slightly-nerdy-rambles

[slightly-nerdy-rambles]

Robstar Week Days 3 and 4: Ever Onward (Prompts: Solar/Stellar/Waterfall)

Today we come to the second of my "three futures" for Robstar Week, which I guess you could call my main or "official" head-continuity-future... thing. This is the second time a dual prompt gave me the urge to write something with the space twins, but at the same time I was noodling with the idea of writing something from Starfire's point of view where Robin sees her as a kind of proverbial sun and stars but she sees him as providing half of that. Somehow, I managed to fit both concepts in here. When I added in the Waterfall prompt and sent everyone on a kind of post-gen2-debut day trip, somehow the whole thing ended up turning into a kind of snapshot of my vision of the Titans' future as a whole. Hope you enjoy!

Ever Onward

Sunlight sparkled off of the clear cool water that seemed to be everywhere: not just moving sluggishly through the wide mountain pool to bubble further down the stream, but soaking the ground and slicking the rocks and dotting the leaves that gently swayed in the spring breeze. Mostly, though, water thundered over the high rocks further up the mountain to keep the pool quenched and mist almost serenely over everything else.

It was a fine spot for a day trip, Starfire thought. More than fine, really. Cyborg had somehow managed to track down this waterfall, not too far from Jump yet surprisingly little known and less travelled. The kids had complained a bit about that last part. But the adults had agreed that just for the moment, they’d be better off with some extra privacy.

Two days ago, the next generation of Titans had made their official debut. Starfire could still clearly remember the look on poor Dr. Light’s face when he realised the roster of his opponent team had suddenly doubled. She and the other original Titans had barely needed to do anything but supervise as the teens swept up his latest rampage. Maybe now, the obstinate villain would finally take the hint and allow himself to be rehabilitated.

Starfire was so proud of her honorary nieces and nephews – to say nothing of her and Nightwing’s own children. Phoenix and Nightstar, they’d decided to call themselves. Her little sunshine and starlight, all grown up.

A contented sigh altered her to Nightwing joining her, and he slipped an arm affectionately around her waist. He was in civilian clothes today – a loose t-shirt and comfortable khakis – but he had a mask on hand in the unlikely event that some intrepid hiker found their remote waterfall escape.

“Some place Cyborg found, huh?” he asked.

Starfire smiled warmly at him. “Indeed. We don’t get many opportunities to go out without either full uniforms or holo-rings. Perhaps we should look for more hidden gems like this one.”

Nightwing hummed in agreement and took a moment to watch the younger generation with her. Mar’i had taken to the air and seemed to be making a game of darting through the gaps in the gushing waterfall. Meanwhile, Jake was watching a splash fight between two of the other teens from atop a nearby fallen log and egging the participants on.

“Mar’i, be careful where you’re flying!” Nightwing called out. Then, with a soft snort, he added to Starfire, “It still gets me sometimes that I have to say things like that. I wonder what my parents would have to say about their superpowered hybrid grandchildren.”

Starfire smiled and nudged his shoulder with her own. “You know they’d adore the twins, love. Everything you have told me about them makes that much clear.”

Starfire could tell that her husband wasn’t all that worried about his daughter’s flying skill. She and Jake had been mastering that for years, and his reminder to take caution was more standard protective father behavior than anything else.

More frightening was the idea of… well, of “Nightstar and Phoenix.” The city had gone wild upon piecing together that most of the new Titans were in fact the oft-suspected but never-before-proven children of the originals. For the most part, it was the good kind of wild. But one could only imagine what new plots the superpowered criminal element were now cooking up with that kind of information.

Not to mention the simple fact that they’d finally taken to the field. Starfire knew that Robin and Beast Boy (back when they’d used those names) had both started as heroes at a younger age than the newly appointed Titans. They’d likely had far less training before starting out, too. Still, it could be hard to find comfort in such logic when she remembered all the close calls she and her friends had back when they were around that age.

