Just a nonconformist

This homeless person is making me uncomfortable. Should I call [a man with a gun]?

My neighbor is having a loud party. Should I get [a man with a gun] involved?

There are some teenagers skateboarding. Do you think [a man with a gun] would get rid of them for me?

Mammon Obey me HC’s || we alr know the drill

FLUFF

• rivals leviathan in his jealously, maybe it’s his greed but he just can’t stand when his brothers monopolize your time or attention

• always is touching you in some way, wether it’s a hand on your shoulder or waist

• shirtless like 24/7 always has his abs out, maybe he just wants you to notice

• gets cocky about his modeling gigs and good looks

• somehow always has money to take you out or for the things you want (just don’t ask how or where he got it)

• doesn’t give a single shit about pda and will make out with you in public or sloppy kiss you in front of his brothers like it’s totally normal

• enjoys watching you get ready for dates

• fiddles with his rings when he’s gets flustered or shy

• enjoys late night drives with you in his car with the windows/ top down and the music turned up

• brings you to the casino with him (gambles and loses everything)

• loves to boast about him being your first pact or first anything

• has a terrible sense of direction and is constantly getting the two of you lost

• cries at sad movies and hides into you during scary movies

SMUTT

A voice pulls you from your thoughts. Seated across from you was Lucifer, working away at his desk while you occupied one of the wingback chairs in his study. He gave you an unamused look as you blinked, a face that clearly said, “Well?”

To be completely honest, you were staring—but not for the reasons one might assume.

His tie was crooked. That was all.

It bothered you far more than it should have, but you were feeling a little bashful today. The tie sat slightly loosened, leaning toward the left, and you couldn’t stop imagining how much better it’d look if it were fixed.

You didn’t answer Lucifer’s question. Instead, you set the files down on the coffee table before making your way to the side of his chair.

One of his brows arched at your unexpected actions. Though he acted as if your sudden proximity didn’t affect him, the faint pink dusting his cheeks said otherwise.

Reaching out carefully, you took hold of his collar. Lucifer went still, half—no, fully—expecting you to pull him in for a kiss.

Instead, your hands moved to his tie, straightening it exactly the way you’d been envisioning for the past hour.

“All done. It was crooked.”

“…Was that all?”

Softly resting your hands on his shoulders, you blinked.

“…Yes?”

You studied his expression. The disappointment written across his face was impossible to miss.

You couldn’t help but drag out the act a little longer—just to see how long Lucifer would remain vulnerable for you.

“…Nothing. I appreciate you fixing my tie. You may return to your work now,” he grumbled.

With a pleased little hum, you removed your hands from his shoulders.

Then, before stepping away, you leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.

His eyes widened in surprise as you returned to your seat.

Short answer: Ra’s is Chinese and Arab, probably Bedouin. On her mother’s side, Talia is Chinese and Arab.

Long answer:

Something that DC doesn’t always seem to remember (or at least emphasize) is that Middle East and Arab are not synonymous. Obviously the Middle East is a geographic situation considered from a european pov & that regroups a lot of ethnicities. Arab is an ethno-linguistic group but it’s pretty damn broad a word. Some Middle Easterners are also Arab, some are not, and vice versa. Ra’s is coded as both, arguably he’s always been, but in a lot of books it feels more like a reflex than a conscious & educated move. I think Birth of the Demon knew what they were doing but the same can’t be said of every one of Ra’s’ appearances. That being said BotD is the ultimate reference where Ra’s’ origins are concerned so there’s that.

In the same vein and contrarily to what I’ve implied above, “Chinese” regroups a bunch of ethnicities. DC probably was going for Han but again, more a reflex than a conscious move imo.

With Ra’s’ centuries-old ass we also have to take into account the fact that his native people is extinct and that countries have changed names. We know his father’s ethnicity but not his mother’s for sure. Ra’s has a geographical location of birth at least, even if it’s not super precise.

Here’s the canon information we have:

• Talia’s mother Melisande was part Chinese and part Arab. We don’t have more specific than that so go with whatever Chinese ethnic group and whatever Arab country or people you want.

[Birth of the Demon]

• Ra’s was born in a nomad tribe in the Arabian desert.

• Ra’s al Ghul, an arabic title, is not his birth name— he took it from “a local dialect” apparently distinct from his own*. We don’t know what was his birth name nor what language his people spoke, nor are we explicitly told know which people it was exactly. Although since we’re in the Arabian desert it’s highly probable they were Bedouins, which would make them Arab.

*EDIT: @wintersrchild kindly corrected: “[That] may be true in comic canon but is pretty weird irl. You see, his name is literally "head of the demon”. Ras=Head, al=the, Ghul=demon tho different demons than the Christian ones, and you don’t actually need to add the “of” here (it’s also why the correct spelling should be Ras and not Ra’s since it’s 1. a full word 2. redundant and 3. English grammar for Arabic words). Those are also pretty common words that aren’t limited to any one dialect, hell they’re so common they appear in other semitic languages (i.e. in Hebrew “Rosh” means head). I guess what I’m trying to say is apparently no one at DC knows enough Arabic to realize when someone else used google translate :P“

• Ra’s made it so that his people’s tongue disappeared, meaning it was either a totally fictional people or one that actually existed but is indeed extinct today. Bedouins have always regrouped a number of tribes/peoples, so it’s perhaps possible to link the story with a real-life extinct dialect?

• Their deity, Bisu, seems inspired by Bes/Bisu which was worshipped from Egypt to Syria at that time.

