#but he still remembers saint getting beaten up for him

[naniskys]

rewatching hsf ep 7 to get screenshots, and god everything about the flashback reveal of saint beating shin up is so !!!!! shin's utterly defeated expression at the start against saint's anger, shin's cries when he finally breaks and starts sobbing, saint stuttering in his movements when shin first cries out, the way you can feel his uncertainty and regret and the sudden clarity from seeing shin like this, how we can feel all of that without even seeing his face 😭😭 the way skynani so completely embodied these characters😭😭

but also the amount of love and trust shin has in saint through it all, because despite everything he's done, he still takes hits for saint, and protects him, and trusts him

i am so,,

[supercap2319]

"I like your watch." Y/N told the football player he followed onto the bus and stalked him until he was alone. The player from Grove Hills' smiled awkwardly.

"Um... Thanks?"

"I want it." Y/N demands like a child.

"Yeah, but it's mine, so fuck off, before I kick your ass." The football player said. He tries walking around him, but Y/N moves in his way. Y/N's eyes vamp out, he snarls and launches onto the guy's neck, biting down hard and rough as the boy splutters and groans in pain. Y/N continues to drink from the player's neck, reaches around, and unclapping the silver watch from the football player's right arm.

Later on, Y/N wipes his jersey and face clean as he heads back inside the gym, but not before being caught in the act by Stefan. "Nice move. What do you do for an encore? Feeding on dumb jockstraps? Nice one."

"Listen, Stefan, if you're gonna start another boring lecture about becoming like Ripper you, you can save your breath. I don't want to listen to preach." Y/N said.

"No. I was impressed. Getting yourself on the football team. Plenty of vervain-free victims bussed in for the competition. Well, played. For an amateur." They approach Stefan's motorcycle and come to a stop. Y/N looks at him. "Amateur? What makes me an amateur?"

"Well, you know, the problem with a gymnasium is, too many witnesses. You gotta go somewhere a little more private for some real fun." Stefan smiled.

Y/N looks mildly interested in Stefan's words. "Oh, yeah? Where?

"Oh, I know this little dive bar off the beaten path." Stefan picks up a helmet. "Come on." Y/N looks at the helmet and the bike. He remembers Stefan's T-100 Triumph. He took Y/N riding when he first transitioned to show him life could still be fun as a vampire. If he actually cared, his heart would be warm at that gesture.

"You're bluffing."

"You're forgetting that I had my switch flipped in this town, too. I know where to take someone to have a good time."

"Such as?" Y/N asked.

"We'll hit this really great gay club I know and show off those muscles of yours. I'll even treat you to a dance." Stefan said.

"Why would I care about clubs or gays?" Y/N asked with his arms crossed.

"Because you'd be surprised what guys will let you do to them when they're horny. Give them a little wink or slap on the ass and they're yours." Stefan promised, green eyes shimmering with mischief. For a moment, he looks like Damon.

"Oh, so Saint Stefan does know how to have fun?" Y/N snarkily says.

"You forget I was a Ripper. The Ripper could teach you things that Damon or Klaus could only dream of when it comes to being a vampire."

Y/N took Stefan's other helmet and put on his head. "Show me. Show me the ropes."

Stefan smiled. "Atta boy."

[knivestothroats]

The Professionals: Passing the Buck

Follow up to this piece The Professionals || In The Woods Somewhere || Professional//Victim Content warnings: Long term captivity, discussions of past torture, discussions of near death experiences, discussions of sexual assault

Fletcher was sitting on the front steps whittling when Buck pulled up in front of the lodge. They stood and strolled up, looking the vehicle over as Buck got out.

“This is the car I bought you?” they asked.

“Yeah,” Buck said. “Thanks, again, for the cash.”

“Uh huh. Looks nice. Gotta be honest, though, I’ve been driving the same truck for a decade, so.” Fletcher shrugged. “Listen, we gotta talk before you go in.”

Fletcher paused. “You’re just double-fisting drinks there.”

Buck bristled. “One is for Tommy.”

“Okay, look,” Fletcher waved it off. “I don’t know exactly how you think this is gonna go. You think this guy is like, someone you can take under your wing because you’ve been through it before, right? You have to understand, he has been through much worse, and for much longer, than you. I think you’re going to find yourself out of your depth here.”

Buck frowned. “It’ll be fine. There’s not a lot of people you can talk to who can relate when you’ve gone through something like this. And I can’t… not do anything for him. Knowing he’s here.”

“It’s not your fault he’s here,” Fletcher said.

“I know. I guess. It’s just weird. And I feel like…” Buck thought about the man he had seen be dragged in for Fletcher to torture, only to be dragged out again and killed. He thought about how he watched it happen and did nothing. Maybe there was nothing he could have done - it had certainly felt that way at the time - but he still felt the guilt like a knife in the stomach when he thought about it. 

And he should know, having taken a knife to the stomach. 

“I just want you to manage your expectations,” Fletcher said after Buck had trailed off. “And don’t get any ideas about ‘saving him’ or whatever. Trust me when I say this is an upgrade from where he was before.”

“Yeah, you’re a saint, Fletcher,” Buck quipped. “Can we go in now?” 

~

Tommy was reclined on his bed doodling in a notebook when Fletcher knocked on the door. With them, the knock was just a heads up that they were about to enter. Tommy quickly stashed the notebook and pen under his pillow and sat up straight.

“You’ve got a visitor,” Fletcher said, pointing a thumb over their shoulder as they walked into the room.

Following behind Fletcher was the man who had come to the lodge… It must’ve been a week or so ago now; the cuts on his arm from that day were scabbed over, but not gone like they would have been with Sam’s technology. It was something Tommy was still getting used to.

Buck, Tommy remembered. 

Buck had his hair tied back this time, with pieces falling loose in front. Tommy’s eyes read over the scars on his face like words across a page. 

The first time he saw Buck, Tommy had thought he had looked tough - scary. But as he studied Buck now, there was no sharp edge in his expression. His face was soft, his eyes were sad, he shrank himself as he walked carefully through the house. He didn’t look hard so much as hurt. Not injured, but a lingering sort of hurt. The kind that gets beaten into you permanently. Tommy couldn’t reconcile that with also being someone who willingly spends time with Fletcher.

“Hey, uh…” Buck waved awkwardly. He was holding a to-go cup in each hand. “Told you I’d be back.”

Tommy’s eyes moved to Fletcher, leaning against the wall with their arms folded, staying out of the way. He looked over Buck again, searching for signs of danger. If he was one of Fletcher’s friends, he may have similar interests. Fletcher could have brought him here to torture Tommy as a pick-me-up. It wasn’t clear to him yet what the intent was, and that put Tommy ill at ease. He carefully watched Buck's face and tone, rifling through an index of roles he could play while he struggled to find the right fit for his mysterious visitor.

“Um, I brought you this,” Buck held out one of the drinks. A peak of whipped cream sat on top. “It’s a mocha shake. Like a coffee chocolate milkshake. I don’t know, um, if you like coffee, or how you take it, but it’s pretty sweet so I figured it would be safe. Mostly tastes like chocolate.”

Tommy looked at the drink, then up at Buck - he wore an encouraging smile but still carried those sympathetic eyes - then turned to look at Fletcher. He waited for their approval before he dared lift his hand toward it.

“You said you like your coffee sweet,” Fletcher conceded. They gestured to the cup.

Tommy reached out and accepted the drink. “Thank you.”

He took a sip. It was indeed sweet, sickly sweet almost, but with just enough balance from the bitterness of the espresso to not tip it over the edge. Tommy slurped it down until he gave himself a brain freeze. With a grimace, he pressed the palm of his hand against his temple. 

“Yeah, sorry, I know it’s a little cold out for shakes,” Buck said. “But I figured a hot drink would cool off by the time I got here, and this wouldn’t melt as much.”

Buck sat down on the bed next to Tommy. He did his best not to take up too much room, or encroach on Tommy’s space, both hands cupped around his drink. Still, Tommy drew back his legs and inched away just enough to make sure they wouldn’t accidentally touch. 

“So,” Buck gave a smile that was half-grimace. “How are you holding up here?”

Tommy’s eyes shot to Fletcher. This was almost too obvious of a trap.

“Fine. Good. I’m very grateful to Fletcher for getting me out of my previous situation and providing a home for me here.”

Buck opened his mouth but was at a loss for words. Tommy couldn’t help but look to Fletcher again for approval. Their face remained mostly neutral, but there was satisfaction there underneath. 

“Right. Well that’s…” Buck shot a look to Fletcher as well. He didn’t seem convinced. “Great to hear.”

Of course he wasn’t convinced. It was too obvious. But Tommy was a professional - he just had to give them what they wanted.

“Really,” Tommy pressed. “I’m - it’s much better here. I owe Fletcher a lot for taking me in.”

“Sure, yeah.” Buck squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. He fixed his face when he opened them again, forcing that encouraging smile. “What are some things you like?”

This was not a turn in the conversation that Tommy had anticipated. “Um… sorry?”

“Like, what’s something you miss from the outside world?” Buck asked.

“Oh, uh,” Tommy gave a small laugh and said, “I try not to think about it.”

Buck cringed. “Right, sorry, uh, I just ask because I was thinking I could, like, bring you something.”

Tommy searched Buck’s face as if he could find the missing piece that would make it all fit together into a clear picture.

“Something…?” 

“Yeah, like, is there a food that you like?” Buck asked.

“Oh, Fletcher feeds me very well here,” Tommy assured him. 

“Yeah, I - okay.” Buck regrouped. “Is there - what about like candy or something that Fletcher doesn’t make?”

“Um…” Tommy pinched at the fabric over his legs and glanced nervously at Fletcher, who was just watching the exchange silently. Was this all still a test? Why was he being so insistent? “I’m sure if - if there’s anything Fletcher wants me to have, they would provide it for me.” 

Buck now turned to look at Fletcher with a pained expression, but Fletcher was looking smug.

“Okay.” Buck rubbed the back of his neck. “Okay. Um. What kind of stuff do you like? Do you have any interests or hobbies you want to pick back up? Books, movies, music?”

Tommy's anxiety was rising. Whatever Buck was looking for from him, he was clearly failing to provide. His answers were all wrong. Buck was getting frustrated. He couldn’t figure out what the right thing to say was, and Buck was going to keep pushing until he got it right.

Tommy shrank down, pulling his shoulders up and averting his gaze to the floor.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re looking for right now,” he admitted.

Buck’s brows pulled together. “Hey, no, you’re okay.” He put his hand out towards Tommy like he was trying to steady a scared animal. “I’m not looking for anything, like - you’re not in trouble, okay? I just… I remember… Fletcher said you’ve been, um… captive for a pretty long time, and I was just thinking it might be nice if I could bring you something you couldn’t otherwise get.”

Tommy set his drink aside. He wiped the condensation off his hands onto his pants, running his hands over his legs over and over. As he spoke, he kept his eyes down.

“You don’t have to get me anything,” Tommy said. “You can just take what you want. We don’t have to… delay the inevitable.”

“Wh- uhh…” Buck was at a loss. “I’m not here to…” He looked to Fletcher out of desperation.

Fletcher cleared their throat to get Tommy’s attention, then said, “What’s the worst thing you’ve been through?”

“Fletcher!” Buck exclaimed indignantly.

“You want to bond?” Fletcher asked. “Find a shared experience. You can give your answer next.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t want to talk about it,” Buck argued.

“You don’t know that,” Fletcher countered. “Maybe he wants to get it off his chest with someone who can understand, huh? Why don’t you go first, actually. That way he’ll be more comfortable.”

Buck grit his teeth. “I think you know mine.”

Fletcher shrugged. “There’s a few things I could guess, but I don’t know where you rank them.”

Tommy watched the two of them, relieved for the attention to be off of him for a moment. There was conflict here he was desperate not to be in the middle of. He still didn’t understand their dynamic, or Buck’s position in general. He grasped at any enlightening information he could get.

Buck sighed, annoyed. It was the first time Tommy saw the flicker of real anger in his eyes.

“Probably when you beat, waterboarded, and pretended to execute me.”

Tommy failed to suppress his look of alarm as he gaped at Buck. Fletcher had done all that to him? Why was he back here then, seemingly visiting of his own volition, delivering coffee to Fletcher’s new prisoner?

“Hm,” was Fletcher’s response. “Not when you got stabbed or shot?”

“No,” Buck said. “I mean… they were all bad. But that day stands out.”

Fletcher scratched their cheek in thought. “I was just thinking, getting shot was what started it all. And getting stabbed was the closest you came to dying. O’Connor did a number on you, too.”

“Yeah, well…” Buck lost his words for a moment. He closed his eyes, adrift in his memories. When he opened them he said, “Yeah, they were all fucking bad. Getting stabbed is a close second. But when you… I really thought… you drew it out so much. I thought you were going to kill me, for real. Like, I was going to die on my knees in the dirt. And you beat the shit out of me for…” Buck stopped himself, looking away. “Never mind. Let’s not get into that.”

Tommy’s eyes danced between them. Each new turn in the conversation left him more and more lost. How did they end up where they are now? Fletcher had been so vague before - just that Buck had saved their life. Why would Buck save the person who had tortured him?

“Well, there you have it,” Fletcher said to Tommy, who quickly tried to swallow down his look of horror. “Buck’s been through some shit. Your turn.”

“Oh… um… that you’ve done?” Tommy did his best to collect himself. “Um, my arm was pretty bad. But burning my hand on the baking sheet was pretty scary. And slamming my head into the cabinets. But I know I deserved it,” He added quickly before offering a sheepish smile to Buck. “I ruined the dinner that Fletcher had worked really hard on.” 

Fletcher waved it off. “Not from me, the worst in general. I’m guessing your clients wanted a little more than a toasted hand.”

Tommy flushed with humiliation at the mention of his clients. Buck gave him a questioning look, but Fletcher was waiting expectantly. Tommy’s mouth was dry again, but he feared Fletcher’s impatience. 

Tommy had no idea what to say. “Hey, those things have happened to me too, samesies bro”? He didn’t want to volunteer any wicked ideas Fletcher might want to reprise, or try to one-up. His mind went to Sarge. No, steer clear of admitting you tried to kill Caius. Darwin - too difficult to describe. His birthday - he winced away from the memory, no, he could not possibly explain that. 

“Maybe um. This couple…it was a flogging, and then lashes with the cat of nines, and hung me up on some meat hooks to fuck me.”

Buck recoiled. He hadn’t meant to. It was just more than he was ready for. And the way Tommy said it - so casually, like it was another day at the office. 

