#their inner lifes. how they live. the many things we don't know about each other. the unsaid n the hidden n the unseen.

[noxtivagus]

i shld really fix that spam account n use it more often bcs oh my god i really often ramble just like this

[ushiromiya]

(madoka magica / rebellion spoilers below. TW: suicide and controlling behavior)

I don't know the direction in which walpurgisnacht rising will take homura's character but I can say with confidence that from at least where rebellion left off that I truly believe that homura made the decision that she felt was the most correct one even if it meant she had to become a monster in the eyes of every person that loved her. she felt that if things were left in the way the law of the cycle was currently running things that it was inevitable that kyubey would eventually capture madoka in her goddess form, study her, and use her to as a source for mass amounts of energy at the suffering of herself, the others within the law of the cycle, and magical girls at large again. this is something he explains very clearly when talking to homura before her transformation into homulilly.

I get so exhausted when I see people try characterize homura as an actually evil person with completely selfish desires and no regard for others. all of her actions, while not explicitly explained outright, when looked at closely always indicate that she does things out of her care for the other girls but feels like she bears the burden of having to do it alone because she believes she's the only one who doesn't let her emotions get in the way of protecting madoka and the others from kyubey and sometimes each other.

I will always use the scenes of her interactions with mami and sayaka in rebellion as huge examples of this. she has no reason not to kill them if she's a completely selfish and unemphatic person that only cares about madoka and no one else when given many opportunities to do so. I also don't personally think she keeps them around JUST because of madoka's happiness either. she very easily could have suppressed their roles in madoka's life with the world rewrite and clearly choose not to. I believe her mocking sayaka and acting in a clearly "evil" manner is deliberate acting on her part to frame herself as a villain. she might believe this would her actions more palatable and will create distance between herself and everyone else to protect them as well as allow her to assert more control in this situation. it is further emphasized how she truly feels with imagery displayed in homura's new world around herself (shoes abandoned on the side of a building to potentially indicate suicidal ideation, a half moon alluding to homura feeling unfulfilled and unhappy with this decision, her dancing around happily before stopping and slowly falling off the cliff side with a similar implication as the shoes).

homura's relationship with the others is incredibly complicated but she cares for them deeply too as they are also people she considers friends, she just had a particularly strong attachment to madoka. we don't get to see as many instances of her interacting with them as we do them interacting with each other as we are unfortunately only really privy to homura's life after she began looping for the most part but we can see it in the way she has expresses concern and distress for them in moments where she believes they are in real, tangible danger of being hurt (she's winces and tries to turn away when aiming for mami's leg and screams out when she believes mami is about to be truly harmed after their gun fight, which neither ever had the real intention of hitting one another with any of those bullets in the first place). her entire witch's labyrinth is one where everyone is happy and gets the lives they desire. why would her labyrinth, which is meant to reflect in-part her inner feelings and desires, appear that way if she didn't truly want that for everyone?

rebellion is so compelling to me for all of this and so much more!! (I could write a whole other post on the way it presents it's freedom with danger vs control with safety question at the end of the film) she is a girl who has repeatedly suffered incredibly traumatizing events and longs for a world where the person she loves and the friends she considers dear are safe. homura is not really the devil, but she wants to appear to be because being the devil would be easier than being a human being in these circumstances.

[le-trash-prince]

Kenta

Okay. It is once again time for me to talk about my number one little man. I was interested in Kenta from the very beginning, and at some point I realized that I was not going to be normal about him, but I really did not anticipate how much he would come to mean to me. I hope y'all have enjoyed witnessing my descent into feral blorbo state. It is not over for me in the slightest.

I want to say that Garfield really acted the shit out of this role, and the writers knew what they were doing when they cast him. His arc was so important to the overall plot, with his growth being pivotal to Tony's downfall, and yet he had a relatively small amount of dialogue to work with (although certainly not the smallest amount of the cast).

A lot of his scenes involve him standing in Tony's office, taking instructions, or even just simply observing. A lot of his lines are based around business deals and errands—rather than furthering his emotional development. He doesn't give big speeches, he doesn't talk about his feelings or his dreams, it's always just "I'm doing xyz for Tony, and I will never betray him."

Some of his most dialogue heavy scenes are in one stairwell with Pete and in another with Tony, which I think are extremely pivotal moments, both of which reveal a fear of abandonment.

But it's honestly when he's quiet that he says the most.

And I love that, I'm obsessed with it. I love that the whole fandom could insantly tell that he and Pete had something going on, just from the way they looked at each other. I love that the storytelling in his arc was so highly visual.

In the beginning, Kenta appears to be nothing more than Tony's lackey: quiet, intimidating, and actively complicit with what is going on.

But as we see him more and more, it becomes exceedingly apparent that he cares, so much. I know I am biased in saying this, but I do also pay close attention to what other people are saying about Kenta, and I know almost everyone has been waiting the entire series to see him stand up to Tony. The amount of acting that Garfield did with his eyes, while remaining such a stoic character, was insane.

Despite him repeatedly declaring his loyalty to Tony, despite the fact that he does not reveal any actions against Tony until episode 12, we feel so much of his inner conflict.

I think for me, personally, the aspect of Kenta's character that I relate to the most is his inability to speak up when he wants to. I've struggled with selective mutism my entire life, and there have been countless, countless scenarios where I've had so many things to say and no ability to say them. The more dire the situation, the more my words fail me. I have to spend so much of my energy constantly planning for potential conflict scenarios just so I can have the time I need to figure out which words to use. Because it can sometimes take months for me to figure out certain phrases. And because it is so painful to stay silent when you want to tell someone to stop. To stop fighting, to stop hurting each other, to stop hurting me.

So I was beyond moved and proud to watch Kenta finally be able to protect his brothers and quietly say the one thing he has wanted to say all along.

Don't hurt anyone anymore.

Don't hurt anyone anymore.

Don't hurt anyone anymore.

I will take some of the words that P'Chod gave to Garfield before they went into production. "It’s just you want to live in a peaceful house and be happy together.” All we want is peace.

I wish that Kenta had not been forced to kill Tony because I don't think he has ever wanted to hurt anyone. But I'm sure as hell not sorry that he did it. There will always be people who are unwilling to stop.

And I recognize that Kenta tried a peaceful method first. He gave X-Hunter what they needed to put Tony in jail, and Tony refused to give up. He was never going to be the kind of person who would simply surrender. To him, these people's lives are property that he is entitled to.

Here is an auto translation of something Garfield said about Kenta at the final episode screening.

"I already knew that Kenta would be similar to me, in that I'm someone who doesn't dare to express my feelings to the people around me, saying very little. So when I got the role, I felt… that it teaches us that as long as we dare to be ourselves and do things that make us happy, that's enough."

We may never know what happened to Kenta after Tony died, but I hope he is able to find his peace. I hope he is able to engage with restorative justice, and I hope he is able to learn what family really should be.

And I hope that someone, anyone, will give him a goddamned hug.

the first shot / the last shot

Thank you, Kenta, from the bottom of my heart, for showing us yours.

[inkskinned]

Genuine question, because I don't know a lot about the topic and you're:

If someone identifies as non-binary and genderfluid, which from what I've gathered means something like "human" instead of male or female, doesn't that imply that women are not humans , like whole complete people with richer inner lives? And why is a dislike for (performative) femininity combined with a preference for things that are stereotypically associated with maleness an indicator that one is genderfluid? Does that mean a woman is only a woman if she loves to do make-up, wants to be a mother, only wears skirts, dresses and high heels, shaves daily, is always kind and never angry, has long hair, hates to get dirty and so on? Because I have never met a woman who's exactly like that in my life, but plenty who liked gaming, sports, being loud, opposed to shaving & make-up, who wore pants every day.

I do not believe this is a genuine question, but I'll answer it as if it was, just in case other people have to deal with this, and would like someone who is patient enough to give them the words. The argument you're making here is something that already stems from a deep logical fallacy in the beginning argument. You assume "If you are neither A nor B, and instead C, you think that A cannot be C."

It is a logical fallacy to say "X implies Y" when it does not do so. By this logic, I also believe men are not human. By this logic, I believe only nb people are human.

Some - but not all - rectangles are squares. Some - but not all - animals are dogs. Some humans are nb.

I have given no information about how I present, nor my interests. I am not going to give you that information, because it's irrelevant. What I need you to understand is that, again, you are making the incorrect logical assumption that "If a person dislikes X and likes Y, they must be Z." For all you know, I dislike performative masculinity and like stereotypically feminine preferences.

You then assume your own statement is correct and move forward with your logic as if I had debated you. This is not a "genuine question" about how nb people work, this is assuming being nb is based on a series of preferences.

As a teacher, I do think it's important to tell you: even if this is coming from a genuinely confused place: you are conducting bad research. You begin with an inherently flawed question, as it biased and assumes a position I must defend against - "why don't you see women as people?" Then you make logical conclusions about my personhood and experiences and ask inflammatory questions as if you were debating me, which I am not interested in doing.

If you were my student, and genuinely curious about how nb people see gender, I'd have no trouble with you asking an out nb content creator. If you're really trying to collect information, ask honestly, without personal bias. Here's some examples of what a genuine question would have looked like: - Do your preferences play into your gender identity? - How has being nb informed how you see femininity and masculinity? - What tools do you use to express your gender?

You are mistaking gender expression and gender roles as being part of my identity.

You are most crucially mistaking being nonbinary as being part of the binary and having to exist "in opposition" to other genders in order for it to "make sense". One of the most freeing things about realizing I was nb is that I don't exist in opposition to anything - and also that all gender works similarly.

Gender is a describing word, and this can be confusing for some people. In general, we tend to learn describing words in binary - short/tall, old/young, kind/mean. Therefore, there are (many) people who think - feminine/masculine must be oppositional. Gender is also a feeling word - and again, these are words that can be taught in opposition to each other. Hungry/sated, happy/sad, feminine/masculine.

But because gender is such a rare type of word - feeling and describing - it exists outside of binary. It exists more like art exists.

Green can exist in opposition to red, but it also just exists as its own color. Blue is a part of green, but it is also a part of yellow - blue is still its own color, and yellow is still its own color, and green is still its own color. One painting titled "still-life with fruit" may be a series of vague colors and boxes. Another may be a hyper-realistic singular plum. They are both how the artist expresses their personal vision of the fruit. They might even be by the same artist! And although we may compare them, they are not opposites.

One song by Hozier is not in opposition to one song by Britney Spears. They are different styles, not oppositional styles. You may choose to see them as oppositional - but that is your personal opinion, and not fact. And some people may feel and experience those songs as being actually incredibly in-line with each other.

This is why we say: gender is a spectrum. That all gender roles are made up. Personality, interests, and experiences may shape how someone sees and feels their gender, but it does not define how they see and feel their gender.

