#i was like ‘there isn’t enough heart here so what symbols does artemis have?’

[twig-gy]

sooooo i heard heart and mind won the sun & moon competition….. and i saw two people make thingies for it… and graphic design is my passion….

[fancifulplaguerat]

This post inspired me to write about why I love Daniil choosing the Termite Ending for its significance in Daniil’s arc and because I love him so very much and want to talk about him more 

Though Daniil’s ending is the Save the Polyhedron one, I noticed that when discussing the Polyhedron prior to Daniil actually getting in there himself, the dialogue options are almost always A) I love the polyhedron so much my favorite building ever or B) it’s an affront to god and terrible. And this contrast  remains even after he visits the tower; on Day 11 the player can choose to support or oppose the Polyhedron. When talking to Andrey, Daniil can tell him that he's ruined the town, and that it “needs to be rooted away immediately! And I will do it” when Andrey asks that Daniil leave the tower intact. Likewise, when Victor asks Daniil to preserve the tower, Daniil can say “Impossible. I really regret to tell you this, but the Polyhedron is the true cause of the outbreak.” Neither Clara nor Artemy really have this option in their routes, where they can so strongly oppose their presumed ending, so the Termite Ending seems like it could be consistent with Daniil’s characterization. I say this because though you obviously *can* choose whoever’s end you want with enough shmowders and panacea, I feel it’s quite inconsistent for Artemy to choose the Bachelor ending/Clara to choose either of their endings, etc. Daniil is the only character who I feel has a path of logic (ha ha ha) towards another character’s ending, that being the Haruspex’. 

Another thing I want to note is how Daniil regards the Polyhedron, because across routes the game tells us that Daniil doesn’t actually understand the it. This first came to my attention in Clara’s route, because Aglaya tells her that, and Peter says the same. At first I felt so badly for Daniil because he loves that godless gravityless tower so much, but when I went back to the Bachelor Route, Daniil full-on just tells people that they’re being ridiculous as late as Day 9 when they tell him about the Polyhedron’s function. On Day 8 when Capella tells him about it, Daniil straight up says “you’re laughing at me” twice in a row to her. When Victor describes the Polyhedron on Day 9, Daniil’s dialogue options are “That’s blasphemy” or “That sounds naïve to me. But clearly you don't literally mean what you're saying.” And when Victor continues the options are “I didn’t meant to offend you with my disbelief” or “Qui ignorabat, ingorabitur...” (Who was ignorant will be ignorant). This man Does Not Get It and he doesn’t even seem to want to get it because he’s so Rational. Even that “I didn’t mean to offend you” still feels like Daniil hasn’t changed his mind, he's just trying to apologize for inadvertent rudeness. 

Granted, Daniil has a change of heart once he gets to actually visit the Polyhedron; he’s more willing to believe it since he’s seen it. But even then, he still writes that surely there’s a rational explanation for it all, even though people are telling him just. No. This thing is fucked up and weird and you have to accept that. And finally on Day 12 Clara says to Daniil, “You want to keep the Polyhedron out of respect for the kindred genius who has calculated the mechanics of a miracle trap—a contraption able to capture what should not be captured!” And to put it simply I think the existence of the miraculous is vital to Daniil, because it proves his impossible “defeat death” goal can be accomplished. So, one interpretation here is that Daniil wants to preserve the Polyhedron mostly as a testament to the abilities of human creation/mind over matter. I honestly think the Polyhedron is more symbolic to Daniil than anything else, I mean he even says “It is not a mere a building, but a symbol,” so I think the importance for Daniil is saving the Polyhedron is again proof of possibility despite preconceived notions about what is and isn’t possible.  

AND HERE IS WHERE I SCREAM. The post I linked mentions this line from Clara’s secret ending: “A tempted destroyer. He could have accomplished a feat of moral heroism. The strongest, the most straightforward, he was too strongly tempted by vengeance and destruction for his not going through with it to be anything less than... miracle, or something close to one.” 

And okay all right here’s the deal. I’m obsessed with that part about “too strongly tempted by vengeance” because I’m pretty sure that’s primarily referencing his anger towards Aglaya. That is, regardless of how you played Daniil previously, part of his reasoning to save the Polyhedron is because Aglaya wants to destroy it, and Daniil believes that Aglaya double-crossed and lied to him (which I imagine hurts him a lot given his adherence to the truth and consequent rather trusting nature). The line reminds me of this exchange: 

Bachelor: It doesn’t matter—she has deceived and betrayed me. She treated me like a pawn, and I won't ever forgive her for that.

Haruspex: You brought this on yourself. Don't try to get even with Aglaya. If you want to destroy the town and save the Tower only to get to her—and push her towards her demise... that would be unbecoming of you, oynon. It is you who will turn into a spiteful puppeteer driven by his thirst for revenge...

And indeed this can get through to him (side note I find it a little funny that Artemy says it’s ‘unbecoming,’ like Daniil is being scolded ahgjkgkj). I.e. one factor in Daniil’s decision was that he was angry and wanted revenge/vengeance on Aglaya. He’s certainly susceptible to acting on anger; in Clara’s route especially he’s absolutely murderous with anger over Simon’s death (he calms down more quickly in Artemy’s, but Daniil is at his most helpful little house cat then). Thus I see Daniil’s decision as not just about what to do about the plague, but whether he can accomplish his “moral heroism” by resisting the impulse to lash out at Aglaya. And all this goes to these lines which are my most favorite in all the games and make me. Inconsolable: 

Fine. Let the Town remain. Let the broken circles come whole, let the interrupted processes resume. The wisdom of life is superior to that of people, so life should be allowed to proceed in its due course.

The Utopia is doomed. Feeble men should not be tempted with miracles. There is no point to forcibly preserve something whose very idea is destroyed by any kind of coercion. The Tower, the reason and the outset of the calamity, will be demolished.

I. I will never do justice how this rots my brain utterly and completely but it’s. This moment where Daniil faces reality and has to accept that miracles are impossible, that his goal is impossible. I personally like Daniil having to come to terms with death, because I enjoy the downfall of characters who try so hard to fight against the confines of being human but are, in the end, forced to confront that that’s all they are. Plus, I notice the Town is sometimes described as Daniil’s grave; I mean just the “it’s not even a trap, it’s a grave” and lines like “That is why your Bachelor is here: to meet his death—” so the Termite ending feels like delicious closure to this, that in destroying the Polyhedron and so confronting the impossibility of his goals Daniil “dies.” And I think Daniil “dying” fits even more because Aglaya tells him that Thanatica has been destroyed, and presuming that she’s telling the truth (which I do), Daniil is forced to face a turning point in his life regardless of whether he saves the Town or Polyhedron. Everything has to change for him, so his destroying the Polyhedron feels like a hopeful first step towards him moving forward. 

[the-ghost-king]

wait Apollo isn’t originally greek? thats so interesting 👀👀

Where ever did you hear that? /ij

Definitely putting all of this under a read more, it’s a long one!

Cw: Greek statues, they're naked :/

But yeah, Apollo was actually an inherited god, it’s likely that because of this as well he was a blending of multiple different gods to some extent. It’s also good to note that Apollo’s name is unknown, meaning that nobody really knows what exactly Apollo means, which is pretty weird all things considered about the Greeks who placed such importance on the god’s forenames (ie, phoebeus, acestor, age’tor, etc). 

"Though Apollo was the most Hellenic of all gods, he derived mostly from a type of god that originated in Anatolia and spread to Egypt by way of Syria and Palestine." (X)

There’s a couple of different things which point to Apollo being a Anatolian god (or being of, coming from him) named Appaliunas, and it is said they were on opposite sides of a war most beloved of their people during the fight. It’s important to note that it’s believed Appaliunas means “father light” and that he shows some level of importance over drafting peace treaties (which Apollo has some reputation in as the bringer of civilized order). We don't know too much about their connections however, because the documents are incomplete.

This theory also makes sense, because the name Leto (Apollo’s mother) is Lydian in origin, and there’s decent connections to her having been worshiped on the coast's of Asia Minor. And it is known the Greeks have adopted Anatolian gods into their religion before, see Cybele (sometimes called Cybele-Rhea), and the origin of Kore (later Persephone). There's stuff which points also to an Anatolian goddess called "Artimu" (Artemis) who is often confused to Cybele for some reason, and again this bears connections to the Lydians which worshipped Leto. There's information which points to Hekate being a goddess from Anatolia as well, which shows significance considering she is Apollo and Artemis's cousin (leading to my personal question of was Phoebe Anatolian in origin?). Apollo's divine number being 7 shows Babylonian or at least Mesopotamian Origin.

The Geographical location of these two places also bears similarities, they are close to one another, and it's known the Greeks had decent travel capabilities over water. There's also the fact that both of these lands border Troy, which is shown to have significant values in Greek culture and mythology, as well as the Greek belief that the Anatolian gods were present at Troy as well as the Greek gods.

(It's also notable the similarities in naming traditions, Alaksandu for one such example, does not sound too far off from the later Latin name Alexander, which came from the Greek name Aléxandros).

The other possible origin given for Apollo is Aplu (Apulu), a Hurrian god (of people who lived in Anatolia, Syria, and Northern Mesopotamia). Aplu and Apollo bear semblance to one another in more than name, Aplu was the god of plague (bringer of the plague more specifically) and he bears a large amount of resemblance to Apollo Parno'pius/Smitheus and Aplu's main story provides reasoning as to why Apollo may also be the god of healing and Medicine.

The story of Aplu involves the idea that the individual which brings the plague, must also be the one to banish it. This makes Aplu both bringer of plague(s) but also, protector from plague(s). From this we learn Aplu's name means "son of" (please note here Apollo's iconographic connections to "youth" and "sonship" among the Greeks, as the god of kouros), but the connection of "the son of" was a title granted also to the god Nergal (worshiped by many different people(s) across Mesopotamia) who is at least in part someone who holds power over the sun, and holds connection to Shamash (Utu).

Aplu is also often depicted naked (ya know) but wearing a laurel leaf, and part of a cloak... It's funny how these images are Apollo though:

Aplu is also symbolized by a staff and laurel a twig(s), while we know Apollo to be associated closely with the laurel because of Daphne, and Apollo having iconography related to staffs involves him giving his away to Hermes- which perhaps has to do with the caduceus being interpreted as the symbol for medicine, or the connection of Apollo to Asclepius and the rod of Asclepius.

