#dante is just pure perfection to me

[chxna-cheeseycake]

One time I got very silly with it and made whole Mystreet X Mandela Catalogue AU because it's virtually impossible for me to be into two fandoms at the same time without making a crossover AU at some point. It's actually been a second since I've paid attention to Mandela Catalogue and I def have to catch up on the new uploads but whateves I'm thinking about this AU rn anyways.

The AU is just pretty much the real Dante dying at like 4 years old in an accident and then getting replaced by an alternate. Gene is the only one in his family that remembers the real Dante dying because their mom Maria lowkey went through so much trauma by Alt! Dante that she can no longer remember that her youngest son is dead whoopsies 😙 But anyways, Gene doesn't say anything about it because he was also a child at the time and truly didn't understand what happened. Other than that, I lowkey made the AU a bit more silly as Gene just chills with his eldritch abomination of a younger brother like it's just a normal ass occurrence 💀 Their usual dynamic is literally just this:

Gene: Dammit, why isn't Zenix texting me back?

Dante: Beat him up within an inch of his life. Let him face true fear and suffering so he knows not to mess with you any longer ʘ‿ʘ

Gene: I can't do that, dude! He still owes me twenty bucks.

Lowkey the roles are slightly reversed but it's more notable when they're adults. At that point, Gene is definitely the one that has to prevent Dante from committing crimes on the daily. But trying to prevent your eldritch horror brother from wiping out humanity can be pretty grueling work at times. Dante has a soft spot for Gene (obviously) so Gene is pretty much the only one safe from Dante's silly (and HIGHLY deadly) alternate behavior <3 Alternate Overlord Gabriel does not like this though and tries to force Dante to get rid of Gene too. But Dante pretty much begs Gabriel to let him keep Gene, pretty much treating Gene like he's a stray dog or something. And eventually Gabriel gives in not because he actually wants to or anything but because he's tired of Dante's shit and just wants Dante to stop talking to him already 💀

Also Dante very clearly does not act like a normal human but Gene will always act as if Dante isn't doing the weirdest shit of all time. Not because Gene is genuinely oblivious to Dante's alternate nature but because he thinks it's funny to just pretend Dante isn't doing weird crap and enjoys watching people flip out over it. Gene even does this shit with Zenix and Sasha and it pisses the two of them off so much, especially Zenix who is secretly very creeped out but will deny that to anyone who asks. Dante and Gene just get really goofy with it in this AU despite the fact that it's based on the Mandela Catalogue because dammit I need to have some silliness with this brother duo. It can't always be angsty as shit even if angst is my favorite thing to write about lol.

[vinnytotherescue]

Hello! Can I request a drabble in which the reader is very affectionate with V’s familiars (kisses and pets) and how he would react to it? Thank you so much!

i love this so much! we are just going to ignore the fact that I just learned that Shadow is a male...How did i not notice while playing-_-

also, Shadow i only focused on griffon and shadow hope you don't mind!

warnings: none pure fluff

V x Reader: Cuddles with the familiars

Being V’s significant other ultimately meant being able to tolerate two seemingly dangerous and overly protective familiars. That made V very anxious since he knew that not a lot of people would be able to handle such creatures. Their dark nature always scared people away. Yet you were not scared, you were fascinated. Somehow, you could even say that you had some kind of invisible bond with both Griffon and Shadow. From the moment you met them you fell in love with them and they with you, V never understood that but he nevertheless he was very grateful. 

Opening the door to your shared apartment you were faced with a silent V reading his book. Two seconds passed and before you could properly enter you were tackled down by shadow, griffon flying right next to your head. V turned his head to observe the scene, something that would occur every time you would return from work. But still it wasn’t something you could get used to. 

“Took you long enough huh (y/n)? Shadow got worried over there” Shadow just gave Griffon a death stare and continued laying in your lap. V had gotten off the couch by now and was standing next to you with a smirk on his face. 

“Griffon don’t be mean to Shadow, or we both know where you will end up” A giggle left your mouth and you turned to see and extended hand waiting for you to take it.

“I see, i think they like you more than me” V pulled you to your feet and you wrapped your arms around his waist , burying your head in the crook of his neck. 

“That’s not true and you know it” The room filled with your giggles as you stared into V’s green eyes. After detaching yourself from him you dragged him back to the couch this time your head in his lap. Your head was pounding like crazy from the intensity of your day at work and the only thing you could think about was how you were going to relax with V close to you. 

“Hard day at work?” his velvety voice was so soothing to your ears after the screaming and yelling in the office. Nero and Dante were a handful to manage. Your body curled closer to his as you nodded and you could feel your muscles relax as he stroked your head. A small smile found its place on your face as you felt something warm curling on your legs. You slightly raised your head and was faced with a sleepy Shadow. 

“You are sleepy too my boy?” you pet the huge jaguar as he now lay still on your legs, his dense fur  providing warmth to your tired body. Griffon felt left out completely so he came and took his usual place close to your chest, your arms slowly curling around him, careful not to hurt his beautiful wings. V could feel his heart warm up at the sight. He never expected this turn of events, he was beyond relieved that you three were so close. You always wanted some kind of a pet and V having two familiars was just perfect. 

Kissing both Griffon and Shadow on their heads you felt your eyes become more and more droopy as time passed by. 

“Don’t I get a kiss?” V stared at you his eyebrows raised from the lack of attention from you. You turned your head toward him mouthing a soft sorry in your way and placed a kiss on his cheek. After seeing his deadpan expression you tiredly giggled again and gave him a normal kiss on the lips. 

Your lips parted and you just went back to your original position, one arm hugging Shadow and one hugging Griffon.

“Want me to read you a bit?” You quickly nodded your head at the suggestion and closed your eyes enjoying his smooth voice filling the room. 

“I love you all” 

The words slowly started to merge into one and your breathing slowed down as you surrendered to dreamland.

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

thank you for reading!! ;)

[actuallysaiyan]

She Keeps It Pumping Straight To My Heart(Vergil x Fem!Reader)

warnings: mentions of having a baby, Vergil is needy, smut, creampies, unprotected sex, mentions of breeding word count: 0.9k pairings: Post DMC5!Vergil x Fem!Reader a/n: This just kind of popped into my brain! Hope you enjoy!

He shouldn’t want this. Not at his age or with the way things have gone in his life. Even with the way things ended up with his first son, Vergil knows that having another child might be the wrong idea. This nagging sensation deep inside of him lately makes him think that you could be the right person to have this with.

Even Dante and Nero notice a change in Vergil. He’s less abrasive, less angry. They even see a smile on his face, which makes them both feel very much at ease. They know that Vergil needs to know real peace, and you are the one to bring it to him.

This all culminates one night into something so passionate and loving. With the two of you freshly showered and now lying in bed, in crisp fresh sheets, you are caressing one another. Sweet, loving kisses are shared.

“What’s gotten into you lately?” you ask, a smirk on your face.

Vergil chuckles, “Ah, so you’ve noticed it as well.”

He then maneuvers you both so that he’s on top of you, your legs spread for him. Still, his kisses are gentle and loving, but you can feel the heat growing in them. He grunts softly as he ruts against you, his cock becoming unbearably hard.

“We’ve been together for quite some time, yes?” he wonders out loud.

“Yeah, almost two years now.”

The words that come from your pretty lips both excite and warm his heart. He never knew he could have a love so pure and so tender for this long. Even at the beginning of your relationship, Vergil thought he’d fuck it up somehow and lose you forever. But you proved to be resilient and determined. You loved him for who he was and you weren’t just going to abandon him. Vergil meant everything to you, especially after he saved your life from a horde of evil devils.

Vergil breathes, “I think…I think I want another baby,”

You giggle nervously, “Another baby? But you only met your son when he was an—”

He interrupts you with another kiss, “You’ll give me a baby, won’t you?”

Your heart skips a beat. How are you supposed to deny such a request? You stutter out the word “yes”, but you nod as well to let him know you’re more than interested. With your arms around his neck, he moves you into a more comfortable position.

“Just the thought of carrying my seed must excite you,” Vergil comments as he uses the tip of his cock to smear your arousal all over your tight hole. “You’re already so wet,”

He continues his teasing for a while, making sure to tap the tip of his cock against your swollen clit. You never thought you’d get to this point in your life, but you cannot deny the fact that having a child with Vergil would be amazing. The thought of making a baby is exciting too.

