#so outside dealing with “”regular“” people shes “”human“”

[dragonballnewstar]

Yknow what? -unmoths your Ampa-

I wanted to show off her device. It's supposed to be a longer comic but life is making it certain I can't draw so posting these for now--

[hugsandchaos]

Seeing Double

Part One, Part Two, Part Three

Summary: A ghost who looks a lot like Phantom comes to him in search of protection, and their newest member instantly agrees. He calls her his little sister, and sooner or later, Phantom also might end up with a new brother.

*bangs pots and pans together* @vixen-uchiha, @starlightcat04, @blueliac, COME GET Y’ALL’S JUICE!!!

Phantom smiled to himself looking up at the night sky. The event he’d been waiting for finally started a few minutes ago, the top right “corner” of the moon was dark with the tiniest hint of red on the “edge”. He was pretty grateful for being allowed to go outside for the lunar eclipse. Especially since the other members of Young Justice got to tag along as well. He could hear Wally explaining the specifics of the event to Conner below, but ignored it.

Phantom was well above the trees so he could get a perfect view of the lunar eclipse, so it wasn��t very hard to ignore them. Especially since he was so happy about what he was going to see soon. And by soon, he meant an hour or so. Since they were so far out from the city the civilization in general, Phantom also had an amazing view of the stars. It seemed like every second he spent looking at them instead of the moon, a new one would pop into existence. Or he’d recognize another constellation.

He leaned back so he was floating with his back facing the ground and crossed one of his legs over the other. He folded his arms over his abdomen and smiled fondly, acting as if he was laying on solid ground instead of being in midair. Then a small blue fog of smoke came out of his mouth.

Phantom quickly swung himself upright and looked around. He really didn’t want to deal with any ghost fights right now, he just wanted some peace. As he scanned the area around him, he noticed something in the distance. It definitely wasn’t a star, and it was too small to be a pod. It might be the ghost he had sensed being nearby.“Phantom?” Robin called out. The ghostly hero glanced down below.”Everything alright?” He asked.

Phantom nodded and went back to looking at the ghost.”Yeah, just a second. I think I see something.” He yelled back. He squinted his eyes to try to see if he could recognize the ghost. It didn’t take long for him to figure out who it was, and when he did, a huge smile broke out across his face.

“Danielle!!!” Phantom called out.

He quickly rushed towards his younger clone. He didn’t notice his friends calling for him, but he noticed that Dani had definitely spotted him since she was also hurdling towards him. They reached each other somewhere midway and Phantom slowed down enough before they practically collided with each other. Dani didn’t really slow down as soon as him and knocked him back a little, but he wasn’t too fazed by the impact and wrapped his arms around her.

He hugged his sister considerably tighter than he usually hugs people, and spun around a bit as a small way to release some of the new, excited energy. Dani laughed a little as they spun, then he stopped.”How have you been?!” He asked excitedly.

“I’ve been great!!” She said. They both ended the hug with big grins on their face, very happy to see the other after months had passed. Phantom was about to ask her about her time apart from him, but she opened her mouth to speak.”I’ve seen so many cool things that I wanna tell you about, and guess what?!“ She asked. She held her mouth open and pointed at the upper part. That’s when Phantom noticed her canine teeth were a bit bigger than a regular human’s.”I’ve grown fangs, like yours!” She exclaimed. The older halfa gasped softly. He wasn’t quite sure what emotion had just swelled up in his chest a little, but he’s felt it before, and it was definitely positive.

Was it pride? Was he proud of her? He wasn’t sure if that was it or not, but the feeling remained.”That’s so cool, Dani! They’re fang-tastic.” He said.

Dani’s grin grew a little bit wider when he said that.”Why, fang you!” She said. Suddenly, her expression changed drastically from pure excitement to what looked like distrust. Her eyes looked at something behind him, and Phantom quickly turned around to see what or who it was that caused her reaction.

Megan was floating there.”Who’s your friend, Phantom?” She asked kindly. Phantom calmed down a little and smiled again. He glanced back at Dani again and noticed how she looked a little confused, but still defensive. He floated back to be next to Dani.

“Hey, Megan! This is my little sister. She has the same powers as me.” He said. Him talking with his friend so calmly and casually seemed to help Dani relax. Which was what he was hoping for.

Megan’s smile grew as she looked over at the other halfa.”Really?! You’ve never mentioned your relatives before!” She said. She held a hand out.”It’s really nice to meet you, Danielle. I’m Megann! Well, Megann is my Earth name.” She introduced herself. Dani glanced over at Phantom. He knew what it was she was asking and gave her an encouraging nod. With the affirmation that it was safe, Dani smiled and shook Megann’s hand.”Nice to meet you too.” She said with a small smile. For a moment, Phantom was happy that they hadn’t met her in some kind of fight or had a misunderstanding. Then he remembered something pretty important. Not wanting to make it awkward, though, he decided to try to play it cool.

He gave Megann a slightly apologetic look.”I’m sorry, but would you mind letting us chat for a bit? We have a lot to catch up on and talk about, and something tells me it’s going to get a little personal.” He asked politely. He tried to make it understandable and reasonable, and to him, that sounded like a good explanation. He’s been pretty private about his life before he joined Young Justice, anyways.

Megann nodded.”Oh, yeah, of course! I’ll let the others know what you’re doing if they ask.” She said. The older halfa agreed with that idea and nodded to show it. The martian turned around and flew back to the others, and once she was gone, Phantom glanced over at Dani.

She turned to him at the same time, also looking pretty serious. Seemed like they both had something to say.”You go first.” Phantom said. Dani remained silent for an extra minute. Phantom waited until an idea of what it was entered his head, and he didn’t like it one bit.”It wasn’t Vlad, was it?” He asked. Dani shook her head.

“I was... I was spotted by one of them.”

Those words briefly made Phantom’s core stop. The sweet moment suddenly turned way more sour than he was expecting. His eyes widened in shock and horror and they both floated in silence for a while. With each passing second, Dani looked more and more like she’d start to cry. Tears were slowly starting to form, but she was holding back.”I don’t want them to catch me... We both know I can’t go into the Ghost Zone, so... I didn’t know what else to do.” She said. Her voice came close to cracking at the end.

Phantom quickly pulled his mind back together. An urge to protect his sister began to block out the fear he also felt for her and he pulled her into a hug.”They won’t get the chance. I’ll do everything to make sure of it.” He said. He wasn’t entirely sure how he’d be able to actually protect her against part of the government, but he wasn’t lying. He was going to do whatever he could to protect her from the Guys In White. Dani hugged back.”Thank you.” She said.

“Anytime.” Phantom said. It was practically obvious to him. As long as his core was still vibrating and his heart was still beating, he’d protect her against anything.”But listen, my team doesn’t know I’m a halfa. They only think I’m a ghost. I think you should say the same.” He said. Dani nodded.

They soon ended the hug and Dani looked better than before. Phantom noticed something above and pointed behind her.”Look at that.” He said. Dani followed his gaze and let out a small, amazed “ohh” under her breath when she saw it. The lunar eclipse wasn’t complete yet, but it was getting there. A part of it was still white, but the majority of it was getting more and more red, and even looked a little orange.”I saw one of those before. Lunar eclipse, right?” She asked.

“Mhmm.” Phantom confirmed.

The two remained there for only a few minutes, watching the moon change ever so slightly, before Dani filled the silence again.”Can we meet the rest of your teammates?” She asked, turning to face him.

“Duhh! This way.” Phantom said, then flew to where his friends had set up camp.

It was a pretty short flight, and once there, his teammates were already looking at them. The group had used Megan’s bioship to fly out an hour or so away from the mountain and brought their own tents, and obviously some campfire snacks along with other necessities. They were all aligned in a circle with a sort of “entrance” facing the direction of the bioship. Phantom landed with Dani close behind and glanced back at her to make sure she wouldn’t get overwhelmed or anything. He wasn’t entirely sure how good her social skills were. She looked a little bit surprised, but overall okay. Phantom turned to his team.”Hey, guys! Hope you don’t mind one more.” He said, gesturing towards his sister. Dani smiled and waved at them.

Megan was the first of them to speak.”Not at all! Come on over, the eclipse is getting closer.” She said. Dani accepted the invitation and began walking over to them. Phantom obviously followed.

He noticed Conner looking a little surprised, but brushed it off since everyone seemed a bit surprised to learn that he apparently had a sister. Dani floated off the ground to be more at eye level with his friends.”How come all of your friends are taller than me?” She asked, glancing back at Phantom. He just shrugged and grinned.”I guess you just got the short end of the stick.” He said. Dani rolled her eyes and looked back at them.

“I’m Danielle! It’s nice to meet all of my brother’s new teammates.” She said. Robin held his hand out and Dani accepted it.

“It’s nice to meet you too. I’m Robin. That’s Wally, Artemis, Conner, Kaldur, and you’ve already met Megan.” He said. Phantom leaned closer to Dani and pointed at Wally.

“He doesn’t really believe in ghosts, so feel free to bug him when he’s not training or on missions.” He whispered.

Wally glared at him and Robin and Artemis both muffled a laugh behind their hands.”Hey!” Wally snapped. Dani gasped almost slightly offended, then grinned mischievously.

“Oh, I’d love to!” She said. Before she said something else, though, Conner spoke up.

“Megan told us you’re his little sister, but I didn’t expect you to look practically just like our friend. You could be mistaken for twins if it wasn’t for the age difference.” He said. He didn’t seem upset, and Phantom was a bit relieved about it. He didn’t think that Conner would start anything, but he had anger issues and had... negative reactions to being reminded that he’s a clone of someone who doesn’t like him.

Dani shrugged a little. “Well, yeah! I’m his clone, so of course I look like him and have similar powers.“ She said. The camp went quiet. The atmosphere wasn’t exactly heavy or intense, but it certainly wasn’t as happy and calm as before. Dani noticed the change and at first was confused, then she started to grow nervous. She glanced between Phantom’s teammates.

Finally, one of them spoke.“You said she’s your little sister.” Wally said. Phantom immediately hopped onto the defensive, but tried to remember about their treatment towards Conner and not mistake his confusion in his voice for something negative.

Dani seemed to make that mistake, though, since she began floating closer to him with a pretty nervous expression.”Yeah, because she is. Just because there’s no legal documentation or something doesn’t mean she can’t be my family.” Phantom said. Dani stopped right next to him and nodded in agreement. To her surprise and not her big brother’s, his friends all seemed almost a little heart warmed by this. Conner just looked surprised.

“That’s nice of you. To give her a family.” Kaldur said.

“I don’t see why I wouldn’t, but thanks?” Phantom said. Dani suddenly flew upwards and looked at the sky.

“Enough with the sentimental stuff, we’re going to miss it!” She said. The older halfa quickly remembered the reason they’d come outside in the first place and let out a small “oh”. He followed her lead and smiled at the moon once he was above the trees.

It was now completed and fully red. Sure, there was still a tiny bit of lighter red, but the huge majority looked a lot like blood. It was a little creepy, but Phantom still couldn’t help but admire it. It was amazing, and made him almost forget about the talk he’d need to have with Kaldur and Red Tornado, and possibly the rest of the league later. He’d think about that after the eclipse was over. For now, he was just going to enjoy the sight.

[sylusjinwoon]

{ 155 }

follow you.

jinwoo sung x fem.reader

{ i will follow you way down wherever you may go | i'll follow you way down to your deepest low | i'll always be around wherever life takes you | you know i'll follow you... }

anonymous said: Is it possible to have a scenario with Jinwoo where f.reader is dealing with a co-worker in his 50s at work who makes her uncomfortable by making inappropriate remarks in his conversations with her and never respects her personal space, she isn't scared of him but he makes her anxious and nervous at his sight for 7 months straight...and she doesn't tell Jinwoo until he starts noticing that she spaces out more often lost in her thoughts. (Its a true event that happened to me at my work and I hope you can write a comforting scenario for it😮‍💨 also eager to see more of protective Jinwoo 😏)

lately, you found yourself dreading the thought of going to work.

you were a young woman who was a regular civilian in this world filled with hunters, gates, and monsters. ever since these strange gates began to appear all across the world, thousands of people awakened with this unique ability to combat against these threats-

your boyfriend being one of these well known hunters.

however, you were not one of those special humans that had awakened with these abilities.

which was why you worked a regular office job in the midst of the city. and your job was by no means too difficult-

however, there was just one tiny issue with your workplace-

and that came in the form of your highly persistent coworker.

he was a balding man that appeared to be in his mid-50s named ryung. the moment your assigned cubicle was directly next to him, the man made it his life's mission to constantly flirt with you. in between breaks, he would find you and proceed to talk to you, all while placing lingering touches against your arm or shoulder.

"you're so beautiful, hehe."

"you say you have a boyfriend, but i don't believe he's serious about you. hell, if i were 30 years younger, i would have snatched you up and put a ring on that pretty little finger of yours!"

"damn, your ass looks fine in that skirt..."

hearing such constant remarks was enough to make you shudder.

despite the many times you told him you had a boyfriend (that also worked as a powerful hunter!), the man refused to back off. and the fact that this had been going on for nearly 7 months now made it so much worse for you.

now, you were filled with anxiety when ryung casually saunters up to your cubicle. even during the times where you purposely ignored him, the man would simply proceed to linger outside of your cubicle, forcing you to listen to his heavy breathing and crazed mutterings, only walking away when the sounds of your other coworkers approaching forces him to make his retreat.

you thought about turning in your letter of resignation several times, but always decided against it, since this was a good job that paid well-

and you didn't want your boyfriend to do all the heavy lifting when it came to your shared finances.

being so caught up with your thoughts, you couldn't even touch the breakfast your boyfriend had made for you, making him frown in response. he calls out your name several times, but you remain completely unresponsive to him.

"sarang." he calls out your nickname while brushing the ice cold glass of orange juice against your cheek. the sudden, icy sensation felt against your skin successfully manages to break you out of your thoughts, forcing to face your boyfriend's concerned gaze.

"jinwoo... what is it?"

jinwoo sighs before running a hand through his hair, placing the glass of orange juice back on the table. "i was asking you if you were okay for several minutes now, and you just recently responded to me. is something bothering you? i noticed that you haven't been yourself lately... ever since you started your job at that company."

you shift around uncomfortably in your seat, feeling as though you were being interrogated by jinwoo.

"it's nothing, jin. just-"

"bullshit it's nothing."

jinwoo then casually sits back in his seat with his arms crossed, his voice coming out as strained as he was clearly trying to control his anger.

"has ryung been bothering you again?"

your mouth goes dry, meeting jinwoo's gaze with wide eyes.

"h-how did you know about that?"

a smirk paints his handsome features. "have you forgotten just who your lover is?"

ah, that's right... he was the shadow monarch. he probably placed a bunch of his soldiers within your shadow and saw what was going on through their eyes.

"i could always have bellion rip through him for you?" jinwoo asks you while letting out a series of rich chuckles, but you were only half-certain that he was simply joking.

"n-no, you don't need to go that far. ryung is harmless... but a nuisance."

jinwoo hums before gesturing at your plate of breakfast. "come on, go ahead and finish eating. i'm going to take you to work."