Starfire tore her eyes from where Mar’i had just let herself drop into the pool with a mighty splash to observe Nightwing for a moment. He’d always been the better worrier of the two, and she could sense that she wasn’t the only one nervous about this new chapter in the Titans’ story. For the moment, though, he seemed at peace as he watched the teens at play.

At peace… but still contemplating something, if her intuition was right.

“What are you thinking?” she asked.

Nightwing blinked and looked back at her. He frowned, but it was a thoughtful frown, his brows pinching together while he tried to organize his thoughts into coherent speech.

Finally, returning his gaze out to the kids in the water, he asked, “What do you think about retiring?”

Starfire jolted back. That was not what she’d been expecting. “What?”

“Not right away!” Nightwing assured her, turning to face her and raising his hands in a gesture of innocence. “Not for a while, actually. I just think… We’ve been doing this for so long, you know? And the kids really nailed that first mission, and they’re only going to get better with more experience.”

He let his gaze drift back to the pool. “So now I’m thinking… Maybe in a few years, when they’re ready, we could leave protecting the city to them and just…” He shrugged. “Settle down, I guess. Take nice ‘normal’ jobs until we’re old enough to retire altogether. It’s not like we’ll be able to keep up with the heroics forever.”

Starfire folded her arms and eyed him, her gaze calculating. “You have been considering this for a while, haven’t you?”

Nightwing gave a bashful little shrug. “I’ve been thinking of running the idea by everyone, but I’m afraid they’re all either going to skin me alive for suggesting it or jump on board way too quickly. And that’s assuming Cyborg and Changeling even accept that I’m the real Nightwing and not some bad imposter to be bringing it up.”

“Hmm.” Starfire returned her own gaze forward. By now, Jake had been pulled into what was swiftly becoming an all-out splash war. It looked like the two rough teams that had formed were either trying to shove one another under the waterfall, or else using it as some mark of toughness as a way to convince Changeling to turn into something huge and join their side.

“In your proposed scenario, we would still be able to ‘come out of retirement’ and help out in an emergency, correct?”

Nightwing nodded vigorously. “Oh, no question.”

Starfire smiled. “Then, I think I could see it working out. I have always wanted to put my understanding of exogeography to good use. Perhaps I could try teaching astronomy and galactic culture to Earth students.”

After another moment’s consideration, she added, “And Jump City will still have its sunshine and starlight to guide it.”

Nightwing blinked and gave her a sidelong look. “Still? And? Star, last I checked, you always managed to cover that end of things on your own.”

Starfire scoffed and turned to face him, arms folded. “Richard Grayson, when I first arrived on Earth, you showed me an entirely undeserved degree of trust and kindness and swore you would keep me safe from the Gordanians. You have offered the Titans guidance and encouragement countless times. You worked tirelessly to ensure that every one of the children joining our team now could still fight and defend themselves even if their powers fail. Do you truly believe that you do not provide the proverbial sunshine to our fair city?”

Nightwing just stared speechlessly at her for a moment, brows raised. “Well, I stand corrected. I… think I lost where the metaphor was going somewhere back there, though.”

Starfire let her frown drop and chuckled. “So long as my point has been made.”

She turned back to eye the pool again. Changeling had just morphed into an elephant and joined… Mar’i’s side, maybe? She wasn’t positive that he hadn’t just charged in and started spraying everyone with water.

“In any case,” she said, lifting a few inches off the ground, “I think we have been hanging back and watching the children for far too long on a nice day like this. Shall we teach them a thing or two about water wars? We will not be able to retire if there are holes in their training, after all.”

Nightwing grinned. “You are so going to embarrass Jake and Mar’i. I’m in.”

And so Starfire charged forward, her husband close at her heels as they both let out loud war cries. The surprised shrieks and cries of, “Dad, no!” as the pair launched themselves into the pool told her that they’d succeeded in making a suitably dramatic entrance.

All told, it really was a fine day trip.

[slightly-nerdy-rambles]

[slightly-nerdy-rambles]

Robstar Week Day 1 (and 2): Lost and Found (Prompts: Nostalgia/Vivid)

*slams a hot fresh fic on the table* Guess what week it is, kiddos?