He captures your lips in a kiss as he presses himself into you. You’re both panting and moaning as he bottoms out, leaving you both a little fucked out already. Vergil smirks when he realizes this is actually going to happen. You’re going to be carrying his child.

Your hands soothe up and down his back as he starts a slow pace, getting you both used to these sensations. Vergil finds it hard to not blow his load from the beginning, as he always gets so over excited to make love to you. He takes a deep breath before pressing your legs to your chest which places you in the perfect mating position.

“You will carry my seed in your womb,” Vergil says, his voice full of need and lust.

“Yes, yes! Please, Vergil!” You cry out, his cock bullying the sweet spot so deep inside of you.

His hand traces down your chest to your core, rubbing the swollen clit that’s just begging for attention. Your eyes screw shut as he begins pounding into you, making you feel that familiar tightening in your stomach. Your cries of love and ecstasy begin echoing off the walls.

“That’s it, sparrow,” he coos at you. “Milk my cock. Be a good girl and milk my cock,”

His words arouse you as much as they surprise you. He’s not usually one to talk filthy like this, and it’s just fueling your fire even more. It takes but only a few more thrusts to send you over the edge.

Tears slip down your cheeks at the intense pleasure. Your spongy walls squeeze and contract around his throbbing cock, milking him for his warm and thick seed. He’s grunting and growling, his voice sounding almost distorted. And with a passionate and hungry kiss, Vergil spills himself so deep inside your pulsing walls.

The two of you continue to grind against one another, riding out the remnants of what is the most intense orgasm you’ve both felt in forever. And when Vergil pulls away, you almost think he’s going to get up to get you something to drink. It’s just that the sight of his thick cum running out of your puffy cunt sends him into a frenzy.

You cry out as he slams himself back into you, clearly not done.

“I said I wanted to have another baby,” Vergil huffs as he fucks himself into you. “And we are going to have another baby.”

[coff33andb00ks]

capture you - GR

summary: let me stay right here just a moment longer, the picture is so clear, please, let this last forever word count: 1k pairing: george russell x photographer!reader (lilli. it's lilli) warnings: just pure fluff a.n.: part two of my I need Lilli to have an amazing birthday series! this is once again for @maxlarens note: painting i describe (badly) is The Day Dream by Dante Rossetti <one of my favorite romanticism pantings>

He always used to see the camera first. It was his first sign that you were around. Then, as time passed, as he grew accustomed to you, he would see the flash of your hair out the corner of his eye and then the camera. He isn't sure when, exactly, but now he notices your perfume before he sees you.

He can smell it now as he chats with Mick and Lewis, and as Mick comments on tires George darts his eyes to his left for a split second. You're there, across the garage, your ever-present camera raised, and he knows he can relax now.

You watch him through the viewfinder, feeling voyeuristic even though it's literally your job. It's not your fault that he's so photogenic. The camera always focuses on him, and the rest of the team has given up teasing you for having more photos of George than anyone else.

Which is silly, because you make sure to take just as many photos of Lewis as you do George.

When you can.

If possible.

If you remember, which you never do.

You blink and he's in front of you. And, because you can, you snap a possibly unflattering photo of him – spoiler alert: it isn't – and lower the camera with a smile.

"We're still on tomorrow, right?" he asks.

You nod. "I've already reserved the passes."

His lips twitch into a fine line for a millisecond. He hates when you spend money on the outings you take together. Not due to some primal he-man must provide for woman instinct, but because—

"Goodness, Lilli, won't you let me spoil you?"

"You can buy me dinner," you say, smiling.

The fine line is gone, replaced by the smile you know and love. The one that makes his eyes crinkle and his rarely seen dimples appear. "Alright."

The rest of the day is hectic and then becomes chaotic, and for the first race weekend in nearly a year you have more photos of Lewis than George. You're gutted for him, for having to retire early at his home race, but you're so happy for Lewis. And George is too – chuffed to bits honestly. You're swept up in the celebrations and are nursing a small hangover in the morning when you climb into the helicopter for the brief ride to London.

George's hand covers yours, but he doesn't say anything, and you smile weakly, staring at your knees to keep your stomach settled. He used to tease you about your nerves when flying, now he offers quiet support.

You love that about him.

The museum is hushed and you stand in awe despite visiting it several times before.

George looks on, a fond smile that you don't notice pulling at his lips. He's been here once or twice before. Not with you, so this is new. He's used to seeing you always in motion, always bouncing and twisting and twirling to get the perfect shot. Even away from the job you're his hummingbird, flitting from one thing to another with boundless energy, leaving traces of ethereal beauty in your wake. But now you're still, your breath hushed as though too harsh an inhale would disturb the masterpieces that surround you.

There's a reverence in each step you take, a gentleness to every movement that he rarely sees. You're not there to look but to view, to study, to learn, to share thoughts. In a respectful murmur you read each placard and in each word he hears your passion for each piece you view together.

He could watch you like this all the days of his life. He wishes you'd brought your camera, wishes he'd thought to bring his.

Wishes he could freeze time so you could study every hall, every corner, every detail in every painting and sculpture while he studied you.

He can't, but he does take out his phone to take a photo of you. Chin tipped up, staring at a painting, your eyes sweeping slowly, and he can see the corner of your mouth tipped up. He doesn't check to make sure the photo comes out – doesn't matter, it'll never encapsulate how he feels in this moment – and lowers his phone.

You're staring at the painting like he stares at you.

George wonders if his love and admiration is so obvious to onlookers. Wonders if the painting – a woman in green, sitting beneath a tree – knows how lucky it is to have your gaze.

He reads the placard. The artist's name is slightly familiar, but—

"He was in love with her," you say, hushed and soft.

George lifts his eyes to the painting. "Was he?"

"They were having an affair, I think. But look at the way the tree shelters her, almost like a secret spot. And the use of green? It evokes a peacefulness, so she may have quieted his mind." You tip your head to study the painting some more. "I think the honeysuckle represented love in Victorian times, and she's holding some."

He takes in each detail as you describe it, the painting coming more to life. "Do you think she loved him? Or vice versa?"

"I like to think it was mutual," you murmur. "I hope she realized how beautiful she was to him."

You stand in silence for several moments before he speaks again.

"I wish I had the talent to capture my love in such a way that people will see it over a hundred years from now."

"Does love need to be broadcast?" you ask softly.

His hand slides over yours and you both sigh as your fingers interlock. "No, I suppose it doesn't," he whispers. "But it would be nice, wouldn’t it, for others to see the object of your adoration as you see it?"

"I don't need a painting, George." You look at him and he turns to look at you.

"I would give you the world if you'd let me, Lilli" he whispers.

"You already do," you promise.

[projectmoon-smash-or-pass]

propaganda:

✅️ "some larger roach species actually like to be petted and stroked"

✅️ "Ok look, normally for these smash or pass things I will go purely off of looks for every character (which is why I am voting smash for every sinner and basically every character too)

But Gregor?

I do not want to just smash this man. I want him in almost every single conceivable way a human can desire. I am completely, 100% sure in my masculinity and, were I in the city, I would use some singularity or something to make it so he can get me pregnant. (if he asked for kids, I doubt he would tbh) This man is the first and last time I will ever experience any emotions about a fictional character beyond ‘they are cool and well written’

I genuinely think project moon went into my brain, plucked out my ideas of ‘perfect man’ and wrote him as a character. He changed my opinions on smoking single handedly. Shit I didn’t even think was hot I have discovered I find incredibly attractive solely because of him. I have all of his ID’s and EGO’s maxed (without spending a penny because I’m still relatively sane) and have solo’d every single boss level that you can physically solo with zwei Gregor.

I could say a lot more, but I don’t want to bury everyone else’s words, so I’ll just do the bare essentials"

✅️ "BIG. MEATY. CLAWS."

✅️ "I AM GOING TO GET HIM GREGNANT"

✅️ "i am in a constant state of considering the logistics of a threesome with heathcliff and gregor. unconventional duo, i know, but i just know they'd treat a partner right. heathcliff's probably got a bit of a rough streak, and gregor would have dirty talk down to a science, and the aftercare would be heavenly. all-around wonderful time for everyone involved. please tell me someone else understands my vision."

