#❛ solo thread

[dramatisperscnae]

@thecreativeforge from here bc tumblr is dumb

Breathe. He had to breathe. Nothing had happened, they were fine, just breathe, Grayson. And try not to think about how Roy's hand had felt, there in the small of his back. How it might have felt if it had landed a few inches lower.

The hand on his shoulder made him jump, though he didn't pull away; instead his own hand came up to hold it there as he looked over at Roy, hoping the flush on his cheeks had faded a little even as he found some comfort in the fact that Roy's hadn't. At least Dick wasn't the only one suddenly feeling awkward right now.

He managed a wry grin at the teasing, giving Roy's hand a squeeze but still not letting go. "I'd…call it a tie. Would've been my win if that old brownstone had still been here." He was trying to tease back, but as Roy glanced over and blue eyes met green any further comments died on Dick's lips. His heart was still pounding, albeit a little softer than it had been a few seconds ago, though he wasn't afraid; behind the uncertainty in his eyes absolute trust was shining through.

[silverwhittlingknife]

How do you feel about Jack Drake?? What are your thoughts on him and Tim’s relationship?

Anon, I hope you were interested in a novel, because look, I am fascinated by Jack Drake.  He’s key to a whole lot of what I find compelling about Tim as a character, and if I were in charge of DC, I’d bring him back to life.  This would make Tim unhappy but would IMO make for good plotlines.

Jack and Tim’s relationship is Complicated (TM)...

Jack and Tim hug in Nightwing 20 / Jack impulsively yanks a TV out of the wall in Robin 45 / Tim grieves in Identity Crisis

“I could tell the truth.  But I don’t.” - Robin 66

...and it involves a whole lot of Tim lying, and feeling guilty about lying, and thinking about telling the truth, and choosing again and again to keep lying.

And I think that’s great.

Below the cut:

Shorter version - key points about Jack

Really long version - my gentler take (vigilantism is choir and Jack loves sports) vs. my harsher take (Jack has some major flaws)

Final thoughts

Shorter version - key points about Jack:

He’s a bad parent.  He’s self-centered, he consistently prioritizes his own comfort and interests over his son’s, and when upset, he does things like order Tim off to boarding school.

But he’s never a bad parent in an actionable way.  He’s not like David Cain or Arthur Brown, who are abusive monsters.  Jack’s not a monster!  He just...kinda sucks.

He genuinely loves Tim. If Jack’s aware that Tim’s disappeared or is in trouble, he’s always worried and upset.  He periodically resolves to be a better dad, and IMO he’s always sincere.

And Tim loves him, a lot.  Tim’s protective of him and worries about him when he’s kidnapped or in danger, and when they’re reunited, Tim’s really relieved and usually hugs him (and Jack hugs back!). 

...But they have very little in common, and that’s a problem. Jack doesn’t value the things that Tim values, or respect the people that Tim admires, or care about the things that Tim’s interested in.  Tim lies to him a lot, but that’s partly because he correctly guesses Jack wouldn’t respond well if he knew the truth of what Tim’s up to.

The Batfamily is a surrogate family that Tim’s drawn to because of the ways his real family doesn’t meet his emotional needs…but also he feels guilty about that and disloyal. (And to the extent that his dad recognizes what’s going on, he's jealous and resentful!)

Very long version:

(LISTEN I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS)

Okay!  So first: Jack’s a character who IMO is pretty up for interpretation.  You can interpret him very charitably, and make excuses for the bad behavior, and fill in the blanks sympathetically when situations are ambiguous; or you can interpret him uncharitably, and emphasize the bad behavior. I don’t think either approach is invalid - it depends on what kind of story you’re interested in!  I have enjoyed Bad Dad stories and also stories that redeem Jack.

My personal take on canon is that Jack and Tim’s relationship is in a gray area.  Jack's definitely neglectful, and he does prioritize other things over Tim, but he’s never so bad that Tim can easily reject him, and he's never so bad that Bruce could justify taking Tim away.  He's just...not great.  Tim loves him, and feels loyal to him, but it’s a very mixed-up complicated love.

I have a gentler take and a harsher one which I switch between as the spirit moves me. xD

My Gentler Take (tl;dr: vigilantism is choir and Jack loves sports)

Here’s the core conflict: Jack and Tim are very different people with different values.  Tim idolizes Bruce and Dick and vigilantism, and secretly gets involved, knowing his dad will hate it. He gets increasingly wrapped up in his secret world and lies to his dad...because if his dad finds out, he’ll make Tim quit.

This is a great setup for an ongoing comic.  It’s practical, because it provides endless potential for plotlines, and it’s nicely thematic, because it maps closely onto relatable real-life situations with extracurricular activities:

Tim the drama nerd whose dad thinks he’s playing football and not in the school play; 

Tim the closeted-queer kid secretly getting involved in his school’s politically-active Gay-Straight Alliance; 

Tim the choir kid whose dad only values making money and wants him to go into the family business (and Tim keeps promising himself he'll give up choir soon, definitely soon, but maybe he'll stay in just a liiiittle longer, because they need him, you see, the last tenor left town, so...); 

Tim the computer geek with the sports-obsessed dad (this one’s just canon);

etc. etc.  

The extracurricular metaphor works pretty well for Tim’s relationship to vigilantism.  Tim's involved in his "extracurricular" because he genuinely thinks it's important and fulfilling, and he values it and wants to be good at it. He idolizes Bruce and Dick because they're good at it. He's been collecting information about it since he was a little kid, and hiding it from his parents because he knows they wouldn't approve. And mayyyybe there's also an element of low-key rebellion against his dad, and maybe that's secretly part of the appeal. And yet also as Tim gets more and more invested, he starts to daydream: maybe I could tell my dad and he'd be proud of me and supportive. But he doesn't, because actually he knows his dad would be upset and angry and make him quit.

And - again, just like with lonely kids and extracurricular hobbies - one of the things that happens is that Tim starts getting his unfilled emotional needs met ... by people he knows through this secret hobby. And people like Bruce and Dick start turning into a surrogate family. Which Tim feels guilty about. And also as Tim gets more and more wrapped up in their world, he has to lie to his dad even more, which means the distance between Tim and his dad gets bigger and bigger and more and more unfixable.

I love this dilemma. It's simple, it's recognizable, it provides endless sources for conflict, and there's no obvious solution! Tim can't tell Jack: he'll make Tim quit! And Tim doesn't want to quit, because he loves choir / art / theater / whatever.  Yeah, it’s difficult, and there are challenges, and sometimes he has doubts...but at the end of the day, he cares about it a lot.  And everything he values is there, and all the people he admires and cares about are there, and all he wants in the world is to feel like he's one of them and belongs there. So he has to lie, even though he doesn't want to lie, and he feels guilty about it...

...but also he ends up lying more and more.

(Sidenote: I think it's important that Tim chooses to keep lying - Tim's narration often glosses this as "I have to lie to my dad," and that's certainly how it feels to Tim, but this... isn't quite true. He has to lie to his dad, because if he doesn't, his dad will get mad at him and try to stop him, not because he literally has no choice about it.)

