#this is reverse de-aging in my mind

[captainkirkk]

i’m a big fan of fics where a character gets bodily sent back in time so their past self & the people they knew/know get confronted with the specter of the future and what they might become. and the time traveler is confronted with who they were before everything. peggy sue time travel is fine and all but ohh when i find a fic like that it’s such a treat

Yes!!! Me too! Especially if the character goes through a massive transformation e.g., Midoriya Izuku becoming the next Symbol of Peace despite the odds

I have a fic sort of like this. Hiccup (and co)'s adult minds get thrown back into their younger bodies, and Berk has no idea what to make of them. Link: familiar (but this time i've had some practice)

If anyone else has recs along these lines, please send them my way

[wonderjanga]

Funny idea a Fawcet entirely just being full of magical drugs and everybody just chilling I'm just imagining a spell here the Justice League get hit with a de-aging spelling Fawcet that are now just stuck in there convince know that he knows what he's doing tricks them to believe in that he has a form where he can turn into a kid and teaches them everything about Fawcet City like the police to get the best cereal with the most edible yummy drugs

And how to make soup and stuff from rainwater and a bag of magical drugs that he's like soup if you boil them right

The JL had gone to Fawcett as a surprise for Marvel. They all wanted to give him a special little gift. Though unfortunately, Cap had been caught up fighting an evil witch. So they stood to the side, in civvies, and waited. That was until a stray spell from the witch happened to hit them. Next thing they knew, all of them, excluding Marvel, were children.

Marvel: “It should wear off in about a day.”

Flash: “A day? We have places to be!”

Aquaman: “Are you sure you can’t do some magic and reverse us?”

Marvel: *little frown* “I’m sorry but I can’t.”

See, the thing is, Billy actually could. But he wanted to use it to his advantage. If he could get them to think that his Billy form is just a form he can take, then in the future if he ever gets detransformed, this could be a good excuse. Since all of them were children, he just let them back to his apartment and shazamed back to Billy. Here are a collection of wonderful instances of their time together:

Billy: “Here’s a favorite treat of mine.”*gets out some cereal and puts it in a bowl, with no milk mind you*

Flash: “No milk?”

Billy: “No?”

Flash: “You are a vile creature…”

Billy: “Am not! I just like eating it as chips!”

Flash: “Oh that’s less vile than I thought- Wait, but then what do you use tfor the milk when you want to actually eat it as cereal?”

Billy: “Water?”

Flash: “I take back my statement about you being less vile.”

Billy: “Shush. Go get a little plastic baggy of white powder from one of the cupboards.”

Flash: “Aye aye, Captain.” *salutes before zooming off and coming back with the little baggy* “This?”

Billy: “Yeah, thanks. This is my special ingredient. Just scatter a little bit over it-” *scatters it over like flour* “-mix it,-” *shakes the bowl so it mixes in* “-and voila!”

Flash: *leans over to look at it* “What is it? Powdered sugar?” *takes a piece of cereal and eats it*

Billy: “No, cocaine.”

Flash: *spits it out onto the floor* “Dude, what the fudge!”

Supes: *peaks his head into the room in concern*

Billy: “Aw cmon, Flash. What the buck, man?” *sounds disappointed and looking at the chewed up piece of cereal on his floor*

Flash: “What do you mean what the buck?! You just made me eat cocaine-laced cereal!”

Supes: “What?!”

Billy: “I didn’t make you eat it. You ate it before I could tell you what it was!”

Flash: “Only because literally no one would suspect that you lace your own cereal with a hardcore drug!”

or

Doctor: “Ah Billy! You have another sibling?” *looks at Bruce* “Golly, he looks just like Patrick Wayne’s boy.(Ref my posts mentioning how every Fawcitizen thinks Bruce is Thomas Wayne) And who are these other little friends of yours? Why’s that one green?”

Billy: “He’s a Martian. He can’t control his shape shifting stuff yet. Anyways, can I please get my usual dose doctor?”

Doctor: “Of course, let me just get that for you.” *leaves and comes back with a little baggy of meth*

Billy: “Is that methamphetamine?”

Doctor: “No, it’s magic methamphetamine! Blessed by some faeries.” *gives it to Billy*

Billy: “Thanks, Doc!” *sees him on the bag of meth* “You want some?”

Batman: “Mmm… Yes.”

MM: “Bruce?”

Batman: “I want to study it. What’s wrong with that?”

Then, Bruce, Billy, and J’onn got back to the apartment, Billy made them all some soup. Soup that was made with magical herbs. Herbs that had intense hallucinogenic properties to those who aren’t from Fawcett. So while Billy was feeling a mild euphoria due to the herbs, everyone else was flipping hallucinating.

Hawkgirl: *in a corner intently staring at her hands because she’s hallucinating hung waaaay to many fingers*

Flash: *running up and down walls chasing a hallucination*

WW: *hallucinating being a cowboy and running around with a piece of string trying to lasso GL

Billy: *sleeping peacefully in his bed*

They all passed out together in a kid sleep pile on top of Billy after all this.

[zarekthelordofthefries]

BG3 Companion Sexuality Headcanons

Astarion: Pansexual. Has a slight preference for men. Has a complicated relationship with feelings of attraction and connection, so doesn't usually like thinking about his own sexual identity. Thinks Wyll is the hottest other party member.

Lae'zel: Pansexual, kind of. Doesn't really relate to sex and gender in the same way as the Faerunian companions. Githyanki socially de-emphasize romance, and all sex is generally for pleasure since Vlaakith decides who bears eggs. Lae'zel is alloromantic, but romance isn't generally at the front of her mind in a relationship. Neither is gender; ultimately Lae'zel is attracted to conviction and fighting prowess, moreso even than anything physical.

Shadowheart: Bisexual. Very slight preference for men. (EDIT: I've rotated this in my mind after people pointed it out and I think actually Shadowheart has a slight preference for women.) Remained closeted into adulthood, not because the other Sharrans would discriminate against her (they generally don't care about sexuality) but because she wanted to impress everyone with how well she could keep the secret. Also, excessively kinky.

Gale: Bisexual. Has more experience with women than with men, but that has more to do with circumstances than preference. Though physical appearance isn't not a factor, he would probably describe himself as a sapiosexual; he's attracted to knowledge, intellectual curiosity, and strong opinions. Had crushes on several teachers in wizard school.

Wyll: Bisexual. Realized he wasn't just attracted to women at a young age, and his father was very supportive. No preference between genders, but one of his favorite things to do is court gentlemen exactly the same way he courts ladies; he likes being the devoted chivalric prince to men since he knows it's less common for them to be flattered and told they're beautiful.

Karlach: Pansexual. Years of being unable to make genuine connections with anyone have made her horny for affection, kindness, and commitment. Maybe had some gender preference before going to Hell, but her time there has given her lots of time to consider basically any options. Has at least a slight crush on basically every other party member.

Halsin: Pansexual. No gender preference. Halsin has had centuries to explore his sexuality, and his robust understanding of nature gives him a non-binary perspective on gender and sex. Nothing is a casual fling for this dude, though -- if you show the slightest bit of interest in him he will dedicate his whole heart to you. And also anyone else who shows interest in him at the same time.

Minthara: I didn't actually have Minthara in my party, but from what I've seen she seems like a pretty traditional drow, and when I think of drow and sexuality I sort of imagine a reverse of ancient Greek customs; bisexuality is the norm, men are prized for their beauty and for marriagibility, but it's expected that women will also have flings with other women, and those relationships are often considered more meaningful. I imagine Minthara follows those lines, being bisexual and assuming she may one day marry a beautiful man but being more inclined to meaningful, affectionate relationships with women, due to her own prejudices moreso than preference between genders.

Jaheira: Thought she was straight for the first century of her life, but has more recently opened up to other possibilities. Isn't particularly interested in marriage or a deep interpersonal romance at this point in her life, but she has entered a state of questioning her sexuality -- she's just not super interested in experimenting with actual relationships. She's got more important stuff to do. Did have a fling with Ninefingers that neither of them tell anyone about.

Minsc: Doesn't like labels. Minsc isn't interested in finding a partner, doesn't really care about sex, and is enthusiastic about romance mainly when other people do it. He hasn't given a lot of thought to where he might fall on any sexual/romantic spectrum, but he definitely sees beauty in all of his friends. He will give you the most heartfelt and often embarassing compliments on your personality, style, and appearance. Does that mean he's attracted to you? Maybe, maybe not, but there's definitely something queerplatonic going on.

[mysterycitrus]

You are the only DC fanfic writer with common sense. Thank you for having braincells. Could you elaborate on Dick's relationship with tarot?

the tarot!! one of my favourite bits outta persephone!!

so we know in rebirth that dick can canonically read a tarot spread because he was taught by a fortuneteller at the circus, so i took “madame mystique” and edited her a little to fit the story better. it made sense that performing acrobats, the same with many professional athletes, would practise a healthy dose of superstition as well as rigorous safety habits

part of the reason i wanted to incorporate it into the story was for a tangible connection to dick’s family but also, as he put it — “I believe in the mind’s ability to find patterns in chaos.” he already knows he’s going to leave the titans and go back to gotham, and looks to the cards to find resolve.

then wrt to the cards he pulled — they mirror both his personal journey from robin to nightwing, but also the three part structure of the story

like garth noted, the king of wands represents optimism and leadership, something that dick doesn’t think he embodies at all but his friends see as representative of him as a person. and that’s true!! the nightwing in the present, the guy everyone relies on and trusts, is someone that dick still is, even at his lowest point.

the hangman reversed is how dick feels in the present — stuck. whatever he did to get himself de aged and caught by deathstroke, his conversations with roy and jason, being grabbed by wally, fighting damian and running from bruce….. it all feels pointless. dick has no power in this moment. everything he worked for as robin has been taken from him. he is stagnant and adrift.

death was interesting because it does represent bruce, but also dick’s relationship to bruce. dick sees that despite everything, his future self will still return to gotham, return to the cave, and roll over to show his stomach. he finds resolve in the cards telling him that he can change his own fate, and stand on his own two feet. maybe dick as an adult is too afraid to be changed, to be liberated from the past, but this dick won’t be. this dick grayson has to take the chance.

