#Chapter Two: Gluttony

[naminethewriter]

Between Two Lives Chapter Two: Gluttony

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Summary: Written for Intrulogical Week 2022 @intrulogicalweek

Logan is stuck in Limbo until the Afterlife Registration Bureau processes his case so he can properly move onto a afterlife, whether that is heaven, hell, reincarnation or something else. While wandering around aimlessly, he’s approached by a demon that introduces himself as Remus and offers him a quicker way to the next life.

Content Warnings: Food, Discussion of Past Lives

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

“Salutations Remus.”

 “There you are! I almost thought you changed your mind!” Remus grinned at Logan. Today the demon was dressed in what Logan would consider a more reasonable outfit than the day before with black, ripped pants that covered his entire legs, though paired with the same boots and a shirt that had more colors than Logan had seen since he got to Limbo.

 “I apologize, I did not remember the path as well as I thought I did,” he explained, straightening his tie. As a pair the two must look very odd since Logan’s shirt was neatly tucked into his pants and without a wrinkle on it. Add to that his dress shoes and slacks, the two couldn’t have more different styles.

 Remus took a look around. “Yeah, this place doesn’t really have anything that makes it stand out, huh? You know what, I’ll take you back to your apartment later, then I can pick you up there next time.”

 “That is satisfactory.”

“Great! Let’s get to todays challenge! I need you to take my hand.” Logan raised a brow but didn’t argue. “Better press those teeth together, you don’t wanna bite your tongue!” Remus warned as the other takes his hand and before Logan can ask what he means by that, he’s pulled through a portal of some kind. Thankfully he heeded Remus’ warning because as the land on the other side, the impact would have for sure clacked his teeth together rather forcefully.

 “Welcome to Sector P!” Remus announced and Logan takes a moment to look around. They stood on a street, similar to the ones in his own sector, but instead of apartment buildings – though he could see lots of them, too, just a bit further away – it was lined with restaurants. Any food imaginable was advertised with blinking signage, not as brilliant as on earth, they were still in Limbo after all, but it was much livelier than in the sector Logan was used to.

 “I was under the impression that all sectors were the same,” he said after clearing his throat.

 “Yeah, most would. They don’t really tell you that they group you based on like one defining characteristic.” Remus starts wandering down the road, eyeing the different signs. Logan follows, brows pinched.

 “What characteristics?”

 “Well, this is the sector for the foodies. There’s one for gamblers, nature lovers, children, animal people and so on. The ARB picks one out that seems to fit the best and sends you there.”

 “I understand, I think. But what is my sector about then? It’s a lot emptier.”

 “I think Sector G is mostly for loners and intellectuals. You had a library at one point but that apparently led to some fights about books and heated debates.” Remus used air quotes as he said ‘heated’. “It caused more trouble than it was worth, so they just put some random, fancy books in your rooms and hoped that would keep you entertained for long enough.”

 Indeed, there had been some books in Logan’s apartment, and despite them not catering to his specific tastes, he had read them since there was nothing else to do, but he finished them a while ago and had no desire to revisit them. He hadn’t even considered the possibility that his neighbors could have different ones he could borrow.

 “Here we are!” Remus called, pulling Logan out of his thoughts. They stood in front of a restaurant that advertised their all-you-can-eat buffet. With a grin, Remus led Logan inside. Immediately they were assaulted with an almost overwhelming mix of different smells. They all came from the buffet that had a bigger selection than Logan had ever seen.

 “This seems… excessive,” he commented, making Remus giggle.

 “You are the kind of person that would say that. You’re challenge for today is to try everything here.”

 “Everything?” Logan asked, eyes wide. “There is no way I can eat that much.”

 “Sure you can, if you put your mind to it!”

 “What about allergies?” Logan didn’t have any, but he was willing to fake one. Remus bellowed out a laugh.

 “You’re dead! You can’t have allergies!”

 “What do you mean?”

 “You don’t have a flesh prison anymore that could react badly to anything here. You don’t need to breathe anymore either. You’re a soul, you don’t need sustenance. I could stab you and nothing would happen.”

 Logan furrowed his brows in thought. “But I still feel pain. I even cut myself before.”

 “That’s because you’re used to having a flesh prison. You expect to feel pain, so you feel pain.”

 “You mean it’s like a pavlovian response?”

 “Yeah, essentially. It’s a habit your soul isn’t aware of.”

 “I see. But then what is the point of the restaurant if no one here needs to eat?”

 “Questions like that are exactly why you don’t have any in your sector. Some people enjoy the taste of food, even if it doesn’t get them anything else. Now, no more questions, you don’t have forever.” Remus pulled Logan over to a table where he plops down in a seat. “Go on, get a selection. I’ll wait here.”

 “If you insist,” Logan sighs and gets to work. Deciding to start at the salad bar, he filled a bowl with all different types of leaves, toppings, and sauces, before returning to Remus.

 “Starting light, are we?” he asked with his typical grin. Logan simply nodded.

 “I did not experiment much with food during my lifetime, so I thought I would start with what is familiar.”

 “Smart but boring.”

 “I am not in the intellectual sector for nothing,” Logan commented dryly, earning another laugh from Remus.

 “Tell me why else you’re there,” he asked, propping up his chin on his hands and studying Logan intently as he takes the first bite of his salad.

 “I was a professor in life. I have a doctorate in astronomy.”

 “Uhh, I love space!” Remus exclaims, wiggling in his seat. “It’s a shame I rarely get to see it. Tell me more.”

 So, during the time it took Logan to eat his salad, they discussed space and Logan’s research. In the time it took Logan to fill his plate a second time, this time with an array of appetizers, Remus decided he wanted to change topics.

 “What about family, Nerdy Wolverine? Ever got married?” he asked before Logan had even sat back down.

 “No. I had a few relationships during my twenties and at the beginning of my thirties, but they didn’t last that long. I never missed it, however.”

 “Yeah, that checks out, I guess.”

 “What about you?” Logan shot back, a bit offended by Remus dismissive comment.

 “I never got married when I was alive, but I’ve got-“

 “Wait a minute,” Logan interrupts. “You were alive once? A human, I mean?”

 “Yeah. Was ages ago, but yeah.”

 “How did you become” – Logan gestures to his horns and wings – “a demon then? I thought you were created like that.”

 “There are some demons and angels like that, mostly the oldest ones, but I think most of us are converted from human souls after being alive.”

 “Did you choose to become a demon then?”

 “Yeah! I was in heaven for a while, but it was like super boring and then I met Janny and he showed me how fun things can be, so I decided to become a demon and stick with him. We’ve been together ever since.”

 “Fascinating. What about your family then? If you had one, I mean.”

 “I wasn’t really close to anyone but my brother. We were soldiers, born and bred, pretty much, so we didn’t get a lot of parental love if you know what I mean. But me and Ro got along for the most part. Ended up becoming war heroes and died on a battlefield. Got us both into heaven and while I went down to hell, Ro stayed up there and became an angel. We still hang out from time to time.”

 “That’s allowed? Aren’t heaven and hell enemies?”

 “They used to be but not anymore really since there are way too many souls nowadays. It’s why this whole Limbo system exists; they would be overrun otherwise.”

 They continued like that for hours. Remus would ask Logan about his life on earth and Logan would inquire about the afterlife while slowly making his way through the assortment of dishes. Neither of them really paid attention to that though, too enthralled by their discussion.

 Eventually Logan arrived at the table with one last plate.

 “This should be all that I’m missing. I don’t feel like I ate all that much.”

 “Like I said when we came here, you don’t have a flesh prison anymore, you don’t have a stomach you can fill.”

 “And I suppose since I was so focused on our discussion, I didn’t even register how much I ate which is why it didn’t trigger the pavlovian response.”

 “Sounds legit to me,” Remus shrugged and watched as Logan finished the last of the dishes. “Congrats, Wristwatch, you passed challenge one!”

 “Thank you, Remus. I must say this was more delightful than I thought. You are a good conversationalist.”

 “Aw, thanks, Lo Lo! I had fun, too. But it’s time to go back. Gimme your hand.”

 Logan blinked. “Don’t we have to pay?”

 Remus burst out laughing. “Pay with what? We don’t have money here. And have you seen even one employee around here?”

 “I haven’t but… Where does the food come from then?”

 “Don’t question everything, dork. Now let’s go.”

 Logan wanted to protest more but he stopped himself. He had taken up a lot of Remus’ time already and they would meet again soon, so he could postpone his curiosity for now.

 “Very well then.” He takes Remus hand and is pulled through another portal.

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

“So, how was your day with the stuck-up?” Janus asked later that day when Remus once again deposited himself on his lap.

 “Fun! Got a lot of info about him. He was a professor for astronomy! He told me lots of space facts!”

 “Sounds wonderful, dear.”

 “Yeah, and tomorrow I’m gonna take him to Sector W.”

 “Isn’t that the sector full of… Are you sure that is a good idea, Muse?”

 “It’s gonna be fun, don’t worry!”

 “I doubt he will find it funny.”

 “I’m gonna make it up to him after. But first I really want to rile him up. He’s hot when he’s passionate.”

Janus sighed. He had a feeling that he would need to step in before the seven challenges were done.

[diabeticgirl4]

I just reread the ending of fma and I'm an ugly crying mess send fanfics help

[devilmen-collector]

WHB Theory: Vessels of God's Sinful Emotions

A theory I have after reading Chapter 5 and discussing with @sparkbeast20

This post ofc will contain spoilers up to Chapter 5 and religious theme

(God, please forgive me for writing this because I have to use Your name for PB's fictional version of You)

God possesses sinful emotions

Firstly, in Story 5-64, we have Bimet says God was greedy and jealous, meaning he had Greed and Envy, to which Glasyalabolas replies by saying God possessed other deadly sins as well, namely rage/Wrath, Sloth, Gluttony, arrogance/Pride. He fails to mention Lust but we still don't know whether it has a deeper meaning or it's just Glasya is making examples and Lust just happens to not be in the examples listed.

Theory

I. God doesn't want these sinful emotions

My theory, God doesn't want the sinful emotions in him. There may be several reasons, maybe because he doesn't want sins, we all know too well why the Seven Deadly Sins are preached against and virtues are praised in real life, the consequences of the Deadly Sins are evil things such as murder, rape, oppression, corruption and many other evil actions. So God decided to keep the virtues within himself while removing the sins. But since those deadly sins are attributes of God, he couldn't just remove them and throw them away carelessly, he needed something to store them.

II. The 7 Kings were created directly by God, not through a pair of parents

We do know that devils don't give birth, but having their children made according to their likeness by Lilith. Even so, the devil child is considered children of the parents who requested Lilith to make a child. Some of the nobles have been proven to be born in this way (Andrealphus, Amon, Buer). Exception is the Unholyc, born through the union of Asmodeus and a human female, their case is procreation just like human.

However, my theory that I have been telling my friends since months before the game's release and the kings are created directly by God.

In Story 5-86, we have an NPC angel telling us about the rumors that subject no. 87 (Leviathan) was created carefully by God. My point here is why is this angel saying God "created it carefully", aren't all created by God? Why making the difference? So there are at least 2 different ways in which one is created by God. The superior one is that one's body and soul are both crafted by God directly. The inferior one is that one's body is created by God but indirectly through procreation of the parents (as in the case of human) or Lilith (as in the case of normal and noble devils), God only infuses the soul the moment life begins.

In Story 5-96, Valefor says that it's difficult to create a body equals or surpasses one that God created for Mammon. (My opinion: it's impossible lol). So Mammon's no different from Levi that he had his body created by God directly.

If it has been the case with two of the seven kings, I think it's safe to assume it applies to other kings too. Lucifer's a little different because he was an angel but since he was God's favorite Seraph, I think he falls into the same category of having the privilege of having God created his body directly.

Another proof is that you have never heard the kings mentioning a parent. For some of the nobles, their parents were mentioned (Buer, Amon, Andre, etc.) But for the kings, just no mention of parents at all (excluding Levi because he was kidnapped as a child), even though devils are immortal (they only die if they are wounded in a battle or a serious accident).

III. God created the 7 Kings for a very special purpose

The next question is why did God have to create them directly, different from all the others? It's understandable if they were the first generation demons whom God needed to create directly then let them make/give birth to the next generation, who would make/give birth the generation after that and so on. However, the kings are not first generation demons, there are demons who are older than them (Gusion is one example). So there must be a special reason why the kings got such a special treament.

Returning to what I was saying at the start, God wanted to remove the sins and he needed something to store the sins. And God, being the omnipotent Creator, he could create the solution himself by making 7 vessels to store the sins. And since demons/devils were made with evil attributes, the vessels were created living devils. And because they are devils keeping God's Deadly Sins inside, they are stronger than any other devils, and God made them kings. Remember the kings and the nobles keep saying they were chosen by God to be kings and nobles but they don't know why. I think the kings are appointed kings to hide the facts they are vessels storing God's Deadly Sins, this only God knows (perhaps Solomon too since God favors our peepaw).

In Lucifer's case, he was created an angel, yes, but remember, God can foresee the future. To explain it in religious term, God can see all the possibilities but he knows which possibility will become the future with 100% precision. God saw Lucifer falling and included him in the grand plan so he only needed to create 6 vessels more beside Lucifer (remember God had Sloth so it makes quick work for him).

IV. The kings are the original and only deadly sins

So that lets to another point of mine, which is the current 7 Deadly Sins are the original and only Seven Deadly Sins and kings of Hell. There is no king before them.

V. Sinful Divine Power

In Story 4-87, after hearing MC could die by Levi's hands, Satan gives in to his rage too much that it affects the surrounding environment, even nearly killing other devils, the only devil who isn't affected is Mammon, another king and Satan's equal.

Since the Deadly Sins came from God, if the kings don't or can't put their sins in check, they could bring disaster, even upon devils who they are supposed to protect.

VI. With Divine Power comes Divine Knowledge

Leraye tell us in the chatroom that only the 7 Deadly Sins know why God disappeared. It could be understood that God told the Sins why he had to go or they saw what happened to him. But I believe in another possibility. God disappeared mysteriously, no one knows where he has gone or why he disappeared, but since the 7 kings have with themselves the sinful attributes of God, they get a glimpse of divine knowledge on why God disappeared.

In the event "Where is Beelzebub?", Beelzebub says while Bael is sleeping about "things that are going to happen soon", which could be understood to be about MC/us. So how could he know that? I used to think Lucifer told him, of which I got the impression after knowing he owes Lucifer something. But could it be that he knows about MC from the Divine Knowledge in which he gets to participate. (Tbh, now I think about it, if Lucifer told him, then where did Lucifer get the info from, God doesn't seem like the kind to tell him, given how he let him fall, so Lucifer must have known it from the Divine Knowledge of his Pride too).

In conclusion, the 7 Deadly Sins are living vessels of God's sinful emotions. And thanks to that, they get access to powerful divine abilities.

That's all I'm able to put down from my brain for now. Please let me know what you guys think <3

[emeritus-fuckers]

How does the Ministry function? Headcanon

Despite what it would seem, the Clergy's ruler is not actually the current Papa, which can be easily seen in the Chapters, where everything seems to be much more under Sister Imperator's control. However, even she seems to be under someone's supervision, aside from Satan himself. How does it all work, then?

Satan

Not much to be added here. Obviously, the person on the very top of the Clergy is going to be the Dark Lord. However, since unlike some deities he actually believes in free will, he doesn't really intervene much,

The Council of Seven Deadly Sins

The ones actually in charge. The Council, as the name shows, consists of seven members, each representing a sin. They are all in some way supernatural beings and have been granted immortality to guide the Clergy, however it is not impossible for the members to change. If one is somehow overpowered and killed, the person who defeated them gets their spot. It is unknown who is the most powerful member of the Council, therefore they do not have an official leader. Instead, they draw lots on who is in charge of their next meeting.

The Council of Seven Deadly Sins consists of:

Superbia (Pride) - The Director

Avaritia (Greed) - Representative currently unknown

Luxuria (Lust) - Representative currently unknown

Invidia (Envy) - Representative currently unknown

Gula (Gluttony) - Representative currently unknown

Ira (Wrath) - Mister Saltarian

Acedia (Sloth) - Representative currently unknown

Due to the fact that they obviously must attend to very many things at once, only one of them (The Director) is actually in the Ministry th entire time. The rest visit when they feel like and for official meetings.

Does Sister Imperator not being here confuse you? That's because she fits in the next category.

The Assistants of The Council

As of now, the only known member of this group is Sister Imperator, who serves as the Assistant of The Director. However, due to how her boss is, she is the one running the Ministry most of the time. Something that she was prepared to since she was a child.

For reasons known only to himself, mister Saltarian does not have an assistant right now and has not had one for almost a century.

The Papa

While the Papa holds a lot of power when it comes to Siblings of Sin, in reality he is completely powerless in the end, as any of the Council members of Assistants of the Council can easily veto Papa's decisions. In reality, the role of a Papa is much more representative than anything. They do, however, have a lot of paperwork to keep up with. So sadly, while the title is a great honor, it actually comes with much less power than one would think.

If for whatever reason there's more than one Papa at a time (for example, one of them is too old to function on his own, but he's not willing to retire (like Papa Nihil), another Papa can be chosen to function alongside him. In this case, the older Papa is mostly in charge of the more mundane tasks while the younger Papa takes on the more "important" aspects of the job. There can be up to two Papas at once, however one of them must be "retired" in theory.

A Papa can serve his duties alone until he reaches 80 years of age, however they can resign at any point (or can be forced to do so). He does keep the title, but it is mostly an honorific. A retired Papa is not forced to work, but they can choose to. If a Papa chooses to keep working after his 80th birthday, he will be forced to accept a second Papa to work alongside him.

The Cardinals

Unlike in the Catholic church, in the Clergy a Cardinal is not just a fancier Bishop, it's a fully functional, separate role. The Papa can have up to twelve Cardinals (which have to be accepted by at least one of the Council members) to serve as his own assistants and advisors. Not to be confused with a Papa's personal assistant, which is a completely different function.

The Cardinals also help manage the Ministry while the Papa is away. They are also temporarily in charge (still below the Council, of course) if something happens to their Papa and the new one is not yet chosen.

All heirs of the current Papa have to become a cardinal when they reach the age of 30, however due to the bloodline, they can, if they so wish, skip all the way from Deacon to a Cardinal, seeing as their education for their role begins way earlier. A younger sibling also counts as an heir. (So for example, Terzo has been a Cardinal to his father and both of his brothers.)

If a Papa dies without leaving an heir, the next Papa is chosen by the Council from his Cardinals.

Whenever a new Papa is chosen, he is given a choice to either keep the Cardinals of the previous one, or he can select a new bunch. Cardinals forced into retiring are given the title of an Archbishop.

The Archbishops

Despite how fancy the title sounds, it's just that. A title. The Archbishops get a fancier outfit, yes, but that's about it. They have the same responsibilities as regular bishops. The Archbishop title is mostly a way to show respect to them for their service, as it is given almost exclusively to former Cardinals and very few Siblings that have done something extraordinary to earn the title.

