#abby asks

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🌅 (sunrise) What does your oc look forward to every day? Do they have something to look forward to in the first place? What makes them wake up in the morning? Why do they want to be alive?

Houki (IkeSen)

Houki wasn't really the type to look forward to anything when she wakes up in the morning. Before she had been worm-holed, she was a noble lady of leisure, spending her days reading for hours on end, really only stopping when her mother nagged her to be more social or the servants gently prodded her to make sure she had eaten something every few hours. Now that Mitsunari was in her life, she looked forward towards to saying good morning to him, and to him responding back with how much he loved her.

Ophelia (IkeSen)

Answered here!

Thea (IkeVamp)

Thea looks forward to seeing her loved ones every day. The people she sees has changed over time, but the act of greeting her loved ones in the morning is still something she looks forward to each day.

Abby (IkeVamp)

She is also the type that doesn't look forward to anything in particular when she wakes up in the morning, save for after she and Vincent got together. Like with Houki and Mitsunari, she and Vincent say affirmations of love in the morning. She looks forward to hearing Vincent's voice in the morning, quietly whispering sweet things to her in sleepy Dutch.

Maddie (IkeRev)

Maddie looks forward to having breakfast with Harr and Loki in the morning. They talk about their plans for the day, local Cradle gossip, and teasing Harr for putting apricot jam on his toast a little too thick… again.

Clara (IkePri)

Clara looks forward to going to the bookshop and seeing her regular, smiling customers. She loves helping out fellow book lovers find their perfect books and it gives her recommendations for her next read.

Miri (Obey Me)

Miri looks forward to every day because there's always something going on. Devildom always has something happening so she's never bored in her day to day as there's always something to do.

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🍊(orange) - Is your oc more selfish or selfless? Are they willing to sacrifice themselves or their goals for others? Why are they this way?

Houki

In a way, Houki was more selfish in that she used to only pursue knowledge just to know it, not that it had much practical use or that she used the knowledge she had to really help anyone, save when she was transported and she saw the importance in helping out, especially with Mitsunari.

Ophelia

Ophelia is selfless, despite having the moniker of the 'Ambitious Widow'. At the end of the day, she just wants to make sure her family is cared for and will go to great lengths to make that happen, sacrificing herself for their sake.

Thea

Thea is willing to sacrifice some of her goals for her loved ones because they are important to her and she wants them to succeed in their endeavors.

Abby

Abby sacrifices herself and her goals to please the people around her because she wants to keep up the image of the 'good, devoted daughter', even if it's extremely detrimental to her mental health.

Maddie

Maddie is selfless, willing to sacrifice some of her goals for her loved ones so she can help them pursue their goals. She wants to help out because she feels it's the right thing to do when people help her first, so she's naturally going to return the favor and help them out when they need it.

Clara

Clara is selfless, willing to sacrifice some of her goals for her loved ones and only a little bit of herself. She kind of had to if she wanted to pursue a relationship with Nokto, now King of Rhodolite. She changed her social class for love and has a lot more responsibility placed on her now that she was going to be a queen.

Miri

Miri is selfless, willing to sacrifice herself and her goals to make sure her loved one succeed. The demon brothers helped her come into herself, becoming more confident and understanding of the new world around her and she cares about all of them as though they were her family too.

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🏵(rosette) - What is your character’s most prized possession? Is it something they could never bear to part with? What makes this object so special?

Houki

A book of fairy tales she bought for herself while she was in the Sengoku era. The writing system here is a little different compared to home and at first she had tried to read one of the tactics books that was lying around Mitsunari 's room, but found it too difficult to read. So, after she had earned some money working as Chatelaine, when there was a book seller in town, she and Mitsunari searched among the seller's wares for something simpler for her to learn from. It's special to her because it shows how much she has learned and adapted to Sengoku life. It was also one of the first books she read to her son, helping to inspire his love of reading as well.

Ophelia

She isn't the type to place sentimental value on objects because she doesn't know when that object would be taken from her like other things have been in the past. If she's keeping something, it needs to have practical use, else there isn't a sense for keeping the object if it's just going to weigh her down. Which is why she holds onto the hairbrush that Kennyo gave to her once they became close. It's sturdy and has a use, plus it has flowers on the handle so it's nice to look at some days.

