#writing salt

[zoe-oneesama]

What are your thoughts on what happened to Chloe at the end of Season 5? Do you plan on watching Season 6?

Like as IF that's the last we'll see of her.

I was gonna wait to give my review of Season 5 - I wanted a release date for Season 6 and then drop them like a count down leading up to the new season - which is why I haven't delved in much and talked about my opinions.

But Chloe's ending was bullshit, and we all know it. Not because she leaves Paris, not because she loses the few friends and connections she has, and not even because she's a massive brat who finally gets some form of comeuppance.

But because of the form that comeuppance comes in.

Why on God's Green Earth is ANDRE the one? ANDRE is the one to drag her ass out of Paris and condemn her publicly and gets to act like the big hero, doing the right thing and putting Chloe in her place? ANDRE. The one who GAVE her her place and covered it in gold leaf and never once until this whack-job of a season considered that a bad thing?!

Appropriate, appropriate face Caline.

The absolute absurdity of them to write THIS MAN in any sort of correct light, the one who from Day 1, Season 1 has been a solid and complete background for why Chloe is...Chloe. Who spoiled and abused his power to make sure she never felt an ounce of consequences or remorse or backlash. How dare they try and pull this move on us when they could remove Audrey from the story entirely and no one would second guess Chloe's entire personality or upbringing?

These writers have somehow convinced themselves that Andre is not only without any guilt in the outcome of this situation, but that he's redeemable! Redeemable through the act of shipping off his daughter, whom he's been nothing but devoted to, and sending her off to a boarding school with her (AS HE ADMITS) just as awful mother as her chaperone, while he abducts casually replaces her with his new better daughter, Zoé.

I'm sure that won't have an adverse effect on your child who is used to absolute and unconditional love for her whole life, you are definitely a good person who's finally figured out how to do the right thing.

/s

These writers have somehow convinced themselves that Chloe is absolutely hopeless and evil and has reached the point of no return, but ANDRE. Andre's fine.

And Gabriel too, apparently. Hm, seems to be a theme with these worthless male parents and getting off scott free....

[foxwitchaine]

Question

Which characters from other media, do you think is a better version of miraculous ladybug characters?

I'm gonna take this question with a huge pile of salt. Because there's more than one show that does this concept better than what MLB does. That also includes how they handle the cast. I'm also gonna sound like a broken record with the upcoming "buckle up", but buckle up and hold on tight, everyone. It's gonna be a rollercoaster.

1.) Mr. Freeze

I know for sure I'm cheating just by mentioning him, but Mr. Freeze is what Gabriel Agreste should have been in regards to his quest for Emilie. Mr. Freeze isn't just a sad man mourning for his wife. He is broken. Shattered. Screwed over by people higher on the corporate ladder than himself (doesn't that sound familiar). Thing is, Mr. Freeze's story resonates with people and is part of the reason why he is still talked about today. He's also shown a kinder side, like the time he made it snow during Christmas in one issue of The Batman Adventures comics. All for the simple reason his late wife would have been sad if there had been no snow that year.

His demise in Batman Beyond left many viewers heartbroken, as we're left wondering what could have been.

Gabriel Agreste, on the other hand, is utterly and thoroughly selfish and thinks of no one but himself. This is best seen in how he treats his son throughout the show. Disregarding Season 5 (I have no idea how they thought they could pull it off), Gabriel has not shown one ounce of humanity. Not towards Nathalie, not towards Adrien, not even towards his wife, who he supposedly loves. Other than the show telling us how much he loved her (this is a recurring problem with MLB's writing), we never would have known.

Gabriel's death in Season 5, as a result, is much less impactful than Mr. Freeze's death in Batman Beyond.

2.) Madoka Kaname

Now this is a more recent show that I still think holds up. For those not in the know, Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a 12-episode anime series that aired in 2011 and, for lack of a better word, changed the game in magical girl anime. While one could argue that it tears down rather than celebrates women in power (as magical girl shows are supposed to do, Astruc), and it's not the most original concept (what is, nowadays), one thing most can agree on is the character writing, especially for Madoka.

