.” Quackity: “What does the ‘B’ in vitamin B stand for?” Techno: “Broke.”

They play duck-duck-goose fully serious and in character sitting in the middle of the ballroom in a circle, complete with screaming and yelling

They stop playing duck-duck-goose for the lights to go down by 3%, everyone to run around as if it’s pitch black, and Niki start to murder people. It’s great. Absolute highlight

I’ve gotten used to Karl being 70% out of character at all times and it’s actually really funny contrasted with everyone else being extremely in character and rolling with whatever he says

“Oh Niki went to the bathroom so we can’t question her.”

Karl: “Oh! ~Canonically~ I see some of his blood! On this wall!!” Everyone: :O!

*Quackity is the one who died* Karl: “I don’t think he died from being dumb and poor... I think he died... from one of YOU!” Everyone: *shocked gasp* Techno: “Who did it? I will pay them for their troubles!”

Ranboo, whispering: “Can I talk?” Techno: “Keep it short, five words.” Karl: “I think we should let him talk to investigate this murder.” Techno: “Alright, six words. That was one of them.”

Fundy: “Everyone knows poor people are very sneaky.” Techno: “Yes, us rich people only commit ~financial crimes~.” Karl: “And it doesn’t count because we don’t MAKE it count!” *Everyone agrees*

They play terrible rich people and simultaniously flex on rich people. We love to see it

Whenever they have to look around Techno just goes and gets a bath and he’s not even sneaky about it

Karl: “I can’t believe they did that to that poor person, whoever this murderer is... I know they’re poor but sometimes they can still live for something else. Like helping rich people get richer!”

Fundy almost drowns in the aquarium?? Was that even scripted??? Nobody even threw him in there he was just there??

NIKI DIES NOOOOOOOOOO WHAT!

*Everyone thinks it’s Karl* Techno: “He did medbay scan!”

Karl: “So it couldn’t have been me. Unless I’m lying. Which killers don’t do!” *Everyone agrees*

Techno: “Everyone empty out your pockets!” Techno: *tossing stacks and stacks of gold bars* Karl: *picks up Sapnap’s gold and mouses over ‘disconnect’* Ranboo and Bad: *buckets and buckets of milk??* Sapnap: *keeps picking up all the gold everyone keeps throwing*

Karl, walking forward and picking up 3847 buckets of milk: “Oh I’ve got so much milk now.” Techno: “Here, wash it down with some poison.” Karl: *actually drinks it and starts screaming “If only we had milk!” while running away*

Karl, to Bad: “Are you still drinking?” Bad: “dn,, btnt... no.”

Karl and Bad chilling in the closet

*Karl and Techno stumble onto Fundy on top of a dead body* Techno: “Caught! In! Four! K!”

Fundy “But if I was the killer... and I was from London... WHY didn’t you hear a GUNSHOT?” Techno: “He’s got a point there.”

Karl: “Why couldn’t it have been the butler?!” Ranboo, whispering: “How many words?” Techno: “Three.” Ranboo: “Nope. Not... me.” Techno: “...he does raise a good point.”

Ranboo: “Is there a murderer-” Techno: “SILENCE! ...He really singed up thinkin he’d get to voice act. Not on my watch.”

Karl, to Techno: “We really need the butler to talk. If we allow him 30 minutes-” Techno, quietly with horror: “30 minutes?”

Techno: “Butler, you have 30 minutes of free speech.” Ranboo: “Oh, oh! 30 minutes! I have a question, then. I read something in a book once. What is a... ‘union’?” Karl: “Nevermind, cut him off.” Techno: “No rights for poor people.”

Fundy: “If it was me, how come I can play such a JOLLY tune?” *starts playing crime theme on a piano* *Ranboo vibing to the music in the background*

Karl: “Okay so Fundy will stay with the butler. He was only like a 100 millionaire, right? Fits that he stays with the poor people.” Techno: “Oh yeah, he’s broke. I heard he streams fortnite.”

Techno laughs himself lightheaded at that

Techno: “I’m gonna file so many complaints to the lights company after this.”

Techno: “Oh no, it’s the butler, we’re out of here! Throw gold, he’s poor so he has to stop for it!”

EGG?!?!?!

THE EGG?!?!?!?!?!

?!?!?!?!

I mean I knew they were all gonna die at the end but STILL

Ranboo is rly scary when he wants to be

LMAO the book dissapeared and Karl had to do a take two

Karl just makes the stream read the book themselves lmfao

on that note HOLY FUCK THE BUILD

HOLY FUCK THE BUILD

they probably downloaded that from somewhere but still

I would fucking die for that castle

TLDR: Ranboo has never done anything wrong in his life, ever

[sleepybastxrd]

I've been thinking a lot about the radio shack scene when Dylan mentions he used to be a camper in Hackett's Quarry. Well so that single line that doesn't get any attention was enough for me to make up a whole background theory about Dylan. Because that means he's been around since he was a kid. And that he has known about the Hacketts for a long while.

