Name’s Alice @thatasianstereotype - Tumblr Blog

Rok Soo's ability isn't Instant AU

Instead of being able to, very briefly and painfully, fuck with time; he got an ability based on all the absolute bullshit that's happened to him.

From the childhood, to his friends dying in front of him. All the shitty rumors that sprouted up, all the shit luck, all of it. Just, all of it.

So instead of Instant, he got Lament.

Lament is a scream capable of leveling buildings, at the cost of absolutely shredding Rok Soo's throat.

As a result of that power, Rok Soo doesn't talk often, and when he does his voice is hoarse and pained. He also refuses to speak at full volume, because while he's got a handle on his power, he's paranoid that he'll slip up.

So when he transfers over to the body of Cale, people notice.

The Young Master went to bed his usual talkative self, but when he woke up?

Barely a word, and when he did speak, a whisper.

Cale barely speaks a word to Ron beyond the single syllable required. Barely bothers to acknowledge Deruth. Relies on hand-speak and notes to talk to merchants.

Deruth is going crazy trying to figure out what the hell happened to his son, Ron is very close behind him because what the hell got past him? He's Ron Fucking Molan.

Then Cale comes home with a bedraggled punk that smells like the trash the killed Ron's family, and Ron has to listen in astonishment as he says more to this jackass than he's said to Ron in a week.

Basically; Cale's power of Lament is so strong and painful that everything Cale is paranoid of letting it slip, that he's selectively mute. This causes many misunderstandings, in true Cale fashion.

kizzer55555

Is this TRASH OF THE COUNT’S FAMILY CONTENT?! Ummmm….YES?! Oh this is going to be amazing.

Now I’m just imagining all the misunderstandings this causes. Does Cale still have his lament power in this world? Or is it just habit? also! Now I can’t stop seeing Roan’s reaction to this, just pawing at Cale going “human. Human! Why do you not speak? Human? I can fix it if it’s an injury!” Just the little sunshine child not knowing what’s wrong with his human or why he’s quieter than other humans. Is that normal human behavior? Or like the other misunderstandings between everyone.

OH! What if the power isn’t here and it’s just habit (or at the very least, more controlled.) and as soon as Cale realizes this, he tries to talk more when in character for his ‘trash’ personality. And people realizes that when talking to strangers or people he’s uncomfortable with he goes back to ‘normal’ but when alone, is quite because it’s back to habit. So then they start thinking that quiet and not talking is just how Cale is when he’s relaxed. Which begs the question. If he considers his suroundings now, relaxed and safe….then why did he only start doing this now?! Did he….did he not feel safe before?!

OR, you could have it where Cale gets quieter and quieter around people even outside and people start wondering if either the trash is getting even lazier or if all this ‘trash’ talk about him is finally getting to him? Or again, the power might transfer over and they slowly realize that he gained this new ability of he’s forced to use it. Then they realize that talking actually hurts him. Did he always have this ability and has just been fighting through the pain until it was too much? Did he just get it along with his other new powers? Are they forcing him to be in pain by asking him to talk?!

I also see a scene where the kittens just lie on his neck and start purring. Because their purrs have ✨healing properties✨ Cale told them so. And then Roan gets jealous so he decides to flop on Cale’ face. See? He can do it too! He might even try to mimic the purr noises the kittens make. (He’s so bad at it but it’s adorable.)

noxiousgrace

I love y'all's brains so much

This is the sound I'm imagining while reading this

Also can you imagine jack patting him on the back trying to ease his sore ass throat with some divine powers??? Absolutely adorable

And yes, if you squint there's also pendrick sticking closer to cale instead of just standing by eruhaben

fanfiction-artist-prototype

im in favour of the ability to transferring over, but it coming out by accident - all that self control, the 'normal' volume for the trash persona and Ron sitting there stewing because he doesn't believe the bullshit that Cale is quiet when he's calm; he *raised* this boy he knows what he looks like when he's scared and when he's speaking louder recently he's *scared*.