Thea

Her sewing kit! She's had it since she was a little girl. Her mother and her dads helped to gather the materials together so it has a lot of sentimental value to her. It's light blue with flowers on the lid.

Abby

Her first sketchbook. Le Comte had gotten it for her when he saw that getting her dresses wasn't making her happy. She had asked him if she could have his discarded invitations and letters so that she could practice drawing on them. He gives them to her, but the wheels were starting to turn in his head. So, he takes her shopping later on to the stationary shop she gets Arthur's and Mozart's ink from, feigning that he was looking to get a new pen and wanted her help in selecting one. Comte makes small talk with the shop owner, making it look like he's distracted, but he's watching her as she browses the shop, seeing her linger on a particular sketchbook, a look of longing on her face. He secretly tells the owner that he also wants to buy the sketchbook the young lady is looking at (along with some basic drawing supplies) and to have it sent to the mansion later on that day. She cries a little when she sees Comte next, explaining that no one had gotten her one before because her family didn't like her pursing art, but she wanted to so badly. After a bunch of hugs and a few more tears, he reassures her that her passions won't be denied here, that he wants her to do what she loves. It's one of the reasons he's gathered some of the greatest minds together in his mansion, so that they can pursue what they loved in their previous lives, so it would be hypocritical of him to deny her that much. After that, aside from doing chores with Sebastian, she was rarely seen without it. Vincent even had the foresight to take it with him when he traveled to the future to find her, taking comfort at her little doodles and studies while he searched for her.

Maddie

A necklace that's been passed down through her family, originally belonging to her great grandmother (who was Alice the First). She was wearing when she traveling to visit her grandparents in London when she ran into a white-haired gentleman that wore glasses. He was pleasant to her and apologized for knocking into her, but her necklace had been replaced with a pocket watch, and when she had tried to get her necklace back, she followed the white haired man to Wonderland, whoops.

Clara

Her copy of Midnight Cinderella: Alyn. It was the first book in the series she had read as a young girl, looking for a more challenging read after she had exhausted Mr. Akatsuki's stock of children's stories at the time. It helped inspire her love of romance stories and her love for the Midnight Cinderella book series as a whole. That well-worn copy means a lot to her.

Miri

The items that the brothers gave her in order to be able to summon them to where she is when she needs them. A lot of them have sentimental value to her. Pictures with Asmo that evoke special memories, the script from the play she was in from Levi, the body switching book (now powerless) from Satan, the keychain that was the mate to her original one from Mammon, etc. Lucifer's Ring of Light, while also his summoning token, it originally serves as a tempering object for her magic so that it doesn't go out of control as it has done in the past.

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🍑 (peach) - What are your character’s thoughts on sex if they have any? What is their sexuality? What is their sex life like? Do they even have one?

Houki

She sees sex as more for procreation than anything, only getting bold on occasion or when she has bouts of curiosity (it's how 'The Experiment' happened) (it's one of my rare full-on smut fics so I won't link it here, but you can peruse my masterlist to find it).

Though she doesn't have the words for it, by modern standards, she's closest to demisexual with a dab of bi-romantic (as in her home game, her first suitor was a warrior princess that was just at the Summit meeting for the free food and to look at all the pretty girls, which is valid of her, tbh.)

Otherwise, she doesn't have much of a sex life as it doesn't interest her much outside of fiction.

Ophelia

Ophelia isn't interested in sex as she has other things to worry about, plus she has some trauma with her previous marriage so she's even less likely to get sexually intimate with a new partner because of that. By modern standards, she's closest to a sex-neutral ace with some touch aversion (specifically towards kissing). She doesn't have a sex life nor does she want one, thanks.

Thea

Thea is polyamorous as that was the kind of relationship that her parents had, her mom and her two dads. She really can't choose between Theo and Arthur as intimate partners, so she didn't and is in a relationship with both of them, loving them in tandem. Her sex life is wild, as I'm sure you can imagine.

Abby

At first, she was scared of it, wanting nothing to do with it after a snooty rich boy forced himself on her. With Vincent, he always gave her reassurances and would stop if she was visibly nervous or unsure. He always wants her happy and comfortable first above all else. And after his constant reassurance and telling her how beautiful he thought she was, they got her to her first orgasm. As her confidence grows, she gets bolder, and after they had been apart for a year, they spent their first night together not separating (literally) for long. As for her sexuality, she's demisexual. Vincent was her first love and she wants him to be her only love.

