#really pretty shots of solomon in this one which i appreciate

[t-u-i-t-c]

chapter xl

[nerdy-talks]

I agree with your opinion and thoughts about Solomon and him asking us to side with humanity... I love solomon, and his ideas and priorities are admirable, really! But I'm pretty sure his ways of execution to reach those ideals and fulfill his goals, for humanity to be seen as a race worthy to be seen as an equal, isn't the only plausible way.

Not to mention that humanity can still be seen as a strong race without us having to hover at each other's throats and without instigating into an all out war. We can still reach a middle ground through our peaceful and understanding approach. Like us giving the grimoire to Lucifer, man was seething at Mc out of worry and fear for his brothers, which was completely understandable, but us handing out the grimoire could possibly give us brownie points into regaining Lucifer's trust back. I'm pretty the MC isn't THAT stupid.

So maybe the MC's approach through peace and trust is better than any of other race's approach, which is guided by their own power, biases, prejudice and preconceived notions, etc...

And sure let's say that Solomon is 100% on our side, the way he acts with us sometimes could really tip off our perspective towards him from good to bad and vice versa. And this man has the balls to warn us about time paradoxes and shi when he chose to make a pact with Asmodeus early than supposed to... you're the strongest sorcerer... just use ur powers to kill the spider bro or summon Barbatos instead early on instead💀 (Lesson 7?)

I apologize for my late response, precious anon! Yesterday was a little hectic, so I didn't see your ask until now ^^"

But I have a LOT to say, so hopefully this long-winded reply makes up for the delay lol

Let me start by saying that I genuinely appreciate your insight and I also agree with you 100%

I feel like there's still so much that hasn't been revealed to us yet, especially regarding Solomon's past. I've already given my own theories thus far, but I am particularly curious why Solomon thinks that war is even a viable option. What makes him feel this way? What exactly caused the last war he fought pretty much on his own?

Potential Spoilers

What I do find interesting is the information we have been given, though.

In 9-A, some of those prejudices and biases are shown when Solomon ends up in what is clearly an illusion of sorts.

And personally... I would absolutely love to debate and counter all of these assumptions and misjudgments.

In comparison to demons and angels... humans may be more prone to illness, injuries, and death. But that's literally what makes us human.

Despite this, I argue that it does not make humans fragile or weak. We are resilient. We rebound and recover from all sorts of terrible experiences. We survive and overcome trauma. We suffer loss yet do our best to keep our heads up. We fight and push forward through life. We may be human, but we are not to be pitied or underestimated.

I also argue the point of humans needing angels to "protect" us. Yes, there are humans who believe in guardian angels because that is what many of us were taught growing up. Humans want to believe in an afterlife, of a peaceful paradise after this life.

But what about humans who don't share those same beliefs? What about tragic events that occur every day where humans end up dying through no fault of their own? What about humans who feel as though God has forsaken them for whatever reason, whether it be due to illness, loss, or other unfortunate circumstances that have negatively impacted them? For those humans, it seems like no angel is looking out for them or "protecting" them.

My first argument to this mindset : What could a demon possibly understand about a human's path in life? That's like us telling Diavolo how to run the Devildom. It's a topic we are completely ignorant of, therefore we have no business calling the shots.

Not only that, but every single human being is different and unique in their own way. While one path may be good for one person, it may be detrimental for the next person. Also.... I believe that sometimes, humans need to lose their way in order to grow and become wiser.

Speaking from personal experience, I became "lost" more than once to the point where I used to cry and wish that it was possible for someone to come save me from the pain I was experiencing at that moment in time. But even if a demon magically appeared and offered to lead me someplace where I'd be able to find happiness... I would be highly skeptical. What is their definition of "happy"? How do they know I even have a chance at finding happiness? Where exactly would they be leading me? What would they want in return?

For argument's sake, I will admit that I may take a demon up on that offer even now. But it would be out of pure curiosity, not because I actually think I'd be able to find happiness. Which leads me to my next point : demons deceive humans with sweet words in order to drag them into the darkness

I have heard this saying and similar ones numerous times before (Luke even said something along the lines of demons using honeyed words to get others to do their bidding), and I feel like it is perfectly accurate in this scenario too.

Diavolo would be promising a lost, confused, and more than likely desperate human the chance to be happy, and all they would have to do is follow him to some unknown place. Seems way too good to be true, in my opinion.

So that's not "helping" humans.... That's confusing them even more and leading them further away from their path in life (at least within the Human World, since it sounds like Diavolo would take them to the Devildom/Hell. Though I'm just speculating there)

Then in 10-A, it is revealed that this illusion was conjured up by "Nightbringer".

Side note : since this is where Barbatos sent Solomon when he teleported him, it makes me question if Barbatos has connections to Nightbringer... or is somehow Nightbringer himself?

Either way, I found this question interesting :

Solomon is convinced that we share his beliefs and viewpoints, that we'll agree with him and help him fight for the sake of humanity despite saying that he is "not trying to make an enemy" out of either demons or angels .... Which as Nightbringer pointed out, is an awfully overconfident statement to make.

I found this both interesting as well as funny.

Solomon is against demons and angels judging humans, yet he is acting like he knows us inside and out. Don't get me wrong, I love Solomon too. But isn't that a bit hypocritical?

He may have a very close connection/relationship to us, but he obviously doesn't know our heart well enough if he honestly believes that we would turn our back on the brothers and support the idea of a war against them.

As you pointed out, anon... Solomon's delusions beliefs definitely tip the scales when it comes to us wondering if he's genuinely on our side or if he has some kind of hidden agenda that he needs our cooperation with in order for it to come to fruition.

And I absolutely agree with you! I don't know if Solomon has become senile in his old age or what, but he really went out of his way to warn us about the dangers of potentially altering the present if we do or say anything untoward.... Yet he goes and makes a pact with Asmo WAY sooner than he was supposed to. Uh, Solomon? What's with the double standards, buddy?

I really hate to say this, but it honestly does make me question if he used the whole "time paradox" spiel as an excuse to precipitate a conflict with Diavolo, Lucifer, and the others... Because Solomon must have known that if any of them found out MC was lying to them or keeping secrets from them, they would react accordingly (and yes, understandably so).

The latter was pretty much proven already, considering Solomon arrived right on time to save MC from Belphie once the brothers found out MC is actually human, then immediately proceeded to take them to a place where he thought they would be safe. It almost seems like it was planned from the start, if you ask me.

Another side note : And let's not forget where Solomon brought us. He was conveniently in reach of a grimoire that could successfully control Lucifer. Who has been wanting to make a pact with Lucifer for a very long time? Solomon. So I'm curious to know if Solomon did indeed plan all of this. If not to start a war, then maybe to try to force a pact with Lucifer? Because Solomon obviously knew that Lucifer was going to pursue MC and himself, hence why he brought MC to the Reaper's Cave (to get a bargaining chip... AKA the grimoire)

Side Note Number 3 : I find it especially interesting that the brothers threatened Solomon to bring MC back safe and sound. Is that because they suspect he might be up to something, too? Maybe they're worried that Solomon may try to use this opportunity to appeal to MC and have them side with him to escalate a war in the past, and that's why they basically used the promise of bodily dismemberment if he doesn't return with MC in the same condition they both left in.

Anyway, onto the next very important part :

I firmly believe the peaceful and understanding approach is the absolute best way to prove that humans are just as formidable as demons and angels.

My main reason for this belief is in regards to something Lucifer said :

It was my own decision that precipitated the war.

MC knows the brothers better than anyone else. I'd even argue that at this point, MC knows the brothers even better than they know themselves.

MC can reach them in ways they aren't expecting, because MC can use their knowledge of the "present day" boys to properly handle them now. This has been shown numerous times already when MC helped them, encouraging them, and comforted them.

Even when MC gave Satan a few little tidbits about cats, it was a special moment between the two. MC knows that present!Satan loves cats, so they knew past!Satan would instantly be fascinated to learn more. Plus... What better way to quell the Avatar of Wrath's anger than an adorable, fluffy, purring little kitty? ^u^

MC also knew that Lucifer wasn't angry when he cast his spell and was lowkey threatening them. Instead, MC knew Lucifer was scared and worried about his brothers, that he didn't want to risk their safety because of some human who's intentions are currently unknown to him.

But I'm starting to get a little off topic here.... Let me go back to the statement Lucifer made.

It was my own decision that precipitated the war.

MC can choose to blindly follow Solomon and side with humanity like he asked them to do, which may potentially lead to a war between humans, demons, and angels.

Or MC can choose to do things their own way.

As I said before, MC knows the brothers better than anyone else. So MC can reason with them and help them understand that MC only wants what is best for them.... Because MC loves them and cares about them (whether that's romantically or in a familial way is up to you, but it still remains true regardless).

And if MC chooses to do things their own way, which I predict is what will happen especially after the whole grimoire incident.... if that choice means that MC will have to go through a series of trials and tribulations, overcome obstacles and hurdles, and use every ounce of energy and effort to find common ground between the three worlds while avoiding war at all costs.... Isn't that the perfect way to prove just how strong, driven, tenacious, and capable humans are?

MC can open the eyes of both angels and demons to exactly what they, a human, can accomplish through sheer determination and willpower.

It can also be a wonderful opportunity to show both Simeon (an angel) and Lucifer (a demon) that MC (a human) is able to accomplish what neither of them did.

It was my own decision that precipitated the war.

Lucifer made choices that resulted in war. MC can make choices to avoid a war.

Simeon regrets not speaking up back then, not reaching out and actively trying to get through to Lucifer. MC can do the opposite. MC can push and fight to prove their loyalty and dedication to the brothers, they can strive to enrich everyone's lives in a peaceful and nurturing way.

Knowing those two, I am absolutely positive that MC will unequivocally earn their respect this way if they choose this path. And if so... Not so weak and fragile after all, eh Simeon?~ ;D

Most importantly :

If MC makes their own choice to deliberately avoid a war/conflict because of their genuine love for the brothers, it will prove that being a human, demon, or angel is completely irrelevant when there is a mutual level of respect and understanding between two (or more) individuals.

Because let's face it.... We all know every one of the brothers is weak for us and will support us in any way they can. Even Mr. GrumpyPants Lucifer has a major soft spot for us. We just need to work towards rebuilding our relationships, strengthening our bonds, and reforging our pacts with them in this timeline.

But I'm sure MC will accomplish that, in their own way, on their own terms ^ᴗ^

[torihakaraublog]

Obey Me! NB "Revolution of the Stained Glass Flower" Pop Quiz Event

[Spoiler warning]

I admittedly got a bit burnt out putting together long event blogs, but I still would like to say a bit about the past three events!

The 'first' event was for NB's first anniversary. It was a pretty good event for such a thing. There was high stakes that had to be solved with good vibes basically. Got to spend time will all the characters as it should be for a main event.

The only thing I think could have been changed was instead of creating new good memories on the spot having a flashback moment to past events/memories. Tho I understand this could be difficult as everyone plays at a different speed/order. But it could be something general. (granted this was months ago so I might be wrong about what happened)

It was cute seeing everyone's ideal worlds.

Also have a tiny bit of beef with the ticket exchange... WHY DID ONE CARD WITH LOGIN TICKETS COST 1000 BUT A CARD WITH PULL TICKETS ONLY COST 100?!

Ended up with 3 Bel's, Beel, Baarbatos, Levi, Lucifer, Simeon, Solomon, and Luke. Rip: Asmo, Satan, Mammon , and Diavolo.

Obey Me! NB "The Rabbit's Maze Café" Pop Quiz Event

This felt kinda like a filler event. Half of it a group focus, the other half on a single character. Perfect for a Simeon main like me xD

Was fun working at a café for a bunny! Think the group for this was; Solomon, Luke, Simeon, Beel?? Can't remember who else was there??

Thought it was cute Beel was thinking about Asmo and bringing him here another time so I wanted to include the screen shot :3

Best part of carnival date with Simeon was getting matching bunny necklaces and him back hugging me in one of the rides. Simeon is so shy 🤭 sometimes (or I guess hesitant is a better word since hes an angel), but I know he wishes he could be bold.

Asmo Birthday Event! 🎂

Birthday events are back! Yay!

Overall I loved the event. Getting to spoil him :3 I even let him kiss me on his bed 😳

My only complaint, which is unfortunately always my complaint when Asmo is involved - kinder rejection options. Like IT IS possible to say no without being mean so why are the options so...ugh.

Really appreciated tho that you could win tokens on both regular levels and event levels 👌

[symphonicmetal101]

Would You Still Love Me If I Was A Worm?

Lucifer

- "....a worm?"

"Yes, Luci. A worm."

You leaned forward, awaiting his answer. He was a little disgruntled that you had interrupted his workflow with such a ridiculous question.

"I suppose you would cause less trouble that way. You wouldn't interrupt me nearly as often. As a matter of fact, I think I should turn you and Mammon into worms for the sake of keeping you two quiet....so yes, I would love you even more as a worm." He shot you a small smirk and returned to his paperwork.

"Hey, I'm not that bad!"

Mammon

- "What kinda question is that, mc?"

"A question to which I would like an answer. Would you still love me as a worm?"

"I don't l-love you as a human! What makes ya think I would love ya as a worm?!....Hey, wait, are ya crying? I didn't really mean it ya stupid human...worm? I'm, uh, I'm sorry....I don't care what you are, you're stuck with me! I'm your first and ya better believe it!"

"YOU DIDN'T ANSWER THE QUESTION!"

"F-fine. I would l-love you, even as a worm."

"So you don't love me as a human?"

*You broke Mammon*

Leviathan

- "Yes."

He was still focused on the screen in front of him.

"Did you even hear me?"

"You realize I keep up with normie stuff every once in a while, right?"

He knew it was just a prank, but he loved that you tried it on him.

Satan

- "Why is that on your mind?"

"I don't really know..."

"....would you still be able to talk? How would that work? Would you still understand me?"

You guys ended up having a very humourous conversation that ended in no definitive answer. >:( 😂

Asmo

- "Darling....no, wait, what? Why? A worm? Uhm, don't they spend most of their time underground? And they're all slimy right. HARD PASS." Asmo no likey. Until he sees your face. Whether you were acting or if your disappointment was real, he wasn't sure, and he felt bad.

"Um...well I guess a little soap and water could keep my beautiful skin from getting all slimy. If you were a worm MC, I would make you the cutest worm in existence!"

Beelzebub

- ".....yes? Do you want to be a worm? Is someone threatening to turn you into a worm?" At this point he put his sandwich down to face you with wide eyes. "Who is it?"

You can't help but smile.

"No, nobody's going to turn me into a worm...at least not to my knowledge."

"....if you were a worm, I'd do my best not to eat you."

Belphegor

- "That's what you woke me up to ask?"

"Yes, I can't sleep and I need to know."

"No, I wouldn't love you if you were a worm. I would feed you to Levi's fish. Now go to sleep."

After a few moments, you piped up again.

"You don't actually mean that...do you?"

His response is to hit you with a pillow square in the face, which, though it's muffled, you hear him say, "of course not....now shut up and go to sleep!"

Barbatos

- He knew you were going to ask the damn question hours in advance, yet he still had no response.

"Barb?....is that a no?"

"No."

?????

"Is it a yes?"

"For once, I don't know mc. I do not have an answer for you."

Diavolo

- "Of course! You'd still be my MC. And you wouldn't have any responsibilities, so I could bring you with me everywhere! I would have the finest terrarium built for you, so that you could live happily with me!" He turned to look at you with a gleam of curiousity in his eyes. "Why? Is this a customary thing humans ask each other? Does it have to be a worm, or can you use any animal? MC, would you still love me if I were a horse?"

You explain it's just a prank/trend on human social media. He's finds it funny, and you guys spend some time together before Barbatos can come and put him back on schedule.

Simeon

- "Of course! Although, I much prefer you as you are. Unless we both get to be worms."

"Really? You'd want to be a worm with me?"

"Again, given the choice, I would hope to remain as we are, however, if you really want to be a worm I would support you and join you if you wanted me to....wait, is this your way of telling me someone is going to turn you into a worm?" His voice shifts to concern. "If that's the case, then we should talk to Solomon to see if he would be able to...'unwormify' you." You laugh at the face he makes upon making up a word, and reassure him that it was purely theoretical, though you appreciated his concern.

Luke

- "A worm? Ok, which one of those terrible demons wants to turn you into a worm? If you were a worm, Beel wouldn't listen to me and eat all my food. If you were a worm, the brothers would never stop teasing me! You're not actually going to turn into a worm, right?"

You felt bad, because now Luke had pretty much attatched himself to you and it looked like he was near tears. You didn't have the guts to tell him it was just a prank.

"No...let's just go get some ice cream, ok?"

Solomon

- "Should I turn you into a worm so you can find out?"

"...no thanks."

"That's what I thought....though, I haven't cast that spell before..."

"YOU DON'T HAVE CONSENT!"

.....it turns out, he does love you, even as a worm.