Tommy saw Buck pull back, eyes wide. His face reddened, hot up to the tips of his ears, and he dropped his gaze to the floor. He was sure Buck was picturing it now. At the time, he had begged even Caius to look away, and now he gave it to Buck and Fletcher to picture in their heads.

Buck quickly pulled himself together when he saw Tommy get embarrassed. Maybe he should be casual about it too, so Tommy didn’t feel like it was a big deal. But he had no idea how to be casual about that. Buck had been beaten, but never flogged or whipped. And he had certainly never been raped. 

That stuck out to him the most. Tommy didn’t even call it rape, just that they fucked him. Made it seem like it was a regular occurrence. 

“Um,” Buck cleared his throat. “When you say they hung you on hooks…” he began, remembering being strung up in Fletcher’s basement, “...do you mean, like, by your wrists? Like were you in cuffs, or..?”

“No, they went through my back,” Tommy said, keeping his head down.

Buck felt sick. “Like… you were impaled?”

“No - no, sorry,” Tommy shook his head. “Just, in my back and out my back. But they went under the skin, you know?”

“Sure,” Buck mumbled. He could see out of the corner of his eye that Fletcher was looking at him, but he refused to make eye contact. “How long were you, um… what was your situation?”

“Five years, about. There was this…business, that rented me out. They’d take me to a client’s house for them to use me for -” He made a vague hand gesture that Buck wasn’t sure he wanted to understand, “-whatever. Whatever they wanted to do that they normally couldn’t, but I couldn’t say no, so…yeah. Then I’d go to the doctor, he was in the business too, and he would fix me up and cover all the scars and stuff and get me ready for the next one.”

Once he started, it all came out in a rush, and he sat back, a little surprised at himself. He’d never told anyone about any of this stuff, no one had asked him. Buck was the first one who didn’t already know what he did. He felt like maybe it didn’t sound so bad when he said it out loud that way. He didn’t want to scare Buck too much.

Buck tried to process what he’d heard. “So they would just… rent you out? And people would, like… just torture and rape you? And then they’d rent you out again to someone else?”

That sounded less good. 

“Well…I would usually have some time to heal, in between. Do some chores whenever I was able. If I earned a punishment it might take a little longer before I was ready for the next one but, yeah. As soon as I was in good enough shape they’d take me to the next one.”

Buck looked down, blinked, and then turned away. He sat like that for a moment, thumb rubbing over the lid of his coffee cup. Tommy couldn’t see his face, and feared he had said something wrong. He felt foolish that he had not put it together that Fletcher hadn’t used Buck for sex, and without that shared experience, Buck would see him differently. 

Buck must think I’m a whore.

Buck turned back then, keeping his eyes low. He reached out and put his hand over Tommy’s. 

Tommy froze. He didn’t pull away. He knew not to pull away. Touch was always scary. It had been a long time since he’d been touched at all by someone who didn’t want to hurt him. But Buck… Buck’s touch felt nice. Part of him wanted to crawl into Buck’s arms, although he knew he still couldn’t be sure of Buck’s intentions in the long term.

Buck looked up into Tommy’s eyes. He was blinking a lot, trying to keep tears from welling up.

“I am so sorry you went through that,” he spoke with sincerity. “You didn’t deserve it.”

Fletcher made a face at the mention of deserve, but neither were looking at them now. Tommy was caught in Buck’s gaze like a deer in headlights, his own eyes suddenly stinging.

“Oh,” was all he managed. His throat was suddenly too thick to speak. There was a painful pang of longing being strummed in his chest by Buck’s gentle touch. He wasn’t sure if he was going to cry, or throw up, or if he was falling in love. At least two out of the three, he feared. 

Fletcher let out a loud sigh. Both Tommy and Buck turned to look at them.

“Fletcher,” Buck said. “Seriously?”

“I’m just asking myself why I’m here watching this,” Fletcher shook their head.

“You don’t have to be here,” Buck said pointedly.

Fletcher scoffed. “Oh come on. Like I’m going to let you be alone with him. Once you start thinking of deserve it’s all downhill. Look, I’m not going to stop you two from bonding or whatever, I just don’t want you to start getting ideas. I think your little pet project would be better suited to, like, coming over for movie night and shit. Bring some board games if you want to bring something. Fun distractions. Give him a little something to make his living situation better, because this is his living situation, and that’s not changing.”

Tommy didn’t realize his heart had lightened until it sank again with Fletcher’s words. 

They warned you not to get your hopes up. 

Buck looked at Tommy again. Fletcher was right, in a way, despite being an asshole about it. He knew he couldn’t really change Tommy’s big picture situation. If Petrova hadn’t tried to kill Fletcher, Buck himself would probably still be stuck here. His goal should be to do what he could to make Tommy’s life here at the lodge less miserable and alone than his own was.

“Does a movie night sound good to you?” Buck asked Tommy gently.

Tommy nodded, managing a nervous smile in spite of himself. He didn’t know how to tell him, so he squeezed Buck’s hand, hoping he knew that he was grateful. 

“Alright, let’s go pick a movie.” Fletcher clapped their hands once and opened up the door to usher the boys out. “I don’t know why you’re being so mopey about this. It’s overall a net positive. Let’s make some popcorn.”

@suspicious-whumping-egg @whumpyourdamnpears @generic-whumperz @lonesome–hunter

@whumplr-reader @theelvishcowgirl @sunshiline-writes @dont-be-gentle-please @galesgallery

@2in1whump @sparrowsage @apokolyps @whumpinggrounds @morning-star-whump

@leviiio @alexmundaythrufriday @defire @jumpywhumpywriter @watermelons-dont-grow-on-trees

@just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @burtlederp @whatwasmyprevioususername @cursedandtired

@whump-only @misspelledwitch @redstainedsocks @thehopelessopus @im-just-here-for-the-whump

@thatsthewhump @utopian819 @pretty-face-breaker @inpainandsuffering @victimeyez

@light-me-on-pyre @dislexiher @paperprinxe @desert-dyke

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

I would love to see bruce being beaten by his wife actually. also, i have a thing for hands with wraps all bloody and carefully taking the reader face for a kiss on the forehead

"Don't do that," Bruce corrected, readjusting your fist. "You have a lot of tiny bones in your hands. They break easily. Do it this way."

"I- but how do I- I mean almost anyone is going to be bigger than I am and stronger."

"Right," he acknowledged, "But I don't need you to be able to fight an army. I just need you to be able to stall for time... Or better still get loose and get away. As far as that goes, your size is an advantage."

You nod, still looking apprehensive and Bruce tried to remember things Alfred had taught him all those years ago. The way Alfred had taught him to make it stick in his head.

For all that Bruce had called you useless to your father, he knew that wasn't true. You were an apt student and diligent as a little girl and now as a grown woman, it persisted. Observant. It was just that you needed to sit with things for a while. To have time to wrap your mind around it.

He corrected you gently when you needed it but it was satisfying that he needed to do it more than once. Or perhaps twice. It was harder, it seemed, for him to remember not to raise his voice at you than it was to teach you how to throw a decent punch.

At the end, when you were clearly getting tired. He took you to sit down, putting you on the mats and carefully unwrapping your hands. "You did pretty well," he said, inspecting your hands for injuries- worried that if you couldn't paint it would get dangerous for you.

"Thank you," you murmur.

"One step at a time," Bruce said, remembering what Alfred had told him when he got discouraged when he couldn't immediately fight like Jackie Chan. "You did better than I did my first day-"

When you look up at him, slightly incredulous, Bruce smiled, "Seriously. I was 9 but... Alfred had to have the patience of a saint."

[truearchangel]

×—ʙᴀꜱɪᴄꜱ—×

ɴᴀᴍᴇ: Saint Michael.

ɴɪᴄᴋɴᴀᴍᴇ(ꜱ): Mikey (by Samael), Mike, God’s Obedient Dog.

ᴛɪᴛʟᴇ(ꜱ): Primarily uses — Saint Michael of the Archangel, Leader of the Archangels and Sword of God. Full list is here.

ɢᴇɴᴅᴇʀ / ʜᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴇʏ ɪᴅᴇɴᴛɪꜰʏ: Cis male.

ʀᴀᴄᴇ: True Archangel.

ᴀɢᴇ: Ageless, ancient, immortal.

ʙɪʀᴛʜᴅᴀʏ: Sometime in spring.

ʙɪʀᴛʜᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ: The Clouds / Heaven.

ɢᴜᴀʀᴅɪᴀɴ ꜱɪɢɴ: Gemini.

ɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟɪᴛʏ: Heaven / Angelic.

×—ᴀᴘᴘᴇᴀʀᴀɴᴄᴇ—×

ʜᴇɪɢʜᴛ: 5’4 / 162.5cm.

ᴡᴇɪɢʜᴛ: 115lbs / 52kg.

ʙᴏᴅʏ ᴛʏᴘᴇ: Short, thin, with decent defined muscles from swordplay / training.

ʜᴀɪʀ ᴄᴏʟᴏʀ: Bright blonde.

ᴇʏᴇ ᴄᴏʟᴏʀ: Golden.

ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇxɪᴏɴ: Unusually pale / white / almost marble like skin coloring.

ʙɪʀᴛʜᴍᴀʀᴋꜱ:

ꜱᴄᴀʀꜱ: A bald sword wound on his left middle wing close to his spine from the fight with Lucifer.

ᴛᴀᴛᴛᴏᴏꜱ:

ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ 🇺​​🇳​​🇮​​🇶​​🇺​​🇪 ꜰᴇᴀᴛᴜʀᴇꜱ: Six holy angel wings. White and blue.

ᴄʟᴇᴀɴʟɪɴᴇꜱꜱ / ɢʀᴏᴏᴍɪɴɢ: Takes good care of his general personal hygiene, tends to lack in wing care.

ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴅᴀʏ ᴄʟᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ꜱᴛʏʟᴇ: Photo commissioned here.

��ᴄᴄᴇꜱꜱᴏʀɪᴇꜱ: Rotates different hair berets, tends to stick with a feather / leaf one the most. Usually has a clipboard or a notebook on him for writing down. He wears a bracelet on his right wrist with a simple cross, it hides his sword in it. He has a single cross necklace with angel wings on it around his neck. He has a set of keys he keeps on his belt at his waist that are for Heaven.

×—ʜᴇᴀʟᴛʜ—×

ᴀʟʟᴇʀɢɪᴇꜱ:

ɪʟʟɴᴇꜱꜱᴇꜱ:

ᴅɪꜱᴀʙɪʟɪᴛɪᴇꜱ:

ᴇɴᴇʀɢʏ ʟᴇᴠᴇʟꜱ: Being an angelic creature, he doesn’t have the same needs as humans and other creatures. He doesn’t require much sleep or food to keep going, but even for someone like that he still consumes less than he should. On top of that, he tends to run himself into the ground doing everything possible for everyone else, taking on the weight of the world as some version of atonement for the mistakes he feels he’s made. He uses every single bit of energy he has to keep going, and when he’s beaten down and at the bottom, he still keeps going. He pushes himself to the very edge of breaking to try and hold everything else together. He might not have the energy to keep going, but he’ll find it until his body finally gives in and he collapses.

ᴇᴀᴛɪɴɢ ʜᴀʙɪᴛꜱ: Mostly picks at nuts and berries / fruits when he remembers to eat. His species doesn’t require much, but he tends to eat even less than that.

ꜱʟᴇᴇᴘɪɴɢ ʜᴀʙɪᴛꜱ: Avoids it until it can no longer be avoided / he collapses.

ꜰɪᴛɴᴇꜱꜱ: He keeps up well with training, he doesn’t have much of a choice being the Leader of the Heavenly Army.

×—ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴᴀʟɪᴛʏ—×

ɪɴᴛʀᴏᴠᴇʀᴛ / ᴇxᴛʀᴏᴠᴇʀᴛ: A bit of both, he becomes more extroverted if he’s comfortable around people or for work, but in large gatherings he tends to act more introverted. He hates parties.

ᴛᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴀᴍᴇɴᴛ: Calm and patient until pushed a bit to hard. His personality type is the Architect, his personality code is INTJ-T. I have two headcanons discussing his personality.

ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ꜱᴛʏʟᴇ: Direct, blunt and literal. He does not like beating around the bush and he hates being lied to. He can be rather animated when talking if he gets really into the conversation.

ɢᴏᴀʟꜱ / ᴅᴇꜱɪʀᴇꜱ: To understand the questions in his head and study the Hazbin Hotel.

ᴠɪʀᴛᴜᴇꜱ: Michael is the Virtue if Humility and he tries to embody the others as much as he can.

ꜰʟᴀᴡꜱ: Blunt, takes things literally, to forgiving, to hard on himself, workaholic, poor self-care, horrible handling of stress.

ꜱᴛʀᴇɴɢᴛʜꜱ: Confident, naturally kind and forgiving, merciful, always attempts to see some good in people, positive nature, problem solving in other people, will gladly allow anyone to lean on him, supportive of others.

ᴡᴇᴀᴋɴᴇꜱꜱᴇꜱ: Lucifer, if he views something as a failure in himself, can become overwhelmed / over stressed / over stimulated (views all of these things as a weakness).

ꜰᴇᴀʀꜱ: Lucifer, the questions he has, the other Archangels falling, God’s disappointment, not being good enough, being weak.

ᴏʙꜱᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴꜱ: Lucifer, birds, questions, Heaven, keeping his siblings in the clouds, protecting his siblings and Heaven, having to be perfect, attempting to be everything God wants, being the ideal Archangel, not failing.

Qᴜɪʀᴋꜱ / ᴛɪᴄꜱ: He gets far too excited when discussing birds, he’ll pull in his hair / feathers when stressed, pace when thinking / stressed, drown the world out with to loud music (in a good mood he’ll have it on quietly to help him concentrate).

ꜱᴇᴄʀᴇᴛꜱ: Was Lucifer right? The questions he’s down in Hell for, the fears he has over himself, the trembling earth shattering idea that he might be losing his faith in God. He won’t admit the depth of it to anyone.

ʀᴇɢʀᴇᴛꜱ: Lucifer’s fall.

×—ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱʜɪᴘꜱ ɪ—×

ᴍᴏᴛʜᴇʀ:

ꜰᴀᴛʜᴇʀ: God.

ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴘᴀʀᴇɴᴛᴀʟ ꜰɪɢᴜʀᴇ(ꜱ):

ꜱɪʙʟɪɴɢ(ꜱ): The Archangels of Heaven technically. Recognizes himself the following ones; Gabriel, Raphael, Azrael, Zadkiel, Cassiel, Uriel.

ɢʀᴀɴᴅᴘᴀʀᴇɴᴛꜱ:

ᴄʜɪʟᴅʀᴇɴ: None.

ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ꜰᴀᴍɪʟʏ: Lucifer (twin brother) / Charlie (niece) / Lilith (sister-in-law).

×—ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱʜɪᴘꜱ ɪɪ—×

ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴛɪᴄ / ꜱᴇxᴜᴀʟ ᴏʀɪᴇɴᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: I definitely list him on the asexuality spectrum, but I probably play him closer to Demiromantic/demisexual.

ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱʜɪᴘ ꜱᴛᴀᴛᴜꜱ: Single / married to his work.

ꜱᴘᴏᴜꜱᴇ: N/A

ᴘᴀʀᴛɴᴇʀ/ ꜱɪɢɴɪꜰɪᴄᴀɴᴛ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ(ꜱ): N/A

ʟᴏᴠᴇʀ(ꜱ): N/A

ᴄʟᴏꜱᴇꜱᴛ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱ: Gabriel.

ᴀᴄQᴜᴀɪɴᴛᴀɴᴄᴇꜱ: Most angels in Heaven & his siblings.

ᴄᴏᴡᴏʀᴋᴇʀꜱ/ᴄᴏᴍʀᴀᴅᴇꜱ: Other member’s of the Heavenly Army.

ʀɪᴠᴀʟꜱ: The Sin of Pride.

ᴇɴᴇᴍɪᴇꜱ: Unwillingly Lucifer.

×—ʟɪꜰᴇꜱᴛʏʟᴇ—×

ᴏᴄᴄᴜᴘᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: Leader of the Archangels / Leader of the Heavenly Army / many other tasks he’s taken on himself.

ꜱᴏᴄɪᴀʟ ᴄʟᴀꜱꜱ: Top, right beneath God.

ᴇᴅᴜᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: Taught by God himself.

ᴄᴜʀʀᴇɴᴛ ʀᴇꜱɪᴅᴇɴᴄᴇ: The Clouds / Heaven in the Golden Palace.

ʜᴏʙʙɪᴇꜱ: Bird watching, playing / composing music / reading / knitting & crocheting.

ᴠɪᴄᴇꜱ: I can’t think of one.

ᴄʀɪᴍɪɴᴀʟ ʀᴇᴄᴏʀᴅ: None.

ꜱᴘᴇɴᴅɪɴɢ ʜᴀʙɪᴛꜱ: He doesn’t tend to spend much money on himself, and he certainly has plenty.

ꜱᴏᴄɪᴀʟ ᴏʀ ʟᴏɴᴇʀ: Self-isolated and worked himself to death after Lucifer’s fall, I’m going with loner.

ꜰᴀɪᴛʜ / ʀᴇʟɪɢɪᴏɴ: What I pull from the most for my hcs I will list as his religion; Christianity / Catholic.

×—ʟɪᴋᴇꜱ & ᴅɪꜱʟɪᴋᴇꜱ—×

ꜰᴏᴏᴅꜱ: He likes savory things.

ᴄᴏʟᴏʀꜱ: Blue / gold / white.

ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇꜱ: Somewhere with lots of birds / his office / a library.

ꜱᴏᴜɴᴅꜱ: Soft music, classical and instrumental, the sound of the piano / violin / cello, paper turning, birds chirping, happy people.

ꜱᴍᴇʟʟꜱ: Mint, vanilla, leather, books, sandalwood.

ᴛᴇxᴛᴜʀᴇꜱ: Silks, yarn, paper, feathers.

ᴡᴇᴀᴛʜᴇʀ: Sunny / cloudy | warm / fall.

ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ: He really loves just touching other people, even in casual and soft ways. He’s a very tactile person and he loves to feel the comfort of someone else near him.

×—ᴄᴏᴍʙᴀᴛ—×

ᴊᴏʙ / ᴄʟᴀꜱꜱ: Leader of the Heavenly Army / Swordsmaster.

ᴀʀᴍᴏʀ ᴛʏᴘᴇ: Angelic fabric.

ᴡᴇᴀᴘᴏɴ(ꜱ): Sword | the Sword of Truth

ꜰɪɢʜᴛɪɴɢ ꜱᴛʏʟᴇ: Various types of swordplay, he prefers fencing even just for training.

ᴍᴇʟᴇᴇ ᴄᴏᴍʙᴀᴛ ꜱᴋɪʟʟꜱ: Master rank.

ʀᴀɴɢᴇᴅ ᴄᴏᴍʙᴀᴛ ꜱᴋɪʟʟꜱ: Less talented in it. He can use a bow, it will not be the first thing he goes for ever if it’s not needed.

ᴏꜰꜰᴇɴꜱɪᴠᴇ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ ꜱᴋɪʟʟꜱ: Decent enough, he’ll work some into his fighting if his sword isn’t doing a good enough job.

ᴅᴇꜰᴇɴꜱɪᴠᴇ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ ꜱᴋɪʟʟꜱ: Better than his offensive magic, he can conjure shields and protect others with it.

ꜱɪɢɴᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴀʙɪʟɪᴛʏ: Does turning your sword into a spear and running it through your brother’s back count?

×—ᴍɪꜱᴄᴇʟʟᴀɴᴇᴏᴜꜱ—×

ᴘᴇᴛꜱ / ᴀɴɪᴍᴀʟ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴɪᴏɴꜱ: Michael doesn’t keep pets but he feeds the wild birds outside his window.

ᴘʀɪᴢᴇᴅ / ᴘʀᴇᴄɪᴏᴜꜱ ᴘᴏꜱꜱᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴꜱ: The Duck. And Lucifer’s original violin.

ʟᴀɴɢᴜᴀɢᴇꜱ ᴋɴᴏᴡɴ: Omnilingual however it is limited to who he’s talking to at the moment.

ꜱᴘᴇᴄɪᴀʟ ᴛᴀʟᴇɴᴛꜱ: To understand others and take on far more than he should. He balances it all, he keeps Heaven afloat, but at the price of himself in the process.

ᴘʀᴇꜰᴇʀʀᴇᴅ ᴍᴇᴛʜᴏᴅ ᴏꜰ ᴛʀᴀᴠᴇʟ: Teleportation / portals.

ɴᴏᴛᴀʙʟᴇ ᴀᴄᴄᴏᴍᴘʟɪꜱʜᴍᴇɴᴛꜱ: Defeating the Devil and Satan.

ᴀɴ ᴇxᴘᴇʀɪᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ꜱʜᴀᴘᴇᴅ ᴡʜᴏ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴀʀᴇ: Lucifer’s fall and the war in Heaven.

[mannerofwhump]

A Normal(cholas) Day (part 1)

All characters belong to @spookyboywhump and are used with their permission :) This has genuinely been sitting in my drafts for AGES but I couldn’t write a way to continue it (and have yet to do so) but I really wanted to post it lol. So here it is in all it’s unfinished glory and do forgive the abrupt ending. Enjoy.

RIGHT for context, this is an au where a Normal Nicholas who does not, in fact, regularly torture people gets isekai’d into canon Nicholas’ body/universe. (Very fitting to be posted on Saint Nicholas’ day).

———

It was a regular Saturday morning, he was sure of it. He had checked. He’d woken up, brushed his teeth, styled his hair, and existed in the normal sort of way that he always had.

That is, until the truck came.

From the beginning, it had come, sinister in its approach. There were no flashing lights, no warning sounds. There was just Nicholas, the truck, and then his intimate acquaintance with the ground. And then nothing.

Blissful sleep overtook him. Thoughts still rang in the background. Was this it, then? Life, and then not. He wasn’t even allowed the courtesy of realizing he was dying, until the darkness washed utterly and devastatingly over him.

Far, far away there was a light. In the distance, it had no shape or form to it. Just a glow in the raging sea of inky black. Of course, of course, he ran—swam—floated towards it. There was no real choice when the only other option was to succumb.

He awoke with a gasp.

The chair underneath him was solid. He gripped the armrests, knuckles going white. He touched his head, his body, felt at the utter lack of blood. Still, he was alive. God, it didn’t even hurt. He felt completely fine, as if nothing at all had happened.

Wait. Why was he on a sofa? Where was the beeping? The bed? The hospital gown? Maybe even the IV drip in his hand?

He stared at his hand, gaze intent. He turned them over, both of them, staring wildly at the evidence of completely unmarred skin. Unless he had dreamt up the whole thing, all of this made absolutely no sense.

Wait. His brain caught up to his surroundings. Right. Obviously he had dreamt up the whole thing. That made sense. Especially now that he was looking around and realizing this was his own house—

“HOLY SHIT,” Nicholas said calmly.

Ok. That part wasn’t right. Definitely not right. The black-haired man kneeling on the floor next to him was not a regular fixture in his choice of home decor. He was pretty confident about this one. Ok. Maybe he was staring. Maybe he was looking at the man with eyes that practically screamed what the fuck? But that wasn’t his fault.

Because there was one thing ringing in his mind right now, and it was not the ringing that came with vehicle-pedestrian collisions. Instead, it was the incessant echoes of what the absolute fuck in the now-empty cave that was his mind.

He smiled sheepishly, stretching his lips in a way that felt anything but natural. “Would you excuse me for a second?” he said, politely. Higher than his usual level of politeness, but he felt that the poor man fettered in his home who he didn’t even know deserved that much at least. He could do that much.

With that, he darted for the bathroom.

Nicholas splashed his face with cold water, trying to sober himself up. Dispel the nightmare. How drunk did he have to be to imagine a whole live man in his living room? A man who looked like he’d been beaten up upwards of 6472 times and counting? Not that he’d remembered drinking, but hey, maybe he’d forgotten that too.

He splashed his face again for good measure and rubbed at his eyes. Hard. Hallucinations begone! The bathroom door was left ajar as he peeked outside again, hoping for the illusion to dispel itself. No such luck. The illusion in question was watching him with a raised eyebrow instead.

“What the hell is going on with you, sir.”The last word was said with a hint of derision. Like it was an insult. It probably was. But he also said it with a hint of familiarity, as if it had been uttered enough times for the word to not really mean anything any more.

Bad sign. Bad fucking sign.

“Um,” he started, the very picture of coherence, “who are you? What are you doing in my house? What the fuck?” He didn’t mean to say that last one out loud, but it had slipped, just like his sanity.

“Haha, very funny, sir.”

“No, tell me. Please? Please.”

The other man looked thrown off by his words. Confused. His words came out slowly, as if he believed Nicholas was playing a trick on him. God, he wished this was all a trick. “Zander. I’m here because you’re fucking sick and get off on kidnapping people and torturing them and making them fight other kidnapped tortured people. And yeah, what the fuck. A lot of all around fuckery going on on your end, sir.”

This, admittedly, made Nicholas feel worse.

———

ask to be added to the taglist!!

@kira-the-whump-enthusiast

@spookyboywhump

[senjuushi]

Since you remember like you need the interactions, how about master walks in on time to Belga terrified as he's in the middle of getting beaten the fuck up by his previous handler due to a serious mistake he made and they assumed master, the current handler, would've done the same anyways so why not do it for them? Obviously master is pissed and immediately jumps in to stop them then whisks Belga away to where he can calm down. Unfortunately he still thinks he's about to be punished so he's still terrified but master has the patience of a saint and gladly gives him the time he needs to calm down.

Belga only notices someone else is in the room when the blows stop. There's a sudden lack of pain, he uncurls a bit, and—

Master is watching.

The instant shock of fear that hits his nerves almost makes him sick. If you're here, if you find out what he did, he's going to get hurt even worse. The handler's beating is nothing compared to what his Master is allowed to do.

You step closer, scowling. Belga flinches when you open your mouth, ready to beg not to be hit again, but—

"What do you think you're doing!?" you shout... at the handler, not at him. The handler sputters in protest, but you don't stop. "Does this look like appropriate discipline to you?"

There's more yelling, but the next thing Belga knows, he's in your arms. You hold him close even when he struggles, and soon enough, the instinct to go limp in his Master's grip kicks in. The world goes blurry for a second, and then, you're in the hallway.

"Shhh, you're okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

You shush him when he whines, frightened, and keep walking. You tell him you're going to get him cleaned up now.

The gentle sound of your voice is too much. Belga is sobbing before he can contain it, clutching at your shoulders because somehow, this finally feels safe.

[lostonehero]

What remains after eternity

Aftermath

Trevor frowns, staring at the vial of dark red, nearly black blood. He knows for the fact that all the progress they had was erased. He couldn't tell how long it'd been, but that didn't really matter. He can make a few observations, Lyf regrew and cuts off his wings multiple times to have food to share. Marius has finished his heat transformation, and his new parts and abilities seem purposely dormant due to the starvation and virus. He glanced over to the pair of sleeping twins who hadn't moved. He doesn't envy them.

"Trevor." Janet's voice makes him turn to face her. "So?"

"I barely started." Trevor sighs. "It's not good, Raphaella started the ivs, and the broth is being kept warm." He puts down the vial of Marius's blood. "I've got samples from his spinal fluid, blood, and marrow. The progress that has been made is completely wiped out. We're back at square one. I hate to say this, but I welcome the challenge. I know it's not a game. I just..."

"Treat it like you would of before." Janet gently headbutts Trevor. "They need you to be at your best for this. You should also be nice to his metal arm. Remember it's sentient."

"I almost forgot about that." Trevor smiles softly. "Alright, I need to do some tests. Do you mind keeping watch while I bring my samples to Raph's lab?"

"Why do you think I'm here?" Janet chuckles. "Aurora has my back to alarm for you."

"I do!" Aurora chirps. "I have also informed Nastya who was the first to find Marius. As per the twins' request, only the ones inside myself have been informed besisdes Nastya. Raphaella and Misery are waiting for you, Trevor."

"Thank you, Aurora." Trevor collects his samples and heads off.

Janet hums when he is out of earshot. "Aurora, be ready for whatever comes next."

"I always am." Aurora clicks.

.....

"If you keep asking me what I think I'm going to light you on fire and see if your ashes works which I know won't." Trevor growls.

Jonny clears his throat. "Want to repeat that?"

Trevor gasps, stumbling off his step stool. "Dad! I uh..."

Jonny laughs. "Still my baby boy." He smiles softly. "Get up and tell me what you've figured out. I know I ain't the best with this science shit, but Janet asked me to check up on you."

"It's not good." Trevor sighs as Jonny takes a seat on the exam table. "Whatever progress they had was wiped out for Marius, er Byron? I don't know what to refer to him as since he isn't lucid or has woken up. Anyway, it seems that without the updates from Raph or Misery, the virus mutated and took over again. At this point, I wouldn't suggest curing it.... I mean, well, the best thing to do would be to work backward kind of." He hops up next to his dad to sit. "There isn't getting rid of this virus. If I could engineer it to basically fuse to his very DNA, there could be a chance that it would change him, but he would finally be whole again. I just don't want to do anything drastic like that without consent. I mean, I would have before, but he's like family now, and I know he can't answer for himself...."

