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Memory Lane Part 1: Riddled Mind

Characters focused on: Queen of Hearts!Riddle Rosehearts & GN!Reader

Word count: 1k

Summary: You're just an innocent isekai victim who got kidnapped by magic. If that wasn't weird enough, you somehow catch the eye of Riddle Rosehearts, the Queen of Hearts. After being ordered to have tea with him, you make a discovery that somehow makes a lot less sense than everything else you've been exposed to so far.

Or: You wander into another world and meet reincarnations of cartoon villains (who were REAL and also your friends in a past life). Riddle-centric chapter.

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The room is so silent that you can hear the  sound of your calm heartbeat and even Riddle's breath from across the table. When you take another sip of your tea, the clink of the cup on the saucer is almost deafening. Even if you hadn't been watching him, you wouldn't have missed the way Riddle's eyes track the cup and the expressions on your face.

At this point, despite however many times you've wiped your face, you're convinced there's a stain or something that has him so fixated on staring at you. Or maybe it was just your horrendous table manners—the moment you sat down you had practically inhaled all the food on the table after all—but you're pretty sure that staring is pretty rude too, and if it mattered as much to you as it likely does to him, you would've called him out on it. Who knows, maybe staring at people is another one of his crazy rules. You don't feel like getting yelled at so you don't try to find out.

The air has been so still and silent that you jump in your seat when Riddle finally speaks.

"The food is to your liking."

His tone is unreadable. His expression is even more so with half of his face hidden behind his threaded fingers. His grey eyes remain trained on you. You're sure you would've been unnerved already if he didn't have such a soft-looking face.

Despite his steady voice though, you identify a slight lilt at the end of his sentence, as if he was asking a question.

You unconsciously raise a questioning brow mostly to yourself, completely unsure how to respond in a way he'd find acceptable. You take too long thinking and in an attempt to save face you bob your head in some semblance of a nod, to which Riddle's gaze expectedly hardens.

"When I ask you a question, you always reply with either yes, your majesty, or no, your majesty ."

His tone is cold and curt and he's straightened up in his seat, the very picture of authority. Despite his stern gaze though, you find yourself more irritated than afraid or flustered. This must show on your face, judging from the way the queen's eyes widen and his stiff shoulders falter ever-so-slightly.

"Do you want me to curtsy too?" you quip back, and without waiting for an answer, your chair is kicked back with an ugly squeal and you're standing and dipping at the waist with your hands raised in a mocking curtsy. "Why yes, your majestyyyy! The tea cakes were absolutely diviiiine."

You muster the most obnoxious, posh accent possible and enunciate each word with exaggeration. By the time you realize what you're doing, the words have already left your mouth and Riddle is leaned back in his chair with an expression of disbelief on his face. You pull up your own chair and sit back down awkwardly, more than a little mortified at yourself.

Were you even thinking, genius?!

Just. You're not sure where it even came from. You can be a bit impulsive sometimes—a complete idiot a lot of other times—but you never sass someone you just met , let alone a ticking time bomb of a queen who could and would literally behead you at the slightest offense (not to mention it was just plain rude). But what's stranger is that you would be more worried about the threat of disembodiment if you weren't so fixated on that sudden burst of... something ; a strange, overwhelming feeling of familiarity in your body that has you feeling loose and careless. It suddenly feels as if you were sitting with a close friend instead of having tea with a tyrant.

You're pulled from your thoughts by a sudden, high-pitched sound that once again has you looking up at the man sitting across from you. Riddle's shoulders are shaking, and he's bent over and... laughing?

"Oh, you really are the same as they were back then," he says as his giggles die off. He opens his eyes and where there used to be a building grey storm are now a gleaming silvery mirth. His lips are curled into a soft, dainty smile that lifts his cheeks. Looking at him like this, there's no better word to describe him with than… cute . "I was beginning to have doubts, but your demeanor is exactly like what I've seen of them in her memories."