The fact that he has been going to camp for years means he must have a personal connection to the place. I think he might actually be from North Kill, and he has been hearing for a while there were something up with the Hacketts because there's no way there aren't any rumors in town about the reclusive family of the old quarry.

Also, he is familiar enough with Chris that he convinced him to let him take over the radio station some years back (which im guessing it's not something that any camper or counselor can do). Also, this would explain why he seemed dubious about Kaylee and Caleb, because he had known them for some time and he was aware of their unusual behavior. I like to think he even might have tried to get closer to them (mostly Kaylee, who is closest to him on age) but he got pushed away.

And not to forget that he was the only one that was acting scared before anyone knew what was going on exactly (in the campfire he stays back while Ryan and Kaitlyn run after hearing Abi screaming). Because he /maybe/ knew there were something to be afraid of. He suddenly remembered the rumors.

My theory is that he had heard talk about the Hacketts never leaving their house or the camp, about them hiding something... And some rumors inevitably must had built up and become more fantastical and fishy.

Now I think Dylan didn't believe any of that, he just saw the Hacketts as a reserved kinda strange family that just wanted to keep to themselves. That's why he didn't think twice about proposing the party by the fire to the others.

But oh, suddenly people start screaming and there are gunshots and he feels all those suspicions coming back at him. And we know he is very prone to panicking real fast.

Later, his reaction to Nick's wound is just SO SUSPICIOUS. Like how he automatically noticed the black marks of the infection? How his first reaction was "We have to amputate". Like that's not normal at all!! There must be a reason for him to say that!! Maybe some conspiracionist from North Kill somehow came to the werewolf conclusion?? Or maybe Dylan just watches too many movies, I can admit that too. But still it's so! Suspicious! I cannot not look for some background there.

tldr— Dylan is originally from North Kill, he's known Hackett's Quarry and the family for ever, he heard a lot of rumors about them that he didn't believe and then he realized there was actually something up with the Hacketts in the worst way

[with-love-from-hell]

Recovery

Commission by @fickleminder

Character prominently featured: Satan

F!Mc, written under the name Kirana and she/her pronouns are used. Descriptors for this Mc are also used (e.g. hair color, mentions of blushing/skin tone indicators)

Genre: Hurt/comfort, fluff

Context for the fic request here and here. TLDR: this is written in the aftermath of a kidnapping. 

WC: ~6k

CW: Kidnapping, depictions of various trauma responses (e.g. insomnia, nightmares/night terrors, flashbacks, panic attacks, anxiety, mild restrictive eating, dissociation), some depictions of blood/gore

Want to commission me? Information on commissions can be found here

The moisture in the air is hanging thick- making it difficult to take a solid breath. It’s hot- hotter than the hell that she had become so accustomed to- no...this was different.  The intense humidity causes sticky beads of sweat to trickle down her brow as she squirms, trying desperately to evade whatever force was pinning her to the ground. Unlike last time, she is able to see and hear what’s going on around her- and while she initially thought that would be better, dear god its somehow worse. She can move around somewhat, but the attempts to wriggle herself flee from her invisible binds get her nowhere.  

...why was this happening again??

In the midst of her desperate squirming, a distant growl and the sounds of scuttering across the dark room put a newly formed fear into Kirana’s chest. Her movements falter as she stared into the darkness around her. Imprinted scents of the rancid smell of the beast’s breathe against her face manifested, causing her to gag. It was the worst smell she had ever encountered by far, and was made 10 times worse when it mingled with the scent of iron from her own blood... 

And the blood...Oh, there was so much blood...

As the movements draw near, Kirana’s attempts became more panicked, more desperate. The moment she saw the beast’s jaw unhinge in the dark- somehow appearing directly above her in mere seconds- she let out a horrified scream that could probably be heard throughout the entirety of the Devildom. The terror in that moment seeping through every inch of her as she felt the searing pain of 1000 suns scorch her body.

...

Kirana bolted upright in bed, finally able to jolt her body back to reality. Her chest heaved with every uneven breath, trying desperately to savor each one- as if she’d never breathe again. Then came the nausea, the pounding headache, the unstoppable tears. She gripped herself tightly as the horror-stricken cries pushed forth, the only sound coming through her slightly parted lips being soft whimpers and stuttered breaths. She tried desperately to reassure herself it was just a dream, but the efforts seemed fruitless as the horrific images continued plaguing her mind.

