#they’re kid eternity. they’ve took that for themselves.

[kideternity]

You will never get me to ever in my life willingly call Kid Eternity “K1t Fr3eman” or “Chr1stopher Fr3eman” like that’s literally just not their fucking name. You can never take “Never had a name. They used to just call me Kid.” Away from me

[multifandom-re-write-01]

Relationship with Other Male Idols

Took them in as soon as she heard about them

Originally, they were being all respectful to her, “Oh, Sunbaenim, hello…” and being intimidated by her cold looks...

But as soon as she revealed she was an Aussie from Sydney as well, they went, “OIIIIIIII AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE!!”

They still call her by ‘Noona’ but like, Korean formalities are forgotten between the three, and they’re just a trio of chaotic Aussies - they mainly speak in English together

Their members are always amazed when they listen to the three speak in English because when they’re together, their Aussie accents just thicken and it’s sometimes hard for their members to understand them - not only that, but they see a more playful side of Nari when she's with them, and they realise she's like this because the two juniors remind her of Australia

Nari is an older sister to them, and she’s always there to guide them and give them tips and advice in the idol industry, and they’re also there for her to rant to in English just in case and give the few advice they’ve gained in their life as well

Nari’s heart just busted when Stray Kids and NCT Dream became friends after their collaboration on stage - she went with the Dreamies to Stray Kids’ concert most definitely

The boys are fans of NCT - especially of the talented and beautiful Nari…

So when Nari approached them at that one award show to introduce herself and talk to them, their minds were malfunctioning for sure

Especially San and Seonghwa since they did that dance cover of Kick It, so when she commented on it, their mind went blank

To this day, they are in awe that the one they looked up to has their contact and is considered friends with her

Since they are fans of Nari, they knew that she has experience in producing music - especially with instrumentals - so when they went onto Kingdom, they had actually asked for Nari’s help for their performance for Answer

She’s definitely giving them tips and advice in the idol world, especially when they feel doubtful about themselves. And they see her scary side when in choreographer-mode and producer-mode

She spoils them and treats them out for food when they do come back - always tries to speak highly of them when possible so they can get more attention, making them eternally grateful to her. And if people ever send hate in her direction, they're ready to defend her

They may be in the same company, but Nari is still a fangirl despite working under the same company and building

Especially towards Chen - he is her bias

They find her cute, like a little sister, kind of (intimidating little sister) - Chen definitely finds her mini crush on him adorable, but the two know that it’s nothing serious, and just feelings of admiration towards an idol (Nari actually supports his relationship and family 100% which he is grateful of)

When Nari found out Johnny could have been in Exo, she absolutely teases him for it:

“I’m glad you’re in NCT rather than Exo…” “Aww, thanks -” “Imagine me fangirling over you - actually, I can’t. I feel like puking at the thought of fangirling over you.” “Wooooooowwwwww…”

She’s close to Baekyun and Kai especially - and it’s due to the fact that they are in SuperM together

She actually develops a close relationship with Baekhyun, and would go to him for advice when she’s struggling with something - he may be seen as a goofball onscreen, but he can be very wise and supportive when needed

Kai and Baekhyun also realise that there is more to Park Nari than what the public sees; she's not just some cold-hearted, intimidating person, but she's actually very humble, wise, and emotional. Because of that, their urge to protect her more like a little sister comes out.

They try to help her lower her guard and have fun when they are around; she no longer has to be on guard and act responsible as one of the older members, she can relax around them because they will look after her and the others.

She is also a fan of SHINee - she and Haechan would definitely fangirl/boy about them

Minho is her bias - he became her bias after she watched them on Hello Baby

It doesn’t help that he’s such a gentleman, she gets all shy around him

But afterwards, they all develop an older brother x younger sister relationship - so Minho would definitely tease her about how she used to have a crush on him, and she’d be very embarrassed

SHINee look out for her a lot and help her as much as they can - especially when it comes to sexist things, like forcing her to diet, or being treated unfairly - you bet they will speak up (or yell) about it

If she wants to mess with her members, she and Yuta would speak Japanese to SHINee so the others don’t understand lol

Any interactions between SHINee and Nari are very wholesome, SM fans love seeing them together hanging out. SHINee are probably one of the few who were not intimidated by her in first meeting

They’re kind of guardians for Nari - father/uncle figures

She actually warmed up to them quickly because of how much they looked out for her ever since her trainee days

Since she is the only female in NCT, they try and make sure she’s doing okay by talking to her members, letting them know to look out for her and treat her well

They also know how much hate Nari gets for being the only female in NCT, and for how different she is - race and personality-wise, so they always try to speak highly of her as much as they can for those close-minded people to be silenced

Heechul especially mentions her during Knowing Brothers - whether to compliment her or to tease the male idols on the show who confess to having crushes on her

“Yah, better watch yourself, she has all of the males in SM protecting her! Not that she needs protecting because she knows how to fight back...but still! She has all of SM behind her!”

They’re also people she can hang around to destress - you know how chaotic they can get, and how much they don’t care about their image, so they always try to have her join in on their mess to destress - which are most of the time successful - but they also are there for her when she needs to talk to someone

Nari accidentally befriended them (mainly Jungkook) through Jaehyun’s phone

He was in the shower when Jungkook rang, and Nari misread the beginning of his name, ‘Jung’ for ‘Jungwoo’ and answered the call

And that’s how she befriended BTS lol. (Jungkook actually used to be very scared of the woman, so imagine the shock he felt when Nari answered the call in a weird way, thinking she was talking to Jungwoo jajjjajajajja)

People expected Jaehyun to be close to at least Jungkook, and when they saw how comfortable and familiar all BTS members were with Nari, the world was sHoOk - “HOW DO THEY KNOW EACH OTHER?!?!” (but like, everyone knows Nari in the industry in some way dbgkabg)

They don’t really show their friendship to the world because of some fans being possessive and such, but they would sometimes hint at hanging out with Nari - like, once, V posted a story of him at an art gallery, and you hear a female voice in the background talk to him about art - and of course, NCTzens recognised Nari’s voice

The two afterwards didn’t give a crap about the speculations, and simply posted another story of the two posing with the caption, “Same age friends” - cuz him, Nari, and Jimin are the same age

Suga mentioned once in a Vlive, “Male and female idols are allowed to be just friends,” when people asked him about Nari - Nari and BTS’ relationship is very chill

Hah, Nari can’t believe she has their contacts on her phone

All thanks to Jaehyun and his ‘97 liners groupchat

She fell in love with the group because of their positivity and close relationship to each other - their positivity is contagious, it even softened her calloused heart

There’s like a funny deal between her and Hoshi

“Yah…I’ll give you our albums and merch for free if you give me SHINee’s latest album…” "...deal..."

Despite having their contacts, and sometimes talking to them, she’s still shy around them - especially when it comes to ISAC, Nari doesn’t approach them first, but they will have to approach her first to talk and hang out with her - this is like, the only time people see Nari so shy and not like her bold, confident self kkkkk

She actually gets quite close to Jun and The8 thanks to Chenle - and Jun, being the social butterflies they are

Seventeen did think she was quite intimidating at first, but at the same time, they knew she was more than just that, so when they officially met, they knew that Nari would be someone they won't forget easily

Masterlist

NCT 127 // NCT Dream // SungTaro // WayV // SuperM // Other Male Idols

[pleb-the-original]

Day 7: Dewayo

(Two person dialogue? In a prompt entry? Yep. So I knew that when this came up I had to do something with the strange rivalry between this guy and the Snallygaster. I mean what other cryptids literally have a rivalry like they're pokemon? I don't actually know where Umbra and Gloom came from, I think it was just a stroke of imagination. Either that or I need to stop staring into the dark parts of my room.)

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Corner! Your one stop shop for all things news and where we find all the best stories, right from the places you never think to check! This is Umbra and this is my partner Gloom. We’re here with the latest lead on an old story. Tell me Gloom, what can you tell me about the Dwayyo and the Snallygaster? Well Umbra, from my time in the shadows that they are some of the greatest rivals you’ll ever know. Bigger than Kennedy and Khrushchev, tougher than Grant and Lee, meaner than Hamilton and Burr. Lemme tell you folks, their fights are legendary. Not to mention they’ve never had a decisive winner!

No! Yes indeed Umbra! My time in the seams in between observing them has shown me that not once have either of them won a clean victory. They either beat themselves up too much to declare a victor or they spill onto someone else’s territory and they have to bail. But we’ve got something big for you folks tonight. Everyone knows how the fights go, but no one has ever had any idea how they began at all.

Everyone loves a good origin story. So we took it upon ourselves to do what we do best. Me and Gloom here managed to interview both of them during their rare moments of rest. I had to catch Mr. Dwayyo here from the twilight behind a tree. You’re saying that like you had a harder time! I had to get the Snallygaster from the shadow casted by a pebble by a fire! Do you know how hard it is to squeeze through such a tight place? We probably shouldn’t bicker, lest we get locked in eternal combat like our interviewees here. Now then, comparing our testimonies led to a very interesting story. Gloom, would you care to set the stage? Picture the scene: Rural Maryland, the 1740s. A cavalcade of German immigrants come to the wonderland that is the United States. All they’re looking for is a better life in the wild and untamed frontier. But it wasn’t nature that they needed to fear. For they brought their own monsters with them. Snallygaster actually came first. He said he was born out of the fears of those people, of the wilderness, of the natives, of just plain being far away from home. In fact, according to his testimony, he used to be a monster made up by the parents to get the kids to not wander into the forest. Soon enough however, their fear grew and grew and grew until it became the trees soon heard the howls of the mythical horror they had unleashed.

In comes in the Dwayyo. Unlike our friend Snallygaster, he had a more solid origin. He actually used to be a werewolf. Cursed since the days back in Germany, he escaped to the US to become less of a threat to people. But when the Snallygaster started picking off livestock, especially the human kind, that’s when he decided to do something. He made a deal with a devil to fully transform into a wolf monster so he would always be able to protect his people from the Snallygaster. Ever since then he’s been fighting the Snallygaster to make sure that no one else would be hurt or scared by the beast.

There you have it folks, the Dwayyo vs the Snallygaster. Almost a mythic tale of hero vs monster, although in this case the hero became a monster himself. They kinda remind me of us y’know? Doing the dirty work away from the eyes of the masses. 

Although I doubt shadow people like us would do well in a fight.

Aw come on Gloom, don’t be such a downer. Give me some gloves and a ring and I could knock anyone out.

Umbra, you do realize shadow boxing isn’t literal.

Well folks, I think that’s all the time we have today! Tune in next week for another scoop from the shadows. I’m Umbra.

And I’m Gloom.

Come by the Corner soon!

[weirdocat83]

Idk why but my mind latched onto that but of ��if they reincarnated they would be able to find each other” because imagine some freak accident happens and something happens to Xie Lian, accidentally killing him and by extension Hua Cheng. Technically neither are supposed to reincarnate but they’ve always had a way of defying what is supposed to happen anyways. So while everyone mourns them, somewhere in the world they reincarnate with full memory of each other and are trying to get back to each other asap.

Eventually they do and on one hand, they could go back to their old positions and tell everyone they’re alive but in the other, they’re both mortals and pretty weak right now at that. There are plenty of people who would love to screw them over for the rest of eternity with that knowledge. So they don’t say anything. They do miss their friends but they also do make lives for themselves. They live in a small village and make new friends and cultivate. They truly make up for lost time as kids just messing around while working on their cultivation. Eventually Xie Lian does ascend AGAIN (possibly with hua cheng this time?) but it’s not like anyone can immediately tell it’s him (he is in a new body after all) so he kinda just…takes everything in again. He starts slow. He gathers information. Eventually everything will come out because his friends know him too well to the point where eventually they’ll realize but in the meantime he’d rather live casually and help out where he can.

Yin yu took over ghost city and hired some help to manage it. His rule isn’t really questioned as everybody knows he could easily kick their asses and it’s not like Yin Yu has ever been bad to them before. Idk who takes over for heaven but tbh I don’t think it matters much. Maybe a few people suspected they might be back (Feng xin, Mu Qing, Yin Yu and He Xuan automatically. They were sad but also weren’t holding their breath. They have both died and come back too many times for them to really believe it.) and those people may have caught on but they also weren’t going to reveal until Hualian wanted to. They’d probably just send a letter or something to get in contact and get info rather than do anything about it.

Eventually they do reveal and things are hectic for a time before they inevitably get back to normal. Their mortal friends do have to take a moment to process the fact that their childhood friends are the reincarnation of the gods they had been worshipping which, what the fuck.

Idk where I was going with this but I think it’d be cute for HuaLian to reincarnate and have a somewhat normal life before inevitably going back to normal life.

This is another older idea I love, that turned into more of a long summary.

Xie Lian and Hua Cheng have been happily married for a few decades at this point. One chilly afternoon as they are walking Xie Lian reaches for his husband's hand and notices it's already warm. Usually Hua Cheng has to use spiritual energy to warm himself, or Xie Lian's body heat will warm him. He asks Hua Cheng about it, and finds out Hua Cheng didn't even realize it was happening. Thinking back Xie Lian remembers several times over the past few months that this has happened. After discussing it they chalk it up to "frequent spiritual energy exchanging." and don't really think about it any more. It's a few weeks later Mu Qing and Feng Xin are visiting while Hualian are at Mount Taicang. The pair feel something is different about Hua Cheng, but they don't know what it is, and Xie Lian is suffering no ill effects so they don't comment.

Things continue on for a few more years, others noticing Hua Cheng almost seems more "alive" while Hua Cheng and Xie Lian mostly remain oblivious until someone points something out. They even develop that annoying couple thing where they seem to know what each other is thinking to the point of finishing each other's sentences at times. One thing they do notice immediately however is that if one is hurt the other is able to feel it. Putting things together they realize this is more than the side effects of make out sessions, ect.. Xie Lian goes to Ling Wen for help while he and Hua Cheng start doing their own research into what might be going on. Later that night they also find out the shared sensation thing also works for pleasure, and of course waste no time taking full advantage of that.

A few weeks later Hua Cheng is visiting He Xuan, purely to discuss his debt, totally not because they actually might kinda actually be friends. It's totally just business, and Hua Cheng is absolutely not giving He Xuan advice on how he can stealth help out Shi Qingxuan, and even if he just happens to do that it was Xie Lian's idea. Hua Cheng doesn't even think about the weirdness going on with him and Xie Lian until He Xuan irritated asks him why the hell he's wasting spiritual energy to fake a heartbeat he doesn't need. Hua Cheng is shocked by this, and admits he didn't even notice it was happening. He explains what's been going on with himself and Xie Lian.

He Xuan after listening says he may know what's happening, having stumbled on something while planing his revenge on Shi Wudu. He's not certain however, as what it sounds like is something he's only ever heard happening between two living people, never one who was living and one who was already dead. He explains a very difficult technique some cultivation partners try where they attempt to give one another parts of their own souls without damaging themselves, so that even if they die they are bound to the point that they will be able to find each other even if they reincarnate and have no memories of their past life. Basically they try to ensure they become soulmates. He Xuan tells him this is a very difficult and dangerous thing to attempt, and many have died, and ripped apart their own souls trying it.

He also says if this is indeed what has happened he's really not surprised that Hua Cheng, and Xie Lian have managed to do this on accident.

It also means that Hua Cheng's anchor to the world is no longer his ashes but Xie Lian himself, explaining why Hua cheng while still a ghost has been seeming less dead lately. The heartbeat he's feeling isn't one he made, but Xie Lian's coming through the bond they have.