Maddie

Maddie is bisexual. She thinks of sex as an expression of intimacy. You show your most vulnerable self to another at their most vulnerable self and there's something beautiful about that. She's pretty exclusive to Harr these days, helping him to build confidence in himself, letting him try what's comfortable for him and only pushing a little a time, just to get him out of his shell.

Clara

Though she doesn't have the words for it, Clara is demisexual with an active sex life thanks to Nokto being a horn-dog. At first, she preferred just reading about sex in her books, clinging to tropes that she hoped to experience in real life. Unfortunately, becoming Belle turned those plans upside down, especially after she caught Nokto's eye.

Miri

Miri is pansexual. Gender expression isn't a factor to her when it comes to liking someone and given that she's in a relationship with a demon, how someone presents themselves, gender-wise, seems small in the grand scheme of things. She sees sex as a way to show someone that you love them, as mentioned in Maddie's entry, it's a way to get emotionally close to someone. As for her sex life… well… her partner is a demon, literally. That should be descriptive enough in of itself.

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👑(crown) - How does your oc feel about power? Do they hold any? If so, what kind of power and how did they attain it? If not, would they ever want power? How do they feel about those that hold power over others?

Houki

Houki, while from the nobility class, her family was branch family to a much bigger complex main one, often ignored for the most part and left to their own devices. She is cautious of those in power as they can often force you into doing things you don't want to do. She was forced into a role her cousin had ran away from, and she couldn't refuse the role else her family would lose favor and funding from the main family and her family wasn't about to let that happen. She doesn't want power because it can quite easily be taken away, something that's still true even now when she's in Sengoku era Japan.

Ophelia

Doesn't trust anyone holding power over her. Though her family was from the nobility class, they were poor nobles and were often at the mercy of other, richer nobles. Not to mention her home country recently went through a political upheaval, uprooting the old royal family and putting in a new one. So, yeah, she has a strong distrust of those with a lot of power. She does not want power as that is something that can be taken away, very easily and very violently, as she's seen almost personally.

Thea

Thea is probably the most neutral of my girls towards authority figures, if you can call it neutral. Nothing really bad has happened to her specifically and her relationship with authority, but her mother has instilled in her to at least be cautious around them. Her dads lived through a time where being open about their relationship was, at best, frowned upon, while her mother was a victim of inaction because someone had more money and power than her family had and paid for their silence. She wishes she had the power to make authority less corrupt than they are, but she doesn't have that kind of power and to undertake that task would be a horrific uphill battle.

Abby

Abby doesn't trust authority figures all that much as, like Houki, they have a tendency to make you do things you don't want to. And in Abby's case, her distrust comes from authority's inaction. Those in power have a way of making things they don't like disappear, horrendous actions as if they never happened at all, and no consequences for those horrendous actions. Abby was a victim of inaction and she's been scared and distrustful ever since.

Maddie

Maddie's position as Alice the Second gives her leverage in a power struggle between the Red and Black Armies. If the Red Army has Alice on their side, they can overtake the Black Army and assimilate them for total control over Cradle. The Black Army obviously doesn't want that to happen, so they want Alice to be on their side, so that they don't lose their sense of identity and freedom. Maddie, having this role thrust upon her, isn't too pleased with the situation as the Red Army often uses underhanded tactics to bring her to their side (kidnapping usually being a favored method of theirs) and really, she just wants to go back to the Land of Reason at the end of the day, so being thrust into a war she wanted no part of puts a sour taste in her mouth.

Clara

Clara is in a unique position, being Rhodolite's Belle, where she can observe the authority directly and have authority of her own on how her home should be run, namely that she's choosing who will be the next king. It's a big responsibility, especially with the threat of war and/or assimilation from the other nations on the horizon. She didn't want the position initially as, again, it's a big responsibility to choose who's gonna rule over your kingdom. Holding the fate of your kingdom in your hands is intimidating, after all. She pushes through, however, choosing to the best of her gained knowledge of the princes and for what she thought was best for Rhodolite, given the circumstances.