“Kirana?” 

A deep voice through the door echoed through her head. At first, it almost sounded distorted, taking on a quality much like that of her kidnapper. It took a minute to process that source as her brain came down from the panic, but upon realizing it was Lucifer, she breathed a sign of relief. 

When she didn’t respond verbally, the eldest brother let himself into her room. Through the door, she could see the worried faces of the other 6 brothers, each trying to steal a peak into the room to ensure she was okay. She locked eyes briefly with Satan, noticing the pained expression on his face before the door closed off her view of him. 

Why was he looking at me like that? 

“Are you alright?” Lucifer sat on the edge of Kirana’s bed, searching her eyes for signs she was in pain. 

There was no doubt he had heard her screaming from the awful nightmare, but Kirana tried to play it off as just a fluke. She gave him a weak smile, that was very much unconvincing of her well-being. “Y-yeah. I’m fine.” 

In reality, Kirana was everything but fine. It was in her nature to be more passive and try to brush past upsetting things. Hell, she did it with most of the brothers during the first few months she had lived here. But since everything had calmed down and there wasn’t much left to be worried about, she really didn’t want them to thing anything was really wrong with her. 

Lucifer lifted an eyebrow, unconvinced. “Its okay to still be disturbed by what happened, you know. It’s only been a couple of days.” 

She didn’t really want to discuss the dream with him, or any of the brothers, for that matter. But more than that, she didn’t want to worry anyone. Kirana tried her best to form a more convincing smile, waving Lucifer’s concern off like she was batting away a fly. “Really, It’s fine. I’m fine. Just a bad dream, is all.” 

Lucifer paused for a moment, staring at her. Kirana’s reasoning sounded more like she was trying to convince herself of that rather than him. After a minute of tense silence and Kirana’s aversion of eye contact, he shook his head. “We want to be here for you as much as we can be. We’re all worried about you- especially Satan. Please don’t shut us out if you’re struggling.” 

Wait...especially Satan...? What did he mean by that...?

Kirana nodded. “I’ll let you guys know if I need anything, but really...I’m fine. I promise!” 

He was still not convinced, but also didn’t feel any value in pressing her any further.  “Very well, I’ll leave you to rest then.” 

Lucifer stood and approached the door once more. Before he opened the door though, he glanced back over his shoulder. “Just remember that you do not have to be the sole proprietor of this burden. We want to help when we can.” 

Kirana winced and gave a small nod. As he opened the door, Kirana noticed that the other brothers (spare for Satan) had backed away from the door. His glistening emerald eyes stared into hers from the hallway, as if trying to communicate something to her. Just as she thought she was able to get a read on the silent message he was trying to convey, the connection was lost once again when Lucifer closed the door. After a moment of quiet murmuring, she heard bodies shuffling and the shadows cast underneath her door moved out of view. 

Kirana flopped back down onto her pillow with an exasperated sigh. There was no way she was going to get more sleep tonight, so staring at the ceiling for a bit would have to do until she figured out something to do with her time. Her mind wandered to what Lucifer had said about Satan, and she found herself pondering why on earth the eldest brother singled him out. Sure, he was the closest brother to her, and he was the one who came to her side during the events proceeding the kidnapping...

But what else to that is there? 

Well...not that it was a particularly bad thing that he was extra concerned, I suppose. 

Kirana shook her head. Wait, what am I thinking! The last thing I want is for him to fixate on whether or not I’m okay!

Or...maybe he’s concerned because he knows I like him. 

Maybe...maybe he likes me back?!

No, no...don’t be ridiculous.  That’s impossible!

A soft cough pulled her attention back to the light flooding in from under her door and away from the internal battle her thoughts were fighting.  She noticed one shadow still remained. Faintly, the scent of parchment and ink drifted into her nostrils, providing her with an odd sense of calm. 

----------------------------------------------------

“Kiraaanaaa...” Asmo cooed in his quietest sing-song voice, trying to gently jostle the human awake without drawing the attention of the others in the classroom. “Hey, Kirana! Wake up, sleepy!”

She groaned, reluctantly opening her eyes. Kirana didn’t even remember falling asleep, but given the professor was still going on and on endlessly with their mundane lecture, it was natural that she would- especially given all she had been through. Besides, even if she hadn’t been kidnapped, falling asleep in Devildom History wasn’t completely unheard of. Even Mammon was passed out at his table a few feet away from how dry the lecture was. 

Kirana rubbed her bloodshot eyes, trying desperately to wake herself up. Her voice was raspy with sleep as she spoke. “Urgh...What did I miss?” 

Asmo giggled. “Not much. Honestly, I wasn’t paying attention. I was too busy looking at your cute sleeping face!” 