[ofoceansandtombsanew]

now & forever

cw. olnf week 2024, pre!release, step 2, day 3, pre!relationship, slight angst with a healthy dose of comfort

pairing. qiu lin/hash browns (ft. sparkling leaves)

notes. day 3 of @olnfweek2024. me? writing for qiu lin? i know, check and see if it is hailing in summer i can't believe this is happening either. my good friend @hash-slinging-slasher-trash recently got done with their final exams for their summer semester so this is a treat for them. surprise! (even if i am sure this was obvious considering my questions from yesterday lmao)

“You can roll your neck and stomp your feet but this black girl you sure won’t beat!” Nyla and Serenity chant in audible unison from across campus, moving in accordance to the words. From where they sit, Hash can see Tamarack giggling at the antics. Black Kid Solidarity, Nyla calls it. She finds it where she can. While not a member of that particular duo, Hash’s lips curl into an instinctive smile. The energy is contagious.

Dark raspberry eyes catch blue eyes observing the scene.

“Hi,” Tamarack mouths, her smile small but courteous as she waves.

Hash waves back with a small smile of her own, balancing her tray carefully with one hand. “Hey,” they mouthed back.

Hash remembers Tamarack’s squeals as they climbed atop the tire swing her grandfather set up. The cool autumn wind scratching their cheeks and lifting their laughs and giggles to the heavens.

When was it those times playing in that tire became infrequent? Hash can’t recall; four years is four centuries in teenage years.

Tamarack shuffles to the side on the grass with a hopeful expression, thin eyebrows knit carefully. When did Tamarack start plucking them again? When did I start noticing in the first place? Hash wonders what it says about her that she can’t remember that either when a long time ago it felt like her and Tamarack’s friendship was tighter than gorilla glue. Slowly but surely, that bond had been weathered by the rain.

There were no storms that attacked their friendship. No trials.

Just the passage of time.

Hash sees the spread of trays on the grass, like it’s a picnic. “Sorry,” Hash mouths and Tamarack nods in unsurprised understanding.

Hash and Tamarack were friends; they’re still friends. Standing across a ways from one another during lunch hour, however, the physical distance feels representative of their state of affairs.

Hash, Nyla, Tamarackー The new kids.

Four years ago, it felt like the three of them against the world as fellow newcomers to Acorn Rd. Golden Grove, Oregon.

“You ever stop to think how we’re like a reverse oreo?” Nyla, age 11, noted from where she lazily laid back against the Browns porch step. Summer was the worst season in Golden Grove and not even the chilled watermelon pieces in the bowl split between them could completely fight the heat. “Y’all are the vanilla whites, I’m the chocolate filling.”

Hash choked on their piece, “Nyla, shut up!”

“Hey I’m the one who said it, y’all can laugh,” Nyla stuck out her tongue with a snicker. “Quit smiling if you don’t think it’s funny, Lord Hashington!”

Tamarack’s small hands covered her face, unable to contain her laughter. There hadn’t been an attempt to stop it in the first place. The two of them were always the blunt new kid trio members, saying most anything that came to their mind.

Four years later, the world has split a world with the three of them distinctly in different sects. Friends… but not best friends.

Four years in the past, the kids of the cul-de-sac were a quartet.

Four years in the present, there’s a line. A distinct one.

We’re all still friends, Hash tells themself. Most of us. 

Qiu and Tamarack’s relationship had fallen off compared to the rest. The two of them aside, things aren’t the same anymore and Hash has come to accept that. Tamarack is going to leave one day, tugged down a path by her parents. Qiu sinks more and more into themselves, outsiders unable to penetrate their newfound icy fortress. Nyla’s problems are harder to look into when she keeps them hidden behind bad jokes and laidback nonchalance.

Of their original friend group, everyone has a favorite.

Nyla and Tamarack’s eyes have always been reserved for each other.

Qiu has Hash and Hash has Qiu.

Nyla’s lunch hour is reserved for Tamarack and Hash’s hour has always been reserved for Qiu. Speaking of Qiu, Hash knew they were waiting for them in Mr. Murray’s class. “See you,” they wave one last time before turning towards the building the professor’s class is located in.

Things might have changed with Nyla and Tamarack, simultaneously grand and minute the changes have been, but things have never and will never change with Mx. Qiu Lin.

Hash finds them as they always do, draped over a desk lazily with their brown hair spread across their shoulders haphazardly. “Qiulet,” Hash calls playfully and a brown eye opens unamused. “I’ve finally returned from the battlefield. Looks like you don’t need to come down from your balcony, after all.”

“It was never a balcony in the first place, you weirdo,” Qiu murmurs, leaning back to sit properly in their chair as Hash placed their tray between them.

“Not-so-secret hideout, Juliet’s balcony,” Hash rolls their eyes in mock irritation. “What’s the difference?”

Qiu smirks, resting their chin on their palm, “sounds like plenty to me.”

Hash sits down with their nose in the air pointedly smug, “well it’s a good thing you’re not the one in charge of my allusions.” Qiu’s response is to take one of Hash’s fries. For someone who said they weren’t hungry, that never stops Qiu from suddenly desiring food when someone else provides it. Regardless, there’s little that isn’t shared between them now. Hash feels no reason to make a fuss. “You gonna go to ballet practice for once?”

“That depends, who’s asking?” Qiu raises a brow lazily.

Your mother, technically. Mrs. Lin knew it’d be a pointless endeavor in bringing it up herself, however, so she relied on you, the Qiu Whisperer. “Me,” Hash replies smoothly. “I wanna have a post-lunch show after school. I haven’t seen you practice in a while, so I guess I felt like going. Only if you want though.”

Qiu shrugs, taking another fry thoughtfully before eventually relenting, “I guess.”

That’s as much of a ‘yes’ as one will get in the language of apathetic Qiu Lin.

“Good because I have your leotard in my backpack,” Hash grins giggling when Qiu flicks her forehead lightly. “What? I had to be prepared just in case you said ‘yeah’, otherwise we’d be late!”

“Yeah, yeah, if you say so,” Qiu rolls their eyes but Hash can see amusement swimming in them. Sees their lips quirk into a playful smirk and how light and airy their movements are. It’s a shame people like Vianca and Serenity don’t get to see this side of them but you can’t help relishing in how you’re one of the coveted few that do. “You’re not slick.”

Hash bats their eyelashes adoringly, “I know not to what you are referring.”

“Mhmm,” Qiu hums in disbelief but unbothered as they are, they let it go. If they truly hated it, after all, Qiu would have let you know expeditiously. Pretty as a rose Qiu may be, they have their thorns. They never seem to brandish them against Hash, however. Any pushback they have are small pricks, soft. This isn’t anything that has them pressed. “But the next time you decide to beat me into going to ballet practice, I demand compensation.”

“Is my charming personality not enough?” Hash gasps, clutching their chest in imagined pain.

“It is most of the time, but I like to shake things up from time to time,” Qiu chuckles.

Hash isn’t sure if it’s the joy they got them to smile that has them flushed or the comment. Probably both. It’s just them joking around, Hash reminds themself. Just a joke. Nothing serious. “Well what will satisfy you, Mx. Qiu Lin? Your humble servant will provide the goods tomorrow.”

“Mom’s making dumplings tomorrow and is forcing me and Dad to help,” Qiu sighs painfully. Hash’s mouth waters at just the thought of it. Dumplings are a long but rewarding affair in the Lin household. “You’re suffering with me.”

“That isn’t even a punishment,” Hash smirks, moving a stray lock of dirty blonde hair from their vision.

Qiu smirks in return, closing their eyes in satisfaction, “glad to know you’ll be there then.”

i was really trying to keep in mind the hash lore they developed from their playthrough of the ol2 demo and our discord chats fjnfkjsdnf. things get a bit angsty TmT. still homies with tamarack but because tam might be leaving, there's a bit of distance between them and they've gotten real close to qiu because of the insurance their not going anywhere. i wanted to play with that concept with a mixture of the day 3 prompts with crossing our verses together and hash looking back on the memories

[loopyarts]

Here’s a sketchy drawing and a two panel comic that I did back in late January this year of an Au idea concept inspired by @crate-of-edges fic idea concept of them being turned into little kids with no memory of themselves as adults post and this is my Au idea and take on the concept idea of what if somehow Sanji brothers got cursed/de-age 10 years back to being 11-12 year old boys and now Sanji and Strawhats have to deal with them while also trying to find a way to reverse the curse/de-age effect inflicted upon them.

In this state, Sanji brothers are weaker because one they’re kids again and two their bodies can’t handle they own powers right now and they also seems to have a bit of memory loss at the moment but will regain them as time goes on. Yup, Sanji is basically having to babysit his brothers and play big brother to them, the only one that feels natural to him is Yonji because Yonji is his actual baby brother.

While with Ichiji, Sanji strangely finds that he starts to look after now as well and despite his age he acts like he’s 15-16 rather than a 11-12 year old boy although he does have his bratty and prideful moments and Sanji slowly starts to lose his mind whenever Ichiji decide to wonder off on his own or weirdly enough go fish diving.

