#(because he might never become canon still haven't decided for sure)

[murkycran]

Radiostatic/Voxal Fic Rec List

Welcome to my Radiostatic/Voxal Fic Rec List! ^_^ This will include romantic, platonic, and/or queerplatonic Radiostatic fics (and admittedly probably a couple of Radiosilence fics, too).

I will keep updating this periodically as I read more fics, so feel free to check back every once and a while! I'll reblog it when I update it, plus make a note with the date at the top. Trust me, this is by no means a complete list; there's fics I still want to add to this that I just haven't gotten to yet. I just decided to go ahead and post it anyways, because if I kept waiting until I ran out of fics to rec I'd probably be working on this forever.

These are not in any particular order; I'm going by both my Bookmarks list on AO3 and my memory of fics I forgot to bookmark. I also tried to make notes on what fics were written before season 1 released, but I might have missed some, so keep that in mind.

Please let me know if any links don't work or are wrong!

✨Before you proceed:✨ read the tags on these fics if you decide to read them. Many of them have heavy material - no surprise given the fandom, but still, felt like this needed said. On that note, there's also fics with explicit material and some fics are straight up PWP. Again, read at your own risk/heed the tags.

Fic Rec List Masterpost

Staticmoth Fic Rec List

Misc. Vox Fic Rec List

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Radio Healed the Video Star by Aspiring_Forest_Witch

Summary: Alastor comes across an unconscious and battered Vox while out on one of his strolls. He feels compelled to bring him back to the hotel.

Notes: 98% of this fic was written before season 1 was released, so keep that in mind, because there's obviously going to be inconsistencies with canon. It's nearly finished (at least according to the author's notes in the latest chapters, I think). I suggest pacing yourself with this one - it's nearly 700k words long. I ruined a good sleep schedule staying up to get through it. (So worth it though.) There are quite a few OCs in later chapters, but they're such good OCs. You fall in love with them just as much as the canon characters, I swear. I would die for Verity and the Trio.

Let's Misbehave by joosymango

Summary: Alastor wins a bet against Vox, now his rival must stop pestering him for two weeks. It should be a pleasant break! So why does he miss the idiot?

Notes: Vaguely inspired by Aspiring_Forest_Witch's Radio Healed the Video Star. Also largely written before season 1 release. First fic I read for the HH fandom. ^_^

Safe with Me Series by rillo (rillyrillo)

Summary: Having only ever set his sights on men who treat women with odious disrespect, Alastor never thought he'd take interest in Vox's turbulent relationship with his fiancé and business partner, Valentino. He decides to lend a helping hand in the hopes of getting Vox out of his sticky situation. After all, what are childhood enemies for?

Unfortunately, neither Alastor nor Vox could've predicted the rollercoaster of unsaid emotions and future horrors that are thrown their way. Will they be able to rely on each other and get by unscathed? Or will destiny have other plans for these two?

[HUMAN AU] [There's art included for the human designs]

Notes: It's so, so good. ;-; Heed the tags. There's a prequel consisting of oneshots, plus a sequel (listed below, bc I can't not put it here)! And there's ART! So much art!

You, My Everything by rillo (rillyrillo)

Summary: Some say that love can conquer all, even in Hell.

Vox begged to differ, and he was damn well sure Alastor did too – or at least he would be, if Alastor hadn’t become one big question mark.

Sequel to Safe with Me.

Notes: Only read if you've read Safe With Me!!! Still pretty early in the story but so good. ;-; The angst, I swear...

You're on the Air by rillo (rillyrillo)

Summary: A series of short, daily conversations between a radio host and his avid listener, as the two learn more about each other’s lives over the air. Set in the late 90s/early 2000s.

Notes: Same author as Safe with Me, but not set in the same universe! This one is set up in a literal radio show format; almost entirely dialogue-centric.

Of Candied Pine and Cherried Smoke by rillo (rillyrillo)

Summary: Inspired by x_Arcticfox_x’s fanfiction: Blue Raspberries And Cherry Cola

After overdosing on them one too many times to curb the steadily weakening suppressants, Vox's body rejects them outright. Now with his scent getting stronger, he finds himself struggling to hide his true status as an Omega. In his desperation, he seeks help from the one person that knows his secret: Alastor.

Notes: Omegaverse. Same author as Safe with Me series and You're on the Air!

Blue Raspberries And Cherry Cola by x_Arcticfox_x

Summary: Vox is an omega, that's his biggest secret.

During his life time he hid this fact using suppressants, and counited to in death. One day he runs out of pills and his supplier is out of stock for the time being so Vox is forced to submit to the torture of going through heat for the first time in decades.

Too bad his business partner only see's omega's as mere object's...

But hey, at least Angel found him just in time, right?

Notes: Omegaverse. Currently on hold, but has 14 chapters currently available for reading. :)

Once Bitten, Twice Shy by The_Penny_Tails

Summary: Alastor decides that it's time to claim what is rightfully his, consequences be damned.

Notes: It's not porn but it might as well have been for how fucking intense this scene was. 😳

Dripping Pink by The_Penny_Tails

Summary: Just before an Overlord meeting, Alastor gets infected by an off-market, highly potent, and incredibly dangerous love potion. Nobody realises until it's too late.

Notes: Simultaneously funny as fuck and erotic as all hell. I suffered from so much secondhand embarrassment on Vox's behalf. It's wonderful. :D

Lucidity's Fog by The_Penny_Tails

Summary: Ever since he met Alastor, Vox has been having raunchy dreams about the deer. Those dreams suddenly stop when Alastor disappears. For seven years, he's free of the guilt, of the shame brought on by his unconscious desire.

Until Alastor comes back, and Vox is plagued by a new dream the same day he finds out about the news. This time, however, something is distinctively different about how the deer is acting.

Notes: Author tagged for light angst, but ngl the ending did not feel like 'light' angst to me lol. Hurt in a good way.

Finger Tips and Dotted Lips by The_Penny_Tails

Summary: Alastor has sensitive hands; he finds this out at the most inconvenient time possible. Unfortunately, Vox is the one who ends up paying the price for it.

Having to help a seemingly broken Overlord whilst navigating this new discovery proves to be a little more taxing than the Radio Demon could ever have imagined.

Notes: Alastor is such a troll in this omg.

Thawing Out by Seaside_Dreaming

Summary: Seeing a small crack in Vox's screen nags at Alastor more than he likes to admit.

Vox wishes things were better. Sooner or later, Alastor has to come to terms with the fact he has feelings, in general.

Notes: Written before season 1 release. HIGHLY suggest reading the prequel one-shot. It's not necessary to understand the plot here, but you should read it anyway.

Static by passthevoxcord

Summary: Vox creates a new and improved version of himself to please Val, only to be replaced by it. He is left beaten and broken with no one to turn to . . . except maybe his oldest enemy, Alastor.

Notes: Written before season 1 release.

Hating you feels so good by TwoBitJester

Summary: Vox obsesses over his returned enemy and finds himself a little too wound up

Notes: Very good PWP.

Laced Over Dinner by hazbinhearts

Summary: Vox is persuaded to dress a little differently over dinner for Alastor, but finds it remarkably uncomfortable as the night goes on. Written for VoxWeek21 Day 3: dressing up [appearance, formal, dance].

Notes: Written before season 1 release. Corsets. 😳

Observer by DeviousPossum

Summary: He moved the cursor to click off, when he suddenly heard a very recognizable static laced tone.

Alastor.

Alastor.

What the fuck. Alastor is singing.

Vox unintentionally ran claw marks across his desk, an increasingly common habit for him as of late. He grimaced at his now ruined table and unsuccessfully tried to reel in an inexplicable feeling that could only be described as jealousy.

Notes: Porn with a tiny bit of plot in the first chapter. :3

RadioTV Week 2021 Series by Heliosolar

Summary: Pretty much the title; various prompts.

Notes: Written before season 1 release. All worth reading, though they aren't connected.

Sharkblocking by Anonymous

Summary: Alastor is Vox’s number one rival. Incidentally, though nobody involved is aware of it, Alastor’s number one rival is actually Vox’s pet shark.

In which Alastor is actually a little obsessed back and Vark is the biggest obstacle to Radiostatic short of canon itself.

Notes: VARK!

Control + V by TooManyPsuedonyms

Summary: Vox and Alastor have a... thing. Not quite a relationship, but something. Vox is too scared to define it properly, and Alastor is dead set that Vox will eventually get bored of his lack of reciprocity and move on.

So, Valentino tries to show Vox what he is missing.

... too bad Vox didn't want him like that. ... too bad Alastor didn't know want is a vague word.

Notes: Heed the tags!!! There's currently a sequel; I haven't read it yet, but I definitely plan to. 👀

gift of the magi by vol_ctrl

Summary: "... Although husband and wife are now left with gifts that neither one can use, they realize how far they are willing to go to show their love for each other, and how priceless their love really is ..."

Alastor/Vox established relationship fluff.

Notes: Written before season 1 release. Very sweet. ^_^

the lost tape by vol_ctrl

Summary: There's a NEW ambitious media demon in Pentagram City. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, right?

Notes: Written before season 1 release.

12 Days of Yuletide by vol_ctrl

Summary: A parody of the 12 Days of Christmas traditional tune, as can only be done by Vox gifting to his beloved adversary.

Or, a series of letters from the desk of Alastor upon receiving a series of increasingly elaborate gifts from his insufferably modern foil during the holiday season.

Notes: Written before season 1 release.

Fear makes the heart grow fonder by Graysongirl

Summary: After a bit of inspiration from an unlikely source Vox comes up with the plan that scaring Alastor is the best route to gaining his affections. The haunted house at LuLu World seems like the perfect (safe) environment for a bit of pre-planned scaring...

[Stand-alone staticradio]

Notes: Written before season 1 release. Funny af. "Red! Red!" XD

Cordyceps, King of Ants by spappest

Summary: Vox is tired. Of Valentino. Of Velvette. Of Alastor, and Hell, and everything in between. He can't escape, but he can cut himself off, piece by piece, until he feels nothing at all. Alastor takes exception to this approach and commissions a certain princess of Hell to fix his foe. Now Vox has a hotel of misfits on one side of him, overlords on the other, and Alastor crushing his cage ever smaller.

Clearly, the only way Vox will get any peace and quiet is to just kill God.

Valentino did always tell him that he had no chill.

Notes: Started before season 1 was released. Technically features Staticmoth but it's not the focus as much as Radiostatic (which honestly has a relationship status of ??? not romantic but also not friendship or even strictly enemies...just...Alastor and Vox). O_O I think about this fic on a daily basis.

Russian Roulette by spappest

Summary: Vox and Alastor play a game that Vox is way too excited to lose.

Notes: Started before season 1 release. Take note!!! I'm putting this on the Radiostatic list because it's almost entirely centered on Alastor and Vox's dynamic, but the romantic relationship is Staticmoth. The Staticmoth is just not featured very much.

Vox and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Afterlife by spappest

Summary: Alastor goes into rut.

Vox has a bad time. Then a good time. Then a very bad time. Then a brief vacation. Then a confusing time.

Notes: Background Staticmoth, but Radiostatic is most prominent. Funny af. Alastor and Vox have...a very special relationship. Lol.

Killer Ex by FanGirl48

Summary: Alastor was a serial killer who valued his privacy. So when someone who claims to know what he is tries to barge into his life he can't let them live, his secret must be protected at all cost.

A normally easy task easy task becomes complicated when Alastor's ex-boyfriend is dragged into the whole thing forcing the serial killer to go visit them for the first time in seven years.

