#How to Tell the Difference Between an Apparition and a Ghost

[thatsbelievable]

[starsofang]

Change of Heart

hitman!simon x f!reader / part 8

previous part

tw: alcohol use, angst, mentions of death

When life has completely and utterly failed you, you hire a hitman to take you out, too afraid to do it yourself. Instead of killing you like you had planned, he strikes up a deal with you, and you're too stubborn to bail out.

Waking up the next morning was the biggest slap in the face. It singed your skin with a burning sting, leaving you disoriented and lost. It was as if the brutal force of realization had hit you so hard, it knocked any form of thought right out of your mind except for pain. Irrepressible pain that caused you to feel numb.

Simon had left. All of your worried texts proved futile. What once showed as blue was now a sickening green that glared back at you. Your number was blocked, your messages unable to go through, and you were left an even shattered version than before. You were glass shards left to lay on the floor, you were a broken wind chime that could no longer provide a charming ambience.

You were broken and useless, tossed to the side like a damaged piece of scrap.

Simon had lived up to his name, and disappeared like a ghost. Drifting off into shadows of darkness, seeping into them and becoming one, never to be seen again.

You were hurt. Scratch that, that was a nice way of putting it – you were devastated. The walls you had so graciously taken down for him were now jagged pieces of debris with no mortar to glue them back together one by one. They were unrepairable, crumbling far too much to be saved.

Everything you ever learned about Simon felt like a lie, because that’s what he did – he lied. The glass was too foggy to tell the difference between what was a lie, and what wasn’t. If there were any parts of Simon that were truthful, you didn’t believe it. There was no grace of god to be there to lend a guiding hand to point you in the right direction. All you had was your gut, telling you deranged criticisms.

He lied to you, this was all a game, and you fell for it.

You should’ve known, really. A man like Simon was not one to love and be loved, not when he had an apparition named Ghost to steer him away from any attachment. After all, spirits could not grow devoted to a mere mortal woman who had nothing left to offer. You were stupid to think otherwise.

Graves was a bad enough person. He hurt you, tormented you, claimed you in order to assure your life was a living hell, with or without him. Now, the smallest part of you didn’t think he could be as cruel as Simon at this moment. It was a brainless thought, one you knew was far from true.

Simon never hurt you, nor did he treat you as bad as Graves.

But at least Graves didn’t have the gall to abandon you like an unwanted dog on the street.

Your mind was ping-ponging back and forth between truth and deception. You didn’t know what was real. It hazed over you, muting out every bit of you that was left inside and replacing it with nothing but cracked foundation.

Nothing was real. Nothing was worth it.

You didn’t leave the house for the entirety of the day, nor the next. You stayed in the confinement of your own home, feeling like a caged animal with no way out. You were slowly decaying away, losing the truest part of yourself, no longer able to see her in the reflection. She stared back at you with a ghostly image, whispering about how disappointed she was in you, how hateful she felt towards you.

She whispered about Simon, burdening you with reminders of what could’ve been if you were simply a little less broken. Bringing him up just to dig the knife in more, twisting it under your skin and basking in the bloodshed.

You were spiraling, just like you always did, because it was all you were good for. Simon was another excuse to crumble back into a deeply rooted self hatred. He was just a chess piece, a single card in a stack of dozens, while you picked it up and returned to your old game of reckless entertainment.

Day fourteen came before you know it. And you spent it completely by yourself, pondering why you ever made a deal with the devil in the first place.

It was easy to fall back into old habits when there was nothing there to offer recovery. Relapsing was what you did best, even when Simon was around, and you’d be damned if you didn’t do it again with him gone. It was a part of you, this endless cycle of self abuse, and it wasn’t going anywhere. It was simply on a temporary pause, now returning with more fiery persistence than before.

Alcohol was the only home you ever knew. It warmed you to the bone, engulfing you in a buzzing fervor. It welcomed you back with open arms, holding on to you with no intent of letting go. You were its lovely hostage, and you had grown Stockholm Syndrome.

Weeks passed by of tireless nights filled with the bitter taste that burned in your throat on repeat. Weeks were spent holed up in your apartment, nursing the only friend you had. This time around, you weren’t picky. You took whatever you could get, uncaring of the repercussions

And even in those weeks, Simon never left your mind. It was like a punishment for being good enough to fuck, but not good enough to stick around. It tortured your mind to the point of insanity.

The more alcohol you had, the more the memory of him became cloudy. It was exactly why you drowned yourself in it. You didn’t want to picture Simon’s face. Didn’t want to picture the way his eyes lit up when he saw you, or the way his smile was a bit crooked and off center. You didn’t want to picture him, and the future you grew too eager for, one that consisted of the two of you. Two puzzle pieces fitting together, only to be wretched apart and pressed down in separate corners.

You were completely losing yourself. All over a man who had broken you.

The cycle repeats. And repeats. You let it repeat, until hopefully one day, the alcohol would prove to be enough to give you the death you so greedily wanted.

It wasn’t until nearly four weeks in utter disarray that the cycle began to morph, railing off of the tracks that you worked so hard to have control over.

Deep into your daily routine of excessive drinking and wallowing in your own self-pity, the door knocked. You nearly missed it, brushing it off as your imagination. You didn’t have visitors, and the only one who cared to take that spot until leaving you was Simon.

Glancing around your apartment, you visibly winced at the disheveled sight of it. Bottles were thrown around carelessly, littering the kitchen counters and living room floor, where you were currently residing with a nameless show playing on the television. Hell had flown through your apartment, and it was your fault it had gotten this way again.

Old habits die hard. And you were always its unfortunate victim when those habits needed a host to leech on to once more.

Clambering up from where you sat on the floor, you somehow made your way to the door by the grace of god. It was late, and if you read right from the clock on the stove, it was past midnight. Anybody could be outside – a killer, an intruder, a thief. It was a mix between not caring about dying, and having enough logical sense to know nobody dangerous would knock first, that had you opening the door.

An unfamiliar man stood tall in the frame, bushy facial hair, sunken eyes that barely held a spark, almost as broad and stiff as Simon. But it wasn’t Simon, and this man was a mere stranger.

“Jesus,” the man muttered under his breath at the state of you. You frowned, feeling small and weak in comparison. After a moment, he cleared his throat, speaking again. “Need to talk to you. Can I come in?”

“I don’t even know who you are,” you muttered, narrowing your eyes.

“M’a friend of Simon’s,” he explained woefully. The sound of Simon’s name coming from somebody else’s lips and not yours had your heart clenching with a dull ache. It sent ice cold chills running through your veins. “The name’s John Price.”

You stared at him with a look of disdain. You never heard Simon mention him before. The more you thought about it, you never heard Simon mention anybody. He was an enigma that you fell into too easily without even knowing a lick of who he was outside of your temporary protector.

“If you’re looking for him, I don’t know where he is,” you replied dryly, gripping a hand on the door and beginning to close it. Before the hinge could click into place, John’s boot stopped it, wedging itself between the door and its frame. He gave you a tight smile, one that had you tensing.

“I know where he is, dove. I said that I need to talk to you.”

The two of you became trapped in a staredown, one that you were too exhausted to fight to be the champion of. Begrudgingly, you opened the door wide enough to allow him to slip in, shutting it behind him. You watched as he took in your apartment, surely judging the whirlwind of it. He wasn’t exactly the type to hide away his distaste, if his mockingly amused expression was any type of indication.

“What do you want?” you asked him, disregarding your own mess and instead focusing on him. He turned to look at you, flashing you another smile. It seemed trusting enough, kind even, but by this time, you knew better.

“Came to offer you a deal, of sorts,” he vocalized. “Might I sit?”

You glanced over at the living room, shame bubbling in you at the sight of the bottle you’d been indulging in before he came around. “Sure.”

You trailed behind him when he took his seat on the couch, letting out an exaggerated sigh, leaning back into it. His display of comfort made you feel uneasy. You made no effort to join him, opting to stand in the middle of the room.

“You were rather close with Simon, weren’t you?” he asked, causing you to scoff to yourself.

“Sure. What’s that got to do with anything?” you asked grimly.

Price hummed to himself, tapping his fingers against his knee. It caused a faint, muted sound of rough, calloused fingertips to chafe against the material of his pants. “Figured so. Allow me to ask you somethin’. You know of Simon’s occupation, right?”

“Yes.”

“Right. Silly me, that’s how you met, isn’t it?” He chuckled to himself. You weren’t sure what was so amusing. “Well, here’s the thing – his performance has been a bit… hindered as of late. I have a strong inkling that it’s because of you.”

The air in the room was tense, nearly suffocating you. Price had such a soft aura that was hiding menacing intentions. You could see through it.

“I need a favor from you, doll.”

“And that is?” you asked carefully.

He smiled at you, cocking his head. “I need you to reject him. Tell him you’re better off, that you don’t need him, whatever you can say to make him get his head back in the fuckin’ game. This job of ours isn’t a joke, you see. I can’t have him slackin’ off. That’s how he’ll end up caught and thrown in jail. Once it reaches that point, I can’t help him out of it. That’s why I need you to help me before that happens.”

Your eyes widened in bewilderment at the sheer nerve of Price. Asking you to tell Simon off, to lie and say you were happy without him? Fuck, the proof was in the pudding – you weren’t, and you could almost guarantee that Simon would know you were lying from one single word. Sure, you were mad at him – pissed – but you also wanted no part in this game Price was playing.

The more you sat on it, the more it became twisted. You were thrown in a tangled web of deception and betrayal, stuck to it like glue, fighting for your way out.

But how much of it was betrayal? How much of it was trickery?

Price’s words echoed in your mind on repeat. They formed together, creating a clear picture.

Price had been the one to have Simon toss you out. He was the reason for your harrowing spiral. He was why Simon had left you, treating you as if you didn’t exist. Just a pawn in his game, and you were too stupid to realize it all sooner.

“You did this?” you snapped. Price raised an eyebrow at you, but said nothing. “You… you’re the reason for all of this, and now you’re asking me for help to lie to him? Are you insane?”

His expression twitched into a flash of annoyance before returning back to a mask. Alarms rang in your head. “I’m doin’ this for Simon. You’re a little bird he fell into when he shouldn’t have, and now I’m tryin’ to fix it before it’s too late.”

“Bullshit. You’re doing this to save your own ass.”

“I’d highly advise watchin’ yourself, doll,” Price muttered in warning, eyes narrowed and expression darkened. “You don’t know anythin’ about what we do. Don’t know how dangerous it is for you to be involved with Simon, and for Simon to be involved with you. I’m savin’ Simon’s ass from fuckin’ up one too many times.”

The atmosphere was even thicker than before. It was hard to breathe. It made you queasy, as if poisoned with a heavy gas that may just kill you if you inhaled it for too long.

Price and you stared at one another, both stubborn and pulled taut. His anger simmered to a low boil once the two of you took that silence to gather your thoughts, but it didn’t entirely vanish. You could still see a flicker of a flame in his eyes.

He was dangerous. Not somebody you wanted to get tangled up in, but you had no choice. You were too deep into this webbed mess, and it was only a matter of time before it came to bite back at you.

“What’s wrong with him?” you finally asked, voice quiet and solemn. You crossed your arms over your chest, turning your gaze away from him so you didn’t have to see his display of weak sympathy and mock judgment.

“He fell in love with you, that’s what’s wrong,” Price bit back, sneering. “Now he’s weak. Can’t do his job correctly, got his head in the fuckin’ clouds, snaps at everybody who tries to talk to him. He’s riskin’ himself, riskin’ us, and I can’t afford losin’ a brother over some girl.”

Price’s words were bitter and cruel. It only irritated you, pricking at your skin until it drove you mad. All calmness that had festered in your brief silence washed away, replaced with the old flame of your anger.

“Losing him?” You laughed bitterly, throwing your head back in disbelief. “Sounds to me like it’s your fault and not mine. Have you ever thought that maybe you’re the reason he’s all fucked up?”

Price stood from where he sat on the couch. There were no longer kind features adorning his face. It was replaced with twisted anger, morphing into something unrecognizable. When he stepped closer to you until you were nearly nose to nose, it was like looking into the eyes of a feral wolf, ready to tear you apart at any given second.

“Wise words comin’ from an alcoholic,” he muttered lowly. It was a hard pill to swallow. “I was tryin’ to be nice, doll. I was givin’ you an option. A choice. You’re just as fucked up as Simon. The difference is that you’re goin’ down a path nobody can save you from. I can save Simon.”

The words slapped you harsh in the face. It was brutal and cruel, and he showed no remorse for the damage he was doing. This was a man who got what he wanted, hurting everybody in the process so long as he achieved it. His goal was to save Simon from his impending doom, and he was willing to take you down to make it happen.