Sanji feels like he has no idea what is going on in his older brother head and it doesn’t help that he also rarely talks which is fun but as time goes Ichiji began to open up more and more to Sanji to where he’s finds out that this Sanji is actually his little failure of a brother Sanji.

Niji is well Sanji living hell, an absolute brat of all brats. But as times go on Niji starts to respect Sanji and they both bond through kick combo training together and Sanji share some of his techniques to Niji to which the little gremlin absorbed like a sponge.

Also Niji a nightmare when it comes to food to point he refuses to eat what Sanji gives him, since he didn’t trust him yet. When Sanji does get Niji to try his dishes, he eats them up like no tomorrow and surprisingly asks for seconds. Niji also grows the closest to Sanji to where he wants to protect him and look after him just as much, that need to protect Sanji.

Which grew even more when he found out, this Sanji is his little brother Sanji.

Yonji is at first is very spoiled and entailed little chestnut, who acts like snot nosed brat to Sanji and constantly calls him stinky fish man. But Yonji bonded with Sanji the quickest and he loved that Sanji acknowledges his book-smarts and especially loves talking to Sanji friend Robin about the books and world, although he does get annoyed how Sanji treats like a little kid all the time.

When Yonji finds out, he not all that surprised by it but he surprised by how strong his big brother has gotten and is confused why they all tiny while he’s not.

After a while they found a cure for curse and let just say the brothers have had an experience while they still part ways. They surprised felt connected and didn’t let go of that experience they had together despite how odd it was for Sanji brothers to go through.

The comic kinda explains partly on how the boys got de aged. But to give a further more in depth rundown basically it takes place after Wano and they somehow encounter each other on another island before Egghead. The reasons the Sanji’s brothers are there is because they have a mission they carrying out which involves the person who cursed them to be 10 years younger. Who has been causing an uproar in town on the island due to their mending with age.

Basically they find her she kinda like a witch with feathered hat leak stick and has giant bag where she keeps her bottles and has the power to take memories and age take away or give age to a person and seal in a bottle.

Blah blah Sanji and his brothers start fighting and arguing giving her loads of time to quickly curse Sanji brothers and take away 10 years of age and memories away making them 11-12 year old kids again. Sanji was too shock to realise she escaped and went into hiding on another part of the island. Now Sanji is stuck looking after his de-age brothers along with strawhat crew and they now begin the journey of finding the age witch and reversing the curse done on his brothers.

Ichiji, Niji and Yonji basically got magic poofed into being kids again like an old fariytale. Also the time Witch thought it be funny because how childish they were all being and with how awful they being to Sanji, she decided to punish them and she hoping Sanji will give them a taste of they own medicine.

Also, Ichiji, Niji and Yonji will slowly regain parts of their memories as adults as they slowly put the pieces that this stranger is actually their twin brother Sanji. That’s all I got in my head for plot I basically was making it up as I draw the comics amd drawings for fun. OvO’

There a scene with Ichiji putting blanket on Sanji happens way later in the story in my head and it he also confirming to reader that he now knows that adult Sanji is his little brother and yes Ichiji will be first to figure it out because he a sharp cookie. Niji will figure it out last because he’s stubborn and take a bit longer to put two and two together. (Hint, hint I have a full oneshot comic based this idea that be posted soon hopefully. OvO’)

Oh I almost forgot to mention in my mind and headcanons Ichiji powers can hurt him outside of the raid suit. So if he uses his sparks as a child he will hurt himself despite not being as powerful he can still inflict damage onto himself. Also my version of Niji has low vision and cannot see very well without his goggles.

Anyway, that’s all my rambling on this idea. I will probably won’t do much more with this Au idea after I have finished doing that oneshot comic.

[sngchngs]

Day 6

Curses

De aged

For Yin Yu Appreciation Week

Sorry this is late!

_____________________

Yin Yu is sure he is dreaming. He blinks, once, twice then pinches his arm.

No. Not a dream. Xie Lian is a child. Hua Chengzhu is a child.

The two were walking arm in arm along one of the walkways that lined the lake that Paradise Manor dwelled alongside. Yin Yu had needed Hua Chengzhu's input on a time sensitive request so he had approached them, offered the usual greetings to the pair, then with a poof they were enveloped in smoke that smelled strongly of incense.

When the smoke cleared where two adult men stood were now two children.

Xie Lian raised his arm to observe his little fingers when he wriggled them. “Oh, dear.” He sighed. His voice had the higher pitch of a child's. Ruoye snaked its way out of the now too many folds of robes enveloping them and tilted an end of itself inquisitively towards Xie Lian who smiled in confusion at the silk. “San Lang?” He asked his husband, turning towards him.

When he came face to face with child Hua Cheng, Yin Yu observed Xie Lian go through a myriad of emotions: surprise, confusion, concern, elation, affection, adoration; love.

“This one is fine, Gege.” Hua Cheng replied to the unasked question.

Xie Lian stumbled over his loose robes and held Hua Cheng's face between his hands. “San Lang in this form is always adorable!” He cooed.

“Gege as a child is the cutest,” Hua Cheng corrected.

Yin Yu coughed lightly to get the attention of the two. Xie Lian seemed surprised that they had an audience, while Hua Cheng glared at the interruption.

Yin Yu had to admit, the effect was not as frightening as Hua Cheng’s adult version.

He cleared his throat. “This is unexpected,” he deadpanned. “Chengzhu, Taizi Dianxia, is this one correct in assuming that despite your size your minds are still your own?”

Xie Lian smiled and Hua Cheng rolled his eye, “Obviously.”

“While I can't speak for San Lang,” Xie Lian said. “My mind has not reverted to that of a child's.” Ignoring Hua Cheng’s whined “Gege” Xie Lian continued, deep in thought. “I returned two days ago after going on a short trip collecting scraps, and while most of my finds were delightful little treasures, none of them would be considered unique. And neither could I say that I came across anything untoward or unusual during my travels.”

“Before you turned, well, small, you were both covered in a cloud of smoke smelling strongly of incense,” Yin Yu offered. “Something that smells of orchids and cassia.”

Hua Cheng unfolded his arms with a look of realisation. He took one of Xie Lian’s hands in his. “There was something usual that Gege brought back with him,” he said. “That strange little incense burner. We used it last night when we went to sleep.”

“Of course!” Xie Lian exclaimed. “What did the nice old lady tell me, again? ‘When you burn incense in this censer you will dream childish dreams filled with laughter and fun’. She wasn't malicious so I let my guard down.” He said apologetically.

Yin Yu immediately offered his services to track her down.

“Taizi Dianxia, Chengzhu, please allow this one to find her, to find out if there is a way to reverse what has been done to you and Chengzhu.” He cupped his hands in front of himself and bowed.

Xie Lian acquiesced and told Yin Yu of the village from where he received the incense burner. As he turned away from them, Yin Yu overheard Hua Cheng whisper to Xie Lian, “This is a rare opportunity for me Gege, and I plan to take full advantage.” Xie Lian giggled in response.

Yin Yu couldn't get away quick enough.

His journey to the village called Whispering Pines was uneventful.

He found the old lady, a bent backed, sleepy eyed, wrinkly skinned, twisted fingered old thing, who, as His Highness described, was easy to let your guard down while around her. When he told her of what had transpired her eyes widened.

“Oh dear!” she exclaimed. “Now that won't do! The censer was only meant to make them children in their dream worlds. But if that pleasant young man was a god, that might explain why dream became reality.”

“Are you saying that His Highness did this, by accident?” Yin Yu frowned.

The old lady nodded. “The censer reacts to the sleepers' childish desires, and usually manifests them into dreams. For normal, mundane people that is. He must have desired, so strongly in his subconscious, to be a child with his husband in the waking world, that the censer consumed some of his power to make it a reality.”

“Hn,” Yin Yu allowed a small sigh to escape, relieved that it was nothing untoward, or malicious. “Do you know how long this will last?”

The old lady tapped her chin thoughtfully with a gnarled finger. “I do not,” she said slowly. “As this has never happened before, I can only guess that, so long as they don't use the censer, the effects should fade over time.” She held up a crooked finger, hand shaking. “As long as they stop using it,” she warned.

Yin Yu bought her a bowl of congee as thanks before journeying back to Ghost City with the news.

When he arrived at Paradise Manor looking for Hua Cheng and Xie Lian, some servants pointed him to the eastern garden. Speaking through their giggles and too wide smiles they informed him that “Chengzhu and his beloved husband have had the most delightful time playing together. You shall find them at the swing, my lord.”

Sure enough childish laughter could be heard as Yin Yu reached the garden. Cries of “Higher! Higher, San Lang!” made its way across the grounds. He followed the noise to see two children at play.

The one dressed richly in red and black was standing behind a swing upon which sat the source of all the laughter. The young prince of Xianle garbed in only the finest of clothing, in shades of pinks, creams and golds, held on tightly to the ropes of the swing while the one behind him pushed him even higher.

It was a sweet sight. And Yin Yu wanted to observe from the shadows while the children played. But the job came first. He approached with heavy footfalls to announce his approach.

Xie Lian spotted him first when he was at the highest point of his swing. With a cry of “Yin Yu is back!” He pushed himself from the seat, launching himself into the air laughing in delight as he did so. Yin Yu involuntarily took a step forward, arms raised to catch the child as gravity took effect and Xie Lian fell back to earth.

With feet firmly on the ground once more, Xie Lian thanked Yin Yu for catching him while he straightened his rumpled clothing.