Madoka, just like Marinette, is a selfless sweetheart who performs the ultimate sacrifice for the greater good. What separates her from Marinette, tellingly enough, is how her sacrifice is written. Throughout the anime, Madoka watches helplessly from the sidelines as her best friend Sayaka sacrifices herself for a boy. And then Sayaka gradually loses herself as the truth about magical girls comes to light. We aren't just told how Madoka feels about it. We see and feel it ourselves. I could write an essay on how well-written Sayaka's tragedy is, but that's beside the point. The point is, Madoka chose the sacrifice rather than having it forced on her by the writers.

Sound familiar?

It should.

Gen Urobuchi, despite his reputation, took the time to respect Madoka's agency as a character. Thomas Astruc tears down Marinette every chance he gets. You can't get more telling than this.

3.) Prince Zuko

You're all probably gonna get tired of hearing me talk about Avatar: The Last Airbender. But then again, I'm pretty sure every ATLA fan has heard that in the years since the original show ended. I've mentioned him before when talking about Chloe's botched redemption, but I feel this is the perfect place to expand and discuss more.

Prince Zuko is what Chloe Bourgeouis should have been in the show. And no, his redemption didn't come out of nowhere. It was consistently foreshadowed throughout the show all the way from the very first episode. This is an essay all in itself, so I'll refrain from diving into detail. But the fact of the matter remains that Zuko is the gold standard for writing a villain redemption. I could point out Darth Vader as another example of a villain redemption. But where he had to die to redeem himself, Zuko didn't.

Zuko also had a better-written backstory that explained (not excused, there's a difference) his behavior at the start of the show. I can't claim to know what the MLB writers had in mind when writing Chloe, but I'm pretty sure Audrey Bourgeois was supposed to be the Ozai figure in Chloe's backstory. Which leads me to my next point:

Zuko wasn't forgiven right away.

Yes. You heard that right.

Zuko had to work to be forgiven by the people he had wronged. And guess what? He failed. If anyone remembers when Azula critically injured Aang and Zuko betrayed Iroh to the Fire Nation, you'll all know what I'm talking about.

Zuko fell during his redemption arc. But he got back up again. And he apologized — genuinely apologized — to the man he betrayed.

4.) Odd Della Robbia

Code Lyoko is a relic from the early 2000s eras of cartoons. And boy, could I write essay after essay on this show. But since we're talking about characters and such, we'll be focusing on this lovable jokester from the show.

Odd Della Robbia is what Chat Noir should have been if he had been in the hands of competent writers. Odd isn't just the perpetually hungry jokester of the group who chased the first pretty girl who caught his attention. He pulled his weight in the battles against the malevolent AI X.A.N.A. Be it through helping Aelita reach the Towers, fighting Specters in the real world, heck even fending off Sissi during her worst moments. Perhaps even more damning is how Odd, despite his less pleasant actions and habits, was more of a true friend to his group than Chat Noir is to Ladybug.

Yes, writers. You can write a jokester character beyond what comes from his mouth.

No, this doesn't mean you can let them harass everyone they come across.

Perhaps, I'm gonna say this a lot, even more damning is how Odd responds to the rejections from the various pretty girls he chases. He actually takes no for an answer. Shocking, isn't it. He chases a skirt, they say no, he moves on. And no, this isn't portrayed as romantic or heroic. It's portrayed just as it is. A hormonal teenage boy being prone to doing stupid things.

What teenager hasn't done something stupid thanks to their hormones?

5.) Susan Ashworth

(Content Warning: mature themes such as suicidal depression)

I'm venturing into mature video games here, admittedly. I couldn't quite find one from my childhood that stood out, so I browsed through some game playthroughs I watched years ago. Ultimately, I settled on Susan Ashworth from the 2012 game The Cat Lady. Astruc being a man shouldn't be an excuse for him writing Marinette and other female characters so poorly. Why? Because Susan Ashworth, and by extension the game she is from, was written by a man.

Funny. I know.

What's even more amazing is how the developer Remigiusz Michalski, who publishes his games under the label Harvester Games, tackled such serious topics such as depression and suicide. No, he didn't use them for shock value, as that's very commonly done very tactlessly. He handled them with maturity and grace. Susan isn't defined by her depression even though she successfully committed suicide in the opening of the game. She has moments of humor and snark, like in the scene where Mitzi is showing her how to use social media. It also helps that Michalski... actually knows what he's talking about, as it's stated in interviews that he worked as a nurse before he created the first game Downfall in 2009.

