Part 1 of crossover sibling headcanons: Lia Zhang and Mattias Slater
note: shout-out to the amazing @liarzhangs for giving me the inspiration on this post in the first place, and hopefully these aren't ooc! We know almost next to nothing about Slate's backstory so I made things up in.
It was so fun making them though🤭 after all, I'm a firm believer that Lia Zhang is stuck with a broody blond as her brother in every universe.
They first met when Lia was 12 and Slate was 14.
Lia got caught trying to pick a man's pocket (it was her first time getting caught) and when the man tried to call the cops on her, she fled. She rounded a corner only to find Slate staring at her with an impressive poker face, handing her the stolen wallet and say "you dropped this."
He was the first kid around her age Lia had interacted with since the cult. And despite the middle finger and the fuck off smile she gave him, it freaked her out.
She called him stalker and he called her sticky fingers.
Slate was working for the Blakes at that point and it didn't take long for him to figure out she was a professional liar.
He felt conflicted when he introduced her to Vincent Blake. On one hand he didn't want to expose her to the man's games and manipulations and on the other, he knew there was only a matter of time before Lia got caught and sent to juvie. Only to find out Lia Zhang has survived much, much worse things than Vincent Blake.
She called him out on his lie when he told her his name was Slate. Then proceeded to tell him he has too much abs to be called just Slate. To this day she still likes to annoy him by saying that.
Vincent Blake was fascinated by Lia's ability and she really didn't have much of a choice in joining him, but Slate was the first one who warned Lia to always stay ten steps ahead of Blake. Only to find out he didn't need to.
She's such a good actress it genuinely scares him sometimes.
She already knew how to use a gun, so he started teaching her how to properly fight. He quickly regretted this as they got older and she started using him as a punching dummy occasionally.
He absolutely refuses to dance with her but she did convince him to sing once. But his voice was so raspy Lia told him it sounded like a dying chicken.
She was the first person he told about his first name and he was the first person she told about her real name.
She found out about the fourteen horrible things he had done when Blake tried to punish Slate by humiliating him, and she didn't even blink. She just tracked him down and found him hitting a punching bag over and over (does this remind you of anyone???) then got him to fight her instead to blow off some steam.
He follows her around to do damage control when she inevitably blows something up or cause chaos (stop her?? Honey he's wise enough to know there is no stopping Lia when she wants to do something.
He's sure she's fucking with him when she tells him she lived in the bathroom of Metropolitan museum of art, and then actually takes the time to go there and sure enough, there is a tiny initial carved into the corner of the far wall: L.Z
Vincent Blake weirdly respects them both.
He can't tell the difference between any of her make up items, and Lia once made him sit through a torture session where she made him learn everything for future reference.
When Blake sends him on missions he always makes sure to bring some ice cream for her.
She likes to drive him crazy by never telling him where she's going or what she's up to knowing damn well he will find out anyway.
She tried to get him to wear something other than black. It ended in Slate threatening to burn it.