#orphan plot bunny

[sparrowmoth]

Dumping a plot bunny on the side of the road: AU where Jan Van Eck had bought a summer home in Novyi Zem as a wedding for his bride, and the Van Ecks ever since used to spend half the year there. They kept to themselves in the sense that they were often seen, but rarely spoken to.

Not for lack of trying on the part of their neighbours on the farm to one side, which belonged to the Faheys. Colm had tried to welcome them when they first arrived, especially seeing as the Van Eck boy looked not much younger than his own son, but Van Eck had told him coldly that his son had prior engagements and no time to play with farm boys.

One day, though, when Jesper is seven, he sees the red-faced Van Eck man come running through their fields, calling out for his parents. They tell Jesper to go upstairs, but he creeps into the stairwell and overhears them in the kitchen when they let the man inside. He's frantically exclaiming about his wife and son, apparently poisoned.

He hears his mother conduct herself with no concern to how this man has treated their family. She rushes out the door to help, promising Jesper to return before he sleeps that night.

But she never does.

Because the Van Ecks are dying. The mother and son. She can't save them both. Marya doesn't begrudge that, but begs her... save Wylan.

And Aditi does.

Wylan lives because Aditi takes the poison from his body and dies in his place under the Van Eck's roof.

It all happens so fast after that, once Marya has gone. Van Eck sells the summer home and moves his son back permanently to Kerch, never saying a word of condolence or regret to Jesper or Colm.

Not even a goodbye.

Not from Van Eck or... his mother.

She never had the chance.

Jesper never forgets, though, the name Van Eck.

Every target he shoots, he can see that man's face in the doorway that bright summer day, about to take his mother from him forever.

She didn't teach him vengeance, but Kaz...

Kaz finds vengeance is a useful thing to nurture.

And Jesper is a poisonous plant in bloom.

[randomkposts]

The hangry meltdown

K:-I think back to Goro's meltdown on Shido's ship, and there were a lot of things that contributed to that. 

I mean, it all ties back to him being an orphan, and Japanese treatment of orphans in Japan, but there were other surface reasons he had his meltdown. 

I have seen people say that his busy schedule of being an honors student, detective, television speaker and metaverse ninja would not lead to a lot of break time to decompress. Which is very true and would explain it. 

But so would his eating habits. Things like an apple for lunch. Let's back up a little. Goros is an orphan, and probably lives on takeout since the odds someone taught him to cook are low. Takeout is expensive. A single desert is usually cheaper then a meal, even if the later is more filling, and desert works with the image he cultivates, and spending less means he goes (is seen going)  to fancy restaurants. So it's a money saver. Spending less on food means more to spend on nice clothing, and other image maintenance. So desert at fancy places it is. Sushi if Sae treats him.  He also probably doesn't have a lot of time to eat with all his activities. So he doesn't  have great eating habits in the first place, and realizes he needed to check Shido's palace (that the phone might have held more significance then it seemed) mid talk show. 

When did he last eat?

He was already stressed, then he had to go deal with the PTs again, hungry. 

So he had a hangry meltdown.

E:-As someone who regularly forgets to eat, that's terrible he keeps going without.

Goro indulging on dessert while jabbing a fork very threatening

"I can stop when I want to," Goro said, then out of the corner of his mouth"only do I really want to "

K:-I'm not good at it either, but thankfully I have parents and therefore eat with them , unlike Goro who lives alone. 

No, Goro budgeting:- "if I get desert, it will look good on the food blog, and I will have money to keep up my haircut when I need it."

Goro is smart, but I doubt he has taken much in the way of nutrition class.

… Then again, me who has taken a nutrition class, was in college once, and pretty hungry on the way to class. Also tired. And didn't have much cash or time. Using what I knew about energy giving foods, and the amount of cash I had on me, I determined the most efficient thing I could buy was an apple and a liter of chocolate milk. 

Just had a liter of chocolate milk in class, drinking it to try to stay awake.

Between the boys, Ryuji and Joker are the ones who can cook. 

Makoto is the one I would put as likeliest to know cooking, alongside Haru. Ann is a hard maybe, and Futaba is a not unless it's unpackage and mix.

E:-People can be smart but forget basics like nutrition.For me If I forgot and its almost the end of the day when I shouldn't be eating so much, I usually offset it by drinking liquids like orange juice or milk.And a decent meal to fill me us. Coffee is my staple right now.

K:- Eclipse  Nooo

E:-Thank God my bois know. Agree on Anne and Futaba.

I know I know my mom has been getting me to eat.  Though she says "you get distracted and keep putting it off "

K:-I mean mood, but also eat please.

E:-I will!

K:- Still, imagine Joker pulls out curry and derails the fight. He's that hungry. 

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

forever ago you mentioned in an ask post that you have a story in your head about college-aged Matt saving Frank’s kids and in return the Castle family forcibly enfolds him into their tribe. There is literal kidnapping involved, and every word in your little summary was fucking hilarious. I want you to know that that scenario has lived in my head rent free ever since—I am astounded by your brain and that concept makes me want to eat dirt (in the best way)(that is a compliment of the highest degree)

anyways! Please don’t think this is me asking “when will you write that” bc i get it, some plot bunnies are just bunnies, and time/real world is a bitch, BUT—if you ever have any little ramblings about it, I’d love to hear them :) the Castle family is Insane and I love them dearly and I am forever entranced by your characterizations of Matt and Frank

Have a good one!!

Christmas with the Castles my beloved. I love this one so much that I typed out an outline of the fic entirely. It is long. Please, take my ramblings if you want them:

It's Christmas at Columbia, hohoho, peace and goodwill to all mankind. The dorms are closed over winter break to replace the pipes and Matt's out on his ass for the holidays, so get fucked, blind little orphan with no surviving family, and God bless us everyone.

Normally the Nelson clan would have taken him in but Foggy's bitch of a Great Aunt Bertha insists on holding the entire family hostage for the holidays with the will as collateral, and she sucks in many respects but even more in the sense that she doesn't want any blind orphans schlepping around her holiday table. But the Nelson clan will risk it all for Matt, who they think is neat. They'll put the whole fucking will on the line, buddy.

Matt assures them that he's got it all under control and has a place to stay. Yes, with a person. Yes, a real one. An old friend of his dad's. No, he's not going to be homeless. Stop asking questions.

This is a lie.

His plan is to simply be homeless. Peace and goodwill to all mankind.

Except Foggy knows when Matt's on his bullshit and insists on speaking to the guy he's staying with, which means he needs to get Fogwell to lie for him. Except Fogwell knows when Matt's on his bullshit and won't let him off the fucking hook until he knows Matt won't be homeless for the holidays.

Matt unequivocally refuses to come home with him. Stop asking. He'll find someone else to do the phone call.

They compromise with Matt staying in the fucking boiler room of the gym. Peace and goodwill to all mankind.

Except Matt sort of makes Fogwell think that he only needs to crash for a few days, and Foggy's family is going to take him in for the rest. This is also a lie. He is fucking off to be homeless for the rest of the holiday season.

Peace and goodwill to all mankind.

He's swallowing his misgivings and putting up with staying in the boiler room of the gym for a few days so Fogwell won't freak out. Which he now regrets. Because it puts him right in the earshot of an active hostage situation. Are those kids? Those are fucking kids.

Anyway he tries to call the police anonymously like ten times but this just tips off the hostage takers, who apparently have a mole in the police, surprising no one. Now they're going to kill the fucking kids.

Matt can't listen to this.

Peace and fucking goodwill to all mankind.

Okay. Fuck. He's doing this now.

Fuck.

THE CASTLE'S HOLIDAY SEASON, THUS FAR:

The kids got kidnapped.

like

fuck.

that happened.

The thing is that some random NSA guy got into contact with Frank and in this AU he actually blew the whistle on the the CIA's bullshit. His family was in protective custody, until his best friend and pseudo brother stabbed him in the fucking back and sold them out. Now they have his kids.

He then kills a lot of people.

Like a lot.

But he can't find his kids. They have his kids.

They're going to kill his kids.

MATT'S NIGHT, THUS FAR:

He's an asshole in sweatpants with a t-shirt wrapped around the top part of his face and no fucking plan, and there are so many assholes with guns in there. Like. So many.

But fuck it. He's doing this now.

fuck.

He fights a lot of guys. He gets super shot. Some guy tries to shoot him with arrows. Like, what the fuck even is this, Robin Hood? Honestly, fuck this night.

Anyway, he saves the kids. Wheee.

It's sort of nice? They bond, when the crying stops. The kids like him a lot. He calls their parents. Sets up a place for them to get picked up. The boy gives him the sweatshirt he's wearing under his jacket, which is kind of him, because it's fuck-off cold and Matt's about ten minutes from going into shock. Anyway, he drops them off at the spot and fucks off into the night before their oddly bloodstained dad can stop him like the world's shittiest off-brand batman.

He then goes to exercise the right of any God-fearing American citizen, which is to bleed out in the basement of his childhood church.

Fogwell's never gonna be okay again if he finds Matt's blood-soaked body in the gym. Matt figures he can just break into that basement no one uses, steal a med kit, make a solid confession about breaking into and stealing from a church if he lives long enough, and hopefully no one will even notice he was there.

This does not pan out.

A really angry nun finds him and narcs him out to Father Lanthom and they bitch him out for "dying" and "not seeking life-saving medical attention" and drag his ass to to the hospital.

NOW THE CASTLE FAMILY, REUNITED AT LAST:

The kids' will be in therapy forever but the danger is gone, because frank killed them all very dead.

He then received a presidential pardon for All The Murder.

Peace and goodwill to all mankind.