Aplu isn't isolated necessarily either, there is also the Etruscan goddess Aritimi (Artume, Artames, or Artumes) and she oversees animals, human assemblies, and is considered a hunting deity. As well as scrolling through this list, you'll note more than one Greek/Roman mythological figure.

There's also a ton of stuff from Etruscan mythology (Hurrian mythology is just a subsect of Etruscan mythology) which overlaps with Greek mythology, some sources even state Etruscan -> Greek -> Roman mythology (I wont comment on that because I don't know well enough).

There's some other places Apollo's name might have come from, but those are probably the two most likely under the assumption that Apollo is a collective of many gods.

These are the specifics of the Anatolian god's Apollo may be born of/from, but there's a variety of things which point to him and mythology around him being of other origins as well (Minoan, Dorian, and Proto-Indo-European... yeah)

You may have heard one of Apollo's sacred animals is dolphins, Apollo Delphinios/Delphidios, this is because of a Minoan god named Paiawon (Paion) who was worshiped on Crete and also originated in Delphi. In the second part of Homeric hymn to Apollo, Apollo would transform his shape into that of a dolphin and carry the new priests to Delphi for the transfer of religious practices:

"Phoebus Apollo pondered in his heart what men he should bring in to be his ministers in sacrifice and to serve him in rocky Pytho. And while he considered this, he became aware of a swift ship upon the wine-like sea in which were many men and goodly, Cretans... Phoebus Apollo met them: in the open sea he sprang upon their swift ship, like a dolphin in shape, and lay there, a great and awesome monster, and none of them gave heed so as to understand but they sought to cast the dolphin overboard. But he kept shaking the black ship every way and making the timbers quiver. So they sat silent in their craft for fear, and... so they kept sailing on; for a rushing south wind hurried on the swift ship from behind... They wished to put their ship to shore, and land and comprehend the great marvel and see with their eyes whether the [dolphin] would remain upon the deck of the hollow ship, or spring back into the briny deep where fishes shoal. But the well-built ship would not obey the helm, but went on its way all along Peloponnesus and the lord, far-working Apollo, guided it easily with the breath of the breeze..." (X)

Apollo Delphinios was largely only worshiped by people of Crete and surrounding islands, but this is also largely where Paiawon was worshiped as well. There's also many things from early Grecian history which simply state Apollo to be Paiawon or of Paiawon, or at least doesn't bother to specify which god is being talked about.

In the earlier parts of Greek history, seventh-sixth century, there was distinctions made between the pair:

"and in Solon's opinion it is Apollo who makes a man a μάντις (soothsayer) but healers do the work of Paion" (X)

The whole thing with Apollo being descended from Paiawon however, is that Paiawon may not be Minoan but Mycenaean in origin, which means even if Apollo is originated in Minoan culture one of the gods who has influenced that origin wasn't even necessarily Minoan but taken in. Others believe Paiawon was Minoan or Aegean in origin but very far in the past, since his songs used a meter of pre-Greek origin.

You'll also not the commonalities between Paion (a spelling of Paiawon) and Paean (also spelled Paian), Apollo's original name according to Homer. It could mean a variety of things but "who heals illnesses through magic" and "pre-greek" are the most common translations of the word Paean, but it is also associated with music (most specifically a song sung by Thetlas who cured the Spartans) and is said to denote hymns for Apollo.

"PAEAN, that is, "the healing," is according to Homer the designation of the physician of the Olympian gods, who heals, for example, the wounded Ares and Hades. After the time of Homer and Hesiod, the word Paian becomes a surname of Asclepius, the god who had the power of healing. The name was, however, used also in the more general sense of deliverer from any evil or calamity, and was thus applied to Apollo and Thanatos, or Death, who are conceived as delivering men from the pains and sorrows of life... From Apollo himself the name Paean was transferred to the song dedicated to him, that is, to hymns chanted to Apollo for the purpose of averting an evil, and to warlike songs, which were sung before or during a battle." (X)

In regards to the possibility of Apollo having been of Minoan origin, one must consider not only his origins but the origins of the gods and goddesses around him and how they may have developed over time.

In this case Britomartis (Diktynna) is of particular interest, she was the Minoan "mistress of animals", she was a goddess (or sometimes nymph, or oread) of the mountains and the hunt. There's points to the name meaning "sweet maiden" or other similar things, but it is debatable.

Eventually Britomartis would become the goddess of nets in Hellenic myths, and would simply be closely identified with the goddess of Artemis. However, to the Minoans Britomartis wandered alongside a bow-wielding male hunter who's name has been lost, it is likely that aspects of this hunter were absorbed into Apollo; when the introduction of worshiping Artemis was brought to the island of Crete where Britomartis was also worshiped they were compared and quickly said to be of one another.

It is also said in some variations the myths of Britomartis that she was taken to the mainland in the nets of men after fleeing Minos, this seems like a euphemism for her as a goddess of worship being brought by fisherman to mainland and taken into their culture and worship, more so than it sounds like a goddess's story. Perhaps this led to her becoming Artemis, although most myths seem to agree Artemis gave Britomartis immortality... So who knows, but it's a point of particular interest for me.

Also I know I mentioned proto-indo-european origins for Apollo and I could analyze gods and goddesses relating to Apollo being a Minoan god like Aphaea, but I am not going to lie I am rather sick mostly of sourcing everything and I don't like to talk about stuff without stuff to back me up because I don't want to come across like I'm pulling information or ideas out of thin air because that's how misinformation spreads... But yeah, here's a somewhat simplified piece on Apollo's possible origins as a pre-Hellenistic god, and I hope you enjoy because I know you sent the ask a bit ago <3

[suzukiblu]

I wish you would write a fic where there's age regression, and possibly more Kon/Conner. How do you age-regress a quick-aged genetic experiment? Or, conversely, Conner takes care of an age-regressed teammate (and has no idea what he's doing)!

I LOVE age regression but I like neeeeever write it, it's such a weird oversight on my part. I actually even HAVE an unfinished YJ fic about the whole team getting de-aged that's just, like, chilling in my docs. I never figured out where it was going aside from "making things weird for Superman", though, although I really liked it at the time.

So hey, you know what, have a read more:

--

There's some kind of fuss going on around Young Justice, although Clark isn't sure what. He overhears Hal and Dinah bickering about something to do with Artemis and Speedy—Red Arrow, although “Speedy” is so much clearer a memory—but they don't go into detail. Something about mad science and a mission gone wrong and . . . Lunchables?

Clark very rarely mishears things, but that he is CERTAIN he did.

It isn't his business, though, so he doesn't ask for clarification. If the League needs his help, they'll ask him; otherwise it has nothing to do with him.

Unfortunately, then Bruce actually asks for his help.

There's no excuse good enough to get by Batman, and so Clark finds himself materializing inside Mount Justice with the halfhearted hope that they just need something improbably heavy moved—ANYTHING that will just take a moment, in and out. Oddly, there's no one waiting to meet him, although he can hear arguing and laughter and running water and a dozen other sounds of life from different corners of the mountain.

Closer, and more concerning, he can hear tears.

Clark ignores the other voices and Bruce's distant, Kevlar-muffled heartbeat to follow the tiny, hitched breaths down the hall. He doesn't have to go far.

There's a little boy curled up in a shadowed alcove not even big enough to be a broom closet, five years old if he's a day and wearing a black T-shirt and cargo pants and oddly heavy-looking boots. He looks wounded and small and brokenhearted from the lie of his shoulders alone.

Clark stares in bemusement for a moment—a child THIS young in Mount Justice?—but another muffled sob takes immediate precedence and he drops into a crouch just outside the boy's personal space.

“Are you alright?” he asks gently, and the boy jumps in surprise and jerks his head up. He has the most ENORMOUS blue eyes Clark thinks he's ever seen, and also the most horrified.

“I wasn't crying!” the boy blurts, still crying, and scrubs the tears away frantically.

“It's fine if you were,” Clark tells him, gentling his voice even more, and the boy looks at him like the world just ended. Blue eyes, black hair, broken heart; he remembers Dick four years ago, remembers what happened to make Dick ROBIN. Wonders what Bruce is doing, exactly, and if THIS is the emergency he is supposed to help with.

“YOU wouldn't,” the boy says, hiccuping around another sob, and Clark just smiles reassuringly at him.

“Everyone does,” he says, and fresh tears well in the boy's eyes and he turns his face into the corner, huddled up so small it actually HURTS to see. Clark is used to misery, he has seen more of it than he can stand to remember, but that doesn't make it any easier to watch.

He could ask what happened, what is so upsetting, but doesn't want the boy to have to think about what's making him cry like that, so devastated and LONELY in a place full of people, and so instead reaches out and rests a hand on his shoulder, carefully. The boy freezes, sobs and breath and HEART all stopping, and Clark lightens the contact, but doesn't quite withdraw.

“Are you hurt?” he asks with all the gentleness he would usually reserve for restraining the full scope of Superman's strength down into catching a falling body, embracing a victim, kissing a loved one. The boy SHUDDERS and starts back up again, tears falling faster and his attempts to respond all breaking up too much to finish. Finally he just shakes his head, HARD, and buries his face back in his arms.

He is so small.

“Is there something I can do for you?” Clark asks, and the boy just cries HARDER, somehow, and now he's concerned because how can every attempt to do something for the boy make him that much more UPSET? All the power in the world means nothing when he can't help a person who's in pieces.

There's a shriek somewhere in the base, loud and childish and startlingly giddy in comparison to this moment, and Clark startles slightly and looks towards it, automatically dropping the hand on the boy's shoulder to touch his earpiece, meaning to call Bruce and ask what, exactly, is going on here—but then the boy whimpers.

But no. “Whimper” is not enough of a word, “whimper” cannot possibly contain the pain and DESPAIR in that sound, the way it TEARS out of the boy and through Clark worse than any other kind of hit, worse than perhaps ANYTHING.

“It's alright,” he says, fast, forgetting about the communicator altogether and reaching out again. “Shhh, it's alright, it's alright, son—”

The boy SOBS.

Clark has never in his life heard a worse sound than that sob.

Something like panic flits through him, he doesn't even know where from, and he barely keeps himself from grabbing the boy and yanking him to his chest—it would be too hard, too sudden, too frightening for an already distraught child. The moment it takes him to force down the driving NEED to is literally painful, and when it passes it still doesn't really pass.