“If you really cared about Simon, you would’ve never let him get to this state in the first place,” you retorted back just as cruelly. “It’s not my fault, and I’m not going to sit here and let you blame me for it. Take a look in the mirror and you’ll get your answer on why he’s being this way.”

Silence. Aching, deafening silence. It tinged the air with a sour smell. The two of you were making no moves of backing down, and it was simply a recipe for disaster.

You didn’t know why you were defending Simon. After what he did, he didn’t deserve your care. He didn’t deserve to have you bandage over his name from the countless wounds he’d inflicted on it by leaving you behind after taking all of you in this very apartment.

However, with a missing puzzle piece being added to the pile, that being Price, you couldn’t help but offer your support from afar. It was clear he had no hand in this game. He was a pawn, just as much as you.

“I’m not helping you toy with his feelings,” you whispered. This time, you sounded defeated rather than angry. Broken, sad, dejected. “He doesn’t deserve that.”

Price sucked in a sharp breath, stepping away but keeping his gaze pointed to you. He said nothing for the first few moments, eyes flickering over the worn out lines on your face. Empty eyes, ones that were surely full of life at some point in your life. Perhaps even lit up with Simon around.

He had taken that away from you, and it was only then he was realizing how cruel he was being. All of it, for the sake of protecting his own, of protecting Simon. He was so consumed by the thought of keeping Simon out of trouble, that he only sought to create more for you. A civilian, one who simply got wrapped up in the wrong crowd.

No outsider had ever cared for Simon like Price, Gaz, and Soap did. They were all each other had, bound together by an unfortunate calling. Nobody was allowed in, or out.

Then you came along, and Ghost had quickly become Simon again.

“You’re not goin’ to make this easy for me, are you?” Price sighed, shoulders deflating, releasing its built up tension.

“No. I’m not,” you agreed grimly.

“Stubborn one, you are,” he hummed, and dare you say it, he sounded amused. “Can see why Simon likes you.”

You glanced up at him, noting the faintest of smiles on his face. It was barely visible, a ghost on his lips, but even through your hazed exhaustion, you could see it.

“Tell you what,” he began, crossing his arms to match your stance. “I’ll talk to him. See what I can do. M’not promisin’ anythin’. This isn’t the type of life I want you wrapped up in, but I can see that you’re only goin’ to wallow here until you drop dead. I don’t want that blood on my hands.”

“What are you saying?” you asked suspiciously.

“I’m sayin’, that I’ll try to see if it could work. Again, m’not promisin’ you anythin’, doll. But if you’re the reason Simon can get his head out of his ass and stop doin’ sloppy work, then I’ll see what I can do.”

It was no guarantee, but Price was trying. One moment, he was begging you to hurt Simon to the point he’d never think of crawling back to you. Now, the story had changed, and he was making a peace offering.

You weren’t sure whether or not to trust him. You shouldn’t. It was a bad idea.

But the thought of seeing Simon again, to mend the broken bond you had formed, caused you to agree.

Simon was fucked. He’d drowned himself in a world of pure guilt ever since he’d blocked your number and called it quits. He was miserable, more than he’d ever been.

He didn’t feel guilt. In fact, he wasn’t supposed to feel anything at all. He was Ghost, after all, and ghosts didn’t feel. Yet with you, the narrative had switched. It was as if the gates of heaven had opened up, offering him a chance at redemption. He felt everything all at once – love, care, affection, longing, heartache.

Everything felt right with you. It was like he had finally found his home, only to have it torn away from the grasp of his hands. No matter how much he tried holding on to it, it proved a fruitless effort. It was gone before he even resided.

Simon’s mind became a jumbled mess. He returned to the empty shell he was before when nothing mattered and he only saw the world through a red-colored lens. It was straining, it was harsh. It hurt to wake up everyday and see a colorless world waiting for him.

His shattered, frail mind affected everything he’d ever known. Work became a chore. He was messy, careless, and the darkest part of him wished he would be caught so he could force himself into punishment for hurting an angel sent from above that was placed in his life to nurture him.

It was what he deserved. Simon was a man who fell in love, and Ghost was the devil that reminded him that he was undeserving. Unworthy.

You deserved better than him. You deserved the world, and Simon was the one who would take from it with greedy hands caked in the blood of God’s creations.

Everyday burned with an itch to see you, to send you a text. He missed you, but he hated himself more. It stopped him from reaching out, caused him to pull back on the reins and pace himself. Nothing could scratch the burning itch except for the brutal reminder that you deserved better.

The weeks were hell without you. He’d grown agitated at everything around him, going as far as to snap at Gaz and Johnny when they attempted to console him, to snap at Price out of unfiltered rage at what he made him do. He was too far gone, and the only foundation he had left was beginning to crumble, all because of him.

Damn Price for taking you away, and damn you for making him fall in love.

Simon didn’t know how much more he could take. It was eating away at him, like a parasite feeding off of its host, draining him of all soul. Even now, as he sat in his own apartment, hidden on his balcony and smoking all of his worries away with hopes of succumbing to the nasty tar that threatened to rise in his throat every time, he was decaying. Withering away, like a fragile flower.

The night was dark. The stars didn’t shine as brightly as they did on your balcony. The air didn’t feel as pure without you to share it with him. The smoke didn’t wisp up into silly, little shapes, and instead, tainted the air with polluted illness.

It was positively suffocating.

As Simon nursed the cigarette to the very end, stubbing it out with his boot and carelessly leaving it littered with the rest of them on his balcony, he heard the faint knock on his door. He silently prayed it was death, here to take him away and rid him of his pain for good.

It wasn’t death, but it was damn near close.

“Price,” he grumbled at the sight of the older man. It was too late for him to make an appearance, so he wasn’t sure why he did. Maybe Price had truly given up on him and was here to offer mercy.

Price didn’t care for greetings, stepping past Simon and into his apartment. Simon followed after him with his gaze, mentally preparing himself for another lecture. It was bound to happen at this point, seeing as Price was fed up.

Simon knew he was putting their lives on the line by being reckless. He just didn’t have it in him to care.

Closing the door behind him, Simon kept his distance, not uttering a word until Price spoke first. The man in question lingered around his apartment, seeming to stall with time, too choked up for words.

“You need somethin’, sir?” Simon finally asked. Price lifted his eyes to look at Simon. For a moment, they were unreadable. Masking away his thoughts, tucking them far in the back of his mind.

Price let out a deep exhale through his nostrils. He stood there in silence for what felt like eternity. Simon could see the gears shifting in his mind, working overtime.

“Go and get your bird back, Simon,” Price sighed, but to Simon, it sounded like church bells ringing on a Sunday morning, beckoning him home.

so many of y'all thought the last part was the end, but i'm not that cruel ;( i promise

[hanakou-often]

I just happened to stumble upon your blog.. and I never really thought about HanaKou before, but these posts are very compelling. I love seeing other people’s ships in things and would love to be convinced into them.. heh. I’ve sort of fallen out of tbhk recently because the most recent arc hasn’t been compelling to me PARTLY BECAYSE KOU AND NENE AND HANAKO DONT KNOW EACH OTHWR?!?!? Which is really depressing, because I like them a lot. Ermm idk where I’m going with this I just was scrolling through the blog like “heh.. they’re cute I want to know more..” and now here I am. Please excuse my nonsense blabber idek if this makes sense 😔

Oh boy. Despite Hanakou being my hyperfixation for around 3 years, I still don't feel equipped to salesman my way into convincing someone 😭 most of my love for them has just come from PURE brainrot so I'll try my best to actually formulate more logical reasons why I like this sinking ship as much as I do. Long ass spoiler-filled rant incoming!!

1. Narrative Foils

A narrative foil is a character that contrasts another character, often the protagonist, to highlight certain aspects of their characters. Think Kabru and Laios from Dungeon Meshi, Sayaka and Kyoko from Madoka Magica, Draco and Harry from Harry Potter, etc.

To begin, Kou is a 'weak,' naive exorcist who always fights for justice and to protect the people he loves out of his own volition. Since he is the underdog of his family clan, the mediocre middle child next to his eldest exorcist extraordinaire brother, Kou is willing to do anything to prove his worth. This is primarily exhibited by his first meeting with Hanako as he recklessly plunges into a battle with the most powerful ghost in Kagome despite his inexperience with his weapon. When he's confronted about such, Kou states, "I don't care what happens to me as long as I can protect everyone!" and if that doesn't sum up his ideology, I don't know what does. He is shown to be the type of person to put everyone's safety, happiness and livelihood above his own, ultimately leading his selflessness to be his own detriment.

Contrarily, Hanako is a strong, knowledgable apparition who is given the role to protect students of Kamome, regardless of his detachment from the student body, as a way of atonement. As the long standing executive leader of the seven mysteries, Hanako has grown largely apathetic towards everyone, easily taking the cold, calculated and unconventional routes to reach the outcome he deems best no matter who it would hurt in the process. This is exemplified many times in the manga but to pick a lighter one: The time Hanako confessed to Nene under the kodama tree without telling her before hand that it wasn't real, leading him to hurt her feelings. It's clear that Hanako is the type of person to value his own goals and interests above everyone else's input, making him the more selfish antithesis to Kou's "selflessness."

Their differences in philosophy are really striking at times. Kou is endlessly optimistic while Hanako is more pessimistic, seeing the grimmer aspects of reality that Kou usually neglects. For example, Nene's lifespan has been a divisive topic between them for a while. Hanako had known about it from the start, originally intending to keep the poor girl in ignorant bliss for how much time she had left. At the point of the reveal in the clock keeper arc, he had no plans on trying to change her fate, solemnly stating that "there are things in this world that must not be changed...It's better for Yashiro this way." This is a direct contrast to Kou's more 'human' perspective as he immediately protests Hanako's claim of "There is nothing you can do," passionately asserting that he won't give up, he'll do whatever it takes save her and that is final. In the face of a dark reality, Kou completely rejects it, choosing to believe there's hope, like the naive son of a gun Hanako knows he is. From personal experience, Hanako knows it's stupid, it's idiotic, it's downright suicidal to go up against fate but somehow he ends up hoping Kou is right, trailing "I'm counting on you" as they settle back into a world that will never be the same after this revelation between them. (Something something Their differences are key to propelling the plot forward since Kou is the one to inspire Hanako not to just let Nene's life go by!!)

All of this is not to say they don't have anything in common. In fact, they are united by their desire to save the people they care about, grounded in their ruthless determination to see out their goals and are self sacrificing to an extent. I would love to go deeper on this topic but I'm afraid my brain is already starting to fry lol. In short, their differences are what make them interesting as a duo!! Each of their qualities can compliment the other's contrasting attributes and as people say, opposites attract!!!

2. Pivotal Roles in each other's Narrative

Hanakou are very important to each other's story since they are a key player in both their humble beginnings and tragic ends. Respectively, they are each other's gateway to a new life. Much like Nene, Kou is a symbol of hope for Hanako, his spunky attitude and determined nature igniting a humanitarian spark that Hanako lacked in the sixty years he lingered Kamome. For Kou, Hanako is the first apparition he meets, the one that sets off his rocky journey with navigating the world of supernaturals as a lackluster exorcist, and the second person to fuel his fire by believing in him. Specifically, Hanako tells Kou he looks forward to the day he can expel him with ease, a statement that foreshadows their distant future. In order to complete their whole character arcs (Hanako going from stubbornly clinging to the near shore to repent to accepting he's done every to atone and ready to pass on; Kou starting off weak and naive then ending as a stronger exorcist capable of understanding both the supernatural world and humanity) they'll have to do exactly what Hanako anticipated: Exorcise him once and for all. This aspect of their relationship is something intricately intertwined with their fates and while AidaIro may have forgotten about it, I can only hope they'll deliver so that they can bring their narratives full circle.

Now in the context of a romantic relationship, there are some absolutely soul crushing implications here. The hands Hanako loves to admire, intertwine his fingers with and adore are the same ones that will ultimately be his demise. Kou is Hanako's deathbed. That’s what they’ve known all along. It’s something that looms over their heads with a lingering heaviness neither boy wants address: Kou wanting to silently avoid his crushing responsibility while Hanako is just trying to savor whatever time he has with Kou. It's doomed just like everything else in TBHK <3

3. Young Exorcist arc

This one goes hand and hand with the second point but I felt that this needed to be discussed on its own since it's where many Hanakouers (ME) really took interest in their relationship. The arc begins with Kou being pulled aside by Teru, the two having a conversation about how Kou was supposed to immediately exorcise any seven mysteries he encounters. When Kou fumbles around him, insisting that he can't find it in himself to see Hanako as a bad supernatural, Teru is quick to remind him that "There is no such thing as a 'good supernatural'" and promptly takes him off the case. He was going to take matters into his own hands but the moment Kou looks at him with pleading eyes, Teru decides to give him more time to carry the duty out.

