#because the person in question is a family member

[sparkletastic-cookiedough]

Barbara calls Damian-Robin her “little brother”. I’m not using a version of Barbara Gordon that has a romantic relationship with Bruce.

That being said, reincarnating into different bodies probably messes with a lot of things, not just family structure.

//-\\-//-\\

Barbara Gordon knows she’s strange, even before the memories come in.

She’s incredibly smart for her age. She’s enrolled in a class for gifted children, and even then she learns quickly and easily. She’s incredibly advanced for her age. It’s as though she already knows everything the teachers tell her. She’s best at science and math, but she has skills in other places. The first time that she opens a book on Psychology, she feels as though she’s already read it dozens of times.

She learns to hide her intelligence once certain people take notice and start questioning things. After all, no human should be able to do calculus at eight years old, so it’s no wonder a few conspiracy theorists tried to kidnap her…

Barbara Gordon learns how to hack, how to hide her presence, how to use a computer with the same ease she learns everything. Somewhere in her mind, she already knew it.

She learns to run, to evade, to fight back in case a few weirdos try to kidnap her again.

Few things actually feel new to her, but when they are new, it feels wonderful.

She becomes obsessed with reading mystery novels. Sometimes she can predict the ends, but most times she’s on the edge of her seat trying to figure it out.

She has a strange relationship with the idea of Bruce Wayne. He’s a local celebrity, but something about the guy always feels fake to Barbara. She gets the feeling that he’s hiding something, but doesn’t have any proof. At the same time, he feels familiar. It’s comfortable to hear that he’s doing well.

And then there’s Batman.

She loves the local hero. She wants him to be safe, she wants to help him, she feels like she belongs at his side.

It’s completely irrational. No one would let a child out on the streets of Gotham. The thought of someone so young fighting crime makes her tense.

No one except Batman, apparently, because only a few months later, Robin shows up in a yellow cape and elf boots.

Thus, Batgirl makes her debut. If she can take out the nastier criminals, that means Robin doesn’t have to deal with them.

Fighting crime comes as easily as the rest of things- it’s a skill that she feels she’s learned before, and is relearning. Occasionally, she reaches for a gun that doesn’t exist. She tries out pistols at the shooting range at the police station, but none of them feel right.

She sticks to her makeshift Batarangs. Making her own equipment is the perfect blend of familiar and not-familiar. She learns the fundamentals of engineering with ease, then applies them with a bit of trouble. It’s thrilling to learn how to make a grappling hook from scratch, while not having to work too hard to master the physics behind it.

She meets Batman. Instantly, she feels oddly protective of the man, as though she’s supposed to be looking out for him, not the other way around. It’s difficult to express this idea when he constantly beats her at sparring.

Still, she’s better than him when it comes to technology, and she outclasses him by far when it comes to psychology.

She takes on Robin as a bit of a little-brother figure. Something about the role feels natural to Barbara.

This leads her to learning the identities of Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson. It leads to her becoming their unofficial family member.

She loves Alfred. She cries the first time she meets him, but she doesn’t know why.

Then, she starts strange dreams. Dreams of being a different person: taller, thinner, less muscular. Faces and names are blurs, but are becoming clearer over time.

What’s weird about these dreams, is that many of them are true. She can remember the grand opening of a factory, smiling next to a man she thinks of as her husband, then watching the CEO of a shipping company fall off a stage. The event, as Barbara found out with some digging, was televised.

It actually happened. Arthur McKinley fell off the stage. His stupid green suit is exactly the same as she remembers it.

Some memories- if that’s what these are-aren’t provable, or might be false. She remembers seeing technology that doesn’t exist, a land with a green sky, dancing with a pirate, riding a dinosaur, hundreds of little things that never happened, probably could never happen.

She doesnt tell Bruce. She doesn’t want to worry him with her problems. Something about that logic feels familiar yet again.

Barbara isn’t interested in romance. The guys her age feel really immature. In her dreams, she’s married. She feels romantic love.

She’s never felt that outside of a dream.

Then she dreams of a little baby named Bruce, and she knows just whose memories she’s been getting.

Zatanna Zatara ends up explaining things to her. She’s a reincarnation. Over time, her memories will continue to come in, and her personality will start to blend with past versions of herself.

It’s odd. Some days her body feels entirely wrong. She looks in the mirror and sees a stranger. She writes down the wrong name on a test at school, gets questions on history tests wrong.

It adds up. Eventually, she tells Bruce.

The conversation is long, and full of tears. Bruce learns he doesn’t exactly have his mom back- Barbara isn’t exactly the same. Time has changed them both.

Martha was Bruce’s mom, and Barbara could never be that for him. Bruce isn’t a child anymore, Barbara reading him a story before bed wouldn’t feel the same.

Even after gaining Martha’s memories, Barbara is still different. She doesn’t understand the mechanics of reincarnation, so she doesn’t know why. She just knows she has separate tastes and interests, she has different opinions, she has different quirks and traits.

Then Barbara remembers a summoning ritual- one for the king of ghosts.

Before long, she’s smiling at the Ghost King, reunited once more.

“Hey Danny.” She says.

“Hi, Jazz.”

Royal Bats

DP x DC Prompt

Danny and Jazz always were together in life, and they would remain together as siblings whenever Jazz would reincarnate as a mortal again.

Jazz reincarnated a lot, wanting to experience the different things in those dimensions she chose with a fresh start and no memories. She had many adventures in her new lives, with Danny beside her as her 'Imaginary Friend' whenever she was a kid and her 'Guardian Angel' during the rest of her lives.

This new life she has reincarnated in has her living as a rich woman with a loving husband and a kid. The first time he's seen her have one in her many lives. He couldn't save Jazz or her husband's lives because of Clockwork, who had sent him on a small mission related to time.

When he returned to the dimension with Jazz's new life, he arrived at the funeral for Thomas and Martha Wayne, with their Ghosts behind Bruce. Martha, or Jazz again, had embraced Danny in a hug and told Thomas the basics of who Danny was to her, but before they left, Jazz left some parting words to Danny.

"Look after my son, little brother. Protect him like you how you protect me."

So Danny does. He follows Bruce around while he's training to become Batman. And when Bruce returns to Gotham to be Batman, he helps him with Lady Gotham. With each kid Bruce brings into his family, Danny duplicates himself to help each of them.

Danny had killed the Joker after his resurrection by Bruce when the Clown was alone. He couldn't do it while the Joker was living, as he needed to follow the rules, or else he would have had more paperwork to sort through.

Danny had been telling Jazz and Thomas about their son and what he's been doing about his feats, his children, and his friends. They did support Danny's decisions on killing the Joker. He felt a tug on his core, the tug that happens when he is being summoned, so he quickly said his goodbyes to Jazz and Thomas and accepts the summoning.

What shocks him is seeing that he's in the Watchtower, with the Justice League there, including Bruce and his children. All of his seriousness is drained out of him, and he smiles at Bruce and his family.

"My nephew, it is good to finally speak to you"

[captain-huggy-bear]

To Fight a Ten Year Old

Pairing: Quinn Hughes x Fem!Reader

Warnings: N/A

Summary: In which Quinn is prepared to time travel to whoop some ten year old butt because you tell him a story from your childhood and he takes it personally.

Notes: Alas, I did in fact experience this as a child, but I can laugh about it now :) Also writing soccer instead of football actually hurt me.

Very silly + short idea to be honest but hope it brings a smile to some faces!

Totally happy to take requests/ideas/prompts at the moment in my ask box :)

Writing Masterlist

It's a stupid little back and forth the two of you have going as you get ready for bed, silly little questions like 'tell me about your first broken bone' and 'why is your favourite animal your favourite?'. It's something Quinn and you have been doing since you first started dating. It started as a way to get to know each other better and ended up a habit, a ritual of sorts.

Each year the questions get harder to think of as your lives become more intertwined, most of your stories featuring the other, but it still raises interesting moments from your childhoods and silly little stories that explain a lot about you or him. Things you probably wouldn't find out about each other unless you asked these random questions or a family member brought it up at Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Today is no different. You're going through your night routine, taking off your make up and moisturising your skin, while Quinn brushes his teeth in the adjoining bathroom, door open so you can talk.

"Okay..." He's thinking hard, even as he talks around his toothbrush leaning his head out of the bathroom to watch you as you wipe away your eyeliner, "How about first heartbreak?" His voice is muffled around the toothbrush and almost sounds like he's underwater, despite this he never seems to want to wait until he's done.

"Like first heartbreak? Or first proper heartbreak?" You're running a cloth over the rest of your face as you ask, wiping away concealer and blush, an array of colours smearing the fabric. Your skin being revealed bit by bit.

"What's the difference?" He briefly disappears back into the bathroom to spit out his toothpaste and put his toothbrush away, but you know he's still listening as you explain.

"Well, first heartbreak is that time as a little kid that you thought you were in love and got hurt by it but it wasn't serious. You were probably over it by the next week, and first proper heartbreak is when you're older and it actually is heartbreak and you can't get over it for at least 3 months."