Kirana flushed, looking down at her drool-covered notebook. “Seriously, Asmo...” 

He giggled in response, continuing to stare at her face as he bounced his foot atop his other leg. “You know dear, it’s unlike you to fall asleep during class... and you seem to be much more sluggish than usual...Are you getting enough sleep? If you want, I could-”

“I’m fine, Asmo.” Kirana interrupted him, maybe a little too sternly. “No need to worry.” 

Asmo’s shoulders slumped slightly, but he let it go.

Kirana attempted to process the blurry lines on the chalkboard where the professor had been writing important notes about the Celestial War, but the words seemed to run together and she couldn’t make sense of it. After a minute of trying desperately to focus, Kirana instead decided to look about the room. If the lecture couldn’t keep her awake, she would have to find something else to look at that would, or else she would never hear the end of it from Lucifer...or so she was convinced. 

While she had accommodations for her classes and was slowly eased back in to RAD work, she found herself worried of becoming a disappointment. Sure, the events of that day were rough, but it wasn’t anything that she couldn’t work herself through! The extra help was nice, but part of her felt like taking it was proving how weak she was, and that’s not something she was willing to accept- even if the extra support would have saved her a lot of grief...especially considering she hadn’t gotten more than 2 hours of sleep per night for the past 10 days.  Lucifer even encouraged her repeatedly to accept the help, but she couldn’t quite shake the feeling that it was a test of will. She could power through if she just tried hard enough...

Right..?

Kirana yawned, feeling the exhaustion creep steadily within her once more. Her eyelids began to droop, and soon enough she was fast asleep again with her head resting in her palm. Asmo continued trying to jostle her awake when he noticed her drifting off, but she couldn’t muster the strength to be up for more than a few minutes. Obviously, no information from the lecture stuck with her.

Satan looked on from a table toward the back of the room. The concern he felt for Kirana was ever-growing, and he wondered desperately how he could help her. Her fatigue in class was so out-of-character, as she was always very studious and wanted to make a good impression on Lucifer and Diavolo. While he admired her intelligence, he knew that the incident could very well disrupt her studies. But now...she was just so different. What had made Kirana who she was had been slipping before his eyes ever since she returned from the attack- and it’s not like he could even blame her for it. 

Satan himself found his own sanity slowly dwindling as he obsessed over his guilt. He blamed himself for her kidnapping and all of the trauma that came with it, and he was sure she felt the same. He had convinced himself in hindsight that everything that happened was preventable, despite the fact that in reality, it was all truly just simple mindlessness that could have befallen anyone- particularly given the fact that Kirana had been able to hold her own in the Devildom without incident prior to this. 

The urge he felt to protect her after this only increased, and he felt a burning desire to confess to her his attraction, but he figured this would be the worst time to do it. He feared that if his love couldn’t fix the damage done by Kirana’s assailant...then maybe nothing could. Regardless though, he had to do something. He couldn’t just sit back anymore while Kirana wasted away- body, mind, and soul. Her gaunt-looking face, exhausted eyes, pale complexion, and trembling extremities told him he needed to act sooner rather than later. Perhaps tonight would be his opportunity to finally help in his own way. 

----------------------------------------------------

The same musty room engulfed her in darkness. 

The same rancid breath produced bouts of nausea in the pit of her stomach. 

The same crushing binds cut off her access to oxygen and crushed her rib-cage.

The same situation continued its grotesque and endlessly simulation in her slumber until she finally jerked awake. 4 times tonight already. Fortunately, Kirana had become quieter in her stirring from the nightmares, so the brothers weren’t bothered in the wee morning hours in which their rest was the most plentiful. She hated putting them out of their well-needed rest, given they all had such important duties as Student Council Officers. She always felt so guilty when they looked at her with those somber, pitiful eyes. 

She tried to gain control of her labored breaths, crying softly to herself. When would the nightmares end? All she wanted was some peace. But even in the most restful state she had, the image of her captor’s maw closing around her neck still plagued her mind. 

She shuddered. Maybe scrolling through Devilgram will take my mind off things. 

Kirana rolled onto her stomach and scrolled through her phone mindlessly for what felt like hours, but time seemed to pass at a snails pace. Another symptom of the attack perhaps? Time seemed to almost exist as an illusion to her, even in waking hours. Classes dragged on, and on, and on with seemingly no end as she fought back sleep, and the sleepless nights seemed to last for centuries. 

