#tw: mentions of natural disasters

[mymistakewriting]

TK & the concept of recovery

Part 2 of screaming into the void. This one is a little tricky just because of how expansive it's going to be, so as with all of my posts like this, if you have questions or want me to delve a little deeper into a specific event, let me know and I'll do that.

Trigger & Content warnings: mentions of addiction & withdrawal, mentions of cancer, death, gun violence, hostage situations, etc. If I'm missing any tags, let me know.

TK's concept of recovery is a little screwy. Let me start this post off with that honesty - of everyone, he's the one that understands best that recovery isn't black and white, but he's also the one that sets very rigid standards for himself when it comes to recovery.

Starting with the most obvious "recovery" that he's gone through - addiction. He had a pretty clean initial recovery, did all the right things even if those things weren't exactly by choice. He went through rehab with a highly-recommended facility the entire way across the country from the locations and people that he had tied to his addictions. He was in a facility that offered medical assistance to get through withdrawals (which is SO important in opioid withdrawals when you're trying to get clean because the withdrawals themselves can kill you, never mind how fast your tolerance to them tanks when you first stop taking them, almost guaranteeing an overdose if you relapse during that initial week of withdrawal where you feel like you're dying). He had an amazing support system thanks to his mom. And yeah, he had a backslide or two in his recovery, that's normal. And yeah, there's some anxiety that comes with that, which is totally understandable. But his addiction recovery is the only recovery he's experienced over the course of the show that felt like he was letting his body and emotions have the time to process what he was going through.

When it comes to anything else? There's just something slightly off about how he recovers from it.

Him finding out about Owen's cancer and immediately curling inwards? Lashing out about a dog because it's the only way that he knows how to put words to how he feels about his dad and the very real risk that he was going to lose him despite the fact that TK spent most of his childhood without the man who turned his grief inward and threw himself into work instead of being there for his son. There was just something more permanent about the idea of Owen dying than there was in him burying himself in saving people and leaving TK to deal with all those feelings of not being enough on his own that it was so easy to forget that things weren't always great with Owen because that's his dad.

Or being shot and immediately freaking out the second he came out of his coma because he went down in the middle of a traumatic event and his fight or flight never got a chance to run it's course, but he was right back in action before he was even healed even if he wasn't officially back with the 126 on his own recognizance because he didn't know if he really wanted to be a firefighter and needed some time to figure that out, figure out who he was outside of the identity that he'd clung to for some sense of security and meaning and hope for so long because if it worked for his dad why wouldn't it work for him? TK has always been the person to care about everyone else first and worry about whatever shambles that leaves him in last because that's how Owen works and so that's how his relationship with the world was always going to be. It didn't matter that he was tearing stitches or working himself into a frenzy with no backup and no way to let anyone know what was happening because he was just a civilian, he's always going to prioritize saving other people first. (This will come in a later post, but there's a reason that I loved the stripped back version of Unsteady that they used for that scene and I have so much to scream about for it).

Similarly, his recovery post-coma after he went under the ice. He knew damn well what he was doing when he took off from the car with hypothermia. That wasn't a spur of the moment thing because he wasn't thinking right, not entirely, it was a moment of "if I die, I don't want Tommy and Nancy to witness it". It was a "they don't deserve to lose another paramedic, another friend, right in front of them". But it's also why he didn't fight them when they came after him to help him. He knew it was important to them that they try and I don't think he's ever going to feel like he's apologized enough for putting them through having to get his heart being again when it stopped on the field. And again, as soon as he was awake after fighting himself and his own brain about it to a point that he coded again in that damn hospital bed, his thought isn't about his own wellbeing, it's about Carlos and his need to have the other man breathing right because it's okay, they're both safe, it's going to all be okay.

There's a million small examples of it. TK doesn't know what recovery means for him outside of the glaringly obvious version of it with his addiction, and a lot of that is because I don't think he puts himself anywhere on a list of things that he sees as important enough to "save". It's such a subtle thing, but he cares so much about everyone else that their well-being, their being okay, their ability to keep going is always going to come before TK's ability to survive a situation in his mind. And it's not that he doesn't care, it's just that that's how he knows how to show how MUCH he cares.

[miniar]

(Nov. 10. 2023) The blue lagoon in Iceland is currently closed (for a week) due to a high risk of a volcanic eruption within a kilometer (0.8 miles) of the popular tourist location.

When the gathering magma breaks the earth's crust, anyone visiting the blue lagoon will have (best case scenario) approximately 20 minutes to make it to safety.

If there are people sleeping in the adjacent hotel or gods forbid in the lagoon itself, the worst case scenario is the magma breaking surface beneath the lagoon.

The only truly realistic way to avoid serious casualties here is for the resort, hotel, and lagoon yo remain completely closed until the danger passes.

There are currently icelandic people calling for a 2/1 deal (or cheaper) on blue lagoon tickets for Icelandic people on twitter.

Do Not Go To The Blue Lagoon Until The Danger Has Passed!!

It's a lovely experience but it's absolutely not worth boiling alive or burning to death.

[gemsofgreece]

You really should know about Storm "Daniel"

Unlike how much all of us Greek blogs notify our tumblr communities about the regular (at this point) arsons wildfires afflicting Greece, we did not say much about the floods the country has been suffering from right now. There was a mention here and there and I even made a joke post as the storm was starting but not a lot of stuff in general. So, I think there's a couple of things you should know and I feel like I could address about it and actually it's not just about Greece. So I believe this could interest a lot of people and it should be something known worldwide.

In the beginning of September there was an alarm about an extreme weather phenomenon forming above the Ionian Sea at the west of mainland Greece. In truth, the phenomenon was not caused by the climate change. It was just a very rare occurence where a high pressure atmosheric system was sandwiched between two currents of low pressure. Low pressure systems are the ones resposible for stormy weather while high pressure systems generally create stable weather. As the low currents encircled the high pressure system, the storm that had started forming became unusually stable for a storm. As a result, the storm moved northeast above Thessaly and other regions of the central part of Greece and... just decided to stay there for an indefinite amount of time. Furthermore, because it's September and the Ionian Sea had warmed up throughout the summer, the medicane (Mediterranean cyclone) gained tropical features as it was forming, pushing its intensity to extremes unknown to this area.

The storm remained above all of central Greece for about 4-5 days but at the meantime it was causing side-storms in neighbouring countries, such as Bulgaria and Turkey. Both countries suffered from floods causing damages and deaths.

Istanbul, Turkey (CNN).

Tsarevo, Bulgaria (CNN).

Four people died in Bulgaria and seven in Turkey.

But like I told you the core of this was exactly on top of Greece's central mainland and islands. So what happened there? I happened to experience this shit first hand. My recollection of it is that it was unlike any other storm I had experienced before. My knowledge on meteorology is not very advanced, however I believe due to the high pressure part, there were actually no winds at all - or they were insignificant, so it wasn't like what you might have in mind as a conventional cyclone. It was a rainstorm but it was like a rainstorm from hell. The crucial part is that in Greece summer violent rainstorms may last for about five minutes but certainly not for five days nonstop. There was no pause, not even for a second. It kept pouring and pouring in indescribable volumes, without decreasing or slowing down, not for a moment. The fourth day it started taking short breaks.

As a person with a phobia of lightnings since childhood, I kept wearing earplugs throughout all these days. For four days, ten seconds did not pass without at least one lightning shrieking exactly on top of our heads. In the end, I am dead serious, I think my lifelong phobia has been cured somewhat due to this extreme exposure that eventually had a numbing effect. I think only the first day there was a record of 7,000 lightnings. I believe there must have been dozens of thousands overall. The lightnings also caused fires but the downpour was so overwhelming no fire could ever stand a chance.

Whether during or after the rains, what I was seeing outside was post-apocalyptic. The only thing missing was the zombies. It really looked like a background from a videogame, including a constantly lit up sky. I was not in danger though people dear to me were. The worst for me was a huge fall in the quality of living but that doesn't matter. The rains caused severe destructions across cities and villages. They caused floods, they broke bridges, they broke a massive number of roads, they made walls collapse, they destroyed springs, they damaged water and electricity outlets entirely, they drowned flocks and flocks of animals, they destroyed mountainous and coastal villages alike, they made cars float and fly over each other and they uprooted houses.

Village in Mount Pelion, Greece.

But that's not the end of it. Four days later, the storm moved southwest towards the Ionian sea, basically to the place of its original formation. It side-swept over Athens in the meantime, flooding the city, but that doesn't mean much since I could cry and Athens would still flood with my tears. Anyway. AFTER the storm left, the floods caused by it started multiplying and expanding. Picture that: a crystal clear sky, a bright sun and your phone screaming state alerts about evacuating your village or town because a lake has launched at you! Here's the thing: Thessaly is a massive plain surrounded by a ring of mountains. Half of those downpours fell right on the lowlands causing floods and destructions the first days. The other half however fell on the mountains, filled the streams heading down and they all met up and filled the lakes and the large river of Thessaly, Pineios and they all basically exploded the next days. Pineios especially exploded both in its western and eastern part, sinking the entirety of Thessaly's plains under water. As a result, floods were actively taking place days after the storm had ended and the weather was good. The phenomena have only started subduing since yesterday.

The overflowing of the river, trapped by the mountains.

Farmers won't be able to work this year and next year is questionable as well. There are huge concerns about various epidemics breaking out as more and more dead animals are found in the waters. Entire villages are under the water. There are estimations that some villages in west Thessaly might have been lost forever and their residents will have to move elsewhere. Sixteen people have died from the rainstorm and the floods.

Actual villages in Karditsa, Greece.

A more longterm danger is that the ground received such an unnatural amount of water that it might have been severely eroded and destablised, making it vulnerable to natural disasters I don't want to utter. Many roads are either broken or bloated and Thessaly has been cut out from communication and transportation with the rest of the country. To this day, there are maps guiding people how to drive from North to South Greece and vice versa by entirely skipping Central Greece! (Hint: they will have to drive through Epirus, aka western Greece.) The first days there was also complete isolation from what was happening in the country and the world and also the very regions we were in as we had no electricity and our only chance was getting a call from somebody being elsewhere and telling us what is going on.

Volos, Greece (CNN)

Many regions have received within 2-4 days 55 times their monthly amount of rain or more than twice the yearly amount. Greek meteorologist Christos Zerefos estimated that such a phenomenon occurs every 300-400 years. Meteorologists were alarmed internationally - with Germans and Americans reportedly saying they hadn't studied such a phenomenon again in their career. Its intensity was record high in the history of Greece and right in the top of Europe's as well. They also agreed that such a phenomenon would be devastating even if it had hit the most advanced and prepared country.

