#also a LOT of thoughts about how gem is good at the game and she’s NEW

[theminecraftbee]

Gem rocks back and forth on her heels, blood still pounding in her ears. It’s funny, because she’d sort of thought it would go away when the curse did, but nope! The bloodlust and hunger’s just part of being red, which is pretty neat. Gives her a good excuse for whatever she does next.

Impulse is humming something next to her. It’s a little annoying, but also really sweet. It’s very Impulse of him, right? And—

“You know, I’ve never done the whole ‘throwing my lot in with a red name’ thing before,” he says idly.

“Oh? What do you mean?” Gem asks.

“Well, see, Third Life, I was sort of—I mean, I wasn’t on any side to throw my lot into with, that time,” Impulse plainly lies, and Gem notes that in her head as another question to ask later. “But the red name I definitely wasn’t on a real side with. I was the traitor there, right? So that doesn’t count, and that’s when people were really doing this whole arrangement. In Last Life it wasn’t allowed, in Double Life most people largely stuck to their soulmates, and Limited Life was too chaotic to really feel like it was, you know, throwing your lot in with much other than death.”

“Oh, that sounds fun!” Gem says.

“You would say that,” Impulse says.

“Although, I wasn’t there for any of that! I didn’t know there was a history to sticking with red names, a history to bloodthirsty monsters. Thats so cool!”

Impulse’s face flickers through an expression Gem’s not sure she wants to read. “You phrase things so unsettlingly sometimes,” he says. “A history to bloodthirsty monsters?”

“I mean, why else would you choose to be on the killing team?” Gem asks.

“Love, Gem. And loyalty. And a lot of other things I’m really good at just not getting, apparently.”

Gem rocks back on her feet.

“Oh,” she says quietly. “I didn’t mean—Impulse—”

Impulse’s face softens. “I know. Just don’t be the one to kill me in the end, okay?” he says. “Don’t know how much more of that I can take.”

“Okay,” Gem says. “I haven’t—you know I haven’t done this before.”

“I know. You’re doing pretty good though,” Impulse says.

“I can’t tell if that’s a compliment.”

Impulse pats her arm and goes back to humming. Gem feels that fun bloodlust rushing in her ears and suddenly, with horrible clarity, knows it won’t be fun for much longer. She doesn’t know what to think about that.

[heizours]

CHARACTER BANNERS

summary. when you do not plan to pull for their character banner

tags. gn! reader, grammatical mistakes may occur

cw. one mention of 'die' (dottore), petty and sulky genshin men (all of them i may say)

feat. xiao, itto, dottore, venti, scaramouche

note. the head picture is how i imagine their reaction ☠️

< back to event m.list

INTRO.

Recently, you've been saving up primogems for an upcoming new character banner that Hoyoverse is planning to release in the next version of the game.

Gosh you were so excited!

It's not like you wanted to pull for the character just because she was attractive. Definitely not.

Even if it takes a lot of time to earn those gems, you were willing to go through it as long as the system better give you that character you are pulling for.

"I can't wait to pull for Navia!"

You squealed in excitement, logging in the game as her banner awaits for you, ignorant of a certain chatacter just eavesdropping around the system.

XIAO.

Xiao's banner was having a rerun along with the release of Navia's, and while he may not brag it out loud, he had some silent expectations that you were going to pull for him again.

After all, he is proud to be your first five star chatacter, and ever since then he has been on your team and never removed.

To hear you say that you're going to pull for Navia instead of him made him grunt quietly as he let out a quiet huff behind the screen.

"...Well, she is a good character" he admitted while grumbling under his breath, crossing his arms by now as he watched you pull and pull for Navia's banner, only getting the four stars but no sign of a five star yet.

Is he...sulking? oh yes, Xiao believes so as there was a tiny slight pout on his as he looked away, trying his best to not be affected by the fact that Navia might show up at your screen anytime now.

So while you're at it, better save some primos to pull for his rerun banner too, you wouldn't want a sulking Xiao, right?

ITTO.

After pulling a few strings and fails in the wishing system, Itto was celebrating his victory after ensuring that his banner would have a rerun.

However, that satisfaction immediately crumbled down the moment he heard you saying that you are pulling for Navia instead for him again.

What makes it even worse, is he felt confident that you were going to pick him, and now...he doesn't know if he should throw a tantrum about it or blame the system that he had a rerun the same time with a new character.

"What?! Hey, what about me?" He yelled out from behind the screen, which of course you couldn't hear, as Itto let out a dramatic gasp by the revelation.

Is he making this a big deal? Yes, Itto is making this a big deal, because after all Navia is also a geo character, of course he would somehow feel intimidated that she would take his place in your team.

Best believe that when you are finish with your pulls, don't be surprised that he would not budge leaving your team— trying to replace him with Navia, even if you are already clicking the remove button!

DOTTORE.

The doctor was confident that you were saving up those primogems for him considering that his banner hasn't been released yet, nor the gaming system haven't made any announcement about his builds, constellation, marketing drip, etc.

Imagine his reaction when he overheard that you were pulling for Navia, and those primogems for her and not his. He could not hide the disbelief that crossed over his face.

He'll recover shortly after, and just laughed it off strainly as we watched you spending every gem you had saved on Navia's banner, no sign of the blondie woman yet showing up on your screen.

"And here, I thought I was what you are waiting for" He mumbled under his breath, gritting his teeth slightly in the process, keeping a forced smile on his face.

He would rather die than admit it, but this revelation had left a big wound on his pride, and he is a millisecond away of just straight up disrupting the system's controls if it means you get to play him.

Of course that would take some time, but he hopes that you're just as amused as him if he keeps joining you on doing your quests out of nowhere that doesn't even involve him in the first place ;)

VENTI.

It took so long for Venti to finally have this moment again, and he was more than glad to show up on your screen, on your first pull, on his rerun banner.

One second he was smiling and all giddy, but as you dropped the statement that you are pulling for Navia like a bomb, his smile freezed, his whole body freezed as he sweatdropped.

Not just freezed, you know those kind of special effects in an anime series when a character messes something up, does something awkward or expected something but gets embarass instead, and suddenly they turn into a whole block of ice? Yeah, something like that.

"..Oh, right her! I've heard a lot about her!" He stated, trying to keep up with his cheerful-go-to persona, as Venti awkwardly scratched the side of his neck while watching you spend those gems on her banner, still no luck of the five star geo character.

He failed to continue showing jolly facade, because now he is sulking at the corner as if it is the end of the world, almost as if a big tub of water was dunk upon him.

Please forgive him if he'll be out of character and maybe acting a little petty on your end for the next few hours or days while playing the game. It's not his fault you didn't also pulled on his rerun!

SCARAMOUCHE/WANDERER.

Scaramouche carries himself with such confidence and prides himself being a part of your team after you pulled on his first banner.

He was smirking with boldness, and eyes closed in satisfaction as he awaits and is all ready for you to pull on his rerun this time. That is until his mouth twitched downward, as he opens his eyes in suspicion right after he heard that you were pulling instead for Navia.

He could not hide the displeased expression painted on his face, as he continues to watch you behind the screen, spend all the primogems you saved up only for her, and like an open book— he doesn't even realized that he is scowling. So far, you're only getting the four stars.

"What about me?" He mumbled under his breath, as he scoffed lightly and by now instead of continuing to frown, there was a slight pout forming on his lips, as he huffed and turned his head away, facing a corner refusing to watch further your pulls on the geo character.

He rejects to believe that he is mopping about as something as this, but his actions says otherwise. He doesn't even know why is so affected by this.

Whether you get Navia or not, make sure you also give him the attention he seeks! We wouldn't want a petty Wanderer disrupting your team's gameplay, no?

[fleuraimer]

i NEED to hear your thoughts on reader's arguments with boxer!carmy. what's their first argument about? who usually caves first?

you, anon, are a hero and a scholar and are about to receive the greatest blurb in the history of the the tumblr industry (pls someone understand this reference 😭😭)

BUT IT ALL SERIOUSNESS, this is fucking gold; i love you for sending this.

tw!! ooooohh they get into it yall. carmen being a man (ik, i’m sorry). some suggestive content. happy ending.

bf boxer!carmy and reader fighting!!

concept 1. concept 2. bf boxer!carmy hcs.

ok, so, me thinks bf boxer!carmy and his pretty broad actually argue a lot. so often it teeters just on the edge of being unhealthy. but, they also know each other and realize they’re two petty asf ppl (😭😭). so, even though they argue often, it’s usually over stupid shit, or their little fears (like who was supposed to wash the dishes that night, or how carmy’s profession holds a great deal of power over his life, enough to take it away—

she tries hard not to think about it too much; that argument is a losing game).

if carmy’s being frank, it’s half the reason he’s so fucking obsessed in love with her. she’s feisty—she’s trouble, and carmy’s never been good at staying out of it, even before he was the one starting the fights.

however…

when they fight—oh boy! do they fight.

i’d like to think bf boxer!carmy has a hugeeeee jealousy problem (lil insecure loser ☹️🫶🏽), and so that’s usually how their more heated fights begin.

i think their very first BIG fight has to do with a mix of his jealousy issue and the nature of how their relationship came to be.

allow me to set the scene:

so carmy wins the fight against timmy boy (surprise??) and starts talking to his pretty broad, finds out her and timmy aren’t exclusive, just messing around, and takes the green light.

a few weeks go by and everything is going smoothly—you know, the usual, extravagant dates and expensive gifts, lots of pampering and affection from both ends; the rose-hued, honeymoon stage—and carmy invites her as his plus one to some big party/event for his job.

he knocks on the front door of her apartment at 7:15 pm on the dot with a stunning bouquet—baby’s breath and lilies and anemones—of flowers in his right hand. he’s dressed to the nines; a fitted black tux—double breasted, with peak lapels, and slightly high-waisted trousers—and a brown dress-shirt, first thee to four buttons undone (whore 🥸) with a black chiffon, nearly iridescent slip over it that makes that same brown look an earthy, rich green at a swift glance. one gold bracelet, one gold ring for each hand (middle and pinky fingers), his unnecessarily attractive little gold hoop earrings, and a simple gold crucifix hangin’ ‘round his neck.

he raps his busted knuckles against the door with his left hand, and then patiently leans against the frame and awaits the telltale sign of her heels against the hardwood floors.

he counts to seventeen before her front door is swinging open.

the first thing he notices is that smile (that smile, the one she only ever gives to him—not eddie (god forbid), or nacho, or benny, or fucking timmy—just him). pearly whites, with bow and cherry gems (i loveeee teeth gems if my pfp didn’t make that clear), on display, framed by those plump, painted lips—brown liner, blackberry pink lipstick, and a nice, shiny gloss—that never seem to leave his head; burned into his memory, melded to his mind.

his eyes drop to the baby pink toes he’s become far too fond of, the white strap and silver chain of her dior heels placed prettily over top. flits his appraising gaze up to her ankles, the left one wrapped in the anklet he gifted her on their fourth date, a (boxing) glove charm hanging from the gold link. up—up, up, up—they go, trailing the soft ruffles and tedious buttons lining her long sleeve knit dress, hem hitting just at her shin, tight fitting—cinched to her figure—with a swoop neckline that shows off just the right amount of cleavage.

he stops when his eyes find hers again, brown sugar and saccharine.

he pushes off the door frame and steps through, ‘til they’re standing toe to toe and her head is awkwardly bent backward so she can keep eye contact.

“hi, bear,” she chirps, soft and taunting. grins at him while her jewel adorned hands slide up the smooth lapels of his tux.

the left corner of his mouth kicks up into a smirk as he snakes his left arm around her waist, dragging her closer.

his head spins with the scent of cinnamon and evergreen, and he wants to nuzzle in her neck because of it.

“hey, cub,” he rumbles back, and neither of them acknowledge the way she practically melts into her, she just curls her fingers into his lapels, and he tightens his hold on her waist.

she looks at the flowers in his right hand, “those for me?”

carmy turns his head to look at the flowers, lifts his hand with a noisy crinkle to present ‘em to her.

still, he shakes his head, puts on his best poker face and huffs, “nah, i’m taking that real pretty broad down the hall on a date tonight. just dropping in to say ‘hi’.”

her grin drops, face flat, eyes narrowed.

she unfurls her fists from his jacket, starts pushing him away, out from where he came.

“well, since we’ve finished swapping pleasantries—”

this time when he huffs, he’s huffing out a laugh, “i’m kidding. hey, baby, i’m kidding. swear.” he drops the flowers (unimportant; he can get more if she really wants them) to the ground at the side of their feet and wraps his other arm around her waist, crowding her space, barely giving her room to breathe, let alone slip from his grasp.

she wriggles in his hold, still shoving uselessly at his firm chest. “carmen, let go—”

and, well he’s definitely in trouble, but there’s not much to be done about that now, is there?

he takes both her tiny, pounding fists and locks them behind her back in one fell swoop “never. now look at me.”

she looks into the hallway, just over his shoulder, to piss him off.

his eye threatens to twitch.

“look at me, cub. don’t make me say it again.”

she rolls her brown sugar eyes, but does thereafter shift her gaze to look at him. raises an impatient brow.

“i’m sorry for saying that. it was a shitty joke—”

“it wasn’t fucking funny, carm.”

he grunts, “all right. wasn’t funny, i’m sorry, baby.”

she continues to glare at him for another 30 to 45 seconds, but then her shoulders are slumping and her face is scrunching in that cute little pout and she’s whining like a sweet little baby.

“wasn’t funny, bear,” she grumbles, and carmy snickers.

“y’already said that; gimme a kiss.”

she shakes her head, fussy, and now it’s carmy’s turn to raise an impatient brow.

“what was that? speak up, baby.”

“no,” she groans, stomping her foot, trying to free her hands from behind her back, but there’s no way she’s getting out now, not if she wants to act like a brat.

“try again.”

“n—”

he yanks her into his chest, “try the fuck again.”

but when has she ever just willingly rolled over?

“let me go, carmen.”

“give me a fucking kiss, cub.”

—

they show up to carmy’s work gathering an hour and a half late, but who’s fucking fault is that (this, too, is a losing game)?

when they step into the venue together, all eyes immediately fall on them. how could they not?

carmen ‘carmy’ berzatto, the bear, and his new girl.

timothy ‘timmy’ grayson’s ex girl.

they don’t let it phase them, the side eye and poorly disguised whispering, just find their way to their way to the open bar and mingle with their inner circle.

the night quickly descends from business to casual, but that could just be because they were so late. as the older patrons slip out, the inconsequential jazz humming in the background is shut off, and then the ceiling is shaking with the bass of keep it g by asap rocky.

somehow, carmy’s on his second glass of bourbon and his girl just finished her third glass of wine and they’re…tipsy.

it’s not even like the song playing is inherently sexual, at all, really, but carmy’s lips are trailing over the back of her neck, uncoordinated—messy—and his fingers are digging into her hips because the way she’s fucking grinding on him should not be legal.

“god, cub,” he grunts in her ear, rolling his hips back into her.

“mhmm,” she moans in the back of her throat, subdued, swallowed down, and places her hands over his that grip at her like a lifeline. she lets her head fall back, settle in the crook of his neck so she can nose at the hinge of his jaw and suck a pretty hickey there, too.

he fully thrusts into her, the bass of the speakers muffling the too audible slap of their bodies connecting.

she squirms and squeaks, “bear!”

he growls, “what?”

she giggles in the shell of his ear. “down, boy. i gotta hit the restroom.”

carmy, very reluctantly, lets her slip from his grasp and venture to find the woman’s room. he nurses on another drink—whiskey, this time—but paces himself as he waits for his girl’s return.

that is, until he sees his girl in question talking with timothy fucking grayson. then, he downs the rest of his drink like water and calmly—calmly—walks up to them.

now, if (and this is a very big fucking if) carmen wasn’t being a complete a***** ******* ****** ***** *****, then maybe he would’ve noticed the rather unkempt state of his pretty broad, her soured expression and guarded body language.

he was being a complete redacted though, so he just steps behind her with his chest puffed and his jaw set, just itching for timmy to say something fucking stupid.

and that stupid fucking smirk on his stupid fucking face might scratch that itch just enough to satiate him.

