#this one would also be a rad print

[linipik]

🥂✨

[keeterz]

Time to make an updated post on the Guilty Gear artwork I've made up to this point!

First things, gotta include Bridget and Elphelt since these were made this year in 2023. Baiken, Testement, and Giovanna were done back in 2022. I think I'd like to do a Jack-O illustration at some point, and a friend of mine wants to help fund a Ramlethal print, so those might be coming up in the future at some point.

I've made some updates to the chibis as well to include a handful of the male cast! A few noteworthy mentions include an Axl that was inspired by an animation that my friend DoovadHohdan made, a Potemkin that works as a Pot Buster when you use it as a sticker on another sticker, as well as the husbandos in general being paired with plushies of their partners (well, missing Nago and Elphelt because that wasn't a thing at the time)

A little after the Elphelt illustration I also made an Elphelt chibi as well! This one will be double-sided once I convert it to a charm~

Finally, a sneak peak at something that isn't Strive related...well, not yet, at least (maybe). Here's a value comp for an ABA illustration I'm working on based on her Accent Core design! Hoping she makes it into Strive at some point.

I might want to explore doing some Accent Core related artwork in the future. Accent Core is a lot closer to the point of when I first got into the series in my middle school/highschool days, and there are some designs from the older games that are still hecking rad. Plus the music is awesome :D

It's kind of funny; I have to confess that I actually don't play Strive. Truth be told, the GGST movement and limited combo structure never clicked with me when the game first came out (and I was always more of a 3D fighter guy for gameplay with games like Tekken and Soul Calibur). And even though I am pretty sure I would actually thoroughly enjoy playing I-No and Elphelt with the season 3 changes, I just don't really do as much gaming these days since I'm more enamored with making art (and a few other things like biking). Plus I'm kind of just waiting for Tekken 8 at this point (dear god I hope the online is good just this one time god).

But as an artist? You bet your butt I hecking love coming back to Guilty Gear. I've been a fan of the series since the early 2000s (back when I stumbled across an abandonware PC version of Guilty Gear X and became sold on the series). The characters from this series check a lot of boxes for things I love to draw, from the way they are designed and all of their classic rock references all the way down to their zany personalities and backstories. And I feel like Guilty Gear is really special in this regard for me. Even though I'd rather play other fighting games (like Tekken or maybe even SF6), Guilty Gear is probably the one fighting game fandom I want to do art of the most.

If you are a Guilty Gear fan stumbling across this art collection post, hope you are enjoying the art! I will enjoy the series vicariously through you as I get back to working on some Tekken 8 artwork for Frosty Faustings, lmao. And if you're someone who is new to the series, give Strive a try! It's neat and the characters are great.

[koolades-world]

one of my besties had me watch the madison beer mv of make you mine and it's actually such a good song. i love that the entire thing is jennifer's body themed. you know it's bad when i think of fictional characters while i listen to the song haha. sorry if mephi's dialogue seems a little ooc, not super familiar with his speech patterns yet

i'm really bad at giving things titles as you can see haha. highly recommend giving it a listen or listening while you read this <3

also i just learnt mephisto has an undercut? it's actually black so is purple not his natural hair color? he'd look really pretty with black hair but part of me wonders if he dyed it purple to look different from lucifer

anyways sorry this is so late! got busy hanging out with friends and the thing i had originally wanted to post wasn't ready, and i just really wanted to post this haha. enjoy :)

make u mine (mephisto x reader)

Mephisto had never meant to end up in such a compromising situation with the human exchange student, of all people. Not that it being anyone else would have made it better, but at least You looked absolutely ravishing in your party wear, and despite everything in him telling him to look away, he couldn't tear his eyes away from you. Had you placed a spell on him?

It all started with a few words overheard in a conversation between Diavolo and Lucifer. Of course, he hadn't meant to overhear what they were saying on purpose. He could thank the journalist inside him unconsciously picking up on many side conversations at the same time, and that one in particular happened to catch his interest. Listening to Mammon and Asmo talk about the latest party they were going to could wait. His attention was fully captured when he heard the phrase "exchange program." That phrase always meant a scoop was just around the bend.

He had no clue that this "scoop" would slowly consume every waking moment he occupied.

Once the time came that for the program to start, he didn't expect to be greeted with two very different humans. One was a powerful sorcerer he knew rather well, from a distance of course, and the other was a seeming nobody. He thought it was odd, but he wanted to interview you nonetheless to get your thoughts on the program. He was interested in learning about you. It started as the beginnings of an article he knew would perform well, and morphed into personal curiosity.

Getting you alone proved difficult. One of those pesky brothers was always with you, and they seemed very insistent on keeping you two apart. They must've received some kind of instruction from Lucifer, as even Satan seemed intent on staying between the two of you. He had been sitting the the RAD newspaper room, alone, pondering over this exact dilemma, when his problem resolved itself when you came barreling the room, slamming the door shut behind you.

"Hey." You were out of breath. Your hair was a mess and a half smile on your face. Your back was pressed to the door. The moment he made eye contact with you was a moment he couldn't quite put words to, despite being excellent at that. He found it hard to look away from you.

He was speechless at first at the crazy coincidence, as if his thoughts had summoned you. "Ehem. How may I help you?" He raised an eyebrow at you.

"Will you do me a tinsy little favor and hide me? Pretty please?" The way you batted your eyelashes at him made his heart immediately cave to your demands, but he knew he had a reputation to uphold.

"Will you agree to do an interview with me if I do?" He spun the question around on you. He had wanted to ask anyways. He wasn't one to pass up an opportunity presented to him on a silver platter.

"Deal. Quick, Lucifer probably wasn't far behind me." You rushed towards him, taking his hand. This shook him for the second time in less than a minute. Hurriedly, he shoved you behind the printing press that occupied one side of the room and turned it on to cover up any noise you might make. No sooner than he had done this, Lucifer threw the door open.

"Didn't you hear me knocking?" The demon looked just out of sort as you had, but angry rather than amused like you were. He hadn't seen anyone get such a rise out of Lucifer in a while. He was interested in hearing your story. Lucifer's eyes scanned the room in search of you, but only grew more irate upon finding nothing out of the ordinary.

"No. I'm busy." Mephisto turned his back to Lucifer to conceal his growing grin.

"Mc isn't in here, are they?" Lucifer remained in the doorway.

"What do you think? This a writing sanctuary, not a daycare." Mephisto picked up one of the papers printed, pretending to look busy. Lucifer huffed, annoyed.

"Watch yourself, cocky journalist." With that, Lucifer spun around and left the room. He left the door slightly ajar, making Mephisto the most annoyed he'd been during that entire interaction. After pushing the door shut, he called out to you.

"He's gone. You have quite the story to tell, hmm?" He grabbed his notepad and pen, beckoning you to take a seat on the couch beside him.

"Turn off the noisemaker, then we can talk." You sat beside him after coming out of hiding. With a playful sigh, he got back up to shut it off so he could really begin to talk to you.

That was his first real conversation with you without one of the brothers present, and he suddenly understood their desire to keep you to themselves. Thankfully, after that day, he had his foot in the door and you were more than happy to speak to him despite the brother's protests. The scowl on Lucifer's face from over your shoulder as you happily chatted with him was worth the world to him because Mephisto knew that Lucifer wouldn't try anything; not with you with your hands all over him, anyways. He adored being the center of your attention despite the fact that several brothers were watching closely. You often slipped away from the brothers and escaped to the room you knew he'd be in. He didn't know if what you were doing was intentional or not, but he began to grow conditioned to seeing you laid out on the plush sofa by his desk, or parked on the desk itself, waiting for him with a smile and open arms. It got to the point where he was certain he saw more of you that any of the brothers did.

He was unsure about how to feel, but he welcomed you into his life readily. It became more than just being with you to make Lucifer mad. It became being with you just to be with you, because he enjoyed your company. However, he always felt as if he left something to be desired when he thought about you. You always left his heart aflutter with your touches, even though he wanted to assume it was just how you behaved normally.

A hand on his shoulder, a hand on his arm, a hand on his. Sometimes, a hand on his waist, fingers looped through his belt loops. A hand on his chest, playing with his tie. A hand on his face, thumbs gliding over his cheeks. A hand on his thigh, hidden under the table.

They all drove him insane.

It was then he realized he harbored some sort of feelings for the human who'd initially started as just the topic of an article he was writing. He craved your attention and wanted to be as close to you as possible. He knew that went past what he'd initially thought about himself. While you were simply a human, you were a human who'd managed to capture the affections of the seven demon lords, and beyond.

A party at his place was what finally unraveled everything. Despite it being his party and therefore, the center of attention, he was only interested in one person. He knew you'd gotten ready in his bedroom as an effort to prevent the brothers from stopping you from going. They, of course, weren't invited, but he wouldn't be surprised if they showed up always once they realized where you were. He knew at this point, he should just give you your own room. It wasn't like he couldn't afford it. He had many empty bedrooms and could easily make one into yours, but he loved sharing his space with you. Something inside him loved seeing your things intermingled with his, and he didn't want to part with that.

But, he hadn't seen you since he went downstairs to begin greeting guests. His eyes scanned the room, searching for you. He thought he saw the flash of a familiar blond head of hair, but he swept past that. His gaze soon settled on the person he was looking for: you. You were chatting with another guest, but as soon as you noticed his stare, you excused yourself from the conversation to make your way over to him. He began to think about you, and how much happier he'd be once you were by his side. He greeted you enthusatically and told you how amazing you looked. You naturally slotted into his side, hands on his shoulders.

In his haze, he failed to notice someone behind him. They bumped into him, causing him to spill his drink all over you. He quickly turned to reprimand them, and to catch their face, but they had vanished into the crowd before he could. Mephisto clenched his fists, but there was nothing he could do. The perpetrator had been swallowed by the evermoving crowd of people. Instead, he went back to you, and decided to help you get cleaned up. You seemed nonchalant about the entire situation, and were happy holding his hand as he dragged you up the stairs to his room.

"Mephi, there's no need to be so worked up. It's a simple fix. If the stain doesn't come out, it was only twenty bucks anways." You kept pace with him.

"It's a matter of dignity. Whoever that was embarrassed me, and now I look like a total moron." He couldn't look at you. His face was most certainly red.

"Not to me you don't." Those words quelled the inner calamity he had a little.

"Well, either way, the stain will set in if we don't do something about it now." He pulled you into his room and locked the door behind you. The last thing he wanted was some nosy demon wandering in after the two of you. If you didn't care what they thought, why should he? But, he didn't want his time with you to be interrupted.

He peered into his closet for something for you to wear. Usually, you had clothes here, hung up, something he was rather proud of, but everything but a couple R.A.D. uniforms were gone. Earlier that day, he'd instructed his staff to wash all your laundry, clean or not, with a new detergent that the both of you quickly fell in love with at the store. It had become both of yours, in a way, and he went feral over the idea of the brothers constantly being reminded of him even when he wasn't around through you.

"Do you want to go back to the party?" He leant out of his closet to yell to you.

"Depends. Anyone important down there?" You responded through the shut bathroom door.

"Not really. Lord Diavolo couldn't make it tonight." He already knew what you were going to say in responce.

"Then we can just get ready for bed. My RAD bag is in here somewhere, so I don't technically have to go home. If you'll let me stay, that is." He heard you laugh through the door. He chortled to himself at that too. You didn't even need to ask anymore. You slept in his bed with him, for crying out loud. You even had your own D.D.D. charger for his house at his side table, right next to his.

"Are you alright with wearing my pajamas to bed? Yours are in the wash." He riffled through his wardrobe to find a very nice pair for you. He eventually settled on one of his sets of black silk pajamas. He wasn't sure if the pants would fit you, but at least you'd have a shirt.