I can't stress enough the importance of research before writing. Astruc clearly has a lot of ideas he wants to shove into Miraculous Ladybug, but they all fall flat due to a glaring lack of research and preparation. I'm not saying go do gruesome things for your craft and stick to "write what you know". I'm saying know what you're getting into before you dive in. One glaring example I think everyone can agree was poorly handled was Qilin, thanks to plot with the racist ticket inspector.

Michalski clearly knew what he was doing when he wrote Susan's story. Astruc continues to flail in his attempts to keep Miraculous Ladybug relevant.

Honorable Mentions:

Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter - This is how you write snarky hero and sidekick duos

Jerry, from Totally Spies - Come on. You all knew as soon as I mentioned Code Lyoko that this guy would come up

Mandy, also from Totally Spies - She's very entertaining despite being the high school queen bee archetype. It also helps that she consistently faced punishment for her actions

Sissi Delmas, from Code Lyoko - I was gonna use her in place of Zuko just for the fact she showed other traits, such as her protectiveness of Milly during the zombie episode

Uncle Iroh - Do I even need to say it out loud?

KOS-MOS, from the Xenosaga trilogy - She's an excellent example of how to slowly unveil a character throughout the story

Tidus and Yuna, from Final Fantasy X - A really good example of how to write a romance into the story without dragging the plot down

Fiona Belli, from Haunting Ground - A bit polarizing, I know, but Fiona's friendship with Hewie is so heartwarming and grounding. Basically what Chat Noir should have also been to Ladybug

[mystic-myrtille]

What do you think was the most pointless plot point in the show?

Couldn’t pick just one so here‘s a list in no particular order:

Rich kid sentimonsters: uninteresting, confusing, stupid

The mari//chat mini arc thing in s5: cute but ultimately just fan service and Mari went back to Adrien either way so yeah

Chloe‘s „arc“ post s3 : she just became annoying and pathetic. If the show gets rebooted one day I hope she gets redeemed just to spite on Astruc

Luka figuring out both identities: leads to brazil nowhere

Marinette‘s dating trauma: super unnecessary, just there to drag thing out further and created more inconsistencies (but also it made me feel validated in shipping Lukanette so at least I got something out of it😂)

Gabriel‘s redemption: … why? (Obviously bc the show just really loves white men who really love their family a lot uwu🥺)

Adrien staying oblivious to all of this: just straight up insulting to his character

Su-Han: he‘s literally just there to yell at Mari and not be her mentor and serves no purpose at all

Magical akuma charms: didn‘t they work just so well?

Jagged the deadbeat dad: the way everyone just went along with it? hello?? THE POTENTIAL FOR ANGST??

[reina-royale]

Rainbow World is Tonal Dissonance

Starting off with a quick definition: tonal dissonance is when there is a sudden, jarring shift in the overall tone of the show, movie, book, etc.

And it's the biggest reason I can't stand Rainbow World.

Every episode up to that point was about the adventures of teenagers at an elite arts high school that was also a boarding school.

And that was the concept that originally appealed to people.

And then, we have Rainbow World.

Now the show is about the whacky adventures of high schoolers in a magical world where they have cute pets made of crystal and magical missions to help people.

Not a terrible concept, but after four seasons of the show going one way, I'm not interested in suddenly changing the overall tone and premise of the series.

Rainbow World is such a different idea, it would've been better off as a different series.

And, honestly, the way it was introduced doesn't help either.

But that's for a different post.

[teawinx]

Do you think that there's the possibility that official Miraculous could be "fixed*?

I mean, outside of the movie and a reboot. If they threw away all the writers and brought, I dunno, Dana Terrace? Could the new writers fix things using everything that was already laid out?

And if so, any idea of how it would be possible?

I think if Season 5 didnt exist, I would say it was possible

But as is, I dont think so. It sucks to feel that way, but too much rubbish has happened that would need to be retconned out of existence

Soft reboots are hard to get right even for a good show, but for this one its impossible i think

Plus you would still need to watch the whole show to get the full experience, which would mean slogging through 5 seasons of shit to get to the good stuff. Wouldnt make sense

So long answer short

No, this show is unsalvageable in my eyes

[shinyasahalo]

ML thoughts (10/6/24)

It's extremely problematic how the writers have Maribug and Nathalie keeping secrets from Adrien. Not only for the character Adrien, but for the young girls who are watching the show. They're internalizing the message that girls are supposed to do emotional labor to keep boys happy.

[ginnyzero]

Follow up to yesterday's post b/c I am a bit salty still.