I decided to do things a bit differently this year. I'm kind of swamped with writing projects at the moment, and knew I really wouldn't have the time or brain capacity to do a full seven stories this year. But I still wanted to do at least a few Robstar Week fics, and unlike a normal person who picks out a couple prompts for said fics, I decided to get all of them in by combining prompts to create three "combination days." By sheer coincidence, the fics I settled on writing all ended up following their own theme, which I'm calling "Three Futures." This here is the first future, specifically the bad future from "How Long is Forever?"

I decided that the best way to combine the prompts Nostalgia and Vivid was to play around with the concept of vivid memories. After toying with a few different ideas for that, I ended up landing on the bad future's Nightwing remembering Starfire and how things were back before her timestream disappearance just before he finds her again. Interestingly, a more general version of this fic (HLiF Nightwing talking to Oracle and us kind of exploring his side of things shortly before he finds Starfire) is an idea I've been noodling with for a while now. It was pretty satisfying to finally write it out!

Lost and Found

Nightwing remembered this street.

That was probably a silly thing to think. Nightwing had been patrolling this city for two decades now, so most downtown streets held at least some passing familiarity for him. But this one was special. It was the street where she had first crashed into Earth, so long ago, and had threatened to upend his life in the best possible way.

When he crouched down and studied the pavement beneath its dusting of pale snow, he could imagine that the seam of slightly newer asphalt over there might have been from repaving over the crater she’d made on impact. And at the end where the street split into two, he still recognized the old boarded-up building that had once housed the Titans’ favorite pizza joint, witness to their tumultuous first meeting.

The little smile that had made its way to his Nightwing’s lips faded as he continued to look up at the sad, dilapidated storefront. It still hurt to think of everything he and his friends lost after Starfire disappeared.

It hadn’t happened all at once. At first it was just nerves – everyone on edge as they searched in equal parts desperation and vain for their vanished teammate. They had a pretty good guess that she’d gone with Warp into the future, but without his technology available for study, they simply couldn’t find any way to follow. And with every attempt stymied, frustration and arguments had begun to creep in.

Then the other things, the little things, had started to add up. The incident with Terra, that wanderer they’d found, was the first sign that something was going very wrong. She’d run off less than a day after they tried to take her in, after witnessing one of their bigger fights over the search for Starfire. Beast Boy blamed everyone else for starting the argument and scaring her off.

From there, Beast Boy and Cyborg’s arguments over food and video games and pretty much everything else gradually became less friendly rivalry and “roommate stuff,” and more frustrated and even personal. Then Raven started accusing the others of being too loud, both in reality and in their own heads. And Nightwing – still Robin back then – hadn’t taken the thought of someone “invading” his mind and then complaining about his emotional pain very well.

Starfire had brought the Titans together. And, though none of them realized it at the time, her stubborn optimism and unabashed kindness had played a crucial role in keeping them together. When the team finally fell apart without her, the supervillains seized their opportunity to turn Jump City into their playground. None of the few really nasty ones stuck around long enough to take over completely. And Nightwing (and Raven, Cyborg and Beast Boy, back before they all retreated into their own little worlds) just barely managed to keep the rest from blowing it all up or turning it into some absurd candyland or something. But the damage was done: crime went up, and most of the decent people who could moved away, and the city decayed just as its protectors had.

Nightwing squeezed his eyes shut and tried to shake the melancholy out of his head. Remember why you’re here, he admonished himself. There’d been reports of a strange flying girl wandering around the places his old teammates now haunted, and he needed to investigate. If this was some new would-be supervillain, he wasn’t about to let her harm his friends, estranged or no. And if it was someone looking for help – or perhaps to be of some help, and he’d finally shaken the stupid pride that kept him from admitting he needed it – then he wasn’t about to turn down a meeting.