The Bishops

In the clergy, the role of a Bishop is not as fancy as it is in the catholic church. It can be summarized to a priest with more experience. A Bishop's role is mostly to educate Deacons and help younger Priests while doing the work they did as Priests. Of course, they get more paperwork than regular Priests. It takes 10-15 years for a priest to become a Bishop.

The Priests

Their role is similar to the catholic priests, except satanic, of course. There really isn't much to say here.

The Deacons

The lowest on the "Priest path" of the Ministry. The students. The ones who aren't Priests yet, but they wish to become them. One must be a Deacon for five years to become a priest. The earliest one can become a Deacon is 16 years old. An exception to that is an heir to the Papacy, who becomes a Deacon at age 13.

The Siblings of Sin

Despite theoretically being the lowest in hierarchy among the humans of the Ministry, they can be found all over the positions of power which are not directly related to religion itself. For the Clergy, anyone who has been baptized is a Sibling of Sin. They are under no obligation to become Priests or climb the ladder. Siblings of Sin are simply members of the Clergy, no matter what their exact function is. Can one Sibling of Sin have some level of control above others? Yes, absolutely, due to their administrative function or other things like that. In the Church's ranks, however, they are even.

The Nameless Ghouls

Despite me putting them at the bottom here, the Ghouls do not actually have a fixed position in the hierarchy of the Ministry. They are summoned with a specific purpose and/or to serve a specific person. Unless that person passes a contract made with a Ghoul to someone else, the Ghoul only serves their summoner at first. In most cases, however, the Summoners and Ghouls get attached to each other and Ghouls are granted freedom. While they still usually work under their Summoner, just with much more possibilities. The Ghouls respond to their Summoners almost exclusively. The Ghouls have their own hierarchies, but that's for another post, I guess.

~

Written by Jez.

Taglist: @copias-fluffy-asscheeks @lunarsromantichomicide @randodummy @tuttifuckinfruttifriday @copiaspowderedjizz @calliedion-dungeon @nuntia

[nakachuchu]

GOLDEN CHILD | Gojo Satoru

SYNOPSIS: Born from the rage you held, your Cursed technique made you a valuable but dangerous asset to the Jujutsu world. Even with your death hanging above your head, Gojo Satoru began to realize just how valuable you were as a human to him.

READER: female!with a name, but written in second PoV

WARNING: This series contains mature themes.

STATUS: ongoing

First Arc: A Sinner

CHAPTER ONE: FEAR AND LOVE

CHAPTER TWO: UNFAIR CIRCUMSTANCES

CHAPTER THREE: PRESENT THOUGHTS

CHAPTER FOUR: NAKED WOLF

CHAPTER FIVE: WRATH

CHAPTER SIX: ENVY

CHAPTER SEVEN: SLOTH

CHAPTER EIGHT: GLUTTONY

CHAPTER NINE: GREED

CHAPTER TEN: PRIDE

CHAPTER ELEVEN: LUST

CHAPTER TWELVE: BORN OF SIN

Second Arc: Lady Death

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: coming soon

[felice-jaganshi]

His Fallen Apple

Lucifer X Reader

Chapter 7

This was it. The day you'd been waiting for. All seven Sins would be gathered in one place… everything needed to be perfect!

 

They had managed to convince Lucifer to join them on a trip to the beach in Levi's ring! They made a point of all hanging out together once every hundred years. But for the last 2 trips, Lucifer had bailed out, claiming he was too busy with Lilith and Charlie. This time, you had managed where the other's failed. By using the forbidden Puppy Dog eyes technique! And pointing out he hadn't shown you the beaches in hell yet, and you missed the ones in heaven.

He was desperate to please you, so of course you'd win this one! Bee helped you get a cute new swimsuit, something that would show off your best features, without being too revealing. As she felt too much would fry Lucifer's brain too soon.

 

“You gotta take it slow with him, he's a bit old fashioned.” She had said. And you couldn't help but agree, it was definitely part of his charm too.

You wore your swimsuit under your clothes to make changing easier when you got there.

When Lucifer came out of his room to get you, it took all of your willpower not to laugh! He was so cute! He wore a bright blue button up covered in rubber duckies, with khaki shorts, and flip-flops. Along with a pair of yellow sunglasses and a straw hat.

“Alright! I'll open a portal for us since the others are already waiting, you ready?” He asked, and you nodded, not trusting that a laugh wouldn't slip out. “Alright, let's go then!” He grinned and the two of you were there in an instant! It was a beautiful sight, you had all gathered midday so you could have a Barbecue and watch the sunset. 

 

Fizz was the first to see you both and rushed over to snatch you up in a tight hug, “hey! How's my favorite sinner?!” You laugh and hug back.

 

“I'm doing good Fizzypop! How are you?”

He whispered in your ear, “Hey, Ozzie and I got a scheme for later, just go along with it okay?”

Now that had your attention! What were the boys scheming this time? You nod along and he lets go before dragging you over to see Bee and her boyfriend.

 

After a bit of socializing, everyone changed into their swimsuits, Luci's swim trunks being covered in apples was a surprise as you'd expected more ducks. But then he turned around and saw you and his wings popped out! 

“Wowza! I- wow, you look great!” He was looking you up and down for a minute before shaking his head and putting his wings away. “I mean, you always look great! Aha, or um, hey let's go for a swim!” He summoned a giant duck shaped float ring and ran for the water with it. 

Ozzie chuckled and made his way over to you, “You know, he's right. You do look amazing today. Maybe enough to finally catch his eye… Good choice, just enough to keep him wondering. And me too, if we're being honest.” He winked at you, and you squeaked in response. 

 

“Ozzie! You- you have Fizzle! Don't start with me!” Your face was bright red.

“Oh don't get it twisted dear.” He leaned closer to your ear, “I'm gonna try to make Luci jealous, okay? This is all part of the plan. I'd never hurt my fizzy baby. He's in on this, don't worry.” You look over and fizz smiles and waves from over by the grill. He and Tex were setting it up for dinner later.

You relax and sigh, waving back with a smile before joining Lucifer and Bee in the water. She was trying to sink his duck floatie. So, it was up to you to “save” him.

______

 

A while later, you all had hotdogs together and were surprised how many Bee could put down for her frame! She ate like 40 without any problems! But, hey, she was the sin of gluttony. And Mammon had challenged her to an eating contest, which he lost at 32.

After a nice meal, and a beautiful sunset, Fizz put some music on and everyone started dancing. Levi dragged Lucifer into a dance before either of you could ask each other.

Asmodeus then approached you, holding out a hand. You smile and accept, without so much as a glance at Lucifer. He pulled you in close and the music changed.

Lucifer was finally freed from Levi right as he noticed Ozzie beginning to sing to you, he looked over with a confused smile at first.

 

“I can't believe we're finally alone, what are the chances, everyone's dancing and he's not with you~. Mmh mmh mmh.” He shook his head disapprovingly at this line.

 

“The universe must have divined this,

What am I gonna do, Not grab your wrist?

I could be a better boyfriend than him~.

I could do the shit he never did,

Up all night I won't quit.

Thinking I'm gonna steal you from him,

I could be such a gentleman.” 

You caught a glimpse of Lucifer's face dropping and Ozzie spun you around, he looked shocked, maybe even hurt.

“I don't need to tell you twice, 

All the ways he can't suffice,

If I could give you some advice,

I would leave with me tonight.” 

 

Ozzie pulled you tight to his body, while Fizzarolli stood next to Lucifer putting on a show of being “heartbroken and lonely” now that Ozzie would have a new toy for the night.

 

“I never would have left you alone, for someone else to take you home.” Oz looked up at Lucifer with a smirk and wink, and that seemed to be the last straw!

He started marching over as Oz did one more run of the chorus, spinning you around and making you dizzy before suddenly you were pulled from his arms and your back was pressed to someone else's chest!

[mousy-nona]

Two's Company (Three's a Crowd)

Vox cuts into Alastor's radio broadcast, and quickly figures out why that was a Very Bad Idea.

//

Or, Vox finds out about Alastor and Lucifer. Jealousy ensues.

(Set between chapters 4 and 5 of All of God's Angels)

Lucifer had a radio. He dusted it off and turned it on some nights, when they were playing the oldies, or when he wanted to catch up on current events, or…

Or when a certain strawberry pimp was on air. 

(If he was being honest, he hadn’t missed a single episode since the day they’d met.) 

The demon’s voice was like liquid honey, dripping with dark things and speckled with odd ‘20s slang. It quickly became a habit: turn on the radio, pull up a few of his latest blueprints, and get to work. Some of Alastor’s more… creative suggestions even gave him a few ideas for new horror-themed rides for Lu Lu World. 

My muse, he thought, snorting to himself when no one was around.. 

That particular night, he was humming away, listening to Alastor prattle on about why the Pride ring was categorically better than Gluttony ( more interesting victims, for one! ) when there was an audible screech. The signal wavered, replaced by the obnoxious blaring intro of a news show.

He recognized that sound at once. Everyone in Pentagram City did. It was the breaking news soundtrack for 666 News.

But what was it doing here, on Alastor’s radio? 

He leaned in, new rubber duck design completely forgotten, as he and the rest of Hell waited with baited breath. 

“Gooood evening Pentagram City!” A voice – a man’s, with a chipper American accent by the sound of it – filtered through the speaker. Lucifer cursed to himself. He really needed to pay attention to the politics of Hell. He had no idea who this was. B something? The demon continued, sounding immensely pleased with himself. “We interrupt this not-so-important broadcast with breaking news: why are you listening to this washed up has-been when you could be watching 666 News on the V Network? Get with the times, you—”

The radio whined, letting out an audible protest as the signal was hijacked again – and by the sound of it, far more violently this time. 

The momentary crackle of static, then – “Apologies about the momentary interruption, folks!” Alastor’s cheery voice cut in. But underneath that ‘20s charm, Lucifer could hear a hardness that hadn’t been there before. “A mere technical error, nothing to worry about. I promise you, those responsible will be appropriately punished.” 

The last word practically crawled of the penumbra, of shadows, of Bad Things. Lucifer shivered, finding himself half-wishing he was the one Alastor was talking about. He caught himself with a frown. What the Hell was he thinking?

“Now back to our regularly scheduled programming!” 

The next morning, Lucifer came downstairs to find the entire hotel gathered around a shiny red box. 

“What do you think it could be?” Angel Dust asked. 

Husk shrugged, looking, as always, utterly unimpressed by the whole situation. 

Niffty was flitting around it so fast she was nothing but a blur, panting excitedly the entire time. “Don’t smell bugs,” she muttered, almost as if she was disappointed by the fact. 

“Only one way to find out. Let’s open it!” Charlie bounded forward, one hand outstretched. Both he and Vaggie leapt to stop her at the same time, but Vaggie got there first. She grabbed his daughter’s hand and twirled her away from the mysterious-box-potential-bomb-thing, popping a little kiss onto her nose to distract her when she tried to lunge for it again.

Yeeuch . Good for Charlie, but he was never going to get used to that. 

“What’s up, b–” He almost said bitches , but managed to catch himself at the last minute. “ Boys ?”

Better. Much better.

The “boys” glanced at each other, clearly confused. Vaggie let go of Charlie so fast she almost spun her around like a top. 

Charlie recovered quickly and pointed at the thing they were staring at. “Dad! This got delivered to the hotel this morning. Vaggie thinks someone wants to blow us up!” She said, as if she was announcing someone had sent them a birthday cake. 

Vaggie sighed. “Might, Charlie. I said someone might want to blow us up.” 

“Right! That!” 

“No worries!” Lucifer puffed up his chest, feeling a rush of pride. He was helping his daughter! He could feel their bond growing stronger already! “ I’ll open it!”

“Careful, Dad!” Charlie gasped. Vaggie pulled her backwards, shielding her with her own body. Husk surreptitiously stepped in front of Angel Dust. Niffty stayed exactly where she was – right next to the box – but Angel Dust swooped in and lifted her out of harm’s way. Lucifer waited a beat, wondering if Alastor was going to show up and swoop him out of the way. 

No such luck. He sighed, wondering if he’d gone temporarily insane to even hope for such a thing. Alastor would probably push him into the box if he was here. 

Holding his breath, he quickly clawed at the cardboard seams. The box fell open, revealing…

Angel Dust wrinkled his nose. “Is that…an old TV?” 

“It is,” Husk grumbled, recognition flaring in his yellow eyes.

The hazy gray screen was surrounded on all sides by wood paneling. There were two dials on it, one labeled UHF and the other labeled VHF. Attached to the front was a single note, written in huge, spiky letters: Remember the good times? 

He felt Alastor before he saw him. A mass of shadows bubbled in the corner and burst, revealing the tall, graceful demon in his erstwhile pinstripe suit.

Lucifer puffed up. “Convenient of you to come when the danger’s over, huh? Looks like I saved the day this time –” 

Alastor swept past him as if he was air. All his attention was focused on that damned TV. Lucifer’s voice faltered, sputtering like a flame before it finally went out. 

“Alastor, your buddy sent you a gift,” Husk muttered. 

“So it seems,” Alastor said, cold and cruel. He grabbed the note from the screen, his nose wrinkling as he read it. Then his grin turned sharp. 

Faster than anyone could blink, Alastor skewered the TV in half with his staff. The wood protested, groaning as it fell apart, revealing the black glistening gears inside. Acrid smoke started flowing, and Alastor was soon submerged in an eye-watering cloud, his wicked chuckles reverbrating through the entire hotel. 

“Looks like someone is desparate for my personal attention.” 

Lucifer bristled. Someone? Who? Someone other than him? He opened his mouth, but when the smoke cleared, Alastor was gone. 

Husk tutted and walked back to the bar, mumbling about show offs and annoying dandy-ass motherfuckers. Lucifer followed close behind, practically shoving Angel Dust out of the way. 

“Do you know who sent that TV?”

Husk turned around, so slowly it was like he was moving through molasses. “Yeah, of course. Who doesn’t?” 

I don’t, you smug little house cat. Through a great effort of will, Lucifer managed to stop himself from showing Husk exactly what his new line of rubber ducks could do. “Mind enlightening me?” 

“It came from Big Daddy V,” Angel Dust slid into the seat next to him, fluttering his lashes. Lucifer stared at him. “You know, the head honcho?” Still no reaction. “Vox?”

“Is he the guy with the television for a head?” Lucifer asked. 

“Duh,” Angel Dust said at the same time Husk said, “Who else?” 

“I think he was the one who interrupted Alastor’s radio show last night too. What’s his deal with Alastor anyway?” Lucifer was not annoyed. He was not irritated at how easily he’d been cast aside. He was definitely not upset about how Alastor had disappeared after promising to give Vox his personal attention . 

“He’s obsessed with him.” 

And Lucifer was not tempted at all to rip this Vox’s throat out and leave him to die a very slow, very painful death. “Alastor is?” He hissed.

His chest twisted, throbbing with a pain he couldn’t quite put a finger on. He held his hand over his heart, marveling at the way it pounded as hard as if he’d just fought a grueling battle with the angels. 

“No, Vox is. They’ve had a rivalry going for decades now.” Husk looked at him strangely. “You really don’t know about any of this? Aren’t you the king of Hell or something?” 

Decades. They had decades of history together. Vox would always own a piece of Alastor that Lucifer would never get to know. An irrational anger rose deep from his gut. He knew it made no sense, but it was almost unbearable to think that there was someone out there who may have a claim over Alastor that he didn’t.

And maybe he was a demon just like the rest of them, because a selfish rage rattled in his chest: Alastor was his.

Too late, he realized the silence had stretched on a touch too long. Now both Angel Dust and Husk were staring at him. Angel Dust’s knowing smile in particular was quite unsettling. Quickly, he excused himself and ran back up to this room, where he could not think about Alastor in peace and quiet, thank you very much. But as soon as he opened the door, a piece of paper fluttered to the floor. 

Meet me at Rosie’s. 

The note was written in Alastor’s beautiful, old-school cursive.

“That tacky little good-for-nothing,” Lucifer grumbled. “He thinks he can order me around?” 

He crumpled up the note in his fist. He would go meet him – but only to teach the cocky asshole a lesson. 

Right. That was the only reason why. 

(He’d always been a bad liar.) 

“There you are! I was beginning to think you’d gotten lost on the way.” 

Alastor’s wide grin was the first thing that greeted him when he stepped out of the portal. He resisted the urge to smack him in the nose, because he knew how to be the bigger man. Figuratively, of course. 

“Why did you want me to meet you here?” 

“Why do I ever want to meet you anywhere?” 

Lucifer paused, running through some numbers in his head. “But it’s not the first of the month yet.”

Alastor grinned and pressed in close. His bowtie, usually so neat and buttoned up, was askew. His shirt gaped open the tiniest bit, revealing a hint of mouthwatering collarbone and the barest glimpse at the strong chest underneath. Lucifer felt his cheeks heat. “What’s a little extra healing between friends?” Alastor murmured into his ear.

“We aren’t…we aren’t friends,” Lucifer protested, stumbling only once. “Besides, we’re outside. Anyone can see us.”

“Rosie won’t mind,” Alastor smiled. “What’s hers is mine, and so on and so forth.” He crooked one finger into his tie and pulled, loosening it further. “And the Cannibals know to mind their own business.”

The rough brick of Rosie’s storefront was digging into Lucifer’s back. He winced, a surge of annoyance running through him when he realized that Alastor was pushing him around again . Alastor always did whatever he wanted. He would play with him at home, teasing him relentlessly, making his life Hell, but then he’d run off and play rivals with some other bastard the moment Lucifer took his eyes off of him. 

What kind of heartless, two-timing devil would do that?

Suddenly filled with a burning rage he still didn’t quite understand, Lucifer flipped around so he  was the one pressing Alastor against the wall. Strangely, the demon didn’t fight him. He watched through heavy lids as Lucifer pushed forward until their bodies were flush against each other. Lucifer could feel every one of Alastor’s hard muscles through the layers of clothing between them. The air crackled with anticipation as they stared at each other, the seconds dragging on as time slowed. 

Lucifer licked his lips. Alastor’s gaze dipped down to follow the movement of his tongue. His smile turned lazy, slow – honey dripping on a hot day. He reached up, undid the first button of his shirt, and pulled the collar away from his neck so Lucifer had a better view of the graceful curve of his shoulder and the firm sculpture of his chest. He swallowed, hard. 

“You won’t keep a loyal subject waiting, will you, your Highness?” Alastor asked, his radio static like a live wire against Lucifer’s skin.

Lucifer grabbed his lapels and leaned in close, not sure if he was going in for a kiss or to tear Alastor’s head off. 

“What the hell are you two doing?” 

