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journey-to-the-attic · 28 days

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3rd anni req 11: [NIGHTBRINGER] belphie, lucifer / deep sleep

ao3 link

note: i've mostly been doing these in the order i remember getting them so far, but i might start skipping around, since they're quite lucifer-frontloaded (not that i'm complaining). anyway - this is based on nb lesson 12, where mc's in that curse-coma, but! the twist is that ik can somehow still speak through it. since, y'know, special reaper curse

∎ ∎ ∎ ∎ ∎

“...oh, you’re here.”

Lucifer doesn’t look up as Belphie slips into the room. He stays there, sitting in a chair he’s dragged from the dining room, half-hunched over, with his forearms on his knees. Belphie gets the distinct feeling that his oldest brother hasn’t slept in the last forty-eight hours.

He glances over at the wan face of the room’s only other occupant. “...still not up?”

“Solomon said not to expect it to happen soon,” Lucifer says blankly. “We don’t know the exact nature of the curse. By all means, it should have been fatal.”

They both look at IK’s blank face. The light flickers in a way that, for a moment, makes her look as if she’s blinking awake - though Belphie doesn’t dare hope.

“Weird kid,” He mumbles, more to her than Lucifer. “You can’t do magic, but you can survive reaper curses? If you can do that, why didn’t you…”

'Why didn’t you stop us from trying to hurt you?' is what he means, but he can’t finish the question. Lucifer looks as if he knows what he was going to say, anyway.

“So where’s Solomon gone, then?” He asks after a beat, frowning. “All that talk, and he’s not even staying to look after her?”

“He said he’d look for solutions in the tomes at the cave. And that he was leaving IK in charge.”

Yeah, that’s right.

“As if h— huh?”

They both whip around. IK hasn’t moved.

Belphie glances quickly at Lucifer. “Did you hear—?”

“Yes.” His response is short and harried. “What was that?”

They both fall silent for a moment, listening hard. Nothing.

“Maybe we’re just hearing things,” Belphie says reluctantly, though he’d swear it to anyone that he just heard IK speaking, loud and clear.

“Do you think that’s likely?” Lucifer stands up, staring around the room like a sentinel, a dangerous shadow falling over his face. “It could be any manner of mimicry. If something’s gotten in—”

Wait, did you hear me?

Lucifer goes dead silent. There's no mistaking that voice - but there’s also no mistaking the fact that the speaker has not moved an inch.

After a moment, Belphie tries, “IK?”

You did! She sounds downright joyful - the words don’t quite ring like speech does in a room, but the voice in their heads is clear as day. I was so BORED.

“You can talk?” He asks, bewildered. “Wait, you’re— can’t you open your eyes?”

No. Do you think I haven’t tried? Now she sounds aggravated. I’ve been awake this whole time. I just can’t bloody move.

“Watch your language,” He says automatically.

Don’t start. I’m losing my mind here. But you can actually hear me now!

“Yes, you’ve said that already.” Lucifer sits down again, leaning forward, practically on the edge of his seat. “How much do you remember?”

Hmm. I remember you both trying to kill me.

A pause. Then Lucifer asks, voice suddenly about half as loud, “What is your situation, then?”

There’s a sort of buzz, as if IK is laughing. Not much going on. It’s like sitting in a dark room. I can hear things coming from outside, but I can’t see anything. It sucks.

Say, if you were a shark, what kind would you be?

“What?”

I think you’d be a nurse shark, Belphie, because they’re usually chill, except when they aren’t. And Lucifer would be… a blue shark, because that’s his favourite colour.

They exchange mildly bemused looks. After a moment, Lucifer says slowly, “How do you know that? I’ve never told you.”

…uh… Belphie gets the distinct feeling that IK is panicking. ...context clues. You know, clothes and stuff.

“You’ve only seen him wearing red,” He says a little suspiciously.

And what’s the opposite of red? Blue. Next question.

It’s no use trying to pry. Every time this happens - every time Belphie gets the unnerving feeling that their attendant knows them better than they even know themselves - he tries to figure out why, and IK deflects. The dedication would be impressive if it wasn’t annoying.

Who is this kid? She shows up, completely out cold, and hasn’t even been awake for an hour by the time she’s been put in charge of the Devildom’s newly-minted residents. Then Solomon, of all people, that sorcerer whose reputation long precedes him, shows up calling her his ward, even though she’s got no magic to speak of.

Though Belphie doesn’t know what else to call her knack for making them… talk. She takes to the Devildom like a duck to water - practically skips through it all while they’re still mired in their own rotten souls. They should’ve been insulted that Diavolo would think this ridiculous little thing capable of handling the seven of them, but IK does it like it’s second nature.

That’s the frustrating part. They’ll tell her near-everything, and IK tells them absolutely nothing. And it isn’t that they’re stupid, or blind, or so self-absorbed that they don’t notice when she goes quiet - when she stares off at something that isn’t there, eyes filled with some inexplicable loneliness that should be far beyond her years.