Notes: Human AU. Love me some possessive Alastor. <3

Negotiations by FanGirl48

Summary: Vox had no interest in attending a meeting between Heaven and Hell following the failed attack by the Adam and his Exterminators. Alastor's little gremlin caused the mess, so he can go clean it up. Vox had nothing wanted nothing to do with the radio demon, king of hell or heaven.

But that was before Lucifer made the media overlord aware of Valentino's little job offer to his daughter.

Damnit Valentino!

Notes: "And they were roommates!" "Oh my god they were roommates"

Down, Up, and Back Down by CowboyEnthusiast

Summary: Vox dies. Surprisingly no one takes this well.

Or, Vox dies and Alastor tries to drag his soul back from Purgatory.

Notes: Another fic I think about daily... Heavy themes. Heed the tags.

Hold Me Like a Grudge by Rachello344

Summary: Alastor has spent a long time running from Vox. Vox has chased after him almost as long. When suppressants fail throughout the city, they finally collide.

Notes: Omegaverse. Fun fact about this author: all their Radiostatic fic titles are from Fall Out Boy lyrics lol. (I fucking love FOB sue me.) I haven't yet read all of Rachello344's Radiostatic fics, BUT I have them all on my To Read list because I've loved everything I've read of theirs so far lol.

What Makes You So Special? by Rachello344

Summary: With Lucifer’s return to the Pride Ring, the other Deadly Sins were bound to take notice. When Asmodeus stops by the Pride Ring to visit the Morningstars, the Vees are able to make a deal to host a pop-up shop of the incredibly popular Lust Ring establishment, Ozzie’s, bringing it to the Pride Ring for the first time.

When Vox and Alastor both attend the restaurant’s opening night, long repressed sparks fly, forever changing their relationship.

Notes: Because of the pacing of this (sex first romance later), I feel like this is the Radiostatic equivalent of Femalefonzie's Freak-A-Zoid (a really good Staticmoth fic). This is hands down one of the most romantic Radiostatic fics I've read. ^_^

Hold Me Tight (or Don't) by Rachello344

Summary: Alastor and Vox finally come to an understanding, both of each other and of what they each mean to the other. Their relationship evolves accordingly, one concession at a time, until they both get everything they could possibly want: power, companionship, and even love.

Notes: So, so good.

Keep You Like an Oath by Rachello344

Summary: Alastor normally wouldn’t bother with the chore—breaking into V Tower was quite a lot of work, even for him—but he found himself curious about what Vox and his little friends might be working on. Especially since whatever it was had Angel concerned enough to report back to the rest of the hotel about it.

Of course, before he can learn anything, he’ll need to sneak past Vox’s watchful eye…

Notes: God it's just...so good. Read it. Radiostatic reconciliation. One thing I love about Rachello344 writing Radiostatic is Alastor's terms of endearment for Vox. ^_^

To Be Yours by pinegreenapples

Summary: Alastor hears something he hasn't heard in years. He decides to investigate why now, of all times, this frequency has turned back on. Vox is not amused.

Notes: Hurt no comfort. Hurts so good, though. ;-;

oleanders in june by spoondrifts

Summary: It seems like while Alastor was off preying on the self-destructive addictions of desperate sinners, Vox was off getting himself beaten half to death, probably from spouting belligerent nonsense at someone with violent tendencies and a far lower threshold for disrespect than Alastor. Not everyone finds poor Vox’s chatter as charming as he does.

If Vox is unconscious, then Vox is not being entertaining, and Alastor came here to have fun, not play nursemaid.

Or: Drunk on power and itching to cause some mayhem, Alastor hunts down the only person in the city who's always up for anything. Unfortunately, he finds Vox... not exactly in tip-top shape. No matter; he can work with that too.

Notes: ^_^ Very sweet.

equilibrium by curtailed

Summary: Post-Finale. The Hotel finds Alastor right on the front lawn, unconscious and bleeding, still injured from Adam's blade. While he recovers, all of Hell scrambles to find out who his mysterious rescuer is.

Meanwhile, Vox tries not to freak out that he might have accidentally made a soul bond to save that deer asshole's life. All he had wanted to do was to scope out the ruins of Alastor's radio tower. Fuck him for being curious, he supposed.

Notes: This fic has me in a CHOKEHOLD. I love the characterizations so, so much. Manages to fit in humor alongside the angst. One of the best fight scenes I've ever seen put into words. Curtailed really took Vox and Alastor as characters and planned out a cool fucking fight scene using their unique abilities. I automatically love anything tagged with "one fell first but the other fell harder" lol.

candlelight by curtailed

Summary: Despite the #SirRepentious success, Heaven remains skeptical of a sinner's ability to change. Logic gets lost somewhere, and really, what's a better way to show sinners can be marginally less horrible than to stick two Overlords who hate each other in the same living space?

OR

Alastor and Vox play house.

Notes: The comedy of Alastor and Vox being forced to be civil with each other and then unintentionally becoming very domestic together. Lol

wallow by curtailed

Summary: A 2+1 fic. Two times when Alastor and Vox were in a love triangle (hard quote on love, hard quote on triangle), and the one time Alastor had Vox to himself.

Notes: Only 1 (very good) chapter so far, but safe to say pretty heavy already. Heed the tags.

Addicted by Dancingdog

Summary: After the latest argument with Valentino, Vox finds himself at the Hazbin Hotel. An injured Alastor is less-than-pleased to see him, which is understandable considering they are enemies.

But as more and more of Valentino's venom leaves his system, Vox begins to remember his days before V-Tower and he learns exactly why Alastor rejected his offer all those decades ago.

His memories return in fits and spurts - not all of them good. His past with Alastor isn't something he expected and it turns out that he isn't the only one suffering.

Notes: Dude. This fic hurt me. Such good angst.

Radio Made the Video Star Series by songofhell

Summary: Snippets of Vox and Alastor's afterlife, and their journey from strangers to friends to enemies to... something more.

Notes: Pretty much what the series summary says - a series of installments that chronicle the beginning and subsequent evolution of Alastor and Vox's relationship. Very good, has tons of possessive!Alastor, which I die for.

Uneasy by Saezs

Summary: “Something’s wrong with Voxy.”

Velvette’s eyes snapped to the tall moth pimp. “And?” she prompted with a raised eyebrow. As if she needed to deal with two piss babies this close to a show. Valentino shrugged, tapping away on his phone, and walked away to stand threateningly close to her new models. Before she could snap at him, she saw it; his wings were twitching. Barely noticeable to strangers, just under the hum of the building’s lights, he was squeaking with each tap of his fingers. She felt unease and a healthy dose of aggravation swirl in her stomach.

Or: Vox was roofied and sexually assaulted. Velvette tries to be better than her mother. Unexpected connections are formed.

Notes: Heed the tags! Features genderfluid Vox. :)

Five Times Vox and Alastor Danced and One Time They Didn't by Drowsy_Salamander

Summary: “I say, good fellow, what are you doing on the ground like that?”

The voice was perky, cheerful, and bright. It had a crisp mid-Atlantic accent, the kind Vox remembered being all the rage for stage and film performers back when he first entered the broadcast industry. The diction was crystal clear with every sound enunciated separately to maximise clarity, the consonants clicked and the vowels were broad. It was a performer’s voice.

A voice for radio.

Oh shit.

... Five times Vox and Alastor danced and one time Vox and Alastor didn't.

From their first meeting through their friendship, to their enmity and fighting. From infatuation to yearning to animosity. Dancing is a partnership, is it not?

Notes: Each chapter so far has been a different type of dance, which is really neat. Especially chapter 2. ^_^ That said, there's a feeling of impending doom, knowing what happens to their relationship eventually... Not saying that as a deterrent but just a comment on how I felt while reading it lol. It's very sweet, which is why it hurts to think of future chapters. 🙃

Days Long Past by Momo52

Summary: All sinners of hell bore some physical marks of how they lived and died. Some physical manifestations were more obvious while others were subtle. Vox was not an exception to this rule.

While his television head was an obvious indication of his life while on Earth, the mark he bore from his death was far more subdued. Luckily enough, his shame was easily concealed behind a high collar. Unfortunately, he is just as well known in his afterlife as he was in his life. As such, trying to make everyone believe that he is so much stronger than what his death implies is a constant battle. He only wished that he wasn’t the hardest one to convince.

Notes: I think platonic Radiostatic is the endgame here. Still pretty early in the story, but I'm really liking this author's depiction of Vox and Alastor's pasts. Heed the tags. There are heavy subjects such as suicide (very big theme for Vox's pov) and period-typical racism (in Alastor's past) present in the story.

Remote Access by x-UsoTsuki-x (its_not_reael)

Summary: In the aftermath of Alastor and Vox's electrifying on-air showdown, Vox finds himself unusually rattled. His usual suave demeanor is slipping, much to his cohorts' amusement – and concern. Velvet can do little more than roll her eyes at his antics. Valentino, on the other hand, is convinced that all Vox needs to do is get fucked and relax.

or, alternatively...

The tech-savvy overlord manages to snag a virus from a porn site and finds himself in the arms of his worst enemy.

Notes: Fairly certain this is firmly Radiosilence based on the tags (and the direction of the story so far). Very funny, very hot. Vox is pathetic in this one. Lol

Nun-thing Like You've Ever Seen Series by A_Cypress_Coffin

Summary: Alastor, the feared radio demon with more blood on his hands than most of hell combined, wasn't always as we imagine him. There was a time where instead of a dapper suit and smile he donned a simple vow and habit. That didn't last of course, but the journey is quite something.

Notes: This author has a great sense of humor, lmao. I enjoyed the unique headcanons for Alastor's backstory. The tag that hooked me: "Accidentally becoming a better person through bad domming and found family".

Empathia by The_Oblivious_Swallow

Summary: Creating new technology is boring, sex is physically unappealing, the other Vee’s are so annoying, annoying, annoying! Even Vark, his baby, his pride and joy, doesn’t stir the same joy in his heart like he should.

So, Vox had concluded that it had to go. For his sake.

Notes: Contains Staticmoth, but Radiostatic seems like the endgame (I write this as there is one chapter still left). Really interesting idea. I love Vox.exe so much. ;-;

Every Madman Has His Vice by phantasm_png (chibellero)

Summary: “What the fuck do you want, Alastor? Was it not enough to kill me all those years ago? Now, you had to go for the people I loved and the only things I had left in this fucking Hellhole?”

“It was my fault,” Alastor whispers as he approaches Vox slowly, as if he was some sort of wounded animal he didn’t want to scare off. His prey. “Vox, I’m sorry. If I had a chance to redo that night, I would never have hurt you to this extent. I’ll never harm you again.”

“That’s seven years too fucking late, Alastor.”

OR: Seven years ago, instead of Alastor disappearing, it was Vox who left instead.

Notes: I’m so fucking here for this AU. Possessive Alastor, Vox helping with the hotel, Husk is still an Overlord, yessss

Metathesiophobia (Fear of Change) by phantasm_png (chibellero)

Summary: There's a lot that can change in seven years.

But never once had Alastor expected for something like this from his old rival and older friend.

Or, Alastor and Vox start to rekindle their old friendship again after a shocking discovery strikes the deer demon.

Notes: QPR Radiostatic with MtF Vox! Contains a smidge of Staticmoth, but it's in the background and not the focus. Very well written.

surimi and venison by phantasm_png (chibellero)

Summary: A series of short drabbles (500+ words) in an interconnected universe (peep the tags, they're still in hell), centering around Alastor and his new pet fish... shark... television thing. Will (hopefully) update 1-2 times a week. Written as my attempt at a Mermay series.