The first thing Lucifer noticed was a man with a TV screen for a head glitching out in the street behind them. The second thing he noticed was Alastor’s smile – huge, toothy, and so very pleased that Lucifer realized, a second too late, that he’d walked into one of Alastor’s traps again . 

Alastor straightened up and re-tied his bow to cover up all his delicious, bare skin. Even though Lucifer knew he’d been played for a fool, he still felt a pang when he saw it disappear. 

“Are you two–” Vox couldn’t finish the sentence. His screen stuttered, turning rainbow, then flipping to a test screen, before finally settling on the Blue Screen of Death. FUCK YOU ALASTOR.EXE was scrawled all over it. 

“Actually –” Lucifer started, but Alastor cut in, slinging his arm casually over his shoulder as if they did that kind of thing every day. 

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Alastor grinned, his red eyes gleaming bright with glee. “Maybe we are. Maybe we’re just very good friends .” 

Vox’s face flashed back on screen, his mouth open so wide it looked almost like a glitch in the matrix. “You – I thought you didn’t…?” 

“Didn’t what, my good man? You must start finishing your sentences. How is anyone supposed to have a decent conversation with you if you don’t? But I suppose that silly moth man you keep around might not mind. He doesn’t seem very bright, does he?” 

“Leave Valentino out of this!” Vox roared. 

“Or what?” Alastor sneered over Lucifer’s shoulder. He was still hanging off of him like he owned him. As much as Lucifer hated it…it wasn’t a terrible feeling. “Or you’ll sing a silly little song about me again? Hack into my radio signal? Is that really all you can do – cause me a few technical problems?” 

Vox wasn’t listening to a word he was saying. His eyes were glued to the two of them, taking in the casual way Alastor was touching Lucifer, at the button Alastor had accidentally-on-purpose forgotten to re-button, and the hand Lucifer still had curled around Alastor’s lapel. 

“But you don’t –” he tried again. “I asked you! You said no!” 

“It looks like I found a better offer,” Alastor said. He looked positively demonic as he delivered the blow, his eyes glittering with euphoric glee as he watched Vox sink down from disbelief into a black cloud of depression. As much as Vox annoyed him, Lucifer couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for the man.

But that didn’t stop him from doing what he did next. 

Lucifer looped his hand around Alastor’s neck and pulled him down so they were face to face. Before Alastor could react, he pressed his mouth to his. 

Alastor’s lips were cold. They were as icy and hard as the man himself, but his taste…he was like spice and smoke, like cinnamon and poison and the woods in the summer. He tasted better than all of Heaven and the Earth, and for the first time Lucifer understood why humans got addicted to their silly little drugs. If it felt anything close to this…

Alastor broke the kiss first, his eyes hooded and unreadable as he pulled back. He licked gold from his teeth, and Lucifer realized with a start that he was bleeding. Alastor brought his fingers to his lips and licked the dripping gold off of them slowly, his eyes never once leaving Lucifer’s. 

It was the single most erotic thing he’d ever seen. He felt dizzy, drunk with desire in a way he’d never once felt with Lilith.

“Assholes!” Vox’s sudden exclamation brought them both back to reality. “Don’t eye-fuck each other while I’m still here!”

Snarling, Lucifer whirled around. “Do you mind? We were in the middle of something here.” 

Vox cringed backwards, his hands flying protectively over his face. For a brief second, he looked terrified . Lucifer looked at him strangely, wondering what his reaction was all about, when he saw red horns out of the corner of his eye. 

He’d transformed? 

He glanced at Alastor, who was staring at him with an expression he’d never seen before. If he had to describe it, he would say Alastor looked…proud. 

Alastor pulled Lucifer to his side, so smug it practically rolled off of him in noxious waves. “You heard the man. Or rather, shall I say the king?” Canned laughter roared through the street. Vox flinched at the not-so-subtle reminder of exactly who he was dealing with. “It’s been fun catching up, but we must be off. Lots to do, lots to see!”

Waving merrily at the glitched-out TV, Alastor pushed open the door to Rosie’s shop and ushered Lucifer inside. The second the door closed, Lucifer whirled around, glaring at a wholly unrepentant Alastor.

“You planned that.”

Alastor grinned. “Of course I did.”

“You used me.”

He raised his brow. “My dear, I am a demon . Surely you can’t be too surprised I dabble in deception?” His expression darkened. “That fool interrupted my show. That kind of behavior must be punished. Besides, I daresay you used me a little bit yourself.” 

Lucifer’s cheeks reddened and his mouth watered at the thought of that kiss. That magical, wonderful, positively wicked kiss. 

“Ah, ah!” Alastor wagged his finger at him, as if he was a naughty child and not a fallen angel powerful enough to blast him halfway back to Earth. “There will be no more of that today. You’ve got your payment.”

Lucifer sighed. For a man who hated physical contact, he sure could be a massive tease. He was even worse than Angel Dust. “What was Vox talking about? What did he ask you?” What did you say no to?

“He asked me to join his team. A waste of breath, if you ask me. As if I’d ever stoop so low.”

“Just his team? As in, business partners?”

“Why? Does it bother you, your Majesty?” Alastor teased.

Lucifer thought about the despair on Vox’s face as he took in the possessive way Alastor had grabbed his shoulders. The betrayal in his voice as he’d stuttered but you don’t–! The hurt as he slumped to the ground, the electronic nodes of his brain scrambling to understand that Alastor might be capable of wanting more – and that he just hadn’t wanted Vox . 

Would Alastor do that to him one day? Would he leave him half-broken on the ground as he pranced off with his new rival of the month? 

Lucifer turned away, unable to keep looking at him. “No. It doesn’t bother me at all.” 

Alastor hummed, sing-song. “I appreciate your help in this rather annoying matter. I must say, it’s not so bad having a partner after all.” 

Lucifer stiffened, hardly daring to breathe. “We’re partners?”

"Who knows?" Alastor shrugged. "I do so dislike labels. But this is the first time the idea hasn't made me want to vomit. And the look on Vox's face when he saw you..." His laugh was dark and more than a little insane. He wiped a few gleeful tears from his eyes. "I could get used to that."

Lucifer chuckled along, the possessive beast within him satisfied. For now. "I'm a better offer, huh?"

When Alastor looked at him, the odd expression on his face took his breath away. He took Lucifer's hand and kissed it, his sharp teeth grazing the thin skin there. "Certainly the tastiest I've had in quite some time."

Lucifer's heart thudded so loud in his ears it was all he could hear.

"You have any other rivals you want to piss off?"

[hello-vampire-kitty]

Servamp chapter 130 translation "Chaos"

READ THE CHAPTER HERE

Translation notes

Iduna's lines where she talks about the shoes was a challenge xD Hopefully I managed to convey what she was explaining. Also it's cute that based on the kanji reading, Iduna would say that she "invents", instead of simply saying "made" something.

Nicco displayed a new ability and if there are Italian fans reading this, please let me know whther I got it right or not. From what I read "vivi" is the imperative of the verb "vivere" (to live)? Or does it mean something else? Please let me know!

Regarding the ability's name based on the kanji reading, I believe it's related to The Divine Comedy.

The word poet is mentioned and I thought it could be about Dante Alighieri but what about the six crowns?

The only connection I found like I mentioned, was in The Divine Comedy regarding the word "crown" 冠 which I found on the Japanese wiki page of the literary work, specifically in the translations for the "terraces of Purgatory".

There might be different terms in the Japanese adaptations of the Divine Comedy, but on the wiki the levels/terraces are adapted using 冠 which doesn't mean just crown like the one you wear on your head, there's also the meanings: peak, crown, crest, summit (the top or extreme point of something, usually a mountain or hill).

So, it could be a reference to the 6th terrace of Purgatory which represents the sin of Gluttony. This is how it's adapted in Japanese 第六冠 (6th crown) 暴食者 (gluttonous).

The last note is about a word in the third speech bubble that has two readings but unfortunately I couldn't make out the furigana reading that was made up from 2 kanji because the first one was…"squashed". Seems like it was a complex kanji and the print of those kanji were quite small, I could only make out the 2nd one…

Because I couldn't make out that one kanji, I relied on the word from the other reading which is 空想物 the first two kanji meaning "imaginary", "fantasy" and the last kanji means "object", so it describes Pandora as an illusion, a creature of fancy. Given the meaning of that world, I looked trough the dictionary to see if I can find the word in the furigana reading and I found the following: 観念 概念 凝念 想念

I looked trough words that ended with the kanji that I was able to read and all of the words I listed had similar meanings: concept, notion.

So yeah, that's how I managed to find the meaning of what it says in the furigana.

I hope these notes were helpful!

[kerryweaverlesbian]

Have you ever thought "What if the CW's Supernatural was about Meg Ruby and Ava?" Well. you have now. Since we're all on the same page, read the first two chapters of my Meg Ava Ruby fic, By Any Other Name. To be clear this is like a behind the scenes canon divergence not like, them taking on the roles of team free will. Here is a snippet:

"Your girl Ava, she believe in something?"  Intel never hurts. Besides, she is genuinely curious. What's got Azazel's number one gal barking up another skirt? 

"My girl," Meg's pride is obvious. One of those sins Ruby never really saw the big problem with. Along with gluttony, lust, sloth, envy, disrespect...it just doesn't strike her as all that fair. Then again, she is a demon. When's anything fair? "Ava believes, alright." 

"...anything you tell her?" 

Maybe Meg's just looking to brag about a skilled manipulation. Ruby kinda wants to brag about winding Sam up, but she can't talk too far into the plan. Better for Meg to believe she's a loser, even if it rankles. 

"No," Meg says, drawn out, teasing, then she skips a few steps ahead and spins around on her toes. There's an energy in her Ruby hasn't seen before, not in all their years side by side on the racks. Not that there's much cause for conversation down there. If you're caught slacking you might just end up back under the knife yourself, to be shown how it's done. That's why it's hard to trust a demon. The only thing that unites them is that they're all so fucking scared. 

"Spit it out, then."  "She believes in me."

Ruby laughs again, hysterical, unstoppable, cruel. She clocks the hurt on Meg's face before she shields it again, and that's even funnier. Meg thinks they're the same, and she's right, where it counts. That's how Ruby can gasp out, with perfect, unholy honesty: 

"You? You're nothing!"

Read more on ao3!

[theweeklydiscourse]

Alina has always been hungry for more than what was offered to her in Keramzin

There’s a line in Chapter 17 of Shadow and Bone that if often discussed in Relationship to Malina. A scene that is sometimes interpreted as Mal shaming Alina for her perceived gluttony (or fat shaming) but I like to see it more as a metaphor.

I imagine this line is meant to come off as a lighthearted comment on Alina’s ravenous appetite during their search for the Stag, but it reveals something deeper about Mal’s feelings. The hunger Alina feels is symbolic of her desire for something more, perhaps the community she found at the little palace or the notion of ascending to a level of influence and status. After living her entire life in a state of repression, Alina is finally exposed to everything she had missed for her entire life. She never knew she was starving until she saw the great banquet that lay before her.

Mal understands this, which is why he makes this comment and in a sense he is right. Alina would be easier to satisfy if she was never exposed to the splendor of the Little Palace and Grisha life. Alina had subsisted on scraps of emotional validation for YEARS and suddenly she has friends, a community and a potential lover who encouraged her to embrace her true self so OF COURSE she can no longer be satiated by Mal alone.

Alina’s newfound appetite requires that she remains fed. She is more confident and sure of herself now that she has been able to bloom in an environment that does not ostracize her. Going back to a tenuous dependence on her friend is not something that she could easily bear as she once did.

Mal reacts so aggressively to seeing Alina’s happiness in the Little Palace because he knows it can offer her so much more than he can. He feels inadequate and powerless to stop his oldest friend from walking away from their relationship to join her true flock. The two of them tied their identities to one another and are so afraid of loneliness that they would rather resort to sabotage and repression than taking the leap of faith that might allow them to individualize.

So when Alina takes the first step in that direction, Mal reacts by mocking her and accusing her of being a sellout because he genuinely sees her happiness as a betrayal. He is furious that Alina dares to seek more because he has not yet found himself outside of their codependent relationship.

[obae-me]

Tainted Reflections- CH 16

Start This Story From The Beginning!

Previous Chapter Next Chapter (Coming Soon)

A Yearning For Freedom

Warning: This chapter contains Mentions of Blood, Weaponry, Dolls and Scarecrows, Body Horror, Gruesome and Disturbing Imagery.

As Always, Read Safely.

“It’s getting closer.” The scream that rattled the fearful parts of your soul echoed more east of the house this time, as if it was scanning the miles between the trees. The fabric of the tunic scrunched up nicely underneath your hands, gripping it anxiously. Not only that, but the tendons of your fingers were twitching with anticipation. The house was filled with the warmth and scent of hearth cooking. If you closed your eyes long enough, you could almost imagine being in the kitchen of the House of Lamentation. Leaning over the island while Beel stirred and sampled the pot, knowing that if he had his way, there would be no dinner for the others, but not always having the heart to stop him. It was the simplest things you missed the most.

“It should be far enough,” Beel assured you, although the gravelly tone to his voice suggested ‘far enough’ was still too close for comfort. However, Gluttony didn’t linger on that. Instead, he checked the food over the fire, taking a spoon and gulping down a taste despite the liquid being hot enough to give any human scalding third-degree burns. The flavor had him licking his lips, a small smile on his face. “All done.”

At those words, you stood back up on your feet, approaching the pot as Beel gathered out some wooden bowls and spoons he had pilfered from a nearby cupboard. A steady grip was careful not to let a single drop go to waste. Both of your hands reached out for the bowl, but Beel apologetically shook his head. “It’s pretty hot. Let’s go to the table.” Seems he was determined to keep you safe from everything. One serving in each of his hands, he stepped over to the humble little table a few feet away from the hearth. It was round, chestnut brown, with four chairs around it but only one pair clearly used. Two places were set before he pulled out a chair for you, gesturing you to settle yourself down again. Tears almost pricked your eyes. Thank God for Beel. Not just for taking care of you and even saving you, but for creating moments like these that made this a little more bearable. His brothers were in danger, his twin unconscious in the room upstairs, stuck in a seemingly unsurvivable situation, and yet he still had enough compassion in his heart to do something as simple as take your chair. Others had done less for less.

Beel pushed the seat back towards the table after you sat down, taking the second well-used chair across from you. Both of you waited in silence for a little while, watching the steam rise and vegetables bob up and down in the broth. It almost felt like a crime to have this little breath of peace. You could tell Beel felt the same way. The others should be here… Well, maybe not here, but together. How could you eat knowing that the others were suffering? It was difficult to not let the guilt and the grief chip away at you. What was going on outside right now? From what Beel described, it was nothing good. They were all split up, with practically no communication between them all. While apparently Diavolo had been the one to make the decision, you couldn’t help but wonder if it had been the right choice. In every horror movie, the worst tactic you can employ is to split up. But you were human, and humans relied on strength in numbers. Demons weren’t quite the same. These were the most powerful demons in the realm after all. Even so…you still worried about them. If you thought you had it bad, you couldn’t imagine what Beel was going through. You couldn’t bring yourself to observe the pain etched into his face.

“Wow… I’ve never seen two people so mopey over dinner before.”

The voice caught both of you off guard, freezing you in place while Beel got up so aggressively he almost knocked the table over. You steadied the furniture with your hands and grasped the sides of each bowl to keep the precious hard-awaited prize from spilling all over the cold floor. The heart in your chest paused as you turned your head, not quite trusting your ears alone.

Belphie staggered down the hall, hovering just outside the kitchen’s doorway, one arm clutching his own waist to keep his torso steady as he guided himself along the wall. The tips of his fingers were stained black with his own dried blood. He stopped in place as he spotted his twin, both of them gazing at each other with an unpalatable amount of bittersweetness. Sloth opened his mouth, his voice cracking in a mixture of relief and sorrow. “Beel… No… I—“ His words were cut short as Beel took the last few steps forward to wrap his brother carefully into his arms, avoiding the wound across his back, wary of hurting him or crushing him in excitement. Belphie clung to his twin with trembling fingers.

“Good morning, sleepyhead.” Words choked up in your own throat as you watched the both of them. Tears once again streamed down your cheeks. “I thought…” It seemed silly to suggest such dismal things out-loud now.

The demon of Gluttony loosened his hold on his twin. With a supportive arm, he helped Belphie by taking some of the strain off his feet. As glad as he was to see his twin up and about, it was clear the youngest was still not well. Whiter than a sheet and sweating bullets, Sloth hardly looked conscious. It was difficult to watch. You had never seen him in this much pain before. None of the otherworldly beings you’d befriended had ever been in as critical a condition as this. There were fights you had seen before, moments where you feared for their safety, but you quickly learned that a lot of their brawls were similar to feral cats hissing and clawing at each other till they broke it off to lick their tender wounds. They had gotten themselves into plenty of sticky situations as well, but curses and spells and hexes were one thing… being nearly slaughtered was another.

“We need to get you back to bed,” Beel urged, all too ready to hoist his twin over his shoulder and bring him back upstairs.

With the little amount of strength he had left, Belphie shook his head and tugged on the sleeve of his brother’s jacket. “No, no… I’ve slept enough.”

These were dire times indeed…

“Besides.” Sloth stopped to refill his shaky lungs, pausing in just the proper time for another scream to toll through the world. “Can’t rest with all that racket.” A joke in nature but a truth in tone. None of you had too much time to linger longer. Belphegor urged his brother to lead him towards you, where then two limp arms draped themselves over your shoulders. There were no words exchanged. Nothing about what had happened, about how you broke his wishes and came running back to him, about how both of you nearly got killed for each other in a rather ridiculous and tragic Shakesperian way. Unspoken apologies and grateful remarks were exchanged through the gentle way both of you held each other close. His hand went to the back of your head, his fingers nearly gripping your hair, his cold cheek pressed against your own. Then he took a step back, probably before he exerted the last of energy shedding any unnecessary tears. A little sniffle came from his nose before he gestured towards the both of you to help lead him towards the table. He moaned with every uneasy footfall, catching his breath as he sat down, leaning forward to keep his back from touching anything.

Beel slid his bowl over to his brother before rushing around the kitchen to get himself another portion.

“Did…” Belphie spoke so softly, his twin almost couldn’t hear. “Did Ikito… hurt you?” It wasn’t quite like the youngest troublesome brother to have a look of pure fear on his face, but it was there, plain to see, a fire his chest.

No response. Belphie bit his lip. Gluttony got a new serving for himself before sitting by his twin. “I didn’t really get hurt, no… just…” After a long period stuttering, Beel explained in brief words how he had been tricked. How he left Levi and Barbatos in the Tomb, and how he abandoned Simeon and Luke to chase after him and after you. Ikito had made some sort of deal with the other two Old Council members. A deal to ensure he could toy with you all.