“Well?” Hua Chengzhu asked brusquely as he approached crossing his small arms.

Yin Yu bowed and gave his report. When he was finished Xie Lian sighed in relief. "Well, that's good,” he said. “Though it has been very fun playing with San Lang these past few days.” He sighed whimsically. “I'll almost be sad when it's all over.”

“Don't be, Gege,” Hua Cheng reassured him. “We know how it works now, so if we wish to indulge ourselves similarly in the future we can.”

“Yes,” Yin Yu offered dryly, “the servants seemed to enjoy themselves immensely at Chengzhu and His Highness’s expense.”

Hua Cheng narrowed his eye at Yin Yu. “You are dismissed Waning Moon Officer,” he said curtly.

Yin Yu bowed again at the pair taking his leave. He wondered how long it would take for them to revert to their adult selves. It has already been eight days since they turned, after all.

Two days later he got his answer when he nearly walked in on the pair during their love making, their very adult moans making him about face and walk very quickly back the way he had come.

Three days after that Yin Yu had childish dreams. He was climbing trees, and swimming, and learning Martial Arts, and eating yummy foods. He was laughing and smiling. He could smell incense burning.

When he woke up the following morning the first thing he saw was the censer on the table in the middle of his room. It was shaped like a strange beast, with big ears like an elephant, antlers like a deer, a face like a stoat, and legs tucked under it like a cat.

He had thought that it was safely tucked away in storage. He sighed, got dressed for the day then put the censer back into storage. Only Chengzhu could sneak into his room without alerting him.

He hoped he didn't change into a child like Chengzhu and His Highness did.

Yin Yu's wish was denied however, when with a poof of sound and smoke he found himself looking up at Hua Chengzhu's suddenly taller figure. He raised his arms and found that he was practically swimming in his clothes. He lowered them and sighed. “Oh dear,” he said with a higher pitched voice, echoing Xie Lian’s words. He noticed Hua Cheng’s unsurprised, satisfied, smile. “Chengzhu, did you feed the censer spiritual powers with the intention of turning me into a child? If I may ask, to what purpose?”

“Oh, there's no purpose,” came the reply. “Not really. It may have been suggested to me by someone who was curious to see you as a child. And I obliged. That is all.”

“Oh.”

This was going to be a long ten days for Yin Yu.

[radfemsiren]

I agree with your post about being wary of any religion and that Christianity was also violently misogynistic. I am an atheist myself and especially against all Abrahamic religions.

But just wanna point out that there is something uniquely misogynistic abt one of them in particular that can’t be reduced to poverty/war/violence.

At its worst medieval Christianity still did not have constant honor killings (in fact it was more common to kill/mutilate the adulterous man nor ask regular laywomen to cover themselves in public (which if doen in the most extreme eyes-only way literally dehumanizes you

cf. Tour de Nesle affair (women imprisoned but men tortured and executed. Heloise’s relatives targeted her teacher/abuser Abelard but allowed her to live out her life in a convent as she more or less wished.

But still that is such a low bar.

Hm the first thing that comes to my mind with medieval Europe for me is witch burnings. I would consider that a mass femicide unique to Christianity. Muslims also believe in witches but I’ve never heard of a systemic murder of them like how the Christians did.

It’s funny with the medieval time period, I was really only taught what was happening in the Middle East at that time, going to an Islamic school. It was almost reversed, with the west seen as poor and backwards and bloody, and hotspots of affluence and academia being only in the east. Libraries, universities, hospitals, plumbing, bathing, were all far more advanced … scientists travelled from around the world to share their discoveries, like Indian mathematians going to the library of Baghdad with their concept of “zero”, Al Zahrawi inventing the scalpel, Ibn Sina (or Avicenna) performing successful eye surgieries, Muhammad ibn musa writing kitab al jabr, or the book of algebra, Al haythem creating al-qumra, or the pinhole camera. Ancient Greek texts were translated and passed to the west paving the way for their own enlightenment periods… ironically the Islamic Golden Age time period was so good because the religion itself took a backseat, and society was more focused on science, poetry, literature, etc.

The Europeans were seen as so backwards that we were shown the personal diary of a middle eastern doctor sent to aid them during their black plague. The Middle East did not discover germs yet, but quarantining was already a popular method of treatment, as well as prescribing the sick fresh fruit, vegetables, and rest, so they weren’t as affected as the west was. This doctor traveled to meet with European doctors and was was shocked when he heard their treatment plan: to cut into the patients head and remove their skull, and rub salt on it! Then to put it right back! He watched extreme sects of these people flay themselves in the street to “beat the devil out,” he watched doctors engage in filthy and deranged practices, not understanding sterilizing their hands or instruments, or pain management. He left back home in less than a month! I’ll have to find his name, it was darkly amusing.

This is all just things I remember from school (I love history but have been studying tech more for school) so if there’s any inaccuracies or mistakes, forgive me.

The reason I bring it all up though is I think most people are heavily influenced by what they are taught, and this image of Islam definitely being the worst is because you’re only interaction with modern Muslims/ middle eastern people is probably just from the news, and your interaction with ancient Muslims is tiny paragraph in a western leaning textbook. (If not, sorry for the assumption, but I’m assuming ask is coming from someone with a Christian background)

You have fond memories and good relationships with Christian friends and family, so you have a softer view of the faith, because you see it practiced by humans that you care about, so your interpretation is more generous. You will oversee parts of the faith that command women to be silent in church, obey their husbands, etc and assume Islam is more extreme. Islam is seen as more extreme than Christianity because Muslims refuse to practice their faith any differently than their ancestors 1400 years ago, and also because many of our geopolitical regions are unstable.

The core of the 2 faiths themselves are equally wretched for women… bias only makes us see differently. Now if you want to make the argument Christianity is less terrible because its followers change their practice the second some King feels like it, or currently because the all mighty American dollar is the true god now, so pigskin on a football and beer is now allowed, than I might consider that a fair point lol! The fluidity of Christianity to change with the times can be its saving grace, but also what makes it so hypocritical as a dogma.

Sorry this was a long rambling response, these are some thoughts I’ve been having about all the Christians in my inbox haha. I wish yall would just hang out with Muslims more and see how almost exactly the same masjid functions are to church functions, same judgy aunties, boring grandpas, little kids running around being annoying, youth leaders being corny and trying to make a lesson out of everything. The skin tones are just darker, and the rituals slightly different, but everything else: the boring sermons, the passive aggressive misogyny, the mob mentality, the political infighting, the human faults of judgment and emotional thinking, the rush to hide any faults of abusive husbands or sons, the patriarchal hierarchy of first father, then wife, then child … all are the same and the core of what makes religion an outdated and faulty way to guide your life. It’s hard for me to say one is worse than the other when so many terrible practices or Quranic verses I see from Islam, there are bible verses to match.

[siremasterlawrence]

The Lost Family - The De-evolution Of Man

Harry Miles is a total mess breaking in to my home like I don’t know what at midnight the next morning but he comes tumbling no more barreling through the glass door to my home. I am hoppy from my bed picking up my pat as I race down staircase to the main floor to see him drunk as ever stumbling around like a damn fool but I catch him as he leans on me and I walk him back.

I lay his ass on to the chair leaving him for a few seconds to get some rope to tie him down upon my return and begin to strap him fine wrapping his body with the rope wound under my control. I think to myself walking to my two beautiful former glass doors locking them up, drop the blind to the floor in exhilaration for the event, and flip the lights on as it goes dark then the lights are blinking on and off.

I look at him in that light sweater jacket and jeans and sneakers looking quite nice all I want to do is take him as mine simple just a mind wipe and began undressing him till he is lift solely in his underwear. Standing in front of him I giggle waving my hand in his face as he is frozen in time awaiting all the changes I have planned and show him a shiny white crystal ball flipping it in to the air.

“Beginning now I want you to let your eyes go slowly letting your graze crawl upward in to the ceiling looking at that amazing shiny star floating in the sky so circular in shape to your amazement. It is spectacularly a stunningly glorious object, a crystal ball if I am not wrong because you can’t help but to melt in to it falling deeper in to its trap you are lost.” I spoke to him.

“The crystal ball starts brim with light before it glows up shining perfectly through the hall in to the room everything fades from both of our existences removing you for this entire environment. Watch Mr. as you lose Harry’s consciousness disappearing from reality in to the lower tracks of the mind he lands in the subconscious walking on to an elevator to his own doom.” I continue.

“Harry please descend further don’t look at him because I am your ruler above all things my dear. it is time you let go of the manly utter bullshit, the drama because you are a man but you are a boi. The time warps by as the floor below you rips apart free falling in to abyss as a clock stands by you rolling back in time as your age reverses to a young adult.” I lead him to his end.

“Oh Hey daddy!”

“How are you?”

“Great!”

“Wonderful! Let me untie you “

“Daddy?”

“Can we speak?”

“Sober up first “

“Ok daddy”

“Give me some time “

“Take your time”

“Listen to me”

“Do you know who I am?”

“You are my daddy”

“Which one?”

“My only one”

“Silly”

“I love you daddy”

“Me too”

“What did you want to speak about ?”

“Where were you ?”

“I’ve been here”

“All along “

“I have been so lost”

“We both know that”

“You been traversing through town”

“Drunk”

“Hurt”

“Cold”

“Sad”

“Embrace me “

“I am your son”

“All I see is you”

“You can help so many”

“One day at a time”

“I need to reset you”

“I want to be happy”

Harry is a good boi over the weeks since I have wiped him clean because he has been at my side every day except for his job and when I am away from him to his dismay and am bit of ire. I bought him a men’s necklace with a special silver project telling him he has learnt his lesson so well at the moment and he needs to be rewarded to show him he is so amazing.