When you met him a few hours ago, you never expected to see such a fond (?!) expression on his face. More unexpectedly is that, despite his reputation for being strict and temperamental (that you yourself have seen first hand), it doesn't feel out of place.

In your mind's eye, you suddenly see an image of an imposing woman donning a massive gown of red and black. A wide smile was stretched across her plump face as she sang songs and clinked teacups with rabbits and cats.

You blink it away, suddenly feeling lightheaded. When you look at Riddle, you feel... different. Out of nowhere, you're overcome by a sense of deja vu just like when you first set foot on the castle grounds with Grim, Ace, and Deuce. It was as if your mind was trying to point out something obvious to you that you can't quite grasp long enough to pin down.

It's not like it was a bad feeling, though. Frustrating, yeah, but not bad. Riddle is still smiling at you, so you suppose it's just a given that a sweeter expression on his face would put you more at ease.

"Sorry, who?" you blurt out and then blink again in an attempt to regain your bearings. "I mean—your majesty...?"

Riddle laughs a bit more into his hand. His smile is wide, thick eyelashes fluttering with each blink just like— and a feeling of genuine relieved warmth eases through your tense limbs unprompted.

"Who else could I mean?" he says in a teasing tone. "You, of course; before you were you."

You blink for the nth time in an attempt to clear your head, unsure if your brain is too muddled or if he was spouting some more Wonderland-brand nonsense.

Seeing your confusion, Riddle clarifies.

"Your past life?" You look at him blankly. His smile turns down into a quizzical frown. "You know... when you were the Beast Tamer?"

You... do not know.

You stare at him cluelessly, your jaw slack. As he stares back with a mirroring bewildered expression, you can only think of one thing to say:

"...That's not a Disney movie."

gojo vs sukuna live reaction 😆

So since we’re making pacts with the 7 brothers again, do you think it’ll be the same order?

I personally can’t see Mammon making a pact with a stranger while his brothers need him.

I also don’t see Levi being willing to make a pact with some random rn, mans got tons of deep rooted hatred for demons after fighting them for years

No idea,

But I think it makes the most sense if Mammon's the first because;

• Mammon being MC's first friend/companion/tour guide is consistent throughout different AUs in om! (that we see in events and devilgrams). So it'd be odd if that suddenly breaks off here?

• He's also instantly intrigued by them/interested in them when he meets them as an angel in the celestial realm. I just imagine this is a constant for Mammon?

• Mammon in S3 says he wouldn't make a pact with a random human. Which is exactly what he did in S1 because despite being intrigued by MC at the time he didn't know them. However, S3 also shows that MC wasn't a random human. They travelled back in time to when the brothers were still angels, made a lasting impression on the them (they encourage Mammon's dreams, laugh at his pranks that no one finds funny and according to him they keep staring at him despite being called out twice). And though MC's and the brothers' memories of this time are erased, Michael says that the effect of their presence will be felt. Angel! Asmo & Lucifer also dream of MC though they can't remember who exactly they're missing (which means the others definitely had similar dreams). So then Mammon's decision to make a pact with MC in S1 could have been subconsciously influenced by this encounter (and it was a decision because being much stronger + faster than Levi & MC he could have easily gotten Goldie back without having to make a pact). Nightbringer happens after that encounter in the Celestial Realm. So the impact of that encounter would, realistically, still be felt in Nightbringer. In other words, the brothers may still feel drawn towards MC/feel like they're familiar

• In S1, MC is also instantly comfortable with him (enough to talk back to him over and over again) while they're reserved with the rest of the brothers until right before/after they make the pact. They've also been called out multiple times (in the main storylines or chats or devilgrams or events) for having a bias towards Mammon. Beel in S1 also said that MC had a tendency to seek out Mammon to talk with him. <- MC, themself, might just gravitate towards Mammon without him having to do anything

• They also never register Mammon as a threat, even during circumstances where they should (vampire devilgram, first paws event, s1). They're comfortable enough with him that they start regularly sharing a bedroom in S1 before they're even proper friends. So again, they may just gravitate towards him.