He hums as he comes back to lean against the doorframe, shoulders looking delicious without a shirt on, "First heartbreak, probably less depressing for a Monday night."

You take a moment, reaching for your moisturiser as you think back. There are many moments you could think of where you thought you were in love as a litte kid and had your heart broken as a result, but one stands out the most.

"Okay, um...When I was 10 years old I really liked like this boy in class called Cameron but Cameron really liked Emily, a girl 2 years older than us." You can still remember it now, the way he used to sit with her whenever he had the chance, how she clearly did not want a kid 2 years younger than her hanging around, how lovesick he was...how lovesick you were.

"Okay, so Cameron likes a cougar?" You glare over at him as you rub moisturiser into your skin, disapproving as he grins at you, straight teeth peeking out from behind his lips.

"2 years apart at the age of 10 and 12 does not make someone a cougar, Quinn!"

"I don't know, baby, seems pretty cougar-ish to me." You roll your eyes at him as he strolls closer to you, taking your comb in hand and tilting your head forward gently. He's careful as he starts to detangle your hair, careful not to pull too harshly on your scalp, much kinder than your mother used to be when you were a child. Quinn's always careful not to hurt you, apologetic if a tangle pulls too roughly.

"You're ridiculous. Anyway, where was I?" You reach for the detangler handing it back to him as he works, closing your eyes gently.

"You liked a spotty kid called Cameron." There's a hint of dislike riding his voice, even as his fingers are careful as they pull strands of your hair apart, teasing out knots.

Your eyes flash open and meet his in the vanity mirror, lips pursed at the way he insults a ten year old he's never met, "I liked a tall, cute kid called Cameron who was into soccer."

"Yeah, like I said, spotty." The dislike turns to a jealous sort of mumble, matched only by the sour look on his face that has you huffing out a laugh.

"Are you jealous of a ten year old?"

"He's not ten anymore..."

"Do I need to remind you this is a story of heartbreak?"

"Still, should've been me." His hands slide from your hair, comb having been put back on the side, and down to the base of your neck. Long fingers working at the tension there, you lean back into his fingers even as you call him out for his ridiculousness.

"We didn't even know each other! You're absurd, anyway, so I was certain Cameron was my future husband and I decided to be very brave one Valentine's day and get him a card and a gift." You lean a little to the right as Quinn hits a knot on the left side of your shoulder, you sway back into him.

"I'm proud of little you, that's gutsy." He can almost imagine it, little you bravely handing over a glittery red and pink monstrosity, little bows in your hair and chubby cheeks.

"I know, braver than I am now." You're not sure you'd have been brave enough to do something like that now, it had been Quinn after all who'd made the first move, Quinn who'd set the pace of your relationship at the start, "So I get him some chocolates, those stupid cheap heart shaped ones, and I make a stupid card covered in glitter and all sorts. I take my time and I write a heartfelt confession inside and then decided to give it to him in front of the entire class."

"No..." His voice drops, horror filling it as he looks at you through the mirror, mouth slightly open, eyes wide. You nod at him, confirming his worst fears, he knows how this is about to go down.

"Yeah, rookie move. I do it though, I hand it over and then he proceeds to not even read the card and um, rip it up in front of me and the entire class while telling me that he was going to marry Emily."

His fingers still in their massage. In fact, Quinn completely stills, his entire body rigid as he frowns at you through the mirror, there's a silence, long and heavy before he speaks.

"Where does Cameron live?"

"Quinn." You turn in your seat to look up at him, lips pursed together.

"I'm serious where does he live I'm going to go have some words with him," He crosses his arms and there's a brief moment where you're distracted by the strength and definition in his forearms before you really process that he's considering having words with a guy who broke your heart when you were ten.

"About his choices when he was ten?"

"Yeah! Who does that to someone, not only did he reject you, which is an insane decision by the way, he embarrasses my baby in front of the entire class!" Quinn reaches for your hands as he rants, pulling you to your feet, as his fingers twist and twine with yours. You'd think he's just joking but his tone is completely serious and it makes your heart warm, no matter how silly he's being. He's genuinely personally offended on your behalf about something that happened when you were a child, before you knew each other. It's sweet. Silly and absurd, but sweet.

"You can't fight a guy who broke my heart at the age of ten."

"Sure, I can or I can get Millsy to do it." He cracks a smile at that, even though he's serious about wanting words with this Cameron, he's also aware he's being absurd. He tugs you closer by the hands even as you glare up at him like a disappointed parent.

"You are not setting Miller on my childhood crush!"

"Why not?"

"Because it's ridiculous! It was over a decade ago!" Even as you protest you're smiling, arms reaching up to rest over his shoulders and around the back of his neck. Fingers twisting the strands of brunet hair that rest there.

"And, he broke your heart and that's not acceptable, baby, i'm sorry, I have to defend your honour." Quinn palms rest on each of your hips, pulling you in as his fingers curl into your pajama bottoms.

"But, it was a good thing."

"How is that a good thing?"

"Because if he hadn't done that, I might have married him and been stuck in a loveless marriage and then never met you or met you but not been able to be with you." You look at him with a little smirk like you've beat him at his own game, like you've outplayed him in a game of chess.

"So you're saying that I actually should be thanking that spotty kid for breaking your heart?"

"Yes."

There's a moment of silence as he draws you ever closer, leaning down to brush his nose against yours, all soft lidded eyes and warmth. Pliant like a docile house cat.

"I'm not thanking him, I will, however, not get Millsy to fight him." It's mumbled so close to your lips that they're brushing his, an almost kiss that speaks volumes about where his mind is now.

"Good, because I'm not breaking you or Miller out of prison."

"You don't love me enough?" He doesn't even have the decency to pretend to be offended or care as his eyes are heavy, focus on your lips, not your eyes and certainly not on the ten year old he was threatening to set Miller on 5 seconds ago.

"Oh, I love you enough, but I do not have that skill set, honey."

"I don't know, think you could probably charm the officers into letting me out, baby." Quinn brushes the tip of his nose purposefully with yours and you know he's seconds from breaking and just kissing you, he has his tells, his little gestures that have consistently given him away.

"You suggesting I seduce the police now?" You pull back just enough to get his attention, to force a pout from him at the distance, his fingers scrambling at your back to pull you back in.

"...Nawwh, only me."

"You're an idiot." He pulls in you in with enough force that your chests bump with a soft smack, rubbing his cheek against yours just because he knows the stratch of his beard will get a giggle from you as you shy away from the sensation.

"I'm your idiot though."

"Mmm, my idiot." You mumble it against his lips as he finally breaks, self control being ditched in favour of the way you sigh against his mouth. He tastes like spearmint toothpaste, minty and sweet as his lips part beneath yours with a hum.

Maybe heartbreak at ten sucked, but you can't help but be thankful for it when you ended up winning the jackpot when you scored Quinn. So much better than spotty ten year old Cameron.

[starlightomatic]

I clicked on my christmas discourse tag and found the following post, which I'd responded to at the time. I no longer like my old response, but cannot reblog it again as I was blocked like OP promised, so instead I'll respond here. I did not waterboard the post as my intention isn't ridicule, so I've dunked it in some green elixir instead.

I think OP is missing several things.

Firstly, their premise is... bad. It completely elides the power dynamics in a Christianormative society between Christians/cultural Christians and members of minority religions.

Secondly, people being pressured or shamed for not celebrating Christmas (whether that's snide comments and disrespect, or expectations of performing Christmas at work, eg in retail), is a real thing, whereas "non-Christians being shamed for celebrating" is... not (unless OP is speaking in an intracommunal Jewish context, but I assume they are not). So we're starting out with a strawman out the gate.

Thirdly, I think it really misunderstands posts like this, whose thesis is not "people who celebrate Christmas in a secular manner are wrong and bad" but rather "please stop using 'Christmas is secular' as a means to erase its origins and pressure us about it."

And also "there is a core of this that is Christian that does not need to be an issue for secular celebrators, but is an issue for many Jews."

I understand that a lot of people are challenged by that second implication so I will attempt to frame it a little more. I am not saying that a person who celebrates only the cultural aspects of Christmas is engaging in theological activities without their own knowledge. What I am saying is that Christianity comes with a set of connotations and associations for many Jews, namely our history of persecution by Christians, as well as some deep theological incompatibilities, and from the perspective of many Jews, Christmas is not really separable from this relationship, and we don't have any particular motive to separate it.

It is not that I am attempting to assign a religious identity to every person who puts up a Christmas tree; rather, that the discussion among Jews about whether to celebrate Christmas occurs in relationship to our history not only with Christianity but with our value of keeping our culture going by not assimilating. For various reasons, Christmas specifically has become an avatar in this that other holidays like Halloween largely have not.

In light of the Christian history of violent attempts to convert us (and many other peoples across the globe), and centuries of violent and oppressive treatment as punishment for our refusal to become Christian, putting any kind of pressure on us to participate in Christian celebrations come off very badly.