Notes: Like the summary says, Mermay prompts featuring SharkHybrid!Vox, along with Alastor, who literally saw Vox and decided to make him his pet. Lol.

an arm and a leg, my dear, les yeux d'la tête by phantasm_png (chibellero)

Summary: “I mean, usually when Val gets mad he gets like, super pissy too an’ starts destroyin’ shit ‘round the set and in his clubs, but like, usually Vox can calm him down. Problem is, where the Hell is that guy? I haven’t seen ‘im round the Tower for like, a month or two now. That ain’t normal.”

“What, so you mean he just up and left?”

“No, but like… he hasn’t been seen ‘in public’ for like, two months now. It’s startin’ to get suspicious. Like, I ‘unno if I’m just paranoid or something, but… Vox is like, the fuckin’ face of Hell’s Entertainment District. When he’s not round for a bit, that’s nothing to worry about on its own… but when he’s not round for a bit an’ Val and Velvette are creeping around, looking for his rival…? I mean… the dots are connecting. If Al did something…”

“If Vox was dead, we would know.” OR: Two months ago, Vox went missing. Right now, it seems as if Alastor has something to hide.

Notes: Vox gets attic-wifed and wears a virgin killer sweater. ^_^

we'll go down together in the ashes of our love by phantasm_png (chibellero)

Summary: Glimpses into the Radio Demon's life as he reluctantly navigates parenthood with his co-parenting partner and the demon princess hoisted onto him by the King and Queen of Hell.

Loosely inspired by Spy X Family.

Notes: CUTE! I love domestic Radiostatic.

What Has Been by Tianren

Summary: Vox has never known peace. From being the son of a egocentric cult leader, to being the boyfriend of a self absorbed abuser. Vox has managed to build a pretty sad life for himself. The only spot of sunshine that had ever blessed his existence was when he met an amateur true crime investigative journalist, with a podcast named, Alastor. The man was his only source of unfiltered news and contact to the world outside his father’s compound. But after Vox finally escaped the cult he waited for Alastor. Waited weeks in their assigned meeting spot just to be forgotten. Vox was convinced he’d stopped waiting for Alastor years ago until he meets the man again seven years later at a hotel. What will reconnecting with his past lead to and will it help him escape the hell he’s built for himself?

Takes place in the late 2000s early 2010s

Trigger warning for religious trauma and abuse as major themes of this story. Will add more warnings if they arise as I go on.

Notes: Really interesting human AU concept!

(Fic rec list to be continued)

[lake-cosay]

Jesslake Demigod/PJO AU

hi so. finally making a real post about this.

i apparently made this au like 2 years ago but the pjo brainrot came back and i've been hyperfixating on this au again. while it does also feature my OCs this post is about the jesslake au

for clarity, this au takes place in the world of the Percy Jackson books, and assumes the canon story of the books is finished. it takes place in about 2020 (pjo canon is currently around 2011 ish). You don't need to have read the books to understand the au (I haven't) but. some knowledge of the universe will definitely help

most of my notes about the au are in the images, but here's a rough timeline of the major events: (it's long)

Jesse is born in 2005. he is raised by his mom and his mortal/adoptive father, whom he knows isn't his bio dad but treats him like it anyways. he doesn't know he's a demigod or who his bio dad is

Lake and Tulip are born in 2006. they both struggle as babies, but Lake much more so; they nearly die. Hephaestus, their father, dips Lake in the River Styx, giving them the Curse of Achilles, though theirs works a little different (more details on that later/in another post)

Hephaestus sends Lake to Camp Half-Blood to be raised there. (Chiron serves as a father figure to Lake, and they actually get along pretty well.) Tulip never finds out she has a twin until she arrives at camp.

Lake lives at CHB their whole life growing up. Sometime around the age of 8-10ish, they encounter the flecs for the first time. In this au, they were people but were cursed to become monsters, and still hunt Lake relentlessly. Lake has a pretty gnarly scar from their first encounter.

When she's 13, Tulip finds out she's a halfblood and is brought to camp (have not figured out how/by who yet, open to ideas). One-one is an automaton her dad built for her, not sure about Atticus.

When they're 13, Lake decides they want to see the world. They leave camp mostly on a whim, but take enough time to pack a bag and leave a note for Chiron asking him not to try and find them. Chiron somehow (through the Oracle, and Apollo kid, idk) divines that Lake will bring another half-blood to camp safely, and he trusts Lake, so he doesn't try to find them.

Lake wanders on foot for about a month, heading southwest. Eventually, they end up in Arizona, where they meet and slowly become friends with Jesse. Jesse's parents are glad he's spending time with someone who's not his other friends, and they let Lake hang out at their house a lot. They (of course) know Jesse's a demigod, and start to suspect Lake might be too. (Lake also starts suspecting about Jesse)

The "man test" (or something very similar) happens after Jesse meets Lake, and Lake is there to witness it. However, Jesse's friends turn out to be monsters (were they monsters the whole time or did other monsters impersonate his friends? i don't know. lol) and Jesse and Lake have to go rescue Nate (from the underworld? from a monster's lair? somewhere else? again, i don't know)

After that quest, Jesse properly arrives at camp, and him and Lake become very close.

There's a small arc with Lake that I'm not sure where it fits, but here's works: the harrasment and attacks from the flecs are getting worse, and somehow during an attack Lake manages to kill them (Lake never wanted to kill them before because they used to be people, and somehow they know they won't come back like other monsters, so killing them is genuinely killing them). Lake still has to grapple with the fact that they were people and they killed them, but also that it was in self defense.

There's another more significant arc for Lake involving Hephaestus. Probably happens 2 ish years after they meet Jesse. Hephaestus... doesn't like Lake. It seems like he always wants Lake to prove themself to him, but Lake refuses. So instead, he forces them, by setting a trap. Lake nearly dies in his trap (a web of hot metal wires that tie them up like they're in a spider web, covering them in deep burns; it makes sense given Hephaestus' other myths I promise), thankfully, Lake is rescued by Tulip and Jesse. However, the whole thing is definitely traumatizing, and really solidifies in Lake that their dad is a fucking asshole. (me and @jesse-cosay wrote a fic of this, we're most likely going to post it soon!) (also, that scars from this are in the drawing, but they don't look as Bad as I want them too, I was struggling with making them look Bad enough)

Lake and Jesse have become friends with my OCs (Rain, child of Hypnos, and Kona, daughter of. Apollo. sort of. not quite. it's complicated. also Kona is Jesse's cousin!) over the past 2 years or so, and when one of them (Rain) ends up in the Underworld, they both go with the other (Kona) to help rescue them (I can definitely elaborate on that if people are interested, but it's very self indulgent lol)

okay, here's some random little things about this au:

Annabeth no longer has the most beads, Lake does. They have 13. Chiron made sure he collected the beads for them since they were brought to camp.

The other main characters are at camp too (mostly). Grace is the daughter of Aphrodite, Simon is the son of Ares, both have them have lived at camp since they were kids. Simon takes after Luke, thinking the gods should be taken down entirely.

Min is an Athena kid and Ryan is an Apollo kid

Alan Dracula is still basically the same. Chiron doesn't know how he can get into camp. Or if he's a monster. He just knows the deer helps protect campers, and that Lake loves him, so he leaves Alan be.

Lake used to have their own room (a repurposed guest room) in the Big House but now stays with Jesse in Cabin 3 (during the summer, the rest of the year they live with him in Arizona)

When Tulip arrived at camp people assumed she was a Demeter kid because of her name, quickly realized she definitely is not a Demeter kid

Lake has kicked Simon's ass in combat numerous times. It's very rare that Simon ever wins against them period. Simon hates Lake with a burning passion. He HATES that the tiny hephaestus kid can beat him up.

Jesse really doesn't like when people call Poseidon his dad, even if he knows it's true, because to him, his dad is Stephen Cosay, a mortal, who helped raise him and whom he loves.

with all that out there, please feel free to ask questions!!! i love this au so much and i would love to talk about it more. my ask box is open!!! or you can reply to this post. i'm going to reblog Yellow's art from this au and make sure it's tagged so you can find it. the tag is #it pjo au

[allur1ngs]

could you give more information on hyo? we all know bada + bebe because they’re of course real but since hyo is an oc, we don’t know a lot about her. like her hair color/style, height and age, hobbies and personal things like that <3

okay, here's an official deep dive on Hyo!!

this is her official face claim, kim hieora's appearance in bad and crazy!! (i actually haven't seen the show...lmfao)

full name: kim hyo

she's 5'8, making her slightly shorter than bada and lusher, has dark brown (black in low lighting) hair, fair skin, and is 25/26 years old (i haven't decided yet hehe).

style: she loves a super laid-back and casual style when she's not wearing her normal suit, which is basically almost never...

hobbies: ...she doesn't really have time for any... but if on the off chance she takes a day off (literally once in a blue moon) she enjoys reading!! she's an avid reader and loves history!! she did very well in her studies, but history was always hyo's strong suit!!

likes: she LOVESSSS chocolate. that might be her only weakness. she likes sweets in general but not to the extent that she likes chocolate. she also likes cold showers and cold weather.

dislikes: disappointing bada. i feel like i've beat this point into the ground but it's such an important part of hyo's character!!

i'm going to go into a small rant so you've been warned but...

i'm not sure if anyone picked up on it from AWOOL, but hyo is the daughter of chung-hee, bada's bodyguard when bada was younger. hyo always looked up to her father because he was so dedicated to his work and she thought that the idea of protecting another person is such a noble cause/job to choose in life. so when she grew up she idolized her father greatly, and the few times she met bada while she was young, she also grew to idolize her too. bada has always been strong and independent, even before the death of her mother, so when hyo got to see how she took charge in her life without being arrogant and using the influence of her parents, hyo was like "yeah, i want to be just like her."

adding onto that, the lees basically kept hyo's family afloat. they paid her father an incredible sum of money for his work, and before that hyo grew up very poor, so she was basically taken out of poverty by the lee family.

(let's also not forget that chung-hee and mr. lee were also best friends since like childhood, so naturally hyo appreciated him a lot)

so after her father retired, bada--still recovering from the lingering affects of her mother's death and having no trust in almost anyone, somehow managed to trust hyo (because she was chung-hee's daughter)--who was now much older, to become a part of bebe.

hyo wasn't bada's bodyguard although she wanted to be--lusher got that privilege--but the second you stepped into bada's life she was assigned to protect you, and after that hyo felt like that was her calling. to protect the person most precious to bada like ji-ah (the man who killed bada's mother) didn't do. because of all that, she greatly respects you and thinks of you as a little sister she has to protect with her life.

okay rant over🤗

other things hyo dislikes includes, traitors--i'm sure you can guess why--snobby rich people, which in her line of work are literally everywhere so..., and people who disrespect those who have given them so much. in bloody knuckles, you'll see a bit of hyo's frustration with reader come out when she realizes that she lied to bada. she does, to an extent, understand and sympathize with reader's reasoning, but she sort of grows cold with her after that.

and before anyone starts to get any ideas, because i'm sure they will...hyo would never NEVER date reader or bada!! she thinks of reader as a little sister (not to mention bada is in LOVE LOVE with her and hyo would never betray bada like that), and bada is hyo's boss and someone she idolizes, she would never be in a relationship with either of them in the canon. and even out of canon bada is NOT hyo's type at all

okay that's all i can think of for now so let me know if you'd like to know more :D 🩷

[autistichalsin]

Do you have hcs of halsin's parents' and/or siblings' names? Or at least some hcs about them like their class or occupation/work or deities they believe or anything else?

