#one of the orphan snippets i promised

[fonulyn]

“Leon, you home?” Piers called, but there was no answer, and he quickly toed off his shoes before heading further into the house. At the doorway to the living room he stopped, grinning to himself as he took in the sight. Leon was sprawled over the couch, fast asleep, and pinned underneath fifty pounds of fluff.

Said fluff made no move to get up, either, but she was wagging her tail happily at Piers anyway, clearly signaling that she was happy that he was back even though she was way too comfortable to get up right now. And well, who was Piers to argue with that, really. He wouldn’t have gotten up for just anyone either if he’d been pillowed so nicely against Leon. “Hey girl,” he said lowly, approaching the couch so he could scratch her behind her ears, making her wag her tail even more excitedly.

Leon made a sleepy sound, shifting a little, and Lucky took that as a sign to wake him up properly. She launched herself forward, licking over his face until he was squirming to get away, sleepily swatting at the dog in weak attempts to make her stop. Not that he managed to do anything else but basically pet her with the flailing. “No, too much spit, stop it!” he laughed.

Happy to have done her work, Lucky jumped up and off the couch, vanishing into the bedroom. She was probably going to use the chance to hog the bed for herself, it had rapidly become her favorite place to sleep.

Grinning, Piers took a seat on the edge of the couch, leaning in to give Leon a chaste peck. “Have you done anything else but sleep all day?” he asked teasingly. Although truth to be told, that wouldn’t have been such a bad option anyway. Leon had spent so many years stressed out and always on edge, he deserved lazy days dozing off together with their dog if anyone did.

“I was a good husband and cooked.” Leon grinned. “And I talked with your mom for like an hour. She says you don’t call her enough.” He still looked sleepy, like he wasn’t actually properly awake and could fall back asleep if he just closed his eyes for five seconds.

With a small shrug, Piers chuckled. “Tell her it’s her own fault for always calling you instead of me these days.” He leaned backwards, let out a happy sigh as Leon reached out and patted his thigh lightly. “Wanna go out for a walk before dinner? It might wake you up?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Leon agreed easily. “You go tell the dog we’re going. It’s your turn to accept all the enthusiastic kisses of gratitude.”

[riverxsong-ao3]

Due to popular demand, i promised a snippet from my diary time travel wip, so here it be, y'all:

It’s not until Harry’s breathing evens out that Tom realises the younger boy has fallen asleep. In his arms. And, against all odds, Tom has just gone and let him do it. An allowance such as this would get him a beating by the older boys at Wools, were he still a child, and verbal abuse within Slytherin. A “rare show of affection” from Tom; oh, he’d never live it down. But here, in the dark and quiet of the Potters’ family home, away from prying eyes and snooping portraits, he could accept this, the better to solidify Potter’s trust in him. It infuriated him, he thought, that he could not kill the boy like this. It would be so easy! Even a quick Cutting Curse would do it from this angle and distance. Oh, there would be a mess, but Lord Voldemort did not mind blood. The better to bathe oneself in as preparation and cleansing for the ritual that would seal his soul, damn the consequences. Damn the risk of waking up in a diary again, he had to do it – But not yet, for Potter’s relatives were just down the corridor. Should one hair on his head be harmed, Tom, the strange, no-name orphan, would be the prime suspect. And that, he tells himself, is why he’s so infuriated. He can’t kill Harry because it wouldn’t be a clean getaway. No other reason. So little, staying his hand. It’s not the warmth that spreads through him every time he sits quietly with Harry like this, or when Harry’s hand brushes over his own. It’s not the way Harry makes him laugh with an unexpected quip or joke. It’s certainly not the easy smile that spreads across Harry's face when he sees him first thing each morning. Absolutely not. The thing is, he really wasn’t prepared for how endearing Harry would be. He had, upon speaking to Ginevra Weasley, expected a hardened warrior of a boy, youth notwithstanding. He had expected a Sir Lancelot to Dumbledore’s King Arthur and his own Morgana Le Fay. Or was Dumbledore Merlin? It doesn’t matter, Tom knows his part and he knows Harry’s. And Harry has to die, endearment or no. So why does the thought twist his insides so? Why is the image, unbidden in his mind’s eye, of Harry gazing up at the sky, lifeless, so horrific to him now? He knows what his Boggart used to be, faced one in third year and cringed as he took in the sight of his own dead body. Why does it feel as though it will have changed now, clouded mahogany eyes replaced by unseeing celadon? No. He cannot ill Harry because it is not convenient yet. That is all. He will not entertain this line of thinking further. But Harry stirs in his sleep. “Tom?” he asks, his voice thick. “Mmm?” Tom hums in response, careful not to fully rouse him.  “You a’ight?” Harry slurs. “Thought you might be upset about something.” Is Tom too tense? He forces himself to relax. “Annoyed, maybe,” he murmurs. “Nothing important.” “Not annoyed,” Harry yawns. “Something else. Sad, maybe.” It’s the last thing he says before he drifts back into slumber.

[brucewaynehater101]

Inspired by the Secret Robin AU by dragonpyre on Tumblr and the genderqueerness Tim has going on with the Jane Doe AU, I've got a Mahou Shoujo Jihen AU for ye! (mangaka, Zero Akabane)

Snippets are occasionally non-chronological/flashback and unreliable narration ahoy lmao

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Okay so the Graysons', unbeknownst to them, have bloodline of ★magic★

A magic newly-orphaned Grayson has to learn all on his own, for the ward hardly entrusts his legal guardian so new to his life

And he wants something all to himself, something nobody can take away or order him about

Waltz's World he calls it, warping the lines between boy and girl, barriers receding

Aka Grayson can don a Magical Girl form that essentially trans his gender while she's formed, at least at the start

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Obligatory "Anon is cis and playing with gender through Batkids like dolls, her highest apologies for any fuck ups" Disclaimer

And also tw for small moments of misgendering by characters who have yet to be informed on batkids genders & pronouns

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

When Robin hits the streets, all Batman knows is that she is a child, one he brings under his mentorship and despite all his efforts, is impossible to find the civilian identity of

When she confesses to how new her magic is to her, that she's self taught in it all, he and his colleague find dead end after dead end to see if anybody else knows about her type of magic

If there exists others like her they're niche and hidden

Thus trial and error and the scientific method is their only way to help Robin come into her own

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Robin is tactical; hammered in by Batman, by Bruce, his guardian and her mentor

If Zucco dies, and it's so obviously linked to her, it could implicate Robin or both of her identities

She has to be smart about this

Murder had no place in Batman's care for her. Dick has to be careful about his search history on computers and what people catch him reading

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Bruce Wayne worries endlessly over Robin, now a teenage girl

Others too; nobody knows her identity

Dick is a blend of interested and not in the vigilante, opinions ever shifting. They both chalk it up to not knowing the young girl at all

Still, he dreams of a time he does have Robin under his complete care, newly adopted like Grayson, safe from crime fighting

When the news comes out that the killer of Dick's parents are dead, a weight is off his boy's shoulders.

"I have to say thank you to whoever did it." "It looks like it might've been an accident more than anything according to the cops."

Robin has been tense for a time, and still is

"Something happened in my civilian life, nothing major but I'm just waiting for the effects to pass by."

His poor girl . . . "I'm here for you Robin, no matter what happens."

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

The air and earth makes way for Robin's acrobatics, lights turns to her direction, and she's too nimble to be human

Too high, too far, too quick, too lasting are her movements

A cameraboy will never confess that whereas Dick shined with his quadruple somersault, Robin revealed it childsplay

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Jason is adopted right after trying to rob Bruce Wayne's car

In time Dick and he get along like a house on fire—

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

It's Jason who discovers Robin sneaking into the Manor, into his brother's room on the day he snuck into his closet for a prank of all things

It's Jason who sees Dick take Robin's place and screams

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

—And then it's like they've reached an understanding friendships with nobody else will ever challenge

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Little Wing hits the streets, partner of Robin

And he's as human as Bruce

"Listen, listen, he's just like me! Powers or not he's going to fight for Gotham, best we can do is prepare the bird!"

So Batman trains the vigilante Jason's age just as he did for Robin. He doesn't try to find his identity

The young duo only trusts each other with the truth

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Robin set ship for that off-world mission on the promise that Batman would protect Little Wing with his life

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

"I'm gonna be visiting some friends dad, and I'm gonna be off grid during our stay so . . ."

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

there's A Death in the Family alright

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Bruce's eyes tore into Robin's, her face vomit and tear and snot stained

"Why did you never tell me who he was?"

Dick could only mouth "B— hiccup B—" He retched again

He looked away from the girl

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

"I have a boy your exact age Robin, I think you could be twins, identical ones even, without sharing any blood."

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Grayson is the saving grace that keeps Batman from losing himself to grief

Bruce sits on his couch, looks down at the despondent boy's head in his lap. eyes hollowed out. hears neither of his boys laughter

He sees Robin's grief polluted face on his boy, and remembers not just what, but who he's fighting for

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

"I never want to see you on the field again Robin. Not after how you've broken my trust"

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Batman does everything to find who Jason trusted more than his own father, who could have trusted his boy just as much, who was the Robin that dragged his youngest into the night

Not once does he think to ask his eldest what he knew

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Precious Robin photos are locked away where only he and Jason know

Because Robin is magic

Robin is useless

She has no place upon Little Jason's altars

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Cross-reference reliable articles and testimonies, and even a boy will learn that Batman is just barely putting in the work to not transform his justice into a suicide mission

Cross-references testimonies, and even a boy will learn that Nightwing puts nothing into holding back against Joker or Harley anymore. Dead or alive, she wants them gone

Even a boy will learn that Nightwing hardly patrols anymore

Everybody knows Batman and Nightwing ties back to Little Wing

Nobody knows where Batgirl went

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Not bullets nor fallen buildings, but grief losing three all in a fell swoop grounds Robin

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Distinguishing themselves from the rest of Gotham's upper class, the Drakes adorn their manor with artifacts of all over

Tim has too much time on his hands to not poke and prod at them all

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Once upon a time Timothy Drake threw away a wish to be treasured more than artifacts, to be loved and adored far beyond relics resilience, to last even longer than objects to get it all

Still he wishes for Little Wing and Robin back, for Bat Girl's return and the quartet of heroes he stalked night after night as they once were

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

She It puts its hands off of the mirror and peeled off its mask

The Drake couple's son sat there again

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

It's not a monkey's paw — it's close enough

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Tim's plan was to blackmail Batman, pick out its name, and leash the Dark Knight until he was mentally fit again

What it didn't plan for was for Nightwing to apparently know about its magic and track it down

It didn't think it would take this long to pick a name either. Heck it thought Nightwing and Batman cut contact

"Last time I trusted you with a child he died B!"