While he is at work one day I decide to throw him a birthday party calling all of his friends to the house that night but I need to get him out of the house for a few hours and work is necessary evil for him. As he drives off I am enjoying my victory over him making more plans for the future because he is then start of everything to be and eventually his down full will be my greatest feat.

“You are being so damn unfair dad” he yells frustratingly.

“Go to work now”

“Fine!”

“Will you be here later?”

“Of course but work hard”

“Alright!”

“Come here”

“Stop complaining “

“Sorry! I am afraid”

“Of what?”

“Losing you “

“That will never happen”

“Kneel and wrap your arms on my waist “

“Yes dad”

“Focus on my face”

“You are safe with me”

“You love when I rub you “

“Get up and go to your job”

The end

[aimportantdragoncollector]

Would AFO ever refer to himself as daddy

I know this is a simp ask but I'm going to answer it like it's for my 5 headcanons game anyway for the LOLs.

AFO gets his hands on a de-aging quirk and predictably rewinds Yoichi into a toddler. Que AFO locking Yoichi up in a nursery and demanding to be called daddy now.

Second and Third break in and rescue Yoichi. At first they think it's funny how cute he is, but the humor turns to worry because the quirk isn't wearing off. Obviously this is a mortifying situation for Yoichi, who still has his adult mind, being looked after by his former lovers. (Former because Yoichi got de-aged not because they broke up.)

Second can't bear to see Yoichi sad, and comes up with a suicidal plan to kidnap AFO and force him to reverse the quirk. Third runs after him to stop him.

AFO hits Second and Third with the de-aging quirk too, by accident because the quirk has been spinning out of control. Also AFO accidentally de-ages himself, at which point he's forced to admit this quirk is a loss and pass it onto someone else. The trioholders are in shock but at least they're on even terms now and the rest of the vigilantes can look after them.

The quirk wears off on everyone after a week.

(Reminder that all of these are free to use in my Three Weeks of Trioholders event. Yes, even this one.)

[thewhumpcaretaker]

⚜ 𝓑𝓮𝔂𝓸𝓷𝓭 𝓙𝓾𝓭𝓰𝓮𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽 - 𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝐼: 𝒯𝓇𝑜𝓊𝒷𝓁𝑒 ⚜

Thank you to @evren-sadwrn for the beta read!

TW: gunshot, crying, John and Vincent being generally nasty to each other

Summary: John Wick and The Marquis de Gramont both faked their deaths on that fateful day at the Basilica. But when Vincent seeks John's help, he isn't expecting genuine compassion.

John was alone. “At home,” yes, “reading”, yes, but most fundamentally, he was alone, with a deep, soft-edged hollowness aching all along the Helen-shaped absence in his life. Dog wasn’t filling that loneliness tonight. Some days were harder than others, and this was one of the hard days. The same paragraph slid past again and again, read but not processed, as that ache grew slowly to rage at the bitter remembrances that cycled through his mind in place of the words on the page.

The sound of the doorbell came as a relief. It could only mean trouble - exactly what John was in the mood for. He took the pistol from the bedside table and closed Dog inside the bedroom – a habit he couldn’t seem to shake when answering the door, ever since Iosef.

“Trouble” wore a cream-colored three-piece suit and pearly pink tie, and a face even paler than those accoutrements. It was a comically poor choice of dress for the events fate had wrought on him that day. Even if he hadn’t been bracing himself against the doorframe in a desperate attempt to stay upright, the massive bloom of red spreading from the center of his chest would have informed John that the Marquis was in dire straits, bleeding out, come to his doorstep to beg. Huh. That sight would cheer him up all evening.

John savored it for a long moment and then began to close the door.

“Wait!”

Resting on the doorknob, John’s hand paused its progress and his eyebrow shot up in a silent expression of, “This had better be good.”

The Marquis began a speech that sounded almost rehearsed. “Let’s make this simple. I am offering you the contract of a lifetime. Not a hit, but something even more suited to your habits. Your job is to thwart the High Table on my behalf until my excommunication is reversed, and I am reinstated as Autem Imperator.”

“Excommunication? For what?”

“For your idiocy at the Basilica, which interrupted my contract. Since you were too much of a coward to face me until I had already fired, you are not dead, and I am being hunted by those fils de pute [sons of bitches]. I set out for the states this morning to end you. But count yourself lucky, Mr. Wick. The Table says it’s too late for that. Your head is no longer wanted – for now. So this is your opportunity to redeem yourself after pulling that completely underhanded stunt. Which, I might add, you botched.”

It hadn’t been a “stunt” he enjoyed pulling. Here was a man infinitely weaker than himself, on a deep, personal level, who lived in desperation. And John had used his own arrogance against him. It was what he deserved for hubris, but to give the Marquis de Gramont what he deserved was to destroy him, and John was tired of destroying beautiful things. Mere boys in their 20s, not so different from himself at that age, forced into that same twisted world. He shook his head, dispelling the memory. “You’re coming to me for protection? Why?”

He clicked his tongue impatiently. “Because! All High Table services are closed to me, but you…you’re completely unaffiliated now.”

“And I’d like to stay that way. If you’re trying to make me want to help, you’re doing a piss-poor job.”

“Oh I don’t need to make you want to do anything. You always take the bait eventually, because that is who you are. You answered the door, didn’t you? Bored of your precious retirement?”

John glowered. “I worked very hard for my retirement, as you may recall.”

“Only to relinquish it again and again. You are going to do the only thing you’re good for these days: poke the High Table only to outrun them with your tail between your legs. Except this time, it will be for a purpose that’s worth something. Try to think rationally for a moment. If there was ever a question of whether to leave you undisturbed, I could speak for you. On the other hand, if you spurn me today, you’ll - ”

“Don’t threaten me.” John closed the door. Didn’t even slam it.

He went to the basement, to fetch something. Could have told the Marquis where he was going, but why waste words? Besides, it was worth making him squirm a little.

When he returned to the door, Vincent had not moved from the spot. He blinked when the door opened, as if shaken from a trance.

John made no comment on it. He simply held up a marker. The little, cold weight of the metal felt hateful in his hand. A dreaded thing, a pin at the center of a butterfly. Something he’d only wish on his worst enemy. He handed it to Vincent. “This is not for your reinstatement as Autem Imperator. This is for your survival until you’re freed from the High Table.”

He scoffed. “You think I’m willing to give you a marker for the sake of mere survival? That is not the deal, Mr. Wick.”

“That is the deal. Mark it.”

“Payment upon receipt of services. Let me in first.”

By way of answer, John stood aside, and watched the Marquis drag himself through with a maddeningly victorious smirk. He limped his way to the sofa, with John following, not letting him out of his sight for a moment.

He didn’t even have to use the needle for a finger prick. He pressed his thumb to his heart, where there was already plenty of blood soaking through the button-down, and then into the brass. John took it back and snapped it closed again, sealing the debt.

It was only then that The Marquis added, “We’ll see whether the Table thinks I owe you anything before I’m reinstated. It’s your word against mine as to what that marker was for, and we all know which of us holds more sway.”

“Some way to honor a blood oath.” If he’d actually planned on using the marker, John would have kicked him right back out again for that. But in all honesty, it was just leverage. He opened the door again long enough to glance up and down the street. “Who shot you? Did they follow you?”

“I’m not such a novice as to lead them back. Some hitman at a gas station recognized me, but we lost him. By tomorrow morning, my bodyguard will be in another country, leading the High Table away from here.” He shuddered. “Now shut the door, it’s cold.”

It wasn’t the coldest night. Furrowing his brow, John turned his attention back to his new charge, who was looking paler by the moment. He shut the door. “Lay down.”

The Marquis did not comply. “You’re just an absolute mother hen, aren’t you, ‘Baba Yaga’? Going soft?” he seethed, teeth clenched, breathing through his nose and shutting his eyes in a bid to maintain composure. John knew the look. The feeling of shoving down pain and fear, holding your breath and restraining your muscles, actively ignoring the body’s bright red flashing lights that scream “we are not okay right now.” It was hard, and Vincent was amazingly bad at it. He probably didn’t have to do it very often.

John forced down the twinge of pity that rose up at that thought. The Marquis wouldn’t want it anyway. “Suit yourself. I’m going to get a first aid kit. If you’ve moved from that spot when I get back, I’ll shoot you.”

“Anything you say.” Vincent opened his eyes long enough to smirk and raise his hands innocently, as if playing along with the demands of a child. Unfortunately, the effect was spoiled slightly by the shake in his hands.

Fortunately, when John returned, he hadn’t moved.

“Shirt off.” It was painful just to watch as he tried to raise his arms, wincing, and struggling with the suitcoat. No doubt even more painful to be watched. By the time he got to the tie, John stepped in. “We don’t have all day.”

A venomous glare. He looked ready to cut deep. “Are you so eager to touch me, John? That lonely, in this big empty house, with all your ‘love’? Pathetic.”

Anger got the best of him for a moment and he shoved Vincent by the center of his chest, directly over the spreading patch of crimson. The result was a winded kind of wheezing that afforded him enough leeway to strip away as much fabric as needed.  Pink silk sliding through his collar. The top four buttons undone. Underneath, parted flesh echoed the parted flaps of the button down.

Panting, the Marquis chuckled weakly. “Guess I’m right. I got to you.”

“Fuck. Off.”

“How bad is it?”

John had already steadied himself and started inspecting the wound. “Could be worse. Came in at a glancing angle – only tore muscle on the left side. Then it hit your sternum.”