Anyway he's testified about the CIA corruption, the government is occupying itself with the coverup to end all coverups, and his only remaining concerns is (1) taking care of his family and (2) making sure the bleeding dipshit who saved his kids lives doesn't die in the streets. He's gotta find that dumb asshole.

Then he gets a phone call from a very concerned nurse at Metro General about the bleeding dipshit that got brought in with his kid's sweatshirt. They're calling because he keeps trying to goddamn leave while very fucking shot and he had a jacket with Frankie's information written on it in magic marker. Do they know him? Can they please come pick him up? They think he's going to die in the streets if someone does not pick him up.

And Yeah. Yeah, Frank Can Do That.

Matt.

Yeah.

The magic marker, he didn't.

Didn't

Didn't see that part.

Fuck.

Anyway, Matt's On His Way Out To Be Homeless For The Holiday Season, Peace And Goodwill To All Mankind, As Soon As The Goddamn Nurses Stop Hiding The Leave Against Medical Advice Forms. He lied and said he got jumped by a lot of guys, no, he didn't see who did it, because, you know. Blind. Just a regular ol' blind guy here. Poor fucking blind orphan alone and shot for the holiday season. Just give him the goddamn form.

And then that fucking guy shows up in his hospital room. The suspiciously bloody father of the kids he just got shot over. He's here, he's insisting that Matt's one of his family's closest friends and they're paying all of Matt's medical bills, and he's not commenting on the blind bit, but Matt can literally smell his curiosity. Matt's insisting that some random guy gave him the jacket, no, he didn't see his face, because, you know. Blind. He's not the guy Frank thinks he is. Nope. Please fuck off now.

They do not fuck off. Maria Castle blows through the hospital room like a hurricane, hugs him very genuinely, cries a little, and tells him that the Castle family pays their debts, and they've never had a greater one. Then the kids show up, and they fucking recognize him. Fuck.

Matt: imindanger.exe

Matt keeps feigning ignorance. Then, he waits until they leave the room and he fucking books it.

Anyway the Castle family minivan catches up to him when he's legging it a block away. They keep pace with him, and ask to just take him where he's going, and they swear they're not going to hurt him. They just want to help him out. He saved their kids.

And he can hear that they're telling the truth.

And it's so goddamn cold.

And he can hear his own internal bleeding.

And he's so, so tired.

So he tells them that no one would ever believe them. And he gets in the car. and he gives them Fogwell's address. And he tells himself he'll crash there for a day or two and fuck off to be homeless in the streets, peace and good-fucking-will to all mankind.

WHAT THE CASTLE FAMILY DID NOT SCHEDULE FOR THE DAY:

A kidnapping.

WHAT THE CASTLE FAMILY DOES:

It's. It's a kidnapping. They do a kidnapping.

Look. Look. they pay their debts. They pay their fucking debts. It's what they do. And they get to Fogwell's boiler room and rapidly fucking realize that the guy who they owe their everything to is a terminally stupid 20-something and living in the rundown boiler room of an empty gym. And they simply cannot have that.

Frank? Frank, show Matthew back to the car, will he? Maria's going to pack up his things for him.

Matt: what.exe

WHAT MATT DID NOT SCHEDULE FOR THE DAY:

it's.

It's the kidnapping.

it's that.

This fic is fundamentally founded in my premise that the entire Castle family is simply fucking insane. They're just all like that. Frank is not an outlier.

For the Castles, they're being perfectly reasonable. It's obvious that no one's taking care of this lovely young man who saved their kids, so no one will mind if they do it instead. He definitely needs it. So they sit their kids down and explain that sometimes Stockholm Syndrome is for someone's own good, which sounds perfectly reasonable to them. They then proceed to treat this like when you somewhat impulsively get a sick puppy from a Home Depot parking lot, and, well, he's a bit poorly behaved, and he keeps trying to run away, but the kids had wanted it so badly and eventually he's going to settle into his new home and then maybe you can stick felt reindeer antlers on him for the Christmas card, so you keep shoving his meds in peanut butter and forcing them down his throat and keeping the door blocked so the puppy can't slip out into the freezing new york night.

Matt treats this for what it is, which is a fucking kidnapping.

He is now fucking handcuffed to these crazy assholes' guest bed in their suburban home. It's by definition a kidnapping. they're acting like he's the unreasonable one for pointing this out. Except every time he wriggles out of his handcuffs, Frank just lugs his ass back to bed and chains him back up while they scold him. As if he's the unreasonable one for trying to escape his own kidnapping. They make him take his meds and eat three meals a day and the kids watch fucking Christmas movies with him while narrating the screen, as if this wasn't a kidnapping. This is insane. They're all insane.

Which is what he eventually tells them, out loud and to their faces.

And then Maria cries.

Stop.

Stop that.

That thing she's doing with her face. Stop that thing.

And Maria's like. Maybe they were over enthusiastic. But, being a mother, she just wants to take care of the nice young man who saved her little angels. And if that makes her a criminal, then she guesses she's a criminal. Because she cares.

Matt: shoving me into a van and handcuffing me to a bed against my will makes you by definition a criminal

maria: *cries harder*

Matt: stop

And Matt's like. Fine. Fine. He'll give into their crazy fucking kidnapping. Saves him the trouble of being homeless. Just. It's only until Christmas, and then he's gone.

maria, tearfully: and new years too?

Matt: don't push your luck

So fuck it. He's doing this now. But he's not going to like it. And he gets to come and go when he wants.

Frank: no.

matt: seriously fuck you

Except Matt's got shit they didn't pack at Fogwells. Shit they didn't realize belonged to him. His dad's shit. And he's absolutely desperate to get his dad's shit before some well-meaning janitor tosses it. So he very reluctantly agrees to let Frank go in his stead. Just. Just don't talk to people. And don't tell anyone he kidnapped matt. matt does not want to deal with that fucking court case.

Fogwell, immediately catching Frank gathering Matt's stuff for him, when he finds out that Matt sent him: are you a Nelson?

Frank, not a Nelson: Guilty.

And Fogs is just. Thrilled. So fucking thrilled that Matt has the Nelsons. Matt needs people like that, you know? People that'll welcome him home.

He's a good kid. And he hasn't had a home in a good long time. And Fogs--he's so fucking sorry that he couldn't give Matt that. And he. He.

Just tell him Merry Christmas from him? He understands why Matt didn't want to spend it with him.

Just tell him ol' Fogs was thinking of him. Tell him he really, really cares and hopes his holidays are good.

Fuck. Tell him he loves him. Just. Just tell him that. Fogs should have done it a long time ago.

What follows from there is a lot of wholesome, family-friendly Christmas activities, like:

making gingerbread houses

ice-skating

having a total mental breakdown when you get the message passed along from your pseudo-grandfather that he wishes he could have given him a home.

drinking cocoa

getting shit-faced drunk out on the town with the somewhat insane mother of those kids you saved, only to both be lugged home by a very exasperated Frank Castle.

watching Christmas movies

Visiting the grave of your dead father whose loss you've never recovered from

drinking eggnog

Confessing about your superpowers to the crazy fuckers who may or may not have given you stockholm syndrome, as well as your lasting trauma around the fact that you were child-soldierified and your soul-crushing terror that it will happen again

Making paper snowflakes

(Matt may not have meant to do all those things.)

I really like having backstories in communication with each other across my fics taking place in the same fandom? And Fogs is a great example of that. He tends to show up in all of my Daredevil fics, and he usually does something that brings Matt in from the cold in his backstory.

But in this world, that Fogs didn't do it.

In this one, he had the chance, and he failed.

Matt came to him. He ran away from the foster care system when he was a teen, and he went to Fogs as a desperate, last ditch effort. He begged Fogs to still love him the way he did when he was a kid. He begged Fogs to take him in the way he once took in Jack Murdock. He'd help Fogs around the gym. He'd do anything Fogs asked. He just wants to go home.

All he's wanted for years was to just go home.

And Fogs hugged him. He held him. He let him sleep on the couch.

And he called the police.

He wanted to do it the right away around, this time. He didn't want Matt to be hiding from the system for the rest of his youth the way his daddy once did. He wanted him to still get to go to school. He wanted him to be a kid. He wanted to adopt him proper, and didn't think of the fact that no one was gonna let him do it.

And he didn't account for how Matt would never trust him again.

He didn't account for Matt ending up on the streets, and he didn't account for matt refusing to come for him for help again, and he didn't account for Matt refusing to have anything to do with him until he hit law school and barely tolerated hanging around the gym at night again, and he didn't account for Matt not being able to stand the idea of spending the holidays with him.

There's a lot Fogs won't ever forgive himself for.

Anyway, Matt's stockholm syndrome was a great success. They fucking did it. They now have a crazy motherfucker with superpowers who's occupying this space as a the kid's new pseudo uncle. Unmitigated success. God, what an addition to the family. He's just as crazy as them.

Except Matt gets a call. From a very upset Foggy Nelson. Who says that they decided to burn the defunct bridge that was their relationship with their torrid bitch of a great aunt after she said something homophobic to Foggy's sister, and they went to go surprise Matt for the holidays, only to find out that he was already supposed to be with them. Matthew.

The thing is, foggy knows who Matt is as a person. He knows who Matt is as a person. There is such a very real chance that his blind best friend has been living under an overpass in subzero weather for the past few weeks and not telling him. He's having a heart attack and needs to come pick him up immediately before Matt starts selling his body or something.

And like, good news is that Matt was kidnapped by a lovely suburban family who have been keeping him warm and fed and dry, and they're going to be baking gingerbread today. The bad news is that Matt will literally have a heart attack if he has to explain to foggy how he got here so he just. Panics.

And hangs up the phone.