Hua Cheng kinda short circuits from the info, and a very annoyed He Xuan contacts Xie Lian partly to explain his theory, but mostly to get Hua Cheng out of his house, because he's now ruining the gloomy vibe.

After taking a few days to digest this information, they decide to keep it quiet, except for the few they can't avoid telling like Feng Xin and Mu Qing who worried about Xie Lian demand to know what's going on. They don't want anyone getting any bright ideas about testing the theory, after all even if the ring is no longer Hua Cheng's anchor to the world it's still very precious to Xie Lian who doesn't want any thing to happen to it.

Is He Xuan right? Who knows. 😉

[inamindfarfaraway]

I love that it’s King more overtly than Luz the Collector has a special connection with, because of how much more they serve as a foil for King. They’re a foil for Luz too, but like:

King wanted power and control, but has learned (ironically as he’s discovered his nature as a Titan) that more important than that for its/his own sake is family and friends, having good connections with good people in your life and helping others. He’s grown up a lot - learned empathy, humility, selflessness and better emotional management. The Collector is an ancient, almighty, omnipotent being able to warp reality effortlessly. Because of this he’s never faced any challenges that have motivated them to change and remain stagnant in eternal selfish, careless immaturity, never sparing a thought to anyone else and treating everything as a game.

King wanted subjects who feared and worshipped him, armies to command, devotees to perform acts in his name. The Collector has a whole civilization built around worship of him and the destruction of his apparent enemies or prey the Titans, and inspires terror in the people of the Boiling Isles.

King longed to be a god, but got the life of a fairly ordinary kid, initially to his annoyance and insecurity. He tried to project a fierce, intimidating image and coveted positions of authority and symbols of status like crowns, was desperate to be taken seriously. Since the start of the show he embraces his childhood and ‘humanity’, wanting to be treated like an equal and no higher, treasuring his stuffed animals and small joys like simplistic puns and cuddles from a big sister - even in the face of actually being the young of a species revered like gods whose dead bodies are potent enough to spontaneously create life on continental scales and whose blood can open holes between dimensions. The Collector truly is a god and his level of power commands respect entirely in itself, but he has no grandeur or weight in his disposition and behaviour. They’re a child in mind and bearing alike, from when he’s petulant and demanding to ranting and sulking in bitter rage to his glee and excitement about new games and fast-formed, hot-burning affection toward his ‘friends’. They shun formality and take barely anything seriously, wearing a child’s playsuit.

King’s character has been and continues to be heavily shaped by a deep sense of loneliness and abandonment. He was born and started developing his personality completely alone except a seemingly non-sentient artificial guardian; vaguely remembers his father being present when he was incubating, but entering the world with no family; then after Eda took him in had no friends that we know of until Luz came along and his social skills were accordingly poor. Now he’s forced to reckon with being the last of his species and walking on his dead father’s decomposing corpse every day, mourning his people, their culture and the life he might have had with them. Between that and the species in question being Titans, his experience is fundamentally impossible for anyone else to relate to. And he leaned this through the merciless betrayal of a people he thought he belonged to! He’s consistently been afraid of his loved ones leaving him and this manifests as attention-seeking and clinginess, often literally holding onto people. The Collector is the only known member of his species to have ever existed. They feel total emotional detachment to all other life, but as harmful as they’re willing to be to others, it’s clear they’ve been hurting immensely themselves. He despises his lonely prison and will do anything to be free of it; so isolated is he there, he can’t even touch people. Thousands of years of that existence would break anyone’s sanity, but especially a child’s to whom attachments are a crucial part of development. It’s no wonder he constantly needs attention and, fun and games the sole medium of interaction and connection they understand, loyal ‘playmates’ to keep him happy and stimulated. They like King have a habit of invading people’s personal space and literally (or telekinetically) holding onto them, e.g. pulling King toward them at the end of “King’s Tide”. Betrayal, abandonment and loneliness are the worst feelings in the world for both the Collector and King, and ones they know all too well.

Finally, the kids have each had a single important relationship both prior to and during the show with a magically powerful adult: Eda and Belos. Eda rescued King from his isolation before she even realized he was of her intelligence, let alone a Titan many would kill to get ahold of, just out of the kindness of her heart, and raised him with love and dedication. She created a false narrative that he was more important in the greater scheme of things than she had reason to believe he was, but he was always indispensably important to her. When it became evident the lie wasn’t helping her son, she revealed the truth, took full responsibility and apologized for it. Eda respects him and puts his needs ahead of her own and he officially recognizes her as his mother. Belos meanwhile promised to free the Collector from his isolation to exploit his knowledge and magic and refused to follow through. He always understood how important the Collector was in the greater scheme of things, but created the false narrative that they were more important to him than they actually were. He revealed the truth when it became convenient for himself and disposed of him with no sympathy or remorse. When they held him accountable, in his shameless selfishness he outright denied having betrayed them. And although the Collector’s childlike psychology and lack of any love or discipline in his life mean he desperately needs a parental figure, Belos kept their relationship a business partnership and never felt anything toward him; so they, upon realizing his treachery and heartlessness, had no hesitation to blithely murder him.

The Collector is essentially what King would be with his pre-show personality and all his potential Titan power; and, equally importantly, no healthy relationships and a toxic relationship instead of healthy, loving family bonds and friendships!

[quiverymango]

Mango’s DeathStar headcanon list™

Someone on my Reddit asked for my DeathStar headcanons so I thought I’d post them here as well in case anyone was interested! ^^

(MANGA SPOILERS AHEAD!)

-Black☆Star is Asexual Biromantic while Kid is Asexual Demi-homoromantic.

-“I found” by Amber Run is definitely a DeathStar song for me. I picture it as being their song during the Salvage arc as Black☆Star uses Mad!Kid as a warning sign for madness. It’s a wake up call as he realizes that even gods aren’t immune to the downfalls of humanity. He then reflects on his feelings for Kid, realizing he “found love where it wasn’t supposed to be, right in front of him” where he feels as if he shouldn’t have fallen for such a close friend since, if Kid doesn’t reciprocate the feelings, he may lose someone close to him. Link to the song!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTspcr3Iaws

-They don’t use pet names too often but when they do Kid uses “love” and “darling” while Black☆Star uses “starshine” and just “dude/bro” affectionately lol. Neither of them use “baby” or “babe” as they find it demeaning.

-Black☆Star was always looking for a way to become immortal, but after Kid expressed how terrified he was at the thought of being alone for all eternity after his friends passed, Black☆Star buckled down even harder on trying to find a way to stay with Kid. He eventually did find a way (probably through some stupid roundabout means) and the two are content with living out millennium together. I think they both will still pass at some point though as immortality in Soul Eater is a little weird. They basically just have very elongated lifespans and can’t die from physical attacks.

-Speaking of immortality, “Infinity” by Jamymes Young is also a song I associate with them for obvious reasons lol. It’s a little cliche, since it's a rather popular love song right now, but it fits these two yahoos so well with their whole immortal gods thing they’ve got going on. Link to the song!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWqEPKduGm8

-After a good long while together I think they’ll both realize that they’re going to need an heir to their respective Shinigami and StarClan thrones. Neither of them are ready to handle a child though, so instead are just slowly working on bettering themselves for when the time comes (Aka, desperately asking Tsubaki and Soul for tips since they’re the most nurturing/level headed of the friend group). I don’t know what they’d name their child, but I saw fanart once that had their child just straight up named “DeathStar” and I think that works perfectly lol. Also, the child would be spawned from the fragment of a soul just like Kid was. Knowing Black☆Star and Kid, they'd definitely figure out a way to combine two fragments of their souls together to create a child that looks biological.

-This one’s really random, but I think these two would be big Pokémon fans, and religiously play the DS and later 3DS games with each other. Black☆Star would actually lose his mind over Pokémon Go when it came out and insisted that Kid send him on missions around the world so he could go catch county exclusive Pokémon. Kid would only agree to this if Star promised he’d catch Kid a shiny variant of whichever Pokémon was exclusive to whatever country he was being sent to.

-Once Kid had to become the new Lord Death after his father’s sudden passing, he OBSESSED over it. He would rarely ever leave the Death Room and Black☆Star took notice real quick. He got the whole Spatori squad together to voice their concerns and remind him that even though he’s a Shinigami, he still has the needs of a human so needs to treat his body and mind accordingly. After some back and forth debating, Black☆Star finally convinced Kid to at least come home to Gallows Manor after DWMA classes let out. Kid reluctantly went along with the plan, but had to admit it really did feel nice to come home after a long day of “goding.” Eventually, after a few years, Kid was able to balance his work and personal life better with the help of Black☆Star and his friends.

-Speaking of Gallows Manor, Black☆Star and Tsubaki moved in once he and Kid started dating! The manor was too big for just the Thompson triplets anyways, so two more residents were welcomed. Kid and Black☆Star share a room while the girls all have separate (though they have “slumber parties” every night in Liz’s room so they basically share one as well lol). Kid also set up an at home office (which basically just looks like a mirror maze) for days he isn’t feeling great and doesn’t want to go physically into work.

-When the two find the time to go on a date—that isn’t just hours of sparring at like 3am in the Deathbucks parking lot—they like to swap off on who gets to decide what they do. Kid likes to do day trips to museums to learn more about the people he’s the guardian of/going to be the guardian of. He also enjoys calm walks through parks, chatting to Black☆Star about everything and nothing at the same time. On the other hand, Black☆Star likes to go stargazing late at night after a nice dinner. Just chilling on the hood of Soul’s busted car and chatting softly about life is all he really needs. I also think these two would end up at the Death City equivalent of Wendy’s at like 2am and then just call that a date lol.

-(FIRE FORCE MANGA SPOILERS) They love visiting Japan every so often since they both have a Japanese heritage. They even got to go to a museum dedicated to “The boy who saved the world” aka Shinra. Kid couldn’t believe he was technically the grandson of someone so important, whilst Black☆Star couldn’t believe that Shirna’s best friend, Arthur, was described as being rather dense but incredibly powerful. He laughed and remarked to Kid that associating with idiots must run in the family.

-(FIRE FORCE MANGA SPOILERS) After visiting that museum, the two trekked back to the Northern British Isles to visit Excalibur so they could try and ask him more about their ancestors. He, of course, was not helpful in the slightest and didn’t even acknowledge their questions, causing both Kid and Black☆Star to get angry and storm out of his cave in a fit of rage.

-Since Black☆Star couldn't read well, Kid tutored him on it whenever the two found the time. Black☆Star realized after getting a firmer grasp on the skill that he actually really enjoyed reading fictional novels, mainly YA stuff, and so he and Kid started reading books together. Eventually, the rest of the Spatori caught on and soon Maka would be hosting weekly get-togethers that mainly consisted of watching movie adaptations of the books they’d read, and then bashing them. They even started doing “fandubs” of the films in which they’d mute it and try to improvise a story. It never went smoothly, but they always had a great time.

-Kid also taught Black☆Star how to skate! It’s something they don’t get to do often together, but when they do it of course it becomes competitive fast. Black☆Star even once tried to grind down the side of the DWMA stairs and took out like twelve passerbys in the process, all in an effort to one-up Kid.

-Black☆Star has been really trying to help with Kid’s anxiety and self worth because hearing Kid call himself “useless garbage,” while funny at first, soon became distressing to hear, and Black☆Star couldn’t take it anymore. He tells Kid daily, in his own unique ways, just how well he’s running the new world, how brave he is for taking up such an incomprehensibly powerful job at such a young age, and that his OCD doesn’t make him any less of a person or a god. Black☆Star also helps Kid rationalize his anxieties by talking him through his irrational thoughts and shooting down anything that wouldn’t actually happen in the situation he was stressing over. Star also likes throwing out the question “And? So what?” a lot which also helps Kid realize very few situations he had been stressing over were actually as life or death as they seemed.

-Black☆Star is an early bird while Kid’s a night owl. Thus, Star is tasked with making breakfast while Kid is tasked with dinner! Lunch is just sort of a free for all, but if one of them is feeling extra nice they may leave a pre-made meal in the fridge for the other. While you wouldn’t expect it, Black☆Star can make a killer breakfast. 

-Both of them really like candles, so you’ll often find several scents burning in various parts of the manor. Black☆Star prefers flowery scents as they remind him of Tsubaki, as well as what it smells like in the Enchanted/Uncanny sword. While Kid likes the scent of vanilla, as well as all the seasonal autumn scents, especially the Halloween ones.

-Black☆Star is a very physically affectionate person and is constantly acting like he’s the most touch starved being on Earth. No matter where they are, Black☆Star will almost always be touching Kid in some way. Whether it be holding hands, a hand on the shoulder, an arm around the waist, etc. Kid doesn’t mind this at all however and actually enjoys how safe it makes him feel, despite not really reciprocating in public. The only rule is that Black☆Star must be professional in front of Kid’s colleagues which is something Black☆Star tries—but often fails—to uphold. When in private, Kid basically becomes a bed for Black☆Star to just lay all over. You can often find them both asleep on the couch with Black☆Star looking like he was in the midst of playing Twister on Kid.

-Kid on the other hand is not a fan of PDA. Sure, he’ll give into Black☆Star’s insistent hand holding, but he won’t initiate anything himself. The closest thing he does to PDA is bring up “his boyfriend” an obnoxious amount during work. Need someone to go kill a Kishin Egg? His boyfriend will handle it with no sweat. Need someone to travel halfway across the globe to go infiltrate a secret base? His boyfriend will be back by sunrise. Need someone to train and spar with the students? Ok, well,…maybe not that one.

-This seeming lack of outward affection gets thrown out the window the moment these two get home from work however as Kid is prone to giving Black☆Star a peck on the cheek or forehead whenever he so feels like it—which is quite often apparently. He also loves Black☆Star’s body heat as he doesn’t really have any of his own. This leads to him sort of gravitating towards Black☆Star whenever he’s looking for a comforting warmth. Black☆Star will wake up in the night to go grab a glass of water but be unable to move because a shinigami is holding him hostage in their own bed.

—-

Ok that’s all for now since I think the other headcanons I have are from reading other fans' headcanon lists and I don’t want to copy them. I hope you enjoyed reading these! :)

[c-is-for-circinate]

As promised: let's talk Hades, and how acts of abuse can create toxic environments for everyone around them, and also how people react to those environments--and to them being disrupted.

(For reference, I have just kicked Theseus's ass for the first time, it was exactly as satisfying as it was intended to be, and then I got predictably slaughtered a couple of chambers into Styx. Spoilers for everything through that point, but please no spoilers in reblogs/comments for anything after that!) Also, TW for a whole lot of discussion of abuse, particularly verbal and emotional abuse, and abusive familyworkplace dynamics.

Okay, so. To start out with, Hades is an abusive parent. He engages in innumerable acts of verbal and emotional abuse towards his son, because yep, that's what you call it when a parent constantly berates and belittles their kid for every perceived failure, including the ones the parent themselves could have prevented. Sometimes especially the ones the parent could have prevented. Zagreus failed at his office clerk job because Hades refused to teach him how to do it and then blamed him for not already knowing how. Cerberus tore up the lounge because Hades, who was actually there, chose not to stop him. Hades created, possibly deliberately, and then took full advantage of every opportunity he saw to insult and demean his kid, and the clerk job flashback shows us that he was doing so even before the escape attempts started. I'm pretty sure we're all on the same page here, but: yep, that all constitutes abuse, even if they're gods. Even if Hades has reasons for Being Like That. Even if you think Zagreus seems okay and unharmed by it (which: repeatedly throwing yourself into a gauntlet of violence that inevitably ends in your own pain and death because you're so desperate to escape home, not actually an indicator of someone who's okay). We all good on that?