Other Reasons Why I Like The "Secret Extracurricular" Interpretation

(tl;dr it complicates not just Tim's relationship with his dad, but also all his other relationships)

Tim's problems have some obvious parallels to Steph and Cass, who both become vigilantes while rejecting their evil supervillain dads. But Jack isn't evil. And that means the Tim-and-Jack relationship is ambiguous and complicated in ways that I like. Steph and Cass can just leave their Bad Dads in prison, and say good riddance, and feel very righteous and triumphant about it! Tim’s more complicated. Tim gets into vigilantism ostensibly out of duty and altruism, but secretly, he's also involved for straight-up selfish self-fulfillment reasons. He's lonely, and bored, and his life feels pointless, but he thinks that Bruce and Dick are cool and amazing and he wants to be a part of the things that they do.  When his dad gets jealous of Tim’s relationship to Bruce, and feels like Tim’s looking for a surrogate family, he’s... not wrong.

And the ways in which Jack is not Actionably Bad complicate things from Bruce's POV.  If Jack was a straight-up villain, it’d be an easy call to keep in touch when Jack finds out and makes Tim quit...but he’s not a villain, not really.  So what do you do?  Do you try to surreptitiously stay in touch with Tim even though you’re ignoring his dad’s express wishes and thus forcing Tim to sneak around?  Do you respect his dad’s wishes and stay away from Tim even though you have a years-long relationship at this point?  

Again: a bit similar to the extracurricular analogy.  Say you’re the choir director and you’ve built this whole relationship with a kid in the choir, and you’re an important mentor to him and you care about him etc. etc. etc.... and then right before a big performance, his dad finds out he’s been secretly involved, and yanks him out.  How would you react?  Well, maybe kind of in some of the ways Bruce reacts.  You replace him. You’re annoyed with him. You miss him. You want him to come back. You’re also worried about him.  You’re upset with his dad.  But also... what should you do, exactly?

Bruce and Alfred and Dick care about Tim as if he were part of their family, but he’s not part of their family, and there’s a lot of interesting tension there.

My Harsher Take

Jack never hits his son.  But his temper is a big deal.

In his worst moments, he takes out his anger on Tim’s stuff - wrecking his room, or ripping his TV out of the wall and confiscating it.  When he’s worried about Tim, he usually expresses that fear by yelling at him / punishing him / sending him away - threatening to send him to boarding school in Metropolis in Robin III, or threatening to send him to military school abroad in Robin 92, or actually forcing him to go to an all-boys' boarding school post-NML.  

This is bad behavior!  It is Not Good!  

And you can easily connect the dots to a bunch of Tim’s terrible coping mechanisms, like the constant lying and or the fact that Tim’s go-to methods for dealing with interpersonal conflict are 1) repress it and pretend it never happened (most of his fights with Bruce), 2) withdraw from the relationship until he can pretend the conflict doesn’t exist (when his friends get mad at him in YJ, he quits the team for a while), or 3) literally run away from home.

Also, Jack is a Manly Man with firm opinions about how men behave vs. how women behave, and he thinks boys shouldn’t be scared and thinks Tim should date hot girls and pushes Tim to work out and wants him to play football and expresses period-typical sexism, etc. etc. etc. ... and though obviously this wasn’t what the writers had in mind at the time, all of that is certainly interesting to read backwards in the light of Tim as a queer character.

More Disorganized Thoughts on Jack Drake

Tim’s our hero, so we’re naturally more sympathetic to him, but it’s also true that relationships are a two-way street, and Tim doesn’t value any of the things his dad values, either.  Jack at various points is shown to care about grades, business, money, boarding schools, archeology, football, a kind of macho bragging-about-dating-hot-women ethos, and a very public and performative kind of caring. Tim tends to respond with discomfort or disinterest or even disgust.  When Jack gets on TV to try to rally the government to save his son from No Man’s Land, Tim isn’t touched—he’s mortified.  When Jack makes some bad investments and loses money, Jack’s deeply upset and his self-image is majorly impacted, and far from being sympathetic, Tim’s annoyed and kind of contemptuous of the idea that this is a problem.  Jack thinks fishing in the early morning and going to tennis matches is a fun father-son activity; Tim finds it exhausting and tedious.  And so on.

This means that Tim often longs to be closer to his dad in theory, but this longing is more tied to fantasy than to reality. He rarely seems to enjoy spending time with His-Dad-The-Actual-Person.  So for example, when Tim’s deadly ill with the Clench, he has an extremely poignant fever dream about telling his dad the truth and getting hugged…even as he insists in real-life to Alfred and Dick that he does not want them to tell his dad what’s going on.

The same is true of Jack, who IMO genuinely wants to be closer to his son and is continually declaring that he’s going to turn over a new leaf and get closer to his son…and just as continually backs out of activities or loses his temper when faced with spending time with his actual son.

Tim and his dad sadly get along best—by far—in Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder situations.  When Jack gets kidnapped or is in danger, Tim worries for him (and Tim grieves him deeply when he dies).  When Tim disappears or runs away, Jack’s genuinely worried about him.  So e.g. they have a really moving emotional reunion and hug when the earthquake hits Gotham, and Tim panics about his dad’s safety and comes running home (and meanwhile Jack’s been panicked about Tim’s safety!).  It’s the day-to-day, regular life stuff where they don’t connect.

Jack's written quite differently by different writers. Mostly, Tim's parents are at their least likable in his early appearances and early miniseries (this is where you get, for example, Jack and Janet being nasty at each other while a pained employee looks on, and Tim disappointed to once again get news of where his parents are via postcard - "I guess that sums them up! Never know where they’re going to be–or when–or even how long!” - and Tim alone on school break, and Bruce and Alfred thinking there's something weird going on with Tim's parents, etc. etc.). Jack's more sympathetic but still often unlikable in most of Tim's Robin solo, and he's almost invisible (but positively treated if he does show up) in Tim's team books.

For obvious reasons, Jack's remembered way more sympathetically after his death. Tim's completely devastated by Jack's murder, which he arrives moments too late to prevent, and he basically never gets over it. We see him grieving Jack again and again in Robin, and also in Teen Titans, and also in Resurrection, and again in the Halloween Special, and again in Batman: Blackest Night, and all the way up to the end of Red Robin. Tim also grieves for an extended time over Janet - he hallucinates a happy reunion with her when he's feverish in Contagion, and hallucinates her in the final issue of Robin, and the reveal-your-buried-emotions song in Robin 102 brings up his grief for her too (meanwhile, other characters dance or laugh or otherwise get giddy).  Tim’s grief over his parents’ deaths is intense and long-lasting.

I'm not going to clip comic panels because this is long enough, but if you're curious, here's a nice and fairly lengthy compilation of comic panels with Tim and Jack.