Also its literally only ever mentioned in chapter 1, but KRS can tell when in the timeline he is because cale's body doesnt have a scar from a bar fight pre meeting choi han. So may i put forward; Ron in the early days of the transmigration finding out that this local gang challenged Cale to a fight and then suddenly his young master looks scared *speaking* and Ron can't PROVE there is a connection but it must be related right? so thats in the back of his mind and what if there was a threat to the other young master and mistress and his voice is related to it?

Ron's not stupid; he may miss things and not understand the absolutely bonkers logic of an emotionally neglected 7 year old (which depending on if you subscribe to the og 'raised since a baby' or the 'retconned since just before his mother died' timeline adds more reason for Ron not catching on) but he knows that cale cares so so deeply for his siblings and maybe he speaks just that little bit louder to Lily and Basen and Ron makes a reasonable assumption that Cale is keeping silent to protect his siblings or something to do with them.

Then you add back in the idea that he thinks Cale is scared of something and that he's at a normal or even slightly louder than normal when acting as trash i think you can see that he's going to assume its an extended family member or someone close to deruth holding the strings - and even explains why Cale gets the FUCK out of the estate and is doing everything he can to keep away; why he's insisting he doesn't want to do all the work, that he wishes he could push it off on someone else and yet is constantly moving, isn't giving time for anyone to accurately report his location to the Henituse estate; why he's using magic that can't be tracked the same way paid transportation can be. Something related to his family or those close to them is involved in this.

Any perhaps it's when they fight in the naval battle for the first time, maybe when the ships are firing one ship escapes the blast radius and comes too close and he's standing on the edge of the ship, he's watching and there's a communication orb *right there* but its connected with Alberu and the other orb is connected with Basen and Deruth and he can't see the third one but the boat is just close enough if he were to shout.

And so he does, and an unholy scream rips from his throat, it drowns out the screams of the dying, but it sounds like them amplified, there's a hundred voices layered atop of each other and it is brutal, it sounds like a death rattle, it sounds like mothers weeping over dead children, it sounds like men grieving over their partners graves, it sounds like war and tragedy and then it cuts out like the silence afforded only by Death itself and all is silent but then, THEN the enemy ship shatters in the silence because light travels faster than sound and it breaks into shards of metal, wood and viscera that once should have been people and then the almighty crack of the ocean parting and the ship breaking hits just as the Commanders body tips back and hits the deck, blood pouring from his mouth and his nose choking on his own blood.

fanfiction-artist-prototype

also to add to the miscommunication; this and what what lament sounds like making it seem more and more like cale is the saint of the God of Death; he's so scared of his own voice because he can call on the sounds of the dead, dying and the mourning.

fanfiction-artist-prototype

@nerdpoe i'm posting your tags for preservation and bc im procrastinating and this is making me want to write more than what im supposed to be writing

Maybe people can hear loved ones when they hear lament, and it sounds like death, war and carnage in general, but maybe people can hear their own loved ones in the cry, and perhaps the idea comes about that as a saint, cales seen how his family die. hence why he pulls away, because maybe when the first thing he asks 'is everyone alive' after shredding his throat people come to the conclusion that he pulled away because he needed to be detached enough to find a way to be in a position as to save their lives.

Like yeah, going to sleep and waking up knowing the violent end of everyone you love and care for would make you go mute especially if you can hear the dead when you speak too loud. Like Ron coming to the conclusion that even though the power would have been useful previously the young master didnt use it because maybe he could hear his siblings in the call.

ALSO I AM LOVING YOUR IDEA OF CAGE BEING SUPER PISSED AND THE CHURCH OF DEATH TRYING TO STEAL CALE.

Cage is like 'i hear our god and you EXCOMMUNICATED ME but you wanna steal him away!?'

I feel like GoD would have to perform a miracle of some kind to explain that hey if my saint wants to join the church but if not LEAVE HIM THE FUCK ALONE.

Death comes for all in time, and it will be there at the end of all of us, leave him alone, he will come when he is ready and if he never does then that is fine also, he is a commander, he is on the battlefield, he is shepherding in the dead and upholding the balance, maintaining that all whos time it is meet their end and protecting those whos time it isn't on the front lines. So is Cage.