Is Satan around? IK asks. He was in here, reading, before. He couldn’t hear me then, but maybe he will now.

“Um… he went out.” Belphie sits down on the foot of the bed. “Hey. I’m… not angry with you anymore.”

Wow. Do you want an award?

“No, I—” He swallows. His tail flicks up behind him, and he seizes it for comfort before he can stop himself. “—I’m sorry. That’s what I meant.”

Oh.

Okay.

He waits for a moment. There’s no other response. He looks at Lucifer.

His brother’s face is twisted into something that might resemble remorse. The ironic part is that Ik would probably know better than he does, if only she could open her eyes to see.

“We’re doing what we can,” is all Lucifer says after a while. “You will be alright. I can promise you that.”

That’s a relief, she says, a touch ironically. So am I just stuck like this until Solomon figures something out?

Lucifer’s jaw tightens. “...I don’t know. All we can do is wait.”

Great. I’ll get right on that.

Belphie scoffs. “I don’t know how you’re making jokes right now. You could’ve died. You still might now.”

Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that, says IK dryly. I know what being dead feels like. This isn't anything like it.

“What? What’s that supposed to mean?”

No answer. Belphie shoots an apprehensive look at Lucifer, then leans forward. “Hey. I’m talking to you.”

Silence. He doesn’t know if IK’s refusing to speak, or if the connection has broken already. He makes as if to stand up, to go find Barbatos, or Diavolo, or anyone who might know how to repair it. He can't lose it now.

He’s poured his heart out to her once before, then hadn’t even waited a day to turn on her. He doesn’t know what, but he has to do something about it, right?

But, before he can, Lucifer takes a deep breath, then abruptly stands up.

“...I have to go,” He mutters.

That, at least, gets IK to speak up again - Belphie feels a rather distracted spark of relief. Where are you going?

“Out,” He replies sharply, then pauses, and sighs. “...I need to clear my head. You’re… incomprehensible.”

That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.

…hey. You’ll come back and talk to me, right? It’s really boring in here.

“Is that what you want?” He asks, softer.

It’d be nice.

Lucifer looks at IK for a moment, then leans down. Belphie doesn’t quite see what he does, but when he straightens up again, the blankest are tucked in more snugly, and IK’s hair looks a little neater than it did before.

“Then I will,” Lucifer tells her, and steps back. With one last, lingering glance, he turns on his heel, and walks out.

…

…Belphie, are you still there?

“Yeah,” He says quietly, and decides to take Lucifer’s seat. “Are you okay?”

Not the best I’ve been. Not the best week I’ve had, either.

He wishes he had some water. “That’s our fault, isn’t it?”

Sorry.

“Don’t— what are you saying sorry for? You always—” He stops himself before he can finish. “—you’re so weird.”

A pause. Then, That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.

“Stop it. Just…” He drags a hand through his hair and catches a finger on his left horn. “...just let me feel bad, will you?”

…fine.

He takes a breath. “...Beel’s okay, by the way. I don’t know if you’ve heard him.”

I did. I’m really glad.

“He’s worried. We all are. Look, I—”

Don’t bother, IK interrupts. …I get it, I mean. You don’t have to explain it to me.

“I really don’t get you,” He mumbles.

Another laughing sound. I get that a lot.

“Aren’t you scared? Aren’t you angry?”

Not angry. Scared… maybe.

Doesn’t matter, though. It’ll be fine. It has to be. I have to get…

Silence for a while. He doesn't quite dare to ask - have to get... what? What is it that she's so determined to hold on for?

…hey. If you wanted to, say, make it up to me… could you hold my hand?

He blinks. “Will you be able to feel it?”

I don’t know. But it’d be a nice thought.

“...okay. Sure, I can do that.”

Belphie drags the chair closer, untucks a corner of the blanket, and closes his fingers around a cold little hand. IK's voice murmurs a quiet thank you.

If he really squints, he can fool himself into seeing a tiny smile on her face.

"You'd better wake up soon."

#3rd anni event #obey me belphegor #obey me lucifer #jtta ik #writing #ik gets nightbrought #obey me nightbringer

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journey-to-the-attic · 1 year

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contemplation of the idea that the brothers are a lot more animalistic immediately post-fall, but instead of using it for angst purposes... i am thinking of that thing where different animals react completely differently when their eyes are covered up

if you do it to levi he's like THIS IS THE WORST THING THAT'S EVER HAPPENED TO ME YOU ARE KILLING ME. if you do it to belphie he's like oh my god. it's ngiht time

(technically it's always night in the devildom which is why he's constantly thinking 'ooo bedtime', but when you cover his eyes it's double night time and he's like i have to sleep NOW)

after getting nightbrought ik quickly figures these types of little quirks out and starts using it to keep them in check. lucifer cannot stand the sound of tin foil crinkling, so ik puts it on the floor in places she doesn't want him going. he just stands there, glaring, but unable to proceed