BUT THIS IS NOT THE END. The weakened Daniel seemed to slowly move towards South Italy but it decided to take a turn and headed south towards Libya and Egypt. Quite possibly, as the storm was once again travelling across the warm Mediterranean Sea, it was rejuvenated and gained even more tropical traits. Eventually, the medicane hit Libya with unprecedented force.

The cyclone travelling from Greece to Libya.

The toll it took on Libya is unspeakable. As I am writing this,

More than 5,226 people are killed and more than 10,000 are currently missing.

Like, can you wrap your head around what I am talking about? I don't see this shit being acknowledged enough across the world. I am checking this again and again, to ensure I am reading this correctly.

Daniel has officially become the deadliest medicane on record.

Eastern Libya, from Al Jazeera.

In the meantime, Greeks found opportunities to practice their favourite sport: political infighting. People who weren't even here when hell broke loose say that if this or that was properly done, we would not have problems at all. I even saw an idiotic Greek expat comment how "we got drowned in a little bit of rain". The truth is we should bloody thank our lucky stars and I say this with the entire awareness of half of Thessaly being currently underwater. It is true that Greek governments and people have done so many things badly, like building on top of streams and rivers, changing rivers' natural route, drying up natural lakes and all that shit that guarantees you are going to have massive problems once a serious storm breaks out. Also, the disaster revealed that there was once more a very questionable management of all the money given by the EU for anti-flooding measures after a previous flood (Ianos). Of course, I would be happy if at last we viewed this disaster as an opportunity to improve ourselves and the management of our land, however whatever happened these days wasn't the fault of anyone in particular. On the contrary, A LOT worse could have happened. A lot. Maybe Libya is not an indication because if Greece is not used to such extreme rain phenomena, then Libya is probably ten times less used to them, however we should not forget that this monster was STUCK at least five days over the heartland of Greece. For this alone we should damn be thankful we did not get it any worse and that the land endured in any way and of course now we have to correct old mistakes as well but let's do it united and determined and without wasting time once more in pointless infighting, which in this case might even be unfair. (In fact I think the thing we should blame the state the most about was not making it clear beforehand that this was going to be unprecedented, not just "very severe". They probably didn't want to cause panic and mayhem but still. We should know.) Of course I am not talking about how the state will treat the afflicted regions from now on, which is entirely its responsibility. And we should stand next to Libya. Greece has its wounds to mend but it should absolutely provide support to Libya. We know what this freak phenomenon was like.

I know this text is long but please consider reblogging this. We should know what happens on our planet. Thousands of people are dead from a freak phenomenon devastating regions across lands and seas. Also forgive any mistakes I might have made although I believe the information is correct for the most part. I didn't speak more about Libya because I don't know enough to analyze the situation as much. Perhaps there are ways of supporting the country too. As a last note, this phenomenon was not freakish because of the climate change - it was just a very unusual occurence. However, the - otherwise normal - warmth of the sea did feed and intensify the storm and the climate change might in the future cause these super rare, accidental phenomena to become more frequent.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

While all eyes were on the thunderstorms and floods in the south of the province, the largest blaze in Quebec history was burning north of 49e parallel this week.

At 1,041,760 hectares — barely smaller than Lebanon — this fire is three times larger than the one that made headlines in 2013.

This is the largest fire ever recorded by SOPFEU, confirmed to The Press spokesperson Mélanie Morin. “In the statistics to which I have access, which go back to 1984, I do not find any fire of more than one million hectares in the northern zone”, she explains.

“Unparalleled magnitude”, “historic fire”, “the biggest fire ever seen”: there was no shortage of superlatives in 2013 to describe the 350,000 hectare blaze that was burning then a few kilometers from the Cree community of Eastmain.

Ten years later, the magnitude of this new fire has gone almost unnoticed. It should be noted that it was in this fire that two auxiliary SOPFEU fighters were injured last Monday, a first in 30 years, as reported by The Press SATURDAY. [...]

Continue Reading.

Note from poster @el-shab-hussein: this article was posted 3 days after the SOPFEU partially lifted some bans on open-air fires.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada, @halfwar-halfpeace

[sayitaliano]

One half of Italy is drowning, the other half is suffering from drought, please y'all stay strong and safe as you can

[faller-of-kharbranth]

The smoke??—

Oh wait you’re in the world where Unova is going through a legendary-based natural distance thingy right?

Th-That whole… y-yyyeah…

The Twins… and others… h-have been hard at work helping e-evac those affected.

Shallahi’s… h-helping too. P-Plate at the ready…

Doesn’t-doesn’t want to get too c-close to the heart of the storm, though…

Tha-that’s in good hands.

[anchoeritic]

kells the earthquake killed over sixteen thousand people in my country 😭 thirty five thousand deaths expected… my family’s okay but we’ve lost so many people 😭😭😭😭

i heard about it on the news and saw it all over social media. it’s so tragic. i’m so sorry, sweetheart. i’m happy to hear your family’s okay, though. sending all my love. 💟

[caoimhe-from-hoenn]

Just got home

I didn't do as much work as the rangers but holy fuck everything hurts

Won't be at the gym today catch me tomorrow

[the-weird-kids-next-door]

hi we had an EAS alert go off, alarm and all, that said "tornado warning until 8:15 PM, please take shelter in your basement", but no one else in the house got that?? like we were panicking and shit and everyone else was calm as hell??? has that happened to anyone else because we didn't even know that was possible until tonight

[xprojectrpg]

Throwback Thursday - The Rictor Effect

17 years ago in a dimension not completely unlike Phase 2, a young mutant called Julio Richter was kidnapped by Magneto and tormented until his earthquake powers destroyed San Diego. Things might have been far worse without the intervention of the X-Men.

[mymistakewriting]

Evan Buckley & trauma responses

This one was surprisingly hard to write because I had no idea just how involved I wanted this post to be because let's face it, Buck's been through a lot. So it's been sitting in my drafts the entire time my partner's been down here visiting me because I had no damned idea how to put all my thoughts and feelings into words while we were still playing catch up on the show (we still aren't caught up but we're almost there, I promise, just a couple more episodes).

That said, this isn't fully involved. There are going to be a lot of things I don't cover or don't delve into as deep as I want to. Those will come later as their own post, or you're welcome to ask my opinions on things you haven't seen me talk about yet (this goes for ANY character, not just the ones I've screamed into the void about).

Trigger / Content Warnings: Mentions of grievous injury. Mentions of abuse. Mentions of natural disasters. Basically, if you know anything about Buck, count it as a trigger. He's a walking trauma response in the form of a humanized golden retriever.

Evan "Buck" Buckley is a walking case of trauma. And it's formed a lot of who he is as a person, and I don't necessarily say that as the worst thing because all of the pain and trauma and hardship he's survived has made him who he is, which is a wonderful person. But I just want to take this post to focus in on how his behaviors changed subtly following some of his traumas.

Let's start with an easy one, though. Abby. Now, I have opinions about Abby and Buck that I'll talk about separately given the chance. But what I want to talk about is the trauma he experiences with Abby while he's with her. He's still a probie at the time (he's the 118's probie until about two months before Eddie shows up if I did the math kind of right, but it isn't a long gap), and he's naive and he's still very much a kid trying to carve out who he is as a person. Abby's not - she's given up a lot of who she is to take care of her mother and frankly, I'm not entirely unconvinced that Buck wasn't a mid-life crisis decision for her as awful as that sounds. But they mesh in a way that is what Buck needed to shove him in the right direction at the time, at the start. He needed someone who was going to hear him, who trusted him to make the calls about his own body and self worth and limits instead of suggesting that maybe he was just overreacting.

But at the same time, it was such a mess of ignoring feelings and issues for what felt safe at the time that it was never going to last. There's a bit of panic underlying just about everything with Abby and Buck, and I feel like that entire relationship was the trauma, not just the "oh I almost died and had to have an emergency tracheotomy" trauma (I know the fandom jokes a lot about that getting ignored but no, I don't think it does, I think it's juxtaposed against the rest of the relationship and thrown into a light of being less of a lasting trauma than getting so attached to someone that you know isn't right and then watching as you get left behind).

It's the first thing that really tosses Buck's abandonment issues into a light instead of just being something hinted at, joked about. It makes it into something real, something that the team tiptoes around right up until Eddie puts what they all know out there, day one.

And then begins the real rush of traumas and how Buck responds.

The Hook & Ladder pinning him, the crush injury, the fear that they won't be able to free him without an in-the-field amputation. He doesn't even talk about it like he remembers what led up to it, just the sudden feeling of 3 tons sat on his leg and the fear that no, his team, his support system isn't strong enough to save him from this.

He tiptoes around the rigs after that, for a while when he gets back to work. It shook him up enough that he hesitates, not quite enough for it to be noticed and called out, but enough that you can see the team adjust how they load in to go out on calls - someone is always at Buck's shoulder as he gets in the rig, he's never last in, never last out, and eventually he stops tiptoeing so much without anyone ever saying anything about it.

And natural disasters. This man's CANON reaction with natural disasters was to research. He talks to Eddie about all of the infrastructure that California has added to some of its buildings because of Earthquakes during the 7.1 earthquake LA deals with, and that's before he ever met Chris, he just knew he needed to comfort one of his team while his line of communication with the kid was down.

The tsunami is where it gets a little more tricky. He does his research after, yes. He makes comments and references to it. But I don't think he ever faced the trauma from it. He risked his life saving others - something that I'm sure the 118 is aware of, at least, because there was more than just Charlie flying drones over the disaster zone that was the Pier and surrounding areas so there was definitely at least some footage. And he nearly died trying to find Chris - he was hurt and on blood thinners. He could have died if some of the other survivors hadn't pulled him aside and forced him to let them patch him up before he continued his search at the very least. It's why he hit the ground so fast once he knew Chris was safe. The adrenaline finally wore out of his system and that was the only thing keeping him on his feet.

He didn't take his eyes off any of his team on calls for months after he came back post-tsunami, post-lawsuit. And I don't think he's gone back to the Pier for anything other than a call since.

The lawsuit and it's aftermath will be it's own post, but you can see how heavy Eddie's words weigh on him. How hard it hits him to see his spot in his home given away in his absence, even briefly. It's childish and selfish, yes, but it stems from such a deep abandonment issue that quite frankly I'm surprised he didn't react worse. He just didn't know how else to make people listen.

And there's more. There's always more. The shit with his parents. The well collapsing on Eddie. Eddie getting shot and Buck's utter confusion at the man's concern for him when he's the one at risk of dying. His reaction to Eddie telling him that he was Chris' legal guardian if something ever happened and Eddie didn't survive it. Maddie leaving. Maddie coming back but being unsure if she could fix things. Taylor Kelly and all of the shit they went through together.

Buck's trauma responses are something that are so interesting to see because they change him as a person just briefly before he's moving on.