And then there was the other possibility, the one he hardly dared to hope. A flying girl, seeking out the ex-Titans, and he recalled that somebody had mentioned purple. If it was at all possible… If she had come back to them, after all this time…

In any case, as he continued down the street, he spotted something that looked promising. A single set of boot prints trailed along the side of the road, too fresh for the light snowfall to have covered just yet.

Nightwing frowned thoughtfully as he crouched down again and looked them over. There weren’t a lot of people out and about now, and pretty much never alone. The snowfall, rare enough in winter out here and downright unnatural for what should have been late spring weather, was compliments of the latest mad crook who called himself Forecast. Its continued presence was an easy mark that Forecast was still out and mucking about.

Nightwing stood up and traced the tracks backwards with his gaze. He recognized that direction, too. A couple blocks further down was the old building where Raven had managed to permanently sequester herself away. That was a good sign that he was on the right track, at least.

He ignored the rational part of his mind telling him that it would be easier to just ask the others about their mysterious visitor. Raven he could at least justify by her likelihood of mixing up reality with her hallucinations. Cyborg and Beast Boy, though…

Nightwing was following the tracks forward when his communicator rang. He pulled it up to answer, and Oracle’s face filled the screen.

“How’s the Forecast hunt going?” she asked.

Nightwing glanced up at the dark clouds with a little scowl. “Not good. He’s bunkered down somewhere, but not enough to shut off his little winter wonderland. I’m actually following a lead on something else right now.”

Oracle’s eyebrow shot up. “Oh?”

Nightwing hesitated a moment. “...I think it might be Starfire.”

“Dick.” His friend was shooting him a warning glare now. “You can’t keep doing this to yourself. If I find out you’re spiralling again, so help me I will go to Jump myself and –”

“This is different from the other times, okay?” Nightwing had stopped walking to focus on his communicator. He hoped his expression and tone could properly convey that he meant it, at least enough to keep Oracle from troubling herself with coming all this way to chew him out in person.

Not that he’d mind the company. She was about the last real friend he had left, and that friendship was probably the only thing keeping him sane. But they both had their own duties, and she couldn’t replace everything he’d lost anyway.

Oracle remained wary. “Explain.”

Nightwing sighed. “I caught some reports of a flying girl who matches Starfire’s description, and she’s apparently been visiting the other Ti… my old teammates. I know it’s a long shot to think it’s her, but either way it sounds like this person will be looking for me next. And hey, maybe it’s a new hero coming in to help with the crime here.”

Oracle snorted. “If it isn’t, I think I’m going to put in a good word with the League and see if they can’t send you someone. You’d hardly be the first ‘solo’ hero who could use a sidekick.”

Nightwing nodded absently. He started following the boot prints again, worried that if he lingered too long, the snowfall would cover them.

If he was being completely honest with himself, a part of him desperately wanted the mystery girl to be exactly who he dreamed she was. Starfire had been his closest friend, and he could admit now that he’d developed deeper feelings for her. Maybe even loved her outright, although that might just be rosy-lensed nostalgia talking. He’d hated losing her, hated not being able to fix it. And while he was doing the honesty thing, he knew he had started most of those early arguments about finding her.

Obsessing over her wasn’t healthy – he understood that now. And as Oracle had pointed out more than once, getting her back wouldn’t simply make things go back to the way they were.

But Starfire wasn’t just his obsession. She was his source of hope. When things got overwhelming, when it looked like the villains had finally gotten to be too much and he started to wonder if there was even a point to all this, he remembered her indomitable spirit. Perhaps his most vivid memory from back then was of her final act before she disappeared. It was an act of defiance against a villain who’d spent his entire encounter with the Titans mocking them while all but brushing off their attacks. And if the whole “time travel” business was any indication, it likely meant that, in a way, she was still fighting even now.

Oracle had kept Nightwing from going mad all these years. But Starfire, even just the memory of her, had kept him from giving up. And if there was a chance to find her again, to make at least some of it right, that was something he couldn’t ignore.