And matts panicking about how he hung up the phone, because foggy will absolutely call the police and report him as a missing person, holy shit will he call the police on him, Matt was literally kidnapped but he likes his kidnappers now and doesn't want them to be arrested, they're making gingerbread you see and that would be inconvenient to the gingerbread making. So Maria and Frank and the kids are watching this weird feral law student they forcibly adopted go through every single stage of grief in a two minute span, wonder how he made it through life so far on his own, and Maria wrangles the phone from him and calls Foggy back and politely tells him that this is Maria Castle, matts basically a part of their family and has been staying with them through the holidays, they've heard so much about foggy, won't he come visit? How about tomorrow at two? They're making gingerbread today.

Matt: MARIA

Matt is panicking. Foggy knows he doesn't have a family. Foggy is his family. Foggy has unlocked his tragic backstory. Foggy is going to wonder how he acquired a family in like a two and a half week span.

Foggy is panicking. He knows Matt doesn't have a family. He has unlocked matts tragic backstory. Matt was in their fucking Christmas cards because he has no family's Christmas cards to be in.

Maria is not panicking. They're taking a step back and making gingerbread now. Take deep breaths, Matthew.

FOGGY NELSON'S THEORIES ABOUT WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON WITH HIS BEST FRIEND (ABRIDGED):

Matt has started a polycule with a suburban couple and is raising their children with them now.

Matt was switched at birth and that's his newly discovered real family and he just never told Foggy.

Matt has been kidnapped by a family in the suburbs and they've enslaved him to make gingerbread with their children.

Which is true, weirdly enough.

Matt is having a spiraling panic attack because while he's like, not on deaths door anymore, he's still healing and clearly beat to shit and foggys going to think the castles did it and freak out and he doesn't have a lie for this prepped. And the castles are like "okay okay but, quick point, you've even prattling on about this kid for like, a minimum of four hours per day, you are more likely than not in love with him, have you considered the truth"

And Matt doesn't know what to do with that, is the thing.

Foggy comes by. He is four hours early. He arrived immediately after he got the address. Maria is lovely and kind and welcoming. Frank pumps his arm firmly and is built like a brickshit house and sort of intimidating.

Matt is absolutely beat to shit.

Matt is absolutely beat to shit.

Foggy: AHAHAHA HEY BUDDY IMMA GIVE YOU A HUG BECAUSE I MISSED YOU AND LOVE YOU SO MUCH IN THIS THE SEASON OF GOODWILL AMONG MEN. did they do this to you cough twice for yes

Matt: oh for the love of god.

And the problem is. For a family that commits felonies. They're weirdly open about that fact.

Foggy: how did Matt end up staying with you

Lisa: oh we gave him Stockholm syndrome after kidnapping him

matt: ahahaha kids say the darndest things

Frankie: no really dad kept having to drag him off the windowsill when he tried to climb out and we had to be extra welcoming to him so he'd stop trying to escape

Matt: AHAHAHA KIDS SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS

Foggy told his cop friend Brett to be on standby before he came here and now he's rapidly wondering if he needs to actualize that.

There's a good deal bit more after that, but this is getting long. There's emotional honesty. There's homosexuality. There's confessions about superpowers that Matt may or may not have. There's discussing trauma.

There's the fucking shadow government showing up to recruit Matt.

The thing is that Frank Castle is one of the best military operatives, like. Ever. And SHIELD was interested in recruiting that. And they thought, hey, saving his kids may do that. And they sent Hawkeye to infiltrate the mercenaries that had taken them.

Except they were fuck-off guns there and while he could take them all out if it was just him, he'd have to be 90% crazier of motherfucker than he actually is to try that shit with two kids in the line of fire.

And then an absolutely crazy motherfucker showed up and did exactly that. Caught his arrow mid-backflip. Kicked his ass too. It was sort of sick as hell. He hasn't met anyone so good at hand to hand since black widow.

They couldn't not recruit that guy.

And like. They found him. They found him really easily. The castle family kidnapped him. It was kind of obvious.

So Clint and Coulson roll up with the recruitment pitch and Clints like "hey, haha, I'm Clint, you stabbed me, wow you're like, completely insane, I mean that literally and in a figurative impressiveness sense, want to be best friends" and matts a fucking centimeter from launching himself out the window and starting a new life in Mexico.

And coulson's good at what he does. He can tell that matts not at all buying what he's selling, is more than a little freaked out at the idea of being identified as enhanced, and is almost definitely a former child soldier if their background was accurate about who took him from his orphanage for a few months. He also knows that Matt's abilities are too unique and too useful to just walk away from them. Nothing can be hidden from him. And if a fucking nuke is missing and they need someone to sniff it out, they need to be able to set Matt loose on a city for it. So he makes the pitch of "what if I keep you out of all databases, tell no one your name, and have you as a strictly as needed member of the roster," to which Matt replies with something along the line of "you can go and get fucked with you fascist shadow agency bullshit, you fucking totalitarian nightmare freaks, you try and drag me off to your freak show org to be a fucking dog on a leash for your illegal agency and I'll bite your goddamn face off, the world would have to end for me to come within a hundred godforsaken feet of you," which is… a coarse but technically affirmative answer that Coulson takes to mean as "Yes, if the world is ending, I will come to your agency." He honestly tells him that he'll keep matts secret and leaves. And Matt is still considering the Mexico plan but decides that he has a family to keep him here now in foggy and the castles and decides to risk staying. And that's that.

Which leads into my semi-crack fic of Matt being in the original Avengers, which I won't subject you to here. but some highlights:

Matt misses the first day of world-saving because he took off the second the SHIELD guy came by to pick him up. He managed to hide for 27 consecutive hours before they dragged his ass to the helicarrier.

He wasn't briefed at all because they ask him if he read the files they gave him and he just tosses them on the table and asks "does this look like fucking Braille to you." He repeatedly threatens to sue them for a lack of ada compliance.

He keeps getting stuck in rooms because this nightmare space ship only uses screens for everything, including door handles.

The hulk: *is the hulk*

Matt, has a stick: WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THAT

Tony: in a few minutes I'll know every secret SHIELD has ever had

Matt, has listened to at least eight top secret HYDRA meetings since being locked into this fucking hell ship: MHMM

They save the day, he's in a mask, the press asks them all whats next for the avengers and he's like "well I have a day job, I'm going home" and just. Walks away.

Three weeks later he starts fighting crime of his own volition and whenever anyone mentions hey is it maybe that avenger fellow he replies to the official inquiries with "oh no you see I have a day job" which should not work but does

Of course, Matt learning about HYDRA leads into my other semi-crack fic involving Matt simply immediately telling Captain America about the fucking Nazi's, and Cap rediscovering his life's passion, which is punching some fucking Nazi's. Except, he really needs Matt to spy on HYDRA for this to work, and Matt's identity is still almost entirely secret even within SHIELD and he doesn't want to endanger that. So they embark on introducing everyone to Matt Murdock, his totally normal, blind attorney boyfriend who is not at all a superpowered ultimate spy who happens to be secretly a very reluctant Avenger. It is now a fake dating AU.

[chronic-claire-universe]

Tokyo Revengers: Family Matter

Hey dust bunnies, I’m not active I know it, but it takes a lot of time writing and studying for residency school, I disfrute this inspiration to say you something, I really really missed the interaction we used to have for this fandom, most of my absence is caused because of this, so please if you decide to read this stories please pass by my inbox, write me, interact with me, reblog, I really need to vibe with you again, I love you and your support! And thanks for letting me reach 2.5 followers despite everything 💜

Characthers: Hajime Kokonoi, Takashi Mitsuya, Ran Haitani

Plot: They react to s/o who can’t have children

Warnings:  Angst to Fluff, Reset Timeline, Mention of Depression, Endometriosis, Infertility, Chronic Disease, Mentions of Sex (In Mitsuya), Breeding Kink (Only Mitsuya), Adoption

A.N: This is most of all a self indulgent story since I suffer endometriosis, so y/n works as a doctor. While this scenario is minor interact, if you’re under 18 skip Mitsuya’s part since there’s a smut!

“Koko I’m going to work…” you say while you stand on your feet after the doctor comes out from the ambulatory, your husband looks into your lucid eyes and takes your wrist blocking you, “Love this isn’t the right time to work” he says while you stare into the void of the hospital ward, nurses wave at you and you give them a little smile knowing them for a long time, “My shift isn’t finished, I gotta-” arms takes you and turn you over to his chest giving you the privacy to shed my tears without feeling judged, a doctor can’t cry in front of patients and colleagues, he knows you don’t like showing vulnerability, that’s why he waits that your tears stop to stream while rubbing your back and reassuring that everything is going to be fine. 

You and Koko devoted yourself to your works, many of the reasons you get to work perfectly as a couple were your drive to success and beside that the love for shopping and expensive items. You knew you suffered endometriosis but back then, none of the doctors told you to be worried about your fertility, but once you started to get sick again you scheduled a visit and knew for a fact that there was few to none possibilities to bear a child. 

Afraid to be rejected from your husband because of this you started to cry but that’s where your husband console you and say “We can always try alternative-'' he says thinking you want to a have a child, “No Koko - I don’t want to try, unless you tell me that’s what you want…”, Koko’s snake eyes wide “y/n it’s your body and it’s your life, I don’t want to force you to do anything against your will, do you understand me lullamy?”. The nick he gave you puts a smile on your face, “I understand, I’m sorry Haji, I thought you wouldn’t want to be with me in a situation like this”, a pout appears on his face “Is this why you were crying? I couldn’t never do something like this, I love you, I love your personality and that won’t change even if it will be just the two of us” you nod kissing his cheek and taking his hand you go towards your ward announcing that you’re going to take a break because you need time with your husband.

How does it end up? You never actively tried for a pregnancy and that didn’t change after discovering your condition, but during a visit to Shimoda where you were treating some kids you got to know an orphan, that’s how Hiname entered your lives and you couldn’t be happier to be parents finally.