"You know me." You extended your hand through the cracked bathroom door, to which he tossed the clothes into your open hand. You caught them, and snapped the door shut again to put them on. "Mephi, the pants are a little big." He heard you say through the door. Just as he thought. He'd never actually seen you in a set of his clothes before, so he silently prepared himself to feast his eyes. Despite this, he was not ready for you when you stepped in from the bathroom. The blank pants were draped over your arms, and the black button up top fell to your mid thigh. "Just hang these back up. No use in trying that." You put them back into his hands, and threw yourself down onto his bed. He did as you asked, and sat next to you.

"Are your other clothes still in the bathroom?" He studied your side profile.

"Yeah, on the counter." You answered his questions.

"I'll be right back. I'll give those to one of my staff, who'll get the stain out and get it looking brand new." He moved to get back up, but was stopped by your hand reaching out to him.

"Not yet. Let me enjoy a little time with you first." You whined. He couldn't help but chuckle.

"I'll be quick." He moved to get up again, but this time, you got up before him and pushed him back down onto the bed. You straddled him, hands on both of his shoulders, pressing him into his bed.

"You've got no choice now." You triumphally smirked down at him. He knew he could easily get up, but he knew he wouldn't. You knew that too.

"Mc..." He was rather amused, but he couldn't stop from thinking about his feelings for you. Most of his confidence went out the window with that thought.

"I win." With that, you draped yourself over him fully, and Mephisto basked in your attention. As he thought more, while he really didn't want to, his heart told him now would be a great time to tell you how he felt. With the thought of now or never echoing in his brain, he opened his mouth again.

"Mc, I have a confession." He was nervous, more than he'd ever been. But, he was too deep in now to back out.

"Hmm?" You didn't sit up, and remained with your head on his chest.

"I think I'm in love with you." For someone usually so eloquent with his words, these were raw. Thankfully, they seemed to strike a chord with you. You perked up. He studied your face closely for any sort of negative reaction, but none came.

"Can I kiss you?" He was almost stunned by your reciprocation. He wasn't quite sure exactly how you felt yet, but that could wait until after his kiss.

"You may." Spilling that drink on you may have been the second best choice he ever made, the first being deciding to write about you to begin with. He was one lucky demon.

(end was a little rushed cause i'm sleepy haha)

[dear-tortured-adam]

" warmth from a calmer sensation " | MINI FIC

╰┈➤ is it the fever? or my love for you? | WC : ≈ 0.9K

" Would you then be kind enough to let me tend to you? "

pairing: barbatos x GN!MC

ᡣ𐭩 ⸻ It was a normal day at RAD — so normal that you forgot you were isekai'd in this lovingly sinful of a place. One thing was strange, however: you were tired.

SO TIRED that it was getting concerning. It was simply suffocating.

With walking feeling like a chore or even headaches forming with no particular reason. With how you groaned when you had to bring papers to the newspaper club even when it's just two printed documents. With how your world spun in circles with no direction, on blurs and unblurs, on the heat you sensed from your tongue . . .

It caught you off-guard when you placed your finger on your lips, flinching upon feeling the warm sensation. Unusual. You swore it shouldn't be... You grabbed your hand and gilded it down your cheek, feeling the back of it against your neck and—

Oh. OH.

The hand retracted itself. You stare at the wall as you continue to process... That yes, you might have a fever.

Looking around the room, you frantically searched for something, anything to prove you're wrong. That's right, it's not a fever— today must be hotter than usual!! Yes that made sense! [Not when the Devildom lacks a sun.]

You got up from your seat, putting back all your belongings in your bag. You needed to leave this place. With a groan and a hand along your hair, you begin walking out the class—

"Is something wrong, my dear?”

—or not. Fuck. You hope you heard the wrong voice. That was a hallucination. He is not behind you. That deeply sweet addicting voice's owner wasn't behind you. That's right. You took another step—

—You feel a cotton glove touch your shoulder, sending a jolt down your spine. He was behind you.

"You seem troubled," the voice spoke with a sigh. Even without seeing his face, you could tell that he was beyond disappointed with your gesture. Akin to the tone he used when you overhead him scolding the young master. Out of courtesy, you turned around. Awkwardly facing the renowned butler. . .

"Hey Barbatos..."

This surely was an embarrassing moment. He squinted his eyes at you, observing your demeanour from head to toe. His frown had already shifted to a small smile, though Barbatos wasn't willing to excuse you just yet.

The latter bowed his head, removing the hand from your shoulder. Was he... frowning? It was near difficult to notice any slight change in his poker face. "How displeasing it is that you keep your worries to yourself..." he said. "Tell me, what's wrong, dear sheep?"

"! ! !"

Always the caring butler; here to make sure that this academy's dearest human doesn't fall ill to what may concern them.

"Just..."

You had no choice, huh? He'll find out one way or another. But you also didn't want to directly tell him. Whatever emotion you felt earlier was replaced with a tinge of frustration.

"Can you lend me a hand?"

Barbatos perked up. "Oya?"

Drat. Flushed red while looking away.

"Just let me borrow your hand."

Was it weird to ask? Yes. But you had to- not only to inadvertently tell him about your situation, but to also make sure that your initial assumption was right. You could feel the heat getting worse by the second, the heart beating a tad bit faster.

Barbatos raised a brow, curious about your endeavors. It wasn't the oddest request he's ever heard, but it had surprised him to ask him at a time like this. Still, he wouldn't dare refuse you, going as far as to carefully remove the white gloves off his right hand.

"As you wish," Barbatos said, a glint of reassurance in his eyes. Whatever you need, he will gladly provide.

Feeling impatient, you grab his wrist in a flash. Your grip around it tight as you felt the back of his hand touching your neck.

"I'll just— ! "

You were in panic mode, heart thumping at an exhilarating face. You felt like you needed space to breathe; space to cool off the burning sensation. Unbearable.

Barbatos' eyes widened upon feeling the heat inhibiting from your skin. Carefully, he moved his hand along your neck. A wave of concern breaking his carefully curated poker face. "My..." he muttered, looking directly in your eyes. "You're burning."

As you were about to speak, Barbatos moved his hand away from your neck to other parts. Both of your cheeks, your forehead, the sides of your head, all back and forth as he whispered murmurs of worry. "Darling, how long have you been feeling this?"

Was it you, or was the room getting hotter? Still, you weren't able to answer the question when you just found out about it earlier. That didn't matter, with how Barbatos grabbed your hand, intertwining his fingers with yours.

"Allow me," Barbatos spoke with a determined look on his face.

"!?"

Shushing you, he lets his other hand cling onto your shoulder. You couldn't help but feel... calm. Looking back at you, Barbatos leaned closer. "Please, my love. Allow me to take care of you."

Do you accept? Father forbids how you then have to deal with the rumors of the all-reserved butler having his hand around your neck while being alone in that classroom. Though, you shan't worry no more, his liege.

There was now a different sense of warmth circling in the pit of your stomach. Sure, the fever was getting a tad worse as it remaind a second too long untreated, but it's... calming. A warmth you sense in your darkest days. That warmth and serenity that he was willing to offer you.

Go rest, he'll eliminate any obstacle to your recovery — just as how you like it.

divider/s by @/cafekitsune | inspiration [jk, I'm alright now :")) ]

[ladyyatexel]

Friends, Romans, Tumblrites, lend me your reblogs.

I'm Xel and I live in a society! I think there's a solid chance you do also! So you may relate to the profoundly crappy thing that happened to me and that I once again need a community assist.

I lost a temporary job that was supposed to turn into a permanent job in June because no one there felt safe enough to retire. Only two of us in the apartment were under 50. One of the crew was over 70. Three were chronically ill/disabled. No one felt safe enough to leave in order for me to stay, so I was trained for basically 6 months for nothing.

I have survived on savings from that job until this point, but I'm at the point where I cannot pay rent. I'm looking into getting help from sources more local to me but the internet has always felt like people who cared about me more than the people I share DNA with, really.

Many of the social services that I was signed up for expired the day that I was supposed to be told that I would be a permanent hire, and since that didn't go down, now I have to start it all again from the beginning, and there are gaps in my security net.

I tell you all of that just to say that I am actually trying to do things, I'm not here to just beg and coast along on some sort of lavish lifestyle where I, uh. Keep living in this dodgy apartment with my cat.

I don't want to bore you with an itemized list, but like 2,000 US dollars would get me through September and October without being worried about it like every 3 minutes. My rent is 700 and change, if you would like to know that. So I'm looking for like September and October rent and money to renew my driver's license, pay a few utility bills, buy a bag of cat food, and refill my medications.

If you have the notion to toss help at an internet pal or the extended reblogged acquaintance of an Internet pal, as is more likely the case, probably, that would be super rad of you.

I'm an artist! You could get things with images on them from me! I sell buttons, prints, and commissioned illustrations if that's your thing. My commissions are going a bit slow as of late - I only recovered from being not really able to walk like 2 months ago, and so I'm doing a lot of catch up like everywhere else in my whole life and trying not to spend too much time at a desk since it aggravates the spine thing that was the problem in the first place.

To be honest, it would be a greater help to me to just receive some Aid rather than full-on commissions, but I completely understand feeling fishy about people getting something for nothing and also feeling bad for being a charity case on the internet, so I'm not opposed! If you want to chat about that, I have a commissions post on the side or top of my blog depending on where you're looking at this!

Ko-fi contains my buttons and is a good place to toss digital dead American presidents if that suits you. I will get hit by some PayPal fees in this process but, I'm willing to call that a call for help on the internet tax.

I promise I'm a real person and not a bot who has made up a cat and is pretending to have interests. My blog has been here since 2010! I've met people on this website in person and everything. I've had embarrassing obsessions no bot would bother coming up with. Speaking of:

Similarly to times before, I would like to be able to do something in order to feel like I have earned some kind of support, and as of my birthday last week I have resolved to try very hard in the next year to conquer my fear and absolute mortification about many of the things I make, so I will once again go digging into my archives for things I can post for you to enjoy as thanks and tribute! I also have a poll running right now to see what kind of buttons people want!

Thanks for taking a look! Be nice out there, take care of your spines!

[silverbirching]

SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT HADES 2, RIGHT

At least we had all better be, while I'm waving this broken bottle around.

Look guys I'm a Classical mythology wonk. And I don't mean like, "hey I read the Percy Jackson books, they were neat", I mean when I close my eyes before I sleep I pray to every god who might conceivably be listening that Linear A gets deciphered in my lifetime. I mean I've got a giant metal print of Circe Invidiosa by John Waterhouse in my bedroom. I mean that if you make the mistake of mentioning Hadestown in my presence you have unwittingly activated the trap card of "Sam talks about his string-and-sandwich board conspiracy theory about how Persephone was a terrifying eldritch queen of the dead and the entire greek world was scared shitless of her, so maybe knock it off with all these tender waifs in flower crowns, artists of the last two thousand years for two solid hours."

(The Percy Jackson books are extremely neat, btw)

So cut to 2020, the year of shit, and here comes a game from one of my favorite studios of all time, about one of my favorite subjects of all time, and it's gorgeous and deep and full of stupid gay drama and the art melts my eyeballs and the voice acting (true to Supergiant tradition) is basically indistinguishable from foreplay. So I played it. I played the absolute balls off of it.

AND THEY'RE MAKING A SEQUEL, HOLY SHIT

so the Thing about Chthonic deities is the underworld really creeped the Ancient Greeks out, so there's not a lot of writing about them that has survived to the present day, since if they were worshipped it was usually by mystery cults or more in an avoidant "please please please don't notice me I've been a good boy please" kind of way.