#ik gets nightbrought #got the idea from a is-the-snake-video-cute post #(thoroughly recommend that account if you're interested in snakes btw the guy who runs it is a treasure)#obey me #nightbringer #the tinfoil is a cat thing but i think it's funny if it applies to lucifer anyway #obey me leviathan #obey me belphegor #obey me lucifer #jtta ik #misc thoughts

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journey-to-the-attic · 4 months

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hello !!!!!!

first of all, i wanted to say that I LOVE JOURNEY TO THE ATTIC SO MUCH MY HEART IS ACHING

especially when i found a fic through searching the platonic relationship tag?? IVE BEEN FED

the way you portray the characters are so good that im smiling so wide while reading. AND THE WORLDBUILDING, THE WORLDBUILDING!!!!!! ive legit sobbed so hard throughout the fic and especially at 47 like??????? ok, youve done it

i was also wondering if youre going to do a nightbringer adaption?? if not, it's fine! jtta is enough to feed me and make me cry about everything LMAOOO

ahh thank you so much!! always v v happy to hear that <33

as for your question, i don't have plans to do a full-length nb adaptation, but i've been contemplating adding a fic for scattershot au/hypothetical oneshots - and i do have a few pieces of a jtta nb concept written, so it'd go in there!! that's all subject to change though, i'm still kind of see-sawing on things to do after i've finished the fic

but!! in the mean-time, these are the snippets that i've written:

#also there are some discussions about a jtta nightbringer situation in this tag!! ->#ik gets nightbrought #if/when i do write it though it won't necessarily follow the plot points we've brought up #it's all very hypothetical at the moment #apart from nb there are a few other concepts i'd like to write that could fit into the collection #being 1. the s2 amnesia arc / 2. infernal friends au #and 3. a sorta reverse nb situation where a past version of ik gets brought to the present #tentatively calling it lightbreaker #answering asks #tellodona

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journey-to-the-attic · 1 year

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been toying with the idea that belphie and ik would've been best friends had belphie not been locked in the attic when ik first arrived in the devildom (this is something that they wouldn't really think about in-universe, hence why i'm bringing it up here and not in-story)

despite the whole 'i hate humans bc it's their fault lilith died grhgahrgh' thing, they'd get along well - though begrudgingly on belphie's part at first. but he is still, ultimately, very intrigued by humanity and learning about the sort of things that are just normal to ik

they'd just slip into a friendly dynamic really easily (you can kind of see it happening in the most recent chapter, though belphie's still a bit too tense to really get into it), and potentially all this would've helped belphie to question his own biases, and to properly confront his hatred and the emotions it stemmed from

unfortunately he was in the attic from the beginning and ik could only meet him sparingly, plus all that time in solitary confinement gave him a lot of time alone with his thoughts, so instead he internalised all that pent-up emotional distress, had a nightmare, and committed murder about it

were they to meet and acquire Bestie Status in the past, i.e. before belphie's had that many centuries to stew in his misdirected anger, the process would potentially be even faster, though definitely messier initially because the emotions are extremely fresh and still volatile

anyway what i'm saying is that past belphie would immediately get very attached when ik gets nightbrought

#obey me #ik gets nightbrought #i've just done the beginning of lesson 11 and the thing with belphie reminded of this #obey me belphegor #nightbringer #misc thoughts

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journey-to-the-attic · 7 months

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Not sure how far into Nightbringer s2 you are so feel free to ignore, but how do you think IK would handle all the Sin Stuff? Esp curious considering Asmo's solution and Mammon's symptoms were quite romance-rooted, so would love to hear your thoughts on the platonic edition1

i'm up to the asmo pact-making, but i'm not yet caught up on everything after that - but i can still talk about your particular area of interest!

for mammon, i think his greed symptoms would manifest in a sort of "i don't want you to grow up" way - you know, similar to how some parents over-coddle their children because they're afraid of them flying the nest? in this case, mammon is 'greedy' for his role as big brother - for being relied on and trusted - so he'd essentially start being a helicopter brother, not letting ik do anything on her own, and get annoyed when the others try to play the role as well

mammon's solution would largely play out the same if i were to keep it faithful to nb - his greed for that reliance and trust would also be rooted in his belief that he's only been burdening/harming his brothers through his own determination to get what he wants; he sees his role to ik as repenting, and that's why he gets so intense about it