When we question gender roles and gender expression like this, it tends to make people upset. People like me tend to make people upset. So much bigotry is based on the lie that "feminine" and "masculine" are oppositional. Opposition is rigid and important - it keeps white hegemonic structures in power. I don't have time or space in this post to talk about how rigid gender roles/enforced gender expression rules are not just sexist but also racist, classist, ableist, homophobic, and bigoted; but I really recommend you do the research on how disruption of the gender binary might put the patriarchy at risk.

The thing you feel trapped by - that "being a woman" is a complicated series of rules - is exactly the kind of thing a nonbinary person would agree with you about. We have to fight hard to be recognized for what is a basic truth about our identity - of course we don't believe that gender expression is equivalent to gender identity.

And truth be told... I think you kind of knew that. I think you kind of knew all of this. I am going to hope that you are young. I'll tell you this: I was raised by someone who was a far-right extremist catholic asshole. I certainly didn't have the research/knowledge/exposure to interrogate this stuff honestly until I was probably 23.

I am so much happier now. I hope one day you get the same opportunities as I had. I hope you choose to move away from bigotry.

love u anyway. all this in kindness only.

[wholoveseggs]

Hi, I guess this is more of a general question than request, but if he falls in love with a human reader, then how would he discloses them of his truth, the existence of the supernatural world, his original vampire status and his chaotic family?

Also there is a darker and more violent side of him and his life, and the plethora of enemies Mikaelsons have, how would he help them to adjust to the other side of him and keep her safe?

Hi Anon! Sorry that I took so long to respond to this, (it got lost in my inbox).

Here are some of my opinions / headcanons on Elijah dating a human:

~I think there would be a lot of adjustment required, especially considering how many enemies the Mikaelsons have, but Elijah is very protective, and would not put someone he loves in unnecessary danger.

~Elijah would probably have to tell the reader about the supernatural world and his status as a vampire when he gets serious about them, and would have to trust that they will not go around telling everyone and making themselves targets.

~As for the violent and dark side of his life, it is hard to say. Elijah tries to live by a code and keep a clean slate, and I think the show kinda does a poor job of showing his complicated inner struggle.

~Like, in TVD one of my favorite moments is when he says ‘Mother made us vampires. She didn't make us monsters. We did that to ourselves.’ Which makes it seem like he harbors a lot of guilt over all the bad things he has done in the past, and is trying to make up for it and that's why he tries to be noble.

~But his actions are always very contradictory. He can be very cold, cruel and calculating. Like, he will help someone or save their life and then turn around and stab them in the back later, or even worse, sacrifice someone else's life in order to achieve his own goals.

~He is very ashamed of his red door and all his internal darkness, which kinda proves that he does have a moral code, but at the same time, he's not a good person. I think his ‘noble’ reputation is more of a shield than who he actually is, like how Klaus is more bark than bite.

~So my guess is that he would not want to hide those things, because he would want his lover to know the real him, but at the same time, he is terrified of being rejected because of who he is.

~So I can see him struggling, and eventually just coming out and saying it and hoping that love is strong enough to handle his truth.

~I also think Elijah is very much a supernatural creature, and would want to turn his lover into a vampire once he knew that they were truly committed, and that they wanted to spend eternity with him. I think the show does a poor job trying to show how exactly he feels about what he is. He is clearly very good at being a vampire (compared to hungry boy Stefan or volatile Damon / Klaus). He has demonstrated that he has incredible self-control, and is able to resist the bloodlust. He has centuries of experience and a very sharp mind, and is very confident and sure of himself. I think the red door plot was meant to show that he is certainly not perfect, although it turned from an interesting metaphor about how he suppresses his guilt to a literal construct in his mind that makes him forget his own actions, which is a little ridiculous and dumb.

~Anyway, I digress. The point is, he is very much a vampire and I don't think he would be satisfied with anything less than his lover joining him in eternity and becoming his partner forever.

~As for dealing with his family? Hopefully the reader has some thick skin and doesn't mind drama, because with the Mikaelsons you kinda get what you pay for. And Elijah would never abandon his family, (fuck season 5) so they would have to find a balance and make room for each other.

[tower-girl-anon]

Victoria (12)

Victoria is a Latin name whose meaning signifies "victory". Even though it is a name, this asteroid in the natal chart can potentially signal the area of our lives in which we can access victory and what energy should we embrace in order to reach it. This doesn't have to be always about money though'. This post will talk about all of this while considering the house and sing this asteroid falls in.

As always, take this with a grain of salt, I apologize for any mistake, please don't copy or repost this post without giving proper credits to the owner, and please enjoy it.

Victoria in Aries/1st house: you have the face and energy of a victorious person. Even if you don't feel like it. The only way for these natives to reach successes in their life is to believe in themselves. To not be afraid of taking risks. To be proud of who they are, where they come from, and where they want to be in the future. Of following your passions even if it seems impossible or as if you are not capable enough. You can do it. You've got this. Take risks. Learn from your experiences when there is setbacks, delays, or bad results. And, especially, don't look down on yourself.

Victoria in Taurus/2nd house: these natives may have, as the last group, a problem with their self-esteem. Especially when you compare your earnings or material success to those who are close to you. Don't you worry. Victory in achieving a stable life in terms of material success is yours as long as you work hard for it. You may need to put some carefully planned steps in order to create the future you want for yourself. Don't rush. Don't tell anybody of your plans, ideas, or proyects since many of them could try to steal it. Victory will come with caution, organization, and confidence.

Victoria in Gemini/3rd house: the possibles victories of these natives may come once they feel comfortable with their knowledge and are not afraid to share their opinions, ideas, or projects to others. It is pretty possible that these natives have creative ideas, a sharp mind when it comes to businesses, knowledge, or a talent for writing even if they are not concious of it or feel like it's nothing of significance. On the contrary the things you think, know, and write could have a lot of potential for you in the future, but there needs to be a developing of your communication style with, maybe, a little bit of study too.

Victoria in Cancer/4th house: these natives could feel very connected to every victory they reach in their lives. It's like as if there is an emotional connection between their victories and themselves. Anyways, for those of you who have this sign or house, victories will come once you fully understood your emotions. Once you connect with your escense, your private self, your emotions, what makes you happy, and take care of it, you'll notice more victories in your life. Or maybe you will notice more how victorious you are. With yourself. With your family. Maybe one day you will be victorious in creating a family or meeting your soul tribe.

Victoria in Leo/5th house: these natives will reach victory once they connect ane let their inner child, their passions, hobbies, along with their romantic side, be free. How confident this person feels with themselves when they stand out or let their uniqueness come to light, it's something that will depend on each case but, if you feel like this, know that it's okay. It's okay to feel scared sometimes to show who you really are at a child like level. Many times, we think we must mature and act as an adult all the time but, in real life, connecting with the inner child is something good and precious. It help us to connect with our vulnerable and creative self which, in turn, it helps us see the world not as it is but what it can be. What can be done in it. And reaching that level is, in my opinion, a huge victory.

Victoria in Virgo/6th house: these natives will reach victory in attaining a healthy balance within the working life and the health department (mental and physical) after they take conscious of how precious our bodies are, they are our companion from the day we incarnate until we die, and it needs a proper care (physical and mental) in order to live a long and healthy life. Sometimes is difficult due to the constant stress we may suffer from day to day life, but maybe finding an activity that makes you feel relaxed, writing down your problems in a book, doing exercise, or something like that could help.

Victoria in Libra/7th house: these natives will reach victory by learning to connect with others in a healthy way. It may involve some lessons, easier or harder depending on the case, but, at the end of the day you will learn a lot about different things such as recognizing what people or attitudes you tolerate or not, who is better to form a relationship with or who is in your life just to be a nasty person. Some people are meant to be part of our lives and some of them not, you will learn that, but, despite if there is bad people in the world, there is still also good ones. And you will master how to recognize them if you master your lessons.

Victoria in Scorpio/8th house: for those of you who have this asteroid in this house or sign, you will achieve victory by diving into your intimate side. Not quite the emotional side such as with Cancer/4th house theme, but your sexual side, your innate power, and your hidden traumas. Also accepting that life is a constant change in which, in some cases, there will be loss or a death of the self, and those changes brings an opportunity of expansion, transformation, and grow. Understanding this will bring victory along with the knowledge of yourself and your intimate or sexual power.

Victoria in Sagittarius/9th house: for those of you who have this asteroid in this house or sign, your victory will come after a long time of discovering, learning, and maybe travelling too. Gaining knowledge through experience, travell, studying, or meeting new people can grant these natives the victory when it comes of understanding different cultures, e victory of understanding other people's point of view, and victory in expanding your beliefs thanks to the experiences you'll face that will help you grow over time.

Victoria in Capricorn/10th house: I'm not going to lie guys, there is a huge probability that your victories will come after a lot of working, karmic lessons, and cycles. Others will view you as someone succesful whom had to deal with some obstacles but ended up being victorious. This can become true in the future for some, but, in general, what this asteroid can bring is a victory in breaking karmic cycles so you can start anew. Free of chains, of karmic debts, of karmic partnerships, fears, restrictions, and attitudes. You can achieve victory on that.

Victoria in Aquarius/11th house: these individuals will reach victory after they accept their uniqueness, the uniqueness of other living beings (not only humans), and how that should be respected by others. You have intelligence guys; an intelligence that comes from knowing, sometimes intuitively, the energy of the colective, along with an intelligence of creative new ways of improving the energy of the world and breaking old patterns. By trying to understand and care for the colective, not only will you reach victory on this area, but also others will notice your victories or those will help the colective in some way.

Victoria in Pisces/12th house: victory for these natives will come in their own time and place, and once they start connecting with their spiritual side, their unconscious, and their psychic abilities. If you are interested in astrology, tarot, reiki, and other spiritual practices, with enough effort you will reach victory in becoming successfull in that area or discovering who you really are in spirit. Maybe you will master the law of attraction. Another thing to consider is the possible fact that your spirit guides communicates with you through your subconscious, providing guidance of what you should do in order to achieve victory or, on another hand, you have plenty of victories but maybe you are not so conscious about them.

This is all I have for you. I hope you enjoyed it. Send you a lot of love and light.

Tower Girl Anon.

[naranjapetrificada]

Fic recs based on what bits of s2 promotion made you go 👀

So obviously we only have a couple days left and I shouldn't have put this off for so long, but I've been making connections between fics I've encountered and questions raised by the teaser, trailer, and BTS video and thought I'd share some of them. Light (extremely light, like you've just emerged from an isolated cave light) s2 spoilers possible, although it's still mostly speculation?

Anyway this obviously got very long, so I'm throwing in a break now so I don't slow your scroll.

Maybe time in nature helps Ed do some healing?