Hence why our favorite bisexual softboi dreamboat Zagreus doesn't really feature much in the mythology, except he was probably an offshoot of Dionysus and usually got synchronized with him, Hades himself, or Mycenaen Poseidon. They make a joke about this in Hades, btw (they make a fucking JOKE SONG about in in Hades).

BUT DID YOU KNOW ZAGREUS HAD A SISTER!?

Her name is Melinoë, and she's also cited from very limited sources, but I want to show y'all the brilliant Apostolos Athansssakis' translation of one of the view sources we have, the Hymn to Melinoë:

I call upon Melinoë, saffron-cloaked nymph of the earth, whom revered Persephone bore by the mouth of the Kokytos river upon the sacred bed of Kronian Zeus. In the guise of Plouton Zeus tricked Persephone and through wiley plots bedded her; a two-bodied specter sprang forth from Persephone's fury. This specter drives mortals to madness with her airy apparitions as she appears in weird shapes and strange forms, now plain to the eye, now shadowy, now shining in the darkness— all this in unnerving attacks in the gloom of night. O goddess, O queen of those below, I beseech you to banish the soul's frenzy to the ends of the earth, show to the initiates a kindly and holy face.

My guess would be is that Supergiant will not have her be the child of Zeus under false pretenses (there's sources that indicate Zagreus is also a child of Zeus) but still. Dope. Rad as hell. Zag's baby sister is a twin-bodied goddess of nightmares and I am excited a normal amount.

Also Apollo is gonna be in this one, you guys.

Look at this magnificent pain-in-the-ass. I can already tell you he's going to be 10,000% annoying, and I am completely here for it.

[salstray]

An Arrangement ((Ghost x Reader))

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Warnings: 18+ Content, NSFW, Smut, p in v, AFAB reader, established situationship, very little plot, also my first time writing x reader smut so let me know if its ass k thanks

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Summary: Ghost and Reader are co workers, of sorts. You work under Laswell, helping with intel and information while the boys are in the field. During the months you work with Ghost, you and him figure out an... arrangment that helps you both relax a little in the midst of all the chaos of war. When the job comes to an end, you give Ghost a letter and a choice. End it here or extend the stress relief beyond work. You get your answer when he shows up at your door in the middle of the night.

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Note: As I said before, first time writing x reader smut.... or really any smut at all! Usually I get to blushy and ashamed when I get to this point in a work, but this one wormed its way out into the pages anyway! Tell me if it sucks, K? Rad. Thank you!

----

    The letter is so professional, so clinical, it almost makes him laugh. 

     Your slanted handwriting against perfectly lined paper, calling this whole thing an 'arrangement' between the two of you. Like it was a trade deal or a transaction and not like he'd been fucking you stupid every time he got you alone. It was all for secrecy, he understood that, but it was still funny. 

     At the bottom of it all, the clipped and emotionless words and flowing business speak, was your address and your phone number. 

     In case you'd be interested in a continuation, it said. Ending in your name. Just the first one. The only hint anyone would have that this was anything other than work, should any unwanted eyes find their way onto this page. They wouldn't, Ghost was far too careful to let that happen, but still. The only slip you’d made.

-

     It takes a surprising amount of courage to end up at your door. More, he feels, then it takes to stare down the barrel of a gun.

      The apartment building is smaller than what he would have expected from someone with your salary, but he wasn't one to judge. His own flat was barely more than a shoebox. Just enough space to keep the walls from closing in when he stared at them too hard and enough to hold what few possessions he had to his name.

     He's not sure if you'll be awake when he finally knocks. One glance at his phone tells him that much. Ghost had decided not to text you before he showed up, either. Somehow that felt more intimate than anything else. A trapdoor in his walls that he wasn't willing to address just yet. Or open.

     When you appear through the doorway, he nearly collapses on the spot.

     Your in a fucking skirt.

     Maybe it shouldn’t have been such a shock but in all the months you'd worked together you'd always dressed practically, more or less. The leggings you favored would probably be considered less, but it was always trousers of some sort. Dress pants, a button down shirt, hair pulled back. Ready at a moment's notice, as you needed to be to survive in this life. A perfect mirror of Laswell. The person you worked under and the reason you two had met in the first place.

     But here? Now? In your own home with the only danger being bad TV and loud neighbors you looked so much different. 

     You favored black in your style, something that drew Ghost in, something Johnny would relentlessly tease him about, and it showed even outside of work. The skirt was that color. Solid black, flowing gently around your thighs, topped with a simple forest green tank top with thin straps and no bra. Your hair was loose and your glasses were nowhere to be seen, leaving your eyes wide and shining.

     The way you gasped snapped his gaze from your body, your thighs and your hips, up to your face.

     "Simon?" You ask softly, like you weren't sure it was really him. Like you expected anyone else to show up in the dead of night with a skull print balaclava covering their face.

     "Evenin', love." 

     You curl in on yourself. Bashful. Shy. Looking up at him through fluttering lashes, hands tucked up by your breasts. The way you always looked when he approached you with sinful intentions. 

     Heat pooled low in Ghost’s stomach as he leaned forward, his hands tucked away in his pockets, his eyes dark and heavy. 

     "Gonna invite me in?" He breathes, knowing damn well what his voice does to you when he speaks like that. The reaction in you was instant. The rapid blinks, the shaking breath. The little nod as you took a few steps back, opening the door wider to let his massive form through the frame. He steps inside slowly. Letting his eyes roam the walls and furniture. Cataloging every little knickknack and art piece and surface he'll be able to bend you over once he finally puts his hands on you.

     Your voice draws his gaze back to you.

     "I… I didn't think you'd show up," you say, trying to sound casual. Trying to sound like this was planned and not simply offered a few weeks ago with no reply given. 

     He doesn't give you one now, either. Instead he takes a step closer to you. Closing the distance in one swift motion, causing you to press your spine into the half wall that separates the kitchen from the living room. You're blinking again, trying to gather your thoughts as his hands settle on your waist, palms warm and fingers strong. Ghost’s digits press into your flesh as he hums and leans back, clearly enraptured by the outfit you chose for your quiet night in. 

     "Look good in this," he mutters. His right hand shifts, sliding lower over your thigh, just enough to slip under the skirt and start a slow, teasing trail back up to your leg. 

     "Y-you think?" You ask, biting your bottom lip when his hooded eyes meet yours. 

    "Yeah." His fingers slip up and behind you, pulling you forward, chest flush against his with his hand now cupping your ass. "I do. Think you should wear it more often." 

     He feels the shiver that rolls up your spine as he speaks. Smirks when your hands reach up to grab at his jacket. Pulls the hand still on your waist away just long enough to push back his hood and tug up the end of his mask. He settles it on your shoulder instead of your hip, however, and slides it up along your neck and into your hair, taking a fistfull and using it to tug your head back.

     Your breathless gasp makes him rumble low in his chest. Something between a growl, a hum, and a grunt. Ghost leans forward, his tongue slipping through his lips and marking a wet trail up your pulse. 

     The little whine you let out makes him shudder and he sucks in a hissing breath through his teeth as his mouth reaches your jaw. 

     He'd never tell you, never admit it, but he missed this. Missed you. Your reactions, your sounds, the taste and feel of your skin. He'd been in this apartment for less than five minutes and already felt like he was gonna split apart at the seams if he didn't have his cock buried in you in the next two. 

     The next breath he takes is punctuated by a groan and he uses the hand on your ass to lift you off your feet. He lets the other take hold of your thigh to keep you steady as you make a noise of surprise and wrap your legs around his hips.

     "Bed. Where?" Is all he says, his lips parted and panting against your cheek as he speaks. 

     Moments later your back is hitting the mattress. Ghost is already reaching under the skirt by the time you push yourself up onto your elbows, yanking away your panties and tossing them somewhere into the room. He crawls over you, hands sliding up the backs of your thighs, lifting them into the air so your skirt flops up against your stomach, revealing your newly naked sex to him. 

     He groans again, low and slow, head tilting as his right hand slips away from your leg and down towards the slick heat that had been torturing you for hours.

     "So wet already?" He teases. Ghost chuckles when his touch makes you jerk, his fingers just barely grazing your clit and making you whimper.

     "I…," your gaze slips away from him, your flushed cheeks only getting hotter as you confess, "I've been… thinking about you… all day." A startled cry leaves you when he plunges two fingers in without warning. There was no resistance at all. Just a loud, wet noise as he slowly drags them back out and presses in again.

     "Aww… thinkin' bout me? How sweet," he purrs, leaning in close to watch your face twist with pleasure. "To think that's all it takes to get you so worked up." Your eyes, which had twisted shut at the pleasurable stretch of his fingers, peel open just a bit to look at him. Plead with him. Beg him silently for more.

     Luckily he's always been able to read you like a book. That's what led to this arraignment in the first place. 

     "Want more, love?" You whimper, nodding weakly. "Want my cock?" 

     "Y-yes." 

     "Yes what, sweetheart?" 

     "Yes, sir."

     You didn't take orders from him. He wasn't your superior in the field and, in all honesty, he was totally fine with that. There was no way he'd be able to keep focus with that sweet voice calling out to him. All it would take was one little 'sir' over the comms and he'd be done for. That's why he made you use it here. Where only he could hear it. 

     Both of his hands leave your body and you'd have protested if you didn't push yourself up farther to watch him work at his belt. In one fluid motion it joins your panties across the room and you sink your teeth into your lip to hide the moan that draws out of you. The sight of his dick, fully hard and already leaking, pulls another free. One you don't hide from him. 

     Ghost crawls over you again, tucking his thumbs into the straps of your tank top and pulling them down your shoulders. He tugs just far enough for your breasts to be freed. Another shiver rolls through you when he licks his lips. 

     "Simon," you whimper, reaching up to dig your fingers into his biceps. "Please." His newly shining mouth twitches into a smirk and he tilts his head for a moment, brows raising with the motion.

     "Since you asked so nicely." 

     You'd hate how cocky he acted if he wasn't so fucking attractive and if his actual cock wasn't pushing into you. 

     Your eyes flutter shut again as you gasp, your back arching off the mattress as the solid heat of him fills you. Ghost takes the opportunity to slide his arms under you and pull you close, his face hidden in your shoulder, his breathing short and shallow as you stretch around him. It takes a few careful thrusts to get him all the way inside. Slow drags a few inches back, then a steady roll of his hips until his pelvis is pressed against yours. 

     "Ffffffuck, sweetheart… fuckin' hell-" 

     He only gives you a few short seconds before he's thrusting. Filling the room with the harsh slap of his skin on yours, the wet squish of your slick, and the echoing moans you can no longer contain. 

     "Si-Simon! Fu-ahhh! Fuck!" 

     He's not quiet either, to your surprise. In the past, you'd both been at risk of being caught. On base, hidden between paper thin walls, surrounded by other soldiers. Ghost's self control was honestly impressive, but he had to silence you in anyway he could. Either with his mouth on yours, his fingers down your throat, or just his palm slapped over your lips.

     Yet here, in your own home, he's just as bad as you. Moaning freely, cursing and whining along with you, groaning deeply as he sucks at the soft skin of your throat. His teeth sink into your flesh and you clench around him, making him pull away with a gasp. 

     "Ffuuu… fuck… like that, do you?" He leans forward again, lower than before, leaving a harsh red mark over your collarbone. 

    One of his arms wiggles free from under you and his fingers appear at your clit, making you nearly sob at the sudden friction. Before you know it your panting and moaning, nearly falling to pieces as heat coils in your abdomen, threatening to toss you over the cliff and straight into oblivion. 