The successful career you and Mitsuya got to strive for, gave you a lot of stress, sex was the best recipe you could have on your days off.

“Just like that my love, I’m gonna cum” Mitsuya says taking your hips and meeting your thrust to arrive deeper in your pussy, his lips give you hickeys on your shoulder and back neck and a hand can’t help but reach a nipple while rubbing a clit from behind, you arch your back by going up and down finally coming undown you feel his seed shooting deep inside your womb.

“Taka, do you want to have children?” you say all sweaty while caressing his abs and looking at him in aftersex glow, the pants alters and Mitsuya smiles while turning to look at you and kisses your forehead, “Why do you ask that?” he says with his charming smile while caressing your cheek, “It’s just that you always cum inside me” you say with tinted cheeks avoiding his gaze, “I mean I never thought about it, I just love to finish inside you, is this a problem?” he asks, tilting his head and taking you to your bathroom. 

“I mean no, I can’t get pregnant anyway” you say making him falter, “Taka?” you say looking at him who seems deep in thought, you seem calm but something tells him you’re feeling quite anxious about it, “Love, I’m sure we can live happy even without having children, plus Draken and all the others will be having theirs, I think we could the perfect cool aunt and uncle who spoils the kids everytime we see them” he says while gently placing you in the hot tub and caressing your lower belly, “Never feel ashamed about your condition, you’re perfect the way you are” turning and kissing him on his lips you deepen as soon as you whisper “So are you Takashi Mitsuya” and you resume what you finished minute before.

How does it end up? You and Mitsuya became the cool uncles, everytime the parents and previous Toman members need free time you support them by taking care of the kids, who love you. You adopted two cats as time passed by and you got a little bit more free time. Both of you go to volunteer at the kindergarten and help the teacher with the kids. You became one of the philanthropists for the Endometriosis Association and Mitsuya often goes on tv to make awareness of the illness, despite that you’re happy with your work and you still have a lot of sex!

“Is something the matter, pretty?” Ran asks you as soon as you hop into the car and stare at Rindou and his son waving goodbye with his chubby hand, “Rindou’s baby is so cute” you say now turning your gaze in front of you avoiding purple inquisitorial eyes, “Do you want to have kids with me? Get you knocked up?” Ran says with a smirk caressing you while the other hand occupies the steering wheel and turns on the left, “Not that you would make it” you say lowering your gaze. Ran noticed the sudden change of humor and it brings to his mind that you always replied that you didn’t want children, so why are you acting like this? “You wanna tell me what you’re thinking? I’m serious now” he says, parking in front of your house and exhaling a breath as you get out, “There’s nothing to talk about!” you continue taking the keys and opening the door. Ran follows you lazily and takes his coat off, he looks for you and finds you in your bedroom taking off your dress and staring at your surgery’s scars, they’re small and no one would notice them unless they stare close enough.

TIME BACK 4 YEARS

“What's these, pretty?” Ran says caressing your naked body and longing his eyes to the mini scars in your lower stomach “Endometriosis” you simply say as if it's nothing important, “Did it hurt?” he continues while touching the scars softly and feeling as he wants to know more, “It still does, but I’m used to it now” you say while caressing his purple hair and looking at him with voidly eyes, “You’re even stronger than I thought you would be” he says before getting close to your lips and kissing you as to reassure you.

PRESENT

“Do you remember the second time we had sex I noticed them” he says while hugging you from behind and caressing them just like he did that time, “I know for a fact that it’s difficult to handle the disease, I can see it with my own eyes but what I miss is why you would feel like that after seeing babies” he states calmly while putting your hair to the side and kiss your neck, “I don’t want children, I’m happy with what I achieved until now, it’s just that I don’t like judging stares from families at work, and I don’t like that even if I would want to try I don’t have the possibility to conceive” you say with a frown as a child unsatisfied with what she has. It’s greedy and egoistic what you say but Ran can’t help but smirk, he feels like falling in love all over again with the young girl that despite the difficulties she could take everything she wants, in his own eyes your greediness is what makes you move forward and achieve all that you want. “My love, there’s something else that you miss despite being the most powerful girl out there” he says while taking something out of his pocket and showing a diamond and continues “That’s to marry me and become even more powerful” with a smile you give him your hand and he puts the ring on your finger “I would gladly become a Haitani if this means I get to enjoy our lives until death tears us apart” you say before kissing him and thanking him to be your rock in difficult times.

How does it end up? You and Ran are the classic rich couple who goes every weekend on holiday if you aren’t working. Everyone still judges you but as time passes by you learnt that most of them are just jealous and that your nephews love you almost like Rindou and their mother. You enjoy your mundane life and despite sometimes you would think how it would be your life with a blonde girl in it, you and Ran always have a smile even after years of marriage and most of your years spent together behind you.

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[strawberryshortcake1495]

So I was rereading my sister’s old James and the Giant Peach book and I was struck with an idea.

Introducing…the Amazing Digital Peach!!!

If you read the JATGP book or watched the 1996 movie, you already know pretty much the whole plot.

Pomni is a 7-year old human girl who’s orphaned and has to live with her two relaxed but extremely neglectful uncles. They’re too lazy to do anything other than sit around and compliment themselves so they make Pomni do all the work around the house. They let her roam around freely but they’ll lock her in her room if she tries to go down to the shore to play with the other children.

One day, she’s doing work and comes across an old computer. She turns it on and on the screen it shows Caine, obviously. He tells her about these cool crocodile tongues that are inside a jar buried underneath where she found the computer. He instructs her on how to cook it properly and wished her good luck. Curious, little Pomni digs the jar out with her bare hands (because the dirt is really soft) and she decides to hide it from her uncles. If they find it, they’ll probably eat it and something bad might happen. She runs inside the house and to her room. It doesn’t have a lot of things in it, except for a rag doll, a gummy alligator, a king chess piece, a tragedy mask and some red ribbon, a purple bunny plushie, and a box full of random toy parts. Pomni trips on a broken floorboard and drops the jar of crocodile tongues. It breaks open and most of it spills onto her stuff. She tries to grab them (the crocodile tongues) but they’re already out of sight. She even saw a few actually crawl out of her window and towards the old ancient peach tree that was in the garden. With a bleeding foot and tears on her face, Pomni climbs onto her bed and decides to clock in for the day.

The next day, Pomni wakes up to find all her stuff gone! But she doesn’t have time to look for them, because her uncles are making a commotion outside. The ancient peach tree which hasn’t been able to grow a single peach in its entire lifetime, has started growing a peach that kept getting bigger and bigger and BIGGER. At first, Pomni’s uncles planned on eating it but then they decided to show it off to everyone else. Pomni was forbidden from going outside during the open house though, and was locked in her room. At night, her uncles send her out to clean up the mess (but they gave her an eaten chocolate bar to give her some energy). While cleaning, she noticed a hole inside the giant peach and went inside it. She climbed through the long passageway before she got to the seed, where a door was carved into it. She opened it and you can all guess what happened next. If you can’t, I’ll tell you anyway. Pomni saw all of her stuff inside the seed room, but they were much bigger and taller than her, and they seemed…ALIVE. Zooble notices her and welcomes her in the crew. Then Jax asks her to go through his endless wardrobe and get him his black leather jacket, and Pomni was way too scared to protest. He explains that he had gained sentience only 13 hours ago and the others chime in. Pomni tells everyone about the crocodile tongues and everyone’s weirdly calm with that. Once Pomni finds Jax’s black leather jacket, she gives it to him, and some rough banter between him and Kinger ensue. Gummigoo then noticed Pomni’s wounded foot and offers to patch that up for her. He takes out the tiny splinters, cleans the wound, and then bandages it with some gauze. Pomni is very grateful for his kindness and decides that she likes Gummigoo, as well as Jax because his snarky personality was entertaining. Then everyone goes to sleep, with Zooble making the beds by knitting string.

The next day, Pomni wakes up with the group cheering and hyping Jax up. Ragatha explains that Jax has razor-sharp teeth and he’s currently gnawing away at the stem that kept the giant peach from rolling off the hill. Pomni didn’t want to leave her uncles behind, since she didn’t really hate them, but decided to stay inside the room instead of leaving. Ragatha offers to carry her so she wouldn’t fall when the peach starts rolling, and Pomni agrees. She liked being held by her new friend, it reminded her of her late mother. Though the holding thing didn’t work, because when Jax finally broke the stem, the peach started rolling down the hill and the first thing Pomni did was fall out of Ragatha’s arms. Meanwhile, her uncles didn’t even seem to notice that she hadn’t returned last night and were just counting their money. When the peach started rolling, they were instantly crushed (R.I.P).

And the rest is pretty much what happens in the original book! I’m not good at drawing, so I’ll give you key design details if you ever want to make fanart of this AU.

Pomni has cute little pigtails, like this ⬇️

She also wears a dirty white gown with short sleeves!

Jax has a little tuff of hair at the top of his head and he wears a simple black leather jacket over his overalls (you can give him sharp teeth too if you wanna stick to the razor-sharp teeth thing)

Ragatha, Gummigoo, and Gangle look pretty much the same lol

Zooble has a bit of a darker color scheme, with more purples, blues, and blacks. It doesn’t have to be specific, she does canonically mix and match.

Here’s a little fun fact: Pomni’s uncles are based off Chad and Max, Gummigoo’s friends (and apparently brothers according to the wiki). They’re not maliciously evil so I made them chill but they are kinda supposed to be problematic so I made them extremely neglectful.

Anyways, hope you guys like this! I think I’m seriously cooking here.

