#Dante has many flirt lines

[griffinsboyfriend]

Idc if it’s spoilers but as a VIP user I feel I have to say. With just 2 chapters of TDG: PB still doesn’t know how to manage multiple LI.

[lovelaurs]

my own silly mystreet characters headcanon list!

aphmau:

has the worst "hear me out" takes you'll ever hear. like seriously. she can very much point to a yield sign and say "would" to everyone's dismay.

knows every line in moulin rouge as she is OBSESSED with the film. she and laurance preform the elephant medley as dramaticly as possible whenever they watch it for movie night.

obsessed with pre-endgame marvel movies.

ao3 writer! she writes fics for the nichest of fandoms, so she doesn't get that many reads.

one of the few reliable booktok users you can TRUST will give you a good recommendation to read!

garroth:

obsessed with the movie megamind. like seriously. will talk to you for hours on and WILL defend the "sequel movie" and show because, in fact, they are NOT that bad.

can infodump about a topic he's interested in for hours on end.

actually really smart and kind, but ever since he found out he made zane insecure he tries to tone it down. he used to show off a lot but wants to make sure his brother shines as well.

carries stress balls on him so he doesn't use his strength unnecessarily.

always organizes group movie nights with all his friends.

laurance:

loves to listen to and read AITA (am i the asshole?) reddit posts when bored.

an amazing listener, will listen to someone for hours on end and provide insight when needed (perfect for having a conversation with garroth).

loves gossiping. he has really good hearing so he tends to hear others share secrets nearby. he's like the wine aunt you just KNOW has the most interesting stories to tell.

likes to go on vacations a lot, explaining why he is absent sometimes during big group events.

he sometimes returns home to his family farm to take care of it when his parents are out of town.

he often voluntarily babysits caleb to impress aphmau and garroth with his caretaker skills (he's a showoff).

katelyn:

she loves the show big time rush and watches it in her freetime.

OBSESSED with musical theatre and visits broadway shows often. if the friends she brought along even DARE to suggest skipping the stagedoor? they receive a glare that could kill thousands.

adores singing and often sings in her room when the others aren't home.

continues to play volleyball with her friends after a long day of work (she's a freelance writer).

her music taste can range from alternative music like waterparks to kpop groups like red velvet!

KC:

an ao3 writer as well! she and Aphmau gift eachother fics from time to time! she mostly writes x reader fics for tumblr sexyman.

has taken a liking to cooking outside of baking! she especially likes to grill! she even wears an apron that says "kiss the cook" as well as a hat that says "fish fear me women love me".

watches any and all trending animated shows like tangled the series, adventure time, avatar, etc.

has her own tumblr blog where she writes reviews on shows and posts art! her page is quite popular.

dresses in mainly lolita fashion! she has a flare for the beauty of style and loves to recommend people styles and outfits whenever they go out shopping!

travis:

calls katelyn, zane, and dante hot nonchalantly

has attempted.

dante:

loves to bake and nana teaches him all kinds of recipes to make. he supplies the snacks at movie night.

takes taekwondo lessons. "can never be too careful" he says while living in a pretty standard upper middle class neighborhood. why is he like this.

works at a pet shelter and takes care of the dogs and cats left behind. he adopts any that have been there for years, thus making his house full of many different pets.

the designated driver for whenever they go out to clubs. he doesn't like to drink so he usually takes everyone home by the end of the night.

travis (the actual headcanons):

actually respects others and doesn't harass them like he did early on (that was a weird trope and i HATED it). he's just a flirt and if someone he flirts with flirts back he gets all flustered.

the group gamer. spends hours grinding on all sorts of games just to brag about it on his steam profile. specifically a fan of the spider-man games on playstation.

loves to cosplay! he, aphmau, and nana go to lots of conventions together in group cosplay. their last one was the powerpuff girls! they dragged garroth along and made him mojo jojo.

can recite everything and anything about the ninjago lore. this man is obsessed with any lego product or franchise and has many sets built in his room.

practices talking to himself in the mirror every morning to give him confidence. he has very low self esteem.

aaron:

dream stan.

probably friends with dream.

uhhhh idk probably streams the song "mask" by dream.

minecraft streamer.

dream.

those are all my headcanons! i hope you enjoyed! (slandering mystreet aaron is a passion of mine i'm sorry)

[bread-squid-uwu]

THANK YOU @dizzybevvie LMAO 🩵🩵

So, just a DISCLAIMER that I'm talking about my rewrite with some splashes of canon influence but I'm mostly just ignoring canon Dante for this, anyway

The main songs I associate with Dante are:

I'm A Natural Blue.

Obviously because of the title being a reference to Awstens blue hair, and the associations of blue with negative types of emotions and such. In my head, Dante has naturally black hair but despises that - so he dyes EVERYTHING blue and hopes it's convincing enough. He wants to look as different from his brother as possible.

The lines about seeing that your idols aren't who you once assumed them to be, seeing the truth rather than seeing someone to admire.. everyone knows Dante really really admired and looked up to Gene, who was never the best person. I see this as Dante recognizing that, finally seeing that his big brother was actually cruel and even dangerous.

Dante going through that world shattering realization that the person he trusted the most, looked up to, and even based himself off of for so long.. was horrible. And, perhaps, going off of that - looking at how he had tried so hard to copy and be like Gene, perhaps he too had done horrible things.

The struggles of trying to break from these ideas, having seen the reality of everything happening. The struggles of trying to figure out who he is without trying to base himself on who he thinks of as cool or popular.

The frustrations of realizing he was so blind to it all for so long, the ways that idolizing and loving Gene must've looked to people who knew everything Gene had done.

I could go so much more in depth, line by line, but I'll stop here for now!! I love this song in this context.

We Need To Talk.

Clover. - a danvis fic written by me, based on this song.

It Follows.

Dante canonically has a lot of anxiety around actually getting into relationships, we see this multiple times. Obviously this was very different back in Phoenix Drop High, but we also know that Dante hasn't been in a relationship since he was in high school - said by Garroth.

"I think with my heart, and love with my head." Seems like a very fitting line for this fact.

"Kiss me like nobody would when I was fifteen." We know in high school he was never very genuine with his relationships and, I think as an adult he wants something real - something genuine, where they can actually care about each other. Instead of the "haha player😎" he was before.

Looking at S2? Well...

"I've spent some years rewinding, but I'm still just me." This line I feel like is about finding himself relapsing into those previous non-genuine behaviors from high school, finding himself repeating those mistakes. I'm not talking about the situation with Nicole and Jenna, he was never actually dating Nicole, he did not cheat on her. I'm talking about him going around and flirting with many different girls on the beach. Eventually, I think he'd pull himself from this and realize that he slipped backwards, and feel guilty over finding himself repeating the mistakes that defined a version of him he previously tried so hard to bury - which is going back to the ideas from "I'm a natural blue" - when I describe this as a relapse I'm not exaggerating. Knowing those behaviors stem from Gene? I think it warrants being called a relapse.

The rest of the lines, however, I do think are about Nicole.

With the context of him struggling with his past, his sense of self, the guilt, and of course.. Gene being around? I think the situation between Nicole and Jenna would get to him on a much deeper level.

"If I could find my something to burn out these feelings, I'd cut them out completely and I'd stop this reeling. I think with my heart, and love with my head. Do you see the problem here? You rip me to shreds. I think with my heart, you fuck with my head." I see about him feeling like he's never truly changed from high school. With Nicole making the claims that he was cheating, etcetera, it gets into his head.

Really looking at the situation, he was already struggling with himself - and he was already struggling with Nicole as well. Knowing his apprehension towards relationships, his anxiety towards Nicole, and the fact that the two were never official on top of him desperately wanting to end the flirting and such with her? Well, "So tear into my heart, and love with my head. Do you see the problem here? You rip me to shreds. I've fallen apart, I'm missing your breath. Can we stand to break the fingers pointing the blame, Or will they always follow me?"

Stupid For You.

Danvis.

"I'm color-coding my moods, you're yellow, I'm natural blue

Let's get together and be green like my insides

At least I'll match your eyes, jealous and hypnotized

Let's match our faces and be equally in love. "

I don't think I need to say anything else lmao

THANK YOU BEV FOR THE EXCUSE TO POST THIS,,,

i'm always open to waterparks dante questions so uhm, feel free to ask for more or ask about this or something!!!!

[mysteryflavorsoda]

Rurik Liderc and the stereotype of the broken (but sexy) anti-hero

(and how it makes him worse as a character)

Heyy, I'm back, kind of! This is my first actual rant, so I'm sorry if it's a bit boring or confusing. Feel free to ask me anything! This is just something that I've always had looming in the back of my mind, and I really want to talk about it. 

In October 2005, Pop Punk band Green Day released their seventh studio album, American Idiot. It follows the life of the central character, Jesus Of Suburbia, a middle-lower-class all-American teen who hates his town and pretty much everything. He's pretentious, a rebel, angsty; a faithless, working-class man who hates the system he's placed in, screaming for the rebels living in post-2000s America. It comes as no surprise, then, that @angeutblogo's Lasser would inspire her iconic character, Rurik Lidérc, off the song that describes this main character.

As the years went by, Rurik gained more and more traits, hobbies, a story, friends, and of course, multiple lovers. As it is today, you could call him a multifaceted character- I'm here to say that this perhaps might've been his downfall, too. As it stands, Rurik is a badly constructed character, where new information contradicts old information and traits that are not in line with the logic set upon him initially are imposed. It seems that the creators try and stuff him to the brim with different exciting ideas, but ultimately end up getting a messy clump of characteristics that results in many users having to redefine him with headcannons and rereadings, myself included, because he ends up being so confusing.

First, Rurik being a US Army veteran is one of the biggest pillars in his personality. Although not a lot of information is revealed about that part of his life specifically and the effects it had on him, we can deduce that it greatly affected him in more than one way, changing him fundamentally; PTSD. A prime example is that Lasser has stated that he has an aversion to loud noises, such as fireworks and thunder, but then proceeds to state that it only makes him have a minimal response of being "more alert". How can he be fundamentally changed as a person due to trauma and still only suffer minor damage? Are the creators afraid of making a character that's fully and realistically traumatized by war because it would compromise his appealing "sexy bad boy" nature? But then, that very nature is driven forward by the very fact that he's traumatized, that he's "angsty". It just confuses me how posts speaking of his trauma are immediately followed by posts describing his kinks and hypersexuality, and descriptions of his mental state are switched out for retellings of future events where "everything is all right finally", not bothering to make him go through the process of recovery, and research of trauma responses or toxic relationships is traded for discussions of what motorbike he has. It almost seems like the creators want him to be many different things that cancel each other out.

Thus, this contradiction leads us to the next point: Dante and Rurik have an open relationship, despite Rurik being shown to be possessive and emotionally immature. Rurik is, in simple terms, a manchild at times, stalking Dante when he feels like it, being insecure, and being sad by small things Dante says, in addition to threatening his exes. Those are toxic, insecure behaviours, of course, but it gets brushed off as "oh, but it ends in them sexually punishing each other" (going into how their relationship is sexualized, but that's a topic for another day), which in itself is contradicting because it's written to be a healthy relationship that's good for the both of them. And yet, we get bombarded with recounts of Dante being toxic to Rurik and vice-versa. He's also said to get extremely uncomfortable when Dante flirts with other women because he "can't compare", so how on earth could they have an open relationship without constant interventions and fights?

I believe that, if Rurik is insecure, it would naturally cause him to believe that Dante is replacing him if he flirted with another person. This is because he has a fragile ego, and people like him tend to fall into that insecurity (speaking out of experience and my interest in human psychology), and it would lead to constant fights, doubts, manipulation, and overall a bona fide toxic couple. Perhaps even worse than Lurik, as Dante is constantly described as psychopathic and manipulative, even to Rurik himself. They're shown to kind of fix everything with sex and "punishments", downplaying the other's insecurities and genuine feelings and promoting unhealthy dynamics. Rurik is not written to be someone who could have an open relationship that would be fair to himself and Dante, and yet, they push on, because of course they do; they are entirely centred around having sex, after all.

So, where am I going with all this? In all the glamourized media that we see, there's a strong tendency to try and make perfect characters. Rurik Lidérc is broken, angsty, insecure, and repressed, but that doesn't get in his way at all! All he wants is sex, drugs, and rock and roll. He reminds me of James Hurley from Twin Peaks: his conflict can be so well-explored, his trauma could be so fleshed out and the effects of trauma on the human mind could have given us a beautiful story of redemption, of growth, of understanding. But God, he just keeps making out with Donna all the damn time, and the camera always focuses on him like he's in a Playboy magazine. The realism, the beauty, the relatability- it's all sacrificed for middle schoolers to ogle at him and go "Wow, he's so misunderstood! I could fix him!". But that comes at the cost of a character that has the full potential to be truly amazing, as I've seen with my friends in the fandom.

When you look at Rurik Lidérc, he comes across as well-researched because he's traumatized, but it doesn't take long before you realize that that's quite a far-fetched idea. It seems like he's just a list of ideas and randomness that no one bothers to organize, and that deeply saddens me because I've seen the interesting directions he could be taken in, and I just wish the love and care put into this character also shined through through the creators.

[silverselfshippingchaos]

Asking these for Dante since you mentioned him. Warheads, Hersey Gold, and red vines.

thank you for the ask!

Warheads- What shenangians do you and your platonic fave get up to? Any pranks or rebellious behavior?

What I love about these two is that they are pure chaos. The funny thing is that when she's not off hunting demons, Ash is an ordinary person with a regular office job who leads the most boring life ever. Then you meet her in the game and in the land of the demons. She's bold and bright, swears like a sailor, flirts with everything that moves. In a sense, they're pretty similar in terms of personality. She's what happens if Dante got his life together haha

Rebellious behavior is all they do, but their favorite thing to do together is hunt demons! These games are all about being stylish, so they're always trying to outclass each other.

Seeing how many demons they can kill in a certain amount of time, seeing who's a better shot ("It's totally me!" "I have more guns than you do, pal."), stuff like that.

"Oh, come on! Anything Dante can do, I can do better!"

It's not often that they meet in the human world, but some casual drinks or a shitty, fast food dinner outside the Theme Park isn't off the table.

(Dante actually doesn't even recognize her in the human world at first! Her clean, professional clothes as opposed to her blood-stained and ripped, tight shirt. She also has her hair down in the human world. You know how some of the devil boys have white hair? Ash is half-demon, half-human. Ash's hair is white at the back, so it stays hidden when she has it down. She has her hair tied up when she's fighting though.)

Ash isn't particularly close with Dante's pals (she has beef with Vergil, and despite thinking that Kat is fantastic, she doesn't get many opportunities to hang with her), so a lot of their bonding time is when Dante needs an extra hand while he's cleaning up.

They do hang out a little more after the end of the game, and although Ash isn't used to the more serious and responsible version of Dante, she's so proud of how far he's come.

(The white hair does make her laugh though. She gets onto her tippy toes, ruffling his hair,

"Hey, look at you, big guy! You finally look like one of us!")

Hersey Gold- Do you have matching bracelets, necklaces, or other various items?

This is a really good one! Dante only wears one bit of jewelry, and that's the pendant his mom gave him before she... uh... yeah... (RIP Eva)

But if Ash is anything like me (which is kinda the point LMAO), she loves jewelry!

I think she'd get matching bracelets after the events of the game.

Dante just smirks,

"You coming onto me or something? Sorry, but-"

"Yeah, yeah, you wish. I have one too, so... Keep it. We won't be seeing each other as often now, will we? And, as much as I hate to admit it... You're an asshole, but I don't hate your company, Dante."

"You're gonna make me blush!"

He won't admit it, but he takes good care of that bracelet.

Red Vines- If you two started a band, what would you name it?

Oooh, this is fun. These two would make a great band together.

(Also, the ost of this game is soooo good!)

Ash is no good at naming things, and neither is Dante.

(Though he does have some pretty funny lines)

Demonic Angels

Dante is half-angel, after all!

("You couldn't have been a bit more original?" "What? At least I'm trying! We're honoring Eva's memory!")

They're both kinda stupid, but I think they'd make good music. Great band, if I do say so myself!

[cardinaldante]

[Meta Post]

Hello! My name is Dante(The name of the character came before I decided to change my name to Dante lmao), and I'm the creator of this account! I wanted to put a guide here on everyone whose important in the story at this moment to make it easier for people to understand the story!

As Lucifer, Lilith, Asmodeus, and the rest of Hells demons will most likely not make another apperance in this story, they have been left out. If you're curious tho, Lucifer and Lilith are Lucifer and Chloe from the TV show Lucifer(God I loved that show) , Asmodeus is just a big ass lion with three heads (Think Cerberus, but as a lion. Or if you've watched Puppet History, the Asmodeus from there.) And... Well, you can kinda use your imagination for Belzebulb.

Papa Nihil: Head of the church. Old man, usually doesn't like to be seen. He's white, usually in skeletal facepant with a frown on his face. Wears all white robes with a pope-like hat. Has one green eye one white eye. Usually is referred to as just 'Nihil' or 'Main Papa'. Is now a ghost. Gets chased around by the ghouls sometimes. Is okay with that, suprisingly.

Sister Imperator: Second head to the church. Usually stays near Papa Nihil. Is white, with dark brown eyes and grey hair usually tied into a neat bun. She wears a black suit/skirt with black heals. Takes no shit, and will punish people if needed. Usually is called 'Seestor', but only by Papa Nihil.

Papa Primo: Old man- not as old as Sister Imperator or Papa Nihil, but old. Likes to stay in his garden with Mountain and fix his flowers. Is the nice Papa. Is white, with skeletal facepaint, white hair, one green eye, and one white eye. Usually wears black robes. Some kind of supernatural creature.