Clark takes off his cape, carefully, and wraps the boy up in it—hides him in it, he admits to himself, but it's not hard to admit when the boy himself seems to welcome the idea of vanishing inside its folds. He picks him up in one arm, cradles him in the crook of it, and the boy curls up as tight as if he really COULD disappear. The sobbing dies down into almost-silence, barely more than hitched breath again, and Clark holds him close and heads towards the sound of people. He can't help the child if he doesn't know what's wrong, and clearly the boy's in no condition to explain what's happened to him for himself.

He thinks of plenty of awful possibilities on the way, but doesn't get halfway there before a sudden blur of black and red and yellow tears down the hall and skids to a stop in front of him, solidifying into two more small boys, although not as small as the one in his arms.

Infinitely more recognizable, though.

Clark blinks, and looks down at a brightly grinning nine-year old Robin riding piggyback on a beaming Kid Flash . . . that IS Kid Flash, isn't it, he thinks, except he can't be a day past nine himself, and Kid Flash DEFINITELY never wore that suit or ran like that when he was nine.

NEITHER of them should be nine.

“What . . .” he starts, slowly, and the boy in his arms peers out from underneath his cape and sniffles, once.

“Found him!” Kid Flash yells back down the hall, and Robin throws both hands up in the air with a crow of triumph, falling off Kid Flash's back into an effortless back walkover in the process.

“We win!” he says gleefully. “Go Team Batflash, suck it, Team Aquamartian and Double-Arrow!”

“'BATflash'? Why isn't it FlashBAT?” Kid Flash demands indignantly, and Robin just laughs condescendingly and reaches up to give his head a little pat.

“Oh please, it is SO Batflash,” he says. Clark stares down at both of them with a certain sinking feeling, and the boy in his arms scrubs at his tear-streaked face again, and the cape slips lower and for the first time he sees the front of the boy's shirt.

Sees the symbol on the front of the boy's shirt.

He hears a Kevlar-muffled heartbeat and then Bruce is there, staring evenly at him. For a moment Clark is . . . shaken, that is the only word for it, and then Bruce's arms are up and then he's completely bemused, because it LOOKS like Bruce wants him to give him . . .

“Superboy,” Bruce says, and the boy fumbles out of his cape and his arms and into BRUCE'S and latches on, latches on so hard Bruce's body armor audibly CREAKS. Clark feels a sudden irrational rush of frustration—Superboy did anything BUT hold onto him—and then everything actually sinks in.

“What happened?” he manages, or mostly manages, still holding his empty cape and feeling . . . feeling very strange for it. Kid Flash starts babbling at super-speed, Robin too busy scowling sulkily up at Superboy to properly contribute, and it's not very different from overhearing Hal and Dinah—mad science and a mission gone wrong and Black Canary totally bought them all Lunchables she is the AWESOMEST EVER—except this time Clark is actually listening.

This time it has something to DO with him.

“I see,” Clark says when Kid Flash finally runs out of air and falls over gasping, taking Robin down with him. Robin yelps, and Kid Flash laughs breathlessly, and they scuffle for no apparent reason. Superboy is still hiding against Bruce, holding on with that Kevlar-creaking grip.

Then it occurs to Clark that he's been too busy staring at Superboy to pay attention to Bruce, and his eyes flick to the other man's.

It . . . takes a lot of distraction to not notice Bruce has been glaring at you.

To not notice BATMAN has been glaring at you.

“You're late,” Bruce says, sharply.

“You only called ten minutes ago,” Clark reminds him, and Bruce's lips thin and even without the X-ray vision Clark can read the look the other is sending him: you could've been here in two. It's not that he . . . he didn't mean to AVOID . . .

He didn't want to come, Clark admits to himself, and his eyes trail back down to Superboy like all the weight of creation is calling them down. If he has ever, ever held that weight, this is that moment. But why should it be, he wonders, why NOW—

What a stupid question, he thinks, watching the closest thing he will ever have to blood hide from him in such obvious shame and fear.

“Superboy,” he says, slowly, and Superboy flinches. Kevlar creaks, and Bruce's lips go even thinner; Clark doesn't have to be Superman to know that HURT. But Bruce doesn't say a word or change his grip at all, and . . . and Clark remembers being a child, remembers running into Pa's arms crying and covered in mud and Pa hadn't cared about getting his good suit dirty; remembers Ma wrapping her arms around him when he slipped in shivering from sleet and rain, not minding the icy meltwater soaking into her dress. Remembers growing older, watching other families, and thinking that parents who did things like that were the best anyone could hope for.

Remembers finding out he would never BE a parent, because he wasn't human. Because Kryptonians and humans couldn't crossbreed. Because he was the last and would ALWAYS be, because he was going to die someday and so would EVERYTHING of his people, everything his birth parents had wanted to SAVE—

Clark is aware, very suddenly, that he is responsible for Superboy's existence. He is the one who decided to put on the cape. He is the one who decided to BE the cape.

He made Superman, and no one would ever have made Superboy if he hadn't.

He made a choice.

He made a choice, and that means . . .

Bruce inhales, a little stiffly with the way Superboy is crushing his body armor, and turns on his heel and walks away. Robin and Kid Flash tear after him, Robin grabbing the edge of his cape like a little . . . like a child, of course, Clark thinks, and follows as well.

Superboy is still hiding from him.

“Batman,” he starts, but doesn't know where to go from there. Bruce ignores him, and Clark struggles for words, for SOMETHING that will . . . for something. Robin disappears under Bruce's cape, Kid Flash bolts restlessly from place to place in the hall, almost fast enough to blur to even Clark's vision, and Superboy never releases his grip on Bruce's armor or lifts his head.

They come to the end of the hall, and it opens into a common room; Dinah looks up, her face flushed and upset and a boy who can't be more than one or two sniffling in her arms, chubby little hands covering his masked face. Red Arrow, Clark recognizes immediately, because Dinah could not possibly look like that for anyone else, and that armored and forbidding costume looks so ODD on a child so small—as odd as Superboy's steel-toed boots. Artemis is scowling angrily, arms crossed in a defensive posture, and she is all skinny limbs and knobby knees, twelve years old if she's a day. Kid Flash and Robin immediately fix her with matching scowls.

“What'd you do to Speedy?” they demand in near-perfect indignant unison, and Artemis GLOWERS.

“Nothing!” she snaps. “He just wants Green Arrow and Green Arrow's still in Star City, it's not MY fault he's too stupid to understand, y'know!”

“I bet you were a jerk to him again!” Kid Flash accuses, pointing at her.

“I was NOT!” Artemis fumes.

“Then how come he always ends up cryin' whenever we leave him with you?” Robin asks grumpily, foot tap-tap-tapping erratically against the floor and fingers fisting tighter in Bruce's cape. He keeps sneaking glances that are closer to glares up at Superboy, and Clark, irrationally, wants to scold him for it—as if that were even his place, in regards to either boy.

“'Cause he's STUPID, I told you!” Artemis snaps back, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder, and Dinah grits her teeth.

“That's ENOUGH,” she says sharply, cradling Red Arrow tighter to herself, and he sniffles again and grabs at her hair with his sticky little tear and snot-stained gloves, burying his equally sticky little face in it. Dinah's expression turns pained, but she doesn't shoo him away. “I'm going to kill Ollie,” she says, in a surprisingly sweet tone, and pats Red Arrow's back soothingly.

“Wan' OWWY!” Red Arrow wails, and the children all cringe at the volume, clapping their hands over their ears. Clark barely represses the urge to do the same.

“There, there, darling, Ollie's coming,” Dinah croons, swaying gently and stroking a hand through Red Arrow's hair. “And he'll probably bring a camera and NEVER let you live this down, oh no he won't. And blubber all over you, that too, yes!”

Clark considers asking what Red Arrow was even DOING with Young Justice and also if anyone in the room even slightly cares about Green Arrow's secret identity, but decides there's not much point. He's more curious about the fact that the kids have somehow all turned out vastly different ages despite apparently having been hit with the same still-unidentified ray—with the exception of Robin and Kid Flash, that is, but even that's strange considering they were different ages to start with, and the gaps between one and eighteen and twelve and fifteen are MILES more than that. As for Superboy . . .

Clark's not even sure Superboy ever actually WAS five years old, and if he was it probably didn't last this long.

“Is Red Tornado still with Aqualad and Miss Martian?” Bruce asks, and Dinah nods, looking weary but almost amused despite that.

“Aqualad INSISTED on checking the pool and showers for Superboy,” she says. “He seemed pretty convinced no one could possibly want to hide anywhere dry if they were feeling sad.”

“Well, we HAVE found him holed up in the showers before,” Artemis says, tugging absently at the bottom of her ponytail. “They kinda remind him of his pod, y'know? But they're, y'know, probably too big now.” Bruce grunts assent, and Clark remembers how tight the alcove he found Superboy tucked into was, and feels . . . strange about it.

He should have the whole SKY, something whispers in the back of his head. He should have wide open fields and miles and miles where the only buildings are barns and silos and little houses and there aren't even trees or planes overhead, where everything is flat and bright and clear and ENDLESS.

“Contact Miss Martian and inform her we've found Superboy,” Bruce tells the—currently—older children, and they all nod and squeeze their eyes shut tight with extremely concentrated expressions. Clark wonders when Bruce is going to put Superboy down. That can't be COMFORTABLE, being held onto that tightly for so long; the merciless grip of Superboy's small arms probably feels like being slowly crushed.

Clark isn't sure how strong the boy actually is, of course, because Superboy wasn't holding onto him at all when he carried him, much less holding on that hard. Much stronger than he was at that age, he knows, just like Kid Flash is much faster than he should be and Robin and Artemis both a little too graceful.

He should say something, he thinks in the silence, but then Red Arrow starts sniffling again and Dinah starts singing him a lilty little Irish lullaby and Robin and Kid Flash immediately swarm her while Artemis pretends not to be perking up curiously, and Superboy lifts his face just a little, just for a moment.

Then he sees Clark, and hides it again.

That's . . .

“We're here, we're here!” a loud, childish voice shouts, and Miss Martian darts into the room on chubby little-girl legs, huffing and puffing excitedly and with her cape all tangled up around her shoulders. She looks five or six, and Aqualad who's right on her heels with a worried expression and attempting to untangle her might be seven. Red Tornado follows them in, apparently unconcerned about the clothing issue, and Miss Martian hops up into the air and starts tugging at Superboy's shirt. “Superboy, don't be—don't be scared, you're not lost anymore! We found you!”