Which means that the fourth thing that OP missed was that "it's bad when it gets forced on people" was not an afterthought or "bad-faith response" but rather the entire thesis of the posts they're upset about. The entire point.

So to recap: No one is trying to say that people who celebrate only the non-religious aspects of Christmas are wrong, or bad, or don't exist. If this is the takeaway it is a failure of communication. There are many secular Jews who celebrate Jewish holidays in ways that align with their secularism, so this isn't a foreign concept to us.

More under the cut:

As well, there are Jews who celebrate Christmas, but the majority of them do so because they were raised in, or are currently part of, multi-cultural homes where another family member has brought Christmas to the home -- rather than because Christmas is universal.

Now, OP did not explicitly say they are equating Christmas being secular with Christmas being universal, but they implied it in their last line. This, actually, is the main issue with their post. Because whether or not Christmas is secular actually seems to be a red herring, the question at hand is whether it's universal. They are implying that maybe it is, if 80% of the non-Christian world celebrates it. The idea here is to eschew the claim that Christmas is associated with any particular culture; no, it's not a Christian holiday, it's a humanity holiday! It's for everyone! Stop being a Grinch.

And this is why the project to separate it from Christianity becomes relevant again: It's no longer fashionable to say that everyone should be Christian, so let's instead put that idea in sheep's clothing and substitute Christmas instead. It's the same thing, but now it looks innocent.

And, wait a minute, is it even true that 80% of the non-Christian world celebrates Christmas?

I clicked through the link OP provided, and found that, first of all, it only applies to the US.

And, second of all, the number for Jews is only 32%.

I clicked through to the source on that, and it's the classic: Pew's 2013 "Portrait of Jewish Americans." I found the relevant data:

And noticed a pretty big discrepancy between those in intermarriages and those not. It turns out, only 7% of Jews who are married to other Jews have a Christmas tree in their home. Let's be clear: This post is not a judgment in any direction on the choices of who to marry or whether to put a tree in your house. Rather: I am attempting to complicate "80% of non-Christians celebrate Christmas" with the data that only 7% of households with two Jewish spouses are doing so. Which... implies that American Jews, on the whole, do not see Christmas as universal.

And what about that 29% of unmarried Jews?

Well...

25% of Jewish American adults have a non-Jewish parent. We don't know what percentage of them grew up with a Christmas tree in the house but our closest approximation is the data about Jews with non-Jewish spouses (even though both sets of data are from 2013 so we're talking about different generations), so let's assume it was 71%. That would mean 18% of Jewish adults grew up with a non-Jewish parent and a Christmas tree in the house. Which accounts for the majority of that 29%. Of the remaining 11%, we can imagine that some proportion of them are living with non-Jews in a context other than marriage (eg in a relationship and living together, roommates, etc).

What we can conclude is this: Most Jews who celebrate Christmas do so with a non-Jewish family member. Thus, I believe that the opinion that Christmas is universal is one that is not held by the vast majority of Jews. Which means the OP's 80% statistic does not serve to prove its universality.

It is of course possible that I am reading in a connection between secular and universal that OP genuinely didn't intend, and their 80% statistic is truly only about showing that the cultural aspects are adoptable by non-Christians. If so, that is better, but I still don't think the statistic is doing what they think it is. Different religious groups have different considerations as well as different relationships with Christianity, and may not see engagement with Christianity as theologically and historically problematic the way many Jews do. That is to say: it doesn't mean Christmas isn't Christian.

[severebananapuppy]

It's not like Kevin has a no-kill rule. He hits a guy in the head with three bricks from the top of a building! It's just that none of them killed him.

I think if it was funny for a child to kill Ghostface, it might overpower the 'he's a kid, we can't let him kill someone on television rule', especially if this is the two universes and their metalogic being combined instead of one opponent being in their enemy's universe.

And I think Kevin wins this. If it's true that the Ghostface killers never win in their own movies, where winning is defined as 'successfully killing every member of the main cast', and it's true that Kevin always wins his own movies, where winning is defined as 'not allowing the bad guys to kill, maim, injure or significantly inconvenience him in any way', although that last part may be in trouble if all of his family died (Then again they were mostly abusive towards him and he might be better off with the state; with Kevin's luck he might actually end up getting adopted by a presumably non-evil version of Trump depending on the setting, like Home Alone 2 which took place in his own hotel? Or something like that?), then, well, Kevin's basically got this in the bag.

It won't be easy, he's really gonna have to work for it, and it may end in a Pyrrhic Victory, but I can't imagine the Ghostface killers outright winning this.

...

However, I would like to propose two alternative matchups.

The first is the cast of a Final Destination movie, who are forced to survive Kevin, and will likely all lose...

And the second is Death from the Final Destination movies, who completely folds Kevin like a perfect omelette. I'm telling you, it would be genuinely embarrassing how easily Kevin dies. Once he's set up all of his traps to try and catch Death, Death just Rube Goldbergs him with them.

Death's entire power set is causing seemingly natural deaths using elements of the environment around his targets, and they're incredibly hard to avoid or predict (like a malfunctioning eye surgery machine, a falling fire escape, an explosion propelling a chain link fence THROUGH your body, or just drowning in the shower), and Kevin is SURROUNDED with those! They are his entire power set! I genuinely think Death would feel bad about how easy it would be to kill Kevin: we're not talking about the average FD protagonist, or the average person, or even the average child, Kevin routinely surrounds himself with traps designed to severely harm people! Even with HA enhanced durability, Kevin's still gonna fucking die!

It would be so easy I think Death might give up from being paralysed with indecision. Like, there's no question about him being able to kill Kevin here: he's Death! He always wins in his own films, and it's implied that the only reason they stand a chance of survival is A) because Life her(?)self is helping them, or B) because he's sending the visions himself to help them avoid the original cause of death so he can kill them for fun, which would mean they never stood a chance in the first place! Even if Kevin survived long enough to die of old age, he's still gonna die, although for the purpose of the film, that probably doesn't count as a win for Death.

There's one final matchup I've just thought of, though... The Mystery Inc crew (Composite, Scooby Doo) vs Death (Final Destination). I cannot even begin to imagine how chaotic the film would be, but I know exactly how it would end...

"And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for you meddling kids!"

Probably helps that Scooby's apparently some kind of eldritch being.

[maxdibert]

Lately, I’ve seen so many Snaters bringing up the “If Voldemort had chosen the Longbottoms instead of the Potters, Snape would have never changed sides” argument to bash Snape. Honestly, I find this kind of reasoning so reductive and dismissive of his entire character arc. What’s your opinion on it?

I think it doesn’t matter because:

That wouldn’t erase everything he suffered beforehand.

It wouldn’t make sense to hate him for being a “terrible” teacher because he probably wouldn’t have gone to Dumbledore, and therefore wouldn’t have ended up as a teacher. As a result, he couldn’t be accused of being a bully to kids because he wouldn’t have gone near a child within 15 kilometers.

In that case, Lily and James would have lived, and he probably would have moved on from his issues and wouldn’t have become a creepy, brooding person consumed by guilt. So, once again, we’re in the same situation: he would likely be a completely different character from the one we came to know. Therefore, the hate isn’t valid because it’s based on a personality that wouldn’t exist.

That said, Severus didn’t owe anything to anyone. Not to the Longbottoms, not to the Potters, not to any member of society. Severus was a soldier in a war, and he was doing his job. His job was to report relevant matters to his general. Looking out for the safety of your enemy is not one of your duties during wartime, nor is it something you do because they’re your damn enemy. End of story.

The fact that Severus was on the “bad” side doesn’t matter either, because at the end of the day, a war is a war, and soldiers are in it for life or death. Even if I find it morally questionable, wars themselves are morally horrible, so I don’t see the point of bringing that up because it’s an argument that doesn’t make sense. Even on the “good” sides in wars (and I’m using quotes because all sides kill, and all sides destroy families), soldiers never in their lives beg their generals for the life of the enemy unless the enemy is someone close to them whom they care about. That’s how it works. I don’t know, maybe people should read more history books or something.

[tulipscomeinallsortsofcolors]

Realized that last night was the Feast of the Parting and I had a question. When it comes to soulmates in Pieces Verse, are they the same every life? AND are these 6 entangled with each other in every life?