This is where Kou sets off to find Hanako, get some irrefutable proof that he's not evil like the generalization Teru makes. The effort he puts here into defending Hanako is absolutely adorable, if not a testament to their potential then a testament to Kou's sweet character. The suspicion he's built as he spies on Hanako who saunters around with a sack of stolen items is broken once the ghost explains that he's gathering them to return to their rightful owners. As stated previously, Hanako’s noble deeds are done more as a way to atone rather than out of his own good will so to see that he went out of his way to return stolen items to students, one of which being Kou’s safety earring, without being obligated to do so is great evidence to support Kou's idea that supernaturals can be good. Given this, Kou decides right then and there that he won’t exorcise Hanako after all. Now, Hanako here could have reveled in this decision, his kind act successfully manipulating Kou into compliance with his schemes, but instead, Hanako shows him exactly why he shouldn’t give up.

He cares for the kid. He does. Which is why he has to show how wrong he can be. It’s a downright dangerous thought because it lures Kou into a false sense of security that all supernaturals can be “good” like Hanako.

Cue Teru's dramatic entrance where he immediately apprehends the offending apparition and tries to execute him (for good reason). Blah blah blah Teru is condescending towards Kou because he made the wrong call again, something something Kou is trapped in Teru's bead bracelet and question his view of Hanako once more. For a moment, Kou almost gives into despair, letting Teru exorcise him without another word. After all, what does Kou know about the supernatural world? He's a weak link to Teru's infinite knowledge, power and experience. Maybe he should just let him do what he deems best.

However, as Hanako objects to his sentencing, screaming that “death would only be a release” and he still has so much to do here, it reminds Kou that Hanako is here for a reason. Sure, he’s an apparition, something that’s synonymous with evil, but all that time they spent together has to mean something, right? Hanako indulges Nene and Kou, joking around, Hanako has indulged Kou when no one else believed in him, he's saved them when he easily could’ve left them to their own devices. That definitely means something. Suddenly, Kou breaks free from the beaded prison, charges in the middle of the battle field and grips Teru's blade with an iron fist, all to save Hanako.

Just look at that. Kou slit his own palm trying to protect Hanako, someone he vowed to erase just weeks ago, because he's willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He defies his brother, someone he highly admired for the past fourteen years of his life, for Hanako’s sake. Kou’s change in attitude towards his exorcist duties is largely attributed to Hanako. The sole notion of Hanako, the not so evil supernatural, has turned Kou’s world completely upside down.

I'll never forgive the anime for omitting this arc, not only because it excludes a pivotal moment in their relationship but also because it deprived an enriching detail to their development!!! Oh my god. Kou finally stands up for himself and owns up to his naivety. He knows he’s stupid for jumping from one extreme conclusion to the other before he has fully understood everything Hanako has to offer but he can no longer side with Teru’s one note view of him or supernaturals in general, lest more decent apparitions be erased without cause. He brings a level of nuance to the function that Teru does not appreciate!! When Kou decides to vouch for Hanako, undertaking the massive responsibility to watch over him all on his own, it shows a lot of growth in his maturity and his perspective of the ghost.

So yeah. A lot to say about the young exorcist arc. Not only has it deeply impacted the Minamoto brothers relationship, but it has brought a significant change within Kou’s mindset. He’s no longer trying to label Hanako as a definitive good or bad but trying to deepen his understanding of him and decide what to do from there. As for Hanako, he seems to respect Kou more now, giving credit where credit is due, and feels as though their bond is strengthened by the vulnerable state they saw each other in. He even acknowledges this in the first chapter of ASHK when Teru comes in to “help clean" by immediately taking cover behind Kou and questioning the commitment he made to keep Teru at bay. It's also weirdly sweet to see Hanako taking cover behind Kou here!! It really goes to show how much trust they've built for each other and how safe Hanako feels around the exorcist C:

To sum it all up, the young exorcist arc was an important part of showing how Hanakou work together and cement how their views of humanity/supernatural world are shifting because of each other!! I didn't get to talk about it too much but they also have a bunch of cute moments here which sorta feeds to the next point.

4. Classic Bromance to Romance

A bromance is defined as a quote en quote "close, friendly but non-sexual relationship between two men" and that's more or less what Hanakou brings to the table!!! First and foremost, they are complete opposites in a lot of their personality traits which makes it fun to see how they interact. Hanako's pervyness to Kou's disciplined innocence, Hanako's mischief to Kou's gullibility, Hanako's love of teasing to Kou's fiery denials, it's all just so entertaining to watch!!! They bounce off each other sorta like a coke and mentos relationship where on their own, they're absolutely fine but when they're together BOOM explosions, dumb arguments, rough housing 24/7, etc, etc. Just take a look at the shenanigans they get up to in this panel.

How? Just how did they get here? They used to be enemies, they're still supposed to be enemies but here they are, a hopeful descendent of a powerful exorcist clan and an executive leader of a important supernatural group, just play fighting with a mop and broom like they're no better than two clumsy best friends goofing off on their free time. I love their little bromance so much because it's the result of their growth during the many adventures they've had together. URUGHH After they've been through, it's deeply endearing to realize that they really are just boys being boys at their core!! C:

Now moving onto the romance part, I want to preface this with how I do believe men should be allowed to have intimate platonic relationships with each other without having to get accused of being gay but alas, I fear Hanakou's closeness as friends can easily pave the way for something more as they blur the line between friendly and flirty banter.

It's already been established that Hanako feels safe enough to be his usual self around the exorcist, knowing that no matter how mischievous, touchy and downright despicable Hanako can be, Kou won't ever hurt him. It's a sweet sort of trust that can be explored further with some typical bromance shenanigans, IE Hanako gets bored and decides to test Kou's boundaries just for the hell of it. At first, it's only joke flirting and some harmless teasing here and there. Maybe a lingering touch or two (only to push some buttons of course). Most of the time, Hanako finds this endeavor to be deeply rewarding since Kou reacts in a way that Nene doesn’t, his responses leaning into his more physical, boyish volatility as he either bashfully pushes Hanako away, chases him off or just straight up punches him in the arm, visibly flustered. The reactiveness encourages Hanako to keep upping the ante to the point where it's more unusual for him not to mess with Kou. It's grown into a bad habit of his: snaking his arms around Kou's shoulders, fiddling with his fingers with reverent fascination, sneaking glances at the boy and making funny faces in the hopes he'll look back and laugh, etc, etc. As Kou gets used to Hanako's antics overtime, his extreme reactions gradually diminish and it's becoming increasingly clearer that Hanako isn't (wasn't?) just doing it because "he's bored" anymore. No, it's something worse. With a sinking clarity, Hanako realizes boredom isn't the driving reason for being around Kou anymore, it's fondness of the cute (flustered) expressions he makes, it's the giddiness that swells in his chest when Hanako manages to make him smile, the electricity that floods his system when Kou flirts back, it's...something else he does not want to dissect. And so, Hanako will bury this revelation under the belief it's due to his unfamiliarity of friendship. Fifty years of isolation has to do a number to your perception of romance vs friendship, right???

Meanwhile, Kou is committed to the promise he made in the young exorcist arc so he's usually admiring from afar watching over Hanako to make sure he's in line and keeping an eye on Hanako isn't hard as of late; they're spending more time together before, during and after school and as much as he doesn't want to admit it, he genuinely enjoys the company. Kou likes what they have, it's good that they can rely on each other and still leave room to joke around but to be honest, Kou has some...weird feelings towards Hanako. Every time their eyes meet his heart skips a beat, whenever he lets his mind wander it usually finds its way back to Hanako, their friendly banter stuck in his head, and for whatever reason, Kou's body can't seem to forget the ghost's touch, even long after he's fucked off to who knows where. There's something different about it. It's not the detestation he had when he first met Hanako, nor is it the quaint glee he had when he decided to not exorcise him. It's something completely new, something foreign that has his stomach doing flips every time he sees Hanako's bright smile or hears his stupid laugh. Kou tries not to think about it too much, lest he gives Hanako exactly what he wants, so he just chalks it up to his view of supernaturals being challenged. After all, going from believing all supernaturals are dangerous, evil vermin that need to be exterminated to voluntarily hanging out with such a friendly one is bound to stir up some mixed feelings, right?

Do you see my vision now? The bromance to romance pipeline would be unreal with these two confused idiots!! There's so much room for the internalized homophobia, the confusion of trying to differentiate friendly feelings from the clusterfuck of emotions the other boy evokes and the funny fumblings of two teenage boys letting the joke flirting go a bit too far like a game of gay chicken gone wrong. Their relationship speaks to me in a way that can only be described as the entertainment you get from mixing two reactive substances and waiting for the inevitable chaos that proceeds. Even if you don't ship Hanakou romantically, you gotta admit their dynamic is super fun to explore!! C:

5. Other characters reactions

I swear I’m taking this somewhat seriously but I really enjoy the more wholesome aspects of this ship!! Nene being the third wheel to her two guy best friends, the LEAST romantic people she knows, is something that is deeply entertaining to me <3 She came into Hanako's life wishing for a boyfriend, failed to get one and then had to watch him get one himself. She would be so happy for them but at the same time, she'd be fighting demons trying to figure out how these two IDIOTS got more rizz than she does. (How much aura do you lose for this LMAOOOO)

Then you got Teru which if you liked this aspect of Mitsukou where Teru disapproves of his brother dating a school mystery then hooo boy YOU’LL LOVE HANAKOU!! Whatever apprehension he has towards Mitsukou it's increased tenfold because it’s one thing to date a school mystery, it’s a whole other thing to date not only the ghost of a murder but the LEADER of the seven mysteries??? Teru would absolutely flip his shit, wasting no time to charge into Hanako’s bathroom and expel him right then and there the SECOND he finds out (AND I DON'T BLAME HIM!! he just doing his job fr). I’ve been told it’s sorta like a Romeo and Juliet situation where two star crossed lovers are kept apart by a long-standing feud between their opposing houses (Montagues and Capulets WHO? I only know the Minamoto clan and Seven Mysteries) and I think that can just about sum it up!!

6. Hanako-San (ASHK)

This post is already as long as it is so I’ll save you the trouble of attempting an analysis and copy and paste my ramble from another post: “In regards to HanaKou discourse, I've always seen people say 'Kou's into Mitsuba!!' or 'they're just platonic besties! Plus Kou rejected Hanako!!!' and sure, maybe Kou doesn't have a thing for Hanako but has anyone REALLY stopped to consider Hanako has a thing for Kou??? And just. Didn't process it because of internalized homophobia AND his crush on Nene overshadowing his feelings for Kou??? Because THIS chapter had NO RIGHT to be so fruity on Hanako's part” and yeah why is the first thing Hanako decides to do when he turns into a girl is flirt with Kou??? And an even better question is why did he genuinely sulk when Kou rejected him??? If you didn't mean it why were you so butt hurt then huh??? Hanako really is the type of guy to passively think "if Kou was a girl or if I was a girl, I'd date him 100%" and it definitely shows!!!

7. Fanfiction. So. Much. Fanfiction.

This one doesn't have much to do with canon but it's more than likely why some people (ME) began to ship Hanakou!! My personal experience was I thought they were sorta interesting and I checked on ao3 to see if there were any others who thought the same. To my surprise, there were a bunch of fics lovingly written for them already and out of curiosity I started reading one. One became two, two became three, then suddenly I was tumbling down the rabbit hole feverishly consuming whatever I could get my grubby little hands on. As you've stated, seeing others' passion can be pretty compelling reason to start shipping something and I totally agree!!! Exploring the dynamics in such a freeing medium like Fanfiction can be much more invigorating than just reinterpreting canon so do give it a try if you're interested!! I promise Hanakou nation is a welcoming space and we'd be delighted to see more people on board with these two idiots C:

END

AUGHHHH I struggled to find the right words to express my thoughts but I hope it gave you a better understanding of Hanakou!! These two really are my Roman Empire and despite how much I floundered around this post, I am genuinely grateful for the opportunity to share my visions!!! Thank you so much for asking C:

[imagionationstation]

Hiya mate. I'm here back again with another insanity.

Donatello can see ghost.

That's the whole take-away of the AU— a universe where Donnie was able to see ghosts, communicate even interracting with them. Hands down the best psychic the family had.