Cool. Because I'm not really here to talk about how Hades' abuse directly impacts Zagreus right now (although there's for sure an essay in that too). I'm thinking about how it impacts everybody else.

Hades isn't as obviously unreasonable with anybody else in his kingdom the way he is with his kid. When we see him lecture somebody else, it's usually for an actual failure to do their job: Hypnos for literally falling asleep on the job and not doing anything that was assigned to him, Megaera for letting us past her so many time, Orpheus for being a court bard who refuses to sing. His attitude is super confrontational and unpleasant, but on the surface it doesn't necessarily look as fucked-up. Thing is, though, whether any individual act of aggression towards an employee/family member is justified or not (I would generally argue 'not', because aggression towards employees/family members is, y'know, not justifiable)--it's not about the individual acts. It's about the entire cultivated atmosphere of toxicity and abuse.

One of the very first things Meg ever says to us is, "I'd rather be on your bad side than his." Up until that point, we've got no reason to believe Meg has any history whatsoever of fucking up at her job. In fact, we've got plenty of reason to believe she's good at it. She's fiercely proud of it, she's frequently Employee Of The [Time Period], and we've apparently never even met her sisters because she handles her shit herself. But she's still scared of Hades. Dusa, who is an anxious wreck at all times because oh god what if she gets fired what if she gets fired what if she gets fired, in spite of apparently being absolutely exemplary at her job, is scared of Hades. Every single shade in the Hall is clearly terrified of Hades, and it's not because of what he's done to each of them. It's what they've seen him do to other people.

Which is how toxic environments work, whether they're work environments or families. The Court of Hades is of course both, always, with the bonus hell layer of you can't quit even if you DIE. An abuser in authority doesn't have to target you in order to make you feel scared, cowed, and desperate to please them. Humans (and gods who are basically extra-powerful humans) are good at learning by example. The residents of the Court get the picture.

So this Court is a minefield--and everyone except Zagreus is very good at tiptoeing around mines. We see it in Meg, so desperate to do her job well. We see that Hypnos very clearly does not give a shit about anything, but he still makes sure to have a list of excuses ready if/when Hades ever confronts him about failure to do his job, just in case. We see it when Achilles tells us that my ability to help you is constrained by the authority your father gives me, or whatever the line was sixty runs ago when he couldn't let me into locked chambers. The system, such as it is, works, and if Nyx talks to Hades as little as possible, if Thanatos avoids the Court entirely, if Achilles treads very carefully and knows how to keep his head down--well that's just the system, right? That's just how things are.

Even Zagreus seems to have had a role in that system as the court fuckup. He's the kid who didn't have a real job or purpose. He could take the focus of Hades' generalized, day-to-day ire off of everyone else, without triggering some of the more direct and violent ire because the work he was doing didn't really matter (a LOT of Hades' rage-triggers seem to be related to job performance, which means that the people with real jobs are of course the most at risk). And he could do so "safely" (big emphasis on the quotation marks there) because he alone of the court is Hades' actual kid, who's Prince of the Underworld no matter how much he fucks up. If one of Nyx's other kids gets something really really wrong, she might be able to protect them from some consequences, but Hades doesn't have any layer of supposed parental affection holding him back from getting violently furious about it. Zagreus gets a nice bedroom and the abuse is limited to words rather than divine power, and Hades is a dick to everyone but he only occasionally condemns people to eternities of torture, and only for good reasons like refusing to sing when your job is to be court bard, so it's fine, everybody's fine, everything's totally fine, right?

Except it's not fine when everybody is so clearly worried about anything going wrong. And it's especially not fine for Zagreus, who's the person to finally say no. He's leaving, for his own sake, because he deserves better and he's finally convinced he can have it. And that turns the whole system into disarray.

I am endlessly fascinated by the ways this game portrays different characters reacting to this upheaval in their carefully-mapped minefield. It's different for authority figures and peers and servants, different based on how people are positioned in the house under Hades' rule, and it's so spot-on and I love it.

Nyx, for instance, is absolutely calm about the whole thing, because Nyx has power. Hades can't hurt her. Hades can't even really do much against her children, not when Hypnos and Thanatos are gods in their own right. Yes, Hades rules the kingdom, but Nyx owns the land, and she gives no shits about his rages. And it's interesting, too, to see the lines she doesn't draw. The deal seems to be that Hades doesn't fuck with her, and doesn't outright threaten her kids (because Hypnos is bad at his job, demonstrably so, and Hades hasn't ruined him yet), and she doesn't interfere with the way he treats the people around him. She gives Zagreus advice and support and the mirror, but she also doesn't take a direct stand against Hades. He can't hurt her, but he could make life...difficult. She's protected, her position in the minefield is more of a safe viewing platform than slogging through the middle of it, but the mines are still there.

And then we have Achilles, who is one of my favorite characters in the whole game because of how he reacts to this whole situation. Achilles, like Nyx, is so supportive. Every single time you see him he has something encouraging to say. He gives us his Codex, secretly finds us weapons, trained us for years, clearly wants us to succeed. And still he's limited, not necessarily out of fear for himself (though he has to be scared for himself, he knows what Hades does to people who anger him), but out of concern that if he gives Zagreus too much help in one way, he won't be able to provide help at all later. He's still so careful.

Achilles and Nyx are so fucking important to this story because they're the only authority figures Zagreus really has in his life except for his father, and they are so supportive. They're what keep this story from being a nightmare of psychological horror and depression. They can't stop the pressure from Hades and this life in his house being miserable for Zag, but they can give us hope, remind us that Zagreus is still loved. And they have such an incredibly important role when it comes to guilt, which is one of the biggest ways toxic systems maintain themselves.

If Zagreus leaves, what happens to everybody else? Who takes Hades' wrath then? Who becomes court scapegoat if he's not there, and also, who gets punished for his escape? These questions matter, and we see him worry about it! He asks Nyx and Achilles both, is it going to be okay that you're helping me, are you going to be alright, will my father hurt you for this? And they are both so firm about telling him no. No, I will be fine. See, here's the list of reasons about why I'm going to be fine, why my position in this minefield is secure. They make a point of telling us that it's fine, that we do not need to hold ourself back from getting out of this abusive situation for their sake. That is instrumental in Zagreus's ability to keep making these escape attempts without feeling too guilty and worried and selfish to go on. (Another thing that's actually really important in setting up that dynamic--we see that Hades cares about Cerberus, even if he's using him as a pawn against us, and Cerberus seems to be the one figure in court who Hades doesn't get mad at. The dog isn't at risk, and that is really essential in keeping the story from getting too grim.) These people who we care about refuse to let themselves be held hostage to secure our good behavior.

It's also really useful for raising the stakes later in the story--we see Hades arguing with Nyx once or twice, and we see Zagreus feeling guilty about it, but it's also a sign that we're making enough progress to piss him off. After I finally made it out of Elysium on my last run, I came home to find him furious with Achilles in a way that actually makes me nervous, because Achilles does not have nearly as much security in his position as he says he does. (Achilles is such a good teacher/authority figure, because he knows goddamn well what Hades could do to him, and still refuses to let fear for his own situation stop him from helping the abused kid under his care escape his. And no, not everybody has the capacity to do that, but it matters so much coming from the guy who helped raise us. It matters so much. I do not even have the words for how much.)

It's also no mistake that many of the people we find supporting us along our journey are either the people with the most power in their immediate environment, or the least. Sisyphus helps us because what more could they do to me than this? Orpheus is a little wild around the eyes and somewhat disconnected from reality, and he wishes us the best because someone should get what they want and also he no longer gives a single fuck what happens to him. Eurydice has her own cozy little corner of Asphodel, as safe from Hades' rage as anybody anywhere in his realm because she's tucked in such an out-of-the-way middle place she's outside his notice. Dusa is so scared of everything anyway that, crush aside, she isn't any more threatened by us escaping than she is just by her everyday life here. Charon is unfathomable and unstoppable; Skelly literally exists to be a punching bag, and yet he also seems basically immune to pain, no matter what we do to him. There's no threat from Hades there.

So the people most at risk when I flip the world on its ear are the ones who have so much standing that they have something to lose, but not enough to protect them from losing it. Which of course brings us to Than and Meg--who are, of course, the two people who also seem by far the most upset by my attempts to leave.

As authority figures, Nyx and Achilles are constantly reinforcing the message that it's Hades' fault, not ours, if they or anybody else get caught in the crossfire of his wrath. I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, and it's not my guilt to bear. From Megaera and Thanatos, we get the opposite message--I am fucking with things, I am hurting people, and I need to stop. Zagreus isn't just abandoning them, as a friend or brother or lover or all of the above they're Greek gods who even knows. He's betraying them. They were in this together, as friends or lovers or whatever, but now Zagreus is sending earthquakes through the minefield they both still have to stand in. He is about to capsize this boat in the middle of a thunderstorm, he is fucking with the system, and they're the ones who are going to get most hurt.

I'm so curious how this is going to work for Than, who out of everyone we meet holds the closest role to Nyx's in terms of being sheltered from Hades' wrath. He's the guy who gets to leave, after all, even though he always has to come back. I've seen the least of him out of anybody so far because it took forever for me to get to Elysium, but two things really stand out and I'm so interested to see where they go. One, he really genuinely does care about Zagreus. He wants us safe, he wants us unhurt, the accessory he gives us only grants its bonus if we clear a room without taking injury, he keeps showing up to help. And two, he wants us to give up and go back and recognize how good we had it. Which is SO fucking interesting, considering how miserable Zagreus so clearly was, and how legitimate his reasons for being miserable were.

It makes me wonder so much about Than's standards for comparison. Does he know something we don't about what's waiting for us on the surface, something that might theoretically hurt Zagreus even more than staying down below? Has his life, which apparently allows him more freedom than anybody else in the Court, sucked horribly in ways we haven't seen, and that's why he spends so little time there in the first place? Either of those things is plausible, both of those things are plausible, and yet either one leads to this sense of patronizing, because he refuses to simply tell us. If something terrible is awaiting us, don't give us vague warnings, tell us what it is and let us decide for ourself! If you're fucking jealous because we might get out entirely and you're still stuck coming back here, say so. If you're worried about your mom--and he does bring her up, how could Zagreus turn his back on her like that, does seem to worry for her--then let's have an actual conversation about how many times she has insisted I do this and also how much I love her.

And, right, it's clear that a lot of Thanatos being upset is simply, you were going to leave me without even saying goodbye, you want to leave ME, which is understandable! But, like, he is demonstrably the one god who gets to visit the surface. He's the one person we actually COULD expect to see again. And he is absolutely also upset because there's an Order To Things, and we're fucking it up. We used to be his careless callow reckless friend who could talk back to Hades and get away with it, and now we're not, and everything is changing and we might leave him altogether, and we might leave him alone in that court without us, and he hates it.

Is it a short-sighted, selfish fear on his part? Yes, absolutely. Even if he's not scared of Hades on his own behalf, he is still frightened by what happens if we upset this system--and maybe it's the sanctity of a much bigger system than the Underworld that he's worried about! Maybe it's the whole divine and cosmic order. Whatever system he wants so badly to protect is enabling the abuse Zagreus has been dealing with for however-long he's been alive. Whatever system he wants so badly to protect OUGHT to be overturned, or at least shaken up. But this is what toxic systems DO. They convince the people within them that they have to be maintained, that a broken system that hurts the people within it is far better than no system at all, that changing the world is too scary and too dangerous. And Thanatos wants his whatever-Zagreus-is-to-him to be there, because he loves him and also because that's how the world works, and those things are all tangled up in one another, and that is how relationships are in a messed-up family like this so therefore I love it.

And Meg. Meg, the best for last, my dear, beautiful, furious, bitter, scared angry tired girl. I adore her. I am absolutely never going to date her, because the thing Zagreus needs most in his life hurts her, more directly than anybody else in the story, and that sucks, and it's not Zag's fault but they still shouldn't be together. Meg has taken more injury from this situation than anyone, quite literally as well as metaphorically, and it's not her fault any more than it's ours, but oh boy it has made her lash out and it's awful and it's perfect.

Meg's place in the Court of Hades is unique because she's not dead, not a mortal, not anything other than a god--but she's also not family. Nyx is not her mother. She's very much part of this system, she and her two sisters belong to Hades-the-realm and therefore also Hades-the-king, she can't leave, but she also doesn't have that protection of Nyx watching out for her in the same way. She's not royalty. She and her sisters (if you ask Hesiod instead of Virgil, which seems to be the interpretation the game's going with here) sprang from the blood of maimed Uranus at the same time as Aphrodite, but fuck knows Aphrodite isn't claiming them as siblings. And she can't be fired, exactly, but she sure can be demoted, and she sure can be made miserable in her job. Meg is vulnerable in a way very few people in Hades' employ are. She's a lot harder to do away with than any one random shade, but she's also a lot harder to miss blending in with a crowd.

What's more, she's the one person in this whole mess who is specifically tasked with stopping us from leaving. Hypnos isn't ordered to put us to sleep and keep us in our room. Thanatos can't be compelled or punished if he doesn't hunt us down. Achilles isn't told to lock us up and keep the keys. Meg is the one stationed at the doorway to Tartarus to keep us in. Meg is the one who gets in trouble when we leave. Meg (who Hades knows goddamn well Zagreus cares for, or cared for, who he absolutely knows we used to date) is the one who has to fight us again and again and again. And she's the one who keeps dying.

Again, it's this incredibly fucked-up guilt/hostage situation deliberately designed to keep people from fleeing abusive situations. Meg's insistence on fighting us now puts Zagreus in the position of having to hurt her himself again and again. Now suddenly we're the ones sticking a sword in our ex-girlfriend. Now suddenly someone can point to our desire to leave, to flee, to escape, and say, how selfish. How cruel. How terrible of us to want to go, when we're even willing to hurt the people we love to do it.

Except, right: Hades is the one who demands Meg stand there and stop us. Hades is the one who puts both of us in that position. Meg is also in an abusive situation, and she's willing to hurt us to protect herself. "I'd rather be on your bad side than your father's." It's easy to blame her at the start for being complicit, for being a tool of our father's abuse, for being on his side. It gets harder as the game goes on. I've killed her so many times. There's no way for her to beat me. She knows at this point that she can't beat me. She still fights, every single time, still throws herself upon that spike, not because she thinks she has any chance of stopping me but because she is so damn scared of what will happen if she doesn't try.

In fact, Meg's the one person we have actually seen face consequences for our actions so far, instead of just facing the threat of them. Her sisters are here. Her sisters, who she clearly does not want here, who are wild and violent and who she does not want in her life or anywhere near her, let alone near the job she takes so much pride in. She gets to deal with them now. (Hades doesn't have to deal with them. They're still not allowed in his court. But Meg does.) She gets stabbed, and bludgeoned, and shot, and lightning-struck, and poisoned, and every other thing we do to her. Thanatos doesn't. Nyx and Achilles and Hypnos don't. Bug Meg? Oh yes. Meg pays.