“what’re y’doin’ with my girl, timmy?”

he doesn’t register the way she bristles against him at the term.

my girl.

“just makin’ friendly conversation,” he shrugs, still smirking, and carmy has never wanted his knuckles to split so fucking bad.

“friendly conversation?” he nearly coos back, the condescending, possessive prick. “why don’t y’find someone else to go make friendly conversation with, yeah? fuck off.”

he walks away before timmy boy gets the chance to respond, dragging his girl behind him.

when they make it back to the bar, he finally has the decency to assess his pretty broad. or, hound her, more like.

"what was he sayin' to you? and what the hell were you doin' with him in the fuckin' first place? if he bothers you again you come straight to me, understood?"

he's met with silence.

he frowns, looks down at his girl to find the same expression on her face, and goes to repeat himself. "i said, underst—"

"take me home, carmen."

his frown deepens. he bends in the knee to try and catch her eyes, but she turns her head away as soon as he glimpses her brown sugar irises.

"cub—"

"take me home, carmen. now."

and they've fought, all right? small tiffs here and there, "pick your fucking shoes up, carmen!", "stop fucking touching shit, carm!", "god, carmen, just leave me alone!" but this is different. deeper.

he's still frowning as he nods, mutters "okay," softly, as to not upset her any further, and places his hand on the small of her back to guide out of the venue doors and out to the valet.

usually, after a date, carmen will pull in to a parking space and get out first to open the passenger door for his girl and walk her up to her apartment, before either getting sent off with a goodnight kiss or getting tugged through her front door to continue where they'd left off.

this time, though, she out the door before the cars even full parked.

carmen rushes to keep up with her takes the stairs to her apartment two at a time.

"cub, wait up!"

she does no such thing.

in fact, she only seems to move faster in lieu of his request (brat).

he nearly misses his window to at least say goodnight to her, with the way she quickly keys into her home and tries to slam the door in his face, but a foot in the frame easily rectifies that.

"hey!" he barks at her, shoving the door open and slamming it shut after him.

"don't slam my damn door, carmen!"

"don't try to slam your damn door in my damn face, then!"

she frustratedly groans, arms flailing in exclamation. he watches her cautiously as she looks frantically for something—something, anything—before she's bending down to take off her dior heels.

clearly, something has pent up—boiled, festered—within her, because she chucks a shoe at his head (and for someone so unassuming, she has a damn good arm).

he ducks just before it can hit him, instead banging into the wall.

"what the fu— ow!"

she doesn't miss the second time.

"fuck you, carmen!" she screams at him.

"fuck you! you just threw your fucking shoe at my head! twice!"

"and you fucking deserved it," she cries, taking a step closer to him, pointing an accusatory finger. "you dick!"

"what the fuck did i do?" he shouts back, taking a step forward himself, brows furrowed in frustrated confusion.

"you— y-you—"

he takes another step toward her, "huh? i what? spit it the fuck out, baby."

not for the first time, she pouts like a kicked puppy, and her hands brace on his sturdy shoulders, and she pushes at him, angry. but, certainly for the first, carmy actually loses his balance. nearly trips over his feet with the way he stumbles backward.

"ugh, asshole! you made a bet!"

he frowns, bewildered. "what?"

"don't fucking lie to me, carm—"

"baby, what the fuck are you talking about?"

"stop fucking calling me that!" she screams, "with timothy! you made a bet with him before the fight, a bet on me!"

carmy's mouth hangs open, forming to phantom explanations that all fall too short or get too intimate—personal; she doesn't need to know the backstory, the why in his road to success. she can't, not yet. not so soon.

she shoves him again at his lack of response, and, for the second time, carmy stumbles back.

"fuck you, carmy!" she screams, eyes brimming and— fuck, she was not supposed to find out this way (well, ever, really, but surely not in this way). he racks his brain for sufficient a justification.

"fuck you, fuck you, fuck you! is that how you fucking see me? i'm just another belt you meatheads pass around and compete for? fucking kill yourselves over?"

"that's not true, baby—"

"i'm not your fucking baby!" she goes to shove him again, but he's ready this time, steeled. she throws her weight into each nudge and push and shove she gives to him, grunts and grumbles through the exertion of it, but he's stock-still like a statue now, and immovable force to be reckoned with.

"you done?" he mutters when she's huffin' and puffin' too hard to keep going.

her eyes snap from his chest to his baby blues, glaring. "fuck—!"

"—me? yeah, you've already said that, several times actually. now are you gonna let me explain, or do you wanna keep screamin'?"

her eyes, somehow, narrow further, teeth barred.

carmy prepares himself.

"do i wanna keep screamin'? well, since you fucking offered," she gripes, pounding her fists into his chest again. and he lets her. "you don't fucking think, do you? just puff your chest and fucking take it if you want it, right? god, carmen, i'm not some fucking toy—"

"i never implied that you were—"

"so you didn't bet you could fuck me better than timothy at the weigh-in?"

he snaps his mouth shut.

she scoffs, shakes her head. "un-fucking-believable," she mutters under her breath.

she sighs, and the (arguably) worst is over. but it's not like he necessarily welcomes the tears, either.

she sniffles, red-rimmed eyes sparkling in a pool of saltwater, and weakly shoves at his chest again.

"f-fuck you, bear," she weeps softly, voice cracking, head hanging, and carmy's never wanted to fix something so badly in his whole goddamn life. more than mikey. "i thought you fucking liked me—

"i do—!"

"stop lying—!"

and suddenly, carmen's had enough.

"be quiet," he barks.

the room falls silent.

he sighs, grips hers arms to keep her close and up right. drops his head to rest on hers, eye-to-eye, and she's too tuckered out to fight it.

his adams apple bobs, "i'm sorry, y/n," he whispers, and she doesn't think she's ever heard him so earnest before, so sad. "i'm sorry i made a bet on you, and hurt your feelings because of it. you're not a toy, or a belt, or any other prize, boxing or not; you're a human fucking being. and i'm sorry."

she sniffles again, and he takes her lack of shoving and yelling as clearance to continue.

"i'm not fucking sorry it worked, though." he can feel her tense, so he hurries on before she gets the wrong idea. "i'm not fucking sorry i saw you in that damn pink dress, in your damn pink heels, with you fucking pink toes. i'm not sorry that i talked to you after the match, and made good on my promise to timmy."

"carmen—"

he squeezes the sides of her shoulders, "i'm not sorry 'cause i do like you, cub, so fucking much."

she lifts her head, teary eyes blearily finding his, and she frowns up at him, like she doesn't believe him.

"why're lying?" she whimpers, all watery and sad sounding, and carmy just wants to swaddle her in a blanket and kiss her tears away.

he smiles gently at her, "m'not lyin', baby. do you think i'd still be here if all i wanted was a fuck and duck? that's what the ring girls are for, cub."

she makes a face at him, "ew! g-ross, carmy, don't—!"

he bites back a smirk. "you drive me insane," cuts her off, sliding his hands from her arms to her shea butter smooth palms. "you drive me up the fuckin' wall, actually. but i love that about you. i love that you don't take anyone's shit, including mine. love that you put me in my place, and tell me off when i step out of line." his tongue peaks out to lick his chapped bottom lip before he continues. "i love the way you curl up in a ball every night before bed because you can't sleep any other way, and i love the way you bitch and moan about your bones feelin' too stiff in the morning because of it." he regards her fondly, eyes flitting over every feature. “i love your teeth gems, and your long ass nails. i love it when you’re bare-faced and bushy-tailed, or when you’ve got a— what is it?”

she chokes on a snotty laugh, “a full beat?”

“a full beat!” he repeats, enthusiastic and beaming. they both take a moment to giggle, carmy’s hands finding purchase on her hips to draw her in, chest to chest. “i am sorry i hurt your feelings, cub, so fucking sorry. but i would make that bet ten fuckin’ thousand times over if it meant i’d end up anywhere with you.”

and now she’s crying for a whole different, much sweeter reason.

she pouts at him cutely, “bearrr!”

and it’s like nothing even happened.

“whaaat?” he groans, feigning annoyance. “snotty girl, look at those tears,” he tuts, “such a crybaby.”

“that’s not fair—!”

“hush,” he muses, walking them back toward her bedroom, deft fingers working to unfasten the many buttons of her dress. “you talk too much, anyone ever told you that? whatever, you should let me fuck you.”

“what?”

“you should let me fuck you.”

“you literally ate me out for an hour before we left, that’s why we were so fucking late. and who says you fuckin’ deserve it?”

carmy smirks, that’s his girl.

fuckin’ trouble.

he quirks a brow at her, fingers pausing their decent.

“you gonna let me earn it?”

—

a/n: hope u like it babies bc getting this done made me SICK (im serious i can’t fucking breathe right or swallow properly anymore 🙂‍↔️🫶🏽)

not proofread!!

[izzabela]

Can you write about the reader having feelings for Syzoth but she thinks that he has feelings for Ashra but everyone else drops hints that Syzoth has feelings for the reader but the reader doesn't get the hints until Syzoth decides to come clean with his feelings for the reader?

As Subtle As A Rock - Syzoth x fem!reader (5+1 fic)

in which there are five times someone tells you that Syzoth likes you, and one time where you believe it

a/n: finally, some good fucking food (i'm kidding i love all the requests i get, i just don't often see syzoth content)

ship[s]: syzoth x fem!reader

warning(s): tsundere reader, y/n used, post-kanon story

1 - Kenshi Takahashi

You sigh heavily as you watch Syzoth use his tail to trip the monks that were ambushing him. He's training for his exam to become an initiate for the Wu Shi, and he was doing everything he could to stay ready.

He looked so good taking down the rest of the orange-clad men. His muscles flexed when he knocked Kung Lao to the ground, and the sweat glistened on his skin as he turned to block a flying head-butt from Raiden.

You had already finished your training for the day, a one-on-one with Liu Kang to assess your skills to see if you were ready to move on.

As you watch Syzoth spar, he spots you from his place and waves, and you give a weak wave back.

For some reason, he gets more serious in his sparring. He's more precise, his hits perfectly taking monks down left and right.

He's also puffing his chest out when he gets them down, like a video game character taunting.

As you watch him, a voice surprises you.

"You know, he really likes you," Kenshi tells you as his chin rests in his palm. He's copying your stance as you look between him and Syzoth in shock.

You turn to him with a flushed face and wave your hands like a madman. Despite the red bandana that was over his eyes, you can tell he's giving you the "look".

"Ah! No! Not possible! I mean...." you stutter, unable to find the words as Syzoth keeps his appearances up as he fights.

Kenshi has his jaw agape, slapping his forehead with his hand before he drags it down and groans in frustration.

One out of five people, surely another person could prove it, right?

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

2 - Raiden

You and Raiden stare at the pile of insects in confusion and worry.

You see, Syzoth had dropped you loads of food in front of your bedroom because you had gotten a bit sick.

Raiden was responsible in overseeing you as you regained your strength.

He was rounding the corner because he had brought your medicine from the infirmary, but the smell that was coming from your room....

Huge, fat(?), and dead bugs laid in front of your door. And Raiden saw Syzoth splaying the deceased insects in a fashionable(???) manner.

He knocked on your door and ran away, which leads to the situation now.

"Raiden... I am not a frog..." you mumble weakly as you cough.

Raiden chuckles and shakes his head, "Actually, it was Syzoth who dropped it off."

Your face warms with love at the thought of your crush giving you such care.

"He must like you a lot, you know," Raiden points out. "I mean, I am unsure of how Zaterran's court but-"

You swipe the medicine out of Raiden's hands and go on a (strangely) energetic ramble about how he could not like you, and how he's just being nice, and blah blah blah.

As Raiden gets the door shut on his face, he can still hear you go on about it. Shaking his head, he looks down at the bugs.

"Ah, what to do..."

Kenshi was right, you did have a hard time accepting things.

Then again, third time's a charm right?

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

3 - Johnny Cage

There's stupid, then there's just fools.

Johnny is classified as stupid, but even he knows a fool when he sees one.

And unfortunately, you were on his radar.

Johnny watches with a slacked jaw as Syzoth gifts you a pile of pretty rocks.

He's watching dumbly as Syzoth explains each rock, geode, and stone that he got from his latest travel as emissary.

"This is a rare gem native to the mines north of Satauri," Syzoth explains.

You hold the rocks with sparkling eyes, listening to every fact intently. You guys are at it for a couple of hours, sitting on the field of the academy before more lessons.

Finally, Syzoth leaves after a monk calls after him for some other chores.

You wave goodbye, and you smile bashfully at the pile of rocks and stones Syzoth gifted you.

Johnny surprises you from behind.

"Wow, he sure does like ya," Johnny says, swishing around you to swipe a rock to take a closer look.

"Not even Syzoth gave me thanks after I shot a movie after him!" Johnny whines, rambling about how much money went into the movie (he legit broke the budget tenfold).

You shake your head vehemently, "Absolutely not! Hedoesn'tevenseemelikethat...."

Johnny mocks you with a hand puppet mimicking a mouth, "Blah blah blah, yap yap yap."

Still, as you deny the possibility that Syzoth indeed reciprocates your feelings, you hold the rocks close to your chest, all of the little things in your hand as your heart pounds in your rib cage.

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

4 - Kung Lao

You and Syzoth are basking under the warm sun that shines over the Academy- Syzoth on a rock and you on a blanket over the grass.

You guys are on a break from training and lessons today, so Syzoth decided to invite you to do his favorite past time- sunbathing.

And so here you two were, chatting quietly amongst one another about your lives, especially his. His life changed, from pure despair to one filled with hope and new opportunities.

One such opportunities being love, though the couldn't tell that to you.

Despite how well-kept his secret was, it was so obvious to Kung Lao. The way Syzoth's eyes lit up when you were around him, the way his tail wagged when he shifted halfway, the rocks (he heard from Johnny), the sparring (thanks Kenshi), and the bugs (kudos to Raiden).

Kung Lao watches from the distance, only swooping in when Syzoth leaves after he's gotten ample sunbathing.

You continue to lay there, skin practically glowing in blinding radiance. The sun was just... perfect.

Kung Lao walks from his nest of watching, surprising you with his shadow over your face.

"You know, not even Syzoth has invited me to sunbathe yet," he says, and you rub your eyes and blink to make out Kung Lao's visual.

"Oh, hey Lao!" you greet rubbing your eyes. "What are you talking about? Has he not sunbathed with you?"

Kung Lao sits beside you, shaking his head as he looks at you with waggling brows, "That must mean he really likes you, (y/n)~."

You shove his shoulder, "Don't be funny, kung Lao! He does not like me like that. And besides, he and Ashrah spend a lot of time together."

Kung Lao mentally rolls his eyes. By the elder gods, if only you knew what those two talked about.

"Just tell him how you feel!" Kung Lao ushers you. "What's the worst that could happen?"

You groan, shoving him off your blanket and rolling it up, before storming away grumbling about Syzoth.

Kung Lao scratches his head, watching you and your feelings walk away.

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

5 - Ashrah

Ashrah swung her kriss at the training dummy, yelling and grunting as she practiced her moves and wandered in her own mind.

She was in a bit of a pickle, you see.

For the last couple of days, she had been talking to Syzoth because he had asked her how to confess to someone. Poor girl, she was still grappling with her newfound emotions that came with freedom.

Still, with the help of the other men in the Academy: Kung Lao, Johnny, Kenshi, and Raiden, she had been providing him with good advice and ways to get you to notice him.