Sorry, I'm working on getting better

Masterlist

[mxpseudonym]

Hungry For It

Pairing: Alfie x Reader

Gender Expression: Gender Neutral!

Summary: You finally coax Alfie into letting you please him like this, and you’re not going to let him hold back.

Length: 1342 words (allegedly)

Warnings: 18+, NSFW, cursing, dirty talk, deep throating/fallatio, “daddy” is used thrice, but this isn’t really a daddy kink situation... exactly

A/N: I’m so happy I could make this gender neutral so we all can be sluts for Alfie Solomons... together 🥺

--

"Breathe, darling." 

Fuck, you always forgot that part. You took a shaky half breath through your nose as he pulled you off. You looked up at Alfie with dark eyes peaking through damp eyelashes. For someone who had to be coaxed into this, he was doing quite well at ordering you about.  

You leaned back in for more, but Alfie held you with a firm first on your hair.  

"Ah, ah, treacle. Take a second, won't you? One of us has got to protect that pretty throat of yours, yeah?"  

Alfie nods to a glass of water off to the side then looks at the ceiling. He had to collect himself every now and again.

"Ain't a youngin' anymore, y/n," he said. 

Not that you minded. You were in your apartment, and yet Alfie dominated the space. He was big and brawny, and nothing, not even him sitting naked in your kitchen chair like this, made him any less intimidating. 

You took a sip from the glass while looking him over from your place on your knees between his legs. 

What a man. 

Alfie was a hairy, heavily tattooed man with muscles and a limp leftover from the war. He scared most people, your friends included. Yet, there wasn't a day you didn't want to be between his thick thighs one way or another. And that cock. Oh yes, it was what you were here for. It was thick and on the longer side. It made you drool just thinking about it. 

Alfie's experience and ability alone made you want to earn his one release. 

When Alfie let you, you swirled your tongue around his tip, taking a moment to appreciate the salty precum beading at the top. You took him in your mouth, bobbing a few times before taking it all. Your tongue laid against the underside of his shaft, opening yourself up to take more. You took a breath through your nose.  

Alfie rutted into your mouth.  

"Shit," he growled at the feeling. 

This was new to him too. He never wanted to hurt you. He'd rather have harm come to himself than have that happen. But you moaned so desperately around him just when he did something he thought was too far. 

Your mouth was hot around him, and the back of your throat massaging his head was bringing primal sounds out of the baker. You felt him get harder and twitch while he was inside of you. It made you feel good, accomplished, like working hard to please him was paying off. You wanted to stay down on him for at least a twenty count, and you were just about there.  

Alfie let you up again, and you felt determined. It took a few asks, serious talk about precautions, and a set of rules to even make Alfie comfortable enough to do this with you. This was your third "session," and he loved it too, but you wanted him to stop holding back. You knew that Alfie had it in him to be a little mean. Spit dripped down Alfie's balls as you gasped for air. You took him in your hand and started stroking him steadily.  

"Look at you, you're just a messy little harlot, ain't ya?" Alfie chuckled, his words still breathy. Desire shot straight to your lower belly at the filthy talk, and you loved it. That was something Alfie had picked up quickly. "Let's see it."  

You looked up at him as a sniveling mess. Your face was all hot, and tears stained your cheeks. Your lips were a bit swollen and puffy now too. Alfie almost came right then. His disbelief led to him laughing and shaking his head at you.

"Fuckin' hell, you're hungry for it, ain't ya?" He asked, grasping his cock at the base in his hand. You licked your lips, unable to take your eyes from it.  

"Yes, Sir," you said, amused at Alfie's smirk. You were still trying out names for him. Boss, captain, master- none had turned him on yet, but you'd find it. You always did. Alfie rubbed his head over your lips until you were whining in desperation. "Please let me have your cock, Alfie."

Alfie slowly wrapped his fingers around your chin in a firm grasp.  

"You got a filthy mouth," Alfie said, his voice lower now. You moaned, looking up at him. This was it. This was Alfie Solomons taking the lead. He brought two fingers from his other hand up and wet them in his mouth before bringing them to your lips. Your eyes widened a bit, but your mouth dropped open with no hesitation.  

Alfie Solomons slid his thick fingers over your tongue. You sucked on them, giving it your all even though he certainly knew what you were capable of. A moan left you when Alfie prodded even farther. He was force-feeding you his fingers, pushing in and out, prepping you for the real thing. His thick fingers pressed further into your mouth, making your eyes watered again. You groaned around his fingers, never breaking contact until he pulled out.  

"Filthy little whore indeed," he said. To your surprise, Alfie wiped his hand on your cheek, and you felt your arousal spike.  

"For you, daddy," you agreed. 

There it was.  

Alfie's eyes darkened at the word. Daddy. You supposed he was a caretaker, couldn't do a damn thing without his heart being in it.  

"All I want is your cock. Can you fuck my mouth, daddy?" You asked, spurring him more even through your sniveling. 

You opened your mouth with a moan, and Alfie took in a breath. If you weren't the most beautiful creature he'd seen, he wasn't sure he'd ever lay eye on whatever was better.  

You were on his cock again, and you made sure to let him know how much you wanted it. You hummed around him and moaned, earning grunts from your burly man. You swallowed him for your twenty counts but pulled back, only to take a full inhale before going back in.  

"That's it, darling. Take all of me, love," Alfie encouraged through clenched teeth. 

He watched himself disappear into your mouth again, only to be released slicker and wetter than before. Alfie was almost lost in a trance when you put your hand over the one he used to cup your head. You motioned that you wanted him to push your head down, to guide you. You wanted him to fuck your throat as well as you knew he could.  

"Fuck," Alfie all but shouted as he gave in. 

He pulled you off of him, and you were almost disappointed until you saw he was simply adjusting in the chair. Closer to the edge, he could effectively thrust into your throat while moving your head down onto him. 

You could hear the sloppy squelches and feel the saliva slipping down your neck. You gagged every now and then, which only encouraged Alfie. The caring man found himself letting go a bit. He trusted you just as much as you trusted him. If you needed the back away, you'd slap his thigh three times like you agreed. Until then, your jaw slacked, and your hands gripped his muscular thighs as he thoroughly fucked you. 

This was perfect. This was everything.  

Alfie's grunts got louder until he pulled you down entirely on his cock. Your nose squished against his pelvis, and he rutted into your throat deeper still, sending rope after rope of his come down your throat. You gave a loud guttural moan before he released you.  

You took audible, ragged gulps of air while grounding yourself. The exhilarating outcome of teasing Alfie had left you a bit lightheaded. You looked up at Alfie, though, and he only chuckled. He patted your head softly. 

"That what you wanted?" 

You only moaned and nodded. You felt a little used and overall happy. Alfie grabbed a cloth and cleaned your face then pushed you towards the bed.  

"Good, now let's see you strip, treacle. I want to taste ya."  

[ruewrites]

Thrones are Built on Lies Chapter 11: Cracks in the Surface

AO3

Ship: Solomon/Asmo, Diavolo/Lucifer

Word Count: 4075

Warnings: None

A/N: We gettin closer to the coronation babyyyyyyy! As always, comments are appreciated! If you wanna reach out and talk or invade my inbox as well you are more than welcome to!

Prev

Next

Solomon had never cooked by himself before.

Solomon had never been in a kitchen before.

When you were royalty you didn't need to cook for yourself, you had people to do it for you. So here he stood, in the kitchen, when no one else was around, staring down the vastness in front of him. He clapped his hands, illuminating the kitchen and grabbed the first pot he saw.

Cooking couldn't be that hard right? All you had to do was mix some things into a pot and hold them over a fire. Easy.

Rummaging through the cupboards and pantry was an interesting adventure. Solomon was familiar with some of the foods and spices, but others were completely foreign to him. He did manage to find the beef which he grabbed in two handfuls to throw into the pot. Surely that was enough right? Now that his hands were sufficiently covered in residue, he went towards the vegetables and spices.

Honestly, this cooking this was rather fun. Perhaps he could start doing it more often. It might give him more points with his new family. He could be alone with his thoughts and the sound of the knife hitting the cutting board below him.

Which reminded him, he needed to find a blacksmith. Surely there must be one in the main hub.

Solomon only added water when he realized that the food may burn after it sat in the pot for a while. It tasted fine from what he could tell, and he was contemplating eating some of the food when he heard someone come down the steps.

"What are you doing?" Asmodeus asked, gracefully descending the staircase into the kitchen, "It's so late."

"I could be asking you the same question," Solomon smiled, lifting a bit of his creation to his mouth with a ladle.

"I was actually on my way to see you, but I wanted to check to make sure Beel wasn't about to sneak anything from my wedding."

"Our wedding."

"You're acknowledging it's yours now?" Asmo's voice came out a bit shocked, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Of course, it is ours is it not? As for what I'm doing, I figured I'd try my hand at cooking to earn a little more favor with your family," he turned back to the pot, stirring it a little more, and scratching along the bottom to unstick some of the food.

As he did so, Asmo's slender arms snaked around his waist and his head rested gently on his shoulder. It wasn't like his vice grip grasps in the past. Thus one was gentle and, dare Solomon say, fond. His old self would be surprised to see himself relaxing into Asmo. His old self would have never pictured him this comfortable in another's grasp.

"It is ours," Asmo said softly, gently squeezing Solomon's waist. Solomon found his free hand moving downward to squeeze one of Asmo's. Slowly he brought the ladle from his pot up to Asmo's mouth, and his pretty lips opened to accept his offer.

Then he started sputtering. Arms quickly let go of Solomon's waist as Asmo turned away from him.

Solomon turned quickly on his heel to pat Asmo's back, "Did you choke?"

Yes, it was a dumb question. He realized that as soon as the words left his mouth. Of course he was choking. Was he really that poor at social interactions? He was a scholar, a great king, an incredibly intelligent man, and all he could come up with was 'Are you choking?'.

Spoken like a true gentleman. One that fell face first down a mountain only to be attacked by wild beasts that is.

"No," Asmo weezed, "What the hell did you do?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Solomon, darling, are you trying to poison my family?" he gestured towards the pot with disdain and attempted to right himself, "That is nowhere near edible! Did you eat that?"

Solomon blinked a few times, staring at Asmo as he pulled away, glaring up at him. He wasn't really sure how to respond. Surely it wasn't that bad. "I did, are you sure you're not overreacting a little bit?" he asked.

"Over-? No! Are you serious? You ate it?" Asmo gasped, grabbing at his arm, "I'm not even sure the meat is cooked through properly! Well now I'll have to stay with you for the night and take you to one of our healers!"

"But I feel fine," Solomon frowned, as Asmo tugged on him, "Why were you looking for me this late anyways?"

Asmo stopped for a moment before letting go of him in favor of cleaning out his pot instead. "Well, I was hoping I might be able to spend some time with you. I've heard your sleep schedule is terrible and I figured I could visit your chambers."

Solomon moved closer so that their bodies were inches from each other, "That still doesn't explain to me what you want."

"Well I couldn't sleep," his voice came out in a similar fashion as when Azazel spoke to him. It set off small alarms in his mind.

What had he gone through?

"And I figured that perhaps I could-?"

"Something tells me your brother wouldn't be too happy with that," Solomon said, leaning against the counter on the other side of him. Their rooming situation hadn't changed from when Solomon first arrived till now, and he figured with how protective Lucifer was of his brothers that it wouldn't until either after the two of them were joined or until Lucifer trusted him. The latter was a long shot and, at the moment, seemed like it would take more time than what Solomon possessed in a lifetime.

Asmodeus frowned. His eyes darted back and forth, trying to think of an excuse that might work, but the longer he thought about it the more he realized that he was right. "He wouldn't have to know," he tried to reason, "Diavolo might be able to talk him down."

"And if he can't?"

"Don't think about it."

Solomon could have laughed. Stubborn was a good word to describe Asmodeus. He knew what he wanted, and he wasn't going to give up easily. In that way, the two of them were similar. He couldn't even be mad when he felt himself give in.

"Alright then," as he spoke, Asmo perked up, "What is it that you wanted to do?"

"I wanted you to hold me," Asmodeus responded quickly, "I just, want you to touch me, just for a little bit. So perhaps you could come back to my room with me?"

Asmo went to grab his hand once more and gently tugged him towards him. His fingers brushed against the silky, flowy fabric of Asmo's night attire.

Solomon allowed him to tug him towards the staircase and down into the caverns. Asmo's room wasn't what he'd been expecting. Flowers and vines neatly crawled up his bed and to his canopy. Moonlight seeped into the room, illuminating bits of the bed and the floor. He stripped himself of his shirt, realizing that it had gotten a little dirty in the process of his cooking adventures, and slung it over the chair in front of Asmo's bureau.

When he looked up, he saw that Asmo's eyes were on him, tracing every line on his body. "You have a lot of markings," he commented, lounging on his mattress. He shifted a bit as Solomon settled next to him and once more let Asmo pull him closer. "Do they mean anything?"

Solomon waited for Asmo to cling to him first before touching him. He probably wouldn't be heading back to his room tonight, not with the way Asmo was clinging to him. It was almost like he was afraid Solomon would disappear if he let go. So, he slung his arm over the smooth curve of Asmo's hip. "They're runes. Ones that I've found interesting from books I've read."

"There's so many of them."

Solomon shuddered as Asmo slowly traced along one of the inked paths. It reminded Solomon of how he traced the runes back in the cavern. His own hands wandered up and down Asmodeus' back and along his hip, encouraging him to snuggle closer.

Warmth.

It was the only thing he could think of. It spread from his core and along every spot Asmodeus touched him. He swore he was in some sort of trance.

"You're always so cold," Asmodeus murmured, "I don't understand why, you're always wearing long sleeves. I thought you'd be warm."

"You're always warm," Solomon yawned, "And soft. It's very calming." He felt Asmo's hands trail from his chest, over his shoulders, and to his back and his long lashes fluttered against him. He flushed, feeling a bit hotter than normal.

Crickets chirped outside and the occasional hoot of an owl resounded in the distance.

"This is nice," Asmo murmured.

It was nice.

***

"Did he say how long it would take to get done?"

Simeon and Luke had both accompanied him into town. Luke trotted behind, scurridly writing down time stamps and what had been done at those times.

"Hopefully not too long," Solomon twisted a ring on his finger, "I'd really like to get it to him as soon as I can. Before the coronation, preferably."

If the universe would have the smallest bit of pitty on him, he would be able to present Asmo with the gift under the stars a few nights from now. It would be a proper way to give it to him, and an acceptable form of an apology. He just needed things to go smoothly.

Simeon kept his stride, not even daring to fall behind him. He could feel him analyzing him, looking over his motions in order to come to a conclusion. "I think he'll enjoy it."

How did he always know?

"How are you holding up back there Luke?" Simeon turned his head to look at his apprentice.

"I would like to slow down, it's hard to write and walk!"

"And that is why you're practicing now."

Luke huffed under his breath and Simeon craned his neck to look over the notes. He always enjoyed seeing where he could offer praise and note where he could improve. Solomon realized that Simeon had been doing nearly the exact same thing to him here in Arcadia. Had he intended to coach Solomon on how to be a good husband?

Sneaky.

Solomon sat down on the steps of the palace, not quite ready to return inside. It had been a while since he just enjoyed the sunshine, and the weather was perfect. New days, new beginnings. It felt as if he’d had two new beginnings since being here, and he was sure these wouldn’t be his last.

Soft warm hands laid over his eyes, and soft breath caressed his ear, “Guess who.”

Luke made a retching noise as Solomon reached for his hands, “Asmodeus of course. Those hands would be hard to not recognize.”

Laughter surrounded him as Asmodeus moved to sit next to him. He set a few pictures down in his lap. Simeon patted his shoulder as he passed them. He wouldn’t stick around when Asmo came and take time away from the two of them bonding, especially not when they’d been getting along rather well recently.

“Mammon said he saw you heading out to the market this morning, so I waited for you to come back.”

Oh his smile was contagious.

“I wasn’t even aware he saw me,” Solomon said, not minding when Asmo decided to scoot a little closer, “What had you waiting for me to come back?”

“I’d always wait for you to come back,” Asmo leaned in and his soft lips brushed against Solomon’s cheek, “But, I did want to show you my attire for our wedding.” He fingered through the papers on his lap, pulling out one from the center of the pile. It wasn’t quite a suit, but it wasn’t a dress either. It was pretty, and Solomon caught himself slipping into thoughts of how lovely it would look on him.

“I based it off my mother’s dress, I remember that I used to love looking at it.” Solomon had never heard Asmo sound so whimsical. He was somewhere else, and Solomon wasn't entirely sure where he went.

"I've never heard you talk about your mother before."

Asmo's eyes lit up, "Oh she was wonderful. She's the one who taught me how to sing. Don't tell my brothers, but I think she was the best mother."

"You all had different mothers?"