(also gives it a sort of religious theme that ties back nicely to the celestial realm being his inner world. mammon'd probably also have a hang-up in that "oh, you're going to hate me now that you've seen what a rotten being i am" - which ik would counter with "i've always known who you are and i love you anyway")

as for asmo.... i think we can keep the initial fairy-tale setting his inner world takes up; i'd say, rather than the whole deal he has with mc, he starts treating ik like a trophy pet - essentially, upon taking over, his sin counters the fact that he holds ik in high importance by placing her on a sub-human level in his mind

his lust in this case isn't carnal, but rather just a want for more - more attention, more of the spotlight, more beauty, despite already having it; lucifer's apple gives him what he wants by cutting him off before these things inevitably peter out again, because what asmo's ignoring is the fact that such things come with an ebb and flow - he wants to always be the most beautiful, because otherwise he won't always be worth something

so the whole snow-white-situation does stay, but it's resolved differently - you know how, in the original fairy tale, the apple just gets jostled out of snow's throat? ik just busts the glass coffin open and shoves asmo out of it, which does the same for him, and so he wakes up

this is more than just a brute force thing, though - she forcibly shatters the stasis asmo is in, even though this is arguably where he's at his 'most beautiful' - because she doesn't care about that part; asmo's importance is constant, so there's no need to freeze it to make it stay that way - it's infinitely more important that he's just there

#answering asks #anon asks #ik gets nightbrought #nightbringer spoilers #i feel like i should've put a read more on this but at the same time it's not quite long enough #anyway hope my thoughts are coherent haha #also a hc of mine is that after being saved the brothers' inner worlds would just become the house of lamentation #because where their home is with each other #it takes on a slightly different vibe for each of them but that's what it is at the end of the day #sappy i know but it makes me happy #ngl i'm reading this post back now and i kinda cooked #is that the right word am i using it correctly

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journey-to-the-attic · 4 months

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(Spoilers for Lesson 37, pls ignore if not caught up!!)

So how about that Lucifer angst. So I had a thought, you know the how IK gets sin-stained and has a sort of corruption break in her version of NB S2? What if it's her who gets sent to Cocytus instead of Lucifer?

Think about it... in her state she's probably causing a lot of damage. The old farts in the Devildom government who made Diavolo do that test in S1 probably already don't like her, because she's on the brothers' side and they know she played a large role in them getting established as lords. So when they hear about IK's sudden destructive break they see it as an opportunity.

Idk it's just... IK deals with so much in her first year alone and things just get harder in NB. The catharsis-loving part of my heart just wants to see the brothers walk through hell to save her.

(Also Solomon felt weirdly detached from the situation, like he didn't seem to care that much? Anyway I wanna make that man CRY with worry over the little human who's meant to be under his protection.)

i always say to myself "that's enough suffering, let her rest" but then y'all drop ideas like THIS and i agree immediately because the angst is just too good and i just have to. get in there and make things even WORSE

let's up the stakes. let's make the break even worse than originally conceptualised. let's say the stains of sin didn't just give ik an overload of their traumas and internal conflicts, but also shards of their hellish 'core' as demons, and it's too much for a mundane human body to handle

it's explosive and destructive and the real ik is drowning somewhere within this barrage of outside emotion and inexplicable pain. she tries to rein it in but all she can do is internalise it until it threatens to implode and nothing they try is working

and it just keeps getting worse. in a twisted way, it might even be a good thing she gets locked up when she does, because the chains are the only thing stopping her from tearing her own limbs off, and they still don't know how to stop this frenzy

but they have to try anyway because ik absolutely, unequivocally cannot be given up on. they'll keep her company there for all eternity if they have to, as long as she isn't left alone. from the moment they step into cocytus this is a matter of life or death and they will claw their way out of the ice to get there

head in hands can you imagine them getting there but ik just howls for them to leave because it's all too loud and she can't breathe when they're nearby. they need to leave right now because she's going to hurt them and it hurts when they touch her and she just wants to die

honestly i can't even think of a clever way of rescuing her right now, i'm just stewing in the pain

#answering asks #anon asks #saw this ask and had to keep myself from loudly going 'oh my GODDDD' and waking up my flatmates lol #ik gets nightbrought #oh hey coincidence! lesson 38 just came out too #but i should go to bed so i'll leave playing it for tomorrow #this is an excellent void to contemplate before i fall asleep

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journey-to-the-attic · 6 months

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thot..... its unlikely ik gets out of seven sin things in a row totally fine right? hear me out. what if being in all their inner worlds like that 'stained' her with their sins somehow. so ik gets like an overload of the entire thing?

idk im just rlly over mc constantly and thanklessly doing the most for the brothers in nb so i want ik to get some of that good hurt/comfort too 😭

i really can't tell if you're calling me a thot or if that's your way of writing 'thought'... but, anyway-

yess [rubbing hands together evilly] this is good fodder for angst!! i think it could mix with the idea that being in the past is also taking a toll on her in a more direct and tangible way - like mc and solomon beginning to lose their magic (though... they seem to have forgotten about that in recent lessons??)