GoD will go above his saint and his prophet (Cage) and that is not a slight on them, that is simply the way of the divine but how DARE THE MERE MORTALS who claim to follow his will dare try and force the hand of his saint.

nerdpoe

ohhh, but this would also make the timing of Cale finding Choi Han subject to misunderstandings too, because Harris Village was massacred like just a few days before Kim Rok Soo transmigrated.

so it'd seem like Cale was waiting for Choi Han, but only knew to do it after he woke up.

which would cause MORE MISUNDERSTANDINGS.

which like. I mean Cale was waiting for Choi Han but not because of a series of visions in his dreams.

but for a long time, until Cale explains literally anything, Choi Han is under the impression that the reason Cale was practivally waiting for him and was so adamant he get help was because it was a Divine Decree.

not that he doesn't think Cale is a good person. He does.

and! And! AND!

Cale loves to sleep. All the time.

If the kids don't wake him up he'll sleep for like fourteen hours straight no fucking lie.

THAT gets misconstrued as "oh. shit. the God of Death really likes to talk to him, huh?"

and like at some point in all of this misunderstanding yes, the God of Death really does step into Cale's dreams because what the fuck. Dude. I am no talking to you all the time why are you sleeping so much? Are you depressed is this the mortal depression disease? PLEASE GO TELL CAGE TO STOP YELLING AT ME.

however everyone around Cale lowkey hates that he sleeps so much, cuz they're convinced that he's being hounded by the GoD.

also, in their minds it'd explain Whipper Kingdom. how he was so calm walking into a battlefield, even though it was, supposedly, his first time seeing something like that.

because if he'd been having visions in his sleep about everyone dying, this? this would be nothing.

of course the saint of the God of Death would be welcoming to dark elves. of course the saint of the God of Death wouldn't see anything wrong with Mary. of course the saint of the God of Death would know that the cure to mermaid venom is through a mermaids death, and have no problem using a corpse as a means to an end.

and for everyone Cale has been ordering around? shit he said at the beginning is crystal fucking clear now.

his source he cannot name. how he knows all of these things but cannot say how.

everyone thinks that all of Cale's dreams are about horrible deaths and futures.

fanfiction-artist-prototype

tehe oh this is fucking brilliant

Choi Han who has been told by Cale that he's sorry for what happened to Harris village and that he understands that grief and what he needs is not someone who can kill but someone who can PROTECT is so delicious with the realisation that from CH's pov Cale woke up days too late to save Harris village.

Like. Cale was too late, by no fault of his own because Cale wasn't 'picked' yet, and yet he has done everything he can to rectify this for Choi Han. From the MOMENT they met, Cale decided he was going to protect Choi Han. Like god, how fucked is that?

Your entire life has been turned upside down again, you've lost your whole village to a gruesome and needless death and this man you thought was just genuinely a good samaritan and seems like a really decent individual who you end up dedicating your life to, ends up being the barer of future death. And he woke up to the knowledge of what happened to the people who you loved who died and he woke up too late and has not stopped trying to fix a mistake that was not his.

This saint of death, has asked for you to protect, to preserve life instead of causing death. And you do both. You kill in the name of protection; and you choose to take on the burden of these deaths because you think he's a sheltered nobles son who feels like its his responsibility to fix things when he sees a problem and everyone tells you he's trash and he doesn't care but he cares so much.

And he's just 18.

And then you find out hes the saint of DEATH ITSELF. And you've lived in this world longer than some bloodlines have existed, you've only recently remembered what it means to be somewhat human, you're more wild beast than man somedays, and this is a child. He's a child by human standards and practically an infant in the years you've lived...

(even after the krs reveal happens choi han probably still doesnt assume anythings different about the visions of death or sainthood, because why WOULDN'T the god of death drag the dying soul of his saint into the next life?)

But also YES like you said, everyone realising that he couldn't even claim a god spoke to him, because Cale was stopping what he had seen, he was going off of deaths he witnessed.

Can you imagine what that makes them think when they realise he's been hunting down his ancient powers. Who did he watch die and risk his life in stead of?

nerdpoe

After the reveal that Cale was Kim Rok Soo, just...

"Cale-nim, what did you see that made you hunt down the Ancient Powers? You don't have to answer, of course, I was just..."

"Everyone dies."