Sloth was furious, but despite his newfound rage, his expression calmed just a little. It was almost as if you could see him tucking away his murderous intent, careful of the way he was acting around Beel. But in every word he spoke, there was a faint growl stirring in the base of his throat. He was the first one to pick up his spoon, taking some of the stew and eating it. “I’m surprised you found food here,” he mentioned, eying you and and his brother as he waited for the both of you to follow suit and satisfy your starvation.

“I found a cellar under the house…” You blew on the spoonful before letting it enter your mouth. Every nerve in your body was flooded with a pleasant warmth. As you swallowed, you could feel the temperature make it’s way down into your body, settling into your stomach. In the back of your mind you knew it was essentially a bowl of random vegetables and herbs that had just cooked in a bath for the last thirty minutes. However, that didn’t stop it from tasting like the best blessed meal you had ever had the fortune of consuming. Each mouthful was practically medicinal, your aches and pains somewhat alleviated. The stitches in your sides and the pressure behind your eyes ebbed away. It wasn’t until you had already scarfed down half of it that you began to pace yourself. “Food… and other things.”

There was a slight raise to Belphie’s eyebrow. “Singrid’s things?” His intuition left you speechless for only a moment before you nodded. The demon didn’t seem surprised, but thankfully he didn’t seem overtly concerned either. “Please tell me you found more than just cabbages and a wardrobe straight from a costume shop.”

Right. You’d nearly forgotten that you appeared as if you freshly stepped out of one of Levi’s fantasy larp sessions. “I found plenty down there,” you answered, feeling once again excited to share this news, speaking between mouthfuls of soup. “Weapons and armor and scrolls. Stuff we could use to help us—“

“Stuff that could kill us…” Out of everyone, you didn’t expect Beel to sound the most pessimistic.

Belphie slightly turned his head, giving his twin a faint encouraging smile, taking on the sunshine role for a moment. “Something to check. After all, we need as much help as we can get. And we need to be prepared. We have to leave soon.”

Leave soon. Those two words were hard enough to swallow to make you put your spoon down. Last time you tried to leave, it didn’t go so well. Clearly. You could almost hear the gut-twisting sound of Ikito’s laughter. Deceit was relying on Belphie’s Sloth and your ‘frail’ humanity to create a self-inflicted prison. It nearly worked. You didn’t want to leave again. Beel didn’t want to make a choice again.

But Ikito didn’t account for the fact that Belphegor didn’t want to be trapped again.

More than anything, you knew that Sloth wanted freedom. Even if it went against his sin, he’d fight tooth and nail for it, go further than any of his brothers for it, kill for it. “So eat as much as you can,” Belphie announced, “and then we’re getting out of here.”

Perfect placed pedestals all in a row. Inside a box where none seem to go. While the colors do shine and the lights seem to glow. There is no life found in this house full of woe.

The glass pressed against his palm. How surprisingly cruel the clear prison was. If he’d just been kept in a cell or a room… But no. He was forced to watch everything unobscured before him. The room was vast with a cleanly laid floor and a lavish chandelier hanging overhead. The light-piece was practically dripping with jewels, and while they should have glimmered, only plain white light cast over everything. The contrasting mood matched everything else in this place. The details themselves were ornate in every sense. Silver outlined the base molding, the ceiling painted to depict several demons in their peak form. It could’ve been a scene cut out from one of his famous stories. A regal realm quite on par with the Demon Lord’s Castle. Yet, it all felt off. Wrong.

A music box ticks with a click and a chime. The melody sings as the dolls dance in line. An elegant scene that appears well and fine. But there comes a warning with this little rhyme.

The ballroom was flooded with several people, all waltzing to a beguiling but morose tune. Each of them were covered in some of the finest outfits Simeon had ever had the misfortune of seeing. Handcrafted and hand-tailored to match each doll exquisitely. Horns were polished, scales were shined, feathers preened. It was breathtaking. But for all the wrong reasons. Each doll was in perfect unison with the other. The steps with each other were so in sync, the footfalls echoed as one single unit. They repeated their sweeping motions over and over and over again, and nothing changed. It was difficult to tell if they’d been at this for minutes or hours. Not a hair out of place, not a toe out of line, not a single twirl off beat. There were others not participating in the procession as well, standing off to the side, lining the walls in neutral positions. Some held objects of seemingly random import. Food, drinks, books, different outfits, jewelry, brushes, ribbons, practically whatever Simeon could imagine being needed at a moment’s notice. Others simply stood there, motionless. They hardly breathed. They never blinked. Life-sized puppets, all being pulled along by one master.

The curtains, while lovely, are rigid and thick. No cushions are soft, just tough as a brick. Carefully crafted right down to the wick. Every beautiful thing is a terrible trick.

Sterile. That seemed the proper word for it. Actively made to keep a plague out. And in this case, life itself was a disease. Even as much as they wanted to be, Demons and Angels were still flawed. Just as much as humans. This place was as close to perfection as it could get— well depending on one’s own definition of the word. For Simeon, this was not some immaculate utopia. It was an artificial nightmare created by a harsh man with a ideal that could never truly be sated. The demon in question sat by the angel’s side, observing the dolls dance. Even though this was what he had crafted, he hardly look amused. There wasn’t even any indication that he was mildly entertained. More like he was testing to make sure nothing was wrong, and only the flawlessness of the costumes and performance kept him content.

Pathways of marble are latticed with gold. Halls filled with artwork to never be sold. But the curator harbors no love for the cold. Nor the toys he created, or so I’ve been told.

The demon snapped. The music stopped. The dolls were perfectly frozen still. The demon stood from his seat, walking down to the party in silent even steps. He approached one of the puppets and looked it over, grasping its chin and inspecting the contours of its face. From here in his terrarium, Simeon saw nothing wrong. The doll was practically gleaming, horns decorated with jewels that complimented their complexion. They were picturesque in every feature. The puppet-master glared, the first expression Simeon had seen from the man so far. A hand was waved and the doll pulled from it’s dance partner. Two other dolls stepped from their idle spots against the wall. The empty spaces were quickly filled in as every other marionette shifted to their right in tandem. One of the models grabbed the defected one by the back of the head, pulling it along the ground by its hair. The second took up the dance position, sliding into exactly the same pose as the other one had been. The toy keeper stepped back to his seat and settled in without so much as saying a word. The very second he sat back down, the reception continued.

Simeon watched as the discarded doll got dragged away. The double doors to the ballroom opened, and just before they closed, the angel got a glimpse of the puppet staring right at him.

Fear. Pure anguishing fear flickered in those dazzling eyes before the thing was gone.

Simeon could hardly swallow, as if his throat was already stuffed with cotton.

Write. Keep writing. The anger. The frustration. The terror. Channel it. Compose yourself. Take the bitter details and throw them in a stanza. Let the heart beat to the cadence and flow. Keep the brain working. Tune the soul steady. Now is not the time to lose against the war of despair. Continue thinking. Don’t get lost in the darkness. Miracles and blessings can be found wherever you look. Even in a place like this… There will be a way out… Even if he himself can’t, if Luke…

One of the only things keeping him from razing this dollhouse down into the ashes of retribution was the fledgling. This demon was somehow connected to all these…it felt wrong to call them toys, but in this state they were no longer people. Victims. If Simeon did anything to tick him off… Luke had to be somewhere here. He must be so frightened. He must be waiting for Simeon to save him. He had to do something. But he couldn’t risk… Simeon would protect him at any cost. Suppressing the intense emotions was too overwhelming, the angel felt faint, vision blurred from the wrath of a Celestial guardian. He needed to calm himself.

Plucked from their lives and adorned in their best. They waltz flawlessly as to welcome their guest. Stiff faces exhibit no signs of protest. For they no longer hold a real heart in their chest.

In the midst of the dancing, the demon waved up a few of his controlled. Already knowing what he desired, they each came up with several different ensembles. Suit-coats, dresses, waistcoats, corsets, scarves, coats, cloaks, outfits of all kinds. He scanned them over, pointing at two and shooing the others away with a dismissive hand. The clothes were brought closer to him where he ran smooth palms over them. His eyes kept glancing back to Simeon, scanning him over, analyzing every corner of his body as he was forced to stand in this little display.

“That one will be perfect for it.” Words were finally spoken, as the demon decided on the white and blue colored set, gold embroidery and opaque silken ribbons run throughout. Where fabric was lacking, strings of pearls were used instead. The demon stood back on his feet, taking the outfit in his hands and pressing it against the glass to envision what the angel would look like in it. “Yes. I’ve been saving this one for quite some time. Fitting I get to use it for the first angel in my collection.”

More than anything, even the prospect of becoming a doll himself, the word ‘first’ churned his stomach. “You’ll never lay a single hand on another Celestial being again,” Simeon hissed softly, somehow managing to keep his voice steady.

The demon turned his head, gracing the angel with a response for once. And while the stiff and idyllic sculpted features of his face had long forgotten the motion of expression, there was a clear and chilling hue of amusement in those alluring rouge irises. “You and the little runt deserve just a bit more credit than that. I might be a collector, but do you really think I’d bother myself with the likes of both of you if not for good reason?” The demon handed the outfit back to the doll who brought it, circling the glass dome with a single trailing finger. “I have to say, for the first time in eons, I find myself…almost excited. I’ve never worked with Celestial skin before. I doubt just one will be enough to quell my curiosities.” The demon stood before Simeon, hand trailing down the curve of the prison as if he was caressing Simeon’s face. “Once your realm figures out what’s happened, I can be assured that several others will... scurry down here hoping to vindicate you, or whatever it is you angels care about.” His hand dropped dully back to his side as he turned, cutting through the dolls and dismissing the dance entirely. "Beleth can have their war, just so long as I get more toys to work with.”

Simeon’s nostrils flared as a cruel and crooked smile curled across his face. “I swear by the blood of my Holy Father, if you touch one hair off of Luke’s head, I will—“ Simeon stopped himself short, a cold chill rushing through his veins as he noted the snap of every doll’s head turning to look at him.

The demon went back to ignoring the caged angel, waving at all his puppets to disperse. A few of them came over to Simeon’s spot and stood still at his sides. “We have work to do. Once it's prepped, send it to the craft room. I want it ready within the hour.” Most of the dolls followed him out the door while others moved about the room on their own tasks. Simeon’s prison rumbled, sending him staggering a moment while the mannequins surrounding him picked up the dome from the flattened bottom, remaining mostly bent over as they all began walking in an unnatural scuttling position.

The angel clenched his jaw, holding his breath and keeping his eyes trained forward.

Less than an hour. He had less than an hour to escape from here.

To those far across the land and the sea. If all you remember is this rhythmic plea. Do what you must to stay humble and free Of Alastor, Doll-maker of Vanity.

A loud and determined shout left your mouth as you backed out of the cellar. You dragged a dual-bladed battle axe out into the snow, giving it another tug. The heel of your boot snagged on a patch of ice. The last fragment of air left your lungs as you slipped backwards, expecting the back of your head to hit the snow, but instead meeting a large hand. “I told you to be careful.”

After you straightened yourself, you worked on getting your breathing proper. “I know…just…heavy…” You always knew authentic weapons like these were weightier than they appeared. You recalled one pleasant memory where Simeon spent half a day teaching you proper fencing techniques. Your arms and wrist were so sore the next day, you could hardly lift a pen much less a sword. And those had been wooden.

Almost fully buried in the snow now, Beel approached the axe carefully, jostling Belphie a little to better carry his twin over his back. There was a groan from Sloth but not much else. He used one arm to steady Belphie against his body as he bent over. Wary fingers approached the thing, worried that his skin would perhaps burst into flames as soon as he touched it. A single fingertip tapped the wooden throat before retracting. No hissing, no flailing, no fire. Beel eventually deemed the thing safe and scooped the weapon up easily with his free hand. He turned the handle in his palm, getting the feel of it before nodding. “This’ll work.”

“It better,” Belphie huffed, looking at you curiously as you held out the hilt of another weapon to him. It was the matching dagger to the one you’d held with you ever since you’d been abandoned in this terrible place. You felt more at ease with it in his hands. “Thanks…” The demon muttered softly, whimpered with a wheeze as he shifted a bit to find somewhere on his person to tuck it, careful not to accidentally stab his brother as he went back to wrapping his arms around his twin's neck.

Sloth's eyes were shutting and opening at random intervals, clearly still struggling to remain alert. Right after dinner, the both of them had gone up to re-wrap his wounds while you ventured back down into the cellar. You’d scooped up anything you felt would be useful and tucked it into a leather satchel, throwing it over your shoulder. Some sorcerer spell scrolls, vials, a matchbox, some dried preserves, the magic mirror shard you still kept, and other bits and bobs. You’d even lugged out a light crossbow with a small quiver of bolts. You weren’t quite sure how to use it, but one of these two could teach you. Out of everything that had been in there, this seemed the best for you. Easiest to carry, long range, and while your aim might not be impeccable, something was better than nothing.

After all, you needed to get out of here as quickly as possible. Belphie wasn’t looking great…not in any sense of the word, but he looked one half-step better than having both feet in the grave. You needed to get out of here so he could get help… or else who knows how long he’d last?… No you couldn’t think about that.

“So,” Beel started, nervously licking his lips as his head swiveled to observe the trees behind him, the trees to the left of him, and the trees right in front of him. “Where do we…”

“Wait.” Belphie spoke as he kept his eyes closed, seeming as if he was asleep but tuning into the surroundings closely. “Let’s hear where it is first.”

It was a rather unnerving thing, waiting to listen to the scream. Every second the silence drifted on, the more your anxiousness rose. Images of it popping up out of nowhere flashed through your head. With what you had seen of it, it wasn’t exactly a sneaky creature, but still… Not knowing where it was was the worst part. Almost like keeping your head above the water, unaware of the monsters that might be lurking just below your feet. Ready to brush up against your toes and— The sensation sent a shiver down your spine and an itchy feeling through your bones. You pulled your cloak tighter around you.

After a few more minutes, the horrid sound of the cry sounded off south of where you stood, approaching the front side of the house. It was even closer. Almost close enough to discern the faint sound of gnashing teeth. You hoped that was just your imagination. Beel and Belphie immediately paled, the stronger of the two turning on his feet and heading in the opposite direction.

You stood in place.

It took a second before they both noticed, Belphie flicking his tail in clear painful irritation. “What? What is it?” The tone to his words were stern, not concerned, like he was able to hear your thoughts before you expressed them.

“I…um…” How would you word this without sounding like a complete idiot with a fully written will? “Are we sure we want to go that way?” You asked, gesturing with a gloved hand to the thick and never-ending grove of trees branching away from the monster.

“Uh, I’m sorry, I don’t know if I heard you correctly,” Belphie scoffed sardonically. It was pleasing to know that no matter how close his tango to death was, he’d still manage to find the strength to be sarcastic. “I’m not understanding your question. Did you want to head towards the monster? The monster that nearly got us both killed? Do you want to cross paths with that thing again?”

“Of course I don’t want to! It nearly—“ The words caught in your throat, a sharp crack of your voice forcing you to cough a bit. You never wanted to see that thing again. Not in your life, not in your minds eye, not even in your dreams. But… As your head raised up to meet the demon’s gaze, you were stunned to find he was looking away from you. Stubbornly so, not observing anything in particular, but purposefully turning his head to avoid your eyes. There was an unspoken exchange between you two, one that Beel appeared a bit hurt to be left out of.

Gluttony raised his eyebrow at you. “What?”

Now that you were put on the spot, you started second-guessing yourself. The thought that had come to your mind must’ve simply been ridiculous. It was dangerous to assume anything in this place. Pressing your lips tightly together, you conceded without saying anything else. You shook your head and took a step forward, telling both demons to forget about it. Beel softly called out your name before following you, hardly getting in a few steps before Belphie sighed heavily.

“You think there’s something there, don’t you?”

Once again, the clever seventh-born hit the nail right on the head. If you had been paying attention to the Sin Eater’s calls properly, even in it’s search for you and Belphie, it never seemed to round the back of the house. Of course, that could be totally coincidental. Who knew how confused it was or where this house was placed in the middle of everything? Maybe there were more horrific things meant to be found in every corner of this realm, but you’d lived in the House of Lamentation for quite some time now. A home where Greed lived. A home connected to a crypt that was the den for a hellhound. The things that were the most sought after were often the most protected. “I… can’t be certain.” It was true, you had no idea if your intuition was divine guidance or simply misplaced assumptions. “But it…I mean it would make sense, wouldn’t it? If there’s only one way out, it would be hidden and guarded.”

Belphegor clenched his teeth, his tail curling. His eyes held the weight of someone who had seen too much. “It’s a Sin Eater. It doesn’t guard, it destroys. It’s sole purpose is to hunt down demons. So if it followed that idiot who just so happened to run straight out the front door, of course it’s going to be there!” The demon graciously glanced over the fact that you both had done the same thing and nearly paid the ultimate price for it. He was right. But you also felt like you were right. “We’re not risking our lives on the slim chance that a human managed to keep a Celestial weapon confined to a certain territory.” A mental blow struck your chest. The way he phrased that sounded like how the bothers had referred to your kind when you first came to the Devildom, how many demons still said it, how Ikito would say it. Belphie realized his mistake after you cast your glance away, his mouth slightly open, his hand gripping the cloth over Beel’s shoulder.

If it weren’t so cold, you could see Beel nearly sweating, torn between how to best help the both of you. “Hey…” Gluttony addressed both of you with an earnest voice. Without saying it in so many words, you could tell he was expecting the both of you to take it easy. “Why don’t we head this way for now? If Belphie’s right, the Sin Eater will leave that area to follow us. We can kite around it and check over there if we don’t find anything, okay?” That compromise sent Belphie into a surrendering silence. Arguing against such sound logic would be pointless, besides, it was hard to deny Beel outright.

“Alright,” you nodded, wary, but feeling a bit better with both demons at your side now, slightly more prepared for the dangers you might face.

With Beel carrying Belphie only two steps in front of you, he led the way into the grove. As the shadows of trees blanketed you all in darkness, another wail from the Sin Eater rang from behind you. It felt a little easier to breathe knowing that the thing would steadily be drifting farther from you, but it would be foolish to lower your guard in this unknown.

You all continued to walk for what felt like another eternity. Even with your new clothes, the tips of your toes still tingled with an uncomfortable numbness, the ends of your ears threatening to chip off. Belphie appeared to fall back asleep along the way, no signs of attention in his body language, his tail brushing against the ground, snow matting in the fur at the end. At seeing this, you bit the inside of your cheek and silently wished Sloth a rejuvenating rest.

More time passed. Against your better judgment, you let your mind wander for a moment, legs on autopilot, staring at the ground with blank eyes as you shuffled through the snow. Just as you were about to let the darker thoughts sink back in, you felt your face run into Beel’s body. Shaking your head, you took a step back, wondering why he’d just suddenly stopped in his tracks. But before you audibly asked, your question was asked for you.