     You grunt, gasp, curl your legs up around Ghost's waist, then throw your head back with a hoarse cry, eyes shut tight as you cum. 

     Ghost only stops for a handful of seconds. Long enough to lean himself back on his knees with a grunt, his hands taking hold of your hips. Then, before you've even come back down to earth, he's fucking you again. Deep, hard strokes that have your already muddy thoughts washing away in bliss. 

     Your orgasm drags on and on as he chases his own high, leaving you a weak, whimpering mess as he manhandles you back into his thrusts. Not much later, he's curling over you again, his eyes clenched shut and lips parted. He rolls his his again, two, three more times. Then his shoulders shake and he moans lowly, his face suddenly slack with relief. You finally fall limp a few trembling seconds later. Utterly boneless beneath him. 

     The pair of you stay there for a while. 

     Ghost lets himself lean into you, laying mostly on his side, still buried to the hilt in the mess you both made. One of his arms found its way under you again, holding you close to his chest as he breathes slowly and evenly. If you didn't know better, you'd think he was asleep. But you did know better and you grunted softly as you tried to shift your legs.

     "Alright, love?" He calls softly, his head raising just enough to look at you through the darkness. He hadn't turned the light on when he'd carried you in here. It would have wasted time.

     "Y-yeah… feel like jelly…" you say, still sounding and feeling breathless. You swallow, throat dry, and twist in his grasp, making him groan quietly as his soft cock finally slips free of you. 

     He twists as well, moving you until you're curling against his chest, sweaty and sticky and satisfied.  

     "Gonna be able to make it to round two?" He asks teasingly. 

     You groan. "There's gonna be more?" It's playful. You know perfectly well how much it takes to satiate him. Ghost chuckles and you can't fight back the grin that bunches your cheeks in response. 

     "I just got here, sweetheart. Maybe if you hadn't worn a skirt…"

     "Maybe if you'd given me a warning I could have changed." You wouldn't have, both of you know that. "My number was on that page too, Riley. Use it next time." 

     You couldn't see the way his jaw clenched when you said that. The way his eyes shifted through the shadows, wondering… thinking… considering the consequences. 

     Luckily, your hand trailing down his chest, over his jacket, pushes thoughts ever present fears away. 

     "You should take this off." 

     "You just wanna see my tits." He speaks before he thinks and it makes you laugh. A full, bright laugh that he's never heard from you before. Not that there's much place for laughter when he's got a gun in his hands and you've got lives on the line.

     It makes him smile. Just a little. Not where you can see. The sultry smirks and teasing grins were easy, this kind of smile was different. Softer. It's gone as you tilt your head back to beam at him, not a single worry behind your eyes.

     "Well, you saw mine. It's only fair."

~

[abrandnewshadow]

2005 mcr newsletter [email] about the founding of skeleton crew

"SKELETON CREW ONLINE

To whom it may concern,

Hello friends, this is Frank from My Chemical Romance. First of all, I would like to thank you all for helping my dreams come true. I cannot express my undying

gratitude for your support of this little band. You have made it possible for four kids from New Jersey and one from Chicago to make a difference in this world. Thank you, thank you, thank you, from the depths of my polluted New Jersey heart, thank you.

Ok, so now that the mushy stuff is out of the way I wanted to tell you about something that's going on in my life. I am clogging up your inbox with junk mail to let you know that I have embarked on a new creative adventure. Over the past few years, I have met lots of extremely talented people… tons of them. The thing is, I have not only become friends with these people, but I have also become a huge fan of the art they create. When that happens, the next logical step is to figure out how to work with them in the best capacity. So I wanted to start a company or companies that would be able to showcase the talents of my friends, my heroes, and the people who inspire me to live each day of my life as if it were my last. What I came up with was Skeleton Crew (skeletoncrewonline.com). Skeleton Crew is a record label, book publisher, and clothing design company. I figured if I was going to do it, I might as well do it all. I have always had a passion for record collecting, especially rare releases. If I'm a fan of the band I have to have it all, it's a sickness really. So Skeleton Crew Records will put out limited edition releases, colored vinyl, picture discs, and things I would want as a record collector. Basically whatever the band wants to do, we will put out. Some of the bands you might have heard of, some of the bands you might not have. The one thing they will all have in common is that I like them, which means they are worth checking out. (I have wanted to start a record label of my own for years, I'm really excited.)

Skeleton Crew Publications will release books written or illustrated by musicians, artists, athletes, and just all around interesting people who have something to say. I want to create a different forum where art and ideas can be presented. With media some of these artists have not experimented with or explored yet. I think this division of Skeleton Crew is the most interesting, and the one to definitely keep your eye on. We will not censor any of the artists, they will have full reign over what they create. (Again the only thing the authors may have in common, is that I am a fan.)

Last, but not least, is Skeleton Crew Clothing. This is not a t-shirt company! I can type it again if you didn't read it the first time…this is not a t-shirt company. I have nothing against t-shirts, some of my best friends wear them, and I enjoy them as well. All I'm trying to say is that Skeleton Crew is a clothing design company; we are in the process of developing a fall/winter line that will involve more than just screen printed t-shirts. You will be able to wear nothing but Skeleton Crew products for weeks straight to any occasion or destination and never think twice about whether your uniform is comfortable, appropriate, or fashionable. The designs are rad, I must say so myself. There are teasers on the website for you right now, but we'll keep you in anticipation of the clothes for a little bit longer.

This is a business that has a greater good in mind, Skeleton Crew will donate a portion of all profits to different charitable organizations, decided upon by the artists we work with. I have a feeling you guys are gonna enjoy what we come up with; at least I hope you do. Skeleton Crew will have a booth on upcoming Warped Tour dates on the East coast. I will drop you guys a short email letting you know when exactly that will be.

Until then, go to the site, skeletoncrewonline.com, you can email us for additional information. So far it's been really fun and hard just developing this project, I can't wait to get things rolling and hear what you guys think. I created Skeleton Crew from my heart and with my friends so I hope you check it out. Thanks for reading, I'll see you at the show.

keep the faith - frank m.c.r. & s.c.."

posted by bringyrbullets on lj

[its-short-for-jackalope]

OKAY, WE GOT A TRAILER AND A TITLE AND I HAVE THOUGHTS

You know what that means: it's brainrot time.

🏝 TITLE REVEAL: WHO IS THE SEARCHER IN THE SHADOWS?

quick note, I love this title. It's rad as hell. 10/10. anyway—

of course when I hear the word "Searcher" I immediately think of the one and only Addison Arvad, missing captain of the Antikythera and beloved wrecker of journals.

look at her. I love her. she's beautiful. also I am lowkey obsessed with how Jackie draws hair. (please teach me your secrets.)

We didn't get to learn much about Capt. Arvad in episode 3, but we do know that she was a Searcher who disappeared without any explanation, along with the rest of her crew. Kal probably had something to do with it, since he was attempting to retrieve the ship's orrery and said some vague stuff about fog and vortices, but even he doesn't seem to know exactly what happened to her and the crew.

Whatever the case, her disappearance is the reason most of the events in TGOA even happened, so it would make sense for her to be a big part of the next episode. And if Addison is the Searcher and the Searcher is in the shadows, then I have two (and a half?) theories.

The first is that she (and her crew, if they survived, who are also presumably all Searchers) are lost somewhere and that whatever "fogging the vertices" entails led to her getting whisked away somewhere else. She could be trapped there, trying to get out, and/or maybe she is in shadows in the same way Margaret was—maybe she has lost her memories and her magic.

The second theory is actually an idea @man-down-in-hatchet-town proposed that promptly blew my mind: what if whatever happened to Addison led to her getting corrupted and going dark and she is the villain of the episode? I honestly love this idea so much and I think it would be fun and also delightfully heartbreaking after hearing that entry from Addison's journal and getting a glimpse of the person she once was.

(also every pulp fan I know is in complete agreement that we want a cool female villain, pretty please Matt— 🥺🙏)

🏝 OH GOD, THE TIME TRAVEL

I've already yelled a bit about Rose being separated from Samuel and the others, so I'm not gonna repeat myself here, but I also have other thoughts about the time travel!

The trailer has confirmed that Rose was indeed sent two weeks into the past like Ahlaam said she would be. I think it's safe to assume that Rose will have to wait those two weeks until she can reunite with the others, and I also believe we're gonna have to wait with her.

Rose’s two weeks are going to be important—she's meeting Dakkar and hopefully getting some Travelore™ about the island and The Blazing World, and probably getting into some sort of trouble that better not require a printing press plate to resolve, since she doesn’t have it right now—so I don’t think they're going to just blip by. Otherwise what’s the point of sending her back in time?

I think it’s a pretty safe bet that we (the listeners) are probably going to be doing some time travel ourselves, hopping between Rose's two weeks with Dakkar and the rest of the brick family in the present as Sia takes them to the island and they get started on all that mysterious work they have to do. I have no idea what they're going to find there except maybe a rocket? but I can imagine Samuel and the others following Rose's trail as they piece together what's happened to her and learn about this place and its inhabitants, and then the storylines will connect by the end of the episode and we'll get the twins back together and they'll never be separated again!

Isn't that right, Mr. Dahan?

/lh

Alternatively, I suppose the Ellen Austin could be met on the shore by a Rose who has already spent two weeks on the island and then we could get relevant flashbacks here and there, but I don't think that's as likely. It might be too impractical for this medium when we have a lot of story (and lore) to cover and only so much time to sing about it! Plus, that"By the time our heroes are reunited" bit really makes me think that they won't see each other until closer to the end of the episode. The reunion is absolutely gonna make me cry. I can't wait.

🏝 TRAVELER ISLAND, BABEY!

The island's inhabitants have magic similar to Margaret's, and are led by a new group of powerful Travelers.

...Well, maybe it's not Traveler island, exactly. I'm guessing that most of these ~inhabitants~ are actually Searchers. Sia might not be the only Traveler, but I don't think there are a lot of them out there. It makes more sense for there to be less Travelers and more Searchers to balance things out if the Travelers are significantly more powerful like they've been implied to be.

I definitely think Ahlaam is one of the "new group of powerful Travelers" and I'm super excited to get to know her more. (I am also hoping that maybe we'll get a Jackie Traveler character? 👀) I still don't know if Dakkar is a Traveler or not, but I'm inclined to believe he might be a Searcher—mostly because his portrait doesn't have glowing eyes and flashy gold jewelry like Sia or Ahlaam. (I also feel like it may not be a coincidence that he's wearing a light blue-ish colored shirt like Addison, even if it's a different style and looks considerably less like a space suit, lol.)

They speak of a lost kingdom, The Blazing World, and how what occurs on Lincoln Island will impact an entire civilization.

The Blazing World!!! Rose hasn't heard this name yet, but we have! (and Margaret and Samuel.) The people on Lincoln Island could be survivors/refugees from the Blazing World, or perhaps they are all here on a war mission and this is simply their base of operations. Either way, I'm sure the civilization being impacted is the Travelers'; even if this island isn't currently sheltering all that remains of their people and this is only an outpost for the war, they still have some valuable people here—like Margaret, who is recovering her memories and I am certain has an incredibly vital role to play in this war—and the aftermath of whatever happens will undoubtedly be felt beyond the shores of Lincoln Island. Either our heroes succeed in whatever they're trying to do here, or it goes wrong and the Blazing World potentially loses valuable warriors & resources, and the war against Itzal takes a turn for the worse.

🏝 THE "D" WORD: DESTINY

By the time our heroes are reunited, they will be closer to understanding their destinies than ever before...