Miri

Magical abilities aside, she kind of fell into power by virtue of who she associates with. She's in good graces with the local royalty along with seven of the most powerful demons in the Devildom. Not only them but she's also has friendships with some high ranking angels, one of the most powerful sorcerers in the Human Realm, and a reaper. Miri is surrounded by a lot of influential people, to say the least.

With her ties to many kinds of powerful people, she wants to use those ties responsibly, to try and bring a sense of harmony between the three worlds, not an easy feat especially when the worlds are at odds with each other with tensions that can be cut with a knife.

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🐥 (baby chick) - How does your oc feel about parenthood? Do they have children? If not, do they want any? Why or why not?

Houki

She sees it as an inevitably, being a noble lady, thus she's expected to provide children. She's fairly neutral on the subject of children, as in she doesn't care one way or the other, she just know she's supposed to have them someday to be a good wife or whatever. However, due to health problems, she was only able to have one son, Shigenari. She's felt bad that she can't do more and has said that she would be understanding if Mitsunari wants to take on a mistress to make up for her inadequacy, but Mitsunari never does, just proud that Houki and Shigenari are healthy and happy, and that's enough for him.

Ophelia

Ophelia isn't interested in children as she already had her fill of them from her siblings. There were too many of them and not enough to go around and she didn't want to put any child what she went through. She's also infertile, meaning if she even wanted them, she can't have them biologically, not with the technology available to her in Sengoku Japan. Adoption pretty much is her only option if she really wanted to, but it's not likely at this point in time.

Thea

Thea thought about it and thought 'yeah, maybe someday!' And then someday comes and she's got fraternal twins, a little boy that looks like Theo named Vincent and a little girl that looks like Arthur named Mary Louise. Comte and Leonardo are confused about that one too, given that children produced from a vampire and a human is rare enough already, the fact that the twins also look like both their fathers is also baffling. She loves her kids regardless.

Abby

Her and Vincent’s first kid came as a surprise to both of them. She had a vague sense of 'yeah, maybe someday' with Vincent after they babysat some of their artist friends' kids occasionally, but then they're separated for a year, spent their first night reunited 'catching up' and then the symptoms started, taking both of them by surprise. Abby was the more worried of the two, given that she and Vincent didn't have a lot between them nor did she know if she was ready for parenthood. She and Vincent talked it out, deciding to keep their little guy, Theodorus, named after his uncle Theo. Abby gets in touch with her extended family and they help her get a bigger place to live and all the baby supplies they could ever need. She loves her son and watching him grow. Then, she found she was pregnant again. She wasn't so scared this time, having her safety net and that she knew what to do this time, thus giving her and Vincent their second son, Wilhelm. Then it happened again with their third child, a little girl named Anna Cornelia, affectionately called Cora. So, yeah, parenthood has grown on her, loving all her kids as they grow up. She couldn't imagine her life without them now.

Maddie

Maddie isn't really interested, wanting to focus on her studies and her business more. If it's in the cards for her, she's not gonna be mad about it, but it's something that isn't a top priority to her.

Clara

At first, it wasn't really a priority to her. She liked playing and interacting with the kids in town, but that was about where it ended for her. Except then she became Belle, fell in love with Nokto, and the two were married not long after. Then, there were pressures began from the nobility at court, strong hints that the king needed an heir, some being especially harsh towards her because she was a commoner originally, some telling Nokto to his face that he should have a noble wife so at least his children will be legitimate. Nokto ignores them and takes her away so they can talk privately. He reassures her that he will look to her for her decision. If she wants kids or not, that's up to her and her alone. He's got seven other brothers, after all, one of them is bound to have a kid at one point or another and he could always name that kid as his heir, it wasn't as big of a deal as the snooty nobles were making it out to be. Clara thanks him, feeling better about the issue.

I'm still on the fence about giving her and Nokto kids. Maybe I'll change my mind in the future about it, but as of this posting, there are no plans to give them kids.

Miri

She's got too much going on for her to think about having kids of her own, what with also trying to keep with the demon brothers and that's a job and a half. If she ever does, she certainly is ready for anything any potential kids could throw at her!

That aside, I have had some late-night thoughts of different AUs of her having kids with Diavolo and Simeon on different occasions, so I'm not completely opposed to the idea, but in her main timeline, she's not interested in having kids at the moment.