(actually, feast of the parting happens on the new moon closest to the hibernal equinox, which this year is in about a week on the 30th!)

okay so to explain this ive gotta get into the nitty gritty details of how reincarnation works in this religion, and across different religious denominations

the overlap - people are believed to reincarnate into new lives for the purpose of Learning A Lesson. each life teaches you something, and this is supposed to improve your souls sort of resonance with the rest of the world. More Harmony Good

in the denomination patton and virgils families follow, the pattern is typically that they believe you will be a person when you need a very Big Lesson, because being a person is one of the harder things to be, and then you get a kind of 'break' and then you get to be bugs or plants for a hundred years or so to rest up a bit

in this framework, when people are 'made' before theyre born/getting ready to 'come back,' -

(side tangent this isnt considered a *separate* afterlife really, the idea is that dead folks and other souls are sort of floating around in parallel ether- this is a house with two rooms and thin walls, and birth/dying is walking back and forth through the door to the other)

-theyre made as one 'piece' in pairs (or triads, etc) in the position they'll be in when they first touch, and then theyre split the idea is that theyre sort of snipped apart at the soulmark and sent on ahead separately

also irt being human being The Biggest Lesson, they are also the only species that has soulmarks, animals dont - so the soulmate is considered an integral part of this lesson (which conservatives usually flatten to 'learn to love (romantically) better' but which more liberal churches stress can be anything)

so in fact, in this framework your soulmate is explicitly different every time. your soul is fashioned in a new shape and needs a new pair, supposedly.

as for the second bit we gotta talk about the nobles

the broad strokes are very similar - you are reincarnated to learn/improve yourself, but the nobles view this on much less emotional lines and more materially, and they dont typically believe the alternating-human-plant-animal thing - nobles believe you go directly from being a noble human to being A Higher Noble Human, until the very best smartest most awesome people /heavy s are reincarnated into the royal families and may or may not become monarch

ah but when the monarch dies, what then? because westrand is obviously the best country, and the monarch is the best person, theres nowhere better to go! /more s

well they believe that the monarch 'Ascends' and becomes permanently immaterial ie in the other room, manipulating the world from there because theyve 'earned' their way into being in charge of the eventual One 2: Electric Boogaloo

the nobles also believe in absolute predestination, that every part of their lives from birth to death was written by them and the souls of their family members before they were ever born. they believe souls who were tied by blood ties in life will always be born still tied by blood. so when a noble makes a marriage match in an attempt to gain political clout, they are also trying to improve their 'spiritual' clout by blood-tying themselves to an equally 'spiritually superior' family

they do think that a soulbond teaches you a lesson, but they usually think that lesson always ought to be 'i dont need a soulmate or indeed any human love or connection at all, wym' - some more liberal nobles believe it more along the lines of 'we have to make sacrifices in order to be the best rulers we can be' but its still not great vibes

as for which of these is materially true, since the series deals so much with sometimes traumatic religious themes, and i because i have multiple denominations and do plan on introducing some minority religions (soon!) im not actually going to say any of the things above are canon or otherwise except that theyre the canonical beliefs of the in-universe religion. i just dont feel like it makes sense to say 'you dont have to do all the bullshit that your religion raised you to do' and then turn around and make one of the religions explicitly and confirmably real

[beecauseevan]

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December 2024

It's another week before Buck gets released, and it's a weird one. Eddie is no stranger to the heavy, empty feeling that overtakes the firehouse whenever a member of the 118 is missing—it haunted the station when Chim left to track down Maddie, when Hen traded in her turnout gear for a white coat, when Bobby stepped out on them, and every single time Buck was taken from then. It's always felt bad. It's always felt like, well, like losing a family member. That's what the 118 is, after all: family. 

But something is different this time, and Eddie can't put his finger on it. When he brings it up to the others, Chim jokes that it might be because this time, Buck's absence is not because of a word that starts with L—leg, lawsuit, lightning strike—and that gets a laugh out of Eddie. 

"Probably," he says, and puts the weird feeling aside until the end of the shift. 

Until he comes home. 

Until he sits in his (quiet, empty) house, a house he plans on selling even though he's never known a place that felt more like home than this, on his couch that suddenly feels too big for just one person, and he thinks back to that night when Buck came to visit him, minutes after Eddie opened the door to a brand new world of light, where freedom and joy replaced guilt and self-loathing. It had all felt so new, so dauntingly full of possibility, so—overwhelming.

November 2024

"Tommy and I broke up," Buck tells him after the movie ends, three empty bottles in front of him and a fourth one, still mostly full, sitting between his thighs. 

"Oh," Eddie says, momentarily forgetting his good manners. Then, belatedly, "Sorry." 

Buck shrugs. It's not dismissive. He looks over, eyes dark, and Eddie knows it then, with a quiet yet life-changing kind of certainty: If he made a move now, Buck would not turn him down. 

He could change everything. In a matter of moments, he could redefine everything they are, and Buck would let him.

He doesn't make a move. Buck was dating Tommy for six months and Eddie… Eddie isn't wearing pants. His face still feels naked, freshly shaven. 

They have time, he thinks. 

They have time. 

It becomes his mantra. They have time, when Buck wants to call Tommy. They have time, when he gets annoyed with Eddie for stealing his phone. They have time, when Buck offers to help Eddie find a place, because that kind of shit takes time. You can't rush it. It's going to be weeks until he finds a house that works for him, maybe even months.

They have time. Until time runs out. They have time, until he finds himself kneeling over Buck on a darkened freeway, covered in blood that isn't his own. 

December 2024

All that is going through his head when he sits on too-big couch, just a few days before Christmas. Life may seem endless, sometimes, but nobody has all the time in the world. In the end, that's probably what makes him do it. 

"Are you sure you want to go home?" 

It's the next day. He's at the hospital, helping Buck pack, when the question slips out. Buck, struggling to put his socks on without popping his stitches, stops what he's doing and turns to look at Eddie, who is fiddling with the cord of Buck's phone charger, weaving it between his fingers. 

"Uh," Buck starts, a confused smile dimpling his stubbly cheek, "I—I don't think I've got a choice. Even if I wanted to spend Christmas in the hospital, they kind of need the room."

"No," says Eddie, "look."

He pauses. Buck has no idea what he means. In a way, that little misunderstanding is a blinking exit sign. Eddie could still back out. No harm done, not yet. 

Backing out is not an option. They don't have that much time.

He puts the charger in Buck's bag and sits down on the bed. They're at least two feet apart but Buck tracks his every move, and Eddie feels those blue eyes on his skin like a physical touch. They've been here before. Then, Eddie was the one with the bullet wound and Buck was in for a surprise. 

"Are you sure you want to go back to the loft?" he elaborates. Buck drags his teeth across his bottom lip, pulls it into his mouth. Eddie doesn't let this distract him. "You just got shot. Might be good to have a medic around."

Buck releases his lip. Slowly, it stretches into a beautiful smile. 

"Can't argue with that logic," he says. 

Eddie mirrors his smile. It feels like release, like a celebration, like dancing around his living room for the sake of happiness and happiness alone.

Written for the @911countdowntochristmas - this was supposed to be 24 drabbles but the Buddie NDE speculation going around pre 8x08 inspired me and now it’s a 24-mini-chaptered fic instead. And definitely more hurt/comfort than fluff. Oops.

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[inquisitornocturn]

◇─ 𝖈𝖊𝖑𝖊𝖇𝖗𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖙𝖊𝖓𝖊𝖙𝖚𝖗 ─◇

⚜ 𝖕𝖆𝖎𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖌: Heinrix van Calox x female! Rogue Trader

⚜ 𝖙𝖆𝖌𝖘: Nothing out of the ordinary for 40k setting

⚜ 𝖘𝖚𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖞: He is working. Of course he is. Vera's vox channels might be compromised, prone to conspiracy against her, possibly putting her at risk. What does it matter if it's Sanguinalia? And yet she doesn't seem to take the threat seriously. To Heinrix's surprise, Lord Captain even releases the man he suspects of treasonous deeds. But that's not the only surprise he's about to witness because Vera never tires of teasing the Interrogator.

⚜ 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖈𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖙: 3,558 | on AO3

𝖆𝖚𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖗 𝖓𝖔𝖙𝖊: My gift for @ofeliajuzniewroci for the @rt-gift-exchange hosted by the brilliant @jaal-ama-daravv. Happy Sanguinalia! Or, alternatively, Merry Christmas! I hope you like the little fanfic, and I hope it brightened up your holidays if they needed brightening up. I hope you have a lovely holiday season and that you have as much fun as possible!

Take care and happy happy celebration! ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

The man in front of him, slumping in the chair and wearing a stained voidsman-at-arms uniform, lolls his head slightly, breathing heavily. Heinrix has been trying to get the information out of this person for the past thirty minutes, but the Interrogator is beginning to suspect that maybe this voidrat knows nothing after all. He heard rumors about some sort of attempt to sabotage the new Rogue Trader and while he’s still not particularly fond of Vera, Heinrix, however, has an obligation to the Imperium and the Lord Captain of the vessel he’s currently stationed on.

“Try thinking a little harder.” He keeps his voice calm and levelled but the air around the psyker begins to drop in temperature and the man moans.

Crewman doesn’t even try to get up anymore. In the beginning Heinrix thought he will have to tie the man up in some way, but the sight of his rosette was enough to make the behind of this worker become firmly glued to the seat.