However, everytime he came back after doing whatever she said, he reported back his fruitless attempts.

"She did not respond after I deposited the rocks," Syzoth noted once. Or, "She and I talked, but she fell asleep as I was tlaking as we were sunbathing..." as another report.

Ashrah sighs, stabbing the wooden dummy through its torso cleanly. You heard a little gasp behind you, and she leaves the sword stuck in the dummy as her eyes meet yours.

"G-good afternoon, Ashrah," you stuttered quietly, walking to another free dummy nearb

Ashrah watches you intently, smiling as you returned a rather slim one. Confused, as you were not returning her kind gesture.

Unintentionally pushing your buttons, she just asks you straightforward.

"Are you worried about Syzoth?" she blatantly asks, her posh voice ringing in your ears as you look over your shoulder with a glare.

You roll your eyes, "Not really something you should ask someone when the other is clearly vying for the same man as you." There's vevnom in your voice, and Ashrah frowns a bit as she gracefully removes her sword form the dummy.

Sheathing it, she continues, "I must let you know, it really is not like that." She approaches you, and you instinctively step back some. "Syzoth has been having a hard time telling you that he truly reciprocates your affections."

Your mood is soured completely, and you you cram the dummy back into the corner it belonged to.

"Syzoth likes you, not me Ashrah" you spat at her. "If you want friendship so bad, perhaps lying is not the best way to obtain it."

You stomp away, and Ashrah is both confused and sad over this attempt at making another friend- especially a woman.

And as your figure disappears within the Academy, your heart and gut wrenches at the games everyone has been playing with you.

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

+1 - Syzoth

Syzoth had given up with advice from both Ashrah and friends. He loves them, don't get it twisted, but it has gotten him nowhere.

From dropping off bugs to your door, trying to impress you as he sparred, even inviting you to sunbathe (he is very particular about his vitamin d)- it has gotten his feelings nowhere.

Manning up, he picked some flowers from a nearby field, called Ashrah and Kenshi over, and practiced what he wanted to say.

Kenshi was the coach, Ashrah pretended to be you, and Syzoth was fumbling over his words.

"No, Syzoth," Kenshi gently scolds. "You have to tell her why you like her, not just 'I like you'."

Syzoth groans, "I will bite your heads off if I must repeat this one last time."

As the trio continues their practice, you're walking in the general direction as a monk had called for you for an audience with Liu Kang.

You can hear the voices, and you turn the corner to find Kenshi, Ashrah, and Syzoth- you couldn't find your heart, though, as you're so sure it dropped from the shock of this scene.

"Um, am I interrupting?" You say rather coldly. Kenshi and Ashrah are wide-eyed, and Kenshi immediately grabs Ashrah's wrist as they run off like kids.

Is this a romance novel? A fanfic? You couldn't help but roll your eyes as you thought of their childish antics.

"Ah, um, agh... How do I..." Syzoth is nervous as he fiddles with the flowers he picked for you. You look between them and his eyes.

"Are those for someone?" you point. "If you need help confessing to Ash-"

"No!" he cries. Your shock takes him aback, but he reigns himself in as he clears his throat. "No. They're, uh... for you?"

You look at him with a quirked brow, then soften up as you look at the flowers and the general area Kenshi and Ashrah fled to.

"But I thought-." Syzoth interrupts you.

"I sought the help of Ashrah and the others," he begins to explain. "They were giving me advice, on how one can tell someone how they feel- the human way."

You look at him, and he uses this silence to continue his words.

"Ashrah provided me with advice, I was doing my best to make my efforts known..." Syzoth itches his head shyly, walking closer to you as he uses his other hand to hold on yours.

"I guess this was my final 'hurrah', something Johnny taught me," Syzoth chuckles awkwardly.

You shake your head, "I thought everyone was playing mind games with me..."

Syzoth shakes his head, rubbing your hand as the other hand that scratched his head now caresses your face.

"Your heart is not something to be toyed with..." Syzoth whispered, moving your hair out of your face.

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

sigh, i love syzoth

see yall in the next fic!

[2smolbeans]

im in the mood for some angst ............. 🐺🐺🖤anyways can u do how any of the brothers would react if they originally were only dating mc for a bet but then after a couple months of dating they actually grew feelings for mc but then mc found out it was for a bet

Ouch that's cold..Anyways here are some thoughts I had based on that lool XD Thank you for the request!

*Bonus, Mc is a demon/sinner in hell and ofc cause this is a yandere blog- there a yandere twist:

Edit: I tried and the writing is kinda cringey lol -- This took so long aahfajnvsk-

Dating for a Bet..

Yandere: Mammon , Leviathan, x Sinner/Demon Mc

Tags: Mentions of Admiral Levi, Casino owner Mammon, angst, stalking, toxic behavior idk, reader referred to as 'you', fem reader for mammon and male reader for Levi, blackmail, power imbalance/dynamics, major world building that isn't canon but my own head canons, takes place in the 80s or 90s, kinda cringe writing, this went unedited, also I wrote a lot of words.

Mammon:

It was a wild night for the avatar of greed. The night was young and he was relishing in the chanting hype of praise. As the owner of Devildom's hottest casino, all eyes were on him as he held the cards in his hands- face to face with an old powerful witch. He couldn't lose, he was confident that he had all the right cards on his deck. He looked at his cards, and then at the powerful sorcerer who had a crowd of witches surrounding her. She looked at him with a knowing look, smirking. "Avatar of greed, I want to make a deal" Mammon rested his chin against the palm of his hand, still holding his cards. "Mhn, sure. What are the terms?" She smiled, placing down a card. "If you win, I give you 15,000 grimm, my collection of ancient jewels, gems, and gold. As well as a custom potion for extra good measure." His ears perked, Mammon was sold the moment jewels and gold were mentioned. "Deal" the witch laughed as she heard his forward answer. "You won't even question the loss?" Mammon couldn't help but smirk, looking at the demons behind him who snickered. "Me? Lose? Yeah, we'll see" And soon enough, the avatar of greed would swallow his own pride.

He lost, and swiftly too. He couldn't help but be impressed, but also ashamed to have lost in his own casino. Groaning, he threw down his cards while everyone cheered for the witch. He could hear the smugness in her voice as she spoke. "So..It seems like I have won. You know what that means" "Yeah yeah, I gotta admit it. Ya sure beat me! Alright lets get this over now" "Now wait, come with me."

He was confused at first, but then quickly brushed it aside as he stood up from his seat. The avatar of greed and the powerful witch were now alone in a booth area, demons dancing in the background as music echoed. She leaned in close, speaking in his ear. "Black dress with the slit on the leg. The one with the shiny gold chains. I want you to talk to her. Go out with her for a bit, show her a good time. She's a very nice girl." "What?!" "Take her out on a date or two. Nothing serious." Mammon looked at you from a distance, watching you stand there awkwardly in the crowd. "Her?!" "Yes! We shook on it and I won. So go on!"

Mammon was a demon of his word, and he was all about fair game. So, he walked up to you, leaning against the wall while you held your drink. "Hey, you new here?" You laughed, looking at the avatar of greed. "That's one way to open up a conversation around here" "Hey hey, I'm just being friendly. No ulterior motives!" Mammon exclaimed, putting his palms out to defend himself. "Pffft, uh-huh, okay. Sure thing my lord~" you giggled, rolling your eyes.

It was all a blur for Mammon, next thing he knew, the both of you were out of the casino. He had taken you out to the city, walking around as the night life was alive. You talked, and he honestly wasn't paying attention- more focused on the jewels that glistened on you. "So, Mammon.. How are you?" Huh? Oh, right. Mammon thought, snapping back to reality. "I'm aight, just enjoying this right now.. So, you have a boyfriend? Girlfriend?" You laughed, putting a hand on your mouth out of embarrassment shortly after of how loud of a laughter it was. "Sorry- no I don't. Currently single right now. Why? You interested?" Mammon smirked, snaking an arm around your shoulders. "What if I am?" You let out a snort, feeling your face heat up. "I mean.. Okay? I don't know?? Are you serious?" "Of course! I'm serious. I mean is it wrong for a guy to shoot his shot at a pretty girl like you?" "I mean.. No? But me? Are you sure? Wait, is that why you..?" "C'mon, one date. I take you out, wine and dine ya, and at the end of we part our ways. No pressure, I ain't in love or anything" You stop for a moment, and he stops with you. You give his offer a thought, and for a moment you think of rejecting him. But looking at THE Mammon, you knew this was a once in a lifetime offer. "Y'know what? Fuck it, yes!" "Now that's the spirit! Cool! Here lemme give you my number.. I'll figure out something. Now, where do ya live? I'll fly you there"

He took you on two dates, all of them being a foggy memory to him. You were happy with him during all of them, in disbelief that the Mammon himself was giving his time and attention to you. You enjoyed those small dates, even if it wasn't extravagant. After the 2nd date, you knew that it was over, it was fun while it lasted. It was a casual fling, and you didn't expect one of the rulers of hell to settle down for some witch. But two weeks later, he came back..

With flowers in one hand and a luxury gift box in another, Mammon was outside your door. There was a genuine look of awe in his eyes, like he was smitten by your shocked expression. "Mammon..?" "Hey princess, say.. Ya wanna go out?" "Aww..Mammon, you're so sweet but.." There was a panic in his eyes as you trailed off. "O-Oh, how come?" "No no! It's not anything. It's very sweet of you..It's just that I have to run errands today. Some woman wants a special spell to curse her cheating husband sooo..Y'know? Duty calls!" He felt the weight in his chest lift as you explained your situation to him. "Ah..Well..You want any help-" "Fucking yes please come in"

Without a struggle, Mammon was able to help with the creation of the spell. With no hesitation, he spoke in an old demonic language, nothing you ever heard of with such fluency. He wrote down the words on a notepad you've given him, passing it to you once he was done. "Here's the most simplistic English version. The abbreviations y'know?" You looked at the paper, laughing in amazement. With gratitude, you hugged him without a thought. "Oh my fucking- Mammon I love you so much! Ugh fuck! I could just kiss you!" It didn't take long for you to process what you had said to the avatar of greed. Blushing, you awkwardly step back. "Uh, oh, sorry. That was a bit.." "Why don't ya?" You were taken a back. "Huh..?" He stepped closer, leaning close to your face with a dazed expression. "Why don't ya? I deserve some gratitude don't I?" It started off with a small peck. You were quick to kiss him on the cheek, your face turning red. Mammon chuckled, teasing you. "Aww babe, you call that a kiss? C'mon, lemme show ya what a real kiss looks like.." things got heated the moment his lips pressed against yours. He was selfish, not allowing you to move your head away, even if was for a short breath. He didn't bother letting you take the lead, ignoring your small pleas of letting you calm down. It was overwhelming, possessive, and amazing to say the least. You're laying on his chest, your skin bare against his, your head moving as he breaths in and out. "I think I love you.." Mammon admits. "I think I love you too.." you sighed, closing your eyes as you cuddle into him.

Like a crow attracted to a shiny coin, he couldn't tear his eyes away from you. You made him go feral. Was it your looks? Not really. He's seen more people attractive than you. Power? You were just a typical witch. Your voice? He didn't know, but it never failed to make him melt into a puddle. Was it the way you gifted him things, shiny jewels that had him in thought? It definitely had to be when you praised him, or how addicting it was when you purposely wore bold lipstick, kissing him on the cheek, smirking how he was yours. 

Whatever spell you put on him, it worked. Cause now he was head over heels for you. Head over heels to the point he followed you around, always conveniently popping up with a smile. So in love that he often takes a few things of yours that you consider junk as his treasures. He's so genuinely hexed by your existence that he can't help but feel agitated whenever you don't pay attention to him for as long as he wants. Especially when you're talking to someone else. God does he just want to bust their head open for prying your eyes away from him. 

Your relationship with Mammon is smooth. He spoils you with his love and attention, though when it came to the materialistic aspects- he was a bit of a cheapskate. You didn't put it against him though, it was in his nature. Mammon was kind of in disbelief to say the least. He never thought he would've been deeply in love with a simple witch in hell. It started off as a stupid bet! Hell during those first 3 dates with you, he rolled his eyes and smirked whenever people asked if he actually loved you. He had multiple girlfriends, boyfriends, and partners in the past, but he never thought of the long term future with them. But with you. Oh, did the thought pop up here and there. Who would've thought that the boring chick he had to date from a shameful loss would be the love of his life.

But, that would all come crashing down the moment you stopped smiling. You were distant, passive with him whenever he'd speak to you. He'd ask you what was wrong, and you'd brush him off. He'd ask again, knowing you were lying, and you'd deter him. He'd persist at you, and eventually you cracked. "I heard from my fellow witch sisters about you.." You admitted, not looking at him. "I'm surprised he went that far! They said.." His heart dropped, fearing the next words you were about to say. "I was a bet, a joke. " He could see in your eyes of how used you felt. "Baby honey..No I promise. You were not a joke. I love you! I really do! You're everything to me" You laughed, looking saddened. "When did you start liking me? He was quick to answer, holding your hands as he looked into your eyes. "Our third date when I realized you were the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me" You looked at him, listening. "You're my treasure, I love ya. Please, please understand me" You wanted to believe him, you wanted to fully give into him, kiss him and promise to start fresh. But, you couldn't get past the knowledge knowing he had only talked with you because of a bet he lost from your mentor. It was a punch to the gut, it really hurt. I mean who were you kidding, THE Mammon himself actually settling down with a witch like you? It was a wakeup call, a much needed one. It was probably for your best, and possibly own safety. Afterall, the worse they were, the higher the title. It's always been like that. And Mammon was a demon at the highest of highest of titles, no one but the royal king and his servant could get past that. "I'm sorry Mammon, I think I need some time.." "W-What, why?! You know I love you, c'mon please don't do this to me" he begged, his voice rising with desperation as you stepped away. "Mammon, you gotta understand how I feel. Our first 3 dates, I did everything to make you like me. I was so glad that you even looked at me! I gave you my all, just to find out it was for nothing." "But it wasn't! Why aren't you listening to me?!" You sighed exasperated, turning away from Mammon, briefly spacing yourself away from him. "Mammon I'm trying okay? Just please, leave me alone" He begged, going on his knees, looking into your eyes panicked. "Baby don't leave me, please we can make this work. I love you, YOU love me! Please you love me don't leave me-" he repeated his pleas like a prayer, a desperate cry as he looked into your eyes, reading your thoughts of leaving him. Disturbed, you knitted your brows and cringed, unsure of what to do as the avatar of greed cried at your feet. It would be worse to deny the powerful demon lord when he was already uncontrollable, so you knelt to him, trying your best to comfort him, even if it costed your comfort. "I'm not gonna break up with you Mammon, I promise.. I just need some time alone" Your words seemed to convince him since he had wiped his tears and calmed his breathing. "Do you still love me?" You took a deep breath. "Of course I do"

He left you alone for a few days after that incident, respecting your wish. You would've never thought that the second born sin would be so sensitive and fragile. It broke your heart seeing Mammon vulnerable that day, of course you still loved him. It's why you called him after a few days, feeling your heart flutter when he looked at you with high spirits when you asked him on another date. Ever since that confrontation, Mammon was more clingier than ever. Always having an arm wrapped around your shoulder, his face often close to yours. It was obvious Mammon was insecure about his relationship with you, even if he seemed confident and the same careless Mammon. You loved him, but it was hard to get over the fact that you were only with him because of a bet, and Mammon knew. He could read you like an open book, and with the way you were more reserved around him, he knew you were still not over it. He became intense, you thought maybe this was a rough patch, that this awkward awful feeling would pass, but it didn't- it got worse. You were slowly falling out of love and more or so with Mammon out of fear and pity. It wasn't helping that Mammon was starting to get more demanding.