If you're interested in a Jack-centric story with a softer-but-still-recognizably-canon take on Jack, I really like the way Jack’s narration is written in the one-shots Heart Humble (set shortly before Jack dies) and Never a Hero (Ra's resurrects him during Brucequest, and Jack's archeology skills turn out to be unexpectedly useful).

[mothvalentino]

@theacexfspades redemption verse starter; @fizzapop (mentioned)

Given that Fizz had allowed him to stay at Ozzie's for however long he wanted, Val was now free to explore the rest of the Lust Ring. Before leaving the Vees, he had often fantasized about what it would be like. As vivid as his imagination could be, reality turned out to be way more spectacular.

The moth could hardly decide where to go first, every location he drove by tempting him with different pleasures. He ended up parking his motorcycle between a swinger and a BDSM club, still undecided about which one he wanted to check out first.

A familiar-looking succubus was standing nearby, and Val took off his helmet before approaching him.

ཐིཋྀ "Which club would you recommend?", he asked casually, trying to remember where he had seen this guy before.

[fandomrantsandtwittertakes]

[the-eclectic-wonderer]

I saw a comment on twitter that convinced me to give a chance to the Italian dub of Agatha All Along and. dear god. the fight between Agatha and Rio in E1 is so sexually charged in Italian. like it already was but. holy shit.

[thevoiceofnv]

Cecil is listening to the music.

It’s such a lovely, pleasant orchestra, his house at night. He could listen to it 𝑎𝑙𝑙 night.

The rhythm of the stars sparkling in the sky, the French horn of them playing bright and warm, metallic and twinkling, rich and velvet. They fill the night, light up the dark, give the moon’s tuba an accompaniment. The brass above their head is so beautiful.

The night air is woodwinds, ringing like the windchimes Esteban made out of rabbit bones and jingle bells and streamers, hanging on their front porch. When the breeze moves along, the flutes sound; when the temperature cools, there is a saxophone in the distance. The wisps of clouds that gather above, the mist that slinks along the ground, are clarinet and bassoon; they fill those small gaps in the sound.

Night Vale is nearly a cacophony— it is almost chaos— but it is just enough to make sense. The streets are paved with piano keys; they make sweet music whenever someone takes a step outside. His neighbors are pipe organs, harps, keyboards, harpsichords, a medley of music that fits into odd angles and breaks off in pieces and still becomes a puzzle-picture all the same.

Their home is all the string, strung up around him in lingering notes. The walls are built on violin; the foundation of the house is a double bass. The light fixtures are low, dark, humming with cello. Everywhere there is the comfortable, crowded, familiar feeling of home, and it is carried along by the viola.

Esteban is his percussion section, his joy, his enthusiasm made whole, his heart outside his body. His passion is his snare drum; his curiosity is his timpani; his devotion is his cymbals. Cecil can hear a tambourine in his son’s energetic exclamations, and there is a pounding bass drum behind his skin, a power he is still growing, that rises in tempo all the time.

Carlos is a whale song. The frequencies are plentiful, beautiful; there are layers to the music inside of him. He is patterned, and he is rhythmic, and he is something that can both be explained and cannot. He is sonar; he is undersea; he is from the beginning of time, and will last until the end. The ringing call of him echoes through Cecil’s mind, an accompaniment to the orchestra around him as he curls into Cecil in bed, face buried in his throat, arm wound around him, legs tucked into his, a hand planted on his belly. His breath spreads warm across Cecil’s heart; the song is built of familiarity and love. Family.

There is such an orchestra around him. He’s not sure he is the composer— he’s not sure there is a composer— and it’s so beautiful, all the same. Maybe even more beautiful for it.

And all these sounds— the sky, and the city, and their home, and their son, and his husband, and his music— all sing together into a symphony, a philharmonic, incredible and impossible. Cecil closes his eyes and hums along.

He, himself, has a tone all his own. He has his own music that is inherent to him; his chest rings, and his heart has its own timbre, and it shivers through his insides in metronomic time with the songs around him. His tone falls in time with everything else, and it slots so perfectly into place, Cecil sighs— and the low rumble of his voice— 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑉𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒— just serves to complete the fragment of the orchestra his tone contributes.

And then, of course, the new tone.

He listens to it with pleasure and delight. Late at night like this, when Cecil can turn his eyes inward and listen to his own heart-tone and blood-rush and thought-crimes without anyone else noticing, it’s so much easier to hear his own music— and deeper, too. To hear his newest tone, the timbre that nearly matches his own, but— brighter. Lighter. An octave above his, shimmering, not quite opaque, still forming its part of the song.

And still such a lovely part of the chorus. Like it was always meant to be here, fitting into the orchestra, chiming away beneath Carlos’s hand.

Cecil lays his own hand over the back of Carlos’s. The tone rings and sings in response, and Cecil realizes what has pitched it away from his own— it’s Carlos’s song, the waves of his whale song, melted into the pitch.

Together— altogether— all, together— it is such sweet, beautiful music.

Everyone is asleep. The city around them, Night Vale resting; Carlos beside him, tucked into him; Esteban between them, wriggled in after waking up halfway through the night; and the rest— the night air, the sky, the stars, the moon, the neighbors, the foundation, the home, the bed— until they meet the tones and surround them.

Cecil listens to the music. It’s so beautiful. He could listen to it forever.

He tightens his grip on Carlos’s hand, sighs, and relaxes into the sound. Even if he’s struggling to get comfortable enough to sleep, still sick enough to feel miserable and restless— he’s never so uncomfortable that he can’t find comfort in Carlos.

The music flows around him, through him, and manifests itself into radio waves. They shimmer around him; the music is audible, and he listens with delight to the manifestation of the song. It finds its way through the air, the rhythmic air, the musical air, until it sings through the radio tower and into the speakers throughout Night Vale.

Cecil doesn’t even notice. He’s half-asleep, with radio waves singing around him, in between conscious and not, and listening to his new favorite song. And everything—

Everything feels 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡.

[official-wonho]

[240904] iwonhoyou's Threads update 💙Solo Debut 4th Anniversary💙

[dirtwatchman]

PARTIES: Caleb TIME: After this conversation SUMMARY: Another demon…or three, find Caleb. WARNINGS: None

The demon birds really had gotten out of control since the last time Caleb had dealt with them. Had they multiplied? Rolled in with the fog that was causing so much unease in town? Did it matter? The only thing that really mattered here was trying to avoid them like the plague that they were as he drove the empty roads towards Wyatt’s place. He could see them occasionally flying over, some of them carrying a struggling body, but he was trying his best to ignore the tug in his heart and keep going. He couldn’t save these people. Useless on his own, the zombie could only reflect on the help he’d always had when facing anything that could cause bodily harm. The only time he’d ever really caused damage…well, he hadn’t been himself, had he?

Suddenly brought out of his thoughts by the appearance of one of the demons standing in the road, Caleb slammed on his brakes. In hindsight, he probably should have gunned it right into the bastard but the man was poor enough as it was and buying a new car was not a possibility. He sat idling in the middle of the road as the monstrous bird thing seemed to stare him down (though, who could tell where it was actually looking?). Mind racing, Caleb could only land on one solution; reversing the hell out of there. 