Papa Secundo: Old man- not as old as his brother, but still old. Doesn't like to really be seen around the church unless he's doing confession or being a whore around the church. You'd be suprised at how many people will put up with Secundo's bullshit just because they want to be fucked by a Papa. Really fuckin rude. White, bald, with one white eye and one green eye. Usually wears black robes lined with green. Possibly some kind of supernatural creature.

Papa Terzo: Looks much younger than both of his older brothers, but is actually just younger than Secundo by like three months. Likes to mess with Secundo about that. Is born from Papa Nihil's relationship with a demon, and is very much a whore, although him and Omega are in a sort of relationship. White with one green eye, one white along with jet black hair with a few grey spots. Usually wears black robes/suit. Basically a supernatural creature of some form.

Papa Copia: The newest Papa! Younger than all three of his brothers by about ten years. Just newly became Papa, yet his brothers make sure he is not taken advantage of. Is Sister Imperator and Papa Nihil's illegitimate son, and he knows. Will give out harsher punishments to bullies. Gets flustered if anyone attempts to flirt with him. Is very annoyed that Terzo has somehow managed to keep his grey spots down. (spoiler alert, Terzo is just dying his hair lmao) Is white, with one green eye and one white, along with dark brown hair with streaks of grey. Wears anything from black robes lined with green cloth, white suit, red suit, black suit, etc. Is maybe a sort of supernatural creature, who knows.

Cardinal Dante: The youngest Cardinal at the church. Did not grow up in the main church, grew up in Sweden before being transferred to the main church and being taken in by Papa Copia and before being raised basically by Phil. Is very shy and socially awkward, doesn't get along too well with the humans, but gets along well enough with the ghouls when needed. He's black, with one purple eye and one brown, along with short black locs tied up in a pony tail. Usually wears the cardinal red cassock, but will wear sweats/ regular clothing to the local town.

Mountain: An earth Ghoul. Is very quiet, but will speak if needed. Likes to let siblings (Boy or girl or non-binary) fawn over him and then will bring them back to his room or the greenhouse. Those siblings will never be seen again. His fur is a light grey colour, Tall(Around 6'5-6'6), with brown eyes. In his human glamour, he's white, and looks the exact same. Mostly wears all black, but will wear red, grey, and purple clothes.

Swiss: A multi-ghoul. Often finds himself helping siblings with things they do not need help with. Will fuck around with several siblings, but usually likes to fuck Sodo and Rain. He's not like Mountain, so the siblings that come to him will be seen again. Has given people rabies. HAS RABIES. His fur is black, with purple eyes along with a small mustache. In his human glamour, He's black, with dark brown eyes and curly black hair. He usually wears black, but also wears grey, pink, orange, and to piss Sodo off, yellow.

Cirrus: An air ghoulette. Usually takes advantage of subby siblings, and gives them nights/weeks to remember. In ghoul society, women run it instead of men, so she usually is the one doing the fucking. Very sweet and nice however, and won't be a dick just to be a dick. Knows how to take care of Sodo. Has rabies because of Swiss. Her fur is a light greyish white colour, with light blue eyes. In her human glamour, she's white, with white hair and blue eyes. Like every other ghoul, she usually wears black, but also likes to wear white, pink, and light pink.

Cumulus: An Air ghoulette. Likes to fight if needed but will fade into the background in order to listen to gossip. Likes to gossip with Cirrus and Aurora. Is kind of shy, and usually only messes around with the other ghouls. Her fur is a very light grey colour with blue eyes. Her human form is the same as Cirrus'. Like Cumulus, usually wears black, but also likes to wear white, pink, and light pink along with green.

Rain: A water ghoul. Is very shy and quiet, but has and will drown people. Is not afraid to drown siblings that litter in his lake. Usually helps Mountain out with the garden. Whenever Sodo gets to much, he half drowns him until Sodo calms down. Has threatened to drown him completely. Will take up that threat one day if tested. His fur is a light blue with dark blue eyes. In his human form he is white, with dark blue eyes and messy black hair. Likes to wear different shades of blue and black.

Sodo: A Fire-Water Ghoul hybrid. Switched from water to fire when Ifrit nearly killed him. Very much a brat, and has burned several siblings whenever they get close to him. Bit Dante the first time he met the younger boy as he was angry. His fur is grey, with red eyes. In his human glamour, he's white, with blonde hair and red eyes. Wears different shades of black.

Aurora: A multi-ghoul. Likes to dance, and is not shy or quiet. Keeps getting bullied by sisters of the church who dislike her. Is fine with hanging around with Dante only because he's shown her respect. She's also the shortest in the band at the moment. Her fur is dark grey, with dark purple eyes. In her human form, she's white, with black hair and brown eyes. Wears lots of shades of black, green, purple, and blue.

Phantom: A Quintessential Ghoul. Is very, very, very painfully shy, but keeps it hidden in order to have fun and make Papa Copia proud. His older brothers are Omega and Aether. Will work until he's too overstimulated to work. Wants to be good enough for Sodo to stop complaining. Likes to chase ghost Nihil around the ministry and snap at his Papal robes. His fur is dark purple with black flecks, with eyes that seem to change colour every time you look at them. In his human form, he's white, with black hair and brown eyes. Wears alot of black and blue.

Aether: A quintessential ghoul. Older brother to Phantom, younger to Omega. Is not shy, and likes to mess around with his brothers. Is the only one allowed to call Papa Copia 'old man'. Is not permanently bound to Cardinal Dante - but doesn't mind. Is happy to be bound to someone who he could help out with things again. His fur is black with dark purple flecks, along with multicoloured eyes. In his human form, he's white, with brown hair and brown eyes. He likes to wear alot of loud colours, but will also wear dark blue alot.

Omega: A quintessential ghoul. Eldest brother of both Phantom and Aether. Is in a (Relationship???) Fling with Papa Terzo. Will bully his younger brothers (as an eldest does) and will physically fight other ghouls who put his siblings down. Doesn't like to talk about his and Terzo's fling. Confused on Dante's role with Lucifer, but knows not to ask as he would like to keep his life, thank you very much. Is tall, with black and purple-ish fur along with multicoloured eyes. In his human form, he's white, with brown eyes and black hair. He mostly wears dark greens and blacks.

Phil: Not much is known about Phil. Is here to keep an eye on a person in the church, but nobody knows who it is. Doesn't like to speak to other siblings much. Raised Dante when Copia couldn't in order to do an experiment. Usually wears the Melioria costume and mask- and so nobody knows what he looks like. Likes it that way.

Jacob: A Priest Cardinal Dante is dating from the local town. Believes in God. Hides his relationship from his parents as he doesn't want them to find out he's dating a boy. Is perfectly happy dating said boy. Was very terrified for his boyfriend when said boyfriend told him he took a temporary dip in hell. Is the brains to Dante's mostly brawn. Is thinking of running away and joining the Satanic church, as things have gotten tense within the Christan Church he's priest in. Jacob is white, with long blonde hair that he usually ties up in a man bun and brown eyes. Usually wears priest robes, but will often wear sweatpants and sweatshirts around Cardinal Dante, as he's comfortable around him.

[lucid-fate-if]

How would the ROs react if someone flirts with MC? (Crushing or relationship stage, your choice)

Hi anon! Follower shower for you 🌹🥀🌹🥀🌹🥀🌹🌹🥀🌹🥀🥀

Someone flirting with MC Crushing or Relationship stage? Why not do both Hehehe-

Edit: so like... I accidentally added a Flirty!Mc instead soooo apologies 👍

Note: don't expect "normal" reactions. Not everyone is responsible, not everyone is 100% petty free. Different reactions from different people.

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Mionii/Miokai/Mio

MC flirting with them

Crush stage: is quite HORRIBLE at handling flirting. Would almost always react negatively and insist on not being fazed by your "bafoonery". 100% in denial of course. But at the same time they are a horrible liar and you'd be able to tell they're flustered.

ReIationship stage: A lot of muttering on why you're like this (even though they fully love you!) and blushing. Would still be in the same state an hour later, your interaction fresh in their mind.

Someone flirting with MC

ReIationship stage : Short temper + Trying to woo over their person? Are you suicidal? M would never do anything physically horrible to the person, no. They're way too classy for that. Their words alone can and will tear you apart. How does it feel being laughed at by people witnessing what's happening? Was it really worth it?

Crush stage : Would most likely talk shit about that person by picking on random things. M is naturally quite nasty in a sense and it wouldn't be that far off their "usual self" as people see.

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Akiyo

MC flirting with them

Crush stage: would recognize it as flirting, yes, but wouldn't know how to respond. Akiyo is pretty good at keeping a cool face (unlike someone) and you would assume it wasn't really affecting them. You'd be wrong. They would find themselves doing psychology research on your behavior and reading into it more than they should...

ReIationship stage: would genuinely enjoy it and laugh about it, but it would be you doing all the flirting (whether you're good or not) as this is not one of Akiyo's many talents.

Someone flirting with MC

ReIationship stage : Wouldn't be fazed. Wouldn't even acknowledge the poor desperate person. They are aware you only want them and no one else. The same going for them.

Crush stage : Kinda upset in a way at first but would quickly wash it down with water. You're your own person and it's not their place to get worked up. You might not even have noticed them that way.

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Saeko

MC flirting with them

Crush stage: what are you doing? Confusion, confusion. Would label something super logical to get it to make sense to her. Something like "your people probably spoke like that in your history as a way of code talk."

"The moon is beautiful tonight." A simple, yet well known line. Glance over at her and she'll have her dagger out, ready to attack the target codenamed "Moon" and understanding approach as "beautiful".

ReIationship stage: is more used to it now after you were as blunt as possible in the beginning and slowly easing her with the lines. Simple ones first. Baby steps. Would point out if she recognized what you said as a flirting advance and if correct, would have a sort of proud small grin. She did it!!

Someone flirting with MC

ReIationship stage : After teaching her, she'd assume she has to guess this too. "You're flirting." With the most deadpanned angry looking expression- her natural resting face! The flirt would high chance be intimidated. Boo hoo :(

Crush stage : Doesn't recognize it- you only later on teach her what flirting is so at this stage she doesn't know what's going on. You're having a conversation. The end? But as soon as the person tries getting... Physical with their flirting "threat" is all you'll hear and in the next second they're held at knife-point.

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Dante

MC flirting with them

Crush stage: An honest blush is the best way to discribe his reactions! He isn't afraid to admit if you caught him off guard- would actually admit it as a natural reaction. Would not try to label it as you're interested though. You're best friends! What were the chances of there being more? You were probably more comfortable with him... Or yeah. Would know if he started dwelling on it, he'd only be hurting himself.

ReIationship stage: Quite a similar reaction but more self assured. He knows you actually like him, and he does too! Ain't that sweet? His initial reactions were honest replies but a kiss on the forehead or cheek would be added as a "thank you".

Someone flirting with MC

ReIationship stage : Would rather have you let the person down. Has enough respect for you to let you handle it! (Not like the other ROs don't respect you.). Dante is quite assured about your relationship.

Crush stage : Would probably be happy that someone/s find their best friend attractive but quite sad about it. He wants the best for you but at the same time.. he wants you..

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Kaisen

MC flirting with them

Crush stage: would most likely do so in return as a light tease before being absorbed by his work. Detective-like work. It's quite difficult to maintain Kaisen's attention for more than 20 seconds before he thinks of something "of genius nature". After recognizing he is beginning to return the feelings though, he'd do the same. He shouldn't, but he wants to now. In the name of research, you are his new intrigue.

ReIationship stage: lazy kisses on your cheek, eyelashes and then rating your flirt attempt on a 1-10. Would also advise you on what scenario or tricky situations that would totally work in and which would get you a blue eye. You'd have to constantly remind him the flirts and complements are for HIM. he'd probably annoyingly say "I know" even though he didn't and actually forgot.

Someone flirting with MC

ReIationship stage : Someone's trying to get with his partner? Guess we have a new clown in town. The way Kaisen would clown on the person and embarrass them would be on another level of disrespectful PFTT- and at the end would probably walk up to the person with a evil cheshire grin with his hand out for a handshake like "good game :)"

Manipulated the witnesses into thinking Mr/Miss/Mx.flirty can't take a joke or something aswell-

Crush stage : Turn their flirt advances into... Something questionable. So questionable it's... Sadly embarrassing- it's also quite convincing that someone would naturally think the flirt was talking about that and their stutter explaining wouldn't help. "Your fair skin looks amazing in that"- "fair only? Would you say that if mc wasn't fair... You're racist??" Cue everyone giving the flirt disappointed looks as they try to explain.

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Fai

MC flirting with them

Crush stage: This boy can't- he can't! What reaction does he give? How should he respond? Why did you pick to complement his eyebrows?? His blush would be the brightest and reddest out of the whole group. Everyone shield your eyes! Fai is quite socially awkward and would not know how to respond to someone simply asking for directions on a map. Imagine flirting...

ReIationship stage: Yup. Youuu guessed it. He still can't lol. But he doesn't mind you seeing his red face, unlike the crushing faze where he'd most likely cover it insistently (please don't force him to look at you :-:).

Someone flirting with MC

ReIationship stage : depression, cry in his head, cry fr when he's alone. PLEASE REASSURE HIM!

Crush stage : depression, cry in his head, scold himself for even thinking there was something to begin with, cry fr when his alone. PLEASE MC, REASSURE HIM I BEG YOU!!

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Zephyr

MC flirting with them

Crush stage: this one's a tough nut to crack. refuses to acknowledge your existence, advances. EVERYTHING. Would most likely scold you for being so causal and not alert of your surroundings. Would take him quite long to realize he likes you too, with his duties and goals in his line of sight. Zephyr most likely would choose to not bring it up until everything settles in his life. Nothing ever settles in the life of a royal guard.

ReIationship stage: you want to get scolded as a sweet adorable reminder of when you were both in your crushing faze? Flirt in public. You'd 100% find the way his face shifts from "oh, it's my love" to "BUT PUBLIKKKK-"

In private though he is the sweetest. Would respond quite elegantly though. You complement him for his golden-orangs eyes and he'd respond with #bigenglishwordssayingthankyou.

RIP author that has to smarten herself up for Zephyr, Akiyo and Kaisen...

Someone flirting with MC

ReIationship stage : Fight him. You want his partner? Okay, fight him. His sword out, shirt off. A typical death game for the one you want oh so much. Why're you running away all of a sudden-

Crush stage : Wouldn't really bud in but his behavior to the person would be cold. Colder than usual. Who are you? But he's smart enough not to make a scene for something like this. (Not smart in relationship stags I guess? XD)

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???

MC flirting with them

Crush stage: "eh? Challenge excepted I guess." Would match your flirting with one of her own. Winning 1/10 tries. But as soon as she realizes that she's developing feelings- bye 👋. This might seem harsh but it's for your own good. You don't deserve to be around the likes of... her...

ReIationship stage: would be more emotionally vulnerable with you. And you know what that means? None of that "Elsa shutting you out" business! Would most often react physically than verbally though. A tight squeeze of a hug or a pull of your cheek. You wanna go again? Would most likely "bully" you when you get into a flirt-banter.

Someone flirting with MC

ReIationship stage : eh? Who's this? Most likely suicidal aswell and unlike M she doesn't mind getting violent. A few threats here and there, mentions of family members, occupations, living address always gets them running. You'd probably have to scold her to be gentler and more subtle. But she'd never do all that in front of you to begin with so you wouldn't knowww.

Lies, she'd brag about it-

(First response with her is always eh? Even though she heard very clearly-)

Crush stage : guess who's about to get framed for a ✨crime~✨- just joking, or is she???

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[thekatebridgerton]

I've been thinking about gender swap au for all Bridgertons and their parents and honestly in Kanthony story absolutely nothing will changed because those two idiots are perfectly mirroring each other in almost every aspect of life.

I wouldn't be so sure. But then again you don't have to take my word for it I've been having writer's block since forever. And part of the reason I have writer's block is because I nit pick the little details a little bit too much.

So I'm going to walk you a little bit through my thinking process. Since half of the time I met her sleep deprived or have a writers block or opinionated enough to go on a long winded rent.

So here it is welcome to add brain genderbent Kanthony edition

And why do I say that a genderbent Kanthony wouldn't work that well? Because first of all Keith Sharma would be considered an eligible bachelor and they would be no reason for all the attention to be put on his younger brother who would be by Society standards the lesser prize.

But okay let's just say that Keith Sharma made Edwin Sharma his successor because for some reason Keith doesn't want to marry it could happen. There's no good way to translate Anthony's rake ways into a female because if female Anthony had flirted with as many men as male Anthony was known for flirting with women including the whole mistress thing. Antoinette Bridgerton would not have been considered a diamond or a good prospect for a gentleman like Edwin Sharma to marry.

But okay let's say that's the attractive of this story Keith Sharma doesn't want this well known flirt who is the daughter of a Viscount to get anywhere near his brother because Keith Sharma knows that Antoinette is just after Edwin for what exactly? To save her reputation Maybe? Because her Brother Dante gave her an ultimatum that she needs to marry or suffered the fate of a spinster? But why would Edwin be attracted to her? Is it the dowry thing?

Let's just say that Antoinette has a sizeable dowry and is looking to seduce Edwin Sharma into marriage because at least Edwin is kind and gullible and will allow her to keep with her affairs outside of marriage. That doesn't make sense to me either.... Let's try another venue

You know what dear followers I evidently don't have the creativity enough to follow trough with this line of thinking as you can see.

But I'm glad that there are people who do and I applaud them for it I'm more of the type of person that writes snippets more than full stories mostly because I have a Tendency to ride myself into a corner. And if it requires a lot of thinking I usually postpone it until another day because my sleep deprived mind only allows for so much of my headspace to be occupied by deep thought when it comes to writing

I think this ask is one of those that I postpone a lot because I didn't know how to answer it appropriately and I decided to just be honest and go with the truth which is what I'm going to do today with the rest of the asks in my inbox because I really want to open up my inbox again and I said that I would do it when I finished all the backlog of answers that I owe you

And that's the tea

[hattersland]

DMC OC Week Day 7: Free Space: Beach Day.