Several ornaments were hung from the branches of the trees. And not the pleasing and colorful kind that you’d see hung for the holidays. The kinds built from straw and twigs, bent into different shapes and runes and ritualistic depictions. The kind that might as well have been a blinking neon sign to ‘not go any further’. A bit further in the distance, obscured by the trees, was an arch, each stone face painted in a black symbol you couldn’t discern the origins of. The atmosphere was anything but welcoming.

“So much for this way,” you sighed, determined not to go any further.

With Belphie asleep, Beel seemed to agree. “Maybe we should try left.” The two of you turned at the same time.

A jolt ran throughout your body as you grabbed Beel’s sleeve, one hand going to the hilt of your dagger. Even though you had kept your head down for a while, you could’ve sworn that there were nothing but trees out here earlier. But now, all the sudden, several scarecrows sat in the empty spaces between the trees. Rotted straw slipped from torn open pant legs, splotches of stains covered their stuffed potato sack heads, X’s stitched over where eyes would’ve been. They lined each side of you, and when you tilted your head, you noticed they had somehow cropped up behind you as well. “Um, Beel… those weren’t there before… were they?”

The demon of Gluttony shook at Belphie a little, trying to wake him up, but all his twin did was moan softly, unable to open his eyes quite yet. Beel’s other hand gripped his new weapon tightly, his knuckles turning white. “No. They weren’t.”

Your tongue suddenly felt dry as you continued to look at all of them. Was it just you, or were they getting closer? “Do we go past them, or—“ An intense shuffling sound filled your ears as your body was shoved, Beel guiding you to run but with no hands left to grab you. He kept his pace behind you, holding Belphie against his chest now, acting as your shield as much as he could. He swung at one of the things, a high-pitched squealing making you flinch. Nearly tripping, refusing to look, ears ringing with the strange chittering noise, you sprinted as fast as humanly possible forwards. Forced to funnel through the arch, you and the twins stumbled between the stones, feeling a shift in the environment. The gasping warbling stopped, and as you finally found the courage to glance over your shoulder, you noticed that all the scarecrows were gone. Vanished.

Beel took a step closer to you to ensure you were alright while you both slowed to a halt. The malicious presence was gone, but something told you they would return if you were to go back. That was even if you could go back. You had the faint sensation that some sort of door had locked behind you.

“I wonder what kind of mess we’re into now…”

Author's Note: Thank you all for being so patient with me and always taking the time to read what I put out there!

Also, don't ask me why the last two or three letters of each segment of poem in Simeon's section are formatted weird, I tried so hard to fix it, but it literally would not work. If I went through and only highlighted those letters to italicize them, after I saved, it would shift to the letters behind them and force them to be normal. So weird! So frustrating, but Tumblr just hates me sometimes.

[femmeslash]

heathcliff and ishmael share one base skill, which is wrath, but i think it's worth examining the two they don't, because those are foils too. (CANTO VI SPOILERS)

so for those unaware, the inferno doesn't actually start getting into the circles of hell until canto iv, which covers limbo. canto v is the lust circle, and canto vi is gluttony. Interesting.

early on in canto v, ishmael has a massive envy moment: she's absolutely furious that her coworkers are comforting pilot about his team possibly being killed. ishmael believed, truly, that she was the only survivor of the pequod's wreck besides ahab. no one was there to comfort her when she needed it. later in the chapter, also, it's revealed that she wanted to be like ahab, and really looked up to ahab at first. however mild and aspirational it was, it's still envy. wanting what someone else has.

heathcliff, on the other hand, has burnt out all his rage and is fully in gloom mode. he has an unremovable sanity debuff called "bereavement" (hey! another foil to ishmael's earlier sanity debuff, but his doesn't even make him stronger - he's just exhausted). i think we're finally going to see him confront the depths of his grief and process what the years of abuse did to him.

what i'd really like to see, and this is something i think is entirely possible, is him fully breaking down and just crying. just getting it all out. and if this does happen, i fully believe ishmael will be the one to ground him, just like he did for her when he pulled her out of the pallid membrane. and why is this, you may be asking?

the blubbering toad log.

if this turns out to be real i'll start screaming louder than don quixote

[bubuslutty]

Day 4: baked salmon

this is part 4, all parts

pairing: demon/angel!fem reader x 141

word count: 2.3k

tags: no use of y/n, 3rd person pov, proofread by me so sorry for any mistakes

warnings: none

summary: Angel accidently falls asleep under the sun and gets saved by a knight in shining armor, or an angel, it's the same thing in her head, both glowing and glorious. + imagine getting cockblocked by potatoes 🧍‍♀️

a/n: I know the chapters are called day 2, day 3, ect but it doesn't necessarily mean they happen one right after the other, it's just days of her interacting with the boys.

Two days in the office as a sex therapist wasn't too bad. Angel actually likes working with clients because she gets to see humans and how they react to their environment and relationships, with others and themselves. Of course, she had to do a bit of homework and study to be qualified, but it’s nothing a couple of days of intense learning and superhuman intelligence couldn’t fix. All she had was to tap into her powers and suddenly, she knew everything she had to know.

How convenient it was to be an angel, or a demon in her case.

Angel’s usual wish assignments are more often than not related to earthly desires such as money, fame and lust, maybe love too, but she always had to realise wishes that were considered a sin in many religions. Greed, gluttony, lust. She has worked with all of them. And whether those wishes were good or evil, it doesn’t matter to her, because fate takes care of that, her job is to realise the wish and nothing else.

By human standards, she would definitely be considered a demon, a succubus even, especially now.

“I should get a tattoo…” Angel mumbled, lounging on her messy bed, laptop on her stomach, looking at images of succubus womb tattoos. Kuromi meowed, removing the woman’s attention from her laptop’s screen.

“Hm?” Angel hummed, looking at her cat, standing by her bedroom door. Kuromi meowed again, making Angel gasp, “Yes! You’re so right!”

The woman immediately closed her laptop and ran to her phone, checking the weather. It looked like today was going to be hot and nice, even though it was cold as shit the day before.

That’s typical British weather for you.

“You’re so smart, Kuromi.” Angel said and sent a flying kiss to the cat, who lifted her tail and walked out, completely unbothered. Angel opened one of her drawers that had multiple bikinis and swimsuits. She started getting naked on the spot, excited to change and go downstairs to sunbathe in her garden. When she changed into one of her bikini sets, she dug for one of her hats and got a random green bucket hat for the sun, shades and a bottle of suncream.

If there’s one thing she’ll never forget while being in this realm, is that the sun is unforgiving and harsh, unless you want to look like a baked salmon or get skin cancer, you have to protect yourself.

Angel hummed while walking down her stairs, going straight for the fridge and getting herself a small water bottle and a Coke in case she got thirsty, and then a random magazine that was left on her counter, a Bluetooth speaker and a yoga mat.

She happily started getting settled in the middle of her garden, where there was no shade. Angel could hear some of her neighbours hanging out in their gardens too, low music, people chatting, children giggling and dogs barking and elderly people complaining about the noise. She sat on her yoga mat and started rubbing sun cream all over her skin, making sure to not miss a spot, and struggled to get her back but ended up giving up, “I’ll do it later when I turn around…” She grumbled.

After setting up her music and lowering the volume, she laid down on her back, sunglasses and bucket hat on. Angel took a deep breath, loving the heat of the sun and closed her eyes.

“I’ll do it later when I turn around…” She, in fact, did not turn around.

Angel ended up falling asleep with her mouth open, right under the sun, in the process of baking. However, earlier, the sky was not the only thing that witnessed her stupidity in real-time.

Her very sexy neighbours all decided to hang out outside, to enjoy the sun like normal people when they saw her asleep in the middle of her garden. John came out in shorts and sandals, wearing his very stylish bucket hat and sunglasses, a book in hand when he saw her. Of course, he saw her, they literally had the shittiest, lowest fence ever, and it practically gave no one much privacy. But it’s not like they're going to complain when they get to see her looking like that.

“Steaming Jesus…” Johnny said, lowering his sunglasses so he can get a better look.

“What sort of shitty cliché film are we in?” Gaz laughed in disbelief. Not only did they have a nice house (minus the shitty garden fence), but a very hot, very friendly, smart and funny neighbour.

“Are you complaining?” Soap asked the man.

“Me? Hell no, that’s one beautiful woman.” Gaz said with a nod.

“Stop staring, you creeps.” Ghost came up from behind them and grabbed both of their necks, lowering their heads. Both Soap and Gaz whined at their superior, turning around and sitting in their garden lounge chairs, doing their own thing.

John already had his nose buried in his book while Ghost closed his eyes and covered his face with a cap. Gaz was playing music through a Bluetooth speaker and was knitting at the same time, humming to the lyrics of whatever song was playing, and Soap was doodling in a sketchbook, bopping his head to Gaz’s music.

20 minutes passed peacefully until John closed his book and checked his watch. His change in demeanour was immediately noticed by his men, even Ghost lifted the cap and peeked at his captain with one eye. “It’s been 20 minutes and she hasn’t moved an inch, how long has she been sleeping there for?” He said with a frown.

“That woman is literally going to bake under the sun,” Gaz said, looking at Soap.

“She will if we dinnae wake ‘er up.” Soap agreed.

“Why do you even care?” Ghost asked, surprising Price.

“Because we’re not shite neighbours, Simon.” Soap said in that annoying voice he thinks drives Ghost up the wall, but Ghost secretly thinks it’s cute.

“Yeah, don’t be a dickhead, Simon,” Gaz said, batting his eyelashes at the soldier, hiding his annoying grin behind the scarf he was knitting.

“Enough, go wake her up, Gaz.” John said, and Gaz placed his unfinished scarf in his chair and walked up to the fence, and cleared his throat loudly.

Angel didn’t move an inch and he turned around, to look at the others.

“Call ‘er name!” Soap whispered.

“Why are you whispering?” Ghost side-eyed Soap, who absolutely ignored him.

“Angel, wake up, please?” Gaz tried again, squinting his eyes to try to see if her chest was moving up and down. Call him paranoid but she wasn’t moving, and he couldn’t for the life of him see if she was breathing or not from his position.

Gaz immediately jumped over the fence and rushed to her side and placed two fingers on her pulse, at the side of her neck. Soap, Ghost and Price were all up now, standing next to the fence, and all sighed in relief when Gaz turned around and gave them a thumbs-up.

Gaz scanned her lax face and decided to lift her head with one hand and used the other to gently tap one of her cheeks, “Angel, wake up.”

Angel woke up with a gasp as if she was holding her breath the whole time, maybe she was, who knows, her body can do freaky stuff when it forgets it's wearing the skin of a human. When she opened her eyes, Angel was so confused, was she in heaven?? Because what the shit, this is a real angel right there.

“What time is it?” She groggily said, her hand going up by itself to cup Gaz’s cheek.

“Half past one. You were knocked out and we got worried you’d bake under the sun.” Gaz said with a chuckle, and reality finally hit her. Angel abruptly sat up and Gaz grabbed both of her shoulders, “Hey, slow down.”

“Water, Gaz.” Price reminded the man and Gaz immediately grabbed the now warm water bottle next to her, unscrewed the cap and poured a bit in his palm and patted her hot cheeks.

“Oh, that feels good.” Angel moaned, not realising how hot she truly was.

“That was dangerous, you know that right? Sleeping under the sun with no shade.” Gaz said, wiping his wet hand on his naked chest.

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep…” Angel sheepishly said, glancing at the other three men looking at her.

“I’m sorry for worrying you, and thank you for waking me up, Gaz.” Angel said, placing a hand on his, which was on her yoga mat, next to her thigh. Gaz’s eyes widened, looking at her hand on his and looked back up again. She was smiling at him, and his heartbeat sped up. Gaz could feel his guys looking at him, at them, but he couldn’t look away from her eyes and lips. Especially her lips.

“You don’t, uh” he choked out then cleared his throat, “You don’t have to apologise…”

“Okay.” Angel whispered, those big beautiful eyes staring at him like he was the sun and the sky, and Gaz felt like he was going to fucking die.

“Who fancies a barbeque? I feel like grilling, today.” Price spoke, breaking the spell. Gaz retrieved his hand and stood up, stretching his arms behind his head, trying to hide his flustered state.

“Oh yeah!” Soap grinned.

“That sounds really nice, enjoy your barbeque, guys.” Angel said, collecting her phone and Bluetooth to get inside, she had enough sun for today. Maybe she’ll watch a show on her laptop, or read a book.

“Where are you going?” Price frowned, stopping her in her tracks, all of her stuff clutched in her arms.

“What?”

“You’re invited, Angel.” Price said.

“Am I?”

“Of course, lass! What type of neighbours would we be if we didnae invite our favourite neighbour?” Soap said with a huge grin.

“Soap, I’m the only neighbour you’ve spoken to since moving in.” Angel deadpanned and Soap shrugged with his arms crossed, the dog tags glinting over his hairy chest under the sun.

“I’ll go get the grill ready.” Ghost said, walking towards their shed.

“Hi, Ghost!” Angel quickly greeted him.

“Hi, Angel.” He replied, without looking back.

Gaz slowly walked up to the fence, “I’ll go prep the meat.” he mumbled and jumped over, glad to escape her hypnotising eyes and lips.

“Wait, I don’t know what to bring!” Angel’s smile fell when she realised she has never been invited to a barbeque before and has no idea what to bring, she has seen humans having barbeques but she doesn’t know what they would like her to bring.

“You don’t have to bring anything, honey.” Angel was now right in front of her fence, knees touching the scratchy wood and watching Price move the chairs around to make space for the grill.

“Uhm, Soap! Please come over and get stuff you guys don’t have.” Angel quickly said and grabbed for the man’s arm as if he’d run away. She really didn’t want to be rude and not bring anything to the barbeque, and she knows that Soap loves food and knows so much more about cooking than she does.

This is absolutely pathetic for someone with her powers, but she never claimed to be perfect, has she?

And how could Soap ever say no to that face?

“Of course, hun.” Soap grinned and jumped over the fence, taking the water bottle and unopened can of Coke away from her. “And these are going in the trash.” He said, walking inside her house and straight to the kitchen as if he always lived there.

.

.

.

“For how long are they supposed to boil?” Angel asked, frowning down at a pot with boiling water and whole potatoes.

“Leave the potatoes alone and come chop the chives.” Soap said, glancing up at the woman with amusement. Angel was still wearing her bikini and her cute green bucket hat, standing there in the kitchen with him.

Angel sighed and stood next to Johnny, grabbing the knife and starting to chop the chives. Soap watched the woman try to chop the chives and get frustrated that it was hard even though the chives were thin and small. Soap had to admit, she might be PhD smart and hot as fuck but she was actually useless with a knife.

Soap sighs, standing behind her and grabbing the knife away from her hand. “Watch, that’s how you do it.” He said and she nodded, watching him hold the chives with one hand and chop them with the other with ease. “See? Easy peasy, now try again.”

Angel grabbed the knife and tried again, and she was instantly better, a bit slow but better than her mediocre previous tries. “How long does potato salad take to make?” Angel looked over her shoulder and asked, looking at Soap, who was still standing behind her.

“Like half an hour? The only long parts are boiling the potatoes and chilling the salad.” Soap said, making her nod and turn back to chopping her chives.

“Do you have someone, lass?” Soap suddenly asked, making her look up from her chives and stare at the cupboard in front of her.

“Am I dating someone?” She repeated.

“Aye.”

Angel noticed the change in Soap’s usual friendly and teasing tone, and placed her knife down on the chopping board, and slowly turned around.

“No, why?” Angel raised a brow and Soap kept looking at her with an unreadable expression.

“Just got a lad wondering.” He shrugged, crossing his arms over his glorious naked and tan chest.

“Just a lad wondering…” Angel hummed, touching his dog tags with one hand, “Are you dating someone?”

“No, why?” Soap slowly grinned and took a step forward.

“Just got a lass wondering.” Angel grinned back, pulling him forward by his dog tags.

A loud hiss startled the two of them and Angel panicked, “The potatoes!”

tag list (pls ask to be added or removed): @obiwankenobis-lap @goapgrim @smalldemonlover @loveyhoneydovey @cutiecusp @pinkwigonmytv @mandythemint @itsberrydreemurstuff @tapioca-marzipan @fruitymoonbeams-blog @poohkie90 @chaoticevilbakugo @anubis-reed @thefairybird @skytacvia @marytvirgin @cynicalmnm @maechanexe @t0jis-worm @1800imgay @4ndjelij4 @multitargaryen @lilpothoscuttings @mysticalpandabear

[silverinkbottle]

Chapter 3: Shopping Around

A/N: Delayed chapter, but here it's here! We get a glimpse of Reader's Past, Alastor's introduction and Vox's unwelcome arrival.

Word Count:4.8K

Chapter Two <- Previous Chapter

Darkness. A muted scream in the void, curling pressure around your thighs as if something was trying to drag you deeper into the black. You awoke with a sputtering cough as you jolted upward in the cozy bed. Unconsciously loosening your fingers from around your throat as you took another ragged breath. Dreams, once little escapes for the living, but in your mind a consistent reminder of the present. Black ink stained your fingertips as you looked down at them. Little delicate hands that hadn’t seen a spot of hard labor as you relied on your wits to get by. That hadn’t changed as you could feel the bitter taste of ink fading over your tastebuds. Was it getting worse? Or was it from waking up in an entirely new place that amplified your awareness?

It was all too tempting to fall back into the warm sheets as you fell back down with a huff. The weight of the bags under your eyes made it clear that you hadn’t slept well. Or if at all as you tried to remember the events of the night before. The mere fraction of movement as Lucifer tried to find the ideal spot for his desk. The chicken-scratch quality notes as he flipped through catalogs of furniture featured in the various Rings. Did he really want your opinion on flowers that had potentially fatal side effects? You could all but feel the slow pulse of headache from the mere memory of it as it reared its’ strength as your bedroom door slammed open.

The blonde tornado was in rare form today as you scrambled to keep your bedsheets up around you, while still reaching for the little black book on your nightstand. Boundaries, the King of Hell hadn’t a clue about boundaries as he continued oblivious to your discomfort. Your fogged mind managed to sort out the gist of the conversation. A shopping trip between daddy and daughter. Did you think Charlie would let him buy her new furniture? Her quarters were sparse, she deserved the world. But what if she said no? Should he take her to the boutiques of Greed first or would that opulence be too much? Was it better to ease her into it with Gluttony slow temptation?

Half of that was a muffled mess as Lucifer tripped over the edge of the floor rug into the end of your bed. His hat in disarray as you did your best to hide your laughter at his feeble leg kicks. Looking very much like his beloved waterfowl in the water as you were quick to smother your smile when he managed to right himself. 

“Well. What do you think?” Lucifer huffed as you slowly trailed your pen over the hastily scribbled notes. You only knew the Princess through Lucifer’s biased views, but you could only imagine the chaos if the pair were unleashed in a Greed department store. It would be better for them to warm up, it seemed.