And it just takes his heart stopping to finally make him stop and finally start processing things - that's all his coma dream was after the lightning. It was him finally processing everything he's survived and maybe taking a step towards actually figuring out why he survived it despite the odds being against him.

[jar-of-hearts131]

Hi! This is my first fanfic! I really love the war siblings dynamic, and I for one love a good dose of angst!

This is a tickle fic!

Lee: Athena, Ares

Ler: Ares, Athena

TW FOR MENTION OF A PANIC ATTACK

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

A God's Burden

“You're doing better” she said matter-of-factly. As the goddess of war and older sister, Athena had been tasked with training and handling the very energetic and new god of war, Ares. She hadn't spoken to him much, and didn't know too much about him. What she did know was that he had a short temper, he had a huge sweet tooth, he preferred the sword to all other weapons, and he had a soft spot for small, fluffy animals, especially dogs. It was odd, to her, that a god meant to be of such a violent nature could be so soft and carefree, but then again, she didn't have much experience with children.

Athena picked up the spear Ares had been using and tossed it over to him as he pulled himself back to his feet. “But charging in blindly will not always win you the battle.”

“So?” He snapped, frustrated that he had lost yet again. “I'm not all wise and calculating like you are, Athena! What do I have to use but brute force and my own strength?”

Again, the same old tirade. They would spar, Ares would lose, start yelling, and Athena would have to calm him down somehow. She didn't quite understand why he was getting so emotional over this. Surely he knew that the best course of action would be to stop complaining and try again right?

Athena opened her mouth to say the rehearsed line she always gave in response to one of Ares's tantrums when he cut her off. “And don't give me that bullshit about how I need to keep my emotions in check! Not everyone can shut themselves off like you do!”

And with that Ares threw down his spear and stormed out of the arena. Athena didn't know why, but a small part of her felt almost guilty. She tried to reason that he would come to his senses eventually and continue training, but as the day went on, there was no sign of him. Athena quarreled with herself in her head, and the big sister part of her won. “Alright,” she sighed. “Let's go find him.”

…

Ares let out a huff of frustration as he sat down beneath a sprawling olive tree. Why was she always able to best him so easily? He was the god of war for Zeus's sake! He needed to be stronger, faster, better! How else would he catch up to the golden child of the Olympians? How else would he be able to earn just a tiny bit of his father's favor? It was no secret that Athena was the favored one out of all of Zeus's godly children. Never a negative word or action was cast in her direction by him. No, that was saved for his other children, or mortals who displeased him. Ares had heard many stories of cities and towns that had dared to disrespect the king of the gods, only to be struck down by a myriad of disasters.

He shuddered. He'd never admit it, but Zeus scared him. Zeus had a quick temper, a trait he had passed onto his son. He was incredibly prideful and vain, and no one was bold or stupid enough to try to bring him down a notch. Those who tried, were dealt with, severely.

Ares didn't want that to be him. He wanted to get stronger, so he could protect himself, so Zeus wouldn't be able to find fault with him. After all, how could the son of the master of heavens have any imperfections? He didn't want to end up like his brother Hephaestus, thrown off of the mountain due to his imperfect appearance.

Tears began to slip down his face unnoticed as he stressed over whether he would ever be the perfect son, the god of war as he was born to be. He hated this part of him, that got overly emotional and screamed and cried. Crying was a sign of weakness, and he wasn't weak. From day one, he was expected to keep his emotions, aside from rage and bloodlust, in a bottle, never to be seen by anyone but him. And still, he had these moments where those pesky emotions forced their way out in ways that he couldn't control. How did Athena do it so easily? Why her and not him? As his thoughts continued to spiral, he curled up tighter and tighter, and began to breathe faster and faster.

…

Athena roamed the grounds searching for her little brother, but the kid was pretty good at hiding. As she passed by the orchards, she heard a whimpering sound, almost like a wounded animal that was trying to hide from a predator. Instinctively, she went to investigate.

It was all she could do to not let out a gasp when she saw her brother, the brash, headstrong Ares curled up and hyperventilating on the ground, seemingly unaware of the world around him. Shit, she didn't know how to handle him like this! Does she hug him? Tell him to get a hold of himself? Just leave him be? No, none of that seemed right. She wished Hera was here, she'd know what to do. But Hera wasn't there, so Athena needed to do something, and fast.

Suddenly, she remembered something from her time with Pallas, her deceased best friend. Whenever Athena was upset or angry Pallas would take a heavy cloak, meant for colder weather, and drape it over Athena's shoulders. The extra weight would help her calm down and bring her back to reality. Maybe that would work with her brother.

Athena took off the cape she always wore. It wasn't as heavy as Pallas’s cloak, but it would do. She gently wrapped it around Ares's frame, and sat down beside him.

“It's okay, you're okay, I'm here” Athena enveloped him in a hug and tried her best to comfort him. After a while, she heard his broken sobs quiet and his breathing even out. She let go of him and turned him around to face her.

“Ares, you can talk to us. No one is going to hate you for having emotions, and I shouldn't have taught you to force them down. I didn't realize how much it affected you, and for that I am sorry.”

Ares felt a spike of anger at her words. He didn't need any pity. He wasn't some broken child who needed to be coddled and protected. Who was she to insinuate that?!

But then he realized something. Pity wasn't something that Athena did. If she was anything, it was genuine. She didn't believe in sugarcoating or false positives. She wasn't one to sweeten her words to spare hurt feelings. So if she had given words of comfort, he knew she truly meant it.

“I-I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have l-lost my temper again. I just got so angry that I couldn't beat you. How can I be a god of war if I can't fight? How am I supposed to protect others if I can't protect myself? I don't want to be weak!”

There. He said it. As soon as those words left his mouth he froze. On one hand, a tremendous weight lifted off his chest for being able to confide in someone. On the other hand, Athena would never look at him the same way again. He basically admitted to being a weak coward right to her face! He was too scared to look at her. He didn't want to see his sister's face contort into a disgusted sneer-

“Wha-?!” Ares yelped as Athena pulled himself backwards into another tight hug. “What are you doing, let me go!”

“Little brother, I am so proud of you for telling me that. Admitting that you are struggling with something does not make you weak. In fact, it takes a lot of strength and bravery to look at something and realize that you can't always do it alone. I promise you, I will never, ever be angry with you for wanting help or guidance. And I will never be mad at you for feeling the need to express your emotions however you see fit. Just, if you feel the need to throw things around, maybe don't do that in Hephaestus's forge. We don't want a repeat of last time.”

They both laughed at remembering Hephaestus's eyes nearly bug out of his head after returning to a forge that had been destroyed by a very angry 13 year old Ares. It had taken almost two weeks to get everything back in working order. Since then, the arena had a special “Rage Room” for when Ares or someone else needed to let off a little steam.

“Are you feeling better, Ares?” Athena asked.

“Not really.” He answered. He wasn't crying anymore, but there was still a tight knot in his chest.

“Well we can't have that now can we?”

“What do you mehEAN?!” He let out a sharp squeal when Athena's hand suddenly started scribbling into his belly.

“I almost forgot how ticklish you are” Ares's eyes were screwed shut, but he could hear the smirk in her voice.

“Why are you laughing so much? We've only just started, and this isn't even your worst spot.” Athena switched to clawing at his sides, causing him to emit shrill giggles.

“Yohur’e the smahahrt one, figuhure it out!” Now that he was laughing, he was being quite sassy.

“Hey! Don't give me attitude!” Athena scolded, but there was no real bite to her voice.

Her hands spidered up to his ribs, causing his arms to clamp down before those evil hands could get any higher. “Ares give me my hands back.” Athena wiggled her fingers as if trying to pull free, but they both knew she could easily get her hands out if she wanted to.

“You cahan get thehehem yohoursehelf!” Ares laughed. “No, I can’t. They're clearly stuck. Come on, I thought you were smarter than this.”

“You ahare being ridiculohous!” He yelped.

“No, I'm not. Now give me my hands.” Athena said sternly. Trying (and failing) to fight down his giggles, Ares slowly pulled his arms up, only for Athena to dig ruthlessly into his highest ribs, resulting in his arms crashing back down once again.

“AthHEnA! Whyhy!” Ares was pretty sure he was dying at this point. Also, if he didn't know better, he'd say his sister was only doing this to punish him for running off earlier. But he did know better. And he knew that his sister just wanted to see him happy. So he didn't fight back too much. After all, he didn't hate it.

Athena started poking around at Ares's neck, as if pushing buttons. Each poke caused him to scrunch up and squeak. “Dohohon't!” Athena would be lying if she said that wasn't the cutest thing she's ever seen. “Stahahap! Whahat are you dohoing?!”

“Don't stop? Wasn’t even planning on it. And to answer your question, I was pressing giggle buttons! Like this one right here!” Athena wiggled a finger into Ares's bellybutton, making him shriek and burst into more happy giggles.

Now, Ares's giggles were adorable, but Athena wanted to kick it up a notch, so she went to grab one of his arms and pull it up to get at his armpits, his death spot, only to be surprised by a sudden shriek, followed by a snort.

Athena couldn't help but cackle at Ares's mortified expression. “What the hell was that?!” She asked through her laughter.

Looking at him again, she realized that har nails had grazed his bicep. She experimentally skitters her nails across the skin, drawing out more high-pitched shrieks and another snort.

Now, Athena isn't usually one to get all mushy. But even she couldn't help but coo over her little brother's reactions.

“Aww, with the way you're acting, your sacred animal should be the pig!” “SHUHUHUT UHUHP!”

Athena dramatically gasped.”Shut up? I so very kindly try to cheer you up and you tell me to shut up? Oh you're in for it now!”

And with that she held him close, and blew a raspberry on his neck.

Ares screamed.

“NAHAHAHAHA! STAHAHAHP!”

“Are you going to apologize for being rude?” Athena asked before blowing another raspberry and scribbling into his stomach again.

“YEHEHES NOW PLEHEASE STOHOHOHP!” Ares wailed.

Athena smiled, and skittered her nails into his armpits while blowing one last raspberry, drawing out another scream and more belly laughs.

She stopped after another minute, and started rubbing away the ghost tickles. Ares slumped back against her, face red and streaked with tears, still giggling.

“Tired buddy?” Athena asked with a smile.

“Mhmn” was all she got in response. Ares turned and wrapped his arms around her. They remained in a hug for a few minutes until Athena moved to get up, only to realize her lovable dork of a brother had fallen asleep on her.

Smiling, she picked him up and carried him to her palace. He needed the rest anyway.

…

(After the events of the Vengeance Saga. Athena has mostly recovered, but has drastically weakened due to the extended bedrest. Apollo recommended that she take walks every day until a little more strength returns, and then she can do a bit more exercise and spar a little.)

The weather was nice today. Not that it was normally bad, it just seemed exceptionally nice today. Zeus must be in a good mood.