• We also have a vague chronological indication: Ra’s was born during the Crusades. With the extinct dialect and Bisu, we have three clues to help us find out if Ra’s can be linked to an actual tribe of that era or if it’s a fictional one— in which case it’s coherently implanted in the historical context! I’ll make time to research it all one day.

• Ra’s’ father is the Sensei, who is Chinese. (His being most known by a Japanese honorific title is another case of Lady Shiva syndrome but to be fair he also has a base of operation in Japan and a bunch of followers there who could’ve nicknamed him in their own tongue regardless of his heritage.) The Sensei’s ethnicity is probably Han by default as often in media, but like with Melisande give him whatever ethnic group feels right.

[Batman (1940) #671]

[Strange Adventures (1950) #215]

It’s technically a retcon but it doesn’t really contradict Ra’s’ origins in Birth of the Demon so it’s valid. The mysterious old dude at the beginning hinted to be either a random prophet ominously passing through or Ra’s’ actual father could very well be The Sensei.

A rich mixed legacy for Damian to inherit :)

The above is a video shared by smrchildsadness on Twitter, showing a person participating in a pride parade exchanging a pride flag with a person standing on his (am using his pronoun based on the TikToks/Tweets of what happened) doorway who had a Portuguese flag. There are sounds of cheers and crying and the two people hug each other as they exchange the flags. The man at the doorway then waved kisses to the crowd within the pride parade.

The Tweet says: "NO YOU DONT UNDERSTAND HE WAS WAVING THE PORTUGUESE FLAG BECAUSE HE DIDN'T HAVE A PRIDE FLAG AND THEY TRADED FLAGS AND HE'S SO EMOTIONAL TO GET HIS OWN PRIDE FLAG I'M EMOTIONALLY RUINED"

For context, apparently they were worried that maybe he's a nationalist because he was waving the Portuguese flag and some nationalists opposing the pride march were waving that flag. But upon interacting with him, it turns out he didn't have have a pride flag and he wanted to wave *a* flag in support of the pride march. So they had an exchange and now he has his own pride flag 😭🥹.

The image above is a Tweet by kunwara_ladkaa that says "I'm crying so much right now (Image taken by Manuel Fernando Araújo/Lusa)". The image shows the same man from the pride parade crying as he hugs his new pride flag.

The above image is a Tweet by dudz_zZzz that says "ainda não parei de pensar nele," which according to Google translate from Portuguese to English is "I still haven't stopped thinking about him." The image is a drawing of the person from the pride parade, crying as he hugs his new pride flag.

lucifer still lets you chill in his office and listen to classical records with him while he does paperwork. he still makes smug ass comments that will end up with you cursing him out and him laughing about it. he still makes sure that you’re keeping up with everything well enough, that it’s not overwhelming you. he still confides in you about his fears and worries about himself and his brothers. he still looks out for you and checks in your make sure you’re doing alright in RAD.

mammon is still your dumbass best friend who takes you out the casino because he swears you’re the luckiest person he’s ever met. he still whines and complains about stupid shit to you like getting scammed or getting in trouble for another one of his schemes. he still holes up for movie nights in your room every night there’s no work to be done the next day. he still holds pride in the fact that he was the first demon to see how amazing you are and make a pact about it. (don’t bring up how that pact came to be for your own sake. he still sulks like a madman!!)

leviathan still watches shows and plays games with you. he still farms on your accounts for you so you can pull for that one character you really like. he still stays holed up in his room with you counting the clock to midnight, preparing for the next merch drop with plans to clear out the whole shop. he still trusts you with his insecurities and vulnerabilities, enough to be sincere and genuine in his excitement when talking to you. he still opens up to you because you will always be his Henry no matter what.

satan still takes you to cat cafes and holds a two person book club with you. he still helps you study when you need it and even when you don’t. he still barges into your room to bitch about his latest annoyance. he still trusts you with the parts of himself that he still isn’t sure is really him or maybe a remnant of his brother left inside him by mistake. still makes sure not to let anyone disrespect you in class, because if they do they only have three seconds to run.

asmodeus still drags you to his self care nights. slathers a face mask on you and shares the latest gossip and drama. still buys you pretty things that he thought would look nice on you, or reminded him of you. he still makes sure no one’s talking behind your back, makes sure that you’re doing okay. he’s still comfortable enough to vegetate with you, and let down all pretenses and masks; you are always going to be someone he is comfortable baring himself to. he’ll still freak out with you over stupid shit you’re excited about and he’ll still make sure you’re always good with yourself, kind to yourself.

beelzebub still takes you out to eat and clear out buffets with him weekly. he still invites you to his matches personally. he still gets excited when he sees you show up even though you’ve been attending his games consistently for years now. he still tells you about his brothers and his’ time in the celestial realm. he’ll still tell you about his sister and love you enough to feel comfortable to grieve in front of you. he still makes sure you’re always eating enough—he’s gotta make sure you’re taking care of yourself, yknow? he also still eats your leftovers even when you explicitly tell him not too. sorry. :(

belphegor still takes you to the planetarium when things are getting too much. he takes your nightmares away. makes sure you sleep well. he still drags you down for a nap whenever he feels like it. he still tells you about how he misses his sister, about how he misses his brothers sometimes even though they’re still here, just different. he still trusts you enough to admit that sometimes, he misses himself, and who he was before all this. and then after all that, he still flicks you on the nose and calls you annoying because before he is an avatar of sin he is the spoiled baby of the family, and he knows you’ll always be there to snark right back.

sorry it just. moves me. like you truly do become a part of these seven guys’ found family no matter what. even if you reject every single possible romance option they will still love you and protect you and look out for you and snap at you and annoy you and not even be sorry about it. because you are special to them!!! you will always be someone important to them!!!!