i feel like what happened with lucifer during his own Sin Thing probably was a triggering factor... i've said before that ik just kinda goes through nb with a very "fuck it we ball" attitude, because the only way she can cope with the stress of the whole situation is to be super happy-go-lucky about it - and it's been alright so far, because the brothers have taken well to her, but it's not like there aren't moments (especially early on) where she's treated kinda poorly

it'll be better by the time the sin stuff all happens, but all the same ik's kind of on her last nerve, so lucifer snapping on her is just the last straw. of course, at the time, she managed to pull herself together long enough to resolve the situation - and lucifer did immediately go "shit" and start trying to salvage things - but then things kinda got lost with lucifer being 'cured', so i don't think ik really recovered

the 'sin staining' thing is a super cool idea! it makes sense too, since i see the brothers 'inner worlds' as a sort of snapshot of their soul at that point - their deepest thoughts made physical - so it makes sense that ik would be affected by entering them during the Sin Stuff, since i figure there'd be high concentrations of that dark energy or something

i'm not yet completely sure on how her symptoms would manifest, though... i imagine all seven sins combining would make for an absolute mess of emotions, so when she crashes, she crashes hard. might be an opportunity for her to just go genuinely unhinged - constant swinging between moods, between painful clarity, where she's begging for help, and incoherent delirium, where she's so lost in her own head that she doesn't know the difference between hurting herself and taking care of herself

she gets a concentrated dose of each other the brothers' own emotions that led to their own Sin Thing (which i shall henceforth call their singularity, aren't i clever), which would mix with her own anguish about being trapped in the wrong time - plus she'd probably be beating herself up for being 'ungrateful, or else about the sort of things the seven deadly sins would make you think

solomon would probably have to just put her to sleep for her own safety.... i don't think the brothers could just pull the same inner world trick ik used to help them, either, because it's not just an ik thing, it's also all of THEIR things interfering and corrupting her mind. barbatos could do some weird time magic maybe????

#sorry this is all just hurt no comfort rn #answering asks #anon asks #ik gets nightbrought #solomon would be so furious about all of this btw. like tiger mother when her child is beaten up at school levels of fury #storms over to the hol like 'i trust you with ONE thing. i trust you to NOT fuck up my ward and YOU CAN'T EVEN MANAGE THAT.'

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journey-to-the-attic · 6 months

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i'd love to hear your thoughts on the remaining three (for the Sin Thing) even if it is just you pulling thoughts out of a hat

alright, then here we are! levi and belphie aren't in any particular order, i think they could go either way around - but lucifer is meant to come last.

warning long post ahead. now let's go!!!

levi:

levi is an interesting one because despite being the most insecure of the brothers, i think he's actually one of the most comfortable in himself as a demon

which actually relates to his insecurity i think - since he thought of himself as a 'useless angel', it follows that a 'useless angel' would make a 'good demon'

plus his arc in nb s1 is all about him coming to terms with his choice to follow lucifer, and deciding he doesn't regret it, which i feel would contribute to that

so building on all this... the idea is that levi's insecurity often makes him compare himself to his brothers, and the idea is that - having watched his brothers recover from their Sin Thing and really come into their own as avatars, his envy makes him feel inadequate all over again

he's not even a good demon anymore because they all make better demons than him, he's certainly not a good brother because he's been totally useless in saving any of them so far, and he was a useless angel back then too

his symptoms would initially just make him more reclusive, so it takes the others a while to notice, which only exacerbates his thoughts

thinking of the jokey comic i made on this topic though... i think levi's solution would actually work in this way

sitting him down and seriously talking to him would make him panic - he doesn't want to confront these feelings, and he's bound to convince himself that any comfort is insincere, just trying to make him feel better

whereas just shocking him so much that it grounds him would be much more likely to make him think more rationally

though i think i'd take the situation a bit more seriously

so levi has a kind of explosive fit, then leaves the house of lamentation - hides at the bottom of a lake, it's raining like hell, similar set-up to the comic

rather than standing to the side and yelling at him, though, ik wades into the lake and enters his inner world there

levi's inner world would be some kind of fantasy setting - a performative feel-good hero's journey story, except all the npcs keep making odd little snide side-comments (these are his thoughts peeking through)

ik goes through this setting deadpool-style. she is not taking ANY of it seriously, she makes fun of all the monsters, cracks jokes instead of engaging in dramatic dialogue, etc.

the idea is that she's just kind of batting away these 'i suck so much' ideas because they're not even slightly possibly true to her

she's 'breaking the fourth wall' until the levi in the inner world 'becomes self-aware' - i.e. finally gets grounded enough to take what she has to say to heart

so he wakes up in the lake, the rain stops; the other brothers are waiting for them

supportive brother moment <3

the key thing for ik is that she's not expressing he's 'enough' for her, but just that she wants him by her side, which i think is a sentiment levi would prefer

the idea of being 'enough' is such that he'll always convince himself that he isn't, but knowing that ik still wants to stay with this loser of a big brother regardless of any of that comforts him

belphie:

now initially i did think to connect belphie's Sin Thing to lilith

but it ended up making his whole deal too similar to beel's - with the same idea that he represses/has a bad reaction to his sin because of shame, the idea being that he was too idle - too 'slothful' - to save his sister

and, to be honest, i think it's kinda a discredit to belphie to center all of his character conflicts around lilith

is lilith's death a defining moment for his character? yep! can he have emotional hang-ups and encounter obstacles in his progress that aren't to do with it? also yes!