"Well, for the most part. Lucifer and Satan shared one, she was the queen, and then the twins and Lilith shared one," Asmodeus traced his wedding attire as he spoke, carefully and ever so precisely, "I don't think any of them got along well, each of them wanted us to be father's favorite even if Lucifer was the crown prince. But they only stayed in our lives up to a certain point, if they hadn't died in childbirth."

Solomon remembered his mother and his father. They'd both done their jobs and molded him into the ruler he was supposed to be, but he hadn't been ripped from them by another person. "I'm sorry."

It was all he could say, and he hated it.

"It's nothing you had any control over. At least I have memories."

He'd been so excited to show Solomon his plans and to continue their planning, but now the mood was completely changed. With hesitant motions, Solomon reached over to touch his hands, "What do you remember?"

"Her voice," Asmo started, "And the way she held me when she sang me to sleep at night. I remember her taking me to see when the twins and Lilith were born. I remember her explaining that Belphie was sick. I used to always want to help take care of him, and I still do even if doesn't want much to do with me as of late. I also remember how she used to kiss my forehead and tell me how everything would be okay. That I was perfect, no matter what father said"

Asmo sunk into Solomon, looking down at his lap as they sat together. Asmo played with his hand, flipping it around in his own, training along his fingers, and squeezing. "I miss being touched like that, feeling safe in someone else's arms."

Was he meant to hear that? Solomon almost missed his words. Carefully, he slipped the papers out from under Asmo's hand and looked over the designs. "I bet she would have loved to see you in this. I didn't know her, but I think she'd be proud."

Asmodeus squeezed his hand a little tighter and it made Solomon relax. The words had felt awkward tumbling from his lips. But luckily it seemed like he'd said the right thing. "If yours looks this wonderful, I'm excited to see what mine will look like," he continued.

***

They weren't the only two scrambling to get preparations done. Servants were running inside and out decorating the palace for Lucifer's coronation, under Barbatos' watchful eye. He'd been seeing more and more of the crowned prince's stressed expression as he, Diavolo, and Azazel had been spending much of their time in the main hall. Azazel had assured him in passing that they would still have time for their regularly scheduled meetings, but they hadn't been lingering on Solomon's mind as of late.

He had other things to focus on.

He also had some internal things to sort out.

His opinions and feelings surrounding Asmodeus had started to change. That much was evident. Yes, he was still high energy and hard to keep up with at times, but he was also incredibly kind hearted. Solomon had always been physically attracted to him, that hadn’t changed. Something else had started to bubble up inside of him though. It was a feeling that was unfamiliar to him. It started in his core and spread up into his cheeks and made his chest tighten.

He didn’t dislike it, but it was a new feeling, one that reminded him of how Asmodeus felt.

“Mammon, sit still.” Azazel’s voice was harsh, but the sound of the wooden rod swishing at Mammon’s shins was harsher. He yelped and pulled his legs out of the way and straightened his posture. All of them had been lined up in the main hall. Despite having his own seat, Azazel was wandering up and down the row, eyeing up each of them. As soon as Mammon had been reprimanded, he couldn’t help but note how Levi had scrambled to fix his own posture. The room was tense, and Solomon was trying to keep his own composure.

Who would have known that a coronation rehearsal would be so intense. His coronation rehearsals hadn't been this strict. Then again, Solomon was also an only child.

Asmo’s fingers twitched as he stole glances towards him. Touch meant something to Asmo, and Solomon knew he wanted to touch him. If only he could indulge him in this moment.

“This coronation will be a momentous occasion. Not only will the crown be passed on to Lucifer, but it will also be the precursor to a new kingdom joining us. We are putting the end to an era, and entering a new age,” Azazel placed his hands on the back of Solomon’s chair, a wide grin spread across his face, “It’s a time for celebration. I think it’s also fair to say we could allow ourselves to loosen up a little.” His gaze glanced towards Belphegor and then to Asmodeus, his smile faltering, “But I expect you to look like the strong rulers you are, even if adjustments need to be made.”

Asmo flinched, but Azazel moved away from him and towards Belphegor, “This also meant that you shouldn’t wear your mourning attire. It’s a joyous occasion! Act like it.”

“Says you, I say when I’m done mourning.”

All eyes shifted down towards Belphegor, who was refusing to look at Azazel.

“Your father would want you to enjoy the moment.”

“My father is not the one I’m mourning,” he snapped, “Since all of you have forgotten, Lilith is still dead.” He threw a pointed look towards Asmodeus, “But I suppose I’m the only one who cares that our little sister is gone.”

Silence pierced the room. Lilith hadn’t been brought up all that much since Solomon had been there, and he hadn’t really brought it up. It was like glass, and every time her name had been mentioned, a long crack appeared in the smooth surface.

“Just like the youngest of the family to get hostile when he’s told that he can’t do what he wants,” Azazel’s tone was even but filled with venom. Each word had been punctuated.

A little bit of life flared into Belphie’s eyes as he stood up. Honestly it had been the most alive that Solomon had ever seen him. He stood face to face with his uncle for a moment, before turning briskly and leaving towards one of the corridors.

“And just where do you think you’re going?”

“Somewhere where the memory of my sister won’t be insulted.”

The door slamming echoed through the room and ended the conversation. Beel went to follow but Azazel cut him off, “You’re not going anywhere. He can throw his temper tantrum on his own.”

“Actually, I think we should end here today. Productive practice will not come from a situation like this,” Lucifer stood and Diavolo followed, looking a bit more concerned, “We can continue tomorrow.”

Azazel nodded curtly, but Solomon could tell he was struggling to hold his tongue, “As you wish.”

Asmodeus also went to stand quickly, he’d been so focused on Belphie and Azazel’s confrontation, that he hadn’t noticed that Asmodeus had turned away. Solomon felt that he should have followed him, he wanted to follow him, but Azazel caught his shoulder.

“My brother wasn’t happy with them for a reason,” he growled, “Of course, they all have their little flaws, but I have no doubt they would have ruined the crown if they’d been allowed to interact with him too much. It only takes one bad egg to ruin the bunch.” His gaze wandered over towards Diavolo who tried to strike up a conversation with Asmodeus and a few of the remaining brothers to try and lighten the mood. Beel was missing.

“I told him the twins should have been separated as well, he would be so disappointed to see how soft his descendants are becoming. Hard work is going down the drain.” Solomon barely felt Azazel let go of him, and he almost didn’t realize that he left. He was standing alone from the group, he felt like a stranger again.

Until Diavolo looked at him. He offered him a smile and waved him over, and those feelings started to ebb away. He couldn’t help being drawn into the group with Diavolo’s charismatic smile.

“I can’t believe it’s almost time, it’s like the days didn’t even exist,” he said as Solomon took his place near Asmodeus.

Lucifer nodded in agreement, “Life had seemed to go rather quickly lately.”

“And all of your brothers are going to play their own parts,” Diavolo brought their attention towards Asmodeus, who seemed to perk up a bit from earlier, “And Asmo will be singing, just in case he hadn’t told you.”

“I was going to tell him,” Asmo hummed, “I just hadn’t found the right time yet.”

“And he hasn’t heard you sing yet,” Diavolo shot a look to Lucifer who nodded.

“You are correct, he hadn’t heard you sing Asmodeus.”

Solomon had never seen Lucifer look this calm this close up. He was almost afraid to ruin the moment by speaking. Perhaps Diavolo did have some sort of magical abilities, but he did admire their relationship.

Maybe it was possible for good things to happen in arrangements like this.

Maybe he’d been a little too pessimistic in his views.

His eyes shifted back towards Asmodeus, who was already looking to meet his eyes. A soft finger went to interlock with his own. “Look at you two, putting so much pressure on me.”

“Yeah, if ya flub up, you might lose your fiance and embarrass yourself in front of all sorts of people,” Mammon cut in, poking at Asmo’s nose.

“Oh puh-lease, you should be focused on making sure none of your golden decorations are dull. No one likes underwhelming decorations,” Asmo bounced back quickly. He was witty. Perhaps it came with the territory of growing up with so many siblings, but Solomon still liked it nonetheless. It was endearing, and added to the growing list of things that Solomon had started to enjoy about him.

“Oi! I make sure none of my babies are ever dull! You watch your tongue!”

“And my voice hadn’t failed me yet, so maybe you should watch yours.”

His mother had been a singer too.

Had he learned from her?

Or was it something he picked up to carry her with him.

Regardless, music must have been important to Asmo. Solomon was positive that he would sound perfect. If he had learned anything about his fiance in the time he’d spent here, it was that he strived to be perfect. After all, he’d done so much to garner Solomon’s attention, even when he hadn’t been there for him, even when he’d been terrible. He still promised Solomon perfection, promised that Solomon would fall in love with him.

Maybe he was right. Maybe Solomon was falling in love with him. From the way he went to cover his mouth when he laughed to the way his eyes crinkled upwards ever so slightly when he smiled. He had a wonderfully melodic laugh, one that Solomon could listen to for hours. He was witty in his responses and graceful in his motions.

He’d still hold him later when he asked. Solomon had seen how bothered he was during Azazel and Belphegor’s confrontation, and Solomon wouldn’t mind helping him take his mind off of the entire situation.

After all, he was trying to be better for Asmodeus, because he deserved better.

For the first time since coming to Arcadia, Solomon genuinely felt like he belonged.

For the first time in his entire life, Solomon thought that he might be falling in love.

[thessaliah]

Reading this lostbelt, from Pepe's viewpoint and issues, and how he described the Crypters. It makes me uncomfortable that FGO is trying to validate privilege and trying to cast the victims of the privileged ones (PHH) as "bad" because they tell them to go fuck themselves and flipped the roles. Or are "good" because accept being destroyed (fucking erased) to validate the "better" (privileged) history. It felt like that from the beginning but Pepe's thoughts nailed this sickening feeling.

I was going to do my character meme answers, but so much THIS. I don't think Nasu thought over this pretty well (or he doesn't care because status quo-sticker), or he took so long his work isn't going to age well in the current context people are more aware than ever about this "competition" between humanity which is absolutely abhorrent and unjust. Even when presenting a side as "hopeless" for their growth, that sounds like you're making excuses to trample it for your benefit, like a typical privileged person would ignore those who rot on the sidewalk.

This is the funny thing. The entire situation as you point is like some of those pariahs said no more and decided to take over with the corpses of their oppressors. Panhistory to validate themselves created the Prunning Phenomena and can't take heat from the consequences of their very system generated? The rich side of this is that all those billions who disappeared actually to validate their existence in the first place set this system that originally walked on the corpses of many untold erased timelines. Because resources were limited (sounds familiar?) only a scant number of timelines could be kept. And this very cruel system was wished unconsciously by humanity itself. Nasu even compared what Humanity is doing to itself to what Goetia did in his booklet of Lostroom as if to frame what is the cause. Crypters, Lostbelts, the "God"? Thematically, they are victims and pariahs who got left behind. They aren't the "aggressors" that shot first. There’s a reason why the theme is revenge and payback of those who were down and stood again. Nasu’s not talking about Panhistory or Novum Chaldea.

Of course, is perfectly good and dandy to have Novum Chaldea look for the survival of them and their Panhistory, but it's not sitting well with me to take them as heroes at all, unlike Part 1. In part 1, the enemy had a problem with suffering, but the suffering caused by death and terminus, which was more a natural consequence of being human that could be delayed but is something nobody denies exists and must be accepted. It was a palatable approach of a Solomon who experienced a mortal life and the system Solomon left behind which took an exclusive "god" viewpoint unable to sympathize until he tasted mortality.

Part 2 meanwhile the core of the problem is that injustice and gap between loser and winners, and it seems to push for us to accept it can't be helped, humans are like this when is a dangerous complacent "Let the better ones eat you, pariah" sour aftertaste. It's also very dangerous because while there's no "pruning phenomena" in real life, there is across history the whole silencing the loser and oppressed by the winners, trying to wipe them out for their own glory and benefit. There's no point to wish fight fact or reform. Novum Chaldea being a passive tool to defend the way Panhistory has conducted itself with rare exceptional "no this waifu/this loli/cute animal" moments don't cut it for me to see them as good. It makes me feel dirty. They never made an effort to do anything but react too unless a said article to protect is at stake. It's increasingly hard to associate or sympathize with them over someone like Kirschtaria Wodime, whatever you think of his plan, he is the only one who made an effort to try to change the odds while embracing hope humanity inherent goodness will carry them out for a better future, better order, better results. While Chaldea's weak arguments against him could be summed up in Holmes' cynical view of how humanity won't change and will always be like that and suffer (which is again a reminder of "don't try to do anything, go with the flow" to suppress revolution and reformers). The arguments were so feeble that the one that stopped him isn't Chaldea, but Beryl's betrayal.

I understand fully the extraordinary context and circumstances of what happened, and what was lost, but those people who disappeared, they also wove a system that did the same to others. It's just an unfortunate plot to me. Nobody denies Kirschtaria was willing to accept the loss of Panhistory (even though if he could, he would have saved those people too) out his inability to save them with his limits, but N. Chaldea is perfectly willing to accept the loss of other lives too (although they also feel bad), are they less worthy? And while Kirschtaria’s passively accepted the loss of Panhistory (because none of the Crypters directly had to do with its blanching), Chaldea is actively now doing the Pruning System work in pulling the plug on others. Not just the Lostbelts but to restore Panhistory is accepting the way it works and how many it destroys. Instead of taking a bet to try something new, in the long run, maybe create something better. Both sides demand terrible sacrifices, but only one is coming with a solution to try and fix what is broken. The other side is just putting a band-aid and pretend is fine.  I don't know if Nasu is going to end it in a satisfying way. Because he's not one to overhaul this system and he maintained since FSN: "the seat of happiness are limited" as if was a natural and desirable message.  

On the other hand, he did say that Kirschtaria's ideals are the most perfect even among "all legends of TM" and that his goal was objectively beneficial for humanity. Even one of the game options lets Guda comment that his idea is desirable, but... (doesn't want to forsake Panhistory... although Panhistory ironically has no problem to destroy and wreck other timelines to keep their flawed Consensus -> what isn't discussed, huh).

I think Nasu wanted to make this about survival instead of good vs evil, which was fine up until Kirschtaria came up with an idea of revision/reform the Human Order instead of proposing something based on survival of a lifestyle because he wanted to minimise the suffering. Which Chaldea poorly answered. At heart, by trying to smooth over humanity’s need to compete with each other by closing the gaps of how they started (and even them), wouldn’t that also affect the Pruning system which is based on this fierce competition of what is the best/ideal timeline consensus? Yes, of course, because that system reflects the present humanity mindset of competition to “survive” and divide themselves in winners and losers. In the long run, IMO, that would have been modified too. Kirschtaria doesn’t directly reference to it, but vaguely alludes to an answer humanity failed to reach which is linked to a lot of what’s happening too, including the “God.” Because Chaldea only had arguments for survival (to the point this is acknowledged by Kirschtaria’s description of what is defeat/victory for Chaldea and for Kirschtaria. To Chaldea, Kirschtaria says that their victory is survival, and to be defeated is to die; while Wodime’s defeat is that the Beast manifested and he couldn’t finish his plan). And business continues, as usual, I guess. It leaves a bitter taste when your supposed POV has no agency or drive to make any difference. It is frustrating! 

I know I was harsh with this, and I also appreciate how Guda and Mash still try to help the people who they see in danger in front of them, but is frustrating because at the same time they are doing things to make themselves feel better knowing they are here to wipe them out. Like, you know, giving a starving orphan a candy to make then happy and go behind their back and pull out the resources of the orphanage they’re in to let them starve to use that money to buy yourself food, something like that. Even if you know they really need that money to not starve themselves for the possibility they can rebuild different orphanages, would you still consider characters who do that the same heroes as part 1? Hard to say, right? 

“Far side is darker than Near side”, yes, but I think Nasu went a little too far. Because even if HF was dark, for example, I completely empathised with the difficult choices, while it’s harder now.

[bbnibini]

Hi! I really love your works but it gotten me curious if you also read fanfics? Do you have any fanfic recommendations?

Thank you, anon! That's really kind of you. 🥺💕 I do read fanfics, but not as much anymore. I'm assuming this ask is for Obey Me fics? But if not, I will include some of my absolute favourites in a future post. Fair warning: I gushed. A LOT hahaha. Please support the authors and their works! I included the fics in the hyperlinks~

NSFW fics are marked appropriately, so please click the links at your own discretion (some of them are in my public bookmarks in AO3).

Elle's Obey Me Fic Recommendations

🌸Your Coal by Angrish(LettuceBean)

Truth be told, I belong to the "forgive but don't forget camp" in lieu of what happened in Chapter 16; reading Angrish's YC and how their MC coped with the aftermath(+ how others coped along with them) felt really powerful, raw and so so emotional. It made me think and really think about how I processed the whole thing that happened. While it didn't really change my outlook on how I have forgiven Belphie for what he had done, Angrish shedding light to the unanswered questions and lingering doubts the main story have left most of its readers was done in such a thoughtful and poetic way that I found myself binge reading the whole thing.