Fallow Land & Bigger Sky, which I can't ever seem to shut up about was such a rewarding and healing read for me. Especially recommended for people who are interested in Ed's inner life, healing journey, and coping mechanisms, maladaptive or otherwise. Also folks who are excited for him to have an animal friend like Stede Bunnet, although in this fic it's a sweet little black lamb that he sometimes carries around in his shirt.

It begins with Ed having spent a year since The Dock living incognito on a remote (but not deserted!) island trying to get his head around everything that happened and looking for something like peace, however he can get it. It's written in an evocative, poetic way and includes some incredibly lovely flashbacks, believable character growth, important realizations, and tender emotional moments. The vibes are more pastoral than castaway, but Ed is still given time and space to do the work he needs to do in rugged, isolated surroundings so it still scratches that itch for me.

[There are definitely some triggers to be aware of but it feels like the author did a good job of mentioning them at the beginning of each chapter.]

Maybe they do some healing together?

There's no need to reinvent the wheel so I'm going to borrow heavily from an earlier post I made about healing and fanfic two make the case for these two:

Brace Yourself and Nestle into Me: The premise is that Ed and Stede figure out that they're into each other around episode 7, and they're deliriously happy to know that they feel the same way about each other. But Stede has some (understandable) sexual dysfunction around being queer thanks to the horrible society that he grew up in. Ed is a darling trying to help him through it all, and along the way he realizes he also has some of his own hangups he needs to work through, and that they can both support each other's healing.

I appreciate that this one doesn't treat healing like a straight line because it never is, and emphasizes that trust can't just be implicit, you really have to talk it through as a crew, even if it's just a crew of two broken middle-aged men who are desperately in love with each other. It also gets into some of the stuff I've been talking about on here about grieving your former selves and the selves you never got to be, which was validating as hell. That sounds heavy and there are concepts that are literally part of modern therapy modalities woven into the story, but there are also warm and loving and hilarious moments too, including this gem:

“Also can you just imagine how proud little horny baby gay Stede would be know you would be to know that whatever he went through, today you’ve got your own ship and are getting completely railed by Blackbeard? I mean, just absolutely dicked down by the most famous pirate in history? He would lose his mind.”

Adrift Between the Dreaming Seas: Based on my usual filtering on ao3 I probably never, ever would have come across this fic if it weren't for a recommendation someone posted here. It's got fantasy elements, allegory, metaphors stacked on metaphors, talking animals, and so many other things that would have kept me from ever discovering it on my own. My life would be poorer for it.

Basically Stede is cursed to be a lighthouse keeper on an island that seems to move around the world. Animals show up and the ones who talk to him are members of the crew, and Ed is an actual kraken. It's all this symbolism about monstrosity and trauma and maladaptive coping and the messiness that is Stede's kindness scraping against his self loathing. I shed tears of many kinds along the way, and it made me think hard about community and recovery and the things we do to and for ourselves and others.

It's just a lovely little gem of a story that made me feel so much so deeply while also making me laugh much more than I was anticipating. I'm so glad I gave it a chance.

Maybe there's a massive, life-altering storm?

A World of Tempestuous Things, which is nearly finished and has been such a rewarding, moving journey to follow as it explores another take on their reunion story. There's the expected angst and misunderstandings, but also wit and warmth and longing and rage and these casually devastating historical asides, some of which still haunt me out of the blue because of the staggering and inescapable nature of the passage of time. Speaking of passages and being haunted, dig if you will, this picture:

so little time to dwell amongst strangers as a citizen of the world will never, ever stop reverberating in my head like a cymbal crash and I guess that's just something I live with now. @lostakasha, you've given me the existentially beautiful prose version of tinnitus.

Maybe Stede's slut party era is finally upon us?

If so, good for him, he deserves it so much.

When the Light Shines In is a missing scene/lightly canon-divergent take on s1e06, if you just like the idea of meeting a jolly version of Drunk Stede (vs that "unhand me or bleed" guy, who is hot in his own way or course but can't beat messy earnest bossy Stede in my opinion). It's set immediately after the fight with Izzy. Ed is patching him up and trying not to vibrate out of his own skin, while Stede is affectionate and chatty and besotted whether he knows it or not, and steadily working his way through a bottle of rum for the pain. So not really related to season 2, but it will still scratch that same itch and make you smile real big.

Well, I Ain't Tactful is actually set during season 2, inspired by the moment in the BTS video where Ed sees Stede getting drunk with his new leather buddies. If you asked yourself what might happen if Ed felt compelled to keep an eye on Sloppy Stede and tuck him in with a glass of water, then this one will be fun. Ed is caring and lovely about it all even while still being a bit mad at him for everything, and Stede is a mess but so sweet and still so, so in love.

Maybe we'll get to see young Ed on Hornigold's ship?

There's no evidence of that so far beyond the whole ghost of Hornigold thing, but it certainly would be a treat. But even if it doesn't, if the idea of more young Ed appeals I cannot possibly recommend the pre-canon Never Shall We Die enough.

Now there's no getting around two crucial things that may be dealbreakers for some people: first, it's long. It's very, very long. Second: it's a WIP. Only one of two I've allowed myself to follow in this fandom so I don't get overwhelmed or bogged down. But!

The writing is so impeccable that it stands head and shoulders above almost everything I've ever read on ao3 and honestly above a lot of commercially published original fiction I've encountered in the same span of time since I've started it. The settings are deliciously (and sometimes, due to the realities of life on a pirate ship, disgustingly) immersive, the action scenes are perfectly paced, and the emotional beats, when they hit, hit hard and ring true and stay with you.

Starting at at age 13, young Ed's growth and development over time is equal parts rewarding and harrowing. Threads are pulled together from canon and from earlier parts of the story to coalesce into a portrait of a living, breathing version of our favorite guy trying to find his place in the world, stumbling along the way, and eventually realizing that if he wants a place he'll have to make it himself. The secondary characters leap off the proverbial page too, and the connections he does or doesn't form with them have interesting, believable fallout for everyone involved.

I mentioned action scenes earlier, but I want to circle back around to them again because NSWD takes Izzy's season 1 comment about Blackbeard being the greatest sailor he's ever known and says the same with its whole chest. I know I'm not alone in hoping to see Incredible Sailor Ed in season 2, but in the mean time this is more than scratching that itch for me. We see Ed set foot on his first ship with no skills beyond attracting (mostly) unwelcome attention and observational skills that become the foundation of his later abilities with the sea and with the art of fuckery. From the outside he looks like a savant but on the inside he builds his skills slowly over time, delighting in learning new things and seeing a plan come together. But best of all, he delights in the skills of others, eagerly learns from them when he can, happily teaches what he can to the few people he trusts, and takes pleasure and pride in their own success.

I could literally keep talking about this fic until the next chapter gets posted, but the good news is that happens regularly! I know it can be tough to trust a WIP but I for one am so thankful for the moment of poor impulse control that led to me starting this one. New chapters come roughly every two weeks, and looking at @tresdem's output elsewhere helps me feel secure that we'll actually get to the end.

[sykloni]

hi! I saw your “healing light” story (I loved it btw) and found your interpretation of the purple light really interesting! I’ve been wondering what it was - given that purple is the color of the upgraded telekinesis and butterfly charmer emotes, as well as the purple stream of light that connects us to mantas. My original thought was that it might be darkness (given that it makes it night and looks a bit similar to a darkstone diamond) (which would also place the red light as sort of a light element) or that it might represent memory (as the hint says “hoards ancient secrets). So I’d be curious to hear more of your thoughts on it! Do you have theories for all the lights, or just orange and purple?

Oh yes! I have so many theories as well as things I have basically just made up to make sense of how the world of Sky used to be. I think many different headcanons could be true since we know so little, but personally I don't really care if something is actually true or not if it's interesting.

But anyway my thoughts on colored lights!

I am using them to basically explain the magic system of Sky, (because that's what it is, magic). My headcannon is that (most) living things in the world of Sky have an inner light, that's basically their life force. It is possible to learn to control this inner light for different purposes and harvest the power of colored lights.

---

Here is what each colored light represents for me:

Cyan light - AIR ~antigravity, weightlessness, air currents, wind paths

Red Light - DARKNESS ~consume/release, ability to absorb power from surroundings as well as from other creatures, krill's light, darkstone, the basic principle behind power crystal technology (This is the one I have thought about most and I have many fascinating ideas about it.)

Orange Light - FIRE ~healing, life

Blue Light - WATER - purifying, bubbles, snow

Purple Light - MIND ~ levitation, telekinesis, psychic powers, altering reality

Green Light - EARTH ~mostly plants

Yellow/White Light ~"regular light", contains the potential of all the other lights (just like in reality white light contains all the waveleghts)

---

Like you can see I don't associate Purple Light with the darkness, for me all that falls under the Red Light which (quoting the Enchantment quests) "can be found where darkness prevails". I honestly never even considered making any connections between Purple Light and the darkness 🤔 Mostly I think there are two reasons for that:

By "the darkness" I don't mean just any absence of light. I think of the darkness more like a force of nature that's opposite to The Light(/Megabird) and I mostly use it in reference to pollution and corrupted things like dark crabs and krill.

Even if the Purple Light quest turns the Forgotten Ark into night after doing the Enchantment quest, it doesn't make the area dark, quite the opposite it fills it with moonlight that comes through the cloud cover and makes it actually pretty bright.

But you are of course free to headcanon things differently! :) Just like I said in the beginning we know very little about the world of Sky for sure and my headcanons also change when I think of something better/more fitting

[windvexer]

spirit houses: a container spell for your spirit vessel needs

In honor of realizing how much easier spirit boxes have made my life, here's a full moon post about spirit boxes 101.

A spirit box (maybe it has a bunch of other names; I don't know of any others) is a box which functions as both a house and a vessel for a spirit.

Spirit houses in and of themselves have historical precedence.

Trial records con­tain references to demon familiars living in glass or leather bottles; crystals; baskets; boxes; earthenware pots lined with wool kept under the stairs or by the hearth; under borders of 'green herbs' in the garden and under the roots or in the hollows of trees. Wilby, Emma. Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits (2005), 77

In the text above, many containers and locations are referenced. For simplicity's sake, I'm going to talk about boxes in this post. In this post, spirit box and spirit house are synonymous.

Why use a container-based spirit house?

I use 'em because I ran out of altar space. It's not even like my "inner keep" is chock full of spirits. It's just that sometimes, spirits don't like to have room mates and keeping everyone happy can require a lot of space.

For me, I have a lot of objects dedicated to my spirits. Using a non-container vessel (such as a quartz crystal) doesn't solve my space needs, because then I'd have a bunch of devoted objects and a vessel crystal to deal with.

It helps because the spaces devoted to each spirit are clearly delineated. This makes some stuff like psychic communication less confusing (more on this later).

