rise up

for me they are doomed friends, separated by fate and their loyalties (one dedicated his loyalty to his family, the other to one person).

i think that dino partly blames himself for indirectly influencing the fact that squalo and xanxus met. he does not blame himself for what happened next - it was all squalo's desire, he did everything consciously, dino respects this, even if he does not approve and does not understand why such devotion went to xanxus. dino will never understand squalo and his path, but i think he misses his friend sometimes and sometimes he mourns what could have been if their friendship had grown stronger.

on the other hand, i think squalo never thought dino had anything to do with his meeting xanxus - he thinks they were linked by fate. i think that despite this, dino was the first person squalo could call a friend. he doesn't regret a single thing he did after the meeting with xanxus, and after that he didn't have much time to think about his relationship with dino (just like dino didn't have time for that - he was saving his family). i think squalo respects dino for saving his family, but he has a lot of questions about the "alliance" of vongola and cavallone. i think that squalo is not a fan of remembering the past or regretting his actions, but he has nothing against getting close to dino again (because of vongola kids).

but despite everything i think that most often after the battle of the rings they both thought that it would have been better if they had never met (dino because varia made a MESS which meant problems for him and squalo because dino was preventing them from achieving their dream)

it seems to me that no matter what, in each other's eyes they will remain ghosts of those children that they were before, because it hurts less.

and they’ll never choose each other, because there is someone more important for them even if they’d like to be friends.

they are sooo this part of “no children” coded for me (not a full song, just this little part)

and I hope when you think of me years down the line

you can't find one good thing to say

and I'd hope that if I found the strength to walk out

Part 1.0 (Wordcount: 570)

I started writing this a while ago and I'm still not fully satisfied but I thought I might put it out there!

My idea was thinking about the time when Mammon got killed by the Millefiore before the future arc started and they had to replace them with Fran. Focussing on Bel and how he grew up in the Varia and now lost the person closest to him.

Please tell me your thoughts and if you want to read more!

Mammon’s death had been devastating to all high rank members of the Varia. They didn't only lose their mist flame user and illusionist but also a dear friend (who asked for too much money all the time). Eventhough the hooded Arcobaleno didn't include themselves in a lot of the yearly staff outings or other activities they still were a part of the team. Even Levi was hurt when the news came in, though he often claimed not to care for anyone else than his beloved Boss. Xanxus had this twitch in his eye once the death report came in, which he only had once he was truly irritated and didn't want to show it. He lost an important part of his team and they needed to act quickly. Luckily him and Squalo had an ace up their sleeve to fill the now empty space. They didn't have a cloud user, they couldn't ignore another missing flame, they both knew it. Also Bel was now left without a partner who would be willing and able to work with as a team. Mammon proved themselves to be a perfect match throughout the years going all back to the little Prince joining the Varia as their storm — and a storm he was. Because the one who was affected the most from the loss of Mammon was Belphegor.

He never really got the whole illusionist thing at the beginning, only growing used to it over time. In his childhood years the young storm usually wasn't drawn to anything having to do with mind tricking and manipulating with 'magic'. He preferred using elements you could see and touch and therefore hide with wickedness — like his knives and wires — which he bragged a lot about. Yet Mammon made him interested in the world beyond the physical one, so that over the years he learned to make his own killing tactics work pretty well with Mammon‘s skills even when it got a little tricky on their missions. He learned to appreciate Mammon sooner than he respected the others (except their Boss who was on ice at the time) because of various reasons. The baby didn't get irritated from Bel‘s psychotic episodes, didn't bat an eye when the little Prince was crashing out again. Overall the Arcobaleno just accepted him as the Rookie storm officer even though he wasn't even a teen yet. Lussuria quickly noticed how their energies matched, which surprised everybody considering their flame types and abilities plus Mammon‘s calm demeanor mixed with little Bel‘s rather outgoing nature, making sure everybody knew about him being royalty. So Squalo decided upon further consultation with Lussuria about ‘Bel needing a friend and someone he can look up to’ that they would be now working together even more often than before.

Mammon had to get used to this at first but quickly adjusted after a salary raise and a promised wellness weekend at the end of every month. On which Bel soon joined in to everyone's surprise yet again. It had been Mammon’s suggestion to take the little Prince on those weekends and they became somewhat of a tradition over the years. Afterall Mammon loved expensive things and Bel loved to relax and any kind of luxury, so it was a perfect match. They were a great team.

tfw your student accidentally guilt trip you into becoming a better person

[Image description provided by @hopeswriting: A black and white comics from the manga and anime Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

"Master, why do you call Skull your lackey?" Ryohei asks, looking saddened and disappointed. "You're not bullying him, are you?"

Colonnello marks a pause before sweating profusely even as he smiles. "Of course not!!!" he says.

The last panel shows him sitting across Skull as he eats steak.

"So now you're bribing me with steak to look good in front of your student?" Skull asks.