Given that I read this whole coping with a lot of stuff as well (and may have contributed with sympathising a lot more to the vindictiveness of the MC), reading what Angrish had written was really cathartic. Their writing style is also beautiful--the way the words string together, simple, elegant, yet impactful really made MC's emotions a lot...tangible, real and sometimes, frustrating (in a good way, mind you). I also liked how they had fleshed out the other characters, especially Belphegor, Satan and the Purgatory Hall members.

🌸You'll Have to Ask Your Dad by DefenestrationProtestration

I remembered clicking on this fic because of the author's punny name, stayed for the pretty writing and reread a few several times for the characterisation and THE WRITING. I'm pretty sure I left a litany of praises and incomprehensible gushing on the comments section because of how much I've devoured this piece of art.

Even as I'm typing this review, I can't seem to organise my thoughts haha. You can tell by the writing style that the author had a lot of fun writing their prose; it permeates through the screeen...my "screen" of imagination at least. I am not joking--the writing is so pretty and vivid that I literally saw it as a movie in my head lol. I chatted with them a bit on the comments and they said the prose is more of something they had written subconsciously; it reminded me of James Joyce and how he had masterfully perfected the same technique. Of course, their writing styles differ a lot from each other, but I can see what they meant.

...as I'm typing this, I didn't realise how I haven't talked about the plot of the fic at all soz. This piece is the author's character study of Lucifer. It talks about how he was before, during and after the fall. He is a bit of an unreliable narrator, which I'm not sure if the author intended, but he has all these presumptions that miss the mark so so much, particularly at how his brothers, Lord Diavolo and the others perceive him--but reading the whole thing would make you understand why he had gotten to that kind of self-perception in the first place. And honestly? It really, really hurt to read. But was it bad? The total opposite of that, in fact! I loved how they had written the angst in this piece. So many things in the fic are "show, rather than tell" and I really really appreciate that.

Most of my brainrot about this fic is better to be explored on your own. Overall, 10/10: a definite, recommended read.

🌸Fairy Tales for the Fallen by indiavolowetrust

I haven't fully devoured all of the stories in the collection yet, but the ones I've read (Her Name Was Thousand Eyes is my favourite) was such a really good spin on dark fairy tales (Obey Me style!). It reminded me of my childhood Little Mermaid picture book for some reason. Probably the writing style(the author's writing reads a lot like a storybook) The one I had was Hans Christian Andersen's (aka the OG) version and the ending was rather...dark for a 5 year old lol. It was a big part of my life though and was probably the precursor for my affinity with sad stories haha.

🌸TieGuanYin by Taciturn

Like tea on a tiring day, Taciturn's writing style feels very homey, cozy and familiar. I love rereading this oneshot when I'm having a shitty day and imagining myself having tea with Barbatos haha. Ever had pieces of art or literature that just...relaxes you when you consume it? This one is one of my, as the youngsters say, "comfort fic" haha.

🌸glass half empty; glass half full by unagis

I love unagis' fics.♡ I also love her Childe fics. The concepts she comes up with, as well as how she delivers it is *chef kiss*. Admittedly, I read this one when I was still a Satan stan, with all the suspicions and doubts about Solomon's intentions still rampant within me. Reading him blush and become flustered is CUTE and aaaaa this whole fic is just really cute.🥺♡

🌸The Eternal Storm by @sondepoch

Sondepoch's Satan oneshot was the very first fic I read in the OM fandom so it has a special place in my heart~ I remembered how awkward it was to skim through the Satan filters, looking for a gen fic/SFW fic because around that time, most OM fics are smut (no shade on smut ofc, I'm just super uncomfortable reading them unless the writing is really pretty or there's something else going on in the story). Finding GEN AND A WELL-WRITTEN CHARACTER STUDY about my (former) favourite OM character was like I hit the jackpot. I remembered that feeling really well haha. My bias with one of my favourite forms of fic (char. study) aside, Sondepoch's writing is easy on the eyes and is definitely a great entry for anyone who wants to be in the OM fandom.

🌸Read Me by GENE515

One of my more recent reads and definitely worth a mention!♡ Read Me was a beautifully written, heartfelt two-shot about Lucifer's love, which he tried his best to express in penned words. Probably because of my own love letter-themed OM series, this one really stuck to me haha. The author is also really sweet. :3

🌸Schrodinger by fickleminder

I read this one around Halloween and it definitely fit the occasion. Schrodinger was such a great thriller/horror fic with how it set its unsettling atmosphere from the very beginning--the way fickleminder's writing just sucks you in and makes you bystand the whole ordeal between Belphegor and MC was just...so suspenseful? Nail biting? Creepy (in a good way ofc)? I won't spoil the ending, but the process and way they tackled it was a lot scarier than what I was initially bracing myself for.

🌸Siberia by @polandspringz

Seeing another Obey Me mystery in AO3 really hyped me up! Polandspringz did a spectacular job in writing this series and I can relate so much with their experiences in writing for mystery. Their writing style is easy on the eyes--I also really liked how they characterised the OM characters I have read on their series so far. There's still quite a lot of stuff left in speculation (from my most recent reading at least), and I really look forward to see how everything unfolds!

🌸Tetris Syndrome by apocketfulofposies (NSFW)

I am very very uncomfortable with smut content, so the smut I've read can be counted on one hand. ;; That is to say, TS is one of the few smut that I really, really enjoyed. First of all, Levi's characterisation is on point. It was really really interesting to get in his head and read about his thought process. What is envy? And how much does the sin of envy really define him?

I really enjoyed Levi's internalisations, as well as the author's writing style. If you want smut with a brooding, jealous otaku boy, I really recommend this one!

[lawyering-and-running]

Chapter 7 - Don't Shoot The Messenger

Alfie’s Bakery. Camden Town, London.

Nicole did not in fact sleep few just a few hours. She slept for 8. She startled awake suddenly to the sound of voices and footsteps approaching the office door. Shit, she definitely recognised them. Alfie and Thomas’ distinctive accents had already become far too familiar to her. Nicole’s first instinct was to hide, but a cursory glance over the room showed that this would not be possible. Alright, she thought, plan B, pretend I’m not here and maybe they won’t see me. No? Righty-o plan C, play it cool and run back to Birmingham as soon as possible. That one sounded best to her.

The door swung open, just as she rose from the sofa “Ah there she is! Shalom birdy! You really should look after your birds a bit better Tommy, right, because this one was planning on sleeping in a pile of hay.” Tommy’s cool blue eyes swept up and down her frame, the ice melting just a touch when he saw she was alright. “She’s free to make her own choices Alfie, especially considering she likes to think herself a bit of a businesswoman, ey sweetheart?” Before Nicole had the opportunity to answer what she was pretty sure was a rhetorical question, Alfie cut back in “A businesswoman! That is great, innit? Because you clearly are not a Peaky, from your lack of, well, ridiculous cap. So you can be the unbiased third party. Keep us honest right.” For some reason whenever Alfie opened his mouth, Nicole felt thrown off her game. With Tommy it was easy to battle wits, but with Alfie, everything was so unexpected. She glanced over at Tommy, unsure of what to do in the situation, the slight turn of his head indicated that he clearly also thought she should leave. They were finally in agreement then. “I appreciate your hospitality Alfie, but I think I should go.” “Nonsense, see Tommy here needs us to have this little sit down and make a deal. Now the only way I’m going to fucking have that little chat is if you’re there as well. So there isn’t really much of a choice, right.” Tommy sighed, he had heard stories about Alfie Solomons’…personality, but he had not quite expected this. Nevertheless, “Sit down sweetheart.” He sighed, and Nicole complied sitting in one of the big leather armchairs opposite Alfie with Tommy by her side.

Alfie reached into his desk pulling out a dark bottle “Well, rum's for fun and fucking, innit? So, whisky, now that...That is for business.” Moving to pour the amber liquid into three glasses until Tommy interrupted “Let's talk first, eh?” Alfie scratched his thick beard “Suit yourself.” Leaning back he continued “I hear that you are involved with policemen, and you see, I don’t like them. Cannot be trusted. Can they birdy?” turning towards Nicole. Again before she could answer Tommy interrupted her “Sabini also uses policemen, which is why he is winning your war in London and you are losing.” “Right and I was speaking to the little lady. Don’t be rude mate.” That pulled a smile from the girl, always nice when someone else also knocked Tommy down to size. With a cheeky smile she answered “Well Alfie, I’m not too big a fan of coppers. They get in the way.” Tommy shot her a glare that promised repercussions for speaking against him, but she just smirked back at him. “Nevertheless, Alfie you are losing.” “A war ain’t over until its over, mate. So don't come in here and sit there in my chair and tell me that I'm losing my war to a fucking wop.” Slamming his hands against the surface of his desk with a resounding bang; god, Nicole was regretting not just running out. What were they going to do? Stop her? She really did not want blood on her nice coat and this meeting was looking at becoming more and more violent by the second. “I say we join forces.” Nicole shot a bewildered look at the gangster next to her, first he insults Alfie and then he expects to form an alliance. Men really did not have any tact. But Alfie looked to be considering it! Honestly! What was wrong with them? “What do you think little bird?” Shit, this was probably not a good time to continue testing Tommy’s patience “I would…” Shooting a glance at the icy eyes boring into her “…want to know what his plan was?” “Mhm well mate, go on. Tell us your plan.” With a sigh of relief from Nicole, Tommy began detailing his plan in getting rid of Sabini once and for all.

It took another hour, until the men sealed the deal and a shot of whiskey was poured. Nicole had started tuning out as soon as the situation had de-escalated, this was well above her pay, and frankly she didn’t quite care. None of this involved her at the moment so it was not worth any effort. Although she did appreciate the shot of alcohol. “Now fuck off out of my office, mate. And you, don’t fly too far away birdy, I’ll be seeing you yeah.” That was enough for Nicole, she shot off through the office door and was already halfway through the factory when- “Nicole.” She stopped in her tracks. Tommy’s footsteps came closer, and a cloud of white smoke appeared from her right. Tommy also stopped beside her, taking in another drag before stubbing out the cigarette with his shoe. “Come along, I’ll give you a ride.”

Which is how she found herself sitting silently next to Tommy as he drove along the London roads in the direction of Birmingham. “So…” Nicole started, unable to take the silence any longer “That went well.” Tommy didn’t take his eyes of the road “You think so, eh?” “Well, this is the second meeting I’ve had with you where no one died. I think it’s going pretty well, and, as a bonus, you made a new friend. Sounds like a pretty good day to me.” He looked over at her from the corner of his eye, a small smile gracing his lips. “If that is your measure of a successful day then you really are not suited to being a businesswoman.” Nicole made an affronted sound “Maybe you should-“ “We also do not call it “Making a friend” Alfie is an ally.” “Right two things, one, the…tension, in that room would suggest differently-“ “Exc-“ “Ah ah ah, this brings me on to my second thing, stop bloody interrupting me! Don’t be rude.” Tommy’s mouth snapped shut, and in Nicole’s opinion this was the highlight of her day. Due to her lack of means Nicole had never had the opportunity to explore activities she enjoyed; up until now the only thing she enjoyed was running, but now, now she could safely add shutting Tommy up to her list.

It was silent for a few minutes before Tommy spoke up again “We’re making a stop along the way, I need you to deliver this card to a boy named Henry without anyone realising.” Handing over a little card with the Shelby’s watery lane address and telephone number on it. “Sure, that’ll be one shilling.” He gave a long-suffering sigh. He really did do that a lot, she thought, he could definitely use a dose of happiness. Despite his quiet complaints he flicked a coin into her lap. “Great, always lovely doing business with you. Do you have anything more than just a first name?” “You’ll be earning that coin, sweetheart. Don’t disappoint me.” They pulled up at the edge of a picturesque little village, the complete opposite of Birmingham. Without another word Nicole hopped out ducking behind a shed. This definitely was not the easiest delivery; the whole town was spread out with lots of sunny open spaces. She would have loved running through the fields on an ordinary day, but for her current task, it was not ideal. As a farmer walked past, she continued moving parallel to Tommy who was making his way towards a woman in front of a quaint little house.

Right, she decided, her target probably had something to do with the woman. She observed the house for a moment before she saw a brown-haired man peeking out of a window on the first floor. Considering Henry was a man’s name, and her target was probably in that house, she was guessing that this was Henry. Perfect, now to get into the house. She crouched down and crept towards the back of the house, out of view. There she saw an open window, gauzy curtains floating in the breeze. Taking a slight running jump she caught the edge of the windowsill, before pulling herself up so she could peer inside. Deeming the room empty she launched herself up and forward into the room, silent. She was inside in seconds. Nicole crept along the hallway to the room she’d seen the man in, looking through the keyhole she saw that the man was facing away from the door. Quietly, she slipped inside the room and crept up behind the man. In a split second, she had him pressed against the wall with a hand shoved over his mouth. “Shh. I am not here to hurt you, I have a message for a Henry. Are you Henry?” The man quickly nodded as they heard a woman’s raised voice from outside. She slipped the card into the man’s pocket “Message from Thomas Shelby.” Before the man could even think to yell or protest Nicole had already slipped back outside and was already sat in the car by the time Tommy made it back. “That was child’s play. Think my time went better than yours.” “You delivered the card to the boy in the window then.” “Yes sir. Think I might have scared him a bit.” “Sir? This mean you’re going to start respecting me again?” Tommy smirked “Oh yes my lord, I worship the earth on which you walk. How you bless me by letting me breathe the same air.” “Cheeky rat” but this time the name had no bite behind it, it was almost fond.

Birmingham

Another hour later Tommy dropped Nicole off outside of the Midland Hotel, before continuing on to whatever other important business Thomas Shelby had to attend to. “Oi up here Nic!” From the veranda of the second floor came Will’s voice, behind him was an open door to what she presumed was their new room. She bounded up the metal staircase, taking the step two at a time. Eager to be surrounded by her people again. Inside the room was a little kitchenette and seven bed rolls side by side, currently being used as a settee by the room’s occupants. “Hey Nic! Saw you stepping out of Thomas Shelby’s car, how very cosy.” Nina winked at her “Alright, alright. If you all must know he gave me a ride back after the meeting, which went very well, by the way, thank you for your concern towards my wellbeing.” Nicole bit back sarcastically. “You’re still alive and breathing, that’s good enough for us.” Nej laughed before carrying on “Never mind that, we bought a change of nicer clothes for our night out. Including a dress for you, get changed.”

Nicole went behind the curtain, taking off her prized coat and old clothes before unwrapping the bandage that kept her chest secure whilst running around. Relishing in the freedom and relief it brought, before putting on proper underclothes for the first time in years. She followed this by quickly putting on the dress, stockings, and shoes before walking back out from her spot to show the others. “It looks perfect on you!” exclaimed Nina as the others hollered at her. It really was lovely, the ruby red dress hit her at knee length and ended in a fringe of tassels that moved with every step she took. The dress was clearly pre-owned as a few of the gems lining the dipped neckline were missing, but it was still the nicest thing she had ever worn. At least besides the coat. “So where are we going first?” “We were thinking Marquis first, and then maybe we could see the brand-new Garrison.” With that the group set off down the street, out in the open for once instead of hiding in the shadows.

They entered through the double doors into the bustling Marquis, the lads immediately making their way to the bar to get them a round of drinks whilst the rest of them found a table to sit. The pub was absolutely packed with more than half of the customers already drunk and the other half making a valiant effort to get plastered. Which suited their groups’ plans just fine. The lads returned with a whole bottle of brown rum and a stack of shot glasses, perfect for a good time. “Alright ladies drinking game time, I think we’ll start off with Categories.” Cheered Jaspar, handing out filled glasses. “Let’s start easy, animals.” They went around the group “Cat” “Dog” “Bird” on and on, the animals quickly becoming more exotic. The kinds they had heard about whilst hiding out in the school but would never see in real life. That was until Will slipped up and said “Marmamillo.” “What on earth is that?” laughed Nina “You know the small thing with armour on its back.” “Oh no mate, I think you mean Armadillo. Maybe you were paying too much attention to one of the boys in the class to listen carefully, drink up!” The played the game until there was only enough rum left for one shot, all of them having become rather drunk.

“Next category is…Shelby family members” Said Nej, smirking at Nicole. Their words had all started to slur a bit as each of them became more and more inebriated. “What? What are you looking at me for?” “No reason hun, none at all.” They started clockwise again, “Arthur Shelby” “John Shelby” “Ada Shelby” “Polly Gray” then it was Nicole’s turn, and well, there was only one left “Thomas Shelby!” which meant that Kaz being next in line automatically lost and had to take the final shot. Nina poked Nicole in the side “Of course you would manage to remember his name Nicole.” “It doesn’t mean anything. He was the only one left! It’s not that I think about him regularly…just his eyes, and his face…and sometimes his voice-“ Luckily Kaz broke in before she could drunkenly embarrass herself any further. The rest of them of course thought this was the most hilarious thing they had heard in months, and were laughing it up “Called it! I take full credit as being the first person to notice, shit, we should’ve made a bet or something. I could’ve won good money.” Whined Nina. “Alright alright, everyone drink a glass of water before we leave and hopefully the cold air will sober everyone up a bit.” Kaz said whilst passing the water around. Because the group had never had the opportunity to drink in an actual establishment before, Kaz had taken it upon himself to stay as sober as possible so he could keep an eye on everyone. The last thing he wanted was for one of them to get hurt, especially to one of his girls. He had spent enough nights stopping disgusting men from taking advantage of drunken ladies, he never wanted one of his own to end up in a position like that.