Most of the gods were taking the time to enjoy the weather and take a break from their duties (hey, even gods need a break sometimes). But one goddess in particular didn't seem so happy.

Athena was upset. She didn't know why exactly. She hadn't no reason to be sad. She was (almost) fully healed, Odysseus was home, and family drama was at an all-time low. Yet, she still felt uneasy.

Normally she would go spar with Ares or train one of her mortal champions when she felt off, but Apollo stubbornly refused to let her. Something about her overworking herself. She looked around. She saw grass, trees, Hermes in the distance messing with Poseidon again. But no Apollo. “Surely a few hours couldn't hurt” she thought.

Spoiler: a few hours could most definitely hurt.

She had only just finished warming up when she felt a sharp sting, and then the sickening feeling of something flowing down her back. Reaching behind her, her hand came back coated in gold. Athena took two steps towards the arena exit, and then promptly passed out.

She awoke several hours later in the infirmary. Apollo saw she woke up and sighed. “What did I tell you about training? I thought you would have learned after last time!”

Athena flopped onto her back with a huff, wincing when the now open wound was pressed on. She turned back onto her side and responded “I was only going to be there for a little while. I didn't expect it to open back up.”

Apollo sat down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Athena, I know you want to get back out there, and do whatever it is you do. Train another mortal champion, inspire another tactician, or even just spend time with Odysseus again. Don't give me that look, I know you've been sneaking down to the mortal plane. But you seriously need to rest. Immortal as you are, your body needs time to recover.”

Athena shook her head. “I’m fine, Apollo. You don't need to keep me here. I shouldn't just be sitting here uselessly.”

Apollo took one look at his sister's tear-filled eyes and felt his resolve crumble. He took a breath before continuing. “Athena. My dear sister. I love you, but you are the biggest hypocrite I have ever known.”

Athena looked up at him shocked. “Apollo, what the hell?! I am not a hypocrite!”

Apollo just gave her The Look™️. “Really? Just last month you were the one to manhandle Dionysus in here after he decided to push Ares’s buttons one too many times. And the time before that, when Hermes decided to taunt Poseidon by stealing and hiding his trident. If you and Zeus hadn't intervened I don't think even I could have fixed him up.”

Athena’s shiver at the mention of her father’s name did not go unnoticed. Apollo’s tone and expression softened. “Please Athena. I know you always like to be the one to take care of us, but now let me take care of you.”

Athena weighed the pros and cons. On one hand, she really just wanted to get out of bed and pretend this all had never happened. But on the other hand, she knew that it was the most rational and logical thing to stay put and let herself heal. So why was she so against it?

Surely she could handle herself. Apollo didn't need to waste his time on her, not after all that he’s already done. She didn't want to burden him any longer.

Apollo recognized Athena’s internal debate and tapped her forehead to bring her back to the present. “Hey. I know what you're thinking. You are not a burden. I am literally the god of healing. This is my job. And more importantly, you're my sister, and I want you to be happy and healthy. And if that means you have to stay in the infirmary for now, then so be it. I really do care about you, and so do the others. We don't want to see you hurt yourself because you're too proud to admit that you need help. So stop being so stubborn and let me help you.”

It was like he read her mind. Somehow, her (literal) ray-of-sunshine brother knew exactly what she needed to hear at that moment. Athena felt the anxiety and uneasiness in her chest die down, and smiled. “Thank you, brother.”

Apollo smiled back at her. “Of course, sister. Now, you look exhausted. Try to get some sleep, I'll come back to check on you in a few hours. And if you need anything, Iaso and Panacea should be around.”

With that, Apollo left, and Athena closed her eyes.

Hours later, she awoke to a commotion on the other side of the door.

“I’m afraid I can't let you in, Lord Apollo said she needs to rest.”

“I don't care what that sunshiney dolt said! I want to see my sister!”

The door swung open to reveal a ticked-off Ares and a frustrated Iaso. She turned on her heel and stormed off, presumably to get Apollo.

Ares sauntered in and plopped down with a grin in the chair at Athena’s bedside. “So what’s this I heard about you not taking medical advice seriously?”

“Really Ares? You did the same thing last week. If Apollo hadn't gotten Hera to chew you out then you never would have listened. Now, I was already scolded once, so I don't want to hear it.” She turned to her other side, a scowl on her face. She clearly was not in the mood to deal with her currently very smug brother.

“Oh come on Thena, lighten up! I wasn't gonna scold you. Unlike one of our siblings, I don't have a stick up my ass all the time.”

Athena let out a bark of laughter. It was very true that Apollo could sometimes rival her in terms of stubbornness. She turned back to face Ares. At least she could lie on her back now without any pain. “So what are you doing here? You rarely seek me out these days, and when you do, it's either to argue or to spar. I am in no shape to do either right now, so why did you come to see me?”

Ares looked almost hurt. “Can I not come visit my sister just to spend time with her?” His voice dropped to almost a whisper, as if afraid to speak. “I just wanted to make sure you were ok. When I heard you were in the infirmary again, I got scared. Especially after…” His voice trailed off.

Ares didn't have to finish his sentence for Athena to know what he was talking about. It's been months, but the events of that day still burn fresh in their minds. Memories of the arena, of lighting, of white-hot, searing pain, then nothing.

For Ares, memories of fear that was almost paralyzing. That left him unable to do anything but ask “Is she dead?” He's lost count of how many times he cursed his own name or cried himself to sleep since that day, wishing he had these strength to help her, to run over there, hell, he'd fight Zeus if it meant his sister didn't have to suffer the way she did. They had their quarrels, but everyone knew that Zeus had gone too far.

But instead he had stood there, staring at the charred body of his sister and mentor, the one who had taught him everything he knew, watching as she was struck down again and again, just to get back up once more. Watching as she reached the dias and desperately grabbed their father's hand, and begged. His proud, stoic sister, begging on her knees. And then he watched as the last of her strength disappeared, and she collapsed.

He never wanted to see her like that again. He had spend every day in the infirmary with her until she woke up. Every day for almost two months. When she finally opened her eyes, he was there, with Apollo and Aphrodite. He remembered that day clearly. He remembered he had been arguing over her medical treatment, debating over the proper way to dress her wounds. Only to hear Athena's voice softly correct them both. He remembered his eyes filling with tears when he looked over and saw that her eyes were open. He remembered hugging her tightly, then letting go after remembering she was still injured. He had stayed and talked with her for hours afterwards. Well, he talked and she listened, her voice was really raspy and talking was painful. He updated her on everything that had happened while she was gone, about Odysseus being released, about Poseidon, about the slaughtering of the suitors and the family reunion. He was practically vibrating with excitement as he told her about how right she was about the bloodshed, and how sorry he was about ever doubting her mortal (and his son, Telemachus killed his fair share of suitors too). Apollo eventually has to physically remove him so Athena couldn't rest, but he continued to come every day until she could walk again.

Smiling sadly at the memory, his expression darkened. He hated seeing her hurt, and he hated it more when she did it to herself. Yes, he could chew her out about how stupid she was, but that wouldn't do either of them any favors. Instead, he had a better idea.

He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of the door opening, and then Apollo yanking him by the ear.

“OW! LET ME GO YOU POMPOUS BITCH!”

“I TOLD YOU SHE NEEDS TO REST! YOU BOTH ARE TERRIBLE AT LISTENING!”

Athena watched her brothers argue with the expression of the oldest sibling who is absolutely done with this shit, before getting up with a sigh (no pain yay) and knocking their heads together.

“Both of you shut up. Yelling won't solve anything. Apollo, he was just here to check on me. Ares, we talked about calling your siblings bitches. Now, both of you apologize and be done with it.”

The brothers grumbled out half-hearted apologies to each other and rubbed the sore spot on their heads. Apollo sighed and turned to his sister. “Athena, I can see that you are able to stand now, you can leave after I do one more examination. Ares, if you must stay, you can wait outside.”

Ares walked out the door and sat down in the hall, waiting for Apollo to finish. Around 10 minutes later, Athena walked out the door, sporting fresh bandages and after bottles of assorted liquids and pills. Most likely painkillers of some kind, just in case.

“So where are you off to now?” He asked.

“I need to bring these back to my palace, then I'm probably just going to take a walk.” She responded, shifting the bottles in her arms.

Ares took two of them, smirking at Athena's squawk of protest. “Relax, I'm just helping you out. You'd probably drop one if you tried to carry that many by yourself.” Athena scowled, but thanked him for the assistance. Her arms did feel weak, as much as she hated to admit it, she did need the help.

Arriving at Athena's palace, the siblings went to her bedroom to set the bottles down. Athena frowned at the haphazard way her brother had carelessly left them on the nightstand, and took a minute to organize them.

Ares watched in amusement. “Sis, they're just a few bottles, you don't need to arrange them down to the millimeter.”

Athena scoffed. “Brother, you know I cannot just leave them disorganized. Everything must be in its place.”

Ares sighed impatiently. “Well, when you are done, come meet me outside. We're going for a walk. I know if I leave you to your own devices you'll forget. For all your wisdom, you are terrible at self-care.”

Athena bit back the retort she had, not wanting to be drawn back into their earlier squabble. After what seemed like an eternity (if you asked Ares, in reality it was only about five minutes), Athena stepped outside to meet her brother for their walk.

Wandering for a bit, they came across a clearing after passing through a dense wooded area. Athena recognized it as an old practice area, one that she and her siblings would meet at to hone their abilities or play. The grooves in the trees and patches of dirt were remnants of sword swings, wrestling matches, and rouge magic. The branches held memories of stargazing, long chats, and whispered secrets. The leaves hustled with the sound of laughter and screaming. A fond smile crept onto her face. Yes, there were many memories here indeed.

Athena didn't have to look over to know that Ares has a similar expression. Wordlessly, they walked over to an old olive tree. The branches were barren, long past the days of bearing any fruit, but the leaves still provided plenty of shade to rest in. Still in silence, they sat down next to each other.

“It's been a while since we were here. I can hardly remember the last time I sat under this tree.” Ares spoke after a while.

Athena grinned. “I remember it quite well. As I recall, you were having a bit of a tantrum and I had to calm you down.”

Ares bonked his head back against the tree bark. “Don't remind me of that.” He groaned, his cheeks already darkening from a faint blush.

“Aww, why? It worked didn't it?” Athena cooed, a smug grin still adorning her face.

Ares wanted to wipe that grin right off her face. But he didn't want to hurt her. He mulled over his options. Headlock? No, she was too fast. Wrestling match? No, she might get injured again, and then he'd have Apollo on his ass. He thought back again to that one afternoon and a smile began to form. Oh,yes, that would work perfectly.

“Thena, don't think I'm going to forget about you injuring yourself so carelessly. I think it's my turn to teach you a lesson. But since words will not be effective, I have another idea.”