"...Yes?"

"No. Everyone will die in a war that covers the whole continent unless we stop it."

"...Sorry?"

which really doesn't help that Choi Han also thinks he's the saint of the God of Death, and also really doesn't help Choi Han's growing anger at said god.

cuz it's one thing to find a human you like and name them your saint.

it's a shittier thing to give that human visions of deaths.

but to give that human visions of war and all that it entails, to make them see the deaths of every person in a war as big as the continent itself, after ripping the soul of that saint from another world where he already lost almost everyone and placing him in this new world, is fucking cruel.

he was taken from a horrifying situation, a post-apocalyptic scenario, and deposited in a world about to face an apocalypse.

no wonder Cale-nim seems so detached sometimes.

he's fucking dissociating.

and like, to be fair to Choi Han, Cale 100% is.

Choi Han is going from serving this man to becoming the feral older brother literally ready to fistfight a god.

Alberu is right behind him for all of this.

that conartist saint is his little brother, and he'll be damned if he lets something as worthless as a god of all things torment one of his people.

the only one who knows what's really going on is, and always will be, Eruhaben.

who watches all of these humans and elves and dark elves and wolves and cats and so on scramble around shouting at a god who, really, had the bare minimum to do with the situation.

he has...no inclination to clear any of this up.

nerdpoe

@fanfiction-artist-prototype

oops forgot to respond to your reblog directly lmao

fanfiction-artist-prototype

i love all of this inc Alberu being like 'fuck it yeah I'll demean a god try me bitch'.

AND ERUHABEN!!

Like yeah he can't sense the gods influence on cale so he wouldn't think hes a saint but also i dont think he or raon (or dragons et al in general) mention being able to sense it on Jack or Hannah either. so there is the reamining possibility that he might assume as well.

After all he can sense the thames fucked-up nature (the being convinced cale is a dragon hunter or adjacent when they first meet thing is technically because of the ancient powers but i also think its bc of the thames nature of things) so he may just think that like choi han does the sleeping is disassociation and escapism rather than meetings with a god but also that scream is defo death magic and it is otherworldly so there is very much no way you can say for sure that GoD isn't involved you know?

(also can i just say im living for how you've described choi hans reactions like man.... i havent written anything for this fandom in just under a year and damn it feels so good to rotate these guys in my brain like a microwave.)

nerdpoe

Cale having a nightmare and waking up in a cold sweat, refusing to make any noise at all, after a nap.

immediately goes to make himself busy so he doesn't have to think about the nightmare, and everyone is watching him to see what his next move is.

what did the GoD tell him this time?

who's turn is it to die or be saved?

Eruhaben and Raon being like terrifying guard dragons; no one gets near Cale until he's okay enough to talk again. No one.

after all, Cale is theirs, and dragons are fiercely territorial.

Deruth investing in dreamless sleep potion research. Rosalynn actively setting aside time to assist when she's not doing her other duties. The entire Henituse duchy, from the Henituse family to the servants, learning sign language for when Cale can't speak or doesn't want to.

Oh, and Cage!

Cage not super sure that Cale really is the saint of the God of Death, because if anyone can sense that, it'd be her; one of said gods favored.

but then she hears Lament. feels Lament.

and she, too, is like

"Oh. Okay. Alright, yeah. That's straight up death."

and make the assumption that she hadn't been able to tell because of all the ancient powers Cale kept gathering.

the Church of Death is desperately trying to find where Cale hid his Divine Object, since gods gift their saints things imbued in said gods power. the higher ups believe that if they can find it, if they can get it back to the main church in Huiss, then they can finally bring home their saint.

but it doesn't exist.

cuz Cale doesn't have one.

but Alberu thinks this is a fantastic way for the church to waste their time, and keeps setting out false trails.

it turns into stress relief for Alberu, honestly. making these idiots go through so much shit.

sometimes literally.

the miscommunication about Cale being a saint does not stop Ron from serving lemonade.

granted he obviously doesn't serve it when Cale's throat is Fucked by that cursed power, but when the young master wakes up, it seems to pull him away from whatever horrors his dreams gave to him that night.

because Cale hates it.