"oh, you don't need to, jinwoo-"

"sarang, please, i insist."

with his voice dripping with a saccharine sweetness, you could no longer deny him. letting out a sigh, you give him a nod before returning your attention back to the delicious breakfast jinwoo had prepared for you.

you spend the next thirty minutes making small talk with your boyfriend, setting up plans for the upcoming weekend while being filled with an eagerness for the end of the week. once you finished eating and jinwoo had washed all the plates did he grab his keys. smoothing out your blouse and skirt, you grab your own briefcase while walking out the door with jinwoo.

throughout the whole drive to your workplace, jinwoo holds on to your hand while keeping his other hand on the steering wheel. during every stop light, he brings the back of your hand up against his lips, giving it a sweet kiss while basking in your joyful giggles.

soon enough, jinwoo arrives and parks in front of your office building, unbuckling his seat belt before heading out to open the door for you. seeing him smiling down at you, you give him his hand and allow him to walk with you into the building.

upon entering your workplace, several people recognized jinwoo and immediately greet him (all while trying to hold back their awe). your boyfriend keeps his hand on yours, simply returning their greetings with a smile before escorting you to the elevators.

the ride to the twentieth floor was filled with eager giggles and soft kisses, and you quickly felt your anxieties melt away. a few seconds later, the elevator doors slide open as you and jinwoo walked into the floor where you usually worked.

but instead of allowing you to enter your cubicle, he places a hand behind your back, leading you directly towards ryung's office space.

as if sensing you, the older man looks away from his computer screen, raspy voice calling out your name in an almost possessive manner when he faces you-

only to let out a desperate gasp when jinwoo uses his powers to lift ryung off the ground.

"ack!"

"jinwoo!"

but jinwoo ignores your sudden cries of his name, eyes glowing a bright purple hue as he continues to lift ryung mid-air with his telekinesis. choked sounds were heard coming from the man, and your mind was spinning, becoming filled with a sudden panic-

you didn't want jinwoo to get in trouble because of this man!

"if you continue to flirt with my lover so shamelessly like that ever again, i'll kill you."

within seconds, jinwoo releases his invisible grip on ryung, causing the older man to land on his knees for him. he was coughing, with tears filling his vision as the fear was evident in his eyes. completely ignoring ryung, jinwoo turns his attention back to you all while giving you a sweet smile.

"come, i'll take you back to your cubicle, sarang."

you give jinwoo an exasperated sigh, running your hips against his all while whispering to him, "you're insane, using your powers on him like that...?!"

"so what? i put the fear of the shadow monarch into him. there's no way he would dare to flirt with you now."

as if on cue, you hear ryung let out a whimper while pretending to type something on his computer. you shake your head at jinwoo, but still accept his kiss when he leans down toward you.

only after he was satisfied with your kiss did jinwoo pull away from you. "call me when you're done with your shift, and i'll pick you up."

you give him one last nod, watching as jinwoo leaves your office before deciding to login to your own computer, ready to start your day with a confident smile on your face, secretly grateful for jinwoo's intervention as you were certain ryung would leave you alone now.

{ ... }

the next morning, when you came into work and saw that ryung's cubicle was completely emptied of his belongings, confirming your coworker's mention of his sudden resignation-

that was when you let out a relieved sigh while giggling slightly.

perhaps you would need to treat jinwoo to something nice after all.

a.n. - hhhhh more double updates because i love jinwoo soooo much! 😭

all stories are written by rei; reposts, translations, and plagiarism are not allowed.

[kiwibirbkat]

My idea for esmp2 highschool!

The highschool is for magic and anything associated with it. Witches, creatures, gods, all are welcome here.

The world has no overall authority and is full of tons of different kingdoms. The biggest authority is actually the school they all go to

Shubble:

A witch (obviously)

Went to the Academy for elementary and middle school

All witches are sent out to the regular world to test their competence and responsibility before they return to the Academy for college and getting their magic license

Shubble currently has what is essentially a magic learners permit (they can do small spells and potions, NO MAJOR SPELLS)

Academy provides them with a small fund for housing (and, for the first month, food (you are expected to either grow/conjure your own food or get a job to buy your own after the first month))

Stayed in a very small room in one of Dawn's taverns so she could afford to buy food with the fund at first, goes and builds her hut in the mangrove forest after they were kicked out of the Academy because she can't afford to stay in the tavern and can't be tracked (nobody but Shubble has gone into the mangrove and come back out again, so she's left mostly alone)

She is stressed af because they still made the villagers and now has to deal with getting kicked from the Academy, being a high schooler, AND taking care of the villagers

The Academy actually doesn't give a shit, Shubble is just incredibly paranoid and ran away after the first few letters reminding them to come back

And of course! Tortoise is their familiar still

Joel:

Still a god

Was raised by Saint Pearl but she kicked him out for being an annoying teen

Literally just 16

Still lives in one of his temples and is taken care of by the villagers that worship him

Has access to basically everything he did before (Pearl isn't cruel, she just got tired of his whining)

6'11 and still growing

WANTS a beard, it simply WILL NOT GROW!

Lizzy:

Was someone's familiar at the Academy before getting hit by a spell gone wrong (was supposed to temporarily turn her human, it ended up permanently turning her into an anthropomorphic cat)

Literally just has a box on her head with her humansona glued to it and eye holes cut out

Lives in her own house outside of any of the kingdoms jurisdiction because not many people like to settle next to the smog of Gobland so it is quite literally free real estate

Was going to start Animalia but she couldn't get the spell that happened to her to happen again

Does not have Ariana Goate, she is her own celebrity with no affiliation to this random high schooler

Sausage:

His king has not turned evil yet!

Just lives the life he lived in the flashback but goes to highschool

Is only at the school because he can talk to animals

Also, he still has a beard! Joel, the god, only has a stubble, but this man just has a full beard because Eddie is a rabbit man and didn't teach him to shave

Katherine:

A princess! Her parents are really strict, monster hunting is her rebellion

Swears she shouldn't be at the school, because she's not magic in any way!

Cursed.

Really really buff but hides it with flowy sleeves and long skirts on her dress

Lives in the kingdom she did before she started GlimmerGlove (obviously, it's her parents kingdom)

Joey:

After their ship got attacked, he washed up

Seeing him screeching about a living skeleton, he was thrown into the school for technically having an association with magic

Due to a combination of never having education, ADHD, dyslexia, and dyscalculia (and generally not caring), he is very much struggling in school

Katherine was assigned to tutor him for being an all A student

He saw her roll up her sleeves one time and got a crush

Not "piratesexual" just pan with an attraction to strength and power

Lives on the ship that he built himself

Gem and fWhip:

Still twins, Gem just got really lucky with her genes

Both part human and part goblin

Gem is slightly shorter than average with a very light green tint to her skin, slightly bigger canines, and pointier ears

FWhip is literally just a little taller then the average goblin with slightly softer ears

FWhip lives with his mom (the queen of Gobland) and Gem lives with her dad (the king of Dawn)

Their birth finally lowered tension between Gobland and Dawn! They were only born because they had been at war before their parents got married at 18, which technically stopped the war, but the people of Dawn and Gobland were still very aggressive and tense before the twins birth

False:

Amnesiac still

Lives in the forest that she randomly woke up in one day?

Built her own house and decided to start mining iron to build machines

Some type of hybrid, but got her wings ripped off somehow, so they don't know what type

Pix:

A phantom hybrid

Lives with his parents technically, but they aren't home often

Still obsessed with history

Jimmy:

A toy that magically came to life!

A sheriff

Has Tumble Town because nobody wanted to live in the Mesa

He's the only one in Tumble Town other than his cat and his horse

Only the law in this land, he just ignores that.

Scott:

Has no parents

Adventured for most of his life before finally settling down

Technically has Chromia but all of his "citizens" are llamas

He just wanted an excuse to build cute buildings and gardens

His great great great great (lots of greats) ancestors were elves, which is why he's in the school (that and his magic eye

Oli:

From another universe

Climbed into the heavens for a dare because he got really reckless after his close friend died

Got bored immediately and jumped down

Just a normal guy. Only in the school because he literally fell from the sky

Never got arrested by fWhip

Homeless outside of his tent. Insists it's a kingdom called the Olipeligo

The other empires (concerned) keep offering to buy him a house or something but he insists he's fine in the Olipeligo

Hermes is Joel's childhood toy that came to life somehow after he got kicked out. He just got attached to Sausage, so now Joel and Sausage are teen dads that co-parent him

[thevindicativevordan]

How are you feeling on Absolute Superman as a character? I dunno, Absolute WW and Batman are right out on the gate with their massive changes, but this Superman still feels like it's business as usual despite not being Clark Kent. Maybe it's 'cause I've seen some of this stufff done by Morrison already.

Absolute Wonder Woman is straight up the same person as her mainline counterpart despite her different background. I cannot think of a single moment where she's done something yet that made me go "Earth 0 Diana would never do that". I imagine that's Thompson's intention, she's changed Diana's upbringing, powerset, and gear but not her character. Despite everything, this is still recognizably Wonder Woman. Tradeoff is that I don't know if Thompson will take advantage of the opportunity to give this Diana her own unique personality quirks, to really make this Diana "hers".

Absolute Batman is different specifically from Scott Snyder's New 52 Batman - but not that different from "regular" Batman. By that I mean Snyder wrote New 52 Batman as a chatterbox. Either he was constantly talking and even dropping quips, or he was monologuing to himself in narrative boxes. Absolute Batman is much more terse, helped by how Alfred is the POV character instead of Bruce, but that's how writers usually write Batman. Usually he doesn't talk much, which means while this Batman is a departure from the mainline version under Snyder's pen, he's not that different from the regular guy. More brutal to be sure, mainline Batman doesn't usually maim people - but even then he sometimes cripples them. Batman isn't too different either.

Snyder advertised the AU as maintaining the core of the heroes while changing the circumstances and some of the details. Keeping that in mind, it's no surprise Superman doesn't diverge too much from his mainline counterpart either. For the record I thought issue 2 did a great job in laying out what this Superman's deal is. As Lois notes, he's still testing and coming to terms with his powers. He has mixed feeling regarding Earth and humanity. He's proud of his heritage as the son of workers, we see that in how he tells Lois he's another "Child of the Dirt". Kal claims solidarity with the human working class, even calling them by the same title he gave to the Kryptonian laborers: People of Steel. In other words they are his people. We've gotten a leftist Superman before in the early Siegel and Shuster as well as the Morrison New 52 Action run, but this is the first Superman who openly says "yes I am a working class hero and a proud one at that". Everything about Aaron's revamp of Superman emphasizes that. His parents are laborers instead of nobles, his first foe is a megacorp that uses Peacemakers as a Pinkerton-esque organization to beat down the workers. Superman's first act as a hero we see isn't catching a helicopter or smashing a car, it's singlehandedly clearing out a mine of diamonds and asbestos so the impoverished miners don't have to risk their lives. Even the new backstory for his s-shield, which recasts it as the mark of laborers, on Krypton feeds into that.

But he does actually say something that mainline Superman wouldn't: he flat out tells Lois she's everything wrong with Earth. When Clark acknowledges humanity is flawed, he usually follows it up with an impassionate defense of how humanity is good despite their flaws. On some level Clark needs that to be true, because he views himself as human (at least at the start), as one of us. Clark needs to believe we're good in spite of our flaws because he needs to believe the same of himself, and wants to think we will accept him. Kal meanwhile just let's that accusation hang there. Clearly he has seen the worst of humanity, and he's not making excuses for us. Some of us are bastards. Some of us might be irredeemable. To me that was very illuminating in how it teases certain aspects of Kal's backstory. Kal is an outsider, he's Kryptonian, and he's viewing us from outside the box.

Biggest difference between New 52 Superman and Absolute Superman? New 52 Superman was cocky. Even downright arrogant at times in his early days which I loved. Clark would openly taunt the cops and criminals alike. Know why? Because he had the happy Smallville upbringing! His earliest memories of life on Earth were of loving his parents and being loved. Smallville was a happy place that instilled in him a sense of self-worth. When the Kents died it was when he was already almost a man, and he had Lana still. All of that gave him the confidence to challenge the world, because it was his world too. Absolute Superman? Doesn't have that same confidence. Presumably he saw how his father and mother were treated for being Labor Caste. Kal knew they weren't valued the same as the higher castes, and you can imagine how that might have affected his sense of self-worth.

On Krypton Kal learned that the people in charge rarely have the best interests of their underlings in mind. However the morals he was instilled by the Els were of the same nature as what the Kents traditionally teach. Kal is compassionate, courageous, and determined to make a difference. As Lois notes, his ethos are solid. It's his purpose and place in life that remains a question mark for now. What we have gotten so far I like, but we won’t know the whole of this Superman until we get more details on his wanderings across Earth prior to where we see him in issue 1.

Funnily enough, Absolute Superman is the only one of three who actually feels like he's living up to Snyder's pitch of "underdog heroes". He's on the run with zero support. Batman has his mom, Alfred, and his childhood friends, he's working a six figure job, he's not isolated. Diana has Steve, her Pegasus, and the military backing her up (for now). Kal? He's got no one except his suit AI, and while Sol is helping stay alive, it's not supporting him at all in his heroic ambitions. Even Lois, while coming around to supporting him, hasn't actually quit her job and ran off to join him. At the end of issue 2 he's still a lone wanderer. All those people he worked to save in issue 2? Brutally gunned down by Peacemaker. Of the three it's Superman who feels the bleakest, and I'm loving it. Finally have a Superman book with the balls to ask the question: "is it worth it to try and be a good man in a world that spits on anyone who wants to better it?" Looking forward to seeing how the book wrestles with that central theme.

[sulfuric-deity]

Hermitcraft Pokemon AU thoughts!

(If using this as reference please tag as 'Hc poke au' so I can see, also feel free to tag me :))

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This has been haunting me for a while so I figured I would throw them here for some people to enjoy

Basically this region would have a gym for some types (the most i could fit), and the order is pre determined so each gym holds pokemon of a certain level. Once you get through all of them four are randomized to be your big trail at the end, with their real Pokemon.

The pokemon trial is a BIG DEAL needing to be signed up for and then selected as it is so intensive.

The main antagonist is an organization researching 'Sculk' who got infected :)

As well as an unusual myth that seems to be interested in a few of the members. The Watcher.

Now onto hermits and the rough order of gyms!

OTHER ROLES:

Rendog-

He is the host for the trails, the charming man who will guide you along your journey. However, somethings seems a little off about him...were his eyes always red? He is not infected with Sculk like the others think, instead The Watcher is using his eyes to gain information about its victims.

Xisuma-

Head pokemon professor, oversees all other branches of research as well as the trail. Elusive to the public, who has never seen his face, but close with the gym leaders as he is the one who calculates pokemon level for that year. Absolutely distraught at the appearance of Sculk, and values the safety of his friends over himself.

Cubfan-

An odd pokemon professor, researching the effects of pokemon moves on humans. He is considered odd, and many protest actually using people for his trails, but he is very careful and ensures consent. Was chosen to go and supervise the Sculk trials alongside the company to see if its harmful to people. (wink wink nudge nudge)

Mumbo-

The youngest pokemon professor, he focuses mostly on the evolution of pokemon and how and when it occurs. He is likely the professor you would see the most, interacting with gym leaders and Ren. When Xisuma begins to evacuate things, and Cub goes missing he is forced to run everything himself. On top of that, his close friend Grian goes missing. Absolutely crumbling under the pressure of the many tasks.