"I know better now, and unlike you I have the resources to train him to his fullest potential. Little Wing is proof!"

"How fucking dare you?!"

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Nightwing looks down at Timothy Drake, tears in her eyes

Dick Grayson-Wayne tastes salt on his tongue

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Between the fact Batkid would be forced to reveal his identity to Batman and statistics showing his increasing violence, how quick he was to put his hand on Robin's throat, versus to Nightwing, the first Robin, his answers is always the same

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Everybody agrees that the Second Robin looks delicate and precious. The birdie shouldn't be giving up their childhood for Gotham

That is all

Anybody can tell you what good the bird does, leashing the Bat, breaking Nightwing out of her grief, giving whatever the little child can for civilians in need, sinners or not

People can hardly agree on how Robin looks; she looks like my dead daughter, no he's a clone of my son! You idiots they look like those sweet kids I always babysit

All they agree on is that Robin looks as if they must be protected and treasured by their loved ones, not fighting crime

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Where Nightwing can hardly be touched, Robin recovers too quickly, even by its predecessor's standards

All but rarely, bullets, crushing weights, and strikes may all well be nonexistent the way Robin hardly scratches

Unless one has a meta's intense strength, they will find more progress attacking it's mind or delaying its goals

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Nightwing blows a fuse Robin hadn't even known existed when she catches wind of all the work its putting into bringing Batman back to the ideal hero he used to be

She doesn't let it overhear the fight this time

From then on she is always with Robin when it patrols

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Tim huffed as Dick clung to him and Bruce got to arranging himself as his guardian for whenever his parents were out Gotham

Apparently his magic was a filthy traitor! and made a link with Nightwing so that if he was ever in major danger, the heroine who pick up on it

Not only that, but it's been working as a tracker for Nightwing this entire time, the first time around wasn't just an ordinary magic thing like they thought

And they both found while Robin was calming down Batman

But why was Batman insisting on becoming his not-parent if he didn't have a link with him? Nor know about his double life?

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Batman and Nightwing are certain they know what Robin looks like. A perfect blend between Batgirl, the first Robin, and Little Wing, their greatest failures all in one

It's when they disagree on the more precise details of Robin's costume and it's features do they realize it wasn't civilians and rogues being tricked by the darkness 

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

It looked into the mirror in its room in the Wayne Manor

Scrutinizing it's reflection, it looked the same as always, a perfect blend between Batgirl, the first Robin, Little Wing, and Nightwing

Androgynous if leaning on the feminine side 

That ideal the Batclan perfectly displayed at its brightest, a living, breathing altar of their glory

It's teammates agreed with it, until last night it seemed

It didn't understand

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Jason Robin comes back magic

Talia's son and daughter tells her otherwise

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

"Great work Robin," Oracle praised, tucking in some of its loose locks as it turned from its computer to her

The younger hero beamed

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Well then, if neither of them can be Robin yet . . . 

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

It's funny how Nightwing learns she isn't the only one with Waltz in her bloodline. At least, she thinks they both got it from genetics. It was alway an assumption on her part

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Spoiler becomes the reason criminals and rogues alike flail about uselessly, making long reaching swings whenever. Nobody spots him until it's too late, if at all

Invisibility his beloved 💜💟💜

Even better are the freebies that come before he fights anybody. Little spoilers that make taking his dad's and other villains men down less of a trial

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Red Hood's violence is distinctive even in Gotham

Yet blowing an entire warehouse to cripple the Joker for good seemed extreme

Then again, it was Joker, extreme measures called

When word spreads of a Little Robin Hood under her care? It explains enough for those without intention to stick their dick in crazy

And thank the Waltz, because the two will never confess it, but it was a trauma-triggered accident

All because the dollar store clown was pissy over names

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

"Dad—!" Bruce's hand ruffled his hair again as the other arm wrapped itself around Tim

Yeah Tim wasn't ever coming out about being Robin if Batman fussed over the two identities this much already. It was a wonder Dick somehow outdid him. He giggled

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

'Big W for Gotham queers' a merry goon tweets on duty, not that she'll confess it over her dead body

'What happened?' another twitter user comments

'Red Hood uses she/they, said so themself'

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Bruce couldn't have been faster in adopting Stephanie after Spoiler spilled Cluemaster's identity

"Holy, your dad is suffocating. I'm not complaining but how do you get anything done when he's bear hugging you?"

Tim sipped his coffee, "That's sort of our fault for dangling two too many kids he can't adopt and treasure in front of him for years on end. Follow me." She quirked an eyebrow

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Every blow Red Hood lays screams how that bomb did

Their strikes keep her targets down, and the impacts of her attacks have a larger area of effect than they should

There is no keeping them down

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

"Our dad is Batman?" Stephanie ran around the room

"Not just that, you're brothers—" It watched its sister turn to it and she squinted.

"Are queers," it choked on its coffee with her comment

"Me too Robin!" Spoiler said, running up to it to bearhug it in his own way

"Let me go!"

"Nope! You look way too adorable like this!"

"You guys are the worst!"

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Little Robin Hood is the most elusive of them all, no doubt hiding herself from his mother when out at night

The greatest of Batman's heirs he strives to be; She doesn't rest until she is the pinnacle of Human, the pinnacle of a Waltz

he doesn't rest until he's picked up his predecessors own unique magics set as a prodigy would, even as the learning curve fights against her mastery of it

She won't rest even after becoming better than his siblings

He must surpass them so much they could never hope to outdo their superior sibling

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

"Yo," Stephanie said, as if it wouldn't make Tim shriek and leap from his couch

"How did you get here?" He made sure this safehouse was the most secure and secretive of them all, how?

"Stalker tracker." She grinned

Her too?! Tim sat back on his couch and screamed into his pillows. His sister laughed

"Want a spoiler on my dad's next puzzle?"

"Give it," wait shit the magic word, "please Steph."

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Cassandra fisted and unfisted her(?) hand

It was more of a man's now. Except she didn't feel like a man, she felt like— scratch that, she didn't feel like a girl either in this form

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Robin gasped as its legs carried more broken bones and injuries than it ever had on its body all at once before

This time the wounds weren't sliding off like water but clinging onto it

"Hood—" a blow to its stomach

"Replacement," the woman hissed at it, then screamed

Robin shifted to its side, resisting the urge to cry out in pain, Nightwing now sat on Red Hood, laying blow after blow on the intruder

And she was yelling herself hoarse

Its sister unlatched and threw the helmet—okay bomb, wow its ears were ringing—off

And then Nightwing was on top of a man

"Little Wing!" its sister shrieks, arms wrapped around the stranger. "Why— why— how?"

"Baby on board! Baby on board! Ack!" Spoiler screamed holding up who might be Little Robin Hood trying and failing to escape his hold. both of them were covered in blood and blows

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Nightwing sat them all down, "Here's what's happening, we're going to keep this to ourselves. I've lost all trust in Bruce with any of your well beings."

"We're going to make it look like Red Hood fought Robin and then fought me as I bought time for my mentee's escape. When Spoiler comes into the scene fighting Little Robin, Red Hood is going to retreat for his sake.

"Robin, you're going to scrub and altar the data in the towers to make this believable; Spoiler, you'll alter or remove any evidence showcasing otherwise; and you two."

Red Hood's grip tightened on her knees.

Nightwing passed a piece of paper, "You're staying in contact with us, I refuse to lose my family again."

A weary smile, "And we'd love to get to know our new sibling."

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

A ballerina becomes Gotham's latest sensation

It's a wonder he— "Gender neutral, they/them" They didn't get hired to perform at Brucie's galas sooner

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Robin blocked Little Robin Hood's katana with its staff. the latter swung at its legs. it latched its hands onto her arm in retaliation and knocked his blade from his hands

Pinned to the ground, the boy could only try and reach for her fallen weapon as the staff was planted right next to her head—

"That's enough training for the day," Red Hood cut them off, "and your final scores are . . . "

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

"Big bro, big bro, big bro!" Stephanie dragged a girl right to Dick

"Guess what," her grin couldn't get any wider

"You kidnapped a staff member?" her grin got wider

"I kidnapped a sibling" she pointed at the girl, or rather, the ballerina their father hired for the gala

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

He took his face mask off at the worst time

"Jaylad," Bruce's grip all but clawed at Jason's arms

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

When Jason declared they wouldn't reunite with his father, period, Damian was incensed

Now he may just give anything to go back before they did. But since he can't do that, the next best thing is uppercutting Todd for getting them adopted

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

"No more heroism Jaylad—no more Robin—no Little Wing," Bruce said between sobs

Oh he's not a hero anymore alright

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

When Batman found Robin sore all over, more wounded than he'd ever seen, his heart fell

Robin admitting it already healed from most of its injuries by the time he found it flew him into a rage

He threw himself into detaining Red Hood, trying to sieze Little Robin Hood from him, and upping security so his kids, civilian or vigilante, wouldn't suffer like this again 

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Assassin, Talia, the League had trained a boy, a child to be an assassin. They did the same with Jason

Bruce refuses to let his children—vigilante or civilian—suffer again

Thankfully, with how the chaos of legally reviving Jason, and adopting three children in one fell swoop has cooled down, it seems maintaining a healthy relationship with his civillian family is all it will take to keep them from the streets

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Duke stumbled to his feet, and rushed to a window

They blinked and rubbed her eyes several times over, but its reflection never agreed with what they looked like

Actually, looking down at her hands, it felt and looked more like she was constantly shapeshifting; even his clothes, or hero costume, as was the theme but it never felt uncomfortable keep changing form

This was their meta power? He almost wanted to call out how lame it was but she had to maintain a secret identity somehow

Hold on, she—?

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Don't get Duke wrong, he was endlessly grateful for Bruce

But if Bruce was as good and smothering of a parent like his siblings said, We Are Robin would be down a leader

Everybody had noticed just how much Batman was gunning for Red Hood. Nobody knew why; was it a consequence of her killing his nemesis Joker? Because they stole the name of Little Wing's killer?

Whatever it was, the streets felt less safe when people could gamble on the Bat's activity in accordance to Hood's and be less fearful of the hero, and somebody had to do something about it

Even if it was an army of powerless youth, led by a meta

Duke prayed to every confirmed deity that Bruce never caught him sneaking out

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Dick stood in front of Duke. Duke who was in their Robin costume, oh shit, this was the worst time to not have enough light to flashbang somebody, he noted down to always a source of light or some absorbed for now on

Her brother clasped his hands and smiled, "well then Robin"

Duke's breath hitched—this was the end of everything it worked for

Nightwing, the original Robin took Dick's place, "welcome to the family" 

WHAT THE FUCK?!