He turned, looking out the back windshield as he intended to back up and go down another street but there was another of the demons standing just behind him, head tilted as if it were taunting him. “Fuck…” His whispered breath did nothing to calm his nerves, only intensified them as the two creatures started to move closer. “No, no, no, this isn’t happening.” Caleb turned to jump out, running on his mind with hopes that he could maybe get somewhere but he stopped himself from opening the door when he came face to face with another of the creatures. Just like that, he was surrounded. There wasn’t even a fight he could pretend to put up as they circled his truck and all he could blame for that was himself. Why had he stopped? Why hadn’t he thrown caution to the wind and destroyed the truck to get away? 

Some part of him wondered if there was a fucked up need to be near these things after what happened with Aesil. He wondered if maybe his need to understand them, to learn more about them, had him subconsciously looking to be around them. 

But no, that was too crazy even for him, right? 

There was no time to dwell on that as the door to the truck was wrenched off the hinges (so much for no damage) and the bird demon put every single hand it had on him. The first instinct is always to run, the second is to fight. Caleb kicked out, his foot landing right in the creature's gut causing it to let out that ungodly wail he’d heard during his last round with a couple of these. Maybe that’s why they were ganging up on him. Their brethren were in a pile of ooze somewhere, one of their brains long gone after having given Caleb the sustenance he had needed at the time. “Get…the fuck…off of me!” He kicked out again, more wailing hitting his failing ears but the creature's hold was strong and its friends had joined it. They yanked Caleb out of the truck and the hands wrapped around his arms started to snake around his middle. 

He was airborne. The zombie struggled against the hold of the demon as he did his best to fight his way out of its grip. But if he fell through the air and landed on the ground he knew he’d become mindless, going after anything that moved to get a meal. The thought made him stop, not sure if he wanted that or to let himself get taken without a fight. Going after innocent people to heal himself would cause more guilt to pile on top of the already monumental one that weighed his shoulders down. But….he also had people to fight for. He wasn’t in a place where he felt entirely alone just yet even if Caleb suspected that day would come. 

Fuck it, he’d take on the guilt.

Yanking his arm out of the creature's grasp, he reared his elbow back as hard as he could. The wail was so loud, his elbow in so much pain, that he knew he’d hit the beak. But the grasp on the rest of his body remained tight like the thing was used to this fight. Nothing Caleb did could get it to let go. Not until they’d landed. 

The man didn’t have time to look around before the creature wailed right into his face, making the zombie stumble back. He’d thought he’d hit solid rock but his body kept going, Caleb landing on his back before opening his eyes to nothing but bright white that made even him squint against it. There was someone standing above him, head tilted with a horrified expression. It took a split second for his eyes to adjust before Caleb was staring up at his own landlord. His brows knit together, mouth opening to say something until he realized there was no use. The man was completely frozen. “Brandon?” He stood, hand moving in front of the man's face. 

“S’no use, lad. He can’ answer.” His head whipped around at the voice but before he could find who it belonged to he took in the many other people standing around in the same state as Brandon. None of them were moving, none of them could talk, they were like human statues littering the bright white of….wherever he was. Blemishes in the otherwise nothingness. “They’ve been like dis since I got here… couldn’ tell you how long ago dat was.”

He finally found the grizzled man who was informing him of the little information he could. His large white beard moved with every word he spoke, blue eyes twinkling with the rage behind them. “Why aren’t we like them?” The man shrugged as he thumped one of the frozen women with gnarled fingers. “Don’ know that either. Just know that I’ve been here too damn long withou’ company. It’ll drive a man mad, it will.” It was almost like he was glad Caleb was there and while the zombie could understand the relief it also annoyed him to no end. That fucking bird…demon…whatever it was could go rot. “Guess I also know that those things out there have plans. Might be a good thing that we’re stuck here. I did see your double leave so I’m sure people will never know you’re gone.”

Well…that was new. “My double? What do you mean?” The man stared at him, taking a break from messing with the other people that were frozen before scoffing at Caleb. “They’re replacin’ all of us. You didn’ notice a difference with your Brandon, then?” The zombie looked back at his landlord, remembering their interaction from the day before. He had seemed a little off but Caleb had just figured he was tired. Looking around them again, taking note of all the faces whether familiar or not, he realized that some of them had been missing for months as well. What were they doing with all of these people? 

It wasn’t like he was going to be able to find out with only one other person in here with him, that person just as clueless as him. All he knew was one of those assholes that flew out of the beak had brought him here and some fucking double was taking his place. “Not again…” He shook his head, his mind going back to the beginning of June when he would beg Aesil to not witness what the demon was doing with his own body. He’d always thought the knowing was the worst part, the guilt was intensified because he had been present for all of it. But now…now that he didn’t know what the hell his supposed double was up to he felt like that was worse. There was no telling what that bastard would do to blow up Caleb’s life and that fact was already gnawing at him as he took a seat to settle in. What else was there to do? He at least had a friend…or an annoyance. Whichever one would soon reveal itself. 

Meanwhile, there was an exact replica of Caleb getting back inside of his truck through the open area where the door had been torn off. Its hands gripped the steering wheel tight, flexing against the softness as he tilted his neck, trying to get a better feel for the new body. “You couldn’t have left the truck in tact?” He eyed one of the birds before watching it fly off, probably in search of another victim. With it gone, he was free to look around the cab of the vehicle for personal belongings so he could get some insight. It wouldn’t be long now, he wouldn’t have to pretend as long as some of the others, but he still needed to know a little bit about this man to make things believable until the sacrifices were ready to be made. Fingering the mobile device that had been left in the passenger seat, he figured that was the best place to start.

“Let’s get this over with.”

[worstdroughts]

" what have i done now? " / @starsdrew.

[depressomocha]

Sinclair dumping

[dramatisperscnae]

adding to @normaltothemax's draft count for reasons >w>

It's been a week. Maybe longer, it's hard to say; the days seem to blur together sometimes. Have ever since he got the news. Clint dead. Killed in action. Natasha told him, quiet and serious, and for all she's got a better poker face than he does Dick could still pick up on her agitation. She'd clearly been upset. That meant it was real.

He hasn't taken the ring off. Not yet. He can't bear to. It's all he has of Clint right now, until he's allowed to go back to Clint's apartment, start packing up his things. SHIELD thinks he's a civilian, won't let him in there until they've made sure nothing confidential is left. But Natasha had at least brought Lucky over; it's the least Dick can do, to make sure Clint's dog still has a home

Besides, having Lucky to take care of means he has something outside of his work to focus on. Which he needs. He knows from experience that living the life 24/7 is a bad idea, but it's his natural response to a situation like this. Lucky keeps him from doing that.

It's been a long few days, though; even without his throwing himself into his work, he's been unable to really sleep. His bed feels far too big, too empty now, with Clint gone. Stupid, maybe, since they hadn't always shared a bed as it was, but…well, they won't ever be sharing a bed again, will they? Clint's gone.