What's funny is how Donnie was initially a skeptic, never quite believeing the concept of ghouls and spirits roaming the planet Earth after they died, because they have to go somewhere, right? Eventually. Hell, heaven, purgatory— anywhere but what used to be the plane of their existence.

It didn't quite dawn on the poor boy that he was literally seeing dead people during one of his earliest encounter; he saw a humanoid figure in one of his hideout and immediately cower, opting to inform his family that there's a bystander led astray, somehow, to the deepest depth of the NYC sewer tunner system. It wasn't until when his family told him that whoever that he saw must've left while he was still seeing them, right there.

And it was truly a horrifying sight.

Donnie quickly understands the ghost and ghouls and spirits or whatever manifested the form they took during their final moments. The apparitions that materialised seemingly out of nowhere resembling humanities at its worst— and thus Donatello had always been familiar with death.

I thought it'd be a fun concept to make how Donnie was so genuinely horrified when he first had to now share his life with beings outside of the mortal realm— outside of his own understanding— that he'd hide behind his brothers in seeking shelter. It doesn't work, of course. But he'd do it regardless.

- Ellestrade

Leo knows Donnie’s special.

He’s known since the first time that he’d tried playing with something that wasn’t there, chittering feelings of friend with all the content vibrations of safety, trying to get his bale to play too.

Raph and Mikey ignored him, more content to wrestle each other than talk about friends that they can’t see.

Leo doesn’t remember the surface well. Only vague memories of new places and broken objects, keeping his brothers together and waiting for their papa. He knows Donnie met a new friend almost every time they moved, and that the friends stopped when they went below ground. He knows it made Donnie sad, for a while.

Then Donnie and Mikey and Raph forgot.

Leo didn’t. And the next time that he dreamt that these friends weren’t so friendly, he cuddled up in strong arms and used his new, broken words to tell their papa. He cried and papa rocked him.

Papa said, it was a phase. He said, many children go through it.

Splinter promised, it’s nothing to worry about.

Leo learned about invisible friends as he got older. And how Donnie was adapting and maturing quicker than most kids their age.

He watched Mikey make an invisible friend and pretended he couldn’t tell the difference between the confidence in Donnie’s eyes and the silliness in Mikey’s smile.

He decided it was the same, because papa said it was.

They went out into the sewers sometimes. There was this really big area, one with a bunch of pipes in the wall and a large hole in the floor to collect the water that dripped out. It was their favorite place, and papa let them swim and play when it was full.

Leo stood in front of papa, him and Raph pulling on his hands to drag him forward. It was really hot in the sewers and his scales felt all itchy. They were moving so slow and he was certain that they’d never get there if papa didn’t move a little faster.

Mikey and Donnie had ran ahead, ignoring papa’s calls to return. Papa was smiling and Leo could still hear their giggling, bare feet padding down the tunnels. Raph released papa’s hand, beginning to announce that he was going to leave the slow-pokes behind to join their brothers, when someone shrieked.

Raph froze, Leo stumbled, and papa was down the tunnel before the tots even realized that he was gone.

They ran after him, bursting into the water room, and found their papa cradling a shell. They ran up to Mikey, full of questions and fear and bubbling words, but papa shushed them all, sharp gaze bringing the expected silence.

It took some time, but he finally managed to coax Donnie out of his shell. Leo’s little brother buried his face in his robe and told them that there was a human, that his head was hurt and he saw them, that he looked right at Donnie.

Mikey, pale and small under their gazes, whispered that he hadn’t seen any humans. Papa assured him that there was no one there, urging him to see for himself. Donnie had looked up, screamed, and then curled up in papa’s arms to sob about bad eyes.

They went home and Donnie refused to leave his room.

They huddled behind the cracked door, watching Donnie glare at the wall with glassy eyes, arms crossed. Papa remain unfazed, talking in his calm, knowing Sensei voice.

Papa told him that this person wasn’t real. He assured him that nothing had been there. He would have sensed a human in the tunnels; he would have smelled the wounds that Donnie described. He promised that he was always safe.

Donnie’s shoulders slumped, head bowed.

Mikey and Raph left the doorway, whispering their relief.

Leo looked between his papa and his brother, and frowned.

Papa convinced Donnie to come out. He trained and watched tv and played games. Donnie didn’t want to talk about the man anymore, but Raph did. Raph wanted him to say he wasn’t real. Donnie said that he was. They got into a fight and papa had to separate them.

Papa patted Leo’s head and said Donnie was confused. Raph glared at Donnie’s back and said he was a liar. Mikey cried and said everyone should stop being angry. Donnie didn’t say anything.

Leo didn’t know what to say, and so he listened.

He was still listening when Donnie came into his room in the middle of the day and woke him out of his dreamless sleep.

“I’m not a liar.” He whispered when Leo sat up and let him cuddle into his arms. His little brother’s face was wet as it pressed against Leo’s skin. “I saw him. I did, Leo, I did. He looked at me. He looked right at me. He was right there. Why didn’t you see him?”

Leo had shrugged, petting his carapace.

“He was real.” Donnie sniffled, small in his arms. “I saw him. He was real. He was hurt. He looked at me. I saw him. No one believes me. Why doesn’t anyone believe me?”

And finally, Leo stops listening. “I believe you.”

But that’s not enough for Donnie, because nothing ever is. “Why?”

“Because you’re special.” Leo says with as much logic as his six-year-old mind can muster. “And next time you see him, you tell me. You tell me and when I’m big, I’ll punch him for scaring you.”

“You can’t see him.” Donnie reminds, defeated. Leo hugs him closer. “You just point and I’ll get him. Promise.”

“But papa said…” Donnie hesitates, meek, snuggling in his arms.

Leo lays down, looking at the roof as his younger brother gets comfortable on his chest. He frowns, thoughtful. “Papas can be wrong sometimes. He was human too, and they don’t know special. Special is scary.”

“I’m scared,” Donnie smooshes his cheeks on his plastron, looking at him with the light from the cracked door. “Are you scared?”

“No,” Leo decides. “Biggest brothers don’t get scared.”

“Oh.” Donnie thinks, like he always does. “That’s good.”

“Yeah.” Leo agrees, sleepy. “It is.”

And he meant it.

Even if the whole world was scared of Donnie being special, Leo wasn’t. Not when he saw more hurt people in the sewer, people that Leo couldn’t see. Now when Splinter told him that he was hurting him, and that he needs to stop supporting Donnie being special. Not when Raph got mad and Mikey asked them to stop because he didn’t want to know about the girl without a hand.

Not even on their fifteenth mutation day, when they went on the surface filled with awe and wonder, and Donnie grabbed his hand, pale as death, staring at something that Leo couldn’t see.

Leo wasn’t scared of Donnie. And Leo always believed him.

Even if that belief came with night terrors and more sleepless days than he can count, he believed him.

Donnie was special, but he wasn’t alone.

And Leo would spend every night reminding him of it.

So, UHM-

I know I’m constantly sticking my trope in people’s AUs and for that I apologize with no intention of stopping, so sorry.

I debated how this would work and I don’t think Splinter would understand that he’s seeing ghosts immediately. Maybe something happens over the next few years that brings him around, but I don’t believe he’d jump to conclusion of, “Ah, yes, one of my children possesses the power to see ghosts.”

More like, “Oh, dear, one of my boys is mentally ill.”

If the situation was reversed and he was correct- Leo being supportive would be incredibly bad for Donnie’s psyche.

Thankfully, he’s exactly what Donnie needs.

I’d imagine that Raph just sees it as Donnie taking his attention. Being a genius isn’t enough for him. First, it’s just Splinter trying to help him separate reality from his delusions, but then Leo starts defending Donnie. It creates tension, but Splinter doesn’t know how to address it. How do you scold a child for standing up for his brother? Or punish him for trying to do what’s right by another?

Since no one gets violent or harmed because of it, Splinter simply lets them bond and tries to keep the topic out of common talk.

Raph only sees favoritism directed at Leo and Donnie.

The hothead only gets less and less tolerant to the topic as the years go by. Even when Splinter assures them that Donnie’s not sick in the head, the jealousy still lingers and flares at the worst times.

It takes a while for these two to rebuild their bond.

Mikey doesn’t know what to make of the situation. He gets really close to Raph over the years, but he still enjoys spending time with his brothers. He pretends not to hear them whisper about Donnie’s hallucinations every now and then, and their relationship continues as normal in the show. He has to reevaluate some things when it turns out that Donnie is actually telling the truth, but he’s ecstatic to have a brother with- essentially- superpowers. His relationship with Raph gets rocky when he starts spending more time with Donnie, but they patch it up once Raph gets over his issues.

Leo is Donnie’s anchor and the unreasonable, unwavering stance is the only thing that keeps Donnie from thinking that he’s insane. He can see and speak and touch the ghosts, but he still has a hard time coping with the idea that they exist. He knows they’re real, but almost everyone else says that they’re not. Even when everyone finally believes, he still questions his sanity. It still feels like a lucid nightmare that he’s constantly waiting to wake up from.

He leans more and more on Leo as the years go by, and it’s not until they’ve been on the surface for a while that he learns how his dependence has been effecting his older brother. It’s around this time that he draws back and his mental health drops hard.

Despite everything, it’s Raph who ends up bringing him back.

[thetimetravellercat]

I've had the silliest idea for an AU and crossover: someone (the Crew? Fang? Stede? Ed *and* Stede? Sam?) hires Lockwood and Co. for a haunting and it turns out that the place is haunted but also a lot of it is just Izzy hiding out post-surviving his death and not knowing how to tell them/that person and thinking now it's too late to say anything because they/that person has moved on (or they seem to, at least)

I'm imagining Izzy going to Sam's big mansion/manor, but Sam is away on business (busy trying to pretend the love of his life hasn't just died, effectively killing any chance of reunion between them except beyond the grave)

So Izzy just slips in and starts living in dark corners/secret passages/attics/cellars while recovering from his injuries, "stealing" food and supplies while trying not to get caught by the servants, and he thinks he will tell Sam everything once he comes back but now he still needs a safe place to live in and he is afraid the servants are going to freak out without Sam there.

So he waits for Sam to come back and when he does, he gets cold feet, it's been so long after all, what tells him he will be welcome? So he just stays hidden a couple more days, thinking he is going to tell him anyday now and it's going to be ok, he will explain

But Izzy observes him, and from his pov, it's obvious Sam has moved on, he seems to be aware Izzy has died, but he doesn't seem particularly affected. In fact, he seems incredibly busy and taking many business proposals and always working and when he isn't working he is smiling (because there is always a servant present and Sam doesn't want them to worry) and being pleasant

So Izzy stays hidden. He doesn't know what else he can do. He doesn't know where else to go, and it doesn't seem fair to disrupt Sam's life, but he is also still not fully recovered so he can't high-tail it just yet.

But one day, Sam inadvertently brings back a Source. It's an inconspicuous vase he was given by a client and which he displays in front of a wall, actually a wall where there is a secret passage behind, one that Izzy frequently uses.

And so manifestations starts in earnest, and the servants become increasingly nervous because they've been thinking they were being haunted for a while (because it's impossible for Izzy to stay completely silent all the time, and he does most of his moving at night when there are less people who could catch sight of him).

In response, Sam hires Lockwood and Co. He has heard they were a good agency and he doesn't want to bother with the bigger ones who have already plenty of money anyway. But Izzy isn't aware as Sam went directly to their agency to hire them.

Shenanigans ensues as the Lockwood team pursue one real ghost and one human being they think is a ghost (tbh Izzy kind of looks like one at this point). At some point during the night, they see both the apparition and Izzy vanishing behind the same wall at different entry points (it's one of those panels that completely swivels, so in the darkness it looks like Izzy went through the wall)

They investigate, find the secret passages (Izzy safely fled to the highest point of the attic in yet another hidden location) and come to two conclusions:

- there are two ghosts ergo two Sources

- one is the vase, the other one is very likely to be this old ring they found behind a wall in the secret passage a few paces away from the vase, and which may have been lost a long time ago, but with the other Source being so closed, it might have awaken it

They show both to Sam who explains he got the vase as a gift for a business deal he closed, and he pretends not to recognize the other (but his heart stops when he sees it because it's definitely the ring he gave Israel all those years and years ago)

Lockwood and co are like "no problem, we will dispose of these for you, it's included in our fee", and Sam immediately jumps up and say "No!" in an instant of panic, then he calms down and explains he would like to keep one, ("those things are so interesting, couldn't they provide him with some sort of ghost-glass locket, perhaps he could keep the ring, it's small enough, he can always keep it safe in a silver box")

The trio is like "hm, weird but he is an eccentric wealthy man so ok, his funeral if something goes wrong" synchronized shrug

So they give the ring back to Sam.