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

We Are Robin's leader becomes Signal

⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅ ✩⏝̅⏝̅⏝̅

Damn did I run out of steam at the end

"But nonnie, why is Waltz's world accessible through so many different means?" Idk XDDDDD

Everything I touch becomes a fic I have an actual problem lmao

Extra Notes and Clarifications, apologies for the mess, I'm jumping from section to section as I write and copy and paste

Batman and Bruce have a clearer line dividing the two than canon since only Barbara and Alfred (and others I may not know/forgot from canon) are in his inner circle and aware of his double life—to his knowledge

Speaking of Barbara and Alfred, I haven't done them any justice, nor given them much attention

How the batkids having Waltz's World affects them by consequence alongside other AU elements, I did not account for, well I did so for Barbara but hardly at all

I just implied that Oracle and Waltz!Tim have a relationship, and it goes without saying Barbara and Alfred has different relationships with the Wayne kids than Oracle and Agent A do the Batkids

Back to Bruce---

Knowing multiple kids, most of them feminine in gender identity and/or appearance, fighting crime with only him as a well-off adult figure in their lives makes him concerned

Partly because he doesn't know how they are doing out of costume or what trauma they've covered up with the faster magical healing of their bodies

And also partly sexism since he'll have biases subconsciously at the very least

Honestly an entire fic made of this AU could have a focus/subplot tackling sexism, queerphobia, and other biases, how they intersect, + exploring internalized biases on the Batsiblings part

Bruce wants to have his mentees safe under his roof, siblings with his own kids, and full-time civilians for their own wellbeing

This pushed him to adopt Dick and everyone else unlike/quicker than canon from a subconscious want to make that dream a reality even back when it was just the first Robin around

Bruce abusing his vigilante kids as he does in canon, plus more if you want him to abuse them more than canon, is arguably even more fucked than in canon

Because I imagine compared to canon, here he would be investing even more into his relationships for his kids on the civilian and vigilante side due to guilt from hiding half himself

He expresses his love for them both even more, which will fuck with said kids coming to terms with their abuse. It's even more of an uphill battle

"Wow, look at that plothole-topia!" I say sipping my abuelita knowing damn well who architected it (me)

I never established how Dick learned Bruce = Batman or if he knew at all RIP

Hey maybe Dick and Jason never learns that Batman = Bruce until Tim comes and spills the tea. That could be fun

At first I was gonna have everyone's Waltz form be the "opposite" gender to theirs but then I got to Tim, thought about how I set him up to wanna be loved just like the Drake's did things over their son

I thought about how back when he was just taking photos, he had an idealized picture (pun intended) of the Bats, an idealized image. a concept; a thing

And how that could lead to his own Waltz form being one that used it/its like people do for things

So then I got experimental with it

Methinks Tim would be agender &/or gendervoid in Waltz

Dick eventually settles on the fact he's genderfluid, and later on occasionally using she/her as Grayson and he/him as Robin/Nightwing

Lets say it's cuz he always wanted to be like both is parents that his Waltz makes him so

He views the change in gender identity and pronouns as him tossing a coin; whenever he flips the coin to the Nightwing side, she sees herself female, when flipped to Dick's side, he's male

Rarely the coin tossing itself without his input and lands on the thin side; that's when Dick identifies as the gender she does in her other identity

Jason accepts that he falls under solidly cis since even they/them is dysphoric for him; he once experimented with they/she cuz he wanted to be like his older brother-sister

Then the lazarus pit happen, she winds up using they/she in Waltz form and he/him as Jason

Views himself as a cis as Jason; a demigirl as Red Hood. Maybe she's still figuring things out? idk

Since he had the Waltz World magic just like their sister who was Nightwing now, she could be Robin now!

Then she learned about Damian and Tim calling dibs before her and that made them and Dami fight

Damian and Jason call truce on the grounds of Tim being a common enemy and obstacle in being Robin, so Damian goes to Gotham with Jason

Damian was dunked in the same pit as Jason here, hence why he also got a Waltz form

for plot convenience, they are the exception and not the rule when it comes to lazarus waters and Waltz's World

He wanted to inherit the Robin or Little Wing mantle as Bruce's heir, and fantasized about donning both, thus his Waltz form is bigender, she/he, boy and girl; maybe Damian decides he's also she/he and boy and girl as a civilian as well

Damian's Waltz form is the perfect balance between first Robin's and Little Wing's fem and masc gender presentations, so when you know what to look for it's obvious she's bigender, boy and girl

I made Steph and Cass have Waltz in their bloodlines just as Richard does because I couldn't come up with creative ways for them to join Waltz's World like the boys, lo siento :(

But you can do fun stuff with three non-blood related people sharing the same magic in their genetic history

For Steph I decided to make her intergender, mostly female as Steph, mostly male as Spoiler, but uses he/him as Steph and She/her as spoiler more often than Dick

Steph views her gender as a seesaw; being Steph the saw in pointed towards she/her, and being Spoiler points it in he/him, but sometimes the saw does the exact opposite and sometimes the saw tips a bit less than his form's typical gender so she feels a bit more like a boy or a girl when in civillian or Waltz

She thinks she will reach a point where the saw begins to perfectly balance itself or get close enough that she feels more like using they/them instead but she doesn't know if her guess is accurate yet

Cassandra I think would flip flop trying to figure out if they're Gendernuetral or Genderless in Waltz form, maybe eventually deciding that using Orphan and other (nick)names is preferable to pronouns and discards pronouns

An idea I had for Damian, where he used the pronouns and gender identities of all the other batkids, got given to Duke instead

Since Duke is basically the motherfucking moon with how he absorbs light and We Are Robin is all about taking on Robin's name and duties, I tweaked his own Meta abilities to copy and paste their all the batkids Waltz schtick and genders since that's bascially his desire at the moment

Also his meta power converted itself into Waltz Magic 100%, no refunds, so that's gonna be a fun surprise when he claims to just be a Meta copying their magic and he's proven wrong, he's magic too

But an AU of this AU where his meta abilities truly are just duplicating the magic would be fun to check-out

Oh yeah, idk shit about the time periods the batkids grew up in or what it'd be like be growing up coming to terms with being queer even in modern day so I'm useless on that part

But let's just say that;

Dick grew up traveling plenty and was introduced to queer identity at a young age, so while awakening his power freak her out a bit, she takes it in stride

Jason has a more rigid understanding due to a lack of education on the streets, but after learning about Robin, Dick teaches him what he knows about queerness

Tim grew up as a rich kid taught cisnormativity by both his parents and others he grew up around

As a result he expects himself to be a man through and through. It's a bit of a learning curve on his part

+ in Waltz form it thinks its a she because it looks feminine, only to unconsciously correct itself while freaking out after transforming for the first time

For all Tim knows, his stalking did not lead him to learn about Robin's magic including ✨gender✨

So when the artifact grants his wishes, concious and subconcious?

Tim is confused about the Waltz stuff, hence why it defaults to its/it and doesn't try to force itself to use she/her pronouns, cuz its still figuring stuff out and more focussed on the Bats than gender identity

Then comes in Dick to teach Tim about queerness as he once did for Jason

I dunno jack shit about the cultures Damian grew up in under the league so I dunno how Damian would take the whole Waltz thing at first

I think Jason would fill in some gaps in the case Damian has more to learn about bening genderqueer; maybe the League and Dami even teach Jason their own understandings of gender

No clue how Steph or Cassandra or Duke would take the Waltz thing before joining the bat siblings

I should get into clarifying the magic

Dick's magic is all about acrobatics and enhancing her body in ways that ascends her ability to preform them

Tim's is all about being wanted; being the perfect image of what kind of person those seeing it want to protect and treasure above all else. It's outfit and features craft an illusion different to everybody else's eyes

Tim's Waltz form is to itself, an idealized all-in-one combo of the vigilantes it worshipped and followed on the streets

Continuing the "Treasure me" theme, Tim also makes Links with other Waltz's World people it trusts that alert them when it's in serious danger and allows them to track it down whenever

Plus it works when in its Waltz and civillian identities 24/7

and he can't control them, much to his annoyance, a wee bit of karma for his own stalking tendencies

Additionally Tim's wanted to last the elements and foes like ancient artifacts did, so it becomes a tank in the face of hurt

Stephanie can turn invisible whenever he wants alongside what he has in hand and whoever he touches; plus he get one trailormade spoiler per enemies to give him an advantage

Maybe in time the number of spoilers he can get per enemy increases, and

Jason is also a tank that can't be kept down and every assault they lay have way more power to them than other humans could hope to do

Damian has the power to copy the magic of other Waltz users, the problem lies in that it get exponentially harder the better he gets at their magic

Because again, she's trying to take in magic not not made for her, and as the family grows, he's run himself thin trying to master multiple magics fighting against it all at once

That could be an interesting conflict

Once he does master a copied magic, he's good to go, it comes to him as easily as if it were his own magic

On top of that is the much more natural body enchanting magic that make her a perfect assassin

Cassandra's magic lets them learn at a rapid pace. She had to as an assassin. Through it, they learn how to speak, cultural norms and other nessecery life skills

It also enhancing their ballerina skillset, launching their fame

Outside of Duke duplicating all his siblings gender identities, her magic is just like their canon meta abilities; it's just Waltz magic instead of meta abilities

Oh yeah, Duke also shapeshifts endlessly in Waltz form without pause, to look like one batsibling to the next, the most consistent part of her form is their Signal costume which still alters in appearance all the time

Other stuff I didn't adress oh frick

How does those a part of Waltz's World keeping it a secret too themselves affect the batkids relationship with everyody else?

How does the Waltz World stuff affect everybodies relationships period?

What affect does knowing Jason was an is formerly Little Wing have on Bruce, Alfred and Barbara throughout the storyline? On their relationship with eachother

Since Batman and Oracle are two of the few wholly human heroes in this AU unlike canon, Little Wing's death probably cause a huge reaction in the super community cuz one of the very rare human heroes fucking died

On top of that, back when it was only Robin and no one else, Batman and co. tried to find others with the same magic as the sidekick, only to come out emptyhanded; Is anything ever done with any knowledge acquired during the failed investigation?

Because Robin likely told Batman what little he knew about Waltz's World at the time, alongside other investigators when they tried to learn more or find other like Robin. That data is saved somewhere

After Jason's death, Nightwing distanced himself from Batman and went back to self-teaching, so Batman would no longer have Dick as a resource to learn about Waltz's World; he, Barbara and Alfred would have to piece together clues by themselves

And I think they'd have to learn all on their own Nightwing's inner circle so-to-speak are also part of Waltz's World

Batman is pulling his hair out because where are these Waltz users coming from all of the sudden? Where were they when he was looking for them?

Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if that became the name of the squad since as far as they know, only they have this very magic; Waltz's World

How does Waltz magic interest with sciences or other magics or divinity, etc etc?

oh yeah another thing, Waltz's World in Mahou Shoujo Jihen canonically ceases the aging process, but let's tweak it and say that Waltz's World pauses a person's age at the moment their body reaches their physical peak, meaning the batkids will eventually discover themselves unaging, unlike their father and countless other people dear to them

Forgive me if I'm wrong I've got a poor memory

Also I dunno much about the actual Waltz dance, but a quick google search (ruh, roh, that cooked engine) says it used to have strict roles for men and woman

That's what Waltz's World is named after in the manga, it grants men a woman's body and vice versa, the two genders needed for the dance

But in modern day, where societal constructs of gender are being demolished and rebuilt in front of countless eyes (not to say that it never was before modern times, its just way more accessible to witness with the internet) the way people view and preform the Waltz would and has changed as well

This is all to say I thought I threw the Waltz symbolism from the manga into the bin when I decided "lets experiment with MORE genders!" only to realize it never went anywhere at all

By the Waltz, now my brain is cooked

My final idea unless I realize I wanna send another ask with ideas I only came up with after pressing [Ask] is that the Waltz dance itself could be used in a fic of this AU as a motif; so imagine a hypothetical fic with me---

Every batkid and batkid duo and three-or-more batkids all preform the Waltz multiple times throughout the fic

As their own understanding of their gender identities grow and change, the way they preform the Waltz drifts away more and more from how couples did the Waltz long ago, and they add their own personal flairs to the Waltz dances. the way they preform the Waltz becomes more and more their way instead of the tradtional way

It reaches a point where once they can confidentally answer "Who am I?" the can dance their Waltzes to the fullest of their ability and euphoria as a metaphor for the very gender euphoria they feel all together at the moment; maybe they even swap between civillian and magical forms during their dance

Hell maybe the non-existant fic ends with a scene of the batkids preforming that very Waltz preformance I described

I think I'm out of ideas at last

Go crazy, go stupid with this AU people, play with it however you wanna

I can't even begin to describe how ecstatic I was reading this. A gender queer batfam fic rules, but to add on it/its pronouns? Fuck. Gods, I'm so happy with that.

Alright! So, I have no idea about the Waltz World source material, but I'm chill with that. I like the concept as it's described.

Because gender is a social construct, it is completely okay to have different gender identities/pronouns depending on the social environment (or, like this AU, the vigilante and civilian personas having various gender preferences).

So, let's create a list to make the pronouns clear:

Dick: he/him (sometimes her), Nightwing: she/her (sometimes he)

Jason: he/him, Red Hood: she/they

Tim: he/him, Robin: it/its

Steph: she/her (sometimes he), Spoiler: he/him (sometimes her)

Damian: she/him, Robin Hood: he/her

Cass: no pronouns

Duke: all pronouns (does this include neopronouns?), Signal: all pronouns

Bruce: he/him, Batman: he/him

Barbara: she/they, Oracle: she/they

Alfred: he/him

I like the idea of no pronouns for Cass since Cass was taught language later in life and thus doesn't associate Cass or Orphan with pronouns. I also gave Barbara she/they pronouns because being gender queer is not exclusive to Waltz World. That magic affects one's gender expression (and also affects how the individual may perceive their gender identity in different forms).

Alfred is definitely in the background, ironing out a plethora of pride flags based on whatever he figures out about others' current thoughts on their LGBT labels (he's discrete to those who haven't come out or told others yet). He also makes rainbow cookies, multicolored drinks, and displays photos around the house with subtle pride flags incorpated in their colors (like those sunset LGBT photos). The pride flag photos are as many as Alfred can find, regardless if any of the flags relate to one of the family members. It's the dealer's choice on whether Bruce knows the specifics or if he knows, from Alfred's actions, that at least one of his kids is queer.

Might I add that I love that you addressed that Bruce probably has some subconscious sexism that affects him attitude.

As far as queerphobia and all the discussions they can have about that, there is so much to interact with there. For instance, their socioeconomic background would affect their queerness (as far as how they are treated within the community, by those outside it, by those within the various minority or majority group they belong to, what it's like for those with more or less money, etc). They could also discuss their specific issues regarding their particular gender identity (Tim with the it/its pronouns, Cass with none, Duke with all of them, Damian with using both she and he, Jason with considering himself cisgender outside of Waltz, etc).

Because I want to have more representation where queerness is normalized, imma hc that Gotham (besides Bristol) is accepting. There's various levels of understanding/knowledge into distinct labels, colors, history, etc., but it's normal to use whatever pronouns (or lackof) that people say to use. There's no reaction at all to people's various gender expressions, partners, etc. It's normal to just be chill with it in Gotham, but it's debatable whether the person quite knows all the details (like that interview: "How many genders are there?" "I don't know. I just got here").

Outside of Gotham and online, there's the horrid shit. There's also other pockets of full acceptance around the world like Gotham. Metropolis is one of them (which is another reason why Gotham and Metropolis have such a rivalry).

The JL typically doesn't care about gender standards. A lot of them are not from Earth, so those societies (or other ones they have been exposed to) might not follow a binary gender structure. Those from Atlantis are around sea creatures that can switch their gender. Wonder Woman and those of her similar background grew up around the same myths that talk about gods and people switching into all kinds of stuff (animals, different genders, trees, etc). There may be a few that aren't aware initially of the many possibilities, but they either become accepting or get kicked out (fuck queerphobia).

There may be some subconscious shit in these more safe spaces, but overall people don't give a fuck what you identify as or who you get with (or if you don't get with anyone).

At the same time, I'd love for Batman to have to give an HR-similar presentation on queerness to the entire JL. Maybe they have one every year (including ones for different minorities [which incorporates metas and various alien species]) to discuss how to help folks of different background and how to be respectful of their culture/identity/behaviors/etc.

Anyways! Love the AU

[llondonfog]

twst (horror) tober — day 1 (listen)

and we're back for round 2!! to keep my sanity this year, i'm going to do my best to keep prompts to ~500 words. if some go longer, then more delight for us all, but this is to keep my expectations manageable and who knows? perhaps i might come back to some of these prompts the way that i still am so very fond of 2022's twstober drabbles :) anyways, i do hope you enjoy the first day's piece! (fun fact: this is a snippet from a fic idea i have buried away....) and of course, these will eventually go up on ao3 when i have the time<3

➤ Day 1: Listen | "Listen to me!"

Sebek is haunted.

Not in the way that his family and friends and neighbors who pass him by on the street and cast him pitying, sorrowful glances think— but oh, how he wishes that he was.

He hears their whispers and murmured commiseration, the hushed voices that speak of a lonely boy lost to the clutches of the unforgiving woods. They shake their heads weighed with grief like the cattails by the river, unable to imagine the gruesome sight that one of their own had stumbled upon— ah, but it was the nature of the world they bargained to live in. A true shame, a tragic reminder, that the youngest Zigvolt was fated to learn such realities from the death of his dearest friend.

Sebek does not correct them.

It is better to let them believe that his drained expression was on account of having found Silver's body mauled in the woods by the animals they are familiar with, rather than the true ones that lurk deep within those ancient glades. It is better to let them cling to their ignorance, to think that the madness of paranoia scratching at his spine is only too understandable by having to discover one's best friend at the scene of his death and the ensuring nightmares that would follow— not that he doesn't have nightmares, that is to say, only that the contents contain horrific figures very much among the living.

Either way, his family knows no better when they find him tangled within his bedsheets, trembling and choking on Silver's name.

No, Sebek is haunted by a presence far too real than the ghost of memory, and his unnerved fingers twitch in the curtains of his bedroom window as his sleep-deprived gaze blinks out to the forest's edge where he can see them.

Three figures where there had once been only two, weaving in and out of the tree line like fish in the stream beneath the call of the moonlight. If he squints, he can make out the lethal curl of dark ivory spouting from the top of one of the figures, and the way that the smaller of the trio does not touch the ground as it tugs their newest member along in a macabre vision of a dance that Sebek cannot pull his gaze away from no matter how hard he tries. There is no mistaking the gleam of familiar silver hair in the beguiling welcome of the night— and even from a mile away, Sebek can all too clearly hear the words that smiling, laughing mouth is speaking, as if Silver himself stood directly behind him in the stillness of his bedroom.

(He wonders if he turns to look, if the boy will surely be there as Sebek remembers him last; blood-stained and smiling so sweetly even in death as Sebek had found him, reaching in the dirt as if to take the hand of one who had led him to his doom.)

"Malleus begs of you to join us, he misses you terribly," Silver's voice all but sings against his strained thoughts, tremors anew bursting down his spine like shrapnel. "Please, Sebek— don't you remember the promises we made? Father came back for me, just as he said he would."

That thing is NOT your father, Sebek wishes to shout and scream in spite of how it would wake his entire family to the horrors lurking outside, the entities cursed to wander the woods and tempt those desperate enough to find solace in their gleaming smiles. But Silver is right, as he often is; Sebek does remember— he remembers a childhood of playing in the woods with Silver, an orphan his family had come to foster and adore. He remembers two imaginary friends who could breathe fire and fly, who could coax butterflies to dance along the breeze and flowers to bloom into the prettiest of crowns. He remembers how much Silver would cling to the affections of a figure with burning crimson eyes, and how much he would the same for a being that smiled down at him with crinkled emeralds older than time itself.

As he had grown older, such strange fantasies had become just that: the result of lonely and imaginative children left to their own devices, spinning stories in the fertile soil of an enchanting landscape. Sebek did not question the time Silver continued to spend within the shadowed trees, for the other boy always did have a unique aptitude for the local wildlife, nor did he find himself with time to spare to wonder about the dreamy smile Silver would often return with, or the odd snatches of unfamiliar songs he'd hear the boy humming tunelessly to himself.

In hindsight, he'd have grabbed a torch and burnt the whole fucking forest down.

Sebek's fingers force themselves to move with a herculean effort that he did not know himself to possess, yanking the curtains shut and blocking out the terrifying sight as Silver's voice rises and fades like radio static, a nauseating sickness pitching forward in his stomach.

"We're supposed to be a family now, Sebek, aren't you listening? Can you not hear them call for you too? I won't let them leave here without you, I promise we'll stay and wait—"

They'd already waited forty-five days. Sebek rocks forward on his heels, squeezing his eyes shut and swallows a hoarse, empty sob.

How many more remained until he found himself walking out to join them?

[palmettoshenanigans]

Trust me when I say I am trying SO HARD to not write an AFTG fic; I am BUSY, I am ALREADY writing a mammoth fic for something else, I am trying to not be CONSUMMED, I cannot write an AFTG fic.