[robininthelabyrinth]

Ah, this is invisible_cities from ao3 - dropping off a plot bunny I mentioned in a comment on 'No Complaints' as requested, since you considered it intriguing and didn't want to lose the idea. It went: I keep being haunted by this kernel of an idea, an AU in which LQR&JC -Done Uncles(TM) - have a (political) reason to Swear Brotherhood. Especially if it meant seeing the reactions of LQR's nephews AND LXC's sworn brothers. I think Nie Minjue might actually approve, as you write him.

Convenient Brotherhood - ao3

“You would make a good teacher.”

Jiang Cheng froze, abruptly overcome with a wave of hideous embarrassment, then a moment later with a wave of self-disgust for having felt that embarrassment. It wasn’t as if he were doing anything shameful, after all.

He’d only been showing the newest set of Jiang disciples the basic forms that they would need to know in order to build their foundation in the Jiang sect’s sword style. It was one of the most basic duties of a sect. Although it was normally done by an instructor, rather than the sect leader directly, even Jiang Cheng’s father had occasionally stepped in to show the children how it was done. There was nothing embarrassing about doing what he was doing at all.

It was only – being perceived, he supposed.

He turned and tried to salute, saying, “Teacher Lan –”

Lan Qiren stopped him, catching his arm and pulling him upwards, his hand seeming to Jiang Cheng’s perception to be blazing hot where it touched his skin. “I have already told you to stop with that,” he chided, though quite gently, and that hot feeling spread over the rest of Jiang Cheng’s skin, right up to his neck. “It has already become tiresome, and you can’t keep it up forever, now that I am staying here.”

Yes.

There was – that.

Jiang Cheng didn’t want to think about that. On why Lan Qiren was now residing in the Lotus Pier, the length of his stay indeterminate, lasting until…

Until nothing. Jiang Cheng wasn’t thinking about it.

“How is Jin Ling doing?” he asked instead, because it was easier. Jin Ling was still a baby, in need of tremendous care, and in all honesty Lan Qiren’s presence had been a godsend in that regard – the Jiang sect needed care, too, as needy as an infant going through growing pains as Jiang Cheng tried to help it settle into its rightful position as a Great Sect, and there were only so many hours in a day. He was already being torn to pieces by his obligations. He couldn’t even imagine the damage it might do to him if he were trying to take care of both Jin Ling and his sect, all on his own, unsupported by anyone, least of all –  

Wait, no, he wasn’t thinking about that.

“Quite well. He’s just realized he can wave around his toys on his own,” Lan Qiren said, accepting the change of subject gracefully, just as he always did. “He was quite proud of his great accomplishment.”

Just like his peacock of a father, Jiang Cheng wanted to say, but his throat closed up. It had only been a few months, no more than half a year, since – since Jiang Yanli – since she had…since Jin Ling was orphaned.

By all rights, Jin Ling ought to be right now in Lanling City, being cared for by his paternal relatives, but Jin Zixuan’s death had overturned a hornet’s nest there, and even Madame Jin, for whom Jin Ling was now her sole purpose in life, didn’t think it was a good idea to risk keeping him there. Accordingly to Lanling Jin custom, the child was typically raised by the mother for the first few years of life, then handed over to the father to be educated. So, with Jin Ling lacking both mother and father, Madame Jin had proposed that Jin Ling be temporarily handed over to Jiang Cheng…

She must have been in a very tough position to have asked for such a thing. Jiang Cheng tried not to think about it, because it meant that he got to keep Jin Ling by his side, got not to be alone. Just him and Jin Ling…and Lan Qiren, now.

It had really only been when Lan Qiren had walked in and plucked a sobbing Jin Ling out of Jiang Cheng’s arms, ordering the frantic and under-slept Jiang Cheng to go get some rest, that Jiang Cheng had remembered all those rumors that made out that it was Lan Qiren that had raised his nephews, even since infancy. From the capable fashion in which he tended to Jin Ling, Jiang Cheng was inclined to think the rumors were true.

And since there could be no questioning Lan Qiren’s integrity, he didn’t have to worry about entrusting Jin Ling to him. There could be no fear that Lan Qiren was a secret assassin, or bribed by the Jin sect, or – or whatever Jiang Cheng’s paranoid mind had come up with. Admittedly, it was probably a little offensive to use a respected elder like Lan Qiren as a babysitter, but Lan Qiren had never complained.

“You should consider what I said.”

Jiang Cheng shook himself out of his reverie. “What? What you said when?”

“That you would make a good teacher,” Lan Qiren said. He shook out his sleeves and started heading back inside – had he come all the way out to the training yards just to say that? But no, it was getting to be dinner time. He had come to call Jiang Cheng, another thing that no one had asked him to do but which he did, as meticulous and inexorable as the Lan sect rules in all the things he did.

Having someone who remembered that he needed to be called in, that he forgot things like eating and drinking if he was too distracted…Jiang Cheng really shouldn’t enjoy it as much as he did.

It shouldn’t make him as happy as it did.

Jiang Cheng caught up with Lan Qiren, falling into step by his side. “Is this some sort of hint that you changed your mind and would like to start teaching again?” he asked. “I’m sure we could set something up here for you, if you like.”

It wouldn’t be the same as the Cloud Recesses, though. Nothing was ever the same as home.

Jiang Cheng knew that better than most.

“I meant nothing more than what I said,” Lan Qiren said mildly. “I have not varied from my decision not to teach this year. Perhaps when Jin Ling is older, we can reconsider.”

Because Lan Qiren would probably still be here then, Jiang Cheng’s traitorous mind noted. Jin Ling would grow up, and grow older, and eventually return to Lanling Jin to inherit his patrimony, but Lan Qiren would still be here in the Lotus Pier, far away from home, rotting away in a place he didn’t belong –

Lan Qiren cleared his throat pointedly.

“You are letting his thoughts get away from you again, I think,” he said. He sounded amused, of all things. “Shall I recite the rules regarding the importance of mealtimes once again…?”

“Please don’t,” Jiang Cheng said hastily. He’d made the mistake, in the first few days of Lan Qiren’s tenure when Jiang Cheng had been incredibly bitter about how everything had all gone down, of retorting to one of Lan Qiren’s invocations by reminding him that the Lotus Pier was not the Cloud Recesses and so the Lan sect rules did not apply here. It had been unwontedly cruel of him – reminding a man of the home that he’d lost through the actions of others, actions for which Jiang Cheng was in no small part responsible, whether directly or indirectly through others of his sect for whom he bore responsibility – and he’d been deeply ashamed of himself at once.

Lan Qiren, in contrast, had taken it in stride: he had only mildly responded that the Lan sect rules applied not only to the Cloud Recesses but to any person belonging to the Lan sect, no matter where they were, and furthermore that in any place where humanity gathered there were always rules, even when they were unwritten. He had thereafter devoted much of his free time, insofar as such a thing existed, into compiling a set of rules for the Lotus Pier.

Jiang Cheng had thought the project ridiculous at first, but Lan Qiren was meticulous, in this as with all things, and the first small booklet he had presented to Jiang Cheng had been…

Jiang Cheng hadn’t had any words for how it made him feel, only that he’d urgently needed to excuse himself to hide in his room and cry for a while, but in a good sort of way. The booklet contained not only the first few rules that Lan Qiren proposed, all of which were perfectly in keeping with the Lotus Pier’s tradition and full of good sense besides, but also the basis behind them: the logical arguments both in favor and against, the potential consequences, and most of all the history behind them, gleaned from the dozens of interviews Lan Qiren had conducted among both the few survivors of the Lotus Pier’s massacre and the common people outside their door.

Jiang Cheng treasured each survivor more than gold, but he’d never really known how exactly to ask them, or even what, and he’d never thought about asking the common people at all. To unexpectedly find that they, too, knew the stories of his family, his ancestors, to see the casual anecdotes his father had once, in a rare sharing mood, recited for them over dinner and which Jiang Cheng had nearly forgotten, all written down neatly in a book, something that could be copied and duplicated and remembered into the future…

There were stories in there that even he hadn’t known. Ones his father hadn’t mentioned, or hadn’t had a chance to, stories that his distant cousins, the older ones, recognized with a start that suggested they’d forgotten them, too – even stories about his mother, ones that she’d long ago discarded as embarrassing. Stories that made her appear in his memory, vivid and beautiful and headstrong, simultaneously just as he’d known her and yet also somehow like learning about her for the first time.

There were stories about Jiang Yanli, too. Things Jiang Cheng had never known about her, how she went out among the common people to help them small things within her power, dealing with the little pests and pestilences that accompanied daily life but which would win no one any fame and which most cultivators disdained as a result – even her likes and dislikes, recorded from the mouths of the merchants that had always saved a portion of their wares for her.

Even stories about him –

…anyway, the rules were good. The Jiang sect’s motto might be attempt the impossible, but there was no harm in having some structure. All his new disciples still needed their foundation, after all. 

“Do you really think I’d be a good teacher?” Jiang Cheng asked, settling down beside the table. The Lan sect rules generally prohibited speaking during mealtimes, but they hadn’t started yet – Jin Ling still needed to be brought over by his wet nurse, since Lan Qiren insisted that all meals be taken together and Jiang Cheng, who would have Jin Ling in his sight at all times if he could, didn’t disagree. “I think most of my disciples are afraid of me.”

“If being cantankerous were a disqualifier, no one would ever come to me,” Lan Qiren said, and Jiang Cheng had to suppress a snort – the other man’s sense of humor was another thing that had come as a surprise. Lan Qiren was in fact quite strict with his students; it was only now that Jiang Cheng had graduated to being one of his peers that Lan Qiren had allowed him to see the more personable aspects of his character. “Your disciples fear your temper, yes, but they respect and adore you. You will be an excellent teacher.”

“The Jiang sect sword style –”

“Not just that.”