Sam, until that point, is barely holding it together, it's exhausting to pretend everything is fine when all he wants to do is curl up and cry all he can somewhere away, somewhere far away.

He keeps staring at the ring through the ghost glass locket, and always carries it on his person, hidden, getting it out when no one can see (except for Izzy who is still watching)

And one night, it gets too much, Sam can't bear it, he needs to see Izzy. He knows it's crazy, he knows it's dangerous, but he feels ready. He is ready to go because they were never meant to be separated, and if he's gotta die, it might as well be from being ghost touched in a last embrace with Izzy, with his one true love.

So one night, he sits in his library, he's got a glass of wine, Israel's favorite vinyl from before they separated is playing and he sets down the locket in front of him. He opens it.

He finally openly calls to Izzy, breaking down, telling him he wants to be reunited, even if it can only ever be beyond the grave. He feels a sudden draft of cold air swishing through the room and thinks Izzy is there. He knows he won't be able to see him, he is too old, he's lost his Sight a long time ago, but he thinks he will still be able to feel him and that's fine with him, that's enough. He knows he can't ask for more.

So he is in complete shock when he sees Izzy advancing towards him.

Sam slowly opens his arms, waiting for him, he is ready... and then immediately gets slapped in the face.

He is in shock (mouth closing and opening like a goldfish).

Meanwhile Izzy is furious: "you were going to let yourself die?!", "for stupid little old me?!", "what on earth! fuck's sake Sam!", "what about your life? you think I would want you dead because I'm dead?!"

Sam gets the scolding of a lifetime until he recovers enough to process what's happening and reacts. Soon enough they're bickering because "YOU'VE BEEN ALIVE? ALL THIS TIME? WHAT THE HELL?", "stupid little old you?! you're the love of my life!"

They keep at it a bit until they each get it out of their system and calm down enough to explain what they thought and eventually all is well. Sam draws a warm bath for Izzy, bring him to his bedroom and does not let go of him for the entire night.

Sam has a lot to explain to his staff, a couple of them quit because they think he's gone mad and they're still not entirely convinced Izzy isn't some sort of paranormal entity, but apart from that it goes well. Mostly, the rest of the staff is relieved, because they kept hearing noises after the intervention of Lockwood and Co and thought they were all slowly headed for their early demise (but Sam is a fair boss and the pay is good so they didn't want to quit).

Sam stops taking on so many business offers and slows down, he tries not to go out of the country too often because he wants to spend as much time with Izzy as he can. Izzy can't believe he is really going to be able to spend the rest of his days living Sam. They're very much still madly in love and Sam has not lost one iota of his romantic heart.

Bonus scene: Izzy being randomly poked by a rapier when he accidentally crosses paths with one of the Lockwood and Co agents (probably George in a shadowy corner of the national archives). Of course, Lucy and Lockwood both completely refuse to believe him about it.

...Until they get an invitation to Sam and Izzy's wedding that is, "for a job beyond well done"

The end.

[howlsofbloodhounds]

Delta anon here again and I have a LOT of ideas based on the headcanon that the Epic Sanses would go visit haunted places.

- Delta has a list of things that he needs to do before and during the trips. He has rules made for himself based on past experiences they don't want to repeat, such as not unveiling any covered mirrors and not to mess with the demonic aspects of it. He does not force his friends to go along with his rules and rituals but it is VERY much encouraged.

- If the group hears or reports certain noises, they leave. Immediately. This can go from sirens (if they break in to investigate) to physical screams from the ghosts/creatures haunting the place.

- When they split up to explore, they all have walkie-talkies they take with along with extra batteries if the ghosts sap all the energy out.

- Beta and Color's chat can speak and interact with the other ghosts of the haunting. Unfortunately not all of the other ghosts are nice.

- Speaking of that, if the ghosts are cruel or violent, they will first attack Beta and Color's Chat because they're 'different' ghosts. If attacked, Delta and Color will quickly protect them (and the Souls will protect each other obv).

- They do NOT fuck with demons or demonic activity. Since the majority of them can see the apparitions, I'd imagine that they'd also be able to tell if it's a regular ghost or if it's a demonic entity. If one shows up and it's clear it's a demon, they leave and cleanse themselves properly.

- But on the topic of that. Delta got possessed once by a malevolent spirit. Color and Epic freaked out trying to get him back (he got violent and then went full-on crazy). Meanwhile in Delta's head it was a combination of Sans trying to regain control and Beta trying to chase the demon off. It worked, but Delta had to go to the hospital because they almost hurt themselves and others.

- Going off the idea that they never thought to verify with Epic about being able to talk to the other(s) in your Soul(s), sometimes Delta and Color will just start speaking directly with the ghosts that are there aside from their own. Sometimes they will see or call put to one before the equipment they use can recognize it. Eventually Epic would just ask what they're on about and they'd get confused, because can't you see it? And he'd have to say no, I have no clue what you're talking about. (I would pay good money to see how that conversation would go down between them lmao.)

- Delta actually has a lot of knowledge with this kind of stuff. He does his research whenever they go to a new spot. They know the different classes and names of anything they could possibly encounter, including the folklore and entities such as fey or skinwalkers.

- Mannequins inside a haunted building are never a good sign. They had one bad encounter and Never Again. Delta/Beta will straight up leave if they encounter one, reguardless of if there's an attachment to it or not. Color dislikes the idea of them being in anywhere haunted, but as long as he doesn't see a connection to a ghost with it, he'll be okay - just on edge. Epic would make jokes and probably try to bring the mannequin around like a prop. He would 100% try to scare his friends with it and most likely already has.

- They are all somewhat on edge during the explorations due to not knowing what they'll encounter. Epic does his best to keep the mood light, but even he gets freaked out sometimes.

- Delta makes absolute SURE that they don't go into the portals between the current world and the ghost world. Color can see the portals better than he can (due to having more Souls), but Delta has a proper fear of them.

- If something ever scares them during the exploration, they will agree to run. Anything they leave behind belongs to the house (or wherever they were exploring) now.

- However, if Epic decides to play around and scare them, he knows his limits. Don't scare Delta with mannequins (Delta will immediately destroy the mannequin and then RUN), and don't scare Color by straying from the group and going quiet (Color will have a panic attack because he has no idea where Epic is). Unfortunately, Epic learned these things the hard way.

- If they bring Zorox with, that poor puppy will be so busy. Both in keeping Delta/Beta ok and forcing them to take breaks when they need to, and in seeing tons of new people/ghosts. He'd also probably have to help Color or Epic, too.

- Killer is not allowed to come. They (Color) invited him ONCE and never again. He decided to 'prank' Delta during the investigation (because why wouldn't he) and used the mannequins against him by pretending that the mannequin got possessed and was coming for him. It scared the absolute shit out of him. Killer was never invited back again and Delta personally made sure of that. He was also allowed to punch Killer for this, much to his joy. He was unable to sleep for weeks after that one.

- All of their neurodivergence can play with them. They're all hyper-aware of every new noise or thing they see and make sure to take notes. If one of them starts to get overstimulated (most likely Delta or Color, because they can see the other ghosts), then the other two will immediately help and take them somewhere safe. Or if Color's hyper-empathy starts to get too bad, Delta will focus on taking care of the ghosts while Epic calms him down and reassures him.

- If Epic gets scared or startled by something, his immediate reaction is to scream and jump on the nearest person or object. They have a game made out of how many tally's they can get with being the one to catch him.

- Cross is allowed and invited to come along. Delta was very hesitant to let someone else come after the whole Killer incident, but Epic had a talk with Cross and Cross proved himself trustworthy. Unfortunately he got the shit scared out of him by one of the ghosts. But he is always welcome on the adventures.

- They found a cat when they were exploring once. They took it home. They have a cat now.

- Delta is ALWAYS armed when they go exploring somewhere new. They never know what they'll encounter and want to guarantee protection. Color and Epic are aware of this, and whoever else comes along is made aware. They found a live person once. The person tried to attack them. That person was not alive for much longer.

- You know those old "[insert place] gothic" stories that went around on Tumblr for a bit? That's basically what they experience. Delta has learned many lessons from these things and it is the main reason he has rules and rituals in place to keep them all safe.

- If you've ever watched Sam and Colby or The Boys, that's kind of how I'd imagine their investigations to go.

- If a ghost is ready to be freed and let go of what's chaining them to their death place, Delta actually knows how to set them free. It takes up the majority of his energy though and afterwards, he has to rest immediately or else he'll faint.

- If there are children ghosts in where they're exploring, Delta and Color will know. They will get incredibly upset, but Delta will immediately seek to free them of their chains. Delta will not allow himself to show too much emotion, he knows the kids can sense it and doesn't want to upset them, but they will be incredibly quiet. Color would be able to keep himself calm, enough to be able to explain to Epic why Delta is suddenly quiet or acting as if they're interacting with someone. Once they're away from the place, they'll both allow themselves to feel what they need to and get through it.

- They have all been physically attacked by ghosts/demons before. Scratches, bite marks, bruises. All the like.

- Delta has fought both ghosts and demons before on these trips. Epic thinks it's hilarious because he can't see them and all he sees is Delta swinging at air. Color does not know what to think of it but if it's justified, he let's Delta do it and basically narrates it for Epic, which makes it even funnier.

- One time Color snapped at a ghost that was messing with them a little too much. Epic recorded while Delta and Beta quietly debated about whether they should stop Color and when. The ghost decided to get aggressive and Color didn't even hesitate before smacking the shit out of it. Delta/Beta and Epic agreed to not stop him until it was necessary.

And that's all I have for now! Also, happy birthday!!!

Thoughts?

Thank you for the birthday wishes! This was a wonderful gift too 💕.

And i love this Epic Sanses go Ghost Hunting thingy. I like to imagine they do it as like a bonding experience every other weekend, whenever their work or color and deltas responsibilities to beta/souls/killer allow some free time.

The thought of Color smacking the shit out of a ghost and delta squaring up with mannequins is hilarious to me. And of course Killer would try to play a prank, ghosts and demons very likely aren’t anything scary or interesting to him lmao. Especially if it scared delta.

the cat they brought home was probably the best thing about having to deal with color going on somewhere killer cant follow—if he gets cats he’s probably content about it all. (Wonder what he thinks about color showing up with bruises, scratches and marks.

Obviously stage 1 would probably be worried, especially if he doesn’t quite trust epic and delta yet, but stage 2 might have a different view on it. Sadistic little fuck would probably think color would look prettier with his bite marks and scratches.)

And I love that delta is so knowledgeable about these things, taking it all very seriously—I wonder if he always believed in supernatural things even before the events of Ultra/Vitaltale. Maybe he’s always been sensitive to that type of stuff. And i cant help but imagine Delta and Beta jumping and ganging up on the spirit that possessed them, and basically tossing bro out. It’s hilarious to me.

[moreespressoformydepresso]

Weird one but it’s 1:30AM and my shame at being a strange creature has evaporated as we enter my internet roaming hours

I really really really love God Games from Epic and the instrumental right before Athena rises against Zeus got me thinking! What if that was the tributes? But like- make it realm hopping.

The games are over and all the kids are dead except for Lucy Gray. It’s been a couple of weeks when suddenly spectral apparitions of the deceased tributes start showing up around the city. They seem to keep to their general area and don’t really interact with anyone, almost like they’re not even aware anyone’s there. Brandy’s found in a park, Treech is in and around the Academy, Circ’s near the university, etc. Then suddenly Dill comes across Felix, and for the first time a specter has looked aware. She recognizes him. Some strange science shenanigans later and a few tributes can become corporeal for long enough to explain they gave no clue what happened but remember everything until their death and a vague lab with a snake tank.

Guess whose lab it is :)

Nobody’s really sure how to fix this because opinions on what “fixing this” means are divided. The ghosts occasionally become aware of their surroundings which gives Capitol citizens the chance to talk to them and soon enough a few mobilize to sneak into Gaul’s lab and try to find clues as to what has happened. Turns out Gaul experimented on the bodies of the tributes and when things started going supernatural she burned the bodies and scattered the ashes in different parts of the city. A bad idea for her, because this released their spirits into the area their ashes were spread through and the fact that they no longer have a physical, decaying body they’re tied to makes what happens next possible. Turns out? The kids are stuck between the realms of life and death and are kept in limbo due to Gaul’s experimentation, and they’re basically trapped behind a thin layer of reality keeping them from interacting with the world of the living. The tributes becoming aware and capable of communicating? That’s them starting to break through that layer.