Jonny rubs his son's back. "Relax Trevor, you can ask his mate, or even his daughters." He pauses as Trevor leans on him. "Just explain it to them and give them the risks and how it would work."

"Are you sure you're ok with this, with me?" Trevor frowns. "I've done so much awful. I hurt so many people in the name of my own selfish need. I just... I feel like you shouldn't be ok with this."

Jonny snickers. "Trevor, I ain't no saint either. I've killed for less. I've hurt others for even less than that. I'm a terrible person, and honestly, I can't say I regret my actions." He sighs and gives his son a half hug. "You have a moral compass that I had beaten out of me. I'm proud of you regardless of what horrors you committed. You hesitate, and I wish I could say I could do the same."

"Thank you." Trevor pulls his dad into a tight hug.

Jonny can feel a wet spot where his son is crying. "Come on, we should check on them."

"Aurora?" Trevor mumbles in his dad's chest.

"Yes?" Aurora chirps.

"You're a little shit." Jonny can feel his son shake in a silent laugh.

"Is Lyf awake yet?" Trevor continues to cling.

Aurora chuckles. "That is quite adorable."

"Fuck off." Trevor mumbles.

"Alright, alright." Jonny pats his son's back. "Is the space cop up yet?"

"Lyf has woken up for a brief moment of panic but fell asleep as soon as he saw his twins. The twins are currently trying to wake him to eat some broth, but they are unsuccessful, so they are currently lying on either side of Lyf. I think they are playing 20 questions with Janet." Aurora chirps. "Nastya has managed to wake Marius to feed him some broth, but he is not lucid in the slightest."

Trevor pulls away, rubbing his eyes. "I'm not surprised. The damage on Lyf's body is self-inflicted. He cut off his own limbs, mostly his wings to feed the both of them. With the rest and iv, his body is probably in shock, adjusting to not being in survival mode. Similar occurrences have happened when Thomas and Laz have been trapped in places. Laz sacrifices himself to keep Thomas alive." He scratches his neck. "Tink used to be a scholar before they went mad. They may have done something similar. Aiden is made of stone he can't accomplish that. Izzy has mentioned something similar, but I've never observed it. What I mean to say they are all different species, but they're all acolyte, so with what I have observed, it should take approximately a week for Lyf to be fully recovered unless Yog Sogoth gets involved. Well, he will still look starved, but he will be mentally and physically healed." He hops off the table.

Jonny smiles proud of his son. "Well, that means you have time. You can discuss the options with the twins to start with."

Aurora hums softly. "Raphaella would also like to look at the samples now."

Trevor sighs. "Fine, fine." He waves Aurora off. "Can you come with me to check on them?"

Jonny nods and hops off the table. "Of course I can."

.......

"Aren't you two spending time with your respective husbands?" Aurora chirps spotting Thomas and Mae.

Mae rolls her eyes. "Laz, Charlie, and the fledgling god have been talking for hours at this point, and I'm bored listening about human things. They're allowed to catch up, but fuck I don't care in the slightest about their history. I don't even know what the fuck they're talking about." She throws her hands up. "Like what the fuck is a ice box? Why are they're churches so fucking lame? How the fuck did they accomplish anything? Like I wanted to hear about the war, but all of it is stupid god bullshit. If I wanted that, I would bother Nexus or Scratch."

"Please don't." Thomas sighs. "Human culture and history isn't excatly something either of us are interested in. That kind of stuff is Janet's thing. I love Laz, but we'll he also gets fucking bored when we talk New Texas." He cracks his back. "Besides, I want to play chess, and Trevor is the best at it, and I want a challenge."

"I ain't a fan of chess, but I do have to ask dad when Izzy and the others came by and why Izzy and Grams are doing the horizontal tango." Mae blinks as Thomas stares at her.

"What the fuck did you even say?" Thomas stares at his twin.

"Grams is fucking Izzy. From what Pa said, because I actually saw him out as far as he could go away from Grams. They've been at it for like six hours at this point. Also, Pa is a hologram brain in the machine thing. Why does he have a limp?" Mae crossed her arms. "Also, Carmillia was nailed to a cactus."

"I clearly went a different route than you did." Thomas shakes his head. "Does Pa look pathetic?"

"He looked confused." Mae shrugs. "Anyway, Aurora, do you know what happened?"

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about." Aurora pauses. "I can ask your father."

"Nah, I'll find him." Mae hums softly. "Besides, I heard there's newbies here."

"I wouldn't call them newbies they're technically older than us." Thomas sighs. "Well, that's what Laz says."

"Unfortunately, he's normally right." Mae huffs. "Hopefully, Alex is lingering around somewhere here. I'm so bored I may even play a hand of cards with them."

Thomas snickers.

"Oh fuck off. You suck at cards it's not even fun winning against you." Mae headbutts her brother from the side.

Thomas headbutts back and then gasps. "I WAS FUCKING RIGHT!" He points spotting Trevor who freezes like a deer in headlights.

Mae growls, letting off a string of curses, making Aurora squeak out in surprise. She pulls out something from her pocket and growls louder, shoving it at Thomas. It was an old, worn doll looking closer at it. "Fuck you Trevor." She headbutts Trevor hard enough he falls on his ass.

Trevor blinks incredibly confused. "Um.... What did I do?"

"You helped me win an old bet." Thomas chuckles softly, holding up his prize that Trevor recognized immediately.

"Ok how the fuck did you convince Mae to bet that first, Secondly what bet?" Trevor huffs as Thomas helps him to his feet.

"I knew you became a mad scientist, Mae didn't believe me, and so we made a bet ages ago." Thomas sighs. "I will probably give this back to her, though. It ain't right keeping it knowing how much it means to her."

"You brats kept that thing?" Jonny interrupts startling the two. He plucks it from his eldest and hums. "Where's yours?"

"Technically, that is Thomas's." Trevor rubs his arm. "He gave it to Mae after a nasty encounter with raiders that burned it to break her. It didn't go as they planned."

Jonny had a slight blush on his cheeks. "Fucking if you want a new one I can just make another one." He looks away. "Why are you two back?"

"You would make us another one?" Thomas swallows. "I uh... well, of course we're too old for it, so you don't have to."

"Shut the fuck up." Jonny rolls his eyes. "You're getting new ones. That means you too, Mae. Get the fuck out of the vents."

Mae hops out of a vent landing next to her dad.

"How the fuck do you keep doing that?" Aurora chirps.

"It's just climbing." Mae rolls her eyes. "Why go all mad science now?"

"It's a bit complicated." Trevor frowns.

Jonny sighs. "You're the only two not here for what happened. It's only been 12 hours, give or take. Marius and Lyf have returned in worse shape. The gods took them and sent them back, and none of us knew how long it's been for them. They're starved, and Marius's virus has completely taken over again somehow, even worse than before. None of it is good, and the twins requested we don't tell anyone until they return to Aurora."

"Oh." Mae crossed her arms. "What do you need me to do?"

Trevor lights up slightly, pulling out a list. "I have a request for supplies and ingredients for my work."

Mae snatches it and looks it over with a smirk. "Honestly, Trevor, I expected something more insane. Yeah, I'll grab this shit. You're going to integrate this virus into his DNA to have his body adapt and change so he won't be sick. That's clever."

Trevor stares at Mae mouth agape. "How the fuck...?"

Mae winks. "I'll handle it." She grabs the small cloth doll from Thomas. "I'll be back in an hour tops."

Thomas shrugs. "Don't look at me! I would have suggested isolating the virus strain and reverse engineering it to become a boost to his system and heal himself from the inside out."

"That's not.... where the... How the fuck do you know that?" Trevor stares at Thomas since Mae is already out of earshot.

Thomas looked uncomfortable. "Let's just not look into why we knew that stuff."

Jonny takes a breath. "Thomas, I'm going to need you to keep the twins away when Trevor looks over Lyf and Marius. They know of your brother and don't trust him in the slightest."

"Sure, I can do that." Thomas nods. "Why are you referring to them as twins? You don't refer to me or Mae as twins."

"They're identical." Jonny pinches his brow. "Impossible to tell them apart. Their names are Freya and Selene, and unlike you and your sister, neither of them are older."

"Ah." Thomas frowns. "You alright with that, Trevor?"

Trevor nods. "Yeah. Just be careful they're more on the xeon side of their lineage and are incredibly toxic like physically."

"It's not like I'll die." Thomas stops. "I'll be careful."

Jonny nods. "You both better be careful."

"Yes, dad." The two say at once.

......

Lyf gasps, and the remains of rainbow static fill his vision. He froze as his vision slowly game back to groans and whimpers of pain. With effort, he sits himself up. Both of his girls were on the floor at either side of his bed. He watched in mute horror as their limbs reformed, and a mark glowed on their backs.

"I warned you two." A male voice sighs.

"Be nice, Trevor. Also, your hair is on fire." Another male voice rings out.

"Fuck not again!"

"W-What?" Lyf's voice was barely a whisper.

Both twins left bloody handprints on the side of Lyf's bed, burning through the blanket.

"We're ok."

"Just give us a second."

"Don't push yourself either of you." Lyf finally looked over to recognize the voice belonged to Thomas. "Just because you've got the mark of Terminus does not mean it's easy no matter how often you test it."

"We know!" Both twins growl at him.

Thomas holds up his hands. "I ain't looking for a fight. Neither of you is in any condition for that either. Give Lyf some space. He's awake."

The twins step back with a stumble holding there quickly, closing wounds.

"N-no." Lyf croaks out.

The other male, who was Trevor? Lyf wasn't certain. "Relax." Trevor helps Lyf to sit up fully. "Take a breath, and please don't pull out your ivs. Janet is currently keeping an eye on Marius as he plays and wanders around." He takes out a thermos and gently feeds Lyf. "Now that you have something in your stomach. Your twins are fine they look to have just finished healing, and they know it was an accident."

Lyf takes a deep breath. "Freya, Selene?"

"Yes!" The two say at once.

Lyf smiles softly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"It's not like you could kill us."

"Selene!"

"What? I'm right."

"You don't have to say it."

"Freya, we both know Papa would freak out if we were mortal."

"Girls." Lyf sighs he looks awful and exhausted but relieved. "Girls, that's enough."

"Yes, Papa." Both say at once.

"Before you ask, I'm working on the next steps for Marius." Trevor crossed his arms. "Mae got what I needed about six hours ago. Thomas has been trying to get the twins to eat and sleep in proper beds, which hasn't worked. The next process will be done within the hour if you wish to stay awake for that. I'm taking a different approach, and hopefully, that will be a permanent solution." He looks away. "It's not going to be an easy process, and I will be locking myself in the same room as Marius to see this through."

Lyf looks down at his hands. They were discolored greatly. He knew he looked horrid. He hurt his own children. He balled his fists. "Don't you want to know what happened?" He sounded broken.

"I'm not my father." Thomas frowns with a tisk before Trevor can answer. "I can make my own assumptions, however. It's been ages, and the food was non-existent. You cut off your own wings multiple times just to feed Marius, and you neglected yourself. Your hair isn't evenly cut it was probably burned with an acid like substance, most likely the rain on Xeonia. Even with the adaption from your heat bond, it did not protect you from the harsh reality of the planet. From added context, you arrived on Xeonia before Marius was even born and stayed long after, but before the spread of the virus of the first time. You're paranoid, obviously from losing your children when they were young, younger than we were with our dad. Marius quickly lost lucidity after your kids vanished. He was hiding it from you and them with games and stories."

Lyf sucked in a breath staring at Thomas.

"S-stop!"

"D-Don't."

Thomas narrows his gaze, ignoring the pleads. "It didn't get better. Wars are horrible when you're searching for answers. Even more so when you're trying to keep your own partner nearby. How many times did you reduce him down to his arm to get through? More than you can recall."

Trevor scurries out of the way. They all had these fits dad would call them. They never remember when it started. Only know the story once they finish telling it. It's a curse from their grandfather's side. The gods don't even know what it is. He hates it. He could never purge it from himself.

"A time of peace came and went you almost abandoned Marius as dead weight." Thomas tilted his head. "You locked him in a bunker, didn't you?"

Lyf shakes. "I... I.."

"He wasn't aware. He starved with no one to care for him. I wonder how many times he collapsed from the sheer exhaustion of it all. You dug him out once the rumbles of a new war were coming, and you saw first-hand the true reason why he lies. Why he pretend to play dumb. Why he never talk about his home planet."

"That's enough!"

"Shut up!"

The twins seemed stuck in place as Thomas barely glanced at the two, returning his gaze to Lyf.

"Tell me, was it worth it? Was it worth it to witness the horrors? It wasn't a war. It wasn't a drought, and it wasn't a famine. No virus, no dictator. It's just pure evil throughout the planet. Horrors even the gods couldn't stomach. You couldn't flee. You would leave Marius behind. You could never abandon your mate. A war would have been mercy. A famine would be heaven. A virus would have left to sanctuary. What you witness. What you saw was nothing but pure madness and horror. Tell me, did you enjoy watching Marius's parents get -" Thomas can't continue holding his throat from a clear bullet wound, and the static in the air lifted.

Eyes landed on the figure holding the smoking gun, and the screaming from Thomas as the mark did its job was silent.

"Some stories shouldn't be told." Mae's boots sounded so loud against the metal floor as she slung Thomas over her shoulder. "Janet strapped Marius down for you. Get to it." She watches Trevor basically run out of the room.

"Why?" The twins watch Mae put Thomas in a bed, wrapping him up tight.

"How did he know that?" Lyf swallows.

Mae looks back to Lyf. "It ain't your business."

"The fuck do you mean!"

"You shouldn't know that!"

Mae lights up a cigar and takes a deep breath before walking close to the three. She blows out thick smoke on them. "It ain't your fucking business. You aren't my fucking kin." She growls tail lashing behind her.

The twins growl back.

In an instant, both twin's braids fall to the ground in a bloody heap. Mae tosses her cigar on the mess, causing a fire separating them. "I won't say it again."

"Sallie, stop." Thomas's voice was strained. The wound in his neck was still sluggishly bleeding. He sits himself up. "We all have some version of this. Dad has it the worst. I ain't proud of it, and I'm sorry."

Mae watches the fire die, leaving a sickly sweet smell behind. "Tommy."

"Dad ain't get his storytelling from age." Thomas grimaced, holding his throat.

"What do you mean?"

"Did the gods curse you?"

Mae let's out a hiss. "It ain't the gods."

"Sallie...." Thomas wheezes and swallows. "None of know what it is, and neither do the gods."