Dick runs a hand through his hair as he drags himself back up to the Wayne Tower penthouse, pulling his mask off and preparing to catch an excited Lucky as he usually does when he gets home from patrol. When he steps inside the penthouse, though, there's no sign of Lucky at all…and the television's on. It hasn't been on for days. And it's playing Dog Cops; he recognizes the theme song with a pang. Clint loved that show.

Surely Lucky hasn't figured out how to use the remote, has he?

Confused and cautious, he peers into the living room, not sure what he expects to see. Whatever it is, it's not a far-too-familiar blond man lounging on his sofa, drinking coffee straight out of the pot with his feet on the table and Lucky tucked against his side.

That can't be possible. It can't be. Dick's not even aware he's taken a step or two forward, staring in mute shock. This has to be some trick, or he's finally just snapped, or something; that can't be Clint Barton just sitting in his living room like nothing happened at all. Can it…?

[villainsidestep]

oh fawn we are really in it now

[loftylockjaw]

TIMING: 1999, 2004, 2024 LOCATION: New Orleans, Louisiana | Wicked's Rest, Maine SUMMARY: Wyatt celebrates his birthday.

— “Ahh, my sweet boy, look at you! So grown up!” The nine year old stood proudly with his fists on his hips, rolling onto the balls of his feet and bouncing excitedly as his mother straightened up again, pencil in hand. Whipping around to face the door frame, he gave a squeal of delight to see how much he’d grown since his last birthday. 

“I’m gonna get taller than you, mama! Feet n’ feet taller!” He stretched his hands up over his head, causing his mother to laugh as she wrote a small 9 over the line on the wood, her bright gaze sliding upward as she brought the pencil thoughtfully to her lips, tapping it there.

“What you think, cher… here? Will you reach all the way here?” She pointed to a spot on the doorframe and Wyatt scoffed, waving his hands at her. 

“Higher, mama! All the way to the top!” 

“You hear that, Gustave? All the way to the top!” His father sat smiling at them from the living room, laughing and shaking his head. 

“I believe it,” he chuckled, closing his book at getting up from the worn out couch, crossing the room to meet his wife and child in the doorway, ruffling the wild curls on Wyatt’s head with one hand as he reached for his wife’s waist with the other, pulling her in for a kiss. Wyatt made a face and sped back into the kitchen, relishing the scents that welcomed him. 

“When are the others getting back from the shop?!”

“Soon, cher, they had to go pick up a few things for the party,” Lisette answered him, following him into the kitchen. Right on cue, they heard the front door opening, and Wyatt was zipping past his parents to greet his aunts and uncles and cousins, hollering and kicking up a ruckus all the way. Marcel was first through the door, dropping into a squat as his little cousin came sprinting at him, catching him up in a hug and spinning him around on the spot. 

“Bonne fête, little man!” 

“What did you get, what did you get?” He was breathless from the laughter and the pestering, wanting nothing more than to rip into the bags they were carrying. And there was one—something wrapped in brown paper and with a bow. Was it a gift? Was it his gift? His eyes went wide, arms thrown around Marcel’s neck as he stared at the package. His uncle smiled at him, holding it out to him. Wyatt took it quickly, looking around until he caught his mother’s gaze. 

“What is it?”

“Well open it, baby. It’s from all of us, we all pitched in for it.” Wyatt writhed in his cousin’s arms and the young man set him down again, laughing while the little lamia got right to work shredding the paper with his claws, gnawing at the strong twine with his sharpened teeth until everything came loose. 

It was an instrument case. Sucking in a sharp breath, Wyatt flicked open the latches and carefully lifted the lid. Staring back at him was his very own trumpet, bright and shiny and new. It was the first new thing he’d ever gotten in his life, and he felt his chest swelling with joy and pride. Tears sprang to his eyes and he looked around at all of them, at a loss for words for once in his short life. They were all beaming back at him, watching as he finally pulled it out of the case and turned it over in his hands, shivering as he clutched it to his chest. 

“I’m… I’m gonna be the best trumpeter there ever was!” the boy shouted, punching the air with one fist as he hopped around from foot to foot. “I’m gonna be famous! I’m gonna sell out concerts! Just you wait!” His family laughed, all in high spirits watching the youngest of them finally have access to his dreams. 

Not long after, everyone was crowded into the kitchen, enjoying all the food that’d been made for the special occasion. Once the main course was finished, Wyatt sat at the head of the table, and they all started up a chorus of Happy Birthday as his mother brought over the tarte à la bouillie, his favorite dessert and the same one she always made on his birthday. Out of its center stood a lone candle, and once it was set in front of him, Wyatt closed his eyes tightly, hugged his trumpet to his chest, and gave it a good, hard thought. 

I wish… that I’ll be part of the most amazing jazz band the world’s ever heard. And I wish for my mama n’ papa to have the best, most amazing restaurant in all New Orleans! And— Three wishes was probably pushing his luck. He opened his eyes again, blowing out the candle while everyone cheered. 

—

He was turning fourteen today, but there was no party with his family—he was too busy helping out at the restaurant. His mother still made him his tarte à la bouillie, complete with birthday candle, which he softly thanked her for and ate quickly in the back storage room, happy in spite of the work to be done. When he reemerged into the kitchen, Lisette asked him to get some items down from a high shelf—he was already taller than she was, just as he’d predicted. As her son reached for the containers, his shirt rode up above his belly button and she noticed a nasty bruise on his side. Her throat constricted, her immediate reaction being to ask him what had happened, but she had a pretty good idea. He always got defensive when she asked about his injuries, upset enough to lie to her face, so she’d stopped pestering him about them years ago. But this ‘new job’ he had at the corner shop had always been suspect, especially the hours. She wasn’t stupid, even though he seemed to think he had her fooled. The money he gave her was more than a wage at a corner shop would ever be, but… she didn’t want to argue with him about it. It wasn’t worth it, fighting with her son. He was as stubborn as they came, and if this is what he wanted to do, that was his choice. But it still hurt, and she still wished she could convince him to stop. Convince him that they didn’t need the money (even though they did) and that he should get back to chasing his dreams. He was just a boy, but he acted like he was a man. It broke her heart. It was why she worked so hard to try and get this restaurant off the ground, to try and expand their profits, so he wouldn’t feel like he had to do whatever it took to help support them. She felt like a bad mother most days, the only relief from that anguish being the smile on her son’s face when she praised him for all his good, hard work. 

Wyatt handed her one canister, then leaned in to plant a kiss on her forehead. “Thanks for the tart, mama,” he hummed, moving past her to go get his apron and get to work. Lisette brought a hand to her eyes, sniffing and swiping away the tears that had collected there. 

“Of course, baby,” she called over her shoulder, shaking her head and setting the canister down on the counter before going to wash her hands. She had to figure out a way to bring it up with him again. She couldn’t keep watching him do this to himself. 