The final day of the event and I wanted to have a bit of fun with this one! It takes place after DMC5 where Vergil and Dante return from hell in my fic, so spoilers I guess??? But not really???

IDK I just wanted to write a beach day episode because they can't just drop the Enjoy Summer event and not expect us to do something with it.

Vergil sends another piercing glare towards another man who whispers something about Maya to his friend, making them pale and turn the other way before they were stupid enough to flirt with her while he’s there.

It isn’t as if he doesn’t trust her, but it bothers him to no end the amount of people he has to hear whisper to talk to her. For once he curses his hearing, wanting nothing more than to just block them out to relax since breaks are so rare in their line of work.

The beach chairs they pushed together under the giant umbrella provided ample shade for them both, and his eyes trail up her legs to the book she’s reading, the sarong tied around her waist shifting slightly as she crosses her ankles together.

“You don’t pay them any mind, Vergil,” she says, turning the page without looking at him. It still amazes him she’s able to sense what he’s thinking like that.

“How can I not with what they think they can get away with saying?” he grumbles, his hand trailing up her thigh as it rests just above her knee.

Maya finally looks over to him with a smile, knowing that this will be the closest thing to seeing him pout.

She brought a book to pass the time since the sun was still high up in the sky. Her skin burns easier than Nero’s, so she just wanted to relax and enjoy the cool ocean air… that is until she kept getting interrupted.

It wasn’t anything too bad at first, but there were some people who she didn’t know if they were just that confident in their pickup lines, or that into themselves to say some lines she’s heard.

It isn’t until Vergil came to sit down beside her like some kind of bodyguard that they stopped approaching her.

“You don’t have to sit here with me the whole time. I want you to enjoy our time here too…” she says, raising her hand to rest on his cheek and almost instantly tension in his jaw relaxes at her touch.

“Sitting here with you is enjoyable. Especially after Dante took out those damn water guns.”

“At least the kids are having fun with it!” she laughs as she hears Dante let out a loud whoop and Nero yelling an ‘Oh it’s ON old man!’ to him from the water.

“It’s annoying is what it is…” he grumbles, and an idea strikes her. She sets her book down on the chair as she sits up, earning a curious look from him as she climbs onto his lap, settling there as she presses her back to his chest. He makes space for her between his legs as she takes off her sun hat to look up at him with a smile.

“Better?”

The corner of his lips tilts upwards slightly as his arms wind around her waist. “Much,” her swimsuit has a large cut out in the back for her markings, and he isn’t complaining at the contact with the soft skin.

“I’m not the only one drawing attention, you know,” she utters, placing a gentle kiss just below his ear as he draws lazy circles with his thumb on her hip.

“That so?” he dips his head, using his free hand to maneuver her face towards him and presses her lips to his in a slow and deliberate kiss. He pulls away, leaving her breathless with a smirk. “I don’t even notice them.”

“Aw guys, c’mon, do you have to do that here?” the two turn to see Nero coming up to them, shaking water from his hair with a frown. He’s still not used to seeing them be so… cuddly. It isn’t as if he isn’t happy for his mother, but it’s still jarring to see.

Especially with Vergil.

“Oh, lay off them, kid! Let them go through their honeymoon phase!” Dante laughs, earning a look from his brother.

“It’s not like you’re any better with your sweetheart either!” Nico grins but bites his tongue as Kyrie places a hand on his arm.

“I think it’s sweet! It’s good to see you so happy Aunty.” she grins, her hair damp and hanging over her shoulder.

“Kyrie…”

“Where are the kids?” Maya asks, looking around for them. Her face is already turning bright red from being the topic of conversation, and Vergil isn’t making it any better. His fingers keep trailing up her hip and past the fabric of her bathing suit, the motion hidden by his thigh.

“They’re with Trish and Lady at the food stands. Do you guys want anything? We’re heading over there too for a quick bite.”

“Do—”

“Yes, I saw that they’re selling tacos,” he grins as she makes a face. “I’ll grab the hottest sauce they have for ya too.”

“Such a thoughtful son we have,” she laughs. “If they have any iced tea, I’ll take one of those too.”

“Uh, anything for you?” Nero asks Vergil. It’s still awkward to think of him as his father (especially after the whole ripping-off-his-arm-thing) but he told himself he’d try to be civil.

“Just water is fine,” he replies as Maya turns her head to give him a look.

“You say that, but then you’re going to ask for some of my food,”

“I don’t have the slightest idea what you’re talking about,” he replies cooly as if he doesn't constantly sneak bites from her plates.

Maya rolls her eyes, shaking her head with a good-natured smile. “Make that two sets, hun.”

“You’re giving him too much credit, doll.” Dante grins as they all begin their way towards the food stalls.

Maya takes this opportunity to lean back against Vergil’s chest again, enjoying the warmth of his skin against hers and she shivers when his hands lazily move lower and lower down her hips. She squeaks after his thumb slips dangerously between her legs.

“I won’t do anything out here, my dear.” his voice rumbles against her back as his hands move back to rest against her hips. “Watching you get all flustered is just too amusing.”

“H-hey!”

He chuckles as he watches her blush creep up from her shoulders to her neck, pressing another kiss against the skin there. She doesn’t pull away, instead; she brings her hand up to thread her fingers through his hair with a giggle.

Perhaps this beach day really is worth it in the end, especially now with her in his arms.

--------

I just want them all to have good days together and be a family. ;-;

Thanks again to @dmc-oc-week for making this event! OC's always get a bad rap from some people, but as a person who's been writing OC's since... forever, I say bah to that. OC's are wonderful and thanks to this even I've seen so many cool original characters that I never even knew existed!

Keep writing friends and let no one shame you out of your hobbies! \0/

[renaerys]

Fanfic Year in Review

I don’t do a lot of these types of posts, but you know what, I finished a huge project in 2020 so let’s go. Thanks so much to my fellow writers @quarantined-fics and @powerpuff-ali for the tag!

I’ll put it under a Read More for anyone who is interested in hearing about some BTM shenanigans.

1) List of fics completed this year in the order they were finished:

Beyond This Morning - My Adult AU PPGxRRB project, and my first proper foray into this fandom as an active contributor. It has a few completed one-shot sequels in the same series.

Shooketh, Not Stirred Series - The high school AU featuring Reds. These are all complete, though I may add more one-shots to it in the future!

I have other stuff on my AO3 account for PPG, including some ongoing stuff. Check it out if you like. :)

2) Number of words written: I don’t know how to figure that out for 2020 only. A lot.

3) Your most popular fic: Beyond This Morning is probably the most popular. I have some Miraculous Ladybug fics that are pretty up there too, but I’m not really active in that fandom as much anymore.

4) Your personal fav: That’s hard... I can’t decide between the original Shook one-shot and Trinity House. I loved the former because it was an homage to my favorite PPG episode, Stuck Up, Up and Away. Blossom being HBIC like she invented it is always going to be my favorite thing ever. And I’m really enjoying Trinity House because it feels different from my other work. I like the spooky aspect of the House, the mixups in the teams, getting to write the Punks, and Brick trying his best to flirt. It’s a melting pot of fun shit. 

5) Your fav scene: Reds watching Frozen with Brisa in Beyond This Morning. Also the opening scene in Chapter 16 with Brick alone and grieving. Also the fight scene in Chapter 14 where Blossom is in charge of everything and winning. I reread those every now and then. 

6) A fic or scene that challenged you: Trinity House in general is challenging for me. It has a combination of thriller/horror elements, comedy, and mystery that are super fun, but also very world-build-y, so it’s a constant struggle to convey information while keeping the focus on the characters’ journeys. I’m really enjoying it, but it’s been hard. The latest chapter with Brick’s team’s challenge was especially taxing, but I really like how it turned out!

7) A line of writing you’re proud of:

“Water under the bridge, that. Flooded now. Dead bodies always float to the surface no matter how lovely and dark the waters appear from the shore.” - Chapter 11 when Buttercup confronts Ace

8) A comment that touched you:

Too many to count. I think the ones that really get me are the ones where people call out things that happened in prior chapters and go, “I KNEW that meant something!” Finding foreshadowing is hugely satisfying, and I like that those people care enough about my stories to pay attention not just to the plot, but to the word choice and the allegories. I remember one person realized that the lab infiltration in the last few chapters of BTM was full of Dante’s Inferno/katabatic journey imagery. That had me yelling for joy because yeah, you’re right and you should say it loudly!

9) Something that inspired your writing:

I like superhero stories, but I often find them shallow in mainstream media. There are some exceptions, and I definitely have drawn inspiration from more mature shows like The Boys and Titans wrt the “realistic” superhero theme. But mostly, I care about women and their stories, and I wanted to write something that was centered on that. PPG has always been a beloved show since I was a little kid. I loved how the Girls are all very different, yet they are able to succeed in their own ways. 

I also really wanted to read a specific type of story that I wasn’t seeing in the fandom, so I had to write it myself. I’m really glad I did.

10) Your proudest accomplishment (that one scene; finally finishing that one fic; posting your first fic; etc):

Honestly just finishing BTM and feeling super good about the quality of it feels like a big accomplishment for me. I had a pretty regular update schedule and I stuck to it, for the most part. I look back on it and I see things I could have done better or differently, but that’s the learning process. And I think the lessons learned will serve me well in the sequel...

11) Do you have any writing goals for the next year?

The BTM sequel, yes! I have not previously revealed the title I think, so here it is for those of you who bravely made it to the end of this post: The Alchemy of Us. That’s going to start posting pretty soon. I have some fun ideas for it, and I’m putting a lot of effort into it. I really want it to be good, and I think I’ve learned a lot from BTM and Trinity that will serve me well in making Alchemy the best fic I’ve written when I start posting. 

Trinity House is also ongoing. I’ll be writing that concurrently with the sequel until it’s finished. 

***

There are a number of good writers in this fandom! I think most of them have been tagged already, but in case you’re interested, I’m tagging @kiebs and @avesthetea

[dreaming-gamer]

Eyy! Now, I have a proper V HC request, hihi!😍😍😍❤❤❤🙈🙈🙈 The gang ( include anyone you want ) introducing V to his very first cosplay convention!😍😍😍❤❤❤ I'll patiently wait, my dear. I love your V HCs so much😍😍😍❤❤❤

Hello dear! <3<3<3 Thank you so much for liking my headcanons and the request! :D :D :D I’m sorry this one took so long, I should have posted this one much earlier but better late than never? *sweats* 

In any case, here we go! <3<3<3

Random headcanon: Cosplay convention

Nico:

Nico is the first one to jump at the idea when she finds out V has never been to a cosplay convention. She loves those because people just let their creativity flow and she is among them. Creating an impressive cosplay that lets her display her genius, oh that’s right up her alley.

Of course the work on the van and Nero’s Devil Breakers go first, but the Queen of Machines can juggle that and more if needs be. If she’s going to a convention, you can bet she’s going to show off something that’s flashy and functional.

She’s all for helping the others find something they want to dress up in as well, they don’t even have to take something as spectacular as she does, if they don’t want to. If they do, she’s all for helping them with something on the more mechanical style as sewing and fabrics aren’t her thing.

Honestly, she just wants her friends to come along, try the event out. If someone really doesn’t want to dress up, she won’t push the suggestion too much but if she can work on them for a bit, they might open up to it. She’s the one to convince V to come along, claiming she can find just the right character for him.

Though Nico is able and considered fixing a workable Gundam costume (complete with rockets and guns, could it get better?!), she ultimately chose Mei Hatsume from My Hero Academia as her own cosplay character because let’s face it, it would let her show off more of her creations.

The costume itself she found online, cheap and the inventions are the important part, so that’s all good for her. A prototype is customized to function as a flying skateboard for anyone who wants to try, an Overture is remodeled to set off (harmless) fireworks rather than demon-killing sparks, a Dr Faust replica with built-in video and audio to teach you Michael Jackson moves on the go, she brings an array of different inventions and many are a success with younger audiences.

Nero (& Kyrie):

Nero’s never been to a cosplay convention, he’s just as new to them as V is. As a kid, he wanted to dress up and go to gatherings like that because it looked fun and hopefully no one would look at him funny, as they did in the Order.

Now that he feels more secure in his own skin, having come to terms with his heritage and how he can use it to protect his family, Nero doesn’t feel the immediate need to dress up for the convention but when Kyrie mentions it might be fun, he falls for the suggestion.

Whenever the orphans’ clothes get holes, Kyrie fixes them with her sewing but she is uncertain she has the skills and the time to fix herself and Nero matching outfits in time for the convention, when they have both decided they’ll go. And Nico has convinced them that they’ll have the most fun if they dress up.

Nero is supportive, he’s fine with whichever costume Kyrie wants to do, he doesn’t push and he’s fine with just going as they are as well if it spares Kyrie some trouble, but the kids are very insistent. And Kyrie sometimes has a hard time saying no to them.

Knowing it’s one of Kyrie’s favorite Disney movies, Nero suggests Beauty and the Beast for the two of them. Kyrie wants Nero to have fun and get the whole experience by dressing up, but at first, she is a little bit hesitant about his suggestion. She never wants Nero to feel like she doubts him or his humanity ever again.

They have been through a lot and so, they just talk it out, ending the discussion with soft whispers of love and care and in agreement over their choice.

As for their costumes, they don’t buy anything new. They check their closets for anything unused or something that can just be adjusted. In their eyes, the details don’t have to be perfect as long as they are both having fun. Kyrie also has a field day trying to put make-up on Nero’s face for the Beast look. Honestly, she does a good job. And the clothes she adjusted for Nero’s blue Beast attire, as well as her own blue and white dress for Belle, look great and she feels proud over her work.

At the convention, Nero will make sure to keep an eye on her, make sure she won’t be dehydrated or stay on her feet for too long in queues. It’s mostly unexplored ground for both of them, but they have a lot of fun just people-watching and following the three orphans under their care around, as the boys point out characters that they know everywhere. If the boys don’t recognize someone, they’ll run right up and ask.

Their camera roll is full of pictures of other cosplayers and the kids posing at the end of the day. And Nico snuck in a few pictures of Nero and Kyrie as well.

Dante:

It’s a party, Dante’s interested, enough said. He doesn’t mind grabbing the most ridiculous outfits if it gives him the love of the crowd. At a convention, people of all ages gather so it will be some simple, awesome fun.

As for him choosing a cosplay, the Dr. Faust hat has made him realize he rocks wearing a hat so he initially thought of cosplaying Alucard from Hellsing but after realizing V would cosplay another Alucard, he switched gears. Actually, Dante might just prefer cosplaying a character that likes having fun, just like he does.

By coincidence, he found Vash the Stampede from Trigun and though there is no hat involved, hey, the guy rocks red just as well as Dante does and he uses guns. Does Dante know anything about the character? Not really but that doesn’t stop him from rocking it. Plus, Dante already has red clothes, it’s just a matter of going into character because adjusting those clothes, he knows not how to do.

At said convention, he instantly clicks with a Deadpool cosplayer and they dance to Michael Jackson songs. They also photobomb some cosplay shoots, all in good fun. He lives for the spirit of people just having fun and humans just being humans, gathering thanks to a common interest.

Dante is the type who comes to a convention with several outfits. Or at least he would, if he had enough money for it. Since most of his paycheck goes to keeping the gas, water and electricity at Devil May Cry running, he resorts to simple, but effective ways to show off character, both his own and from other series.

V:

When the idea of going to a cosplay convention is first introduced to him, along with what it actually entails, he’s a bit skeptical. Nico telling him that there will be a ton of people doesn’t really sell him on it as he’s not that fond of crowds. But hearing that many will dress up as characters from stories they enjoy catches his attention. If he agrees to go, maybe he should be sure to make the most of it. And when Nico notices that shift in his demeanor, she keeps pushing him to join, juuust a bit.

For V, cosplay sounds like a way to show appreciation for characters and the stories they star in. Being the big fan of literature and poetry that he is, this aspect of the event does trigger his interest but when Nico gives him the idea to try out cosplay himself, she suggests that he shouldn’t go with cosplaying William Blake. Griffon laughs out loud at the mere idea but his suggestion of V cosplaying as a Disney princess (the orphans under Nero’s and Kyrie’s care have tried to show the avian various Disney movies, further adding to his arsenal of nicknames for V), is equally shot down.

V does want to put some thought and care into who to cosplay, but he also acknowledges his lack of sewing skills and is not too into the thought of buying a costume for himself with his limited funds. Kyrie offers to help but he is hesitant to accept it, seeing how she is trying to make something wearable for both herself, Nero and three little boys.

Ultimately, Nico and surprisingly, Dante become his greatest helpers. The childhood home of the sons of Spardas might have mostly fallen apart, but there are still some of their father’s old black robes in one of the rooms. It needs some adjustments, being too big on V’s lean frame, but the length is pretty spot on.

Nico demonstrates an automatic multi-tool that includes both measuring and sewing capabilities, as well as a laser pointer and a demon alarm that accidentally trips when Griffon is present. V doesn’t ask why she saw the necessity to put all of those functions together, but in the end, two of them are helpful for their situation. And she will show it off at the convention, as part of her genius.

How Dante does it, V doesn’t know, but one day, a long blonde wig is delivered to Devil May Cry, perfect for his decided cosplay. Turns out Dante’s flirt with the lady at the costume shop was helpful.

Ultimately, V feels very satisfied with his appearance as Alucard from Castlevania. The black robes are a different material from his regular leather vest but it’s still in black and thus, he feels right at home in it rather quickly. The long blonde wig takes some more time to adjust to.