The idea people in general are less creative because they're writing fan fic is absolutely ludicrous to me. People write fan fic for so many reasons and fan fic has been a medium for, oh thousands of years, and is now so easy to find means more people are writing and oh my god, gasp, having fun.

But on top of those who are having fun, there are a goodly percentage who do write both! (I can name half a dozen trad pubbed authors off the top of my head who have or do write fan fic.) Or those who start in fan fic and move over to original.

People tell stories because there are stories they want to see and published media isn't giving them those stories. That's the short of it, really. Whether these stories are fan fic or original is rather immaterial in my opinion. (Both have their place. Thank you.)

But oh my god, you say anything along the lines you think people are being less creative because they aren't creating their own universes, it just tells me that you have not LOOKED. Yes, AO3 is great because it makes this free story medium easily available and searchable and tagged. Original fiction still LACKS a AO3 style listing. Just, go to a bookstore. Go to a LIBRARY. For the love of little green apples, check wattpad, AMAZON, royal road, even here on tumblr there is a THRIVING community of original fiction authors BEGGING for attention.

Look traditional publishing is out there trying to push at you what they think sells. And what they think sells isn't always what people have written and want published and want to see, so there is Indie, struggling in the over saturation because of algorithms to be seen and heard and appreciated. And is it all good? Can you find it easily? No. Not really. But it is OUT THERE. People are being creative and maybe if we had MORE publishing houses, there'd be a MORE variety of stories published and in bookstores.

Just... a salty indie author thought.

[thesaltyoceanwaves]

It’s still not going to be satisfying even if Adiren gets to confront his father about his actions in a later season.

S5 is meant to be the end of an era, whether the show continues or not (which it will, as far as I’m aware). So the two who started it all should both get the opportunity to confront the main villain and get that big emotional moment. It’s something everyone has wanted since it was made clear that Gabriel is Hawkmoth. This was supposed to be that big moment.

I’ve argued before that the show robs Marinette of emotional agency. And I still stand by that. The show puts her through the most embarrassing situations for laughs and doesn’t allow her to process emotions. She’s not allowed to get angry or sad or express frustration or disagree with anyone, unless it somehow benefits her romance with Adrien. And even if it does, she’s still put through the ringer for it.

Adrien is on the opposite side of the coin - he’s either allowed to process his emotions about certain things (namely romance) or completely sheltered from knowing things that would actually be beneficial to his arc (or, you know, having one). This is why I’ve always argued against him being a main character - his motivation is romance only, and he’s barred from exploring things that would challenge or even benefit his character. Even when storylines are gift wrapped for him, the show would rather keep him unaware.

Now, of course, there’s another elephant in the room and that’s the fact that they sabotaged themselves back in season 3 with Chat Blanc. In fact, season 3 did a lot of sabotaging of expected payoff moments. The general line of thinking to somehow improve this by making us wait as long as possible for the real thing. I guess the tension is supposed to now lie in the fact that Marinette knows that Adrien’s father is Hawkmoth and he doesn’t, and man, he will be mad when he finds out.

But is anyone really invested in a storyline like that?

[freedom-shamrock]

How much salt do you think a salt fic should have before it becomes too unpleasent to read?

Great question! First, it's important to note that different people are going to have different salt tolerances, some folks just want a little for flavoring while others want the whole dang salt shaker. But there is a happy medium that most can agree on as pleasant to read.

Next we need to define salt. Because it's slang and it gets used (and misused) to mean a lot of things. One need not go out of character (OC) and full evil to be salt. Salt/salty has to do with being upset, angry, bitter, or hostile. Some people require these feelings to be associated with embarrassment, failure, being attacked or out of place in order to be considered salt, but most people (myself included) don't require this qualifier.

To be a salt fic, these salty feelings need to be the driving theme of the story. This can be realistic, exaggerated, or wildly unrealistic. You can keep the characters as canon as possible or go massively OC.

In my Saltinette story the goal was to be realistic and stick with canon as much as possible. As a result it's on the lower end of salt options for this situation. To increase the salt content, I had Marinette decide to leave school and let go of her friendships. It's a somewhat nuclear option for her academic and social life, but it's also something both my kids have had to do as a result of bullying.