Names: not yet, because I am not great at names, especially elven ones, and I headcanon Halsin with a big family (unusually large for elves, which becomes relevant later in the timeline I made for him and my Dark Urge, Kiaran) which means LOTS of people to name.

Class/occupation/etc: YES.

So my basic thoughts on Halsin's family, keeping in mind that John Corcoran (Halsin's writer) said that Halsin was the youngest son (which of course means little sisters are still possible):

His father (who we know from a comment Halsin made looks a lot like him) was a Bard. (Why? Partly because it's unexpected, partly because because that would be part of where Halsin gets his love of telling stories from). He worshipped Corellon.

His mother was a Ranger who semi-retired when she had his older siblings. There was quite a gap between Halsin's closest older sibling and Halsin, and when Halsin was born, she fully retired. As you might expect for a Ranger, she primarily worshipped Mielikki.

Halsin's oldest brother was a Cleric of Corellon. Halsin didn't get to see him very much, but they loved each other a lot.

His oldest sister was a healer (haven't decided yet if she was a Cleric or a Druid, though I'm leaning towards Cleric.) She settled into a different elven community when she married her wife. She helped encourage Halsin's interest in healing.

His next oldest siblings were twins, brother and sister. They were both Rangers, and he was the closest to them of any of his siblings. Halsin definitely spent a significant part of his childhood planning to become a Ranger so he could have adventures with them (even though his mom always said he'd decide on a Druid eventually, and was of course right.) They both worshipped Mielikki. The brother had a wolf companion, and the sister had a hawk.

Halsin's younger sisters never really had a chance to pick a patron deity- none of them made it to their teenage years. :( Halsin adored them and totally had a "mother hen" way of taking care of them because he was just so excited he finally got to be a big sibling. They loved the stories he'd tell them every night (which is another part of why he loves, in the post-canon timeline, telling his orphans stories so much- it reminds him of those days).

I'll come up with names for everyone eventually, it just requires a bit of a lore deep dive to find both a fitting name for them in Elvish AND to make sure I'm not giving them the Elven equivalent of "Jane Doe" as a name LOL

Thank you so much for this ask!!

[verdemoun]

timewarp au btw sean becomes a da also this is why i haven't been able to write any fics yet this is just dot points and it's 1000 words

maeve beatrice macguire was born roughly eight years into the timewarp and chaos would be an understatement.

life was going so well karen and sean are still in the trailer on lenny and jenny's driveway. they'd just figured out how to connect the hot water system in their trailer to the solar panels so they didn't have to go inside the main house to shower.

blissful polyamorous life where lenny gets to be with both jenny and sean, and sean gets to be with lenny and karen and karen is still trying to hit on jenny who surely cannot be the only straight person to ever exist in the VDL gang why is life so cruel but everyone is happy and in love and well adjusted to modern era

karen absolutely did not know she was pregnant until she went into labor she didn't even know she could get pregnant between the lack of access to affordable birth control in the 19th century and getting diagnosed with pcos she just assumed she couldn't because she'd never gotten pregnant before??

every single person lost it. there was not a single brain cell to be found in the house just panicked screaming. grimshaw (who helped abigail give birth to jack) was their literal savior. it was too late for hospitals. the macguire genes are too strong this baby was already restless and impatient and coming now

sean malfunctioned so hard trying to process the fact he was a parent that lenny ended up being the first person to hold the baby and love at first sight is real. instantaneously they were All parents and she was going to be the first VDL to not grow up in a broken home. no name no crib but she had two moms and two dads and she was going to be the most spoilt little princess in the world

karen wanted to name her mary-beth because mary-beth stayed with her the longest in canon era and tried to help her even after the gang fell apart but they all agreed this shrieking siren born with orange curls like fire was not going to be a mary-beth so her initials are intentionally mb. they had to go with the most cliche irish girls name starting with m imaginable and then beatrice is actually bessie's full name c:

cannot overstate how strong the macguire genes are her first words might as well have been death to the english. in so many ways she is a copy paste of sean she is loud and the second she could walk she was getting herself into trouble. the whole gang is trying to help but no one knows what to do jack and isaac were both really easy kids who didn't climb on the counter and eat fistfuls of white sugar.

but maeve is so, so loved. she is exactly what their collective child was destined to be. she's energy she's lightning in a bottle she's smart and messy and overconfident and terrifying when she decides she needs to be and they would not change a single hair or freckle about her.

it deserves its own post but the macsummers crew would all have so many emotions being a parent after the childhoods they went through. sean wishing he could ask his da for advice how is it possible to feel so much love for something. karen just feeling lost because she already had so much self-doubt and a really frail sense of self the idea of being a mother would be so terrifying. lenny remembering his father's letter and even though he knows it word for word he wishes he had it with him and could feel the impressions of the pen on paper as if it would hold some answer to how the hell he's meant to be a parent. jenny who was literally found abandoned at the side of the road only now entering the second stage of grief because how dare the people who were meant to care for her abandon her when she would die a million times over to protect this little girl. they all would.

but even with their own shit they are such good parents they will not push their intergenerational trauma onto their baby girl and the lads are girldads to the max: lenny teaching her how to read and going to work in outfits his daughter picked out. sean holding her against his chest watching the secret of kells for the millionth time. karen playing with her baby girl constantly and using her acting skills to do all the voices. jenny braiding her hair and baking cookies with her which she will regret when the sugar demon takes over. whole family tea parties where they all have to play dress up. matching poorly done nail polish

getting her to sleep alone is hell because they all love her so much they want to take her to bed with them even when she's already feisty and independent and wants to sleep in her own room. everyone has a very important role in the nighttime routine and if anyone isn't home at bedtime maeve is not sleeping. jenny has to check for monsters. sean has to carry her to the bathroom and hold her against his hip while they both brush their teeth. karen has to be the one to tuck her in, and lenny has to turn on the nightlight.

she once looked sean dead in the eyes after he turned the nightlight on and turned it back off because lenny has to do it it's his job!!

they must all pay the kiss goodnight tax independently getting multiple kisses from one parent does not nullify the other parents obligation to the republic of maeve

wind down is either lenny reading to her (which has on multiple occasions also put sean to sleep), karen singing or sean telling (child-safe) stories about the VDLs or darragh macguire. sean's stories are maeve's favorite but she gets so excited it takes an extra 20 minutes for her to get to sleep.

her teachers hate her. they want this child medicated because she definitely has adhd. she will rock up and be telling other kids 'i never got to meet my grandpa because the british killed him' and is trying to radicalize her classmates 'they can't catch all of us if none of us go inside at the bell it'll be recess forever!!'

she is the queen of 'my dads can beat up your dad!! my moms can beat up your dad!! i could beat up your dad!!'

lenny and sean at a parent teacher meeting trying to pretend they know what a normal childhood is. 'your daughter has been playing cops and robbers' 'that is a normal thing children do we definitely did that at maeve's age' 'yes but she started throwing rocks from the top of the playground while screaming "macguires never surrender" and she used a jump rope to hogtie another child'

lenny shooting sean a look absolutely begging him not to laugh

no one taught her these things she just inherited the muscle memory of an outlaw and it's really hard not to be proud of her they were some pretty complex knots for a 5 year old!

[i-heart-hxh]

I'm sure you've gotten this question before but the needle question got me thinking: do you have any idea how the Zoldyck heir situation even works? I'm guessing it's based on a talent and performance base (and having anime protag hair lol), but it's interesting that it's not simply "the eldest child is the heir to the family business." And if so, when was Killua deemed the heir? Love to hear your thoughts!

Hello! Actually, nobody's asked me this before, so it's a fun topic to dig into!

Canon doesn't provide much detail on this topic, so I'll do my best to convey what we do/don't know and then make some guesses based off that.

There's a popular belief I've seen in the fandom that Killua was chosen as the heir because of his hair color (and/or potentially nen type that may or may not come along with this), however this has never been confirmed by anything in the series. I do think when Togashi designed the Zoldyck siblings with Killua being the only one to inherit the white/silver hair like Silva and Zeno, it was almost certainly with the intention of making the fact that he's "special" among the family even clearer, but as far as we know currently, the heir is chosen based on perceived talent/potential.

I'm guessing this might include physical prowess and skill as an assassin, leadership ability, and mental stability. Killua is said to be the most talented Zoldyck in the entire history of the family, so I'm sure that heavily weights the decision towards him (in spite of the elements that make him "unsuitable," which the family seems to believe they can push out of him in various ways).

(Unofficial translation, but it was worded in a more straightforward way than the official one.)

We're never told how or when the heir is decided--perhaps they evaluate the children at a certain age with regards to this, or it's simply an ongoing discussion among the heads of the household until they come to a decision. There may be some formal process or ritual to determine who becomes the heir that we just haven't been given info on. It wouldn't surprise me with how complex the Zoldyck family's traditions, rules, and ways of operating are. I do think it makes sense that the heir isn't just the first born son, because assassination is an intense, multifaceted trade and leaving that business in the hands of just anyone doesn't seem wise.

Here's a bit that implies there's some sort of timeline by which the heir is prepared to take over the family, because Killua is apparently at the most crucial stage of this:

Looking at the other siblings, I think it's pretty clear why Killua is the best choice (in the view of Silva and Kikyo)--Illumi is unstable, power hungry, and has no qualms about killing innocent people to achieve his goals; Milluki is a shut-in who seems more focused on his hobbies than "work" and lacks common sense; Alluka has the Nanika issue and is barely even considered a member of the family to begin with. I don't know if Kalluto has anything in particular that disqualifies him, but it's not as though it's easy to compete with Killua, the most talented Zoldyck in the history of the family...

It wouldn't surprise me if we get a little more detail on the heir situation later in the series, seeing as Killua is still considered the heir as far as we know, and I think that's an issue that's going to have to be dealt with eventually in some way or another.

That's about all the insight I can give on this topic for now because we've only been given little tidbits on how it works, but I hope this was helpful or interesting nonetheless. Thank you for asking!

[chiscribbs]

Asking some writers/artists I follow:

Is there anything in your fic/comic that you as the author know about, but won't end up in the actual story?

Hmmmm... I have a lot of little moments from the Grown Apart cast's individual upbringings that are kinda floating around in my head, but I have no idea yet if they'll make it into the comics. So, I'm not sure if those count. There are a few little canon details that I haven't figured out how to include in the comics just yet, though. Such as:

Donnie speaking in a posh English accent...but only some of the time - mostly when he's not with his family or if he's trying to impress someone. Reason being: Donnie doesn't naturally talk like Big Mama (though he may have adopted a tinge of her inflection with certain words or vowels), it's mostly something he puts on intentionally to sound more...closely related to her? It's become a habit, and he doesn't always realize when he's doing it anymore, unless the others point it out. But it disappears the moment he gets too worked-up/excited about something.

Because Mikey spent so much time looking for ways to occupy himself while Leo was off causing mischief with his friends, he has a wide range of obscure talents & skills, many of which I'll probably never end up showing in canon because they're not particularly relevant to the plot. For example: - Guitar playing - Card stacking - Cup stacking - Solving a rubix cube in under 3 minutes - Painting/writing with his toes - Ballet (beginner level, but he's working on it) - Making music with water glasses - Yo-yo tricks - Acrobatics - Silk flying - The ancient art of the Japanese tea ceremony - Crochet - Playing Chopsticks on his shell (with chopsticks)

That's all I've got off the top of my head right now. Unless you're referring to things like "ideas that were originally going to be part of the canon, but got scrapped somewhere along the way." There's a LOT of those, lol. Some of which I might still end up sharing at some point, because I illustrated a few of them early on when I was doing story beats, and I like the illustrations despite them not being accurate anymore.