—

It didn’t taste as good as he remembered. He wasn’t a baker, he knew that, not like she’d been, but still. It just…. lacked something. Wyatt stared down at the little tart in front of him, with a fork shoved in it and a couple bites missing, letting out a soft sigh. He got up from the stool, circling the island back into the kitchen and hunting through the drawers for a few minutes before finding what he was looking for. The man returned to his seat, sticking the candle into the middle of the tart, staring at it for a moment before lighting it with the lighter he’d also found in the drawer. It flickered, casting shadows and a warm glow on his pale face, but he didn’t smile at it. He just watched it burn down, never blowing it out as the wax dripped down onto the tart. It eventually sizzled out on its own, and Wyatt picked up the plate, getting up again to scrape its contents into the trash. 

It’d been the same every year since he’d left Louisiana. He didn’t know why he ever expected anything to change.

[mothvalentino]

@fizzapop redemption starter

After abandoning the Vees, Val had become a target for retaliation, not only from his former partners but also from everyone he had wronged in the past. Weaker than before, he was in desperate need of a new safe haven which was when he remembered that Fizz had given him a one-way ticket to the Lust Ring.

Using the magical item, the moth was teleported right in front of Ozzie's club. His shoulders relaxed with immeasurable relief, even though his body was still struggling with the after-effects of losing the power from all the souls he used to own.

He asked for Fizz at the entrance, barely able to keep himself upright. When the bouncer denied him entry over and over, his temper threatened to boil over but before he could even lift a finger, everything turned black. Valentino collapsed on the street, only hearing muffled shouting in the distance.

[hanakihan]

to follow @i-bring-crack, here i present you all

Sung Jin-Woo / Woo Jin-Chil Weird AU WIPs Bingo (because my fantasy runs wild)

Fatal Frame AU: Jin-Chul disappears on assignement to investigate disappearance of people near small village. Jin-Woo, worried, plagued by nightmares and paranoid over moving shadows in their shared apartment, goes to find Jin-Chul himself. He had no idea that he’s Abyss’ creation that helped It to find and seek back what belongs to It. Jin-Chul was the only survivor in sacrificial night because his mother helped him to escape and ritual failed, entire village consumed in eternal darkness that froze this place in time. Jin-Woo, fighting with his nature as Abyss’ creation, arrives at sacrificial altar, where remaining piece awaits, clad in white and reds. The question is, will he succumb to shadows and finish ritual that failed or will defy his fate.

Houseki no Kuni AU: Clinohumite (Jin-Woo) is a right hand for Gray Diamond (Go Gun-Hee), not the hardest yet not the most fragile of gemstones. Being the one to keep track of all gemstones and their schedules, it falls on him to find always sneaking Alexandrite (Jin-Woo) and finally assign him a proper task. Game of hide and seek results in first proper meeting, the best fighter among them all that catches Clinohumite from falling and breaking, while shining purple eyes laugh at him. Since Clinohumite won by finding him, Alexadrite arrives next day at meeting in clear blue glory, under different light he changes his color and slightly personality. Clinohumite once was on Moon and returned from it barely whole but has no memories of it, because Alexandrite was his initial partner on patrol duty until he failed to save Clinohumite from abduction and that’s why he avoids him, ashamed of his previous weakness.  Clinohumite’s abduction resulted in appearance of other self in Alexandrite (basically pre Monarch awakening Jin-Woo as blue hue Alexandrite at day and Shadow Monarch Jin-Woo as purple hue Alexandrite at night).

Idol AU: Jin-Chul wanted to be a normal office clerk, not to work as an idol manager. He lacks enthusiasm but he gets the job done, but even then he decides that he’ll quit after his final assignment. Final assignment happened to be the most popular Idol in South Korea - Sung Jin-Woo, who, compared to other Idols, is actually nice and easy to manage. Poor Jin-Chul has no idea what a disaster Jin-Woo is, especially after Jin-Chul caught his eyes.  ‘After our contract ends i’m going to retire’ ‘Oh great i plan to graduate from idol industry and take a vacation with you’ ‘Congratulatio-- WAIT WHAT’ And Jin-Woo’s graduation alnum was full of love songs that broke top charts in less than a day.

Absolute Being Incarnation AU: No matter what, Shadow Monarch seeks his God, while God seeks familiar presence. They both awakened through pain and suffering, but in the end they’re together after lifetimes of separation. They’re Origin and Finality of everything, but most of all, they’re two pieces that perfectly match. 

Gacha AU: Jin-Woo was a prime example of pop-culture illiterate. And then apparently Jin-Ah drags him into gacha hell where in addition to his Shadow Monarch title he earns The Supreme Whale title and he absolutely doesn’t regret speding money on 2D husbando when in theory he can have 3D one. Two pining dorks whaling the hell out of game for each other’s content because they’re afraid to speak about their feelings in real life.

Childhood sweethearts AU: Jin-Chul was a white crow that other kids avoided. That is until a really cute boy approached him and asked if he wants to play. Jin-Chul had a thought to be rude so other boy will leave him alone but honestly it won’t hurt to play with a child who’s younger by some years? After that they were playmates for some time because Jin-Chul’s orphanage took kids out to play in park, and one day this boy gifted Jin-Chul really cute but clearly child made plushies of himself and that boy, and Jin-Chul almost cried because no one gifted something directly to him and for him. And boy had courage to propose to him despite being at least head shorter and younger, and Jin-Chul told him to grow up first. That was their last meeting, but Jin-Chul still held those plushie dolls dear to his heart, caring and repairing them when time came. Jin-Woo never forgotten that lonely but pretty boy from childhood to whom he promised to marry once he grows up, and deducted it was Jin-Chul after seeing those old plushies that are clearly taken good care of.  ‘If that boy from years ago to propose to you again, will you accept?’ And Jin-Chul silently drops plushies he was holding, seeing a fine man that still look at him with same admiration and affection just like that pure boy on playground.

Howl’s Moving Castle AU: Jin-Chul is a workaholic who rarely rests, but he still finds time to be kind to people. After unknowingly helping a Shadow Monarch in disguise, he gets cursed by other Monarchs for contacting with exiled one. Now it’s up to Shadow Monarch to return a kindness favor to human who got caught in this mess and fall in love with warmth and brightness of his soul despite his eldery appearance. Also there’s definitely a scene of Jin-Woo lovingly stroking Jin-Chul’s golden locks as man becomes youthful in his sleep again wrapped in blankets near fireplace.

Hades and Persephone AU: Under request of Gun-Hee (Demeter), Jin-Chul (Persephone) visits Underworld to welcome and help new God - Jin-Woo (Hades), since Jin-Chul knew previous Shadow Monarch and helped him from time to time to run things in Underworld. Because Jin-Woo had no idea, he accidentially fed Jin-Chul food from Underworld. Jin-Chul found a solution, thus creating seasonal cycle. Jin-Woo feels bad about his mistake and doesn’t notice how he fell in love with god of spring and nature.