What he had not anticipated were people asking to photograph him in this getup but thankfully, V took his time to research his character’s lines and mannerisms. Alucard is a gentleman, so V doesn’t find it very hard at all.

During the convention, Nero and Kyrie have enough on their plate, keeping an eye on the boys, so Nico usually stays close to V. Their chosen media are not anything alike, but that hardly matters. Nico is easily swept up in the excitement of the convention and seeing her makes V think that letting loose once in a while isn’t so bad.

Griffon stars in V’s cosplay as well, dressed up as a bat.

The next day, V will be a bit socially exhausted. Expect him to keep to himself with his book and tea for a good remainder of the day.

[meta-squash]

Journal For Plague Lovers part 8

Journal For Plague Lovers

Here I am lover man Here I am abortion Here I am miscarriage Here I am selfish maaaaan

Pretend prayer pretend care Makes everything seem fair These perfect abbatoirs these perfect actors Babies bones, dustbinned, shorn

Oh such love smeared stimulus Vacuumed pain slow suck luck Wake in hell murder one Troughs o’ bones wade in gore

Weep helpless skewered flesh Milky teeth soured and fetid PG certificate all cuts unfocused Sick in skin embarrassed within

BRIDGE

Civilized love-talk-flirt-kiss-fuck See you next week sugar Call back, he hangs up Beg broken, on yr knees now With child, all he gives scorn Pathetic wretch, he laughs so This love so pure so beautiful Cured so easy-hospitalise Mutilation lesions of life Stitches, wounds, doctor, divinity So much love this blind affinity

CHORUS

Only a god bruise Only a god sooth Only a god Reserves the right To forgive those that revile him

[The accompanying page shows 4 diagrams of Hell in Dante’s Inferno. Hand-written on the diagrams are “Here lies a box for Black Paul underneath the upper below the surface” “Who’ll build a box for Black Paul” “FUCK YOU Richey.” Below one of the diagrams the word “NO” is handwritten. Richey has also drawn an arrow pointing upward as well as many jagged lines around various parts of the diagrams, one of which he has partially colored with red pencil.]

References explanations:

An abattoir is another word for a slaughterhouse.

“Wake in hell murder one/Troughs o’ bones wade in gore” is yet another reference to Dante’s Inferno. This time it is to Ring One of the Seventh Circle of hell, which houses murderers, war-makers, plunderers, and tyrants. The souls in this ring are immersed in a river of boiling blood and fire.

“Weep helpless skewered flesh” may also be a Dante reference. It may be a reference to the souls trapped in the second ring of the seventh circle, those who commit violence against the self, aka suicides. Souls trapped in this ring have been transformed into trees that are fed upon by harpies, and can only speak if they are broken and bleeding. It may also be a reference to Satan himself, trapped in the center of the ninth circle. He is constantly weeping from his nine eyes.

A PG Certificate is a UK postgraduate certification at the level of a master’s degree.

A Box For Black Paul is a song by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.

[shes-claws-deep]

Vergil - Of Dates and Dating Advice

Thank you sanguia for your commission! Please enjoy this 1500 word fic of Vergil scoring his first date with Reader! And what comes next, of course~

Want a fic of your own? I’m currently having a sale, so now’s your chance to get one on discount!

Want to read more DMC fics? Right here.

To say that Dante was shocked by Vergil's question would be the understatement of the century. He thought it was a figment of his imagination, a mirage brought on by the madness of infinite enemies pouring out of the ground for what seemed like an eternity. Vergil looks put upon to repeat himself, but repeat himself he does, averting his gaze and turning to slash apart another demon.

"How do you ask a woman out on a date?"

Between surprised guffaws and hysterical laughter, Dante delivers his advice with panache. Demonstrating on an unfortunate Hell Caina, he lands several pick up lines that range from the stupid to the impossible to the downright sultry. Of course, the demon barely responds, in fact looking rather glad to be cut down along with the rest of its more fortunate kin. Vergil surmises that would be the reaction of the woman he intends to court should he try them. Once he runs out of ideas, Dante smashes the last demon into the ground and turns to his brother with an exasperated expression.

"Look, just grow a pair and ask her point blank." Dante gestures with his blade. "What's the worst that could happen?"

He could get rejected, that's what, Vergil hisses back with an uncharacteristic flush on his face. While not one to normally bother about being turned down by the object of his affections, he didn't normally have the stakes of 'this is a person I genuinely don't want to push away'. When faced with that, any stone cold man with a pair of steel balls would be daunted.

Well, he has time to consider his options, Dante rolls his eyes and crosses blades with his brother once more. After all, they're not getting out of here anytime soon.

After what seemed like an eternity, the brothers make their way back to the surface, covered in demon guts and their own filth. It is then that Vergil sees you, sees your relieved expression and hears your voice, and removes that filter between his brain and his mouth.

"Would you like to go out for dinner?"

Immediately, Vergil covers his blush with his hand, completely unaware that the grime on his face conceals his embarrassed expression. Almost as quickly, however, his hand drops and his eyes go wide as you agree with a grin on your face, a smile blooming on his when you ask him when and where he wants to go. He ignores Dante as the red-clad hunter wolf-whistles at them, electing to kick his brother away when Dante wanders closer to hear what he has to say.

Vergil admits there's really nowhere to go this late at night, no place left intact in Red Grave City, and the only place that 'serves' food is the leftovers from whatever food the girls ordered back at Dante's place. Given that it was such a last minute request, you wave aside his worries and invite him over to yours; why eat out when you can eat in?

It's a testament to Dante's raunchy suggestions that a dirty quip pops into his mind. That aside, however, Vergil gratefully accepts and falls into step beside you, his stride quickening when you offer the use of your shower. Holy shit, a shower, he hasn't seen that in an age. More than the -crush-, um, the attraction that he has to you, the thought of using your shower has him wanting to kiss you silly.

Somewhere deep inside him, he feels bad for making you make dinner on your own while he cleans up, even saying so himself in what he thought was a concerned tone of voice. Unfortunately for him, it comes out a little tired and you grin at him, pushing him towards the shower while waving a hand over your nose. You'd rather the food not get contaminated with the amount of demon guts on him, you insist, pointing him towards the bathroom while you gather a clean towel and some loose clothes.

When Vergil eyes them suspiciously, you laugh and shake your head. They're your sleeping clothes and they definitely do not belong to any man. You just so happen to really like loose clothing that just so happens to fit him, that's all. Of course, that's when the image of you wearing some of his shirts pops into his mind. Ignoring the cock twitching in his pants, Vergil gratefully accepts them and jumps into the shower, subtly sniffing at your body wash and your shampoo. Sakura blossoms and milk...an odd mix, but one that's rather pleasing to the nose. He pushes aside the thought that he'll be smelling of you for a while, ignores the voice in his head that tells him this is what it'd be like to share a house, to share a shower, and cleanses himself thoroughly. While also smelling your conditioner. Hey! He can't help it if you pick the best scents.

As he puts on your clothes, they fit him just like he thought - just right. It's honestly the most comfortable he's been in a long time. Finally feeling clean and well groomed, Vergil comes out and finds you still in the midst of prepping a simple stew. Turns out that he's faster than he thought he was. No matter. Even if he's clean, he rolls up his metaphorical sleeves and comes up next to you, quietly asking what he can do to help you.

On your end, you almost slice your own hand with the knife when he pops out of nowhere to hover by your shoulder. You turn around, just about ready to tell him to sit down and relax, but stop yourself when you see how delicious he looks in your clothes. The Elevator Stare comes out in full force and you spend an entire minute just looking him over, admiring how his muscles stretch the fabric, how content he looks even when he's frowning down at you. He comes out, towel around his shoulders, combing his hand through his damp hair, and looking like a snack, and expects you not to ogle him? You tell him as much in a blunt manner, giggling to yourself when he has to turn his face away and blush like a schoolboy. Maybe he doesn't get as many compliments as he should, but really. Really. He looks like a snacc. With two Cs.

So, of course, you take his offer of help and watch him wield your chef's knife masterfully, those forearms working and slicing ingredients so easily that it actually looks sensual. You offhandedly compliment his technique, brushing your hand over his back as you edge around him to reach your fridge. You can feel him tense under your touch but he doesn't move away; on the contrary, he looks towards you and stays in place, making you press up against his back on your way to the stove again. Cheeky boy.

Cooking dinner and eating it goes by in a flash, with Vergil eating up your attention with a small smile on his face and a welcoming posture. After a while, you understand why he lets you be the one to flirt instead of him; he tried to touch your leg while you put on a movie and made you jump, something that startles both him and you. Enough that he retreats and puts his hand back on his lap sheepishly, his eyes locked on the screen instead of your face. After that, he didn't try to touch you again, his posture tensing up, though he does remain friendly when you ask him questions.

Well, you can't have that. Not when you finally have him right where you want him. And you're sure he wants it too; the way he keeps glancing at your hand on the sofa between you, the way he blushes when you stretch and reveal an expanse of bare leg, the way his breath hitches when you kneel on the sofa to grab something behind you. Besides, Vergil's not one to stick around when he doesn't want to. All these combined with his sudden shyness makes you only want him more. With that in mind, you ask him point blank, "Are you okay with me flirting with you? Like physical flirting?"

Vergil's face burns brightly in the dimly lit room. "What did you just say?"

You roll your eyes and crawl into his lap sideways, pressing your thigh against his rousing cock. "Are you okay with this? If I were to get handsy?" To demonstrate further, you trail a fingertip over his cheek, feather-like, and feel his breath rattle in his great chest. "If I were to keep on touching you and teasing you?"

Vergil's arms creep up behind you. "I...would not be opposed." He's held transfixed by your eyes as you lean in closer, closer, closer until he can feel your breath on his lips.

"Then I want to do something. Let me know when to stop, alright?" You don't give him a moment to argue as you stand up and tug him up alongside you, one arm snaking around his shoulders and the other around his waist as you spin and dip him down, pressing a kiss to his lips at the same time.

Vergil yelps and clings to you, his body tensing at the sudden shift in gravity. But he relaxes some when he feels your lips on his, choosing to focus on that instead of the fact that you're suspending him above the ground. Shit, and he thought you were strong before.

Not one to end it just there, you pull him back upright and sweep him off his feet. Literally. You gather him up into your arms in a bridal carry and sweep him off into your room without breaking your lip lock. Impressive, if you do say so yourself. Vergil seems to agree if his hands in your hair are any indication. Although he does try to show off his strength when you toss him onto the bed, his hands reaching for your clothes and trying to pull you on top of him.

You aren't having it, not when you're drunk off the fact that he's letting you have your way with him. It's intoxicating - having this impossibly powerful man decide that he's too awkward to try and flirt with you the way most men would try, to decide that maybe he shouldn't try to think about how to seduce you and that he should let himself be the seduced instead. Riding on that high, you roll onto your back and pull his head down to your thighs, all the while shimmying your shorts and underwear off with his help.

Vergil, too, is feeling that drunkenness of your power, following your lead almost mindlessly as you lift your legs and hook them over his shoulders to bring him in close. Obliging your insistent hands on his head, he dives between your legs and feasts like a king. Slurping, sucking, licking, devouring you with such hunger and delight that you can't hold back your cries. In the back of his mind, Vergil wonders why he didn't do this earlier; wonders why he didn't try to court you earlier, wonders why he never asked to live between your legs, why he never thought to seek the ambrosia leaking from your most intimate place. Now though, now he swears to never go a day without tasting you. He's so serious about it that he actually says it out loud without a blush, his mind focused on drinking up the slick that pours out of you at his declaration.

You grin and agree with him, pulling him close and closing your thighs around his head as he makes you cum. What a great start to the night, if you do say so himself.

The next morning brings about a sense of contentedness. For you and for Vergil. You because you're sore in all the right places and cuddled closely to his side. Him because he wakes up next to you, sees your face and feels your affection first thing in the morning. Vergil takes one look at your sleep soft body, at your squirming as you stretch, and decides to make good on his promise the night before, slowly slinking beneath the covers until he hears the doorbell go.

Pressing him back into the covers, you elect to answer it after you've thrown on the shirt he discarded last night. At the door is Dante in full hunting regalia looking for his brother. He tries to peer over your shoulder into your living room, as though expecting to find clothes strewn all over the floor and a well-fucked Vergil on the sofa. Even says it aloud, much to your consternation and Vergil's exasperation in your bed. You shake your head and push Dante away, smirking and telling him that Vergil will find him when he wants to find him.

While generally as bull-headed as the rest of them, Dante knows when to take a hint. He backs away with his hands in the air, though he takes a moment to smirk when he spots his brother's bedraggled self in your bedroom doorway. "Damn girl, you messed him up good!"

A slam of the door answers him. You laugh at his affronted gasp, then turn and snicker at Vergil's disgusted expression. Sidling up close, you push your lover back into the bedroom and toss him his phone. Best he text his brother to know that his 'messing up' was mutual. The nasty grin that spreads across Vergil's handsome face is one that you'll cherish forever. Well, that and the way he throws his phone aside to plant his face between your legs again.

[thesportssoundoff]

A Dumb Draft Exercise

It's a Friday night and we're all locked in so I decided to do something a touch different. I took the current NFL draft order and then looked up the last five NFL drafts (2015-2019) to see who was picked at spots. Using the teams as they stand after one long (and it feels it) week of free agency, I picked ONE player selected at that set position to try and do a retro draft. Each team picked ONE player picked over the last five years at that specific spot (so at 1 overall, you could only draft 1st overall). How different would your favorite team look? Welll.....

1. Cincinnati- QB Kyler Murray (2019)

The first round picks of the past five years consist of four QBs (Jameis Winston, Jared Goff, Baker Mayfield and Murray) alongside premiere edge rusher Myles Garrett. As is often the case with top pick QBs tasked with saving bad franchises, each becomes less and less attractive as the years go by and they hit the ceiling of "damn good but not quite franchise saver" over and over. I went with Murray because while I think Goff is vastly underrated by most fans, Murray's got the ability and personality to drastically change an organization that feels like it's been hankering for a chance over the past five years. Murray was one of the NFL's brightest stars last year and figures to only improve, especially if you put him under the watchful gaze of an offensive guru (of sorts) in Zac Taylor.

2. Washington- DE Nick Bosa (2019)

Was REALLY torn with Carson Wentz and Nick Bosa for the Redskins. There's a lot of dead-ish weight here with Mitch Trubisky and Marcus Mariota and while Saquon may be the best player in theory, no team needs to take a running back in the top 5 (or in the first round at all). Assuming the Redskins are truly comfortable with Dwayne Haskins then taking Nick Bosa and pairing him up in the front four along with the likes of Montez Sweat, Matt Ionidis and Daron Payne would probably be a formidable ass crew.  Basically the Chase Young strategy.

3. Detroit- DE Joey Bosa (2016)

How about the Bosa Bros going back to back! One would assume tht if the Lions wanted a QB, they're GOING to have their pick of the proverbial litter on the back end. After all after Cincy, they'll have Tua, Herbert and Love at their disposal if taking a QB so amuses them. Instead operating under the belief that the Lions feel comfortable with Stafford for MAYBE one more year, it leaves us to choose from Joey Bosa, Solomon Thomas and Dante Fowler. Bosa is likely on his way to a multiple pro bowl career while Thomas may just grade out as average and Fowler is on his third team now. Easy choice if ya ask me.

4. NY Giants- WR Amari Cooper (2015)

The Giants would be picking from a variety of offensive players; two of which are current Dallas Cowboys. You have Amari Cooper, Zeke Elliott, Leonard Fournette on offense and then Denzel Ward at cornerback as pretty much your only other option. Give me Amari Cooper as he'd immediately step in and make an offense consisting of Daniel Jones, Barkley, Golden Tate and a two tight end threat of Evan Engram and Kaden Smith a pretty damn formidable one.

5. Miami- OLB Bradley Chubb (2018)

This WOULD be easy in theory. Cornerback Jalen Ramsey would've been a FINE choice here but the Dolphins have Xavien Howard and Byron Jones on the back end. With Jalen Ramsey out of the picture, you have an interesting linebacker in Devin White, a superb guard in Brandon Scherff and my selection Bradley Chubb. With so much locked in on the defense, Chubb (if healthy) steps in as an immediate premiere pass rusher. Barely edges out Brandon Scherff. BARELY.

6. LA Chargers- OG Quinton Nelson (2018)

Man! The Chargers would have their glut of talent to choose from if they so desired. Want an elite strong safety? Jamal Adams was picked 6th in 2018. Want a QB to groom and develop? Daniel Jones went here in 2019. If you want a flexible havoc inducing DL piece? Leonard Williams in 2015 went 6th overall. Ronnie Stanley is a pretty damn good tackle as well.  Quinton Nelson is a top 3 guard in just two seasons and figures to continue to improve. It's not a premiere position for a lot of people but Nelson bucks the trend.

7. Carolina- QB Josh Allen (2018)

Funny bit? We have two Josh Allens here as Josh Allen from Wyoming and Josh Allen from Kentucky both went 7th overall. Both would be tremendous picks given the Panthers needs (an elite edge or a QB). Deforest Buckner finally hit on his potential and got paid paid for it as well, fitting in interestingly here as a potential flexible front line piece. The Panthers just paid Teddy Bridgewater relatively big time money but if you have the chance to take a really athletic strong armed QB who has shown strides in two seasons, you should do it. Imagine Allen throwing it to the likes of DJ Moore and Christian McCaffery.

8. Arizona- RB Christian McCaffery (2017)

THIS one was hard given the lack of obvious options. Do you need more receiving options? If so TE TJ Hockenson was picked 8th. Christian McCaffery is probably the best player at this spot but again, running backs and top 10s and etc etc etc. Nuke Hopkins, Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk are on paper a superb trio of WRs and you also have Kenyan Drake at RB. Vic Beasley is a good pass rusher who has sort of lost his way as a player (hence the one year prove it deal). Give me McCaffery I guess. I think he'd do wonders in Kingbsury's offense and I suppose you can make he and Drake work together. That's why head coaches get paid.