“WE found him!” Robin protests indignantly, scowling up at her.

“Superman found him,” Batman corrects, visibly unimpressed, and it's the most acknowledgment Clark's had from anyone in the conversation since they left the hall. He tries to take it as reason to speak, but the right words won't come—they never do, when it's about Superboy.

“Superman doesn't count,” Kid Flash says, glowering with startling vehemence, more startling for the way Robin and Artemis match it. Even Miss Martian frowns, although on her it looks closer to a pout, and Aqualad just sighs and reaches up to tug lightly at the bottom of Superboy's shirt, so small and so serious.

“Superboy, do you want to come play with us?” he asks, the picture of a too-responsible and too-concerned little boy. “It is your turn to pick the game.”

“I don't know any games,” Superboy mumbles, still hiding against Bruce. “Just the ones you guys taught me today.”

“Which was your favorite? We can play that one again,” Aqualad suggests, and Superboy finally peers down at him. He still looks uncomfortable and unhappy, but not so upset anymore—thirty seconds, and Aqualad has calmed and comforted Superboy in a way Clark hadn't even come CLOSE to when he'd tried.

--

Annnnnd that's as far as I ever got, alas. But I did really enjoy writing it, so I'm all for an excuse to share it, haha.

[originalcontent]

Aww heck, I never posted about Marble Nest! Let’s talk about Marble Nest. We played it, we got all four endings, there were a couple things I maybe wanted to try but we didn’t but that’s okay, it would be pretty easy to replay. A couple thoughts.

As a player character, Daniil makes for a very very different playstyle than Artemy. It’s wild how all the actual mechanics of the game can be the same and yet such slight tweaks can change the feeling of the game so much. Like how everyone talking to you but how almost no one trading with you makes the whole town seem completely different.

Daniil sees the town as a chessboard and Artemy sees it as a body. This Daniil seems to know a lot fewer people than Artemy knew.

The pacing is also very interesting. The whole “time to make your nightly rounds” thing, is that something Daniil does? Is that part of his gameplay loop?

Coming out of having just finished Pathologic 2, wherein everyone’s constantly bitching at and/or trying to kill Artemy every four seconds, playing as Daniil felt like a fucking power trip. People are like “hey can you do this please” and I’m like “...wait can I do this? I can just do this??” 

I think overall I prefer playing as Artemy, although maybe I was just more accustomed to it.

Daniil is a BITCH.

No seriously, when playing Pathologic, I felt kind of bad about continually dragging Daniil because deep down there was always this little part of me that was like “you know he’s just trying his best, same as you, he doesn’t deserve all this shit you’re throwing at him” but now that I’ve gotten to walk a mile in his shoes I can definitively say that he absolutely deserved all of the shit I was throwing at him, and also I think Artemy deserved to punch him once. (After that they can go back to being friends/lovers/colleagues, however you interpret them, but he should get to punch him once.)

Okay enough about Artemy, he’s didn’t even appear in this game.

Wait one last thing, in the list of townsfolk it showed Artemy as having a name rather than being called “Haruspex”, but in the main game Daniil was listed as “Bachelor”? 

God, that list. Seeing so many dead kids. :( Daniil you did not protect my children. Oh, Mark Immortell was there and was in danger, in the Bachelor route am I allowed to let him die from the plague, is that a thing I can do, please? My besties Lara, Bad Grief, and Victor were also dead, but Stakh was alive! I tried to visit him but I couldn’t, the game doesn’t let you cross the river even if you go alllllll the way around it. I tried to find Aglaya too but couldn’t.

Seeing the town map was so heartbreaking. Quarantining the stone yard and letting everyone else die is a pretty pragmatic decision bUT ALSO!!!!!! My KIDS.

The loop was neat, how everyone kept saying you were dead and how you didn’t know why until the end, and I loved how the town kind of was your body. (Do the fires mean you’re feverish? Does the cold mean you’re dying?) This game has always been excellent about how it nests themes within themes and symbols within symbols, and Marble Nest was no exception.

Kind of hilarious tho how the ultimate theme is “if you don’t want your favorite character to die, just stop reading the book, or maybe start over and reread the parts where they’re still alive forever.” Turns out you really can beat death Daniil, good job. :)

(“But wait! I may be a fictional character, but the disease which kills me is also fictional! AU in which it’s not real fuck you” Honestly what did I expect coming from the same people who had a plot-critical messenger murdered offscreen by the understudy of the protagonist.)

This character’s themes seem to be very lofty. Again, I think I vibed more with the more grounded side of things, but I love metafuckery so you know.

That time I was in that house and I was like “I might need to check out some rooms” and the other guy was like “here, I have the master key” and hands me a lockpick, I actually laughed. Incredible.

The PANTOMIME. God that was such a vibe. Compared to everything else in Pathologic, it was so animated! I do love the “you’re heartless, come back to me when you have a heart” and then in the next loop I hand them a human heart and they’re like “.....dude, have you ever heard of a fucking metaphor, holy shit why are you giving me this.”

The CLOAK. The MASK. The S A N D A L S. Hhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Wearing the ensemble and literally being immune to the plague zone, I was like “wow this is fucking op how is this even allowed” although I guess Marble Nest was also written so that you can last the whole game on literally one piece of toast.

It was so weird to go around places where I know twyre grows and not hear any bugs. I did take a nice incredibly long walk through the steppe just to see how far the game would let me go though, because it was nice and pretty and who the fuck has time for that while in Pathologic? 

I didn’t really talk much before with Georgiy Kain, but fuuuuuuck what is wrong with that guy? If Daniil’s been hanging out with him, I can fucking understand why he became obsessed with the polyhedron at the end.

And Aspity, oh god I have so many questions, what are you, I don’t think we ever cleared that up.

And Shrew! What’s her deal?? There were actually a lot of very memorable NPC’s who didn’t even have their own custom designs.

I don’t know much about Pathologic 1 but I think Eva killed herself in the Bachelor route? Does that mean she’s going to die in this Bachelor route if it ever comes out? I mean presumably Marble Nest already deviates from that game quite a bit since I don’t think Artemy dies in it (and I don’t think Daniil does either.)

Gee Daniil! How come your mom lets you have two funerals?

A little sad Changeling never came by to say hi, I would have liked to see her. Although I guess she’s busy trying to save my ass irl. I know I remembered seeing the steam page for Marble Nest earlier and being like “huh that’s sort of a strange poster for the game, isn’t Artemy supposed to be dead?” And then I played it and I just took a moment and turned to my sister and was like “hey look at this” and she was like “...yup that’s literally the game.”

Overall it was a fun time. Very short comparatively, very clever. 

[lightadept]

Eagle Vision, Hikaru and some very strange MKR symbolism

@aldebaranarfeiniel​ @theblueescapist Writing this hurt my brain. So, let’s dive in.  This is how Cephiro looks. 

It took me embarrassingly long to realize that Cephiro sounds like... Sefirot. Cephiro, as the very name suggests, is apparently based on Sefirot, a Kabbalistic tree of life, which is a system depicting the flow of macrocosmic and microcosmic life energy. 

There is a flow of energy from top to bottom, from divine to material, and vice versa. This is another esoteric representation of the same thing: 

And here are our girls with the same symbols! 

Fuu (Solar, masculine energy)  Hikaru (Solar and Lunar, masculine and feminine energy combined) Umi (Lunar feminine energy) While the three pillars specifically are an Abrahamic esoteric symbol, the Kabbalistic tree of life as an energy flow system exists in numerous religions and beliefs, pagan and modern alike. One of them, which you all know because it’s all across popular culture, is of special interest to us. 

Notice the eagle at the top (ethereal, divine, intellectual) and snake/scorpion (physical, instinctual, passionate) at the bottom! The most famous representation of this symbol is depicted in the zodiac sign of Scorpio, and its dual nature containing both scorpion and eagle. 

Eagle Vision obviously stands for an eagle, but just look at Hikaru. Her braid looks like a scorpion.

The Eagle-Scorpion dual nature of the zodiac sign, once translated to its esoteric/Kabbalistic parallel, depicts the same energy flow that moves up and down those pillars and Sefirot, travelling between spiritual and material planes. Scorpion represents the lower nature, the physical, the body, the earth, the passion, the personal. Eagle is its higher manifestation, all things intellectual, sophisticated, unearthly, ethereal and collective. Scorpion needs the eagle to extend it upwards, to help it grow, to spiritualize it. Eagle, on the other side, needs the scorpion to earth it, to give a physical, mundane manifestation to something that is otherwise purely spiritual. In other words, they complete one another. Divine redeems material, material redeems divine. Most importantly, they are just different manifestations of the same thing! 

In my headcanon, Eagle and Hikaru are really the same person - they are not just drawn to each other, they are each other. She is from Earth, and he is like her counterpart from the astral universe of Cephiro. They are both initially chosen to be pillars because they are just different ends of the same axis.   She greatly admires him and looks up to him, wishing to be like him. He, on the other side, learns from her to exist. He elevates her, her self-esteem, her self-love. He brings out the higher in her. She in return teaches him precisely what scorpions symbolically teach eagles: to value personal happiness over blind, selfless sacrifice for sake of collective, greater good.  Another interesting thing is Emeraude, and how she connects to these two. This is going to be a bit hardcore, but bear with me. In the following picture, she is situated between two pillars.  

It’s a clear reference to this, High Priestess Tarot card:

The explanation of the symbolism is as follows: 

You've most likely encountered the High Priestess before, but in other forms - she can be seen in the archetypes of Persephone, Artemis, Isis and many more. When you encounter her, you will see her sitting on a cubic stone between the two pillars at Solomon’s Temple, Jachin, and Boaz. Jachin (right) is generally referred to as the Pillar of Establishment and Boaz (left) is the Pillar of Strength. The pillars also depict the duality of nature; masculine and feminine, good and evil, negative and positive.

The High Priestess's location between the two suggests that it is her responsibility to serve as a mediator between the depths of the reality. She is the third pillar - the path between. She believes that both pillars are equal and there is knowledge to be learned in both worlds. You will also notice that she wears the crown of Isis which can mean that she is a believer of magic.”

So, the ideal pillar excludes neither physical nor divine, neither personal nor collective notions. This is where Emeraude fucks up big time. By going all self-sacrificial and giving up her personal happiness, the cosmic balance was disturbed.