And yet I keep having ideas. So, to save myself from the Cursed Brain Worms, I'm giving away this frantically written fic snippet I wrote for someone else to write (and hopefully post so I can read it instead of write it)

Here, someone adopt this orphan, I'm not ready to be a writer parent

The foxes are somewhere for a game and Kevin notices Neil. He panics because he thinks Neil is there for him under the jurisdiction of Riko. Neil was at Edgar Allen for a while but he left when Nathaniel picked him up for reasons Kevin doesn't get to learn. Riko told him Neil was to become the next Butcher and work for him. Kevin believed him.

The foxes are having a face off with Riko and Co, when Neil walks up and tells Riko to be quiet. Riko opens his mouth to retort but when Neil only raises an eyebrow he shuts up.

“In fact, I think you should go home Riko.”

Riko says something but Neil says, “I thought I said be quiet?”

Kevin speaks rapid fire French to Neil, Jean joining in, about how it’ll turn out bad if Neil makes Riko mad by embarrassing him like this. Riko says, “It’s rude to speak a language only you understand.”

Neil looks at him and says, in German, “Then I’ll look directly into your eyes and speak a completely different language, knowing you will never understand what I’m saying. I wonder if I talk for long enough and sound like I’m making a thinly veiled threat if I’ll be able to see your face twitch- ah, yeah. Like that. You’re so easily rankled Riko, it’s pathetic.” Andrew snorts and Neil turns to him with a raised eyebrow, which Andrew meets head on. Andrew then responds in German, “xxx”.

Riko makes a threat and Neil examines him. Neil then says to Andrew (in English), “Andrew Minyard, yes?” Andrew just looks at him. “Is it true you carry knives on you at all times?” Andrew nods. “May I borrow one for just a moment? I promise to bring it back.”

Riko says Kengo would never allow this. Neil pauses. “Call him.”

“What?”

“Call him and ask if he’ll be angry if I cut you.”

Riko pauses.

Neil raises an eyebrow. “No? Fine, I’ll do it then.” and he proceeds to pull out a phone and call Kengo on speaker phone, asking in Japanese, “Would you be angry at me for cutting up the second son?” Kengo gives no shits, and Neils grins at Riko as he says bye and hangs up. In english he says, “Well, you heard him.”

Andrew gives Neil a knife and Neil, tip of the knife tucked under Riko’s chin to guide him like a leash, leads him away, but not before sending a wink Andrews way saying, “Thanks for the loan”. Riko and Jean return, both looking pale, Neil gone with the wind. Jean gives Andrew his knife back, relaying a message from Neil about his "good taste in knives".

Seth dies because Riko asks Kevin where Neil is and the foxes don’t know.

The talk show happens, and Kevin says they’re inviting a former Raven to the foxes, pretending that he’s inviting Neil.

After the show, the foxes wonder how the fuck they’re going to get into contact with Neil, with Jean saying “No one contacts Neil! No one finds Neil! He contacts you! He finds you!” Jean then reveals that Neil only answers to the Main Branch after having killed his own dad.

The foxes are at their home stadium discussing their current conundrum when Neil breaks in asking Kevin what the fuck he thinks he’s doing. Everyone tries to convince him to stay.

“What do you want?” They ask him.

“Nothing.” He says.

Allison brings up Seth.

Neil argues, “I didn’t kill Seth. Riko did that. Trust me. I know when I’ve killed someone.”

“Stay for one year,” Andrew says.

“Why?”

“You owe me.”

“Do I?”

Andrew nods. “You promised to bring me back my knife. You didn’t. Jean did. I’ll forgive you for lying if you stay for a year.”

Neil pauses. Then he laughs hysterically. Then he agrees.

(later on, Neil does a job for Ichiro in return for him getting Andrew off his meds. it's revealed that Neil works for Ichiro specifically, not technically the entire main branch)

[exhaling-dust]

The Primordial Truth of Everything

—-Disciple.—- It utters into his mind. ���-Why have you waited for us?—- “Should I not, my dear Witness?” Nezarec flourishes back, his teeth bright for its watch. “I want to give you a gift for all your lessons and blessed handiwork.” Even kilometers afar, its eyes narrow and its ego bloats.

nezarec/the witness, 3,876 words, rated E: dead dove + erotica. read it here on AO3, or have a snippet of it:

Under the crimson sun, an Acolyte Tirnean hovers beside their master whose colorful tendrils hide beneath a mantle of Darkness. Narai, their collective name, is the one Nezarec has found invested in commissioning a mythological poem—a gift, if he muses, for the eventful night which shall come earlier in his patience: a celebration of the second god to ever dive in these Ahktirnean sands and oceans, promising hope and knowledge to the fraught and orphaned. There is no need for their uprising from their environment, but Nezarec enjoys their sacrifice; it’s a sweet tidbit for his teeth. 

A nearing Ahkan colossus sights him with narrow broad shoulders. She should understand better of Nezarec’s intentions than to judge a different shape of ambition.

“Terror-evoke,” Narai relays dryly and voice pained, “do we have permission to ask?”

“I have never once said otherwise,” Nezarec says with great humor, “what is your doubt?”

Narai stops in their pace, exhaustion wearing them useless. The colossus approaches and is paused by the Acolyte’s demand. 

“Who is that which drives you to benevolence upon Ahktir, whom you name as ‘Witness’?” 

Nezarec leans his enormous height towards the Tirnean and smiles with bare teeth. He resumes his steps towards the vast limitations between sand and rocks, dragging his follower to quell a small, easy-fading hunger. “It is a beautiful thing far beyond the knowledge of your kind, my Acolyte. In time, you may know it. Perhaps even face it closely.”

A cold sun has never let the second sky be safe again once the Pyramid arrived. Amidst the vast sandscape, its overbearing geometrical shape is far alien from the columns of stone and glass. Unfortunate are those who cross it by reasons of fate and find only a harrowing, crushing terror in their brain, etched forever. 

Nezarec oversees the great Ahktirnean canyons. In the mountains afar, white and crystalline for the mere eye to see, a great beast uprises from sand and into existence under the cold sun’s light, and its empty eyes find Nezarec in the sharp distance. 

—-Disciple.—- It utters into his mind. —-Why have you waited for us?—-

“Should I not, my dear Witness?” Nezarec flourishes back, his teeth bright for its watch. “I want to give you a gift for all your lessons and blessed handiwork.”

Even kilometers afar, its eyes narrow and its ego bloats. 

The Witness sprints towards the Pyramid in a velocity no feline can match. A cloud of tempestuous smoke with senseless faces trails the path behind and renounces: another god has landed in Ahktir; a quieter, insincere, and far more terrible than Terror-evoke himself. Those who see are unfortunate—they will always carry the myth of its soundbreaking race as an ill omen moments before a tragedy or the complete fall of their civilization. However, Nezarec is awed. He was heard. 

What a spectacle it is—to have it running to his feet! The Final God of Pain observes with pure glee his creator stepping at the beginning of the Pyramid and hiking its sleek surface with a thousand claws, its ascension vicious to what it waits between the clouds.

The Pyramid permits its entrance as one weapon obeys its blacksmith’s will, and so the Witness disappears from Nezarec’s sight. He grins, turns on his feet, and relishes the exhilaration of its pressure in his presence—the same empty eyes in the darkness observe Nezarec’s intentions before his changed, more fashioned shape, and judgment… always persist. If only it had not a layer of malice neatly embroidered in its unbreath.

—-Speak.—-

“Don’t you prefer to ask about my plans within this planet, or belittle me as you often do?”

—-Speak, Disciple.—-

“I see,” Nezarec says amused, and paces to the nearest bowl of sour beans. Plucks one with mouth; wraps a seed around his tongue. “What do you prefer first: the Ahktirneans’ precise method to foresee where the Traveler hides now, or what was its last whisper for them?”

The Witness narrows its gaze. Closest to a flicker. Relays nothing; expects Nezarec to act his job.

Yet Nezarec refuses, savoring this small failure in its perfect projection, a crack he can pry at. 

Is in the lack of answers that it presents itself: four-legged, four-armed, a thorned tail resembling its prior serpentine form, and clouds where its collective conveys not a single memory from the past. Its shape fibrillates in small pieces of an unending puzzle, though much of it looks smooth and touchable. Dire in its eyes, the Witness is taller than the Final God of Pain with all his tendrils behind the mantle. Divine in its posture for total certainty, yet not a deity: only a petty creature wounded. 

He approaches it without care for his own form dismantling under its familiar pressure. 

“My Witness,” he starts, “I recognize myself to not be your most perfect creation. I do, truly. But I also can’t whisk away the fragility in your stare. What is it that burdens you?” 

Its stance hardens, incapable of understanding where this tone surfaced from. 

—-We do not have time for debauchery. The seeds you have planted now bear fruits, yet do you cultivate that which you started?—-

“I thought you would focus on important matters. Last time I tried, you burned them into ashes and left me starving as a punishment for the crime of indulgence. Are you finally proud of what I have achieved?” Nezarec eats the rest of the beans, one by one before its silence. “Hm, it doesn't matter, then. If it’s this people’s knowledge you seek, then I have found something precious.”

The Witness stops pacing, so does Nezarec. 

“I know you will kill me for this blasphemy, but they are such a mirror of what you were, my love.”

It paces forth to him, its height imperious and defying and its hands reaching out to his chest. Strings pulled—the puppet in its mercy. 

—-Be succinct.—-

“No—undoing me again? Does it not tire you?”

—-Prevent repetition in failure and we preserve your unstill shape. Prevent failure, and your matters may not fall in our palms.—-

Nezarec’s flesh slices in fillets as he holds the Witness’ wrist with tenderness. 

“I respect your impatience, but I think you are the one thwarting your own plans.” He brushes two thumb bones in its sleek surface and tugs the Witness into himself. “Could you give me a vow of trust and let me show what is the secret hidden within this civilization?” 

The Witness stares at his audacity, though his sincerity is not coated in irony. Nezarec means what he says—he only cannot help the mock from sliding out and into this world they inhabit. 

It pulls its hands out, leaving its Disciple’s insides scrambled but carcass intact for the first time. Nezarec finds it flattering. Means its ire has quelled in the face of his devotion|obedience.

[geddy-leesbian]

here's a snippet of the Miracle prequel :3

Luis didn't love that he was being taken off of the Nemesis Project and relocated from Lab 6 to a US Umbrella branch to try and pretend to be some random kid's new father. 

But he knew that you don't tell Umbrella no. You do what the company says you should do– no, you do everything they tell you to do and more– or they destroy you. The lucky ones will be taken to Rockfort and executed immediately. The unlucky ones will be used as test subjects or tortured just for the sake of torture.  So Luis stands in a white hallway by a door, holding a backpack and looking down at a piece of paper, trying to muster up the strength to look a child in the eye and blatantly lie to her.