but what if when Rok Soo transmigrated over to Cale, Ron noticed.

like, he noticed an abnormality but didn't clock it as something to be concerned about.

like OG Cale being a constant mover when asleep. rolling, shifting, little noises, sometimes falling off the bed, half in the blankets half out.

but at around four in the morning, all movement stopped, and for a hot second Ron, who checks in on the puppy young master periodically throughout the night, had a brief moment of "oh shit he's dead".

but he wasn't.

he just wasn't moving around anymore. he wasn't making noises anymore. he was sleeping, but super still and super quiet.

after the saint thing spreading, Ron starts to believe that that exact moment, right there, is when his puppy young master was dragged into the realm of the sleeping dead by the God of Death and given horrific visions.

that is when Cale Henituse was chosen by the God of Death.

because after that, his puppy young master thanked people. complimented the food. stopped glaring at everyone. stopped trying to start artificial shit with his family. stopped going to bars and picking fights.

started doing weird, unexplainable things.

like buying all the bread, or adopting two cat tribe children, or bringing home a killer.

and sometimes Ron wonders if he failed as a servant, when he left Cale to those dreams instead of trying to wake him up.

fanfiction-artist-prototype

THIS THIS THIS THE PART ABOUT RON SHIT I LOVE IT.

But like imma tell you my thoughts on the other things first bc i wanna yap about the ron thing.

Like I adore alberu using it as stress relief, good for him. Also like can you imagine the hilarity of it all?

King Zed: ... and you want these resources why? do you think i dont know youve been doing this under the table?

Alberu, crown prince, about to become a favourite in court all over again: but think of how funny it would be if the heirs of bloodline picked by the SUN GOD led the church of death around by the nose? Also he's my dongsaeng. i will be doing it either way but i did think you'd like to know before i bobby-trapped one of our never used mansions so the max exodus of staff didn't cause you alarm.

bifgxduojxd;kf THE COMBINED EFFORTS OF EVERYONE TO STOP CALES DREAMS I LOVE IT SO SO SO SO MUCH HOLY SHIT LIKE JUST WOW.

And Cage being like 'i think he's just a decent guy tbh. He's a dick but he's also a kid and honestly who cares if hes a bit freaky sometimes and has a penchant for knowing where to hit the enemy have we considered he's just unfortunately a prodigy in war- oh. OH. no yeah that's death manifested. fuck.'

Gotta give her more reason to fall into alcoholism.

But god the RON THING.

Like, he keeps watch over his puppy young master enough to know he never grew out of rolling around in the bed as he slept, and that horrific moment of watching him lying so so still. Like did he walk up to Cale, press a hand under his nose to feel him breathe, press fingers into his pulse both neck and wrist to ensure that he can still feel a pulse? Did he confirm that he was alive and go 'a bad dream but he's 18 he doesn't need me to wake him up'

And like you said has regretted it ever since. God.

Cale sleeps all the time, he spends more and more time sleeping and Ron sits there and thinks - as an Assassin, as a man who has spilt so much blood- that perhaps his young master finds comfort in the embrace of death, that after experiencing all that he has; a future only he knows of, a continent and beyonds worth of death, every new iteration of death after the one before it is thwarted perhaps cale prefers to be asleep. Perhaps seeing what he already knows, forcing himself to rewatch brings him comfort because he knows how it goes. Perhaps being awake is worse for cale because he is changing things and it is for the better but he is constantly forcing himself to see the new and usual ways in which everyone around him dies after saving them again and again.

nerdpoe

mmmmmmmmm take it a step further (as i always will when it comes to angst) and Ron doesn't just feel guilty that he didn't wake Cale from his first meeting with the God of Death.

he's guilty because at first he thinks that, deep down, he did the right thing.

if he had woken Cale up, would Cale have matured as he did? would he still be wasting away, drunk and rancorous? a persistent thorn in everyone's side?

would Cale be the hero he is now?

by letting Cale experience those visions, Ron may have saved countless people. by allowing it to happen, his puppy young master grew into someone to be proud of.

but.

the longer their adventures go on, the harder it is to think like that.

after a few instances that hit a little too close to certain traumas Cale experienced as Rok Soo, the nightmares become more frequent for a bit.

and then one night, it graduates to a night terror.