"Just drop it." Mae growls.

Thomas gets up and grabs Mae's hand with his bloody hand. "Stop." He takes a breath easier. "Come on, let's just find dad."

Mae nods, holding onto her twin tight.

Lyf waits to speak until they leave. "Girls, I'm sorry I hurt you both."

"It's not your fault."

"We're fine!"

"That's not the point, and you both know that." Lyf sighs. "You both don't have to pretend I know we're basically strangers, but you both are still my babies and... and I just want... I want to be your dad."

"You're already our papa."

"That's all we want."

Lyf smiles softly.

"Besides, we've already seen you at different points in the timeline before us."

"We know you're different, and it doesn't scare us. We're different, too."

"We also know you still can't tell us apart."

"We also know that we love you."

"Alright, push the beds together and lay next to me. You both need to recover. I know your hair is alive. No arguing it's just a flesh wound." Lyf smiles as the beds come together, and he lays back down.

"It is just a flesh wound."

"Our hair already grew back."

"Hush girls." Lyf chuckles.

.......

Jonny glanced up at his twins and returned to his sewing. "Get your bloody hands away from my work, and you can stay."

Mae seemingly realized that she had blood on her hand as she let go of Thomas's hand. "Dad I..."

"No." Jonny clicks his tongue.

"No?" Thomas growls.

"No, neither of you have to say anything." Jonny puts down the half finished doll. "You two haven't changed no matter how old you get. You only hold each other close like that after the curse rears its ugly head. I'm guessing it was Thomas from the dried blood around his throat. Now, you two can either sit while I work or get cleaned up." He sighs, watching his twins sit together by him. "Just because I am able to use it doesn't mean I expect any of you to be comfortable with it. I will say it as nausea till it gets through your thick skulls. I don't know what it is, and it shouldn't define either of you."

Thomas looks a bit embarrassed. "Sorry for getting mad."

"I should bring back that stupid fucking jar just for you." Jonny huffs picking back up his project. "You have my temper boy, and I expect nothing less."

"It was about Lyf and Marius." Thomas crossed his arms as Mae leans on him.

"And? Thomas it takes a pair of eyes to just look at the two to know something went fucking wrong." Jonny rolls his eyes. "Tell me something I don't know. You're smarter than that."

Thomas huffs but he had a small smile on his lips.

"I saw gramps." Mae hums.

This causes Jonny to stop and stare at his daughter. "Why?"

"Well, I asked. He seemed confused, but Grams and Izzy were going at it in the sand. Grams let him wander while she was busy, and he kind of just stood there. He has a limp, which is weird because he's basically a ghost in the machine." Mae shrugs. "I also saw angles of Grams. I don't think I will ever be able to forget."

"Ew." Thomas makes a face of disgust.

"He still has that limp." Jonny sighs and returns again to his project.

"I went a different way, so I didn't see any of that. I'm glad about that." Thomas sighs. "I think if he's still out, Alex would ambush him for a game of cards."

"That was his game of choice." Jonny hums. "I have been meaning to talk to him. I ain't looking for closure, so don't either of you start." He looks up to give a look to the two. "Mom says he's better now, and I don't know. I think I might want to try. You brats can bother him. I never said you can't."

"I bother him plenty!" Aurora interrupts. "Valerie gives him free roam, and he tries to hide in my programming. It's quite fun scaring him. It appears that given freedom is a new way your mother has found a way to hurt him."

"Can you not interrupt a conversation with my children." Jonny rolls his eyes again.

Mae and Thomas giggle.

"Dont encourage her, you brats." Jonny puts his sewing project to the side. "What do you want, Aurora?"

Aurora ignores Jonny. "Children, tell me stories about Jonny raising you."

Mae laughs. "Oh, now I won't say shit."

Thomas snickers. "That's literally the worst way to get information from us."

Jonny smiles proudly.

"Nastya was right they are just mini, yous!" Aurora huffs. "Jonny took on space cats before he was reunited with you."

"Yeah and?" Thomas gets up, picking at the dried blood on his hands. "You should if seen dad panic when we reached 18, the idiot thought we would leave."

Jonny chuckles softly.

Mae gets up after her brother. "Fucker thought I would give up my game, and I will get you one day." She smiles. "Besides, dad had pets when we were growing up. He also taught us how to kill skin and cook them. New Texans are a social species. We don't do good alone. If you actually looked at Ivy's archives, you would know that."

"We are an uncomfortable close social species. Fucking if dad ends up knocked up and I start leaking I'm going to be pissed." Thomas groans. "It was bad enough when you were expecting. Laz freaked out so bad he thought I was expecting."

Jonny starts to cackle.

"It is not funny! That ass wouldn't touch me for months! Dad, stop laughing!" Thomas huffs now red face.

Mae giggles. "It was hilarious you're just a baby."

"Oh fuck you." Thomas growls.

Jonny gets up and grabs his twins by the ears. He takes a breath. "No fighting you brats."

Thomas and Mae huffs.

......

The sun was just coming over the horizon. Trevor was still in the room with Marius. It's been a week. Alex huffs watching the sun rise. They were outside Aurora leaning on her. They heard a noise that made them quirk a brow. They watched Tim walk by waving, but he was nearly silent. They decided to check it out.

Billy sat on the sand. He clearly had mass since he seemed to be counting the grains in his hands. He was in loose-fitting clothing, obviously New Texan. He was shaking enough to see that he was clearly rattled.

Alex knew that look. They knew that look from their own father after.... they sit next to their gramps. They pull out a deck of cards. "Well, you shuffling or am I?"

Billy jumps clearly, just realizing that Alex was next to him. "What?"

"Fine, I'll deal." Alex starts to shuffle. "Dad says your game of choice was anything cards. Never said if you were any good."

"I was a drunk." Billy hugs his chest. "Val won't let me back in my machine."

"Shame, you'll just have to entertain me then." Alex deals out two hands and places the deck down.

Billy picks up his hand with a raised brow. "Why?"

Alex gives a knowing look. "Does it really matter?"

"I suppose not." Billy seems taken aback. "You have it too?"

"We all have it." Alex hums softly. "I always assumed it was from grams, but seeing from your reaction, she doesn't know." They put down a card. "I ain't gonna tell."

Billy seemed confused. "Why? I ain't doing nothing for you."

"Suppose not." Alex picks up a card. "Why does it matter? It ain't like it will kill me."

Billy threw down his hand and raised his brow. "You ain't bad."

Alex hissed. "Neither are you. Not anymore, I guess." They take the cards and shuffle. "Janet, you can join us."

Billy whips his head around to spot Janet, who sits next to him.

"I can play a game or two." Janet hums softly. "Mae says you have a limp."

"Always had a limp." Billy raised a brow.

"That is annoying." Janst sighs. "Anyway, I did grab breakfast for you." She tosses over a wrapped sandwich. "I made it, had a feeling you would be out here."

"Where's dad?" Alex unwrapped the sandwich.

"Sleeping in as far as I know. Everyone's split up in two groups. There's the mess Tim made and doesn't quite understand, and then Marius and Lyf. It's a fucking mess." Janet frowns. "The twins are nice to talk to, but they're still scared of me."

"I can't help you with that." Alex quickly finished their food. "Just because we know each other doesn't mean I can just fix what they think of you."

Janet picks up her cards. "Ain't asking you to. So why play with gramps?"

"He's pretty good." Alex shrugs.

Billy frowns. "Val won't let me back in my machine."

"I figured as much." Janet hums. "Are you sure Henry's real? Haven't seen him once. Brian and Misery sure, but Henry, not at all."

"He's terrified of you and Trevor like how Laz is scared of grams." Alex hums drawing a card. "Ain't his fault, just look at what Carmillia did to Brian."

"That's fair enough." Janet furrows her brows, looking over at Billy. "Nanobots?"

"Correct." Billy tosses a card down.

"Unlike Trevor, I'm not one for science. I prefer history and different cultures." Janet picks up another card. "So why haven't you come inside? Aurora is amused by you, and dad does want to speak to you."

"I don't belong." Billy scowls as Janet throws down her hand.

"None of us belong anywhere anymore." Alex collects the cards.

"It's not like New Texas is the same. Our home is a museum." Janet leans back. "We want to stay with dad, but who knows how long that will last before the gods get bored." She lights up a cigarette. "You ain't special."

Billy blinks and looks away.

Alex puts their cards away and lays back in the sand.

Janet joins them. "Just enjoy the quiet moments." Blowing out smoke, she sighs. "Unfortunately, with our luck, it won't last."

"Ain't that the truth." Alex sighs.

Billy seems uneasy but joins them, laying down. "You should hate me."

"So?" Janet blows out more smoke.

"Time has a habit of dulling hatred into annoyance." Alex yawns. "Fucking every time you get me all introspective."

"Sucks to suck." Janet snubs out her cigarette.

"Fuck you." Alex huffs.

.......

"The fuck are you doing?" Jonny raised his brow at his four kids outside Aurora currently burying Billy in the sand.

"It's pretty self-explanatory." Mae rolls her eyes.

Jonny sighed and pinched his brow. "Why?"

"We're bored." Thomas shrugs. "Also, gramps hasn't moved." He was clearly missing one of his horns.

"Thomas got mad at losing, and I took his horn." Janet hums. "You really suck at any sort of game."

"Fuck you." Thomas huffs.

"Mae started it." Alex shrugs. "Grams came by, but she sucks at games like Thomas does, so she left."

"Again, it would be Thomas sucks at games like grams does. Respect the age difference." Mae sighs.

"Stop." Jonny rubs his temples. "Dad why the fuck are you letting them bury you?"

Billy shrugs. "Val won't let me back in my machine."

"Can you give a different reason that one is getting stale." Janet scoffs.

"You're just mad you can't take his horns because he's made of nanobots." Mae sticks out her tongue.

"I am going to get a better collection than Tommy ever had." Janet rolls her eyes.

Thomas blinks. "It's not really a collection. It's literally mine and Mae's horns I made into actual instrument horns."

"Fuck you." Janet scoffs.

"They've been at this for hours." Billy mumbles.

"Of course they have." Jonny crossed his arms. "Have any if you done something productive or just bothering your grandfather?"

"I say this is productive. It's family bonding, dad." Alex snickers.

"You can join us." Mae smiles softly.

Janet pauses. "Why does he have a limp?"

"Seriously?" Thomas sighs. "Obviously, it happened before what gram did."

"Then dad would know! It ain't like gramps will say shit." Janet huffs throwing sand at Thomas.

Jonny looked at his father, who again just shrugged. "Brats, I gave him the limp. Seriously it's not that fucking important. Now dig him out."

A collection of groans as Billy is pulled out of the sand and pushed in front of Jonny.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm the worst now. Thomas, give me your chess board." Jonny grabs it from his eldest, sets up a pile of sand, and sits setting up the board. He puts his goggles on and motions to his father. "A game, and you brats can watch it you behave."

Billy raised a brow and cautiously sat down on the other side. "What's with the goggles?"

"My eyes are shit." Jonny sighs. "Barely can see without them."

Billy gives a soft, huh? "That's explains a bit. Ain't you going to shoot me again?"

"What's the point? It ain't like it will stay." Jonny makes the first move. "I understand why you did what you did. I don't agree, but I understand."

"I was a drunk." Billy moves the next piece. "I beat the shit out of you for being a kid."

"You were a drunk out of necessity. Ma doesn't know the truth." Jonny hums softly. "And I expect you to keep your mouth shut. Ignoring the culture of the time and how society was set up. It could have been worse. Gambling and drinking were your escapes, I know for a fact you only did what you did to Ma out of obligation."

The four watches held their breath.

Billy sighs. "If it wasn't me, it would have been another just how the world worked." He raised his brow. "You already knew that."

"Ma told me." Jonny hums softly, taking his father's piece. "I don't know everything, and I don't want to. All I know is that Ma wants me to give you another chance. Even without her encouragement, I wanted to have a talk with you."

Billy tisks. "I ain't worth that. I blew my chance." He moves another piece. "You shouldn't trouble yourself."

Jonny knocks over his king and leans back as his father resets the board. "I've had a lot of time to think. I've seen empires rise and fall. Love comes and goes, and monsters become heroes. I don't consider myself good in any capacity. I don't even know why my brats like me." He looks over to his kids then back to his father. "There really isn't anything left for me to do. I can't die. I don't age. It's only a matter of time till I'm alone again." He stares at the reset board. "After everything, you forgave me, and I never deserved that."

"You were a child." Billy moves his own piece going first. "I knew one day you'll kill me just as I killed my own father."

The kids' eyes widen as they stare at their father.

Jonny's neutral expression doesn't even flicker of a change. "So you wanted me to kill you."

"In a sense. It would have been a fitting end." Billy raised his brow at his son's move. "You don't see it that way."

"I don't." Jonny hums softly. "It's a fucking stupid ending to hope for. We've seen countless stories that played out in a continuous cycle. You picked a coward way out." He lets out a breath. "You were a drunk barely aware of anything around you. You took to the bottle to escape. You would have ended up dead on your own without me."

Billy's eyes widen as Jonny takes his king in only a few moves.

"It wasn't even a kill, I left you alive." Jonny sighs. "You weren't the man I heard about. Hell, even Ma told me stories about the rumors about you. Not that she believed them. I know there was truth in them." He finally shows emotion with a frown. "You were run out of every town till you ran to the shithole that was Jack's territory. I wouldn't call you two friends, but he knew your history. He offered you sanctuary in exchange to get rid of the growing resistance at the caves."

Thomas covers Mae's mouth before she can interrupt.

"It wasn't personal." Billy sighs, setting the board back up. "Val was the leader. Jack had me make an example."

"It went sideways." Jonny narrows his gaze.

Billy nods. "I was the fall guy. My reputation Jack used that. I ain't a saint boy." He sighs. "I was the town drunk in that shithole. Gambling and drinking are what I was known for now. Whatever I was before ain't anything."

Jonny holds the king in his hand. "That ain't true for shit." He tossed the king at his father, who catches it without blinking.

Billy stares at the worn wooden piece. "What makes you think that?"

Jonny crossed his arms.

Billy chuckles. "You really are my kid."

"Suppose I am." Jonny gets up. "Brats fucking behave." He turns and heads back to Aurora and stops right by her entrance. "I'll see ya later."

Four pairs of eyes stare at Billy.

Billy narrows his gaze. "That fucker."

"What was your relationship to Jack?" Thomas shoots off first.

"Did Grams really take Jack's eye?" Mae goes next.

"Just what were you known for?" Alex jitters excitedly.

"Did you have siblings?" Janet huffs as eyes stare at her. "It's legitimate questions! Gram has siblings."