I have a belief that spirits can literally enjoy objects placed within their home. Filling a spirit box with comfortable, lovely things actually allows the spirit to enter this space and enjoy their gifts.

Giving offerings and other interactions are simplified. No spoons for an offering ritual? Leave a gift on or in the container and it belongs to the spirit now (not in if the object will rot and need to be disposed of!!! we all know we'll forget about it). Did the spirit really piss you off? Put a black cloth (or t-shirt) over the container and move it to the back of your closet. No ritual or spell required.

(Also, re-arranging and moving them around is a heck of a lot easier than open altar spaces)

They also function as spirit vessels, btw

You want to meditate, commune, work with, or give instructions to the spirit? Easy peasy - the spirit house functions as a spirit vessel. Touch it or interact with it to also interact with the spirit.

Make them by 1) finding a container and 2) giving it to the spirit

Cleanse it if you want. Definitely try to make sure it's clean. Some beliefs might dictate that air gaps are required for the spirit to move in and out of the vessel (so, no sealed jars).

Then, give it to the spirit. A ritual or spell is fine if you want to do one. Otherwise, get into the zone where you feel close to the spirit (as close as reasonably possible in the moment; no need to feel like you're having a numinous experience just to get the job done).

When you're in you're zone (or like, just sitting in your room calling to the spirit a few times), announce (internally or externally) that you're giving the container to the spirit.

And yeah, how about that! That's all it takes.

Maybe frontload the process with a few gifts, though

An empty, plain balsa wood box isn't too impressive. I mean, an opportunity to imprint on a physical vessel and come ever-closer to our physical world is a gift in and of itself. But it's still an empty container.

Try popping some gifts in that bad boy at the same time as you dedicate it to the spirit.

Ideas for initial gifts:

Something soft and comfy for the spirit to sleep on (soft fabric pad will do; good chance to put your crochet skills to use!)

Something interesting or valuable (coins, miniature figurines, neat beads, etc)

An energy offering (candles; incense; food or beverages; your own energy; most disposable offerings should be left on or near the vessel, not inside of it)

Stuff they'd personally like

Things that are sentimental to you, which you gift to the spirit as a form of your personal reverence towards them

In the future, you can add and remove gifts. I'd definitely double-check with the spirit before removing anything at all, but you can.

You can also do magic with it

Ask the spirit to charge and enchant an object, and place the object in the spirit house for a full moon cycle (or longer, or less; the spirit should be able to tell you).

Include spirit petitions asking them to do tasks, or house rules to follow, etc.

The spirit houses make an ideal way to commune with spirits, especially as opposed to shared altar spaces.

You can literally pick up and move a spirit box into the area where you're doing divination. Or, touch it and use a pendulum or practice psychism (or hold it while you're meditating).

I personally just find this convenient.

Consider being open to developing them over time

You don't need to wait to devote a spirit box to a spirit until it's fully decorated, you have tons of objects to fill it up, etc.

The spirit box can grow and change to reflect your relationship with that spirit.

Spirits can and will ask for things, ask for the container to be modified in some way, and so on. Watching the collection of devotional items grow is a beautiful thing.

After all, it's not like spirits will like everything you want to give them. It might be a waste of time to agonize over collecting offerings before you've even gotten feedback on the initial spirit house itself!

Do your best to be open to input from the spirit about what kind of home it wants and what kind of things it wants.

A few more witchy notes:

If the spirit box is for a familiar, strive to include a portion of the physical species of the familiar (acorns for an Oak familiar; bobcat skull for a Bobcat familiar, etc).

Soil can make a very suitable "bed" for chthonic, dead, and certain earthen spirits - ask them about it, but it's definitely an option.

If your spirit has no original body on earth (e.g. it is a grandmother dollie and isn't associated with any living spirit), make a body for it (like, make a poppet) and keep the body in the house.

The spirit box, in and of itself, gives the spirit a greater foothold in this world. So don't take this step if you're not ready for it.

Feed your spirits often with earthly substances to give them power in this world

When you and the spirit have a falling out

If the relationship is done, try to act with honor if possible. Announce (as ritualistically as possible, is my recommendation) that the spirit is no longer welcome to use this container as a home, and that you will strike any spirit from using it.

Take the things out. Really wouldn't recommend taking back gifts, so only give gifts that you're happy with never having back. But dispose of them properly. E.g. if you've given a lot of coins as offerings, bury them so the spirit can still have them.

Nuke the container's energies, Announce that your permission for the container to be used as a Vessel are Revoked, and get rid of the container.

Yeah, it's UPG, but this is also my post, so -- cleansing and re-using some objects is fine for some magic. "This is a physical object that I gave to a spirit so it can have a foot-hold in this world and affect my physical reality, but now we're not friends any more and I want to use the jar for my prosperity spell" is not a great situation.

Strive to only use containers and gifts for spirits that you are willing to never, ever reclaim.

(Big asterisk on this for practitioners worth their salt; but for beginners, I don't recommend risking it)

(the "container spell" in the title is a bit tongue-in-cheek but I thought it was funny so I'm keeping it; I guess this all counts as a spell, sort of, so it's probably fine)

[tsukimefuku]

Overdue introduction post

She/Her • bi/pan • AuDHD non-monogamous lady • professional tinkerer • this year I’m gonna be unstable unstoppable

If you like anything I write, please leave a comment. I do my best answer each and every one made :)

I don’t usually take requests because I came back to writing in order to let my AuDHD run wild like a toddler with a pair of scissors, completely unbound by earthly restraints. However, I do take suggestions, if you’d like to send one in my Asks.

Pen name and meaning: Tsukime Fuku or Fuku-Chan. I wanted something to resemble the owl I feel like, most of the time (I have terrible sleeping issues). Fukurou (梟) in Japanese means Owl, so I just decided to shorten it in katakana (フク). I wrote Tsukime in kanji (疲明) mixing up the gloomy and tired aspect from “Tsuki” with the bright one from “Me”. I’m a tired, gloomy, somewhat optimistic millenial owl.

My letters from the LGBTQIAP+ community: B for kissing multiple genders and A for demisexual (I can’t spell, sorry). Also, I’ve got a wife.

Where I’m from: A country well known for being God's wild random sandbox experiment 🇧🇷 For that reason, English is not my native language (you can communicate with me in Portuguese, Spanish and English. If by any chance you say something in Italian, please make it three-year-old friendly).

Current fandoms: Jujutsu Kaisen (main) and Hazbin Hotel (secondary).

Former or everlasting fandoms: Death Note, Fullmetal Alchemist, flanaverse, Bojack Horseman, Rurouni Kenshin, Avatar (both The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra — I’m a Korra stan), Sherlock (books, stories, and BBC Series), Steven Universe, House MD, Supernatural, and other things I’ll add as I remember them.

Favorite genres of fiction: murder/mystery (b1tch! grew up reading Sherlock), terror, horror, drama and millennial comedy / dark humor. Currently, I’ve been getting into smutty fiction and rather enjoying it. I also want to write some chick lit stories, so...

Fun(?) facts about me I had enough time to come up with, instead of nervously sweating in the middle of a date thinking about them (this might get updated regularly, but probably won't - most recent will be at the bottom of the list):

I have a deranged type of humor (it's because of my inner demons. They have many voices. One of them is Carol)

I am unhinged and shitpost like a hell spawn. That's not a fun fact, it's a warning

I'm controlled by a monkey with a typewriter that lives inside my head. It feeds off of my anxiety during the day, then gives it back to me at night. It's lovely.

My writing process goes about like this: I get an idea. It plagues my every waking moment. If I don't write it, I realistically believe it might consume me into oblivion. So I write. Should I write because it's fun? Sure. Do I write to quench the thirst for dopamine of my inner demons (that have many voices, one of them is Carol)? Absolutely.

I got diagnosed with ADHD in my early 20's, and autism in my late 20's. These were definitely my roaring 20's, and we don't talk about it.

I try to be a kind person when I can. As a lady in her late 20's with some life and trauma experience involving mental illnesses, addiction, grief, and much more, you can always DM me if by any chance you need to talk about anything. I don't bite (much).

I realized I've been chatting with an online acquaintance that lives with a 12+ hour difference. That's how fucked my sleep schedule is — you can't fuck up your sleep schedule if you have none, amiright?

I need a soundtrack for everything I'm doing. It makes talking to people in real life very difficult.

I never know what day of the month it is. It's led me to receive happy birthday's unannounced and feel very confused at the people congratulating me on "my special day". I had done nothing special. It made no sense.

I tend to write very fast. It's the monkey's fault.

My most unpopular opinion: HIMYM ending was the correct choice, and made perfect sense for Ted and Robin.

My favorite quotes in English are the ending to The Great Gatsby (“so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”) and a tidbit from Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest (“Truth is rarely pure and never simple”).

My favorite poem of all time is "Tabacaria" by Fernando Pessoa.

Something you’ll NEVER see me writing in love stories is romanticized jealousy and possessiveness. Everyone has their thing, but that’s really not mine, and I don’t enjoy writing it. When I DO write about jealousy, I like to explore the underlying insecurity and pain behind it.

I’m here to spread the non-monogamy queer agenda.

If you read this through the end, thank you, and I'm slightly concerned for your mental well-being. Come on over and have a cup of tea.

🦉

[electricea]

@spaceandthedigitalfrontier sent - 🛍 the one thing i wish all of my followers knew about me ( My Experience in the Roleplay Community - Accepting! )

🛍 - The one thing i wish all of my followers knew about me.

This was something I honestly really had to pause and think about before I posted - it's something I've thought for a long time, for years and have told to a few friends privately but never actually said because I didn't know how it would go over and I'm already not exactly the most articulate person so I didn't want to be misinterpreted or misunderstood or maybe I'd fumble the wording of it.

A few years ago I used to have a friendly - they were simultaneously very very selective of who they wanted to roleplay with and at the same time desperately seeking out people to roleplay with. We could call each almost daily, we would talk about our experiences, about the RPC, about our lives - and whenever we got onto that topic I would try to give her suggestions, I would recommend her blogs to follow, just ways to get more engagement and followers like she seemed to want to so badly.

More than a few times whenever we got into this topic she'd off-handedly say things like 'I'm not a popular blog like you' or 'I don't have a lot of people to write with like you', little things that felt almost kind of...I don't even know how to describe it - almost passive aggressive, they almost felt like jabs and I never quite knew what to say in response to that because I never really felt 'popular' at all and the fact that this friend shunned so many potential partners and had such strict standards for any she did really didn't help her case.