Frog Prince AU: Jin-Woo is a soon to be heir to a kingdom, and he needs a spouse. Unfortunately, he’s not interested in getting married when whole country is open for explaration. In the end, his parents make him to shot an arrow - where it lands, there will be his spouse. Jin-Woo finds his arrow in swamps and near his arrow is an ordinary looking frog. Ashamed to lie to his parents, he brings frog back to palace, where he becomes an object of laughter. Heir’s spouse shall go through trials to show their skills, but seeing that heir brought a frog with him, no one took it seriously. But surprisingly, each morning Jin-Woo found each required item made with utmost care. Jin-Woo goes to bed ready to be a laughterstock next evening because there will be a ball to congratulate him on his engagement on swamp frog, but before falling asleep he feels someone stroking his head and whispering to wait for him at ball night. At that same night instead of a frog a beautiful man enters the room, a shining brilliance that adresses Jin-Woo as his future husband who took a good care of him while he was small and weak. Jin-Woo later finds and burns frog skin making things worse, because Jin-Chul was a cursed missing adopted prince that king Gun-Hee tried to find for years. Now it’s up to Jin-Woo to lift the curse and fix his mistakes.

Palace intrigue AU (Heavily inspired by Kusuriya no Hitorigoto and Cinderella): Jin-Chul’s parents were high ranked prostitutes in red light district that raised him in brothel. By sheer luck and because brothel owner knew General Go Gun-Hee by old friendship, he ended up in his care as a right hand man. By no mans Jin-Chul was a best educated man, but he knew basics enough to preform taks given to him. Who would’ve known that during his visit to palace with Gun-Hee he’ll manage to save princess Jin-Ah from being poisoned? Apparently brothel knowledge comes in handy when someone tries to assassinate someone. And just like that a faceless soldier with no name behind him and no education gains a favor of the Emperor, whom almost no one saw. And on top of that some palace minister, who happens to be Gun-Hee’s friend, has a tendency to drag Jin-Chul into problems while Gun-Hee laughs on background because while Emperor Jin-Woo is in disguise to escape his obligations as a ruler of a nation, it’s still hilarious to see that sparkle in Emperor’s eyes when your adopted son scolds the Emperor for doing something dumb.

IB-inspired AU: Jin-Chul is a busy salaryman, but when given free tickets to attend an art gallery dedicated to famous missing painter Sung Jin-Woo who had a very distinct style focusing on blues and purples, he attended. Too caught up in admiring art pieces, Jin-Chul doesn’t notice changes in gallery and accidentially falls into one of paintings. Ending up in reverse gallery with nothing but a vibrant yet dead looking yellow rose he wanders around and tries to avoid hostile Shadow series paintings that came to life. In the end Jin-Chul finds missing painter - albeit he has some memory issues. But then also he finds that Jin-Woo made a themed self portrait for Shadow Series before his disappearance titled ‘Shadow Monarch’. Now Jin-Chul questions who’s real and who’s impostor while questioning if the person he bonded with is the real Sung Jin-Woo or a pretending Shadow Monarch.

Genderswap AU: Jin-Chul never understood what Hunter Sung found in her - he got the looks, the power, everything he can desire at this point, he’s surrounded by best looking hunters out there, yet despite it all he follows her around, a workaholic, constantly tired and not best looking person out there. She’s tall and too sharp for a dream girl, no curves and softness, only sharp angles and muscle, no skirts and heels, only suits and occasional loafers. She even gets confused for a man most of the times so yes, what Hunter Sung potenially could’ve found in her is a complete mystery for her.  On side note if both are women, Jin-Woo domineering the fuck out of men but chosing bae over hoes because she has her lesbian priorities okay and because chairman’s right hand lady is so fun to tease

Nier AU: After fall of humanity, two Androids - B1 (Jin-Woo) and A8 (Jin-Chul) - continue to wander on Earth trying to fulfill their mission despite no need. B1, who in reality happened to be E1 type Android and A8 - an old model - locate and destroy Monarchs - signle A.I. units that stop Earth from self regenerating. They succeed, but in the end, nothing is left on them, empty falling apart shells that want to meet their end together, because maybe they found humanity while it ceased to exist? /whoever gets why there’s numbers 1 and 8 ilu

Titanic (kinda?) AU: a rich class young master and an ordinary overworked coal covered engineer meet on luxurious cruise ship even though they were never supposed to. What can go wrong on nighttime when both of them meet and talk without social boundaries surrounded by lull of waves? As a part of engineering team Jin-Chul stays on sinking ship and after securing his family Jin-Woo having none of this self sacrificial shit because Jin-Chul has people he cares about too.

Gambler/Organized crime AU: Investigator Jin-Chul having a cold case on his hands - and potentially, the Shadow Monarch, one of Monarchs that rule underground criminal world in Korea, has needed leads to finally solve it, so killing spree can be ended. Once a month his syndicate organizes gambling night - a type of gambling battle royale between participants and Shadow Generals for winning and having a chance to have an audience with unreacheable Shadow Monarch. Jin-Chul, desperate to find a lead, signs in as a participant and slowly climbs him way towards victory, avoiding death along the way. Surprisingly, he gets small aid from ‘benefactor’ who seems benevolent enough. Jin-Chul survives the night and has a meeting with a mysterious Shadow Monarch, who’s curious what a government dog (heh--) is doing in such place and why going to such lenghts. Jin-Chul saw Monarch’s face and learned his name over a cup of herbal tea and didn’t even thought how he’ll walk out of here alive after that. It was written all over his face and Jin-Woo had best laugh in years because of that and after drugs kicked in and exhausted Jin-Chul fell asleep, Jin-Woo spared him, curious of what Mister Investigator will do and will his actions shake Monarchs balance in underground world. 

Benelovent God AU (Crane's Return of a Favor inspired): Jin-Chul led a simple life as a peasant - there was food on his table and his adopted father was well, and that was enough for him. One night he got lost and stumbled upon a butterfly field, pleace clad in darkness yet luminated by flapping wings of blue butterflies. In middle of it grew an old majestic tree and right under it was almost destroyed altar. Jin-Chul, feeling tired after field work, tidied place a little and prayed to unknown god, asking for forgiveness and a chance to sleep near tree. Next day he wakes up covered by expensive looking robe and with butterflies sitting on him, but instead of taking anything, he draps it over altar and even leves small offering from remaining food he had. Jin-Chul continues to visit that altar and take care of it, eventually sharing how his day went or his troubles while doing work here, and when that happened, one of butterflies always ended up following him back home only to disappear later. With time his household started to flourish and life in village became so much better, and Jin-Chul one day asked if unknown god wants something in return for shown kindness and unknown god finally manifests, replying that Jin-Chul showed kindness first even though he had no idea to whom he prayed. It was kindness of a stray human that awakened a sleeping god that fell in love.