"They ain't blood related." Billy flinched as eyes refocused on him.

"What!" The four shout.

"Vindication motherfuckers." Janet smirks. "So, do we have any great aunts or uncles?"

"They're dead." Billy blinks he wasn't exactly prepared to lie about these questions. He supposed his kid did find this a fitting punishment, and it wasn't painful, just confusing. "Jack and I er..."

"Jack was a worse man than Billy ever was." Audrey interrupts she was clearly in her android body. "We are still family."

Billy looked away. "Didn't say you weren't."

Audrey had a look of pity on her features and sighs. "Billy, where is Val?"

Billy's eyes glowed for a moment as he tensed. "My system is 20 clicks north."

"I ain't here to get you riled." Audrey sighs. "Is it true she is on a date?"

"You mean with Izzy?" Mae shrugs. "She did stop by lost at cards and went off. They did have fun in the sand, but I ain't saying they on a date."

"It would be nice, though." Alex hums.

"Fair enough." Mae nods.

"Wait, what do you mean by Jack was worse than gramps?" Janet raised a brow.

"Gramps is literally right there." Thomas points at Billy, who looks slightly uncomfortable being known.

"Well, yeah, but he talks like dad, and none of us can tell truth from fiction if he doesn't want us to know." Janet sighs.

Audrey gives a look to Billy, who shrugs.

"It don't matter if they know." Billy gets up on his feet. "It ain't like he's around."

Audrey grimaced. "You could say they were in a relationship. Not a good one, but it was something."

Billy scowls. "Don't coat it in honey and feed them shit." He sighs. "I was his toy as per requirement of my sanctuary. Part of that is why my boy exists. I was told to make an example of the leader of the resistance."

Audrey looked sick. "Right well." She pats Billy's back. "To be fair, I've never seen anyone drink shine that fast."

"I ain't need your pity." Billy huffs. "It's what happened.... why are you looking at me like that?" He looks at Alex.

Thomas made a o with his mouth as it clicked. The rest had looks of understanding.

"Well, dad did say we were allowed." Alex gives a look to their siblings.

"I suppose it wouldn't be much of a shame." Thomas nods.

"Wouldn't be that difficult." Mae smirks.

"I'm sure Trevor wouldn't mind being in the dark a bit longer." Janet narrows her gaze.

Audrey thins her lips. "Now kids, your grandfather wasn't a good man, but that doesn't mean he hasn't changed..... I...." She watches as the four grab and left Billy up. "Kids?"

Billy blinks clearly, incredibly confused. "Are you going to pull me apart?"

The four laugh and run off carrying their grandfather's. Audrey chases after them.

.......

Lyf looked healthier, and his twins stood at either side of him. He grimaced seeing the state Trevor was in as he left the reinforced room.

Trevor was in shredded bloody clothes. His eyes were sunken in from starvation. He had many new scars and discolored skin. He staggered out of the room with a heavy sigh. "He's asleep. I honestly can not tell you if his mind will be intact the next time he wakes. He's still suffering from the effects of starvation on that scale, but the virus to his DNA did work. His body had adapted to it entirely."

"What does that mean?"

"Can we see him?"

"Make sure you have food in case. He's a bit like a wild creature." Trevor sighs. "He needs more time to recover."

Lyf pushed forward. "Go rest. I'll take over the watch on him. Thank you."

"Where my dad?" Trevor swallows.

"Jonny is making lunch."

"Jonny is making a lot."

Trevor nods. "Thank you." He pauses. "Let him rest. There is no telling what is going to happen when he wakes up."

Lyf watches Trevor leave and heads into the room.

Marius is laid out naked. He is pale, and there seems to be new spines along his wings. He was still incredibly skinny, but he did have color in his face again. He was breathing that odd pattern that was normal to him and his species. His lower half up to his hips were covered in a thick fur that he knew to be soft. The bald spots in his fur on his legs and wings seemed to have healed, which was a relief. He looked peaceful asleep.

"Girls, leave me with your dad for now. Let me be the first he sees when he wakes again, and if he isn't himself, then let me take that damage." Lyf gives a sad smile. "I would never forgive myself if I let him hurt you, and he would never forgive himself even if it was an accident. I hurt you both already, and I don't want to do that again."

"Papa, we're already healed."

"We can handle anything."

Lyf gives them both a tight hug. "My beautiful little girls. That isn't the point." He lets go. "Let me do this."

"Papa that isn't fair."

"We can handle this."

"We aren't little kids anymore!"

"You can't just lock us out."

The twins can't argue anymore as a flash of rainbow static and the door was shut cutting them off from their parents again.

[taggedmemes]

SENTENCE MEME ⟶ SAINTS BLOOD by SEBASTIEN DE CASTELL / ch1 - ch10 always feel free to tweak the sentence to fit your muse.

'just remember that /you/ are the idiot who agreed to fight a duel.'

'i haven't done anything wrong! how did i end up in such dire circumstances when i don't even know how to hold a sword properly?'

'not really your best day, is it?'

'the gods give every man a weakness.'

'you realise you're losing quite badly?'

'he's getting old. and slow. also, i think he might be getting fat.'

'i'm an idiot and my friends are trying to kill me.'

'so it's true, what i've heard about you.'

'if what you've heard is that i'm going to knock you on your arse so hard you won't be able to sit on a horse for a year, then yes, it's all true.'

'i've been having quite a lot of sex lately so i'm usually too tired to remember my dreams.'

'i swear, i used to be good at this.'

'you forgot the first rule of the sword, you son of a bitch.'

'are you sure you won this duel?'

'i'm going to end up amputating one of your limbs if you keep this up.'

'that man really needs to work on his vocabulary.'

'you can't properly storm off just repeating the same word over and over.'

'try not to give him an incurable infectious disease.'

'you'll open your wounds again, if you keep tensing your shoulders like that.'

'i'm not sure your foolish heart would survive it.'

'don't you have lessons in maritime geography or some such thing?'

'it's possible i wasn't paying attention during that part.'

'do you really think i'm so stupid that i can't see how this works?'

'of course it was a bloody threat.'

'if you weren't half dead already, i think i would kill you here and now.'

'shush, darling. the women are speaking now.'

'i can be more than one thing.'

'because it's not your damned place to know.'

'now who's going in for reckless symbolic gestures?'

'ha. hardly hurts at all.'

'i really do make too many enemies.'

'have you considered that my presence here might be due to some profound spiritual and supernatural event?'

'you're what makes me believe there's still good in this wretched world.'

'these are false memories you're making for yourself.'

'i'm going to fucking kill you this time you heartless son of a bitch!'

'what makes you think i need a sword to teach you sense?'

'stop it, you fool, you'll break my hand!'

'if you break his hand now then how am i going to enjoy the full satisfaction of tearing his fingers off later on?'

'i don't talk anything like that.'

'the gods have seen better days.'

'you were unconscious, and everybody else was useless.'

'some days i love you.'

'you look much as you always do: beaten, bloody, and confused by the world.'

'why does he always sound so much cleverer than i do?'

'remarkable the things people leave lying around during a crisis.'

'this looks like something a sadist would devise.'

'if you could see your face right now you wouldn't ask.'

'i think this place has been... /disturbed/ somehow.'

'the word you're looking for is 'desecrated'.'

'i suppose it's not hard to imagine why people get angry at the gods.'

'i said that i admired you. i never said i /liked/ you.'

[chempack]

ok everypony it is now 11pm and i am less sleepy so i will chatter about my oc idea. also @mnikhowozu hi :)

so my working name for him rn is adam white (bonus points if u can figure out the origin of these names. hint: consider some of my other characters names) but i will likely change at least the given name. i’m considering lucas but not sure, i just generally want something Classic European bc i feel like that’s what two mfs named James and Catherine would name their kid (bonus points if it’s biblical). as i’ve said i’m making the character so i can do tale of two wastelands (hopefully. if i can figure out the mod. haven’t tried yet and dk how it works so it might be complicated…) so obviously he starts as the lone wanderer

to contrast charlie (who has always dealt with barely contained rage and loathes his dad, blaming james for all the shit he had to go thru in the wasteland), adam is more forgiving to him. not that he doesn’t also have conflicting and negative feelings abt james, he does, but he also sees him as ultimately a Good Man doing things for the Bettering of Humanity. adam never had much ambition in the vault and was just kinda drifting along as he grew up, was probably gonna be a maintenance worker or something “basic”. he didn’t learn medicine from james because james never bothered to teach him and he never thought to ask to learn. BUT! later in the wasteland — most pointedly after james dies — he takes it on himself to become something of a doctor because he wants to Continue his parents’ Legacy. etc etc

i also have it in mind for him to wear a mask while traveling (think along the lines of the blastmaster helmet. except i’m actually thinking of something from the pitt i just don’t remember the name.) so just imagine this nervous 20 year old in full armor with an assault rifle comes running up to you after you were brutally beaten by a raider or something, one year post-project purity, and he’s like TRUST ME LET ME HELP IM A DOCTOR meanwhile he looks like an overblown raider boss

at his core he is a Coward and, again, not ambitious. chronically indecisive. he Wants to help but he does Not want to risk himself (though of course he does since it’s. kind of the nature of the games if ur playing a mostly-good character). this then leads him to just going along with mr. house when he gets to vegas, because he doesn’t want to rock the boat and, honestly, probably won’t even think to kill house. he has his own opinions, for sure, and he’s not a saint — the choices he does make still are bad at times. but generally, he takes the road of “what is the most helpful at large but also the easiest for Me”

also, i think the followers of apocalypse have a university in california or smth? isn’t that mentioned once or twice in fnv? not sure need to research. and also i’m aware it generally doesn’t really Match for the courier to be the lw but obviously i’m ignoring that for the sake of the mod. but, depending on whatever is going on there, the followers’ university is what i’m currently thinking of for why he went west, and he… idk, gets roped into courier work for money or for a relatively easy way to Help or something, and ends up caught up in new vegas politics

if anyone read this whole thing i love you forever and ever i’m hugging you in my mind palace rn. and if you know anything about this supposed university that i might have just made up in my head then please let me know. okay thank you love you byeee

[disgruntledkittenface]

snippet

thank you @louisandtheaquarian and @nouies for tagging me to share a snippet! I finished a draft of the first chapter of the fic I’m working on and I think it’s rough but I reallllllly like the story

“So you all live here in Southampton?” Harry asks, looking around as Zayn and Liam nod.

“Not me,” Louis says, trying to subtly inch away from Zayn, who still has his arm around his shoulders. “My dad has a place here, but I live at my mom’s house in Sag Harbor.”

Harry rests his hand on Louis’ knee, as if to comfort him. No one he’s ever had a crush on has been able to read him so well, so quickly. He angles his body toward Harry, finally disentangling from Zayn, who’s distracted by something over by the game of cornhole.

“It’s really nice,” he says, keeping his voice down so only Harry can hear. “Our house is on the water, and the downtown area is really nice. It feels like a small town. Well, that’s kind of true everywhere in the Hamptons…”

“Yeah, there’s lots of…” Harry gestures vaguely with his free hand. “Like small businesses and American flags and people saying hello on the street.”

“See,” Louis says, tilting his head. “You already get the vibe, you know the area.”

“So why’d your mum pick Sag Harbor? Because it’s a good place to raise a family?”

“Yes and no,” Louis admits, smoothing his hair off his forehead. “It is good for families, but since the divorce, she does whatever she can to avoid my dad. She doesn’t even come out to the house in the summer, she always goes to Europe. I think she’s in Saint-Tropez right now.”

“Oh, I love it down there,” Harry says, grinning. “We try to go every year. There’s this great little Moroccan restaurant that’s a little off the beaten path, Salama. You should tell your mum to go there.”

“Oh,” Louis says, his back stiffening as he realizes that the restaurant Harry is talking about is closed. He doesn’t want to say anything in front of his friends, so he just nods. “Yeah, yeah, I will.”

“Uh, didn’t that place shut down, like, five years ago?” Luke laughs derisively from the log across the fire. “Thought you said you go every year, dude, how did you not know that?”

“Oh, shit, that’s right,” Harry says, rubbing his fingers over his mouth as he appears to remember. “Now that you say that, it’s been longer than I thought since I’ve eaten there.”

“I don’t even know if she’s still there anyway,” Louis says to Harry. He’ll have to murder Luke later. For now, all he wants is to talk to Harry outside of a tennis lesson. “She could be eating Moroccan food in Morocco for all I know. She only checks in, like, every other month.”

“One time, my parents went to Croatia for a month,” Harry says, a laugh bubbling in his voice, “and no one told me. I thought I just kept missing them at breakfast.”

“Oh my God,” Louis laughs. “Really?”

“It’s the God’s honest truth,” Harry insists, holding up a hand as if to swear it.

They huddle together by the fire, and Louis tells Harry more stories about the lengths his mom goes to in order to avoid his dad, and how she ends up avoiding him in the process. The party continues around them, and after a while Harry finally gets up to get a drink. He cracks open a can of beer on his way back from the coolers, bumping into Luke and spilling about half of it on him. Louis hides his laugh behind his hand as Luke’s date dries him off with a beach towel. He almost never gets to see Luke get any karma. There’s a twinkle in Harry’s eye when he sits back down next to Louis, and Louis starts to suspect that Harry spilled the beer on purpose, but then Luke starts cheering at his phone, distracting him.

I’ll tag @crinkle-eyed-boo @allwaswell16 @louandhazaf @kingsofeverything @haztobegood @beelou @wabadabadaba @neondiamond

[skylarstark4826]

Set just when Mick and Leonard leave ford the Legends.

Lisa rushed into Jitters and waited around lazily at the counter. She really needed to get away from her idiot brother and his even more stupid partner. She could't believe that she came back to the warehouse after driving around the state and what did she find? Nothing and no one.

Leonard left a note telling her not to do any big heists without them. And then said they were trying to go on a time traveling mission without her.

She honestly thought they would include her in more stuff since she joined them. But no, Leonard thought this one was "too dangerous" for her.

"Who the hell does he think he is" Lisa thought angrily.

She wasn't some little kid anymore, frankly she had never really been a kid. She had learned to handle herself since she was 7 years old. How to avoid questions from "helpful" adults and teachers, how to punch someone, how to make dinner for herself when Lewis was too drunk or didn't bother to come home that night.

Do it yourself or starve by yourself. That's what she learned.

She had been so excited to join her brother and Mick in all their heists together, the thrill of going on the run, the money she would get, the absolute pride when she took a diamond encrusted watch that would feed her for years off the wrist of another smarmy yuppy guy that she met at a club.

Oh yes, life in the bad lane was good.