Others, I don't necessarily want to expose just yet, because they might still end up getting used somewhere? Maybe in this story or maybe in a different one entirely, who knows. I like to keep "scrapped" ideas in my back pocket just in case I decide to come back to them later down the line.

[2demondogs]

Well since you updated guidelines ...Okay okay okay hear me out.. Could you maybe write something with epilogue Charles x John?

I don't know.. it was so domestic. We see them laughing and horsing around. They literally built Beecher's Hope together, ough!!

There's some dialogue between the both of them discussing Charles leaving to 'Indochina' and John just goes "I wish you could stay :(" and it made me urrgghhh. If you see the vision, do you mind writing something angsty but sweet?

I am hearing you out do not fret Anon. Definitely a new pairing for me and I haven't played through the epilogue so I hope it did it justice.

Honestly I might write more eventually because "Where even is that?" "I don't really know." Charles babygirl... what does that mean? Why did you say it like that?

Words: 1.1k Tags: bittersweet angst, background John/Abigail, referenced character death, canon compliant, one(1) drunken kiss

The differences and similarities between Arthur and John come to Charles often, ever since he was once more swarmed by the memories. He supposes that they will linger for a long time, until the holes in his heart are patched over with fresh tissue.

He thinks John could stand to reflect on it, too.

There was always something about Arthur's future that was foggy. Whatever happened to Arthur Morgan simply happened, Charles thinks, because the man had no desires and therefore no agency.

Dutch could have crushed his fingers beneath his boot and he would not have been angry until it was over with. Then he would have figured out — in his own words, he figured out a lot of things in retrospect which were more or less lies he told himself to soothe the pain — why it happened. Finally, Arthur would have made peace with it by the morning, because it was much easier than taking action.

Those years ago, Charles felt it too: that clotted-air stagnancy and apathy about his own place in the world. It was starting to reek of death by the time he settled in Saint Denis, and the scent remains in his nostrils to this day. Whenever he grasps his great big purpose in life, it should wane. At least, that's what he tells himself, because each purpose he has tried on for size has yet to banish the stink.

He still misses Arthur, though not as painfully as he once did. The man's heart was good, for all it bled.

Crimson stains John's hands as badly. He must have thought on himself, on his brother, on his lover, on someone long enough to figure out that decisions need to be made or he will waste into the wind just the same.

Except, in the litany of memories that's found him since joining John and Uncle, Charles is uncertain where John's decision-making will stop. Something ugly inside of him is reminded of Dutch, in a way. It had struck him upon reading his letter to Abigail. Like all things to do with her, John never trusted himself to make the final call. He pressed it into Charles' hands with an anxiousness as clear as if it were really meant for him.

Before, he had never stopped to think where kindness becomes selfishness, and like always, John put some of his distastes into distinct words and gave the rest room to take shape.

Who would warm John's bed if Abigail did not bow under the weight of Beecher's Hope?

Who would raise his son if the enormity of this was not as much of a fairy tale to her as it was to John, and to Uncle?

Somewhere deep inside, it has even appeared as one to himself. Charles blames his time cooped up with the two men for poisoning him with fondness for such romantic ideas as my lover, I have built you a house — though the old-world romantic quality of the gesture, which he guesses is what endears Uncle to the sweetness of it, is discolored by a new-age addition of I'll live in it, too, and so will everyone else.

A house, not a home. Not yet.

It's a good life, by definition of whoever decides what elegies will call a good life and what will simply be too bad. He isn't sure if John wants Abigail or if he only wants that foretold good life. Men should be sons, then fathers; if Charles knows nothing of what society expects of men their age, he knows this, and he knows that John's time as a son has well and truly ended.

Still, Charles loves him. He thinks of these flaws the same way he thinks of his habit of spitting out phlegm on the trail: warmly, because John's ugliness is as John as his kindness is.

That sore has been stinging since he read the letter. Never good news in a letter, he has been thinking wryly, on and off. Death or marriage, and never the ones you want.

All of them drunk and Uncle fast asleep, John kisses him just an hour after promising to Abigail what a fine life they will have. Never tactful, but Charles has never been hard to please, either, so he even let John lean into his chest and smell his throat afterwards.

A final to us for a vague entanglement that he always feared would not develop fine lines. Retroactive ones drawn in the dust are better than nothing. The ugliest parts of him flicker with hope for doubt, but then he remembers who they are, where they are, and what year it is.

Charles knows that John will send the letter to his woman, anyways, because she is his woman and that is his son, and he feels dirty for having desired for more than a second that he should come between a man and his family. Good life or not, John is probably experiencing the first chance his whole forsaken bloodline has ever had at something like that.

He also knows that John might keep kissing on him in these privacies because he was raised, to questionable success but undoubtedly in part, by Dutch van der Linde. Charles indulges in feeling over the finally-healed scars on John's cheek for the first time since wondering how thick the skin has grown back, says something sickeningly saccharine about how they cut through his beard much nicer than his own, you always was handsome— and in the soft fall of John's lids, mouth already furled up with drink, he realizes John wants him as much as he wants the good life.

"Are you happy?" He's asking, and his voice cracks over Charles' wrist. "Y'think you can be happy here, I mean?"

And like usual, he's asking more than he should ever ask. It's why they've always been close.

"It'll be a fine place," Charles says, instead. His belly is warm with beer but not enough to indulge the shared fantasies that fall so easily from John's mouth. "For you and your family."

His smile falters. "It's yours, too," he says, brows drawing. "M'family is your family, Charlie. Always will be."

It's a ridiculous thing to say. The name is too sweet on his tongue. It's a question more than anything, a silent won't you play house with us? that he takes offense to for Abigail's sake.

His hand falls from John's face to his shoulder, and he squeezes gently. "I ain't a homebody," he lies. I wouldn't know, he thinks truthfully. Nowhere has ever felt like home. This one isn't his, either, but John's face hardens the way it always does when he gets upset, and so Charles adds: "Maybe in another life, John."

It soothes some part of the ache spreading over his face. "Yeah," he agrees, and his fingers hook around Charles' hand to put it back over his scars. "One where that porch is ours."

Charles feels his eye twitch.

"Maybe," he repeats.

[soaps-mohawk]

Yay! Thank you for answering!

Okay, so I know you said you haven't given it much thought yet, but I wondering about Alejandro, Rudolfo, and Valeria's relationship with each other.

So, you know how all three of them were in the Mexican army together and A and R feel betrayed by Valeria for turning? How would that work with Packs in your story?

I know they were in different units in the army, but there was still supposed to be loyalty between them, right? So, for example, if they were in the same pack, and Alpha Valeria chose to leave, how would that work?

Like, if Alejandro and Rudolfo weren't specifically bonded to her, but they were in the same pack and had a pack bond, and then Valeria abandoned the pack for whatever reason- is that a thing that can happen, or are pack bonds for life?

I know this would never happen, but if Ghost decided he wanted to leave with Soap and have a separate pack, how would that work? Would the other members be passed?

(Now that I think about it, this is giving me Breaking Dawn vibes woth the packs splitting lol)

I hope this makes sense. Sorry if it didn't.

Sorry, I had to snort at the Breaking Dawn part lmaoo!! It makes perfect sense!!

But that absolutely can happen. It does happen.

Packs can split for a lot of reasons. Sometimes circumstances force them apart. Think military packs, where members are constantly getting reassigned places, moving bases, etc. Those tend to be less intense type of bonds versus what like TF141 has, because they're a specialized team that was created and it's less likely one of them would be leaving to be assigned somewhere else. Those kinds of bonds tend to be more camaraderie/friendship based than what we see in the story. (We will get a glimpse at a pack like that in the future.)

In the civilian world, packs might split because of jobs. In larger packs with several alphas, they might hold different jobs at different places and if one alpha has to move, then they might split off into separate packs, but that doesn't mean that they've permanently split. An alpha might take a beta or two and an omega with them and become sort of a satellite pack to the one with the pack alpha. They'd still be considered bonded, even if they're in different places.

Packs can actually fracture and split because of other reasons, usually due to some sort of tension within the pack, inner fighting, betrayal, or even just unbalanced dynamics. If you have three alphas in a pack and one omega? That can cause some issues down the line if there's unbalanced dynamics between the three alphas. The alphas may fight with each other over the omega and that can cause a fracture in the pack bond and lead to one or maybe even two leaving. (This is why betas are so important to pack dynamics.)

Valeria leaving as it happens in canon would cause some disruption as it did just in canon because that's a big betrayal and I think everyone that considered her an ally is going to feel that regardless. That's someone you thought you could trust, someone you thought was on your side. Now if they had all been in the same pack, they'd probably feel it a lot more. Even if they weren't particularly close, they're still going to feel that fracture in the pack bond and the sudden shift in dynamics.

Bonds transcend just being close to someone, there's emotional and physical ties in there that aren't really understood completely. When bonds are broken, there's actual physical pain involved, even for those that weren't particularly close to the one that causes it.

If Ghost wanted to leave, he technically could without fracturing the bond. As I stated above, he could basically become a sort of satellite pack and exist on his own, while still being under Price. If he wanted to leave the pack completely and fracture the bond, he could, though that would be a lot harder and that has to be something you're absolutely sure you want to do. It's a hard decision on all fronts, but sometimes it's unavoidable.

I hope this answer makes sense, but yeah. That's kind of how that works and how things would play out. 💚

[xgoldenlatiasx]

Heroverse- The "Canon" Protagonists

contrary to the title this isn't about the Heroverse protags at all. this is basically me explaining the roles the "canon" PKMN protags play in the verse. when I say this I mean like Lucas, Ethan, May, etc. because a good chunk of these guys actually DO exist within the Heroverse lore even if they're not in the role of "protagonist"! well, some of them exist, and some of them are taken up by "placeholders".

Akari- doesn't exist. her placeholder is Hana, ancestor of Quartz and former chosen of Shaymin and Giratina.

Rei- also doesn't exist. Placeholder is Atticus, ancestor of Blake and a former chosen of Reshiram.

Red- The only "canon" protag that is also still a protag in Heroverse. Specifically of the FR/LG games, I don't feel I have to explain it. Chosen of Mew and Articuno.

Leaf- Red's sister. Became Prof. Oak's assistant as a side thing in her pursuit of Mew/Mewtwo. Still fleshing out her story, but it has something to do with Red disappearing and her thinking that finding Mew/Mewtwo will bring her the answers. Haven't decided who she's a chosen of yet, potentially one of the Legendary birds?

Ethan- Al's best friend. A Pokemon breeder, Pokeathlete, and chosen of Celebi.

Lyra- Another one of Al's traveling companions. An expert battler and future gym leader of Mahogany Town, after Pryce retires. Chosen of Suicune

Brendan- Arcelia's rival, future professor, and chosen of Latios.

May- Her story is a bit interesting. The events of Ruby are semi-canon in Heroverse, in which Team Magma did try to awaken Groudon before the events of Alpha Sapphire, it just wasn't as intense and the rest of the region never learned about it. May managed to stop them which is why Team Magma are "good guys" by the events of Alpha Sapphire. Potentially chosen of Groudon? I haven't really decided. If she is her bond with it is dormant, since its asleep. Besides all that she's a pretty renowned trainer who everyone thought was gonna take on the league and beat Steven, buuut inexplicably gave up on it and kinda hid herself from the public eye. Also the daughter of Norman.

Dawn- Not sure about her yet tbh. Haven't come up with a placeholder for her yet, or decided if she has a place in the canon.