The group did in fact sober up quickly as soon as they stepped out into the frigid air, leaving behind the boisterous sounds of the pub. The Runners were happy though, happier than they had been in a very long time. Their lives were very different to most people who lived in Small Heath considering they survived solely on the streets, but now that things were looking up, it was almost like a dream. To the kids who had grown up with nothing, tonight was like living in a fairy tale. As Nicole looked at the merry faces surrounding her, she vowed to get them anything they ever wanted out of life.

The Garrison was even more packed than the Marquis, probably due to its grand reopening. Nicole thought it looked rather ridiculous with all that blinding gold, then again, what did she know about class? They pulled each other through the crowded room and ended up finding a spot along the bar, this time Nicole sipped her gin content to soak up the atmosphere. Interjecting every once in a while, as Nina and Jaspar teased Will about the time he was frightened by a little lamb and listening in on Kaz and Nej’s conversation about how best to pick a lock. Typical. Looking around the room she saw that the Shelby’s had entered the main bar area.

It was clear that there was some sort of conflict going on between the heads of the Shelby clan, Polly and Tommy. Thinking back to earlier in the car, he really could do with a dose of happiness. The man was one of the most successful people in Birmingham, more money than anyone else in Small Heath and yet here she was; dirt poor and living on the streets until yesterday, and still far happier than he was. Nicole made her way over to Tommy, spurred on in part by the liquid courage and in other part because she did not like seeing people upset. “I would offer to buy you a drink, but you own the bar.” She gave him a smile. Downing his drink, he turned to her “The drinks would be on the house regardless sweetheart.” “Another benefit to the name.” He stared at her, for a second longer than she was comfortable with. “Dance with me.” He stated, already starting to pull her towards the dance floor “Wow hold on there Mr Thomas Shelby, I’m pretending I’m not the street rat everyone is so fond of calling me tonight. I’d like to be asked as a proper lady.” Thomas stopped, and regarded her with a soft look in his eyes, he whispered so quietly she barely heard “I don’t think you’re a rat.” before bowing down slightly and sticking out his hand in an exaggerated fashion “May I have this dance Lady Nicole of the Runners?” she let out a laugh before accepting “You may my Lord” letting him pull her along.

She had never really danced before, only once in a while with one of the lads on top of the warehouse when one of them had managed to get their hands on some better-quality alcohol. It was definitely not the same though, she decided, as his warm hand rested against her back. Tommy led her along to the lively upbeat music, not caring that his dance partner was…lacking in the skills department. He spun her, making the golden walls blur in front of her eyes and a bubble of laughter escape her. This must be what heaven feels like, she thought. “You’ve had a fair bit to drink, ey?” Tommy asked, the corners of his lips curling into a smile. “I don’t need to be drunk to be happy Tommy. You’ve made me happy, you’re the reason we were able to afford a night like this.” “Don’t underestimate yourself sweetheart, I only agreed to your terms. You are the real reason for tonight. You look after your family, the same way I look after mine.” Staring into his eyes she whispered, “You and I aren’t so different then.” Tommy started to lean his head towards her, pulling her in closer, before his eyes flickered to something over her shoulder. He sighed, the frustrated, cold look returning to his gaze. “Go home. I don’t need my messenger rats unwell tomorrow.” Shoving her in the direction of the rest of the group. Nicole glared at him “I take it back, we’re clearly very different people. I don’t let fear control me, and I certainly hope I’m a lot kinder than you.” He stopped “Of course we aren’t alike, how could we be? You are nothing whereas I am Thomas Shelby. Clearly being kind doesn’t get you very far ey?” Thomas moved into the private room, slamming the door behind him. Screw what Thomas Shelby says, she thought turning to the group at the bar “Get me another drink please.”

♡ Alright beauties, it's here, all 3452 words! I really really struggled writing this one, for no apparent reason. I want to thank everyone who has left a kind message for me, every time I got stuck writing this past week I looked over them to give me a boost. Hope you all like it and happy Friday my loves xx ♡

Tag list: @lovemissyhoneybee @captivatedbycillianmurphy

[yukiobeyme]

Hear me out: A coffee shop and Bakery SimeBarb AU that takes place during your Flower shop and Tattoo shop DiaLuci AU.

Simeon works (and owns) the coffee shop. It’s a small thing, and his only other worker is Solomon. The coffee there is to die for, and surprisingly enough the lines are never super long. Baked goods are technically offered there, and they’re completely free. But they’re also made by Solomon, so most regulars know not to touch them, no matter how pretty Solomon’s smile may be.

Barbatos owns and works at the Bakery. Luke is his assistant, and dreams of opening his own bakery one day. So Barbatos is there to teach him the ropes. Luke is also Simeon’s little brother, so Simeon often stops by to check up on him or say hi.

Diavolo is a regular for them both. And Simeon can’t help but tease him once he notices Diavolo start to add a black cup of coffee to his usual order. (I didn’t know you were taken. Who’s the lucky guy? ). Diavolo might have choked on the first sip of his coffee when Simeon asked that, but now he just blushes and pouts.

Barbatos teases him as well, and eventually starts giving Diavolo desserts in the shape of a heart. (For that man that you keep on moping about. Perhaps this will give him the right message). Barbatos and Simeon start to gossip about him together, but it eventually leads to them talking about other things. Things that have nothing to do with customers or Luke. And maybe Barbatos makes too much, and has to give a few heart shaped sweets to Simeon. Maybe once Simeon heard that Barbatos didn’t like coffee, he became determined to make him the perfect one. And maybe once he finally got it right, he was blown away by how pretty Barbatos’s smile is.

But they don’t question it, at least until Luke brings it up. They tease the kid for blushing when one of his classmates buys a cupcake from him and gives him a hug. Luke pouts, and his face is flaming red.

You guys have no room to talk!! You literally do the same thing! Besides, i-its not like I wanted to hug them or anything—

Oh. It seems to hit them both at the same time. Luke is right. The only difference is that they haven’t hugged. They spent all of this time making fun of Diavolo, but they were never any better.

The store closes for the day. Solomon stops by and offers to take Luke home. As the two of them leave, he gives Simeon the cheekiest wave imaginable. He knew. How obvious was Simeon being about the fact that he liked—

It’s unimportant. There’s a pause, and then Barbatos eventually breaks it by offering to make him something. Simeon agrees, and tries to piece together what he wants to say. But it’s all unnecessary.

Barbatos eventually places a dessert in front of him, a blush painting his cheeks. ‘Will you go out with me?’ is written in icing. Simeon nods with an incredibly wide grin on his face. And the rest is history.

And maybe they tease Diavolo about the fact that they were able to get together and start dating for two weeks before Diavolo even gathered the nerve to ask Lucifer out.

~ s8ncake 💚🎂

s8ncake.... S8NCAKE I’M SCREAMING. You have such a galaxy brain and I love it. I... just /YES/ I don’t think you understand how often you make me short-circuit. (EDIT: This refers to this long post)

I’m torn between Diavolo telling Barbatos who this man he is moping for is and Barbatos figuring it out. Probably both, Barbatos has his suspicions and Diavolo eventually confirms it. Barbatos specifically giving Diavolo either candy apples or the Romanian Apple Pie (Which is more of an apple cake think of a coffee cake but the middle layer also has thinly sliced apples) because he knows Lucifer weak for them even if he doesn't get them often.

Simeon also catches on when Diavolo shy asks what coffee would go best with Apple Pie- Romanian Style from Barbatos’ bakery. Because only one person on this street really appreciates it. It’s good but Barbatos also makes killer sweets that don’t include apples. 

Simeon is on the hunt for the perfect coffee for Barbatos. Giving him samples all the time, “is that too sweet? too bitter?” Though after they start dating Barbatos’ favorite type of coffee is whatever he able to steal from Simeon’s cup. Like Simeon offers to make him his own but it just doesn’t taste the same. Ironically one of Barbatos’ favorite drinks is hot chocolate, so Simeon introduces him to an expresso shot hot chocolate (Think Dunkin’ Dunkacinno) Which is mostly hot chocolate but has a rich shot of espresso for a boost of caffiene.

Luke accidentally gets them to admit their feelings is just *chef kiss* I imagine the dessert he brings out is overly sweet, something Simeon enjoys while he enjoys his coffee semi-sweet, he prefers his desserts too sweet. Something they definitely share.

The teasing that happens is unbelievable.

“You got together because of my pinning?”

“Yep, we even got together before you and Lucifer”

“But you have known each other longer!”

“Technicality, you have learned how to speak his language quicker”

They go on double dates occasionally, but their favorite is when Lucifer brings a nice vase with flowers, Diavolo brings takeout and good music, Simeon brings drinks and Barbatos is in charge of desserts. They meet up at one of their shops after closing and talk about their week and all the crazy customers they have.

[ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes]

Blue Eyes Part 33

Summary: After the Garrison is shot up, the youngest Shelby daughter finds a new home in London. She strips herself of her last name and tries to live a peaceful life far away from her brothers’ chaos in Birmingham. But fate leads her right back into it after she runs into Alfie Solomons.

Part 33: Ella struggles to maintain her new family life and deal with her brother. 

     “Pretty innit? Nothing prettier than a fully lit menorah, well ‘cept your mum.” Alfie chuckled. He was holding Sofia so she could see the menorah.

           It was the eighth day of Hanukkah but the mood was a little less than celebratory. There was still an anti-Semitic fascist still roaming around London and Tommy Shelby was still at Margate.

           Alfie was happy to spend the holiday with his new little family. The twins would get to experience the holiday for the first time, he could spoil them with gifts. But with Tommy sulking about there a damper over the home. Especially since Ella was so worried about her brother.

           He was significantly less explosive than when he showed up looking to put a bullet in his head. Still, he needed some talking down when he seized up into a panic attack. Any little thing could set him off. A loud noise or Alfie muttering something under his breath.

           But there was an upside. Tommy hardly slept so he would look after the twins if they woke up in the middle of the night. For the first time in months, Alfie and Ella could finally sleep through the night, which was a blessing.

           Still, Alfie didn’t want to spend the holiday with Tommy. He didn’t appreciate the intrusion, especially the way Tommy had arrived.

           Ella wouldn’t turn her back on her brother though. Not when he’d helped with the adoption and not when he made sure she was taken care of in her time of need.

           Looking a bit weary, Ella came into the sitting room where Alfie and the twins were. Ezra was sat on the floor near Cyril who was watching him carefully. The little boy was playing with a toy car that he’d got on the third night of Hanukkah. He clumsily pushed the car back and forth, enraptured by the black painted wood and little wheels.

           Alfie loved how easily distractible they were. Anything eye-catching or with a pleasing sound could turn their heads and keep them entertained for a good while. Sofia especially liked to play with the metal tags on Cyril’s collar. The bullmastiff tolerated her, letting her jangle them about, tugging and pulling at them as she pleased.

           Now she was captivated by the silver menorah with the hypnotic way the little flames on the candles flickered back and forth. She still hadn’t quite grasped why Alfie wouldn’t let her grab a hold of the candles. He’d made the mistake of leaving the menorah on a lower cabinet. Sofia had just started to pull herself up with the aid of furniture. She’d grabbed the base of the menorah but Alfie managed to grab her before she pulled it down on herself.

           Lesson learned; the menorah was placed on a higher spot.

           “Hi, my loves.” Ella cooed and bent down to kiss Ezra’s cheek. The infant giggled and kicked his feet happily. “Sofi-girl what are you and daddy doing?”

           Sofia gurgled and pressed her cheek into Alfie’s shoulder.

           Ella leaned into Alfie’s side. “It’s so pretty.” She sighed softly at the glowing menorah.

           “Want the kids to open their last gifts?” Alfie wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her hair.

           “Actually, I was hoping you’d go talk to Tommy. He’s outside smoking.”

           Her husband sighed and hid an eye roll from her. “El, he won’t fucking listen to me. You know he won’t.”

           “Language.” She reminded him with a frown. “And he will talk to you, he asked for you to come out and talk to him.”  

           Alfie grunted. “Will it make you happy if I do?”

           “Yes.”