Athena blinked. One second she was next to Ares, and the next he had pulled her in front of him, her back against his chest, and her arms pinned to her sides.

She caught on immediately. “Ares, dohon't you evehen think about ihit!”

“Aww, giggling already, I haven't even started! I thought you were the stoic one!” Ah yes. His sister's greatest weakness. Anticipation.

“Now remind me. Where is your worst spot? Is it your stomach? Or maybe your knees? Or could it be your sides? Or maybe…”

In her flustered state, Athena didn't notice one of Ares's hands sneaking up to her shoulders.

“... right here.” Ares quickly scribbled on her shoulder blades for a second before stopping, causing Athena to let out a giggly shriek. She yanked a hand free and slapped it over her mouth in a feeble attempt to muffle her giggles.

“Oh no, we can't have you muffling those adorable giggles of yours!” Ares teased, using one hand to hold both of hers and his other to dig into her exposed side.

“AHAREHEHES!”

“Yes that is my name! Don’t wear it out!” Ares laughed at his own joke as Athena groaned through her own laughter.

“Thahat is a teherrible joke! Apollo is fuhunnier than you!” Athena, even like this, was still finding the energy to sass him.

“Now that was just rude! I tell great jokes! And if it was so bad, then why are you laughing? Look at yourself, you can't stop!” As he said this, he spidered all over her stomach and sides. Not her worst spot, but still enough to make her jump around like a fish out of water.

Ares decided a change of positions was in order. He couldn't have Athena injured herself thrashing around like this. He gently maneuvered her to lie on her stomach, then straddled her waist and pinned her hands down with his knees.

“Ares what on earth are you doing? Get off!”

“No can do sis! Can't have you hurting yourself wiggling like a worm!”

“I'll hurt you if you don't get off of me!” Anyone else would be scared at this point, but Ares knew Athena well enough to know she didn't hate this as much as she made it seem.

“Aww Thena, it's just us. You don't have to present to hate this. Come on, we both know you secretly love it.”

Athena felt her face flush and for one was at a loss for words. She refused to let him have the satisfaction of admitting that he was right, but if she could see the look on his face, she'd see the smirk of someone who already knew he was right.

“Alright, too much talking, not enough laughing.” Ares said before digging into her ribs.

Athena squeaked before trying to bury her face into her shoulder while also trying to hug her arms as close to her sides as possible. It wasn't working out too well.

Ares looked down at his sister and felt a pang of adoration. They both knew she needed this. And he was all too happy to help. Besides, it was fun knocking her down a peg or two, and he was finally getting his revenge from all those years ago.

He reached a hand up to flutter against her neck and ears and had to hold himself back from audibly cooing at the result. Athena practically melted and her giggles became intermingled with what could only be described as content owl sounds. Gently brushing her hair out of the way exposed her flushed face, her scrunched eyes and nose, and wide, happy smile. It was very rare to see Athena like this, and gods damn it, he was going to savor every second!

“Thena, I almost forgot how cute you are! A smile suits you better than a scowl.” Ares teased again, smiling even wider when he saw her try to hide her face again.

“I'him not cuhute!” Athena tried to protest, but was almost cut off by more of her own giggles when she felt a finger swipe over the shell of her ear.

At this point she had completely stopped fighting, so Ares decided to pull out the big guns. He began quickly and lightly swiping up and down her spine while clawing at her shoulder blades.

Athena screamed.

“WHAHAIT! STAHAHAHP!”

“ Athena, with these dramatics, it's a wonder you don't spend more time with Hermes or Dionysus. You'd fit right in with those two.”

Ares knew she could handle a lot more.

“Now, if I remember correctly, if I do this..”

He pinched at her ribs before spidering all over her back.

“Then these should come out!”

As if on cue, two huge owl wings sprung out from Athena’s shoulders. Ares grinned. He had made Athena lose control of her powers enough to trigger her wings to come out. He had to fight down a wider smile as he lightly combed his hands through the feathers. They were really soft, and tickled his hands a bit.

He watched in amusement as the wings fluffed up and shuddered as he dragged through the feathers again. He looked down at Athena and saw her entire form was tense and shaking with suppressed laughter. Not on his watch.

With absolutely zero warning, he raked through the wings, making sure to dig right into the muscles of the wings for maximum reaction, and was nearly thrown off from how hard Athena bucked.

“NAHAHAHAHA! NOHOHOT THE WIHIHIHNGS! AHARES PLEHEASE!”

Yeah, Athena’s wings were horrifically ticklish. A fact her siblings, especially one particular war god, loved to exploit. Athena had hoped Ares had forgotten about that, but she wasn't that lucky.

Ares regained his balance and lightened his touch a bit. Athena was still squealing and laughing her heart out, but at least she wouldn't scream so loud all of Olympus would hear. He loved embarrassing his siblings, but he wanted her to keep some of her dignity.

Athena was in hell. Every touch on her wings was like sparks firing throughout her body. She couldn't remember the last time she was tickled like this. Well, the way she was feeling, she couldn't remember much of anything. It's been a while since she could laugh freely. Being born out of Zeus's head as an adult had stolen the childhood her siblings could experience and left her without a lot of the memories they had. The closest thing she had to that was her time with Pallas, but that was taken away all too soon. Even in her frenzied state, she felt her mind begin to spiral.

A sudden buzzing sensation on her spine yanked her out of the dark headspace. Ares smiled at her from where he had just blown a raspberry right between her wings. “C'mon, no looking sad! I know you were thinking unhappy thoughts and that is not allowed right now!” Ares's goofy declaration completely wiped any residual sadness Athena felt left over and replaced it with a giddy, fuzzy feeling.

Ares continued to rake through the wings and blow raspberries, occasionally reaching down to scribbled on her sides or ribs, cutting through the harsh laughter with sweet giggles and even the occasional snort. Ares learned that if he squeezed her hips, she would let out a squeal, if he dug into the spaces in her ribs, she would snort, and gently tracing her sides produced absolutely adorable giggles.

He decided to finally leave her wings alone and give her a breather. Athena, after a few minutes of giggling, retracted her wings, before closing her eyes and breathing heavily. Ares reached down and traced her arms, drawing out more giggles.

He got up and off of her before pulling her into a bear hug. Athena relaxed into the hug and they both just sat there for a moment, before Ares whispered “I'm not done with you just yet” before blowing a raspberry on the side of her neck and scribbling frantically all over her torso.

“WhaHaIT NOhohO!” Her laughter was laced with all sorts of sounds. Giggles, snorts, random owl sounds, it was all there. Ares finally decided she had enough and finished off with another raspberry on the other side of her neck.

He just held her as the giggles began to die down. He waited until she had fully relaxed before moving again, this time propping her up against his side with his arm around her shoulders. He was surprised to see her curled up a bit and cuddle into his side.

“Tired sis?” He asked with a smile.

“Mhmm.” She mumbled before yawning. Athena closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep in her brother's arms, a small smile still on her face.

Ares watched her sleep with a small smile that matched her own, but his was tinged with concern. Athena hadn't slept well in ages, not since that day in the arena. He really hoped she would be able to rest, even for just a little bit.

Gods, he missed this. Just messing with his siblings, not a care or responsibility in the world. Not fighting with them, or spending every waking moment treading on eggshells around their father's quick temper. Not dealing with one problem after the next, with no respite. But he shouldn't get to greedy. Sure, it's been eons since he had time like that, but at least he had time like that at all. Athena never had time to just be a kid and explore the world. What kind of brother was he to let that happen? Ares vowed to himself to make sure his sister would get to experience all that she missed out on. He would see to it personally.

But for now, he was a bit tired. As his eyes closed, he felt Athena stir for a moment, and then relax again. He wrapped both arms around her protectively. “I won't let anyone or anything hurt you ever again.” He thought as sleep finally overtook him.

…

“It's nice to see them not fighting for once.”

“I agree Apollo, maybe we should just let them be. Athena rarely gets to sleep, and Ares never looks this peaceful.” Artemis sighed. “I know it's getting late. I'll keep an eye on them from the moon chariot. You don't have to worry about them.

“But-”

“Yes I know you can't help it. But trust me brother. I will take care of them for the night. Just let them rest. And as for you, go get some rest too. I know you haven't really been sleeping since the first time Athena reopened her wound.”

“How did you know?”

“We're twins, Apollo. I know these things about you. You criticized Athena for it, but just like her, you'd kill yourself to help others. I know you want nothing more than to help her. But you need to be able to help yourself first. So take the night. Get some sleep. Take care of yourself for once. I got them.”

“... Alright.”

“Goodnight brother.”

“Artemis!”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you.”

Artemis just smiled, as radiant as a full moon. “Of course, brother.”

Apollo returned to his home, and was able to sleep through the night for the first time in a while. Under the watchful eye of their younger sister, Ares and Athena both slept peacefully until the light of Dawn danced on the horizon.

Ares was the first one to wake, blinking a few times and gathering his bearings. He shifted, but felt a weight on him. He looked down, and smiled in surprise and adoration when he saw Athena, still asleep, holding onto him tightly. He was awake, but he supposed he could stay a little while longer.

Later Athena would remark that it was the best sleep she had in a very long time. She didn't remember Ares carrying her back to her palace, or Aphrodite helping Apollo change her bandages. She didn't remember all of her siblings gather in her room as she continued to sleep, tidying up and making sure everything was nice and tidy, just the way she liked it. She didn't remember Hermes bringing a hand carved wooden owl, a gift from Odysseus, and a card from Telemachus. But she awoke to the changes, and to her siblings all there, with some food. They all had a picnic in her room, and spent some time forgetting about their duties, their responsibilities, their quarrels. And they talked, and laughed. They swapped stories, and shared memories. And none of them mentioned it, but there was something different in the air that day. Something fresh. A new chapter for all of them.

[sleepy-writes-stuff]

DP X DC WRITING PROMPT #10

(#) = Notes at end of post

TW: mentions of human experimentation and blood

✦

The Sapphire Stone Sits Highest on the Throne

The GIW have done the unthinkable. They've captured Phantom, King of the Infinite Realms and ruler of all who reside within it. The government organization tortured and experimented on Danny so much and for so long that Danny was forced to recede into his core. While a ghost's core is relatively strong by itself --only another ghost of similar strength could shatter it-- it's also extremely vulnerable to misuse if left in the wrong hands.

The GIW use the King's core to ravage Amity Park --uncaring if human citizens got in their way-- as well as the Ghost Zone itself. The Ancients combine their efforts to search for the lost, little king, desperately trying to find Danny's core and take it back from the blood and ectoplasm stained hands of the agents. As a result of their dogged search, the Ancients bring worldwide destruction down upon the Earth in their hunt for every single white suit agent remaining, scurrying from one hiding place to another like rats in the walls of a dilapidated house.