Buy him gifts, go out with him, 24/7 you were always by his side and it was draining. He would spoil you, lavish you in the prettiest of jewels, calling you those special names you loved like his "precious gem", "treasure" and the what not. He treated you better than before, spoiled you if anything. But it never won you over, unfortunately, you lost interest in Mammon ever since you confronted him. You asked your fellow sisters for advice, and in response they laughed at you. "Mammon? Oh honey he'll be fine. You know how many he's dumped or moved on from? Just break it off nicely and I'm pretty sure he won't send you to the nine circles or chop your head off! He's the chill one y'know? Unlike.. Well yeah" after hours of talking and reassurance, you got the courage to talk to Mammon.. and break things off. Surprisingly, it didn't go bad as you thought it would.

He just looked at you, not saying a word, not really showing if he was sad or angry. He accepted it and left. You thought that things were finally over, that your relationship with Mammon was one of those things that would happen once and that you could brag to others as a life time experience. But, once again, were wrong. Trapped in a room where Mammon had kept you, surrounded by the shiniest jewels and luxury pillows. A strong magic kept you from leaving the room, you couldn't leave, even if you tried to cast any spells to let you out. There was a painful ring on your finger, a golden ring. Taking it off was painful, it left your body burning, twisting, heavy and dizzy with pain. You couldn't take it off, and from what you were told, the ring was skillfully crafted by Mammon to have him always connected with your body and mind. How did you get here? You really don't remember, but you knew it was at least a month after you had cut off Mammon. He was constantly on you, his body always next to yours, his eyes always drinking you in, his voice often asking of you. He was greedy for your attention, eager for your affection. And when you didn't give it to him, he simply touched the ring on his finger, and suddenly, you were at his beck and call from the pain. You didn't kiss him when he went to get something, even though he's told you so many times of how much he needs you to always love on him. Your head was now pounding and screaming from the sensation of your ring finger searing from the metal that began to burn. But even when that wasn't enough, Mammon knew how to push the dial even further. Constant grabbing, unwanted kisses, demands for gifts and affection, Mammon was unsatiable. Even if you didn't give it to him, he would take and take from you either way. Everyday he expected at least more than a dozen kisses, a gift in hand for him, and for you to be on your hands and knees, ready to give him what he wants. You tried fighting back, only for it to end up with bruises and an exhausted tortured mind.

It broke his heart whenever you cried, what he was doing to him tore him to pieces. It was torture whenever he saw you cower away, when your once love filled eyes bore into his with such hatred. But he doesn't know how else to keep you willingly by his side! He tells himself. Maybe he's just that fucking stupid that he can't think of anything else, the doubts in his head and your cries convince him so. You were innocent in this all, and he hated admitting it. You were at no fault, yet he keeps you prisoner and punishes you as if you were. He knows he should let you go, but the ugly side of him doesn't care to. It's a battle with himself. He wants to indulge in his sick insecure desires, his mind brainstorming of what more he wants from you. There's a side of him that just wants things to go back to what they once were, and he believes they will! A side that just wants to erase your memories and start again. But he doesn't want you to forget the memories..

Eventually you complied, too defeated to fight back. It was useless fighting against one of the most powerful demons in hell, let alone one of the rulers. No one was going to save you, and Mammon made it clear he wasn't going to let you go. You'll never love him the same way you did before. You won't smile or have those witty comebacks whenever he does something dumb. You won't kiss him willingly, comfortably snuggling into him. Things won't be the same anymore, there was no going back. But what was he expecting having pure love in a place like hell? It was either doing things his way, or letting you go, something he couldn't bare to do. You'll come around eventually though. You'll love him how you loved him back then. People change. He knows this, you changed him after all.

Leviathan:

You were a typical sailor in hell's navy. Like everyone else, you were once a man on earth, sinned a bit too much, never once repented or prayed to the almighty to forgive you, died, and ended- luckily- in Devildom instead of the nine circles of hell for eternal punishment! You were considered one of the lucky sinners. As one of the lucky sinners that were judged by hell's judges, you were given an opportunity to avoid eternal damnation. Gather souls, torment humans, or contribute to Devildom's society. If you served no purpose for Devildom's progress or sustainability, you were going to be sent to hell, as in actual hell, to burn. So with only 6 days that you were given to choose a role or position in Devildom, you chose to join hell's army. You died a military man on earth, so you had some experience, and it was really the only job position that seemed to be eager to take in any new recruits. After following the advertising signs for joining the military, specifically the navy, you eventually found your way to the base. It was awful navigating through Devildom and it's large confusing environment. Demons speaking various languages that were both human and non human, the streets busy, the landscape unfamiliar and dangerous. Eventually, when you stumbled into the military base, you were swiftly sorted out. You never knew hell would be so similar to earth with how the process with the lady at the desk began to sort out the papers and things for you to sign. Devildom citizenship, an ID card, and the what not, the demon lady was nice enough to get it all done within a reasonable few hours. "So I see your new here, now I must ask, why this job out of all places?" you laughed. "Ma'am to be honest, I saw the sign and figured why not? I used to be in the navy back when I.. Well, was alive. So I have experience" She laughed back, laughing at your naivety. "Oh, but this is different, nothing like back home. Trust me, for a newbie here, I'd look somewhere else" You don't want to take the risk of finding somewhere else. You only had 6 days to figure out a position in hell and you were not gonna take any chances trying to wander around to beg for a job that wasn't guaranteed. So you persisted, the lady gave you the papers, and you signed the papers with your soul now tethered to the contract. You skimmed through some of the sentences, not fully reading the paper.

'Soul.. Admiral Leviathan.. At own risk ... Signature of navy worker below'

You were never the type to read contracts, so you signed the papers, sealing the deal. The lady at the front desk clicked her tongue. "It's settled then! Now what size are you for shoes and clothes?" You told her your size and she wrote it down, waddling to the door behind her before coming back with a dark navy blue sailor uniform. "Your Devildom citizenship will arrive in your room in one of the barracks in 2 days. You will start your shift once you get your ID and schedule." You grabbed the map that was provided, the bag that had your sailor uniform, and stood up. "Thank you, you were really kind" She waved her hand dismissively. "Nah, I'm just doing my job. Now before you go, word of advice" you looked at her, listening intently. "Do not piss off the captains, ESPICALLY the admiral. Whatever he wants or says, you do it, no questions asked." You nodded your head, acknowledging her warning. "Good, now good luck. You're gonna need it"

With all your belongings, you made your way to your barracks, looking around your surroundings. You noticed the different variants of demons that worked in the naval base. Aquatic demons working in the waters, repairing damages to the outer layers of the smaller ships, flying demons fixing radios and tending to electrical duties. They were clearly experienced and seemed a lot bigger and more.. You couldn't properly explain it. Confident? Comfortable? It was clear that they blended in with the environment while your meek personality stuck out like a sore thumb. Finally finding your room, you noticed a bunk bed. Guess you had a roommate that was off to his duties. Eventually, when you had your ID, you began to work in the navy as an entry level sea man. Preforming maintenance, reporting to your mates on watch, you got the hang of living in Devildom and the navy. Hell, you even got used to your new demon anatomy. But working as a newbie in hell was torture. As the new demon in hell, or what your fellow sailors like to call you- "Fresh meat"- you were constantly harassed and hazed. Belongings stolen, body beaten, insulted at any moment, it became the norm. One day you were on one of the ships, sweeping the floors, the typical. Then one of the bigger sailors- Dallas- grabbed you by the shoulders and spun you around. You flinched, expecting a punch to the face, but he only pressed your back against the wall. Keeping you pinned, he was up in your face, mocking you, grabbing a fistful of your hair as he hurled insults as the men around him laughed. It was expected, but what wasn't expected was when he grabbed your tail, playing with it softly. "Hmn, you just grew into your new body aye? How does this feel?" you shuddered, uncomfortable as his hand tightened around the thick base. "Hey, answer me" you squeaked, shaking at the weird intense foreign sensation. "Weird. Really weird. Look man can I just-" "Shut the fuck up." You immediately tighten your lips shut. The demon stayed quiet for a bit, observing the way your tail twitched and moved. He sighs, letting go with a smile. "Alright, go on with whatever"

The relief washes over your body as Dallas seems to step away from you, uninterested. You let out a shaky breath, closing your eyes until-

RIIIIIIIIIIPPP

In a flash you're on the floor, letting out a wheezy gasp as the scream escapes your body. Pain shoots from your lower back, the audible squelch and soft drop of something clear to your ears. Crying you gasp for air, the raw pain shooting up your spine. He ripped your tail, the fucker ripped your tail. Dallas laughed at your misery, crouching down. "Awe, damn.. Not a clean rip.. There's still some chunks.. Oh my god ew it's still moving?! Hey, how does it feel?" The pain was intense to the point you started seeing dots in your vision and the bile in your stomach forcefully excreted out from your heavy hyperventilating sobs. "Helloooo? Aye man you might wanna get that cauterized or something at the infirmary" He's still poking at you, poking his boot against your stomach. "Really? What's next? Gonna piss your pants? You're such a pu-"

"DALLAS"

A roaring voice interrupts. You try to turn around and see the source from the voice, but you can only lay as you writhe with your ripped tail on the floor. You hear three voices talking. Dallas, the main captain, and another man you haven't met. The captain groans, scolding the other sailor. "Are you kidding me?! We are running low on workers and you- you do this?! I don't even.." You can't see properly since your on the floor, but the other man in the large cloak puts his palm out, silencing the two. You hear footsteps, and you try to turn your head to see what's going on. "Dallas, am I not giving you enough work?" you could see the demon shrink, holding his two hands together. "No sir." "Then why are you messing with the new workers? Do you understand how low staffed we are?" "Yes sir." The man he was referring to as sir was a tall indigo haired male that wore a hat, cloak, and a specially tailored uniform adorned with badges. You were definitely sure this was the higher boss or at least the highest ranking captain. With how everyone kept their head low and how your main captain stepped back and quiet, you were certain of it. "Then stop acting like a pathetic teenager and leave them alone. Or are you too weak to pick on the older workers? Tell me. Why is it only my newer workers?" You could feel the humiliation coming from your bully as his voice became more anxious the more the uniformed man spoke. "I-I am sorry sir. I got carried away" The indigo haired male in the hat sneered, questioning him with a quick stern voice. "Do you like destroying my things? Does it give you some satisfaction fucking with my things?" Now it was Dallas's turn to squeak. "N-No sir! Absolutely not!" With an annoyed chuckle, the man commanded an order. "Come here." and he followed the order. "You touch him again, or any of my new workers, and I'll send you to circles to rot. I'll do it in a snap and you won't ever know the taste of fresh air ever again. Do you understand me?" In a quiet whisper, Dallas's voice tremored. "Yes sir.." With a chuckle, the cloaked man patted his shoulder. "Good. Now, stand him up for me"

Dallas carefully grabbed you, lifting you up by your feet- or at least trying to. You were limp from the weakness and throbbing agony that was all over your body, so moving you around was like dead weight. "A real low bar for you to go for the tail as well" The indigo haired captain tsked, his own tail swishing back and fourth on the floor. "Give him to me", you were shimmied over to the tall male, resting against his broad chest while his arm kept you standing. "Now. Go back to work. Get out." And he scurried off, leaving you alone with the man and your other captain. You close your eyes, drifting off from the exhaustion. With your blurry vision you could see the annoyance coming from his voice as he murmured to your captain. "...I swear I leave..A day.. And shit like.....happens.. I'm not a..... Babysitter.."

You pass out. You don't know how long you've been out for, but when you woke up you could hear the beeping of a monitor machine. You were at the infirmary, and when you regained conscious, you saw the IV attached to you. "You're awake" You whipped your head, only to get whiplash. You groaned, trying to soothe the pain. "Take it easy, you've been out for a while." You adjust yourself, sitting up, you get a good look at the man. Indigo hair, peaked cap, and the large dark royal cloak- you recognized him. "A-Ah, sir! It is.. Uhm, nice of you to be here?" You had no idea what to say, you didn't expect anyone to be waiting on you. "Thank you. You're a fresh soul.. It's been a while seeing those in my navy" You let out a low hum. "Mhn..." You shuffled a little, using your butt a bit to move further against the pillows, only to gasp as the agonizing pain rips through your body. You clutch your chest, trying to calm yourself down. "Woah there, don't move" He approached you, placing you softly on your side. It felt a bit better since you were laying on your back earlier, putting most of the pressure onto the nub. "T-Thank you.." He observed you, eying you up. "Do you feel any knots around the spine area?" You breathed out with a gasp. "It still hurts.." "From 1-10, tell me" "Ugnn.. An 8.." He let out a 'hnm' in response, now removing the sheets from your body. "It's going to hurt, so hold my hand." You followed his order, grabbing one of his hands while his other hand traveled towards your back. Near the base of your tail that connected with your spine, he pressed his fingers against the area. You hissed at the prickling sensations shot up through your entire spine. Your grip tightened as the man kept massaging the area, biting your lip as an attempt to hold yourself back from accidentally breaking the man's hand. "You don't need to hold back, you're not hurting me. You can't hurt me. Grip as hard as you need to, you're gonna need to brace yourself" Your eyes widened, panicked you gripped tighter as you began to breath heavily. His hand was now resting at the agitating large bump on your tailbone.

"1.."

You feel the anxiety begin to twist in your chest.

"2..."

He eyes your expression carefully, almost feeling pity.

"3"

With a swift push, he punches the red bump, pushing the bump back into your body with a loud pop. You gasp, frozen as you instinctively cling onto his hand. With tears streaming down your eye, you try to adjust to the burning in your spine. "Breathe in and out.. That's it.. I know it hurts.." he sympathized, speaking softly. "Because the bastard ripped it out like a barbaric child, this part, the bone, will dislocate here and there. It'll stop once it heals and regrows. But for now, you're gonna have to punch it in whenever it does that. You groan, now letting go of his hand. "It'll hurt less the more you do it. Now, how do you feel?" You wipe the tears from your eyes. "Surprisingly better.." He smiles, sitting back down on the chair that was next to your bed. "Good. How long have you been here for?" You take the sheets, covering your body again. "2 weeks..." He pulls his chair closer to you, wanting to engage. "Ah, alright. Do you know who I am?" "No sir.. Sorry" "It's okay, it makes sense. Well, I am Leviathan. I control this entire fleet, I am your admiral. You look after my navy, and I look after you"

Leviathan? As in the mythical sea monster? "Oh, so you are.. The Leviathan?" He finds your lack of knowledge in him to be quite endearing. "Yes, and in biblical terms, or more accurate terms, I am envy. I am the 3rd born sin, and I oversee one of the districts here. Any more questions?" You were speechless, not expecting to be face to face with the most powerful demon in hell. "N-No. Not at all sir. Thank you for telling me that.. I had no idea" His curiosity picks at him. "Oh really? How come?" you shy away, not wanting to offend Leviathan. "Well, no offense sir.. I was always an atheist. I didn't believe in the bible or anything. I only really heard of you based on an old kids myth.." An atheist? How adorable! Leviathan thought. "And what was that myth?" You paused for a bit. "Uhh.. Well uh.. The myth was that at 3am, you looked for anyone swimming in the lakes.. And then drowned them if you saw them.." Meh, not totally accurate, but it was close to an old hobby he used to do which was drowning sailors. "Ha! Did your parents tell you that?" "...Yeah"

Well isn't that just precious? He wasn't the type to smile over a conversation, but you somehow curled the corner of his lips upwards.