In the follow-up story, Treading in the Brackish Pool, shows a lot of those salty feelings, this time from Marinette's former classmates once she's left. Again, the goal was to stay realistic and close to canon, which meant I had to explain how and why the classmates made the decisions that ultimately pushed Marinette away. I wanted to avoid making them actively evil; they're just young and a little ignorant on social stuff.

That last bit highlights where things tend to cross into too much salt to be a satisfying story. Taking a canonically kind character and making them a psychopath will definitely increase salt, but without any explanation or set up, it's going to feel wildly OC and a lot less pleasant to a larger number of people. But it can work if you set it up right.

A lot of people who write heavy Miraculous salt make Alya an active bully. In some cases this works because it's built up over time (starting with disappointment, moving to chastising or ridicule before verbal bullying and finally physical bullying). In other cases, there's no groundwork or authorial hand waving to explain how Alya went from being kind, confident, and maybe a little pushy to being okay with assault or murder. Adrien also often gets an evil makeover in heavy salt. If the author takes the time to build up Adrien's corruption from the Miraculous or a two-faced nature like his father (Paris' sweetheart in public vs controlling asshole in private) it can work really well. But a lot of times he's just OC with no justification, which will make it appeal to a smaller audience.

I think it's essential to remember that fans of a show generally like the characters. Yeah, they may not love all the characters, but you're not going to watch something that focuses on characters you hate. When you warp characters into something they aren't, the story risks losing some of its broader appeal. The more popular a character is with the audience the easier it is to step into the realm of too much salt. The same can be said for the amount of canon material for a character. If they are a major character, it's easier to go too salty. If you want to go heavy salt, setting it up as an AU or taking the time to show how the characters grew from canon into something else will help. Failure to do either of these will result it a reduced audience appeal.

Did that answer you or did I go wildly around the question? Let me know! Thanks for asking

[last-blueknight]

I just can't understand this season finale, gabriel agreste being remembered as a hero with a commemorative statue….Are we crazy? The biggest jerk in the universe doesn't deserve to be remembered as a hero, this is bullsh*t, asstruck!

And that "Don't tell my son, let him remember the good times" Aha yes, I don't think it's necessary to mention that because of him, Adrien destroyed a parallel reality after causing him an emotional breakdown… 2 times.

He literally deprived him of his freedom like 2 or 3 times, with bars in his room and isolating him in a closed room.

He use Adrien as a brand to promote his shit, I treat him more as an object than as a person and now you're telling me to remember the good times?!

you know? Gaby doesn't deserve to be remembered, but he didn't deserve to die either, the guy should have gone to prison for the rest of his remarkable life and rot behind bars regretting every second that he decided to become a terrorist with cosmic powers. Marinette only keep the hawk moth secret so Adrien doesn't feel bad knowing the truth about how sh*tty his father was.

[zoe-oneesama]

You know, I think for someone who is meant to be Adrien's childhood friend, Chloe doesn't seem to know him all that well. What's up with that?

Straight up, until Origins dropped, I thought he was just her classmate that she'd staked a claim on and he was just too nice to tell her off. I mean, she describes him to Ladybug as the "hot guy in her class that's totally into her" in "Dark Cupid", and she introduced herself to his dad as if they'd never met before in "Mr. Pigeon". That does not scream "Childhood Friend" to me.

I think that's why when they started to lean into it in Season 2, I just didn't care. Because they didn't set it up before hand; if anything, they UN-set it up before hand. Origins is, like, the only point in all of Season 1 that even alludes to them being friends before the start of the show, and even THAT backtracks because Adrien claims to Marinette's face that he's never had friends before! And Chloe tells her mom that besides Sabrina, she ALSO doesn't have friends in "Queen Wasp"!

It's a near impossible sell by the time they try to sell it. It would be better imo if Chloe was just another classmate who happened to be into Adrien for his status, fame, and looks. I'd look kinder at Adrien because then there wouldn't be this lingering feeling that if anyone should be taking responsibility for helping Chloe, it should be him, her childhood friend, especially as he's the one going around telling people not to be too mean to her. Just drop the friend angle and suddenly him not trying for her doesn't make him look like a bad friend and sanctimonious hypocrite who expects more out of others than he does from himself. It makes more sense that he's not getting involved, and he can still be perturbed by his classmate's over-the-top celebration of her departure if they still want someone to be a downer. (I think Bustier would fit the role better though).