And yes, ok, she is complicit in this system. Everybody is complicit in this system. Zagreus who's trying to escape on his own behalf instead of overthrowing his father for the sake of everyone he'd otherwise be leaving behind is complicit in this system. Pointing fingers and pulling strings of who's more at fault? and who do we blame for this? is exactly how this sort of system perpetuates itself. Your sister always talked back at the dinner table and put everyone in an even worse and more violent mood. Your coworker refuses to work more than forty hours a week so now you have to take overtime to pick up their slack. You're enabling your dad by asking your sister to shut up, you're enabling your employer by working as hard as you do so you don't get fired, everyone's at fault, everyone's to blame, everyone is--

It's not everyone. It's Hades. It's Hades at the root of everything, and probably something big and institutional and fucked-up even beyond him. But even if everyone down in this Underworld does have to be trapped here forever, even if he's trapped here forever, Hades is neither challenging the system that put them here nor trying to make that fate better for anyone else stuck with him. He's just created an entire kingdom of backbiting and misery and people who can either go along with his whims or suffer the consequences.

At this point in the game, Meg is so fucking tired. Every time we run into her in the lounge, hunched over a table, the venom in her voice when she tells us "Do I look like I have anything to say to you?" is so bitter and so exhausted. There was a system, and she knew her place in the system, and it was a system divinely ordered by the gods themselves, and sure it was cruel but that's the literal will of the universe as far as she knows it. She had a role, and her role was vengeance and punishment and violence against those who'd committed the most egregious of sins in life, and there was a point to it, she was the divine deterrent to convince people not to do those things, and that was just, and that was right. The GODS THEMSELVES said so. How do you argue with that? You can't possibly argue with that!

And Zagreus is arguing with that. In trying to leave, he's questioning the unbreakable rule that nothing in the Underworld ever gets to leave it. In disobeying his father to do so, he's questioning the unbreakable rule that what the gods say is LAW. He's breaking everything.

And of course he's not trying to do any of that. He's not trying to destabilize the system at all. He's just trying to get himself out of it, to a place where he feels like he belongs and maybe a parent who's slightly nicer to him than this one. But toxic systems like this one break when the people within them have access to another option. When the kids find a way to actually leave, and not answer the phone, and not come home for holidays, and not deal with it any more. When the employees have the economic freedom to quit. When opportunities granted by education, money, social support, etc etc etc, show up and give people a choice. Even if the option is only ever for Zagreus--he's demonstrating that an option exists. Which is, of course, the one thing the system cannot ever allow.

I really like this game.

[ashintheairlikesnow]

hmmm can vampires get sick? maybe sick vampire chris thinking Jake is gonna pull out or file down his fangs? or just thinking Jake’s gonna hurt him?

CW: Sick whumpee, vampire whumpee, blood drinking, vague implications of past sadistic/creepy whumper, dehumanization, vague tooth/mouth whump (nothing direct, but aftermath)

Sort of a sequel to this piece, part of the Vampire Chris AU

"What hurts?" He keeps his voice low, and carefully doesn't hesitate before he lays a hand over the vampire's forehead. Of course it feels lukewarm, room temperature, but he still goes through the motions of feeling for a fever. It's muscle-memory, instinct, and he keeps forgetting Chris is dead.

He has been dead for a long time, if his occasional comments on what sounds like Prohibition are true.

"Bones," Chris whimpers, twisting where he lays in Jake's bed. There's a bright flush in his cheeks from the blood he'd drained from the two men who broke into the house. Those odd eyes glitter, overbright. "My... m'bones hurt, Jake."

His mouth opens, pulling air in over his tongue and down his throat in soft pants, and Jake is reminded that vampires don't sweat. Not the same way, anyway, although with enough blood they can, in thin sheens of pink-tinged liquid that are even more alarming than their tears.

His fangs are visible this way, razor-sharp canines that come down further than the rest of his teeth, a brighter white than all the others from being pulled and regrowing so many times.

Jake swallows against his nervousness, brushing hair away from the vampire's forehead. His slit pupils are dilated, taking up too much of the iris, and he tells himself that Chris is as scared as he is of the instincts that drive him, barely understands them.

Vampires aren't animals - but when they don't understand themselves, they act like it sometimes.

"Do you think maybe those guys were on something? Like, a drug maybe?" He pets through Chris's hair, fingercombing his hair, and watches Chris's eyes flutter closed.

It's hard not to feel more than a little reassured not having to look at them any longer. Which makes him feel guilty, considering this not-a-kid kid just beat up people for hurting him.

Killed them, his brain whispers. Killed them like he could kill you.

"May, maybe," Chris mumbles, and pants again.

His gums seem oddly dark, where normally they're pale, and Jake frowns. He wishes now he knew more about vampire physiology, that he'd paid more attention in class when they took the safety courses on how to avoid them.

There's not exactly a class on caring for one - not unless you can afford to purchase them outright.

"Well, when you were-... uh, before you found us... did you ever feel like this?"

Chris's eyes blink slowly back open and he nods. "Sometimes. My, my, my, my-... someone would, um, take something before, before the party, and I'd..." He groans and shudders. Jake can see the pain move through his body as he trembles nearly violently. "I'd feel like, like, like this after... for hours..."

"Okay. So... probably you just have to let this get worked out of your system, right? Or... is there a medicine?"

"No... just... just drink more." Chris looks up at him, eyes so wide and sad and scared and hurting, and grabs onto his wrist with one hand. Those cool fingers are never not a little startling, colder than the air around them, than the rest of his body.

Vampires have poor circulation, Jake knows, even when they're filled up on a fresh meal. He's seen Chris heal his own wounds before with his tongue, had him explain that they don't heal on their own with time if they're on hands or feet.

"Chris-"

"You, you, you, you-... can, um, you can take my teeth after. You can. I'll hold still. I'll, I'll be good." Chris's plea is barely a whisper.

His nails, which must have been a little too long when he was killed and turned, dig painfully into Jake's wrist in his desperation.

"I'll be so, so, so so so so good, Jake. So good for you, and then, you can, you you you can take my teeth-... Sir always liked it, it makes me me me cry, we we cry blood, Sir liked to take photos of it-"

"Sssshhhh. Hush, Chris." Jake's mind races. There are others in the house, but-... he can't ask them to give up blood to Chris. They've already taken over cleaning the blood up from the hardwood floor. Nat's already dealt with talking to the cops and the EMTs and the coroner before the bodies were taken away. They already handled hiding Chris in a false-backed closet while Jake was interviewed by police officers who looked interested and excited,, not disturbed.

It's not every day you see a vampire attack, after all.

Mostly they're under control, kept on leashes and muzzled like dangerous dogs, the property of rich celebrities looking for novelty in a world where they already have everything. The few ferals are killed pretty fast.

Or so everyone says.

Jake is starting to wonder if there are more vampires out there than he knows about.

The cops had even insisted on checking the attic, as if Chris was a bat they might find hanging upside down. That had been ridiculous, but it's not like Jake could say he knew better without being asked how he knew so much about them in the first place.

Oh, because we keep one like a stray fucking puppy. That wouldn't go over well.

He feels a little woozy from the adrenaline crash, and still aches from the bruised ribs where he was kicked around. His mouth aches from the duct tape they'd put over it, and he'd got a hell of a rash starting around his wrists. He's so exhausted he might collapse.

But... Chris really did show up right on time, and maybe saved his life.

Chris pulls Jake's wrist to his face, nuzzles into the inside of it against the pale blue veins that show through the thin skin. Jake shudders at the feeling, swallowing back a low-level disgust.

He wonders how old the teenager really is - he wonders that all the time.

"You c-can have my teeth, after," Chris whispers, lips moving against Jake's skin. "You can keep them. Sir used to, to, to keep them in a box and show m-me. Just, please, please help me feel better, Jake, please... It won't hurt."

Jake closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "If it'll help... fine. But I'm not taking your teeth. They're yours."

"Thank you," Chris breathes out. "That's, that's, that's okay. I can still fix it for you. Thank you, Jake." His fangs slip back into Jake's skin as easily as a heated knife through warm butter.

The venom hits his bloodstream before the pain hits his nerves, and Jake feels himself slump over, head falling onto Chris's shoulder as all his limbs go dead.

It almost feels good, as his ribs stop aching, and the bruises stop throbbing on his skin. He can see why rich people love it as a party drug. You could drift in this place of perfect no-pain for a long, long time.

He feels only the wet movement of Chris's tongue, the shift of his fangs, the soft pressure of the other teeth pushing down. Chris purrs softly, drinking his blood like a kitten lapping milk.

It goes on and on, and for one terrifying second Jake thinks he's not going to stop until he's dead.

"Ch-... Chris-"

Those fangs slip suddenly out of his skin, the wet cool tongue licks rough over his wounds - closing them instantly.

The venom slowly fades, the aches and pains settling back into his body. Jake groans, feeling weak and exhausted.

Chris has to push him up off his shoulder, with unnatural strength moving him to lay on his side on the bed. Jake can barely keep his eyes open.

Chris, leaning over him, could rip his throat out and he couldn't even raise a hand to try and defend himself right now. Jake sees the body of the first dead robber behind his eyelids, the expression of horror written in eternal rictus in his expression, the blood down his shirt and puddled beneath him on the floor. The other man, fighting until he stopped, slumping until Chris had drained him to death.

"I feel better," Chris whispers, kneading at Jake's shirt briefly. "I, I, I feel so much better. Go to, um, go to sleep, Jake. I'll fix it so you're safe."

Jake can't even begin to understand what that means before he's already slid into something more like unconsciousness than actual sleep. The world around him simply goes black, and the last thing he feels is Chris pulling a blanket up to his chin.

The last thing he hears is those soft padding footsteps leaving the room.

When he wakes, he finds two fangs, pristine white with bloodied roots, sitting in a washcloth next to where his head lays on the pillow. he finds a pair of small pliers on the bathroom sink, with droplets of red around them.

The sun is shining outside the window, a bird singing loud enough to drive a drillbit into his head, and Chris is curled up asleep in the dark at the back of a closet, mouth slightly open.

Jake stares down at the empty spots where his fangs should be, and wonders if he's grateful, or horrified.

-

@burtlederp @finder-of-rings @endless-whump @astrobly @newandfiguringitout @doveotions @pretty-face-breaker @gonna-feel-that-tomorrow @boxboysandotherwhump @oops-its-whump @cubeswhump @whump-tr0pes @downriver914 @whumptywhumpdump @whumpiary @orchidscript @nonsensical-whump @outofangband

[bigskydreaming]

You're asked to choose one and only one or DC's future stops existing immediately. your choices:

1. Jason Todd the anti-hero who seldom works with only a couple of the bats he doesn't hate, for example Dick and Cass VS. Jason Todd who came back with healed body but broken spirit, folded back into the Gotham gang and learns to be part of the society again.

2. Tim Drake who makes all of his mistakes as canon but realizes he's been wrong and apologizes to people VS. Tim Drake back in his first iteration, a cute little brother character who is a reader insert and a fun teenager.

3. JayKyle VS DickKyle.

4. Jason Todd with a sword VS. Damian Wayne with a sword.

5. Chris Kent VS. Jon kent.

Okay but which DC future? Its omniversal future? Its hypertime future? Its multiversal future? Its Elseworlds future? Its dark multiverse future? Mwahahaha your threat is useless because the sheer wtf of DC's continuities, timelines and conflicting declarations of what to even call their multiomnihyperverse makes it impossible to target simply A future! DC's overly unnecessarily complicated nature renders it functionally immortal and impossible to ever truly destroy, take that Darkseid.

I mean. But anyway. Whatevs:

1) I honestly do prefer the idea of Jason someday fully reuniting/reintigrating into the Batfam as a whole, because fuck it, the found family I'm here for is the one where they actually act like a family....I just think it takes actual work to get to that point and I get irey when people are like we're here! We found it! And its like meanwhile, abusive dynamics still abound. Mmm. No thank you. But even though I've been on a huge Jason and Dick and Cass kick for like, forever, I do still aim for him having a dynamic of his own with the rest of the family.

Like the thing is, I hate playing the favorites card in families, and I think the emphasis on so and so being Bruce's favorite child or so and so being this kid's favorite sibling, etc, like it really does feel like to the detriment of the whole family, because once you start validating the idea of favorites, ESPECIALLY in a found family that is CONTINUOUSLY growing....I think you're kinda shooting yourself in the foot because you're kinda creating a situation where either no future new additions to the family can EVER be Bruce or one of the kids' 'favorite' or else you're innately positing that said fave status is conditional and even a current fave of Bruce or a sibling can be bumped down the ladder by the addition of a later arrival....

Which is LITERALLY the entire essence of the eternal conflict between Dick and Damian and Tim fans. Its not even that Damian is Dick's favorite, allegedly, its that prior to Damian's very EXISTENCE, fans felt comfortable declaring Tim unilaterally to be Dick's 'favorite'.....and then all it took was the addition of a single family member who had specific NEEDS in regards to Dick's attention and focus, largely because of his age and needing a legal guardian while Tim was old enough to literally jet set around the world on his own.....and like, everything went up in flames in large corners of fandom.

So I'm just like, death to the fave family member myth, its just incredibly counter productive to the idea of found family as a whole especially when it usually only exists to prop up a preferred character as better than others via the proof of see, these other characters say he's their fave or whatever...but also like, its not even necessary?

Because the thing is, you can have Jason reintegrated into the whole family overall, and still prioritize your personal narrative FOCUS on characters you like more than others, like say Dick and Cass.....because of course its natural for even people in the same family to have entirely different DYNAMICS with different family members....and these dynamics don't have to come with a ranking system in order to prioritize which ones you just focus on more in a story. Because its not necessarily that Dick has to be Jason's fave brother, y'know, just for Jason to prefer spending time with Dick simply because he's more comfortable with him due to knowing him longer or being more secure in the idea that Dick doesn't judge him based on their greater shared history.

This doesn't mean that Jason doesn't care for his other siblings, that he can't have strong dynamics with them as well, its just about finding a reason for why these two specifically might be in a story without the others that doesn't demand putting a definitive ranking on which one Jason considers his FAVE. Just like Damian doesn't have to be Dick's FAVE just for them to have the super close canon relationship they have, even relative to the other siblings, because there's everything needed in canon already to establish that the mere fact of Dick essentially RAISING Damian for a year, and being the first one in the family to really take a chance on Damian, like, this lends itself naturally to them maybe more naturally gravitating towards each other than other siblings due to comfort level and familiarity, etc, but it doesn't have to be like....oh but yeah, I just like Damian more than you, Tim, y'know?

So my answer on this one is a total cop out of both, both is good. Jason totally reintegrated back into the family, but with dynamics that still lend themselves fairly easily towards story lineups where its just him running missions with Dick or Duke or any other one or two specific family members even if for no other reason than they gel together best in the field, y'know?

2) Hmm. I honestly really do love and miss 90s Tim Drake and just....don't see him in a lot of what I read these days. I'm like no, why did he have to go, he was doing so well! BUT I'm also on a big accountability kick, and like, I'm so steeped in fics where Dick GROVELS for forgiveness for every little slight he's ever done real or imagined, with every character but Tim in particular, so its like.....I'm not gonna lie, I really have a preference these days for seeing stuff where its literally anyone actually owning up to shit they've done to Dick and apologizing or groveling or making it to HIM, like, completely unconditionally. In the same manner we usually see Dick apologizing, glossing over any reasons he might have had for doing what he did or feeling the way he did, and saying oh it doesn't matter, putting the entirety of his focus on what HE did and why it was wrong no matter what and he's sorry.....that's what I would kill to see from more fics, just in reverse.