“Master Interrogator, I really don’t know anything.” Undercurrent of a sob is too easy to notice and Heinrix lets out a small sigh, knowing not only through his powers, but also just from experience that this man doesn’t have much left in him. “I just want to go back to my family, please…”

He knew that picking a day of Sanguinalia most likely will paint the Interrogator in even colder light that he is perceived in just for being a member of the Most Holy Ordos, but Heinrix never bothered to employ mercy on occasions that most others distinguish unsuitable for such actions. If anything, it’s a perfect chance to get more information out of whoever is getting questioned because just like this man, they think of their families, they think of hope rather than sorrow.

“You will tell me who are the people trying to sabotage the vox channels. Now.” The air almost crackles and Heinrix extends a hand, blueish glow surrounding his gloved fingers when he harvests the fount of his biomancy powers. It churns the guts inside of him, but the feeling is so familiar that it can be easily ignored, forgotten like a background hum of the voidship.

The voidsman moans again and then his back arches with strain because Interrogator decides to affect muscles surrounding the lungs, making the man incapable of inhaling more than a fraction.

“Please…”

Footsteps. Heinrix hears them even before the door slides open with a hiss but doesn’t stop. Whoever decided to interrupt him might as well end up in a chair next to this poor soul, who is whining under sensations of his body not belonging to him anymore. At least for the time being.

More footsteps until they stop a reasonable distance behind Heinrix and then a voice that he recognizes well enough already.

“Master van Calox, can I ask what you are doing to this voidsman?” Vera’s calm tone still cuts sharply through the groans of the interrogatee and with mild annoyance Heinrix lowers his hand, the icy air beginning to disperse immediately, and turns to the woman.

“Von Valancius, I have suspicion that your vox channels have fallen under the plot of sabotage. This man right here appears to have a lead or knowledge that is integral in stopping such plot.” Heinrix eyes the former Astra Militarum officer, seeing her disciplined stance and unwavering look in the dark eyes that lock on his. There’s no judgement there, no shock at finding him utilizing not only the power of his rosette but also those of his biomancy, and he’s relieved that at least he won’t have to listen to a barrage of hysterical screaming about how he cannot do one thing or another. Too many such cases, ignorant of the duty he’s performing, not seeing the bigger picture.

“A plot to sabotage?” Craning her neck, Vera casts a calm glance to the man behind Heinrix and then back to him. “And what is proof of this that led you to interrogating one of my people?”

“Lord Captain, please, mercy, I don’t know anything I-“ The man, now free from the torturous powers that were affecting him, immediately starts babbling and Heinrix’s jaw tightens, but he says nothing. To his relief, Vera rises her hand the barrage of pleas stops immediately.

“If Interrogator van Calox thinks that you might be culpable in some plot against me, then I will not stop him from performing his duty to the Golden Throne.” She says calmly and it surprises Heinrix somewhat, until he remembers how equally calmly Vera ignored arguments from Werserian and the Magos before launching Exterminatus on the planet beyond salvation.

“Much appreciated, Vera. But… how did you find me?” Heinrix casts a quick glance to the voidman behind him when he hears a desperate but resigned sigh, effectively silencing the suspect, but Vera comes closer and when she stands by his elbow, looking at the one who may or may not know whatever is going on with the treasonous conspiracy against her, clasping her hands behind her in a military fashion, she gives Heinrix a smirk.

“Vigdis informed me that there has been rumors about one esteemed member of the Inquisition sequestered with some terrified crewman. I thought you might be doing something more fun than this, given it’s Sanguinalia, but I should’ve expected that a man like you knows little of what it is to have fun and relax.”

Of course it was Toliman, he should’ve guessed, but then Heinrix’s brows furrow at her words and he affixes her dark eyes with a serious look.

“With all due respect, Vera, you cannot expect me to ignore possible mutiny brewing right under your nose just because it’s some sort of occasion. Traitors and heretics do not take days off.”

“Then I suppose I shouldn’t expect another love token from you. Pity.” With a sigh she looks down at the voidsman who is clearly trying not to show how surprised he is to be in the presence of such conversation.

Heinrix sputters for a moment, completely taken by surprise, and he turns to the Lord Captain, demanding her full attention.

“Vera! How many times I have to tell you that it was not a love token, it was a gift from Lord Inquisitor that you inherited because of your predecessor passing under unfortunate circumstances!” Van Calox keeps his voice partially hushed, as if the man just a mere meter away can’t hear every single syllable coming out of the Interrogator’s mouth.

“Of course.” Vera concedes with grace and a smile, then waves her hand at the voidsman. “Go for now, but keep in mind that if Master van Calox wants to question you again, he is doing so with my permission.”

Heinrix’s expression sours, but he doesn’t protest, knowing that while on her voidship he still has to obey most of her orders, even if they make little sense to him. The moment voidsman rises to his weak feet, pouring gratitude towards the Lord Captain until she dismisses him again, Heinrix already imagines at least twenty scenarios of how things will go wrong in case he was right that this suspect knows something. Interrogator prays to the Emperor that this isn’t the case after all.

“You don’t seem concerned at all that your communication channels could be compromised.” With one hand Heinrix absentmindedly touches his auspex, then the holstered gun, watching Vera glance at the chair, seat of which bears some strange moisture. Did the man… piss himself? Wouldn’t be the first. Heinrix simply sighs.

“Oh, like you have them compromised?” Vera turns to Heinrix again, her hands still clasped behind her but there’s a twitch in the corner of woman’s lips, like she’s trying to hide a smirk that threatens to emerge any moment.

“I don’t-“

“Oh please, Heinrix, do you think I am blind on my own vessel?” She rises an eyebrow and for a moment Heinrix falls silent, considering his words, measuring them carefully.

“I have inspected the integrity of your vox channels, that is correct.”

“Toliman was very concerned with you poking around.” Vera smiles at last, but even to Heinrix the smile appears to be one of amusement and not mockery or spite.

He does not know Lord Captain as the most cheerful woman around, thank the Emperor, but maybe even she is affected by the celebration. He saw the crewmen hanging decorations and Heinrix is confident he also heard old odes to Sanguinius being played through some sort of beat-up speaker, clearly done by the men themselves rather than being authorized by Vera.

“According to some, Toliman herself can be scarcely trusted.” The Interrogator pauses, then switches weight from one foot to another. “Vera, I need you to understand that I’m just trying to do my duty.”

“I know.” She keeps the easy smile on her face and glances at the soiled seat. “Didn’t have to make the poor man ruin the chair.” Then, almost abruptly, the Lord Captain turns on her heel and begins walking out of the chamber. “Come with me, if you may?” Vera doesn’t even look back and Heinrix hesitates for a moment, a tinniest of frowns furrowing his brows, but with a deep and hardly concealed sigh the man follows.

For a while there’s only footsteps echoing off the steel hull corridors, her’s a little lighter, the heels of Vera’s shoes making a slightly sharper sound compared to Heinrix’s own boots that make dull, heavy thuds on the metal flooring.

While walking, Heinrix thinks of the voidsman he was interrogating, the possible sabotage of the vox channels, the report that he will need to write and send out later tonight, not to mention another such report that Inquisitor Lord is expecting from his right-hand man.

But something catches his attention – the sounds coming from somewhere nearby. Voices, chatter, a gathering? And then Heinrix realizes he’s hearing the odes again, this time they are crystal clear, without the crackling that the ship’s crew made them have because of the old machine they played theirs on. The choir sings the words that the man soon begins to make out, High Gothic, of course, and his suspicion rises.

“Vera…” After being ignored, Heinrix hurries his steps and joins the Lord Captain at her side. She doesn’t seem perturbed even in the slightest. “Vera, where are we going?” The Interrogator glances at her face, trying to read her motives but all he sees is a relaxed face and a small, easy smile on her lips.

“Don’t fret, Heinrix, you’ll like it.”

He very much doubts so, but remains quiet and when the corridor leads to the door of the main hall, he can already guess perfectly what is awaiting for him.

Vera walks in first and gets cheerfully greeted by those gathered. She strolls towards the middle of the room, chatting up Abelard and Sister Argenta who are both in great spirits judging by their smiles, but Heinrix lingers by the door, observing. Tables are covered with food and refreshments, decorations appropriate for the occasion hang everywhere, the music is playing. A proper Sanguinalia celebration. Heinrix doesn’t remember when was the last time he saw such set up for the occasion.

Feeling mildly uncomfortable, the agent looks around, his mind still lingering on the voidsman and the possible sabotage and when he notices Toliman keeping to herself to the side from the main body of the party, Heinrix starts in her direction, but Vera appears right in front of him and stops him, forcing a drink into the man’s hand.

“What-“

“You need to relax too, Heinrix.” She says with confident calmness in her voice and Heinrix looks down at the glass in his hand, immediately smelling that’s it’s the warm wine with spices he’s holding. With a slight frown he tries to return the glass but Vera just rises an eyebrow, not moving a muscle to take it back and Heinrix quickly gives up.