And then the two left, telling her to not do anything "dangerous." Right. She would show them, maybe she was going to go steal from the bank again, no she was going to crash the White House. That would show them.

She knew she secretly disappointed her brother when she asked to join him instead of going to collage and getting a degree. He always said that he wanted her to do better but learning had never been Lisa's style.

Besides wherever Len went, she tended to follow. A habit that remained from her younger years when she would follow Lenny around to avoid Lewis.

She glanced around the door. So cheery and slightly boring with it's clear-cut walls that reminded her of a duller colored version of Starbucks.

Normally she would have headed over to Saints & Sinners or another store for a pack of alcoholic drinks but she decided she wasn't going to add drunken stupidity to her mess of feelings right now. She needed to think and stew about what Leonard and Mick did to her. Then plan how she was going to roast them for leaving her when they came back.

She was still glowering about it when a long-haired latino boy entered the cofee shop.

"Cisco Ramon" Lisa smirked. She remembered him fondly. He had been rather cute when she was lying to him before his kidnapping, and he held a certain charm that Lisa couldn't hep smile at.

"Cisco Ramon" Lisa smirked. She remembered him fondly. He had been rather cute when she was lying to him before his kidnapping, and he held a certain charm that Lisa couldn't hep smile at.

Then there was the whole thing with her father. She really appreciated what he did for her. Saving her life, and Lenny's life and everything. The kiss was especially good. She never thought that such a dork like him could be a strong kisser. He beaten her tongue quickly and that just made her want to pull him closer. Make the kiss never end.

"Hell-O, Cisco" Lisa purred, sidling up to him in line.

"Oh Lisa, I didn't know, I mean I didn't think you would still be, you're back um...um hi" Cisco squeaked

"Thought I was still out of town. Well I'm back" she smiled, deciding to screw him "I came for you, Ramon"

"Really?" he blushed, looking so pleased that Lisa almost hated to burst his bubble. Almost.

"Well mainly for some more cons but you were a stop I was planning to make too" Lisa said, as the barista called up her order.

"More heists? But I though that Captain Cold and Heatwave.." he trailed off when he saw her glare "You're all alone here?"

"Not all alone. Just temporarily in charge of stealing everything from Central while they go do whatever they're doing." Lisa said, taking a sip of decaf

"Go time traveling with Rip" Cisco offered

"Yeah, that." Lisa rolled her eyes

"I get it. My girlfriend, well my ex-girlfriend Kendra also left to join them." Lisa raised an eyebrow.

"Girlfriend? Why Cisco? Have you've been holding out on me" Lisa grinned, imaging what goods he must be hiding under the covers.

Cisco blushed furiously, "We're in public, Lisa"

"I see...Can't you at least give me an estimate" she chewed her lip, stifling a snort at his horrified expression of embarrassment

"No!" Cisco said a little too loudly, drawing harsh looks from two of the tables near them.

"Guess I'll find out myself." Lisa finished, earning another embarrassed glance from Cisco as he looked to see if anyone was actually listening to their scandalous conversation.

Deciding to let him off the hook, she moved to another topic "So what's so special about this ex?"

"Oh well she is really sweet, and into nature, and she just moved here and she has the best sense of humor. She actually quotes Star Wars movies!" Cisco started to ramble on.

Lisa put a finger to his lips, silencing him "I meant why was she chosen to go on the mission" she said. She felt a little twinge of jealousy when he started listing all the things he liked about his ex. She coils be sweet if she was in the mood too, and she knew Star Wars quotes. She didn't know them voluntarily, but what girl would like Star Wars voluntarily? This ex probably just googled the quotes to impress him.

"Oh can't really say. Flash stuff" Cisco answered

"So you have to really be close with the Flash to get on" Lisa mumbled. She guessed her brother fit the bill, he knew his identity and everything. Still it was unfair, she wanted to tangle with the big guns for once.

"You must wish you could join him" Cisco nodded, as he paid the cashier for his cup. He said it matter-of-factly and not at all with pity or attempt to comfort her.

"Just to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. Maybe steal something worthwhile." Lisa replied.

She wished it hadn't happened so soon. she still wanted to talk to him about killing their father, and it had only been a few months since she started helping him with thefts. She really did want to spend time with him. Make up for those years he took care of her by being a useful partner that he could respect.

"You know if you ever..want to..like if you have nothing else to do..um you can stop by the Labs. I always need a movie buddy" Cisco suggested. His eyes looked at her sincerely, and she could tell that he meant it as an honest invitation. Not just to get into her pants like so many other guys.

"I would like that, I'll think about it" Lisa said

They sipped their coffee in companionable silence as they leaned on the counter.

Suddenly Cisco's pone ranged loudly with some techno beat and he almost dropped his cup. He scrambled to open the phone.

"Yeah uh huh no way! Got it, on my own" Cisco nodded intently from his side of their phone conversation looking serious and slightly worried.

He turned it off and chugged the rest of his drink.

"Well duty calls" he nodded to her as he started to walk out the door. Lisa decided to make her decision now while he was still in the shop, less of a chance for her to start stewing about the stupid time traveling thing again.

"Hey Cisco" she shouted as he was about to close the door behind him, "I'll see you Saturday" she waved her cup of coffee and saw a genuine smile replace his worried frown.

"Great meet you at the Lab" he called and raced off

Lisa sipped her drink again, noticing that it tasted sweeter. Satisfied, she dumped it in the trash and walked out.

There was no time to give too much thought to her brother and Mick. Maybe an hour or two of planning revenge. But then she would have to get a head start on finding an outfit for her date. She desperately needed to steal some new jewelry.

She was so glad that she chose to get coffee today.

[theboysfromaustin]

The one where Gav's an urban legend

---

February 12, 2013

Kazuo spun in his chair, laptop precariously balanced on his lap.  Ian glanced over, "If you drop that again, I'm going to get you one of those cases like they put on toddler tablets." "I'm careful.  My balance is impeccable." "You fell down the stairs yesterday," Gav didn't even look up from his computer.  "Those stairs are a death trap."

Ian looked at the clock, "Another half hour and we can get lunch." "Sounds good." Kazuo spun in his chair again, before kicking his feet up on his desk.  He was busy scrolling through Reddit, flitting from one subreddit to the next.  Somehow, he wound up on r/Detroit, and immediately took notice of one thread -

What's the weirdest thing you've seen at night?

Kazuo looked at Gav, remembering every weird street story he'd been told.  He started scrolling, the usual nonsense popping up - haunted places, I saw Bigfoot at Burger King, the norm.  And then….

-

Okay, so when I was a teen, me and my shithead friends would go joyriding in abandoned neighborhoods, blasting music and being assholes, throwing beer bottles and smoking pot.  It was a Friday or Saturday, maybe 1 AM.  We liked to turn off our headlights to make it creepy, and I know, stupid but we were teens.  I don't remember what street it was, but the houses were all burned out, when something ran in front of our car.  My girlfriend screamed, and I turned the lights on.  There was this ginger kid, beaten up and filthy, flinching away.  He looked scared and half crazy, and then I swear to God, he took off running, climbed the side of a house like Spider-man and disappeared.  We still don't know what the fuck he was.

-

Oh thank god I'm not the only one who saw that guy.  He was fast and nimble.  Like a spider.  Never said a thing.  Saw him in a ton of places, usually after dark while joyriding.  Had a wide range and often had a pack of dogs that were NOT friendly.  There was a big Saint Bernard type that tore the bumper off my buddy's car.  It was held on with duct tape, but it's the principle.  Fuckin' Cujo.

-

I see you met the Detroit Dogman.  Tiny ginger dude.  I saw him with a pack of dogs around the old Packard plant.  He stood there and his dogs chased my friends and I out.  He was afraid of us.  I wonder what his story is, but I haven't seen him in years now, hope he got off the street.

-

Little man, long red hair?  I saw that dude stealing beef jerky and roller grill crap from a 7-Eleven.  I didn't say a word, he looked malnourished.  He left and a pack of dogs materialized out of the alley.  Weird.

-

I saw him from a distance, carrying a shovel and a bloody bundle.  I followed a bit behind, just in case he was a serial killer, and he buried it in an empty lot.  I checked it out after he left and found a huge pet cemetery,  markers with names and breeds.  It spanned a few blocks.  I don't think he's a bad guy, just prefers the company of dogs. Maybe he's a runaway, he looked young.

-

I saw him hauling a big bag of dog food. He was having trouble, but he started running when he saw me following him.  His feet and legs were all cut up.  He was FAST though.

-

man i saw this lil fucker swimming with a lot of dogs in the detroit river in fuckin november and he had a fish in his mouth like a big ol wiggly fish what the fuckkkkk

-

I saw him multiple times.  He was kind of cute in a filthy, matted way.  I wanted to ask about his dogs.  He made the city interesting.  I got close once, and he smelled like dirty Vienna sausages.  He noticed and flinched real hard, like he expected me to attack him.  Hope he's doing better now, miss seeing him around.

-

My friends and I were drinking in an abandoned K Mart at night when we heard a weird noise.  This weird little dude was on the roof, howling at the moon.  I threw a Molson bottle and he jumped off the roof and took off running.  What the hell.

-

Kazuo started giggling like a complete idiot.  These were all about Gav.  Gav, who was quietly typing at his computer and listening to music.  There were more stories.  One reply was just a low resolution photo of Gav and his pack squaring off with raccoons in a Big Boy parking lot.  Ian turned slightly, "What are you chuckling about, you degenerate?"  Kazuo wheeled himself over, handing off his laptop, "Here.  Behold."

Ian started reading, "Oh.  Oh my.  Um, Gav?" The redhead looked up, "Yeah?" "We have some things you need to read."  Gav rolled over, squeezing in to look at the screen, "What's so…oh.  This is…about….me?" "You're an urban legend." "Huh.  I mean, I know I probably scared a lot of people at night…and urban explorers…but…wow."

"You are a celebrity," Ian shrugged, "Are there more?" "It's a big thread, so maybe." "This is weird." "You okay?" "Well, the attention from strangers is a bit off putting, but that might be the autism." "The raccoon photo is impressive," Ian studied it.  "Yeah, we had to fight for the dumpsters.  You're not grossed out by me having eaten from dumpsters, are you?"

"We figured you had to do what you needed to survive." "And I've seen Ian drop a gyro in the actual road on Sixth, pick it up, dust it off, and eat it." Gav relaxed, "It was gross, but it helped me feed the group.  I could open dumpsters, and they couldn't." "So, are you going to post?  You can use my account."  Gav thought for a moment, "I think…maybe I should.  I know it'll kill a lot of the mystique, but there are people that want to know if I'm okay." "Hang on," Ian took a photo of Gav in front of the computer, "Sending this to your email, Kaz." 

Kazuo downloaded it, "Add that to your post."  Gav nodded, starting to type.

So, one of my boyfriends found this thread.  (This is his account) I am the Detroit Dogman, and I am safe in Texas after leaving Detroit in 2007.  I had a really bad home life - I'm gay, and was the unwanted twin, and left at 16 in 2005, though I'd been wandering with my pack since late 2002, when I'd found them while wandering during a night I'd run away from home.  We did live in the old Packard plant, though I'd take a few days to get food or try to replace clothes and blankets.  I stole a lot, and I'm not proud of it, but I'd also panhandle, scared as I was of people, to get dog food.

We did fish the Detroit river, and it was the only fresh meat I had while on the street.  I wouldn't call fast food dumpster diving 'fresh'.  Life was rough, but at least I could provide entertaining stories and some scares.

As I said, I'm safe in Texas.  Austin.  I have two wonderful boyfriends who pulled me off the street, and gave me a home and a job - I'm a paralegal now, my one partner is a lawyer, and I'm happy and healthy now.  I'm attaching a photo of me in front of this thread.  I look forward to more stories.  I had to leave my dogs behind because there was no safe way for us to all travel together.  I miss them, and I hope they're okay.  My name is Gav, by the way, to put a name to the dirty, bedraggled face.

Signed, the Detroit Dogman

Gav sat back for a moment, before hitting 'post'.  "You alright?" Ian cocked his head.  "Yeah," Gav said, "It's like I have closure. But I still get to be an urban legend.  I'm okay with that." Kazuo draped himself around Gav's shoulders, "You ready for lunch, Dogman?" "Yeah.  I think we need chili." "Good choice," Ian stood, stretching, "You've earned it."  Gav replaced Kazuo's laptop, "Hard to believe I'm a celebrity." "We'll have to look for more stories," Kazuo grinned.  "I want to compile them," Gav pulled on his coat, "Maybe write some sort of memoir -

The Dogman Chronicles."

[coffeewithcutcaffeine]

— in which the Dragon’s Son becomes the voivode for the second time.

word count: 859 words

warnings: heavy on contemplations and musings; Vlad is getting a little vindictive here (and rightfully so); a lot of feelings

a/n: Woohoo, after what feels like an eternity (and many anxious writing sessions later), part two is finally done! I am trying to hurry up with the final part, so fingers crossed that middle-aged Vlad turns out fine!

➨ also available on AO3

The ravenous pair of emerald orbs is drinking in the familiar surroundings of the Biserica Domnească with the fervour of one who has lost everything and is now reclaiming it all once more. Briefly he averts his gaze from the metropolitan standing above him, raising his head for a fleeting moment to behold the saints painted on the ceiling. They remain unchanged, precisely as he remembers them — with serene faces and arms outstretched, ever open and willing to beckon and welcome the faithful. It seems like a divine sign, a whisper of destiny fulfilled, just like the falling star that graced the night sky above his head two months ago, an undulating flame in the distant horizon.

He shifts uncomfortably, though his face remains a mask of impassivity that nothing can betray — not even the pain that courses through his aching limbs, nor the strain of his efforts to remain motionless on his knees. Each movement sends fresh surges of agony rippling through his battered body. New cuts and bruises that he sustained during the final tumultuous battle for the throne are now etched indelibly on his skin as a constant reminder of the price he had to pay to claim his rightful place.

It is a fascinating sight to behold, how richly adorned clothes transform a mere mortal into an unapproachable figure, a creature of great majesty and splendour. But underneath the opulent fabrics of crimson and gold hides a beaten and bruised body, its skin a boundless sea of violent purple marks and scars, each telling a story of its own. Some are faded and old, while others remain dark pink, healing wounds recently left behind by freshly sharpened blades.

Each wound has wrought his shape, and each scar will now build his throne.

The journey leading up to this moment was fraught with thorns, and he allows himself the indulgence of revelling shamelessly in the glory of this occasion. For once in a very long time, his mind stills like the summer waters of the lake outside Suceava. He shall serve with all the ardour befitting a sovereign — today, however, victory lies prostrate at his feet.