Because so often even in the all too rare fics where we DO see other characters apologizing to Dick for shit, its watered down with Dick volunteering that oh he messed up too, it was a two way street, and its like no! This is Pettiness Hours! I want the unconditional apologies! Give me the groveling! From anyone, I don't care at this point, lol, just show me characters actually PUTTING IN THE WORK to make it up to Dick for harm they've caused him, even if completely unintentionally or via neglecting his feelings or considering the repercussions their actions or words would have on him. Aaaaaaand, frankly, Tim's a good place to start there, because of how one sided all the takes on their conflicts have been for so many years. I mean, if people need a place to start, Batman and Robin Eternal gets enough praise it can't be pretended that people in fandom don't know that story exists, so how about some stories where Tim says he's fucking sorry for punching Dick in issue #4 or #5 of that one, and it was uncalled for and he was clearly just looking for an excuse to unleash some more of his resentment and upset for the Spyral/Forever Evil stuff, and family deciding that its totally okay to punch Dick whenever they're mad at him and need to work off some aggression so they can then finally forgive him (for now) is a trend that needs to die in a fire post-haste? I mean just as an example.

But the thing that kills me about fanfic trends is like....the sameness of so much of it. There's SO much room for variety and diverse takes, and like....I don't actually hate Tim! I'm just cranky because of the imbalanced nature of most content out there for literal years at this point. Push the pendulum BACK in the other direction, create some balance by showing the flip side of things.....and that leaves a lot more room for me and others of like minds to then be more amenable to - and even interested in - other stories that don't scratch this particular itch, but don't need to, because other stories are doing the scratching by then, y'know?

And THEN like, at that point, I would be ALL FOR more stories that are just callbacks to classic 90s Tim who I adore, with his skateboarding and his EARNESTNESS and his go-get-em spirit and also the gumption. All the gumption. I like that Tim. I do miss that Tim. But like, for the moment, like, I want accountable Tim because I am tiiiiiiiired of groveling Dick and tbh at this point its not enough for me to just see people move past putting Dick in that position and just have mutually respective and doting brothers Dick and Tim having adventures together......nah, first I want some reciprocation. Ngl. Gimme the apologies for actual mistakes actually made.

3) DickKyle. Easy question, c'mon, you gotta know that. LOL. ;)

But yeah, I've been shipping these two off their like, two shared pages from way back in the Obsidian Age story years before Jason even returned, let alone was in Countdown together with Kyle, so like, its no contest. I don't mind JayKyle, I certainly prefer it to JayRoy tbh, but there's not a ton of appeal in it for me, particularly in how its usually depicted, because like....the entire basis of JayKyle is that they DO have stories together and spent a whole year worth of weekly issues traveling the multiverse together in Countdown.....but there's like, practically no trace of their actual dynamics from that series or any specifics of literally any issue from that entire comic in most fics I’ve read, so its like.....idk, it tends to come across as more generic, not in the sense that it cant still be interesting, but more in the sense that it feels like just someone paired with Jason just because history between them EXISTS without any interest in exploring what that history actually IS....and at that point, its like, well there's no reason TO prioritize that ship over DickKyle for me personally, when like, I have a shit ton of headcanon reasons for why those two in a pairing specifically. *Shrugs* My logic. Its not for everyone, but it works for me.

4) Jason with a sword or Damian with a sword? I don't understand the question. Both. Both is good. All the characters should have swords. Swords are awesome.

5) Chris Kent vs Jon Kent - oof. I adore Jon, I really do. I love his dynamic with Damian, I love a lot of their specific stories, the parallels between them as friends and Bruce and Clark as friends....its all very bien. But I gotta give this one to Chris, because I'm always gonna have a soft spot for him because I'm a sucker for all abused kid heroes, and I just miss that funky little dude so much. There's so many stories we didn't get with him and were just ripe for the picking, but nooooo, DC's like lol you can't have nice things, here we just rebooted the entire multiverse and now Clark and Lois never adopted the son of Clark's worst Kryptonian rival and raised him with tender love and care awww does that make you sad, were you invested in him, WELL TOO BAD, HE'S GONE NOW AND BASICALLY NEVER EXISTED, NOW GIVE US YOUR MONEY ANYWAY MWAHAHAHAHAH.

Yeah. I'm still not over that. Probably will never be tbh, so I with great grudge-bearing do affirm that I'm gonna go with Chris on this one and like, he is a Priority for me and I'm still very keen on the idea of him and Duke being besties for random reasons that might not make sense to anyone but me, but eh, whatever.

[nigiyakapepper]

i might get ridiculed for this post but i want to put it out there anyway hoping there’s people who feel the same as i do

(spoilers & “reading the back cover” talk for Hades, Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion, Say No More, Everhood, Spiritfarer, Oneshot & Castlevania)

by all means, i would love for Toby to be able to create the story he wants to and get it out there. i admittedly don’t play a lot of games. i've played undertale & deltarune. i'm amazed that barely a week has passed and a lot of people have wildly different but all valid takeaways from various decisions that this game took to be what it is.

i've read how kris’ panic attack after the spamtron neo fight is because it’s put their feelings about us/the player controlling them into terrifying perspective. i've read how each dark world might be a manifestation of each character’s struggle & insight as to how they’ll overcome it. i’ve read a lot about how undertale & deltarune are brilliant subversions of various things we’ve come to accept in video games, about a game character’s agency & the consequences of our choices as players.

these games have a story to tell, i know. these kinds of stories have a right to be told, have a place to be told, i know. they've inspired people in various, life-changing ways, they’ve made us think. and think and think. how we approach video games, how we approach storytelling, i know. Toby for sure wants to tell a story in a way he can be more than satisfied with, i get that, i really do.

but, i'm old. i’ve witnessed media i love crash & burn because of executive meddling, behind the scenes problems we aren’t privy to, because …i dunno, producers were angry? annoyed? that fans could predict what happens (as decent storytelling would be able to let you) and decided to what, shoot themselves in the foot to one-up them? i've seen stories that choose grittier, darker endings become so forgotten, scorned even, while stories so bloody, gory & seemingly tragic to give happy endings for every. single. person. and that payoff felt incredible.

tl;dr, while (badly succinctly put) commentary on video games, character agency, player’s choices is good, i want to be able to help these people we’ve come to know and love.

these are sad games. lonely games. at 23 years old, i wanted nothing more than to let Asriel’s parents know they could talk to their son one last time. at 26, i wanted to help Kris & anyone else that have found themselves caught up in all this. at 29, i'm wondering if they’re having fun, that even if Kris is in a difficult situation, i'm helping them have fun at least.

i don’t want to be blamed for having been forced into having to make choices. i think it’s why players are generally encouraged to make good ones (unless we’re hunting for story/lore which is fine. it’s valid.) at the end of the day, it’s a video game. but that’s the thing, right? by nature, video games are meant to be played & if we’re heading toward some…moral lecture-y type of realization that the people in games we’re playing are better off without us being able to fuck them over by having been presented with a choice to be a dick, then…that sucks.

it's like that post about laminating tissue paper…vaguely. the tissue paper lasts, but is useless because you can’t use it as a tissue paper—BUT I’M DIGRESSING

look

the brilliance in the story of Hades is that you, as the player, have been given the feeling of having helped fix things, bringing lovers together, easing an eternal damnation, helping Hades be a little bit happier by encouraging Persephone to return home.

the payoffs of Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion, Say No More & Everhood are, well they’re fun in their own ways. there's a portion of them that’s serious, that are conversations that you need to have (i.e. Say No More & boundaries, Everhood & their take on Buddhism that isn’t cheesed to hell & back like other more typical ways religious themes appear in games) BUT the way these games resolve makes you feel good. Satisfied. that you had fun playing the fun video game.

(i haven’t finished playing Spiritfarer yet but i know that game will gut me. it’s the nicest way of engaging w a life lived & coming to terms with Death i've seen portrayed any media.)

the gargantuan emotional payoff in Oneshot is you, as the player, quite literally helps a child that is stuck in a video game world RETURN HOME. i'm not going to spoil what Niko does but he gets to go home. WE THE PLAYER HELP HIM GET HOME.

all this talk of going “does anything even matter anymore” after finding out you are trapped in a video game neatly addressed with other characters explicitly saying “well, didn’t you have fun with people here? didn't they make choices that the code couldn’t predict? isn’t having had fun w people you met here worth saving their world anyway?” and succeeding. WE HELP SAVE THE WORLD AND GET THE PROTAG HOME.

whatever story Toby chooses to tell, i hope…i dunno, that it’s not just commentary? with how his worlds are, i hope that we, as the player, aren’t just…accuse first, prove innocence second? Like, I WANT TO HELP. let the lore hunters & dataminers & “i will immediately play dark routes next” do their thing. it's a valid thing to do! by nature of programming in a choice, there is the expectation of people venturing down that choice, as dark as it can get. you want people to see what you put in a thing or else there’s no reason to put it! (most of the time.)

but i want a happy ending. for everyone. because i'm playing this medium – these video games – i as a player want to help brings those happy endings about.

it's free to hope, i know. people need sad, dark, lonely stories, i know. but god, i'm tired. i want to be able to help get these kids, all these people to their happy endings. Please, Toby.

i’m not complaining about undertale or deltarune. all i’m saying is what is my point as the person who plays the video game if i can’t help these people get to have good & happy lives after all they’ve been through.

we’re doing that, i know. WE’RE TRYING TO. to some extent we’ve done that. but we left two dead kids in undertale. you can’t tell me we can’t find a way to give them happy endings to. alive, even. with their parents & friends. heck, if Castlevania was able to give EVERYONE a happy ending after everything, what on earth is stopping other media from doing the same thing.

Please.

[tossawary]

Some random favorite lines (with commentary) of Chapter 23: “Swallowing Your Heart” of “pride is not the word I’m looking for” because I’m doing a re-read. Not a full list or full commentary.

-

Liu Qingge shoves him off his sword.

Plot twist! Betrayal! Shang Qinghua doesn’t have time to get over his shock at such an attack before Liu Qingge has caught the riderless sword in one hand and caught the swordless rider over his shoulder.

The Bai Zhan Peak War God flies on to Qian Cao Peak with his new cargo.

Shang Qinghua slaps the man on the back and wheezes.

“Have you done that move before?!” he demands, because that was so fucking smooth it’s offensive. It really does offend him! He’s super offended right now!

“Mingyan,” Liu Qingge says, like this explains everything. “And Fanli.”

It kind of does explain everything.

- 

AN: That LQG effortlessly manhandled SQH in the same way that he manhandles his sister. This is how LQG shows affection. LMY is not a fan of it either. 

-

“Ming Fan is a good sparring partner,” Binghe says as part of his tirade, like he’s confessing something. “But he needs sooooo many compliments to soothe his pride. ‘Oh, I knocked Shixiong over because he’s such a good teacher! Thank you, Shixiong, for helping me practice this move. Shixiong, I really admire how you don’t let the little things bother you because you’re so confident and skilled.’ I think he’s getting better now, but it’s still tiring sometimes. Uncle, some people really can’t take even a well-meaning criticism without falling apart.”

- 

AN: This conversation was definitely a jab at Shang Qinghua relationship with Mobei-Jun, but it also extends to Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu. 

- 

Binghe says that he also heard some Qiong Ding Peak people are here now, but he doesn’t know what they’re doing. Beyond that, not that much has apparently happened while Shang Qinghua was sleeping the day away! Liu Qingge came by, probably to report to his scheming wife, who was yet again totally and embarrassingly correct about Shang Qinghua’s state of being. Chen Xuan, whom Binghe embarrassingly correctly identified as Disciple Dumpling Thief’s Friend, dropped by, but only to say not to worry about the day-in-day-out of An Ding Peak.

- 

AN: Binghe knows Shang Qinghua’s nicknames for his favorite disciples. 

- 

Binghe curls up with his arms around and his head resting on Shang Qinghua’s stomach, while Shang Qinghua rubs his protagonist son’s back.

- 

AN: Either of these characters getting unconditional platonic affection is SO UNUSUAL that it hurts. People need hugs at all ages! 

- 

The kindest option here might be the demon lord coming back sometime in the next few days and pretending the entire interaction never happened. Shang Qinghua will tell the man that it was a human thing, some kind of nervous fit, and beg forgiveness for his lapse in presentation! Well, he probably should, except… he doesn’t really want to do that. He doesn’t really want to go, “My king, my apologies for the mess! Let me, ah, let me just swallow all of those words I threw out there, just chew them back up, gulp them down into some vital organ to rot there forever, so we can never talk about them ever again.”

Mobei-Jun seems to still be his Mobei-Jun, looking at that confrontation in hindsight, and not… not any other Mobei-Jun. People in general seem to have stayed the same, besides Peerless Cucumber being fitted into the picture as some mysterious intruder. All those years of service and loyalty and companionship Shang Qinghua remembers with Mobei-Jun haven’t vanished on him. “All current achievements have been preserved” and all that!

So, part of him wants to go, “So! Those things I said! What about them, huh? Do you have anything to say to any of that, my king? Anything at all?” 

- 

AN: Shang Qinghua wants to OPEN UP and he can’t make himself take that step when his nephew’s life is on the line. MBJ has not made himself explicitly safe yet. Unspoken understandings can only go so far here. 

- 

“Was it something really bad?” Luo Fanli presses, leaning back along his desk until she’s practically lying down on it.

Not in a sexy pose or anything, just in a put-upon flop, kind of like a tired child finding the oasis of a department store furniture display during a too-long shopping trip or a toddler denied candy pouting on the floor of the grocery store. His little sister-in-law is not greatly concerned with dignity, much to her sister’s dismay and the eternal frustration of Qi Qingqi. She says life is too short for it.

“No one died.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, it means that everyone lived through it,” Shang Qinghua explains.

-

AN: Shang Qinghua’s relationship with Luo Fanli is fun. I’m looking forward to putting Luo Fanli in a room with Shen Yuan. SY needs friends. Luo Fanli @ Shen Yuan: “Idk, he’s a weirdo, but he’s uncle-shaped, right?” 

- 

Except when Shang Qinghua opens the soup container, it’s still completely full. None of his disciples - who are very, very good at acting like they’ve never been fed ever in their life - have helped themselves to even a taste. It’s a big pot! There’s plenty to go around! More than Shang Qinghua could reasonably eat by himself! And yet…

His disciples have been way too nice to him lately. He feels like he should be checking his pockets for whatever they stole from him when he wasn’t looking. Did the System replace his bratty disciples with good alternate universe ones?! He hates it, thanks!

- 

AN: This is SUCH a low standard... and yet...! It’s very funny to me how much his disciples not stealing food from a sick man says here. 

SQH: “Why are all my disciples such sticky-fingered brats?!” 

LJH: “Because you think it’s funny.” 

SQH: “Oh, yeah.” 

- 

Wow, Peerless Cucumber doesn’t seem pleased to see him! Shang Qinghua hasn’t suffered a glare that venomous since… well, Shen Qingqiu, maybe? Okay, so maybe the switch would have worked a little bit! But Shang Qinghua is still glad it didn’t happen, even if the System fucked up the rest of reality (somehow, Shang Qinghua still hasn’t figured out how exactly) out of revenge for its own shitty choices falling through.

“Where have you been?” Peerless Cucumber demands.

“Busy?” Shang Qinghua answers, coming closer but not sitting down. “Look, the System just rewrote bits of reality on me because of your fumbled arrival tipping some invisible scales and it has not been forthcoming about the changes. I had things to check on and things have been a bit political. I sent you a message.”

“That message said a lot of nothing,” Peerless Cucumber says, but with less venom.

“Aha, yeah. Well, I’m here now.”

Peerless Cucumber looks frustrated, but finally scoots over so that Shang Qinghua can sit beside him on the bench. Shang Qinghua gingerly sits, giving the kid space.

Shang Qinghua is being super calm for the other transmigrator right now! He’s very calm here! The calmest!