“No?”

“Don’t look down on yourself. You have more to give to the world than just your blood and sweat.”

Jiang Cheng’s hand stole, without his permission, to rest on his stomach, on the stolen golden core that glowed inside of him, inescapable reminder of Wei Wuxian’s sacrifice of which he had been completely ignorant until – until it was very nearly too late. So very nearly. “I don’t know about that.”

It wasn’t a denial, though.

It was…hope, Jiang Cheng supposed. Hope that there might be something he could offer the world that wasn’t his bloodline or his endless years of effort, all of which seemed to turn to dust at once upon the revelation that it had been Wei Wuxian’s talent and sacrifice that had made it all possible. Being a teacher didn’t rely on or even require a golden core, especially if he taught the way Lan Qiren meant – not just swordsmanship, but cultivation, whether of one’s power or one’s mind.

It might be nice to have students, rather than soldiers.

“It’s settled, then,” Lan Qiren said. “We’ll plan out a curriculum for next year.”

As if it were that simple…though now that Jiang Cheng thought about it, why couldn’t it be? He was the sect leader here, with no elders to stand on his shoulders and force him to stop, and he had Lan Qiren, whose fame as a teacher was personal to him rather than generalized to his sect. If they let out that he would be teaching again, people from all over the cultivation world would send their children to learn, even if Jiang Cheng were teaching as well.

Maybe, after a while…

It wasn’t like Lan Qiren was going anywhere. He couldn’t.

Or, well, he could, technically. There was nothing wrong with Lan Qiren’s legs or his ability to fly a sword, he could walk out any time. But he wouldn’t – not when his presence in the Lotus Pier was one of the pillars that held together the cultivation world. Not when…

“Didi should stop thinking so much,” Lan Qiren said, and Jiang Cheng winced the way he always did when Lan Qiren acknowledged the forced sworn brother relationship between them. “It’s not doing you any good.”

Jiang Cheng snorted. That was true enough. “This is when most people say I ought to get a wife.”

“What would be the point? If you wanted one, you’d have one.”

“The matchmakers –”

“Cannot do anything if the person asking them for help is also purposefully sabotaging their attempts. It’s really no surprise that they’ve banned you for wasting their time.”

Jiang Cheng grumbled a bit at that, but didn’t argue – mostly because the wetnurse had finally come, holding Jin Ling (who was, in fact, beaming at the toy clutched in his hand), and the fact that Lotus Pier didn’t have a rule against speaking at mealtimes meant absolutely nothing if the only two options were the silent Lan Qiren and the unintelligible Jin Ling.  

After, Jiang Cheng collected Jin Ling and went with Lan Qiren for a walk through some of the pavilions. They stayed silent for a long while, Lan Qiren picking paths at random – whether he liked after-meal walks for the purposes of digestion or if it was simply another Lan sect habit, Jiang Cheng didn’t know – but then they ended up in front of the empty courtyard that Jiang Cheng had once had built with Wei Wuxian in mind, naively dreaming about the day his right hand would stop with his nonsense and need a place of his own to live, not too far away, so that their children would one day be able to play with each other…

Jiang Cheng turned his face away, his mouth compressing into a hard line as he tried to control himself.

Lan Qiren slowed to a stop as well.

“He’s taken to including notes on the back of Wangji’s letters to me,” he finally said, looking out across the water to avoid eye contact – thoughtful of Jiang Cheng’s dignity, gracious as always. “Since you’re not accepting the ones he writes.”

Jiang Cheng laughed, though the sound of it hurt his throat. “I accept them. I just don’t read them, or reply…what’s the point? Everything that could be said has already been said.”

Lan Qiren frowned, clearly on the verge of disagreeing, but Jiang Cheng got ahead of him for once.

“Aren’t you angry?” The words burst out of his mouth. “Aren’t you – it’s his fault you’re here, instead of at home. At home, with your nephews, with your family…”

“I maintain an extensive correspondence with those members of my family I actually like, and for the first time in my life, I am able to ignore those I do not,” Lan Qiren said, and Jiang Cheng choked on the sheer incongruity of the statement. “I will not deny that it is strange to be here, or to think that I will be here for a long while yet. But my family can visit me, and I them, and things will not remain this way forever.”

“Forever, no. But – still –”

“I do not see it as a burden to be here with you.”

Jiang Cheng’s mouth dropped open. Lan Qiren had hit the heart of the matter like a dagger to the chest.

“I have always liked you,” Lan Qiren continued, straightforward and serious and patient, as if it was the first time he was saying those words instead of it being the thousandth repetition – though Jiang Cheng would hear it a thousand times more if he could. “You were a pleasure to teach, and you have not only attempted but achieved the impossible by resurrecting your sect after such devastation. You accomplished that, not Wei Wuxian, and not Wei Wuxian’s golden core; if strength in cultivation were all that were required to lead a Great Sect, we would not be so few in number. Even though the circumstances were not what any of us might have wished, I am pleased to call you my sworn brother.”

He paused – that was where he usually ended this particular recitation – but this time he seemed as though he had more to say. After a moment, he continued.

“I am only regretful that I am not the one you would have wished I be.”

Jiang Cheng had to turn away again, his eyes and nose hot with viciously suppressed tears that had sprung up out of nowhere. It was true, painfully true: it wasn’t supposed to be Lan Qiren that was living here in the Lotus Pier, it wasn’t Lan Qiren that was meant to be Jiang Cheng’s sworn brother.

It should have been Wei Wuxian.

But after Jin Zixuan died and Jiang Yanli died, it hadn’t been Jiang Cheng who had come to Wei Wuxian’s defense against the cultivation world. He’d led the forces that aimed at the Burial Mounds himself, insensate with grief and convinced that Wei Wuxian must have died or lost his soul long ago to have done such terrible things. He’d had some hazy thoughts of being the one to capture him, somehow knock some sense into him, but if he were being honest with himself he knew that it probably wouldn’t have worked out well for either of them if he and the Jin sect had been the first ones to reach the Burial Mounds.

Only – he hadn’t been.

It’d been Lan Wangji that got there first, Lan Wangji that knocked Wei Wuxian out and stole him away along with the rest of the Wen remnants, hiding them all away where the cultivation world wouldn’t ever think to find them. He’d been the one to declare that he and Wei Wuxian had sworn brotherhood with each other, and that that made Wei Wuxian a member of the Lan sect, all but marrying him in as if he were a woman.

(The way his father had, when it had been his bride who was accused…not that anyone outside the Lan sect, and very select others like Jiang Cheng, knew about that.)

Even that stratagem might not have worked, regardless of the Lan sect’s (reluctant) willingness to stand behind Lan Wangji – the cultivation world had pulled back in its confusion and out of respect for the Lan sect’s standing as a Great Sect, but it wouldn’t have lasted very long, not with how angry they were at Wei Wuxian. Only then Wei Wuxian had somehow used the extra few days that Lan Wangji had bought him to figure out that Wen Ning and Wen Qing were not actually dead the way the Jin sect had said he was, only hidden away, and that the supposed attack in Lanling had in fact been of the Jin sect’s own creation, that they’d intentionally incited Wen Ning in order to have a reason to steal Wei Wuxian’s creation and raid the Burial Mounds for his notes, seeking the source of his powers.

Decrying demonic cultivation with one side of their mouth, pursuing it eagerly with the other: the Jin sect had behaved like hypocrites of the first order, and worse, there were rumors that certain small sects that had recently disappeared had not in fact merely scattered or been absorbed into other sects, but turned into experiment fodder for the Jin sect’s vile experiments.

Jin Guangshan, caught with his pants down, had splutteringly tried to exculpate his sect, and when that didn’t work, he cast all the blame on the newly named Jin Guangyao, the bastard child. He’d even blamed him for inciting Jin Zixun to go lay an ambush at the Qiongqi Path, setting up the initial confrontation with Wei Wuxian, and then sending Jin Zixuan out without proper backing, hoping to use Wei Wuxian as a weapon to eliminate the heir that stood in front of him on his way to Jin sect leadership.

He’d offered to have him executed to appease the cultivation world’s anger.  

No one had entirely bought the idea of it all being Jin Guangyao’s fault, not really, but it wasn’t as though most of them were in any position to object, not with the Jin sect being one of the few that was still strong after the Sunshot Campaign. Jin Guangshan might have been able to get away with it, if it hadn’t been for Nie Mingjue stepping forward and claiming Jin Guangyao as a member of his sect through their sworn brotherhood, based on the very same precedent that Lan Wangji had just established. It had saved Jin Guangyao’s life and freed him to testify against his father, confirming all those deeply unfortunate rumors and even more…

Really, it was no surprise that Madame Jin didn’t want Jin Ling to be in Lanling City right now.

As for Lan Qiren, the situation had been quite simple. With the Jin sect in turmoil and the Nie sect temporarily disgraced for having willingly taken in a potential fratricide, and moreover Wei Wuxian, the founder of demonic cultivation, now firmly in the hands of the Lan sect, the entire order of the cultivation world had been turned on its head, with the Lan sect standing ascendant above them all.

Only the Jiang sect was out in the dark alone.

Lan Xichen was Nie Mingjue’s younger sworn brother as well, providing the Nie sect with security, and the Jin sect was in no position to demand anything for themselves; only Jiang Cheng and his sect were the losers, now lacking both Wei Wuxian and adding in the additional burden of Jin Ling, and it had been Jiang Cheng’s own foolish decisions that had led him to that point. In order to maintain balance, to keep the cultivation world from fearing another war like the last one, it seemed obvious to everyone that the Lan sect needed to turn over a hostage to the Jiang in order to maintain peace.

Jiang Cheng hadn’t liked that as the answer, but…it was his sect.

It was something he had to do.