“Je suis à nouveau épargné [I am spared again],” he breathed, with a little dimpled smile.

“Not yet. I need to pull it out.”

“Without anesthetic!? You have to be joking.”

“I don’t have anesthetics in this house. I’ve done this dozens of times. They aren’t necessary.”

“That’s different. You’re a barbarian.”

“And you’re too chicken?”

Vincent tilted up his chin importantly. “Fine. I’m ready.”

“No, you’re not. Bite down, I don’t want a noise complaint.” The discarded tie had found a new use already.

Vincent grimaced at the metallic taste of his own blood on the silk and spat it back at him. “We’d have no concerns over a noise complaint if you weren’t allowed to run rampant and uncivilized. I had forgotten how intolerable the common assassin can be. At least my Myrmidons  - ”

John shoved it back in his mouth, and tied it behind his head this time. Without hesitation, he dove tweezers into the wound and Vincent’s muffled screaming filled the room, making the air heady and vivid.

It was over in a second, but then there was the antiseptic, and the stitching took much longer.

It was all one long, meditative moment for John. He was unexpectedly flooded with adrenaline and had to force himself not to rush. There was the rage, but then there was something else, such a desire to make this quick, to offer some kind of mercy. He kept seeing Vincent’s too-wide, horrified eyes the fraction-of-an-instant before he took the shot that pointless, bloody morning in the Basilica Of Sacré Coeur De Montmartre. Neither of them dead, in the end. Just two faked deaths and a few more bad memories. Just a young man, weak, scared of John, scared of failure, driven mad by the constant push towards power, the constant belittling, the constant threat of death from all sides that was life under the High Table.

It was almost over when there was a buzz from Vincent’s coat pocket at the foot of the couch. Shit. The last thing they needed was for Vincent to get even more riled up by bad news.

“Don’t move. You don’t want to look at that right now anyway.”

His eyes were daggers. “The insolence to tell me what I want to do.” He tried to reach for it regardless but failed. “That’s my business phone. Give it to me.”

Sighing, John dove into the pocket and tossed it to him. He caught a glimpse of the screen as it passed: a contract notice. “What does it say?”

“I – nothing. Surely a mistake.” He closed the phone and tossed it aside, feigning indifference.

John picked it up. Contract for Marquis Vincent Bisset de Gramont: $20 Million. Open. International. Special alert to New York. Personal bodyguard already deceased.  “The guy who saw you must have called in a tip to the High Table…I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry? You're an embarrassment.” Vincent gave a breathy, half-hearted laugh and began to list sideways, deathly pale. John caught him and lowered him into a laying position, pulling his legs up over the armrest. He took Vincent’s wrist between two fingers and his thumb.

“What are you…”

“Taking your pulse.” It was absolutely flying, dozens of little taps flickering against his fingertips in the space of a second. The Marquis’ eyes fluttered closed at the sensation, overwhelmed by the awareness of his own blood. But his expression remained frozen, a desperate grasp for some semblance of dignity.

“You’re either in shock or having a panic attack. Probably both.”

“I am not having a panic attack.”

“Fine, then you’re in shock.”

“So fix it.”

“I’m trying. You need to elevate your legs, and you need to calm down.”

“I need to calm down,” he repeated, sarcastic. The little taps accelerated. Not helping. He jerked his hand away, his voice rapidly pitching upward into a kind of hysteria. “I’m going to die. I’m going to die.” That’s true, John thought, if you don’t calm down. “You. This is your fault, for a second time. This is why you are alone, a pathetic widower. You are cursed. Everything you touch dies, John Wick, you are poison. Good for nothing.  Je vais mourir. [I’m going to die.] This is fate. God is against me.”

This time, he didn’t take the bait. The situation was quickly becoming critical. “Vincent. Breathe.”

He was gasping now, between every other word, almost delirious. “Espèce de pion…sans valeur [You worthless pawn]! My name…is The Marquis de Gramont! You will…address me…by my title!”

John muttered a curse under his breath. Think, accommodate this asshole’s massive ego if that’s what it takes. He had destroyed many people, but rarely had someone been so fragile before him, so absolutely in need, and by extension (ironically), so innocent. Looking down at him, he suddenly viewed Vincent as something other than an asshole, something beyond judgement. An animal that lacked concepts like reason or remorse. Just something that suffered, and wanted, and needed, and that he was charged with treating according to its nature. “Marquis de Gramont,” John said calmly but forcefully, and, even though it wasn’t true, “Autem Imperator.” Please don’t pass out, he thought. Please don’t die on me. “Regarde-moi et respire. [Look at me and breathe.]” He pressed a hand into each of his shoulders, physically stopping the shaking. Physical contact, but more dignified than the hug he wished he could offer, hopefully less likely to make Vincent feel pathetic. He let his face go flat and his voice perfectly monotone, neither pitying nor dismissive, but simply a statement of fact. “Tu vas bien. Je ne vais pas te faire de mal. Ce à quoi vous survivez actuellement est extrêmement difficile. Tu te débrouilles bien. Je ne vais pas mentir, je déteste tes tripes, mais tu ne devrais pas être obligé d’être dans cette position. Cela me fait chier aussi. Alors je ne vais pas te laisser mourir. Je veux que tu ailles bien et je ferai en sorte que cela se produise. [You’re okay. I’m not going to hurt you. What you’re surviving right now is extremely difficult. You’re doing well. I won’t lie, I hate your guts, but you shouldn’t have to be in this position. It pisses me off too. So I’m not gonna let you die. I want you to be okay and I will make that happen.]”

He half expected Vincent to spit insults again, but he just stared, unable to respond. It may have been his imagination, but he thought he saw Vincent’s eyes glaze slightly, pinprick pupils finally swelling open. Leaving one hand on his shoulder, John pulled the coat over his body, arranged it into place, and resumed the firm pressure on his shoulders. A human simulation of a weighted blanket. For a moment, he shivered even more violently, adjusting to the heat, and then let out an exhale as the peak of the terror began to subside.

Then those insults began to come. “This is exactly why I hate you. This sickeningly sweet nonsense that you spout. It makes me depressed to look at you. You say this - this fairy tale merde [shit], like you’re noble. But the world doesn’t work that way. It’s an affront to my intelligence. There’s no mercy waiting for you.”

“Maybe not. But there is for you. Even if I have to make sure of it myself.”

“I - “ his voice gave out into a sob and he turned his entire head away, into the cushions.

Heavy, sparkling droplets clinging to eyelashes, half-parted, twisted-up lips pressed into the fabric, the most wrenching sounds… He looked beautiful crying, and that thought did not belong in John’s head. He averted his eyes respectfully, partly so the Marquis would be free to turn back towards him if he wanted, and partly to avoid feeding whatever god-forsaken thing had just reared its head inside him.

They sat that way a long time, in silence, Vincent’s shoulders shuddering under the rock of John’s weight, sobs escaping a torn-open chest.

And as the Marquis’ muscles finally relaxed, John felt something. He felt something for this mess of barely restrained malice and misery pinned underneath him. An urgency, all through his body, his own heart taking flight as Vincent’s came to rest. I want you to be okay and I will make that happen, he had said. That was true.

It was then that John knew he was fucked.

Next ▹

[rogueyami]

Garashir Fic Rec

Hey everyone! Finally I’m posting my garashir fic rec list. This is gonna be a long one so there will be a read more. So happy to share my fav fics because omg there are so many amazing writers in this fandom. Without further ado, here we go:

Why Don't You Run from Me by BlessedAreTheFandoms E, 19k

Set after interment camp 371. Julian is self destructing and he turns to Garak. I love a fic that explores Julian mental and emotional state after camp 371 and this fic really delivers. Mind the tags and grab some tissues!

call me by the old familiar name by simplyprologue M, 40k

This fic really has you on the edge of your seat. This is set quite some time after ds9 ended. Garak is Castellan and Kira is a military minister and they find Julian’s “dead” body delivered to them. Note that there is no major character death tag. You got Julian trying to expose section 31, Garak pining and devastated over Julian’s “death”, and them finally getting together :) I really love Garak and Kira’s friendship here too!

 Worth Waiting For by Syaunei  E, 48k

Orb of Time shenanigans featuring a new Kai! Julian gets thrown 37 years into the past where he runs into Garak when he was an operative of the Obsidian order on a Ferengi station. Love how their dynamic is reversed here where Julian is older than Garak lmao. This fic was such a treat to read!    

Especially the Lies by AlphaCygni M, 23k

We got the classic fake relationship featuring Lwaxana Troi! Julian is trying to get out of “dignitary sitting” by pretending he’s in a relationship with Garak, thinking he’s really going to fool Ambassador Troi lmao. But also it becomes so much more than that when they go to a gala and something seems to be amiss...

Standards of Care by sahiya E, 41k

A medical drama fic where Julian works on a cure for a dominion engineered plague that’s ravaging ds9. He’s working himself to the bone and Garak is there to take care of him through it all while helping in his own way. I really just adore sahiya’s works and recommend checking out their other works as well! 

A Bag Full of God by Vermin_Disciple  E, 35k

Garak and Bashir are married with a kid while living on Cardassia. Of course their peaceful life take a turn when they both get de-aged. They both are around 19 years old and that means that it was the time Garak was at his peak in the Obsidian Order. Super interesting to see this side of Garak where his loyalty lies with the order and Enabran Tain. He’s cunning, manipulative yet unpolished since he’s not the older Garak that we know.

Impact by sfumatosoup E, 40k

A post canon Cardassia story where Julian goes to volunteer as a doctor while also trying to look for Garak. There he meets a Vulcan, Radak, and I just absolutely love his character. A story about people being in love and struggling to let one they love know. it’s very sweet and of course Julian meddles in someone else’s love life before he figures out his own lmao. 