- 

AN: SY really is a scared kid putting up a front. Which works out, because SQH is a dad here (and thinks SY’s insults are mostly just funny). 

- 

Out of the corner of his eye, Shang Qinghua can see a Qian Cao Peak cultivator standing impatiently by the Qiong Ding Peak guard. And… someone bouncing on their toes in a Qing Jing Peak uniform? Speak of the half-demon future tyrant of this world!

“Looks like we’ll have to continue this later,” Shang Qinghua says.

“My assisted meditation appointment,” Peerless Cucumber confirms glumly, looking as though he’s never experienced inner peace in his life and has no intention of willingly doing so. 

- 

AN: I took SY as genuinely having a knack for cultivating and that’s the interpretation I’m using for this fic, especially since I gave the Original Shen Qingqiu health problems that nearly killed him. In an earlier chapter, Mu Qingfang mentions needing to “replace Shen Qingqiu’s entire cultivation system”, which I planted for Shen Yuan getting a free, extremely stable highly developed cultivation system as part of his transmigration later. 

I mean, Shen Yuan manages to weather Liu Qingge’s qi deviation, a great deal of stress, Without-A-Cure, and etc., and he’s remarkably stable through most of it. So I’m leaning towards “a little bit of System assistance” here. The System was going to replace both Shen Qingqiu and SQQ’s unstable cultivation system out for Shen Yuan and a more stable cultivation system. 

SQQ still has a cultivation system. If he didn’t, it would have been mentioned by now. SQQ is repeatedly stated to be improving well in this chapter. I think Mu Qingfang would have noticed if SQQ didn’t have cultivation anymore. 

- 

“Then wouldn’t you be Luo-Shixiong to me?” Peerless Cucumber suggests wryly to the protagonist, who is both about five years younger than him and still shorter. (Mu Qingfang said that their guest seems to believe that he’s newly twenty. Whether or not the kid is editing his age up or down, Shang Qinghua has decided that he’s just not going to fucking think about this fact.)

“Uh,” Luo Binghe says, looking stunned and then to Shang Qinghua for help. Ha, he’s flustered, which doesn’t happen often. That’s adorable.. “...Maybe?”

Shang Qinghua snorts and remains unhelpful. Ning Yingying is actually about a year younger than Luo Binghe is, Shang Qinghua knows, but she’s been a member of the sect for significantly longer. Binghe might have some shidi and shimei soon with the next entrance test and he’s been very excited about that, but he clearly doesn’t know what to do with a “shidi” closer to his young auntie’s age than his own. Kind of weird seniors and juniors are just part of the sect experience, nephew! Get used to it!

“Thank you, regardless,” Peerless Cucumber says.

“Of course,” Binghe agrees quickly.

- 

AN: SQH is probably going to look back on this moment and go, “Hmm.” 

- 

‘You’re very resourceful,” his sister-in-law says slyly.

“I am very resourceful,” Shang Qinghua allows, and in a fit of affection reaches up to pinch Luo Jiahui’s cheek like she’s Binghe. “And I have the world’s wisest and least bossy sister-in-law, too! How fortunate I am!”

Luo Jiahui slaps his hand away with a giggle, turning slightly pink.

“At least you know it!” she says.

- 

AN: I’ve been wanting to make SQH pinch someone’s cheek for ages now. 

- 

“...You looked very scared that night,” Luo Jiahui says finally. “It might have seemed worse to you than it was. If your demon can’t be understanding of one bad night, then it’s… I don’t know if there’s a way forward with him at all.” She fixes a determined expression and says, “If any offers are retracted then we’ll manage just fine without him. We’ll tell Qingge and he’ll help. And so will Fanli. Our family won’t fall apart so easily. Hua-Ge doesn’t have to take care of everything and be everything at once to everyone.”

- 

AN: LJH channeling some “dump him! dump him! dump him!” energy. 

- 

Shang Qinghua has never been able to picture cutting ties after all this time. What would he even say? “My king, I think our arrangement has come to an end. I promised to serve you for the rest of my life, but that was when I didn’t think my life was worth very much.” He can’t see that going over well! It’s never really been an option, anyway, since Luo Binghe can’t not unlock his demonic powers and go to the Demon Realm. The System won’t have it.

- 

AN: If SQH said that to MBJ, that would be a one-hit KO, probably. 

Break the man’s heart, why don’t you?

[hotshotsxyz]

15x19 Coda

[read it on AO3]

It's… over. They won. And Dean is happy, he really is. It was a near perfect ending. The sun is shining and the Earth's still turning, it's inhabitants entirely unaware of the days they'd lost. He wonders if some scientist won't figure it out, notice that the stars have moved too far for a single day. A puzzle for the decade. And Sam, Sam's practically vibrating with excitement as they draw closer to Eileen with every mile of asphalt beneath their tires.

So yeah, Dean's happy. But it's a hollow sort of happiness.

They'd won, but the cost to play had been too damn high. Dean hadn't asked Jack to bring Cas back because he didn't have to. He'd seen the flash of sadness in his eyes after bringing everyone else back; seen the near-imperceptible shake of his head when Dean took an aborted step after him as he backed away. Jack couldn’t do it.

The kid had been through enough, and Dean wasn't going to make him explain why restoring the entire world was in his power but bringing Cas back wasn't.

Instead, he'd pasted on as much of a smile as he could manage and teased Sam about seeing Eileen again so he wouldn't have to think about who they wouldn't be seeing.

Waking at all is a surprise. Cas had seen the Empty reaching out to him, had felt its icy tendrils envelop him. And he'd felt peace. Dean was safe, and he'd finally said what he'd wanted to all these years. Finally let himself feel love in its entirety. It had been glorious.

Now, he's mostly confused. The Empty is different from what Cas remembers. There's a high pitched whine that seems to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once. In the back of Cas's head, he feels presences other than his own, tugging his consciousness in several directions. With nothing else to do, he picks one at random and begins to walk.

It's well after midnight, and they're still on the road. Sam is asleep on the passenger side, but Dean isn't tired. The last song on the cassette in the tape deck had ended an hour ago, and Dean hadn't bothered to put in a new one. They're miles from any sort of civilization, and Dean has to remind himself more than once that the lack of cars around them doesn't mean everyone is gone again. Still, between that and the muted landscape surrounding them, there's little to do but think.

Before, just after Chuck had wiped the Earth clean of everyone but them, Dean had had to push it all down. Sam was spiraling, and Dean couldn't afford to sink into the stupor he usually found himself in after losing Cas.

And wasn't that a thought? He's lost Cas so many damn times, he has a 'usual' response. This time feels different, though. He feels different. Dean still aches, feels the loss like a gaping hole in his chest. He greets his grief as an old friend, wraps himself in it like a warm blanket. He knows how to survive this loss, though, because he's done it before. And for once, he wants to. Because he wants to live up to what Cas saw in him.

"Michael," Cas says, surprised. His voice sounds strange to his ears, echoless and muted by the void around them.

Perhaps the direction he'd chosen hadn't been quite as random as he'd thought.

"Castiel," Michael replies, "I – I'm sorry," he says. Had Cas not known any better, he would've thought it was Adam speaking, not Michael. The words are pained and soft, brimming with the sort of regret and sorrow that angels are rarely capable of.

"What happened?" Cas asks.

Michael shakes his head mutely and turns away. Cas blinks and he's gone. The high pitched whine remains. Cas continues on.

Dean shakes Sam awake around four in the morning, just as he pulls into a roadside motel. It's the sort they've slept in a thousand times before, stained carpet and questionable mass produced art and all. It feels almost like a homecoming.

"Time is it?" Sam asks, yawning.

"Late," Dean replies. "C'mon, I need a couple hours of shut eye before we keep going."

Sam rubs his eyes and stretches. "How far out are we?" He asks as he climbs out of the car.

Dean shrugs. "Three or four hours?" he guesses.

"That close?" Sam asks.

"C'mon." Dean gestures towards the front of the motel. "A little sleep and we'll be there by lunchtime."

Next, Cas finds Ruby. Or rather, she finds him.

'Well, whatever the hell you did it woke us all up," she says from behind him. Cas spins around to face her.

He doesn't know what to say.

"I guess I should thank you," Ruby continues. "I mean, I could do without the eternal shriek, but it's better than everything that was going on up here." She taps her forehead meaningfully.

"I don't know why we’re awake," Cas says finally.

"Ah," Ruby says. "Then I guess you still owe me." She winks, and then she too is gone. The whine continues. Although, now that he thinks about it, perhaps shriek is a more accurate description.

Dean is exhausted, but even with his eyes shut tight against the soft moonlight that filtered through the motel room's thin curtains he can't sleep. He misses the odd sounds the bunker made at night. He misses his memory foam mattress. He misses his damn nightgown and he misses- well. Best not to go there while he's trying to sleep.

After several more minutes of unsuccessful slumber, Dean sighs and swings himself out of bed. He toes on his boots as quietly as he can manage and slips out into the night. He walks around behind the motel and sits on concrete slab, back against the wall and arms resting on his knees. The night is cold and clear, the stars as bright as he's ever seen them.

For a while he just stares, tracing out the constellations he knows and making new ones in place of the ones he doesn't. Above the big dipper is a group of stars he decides to call Jack. The brightest of them make a sort of circle. Harmony, Dean thinks. Beyond that are several stars in the shape of a child's drawing of of a house. He calls that one Sam. And above it… well, Dean knows that one. Cassiopeia. He doesn't know where it got it's name, but he knows what it means to him. Cas.

His next encounter is less welcome than the first two were.

"Cassie!" Lucifer calls out gleefully. "What a lovely family reunion."

"I have nothing to say to you," Cas rumbles.

"Oh," Lucifer says, "but you'll want to hear what I have to say." He grins, but none of the mirth reaches his eyes.

"Your precious little humans are going to lose," he sing-songs. "I've made sure of it."

"You've been here longer than I have," Cas retorts.

"Dad sprung me," Lucifer replies, "and I-"

Cas pushes past him. "I have no interest in your games," he says. To his surprise, Lucifer says nothing in response.

When he turns around, the Archangel is gone.

Dean tilts his head back against the wall, and for the first time since purgatory, he prays.

"Cas," he says softly. "I don't know if you can hear me. Hell, you probably can't. I know this one was probably it. The big goodbye." Tears begin to form in Dean's eyes, and he does nothing to stop them from falling. "I wanted to say thank you," he whispers. "What you did… we saved the world because of it. Because of you. There're seven billion people out there who owe you their lives. Some of us owe it a few times over." Dean chuckles a little at that, a wet, painful sound. "I need you to know that you changed me too. Of course you did, how could you not? Whatever it is you saw in me… it's there because of you. I never thought… well, I guess we're both stupid. You said the one thing you wanted you couldn't have. Cas," Dean says, his voice breaking, "I wanted it, too." His prayer devolves into choking sobs, the kind that tear themselves from you and won't let you draw breath to replace them.

Cas feels a sharp, painful tug in his grace.

Cas, he hears in his mind. He knows that voice. Cas falls to his knees.

It isn't until the suns rays stain the horizon gold that Dean stands again. He dusts himself off and wipes at the dried tear tracks on his face. He aches, but he also feels some relief. He hadn't said it all but… he'd said enough. The rest he can keep for himself, at least for now. He slips back into the motel room where, predictably, Sam is still asleep. He steps out of his shoes and slides beneath the scratchy motel sheets. Finally, finally, he sleeps.

"Dean," Cas chokes out. The prayer bounces around his head like a trapped echo. I wanted it, too. Cas feels the wetness on his face even as his determination surges. He's awake, and he's going to find a way home. He has to.

Cas continues walking with renewed purpose, although just as directionless as before. He wanders for what felt like hours or perhaps mere minutes. There's no concept of time in the Empty; only what was and what is. Eventually, he notices that the shriek is getting louder. It suddenly seems to be coming from a specific direction. Cas turns toward it and begins to run.

The little sleep Dean gets leaves him feeling surprisingly refreshed, and they make good time the rest of the way to Eileen. Ten minutes out, and Sam is all smiles, sending her update texts for every street they pass. His happiness is contagious, and Dean finds himself smiling too. He might not have gotten everything he wanted, but dammit Sam deserves this. So does Eileen. They've both been through so much. They're good for each other.

She's waiting on the sidewalk as they pull up to the curb, and Sam's out of the car before they even stop. He runs straight to Eileen, wraps his arms around her and swings her in a circle. She lets out a high pitched squeal and, when Sam puts her down, drags him into a long kiss.

"It's over," she says softly.

"It’s over," Sam agrees.

Eileen wraps her arms back around Sam and presses her face into his shoulder.

Dean looks away. He's happy for them, he is, but it's hard to watch, knowing that he'll never – well. All that matters is that they have each other. Dean is grateful for that.

The Empty is screaming. The closer Cas gets, the more it hurts to listen to. The unending screech rattles his teeth and threatens to tear his eardrums. He keeps walking.

As he draws close, it seems to sense his presence. "You!" it shrieks, turning it's face towards him. It still wears Meg's face, but it bares an expression he's never seen on her before. "You did this!" It lunges at him, but even as he flinches back it falls short, back on it's hands and knees.

"Make it STOP," the Empty pleads. "It's so loud."

It sounds so desperate that Cas almost feels sorry for it.

"Maybe I can help you," he says, though he has no idea how.

"Please," it begs, driven far past the point of reason.

"But if I do," Cas says, "you have to help me too."

"ANYTHING," it screeches.

"Send me home."

The Empty stares up at him. Its lips curl into a snarl. "I. Can't," it says.

"Why?" Cas demands. "You've done it before."

"We made a deal," it replies. "Deals cannot be broken."

"Then I can't help you." Cas turns and begins to walk away. The determination he felt before begins to drain quickly away.

"Wait!" it screeches.

Cas turns. "I can't help you from here," he says.

"If you get back… what will you do?"

"Jack did this to you, right?" Cas verifies. The Empty screeches in anger. It's all the confirmation Cas needs. "Then I'll get him to undo it. It's the only way to put them back to sleep. For you to go back to sleep."

The Empty stares at him for a moment in silence. It nods. "It's a deal," it says. It lunges at him, and this time Cas is too slow to avoid it. It wraps itself around him and tears him open. It's like dying all over again, but a thousand times more painful. It's as if his very essence is being torn from him. As if – oh. That's exactly what it is. It's unmaking him. The Empty is for angels and demons and other celestial beings, and if he isn't one… before he has time to finish the thought, he's gone.

The Empty curls in on itself to wait. It screams.

Dean makes some bullshit excuse about finding parking and drives off, leaving Sam and Eileen to catch up. It serves the dual purpose of giving them some alone time and him some space. He drives without thinking, makes random turns onto streets he doesn't know until he finds himself at the edge of town. He parks the car and gets out.

He begins to wander on foot, walking along a dirt road that runs between two corn fields. It almost certainly leads nowhere, but he feels an irrational need to follow it, as if there's something important at the end.

And then he sees it. He swears.

He'd known they were somewhere in Illinois, but he hadn't realized they were here.

The barn is more rundown than the last time he saw it, but Dean knows it's the same one. He can feel it in his bones. He wants to let go, to fall to his knees and sob, but something in him pushes him forward. He walks until he reaches its ramshackle doors. He places his hand lightly on one.

This is stupid, he knows. There's nothing for him beyond those doors except heartbreak and longing. Still though, there's something fitting about saying goodbye where it all began. He takes in a deep breath and pushes the door open. Its hinges squeal, but he pays them no mind because the barn isn't empty.

In it's center lays a dark haired man, naked and shivering. Cas. Cas.