Now take a look at this:

This is the Indo-European tree of life (again, a pagan counterpart of Sefirot system and those pillars). Configuration is always the same: eagle god at the top and snakes/scorpions at the bottom. But notice how there’s a captive girl at the base of the tree - just like Emeraude, who is a prisoner of the world tree. This is a very common motif in Indo-European mythology: there is a maiden, sometimes a divine pair, divine twins or primordial lovers, who are situated at the base of the world tree, the axis mundi, the cosmic pillar, awaiting redemption, sort of like Adam and Eve. They are respectively dormant masculine and feminine energies that need to be released from their latent, imprisoned nature. The girl would then symbolize dormant feminine energy that needs to be given a proper place in the hearts of people. As long as she is imprisoned and unredeemed, she is also absent from the hearts of people. Masculine energy symbolizes spiritual and collective qualities, feminine earthly and personal. This really fits with the theme of her selflessness and inability to put her own happiness in front of other people’s.  Funnily enough, in Indo-European mythology, there are many folk songs that tell about this captive prisoner/maiden at the bottom who ritually calls forth an eagle from the top of the tree to descend and redeem them. (This is an incredibly interesting blend of Christian/Gnostic and pagan beliefs, as you are probably noticing redemption theme here).

This is just what Emeraude does. She calls forth these legendary warriors who are said to be able to redeem and free her from her tragic fate. But it’s not quite Eagle Vision who saves her as a new pillar, isn’t it? It’s Hikaru, an earthling. Remember, eagle is a symbol of spirituality, of selflessness, all higher qualities. Emeraude doesn’t need to learn selflessness, because that’s what got her in trouble in the first place - she needed to learn to value her personal feelings, to be selfish. That’s why she isn’t saved by Eagle who is equally selfless. 

She is saved by Hikaru from physical realm (Earth). Here material redeems divine, not the other way round! Emeraude who is all divine, self-sacrifical and Christ-like is freed from imprisonment by Hikaru who basically teaches her through Eagle that, hey, it’s okay to be selfish, to want to be happy. So, magic knights are absolving her of her own self-denying divinity - which is a pretty darn cool theme.  What’s interesting here is that both Hikaru and Eagle are like symbolic expressions or emanations of Emeraude’s tragic fate in a way. If Emeraude and Zagato symbolize that dormant, imprisoned energy, a love that was never properly consummated and given a place, then Hikaru, Eagle and Lantis are their extensions, their second chance. Lantis is Zagato. Hikaru and Eagle are both Emeraude. Hikaru is that fire and conviction that Emeraude should have had, and Eagle Vision is a resolution of her conflict - he is the Emeraude who finally learns not to self-sacrifice.  I just fucking love to think of Eagle Vision as an expression or emanation of Emeraude. He is totally moved by her feminine energy. 

[red-winters]

*Batfam fic-recs

*Some are Tim Drake Centric

**Some links are not working in mobile (and ONLY mobile) for some reason? And some titles that were bolded in the original post are ALSO not displaying on mobile correctly. Idk what to do about that, but you can still look up the fic, I guess.

The Bat’s Crest - livierambles

Note: I will always keep recommending this fic. It’s epic, thrilling, and hilarious and sometimes angsty. Also, everyone is confused, including the ones doing the confusing. Maybe especially the ones doing the confusing. Also, some Tim and Damian bonding, which is always nice.

Summary: Tragedy strikes the hero community when Bruce Wayne commits a crime so heinous even the best start asking for blood. However, as the heroes try to recover from the hit and carry out justice for their friends, a random assortment of people start acting oddly, including the current Speedy Tim Drake, a child hostage in Gotham, and a young man from an unremarkable circus amongst others. All of them seem intent on saving Bruce Wayne from the grasp of the Justice League for no apparent reason, going as far as betraying their previous allegiances.

Unknown to the Justice League, these people are equally confused. Clearly they're stuck in another dimension, but how do they get back? How did they even get here? Who else is stuck in this world? And how long will Tim's patience last? Back home, the Bat was a planetary symbol that struck fear in the hearts of criminals. In this new world, it has no meaning, save for the handful of stranded souls.

In the Shadows - Kieron_ODuibhir

(shortened) Summary:

“I’m not like you.”

The cowl still looked like something he was wearing, but Clark knew it was not. It flexed like skin when Batman narrowed his blank white eyes and said, “I can see you know that.” 

Chirp - AmariT

Summary: Every piece of the signal Tim unlocked revealed more locks, and by the time he broke through the last one, he was already mentally rehearsing his many upcoming talk show appearances. 'Yes,' he told the interviewer, 'it was difficult for me, a ten-year-old genius, to break open the worldwide alien conspiracy. That's why it took a whole hour.'

When the crackling audio started, he expected some weird alien language. Maybe squawks and high-pitched squeals mixed with musical woofs. Maybe they wouldn't talk at all, and images would beam directly into his mind. Maybe they'd talk in practiced English with a Midwestern drawl like their other resident alien.

Instead he heard a low, guttural voice growling out of his computer speakers. "Robin," it said. "Are you in position?"

A Better Cage - Mangaluva

Note: I was absolutely DELIGHTED to see a Young Justice Crossover with the Justice Lords (Earth-50) from the animated Justice League series, which is near and dear to my heart. I admit I haven’t really had much time to hunker down and read this, but even skimming, it’s an intriguing piece of work. Also, Justice Lords.

Summary: Wally's grateful to have woken up at all, really. He just doesn't know what to make of the world he's woken up in. At least they want to find a way to his world as much as he does, if not exactly for the same reasons...

Common People - AmariT

Note: The Bat boys are all Bruce’s blood sons, but it still feels very much like a found family. I haven’t really read everything in this series, but I feel the author has an amazing grip on all the characters. Lovely and heartwarming.

Summary: His whole life, Jason’s mom had told him his dad was Bruce Wayne, but he’d never been dumb enough to actually believe it. They lived in a rundown, one-room apartment in the worst part of town, and in every single picture he’d ever seen of that rich bastard he was wearing a suit or sipping champagne worth more than everything they’d ever owned.

But if he wasn’t Bruce Wayne’s kid, then what the hell was he doing sitting outside the man’s office in Wayne Towers?

Red Robin and the Hood - momoejaku

Note: Haven’t read this in a while, but it made an impression. Though it’s a fic set during the Red Robin arc, it very much is about both Tim and Jason. Plus, it fleshes out the Pru and Z a bit more, too.

Summary: Bruce Wayne is dead. Superman brought back his body, and the family mourned him, holding a quiet funeral in secret so that the legacy of Batman could live on. But not everyone has been able to put him to rest.

Reeling from the loss of Bruce, his identity as Robin and his trust in his family, Tim Drake sets out on a personal quest that will take him across the world to prove what he knows in his heart: that Bruce Wayne is alive.

Though intending to make his way alone, Tim reluctantly accepts help from his predecessor, Jason Todd, who knows from personal experience that death is not always as final as it seems.

Together, they are Red Robin and the Hood.

Liminal Spaces - Calamityjim

Note: Skimmed this only since I’ve been busy, BUT it does look well-written, and I’m always a sucker for alternate dimension/dimension travel intervention-type of fix-its. It’s a very specific trope.

Summary:

Bruce's habit of collecting strays is not limited by dimension.

Or

When Young Justice Batman comes across an angsty, seemingly abandoned by his Batman Tim Drake, he decides to step up to the plate and parent the crap out of him.

Little Bird’s Vengeance - KatHarkness-Katara

Note: Crossover with Avengers. Awesome fic with Tim and Jason and some Outsider POV (via the Avengers) of these dimensional stragglers. I think Tim’s team shows up in the later chapters, too. If you’re reading on mobile, it’s still very much worth reading despite FF.net’s horrible format and abundance of advertisements in the mobile version.

Summary: Why is life never simple? Red Robin's ended up worlds away from home once again, and now what's he to do? What do the Avengers want from him; do SHIELD have another agenda; and is there any way back? Pre-New 52. No slash. Rated for inevitable language/violent themes.

A Displaced Red Robin - dragonprincess1988

Note: Worth reading despite FF.net’s horrible format and abundance of advertisements in the mobile version. Well-written fic! EMOTIONS! I love them. Younger Dick Grayson is adorable, Tim is a competent fixer-upper for other people but not so much himself. He’s kind of angsty and making YJ Dick want to keep him (and YJ Bruce, too, if you read between the lines). On the plus side, seems like he’s making good friends with Young Justice Roy. This fic was written before certain episodes of YJ came out, though, and the fic reflects/will continue to reflect that. Still, I give it five stars.

Author’s Summary: Tim gets transported to the cartoon Young Justice world, and he's not sure he knows how to deal with it. Attention: If you want to know about Artemis or people from Tim's world the final note on my profile is for you. Also, a special thank you to angel-gidget over at Tumblr, who made the wonderful cover art for this story.

The Till-then From the Ever Since - Keiron O_Duibhir

Note: Fandom classic. Definitely a must-read for Batfam fans, in my humble opinion.

Summary: It began, or seemed to begin, with Jason.

Usually that would have meant something in the order of fire and explosion and probably at least one gunshot wound, but for once (as Tim said, sourly), it wasn't actually Jason's fault.

The Wayne Family Ghost - pupeez4eva

Note: Please read this. Especially if you’re sad or anxious or just have time. I couldn’t stop laughing. It’s my go-to cheer-up fic. Absolutely hysterical.

Summary: In which Bruce realizes that having a legally dead son, who regularly hangs around the family, might be slightly problematic. 

Bloodline - chibi_nightowl

Note: Complicated family dynamics, this time centering around Tim, Selina, Bruce and, surprisingly, Damian. Jason and Dick make an appearance as supportive big bros, too. It works. Take a read, it isn’t that long.

Summary:

“Mr. Drake, I can’t think of a better way to say this, so I’ll just be blunt. This file is for your first adoption. By the Drakes.”

Tim blinked. “My what?”

“You were adopted as a newborn by Jack and Janet Drake.”

“Excuse me, but what the fuck are you talking about?”

Talon!Tim AU Series by keeptogethernow

Note: Found family, from a different angle. Cool fic and well-written.

Summary of Tso’ape Mumbichi, first in the series: Ten years ago, two people made a deal with the devil--unlimited funds in exchange for their child. And now it's time to pay up. But there's no way to ensure that the child will cooperate.

Shutterbug Series by goldkirk

Note: Exactly what it says on the tin! Found family.