From Andor With Love by hingabee and PunishedPyotr E, 37k     

Julian goes to another medical conference and Garak tags along because Julian’s track record with these conferences is not... great. And yes, you guessed it, shit goes down at this conference too. A fun story where we see people from both Garak and Julian’s past and Kira is there too because she’s on vacation but she doesn’t get to do much relaxing either  

runner-up by meriwethersays E, 59k

Set post Far Beyond the Stars, Julias, a science fiction writer meets Elim Garak, a simple tailor and they soon get involved but of course, as we know with Garak, there is way more to him than meets the eye. Spy shenanigans ensue. Honestly when I started reading this fic I could literally not put it down.  

Outside Chance by wcdarling E, 49k

What if Julian actually got kicked out when Starfleet discovered he was an augment? This fic answers this question and more! We see canon events unfold and the war starts and Julian tries to still help as much as he can from the outside. 

take me closer, take my clothes off by wanderingwriter87 E, 11k 

When I first started watching ds9 and shipping garashir, I thought that Garak would def have Julian for a fitting to subtly feel him up. And lo and behold someone wrote a fic about that exact scenario thank you @wanderingwriter87 for your service!

A Well-Dressed Man by TheCheerfulPornographer  E, 17k

A beautiful story featuring Cardassian folklore, Garak making Julian a suit and of course Julian wearing the suit ;) you can imagine what happens next hehe

A Friend in the Dark by AuroraNova E, 26k

Starfleet finds out that Julian is genetically engineered so they want to court martial him. Julian accepts it and goes along with it but there is something very fishy going on here. Garak, experienced ex spy, tasks himself in rescuing and protecting Julian with the help of his friends. Julian and Garak are on the run, together they try to make the best out of a bad situation and do what they can to help with the war anonymously.

[pinkeoni]

Re: The Concern for Actor Ages

This is a post to discuss and hopefully alleviate some of the concerns regarding the actor’s ages for season 5, as well as offer a counter to some of the points being made.

The whole “the actors are going to look so old once season 5 comes out!!” is a joke as old as season 4. And like, I get it. I GET it. The actors do look a lot older than they are supposed to be. And honestly, it will probably happen again. I just don’t think it’s an actual issue.

And clearly, you’ve never seen El Camino.

So El Camino is a sequel film to the tv series Breaking Bad, which is meant to take place directly after and during the events of the last season of the show. It was also made several years after the series had concluded.

The biggest concern from fans was centered around Jesse Plemons reprising his role, who now looked much different from how he looked while filming the show. For comparison, here is Jesse Plemons in Breaking Bad vs Jesse Plemons in El Camino

There were a few options to circumvent this:

Force Jesse Plemons to lose a ton of weight during their short 50 day filming period, a dangerous and unhealthy method

Digitally de-age and slim down, an unreliable process with the potential to be distracting

Somehow find an adequate actor who looks exactly like young Jesse Plemons

And here’s the option that Vince Gilligan decides to go with, which I think is much better:

Cast Jesse Plemons in the role and have him act as is with his current appearance, and ask the audience to suspend their disbelief

To be fair, suspending your disbelief for a film production is a lot harder than say, for a staged production. An audience watching a play understands that what they are watching isn’t a perfect representation of reality, but an audience will interpret a film as reality.

So maybe it’s a little impossible to not notice if actors look different from how they are supposed to in universe. And if it’s distracting for you, maybe it can’t be helped. And I probably can’t change your mind. I didn’t find myself distracted when watching El Camino, however, because Jesse Plemons fucking kills it.

His performance is great. Plemons had gained maturity and skill in the six years since BB ended, and it’s reflected in his performance. He sells it and I buy it.

And I bought it in season 4, too. Of course the kids look older than they’re supposed to. But what were the Duffer’s supposed to do? Reverse time? Stop a global pandemic from happening? Find the fountain of youth?

They do use digital de-aging with El, but that was specifically to express El at a much much younger age that doesn’t have too much screentime. De-aging the entire cast for the entire season would have cost too much, taken too much time, would be too distracting and take away from the performances. And all of the kids do a stellar job.

So my general reaction when watching season 4 and seeing that the kids looked older: 🤷🏼‍♀️ Oh well. Shit happens.

To add another layer to this, I think it’s interesting to be able to peak behind the curtain and see the filmmaking process in the actual finished product. In a perfect world where pandemics don’t happen and production doesn’t take years, the actors would look how they are supposed to in universe. But they don’t. Seeing it warts and all just makes it so much more interesting and human.

Does this mean I always wanna see mistakes in the production? No, but when it’s something as unpredictable and human as how human bodies look, I’d rather just see the actors for how they are.

So. The actors are going to look different. It happens. I promise it’ll be fine. It could distract you, but once you accept the reality of it, you can move on.

[birdmitosis]

Fanmix-slash-playlist for Slay the Princess! Song list under the cut. There’s 96 songs on this fanmix/playlist, and it’s about 6 and a half hours long.

Some of the songs were not available on Spotify, and they will be linked to on YouTube below. (Some artists have 2 songs on the playlist; aeseaes, The Crane Wives, Hozier, and Stars each have 3 because they were just too perfect. Also, some songs are definitely on here because of other people's fanvids or even just suggestions, and I've made note of and credited all of those!) (All fanmixes/playlists are a perpetual WIP.)

aeseaes - All Things Devour

aeseaes - Semantics

aeseaes - Tongues

AG - Terrible Thing

t h e . a i m s - Violence & Blood

The Airborne Toxic Event - Poor Isaac

Alanis Morissette - Everything (friend suggestion)

Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra - Trout Heart Replica

Amber Run - I Found

The Amazing Devil - The Horror and the Wild

The Amazing Devil - That Unwanted Animal

Andrew Bird - Imitosis

Andrew Bird - Sisyphus

August Greenwood - How To Let Go

AURORA - Your Blood

Baby Storme - This City is a Graveyard

Band of Horses - No One's Gonna Love You

Beth Crowley - Monster

Blindside - Withering

Bring Me the Horizon - Deathbeds

Camera Obscura - Fifth in Line to the Throne

Caravan Palace - Avalanches

Charming Disaster - Ouroboros

Chonny Jash - The Soul Eclectic (inspiration)

City and Colour - Little Hell

Coldplay - The Hardest Part

Coldplay - Square One

Collective Soul - The World I Know

Cosmo Sheldrake - By Being With You

The Crane Wives - Curses

The Crane Wives - Hollow Moon (inspiration)

The Crane Wives - Tongues & Teeth

Crystal Castles - Suffocation (inspiration)

David Bowie - Changes

The Echoing Green - Starling

Electric President - Some Crap About the Future

Elizabeth & the Catapult - Do Not Hang Your Head

Elizabeth & the Catapult - My Goodbye

Ellie Goulding - Salt Skin

Eurielle - Hate Me

The Feeling - Mr Grin

fin - Ship in a Bottle

Florence + The Machine - Kiss With a Fist

Florence + The Machine - What the Water Gave Me

Forgive Durden - A Dead Person Breathed on Me!

Foxtails Brigade - Long Route

Foxtails Brigade - Nun but the Lost

Ghost and Pals - DEATHBODY

Ghost and Pals - In Iolite

Gregory and the Hawk - Boats & Birds

Hannah Fury - Angels & Absinthe

Howie Day - Collide

Hozier - Francesca

Hozier - In the Woods Somewhere

Hozier - Who We Are

IAMX - Bernadette

I Monster - Who Is She?

Jack Conte - Kitchen Fork (inspiration)

Jack Stauber's Micropop - Choice (inspiration)

The Jezabels - Hurt Me

Jhariah - Flight of the Crows

Journey to Bethlehem OST - We Become We

Kate Nash - Paris

Kiltro - Softy

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Magenta Mountain

lasah - taixu (inspiration)

Lisa Hannigan - Oh Undone

Little Dragon - Twice

The Lord Dog Bird - The Shedding Path

Ludo - The Horror of Our Love

Madilyn Mei - Knotted Constellations

Meredith Brooks - Bitch

MGMT - Little Dark Age

Michelle Branch - Everywhere

Mili (feat. KIHOW) - In Hell We Live, Lament

Mirah - Don't Die in Me

Mirah - You've Gone Away Enough

Moulettes - Bird of Paradise, Pt. II

The Mountain Goats - No Children (inspiration)

The Mountain Goats - Sudden Oak Death

Mr.Kitty - After Dark

múm - Prophecies & Reversed Memories

The Nor'easters - 715 — CRΣΣKS (inspiration)

Olivier Bibeau - Better Run, Better Hide

Passion Pit - Seaweed Song

PEGGY - Villains Aren't Born (They're Made)

Perfectly Human - Bad As

Perfectly Human - Fly Again

Racoon - Took a Hit

Rainbow Kitten Surprise - Devil Like Me

Reinaeiry - When the Sun Loves the Moon

Ricky Montgomery - This December

RIProducer - Fruiting Bodies

RIProducer - What Gave It Away?