“I’m concerned that you are not more alarmed by the information we spoke about.” Heinrix looks around and beyond Vera, clearly trying to find a surface to put the unwanted glass upon.

“Do you think you’re the only person to follow up sabotage leads?” With one step slightly to the side, Vera manages to catch Heinrix’s wandering gaze with her eyes and his jaw clenches slightly.

“I suppose not, but as the only currently present agent of the Golden Throne on your vessel, it is my duty-“

“To have some fun.” Vera interrupts, a smile on her face is a tad mischievous but Heinrix can’t be sure if he’s reading it correctly.

“Fun.” The man echoes the word like it’s a curse of an ancient civilization and Vera’s smile becomes just a fraction wider.

“Fun.” She nods and when Heinrix sighs, resigning to being stuck here for the rest of the evening, Vera dips a hand into her long overcoat and rummages in the pocket.

“I suppose… If Lord Captain insists that I stay and ensure her safety during these festivities, then I won’t deny her request.” Forming it as another duty to perform makes Heinrix feel more at ease, but it’s like Vera is not even listening.

Soon she takes out a palm-size dark blue box, in color of her heraldry, and weights it in her hand. Heinrix’s eyes curiously glance at the object then they rise to the woman’s face.

“And what is that?” The tone of voice he uses sounds stern, as if he’s expecting some sort of xenos artifact lunge out of the small container at him, or maybe at the Rogue Trader herself, and start slaughtering everyone. Color red would fit the Sanguinalia, Heinrix grimly thinks to himself.

“That… is something for you.” Vera weights the box in her palm again, watching Heinrix’s eyes follow the travel of the item and then she offers it to him.

“For me.” Not a question, not really, more like a suspicious disbelief on his part and the Interrogator delays moving to take it. “And what is it that you deemed necessary to give to me, Vera?”

Guarded, cautious and in no small amount suspicious, Heinrix almost forgets the glass in his hand while his mind reels with thousands of possibilities of what could be in the box. He doesn’t know Vera, not well at least, and despite her redeeming quality of making the right decisions, decisions that align with the Imperium’s values, Heinrix would be a fool to trust this woman just yet. Too many times he has seen people with perfect outward appearances become rotten to the core. Somehow the music in the background praising Sanguinius just makes the idea more eerie.

“Lord Captain!” Someone in the crowd tries to get Vera’s attention but she entirely ignores it, watching Heinrix’s face that betrays no emotion and waiting for him to take the gift that she carefully picked. Partially a joke, partially an attempt to make him feel more welcome aboard her vessel, the former soldier can barely keep her smile down, knowing that the ever-so-cautious Interrogator will accept her offering one way or another. Not many can refuse a rogue trader, especially when all she’s doing is giving a gift.

Slowly, just as Vera guessed, Heinrix rises one gloved hand and hesitates for a moment longer before taking the box and bringing it closer to himself. Another pause, his eyes dart from her to the item now resting between his fingers and with a tired sigh that expresses his capitulation, he thumbs open the box.

At first Heinrix just looks down, then rises an eyebrow and with a skeptical look affixes Vera’s eyes with his own.

“This has to be a joke.” He says and Vera finally breaks into a smile with a short, melodic chuckle.

“I know you haven’t been on my vessel for long yet, but I figured I will return the love token you have given me before.” There’s a mischievous spark in the woman’s eyes and Heinrix frowns, but she notices a faintest blush color Heinrix’s cheekbones with lightest shade of pink, barely noticeable.

“How many times I have to tell you it was no love token!” He hisses the words rather than saying them, ever aware of being part of the celebrating crowd.

“Of course, I meant the gift that the Inquisition so kindly presented to me.”

Vera keeps smiling and Heinrix sighs again, his desire to assert the truth and Lord Captain’s clear attempt at making him lose his composure, has the Interrogator stuck between annoyance and personal appreciation that she, at the very least, doesn’t seem to be scared of him, or unnerved by his presence. However, the breastpin that is in the box, one of the von Valancius crest, seems both humorous and mocking at the same time.

“You are aware I cannot wear this, correct?” Thumbing the lid down, Heinrix briefly glances around to see if anyone’s watching and thankfully he is assured that no one is, besides a serf or two who are ready to serve Vera at a moment’s notice. Then he pockets the box and quickly sips from the glass that he nearly put aside, but now feels grateful for, because suddenly the Interrogator’s mouth feels dry.

“I’m aware, but you can have it as a souvenir, if you wish.” Vera pauses, her smile becoming more relaxed and natural than the mischievous one she was adorning until now. “And if you remain on my vessel for longer, who knows, maybe you will need to bear both the Inquisition’s rosette and the crest of my dynasty.”

“That’s easy for you to say, but I will never-“

“You can just say thank you to me.” Vera prompts, cutting off Heinrix’s speech of insistence that she is sure would turn into a barrage of excuses she does not want or need to hear right now. Just seeing Heinrix’s expression, one of confusion and hardly disguised shy discomfort, is enough of a reward to the rogue trader already.

Heinrix clenches his jaw for a moment, then clears his throat and with his cheeks gaining one darker shade of pink, finally bows his head with utter grace and gratitude.

“Thank you, Vera.”

“See, it wasn’t that hard.” She smiles to him and when Heinrix looks at the woman again, he finally smiles too.

“It wasn’t, but you truly know how to put me on a spot and clearly enjoy doing so.” There’s something akin to friendly warmth in Interrogator’s eyes and it’s the first time Vera is sure that he showed such emotion. The fact alone makes her smile a little wider.

“I’m doing it for your benefit. Even you need to relax sometimes. And have fun.” With a gesture of her hand, the Lord Captain indicates those gathered for the celebration: her retinue and first officers, people she can call friends and those she enjoys working with. “You should learn from them.”

And Vera did come to look for him, so that she could fetch Heinrix for the occasion. At the thought the man’s shoulders lose some of the stiffness and he sighs, running a gloved hand over his hair.

“I suppose… it’s a small chance someone will try to assassinate you tonight.”

Vera knows that this is as close to admission that he’s if not happy to be here, then at least enjoying being included that she will get, and the rogue trader simply nods, tasting victory on her tongue.

“Very small indeed. And with all my officers here – someone attempting it would be a complete fool. So enjoy your time, relax, drink more wine, it’s wonderful.” She nods to Heinrix and he can’t help but smile a little more.

“I will try.” He nods in affirmation and Vera, hearing someone call for her attention again, nods to Heinrix.

“See you around, try not to slip away. I’ll notice.”

With that she departs, leaving the Interrogator standing in relative solitude, glass in hand and the little gift box feeling much heavier in his pocket than it actually is, reminding him of unexpected kindness that is probably a bigger gift than Vera realizes. He watches her walk up to a group of people, a serf quickly presenting Lord Captain with her own drink and as Heinrix lifts a glass to his lips, a servo skull zooms overhead, blasting the words of praises to Sanguinius.

“For the Imperium! For von Valancius! For Sanguinius and his noble sacrifice! For the Emperor!”

Heinrix chuckles to himself and drinks some of the sweet tasting wine, noticing that Cassia is moving through the crowd towards him, her smile infectious. He glances at Vera again and she catches his look, giving a small, almost unnoticeable nod and he returns it with one of his own, just before the Lady Navigator reaches him.

“Master van Calox, we haven’t finished our discussion about the book I mentioned to you before. Would you have the time?” She asks kindly and finally Heinrix looks away from Vera to Cassia with a nod, realizing that he is strangely starting to enjoy the festivities. Thanks to Vera and her kindness.

It’s good to be seen as human and not just an agent, feared and despised. Praise Sanguinius and the Emperor, it feels good to be welcome.

Praise indeed.

[clovesnz]

CW c*vid

People who get sick and do not test for Covid (who have the financial means to easily do so) and yet still hang around people w out a mask or anything can choke honestly

[hylianane]

A big part of the Haikyuu rewatch is watching the characters interact and worrying that I fandomized their relationships too much in my head, particularly with the Karasuno first years because Hinata and Kags keep Yamaguchi and Tsukishima at arm’s length for so long. But then I remember. Oh wait the squad is literally Hinata’s phone background by the end of the story. You don’t put a picture of just some dudes in your after school club as your phone background.

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

hii 📓

Okay so the thing is that I wanted a “the Zenin raised Megumi instead of Gojo” fic but the thing is that I’m absolutely convinced that if the Zenin were the ones that took Megumi they wouldn’t actually take tsumiki too. The fandom consensus I’ve personally seen has been that she would have been taken and mistreated by zenin for being a female non sorcerer but I personally think they would have just straight up left her behind.

They only bought Megumi. They keep non sorcerers and women as servants in their compound but all of them are Zenin themselves. Tsumiki isn’t related and I couldn’t really see any reason why they’d want her. Which turned this into a fic where Tsumiki loses her brother, but she’s trying to find him again, she swears. I think of it as my “siblings doomed by the narrative desperately try to write a new one where they can be together” fic.