…Especially if she had Warp’s time travel tech with her. If this world had been caused by his interference in the time stream, then maybe it wouldn’t take all that much beyond finding her to make far more than “some of” it right.

“Nightwing? Helloooo?” Oracle’s voice cut through his thoughts, and he looked back down at the communicator.

“Hmm?”

“Just call me with an update once you find out more about your mystery visitor, okay?” Oracle was still giving him a suspicious look, but she seemed mollified enough for the time being. “I meant what I said about finding you some help.”

Nightwing nodded and managed to offer her a grateful smile. “Of course. You’re the best.”

“I know!” And with that, she signed off.

Nightwing was trailing the boot prints down another street by now, but by this point he was starting to feel a little foolish. Was following footprints that may or may not be connected to the weird rumors really his best option here? Starfire would have wanted him to just swallow his pride and contact one of the others.

Raised voices and sounds of battle suddenly reached him from the far corner. Nightwing grit his teeth and broke into as much of a run as he could manage on the snow-covered ground. Whether this was his lead or not, he needed to find out and step in before –

He turned the corner and saw her. She stood out, more vivid than any memory, against the dreary decay that her city had become. He saw it in both the bright splashes of color that visually defined her and the fierce passion in her eyes as she stared her opponent down. She was with Warp, still defiant against his arrogance and unafraid to face him alone. She hadn’t aged at all since her disappearance, so long ago.

Nightwing didn’t know how he couldn’t have loved her, back then. He felt mesmerized by this ghost from the past – too young now for them to be as they were before, but filling him all over again with both memory and hope.

Then Warp started talking back to her, and the spell broke. Nightwing couldn’t make out what he was saying from here, but he was mockingly calm and tauntingly held his stolen clock as he spoke.

Nightwing saw the defiance fade in Starfire’s eyes. He snarled, a controlled fury filling him to accompany his spark of hope. Don’t you dare.

With a passionate energy he hadn’t felt in a long time, Nightwing rushed forward and tackled Warp. He threw the time-travelling criminal bodily into a side alley, away from a now startled Starfire. His attempts to follow up were quick and precise, but short-lived as Warp shielded and then phased away. Still, sending him on the defensive would do just fine for now.

Because he could hear Starfire approaching cautiously behind him. He allowed himself a secret little smile. Oracle isn’t going to believe this.

Nightwing caught his breath and straightened up. It was all he could do not to spin around and pull her into what would have been a very awkward hug, but he couldn’t keep a note of warmth out of his voice as he said, “It’s good to see you again.”

[slightly-nerdy-rambles]

Okay, it's official: I am obsessed with medieval bestiaries. These colorful manuscripts contain a bizarre mix of natural history as Europeans knew it in the Middle Ages, outlandish claims about the properties and behavior of animals, and even entries on downright mythical creatures. But were they poorly researched zoology books, or something a little deeper? Find out in the latest article from The Biology of Mythology!

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  “This is my literal job! Why can’t you just appreciate the things I can do for this team?!”      “Because I already lost you once and Fyora can’t bring you back if you’re dead!”

Honestly, this scene has to be one of my favorites from Draikfang. Lots of emotional energy going on here. Is it weird that, despite preferring stories that aren't too heavy on the angst, I really enjoy writing big arguments between characters who truly care about each other?

Anyway, chapter four of Artefact Hunters: Draikfang is up! (Yes, I skipped announcing chapter three. I probably won't be announcing every chapter update unless people ask for it). This concludes what is essentially the first "arc" of the story, as our heroes finally reach the Lost Desert... but not without another mishap or two along the way. Click here to read it in the Neopian Times!

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*drops this in the blog and scurries off like a gremlin*

*dusts off blog*

Hello hello dear shippers, it is once again time to announce the RobStar ship week! Taking place from July 13 - July 19, and I would love to see y'all participate.

This year’s prompts are:  

Day 1, July 13th: Nostalgia

Day 2, July 14th: Vivid

Day 3, July 15th: Solar/Stellar

Day 4, July 16th: Waterfall

Day 5, July 17th: Beautiful

Day 6, July 18th: Other Titan's POV

Day 7, July 19th: Chocolate

FAQs -

1. What kind of content can I submit?

Any kind!  Fics, fanart, graphics, video edits, whatever you feel like creating.