He's one of the most charismatic people among Umbrella's ranks. He's a damn good liar too, it's how he survived life on the streets. That, alongside his specialization in parasites, was why he was selected for this task. He'd had time to contemplate his approach on the plane ride, because he didn't have all that much experience interacting with children specifically. Mostly he thought back to when he was first scooped off the streets and love bombed by Umbrella. But, other than verbal praise and validation that he was so smart and special, that had mainly involved taking him places and letting him pick out whatever he wanted. Not being allowed to take Lucia, the test subject he's supposed to pretend to adopt, outside of the Umbrella facility she was in, he'd just gone shopping himself, picking out a backpack and then filled it with an assortment of things he thought a little girl might like. The room he enters is even more depressing than the average hospital room. The shiny white walls are clean, too clean, unsettlingly sterile. All there is is medical equipment, and a hospital bed with a little girl. She's curled up in a ball, her face down on her knees. One arm is wrapped around her legs, the other is outstretched, connected to an IV drip. Luis had skimmed Test Subject #1's files and knew that their demise was caused by failure to thrive, the parasite leeching too much from its host, so Lucia's IV was likely extra nutrients to prevent that from happening again. The girl lifts her head up when she hears Luis walking in and lifts her head, sizing up Luis. “You don't look like a doctor.” “I'm not,” Luis says with a cautious smile. “Well, I'm not your doctor. I'm here because I've been thinking about adopting for a while, and when someone I knew mentioned there was an orphan in a hospital with no one to visit… Tugged at my heart strings.” “You're adopting me?” The girl's defeated eyes suddenly light up. “I get to leave?” Luis nearly breaks, but somehow holds himself together. “I would like to adopt you. They told me your name already, Lucia. I'm Luis. Can I sit?” Lucia nods and Luis sits down on the end of the hospital bed. “But you have to stay here longer. You're still sick, you have to stay here until you get better. But once you're all better, you'll come home with me.” Luis has done a lot of things he's not proud of, but he's never felt this dirty. “I'm not sick. Wasn't feeling sick when the orphanage guy said I was and took me here. And I don't feel sick now.” “That's because of the medicine,” Luis hates how easily the lie comes to him and slips out. “You are very sick, but they're giving you medicines here that are working so well that you don't feel even a little bit sick. If I took you home today, you would go downhill and start feeling real bad.” “But I hate it here.” “I know. Hospitals aren't fun. But I'm going to try to make things better for you, okay? I brought you a few things today,” Luis hands over the backpack. “And I'm going to talk to some of the hospital people and see if maybe we can get some things to make this room feel a little cheerier. And I'm going to visit you everyday.” “Every day?” “Every day. And I'll get you more stuff too,” Luis promises, as Lucia unzips the backpack and starts looking through the random little toys and coloring books Luis had stuffed it with. “It was just hard shopping before even meeting you, I had no idea what kind of things you would like.”

[alexeatstables]

chat, am I cooking? (Or baking in this case, lol)

IGNORE THE MESSINESS! I'm still figuring out his design and colors a bit, mostly playing around with concepts and clothes. I've also got a lot of little details I'm meaning to add, but they're not on here.

This is Shattered Stained (Sugar) Glass! Their soul jam used to be the Light of Unity (yes, I did eventually realize that's practically the same as solidarity). Which is now the soul jam of isolation (which is similar to SILENT Salt. UGHHHHH, I DID THIS BY ACCIDENT, I PROMISE). I now headcanon Salt and him as besties before their descent.

Image below is after corruption, precorruption is the same just upright.

He's my baby, who's older than me by so much!!! The design you see here is his already corrupted version. I'm figuring out her precorruption design right now. It goes by all pronouns because he don't give a crap about gender, but I'm going to be honest, I mostly call him by he/him. Uhhh, here's his backstory?

He "worshiped" the Witches, especially the ones who created him and the other Beasts, but when he corrupted, his admiration turned into disdain. He despises the Witches for bestowing such harsh duties upon the Beasts, which eventually led them all to fall from the cookie's graces. Originally, he only wanted the best for everyone, everyone to be united in the cause of wanting a better life. Yet the cookies turned on him after Burning Spice, Mystic Flour, Eternal Sugar, and Silent Salt, corrupted thinking he'll end up the same. They broke the stained glass windows of his home, chanted to banish him to keep everyone safe in his "eventual" descent. His last straw was when his lover left him; alone in his palace-like home (still figuring out that part, he has a big house to hold large dinner parties because unity means people).

Here's a snippet of his precorruption. Also, messy.

Oh yeah, he's also got a daughte- I meannn, minion! Definitely didn't unofficially adopt an orphaned girl.

[gouraminnow]

WIP game!

rules: make a new post with the names of all the files in your wip folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Tag as many people as you have wips. People send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, then post a little snippet or tell them something about it!

---

I prefer Read-mores just so things are more readable hsdfdsf

Tagged by my friend @hannahbarberra162 thank you!!! Heehee! All but one of the published ones are still on chapter one... I do not write fast :') Honestly, the one person I'm comfortable tagging is the one who tagged me, soo... breaking the rules already lol. Anybody who sees this and wants to, please do! (It's not bc I have problems with anyone, she's just the only one I talk to regularly. I'm kinda new to this lol)

No Rest For the Wicked - Yandere modern serial killer Sabo/Koala x Goth reader. (Literal hurt/comfort. Stalking implied, murder is gonna happen. Was meant to be a one-shot debut of sorts on Halloween, but it got too long...)

You're a goth student at a small university, and someone you thought was your friend lures you into a Carrie-style Halloween prank- But it goes wrong and the bucket they drop cracks your head open. Luckily, the Grad Student Instructor and his partner happen to be there and are awfully eager to help you out.

Galley on 4th - Yandere Modern (but with dfs eventually) Thatch x reader. (Also hurt/comfort. Gonna get increasingly sketchy as time goes on. Stalkng. Maybe smut? Omg nooo hot chef don't intrude on my life and insist on caring for me noooo)

Raising your kid sister all by yourself is hard enough on it's own. But add classes, poverty, and several jobs to juggle and the pressure builds awfully fast. Most employers will drop you on a whim and it's all you can do to stay afloat… So when you somehow manage to land a well-paying position at The Galley on 4th Avenue, a famous, high-end place run by some well renowned Chef- You're desperate to hold things down. Good thing your new Boss is so friendly and understanding, huh?

Birds of a Feather - Marco & OC (entirely platonic. Hurt at the start, comfort, tooth-rotting fluff. Has artwork for it!)

Marco the Phoenix is found by an orphaned harpy child that mistakes him for one of their own kind. It takes less than a day to commit to adoption- he really is taking after his father.

Unpublished:

Bleeding Heart - What was meant to be one fic for my self-insert OC has splintered into several snippets. Born with CAVC, they thought they were lucky to receive corrective surgery as a child, only for that surgery to be botched. They now have to use the blood-blood fruit- a devil fruit with countless horrific urban legends attributed to it- to compensate for their faulty heart by manually managing their blood flow in secret. Very grumpy and easily overwhelmed bc who wouldn't be in their situation? One version they go with the WBP and in another, with the Strawhats.

Untitled Whitey Bay oneshot- sweet, smutty f/f oneshot that ends in reader eloping to a life on the seas. Reader is a lonely, wistful barmaid who dreams of something more exciting than waiting tables in a dingy bar. One day, a striking lady pirate docks on your island, stopping by your bar... and just your luck, the tall, blue-haired woman seems just as interested in you as you are in her.

Untitled Isekai idea- Reader is brought to the world of OP by a devil-fruit reader with portal-related powers. He's a self-proclaimed mad genius but is actually a jackass wannabe-Ceasar who piggybacks off of the works of others- even utilizing his ability to hopefully grab something useful from other realms rather than making shit himself. But it's random most of the time... cue reader.

Untitled dark Thatch oneshot- honestly not sure if I want to post this when it's done. Non/dubcon. Yandere Thatch finds a promising little chef and lays on the charm, but they won't leave with him. Months later, he finds them cowering in the Galley of a Marine ship and assumes they're in bed with the enemy. Unaware that they were forced to work there and too amped up to listen, he steals them away like he wanted to on that damn island. Meaner than what I tend to go for, but ends with him doting on them. Very unsure abt this hfdsfg

Yandere Nami idea

Second set of ASI hcs, but centered around Marco

I want to elaborate on the Crocodile x Selkie reader idea

[perahn]

@bettydicebettydice said: BG3 fic #2 sounds INTERESTING!!! snippet pls

jadesabre301 said: GIVE ME THE GITH HEADCANONS

I regret that there are not, as yet, any actual sentences in this story, just a pile of headcanon and some plot notes that are sitting in a gmail draft because that way I can get at them almost wherever I happen to be.

I will say that a lot of the fic is about family. Daddy Halsin is, of course, in his element with those wagonfuls of orphaned children to love and care for, and all of them adore him. It is not nearly so effortless for Varash, who also has a great deal of ongoing culture shock to deal with on the Prime (and was told by one of the kids, in no uncertain terms, that she is too bony and skinny for cuddling).

It's Oliver, who always wanted a papa and a mama and a dog, who starts calling Varash ghullva'ye one day - much to her surprise, because he pulled the gith for 'chosen parent' right out of her mind. Then a few of the other kids pick it up, and eventually Varash has a smaller number of kids (mostly older) who attach harder to Ghullva'ye than to Daddy Halsin. And many of them are happy to learn gith so they can talk properly with her, and with the hatchling githyanki Lae'zhan (this needs finessing: the fist part is, of course, for Lae'zel, and the latter for Xan, which is what she calls the hatchling, But Lae'xan looks odd to me. zh- feels like a more appropriate githerai spelling, but it doesn't look right either and the connection gets lost. It sounds much better than it looks).

And it's about that time that Gale teleports in, having finally remastered plane shift, and takes Varash, Halsin and Lae'zhan off to Limbo, so that Varash can see her mother (who is shocked to have a githyanki grandson but comes around) and make a full report about the whole Absolute crisis and what the recovery of Prince Orpheus might mean for the githzerai.

I promise, she was going to make that report to Zaerith Menyar-Ag-Gith even before the epilogue!

As for headcanons... I don't want to get too deep into how I decided the egg-laying should work, because I'm not 100% happy with it yet. BUT I can give you some random bits, like:

Githzerai settlements are generally centred around the pools. This is a relic of illithid colonies and their brine pools, but gith eggs still require incubation in warm water at a constant temperature to hatch. Eggs are kept communally, but most parents will chose to raise their own, once hatched.