✅️ "reading clockroach ceo's g. corp!gregor/dante fic has rewritten my brain chemistry and i can never be normal abt either of them again. smash plsssssss"

✅ "i love bugs. i want the bugs to love me back"

[call-of-ishmael]

Ishmael as having Pure O (OCD)

Inspired by a post i saw of someone saying their own experiences with OCD didn't line up with Ishmael (which i liked a lot, i always love seeing discussions on this) i wanted to give my own take based on my own experiences with OCD. Its my take Ishmael suffers from a bit of a lesser known variety, Pure Obsessional OCD. Now Pure O is a bit of a misnomer, because you DO have compulsions, they are mostly mental though, and there can be accompanying behaviors that are more outward, however it can be hard to miss, and in my experience has even made my family doubt the diagnosis at times cause its tricky. Now for Ishmael, she seemingly has no outward compulsions, but she has one thing, avoidant behaviors, like hiding away in her cabin during the first part of Canto V, which again leads to a bit of another connection, her whetting her harpoon for entirely too long, a small but noticeable behavior accompanying her avoidant behaviors. Avoidant behaviors tend to be the more outward of symptoms at times, cause mental compulsions are hard to spot. Post also mentioned that anxieties didn't seem to be that prevalent before 4.5-5 and id disagree. Dante noticed some anxious behaviors early on (They for example say she will start talking really quickly and in excess when nervous). She has always come off as always being on edge to me at least. Anxiety has always been a part of her behaviors but as we have seen shes been masking it a lot. Finally a bit more on a personal note, they mention in the post too that OCD tends to be many things, but there can be a tendency to single mindedness, you just wanna quiet down whats wrong and you need to take whatever path it is to make it stop hurting, and considering shes facing one of her biggest traumas, this being what shes been stuck on for the better part of the whole Canto makes perfect sense. Other stuff is her catastrophizing, endless ruminating on what could go wrong (she starts thinking of scenarios of what might just completely make it a disaster, what if Dante cant bring anyone back, what happens if they go overboard?) this isn't new, shes been this way since Canto II where she wants a perfect plan and is really only satiated by Effie and Saudes plan being watertight, one thing mentioned in the post is ruminating anxiety, and her behaviors not just in this chapter but in small ways before clearly give me an impression of this ruminating behavior always considering what could go wrong and wanting something rational to follow. In conclusion, her behavior before, this canto and during the Canto give me the impression she has Pure O which she has been trying her hardest to mask until she just couldn't anymore, and its now we are finally seeing some of those hints of mental compulsions turn into more outward behavior. If youd like to read a bit more on Pure OCD heres an article that while a bit general gives a good idea https://ocdla.com/obsessionalocd

[wistfulweaverwoman]

Could you share your thoughts on Madge?

The screenwriters/director apparently felt she was irrelevant, but she must have a deeper meaning to the series, right?

Oh wow, thank you for the question!!!

So yes, Madge's character sure does have a deeper meaning!

On the most surface level of the story Madge acts, in part, as a characterization for Katniss. As we all know, Katniss is a pretty unreliable narrator. She seems to be under the impression that she's just like Gale but here's a prime example of why she's not. Madge is Katniss's only friend, other than Gale. And she's not just a merchant kid, she's the daughter of the mayor. While Gale has a narrow viewpoint and see things much more in black and white(she claims he understands the socioeconomic differences are just the Capitols way to divide 12, but he has a really tough time extending empathy to people he doesn’t relate to, unlike Katniss who is incredibly empathetic when she takes time to put herself in the shoes of others), Katniss actually has a more nuanced understanding about the Seam/Merchant dynamic which later extends to deeper understanding to the other tributes and even Capitol citizens all really just being victims to their circumstances. With the director ditching (mostly, Gale still has a few choice words about merchants) the whole Seam/Merchant narrative her role is vastly diminished.

The pin that Madge gives to Katniss as a district token (and later the symbol of rebellion) is so much more important in the books because of who it used to belong to, Maysilee Donner, who was Madge's aunt (her mom's twin), Katniss's mothers best friend, and partnered with Haymitch in his games. It's most likely Haymitch's own experience in surviving the arena with Maysilee as a team that gives him the idea to partner Peeta and Katniss. Without Madge most of these connections are lost.

In the metanarrative Madge represents a lot more. She, through the symbolism of her name, offers salvation through sacrifice. She gives Katniss the pin:

"His eyes land on a small, circular pin that adorns her dress. Real gold. Beautifully crafted. It could keep a family in bread for months."

And then she basically risks her life to bring pain medicine for Gale, who hasn't been particularly nice to her:

When she opens it, there’s not a squad of Peacekeepers but a single, snow-caked figure. Madge. She holds out a small, damp cardboard box to me. “Use these for your friend,” she says. I take off the lid of the box, revealing half a dozen vials of clear liquid. “They’re my mother’s. She said I could take them. Use them, please.” She runs back into the storm before we can stop her.

Madge (and Mags) is short for Margaret, which is derived from the Greek word for Pearl (pearl is derived from the Sanskrit word for Pure). Peeta and Katniss are Pearls as well, so I'll expand on the pearl theme beyond just Madge.

Pearls themselves are created through sacrifice, traditionally the life of the oyster is forfeit for the gem. In some asian cultures the pearl represented the journey of the soul or spirit along the path to perfection (The Hunger Games trilogy is a retelling of Dante's Comedies- which represents the souls journey towards Paradise- the pearl symbolically represents Katniss’s inner arc). In ancient burials, mourners placed pearls in the mouths of the deceased. Since pearls apparently contained the principles of life, they hoped they could assist the dead on their journeys beyond. Mourners also decorated burial gifts and clothes with pearls.

Pearls are mentioned a LOT in the books. Here's a few quotes:

‘Well, if you put enough pressure on coal it turns to pearls!’” Effie beams at us so brilliantly that we have no choice but to respond enthusiastically to her cleverness even though it’s wrong.

He unzips the bag, revealing one of the wedding dresses I wore for the photo shoot. Heavy white silk with a low neckline and tight waist and sleeves that fall from my wrists to the floor. And pearls. Everywhere pearls. Stitched into the dress and in ropes at my throat and forming the crown for the veil.

As coal pressured into pearls by our weighty existence. Beauty that arose out of pain. Peeta rinses the pearl off in the water and hands it to me. “For you.” I hold it out on my palm and examine its iridescent surface in the sunlight.

I sit back on my bed cross-legged and find myself rubbing the smooth iridescent surface of the pearl back and forth against my lips. For some reason, it’s soothing. A cool kiss from the giver himself.

Katniss putting the pearl to her lips as both the mourner and the dead. We can actually infer that the pearl is a placeholder for Peeta.

But what exactly does the pearl represent beyond the obvious? There's the biblical symbolism and then there's literary symbolism.

There's a ton of Christian symbolism in these books, probably the most obvious being the Christ-like sacrifices that Peeta makes, he sacrifices his body to provide the life saving bread, and again in the arena which after spends three days in a cave, followed by his resurrection. The trilogy follows the Divine Comedies, Katniss as the heart and caught between Gale (the body) and Peeta (the spirit).

You shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved, made of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour, and they shall be baked with leaven, as firstfruits to the Lord.

Above from the Bible, below from The Hunger Games

It was the boy. In his arms, he carried two large loaves of bread that must have fallen into the fire because the crusts were scorched black.

Below is a quote from the Bible (Revelations) describing the 12 gates of Jerusalem. It could be written off as a coincidence, 12 gates, 12 districts, except that the 8th gate is the Cotton Merchants' Gate, which correlates to District 8, which is the district that manufactures textiles and uniforms.

And the twelve gates of the city were twelve pearls; each single gate was made from one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. 

In literary symbolism Pearl, (the daughter of Hester Prynne in the Scarlet Letter), represents several things. Pearl was the physical manifestation of Hester's sin (adultery), the pregnancy therefore making it apparent she had sinned. At the same time Pearl was a blessing, as without her she would have most likely committed suicide.

 “… Had they taken her away from me (Pearl), I would have willingly gone with thee into the forest, and signed my name in the Black Man’s book too, and that with mine own blood!”