DocM-

The head of the organization researching the Sculk, he seems unaffected by the possession. (Until too late hehe) Cold on the outside, friendly on the inside he won favor of many gym leaders, even if the HEP and public are skeptical of his involvement. He is determined to get to the bottom of this mystery.

Cleo-

She is the head of HEP (Human, Environment, Pokemon) who focus on the human treatment of pokemon and the protection against pokemon rampages. They were tasked with monitoring the Sculk situation. With their 'no bs' attitude, you'd think they would have no friends with all the goofballs around, but its actually just a front for their pure sarcasm.

Joe Hills-

A member of HEP who came from distant lands, wont tell you exactly how or why but will spin fanciful tales of adventure. Actually under arrest for breaking pokemon out 'illegally' in his original region. Protected by HEP now, at least for a while.

XbCrafted-

A field expert HEP member, usually taking care of water based missions. He is close friends with Keralis and beef, often teasing that he could defeat their regular teams easy. During a mission to investigate Sculk along a beachfront, he goes MIA. He is eventually found stranded on an island with all his pokemon fainted, talking to a volleyball with Keralis's face on it. He is fearful of the man after being haunted by the small volleyball child.

Zedaph-

The last member of HEP, hard to spot and even harder to understand in a conversation. Smart enough to be offered a spot as a professor but denied it as he 'doesn't want his creativity limited.' Takes care of the technical aspects.

Gem-

Current Champion! Rumored to be Etho's sibling or otherwise related she takes great pride in her title. Known as GeminiSlay, her pokemon are ruthless, mostly tanks and quick attackers. She often worries about how the public compares her to Etho despite their obvious differences. She takes care of her gym leaders, but always looks for opportunities to drop in for surprise battles, especially with Pearl and Joel.

Grian-

Very close with Pearl, former water gym leader but retired the position to her after she defeated him. Now he takes joy in annoying the other gyms and assisting Mumbo is his research. Still an expectedly powerful trainer. Snail, marine biologist man, surprisingly smart. Goes mysteriously missing during the Sculk breakout, and is found stolen by one of the legendaries of the region (the Watcher.)

GYM LEADERS:

BdoubleO- Grass

Disgruntled about being the first gym leader faced, but takes great pride in wowing the trail-goers and being a difficult first challenge. He takes excellent care of his gym, and enjoys his trail. He claims to be the only Gym leader who defeated Etho. One of the longest standing leaders. During the Sculk infection, he helps to maintain a safe area and contact Etho for help.

Pearl- Water

Takes excellent care of her pokemon and it shows, they are fiercely loyal and in tune with her. Sometimes seeming to move as one entity. Admires Gem for her determination and skill, the pair have a joking rivalry. Also very close with Tango, she likes having the upper hand in battling. She pushes Tango to train his pokemon better against water types. She leads the search for Grian when he goes missing, facing off against the legendary by herself.

Tango- Fire

A bit hot-headed, he can sometimes gain a one track mind when it comes to his projects and forget about his responsibility as a gym leader. He created his own trail, and ensured it was as far from the scorching flames the trail-goers would expect (Decked out themed.) Close to Zedaph, and often helps in HEP contraptions. When his dungeon starts to gain a consciousness of its own, he is surprisingly delighted, even if it costs him possession.

Impulse- Rock

Stubborn, vengeful, and critical he relies on his combined Gym to help even out his flaws. Despite what he considers fatal flaws, he is intelligent, loyal, and protective of his friends which compliment his other half. Like earthquakes he is a powerhouse with his pokemon, often intimidating trail-goers. Although they are very quickly shown otherwise with his welcoming personality.

Skizz- Ground

Overly trusting, friendly, and slack he relies on his combined Gym to help even out his flaws. Impulse pushes him to grow and match his level, as well as not immediately giving up on a grudge. While he calms and grounds Impulse's intense energy. The pair make a deadly duo and are the trial-goers first introduction to the concept of double battles. Warm and welcoming he surprises a lot of people with his demeanor.

Scar- Normal

While normal types seem boring, Scar would adamantly disagree. They have very few weaknesses, and have the potential to learn to many moves outside of their type! A lover of all pokemon trail-goer expect scar to be easy, but are very wrong. His Persian, Jellie, is not as friendly as her trainer. Distraught by the loss of Grian he is incredibly frustrated he cant go to look for his friend due to his wheelchair.

Keralis- Bug

Wide eyed and not that competitive Keralis aims to just have a good time. He showers any trainer who makes it to his gym with compliments luring them into a false security. Despite not being competitive, he is ranked higher than the rest for a reason. Bug types are underrated. Keralis was terrified when XB goes missing, he completely closes his gym to go looking for his beloved princess.

Ijevin- Poison

Goopy spooky guy, takes great joy in being so relaxed and still absolutely destroying people. Stock up on poison heals and hope he's having a good day! He is also one of the original leaders, and has fallen into a comfortable groove and gained mad skills. Overall reliable, and sturdy.

Beef- Fighting

His bulky figure leads most people to believe he is a ruthless fighter, and while this is true, he also has a heart of gold. During XB's disappearance he too closes his gym, strong arming any authorities away as he searches for his friend. He is the one to first find XB, who is fearful of Keralis after being haunted by the ball man.

Hypno- Psychic

A slinking, cheeky figure. No one has ever seen his eyes, and it is rumored that he can brainwash people with his gaze. It is of course not entirely true, but he continues it as it tons of fun watching trial-goers squirm as he watches them. Close with Wels and Ijevin, who takes great pride in making fun of being super effective against his pokemon. One of the older gym leaders.

Welsknight- Steel

What better category for a knight? With speed and tactic he tears down those who get in his way. He takes pokemon battling very seriously, but only because the competitiveness brings him joy. If he wins or loses, he had an amazing time. Although it can be hard to tell, the glare he gives while focusing would make anyone nervous. He plays heavily into the knight bit, people are unsure if je truly believes it (he doesnt.) But...recently he seems a tad more aggressive. And was he always so fascinated with the colour red? The watcher has taken a particular interest in the knight, and is attempting to use him in much the same way as Ren.

(Joel) Smallishbeans-Dark

His sarcastic ease makes most trainers doubt his skills, and he takes great pleasure in watching their faces fall as they realize it is NOT an easy fight. He is not what you'd expect for the Dark element, and he enjoys using contrast to highlight the shadows rather than just cast everything into night. One of the newer Gym leaders, he insists Etho would not get past him in a pokemon battle, and has spent most of his carrer jokingly threatening the man, and trailing after him to beg for a battle.

False- Flying

The strongest of the gyms she is known as the 'Queen of hearts', as she often destroyed the dreams of those who dared to face her. She is the last hurdle before the final stretch, trainers often get sloppy now and she takes advantage of it. The longest reigning leader, she doesn't seem to want to retire anytime soon. Very close with Ren, but too busy to immediately notice his changes.... She is vital in helping drive off the Sculk, her powerful team helping to clear infected Pokemon and trainers.

Etho-

Former Champion, held the title for many years before willingly giving it over to his apprentice. He is many peoples spark for wanting to be a trainer, and he is still incredibly talented. (Despite Gem's boasting.) Now he wanders across the land to revisit friends and watch the youngsters train, until someone is able to make it to his newly established gym. Having a soft spot for ice types he took up maintaining a gym as hobby and to still enjoy battling hard-working trainers.

[mielwriting]

Venti 🦠?

Gods Can Get Sick? - AlbusLebron - 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game) [Archive of Our Own]

Available here on Tumblr and on ao3!

Illness was not an issue he ever had to reckon with as a wind wisp. He envied his siblings in that regard. The Thousand Winds were unable to related to his sickness, so they tried to comfort him in their own ways. Some of them stayed with Venti, while others scoured the continent in search of a solution. They snuck into the Akademiya’s libraries, swept through Cloud Retainer’s blueprints, and even searched the remains of the Fontaine Research Institute for a cure to a divine cold. He had gotten sick plenty of times before, but each time, some wind wisps searched Teyvat. They hoped that, in the centuries since the last time he was sick, someone had come up with something that could help him recover faster. 

Meanwhile, Venti was sorely rethinking his decision to live outside. Normally, he loved the outdoors! He loved laying on a high branch at Windrise, feeling the way the breeze shakes the trees, and occasionally feel the cool rain on his skin. Now though, his whole body ached, and the roots of Vennessa’s Tree simply felt uncomfortable. 

While his old friend’s Tree was normally his go-to healing spot, that was more for magic issues, such as alchemical corruption or losing some of his power. Against a regular (divine) cold, the Tree was unfortunately unable to help. 

Venti didn’t want to risk infecting Dvalin, and Andrius was never too comforting. He would love to rest in the hands of his (friend’s) statue, but his stronger-than-a-human’s sneezes would attract unwanted scrutiny, and likely bother the people in the plaza. And then the Sisters would notice, and insist on trying to heal him or having him rest in the cathedral’s recovery wing. And then he’d be stuck listening to choir songs singing praises he didn’t deserve, while all the sisters prayed to himself so he could get better!

So, he stayed at the roots of Vennessa’s Tree, trying to make himself comfortable, while several wind wisps tried to comfort him. He closed his eyes, and tried once again to relax. 

“Oh! Apologies, I wasn’t expecting you to be out here.”

He slowly opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the voice, where Grandmaster Jean was standing. She looked concerned. 

“Grandmaster Jean!” He mouths the word ‘acting’ as she goes to correct him, “What a pleasant surprise! What brings you to Windri-Achoo!” Venti groaned.

“I often visit Lady Vennessa’s Tree to clear my head. Are you alright?”

He winced at the thought that he was adding more stress to her plate, “Of Course, Grandmaster Jean!” He wished his voice didn’t sound as hoarse.

Jean looked conflicted, then took a few steps towards Venti and sat down next to him, “I hope I’m not being too presumptuous, but… I wasn’t aware Archons could get sick.”

Venti sneezed again, then looked at Jean, “Oh, it’s just something I have to deal with every few centuries. Alas, even gods are not immune to colds,” He sighed dramatically, “Perhaps this is my punishment for stealing Master Diluc’s wine…”

She looked at his lap, where several wind wisps were currently resting, “Then are the… wind spirits also sick?”

He followed her gaze to the sleeping wind wisps, “Ah, no, they’re just trying to make me - Achoo! - feel better.” 

“Is that why you’re spending more time at the Tree? You mentioned before that it helps you heal.”

“Alas, Valiant Vennessa’s tree only helps heal ailments of the magical kind. Such a mundane problem cannot be healed from a magical source.”

She looked down at her own lap, “I know it’s not my place to question your judgment…”

He placed a hand over his heart and closed his eyes, “Grandmaster Jean, you wound me! I can take any criticism you have to throw at me!” He let his hands fall to his sides, opened his eyes and looked at Jean, “I value your opinion, really! Whatever it is you have to say, please don’t let my status as an archon keep you from sharing!”

“If Lady Vennessa’s Tree can’t heal your cold, then why are you still sitting outside? Fresh air and exercise is imperative to a quick recovery, but so is proper rest. I can’t imagine it’s easy to make the trip to Windrise every day. Surely there’s a park closer to your house.”

“Oh, I don’t actually have a house in the city! I usually just sleep outside.” 

She looked horrified, “Lord Barbatos-”

He quickly interrupted, “It’s fine, really! I love the outdoors!” His smile didn’t seem to convince her. 

“I cannot in good conscience allow a citizen of Mondstadt, archon or otherwise, to remain outside while they are recovering from an illness. I can offer you my house’s spare bedroom.”

“That’s really not -Achoo! - necessary, Grandmaster Jean. Really, this just happens sometimes. I’ll be fine in a few days… ah… ah… Achoo!” 

“I insist, Lo- Venti. We don’t want whatever you have to get worse. And I’m sure you wouldn’t want myself, your other friends, and all your… wind spirits to worry you aren’t taking care of yourself.”

He gasped, “I can’t believe you Grandmaster Jean! Using my compassion against me,” he draped his hand over his forehead, “Oh, woe is me if- Achoo!... Ah… Ah… Achoo!” He dropped his hands back to his sides, “... I’ll go, if only to give you peace of mind. You may have a point about proper rest.”

She smiled, “I’m glad to hear it,” she held a hand out to help him up. As he stood up, several wind wisps roused from their sleep and floated up beside his head. 

“There’s plenty of room for the wind spirits too.”

He took her hand, and smiled earnestly, “Thank you, Grandmaster Jean.”

*** 

An hour later, he was laying on her spare bed, which he had to admit was much comfier than a tree. He was still sneezing every few minutes, but he was as relaxed as he could be in present conditions. Several of the Thousand Winds floated next to him. 4 were trying to sing to him, 3 were nuzzling against him to provide comfort, and others were playing with his hair. 

One of his braids was dangling over the edge of the bed, and 2 wind wisps were quite entertained by watching it sway in the small breezes they created. The other braid had come undone entirely, and 3 wind wisps were trying to rebraid it for him. 

Each time he sneezed, they lost their grip, the half-done braid fell apart, and they had to start over again. It would be a few sneezes before they learn to braid his hair quick enough. They don’t seem to mind having to start over. In fact, they seem to really enjoy constantly braiding his hair. Venti suspects that if his sneezing didn’t regularly undo their progress, they would’ve redone the braid several times by now.

Venti doesn’t want to think about the chaos the other 988 winds were out causing. Instead, he thinks about how nice Jean was to give him the bed even though he probably caused more work for her. He would have to repay her somehow once he got better. 

For now, though, he was content to doze off, safe in his old friend’s house. 

[perpetualexistence]

A Total Drama Magnus Archives AU

Day 7: Free Day!

Alright gang, this one’s going to be a bit different as this is what I’ve got the energy for right now. Rather than tell a narrative like I usually do, I’m just going to infodump the ideas I currently have about this AU.

The important thing to know is that this AU takes place parallel to most of the events happening in canon Magnus Archives. Though in this case the setting is actually The Usher Foundation, the sister organization in the Americas. Spoilers for The Magnus Archives because it’s going into it.

Everyone’s in their late 20’s here mainly because they need to have full time jobs for this to work. Also, please do check tags.

(It’s also got a very heavy focus on Alenoaheather as villains and I won’t apologize for this)

@total-drama-horror-week

Characters and their Roles

Usher Foundation

Gwen: Protagonist, pretty much takes up Jon's role except instead of recording tapes, she listens to tapes and makes forensic sketches so that the Foundation can actually be able to recognize what they're dealing with. Her sketches are hauntingly accurate. Becomes an avatar of the eye.

Courtney: The foundation's lawyer. Her main job is pretty much protecting the foundation from all the lawsuits about break ins that the investigator types just constantly do. Is a skeptic about all this and just took the job because she needed an in to the field and this is just what she found. Does start believing when she realizes her friend Bridgette is different even though everyone else claims she's still the same. And thus having to deal with Not-Bridgette.