           “Alright.” He handed Sofia to her. “Only because you asked me to, ain’t doing it for his benefit.” He muttered and went to grab his coat.

~~~~~~~~

           “Bloody cold out here, mate.” Alfie stepped outside in the garden where Tommy was stood.

           “Ella doesn’t want me smoking in the house.” He replied quietly.

           “Yeah, well.” Alfie shrugged and buried his hands in his pockets. “Stinks up the home, don’t it? Not pleasant.”

           Tommy didn’t reply, he just kept taking drags of his cigarette and looking out over the empty road.

           Not wanting to stand around in the cold waiting for the man to speak, Alfie cleared his throat. “El said you wanted to talk to me?”

           “When you were shot, you said they put you on drugs.”

           “Yeah, heavy shit. Barely conscious most of the time, s’pose it were good. Didn’t want to feel that sorta pain.”

           “Did you…did you see things when you were taking them?” Tommy’s eyes didn’t look over at him.

           “Like hallucinations? Yeah, weren’t sure if I were awake or not sometimes so I can’t remember if they were dreams or I were just that fucked up. Ella don’t really talk ‘bout it.”

           Tommy reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial. He turned it around in between his fingers a few times before handing it over to Alfie. “Makes me see things.”

           “Weren’t aware you were recovering from being shot in the fucking face. Or wait...was that just me?” Alfie took the bottle and uncorked it. He sniffed it but there wasn’t much of an odor. “Morphine, innit?”

           His brother-in-law nodded. “I’ve lost control, Alfie.”

           “Yeah, what gave it away, aye? When you were asking me to kill you? Or when you were asking your sister to kill you?”

           Tommy dropped the butt of his cigarette and stubbed it out with the heel of his shoe. “I knew a long time ago. Been trying to keep it together for everyone. The family, the kids.” He wearily rubbed a hand over his eyes. “But I can’t anymore. Don’t want to fucking wake up in the morning. I just want to be numb. I can’t fucking stand any of it anymore.”

           “Tom, I hate to be the thorn in your side, but this is your doing.” Alfie kept the vial in his hand, he wasn’t comfortable giving it back to him. He’d seen what morphine did to Shelbys and it wasn’t pretty.

           “You don’t think I fucking know that, Alfie?” Tommy snapped venomously.

           “Oi, you wanted my opinion, so you fucking shut up and listen to it or I’ll go back inside and spend the holiday with me family. You’re lucky I ain’t kicked you outta my fucking house already!”

           Tommy frowned like a bratty child. He took a deep breath, the exhale materializing in the frigid air in front of him. “I know I got myself into this mess. But I told myself-when I was about to be buried alive in France, that I wasn’t going to be buried again. I would keep fighting until I found a man who I couldn’t beat.”

           “Think you’ve found that man?”

           Tommy was quiet for a long while. Almost to the point that Alfie thought he was high and had drifted off into a hazy, drugged up bliss. But he finally piped up again. “I have one foot on a land mine.”

           Almost instinctually, Alfie looked down to see that he was only speaking metaphorically. The ex-Captain didn’t take land mines lightly. He’d seen plenty of legs blown off by the weapons.

           “Either I stand on it until I’m exhausted and drop. Or I try to step away and risk being blown up.”

           “Your family is surrounding you,” Alfie responded. “So, whatever move you make, you’re putting them at risk as well.”

           “Not unless they’re moved out,” Tommy replied and tilted his face up to the gray sky.

           “What you on about now?”

           “I have connections in America and various places around Europe. Connections Mosley probably doesn’t know about. If I can move everyone to safety then he won’t have anything against me. He won’t be able to use anyone I care about. It’ll just be me and him. He can as he pleases to me but I’ll go down with a fight.”

           “Keyword, probably. Tom, you’ve no fucking clue what that man is capable of. I know you don’t. None of us do. Even if you move all of us to fucking Australia you think that’ll really stop him? ‘Sides, what makes you so high and mighty that you think you can uproot everyone from their lives?”

           Tommy pursed his lips together. “I’m brainstorming, Alfie. I think I’ve made it fucking clear enough that I’ve no clue what the fuck I’m going to do.”

           “Evidently.”

           “Oh, fuck off, Alfie.” Tommy shot back. “You have a better idea?”

           Alfie raised an eyebrow. “Oh, so you’re looking for other people to dig you out of your shit? Tommy, me priorities lie with me wife and children. That ain’t gonna change for you or for anyone else.”

           “Even if they’re being threatened by the man who tried to kill you?” Tommy questioned. “The man who has to issue with killing anyone? He has no morals, Alfie.”

           He scoffed. “Oh, so now you’re trying to get me to be involved ‘cause I’m scared? I’m dead to him, Tom, what do I hafta be scared about? He thinks El’s in America, we ain’t got nothing to fear.”

           “He knows she’s not in America.”

           Alfie lost his temper. He grabbed Tommy by the throat, dropping the vial of morphine, letting it roll down the garden path away from them. Alfie slammed Tommy up against the side of the house, digging his fingers into his throat. “Fucking what!?” He demanded.

           Tommy pried his hand away. “There’s a black cat, Alfie!” He shouted hoarsely. “They’ve been leaking everything to Mosley. I can’t trust anyone that’s why I’m fucking here!”

           Alfie’s blood boiled. “Then I’ll fucking kill whoever it is.”

           “Be my guest. You’ll have to find out who it is first.” Tommy shoved him away so he couldn’t attack him again.

           It should’ve been clear that it was a tactic to get Alfie on board. Tommy needed another strong player. Someone who was thinking a bit clearer than he was. Alfie huffed angrily and paced a little bit, roughly running a hand through his hair. “Fuck.” He growled. “So he’s gonna come after her?”

           “I don’t know what he’s planning,” Tommy admitted. It had been something alarming when Mosley casually mentioned how Ella must be enjoying her time on the English coast. Tommy corrected him but the man simply chuckled and asked if he looked stupid. The situation was left at that. Tommy nearly lost his mind right then and there. He was so close to strangling the man and facing the consequences. If he was hanged, so be it. But then he remembered his children. His wife.

           Tommy sighed and shook his head. “I need help, Alfie.”

           “I’m dead, mate.”

           “Then I need you to be resurrected.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

           “Yes, those are your presents, but we’ve got to wait until daddy comes in from talking to Uncle Tommy.” Ella was sat by the window with Ezra and Sofia. Ezra was tugging at the neatly wrapped present that was lying in wait. He whined and tried to pull the blue and silver ribbon off the box.

           “Ah, ah, ah, no.” Ella picked him up and cradled him close. “Gotta wait for daddy. Patience, chavi.”

           The front door opened and Tommy and Alfie came back inside. A cold burst of air traveled down the hall for a moment.

           “Alright, then let’s open presents.” Alfie walked into the sitting room. Sofia squealed happily and reached toward him. “Hi, sheifale.” He picked her up and sat down in his armchair.

           Ella saw Tommy pass by the doorway. “Tom?” She called after him. “Come sit with us.”

           He paused in the hallway but shook his head to himself. “Need to make a few calls.” He replied and went to shut himself in Alfie’s study.

           Ella looked to her husband. “Did you talk to him?” She asked quietly.

           He only nodded and leaned down to pick up Sofia’s present. “Want to open this?” He prompted her by tearing a bit of the paper off.

           Sofia smiled and did her best to rip the present open. She managed to unravel the ribbon and became infatuated with it almost immediately. Giggling, she pressed it to Alfie’s face.

           “What’re you doing?” He chuckled and tried to take the ribbon from her. “Let’s see what you got for Hanukkah.”

           But Sofia decided she was uninterested in the gift, waving the ribbon about in her pudgy fist.

           Ella smiled. “Maybe we should just buy her ribbon next time.” She teased and handed Ezra his present. “Here, love.”

           Their son was a little more impatient and tore open the present. Delighted, he pulled out the teddy bear with a blue button nose and a matching ribbon. Ezra gurgled happily and hugged the bear close to him.

           Ella kissed his forehead. “You like it?”

           Alfie finished unwrapping Sofia’s present for her. A matching teddy bear with a yellow ribbon instead. “Lookit, see that?” He propped the bear up to face his daughter. Sofia grabbed the bear’s snout but decided the gift’s ribbon was more fun. She tossed the bear to the side and continued flailing the ribbon about.

           “Glad you like it.” Alfie sighed and kissed her cheek.

           Ella laughed and smoothed back Ezra’s hair. She couldn’t help but think about how happy she was. Tommy would heal. Things would be okay. They had to be.

Permanent tag: @papa-geralt-of-cirilla @giftofdreams @biba3434 @kimmietea @karmezii @enrapturedbythemoon @vampgirl1997 @tarafaithe 

Tag list: @deaflikehawkeye @octaviareina @mylovelykelsifer @doubletriplepowerbomb @ramblingbaby​ @fuseburner​ @kaetastic​

Masterpost

PB Masterlist

[taiblogcomics]

Jason Todd Really Hates Mondays

Hey there, movies you can't find on streaming services. Well, another Red Hood adventure? More middle America supervillain antics? Sure, sounds excellent. Even if this plotline's dumb, you gotta admit, it's good for blogging~

Here's the cover:

Hulk smash American Gothic people! Hulk not approve of this cameo! Hulk also want remind you to see Aquaman, in theaters December 21st! That how behind Hulk is with reviewing this comic! Hulk not have anything else to say about this cover, it actually pretty good. So Hulk stop talking like Hulk now!

So we open where we left off, with Jason Todd and Batwoman cornered by the artificial Grundy knockoffs. This also includes a caption of Jason referring to himself as "the blackest of sheeps". Sheeps. Anyway, since they've concluded that their opponents are constructs, they can kill them without regret. Jason notes that this group attacking them now seem less human-like than the first guy, which Batwoman points out that means they were let out before being finished, so they must feel threatened. Lots of fighting ensues. Afterwards, they both get on a motorcycle.

We briefly cut over to the diner where Jason beat up some Underlife goons and then had a heart-to-heart with Batman about Roy's death. The FBI are looking into it, and I think the lady here is meant to be that agent he saved on the bus a couple issues ago? It's not a hundred percent clear, but I believe this to be the case. She's taking the waitress' statement, when another agent comes in and gives her the "you better come take a look at this" cliche. They open up the back of a truck, and one of the big truckers Jason beat up protests that he has a right to privacy while he's wheeled away on a stretcher. Inside the truck? A huge medical lab, hijacked from S.T.A.R. Labs not too long ago. FBI Lady reasons that Jason's leaving her a trail to follow. Unbeknownst to her, that guy Wingman is also following said trail.

Back in Appleton, the motorcycle ride is over, and Batwoman is using a hologram to plan their next moves. Batwoman stops Jason for a moment, offering him a kind word and an ear to listen regarding Roy's death. Jason says it's not necessary, but he appreciates the offer. Geez, Jason, when'd you turn into a halfway decent human being~? Batwoman also apologises for the time she got them all thrown in Belle Reve, which I don't even remember her being evolved in, so Jason's easy to forgive her for this as I am. That's when suddenly they're attacked from behind by yet another hulking grey man.

This grey man has long brown rocker hair, so he actually looks more like Blockbuster than Grundy. Yet another fight scene ensues, which does at least include a cool shot of Jason decapitating Long Hair Grundy with a chain, so that's something. Jason and Batwoman split up, since it's his book, so he should do the infiltrating. He arrives at the house Batwoman was displaying a hologram of, and is attacked by ninjas. Of course. He fights through the ninjas and enters the house, where a lady and a guy with a VR rig are observing the action. VR Guy is blown up, leaving only the lady. She turns out to be the one who foisted pie on him at the fair. She will thus be hereafter known as "Pie Lady".

Pie Lady and Jason get in a fight. See, Jason knew there was something suspicious the moment he walked into Appleton: no kids. She must be holding them hostage, and she does the "if you kill me, you'll never find them" bit. Jason retorts that Batwoman already found them before she even met up with Jason. Now he can kill her with impugnity, because guess what: she's also a Grundy construct. (They're called "Mondays", by the way, but that could come off as confusing. But now you get the joke in this review’s title!) In the midst of fighting, her face gets torn off, Terminator style, and she gives him both the name of a lab in Mexico and a name: Solitary. Yeah, that guy's gonna come back into play.

Jason leaves as Batwoman shows up, and the whole house explodes because it wants to make Jason look badass. Sorry, but not while he's still wearing that rummage sale costume. The comic ends with the kids being reunited with their parents (the ones that aren't members of Underlife, anyway). Jason and Batwoman have a chat, and she mentions she's also been on the outs with Batman. He later forgave her, and she thinks he'll forgive Jason too. Jason says the circumstances are different, and is about to imply Batman can do something rude with his forgiveness when he's interrupted by a car horn. Renee Montoya has driven up to put in a cameo, kiss Batwoman, and drop Jason off somewhere south. Ah, south. I hope that's not the direction this comic is going~

Honestly, if there’s anything to complain about in this issue is that it’s mostly fight scenes. That might seem an odd complaint for a superhero action comic, but it’s mostly that stuff like that doesn’t leave me with a whole lot to review. Unless someone’s making really awful banter during it, you can only describe a fight so much and have it be interesting. This issue’s fine to read, it’s just not something you can read aloud all that much. Also, “Mondays” is a terrible name for your goon patrol. Like, I get the connection--”Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday”--but it’s not a good collective name. Why not “Cyber-Grundys” or something. It’s not clever, but neither is “Mondays”~

Anyways, I’m not entirely sure this is the end of the story arc. I’ll have to check next week. You’ll know whether or not it is, depending on what I review next time~

[justgotham]

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read until if you have not yet watched the season four finale of “Gotham” on Fox.

The final moments of the season four finale of Fox’s “Gotham” essentially rebooted the series, with some characters leaving town, multiple villains rising from the underground and one series regular signing off for good.

In the episode, Solomon Grundy (Drew Powell) was shot but then healed and seemingly returned to his normal Butch state, only to be murdered by Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor).

Powell tells Variety after first learning he was going to be shot again, he wasn’t that worried. “This is the fourth time I’ve been shot on the show,” he notes. “Clearly I can survive a bullet wound.” But what made this one different was the fact that he got shot in the heart.

“[That] would probably take another dip in the Slaughter Swamp to recover from,” he admits.

Here, Powell shares with Variety the emotional moments while filming his final scene, what he will miss about playing the character, and if he would ever join the DC Universe again.

How did you learn that Butch aka Grundy wouldn’t make it to the end of the season finale?

I kind of found out by accident, if I’m being honest. I was at work. The process of Grundy is always a couple hours of make-up coming on and a good 45 minutes to take it off. So, I’m usually there before people and there after people. I was in the makeup room, and I read an outline, which sometimes you do. I don’t know if we’re supposed to do that, but any actor that says they don’t is lying. I glanced at it and I kind of got to the end and it said, “Blah, blah, blah and then Penguin shoots Butch in the heart.” I’m like, “Ooh, that doesn’t sound good.” …I called up [executive producer] John Stephens and he said, “Ah, well. I was just about to get on a plane to come tell you tomorrow,” which he did — I saw him the next day.

How did it feel to know you wouldn’t survive the season?

It was a mix of a lot of emotions. Obviously I’m so close to this group. This show has really been an important show in my career. I moved my family from one coast to the other. I’m now kind of forever linked in this really cool world of DC and Batman lore. It’s really special for me. But the cool part was that the overwhelming feeling I had was not anger or resentment or sadness — although there was some of sadness — but it was gratitude. I just felt so grateful that I’ve had four great years of this. Look, who knows what’s to come, but I can feel like I’ve done good work and had a great experience.

How do you think you’ll feel after the episode airs?

It will be very interesting to feel the catharsis of this coming to life and how people will react. It’s been very interesting the last couple of weeks. “Gotham” did a poll of which character they liked better: Butch or Grundy. I didn’t see the final results but with a day left it was 50/50. It was absolutely down the middle. That warms my heart. It was risky on the same level to take this. I believe what people love about Butch was that he was kind of the every man in the scenario. You have crazy Penguin, nutty Riddler, and all this craziness going on. Then, you’ve got the cops that are stern and hard. Then you’ve got Butch who has managed to survive in this crazy town. He ducks and weaves and survives and does it with a little bit of humor and a wink and smile. I think that was really important to have in this show. I think when Bruno [Heller] wrote this character, he told me at the beginning, “People are going to underestimate Butch until it’s too late for them.” It was really true. Even the fans were like, “Oh, he’s just some henchmen for Fish.” Then by the end of season one, they were like, “Oh my gosh. No, he’s way more than that!” It’s going to be really interesting to see the fan reaction. It’s very shocking. I would love to have a camera on fans watching that scene. I do think the reaction will be physical for a lot of people.

How far in advance did you know before you shot the episode?

That was the other tricky part. I was in the middle of shooting 4.20 (episode “A Dark Knight: That Old Corpse”) so we still had two more episodes to go which equals about a month. So I had three, four weeks of dealing with [it]. I think a lot of actors will tell you when you end a long-term job that you really like –particularly, because people feel like we’re a tight group, especially as actors but also crew — you have to go through the five stages of grief. By the time we actually got to that scene, I had been living with it for almost a month. I have to be honest when I say it’s been really tricky. It’s been a long haul to have a month before we shot it. Then we shot it — that was the beginning or middle of March. So I’ve been sitting on it to most of the people outside of my close circle for the last few months, so it’s been a long haul. There’s a part of me that will be very relieved as this comes out.

When did the rest of the cast find out? Did you tell them?

That was kind of a weird thing. Some of them, yeah. There were a couple people I saw the next day that were working the next day so we talked and grieved together a little bit. I don’t mean for it to sound so dramatic. It was definitely a bond that formed so you have to deal with that. But I think people found out through word of mouth. I told some folks, but it was kind of awkward. There’s no real easy way to do that. It’s been true for the other characters that have passed on from our show. It’s all a little bit awkward. But that was the good thing about having time. By the time we got to the end, we had all talked about it. There was a sense of closure on that last day.

How was it filming the final scene and having Penguin be the one who offs your character?