Summary:

Tim Drake is thirteen, runs the famous BatWatch blog that has spiraled hilariously out of control, has absentee parents that suit his purposes just fine, is training himself to run the streets at night, and is doing absolutely peachy, thank you.

Alfred and Jason disagree, and get Dick and Bruce involved in figuring out their weird next door neighbor kid’s life. Everything goes uphill from there.

Thursday’s Child - anthalogia

Note: Well-written and has found family and Tiny!Tim? Automatic win.

Summary:

He’s not the first child with nowhere else to go that Bruce Wayne has taken in. Dick Grayson was the first and the most high-profile – because no one would have thought Bruce Wayne was interested in ever raising a child, let alone the orphaned son of circus performers – but Jason was maybe just as much of a shock to society for being a street kid who came out of seemingly nowhere. Tim Drake is ordinary by comparison – his parents died in a plane accident. He can’t think of anything very special about him except that he met Bruce a few times when his parents hosted parties to keep in touch with Gotham society.

Or, tiny Tim Drake is adopted by the Waynes a little earlier than scheduled.

We’re Not Driving (How did we get here?) - TimTheToaster

Note: Short and sweet, a little angsty, and then very sweet.

Summary:

Tim stared at his phone, as if that would change what was on the screen.

Dick Grayson @FlyingDGrayson

It took some doing, and in some cases a little blackmail, but we've finally got the whole family together for a movie night! #WayneManor #movienight #familytime #schedulingisanightmare

15 minutes ago

Take It Back Now Y’all - TimTheToaster

Note: And Tiny!Jason has made his appearance. Also, Tim, I am begging you to please take care of yourself—ah, Bruce has made his appearance. Interesting. Also, I gotta say this author is good.

Summary:

There was absolutely no way this sunshine was from Gotham in April.

Not possible.

Which meant, Tim was no longer in Gotham, in April.

(In which Tim finds himself in the past, and tries to do the right thing. It's more complicated than he'd like.)

Takes a Little Time, Takes a Lotta Twine (To Get Us Back Together) - TimTheToaster

Note: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, beginning of reconciliation, and brotherhood. A satisfying, cathartic moment during the Red Robin arc to soothe your heart.

Summary:

Tim was in Gotham.

Tim had pretty specifically been avoiding thinking about Dick as much as possible for the last few weeks.

For the last year, really. No need to open that can of carnivorous worms.

Dick had other plans.

Everybody’s Heard (Bird is the Word) - TimTheToaster

Red Robin Era ANGST, but like, deliciously well-written. Also, protective Dad Bruce is always epic. Light bashing of Green Arrow and BC, though. But considering the situation (in this fic), kind of warranted.

Summary:

5 times Batman heard other heroes talking about his wayward brother,

And 1 time they were talking about his son.

A Choice to Make - scorbusfics

Note: fresh and interesting premise! Cool world building, too.

Summary: They have to choose. Dick and Bruce have to choose one person each to save, and one to disappear through the door.

“Send one of us,” Dick says fiercely, not for the first time. His face is dark and angry and desperate, eyes flicking from brother to brother. “Send one of us instead. I won’t choose.”

“Neither will I,” Bruce says.

But Tim knows.

Secret Places - RenaRoo

It’s ANGST, but the author knows how to use it well. Also, Jason’s line at the end killed me. Damn.

Summary: Tim Drake goes missing. The search to find him begins.

[aleatoryw]

okay, so, the bella sara tarot deck. below the cut because it’s a LONG post.

My process: I decided to limit this to cards I physically own, even though all the newer cards do seem to be archived pretty well on the wiki, because I think shuffling and touching the cards is an important tarot aspect, and I wanted the deck to be functional. Not counting item cards and shiny variations, there are a total of 90 unique cards in the first and second series, the only ones I ever purchased, and luckily I have all 90!

Since there are 78 cards in a tarot deck, I had to pick out 12 to discard. I settled on several non horses (artemis the zebra, pedro the donkey, dino the dinosaur, kio the lion, treasure the seahorse, wavebreaker the dolphin), three foals (bellisimo, beauty, spottie), cajus for including a merman in the artwork, friends for featuring two horses and only one name, and dynamo because i simply felt the art style wasn’t very realistic and didn’t fit in with the rest of the deck.

From there I divided the remaining cards up by their “symbol” at the top. conveniently, there are four suits! I decided the heart best fit with the cups, the flower with wands, the moon with pentacles, and the horseshoe with the sword. Great. Then I dug through every pile and pulled cards I thought best fit each major arcana card, while keeping 14 of each suit to represent the minor arcana.

For the unfamiliar, bella sara cards feature a horse portrait, but also a little message of positivity. A little horse motto. It’s a strange franchise but 2007 was a weird time for all of us. I mainly used the messages to sort these horses, but aesthetics and name played a small role. I used this site’s description of each major arcana card to help because I don’t know that much about tarot tbh. all images from the bella sara wiki.

The Fool - Luna - “A wonderful and exciting world awaits you.” a few other cards mention having the heart of a child or seeing the world as a child, but this one really expresses the beginning of a journey, the openness to the world that the fool offers, if slightly more uplifting because. well. it’s bella sara.

The Magician - Tao - “The whole world is at your feet.”  i was kind of hoping for a card that was more about being unique. but the magician also represents having what you need to accomplish your goals and should set forth. world’s your oyster. at your feet.

The High Priestess - Santos - “Be mindful of your senses and your intuition.” was slightly wary of assigning a stallion to this role but gender is dead and the high priestess is all about intuition

The Empress - Honey - “Create something beautiful. It will make you feel peaceful.” my first instinct was to make the titular bella the empress. But honey’s message about beauty, and her portrait surrounded by nature, won out.

The Emperor - Cantaro - “Develop your ability to lead. Ask a wise person for advice.” This card specifically mentions leadership and wisdom, a relatively easy pick.

The Hierophant - Angel - “Angel is coming. Make space and let heaven help you.” another pretty easy one, very few cards mention heaven or spirituality.

The Lovers - Yin & Yang - “You always have a choice.” i considered discarding these two early on, but felt the message was too tarot-relevant to discard, and they fit very well here. the only card in our deck with two horses who aren’t a mare and foal, reminding you of choices.

The Chariot - Tai - “Be resolute and energetic in what you do.” wavered on this one for a while but I think resolve and energy are related to determination and drive enough for this to work.

Strength - Thunder - “I give you courage. Now you can release your fears.” this is one where the portrait was pretty relevant - a few cards mention courage but this one is the most forceful and strong about it.

The Hermit - Mushu - “Find a peaceful place where you can gather new energy.” big hermit card energy, back away from it all and recharge

The Wheel of Fortune - Eagle - “See the world from above like an eagle.” fuck this card in particular. took me ages to find something that kind of matches, and even then it’s a stretch. the only real match here is that the wheel of fortune urges perspective, and so does this eagle colored horse.

Justice - Grey - “If you really want it, it will come to you.” this was a tough one too. The vaguely karmic aspect is appealing to pair this one with justice, but it’s still not the best match in the deck. i’m trying my best.

The Hanged Man - Yasmin - “Retreat and gather new energy for taking steps on the road.” the hanged man is about cutting your losses, sacrificing something small to move forward, and letting go of what’s not working. retreat seems like a good fit.

Death - Chung - “Let go of pain and sorrow. The road will open and everything will go right.” assigning a horse trading card to death was not a task i thought i would face. but i kinda vibe with this pick - death is about endings and new beginnings, so it’s important to move past your pain and onto new roads. also, traditionally, death rides a white horse.

Temperence - Peace - “Those who don’t think of winning or losing have peace in mind.” kind of a weird one, hard to find a good match, but I think this patient, peaceful war horse fits.

The Devil - Parlez - “Make a plan and commit completely to it.” crazy enough there really aren’t any uhhhhhh demonic horses in this children’s trading card series from ‘07. went with the interpretation that what traps you is your own unwillingness to move forward. also there is a skull on this horse’s forehead. kinda metal?

The Tower - Macon - “It is wise to accept that there are things you can’t do.” this card is one of very few that isn’t relentlessly positive and instead encourages you to accept failure. Let that tower, or stable i guess, crumble.

The Star - Star - “It is not what you do but who you are that is important.” i simply had to. nice healing message.

The Moon - Sheng - “Understand the past. Hold onto the great things and move forward alone.” the description for this bad boy mentions not allowing worry to cloud your past or future, and this horse is all about parsing your past to move clear-headed towards the future. nice moon colored palette.

The Sun - Bella - “Think positive every day! Feel the bliss of joy and energy that comes with it.” here she is, the figurehead of our series, the queen of happiness, joy, optimism, energy... our sun.

Judgement - Starfighter - “Believe in your vision and make it come true.” this was another tough match, i had to focus on the “you can change yourself and your future” aspect of judgement to make any of them fit, and this was my fave card that mentions vision.

The World - Sunny - “The wind blows. The sun is shining. Surround yourself with positive friends.” it’s not my favorite match, but it does have a certain element of being in the right place in the world, with a sense of completion.

Okay! so that’s the major arcana. For the minor arcana, while i did put the cards within each deck into an order I thought fit the ace through king, I was far less particular than with our major deck. Went with vague associations instead of real connection to each card. I’m also not gonna list out all my reasons, because while I may be an insane person, I’m not quite ready to dedicate that much time to this weird, niche late night project. Pictured below is the ace of each deck.

Suit of Wands/Flowers:

Ace - Shaman - “You are more powerful than you realize. It is safe and good for you to be powerful.”

Two - Feng - “This moment is full of opportunities.”

Three - Nanna - “Think positively. Your happy thoughts will grow.”

Four - Walter - “I love your company. Let’s have a good time together.”

Five - Shakira - “Goodness and generosity create loving energy.”

Six - Yung - “Don’t be afraid. Show who you are.”

Seven - Tiffi - “Paradise is a state of mind.”

Eight - Bosi - “Use all your abilities to make this a beautiful place.”

Nine - Jewel - “I will help you stay in a steady flow of abundance.”

Ten - Flipper - “I will embrace you with extra energy and magic. Then you don’t have to be afraid.”

Page - Pink Lady - “I am the spirit of your inner child. Be joyful and see the world as a magical place.”

Knight - Sarah - “Take a chance and follow your heart.”

Queen - Misla - “With me you will be safe and protected by heaven.”

King - Halloween - “I will keep you safe.”

Suit of Cups/Hearts:

Ace - Pegasus - “Your dreams are coming through. I am here to help you trust.”