The Antagonist Trio

Alejandro: Avatar of The Spiral. Comes from the Burromuerto family who have aligned themselves with The Buried. After…separating himself from family tradition, dedicates himself to The Spiral. Hypnotizes people into states of mind where they lose sense of self, direction, purpose, you name it. His hair is full of curls and his pupils fractalize when he’s hypnotizing someone, or when he’s feeling extreme emotion.

Heather: Avatar of The Web. Was once a regular spider that was gifted with ascension into avatarhood from the entity that spawned her. Now exists as a drider that tricks humans into coming enough to her so that she can paralyze, cocoon them, and eat them at her leisure.

Noah: Avatar of The Eye. Only surviving member of his family line in the event that saw him become an avatar. Feeds on learning and seeing others' traumas. Scrambles around trying to figure out avatarhood until he meets Alejandro, and later Heather. Works for the Usher Foundation to feed himself and feed his partners intel and vulnerable statement-givers to feast on. Peers into others’ worst traumas and can force them to relive it in their minds. He has an eye each on the backs of his hands.

Miscellaneous

Izzy: Avatar of The Hunt. She goes out of her way to encourage others to give in to predator/prey instincts. She enjoys watching the chaos go down between the Usher Foundation and the antagonist trio. She stays on the fence and would help either side if asked.

Eva: Avatar of The Slaughter. Or at least aligned with it. Offers herself as a mercenary so that she can satisfy her bloodlust. Works a lot with the Foundation but can be persuaded to work against them if someone else can offer her a better fight.

Backstories

Noah

Noah's part of a big human family with a lineage of being involved in supernatural things, from research to hunting to capturing to study etc. Basically a more localized version of the Institute/Foundation. They're more a neutral party rather than just for the side of humanity though, which somewhat puts them at odd with them.

The Mudaliars are one of the safer bets of information for those outside of the Usher Foundation. Of course there is usually a price in terms of exchange of information, corpses of what they kill (one of his sisters really likes dissecting things), just money, etc. Noah isn't the most sociable or the one who's normally 'customer' facing, but he's the one who stays at home the most while the others are out and about. They need to leave at least one person at home at all times to deal with clients that might come in, and that person was Noah once he was old enough to start getting into the family business.

The problem was their extralegal status ar semi-archivists led them vulnerable to those aligned with Entities. The large size of their family also made them a tantalizing target. Thus the family, Noah included, were kidnapped in an attempt at a Mass Ritual to bring forth all the Entities into the realm.

The ritual involves each Mudaliar being sacrificed in a different location for a different entity. Noah is meant to be a sacrifice for The Lonely, so he’s locked into solitary confinement, with his only interactions with the outside world being pictures slid under his door of the corpse of each family member as they get sacrificed for their entity.

He’s able to piece together what’s happening, though with dread realizes there’s little he can do to fix the situation. His one chance is to disrupt the ritual, though his options on that are very limited. Eventually he settles on the idea that he could devote himself to a different entity to disrupt it and save himself.

He knows he’s caught in a trap of the lonely, doomed to die a slow and agonizing death of dehydration and starvation being all by himself with nothing to eat or drink. Thus he turns his attention to attracting the attention of The Eye. His one idea for how to do this is to dedicate himself to keeping track of his own deterioration.

He commits energy he should be preserving writing down everything he’s learned, not sleeping until his body forces him to collapse in exhaustion and then just starting up again when he’s recovered. Running out of pen and paper and thus using whatever he can get his hands on, eventually resorting to his own blood in his commitment to make sure his knowledge doesn’t die with him.

Eventually, it works as he’s granted avatarhood. The downside is that he did this while still connected with his remaining family. Becoming an avatar of The Eye saved himself and the world, but it killed the rest of his family. Leaving him alone anyways.

He wanders around for a while trying to figure out what there even is to do about his life until he comes across Alejandro when he’s trying to feed himself with forbidden information.

Alejandro

The Burromuertos are a family that have served The Buried for generations (similar to the Lukas family). Serving The Buried has led them to getting riches untold from the ground. Their family always lives in prosperity.

However, this gift isn’t without sacrifice. Each generation, the Burromuertos have to sacrifice one of their own to The Buried. In the days of old this involved taking the sacrifice and shoving them inside of a special suit of armor. The person inside would still be kept alive, and slowly crushed to death over the course of their lifetime. The suit act independently of the will of the victim, following the orders of the Burromuertos outside. The victim would power that suit of armor that serves as a guardian.

By the time that victim is used up, they would have been crushed into a diamond. That diamond is then placed into a display room that only the heads of the household know about. It’s part of the guardian’s duty to protect this room, as well as the rest of the mansion and Burromuertos.

Over time, the suit of armor modernized to something more akin to a robot suit. Tradition made it so that the youngest would be the one sacrificed so that more time would last between replacements. It also had the head of the family sire children in threes: The first to inherit the family legacy, the second just in case anything happened to the first, and then the third to be the sacrifice.

Alejandro was led to believe that he was simply meant to inherit part of the family wealth. He knows of his family’s history with The Buried, but not exactly what the sacrifice entails. (Burromuertos are only allowed to know about the ritual once they’ve produced a potential heir since their use as a sacrifice becomes nonexistent.)

His time comes early, just before reaching adulthood, when the old sacrifice fully crystalizes. He’s shoved into a suit and discovers just how much value his family put into him.

He stayed like this for a few years. He learned to have only quick, shallow breaths, as anything longer would see his prison tighten around him. Although he had been conditioned to be loyal the The Buried even in this tortured state, he was always ambitious, and was never quite as loyal as his family would have liked.

Instead, he follows a descent towards The Spiral. With nothing else to do, there’s only trying to mentally escape his current reality of being crushed and trapped. He’d rather do that than acknowledge his family knows he’s alive, but will do nothing to save him because he wasn’t good enough for them to produce a younger child to spare him from this fate.

He’s somewhat aware of the things that happen outside of the suit, though he much prefers to stay inside with his hallucinations.

This is until Noah comes to free him. It wasn’t intentional. Truth be told on Noah’s end, he was just hungry for knowledge since The Eye was making it known he wasn’t feeding it properly. A rich family like the Burromuertos seemed like they’d have just the knowledge he needed. The robot at their beck and call was just another obstacle to deal with.

In trying to flee from and destroy the suit Noah accidentally ended up freeing Alejandro. Noah has a heart so he helps bring Alejandro back to reality. Alejandro has a heart full of hatred and pettiness so when he finds out why Noah’s there, he agrees to help steal from his own family.

Using what he’d learned from his time in the robot suit, he helps Noah steal some wealth, particularly the family diamonds.

Though when he touches one of them to put away he finds out they're still conscious thanks to inherited psychic link of having been trapped in the suit just like them.

The two of them bond through working with the diamonds. Noah uses Alejandro as a conduit to peer into the diamonds and feed off their traumas, while Alejandro gets the knowledge his family denied him without having to relive his own trauma inside the suit.

They stick together for a while, surviving using Noah’s knowledge about entities and Alejandro’s newfound hardiness. Experiencing the pressure of the suit has left him stronger and tougher than before as gravity now as nothing than the gravity he’s used to.

Though the whole time they’re doing so Alejandro still has nightmares from his time trapped in the suit. The terror always comes from The Buried, but then salvation comes in the lies he tells himself. The lies he tells to others to forget things. In fractals and spirals and other.

He gives in to The Spiral so that nothing else can ever claim him again. And life is pretty easy.

Up until they meet Heather.

Heather

Heather started off as a store-raised spider. As a spider she was naturally touched by The Web, enough to have a small form of sentience. Her dwelling was small and cramped, and meals didn't always come on time. She wasn't the happiest with it, but she also didn't really understand what happiness was. It was enough to survive so she lived with it, though the part of her that could think wanted more.

She thought she'd get this when she was bought by a teen. That teen provided her a much bigger terrarium, and went so far as to get her live food. She discovered what enjoyment was when she drained the life out of a fly. She was content. She actually grew to a healthier size for her species since she was malnourished before.

That teen seemed really excited to have her. Something about 'revenge', though Heather didn't know what that word meant. She figured it had something to do with that older sibling that constantly seemed to pick on them. Though that older sibling was squeamish around her, and thus she learned what fear was.

All this came to a head when it came to what her owner referred to as 'the big day'. Heather didn't know much of what was going on. All she knew was that she was placed into the smaller container her owner used when they wanted to carry her out of the house, and stuffed into their pocket. It was dark and cozy so while she didn't appreciate the jostling, it wasn't so bad. The next thing she knew she was taken out of that container and placed onto something with a lot of pink frills. She was pretty confused, but was able to piece together that she'd just been placed onto the ballerina outfit of that older sibling. She was content to stay in place until the performance started and the older sister began to dance.

In order to not be flung off, Heather clung as tightly as she could. Until, eventually, she heard a familiar tune. It was a song she'd heard play every meal time. One she'd eventually learn was called Dance of the Sugar Plum fairy. So, as she took this to mean that despite these circumstances that food was here, she emerged from beneath the folds. This immediately got screams from the other performers and the audience. And eventually that older sister when she realized there was a spider on her during the performance of her lifetime.

Despite Heather's intelligence, she was barely able to process the speed at which she was flung off from that body. Before she could recover from the fall, someone else came and squashed her.

The curtains fell, and everyone was fleeing from her mangled, still living body. Twitching in agony. There was screaming all around. But there was also laughter. One she recognized.

It was from her human. Laughing at a prank pulled off. Uncaring for her agony now that her job was done. No attempt to rescue her despite the love and care she thought she'd understood. The only mercy she received was from the ballet teacher who came to finish the job just so he could salvage the disaster of a performance.

It was in her death that she was able to meet her mother. The Great Spider. She was offered the chance to become the manipulator. It was her birthright, after all. She took it without hesitation.

One by one those who attended that performance went missing.

One by one she perfected her craft of trickery and deceit.

She saved her owner for last.

The look on her face was satisfying.

Thus, Heather started to fully live her life in her new form as a half-human, half-spider. Her human half took inspiration from what the idea her previous owner wished for herself. She uses social media to trick her victims into coming closer, and then when meeting them in real life, webs them up to consume them.

She’s had hunters try to take her down, and other people stumble into her lair, but none of them were really of importance.

Not until Alejandro and Noah, who find their way into her lair in their attempts to get a break from other avatars/humans in between their feeding sessions.

Heather tried to trick them into thinking she was just another victim who needed to be helped to get them to come closer. Unfortunately for her, they were both smart enough to know something was wrong. Noah outright said as much, to Alejandro’s chagrin as he wanted to lure her into a false sense of security thinking that they’d fallen for it.

They have this conversation about how this should have been handled in front of Heather. Honestly, it was pretty hilarious seeing them seemingly not understand the danger they were in.

Still, Heather had a job to do, so she threw away the false pretenses and chased after them.

Despite their banter they do prove themselves rather competent in evading her. Alejandro tries to hypnotize her, though as an avatar of The Web she’s highly resistant to attempts to manipulate her. Still, she’s impressed. So much so that she agrees to let them go.

…And then proceeds to follow them around while disguised as a regular spider in order to see if her hunch about these two having more worth is right.

She starts realizing their potential, though is unaware of the fact that they know she’s watching them thanks to Noah’s connection to The Eye.

Though this time he's smart enough to sneak this information to Alejandro rather than outright say it considering what happened the last time he decided to out her. Alejandro gets the idea to put on more of a show of their capabilities since he can recognize that she's sizing them up.

When it eventually does get public that they’re sizing each other up, that’s when they agree to an alliance. They’ll work together to keep each other fed and make sure they each stay alive.

No matter what.

Domains and Avatars in a Changed World

The Change still happens as it does in canon. Nobody has a direct part in it, though Alenoaheather are a continuous threat to The Usher Foundation as a trio of avatars seeking to expand their influence and victims. They get into fights, though the conflicting parties end up surviving to see themselves Changed.

Gwen

Her sketches take on a life of their own. When she sketches something realistically enough, it’ll come to life. She isn’t guaranteed control of it, but it will be there. In addition, if she sketches an individual, she’ll be able to ask it about things that individual knows. If she touches that sketch up to the original, then that person/creature will be trapped within the drawing. If the drawing is destroyed, so are they. Unlike with other deaths in the changed world, this is permanent.

Her domain is Artist’s Alley. There are booths run by abstract figures that buy and sell art. These art pieces are in fact humans/animals trapped in pieces of art. It represents the fear of being put on display for others to gawk at and commodify. She’s vaguely aware it exists, and when she does find out about it avoids it like the plague.

Izzy

She can turn into prey animals that lure unsuspecting victims into an obsessive hunt that never ends until the person can hunt no more and collapses due to exhaustion, dehydration, or a combination. At which point, she then turns into a predator that rips them apart. She waits for them to reform so that she can start the process all over again.

Her domain is The Opened Season. In it humans are caught in a cycle where they are always hunting someone down, while they themselves are always being hunted. It’s based on the fear of not being at the top of the food chain despite being high up there. Izzy spends most of her time here.

Eva

She can take her own emotions and strengths and project them onto others. This is usually rage and results in others getting filled with the urge for violence. This prevents them from thinking straight, which makes them both easier and harder to fight off.

Her domain is The Battle Arena. Humans are made to fight in an continuous onslaught against each other and other beasts and foes. There are places for training that are still met with violence. Places of rest and relaxation are all potential fight pits. It represents the fear of peace not being an option.

Alejandro

Alejandro's domain is The Lulling Field. It looks peaceful, with nothing trying to attack you. The grass is soft. There is a standard cycle of day and night. During the day it's sunny, but there's always shade among the many trees. It's just warm enough to encourage rest without being overbearing. There are poppies with fractal designs that litter the ground. For those who prefer resting inside, there are cabins with the comfiest beds imaginable.

Those who aren't lured by the temptation to sleep find those strange, beautiful poppies start emitting pollen that forces them into slumber.

That's where the horror begins. Once they fall asleep, they are trapped within a non-euclidean dream that never ends. The dream logic is strange and unpredictable. A person loses their sense of attachment to their body as they grapple with viewing themselves in the third person perspective of their dreams.

There are many times where they're allowed to think they've figured out how to escape the dream and have woken up, back to a reality pre-change where nothing bad has happened.

It's always proven as a lie as each 'wake up' is actually them being driven deeper and deeper into their dream. Until they can't even remember what their original reality was like.

The many peaceful sleeping forms that inhabit the field forever hide the torment the dreaming soul is experiencing. They enhance the illusion that it must be safe if so many are comfortable enough to sleep exposed.

The real world is such a harsh place right now.

Don't you deserve the rest?

As its avatar, Alejandro has the ability to travel through and inhabit dreams. In this form his limbs are much longer than they should be, and he’s closer to 8 feet tall. His fingers curl in on themselves but are capable of slicing. His pupils are permanently fractals.

He'll carry poppies that he blows into the faces of those who are awake to knock them out. He'll often go into those of his victims and insert himself as their dearest, most trusted friend.

Sometimes he'll try to convince them that they're insane for thinking that their dream is anything but reality. Other times he'll help them 'discover' their unreality and help them 'escape'. Truly let them think they're the protagonist trying to free their people. only to laugh when they just go right into the next layer of dreaming thinking that they've finally won.