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🎺 (trumpet) - Is your character talented at anything? How did they gain this skill and why?

Houki

She's really good at reading books and retaining the info she's earned. She earned this skill because it's one of her main hobbies and she loves reading a lot.

Ophelia

Maybe not especially talented at it, but she takes small pleasures in caring for a garden. It gives her time to reflect and think without anyone around her, plus, if she's particularly frustrated that day, she can take it out on the weeds and dirt. She had been away from Nobunaga and company for a while, looking for something to do, and had saw that the local garden had been neglected, starting to be overgrown and messy. It was something she sometimes dabbled in back home when she wasn't being called to meet with various nobles and she somehow always felt more at peace when she was in a garden, she could never put her finger on the reason, but she always just liked working in a garden.

Thea

She's really good at sewing. She can make whole outfits in a matter of days, just give her the material, some thread, and let her go to town. She developed her talent for it thanks to her mom and her dad Benito, who both had interests in fashion and making clothes, thus inspiring her love of it as well.

Abby

She's not as good as some the other artistically-inclined members of Comte's mansion, but she likes drawing and painting with watercolors. She wasn't allowed to pursue it until she came to the mansion, thriving under the great minds that surrounded her and the love and support to help her continue following her passions.

Maddie

Singing! It ties into her powers, but she's always loved singing, coming up with little tunes on the fly when she was little and singing along to whatever tune was playing on TV or the radio.

Clara

She likes baking, bread especially. It was one of the first things she learned to cook and it's something she's created bonds over, with Mr. Akatsuki, Rio, and Yves, so bread has a special place for her because of that.

Miri

She's a quick study at magic! Any spell that's placed in front of her, she'll be doing it in no time, something Solomon is quite proud of.

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⚠️(warning) - What is your oc’s go-to weapon? Do they prefer melee weapons like swords or brass knuckles or do they prefer guns and other ranged weaponry? Do they even use a weapon? Why or why not?

Houki

Houki isn't a fighter type so she's never had the need for weapon, never really been in a physical fight. The one weapon she has is her wit and she will use it how she sees fit.

Ophelia

Another non-fighter so she doesn't have a go-to weapon. I remember in the beginning of her development I had given her an iron fan, but that's not especially useful for hand to hand combat. If she has to choose between melee or ranged weapons, she's going with the ranged ones. She doesn’t have a lot of physical strength, so something that can be handled easily and where she doesn't have to be close to her opponent, the better.

Thea

Another non-fighter, but she was given the choice, she wants melee weapons, swords especially. She thinks they're cool and always wanted to own one.

Abby

Especially not a fighter, she prefers to avoid combat all together, she doesn't want to be involved at all. She doesn't want a weapon as she doesn't want to fight and that's her stance on that.

Maddie

Her weapon is her voice. She uses magic through making suggestions to inanimate objects, made stronger if she's singing while doing it.

Clara

She's, first, a non-fighter, but will use the skills she does have to protect those weaker than herself. Given that she works in a big bookstore, she has super strength from lifting books and shelves since she was young.

Miri

She has a magic staff that she can change the size of to help enhance her magic. When she's in combat mode, it's as tall as she is. In everyday mode, it's a necklace she wears around her neck.

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💄(lipstick) - What does your oc think of their face? Do they have a positive or negative opinion? Do they wear makeup? Do they have a skincare routine? What traits do they like most about their face?

Houki

She thinks her face is okay, for the most part. She only wears makeup for special occasions, so she doesn’t wear it often. She only washes and dries her face as a skin care routine and that's pretty much it. As for what she likes about it, she thinks her eyes are a pretty color.

Ophelia

She used to wear makeup all the time because she needed to keep up the image of a rich noble lady, and that included wearing makeup. She doesn't do it as much anymore since she doesn’t have a pressing need to wear makeup in her day to day. She will use a cream at night to help with dryness tho. What she likes most about her face is that, aside from the mole on her chin, she's never had a pimple or blemish, a miracle with how much makeup she used to wear.