Dean sprints forward. He doesn't care if this is a trick, doesn't care if he's gone mad. It's Cas.

Everything hurts. Cas is cold, and disoriented and lost and the only emotion he can process is relief. Because these aren't the sort of things that an angel feels. They're what humans feel. And humans don't belong in the Empty. He hears a noise behind him, hears a sharp intake of breath, and he knows.

He's home.

Dean falls to his knees as Cas sits up and turns to face him. "Cas," he breathes. All of his energy seems to leave him at once. He reaches out with a shaking hand and stops just shy of touching Cas's cheek.

"Hello, Dean," Cas replies warmly. He presses his face into the proffered hand.

Dean chokes out a sob, and then he's pulling Cas toward him, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and pressing his face into his hair. Cas returns the gesture, snaking his hands around Dean's waist. Dean feels dampness against his shoulder and knows that Cas is crying too.

"How?" Dean asks, not loosening his grip at all.

"I made a deal," Cas replies simply.

Dean feels himself tense. "Not that kind of deal," Cas reassures him. "I'll tell you more, but… not right now."

Dean pulls back a little, just far enough to look Cas in the eye. "Cas," he says, "I gotta tell you something."

Cas shakes his head softly. "I heard your prayer," Cas says. "I know."

"I didn't say it all," Dean replies.

"What's left?" Cas tilts his head in that oh-so-familiar way that Dean thought he'd never see again. He lets out another small sob.

"I love you, too," Dean says. "I'm sorry I didn't say it before, I should've said it before. But I love you, I've loved you, I will always love you. You changed me too, Cas."

"You…" Cas says, wonder in his expression.

"You can have it, Cas, of course you can have it. I'm yours."

Cas surges forward, and for the first time he takes, pressing his lips against Dean's. Dean is quick to respond though, giving as good as he gets. They spend who knows how long wrapped up in each other, until finally the need for air forces them to break the kiss. At some point, Dean's hands had wound their way into Cas's hair and he leaves them there as they breathe together.

"Dean," Cas says, and there something desperate in his voice.

"I'm with you," Dean replies.

"There's something you should know," Cas continues. "There was a cost to leaving the Empty," he says.

Cold fear washes over Dean. "What?" he asks softly.

"My grace," Cas answers. "I'm human."

Dean stares at him, open mouthed. "You're..." he starts, but doesn't know how to finish.

Cas nods. "I understand if that changes things," he says softly.

"Of course not Cas, god, of course not. I love you," Dean says. "All of you, in any form, whatever the consequences." Dean pauses for a moment, out of breath. "Are you okay, though?" he asks softly.

Cas breaks out into a wide grin. "Yes, Dean Winchester. Yes, I am."

And Dean's smiling too, so hard it hurts. "C'mon," he says, "You must be freezing." He pulls off his jacket and wraps it around Cas's shoulders. "Let's go home," he says.

"Home," Cas repeats, smiling.

And so, they do.

[breanime]

Eve getting hurt and the whole family defending her. Especially if this is when she’s officially with Miguel

(This has been in my inbox for a while now, so I hope you like this! It got kind of long, and kind of violent, so... be aware of that, haha!)

Miguel never really worried about his work impacting his family before. Before the kids came, he was the only person he had to worry about. Then, when they moved in, they were already pretty well-versed in having to look after themselves, so Miguel didn’t worry about them too much. He still worried--he couldn’t help himself--but he took solace in the fact that when push came to shove, any one of them could give as good as they got. So he didn’t worry so much.

And then he got a phone call at 11:38 at night.

“Don’t panic,” Eve’s voice had made his heart stop. She was calling from an unfamiliar number, and her voice sounded odd...

“Where are you?” Miguel asked, already getting up from his desk, his heart pounding. 

“St. Catherine’s,” she answered, “there was... an accident.”

The pause between her words told him everything he needed to know about why she was at the hospital. “Accident” was her censored way of saying “attack”.

“Are you safe now?” He asked, trying to keep his voice level, even as his heart was doing angry flips in his chest.

“I’m safe,” she answered, the timber of her voice letting him know that she was telling the truth, “I just have a few cuts and bruises--”

“--We’re on our way.”

Miguel marched downstairs, his mind supplying a million horrific scenarios that could have happened to his Eve. Spooky, Rio, and Angel were in the living room when Miguel got downstairs, and he could hear Didi and Coco arguing about poptarts in the kitchen. As soon as Spooky saw his Uncle, he knew something was wrong.

“What happened?” He asked, frowning over at Miguel’s tense face.

“Eve’s in the hospital,” Miguel answered.

Coco was in the room before Miguel’s mouth even closed. “What? Is she okay? What happened?” He asked, eyes wide.

“She’s okay, she said she has a few cuts and bruises,” Miguel explained quickly, “She didn’t want to say much over the phone, but this was an attack,” his eyes were hard as he looked over at his family, seeing the same rage and worry he felt reflected in their eyes. “Let’s go.”

Angel and Coco took their motorcycles while Spooky and Rio drove themselves and Didi rode with Miguel, gently assuring him that Eve was okay.

“Whoever hurt her,” Didi said, her dark eyes flashing, “is dead. Soon as we find out who did this to her, we’re putting them in the dirt, Uncle Miguel.”

He nodded. “No mercy.”

“No mercy,” Didi agreed, “just pain.”

Coco beat them to the hospital by about 75 seconds, he was already rushing towards the entrance when Miguel pulled up. A moment later, Angel, Spooky, and Rio pulled up as well, and they walked into the hospital together.

Miguel had seen some terrible things in his life, he’d lost both of his siblings, he’d been shot at and stabbed, underestimated and mocked, but he’d risen above it all. But now, as he waited at the front desk for the nurse to check the files and tell them which room Eve was in, Miguel felt that this was the worst moment of his life.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they were led to Eve’s room.

And Miguel’s heart broke.

His Eve, his strong, unstoppable Eve, was sitting on the hospital bed, her wrist wrapped in gauze and visible cuts and bruises on her face. She smiled when she saw them, reassuring them that she was fine. 

“Hey,” she said softly. 

Didi was across the room and practically in Eve’s lap in seconds, tears in her eyes as she held her pseudo-mother. Rio held the door open for the nurse, closing and locking it once she exited the room. 

“Are you okay?” Didi asked, sitting up and putting both hands on Eve’s face, careful not to hurt her. 

“I’m fine,” she smiled softly as Didi got up, giving Miguel a chance to come over.

He sat on the edge of her bed, his eyes taking in each and every cut and bruise, committing each wound to his memory because regardless of who did this to her, and the end of the day--it was his fault. 

“Tell us what happened, mi amor,” he said softly.

“A car was following me. Black. Sedan. Tinted windows. I did all kinds of turns to lose them, but it didn’t work,” she shrugged one shoulder, “They hit me,” she spoke matter-of-factly, recounting the details of her attack with that objective tone she used in her work, “I lost control of the car. I think I lost consciousness for a second, but when I opened my eyes, three men were standing over me. They had dragged me out of the car and towards a ditch,” her eyes lost focus, and she stared at the air, “I thought I was going to die.”

Miguel felt tears in his eyes; he blinked them back quickly, holding onto his rage instead of his grief.

“They said they had a message,” she went on, turning to Miguel, “for you. They said you owed a cut of your profits to their family, that you did jobs in their territory...”

“Were they Irish?” Spooky asked, his fists balled at his sides.

Eve nodded. “Who are they?”

“Fucking McAllen brothers,” Angel growled out, “They’ve been begging for a piece of our shit for months now...”

“Why would they get a cut?” Eve asked, frowning. “They don’t have a part in this.”

“Because they’re greedy and weak,” Rio answered, “That’s why they attacked you...”

“I’m so sorry, Eve,” Didi said tearfully, “this is on us, we should have handled this weeks ago...”

“It’s fine,” Eve smiled, “I’m fine. This wasn’t your fault.” She reached out and brought her hand to Miguel’s face, her eyes staring into his, “This wasn’t your fault,” she said again. 

He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips, pressing a kiss to it. “I promise you, mi amor, they will never hurt you again.”

“I know they won’t,” she leaned close, her forehead on his, “as soon as they said they had a message for Galindo, I knew they were too dumb to live,” she smirked, “Everyone knows you don’t fuck with the Galindo family.”

He smiled back, his heart full of love for her and hatred for the McAllens. 

“They gonna let you go home tonight?” Angel asked, now that the tension had cleared a bit since the family had non-verbally all agreed to a good old fashioned revenge murder. 

Eve shook her head, pulling back from Miguel, “They want me to stay overnight in case I have a concussion or anything like that,” she smiled over at Coco, her son in every way, “I was hoping Coco could stay with me, if that’s okay.”

Miguel nodded, knowing that if he wasn’t there with Eve, Coco was the next best thing. Coco would walk through fire for Eve; he’d never let anything bad happen to her under his watch. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers, feeling her body, soft and solid and warm, close to his. “I’ll pick you up first thing tomorrow,” he promised her. He stood up then, and said one word: “Coco.”

Miguel and his nephew went outside, Coco smoking as he leaned against the wall, and Miguel pacing--something he never did.

“You want a square, Tio?” Coco asked, staring off into the night.

Miguel shook his head, stopping in his tracks. “I need you to stay by her side,” he said, turning to Coco, “all night. Okay?”

Coco nodded back, “Yeah, of course.”

“Are you armed?” 

Coco lifted his shirt, exposing the gun tucked into the waistband of his pants. “Always.”

“Good,” Miguel resumed his pacing, “Tonight, we’ll handle the McAllens,” he stopped, already anticipating Coco’s objections, “I know you want to be there, but it has to be done tonight. Immediately,” he turned, his eyes burning, “It’s gonna be a message to every single piece of shit family, gang, club, and cop in this fucking state. You mess with one of ours, you hurt one of ours, and you get a bullet in the skull. Immediate retaliation.”

“Yeah,” Coco nodded, “yeah, okay... I’ll keep her safe, I promise.” 

That night, after kissing Eve goodbye, Miguel, Spooky, Rio, Angel, and Didi went to work. Didi prepped the basement in the warehouse, directing the men Miguel lent her as they got the area ready.

“There’s gonna be a lot of blood,” she said as they moved a bench to the center of the room, “Make sure the drains aren’t clogged.”

Meanwhile, Spooky, Angel, and Rio donned black masks and effortlessly broke into the eldest McAllen brother’s home. He was the hardest to take down; he slammed a vase against Spooky’s head and got a few good licks in on Rio and Angel, but he went down eventually, his eyes rolling to the back of his head once Angel finally knocked him out. They cuffed him and threw him into the back of the van where Miguel was waiting. 

“Two more to go,” he said, barely even glancing at the bleeding man in the back. 

The other two McAllens were easier to wrangle; the younger brother was drunk off his ass at a bar, so all Spooky had to do was ask which stall he was in before every dude in the bathroom quickly pointed him out. The middle brother had cried and begged, saying it was his brothers who wanted to go after Eve. 

“I told them, it’d be so much easier to just snatch the little girl for a few hours and drop her back off with a note or somethin’--”

“The little girl?” Rio asked, blood going cold. “Letty?”

They brought him to the warehouse with more than a few bruises. He was coughing up blood when the boys plopped him onto the bench with his brothers. 

“So Eve wasn’t their first choice for a mark,” Spooky reported as Miguel donned a yellow raincoat, “They were considering grabbing Letty.”

Miguel froze, his murderous intentions going into overdrive. “They what?”

The three brothers, ducktape over their mouths, made noises of contrition. 

“I already promised Coco I’d make sure I pick up the slack for him, since he isn’t here,” Angel said, cracking his knuckles, “but now I think I’m gonna have to kick it up a notch.”

“In a minute,” Miguel said, turning around with a hacksaw in his hands, taking a small bit of pleasure at the looks of fear on the men’s faces, “There’s no need to rush, Angel. We got all night.”

The next morning, Miguel went to pick Eve up from the hospital. When he walked in the room, she and Coco were having breakfast--delivery from their favorite cafe. Eve smiled over at him, that beautiful, warming smile that had Miguel weak in the knees, and he smiled back.

“Everything’s been taken care of?” She asked as Coco grabbed her bag, and Miguel kissed her hello. 

“Mm hmm,” he answered, holding her close, his hand reaching out and caressing her face, careful not to upset her bruises, “We sent several messages last night... tiny, little messages wrapped up in leaking boxes,” he kissed her slowly, “and I’m conducting interviews for a security detail later today.”

“Security?” She pulled back, making a face. “Miguel, I don’t want security--”

“--it’s Nestor Oceteva,” he interrupted with a smile.

Eve laughed, rolling her eyes. “Of course it is. I thought Nestor was overseas?”

“Nope. He was honorably discharged last month, and he’s looking for work,” Miguel answered, eager to get back to kissing her.

“Who’s Nestor? You got another random nephew, man?” Coco asked, sighing. 

“He’s an old friend,” Miguel said back, “Eve and I have known him for years. I trust him. Oh,” Miguel fished something out of his pocket and tossed it to Coco, who caught it right out of the air. It was a key.

“What the fuck is this for?” Coco asked, confused.

“The warehouse,” Miguel said back, “There’s a storm cellar in the basement. In the cellar is a trunk. In the trunk is a young man who was against targeting Eve,” Miguel looked over at Coco, that cool anger clear in his eyes, “because he thought it’d be more potent to kidnap Letty.”

Coco and Eve reacted at the same time in the exact same way: “What?”

“Yeah. Spooky was ready to end him, but Rio said it’d be better if it was you,” Miguel said, “Last I checked, he was still breathing, but I don’t know how much longer he’ll last--”

“Gracias, Tio Miguel,” Coco ground out, grabbing his jacket, he turned back, stomping over to Eve and giving her a quick kiss to the forward, “I’ll be home in a few.” And then he was gone. 

“Are they all dead?” Eve asked, looking up at Miguel. “The other two, I mean?”

He nodded, his hands going to cup her face. “The older two brothers are split up between about eight boxes all over town,” he reported, “And no one should ever hurt you again. I am so sorry, mi amor.”

“Shh,” she smiled up at him, her murderous love, “don’t be sorry, baby. You handled it, and I’m safe now. We are all.” She learned over and kissed him, and Miguel’s body finally relaxed now that she was safe in his arms, and her attackers were either dead, or well on their way to being dead. “Now take me home.”

So he did. And as news spread of the three McAllen brothers’ mutilated bodies, everyone who operated in the criminal underworld got the message loud and clear:

No one--absolutely no one-- messes with the Galindo family and lives. 

*******************************************************************************************

Okeeeeeey, that’s that, folks! PLEASE let me know what you think of this: if you liked it or not, if you had a favorite part, do you think the fam reacted accordingly? I wrote this all while watching murder shows on ID, so maybe that’s why it was especially murder-y lol...

Anyway--lemme know what you think, babes!

[thattimdrakeguy]

Well Damian is getting a Robin solo in April so it looks like Tim won’t be doing anything for a few years again. Looks like the only Tim content we will be getting is cameo’s in Tynion’s Batman run.

I’m surprised and not surprised, cause the Bat-Family editorial guy was referring to Damian as Robin a month ago. Making the whole story that was honestly probably the best most natural story development for him in years completely void, I assume because fans that a lot of the time don’t seem to pay attention to him or at the very least acknowledge quite a bit of what he does were complaining.

So many were saying Damian was in limbo, but he never really stopped showing up for all that long if at all. They just never paid attention to their own favorite. They even said he was being made into a villain, but that was never even the case.

