Death echoes

So a while ago, i found this dp x dc post that had a really interesting lore headcanon for Danny’s ghostly wail. Idk if I’ll be able to find it again, I’ll link it here if I do, but essentially it posited that every ghost has something called a “death echo”, which is an ability unique to them based heavily on their deaths. These echoes are the most powerful move in a ghost’s moveset, but they’re also extremely volatile and draining, typically damaging the ghost in some way when used, with Danny’s being his Wail because he died screaming. The original post then went on to some really cool halfa!Jason ideas based on these death echoes, but for this lil snippet with an extremely long intro I’d like to focus on Danny a bit more.

Edit: Apparently I may have extrapolated a lot of the actual lore behind these death echos myself? The inspiration post was a lot longer in my memories. Or I might've mushed multiple posts into one mental box and then forgot lol. So a lot of the actual detail from this point on is seemingly mostly original material? I think? Idk man, sometimes my brain spits out information without giving me any clues as to where it got that information. Anyway, this post got kinda long and since I'm... decently sure this is where I shifted from summarizing @ailithnight's post to writing all my own thoughts I figured here would be a good place to throw the cut lol.

So! with all of the context-for-the-context out of the way, let’s move on to the actual context for what I’m writing cause I can’t be bothered with writing an intro XD

Essentially, this is an au where Danny is an established member of the Justice League, or maybe one of the teen hero teams? I’m a slut for eternal teenager Danny, but maybe he’s enough of a powerhouse to be on the main team despite him both looking and acting like the dumbass fourteen year old he died as. Either way, he’s on a League/League-sanctioned mission and things go bad. Like, everyone-almost-dies bad. And so as a final desperation attack, Danny uses his Wail, a power he’s never told anyone on the league he even has. And it works, and they make it out, but after the fact everyone has. Questions. And because in this au death echoes are deeply personal, Danny dodges those questions, but the league coughbatmancough isn’t satisfied with that. So they push for answers. Answers Danny’s not willing to give, because. In my mind death echoes aren’t just based on how a person died, but also their experience of that death. What their last thoughts were. When Danny died the only thing that he could process beyond just an all-encompassing painpainpainpainpain was the sound of someone screaming. His screaming. And so his death echo is the sound of a fourteen year old child screaming in deathly pain and terror weaponized, which definitely gave the league Even More Questions than they would’ve had already. Which finally brings us to the actual snippet, which is a conversation between John Constantine, who was brought in for his experience with the supernatural once it became clear Danny wasn’t going to talk, and Danny himself. 

~~~~~~~

“So, kid. Batsy tells me you’ve been hiding some of your abilities, wanna tell me what's up with that? Call it an occultist's intuition, but somethin’ tells me you’re not just being stubborn for the hell of it.”

“It’s... complicated. And not anyone’s business, either!”

“Kid...”

“Why does it even matter?! It’s not something I want to or am even able to do on a regular basis! I saved the mission, can’t they just accept that and move on???”

Sighing, Constantine reached up to start massaging his brow. “Kid, you and I both know that ain’t gonna be enough. Now I know that some things are better left alone, but the rest of these idiots? They can’t accept that, Batsy especially. That man’s never left bloody well enough alone in his life”

He looked up just in time to see the otherworldly teen shrink into himself, looking every bit the child he was. “I know but... why? Why do they need to keep asking questions? And why do they only ask the ones that hurt to answer?”

A sharp glance. “The fuck kinda questions are they asking? Batman was speaking in more grunt than word, so I didn’t really catch all the details of what this power you’re supposedly hiding even is.”

Phantom shrinks even more into himself at that, and responds in a voice so small it’s more sigh than speech. “I... I can scream. And it breaks things and pushes people back. But it, it sounds. Bad. And it brings up bad memories and I don’t like to do it or listentoitoreventhinkaboutitandtheywon’tletmeforgetand-”

“Breathe kid. I know you don’t need to but just take a deep breath with me. Don’t you go getting lost in your own head on me now., Constantine reassured the kid automatically, the sheer hopelessness prompting action long before the words themselves could be understood. Then the rest of him caught up, and he had to pause. Looked up at the kid, saw just how distressed he was. A picture was starting to form in the back of his head, and Constantine didn’t like what he saw one bit. A last-resort power that the normally open Phantom was strangely reticent about. A scream so horrible sounding the rest of the league would not to stop asking questions about it. Terrible memories to match said scream. And one truly miserable child who couldn’t bear to even think about any of it. 

“Phantom... is that your Echo? Screaming?”

A miserable nod is his only response, the tears that had been welling up in the kid’s eyes finally starting to fall. Cursing softly to himself, Constantine stood to leave, bracing himself for the Bat’s inevitable questioning. “Well then you just take all the time you need love, and leave the rest to me. I’ll make sure the rest of those idiots know not to ask you about this ever again.”  And with that Constantine turned and strode towards the door, leaving the quietly sobbing child to collect himself in privacy.