Each mealtime with the brothers seemed to be the same every day- the same arguments and conversations, the same feelings of exhaustion and emptiness, and the same bland-tasting food.  Ugh...the food. It didn’t matter what was made or who made it, the food didn’t even really seem to have any taste anymore either, so her appetite had dwindled to nearly non-existent. Even Satan making her favorite meal couldn’t bring the excitement of the new and enticing foods in the Devildom back. It all just tasted like...sand? or maybe dirt?

Or maybe it just tasted like nothing. Just as she felt inside.  

Kirana turned over on her side, clutching a pillow to her chest and fighting back another crying spell- the frequency of which also becoming more commonplace as the days dragged on. With each passing hour, she felt more and more volatile in her emotions- becoming irritable at the slightest of inconveniences, and becoming inconsolable over something as simple as spilt milk. Her usual laid-back demeanor had shifted to one of high alert, never letting her guard down enough to be truly genuine with anyone- even with the 7 demons she had come to know and love throughout her time in Devildom. 

Even the little help that she did accept had only done minor damage control. The soft orange light of the lamp given to her by Asmo on her bedside table helped her escape the darkness of her room, but it couldn’t shield her from the darkness that occurred when she closed her eyes. The pendant of protection Satan gave her was always around her neck, but she sometimes wondered if it did truly work given how jumpy she always felt wherever she went. The brother’s distractions helped a little until they became less of a distraction and more of a tool to fuel her dissociation. She began to wonder if this is all there was after the attack, the thoughts sending her into a spiral of hopelessness until the ping of her phone going off interrupted her thoughts. 

Satan:  Is everything okay? 

Kirana:  Huh..?

Satan:  I walked by your room and saw the light on under the door.

Satan:  I assumed you were awake, which is rare for you this time of night. 

Kirana:  Oh, haha. I’m fine. I’ll fall asleep eventually. It was just a bad dream that woke me.

Satan: A bad dream?

Kirana:  Oh, haha. Yeah, they happen sometimes. Not to worry though, I’m okay. 

Kirana:  Anyways, What are you doing awake and roaming?

Satan:  I’m making some tea. Would you like to join me since you can’t seem to sleep? 

Kirana:  It’s nothing I can’t handle. I’m okay, thank you for the offer though. 

Satan:  Are you sure?

Kirana: Yeah, it’s not super unusual for me since...uh...

Kirana:  Well, you know.

Kirana watched as the “typing” indicator appeared, and then disappeared numerous times. Anxiety built up in her stomach at the prospect of Satan replying with something very judgmental or dismissive. However, thoughts are pushed away when a knock at her bedroom door makes Kirana nearly jump out of her skin. 

“AH! Uhh-” She tries to settle the high-pitched volume in her voice. “W-who’s there?” 

The door creaks open to reveal a very concerned looking Satan, holding two tea cups with his left index and ring finger. “May I come in? I apologize if I startled you.” 

Kirana nods hesitantly, watching closely as Satan maneuvered carefully into her bedroom. He approaches her bed, sitting on the foot of it after resting one of the tea cups on the night stand next to her.

“I know you said you didn’t care for any tea, but I made you some anyway. It’s supposed to help with sleep.” He commented, taking a nervous sip from his own cup. “I...I know that’s something that’s been difficult for you lately.”

Kirana pulls in her bottom lip and nods, turning her gaze away to stare at the vaguely purple liquid in the small cup. It’s quiet for a moment as Satan remains planted on the edge of the bed, and Kirana leans against the headboard, knees pulled up to her chest. 

Satan clears his throat after a moment, deciding to just go for what he wanted to say rather than overthinking his words or beating around them. “I worry about you, you know.” 

Kirana perks up, attention now fully on the blonde demon before her. A light blush dusts his cheeks as he stares at the tea in his hand, the sweet image producing a small flutter in Kirana’s heart.

“Pardon?” 

Satan snaps his eyes attention up to meet hers, no hesitation evident in his reply. “I worry about you. All the time...Ever since you were kidnapped you’ve been...well...different I guess. And it makes sense as to why you would be. The whole thing was pretty messed up...”

Satan takes a breath, searching her eyes for any signs that she had something to say. Instead, she stared past him, seemingly not wanting to acknowledge what he was saying. He knew Kirana could give Lucifer a run for his money in terms of stubbornness, so perhaps he needed to try a different approach.

“Uh- I know you haven’t talked to anyone about what happened really, but...maybe...you should? You know I’m always here to lend an ear...right?” 

Kirana bites the inside of her cheek and shrugs. She was unsure of how to feel with how candid Satan was being. He had seemingly been avoiding her for the past week or so, so why was he offering to talk now? As if reading her thoughts, Satan continued. 