Cale, for the first time in a very long time, wakes up Screaming.

to his horror, a tiny bit of Lament slips out. it's just a little itsy bitsy bit, but it does damage; the windows shatter, the ceiling cracks, the bed canopy is shredded, and Cale's throat is, yet again, injured.

the first thing he does is make sure the kids are okay.

the second thing he does is shove past his group of alarms friends and servants and, with shaking fingers and bloody lips, writes a request for a magic muzzle to be built.

so he can wear it while he sleeps.

so he can make sure the kids aren't in danger like that again.

from Cale's point of view this is a perfectly logical request, and he's kicking himself for not making it sooner. if the mages under his fathers employ, or better yet Rosalynn, can design a comfortable muzzle, something to deaden any sound, he can sleep more peacefully.

he can finally rest without worry of destroying his room or hurting anyone around him.

this is not how everyone else sees it.

everyone else is appalled. they are outraged. they are trying to get Cale to sit down so they can examine his throat and see how bad the damage is this time.

now Ron doesn't think it was worth it.

now Ron truly, genuinely feels like not waking Cale up when all of this started was a mistake.

instead of just feeling guilty for not waking him up, he also feels guilt for thinking that perhaps not waking him up was a good thing.

and now we have Rosalynn, who is holding a tattered piece of paper in her hand, smeared with Cale's blood, as his writing on it begs her to create something she'd rather cut her own hands off than make.

she can't make something that will dehumanize Cale like this.

but the way his eyes are begging her, she can't tell him no.

it's Eruhaben who saves her.

he reads the note over her shoulder, and with a guttural snarl louder than Cale's burst of Lament and a short flash of Dragon Fear, disintegrates the note.

"If I find anyone has muzzled Cale Henituse, they and their country will cease to exist within twenty minutes."

fanfiction-artist-prototype

zxcgnhcjghffshgjhgdsf

THE MUZZLE HOLY SHIT I HADN'T EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT THAT-

(Also i am loving Ron's guilt, like yeah put him through the ringer its fun to watch it lol)

god as well though

the fact that cale is surrounded by Raon a baby dragon who he UNCHAINED who he promised would never have to be reminded of the torment and depersonalisation he was put through, the children Ohn and Hong who were hunted down and implied to have been imprisoned by their own clan, and surrounded by Beast Men who are all animals that are muzzled when they're merely animals and who he has never treated differenlty, who has Eruhaben there watching over him and yet the one who 'should' be muzzled is not the literal animals (bc technically that is what dragons are) not the beast men but the human and it is by his own voliton.

The angst of Cale probably for the first time getting angry at one of his companions, maybe even losing his temper and hissing through a bleeding and rasping throat that he needs to be muzzled, he's *dangerous*, the kids could get hurt, everyone HERE COULD GET HURT. How DARE you say what i should do with my own body. I am protecting CHILDREN is that not important to you?

And depending on if this happens before or after they first fight with the white star (the "my children" scene with eruhaben bc damn does cale just refuse to acknowledge that in canon lol) you get Eruhaben who is so fucking angry, feeling so damn powerless to protect his damn children that he just grabs cale by the shoulders and tells him that he IS protecting children.

"YOU are a child," he growls, "I am PROTECTING YOU. YOU ARE NOT A MAD ANIMAL TO BE MUZZLED AND CAGED, YOU ARE NOT A WEAPON TO BE SAFELY STORED AWAY UNTIL YOU ARE USEFUL."

And cale, tired, in pain, traumatised, probably utters "I have not been a child in a long time."

Because KRS is in his 30's. Hes not actually the 18-21 age range of cale henituse. but even to eruhaben 34 would be too young, it would still be a child, but he doesn't know that.

Nobody (Ron, trying desparetly to tend with Jack to a choking cale, Rosalyn trying not to cry because cale trusted her to muzzle him but she cant do it, choi han who is here to protect cale from anyone who try to take advantage of cale in his moment of vulnerability and eruhaben) knows that.