~~~~~

I had a whole-ass lore dump conversation between Constantine and Batman planned here, explaining how death echoes are deeply personal, and asking about one is a taboo on par with, potentially even worse than, asking a ghost about their death outright. Because they are formed from an amalgamation of how a ghost died, their last thoughts, and their final emotions, in some ways asking a ghost about their Echo is like asking them to describe their death in painstaking detail. But uhhh... inspiration bug left. So yea. Side note, I’d like to apologize if my depiction of Constantine’s accent was Bad, I’m but a lowly USAmerican whose only exposure to British accents is through tv ^-^’

Guess who's in the café finishing up Chapter 43...

Overworking (BaizhuxReader)

Prompt: 'Muse lands in your lap'

----------------------------------------------

It was a rough day for Bubu Pharmacy. The cold-season had started with three days of harsh weather changes. So there were even more patients in the Pharmacy than expected.

Gui did his best, taking care of every order and handling the smaller cases of barometric headaches and people who were known for 'overreacting'. Qiqi gathered herbs as fast as her little body could and was paid every time with a fresh bottle of coconut milk when you met her and took the ingredients from her before rushing back to the imposing building.

Baizhu did his best to diagnose everyone as fast as he could while also being thoroughly, asking patients to come back later if there's no improvement and bribing children way more generously with candy to get them to take their medicine without throwing a fit.

You worked yourself up the many stairs and stopped abruptly when you saw that there was no waiting line. Did something happen, or was this just the golden moment for a break before the next wave of customers boarded the Pharmacy? With fast steps, you walked inside and looked around before Baizhu noticed you with a gentle but forced smile:" Y/n! There you are. Just lay the herbs down over there and take a seat. I have a bad feeling that this wasn't all, but we should take a break together as long as we can." His hands still busy writing prescriptions while also sorting the herbs you just delivered.

"As long as you take a break too. I know you…" you said as you set down on one of the stools behind the counter, breathing heavily. The green haired Pharmacist waved his hand in a soothing motion at you and darts into the storeroom, out again into the entrance room checking some drawers before he walked back into his office. You just shook your head at him. Everyone in the Pharmacy knew about his weak constitution, and yet he seemed the only one acting absolutely oblivious to it. Especially now, with Changsheng being busy shedding her skin. Otherwise, she would give him a piece of her mind and be it in front of patients!

Gui came back with a tea-set in his hands and eyed carefully into the direction of the office, then at you. He put the tray down and armed himself for scolding his Boss, but before he could head into his direction the Doctor came out of his office already, paler than usual and walked past you before muttering:" I…I'm…alright…, just a sec…" before falling backwards.

"Xiangsheng!"

"Baizh...!"

You could just pull his body to you, so he landed in your lap instead of the hard floor. His head landed in the crook of your neck and you felt his slow breath.

Gui was about to help you to take his weight off you, but you shushed him kindly. Baizhu was alarmingly light, you thought, before putting your arm over his thighs to secure him further. Him fainting wasn't something too uncommon to the four of you, so you knew there was no need to panic as long as his breathing was normal, and he didn't hit something hard on his way down. You took a deep breath and checked his pulse. Everything 'normal'.

A few minutes past in silence. His assistant watched you shyly: "Say when he gets too heavy for you, I go get his medicine." And with that he walked into his Chef's office. As he was gone, the other man moved in your lap, lifted his head a bit before letting it fall back down. He had already woken up a few seconds after he had fainted.

"How embarassing..."

"That's the punishment for you not taking a break when needed, Doctor. It seems what they say is true: Doctors are the worst patients imaginable."

You pushed him closer to you. You didn't want him to see how red your cheeks were from him breathing into your neck constantly. And you didn't want him to run around again without taking a break! And maybe, just maybe, you liked the feeling of holding him in your lap like this…

"Make sure to slow down next time or I'll make sure you land face first in my lap! Did you hear me?!" your voice was a silent yell.

"Loud and clear, little Lotus." was his answer while he pushed his mouth close enough to your neck that his lips were brushing your skin with every word, making you blush even deeper than before. You wanted to scold him for it, but a high-pitched snarling intervened you two:

"Tell me your two are jussst making out!

Did he faint again?! Boneheaded fool!

Not one week you can handle yourssself alone!

How did you ssurvive this long without me?

And you two! I told you to put him in his place if he actsss up!

Where is this submisssive asssistant anyway?!

..."

Aight theory time for genshin!!! Spoilers for Chenyu Vale lore and world quests.