Two - Saga - “Join me and we will be happy together.”

Three - Nikita - “You may join us if you like.”

Four - Sasha - “Make your goals magnificent.”

Five - Roxy - “Magical opportunities surround you.”

Six - Sung - “Retreat from conflicts and go where you feel safe.”

Seven - Fiona - “Be the hero in your own story.”

Eight - Lancelot - “Be patient. Wait for the right moment before you take action.”

Nine - Misty - “You have Misty’s touch right now, and everything you start turns to gold.”

Ten - King - “I will help you spread peace and unity throughout the world.”

Page - Skipper - “Believe in your worth. You are valuable.”

Knight - Filippa - “Enjoy what you have got. You don’t need what you have not.”

Queen - Ghost - “Your beauty comes from within.”

King - Lucas - “Run with me and you will feel the strength and power inside you.”

Suit of Swords/Horseshoes:

Ace - Konfu - “Move towards your goals. The road is open.”

Two - Alibi - “Find new ways to be with others.”

Three - Yellow - “Spend time with me and you will get your heart’s desire.”

Four - Freja - “Close your eyes and hear the sound around you.”

Five - Ninja - “Be careful every minute.”

Six - Cascadeur - “The things you have lost will come back by themselves.”

Seven - Jojo - “You create your own reality.”

Eight - Ming - “Be open and take care of what is necessary.”

Nine - Sweety - “You are a perfect child. Believe it.”

Ten - Moonlight - “Trust the moon and the stars. Then your dreams are coming through.”

Page - Colour - “Feel the joy in what you see, hear, and sense.”

Knight - Flame - “I run faster than the wind. Follow me and we will find a magical place.”

Queen - Blackie - “Follow your dreams. Feel the happiness it brings.”

King - Bello - “Life is a gift. Receive it and love it.”

Suit of Pentacles/Moons:

Ace - Sokki - “Seize the day.”

Two - Rose - “Listen to your dreams. What they tell you is important.”

Three - Rain - “Run with me and feel the power.”

Four - Leonard - “Your life is a sundance.”

Five - Charlie - “Make time to listen to your friends.”

Six - Leonardo - “When you hear me neigh you will feel the joy we have.”

Seven - Hummingbird - “Go after the point of life.”

Eight - Hercules - “Don’t be afraid to ask for help.”

Nine - Mermaid - “Laugh from your heart and feel the joy.”

Ten - Mandalay - “This is a magical moment. You can make a wish.”

Page - Jonathan - “It is time for joyful playing. Joy creates miracles.”

Knight - Lucky Light - “Always be clear and brave.”

Queen - Shadow - “Look withing yourself and love what you find there.”

King - Balto - “Happiness is a decision. Decide to be happy.”

And there you have it. the bella sara. tarot. deck. If you’re still here you’re either way too invested in assigning things to other things, procrastinating, or have fond bella sara memories from when the company was still out there, convincing us to spend several hours a day brushing virtual horses. PLEASE message me with your fond bella sara memories, or if you know about tarot and have suggestions/comments.

despite the insane time investment this took, i really enjoyed looking at all the messages and comparing them to tarot meanings. maybe i’ll actually do some kind of reading with it sometime! i don’t know a lot about tarot but i think it’s really cool and the concept of using silly horse trading cards to divine my future delights me.

[disregardcanon]

a decade of self recs

i’d like to invite anyone who wants to to participate in this exercise along with me!

this is a self rec and a reflection on a fic from each year of the decade

fandoms include: percy jackson, adventure time, a song of ice and fire, girl meets world, gravity falls, young justice, the flash, my hero academia, the mcu, and the handmaid’s tale. 

2010: I didn’t even know what fanfiction was! oh my gosh i was a baby!

2011: 

I Won’t Ever Leave You Alone

Fandom: Percy Jackson 

Pairings: Percy/Annabeth

Summary:  What happens when Percy's sent to the Roman Camp and flat out does not want to remember his past? Can it have a happy ending? It's my first fan fiction and I hope you enjoy.

A.N: This WAS the first fanfiction that I ever wrote. It was bad. It’s STILL bad. however... if I didn’t ever write this one, then I never would have gotten less bad. That’s important! 

2012: 

The Ice Prince

Fandom: Adventure Time

Summary:  "Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice" Robert Frost. The lonely ice prince wonders a frozen wasteland of his own creation, searching for companionship he will never be fortunate enough to find, with only vague recollections and half memories as comfort. Drabble Ice Prince!Finn

A.N: this fic is actually shorter than the author’s note I wrote for it, but... I’m not going to lie. The atmosphere work is really great and the wording flows really nicely. I’m proud of this little piece. I think out of everything that I wrote that year, it shows my potential the best. 

2013: 

Hot Chocolate Heals All Wounds

Fandom: Percy Jackson 

Pairings: Reyna/Annabeth and past Percy/Annabeth 

Summary:  Moving on is never easy, but with hot chocolate, love, laughter and Reyna by her side, Annabeth might just manage.

A.N: 2013 was where I really started to take off as a fic writer. I improved drastically over the course of the year, but I still think that this fic that I wrote during the summer is the closest to my heart. It’s the first of my “ladies getting over trauma together and falling in love” genre. 

It’s not as good as I remember it being, and oh lordy. the smut.. the smut is bad. But there’s a lot of potential here, and I can still look back on it fondly. 

2014: 

The River Rushes On

Fandom: A Song of Ice and Fire 

Pairings: Catelyn/Cersei 

Summary: The official reason that she is sent to Riverrun is so that she can learn to be a proper lady alongside Hoster’s daughters. The unofficial reason, of course, is that Tywin found his golden twins having sex.

Or, the one where all good things end, but life continues.

A.N: I had a bit of debate going between this one and a sansaery fic that I wrote that year, but I decided that this HAD to be the choice. Catelyn/Cersei is a pairing that I came to on my own, but I ended up really loving because of the friends I made through the pairing. While this might not have been might best writing of the year, I feel like it was a formative enough experience that it overrides that. 

honorable mention: like the songs, a tragic sansaery au where sansa was a traveling singer

2015: 

Caged

Fandom: A Song of Ice and Fire 

Pairings: Sansa/Margaery 

Summary:  In an alternate universe where many of the members of the Westerosi elite are magical creatures, the Lannisters seal Sansa Stark's wolf form deep within her. Margaery Tyrell vows to break the spell.

A.N: this is where we get into fics that I might actually recommend to someone. This one was one of the last fics that I wrote during high school, and it was inspired by our class reading of Macbeth and the emotional turmoil of getting ready to head off to college. There’s still some stuff I’m REALLY proud of in there. The spell ingredient “blood of a lover, willingly drawn” is still fantastic, the dream is still chilling, and I honestly sometimes think of adapting this premise into an original story.

honorable mentions: a guide to coming out, the girl meets world edition 

her heart’s duet, the mabifica soulmate’s au 

2016: 

Over the Shadowy Hills 

Fandoms: Young Justice

Pairings: Artemis/Zatanna

Summary: Wally is dead, but Artemis isn't. She's trying to learn how to deal with that.Featuring: Bart Allen, product placement Netflix isn't paying me for, blatant symbolism, and snaibsel sweaters.

A.N: 2016 was a REALLY hard one. I wanted to put like, 3 star wars rebels fics, but i’m holding myself to my one fic per year policy, and if it’s one fic for year... then it has to be over the shadowy hills.   

one of my other friends helped me work this into a fic that i could be really proud of, and it’s the better version of the same fic type as “hot chocolate heals all wounds” from a couple years earlier. i’m still really pleased with the way that this one panned out and i couldn’t leave it out of a best list, 

the honorable mentions:  you were someone, once the winter soldiered! ezra fic that helped me become friends with @bodhimcbodeface​, the ketbine soulmate au where sabine drew dicks all over her face, and then there’s the mirialan!ezra au. 

2017: 

you, me, and the flash makes three

Fandom: The Flash 

Pairings: Cisco/Iris, eventual Cisco/Barry/Iris

Summary: When Barry Allen wakes up from his coma, he finds out that Iris is dating Cisco. He tries really hard to dislike the guy, but Cisco makes it really hard. He's a likable dude.Things get more complicated from there.

A.N: i have a few others that i would have liked to put for this year, but i saw “you me and the flash makes three” and then i was like. well shit. i can’t pick anything else. this fic is a little under 15k and it’s really one of my favorite things that i’ve ever written. it’s a little cheesy and at parts feels a little clunky, but i think that the way that i was able to hit the most important emotional beats for season one of the flash and flesh out all the relationships within an ot3 outweigh that. 

honorable mentions are: how to fall in love with your mark, the bluepulse fic where bart allen realizes that he can’t kill jaime reyes and 

mantis prays to oregon, the guardians of the galaxy vol. 2 fic where mantis is ego’s biological child, but that somehow makes everything worse

2018: 

Ad Astra Per Aspera

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Pairings: Ochako/Bakugo 

Summary:  Ochako sees none of herself in Bakugo’s pure rage, her sheer confidence. Bakugo holds up an enormous middle finger to the world and says come and get it. She’s harsh. She’s loud. She’s angry. She doesn’t say what’s on her mind; she shouts it.If she’s being completely honest, Ochako is a bit in awe with her.People might not like her, but they take her seriously. Bakugo grabs them by the throats, pulls them in and says “I am woman, hear me roar."

Sequel to "knights in shining armor"

A.N: 2018 was the year that I embraced the gender bend and started writing bildungsromans that deal with coming of age and trying to puzzle out wtf being a person and gender even are. I’m really pleased with all of them, but this is my favorite. Partially because I think it’s the most well-written, partially because I like the motifs the best, but mainly because it taught me a lot about myself and my writing. 

Also it accidentally got me to ship kacchako, which is something I appreciate. 

honorable mentions: hers, not his: the fem!todoroki one where she learns that sometimes telling your dad to fuck off isn’t worth giving up the things that you love

gimme a boost over heaven’s gate, the one where eleanor and tahani end up on the same talk show together. then bone. then become better people

2019: 

Paint a New Horizon 

Fandoms: A Song of Ice and Fire

Pairings: Sansa/Margaery and abusive Sansa/Joffrey

Summary:  Sansa is a painter. The moment that she meets Joffrey he becomes her muse. After they get married she starts to see his true colors unfold in front of her and she loses her passion. Then she meets Margaery. Her presence changes everything, and reignites a passion for painting and for life that Sansa thought was long buried. It’s too bad that leaving Joffrey isn’t an easy task.