He would always do what his sect needed him to do.

But the question arose of who the hostage could be. It had to be someone of the main line, someone important and valuable enough that the sect would be deeply invested in getting them back, and obviously it couldn’t be Lan Xichen, the sect leader. And yet it seemed cruel for it to be Lan Wangji, who had done so much for Wei Wuxian, who loved him so desperately and who, rumors said, was loved in return…

Even Jiang Cheng, who resented Lan Wangji to no end simply because of how soul-scaldlingly jealous he was of him, didn’t have the heart to split them up.

They had been trapped in a seemingly impassible dilemma, and it had been only solved when Lan Qiren had volunteered himself for the task, pointing out that his nephews would be committed to his well-being in just the way that was required; he’d then ignored their protests and swore brotherhood with Jiang Cheng, agreeing to go live in the Lotus Pier for as long as it took the cultivation world to grow steady and peaceful once more, which would probably only happen when Jin Ling reached adulthood and took on his father’s sect as his own. Sworn brotherhood was what it was called, but it was only a mockery of the more genuine connections that had come before – Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian, who were lovers, and Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao, who were…something, anyway. In reality, though, out of all of them, Lan Qiren was the only one who really was nothing more than a hostage.

Lan Qiren had taken it more philosophically than Jiang Cheng had.

“It’s not that,” Jiang Cheng finally forced out through numb lips. “It’s not – I like having you here.”

The confession was true, but that sometimes felt like the worst of it, the worst betrayal he had yet done. Wei Wuxian had given Jiang Cheng everything, even his golden core, a revelation that only came after everything had all been agreed, Wen Qing furiously angry from her near-death experience and lashing out recklessly with the truth as her only weapon, no matter how much she regretted it later. Wei Wuxian had given it all to him, and here was Jiang Cheng, living happily, letting another person fill Wei Wuxian’s shoes, take his place, forcing the role on a person who didn’t even belong here, and being traitorously happy about it all.

After all, Wei Wuxian wouldn’t have known what to do with Jin Ling, not the way Lan Qiren did, experienced and confident. Wei Wuxian wouldn’t know all the things Jiang Cheng had never learned about sect leadership, wouldn’t be available as a teacher, as a guide, as a mentor. Wei Wuxian…

Wei Wuxian would never have said I do not see it as a burden to be here with you.

“I am glad,” Lan Qiren said simply.

He even meant it, too.

“I – I can’t –”

“Do not strain yourself. A journey takes a step at a time, you don’t need to rush ahead to the end.”

Jiang Cheng nodded, and looked down at Jin Ling, who’d since fallen asleep, sucking his thumb.

“A teacher,” he finally said, once he’d gotten enough control of himself. He let himself imagine it – not just the actual act of teaching, but the joys behind it: grading papers with Lan Qiren, discussing topics, exchanging anecdotes, rolling their eyes at their juvenile tricks. Even the thought of Jin Ling having more children to play with as he grew up, and a reason to come back every year even after he went back to Lanling… “I could get used to that idea.”

Maybe, one day, he could even bring himself to look at Wei Wuxian’s letters.

Maybe, one day, he could write back.

My family can visit me, and I them, and things will not remain this way forever – that was what Lan Qiren had said. If it was true for him, then why not, maybe, for Jiang Cheng as well?

One day.

Not yet –

But one day.

[runawaymun]

End of Year Fic Recs <3

Happy New Year y'all!!!! I got tagged by both @deadqueernoldor & @camille-lachenille for this and what better day to fill it out than December 31st.

I must confess I haven't had the time or energy to read a lot of fics this year, but this is a great excuse to look back on the ones I have read and sort through my bookmarks!!!! I am going to cheat for some of these, purely because I'm very behind on fic reading. So not all of these will be fics that were posted this year, but they're fics that I read this year and loved.

So here we go with some recs:

Recommend up to 5 series or multi-chapter fics from 2023 that everyone should read (multi-year WIPs count, if the last update was in 2023).

Prefacing this by saying that I have not kept up with a lot of multichaptered fics this year 😭 but I will try to rec some that I have been religiously reading!

1. Sacrifice - Sekikaru (unsure if the author is on tumblr, nothing comes up for the tag!) [Original Fiction]

Hanyu is a human who has been delivered as a sacrifice to one of the powerful seafaring beings his people worship as gods. Antony is a bored vampire looking forward to a simple meal and a quiet new servant. Neither gets quite what he is expecting. But as old enemies resurface and the old order proves unsustainable, they might just find in each other exactly what they need.

Listennnn I read this on a whim while sick one day and it gripped me instantly. Every OC is fantastic. It's outstandingly queer. The author explores a lot of really difficult topics with incredible depth and care, and there have been points at the plot where I have yelled out loud or fist pumped. It's insane. It is so, so, so good. Rated E, though, and not just for smut. It can get very intense at some points. It is so, so so good. I've been meaning to do art for it one of these days.

2. The Secret of Formenos House - @jaz-the-bard

Once, Maedhros and Fingon were engaged to be married, before Maedhros broke it off for reasons unknown, and with his family took to the secluded manor of Formenos House. After their departure, only Maedhros ever came to Lindon to speak with his other kin again. The truth was that in the isolation of Formenos House a curse came upon Fëanor and his children, killing nearly all of them and leaving Formenos widely considered to be haunted. But when the curse abates from Maglor unexpectedly, he and Maedhros discover that they are now the guardians of two very sick children whose parents were lost at sea. Maedhros and Maglor might not be the caretakers Elrond and Elros need, unable to give them the spotless reputations they need to make their way in Society as orphans, but once the twins recover, they refuse to be sent to anyone else. It's up to the last remaining lords of Formenos House to turn the manor into a home.

I'm behind on this but it's Jaz, it's a Victorian AU, it's a kidnap fam. WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE. It's so good.

3. Aemond, First of His Name - @ellrond

Aegon Targaryen was never fit for rule. He begged with his brother to let him disappear, and his brother helped him. Said brother took the burden upon his shoulders to rule as king, and to crush the threat of Rhaenyra Targaryen. Canon divergence, Aemond is king and Aegon, not allowed to disappear for fear of inciting rebellion, has been sworn to his brother’s Kingsguard. Heavy Aemond/Helaena. Chapters with smut will be described as such.

EXCELLENT. STELLAR. OUTSTANDING. Prose, at times, feels just like GRRM's. The characterization is perfect. It's so delicious. I love it so much and the plot bunny is so intriguing!

4. We Will Make This Place Our Home - @leucisticpuffin

Elrond and Elros are sent to live with their distant cousins in a house that is crumbling slowly to pieces. They aren't especially happy about this. For Maedhros and Maglor, the twins are a rare chance to start living again. It will take a lot of work to turn a house full of ghosts into anything resembling a home.

Once again, a kidnap fam AU that I'm terribly behind on but enjoying nonetheless!!!! Excellent characterization and writing. I know I keep saying that, but that's what's really important to me in fics -- so naturally I love this one!

5. Vincarna - morgana-deryn (unsure if author is on Tumblr, if anyone knows lmk so I can tag them!)

When her life went from bad, to worse, to unbearable, she prayed for change. She could never have expected the answer she got. It came in the form of creatures that shouldn't exist, in a city too beautiful for words, in a heart that no longer beat. It should have been impossible, and yet there she was, living a life she wouldn't have been able to dream for herself. Elrond/OFC slowburn friends to lovers

Another one of those fics I picked up while sick and then really, really loved. The OC is a really well fleshed out human, with lots of wants, needs, trauma, and skills - and the Elrond characterization is perfect! I also really enjoyed the language barrier. It's something that gets ignored in a lot of these kinds of fics, but it's handled really well here!

Recommend up to 5 single chapter fics/one-shots (long or short) from 2023 that everyone should read.

Without the Leave of Thee - @jaz-the-bard

Celebrían is hosting a fairy revel, and she's determined to impress Elrond, who's promised to be in attendance. It's hard to hold herself back from stealing him away as the fae do to their lovers, but she knows it'd be a bad idea. But what is she supposed to do, when Elrond goes and eats from the basket of magic pears from her garden?

What can I say? This was a gift for me and it's Celrond + Fae elves it's like a no brainer. Jaz is a genius and the prose is so damn pretty & the characterization is PERFECT.

2. The First Water - @ellrond

“How did we first meet?” “You gave me water.” The first meeting of Galadriel and Elrond as a child is mentioned in Rings of Power. This is an incorporation of the kidnapping of Elrond and Elros by Maedhros and Maglor with that story. Not very happy.

Amazing fic based on one of my favorite moments in the show, and one of the moments I found most intriguing. The prose is really vivid and I just loved the portrayals of both Galadriel and Elwing in this.

3. Stirring - @slightnettles

Just a mostly sappy vignette for Rings of Power Valentine's Week. (Day 1: OTP)

Brimbrond is my other Elrond otp, and @slightnettles writes them perfectly. I adore this fic & come back to it often.

4. I Promise You You're Not Broken (I Promise You There's More) - @maglor-my-beloved

It is late in the evening when Celebrimbor is informed of the Elf who had arrived at the gates of Ost-in-Edhil and yielded to the guards, pleading to be brought to the realm's Lord. A strange Elf comes to Eregion. Celebrimbor meets a long-lost cousin.

So many pretty turns of phrase!!! So many incredible descriptions!!! I am just obsessed with the idea of Celebrimbor taking Maeglin in. AAA.

5. Braided - @glorf1ndel

Artanis and Celeborn are fascinated by each other's braids.

Hair customs among the elves!!!!!!!! Celeborn x Galadriel!!!! EVERYTHING I LOVE. Plus it is so well written!!!!