Epic comes in when Gaul and her small squad of fanatics go after the mentors who managed to get the support necessary to break into her lab and thus expose her, which caused her to lose her career. They storm the Capitol Academy to take revenge. One of the mentors in the crosshairs is Vipsania. Treech’s ghost appears between her and the guy attacking her in an attempt to stop them but since he’s incorporeal he’s a visual impairment more than anything else. He manages to make rough sounds, the first ones he’s made so far, but he can’t quite talk. Until a strike hits him and his spectral form goes up into smoke for a second (the “is she dead” line from Ares). The instrumental bit is Treech thinking back to his time in the Capitol and the games, figuring out Vipsania was trying to help him towards the end, and the way the other tributes cared for their mentors. Then he flashes back to his life in District 7 and all the people he left behind, at which point a surge of determination overcomes him as the music motif goes from Warrior Of The Mind to Legendary.

Just as Vipsania’s about to get her skull split in two, Treech reforms in front of her and catches the weapon. Only the top half of his body is solid, his legs and lower torso are still translucent, but he can touch things now. As he stops the attacker again and again, making his way forward towards Gaul’s group, he becomes more and more real as he breaks through into the world of the living. Finally he disarms the guy and tells him to leave, voice rough and brittle but real. He’s real.

Vipsania stumbles towards him, hesitantly touching him like it might accidentally make him disappear again. But he’s a real, physical being again. They hug and have their reunion, Treech coughs out the leftover snake poison stuck in his throat from the bite that kept him from actually talking before, and then he helps the other tributes figure out how to essentially bring themselves back to life.

[gatheredfates]

For the NPC ask - as the WoL, did Kor go the First? Was there anyone special there for them?

Have your followers send you NPCs and you describe your OC's feelings/relationship to that NPC! I feel like there are lot of NPC's I could talk about, because SHB is hands-down my favourite expansion and where I have the most lore developed for Kor, but on the back of my Minfilia ask I thought I'd talk about Mini!filia. Or, more appropriately, Ryne.

A haunting can be a lovely thing if you let it.

Kor always felt haunted, but not like this; not by an apparition that stood among her companions and felt solid in her hands; not by one who seldom smiled, who shrunk back — who felt herself to be the crudest simulacrum, a mockery of the woman they loved — and their actions, whether intentional or not, reinforced it.

What was it like being a machination of fate? A dozen little girls over a hundred years trained, mentored and dying for a doomed world; the spark of a ghost instilling itself in the babe for the threadbare hope that she would be different. Her soul was bruised before she left the womb, divots made by dozens of fingerprints pulling her in a thousand directions (to obliteration and inaction; to war or strife).

"Something called out to me. Someone I had to meet. You."

For fuck sake, she knew Minfilia's faith in Hydaelyn was unwavering, but to what end? How much could light proclaim sanctity while it drenched itself in the blood of children?

The answer, Kor would come to know, was that light waded through the mire like all the rest; not holy, not sacred, not divine. It was orderly in its machinations, but it was not good. A body in its ocean could still drown in it. When she coughed up its ichor, she was reminded of all the times Llymlaen thought it prudent she take a mouthful of brine — it all burned in her throat all the same.

"She's a fucking child," she chastised Thancred in the night. They'd had their oppositions as companions, but never like this — not for a haunting, a sister reimagined. She knew he loathed her concept and how she pantomimed a ghost. She knew he pitied her, sacrificial lamb to fate none of them signed up for. She knew there was a part of him, however small, that hoped his Minfilia would emerge bright and whole and alive again.

"Tell me." It was the silent question between them, the one he refused to ask and the one she'd never answer, "If this was your sister, what would you do?"

Koret was never a perfect sister. In fact, she wasn't a great sister at all. She wasn't any better than him and she knew it. Rational and a degree of separation could easily persuade her that it was not this Minfilia's fault for the accident of her birth. If it were Lily, however?

Well, they both knew her for a hypocrite.

But Minfilia? Oh, this was one was a lot like Lily. When she came out of her shell Kor saw how spirited she was; how she laughed with Alisae and comforted Alphinaud; how she brightened at Urianger's presence and admired Y'shtola's resolve. She was young and naïve, but she was no pushover. For the fright of her gift and the sacrifices before her, she was determined to be of use. She wanted to save her world and the people in it, even when everyone she'd grown up around preferred her in her cage — a songbird from another time.

When it came to it, the final choice of who should live (to laugh, to love!), her little heart beat so loudly as she declared "Me. I want to live. I want to fight."

From Minfilia to Ryne. How liberating it must have felt to finally have your identity. How relieving it must be to be loved for who you are. A lovely haunting to a beautiful, breathing sister.

Because that's what Ryne is to Kor. Half daughter, half sister. Try as she might, that maternal thread always found itself tangling in the youngest of their groups — ensnaring whether she wanted it or not — and it was so easy to envelop her in a family when she never had the opportunity to hold one. They were certainly not nuclear, and hardly ideal, but they were hers. They were hers and they were good.

Kor loves Ryne. It breaks her heart that she had to be left behind, but she is also comforted in the fact that she is one of the strongest girls she knows. She took her fate in both hands and charged, knowing her place but not letting her be defined by it. She has faced adversity and kept her sweetness, a trait admired by the Captain — even if she can't personally fathom it.

Yes, a haunting can be a lovely thing if you let it. A living thing, however? Well, that's even lovelier.

[thenarrativefoil]

Walk with me for a while.

ghost /ɡōst/ noun

an apparition of a dead person which is believed to appear or become manifest to the living, typically as a nebulous image."the building is haunted by the ghost of a monk" [oxford languages via google]

epigenetics /ˌepəjənˈediks/ noun

the study of changes in organisms caused by modification of gene expression rather than alteration of the genetic code itself. [oxford languages via google]

"Epigenetics can be thought of as a very specific sort of memory." "-most memories involve the [nervous system] storing experiences by altering connections between cells" [1]

"In a post mortem study on humans, Individuals [who died of natural causes] showed [altered] methylation in key areas of the hippocampus than those who died by suicide and those who died by suicide with a history of child abuse." [1]

"decreased levels of glucocorticoid receptor mRNA, as well as mRNA transcripts bearing the glucocorticoid receptor 1F splice variant and increased cytosine methylation of an NR3C1 promoter. Patch-methylated NR3C1 promoter constructs that mimicked the methylation state in samples from abused suicide victims showed decreased NGFI-A transcription factor binding and NGFI-A–inducible gene transcription" [2]

"muliebrity

if you’re raised with an angry man in your house, there will always be an angry man in your house. you will find him even when he is not there. and if one day you find that there is no angry man in your house— well, you will go find one and invite him in!" [3]

I don't know what to say about all this other than that it feels true. I've recently discovered that I don't feel things the way other people do. I have been slowly poking at what that means- feelings are something physical, a sensation in the body, like hot or cold. Some people actually get hot from emotion!

"Sympathy: I know how you feel Empathy: I feel how you feel Compassion: is there anything I can do to help?" [4]

I've leaned on compassion hard- to the point of annoyance, until I learned to ask questions before offering to help them solve the problem. But back to ghosts. Experiences change a person like a sculptor shapes clay. The creation of life from clay is a popular theme that appears throughout multiple cultures.[5]

Clay, before it is fired, can be mixed, shaped, dried, rewet, and formed again completely. It can be a hundred different things with no evidence of that in the final, fired version. Ceramics are "fired" (heated in a kiln) to different levels. Bisque means that bone-dry clay (greenware) has been fired once,at Cone 4-8, most commonly 6. Have you ever tried to exorcise a cup? Once fired, the ceramics can never return to its original state. You can smash it, you can grind it up into a fine powder. You can use ceramic powder as a metal coating, in filters;

"crushed fired clay ceramic-lime mortars are considered to be ideal for use in the restoration and conservation of ancient monuments and historic structures since they are fully compatible with the weak and porous traditional building materials" [6]

The jump from "fucked up cup" to ideal material for restoring historic structures seems too on the nose for me, as a ceramics artist who went on to restore monuments for a while. So we've got dna/clay and methylation/firing/trauma/memory/ghosts. There are ghosts of shitty cups in the cracks of restored buildings. I think of the tourists walking through, rubbing their hands on the walls and slowly corroding the monument with their acidic hand oils. Do some of the ghosts haunting me, that held my hands as I formed the wet clay, linger on their fingers when they leave? Can I put this down? Can someone else help me carry it? What is an artist but a ghost factory? I am making the ghosts, the ghosts are making me. It's an oroborous situation. I have GOT to get that snake some proper nutrition.

I had something else to say, but I forgot. My therapist tells me it's a way our nervous system protects itself from painful activation unable to be resolved.

Trauma changes the way our body functions, past emotional reactions, down to individual gene function. The war, the concentration camp, the abusive abused man, the abused child, like stacks of rocks placed on a grave in hopes of keeping the entombed inside. And yet, the undead rise! Moving strangely, covered in dirt, and stinking up the whole bus, we shuffle among the living. Some of us undetected! Most of us, well, we've got limbs falling off. We don't act right. So you're dead, but you really want to live. You go find yourself an exorcist, a physical therapist, a specialist who thinks they know what your problem is and has a strict regimen on how to fix you. Some things work, some things don't. You're still dead, but your skin is rotting less these days. Some days you wish Victor Frankenstein was real, someone with enough hubris to cut you up and zap you to life. But, you have to be what you want to see in the world. You're used to playing all the parts. You search for any information that can help you patch the function of your genes, behaviors and beliefs that will loch and dam the waterfall of your experience. You start believing in ghosts, and it's about time, since you've been haunted all your life. Try not to let it progress to possession, exorcists are really expensive.

[1] Transgenerational Trauma: The Role of Epigenetics

[2] Epigenetic regulation of the glucocorticoid receptor in human brain associates with childhood abuse

[3] Cut

[4] Quote from seananmcguire's dad

[5] Wikipedia: Creation of life from clay

[6] Use of crushed fired clay ceramics in the production of mortars

[empires-s2-headcanons]

similarly to how lizzie is Definitely A Human and the sheriff is Not A Toy, oli is Totally Not A Ghost- but the thing is, it's unclear if he himself actually knows that or not. fwip brings up how pale he is and he huffs and goes off about how "i don't tan, dude, i just burn! i get all crispy! nobody likes a crispy oli, least of all me! and it's not like i'm getting much sun anyway when i'm in the bloody CAGE!". gem says that his voice sounded "all distant and echoey, like you were far away..." and he just pulls out a mic (which he didn't have and wasn't using before?) and goes "huh. did i turn on some sorta effect without noticing? let's see- ECHO! ... nope? no echo? alright then. y'know i bet it's just feeling spicy today. god knows i am. it's a spicy mic kinda night, y'know what i mean? yeeeaaah you know what i mean.". sausage says he looked almost transparent for a moment, and he just laughs and says "that long in the cage and you end up a very pasty boy. i'm like danny phantom if danny phantom was way hotter and also got stuck in a cage!" and sausage is almost distracted enough trying to figure out who danny phantom is to think too hard about the apparition he saw at the campfire and it's striking resemblance to oli.

oli walks into chromia one day, and scott glances at him and suddenly he's looking through galaxies and universes and timelines all connected by little threads made of ones and zeroes, and he sees dragons and sheep and songs and homes and circles and birds and water and people, and he sees a million instances in one person who's existence is statistically impossible and if he looks closer, too close, he sees himself and he sees lights and flowers and antlers and wings and stars and crowns and he is overwhelmed with the sudden knowledge that he is dead, that he is dying and being reborn constantly in a million simultaneous universes, that every cell in his body will be replaced and he will be completely new one day, and the knowledge is terrifying and freeing and unavoidable, and he sees a form kept together by sheer determination and stubbornness and he wonders if the difference between a ghost and a person is that a ghost has reclaimed every single cell that was once in their body, and he knows, beyond anything else, that he is looking at a ghost. and then he blinks and the millions of years that he was looking at are only a moment long, and he's left staring at a man who flickers through colors of magic and past lives like flipping through a book. "woah scott, cool place you've got!" the man remarks, "not as cool as the olipoligo, but y'know, that's kind of a given." and scott has so, so many questions- what are you what did i just see what are you doing here what ARE you what do you want with me- but all he can stutter out is "how do you know my name?"

oli laughs and tells him not to worry about it, and scott wonders when he learned that the man's name was oli.