Fashion industry AU: Who would’ve thought that an average looking manager will catch worldwide known fashion designer’s eye? Jin-Woo was having a slump of ideas, none of best models inspired him, he had no one to model for his recently released collection photoshot. Enter Jin-Chul who was just accompanying one of models to end up dressed up and groomed for a photoshot under careful eye of essentric fashiom designer Jin-Woo. And then he gets an offer to be Jin-Woo’s personal model for next collection? Cue sexual tension during a simple measurements taking scene--

Blind and Mute AU: Jin-Chul was born blind. Jin-Woo became mute because of trauma. Two of them meet in a park, awkwardly sitting on a bench. Jin-Woo helps Jin-Chul to navigate around new places while Jin-Chul talks with Jin-Woo without demanding answering back. They grow comfortable around each other and their communication method is touch, two become function as one, comfortble and complete.

Villain/Hero AU: Jin-Chul was absolutely unfortunate enough to be selected as a Hero that will go and slay Shadow Monarch. Turns out Shadow Monarch is a bored shut-in who didn’t even leave his lands and has no idea that someone does crimes under his name. Entire misunderstanding gets resolved with a good cup of tea and Shadow Monarch decides it is time to socialize after being a shut-in for 1000 years. Jin-Chul thinks it was a bad idea. Jin-Woo says that hero now can rest since Shadow Monarch was slayed - his heart now belongs to a tired man who unceremoniously entered his palace to slay him.

Soulmates AU: with appearance of Gates and Mana, in rare cases hunters can become Soulmates - those who have a connection through which their mana reaches other. Jin-Woo was weak, but he felt much stronger mana trying to keep him somewhat safe, while Jin-Chul felt a weak flicker of someone’s mana shyly touching his own. The stronger Jin-Woo becomes, the more Jin-Chul knows and feels it, and eventually Jin-Woo’s mana starts to terrify and hurt him. Jin-Woo has no idea that Jin-Chul is his soulmate since his own mana started to eat other’s. Weak warm touch of other’s mana is what reminds Jin-Woo of who he is and that he mustn’t lose himself in his own power.

Omegaverse AU: Jin-Woo is a weakest hunter but also a completely ordinary beta. Then he gets hit with Ashborn’s yassification and changes to alpha that demands to domineer to claim to own. And then there’s Jin-Chul who’s also a normal beta and has no idea that Jin-Woo is an alpha because betas literally cannot smell others or feel. Despite Jin-chul being a beta, Jin-Woo still finds his smell rather nice and soothing, not annoying like alpha’s or sickeningly sweet like omegas. Cue alpha’s courting that an ordinary beta completely doesn’t understand. Alpha in Jin-Woo is completely overjoyed when Jin-Chul allows him to mark his neck with a bite even though it does nothing to beta and it’s a literal pain in neck but oh well, he can survive this (he has no idea it will become worse once it’s rut period someone save him).

That’s some weird ass AUs okay but those are at least fun sounding (i hope) because i have additional 30 in my safe but G O D they need brushing because they’re an overall idea mess WHEEEEEEEEEEZE)

[gossipsnake]

TIMING: Summer, 2011 LOCATION: Tabasco, Mexico PARTIES:  Anita, Selena Nieves (mother), and Alejandro Nieves (father) SUMMARY: A flashback to the last time Anita saw her mother, when she was 22. CONTENT: emotional manipulation/bad parent-child relationship

“When we let you go to America, when we let you go see what was out there in the world, I thought you were smart enough to understand that it was only temporary. You wanted to go off, to learn about insects, to see more of the world, to meet different kinds of lamia… yes? And you have gone off, you have done that, yes? Yes, of course you have! Four years, Anita. Four years you have taken our money, our good will, and left our family with one less member contributing to our livelihood and our protection. I let you because your father convinced me you just needed to get it all out of your system - these foolish ideas of school and of leaving your family. And now here we are - you went off and you played dress up, you lived among the humans and you played your part pretending to be one of them. Instead of being gracious for that opportunity now you say you are not done? You love humans that much, is that it?”

Anita hadn’t expected her family to show up to her undergraduate graduation ceremony, not really anyway. Foolishly perhaps she held out hope that her father might have come but she knew that he would not defy his wife just to please his daughter. Would they have come had they known that would be the exact moment that she decided to accept the offer to go to graduate school, as she walked across the stage to collect her college diploma to the sound of silence? “This has nothing to do with humans, I’ve told you that countless times. I despise them as you do, mama. But the things I have been able to learn, the things I get to do in these classes…” 

“Do not pretend this is about the bugs. All of a sudden there are not enough bugs here for you to look at? For you to put in your little containers and take notes about? Your father works with bugs every single day! That is your path, to work with him, take over the business, keep providing for the family. What is the problem? You want bugs, and this is bugs.”

Looking over at her father as he sat across the room in silence almost felt like a louder act of disappointment to Anita than the lecture she was receiving from her mother. Had they discussed this all before she came home? Did he agree, or did he just not care to protest? “I had the second highest grades within my major,” she said softly knowing the achievement would not be met with any positive impression. “I just want to keep learning. You always speak about how connected we are, by our nature, to the natural world around us. Is it so bad to want to learn more about that world?” 

“To want to learn about it from humans? Yes, Anita, that really is so bad. The fact that you do not realize that? Well that is proof enough that you have spent too much time among them, too much time away from your family. If you find it impressive that you have sat before them, obedient, responsive, answering their questions, performing tasks at their request all for them to judge your ability to do so against humans … then perhaps you are too far gone.”

“Selena,” a flutter of hope rushed through Anita when she heard her father finally speak, seemingly signaling that she had gone too far. But it seemed his flutter of confidence didn’t last quite as long as her flutter of hope had. “No, I mean it.” Selena retorted, standing up and raising her hands up in exasperation, “I did not raise my daughters to want to be around humans for any reason other than to eat them. No daughter of mine would be sitting here and saying these things. This person sitting here… she is not my daughter. ” 

Her father didn’t say another word as her mother exited the room without so much as a final glance in Anita’s direction. The room remained quiet for an agonizingly long time as Anita sat there waiting for him to say something else, anything else. Observation was failing her as his body language failed to give insight into what was going on inside of his mind. The silence soon became so overwhelmingly loud, as Anita could not help but fill it with presumptions of his silence. Maybe he simply did not have the guts to disown her so directly as her mother had just done. Maybe he was waiting for Anita to cave and say she would return home, for good. 

Whether it was a battle of will or a battle of cowardice that the two were engaged in, Anita didn’t want any part of it any longer. Standing up she began to gather her things, still unwilling to be the one to break the silence and preparing to accept that might mean never getting to say goodbye to her father - her papi. As she started walking towards the front door, however,  she felt a hand on her shoulder. “I will send money, mi culebra, but maybe it is for the best if you do go.” 

Anita nodded but felt frozen and unable to do anything else, fearful that any movement would unleash the tears building up in her eyes. As she felt his hand fall from her shoulder and heard his footsteps begin to walk away, she was able to reach out for the door handle and swing it open, ushering herself outside before her tears finally fell.