So I finished the main world quest inChenyu Vale yesterday and explored parts of it today. Here are my theories centered around the Herblord and Changsheng.

First off disclaimers and take this with a grain of salt.

Now in the world quest Fujin (Carp Adepti) asked for your help in regards to the soil and water in Chenyu Vale. During the quest you will learn about her, Lingyuan the Suanni beast, and Herblord a white snake. During the quest Herblord is not referred to any other names so we do not know who she is. Or do we?

In Baizhu's story quest cutscene there was a doctor who once went to Chenyu Vake in search of the Herblord and found only a white snake who gave him a contract. That snake turned out to be Changsheng. Herblord is someone who is famed when it came to medicine and so is Changsheng, it was also said during Baizhu SQ that Changsheng was once very powerful and yet her memories were not as good as it once was. So the theory here is that Changsheng = Herblord.

There are many points that also supports this theory.

During exploration I came across notes that is written by Herblord and her personality is quite like Changsheng's

In the world quest you will come across a mural of Fujin and Herblord with Herblord having a similar appearance to Changsheng

Xiao seems to know who Changsheng is and wants to say something to her during Baizhu SQ. This aligns with the fact that during the Archon war Fujin and Changsheng are serving another God who is an enemy of Rex Lapis.

But I do have another theory. It is that Changsheng is not Herblord but rather, someone who is FROM her. The basis of that theory is this convo with Lingyuan.

I believe that IF Changsheng is not Herblord then she is the one referenced by Lingyuan here.

And that's it. Thank you for listening to my Ted Talk and hope my mental health good luck because I am losing my mind in Chenyu Vale.

Some angst thoughts with you/Yuu after Jamil's overblot (with an extra dash of snake phobia because, uhh, personal experience):

Jamil thinks he knows why you avoid meeting his eyes - he doesn't realize you're still working on getting used to his presence in general, trying to keep at bay those memories of his overblot that seem so deeply ingrained in your mind.

In the right situation, just hearing Jamil's voice seems to take you back.

Seeing him from the corner of your eye isn't much better: those braids really look an awful lot like something long and slithery when your mind's primed for it, your mind anticipating the hissing snakes darting towards your face again.

You find it difficult to sleep with your bedroom door closed - it makes you feel too confined, with no way out.

Not that the new nightmares help your sleeping situation much, either.

Kalim keeps on inviting you over to the dorm for yet another get together. You know it would do you good to go, eventually, but you're not sure you're ready yet. So you come up with another excuse.

Vexx really doesn't need to hypnotize Mari, as she already happily does whatever she says, but sometimes a goddess just wants to be fully in control without having to deal with any pesky questions or worries (even if Mari would not object to this activity in particular)

the hand flapping isnt enough

i need more

My brother has a cool whiteboard (to draw all the schematics for whatever he's building right now) and I'm always tempted to draw something there.

Chapter 19: like jiujiu

Relationships: Zhuzhi-lang & Tianlang-jun, Shen Qingqiu/Luo Binghe, Tianlang-jun/Su Xiyan, Luo Binghe & Zhuzhi-lang, Mobei-jun/Shang Qinghua, Minor Liu Mingyan/Ning Yingying/Sha Hualing

Rating: T

Tags: Age Regression/De-Aging, Post-Canon, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Tianlang-jun Has Chronic Pain, Dreamscapes, Memories, Trans Male Character, Eventual Happy Ending

Current Word Count: 44.4k

Luo Binghe takes a seat on the edge of the bed, opposite to where jiujiu lounges with Zhuzhi-lang at his side. It’s dim without any lights but this doesn’t bother Zhuzhi-lang; he can see the bowl Luo Binghe holds perfectly well. It should be freshly made congee, as promised, but for some reason he’s having difficulty smelling it. He rubs his nose, annoyed. His tongue flicks out instinctively. It’s thinner and longer than it used to be in this form, with a slight indentation at the tip—not quite forked but close. Ah. Now he catches the scent. It stirs his fickle appetite. He perks up, eager for a taste, but the bowl is held out of reach. Luo Binghe smiles. “Is there not something you wish to say to me first?” Zhuzhi-lang blinks at him. “An apology, perhaps? Those fangs of yours are sharp.” It takes a moment for the words to sink in…and then Zhuzhi-lang abruptly remembers that in the dream (that isn’t actually a dream) he bit gege no less than seven times. He sucks his bottom lip into his mouth as he thinks about what to do. He’s not regretful. Luo Binghe teases him too much. The biting is deserved. And it was all in his head so nobody actually got hurt. But jiujiu did warn him to behave… “He might not remember.” Jiujiu shifts to get a good look at Zhuzhi-lang’s face. He grins, amused at what he sees. “Dear nephew, you must at least pretend to feel remorse.”

Read the rest here!