Thea

She thinks her face is okay, but it doesn't lend itself that well to historic makeup styles because of all the freckles on her face. She does think it's fun to wear dark red lipstick sometimes though, to emulate the 1930s-1940s makeup style because she thought it was a fun style and likes to try out different styles when she can. Skincare routine-wise, she'll wash, dry and use a powder when she goes out in historic styles, as was the style of the time. What she likes about her face is her smile. She thinks it's nice.

Abby

Abby doesn't like her face that much. Extra oil and acne haven't done her any favors in the confidence department and creams to try and correct the acne have left her with some scarring. Some makeups irritate her skin so she really can't wear very much of it very often. Thanks to her time in le Comte's mansion, she's had help in finding products that help her skin out, some of which are still manufactured in the modern day (or at least close equivalents.) If she had to pick something she liked about her face, well, she thinks her nose is okay? Something small and button-like. It's got its charms.

Maddie

Maddie likes her face! She loves to wear makeup and look pretty! She makes her own soaps and creams so her skin always looks great. Her best feature, she thinks, is her smile.

Clara

Clara thinks she's got an okay face, not outrageously beautiful but not ugly either. Just something normal. Ever since she took on the role of Belle and had to be a noblewoman to hide that secret, she started wearing makeup more often and using creams to moisturize and clean her skin. She thinks a freshly washed face is the best feeling after a long day. Her best feature is her eyes, specifically her long eyelashes.

Miri

Miri has grown to like her face more than she used to. At first, she didn't really care that much about it, only using basic soaps to clean it and living with the dryness left behind. Since coming to Devildom and getting her pact with Asmo, he has dragged her into making regular beauty routines, helping her to pick out what this or that product is best for her skin and, now, she has fun when she looks in the mirror, seeing the pretty sorcerer she's become over time. Makeup-wise, she doesn't really wear it save for special occasions, like fancy dinner dates or upscale parties at Diavolo's castle. Her favorite feature is how soft her skin feels, especially after a spa day with Asmo.

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🥊(boxing glove) - Has your character ever been in a fight? Did they win? Do they fight often? Are they professionally trained or self-taught? Do they enjoy fighting or only do so when necessary?

Houki

Physical fight, no. She doesn't know how to fight save for what she's seen from her time in Sengoku era Japan. She has been taught one self-defense move by a warrior princess she met, but doesn't know much else other than that. She doesn't enjoy fighting, preferring to only do so when it's absolutely necessary.

Ophelia

She has not been in a fight and would prefer to keep it that way.

Thea

She has been in a fight before, when she was a kid. She and her mom had made her a Halloween costume together, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz's blue gingham dress. She was so proud because she had (mostly) made the dress all on her own and she looked pretty cute in it, thank you. But, some school bullies started calling her names and making fun of her and her dress. When she had finally had enough, she attacked the main bully, giving him a piece of her mind with her fists. She had to be pulled off before the fight was settled. Since then, when she came to 19th century Paris and had a run in with some scruffy lads, she asked Jean and Napoleon to teach her proper self-defense, so she could look after herself should she find herself alone and getting accosted again. She doesn’t like fighting as a whole, but she does deem it necessary sometimes, if nothing else to protect herself from harm.

Abby

She doesn’t like confrontation, so she hates the idea of getting into a fight, period.

Maddie

Maddie has been in a fight before, technically, also when she was a kid. Some kids were making fun of her for various things (her singing, that she's fat, other mean things that kids will say), so, while it wasn't intentional on her part, she had made a fake flower as was her hobby at the time and thanks to her powers starting to bloom, all her negative feelings were transferred into her flower. Since she didn't know she had powers back then, imagine her surprise when her bullies started bothering her again only for them to be strung up by their ankles from the ceiling by a giant string plant stem, embroidered flowers dotting it everywhere.

She had to transfer schools because of that but she did win that fight, technically speaking.

Overall, she prefers to take peaceful routes, trying to avoid a fight if she can. But if she can't avoid it, she's still got enough power to put an end to the fight quickly.

Clara

Clara has been in a few fights before. Mr. Akatsuki taught her some moves so that she could protect herself when he wasn't around to look after her (and if Gilbert ever found her, so she can protect herself from him, according to Mr. Akatsuki). She mostly uses her skills to protect those weaker than herself, even standing up for Rio once early on in their relationship. She prefers not to fight unless she has to.