This is similar to Katniss's thinking at the beginning of Mockingjay

Peeta. If I knew for sure that he was dead, I could just disappear into the woods and never look back.

Below is a quote from the end of The Scarlet Letter:

"Pearl kissed his lips. A spell was broken. The great scene of grief, in which the wild infant bore a part, had developed all her sympathies; and as her tears fell upon her father’s cheek, they were the pledge that she would grow up amid human joy and sorrow, nor forever do battle with the world, but be a woman in it. Towards her mother, too, Pearl’s errand as a messenger of anguish was all fulfilled."

And another quote from the near end of Mockingjay:

I lean in and kiss Peeta full on the mouth. His whole body starts shuddering, but I keep my lips pressed to his until I have to come up for air. My hands slide up his wrists to clasp his. “Don’t let him take you from me.” Peeta’s panting hard as he fights the nightmares raging in his head. “No. I don’t want to . . .” I clench his hands to the point of pain. “Stay with me.” His pupils contract to pinpoints, dilate again rapidly, and then return to something resembling normalcy. “Always,” he murmurs.

I delve a bit into the Divine Comedies in this post.

[shadowqnights]

*grabs a can opener*

Spill them worms

oh my gosh i started writing out an essay, accidentally refreshed and deleted it, and now i'm back trying to figure out how to word this.

i'm one of the freaks who actually likes mcd aaron and i love rewriting him. and i'm of the mind that one of the best ways to make aaron and aph more interesting in both universes (and fix a lot of stuff in aph's case) is by having them as werewolves - aph, whether knowingly or unknowingly, entering pdh as a werewolf. aaron being a werewolf in mcd. reversing their roles in each universe.

but the aph thing is a whole OTHER can of worms so specifically in relation to the dog rule in mcd. i'm super passionate about werewolf aaron. this is a crash course for some of my rewrite thoughts. strap in because this one is going to be so long i am so sorry.

in my rewrite aaron is actually not a werewolf at all by technicality since he's cursed by a member of the divine. as opposed to the other wolfkin, there's no way for him to have wolf features in his human form, no ears or tail. he's got a purely human form and a purely wolf form - albeit an unusually massive wolf, but in all other manners resembles a natural animal. he can only be one or the other, nothing inbetween.

his backstory ties very strongly into the ultima origins that you see in mystreet as well. simply put because if i start i'm not going to stop - aaron makes a sacrifice to try and save his dying lily, angers a member of the divine and is transformed into this new form as punishment only to find the efforts in vain nonetheless. cue falcon claw's tragedy.

being a wolf fits aaron to me in a number of ways - firstly that he's literally a lone wolf. he's determined to isolate himself, wander alone and unbothered. he believes that the only way to fulfill his end goal is on his own because his beef is personal. there's no need to get involved in other people's affairs. he has walls up, and while being very gruff and self-serving, has a secret soft side - usually with children. otherwise not much matters to him except vengeance and dying. he's a wandering wolf vigilante of sorts, without even meaning to. he describes himself as a broken human. to me he leans entirely into his cursed form in his grief and becomes very much animal. he barely ever speaks as a human and barely even takes that form unless critically injured/fatigued; he is nothing but a wolf. he tries incredibly hard to see the world as an animal would, but there's a frustrating shred of his human morality that forces him to do the 'right thing' - like saving aph, like saving dante. it's also just a plain interesting approach to his character that makes him more complicated

and because he's this gruff, silent old dog who's convinced he has to die alone, of course the young bright kids are going to flock to him. in this way i love indulging in the dog rule in the way that aaron is the oldest, in some ways the wisest and has lived through a lot of hardships in both human and animal form. and in that animal form he can become the perfect mentor for members of the younger cast who need his guidance. as a wolf aaron is more than anything else a survivor, and other survivors tend to seek him out of instinct. he tries to distance himself, insist that he is a lone wolf *doomed* to live out the rest of his days spiraling in animal hate, in anger, fighting and mauling and earning new scars until the day he can kill zane and then die. but that is very much the human part of him reflecting on the animal part. the animal knows violence. the human justifies it because his suffering has led him there.

aaron's dog rule functions best with others. his relationship with aph works best starting from distrust and disinterest and growing into a friendship/mentorship. because there is a canonical foundation for them to have a bond - because they are/were both lords, both once cared incredibly deeply for their chosen people, both have survived hardships and both of them despise zane. they have a mutual goal and their working together makes sense. if you're that one oomf who likes aarmau then i like to think of them in mcd as having a relationship akin to that of Wolf Children (please watch highly recommend) but as a wolf i feel he would make a great mentor for her too. in a way that only aaron specifically can deliver. i don't explicitly make aph animal, per say, the way that nicole and aaron can shift. but metaphorically there is very much something animal in her. same as dante. the both of them, to me, are younger, they're like cubs trailing at aaron's heels and after some time he takes them in, but aren't physically transformed in any way (though i have AUs where they definitely can).

they have differing relationships to him. aph certainly begins as a naive sunshine character - and as she slowly learns about her world and its history, that sunshine fades a little. she wants so badly to fit in amongst the ordinary people of phoenix drop; she works hard to learn and become one of them. even when (in rewrite + rebirth) she becomes lord out of desperation, merely thinking she's doing these people service by keeping phoenix drop alive, she's trying to be One of them. this animal side of aph to me arrives in the form of her magicks. she finds that not only does her light heal, that it is also quite literally a searing, burning light, something that can hurt. worse, that she feels a sickening rush of power, realising that she has this violent and unpredictable form of self-defense. as this naive pacifist, it offers the bridge to a new chapter of her life that she isn't prepared for; it solidifies that she isn't ordinary, that she woke up for a purpose. and that her allegiances are changing - especially in s2, in the wake of everything falling apart, everything being different and wrong, the people who went into irene's dimension with her are very much the only people who understand. she seeks companionship with aaron because she is ashamed of the feelings inside of her, that she describes as animal because she doesn't know what else to make of it. her magicks feel like an animal separate to her human self because in a way those are irene's magicks, that's irene as a distinct Piece of her, and those things are wilder than the body she was reborn in.

-> incorporating parts of loverman into this, also why aph becomes so strongly bonded with katelyn. because their magicks call to each other. fire and light. they both burn and they end up relating strongly to each other and being weirdly attracted to each others magick. they are both destructive and animalistic, it's just that katelyn is far more attached to her humanity.

aph finds aaron's silence comforting rather than disarming. everyone else finds him weird and a little bit offputting / alienating. she is rather comforted by it. she's spent so long trying to learn what it means to be human because she was born into a human body without any memories - so much so that being with aaron, who is hardly ever human, brings her a lot of comfort. in a way, she finds the most peace with people who are very grounded and well connected to the earth and nature - with zoey, kiki, cadenza, namely, and then aaron. her friendship group, excluding that of her guards, have certain connections to the earth and have very nurturing personalities. she's drawn to that by nature (thanks irene!).

and aaron specifically, who spends the most time as a wolf. when he's not fighting, he's hunting, travelling, and resting. in a human form, i feel there's not much for him to teach her because she's already been through this period of struggle in her mortal body - she's already learned from people like garroth, donna, brendan, namely in rewrite. she has people who can teach her how to fight and how to be a diplomat. she's had a number of mentors and a strong circle of friendship to guide her. she has so many human companions. but aaron is so much more complicated than that. as a wolf, i feel she would seek him out as a teacher. even on the more metaphorical sense that she feels like a broken human, and the only individual who could possibly understand or at least empathise with her place in the world is him. she wants to run wild with him, wants to be in the thick of the woods, the middle of nowhere, wants to pretend as if she could be cursed, too, as if she could find a form that relieves her of the weight of human fears. perhaps then she could embrace this power inside of her.

dante is different because its dante and he's ALWAYS different in some way. god. where to begin. okay so dante is also metaphorically animal in a way that is specifically only in reference to his relationship with aaron. he is aaron's brother and a cub to him in a way that starts out transactional. back to the loverman elements of rewrite for a second:

-> at this point aaron is almost Always using his wolf form . ignore that he was human when he saved aph because i didn't know what i was doing yet. aaron, as a wolf, still has a Shred of 'justice', hence why he finds himself so regularly saving people. because even as a human he considered the circle of life very sacred, and in keeping with kul'zac's teachings as a hunter he was very much so respectful of wildlife and only killing out of necessity rather than for sport or selfish gain (as in, hunting for food and using the absolute Most of those bodies, not taking more than needed). he was very faithful to his shepherd in that regard (until the period when he was cursed. but that's a whole other post). post-curse there is a very deliberate change when aaron becomes a little bit carried away but through it all, he is very conscious of that circle of life. that cycle. even as this vigilante figure, he's very specific with the fights he picks. he saves lost children in the woods, he mauls shadow knights & and in short he sees fit to punish the people/creatures who harm the weak and defenseless for sport, for selfish gain, because (1) that personal justice that is a part of his former worship/morality he can't shake, and (2) maybe a small part of him hopes that if he lives that way for long enough, kul'zac will restore him OR take pity on him and let him die.

he's secretly very particular. even when he can't admit it, his sense of justice is strong. saving aphmau was dubious because she was unknowingly in fer salem (southern wolf tribe) territory and was injured. but she cried for help and he answered. but specifically when aaron is hanging around phoenix drop, he's tracking a volatile shadow knight that attacks him immediately in wolf form, and that alone is enough for aaron to decide that the shadow knights (or just merely. the dudes with That scent specifically) are bad and kill regularly in mass for sport, therefore need punishment.

he sees dante for the first time and thinks of him as a bird, a prey animal, because he acts like one. he is skittish and tentative and blindly wandering through unfamiliar woods. and aaron goes ok that one isn't to be hunted. so when later he finds a shadow knight cornering the group including dante, who he vaguely recognises, the Right thing to do is to attack the shadow knight. (which happens to be gene, therefore saving the life of dante + his companions. so by extension saving aph again, plus garroth and laurance).

dante and aaron are all about transaction. aaron saves dante's life. so then when dante finds him bleeding out in the woods, he saves HIS life. the debt is repaid, but then the other does something to begin a new debt, and they become trapped in a cycle. dante kind of despises him because at that point he has such horrifically complex feelings on gene. such terrible baggage that he doesn't know if he hates him for attacking gene or loves him for attacking gene. it's weird and fucked up and more than anything he knows that he at the very least owes aaron something, so with that in mind he grits his teeth and helps to heal him. which is a slow, gradual process, because aaron has a LOT of wounds, more than just the ones gene inflicted in the fight. dante doesn't even know that he has a human form at this point - it's merely his sense of kindness to take pity on this animal that tried to (and possibly succeeded, since he has no idea of gene's fate yet) kill his horrible older brother. in aaron's weakness, he can't control the wolf, so he turns human briefly and dante realises that he's getting involved in something way more complicated than he bargained for. story of his life. still, he perseveres - and aaron is a stubborn, lonely idiot, and a wolf does not need human medicine. so dante gives up on trying to convince him to come back to phoenix drop and treks into the woods on the daily to tend to aaron's wounds. which he protests but all in all is wayyy too weak and tired to actually Fight it.

in this way they very gradually earn each other's trust and aaron begrudgingly hangs around. dante saved his life again, so now he owes ANOTHER life debt. and aaron is all about paying back debts. in his youth his love language was acts of service, his very bonding with lily was full of debts and transactions and trading.

so as a wolf he lets dante stick around and protects him. the cycle of debts continues in increasingly obsessive/codependent ways [in ways that i'm reluctant to talk about unless asked because loverman spoilers but in short aaron becomes a brother figure for dante, relieving him of the baggage left by gene.]

in this way i consider dante a cub because he's young and he's CLINGING to aaron in a way that, while still a little bit pathetic, its made better by the fact that aaron reciprocates some amount of care towards him and they take care of each other. he's a good brother. when they get close, they get CLOSE. it takes a while, of course, like a year+ to fully earn each other's trust. he's a cub in the way that he's young, barely 19 and has been treated akin to a sopping wet stray dog abandoned too many times. and in a metaphorical sense his shelter becomes an older, wiser wolf who is somehow far more kind and gentle and less animalistic than his human biological brother. and beneath that gruff exterior there is genuinely care in aaron; his care for dante specifically re-inspires a certain purpose in him and opens him up to a future Beyond zane that doesn't just involve his own death. in that way, by association, dante to me is a dog/wolf of his own, and would even consider himself as such because of his relationship with aaron. he is very attached to the idea of being non-human because of his suffering, in which i think he would relate so incredibly strongly to aaron. maybe he secretly wishes he too was gifted with a curse that allowed him to endure pain in the form of a wolf and spare him of human things like regret and remorse. and he's drawn to the mystery of the shapeshifting characters - he is enamoured with nicole at first because he is the first to pick up on her fox form.

aaron also draws dante down a path of maturity and sets his character development in motion - he becomes a bit more merciless, brutal, unforgiving, able to stand up for himself better because of aaron's influence. as if he grew up as a dog kicked down, abandoned and mistreated and neglected, and as he grows up he is taught that he has teeth, and he is allowed to use them. plus the fact that you can take dog rule dante really literally and explore his entire life through that lens but specifically i also love the idea that this pathetic human boy is so attached to his teacher/brother, so obsessed with the idea of sharing someone's blood that isn't gene's, that he fully leans into it. he is someone's animal brother. his wolf brother. his kin. they protect each other. and when the time comes aaron has also grown and while he's always been far more gentle and protective over children, he is especially fond of dante's child [ dmitri, not nekoette's rewrite self, i'm a dancole believer. ].

and in this way they kind of make a fucked up little family. dante and aph consider each other brother and sister - dante finds a new brother in aaron, who thus takes on the role of mentorship for aph.

and . and that's literally just a starter. a very basic crash course but yeah idk i approach them in different ways dependant on what AU you're asking me about. everything i've talked about here is specifically rewrite thoughts + dog rule but honestly i wouldn't be opposed to making dante a werewolf in kennel au or something. and aph as a werewolf would also be really cute and i'm a big fan since she already is one in my mystreet rewrite . one big wolf found family.

[talonabraxas]

Eye of Sirius 'Supernal Vision' Talon Abraxas

O grace abounding that had made me fit to fix my eyes on the eternal light until my vision was consumed in it! I saw within its depth how it conceives all things in a single volume bound by Love, of which the universe is the scattered leaves; substance, accident, and their relation so fused that all I say could do no more than yield a glimpse of that bright revelation. I think I saw the universal form that binds these things, for as I speak these words I feel my joy swell and my spirits warm. Twenty-five centuries since Neptune saw the Argo's keel have not moved all mankind, recalling that adventure, to such awe as I felt in an instant. My tranced being stared fixed and motionless upon that vision, ever more fervent to see in the act of seeing. Experiencing that Radiance, the spirit is so indrawn it is impossible even to think of ever turning from it. For the good which is the will's ultimate object is all subsumed in it; and, being removed, all is defective which in it is perfect. Now in my recollection of the rest I have less power to speak than any infant wetting its tongue yet at its mother's breast; and not because that Living Radiance bore more than one semblance, for it is unchanging and is forever as it was before; rather, as I grew worthier to see, the more I looked, the more unchanging semblance appeared to change with every change in me. Within the depthless deep and clear existence of that abyss of light three circles shown three in color, one in circumference: the second from the first, rainbow from rainbow; the third, an exhalation of pure fire equally breathed forth by the other two. But 0 how much my words miss my conception, which is itself so far from what I saw that to call it feeble would be rank deception! 0 Light Eternal fixed in itself alone, by itself alone understood, which from itself loves and glows, self-knowing and self-known; that second aureole which shone forth in Thee, conceived as a reflection of the first or which appeared so to my scrutiny seemed in itself of its own coloration to be painted with man’s image. I fixed my eyes on that alone in rapturous contemplation. Like a geometer wholly dedicated to squaring the circle, but who cannot find, think as he may, the principle indicated so did I study the supernal face. I yearned to know just how our image merges into that circle, and how it here finds place; but mine were not the wings for such a flight. Yet, as I wished, the truth I wished for came cleaving my mind in a great flash of light. Here my powers rest from their high fantasy, but already I could feel my being turned instinct and intellect balanced equally as in a wheel whose motion nothing jars by the Love that moves the Sun and the other stars. -Dante Alighieri, Paradiso, canto 33

[dancerinthestorm]

Fic Recs: A World in a Grain of Sand Edition.