But it's something I still hear a few times every so often - just people off-handedly mentioning that and it never fails to make me feel uncomfortable. Part of the reason why I never wanted to post about it was because I was worried I might sound conceited re-telling this story - I honestly don't think of myself as a popular blog. I guess my definition of 'popular' is more of a socially popular, someone who's like very naturally charismatic, a social butterfly who can get along with anyone surrounded by friends, who can have lots of inside jokes, matching icons, group servers, all that stuff.

I've never really considered myself to be any of those - having asd I often feel behind on recent humour and memes and I can be slow to truly befriend people and really fully open up to others because of past experiences, partially due to people like this former friend.

I guess where I'm going with telling this story is that when people say that - it can feel like they're simply looking at what's on the outside, assuming that everything is great in someone's life or that they have zero problems or issues - when people casually mentioning that, it feels almost dismissive and simplifying and it never fails to give me this sort of discomfort inside as they don't know the inner workings of my life or what I feel. I don't know theirs. What's the purpose of saying that? How am I expected to respond to that? I just don't know.

Like I said, even as I write this, I still don't know how this will go over as it's something I've kept quiet for years - I desperately hope that I don't come off as someone who's conceited or arrogant or totally un-self aware of their surroundings. I just wanted to answer this question honestly because I felt it deserved as much. Sorry for the long post.

[sohypothetically]

Post 5: Girls Night Out

The stats:

2 years from first published to complete

300,000 words

8 couples (10 if you include Hayffie)

2 main OCs (original characters)

29 pages of outline

So many euphemisms

So much food

So much research

So much research

The fic changed my perception of Gale completely

First person

So, so much smut

Mr. Mellark lives!

If there's one criticism... it might be verbs. Or maybe that the first part feels a little too "crack fic" and ambles too much.

This fic changed my life. It changed how I felt about the fandom, my place in it, and my writing.

Blurb:

Contemporary A/U. Johanna Mason copes with a breakup the only way she knows how: going on a man-hunt. She brings her roommate Katniss Everdeen with her and the rest is frat party history. Rated M for explicit language, sexual innuendo, and general snarkiness. Written for Prompts in Panem Places Challenge, Prompt: Frat House. (Ships: Jo/other, Everlark, Gadge, Odesta)Rated: Fiction M - English - Humor/Romance 

Fanfic.net

A03

GNO Tumblr

For more about the genesis of this fic, read the Tolkien Food Blog description below the cut.

I'm going to apologize because I'm pretty sure my Anon response earlier sounded like sour grapes. Boohoo that I wasn't in the inner circle and that I wasn't regarded as one of the top 50 Everlark authors. So what?

I mention it because I think it's important to understand my headspace when I talk about this next fi. Where it came from and where it led me.

So it was March of 2013. I'm on the periphery of a fandom that was so freaking talented. HGRomance, Atetheredmind, Court81981, Dustwriter, Amelia_Day, DandelionSunset, Fnurfnur, Misshoneywell, Peetasbunmyoven, Annieoakley1, hutchhitched, jhutchmyanchor, Everlark_Pearl, JLaLa, Monroeslittle, Sponsormusings, Xerxia, pookieh, louezem, bleedtoloveher, katnissdoesnotfollowback, streetlightlove, famousfremus... the list of phenomenal Everlarkers went on for days.

We would regularly have something called "Prompts in Panem". (You can check this out at promptsinpanem.tumblr.com.) These were, well, what they sound like. Pre-A03 fic exchanges based on prompts. It ran for a week, with each day having a new prompt. Everlark only. They prompts would release maybe a week in advance? I don't remember how long, but I know that it was a Bacchanalian festival where we would gorge ourselves on all things Everlark. Creative. Full of pressure. The goal was to put out something that people would read and comment on. It was all about buzz. (To be clear, I miss these.)

At the same time, I was reading other bits and pieces outside of Everlark. Whiskeysnarker, who wrote the best Johanna Mason. Hawtsee, one of the best Gadgers. I beta'd for an Odesta author.

PIP started and I knew that there was nothing I had in my quiver that wasn't going to be done 100 times better by every other author in the fandom. I didn't have an angle, and I wanted one. I wanted something that would make for interesting reading. I had no ideas.

So I did what every writer does when experiencing a doubt-spiral. I poured myself a glass of wine. And one glass became two. I cried. Then I got mad, sort of like Katniss when she shoots the apple in the pig's mouth in THG. And I heard a voice in my head berating me stridently for my pity party. That voice became the voice of Johanna Mason for GNO. And let me tell you, she doesn't suffer fools. And she has opinions.

Everlark through the eyes of another? And that person is Johanna? And it starts at a frat party? Hell, yeah.

It was only ever supposed to be a one shot. And then honeylime08 made a comment about wanting more.

The rest is history.

[m34gs]

Saw AU ask time: It has to have happened at least once, right? Someone Yuu sort of knows was a Real Jerk was thrown into a trap dies in said trap. Even though this person 100% deserved it, Yuu is upset once they learn of death via news. Without giving anything away how does each dorm comfort Yuu WITHOUT giving themselves away?

Oooooooh yes yes yes! I am so excited for this ask. Thank you so much for sending this to me! This is what I *live* for. Angst but also the irony! Potential for comedy! With murder as the backdrop :D Perfect! Ok, let's get into it!

I don't really have any warnings for this one; it's just under a cut for length! :)

Heartslaybul:

Trey takes the lead on this one, being the only one who doesn't have a hand in the murders at this point. He still feels a little guilty, because he didn't do anything to stop the others, but he can at least pull it together to organize Operation Comfort Yuu. He starts with what he knows best: baked goods. Yuu gets invited over to Trey's bakery, under the guise of taste-testing new pastries. Ace, Deuce, Cater, and even Riddle helped to make them.

While Yuu is there, the Heartslaybul team distracts them with warm pastries and delicious tea. Even if the event does come up in conversation, Trey guides them all through by just sliding Yuu a new pastry, and sitting and listening to their feelings. Cater has a tissue at the ready. Sometimes what a person needs really is just a warm treat and a group of friends who listen to their feelings without judgement. Cater and Trey have the "tell us all about it" demeanor down-pat (let's be real, both are pretty good at concealing their emotions and inner thoughts). Ace and Deuce struggle with pretending that they don't know the person who was put in the trap, so Trey has them on cleaning duty and doing whatever little tasks he can think of on the fly if they start to fumble too much. Riddle struggles a little too, so he stays pretty quiet but Yuu can chalk that up to his social awkwardness and lack of childhood. He does offer a supportive arm-pat, and Yuu truly appreciates it.

Savanaclaw:

Jack is worried but not good at lying on the fly, nor is he really good at offering comfort to a sad Yuu. On top of that, he is part of the Direct Cause of their sadness. He awkwardly pats their shoulder (insert "sorrows, sorrows, prayers" meme) and sends Ruggie and Leona the biggest "Help Me" eyes ever.

Leona takes a bit of an...unorthodox approach. "Well, no one likes dying, and most people don't like it when people die, but it's part of life, Herbivore," he says. It's not the most comforting line, but it's true enough that it at least stops Yuu's tears.

It's Ruggie who has to save the day. Growing up with so many kids back home, he knows a thing or two about comforting people; especially when it's to do with complex emotions the person might not fully understand. He's also good at feeling out emotions, reading the room, and lying to cover for himself. His skills are all gonna come in handy here. He ushers Yuu to a more private space and lets them just tell him all their thoughts and talk out their own emotions. When they're done, Ruggie ruffles their hair and tells them they did a good job and that it's not easy to feel that way. Maybe he even gives a side-arm hug. It feels good just for Yuu to get things off their chest. Ruggie slowly steers the conversation away from the heavy topic and eventually he has Yuu smiling and giggling a little. He also treats them to ice cream with his own money, a rare occurrence for anyone to experience.

Leona goes to Farena with the guise of "these murders are highly disturbing and unsettling to the public. Make a statement that we will have our people looking into it". Of course, Farena, proud af that Leona is taking such an interest in their citizens and their wellbeing, does exactly that and suggests Leona oversee the task force since it was his idea. He has no idea he just handed Leona the reigns to be able to control exactly who knows what about the murders; at least for the ones that occur in their territory... (listen, I totally think Leona could pull off a Deathnote situation successfully, lol)

Octavinelle:

Jade immediately takes stock of the situation. He's studied his fellow students and any humans he can come across. He knows all the words and phrases to say to offer comfort. He knows all the "right" actions for the scenario, or so he thinks. He scoops Yuu into a hug whispering soft reassurances. When Floyd figures out what Yuu's upset about, the first words out of his mouth are "well maybe the person deserved it", which unfortunately only makes Yuu more upset. Azul, having a better understanding of how to act, smacks Floyd immediately, making him yelp. It surprises Yuu and the action is so in-character for both of them that Yuu can't help but laugh a little. The laugh surprises all of them and there's a moment of pause...and then Jade smacks Floyd also. Yuu laughs harder. Of course, this devolves into a small scuffle as Floyd tries to fight back and the other two try to keep smacking him (not too hard) because it makes Yuu laugh.

By the end of the fiasco, Yuu hasn't forgotten what upset them but their heart feels lighter. Floyd then suggests they go get some ice cream, and he and Jade drag Yuu away. Meanwhile, Azul discreetly reaches out through his advertising connections and gets articles and any possible reminders of the incident buried even more in the news so that Yuu will be less likely to see them.

Scarabia:

Kalim has Yuu in his arms barely half a second after they've explained why they're upset. He gives hugs and reassurances and rubs their back. He has them sit down and asks Jamil to make Yuu's favourite foods. Kalim is highly conflicted and not good at lying at all, but he can definitely provide a good listening ear. And he's been practicing. Jamil definitely thought something like this could happen, so he's been having Kalim work on providing condolences without giving things away.

Still, Kalim is very vulnerable to sadness and his friends being upset. He could very well start to crack if Yuu expresses enough sadness. For that situation, Jamil has also thought ahead. They have a phrase: "Jamil, bring more tissues" or something like that, and that lets Jamil know Kalim needs help navigating the conversation, AND gives him a reason to come into the room. For his part, Kalim has had to work a little on some sleight of hand to hide the tissue box so that no one questions him asking for more. (he took lessons from Ace)

A comforting meal, with warm drinks, and a sleepover party, and Yuu is suddenly feeling a lot less sad and is able to relax a little.

Pomefiore:

Vil knows how hard it can be to talk when you're upset, so he helps Yuu talk it out by occupying them with an activity, a low-energy activity. I like to think he'd choose painting nails. It can become so much easier to spill their thoughts when Yuu is getting their nails painted, when they're watching him manipulate the brush instead of trying to look him in the eye. It also provides a distraction; human eyes are naturally drawn to movement and so Yuu is watching the nail painting instead of watching Vil's face and reactions. It takes the pressure of lying on the spot off of him, and also lets Vil "talk" to Rook with his eyes and mouthing words silently if he needs Rook to step in or to go get anything.