His realm represents the fear of falling asleep and never waking up.

Noah

Noah's domain is The Library. Which, as the name implies, is a giant library with books filled on every subject known and unknown to mankind. There are cameras watching every shelf.

There are reference desks centered at the entrances/exits with mechanical attendants. Those attendants can answer questions in regards to basic questions about the section they reside over, but anybody seeking specific questions, or who wishes to borrow a book, need to make their way to the main reference desk in the center, which is where Noah resides.

The directions and maps to get to that main desk are confounded by riddles that must be solved using intelligence. If solved properly it's a quick trek to the main desk. Otherwise, it takes ages to stumble to the right spot, though being smart enough to make one's own map that works for them will also get them there quicker, albeit still slower than if they'd solved the original riddle.

Anyone in The Library will want to make their way to that central desk fast, because it has regular hours, and closed time where the lights go dark. The attendants make their rounds at dark.

Any visitor caught by an attendant is dragged to the central reference desk, frozen and put On Hold on a large shelf until Noah can come to deal with them when The Library opens again. The same thing will happen if they're caught stealing a book or damaging anything in The Library, which is nigh impossible to get away with with all the cameras.

Those who have broken the rules have all their knowledge forcibly extracted from them by Noah. His fingers slip through their skull to pull out their brain and spread it into sheets as thin as paper. The grooves of the brain become lines of text as they're separated into neat sheets of paper. Their bodies are used as the leather needed to bind the new book together. They're still alive and conscious through this whole process as they get shelved away into the appropriate section. To stay there until someone feels like checking them out.

Anyone who does make their way willingly to Noah during business hours has the option to ask for a library card. Library card holders are allowed to stay in the library after hours (so long as they hold firm to the no stealing or destroying property rule).

They can stay in the library as long as they like without need to worry about Noah. However, his partners do like to come visit from time to time, and they're always eager for more victims. Noah won't do a thing to stop them. So any humans can stay at their own risk.

Library card holders are also able to borrow books from the library. Regular books can be borrowed without issue. However, more valuable books, such as books that would help them survive and understand the new world they live in or books that were once people that have all their valuable knowledge, require valuable knowledge to be given in return.

A person can either let Noah Behold them for a traumatic memory that they will then be forced to relive as he examines it and determines if it's a worthy trade for the book they want. Or they can give up a cherish memory for him to turn into a book. They'll never be able to remember that memory again.

This domain's fear is about getting caught breaking a rule you didn't know existed. Getting punished in a way that far outmatches the crime. The rules are nowhere to be found so you have to either ask for them and risk somehow breaking them that way, or stumble around and hope you don't break them.

It's a surveillance state with an apathetic watcher. He only care for his books, not people. He doesn't want to be here. If he's made to deal with it he takes it out on the person who interrupted his brief moments of peace before going back to his task.

Noah's also got the ability to peer into someone's immediate future based on their current thoughts. He doesn't pack much of a punch himself aside from his 'blast them with the PTSD' ability. But he can dodge attacks because he can See them coming.

Rather than just have the two extra eyes, he now has eyes covering every part of his body. If he touches a person, he can place one of his eyes onto them so he can see what they experience.

He also has at least a vague awareness of what's going on in each of those cameras at all times.

Heather

Her domain is called The Spider's Den. There are spiders and webbing everywhere. There's evidence that there was once remnants of humanity but it's all overtaken by webbing. Stepping on the webbing sends vibrations to other strands, which is how spiders get alerted to the presence of humans. Only baby spiders are the size of regular ones from Pre-change. Spiders now are on average the size of humans.

Once they paralyze and cocoon their victims, they drag them over to the central web to present them to their queen: Heather. She'll inflict her own venom on them, and only then will she unravel their cocoon. Not to free them, of course. She rips into a person to pull out their nerves.

She turns the webbing into strings and replaces the nerves with them. With the end of their strings attached to herself. She forces them to play along into a fascimile of normalcy where Heather is the main star. Everyone else is merely there to compliment her and revolve around her.

When she doesn't need somebody anymore, she'll cut their webbing. They'll collapse with nothing to hold them up, and stay there paralyzed thanks to her venom and their lack of nerves. They're left to just watch as life goes on without them. Occasionally being used by other spiders as new nests. If Heather does remember they exist and wants them again, then she'll reconnect their strings and start the show all over again.

The domain itself is more about the general fear of spiders, but Heather has also turned it into the fear of being an insignificant player in someone else's story.

Her avatar ability is that ability to connect people to herself via webbing, and then control them as she pleases. Her venom enacts a permanent paralysis. While in her previous drider form her human half was mostly human, now her top half is much more spider-like. She has eight eyes and she has mandibles. She’s also bigger, standing closer to 12 feet.

Endgame

So there’s no concrete endgame for this AU, as it’s more ideas and concepts than anything.

I will say that post-change, Alenoaheather perform an unholy wedding in order to marry their domains together. It involves many a sacrifice, and they ‘invite’ the few outside of themselves that they care about to it. Mind you, they do this with the intention of keeping them trapped forever, but still.

One of which being Carlos, who has to grapple with the fact that his little brother has now become this monster. Carlos is just a human caught in all of this. Despite Alejandro’s best efforts, his abilities do overtake Carlos just with his sheer presence and Carlos becomes closer to a vegetable than anything.

Alejandro refuses to acknowledge this and treats Carlos as if he isn’t talking to a shell of a man.

Gwen and Courtney are traveling about trying to fix the world in whatever way they can. Mostly by killing off other avatars.

Eventually, the change gets reverted, though I can’t decide whether Alenoaheather gets defeated by Gwourtney before the change gets reverted, or if they become normal after the change and get hunted down by everyone else.

Either way, that’s all I have for this AU for now! Don’t know if I’ll decide to expand upon it more but hope you guys enjoyed it!

[slowd1ving]

I. THAT'S WHAT ALL THE PEOPLE SAY ･ﾟ FRANCIS MOSSES

"Your usual, Mr Francis Mosses?” you repeat with the same inflection. It has to stay the same. A name to a star will not make it any more personal – it’ll remain the same cold distance away, stay the same burning core of amorphous light, in a fixed set of constellations. It has to. But you’ve overlooked the most salient point. Humans are not stars. There's a reason you stuck with this shitty diner job: routine. So, why the hell does that keep changing for you? warnings + general: amab!reader, nsfw, depression, smoking + unhealthy habits, diner au, trauma, military background (made up unit for doppelgangers) so canon divergence, obsession lowkey

MISC. MASTERLIST

THAT'S LIFE MASTERLIST

MASTERLIST ・゜・NAVIGATION

NEXT PART・

‘That’s life (that’s life), that’s what all the people say.’

Tinny, crackling music permeates the small diner. Sound waves echo against the chequered tiles bathed azure in the blue hour, and return to the record player in an endless cycle. Rinse and repeat. Devour yourself and be devoured in exchange. Ouroboros.  

Is there particular meaning to be found in musing over such philosophy? Maybe, maybe not – the only witnesses to tell you otherwise are the winking lampposts stationed outside the building. Thus, these thoughts keep you company on such cold days; there’s no one to tell you otherwise, after all. 

There’s not much else to do here. You’d change the record, but the only vinyl left behind by the old owner is the old ‘66 Sinatra. You’d clean up, but that’s all you really do. You’d talk to someone, but this hour before sunset isn’t the time slot of any of the usual regulars. 

Day in, day out, they come at their methodical intervals: Mr Henryk Jameson at quarter to five, a new woman on his arm each time; Mr Steven Rudboys at six, desperately rushing home with two takeout boxes for himself and his retired father; and Miss Mia Stone at half-past twelve, who talks a big deal about her students while she tucks into her onion rings and beef burger on her lunch break. 

There are others, of course, but these are the ones who remain most salient in these changing times. 

Here, there’s never a rush. It’s a languid sort of pace, one that allows you to be one of only two workers that run this place. The quarterly margin for the books is awful narrow; it dances on the line between profit and loss, and occasionally plays jump-rope with it. But you’re not here at the edge of town to make money.

You like the quiet life. 

You leave making money to the businessmen in the city, with their pinstriped suits and powdered foreheads. They’re regulars at lunch: hands gingerly poised to avoid greasing their harsh charcoal three-pieces, mouths pursed like an asshole sphincter as they sip their scalding instant brew, and eyes constantly honed in on other businessmen hawkishly. 

Some things just never change, just like this diner. It was the same three years back: same red retro bar stools, same fluorescent neon graphics, same polished black counters that left behind countless fingerprints. 

Still no customers. 

You slip a pack of Old Gold from your apron, lighting the last stick with the stovetop. At least you have the courtesy to step outside while you smoke, unlike some of your uncouth patrons. Some people just won’t understand basic manners, and that’s fine (it's not fine). 

The heady nicotine rush soothes you. At times like this, it reminds you of the field ration pack new recruits received on a weekly basis. 

Doppelgänger Detection Department: Special Extermination Unit. Honourable discharge, May 7th, 1973. Humanity’s adapted to its challenges well. 

You breathe the smoke out; it trails grey against the blue fog of the sky. The taste lingers: slightly nutty, moderately sweet. 

You know this flavour well. 

It preludes the adrenaline of battle.

‘You’re riding high in April, shot down in May.’

Why does the Special Extermination Unit want its cadets high on the rush while they fight? The answer’s surprisingly simple. 

Forget fear.  

It’s drilled into each new recruit. Fear clouds your mind. Fear leads to irrationality. Fear tears apart that which must remain compartmentalised. 

Better have cadets slightly out of the loop of the mind than pissing their pants in the face of a doppelgänger. Or faces (plural). Or lack of one. 

On the quiet road, a small van emerges from the mist. It’s nothing special; a white standard model awash with the indigo haze of dusk. You take a drag whilst observing it; when it pulls up into the diner driveway, its wheels crunch on the gravel with a sound that suspiciously resembles a breaking ribcage.

This is new. 

Your universe has been slightly tilted on its axis of rotation. 

When he takes a step towards the fluorescent light blinking from the joint, his breath comes out in neon puffs. Just like you – except, you know, your lung damage is significantly worse. 

You’ve never seen him before. Methodically, you observe him in your scrupulous capacity: a habit from your regiment that you’re hard-pressed to let go of. He’s of shorter stature than you, just an inch or two. Dark brown hair is slicked back neatly under a cap that blatantly reads ‘MILKMAN’ in bold letters. While his white shirt and dark trousers have been ironed, there are slight wrinkles in the fabric that betray his hard labour. 

While you observe him, he observes you. Those tired eyes gleam brick-red when you jostle the stick of nicotine in your fingers, and you don’t doubt the gleam in your own. He moves closer, and you can see the pronounced eye bags under his eyes and the gentle arch of his nose. Closer still, and your eyes can pick up his lashes, while your olfactory senses notice the milky, powdery scent that breaks through the smoke. 

Wordlessly, he moves past you. The heavy glass door swings shut behind him, and you swear quietly as you step on your still-lit cigarette to snuff it out. 

He’s waiting when you go in; his hands roughly loosen his bow-tie as he stands at the counter. No, he leans against it with his hip: tiredness more pronounced in the harsh neon incandescence. 

Your routine has been broken for the first time in three years. 

“Hard day?” 

“Mm,” he acknowledges laconically with a hum, not a word more of affirmation. You give up in your meagre attempts to further crash and burn this aforementioned routine. 

“What will it be for you, then?” The end of your question is markedly more flat. Boredom has seeped in once again. 

“House special.” His voice is low when he replies, vibrating at a frequency that sticks into your own sternum. “And a coffee to-go.”

“It’ll be ready in five or so minutes, sir.” You rip the small receipt from the pager and hand it to him – that marks the end of your conversation. 

Whilst the onion and beef cooks on the griddle, you take the time to watch him. He’s a singularity – an anomaly – in your Frank Sinatra-hazed day. Though, despite his strange role in your life as an unexpected variable, he seems painfully ordinary. His head’s tipped back against the cherry-red leather booth: eyes shut in a way that relaxes his face and makes him look at peace rather than exhausted. No, scratch that. Who are you kidding? He looks even more exhausted like this – hands unfurled on his lap, shoulders loose in their sockets as he slumps. 

Even his hat looks exhausted, deflating slightly on the seat beside him. His hair loses its slick quality; it’s messy in a way that pushes you to add an extra shot of espresso to his cup. He deserves it more than those stick businessmen in their suits, you think. 

You turn down the volume dial of the record player. Just a bit, until the vocals and instruments blend together as a singular ode to swing. It creaks from disuse – you don’t think it’s ever been turned. 

When you walk to his table, you do so soundlessly. Doppelgänger senses extend further and better than human ones; you know from ample experience. In the welcome video for new cadets, the crackling voice mentions such every few minutes. Even with your boots that squeak on newly-mopped floors, you manage the walk silently. 

Just as softly, you place his order down on the table and take that instantaneous moment before the aroma reaches him to observe once more. 

His face is serene. Soot-black lashes flutter as he finally registers the source of warmth and the caramelised aroma of the dish, and you take a step back. 

“Mm,” his hum is quieter this time – sleep-tinged. “Thanks.”

That short exchange is nothing less than your galaxy finally exploding. 

You don’t know his name. But you’ve got a great memory, and he’s currently the crowning supernova in the middle of it. 

‘But I know I’m gonna change that tune, when I’m back on top, back on top in June.’

The unexpected variable turns into an expected one. 

You haven’t seen him for a week, but he shows up during your shift seven days later – eerily at the same time he had previously. He looks the same – you’d know the signs of a doppelgänger, of all people – and you breathe a sigh of relief. 

Wait. 

Why would you care?

You thoughtfully thumb the plastic of the pack in your apron pocket as you deliberate the question. You’re not one to get attached to people – you’ve blown through the brains of faces that looked almost identical to your comrades-in-arms, with nothing more than indifference. 

So, why?

You really shouldn’t have started the philosophical thoughts at this time. It appears you’ve Pavlov’ed yourself into introspecting when dusk begins. 

He sits in the same booth he did last time, half-pressed against a window on the left side. His hair is mussed once more, while his bow-tie is strewn haphazardly on his cap. It almost feels like a routine is beginning. Except it’s not, since he’s awake this time. 

He looks at you with those dark brown eyes, and you don’t look back. 

And you’re determined to stick to your pessimistic and mundane world-view, so once you place his food down, you head into the azure realm to light a stick once more. 

You watch his white van, parked neatly in between those two pale lines while a stray cat circles around the warm tires. He watches you in turn. You can feel those pinpricks of pupils, boring straight into your back as you breath the menthol in, and out, and in, and out. Those instincts and reflexes of yours have been honed to a furious degree, after all. This much is child’s play. 

Are you a deviation from his routine, as much as he is to yours?

You’re not sure what to think. 

‘I said that’s life (that’s life) and as funny as it may seem, some people get their kicks, stomping on a dream.’

It’s the third time meeting him that you learn his name. It’s not like you learn it on purpose, but you’ve finally got a name to put to your blue-tinged anomaly. 