(also ngl i'm just kind of sick of lilith and her whole deal. don't tell anyone)

so instead i'm going for the idea of belphie feeling 'left behind'

ig it does connect to lilith but it's more of a residual thing - it's not really to do with his grief for her death directly, more to do with his own Bad coping mechanisms

the idea is just that he feels like they all move on too quickly

they pick themselves up so quickly after their Sin Things, they were up on their feet so soon after falling, they seemed to forget everything that happened to them in the war so fast

this is once again to do with the idea that belphie, as the youngest brother, has been detrimentally coddled in regards to these things, and has NO fucking idea how to properly deal with loss

(which resulted in devastating consequences in the original timeline)

the others haven't tried to talk to him about his grief for lilith, nor about their experiences during the celestial war; when they all had to support each other after the fall, they comforted him, but never ever discussed the pain of it all

it's like the doctor refusing to talk about your actual symptoms because they're afraid of making you uncomfortable, and instead just soothingly going "it's okay, just take some ibuprofen and see me in the morning"

and since belphie doesn't know how to heal from these things, he just represses and forgets about it - and he becomes increasingly afraid that the others will get too far ahead to catch up and they themselves recover

to be fair, it's not entirely his brothers' fault; belphie himself is also used to being complacent, and so hasn't actively sought out healing either

it's kind of similar to levi actually, in that they both feel bitter about the others' progress - except levi turns his feelings against the others (envy), while belphie internalises and blames himself (his sloth stops him from working to keep up)

belphie's frightened of moving on, too - he doesn't want to tie the pain to himself forever, but he feels like it's wrong to forget, too

and all this compounds to indecision and a refusal to linger on it

so when the sloth takes over he defaults to "i can't do anything, nothing will change, just lie down and go to sleep"

but he also can't bring himself to sleep - so instead, he goes around incredibly sluggishly, putting as little energy as possible into anything, not caring about anything else that happens around them

then once his brothers finally wrestle him to bed, he goes completely still and doesn't wake up

belphie's inner world would just be a completely empty void, with him at the centre, completely alone with his thoughts - forced to confront it all, but unable to because he doesn't know how

so when ik gets there, what she says to him would be similar to what she does in chapter 40 of jtta - reassurance that it's normal to grieve, to feel anguish, that it's not his fault he doesn't know how to deal, that he will one day be able to carry it and he will deserve to do so

apart from that, i think she'd just sit there with him, let him turn it all over in his mind, let it out, cry like he's been stopping himself from doing until now

belphie's been tempted to simply focus all his anger on humanity, blaming them for the war and everything, but having made fast friends with ik when she first gets nightbrought - this is also proof to him that he isn't governed by his grief

also, it's probably especially important to ik that she do this right - after all, in her original timeline, belphie didn't get this help, and in the long run ended up killing her because of it

lucifer:

it's generally the trend that lucifer comes last with these things

i did change this for the pact order in jtta, but that was because i felt it made more sense, given the different direction lucifer's arc takes to canon

here though, it does work (with my own reasoning for lucifer's sin thing) for him to come last

now. all of the brothers have self-worth issues on some level or another, but lucifer's in particular are on a whole other level

he thinks he's always right. he hates himself more than any being in the universe. he can't fathom being second-best. he knows he is awful. he thinks he's better than everyone. everyone is a far better being than him. he's strong and useless and he must be chosen first even though he doesn't deserve it

i think lucifer would've known he'd go through this Sin Thing from the very beginning, but his brothers are fairly convinced he'll either fight it off immediately or never have it happen in the first place

it's a constant thing with him, he's never as capable as the image he projects, and because he hates letting it fail - he doesn't reject the idea that he'd be immune

and i think part of him would actually be a little convinced; surely he of all demons would be able to resist this stupid force?

lucifer can be extremely close-minded sometimes, and this is working against him right now because he hasn't realised that all of that 'i'll be fine' spiel is the pride talking

so when he starts feeling it happen, he sort of spirals, which only exacerbates the effect - especially since he instinctively isolates him with his work, not wanting his brothers to see him like this

what makes it worse is that he thinks "didn't i learn my lesson? didn't i learn to stop doing this? if mammon didn't think to go to ik, and if ik hadn't come to me, i wouldn't have accepted any help. i would've tried to do it all myself, and we might've lost satan in the process. we might've lost our whole family in the process. i was entirely useless for whole ordeal."