Epel has to be "busy" at this time, since we've established in this AU that he's not great at lying and has a hard time with coming up with lies. He's the kind of person who hates subterfuge and subtlety. Once Yuu is calmer, he can suddenly have finished all his "tasks" and be available to hang out and help distract. Vil will definitely take a moment to himself, leaving Yuu with Rook and Epel, while he calls his connections in advertising and publicity and "persuades" (nicely or with veiled threats, he's capable of either) major news companies to run happier stories for the next several weeks.

Ignihyde:

As expected, Idia and Ortho are both a bit awkward when it comes to the comforting. Ortho does come at it from a more clinical, objective view of "well, he was a bad person, and it's better him than some innocent person". It doesn't upset Yuu as much because they know Ortho's still not exactly human and that he's trying, but they do explain that hearing that doesn't make them feel better.

Idia is actually the one who ends up taking over the comforting. He has his experiences with grief, loss, death, and all the horrible feelings that can go with that, so he does get it to an extent. Instead of talking, though, he just lets Yuu sit with him in silence. They lean against each other as Idia plays a videogame, one that he knows well so he doesn't have to focus and can listen to Yuu if they start talking. Ortho takes it as a learning experience and just watches.

Afterward, when Yuu has finally fallen asleep, they cover Yuu with a blanket. That is when Idia and Ortho hack into all Yuu's social media and anywhere they could possibly see online ads and news. Idia is definitely not above hitting all the buttons and searching all the things he knows will affect how the algorithm shows things on Yuu's feed, to make sure they see only happy things for the next little while. He may even launch a short-term internet attack on some of the more prominent news sites...

Diasomnia:

Ok, let's be honest. None of the Diasomnia boys are ready for this. A sad Yuu? It's panic time. Lilia thinks he should cook them something. Silver insists he should NOT. Sebek cannot lie to save his life. He's all stiffness and stammers. Malleus may or may not be on the verge of destroying the planet.

Eventually, they get it together. It's when Yuu says "Hornton, can I have a hug" that they single-handedly save the entire universe from Malleus's wrath. Malleus gives them a hug and just holds them. And holds them. And holds them. When is he supposed to let go? Is he supposed to let go? He doesn't know, and honestly he doesn't want to ask.

Finally dissuaded from trying to provide comfort through home-cooked food, Lilia suggests they order in some food and have a sleepover. Silver suggests Lilia tell Yuu some of his stories of his past, since he's experienced so much he may be able to have a story Yuu can relate to. He does, telling several stories, and Yuu feels better as they listen to how someone else has felt similar to how they feel. It's a weird comfort, but it helps. Sebek helps by making tea and helping Silver order the food (Malleus can't figure out the tech, and Lilia *will* add really weird requests in the comment section if he's left to do it). A cozy night in with movies and food and Malleus still holding them, and Yuu feels a lot better the next day. Malleus is of the proposal that their next trap involves getting rid of the victim's face if they fail...Lilia is not opposed.

There you go! Hope you enjoyed these answers, these are my thoughts!! I had so much fun coming up with this response and writing it all out. Please let me know what you think too!

[sassykattery]

Lover's Feast

Listen, sometimes, I don't write the stories, my inner horny demon does. And for some reason, that demon decided we needed vampire smut, so here you go. Drink up.

CW: features afab/fem oc! Altaira who uses she/her pronouns. Smut: fingering, unprotected sex, piv with creampie. Blood play and blood drinking. Explicit descriptions of sex. Yandere behavior.

Pairing: Diavolo x oc! Altaira [established relationship]

Third person POV, Vampire AU

Other characters: Barbatos

Synopsis: Haven't we all been told not to do something and we do it anyway? Well, sometimes that leads to... unexpected circumstances.

A/N: This story is not canon to Altaira's original fic, however, there is quite a bit in this story that reveals some elements of her fic. So, in effect, this is a Vampire AU that is related to the original story.

"I hope this room is comfortable for you, Altaira," Barbatos said with a bow. She looked around at the darkened room, a lone, rather large bed against the opposite wall, some couches laid about, a couple of bookcases. Diavolo had invited her over for the first time since they started dating, and as late as it got, he invited her to stay the night.

"It's lovely, tell Diavolo thank you for me," she replied with a slight smile, turning back to the butler.

"Very well. My lord and I ask that you remain here for the night, and should you need something, simply message us. We would hate for you to get lost," he added.

"I will," she agreed.

With that, Barbatos shut the door and left the human to her own devices. She began to explore her quarters, perusing the books along the shelves. Many she didn't recognize, clearly written by Devildom-native authors. Finding one that seemed interesting, called "A Tale of Twin Flames," she took it with her and lounged upon the chaise to read it.

The story was that of two lovers, they who had been separated by circumstance upon the creation of their shared nature by the probability of the universe. One flame found themself in the throes of commonality and mundane living. This flame traversed their life completely unaware of the other, finding each stepping stone upon their life's mortal circuit as an act of surviving. The other flame fell upon the immortal circuit, tossed like an angry sea between duty and heartfelt desire for who, this flame didn't know. This flame was completely aware of a missing piece, and upon every other fire it encountered, there was no spark, no ignition.

It was on one fateful day that the flames met, the immortal fire unknowingly finding the familiarity it had been searching for since childhood, an attachment unlike a moth to its flame, no, not a detrimental one. This association of flames was like taking two pieces of a grand puzzle, both fitting perfectly together in the middle, completing a wider picture than either could conceive. This sort of thing could only be described as a perfect union.

Altaira found herself waking up suddenly, laid back against the chaise. She didn't realize she had fallen asleep, and when she looked at her book, she realized she had finished it. Setting it aside, she stretched and came to her feet. She quickly realized she needed a bathroom.

Thinking she knew where it was and hating to bother anyone else just to go, she changed into her pajamas quickly and made her trek out of the guest room. It took some time, but she did eventually find one. She could've sworn the one she had been in before looked different, but she was happy to find it nonetheless.

When she was done, she left and looked around, realizing she had no idea what wing of the castle she was in as dim as it was. She wasn't entirely sure how she even found her way over here. Uncertain but unsure where anyone was to even ask for help, she began walking around. A chill ran over her as she walked the halls, and she rubbed her hands over her upper arms, trying to warm up. The paintings lining the halls kept her company as she watched them pass by as she continued her trek.

"Altaira," an airy but low tenor voice called out to her, making her jump and turn around.

"Diavolo! You spooked me," she replied, looking at the darkened silhouette of the prince. He stepped forward and she could see him slightly better, still in his RAD uniform.

"I apologize. You are up rather late," he replied softly, his lids lowered as he looked at her with a neutral expression.

"I fell asleep by accident," she replied, studying him.

"I see. Since you are awake, would you accompany me to my room? I wouldn't mind your presence, and I'll take you back to your room when you wish to retire again," he offered smoothly, taking a step closer and gesturing toward the rest of the hallway. She looked and guessed his room was that way.

"Sure."

Very lightly, his hand came to her back and guided her to follow him. She did so, walking beside him as he led her to his room, which was only two doors down from the bathroom she found.

Once inside his room, he closed the door quietly and locked it without her noticing. He walked over to a sofa and gestured for her to sit. Sitting a respectful distance away, he turned toward her and crossed a leg, reclining back.

"Thank you for letting me stay here. I've had a good time," she said, filling the silence.

"Of course, I'm always excited to have you here. Is your room comfortable?" He asked, leaning forward and pouring a glass of Demonus from the decanter on the coffee table next to the sofa. He handed the first glass to her and then poured one for himself.

"Thank you, and yes, it's perfect. I even enjoyed one of the books I found," she replied with a small smile, then taking a sip. This Demonus was a cherry red color, different from the champagne or blue colors she was used to seeing. It had a darker taste to it compared to others she had tasted.

"What book?" He asked, sitting back, looking relaxed but keeping his gaze wholly focused on her.

"A Tale of Twin Flames."

A charming smile laced his lips as he brought the glass up to his mouth. "Yes, that is a favorite of mine as well." He finished the glass quickly and poured another while she swirled hers.

"I wouldn't mind reading more by that author," she added, looking up at the prince through her lashes. He finished his second glass of Demonus and set it down, leaning in closer to her.

"I'm sure I could acquire them for you. What was your favorite part of that story?" He asked, nearly in a purr now as he took in her form.

"I enjoyed it the most when they met for the first time," she admitted, looking away and smiling as she remembered what she read. "The way the author described their first interaction like puzzle pieces who never realized they could fit with someone else so perfectly."

His gaze softened further as he continued to watch her, his head tilting.

"And the way the author just beautifully portrayed their..." she stopped herself, realizing she was getting carried away and locking up.

"Go on," he commanded in a deeper pitch, causing her to look up at him again. She felt the heat radiating off of him with how close he was, and with the way he was watching her so intently, her cheeks began to burn.

"Um... Sorry, I lost my train of thought," she lied, feeling shy now.

"I see. And, what did you think of the ending?" He continued to ask.

"Oh! Yes, I quite liked it. I wasn't sure they were going to stay together, but I'm glad they did," she answered. "I would love a sequel some day."

"The author is a good friend of mine. She took the inspiration of the story from me," he admitted.

"Really? So, is there going to be a sequel?" She asked excitedly, inching closer to the prince now.

"That all depends," he murmured.

"On?" She tilted her head.

He was silent for a couple beats, looking at her closely again. Suddenly, she looked down at her hand when she felt his lay upon hers. When she looked up again, his face was maybe an inch from her face. Her gaze flitted between his and his lips, as they were so close to hers. The warmth coming from him was so inviting.

Her eyes fluttered closed, and she let her body come forward to collide with his. Their lips met, starting fires deep within themselves. Her scent had already filled his senses the moment she walked into his space, enveloping his every thought in a smokescreen of her. But the second her lips were on his, that increased beyond a tenfold as her body came alight. He could feel her heart rate pick up, something else he noted when he got closer to her. It was thunderous now, and he could almost feel it thrumming against her chest even with the limited space between them.

She pulled away first, breaths labored. He had forgotten she likely needed to breathe. But now he was too far into it, finding his appetite for her ever-growing in her presence, especially when her body was signaling every response that she wanted him, too.

"I, um..." she barely whispered, studying his gaze. She felt his fist curl beside hers, and his brows furrowed with his lips forming a thin line. "Are you okay?"

"I think it's time for you to retire," he responded firmly, bordering on anger.

"Oh-oh... Okay," she quickly got up from the sofa, her touch leaving his behind.

Without looking back, after unlocking the door, she left, walking quickly around the halls until after at least fifteen minutes that she finally found her room. She slammed the door and threw herself into her bed, wondering what she did wrong. Looking at the time, she realized it was still the very early hours of the morning. Determined to forget about what happened, she turned off the lights and tucked herself into bed.