The eight years spent in exile have transformed him like a sword tempered in flames, imbuing him with newfound wisdom, a depth of understanding that only comes with time and experience. He passed through the gates of Târgovişte with a clear understanding of what needed to be done, his path laid bare before him. Those who have long suffered under oppression, he shall see rise from the embers. He himself shall lift them from the ruins of their once glorious country, then rebuild it anew.

Many of his enemies still lurk in the shadows, biding their time with the false, deceitful grins on their faces, ever waiting for him to fail and meet the fate of his father and elder brother. Should he but turn his head at the very moment, he would see all those cunning faces placidly smiling upon him. They are already weaving their schemes and machinations and plotting their next moves, convinced that the young voivode would sooner or later succumb and dance to their gruesome tune.

How gravely mistaken they are. Their time of glory is over, and they shall pay for the abhorrent crimes they have committed — for no one will flee the hand of justice, not if he can help it. The teachings of his faith speak about forgiving one’s enemies, but even voivodes are men first. The prospect of sweet retribution, of seeing those who caused his family to suffer writhe in agony, brings solace to his tormented soul. Although it provides only a fleeting surge of gratification, it is gratifying nonetheless.

The present moment echoes the past, when he first knelt upon this hallowed ground eight years prior. Yet, though the surroundings remain unaffected, the air is heavy with a sense of altered fortune. Nothing has changed around him, yet everything has, he most of all. Gone is the boy who knelt here eight years past. He is a grown man now, hardened by life’s trials, eager to claim what rightfully belongs to him. He cannot afford to falter once more.

A song sung twice already — the same melody but a different timbre. The first time it was sung, it resounded with hope and light, a song of bright horizons yet uncharted, then faded into a disgraceful failure. But the second time, it is sung with a sense of purpose and solemnity, imbued with the weight of ages past, a melody of unyielding purpose and unshakeable resolve. He shall see to it that the errors of the past are made right and atoned for. And those who spilt the blood of his kin will taste the bitter cup of their own retribution.

An eye for an eye. God speaks of that, too, and he shall leave them all blind, choke them with the very hand that feeds them. And once the bloody feuds are quelled, and vile old ways are destroyed, a new age will rise from the ashes — to build anew, with hope unbound.

[cto10121]

review for shadow and bone, season 2, the good, the bad, and the ugly. spoilers, of course

well. i really should have seen this coming. i guess i did, but my poor darklina heart clouded me to my better judgment. yes, they did it. the series committed the exact same errors as the book series. alina kills the darkling and (sort of but not really) kills mal and then brings him back with nina’s help. alina keeps her powers and mal becomes a privateer under the sturmhond name.

i will say, however, that the execution was much better than bardugo’s, and there were some thematic echoes and parallels that weren’t too shabby. it was entertaining (though the pacing was god-awful at parts). and as infuriating as them going the book route is, they did leave some things open. i’ll just hugo montenegro-it

the good:

a lot of the forced teen drama in the book series is mercifully gone. mal being jealous of nikolai, and just…book mal being book mal is completely gone. totally expected, but still good

alina not losing her powers. all par de course, since these writers are clearly not that stupid

kaz absolutely destroying pekka rollins. genuinely badass and well acted. freddy carter was nothing less than magnificent when he finally gets to show off. i wasn’t at all sure of his casting at first, but he did pull through here

wylan/jesper was good? yeah, it was, very hot together (height differences!). i was not particularly fond of jesper tsundere-ing wylan at first for no good reason and then suddenly hooking up with him again once he remembers their first hook-up, also for no good reason, but whatever. they’re both hot and am a simple girl alas

the series did a great job in establishing kaz’s aversion to touch and backstory, even if it did belabor the point at times. good that they took it seriously

as much as i hate what they did with the darkling, i am glad they deleted his more cartoonishly voldemort shit in the book. genya’s scarring is more justified (still doesn’t sit right, though) in this context

alina and mal not getting together. small comfort, i know. since they’ve beaten their grand love to dead over our heads, they’re almost definitely endgame. but considering the darkling comes back in the books and the bee at the end…idk, i feel even these anti writers will realize just how much indispensable he is. they’re probably going for a dark!alina arc, so alina and the darkling may probably finally be equals, just in a roundabout way

they also deleted some of the more egregious moments from the book, like the random slaughter of the volcra and alina taking over the little palace by force and installing herself as commander. well, for the latter they pretty much just…elided that entirely, didn’t they? meanwhile they had to create a whole new rationale for mal becoming commander (nah, he just wears the uniform, tolya and tamar are just in charge). bah, i’m just grateful the “good guys”’s fuckery was toned down

er, that’s it

the bad:

the pacing was atrocious, both too rushed and too slow at parts. some of the crows fans are already complaining about the most important moments taken from the duology and placed out of context, but honestly they still have the ice court and jurda parem, so there is still plenty of material and re-jiggering. the alina storyline, though, not good

the dropped storylines. what about the war with shu han? wouldn’t they think to attack just as ravka is at its most vulnerable? also, why would a shu saint ever give the sword that her husband stole for her to a ravka-born sun summoner? like, no

also re: dropped storylines: mal getting arrested by the first army and kidnapped, and then just…getting away without an explanation how? this season really was crammed full of way too much plot

the sankta neyra plotline did some good and bad things. good in that they draw up a thematic parallel to the rest of the action (immortal/mortal pairings, closed/open to love). bad in that it also served to demonize the darkling once more. the darkling’s problem isn’t that he isn’t open to love!!!! if anything bitch was too open!!!! and he is clearly still in love with alina at the end. being closed to love due to trauma is kaz’s issue to overcome. the show’s IQ points fluctuate so much, i can’t. and they tend to lose it the most when it comes to the darkling

they really leaned into tsundere!kaz, which dampened a lot of my enthusiasm for the inej/kaz romance. it came to feel very one-sided for different reasons. also, inej’s own skin trauma isn’t as well established as kaz’s, so all of it feels as if the trauma is kaz’s problem to overcome in order for them to get together. which really sucks re: the mutual pining in the books. and now there’s the new inej/toyia hint out of nowhere. the fangirls are pleased, but from a writing standpoint, why? for yet another love triangle?

nikolai. the character is likeable, but with little of that roguish charm that at least made him interesting. the actor they cast had more golden retriever jock vibes than anything else. having nikolai say that he couldn’t have gotten the crown without alina’s reputation as a saint was just laughable

they retconned baghra’s character so hard, didn’t they? i loved the actress, her delivery was so crisp and clear, but of course the writing doesn’t in the least acknowledge the darkling’s trauma at her hands at all

alina’s character took such a painful nosedive into girlboss. as much as i am constantly frustrated with book alina, she at least had empathetic moments (she felt for the slaughtered volcra). if nothing else, she was attracted to the darkling and mourned for him. not show alina, though. show alina is emotionally shallow, strong with none of the vulnerabilities, and at the end, just downright unpleasant

same complaint as last season, but the crows are just not as charismatic as in their book series. it’s just hard to take them seriously amid literal fantasy epic magic. the casting is very good, though, better than the alina side save ben barnes

speak of the devil: ben barnes was absolutely wasted. arguably the best actor playing a character with lots of potential, but the show just. did not let him round his character. the script did him absolutely no favors and cut a lot of his screen time. he got two good actor-y moments with him being devastated over baghra and not being able to control the nichhevo’ya but that’s basically it?

not the worst, but the tie-in of the crows to the main storyline via the shadow-cutting sword. for one very convenient sword, they journey to shu han. really? alina’s sun powers should have been enough, or at the very least she should have handled the sword and combined it with her light powers, but as the show simply refused to have a proper showdown between her and the darkling…ugh, it’s a mess

the ugly:

alina killing the darkling in cold blood when he wasn’t even attacking her. as in, right when he was imagining their very first kiss in season 1. fuck you, show. the minute the darkling died, the show died. end of story. it is shadow and bone, after all, and what do those refer to? that’s right. my darling darkling done dirty, indeed.

the show recontextualizing alina and the darkling’s magical zoom calls. alina sees him not because she loves him, lol, that’s ridiculous, but because she still has ptsd from his ~violation!!! and of course baghra somehow managed to cut their connection with yet another baghra-block. shut up, shut up, shut up

again, the darkling becoming worse. yes, he used merzost, but he already used it and the fold came about, and he was still fine. he uses it again and he gets…a really bad cough.

don’t think i didn’t notice all the pale faces on the darkling’s side versus the POC in alina’s and nikolai’s side, show. never mind that the grisha are the de-facto POC of this show and actual skin color never is a true problem and/or relevant. very cheap and manipulative of you, show

the darkling strangling alina. no. the darkling was objectively worse in the books and yet he didn’t lift a finger against alina in physical violence. after she had tried to kill him, his reaction was basically a shrug and a yeah, well, same. once again, fuck you, show. (and even then they still had the best chemistry with each other)

alina deciding to trick the darkling in the first place in order to sever the connection. doesn’t even make sense with the show’s canon, since alina’s ptsd would have had her trying to avoid the darkling at all costs. but alina has to girlboss, so in she goes!

“i knew there must have been a reason why i liked you.” there are now 300 darkling/mal fics based on this one line alone, and for that, once again, fuck you, show. also, the darkling also appearing to mal in a dream/magical zoom call was awful.

goodbye, grisha-are-the-persecuted-POC-of-this-world plot theme, we hardly knew ye. losing this aspect, the relentless and varied grisha hate in all the world except in novyi zem, made the whole story and the world’s politics utterly incoherent

again, joining the monarchy was not good optics. i don’t care how woke nikolai was (his change of heart after learning genya was raped was somehow less convincing in the show than in the book) would have preferred it had alina forged her own path and have nikolai deflect to her side. would have been consistent with the underdogs vs. powerful adults theme

to conclude, it’s all a wash. the problems of the original book series were obviously way too hard for these writers to solve, so they fixed all the surface issues instead re: the good guys being unlikeable/jerks in the books. but that only ended up flattening much of the drama and characters. show!alina turns so much against the darkling it’s actually creepy. like she has been possessed by the soul of an anti writer.

once again, the crows are the ones most respected and no doubt loved, but their storylines really don’t cross well and in this context…they’re just not as compelling. the crows’ world is a very different, more down-to-earth, morally gray world than the black-and-white fantasy tripe of shadow and bone. in the end, both stories and characters are diluted. i’m not sure how they are going to recover from killing off the darkling—given that they are going for a dark!alina route and the king of scars duology, then they will almost certainly resurrect him. on the other hand, i don’t want to wait years just to get ben barnes!darkling tagged on at the very end. what a mess.

[ashsound]

I Adopted a Villainous Dad

Original Novel by: yunsul (“Lips Upon a Sword's Edge” and “The Crown Prince's Fiancée”)

Adaption by: CYAM (“Sierra on Strike!”)

Art by: EON

“I Adopted a Villainous Dad” returns on December 19th with season 2.

Review: it’s adorable. Amelia (FL) is clever, well loved, and her adopted dad, Melkiades, is pudding in his daughter’s hands. Season 1 is cute and builds us up for season 2.

Did y’all know tumblr has a 4,096 character limit? Well, let me tell you, my og summary was more than double that limit (≧▽≦;) - and my upcoming summary for “Lysia Tries The Quiet Life” is currently 13,351 characters. On that note

Summary: FL goes to bed after breaking her phone screen, wakes up as a 6-year-old saint in her favorite tragic novel. Her favorite character is Melkiades, the Emperor of Rehel. While Melkiades hates the temple because they killed his father, didn't approve of him taking the throne, and refused to officiate his coronation, he still adopts FL. She doesn’t have a name (in the ogNovel it’s Priscilla); Melkiades spends 3 days and picks “Amelia", she adds "Priscilla" so the ogNovel saint will live on in her memory and history.

Allies: Melkiades, Emperor of Rehel; St. Sophia (ghost); Lucy/Luciana (blonde), maid; Kallian (red hair) Melkiades’s aide; Ludwig (blonde), Amelia’s paladin; Pope Raphel, Kais Silvatore (black hair), ogML; Melkiades’s knights.

Enemies: Duke Valentino Ravenhook (black hair), Melkiades’s brother; everyone in the holy land not listed above (this is a hyperbole, but seriously, the corruption is intense), especially a now-dead priest that tried to have Ludwig replaced; Clody, paladin Amelia revoked god’s blessing from after he beats up Kais, a literal child (ch38~41); hooded man with a gecko tattoo on his face; Ravenhook’s lackeys like former-Count, now Baron Douglas.

On the way to Rehel, they stop by St. Revalenon's Cathedral, which has been attacked by monsters for 3 months: 1. Those monsters were people and Amelia can understand a little of what they say/think, 2. Amelia speaks with St. Sophia then draws St. Sophia's Holy Moonlight Sword, 3. Melkiades falls into a trap that in the ogNovel caused him to lose an eye and all his men because it set off his “madness”, 4. Amelia and Ludwig, the paladin she brought with her because of his contributions in the ogNovel, save Melkiades, 5. They meet ogML Kais Silvatore (black/purple) and Sir Verichtm the ice knight, 6. They go to rescue Kais’s younger brother, Harhel, from a bandit hideout under Ravenhook’s control, 7. Harhel is suffering from monster poison, but St. Sophia helps Amelia remember the revival spell, which saves him and purifies the area, and heals the injured, 8. Melkiades tells Kalian (his aide) to inform Akilo that Rehel will be welcoming a new princess (9-18), 9. Amelia faints, suffering from Lassitude (using a level of holy power even adults struggle with), but eventually wakes. 

Amelia wishes Harhel (who now has white hair) would wake up, so he does . Harhel needs to be purified regularly, so Amelia tells Kais she'll do it and he'll help her (30). Amelia plans to have Kalian remove the slave seal on Kais. She asks Melkiades to give her the people she saved, so she can be responsible for them. (29-33). Amelia shows everyone in Rehel that she's one Melkiades over (34). People think Melkiades can love and are pushing for an empress, sending marriage proposals, sneaking women into his room, etc (35). After Count Douglas is made to write a 30k apology and knocked down to Baron, Duke Ravenhook's other allies agree to let Amelia be crowned a princess so they don't suffer like Douglas (36-37). Clody beats up Kais, Amelia revokes his blessing, and Cloudy gets beaten up by the other knights and called a disgrace. A hooded person with a gecko tattoo on their face offers to help him. Amelia learns Melkiades is looking for a relic (38-42). Amelia hears Clody is missing and that Kais still isn't fitting in (43). Melkiades learns 2 people are staying at Duke Ravenhook's (we know it’s Clody and gecko tattoo man). Melkiades agrees to bring in an Empress if Amelia agrees to it (44).