But this is Miraculous Ladybug, where "friendship" can refer to anyone from Besties to Passing Acquaintances. There are no in betweens, a childhood friend is just as important, or not important, as a new classmate you have nothing in common with when it comes to this show. We, the audience, who know that certain relationships just have more history and importance than others, so we're the ones putting importance on the title "Childhood Friend".

But that importance just...doesn't exist here. Well. Until the writer's decide it suddenly does.

[foxwitchaine]

If you could spend a day with Adrien, what would say to him?

Oh, honey, you best ready your heart for the answer I'm about to give. Had this been Season 1 Adrien, I would sit the boy down and tell him all about how to navigate high school like a real teenager. And probably beat Gabriel upside the head with my cast iron skillet. But if we're talking about Season 5 Adrien... hoo boy. My "protect Ladybug" instinct would skyrocket so much you can still see it from Mars. Either way, that boy ain't leaving without a sit down and a talk. And it might not be pretty.

[miraculoussodium]

How do you feel about Marinette keeping Gabriel being Monarch a secret from Adrien?

I don't like it, if the show wants to portray their relationship as healthy then surely one of them shouldn't be holding the secret of "hey your already shitty dad was actually a terrorist too" from the other

[shinyasahalo]

GH thoughts (11/25/24)

I think Frank Valentini hates Sasha. She should be with her not-cousin Cody, not tethered to Michael for the rest of her life.

They could be setting up a future baby swap story with the Brooklynn/Chase baby. Brooklynn gives birth outside of the hospital and passes out. The baby is stillborn and Sasha switches the babies so she can live under the same roof as her child.

I remember long ago Lulu was the first person Michael saw when he came out of his coma. Imagine Michael's shock if he saw Lulu on the side of the road.

That long term care facility is shit! They were going to move Lulu without first speaking to Laura face-to-face? They're letting Cyrus speak for Laura? I want to see Laura get mad at that facility for both loosing Laura AND allowing Cyrus to make decisions for her. She needs to hit Cyrus across the face with his Bible.

But I doubt the writers are going to let us see that.

For the love of God, there was already too many people at the Quartermaine Cult Compound, and now they have added more!

[zephyrchama]

A thin line of table salt adorned the floor in front of your bedroom. You stood behind it and stared at the demons outside of your doorway. They were staring at the salt.

Leviathan laughed. It reminded him of a low-level defense from a tower defense game. "Is that supposed to keep us out? lol."

"Yeah. I think it's working," you said.

Satan put a hand on his hip. As far as he could tell, it was plain old table salt. No magical properties whatsoever. "How so?"

"Well, none of you are crossing it. Clearly, it's having some kind of effect."

Mammon balked. "Obviously, it's because we're respectin' your privacy!" He stood closest to the line, wanting to cross it most of all.

"You're respecting my privacy by... standing right outside my door?"

Mammon opened his mouth to counter, only to come up with nothing. He stood there with his fists clenched. The feather on his belt swayed as he tapped a foot impatiently, causing the nearest salt to shift a little.

The noise annoyed Asmodeus. "Mammon, go walk through the salt."

"Why me!?"

"This is ridiculous." Lucifer crossed his arms. "Clean this up. I don't even want to know how this will damage the floors if you leave it."

"It's not even doing anything," Satan pointed out.

"If it's not doing anything, then one of you should cross it," you suggested.

"Why don't you come out to us?" Belphegor proposed. "There's only one of you, seems more fair."

"Yeah!" Asmodeus took a step away from the salt, careful not to get any on his shoes, and raised his hands. "You can run into my arms if you'd like. I'll be sure to catch you."

Their stubbornness astounded you. "Or... You guys can just admit you don't want to cross this salt."

"It's regular salt." Beelzebub knew exactly what the substance was as soon as he laid eyes on it. Plus, the smell was unmistakable. His claim was irrefutable.

"Yes, exactly. Thank you, Beel. I've seen you eat it many times." You had even taken the bag from the shared kitchen.

"Did you try walking over it?" Leviathan asked. "How are we supposed to cross it if you won't?"

"I don't need to. I'm in my room."

"You should come to our room," Belphegor offered. He was getting tired of standing around.

"Come out this instant," Lucifer ordered.

You thought about it for a whopping two seconds. "I think I'm good. I'll be in my room. If any of you need me, feel free to come in."

You retreated back inside with the rest of the half-empty salt bag. The brothers stared at you with a mix of impatience and disbelief until the wall blocked you from view.