The thing is that Tsumikis mom was one of those people who thought love and consumption were synonymous. She had a habit of getting caught up with assholes and just… having both of them chew on each other for a while until it turns into this horrible fucking bloodbath.

Tojis just another loser her mom got caught up in, but he’s Tsumiki’s favorite out of all the losers, because he gave her her brother. Her mom marries this random guy she barley knows and Tsumikis pretty sure she does it so they can both ditch their kids twice as much, secure in the knowledge that there’s supposedly another person checking in. It works out great for them, because they both stop coming entirely. It’s fine, because Tsumiki has Megumi and Megumi has Tsumiki and they don’t need anything else.

It’s one of those things where they were in really unhealthy circumstances and it made their relationship a little bit unhealthy but not necessarily bad. They both had to grow up way too fast and deal with way too much too soon and become codependent on each other because they are, in the most literal way possible, dependent on one another. Neither of them know how to love in a way that doesn’t involve sacrificing themselves for their sibling, mostly because they don’t have a way that doesn’t involve that.

They’re in a sinking ship and tsumiki knows it. Their parents aren’t coming back. The money is going to run out sooner or later. Their problems are stacking up.

Megumi has confessed to her that he sees things that no one else does. When she asks him how he knows no one else sees them, he explains that they’d say something if they did and won’t say anything else. And she doesn’t know what to believe but she refuses to call him crazy. He tells her that monsters cling to her back and he fights them off for her. She patches up his bruises and cuts and tells him he’s brave and tries to figure out if she’s just imagining that her back feels lighter after. He tells her that there are dogs that only he can see that have started following him around, and she tells him she believes him and can never remember, later, if she meant it or was just saying it.

The last time Toji came by, he left them more money than tsumikis ever seen in her life, took them to ice cream, told them that he was sorry he was so shit at this and that the money was Megumi’s share in a payment. It was for something he was going to help daddy with later. Tsumiki and him were to use it to take care of themselves and be healthy, because Megumi couldn’t help him later if he wasn’t. And tsumiki was always afraid of what he meant by that, but in the end, she let it slip her mind. After all, Toji hadn’t been by in ages. He probably wouldn’t come by at all.

And he didn’t. But others did. Two men she’s never met before are waiting outside their building one day, and when they see Megumi, they laugh. But the thing that Tsumiki can never get out of her mind later is that she swears they weren’t looking at Megumi directly. They were looking at his dogs.

Tsumiki basically tries to get Megumi and powerwalk past them, but they’re a lot bigger and a lot stronger and there’s nothing she can do, really. They have a brief conversation about whether they should take her too, before one decides that Toji only sold him his kid and to leave the other behind. This makes both of them try to run, but there’s nothing either of them can do to overpower the men, and the men say that “Naobito would go ballistic if they left the ten shadows behind” so they take Megumi and leave her.

They put Megumi in a car and shove Tsumiki to the curb outside of it, and she tried to hold onto his hand, she swears. She grabbed at the car door even when the car started moving, and she banged on the windows, and she watched as Megumi kicked and punched and screamed inside, until one of them hit him and he went still. She ends up falling and hitting her head when the car picks up speed, and when she wakes up again, the cars gone and she has no idea where it went.

And it becomes a foundational moment for who she is. I think she was just intensely lonely before Megumi and poured a lot of herself into this idea of a family together. Tsumikis never able to shake the moment of her being outside the car and Megumi being on the inside, and not being able to get into him. She can never again get what she felt in that moment out of her head.

She goes to the police and tells them that it’s her little brother, his dad sold him but she wants him back, and they’re like “…”. The issue is that apparently her mom can pick up the damn phone if the police call and she shows up, spins some lie about how her and the stepdad split up and he took the kid with him, they never adopted each others kids so it was within his rights, Tsumiki was taking the separation hard and acting out. She lies, basically, because toji hadn’t kept up his end of the deal and dropped in to check in (neither had she) and his kid wasn’t her responsibility, he could do what he wanted with him. She doesn’t want the police poking around the way she lives. Just let the kid go because he’s probably dead and not her real brother anyway.

Tsumiki refuses to give up on him. They were both kids who no one cared about but they cared about each other and that had to be enough. But she’s seven with no support and zero idea on how to find him. She starts skipping school to look for him in random streets, puts up flyers, can’t go outside without looking for him. She gets held back a year in school because of how much she skips and she can’t bring herself to care. She buys him gifts on every birthday and writes him letters she can’t post because she’s going to find her brother and she’s going to prove to him that she never once stopped looking for him. She just. She needs him to know that she never stopped looking for him. She needs to find him and be able to honestly tell him she never stopped trying.

One day her mom comes back in clothes she can’t afford and comes with movers they shouldn’t be able to afford and announces a move they definitely can’t afford. Tsumikis absolutely opposed to going because if her brother comes to look for her, she needs to be in their old apartment so he can find her. She doesn’t have much of a choice in the matter. They have mysterious new benefactors who are setting up a trust to take care of tsumiki with a very generous stipend for her mom but they have to move to Sendai as a stipulation of getting the money.

It’s not until the attorney who’s managing her trust hands her a set of glittery blue butterfly hairpins that tsumiki realizes her mom sold her brother a second time.

The thing is that tsumiki had this one cheap set of butterfly hairpins she’d always stopped to look at in the store when she took Megumi to go grocery shopping. Shed never buy them, because they couldn’t afford it, but it was the thing she wanted most openly in front of him. She was always secretly really insecure about her hair, because they were the kind of poor where bar soap was a luxury they could only sometimes afford and kids at school made fun of how her hair was dirty and frayed. Megumi was the only one who ever saw how badly she wanted those stupid hair clips. If they had to give her a set of butterfly hair clips, it’s because he demanded that they did.

It’s basically implied that the Zenin are the ones paying for her care and upkeep due to an unspecified deal they cut with Megumi, but when they approached her mom with it, they added the caveat that Tsumiki had to be moved to a new city entirely and there could be no forwarding address left anywhere.

The zenins stance on tsumiki is, effectively, that she’s a weakness Megumi needs to be weaned off of. They honestly assumed he’d just like, forget she ever existed and he. Did not do that. He actually pitched a total bitch fit. Tried to scale the compound walls. Bit multiple people including the clan leader. But he’s got the ten shadows, he’s heir to the clan, and he can’t be caught up on some random non sorcerer who isn’t even a Zenin. They end up agreeing to pay for her to live very comfortably if he starts cooperating more but they want to make sure that he can’t ever find her again if he does ever succeed in running away.

Tsumiki is at once full of hope and hopeless, because on one hand, the butterfly clips prove that Megumi still loves her and remembers her, at least in her mind. But at the same time, she’s being moved to Sendai and doesn’t know how they’ll ever find each other again. She doesn’t honestly know if they’d recognize each other if they saw each other again. She wears the butterfly clips every day, even when she gets too old for the style, because she’s more confident about her brother recognizing them than her.

The thing about tsumiki is that she doesn’t understand hate. She just doesn’t. Her mom and toji always got caught up in these perceived slights and revenge and never once let go of the past. They’d destroy themselves if it meant taking down the people they hated with them. She never wanted that. She wanted to live with the people she loved and she’d happily turn around and forget everything, all the pain, all the searching, if it just meant she could go back to being megumis sister.

This isn’t about hate. This is about that moment outside the car, where her brother was inside and she couldn’t get in to him. This is about how helpless and small she felt when they shoved her to the curb and ripped megumis hand out of hers. She needs to make sure that when she finds Megumi, she can take him home again. So she decides she needs to learn how to fight.

Itadori Yuuji has the constitution of an ox and the strength to match it, and he is known for getting in fights with bullies and trouncing them so thoroughly that it’s never a question of who wins when the fight starts. He’s insanely physically capable and can hold his own in a fight with ease. He’s also nice and kind and Tsumiki’s comfortable enough asking him to teach her how to throw a punch or two.

She is bad at it.

So fucking bad at it.

But she never gives up, and Itadori is nice enough to keep teaching her despite how embarrassingly horrible she is at it all. He always asks her why she wants to learn so bad, she doesn’t seem to like it all, and she never answers his question honestly.

In their last year of middle school, their class has a trip to Kyoto. She, Itadori, and the rest of their group walk into some random restaurant in the city and have barely sat down when someone comes inside, starts searching every booth in the restaurant while shouting Tsumikis name.

And oh. They could recognize each other after all.

She looked for Megumi in every crowd she was ever in, but she didn’t consider that he was doing the same. Or that he would see her first.

Her brother grew up without her seeing it. Hes older, dressed in strange, expensive clothes, has a slightly bruised up face and split lip, but his eyes are the same, and he looks like the brother she remembered.

But a lot more nervous than Megumi ever was. He was a tiny, stoic child who didn’t take any shit and never showed fear, even when there were monsters that only he could see. But he’s nervous when he tells her that she probably doesn’t recognize him or remember him, but when she was a lot younger, he—

Megumi. He’s her little brother. Of course she remembers him. She’s been looking for him everywhere.