2. Do I have to follow the prompts?

Not necessarily.  Anything you make for the week will be happily reblogged and enjoyed.

3. Can I do their comic versions?

The preference is for the toon versions but this blog is honestly not that picky.  As long as it’s DickKory, it’s good in my book.

4. What should I tag?

Tag #robstar, #robstarweek, or #robstar week, and feel free to @ this blog (@robxstar) in case Tumblr’s algorithms cause your post to be eaten by the ether.

Hoping to see you then!

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Hanso: Hey, there's something I need to get off my chest.

Brynn: Yeah?

Hanso: Okay, see. I've been around the world, and never in my wildest dreams would I come running home to you.

Brynn: Aww, that's very... unconventionally sweet.

Hanso: I've told a million lies, but now I tell a single truth: There's you in everything I do.

Brynn: ...Wait a second.

Hanso: Now remember when I told you, "That's the last you'll see of me?" Remember when I broke you down to tears?

Brynn: Hanso are you just quoting Envision Ukalis lyrics at me?

Hanso: ...Maybe

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Eyooo, look what got Quote of the Week in this issue of the NT! It looks a bit odd without the formatting – the second "oh" is supposed to be italicized, which it still is when you go to the actual chapter – but that's a minor thing.

Anyway, as the quote shows, the second chapter of Artefact Hunters: Draikfang is out now in the Neopian Times! Our heroes are officially setting out on their first artefact retrieval mission. What surprises and challenges await them?

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*slides in a fresh new post from my fancy writer blog*

*ahem* Myths and folklore aren't as cut and dry as some people think. They evolve, change, and diverge over time, much like living species. Also like living things, this sometimes results in a single mythical creature gaining a wide variety of names. Fantasy writers can take advantage of different names, whether based on real folklore or our own imaginations, to inject some variety into our monsters. The latest entry in The Biology of Mythology explores how we can use naming conventions to describe multiple members of a fantasy creature "family," or alternatively, different ways people in the setting look at the same creature.

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*slides in* Hey guys, you know how I mentioned in my latest WIP game post that I'd gotten sucked back in to the Neopets fandom and was doing some writing for it?

Well, my latest big project is officially coming out! Artefact Hunters is a series I'd actually wanted to write for a very long time now, and the first chapter of the first story Draikfang has recently been released in the current issue of the Neopian Times. If any of you here are interested in it but unfamiliar with the Times, it's an official fan publication that comes out every two weeks -- meaning that Draikfang is 100% complete and should have each new chapter released on a biweekly schedule (with one possible exception, but we'll worry about that if it comes up.)

While you're perusing, feel free to check out some of my other works in the Neopian Times by clicking my username under the title! Be warned that most of those are from several years ago and not necessarily as polished as my current work, but the short story "Celebrations, and the Pitfalls Therein" actually has some loose connections to Draikfang.

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Excuse me WHAT

STARFIRE ANIMATED SERIES!!??!?!?

WITH THE HEAD WRITER OF MY ADVENTURES WITH SUPERMAN!?!?

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Tagged by @tarisilmarwen

Rules: In a new post, list the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

--

*claps hands* Right, so. As I've been getting better with committing to projects, writing longer ones like Spoiler Alert was, and getting really serious about my original writing, I've come to realize that many of my older WIPs and story ideas will probably never see the light of day as I keep coming up with new ones that end up taking priority. It... doesn't exactly help that I tend to get super-focused on one fandom at a time, which, combined with needing to also work on the original stuff, means my other fandoms tend to languish for a while.

This is why it's taking me so long between Postcards from Tokyo updates. My "muse" just isn't with Teen Titans right now, so other projects keep taking priority even though I'm still bound and determined to eventually finish it. It's also why I haven't posted here in a while: I got sucked back in to yet another new-old fandom several months back (you'll see it below), and wasn't sure how interested my Tumblr followers would be in it.