I’ll never forget it. I don’t think any of us will. It’s a beautiful scene. The one thing I said to John Stephens when we talked was what was most important to me was that we need to give Butch a proper death. I think [the] words actually were a “noble death,” and he agreed. Not some cliffhanger. I think the fans, who’ve really grown to love Butch as I have — and Grundy — [would want] a proper send off for him. I think they did that. I was kind of dreading it. We finally got there. The director was Nathan Hope, who’s just a great guy and one of our favorites on “Gotham.” …I don’t think we ever did it without crying, even Jessica [Lucas], who is way tougher than Robin and me. It was just so emotional and so hard. Robin and I are very good friends and have been since the very beginning. So, it was hard for him. It was hard for me. Jessica, as well — those are the guys I’ve spent the most time with over the course of the show with the exception of Jada [Pinkett Smith]. It was really powerful. It was a moment where we had a culmination of this incredible life experience. As an actor, it’s hard to separate [from] that because it changed my life. That’s true. I think it’s true for any actor that has a job that like that moves you from one place to another and you have over a period of years. But also the relationships and the emotion of the scene. I think Robin and I have always had this chemistry that was really special and it really made the Butch and Oswald scenes work. I was really glad to have a few more of those toward the end of season four. By the time we got to that [scene], he was crying and snotting, as he will admit. Jessica had some tears. Then, I’m dead on the ground with tears streaming down my eyes. We got through it. I haven’t seen it, but I’m hoping it cut together OK. We felt like we got it in the end.

Penguin apologizes before he shoots Grundy. Do you think he was being sincere?

I think the wonderful paradox about Oswald, particularly as Robin has brought him to life in this iteration, is that he is at once an emotional character, a passionate character, but also calculating and smart. He’s always three steps ahead of the game. I think after losing so many people that have been close to him and then I think his experience with [Edward] Nygma, the one thing he won’t let happen anymore is to let his emotions get in the way of what’s important to him which is revenge and power. It’s funny. We’ve talked about this. The fact that Tabitha [killed] Ms. Cobblepot was never going to sit well with him. He wanted to get back at Tabby for killing his mother, the most important thing to him. I always assumed that she would be the one to get it and not me, but I guess I had to be the proxy in this one.

What was the hardest part about saying goodbye to Butch?

It’s funny because I’ve said goodbye to him once. That took me by surprise. There was a moment after we did the Grundy scene — in episode five of the season, they dump Butch in the swamp and Grundy rises out of the Slaughter Slump. The way we shot that out in a pool in the middle of nowhere in Staten Island, we did the rising out of the swamp scene and then hobo scene, and then the last scene we shot was Butch getting into the swamp and then they kind of pulled me out of the water. So that was like the very end of Butch, at least at that point. I was surprised. [For] three years I’ve really grown to appreciate this character. Not often do you get that opportunity as an actor. One of the things I love about TV is that you can live with the character for a while and kind of inhabit him or her. I really did that with Butch. We’ve had a lot of different paths on this particular show. I surprisingly felt a sadness of losing Butch. Then, Grundy presented his own challenges. The makeup alone was something that really took some getting used to. There’s part of me that thinks another season of Grundy with all of that makeup and that wig and the whole thing would’ve been pretty tough. But I loved him too! The death of both characters at once [in the season four finale] was really emotional. It was emotional for all of us.

What is one thing you’ve learned since the start of “Gotham” that has helped you grow as an actor?

I think the experience has taught me to prepare. Not that I didn’t before, but the importance of thinking about what you’re doing [and] understanding that there’s an arc here. That there will be an evolution throughout time. It took me a while to kind of get the knack of who Butch was. To spend time in thought and contemplation and study of who this character is so that you can really bring him to life. I learned how cool it is to be a part of the world of comic book characters — the DC world, the whole general genre. I hadn’t had that experience before and getting to do some of these comic-cons and meeting fans that are so passionate and being a part of something that’s 75 years old — this American mythology — is really cool. That’s one of the things I loved about being Grundy, too, was to be a part of the canon, which was a creation by the brilliant Bruno Heller. It was great to be able to create that role. I secretly hope someday, somewhere there’ll be a Butch Gilzean in a comic somewhere. Being able to be this iconic villain, or anti-hero as I like to think of him, who started in 1944, boy that’s a legacy that it’s so neat to be a part of. That was really special. Also, you get to practice with incredible people. You get to do it over and over with really talented crew members and directors and writers and cast. I think that last part is the thing I’ll miss the most — the camaraderie we had. We’re like a family. I think about our trips to comic-con in the last couple of years in this plane together flying out and the laughter and the stories that we’ll have forever. That doesn’t happen on every show. I’ve been on a lot of different shows and you have sometimes different personalities that just don’t click. But for whatever reason, this group of people really did, and I’ll forever be grateful for that.

Would you take on the role of Butch again or another character for a DC film?

In the blink of an eye. Absolutely. Having said that, the last three months, I did the pilot for “L.A. Confidential” which was amazing. I did a couple of movies — the movie I’m doing now is about Ted Kaczynski. So it’s been fun to kind of explore other things. That’s something I feel very lucky to have got to do right away to kind of help clear my head a little bit and know there is life after “Gotham.” But of course, I’d be a fool to say no to getting back into the DC Universe. Every time I see Geoff Johns I’m like, “I’m in, for my career! Whatever you need, I’m in!” Not the least of which is I’m the father of a 7-year-old boy, so I get to be the coolest dad in the world since I get to work with Batman.

The finale ends in a way that could reboot the series. What were your thoughts when you first heard about the decision to potentially switch-up the show?

It was never really made clear to us that that’s what was happening. Not having seen the episode yet, I’m still unclear, other than what I’ve read, about what that really means. A good friend of mine, John Rogers, a writer and producer who I’m very fond of, tweeted that we’re getting to a point where we’re going to have to accept the fact that series are basically going to be five years and that’s what you’re going to get. I think he’s right about that with a few exceptions. You get to a point in storytelling in our society today which expands looking for the next shiny object or light button. Even something serialized like a comic book show which you feel like could go on forever. It’s also hard to shoot that show. There’s a lot that goes into it. This isn’t your procedural point and shoot and talk about whatever cop lingo is it — there’s a lot going on there. So, I understand the need to kind of give it a little jolt and see what happens.

[dugglesse]

4 days in central coast CA

2 couples, 4 days tasting in central coast. Flew into Santa Barbara, stayed in Los Osos. We really enjoyed staying in the quiet, coastal Los Osos. A little bit of a drive to all our destinations, but a great jumping off point and so relaxing. Staying on Morro Bay during the Fall bird migration is pretty amazing. We know from reading posts on this thread that there were so many great places we could have gone. In the end, we really wanted to be firm about sticking to no more than 2-3 a day so as not to feel rushed at all and not to have a shot palate by a 4th or 5th (been there).

D1 – Headed straight to Lompoc Wine Ghetto from Santa Barbara airport. Arrived around 2:30pm. Most tasting rooms close up around 4-5pm. Unlike Paso, firm reservations were not needed, though we gave each place a general heads up.

Flying Goat – Interesting mix of single vineyard Pinots and sparklings. Favorites were the Solomon Hills Vineyard Pinot and the Sierra Madre Goat Bubbles. Really enjoyed the owner talking about the focus on Burgundy style. Winery dog ran away during our visit and one of us chased after it. The owner really appreciated it and topped us off.

Ampelos – We have had the Gamma Syrah before and loved it. All the wines were good, but nothing beyond the Gamma really stood out. Very chill atmosphere.

Palmina – Italian style. We enjoyed all the wines, but the server was completely checked out. One in our party asked if the Nebbiolo approached Barolo or Barbaresco in style. The response was “I don’t know, I have never had either – you tell me”. Then she left. Personally, I think she was just eager to leave because it was near closing time. If I had a chance I would go back because I never like to pass a bad judgment off of a single experience. Credit should be given for serving aged wines relative to most tasting rooms – i.e., the neb was 2010.

D2- Paso – this may have been 1 of our top tasting days. The order, range of styles and atmospheres worked perfectly.

Clos Solene – Posh atmosphere with outstanding service. Elegant, mostly Rhone inspired wines. The favorite was the 18 Harmonie. We joined their club – pretty pricey, but felt it was worth it and our 1st shipment is in a few days – yeah!

Giornata – fun tin city winery. We were already club members and the treatment was amazing. As we started to indicate which tasting we would do, we were basically told we would just try everything. Our server was great, but was replaced by the owner (Stephanie) who decided to give the server a lunch break. Stephanie described herself as the farmer and her husband as the winemaker. She proceeded to describe every wine in detail, answer all of our questions and we discussed modern and traditional Barolo production – she had went to Italy to see examples of both. This place is refreshingly so down to earth. I found all of their wines to be a solid entry level for a given Italian style – they cover so many styles well, and even had 3 orange wines. Favorites were the Barbera and Montepuliciano.

Austin Hope – Fun atmosphere – greeted with a refreshing Chenin Blanc even before we checked in. The rest of the tastings were reds – big, bold, heavy bodied, fruit forward takes. Many like the cab (they were out of the reserve), I personally liked the Mourvèdre. Their style is certainly a crowd pleaser, even if not appreciated by some serious wine drinkers. 1 of us really wanted to join their club, but they do not ship to our state.

D3 – Paso. Stuck to 2 because we were doing a sunset kayak trip out of Morro Bay, which was amazing.

Tablas Creek – We really appreciated hearing about the biodynamic farming, the incorporation of sheep and alpacas into their vineyards and the incredible contributions this winery has made in bringing the Rhone style to the region – several of the other places we tasted praised this winery for all they have done. While none of the wines stood out, we really appreciated the opportunity for couples to share a full white and red flight. The whites were all refreshing and the reds were true to style.

L’Aventure – former assistant winemaker form here started Clos Solene, so it was nice to hear both stories. The wines were Bordeaux-ish in style (the owner left Bordeaux to not be held to the strict standards). Clear potential, but the server indicated that all were probably too young (1-2 years). All were enjoyable – found the range to be a bit narrow. I guess I had a bit of preference for Solene but really enjoyed this one too.

D4 – Arroyo Valley – chose to spend this day hunting for Pinot and Chardonnay.

Laetitia – Fun tastings that included a still flight and a sparkling flight. Sat in the garden level with a great view of the vineyard. The favorite of many was the brut rose. We bought a bottle and walked the vineyard. 1 of us joined their club.

Talley – Greeted with a brut rose, which was wonderful. Our tasting was inside because we chose the taste of terroir, which was all estate – 3 chardonnay, 3 pinot paired with a charcuterie board. Our table was all set up for our arrival and the presentation was phenomenal as was the breathtaking view of the vineyards. It was a long, relaxed tasting and our server was phenomenal, we also spent a fair amount of time with the owner. Everyone had a different favorite, but agreed they were all amazing. These are some of the best pinots and chardonnays we have ever encountered in tasting. We also got a tour of the production after our tasting. Both couples joined the club.

Summary – Best experience was a tie between Giornata and Talley – both were great for extremely different vibes. Best wines was a tie between Clos Solene and Talley depending on style preference. November is a lovely time to visit central coast. Very laid back vibe, along with some beautiful colors in the vineyards.

submitted by /u/umtox [link] [comments] from wine: red or white, the stuff you drink https://ift.tt/3kgaoUl

[miss-musings]

My List of Top 10 Recurring Blacklisters

For my ongoing "Top 10" lists about different aspects of The Blacklist, today I'm tackling recurring Blacklisters who weren't already included in "My List of Top 10 Blacklisters."

Just for an FYI, I'm also disqualifying Tom Keen and Dembe Zuma, as they both have been regular cast members at different points in the series. I am, however, including non-antagonist entries -- that means that some of these Blacklisters didn't actually end up being 'bad guys,' but instead, either were or later became allies of Red and/or The Task Force.

There actually weren't too many Blacklisters to work with as I'd say about 70 percent of them are one-offs (and I already did a list about them), and many of the better ones who are recurring were already on my other list. But, of the small pool that did qualify, I'm judging them based on:

How much I personally liked them / how compelling I thought the character was

How well the guest star did

How much of a threat they were to Red, the Task Force, the public in general, etc. OR if they were an ally, how much the character adds to Red's or the Task Force's goals

I don't have quite as much time to tackle these entries as I have my previous two lists, so I'm only going to put like a paragraph of explanation for each. Also, no honorable mentions this time.

So, without further ado, let's begin:

10. ISABELLA STONE

I don't really care for Isabella Stone, but it was either her or the Pavlovich Brothers, and I care about them even less. I don't remember much about Stone, other than she was played by that actress who played Jan on "The Office," and at the end of her namesake episode, Red has her chained up in a walk-in freezer or something. I don't remember what she did, or why she was a threat to the Task Force/Red. I know she was hired by Kaplan to do some bullshit, but I don't remember what it was or how she did it.

9. NICHOLAS T. MOORE

I'm not really one for all the cults that this show does. It seems like they try to have 1-2 per season; but I actually didn't mind this one and thought it might be the best cult we've seen so far. It had kind of a "The Village" vibe to it, although I'm still trying to figure out how Moore convinced all those people to join him out in the woods. Anyway, the only reason I included him is because I like the actor -- he played The Warden on "Shawshank Redemption" -- and I thought the way he tricked Aram into getting him his Bible so he could kill himself was kind of clever.

8. THE MAJOR

I also don't really care for the Major, but I thought the actor did well in his scenes with Spader. Plus, he seemed to create a lot of problems (read: drama) for Tom and Liz, with trying to tempt Tom back into a life of crime when he was trying to go straight in S3b. (Am I remembering that right?) Again, I honestly don't really care for or about him, but I thought he was around enough and played a big enough role in Tom's, Liz's and Red's lives that he deserved a spot.

7. SUSAN HARGRAVE

Another Blacklister I don't really care about. (Almost makes you wonder why I bothered compiling this list.) Don't get me wrong. I think Famke Janssen is an underrated actress, and I enjoyed her weird dynamic with Spader in their scenes. I didn't like how she ended up being Tom's mother; I didn't like her ham-handed way of telling those one random dudes about her backstory. She's so open it's like she might as well be an audio-book version of her character. But, again, I think that's more how she was written than how Janssen played her. Even though I don't care about the whole Hargrave/Tom spin-off with "The Blacklist: Redemption," I still think she was an intimidating enough villain in her own right, as she was responsible for breaking Mathias Solomon out of prison and sic-ing him onto Liz while she and Tom were trying to get married. It's interesting that Hargrave was ultimately responsible for attacking her son's wedding and almost getting him killed, and endangering her future daughter-in-law and granddaughter. It's the kind of irony you'd see in a George R.R. Martin work. So, even while I don't like her, I think she deserves a spot because of the impact she had and the threat she posed at the time. Plus, I did think it was badass when Red shot her in the arm and she barely cared.

6. TOM CONNOLLY

Okay, NOW we're starting to get into "I actually kind of like these people" territory. I mean, I don't actually like Tom Connolly. If he were a real person, I would want to punch him in the face. But, as a character, I think he's more compelling than any of the previous entries on this list. Granted, he became a little cartoonish and over-the-top there at the end, but he posed a serious threat. And even though he was introduced to us as "a little too good to not want something" from Cooper / the Task Force, I appreciate that the writers at least TRIED to make his loyalties a little ambiguous or 'on the side of the angels' when he was first introduced. Granted, I don't think it really worked, but they tried. The actor also did a pretty decent job, and I thought his final confrontation with Liz and Cooper (where Liz ends up shooting and killing Connolly) was well-done. It was certainly the most shocking death of a Blacklister I can think of. As mustache-twirling as he was, he still posed a serious threat for Liz, Red and the Task Force. In threatening to kill them or end their careers, he pushed Liz into a no-win situation where if she shot him in an attempt to stop his machinations, the Cabal won by being able to turn her into a criminal. And if she did nothing, they would still win. Okay, anyway, moving on:

5. SMOKEY PUTNAM

I really like the character of Smokey. He's a little wacky, but cheerful and light -- which is something the show desperately needed after the morbid, dark and depressing S4b. Granted, I think how the show introduced him (as someone for Red to track down as a bounty hunter-type person) was a bit forced. But, oh well. I like what Smokey brings to the show and to Red's crew. I also think the actor does a good job keeping up with Spader while also bringing his own bit of weird flair to the show.

4. MR. RALEIGH SINCLAIR III

So, I really just love John Noble, and appreciated that the show was able to nab him to play one of the Blacklisters. And a pretty unique Blacklister at that. I thought his gimmick was really cool and unique, and while I could've done without him killing off all the people he recruited to be doubles, I guess it makes sense. I actually enjoyed when the show brought him back to turn that one guy into a double of Ian Garvey -- that was a nice little twist. I thought his interaction with Spader at the end of his namesake episode was a little too long, but still a hoot to see those two sharing a screen.

3. GINA ZANETAKOS

Our first-ever female Blacklister on the show, Gina Zanetakos was a serious badass. She was clever, fast, brutal and sexy. She absolutely demolishes both Ressler and Liz in fist-fights and she nearly kills Tom. She was quite a force to be reckoned with, both in her initial appearance and in subsequent episodes, and I really appreciated when the show brought her back in S3b. (Which, side note, did she get killed off on the show? I don't remember.) If she wasn't killed off, I certainly wouldn't mind her making a return appearance.

2. KARAKURT

So, fun fact: Karakurt is actually played by two different actors -- one in S2 and a different guy for S3. Not anything I hold against the character. It’s just interesting. Anyway, Karakurt is probably the most threatening Blacklister on this list for our Post Office crew. He easily manipulated Liz into killing a U.S. Senator and even more easily set up the OREA bombing to make it look like her fault. In comparison with his S2 showings, I think his S3 appearances are less-than. He just kind of hung out as a plot device for Tom to track down, beat up and threaten. Much less intimidating, although I appreciate that he didn’t give up trying to get one over on Tom, et al, and escape whenever he had the chance. Just what I’d expect of a Russian assassin and Blacklister extraordinaire.

1. MARVIN GERARD