“I’m not going to push you if you don’t want to...I just...I’ve observed what holding it in has been doing to you, and...and honestly, it scares me.” He pauses. “Perhaps that’s why I’ve been more distant than usual, but I don’t...I don’t want to be. I know you want to do this on your own, and I want to try to respect that, but...I worry that my negligence will result in losing you again.” 

“Again?” Kirana furrowed her brow.. “what do you mean by that?” 

“I...I...” Satan squeezes the cup tighter as his hands begin to tremble. The steaming liquid sloshes around, droplets splashing off the rim and onto his lap as he fought back tears. “It’s all my fault. If I had been there...If I had just paid more attention...” 

Kirana nearly gasped as his assertion. She was now wide awake and her attention now fully on Satan as she leans forward toward him. “What? No! No, it’s not your fault!” 

He shook his head. “It’s true. I was supposed to walk you home. If I had been there, none of this would have happened. I neglected you, and it resulted in something terrible. So, I do understand if you don’t want to talk to me about it, but if you would- please talk to somebody...” 

“Satan, I don’t blame you at all.” Kirana moves her hand so that it lightly grazes his forearm.

Satan shrugged. “Perhaps you should.”

“You’re being stupid.” Kirana scolds, scooting closer to the middle-born so that she could sit side-by-side next to him. 

“Excuse me?” 

Kirana sighs, playing with the ends of her hair. “Look, it was a shitty situation. And clearly it’s still impacting me more than I’d like it to, but...I’m safe now. And you’re the one to thank for that.” 

Satan stared, unblinking at his tea. His silence offered an indication that he still wasn’t convinced. 

Kirana dropped her hair, instead moving to ground herself by gripping her thighs. “Do you even know how relieved I was when I realized it was you who was with me? When I was able to smell you near?” 

He brought his gaze back up to Kirana, puzzled by her words. “Uh...smelled me..?” 

“...Ummm...” Kirana blushes, immediately realizing she should have maybe picked a better choice in words to avoid sounding weird. She sighs, deciding push on. “Well...yeah. I mean...Gah, this is kind of embarrassing, but...I wasn’t able to see or hear, so I could only rely on my sense of smell, and...uh...” 

 At her pause, Satan looked at her with wide, shimmering eyes. “Please...do go on.” 

“Well...you smelled like...I dunno...Ink and old paper.” She paused, feeling her face heat up further in embarrassment. She looks down to the floor as she continues to speak. “It wasn’t really that I realized it was you right away. Like, I was able to figure it out, but I just...I somehow knew the scent meant I was going to be safe.” 

There’s a pause of silence between the two. Satan ponders over her words for a moment, searching for their meaning. Kirana hesitates before continuing. 

“Anyway...I wont just sit here and let you blame yourself for that. You always make me feel comfortable and safe and...and...I’m glad it was you.” 

“Kirana, I-” 

“I’m not finished.” She glances back up at Satan, finding a bit more courage to say what was on her mind. She noticed him staring at her with mist in his eyes, completely unprepared for her bold words. “When I was...or, well- When I thought I was going to- you know...die...All I could think about was you. I was so scared, and thinking about you was the only thing that made me bear through it all...but, I was also worried that I wouldn’t be able to see you again...to tell you...”

Kirana pauses, unsure of how to finish her statement. The confidence she felt begins to dwindle upon realizing that she is pouring her heart out to someone who may not reflect the same emotions. 

Satan inches closer so that their legs touch. “Tell me...what?” 

Kirana feels her face go completely red, bringing her hands up to shield it from view. “Come on, don’t make me say it...isn’t it obvious by now??” 

Satan lets out a soft chuckle as he nudges her hand with his pinky. “Perhaps not as much as you’d suspected...But I can assure you, I share the sentiment.” 

Kirana feels her heart stop and she whips her head up to stare at him. “H-huh?!” 

He pauses for a moment, thinking over his words. “Let me put it this way, Kirana. I haven’t felt fear often in my life, and I do not typically get ‘scared’ of...well, anything really...But never in my life did I feel so much terror as the night you went missing- when I realized something wasn’t right; that you could be in danger; that the state of your being fell on me and I...I could be too late to save you. I was practically sick to my stomach when I realized I had never confessed how I feel about you, and that the opportunity may have been missed...I didn’t want to have to hold onto that anymore.”

He stares into Kirana’s eyes, ensuring the deepest of meaning is held within the deep green orbs. He then takes her hand in his. Kirana holds her breath, unsure of how to even react to such an unexpected confession. 

“I need to tell you now...that I-” Satan swallows hard, nerves suddenly reemerging. “I-I’m desperately in love with you. and I have been for quite some time.” 

Kirana stares at him in near disbelief, unsure of how to respond. After a moment of silence, Satan’s nervousness emerges, wanting some sort of validation that she felt the same. 