Like I don’t care if Damian gets a solo honestly, but not as Robin. He’s past Robin. I know he’s young, but every Robin is their own character and he’s past it, and they even acknowledged it. He’s barely been a Robin for ages.

They just made Tim Robin again and even made him Robin Eternal, yet they’re just ignoring him already. If they kick him from Robin again it will be the fourth time counting just usual stories where he stops, and in another way it will be the seventh way they took Robin for him, by either retconning Robin away from him in different ways.

I wasn’t expecting a Tim Robin solo really, it would’ve been nice, and Robin Eternal mildly implied it. But if they’re going to have a story that shows he’d be Robin as an adult, and replace him in the role again, it’d be stupid.

If they just make it so there’s two Robins and keep them separate. I can live with that. But if they just make Tim something different either through a story that doesn’t work, or retconning it again (which is probably what they’ll do since they already named him as Red Robin in Batman despite that not really being the case anywhere else), it’ll just be parody at that point except it’s not really and instead just frustrating. At the very least let him keep the freaking costume. If they think giving him an ugly or edgy, or both costume is what he needs again it’ll just be a total joke.

Damian doesn’t need Robin anymore. He doesn’t.

DC Comics’s creative is just freaking terrible. Like even after someone apparently started saying “JUST WAIT TO SEE DC WITHOUT THE CHAINS OF HARSH EDITORIAL” or something similar, I don’t know if he was that melodramatic, they just keep making the same mistakes. Killing characters for no reason, making characters evil for no reason, uninteresting or outright bad stories, bad characterization. Plus so many of the fans are outright toxic on top of it. Others freaking pretentious even though they’ve never said anything that was actually smart and not just whiny irrelevance that doesn’t actually apply to reality. 

Unless they pull something great soon. It’s still going to be the same DC Comics making the same DC Comics mistakes.

Like it’s not a secret they don’t regard TIm very highly. People act like Tim fans got everything during Rebirth, but, uh, all we got was a very out of character Tim, and him taken out of comics besides cameos and flashbacks for a whole year, of which we didn’t get many cameos or flashbacks either. And then when that run ended he didn’t show up anywhere. And the run wasn’t even that good, it made Tim an uber talented super genius, that apparently had borderline fascist plans for Gotham City since he was a kid--

He’s the one they care about the least. But ay, there’s the Gotham Knights video game at least. Hoping that’s good, cause if it’s not, it’s just crumbling.

Beyond just checking in to see how well the comics are doing quality wise. I’ve been sort of done with DC Comics. Their comics suck, the people behind their movies look like they’re awful people going off the Ray Fisher stuff, and they keep making the same mistakes. They’re freaking dying and have been for a while. They can’t ever recognize what they’re doing wrong, or even what makes anything good it seems.

I’m out of hope for them. All I have left is a glimmer of maybe. As in maybe one day something will happen. But I don’t see the comics themselves lasting much longer. I don’t care about how much creative editorial holds over. I think writers need someone over their shoulder to catch things or make suggestions they wouldn’t, if they’re both bad it’s awful, but good editorial can make writers that wouldn’t be that good otherwise potentially great.

All that matters is the stories, the characters, and the decisions, but it’s all just so freaking poor.

[teddyshoney]

In Every Lifetime Masterpost

So, @jayhawk-writes​ and I decided that we needed to put together a masterpost of our series for anyone who is interested in starting it or may have stopped reading it and doesn’t know where we’re at now. Or, just anybody, cuz we’re nice like that. :) So, whenever one of us posts a new story, we’ll add it to this post and recirculate it. Enjoy! (Currently has 16 main stories!)

Series Summary: A series of connected AUs inspired by this line from Blaine's proposal: "It's always felt like I was remembering you from something. As if, in every lifetime you and I have ever lived, we've chosen to come back and find each other and fall in love all over again. Over and over for all of eternity."

Part One: The Unknown Author: TeddysHoney Word Count: 864 Summary: Kurt and Blaine have a choice to make... AO3 or FF.net

Part Two: Domus Civita Author: JayhawkWrites Word Count: 62,612 Summary: While on vacation to a city he's never been to, Kurt Hummel finds himself in a place that he recognized from his dreams. The person he always sees in those dreams is there, too, and they spot him and ask, “Is it really you?” AO3 or FF.net This story has follow-ups! Goofball - AO3, FF.net Naked Cooking - AO3, FF.net So Here’s What We’re Going To Do - AO3, FF.net Lazy Sunday - AO3, FF.net

Part Three: It Only Took an Hour Author: TeddysHoney Word Count: 19,072 Summary: Kurt's been set up on a blind date at a bar that he hates. And the blind date is a no-show. There is this really cute boy that walks in, though, and Kurt can't stop watching him dance and flirt. The whole story takes place over the course of an hour with the exception of the prologue. AO3 or FF.net This story has follow-ups! Valentine’s Wedding - AO3, FF.net Penguin Proposal - AO3, FF.net

Part Four: The Writing on My Skin Author: JayhawkWrites Word Count: 35,530 Summary: Soulmates, when the younger of the two turns 16, both get a unique mark somewhere on their skin that will have or has had some meaning to them. They can write to each other back and forth by writing on their skin. Kurt Hummel has been waiting for his soulmate to finally turn 16 so that he would have someone to talk to about all of the things he can't tell his dad or other friends. Nobody really knows how bad the bullying has gotten at McKinley. He hopes that his soulmate can help him get through this tough time, but he has no way of knowing that Fate, and Noah Puckerman, will lead him right to his soulmate. AO3 or FF.net

Part Five: Nothing Can Keep Us Apart Author: TeddysHoney Word Count: 44,467 Summary: Blaine is a Prince...well, he used to be. Now, he's just a lowly Peasant living in the city of Hucal, a kingdom under the rule of the man who ordered his father to be killed. Unexpectedly, Blaine falls in love with a boy, a boy who should be far, far out of his reach. And just as he thinks that things are looking up for him, Hucal goes to war, and Blaine must fight. Will he make it home? Will he get to marry his soulmate? Will they have their happily ever after? AO3 or FF.net

Part Six: The Silver-Scaled Mark Author: JayhawkWrites Word Count: 52,737 Summary: Blaine is a half-elf living in a town of full-blooded elves. He doesn’t fit in and is bullied almost daily for his heritage. One day Blaine finds solace in the library and later finds a book that talks about the magic in his world. He is drawn to it and wants to learn all he can. After Blaine has consumed all of the books in his town, he goes off to college to become a wizard so that he can help protect those that are not able to adequately defend themselves. Once he has graduated, he finds that he and several companions are part of a prophecy that will help unite the races in his world. AO3 or FF.net

Part Seven: When Worlds Collide Author: TeddysHoney Word Count: 92,341 Summary: Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson are soulmates and fairies; they have a wonderful little family, and Kurt is a successful author. When his daughters beg him to read his new book to them for a bedtime story, Kurt and Blaine relive their pasts, and we learn exactly how they became soulmates and lovers in a most unconventional and unlikely way. AO3 or FF.net

Part Eight: Guarding the Shadows Author: JayhawkWrites Word Count: 111,943 Summary: Too distracted by their love for each other to make their own choices, Kurt and Blaine are thrust into an adventure they know almost nothing about. Born in mid-1600 London, they must overcome many obstacles including their financial barriers and their desire to find true love. However, there's a hidden piece of the puzzle they know nothing about: vampires. AO3 or FF.net This story has follow-ups! Fucking Journal! Damn Book! - AO3, FF.net

Part Nine: I Don’t Date Cheerios Author: TeddysHoney Word Count: 66,883 Summary: Blaine, leader of the McKinley High bad boys is forced to join a club, and he winds up singing in front of the Glee Club. Who else would be in the audience besides Cheerio Kurt? Kurt’s never been a fan of Blaine, but that’s all about to change... AO3 or FF.net This story has follow-ups! I Thought I Gave the Orders - AO3, FF.net Midnight Snack - AO3, FF.net Always and Forever - AO3, FF.net Dear Blaine’s Bike, How Dare You? - AO3, FF.net

Part Ten: How Far I’ll Go Author: JayhawkWrites Word Count: 36,586 Summary: In a world where soulmates are found by touching one another, little Kurt, who’s been bullied even at the tender age of three, has finally found some friends. As kids do, to say goodbye, Kurt hugs three of his friends and earns himself a soulmark. The only problem? He doesn’t know who it belongs to. AO3 or FF.net This story has follow-ups! Fluttershy - AO3, FF.net Can You Feel the Love Tonight - AO3, FF.net Happily Ever After - AO3, FF.net It’s a Jolly Holiday - AO3, FF.net

Part Eleven: You’re Not a Princess Author: TeddysHoney Word Count: 22,487 (WIP) Summary: Kurt and Blaine are ready for a new adventure, and Caphriel knows the perfect one, a journey in which every lifetime they’ve lived so far will play a part in getting the two of them together once more.  So, after a meeting between Burt and Cooper, an agreement is made that the Prince of Cicuria (Kurt) and the Prince of Zira (Blaine) should be wed in order for an alliance to be procured between the two kingdoms. The only problem? Both Burt and Cooper think they’re promising their family member to a Princess. And when the wedding day finally rolls around, there are two missing grooms. Where have they gone? AO3 or FF.net

Part Twelve: So Very Thankful Author: JayhawkWrites Word Count: 53,020 Summary: Kurt and Blaine chose carefully what their new adventure will be. One really wants to be taken care of, and the other has no problem being the person who takes care of them. Watch them earn their soulmarks as they fall in love. AO3 or FF.net This story has follow-ups! Seth - AO3, FF.net Love, E - AO3, FF.net

Part Thirteen: My Rhythm and Blues Author: TeddysHoney Word Count: 71,249 (WIP) Summary: Kurt's finally in New York, the city he's dreamed of coming to for so long and the place he should meet his soulmate, according to his mark. After a once-in-a-lifetime concert, he heads to Marie's Crisis for some drinks, and he meets someone whom he's been crushing on for years: Blaine Anderson, lead singer of Warbler Attack. The singer invites him, as a joke, to go on tour with the band, and Kurt takes him up on his offer, sending him off on a whirlwind romance he never thought he'd experience. AO3 or FF.net

Part Fourteen: Outlined on My Finger, Printed in My Heart Author: JayhawkWrites Word Count: 30,050 Summary: Blaine and Kurt spent a while picking their next adventure. When they finally decided, Caphriel was elated. This was an adventure he had been waiting for them to choose. AO3 or FF.net

Part Fifteen: Crimson Yarn Author: TeddysHoney Word Count: 35,259 Summary: Back from New York, Kurt has just purchased a lake house in need of fixing up to keep him busy while he tries to heal from his past relationship. Back from LA, Blaine reluctantly takes a job from his father while he mourns the loss of his dream. Will red yarn, coffee, and some heavy conversation be enough for both boys to realize that there may be an answer to their healing right in front of them? AO3 or FF.net

Part Sixteen: Braid of Gold Author: JayhawkWrites Word Count: 1,465 (WIP) Summary: Kurt and Blaine ask Caphriel to make the decision about where they go next. He chooses a lifetime where Kurt and Blaine will have to navigate a situation they've not yet been in. They'll have to work through loss and betrayal and ultimately, their bond will be stronger as a family because of it. AO3 or FF.net

[dreemurr-tale]

Tiny rant about why I hate evil Chara theories! Trigger warning for the no mercy run, Chara and I’s canon deaths, discussion of trauma, and evil Chara

I don’t fully get why everyone views Chara as evil. Chara was scared and hurt when they came to the underground and they were traumatized by the actions of humans and their cruelty towards them. I didn’t fully understand it when we met, but I’ve always known Chara had been through a lot. When I met them they were scared of me, but not because I was monster, they were scared because they thought I was going to hurt them the way humans have hurt them. They were scared I was just going to be another person. It took months for them to get comfortable enough in our home to sleep without their knife on their bedside table, it took months for them to get comfortable talking to mom or dad without me in the room because for a while I was the only one they felt safe around. It took months for Chara to even want to talk to other monsters outside of us and the occasional conversation they’d have with Gaster. This idea that Chara entered the underground and immediately started to hurt every monster in sight is entirely baseless. Just think, if they had done that, how would Frisk still encounter monsters when they fell? No one would be left if that was true. Chara would never hurt a single monster unless it was to protect me. They wouldn’t even think about it. Chara was defensive and did what they could to keep themselves safe, the reason they wanted to fight back when we were in the village was because they knew what was going to happen if they didn’t. It wasn’t “kill or be killed”, it was them trying to protect us in the only way they could in that moment. We couldn’t run away, and I was too scared to fight back. Their desire to fight wasn’t to hurt the other people it was to keep us both alive. The “kill or be killed” mentality I had for so long was a twisted version of what Chara felt in that moment. I didn’t see what they did as protecting us, I saw it as fighting because I was too scared to hurt anyone, even if it had been justified. I adopted that mentality because I blamed myself for us dying. I didn’t fight and therefore I died and lost Chara. I didn’t fight and therefore Chara didn’t get their proper burial the way they wanted it. Chara never acted like you had to hurt others to survive, they acted like they had to protect themselves to survive, which was because of their trauma. I adopted this mentality because I felt so bad for getting us killed and started to believe that it really was just a merciless world. Frisk coming around and saving me made me rethink everything and I put the blame on Chara because I wasn’t ready to admit to why I felt guilty. Chara is not a bad person for wanting to protect themselves and I’ve apologized to them profusely for ever suggesting it. They are not a bad person for hating the humans that traumatized them. Chara is not evil and never has been.

Just because they appeared to Frisk at the end of the no mercy run and erased the world doesn’t mean they’re some ruthless killer, they were angry at that Frisk for taking away the monsters they felt loved them and protected them when no human would. They erased that world to stop Frisk. Their line “you think you’re above consequences” is clear evidence that this erasing of the world was a punishment for what Frisk had done. Chara watched them reset countless times until they finally killed whoever they were fighting, not stoping when they were killed and struck down and not once considering mercy, and they were powerless to stop it. Chara had every right to be angry at that Frisk. The assumption that they are evil for wanting to avenge monsters and that they are responsible for the deaths of their friends and family because some kid decided that we weren’t worth sparing is only there because people don’t want to admit that Frisk can be wrong. Yes, Frisk did the pacifist route, and I am eternally grateful for that Frisk (who was the Frisk in my timeline), but I can admit that another Frisk was responsible for the no mercy run. My sibling is not your scapegoat. Chara would never kill another monster, and they would be angry at themselves forever if they did. Chara was compassionate and loving and protective and caring. They were friendly and generous and loved to bring people gifts. Chara would spend most of their afternoon in the castle garden weaving flower crowns for our friends and they’d bring the crowns to them with various other trinkets they’ve found or made because they loved giving stuff to the people they loved. Chara would have never hurt these people, and they would protect them with their own life if anyone tried to hurt them. Chara was angry at that no mercy Frisk for their actions. They only proposed it as a partnership and a plan because they knew that was the only way to convince someone so cruel to side with them. Chara had every right to hate that Frisk and they had every right to want to hurt them. They were so hurt by humans before and now had another human come down and hurt everyone they cared about and who cared about them. They had ever right to their anger.

I don’t get where these theories come from and I don’t want to see them. My sibling was not evil. They were not cruel. They would never have hurt me, and they never would’ve wanted to. Chara was so happy in the underground and loved everyone there. They died to sacrifice their soul in hopes that it could help monsters to be set free. If they truly thought to do that, and they truly wanted to help us so badly that they died for it, why would they ever want to kill us? Chara loved monsters and they loved our family. They were not evil never sided with the no mercy run. Stop using my sibling as your scapegoat.

-💟