"Rest up. Take 5 days off, and report back to me on your tail. I'll see you then"

He stands up, and he leaves. Something about that touched you a bit, left you pondering and in awe. You weren't in love or anything, but he left you smitten. You spent most of your days in your room, resting up, taking medicine, and eating whenever you went to the cafeteria. Your bunkmate would mind his own business, glancing at you here and there before going out. He eventually decided to make himself known. "I'm Neil." He said abruptly, holding out a tray while you laid on the top bunk. You groggily turned, looking at the brownette. "Oh?" "These are for you" You look at the tray, an apple, muffin, and some soup. You just stare, not taking the tray. "Oh uh.. These aren't poisoned or.." He trailed off as you stared more at him, unconvinced. "Okay here's proof" He took a bite out of everything, and a sip from the soup. "There see! Not poisoned." You cringed, trying to be nice as the man took a bite out of nearly everything. "Ahh, thanks.." You sit up, taking the tray. "Hey uh, you don't have like.. Any poison or acid in your salvia right?" He looked confused for a moment. "Uhh.. Ohh nope! Not that kind of demon" "Alright thanks" You say, not really caring before taking a bite out of the already bitten muffin. "So uh, how's the tail?" "How do you know about the..." "Medicine. And the bandages on the table.. And the fact that you've been sleeping on your side for the past 4 days, duh" "Righht.. I mean it's getting better. Tomorrow I think I start working again" He stands on his mattress, grabbing onto the edge of the bunk bed to be somewhat at your level. "Damn, really?" "What do you want?" You're quick to cut the bullshit, speaking swiftly, you question him. He looks a bit taken a back. "Oh, just curious about my new bunkmate, that's all!" Right.. You don't believe him, but you continue to talk to him. You learn that he's been in the navy for at least 44 years, and that he died in the 70s. Cool.

The next day rolls and you climb out of bed. Brushing your teeth, changing your bandages and putting on your uniform, you put on your shoes. Opening the door, you're left confused as you stare. It wasn't the hallway of the barracks, but an office. Before you could run back into your room, something shoves you out and the door closes behind you. You turn to look for the door, but it's no longer there. You walk, looking around your surroundings. Medals, harpoons laid around as decorations, and large tanks with various small colorful marine creatures. "Over here" You hear his voice, and you immediately walk towards it. You see Leviathan sitting in his chair, writing papers on his desk. "Have a seat" And you do. Sitting across from him, you sit up straight. "You can relax y'know? Now, how's the tail?" Oh right, that. He did tell you to report to him a few days ago. "It's gotten better. I'm ready to work sir." "Good. Are you having trouble with any of other sailors?" His gaze was strong. "N-No.." "You're not lying to me, right?" "No sir.." "Because if there's a problem, I don't mind fixing it" You were grateful for his seeming care for you. "Thank you sir, but I can assure you that I'm fine" "If you say so".

"So uh, how did you know about the tail thing?"

"What?"

"Sorry, like how did you know what to do with my tail and all that?"

He lets out a short laugh. "Oh? Well okay, in the beginning when hell was just starting to form, me and my brothers had already fallen to hell. We went through a lot of changes with our body. I had my wings torn off, but I grew a tail. Of course, one of my brother's,  Beelzebub, grew interested and unknowingly hungry. He didn't know his strength so he grabbed my tail and.. Ripped the entire thing clean. Bone and everything"

You wince, imagining the gruesome scene.

"It was awful, my brothers had no idea what to do while Beelzebub started to grow accustomed to his hunger. Funny enough, he did say that my tail tasted like a light flakey steak... Anyways I'm getting off track. It took years for it to grow back to how it is now. A lot of trial and error."

He paused for a moment.

"So that's it I guess. What I'm trying to say is, I've been through the same thing, multiple times actually. Anything else?" "No.. Thank you sir"

He sends you back to work, pointing to his finger back to the door that you came from. You walk out the door, and you see the ocean seas. Stepping out the door, you're a bit startled. How did that- magic you guessed. You go back to work, your admiral on your mind.

Your feelings for him started off as a small admiration. You began to idolize him little by little. You looked up to his authority, you were fascinated by the stories that were told about him. You would seek out for him, always trying to catch a glance of him patrolling the navy. You didn't have a crush on him, you were just curious. On a particular night, the navy was hosting its anniversary. It was nothing big, just a small get together at the bar with all drinks given free to the curtesy of the bar owner. The entire bar was filled with sailors drinking, laughing, and dancing. Some on the side were playing card games, others were holding drinking competitions amongst friends, and a few.. Lets just say they were gonna have a fun night. You were there, sitting in one of standing chairs, drinking a small alcoholic beverage. You weren't talking with anyone, just scanning the room, hoping to get a glimpse of Leviathan.

Leviathan was sitting on the other side of you, clearly annoyed and drinking his 3rd shot, pinching the bridge of his nose as his older brother, Mammon, kept nagging at him. "Hey Levi, Levi, Levi, Levi, Levi-" "What?" "….I love you~" "fuck off." Mammon laughed, tousling his little brother's hat, completely messing up his hair. "Aww cheer up lil bro! What's the matter?" Leviathan grumbled, drinking another shot of demonus. "Nothing." He drank another shot, this time waving on of the waitresses for another drink, a stronger one. "Seriously, you should be having the time of your life! I dunno, maybe having chicks by yourside-" Leviathan glared at him, scowling. "Or dudes… Or hell to be honest both or anyone with how you got that stick up your ass.." "What did you say?" "Nothing-" Mammon blurted, trying not to laugh. "Seriously though, what's wrong?" Leviathan rolled his eyes, now on his 6th shot. With a frown on his face, Leviathan sighed with a complain. "Everyone here is having fun, with friends and letting lose.. Being so fucking loud. This is miserable, I don't even know why I showed up." He went on, getting frustrated with each word. "I wanted to have fun, but I can't. I'm just here, all alone with my stupid brother bothering me like I'm some outcast needing to be comforted" Mammon felt a nervous sweat going down his forehead, smiling as he knew what was coming next. "They're so fucking ungrateful. I could just leave and no one would bat an eye. Why is no one coming to say hi? Why can't anyone just seem to invite me? What, am I just too high and mighty to talk to? So ungrateful." Mammon knew better than to correct Leviathan, to remind him that there were a bunch of sailors who toasted to him, the waitresses that smiled his way, the demons who were clearly smiling and grateful for the free drinks and food. There were a lot of things Mammon could point out, but of course, envy was always blind to logic. He patted Leviathan's shoulder, awkwardly laughing as an attempt to lighten up the mood. "Hey hey, I'm sure that ain't the case.. Hey what about that sailor that keeps staring at you?" "Huh?" Mammon looked at you, and he saw the subtle shift in your eyes. For a brief moment you and him made eye contact, and Mammon got an idea. "Yeah, that one. Over there with the stumpy tail" Leviathan turned, seeing you look at your drink. "Oh him? What about him?" "What do ya think about him?" Levithan was a bit caught off guard with the question. "Uhh, I mean he's a good worker. He's still adjusting since it hasn't been a year since he's died.." "Ah, a newbie" "Yeah. Ha, funny enough I did talk to him. Helped him with his ripped tail and all.." Mammon's interest peaked, and Leviathan could tell as he tried to change the topic, knowing Mammon would try to do something dumb with the information. "But that's it." "That's it?" "Well.. Yeah." "Why don't you go talk to him?" Defensively, Leviathan narrowed his eyes at Mammon. "Why?" "Cause, I'm sure he wants to talk to you as much as you wanna talk to somebody. Trust me, I can feel his desperation from here" Leviathan looked a bit startled, a little flattered even. "Oh.. I guess I'll talk to him for a bit.." Mammon smiled, laying back against the plush booth. "Mhn, I'll be here 'kay?" Leviathan hummed back in response, standing up to go talk to you.

Leviathan sat beside you, adjusting his cloak and cap before addressing your name. You looked a bit startled, trying to sit up straight with your head high. And Leviathan couldn't help but feel a little flutter in his chest. You both talked, hell even tried to talk with each other. An hour or two passed and Leviathan decided to go back to the booth. He waved you off, telling you he'd be back in a bit. Mammon of course was in a middle of a card game, but he was able to out trick all the sailors and beat the small game. Counting his money, Mammon smirked at Leviathan. "You have a good chat?" "Uh, yeah." "He likes ya" "I mean I hope he does. He is a worker of mine" Mammon tsked, putting the money in his pocket. "He likes likes you" "W-What?! Mammon don't be stupid" "Whatever~ Do you like him?" "I've only known him for a few days! Why the fuck would he even like me in that way? He has so many people that talk to him, hell even a bunk mate. There would be no way to have him like like me you idiot." "…Uh-huh.. Anyways y'know what? Let's do something" Leviathan eyed Mammon suspiciously, clearly annoyed. "What?" "Let's make a bet." Leviathan could already see where this was going. "Oh not again for the love of-" "Hear me out. You're always complaining about how alone you are while the demons out here are mingling and finding love. The admiral himself, alone and unwanted. It's unfair right?" "I-I'm not-" Mammon gave Leviathan the 'Oh really?' look, and Leviathan only shrunk in embarrassment. "So, prove me wrong. Prove US wrong. I bet ya, if you go up to him, ask him out, maybe a 'lil smooch for Goodluck, he'll be head over heels for ya. And if I'm wrong, I'll give you.. This book writer's soul." "Make it 16500 grimm, the writer's soul, and a dance of how wrong you are" "Mhnnn… 50 grimm?" "I'm not doing it then" "Ugh.. Fine. I'm only agreeing cause I'm tired of seeing my baby brother all mopey with his weird cartoons-" "Shut up!"

With a huff, Leviathan stomped away while Mammon snickered, watching the scene unfold. You heard those familiar footsteps coming your way, and you smiled. "Hello sir, you're back!" Leviathan sat down beside you, ordering some more drinks. "Yep. Say.. Do you uh.. Want to drink and talk?" "More alcohol.. I dunno, I'll be on my shift tommorow" "Doesn't have to be alcohol. Want any smoothies?" "Yeah! What do you recommend?" Leviathan requests a menu, and he skims through the pages. He points at a light blue drink with small bits of orange flowers inside it. "This one. It's really good. It's one of my favorites actually.." "Then I'll get that one then"

Leviathan begins to get comfortable, and even warms up a bit as you yap about your interests. Sure they don't completely align with what hear cares about, but you somehow make it interesting to listen to. He finds himself smiling as you go on and on, and he even finds himself rambling to you as well. For a moment he thinks as he's rambling that he's boring you, but when he look's at your lower half, he could see the small numb that is your tail wagging back and fourth. He gets a surge of confidence, and he looks back at Mammon who just gives him a smug look. "Hey so... I think I may want to take you out.." You seemed to have a glint in your eye, but Leviathan ignores it. "Would you like to go on a date with me?" You let out a snort, but you quickly cover your mouth. And for a moment, Leviathan considers killing Mammon, and then himself out of shame. "S-Sir what? You barely known me" Yeah! Exactly! Mammon. "But honestly if I were being honest.. I may have gotten interested in you as well.. I don't know if it's cause I like you but- oh man I'm rambling. But are you sure? Why me? No offense.. Sir.. But I'm not 'boyfriend' material." Leviathan looked back at Mammon for advice, but he was too busy chatting up with the other sailors. Fuck.. "Well.. I-I uh.. Please? One date?" God he could feel himself sweating. Was he really pleading with a sailor to go out with him? Do it for the Grimm, do it for the Grimm.. You were shocked, flattered, and even a bit bashful. "Uh, yeah. Of course sir.. When?" "When what?" "The date?" "Oh uhmn- how about tomorrow? I'll let you have the entire day off." "..I guess it's a date then sir!" "Good! I-I'll see you then. Maybe at night.. Okay?" You nodded your head, and he simply went back to Mammon. "What about the smooch?" "Don't push it Mammon." Leviathan scoffed, putting his palm out. "Grimm, the soul, and I want the dance." "Now??" Leviathan smirked, his eyes smug as he leaned back. "Yep. Right now, come on. We shook on it, you have to do it. C'mon, you know the dance~" Mammon groaned, slowly forcing himself to stand up and do the stupid dance. With a final twirl and bow, Leviathan clapped, clearly grinning ear to ear. "Now, the grimm and soul." Mammon whined, letting a loud "Ughhh!" before handing Leviathan the soul and coins worth of 200 grimm. "I said 16500, not 200 cheapo" "What do ya think, that I'm made outta money?! I don't carry that much y'know??" "Mammon you literally hoard as a hobby, hand it over. I won fair and square." Letting out another whine, Mammon handed Leviathan a copious amount of bills, each count of the money hurting Mammon's heart. "Oh please, this is pocket money for you. Stop acting like it's a big deal" Mammon grumbled. "I'm only doing this so you could finally stop bitc-" "What was that?" "NOTHING! Love ya lil bro~" Leviathan was smiling, counting the money he earned. "Alright.. These are real right?" "Of course they are! Why do ya think I'm hurting right now?!" "Cause knowing you, you'd scum your way out of a deal." "Ah come on! Have a bit of faith in me!" Leviathan rolled his eyes at Mammon's retort. "Yeah yeah. Anyways how's that witch girlfriend of yours?" Mammon seemed to calm down a bit, his mind now distracted over the grimm. "Oh she's alright I guess.." Leviathan raised a brow at Mammon, but didn't comment any further. "Alright. Well I'm gonna go back home. Are you coming or?" "Nah I'm gonna stop by a few stores. There's some stuff I need to get" Leviathan stood up from his seat. "See you later then"

You went on your first date some time later on, and Leviathan didn't seem to mind the date. Dressed in a white colored shirt with navy pants, he took you to a restaurant. He didn't seem too enthusiastic, but he didn't seem bothered when you talked with him. One date, it was one date. Though one date turned into two when his brother Mammon blabbed to the entire family that Leviathan had scored a date. Of course with everyone intrigued, they all teased him to go on the second date. Begrudgingly, you and him were now sailing on one of the private boats, eating some hell spawn lobster while he talked about his annoying brothers. For an isolated shut in, he surprisingly knew how to treat you well. The second date turned into a third date when Asmodeus poked at his older brother, cackling at the thought of keeping a study relationship. Out of spite, Leviathan took you on a third date, seemingly agitated with the way his eyes were dilated. He made sure to take lots of pictures on your third date, sending it to his brothers to show them wrong. On the fourth date, he was less annoyed, rather using his brothers nagging as a way to excuse himself for getting involved during your working hours at the navy. You were in one of the rooms, looking at a gas indicator. Opening the door to leave the room, your shoved in a familiar room that you haven't seen in a while. Leviathan's office. You hear his voice, and like the first time you were here, you followed it. You thought you were in trouble with the way he had his arms behind his back with a formal posture, you were a bit panicked with the way he stared at you. "I have something to ask you". Fearing the worst, you braced yourself. Did you piss him off? But, Leviathan wasn't there to scold you, if anything, he was quiet terrified himself and it took everything for him not to stumble on his words. "What are we?"

Oh?