There is something like a creche system, but the only children raised entirely by creche are those whose parents reproduced solely as a duty to the species. There is no particular stigma attached to this, and often these children will be adopted by other parents anyway. The creche therefore serves more as socialisation and early education.

I was talking about the pools, whoops. So one corner of them is for the eggs, but the rest is available to any gith who wants to come and swim or soak. Githzerai gather there to talk and relax, tend the eggs, meditate, etc. It would be the first place you'd look for a gith who you knew wasn't engaged in any particular work at the time or at home.

[fellow-human-writer]

Character Introduction: Saroth

(Picrew by @elena-illustration! Thanks a lot :D)

I promised character introductions, so let's do this thing! If you haven't seen my previous posts, don't fret, I'll give you all the information you need, but here's an explanation of my world's magic system and here you have a snippet of writing :]

For the sake of simplifying things, I'll repeat here the basic concept for the setting: The main trait this fantasy world has is that its two continents (gigantic floating islands/landmasses) are situated in such a way that the one on top (the "highlands") block most of the light/sky for the residents of the one below (the "lowlands").

First, a quick explanation of the relevant background:

The highlands are fertile, full of life and wealth. They have large cities and a vast population, and the territory is divided and ruled by noble houses. A feudal system, you know the drift. The lowlands are poor. Crops struggle to grow, and as such the population is much smaller than that of the highlands. They live more isolated lives, with most of the population living in rural villages. A more ancient way of life. The highlanders consider them backwards and dull-witted, but they aren't too interested in the shadowy lowlands, so the only interest they take in them is making sure they do not climb up. The highlands are theirs. As such, travel between the islands is highly restricted, but this only goes one way. As the story goes, the past few winters have been unbearably harsh. Crops have a harder time growing than ever in the lowlands. This has led to a certain group of lowlanders banding together and deciding that enough is enough, and the highlanders ought to share their resources or else they will take them for themselves. This, of course, does not go too well. The nobles of the highlands are used to bickering and warring amongst themselves, and they were more than able to crush the "invading" force with ease. They have retaliated by sending their armies down as a united front and invading the lowlands as revenge for the crime of daring to mess with them.

And that is where Saroth comes in. He is a lowlander. He was born in a village where he spent most of his life, quietly isolated. He was orphaned at a young age, and had to take care of his even younger brother, Net. An old villager took pity on them and helped Saroth throughout the years. Saroth refers to him as his master. He taught him how to hunt, and how to fight.

Even though there was no reason to learn how to use a sword in a quiet village like theirs, the old man was obsessed with a great war to come. He said he had visions. Most in the village thought he was crazy. One way or another, Saroth learned how to fight, and how to fend for himself. The only thing in his mind was protecting his brother and his home.

That all fell apart when the armies from the Highlands arrived. They burned his village to the ground. They killed his master. They killed Net. They killed everyone. Leading the attack was a mysterious man with a scar on his forearm and a glowing red eye. Someone who could use magic.

Saroth was spared, for some reason. He was taken prisoner, and dragged to a camp halfway across the island. His story starts there, with him as a captive who has just lost everything. As to what happens next... You'll have to wait a little bit to find out.

I hope all of you are enjoying these posts as much as I am enjoying making them! Leiden's introduction is coming very soon. I'm also planning on sharing other aspects of my worldbuilding, and gradually posting more snippets as I (hopefully) get back into the rhythm of writing. If you're interested in learning more about my story: Thank you! I hope you'll keep an eye out for future updates. I will gladly answer any ask I receive :]

Have a wonderful day, my friends! As always, I'm rooting for each and every one of you in your own creative endeavors <3

[lost-girl-2021]

The Walking Dead

Okay, so I have (yet another) new obsession and I can't deal with it. Guys, I am so scared of zombies and scary stuff, but I love this show. And you want to know why I started watching it? I saw an edit of a fanfic. Is it over 200,000 words? Yes. Have I read all of it? Yes. I quite literally refresh my Ao3 page to check for updates every day (said fanfic is Future Ghosts by dieasthedevil on Ao3).

(Now, I promise I will finish Days Into Decades, I just also need to rnat about this new fic idea)

So, I usually don't do OC fics anymore, because I feel like they aren't as popular on Ao3 as they are on Wattpad and I prefer Ao3 (and feel like more people 14+ use Ao3 instead of Wattpad). And I legit skip half the zombie scenes because I only care about the plot (I'm being 100% rn). I also started at season 9, because I wanted to see Daryl and Negan on the same(ish) side and see the kids grown up (ish). (I promise I'm gonna watch it from 1-11 next, but I was too hyped to watch what I've already read in fanfic lol).

Anyways, despite my best efforts not to, I've started writing a new fic for TWD with an original character. And, I personally think it's not half bad. Idk where I'm going with it, but I do know it'd be set in season 9ish (also, nothing romantic between the oc and any of the characters, but maybe something between the oc and another oc, though I'd honestly prob kill him off eventually). So, for anyone still with me, here's some of what I've written so far.

— (snippet 1) —

“Are you tanning during the apocalypse?” A curious voice called out, startling her from her daydream. Jerking herself up, she had one hand on her knife and she turned to face the intruder.

He was kind of cute. If it wasn’t for the sweaty, blood-stained clothes and the eyebags. He could probably do with a shower too, judging by the state of his hair. She smiled over at him anyways, relaxing her grip on the blade.

“Might as well have some fun, right?” she asked, propping herself up on her elbows. “Can’t all be doom and gloom.”

“It’s— it’s dangerous to be out here.” He insisted, taking a step closer.

“Do you see any freaks?” She glanced around, nothing and nobody in sight.

“Not yet. But— but, it’s still dangerous. You shouldn’t let your guard down.”

“Who says I have?”

The man (barely, he was probably only a little older than her) looked lost, opening and closing his mouth like he couldn’t quite figure out what to say.

— (Snippet 2) —

“I should’ve locked you out.” She snapped. “Or, I should’ve let you in and then set the place on fire. I never should’ve trusted you, never should've helped you.”

“When have you ever trusted anyone, Skipper?” Carol asked, voice soft despite the accusation.

Her eyes darted to Daryl, thinking about quiet mornings spent hunting and the shared thread of orphaned siblings. She shook her head anyways, pushing back good memories of the cabin and the short time when she was actually happy in the end of the world. Who was she to think about any of these people as hers?

“I’m leaving at dawn.” She said in lieu of an answer, looking away from the both of them. “Will you keep an eye on P.J. for me?”

“You don’t need to leave— “

“I should, though.”

[larissa-the-scribe]

O Desafio - História please!

Thanks for the ask! (from this ask game)

Info:

So this is actually a bit of a weird one lol. I grew up in Brazil and speak Portuguese as a second language, so at one point when my family was traveling in the States, I decided to write a story in Portuguese for practice. I was not good at the finer points of Portuguese, and hadn't read much in Portuguese, so the prose was, uh. lacking. Still, it became a fun vibey fairytale sort of story that I still really like, and hope to someday come back to. Probably in English since I do Not trust my grammar/prose in Portuguese, but who knows, maybe it (and all of my books maybe, fingers crossed) might get translated.

It's the story of a young orphan girl, a skilled information broker, who gets contracted by a councilman to help him confirm the existence of faery encroaching on their kingdom. He's worried that something is terribly wrong in the faery forest that will also affect them, and wants her (and a small team) to find out what they can about the situation. She agrees, because he promises, in return, to get her the proper papers and funding so that she can leave the country --but she is very skeptical that "faery" is a thing. Also the heir to the throne has been missing for a while, which is definitely totally unrelated to the fully-trained knight in their party.

This scene is when Kira, doing preliminary investigations, gets attacked and knocked about by a shape-shifting monster in the woods. She is not a fighter and not used to monsters--thankfully, someone nearby is.

Short snippet:

Uma lança apareceu, de repente, como se estava crescendo do pescoço da criatura. Com um gorgolejo horrendo, a criatura cambaleou por um longo momento, o processo de transformação parado. Tombou no chão. Kira exalou, percebendo que ela estava no chão ainda, estremecendo. Ela ficou instavelmente de pé, retornando a funda ao cinto dela. “Tu deves ser a Kira.” Ela virou, procurando a voz. Pertencia ao um cavaleiro; ele desceu do seu cavalo, levantando o viseiro do seu capacete e revelando uma cara muito mais jovem e gentil do que a armadura pesado prometeu. Ele era mais alto que parecia no cavalo--Kira se ofendeu nisso. Ela não gostava de se sentir mais baixa do que precisava. “Sim, sou eu.” A própria voz era estranho e tremulo. Acalma, Kira. Respirando fundo, ela adicionou com mais força, “e quem é você?” O cavaleiro sorriu e estendeu a mão. “Sou Alnor. Foi mandado para te procurar.”

Translated snippet:

A spear appeared, suddenly, as if it were growing out of the neck of the creature. With a horrible gurgle, the creature staggered for a long moment, its transformation process halted. It thudded to the ground. Kira exhaled, realizing that she was still on the ground, trembling. She got unsteadily to her feet, returning her sling to her belt. "You must be Kira." She turned, seeking the voice. It belonged to a knight; he got down from his horse, raising the visor of his helmet and revealing a face much younger and gentler than his heavy armor promised. He was taller than he looked on the horse--Kira took offense at that. She didn't like feeling any shorter than she needed to. "Yes, that's me." Her own voice was strange, quivering. Calm down, Kira. Taking a deep breath, she added with more force, "and who are you? The knight smiled and extended a hand. "I'm Alnor. I was ordered to come find you."

[nobodysdaydreams]

scheme or delicacy!

Hello friend! I love your choice of words. Here's some treats: 🍫🍭🍬🍏🍎

And now for a fic snippet I think you A) haven't seen and B) would enjoy. Hm... perhaps a scene from my most recent SOS chapter featuring Miss. Perumal having lunch with Dr. Curtain.

“You’re interested in getting to know me?” she asked, sitting cautiously at the table.

“Well of course,” replied Curtain, please to see that she seemed to be accepting his invitation.

“I was quite impressed with Reynie’s performance at Institute, he was one of my best messengers. He became one of the highest performing students at the school almost immediately after his arrival. It’s an honor to meet his tutor, the woman who taught him so much.”

Dipika became more alert and uneasy at the sound of her son’s name coming out of the mouth of the man who’d hurt him so badly. She gripped her utensils and glared at Curtain, who continued his speech.

“He’s an absolutely brilliant young man. In all honesty, he reminds me quite a bit of myself at his age. An overlooked orphan, deserving of more. That’s why I offered him so many special opportunities, and I do hope I’ll have the chance to see him again.”

“If you lay a finger on him or harm him or any of the children in any way-” Dipika threatened, her voice becoming low and serious, as she carefully considered all the ways she could hurt Curtain. 