Lucas- Professor's Rowan's assistant and Quartz's friend. He's also dating Barry. Haven't really decided what to do with him outside of that yet, but Sinnoh has a fair amount of Legendaries to work with so he might become a chosen.

Hilbert- Placeholder is Cole, an ex-trainer who became a double agent that's pretending to work for Plasma, but in truth is gathering intel to deliver to the League on how to stop them. Also trying to find his sister and get her out.

Hilda- Placeholder is Ashlynn, Cole's little sister. Also an ex-trainer, but Team Plasma managed to guilt her into releasing her Pokemon and joining them. She was formerly King's trainer, Blake's Snivy.

Serena- Haven't decided. Potentially one of Auberi's distant cousins. Might make her a chosen of one of XY mythicals.

Calem- Also haven't decided, and will also potentially be one of Auberi's cousins and a chosen of an XY mythical.

Serene- Haven't decided

Elio- Haven't decided

Victor- A friend of Hop's who lives in Wedgehurst and eventually ends up dating him. Potentially a chosen of Calyrex

Gloria- Haven't decided, will potentially be Victor's sister

Juliana- Haven't decided

Florian- Haven't decided

[thatswhatsushesaid]

hard/soft head canons for jgy pls (or if u have one for jgy already in ur inbox, gimme ur hcs about sms!)

I do not have one for jgy yet!! but bless u because I love talking about him for literally any reason

I have a few hard headcanons for jgy! which, to be clear, is not the same as saying that this is what I believe the canon itself indisputably says; it is just that this is the interpretation of the text that I find most supportable and enjoyable, and which I like to work with in fic and RP. anyway, I'll list them out and try to be succinct:

I don't think jgy killed jrs, for all the reasons that I've written about already, as well as for the many reasons outlined in other people's thoughtful meta. I think he thought about it and contemplated how he might do it even before the assassination attempt, but I don't think he did it.

jgy didn't hate mo xuanyu and wasn't afraid of jgs replacing him with mxy specifically. he is also not the source of the rumours regarding mo xuanyu sexually harassing him, because no matter which way you dice it, it straight up does not make sense for a man who carefully calculates his risks before he takes them to intentionally spread a rumour implicating him in an incestuous entanglement with his half-brother while he is literally married to his own half-sister. so when I write jgy, I tend to write him as having fond and affectionate feelings for mxy initially (which I believe is supported by the text, given how mxy worshipped him), that quickly become uncomfortable, and ultimately result in him wanting mxy to be as far away from him as possible.

connected to the above, jgy is never intentionally impolite or unkind to mxy, even when arranging to have him removed from jinlintai.

jgy's feelings for lxc are deep and genuine and rooted in mutual respect and understanding! I think this much is pretty much indisputably canon whether you decide to interpret the relationship romantically or not. but this is a headcanon meme, and my headcanon is absolutely that they have intense romantic feelings for each other, and that they definitely do want to fuck about it. more often than not my headcanon is that they don't have a sexual relationship in the novel for many reasons (most of which are tied to the tenuousness of jgy's position and the care he takes with his reputation). in cql, jgy's position is still similarly tenuous and he works hard to preserve his reputation, but good fucking god, the chemistry between lhk and zzj when they're on-screen together is off the charts. like I have a harder time coming up with justifications for why they haven't fucked. because damn, lads, really? right in front of chifeng-zun's salad? anyway--

jgy isn't a sadist and doesn't enjoy causing pain (have I written about this recently, I for sure think I have written about this recently), and I wish I saw less of this in the search results when I go hunting for xiyao fic on AO3. that said I do think that he enjoys having the power to either cause pain to those who have wronged him, or withhold it as a gesture of mercy, or to intercede to protect someone he cares about from experiencing pain.

man I definitely have more hard headcanons for jgy but at this point I feel like I'm veering into arguing for what I believe is canon vs what is just my personal preference when interpreting the character. ok soft headcanons, aka stuff I still feel pretty strongly about and feel is supported by the text, but won't necessarily throw me out of enjoying a fic or w/e if I encounter a story that approaches things differently:

I don't think jgy hated nmj at the time of his death and believe his tears while witnessing nmj's qi deviation were a genuine expression of both horror and grief, but I do think he hated nmj, in the moment, when nmj punted him down the steps of jinlintai and denigrated him and his mother publicly in front of his entire sect. and frankly, I think just about anyone else would too.

related to the above, I don't think jgy expected nmj's death to be as horrific as it was, and I think nhs being wounded by nmj in the process remains a real regret that follows him for the rest of his life.

tangentially related (again!): let jgy be a sugar daddy please, let this man spoil rotten the people in his life that he loves and cares for! give me modern AUs where jgy slowly woos lxc through the power of transforming him into a clotheshorse, but a clotheshorse only for the high quality clothes that jgy gifts to him. let jgy win him over with very soft cashmere and silk and cufflinks and antique musical scores that his newly acquired and hard won wealth has allowed him to enjoy. let lxc be super hot for it.

my read on jgy in bed is that, when he feels secure enough to explore sexual intimacy, he is an extremely generous lover who derives half of his pleasure from ensuring that his partner (who, lbr, is going to be lxc 9/10 for me) has all of their needs met before he contemplates his own.

okay I must stop!! or I never will!!!

[acircusfullofdemons]

Questions: 1,, 4,, 18,, 19,, 20 for the Para Motivation Ask Meme please !! (ෆ ᴗ͈ ω ᴗ͈ ෆ) I’’d like to request Neil and Ozzie,, but you can do the paras you’’ve most recently been daydreaming about if you’’d like !! ( ◉ ω ◉ )

[ ASK GAME ] || (I'm pretty sure you meant the para relationship ask game lol) Funnily enough Neil & Ozzie WERE the last paras I daydreamed about!! They were doing kinky sex while I was working and uhm I think Neil might be ace?? We'll get back to that at some point. But I'm also gonna do Alice from @fractured-fables since I drew her earlier & also Emory bc there's now a sign at work that looks SO MUCH LIKE HIM it makes me loose my mind.

1.) What’s their relationship with their parents like? Is there one parent they’re closer too than the other? If your was raised by a different caretaker, what is their relationship like, and how does your para feel about the absence of their parents in their life?

Neil: Technically doesn't have parents as he was treated as an experiment since the minute he was born. However, his father was a scientist at Arcaynis (the organization that's experimenting on people). He willingly subjected his own son to horrific experiments, but thankfully(??) Neil didn't know this. He doesn't really have any parental figures, and kinda wished he did. Maybe he wouldn't be so fucked up if someone held him a little bit as a kid.

Ozzie: His father was very abusive, but thankfully his momma was always ready to defend him. He is a very big momma's boy and yknow, I think they still talk sometimes. He probably sent her some of the money he stole when he was a villain.

Alice: Does not get along with her parents. Well. Its complicated. She loves them, they love her, but they don't really "get" her, if you catch my drift?? Objectively speaking, they're fine parents, just probably not the best for Alice. HOWEVER, Phineas becomes like her second dad/uncle/older brother figure in Wonderland, and those two understand each other SO WELL. Funnily enough, they actually hated each other when they first met! Both for good reasons but nowadays you'd never know. Also did you know some people ship Alice & Hatter romantically??? They are Wrong. So very wrong thats her dad!!!

Emory: His "backstory" gives him parents, but they're also dead and desperately need to be buried bc they're rotting corpses are stinking up the house. He doesn't really consider them his "parents", anyway. Technically, he doesn't have any, and he's perfectly fine with that. Still, Theia likes to call him her son sometimes which is kinda funny so he allows it and humors her by occasionally referring to her as his mother.

4.) Who was your para’s childhood best friend? When and how did they meet? Are they still friends?

Neil: Dahlia!! She was the daughter of another scientist at Arcaynis, but not an experiment. Neil loved her, she was quite literally the ONLY good thing in his life. Dahlia wasn't supposed to sneak into wherever Neil was being kept, but she was curious. And stubborn, because she kept coming back almost every day! Eventually, she was encouraged to interact with Neil to observe how he reacted to certain stimuli. Unfortunately, he accidentally killed her while he was escaping Arcaynis. He often wonders what it'd be like if she lived — would she be proud? He almost idolizes and romanticizes her/her existence. It's kinda creepy.

Ozzie: Ozzie was a very shy, soft spoken, and introverted kid. He was bullied a lot for being a teachers pet / being smart. It was rough, but Nora Osborn took pity on him and helped Ozzie gain some confidence during high school! I have not introduced her yet (bc I. keep forgetting to) but Nora is Ozzie's wife! Canonically she had roughly 8 minutes of screen time and died but I haven't fully decided on what I wanna do with her in MaaC yet. But she does exist, and Ozzie loves her dearly.

Alice: Her best friends are Dorothy and Wendy!!! They've been bffs for varying years, but all met during early childhood. I think they all just met on the playground one day, yknow how little kids are lol. And yes, they're still friends today! I call them the "iskeai girls" bc they all get transported to other worlds lol.

Emory: OK so technically Emory never had a "childhood", he's an ageless being that sort of just...exists. but uhm I guess we can say Ketrill?? Ketrill was created by Theia so they spent a lot of time together. They're kinda like brothers.

18.) How important are your para’s various relationships to them? Do they cherish the people closest to them? Does their support system keep them going? How about strangers? What are their feelings about humanity as a whole? Is it easier for them to live those closest to them vs humanity as a whole?

Neil: EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. He has never had friends/family/ANYTHING before escaping Arcaynis, so he'll cling to anything he can stick his claws in. He learns to balance different relationships (as well as the types of relationships) as time goes on with the help of those around him, but by GOD was he, uh, a bit of an obsessive stalker towards practically anyone he met the first few years of living in society. As for humanity? It sucks. Shut that shit down.

Ozzie: Oohh, he's a sappy mother motherfucker that loves his friends and probably believed in the power of friendship when he was younger (he still kinda does sshhh). He has mixed views on humanity but like, he's human too so he doesn't want it totally gone.

Alice: Depends on the person tbh. Earth? Forget them tbh. Wonderland? THAT'S HER FAMILY!!! Yes all of Wonderland is her family now lol that's her HOME. She loves it there and genuinely considers it her home, she'd live there always if given the option. She thinks humanity on earth sucks but Wonderlandians got smth going on trust her on that.

Emory: So looking at it now I think Emory is only close to like, 5 people total. That's it. I don't know if he'd consider them a "friend group" or a "support system" but he does care for them, which is saying something, as he doesn't really get close to people. I don't think he really has an opinion on humanity. Like it exists. That's it. He doesn't really...care??

19.) How does your para realize they care about someone? Is it instantaneous, or a slow realization? Are they dense, or maybe realize once it’s too late that there was something there?

Neil: He's...a little dense. To everyone else, it's so fucking obviously because he's trailing after the person like a lost puppy and is borderline obsessed with them. But he probably won't realize how much they mean until someone either points it out or he looses that person.

Ozzie: It creeps up on him. He knows he cares about someone, its the level/extent of it that surprises him! Like he thought Neil was just a good ally/coworker until something innocuous happened, like maybe he saw the other sleeping and then BAM! Head over heels in love. Incredible, really.

Alice: I feel like Alice is similar to Ozzie, she knows she cares about those around her, I guess sometimes she just forgets HOW much she cares. Or sometimes its hard to care, with all the shit they've been through/have going on. She tries her best to make sure those she loves feel appreciated, though.