I love epic tales in which authors slowly build up their worlds and characters. I love losing myself in works slowly outgrowing canon word count to the point of forgetting to go to bed at reasonable hours. However, I am in absolute awe of writers who manage the rare feat of conjuring the same level of immersion with just a short story or even a one shot.

This totally incomplete list of my all-time favorite short(-ish) stories is a tribute to all intrepid souls out there tackling this challenge.

If you aren't familiar with the fandoms yet I still recommend diving straight in. They can be read and enjoyed totally out of context and you might just come out the other end with a new fandom obsession 😉

„Ars Poetica“ (AO3) by Rhune

Helping out around the Devil May Cry you are perfectly content to leave center stage to the devil hunters and demons of your acquaintance. Until the day Dante returns from hell, his stand-offish brother in tow. Suddenly - and quite unnervingly - you find yourself sharing your once quiet existence in the background with none other than Vergil.

One achingly perfect installment full of poetry, searing stares and everyone’s favorite moody half demon.

Devil May Cry (post DMC5). Vergil x fem!Reader. Rated E. 16k words.

+++

„Coming up Roses“ by @eupheme

The new groundskeeper at Wayne Manor is unsure what to make of stoic, unapproachable Alfred Pennyworth. At least at first...

All the yearning and suppressed feels of a 300-page Jane Austen novel condensed into two gorgeous chapters about falling in love when you least expect it. Topped off with some seriously hot smut for good measure.

The Batman. Alfred Pennyworth x fem!Reader. Rated E. 10k words.

+++

„Posterity“ by @whats-rambled-rambled

Posterity. Tenet's operators. Always just a call away to back up your field agents while they flit back and forth through time. It's dangerous work. People die. So you don't get close. Until there's Neil.

I know, I know , 7 chapters with 31k words is putting A LOT of strain on the definition of „short stories“ but I just HAD to include this one. Reading it simply broke me. Absolutely gorgeous prose, two main characters you cannot help falling in love with and a story that keeps you guessing until the very end.

Tenet. Neil x GN!Reader. Rated M. 31k words.

Pro tip: If you are not ready for a 31k word commitment yet (fair enough!) go for „The Way Down“ instead: A hauntingly beautiful 3-parter Battinson!Bruce Wayne/GN!Reader. Rated T.

+++

"Three Weeks on the Nimrodel" by @from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras

Haldir is quiet. Stoic. Solitary. Not the easiest person to be around for three weeks of guard duty up a solitary mallorn tree. He knows that and has made his peace with it. Until a so far unfamiliar fellow marchwarden comes along.

Do you know this moment of utter bliss when you come home after an absolutely rotten day and are finally able to snuggle up with a fluffy blanket, your favorite hot beverage and your comfort book/band/movie? This fic is that exact feeling distilled into 3000 words. Add a good helping of pure love for the more obscure corners of Middle Earth and two absolutely charming, introvert main characters et voila: utter contentment for you to come back to again and again and again whenever that fluffy blanket is out of reach.

Still not an Elves person. But I might have to fess up to being a Haldir person one of these days. This gem surely is another nail in my coffin 😅

Lord of the Rings. Haldir x GN!Reader. Rated G. 3k words.

+++

„Pinky promises & glow stars“ (AO3) by @softlyspector

Steven bumps into Marc’s childhood best friend in a coffee shop and decides that he wants to get to know her better. Marc decides that's a terrible idea.

Quiet and sad and sweet and absolutely beautiful.

Moon Knight. Marc Spector x Reader. Not rated on AO3. Think M to be on the safe side with everything the Moon Knight boys have been through. 10k words.

+++

As always: a huge thank you to all creators for your time and your passion and your talent. You guys are absolutely incredible and make this world a better place!

Something missing you say? Please feel free to shout your own recommendations at me in the comments!

[valpogossip]

VALPOGOSSIP TEACAP: MARCH 2024

You lot sure have be busy the last month. If I was of lesser mind or simply someone with something better to do, I would have resigned myself to my silence and let you all carry on. But business pays. And unfortunately for you, it's yours that pays me, and you're all not going to believe this.

In unsurprising news, Milani Lennox and Alba Ochoa are still playing the most long running game of tag I've ever seen. But a new player has entered the villa, miss Mallory Jade Watson who thinks Al should just leave Milani to freeze and keep the door to themselves. A wildcard who doesn't mind stirring up a little chaos, I'm excited to see where it leads. Milani and Al haven't spoken in awhile... maybe Mallory really was the perfect solution.

Speaking of people who should probably call it quits but it's much more entertaining if they don't: Leon Amos and Salem West hook up after a squabble at a party where it's rumored that Leon may have also met one Charity Tavarez and regrets not giving out his number? Can anyone confirm that for us? Either way, we're sure Salem would be delighted to hear about it.

Not so much a couple news, but a something ( the debate on booty call or situationship is still happening ) is brewing between Dante Dominguez-Herrera and Omar Osei. With the conversations back and forth between them it's hard to believe they got to the point where numbers were exchanged, but I suppose everyone loves a good guilty pleasure hate hookup.

Have you all ever noticed that we have so many couples who aren't couples? Let's talk about Charlie Hastings and Aviva Roux. No, I'm sorry. Charlie Hastings and Iris Monroe. No, god, I'm sorry. Charlie Hastings and Elisa Maribal? Ugh, my head hurts ! Officially, unofficially Charlie has been ' seeing ' Iris while romancing Aviva? While having a past with Elisa? Now this is how you move in silence, he could teach Enzo a thing or two.

Here's something bittersweet for you: Aivryn Lee Johnston is down inexplicably bad for Orion Singh and Abril Valdivia may just be just as down inexplicably bad for Aivryn ): and Luna ): and possibly Mallory ): the closet is made of glass at this point. But we support you Abril! Be who you are, for your pride.

Drew Crane seems to be battling with something even spookier than the state of his refrigerator: an EX... something Luna Domginuez-Herrera never told him about. The introduction of one Enzo Pernas ( my new favorite ). He may not know much about most things, but he knows how to play mind games. One mention of Luna's government name had Drew consulting a variety of councils left and right. Never did quite get an answer that was good though..

While I'll give Enzo credit where credit is due, it seems he didn't have the patience for the long game. Constantly trying to communicate with this ex... something through spotify, twitter, and telepathy for all we know ( much to Victor Alvarado's dismay ). And when none of those worked, he turned directly to texting. A drunken 'I miss you' that went ignored. Instead Luna responded with a very pressing question.

I don't know about you, but responding to an 'I miss you text' to ask about Aliya Bahri, is wild isn't ? But don't worry, it wasn't jealousy, it was pure, unadulterated nosiness ( a trait we respect around her ). See her sister, Esme Dominguez-Herrera, appears to have something of a thing for Aliya. Or maybe it's another story Luna made up ( they tend to do that a lot, don't they ). So Luna wanted to know if there was anything between Enzo and Aliya, and well. Aliya didn't like that Luna asked if she had a crush on anyone. Dramatic? Sure. Entertaining? ABSOLUTELY. And since Aliya didn't like it, Enzo didn't like it, and Esme didn't like it.

It was a hard month for Luna, because that's not even the only text squabble she got into. Another blast from the past ( is it hard for you all to keep up ? it's hard for Esme ), Bryce Archer, approached her to congratulate them on their new single release... to which they started an argument over something only the two of them seem to know. Don't be shy, share with the rest of the class!

We shouldn't just point and laugh at Luna, it's been a hard month for Esme too ! Between the scandal of her two boyfriends ( potentially a third with how many of you have a close eye on her and Victor, nosy nosy ), she decided to apologize to Arlo Hwang and that went TERRIBLY. He left her on read. Left on read by a streamer? I'd never show my face again. She's so brave. Still, even though he didn't answer it. It seems Arlo is battling with some unresolved feelings of his own. Must not be battling that hard though considering how down bad he is for Leia Munoz Silva on main. But I guess we'll just wait and see.

We hope that's enough to hold you over until next month. And if I missed anything, don't hesitate to send in a little tip to us via our anon box.