“Can I assume you return my feelings?” He searched her eyes for signs of doubt, but saw none. 

“I- yes. Of course” Kirana smiled. Her eyes went glossy as she tried to hold back tears, not wanting to feel further embarrassment by the rollercoaster of emotions she was experiencing. “I love you too Satan...you’re the only one I want.”

Satan felt a wave of relief was over his body. He squeezed Kirana’s hand a bit tighter, feeling a giddy sense of joy come over him. Though, he didn’t forget why he had come to her room in the first place. 

“Well, now that this is out of the way...should I let you get back to sleep? I’m sure the effects of the tea are kicking in already.” 

Kirana bit her lip, looking sheepishly down at the floor. “Actually...Could I maybe stay the night in your room? It would be nice to have someone there...if I have another nightmare.” 

Satan beamed, pleased to see she was finally asking for help. Before he could attempt to reply though, Kirana’s anxiety got the better of her as she blurted out a cushion statement before his words were even out. “I-it’s okay if you don’t want me to. I don’t want to burden you or anything so-” 

Before she could continue, Satan brought a hand up to cup Kirana’s face. Slowly- as if leaving room for her to pull away- he gave her a chaste kiss. As he pulled away, he noticed her face was bright red, eyes wide with an emotion he couldn’t quite place. 

Kirana felt her heart melt the minute her lips met his. Her flustered state only increased, making her stomach feel nearly overwhelmed with butterflies. 

“You’re more than welcome to join me.” Satan cooed, brushing a strand of hair out of Kirana’s face. “You don’t even have to ask.” 

The pair walked hand-in-hand up to Satan’s bedroom. He was slightly embarrassed by the state of it, knowing he would have at least taken the pile of books off of his bed if he knew Kirana would be accompanying him tonight. Instead he threw them off the bed in a huff, gesturing to Kirana to lay down while he grab some more tea for the two of them. 

Something about being surrounded by the smell of old books and dim candle light, and being snuggled up under a large, soft quilt suddenly made Kirana feel a bit more drowsy. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment, only to be woken soon after by the door to Satan’s bedroom opening and closing. Satan approached the bed as she squinted at him through tired, heavy eyelids. 

He let out a soft chuckle at the way Kirana looked, bundled in the quilt so snuggly. “Here you are. Are you comfortable?”

She nodded sleepily in response, taking another sip of the tea that Satan had handed to her. “Yes, I do. I feel very safe. Thank you.” 

Satan hummed. “I’ll always keep you safe, Kitten.” 

Kirana choked on her tea, coughing and sputtering from the shock at being called the sudden (adorable) pet name. Her face reddened once more as she tried to find words to reply. “Wha- I...Kitten!?” 

Satan’s lips lifted into a coy smirk. “Do you not like me calling you that?” 

“N-NO!” Kirana shook her head, changing her words to seem less excited. “I mean...I- I don’t mind it.”

The smirk on Satan’s face only grew the more flustered she became. How cute. 

Satan cleared a space next to the bed, giving Kirana the entire space. He assumed she wouldn’t want him right next to her- or at least she’d be too embarrassed to say that’s what she did want. Regardless, he figured he’d spare her from feeling even more flustered...at least for tonight. 

Just before he was about to curl up in the space though, Kirana’s voice stopped him. “S-Satan?” 

“Hmm?” 

“Could you...ah- could you read to me?” 

Satan’s eyes shifted up to look at her. Kirana’s ability to surprise him really left him feeling underprepared. 

“I know it’s silly...but...” She paused, trying to find the words to say. After a short moment, she let out a nervous laugh, feeling ridiculous for making such a request. “It’s just hard to sleep without background noise...and-” 

“Of course I will.” Satan interrupted, not wanting Kirana to go into a self-deprecating spiral. “Just let me find a book.” 

Satan disappears behind a bookshelf, re-emerging with a thin novel. Kirana scooches over to make room on the bed- much to Satan’s surprise- and he nestles in next to her. She rests her head on his chest as he wraps his arm around her, stroking her bare shoulder underneath the sleeve of her shirt. 

“Are you sure you’re comfortable?” 

Kirana nods, humming in confirmation. She nuzzles into him further, tightening the blanket around her body as he begins to read. Within a few minutes, soft snores could be heard coming from Kirana as she breathed evenly against him. Satan continued to read until he could barely keep his own eyes open. He closes the book, leaving it on the windowsill near his bed before shuffling his and Kirana’s bodies to a lying-position on the bed. As if instinctually, Kirana wraps her arms around his midsection, clinging to him like a koala. He smiles warmly, placing a soft kiss to her head before finally succumbing to sleep. 