But the tag has been posted, the challenge has been made, and so here are the WIPs that I'm still hoping to complete!

Original Work

Chronicles of the Horizonlands: Beyond the Border

More than Myth: Sirenians

Kim Possible

Mission: Possible (Episode 1: Rivalry)

Better Diplomacy Through Glorious Combat

Teen Titans

Postcards from Tokyo

Dissonant Whispers

Neopets

Artefact Hunters: Draikfang

Artefact Hunters: Ikimono's Mirror

DnD Campaign

Monster Party

(As with last year, I don't actually know enough writers on this site to even know where to begin with tagging. If you're a writer and want to share your WIPs, I hereby informally tag you to go for it! *throws confetti*)

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Psst... My book, Wyrm: A Story of the Horizonlands, is currently having an ebook sale! It's a fantasy novelette about magical mutations, exploring and re-discovering the world, and unexpected friendships, and it's also the introductory piece to my upcoming original series Chronicles of the Horizonlands. And this week, the ebook is only $0.99 on Amazon. Come on over and check it out if you want to see some of my original fiction writing in action!

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I said I'd eventually get back to it, and I did! Just don't pay any mind to how long it took

The latest chapter of Postcards from Tokyo is now up on Ao3 and Fanfiction.net! Beast Boy finally gets his long-awaited tour of Wakamono Shukan, but these being the Titans, shenanigans are pretty much inevitable.

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Curious, what's the fic "It’s Real and It’s True and It’s Just Me and You" about? Title makes me think it's about Kim and Ron at prom/after prom

That's a good guess, but not really! (I do have plans for prom to figure into it, but that's only part of the fic.) It's actually a Soulmate AU, pretty much the only one I have planned because the soulmate sign or whatever it's called that I plan to use is one I find really ripe for shenanigans. It's... I think called a "Body Art" AU? The one where anything that's drawn or written on a person's skin also shows up on their soulmate's skin.

Basically, the idea is that Kim and Ron end up manifesting the soulmate connection thing early in their Junior year and freak out because they're still in the "the thought of us dating is weird/scary and I don't want to admit I like you like that" stage. I want to play with the concept a bit so that soulmates don't always get together romantically, just most of the time (and most people don't even have soulmates), so they kind of try to convince themselves and everyone else that it's just like, friendship-soulmates or something. And then they start using the artist bond thing creatively to do stuff like send discreet messages to each other on missions while also slowly realizing that oops maybe it is romantic after all ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Anyway, I just think it's a fun concept! Thank you for the ask!

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I wrote a book!

So, after many years of dreaming and practicing and messing around with fanfiction and whatnot, I have finally managed to write and self-publish an actual real book! It's a pretty short read, somewhere in the vicinity of either a long short story or a novelette, but it's also something of an introduction to a fantasy setting that I'm going to expand into a series of novels.

It's called Wyrm and it features weird magic, not-weird magic, talking canines, monitor lizard dragons, a giant magical mutant version of said dragons, and the power of friendship. If that all sounds interesting and/or mildly baffling, you can click that link by the image to check it out on Amazon and maybe possibly purchase a copy (or add it to your Kindle Unlimited library, if you have one).

[slightly-nerdy-rambles]

New Blog Incoming!

So for the past couple of weeks, I've been working on a new "niche blog" website that's aimed at speculative fiction storytellers (It's got a fantasy theme, but sci-fi writers feel free to take a look too!). The goal is to break down various aspects of zoology and use them to give you all ideas for adding a little more "realism" to your fictional beasties, whether they be classics like dragons and unicorns or something completely made up by your brain. And I think it's time to share it with all of you guys!

Since the blog is still new, there are only a few pages and posts so far, but I really think it's starting to come together. If you're a writer, video game designer, GM looking to build your next campaign, fanfiction enthusiast, or whatever, come take a look and see how you can use science to turbo-charge your fictional critters!