“Perhaps, a trip to Guttony for a spot of breakfast would be best.” You cautioned as Lucifer nodded in agreement. A full stomach would dissuade even the most determined of shoppers. It was an unfortunate flaw that even you admitted to as you became quite sluggish in the morning if it wasn’t a light meal.

“But I don’t know what she would like..what if-”

“It's the Gluttony Ring, sir, I am sure she will find something that tickles her fancy..” You were quick to cut off the words with a firm, but kind tone. The last thing you needed was the misanthropic man agonizing over if his estranged child would prefer pancakes over scones. Discreetly pulling on your robe, you were quick to usher him out of your quarters with a few nods of affirmation and hums. 

There was a distant screech of protest and shouts as Lucifer had taken off to find Charlie without a second glance. Did she know about the trip? Far coarser words bounced off the walls from Vaggie, as the answer came in a resounding NO. Spontaneity ran in the family as a loud squeal came from Charlie as who knew what sorts of ideas Lucifer was filling her head with. 

Quickly slamming your bedroom door shut, to prevent you having TWO issues on your hands. Charlie, at least, seemed to have a sense of space compared to her father. An eerie sense of calm trickled through you. A day off? It wasn’t as if Lucifer would drag you along to intrude on a bit of family bonding time. Still, the concept almost felt foreign to your workaholic mind as you trudged over your wardrobe with little flair. You couldn’t lay in bed all day, it was far too indulgent. Nor would sleep find you as you could feel your throat tighten at the thought. 

No, there was a far more appealing option. A nice drink and your little black book.

The parlor of the hotel was strangely quiet aside from the faint click of glasses from the bar. Even its usual barfly was out for the day as you fiddled with the collar of your coat. Husker acknowledged your presence with a grunt before taking a better look at your outfit. 

“It's a bit morbid isn’t it?”

“I prefer nostalgia. Mink was expensive in my time, don’t you know..” You retorted with a sniff. Your ears twitched as you could hear a rumble of activity from upstairs. Nothing fell through the second floor, so things seemed to be fine. Yet, the bartender had a point. The flattened empty skin of a fox’s head draped over your throat, while its brilliant coat of reds and whites curled around your body. The coat’s lower half mingled with warmer felts and velvets as it tried to conceal the poorer quality of the pelt.  Clasped closed by the steel brooch as you crossed your legs revealing a sliver of fishnets beneath the pelts as you leaned against the bar.

“Now are you going to critique my choices in fashion or are you going to serve me a drink?”

“Gin n tonic?”

“Make it a whisky on the rocks. It’s my day off..” You muttered as Husker raised a furred brow at the drastic change in choice. A gin and tonic was light, botanical and easier on the tongue. Yet, whiskey burned like hot coals as it slid down the gullet. Even if garnished with a lemon twist as the little twist elegantly floated in the amber liquid. Oh, it burned, it burned away at the whispering thoughts as you were quick to order another. Then another. Burning away memories like a greedy flame licking away at fresh paper.

“And he thinks it’s alright!” Your voice pitched in emotion as you slammed your hand down on the polished counter as Husker looked more and more put out with each passing second. As if this sort of situation had been forced upon him frequently. He was a bartender afterall.

“So, we talking about the big boss or Al?” Husker growled 

“That’s-not-the-point” You hiccuped as you could feel scarlet chase over your features. Warming your features in an entirely different manner compared to the liquor seeping through your rational thoughts. How did bitching about furniture and boundaries turn into this as you took another sip of your drink. Was this the third or fourth, you were losing count. Your tail lashed betraying your agitation as Husk’s keen eyes didn’t budge from your sulking form. He had a point. Fucker.

A cool burst of air ran up the back of your heated neck as the front doors slammed open. Husk visibly bristled as the intruder swept past them without a single word. 

“Fucking prick. Don’t he know that-”

“Shorter than I thought he would be” You snickered as you drained the whiskey in one final draught. Swiving in your chair, you waited for the entertainment to start. The fruitless attempts of watching the one-sided dance between Vox and the unfettered guards. One step to the left, another tick of a typewriter as another pair of paperboys appeared to impede the Overlord. 

“FUCK” Vox snarled as his hand was bitten into as he tried to shove one of the paperboy’s back by the shoulder. A further burst of giggles slipped from your loose lips as the Overlord cradled his injured hand. FInally he spun around on his heel to witness you almost falling off the barstool as you idly waved them off from pouncing on the overlord.

“Where the fuck is Lucifer and what the fuck is with these-”  Vox’s hand bled freely as the crimson droplets flew through the air. The paperboys were all but trembling with anticipation, but didn’t budge a step from the stairs as you dismissed them with a short whistle. The creatures tipped their hands before vanishing into a spontaneous black burrow. Vox connected the dots with ease as he turned to the head up the stairs once more.

“He is out. Please, Mr. Vox do not make me call reinforcements. I can write a message for him if you insist.” 

The words came out fluidly if a bit clipped as your job had molded around you like a cap to a bottle. Even in your intoxicated state, the script that left your lips was without flaw. Even if your amusement of the situation was betrayed by your tiny smile taking satisfaction in the entire situation.  

“And when will he come back?” Vox asked politely, almost all too sweetly. Losing patience with the word ‘no’ it seemed or anything that impeded him from getting what he wanted. An Overlord at the base. There was a click of ice and liquor as you snorted unladylike into your fresh glass.

“Do I look like I know? I can’t exactly demand the King of Hell ignore his whims.” You sighed before taking a sip of the fresh drink. The kindly bartender had even garnished it with a cherry as you fished it out of the cold glass. Evidently taking as much joy in seeing the Overlord get stifled in his own plans as you did.

“And who the fuck are you exactly?” Vox growled as you could feel the static in the edge of your skirts cling to your skin as the Overlord leaned over you. A show of intimidation as you gently returned the glass to its coaster.

“Lucifer’s secretary. Now, would you like to leave a message?” You replied sweetly as that answer seemed to deflate Vox’ temper by a hair. You weren’t affiliated with the Hotel in any capacity beyond Lucifer, which meant you weren’t affiliated with HIM. Oh, wasn’t he terribly clever as he gestured to the ragged coat.

“You’re Lucifer’s secretary, but you dress like this? Take a position at Voxtech and you’ll be flush with cash. If you play your cards right.” Vox explained as he placed an unwelcome hand on your shoulder that you were quick to brush away with a scowl. He even had the nerve to spin you back around in your chair as you faced the bar. The Overlord crowding your space without a single notion of boundaries.

“Scotch.” Vox barked at Husk, the bartender huffed at the order. He wasn’t some sort of dog that did tricks on command. The rattle of scotch decanter was all too loud as fingertips brushed over your face to make you look at the Overlord.

“Come on, what’s a little tour around the King’s office gonna do. Come on now.” Vox teased as you bit down the urge to respond with violence. Bitter ink whispered over your tongue as the Overlord’s other hand slid over your thigh. Far too close for comfort as you swallowed the bitter ink. You couldn’t fall apart now.

“I would like to keep my job. Now if you would remove your hand from my thigh. I am married..” You hissed as Vox laughed at your response. 

“Married. In Hell. Hate to remind you of that, sweetheart, not sure if those sorts of vows mean anything down here.” Vox tutted as his grip on your face tightened. His request for a tour was turning into a demand as you pulled your face away from him.

“Oh, do try telling that to my husband, can’t get it through his skull. As damaged as that is.” You retorted as you removed the gloves from your hand. The brass ring on your finger caught in the light as Vox rolled his eyes.

“Besides, now why would I want to work for someone like you. Called my work a fucking puff peace followed by the apparent ‘dismissal’ of over half of Velvette’s love potion staff after sources revealed what exactly was in them. Coddled, old, semen and burnt bedspreads if I remember my wording correctly..” You hissed as if the insults were laid against you yesterday instead of all those years.

“Truth hurts doesn’t it.” You snarled as the glass in Vox’s hand shattered. Now you have sent the Overlord into a little fit. The lightbulbs behind the bar shattered as Husk protest was lost in the groaning noise of the walls. Ink trickled from the corner of your mouth as you staggered into an upright position. The drinks weren’t the best idea, but neither was running away from the irate Overlord.

“Oh, I thought I heard something pathetic.” 

“You’re ALIV-E”

The glitched snarl went mute to your ears as you were hastily dragged behind the bar counter by Husk lest you become a part of the damage to the Hotel. Steel cables ripped from the walls, snapping like electric snakes as Alastor descended the stairs, green energy crackling from the microphone. The world went silent around you as bitter ink spilled fruitlessly from your lips as Husk tried to ask you a question. His ears pinning back was the last sight you had before the world went dark.

New Orleans: 1923

Jazz, cigar smoke and patrons floated about you as you narrowly avoided running into a stumbling patron as your drink’s tray rattled ominously. It would be the last straw if you dropped this tray as the expensive whiskey swayed in its protective glass as if swaying to the trumpets. Your destination is a trio of chain smoking gangsters who greeted you with a cheer as you set the drinks down.  A pat on the butt and earning one dollar bill was your reward as you clutched the money to your chest. Their attention didn’t last long as a busty blonde on stage burst into another number, backed by thundering trumpets. You were quick to retreat from the table, tucking the cash into your camisole as the bartender barked further orders at you. The rest of the night was blur as you blissfully took a break to sip water tinged with lime. Alcohol didn’t agree with your mother, it wouldn’t with you. You didn’t take that chance.

Unfortunately you weren’t alone for long as a strong-looking hand flicked at the feather in your cream headband. Benson? Bronson? Regardless of the gentleman’s name, he was quick to call your attention as you forced a polite smile on your face. He was quick to press a kiss to your hand as you caught scant words over the thundering music.

A date? With him. Tonight. He had just purchased a new vehicle that he needed to take a real drive. Get its wheels muddy as his fingers grazed your bare arm. Blushing prettily you were too quick to decline with a shake of your head.

“Come on now, don’t be like that. I saw how you pocketed that cash, baby doll. I could make it worth your while.” His words were a rasp against your ear as his other hand slid up your leg. The threadbare stockings and patch jobs gave him all the information he needed to know about your financial status. Struggling, destitute, so like the select other women here willing to ply guests with other ‘offers’. Your stubborn pride made you want to kick off at the idea, but rent and bills were coming due. It was just one time, right?

“Apologies for being late, the cops are sniffing about tonight. Be a shame if Harry’s was caught out in it all.” A smooth voice broke through your thoughts as your intended suitor cursed under his breath before backing off. His quick retreat made it all the clearer that the trio wasn’t under the control of Mob Boss Gisno, but someone else entirely as you watched them scatter like a group of rats.

Further to the point there was something familiar about your eevedropper’s voice. You didn’t recognize him at all. Brown almost black hair curled neatly, deep brown eyes and taller than average stature made him almost indistinguishable. Yet it was the voice that was striking a cord in your mind.

“Ha, I'm afraid this happens often. People hear the voice, but draw a blank in person.” Your eavesdropper mused as he drained his glass of rye within a single blink of the eye. A practiced drinker it would seem as the truth forced itself to the front of your mind.

“You’re that radio host. Aren’t you? Stirred up a bit of controversy last week in response to some bluenose housewife protesting your local news taking precedence over some hacksaw politician’s newest election numbers.” You mused as the radio host’s lips curled into a faint smile. His hands raised in surrender as you laughed softly.

“Unless she is blind, she can read print like the rest of us. As difficult as some of that is to swallow these days.” You grumbled as you rolled your eyes far too often reading the morning papers. Even worse still was when the little paperboys swarmed you with the ‘true’ gossip as soon as you purchased it. Half of it was powdered sugar and the other was full of shit. As if the public needed more excitement in their lives than the present. 

“Not a fan of the papers?” The host mused as he leaned forward on his hand. As if he didn’t expect to find another admirer of the media tonight, but what was he looking for then? It wasn’t going to be found at the bottom of a bottle.

“Reality has tainted my taste for fairy tales..” You muttered as you took a long drink of your water.  The host chuckled before gesturing to the chaos surrounding you. Men and women in states of intoxication seeking something to hide away from the truth or some old wound. 

“Now you sound like some crone. I imagine you have quite a few more years to pass through, my dear.” The host tutted as you scoffed in response. Some here could forget their troubles for the night, but it would catch up with them come morning.

“A radio host and fortune teller. What an exotic career you must lead.” 

“I have the smallest amount of my mother’s talent. Besides, it’s written all over your face, you want to be anywhere else but here. New Orleans isn’t home is it?” The host prodded as you sheepishly ducked your head. No, it wasn’t. You grew up in northern New York, away from the Big Apple. After your Pa died, Mother couldn’t manage the forestry business, so she packed up her brood of kids to head to the city. Picked up the bottle too.

“I didn’t mean to-”

“No. You’re right, I arrived here a year ago. Finding my feet still it seems. Work has been harder to come by than I thought. No one wants a secretary with a mouth or unwillingness to play second fiddle to a housewife.” You muttered as bitterness coated the words. It was after the third time you impaled a handsy employer’s palm with a pen point that had soiled your reputation. Despite your quality work, no one wanted to be bit by a rabid bitch.

“When I find myself stuck, I like to look up at the stars.” 

“Here, in the city? Those must be some glasses you have there.”

“No. Even been to the bayou, Miss. Stars like fire and mangroves towering around you make your problems seem all the smaller.”

“You must be a radio host with such poetic words like that. Able to make a bayou sound like a fairy tale. It can’t be that fantastical.”

“It is, if you were with the right person.”

Charming. Smooth. Able to match your sharp words with gentle persuasion. That was the first night you met Alastor in that smokey speakeasy. Him plucking topics out of you like he was fox finessing a chicken’s feathers.

“You good?”

Husker’s rough voice broke you from your trance as you hissed in discomfort when you tried to move. It felt like every single part of your body had been pricked by needles as you wiped away the trickle of ink from your lips. Husk was quick to grab you by the arm to hold you place as you tried to stand up. It was for the better as plaster crumbled from the wall behind you. You didn’t dare imagine the carnage that waited beyond the safety of the bar. Glass, plaster and other materials littered the floor in front of you as you could hear the crackle of electricity in the air.

“How long was I out?” You muttered as you tried to flex your fingers. Ignoring the prickling sensation as you forced the fatigued digits to respond.

“Bout thirty minutes. Happen often?” Husker pressed as you blinked at him once. His scoff was all the answer you needed. He knew that Sinners carried their burdens in all sorts of ways. A bit of a black out wasn’t unheard of it. 

“Motherfucker!” The curse slipped from your lips as liquor bottles were smashed by an errant tentacle emerging from the wall, swiping out at glass bottles as their sticky contents rained down on your sheltering forms. Ignoring the prickle of alarm up your spine, you knocked against the ruined floor, a black burrow appeared underneath it. A furry brown arm stuck out as if waiting for paper

“I don’t have paper with me. Quick go fetch Lucifer, lest these territorial dogs wreak the entire hotel.” You hissed as the messenger gave a thumb’s up. A bark of laughter and parade of insults baited your curiosity to peer over the counter, much to Husk’s low protests.

“Getting slow on your feet old man.” Vox snarled as you couldn’t help flinch as the crackling wires snapped at Alastor’s side. Searing a hole in fabric as the radio demon retaliated by slipping a tentacle around his opponent’s legs to trip him up. It was a miracle the parlor still stood as Vox’s dismantling of the electrical system left crumbling plaster in its place, while Alastor was less than careful on where he spawned the rampaging tentacles that swung at anything in their vicinity. 

You weren’t an architect, but you knew any further structural damage would send the newly rebuilt hotel crumbling. Visible relief flooded you as bright light burst in the center of the room, putting both combatants on their toes. A first several bewildered, overburdened imps with packages appeared, followed by Charlie’s shrill screech of protest as she took in the ruins about her.  Vaggie beside her looked less than pleased, but by the far the biggest reaction came from Lucifer.

“Now sweetheart, what’s got you screeching like you are being bathed in boiling oil. Did you want something else from-. Oh.” Lucifer’s words trailed off as there was a sharp yelp from Vox as he was tripped up by a tentacle. Falling flat on his face much to Alastor’s joyful cackles that turned into a hiss as he was snapped at by the wires. 

“MY PARLOR.” Charlie cried out as her eyes prickled with tears before lightly placing her hand against the crumbling front door. A wail escaping her as that gentle action sent the elegant panes to fragment into pieces. 

“Now what happened here..” Lucifer’s voice was deathly calm as his eyes flicked to you as you carefully picked your way over from the bar wreckage. Your manicured nail jabbed in Vox’s prone form.

“He asked to speak with you.” A grumble escaped Vox as the Overlord raised his head in response, only to be stunned once more by a brick of falling plaster.

“He decided-” 

“I don’t need to understand the petty feuds between Overlords. Like fucking children in a sandbox fighting over toys. I am ASKING what happened.” Lucifer hissed as he tugged you down by the collar of your coat. Oh, he was in rare form now. 

“It appeared the Overlord known as Vox showed up without an appointment.” You stated bluntly as you flicked through your black book with a single brush of your fingertips. Thankfully Lucifer’s grip on your coat dropped after that. Laughter bubbled up from the King of Hell that sent ice down your spine. 

“Why is it that you Sinners think you can do whatever you want here. All but ready to barge into my OFFICE without an APPOINTMENT. Has the entire hierarchy of Hell fallen within half the day I have been gone.” Lucifer snarled as he gestured to wreckage around him. 

“I will say this once. Only once. Sinners don’t get to make demands in my kingdom. They make fucking appointments.” Lucifer snarled as he began to drag Vox over the rubble by the throat. What limited brain cells the Sinner had were working overtime as the Sinner forced himself to be as limp as a rabbit caught in the jaws of a lion. Even if it was painful as his screen-like face flickered colors when the Devil’s grip dragged him through sturdy stone and glass.

“He is never getting that fucking appointment if this puff piece author has anything to say about it..” You muttered under your breath as Husker chuckled at the snide comment. There was a sort of smugness about the bartender now as you both took in Alastor’s rougher shape, he hadn’t come out of the little spat unscathed. His left leg limped along as he leaned heavily on the cane as he did his best to clear the grit from his voice.

“Now, Charlie no need to fret, I’ll-”

“MY FUCKING WALL ALASTOR. Couldn’t you have taken it outside for once.” Charlie snapped as she whirled on her feet to face the dimming smile of the Radio Demon. Oh, this was going to be delightful as you and Husk posted up on the overturned bar stools as the Princess of Hell’s verbal rampage ran roughshod over the hotelier.  Evidentially that section of the hotel had gone through very short lifespans as Charlie’s voice pitched in volume with each interrupting attempt from Alastor. Tears ran freely down the Princess’s face as Vaggie intervened with a clap of her hands, gently comforting her girlfriend as she pointed at the wreckage.

“Fix it.”

“Done.” Flat, direct without a single hint of sarcasm as you spied his injured wrist spasm uncomfortably as little souls began the tedious process of cleaning up. 