9. Jacksonville- OT Mike McGlinchey (2018)

There's not a lot of obvious fits for a tanking team like the Jaguars. DT Ed Oliver would be intriguing but I have no idea how he fits in with the Jaguars defense. The likes of Leonard Floyd (recently released), Ereck Flowers (failed tackle turned kinda failed guard), John Ross (oft injured speedster) are other options. Lastly there's Mike McGlinchey who was starting at right tackle for the Super Bowl 49ers. The Jaguars have spent picks at both tackle spots but McGlinchey is better.

10. Cleveland- QB Patrick Mahomes (2017)

Fuck. Would the Browns even with Baker Mayfield flirt with taking Patrick Mahomes? Who cares. Mayfield can be traded. If you have the chance to grab the best QB in the NFL, you do it. Easy peasy.

11. NY Jets- CB Marshon Lattimore (2016)

This one came down to Lattimore or Minkah Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick can do so much across a secondary and his swiss army knife toolset was amplified in a Pittsburgh secondary that left to his devices where he could roam free and fuck shit up. On the other hand, Marshon Lattimore represents one of the NFL's rare commodities; a star shutdown cornerback. Plus with Marcus Maye and Jamal Adams tie up the safety spots pretty well.

12. Las Vegas- QB Deshaun Watson (2017)

The Raiders are openly flirtatious with moving on from Derek Carr. Deshaun Watson would step in and be a massive upgrade. There's also not much here either given how 90% of the players are DL and the Raiders have plenty of names and faces they like there. Maxx Crosby, Maliek Collins, John Hankins and Clelin Ferrell to name a few.

13. San Francisco f/IND- OG Laremy Tunsil (2016)

Take the 49ers OL with Joe Staley, Mike McGlinchey and Laken Tomlinson and then slide in Laremy Tunsil at RG. That's an absurd OL. There also weren't many options to really delve into either depending on how you feel about Da'Ron Payne and Vita Vea.

14. Tampa Bay- DE Marcus Davenport (2018)

Pick 14 over the past five years is a bit of a dry spell unfortunately. The best player on the list is DeVante Parker and the Bucs clearly have a collection of damn good WRs. Shaq Barrett and JPP are in place for 2020 but could the Bucs use Davenport as a third rusher and move him inside on pass rush downs. Not a lot of good ideas here unfortunately.

15. Denver- RB Melvin Gordon (2015)

Easy peasy! I mean Denver just signed him! That's a bit of a cheapie but let's keep with it. Gordon fitshere (and nobody else does).

16. Atlanta- LB Tremaine Edmunds (2018)

Edmunds with Deion Jones? Sign me up! The only other option that makes sense here is Marlon Humphrey at corner which would be an equally fine pick.

17. Dallas- S Derwin James (2018)

Given that Arik Armstead and John Allen would be 3-technique types in this defense, it makes sense we would ONCE again look at the safety market! Yay! The Cowboys scheme in 2018 apparently didn't like Derwin James as much as the media thought they did but this is a brand new scheme and a new way to play. Derwin James would edge out Keanu Neal (who BTW when healthy is an amazing safety) by virtue of being more of the chess piece the Cowboys need.

18. Miami f/PIT- C Ryan Kelly (2017)

Again there's a glut of corners here but the Dolphins have their fair share. As such, turn your attention over to a glut of centers---who they also just signed a guy for. Ryan Kelly is a pro bowl center though and you can make exceptions for that.

19. Las Vegas f/CHI- LB Leighton Vander-Esch (2018)

One of the better linebackers in the NFL prior to his neck injury, LVE was a friggin' elite athlete who could still redefine what NFL linebackers look like. His defensive coordinator is there as well (as the DL coach) and I bet Gruden would love his leadership and his ability as an off ball linebacker. This one is easy enough.

20. Jacksonville f/LAR- TE Noah Fant (2019)

The Jaguars are in the midst of a rebuild of sorts but unfortunately there's no immediate building block pieces at 20. It came down to Frank Ragnow (a versatile OL with upside) or Noah Fant and I opted for tight end Noah Fant since Minshew could use a reliable safety blanket. Assuming Fant can control his drops of course.

21. Philadelphia- WR Will Fuller (2016)

The Eagles could REALLY use some targets for Carson Wentz. Last year in clutch games they were relying on JJ Arceaga-Whiteside and Boston Scott for targets outside of their tight ends. Wouldn't have a problem going with FS Darnell Savage either who also went at 21.

22. Minnesota f/BUF- DE Bud Dupree (2015)

I don't know if the Vikings NEED an edge but even if they don't, there's really no options here. Josh Doctson was a flop in Washington, Charles Harris was a flop in Miami, Rashaan Evans plays the same spot as their glut of damn good linebackers and Andre Dillard is an unproven tackle for Philly to this point. Hit or miss here.

23. New England- Isaiah Wynn (2018)

I mean they drafted him here. Easy enough. Although would they take TE Evan Engram all things being equal?

24. New Orleans- WR DJ Moore (2018)

The Saints did grab Emmanuel Sanders but DJ Moore, Sanders and Michael Thomas is a whole different world of WR depth. There's also pretty much nobody else here worthy of snagging either.

25. Minnesota- WR Marquise Brown (2019)

HOLLYWOOD! The Vikings just traded away Stefon Diggs and could use an infusion of playmaker at their WR spot to help assist their TE room, Dalvin Cook and Adam Thielen. Marquise Brown would give Kirk Cousins a souped up version of Jamison Crowder; a WR-3 he relied heavily on in Washington.

26. Miami f/HOU- DE Montez Sweat (2019)

So the Dolphins have signed a lot of DE and we also gave them Bradley Chubb earlier BUT Montez Sweat is going to terrorize the NFL for the next 5-10 years and so he and Chubb combined? That's big time pass rush. Also, again, not much to really select from here either.

27. Seattle- CB Byron Jones (2015)

If you drew up a make and model for a Seahawks DB? It looks like Byron Jones. Byron just got paid big time money by Miami It's Byron vs Tre White and Byron fits the mold a bit better. Could also see Seattle liking Kenny Clark. Lots of good defensive players at 27.

28. Baltimore- OG Laken Tomlinson (2015)

Let Tomlinson battle it out with the interior OL the Ravens have currently. There's really not much here, it's either Tomlinson or DT Jerry Tillery.

29. Tennessee- TE David Njoku (2017)

Funny story, the 2016 1st round pick here was forfeited via deflategate. With just four names to choose from (and not really much to talk about either way), the Titans take David Njoku. Njoku has struggled with his role in Cleveland and the Titans do have some solid tight ends already in place but Njoku would be a pretty nice flier. Most of the guys here at 29 are just not good unless you're a Taven Bryan truther.

30. Green Bay- LB TJ Watt (2017)

And Cowboys fans across the globe shudder in horror. Yes, the Packers have two really good DEs in the Smith brothers. There's nobody else here who comes remotely close to the pure value TJ Watt has. Let him rush from the left side and rack up the sacks. You can figure it out somehow I figure. Let Preston Smith play 3-tech or something!

31. San Francisco- LB Reuben Foster (2017)

On one hand, the less said about Foster the better. On the other, there's really nobody else here who would come close. Unless you're a Germaine Ifedi fan?

32. Kansas City- DT Malcolm Brown (2015)

For any other team in any other league, this is Lamar Jackson. The Chiefs are really set at QB for the next 10-15 years so we'll have to take a pass. Instead Malcolm Brown is pretty much the only other really good value play. Big thumpy 1-tech/nose tackles are usually found later on in the draft but Brown is a good one and the Chiefs truthfully don't need much else either.

[wellhalesbells]

I see you reblogging some comic stuff an I was wondering if you have a favorite comic or favorite character or ship?

this ask is from so long ago but [DEEP BREATH IN] i’m finally going to answer it, nonny.  finally.  i kept wanting to read a little bit farther in my comics stack because.... maybe i’ll like that and will regret not having recced it, i just hafta--get--to it, see?  and, honestly, i’m still there BUT, come on, i’ll never be caught up because that would mean comics would just have to stop coming out and i would be sad forever if that happened, SO

i’m not even going to pretend like i can narrow this down to one comic.  (one ship?  sure, that’s spideypool.  one character?  sure, that’s the merc with a mouth, the regenerating degenerate, wade motherfucking wilson.  but one comic?!)  there is just straight-up too much out there to make a definitive ‘yes, this is it, this is THE ONE ™ ’ statement.  instead, uh, let’s break this shit down, yeah?  (super special secret bonus round, will note all lgbt+ rep and standalone comics.)  in no particular order, here the frig it goes!

HORROR

infidel, by pornsak pichetshote and aaron campbell.  in case you haven’t seen this on every 2018 best list ever, here it is.  and, yeah, it was good.  a muslim-american main character living in a haunted apartment building where the entities feed off the xenophobia of its occupants.  if that’s not a fucking modern horror story i don’t know what is.

spread, by justin jordan and kyle strahm.  THIS IS ONE OF MY NEW AND ALREADY ALL-TIME FAVORITES.  what an awesomely weird and epic story.  the spread is an uncontrollable, unstoppable monster-making force that humanity accidentally unleashed by digging too deep.  it infects everything it touches and basically all of humanity is running from quarantine to quarantine just hoping for the best.  and speaking of hope.... she’s a baby, rescued by no, and the only thing that’s ever been able to stop the spread.  also, no’s gay?  and i just DID NOT see that coming.  it seems like it’s going to be such a formulaic, bro-y story about the action hero who kisses the face off his girl (her name’s molly and she’s batshit insane and amazing) and instead, nope, it is not that at all.  lgbt+ main characters.

the black monday murders, by jonathan hickman and tomm coker.  hate capitalism?  think all the rich and powerful are evil, soul-sucking monsters?  [obnoxious, low-budget commercial sound effects] MAN, HAVE I GOT THE SERIES FOR YOU.

the beauty, by jeremy haun and jason a. hurley.  i just started this recently but so far, oh my good golly gosh, i looove it.  a sexually transmitted disease that makes you conventionally gorgeous.... at least before it explodies you.  [wide, creepy smile]  the art is gorgeous, the characters are aces and i am very, very pleased so far.  lgbt+ minor characters.

the great divide, by ben fisher and adam markiewicz.  this?  was a COOL idea.  the execution stumbled a bit but, gosh, was it neat.  it’s post-apocalyptic where touching another person will literally kill.... one of you.  the survivor then absorbs the memories of the person who dies, taking on a ‘rider.’  some people collect them, some people go mad, some form a bond, all have the side effect of dyslexia.  like i said, neat as all get out.  lgbt+ minor-ish/main-ish character.  standalone.

revival, by tim seely and mike norton.  a rural town in wisconsin experiences ‘miracle day,’ where the dead rise again.... except, they were kinda already mourned and buried and this is really just fucking up the status quo.

the woods, by james tynion iv and michael dialynas.  a high school gets picked up and plopped down in an entirely new, and wickedly hostile universe.  it’s all survival and alliances and seeing what you’re really made of when it comes down to it.  lgbt+ main characters. 

clean room, by gail simone and jon davis-hunt.  a cult, a journalist and a clean room walk into a bar...

anya’s ghost, by vera brosgol.  you think it’ll be a cute story of a girl and her ghost.  HA HA THAT IS NOT WHAT HAPPENS AT ALL, OKAY.

FANTASY

rumble, by john arcudi and james harren.  SCARECROW WARRIOR GOD, SCARECROW WARRIOR GOD, SCARECROW WARRIOR GOD!!!  okay, first off, the art in this?  pushes every friggin’ button i’ve got, and many i did not know i had.  second, this book is so fucking fun.  it’s mythology that’s balls to the wall ridiculous, funny, and features a main character whose life motto is basically: ‘do i have to?’  infinitely relatable and then some.

heathen, by natasha alterici and rachel deering.  UGH, ONE OF MY FAVORITES.  the art is just horribly, horrendously gorgeous and it’s LESBIAN VIKING MYTHOLOGY, OKAY.  OKAYYYY???   lgbt+ main characters.

the wicked + the divine, by kieron gillen and jamie mckelvie.  one of my favorite ever series right here.  it’s a hella cool concept (gods reincarnating as humans every twelve years, and burning up their hosts in two), whip-smart and if you’ve ever met a human being who likes a pun more than kieron gillen i defy you to produce them.  lgbt+ main and minor characters.

batgirl, by gail simone and adrian sayaf and vicente cifuentes.  you know how people rave about gail simone?  there’s a reason people rave about gail simone.  honestly, i’ve never had much interest in babs.  i don’t tend to go for superheroes who don’t kill and i have even less interest in ‘the killing joke’ story line and i am convinced only gail simone could’ve done the recovery on that and she did a GLORIOUS job of it.

red hood and the outlaws, by scott lobdell and dexter soy.  (ignoring recent - and annoying - developments), this is my favorite of all the rebirths dc did.  scott lobdell is the only writer to have gotten the idea down of: okay, we’re starting over, i assume you don’t know anything but i also assume there are a bajillion people reading who know everything, and hit the perfect medium between those two things.  so if you want to start a jason todd run, you legitimately can here, and get all the found family, badassery, batman-teasing enjoyment there is to be had.

iceman, by sina grace and robert gill (covers by kevin wada).  classic super-heroing here and bobby’s first solo title.  he’s figuring out coming out while fighting (and flirting) with baddies.  sina really gets his humor and how truly wonder-awful it is!  lgbt+ main character.

spider-man/deadpool, by joe kelly and ed mcguinness.  watch those names there, those are your guys right there, period.  they looked at the void of a spider-man/deadpool series and filled it with absolutely everything you could possibly want for the pair (sans a hardcore make-out sesh, though they did get a few variant covers with some puckered up lips in there!)

limbo, by dan watters and caspar wijngaard.  a fusion of 80s aesthetics, voodoo elements and a noir tone.  just some remarkably cool shit in this.  the ending, for me, left something to be desired but it was more than worth it to see worship via mixtapes.  standalone.

hawkeye: kate bishop, by kelly thompson and leonardo romero.  kate bishop is, apparently???, a super impossible character for a lot of writers.  kelly thompson is not one of them.  kelly thompson is my favorite kate bishop writer, actually, and the fact that she is ever not writing her is a gd travesty.

the unbeatable squirrel girl, by ryan north and erica henderson.  honestly, i’m so tempted to just stick this under ‘contemporary,’ because it really does just feel very... normal.  doreen’s navigating college, new friendships, and y’know... the squirrely-ness.  this had every opportunity to suck and instead it’s funny as heck, never takes itself too seriously, and is just pure good-hearted entertainment through and through.

wolf, by ales kot and matt taylor.  a paranormal detective and the-possible-antichrist go on a road trip.  people hated this comic and i don’t know how you can hate a comic that has a character called freddy chtonic who has tentacles for a mouth??? 

ms. marvel, by g. willow wilson and adrian alphona.  hi, you read ms. marvel because the world is a garbage fire and people are terrible and your cynicism is at an all time high and then kamala khan waltzes in and reminds you people generally want to help each other and the world improves when we work together and that thing optimists feel?  you’ll feel that for as long as you’ve got the pages open and that’s a magical thing.  lgbt+ minor character.

monstress, by marjorie m. liu and sana takeda.  psychic links with monsters, matriarchal societies, magic and witchery, half-human/half-animal (and other ratios) characters, all through a steampunk lens.  what’s not to like about that??

inhuman, by charles soule.  i love this series, i love the idea of being a total average joe/joanne, getting smacked in the face by a cloud of mist and suddenly having to figure out how to live basically a whole new life.  also, if you don’t fall madly in love with dante pertuz, i don’t even know what to tell you, my dude.

heart in a box, by kelly thompson and meredith mcclaren.  break-ups suck, but only because of that whole pesky broken heart thing, right?  so emma gives hers away.  problem solved, no?  standalone.

i kill giants, by joe kelly and j.m. ken niimura.  i didn’t cry my eyes out or anything.  did not.  standalone.

sex criminals, by matt fraction and chip zdarsky.  having sex = stopping time, which leads suzie and jon to the only logical conclusion: let’s rob some banks!

hawkeye, by matt fraction and david aja.  honestly there are a lot of other artist combos in this run but the only ones that are worthwhile are the ones that have fraction and aja’s names on them - sorry not sorry.

SCIENCE FICTION

black bolt, by saladin ahmed and christian ward.  saladin revived this character one hundred million percent.  there is absolutely a reason this was parading around all over ‘best’ lists when it was released.  it really, really did the damn thing.

saga, by brian k. vaughan and fiona staples.  this is the comic you recommend to people who don’t even like comics because it is that good.  like, my dad - who hadn’t read a comic since he was a pre-teen, eagerly awaits each new trade.  the world-building, the characters, the care put into every single solitary bit of all the things?  unparalleled.  lgbt+ minor characters.

frostbite, by joshua williamson and jason shawn alexander.  a post-apocalyptic story that has humanity dying from a plague that literally freezes you from the inside out.  very neat, very cold, very readable.  standalone.

descender, by jeff lemire and dustin nguyen.  this had a rough start, for me, with the main character of the first trade being tim-21, an android who is literally incapable of having the depth to be a lead BUT that does not last through to the next trade, thank god.  lots of space and found family and world-building in this to be had!  but you know how people rave about jeff lemire?  there’s a reason people rave about jeff lemire.

paper girls, by brian k. vaughan and cliff chiang.  the 80s and time travel and lifelong friendships.  it’s brian k. vaughan, you know it’s good, okay?  why do i even have to sell you here, man?  lgbt+ main characters.

injection, by warren ellis and declan shalvey.  this is another one on my list that started out a little rough but really appealed to me later on.  there was just a lot to absorb in that first trade but, once you’ve got it, the ride gets way, way smoother.   lgbt+ main and minor characters.

black science, by rick remender and matteo scalera.  this was a rocky start, because the main character is such an asshole but in a way where he can’t see he’s an asshole, he’s just a tortured genius who’s superior to all of you, don’t you know? but i am so glad i persevered because if that’s the set up?  the rest of the series is knocking him back down.  super scientist grant mckay finds a way to access the eververse, every possible reality the universe has on offer, and that’s really what causes every single problem that follows.  hard to cause the apocalypse and be an arrogant prick, ya know?