Sarah Blasko - Bird on a Wire

Satin Puppets - Bad Moon Rising

Seeming - Someday Lily

Sharon Van Etten - It's Not Like

Shayfer James - Boots Worn Through (inspiration)

Sheena Ringo - la salle de bain (inspiration)

Sleeping At Last - Mind

Sleeping At Last - Taste

SNAKE POOL - FIGURE IN THE BACKGROUND (inspiration)

Snow Patrol - Open Your Eyes

Solas Composer - He Who Devoured the Dark II

Southwest Statistic - Fairy Tale (friend suggestion)

Stars - He Dreams He's Awake

Stars - The Night Starts Here

Stars - No One Is Lost

Subsignal - The Bells of Lyonesse (inspiration)

Sunset Rubdown - For the Pier (and Dead Shimmering)

Talking Heads - And She Was

Trespassers William - I Know

TV on the Radio - Stork & Owl

Will Wood - Vampire Reference in a Minor Key

Woodkid - Ghost Lights

[rourouxiaobao]

SVSSS Brainworms Be Plottin'

Because Stilton asked for lesbingqiu ideas on Discord last weekend. My brainworms got progressively more unhinged. In my defense, t was late, I'd had a couple of drinks in me, and I was gonna have MDZS Dragonji x Foxxian cosplay photoshoot the next day. XD

Feel free to gank any of these fic ideas for your own use! All I ask is that you credit my unhinged brainworms if anything results from them. XDDDD (And thanks to Stilton for instigating my brainnworms to percolate these ideas, LOL!!!)

#1) Ikebana Peak lord Shen teaching her (deliberately) dense disciple who Really Does Not Know An Iris From A Rose.

#2) The Bimboification Of Empress Luo (And How She Met Her Consort Who Doesn’t Know She’s A Consort) I assume Bingmeimei is full-fledged empress by then. Perhaps cooking up a storm with all manner of rare (sometimes abyssal) ingredients (bc if anyone can make that stuff not only edible but delicious, it’s the protagonist and her cooking halo). And SY is all “ah, bingbing is such a lovely chef, her husband will be such a lucky man, able to eat her cooking all the time, this old woman is not worthy 🥹❤️❤️” levels of oblivious. And it reaches a point where Bingmeimei, at an utter loss, wonders if she can get away with orchestrating an entire wedding, and cooking for it, and shizun shows up presumably to see her beloved disciple off and be served tea, only to realise as they are being instructed to bow that she IS NOT THE ‘MOTHER’ OF THE IMPERIAL BRIDE, SHE IS THE WIFE TO BE OF SAID IMPERIAL BRIDE and Bingmeimei is just smiling happily all the while. Or something. Tags would be “crack”, “but not really”, “but still kinda”, “SY redefines oblivious”, “so yeah just canon level oblivious”, “SY will put up with all of Binghe’s nonsense”, “because simp”, “Binghe resorting to Yakety Sax levels of shenanigans”, “because when the going gets tough the tough use sledgehammers”. Alternatively, if less cracktastic, then perhaps Wife Plot #684, involving a temporary time-reversal curse of some kind meant to invoke Introspection and Mild But Ultimately Temporary Angst Whose Resolution Will Show Shizun The Light. Hack-author-created flora may or may not be involved.

#3) Bingmeimei accidentally gets transformed into The Tiniest Terror and only SY can get her to settle down (Bc I have de-ageing/kidfics on the brain recently.) MBJ (who perhaps remains male in this, bc of the hilarious juxtaposition of enormous demon king and teeny tiny little heavenly demonlette) is at his wits’ end until his hamstery little wife (bc, again, hilarious juxtaposition of tiny little petite human wife whose long, loose sleeves disguise SQH’s ARMmunition bc An Ding Peak cultivates The Swole Path have you seen those fucking carts of lumber) decides Shen-shijie is Best Suited For The Job and gets MBJ to teleport a mid-tantrum Bingmeimei into the bamboo house. Bingmeimei with her fluffy hair in loopy braids, following SY around SY absolutely dying from how cute Bingmeimei is. SY unable to stop thinking if this is what Bingbing’s daughter might look like. Idk how Bingbing Grows Up Again but when she does, SY wants to wife her up and have her babies, or something. Cue magical baby-growing flora or something? Momotaro/Kaguyahime foliage? Bc it’s not stealing ideas if it’s done by a hack author who desperately needs to pay the overpriced rent for her shitty apartment.

#4) Body-swap! By way of pollen from the Magnolia of Mirrored Minds (bc Airplane-juju was Feeling The Alliteration that chapter)! Or tea accidentally brewed using the Joined-Hearts Jasmine instead of regular-ass jasmine instead (or Chrysanthemum of Clarity)? And SY has to learn to look past The Accidental Friendzone? While Bingbing has A Talk with A Very Terrified System (bc Systems are not programmed to deal with threats from users that have the benefit of a Protagonist Halo)? And after the bodyswap, SY returns to her body and to a Much Improved And Very User-Compliant System, while Bingbing goes back to her body very satisfied with having put in its place the being that causes her precious Shizun much anxiety. A wedding is planned, and System002 very grumpily issues a [ Congratulations! Congratulations! Congratulations! ] notification.

#5) Liu Mingyan Is The Best Wingwoman In The Three Realms Bingbing commissions her (via SQH, via MBJ) to write ‘Winter Peach Blossoms Upon The Tranquil Mountain’, a ballad/novel about an orphaned kitchen maid yearning after her secretly kind but publicly aloof Young Mistress Of The House, and how their forbidden love blooms when The Young Mistress is kidnapped one snowy winter and held in a cabin (with only one bed) upon The Tranquil Mountain and our earnest young ingenue maiden sets off to rescue her shizun young mistress from an extraordinarily beautiful bandit with a mole beneath one eye, and upon their return, the master of the house (the young mistress’ elder brother Qi-dage) has died and left everything to his beloved Jiu-meimei and she and the kitchen maid get married and live sapphically ever after.

The ballad/novel is a great hit and especially popular with Xian Shu peak disciples, spinsters and their dedicated handmaids, and brothel ladies.

Eventually, a sequel ‘Wine From The Twin-Pitted Plum Is Sweetest In Autumn’ is published following the wedding of Empress Luo and Peak Lord Shen. It isn’t a commissioned work but the empress receives an advance copy as a wedding gift.

[ahmedmootaz]

Hey Ahmed! Bit of a weird ask this time around. I was thinking about my current circumstances and was wondering about silly scenarios with the AiP cast. If X went to get a supermarket going with Ayin, would it succeed in the city? Ignoring the head's taboos regarding X, they could sell scientific products like a modified de-ager, or use their own singularity (I believe L corp's was making figments of the mind reality?) to create marketable goods. What do you think they'd sell? And to who?

Dear hncdhnmfr,

Oooh, a new type of question! How pleasant, I always enjoy these asks. As always, it's a pleasure to see your asks!

As for your question, I think that X and Ayin would've probably tried to get a supermarket going in one of three scenarios: 1) They were expelled out of the Library and needed a way to survive and they found a method to conceal X's nature from the Head. 2) They needed a way to infiltrate the City from the Outskirts and a supermarket where people from all walks of like entered and bought their stuff was a good solution. 3) After the hypothetical operation by Angela to enter the City and defeat the Head succeeds, they need some method of gaining their livelihood. Assuming, of course, they don't get rich as celebrities who saved the City.

However, I think your ask pertains more to the first two scenarios, considering the Head is around and they need to find a workaround for X, or Ayin, to not be hunted down, and I honestly think that despite how 'normal' it may seem, their supermarket will be...

...A regular supermarket. Think about it; after years and decades of insane plans and inventions that break the boundaries of what was possible, I think the two of them would be more than content running a regular supermarket with food, cleaning supplies, maybe some electronics here and there and a repair section for electrical and electronic appliances...It would be calm, it would be quiet, and it would be exactly the sort of the thing they need after leading such hectic lives.

Alternatively, it could be the only thing they can run while attempting to cope with the amount of stress they're going through in order to keep up whatever workaround they found to hide X's clone nature and it's the only thing their limited budget would allow them to run. The amount of people who would need to shop their would allow them to form connections with all sorts of Fixers, Syndicates, etc. so it would be a good way to collect intelligence in the second scenario.

But of course, considering who we're talking about, it can't be too normal. I'm sure there will be some inventions here and there as you said. Maybe they'd even have a 'Invention of the Day/Week' section where they'd present toned-down inventions that, while making like easier, don't radically alter the fabric of reality.

For example, I think that, as you said, they might sell a miniature De-Ager that doesn't also wipe out the memory of the user, unlike what happened in AiP, which can be used to remove wrinkles and perhaps scars form the body, though it doesn't reverse ageing as a whole, just the physical aspects it leaves on the body. Maybe they'd also sell dream-catchers that materialise the dreams people have into holographic versions which can be later observed at any time, very useful for composers and writers, though not being able to actually materialise them unlike LC technology. Maybe they'd also be able to create some self-defence equipment to help residents against Sweepers invading their homes or create homing saws fired from a dedicated gun that aims at the Sweepers' vital cords, etc.

Overall, they'd create very useful but not overly spectacular items that can help common folk and Fixer and Syndicates alike, though they'd likely spend weeks if not months thinking of all of the ways they could be exploited for bad and attempt to patch out any misuse methods that would render their otherwise useful inventions into tools that aid in the perpetuation of the City's cycle.

As to who they'd sell it to...I think they'd be very specific about who they sell their inventions to. I mentioned Syndicates before, but those will get the inventions that make life easier, not aid the user or incapacitate the user's targets. They cannot refuse to sell their supermarket goods to anyone, otherwise that might earn them enemies or suspicions, but they'd only give the inventions to people who they deem morally upright...at least, whatever morally upright means in the City. I also believe they'll keep tracking devices on their gizmos and gadgets to see if they were stolen or otherwise being misused.

Again, thank you for the fun ask, hncdhnmfr, and I hope I managed to satisfy your curiosity! Until next time, be well, take care, and see ya'!