Destiny... oh, I've had many thoughts about this and been part of multiple discussions with various friends about fate and coincidence and puzzle pieces coming together in this story. enough that I'm almost not sure where to start.

...Eh, chronologically, I guess.

1817 — the year the Stratford family paper stand was established and the year Anna Hanover's father lost his place in the world. Both of these events affected the characters' lives, helping to cement the twins' love of stories and giving them an eventual connection to the New York Sun that would allow them to publish the moon hoax, and giving Anna her tragic backstory and a goal that would drive her to construct her own moon out of brick rather than ink.

1829 — the year I believe Margaret Cavendish arrived in New York City. She lost her memories and her magic, and the Travelers set her up here to live in comfort and safety and loneliness. We don't know why this happened yet, but I think it's safe to assume the location isn't a coincidence when we know at least one Traveler with precognitive abilities and it's only a handful of years until...

1835 — the year of the moon hoax and the brick satellite. Samuel and Rose Stratford write a story that takes the city by storm, attracting the attention of both Margaret Cavendish, who has been looking for answers and winds up with more questions and magic she doesn't remember or understand, and Sir John Herschel, who doesn't want fantastical stories written about him, thank you very much—but wait, how did he get here? He was in South Africa, a whole other hemisphere! How did he find out about the hoax so quickly?

Well, someone brought him the newspaper that made him come to New York, meet the Stratfords and Margaret, and invite them all to work on the brick satellite with him. They go to British Guiana, manage to finish the satellite alongside Anna, get it into the sky thanks to Margaret's Radiance, and finally meet the Traveler out in space, who somehow knew they would be there and knew Margaret's magic was returning but is surprised that her memories weren't. The Traveler knows more than she's telling, but rather than explain she sends the quartet back to Earth.

1874 — the year the quartet are teleported to. They happen to meet a friendly bosun who offers them a place on a ship that'll take them to New York, right where they want to go. Perfect, right? But in reality it takes them to a ghost ship that just so happens to contain some stuff that helps Margaret remember some things. There's a crazy awesome magic battle, sailors vanish, the ghost ship vanishes, and by the end of it all they're sailing towards a mysterious island and the Traveler, Sia, is telling them they have a lot of work to do.

...okay, the point I'm attempting to make here is that yeah, it definitely seems like something has been leading them here, to this time and place. I just can't tell if it's ✨️destiny✨️ or if it's just Sia, who can see into the future and had a clear hand in at least some of these occurrences. She sent our heroes to 1874 in a flash of light, right into Morgan's path, into Kal's, into the Antikythera's. And if she did that, who's to say she hasn't been guiding the quartet in more covert ways this whole time? Someone had to get that paper to John. Someone—specifically a Traveler someone—had to get Margaret settled in New York.

You could say that it's all destiny and that Sia's foresight and her actions are simply destiny's way of getting shit done, that it was all going to happen this way no matter what. You could also go round and round questioning how destiny and precognitive abilities work & influence each other until your brain feels like it's melting (why yes, I am speaking from experience) but I think I'm going to skip that and focus on a different question instead:

What does destiny (or Sia) have in store for our heroes?

I don't know, of course. probably a rocket at some point? gotta wait for the episode to find out.

but regardless of who or what has been pulling the strings, it took a lot to get our heroes to this point and the idea that they're meant to be here, that they've always been headed toward something that's more than this the lives they had before is so unbelievably exciting??? even if you don't care for the idea of destiny or fate, you know great things are coming and that the story is gonna get bigger and wilder.

🏝 YEAH I KEEP MENTIONING THE ROCKET, DON'T I?

might as well actually give it its own little section on this ramble-y ass post, lol.

We've had hints that there'd be at least one rocket in the story from the very first M.A.I.A. transmission. (If you haven't seen those, you're missing out!) Now that we're getting new cast photos where everyone has been posing with a little red rocket, it looks like it's time!

Maybe the quartet are going to help the Travelers build a rocket. Maybe they're going to help repair a rocket that already exists. Maybe they're going to go to space again, or another planet—The Blazing World?—or maybe they're only going to see the Travelers off and that'll be it. (Okay, that last one would be a little disappointing, lmao.) Hell, maybe they're only going to Lincoln Island to meet a rocket that hasn't arrived yet! So many possibilities!

...hmm. I think that's it? I think that's all the thoughts I had. I have been putting this post together off and on since last night so if I missed anything or it seems a little disjointed then that's why, lmao.

this is admittedly less of a theory post at times and more of a John impression (it's not my fault I have questions!) but why wait for M.A.I.A. transmissions and more information when I can shout about it all now? the universe simply wouldn't be right if I didn't seize every opportunity to scream about Pulp Musicals.

anyway, if you read all of this then I hope you enjoyed it! you can expect/dread more posts like this in the coming weeks, as soon as we get more info and M.A.I.A. transmissions. can't wait to see my best girl again. 💙

...I really hope Matt and Jackie have gotten that window fixed.

[malleusarcanum]

⚠️: Piss her!

Ace: My arms are going to give up! *Holding 3 boxes*

Deuce: This is far heavier! *Holding 8 history books*

Mc: Hey! We could use a little help here!! *Dropped the small table* *Yelled to Leona who is sitting at the corner*

Leona: Zzzzzz

Mc: Don't dare make a false sleep!!!!

Sebek: Duties couldn't be accomplished if you use your megaphonic mouth, human.

Mc: Atleast this megaphone is more useful than that lazy slacker over there! *Pointed at silver who slept at the desk*

Lilia: He's tired. He's even charming to look while dozing off.

Ruggie: That's the chair I was looking for... Nah to heavy if someone adds his weight

Lilia:....

Mc: ......

Lilia: Let's get movi'n!

Vil: My beauty will be destroyed by those dusk--what the---achoo! *Jade rubbed his face with feather duster*

Rook: Roi de Poison!! How could you do that!

Jade: Oh! My mistake, I thought I saw a huge termite.

*Vil stared with murderous intent*

Floyd: ah?! *Box fell off including the things inside*

Jack: It's not that bad *complimented the painting that Floyd just stepped*

Mc: Moana Lisa?!!!!

Grim: Funyah? it has some rad shoe prints, cool glow-up.

Epel: After putting everything here, let's pack up. My gut says we'll be expelled.

*Cater clicked phone and flashed*

Cater: as our last photo *selfie again and posed*

Idia: This is too heavy, my bones are disappearing.

Ortho: Big bro, you only lift one empty vase. This is the reason why you need to cut off being absorbed on gadgets, you definitely need exercise.

Idia: thinking about it may kill me already

Kalim: I give up!!!! Jamil!! Lift me!! *Unable to reach high shelf to put the trophy*

Jamil: you know what's easier?

Kalim:?

Jamil: Bring it home.

Kalim: Great idea!

*Jamil grinned*

Trey: Don't even think about it.

*Heard the book shelf collapsed, everyone turned*

Riddle: Great now we destroyed public property, thanks to Malleus.

*Mc sighed*

Malleus: *Looked at everyone* I may have pushed the box aggressively. I didn't expect a destruction.

*Everyone startled*

Floyd: Awesome!! Let's get in Shrimpy!

*Dragged Mc*

*Behind the collapsed bookshelf is a tunnel with torches beside the walls as light source*

*Everyone went in*

*********

Azul: *arranged glasses, observed a rectangular technology, with sound source at the side and a pen with big black sphere*

Mc: Wow! A kareoke!

Everyone: *exchanged glances* Karwha?

Mc: its a singing machine. *Pushed the button and it turned on*

Idia: where is their electrical source?

Mc: Don't know but this will be fun! *Played a song*

Mc demonstrated but before the lyrics starts they snatched the microphone.

🎶Trey: First, think first

Mc: The heck?!

🎶Ace: He'll no! Say what are those inside your head

🎶Kalim: I'm fired up, not tired of ruining her day oh-oooh

Running her day oh-oooh*

Mc: guys the lyrics is already there!!!!

*Everyone shushed her*

🎶Jamil: Second, wait a sec!

🎶Floyd: Don't you dare me when I call you shrimpy!

🎶Grim: No! I'm the one, greater mage.

hench-man belongs to me oh-ooohh

Tuna, dinner for me oh-oooh

Mc covered ears

🎶Leona: You're also better as maid *winked*

🎶Ruggie: taking his orders every breaks

🎶Jade & Deuce: Writing my assignments, would be cool!

Hey, Don't glare at me, kill me, attacking me...

🎶Sebek: using your punching karate

🎶Epel: Take this message from me

🎶Riddle: Speaking profanity everyday

🎶Azul: Hearing those is a

🎶Jack: pain!

🎶Cater: it's really fun when your are mad. let's piss her, piss her!

*Mc curled fist*

🎶Sebek, Silver & Lilia: Lame!

🎶Malleus: I much prefer my Child of man to kiss her, kiss her *bit lip*

*Mc blushed*

(pain!

Oh let the bullet's fly.....) (Part)

🎶Ortho: Lame.....

🎶Idia: I'll cuddle you at night and those cold rains. *Pointed mc*

*mc's heart beats fast*

🎶Vil: Apple my love, my wife you drive me *air kiss*

*Mc almost melted*

🎶Rook & Epel: Insane!

🎶Ace & Kalim: Look at her, tomato red. Let's piss her, yeah piss her!

*After a while*

Mc: Let's wait your score

Everyone:?

Mc: your song will be graded from 0 to 100. But I doubt you'll reach perfect that fuc--

Crowley: How did you got in my secret place?!!!!!!

Everyone blinked

Ortho: this is yours?

Crowley: Never mind!!! Get out *pushed them out*

Kalim: The score!

Crowley: all of your scores will go below the belt if you don't get out. *Slammed the door closed of the stock room*

*Crowley went back to turn it off but before it*

Kareoke: 100 Wow! You are a great singer

Crowley: Holy moly?!!! H-how?!!!

[misc-obeyme]

unchained - chapter fifteen

masterpost read the chapter on ao3

recommended music: Don't Go Dark by DREAMERS word count: 2799

GN!MC x Arsenios [demon OC] a/n: I consider this to be the most cringe of chapters because of the lyrics that I made up. I described the song as well as I could, too, but it isn't really important as long as the message of it is clear. Anyway, Arrie's on his way to fuck some shit up at the end though lol. Warnings: none

Every time you saw Arsenios's empty seat in the classroom at RAD, your gut twisted as you remembered the way his door closed with such finality. You were convinced it was a temporary situation, that he was only trying to keep you away for your own safety. You weren't sure what he was doing now. You wanted to be there when he confronted Caligo, but you hadn't been able to convince him that you could handle it.

So when you saw a flyer on the bulletin board for a show by Angel's Temptation, you were surprised. The band wouldn't play without Arsenios. You looked around the hallway and quickly tore the flyer off the board. The band was scheduled to play at a small local venue that evening. Was Arsenios still working while he was trying to lure the reaper to him? Or was the band somehow playing without him?

You stuffed the flyer in your bag, where it stayed crumpled until after your student council duties. When everyone else had gone home, you waited until it was almost time for the concert. Then you took out the flyer and headed to the address printed on it.

You tried to tell yourself that you were only going for the music. You were a fan of the band now, it was only normal for you to support them by showing up. It was definitely not because you were desperate for a glimpse of him. Not at all because you were worried about the state he had been in when you saw him last.

You knew you couldn't go with any of the others. Arsenios would spot you with any of them instantly. Even so, you also knew that he had an uncanny knack of knowing whenever you were in the same room with him.

The venue was a small bar with a tiny stage lit by a set of dim lights. You lingered at the back, behind the crowd and against the wall. There were plenty of demons in attendance. Maybe you would be unnoticed.