A much calmer Lucifer returned moments later as he was quick to coddle his upset daughter. The pair were able to usher her up the half surviving portion of the main staircase as you gave a slow clap in the deafening quiet.

“Quite the show. Alastor. A day off well spent.” You announced as Alastor ran an agitated hand over his face.

“You still have half a day, don't ruin it.” Alastor hissed through clenched teeth as you nodded in agreement. Ruffled, Alastor was beyond ruffled after that little bout of combat. He was all but scolded like a disobedient guard dog by Charlie and in turn Vaggie. Were Lucifer’s words of Sinners ringing his ears now? The clear definition of Hell’s hierarchy. 

Oh. This was delicious.

“A bath I think would be perfect. Do enjoy your little chores, Alastor.” 

“Enjoy your bath, wife. It’s rather entertaining to see YOU play that card.” Alastor hissed as you forced a neutral expression on your face. Of all the drunken conversations he would have heard during your rants to Husk. It was that one, he had heard. The subtle deflection of your marriage to dissuade an arch rival of your ex-husband. 

It was with that simple knowledge that your leg was once caught again in a bear trap. So, you had two choices, free yourself in the long painful process of prying it open or allow yourself to bleed out. 

The metaphorical wound sputtered once as the back of his ring finger grazed over your hand as you stormed past him. Now you really needed that bath as you could feel guilt seep in with the sticky alcohol covering your ruined coat.

He had to have the last word in at least one situation today.

[artbyfinnbrown]

Screenshots of my favourite moments of Re:Zero Arc 6: (part 2) (the emotional rollercoaster of a lifetime)

Subaru may have lost his memories, but he hasn’t forgotten the importance of committing to the bit.

“Everyone is physically attractive” - a thing that people who are only attracted to one gender definitely say.

Subaru: So what are we? Julius: (How am I supposed to explain that I want to be friends, but he’s going through a one-sided “rivals-to-lovers” arc towards me?) Julius: We’re… friends. Yeah. Subaru: ? Why was there a pause there?

There’s not one left to remember left to remember Rem. But worse then being entirely forgotten, there are people who know that no one remembers Rem. This is messed up.

No you didn’t Subaru. You said exactly what you where supposed to.

I’m glad it’s canon that Subaru has watched magical girl shows (or at least familiar enough with them that he has the poses memorized)

So I know the Gluttony IF exists, and because of that, on a logical level I know that Subaru wasn’t going to go through with the plan to read everyone’s books of the dead….

But I was not comfortable with how close he got.

Yeah at this point, Subaru has lost his memories, has been possessed by [Natsuki Subaru], and is being haunted by the memories of Meili, leaving him in a very unstable state, mentally. To top this off, Reid (who is supposed to be a trial) is roaming the tower, the tower is also being attacked by a horde of witchbeasts. Also in a previous loop it looked like everyone killed each other? And then the whole tower was swallowed by a shadow? And there hasn’t been an explanation for any of this yet.

So I’m with Subaru. What IS going on.

Like I mentioned before, logically I knew that Subaru wasn’t going to kill all of his friends….

But that didn’t stop me from breathing an audible sigh of relief after reading Subaru reach that decision himself.

he’s a good person he’s a good person he’s a good person Natsuki Subaru is a good person he still cares about them he still cares about them he still cares about them-

Rather than Screenshot the entire chapter, I just decided to screenshot the title. Just…. This chapter. They trust him. They saved him. Emilia trusts him. Emilia saved him. And in return, he’s going to save all of them.

No Beatrice, Subaru’s actually completely right about all of this.

Fellas, is it gay for a man’s appearance to make you except things of of him?

(Not necessarily. But I guess if you want to read it that way, you could)

Rather than try and make my own, less funny joke, I will instead refer you to the words of tumblr user Liquidstar:

it’s so over….

we are so back.

HA GOTTEM

Subaru: I’m Nothing like [Natsuki Subaru] Also Subaru: (does the exact thing Natsuki Subaru would do)

Call me crazy but I’m starting to think that Subaru Natsuki and Subaru Natsuki are the same person.

It’s so over….

oh it is so over.

So I love the whole exchange in the corridor of memories between the two Subaru’s. So rather than screenshot the whole thing, I just made this meme:

We are so back

OH WE ARE SO BACK!

Huh. I feel like this is going to have an effect on the whole…. Royal Selection thing. Maybe it’ll be fine though.

Fellas, is it gay to um... to uh… literally blast your enemies with a rainbow?

(Not necess- Oh who am I kidding. We aren’t escaping the gay allegations with this one, fellas)

Huh? I am now very curious about what exactly happened 400 years ago.

Nooooooo Shuala! I wanted her to learn that her master wasn’t coming back and come to terms with that! I wanted her to be able to leave the tower And see the world! I wanted her to be allowed to make connections outside of her devotion to her master! I wanted her to have friends! Shuala deserved better.

So that was Arc 6.

I feel like my heart was torn out, sent on a rollercoaster ride, was stabbed a bunch of times, Was put back together with tender love and care, and then was shoved back into my body. And then that process was repeated several times.

I guess I’m off to read the short stories, the EX novels, and the IF routes now. Or maybe just lie down and emotionally process everything some more.

[animeniacss]

So Close Yet So Far - Mingyu x Reader - Chapter 10 - The Weekend Begins

Synopsis: Your college friend, Kim Mingyu, has had a grip on your heart since the first day you met. Over the past few years, as you acquired more friendships and memories, those feelings only grew. However, recently, Mingyu has seemed a bit more distant, at least when it comes to any ideas of romance. It only gets worse when rumors fly that he's off to Japan to receive a marriage proposal! Unsure what to do, you wonder how you can keep Mingyu by your side without jeopardizing your friendship or your growing feelings. You never expected that waking up one drunken morning next to two hot angels would be your ticket into Mingyu's heart.

Genre: Romance, College!AU, Friends to Lovers, Modern Fantasy, Comedy, Angsty

Length: approx. 6.2k words

Chapter 10 - The Weekend Begins

When the blonde approached you, he seemed to be studying you heavily. Your eyes followed him as he walked around you, rubbing his chin in confusion.

Finally, you asked: “And you are…?”

He simply said: “Chan.” When got back in front of you, he put his hands on his hips. “You’re the girl Jisoo-Hyung and Jeonghan-Hyung have to help out, hm?”

“I guess so…” you glanced up at the rest of the men. Seokmin looked over at Joshua.

“You’re right. She’s really pretty.” Joshua forced back a chuckle as he glanced in your direction. When he felt the daggers that were Seungcheol’s eyes, Seokmin pursed his lips together. “Sorry, Hyung.”

Seungcheol now was the one to walk over to you. “I really didn’t think we’d have to meet but-.” When he stuck a hand in your direction, you looked at him. “I’m Seungcheol. Those two knuckleheads over there-.” He motioned to Joshua and Jeonghan, who you quickly noticed were huddled together, seemingly bickering about something. You caught sight of their narrow brows as they spoke in low voices to one another. “Those are our brothers.”

“Brothers.” You quickly took Seungcheol’s hand, and he smiled when you politely bowed your head. He – just like the rest – was radiating with elegance and beauty. By simply standing in one place, you could feel the otherworldly presence surrounding every one of them. It felt stronger than Joshua or Jeonghan. Could it be that you were adjusting to their constant presence? When you glanced over at Joshua and Jeonghan again, their bickering had simmered down to the usual banter and snide remarks, before they looked away from one another. When Chan slipped up next to you again, you felt the sensation of plastic hit your leg and you looked down. Inside the plastic bag you were gripping were the snacks that Woozi had paid for. “Oh. Joshua-.” You hurried over to him, handing him the bag. Joshua took it, peering inside. He could feel Jeonghan slithering up behind him, peering over his shoulder. “I just grabbed tons of stuff. There’s ice cream, kimbap, noodles, yogurts, and milk. I wasn’t sure what you would be in the mood for, so-.”

Joshua smiled as you rambled to yourself about your findings. “Thank you.” He said. You offered him a smile. Just then, Joshua felt Jeonghan nudge him, reaching out himself and grabbing the bag first. “Hey. Those are for me.” He frowned, his hands extending quicker.

“Aah, gluttony is a sin,” Jeonghan said with a grin in Joshua’s direction. Joshua couldn’t help but scoff; the duo both took hold of the bag and looked inside. The playful banter they shared calmed you as you watched them. As if on cue, you saw Chan and Seokmin follow behind, asking their older brothers for some of the snacks as well. As you stood by, you watched Joshua easily pass one to Seokmin. When Chan reached for one, the trio of older angels playfully denied him. They looked amused for a second at the distressed youngest, before Jeonghan finally passed him a snack as well. The smiles on their faces were content and angelic. They seemed happy to be back in the presence of loved ones, pushing all previously held disagreements behind them as soon as the youngest ones approached.

“Why are you guys even here?” you asked, looking back at Seungcheol and Wonwoo as they kept their distance from the seemingly much louder bunch. The duo shared a glance at one another, then turned back to you. Wonwoo was the one who approached you, putting a hand on your shoulder. He turned you back towards Jeonghan and Joshua, a finger extended to point to the duo as they opened a bag of chips, all four men sending their hands inside to grab a few bites. “Is it because Joshua got hurt?”

“Kind of. The longer Joshua and Jeonghan stay on Earth, the more they’re going to act like humans. That means the more they’re going to get hurt.” He said. You glanced back over to him. “They’ve already been here a long time.”

“How long?” you asked curiously.

Seungcheol put his hands in his pockets as he looked up at the men snacking. “For humans? It might have been about a calendar year. But to us-.” He motioned between himself and the rest of the group. “But where we’re from, we’ve been waiting for them to come back for about 100 years.”

🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶So Close Yet So Far🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶

The tension between Joshua and Jeonghan seemed to drop after their brothers left, Chan and Seokmin saying their goodbyes. You watched as Seungcheol stood in front of Joshua and Jeonghan, arms crossed. You had a full view of his back, broad and defined under his white shirt as he spoke.

“Don’t play around anymore.” He said, eyes darting to Joshua. “Finish what you have to finish so you come back.”

“Yeah,” Joshua said.

“Try not to let your feelings get in the way. If not for yourself, then for us.” Joshua didn’t respond to Seungcheol’s comment this time, only avoiding his eyes. “See you soon.”

“See you soon,” Jeonghan said, waving him off. Seungcheol approached you as well, smiling.

“Sorry, we came unannounced.”

“It’s ok.” You assured. “It was short, but they seemed happy to see you.” Seungcheol smiled once again. “You can come back if you want. If you can…”

“Can we?!” Chan gasped, eyes wide in excitement. “We should. We can get some good food together. That would be fun. We can bring everyone next time. Jun and Hansol, and Minghao too.” You smiled at Chan, nodding in agreement.

“Hopefully, this will all end soon enough and we won’t have to. But we’ll remember the offer.” You nodded, bowing one more time, this time, Seungcheol kindly returned the bow himself. “Alright, let’s go.” He said, motioning the others out. You watched them head out, waving one last goodbye before finally closing the door. As you locked it, you rested your head against the door, letting out a deep sigh.

“Are you okay?” You heard Jeonghan ask. When you looked over, you smiled.

“Yeah.” You said. “I’m glad they came to see you. They must care.”

“They do.” Jeonghan nodded. “They want what’s best for us.” He offered a brief side glance at Joshua, who simply nodded quietly.

You clapped your hands together as you turned to face them. “I’m going to get some rest. Finals are getting closer.” You pushed past the duo, making your way into your bedroom. Before you made your way inside, you turned towards them. “Need anything?” Both angels shook their heads in refusal.

“No.” They said together.

“Okay. Night.” With a gentle wave, you headed inside, closing the door behind you. When you heard the muffled sounds of the duo getting settled in for the night, you pressed your ear to the door.

“I cannot believe you had them come down for all this,” Joshua said, still surprised.

“I didn’t know what else to do. I was hoping they could knock some sense back into you. Please be careful now, okay?” You heard Jeonghan’s voice say gently.

“Whatever.” You frowned, unaccustomed to Joshua’s seemingly passive and annoyed tone, waiting a moment to see if they would continue their conversation. You were hoping some of the very large gaps in your knowledge would be filled the longer you listened. However, the TV turned on low, and it became the only noise you heard beyond the door. Sighing, you made your way to the bed and crawled inside. You rested your head on the pillow, feeling a familiar bump in the fabric. Reaching your hand, you pulled out the taser you so long ago had pointed at Joshua. You quickly set it in your bedside drawer and curled up under the covers, falling asleep within minutes.

When Jeonghan heard what seemed like muffled snoring and rustling from your room, he looked at Joshua. “You want to go now?” he asked. “Stores are still open.”

Joshua looked over, an obvious hint of annoyance in his eyes. Jeonghan did not seem bothered, however, and stood up. “...Yeah,” Joshua finally relented, standing up as well. The duo tiptoed out of the apartment, careful not to wake you up as they headed into the late-night streets of Seoul.

🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶So Close Yet So Far🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶

“Guys!” Mingyu called, his voice ringing through the dewy morning air of early morning. Minnie, Seungkwan, and Hoshi, all of whom were chatting at the front of the building, looked over to see him hurry in their direction. “I need your help.”

“With finals?” Seungkwan asked. “I don’t think so.”

“No.” Mingyu sighed. “I’m planning a birthday party.”

The collection of beaming faces made Mingyu immediately feel a boost of confidence. Minnie crossed her arms. “Did she finally talk to you?”

“We talked yesterday. I told her that I had her entire birthday planned for right after finals.” Hoshi smiled as he heard Mingyu share the news of your conversation, nodding as he listened. “I need your help.”

“Well, what do you have planned?” Hoshi asked curiously. Mingyu blinked.

“Nothing.” He beamed as he sputtered the word. When he saw his friend’s shoulders drop, Mingyu frowned a bit. “But I have some ideas. I need your help deciding what will be best.”

Despite their disappointment that Mingyu had nothing planned for a birthday that would be coming sooner rather than later, their smiles quickly returned. “Got it,” Minnie said.

“Anything you need,” Seungkwan added.

“It’ll be the best party ever!” Hoshi said, emphasizing his comment with powerful hand motions. Mingyu grinned.

“Okay. I was thinking at lunch we can-.”

“Mingyu!” His voice immediately went quiet as a female voice called behind him. When he turned around, Mina was hurrying up, smiling sweetly. “Hi everyone. Good luck with your finals today.”

“Thanks…” Minnie said. Mina blinked.

“What are you guys talking about?” She asked. “You all look happy, whatever it is.”

“Uh, nothing,” Mingyu said, smiling politely in her direction. Mina nodded. “Are you headed to class?”

“Yeah.” She said. “I thought we could go together.”

“Uh, maybe. I was just-.” As Mingyu was trying to come up with an excuse, a distant laughter perked his ears up and he looked over. Mina followed his gaze, frowning at the sight of three figures walking down the road together.

Joshua, Jeonghan and you were talking about your first final of the day, making sure that the group of you was ready. Mainly you, it seemed, as Joshua and Jeonghan were throwing quiz questions in your direction almost as fast as a baseball machine in a batting cage. You couldn’t help but break into amused laughter as their rapid-fire questions eventually melted into both of them just shouting random questions, one after another without you being able to get a word in edge-wise.

“Enough, enough.” You laughed, raising your hands to cover their mouths. “I think my head will explode at this rate!”

Jeonghan moved your hand from his lips before uttering: “Then you’re ready.”

Joshua moved your hand as well: “We’ve done all we can do.” Again, you had to laugh. As the three of you got closer, you immediately caught a glimpse of your friends, all gathered together and talking. You could tell they must have noticed you as well because they all turned to you quietly. Mina was there as well, smiling and offering you a wave. You waved back, stepping closer to the group. Joshua and Jeonghan went quiet, following behind as you gripped the strap of your bag. You had chosen to avoid people who had done nothing to harm you, all due to your feelings of self-worth. Hoshi finding you in the library was the first time that you had spoken to any of them since you and Mina had that conversation, as speaking to them meant the possibility of them asking about Mingyu. Or worse, you run into Mingyu in the process. However, taking a deep breath, you looked at Mingyu, who offered you a kind smile.

“You guys aren’t mad enough at me to come to my birthday party, right?” You finally asked. It seemed your immediate attempt at rekindling your friendship worked wonders, as your friends broke into smiles. Minnie hurried up to you, enveloping you in a hug.

“Duh! Are you kidding? I still owe you a manicure!”

“We were waiting for you to feel better so we could party plan!” Seungkwan said. Hoshi hurried up to you as well, wrapping his arms around your shoulders and pulling you into a little side hug, which you happily responded to by looping your arms around his waist.

“It’s going to be amazing! Mingyu told us he’s planning everything!”

Mingyu sighed as he felt Mina shoot a very immediate glance into his side, but she said nothing. His eyes, instead, wandered to Joshua and Jeonghan. He stared at the duo, specifically Joshua, as they watched you talk to your friends. It was as if nothing had happened, that the group of you had been talking without any breaks at all. Joshua seemed to catch Mingyu’s glance. He only returned it briefly, before glancing away.

“You can invite whoever you want,” Mingyu said quickly, alerting your attention to him. “All of us, of course. But if there’s anyone else, just let me know.”

“Okay.” You smiled. “I’ll let you know soon.” With a smile, you saw Mina pop up into your side view, taking your hand. When you looked at her, she only squeezed it.

“Your birthday is soon? That’s amazing!”

“Yeah.” You smiled a bit. “It is.”

“I hope birthday luck follows you to your finals, then.” She said.

“Thank you. Good luck.” You said. Mina nodded, before stepping closer to Mingyu and motioning down the path.

“I’m going to leave first then. Mingyu-.” She glanced at him. “Why don’t we walk together? Since our class is in the same building.” Her second attempt at walking over seemed to fluster him again, and she smiled.

“Uh…” Mingyu’s voice trailed off as he tried to think of what to say. He glanced in your direction, and you only smiled kindly. Despite that, he could see your eyes avoiding the black-haired girl at all costs.

“Mine is on the other side of campus.” You said, pointing in that direction. “We’ll meet up after.”

“Okay.” He said. “Good luck, guys.”

“Good luck!” Everyone else called before Mina and Mingyu headed down the path to their first class of the morning. You looked between your friends as they seemed to get their belongings ready. “We should probably all get going,” Minnie said.

Hoshi nodded. “Agreed.”

With another round of ‘good luck’ and ‘fighting’ thrown around, you all headed your own ways, hoping that finals would end just as quickly as they arrived.

🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶So Close Yet So Far🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶

Mina was quiet her entire walk with Mingyu, but he didn’t really mind. Gripping his bag, he waited patiently for the door of his class to approach so he could say his goodbyes and disappear into the door, free of the awkward tension that swarmed them. However, Mina suddenly spoke up:

“Do you ever wonder what her relationship is with Joshua and Jeonghan?” Mingyu looked over in confusion. “They’re always on top of her.”

“I mean, not really,” Mingyu said. “I think they’re just friends.”