-------------------------------------------------------------

From then on, there wasn’t a night she wasn’t found in Satan’s room, or he in Kirana’s room. The two became nearly inseparable, relying on each other as Kirana continued to try to heal from the trauma of the kidnapping. With each reassured moment that she was safe in Satan’s arms, she became more and more like her old self again. The nightmares dwindled to a very infrequent occurrence, the anxiety lessened, and her appetite returned, allowing her to begin re-engaging with everyone around her in a meaningful way. 

Satan was almost shocked at how easy it was for Kirana to make friends with other demons after he took steps in aiding her healing. Though, he did notice she only really engaged with them when he was at her side. There was a carefulness still evident in her actions, and he wondered any sort of absence of his hawk-like protection wasn’t contributing to that at least somewhat. Regardless, he saw it better to remain cautious about the others outside his family rather than leave it up to fate. 

No one was taking her from him again...not without a fight. 

When Lucifer mentioned that the exchange program was ending and Kirana had to return to the human world...of course, he was devastated. 

“I demand you talk to Diavolo and let her stay.” “At the very least, can’t I accompany her back?” “Only two of us can call her per week?! That’s completely unfair!” 

All of his arguments fell on deaf ears, and soon enough, it was time to say goodbye. It was awkward- and sad- to have to give Kirana back to to the realm in which she belonged, but he was able to do so (though not without an extreme reluctance). The first two weeks were obviously the hardest for both Satan and Kirana. Despite texting her daily, he couldn’t wait for his turn to call her at the end of the second week- an arrangement he was able to work through with Lucifer after many harsh words flown from each other’s mouths at who would be the brother to call her first. 

“Heyy Satan.” Kirana giggled into the phone as she picked up the line, seeing the caller ID light up with a picture of him covered in 5 different cats, smiling wide right at her.

He smiled, feeling his heart race at the excitement in her voice. “Hey yourself. How are you doing, Kitten?” 

Satan heard Kirana squeak from the other line, and chuckled to himself at how she still became flustered by the pet name, even after they had been together for a few months. After regaining her composure some, she spoke. 

“I’m doing okay, I think. The first few days were really hard.” She pauses. “I’m getting some more help here. I started talking to some professionals...anyway, even though it sucks a bit that I don’t have you here to help, I’m learning how to do some things on my own so I don’t burden you too much.” 

“You’re not a burden to me, Kitten.” 

Another squeak was heard through the line. “Stop teasing me!” 

Satan laughed. “Stop being so easy to tease.” 

The pair laughed for a moment, before a somber wave of silence encapsulated the phone call. Satan’s heart felt heavy in knowing the next time he would be able to hear Kirana’s sweet voice was not until at least 3 weeks from now. He knew she felt it too, given the soft sniffles coming from her end of the line. 

Satan cleared his throat, trying to find a way to guide the conversation back to a happier place. He couldn’t really think of anything, but the sound of Kirana’s soft voice made him relax some. 

"I...I miss you, you know.” 

Satan could practically hear her blush through the phone. His own cheeks reddened as he cooed the sentiment back. “I miss you too. More than you probably even realize...” 

"You can’t just one up me like that!” Kirana huffed. “No, I miss you more.” 

Satan chuckled. “Well, I’m not about to argue with you on that. Let’s just say we’re both hopelessly missing each other.” 

After another brief laugh, The conversation goes on for hours, until the moon lifts brightly in the sky and the spring peeper frogs and crickets sing their evening melody, lulling Kirana into a state of sleepiness that she finally was able to not feel dread about...but that also meant she would have to stop the conversation in order to rest her weary head. 

“I should probably go...I have a busy day tomorrow.” 

Satan groaned. “I was worried you were about to say that.”

“I’m sorry...” She sighed, feeling bad about having to hang up. 

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault.” Satan stretched out, now realizing how long he had been in the same position, but time seemed to go so quickly when he it was with her. “You need your rest.” 

“I wish I could just be back there with you instead.” 

Satan hummed. “Me too, Kitten.”

“Hey!” Kirana squeaked into the phone. “What did I say about teasing!” 

Satan chuckled. “You’re adorable.” 

She huffed into the phone, clearly exaggerating to try to tease him back. 

“and...you’re all mine, right?” Satan bit his lip, wondering how his words will be received.

 She giggled, but he could also hear sniffling from her end of the call. “Yes, of course, you meanie. All yours.” 

The phone call ended with exchanged “I love you”s and, while the passage of time seemed unbearable, they continued on the distanced love that was cultivated despite enormous hardship. That is, until the day the portal opened above the student council meeting by Solomon- when Kirana fell right back into Satan’s lap- and they could pick back up exactly where they left off. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~