All they see is this child who they have made a COMMANDER in a war, who is plagued with visions of unending death telling them that he has not been a child in a long time. And they let it happen. But what could they do to stop it?

nerdpoe

fuck man imagine what Deruth is going through here

his son, who he admittedly kinda failed at parenting, who he has been trying to make amends with, thinks he needs to be muzzled.

thinks he's some sort of rabid beast, or a weapon.

Cale is all he has left of Jour, and he's fucked up so badly that Cale doesn't see himself as human.

and logically he knows that most of this is the whole "becoming a saint" thing, he does.

but he just watched a man he doesn't know, with power beyond his comprehension, sit Cale down and treat him with a familiarity Deruth just can't.

because Deruth doesn't know Cale. not anymore.

he hasn't for awhile.

now he's standing on the sidelines while people, strangers to him, take care of the son he failed.

and he wonders if, maybe, if he hadn't left Cale so very alone, if the God of Death would have chosen someone else.

fanfiction-artist-prototype

fucking kill me noww this is so painful -

ok but no i love this

somehow my brain completely missed that this happened in the henituse estate like... his siblings are not in the same wing of the house but they're nearby- they're close enough that they could get hurt. And god hes probably sat there in the sitting room (because obviously how these wings in fancy houses work is theyre basically just houses arent they) or hell stood in the doorway as healers and people he had allowed to stay in his home but probably doesn't even know rush past to get to his son, to keep him unmuzzled and he can't do anything.

Will the research into stopping nightmares even amount to anything if even in the waking world his son thinks of himself as nothing more than a TOOL?

He thinks of himself as a loaded canon and like you said Deruth is probably sat there wondering what kind of person the god of death chooses to be his saint, what his son could possibly have as a quality that means the god of death decided he was the best one to pick to fix everything.

And then it clicks, his son was pushing everyone away for years, he was a stranger in his own home, nobody cared enough to be near or close enough to notice a literal divine energy in his bedroom, you feel that shit - we KNOW from the oath of death scene early in PART 1 that you can especially feel the god of death whole buildings away.- his son was the kind of person that was assumed that nobody would CARE if he suddenly went missing.

nerdpoe

On Cale's side of things...

everyone around him has this horrible habit of assuming things and not telling him, because they think that by beating around the bush everyone is talking about the same thing.

and Cale doesn't push it, because he knows Lament makes people insanely uncomfortable.

so everyone is saying that Cale is a saint without outright saying it to him, and he's accidentally agreeing or affirming because he thinks they're talking about something else.

until one night, when he does get pulled into the Sleep of the Dreaming Dead by the God of Death.

and boy does the GoD have terrible, no good news.

so many people believe he's the God of Death's saint, that Cale is literally becoming the saint.

a gods power comes from belief, and so many people are praying to (shouting at) the God of Death about his "saint" that it's becoming real.

the misunderstandings aren't a misunderstanding anymore.

sure, he doesn't have horrible visions in his sleep, but the saint part?

that is no longer a lie.

or an assumption.

but the power granted to Cale from the God of Death is actually like, wayyyyyyyyyyyy kinder than the power everyone assumes the God of Death granted Cale. the GoD made this ability with his new, unwilling saints needs in mind, and he's very proud of it.

Cale can, to his great pleasure, "deaden" his voice.

it's like flicking a switch.

he no longer needs the muzzle, because he can just...turn off his voice entirely.

this is, quite literally, the best thing ever.

for Cale.

for everyone else, he went to sleep one night, the feeling of Death permeated the bedroom, Cale couldn't be woken up until dawn, and when he did...

...there was a void black, thin tattoo circling his entire neck, and he couldn't make a single sound, not without concentrating and touching his neck first.

their friend, son, young master; the person who worked so hard to prevent the awful futures he saw every night, just got confirmation from the god he serves that he is nothing more than a weapon.

and the scariest, most terrifying part about that stupid fucking muzzle the God of Death made? Cale is happy about it. he is satisfied with it.

no one knows if that is something Cale would feel on his own, or if the God of Death is directly influencing his saint's emotions.

so Cale is very happy with this power, and the GoD is very proud of his work.

right up until Cage almost blows out said god's eardrums with her swearing streak, reaming him for muzzling Cale like he was some sort of animal.

because no one else is happy with this.

but Cale refuses to let the God of Death take it back.

confused-wanderer

It would be hilarious if villains loved Nightwing and were terrified of Officer Dick Grayson.