You first saw the other band members, easily bantering with each other as they did their sound check. And then you saw Arsenios. His usual calm and confident demeanor had a heaviness to it that you didn't like.

You could see the dark circles of the tattoos on his hands. They were working on setting up a mic, but you thought about the way he clenched them when he was feeling especially serious or anxious. You knew just enough to understand what that meant. The story of how they had been mangled and then healed.

The set was a mixture of rock songs and slower ballads. It was more intense than the acoustic set they had played at Crimson Street, but quieter than the grand theatrical performances they put on at The Fall.

Arsenios had stuck to the electric guitar the whole time, singing with his usual deep baritone. You couldn't know if he was aware of your presence. His eyes scanned the crowd, but didn't focus on any one spot in particular. He was just as present as he normally was, clearly putting his soul into his performance.

After several songs, there was a brief pause. You watched as Arsenios seemed to be arguing with Chymion and Lael. Even Liviana left her drums to join them and say a few words.

Whatever Liviana had said, Arsenios calmed down. He waved at them, clearly exasperated, but not willing to argue further.

The lights dimmed and a spotlight illuminated a piano that you hadn't noticed at the back of the stage. Arsenios sat down at the piano and began to play without first introducing the song.

It began simply, a soft repetition of chords and a small scale in the melody.

And then Arsenios began to sing.

The piano became even simpler, reverting back to only chords as his voice soared over them, delicate and melancholy.

You listened to the first and second verses, enraptured. From the first lines of the lyrics, you knew they were about you. The reality of this only vaguely registered as a squeezing in your heart.

in the darkness I could hear you your heartbeat in my song

You held your breath as the accompaniment became a little more rapid and Arsenios's voice lifted into the chorus. It was like every note was full of something that only you could see. It was as though everyone else had disappeared. It was as though you were in the dark dance hall again, just the two of you. He was singing this song to you.

these hands are bloodstained but now I am unchained

The chords slowed down again for the third verse and you nearly jumped when you heard him sing words that you had spoken to him not that long ago. In the Devildom Botanical Garden, when he had finally told you more than he ever had about his past.

you said you don't care what I've done or what I've had to do

The chorus came in again and your mind was whirling. You weren't sure what this meant. This song he had written about you. What was he trying to say? It seemed like you should know, like it should be obvious. But there was so much pain in it still. Like he was desperate, like he didn't know what to do with his own feelings.

A brief musical interlude that involved some unexpected scales and fingerwork caught your attention as it descended into the loud and dramatic chords of the bridge.

I used to sing about heartache now all I can sing about is you

You listened to the chorus as he went through it twice more. But you were only barely hearing it. The way he varied the melody as he let the chords and his voice become loud before everything softened in a diminuendo. The last chorus was quiet, almost pleading. The final chord, a single scale, until all that was left was the distant ringing of the D minor in the bass clef and a single D in the treble. The echo that it seemed to produce as he let the sustain pedal carry the sound. The way it cut off abruptly as he sat back.

It was too much, wasn't it? Was this song really about you?

You wanted to know about Arsenios's past. You wanted to know what had happened to him and why he was still suffering from those events now.

But with this song, he had given you something else. You remembered two lines from the third verse.

but I would die a thousand times just to end up here with you

And suddenly everything made sense. This song was a confession. When you saw Arsenios at his apartment, he looked like he hadn't slept in days. He could barely look at you. And then he told you to stay away.

Arsenios was in love with you. And that was more frightening to him than any reaper could ever hope to be.

Your gut twisted because the truth of this hit you hard. The band began to play a new song, but you didn't hear it. You turned abruptly and nearly ran out of the venue.

As you rushed down the street, making your way back to the House of Lamentation blindly, your mind was focused on only one thing.

Did Arsenios know you were there? Did he know you were listening?

You still hadn't been able to tell. But he always knew when you listened to him at RAD. Why would this setting be any different?

If he had known, then he had performed that song on purpose. Was this his way of telling you how he felt? Was it because he couldn't actually say it to you directly?

And even if all of that was true, even if this was a real confession of love, did it matter?

Arsenios had told you it would be better for you to stay apart. He said it was too dangerous. He might love you, but did he trust you?

-

That night, Arsenios lay sprawled on his back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He hadn't bothered to turn on the lights, only trudged up the stairs of the loft and collapsed fully clothed on the blankets.

Of course Arsenios knew you were there. He could sense you the moment you walked into that small venue. You didn't come forward, only stayed against the back wall, but he didn't need you close to hear you.

Arsenios had memorized the rhythm of your heartbeat and the way it synced up with your breathing. He recognized the beat in your tread, every footstep, every motion. He could sense the song that accompanied you no matter where you went.

It was something he first came to know at RAD, simply because your humanity made it stand out among the cacophony of so many demons. Now it was like you were a radio turned to full volume. Any time you were anywhere near him, your sounds flooded his senses.

He hadn't had any intention of playing the song he wrote about you. But soon enough, Chymion had spotted you in the crowd and informed Lael and Liviana of your presence. Then it was three against one in the argument about whether or not he should play your song. He had lost.

Arsenios knew that was a lie. He could have argued harder.

But for some reason, he wanted you to hear it. He needed you to. His confession, though full of fear and uncertainty, was holding the only hope of healing he'd had in centuries.

And it might end up being the last thing he ever sang to you.

It wasn't that Arsenios believed he couldn't find a way to defeat Caligo if it came down to a fight. It was more that Arsenios knew he would sacrifice his life for you if he had to. You were never supposed to be part of this situation. The only reason Caligo was targeting you was because of him and your closeness to him.

Arsenios felt that the only way to keep you safe was to bring this situation to an end once and for all. He had thought it was over long ago, but now that it was back he wasn't going to just wait around. He wasn't going to put it off until it was too late to protect you.

Arsenios sighed and closed his eyes.

Lucifer had been right.

If you were at all competent-

If he was at all competent, none of this would even be happening.

If he hadn't trusted Caligo to begin with, all those years ago, this wouldn't be happening now.

Abby chose that moment to jump up onto the bed, landing directly on Arsenios's stomach.

"Oof!" He flung his hands out to catch her, sitting up with her in his lap.

"All right, I get it," he said to her. "I'll stop feeling sorry for myself, okay?"

Abby purred and pushed her head into his hand.

"I know what I have to do," he said. "I've never met anyone like MC, Abby. Their sound is so intimately human, so much happening and yet all working together perfectly. It's soothing. It… merges somehow with that hole in my heart. I'll do anything to keep them safe."

Abby meowed.

Arsenios felt the heaviness of guilt press down on him. There was one important detail about reapers that he simply hadn't told you. He was sure if you knew, you would be more insistent about accompanying him. It was only his good luck that kept you from finding out from someone else. He wasn't sure how long that luck would hold out. But he only needed one more day.

Arsenios knew it would be a simple matter to get to Caligo. He was ready and tomorrow, he would go find Barbatos.

-

Arsenios picked up Little D No 2 who had been scampering conveniently through the gardens at the Demon Lord's Castle. He kicked his little legs and gnashed his teeth, clearly unhappy to have been caught.

"Hey," Arsenios said. "Calm down, it's just me."

No 2 stopped mid-thrash and looked at Arsenios for a moment before smiling. "Arrie!"

"Yeah," Arsenios said. "Can you get Barbatos for me? I don't want anyone else in the castle to know that I've talked to him."

No 2 kicked his feet slightly. "You mean you don't want Lord Diavolo to know!"

Arsenios huffed. "Yeah, you got me."

"Is it 'cause he'll tell Lucifer?" No 2 asked.

"Stop asking questions and go get Barbatos, please," Arsenios said.

"Okay!" No 2 exclaimed.

Arsenios put him back down and watched him scramble off into the castle.

Moments later, Barbatos came out where Little D No 2 had gone in. He saw Arsenios instantly.

"Sorry," Arsenios said when Barbatos stopped beside him. "But can you send me to the Underworld? You know where I need to go. I don't have time to walk there myself."

Barbatos regarded Arsenios for a long moment. This wasn't unusual, necessarily, but there was a tension in the air. Arsenios folded his arms and waited.

"Is it wise for you to go alone?" Barbatos asked.

Arsenios frowned. "This is my problem. And I'm going to take care of it."

Barbatos actually chuckled, which made Arsenios glare at him. "How exactly do you plan on taking care of a reaper?"

"You think I can't handle it?" Arsenios asked.

Barbatos shook his head. "I simply wish for you to consider what you will do once you find him."

Arsenios paused. He had considered it, of course. "I'm… going to talk to him."

The fondness in Barbatos's eyes was both endearing and infuriating. "Do you think he will listen?"

Arsenios huffed. "Maybe not, but it isn't like I have a choice. Look, you can't talk me out of this. If you don't help me get there, I'll walk instead. I'm going to talk to him, try to get my grimoire back, try to end this peacefully. This has gone on too long and I'm not about to put MC's life in any more danger."

"And what about your life, Arsenios?" Barbatos asked.

"What's my life compared to MC's?" Arsenios shot back. He knew he was getting worked up. He took a breath in an attempt to calm himself.

Barbatos shook his head. "This is exactly why I am hesitant to send you."

Arsenios sighed. "Listen, Barb. You know me. I thought I was broken beyond repair. I didn't know I was searching until I found them. I don't plan to die tonight, but if I sacrifice my life to protect them then I'll be doing it knowing I'm saving the one thing that matters to me."

Barbatos closed his eyes in a long suffering expression. "Have you truly found what you think you have, I wonder? Or do you perhaps still fail to understand exactly what it is you have always been seeking?"

"Please, Barb, I don't have time for your all powerful demon riddles," Arsenios said.

Barbatos considered him for a moment. "Very well. I can see that there is nothing I can say to dissuade you. I will open the portal for you."

Arsenios looked suspiciously at this sudden reversal. "Is that right?"

Barbatos chuckled. "Have you changed your mind after all?"

Arsenios knew he didn't have the luxury to question it. "No. Send me, please."

Barbatos opened a portal. Just before Arsenios stepped through it, he said, "Please be careful."

Arsenios picked up his guitar, which he had left on a nearby bench, and stepped through the portal. He found himself in the Underworld - a dark and ominous corner of it, somewhat near to the reaper prison. Barbatos had known that Arsenios would need to be at a crossroads and that was exactly where he now found himself. The jagged dirt paths that connected beneath his feet were in the center of a forest full of black and leafless trees.

It was dark and empty. The sky was grey. Arsenios strummed a chord on his guitar and it fell dully into the air around him. He didn't let that stop him. He played another chord, letting his fingers get used to the feel of the strings in this strange place. Soon he began some elaborate finger work, soft but complicated. The notes whispered around him like hushed prayers.

Arsenios played the guitar this way for hours. He never stopped, never once faltered. And finally he was rewarded with a flash of silver, letting him know he had finally succeeded. The reaper he sought was not far off, his yellow eyes gleaming from the depths of the trees.

masterpost | chapter fourteen | chapter sixteen [coming soon]

taglist: @avalordream @lonely-north-star @expressionless-fr @featheredcrowbones @pumpkinsareamazing

@szired @bagofwetmice @ashley675901

as always, please comment or dm me if you'd like to be added or removed from the taglist!

masterlist | Thank you for reading!

[antheraea]

in yet another bout of my unfettered autism, I was reminded pretty strongly of the hardest Disney has ever gone upon news that they, mercifully, canned a live-action Hunchback of Notre Dame remake.