“Your usual, sir?” Your voice is polite, yet anyone could sense your exhaustion clear in your cadence. It’s been a long day, filled with numerous Miss Mia Stones after she brought her colleagues over – an exponential increase of imaginary students to talk about. Ever since he began eating here, there seem to be more deviations to your peaceful boredom. 

“Francis Mosses,” he replies without a hum for the first time. You pause in pre-filling the pager. The world grinds to a halt for a brief, starry moment. 

“Your usual, Mr Francis Mosses?” you repeat with the same inflection. It has to stay the same. A name to a star will not make it any more personal – it’ll remain the same cold distance away, stay the same burning core of amorphous light, in a fixed set of constellations. It has to. 

But you’ve overlooked the most salient point. Humans are not stars. 

“Yes, please.” He maintains eye contact this time. Perhaps it’s the fatigue that’s trained his gaze on you. Perhaps he’s slightly delirious. Perhaps it’s neither. 

Regardless, you can feel a slight shift in attitude, and you don’t like it. 

It’s different when the Businessmen in Pinstripe Suits come by. They’re very Important, they proclaim, so don’t mess up their Coffee and get it done Pronto. They don’t give names, only business cards. They don’t give names, only leave smoke from their Marlboros behind. They don’t give names. That’s how you like it. 

Their seats remain fixed – prime positions to glare at each other while simultaneously flaunting their contracts and suits and new watches. These constellations remain constant. That’s the rule of nature you’ve noticed. It shouldn’t diverge.

It shouldn’t.

It can’t.

You won’t get close to anyone. This is fact.  

‘But I don’t let it, let it get me down.’

The typical reasons for joining the Doppelgänger Detection Department: Special Extermination Unit, colloquially dubbed “Execution Squad”, are one of three: a strong sense of patriotism, a keen desire for revenge, or a death wish. 

You are not a patriot, and you’re definitely unenthused at putting yourself through hell simply to die at the hands of a doppelgänger. Really, there are easier and quicker methods at killing yourself that don't involve this infernal training regime. 

Those invasive pests had broken apart your family. You pick up the weight of the gun to return the favour, losing a bit of your humanity in exchange. 

You take the dangerous jobs – risk is nothing with the nicotine and fury bubbling through your veins. You raid the abandoned warehouses, negotiate and exterminate the intelligent doppelgängers, and cull the ones impersonating animals. 

With each mission, you lose part of yourself. 

You shoot people who look like your friends, fellow humans like yourself. Children. Elderly. It’s exceedingly difficult to remind yourself it’s not human blood coagulating on your hands. 

Your sacrifice serves you well. Your anger bolsters your righteous path as Captain. It doesn't quite feel like revenge when it’s paved with gold and a heavy salary, but what do you know?

All stars burn bright before they die, right?

‘Cause this fine old world, it keeps spinnin’ around.’

It’s been a little over two months, and the supernova has become part of your galaxy. 

He orders, he sits, he takes a short rest. While he eats, he watches you smoke. You think that’s the end of that, but it’s not. 

Mr Francis Mosses stops coming weekly. Rather, he’s begun coming nightly.

Just as the clouds begin turning that alizarin blue, he parks his compact van in the driveway. You hear him before you see him – senses enhanced by your years in this country’s pseudo-military, muscle and sinew tensed in anticipation. Each gravel crunch is a signal, each careful step a firework. You can hear the engine hum as though it was by your ear. 

You don’t know when the anticipation started. You don’t particularly like it. 

“Mm,” his voice has become slightly rougher. Those dark shadows beneath his eyes look particularly deep tonight, when the dusk coalesces faster. “What do you recommend?”

This is new. This is uncharted territory, but your supernova always throws out the map regardless. 

You blink, thoroughly perturbed by his sudden question. Self-consciously, your fingers thread through your apron ties. 

“I don’t know.” You’re carefully neutral, to the point where you’re even boring yourself. “I haven’t really given it much thought.”

You really haven’t. It’s not like you particularly care about what you eat; smoke distorts your perception of hunger, and you just pick whatever’s closest to you.

“Pick something for me, then, anything at all,” he offers. You stare at him like he’s grown another eyeball. This, you think, is the most words you’ve heard in a row from him. It’s slightly disturbing. “I think I’ll like whatever you choose.”

You stay silent, with neon lights dancing on your impassive face as a response. 

When you make his strawberry milkshake and chicken club sandwich, he’s not closed his eyes. Rather, he watches while you work, much like you’d watched him when he first came to the diner. And rather than his usual booth, he sits right on the cherry-red stools at the bar counter, right in front of the kitchen station. 

It’s unnerving.

The streetlamps create halos around him. He’s a cerulean angel, you realise, one that’s tired and exhausted from the divine lifestyle. 

For the first time in three years, you can hear something other than the vinyl. If you stop to think about it, you think it’s your pulse drumming impatiently in your ears. But that would be absurd. 

Everyone knows that when you die, your heart shrivels cold and hard. 

You've died several times over. A pulse is impossible.

‘I’ve been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn and a king.’

From the very beginning in the Execution Squad, you’re taught two fundamental rules. The first is that though these creatures may appear human, you should extricate any and all pity you may have for them. 

The second fundamental is that doppelgängers work alone. Amongst apex predators like these, they hunt alone and live alone. These truths were observed when they first arrived, and you don’t question them. As a Captain, you’ve repeated the same tenets to your subordinates dozens of times, and they have served you well. 

That is the ‘routine’ you’ve created. Nothing good comes from its mutations.  

Don’t feel pity for these creatures. They’ll take your weakness and slit your throat with it. 

It’s supposed to be a simple operation. 

Use their lack of cooperation amongst themselves against them. A natural rivalry is present in the species.

You’ve grown complacent. It seems you don’t remember the most pivotal tenet of them all. 

But don’t expect this species to remain constant. 

You’ve already sent your Lieutenant back to base on your foolish assumption that this is just a simple extermination job. 

“Two confirmed doppelgängers in the vicinity, may be more in hiding,” you mutter. Your pistol is strapped to your thigh, whilst your shotgun rests heavy against your back. It’s a comforting weight. 

It’s also a false security. 

No one can deny your experience. You know your subordinates inside and out; you’ve eliminated their doppelgängers countless times. You shoot their faces. You watch the viscera drip from your sleeve. You tuck away your weapon. 

The bile stops rising eventually when you use enough bullets. 

That’s enough reminiscing. 

When you light the stick, you’re under the eaves of a crumbling factory. Rain drizzles from forlorn clouds – it’s winter, and you’re starved for warmth. Anything will do, even if it’s the hot blood congealing off your body in dense rivulets. 

It’s sickening, but you’re sick in the head and have been for a long time now. 

It’s not bloodthirst, but a cold detachment. Even without the nicotine, you think you could stay compartmentalised enough to face hordes of doppelgängers. 

Slightly nutty, moderately sweet. A note of sourness, you appreciate. 

You can sense several figures moving around in the factory. Even though they appear closer to each other than usual, you don’t think anything of it. 

After all, this is your ‘routine’. 

When you stub the smoke out into the soaked pavement, you know it’s time to move. Though there’s some unease lingering in the back of your throat, you dismiss it. 

You shoot the lock open. Your dark coat whirls behind you as the door clicks inwards. 

Several pairs of eyes swing towards you, and you freeze. 

How could you not?

These aren’t the people you’ve spent each day with for the past few years. These are your parents, your siblings, your cousins.  

No one warned you about this. 

This wasn’t in the manuals you read. 

When they say your name, you crumple like the building you’re in. Your tears cascade like the rain outside. 

You know their faces. They’re real, breathing mementos of long-gone humans. You want to believe; you can feel your precious tenets disintegrating with each step you take towards your family. 

Your family.  

Through blurred eyes, you can’t examine them in detail. They croon towards you – hushed murmurings of love and comfort – and you cannot help but give in. The gun at your thigh, the gun at your back; they’re there because of them, your family. 

Those compartments in your mind. They’re gone, burst open as though they were floodgates. 

You’re held for the first time in a decade. Human warmth envelopes you, before it starts suffocating you. 

Give in, it says. 

You want to. You want to, damn it, more than anything. 

You lied when you said you didn’t want death. 

You crave it the most. 

“I’m sorry,” you plead. “I can’t.”

“Yes you can,” they coo, and for a minute it feels wrong to imagine otherwise. It feels like betrayal to think of them as anything other than kin. 

“I’m sorry,” you repeat through sobs. Your guns are drawn, and you aim at the faces you wanted to see again more than anything. 

This is love, you think. You bear this pain because you love your family. You love them, to the point where you shoot them so they can finally rest beyond the veil. You love them, to the point where you point your gun at yourself and drop it wretchedly when it’s out of bullets. 

You love them, to the point where you’d rip your heart out of your chest to quell their sadness. 

“I’m sorry.” 

Salty tears drip from your face as you shoot for the last time in your career. 

When your Lieutenant finds you, you’re drowning. You’re curled up inside the abandoned factory, bodies strewn around you as you clutch your mother’s face for the last time. It’s not a pretty sight – brain matter and blood drips from you in oceans. They bled like me. They bled like my parents.

You’re choking on the waves. You’ve gotten your revenge. 

You’ve gotten your warmth – the blood and tears and rain scald you. Devils burn when exposed to such liquids, after all; you’re too impure to carry on living. 

Your cries strangle you. Even when you gasp and heave, no oxygen enters your desperate mouth. 

“I’m sorry,” you repeat. Over and over, over and over, over and over, over and over, over and over, you repeat the same syllables. Even when the tears stop, your eyes are curiously blank and you continue the mantra. 

The lack of tears doesn’t matter anymore. The sky cries for you; weeks after the incident leave the area with relentless downpour that doesn’t cease even long after you’re taken away. 

I’m sorry. 

Revenge wasn’t meant to be like this. You had clear expectations; the doppelgänger was never meant to be family. You’d imagined a faceless creature. You hadn’t imagined this at all. 

I’m sorry. 

Episodes like this happen to even the most experienced within the unit. No one can shoulder this burden forever.

I’m sorry.

You’re honourably discharged. As of May 7th, 1973, you’re no longer part of the Execution Squad. 

“Go,” they say. “You’re free.”

No one says anything when you tumble in from hell into a small town on the edge of the city. There, you’ve been given a blank slate. They’ve scrubbed clean the blood from it – it smells like bleach and a myriad of cleaning chemicals. 

You’re allowed to keep your pistol. Though you’re not a part of the Execution Squad any longer, your badge allows you to keep it for self-defence against doppelgängers as a former Captain. It’s less work for the D.D.D – you take on the vigilant role, while they don’t need to put you on the payroll. It’s a pity for them, however. 

You don’t plan on touching it ever again.

When you sign the job contract for a shitty diner that only plays the same record on repeat, you savour it. Though your looping letters still come out bloody, it’s from beef patties rather than doppelgängers. 

It’s a fresh start. 

Here, you’ll create your painfully ordinary, mundane ‘routine’.

It can’t mutate again. 

Please. You plead with fate. Not again.

You don’t plan on feeling hurt ever again. 

‘I’ve been up and down and over and out and I know one thing.’

“My name?” 

“Mm,” Mr Francis Mosses hums. His eyes lazily trace you, and you know he can see the name tag pinned neatly on your chest. You say as much, with as little emotion as possible. 

This is dangerous. Your stomach churns in what could only be nervousness. 

“I’d like to hear it from you,” he comments neutrally. Or not. If you’re not mistaken, the earlier impassivity of his has melted slightly into amicability. You hope you’re mistaken.

Even so, your name leaves your lips like a promise. 

I hate myself. 

If he notices the hidden loathing, he doesn’t say anything. 

‘Each time I find myself flat on my face, I pick myself up and get back in the race.’

It happens on the eve of ‘77. Snow softly powders the welkin and the earth, yet everything is still blue. There appears to be no purity where you reside; just a sorrowful, mournful despondency trailing behind you like a grave shroud fluttering on the funeral pyre. 

You’re about to light your second cigarette when you hear that familiar hum of machinery. It sings to you, breaks your blood vessels and rebuilds them once more. 

You hadn’t expected him to come today – it’s a day that should be spent with family, not at some diner where even the most rambunctious couldn’t be found today.

The stick is left between your lips like a kiss. 

When he gets out of his van, he doesn’t move past you. You, the Cerebus of the underworld. You, the mad dog who can do nothing but guard. You, who couldn’t do even that, and failed in your duty. Your honourable discharge is anything but. You’re a disgrace.  

No, he doesn’t move past you. 

His jacket slips off his shoulders and wraps around you. You blink in surprise, sturdy muscles poised to act to this unknown danger. What is this?

He still doesn’t move past you – his nose is slowly turning red in the below zero Celsius weather, while his breath comes out in silvery plumes. It’s unfathomable. 

When he pulls out a lighter, you almost go into anaphylactic shock. 

But you don’t, because your body is a traitor who can’t even die properly. 

You bend obediently at the waist to receive the flame instead. 

This is new. 

It seems like your supernova was able to reach past his limits.

This gravitational pull – it has to be a black hole.

Your galaxies need a thorough reshaping once more, it seems.

“Go, Mr Francis Mosses,” you mumble. “It’s too cold out here for you.”

When he enters the warm diner with a small hum, you miss the small smile on his tired face. 

The heavy glass doors swing shut. You’re alone in the blue world, drinking in the menthol and tobacco and tar and all the flavours that exist on this pitiful planet. Yes, you’re a speck on the planet, and Mr Francis Mosses is at the centre of the orbit. It all comes down to him. He’s the sudden singularity that continuously tilts the axis of motion. 

You don’t think the belt of stars can ever be the same. 

When was the last time you felt like this?

He’s not in his usual space by the counter when you shoulder open the door. Instead, he sits at the booth closest to the record player – Sinatra’s mellow tenor can be heard clearest at the point where the sound waves reach their zero order. It’s a good spot, especially for the eve of the next year; it’s in direct sight of the digital clock that currently reads a quarter to ten. 

You step silently towards him, but there’s no use in that. He’s watching each pace, after all. 

You don’t know what he’s thinking. All this time spent among doppelgängers, and you’ve lost the ability to read humans in return. 

He’s unusual. 

What’s he scheming?

“What would you like, Mr Francis Mosses?” you ask instead. It’ll be an easier answer for you to bear, you think. 

This corner is particularly dim, lit only by the back glow of fluorescence from the reflective walls. You can easily pick up the dilation of his eyes as you move closer; with your sharp eyes, you can even pick up the reflection of you and that coat in his irises. 

He should’ve moved to a brighter spot, you think. You’re not particularly discerning when it comes to these matters. 

“I’d like to share a meal with you for New Years’,” his voice is husky-low with exhaustion. You pity him, having to work to the bone each day. “You can decide what we have.”

“Go home, Mr Mosses,” you reply. 

Maybe he’s like you. Alone, without a supernova to shift his axis. 

“I can’t,” he tiredly remarks. “You’re good company.”

This time when you cook, he keeps his eyes closed with the jacket covering him like a blanket. You’re damn sure it smells like any pack of Old Gold, yet he’s conked out like a baby nonetheless. 

You frown.

What’s with this guy?