Dick Grayson- who is used to open spaces and adrenaline- being stuck in a boring bleak office, surviving on shots of coffee and red bull with caffeine that would make Tim concerned.

The thugs soon realised that unlike most of the other cops - Dick was from Gotham.

No one fucks with Gothamites.

Villain *shooting at Dick with machine guns*

Dick *appearing from the shadows behind him*: Boo.

Villain: THIS IS A FIVE STOREY BUILDING HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET HERE

Thief *throwing a counting down bomb at Dick*

Dick: *catching and tossing the bomb at a safe distance before turning round and shooting it so it explodes mid air while running after thief*

Thief: .. what the actual fuck

Dick: Gee look at all that time you had! Shame you threw it away :D

Thief:

Dick: I’m from Gotham

Thief *realising they fucked up* : Please don’t steal my bones

Shooter: *sets elaborate booby traps throughout the houses in an active hostage situation*

Dick *using his training as robin and inhuman flexibility to surpass them with ease*: Ah been a while since I got to have a nice stretch thank you.

Shooter:

Dick:

Shooter:

Dick: .. Hi :)

Shooter: Are you Satan?

AND

In interrogation room

Murderer: I think I’ll take your eyes and add them to my collection

Dick *running on spite and caffeine that could give Superman a sugar rush* : Funny.. I was going to say the same thing to you

Murderer: .. what

Dick: I wouldn’t take your eyes though.. they look like the inspiration behind the whole Medusa’s “look at it and you turn to stone” thing-

Murderer: Hey! Take that back before I gut you

Dick *smile stretching wider without blinking* : oh? Or what? I know everything about you. Who says I can’t kill you and walk out with everyone being none the wiser? I know how to kill someone too..you aren’t special.

Murderer:

Murderer: I’m scared for my safety.

Because the thing is, Nightwing is who Dick really is. It’s who he can be free as, be himself as without red tapes and regulations. Where he can give as good as he gets, and he’s kind and empathetic. He gets to help the downtrodden and goes easy on most of them if they give up right away, not to mention the fact that he never causes permanent damage.

But officer Dick Grayson is a different story. He runs on sleepless nights and no self preservation. Seeing an officer with an uncanny skill set they’re scarily good at, not to mention the cheery attitude he always has scares the shit out of criminals. Cuz no way in hell is a smiling Gothamite not a deranged one. He chases crimes like a bloodhound, and isn’t afraid to make good on threats he makes to ensure they never hurt anyone again.

Bonus if the batfam doesn’t know about this.

Red hood: Shit I can’t believe we ended up in Bludhaven

Red Robin *tying up the corrupt politican* : Since this is a sensitive case, we need someone we can trust to make sure it is seen through.

Red hood: .. So we paying a visit to Officer Grayson?

Politician *screeching* : NO NO NO NO! PLEASE NOT HIM!! JUST KILL ME INSTEAD AND TAKE ALL MY MONEY I CANT DEAL WITH HIM!

Red hood: .. is he fucking serious?

Henchmen: Sir he is. And we agree. Please take our bones and kill us but don’t take us to Officer Grayson.

Red Robin: Wait what did he do?

Henchman 1: He asked boss if the hat was sentient.. and said that if it was would it make that hat the top and boss the bottom.

Henchman 2: Last time we met I tried to shoot him but suddenly my gun was blank and he raised his hand and let the ammo drop

Red Hood: Well even I could do that-

Henchman 2: They were my bullets. I had selected the colour personally.

Red robin *growing concerned*

Henchman 3: He sang a lullaby to a child when we were holding the station hostage, and replaced the people with my family members. He even sang their social security numbers!

Henchman 4: He’s the most dangerous of them all. I ain’t shitting ya when I say he’s as scary as the bat from Gotham.

*all nodding in agreement*

Red hood:

Red Robin:

Red hood: Nah that doesn’t sound like Dick

Red Robin: Agreed. Let’s go there Hood.

*villains’ sobbing intensifies*

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