One by one, almost every agent was hunted down and bound in unbreakable chains of ice, awaiting their trials for the atrocities they committed against the Infinite Realms and its King. The only one left is the leader of the organization itself, the one who holds Danny's core. The leader, however, is extremely slippery and has managed to evade capture for months now, going so far as to throw their own men to the wolves if it meant an easy escape with the jewel-blue heart of a scared, grieving, and injured child.

At this point though, the Ancients have caused so much destruction and natural disasters, that the Justice League has no choice but to step in. At first, the JL actively try to fight the Ancients, not fully understanding the situation but having little luck in actually hitting any of them regardless. It isn't until John Constantine runs onto the battlefield like a bat out of hell and skids to a stop right smack dab in the middle of the fight that things change. He's out of breath, his hair is in disarray, he smells heavily of smoke and alcohol, and that's definitely a still fresh coffee stain on his weather beaten trenchcoat along with red blood painting his knuckles.

Normally, one small human wouldn't be able to stop the wrath of the Ancients when they've set their sights on something. This instance, however, was very different. As Constantine raised his hands up towards the rampaging Ancients about to unleash their fury on the JL, one thing managed to capture every single one of their attention.

That being the weakly glowing, sapphire-like core held in one of Constantine's outstretched hands(1 & 2) and the faint, echoing cries of a child begging the Ancients to put an end to the carnage they've unleashed upon the world.

✦

Notes:

(1) Constantine gives little explanation on how he got his hands on Danny's core. Little do the JL know, it was just pure, dumb luck. He ran into the leader of the GIW right as the bastard was leaving a coffee shop. Coffee got spilled all over Constantine and, being slightly drunk off his ass, he decides to deck the person in the pretentious white suit and knocks him out in one shot. Constantine's about to walk away when he hears a child crying. He finds Danny's core in one of the downed guy's pockets and has a panic attack when he immediately realizes what it is. Danny explains what's going on and Constantine books it towards where he can sense a large amount of necrotic energy gathering. The rest is history.

(2) ALSO, sapphire is a pretty significant gem. According to the internet, the sapphire symbolizes wisdom, royalty, prophecy and divine favour. It's a symbol of power and strength, but also of kindness and wise judgement. Which just fits Danny PERFECTLY in this prompt, imo.

[fanfiction4sooya]

Oh that’s fine I completely understand. Could you possibly just write for g!p Mina x reader then

Hi sweetie, sorry for the late reply. But here you go! Hope you like it 💖💖

tw: g!p mina, face slapping, blowjobs, choking, mentions of cheating, unprotected sex, forced creampie, reader is a shit starter, etc;

You spend your whole day fuming, incredibly dumbfounded by the fact that Sana had cheated on you. The so sweet, so loving and caring Minatozaki Sana; Yeah, you weren't heartbroken as you should be, you felt just angrier by the second.

When you told Mina the whole story she immediately offered you a shoulder to lean on and of course, you accepted. Getting angry alone wasn't good for you, since you were a natural shit starter, a disaster seeker. She was friends with both Sana and you, but she was definitely on your side on this one.

"Hi baby" She greeted you, lifting two shopping bags full of booze. "I didn't know what you'd prefer so I bought one each" You hugged her, finally feeling at ease.

You were both sitting down on your living room, half a bottle of whiskey gone, along with a few beer cans. You were sat on the floor wearing only a long shirt and panties. It was Mina, you didn't have to be modest about anything, you were friends after all.

"Enough with my misery" You told her, she was sat on your couch, sipping her drink. "What's going on with you and your girl?" You chugged your beer, making a face.

"She broke up with me" She pouted, swirling her whiskey.

"That bitch!" You slammed your hand on her thigh, making her laugh. "But why though? I thought you two were getting along" She sighed.

"It's embarrassing..." She told you, kind of pouting. She was soft and shy, you loved that about her.

"Myoui Mina" You stared at her eyes. "I literally just told you in detail how my fiance cheated on me... Please" You kneeled, putting your hands together. "Please don't take any entertainment from me" She laughed, shaking her head. After a few seconds getting brave, she spoke again.

"She said I'm too soft" her cheeks got bright pink. 'What a baby girl...'

"Well, anyone that talks to you for like 10 minutes realizes that" You frowned, tilting your head a little. "She doesn't like your personality or...?"

"No, like..." She closed her eyes, trying to speak without sounding like an idiot. "She said I'm too soft in bed"

At first you didn't understand, maybe the booze had an effect on your information processing, but soon you understood what she meant. You laughed a little too loud for her liking, getting her to recoil.

"I shouldn't have told you" She covered her eyes, trying to disappear from the face of the earth. "Asshole!!" her ears were red as you tried hard to catch your breath.

"Okay, sorry, I'm sorry" You stopped laughing, taking a deep breath. "And why is that?" You genuinely asked. "She is like into bdsm and you're not? Because if it is, is totally cool. That life style is not for everyone" She stared into your eyes, realizing you were really serious.

"No, not that" She sat more to the edge of the couch, leaning towards you to speak. "She is not the first one to tell me that..." She scratched her nape. "Apparently I'm really soft with them, even if they ask me to be rough" You nodded.

"But why can't you be a little rough?"

"I'm scared of hurting them" She stated. "Look at my hand, it's big" She showed you her hand and you realized it was, in fact, big. "If she asks me to slap her face I get self conscious and freeze" You shook your head. What a little idiot. "And if she asks me to fuck her hard it's the same thing..." She looks down. "I'm not really small down there, you know?"

You bit your lip, gulping at that thought.

"If she asks you to hit her, it's because she can take it" You tell Mina.

"What if I lose control and do it too hard?" You roll your eyes.

"that's impossible, darling" You say.

"You don't know that" She frowns.

You smile, getting close to her legs and kneeling.

"I'll teach you how to do it, you little idiot" You take her hand and touches your own face with her palm, measuring it. "Here, the tip of your fingers have to touch under the eye, be careful so you won't hit her ear" You softly laughed, her hand warm and soft resting on your cheek. "Since you have big hands it's okay if you hit only with your fingers and not the palm, specially if she has a small face" She nodded. "Hit and stroke, okay?"

"You sure know a lot about that" Her cheeks got pink and you smiled up at her, still on your knees and between her legs.

"Do it, I wanna know if you got it right" You told her and she nodded. She lightly hit and you chuckled. "Mina, come on. Harder" You said.

"You were moving" She pouted and you bit your lip, taking her opposite hand to your neck.

"Hold it like this to the sides, avoid the middle of her neck" You placed her fingers in the right position. You took a deep breath, feeling something warm between your legs. You cleared your throat, trying to focus. "Don't cut her air circulation. Hold my neck and hit again" You told her and she took a deep breath.

She hit it again, but this time it was harder, the perfect amount of pressure on your neck. Without realizing, you whimpered, closing your eyes as her fingers made contact with your cheek. She stroked your face, her eyes getting darker and you were sure yours did the same.

"Again" You breathed out, your hands went to her thighs as reflex.

There was this small pause, this little delay in time as she observed your face, your expression. Her cock was hardening, tight inside her sweatpants as she thought about it for that second. Mina lift her hand striking hard, waking up from her drunken, horny induced haze.

"Oh my-" She tried to take her hand from your neck but you held it there. Your half lided eyes told her everything she needed to know.

You thought about Sana and how she would crumble the moment she knew about it; the drama, the hurt, everything. You were really a shit starter, drama seeker. 'Fuck it'

"let me teach you" You turned your head, kissing her palm. She visibly shivered, her pupils blown out. You squeezed your thighs together, your hand still on her thigh lightly caressing it, going up very close to her bulge.

"But Sana..." She hissed when you touched her over her pants, closing her eyes.

"She is not here" You pulled her in for a wet kiss, your tongue grazing her lips, sucking the bottom one. She whimpered and oh, it sounded so fucking good.

You worked on the knot of her pants as she kissed you, her tongue roaming inside your mouth made you moan, the mix between beer and whisky felt delicious.

Freeing her cock, you felt how heavy it was, the tip red and leaking pre cum. Looking into her eyes you licked it and she hissed, her hand flying to your hair, holding it.

"Shit..." She trembled, slightly bucking her hips into your mouth. It was really big, stuffing your cheeks as you sucked it, drooling all over it and making a mess on her pants.

Mina really didn't really know what to do, but that wasn't a problem. Not for you that liked to teach, after all. You lifted your face, kissing her again, moaning into her mouth as you jerked her off, the tips of your fingers didn't touch as you did so.

"You are so thick..." You moaned as she closed her eyes. "Don't be shy, pull my hair harder baby" And she immediately did as you told her, bravely spitting into your mouth, roughly kissing your lips. "Yes, don't hold back" You told her between kisses. "use me Mina, fuck me as hard as you can"

That seemingly had the effect you wanted as she pulled you up forcefully to straddle her on the couch, harshly biting your neck. You humped her hard cock and she tightened the grip on your arms, closing her eyes.

"Are you sure?" She asked, gulping.

"Don't hold back" You mouthed every word and she rolled her eyes, ripping your panties from your body. "Fuck" You yelped when she got up, bending your body down to the couch and spreading your legs.

That animalistic side of Mina was hot, completely different from the sweet Minari you knew. She spat onto your pussy, lining her cock onto your slit. You laughed provocatively and she slapped your ass hard, surprising you.

"You are such a pussy, Minari..." You felt her get unsure behind you so you had to provoke, wiggling your butt in front of her. "No wonder she broke up with you..."You tried to lift your face from the couch, but she pushed you down with one hand, pulling your hips flush against hers, fully entering you.

You both moaned, that raw feeling felt too much. She didn't wait for any adjustment, already fucking your hole and fully stretching you to her big cock.

"There you go..." She grunted hitting hard, her balls slapping against your clit made you mewl. It was hard and good, yes, but she could do better.

"Harder, baby..." You started back shotting, your hips meeting hers. She sank her fingernails on your hips, holding hard as she fucked harder, her hips losing a little bit of rhythm.

Now it felt good, her cock fully stretching you, your pussy raw and puffy from all the force. She rolled her eyes, shivering. Suddenly you stopped, pushing her off of you, changing your positions. Getting on your back on the couch you pulled her between your legs, sinking her cock back into your pussy; her eyes glued to where you were connected.

"Damn, you look so pretty" Mina said, her mouth agape.

You grabbed her hand, putting back on your neck like before.

"Do it, baby" You told her, shaking. So wet it trickled down to her balls, coating her dick as well.

She chocked you, slapping your face. Damn she was good at that.

"Tight..." She rolled her eyes, fucking you so hard you lost your breath. When she opened them, they were dark and cloudy, focused on not coming inside.