[...ignore the fact that c!sausage feasibly could and probably does know who danny phantom is since he, in character, is naming axolotls after spider mans. i uh. i forgot about that]

WAIT THIS IS SO COOL???? AND TOTALLY POSSIBLE

[biblioklept-writes]

Aemond x GOTEra!Reader

reposting this again because tumblr hates me and refuses to show up in the tags

HOTD Masterlist

With the word of King Joffrey's wedding, you have been invited to the Red Keep with your husband Lord Dayne. It has been a bit over two years since you had departed from King's Landing, and you now had a beautiful son. He is the most adorable baby you have ever seen with his father's pretty brown eyes and dark curls. With another one on the way, you feel very happy with your little family.

You have been given your old rooms, which you now share with your husband and your little boy, and reminisce the old days, the days before you met your husband and your ghost companion.

As heavy as your heart was on seeing him go, it was the best for Aemond and you could not deny your friend the opportunity of finally resting with him family, his lover and his dragon.

Your husband is gone for the afternoon attending court shenanigans and you get to spend the afternoon with your baby and his two nannies. You are in the early stage of pregnancy with another bundle of joy - but right now the only thing the babe gives you is sickness. It is unreasonable, you are embarrassed when the sickness hits and you dismiss the nannies so you could be sick in peace with just your baby boy.

You hand him his toys before leaving him unattended momentarily to throw up your hearty breakfast, mentally noting to send for your husband to get you some of the spicy pancakes (sorry for my desi readers out there) that the ship had served you. Lord Dayne must love me deeply to put up with my foolish cravings, you think, chuckling.

The sound of your toddler happily babbling away fills your ears and you smile - wiping the puke off your lips and putting a sugar cube in your mouth to wash off the acidic taste - and stay by the door for a moment to watch your little boy raise his fat little arms in the air and mimic a roar. You are pleasantly surprised - perhaps your tales about the Targaryens and their might dragons was rubbing off on him.

"Our child will be just as fond of history of the world as you are my darling," Your husband gives you his infamous dimpled smile. "A walking encyclopedia about the Targaryens by the time he learns to speak. Maybe he will even get a chance to meet your friendly ghost."

You had shrugged it off then, sighing heavily. Now you aren't so sure - your fat toddler raises his arms and stands up, giggling at something. Forcing the hope into the deepest parts of your heart, you enter your room.

"Aemond!" You gasp at the glowing apparition of the only friend you had had in the Red Keep - as sad as it was, your only friend here was a ghost. "How-?"

You noticed the difference from then and now - as opposed to the encounters a bit over two years ago his apparition is glowing and his solemn eye is glowing brighter than the moon - he has also gotten the opportunity to change, apparently, for now he is dressed in combat clothes and not in his leathers, his silky hair tied in a braid. He is joyous too.

"My Lady Dayne," your sapphire-eyed friend smiles brightly at you, and you are amazed by his smile. Aemond, too, has dimples. "It's a pleasure to see you again. Your son is the most charming babe I have ever seen."

Your son giggled at the compliment, and slowly strutted to you, pulling at your skirts and you carry your toddler in your arms, as he looks between you and the ghost. "He takes from his father," you softly say, your cheeks heating.

"I'd say he gets his charm from you, My Lady," Aemond says. "I hope you are happy to see me,"

"You have no idea!" You squeal before taking a seat on your bed. Even with the early stage of your pregnancy, your feet have already started to bother you and the heavy toddler in your arms does not help. "Come, have a seat. Tell me everything! Did you get to see your family? How is your mother, your sister? How are your brothers? Please tell me you saw Vhagar..."

You abruptly stopped on realizing that you kept asking him questions without even giving a break to answer. He is floating on the mattress, just like two years ago, watching you with a secretive smile on his hauntingly beautiful face. "I have been doing very well, my Lady." He softly answers. "To answer your questions, yes I did meet everyone. Vhagar was overjoyed to see me. I even got to meet her first rider - Visenya. That old woman is quite a force to be reckoned with. Aegon is doing well now, in afterlife. It's not as scary as it seems... Mother is just happy to be able to see all her children and grandchildren again - she suffered the most, among us."

There are tears in your eyes and you don't realize that you are crying until your baby boy starts wiping away your tears, holding your cheeks in his little hands. "Do my answers upset you, sweet Lady?" Aemond politely asks.

"Oh these are happy tears, I am happy you found your peace." You confess, quickly wiping away your tears. "It's just... well..."

"You are positively glowing with the child that grows in you," Aemond remarks. "This babe will look just like you, the loveliest of all."

Your cheeks heat up again, but this time you don't look away. "Have you been watching over me, Prince Aemond?"

"Oh, here and there." He shrugs. "I keep my ears open for any word that comes about you. I heard you were going to be present for the bastard's wedding so I came by to see you."

"You can't be calling the King such names," You whisper. "Even if they are whispered to be true."

"What are they going to do?" Aemond chuckled. "Execute me?"

"Wel..." you exhale with a foolish smile. "What do you do in your ghostly free time?"

"Oh, the usual," He says. "Spending time with Mother, and Ser Cole. My nephews are still so little, Maelor is only a little older than little Lord Dayne here."

"I am sorry," You softly said, reaching for the ghost out of instinct. Again, your hand passes right through him and you retract your hand, absently playing with your toddler's Dornish black curls.

"I'll tell you a secret," Aemond is conspiratorial. "Don't stay for the wedding feast. There's a not-so-sweet surprise planned."

"What?" You ask, confused.

"You'll hear plenty about it," Aemond assures. "I don't think you should witness that - given your delicate condition."

"...Okay?" you mumble. "I have always wanted to attend a king's wedding, but I will not."

"Just trust me this once." Aemond says. "You will not regrets skipping this one."

"If you insist," You absently play with your baby boy's hair.

"I must take my leave now," Aemond says. "It was great to see you again, my sweet Lady Dayne."

"I missed you, my friendly ghost." You giggle, and your son giggles with you, looking intently at the ghost. "Did you see your lady?"

"My lady has chosen rebirth," He sighs. "Not much to do there." He can see the question in your eyes and he does not hesitate to say, "My son has chosen rebirth too, apparently."

"They could not bear your absence." You softly said. "I certainly missed you dearly."

"You are too kind, my Lady." Aemond says. "I wish the best for you and your family. May we meet again someday. Farewell."

"Farewell, Aemond."

Aemond Tags:

@astrumark @depressedperson88

[myhauntedsalem]

Friends and family do not and in many cases will not believe you or your claims of a paranormal activity or haunting occurring to you unless they have the experience with you simultaneously. Though some might be taken for their word.

Ghost and spirits especially evil or demonic forces will play tricks on you and those around you. Something’s might be a subtle as making small objects go missing and putting right back in front of you.

A revenant is a deceased person returning from the dead to haunt the living, either as a disembodied ghost or alternatively as an animated (“undead”) corpse. Also related is the concept of a fetch, the visible ghost or spirit of a person yet alive, a notion widespread in shamanistic cultures.

No two hauntings are ever the same. No mater if you experience chills and thrills to the same degree at every investigation you undertake. Each real ghost has different motives and personal agendas to why they haunt a specific haunted house location, public place, person or thing. The real question I am often asked is why do ghosts really haunt us?

Many believe that a real ghost haunts the living because they have unfinished business. In many cases this might be correct. But ghost also haunt the living for more assorted in depth reasons then that. It might be to protect property that they believe they still own. Some ghost want to protect their earthly treasures from those that might take it exploit it or misuse it. While still others haunt us and act out because they seek revenge or just might be plain bored wit the afterlife.

Earth Bound spirits or ghosts as they are often referred to as, often stay around fearing their final end. Many have stated to me they are afraid they might just end up in Hell. Others who travel between our world tell of the fact that they do not believe that there is anymore levels of the afterlife other then what they actually experience.

There is often the belief that many ghosts do not believe they are dead and keep living out their lives as if alive. In a lf very few conversations I have found this to be true but not the rule. Those that do not know they are dead or often freshly deceased individuals who catch on real quick to their circumstance by the things they witness. Changes in family reactions as well as witnessing their own autopsies and funerals.

Some ghosts often speak of their own personal Heavens filled with the living and the dead. The fact that they state that they have made a new life or after life in the spirit world filled with the beautiful home they always wanted.

A ghost has been often defined as the disembodied spirit or soul of a deceased person, But it can also refer to the spirit forms of animals and our beloved deceased pets. Although in popular usage the term refers only to the apparition of such a person. Many have reported seeing or experiencing hauntings from their dogs, cats and even pet reptiles coming back to visit them from beyond the grave.

Often described as immaterial and partly transparent, real ghosts are reported to haunt particular locations or people that they were associated with in life or at time of death. They even go and visit those that have not seen or spoken to for many years just to check up on them and see how their lives have paned out. Phantom armies, ghost-animals, ghost trains and phantom ships have also been reported.

Ghost are often said to haunt particular items such as furniture like haunted beds, chairs and even are said to be locked into bottles, boxes, and mirrors. Haunted dolls seems to be all the rage today as are the many reports of haunted cars, jewelry such as rings and pendants, earrings, clothes and shoes. Nothing inanimate seems to be safe from becoming haunted and even computers, cell phones and other electronic devices seem to not be immune.

[ashrifts]

›› @deathfavor asked:

Orchid eyes meet Ran's, and Izana offers a smile as leans back against the spot he'd once often enjoyed standing in the field of the prison, watching the guards and people with an unrivaled aura. But of course he isn't there. He isn't there, because his body had been on the cold ground in a pool of blood, so he can't be here. Certainly not in his signature red coat. "The new guards changed rotations between you and the others for who gets to be out in outdoor time." He quiets for a brief second before finishing. " It'll be changed. " A statement, not a question or suggestion. It will be. Certainly something he'd have said, if he was there to bend reality to his will. His head tilts slightly, as if observing Ran in kind (even if the look seems to show he knows the answer) " Are you going to just stare? " [places ghost izana in your care]

izana appears to him, sometimesㅤ—ㅤin dreams, in memories, in the nooks and crannies of the prison field where they had once huddled over their smuggled chips and cigarrettes that the guards would soon come to confiscate but end up with broken wrists instead, as flashes of light in the corner of ran's eye, as the jingle of a bell very much like hanafuda earrings swaying in the wind.  

his (  late, now  ) captain had always had this way about him, where he spoke and you'd listen, where he'd stand and you'd look at him, where he'd exist and you'd take notice of him, like it was written in the natural order of the world that izana kurokawa must be seen, but not touched.  

it's not much different here, where ran leans his back against the fence wire, hands dug snugly inside his uniform pockets and ankles loosely crossed in front of the other, a stolen lit cigarrete between his lips, and the ghost of his captain by his side.

and ran does stare. he stares, and stares, and stares, and thinks:ㅤthis is how i want to keep remembering you.ㅤwith that smile on his face, enigmatic and forebonding, red coat flowing behind him like a king's mantleㅤ—ㅤnot in an abandoned warehouse, bodies and childhood dreams alike buried beneath falling snow through an open ceiling and an unforgiving sky. not at both ends of a gun's barrel, killer and protector both. not with the words "i've only ever had you, kakucho." not with the bullet hole in his chest where his heart had only just begun to beat again.

(ㅤand maybe that's what ghosts are: forgotten memories one desperately wished to hold on to, misplaced recollections of a person who was once here but all that remained of them now was an empty space. what will haunt ran the most was not the death of a could've-been-friend, but the undeniable fact that the passage of time will wear the memory of him like an old faded photograph, and ran will remember the sound of a gunshot more than the sound of his voice.ㅤ)

ㅤㅤㅤ‘ㅤmhm. they learned not to keep us all together at once, after all.ㅤ’ㅤan apparition could not tell ran something that he did not already know, so the statement is less news and moreso of an affirmation. he's not too worried about it. it's not their first time playing at inmates, even if this return had been voluntary.

ran exhales, deep and slow. the smoke clears out of his lungs, but not out of his mind. 

ㅤㅤㅤ‘ㅤbut what keeps you here?ㅤyour regretsㅤ—ㅤor mine?ㅤ’

[buzzdixonwriter]

The Wraith Of God [FICTOID]

The exorcist made her way up the battlements to where the ghost awaited her.

“They tell me you kidnapped the duke,” she said.

“Aye.”

“Care to tell me why?”

“Nay.”

“May I at least know the category of your reason?” she asked.  “Revenge?  Justice?  Third party curse?”

“’Tis a holy mission,” said the ghost.

The exorcist pursed her mouth, pondering her next move.  “Typically when someone is kidnapped, the kidnapper wants something in exchange for the victim.  Do you want something in exchange for the duke?”

“Aye.”

Several moments passed, the wind whistling through the semi-translucent apparition hovering before her.