That's what he called you in for? "Whatever you want us to be sir" That didn't seem to satisfy him. Uncertain, he furrowed his brows. "What do you want us to be?" God you didn't fucking know how to answer that! "u-uh, well uh. I don't know?" "You don't know?" He seemed agitated at the response. With his hands still behind his back, his tail whipped back and fourth. "..This was a stupid idea. You probably felt forced.." Leviathan didn't say it out loud, but he could picture the multiple reasons why you had said what you said. Maybe you felt pressured by his superiority to go out with him, you didn't actually like him that way. Or maybe you had a partner already, what was his name? Nile? Nelly? Whatever it was, he was always stalking around you, and you seemed neutral with his company. Whatever it was, Leviathan could feel the shame inside him. He was about to resort to singing an old siren tune to make you forget this interaction, but you seemed to catch him off guard when you took off your hat, holding it with both of your hands. "I didn't feel forced at all to go with you Leviathan... Sir. If anything, I enjoyed those nice dinners with you. I haven't been treated that nicely by anyone in a while" You now had his full attention, and he was listening to you intently. "It would be nice if I could return the favor.. No matter what you decide you want us to be. If I had the choice, I'd like us to continue what we have" Leviathan was completely shocked, wordless with his mouth slightly agape. It took a while for the admiral to collect his scrambled mind, and it didn't help with the way you stared at him with an expression no one had stared at him with in centuries. "O-Oh? U-Uh, haha- ah. Well u-umn. Okay- uhmn, alright. Haha! Oh fuck-" His whole entire face was beet red. "In that case, I guess these came in handy" He extends his hand out, and it's a bouquet of blue creamy white flowers. You were now smiling, your ears perked up happily. "Oh my gosh- these are so nice.." "I-I'm glad you liked them.." It was so bizarre to see the highest in commanding of the navy stutter, it was like he was a different person. You kept staring at the meek uniformed man Infront of you, and for a moment you forgot about his position and high status. So you blurt out the first thing that comes in your mind. "Can I kiss you?" and Leviathan is more than happy to comply with your request.

The 3 months you were dating Leviathan were heavenly. You didn't have to go to the cafeteria anymore to wait in line for lunch since Leviathan would always be there to grab you and feed you. There were moments where he would drag you in the middle of work seemingly out of nowhere, just for you rest on his lap while he did paperwork. You also learned about Leviathan's personality, how sometimes he would be this soft, shy, meek demon who could barely speak for himself. You learned that the avatar of envy enjoyed his junk food, always snacking on some chips whenever you and him watched one of his Japanese cartoons that he was obsessed with. Eventually he even got you a room of your own! No longer did you have to share a bunk with someone! Things were going well between you and Leviathan, or as you now call him outside of work, Levi. You loved him, you loved him a lot. And sure he had his fits here and there- but it's what's expected of envy. Sure it got terrifying at times with his menacing grip on his shoulders and his horrifying rambles of anger whenever something small seemed to trigger him. But it could be a lot worse, and you loved him too much to see what was so dangerous about his behavior. You were blind to all the red flags that began to show in your relationship with Leviathan. You were so caught up in Leviathan's smothering affection, you failed to see the way he was isolating you from the navy. You were so blind, that you failed to see the way the other sailors would avoid you. You were so used to seeing Leviathan daily, you didn't realize how you didn't work any shifts anymore- instead spending most of your time in Leviathan's office.

You really loved Leviathan, you loved him to the point that you were willing to tip toe with your actions- careful not to talk to someone in a certain way and to not outshine Leviathan in anyway, just to keep his envy at bay. Hug him, hold him, look at him only, tell him how much you love him. In the beginning you thought he was just being needy and insecure. But as time kept going, he never stopped, if anything he seemed to get worse. It was getting tiring juggling with his emotions, and you thought it was manageable.. Until by some misfortune you discovered why Leviathan had asked you out in the first place. Grimm, a soul, and a silly sibling dance. Your relationship was from a result from sibling banter. At first you laughed at the news! You saw it as one of those cute "This is how me and my boyfriend met!" types of silly situations. But then you started to really think about it.. And it hurt your ego. You felt like this small plaything for this all powerful demon to use you. You didn't know why you didn't see this before, but now you did and it was painful. You bet people in Devildom snickered about how you were just "another one" for the admiral, betting how long he'd keep you for. You didn't confront Leviathan about the news, you kept quiet for now. You tried acting the way you usually acted, but Leviathan being naturally observant or irrational, confronted you on your different behavior. "Are you okay?" "Mhn? Yeah, why?" "Liar." It was a slow shift from neutral to absolutely maddened. "Who is it?" "W..What?" "Who fucking is it?" He was face with a death grip on your shoulder. His claws sinking into the fabric of your uniformed shirt and threatening to pierce your skin. "Is it that old roommate of yours? Decided to get a good fucking out of him?" "Excuse me?!" He let out a laugh, and the atmosphere went cold. You were outside on the docks where none of the sailors worked, it was hidden- like an alleyway in a street. "Am I not good enough for you?" The waves began to crash against the wooden docks, the boats began to swish back and fourth- "Of course!" His voice was getting louder- "Then why- Why are you being like this?!" You made the mistake of stuttering, and Leviathan's irrational thoughts were being confirmed in his mind. "L-Like what?!" "OOoooHoho! So you do know! Great! Spill it out!" "Alright fine! The bet, I was only a bet to you! For Grimm and a soul! That's all I was! I'm not cheating on you- I'm fucking embarrassed!" Like he'd been slapped, he let you go, the waves calming down as he shrunk on the spot. "O-Oh..So you're not..?" "No! Are you kidding me?!"

In the end, Leviathan was still cared about you, but you had trouble forgiving him. You still loved him, just not the same as before. You were always the type to hold grudges, hell it's how you got into hell in the first place, so you never really let go of that information. Your relationship wasn't the same, and you thought about breaking up with Leviathan. You tried asking your old roommate Neil for any advice after cornering him, but he only told you it was best for you to suck it up and stay in the relationship. "That's it?! Really?! C'mon Neil, there's gotta be something" "I dunno, a couples therapy?? Look, I wish I could help you, but I can't, and to be honest you're kind of in a sticky situation.. Breaking up with the man who owns your soul.." "Wait what?" "Yeah.. Why do you look so shocked?" You stare at him completely mortified, while he just stares at you nonchalantly. He then notices your reaction, and feels automatically pity for you. "Oh.. You didn't know? It was in the contract. I thought you knew?" There it goes.. Your lack of attention biting you in the ass. "Anyways.. I don't think you should be talking to me.. Or anyone. For the sake of our safety, just.. Stick with him yeah? We don't want another incident." "What incident?" "..I gotta go. Bye.."

Now realizing Leviathan owns your soul since you had signed that contract when joining the navy, you felt trapped. God this was utterly fucked, you really couldn't leave unless Leviathan had enough of you and didn't break up with you on bad terms. Was there any way you could manipulate the situation..? Who were you kidding, manipulating a man who's job is manipulating and controlling an entire fleet at his bidding. Good luck. And with how your boyfriend changed your role in the navy ever since your little argument and with his insecurities growing ever since your revelation, it seemed like a slim chance he was going to let you go. Locked always by his side, you couldn't escape. 24/7, whether you were in his office, walking around the fleet, or in his bed, he was always there- watching you. It was either loving him and juggling the thin line of rage the avatar of envy always seemed to be on, or risk being thrown into eternal damnation.. And, being smart, you continued loving him, even if it now became a part of your job.

.

.

.

[solsays]

Secret life spoilers//

I’ve seen people saying that Scar is the earth and others saying scar is the eclipse and here are my thoughts on it because holy shit was that an ending

i like the eclipse thing, but here’s the thing: Grian never directly helped scar. He took thirty-five hearts off Gem, yeah, but I know that Impulse and Scott accidentally hit her a couple times in that chaos too. This is one of the first seasons they’ve not had any sort of alliance/enemy thing, and honestly they didn’t interact a ton. While I love the idea in concept, i also feel like it’s good to separate Scar as his own character rather than just as on half of desertduo (this isn’t to say I don’t adore desertduo, i do, i just think a lot of times they’re lumped together and it’s often all they are seen for but their characters are so much more in depth)

and the Pearl thing is cool, the moon helping him to the end. She never really fought back, either

the cool part about the eclipse is the hiding of scar’s dark side. He’s bright and welcoming and friendly, until he’s not. Then it’s any man’s game, and he will not hesitate to slaughter someone in his path.

but here’s my thoughts on the earth

scar tried to be good. He tried, he wanted desperately to be kind and good and everything he saw others as. But the secret keeper wrote him a villain, and he ended up taking on that role. He simply wanted to grow beauty, to provide for others, but in the end outside forces caused him to falter. Earth tries to grow, but is wracked by natural disasters out of its control that cause it to fracture. It eventually turns on the very things it once sought to bring life to, playing all cards until you realize it was never playing any at all, like a fire; it warms, but can burn and destroy if pushed too far. Merely biding time, like an earthquake or a volcano. The warning tremors before the culmination.

but after it all, he was still kind. He was still good, despite it all. He died thanking those who helped him to where he was; he refused to kill Pearl even when she begged him to take her life for the bonus hearts. He had no alliances, but he certainly had friends. he never did quite know how to be alone. He didn’t even realize he won until he was told “she’s dead Scar. You won”. He was told by the sun, like the dawn, that the moon who he kept in his orbit was gone. And his first thought was “how did the guy with no friends win?” because in the end, earth is a lover, not a fighter.

i saw someone else say the earth is lonely as well, as the only planet with such a massive span of life. It’s constantly with things, but remains alone, separate by circumstance, which I think is a really fucking awesome point too :) feel free to disagree, I’m just saying earth is my vote (also the motif of flowers in his skins this season—sunflowers, poppies, lilacs)

[ocudeus]

Aventurine's ring-wearing meaning

I saw this post by Dr. Candise Lin which made me wonder about the ring-wearing meaning of our dear gambler and his expensive rings 🎰🥰

According to her video explaining meaning of ring placement in chinese culture I shall now make a summary here with the explained info!

Left hand represents your relationship status. Possible meanings:

Left pinkie: don't believe in marriage, single by choice

Left ring finger: married

Left middle finger: in a relationship or engaged

Left pointer: single and ready to mingle

Left thumb: so-called "boss ring position", don't care about love, only power and status

Right hand represents your desires. Ring placement can mean:

Right pinkie: for warding off evil spirits or villains

Right ring finger: to make your business flourish and help your relationship partner be more successful

Right middle finger: attracts wealth

Right pointer: change your luck and improve interpersonal relationships

Right thumb: female independence, health and longevity

He wears no rings on his left hand - the thumb is not visible on the picture, but I checked in-game. I don't think this necessarily means he doesn't care at all about relationships, just that his desires of wealth and success are a priority for him or he doesn't feel like he fits into any of these categories - he's not in a relationship, maybe he does believe in marriage but not "actively searching".

On his right hand - no ring on his thumb here either, so he wears rings one on his right pinkie, middle finger and pointer. I think the ring details also give meaning.

The ring on his pinkie is rather subtle and serves for warding off evil.

It's interesting how the largest accessory is on his middle finger which is believed to attract wealth. In the video by Dr. Candise Lin she mentions that it is believed that the ring on the middle finger MUST be gold to truly attract wealth.

He has a ring on his pointer, for attracting and improving luck and interpersonal relationships. The gem looks like a sapphire, so I would assume it would also be the most expensive ring from the rest visible. There is a lot of stuff about birthstone meaning (TLDR: sapphire = wisdom & good fortune), but below is more what I found with a quick search:

Sapphire protects the wearer from envy and attracts divine favor which does make sense with Aventurine being blessed by Gaiathra Triclops. Sapphire is seen as a symbol of the heavens, a guardian of innocence, a bestower of truth, a promoter of good health, and a preserver of chastity. (Source) Sapphires are often related to the Heavens, and earned a nickname, “the divine stone” in some cultures. Sapphires were used for several reasons, the most important being to protect against sorcery and banish away evil spirits. It was thought that wearing it connected you to the universe and would protect from bad, but open you up to good spirits and angels. (Source 2)

This also goes for his bracelet on his other hand. Also he could maybe be left-handed? Since usually people wear their watch on their non-dominant hand. This is just a guess though 🤓 Hope ya liked the post!

[detshin]

For the ask game

Probs an easy one (or hard, depends)

Top 5 shinran moments (from manga, anime originals, movies, AOVs, etc.)

Hi! Thank you so much for dropping by! 🩷

So only 5 shinran moments is difficult, I'll just go with the ones off the top of my head lmao because otherwise I'll just stay here forever. These are also in no particular order tbh I love all shinran moments hahaha .

5. Shinichi giving Ran his white day girft. I'm sorry I've seen a lot of people say that it was shit and I don't stand by that. IT WAS SO SWEET TO MEEEEE STOOOOPP. Truly taurus nature. A ver thoughtful and yet practical gift that was simple and to the point, nothing too over the top or extravagant. It was so Shinichi. And Ran got it, which was the point 🩷

4. Ran figuring out she's in love with Shinichi (or falling for him depends how you see it) in New York. The entirety of that story was great. Some amazing gems in there. The hugging in the car. The almost kiss during the case. Shinichi going to get her handkerchief. Shinichi carrying and then looking after Ran while she's ill. But most importantly... The whole epic speech and realization during the confrontation with vermouth. It was... So good.

3. Them during the case with Momiji trying to get Heiji to win and solve the case. Just- Ran's cute faces. Shinichi trying to win because he wants to impress her. Him literally reading her mind and losing on purpose because of her. Amazing.

2. Them in Kyoto. Particularly the moment where Shinichi pulls her away to ask her directly about what she feels. I was so proud of him for being so direct there! And then of course the kiss. I was speechless omg Ran you absolute queen 🩷

1. The entirety of the desperate Revival arc. Them there? Heartbreaking. Adorable. Pining kings. The angst. The longing. The date. The everything.

[moyashidoodles]

Tiny doodles of Pidge (my Tav) from act 1 and early act 2. Her hair changed for each act so it’s easy to tell where they are in their journey by how disheveled she looks.

Pidge is a wild magic sorcerer with an affinity for soul magic. She can see the color of others souls (I don’t consider this game breaking, but also it’s my brain baby so idc if that’s possible in the 5e rule set) there are some supplemental fan spells and materials for adding soul magic and flavor and there’s the soul knife subclass rogue which I think was a Critical Roll addition? Ugh, look at me spreading misinformation on the internet.

OC lore below the cut.

Content warning: abusive relationship discussion (parent and child), implied sexual and physical abuse.

Anyway, Pidge grew up Rapunzel like with a very controlling and narcissistic “mother knows best” mom. The only reason her mother even had a child was to be a “spare” body for when her mother succumbed to a fatal illness (and to help her mother transfer souls into soul coins and gems to be bartered in the 9 hells. Lots of devil’s work)

Pidge’s mother is controlling to the extent that Pidge was not allowed to learn anything about her wild magic and spent much of her life warded to keep her from accessing the weave. “For her own safety,” of course. The only magic she was allowed and praised for learning was soul magic, and this was to help her mother with her research into immortality and with business ventures.

Pidge was also used as “entertainment” for her mother’s important guests. Basically anything that her mother could get from Pidge, she would try to use to her benefit.

About 3-5months before the beginning of the game, Pidge escaped and crafted an amulet to protect her body and soul from being hijacked by her mother.

She is the only member of the bg3 origin crew who did not lose skills when she was infected by the tadpole. She didn’t really have skills to begin with. Much to Gale’s dismay, she learns basically on the fly and does a lot of “firebolt first, ask questions later.” To her, practical experience is much more important than book learning. Really she has adhd and can’t rote memorize for the life of her.

She identifies with Karlach early on as they both have had dealings with the hells, although Pidge is just beginning to understand the ramifications of her mother’s hellish business of soul coin forging.

Pidge is also very afraid in act 1 of Gale finding her out as she was told to keep her soul magic affinity secret by her mother. In truth the stigma for soul magic is not so bad, but it was a manipulation technique to keep Pidge from explaining to any magic practitioners what they were working on and how her mother planned to use the research to steal Pidge’s body.

Her mother is still hunting her down, so Pidge needs a permanent solution or soul barrier to keep herself from her mother “living vicariously” through her.

Bodily autonomy is stupid important to her. She rejects the Emperor the moment he tells her to “embrace her ilithid potential” for fear of losing herself. She is self conscious to the extreme and keeps notes on her newfound companions likes and dislikes so she can keep them happy. She had a legitimate panic attack when both Gale and Astarion wanted the necromancy of Thay because, according to her calculations, they would disapprove if the other was the recipient.