"Mina" You called, screaming. "I'm coming, fuck baby, keep doing that" You cooed, shaking. "f-finish inside baby, please"

She finally lost the mean demeanor, going back to the shy baby girl she was, her cheeks pink and her eyes doe and teary, still fucking you hard.

"Oh gosh" Was all she managed to say, still slapping her hips against your spread legs, cumming inside then all over your pussy when she tried to pull out. You held her in, trapping your legs behind her back as she groaned with her eyes closed, falling onto your body, blindly kissing your neck.

You couldn't believe you did that, nor that anyone would ever call Mina soft again after this class.

Of course she still had lessons to take but hey, you'd gladly teach her anything she wanted to know. You were her friend, after all.

[hana-no-seiiki]

HELLO??? WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT THIS MASTERPIECE??? especially the last line holy shit im scared yet excited at the same time 😬😬

YANDERE! AQUAMARINE HOSHINO x REINCARNATED! READER x YANDERE! RUBY

Guess I gotta do a full fic about it huh. Here we go. Link to previous part in the ask!

tw/cw: yandere themes, gaslight tactics courtesy of aqua, girlkeep tactics courtesy of ruby, girlboss [y/n]. mentions of suicide. reader is gn but gets described as beautiful.

is this really a yandere fic when both the twins are canonically insane tho-

IT WAS SAID THAT DURING THE NIGHT OF YOUR BIRTH THE SUN WAS AT ITS HIGHEST POINT AND FULLEST BLOOM.

Its rays buried humanity under a blanket of heat and devastation. Fortunetellers would wax on and on of the disasters you would soon bring upon the world.

That was your experience in your first life.

Many could only wish of being born to a worldwide pop-star, but to you it was a reality. You resented those that vied for your place. How could they romanticize such a life when every single day was torture for you. Some predicted you to be world-class singer before your first cry. People knew you before you could even speak to them. Everyone already idolized you, expected you to do great things before you’d even learn the alphabet.

The pressure had already been insurmountable the moment you took your first breath.

Your second life was terrifying to say the least. It didn’t matter that way you died before, just the thought of experiencing the same motions again frightened you to your bones.

And so you pretended. A shining star to a dim moon that barely reflected any light. Ever so meticulously making sure none knew of your so called genius. The last thing you wanted was to be labeled a prodigy even with the more lax nature of your new family.

But art will always call to you, a sunflower drawn to its source of energy.

You kept everything as lowkey as you could, reconnected with contacts you knew would keep their mouth shut, and even kept your identity away from prying eyes.

To the world you were just this masked musician that was oddly reminiscent of their previous luminescence.

You were satisfied with that life. Fame wasn’t something you agonized about or wished for. But now that veil had been taken away, it’s as if everything was crashing down yet again. Emails, messages and articles about your success as a young star was beginning to show its true weight. Stress began accumulating further and further as you had distanced yourself from your family and threw yourself to work as a distraction.

On one such ‘productive’ night, you were met with a face you didn’t expect.

“Aqua-niisama! Nice seeing you here. Thought you would be staying at that director’s place for the night—“

“Why didn’t you tell me? Didn’t you promise to tell me everything? Don’t you trust me?”

Aquamarine had this knack of being utterly terrifying without meaning to. He had the talent to frighten at a glance. His beautiful sea-like eyes turn dull, murky. Capturing all the light, and drowning you in the same pressure your old family would throw you under repeatedly.

With his arms caging you between his form and the wall, you knew there was no escaping this. So in spite of the crippling anxiety, you gulp it do

“I wasn’t confident enough with my skills. Your mom is the Ai Hoshino and Ruby is so talented I—“

He lowered his face, nestled it right beside yours. You could swear he was breathing in your scent. “You looked anything but ‘not confident’ up on the stage.”

“Liar.” His hands then moved from the wall to encircle themselves around your body; his face to your the top of your head and nose between your hair. Yet even in this tight embrace you still felt chills down your spine. “I scare you don’t I? You were worried that I would stop you like I did with her.”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry. I’m a terrible brother.”

“No, I understand you. You just wanted to keep her safe and I—“

“Not for that.” He pushed himself away for a couple of moments, and for that short amount of time you were ashamed to say that you felt utterly relieved until— “This.”

— he kissed you.

You’ve seen Aqua kiss Akane before. Both on and out of camera. You respected their relationship despite knowing of how unhealthy it truly is. They’d eventually break up and things would go smoothly you thought.

Pfft, as if. You knew shit would hit the fan. You were just too much of a coward to get in his way. Akane could suffer for all you care, she chose to date your psychopath of an adoptive brother anyways.

But you didn’t expect him to fall for you.

He never seem interested. Despite your mother telling you time and time again that Aqua cared deeply about you, you just couldn’t see it.

He was the deep, dark ocean. You were at the highest point of the sky, sailing across the cosmic sea. There was no way you two could meet eye to eye much less love normally.

You did the only thing your body could muster at the moment and slapped him.

“You’re right. You are a horrid brother.”

As you ran away, sobbing, Aqua couldn’t help but feel aroused.

Oh, how charming you looked with tears streaking down your cheeks.

It felt like hours when you first started crying nonstop. You never cried in your original life. You had no time or energy to. You never expected that your second, mundane life would be the one that shattered you.

And shattered you it did. You felt sorry for the future you who had to wash off all the tears and snot on your pillows and bedsheets, but it had to be done. You knew if you didn’t let it all out that day it’d happen sooner or later at a more inconvenient time.

Aqua only entered once to leave a tissue box and water bottle before he left. The sounds of typing outside of your room never ceased however, indicating he never actually went too far.

Ruby arrived far earlier than you expected as well. Her schedule that day should have had her busy til midnight but you had the feeling Aqua told her what he’d done.

“Ruby-nee—“

“Ssshhh…” Ruby silenced you with a kiss to the forehead.

“Why would he do that— he - he has a girlfriend.” You stuttered and hiccuped throughout your speech, still crying as hard as you did back then.

“Do you really think he loves her?”

“No.”

“But that isn’t what you’re worried about isn’t it?”

Ruby brought you up to her shoulder, massaging your back in a circular motion. “Trust me, nothing will change. He loves you very much. We both love you. I’m just sorry we didn’t make you feel comfortable enough to share your passion with us. You’re amazing [Y/N] in every shape, way or form. You don’t have to be the brightest to the world, you have no obligation to.”

“To us you’re already perfect.”

You never knew she had the capability to be this comforting in a mature sort of way. She always radiated a loud vibration; refreshing most of the time, though it did get tiring.

Never have you been afforded this kind of consolation. It was always you against the world. Being reminded that there are other stars in the sky beside you gave you a strange sense of solace. An odd variety of relief borne out of being insignificant in the sky.

“This incident just means he loves you in a different way alright?”

“But what about Aka-neesama?”

“I’ll talk to him about it.”

“You should thank me. I left them all vulnerable for you.” Aqua spoke, his right hand quickly moved across his laptop’s keyboard and his left held a can of Monster.

“You felt it too didn’t you?” Ruby exhaled. It took a while to get you to lull you into sleep; a necessary step to have the conversation she was partaking in.

“Yeah. . . I did.” Aqua took a sip from his drink, his starry eyes laser focused on the recording of your performance. He had set up several fan accounts and gotten footage from all sorts of angles. He couldn’t wait for your next stage. May it be from sheer excitement or the caffeine in his blood, but the man was absolutely shaking all over over in anticipation. “We have a second chance, don’t mess things up.”

“I should be saying that to you. Break up with Akane by next week. And be careful with how forward you are with your feelings.”

“Already done.” Aqua held up his phone without breaking moving his head at all, in his phone were a few texts between him and a panicking Akane. “and no promises”

Ruby sighed one last time that night, leaning her head back to your bedroom door. “. . . You were right.”

“Hm?”

Both of her eye’s stars hard turn tar black, a blush covered her cheeks.

“[Y/N] does look enticing when they cry.”

[parad-ice-lostandfound]

Prompt: The Devildom had been your home for the last two years. As such, you were confident in your ability to carry out a few errands on your own every once in a while. So when you were told that none of the brothers could accompany you in your little shopping trip for project supplies, you were fine with it. You could handle getting those supplies on your own, you had reassured them. So how did a simple outing turn into such a disaster? Pairing: OM!Brothers with GN!MC (can be read as platonic or romantic) Genre: Slight angst, Hurt/Comfort TW: Mc gets hurt, mentions of injuries, mention of blood in Satan and Asmo's part, Satan and Asmo's part is a bit darker than the others, I ran out of ideas by the time I got to the twins

You leaned against a stone wall, panting heavily. Your eyes darted this way and that way, and a lump formed in your throat.

How did a simple outing turn into this?

You sucked in a breath, gingerly lifting the edge of your shirt to inspect your side. A big bruise decorated your lower torso, its redness a garish and painful reminder of the very dangerous situation you had barely made out of.

The Devildom had been your home for the last two years. As such, you were confident in your ability to carry out a few errands on your own every once in a while. After all, you couldn't always rely on your friends to follow you along everywhere, even if they said they didn't mind. So when you were told that none of the brothers could accompany you in your little shopping trip for project supplies, you were fine with it. You could handle getting those supplies on your own, you had reassured them.

And now you were here, hiding in one of the Devildom's many alleyways from the demons that were clearly after your life.

"How could you let them get away like that?!"

A whimper left your lips as you tried to make sense of where exactly you were in Devildom, and how to get back to the HOL without getting caught by your bloodthirsty pursuers.

"... Did you hear that?"

"Yes."

You cursed the naturally superior senses of demons, breaking out into a run in the opposite direction of the voices. You could see streetlights and hear the hustle and bustle associated with Devildom's marketplace. Maybe you would be able to lose them in the midst of the crowd there?

You could hear footsteps behind you, internally thanking that you had taken up on Beel's offers to work out together. Your stamina couldn't fail you, not when those demons had cast a spell that locked your magic and your influence over your pacts. In other words, everything you knew and had was practically useless.

Just a little more, please!

Please!

The universe seemed to take pity on you finally as you saw a familiar figure in the crowd. You could almost cry from the relief, calling out his name as loud as you could.

Lucifer

"LUCIFER!"

Lucifer did not know what to think when he heard you yell his name, followed by you almost barreling into him. If not for his instincts being as quick and precise as they are, you both would have fallen to the ground. And he intended to let you know just how reckless and dangerous that was, at least until he saw you clutching your side with pain on your face. The concern that he'd pushed to the back of his mind in favour of scolding you came back in full force, and he cupped your face, using his magic to soothe you and check what was wrong.

"MC? What is the matter, hm?"

The absolute concern and care in his voice caused the dam to burst, and all of the panicked and scared feelings that you had set aside in favour of finding your way back home appeared in the form of tears. Lucifer pulled you into his arms, the way you were crying, hiccupping and stuttering over your words as you told him everything making him tense up slightly.