Emory: Imma be honest...he doesn't get "close" to people. He's an Interdimensional Demonic Cat, The Librarian. He records everything, narrates all of it. So getting close to those he is observing...he doesn't like it. He was close to Delilah, and she died. He was a little too involved with False Moon, and they're pretty traumatized. By FF/LIW he's kinda keeping his distance. Anyway! He knows pretty quickly when he genuinely cares about someone and not solely because he wants the "story" to continue. And he will deny it until the end of time, because God forbid a kitty experience love!!

20.) How does your para expresses their feelings of care/love to others? What’s their love language (giving and receiving!)

Neil: Gift giving!! He gives very weird gifts, though. Honestly he's kinda like a cat bringing its owner dead animals?? Like uh thanks buddy but what am I supposed to do with this exactly. He very much likes receiving physical contact. Hold him. Please.

Ozzie: Quality time!! He likes taking people out to museums and aquariums, those type of places, and seeing what they point out. He also likes receiving quality time. Literally all you gotta do is exist in the same room as him he is so easy to please.

Alice: Acts of service!! She'll get your groceries! She'll paint your roses! She'll die for you! Literally!! She likes receiving words of affirmation. Tell her she's doing good. Please. Don't actually she'll break down and sob.

Emory: Physical contact. I feel like that's a typical/standard cat answer. Yes he does express love like an actual cat would. He likes receiving quality time. Just spend some time in his library, he'll appreciate it a lot.

[andreilslovechild]

So recently I've been obsessed with Hazbin Hotel like approximately half of the internet so welcome to my little idea for a Hotel Hazbin Au

Characters: Angel=Andrew, Alastor=Riko, Husk=Kevin, Nifty=Jean, Sir Pencious=Seth, Vaggie=Renee, Vox=Neil, Valentino=Drake, Velvette=Allison, Rosie=Nathan, Cherri Bomb=Nicky I'm playing around with the possibility of Charlie being Wymack but idk yet, rn charlie is James which is an OC of mine and a friends.

I'm obsessed with unrequited Vox/Alastor and Angel/Husk so Neil/riko rivalry with onesided sexual tension and maybe some hate sex and then some kandrew as well

Andrew will have much the same backstory as Angel except without the mafia family so instead of a spider hes a cat. He is in hell because he would hook up with then kill them to keep his secrets and then he'd take drugs to deal with the guilt. I haven't decided whether he died from a drug overdose or AIDS. His name would still be Angel since I'm obsessed with a pet Andrew being angel. He was "taken in" and contracted by Drake early on and he quickly becomes his favourite.

Riko is still gonna be a radio demon, but I think he died because he was too brave with his killings (still a serial killer like Alastor) and his brother killed him to make sure he didn't get the whole family caught. I think I might have his demon form be more of a raven than a deer too. Was also playing with the idea of him being the exy demon too which could be fun. He's also chained by Lillith ;)

Kevin has much the same backstory as Husk and he died from alcohol poisoning or liver failure and he used to be an overlord and got into gambling which led to his deal with Riko

Jean is based on some HCs I've seen for Nifty so he died from a couple gunshots and he used to be a butler or slave or something similar and he snapped and killed the family he worked for so that's why hes in hell. I don't really have any ideas for why he made a deal with Riko but he did.

Seth died from a drug overdose. he wants to be an overlord but hes not really that powerful so he never really gets there. He works for the NDAs (My name for the Vee's in this Au) and tries to get info for them like in the show but when he gets caught whoever plays Charlie forgives him

Renee has much the same backstory as Vaggie. She used to be an angel but she felt bad about killing demons so after letting some go her eye was stabbed out by lute and she became a fallen angel. shes not dating anyone in this au but she is the first guess and helps run the hotel.

Neil was the media person in his family, growing in popularity as a hilarious and sociable media personality. he died young when he was electrocuted by faulty wiring during a broadcast, ending up in hell and quickly climbing the ranks after meeting Drake and later Allison. He doesn't have a TV as a head but he is mostly made out of wires and kind of looks like a hologram, often glitching out and disappearing when he gets angry or overwhelmed.

Drake was a pedophile and rapist when he was alive. He ran a sex club where he often hired and took advantage of underage people and he would post videos of them being taken advantage of on the dark web. he was killed by an angry victim. After ending up in hell he made his living and climbed the ranks by becoming a famous porn producer and pimp in order to continue taking advantage of people. this is what gets Neil's attention as he owns anything to do with film and media, leading them to work together. when he finds Andrew, new to hell and looking for a place to stay and money for drugs he very quickly scoops him up and he becomes his favourite and most loved star.

Allison was the heiress to a famously rich family similar to Canon. She was controlling, mean, and obsessed with her image. She died from anorexia and quickly became popular on Voxtagram with her beautiful pics and witty captions and hashtags, quickly gaining the attention of Neil and Drake and becoming the final part of the NDAs.

Nathan was a prolific cannibalistic serial killer (a la Hannibal Lector) and he died during a police shoot-out. He ends up as the overlord of cannibal town after gaining power there and making lots of deals for many souls, becoming one of Riko's best friends too as he often frequents the area as a former cannibal himself.

Nicky is in hell because of his sexuality as well as some of the things he did while alive. after escaping his parents his morals are not very well made and he often makes bad choices that get him in deep shit. he dies after some homophobes find out hes gay and beat him to death (similar to what likely would have happened at Edens if Andrew hadn't stepped in in canon). once he does arrive in hell he figures "what the hell" and kind of goes off the rails a bit with drugs, drinking, and property damage, quickly adopting Andrew under his wing, claiming he reminds him of his cousin a bit and they become very close.

That's all I have so far!!!! please add if you'd like, i always love more ideas :)

[amethystina]

Hi !!! :)

4. What detail in "The Devil's Due" are you really proud of?

5. What do you wish someone would ask you about "The Devil's Due"? Answer it now!

6. What’s one fact about the universe of "The Devil's Due" that you didn’t get a chance to mention in the fic itself?

I'm sorry for being this obssessed :/

No need to apologise! I'm glad my writing can make you this excited! 💜

4. What detail in "The Devil's Due" are you really proud of?

I think the tension and power balance? Specifically the one that comes from seeing Yo Han from Ga On's POV in this setting, when he's a defendant rather than a young judge sent to spy on him. It shifts the power balance and while that is a delicate thing that can easily be abused, I had a lot of fun portraying it in this first chapter. And it'll even out in the rest of the story which, in turn, will give me new opportunities and situations to play around with.

Because, well, Yo Han will be older, sure, and therefore someone Ga On should respect according to the rules of Korean society. He'll also have helped Ga On avoid getting a record, which means that Ga On is indebted to him, but he won't be Ga On's boss. So, when they meet again later, Yo Han will actually have less power over Ga On in that regard. Ga On can do whatever the fuck he wants and he'll be called disrespectful, sure, but there are fewer stakes. And this will give Ga On more room to be reckless and blunt which, in case you haven't noticed, is something I love (as does Yo Han, tbh).

One detail I didn't like, however — and is something I'll probably go back and change once I continue working on the story — is Ga On's vocabulary in this first chapter. He's supposed to be a teenager so I should probably go back and simplify it a little. But that's for later.

5. What do you wish someone would ask you about "The Devil's Due"? Answer it now!

I wish someone would ask me about the research I did because, oh man, was that a ride.

Basically, I wanted to figure out just how long it takes to become a judge in South Korea, partly because the rest of the fic will take place during the time Ga On is studying to do just that and I needed to get my timeline straight. But also because I wanted to maybe figure out when Yo Han might have become one in canon. Like, was he a judge before Isaac died? Or was that a career path he chose specifically to get revenge? (which I still haven't found an answer to, by the way, but it was worth a try)

In The Devil's Due, I clearly went with the former, with him being one even before Isaac died. Perhaps Yo Han thought it would make Isaac proud if he worked in the law field? Or maybe it was a fuck you to his father? Who knows?

ANYWAY. The point is that, during this research, I realised that canon gives fewer shits about this than I do x'D The drama is inaccurate in its depiction of how long it takes to become a judge. Ga On cannot possibly have become one at his age with the system South Korea currently uses unless he started practising law at 19 and completely skipped military service (which I'm going to assume he didn't).

Instead, they seem to be using the old system that was revised back in 2008. Which honestly isn't a big deal because they can just say that this is a dystopian, fictional version of South Korea so maybe that's just one of the things that never happened and helped bring about the society they now live in? Because, let me tell you, they must have gotten quite a lot of questionable judges with that old system (the education was, uh, worryingly short).

The real reason, however, I think is as simple as Moon Yoo Seok deciding to go with the system that (based on his age) was used when he became a judge. Either because of that whole "write what you know" thing or simply because it made the story more exciting. Because, honestly, it wouldn't have been as fun if Ga On wasn't the young and idealistic man that he is in canon. With the new system, he'd have to have practised law for at least 10 years before ever ending up on the Live Court Show. Which would definitely not have created as fun of a dynamic between him and Yo Han. Like, Ga On wouldn't even be a sugar baby twink at that point, would he? And we definitely can't have that!

Anyway, in The Devil's Due, I'll honour the canon and just go with whatever the hell I want. Probably a combination of the old and new system, where you at least have to become a lawyer first (which, uh, didn't seem to be a requirement with the old system?) and THEN become a judge. But I'll remove the "has to have worked as a lawyer for at least 10 years" part.

So yeah. The more you know? xD

6. What’s one fact about the universe of "The Devil's Due" that you didn’t get a chance to mention in the fic itself?

I honestly mentioned the majority of them in my short notes on the actual post and the rest will (hopefully) become apparent as the story continues. But I think one thing I'd like to emphasise is the fact that their first meeting is the ONLY thing I'll knowingly change from canon.

That's not to say that other things won't be different — because they sure as hell will be — but I'll try to keep my intentional influence limited to that one detail. And then see just how much that will change the characters' choices going forward and, consequentially, their lives and the unfolding story.

So, for example, Komi unfortunately won't be in this fic since she seems to have been a relatively new addition once the drama starts. Jin Joo also won't appear, as sad as that makes me, because I don't think there will be a chance for them to run into each other. But Ga On has his gay/sub/sugar baby awakening a LOT sooner because he just happened to come across a suitable sugar daddy (which I assume he didn't in canon) and, because of that, figures out his feelings for Soo Hyun long before he meets Yo Han again, years later.

Basically, what I want to explore with this fic is how that one meeting will change everything that happens between Yo Han and Ga On. And the hilarious part is that Ga On is going to be responsible for the majority of those changes. He is the one who will seek Yo Han out. He is the one who'll get a little bit obsessed. He is the one who won't be able to let Yo Han go.

And that alone is such a fun change that I can't wait to explore it. Let's watch Ga On be the instigator and pursuer for once! (though, obviously, Yo Han is still the one mostly in charge because, well, Yo Han x'D)

Questions for fic writers

[the-one-who-acts]

Been playing a lot of Cult of the Lamb and I currently have a bunch of headcanons about the characters but, a thing that has come to my mind was Lamby (or Lambert), becoming a bishop of the new faith but also, them going through various transformations due to the red crown as well as certain actions they took, this is all based on my own run as well as Fannon stuff so not a whole lot of canon.