He’s out for quite a bit – you watch the minutes drag out until it’s half to eleven. By then, you’ve painstakingly made waffles, generously topped with strawberries. There’s other dishes too from the diner menu: burgers dripping with onions and beef fat, fries coated in powdered spices, and a bottle of cognac you were planning on drinking on the steps tonight. 

It’s New Years’ Eve, after all. 

Your hand reaches out to shake him awake, but you freeze just before collision. 

What’s with this feeling?

Your stomach feels tight, but before you can react, your hand’s already clasped around his deltoid. It’s startling how warm it is; you can feel each steady thrum of his heart, each gasp of lifeblood as it oxygenates and pulses through his cells. 

“Mr Francis Mosses,” you rasp, low and just barely above the strains of swing music. The crackle of the record player seems to be louder than your hushed cadence, but the man awakes quickly regardless of your volume. He takes a moment to register his surroundings, before stiffening slightly upon spotting your hand still on his shoulder. 

You quickly retract it as though burnt. 

For the first time in a while, you can taste the food. It doesn’t go up in smoke, and it doesn’t go anywhere save your stomach. 

When you drink the cognac, Mr Francis Mosses drinks with you. His flushed face is something to behold, something that makes your solar plexus tighter and tighter. 

There’s a burning sensation that claws from your chest. You can’t be sure, but you don’t think it’s the alcohol. 

“Mr Mosses,” you say, glancing at the sky beyond the windows. It’s no longer blue – rather, the black firmament reflects nothing but neon motifs. You step outside, lighting a fresh stick as he follows behind you in a tizzy. 

“It’s midnight,” you exhale. 

“It is.” It is, and it’s the first time you’ve seen him smile like that. Eyes crinkled at the edges, teeth slightly on display. Your breath catches, and the cigarette in your fingers twirls, forgotten in that moment. 

“Happy New Year, Mr Mosses.”

Everything is supercharged. 

For the first time, you truly don’t know what the future will bring. 

[stitchwraith-stingers]

if i had a nickle for every fop / pokemon related post i made id have 3, which isnt alot but its werid it happened thrice

anyways nerd instincts on, come with me i will show you what full pokemon teams i feel like the characters would have, making like 3 of them in the process lmaooo

ill try not to give many characters repeating mon's cuz it probably makes me look repetitive but whatever its ok only human kids sorryyyy, feel free to ask abt other characters ill try to think of something

timmy turner's family would be one of those people that own 6 magikarp that only know splash down random routes, well hes not good at all with battling and arceus knows with how many battles he keeps loosing at school theyll never evolve, yes hes tired of all the comparisons with his bidoof

he grows up to be a fairy elite four member in johto!!! he has 2 sylveons on his team

chloe carmicheal's ace would be her yamper! the team above is her casual / contests, the one below is for serious battles, her family does so much at the same time - breed pokemon, check their friendship, hunt shinies, are professors, are gym leaders, they want her to become a champion while never missing for contests and having to battle highly expirienced trainers isnt easy for her oof, she probably has aton of mons in her PC and does eventually become the champion of johto

chester mcbadbat, i dont think i need to elaborate

AJ's ace would be reuinclus, though he just owns a mew, and probably multible, because of him being involved in some way in project mewtwo, chespin is here just for casual companionship, probably owns more ghost types as time goes on and chestnaught is the official mascot of the galax insitute, which many people there are confused about

trixie tang would only ever show her ninetales at school to appease her "feminine and elegant" persona people see her as, she sides all her "badass" mon's but cares for them deeply inspite of it all, also with the added bonus of ninetales cursing you if you get too close or smth along the lines

tootie would only own these two, no one knows how she got them

remy buxaplenty is not interested in battling, but he does keep his persian with him wherever he goes, furfrou incase he needs to look richer, his furret looks oddly purple....

kevin crocker's ace would be murkrow! he kept his uncles espeon, cutiefly is from his grandma

for the ANW characters, im gonna go by a fun rule someone had left in the comments that i reallyyyy liked :3 - every student has atleast one fairy type

hazel wells' ace would be elmoga, as its been her best friend since she was young, her zorua is a close second though! she owns alot of ghost types since her father is a ghost type specialist in the elite four in unova (moms a bug type specialist), constantly worrying that she wont be as good as the others in battling even though her school isnt big on battling and more bonding with ur mon

jasmine tran's ace would be jigglypuff! however its not uncommon to see her walking around with her popplio outside its pokeball, the jigglypuff was a gift actually, alot of people say its like theyre made for eachother, for reasons probably not actually positive, joltik is there after fearless and uses it to prank others, tinyyyy...... her leafeon had only recently evolved

winn harper's ace would be alolan raichu! surfing is just water skateboarding, so raichu helps with some cool tricks on the playground, theyre also rlly close with their furfrou, who they constantly also dye their fur to match their hair, and also cuz i think theyre a dog person in general, one of the few kids in their school to have fully evolved pokemon since their parents are gym leaders, loves competitive battling!

jenkins' ace would be his deerling, autumn form specifically, he also owns a douduo! from his home region of ye olden kanto, just a normal type specialist, no big deal

the doe twins would own two umbreons, ones regular the other ones shiny, theyve also been gifted tatsugiri and dondozo from their father from his fisherman days back in paldea, though they never use those two outside of battles, double battlers and weridos

whispers fred's main would be an absol! quiet but gets the job done, he also probably thinks that in addition to predicting natural disasters that his absol can sense mythical mons (which doesnt work that way, dont tell him), whismur helps him on the job, along with being a shiny he came across one day!, his slowpoke, ralts and eevee are there for emotional support, doesnt like to battle, probably thinks shiny pokemon are supernatural and brags about his whismur

dev dimmadome i like to imagine doesnt really own a pokemon of his own, they usually just breed and sell them off so he doesnt get to bond with them enough nor has he though about it, but during the battle of the big wand he gets them from foop, he and hazel have this grand battle (emolga probably does some thunder armor bullshit), the buneary refuses to evolve and admitibly doesnt like him, may or may not join hazels team instead and may or may not symbolise their relationship idk idk

[blue-rose-soul]

A thought had occurred to me. What if whatever living things that come in contact with Lucifer, their souls are tainted and they go to Hell. So with Alastor's mom, Nicaise had interaction with Lucifer, after she die, she went to Hell.

I imagined in one scenario both she and kid Alastor in hell, had to fend themselves against sinners, hellborns and exorcists in every extermination day. Nicaise may have to learn few tricks while kid Alastor go monster on who would dare to harm his mother.

Maybe because I want to see interaction of Nicaise and Rosie while Alastor play with the cannibals children.

Another scenario would be when Alastor die, he reunited with his mother but then feel angry at everything because out of all the people he had known, his mother does not deserved this fate.

He would probably be overprotective of Nicaise leading him to be anonymous radio demon instead of broadcasting his victims. Probably will see the hotel as a haven because exorcists can't harm hellborns and Charlie can use that to her advantage.

Well, first of all, that would be very very unfortunate for anyone who served Lucifer drinks on his vacation. Or just bumped into him in the crowds.

But it would also make for a pretty interesting scenario. I doubt there's anyone who could exist in Hell for any length of time without being changed by it. Even Charlie brushes off getting a bit of some guy's brain stuck in her eye. Nicaise knew how to hunt a bit so she at least already knew how to use a gun. It didn't matter to her that Alastor had these bizarre powers, he was her boy and she was going to protect him!

I do think she'd try to go to Lucifer for help, once she learned who he is. The problem would be that he wasn't really accessible to her. It's safe to assume that Lucifer's home is somewhere in the Pride Ring, but there's nothing in the overhead map of the Pentagram that appears to have some link to Lucifer or any of his motifs, aside from the Hazbin Hotel itself.

It could be his home is somewhere outside the ring of mountains that surround the Pentagram. Or maybe it's up on that red... moon? The body floating near Heaven. Lucifer can create portals so it would be accessible to him, I think. Or his home could be hidden down in the sprawl somewhere but regardless of where exactly Lucifer lives, it's not someplace regular sinners would be able to just stroll up to.

So Nicaise and Alastor are pretty much on their own, but at least they have each other to rely on. And that allows them to at least maintain a sliver of their own humanity. As hard as Nicaise tries to protect Alastor, however, Alastor is so much more powerful that it often ends up the other way around. She gets a job playing piano at a bar, insisting that Alastor remain home and safe, but after the first night Nicaise comes home covered in bruises Alastor starts sneaking out to follow her, and when he sees the bar patrons getting handsy with his mother he goes ballistic. He wasn't trying to turn the patrons into chuck beef, exactly. Or, it would be more accurate to say, he didn't realize he could.

Nicaise lost her job, but worse was the look of abject horror on her face at the carnage Alastor had caused.

Nicaise's expression haunted Alastor. Hell, he scared himself. He was still a ten-ish year old kid at this point in mind as well as body, and he didn't know how to reign in his emotions to prevent more explosive outburst like that. He was scared and vulnerable... Ripe for a deal to be made.

Nicaise meets Rosie while out looking for a new job. She made her way into Cannibal Town by accident, and unfortunately encountered some less friendly residents who zeroed in on her as potential prey. Nicaise was able to kill two of them and in doing so attracted Rosie's attention. Rosie came to see what the commotion was and to try to settle things, by which I mean crush whoever was disturbing her peaceful Cannibal Town like an insect. But when Nicaise pointed the gun at her and declared that she didn't care if Rosie was an Overlord, nothing was going to stop her from betting home to her child, Rosie paused. Child sinners are extremely rare, and don't generally last long in Hell. The only child sinners we've seen so far are in Cannibal Town, so I like to think Rosie might have a bit of a soft spot for kids and takes any child sinners she comes across in Hell under her wing. She calls off her cannibals and invites Nicaise to her parlor for tea.

The meeting ends with Nicaise getting a new job and a modicum of protection. Non-cannibals aren't allowed to be residents of Cannibal Town and Nicaise refuses to eat demon flesh (at first) but Rosie sets her up with a new gig at a music venue in Cannibal Town and a guarantee of safety for her and her kid while they're within Rosie's territory (Rosie's playing the long game here; she's fully intending to recruit Nicaise and Alastor into her following). It's all suspicious but Nicaise can at least return to Alastor with the good news that she has a way to put food on the table.

Only when she returns home, Alastor is gone.

Alastor reappears the next morning no worse for the wear to find Nicaise frantic. She checks him over for injuries while he insists he's fine. He won't tell Nicaise where he disappeared to though. It becomes apparent soon after that something about Alastor is different. As the weeks pass, Alastor gains control over his powers extraordinarily quickly. He stops causing random outbursts of green flame or exploding lights. Suddenly he can melt into shadows at will and pop out wherever he pleases. And creepy little dolls appear out of nowhere to do his chores for him or make mischief around the house. As relived as Nicaise is to see him learning to control his abilities, she can't help but be suspicious of this sudden mastery.

Shortly after, Overlords begin to disappear.

[miasmaghoul]

I just, I don't even know what to say

W O W

Ok, serious chat for a moment. Warnings for mentions of an ED and medical mistreatment.

It's so frustrating to still see shit like this when I grew up in the days of fat free everything and Weight Watchers ads every 5 minutes on TV.

Why is it fat people that everyone agrees to dogpile on? We're bullied incessantly for something that a lot of us can't even fix or help, because people who AREN'T fat assume we're just lazy pigs. Like yeah, please just disregard my physical debility and MULTIPLE hormonal issues and just assume that I just shovel food into my mouth constantly. Oh, you say I can't have an eating disorder because I'm fat and "those people" are skinny? BOY DO I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU!

It's bullshit, full stop. I still struggle with my ED, but the older I've gotten the more open and honest with myself I've become. I've never sought treatment for it because, again, I'm still fat. The one time I did bring it up to a doctor, he said "well if you do have an eating disorder then you aren't doing a very good job." I wish I were making that up.

Fat is in my genes, and there are so many other contributing factors it isn't even funny. It's so pounded into our heads that we NEED to be thin (mostly targeting women, let's be real) in order to have value, and I'm so fuckin sick of still hearing about the latest severely unhealthy fad diet or what fucking celebrity is on ozempic.

Which, by the way, I did have pushed on me a couple years ago when regular people could still get their hands on it. It made me feel so much worse. Every dose would trigger a binge, and I would feel horrible for days afterwards. I told my doctor (different from the other one I mentioned) this, and she told me that it was just something I was going to have to deal with because look, you've lost 20lbs since your last visit!

I felt worse than I had in YEARS, but it didn't matter because my body was becoming more socially acceptable. Do you want to know how many times doctors have tried to shove weight loss surgery down my throat? Countless. No matter how many times I say I'm not even there to talk about my weight, and that those surgeries are NOT for me, someone always brings it up. It's crazy how hurtful being ignored for knowing your own body is, because someone else thinks you need to change.

I wish this was something I had figured out when I was younger, but alas. I wore a hoodie over my clothes for 6 years straight, regardless of how hot it was outside, just to try to hide. I made myself miserable, ate barely anything (which would just trigger a binge, of course) and had it beat into my head constantly that my weight was the most important thing about me.

Here's the thing it took me way too long to learn:

IT DOESN'T FUCKING MATTER

You know what the number on the scale is? It's just a number. Your weight, high or low, is simply a tiny part of who you are as a human. If others choose to judge you based on it, that's not a failure on your part. It's on theirs. Being fat is not a crime, nor is it deserving of the insults and sneers we get in public spaces. People will always find a reason to stare, to whisper and giggle, and the best thing you can do for yourself is not give them the time of day.

I realize that's not easy. It's taken me 30+ years to reach a point where I've realized that going out in public is a necessity, and that the only reason I think people are staring at me is because advertisements like this punched the concept into my fragile little mind as a kid. At the end of the day, this is the one thing all fat people need to know:

Being fat is not a moral failure.

There is nothing wrong with you just because you need bigger clothes, mobility aids, or help from others. I don't care what anyone says - your weight is no one's business but your own. You want to lose weight? Go for it! More power to you, you'll get nothing but support from me. But there's nothing wrong with not wanting to do that either. That's really what it comes down to - the assumption that there's something inherently wrong with us because we're bigger than other people.