CONTEMPORARY

giant days, by john allison and lissa treiman.  this series is so funny and smart and warm.  these girls are so kind to each other and relatable and failing at adulting regularly and often and i love reading about them.  lgbt+ main character.

lumberjanes, by noelle stevenson and grace ellis and brooke a. allen.  this is funny and ridiculous and kind and cool and all other awesome adjectives and you should read it, fact.  lgbt+ main characters.

my brother’s husband, by gengoroh tagame and anne ishii (translator).  this is such a sweet story about acceptance and family tbh.   lgbt+ main character.

fence, by c. s. pacat and johanna the mad.  i mean... i need to see nicholas and seiji hook-up, i need that, stat.  stat means now!   lgbt+ main characters.

WEB/INDEPENDENT COMICS

long exposure, by kam heyward.  so mitch and jonas are my absolute faves and i love them to death and the author is so kind in that they actually put this up in print on indyplanet so i can read it the way i, personally, love to read comics (and - bonus! - support them with the monies).  lgbt+ main characters.

modern dread, by pat shand and ryan fassett (editors).  i’ve been trying to find more better horror comics lately so i’ve been kind of half-heartedly stumbling through kickstarter on the hunt and this was SUCH a great find.  it’s an anthology but more cleverly done than any other kickstarter anthology i’ve read, with a main story line that seamlessly strings together the would-be-disjointed ones.  this was really thoughtfully put together and really well done!  standalone.

heartstopper, by alice oseman.  a very sweet story about two high school-aged boys becoming fast friends, playing rugby and falling in love.  the two characters are mentioned as an aside in the author’s book, solitaire, and she became so invested in them that she wrote their backstory as a free webcomic.   lgbt+ main characters.

the pale, by jay fabares.  JUST started this (like, just a day or so ago) but i’m enjoying it so far!

hotblood!, by toril orlesky.  i mean... is it a webcomic about a centaur falling in love with his boss?  it just might be.  did i get a bound edition through a kickstarter campaign?  maybe.  maybe i did that.  who’s to say?   lgbt+ main characters.

the bay, by bbz.  life on mars through the lens of three young professionals who form an odd but lasting friendship.  lgbt+ main characters.

hard drive, by artroan.  is it a nsfw comic about a dude and a robot?  .... it might be a nsfw comic about a dude and a robot.  [coughs]   lgbt+ main characters.

seen nothing yet, by tess stone.  a nsfw comic about two amateur ghost hunters.  can’t imagine why i might be interested in that [coughs]   lgbt+ main characters.

captain imani and the cosmic chase, by lin darrow and alex assan.  i mean did i want a starship captain who can’t help but lust after the smuggler he’s chasing.  i mean, maybe i did.  maybe.   lgbt+ main characters.

taproot, by keezy young.  ghost falls in love with boy, boy falls in love with ghost, AND THEY LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER.  lgbt+ main characters.

always raining here, by bell and hazel.  just two boys falling in lurve.  lgbt+ main characters.

[rotworld]

Once More, With Feeling

after months of training to become certified to hunt demons, you’ve learned just about everything dante has to teach you. for your final exam, you just have to beat him in a fight. how hard can it possibly be?

->dante/reader. explicit, contains fighting as flirting. sequel to a gun called lover.

Steel kisses steel and the sound rings out sharp and clear like a bell breaking. Dante’s eyes meet yours and there’s a moment of stillness, the winds you built behind your movement suddenly rushing past. You both stand frozen, locked in this dance of violence and you can feel the tension in you coiled tight and explosive.

Rebellion dwarfs your blade and they meet like a freighter colliding with a rowboat. Weeks ago, you would’ve stumbled, would’ve ended up sprawled on the floor by now. The shock would’ve traveled from your wrist up to your shoulder and something would’ve dislocated, might’ve even snapped like a twig. But you’re stronger now, better at this, more confident. Maybe you’re winded and panting, maybe beads of sweat dot your brow and trickle down the back of your neck while Dante looks as unflappable as chiseled stone, but you can stand here and stare him down now. You can put all of your weight into your forward motion so you aren’t knocked back even when he pushes against you, even when he scrapes Rebellion’s battle-worn edge against your weapon and they blush with friction, sparks stinging your fingers.

This is the part where he’d praise you if you were just sparring. This is where he’d give you a wry little smile, a laugh, a quietly satisfied, “Nice work, kid,” and it would mean the world to you. But that isn’t what he does now. This is not a friendly spar and Dante’s barely smiling. He pushes, pushes, pushes against you and the steel is screaming and you know the way a hunter knows when the tide of battle turns that you have half a second to shift your weight and move before this ends disastrously.

So you do, and he knows before it happens. He follows your movement with his eyes as you let his momentum give you the space you need to roll out of the way. And he knows you’ll try to get behind him, and he knows that you’ll try to fake him out with a quick step to the right, then the left, another half-step to get into position. He knows you’ll dance out of the way of Rebellion, little more than flitting lines of silver to your human eyes, and leap over a sweeping kick trying to knock you off balance. He knows you’ll go for his throat because that’s what he taught you, hands curled around the gnarled handle of an old sword he’s letting you borrow. His free hand clamps down on your wrist with your blade tickling his neck and you try to twist his arm only so he’s distracted, only so he doesn’t see your knee coming for his stomach.

But he does, and he’s disappointed that you thought he wouldn’t. Rebellion twirls in his hand like it weighs nothing and the starburst of steel at the end of its handle slams into your thigh. You’re crumpling before he’s even done with you. Your back slams into a wall that wasn’t there a second ago, halfway across the room last you checked, and Dante’s hand is on your throat where it always seems to find itself at the end of this. His thumb presses down on your windpipe and cuts off your air for only a second in the gentlest reminder that if he were anything else, if his thumb had a claw or if his hand were the open maw of a demon, you would be dead right now.

And then he lets go. You’re on your knees wheezing with a sore leg and a bruised ego, but nothing hurts as bad as the pain in your chest when he just leaves you there. Doesn’t even offer a hand to help you up. Doesn’t say a word. You’re angry and humiliated and you try not to cry but it’s one of the worse fights you’ve had lately, too many stupid mistakes. 

When you finally pick yourself up and wander back out into the wide open front office of Devil May Cry, there’s a freshly delivered pizza waiting on an old, bullet hole-ridden table for you. A gesture of mercy, or maybe an apology. It’s become part of the routine now. You tug a slice free and drop onto the couch beside Dante, who was nice enough to only eat half without you.

“So,” he says, and you feel his eyes burning into your side, “you come in half-asleep today or what? That was pretty rough.”

“I know,” you mutter. “I don’t wanna hear it, okay? I know it was bad. I was too obvious, didn’t move fast enough. That first dodge was really clumsy. I’m getting impatient, I guess.” He’s still staring while you eat and it’s making you self-conscious. You feel like you ran a marathon and got hit by a train at the end of it, sore all over, pulse thumping, sweat soaking your shirt and making your hair stick to your face, while Dante looks like as unruffled as always.

“Impatient’s not a good thing to be with a demon,” he says, and his tone makes you feel distinctly that you’re getting lectured. “We’ve been over this. You get reckless when you feel cornered and start making desperate moves. You gotta keep your cool. A regular demon’s not gonna let you walk away if you slip up like that.”

“I know.”

“Or are you just saying you do? Because this makes, huh, I dunno,” he pauses, counting on his fingers as if he doesn’t know off the top of his head, giving you an extra second to sulk in your loss, “seven times. Doesn’t it? You’re lucky I’m letting you take your final exam until you pass.” You eat your pizza in bitter silence. You’re acutely aware of Dante’s arm shifting on the back of the couch behind you, like he’s thinking of draping it over your shoulder, but he never does.

  “Hey, Dante?” His name always comes out a little shaky, like you don’t feel you’ve earned the right to say it so casually. You get an absent, “hn?” in response, muffled through a mouthful of crust and cheese. “Did I ever...I mean, you’re not holding something against me, right?”

Mild surprise flickers across his features for just a moment before he smooths it away into his usual nonchalance. “Kid, if I ever seem a little harsh, it’s because I don’t want you going out in the field without a clue.”

You bristle at the nickname. “Not what I meant.”

“What’d you mean, then?”

“It’s not—I mean, it’s. I just...” And you falter, like always. You break eye contact and look at the floor, licking the last of the tomato sauce from your fingers. Dante’s watching, his eyes are on your tongue and there’s that lingering tension that’s plagued all of your conversations from day one, that heat, that pressure, a gravitational pull trying to smash you together. There are a hundred things you want to say but what comes out is a meek, “Look, it’s nothing.”

His touch is warm and friendly, a reassuring pat on the back, and it’s gone before it overstays its welcome long enough to be interpreted as anything but strictly platonic. “You’re not gonna hurt my feelings. Let me know if I ever do something that crosses the line,” he says. It’s an easy out, an opportunity to nod and change the subject and get on with your lives. It doesn’t clear the air. It doesn’t smother the fire that ignites on your skin whenever you’re close like this. There’s half a pizza left on the table and neither of you have given it a second look since you sat down.

“What if I wanted that, though?” you mutter. You steal a glance at him out of the corner of your eye and he’s doing the same to you, not smiling, not quite frowning. He regards you with a look of quiet appraisal like you’re about to have another mock-battle again, sizing you up and mentally grading your performance.

“Wanted what?” Dante asks. It sounds like a challenge. You’re already backing down, berating yourself for saying something so impulsive. “Kid,” he says, his voice dipping lower and his head tilting, trying to meet your eyes, “what do you want?”

You, the word crawls up your throat, balances on the tip of your tongue and is caught just behind your teeth. You swallow hard. Dante’s leaning in and you’re closer than you were a second ago, his fingertips grazing your shoulder featherlight and teasing. You feel his breath on your lips and all you see is the bright blue of his eyes. Something could happen right now if you weren’t already doubting yourself, shrinking back timidly. Dante sees you retreating and something like disappointment flickers through his eyes. You’re so tired of all the things you aren’t saying to each other, all the distance, all the pretending.

So today, you make a promise. To him and to yourself. “There’s something we have to talk about,” you say. “We’re going to have that conversation when I win.”

Dante flashes a smile and your whole body warms at the heat and the admiration you see welling up in his eyes. “Sure thing, kid,” he says, and the deal is sealed. No backing out now. You feel a surge of panic at what you’ve just set yourself up for, but you need to do this if you’re ever going to overcome your timidity. The day you beat Dante is the day you’re certified to hunt demons, and now, it’s also the day you speak your mind and tell him you want him. For now, though, you allow yourself a quick retreat, thanking him for the pizza as you get yourself together and head for the door.

Dante tells you to take care, another piece of pizza in one hand, magazine in the other, leaning back as the perfect picture of nonchalance on the couch. But you look back one last time as you’re leaving and catch him peering over the page. The look in his narrowed eyes—sharp, smoldering, laser-focused—freezes you where you stand until the door slams shut between you. You clutch your chest and feel your heart racing.

*

The next one’s better. It’s quicker, yeah, and you end up flat on the ground with your ears ringing at the impact, but Dante’s breathing isn’t perfectly even. He keeps you under him with a hand around your throat, but the other one rises to his face and wipes at the trickle of blood dribbling out of a thin cut on his cheek. He looks at his slick, red fingers in surprise and lets out an impressed, “Huh.” You look a thousand times worse but you feel like a million bucks.

*

Trish leans over and asks, “So when do you move in?” and you’re sure you must’ve misheard her with all the noise.

It’s a rare day that the entire extended roster of Devil May Cry-affiliated hunters are under one roof, but every now and then, the stars align. Appliances in the shop have a short life expectancy—a combination of old, faulty wiring, periodic demon attacks on the office and Dante’s insistence that you can fix most things by smacking them with a sword a few times—so the squat little TV perched on the table sounds more like gargled static than whatever sitcom Nero’s trying to watch. The dented jukebox against the wall keeps skipping and playing the same thirty seconds of the same punk rock song. Lady’s having an increasingly heated conversation with Dante about whether or not he can pay her back this month. Sometimes the lights flicker, like the building can’t take the strain of everybody under one roof, and you all collectively hold your breath with your gazes at the ceiling until it stabilizes.

But, right, Trish asked you something. You’re looking at her as her stare grows expectant and try to understand where this is coming from. “What do you mean, move in?” you echo.

“It’s tradition,” she says simply, smiling at your visible confusion. “I’m kidding. It’s mostly practical. Although, come to think of it,” she glances at Nero slouched half-asleep on the far end of the couch and Lady following an exasperated Dante into the kitchen, “I bet we all stayed here for a little while.”

You glance at the staircase on the other side of Dante’s desk. “Really?”

“Sure. You’ll have to make a name for yourself before you start getting any job offers on your own. It’s easier to live on-site in the meantime while you’re just picking up Dante’s scraps.”

(You got really, really close once. Rushed him from the start, didn’t give him room to breathe, had him on the defensive a full five minutes. And you were surprised because he’d taught you this, too, told you there was a fine line between reckless and clever and you had to walk it sometimes, had to face your fears and get right in the face of a demon if it seemed like it didn’t want you there.

You were sharing breath the whole fight, nose to nose on the off-beats before he took a step back and you surged forward. His back hit the wall and you were ready, you were on him, you sliced across his hand when he brought it up to protect himself because he’d told you to fight like you meant it. You winced, hesitated, when his blood spattered across your cheek and it was barely a second, barely half a second, but that’s all it took.

Dante rolled you both and you were the one pinned, his whole weight crushing you against the wall. You’d actually gotten him to break a sweat and as you felt him panting against your ear, laughing huskily like he couldn’t believe you’d gotten this far, you felt it. He was draped heavily across your back and his pelvis was pressed against you and he was hard. And something must’ve happened, something you lost track of in the shuffle—maybe you went rigid, got scared, or maybe you even made a noise, something high-pitched and embarrassing, maybe both—and then he dropped you. You winced at the bruises forming on your knees and when you looked back, he was halfway across the room and was turned away from you.

“Nice try today,” he said casually, like he didn’t have a massive erection. You nodded numbly, realized he couldn’t see you, and muttered an affirmative sound. He left first while you were still gathering your thoughts and you were glad, because it took you a while to process everything. There was no pizza when you left the back room and the water was running upstairs. You just left. Next time, you didn’t bring it up but there was an unspoken understanding that something had changed.)

You ask Trish, “What’s it like, living here?”

The yelling from the kitchen gets a little louder when Dante comes back out, a leftover slice of pepperoni on a grease-covered paper plate in hand. The argument’s turned to playful bickering and the two of them are staring each other down on opposite sides of the desk. Lady makes a grab for the pizza and it’s briefly airborne in the scuffle. Trish is gone when you blink and back when you look again, electricity crackling on her skin. Dante shoots her a dirty look but she just smiles coyly and takes a bite of stolen pizza. “Eventful,” she says. “But you could’ve guessed that, I’m sure.”

You forget what she is sometimes and the sight of that raw, demonic power gives rise to some deeply ingrained fight-or-flight instinct, but it also fills you with awe. You’ve admired Trish since you first laid eyes on her. She’s got that confidence and cavalier attitude all the Devil May Cry hunters do, undaunted by any challenge. You’ve seen her come streaking across the sky like a falling star and slice a three-story tall demon in half, static flicking through her hair like something alive.

“Well, hey, just make yourself at home and eat the rest of my food!” Dante calls, watching disapprovingly as the last of the leftover pizza disappears. Lady’s brought a deck of cards with her and she’s spreading them out on the desk between them. Dante makes her roll up her sleeves and empty her pockets but you see her pull a card out of the waistband of her shorts when he’s not looking. Your gaze lingers for just a moment too long and Dante looks over like he can feel it, finds your eyes across the room and winks. You feel like a teenager, suddenly overheated and starstruck.

“Well,” Trish says, and you turn around and see she’s smirking, “that’s the other reason I asked.”

You smile nervously, glancing back at Dante once before you lean in and whisper, “Hey, on a scale of one to ten, how obvious is it?”

She tosses her head back in laughter. “That scale’s not gonna cut it. I thought Dante was the least subtle person I knew until you turned up on his doorstep.”

“Oh.”

(Another time—long, agonizing, the most drawn out loss you’ve ever suffered. You couldn’t break his guard while he was standing so you threw him off balance and flung yourself at him before he could stabilize, and you both went rolling across the hardwood floor. Maybe it was one of your worse plans because Dante was never going to lose a contest of strength against you, but you felt like you had to try.

Rebellion was lodged in the wall and your sword had been knocked across the room earlier, and this was nothing but pure, animalistic struggling, all clawing and writhing and raw strength. You’d get the upper hand for a few breaths and then he’d land a punch and you’d be curling back, arms in front to protect yourself, and you’d be rolling again, under him in a matter of seconds and doing anything to get back on top. It was over fast but every moment seemed to take forever. You were running out of breath and you hurt all over, bruised in places you didn’t know you had, and you kept thinking, one more second one more second one more second, trying to keep him down just that much longer.

Dante ended up on top in the end. His hand was on your throat, squeezing, and you blame it on the adrenaline, the mess of sensation, every one of your nerves alive and on fire, but you moaned. And he didn’t back off right away this time, not even when the heat of the moment began to ebb away and your head was clearing and you were hyperaware of the erection straining in his pants and nestled against your thigh. 