“Oh Miss. Perumal, rest assured, I have absolutely no intention of hurting the children,” said Curtain gently, looking at Miss. Perumal intently.

“I know my brother may have perhaps…mischaracterized my motivations, but I promise you, when it comes to my plans for Reynie-”

“No,” ordered Dipika, reprimanding Curtain in a “teacher voice” that reminded him for a moment of Wetherall and Pedalian’s late wives, which he supposed was no surprise considering they shared the same occupation.

“You can give your threatening monologues. You can even continue to try to use your technique on me, not that it’ll work. But you don’t talk about him that way. You don’t get to talk about Reynie like he is a puppet or pawn in a game you’re playing. You don’t talk about any of the children that way.”

I hope you like this! Happy Halloween!

[jaquik]

Fanfic Preview: An Honorable Lie

Here is a preview snippet of the next chapter of my Ranma 1/2 fanfic An Honorable Lie

“Sensei? Sensei. Aunt Nodoka!” Nodoka allowed Akane’s cries to harmlessly pass around her as she calmly and properly marched back into the family room directly to the wall where a few well kept blades were hung on display. Above them, newly kept in a place of honor, was her family katana. Her intentions, along with a silent promise to her daughter, was to keep the sword there, not to be taken down until the day Ranko would finally accept the mantle of her heir and take up the blade as her own. Nodoka paused, hand within grasp of the sword’s handle, wondering how well she would be able to clean the blood from it afterwards. “Aunt Nodoka?” Akane’s words could be heard just behind her. “I’m sure this is just a misunderstanding or something. I’m pretty sure Ryoga’s not really like that. So you don’t…” Nodoka did not turn to face the girl, keeping her focus on the sword still waiting for her from its place upon the wall. “Akane.” Her voice was quiet, still, cool, like a calm winter’s night in Hokkaido. “How much do you truly care for Ranko?” “W-what?” The girl seemed genuinely caught off guard by the question. “It’s not like that! I don’t…I mean, it’s not like we’re really…” “I see.” Nodoka gave a nod in understanding. “Ranko is…” She paused before taking a calming breath to help steel herself. Perhaps the times for subterfuge and half lies were indeed over. She had already accepted her daughter for who she truly is, and she would never punish her for such a thing. However…would others do the same? Would the rest of the world accept Ranko, or would they force her to follow through with a foolish, ill proclaimed pledge made more than a decade ago? And would noble and pure Ranko then agree to sacrifice herself to meet the satisfaction of that cold and cruel world? “I have accepted Ranko as my daughter,” Nodoka continued, keeping her words as close as possible to the razor’s edge of absolute truth without any blood being spilt. “I hope one day soon she will accept this as well and I can be officially recognized as her mother. Until then, I still have a responsibility as Sensei for her, a poor orphan, abandoned by her parents, with no family to call her own. And now, that girl has been taken from me. Her mind and heart changed against her will.” Nodoka’s eyes went down to one of the lesser but still quite effective swords as she carefully took it off the wall. She then turned halfway to meet Akane’s eyes with a cold gaze, pointing the hilt of the sword out to her. “So, I have one question for you, Akane Tendo. How far are you willing to go to get Ranko back?” Akane did not say anything in response, instead looking off to the side for several moments in deep thought before turning back with a hard look of grim determination in her own eyes. Silently, she reached up and accepted the offered sword. Nodoka gave a curt nod as she reached back to pull her katana off the wall, nearly ripping the supports out with it. “I must also apologize, Akane. I never intended for your first lesson to be like this.” “It’s alright, Sensei,” Akane responded with a quiet, almost apologetic tone of her own. “This isn’t the first time one of us needed to rescue the other.” “I…see. All of us will need to have a discussion about this later. For right now, though…” Nodoka walked with determination, fully prepared to do whatever necessary to get her daughter back. Once she reached her front door, she suddenly stopped in place. “Akane, I have one more question for you.” “What is it, Sensei?” Nodoka turned towards her student, taking great care to not let the stoic expression slip from her face as she calmly asked, “Do you happen to know where that boy lives?”

[purpleopossum]

Get to know your fic writer!

Multi-chapter

Write as I go

I have a rough outline of the plot, but then I basically just write until it's done

I find inspiration from things I read and watch

I love constructive criticism

I barely know what a beta is

I choose POV by which character struck me to focus on

I don't know. Maybe beginning? I seem to have the easiest time writing it.

I do

"No one was missing any children in the end, and they also said that they had never even seen that child before. She returned to the surface world with her promise kept, but no closer to solving the mystery child. It seemed that she might be an orphan, and as she blinked in the sunlight Isabelle doubly resolved that she must find a way to speak with the girl."

Here's one I read recently

A lack of engagement is devestating

Show Don't Tell. I'm really trying to get better at describing reactions rather than just telling the audience what the character is feeling

Feel what the characters feel

I generally skip smut (do a PG-13 fade-out)

Book Tarzan fic set in WWII

Fail? Mostly? I've been trying just writing one sentence, or one word, but that has had limited success.

When I publish. I try to find a phrase that fits the story. It generally just comes to me.

Probably hurt-comfort. Maybe AU-Canon Divergence

I write about family a lot - found or biological. A lot of people supporting the main character through impossible circumstances.

I have.

None that I can think of.

Just go for it. Don't ever think that other people have said all there is to be said on a subject. Also consider what it is that you are TRYING to say. Fic writing always comes back to having something to say about canon. What are your themes?

Don't use Said

Recently? All the one-shots I wrote to accompany my Ghosts fic. I am rather proud of them, though they are not necessary to understand the main fic.

They all are in their own way. Each thing I have written has taught me a lot

Writing. Writer's block.

A few sentences? Maybe?

Not as long as it should be. A lot of times I'm so eager for feedback that I publish as soon as I finish writing the chapter. I am trying to do better about this

I don't think I share anything BUT rough drafts really

Plot.

Sinvulkt, Aliendolin

If I ever have anything worthy of it :)

Hopefully finishing one of these WIPs

Motivation. A villain needs to be consistent and coherent, but not so relatable that the audience wants him to win

Write everything around the kiss. Romantic scenes are more about character and mood than action.

When I have reached a stopping point and can't wait any longer to share what I wrote.

I'd give it a shot.

Share a snippet from a WIP: “You all smell dreadful, by the way.”

“Well , let’s see you die of plague and come out smelling of roses!”

“I was only saying…”

But it was too late. He had angered them. They would come back around in time, they always had, but just now the air was rife with complaints

Isabelle and Thomas meeting by the lake (What Twisted Webs We Weave)

Reread

Thorne House by TheBunWeKnowAsHazel. And Definitely. Go read it now and leave her some love.

"If you hurt them I would kill everyone and then myself"

Lie/lay

Both? Both

Character-driven

0-lots

Don't have one

Cry, generally. Question why I write. Reply calmly, addressing their concerns (if there are any)

The Jedi That Came in From the Cold - 89,410

201,094

Always. Comments and the community I have with my readers is the reason I write. What's the point otherwise?

Primarily a writer

Comments. Also when I finally reach the scene the whole story has been building toward.

Isabelle. I have poured so much into her, and it has been wonderful to see how much everyone has embraced her :)

I think I'm pretty decent at setting atmosphere.

Edit as I write. 

Brainstorming 

My mom. I'm actually reading my Ghosts fic to her as I write it.

Amazing <3

The wonderful people I meet through my writing

Love them

Positions/sequences that make absolutely no physical sense

Character-driven scenes

The next major plot point after Isabelle gets back from Briarfield. All of you are going to hate me :))))

Badly

Independent ideas? I think?

Nothing, my fics come to me in the night like a muse's curse

My first SPN fic. It's still up on FF.net. Yeah, it's not good.

Depends on how much I trust the person

Dated outlines and extensive spreadsheets

Front of book to back

Characterization and research? Those are the things people tend to note in comments/reviews

It's taking an awfully long time to write The Ghosts trying to haunt Francis while Isabelle's gone

Not yet

The chess scene in What Twisted Webs We Weave

Get to know your fic writer!

Do you prefer writing one-shots or multi-chaptered fics?

Do you plan each chapter ahead or write as you go?

Describe the creative process of writing a chapter/fic

Where do you find inspiration for new ideas?

Do you like constructive criticism?

Do you have your work beta'd? How important is this to your process?

How do you choose which POV to write from?

Do you prefer the beginning, middle, or end of a story?

Do you comment on stories you read?

Cltr+f "blinks" on your WIP & copy paste the first sentence/paragraph that comes up

Link your three favorite fics right now

how does receiving or not receiving feedback/support impact you?

what’s a common writing tip that you almost always follow?

how do you write emotional scenes? Do you ever feel what the characters feel? Do you draw from personal experiences?

How do you write smut scenes? Do you get very visual or detailed? How important is it to be realistic?

How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Share one of them?

What do you do when writing becomes difficult? (maybe a lack of inspiration or writers block)

Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process? How do you come up with titles?

What is the most-used tag on your ao3?

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Would you ever collaborate with another writer for a story?

Are there certain types of writing you won’t do? (style, pov, genre, tropes, etc)

Best writing advice for other writers?

Worst writing advice anyone ever gave you?

What fic do you wish you got more of a response on?

Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

What is your most and least favorite part of writing?

On average, how much writing do you get done in a day?

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Name three of your favorite fanfic writers.

Do you want to be published some day?

Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?

What is one essential thing to remember when writing a villain? 

How do you write kissing scenes?

How do you choose where to end a chapter?

Would you ever write commissions?

Share a snippet from a WIP

If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?

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What’s the last fic you read? Do you recommend it?

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Do you want to break your readers‘ heart or make them laugh?

How would you describe your style? (Character/emotion/action-driven, etc)

How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

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Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them?

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Have you had a writer you admire comment on your fic? What was that like?

Why do you continue writing fics?

Thoughts on cliffhangers?

Something you hate to see in smut.

Something you love to see in smut.

Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

How do you deal with writing pressure (ie. pressure to update, negative comments, deadlines, etc.)?

Do you prefer prompts and challenges, or completely independent ideas?

What, if anything, do you do for inspiration?

What work of yours, if any, are you the most embarrassed about existing?

When asked, are you embarrassed or enthusiastic to tell people that you write?

When it comes to more complicated narratives, how do you keep track of outlines, characters, development, timeline, ect.?

What order do you write in? front of book to back? chronological? favorite scenes first? something else?

What do you think makes your writing stand out from other works?

You’ve posted a fic anonymously. How would someone be able to guess that you’d written it?

What scene in [Fanfic Name] took the longest to write? What was difficult about it? 

Did you have any ideas that didn’t make the final cut of [Fanfic Name]? 

Do you have a favorite scene you’ve written from [Fanfic Name] story/chapter?