A.N: this fic is 23k of my sweat and tears. i know that it’s kind of a weird premise, but this was the most gripping writing i’ve done all year. it was exactly right for me at that moment. 

however, it does spell a bit of a turning point in my writing and life. in the past, i have written short fics that i could get posted fairly quickly. this fic was the result of multiple weeks of work when i was off school, not working much, and focusing mainly on... writing this damn thing. moving forward, i’m going to have to try to figure out a way to keep up my motivation and drive with longer projects when i don’t have the time to dedicate to HUGE chunks of work at one time when i also know i’m not going to get the instant gratification of kudos immediately after a long writing sesh. i know that sounds silly, but this is the first year where the majority of the fics i wrote WERE longer. 

while i’m very pleased with all of these longer fics, it does mark a shift that i will just have to learn how to deal with. 

honorable mention: A Woman’s Place, the handmaid’s tale time travel fix it fic

[ivorytowerblr]

WH20K Fic: Court of Stars 1/62 + Epilogue

Hello again, friends. My general plan is to post a new chapter every three days or so, so this is Part I, Chapter 1. Commentary is below the Read More.

Title: Court of Stars Part: Prologue/Prologue + Chapter 1-62 + Epilogue Includes: Violence, mature sexual content, strong language. Summary: It is the golden age; humanity has developed self-sustaining technology and stretched out towards the stars. They have created and maintained alliances with alien races and established a network of independent colonies, each developing their own sense of identity and society. They have survived a terrible war with their own creations and emerged all the greater for it. A new class of human is beginning to emerge, with fear and fascination warring it out within the hearts and minds of the people.

It is the twenty-sixth millennium, and everything that humanity has ever believed is about to change. Link: [AO3]

Hello again! I’m here to talk about Part I, Chapter 1.

So, the first and most obvious thing to talk about is that this part is called “Sagittarius and Virgo”. Back when I was planning this out, I made a list of all twelve/thirteen zodiac symbols and threw in some of the constellations I thought were cool. There are a small number of ‘preassigned’ associations from 40k’s canon, and the most obvious and predominant of which is Horus being associated with ‘the dread Sagittary’, or Sagittarius. The trick came with trying to assign everyone else. I picked Virgo for Selene (an OC Primarch II that I came up with) because of the associations with Virgo’s symbolism as a part of the zodiac.

Selene’s name is derived from her lunar imagery, so and Diana is the Roman name for Artemis who is one of the couple of different deities associated with the moon. I picked Tyler as a last name because it sounded fairly normal, the way Werner does. When I was naming Horace, I originally was going to use something like “Lupin” as the last name, and immediately was overcome with ‘Who brought Moon-Moon along?’ and decided against it. Horace, however, was because it sounds like Horus, a fact that at least one of my original readers didn’t cotton to originally and was super mad at the terrible pun I got away with for weeks. I’m pretty proud of that.

This first part was originally the core part of the story, before I changed my mind about how I wanted it written, so instead, you get... whatever this is. ::gestures:: And now it’s time for references.

My sanctum is about peace of mind, not an excuse to reject reality and substitute my own.

This is a Mythbusters reference. The whole scene with the sanctuary is actually because Selene, in most of her versions, is allergic to sunlight, so I thought it was interesting to have her be completely normal and actually enjoy sun, no matter how artificial, a prisoner in a gilded cage.

The Captain’s brief, unsolicited, and heartfelt mental observation about her ass kept the smile on her lips even as she looked at a man she disliked far more than this soldier.

This is a reference to the first encounter between Jim Raynor and Sarah Kerrigan in StarCraft I. While it isn’t clear what he’s thinking, since her reaction was “You pig!”, we can proooobably assume it’s something to this effect. Of course, Diana is appreciative of the attention, whereas Kerrigan wasn’t... not at first, at any rate.

“Do people have souls?”

As with many writers, I helpfully use my own writing to espouse my own personal philosophies, and in this case, it’s about souls. More relevantly, it’s the reason why the Warp, known by a lot of things but especially the Sea of Souls, is the way it is, because emotion and experiences are part of the soul, and souls go to the Warp.

Poverty and gang life had touched him. He was old enough to have fought in the final stages of the war, just as she had been, but he had been a foot soldier, a child.

I snagged Horus’ general backstory for Horace, though this could be the story of many who grew up poor in the US, which is what ‘Merica’ is, or so I assume.

The closer she came, the more she could feel it, one voice out of millions, the heart of the flame.

One of the things that was supposed to feature more predominantly was the notion that the number of psykers were on the rise, and there were lots of frightened, untrained individuals, and incidents like this can happen, which is essentially right out of X-Men, including the reference to “Project Xavier”.

Diana had gone willingly after the incident in the hab-spires, located perhaps ironically in what had historically been known as the city of Phoenix, Arizona. A monument to the hubris of man.

Yes, this is in fact a King of the Hill reference (which I only know from tumblr posts), and I have promised not to make this joke more than once, for the sake of the friends I have that live in that area and find the joke mind-numbingly overdone.

Project Servitor was located halfway across the world in Oceania, nestled in the many desolate kilometres of the Australian outback.

Back when Overwatch was being released and the backstories for Junkrat and Roadhog were released, one of my friends, who is himself Australian, mocked their backstory of gathering up the malcontents in the outback, owing to its extremely sparse population density. This morphed into discussing the “many kilometres of the Australian outback and it remains a meme to this day.

“Diana,” Wolfram said, and she looked at him again. He was flushed, his cheeks red, and shifted in his seat. “I think you’ve made your point.”

A lot of stories involve men fantasizing about women, so I took the opportunity to write, if not the ‘opposite’, but a reversal of that particular trope. Of course, Diana gets caught pretty much immediately because of her projections, but it’s still important.

Centuries ago, during the height of the era of the standard template construct, scientists had created an artificial intelligence powerful enough to control and operate completely artificial bodies. They had been nicknamed the Iron Men, though historical science fiction often called them robots, not to be confused with first iteration, known as Stone Men, or golems.

There’s not a lot of information about the Golden Age of Technology, but we do know about the Iron Men, AI-controlled robots who ruined AIs for everyone else. A big part of what paved the way for Project Servitor, which I’ll get into more detail about later, is about dealing with a labour crisis which only gets worse as time goes by, until ships and bureaucracies are desperately dependent on cyborg labour to survive.

The other problem, of course, was getting the subjects themselves. Crime was a reality on Earth, just as it was in the colonies, but there weren’t vast continents of murderers, arsonists, hustlers, and rapists simply waiting to be rendered down for their organic parts. A labour force would have to appear from out of nowhere.

“Which is where cloning comes into it,” Diana murmured to herself, unable to keep the disgust from her voice. “Which is just a new kind of slavery, like the Iron Men, except with softer, shittier bodies.”

While the logistics work a little better when you have literally trillions of people to sift through, this is pretty much why vat clones are a necessary part of 40k’s future. A lot of the dangerous hardened criminals seem to be confined to arcoflagellants or one of the other specialty cyborgs that are carefully controlled with mind alterations. Also, describing yourself as having a soft, shitty body is a saying of a friend’s, so of course I need to borrow it.

“A whole new world?” Wolfram offered, and gave her a small smile.

The song is now playing in your head.

[candideangel]

(( more things to fill your askbox with, for the detailed writer prompt )) 4, 6, 7, 11, 12

writing style | Meme

4. without using your fc, describe your character physically - not just looks but also movement, posture, etc.

Well because Angelique has no face claim because no girl is like her at all. I love to describe her as physically able; she’s lean muscled to show she does work out, her body tends to have a bit of an easy flex to it, but not like a cat (or in some cases Galra). Most of the details are in the description on the main page, but the way she carries herself is not arrogant, she’s always relaxed, gently rounded shoulders. You can tell much through her body language and the way she carries herself. Because of the light way she tends to carry herself, when something’s wrong you’ll know. I hope that’s enough of an answer?

6. let’s say someone else was going to write your character - what are the main points of their personality that you would tell the other writer to focus on? what about outside of that? images/symbols/moments in their life/etc.

My main points of personality if I were to have someone else write her for a drabble (which I wish would happen), keep a point with how expressive she can be. Angelique may not be able to read the room properly sometimes in big groups, but if it’s one on one, she is able to read and understand the person better. It’s a way for her to approach them without either offending them or having them shut her out. Keep in mind her interests as well, because if there’s a topic she’s interested in she will go on some embarrassing, maybe slightly long winded explanations. Outside of that, her history always changes from verse to verse, but despite the pain or heartache she’s gone through, she’s always extending a hand to help the people she considers friends. Open heart, extrovert. Angelique is a major extrovert, which is why if she says something that was wrong, she will probably kick herself and try to remedy the situation a bit more frazzled than earlier.

7. what sort of medium do you think your character is best suited for (literature/film/graphic novel/etc.) ? if they are a canon, do you think there’s a medium that fits the character better than their current one?

I think Angelique is much better suited for literature. I mean I will draw her every so often because she’s my baby. But here in the writing medium, there’s so much more I love to do with her, I love imagining the expressions she’s giving to the people she loves, the ones she’s trying to meet. It even makes my heart hurt when she hurts. So definitely literature is her best area, but if she somehow ended up in a graphic novel, ha well let’s just say that would be pretty cool. I would love to call it “Time Traveling Angel” where it’s a big crossover thing as she passes from timeline to timeline.

11. what mythic deity do you think best embodies the core values of your character? how so?

If I had to choose just one...god this is hard (ha). Um let’s see..if I were to choose just one it would be the sun god Apollo. Sure he’s the god of manly beauty, but he’s also a god of music and arts, healing, almost like a jack of all trades, which in a way is what Angelique encompasses. The other two options I had in mind was Artemis or Demeter (you can choose who was better).

12. what is your character’s ideology? what beliefs and values are most important to them and how do they impact their decision making?

Friends always come first thing before herself. Yes, self-care is important, and she’s perfectly aware of that, but she believes that taking care of someone will show them that she’s someone perfectly normal to be around, that she isn’t a threat. Sometimes though this gets out of hand; blinds her decision making or she ends up helping out too much she either doesn’t sleep for days or she hardly eats. So while the other is in perfect health, hers is slowly deteriorating and she doesn’t realize this until someone speaks up. She will be very focused, and does need someone to snap her out of it once in a while.