You both caught your breath and he was a mess, hair hanging in his face and a pearl of sweat sliding down the hollow of his throat. He looked at you with eyes a color you hadn’t seen before, something blue but not, tinged with a frightening light that wasn’t not reflecting off of anything but coming from inside of him, and he squeezed again.

“Dante,” you croaked, his name trapped under his fingers.

There was no delicate, graceful way to disengage after everything that had happened, so he just let you go. He lifted his weight off of you and his knuckles brushed against your cheek. This time, he offered a hand to help you up and you took it wordlessly, not looking each other in the eye.

“Sorry,” he said. “That crossed the line.”

“It was fine,” you said, and he looked at you like you’d done something dangerous.

No pizza again. He pretended to flip through the same magazines that had been piled on his desk for weeks and at least one was upside down. You excused yourself for the day as quietly as possible. He was giving you that look again. You felt it on your back the whole way out the door.)

There’s a lull in your conversation; no real silence because silence isn’t possible between the TV and the jukebox and Dante slamming his fist on the desk when he loses another round and Lady pockets another wad of cash. Trish glances at you, then at a spot over your shoulder and back again, and you must really be as subtle as a firestorm because she lowers her voice and asks, “You haven’t told him?”

You smile bitterly and steal another glance. You really are obvious. At least Dante’s too distracted with his game to notice and you take in the details of his face scrunched up in focus. He’s ruggedly handsome but he doesn’t look weary the way some hunters do, every year etched on his face softened by joy that never seems to leave his eyes. That was the first thing you noticed about him the day you came here and asked him to train you—Dante is happy. He can find a silver lining in any cloudy sky and puddle of mud, and that’s a skill you’ve tried to pick up as eagerly as devil hunting.

You tell Trish, “I can look him in the eye while he’s got me pinned on the floor with Rebellion at my throat, because I trust him. I know he’d never really hurt me. But the second it’s got something to do with a touch any gentler than that, I freeze up.”  Something in the air is making you uncharacteristically honest and open tonight, and you ask her, “How are you so brave all the time?”

Trish claps a hand on your shoulder and squeezes reassuringly. “I’ve been afraid before,” she admits. “It helps to remember you’re not alone. This isn’t just a business, you know. It’s a family. We take care of each other the best we can.” She gestures with a nod towards Lady, tidying up the stack of magazines on Dante’s desk. It takes you another moment to track down Dante; he comes down the creaking steps with an armful of blankets and drapes one over Nero, who’s sprawled asleep across the arm of the couch.

“Just like old times,” he sighs wistfully, reaching over to turn off the TV. “Kid’s always working himself too hard.”

“What a softie,” Trish teases him. She nudges you with her elbow and speaks in a mock-whisper, “You know, he got all choked up when Nero said he was moving back to Fortuna.”

Dante shoots her a warning look and she just smiles knowingly.

“Well, it’s been nice,” Lady says, Kalina Ann slung over one shoulder, “but I’ve got a long drive back and a job tomorrow bright and early.” She gives you a one-armed half hug as she heads for the door. “Keep him out of trouble, alright?”

You laugh and say you’ll try. Dante ushers both grinning hunters out the door and lets out a long-suffering sigh. The jukebox is put out of its misery and the only sounds left are footsteps on the aging floorboards and Nero’s soft snoring. “That was fun,” you say quietly. “Thanks for having me over.”

Dante shrugs, but you see a little happy tug at the corner of his lips. “Thanks for coming. Lady’s been on me about having you come around more often, since,” he pauses, smile faltering, “you’ll probably be going on hunts with us soon.”

“Do you not want that?”

He flicks off the lights and plunges the room into darkness. Your eyes adjust slowly, taking in the shape of him outlined in the pale orange of streetlamps through the window. “No. It’ll be nice,” he says, but it takes longer than you’d like for him to answer. “You’ve got guts, you know that? You took to it like a duck to water. I’ve got a lot of faith in you.” 

His footsteps cross the room and you’re startled at the weight of his hand on your shoulder. Dante’s close and you can smell him, leather and gunpowder, can feel the warmth of his palm through your sleeve. He’s closer and you were like this the other day when you sat on the couch with barely anything between you, your hands clutched into nervous fists at your sides.

You’re the first to pull away, reluctantly. Dante’s hand doesn’t leave fast enough and slides down your arm, catches your wrist, his fingers slipping past yours one at a time. You make yourself look him in the eye. “I’ll be back tomorrow for my final exam,” you tell him. “I’m gonna win, and we’re gonna talk.”

Dante just nods. There’s a healthy distance between you and it does fuck all for the heat building in your body, coiled between your legs. He’s looking when you grab your jacket off the coat rack and when you fumble with the zipper and when you shoulder through the doors, until the final moment when he can’t see you anymore.

You have to fucking win tomorrow.

*

You don’t win tomorrow.

Dante is close enough to kiss and smells faintly of body wash on top of the musk, sweat and blood. His mouth gets closer, brushes right past your lips, grazes your cheek, and bumps against your ear so lightly you could believe it was an accident if you were still in denial. “Close, but not quite,” he purrs. He gives a slow roll of his hips that makes you let out a shaky breath as your eyes flutter shut.

*

Nero watches you pick yourself up off the pavement for the fifth time this afternoon like you’re a stubborn bird that keeps throwing itself at the same unflinching window. He’s got Dante’s adrenaline junkie streak and it was easy to talk him into a quick spar, but each successive round has gotten a bit of pushback, a bit more, “Are you sure?” from him, and now he’s pulling his punches. He’s not unscathed or anything, and you’re proud to say that your win-loss ratio was split pretty evenly there for a while. Nero was impressed for the first three rounds but his enthusiasm died at maybe the tenth or eleventh.

“Alright, we’re taking a break,” he says, plopping down on the cement beside you and offering a bottled water. You take it with a hoarse sound of gratitude. Nero’s watching your hands shake as you struggle to twist off the cap. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t know how you haven’t beaten Dante yet. You kicked my ass a few times, so you must be giving him a run for his money at least, right?”

You shake your head. “I dunno. I’ve been close a few times, I guess.”

“How’s he getting you?”

How isn’t he? You count off on your fingers, “He’s just faster. I slip up once, blink at the wrong second, and I’m fucked. He throws Rebellion around like it’s made of styrofoam. Guns are pointless, he just shoots my bullets out of the air and he’s on me while I’m still shaking off the recoil. Disarming him went okay for a little bit but he just waited for me to tire out and it was over. I don’t want him to go easy on me or anything but it’s starting to feel like…”

Nero smiles wryly. “Like he’s playing with you, right? Sure sounds like it.” He rests his chin against the faintly glowing palm of his Devil Bringer. “But there’s gotta be a reason. Maybe you’re doing something he doesn’t like?”

That’d be news to you. You massage away a pounding headache and take another long gulp of water, sifting through your memories. Of course you can identify every misstep in hindsight, but you’ve figured it out as you go. You don’t do the same thing twice. You’ve learned how to avoid the first strike, to counterattack, to dodge in a way that doesn’t leave you open, and you get better every time, but there’s always some bullshit that gets you at the last second. 

And now that you’re thinking about it, it’s not always something new, either, just a few recognizable maneuvers that he pulls out at a crucial moment. So maybe it’s all about endurance, but what are you supposed to do about that? You’re wheezing by the time he’s just starting to sweat.

“Shit,” you mutter. You’re getting frustrated just thinking about it so you get to your feet, setting the water bottle aside. “Alright, let’s go again.”

“You’re way too worn out to get anything out of this anymore,” Nero warns, but he knows you and knows how stubborn you are, so he’s getting up and reaching for Red Queen’s handle.

“It’s fine,” you mutter. “I’m always at a disadvantage with him anyway.”

You imagine you’re in the shop, in the musty backroom. Dante curls his hand and beckons you forward, taunting you, smirking because he knows exactly how this is going to end. But not today. Not this time. You start slow this time and you’re circling each other like lions, hands on your swords, eyes burning.

(A memory—the first time you walk in the shop, see him at his desk, and your heart skips a beat.)

You’ll be doing this all day if you don’t move first, so you move carefully. You close the circle, draw your sword, and Rebellion comes at you with the force of a hurricane. Blocking’s risky so you dodge, roll under his strike and come up swinging, but he’s spinning away and maintaining his distance. He’s going to tire you out and come in for the kill when you’re struggling to stay on your feet, and you’re not going to lose again, so you come to him.

(A memory—target practice with Amator. His heat at your back, his hand around yours. He absorbs the shock of the recoil and keeps you steady.)

A fist cracks across your cheek and you stumble out of arm’s reach, steading yourself against a brick wall. It breaks the illusion because Dante doesn’t fight you bare-handed unless he has no other choice, and Nero’s smirking and flexing the fingers of his Devil Bringer. “You getting distracted over there?” he calls. He’s good at keeping you motivated; you want to punch him the fucking face so bad right now.

(A memory—a late night, a demon attack, bad weather. You’re still shaking when Dante peers through the curtains and tells you to stay the night. You come out of the bathroom and he’s got himself draped across the couch with a magazine over his face.

He flicks a hand towards the stairs and says, “Better take the bed, kid,” despite your protests. You come back down to tell him he left Ebony and Ivory on the bedside table, and he just nods. He tells you it used to help him sleep better knowing they were there. You caress the engraved metal with your fingertips and think of questions you want to ask him, but you never do, eternally waiting for some magical “next time” where you have the confidence to say everything that’s on your mind.)

Red Queen crashes into the concrete where you’d been standing seconds before and Nero catches your strike with his Devil Bringer. It’s over, you know it is the second those cold, spectral fingers close around you and slam you into the sidewalk. He spits a mouthful of blood out on the ground and rubs his black eye. You roll onto your back and stare at the gathering clouds. “We done yet?” Nero asks hopefully.

“Yeah,” you say. You rest your arm across your face because you feel a little like crying and don’t know why.

You hear Nero’s footsteps and then he’s sitting next to you again, pouring what’s left in the water bottle over his head to wash off the sheen of sweat all over his skin. “You think you might be scared to win?” he asks.

You glance at him. “Why would I be scared?”

“I know it was loud in there, but you were only on the other side of the couch.”

“I’m—” You stop yourself, trying not to sound so defensive because it’s just making his grin wider. “I’m not, okay? I’m a little nervous, I guess, but I just wanna be done with this.”

“Fair enough.” He gets to his feet with a grunt and you follow, limping after him back towards the shop.

Dante looks amused at the sight of you both dragging in like the living dead. “You kids have fun out there?” You roll your eyes and start limping towards the bathroom. “Hey, I mean it. What’s the point otherwise?”

Nero nudges you with his elbow and you almost trip and fall. “That’s a hint,” he hisses, and you’d look at him like he was crazy if it doesn’t hit you at the same moment.

(A memory—nightmares. Dante’s up at three in the morning making hot chocolate when you come down the stairs and shoves it into your hands as soon as you’re in arm’s reach. He leans over the kitchen counter and tells you a story about going on a hunt with Nero and stumbling into a nest of harmless demons that sounded like cats and looked like roaming balls of cotton, how one of them snuck back to the shop stuck to the back of his coat. When he finally gets a laugh out of you, he snaps his fingers and says, “That, right there! You gotta keep that, kid. People without a sense of humor don’t last in this business. If you’re staring death in the face, have fun with it.”

“That sounds reckless,” you say, but he shakes his head.

“I’m telling you to relax.” He reaches across the table and takes your hand in his, turning it over, studying the back. There are little, faint scars there, pale marks that have healed over the last few weeks. “Regular people don’t get into the devil hunting business. I’m not gonna ask you what happened, because that’s your business. So let me tell you something I’ve learned from experience.” He looks you in the eye and you’ve never seen him quite so serious. “You don’t have to forget anything. Pain’s valuable and it tells you where you’ve been, but it’s only gonna take you so far. On the other side, you’ve gotta find something to laugh about.” He squeezes gently. 

You don’t have a hand free to cover your face when you start tearing up, and maybe that’s the point. He holds on the whole time and keeps telling you stories of all the gentle things he can remember. It feels weird to laugh and cry at the same time, but it’s not so bad.)

“Tomorrow,” you tell him, halfway up the stairs. “We’re doing it again tomorrow.”

Dante looks up. Holds your gaze. Licks his lips. Says, “Looking forward to it.”

*

He rubs his thumb along your split lip with a fog of undisguised lust in his eyes. “Kid,” he says, “I’m starting to feel a little bad.”

“Don’t,” you snap, slapping his hand away. “It won’t mean anything if you go easy on me.”

He shoves you back down with a hand on your shoulder and lets out a low, rumbling growl, and you think, just maybe, it’s the hottest noise you’ve heard him make. “You’d better win tomorrow,” he says huskily.

You shift, a slow, teasing roll of your hips against him. “I thought you said it’s dangerous to get impatient on a hunt.”

He laughs and leans in and you can’t believe how close this all is to the surface now, how neither of you are pretending anymore. He grinds down on you, runs a hand across your chest, and his teeth graze the shell of your ear. “Dangerous for you. If the demon you’re hunting gets impatient,” you feel his lips curl into a smirk when he bites down, “you might get eaten alive.”

*

The sun’s just creeping over the jagged skyline of Red Grave City when you walk into Devil May Cry. Dante’s waiting at his desk and welcomes you in with a somber nod, leading you to the backroom in silence. You stretch, roll your shoulders, tighten your shoelaces. Dante leans against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest and pretends to be half-asleep but you feel his eyes on you, following the curve of your body. Flexing your fingers, you grasp the handle of your sword and walk to the far end of the room, and Dante pushes off of the wall.

“This is the end of your training. Final exam,” he says, like he’s said every day in recent memory. Rebellion travels in a sweeping arc from the sheath on his back and flashes in the low light of early morning. “If you win this fight, you pass. You can start hunting the second you walk out of here.” He watches you with desire in his eyes as you wind up, brandishing your sword and taking a deep breath. “Go.”

This time, he moves first, and you almost lose right then and there. Rebellion comes straight for you and you feel it stir up a breeze in the empty space you were just standing in. Dante’s never on the offensive at the start but today he’s putting on the pressure and rapidly closing the gap between you. Your heel hits the wall at the back of the room and you panic, trying to slip away before he reaches you but Rebellion’s broad body slams you back against the wall.

You hear Dante’s voice echoing in your head, every bit of advice he’s ever given you, every kind word and reassurance. It’s fine, you tell yourself, it’s fine, relax, have fun with it. His hand goes for your throat and you swat it away, push yourself off the wall and throw yourself against him. It’s enough to send him stumbling and then you’re both falling but he twists, flips back, sends you sprawling, and lands on his feet.

You laugh. You’ve been here a thousand times. Just once, Dante cracks a smile and then Rebellion’s coming straight for you. You roll onto your feet and the dance starts again, but something’s different this time, something’s coursing through your veins and you’re keeping pace with him, parrying his strikes instead of hiding from them. Rebellion bounces back and you use every precious second to turn the tables and get him on the defensive, and you’re there, you’re there, you knock Rebellion out of his hand, his back hits the wall, one-two steps and you’ve got him and then—

A burst of light and hellfire shatters the windows and sends you stumbling, shielding your eyes. Something hits you hard and you skid back across the floor before you come to a sudden, violent stop. There’s a crushing weight smothering your body, dagger-like claws gripping your throat. You’re staring into the molten eyes of the demon inside of Dante, his obsidian carapace hot and pulsing everywhere it touches you. His wings are stretched open wide on either side of him and something like fire glows hot in his chest, light seeping through the thin membranes and dips in his armor-like skin. He holds one clawed finger at your pulse and feels your heart racing. You’re too shocked to speak.

There’s a flash and it’s all gone, folded away beneath human skin again. Dante looks down at you with traces of red light fading from his eyes as they cool to their familiar blue, and you swallow hard.

“You fucking asshole,” you mutter. “You don’t want me to win, do you?”

Dante blinks slowly. He looks dazed, like you’ve woken him from sleepwalking. “Kid, I—”

“Get off of me.” You shove him when he doesn’t move, biting your quivering lip because you don’t want to cry over this in front of him. You feel Dante’s eyes on you and for once you wish he’d stop looking. “So, what, we can mess around like this but we can’t talk about it? Is it not fun anymore if we do that?”

“Kid—”

“Stop calling me that.”

So he says your name instead. You look over at him, startled. You don’t know that he’s called you that since you introduced yourself months ago. Dante says it again, pronouncing it carefully, gently. “I didn’t mean to do that,” he admits. “It just happened. You were doing great and I was excited for you, excited for us, and all of the sudden, I just.” He stops himself, puts his hands up in a helpless gesture. “Well. You saw.”

“What—what’re you trying to say?”

Dante smiles and helps you to your feet. You wobble a little and his arm ends up around your waist, pulling you closer. You’re covered in scrapes and bruises and you probably reek of sweat but Dante is looking at you like you’re doing something sexy. “I’m saying I wanted you so bad, I devil triggered,” he murmurs, his fingers hooking beneath your chin and tilting your gaze higher, a little higher, until you’re looking each other in the eye and he’s leaning in and your eyes shut as you think, Fucking finally.

You don’t know if it’s something left over from his demon half or a musk of exertion and you don’t really care, but Dante tastes like something spicy, something with heat, something earthy with a subtle bite to it. Ash and sugar. Tobacco. Heated cinnamon. His lips are soft and his stubble is coarse and he kisses with an overwhelming hunger, a hand raking through your hair while he tangles his tongue with yours. You grip the lapels of his coat and you’re pressed chest to chest, unbearably hot and drowning in him. You don’t ever want to stop but you can barely breathe and Dante pulls back to watch you gasp for air, your lips swollen and glistening with your combined saliva.

“We should’ve done this forever ago,” you say.