Good, because they will never, ever top this:

Like, yeah, they could, I guess, improve the 3D or some shit, but, they would never have the clarity of vision, or the balls:

The sequence literally starts with an Ominous Latin choir scream FREE ME MY LORD as the bells ring on the word "domine" so hard that the timbers in the foreground shake

The choir then sings Free me my Lord from eternal death as Quasimodo struggles against his chains, which just goes so fucking hard okay

Quasimodo finally gets free at end of the lyrics about God moving heaven and earth "on that terrible day"

He leaps from the cathedral to lyrics about God judging the world by fire

(also check out that exaggerated angle of the cathedral, and how the statues at the bottom of the screen are still both detailed and proportonal)

As he lands on the wall and swings down to that epic pan of the square, the choir sings about the enemy being at the gates and to please bring "us" strength and aid

The instant he lands on the platform Esmeralda is on, the lyrics transition to praising God, and continues to the rest of the scene. In the last shot, as he climbs, they're singing GLORY, GLORY FOREVER, and as he claims sanctuary, they're screaming HOLY, HOLY IN THE HIGHEST

One could interpret this scene as God literally working through Quasimodo in this scene, which I think is just so fucking rad. I'm not religious but I'm definitely moved by "divinity as awe-inducing, terrifying, and benevolent".

Oh and, to no one's surprise, James Baxter did a pencil test in this scene LMAO

(the technical details are quite interesting:

"The background of the cathedral was animated first by Mike Merell in 3D. Then that wireframe footage was printed out onto paper frame by frame. I then animated the characters over the top on paper."

Which, I might also add, means that all the lighting in the final save for the glow on the cathedral itself in the background, had to be painted on alongside the animation, since the 2D being overlayed on top of the render means that they couldn't just push a button to have Quasimodo's shadow be magically calculated. They naturally did this in an extremely hard set of lighting conditions too, because they're lunatics.)

[vampkomori]

Ratio might be a Candelagraphos scholar

*The Candelagraphos is a school of the Intelligentsia Guild. theyre the so-called "printing department" of the guild.

despite having known Ratio for (arguably) a while, we still dont know what he actually does! funny. hes overall mysterious and we dont actually know anything about him, but we might be able to find out what he does at the guild/ or what hes planning to do.

^ emotional support ratio

lets start chronologically, im going to build this up again slowly for context, but also because i want to compile what Ratio actually does, so into the post it goes.

We know that he works with the Technology Department of the IPC as an outsourced science consultant. This is to be expected, because Yabuli, the head of the Technology Department, is also the controller of the Intelligentsia Guild.

- File Repository: Ally — Interastral Peace Corporation Headquarters, at the Seat of Divine Foresight

In the IPC trailer, you can see Ratio's bust in the bottom left corner-ish. The voiceover also says "Join us and team up with the Intelligentsia Guild!" So, its likely that the guild exclusively (or primarily) works with the Technology Department when the IPC requires aid.

Moving on to Ratio's qualifications/his 8 doctorates to establish what kind of fields he works in:

He has 8 doctorates, namely: Medicine, Philosophy, Natural theology, Mathematics, Physics, Computer science, Engineering, and Biology. (7 of his 8 degrees are mentioned in his character story, but his 8th (computer science) is only mentioned in his trailer)

From this we can gather he regularly publishes books and papers, invents machines/medicine, and does regular ol' research.

great job pookie. based on this, lets try figure out which of the guild's schools he would fit into:

Synesthesia School: Mostly known for its Synesthesia Beacon, the tool that lets you understand and speak languages. They mostly seem to focus on communiation-related things, as Herta says their next research focuses on "remote communication technology".

Ratio could probably thrive anywhere but he is not shown to have language-related interests or research, so this ones unlikely.

Astral Ecology School: Focus on Astrology/Cosmology, they study the void song whale, radiant jellyfish, and other organisms of the galaxy.

Highly unlikely. This one has nothing to do with his kind of science.

Armed Archaeologists: Very exploration-heavy. They do galactic exploration and archaeology. On the Interastral Peace Broadcast, its said that they discovered a miniature galaxy and recently unconvered the tomb of Rubert I.

Also highly unlikely. Ratio does science and is also a teacher, he doesnt go out into the universe to explore.

Quantum History School: This school is allegedly a bit of a scam. they used to try and "find the influences of disturbance and patterns of change hidden throughout history", but now they just scam you with calculation-based fortune telling.

No comment.

Candelagraphos:

Ill just add Hertas summary of it and marked the relevant passages.

Author✅ Ratio is a published author of multiple books and papers.

Programmer ✅ He has a doctorate in computer science and works with the Technology Department, so he likely knows how to programm.

Their altruistic philosophy ✅ literally matches Ratio's to a T.

"The science of the guild is gathered here" ✅ Ratio does science.

Naturally its possible that the guild has more schools than just these ones, but. well anyway lets keep going.

In 2.1, Ratios goal in Penacony is specifically to get Stellaron Research Papers from the Family.

"achieved what he desired" (to which he replies, "Thats true.") So, Ratio is doing research on Stellarons. interesting! this is a surprise tool that will help us later.

Anyway, Ratio was invited as a science consultant to Hertas space station, and its possible that it was during the events of Crown of the Mundane and Divine that the IPC allied with Herta

- Interastral Peace Broadcast Radio

Herta is known for a lot of things, but shes also one of the only people whos been able to seal a Stellaron and keep it "dormant", to the point that the Stellaron Hunters specifically used her sealed Stellaron for the Trailblazer.

Although Himeko later says that no one, not even Herta, has found a way to destroy a Stellaron.

Its interesting that Herta is emphasized, likely meaning that shes basically the universe's Foremost Expert On Stellarons. Naturally, the IPC allying with her couldve been for other reasons too, though.

In the same broadcast its said that the IPC has been doing research on Stellarons with the Intellgentsia Guild's support, and currently, their results are promising.

So, the IPC does research on Stellarons, recently allied with Herta who happens to be a bit of a specialist on Stellarons, has the guild's support, and recently Ratio acquired Stellaron Research papers, implying that hes the one doing research on it.

Fun bit: Stellarons are called "Cancer of all worlds" and technically what theyre doing could be considered "trying to cure cancer" which is funny because Ratio's a medical doctor and that absolutely sounds like something hed do.

But what school in the Intellgentsia Guild would do research on Stellarons? None of them seem to really have anything to do with them? how would you even classify Stellarons? biology????

Worry no more, I have the answer:

The Candelagraphos

Theyre requesting data on Stellarons for their experiments. I rest my case (bows)

that was kind of the conclusion. Ratio's department is absolutely the Candelagraphos, hes doing research on Stellarons with the IPC, and it is undoubtedly going to be very very relevant in the plot (soon? ish? eventually).

id love if we got more lore on him once that happens. He absolutely has ties to the Laurel Wreath Galaxy and the Philosophers Union. Maybe that wont be relevant in the Stellaron Chapter but. well, theres ample foreshadowing that Emperor Rubert is going to make a comeback and he was the reason said galaxy and philosophers even perished and Screwllum recently uncovered his tomb alongside a member of the guild? so??? pretty please. thank you 🙏

Ratio stonks will rise

[casdeans-pie]

Hi! First off, love your fics. They brighten my day. and your latte art is cool too.

Secondly, I've seen that you've gone to a few cons and I was curious what tips you'd give a baby con-goer who's going to their first spn con in a month? Also, what should I bring to have signed for an auto?

This might be a weird ask but I don't know who else to ask for con tips lol.

Hi Anon! Thanks so much !! ❤️ happy you're enjoying the stories! I have like a bazillion wips buzzing around my brain at all times so there will be plenty more!

And I genuinely wish I could pass you all supernatural themed coffees through my phone honestly lmaooo

Oooh!! First spn con! That's exciting because my first one wasn't objectively 'the best' but to. this. day it remains my favourite. It's so special to me. It'll be so so good you'll love it. The vibe at these kinds of cons is unmatched because spn fans are literally the friendliest people out there

Nothing quite like the bonds spn fans forge in The Queues. One big tip I'd give is to strike up a conversation with the folks around you - ask what they're getting signed or what poses they're doing - boom! Queue Friends.

Get all of your QR codes or tickets ready in the order you're gonna need them, so there's no panicking when you go for autos or photos. And definitely get a hard folder to put your autographed prints/photo ops in.

Don't forget a bottle of water! And lots of snacks!! And a portable charger/battery pack for your phone!! Mine dies in like a few hours so the extra power is a must.

Enjoy the very special vibe - soak up the atmosphere! There's just, a crazy amount of joy and hype at these things and if I could find a way to bottle it I would

As for stuff to get signed - it depends if you want a print of a character or not, cause usually they have those available at the signing itself on a desk nearby. So you wouldn't have to worry about taking anything. And the character prints always look rad with the signature on. OR you could get a dvd signed? Some artwork? Spn book? Some obscure merch you found? (my favourite kind)

Anyway I've rambled long enough lmao sorry anon you asked me a simple question and I have shot off into the stratosphere of long winded replies

It's not a weird question at all! The funny thing is that when you've done more (because there's always more spn cons) you'll look back on your first like, ah I didn't know what I was letting myself in for..... Addiction is such a negative word, but I'm struggling to think of another.... lmaoooo

Have an amazing time!!!

[milla-frenchy]

2023

My first year on tumblr. I signed up in March or April, and I was like "woah" as soon as I read my first fics. Some of them are printed in me.

raider series - @toxicanonymity I was hooked from the first chapter, and now, what can I say... This universe is amazing, and the analyzes never cease to make me emotional. I love your fics so much and their particular atmosphere, I was going to mention Slasher and Night walks, but honestly I could put the link to your masterlist it would be more representative.

Toxic, thank you so much. I love you and I'm so grateful to know you 🖤🫶🫂

Han @swiftispunk, you are one of the very first accounts I followed, and this famous “woah” effect started with Let me and Use me. Then there was In my hometown, and how could I not mention Your summer dream. You are also one of the nicest people in here, and reading your responses to requests is always a pleasure.

Katy, @atticrissfinch I'm a huge fan of your dom/brat tamer series, since day one. The dom/sub dynamic is perfect. Since then I've been reading your fics like a starving person, I'm crazy about Meet me in the back like a lot of people, little bee is amazing, and honestly your masterlist is dope. Also you are SO funny and I couldn't say how many times you made me giggle.

Aly, @iamasaddie am I gonna talk about Lost in the Dark for the 50th time? Absolutely. A hugnry dog on a very short leash is one of the fics that had the most impact on me. When someone writes down the most raw, primal emotions you've ever felt, it creates a special bound. Aly, I love you, you are one of the funniest people I know, you're like an alternative version of me and I love that 💛

Kat @pascalsbby I've said it a million times, but your Carnal series... ❤️😍 Birdie means a lot to me, to the point that I add one of your quote on my PP. Your Joel is incredible, the feelings when I read this series are amazing. Thank you

Emma @walkintotheriveranddisappear I can ben your pretty girl is an amazing series, I have lost count of the number of times I have read it. The last parts with Tommy made me turn a total fangirl. And I can't thank you enough for your september fics

Rad @bonezone44 You gave us one of the most depraved fics I've read this year, and I read a lot of them 😁 Too depraved 4 tv is a fn masterpiece, and I love you ❤️

Lo @covetyou when we read the first part of Something wretched about this with some of my mutuals, we went in feral mod instantly. I love, love, love, this series. You have no idea how much I couldn't wait for the next Tuesday. Thank you.

I can't list all the fics that I liked because there were so many, if you're interested I have fics recs.

Tumblr didn't only offer me fics. I can't talk about 2023 without talking about you, Kate, @not-a-unique-snowflake-blog. You are a gem, and I am so grateful to have you in my life. Thank you for all the time you spend correcting my fics, and my shitty grammar. Writing fics with you is awesome. I love you, my twin 💕

Also, I can't forget the emotions I felt while reading A villain's monologue.