and he knows what he should do, but he can't because his pride is in control - what's more, he feels it's his own fault that he can't stop it, which only lets the sin dig its claws in deeper

plus, because lucifer's so well-practised at keeping this facade up, none of his brothers notice what's happened for about a week

mammon can tell something is off, but lucifer squarely rejects his offers of support and brings up his trouble-making in response, which successfully chases him off

i feel like in this case, it's important that lucifer actively accepts ik's help - rather than her just jumping in to get to him, as has been the case with everyone else

she'd have noticed something was up as well, and has been making gentle attempts at asking him what's wrong - which lucifer has brushed off, reasonably naturally

after hearing how he completely rejected mammon's offer of help, though, she decides to throw caution to the winds and goes to see him in his office

lucifer's response is to yell at her

now he's proven himself capable of being a massive bitch before now. however, this is on a whole new level

he's never insulted ik herself before, for example, but with his pride talking he's stooping to levels never before seen

once he's done ik just kind stands there and stares at him blankly

now, this is the SEVENTH GODDAMN TIME ik's had to put up with this sort of thing. fourteen if you count the first round back in the original timeline

she is so tired. so she really can't be blamed for crying

you would not believe the levels of regret lucifer immediately feels

in fact said regret is so strong it actually drowns the pride out for long enough for him to immediately start apologising

ik (very embarrassed by the crying) just kind of shakes her head like "it's fine, it's fine, forget about it, look can you just fucking listen to me"

in this case, there aren't any big dramatic speeches. the fact that ik's still attempting to help him after he just made her (who, famously, basically never cries no matter what happens to her) cry with his own awfulness is enough to snap him out of his funk, for long enough to let the others get through to him

see, mammon, sensing a disturbance as soon as the tears began, crashes into the office soon after that, and the ruckus duly attracts the other brothers

now lucifer's instinct is to go "shit", because now they're seeing that their eldest brother is not infallible

except his brothers' immediate reaction is not shock, or (rightfully, he thinks) disgust, but rather concern

who could've guessed, lucifer? your family fucking loves you

sure, you fucked up (and they're going to scold you for being mean once this is over), but that doesn't make you any less their beloved big brother

lucifer essentially gets saved by a combination of dadcifer instincts and his family's care, which i think is very fitting for him

#answering asks #anon asks #ik gets nightbrought #i completely forgot about the little ds involvement in any of this whoops #well i'll leave that whole deal to canon to sort out #i do kind of like the new lore that they're spirit counterparts to the brothers #but at the same time i don't think it's a necessary addition #(i'm just attached to the idea of them being a massive horde of unionised workers)

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journey-to-the-attic · 11 months

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I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE CAUGHT UP TO LESSON 12 BC LIKE-

Can you IMAGINE how devastated the brothers would be with their new adopted kid-attendant in a coma. Belphie driving himself insane with worry over his best friend. Lucifer unable to understand why he feels such a deep pit in his chest when he looks at her. Satan tearing the library apart trying to find a book with a remedy because damn him if he isn't going to save the first person to really be kind to him since he was created

AND SOLOMON!! Imagine his GUILT, that Ik nearly died (again) while under his care

solomon: if i had a penny for every time a confrontation with lucifer put ik in a coma, i'd have two pennies, which isn't a lot, but it upsets me that it's happened twice

you're so right though... the entire time she's out they just refuse to let her be alone, there's always at least two other people keeping her company. most of the time of them is solomon, having designated himself ik's guardian here in the past, and taking his duties extremely seriously

in a deja-vu-but-for-the-future way it reminds satan of something - that something being ik's state in the aftermath of the whole dying thing, during that period when she just wouldn't sleep. he chalks up the anger it stirs up down to his still poorly-controlled wrath and the fact that the coma thing happened as a direct result of lucifer being an ass, but he can't quite put his finger on why the anger feels so oddly concentrated

#answering asks #anon asks #ik gets nightbrought #can only imagine that mammon and levi both spend the entire length of the coma on the verge of tears #they hold it in but as soon as they start talking to each other the dam breaks #they'll be swapping bedside vigil duties and levi's be like 'so how's she doi-' and then just start sobbing #also when that voice (presumably michael) starts going on about 'pgblgtpt you're lucky i'm saving you' or whatever it was #ik gets pissed off and is calling him a stupid stupid bitch just as he lifts the curse #the consequence being the first thing that lucifer hears as ik wakes up is '...stupid stupid bitch' really quietly #luckily he's so relieved he forgets about it

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journey-to-the-attic · 11 months

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Ik meeting OM Mephistopheles after being Nightbrought and he's immediately like "CHILD? ADOPTED. MINE"