Dark dreams plagued her. A feeling of uneasiness kept her from a restful sleep. In her dreams, she was followed by a presence, unsure if it meant to do her harm or not. She was constantly looking behind her, feeling its ominous energy latched onto her like an appendage, unable to leave her be without its own undoing.

A gasp escaped her lips just as her eyes finally opened, released from her dreams. But what she found to hover above her proved to be just as alarming. She could feel hands on either side digging into the mattress, forcing it to dip around her. It was pitch dark in the room, but she could feel the body trapping her in place.

"Apologies," a familiar yet gravely tenor stated.

"What are you doing, Diavolo?" She asked timidly.

"I was watching you sleep. It seemed you were having fitful dreams," he confessed.

"Why? Why were you watching me sleep?" She asked, a bit more panicked-sounding.

"I couldn't find my own rest after the touch of your lips. You left an impression," he replied.

"But you seemed angry," she added.

"Because I was trying to control myself. You were... tantalizing," he answered. "But I found myself coming to find you for more, and I ended up here, watching you."

"Tantalizing?"

"Surely you've figured it out," he purred, still a voice in the dark, surrounding her completely. "Tell me, Altaira, what was special about that book you read earlier? About the male lead?"

"He was... immortal," she replied, piecing together what he meant. "But you're a demon, not a v–"

"The two words do not have to necessarily be exclusive to one another. Demons and vampires, and their colloquialisms across many languages, have been interchangeable descriptions of the immortals who feed off the souls and life forces of others for millennia," he informed her, a slight smile to his voice now.

The instant the information sunk into her, she froze, her heart rate hiking up even higher.

"I promised myself I wouldn't touch you in any such way, for your sake and mine, unless you asked for it. I wouldn't even indulge in a kiss unless you initiated, my darling," he added.

She shifted around then, and though she couldn't see him, his view of her was perfectly clear, his eyes adapted to complete darkness.

"Can– can we have some light?" She asked nervously.

Instantly, a candle on the dresser in a far corner went alight, and dimly, she could finally see the Demon Lord holding himself above her, now in a black silk pajamas set.

"So... You're not angry at me?" She asked quietly, searching his face. He looked the same, and though his gaze was largely no different, she was starting to understand the hungry looks he gave her.

"No, darling. Never," he answered, taking one of his hands and leaning onto the other to caress her cheek.

"Then... can we kiss again?"

His smile came back, an ease influencing his gaze. "Of course."

Lowering himself to her, his lips encaptured hers, and again, her body was lit again, as if every time they touched, he was setting her ablaze.

"Hold me," she mumbled against his lips, kicking the blankets down.

Once he had access, he slid his arms beneath her and pulled her into his embrace, kissing her all the while. Holding her was like holding a flame; he was almost afraid he'd smother her. But her warmth and movement made her all the more enticing, the way she molded perfectly against him. She kept her hands on his shoulders, squeezing them lightly to get his attention.

"Mm?" He mumbled, breaking their kiss.

"I need air," she chuckled. He chuckled too and sighed contentedly. Without thinking, one of her hands came to rest on the back of his head, and while craning her head to fit into the junction of his neck, his did the same into her neck.

He gave a short grunt and squeezed her tightly, feeling her pulse point right against his cheek.

"My love," he growled. She pulled away to look at him, his eyes now fully dilated and cheeks flushed.

"Oh," she muttered.

"You're incredibly hard to resist," he mused in a deadpan.

She chewed her lip for a moment and decided to be brave. "I'm sorry, I suppose I'm curious... Are you... Well, do you want to... drink from me?"

"I suppose one could put it that way, yes. Although, I would say I would like to be intimate with you in such a way that it feels good to the both of us," he suggested.

"It can feel good?"

"Indeed," he replied with a slight smirk.

"I wouldn't mind trying," she replied quietly, wide-eyed.

"Please do not feel obligated. Don't do this to appease me," he murmured, tucking some of her hair back and looking at her fondly.

"No, this is something I want. I desire you in the same way," she answered. He smiled and kissed her again, thus more passionately to demonstrate such desire to her, too.

Breaking away, he looked more serious now. "You may back out at any time. Please, speak up if you need to," he informed her quietly.

She nodded, and he began unbuttoning his silk sleep shirt, watching her. Her hands flew up to his to stop him, allowing her to take over. She brought his hands down to her to reciprocate, to touch. Her arms raised up to allow him to pull her top off. The rest of their garments were discarded. The two admired one another wordlessly, breathing in the intoxicating beauty of the other.

"Is it messy?" She asked earnestly.

"It can be, but no, it won't be here," he answered, backing off and taking her arms to guide her upward to sit on her knees.

"I don't like seeing my own... blood," she admitted, nearly whispering the last word. He then sat back on his rear and guided her to straddle his lap.

"Then you won't," he assured her. His arms encircled her form, keeping her close against him.

"And will this... do anything to me?"

He chuckled again, caressing her back and curling his fingers through her long blonde locks.

"No, sweet girl," he answered. The prince's demon form fleshed out into existence, his wings fully unfurled, horns just inches from her own head.

"Beautiful," she murmured, stroking his face with the back of her hand.

"There are none as lovely as you, though they wish they were," he replied in a deeper pitch. "I can scarcely believe I have you like this." He then tilted his head forward to whisper against the shell of her ear. "And I have no intention of letting you go. You are in your entirety all mine."

A shiver ran down her spine, making her skin prickle. When he pulled back to look at her again, she merely ran her fingertips down his neck and chest. "All yours," she repeated back. A smile adorned his handsome face again, his gleaming golden gaze entrancing to her.

"But..." he started to say with his hand sliding beneath them, his other hand shifting her slightly in his lap, his fingers coming to brush her mound. "From this moment forward, this is definitely only for me to consume, to taste, to experience, make love to," he said before leaning in to whisper again, "And to fuck."

On that final word, his lithe fingers had rubbed against the slit of her lower lips, causing her to gasp softly, her hips rolling forward into his touch and force more of his palm against her heat. He chuckled darkly and began rubbing his fingers in circles over her lips, eventually sinking into her folds as warm slick began to pool on her heat.

"So good for me," he murmured. She simply moaned in reply, holding onto him again as he began working her clit, earning more moans from her. In a smooth tone, he added, "Just focus on this, how good I make you feel. Not a single person can do what I can for you."

If her moans weren't indicative of her pleasure, then her hips rolling incessantly certainly was. His free hand gently pressed her forward into him so he could nibble on her ear lobe, diverging her focus as he whispered,

"When you are in the height of your ecstasy, I will truly taste you, consume you. It will be sharp for merely a moment, and then it will be numb for another..." He then nipped at her while his free hand caressed her back. "Then you shall feel my bliss entangling with your own."

His words made her whimper and buck her hips, trying to gain a foothold of stimulation from his fingers.

"Please," she whined pitifully.

Obeying her, one of his fingers sank lower to find her softened entrance, ready for whatever he wanted to give her. Sliding in was easy, so warm and wet. He groaned in her ear to feel it, ready for that same feeling to be on his cock. Finally ready to take control, her hands found purchase on his shoulders as she began to rock her hips, finding relief with a smile on her face as she chased her pleasure.

"So amazing," he whispered, watching her please herself on his hand. "That's it, little darling, take what you want from me, it's yours."

Her eyes barely cracked open to look at him, and he loved that lust ladden gaze she held for him, hazy and somewhat coherent. He adjusted his hand, pulling back slightly to offer her another digit, and she gladly rolled herself onto them. Another wanton moan escaped while he tilted his head forward to kiss her, swallowing her sounds for only his consumption. He felt her walls begin to tighten, contracting down around his fingers.

"Fuck, I want your cock," she moaned out as her head rolled back.

"Mm," he half-chuckled, half-groaned. "I've been waiting for this."

He pulled his hand away when she stopped moving, leaving her empty for just a moment as he took hold of her rear in both of his hands. Once she was properly adjusted on his lap, he guided her up, the tip of his leaking cock nudging her lower lips. More whimpers and cries escaped her lips as they worked together to guide his cock to slip through her folds, making her slick run all over it. It was merely a tease for her but already so intense for him to feel her heat against his.

With her raised like this, he barely tilted his head up to look at her with an almost pleading gaze. "Tell me you want this, that you want me."

Her lustful gaze softened, still hazy, though. "I want you, so, so bad. I want this with you. I want you to taste me," she reassured him.

Letting gravity aide him, he slowly sank her down on his cock while he grunted out his pleasure, just as she whined hers out. Though he could never enter heaven, surely this was far better than anything any "god" could offer him. It was perfect. Divine. Other worldly. He was filled with more liquid hot desire as she lurched forward to kiss him again, so hungry for more and more of him. Devious little darling, he thought.

Seemingly an eternity later, she was fully impaled on his cock, throbbing and aching inside her, just as she ached for him, too.

"You feel..." he murmured, his eyes nearly rolling back as she squeezed him with her hot, wet, soft cunt. "Fuck, you're perfect."

"So full... I love it," she mumbled blissfully.

"Mm," he hummed with a smile. Taking hold of her hips, he started a slow pace of grinding her in his lap, forcing out more moans from both of them. It was intense for both of them, and she was squeezing him that much tighter.

"Dia," she whimpered. "Close."

"Already? My poor little darling, were you aching for this? For me? Was this all you could think about?" He teased her softly. She nodded and whimpered, looking slightly up at him with teary eyes.

"You just feel so good," she replied quietly.

Carefully and slowly, he planted kisses trailing from her lips to her jaw and down her neck. He ran his tongue up her neck to nibble at her ear, tugging on the lobe playfully. He did this all the way around, getting her accustomed to his ministrations. It worked as she gradually rolled her head back and exposed more of her delicate flesh to him. He continued to guide her hips into a rhythm they both enjoyed.

"Beautiful and delicious," he mumbled against her neck, just below her ear. Her scent was completely taking over his senses, filling his mind with only thoughts of her, her body, her sounds, her taste.

"Please," she cried out to him, moving her hips of her own accord, grinding down harder. His hands moved to grab the round lobes of her ass, squeezing them.

"Just a little more, sweet dove. I want to savor this," he answered her cry. "I promise I'll take you there, just a bit more."

Hot fiery bliss ran through her nerves as it was, making her shine with a slight sweat, her hands curling into the locks on the nape of his neck. Her breathing became deep and ragged. He read her body like a novel, each sign of her nearing orgasm a page to turn as he watched her start to build to it.

Leaning toward her once more, he whispered, "So good for me. Every bit of you is exquisite, the only one deserving of such bliss. I want to give it all to you, princess."

"Please, please, please give it to me," she whimpered. "I need it. I need you, all of you, give me all of you."