She fell for Astarion after rather disliking him for a good ten day or two. He won her over by being actually reliable in scrapes and being really funny. She can’t remember the last time anyone made her laugh, so she loves the feeling. They are the two smooth brained members of the group. Similar brain cell count.

This ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would be. If you made it to the end, then you will have made it to the end! *salutes in Barcus Wroot*

[mama-frog]

Session 7 Brainrot

I have so much to say about what happened this session so I'm gonna categorize this by person.

Gem: I find it incredibly interesting that she was the person given this task. A) Because she is the one the only Geminislay, B) Because she is like fresh meat to the watchers, C) Because of the infection she is already going through. The darkness spreading across her body probably made her more susceptible to the curse at first than anyone else on the server. She's such a strong player overall and the fact that she had a whole army behind her is terrifying.

Grian: The fact that he didn't get caught by the zombies says a lot about him. He's very good at running and hiding (especially from watcher stuff). I also want to point out WHERE he hid in the end of the session. The pesky bird went into a comfort nest. Definitely unintentional but definitely fun to think about.

Scott: Scott and Gem are, in my opinion, some of the smartest people on the server, so the fact that he didn't get caught doesn't surprise me and surprises me at the same time. Everytime Scott got boogey in a previous death game he did it in a way that was unsatisfactory for the watchers (Not actually killing and killing as soon as possible so the others weren't brewing up a pot of tasty negative emotions). He felt betrayed when Gem finally started to go after him (Even though she didn't go completely nuts until she turned red) and he has such a strong sense of loyalty to his allies. There's also some juxtaposition of him hiding underground while Grian hid in the air.

Martyn: Even though it was on a technicality, I think it's interesting that he was the only one not allowed to be infected. It's as if the watchers know that his chaos is secured and are trying to get the others in line with what they want to see. Also, he's just so damn good at being a red name, I feel like he's the only person to do it correctly in this series. I also feel like he was cheated out of his revenge plot on everyone else on the server because of the curse which might've been intentional on the Watcher's end.

Cleo: She is an icon and she IS the moment. I just love the irony of her being a zombie and not getting infected by the curse. I feel like her closeness to players like Martyn and Scott helped her in her ability to avoid the curse for so long. She's very smart with her allies this season.

Pearl: I'm terrified of how quick Pearl is to go insane when given the chance. Especially when it comes to her dogs. Tilly is always in her heart. This woman was YELLOW and decided on her own to bring up a warden when there already was one. And her gear is so well enchanted. She has learned a lot from previous seasons but she has also lost a bit of her sanity (Especially from double life). What a woman.

Joel: I don't know why he thought spawning 64 zombies so close to him and not on the others was a good idea, but man was it good comedy. Once he became a boogey he played really well though. He's so perfectly unhinged and after Lizzie dying he has very good reason to go insane on everyone else (The spine bit was cruel and unusual punishment). Underrated POV in my opinion.

Scar: Unhinged

Etho: Ok this part hinges on my theory that endermen are creatures created by the Watchers to interfere with the games. I fully believe that the watchers hated Etho being green so badly that they personally interfered to take him to yellow. The betrayal of your own tool killing you is a tasty snack for the watchers to enjoy. (Definitely not just Etho being washed up). Also the way he is so incredibly loyal to his team members even after being cursed. He's just a stand up guy.

Impulse: I just love the way him and Gem interact. He's like a proud dad whenever she does anything. That's it.

BDubs: I cackled when he got killed by a zombie again. Gem is hilarious for that. He did about as good as I expected under the curse. I do love all his interactions with Etho more than anything else. Those two are such unofficial soulmates (in a non-ship way).

Skizz: A true light on the server. All the better for the Watchers when he gets corrupted by the curse. He deserved to be mean after the heart got burned down.

Tango: This man's rage is so interesting. The way that it gets triggered most when people mess with his base is something I think could be explored (the ranch in double life, the ties base in limited life, and now the heart foundation).

Overall I have a lot of emotions about this last session

[aha-chuu]

My thoughts on the Fontaine characters rn (pre 4.0)

I saw someone making a post about their thoughts and they were tragically wrong and I disagreed. So here I am, being opinionated.

I'm not gonna discuss leaks, I'm just talking about the character designs and what lore we know from the trailer and teaser :))

Lyney

So, Lyney is great. I love that he's kind of sussy, and his teaser that recently came out is almost... Sinister. And yet, he also checks the boxes of being really fun and extroverted! Venti vibes tbh.

Design wise? His animations are the best in the game, hands down. They suit the performance aspect of his character perfectly and are almost enough to make me pull for him.

Tragically, his character design isn't really for me. I think the simplicity works with the bombastic animations, and I'm glad to see he's wearing a reasonable outfit for the job he does (a rarity in Genshin). And yet, I'm a bit too much of a lesbian to be uber interested in the twinky direction his design leans.

Not pulling.

Lynette

So she's super cute. We have got a lot of cat girls already (I think Lyney should have also been a cat-person tbh) but I love that Lyney isn't actually doing cat things. Like, she's this subdued introvert, no meowing during her attacks or curling up in boxes like Kirara. She's just a person.... Who's also a cat.

I like her character design better than Lyney's; the blue just stands out a lot more than his red does, and the big bow is a better centerpiece to her design than Lyney's hat is to his. Plus, her animations are also nice.

We're getting her for free so I likely won't pull, but I am already preparing artifacts to build her on my account.

Freminet

Have I said how much I like sibling dynamics? These three actually seem pretty close and like they will gasp interact with each other! In comparison to the likes of the Kamisatos, this is miraculous.

I know several people who love this guy, and I do think he looks good. I saw some complaints about his hair cut (I think it's adorable), and the chunky boots & coat really serve to emphasise his awkwardness without sacrificing aesthetics.

Unfortunately, he's a physical claymore character, so it's a big skip from me.

Focalors/Furina

Well she's a brat huh. I worry after Raiden that they'll destroy Furina's character arc in order to make her more palatable, but I want her to go full Marie Antoinette. All the lore with the Oceanids disliking her and the general stuff about using the court for entertainment make me very interested in her.

As a design, I just dislike the twin tails. I love the blazer and the huge gem and the hat that's actually a crown!! Like, Furina is extravagant and over the top, obviously self obsessed - she looks perfect in that regard.

Since she's the archon and she's Hydro, she'll probably be broken meta wise. I'll likely pull, but mostly to make cool teams with her, not because she's a fave of mine specifically.

Neuvilette

... Father?

FR though, I understand why several people are crazy about this man. I do wish he looked a bit older since that's sort of where his characterisation is - he's done with Furina's shit and he's doing all the actual work of running Fontaine. With the elf ears, I expect him to be some sort of long-life species - he has no visible Vision and his hair kind of looks oceanid-like, so I figure he's not actually human. That along with the slits in his eyes. I hope he turns out to be older than Furina, and that he has a kind of reluctant dad & spoiled daughter relationship with her; we do see him tell her off in the teaser.

Neuvilette is the most feminine tall man character and the hair is a great aspect of the design. The colour palette is good and I do like the robes since he's a Judge, however I think it might get a bit boring to look at when you're playing as him - which is probably why the hair is so dramatic, in order to bring interest to the design.

He'll probably be Hydro and he'll probably be a catalyst based on that outfit (it's not exactly maneuverable enough for anything else ':))). I am interested in pulling almost a 100%.

Wriothesley

Another man???

I don't understand people talking about the lack of husbandoes in Fontaine, like look at these fine gentlemen.

We don't have much official info on Wriothesley so I'm gonna dip a little into leaks here, skip if you don't wanna know. He is some sort of prison warden which I bop with - it's an expected expansion on the justice landscape of Fontaine. He's on the rough side of the Fontaine infrastructure, in comparison to most of the other characters. That interests me since it feeds more into the duality themes of Fontaine, though currently we're unevenly biased rn to the more santized characters.

Design wise he's one of my favourites. White/black/red looks so good, as does his kind of punk esque chains. The tie puts me off somewhat, like he looks sort of smart and put together, but then the rest of the design undercuts that.

Leaks say Wriothesley is a physical standard banner five star. This fills me with fear. I also don't know what his actual personality will be, so let's say I'm undecided on pulling him.

Charlotte

I liked her personality and en VA in that one TCG event, unfortunately much like that event, Charlotte looks boring. She's cute, whatever, but she doesn't seem particularly story relevant and her design hasn't captured me.

I'm just not that interested.

Sigewinne(?)

Okay, she's cuter than Charlotte she's a sea slug person so immediately more interesting. She was also hanging out with Wriothesley, which is so adorable considering how different they seem.

We're dipping back into leaks here, but it seems like she might be another Hydro healer. I've seen people annoyed by this, but I'm perfectly fine with it - I don't have Kokomi and I like Nilou bloom as much as the next person.

If Sigewinne is a four star, I hope she's on a banner for a cool five star.

Navia

I know a lot of people like this woman. Taylor Swift etc (I am not overly into Taylor Swift), but I think Navia could be cool.

I find her design overcrowded. I do think this suits the fact that we're playing with French Revolution ideas and she's part of the bourgeoisie, so ofc she's overdecorated and elaborate in her fashion. Even though it makes sense, I still don't like the arsthetic of it.

On the other hand, I do like the yellow - it's not a colour we see in too many Genshin designs. I don't really like how it fits with the blue jewellery though.

Personality wise, I worry a bit that she's gonna be our waifu bait, but they did Dehya's characterisation really well without falling into that trap. Navia could be very fun and I think there's a lot of promise in the idea that she might be a class traitor, teaming up with us against the Fontaine government (wow Genshin loves a corrupt government huh).

Will I pull? She's a geo claymore user and my triple crowned Itto is already collecting dust. That's a no from me.

Clorinde

Everyone say hello to my wife:

(I'm waiting)

I've seen so many people mad at Clorinde when I think she looks great. Her outfit is simpler than is typical for Genshin, but that's cos she's a no-nonsense fighter type! Like how we saw with Lyney, more muted designs often mean more dramatic animations, and we already saw Clorinde doing some dynamic fight stuff in the trailer.

She really interests me in that she's a champion duellist, strong enough that even Childe wants to fight her. We see Clorinde works directly beside Neuvilette in the trailer, so she must be high up in position. A gun and a sword? She's trying to kill Navia, but the Devs describe their relationship as "complicated"??

Clorinde is an Electro woman and these are always queer fyi.

I hope she's pretty straight laced, but not quite in the Sara way. She's boring tbh, mostly because she is always answering to someone else, and she gets so little screen time. For Clorinde to work, I think she needs to have independence and apt presence in the story to be explored - not just a prop/obstacle.

Her personality makes me fearful, but rn I'm pulling 100%.

[wolfclaire]

How would you think the story would've played out if a different Gem got transported into the games, and I'm not limiting it to just the Afterlife Gems. Like if either Empires Season Gems met Pearl instead of Spider, especially Season 2 Esmp Gem, considering she's essentially the opposite of Pearl in a way?? Sun imagery with butterfly wings and the pointed ears on her skin implies she'd look/be something like a sun elf yet also unlike Pearl she's in almost complete control of her own fate and what 'games' she plays by hopping different universes and LARPing as whatever character she wants. Season one Gem can also be interesting, especially if it's near the end of the season or after the end of the season. Season one Gem getting transported into a death game where her people who look like her friends who are either missing or dead in her eyes messed up in ways they weren't before and one of your closest friends aka Pearl seems so sad and gone from the cheerful queen you knew her as. Also I choose to believe that S1!Gem is at least passively or actively aware of differing timelines cause of her reaction from when she met S2!Sausage and I think she was aware that she basically just three Evil Sausage into a little mirror of her own universe which would be like an alternate ones, I'm kinda reaching, especially since I haven't rewatched Empires S1 yet, but still I can't resist the angst of Gem knowing that these aren't her friends but still desperately trying to hold onto them like they are because the rapture happened so suddenly and abruptly when things were finally looking better and she doesn't wanna accept things. I also can't resist what would be the DL cast's reaction to these two, especially Pearl and maybe Grian

Ngl I really wonder what would be Pearl's and Grian's opinion/impression of them if it were either of them transferred and not Spider Gem

Sorry for rambling I've just been thinking about this a lot and sorry if it doesn't make sense or if it's even in character-

-Sun anon, still happy birthday also <3

Okay...let me just put this into seperated questions...cause this got potential. So ES1 and ES2 Gems would be probably totally different with the reaction to Pearl and everything happening.

ES1 Gem, post rapture (or during rapture), has basically nothing left. No kingdom, no friends, she only has her magic, Violet and fWhip. She didn't "roleplay", she isn't "LARPing", everything happening to her is real, and hurtful. If she was the one transported into the games, she would find familiarity with Pearl, but she would know something is wrong. She is The Headmistres of Crystal Cliffs, she is The Grand Wizard, she would notice Pearl's acting strange (Red stuff) and her and others memories being off.

ES2 Gem, however, wouldn't think of this "transportation" as a big deal at first. I don't think she would take it seriously at the start, as "it's just a game" or "it's just LARPing". She couldn't understand in canon why nobody else (except Pixlriffs and Oli) didn't think of anything as a big deal...she only thought they were good actors in a way. It would take Pearl's death for her to realize that this "game" is not as innocent as she might have thought...

As for Grians and Pearl's reaction? Well...

Grian wouldn't mind ES2 Gem, she looks like a guilable little princess that he can wrap around his finger... But ES1 Gem? Oh, that would be dissaster. He can tell this one is smart, he can tell she has powers on her side... He would try to get rid of her asap, even going as far as killing her himself.

Pearl, on the other hand, would feel a little weirded out by any of those two. ES1 Gem is nice....strangely overly nice, for some reason... And ES2 Gem doesn't seem to take anything seriously...she is very carefree for someone who shouldn't have unlimited lives (Grey names don't work with the same rules as those in from the specific world)

There is a lot of Angst potential, just in a different favour than what my version with Spider Gem has to offer :)

[beesmygod]

do the forbidden woods have any connection to the beasts or great ones, aside from being geographically adjacent to byrgenwerth? Are the snake infested fellows just "normal" as far as yharnam is concerned? Like before yharnam got all bloodborney, was the Yharnam Cartographer's Guild map of the woods still just a big circle with SNAKES written?

this is a really good question because, as a lore psycho, i think the understated lore implications of the woods are genuinely fascinating. i think there's a lot to unpeel, even if we take into account that it was one of the places in the game that was chopped up at the 11th hour and scrambled before release.

as always for these lore posts, important nouns are bolded and speculation is in italics. we are going to discuss the woods in three parts: from the gatekeeper to the windmill is "the village". from the windmill to byrgenwerth is "the woods". the subterranean cave shortcut back to yharnam will just be called "shortcut." i'll expand on this shit GREATLY when we reach this part in "you hunted" (I HAVENT STOPPED WORKING ON IT I PROMISE IM JUST SWAMPED) so considered this a light overview. feel free to ask for more details on things and ill do my best to fill in the blanks.

THE VILLAGE:

-from the jump, the village gatekeeper is a fucking weird little blip in bloodborne's narrative. i haven't thought about him enough to figure out if he's more than just a spooky, unexplained element but he has some cut dialog that sheds some mindboggling information about yharnam: he seems very confused about WHEN it is and will cite the last time he had a visitor as anything from a year to a century.

-the lamps in this area lighting the way to the village are little burning fetal beasts of some sort.

i'm starting to understand more and more about how fire operates in the world of bloodborne, since most of the time it appears in the game, it's seemingly impossible. the thing that confused me the most was how old yharnam was still burning if it happened a long time ago. i think it's time to start thinking of the old blood as impossibly combustible and a great source of light/fire. this isn't the first in-universe example of creatures being used as fuel: the lamps in the fishing village are slugs (also infants? they strongly resemble the hunter's appearance as a baby great one in the "childhood's beginning" ending). this is a whole fucking like, thing. it's its own post.

next, the huntsmen enemies here are dressed funny. you probably noticed it but couldn't pin down how. they're dressed in white church clothes! the first model here is used only in the forbidden woods. the two on the left are from central yharnam. note the gloves on the first two; these are church doctors!