Here's some things we're keeping a close eye on for next month:

What's going on between Oliver Alaya and Max Esquivel-Isidora ? Besties ? Or roommates ? What's going on between Parker Ford and Sariyah Carter? Does Esme have competition? Speaking of Sariyah, what happened with her and Jia Gramaglia ? Leon and Charity are speaking again, and we can't wait to see where that leads. We know Leon knows where the nearest bedrooms are at all times. Can Omar and Rafael Cisneros keep their jobs?

And to Adem, Askel, Birdie, Chaisai, Daria, Jamie, Jules, Kaia, Liberty, Matty, Minnie, Nasrin, Nikhil, Rania, and Solana; we're always watching and waiting.

[theharecares]

I don't know how to phrase this right so I'm just gonna say it

Beatrice from the divine comedy is so kinable for me omfg. I have no desire to kin Beatrice, but she's Dante's representation of purely divine love and devotion and I just think that's so beautiful. I think she's so beautiful.

Angel ghost girlfriend for the win, she's my favorite character in this book so far because she's literally perfect. She cannot leave heaven but she gave up her spot to save Dante and as they rise through the levels of heaven she just gets more radiant and beautiful, to the degree that if Dante were to see her smile he would disintegrate.

Long story short I love Beatrice and I want to be angelic in the same way as her

[rodeoxqueen]

Rodeo’s Tunes! 

Howdy y’all, new series where I listen to music and write based of the music. 

Listen with me if you will. 

Get You (ft. Kali Uchis)- Daniel Caeser, Kali Uchis 

4morant- Doja Cat 

Dealer- Lana Del Rey 

The Other Woman- Lana Del Rey

1. Sweet Nicotine 

Dante/Reader 

Warnings/Tags: Infidelity, toxic!Dante, Cheating, Angst, NSFW, AFAB! Reader. 

You’re touching him and it’s something slight of heaven. It’s soft here, on these velvet sheets that you remember so intimately. You want to devour the color of red and you gulp in air as Dante releases his hand from your neck. Sweet air that pants from your pretty little mouth as Dante kisses you hard. It’s all tongue and teeth, and it’s possessive. He smatters your throat with wet kisses and you’re mouthing, I love you I love you I love you. 

He kisses you again, this desperate lover who moans as his cock slips out of your wet pussy. He flips you over, your center throbbing at his act of demonic strength. He’s quick to grind against your folds and pushes his cock in again. 

You gasp and moan when he pulls your hair back and ruts into you. He’s being mean so sweetly. His aggression is pure, he just wants to pleasure you. 

“You like that, huh?” He teases, leaning over you to grab your face, making you look at his lust-sick eyes. 

“Uh-huh-” is all you can manage before he releases you and resumes his devastating pace. 

“Yeah, you like this dick huh?” 

You moan like a whore, you know you are when you’re around him. But even though that’s all he’ll ever see you as, there’s this sick joy you get from seeing him. Despite...the circumstances. 

You love Dante so much it makes you sick he’s married to Lady. You want him so bad but he won’t leave her. Because he loves her too. And you don’t want to keep giving to a man who has a woman at home. 

You’ve never gotten anything but these visits. When he comes to your door like the devil and you let him in with a glass of wine in your hand. 

All the effort to look that divine was always tarnished at the end of the night. 

Your arms give out and you arch your back for Dante. 

“Oh!” Dante pushes the small of your back down, leaving you at the perfect angle. 

“You’re so fuckin’ pretty.” Dante drawls as he slaps your ass. 

You take him so well. You want to be perfect for him. You want to be his angel. His beloved. 

When he fucks you and he’s pinned your hands above your head, you almost feel like he’s holding them. 

And maybe you can keep holding on. 

Dante fucks these thoughts out of you by the end of the night, and you’ll think about them until you want to vomit. 

You can be perfect for Dante, even if he’s with Lady. 

So you compromise. 

These late nights for years of feeling loved. That lust can be love. That it can be more. 

And you’ll still spend life alone, strung along another marriage, unable to stop loving Dante. He’s sweet like nicotine and tastes like strawberries. 

And every night he will leave and go home to a woman who gets all of what you can have and more. Why would he do this? 

Promising sweet words and bitter-tasting persuasion to you. 

You’re so sick with and without him. 

Even so, as he goes to leave, you walk to the doorstep and ask when you can see him again. 

He smiles and you know he will never give you a clear answer. 

Your heart is breaking so beautifully into pieces down the street he drives off. 

[troperrific]

/ ekuoto chapter 53 spoilers and mild rant/

Mild bitch and moaning under the cut. If you wanna know why I had mixed feelings about this chapter, here you go. You've been warned.

Now, it’s time to bitch and moan about my worries over how the story will go. If you don’t wanna see that, you’ve been warned.

So. First of all. No “Masses of Trash- Part 2”. Meaning it’ll be in a future arc.

It could be a good thing. I understand that letting Mr. Priest fall to his anger this soon could not be the best writing decision. Maybe we will see him snap and, as it’s been often discussed and “foreshadowed” within the story, lash out against innocent people or even people he cares about.

Or… it could be a bad thing.

Meaning, Mr. Priest will never commit any “sin” and will remain the pure shounen protagonist who doesn’t really have any flaws.

…Sorry, did that sound salty? Because I’m trying to hold back, but it is what it is.

Let me explain.

The biggest fear I have regarding this manga, is that the author will go with the safe route and never have Mr. Priest have any serious flaws or commit any “bad actions” for the sake of having a “likeable” and “relatable” protagonist in the form of a “perfect, innocent victim”, while (slightly) demonizing characters that are traumatized but comparatively flawed, like Dante or Leah or even Virgil.

(Points at Mr. Priest and Leah's narrative parallels and being slowly built as foils. Also points at Leah sitting in Judas' position at the "Last Supper" panel during the Leviathan arc. Points at Dante being lumped with Abott Nicholas and *probably* Belphegor in Mr. Priest’s “flashbacks” when Aria told him a kid shouldn’t be fighting a Demon Lord. Begs the reader to dissuade my fears.)

And that would, inadvertently, create a “Good Victim vs Bad Victim” message within the story.

In a fucking manga about Christianity.

You can understand why I don’t want that.

For example:

The difference on how Mikhail treated the Witches and on how he treated Mr. Priest.

One has his destruction likened to a child’s tantrum and a call for help. Which it is, and I’m so glad it was treated with this amount of empathy.

The others, however, were basically told “cool story, still murder” and “hmm, maybe you should try harder to be happy?? I mean, look at Mr. Priest, he suffered more than you and he’s not evil, he’s a good victim, maybe you should be more like him???”.

Yeah, yeah, I understand that the two situations are different: the witches have been killing many people and serving the Demon Lords for who knows how long, while Mr. Priest hasn’t killed anyone so far, he even held back at the end of the Asmodeus’ arc and didn’t hurt anyone innocent, a sad past doesn’t justify blah blah blah

It’s not about justifying this or that, but about the empathy the narrative gives to its characters.

It has, so far, given all the sympathy and empathy it could towards Mr. Priest. Even when he gets overly violent. Which is great!!

But sometimes it feels like it’s less so towards other characters. Mr. Priest’s violence can feel very dismissed sometimes as something that can be easily forgiven or that is very justified, while the violence of others, even more sympathetic ones like Dante or Leah or even Leviathan will be called out, even if briefly, by the narrative or another character.

Of course, maybe I’m worrying too much. Most of these examples could be (and probably are) just the opinion of other characters, like Mikhail treating the witches and Mr. Priest differently or Imuri and other characters often excusing Mr. Priest’s violence as righteous, justified and utterly forgivable.

I really do hope that’s the case, because after so much talk about systemic violences and the effects of trauma, pushing the sort of narrative where characters like Mr. Priest and Imuri will get a happy ending (possibly without acknowledging any of their flaws or where all the acknowledged morally questionable actions will be done by other characters) just because they’re “innately better” than the rest of the cast (the sinners) will really, really upset me.

This might seem a tad emotional overreaction (and to an extent, it is) but Shounen manga, especially action ones, are infamous for their mediocre writing. Hopefully that’s not the case with ekuoto.

If I had to summarize, I guess, I’d be:

Let Mr. Priest go apeshit and fuck up for real, sensei, you coward.