• Like in S1, Mammon might be the only safe option for MC in the beginning. He's clearly the only one who's got his shit together right now, while the others are visibly heavily traumatised. He's the only one with no regrets about his decision/who seems to have come to terms with what happened. It makes less sense for the ones who are Going Through It to make a pact with a random ass human than the one who is actually (considering the circumstances) extremely well adjusted

• MC's being dropped into Nightbringer to be a therapist to the brothers during their worst moment of life. Previously, Mammon's the one who took on this role (as seen in "The Rulebook" Devilgram). As you said Mammon's brothers need him and literally the best thing he can do right now is team up with the person who's also trying to help them in the same manner he is. It makes so much sense for them to be working together towards their common goal from the beginning, than to be at odds with each other until they make a pact later on

• By the process of elimination, Mammon's the only one who's mentally in a place to make a pact right now. AND at this point his brothers see him as extremely competent (because he is) and reliable - someone who can do anything he puts his mind to. After they Fall he's calm and collected, he's the one who talks them down/soothes their injuires and nightmares. They trust him. They'll, therefore, be much more open to making a pact with MC if Mammon already has one, if they feel like Mammon trusts MC.

• Mammon was literally created by the writers to be MC's "sidekick". It'd be weird to suddenly break away from something that was a major defining point during the creation of his character

I don't know what order they'll go in to make the pacts but listen,

I'm not even saying this as someone who's simping for this idiot;

It's just, objectively, it makes much more sense for Mammon to be MC's first pact again, than for any of the others.

This Halloween I'm going as a Normal Human Man

May i ask if luke and percy are the possible love interests in waking up in pjo or im reading the lines wrong? I love your work! Thank you for the works u put out <33

Thank you for reading! I’m glad you’re enjoying it so far :)

It depends on the perspective. I think from Luke or Percy’s perspective, yeah, they totally consider (Y/N) as a love interest.

(And I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but I think I’ve hinted at it, but because (Y/N) is a fertility god everyone around them gets a little i faulted with them. It’s purely instinctual, like pheromones and vibes and body chemistry, nothing anyone can explain with science. But everyone has a crush on them. And it’s really confusing because they’re a child of hades.)

But for (Y/N) I do feel like it’s a little different. For one they’ve been alive for so long. Literal lifetimes worth of experiences. So for them, Percy and Luke and Annabeth and Clarisse are literal children. They feel like they have to take care of them and protect them, and they are friends, but I’m not sure if seeing them romantically is possible. But they’re also a child, and being a child physically affects your mental state too. Especially when you’re surrounded by beings that have been alive for centuries. Much longer than you have.

So it’s really confusing for them, and I don’t think they really know how they feel.

What a time to be alive!

New years celebration in the winner's waiting room.

Idia new motto after the ghost marriage situation :

May i ask if luke and percy are the possible love interests in waking up in pjo or im reading the lines wrong? I love your work! Thank you for the works u put out <33

Thank you for reading! I’m glad you’re enjoying it so far :)

It depends on the perspective. I think from Luke or Percy’s perspective, yeah, they totally consider (Y/N) as a love interest.

(And I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but I think I’ve hinted at it, but because (Y/N) is a fertility god everyone around them gets a little i faulted with them. It’s purely instinctual, like pheromones and vibes and body chemistry, nothing anyone can explain with science. But everyone has a crush on them. And it’s really confusing because they’re a child of hades.)

But for (Y/N) I do feel like it’s a little different. For one they’ve been alive for so long. Literal lifetimes worth of experiences. So for them, Percy and Luke and Annabeth and Clarisse are literal children. They feel like they have to take care of them and protect them, and they are friends, but I’m not sure if seeing them romantically is possible. But they’re also a child, and being a child physically affects your mental state too. Especially when you’re surrounded by beings that have been alive for centuries. Much longer than you have.

So it’s really confusing for them, and I don’t think they really know how they feel.