“It would help if you told me so I can see what can be done to get it for you.”

“Kites,” said the ghost.

The exorcist blinked.  In all her years in her profession, this was a first.

“Kites?” she said.

“Kites.”

“Not the bird, correct?  The toy?  Paper stretched on a light wooden frame, a tail of rags, held by a strong?  That sort of kite?”

“Aye.”

“Why do you -- no, never mind, I’m sure you have your reasons.  Any special kind of kite?  Made of silk?  Gold leaf lettering?  Dipped in sheep’s blood?  Anything like that?”

“Nay.”

“Just plain, garden variety kites, the type children buy on market day?”

“Aye.”

The exorcist sighed.  She could easily banish he ghost to the realms beyond beyond, but she needed to recover the duke first.  “You say kites plural.  How many?”

“Four and twenty...”

“Two dozen?”

“Nay.  Four and twenty…thousand.”

“Are you procreating kidding me?” the exorcist asked.  “You want twenty-four thousand kites?”

“Aye.”

“I presume the whole thing, correct?  Not just the kite itself but the tail, the string, right?”

“Aye.”

The exorcist sighed, mentally calculating how big a pile twenty-four thousand kites would make.  “It will take some time,” she said.  “I doubt if more than a hundred kites are sold even on a major festival day, and the merchants who sell them usually start making them weeks before the festival itself.”

“Not my problem.”

“I beg to differ!  This is very much your problem!  You are the one who kidnapped the duke, you are the one demanding a ridiculous ransom.  If you really wanted twenty-four thousand kites you should have anticipated this and planned for it.”

“No kites, no duke.”

The exorcist frowned.  “It will take time to assemble that many kites.  We need to know the duke is safe.”

“The duke is safe.”

“Where is he?”

“Someplace between this world and the next.”

“Has he food? Water?”

The exorcist sensed the ghost’s hesitancy.  “If he dies, you get no kites,” she said.  “I need to verify he’s still alive before telling the duchess to order twenty-four thousand kites.”

Another long pause then the ghost said, “I’ll see what I can do.”

The ghost vanished from view.  The exorcist rolled her eyes, not knowing how long it would take for the spirit to return.

. . .

The answer was three hours, forty-five minutes, and seventeen seconds.  The ghost reappeared before her, an ectoplasm drenched figure hovering beside it.

“Here,” the ghost said.  “Talk to him.  Feed him, give him drink.  Then I will take him back while you assemble he four and -- “

That’s as far as the ghost got before the exorcist made a mystical gesture and shouted the mystical command:  “Am-scray ost-ghay!”

She thought she heard the ghost start to scream in spectral agony but then it swirled up like water running down a drain and disappeared.

The ectoplasm drenched figure fell to the rough stone battlement, shivering uncontrollably as the supernatural goo evaporated off him. 

The exorcist knelt to help him up.  “My lord, you have been gone many days without food and water,” said the exorcist.  “Do you need drink or sustenance?”

“I need to go to the bathroom,” the duke said.

  © Buzz Dixon

[denimbex1986]

'Andrew Haigh’s newest film All of Us Strangers is a haunting, beautiful rumination on grief, loneliness, and the power of love.

Andrew Scott stars as Adam, a lonely middle-aged man who returns to his childhood home and finds the house and his parents, exactly as they were 30 years ago before they died suddenly in a car accident. As Adam attempts to understand the situation he grows closer with Harry, played by Paul Mescal, a mysterious younger man who lives in the same near-empty London apartment complex.

The film is a loose adaptation of Taichi Yamada’s 1987 novel Strangers as writer and director Andrew Haigh strays away from the original novel and tells a much more personal story. For most of the film, Haigh creates beautiful and rather unadorned visual compositions with the use of naturalistic lighting. His use of long dissolves evokes Scott’s character floating from scene to scene like a ghost which adds to the supernatural tone of the movie.

All of Us Strangers grapples with how social landscapes have changed astronomically for queer people over the past decades. The generational difference between Adam and Harry at first feels negligible, but as the characters discuss their family relationships, the feeling of isolation they felt from growing up “different”, and the pain those feelings caused, creates a shared moment of emotional clarity. This monumental moment comes from them just addressing casual homophobia and HIV-associated anxiety as two characters who experienced those very differently.

With that being said, the film offers more than an insight into the ways queer identity affects romantic and familial relationships. It works to reconcile the past with the present and the profound ability we have to heal pain with love, no matter how fleeting those connections may be. The supernatural nature of the plot is superseded by Haigh’s deeper desire to explore these very real characters and their relationships in the face of an incredibly lonely and sterile world.

Andrew Scott’s ability to breathe so much life and vulnerability into his character, while also capturing immense grief and loneliness with a remarkable honesty, gives the film its heart and soul. Mescal, who was nominated for both a BAFTA and an Academy Award for his role as a troubled father in “Aftersun” last year, gives a heart-wrenching performance that is both melancholic and seductive. Even supporting performances from Claire Foy and Jamie Bell as Adam’s parents were just as breathtaking.

The soundtrack features staple Britpop groups of the 1980s and does much more than capture the essence of Adam’s nostalgia — it deconstructs it. The songs are familiar, but often distorted in a faded-out, spectral way.

Music is a conduit between Scott’s character and the apparitions of his parents, as well between him and Harry. In their first conversation, Harry drunkenly tells Adam, “there are vampires at my door” as he seeks companionship, echoes the lyrics from the film’s definitive anthem, “The Power of Love” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, “I’ll protect you from the hooded claw, keep the vampires from your door” showcasing the promise we make to those we love.

Devastating and deeply intimate, All of Us Strangers pushes its central character and audiences to not live on the sidelines of our own lives, to not be strangers to the world, but to persevere and forge human connections despite the risk.'

[hanako-san]

Hiya!!!! How are you doing doing????? Is it bad that I’m kinda pissed at some of the characters? I know you’ve talked about some of this already but-😤

Everybody has their own opinions and that’s ok here’s just some of my own thoughts

Teru:he still is very rude to Hanako for no reason despite Hanako proving time and time again he’s different from stereotypical Hanako evil apparitions using his appearance as a excuse for his actions

Yashiro:she’s supposed to be the hopeless romantic, the damsel in distress, the teenage girl who dreams of someone taking her off her feet in a fantasy, but the thing is there’s a difference between being boy crazy and her actions she goes for the worst people as well teru who hates Hanako and tries to kill him over even had some vendetta against her but still enamored with him, swooning after every guy hit complaining none will like her when Hanako is right there? He clearly cares about her but she’s gets mad at him constantly, thinking she does nothing wrong, and might be swooning for his brother who he has trauma with!

I don’t want her to lose her hand or die but I just-I really want her to learn a lesson

I just Hanako is one of the best characters in my opinion and I like many simp for him, he deserves so much better poor little amane 🥺

Kou and Mitsuba are also great characters

It’s just the love triangle of Tsukasa,Hanako and Yashiro

And just Yashiro and teru in general-

I don’t hate Yashiro completely

(I do like Tsukasa but I need to see more of his personality,motives and maybe more? Maybe I’m just a simp or somebody who wants to analyze characters-)

I just-I really hope some of the characters learn from their mistakes and grow and maybe just maybe hopefully they can be redeemed or maybe it’s too late but hey! At least we have Hanako right? ❤️

Heeey!!!!! I'm fine! And you? Thanks for asking! It's kind of you 😊 Yes, I said some, but not all. I'm waiting for the right moment to say more about most of the characters, but I will say a little about certain characters in this question.

Thank you for sharing your opinion. I really appreciate it.

To older minamoto and daikon i agree.

More about teru from Me: Ano I remeber how teru said to Amane " I can't stand the sight of you" and that he endured it for his younger brother. I feel exactly the same way about him. It's also hard for me to look at his ugly face, but I have to for the sake of the plot. I try not to look at him, but focus on his texts. The level of hatred for the elder Minamoto is high, but he is deserved.

Teru doesn't care, he likes to bully supernatural people and ghosts. He doesn't care. He is a pure sadist with a psychopathic murderer and the justification that 'supernatural things are evil', but in fact he loves to kill. He has a special hatred for Amane, so I repay him in kind. But I know there is a hidden secret in his pathetic hatred. I could be wrong, but my gut tells me there's something behind it.

More about daikon from me: Anon… it's not that if I hate daikon I have to wish the worst for her. It's not like that! I sincerely wish her life and I don't want her to die. I want her to live and live the life she wants.

My feelings for Yahsiro are complicated because I hate her and I love her. The hate is greater because she has a personality that is hard for me to stand. Her actions and the way she treats Amane don't help. I'm especially angry with her and I hate her for the way she treats Amane, for the way she disregards him and treats him so badly, for how empty her words are, and for the way she can't admit when she's wrong because she doesn't see it. there is nothing to blame, she is always the victim, and Amane is the worst and the guilty person thinks she has nothing to blame except him. yashiro He treats Amane very badly, so I will also trample on her and her feelings. It makes it a lot easier for me because she makes me hate her with her behavior and actions. But that love is still there, small, but sometimes it makes itself felt.

Amane is my number one, my love and the one I care about, not her. So her feelings are unimportant to me, I don't care, even if I have some love for her. It doesn't change anything.

I think I have feelings for her yet because I hope she will improve and learn lessons, but Anon.. aren't we both too naive? What needs to happen for her to understand? She doesn't even see any guilt in her friend's sacrifice - she didn't apologize to Aoi for being sacrificed because of her, because she thinks it's Amane's fault, not hers, she doesn't see her guilt in any of her actions at all, even the most recent ones from chapter 104, so I have no idea what must have happened so that she understands what she is doing is wrong and sincerely regrets it and apologizes . Although there is a 1% chance that maybe something will come to her and she honestly understands how bad of a person she is and how terrible her actions are. Is it naivety or hope? Maybe it will undergo character development, or maybe she will stay that way. If she stays like this, I will hate her. Easy. But the manga hasn't been finished so maybe she will change and that one 1% chance will be left for her, but honestly Anon… I know I'm naive.

Anon….exactly…there's a difference between being a hopeless romantic and being crazy about boys! Did she think about Amane's feelings and how he feels throughout chapter 106? No. Her problem was that Tsukasa kissed her and she thought he loved her romantically. As if that was the most important thing to her at that moment. She fantasized about them fighting for her. Am I supposed to believe that she loves him when she doesn't care about his feelings? And she didn't even think for a moment, "hey, maybe Hanako-Kun is hurt." She only want to be where Amane is because he is the person with whom he feels safe and knows he will protect her.

Everything I thought about her since p.p.arc is confirmed by her behavior, which she shows more and more, also in words. I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed this.

In my opinion Amane is the best character ever!!!🥰💖 He is the best Amane!! I'm glad we agree on most of it. It's good to know that there are people who think similarly about certain things and characters ☺

I won't say anything about kou and mitsuba Anon because it's not the time for me to say anything- The time will come and you will know my opinion^^

But Anon teru and daikon go well together. They are worth the same to each other. My 'beautiful' couple.

The love triangle doesn't surprise me. This is AidaIro style. It's disgusting! They're brothers!! I won't support this! I'm glad I don't care about romance or these ships at all. However, what AidaIro is doing is disgusting.

So Anon.. can you say that Yashiro and I also completely hate her?

About Tsukasa from me:To be honest, Tsukasa pissed me off in chapter 105 and I really won't forgive him for that! I won't forgive him, but I can't hate him! Simply! I don't hate him. My hatred turned into love, but I won't forgive him for what he did and I will be really harsh with him, but despite everything… I managed to love him. Of course it's on a lower level, but still. The only thing I want is for Amane and Tsukasa to reconcile with each other, for brother and brother not to be enemies of each other. I think his motives are related to Amane. Despite everything, I know they both love each other.

My advice Anon. You just need more time to understand Tsukasa and sort out your feelings for him. It's like me with daikon. Let's both just wait and see what the characters do. Will Tsuaksa finally make you like him or not? The same in my case and daikon. We both need character time. There's nothing wrong with that. I'd love to hear your final opinion on him when your feelings are finally stable.Will you share with me your opinion? 🥺

I will do the same with daikon, but of course it does not change the fact that I will treat it as I have been treating it so far :) But one day I will give my final opinion about daikon.

I also like to analyze characters, and Amane is my passion for analysis. I love analyzing Amane!! 🥰

Anon… I can copy your last sentence. I think exactly the same as you. Even if the characters don't change like you say and don't redeem themselves, Amane is here! Yes!! We have Amane!! Our perfect and charming, beautiful Hanako-san ❤️ Ours beautiful Hanako-san ❤️

Hope you like my answer ✨