Finally, I started writing my little fics, and some people always take the time to comment and rb. Thank you so much, it means the world to me.

@casa-boiardi @survivingandenduring @sheepdogchick3 @axshadows @quaritchscupquake @corazondebeskar-reads

Sorry for the people I forgot, for the probably bad english, I drank too much last night and I have a horrible headache 😭

Cheers to 2024!

[strikethematch18]

Withdraws

Lucifer x GN! READER

word count:

WARNINGS: mentions of mental illness, depression, anxiety, self harm, medication, drug (medication) withdraws, suicidal idealations, mentions of suicide, mental health inpatient mentions

Potential Spoilers for Lesson 16 of OG Obey Me

DISCLAIMER 1: in no way am I trying to romanticize mental illness, particularly in relation to suicide and self harm. Things do not automatically get better just because of one person amd instance. If you are struggling with suicidal tendencies and/or self harm, I highly suggest reaching out to someone for help, even if it's a hotline. I am only one person but if you need someone my dms are open. Here is a list of resources such as hotlines

DISCLAIMER 2: some of the things I am describing here are my own experiences and struggles. I went through withdraws from antipsychotics but was in a controlled environment with 24/7 supervision when i was inpatient. Please do NOT just stop taking any medication without medical guidance. At the very least please safely taper your dose, do not stop all at once.

DISCLAIMER 3: There is no shame in getting help or being inpatient. If it is what you need to get better then that's that. If someone looks down on you I am proud of you.

m.list

It was by the grace of some higher power you had just earlier picked your medications up at the pharmacy on the day you were summoned into the Devildom. It was also thanks to that you were running short on time to get to class and shoved the bag into your backpack instead of back to your apartment instead. So for the next 30 days, your brain chemicals remained stable. Thirty days later was an an issue for the future, and wow was it ever a problem.

Of course, the effects weren't immediate. Unfortunately, you did not possess the foresight to ween yourself down so after you ran out it was cold turkey comedown time. It was a horrible experience you cursed yourself for but could not bring yourself to mention it to any of the brothers and you had attempted to do your best to hide it. You already lacked clothes and regularly wore things from the brother's closet but one morning you specifically sought out Beel to ask for a sweatshirt or some type of warmer shirt. The chills of withdrawal had set in, so you just played it off as you being cold. It was only a matter of time before the clamminess started. But for the meantime, something absurdly oversized would do the trick. Of course, you also acquired one from Levi, his only plain black sweatshirt he owned as all the others were anime printed. Levi's was what you chose to tuck into your RAD skirt with your teal collar popped over the neckline, Lucifer wasn't all too pleased by the outfit change but when you gave the excuse of you feeling cold he caved at the time.

Unfortunately, it wasn't long until cold sweats kicked in, however. When you showed up to breakfast shivering in a sweatshirt and your forehead sheen with sweat, all six brothers took it upon themselves to chastise you and then make you go back to bed to rest assuming you were sick. Those only lasted for a few days, all of them spent away from RAD.

One immediate effect you faced was your insomnia because without your sleeping medication you could not sleep until you had exhausted yourself. The brothers had not let this go unnoticed by the state of your dark circles, Asmo scolding you about how a lack of sleep will damage your skin.

Your anxiety kept you from bringing the issue of your medication up. Several panic attacks a day on top of your weening will to live plagued you. It wasn't until the incident with Belphegor and a breakdown that evening alone in your room for you to seek out help. Once you found yourself relapsing into your former self-harm behaviors. Cuts adorned your pale forearms, thighs, and hips. It took a too deep cut on your left arm for you to snap out of your haze.

You muttered a "Shit" as you searched for something to apply pressure to the wound. Once you found a t-shirt discarded on the ground and applied it you knew you had to talk to someone. You did not want to die but some part of you did and it scared you. So you peeked out the door to make sure the hallway was empty, and luckily it was. It was then you made haste to a certain demon brother's study and prayed he would be in there. This was likely the only push of courage you had left and if he was in another part of the house you were scared of what you may do.

Upon arriving through the door you could hear some faint music, good, your intentions coming through. It was perhaps your last act of courage, but you knocked on the door, and shortly after it opened.

Lucifer looked down at your face, "MC is everything alright?"

Your voice broke and a new set of tears cascaded down your eyes and your knees wobbled, "Lucifer I need help."

His eyes widened, looking down at your bloody, slashed body, and swiftly picked you up and set you on the couch, and closed the door.

"MC! What in the devildom happened to you? Who did this to you? Tell me and I'll take care of it."

"Me. I did" you whispered.

"MC?"

"Lucifer, I'm sick," he went to interrupt you but you kept going, "I am mentally ill. Have been for years. And it is taking everything I have not to have an anxiety attack and run out that door because I'm scared and I know I need help."

"Okay, we'll start by dealing with the physical damage first which requires immediate medical assistance, then we'll circle back to intervention, is that alright?" He spoke quietly and gently.

"Okay," you whispered.

Luckily the Demon kept a stocked first aid kit in his study. He had put one together shortly after hearing he would be housing a normal human exchange student.The process started with the cleaning of each area and then bandaging and wrapping. Until he reached your left forearm where the deepest cuts were located. Using the dominant hand always resulted in more pressure control.

Upon examining he said, "MC, I think some of these need stitches. I am not adept and comfortable doing them myself. Will you please allow me to contact Simeon or Solomon? I imagine you want to keep the circle small, especially so in this house?"

After a moment you shakily replied, "If anyone, Simeon, please. I trust him more out of the two."

"Alright then, I'll give him a call to come over. Will you be alright in the meantime?" Your response was just a slow nod.

"Okay, I'll be right back. Just keep applying pressure."

After selecting Simeon's contact, he selected call and waited for the angel to pick up his D.D.D. up.

"Simeon? I need you to come back to the House of Lamentation."

"Someone requires medical attention I cannot give-

"When I give you the answer, I need you to remain calm and discreet. This is an extremely delicate situation."

"It's MC and they need stitches."

"I believe we would both rather not elaborate on the phone."

"Just come in and to my study. Try not to draw attention from my brothers either."

"Thank you, Simeon"

After hitting the call end button he makes his way back to you. Lucifer proceeds to sit beside you in an attempt to not intimidate you, he is aware he can have that effect on people, he just wanted you to feel safe and comfortable. As he studied your frame he could tell how weary you were.

"MC, if you are comfortable you're welcome to lean into my side until Simeon gets here if it would help. I do advise that at this time you refrain from sleeping since we're not certain on blood loss."

You decided to take him up on his offer. After all, you did come here not because he was the oldest or because of his rank, or because of the nature of the exchange program. You came to him because he makes you feel safe and cared for more than anything else.

"Thank you."

After a few short minutes passed  and Simeon knocked and opened the door, surely not expecting your state. At first, he was concerned something happened concerning Belphegor again but after a quick look, he understood these were self-inflicted. His stomach lurched and his heart hurt knowing you were in that kind of pain.

"Oh, MC."

"Hi Simeon," you whispered looking at him with glassy eyes.

Simeon took the liberty to forgo a traditional chair or requiring you to move too much and sat on the coffee table across from you. And offered his hand so he could see what required his assistance.

After looking at Lucifer and receiving his nod of approval you hesitantly removed the bloody t-shirt and held out your arm to Simeon.

"Unfortunately healing with my grace for self-inflicted wounds would accomplish nothing. One of the few things angels cant heal. But I am surprisingly adept in suturing."

"Everything is laid out and is sterile" Lucifer tells the angel.

"Okay MC, this is still going to hurt. I know you're already in pain and this is not going to feel good, but it will help in the long run."

"I understand."

"Lucifer, I'm going to need you to make sure she stays still."

That's how you found yourself in the lap of one of the rulers of the devildom crying into his chest as he held you while Simeon stitched your skin closed for healing.

"Okay MC, we're done, little lamb. You did great. I'm not going to ask what led to this, if you want me to know you can tell me in your own time"

"Thank you, Simeon," you said quietly.

"It's no problem MC. Take care Okay, I'm a text or a call away. And Lucifer?"

"Yes?"

"Take care of her, please"

"I will. Thank you, Simeon" Lucifer said as Simeon nodded and gave a quick peck to your forehead. And just as he came, quietly left the room and house otherwise unnoticed.

"MC dear, are you ready to talk about this now that your physical needs have been met."

"Not really but I need to"

"That's fine, don't feel rushed."

After a brief moment of silence you began, "I um, said earlier I'm mentally ill. My diagnosis includes depression, anxiety, and even ADHD,"

you took a deep breath before continuing, " before coming to the Devildom I was on medications. About 8 different prescriptions worth.

"MC, have you been off of them this whole time? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I haven't been off of them the entire time. The day I was summoned here I had just gone to the pharmacy and got my refills for the month and had them in my backpack which thankfully teleported with me. So for the first month, I was medicated. I also managed to forget to taper my doses down, so when I ran out and as they worked their way out of my system I went through withdrawals"

"Was that when you wore the sweatshirts all the time, and when you were sick shortly after?"

"If you call clammy med withdraws sick, then yes."

"MC, why didn't you come to me sooner? We would have figured this out."

"I was afraid, anxiety makes things like coming forward all the more difficult. And when you have countless panic attacks in a day, it doesn't help."

"MC, I fear to tell you this, but I will have to tell Diavolo about the situation. Not because of the exchange program, but because you need to get better."

With that, you gripped his arm, "please don't institutionalize me, Luci. Promise me you won't. I can't do that again."

His eyes softened, "MC, I promise. I believe that in our current scenario that would hurt more given the nature of your knowledge regarding the three worlds and the current lack of knowledge and acceptance within the human realm. For the meantime, I'll keep a watch over you."

You relaxed slightly at his statement.

"MC, I must ask, how do you feel right now?"

"I... I'm scared. I don't want to live but I don't want to die either. I don't feel safe with myself. I do not trust myself not to do anything else."

"Okay, I request then, that you stay close proximity to me at all times so I can keep you safe, I want to keep you safe because I care. More importantly,y I want you to feel safe. We can either spend nights in my room or yours. But if it's yours I cannot guarantee my brothers won't barge in. However, if you'd be more comfortable there we would figure it out."

"Can we..alternate for a bit?"

"Of course. You and I are going to take a few weeks off from classes and student council activities. It's going to take time for you to heal both physically and emotionally, the last thing you need to do is worry about coursework. And I want to be here for you, I want you to depend on me as you need because you are not alone in this MC. We'll work on getting you back on your meds and we can see what we can do regarding therapy."

"Thank you, Luci. But I don't want to inconvenience you or burden you."

"Preposterous. I'm doing this because I want to. You're not an inconvenience or a burden," he stated, "now in the meantime,e I do need to finish this last bit of paperwork. If you would rather go to bed, it can wait though.

"Go ahead and finish, I can wait a little longer."

"Thank you, MC, it should only be 20 minutes or so. Make yourself comfortable and we can sleep in my room tonight," he said before getting up and sitting back at his desk.

You looked at him longingly before he asked "MC? Is there something you need dear?"

Meekly you reply, "can I um, will I be a bother if I could sit in your lap? Earlier your heartbeat was soothing to me."

His face softened and he gently smiled. Lucifer stood up, swiftly lifted you up went back to his chair, and sat down with you on his lap.

"Never a bother dear."

Lucifer knew it would take a lot more than him being here to get you well again, and this wouldn't be fixed overnight. But he was willing to do whatever it would take to get you better.