GUESS WHOS GETTING A SNAKE TOMORROW

BEEN PREPARING FOR THIS FOR YEARS

MY LIL SNEKY BABY

ITS GONNA BE SO AWESOME 😈

HE COMES HOME IN A BAG 😃

WILL POST ONSHOT OF HOW I GOT HIM IN MY MCU DR SOMTIME CUZ I SCRIPTED HIM IN LITERAL *YEARS* AGO

Chapter 11 of Demigods Groupchat is up on AO3

Fearless be careful, there's a snek!!

Book time! At last, a new one! This is a bind of In Death's Embrace, We Are Reborn by Arinia. It's a fantastic series from the Good Omens fandom. Angsty but sweet, canon-adjacent 20th century history fic. Absolutely gorgeous, rich prose and in character the whole way. Don't be discouraged by the 6/9 chapter count for part 2, it reads as a complete story and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

So! This is a Coptic bind, which means it has no glue holding it together, only stitching, which is visible. I see those recommended a lot of beginner bookbinders, but I have a habit of looking at a new craft and thinking "I don't wanna do the boring beginner project, I want to do the exciting intermediate/advanced one that I don't have the skills for", so I went right for case binding and skipped this kind until now. Two years and a dozen books later, this is my first Coptic. I learned a lot, tried a lot of new things, and will for sure do it again.

More pics and process talk under the cut!

Pic of the spine and endpaper. I used metallic embroidery floss to stitch it, a decision I am going to call hubris. It looks beautiful but is so fucking slippery it's ridiculous. Also it won't hold a weaver's knot like the other thread I've used. I put a French link stitch in the middle (also a first for me) because I saw someone else on tumblr do that a couple of weeks ago and thought it looked really cool so I stole it, but I don't remember who it was so I can't credit them. I made a mistake in that part, where the needle caught a thread it wasn't supposed to, but I don't think it's visible in the photos. The endpaper is also stolen, in that I saw someone post a photo of stuff they'd bought and thought this one was perfect for this project, and I was right. White and black feathers are important to the story so it couldn't have been more perfect. Again, I don't remember who it was or I'd give them a shout-out.

When it came to cutting boards for the cover, I did the thing you do with case binding, which is cut them a little bigger than the text block on top and bottom, but because it's a glueless binding the stitching kinda sags down when it's upright on the shelf. I'm thinking it might put unnecessary stress on the text block down the line, so next time I do this I think I'll make the boards the same size as the block and see how that goes.

Pic of the title page and the section break artwork I made. I really need to up my title page game, it looks so plain. The section break was made with free clip art of feathers that I found via google. I've never experimented with vector art before and I still don't really know anything about it. All I did was find the image, rotate it, mirror it, and draw that little diamond shape in the middle. I made it a little too big and too bold, so it kind of dominates the pages it's on more than it should. I was tired of using a plain gray line for section breaks though, so I'm more or less happy with how it came out. And I learned stuff for next time.

Materials: textured cardstock for the cover, chiyogami paper for the endpaper (I love this stuff, it was so much easier than cardstock), metallic embroidery floss for the stitching (terrible, would not use again), and gold embossing powder for the title. I'm trying to up my cover game but it's hard. The text for the "Reborn" part didn't come out as clear as I'd have liked. I like the gold frame, though. Would do that again.

Written for @flufftober day 28!

Summary: Crowley is having a bit of a shite day. It gets better though.

666 words, G, no warnings

Featuring a depressed demonic snake and a caring angel ;)

Read on Ao3

The days were getting shorter and so was Copperhead's tolerance for the cold, the abrupt end of summer leaving a distinct chill in the air he hadn't quite gotten used to yet. Doing so would take time; the changing of seasons always caught him off-guard even though he could feel it in his scales that winter was coming, speeding towards the land on hurried winds of mist and cold. Just the thought made him not want to get up ever again, to never leave this haven of comfort and warmth even though he knew he couldn't stay forever and neither could his guest for that matter, despite having spent a most wonderful night nestled within his coils... A rustle in the blankets caught his attention suddenly, movement in the blankets next to him alerting Copperhead that his companion was not only stirring but beginning to awaken, their new position quickly leaving him cold as their bodies momentarily seperated- "No, don't move yet." Copperhead mumbles sleepily, muscular tail sliding around their torso before soundly dragging them back into his nest of blankets and duvet covers with a soft thump. Renewed warmth instantly floods through his scales, bringing him fresh waves of pleasure though perhaps much to his bedmate's chagrin, now finding themselves being treated more of a captive than lover.

hey Aphblr nation!!!!

guess who's back :)

please feel free to request drawings or short writing prompts (or ask me about my rewrite lmao I never talk about it so anything is fair game)!!!

very open to suggestion rn so please ask away!