A weird choice to put at #1, maybe, but I really like the character of Marvin Gerard. He’s just so different from most of the other Blacklisters that we see, in no part because of the fact that HE WAS ALREADY IN CUSTODY when he was introduced. Instead of Red giving the Task Force a name so they can track them down and put them IN JAIL, Red asked for Gerard to be brought to him so that he could break him OUT OF JAIL. Unlike most Blacklisters, or hell just characters on this show in general, Marvin Gerard is very calm, collected, calculated and can talk sense into Red when few other people can. But, he also feels very grounded in reality. He just kind of seemingly wandered into a hostage situation in 3x02 like “IDK what I’m doing here. WTF is going on?!?!” and then just kind of got back into a groove with helping Red and Liz with their plans -- both in 3x02 and throughout the rest of S3a. And, speaking of: whatever happened to Marvin Gerard? I feel like Red called him in Cape May about shutting down his business or something, but I don’t think we’ve seen him since 3x10. Hopefully he makes another appearance on the show, because I really appreciated how unique he was as a Blacklister and what he brought to the show as a character and to Red’s team as an asset.

[ruewrites]

Thrones are Built on Lies Chapter 9: The Hands that Guide Me

AO3

Ship: Solomon/Asmo, Diavolo/Lucifer

Word Count: 3823

Warnings: None

A/N: Comments and feedback are appreciated! This fic has been a little harder for me to write, not gonna lie, so I hope you guys are still enjoying it!

Prev

Next

“What?”

Asmo’s voice came out as a shriek. It hurt Solomon’s ears a bit if he was being honest.

The two of them stood before Lucifer, Diavolo, and Azazel. It had been easy to push the idea of assassination attempt to the side until this point, but after an arrow had been shot in their direction… well… He couldn’t ignore it anymore. Of course the crowds had gone scattering and word quickly got back to the main palace. This is when he also learned that the princes weren’t supposed to leave the palace.

Lucifer shook his head, “You heard me Asmodeus. I shouldn’t have allowed you to go out to the sector. I thought it might be safe for you during the day, but I was wrong. So no more. You must stay here.”

“But it’s my sector,” Asmo continued. Even if Solomon wasn’t looking at him, it was easy to tell he was upset. His voice was strained and cracked. He was on the edge of begging and pleading with his eldest brother. Solomon wanted to tell him to stop, but as soon as he went to touch him, he was shrugged off. “I should be allowed to visit it whenever I see fit!”

"That was before an arrow almost took your head off," Azazel chimed in, shaking his head, "Not to mention, you put civilians at risk with your presence."

The way Asmo flinched at those words… He didn’t seem to care about himself in that moment, and Solomon couldn’t help but think back to the small children flocking around his legs and how Asmo genuinely seemed to adore every one of the individuals in his sector. Yes he seemed a little thoughtless, but his intentions were innocent.

“Not to mention, you put a king in danger,” Azazel continued, gesturing to Solomon himself, “Could you imagine the commotion you would have caused if your fiance, royalty from another kingdom, had been struck? He’s an only child, their only heir, and you almost cost them that. His death would have been on your hands.”

That was hardly fair, Solomon had gone there on his own free will. Asmo had asked him, yes, but Solomon hadn’t felt forced. Yet, Azazel’s words had him questioning himself. The entire situation was extremely uncomfortable.

“Azazel, don’t you think-”

The glare Azazel shot Diavolo as his neck snapped towards him was dangerous, “Don’t coddle him. He should have known better.”

“Uncle,” Lucifer’s voice was steady, drawing Azazel’s attention back to him, “I am more than capable of handling my brothers. Please refrain from making any more unnecessary comments.”

The two men stared each other down for what seemed like an eternity before Azazel reluctantly backed down. That was when Lucifer turned his attention back towards the fifth prince. “Asmodeus,” Asmo didn’t look up towards his brother, but Solomon swore he saw him twitch, “No more outings. None. Am I understood?”

Asmo nodded curtly and then that was that. They were dismissed.

The silence was uncomfortable, even for Solomon. Yes he had complained about Asmo being high energy, but now that it was gone… It was unnerving. Solomon had had his guard so high around his fiance, and for what?

“You’re quiet,” he said. An inch stood between them. They hadn’t really walked together like this in the halls before.

Solomon was also a bit disturbed. From what he knew of Asmodeus, he knew that he didn’t give up on what he wanted to easily. But the moment Azazel started speaking, it seemed that all of the fight had left him.

You have a role to fill Lilith.

What exactly had been going on in Arcadia prior to them approaching him?

What exactly had becoming Lilith entailed for Asmodeus?

“I was under the impression you didn’t like me talking.”

Solomon couldn’t blame him for being snippy. He just got chewed out by his older brother and his uncle for something that Solomon didn’t really blame him for. Asmo was agitated, a free spirit locked away in a cage.

"Well, I don't like being distracted by anyone when I'm doing research, and you're a rather distracting presence," he tried to joke, but Asmo didn't seem too amused, "But I don't have my nose in a book right now."

"You will soon."

Just when he was trying to make an effort, Asmo didn't seem to want anything to do with him. At least not right now he didn't, but he could fix that. "I've heard you've gotten into a bit of reading yourself."

"I guess."

"Perhaps we could have a little library date sometime."

He was almost surprised about the smile that crossed his own face when he saw Asmo's ears twitch at the mention of a date. That's what he wanted. He wondered if Asmo didn’t quite believe what he had heard. After all, Solomon knew he’d been a little aloof. A library date was also a little more up his alley. He allowed himself to move ever so slightly closer. "Would you like that Asmodeus?" he asked softly.

"It's not going out-"

"But it's still a date."

He was going to do better.

He was going to start putting a little more effort into Asmodeus.

That also meant that he was resisting the urge to grab at his pendant. He had to open himself up to talk to Asmo more, and that meant also forming a more organic way to figure out how he was feeling. He needed to ask him questions, he needed to know a little more about him.

"You would like a date? Wouldn't you Asmodeus?"

Slowly, Asmo nodded and then his motions became more rapid, "Oh! Oh yes! Yes I would like that!" He caught Solomon in a tight grip and held him close. Solomon felt himself go stiff and was unsure what to do with his hands. Although, it was nice to see Asmo smiling. Eventually he settled on patting the prince's back. Asmodeus looked up at him, eyes sparkling, "Oh you'll be the luckiest man in any kingdom! Well, maybe next to me of course. But you'll love being with me! We can talk about it more if you'd like to walk me back to my room?"

"Well, you see, I would, but someone still has to teach me how to navigate the caverns."

It was a little embarrassing. He'd been living here for a while now and still had little to no idea as of how he was supposed to get around. It was especially inconvenient when he was hungry or wanted to visit the library. Asmo tilted his head and backed up, taking Solomon's hand in his own and squeezed. His hands were a bit bigger than Asmo's, but he also couldn't help but notice how warm and soft they were. They reminded him of soft silk. His nails were also well cared for especially compared to his own which were bitten. Had anyone ever held his hands like this before? It was such a small thing to think about, something that didn't matter in the long run, but he thought about it nonetheless.

Asmo's skin felt nice against his own.

Asmo's hands felt nice against his own.

"Well, I guess that gives me an excuse to spend more time with my husband!"

"Fiance."

"Same thing," Asmo let go of his hands and waved him off, "The point is I can get some time with you all to myself."

The very idea of spending time with him seemed to have Asmo excited, a little life was coming back into his eyes.

He was cute, and Solomon could feel an appreciation for his spark start to creep over him.

"In any case, I think walking back to my room would be a fantastic first lesson."

***

It was easy to forget how dizzying the tunnels were. Was the Heart always this aggressive or did it just have a special spot for him in it's cold unfeeling grasp?

"You think too much," Asmo's voice cut through the disorienting feeling. He was leaning against one of the walls, completely unbothered by the magic surrounding them. Pushing off the wall, Asmo walked closer to him and put his hands on either side of his face. "Let yourself relax."

Funny. He thought he was relaxed. There was nothing for him to be stressed about, he was as calm and collected as he could be.

Asmo pressed into his face and frowned, "You're so incredibly tense. I told you to relax." Pretty fingers pressed into his jaw and trailed their way down, "Unclench. Stress causes wrinkles you know."

"I am relaxed," he said as Asmo squished his cheeks. Yet, he felt his jaw relax.

"Clearly you're not. I've seen how you sit, slouching over those books of yours is terrible for your posture. When's the last time you've just cleared your mind and relaxed?"

Solomon scoffed, "Never, clearing the mind isn't really something a king can do." Not if he wanted to be a good ruler he couldn't. He needed to be on his toes, to strategize, to think. Not to mention, he was also a scholar.

"Ugh," Asmo rolled his eyes, "You sound just like Lucifer. Stubborn." His fingers ran down his face, neck, and to his shoulders. His touch was nice, gentle and a little curious, "If you think too much down here it's going to be harder to navigate. Pick one thing to think about if you have to. Something that won't lead you to thinking too much."

That seemed like a bit of an impossible task. What thought could possibly keep him from slipping down a rabbit hole?

The glint from the scorpion on Asmo's chest caught his eye. Then his thoughts drifted back to the hands on his person. There were only so many thoughts a single person could spark. Just like that a little bit of the haze cleared. He took each of the hands from his shoulders and held them in his own. Subconsciously, his thumbs ran over the soft moisturized skin. He couldn’t help but think once more about how warm he was. His body was very much a contrast to his own.

Asmo shuddered but didn’t bother to move. “Got something?” he asked, a hopeful edge lining his voice. His weight shifted towards the balls of his feet as he leaned closer to Solomon.

Solomon looked into his eyes. They were just as hopeful as his voice and they seemed to hold every star usually confined in the night sky. “Perhaps, but that’s for me to know,” he smirked, letting go of his hands to touch his nose.

His smile quickly turned into a pout and he placed his hands on his hips, “Boo. Really? You won’t tell me?”

“I don’t think I will, not yet anyways.”

“You stubborn man! I should just leave you down here.”

“Not if you’d like me to walk you to your room you won’t.”

Asmodeus pulled away from him and Solomon followed, walking a little closer behind him to the point where they were almost touching. He still smelled like the flowers of his sector. Solomon was still lucky to be here. Lucky to be paired with an attractive partner. Lucky that he was finally making progress.

“Anything else I should know? I doubt Diavolo just automatically knew where to go,” he leaned over Asmo’s shoulder.

Those soft slender hands reached out to run against the wall, “There are marks in the brick work. Some of them have the Mark of the Heart. You can feel them in the brickwork if you know what you’re looking for.”

Solomon placed his hand over Asmo's, stopping him in his tracks, “Show me.”

He swore he could hear Asmo swallow as he guided his hands along the subtle etchings in the brick work. They went slow along the clean cut lines, and the more Solomon moved over them the more familiar they became. They became etched in his memory as their hands cast shadows in the soft light from the torches. They stayed there in silence continuing their pattern until Solomon glanced towards him.

“You blush quite a bit,” he was so easy to read, “What is the cause this time?”

“The flames cast a wonderful shadow against your jaw line,” his voice was was soft, for once Solomon had to strain to look at him, “You’re a very handsome man, and I like touching your hands.”

Was he a mind reader? Voicing his own thoughts in such a way, Solomon swore he must know exactly what he was thinking in the moment. He didn’t look up at Solomon, but remained focused on guiding his hands along the wall.

“You think I’m handsome?”

“Well yes, I can see.”

Solomon stopped tracing his hand against the wall and pulled back only to close in to his fiance, “Then don’t avoid looking at me.”

Asmo’s breath hitched as they came closer together. Solomon threaded their hands together and squeezed. “I realize I haven’t been the kindest to you, and I apologize. I’d like to fix that if you’d allow me,” he allowed his voice to drop. His eyes swept over Asmo’s face, he was incredibly attractive and his features only enhanced his beauty. Long lashes, full lips, bright eyes. He was gorgeous.

“You’re very pretty Asmodeus.”

“Thank you.” Both of their voices were soft, despite being alone in the tunnels. Asmodeus continued, bringing his free hand back up to his face as a spark of hope returned to his eyes, “I want you, I do. I’m happy to hear that you… you want…”

He was quiet, but Solomon found it hard to pull away. There was something inside of him that felt… conflicted. It was a new feeling, one that was set into motion since he went to Asmo’s sector. He wasn’t sure what to make of the feeling yet. All he knew was that he could have stayed down here with him for hours, just like this, with their fingers intertwined together. Solomon’s other hand went to his hip and followed along the curve.

Beautiful.

“Oh! It’s wonderful to see you two spending time and getting closer together,” the booming voice made Solomon jump and move away from Asmodeus. Now it was his turn to become red. Diavolo stood not too far away from them, his butler not too far behind. “I didn’t mean to interrupt anything if I did.”

Solomon coughed as Asmo moved away from the wall and huffed, “You kind of did. What are you doing down here?”

“I wanted to check on you! I know you loved travelling to your sector and that someone telling you you could no longer go was upsetting. But I see that Solomon had you in mind! Doesn’t he Barbatos?”

“That he does young lord.”

Solomon couldn’t bring himself to look the butler in the eye. It felt like Barbatos was bearing into his soul, that he knew what he was going to do before Solomon even knew himself. What he did see of the butler was all knowing eyes and an incredibly sly smile. Suddenly he became all too aware of himself. Hopefully the light was dim enough that his features were obscured.

“We could have gotten closer if we weren’t interrupted,” Asmo growled under his breath. It almost made Solomon sputter. Getting closer? Down here? Solomon wasn’t about to go a lot further than what he did. Well maybe he would have, he wasn’t too sure what was going on inside of his mind at the moment.

“Why don’t we walk with you the rest of the way?” Diavolo asked, “It could be nice for all of us to get a little closer together.”

Asmo held up his hands, “Diavolo, normally I would love to but-”

“It’ll be fun for us!”

And that was how the four of them walked back to Asmo’s room together. Diavolo spent a lot of time chatting with the fifth prince as Solomon walked stiffly next to Barbatos. He was a private man, he preferred things to stay that way.

“Getting used to being here your majesty?” Barbatos hummed, glancing towards him, “I know the young prince has been eager for you to be here with him, even if he was nervous about seeing you here.” The two of them started to lag behind Diavolo and Asmodeus.

“Keep an eye on him, he’s not always transparent, none of them are.”

Solomon furrowed his brow, "That's a bit ominous don't you think?

"Ominous pr a gentle hint towards well intent? I'll leave that for you to decide," Barbatos then continued onward and placed a hand on Diavolo’s shoulder, “Perhaps we should head back. I can make tea for you and Lucifer.”

“But Barbatos!”

“We should leave them be,you can talk to them later, but for now we’ll leave them be,” Barbatos turned to face them again, “I do apologize for the intrusion, but we’ll be able to see you again soon.”

“Alright! Buh bye! We’ll see you later then!” Asmo chirped, grabbing Solomon’s arm and continuing on down the hall. It was a bit faster than Solomon was expecting, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected. Asmo wanted to spend time with him.

“Come in with me?” he asked, trying to tug Solomon into his room.

“Not tonight, but we’ll meet in the library to spend some time together. I promise.”

Solomon watched him before squeezing his hands one more time before backing away, “I’ll stop by in the morning, we can eat together, just the two of us, and then we’ll read together.”

“And you promise?” Asmo asked once more.

He's not always transparent.

“I do.”

It took him a while to return to his room. He wanted to make sure he was taking the right path back. But the longer it went on, the more confident he became. Thoughts of soft skin and golden scorpions inhabited his mind, keeping his path straight and narrow.

***

A few non royal magic users live within the fifth district. It leads me to genuinely believe that magic truly does run through the land. They aren’t strong users, but they can use a bit. The flora and fauna in Arcadia also don’t cease to amaze me. There’s a change in variety from the entrance to the fifth district, it’s very easy to forget how large the empire is when staying in the center. People also seem rather attached to their individual leaders, so maintaining good relationships with them will be incredibly important. I have to wonder if magic users outside the royal line have always been here or if they slowly integrated into the city. I also have to wonder if they have access to the Heart.

The underground caverns simultaneously require focus and no thought at all. Thinking too much causes what is akin to interference and it is easy to become disoriented. There are also small markings along the walls that are easier to find once you have your bearings. They lead along correct paths in each of the corridors. I can only assume the path to the Heart would also be the same, only more hidden.

Asmodeus is beloved by the people in his sector. He also seems to have a natural talent with young children. They adore him and he cares for them deeply. He seems to care for every person in his sector. He’s very warm, and it’s clear that he uses products from his sector daily. His hands are soft and his nails are well cared for. There may be a little more to him than I initially thought.

***

Asmodeus was more focused on Solomon than on the book in his hands. He sat close to him on the couch, eyes fixed and shoulders touching. It was a little hard to focus on the words in front of him the longer he stared, and yet it was also a little nice.

“Asmodeus, nothing unsavory in my library please, and try not to drool on my books,” Satan glided behind the couch only to disappear behind one of the many bookshelves. Solomon could only dream about reading half as fast as he did, it was a mystery.

“I’m not! Hush up and let me enjoy my date!”

“Quiet, it’s a library,” Satan’s voice echoed through the room. Solomon could picture the smile on his face as he spoke. He could only imagine what Asmo had confided with him in private.

Asmodeus rolled his eyes and resumed his work.

“You haven’t made a dent in your book,” Solomon said, closing his own and picking another up from the pile, “Does it not interest you?”

Asmo looked panicked before holding the book closer up to his face, “No! It’s incredibly interesting! I just like to take my time when I’m reading about advanced stuff. But I’m sure you completely understand! After all, you read scholarly stuff like this all the time.”

Hooking his finger over the spine, Solomon slowly brought the book down so he could see the page. He wasn’t really met with any resistance. “Oh yes, I do enjoy taking my time on the table of contents,” he smiled, “Asmo, it’s okay if this isn’t really your thing.”

“No I-”

“It’s okay. It is. You don’t have to read every single book you think I’d might pick up,” he gently took the book from Asmo’s hand and placed it at his side, “We can still spend time together if you’d like, just like this.”

He could see the hesitance in Asmo’s eyes. What had him so worried? Solomon certainly wasn’t angry that they didn’t enjoy the same literature. He wanted to know him better. If Asmo didn’t find what he researched fascinating like he did, that was alright. There was still so much about his fiance that he didn’t know and so much he wanted to learn. Maybe one day he’d understand him. Just maybe.

What he did know is that physical affection seemed important. So he slung one arm around the back of the couch and motioned for him to come closer, “You can lay your head on me if you’d like.”

Asmodeus didn’t say a word, instead he jumped at the opportunity to snuggle closer to Solomon, placing his head on his chest and letting out a content little sigh once he was comfortable. He was warm. So very warm.

"Let me know if you'd like me to start reading out loud."

Asmo nodded against his chest.

His weight was somewhat calming, and he found that he didn't mind spending his reading like this. This was what made Asmodeus happy. It was so simple, Solomon felt like a fool for depriving him. He’d become paranoid due to ambition. As he read, the fingers on his other hand gently started rolling over his fiance in one fluid motion.

He was going to be better for Asmodeus, for his happiness.