That's the part that needs to stop. And if anyone ever needs a reminder, my asks are always open. You're beautiful, I promise. 💜

Thank you for coming to my TED talk lmao

(I'm sure some asshole anons will come at me for "glorifying obesity" or "promoting unhealthy lifestyles". I assure you I am not. I am simply trying to help normalize a different mindset. If you're upset that fat people exist and that I'm saying they deserve the same care and compassion as anybody else, then you need to do a little bit of internal examination there. I promise fat people have not hurt you by virtue of existing in larger bodies ♡)

[redemn]

would it be funny if i started talking about the werebuck!au verse i have for arthur ?   great because i am .

any kind of shapeshifter can be born to any kind of shapeshifter .   while arthur's father was a full-blooded werewolf ,   and his mother was human ,   arthur ended up being born a werebuck .   since his birth ,   his father constantly ran with bad bunch of other shifters .   you know ,   the type that commit crimes and other crimes against humanity ,   etc .   when he was little ,   his father was often gone ,   and he would stay with his mother ,   who had to learn how to take care of her small ,   slightly feral ,   bitey little child with a very annoying oral fixation on her arms and hair .   when she eventually passed away ,   his father ,   who had at that point not been very present or responsive in his life ,   swooped in and filled his mother's good influence with his own unstable teachings about thee place of shifters in the world .   these teachings were basically :   they are meant to operate outside the realm of human law ,   and they don't need to heed supernatural law either ;   they do what is in their self-interest .   so for the first ten years of his life ,   arthur grew up with a lot of corrupt notions about his place in society ,   which were not helped by the fact that his father and his accomplices would often make fun of and insult him for only being half-blooded ,   and for not being a predator-shifter on top of that .   his father was eventually caught and hanged when arthur was eleven ,   after which arthur ran off on his own .   he was eventually found in his early teens by dutch and hosea ,   where he would be educated in reading and writing and society ,   and they would come to grow and form the gang of outlaw ,   outcast supernaturals .  

being that he's the son of a wolf shifter ,   he does carry a few genetic similarities to werewolves .   namely ,   he tends to become more lethargic during the day time ,   and is prone to staying up into the early hours of morning .   arthur thinks the moon is very pretty to look at ,   and sometimes he will sit out and sketch it ,   but it does nothing for him .   he also possesses tapetum lucidum, and has the ability to elongate his teeth   ( all ,   not just canines )   and grow his nails out sharper at will .   these particular traits take hours to return to normal ,   as he is not as easily able to control these traits .

he is considered a half-buck .   being only half-blooded ,   this means that he cannot fully transform into a solid bestial form ,   the way other shifters can .   instead ,   he can partially take on the characteristics of a buck ,   such as growing out his antlers or growing out his human nails into claws .   he prefers to stay in limbo in terms of his physical form ,   primarily human with longer and sharper teeth and antlers long enough for him to run through anyone who tries to fight against him .   he's also fuzzier than other humans all year round .   all of this is because he wants to be :   he is entirely capable of returning to something resembling almost fully human ,   save for his reflective eyes and a small branch of velvety antlers that poke above his hair .   because of this ,   he tends to stay away from people whenever he can .   and he always wears his father's hat to hide them .  

because he is the enforcer of the gang , arthur is generally inclined to feed in to the common stereotypes that regular people / other supernatural creatures hold .   since many people are freaked out by the supernatural ,   he uses this to his advantage when he is trying to intimidate others who do not often deal with shifters .   this includes growing out his antlers to unnatural and scary lengths ,   velvet included ,   and showing off his fangs when he is arguing with or threatening someone .

[verdemoun]

hello! i have a question for the time warp au :)

i vaguely remember you saying that the gang don’t really make friends outside of each other in the modern era (please correct me if im wrong lol), but for the few non warped people they do interact with, what is that like?

thank you!!

yeah absolutely!

most of the gang simply can't make friends. they weren't well socialized to begin with - not exactly the friendly sort in 1899, but trying to make friends with 100 years of social changes is nigh impossible.

there's a few regulars eg the people john works with, the parents of the kids' friends, the gang's doctor, and psychologist. most people just... think there's something off about them. not quite neurotypical

isaac's friends parents' are all terrified of arthur just because of what a wall of a man he is, his resting stony expression and glare. this is despite the fact arthur is the most doting father and kitchen wife who makes the best cookies for fundraisers. this fear is largely shared by isaac's friends, who start getting used to arthur only for charles to show up with his obviously anti-social nature and that peak 1907 condition. they're just scary looking dudes, no matter how well intentioned they are it's a roadblock to normal human conversation

their doctor is convinced the gang have escaped some sort of cult and has asked on multiple occasions if they need help escaping. he dreads seeing them, esp since he usually sees them when they're newly warped and still have that 19th century feralness about them. their psychologist is more forgiving, having figured out the timewarp herself trying to research some of the things the gang have casually brought up in therapy eg blackwater

john would hate it if he ever found out but most of the builders and tradesmen who regularly hire him think of him the way john thought of nils at manzanita post. he may be good at what he does but he speaks so little they assume he either doesn't know english or has an intellectual disability. but he gets the job done so they don't push

similarly, when abigail is dealing with other parents when it comes to her children she has a certain trad wife vibe that a lot of people really don't like. she has a few super tight knit friends (in addie's friends' parents) because she is lovely but in general she sometimes forgets what is and isn't normal in modern era. casually dropping she was a 17 year old prostitute when she met john, that john's been to jail multiple times. that she's been to jail multiple times. they used to travel* the country with john's family. casually had a farm for a few years before moving* to the big city. even their cover story paints a very weird life

hosea gets away with just putting up the grouchy old man 'kids these days' attitude, but he will gladly use a self-serve check out over having to deal with people. he is deeply suspicious and loathes all strangers unless he's given a reason not to - like the barista at the cafe he frequents remembering his order.

the ones who are best at making "friends" ironically are bill, mac and micah. bill and mac moved out of the city so their standoffishness is seen more as classic southern country boy behaviour, but are viewed as decent fellers by most of the local community.

micah has a lot more confidence than the rest of the gang when it comes to talking to people, and (un)fortunately creepy sexist dude is timeless. he's such a particular brand of obnoxious that the people he regularly engages with tend to remember him pretty quickly.

[raptorladylover6969]

So me and @koi-fish-boy were having our daily yapping sessions like always cuz we’re so cool and awesome like that, and we were talking abt how Soyona and The Handler are like, polar opposites of each other, parallels almost. Opposites as in like the way they present themselves, their overall (known) personalities, and their connections to dinosaurs (specifically the raptors) in some way.

With the raptors, it’s like Soyona is more scared of them, she’s less confident with them than she is with people. She acts like she has everything under control when it comes to having power of the raptors, but really, she isn’t THAT confident in herself, because the raptors are very unpredictable. Dinosaurs in general are extremely unpredictable. A regular human like Soyona can’t conform to the raptors non-linearity (CHAOS THEORY RAHHHHH) because she herself is too linear for them. Too predictable.

Meanwhile with The Handler, she treats these dangerous carnivorous creatures like they’re domesticated dogs. She’s much more confident with them then she is with people, as Scoot Kreamer said in an interview: “It started with wanting a character who was more comfortable with dinosaurs than she was with people.” And that quote really brings into light her connection with these dinosaurs because we can make somewhat of an assumption that she spends majority of her time around prehistoric animals, her raptors specifically. Because she’s more “anti social” in a way, she’d able to conform to the raptors way of living and match their unpredictability, because by what we’ve seen in the show, she IS very unpredictable.

Presentation wise, Soyona presents herself with a clean, classic rich lady look. To make herself much more approachable. Her demeanour and overall tone and body language, and clothing style gives her a welcoming look. To trick people into thinking she is someone they can rely on, put trust in, only for her to completely switch around, and reveal just how malicious, ruthless, and dangerous she is. She hides under a disguise, luring in people, make herself look like someone’s cool rich aunty, but in reality, behind that mask, she is an absolute killer.

The Handler is much more forward with how she presents herself. She radiates a dangerous aura on the outside, and inside. She makes herself look unapproachable, untrustworthy, and dangerous. The complete opposite of Soyona’s clean and luxurious outfits, she wears a utility jumpsuit, and combat boots that BOOM whenever she walks in comparison to the CLICKCLACKS of Soyona’s fancy heels. She’s someone you’d tell your kids to stay away from, the living embodiment of “stranger danger”. Instead of looking welcoming, she instills fear into the hearts of people around her.

Both Soyona and The Handler’s appearances and overall behaviour seem to be involved within their comfortability in their lines of work. Soyona works with people the most, she’s always making deals, buying and selling, talking to tons of people, she HAS to make herself look presentable and conform to regular societal norms, and also because she seems to be more comfortable around people than she is with spending 24/7 with no one around her but dinosaurs. Because even she knows their unpredictability.

The Handler is constantly working with dinosaurs, her comfortability is with these dinos. She needs to present herself to conform to THEM rather than people. She barely talks to anyone other than people she has to, otherwise she’s silent. She’s more tender and more “humane” with her raptors, and finds comfort and security within the raptor pack. Being a regular person wouldn’t necessarily work if you’re working with these kinds of animals *cough cough Owen Grady COUGH COUGH.* she has to match the mannerisms of her raptors, match their unpredictability overall.

(@koi-fish-boy also mentioned how Soyona focuses on control of the raptors rather than respect, like The Handler does.)

[hopetune]

deep dive character sheet

stolen from: ree my friend ree :D tagging: anyone who wants to do it ^^

NAME: Robin

BODY

height: 160cm / around 5'2

strength ★★☆☆☆ — stays fit and enjoys a decent amount of core strength as a singer but isn't remarkably strong physically speaking. struggles to open difficult jars.

dexterity ★★★☆☆ — she's got good reflexes and is decent at delicate work

health ★★★★★ very conscious about her health, though constant travels make proper rest difficult to achieve.

energy ★★★★★ — similar with health, she does her best to have a large pool of energy to draw from as she usually has very busy schedules.

beauty ★★★★★ — how do i put 10 stars here. have you seen her

style  ★★★★★ — she likes to have a pleasing aesthetic, even outside of performing

hygiene ★★★★★ — it's connected with her value for self-care. taking care of her health means maintaining cleanliness and good hygiene.

SKILLS

perception ★★★★★ — she's sharp. she can tell when certain things feel off, especially when it involves the Harmony. doesn't always choose to act on them, though.

communication ★★★☆☆ — the things she's willing to share, she does so freely, but she's not without her own secrets.

persuasion ★★★★★ — "[Halovians] seem born into the love and admiration of other species and peoples."

mediation ★★★★★ — will always make an attempt to pursue peace

literacy ★★★★★ — she was a humanities student, i don't doubt for a moment that she's read a good deal of classics

creativity ★★★★★ — more in the artistic sense than problem-solving one

cooking ★☆☆☆☆ — won't set the kitchen on fire but unfortunately does not have the know-how to cook a good meal. definitely has someone else cooking for her, or eats pre-made meals.

tech savvy ★★☆☆☆ — can operate her phone, certain audio equipment, and musical instruments but doesn't know much more beyond that.

combat ★☆☆☆☆ — in gh-canon, she's getting better at it, but she doesn't have the sense for it at all

survival ★☆☆☆☆ — you'd think with how much she prioritizes health, she'd be more prudent about actually living but miss "i go into active warzones and get shot" doesn't seem to think much about her own survival when it comes to situations such as that.

stealth ★★★★☆ — good at disguising herself

street smarts ★★☆☆☆ — similar sentiments to survival where i feel like in the situations where it matters most she just does not choose the smartest things. 

seduction ★★★★☆ — looking at her stage outfit vs. her regular outfits + seeing her pose like marilyn monroe in her trailer makes me think that she projects an elegant and attractive image as a celebrity

luck ★★★☆☆ — lucky enough to survive a gunshot but not unlucky enough to avoid getting shot to begin with

handling animals ★★★★★ — the bird whisperer!!! she definitely has disney princess vibes. those critters surround her.

pacifying children★★★★★ — she's really good with kids!

MIND

intelligence ★★★★☆ — intelligent in the sense that she's very eloquent, thoughtful, and sharp. i don't think it necessarily translates into academics, though.

happiness ★★☆☆☆ — she's not depressed or anything, but is definitely still in the process of defining happiness and pursuing it

spirituality ★★★★★ — devout follower of the Harmony

confidence ★★★☆☆ — knows her skill and worth but also knows her many limitations

humor ★☆☆☆☆ — not that she's a dry person or anything, i just don't think she gets the chance to joke around with people much

anxiety ★★☆☆☆ — is usually grounded enough that her fears do not spiral into anything too paralyzing, but she has her moments

patience ★★★★★ — like a saint

passion ★★★☆☆ — she loves what she's doing but also sees it as a duty she owes the world in pursuit of her dreams. she's not obsessed with music. think of it as her fiery passion simmering down into a consistent burning hearth.

nice        ★☆☆☆☆ mean — she's too nice, sometimes

brave       ☆★☆☆☆ cowardly — faces occasional hesitation but is ultimately unafraid to do what she needs to

pacifist     ★☆☆☆☆ violent 

thoughtful ☆★☆☆☆ impulsive — thoughtful in words, action, and decision-making. impulsive in shopping. i'm docking off points for being consumerist.

agreeable ☆★☆☆☆ contrary — agrees with most people as she can usually understand where they are coming from

idealistic   ☆☆★☆☆ pragmatic — in a strange in between where she can recognize how cruel the universe can be but still believes in its ability to be good

frugal ☆☆☆★☆ big spender — has lessened over the years but she definitely has a problem with shopping

extrovert   ☆☆★☆☆ introvert — she's very friendly but can't really sustain a proper social life.

collected   ★☆☆☆☆ wild — collected in appearance and demeanor

ambitious / possessive / stubborn / jealous / decisive / perfectionist

SOCIAL

charisma ★★★★★ — there's just a very attractive quality to her that people can't help but fall for  (what noooo i'm not using her technique to lure you in why would i ever do that)

empathy ★★★★★ — very empathetic

generosity ★★★★★

wealth ★★★★★ — those royalties are doing so much heavy lifting

honest  ★★★☆☆ deceptive  — wants to be more honest but is often in situations where she can't be

leader   ☆☆★☆☆ follower — she's a leader who follows the people she's with

polite   ★☆☆☆☆  rude — she couldn't be rude even if she wanted to. that oak family hospitality is strong.

political ★☆☆☆☆ indifferent — you can't advocate for peace and harmony without getting tangled in all that mess

BELIEFS

higher power ★★☆☆☆ — her belief in the harmony has less to do with the aeon and more with the philosophy that xipe represents

fate/destiny ★★★★★ — waxes a lot of poetic about what is and what isn't meant to be, but still holds hope in her own wishes for the world

magic ★★★★★ — what is magic if not bullshit we can't explain yet

soulmates ★★☆☆☆ — would believe in it more if she actually had more romantic experience. right now, she doesn't really think much of it.

good and evil ★★☆☆☆ — obviously believes they exist but doesn't believe that they're so dichotomous. 

luck ★★☆☆☆ — knows some people are more fortunate than others but believes that their situation can still be changed. luck matters but not as much as action.

PRIORITIES

family ★★★★★ — she loves you, sunday

friends ★★★★★ — canonically, does not have many, but cherishes them all the same. in gh… she's made a handful who are very dear to her :3

love ★☆☆☆☆ — is not really in a position where she can pursue romance but she'd love to love someone in the future

home ★☆☆☆☆ — hasn't had a good sense of home since leaving penacony, and the happenings at the charmony festival have only exacerbated these feelings. a free flying bird who has no place to nest… ahuhu

health ★★★★★

praise ★★☆☆☆ — enjoys hearing it but doesn't actively seek it out

justice ★★★★★ — justice is the same as peace, for her

truth ★★☆☆☆ — has learned that not all things need an answer. she'd still like to hear them, though.

power ☆☆☆☆☆ — really doesn't care for it

fame ★☆☆☆☆ — it was higher, once, but robin soon realized that fame itself wasn't as important to her as the people that fame allowed her to help.

wealth ★☆☆☆☆ — she has enough money that i think she's happy not earning more.

others' opinions ★★☆☆☆ — for close friends, she cares more about how they see things, but for strangers who only see her as a celebrity… she's learned to tune them out.