Dante laughs and slides his hand along your side in a slow, sensual caress. This is actually happening. You’re still in shock. “You weren’t ready, and I wasn’t gonna push you,” he says. You make a needy sound when he presses a chaste kiss against the corner of your mouth, teasing. “Shoulda seen yourself. You came alive tonight. Got this fire in your eyes, and it’s still burning.” His hands are wandering, feeling you up, slipping under your shirt and dancing across your bare skin. Dante knows what he’s doing and you’re melting against his careful touch, back arching, gasping into his quick, nipping kisses. You shiver at the warmth of his breath at your ear when he whispers, “I think you wanted to ask me something.”

“Fuck me,” the words just spill out of you, overeager, desperate to be heard. Your only warning is a playful smile and then your feet leave the ground. Dante lifts you easily, urges you to wrap your legs around his waist. He rocks his hips so you can feel how hard he is and you’re so turned on you’re getting dizzy, clinging to him with shaking hands and begging him not to tease you anymore.

“Sorry, babe,” he says. Your face heats up at the new nickname and the fondness in his voice. “We’re gonna take it slow, alright? I’ve wanted to do this for a long time but I’m not gonna rush now.”

“Not too slow, I hope,” you chide him, and he laughs.

Dante’s bedroom is a mess as always with torn and bloodied clothes left abandoned wherever he peeled them off on his way to the shower. There’s a stale smell, and you think you knock an empty pizza box over on your way into the room, but your attention’s on the man who drops you on the bed and swoops in to kiss you while he starts tugging off his clothes. Your hands are shaking and he notices, taking one and pressing his lips to the back. “Relax,” he says softly, “I’m not going anywhere.” He guides you the way he did when you were holding his old gun, helping you get your jacket unzipped and your shirt off over your head. His hands are on you before you have a chance to feel self-conscious, traveling the expanse of your chest and tracing the natural hills and valleys of your body with his fingertips. Your breath hitches when he teases one of your nipples with his thumb and then he’s kissing the same spot, swirling his tongue around the nub until it’s stiff and hardened.

“Dante, let me—” you choke on the words when his hand slides between your legs. It’s rough and callused from years of demon hunting. He’s not gentle, not treating you like you’re made of glass, but there’s warmth and wanting in his touch, eagerness to hold you.

“You don’t have to do anything,” he says.

“What if I want to?” The adrenaline from the fight has morphed into an invigorating heat that makes you bold, makes you lick your lips, wrapping your legs around his waist and rolling both of you so you’re on top. You run your hands down his chest and feel every muscle flex and relax under your touch. Dante’s body is a broad canvas of snaking scar tissue, jagged claw-like lines and pockmarks of scabbed-over bullet wounds, partially erased by his demon half but lingering faintly in fragments and traces. Your eyes flick up to his face, gauging his reaction, and you get an encouraging smile.

“Then be my guest,” he says huskily, rocking his hips under you. You move down his body, straddling his legs, and then you hesitate.

You’ve thought about this. You’ve fantasized, if you’re being honest, had some vivid dreams about him fucking you into this very mattress, so of course you’ve wondered about his dick. All of those dirty daydreams have been augmented by the brief, flirtatious moments when you fight and feel the twitching outline of his erection through both of your clothes, but you can say with certainty that it all pales in comparison to the real thing.

He’s big. Veiny and long with a nice curve and a wide, flared head, and it’s got to be a demon thing.

Dante’s watching your face with a growing smirk and you’re not sure anyone in the world has ever looked so poised, so confident, so very smug while reclining naked with somebody’s eyes roaming their body. “You look surprised. Should I be offended?” he asks, bucking his hips. The gesture is so much more obscene now that you can see every inch of him. “Go ahead, get a good look. Really take it in.”

“Dante,” you say, pained. You should’ve known you wouldn’t get out of here without hearing some stupid quips. There’s no point in getting embarrassed now but you’re almost shy when you wrap your hand around his base and feel him pulsing against your palm. You’re nervous all over again because Dante’s huge and he’s had his fair share of lovers and what if you do something stupid or can’t make it good for him?

The next thing you feel is his warm fingers closing around your hand. “Hey. Relax,” he says softly. He doesn’t ask if you’ve done this before. When he starts guiding you, urging you to stroke him from his base to his blushing tip, you don’t feel like he’s judging you or making any assumptions, just easing your nerves. “Just like that,” he says, grunting when you slide your thumb along his leaking slit experimentally. “Mm, you got it. Fast learner.”

And you like that, you like the praise and the way he lets his eyes fall shut, lightly bucking his hips against your hand. You’d like seeing a stronger reaction, too, so you sink down while he’s not looking and replace your hand with your mouth. Dante’s clutching your head in an instant, a firm, insistent pressure that stops you from getting anything more than his tip in your mouth.

“Kid,” he snaps, but his expression softens at your wounded look. “Shit, you can’t just—go slow, okay? Pace yourself.”

You suckle at his tip and give him an incredulous when he throws his head back and moans. “Why? I always thought you’d have more stamina than that.” You swirl your tongue around him and feel him give a slow, shallow thrust into your mouth. The next time you glance up at his face, you see the fire of his demon half faintly glowing in his eyes like smothered embers.

“I’m gonna remember you said that,” he murmurs, and a shiver goes down your spine. Dante’s fingers card through your hair and it feels nice having his blunt nails massage your scalp while you suck him off. You get a little too eager and feel his tip bump the back of your throat, pulling off with a wince. “You don’t have to,” he reminds you, a half-formed thought cut off when you try again, slower this time, sliding your tongue along his length while you bob your head.

Dante’s breathing grows labored and you feel accomplished when the cords of muscle in his arms and thighs start tensing, hips thrusting up into your mouth at a carefully controlled pace. A constant stream of praise trickles past his lips, soft moans and encouragement, “That’s good, that’s really good, right there, babe, you’re amazing,” and you swell with pride. You look up at him with disappointment when the hand on your head pushes you back. “Your turn,” he says, and suddenly you’re getting shoved down on your back while he positions himself between your legs.

And then everything stops. Dante’s looming over you, a hand spread flat beside your head, and you can feel his eyes raking your body, taking in the sight of you trembling under him. “Come on, don’t stare,” you say, laughing weakly.

He smiles. “Sorry. Just enjoying the moment.” His fingers just graze your aching sex and you make a sharp, wounded noise. Dante looks far too pleased with himself, his smile gaining a mischievous edge. “Somebody’s real sensitive,” he murmurs, the heel of his palm pressing against your sensitive flesh and making you writhe under him. It doesn’t take long for you to start bucking your hips, shamelessly humping his hand while he works you with his fingers. Dante brings you right to the edge with nothing but his hand, all the while panting and moaning against your ear and telling you how sexy you are, how perfect, how badly he wants to fuck you.

“Dante,” you moan his name and he makes this appreciative rumbling sound low in his throat, “I’m—I c-can’t—”

“You close?” he asks. His teeth pull playfully at your earlobe. “Good. Don’t hold back. I wanna see you cum.” He twists his wrist, sets a faster pace, and you forget to breathe for just a minute. Your orgasm hits and your back arches off the bed with a long, whining moan. Dante’s hand digging into your hip feels like the only thing keeping you from floating away and he doesn’t stop until you stop grinding against him for that last bit of satisfaction, doesn’t pull away until you’re lying spent under him and becoming aware of the sticky dampness between your legs. A tender kiss pulls you out of your thoughts. You hear a chuckle and a warm hand presses to your forehead. “Still with me?”

“Mn. Yeah.” You let out a pleased sigh and let yourself melt into the bed, but your reprieve is short-lived. Your only warning is a sharp smile and then Dante’s mouth is on you, lapping up your juices with a long lick across your sex. You tremble and slap a hand over your mouth to cover the horribly embarrassing noises you’re making, and that makes him pull away.

“No, babe, I wanna hear you,” he murmurs. When he goes down on you again, he definitely hears you. You’re still hypersensitive from your orgasm and the pleasure is so strong and sharp it almost hurts. Dante’s tongue swirls around you and the unabashed slurping sounds he’s making are driving you crazy. You’re crying his name and trying to buck your hips against his face, but he’s holding them down with a firm hand on each. You barely register that one of his hands leaves until you feel one of his fingers prodding and teasing your entrance.

Dante pulls off of you when you stiffen in surprise. “Can I?” he asks. His finger circles the sensitive spot but stops short of penetrating you. He’s waiting for permission and the sight of him with his face flushed and your cum shining slick on his lips makes makes a shiver run down your spine.

“Please,” you say, embarrassed by how breathless and needy you sound. Dante smiles and kisses your stomach on his way back down between your legs. The wet heat of his mouth closes around you and you’re writhing under him, your thighs quivering around his head. His tongue swirls around your sex and he makes a low groan that you feel all the way to your core. “God, Dante—” Whatever you wanted to say devolves into a long moan when he hums around you.

Dante’s looking at you, peering up your body with half-lidded eyes as the finger circling your entrance wriggles inside. You squirm a bit at the initial intrusion but his tongue more than makes up for the uncomfortable pressure, slurping and sucking on you while he slowly stretches you open. He’s going slow, pumping his finger in and out at a steady pace until he works it in to the knuckle, and you can tell he’s looking for something, prodding around gently. The hand on your hip tugs gently, urging you to scoot closer and raise your hips, and you shakily do as he asks to give him better access.

That’s when he finds it. The tip of his finger presses against a spot inside of you that has you convulsing, both hands tangling in his hair. You’re rough on accident, pulling, nails scraping his scalp, but Dante rewards you for it with more attention from his tongue. You just came but you don’t think you’re going to last, and you try to tell him but all that comes out is a wounded cry because he hits that same spot again, dead on, and you can’t do anything but grind against his face and his hand and ride out the wave of pleasure that crashes into you. You think you hear yourself screaming his name but you aren’t sure of anything until you come back down again, dizzy and drenched in sweat.

Dante kisses you and you taste yourself on his tongue, your own cum smeared across your lips when you separate. The second finger goes in easier than the first and you’re nearly delirious with overstimulation. Everywhere he touches you is hot and tingling, the lightest caress of your hip making you tremble.

“You look wrecked,” he purrs, chuckling at the way your hips chase his hand. “Should we stop? I don’t know if you can take me.”

You’re about as quick and coordinated as a sloth right now but the panic that surges through you when he starts to pull away is enough to get you moving. You loop one of your legs around him, digging your heel into his shoulder to pull him closer. “Don’t you fucking dare. I already waited too long for this, Dante. Stop teasing and fuck me.” You’re almost surprised at yourself, how your voice stops wavering and your tone hardens, suddenly possessed by an assertiveness you’ve never been able to master before. Dante’s beaming. He’s proud of you, you realize.

“Whatever you say, babe.” He settles between your legs with a fist around his erection, giving himself a few long strokes while he lines up with your entrance. A little excited shiver runs through you at him taking you like this, face to face, letting you watch his brows furrow and his lips part in a silent gasp when he starts to push inside. You go rigid, legs wrapped tightly around his waist. It’s burning, two fingers wasn’t nearly enough to prepare for it, but you don’t want to stop now. Dante whispers praise and reassurances, tells you to relax, tells you he’ll go slow, and you breathe shakily when he gives a shallow thrust, easing in a little deeper. “You okay?” he grunts. You whimper and he stops, goes totally still with his hands on either side of your head. “Talk to me. Does it hurt?”

“I-I’m fine.” At his disbelieving look, you move against him, rolling your hips and shuddering at how deep he is already. “F-fuck, you’re big.”

“I know,” he says, and miraculously doesn’t sound smug for once. He looks worried. “Shit, I didn’t wanna rush this.”

“Dante, it’s fine.” The rippling aftershocks of overstimulation have left you with the arm strength of a wet noodle but you manage to reach up and cup his face in your hands. Dante hunches over you, presses his forehead to yours, and you both take a moment to breathe. You’ve never seen him so red-faced and shaky. You know he’s holding back for your sake and you’re almost tearing up at the thought that you matter so much. “It’s fine,” you say it again, softly. “I’m fine. Maybe we rushed a little, but I don’t wanna wait anymore.”

“Next time,” he says, sinking in deeper, easing past your tight walls clamping down on him, “fuck, next time, we’re going slow. Okay? You’re not gonna talk me out of it.” Your heart swells at the promise of a “next time.” Dante thrusts in deeper and the ache is starting to feel good, satisfying somehow. You look down at where your bodies meet and watch another veiny inch slide in, every muscle in his abdomen clenching with exertion as he stops himself from pounding into you. “We’re, ngh, gonna have rose petals on the bed. And scented lotion. And—goddamn you’re tight, candles or some shit, I dunno. We’ll take our time, alright?”

“Okay,” you agree, laughing. You didn’t know you’d be smiling so much during sex. Dante angles his hips and the next thrust has your pelvis meeting his, hips joined, the soft sound of flesh smacking together making you realize he’s really, fully inside. Dante relishes the moment with you in silence for a couple breaths before withdrawing to the tip, and then he thrusts back in with a single motion that has you keening. He angles his hips and the next one grazes that spot again, the vague tingle at the base of your spine suddenly bursting in a rush of pleasure, and you throw your head back with a long moan. “Dante, I-I’m,” you cling to him, arms wrapped around his neck, “fuck, I’m already close.”

Dante chuckles, starting up a faster rhythm. You can feel his cock pulsing when it pumps into you, prodding against that same spot and making your nails rake down his back. “Mmm. Then cum.”

“I don’t wanna cum yet, I don’t want you to stop.”

Dante shifts his weight and suddenly you’re being smothered into the mattress. You whimper when he nips at your ear, catching the lobe between his teeth and applying the lightest, playful pressure. “I’ll stop when you ask me to,” he murmurs. His cock slams into you and he grinds his hips, pushing insistently against your pleasure spot. You almost cum right then and there but you hold out with a whimper. “If you don’t ask me to, I won’t. So you can cum.” A hard, punishing thrust drives you into the mattress, and then another, and Dante speaks in a low, growling rumble between them. “You can cum again and again and again, and I won’t stop. I’ll fuck you till you forget your name if you let me, babe. We’ll go as long as you want.” He slams into you again and your toes curl, your eyes rolling back in your head, and all it takes is his lips brushing your neck for you to go tumbling over the edge.

You cry Dante’s name over and over and he fucks you through it. The first thing you hear after your ears stop ringing is the slap of flesh meeting flesh, your bodies joining, his balls smacking your thighs. You hear a bestial grunt as Dante’s cock twitches, and you gasp when you feel a burst of cum with every thrust. It froths up around his length and comes trickling out of your sore hole, gathering in a damp spot under you. Dante’s thrusts slow and grow shallower. He’s unwrapping your legs from around him only to bend you nearly in half, hooking your ankles over his shoulders. You see stars when he rolls his hips, pinned under him and completely at his mercy.

“Y-you just came,” you say hoarsely.

“Mhm.” Dante kisses your cheek and grinds down on you in a circular motion. He pushes into you, sinks in to the hilt, and you couldn’t hold back your voice if you wanted to anymore. “Hey, babe, what’s that you said about stamina earlier?”

“Shut up,” you moan. It’s the last thing you say to each other for a while. You tell him everything you’ve ever wanted to with your body and he speaks back; he holds you, buries his face in the crook of your neck, and your name tumbles from his lips with the weight and sincerity of something precious.

*

There’s pizza for dinner, of course.

After a hot shower, you crash back into bed and stare at the ceiling. Dante’s footsteps move across the shop and then come back up the creaking steps, and he shoulders through the door with the box on his arm. The stench of sex has started to leave the room with the sheets tumbling in the washing machine down the hall. You thought Dante might not be one for cuddling but you get the feeling he’s anxious by the way he sets the box down on the bed and then sits down with a respectful distance between you.

“So,” he says, “you know there’s another bedroom across the hall? Not that you couldn’t sleep here, but, y’know. Figured you’d like having your own space.

“Dante,” you say tiredly, “just ask me to move in.”

He smiles. “Alright. You wanna move in?”

You smile back. “Nope. Too early. Still haven’t passed my final exam.”

His crestfallen expression shifts to one of confusion and he settles into the empty space beside you.  “What? You passed.”

“I didn’t, because somebody devil triggered at the last second.” Dante rolls his eyes but you cut him off before he can argue, “You think I wanna get certified knowing I had to sleep with my teacher to do it? I’m gonna win next time. Don’t hold back.”

Dante laughs and it’s new somehow, a loud, unrestrained sound that bounces off of the walls. “Kid,” he says, looking a touch sympathetic as he slings an arm over your shoulder, “you didn’t sleep with me to get certified. You’re a badass, I feel sorry for whatever poor sack of shit crosses your path on the job. And for the record, that was my bad. You would’ve had it if I didn’t lose control like that.”

“Still.”

“Still,” he nods, “I see what you’re saying. We’ll go again tomorrow morning.”

You reach across the bed for more pizza and a sharp pain shoots up from your pelvis. “Uh. Maybe the day after tomorrow?”

Dante massages your hip with an expression that isn’t quite sorry enough for the deep, dull ache you feel every time you move. “Whenever. There’s no rush.”

There really isn’t, and you feel like some massive weight’s been lifted from your shoulders. Dante rubs little circles into your thigh with his thumb while you eat and starts telling you a story about how many times Lady shot him within the first hour of knowing him. You listen with a feeling of camaraderie, a sense of belonging. You came to Devil May Cry saddled with a persistent unease, a deep sorrow and an emptiness that you believed would never really go away, but they feel so small compared to you now, insignificant in the face of your newfound strength. This cluttered little mess of a bedroom smells faintly of sweat and metal, you’re sore in places you didn’t know you had, and there’s pizza grease all over your hands. You feel like you’ve been on the road for a long, long time.

Dante rests his hand over yours and you feel like you’ve finally come home.