(Also I haven't played much of the new DLC as well as the post-game content)

-Lambert was once part of a village that worshipped the old faith, Specifically the figure of Leshy, but after the prophecy was foretold to Shamura by Caluneck, the Lambs were hunted down and killed, however, this led Leshy to not meddle with Lambert's followers, not only due to his chaotic nature but possibly because they knew Lambert worshipped him beforehand, in fact once he becomes a follower, Leshy was the first to let go of his grudge against Lambert;

-Lambert is a very skilled cook but also a great medic, even have had performed surgeries before, and with the new access to various resources, Lambert even managed to partially fix the damage caused to the bishops by Narinder. This is due to their previous role as the healer of the cult, they could have gotten promoted to main healer of the cult if the prophecy was never foretold;

-Lambert is Demiromantic Pansexual, and their first romantic relationship was with none other than Narinder, it took a long time for both to come around and admit such feelings, as Lambert had only experienced aesthetic attraction but still married to their followers if they had a connection and Narinder because he never experienced a romantic relationship, but they eventually got married.

-Their wedding ceremony was different from the rest, as both wanted to make it feel official, and Narinder wanted to show the Lamb a bit of his old heritage from the Old faith, so both came up with a ceremony both liked:

Narinder shared that when a bishop wishes to marry a member, the bishop must turn a follower into a Harthor demon, and the follower must go on a quest and retrieve a Heart of a Heretic, both will then become the accessories to symbolize their bond, Lambert managed to get the heart but as Narinder was weak without his powers and if Lambert gave him the crown they would die, so he decided on something different, he made the heart with crystals and gold that as later turned into a horn ring that Lambert uses til this day.

Lambert shared that in Lamb culture, the family gathers their own wool to make the garments for the Marrier, even if Lambert wasn't raised by his own kind (I might talk more about their fanon family another day), their family made sure they were in touch with their roots, however, with the passing of Ratau, Lambert was an orphan once more until a certain fox decided to give Lambert a deserving ceremony, Ratau, Ratoo, Flinky, Klunko, Bop, and Shrumy collected spider silk to improvise the wool to make the garments, with accessories that would represent Narinder, the same was done with Narinder, his siblings, Baal, Aym, and Forneus, who saw him as a kitten of her own in his follower form to the amusement of the ex-bishops and Baal and Aym.

Finally, the ceremony was to be held at the place of their future home, where their next chapter in the relationship was going to be made, and neither had to look far for that, the Gateway was the best option, it was close to the cult and their family, not to mention it was gorgeous, the ceremony was carried on by Ratau as the judge that officialized the wedding in a mortal setting, telling Nari and Lamby to kiss and read out their vows, and the fox carried it in a demonic way, with Lamby and Narinder using a ceremonial dagger to cut a scar on their faces and the blood from it was deposited in a small test tube and used to draw symbols on their foreheads to match the other attendees.

Sadly, Ratau could not stay for long, as a servant of the fox, he was to go wherever the fox went, but they would pray hard to see each other in the next century or two.

-Speaking of Ratau, After Narinder was brought to the cult and Lambert managed to get a hold of the resurrection ritual, Narinder noticed the Lamb was spending too much time in the temple, after several sleepless nights, even if Narinder didn't need to do so, he found out what was going on, Lambert was wasting away their energy and letting the crown get a hold of their mind in an attempt to bring back Ratau after a "stupid mistake" as they said once, Narinder managed to stop the lamb but the damage was already done, one of Lambert's eyes was now full of demonic energy, making it look like a witness' eye, their tears turned black, the other eyes was changing its shape, veins were appearing around Lambert's witness eye, their limbs turned black and were all boney, and their face was almost splitting open, an eldritch form was in the making but since Lambert was only around for a couple of years with the crown, their body was not fully ready, Ratoo was called to make a blood transfusion with his hearts so that Narinder could attempt to heal Lambert.

It took months for Lambert to wake up, but even so, they were completely changed, acting like a possessed cult member refusing to conform, the crown was almost taking over, and it left Narinder no choice but to exile Lambert temporarily to his realm, so he could fight the crown and get the Lamb back.

However, each battle was more difficult than the last, leading Narinder to lock up Lambert until he was converted back, but no matter what, no one could reason with the Lamb, not even their old spouses, some even left the cult cause they couldn't bear to see Lambert like that, others did so thinking that this was a sign of a downfall, but the black cat refused to give up, to the point where he explored the lands alone, with no powers just so he could reach his now resurrected siblings, who left shortly after Lambert resurrected them, to see if any could find a solution, Leshy and Heket suggested to just rip the ctwon off, but Narinder said that it was a literal death sentence, Kallamar suggested that Narinder should now run the cult and abandon the Lamb but he was met with several claws to his face, finally Shamura spoke, they suggested that maybe if they contacted the Fox, they could give the Lamb what it was fighting so hard for, they just wanted their father back, but what they needed was forgiveness.

The fox was summoned and everyone was surprised to see Ratau was not only in one piece but married to the fox, making Narinder question if this was a strategy Lambert taught Ratau or the other way around, Ratau was told about the situation with the lab and demanded the fox to teleport him to his child, once it was done, Ratau hugged the Lamb, telling him that he was to not cruse themselves or give themselves punishment for a mistake such as that, Ratau forgave them the moment they made contact with the Fox, and Ratau had done his own fair share of mistakes, so far more ruthless than what the Lamb had done, he saw their tears, their pain, and that was enough for him to see that despite everything, they still were the small Lamb he guided a long time ago, those words were enough for the crown to calm down but it was forever changed, along with the one that bears it.

-Lambert is currently helping the Ex-Bishops to live a much nicer life than the one they faced back in their day but to also share the knowledge of a time that was gone, not to mention to assist in whatever they needed in the cult or outside of it so Alliances could be formed and the new faith could be properly built up, one that would welcome various creatures and ways of worship.

[fountainpenguin]

While I'm sad you're not going to continue 28 Cities, could you answer some questions about it for closure sake?

DID RHYME GET AWAY FROM ZEPHYR?????? Because you kinda left off with them being set up to work at a hotel thanks to Rhyme's grand parents. Part of me is wondering that the reason why Rhyme and Reason moved through so many cities is because Zephyr is chasing them… I assume this might end with Rhyme fighting him in a climactic battle or something.

What made them want to become villains? You kinda set it up in earlier chapters with Reason pickpocketing the rude lady on the train and…. Rhyme's entire childhood of being raised by a supervillain and forced to train. What was the thing that made them become villains?

I believe you mentioned a misadventure with stealing a blimp. Do you mind elaborating on that?

What made them choose the names Rhyme and Reason instead of Super Strong Woman With Freeze Breath and Normal Guy?

Hi, thanks for the interest in my story! Although I'm not writing "28 Cities" at this time, I haven't truly abandoned it.

In truth, I went into that story without a plan because "28 Cities" was a "drabble a day" project I was trying to do, posting one chapter per day. I burned out pretty quickly because I genuinely struggle to write short things and I always wanted the one-shots to be longer, and I was getting overwhelmed and disappointed with it. I don't consider that story a great reflection of my writing abilities. I decided to put it on hold until I was ready to look at it again.

I do like the WordGirl universe and I explored it more in my one-shot "AlgoRhythm," but part of the problem was that the strict schedule I was holding myself to with "28 Cities" didn't give me enough space to worldbuild the way I wanted to. I have a lot of ideas about the world, like charm schools and genetics, and I wanted to write a bigger 'fic to explore those ideas instead.

I'm working towards that goal now with my multi-chapter Kid Math 'fic "Factor It In," which I started back in 2018. I made good progress with it back then and even drew a cute cover image I still love, but I never posted it because it felt choppy and inauthentic to my style, and I hated that.

Earlier this year, I did tidy the first few chapters of it and they're officially part of my weekly 2023 'fic schedule now ("Factor It In" Chap 1 goes up on FFN/AO3 on June 16th!) so that makes me happy :) I've got two chapters fully written (but at the end of Chapter 1 I have a note asking readers for advice on chapter length so it might end up being three chapters already done). Hopefully people enjoy that, I'm glad I had the chance to revisit it.

In short, "28 Cities" is not a dead project in my mind. It's just not part of my plans this year because it would take a ton of mental effort to plan and write for, and it won't fit in my 2023 plans.

I didn't really plan anything for "28 Cities" so you're probably not going to like my answers, but hopefully they provide some closure anyway.

---

In response to your questions:

Did Rhyme get away from Zephyr? - Probably, but I never planned it one way or another. Rhyme and Reason ran off a week or two before graduation and I doubt he's still chasing them when they're in their... 30s? He'd be in his 60s.

/It's been a long time since I saw the episode so forgive me if they had a canon age that I forgot. I'm not sure what I headcanon Rhyme and Reason as, but maybe 30s since they've lived in 28 places and it cracks me up to imagine world-weary Reason painstakingly decorating every single apartment until Rhyme blows it for them.

I don't want to commit to that for sure, though my heart will always belong to "Rhyme and Reason are legitimately adults who are platonic best friends and no one even bothers telling them they're "too young and will change their minds about being platonic when they're older" because yes they really are adults and they're happy." As far as I'm concerned, they're zucchinis and I love that for them <3 Gosh I wish that were me.

To me, Rhyme and Reason were always bouncing around because Reason wanted to put down roots and Rhyme didn't, but I never thought about her dad pursuing them. Zephyr's kind of a bitter and broken man who already lost his wife and is on awful terms with his in-laws after taking the villain route. He probably WOULD want to attack Reason for "stealing his daughter" and I can imagine Reason getting beaten up badly while Rhyme stands in shock, but I'm not sure how I'd actually play it if I went that route.

To me, Zephyr was more of the inciting incident that pushed Amy and Tyler out of their hometown, but I didn't really intend for him to be the climax. Since it was a one-shot series I didn't really see a need for a climax, but if I were to revisit it years later, I might try building towards one. Who knows.

What made them become villains? - I didn't plan that either. It's already established in WordGirl canon that "superheroes usually work for free." I built this into the backstory of Rhyme's dad (i.e. a hero who became a villain to feed his daughter after the death of his wife). In addition to Reason pickpocketing that lady who was rude to Rhyme, like you mentioned, I already painted Rhyme with a violent nature (i.e. destroying prom after her dad banned her from going) so they were probably just struggling to survive. I'm not really sure yet.

Rhyme dealt with a lot of turmoil growing up, being born to a superhero who turned to a life of crime, and she looked down on villainy for a long time. In "28 Cities," I wrote about how she ran from home and hid at her grandparents' place, and they helped her and Reason get that hotel job. I like to think these early years were focused on her and Reason building their friendship, but the crime didn't come until later. I'm not sure what sparked it, but it was absolutely after they were already "ride or die" for life.

My guess is they were probably hungry and couldn't pay rent and probably had medical bills or something [i.e. Reason getting beaten up by Zephyr so Rhyme swallows her pride and does everything she can for him even though she hates it at first] and Rhyme's grandparents were already out of their lives for a long time, so things just got tough.

Don't take this as my official canon because I still want the option to change it later if I want to, but that's a possibility for your question.

Stealing a blimp - I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you're referring to. I did a CTRL-F in the full version of the story and I didn't see anything about a blimp. I checked my OG doc and my blog, but didn't see anything in either of those places. It doesn't sound familiar.

What made them choose the names Rhyme and Reason? - I never decided, though I do headcanon that Rhyme was rhyming even when she was young, so her name was inspired by that. The phrase "rhyme and reason" is pretty common, so once Rhyme got her name, Tyler was probably like "Yeah, Reason suits me." He's the kind who couldn't care less at first, but ends up proud of his name. I'm sure he's the one who designed their logo, too.

Thank you for reaching out, and I'm sorry if this reply is less than satisfactory. "Rhyme and Reason" is my favorite episode and I love them dearly, and I'd rather focus on other projects that are more important to me right now, and maybe do "28 Cities" justice at a later time, and not butcher it in a rush <3 It's not dead to me, it just won't fit into my plans for 2023.