Miri

Miri has been in a few fights, yeah. She prefers not to fight unless she absolutely has to, wanting to talk things through first before she has to bring out the magic. Solomon has been her teacher in magic, teaching her defensive spells, healing spells, summoning spells, and various other incantations useful for daily life. She also learns some curses from Satan, should she ever need them.

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🧣(scarf) - What comforts your oc? Is it an item? An action? A person? Whatever it is, how and why does it comfort them?

Houki

Thick book she can hold onto. The heaviness grounds her back to reality, that she's holding onto something heavy and tangible. It comforts her to know that.

Ophelia

Holding herself. Sometimes, if she's holding onto one of her arms, or if she's got her arms crossed, she's probably trying to self-soothe herself. She's not the type to immediately reach out when she needs help, so she's often left comforting herself in small ways and this is one of them.

Thea

The smell of fresh laundry. Doesn't matter what the object is, if it smells fresh and clean, that's comforting to her.

Abby

Sitting some place quiet helps her to calm down. Her room or the library in le Comte's mansion were her go-tos when she was there. She wants to be away from the noise and that quiet comforts her.

Maddie

Talking to her loved ones, it's usually the quickest remedy of comfort for her.

Clara

Holding onto one of her favorite books, or any book really. Thick books are best for this. Books are a frequent comfort for her when she's feeling down, so that's her go-to.

Miri

She talks to her brothers and her friends if she needs some comfort. Something about talking about what's bothering her always makes her feel better. She's also quick to do the same if they need it, always willing to be a listening ear for her loved ones troubles.

She tried to insist that she was okay, that she was just a little under the weather, but Abby knew it wasn’t a suggestion when Warlock snatched the phone from her hand and smacked it down. Her going home was not up for debate.

The drive home felt like it dragged on forever. It felt suspiciously like time had slowed down, and every turn of the steering wheel made her muscles burn.

She didn’t expect Bob to be at her apartment when she got there, nor did she expect him to be in her kitchen stirring a pot on the stove.

When Bob saw her by the front door, looking pale and sweaty, he pushed the pot off the heat to come to her aid. He took the keys from her grasp, placing them in the tray on the table by her front door. He took the bag off her shoulder, put it on the ground, and carefully led her to the bedroom.

Abby wanted to object, tried to tell him to stop fussing and just let her be, but he was so gentle as he softly pushed her down to sit on the bed, so she let him.

“Soup should be ready in a couple of minutes,” he informed her as he unlaced her boots and helped her strip off her uniform and into an oversized comfortable t-shirt. It smelled like him. Fresh-cut grass and jet fuel. A combination that really shouldn’t be as delicious as it was, but it smelled like Bob, and she loved it.

“How did you know I was coming back?”

He grinned and pushed his glasses back up his nose. “Warlock called.”

Abby frowned, meeting his blue eyes. “He called you?”

Bob nodded, fluffing the pillows and placing them behind her back. “I think Maverick told him I stay with you.”

“Maverick?”

Instead of leaning back against the pillows, Abby laid down and sunk further into the mattress. Her eyes instantly began to flutter closed as exhaustion crept up on her.

She could hear Bob’s words and understood them, but he sounded far away.

“He probably heard it from Rooster,” he said and asked her to lift her head a little so he could readjust the pillows. She did as he asked, and then he placed a duvet over her body. Abby hissed slightly at the cold sensation but settled under it comfortably after a moment.

She hummed as Bob placed the back of his hand on her forehead, feeling for her temperature, which was definitely higher than it was supposed to be.

She pried an eye open and watched him check his wristwatch. She closed her eyes again before he caught her staring, and a gentle press of his lips replaced his hand. They lingered on her clammy skin for a brief moment before disappearing again. The sound that escaped Abby’s throat at the loss of contact sounded dangerously close to a whine.

Sleep started to engulf her, and she didn’t have the energy to fight it anymore. Bob left the bedroom, and she only vaguely registered his return with a big glass of water and some Advil that he placed on the bedside table.

He leaned down and kissed her forehead again. “I’ll warm that soup for you when you wake up.”

“You’re too nice to me,” she mumbled into the duvet.

He chuckled, shaking his head. Bob knew Abby was too far gone in sleep to hear him whisper three little words into her ear, but he said them anyway.