“I think Joshua likes her.” Mingyu grimaced at the thought, the brunette individual staring him down popped into his mind at the mere mention of his name. “They’d make a good match. They’re both very calm, good people.”

“Tch. As if.” Mina smiled to herself.

“Are you jealous?”

“What? No,” he said. “I just don’t think it is true.” Shaking his head, he scoffed. “Can we please change the subject?”

Mina nodded as he smiled to herself, a gardener successfully planting a new seed in her garden. “What do you have planned for her birthday?” She asked.

“Uh, not sure yet.” He said. “I was thinking of asking my dad to use our beach house on Jeju Island. We could make it a whole weekend.”

“That sounds fun. What can I do to help?” Mingyu stopped walking now, looking over at Mina.

“What?”

“I want to help. Please? I’ll do anything you need.”

“Why do you want to help?” he asked. Mina paused a minute as if she was confused by his question.

“Because she’s your friend, Mingyu.” She stated simply, offering yet another smile. “And any friend of yours is going to be a friend of mine.”

“You were just talking about her behind her back.”

“I was not!” She gasped. “I was just getting your thoughts. You know her better than I do.” She shrugged. “I just want to help. I promise.”

Mingyu sighed, pursing his lips together. “Okay.” He said. “Okay, you can help.” Mina beamed at the task, clasping her hands together.

“I won’t let you down.” She said. Checking her watch, she blinked. “Oh. We have to go or we’ll be late. Good luck, Mingyu.” Mingyu waved as Mina headed down the hallway, disappearing into one of the doors. He couldn’t help but chuckle a bit as he made his way down to the end of the hall himself, and entered the first door.

Finals would be over soon, and God he couldn’t wait to make a weekend that you could never forget.

🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶So Close Yet So Far🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶

By the time finals week, and with it the semester, came to an end, you were all beat. Classes ended for the summer, signaling to you and your friends that a major event was about to happen. You all gathered in front of the school entrance, relief and exhaustion mixed throughout each of your faces. Even Joshua and Jeonghan seemed a bit more relieved than you had imagined.

“I’m so glad to be done!” Seungkwan stretched his arms over his head in glee.

“Yeah, now we have time to relax! Finally!” Hoshi said. You felt Minnie slide up next to you, smiling as she took your hands into hers, holding them all up in front of your faces.

“I’m thinking manicures tonight, so we’re ready for Mingyu’s party.”

“He said he was going to finalize the place today.” You smiled gently. “He’s so thoughtful to do all of this.”

“I’m sure with his wallet, it’ll be amazing! And we’re going to make you look so hot. Make sure you bring that dress again, okay?” you laughed a bit, nodding. As the two of you moved from Mingyu to the style of manicure you wanted, Mingyu was watching from his spot beside Hoshi and Seungkwan, also leading their conversation. For the past week, Mingyu was juggling finals and birthday planning like a professional acrobat. He was on phone calls between classes as often as he could to make sure that everything he wanted was set up properly, and ready to go. The last call, which he had just made, was to his father.

I want to borrow the beach house in Jeju.

Are you planning a trip?

Kind of. A friend’s birthday party.

Ah. Will Mina be there?

…She’s offered to plan with me. So…I guess so.

Good. It’s nice to know the two of you are working together. Even if it’s a friend’s birthday, make sure you take Mina somewhere nice. Just the two of you...

The last comment made Mingyu’s heartstrings tug, and he focused on watching you to make himself feel better. You were smiling as whatever Minnie told you was ridiculous enough to receive a bright, infectious smile and laugh from the both of you. You were beaming, and Mingyu was glad to see it. He wanted to see that face on your every second of the day. You turned your attention to Joshua and Jeonghan, which meant Mingyu quickly followed as well, watching as you approached the duo who were talking to one another.

“What do you think?” you asked Joshua and Jeonghan, turning your simple nails towards the duo. They looked over at you as you pointed to each one: “I’m thinking all red, but maybe something nice on the ring finger.”

“I’m thinking sparkles,” Minnie added.

Mingyu watched Joshua and Jeonghan each reach out, taking a hand into their grasp. Mingyu pouted, quickening his pace the second he could. “Hey.” He said, making you all look over. “Why don’t you ask me?”

You laughed a bit. However, before you could answer, Joshua and Jeonghan’s grip on your hands tightened, and they pulled you closer. “Oh.” You looked at them.

“We already decided,” Jeonghan said. You grinned as Joshua took your index finger, rocking it back and forth and sticking his tongue out, examining it like an artist examines a sculpture in the works with one eye closed and everything.

“Yeah, you’re not needed.” He said.

“Hey.” Mingyu pouted, crossing his arms. Taking your hands back, you shooed the duo away.

“You both are ridiculous.” You said. Turning to Mingyu, you offered him your hands next. “What do you suggest, oh wise one?” Mingyu hesitated for a second, but gently took your fingers into his hands, looking down at your nails. You felt the gentleness of his touch, yet it burned you more than the hottest rays of the afternoon sun. You had to look down at your hands as well to keep yourself calm. Regardless of everything, your heart still beat a little quicker when Mingyu was this close to you.

“I think sparkle will be nice on the ring.” He said, nodding his head. “As for the color…” he shrugged. “I always heard that a person’s favorite color matches their eyes, so…” You laughed a bit, pulling your hands away and covering your cheeks, worried their redness would become obvious.

“Get a room!” Seungkwan begged, breaking the awkward silence between the two of you. Minnie took your hand, grinning.

“I told you sparkles would be the key. Come on, let’s go before the salon gets crowded!”

“Okay.” You looked at Joshua and Jeonghan. “I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah,” Jeonghan said.

“We’ll keep them company, don’t worry!” Hoshi assured, grabbing Joshua and Jeonghan by the arms as he popped up between them. They looked down at the beaming individual, amused smiles on their faces. You nodded, waving your hand as you and Minnie headed off campus. Mingyu sighed.

“Alright.” He said, looking over the rest of the guys. “We have to start planning everything. Want to come to my place? My father’s out for the day.”

“Heck yeah!” Seungkwan grinned. Joshua and Jeonghan shared a glance, before being led off by an eager Hoshi as the group of men made their way off campus as well.

🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶So Close Yet So Far🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶

“Awww.” Minnie sighed as she peered inside the salon. “It’s so crowded already. I knew I should have made a reservation.”

“That’s ok.” You assured. “We can always come back.”

“Well, I want to make sure our nails are done.” She said. Clicking her tongue, she looked at you. “Wait here. I’ll go see if they have any openings. If not, we’re coming back first thing tomorrow.”

“Okay.” You said behind a chuckle as Minnie charged in, the door closing behind her as a welcome bell rang. You rested against the wall, pulling your phone out of your pocket and taking the silence to scroll through your messages. It wasn’t long after that the sound of a bell rang once more, and you looked over in hopes of seeing Minnie. However, a few stores down, you saw a familiar short frame with jet-black hair and matching accessories. You blinked. “Oh…hey!” You called, and the figure looked over, seemingly with a snack hanging from his mouth. “Jihoon!”

“Ah.” Taking his bite, Jihoon hurried up to you and smiled. “Hey. Long time. Did finals finally end?”

“Yeah. We all finished today.”

“Well, good luck.” Jihoon smiled, and you quickly thanked him. “What are you doing here?”

“Well-.” You pointed to the salon, specifically, the girl talking to the worker inside. “My friend and I are hoping we can get our nails done soon.”

“Any occasion?” Jihoon asked.

“I’m having a birthday party.” You smiled.

“Ah. Happy birthday! I don’t have a gift.” You laughed a bit, shaking your head.

“No, no. You don’t need to.” You assured. Just then, your eyes widened.

You can invite whoever you want.

You immediately looked back at Jihoon after Mingyu’s comment flooded your brain, eyes beaming. “Come to my party!”

“What?” Jihoon asked.

“My friend is throwing a party for my birthday weekend.” You said. “All of the friends I told you about will be there. You should come. I promised I would introduce you.” Jihoon recalled the photo you had shown him of your friends, shifting in his spot. He put his hand in his pocket as he took a bite of his snack. You frowned, immediately getting the hesitant feeling from him. “Oh, I’m sorry. Was that to forward?”

“No,” Jihoon said. “I appreciate the invite. I just worry I’ll make the scene uncomfortable. They don’t know me.”

“Well, they’ll get to know you.” You assured. “I’d love it if you came.”

“Well-.” Jihoon didn’t seem convinced, but you suddenly motioned to the door again.

“My friend is coming out. You’ll know her too if you meet now.” As if on cue, Minnie stepped out of the store, the door closing behind her.

“Good news. They said we can-.” Minnie was interrupted by Jihoon’s presence. “Oh. Hello.” She nodded her head politely.

“Hi.” He said.

“This is Jihoon. He’s the friend I told you I had met. The one I’ve hung out with a few times.”

“Aaah.” She said. “I’m Minnie. It’s nice to meet you.” She said. Jihoon nodded.

“I’ve heard many things about you. The pleasures mine.” Despite the politeness, he still seemed a bit nervous.

“I’m trying to convince him to come to my party. Mingyu said I could invite other people.” Minnie looked over at Jihoon, who by now had long finished his snack.

“Yeah, totally,” Minnie said. “It’ll be fun!”

“Well, if you think I won’t be a burden.” He said. “Then I’ll come.”

You clapped your hands in excitement. “Okay. Once I get the final details, I’ll message you. Is that ok? It’ll be this weekend for sure.”

“I’ll keep my calendar open.” He said. You nodded, Minnie finally getting your attention back.

“Let’s go. They’ll squeeze us in if we go now. I told them it was your wedding.”

“My WHAT? Minnie.” You gasped. Jihoon laughed a bit as Minnie led you inside. You offered him one more glance before disappearing into the salon. Jihoon watched for a second, hands in his pockets as the both of you were led to the back of the salon. He smiled to himself.

However, all that could sit in the back of his mind was how much the entire party was about to change the minute he stepped into the frame.

🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶So Close Yet So Far🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶

The weekend had arrived, Mingyu finalizing in the group chat that you would all be taking Mingyu’s plane to Jeju Island, and his father finalizing permission to use the beach house for the weekend. Mingyu, Mina, Hoshi, and Seungkwan agreed to head to the house a day early to set up. While you didn’t like the idea of Mina and Mingyu being in the house an entire day before the both of you, knowing it was Mina who suggested it, you had no way to bring it up without causing a problem.

“She’s probably jealous that you’re the one that is getting his full attention for this party,” Minnie said as both of you waited with Joshua and Jeonghan at the airport for your flight.

“She’s right,” Jeonghan said with a yawn. “Why did we have to wait until nighttime? The planes to Jeju run all day.”

“If we get there Friday night, we have all day Saturday and Sunday,” Joshua explained. “If we get on the next flight we should be there before dinner.” He looked over at you, watching you check your phone. Your brows were furrowed as you tapped constantly on your phone. “Did your friend ever message you back? Are they coming?”

“I don’t know. They said they would. But they seemed a bit hesitant. I gave him the address and the flight times. I hope he’s able to come.”

“If not, we’ll still have fun,” Minnie assured. “And we can just hang out when we’re back.”

“Right.” You agreed. It was then that Mingyu’s family pilot approached the group, signaling you all that the plane was refueled and ready for yet another trip to the island. You scanned the area one more time, but when you didn’t see Jihoon, you simply grabbed your belongings and followed your friends onto the plane.

🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶So Close Yet So Far🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶

The hour-and-a-half-long trip over was filled with anxious excitement for the weekend to come. You were staring out the window with Minnie, while Joshua was reading a book and Jeonghan was closing his eyes beside him. You looked over and smiled at Joshua.

“Have you guys ever been to Jeju?” you asked. Joshua’s eyes fluttered up at you, and when he saw your smile, he immediately looked back down at his book.

“Heh.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Not in a few years.” He said. “It’ll be nice to go back.”

“I only went a few times as a kid.” You said.

“I’ve never been. I’m so excited.” Minnie smiled. “I heard the beaches are beautiful.” You nodded in confirmation. It wasn’t long after that the plane began its descent. Joshua smiled again as he heard both you and Minnie practically squeal in glee, reverting to two children who were about to go see Santa Claus just before Christmas. He simply looked over at his friend, shaking him awake. Groggily, Jeonghan’s eyes fluttered open, his lips smacking to moisten them a bit. He groaned, sitting up straight as a hand went up to rub along his face. When he looked at Joshua, he frowned at his friend's amused chuckle.

“Really?” he asked, but Joshua only looked back down at his book.

Mingyu had a car waiting for you guys as well. He made sure to ‘pull out all the stops’. That was the wording he used when the two of you were on the phone late the previous night, anyway. The car drove from the airport along the beautiful Jeju coast. You wasted no time taking in the beautiful sights through the window once again, admiring the natural architecture. Even as the sun began to set, the glow of the orange-yellow sun spilled along the water and bounced off the mountains in a way that made it an absolutely beautiful sight to behold. Even as the car pulled up to the massive beach house resting just off the shore.

You gasped: “There’s no way his family owns this.” You said.

“Of course, they do!” Minnie said. “I’m not even the least bit shocked.” You stepped out of the car as a collection of workers hurried to the car’s trunk, scrambling to take all of your bags inside. You could see the lights were on, and smoke seemed to be bellowing from the large back deck that overlooked the ocean. You looked over at your friends.

“This is amazing!” You said. “It’s going to be the best weekend, ever!!!”

Joshua and Jeonghan smiled as they watched you and Minnie lead the way to the front door. When you walked in, your eyes scanned the enormous open-concept living room and dining room, disconnected only by a rise in the platform. You looked around as you stepped inside, eyeing what seemed to be the door to the back porch. Only the screen door was closed, so you could immediately hear laughter and music coming from the back. “This is incredible.” You said. When you turned to Joshua and Jeonghan, you saw they simply stroll in, the looks on their faces not nearly as impressed as yours. “Have you ever seen a house so massive?”

“And this is just a beach house!” Minnie added.

“It’s lovely,” Joshua said simply. “A bit smaller than ours, though.” You blinked, staring at Minnie with shocked expressions.

“Why didn’t we go to your house for her birthday, then?” Minnie asked playfully.

“Because she doesn’t like us,” Jeonghan said. You laughed a bit before you and Minnie hurried to examine the kitchen. Joshua looked over at Jeonghan, who simply shrugged. “What? I’m right.”

The commotion at the front of the house seemed to alert the back, as the screen door finally opened. You looked over to see Mingyu and Seungkwan poke their heads in. Mingyu’s face, already holding an enormous smile, got bigger as he hurried inside.

“There you are!” he shouted. “Was the flight safe and everything?”

“Yeah.” You said. “Mingyu this house is amazing!”

“Aha, you think so?” Mingyu’s cheeks tinted a bit pink. He immediately passed the both of you drinks. “I’m almost done cooking. You’re just in time.” When he caught Joshua and Jeonghan stumbling in, he motioned to them too. “Come on.”

You shuffled outside, immediately being hit with the warm smell of meats being grilled on the barbecue. You saw Hoshi and Mina standing over it, drinks in hand as they chatted. When they looked over, Hoshi screamed in excitement at your arrival, hurrying to hug Minnie. When you saw Mina, she hurried up to you, enveloping you in her hug.

“You’re all here! I hope the trip was good!” She smiled. “We couldn’t wait for you to get here! Mingyu and I have been waiting.” The way she emphasized her words made you pursed your lips.

“Okay…” That was all you could respond with. She led you to the grill, which was still steaming. “Mingyu! Hurry and turn this before they burn!” She called. “He’s been cooking for us since we got here. He’s such a good cook. I’m glad I got to learn another new thing about him.” Mingyu hurried between the two of you, reaching out and taking the tongs to flip the meat over. You smiled up at him, and he eagerly returned it.

“Dinner will be ready soon, so settle in and drink up. I have your bags being taken up to your room already.” You nodded, finally opening your drink and taking a sip.

Though a bit short with your arrival, the night was already going off without a hitch. You were all sitting around a fire pit, laughing and drinking as the food finished cooking. Mingyu was sitting next to you, quick to do so when he saw two particularly pesky individuals slide up beside you. You took a sip of your drink, watching as Mingyu got up one last time to check the food.

“I think it’s done.” He said to a sea of applause and cheers. Just as he turned off the grill, one of the house workers hurried to the back door, alerting Mingyu’s attention.

“Sir.” He said. “It seems another guest has arrived.” Mingyu immediately looked at you, seeing your face break out into a big and excited smile. Mingyu nodded.

“Let him in, then.” He said. “He’s just in time for dinner.” As the man nodded his head, heading back to the front with a bow, Mingyu turned to Hoshi. “Hyung, can you go get us an extra plate inside for him?”

“Right-o!” He grinned, standing up and heading inside. You stood up as well, ready to eagerly greet and introduce Jihoon to the rest of the group. You were excited that he would have a few more friends in your circle of very kind individuals.

“Alright. Let’s plate these bad boys up.” Mingyu grinned, beginning to set all of the meat on a plate. The boys hurried over to lend him a hand, holding different plates for Mingyu to organize all of the food on, while you and Minnie sat side by side now, drinking together and watching.

“This is going to be so nice,” Minnie said, looking at you. You nodded in agreement. The feeling of the cool sea breeze in your air, the tickle of the salt water fluttering up to your nose. And the entire weekend with your friends. An entire event is dedicated to you, organized by the one person who was the most important to you. The weekend had just started, and you couldn’t be happier.

The sound of a plate dropping in the kitchen alerted all of you, making your eyes all focus on the door. You felt hands on your shoulders, immediately looking up to see Joshua and Jeonghan at your side, eyes on the door in hopes of seeing what the noise was from. Mingyu stepped forward as well.

The sound of a plate dropping in the kitchen alerted all of you, making your eyes all focus on the door. You felt hands on your shoulders, immediately looking up to see Joshua and Jeonghan at your side, eyes on the door in hopes of seeing what the noise was from.

"Do you sense that?" Joshua whispered. Jeonghan nodded, their hands on your shoulders remaining firm and protective. You were just about to open your mouth and ask for more clarification when Mingyu stepped forward as well. You could immediately tell the sudden noise spooked him, as his eyes were wide in surprise and his cheeks suddenly devoid of color. However, he managed to muster up enough courage to call: “Hoshi-Hyung?”

No response. Seungkwan called: “Soonyoung-Hyung?”

You finally rose from your spot around the fire pit. “Guess I’ll go check since everyone is being so cryptic.” You said, both you and Minnie heading inside, closing the screen door behind you. The men followed suit, poking their heads in to see. You immediately saw Hoshi, standing in the kitchen before a shattered plate, staring at the guest that had just arrived.

Hoshi shook his head as if he couldn’t believe who it was. “Woozi?” he asked, tilting his head. You immediately looked over when you heard that familiar nickname, and a gentle smile graced Jihoon’s face as he nodded.

“Hey, Hoshi.” 

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