"Ohhh..." he moaned out, suddenly feeling his own pleasure surging.

Feeling his cock begin to pulse, she quit fighting the release that wanted to so badly break through her body. In a swift movement, her hands on the back of his head pulled him toward her, his face buried in the side of her neck.

"Take me there, please, Diavolo."

Unable to fight himself either, he dropped the restraints he was holding in his mind, letting them fall into the chasm of euphoria he was about to jump head-first into. He started thrusting up into her viciously, no longer proliferating his own inhibition.

"Ahh! Oh! Yes! Right there!" She screamed out to him. "I'm gonna cum!"

And just as he felt her walls clamp down on his cock, he felt the ache in his throat, a tightening he only experienced when he was on the verge of tearing something apart. It was dry and urgent, needing to be drenched in her. Following the instinct, he pressed an open mouth kiss just above the anterior jugular vein. His hold on her tightened to keep her still for a mere moment before sinking his fangs in.

Altaira gasped and jolted only slightly, feeling hundreds of icy pinpricks into her flesh, but it quickly faded as warmth and a numbing feeling glazed over the area. In the very next instant, she experienced her own undoing, coming apart with a low moan, limply pulling at his hair. Her walls pulsed and milked his cock for everything he had.

Diavolo grunted as he consumed her life's essence. Indeed, she was as sweet as the forbidden fruit, just like he knew she would be. A soul like hers could only be inhabited in a body just as delectable, and he was her insatiable devotee. It took a few moments for him to focus again, realizing she was cumming all over his cock, and that combined sensation of her orgasm and her confectionery of crimson in his mouth was his own undoing.

Her peak was just starting to plateau when she felt his release deep inside her cunt, and he was right: she felt his bliss intermingle with hers, the doubly designed connection intertwining into one feeling, one singular sensation. From where he was consuming her, divine warm ecstasy flowed out to the rest of her body, sending more orgasmic pulses up her spine and down her legs. Every nerve was alight, and there wasn't an inch of her body left unaffected by the fire she felt within.

He drank her in as slowly as he could allow himself, wanting to savor this moment and sear it into his memory for eternity. His hands left her rear in favor of wrapping around her back, pulling her in as close as physically possible and no longer thrusting up into her. Her pleasure became his, too, only heightening both to infinity.

They stayed like that for a while, the image of unholy and immortal lovemaking. The vampire, a demon, devouring the essence of his first human, the only creature ever brave enough to offer herself in such a way. Though she had every reason to be scared and run, she stayed.

Feeling protective, his wings came around to encircle them, blocking the outside world from intruding on their nearly-ceremonious act of love and adoration.

All too soon, Altaira felt the euphoric warmth dissipating and her heart rate starting to slow, as if she was drifting off to blissful sleep. When Diavolo felt her body start to feel slack and limp, he broke the connection, receeding his fangs and licking over the puncture wounds to lace the area with magic and close them up.

"Altaira," he murmured, holding her head up with one hand and caressing her face with the other.

"Mm?" She barely responded.

"Are you still with me?" He asked, coaxing her awake.

"Yeah..." she mumbled again. It was hard to focus, but she could feel the effects slowly fade, letting her become more and more coherent. "I'm here," she added softly. A dreamy smile took over her lips, and finally, she cracked her eyes open to look at the darling prince.

"There you are," he cooed, admiring her state and enjoying how happy she looked. "How was that?"

"Wonderful," she murmured.

He gave a small chuckle and helped her to move around, removing himself from her and laying her back against the mattress. Reverting to his regular form, he reached over to the tissues and proceeded to clean her up first. Once he was done, he started to grab his pajamas but heard her whimper.

"Don't leave."

Wide-eyed, he turned and saw her barely sitting up on her elbows, looking confused. A smile laced his lips again as he dropped his pajamas and slid back into her bed.

"You want me to stay?" He asked in a husky tone.

"Always."

He felt a twinge in his heart at that, gathering her up in his arms as they laid on their sides. She immediately melted into his grasp, her head tucked into his chest and neck. He felt her start to drift again, sleep taking root.

"Forever more, I will stay with you," he replied, stroking her hair.

"And you shall stay with me. Here. Forever, lover."

---

Thanks for reading!

Post made by sassykattery. Do not repost. Reblogs and comments appreciated.

Tags: @bite-sized-devil @delphi-dreamin

[gunsatthaphan]

Honestly, I don’t care how many times they say they had a "phi-nong" relationship, we all know they were actually in love (especially khatha, that man was and still is whipped). Everything in this show is telling me these two were deeply in love with each other. Sure, nothing explicitly romantic/sexual happened between them in the past but the inner feelings are 100% there, ok? You don't ask a ~bro to run away with you together so it can be "just the two of us, like it used to be" (it's seriously giving "gal pals" energy, like one of those historical articles that looks at two women who lived together their whole life and never had or wanted a husband and kids and have the audacity to call them bffs instead of lesbians) and you certainly don't keep his charred corpse around for two centuries in the hopes that he can get resurrected, and when you come across someone you suspect might be his resurrected soul spend your every waking moment thinking about him and doing things for him, including sacrificing 3 billion dollars (to give him a protective anklet) and your literal life to save him (because by your own words to Triphob's grandpa you would only ever die for something - in this case someone - truly important). Oh, and then there's the constant chin-grabbing, longing looks and tears you've spilled for said ~bro. Just "phi-nong" things, I suppose. 🙃 Anyways, khatha is literally so in love with chan/dome it hurts, whether he wants to admit it or not, and I stand by that. 💁🏻‍♀️

dsjfhdgf I'm laughing so hard at all this because every time I watch the show in the yt livestream, it's like,,,, the weirdest shit goes down on screen, no one really understands the plot and meanwhile the live comments are screaming "THEY'RE GAY IDC" lmao it's hilarious.

But anyway I'm living for the subtext but I'm pretty sure the bl ship has sailed with this one djkghf. If there was actually something there, we would know by now lol. What they're doing is giving us a textbook queerbait-bromance which,,,,,, I didn't expect gmmtv out of all people to go there (in the year 2023 at that) but oh well. I'm still having a good time because these "let's run away together and start a life together.....,,,,,,, bro." moments are hysterical.

At least we're actually getting some canon bl content in today's episode lol.

xxx

[wondereads]

Personal Review

The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker

Summary

All her life, Zilan and her two cousins have been preparing for the exams that would grant them government positions. Zilan, who strives to become a royal alchemist, uses her abilities to raise the dead to fund their studies. She hates the rich clients she works for, who fear death so much they eat gold infused with the power of immortality to stop their aging. However, when comparing making gold for the rich to a life of powerlessness, she will put aside her morals for her future.

Plot 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

The plot of this book is one of the best I've read in YA fantasy. While it starts with an exam and starts becoming more focused on rebellion, a not unheard of story in this genre, the way it is executed is simply amazing. The magic system and world, which really feels like historical China, pull you in, and there were so many good plot twists. While there might be some you're able to predict, there were plenty that completely knocked me off my feet. Then the material is a lot more mature and gory than one would expect from YA; it's visceral, and the consequences feel real.

The magic system of this book was perfect for this kind of story. There are rules and limitations introduced from the beginning that play a huge role in allowing those amazing plot twists to be executed. Also, I just find the inner workings of alchemy incredibly intriguing. The worldbuilding concerning the social situation of China during this alternate period also works really well for the plot. The decision to have the elixir of immortality imbued in gold was a great choice to both emphasize its wasteful, greedy nature and to exacerbate the wealth gap in a way that feels eerily similar to modern times.

Characters 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Zilan is an amazing main character. It's quite common for YA books to have these hyper competent characters that are the best in their field. It's fun, but it can feel unrealistic and as if they don't really face many challenges. Zilan is incredibly skilled, and she can do things no one else can, but she has a lot to learn. Her time in the palace definitely shows that, and there are a lot of moments where she is too impulsive or simply doesn't know how to go about something. Her competency feels real with plenty of scenes exemplifying how hard she's worked, but she also learns throughout the book.

Zilan's relationship with her cousins, Yufei and Wenshu, so close they're more like siblings, was particularly interesting. One thing I really liked about this book was that although there is a romance subplot, most of the interpersonal conflict came from Zilan and her family. Their relationship is incredibly complex; they're obviously very close, but there are so many odd circumstances surrounding their lives that it can be hard to tell where they stand with each other, which is used for some very compelling conflict.

The aforementioned romance was pretty good in my opinion. I'd like to see it developed more, but I get the feeling that the kind of incomplete vibe I get from Zilan and Hong is on purpose. They're both at very vulnerable points in their lives, and they find comfort in each other, but they both have a lot of issues, and I really want to see how their relationship works in the second book. Finally, one of my favorite characters was the villain, Empress We Zetian. She is unapologetically evil, and she's truly terrifying. She didn't feel one-dimensional, but she was also totally irredeemable and a villain that really felt like a threat. She outsmarts Zilan on multiple occasions, and she really brought the more dark tone of the story into the spotlight.

Writing Style 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

The writing of this book was incredibly intense. It seems to prioritize modern readability over exactly matching the historical setting, but it rarely took me out of the story. This book honestly feels closer to NA than YA because of how dark and gory it was. As I mentioned previously, consequences in this book are horrifying and constant, taking a much more extreme turn than most YA books. There were moments where this book felt like it was verging on horror. For example, there is a scene where the empress and prince are eating gold in which they, while unchanged physically, become these voracious monsters, and it sent shivers down my spine.

I would say my one critique of this book would be that there are certain things that feel a little rushed. Trying not to spoil too much, that would be Zilan and Hong's situation, which sort of felt like it came out of nowhere, and when Zilan starts to take a more rebellious stand against the empress. However, it didn't detract from the enjoyability that much.

Overall 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

This book was absolutely stunning. The characters were amazing, the plot constantly took me by surprise, and the writing is a great blend of readable modern language and the intense style that usually accompanies fantasy. Zilan is an amazing main character; she’s competent without being perfect, she’s ruthless and driven without being completely heartless. Her cousins, Yufei and Wenshu, are particularly interesting, especially concerning their relationship with Zilan and how complicated it is. The love interest is a good balance to Zilan, though I hope to see their relationship develop more. Empress Zetian is a chilling and horrifying villain who is truly a terrifying opponent. The plot was constantly twisting and turning, keeping me on my toes, and while I found some moments a little too fast paced and would consider this more NA than YA, the overall quality of the story definitely makes me want to keep this at a full 10/10.

About the Author

Kylie Lee Baker: Japanese-Chinese-Irish-American, plays the cello, also wrote The Keeper of Night

About the Reviewer

My name is Wonderose, and I post a reading update every week with the occasional review and themed recommendation. I take suggestions, and you can check out my pinned post for more about me :)