Thought he'd be all haughty about there being a human in the Devildom? Nope, he's too busy cooing over her tiny hands and buying her funny little magic toys

ik: h-

mephistopheles:

NO more attendant for the brothers this is HIS kid now

#answering asks #anon asks #ik gets nightbrought #ik doesn't mind the doting but she's also a little freaked out about it #so she attempts to deflect the attention onto luke and it sorta works a little bit #but then mephistopheles gets it into his head that she's deflecting because she thinks luke's more worthy of attention #and is immediately like KINDRED INFERIORITY COMPLEX? DOUBLE ADOPTED #though it'd be nice for her to have someone who's immediately determined to take care of her right off the bat after being nightbrought #she's just not used to mephistopheles' dogged insistence on spoiling her since y'know. she didn't exactly have that growing up #and the brothers in the present generally aren't as loud about it

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journey-to-the-attic · 1 year

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Lucifer: What in Diavolo's name do you have now?

Belphie: A little Human

Lucifer: Well, put it back. It doesn't belong to you.

belphie: but lucifer 🥺

lucifer: i TOLD you. we don't have the time nor the resources to take care of a human, much less the patience, we have to focus on—

belphie: :(

lucifer: (struggling) ....no means NO, belphie

belphie: okay but look at how tiny her hands are

lucifer:

lucifer: for fuck's sake

#lucifer one month later: 'this is our dear attendant ik and if any of you FUCKS hurt her feelings i'll rip your innards out with a fork'#ik gets nightbrought #lucifer gets to swear because he's a lot rougher immediately post-fall #answering asks #anon asks

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journey-to-the-attic · 6 months

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sdjbfkdshk i 4got that saying thot instead of thought isn't just an inside joke me n my friends have sorry 😭 ✋ i would never call you a thot (unless u wanted me too...)

that aside the angst is SOOOO good bro (gn). i was thinking actually that if ik is stained by the brothers' sins maybe she starts mirroring what they did when they had their sin stuff going on?? like bc levi went to hide in the lake maybe ik goes to there (and then levi has to fish her out before she drowns herself 😭)

i was acc thinking belphie would do the puttin to sleep part?? like he has special avatar of sloth magic. idk i was just imagining ik spiralling and he like hugs her and uses his magic to just sort of gently get her to rest...

can we get an amen for dadcifer though 🙏 he must be absolutely going thru it rn his poor daughter

no worries! i wouldn't really have minded either way, to be honest

that aside - these are really cute (and also really sad)!! i really like idea of belphie being the one to put her to sleep actually, he probably has some kind of special sloth magic that he'd use to watch over her dreams or something to keep her sleep peaceful :')

also yeah lucifer would be having such a bad time. he's been having a bad time since he first getting the whole pride flare-up thing, with only a brief period of relief between recovering and ik abruptly going off the deep end. he's probably blaming himself entirely for this happening (seeing the state ik was in before being put to sleep is probably one of the few things that could make him shed a tear)

i have been thinking on and off about how ik's whole situation would be resolved! and this is admittedly sorta similar to 'the long nightmare' in jtta, but the idea is that the brothers (+solomon bc i think his relationship with ik is especially important in this nightbringer situation) would enter her 'inner world' using some kind of ritual originating with sonno (ik's in deep sleep at this point, sonno's whole thing is dreams)

basically once in ik's own dreamscape (so to speak), she's been split into seven 'fragments', each holding and/or representing a piece of her soul - each brother encounters a fragment that's trapped in an empty memory of when she was trying to save each of them -asmo's is digging through the shattered remains of the glass coffin he was asleep in, satan's is wandering in the castle where he had his whole d&d showdown with his brothers, mammon's is hiding in the celestial realm's gardens

the idea is that the brothers have to do for the fragments as ik did for them at the time, thus removing the 'stain' of their sin. at that point the ik apparition disappears, and they're left with what i'm picturing as a sort of crystal piece? once each brother has recovered their fragment, solomon puts them back together - puts her 'soul' back together - which brings back their ik as they know her, without the sins affecting her, but still with her own personal anguish in tow

at that point i think solomon would reassure her (i can imagine ik would be afraid of waking up and facing everything again), lucifer in particular would probably have a moment to properly apologise. basically it's all very sappy and then the crystal pieces properly meld together - putting ik's 'heart' back together - at which point she wakes up

(i feel like there's a fnaf 'i will put you back together joke' to be made here)

#answering asks #anon asks #ik gets nightbrought #sorry this took a hot minute i saved this to finish responding to later and then forgot about it #on another note i was feeling weirdly out of sync all day at work and i only realised like an hour ago that it's bc the clocks went back #why the hell do we do that again >:#makes me wonder how barbatos would feel about it. mr time-is-immovable and all that #watching humans just go 'nah that doesn't match up. we think it should be like THIS' twice a year #i imagine there'd be some begrudging respect but mostly confusion. like why do you guys do that

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