And then let the narrative continue to give him the empathy it’s given him so far. And let it be given to other characters as well.

Because if it’s just going to be yet another story about how only the “Sinless” get to be loved, who get to be happy…

Especially after all this talk about how we can't always make the perfect decisions in life... how no one is free from making mistakes and hurting others...

Then what was the fucking point?

[river-muse]

Next round of wall-of-text commentary arrives! This turn is In leaps and bounds.

Gotta say, the POV change in favour of Dante here is a gamechanger. The repressed desire to shake some sense into Vergil is extremely present in each scene, wonderful job there.

ch1. Oh you just FEEL it in the first chapter how hard Dante is concentrating on the jukebox instead of whatever Vergil wants to ask. Well done, well done my fair lady.

The entire 'Nero distraught and Vergil calming him' scene is great. It's a low blow that Dante automatically expected things to go south, even after he saw for himself how much Vergil cares for his son, but that's just how the twins do of the beginning of this. At least Vergil was spared that blow by his own wrong assumption, which Dante quickly adapted to, otherwise it would have been even more heartbreaking.

ch.2...this is just pure miscommunication pain. Thing is, Dante was actually genuinely curious there... Ooof. Also a good pain response check on Dante there, he's been badly burned and that pain is still blinding him. Vergil cornered himself into the worst questions there, and then got on the aggressive defence. Double ow. Delicious pain, all of this.

ch.3 pfff good child story trope, and the final line says it all really xD

ch4. solstice chapter. It's funny how the twins know what's illegal but don't mind about doing it anyway xD. Again, delicious pain at seeing the two let their sleeping dogs lie, in fact, they are actually forcing those dogs to the ground.

No idea where Vergil learned strategy, but I think the best move when hunted down and when your positions are known (as he and Dante confirmed for each other) is to go on the defence, instead of endlessly running himself into the ground, corners and ambushes. Especially, if he thinks he is targeted more. Bait and switch might've worked if there was only one pursuer, but that would require knowing of the attack beforehand, and cooperation between the twins, which they are not yet capable of, I don't think.

Obviously, this silence is brought on by emotional issues too, I just wanted to point out that strategy-wise Vergil is an idiot. It's also very clear to see how much Dante is struggling to keep this thoughts to himself there, he tries so hard just to enjoy the holiday with family together (instead of shaking some sense into Vergil, which has frankly never worked and never will, he is an idiot through and through, impenetrable to common sense from the outside)

ch. 5 Everything about the park chapter is my favourite thing. Absolutely everything about it is perfect. Little Nero on the playground, how he really wants to do everything himself to impress Vergil, but ends up asking for help, which he may not like, but needs to learn how to do. Dante's little brother instinct to annoy his bro at the mention of pizza. The way Nero nails that Vergil wanted to spend time with Dante too (kids can be so smart like that). The way Dante still cannot believe his fortune at having his bro and nephew in his life (even on rare surprise occasions), extremely bittersweet. Everything is great here, and while the bridges are most certainly building, the present and slowly rising tension between the twins is very evident.

(Birthday three-parter commentary next, this is long enough as it is)

Hello again!!! Waking up to these really gets my brain buzzing and ready to do my actual job faster than normal you have No Idea. xD I'll try not to write too many paragraphs in return but OOUUGHH you had some really good commentary here and I won't be able to address it all.

There was a response I gave a comment a long time ago along the lines of "DMC is just Miscommunications: The Musical to me" and it still holds strong because Wow the shit twins are having to re-learn how to interact with each other in this fic.

Reading the line "they are actually forcing those dogs to the ground" for the Winter Solstice chapter knocked me tf out and rewired something in my brain that is SUCH a good way to put it. Chewing on my phone because it's going to live rent free in my head for quite possibly the rest of the series. There are just some things that have to be left alone to keep the peace, and they very much want to try to do that even if it ends up being topics that they're going to have to talk about eventually. Vergil's also still stuck in the travel to survive tactic, which as he spent his youth like that and about five years after the Temen-Ni-Gru doing the same it's become a case of "old habits die hard". He's not aware that his tactic is flawed as all hell. But also both times he's spent extended time in a place where he's felt safe has Always Gone Bad(his childhood home and [redacted (: ] even though the second time he wasn't present for the "going bad" part), so I forgive him for thinking that defending a place is deadlier than keeping on the move.

The POV swaps are fun for me! They're also entirely fuled by my own ulterior motives. Either to hide another character's motivation/thoughts, to show someone else's perspective, or because the POV character's inner conflicts need to be understood because those color how they interact(I'm looking at you, Lady.).

I'd actually felt like the park chapter was the weakest of them with how many times I had to edit it, so I'm flattered that you enjoyed it as much as you did! Some scenes are entirely to get a point across even if they're handled in character and those stand out like a sore thumb to me because I see through my own goals.

Thank you for the comments!! I'm going to rotate these in my head as fast as possible while working on dice <3

Take care, have a good day, and I look forward to your next ask!

[fisheito]

no no, i’m still thinkin about the oranges cuz under the assumptoion that we are flying an eiden-shaped fleshsuit SO MANY of them would provide us with a little citrussnack like. you could go “oh noooo my hands hurt can u pls peel for me 🥺”

yakumo and olivine are the ones who carefully peel the orange, remove the pith bit by bit, and separate orang into segments .... put it on a plate or smth civilized... maybe even feed you by hand and happily watch u eat bc theyre too frikin nice

blade is so eager to help so he tears the thing asunder in 0.03seconds leaving you with a lumpy pithy orb like TA DA!! but idk if he’s ever seen anyone eat an orange so either u bite into the orb OR tell him how to separate the orange.... in which case he will do so with mathematical precision THEN feed u THEN he’d do it with 300x more oranges until u beg him to stop

eiden would approach morvay and ask “can u peel my orange for me” and morvay immediately agrees thinking it’s code for some obscure sex act but then eito’d have to clarify like “no. i just. can you please peel this orange i have with me, so that i may consume it for non-incuban sustenance purposes”  and his disapppointment is visible/audible but he’ll still do it to help u out

aster?? if u manage to reach aster with an unpeeled orange the little man wouold be HORRIFIED, just AGHAST and MORTIFIED that Master made it ALL THE WAY TO THE BIG BOSS HIMSELF without someone peeling the orange for Eiden. Like. what kinda shoddy service ?? Am I running a mansion or a pisshouse? Gonna have to retrain the staff because if y’all aren’t preternaturally predicting eiden’s every need at every second and making him happy, then you are NOT DOING YALLS JOB

edmond??? when he’s busy???? won’t even entertain u and will str8 up walk away but idk maybe if eiden were to pull the big woobly eyes and edmond wasn’t currently busy... well...> he’d prob give in. but he’d do it his way. throw the orange in the air and slice it with his sword so it lands in perfect slices. so his hands don’t get dirty. and the orange’s tastyinness is now accessible WHICH WAS THE GOAL, ULTIAMTELY,,s o do not fight him on the specifics of your request

garu is also so eager to help like he’ll dig into it with his fingies and he might rip off a chunk or two of juicy flesh while he’s at it but he manages to keep most of it intact so u appreciate the effort. the job is eventually complete, albeit a lil mushy and juicy in some parts. this is an excellent chanCe to engorf an entire half out of garu’s hand and chew like a hamster bc i feel like garu’s curiosity and general unstoppable hunger will lead to eiden sharing the orange. u each get a half and we’re all gonna eat like beasts

annoy quincy long enough and he would cave. like he’d have the math gif flying around his head and the longer u bother him, the less work Peeling Orange becomes in comparison. the first stage is just peeling it enough that you receive an orb. If u make an even more insufferable ruckus, quincy will move to stage 2. which is so very meticulously removing every bit of white from that fruit until it is Pure Delicious Sphere. A sizeable percentage will be given to Topper (should he desire) as a labour tax. u can have the leftovers.

as for the fruit gatekeepers.... 

karu would throw the unpeeled thing back at your face. 

rei would contort his face in disdain at your pissbaby tolerance for pain and just go “boohoo cry me a river. peel ur own dam fruit” 

dante or kuya would give you 100 years jail. neither would dare imagine stooping to such servitude. no fruit for u.