Once you were calm enough, he took you to a nearby restaurant, paying for a private area. He ordered a few dishes, and while you waited, he asked you to describe the demons' appearance. He kept you next to him, tracing circles on the back of your hand closest to him as you did, carefully listening (and recording everything on his DDD). When the food finally came, he asked you to start eating, claiming he wasn't hungry yet.

Lucifer hummed reading Mammon's message. Out of all of his brothers, he knew he could count on Mammon to show some restraint and bring the lowly things that dared to harm his human in front of Lucifer, without immediately killing them on sight. He would prefer to not tell his brothers of this incident, but one look at you and they would figure out something was wrong.

Lucifer: Mammon.

Lucifer: Some demons tried to harm MC. This is a description of them. Find them.

att. recording

Mammon: On it.

"Lucifer?" Garnet eyes flew upwards to meet yours, instincts still on high alert for the first sign of discomfort. "Yes, MC?"

You lightly raised your fork to his lips, a wordless request to feed him. Peculiar, that even when you were the one shaken in spirit and hurt physically, you thought about his well-being. It was nowhere near the time he had his lunch. He knew it, and he knew that you did as well. But, he decided to indulge you, letting you feed him and yourself, while he used his magic to counter the spell cast on you and speed up your healing process.

Lucifer escorted you back to the HOL, his hand on the small of your back as he assured you that Levi would get you your supplies from Akuzon. As you neared the house, you could make out Satan standing at the door, a serious look on his face that melted into a gentle smile the moment your eyes met. Lucifer handed you over to Satan after pressing a gentle kiss on your forehead. "Rest, my dear. I have some business to attend to, but I should be home before dinner." He looked as Satan ushered you inside, Asmo's fussing over you audible through the closed doors. Lucifer turned and walked away, eager to see who were foolish enough to try to harm his human, his master.

Mammon

"MAMMON!"

"Who- MC?!?!"

Mammon nearly had a heart attack when you yelled his name. When he turned and saw you sprinting toward him with no sign of slowing down? He was scared out of his mind. Before he knew it, he had rushed forward to meet you halfway, causing the two of you to collide fairly painfully. You didn't fall over like most would think. Unfortunately, in his well meaning attempt to stabilize you, Mammon accidently squeezed right on your bruise, causing you to jolt away from him with a pained yelp. "Woah- Are ya okay?!" he asked, face concerned as his eyes jumped from looking you up and down to scanning the crowd for any possible dangers.

You desperately tried to stop yourself from crying as you quickly gave him a brief summary of what had happened to you. His eyes darkened at the mention of the bruise, muttering apologies and incoherent swears as he pulled you into his embrace.

Mammon let out a low whistle, and the next thing you knew, there was a crow sitting on his shoulder. You could swear it looked sad as it saw you clutching onto Mammon, who spoke to you in a calming manner. "Look, I know ya probably don't want to talk about this, and I really don't blame ya... but do you remember anything about those... vermin that dared to hurt you?" he asked you, one hand rubbing your back ad he glared at any demon that stared at the two of you. His cheeks were darkened slightly, though whether that was from anger or holding you so close, you didn't know. Still, you answered his question to the best of your ability, while Mammon and his familiar listened attentively. After you were done, Mammon decided it was time to go back home, giving his familiar some instructions before letting it go.

Mammon refused to let go of you the entire walk back to the HOL. Once you reached home, he walked past all of his brothers, ignoring them till they two of you reached his room. Opening the door, he murmured for you to go in and rest while he talked to his brothers.

It took him a while before he came back to you. You were sitting on the couch staring off into nothing. Mammon sighed as he walked over to you, sitting beside you. His arm came around your shoulders, pulling you in close. "Whatcha thinking 'bout, Treasure?"

You let out a shaky sigh, pushing yourself back into Mammon like he was the only thing keeping you from completely coming undone. Mammon worried at the lack of response from you as he brought his other hand to hold you properly. "You're safe now, MC. Lucifer'll take care of everything once the kids find them," he said, smiling when you chuckled at him referring to his crows as his kids. That's how the two of you stayed, till Levi came to inform him that the demons to tried to hurt you were caught.

You had fallen asleep a while back, so Mammon picked you up, careful not to wake you, and placed you on his bed. After tucking you in properly and making sure you were as comfortable as possible, he followed Levi out of his room. It was time to teach a lesson to the ones who dared to take his human from him.

Leviathan

"LEVI!"

Levi had not anticipated leaving the house would result in you barreling into him in one of Devildom's busiest streets. In his surprise at your shout, he transformed into his demon form, his tail wrapping around you securely as you both fell onto the ground.

"Ouch... M-Mc? Are you okay?" Levi asked, his voice slightly shaky as his heart raced inside his chest. You laid on top of him, unmoving, which concerned him more than anything else. He lightly shook you, hoping to get a reaction out of you, "Mc?"

His heart calmed a bit when he felt you tightening your hold on his clothes, but immediately started racing at twice the previous speed when he saw you shaking in his arms. Gently, he pried your face away from its hiding spot on his chest, hands shaking as he tilted your face up to look at you.

Levi stopped breathing when he saw your eyes filled with tears, his mind blanking out on everything else as his gaze narrowed in on your face; more specifically, the little cut you had gotten on your bottom lip.

"Who... who dared to put their filthy hands on you?" he asked, in a low and dangerous voice. He wasn't the otaku Levi you knew and loved anymore. Right now, he was Leviathan, the third of the Seven Deadly Sins, and the General of Hell's Navy. But he made you feel incredibly safe as he tenderly cupped your face in his hands, as if he was handling one of his beloved figurines.

As you narrated the entire incident, Levi began to grow more and more agitated. In between hissing that this is why he prefers to shop online and fretting over your well-being, he somehow managed to flood the market square and summon Lotan.

Lotan, ever in tune with his master's wishes and emotions, sensed the demonic trails left on you by the spell, and went off to hunt the demons down, while Levi stayed behind with you.

Once Levi calmed down a little, he insisted on taking you back to the House of Lamentation. He knew Lotan would find the demons for him, toying with them to keep itself occupied while waiting for further instructions from its master. As he walked you home, he was quiet. In his mind, he was thinking of the ways he could inflict the most gruesome of pain on those that sought to harm his Henry.

Maybe he could convince you to move into his room with him. That way, he would be able to keep an eye on you better...

For now, though, he would stick to taking you home, and buying you whatever you needed off of Akuzon.

Satan and Asmodeus

"ASMO!"

Asmo turned at the sound of your voice, an excited smile on his face that dropped the second he saw the panic on yours as you rushed into his open arms. He let out an oof, the force from your throwing yourself at him making him lose his footing and stumble, only to be saved by Satan standing behind him.

"Mc, darling!" "Mc, are you alright?" Both the demons spoke at once, two pairs of eyes trained on your figure as they both sensed the panic lingering in you. Asmo lightly trailed his hand over your back, pressing you close to his chest as he asked, "What happened, darling?"

Through stuttered breaths and coughs you told them that you were being pursued by some demons, mentioning the bruise and the fact that they cast a spell on you to leave you helpless. You watched as something dark and lethal flashed in Asmodeus' eyes before your attention was captured by Satan abruptly leaving your side.

Before you could go after him, Asmo placed a hand on your shoulder. "Let him take care of this, darling. Why don't I take you back home and help you relax? You've had a very difficult day, after all." When you hesitated, he gave you a small pout, his eyes shining brightly in a way that reminded you of a puppy. "Please~ Let me pamper you, help you forget all of this? Satan will be fine..." he said, voice slightly whiny as he clung to your arm, careful not to aggravate any of your injuries.

When you finally relented and let him walk you back to the House of Lamentation, you missed the way Asmo looked off into the direction Satan had left for a brief moment, a cruel fascination in his eyes.

Once home, he quickly ushered you into his private bathroom, running a warm bath for you and adding the scents he knew you preferred. He left you alone in the bathroom after ensuring you had everything you needed, and telling you to call for him if you wanted his company as he shut the door behind him.

Asmo thoroughly pampered you when you walked out of the bathroom, refreshed and somewhat relaxed after your bath. He smothered you with his affection, but you didn't mind. You never did.

It was quite late when Satan returned, walking into Asmo's room to find you sleeping peacefully, your head on Asmo's lap as the demon ran his fingers through your soft hair. Satan smiled, his hand almost resting on your cheek, when Asmo smacked his hand away. "Don't get that filthy blood on them," he said, his usual bubbly nature nowhere to be found as he glared at the blood decorating Satan's hands. Satan nodded in understanding, before leaving the room to get cleaned up.

When he returned, he saw Asmo gently setting a pillow under your head and tucking you in his bed. The Avatar of Lust stood straight after ensuring you were still sleeping, before turning to his brother. "I hope you left some for me?~"

Satan smirked. "I did. I even went ahead and strapped them into those machines you like to use." Asmo giggled, the sound tainted with a sadistic sort of glee.

"This will be fun~"

Beelzebub and Belphegor

"BEEL!"

Beel let out a confused hum as he turned. His eyes widened, protective instincts rampant as he saw you running towards him, and the bag of chips in his hand fell to the ground as he moved to get to you first.

You crashed into him, his arms winding around your back to keep you from falling. "Mc?" came Belphie's voice, as he looked over to where you and Beel were standing. The youngest demon's eyes narrowed in on the slight trembling of your body as you caught your breath in Beel's arms.

Beel looked down at you with a concerned look, then back at his twin. Belphie approached the two of you, gently touching your back and providing the comfort that you so desperately needed. He observed you carefully, trying to pry out what had happened, while Beel scanned the surroundings for any threats.

Soon enough, you told them everything. Belphie's eyes hardened, causing you to flinch at the murderous glint in his eyes. Unbeknownst to you, Beel shared similar feelings with his twin.

"Let's get you home," Belphie said, his voice gentle when he addressed you, with his words making it clear it was not a suggestion he would let you talk him out of. Beel nodded, and the three of you started the journey home.

The entire walk home, Beel did most of the talking, telling you of the doughnuts he and Belphie had gotten from Uncle Demon's. Belphie was content with mostly listening, adding his two cents whenever Beel asked him something.

As soon as you guys reached the House of Lamentation, you were pulled into the attic for a nap by the Avatar of Sloth, while his twin went and informed Lucifer of everything.

When Beel came up to the attic, he found you peacefully sleeping, your head on Belphie's arm and your legs tangled with the youngest. Belphie lay awake, his vibrant eyes watching over your sleeping figure vigilantly.

Beel got into the bed as well, protectively curling around your back as his hand rested on your hip. No words needed to be exchanged between the two of them; they knew that they would soon have the people who tried to harm their human in their grasp.

And once they did, they would not hesitate to show exactly why they were lauded as two of the seven rulers of the devildom.