Megumi didn’t smile much as a child, but he smiles at her then. He tells her he doesn’t have a lot of time and she tells him that they can leave out the back, and he never let her hold his hand as a child but he takes her hand so easily in that second. And just for a second, she’s his sister again, and it’s everything she wanted.

They never make it out the back.

Two men come in. Megumi calls one of them uncle, and he goes stiff and flat the second he sees him. His uncle apologizes for his nephew, tells everyone that he always makes scenes when they’re out in public, tells him to apologize to the nice people and leave. Megumi was mistaken.

Tsumiki tríes to keep ahold of his hand. Really, she does. She tries to tell people to call the police. But megumis “uncle” steps towards her and Megumi slams him into a table, and then suddenly Megumi’s the one insisting that they leave immediately. They can go. It’s fine. They’re leaving. She loses ahold of his hand.

She tries to follow, but the other man restrains her. She learns that she’s better at slamming plates into peoples heads than she is at punching, and at this point itadoris Friend In Danger Override has been triggered and he fucking tackles the dude, which gives tsumiki the clearing that she needs to chase outside after her brother. She gets out just in time to see him be pushed into a car, and she’s had years to think about the last time this happened and figure out what to do differently. She throws herself in front of the car and refuses to move.

See her entire stance is that she’ll sooner get run over and killed in the street than let them do this a second time, but she also can see Megumi trying to fucking punch the drivers head in from behind because he’s about to hit his sister. His uncles trying to restrain him, and just for a second, she sees his hands make the shape of the shadow puppets he used to show her as children. Something invisible slams her out of the way just as his uncle knocks him out.

She picks up a rock and tries to smash in the fucking window with it, and itadori has to pull her out of the way to keep her from getting her feet run over when the car finally tears out of the parking lot. She goes ballistic on him for stopping her because her brother was right there and she lost him again and she didn’t even get the license plate. He was right there.

The police basically do jack all again. There’s no license plate, no names they can follow up on, and they’re still half convinced this is a settled custody issue even though tsumiki insists her brother was sold by his dad and is very plainly getting hurt wherever he is. Itadori is now a devoted advocate of finding tsumikis brother and reuniting them, and both basically kind of end up becoming really close to the other? He’s taking care of himself and his grandpa alone, she’s alone while her moms awol again, and they both become the others support system.

At one point, there’s this random girl and boy who doesn’t speak who shows up to their school for indeterminate reasons. The girl is bored and twirling her glasses in one hand while the person in a suit that they’re with asks the principal questions, and when tsumikis eyes catch at the right angle, she sees an invisible monster clinging to a classmates back through them. She realizes it’s exactly what Megumi always talked about and still remembers that the people who took him could see his dogs. She corners the two others in a room and tries to demand information about the invisible monsters or see if they know her brother or the people who took him, and immediately gets blown off. The fight escalates until the girl tells him that actually, yeah. She knows tsumikis brother. He is a very special person to some very powerful people, and the only way she can ever help him is to tell him that she’s let go of him and that he needs to do the same to her. That’s the only message that the people who have him would ever let get through, and his life would get a lot better as soon as he got it.

The people who have him would give him anything in the world, except for her. He could be a lot happier and healthier than he is right now if he just agreed to stop trying to find tsumiki. If she really wants to help her brother, then she needs to let him go.

Tsumiki nails her in the back of the head with a milk carton when she tries to walk away. It sloshes out on her. Tsumiki did not intend this. She cannot admit that fact. There are some actions you just have to own when you do them. She tells the girl that he’s her brother and she’s never letting go of him. She’s going to find him. They can’t keep him from her forever. She doesn’t care how long it takes her.

For a second, tsumiki really thinks this girl is going to kick her ass, but she doesn’t. She wishes her luck and tells her she’ll need it, and it’s only later that tsumiki realizes she slipped the eyeglasses into her pocket.

And as it turns out, her brothers monsters were real all along.

There was a knife that toji left in the frame of his bed. Tsumiki confiscated it from Megumi as soon as he found it, and it was odd and strange and gave her bad feelings when she held it, and it can kill the things that gather on her back. When she follows Itadori to their local high school and joins the occult club in an attempt to find more people involved in this world of invisible monsters, she wears the eyeglasses and keeps the knife hidden in her bag.

It comes in handy when her senpais are trying to open this thing and suddenly there’s like a fucking portal opening and Actually Let’s Not Oh Too Late Let’s Run Let’s Fucking Run.

They run.

Meanwhile at the hospital Megumi found out in very quick succession that his sister has fucking sukunas finger and also that there’s a very over enthusiastic himbo who is the self appointed vice president of the Find Fushiguro Megumi And Bring Him Home Club who absolutely fucking refuses to leave his side. Sorry who are you. Why are you so enthusiastic about finding him. Megumi sort of was the one doing the finding there was a whole tracking situation and him waiting dramatically in the shadows like they just did it.

Anyway they run very very quickly to tsumikis school where she is dodging she is serpentining this is a fuckton of monsters oh holy fuck is that her brother?

The fight goes bad.

Tsumiki manages to follow itadori and her brother out at a much slower pace because she’s not a freak of nature like itadori and shows up just in time to see her brother shouting at itadori to not eat the fucking finger while itadori is absolutely trying to eat the fucking finger.

She chucks her shoe at him. The finger goes flying.

Then the monster eats it instead.

Tsumiki: :o

Yuuji: :o

Megumi: fuck

Now there’s a bigger monster and the fight goes even worse. There’s a lot of shouting. Itadori ends up with her knife. Then he ends up getting eaten and they’re down both a knife and itadori, who’s probably fucking dead. Then megumis insisting she run and she’s insisting he shut the fuck up because it’s sort of taken a decade to get this close to him again and she’s not fumbling the bag now because of a monster on the rampage. Have a sense of fucking priorities here.

Then itadori bursts out of the monsters stomach with the knife like the fucking Kool Aid Man and the fight is suddenly very over. Good job, team.

Gojo rolls up to his most stoic and eternally pissed off student having a dramatic and emotional reunion with his sister.

Yuuji, in a very bad whisper: no no so like she’s been looking for him for years but he saw her in the restaurant

Gojo: :o go on

Yuuji: and then he got caught by like, I don’t know, he said he was his uncle or something but the dude acted so weird and creepy and they put him in a car and Tsumiki tried to stop the car but they got away

Gojo: *gasp* what no

Yuuji: I know! Anyway then I start helping her look for him but we can’t find him anywhere until I’m at the hospital and he just walks up to me right?? And I’m like “dude I have been looking everywhere for you” and he’s like “I have no idea who you are, I’m here about that fucked up demon finger” and I’m like—

Megumi, really trying to have a moment here: we can both hear you

And megumis like “this is uh. My new teacher. I guess. I am his only student. And he is uh. Enthusiastic. Do not linger in conversation with him.”

Tsumiki is lingering. She needs fucking intel so he can’t disappear again. Where does he go to school and can she transfer there. It’s fucking wizard school? Will they take her even though she’s not a wizard? She cannot emphasize enough that she will study any fucking subject they want so that way she can be close with her brother again she does not care if it’s applicable to her education or life. She can throw things at people itadori tell the man tell him how enthusiastically she will throw things at monsters for their weird fucking wizard school.

Itadori: she hit me in the face with her shoe like five minutes ago

Tsumiki: see???

Megumi keeps trying to forbid her from wizard school but she’s technically the older sister so she has override rights. She will go to wizard school. How does she get wizard school to accept her.

And Gojos just really weird and off and keeps looking at Megumi and saying that he “didn’t know he had a sister.”

He really didn’t know that Megumi had a sister he wanted to stay with.

And then suddenly it’s like a switch is flipped and he’s back to his normal self telling them to leave everything to him, because he’ll make sure tsumiki can come back with them. And uh? Itadori? Weirdly physically capable kid who will apparently eat anything? Is he going to be good getting home after all this?

Itadori: actually if it’s not too much trouble can I go to wizard school too my grandpa sort of died half an hour ago and I don’t have plans for the rest of my life. Tsumikis kind of my best friend and I’d like to make sure she’s all good at wizard school. I’m a really good fighter and I stabbed the last monster so like can I come too because you know. Dead grandpa. No family or future to speak of. Haha.

Gojo:

Megumi:

Tsumiki, softly: dude

There’s more after they make it to jujutsu high but this is already really long so we leave it here

[dr-mothman]

GUYS

GUYS

What the fuck

[harmonizewithechoes]

.

[boydyke]

there will be nobody as strong or as intelligent or with a greater heart than my grandma. I love you grandma so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so sonso si so so so bad.

[malachitezmeyka]

If there’s one thing I hope for in UtOS, despite the fact I doubt I’ll be the one who ends up writing it, it’s that once Suiren and Midori start considering Zhi their grandmother, she will be as different from my actual maternal grandmother as possible

[faithinlouisfuture]

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