(this post goes on like this for some time)

the white church doctors are the ones that were doing "experimentally backed blood ministration". the butcher's garb further defines it as "forbidden research". these white church doctors are the citizens of this "village". in the clustered buildings where the majority of the huntsmen are, you can find blue elixir and beast blood pellets in abundance. both of these items can only be purchased from the store after obtaining the choir's badge, drawing a firm connection between the white church doctor's research and the goals of the choir.

although, this probably isn't too much of a surprise; it's almost certain that this is where fauxsekfa came from. she took the same shortcut we did, right? i'm not really sure i understand the shortcut too much. but let's talk about it.

THE SHORTCUT:

although not explicitly stated, i am strongly convinced that this cave is the entrance to the hintertomb. at the very least, it is absolutely an entrance to the labyrinth. the presence of tomb mold, blood gems, parasite larva, and pthumerian giants/corpses makes this very clear. the root chalice for the hintertomb describes it as "a cesspool of noxious snakes and insects"; i think it's likely that the snakes came from the hintertomb given they can be found in the swamps there.

the giant graves here and further into the woods are referred to as "tombstone[s] of a great one".

the hunter's mark i think would suggest these are pthumerian made. its possible that the hintertomb is spilling out into the world above but frankly all of the graves here are baffling. grave placement and appearance needs more research. the graves in the woods only are developing a strange sort of honeycomb rot pattern not unlike the head of an amygdala. this pattern shows up enough that it warrants more investigation.

the slow poison-inducing "water" here has similar properties to the slow poison pool in the research hall. they are different colors, but have similar origins: the poison pool in the research hall is from the decomposing bodies of the patients, who were exposed to bizarre blood ministration and parasitism. the pool here is likely from decomposing great ones. with this in mind, perhaps the silvery liquid is mercury.

the ladder leading out of this area is fucking insane and i have a hard time understanding what occurred there. like what in the hell is up with that grave you exit into in yharnam. who popped it open. why is it so cavernous. what happened to the contents.

anyway, let's just go back to the woods.

THE VILLAGE (again)

there's really only two more things to mention here before we move on: first, beast roar can be picked up here. it's the undead, still twitching hand of a darkbeast. nothing touched by the old blood can truly die, and these severed limbs are no exception.

second are the butchers. these are the people who collect specimens, hack them apart, and present them to the church doctors for research. they show up in three different ways: the surviving madaras twin wears the butcher's set (the hunter picks up the set from the other twin's corpse), the "executioner" enemies (REMINDER: a better translation would have been "butchers" [or, literally, "dismantling men"], i have no idea why they went with "executioner" outside of their superficial appearance) wear the cape with the popped collar, and there are huntmen enemies skulking the streets below the grand cathedral hunting for victims dressed in the garb. they literally only appear there.

ah, one more thing. this is the place where you can find the suspicious beggar and interrupt him while he's in the middle of chowing down on one of the biggest families i've ever seen in my life. at first i thought the devs hysterically fucked up the sizes of the corpses, but they're dressed like the citizens of yahar'gul. while not outright stated, evidence strongly suggests that the beggar is irreverent izzy or one of his followers such as the close proximity of one of izzy's inventions and the beggar's clothing reflecting his past as both a veteran tomb prospector gone mad and former church agent. there's a lot of meat on that bone, but for another time.

OKAY. LAST PART NOW.

THE WOODS:

this is the part you probably remember the most bc it's snake hell. the first thing we absolutely need to keep in mind is that the snake-infested guys you meet are a reference to doobie from jojo. the snakes are parasites to people, but the snakes themselves are also being parasitized? they are covered in ticks, those are the huge bloated blobs all over them. given that the augurs of the great ones are invertebrates...what does that imply about the inclusion of the ticks narratively?

there's something absolutely fascinating happening to the flora and fauna in this section of the woods but it's hard to know what it all means. some notes:

-when enemies in bloodborne die, the game handles their corpse in different ways. some of this is lore related, some of it is to reduce hardware strain. some corpses turn into ragdolls, some explode into blood, some explode into white particles (sometimes with blood but not always). snakes explode into white particles. i got way too into the fucking weeds with this, but (outside of the slime scholars....kind of) all of these enemies either appear or were intended to appear in the chalice dungeons, the nightmare frontier, or the nightmare of mensis (the lecture hall containing the scholars connects the waking world to the nightmare). all of these locations are, arguably, the nightmare.

-there are statues of amygdala and a presumed evolution of the celestial child sprouting out of the ground. i am almost certain these are original versions of the statues in the grand cathedral and yahar'gul, respectively.

-remember that strange pond with the fireflies? the only place in the game where there's fireflies? what the hell is up with that lol. i kind of have an answer:

most concrete is this: back when the original boss of the woods was snakeball, you would have faced a rematch in this pond.

insane theory crafting moment: look, this is stupid complicated and a reach so if i have to get into really defending it it, ill do it in another post. but in bloodborne people can be teleported around via "communion". communion is the means of entering the chalice dungeons and requires three things: ritual blood (or perhaps just liquid, if rom's arena is anything to go by), something to hold the blood (typically a chalice, but sometimes the "chalice" is a skull), and light (this is almost always achieved with candles). this pond is probably full of blood, if the rotten bodies nearby are any indication, and the fireflies offer light. but, look, this shit was cut so don't think too hard about it.

-its in the art book but also in the game (but hard to see): the wall separating byrgenwerth from the rest of the world is melted.

wait wtf there's dudes in it. lol. what da hell!

oh my. the name for this asset is "wall of divine tomb". cool. every day i lean some new insane shit about this game, for real.

anyway the only other point of interest is whatever the fuck valtr and the league are doing. too deep of a topic for now. anyway, those were the points of interest in the forbidden woods. i hope this was....whatever counts for informative when it comes to video game trivia

[eaglefairy]

Tonight we start xenoblade 3!!! It's truly one of my favorite games of all time, even to the point that it's never been hit by the transformative fandom itch for me. I'm so excited to introduce my roommate to it and re-experience it for myself.

She just told me that she's going to do a "try not to speak challenge" for the intro

She immediately recognized the Sword and Uraya on the title screen and I guess the no-speaking challenge hasn't started yet lol

WHAT THE HELL. ARE YOU KIDDING ME.

The first thing. The VERY FIRST THING she says during the opening war cutscene is "oh wow, so that was the Earth crashing into Alcamoth!"

And then it takes her like. several minutes to notice that Eunie has wings. And she thought Noah was a girl. The observational skills vary wildly

Roommate: "Why do I feel like this isn't a victory? I'm with Noah on this one, this is horrifying."

"You look a lot like Shulk, dude. I like that about you." (about Noah)

*Roommate sees the Kevesi Queen* "I do not trust you. The lighting makes you look so evil. Oh my god, I do not trust you. No one good has embryos in their throne room."

"Oh, Joran wasn't on the battlefield with us. That's not a good sign."

Hm, I don't think she recognizes that the Kevesi Queen resembles Melia at all. I'm just going to let that one lie for a while.

LMAO she just said "She looks like Lorithia" you are almost so close

"Noah, you're a flute player? So hot."

She loves the music which is like. yeah, of course. It's xenoblade 3.

Also "the nopon with the afro"; she hasn't even heard his voice yet, I just know she's going to love him more after that

"I've only know Noah for 5 minutes, but if anything happened to him I would kill everyone in the room and then myself"

Roommate: "How do I keep [the Flame Clock] full? By fighting enemies?" Me: "Killing Agnians." Roommate: "...that seems morally apprehensible."

AHAHAHAHA SHE FLINCHED. I glanced over to her at just the right moment when Riku started talking to see her actually, physically flinch when he spoke (and then we just cackled together for 30 seconds)

She keeps saying that it feels so dystopian and I'm just over here like "oh you've barely scratched the surface"

Lmao she's annoyed now by the enemies aggroing onto her. We turned it off for all of 2 so it's been a bit since she's had to do random encounters

When Mio's mask came off my roommate just gasped and then shouted "catgirl!"

Upon seeing Taion she just said "aww, he's so cute!"

She noticed Mio's flesh eater crystal but not her incredible resembl--scratch that! She did say it looks like Nia's gem (but I don't think she's put anything else together)

Calling it now though, that's what I'm going to end up spoiling on accident. Xenoblade 1 it was Shulk dying, xenoblade 2 it was Jin eating Lora's heart specifically, 3 is going to be Mio being Nia and Rex's daughter

"Oh what the fuck is that" -upon seeing DJ for the first time

lmaooooo she saw N from the back and immediately said "oh who is she?!" we are two-for-two on thinking Noah is a girl

"Eunie, can you get over there and heal this man before he dies? I think he has important plot information for us."

Vandham: says "Swordmarch" Roommate: [loud clapping]

Oh it's Mio and Noah's first duet and I'm almost tearing up...this game...

Roommate: "Oh no, now we're the sworn enemy. The sworn enemy was the egg but now we're the egg."

Also roommate: "The girl with the long hair [she means N] isn't wearing the mega evil armor, so I don't think she's evil but I don't quite know what her deal is."

Oh yeah she just has the plot down guys. Literally the only thing she hasn't predicted is Origin and that's just because there's no possible way she could know about that right now. Like listen she went into this BLIND! I told her absolutely nothing about the game except that I knew her favorite character would be the girl with the gun and the snark. Maybe I was just blinded by the elation of new xenoblade when I played it but I absolutely did not pick up the plot this fast.

She loves the whole gang but especially Taion, he's her favorite right now

Mio: "Three more months and I'll be gone from this world." Roommate: "Nah don't worry you won't be gone from this world" Chapter 5: looms on the horizon

Can confirm that she has made exactly no connection between the Kevesi Queen and Melia. This is hilarious and I can't wait to see how long it lasts

[therummesoccupied]

IDW SONIC #68 - THOUGHTS

Warning: Spoilers Ahead

This issue was really good! From what I could gather, @spiritsonic was trying some new stuff with her art here, and her hard work really shows! She's always great, but I'm real excited to see what she gives us in the future.

After all the debate, I still do consider the circumstances surrounding this update somewhat unfortunate, but whether it was brought on by (perhaps unnecessarily) harsh criticisms from the community or not, it does look really good, and Evan seems happy with it on her various social media feeds, so I'm happy, too.

Aside from the fantastic art, this issue also had a lot of stuff I've really been wanting from IDW Sonic!

The story features a single Chaos Emerald hunt instead of just nabbing a bunch of 'em at once.

I always prefer this to stuff like Starline just bringing them all to Eggman or the Roboticized Masters collecting them off-page. Placing them one by one over time really helps drive home to me how significant these gems are to this world, and makes them feel like part of the overarching narrative instead of a simple macguffin that can just appear whenever it's convenient for the plot.

I guess what I'm saying is I like the setup phase of Chekhov's Gun just as much as the payoff.

As of this issue, we now know the location of three Emeralds - Rouge grabbed the white one in the 2022 Annual, Tails ended up with the purple one in Winter Jam, and now we've got the yellow one here.

We got some nice exploration of Sonic and Tails' dynamic in this one. It's nothing new, Sonic and Tails are naturally seen together quite a lot in this comic, but they're often in communication with other characters working toward a greater goal, or trying to solve some kind of crisis. They're after the Emerald here, but there's no great catastrophe and it's just them... spending time together. They get competitive, they banter, they pick up where the other falters - it's a really great reflection of the strong relationship Sonic points out between Silver and Blaze in Issue 64.

They get lots of little moments in this story, but I especially appreciate this one:

It's a small thing, but I think this is the first time in the comic's 5+ year run that Sonic has referred to Tails as his "little brother." When you think about it, these two really have spent most of their lives together, and this is a nice reminder of that.

What I really appreciate most in this issue, though, is the

🫒Environments.🫒

I've always felt that IDW Sonic's world was a little... homogenous, without a lot of the beautiful, fantastical scenery we see in the games.

Even when we DID get cool set pieces, they were usually direct references to the games - not a lot of spectacular, new settings made to fit the games' world.

But this one had a cool ravine with weird hexagonal pillars and old bridges for Sonic and Tails to race through!

That looked like it could be a game level! Then they get into the cave and we get this cool, glowing, underground green world with a giant salamander stalking around - this is also a really neat way of hinting at how the Emeralds affect the environment around them!

I know it's gonna be a while before we return back to the main series - the Fang the Hunter mini-series does seem fun, though - but I'm really, really excited to see where it takes us next!

[creativesplat]

Mipha!

Mipha… where do I start!? 

First impression: 

I thought she was a very pretty fish-lady, and was instantly blown away by how romantic her memory with Link was (some poeople already know, but before I played the game I looked at fan art and stuff and really liked the concept of ZeLink people were drawing - it must be a canon ship if people are so intense about it right? and I almost always fall for the canon ship in a piece of media. So I got into the game wanting to rescue the princess Link was in love with. Turns out that princess wasn’t Zelda, and from my first impression I was like ‘oh ok, so we’re not avenging zelda then… we’re avenging fish’

Impression now: 

She was so wonderful why did she have to die!! Link loved you, your design is so cool, why did you die!! A strong powerful (dagnam play AoC and you’ll see what I mean) warrior princess who loved her people and her family and Link. what a woman she was (and is in aoc).

Favorite moment: 

Okay, so I know its a bit basic and there are some awesome moments in AoC (like the date her and link so on) but the first memory, the first time you’re introduced to her, it still gives me chills. Mipha's touch is and always will be my fave. I love it. 

Idea for a story: 

The tensions between Hyrule and Zora’s domain bubble over, leading to a siege or something, and link betrays Hyrule to join Mipha and bring the war to an end. 

Ooh another one: Link tries to run away from the duty assigned to him and is forcibly kept at the castle by Rhoam but the champions help zelda and link and they leave central hyrule to try and figure out the various powers without the added trapped in the castle stuff. Mipha rescues link from a tower like rapunzal effectively. 

Unpopular opinion: 

Link should have rescued her instead being with Zelda during the calamity. She was strong and could battle effectively, but if Link had gone with her, they would have dominated water blight as a badass couple. If link and mipha had defeated water blight, they could have joined the rest of the champions (due to the sheikhah slate being available for teleportation), weaken Gannon through attacking the blights and then go and kick is butt in the castle. What a good happy ending that is! (I think I just described AoC a little bit…) anyway. 

Favorite relationship: 

LINK AND MIPHA THEYRE SO CUTE TOGETHER AND SO BADASS AND I LOVE THEM. 

They are the perfect couple, and the proposal armour is just so sweet and I adore them both :) 

Favourite headcanon: 

Oooh. There’s a lot to pick from… 

The symbols on the Zora armour represent Link and Mipha’s marriage, and tying the families together:

the Rhombus with the luminous stone is what I head canon Link’s family sigil/ crest to be:

And obviously the three cresents are Mipha’s family crest 

And here we see them combined, with a white stone in the middle 

White gems are often related to hope (link), healing (mipha), unity, and wholeness. So a unity between the rhombus and the crescents and the ideas of healing and hope? Am I reaching. Yes. Do I also love this head canon? Yes. 

2) Link understands Zoran (the Zora language) but can’t speak it very well on account of the fin movement and whistling required. Mipha regularly says ‘I love you’ or other comforting things via subtle tail or fin movements when in company. He has little hand gestures he uses, sign shorthand I guess, to tell her the same.

3) the champions all knew about Mipha and Link's relationship. because their little found family deserves to have a fun time trying to set them up on dates or make them do things together, so that even though things are tense between hyrule and the domain, the two can spend time together.