6. (I know, I'm cheating. I love this fic though!) A Million Miles Apart (I hold you close) - @raointean

"Elrond took a sharp breath in surprise. Eärendil’s fëa was not white-hot and blindingly bright like he had imagined the soul of a star to be. It was instead vibrantly colorful and full of life." OR Elrond speaks to his father for the first time since he left.

Listen. If you've followed me for some time you know I'm very iffy on my feelings about Eärendil. This fic made me like him.

Recommend up to 5 fics NOT from 2023 that everyone should read (oldies but goodies.)

Sugar and Diamonds - @nocompromise-noregrets

Celebrían, visiting Imladris for Midwinter with her mother, has a very important conversation with Elrond.

This was a gift for me and I'm obsessed with it. Celrond getting together!!!!! <3 <3 <3

2. bijebtorv’afâh - @arofili

Fíli comes to terms with his identity.

When I say this fic lives RENT FREE in my brain!!! The worldbuilding, the bead-making, Fili...everything is so good. Read it read it read it.

3. All The Ways to Love - @thatfeanorian

When Fingon is forced into an arranged marriage with a cousin he has never met before, he expects the worst. Soon, however, he will realize that Maedhros is not at all what he expected and might in fact be exactly what he has been looking for his whole life. featuring Mae's terrible mental health, Fingon's stubborn determination to make Mae love himself, and Feanor who naturally tries to ruin everything.

I know I recommend this fic regularly but it just hits all my buttons, okay? It's formative Russingon for me. I love it to death & reread whenever I'm sad!

4. All That Is Left - @tuuliii

When Nerdanel has finished the face of Fëanor she looks him in the eye, satisfied. "Some of my best work", she says and strokes his cheek. A tear glides down her own and falls to the while marble floor. "You left me. You left me and now all that is left of you are statues…” A story about Nerdanel and her family in five parts.

My favorite Nerdanel character study. It's so fucking good.

5. Under Strange Stars - @idrilsscribe

Barely a long-year after the Last Alliance all is not well in Imladris. Elrond's household has been dealt a crippling blow: a very young Elrohir has disappeared. After decades of false leads he is found in the Far South of Middle-Earth. Can Glorfindel rescue the House of Earendil once more? His task is not an easy one: Elrohir has no memory of who he was, and little interest in leaving his people's fight against the Black Númenóreans of Umbar ...

One of the first LOTR fics I ever read, and it's a favorite. I recommend this one a lot, too, but for good reason!!! The whole series is excellent and honestly just peerless.

Recommend up to 5 of your own fics (completed or WIP) from 2023 that everyone should read.

I actually haven't done a lot this year. Here's what I've been working on:

Beneath a Boundless Sky (WIP)

Set directly after the events of And the Stars Shine the Same -- Elrond’s two new wards both struggle to feel at home in Rivendell. The wounds from their slavery in King Frumgar’s court are still fresh, and the scars are deep -- and they’re not the only ones. Maglor is home at last, but each day he lives he is haunted by guilt and grief. Elrond is nothing if not patient, and he is certain that given enough time in Rivendell, all three will heal. Meanwhile, the twins set out to join Legolas and investigate the source of the mysterious Shadow which attacked Rivendell, but are held up in Rhovanion. In Greenwood, something evil festers beneath the trees. Only Lothlorien, protected by Nenya, seems to be safe...but for how long? Rhovanion stands on the brink of political catastrophe. Sickness spreads through the Misty Mountains, and to make matters worse...something is wrong with the children. A story about dysfunction and trauma, healing, the breaking of trust and of regaining it, and also the birth of the Kingdom of Rohan, redemption, and hope...if I can pull it off. No graphic depictions, some dark content ahead, mature themes.

This one is a continuation of the And the Stars Shine the Same series! Elrond centric, focusing mostly on the Peredhil fam -- but there are a lot of OCs and sideplots, too :)

To Partake (WIP, rated E.)

Even if it takes until the breaking of the world, Celebrimbor is determined to help Elrond feel comfortable in his own bones. He is too precious a creature to hate himself so much. (Or, the one where shortly before the scheduled mission to Khazad-dûm, Gil-Galad offers Celebrimbor a taste of his herald. Celebrimbor accepts, and regrets it.)

Based on the characterizations in Rings of Power, because I wanted to put the relationship between Elrond and Gil-Galad in the first season of the show under a microscope, but it isn't necessary to have seen the show to read this fic. I veer completely off of the canon events of the show after episode 5, and simply never return to the show's plot -- sticking a lot closer to the Silm.

There are several really difficult scenes in the fic, but I have tried to be very thorough in warning readers at the start of the associated chapters. If you really love Gil though this might not be a fic for you. He is uhhhhh--- well I am trying to fix him, but he remains a very large looming antagonist so far.

Really, it's an Elrond character study (exploring how his childhood trauma affects his current relationships with everyone in the second age, and how he grows into the strong leader we all know and love) disguised as shipfic porn. It's got me in an absolute vice rn. I've had such a blast working on it.

[toomanyplotbunnies-sendhelp]

Hello and welcome to (the true) Day 14 of "Let's Explore My Plot Bunnies"

Today, my brain decided to be very... resourceful, for the lack of a less polite word, and remake the Cat!Shen Jiu fic from *checks notes* Day 4. Only now, instead of Shen Jiu being the one transformed into a cat, it's Liu Qingge.

The current title for this is "Paw Prints in Your Heart," and I do intend to make it a LiuJiu fic.

The premise is quite simple:

Liu Qingge was injured in his latest mission. He falls unconscious at the base of Cang Qiong Mountain, and, unbeknownst to him, his body turns into that of a cat. Shen Qingqiu is the one that finds the injured tuxedo cat and takes him (he did check; it is a boy) back to Qing Jing Peak for treatment.

When Liu Qingge wakes up, not only does he find himself to be a cat, but also he finds himself in the care of the (surprisingly gentle) person he hates, Shen Qingqiu.

Now, imagine: Cat!Liu Qingge has to stay around the Qing Jing Peak because his paw has a bad injury and ends up being in the same room as Shen Qingqiu and Yue Qingyuan have their (admitedly one-sided) argument of the day. And after Yue Qingyuan leaves, Shen Qingqiu, feeling the anger rising, decides to vent to the only creature here that will listen to him and not interrupt - cat!Liu Qingge. So, Shen Qingqiu speaks (read: vents) about his past, about Yue Qingyuan, about all the other Peak Lords, about everything that he can really vent about.

Needless to say, Liu Qingge has a ton of things to think about now with all these revelations.

Then there is the monthly Peak Lord Meeting... at which Liu Qingge is missing. Most of the other Peak Lords don't really find a problem with this as it is well known that Liu Qingge loves to hunt monsters so "he is most likely doing just that" is what they argue. Shen Qingqiu, on the other hand, finds it weird since, as much as that brute annoys him, Liu Qingge doesn't miss the Peak Lords Meeting without announcing beforehand.

And so, Shen Qingqiu starts a one man (and one cat) search party for that idiot brutish shidi of his. Their first destination? The Red Warm Pavillion. If there is anyone who knows where esteemed cultivators can be found based on rumors, it is the Madame of the Pavillion - who is also the most trustworthy source of information Shen Qingqiu can find.

Some details to note:

I feel OG!Shen Qingqiu would prefer cats to dogs, mostly because as an orphan on the streets dogs would fight with you for food (looks at Wei Wuxian), while cats - especially in cold/rainy days - would snuggle with you. Not because they like you, but because they like the body heat you can provide for them.

Cat!Liu Qingge definitely gives Shen Qingqiu a lot of snuggles after he vents to him. Both as an apology and as comfort.

Shen Qingqiu tried to talk with the other Peak Lords about how strange it is for Liu Qingge - of all people - to dissappear without a trace or a letter. The other Peak Lords, unfortunately, ignored him. This is why he takes it in his own hands to find Liu Qingge.

Liu Qingge feels a lot of guilt after he learns more about Shen Qingqiu and about the reasons behind most of his actions. He vows to treat him better once he is back to his human self.

This could either take place before Luo Binghe is on Qing Jing Peak or after - like the first 2 weeks after he was admitted. Either way, the kiddo is chugging vinegar - first because his Shizun likes the cat better than him; second, because by the time Luo Binghe arrives at the sect, Shen Qingqiu has a boyfriend.

So what do you think? Good? Bad? Brain has been on crack for far too long? Let me know!

Honestly, this idea just came to me today - probably 2 hours before I post this, actually. The better way to explain the plot would be "Shen Qingqiu vents to his newly acquired cat about his entire life, without knowing that said cat is actually his shidi, Liu Qingge, whom he doesn't like". There is something special about the whole "venting to an animal that is actually a human cursed/transformed into an animal" trope I see in fics. It's soo damn cute and agsty at the same time. I love it so much.

But enough rambling from me. I hope you have a great day/night and that you take care of yourselves!

See you tomorrow,

-TooManyPlotBunnies-Send Help

[fractualized]

Hey

Don't really consume original batman comics, can't have acess to this things but I started to read and watch batjokes stuff. I'll say that I consume from the dark and reflecting to the wholesome peak, and one of that keeps heartwarming me is Telltale batjokes. Love how John can go from scary smiling creature to a precious sweetheart. Also like to see different versions of Joker interactions with the batfam in the various fancomics and fanfics. What makes think how I don't see many fics about John Doe with the batfam. Of course I see that is because the Telltale universe doesn't have the Bruce's kids, what is really sad because I think that "collision" could give us some truly great things.

What scenarios do you think it could be treated on these stories that you haven't saw being made yet?

Also, I saw once a post a person made talking how they'd like about John exploring more his sexuality. Like, that would focus more in the John's experiences out of Arkham BEFORE meeting Bruce again. Trying new clothes, talking with new people, discovering makeup (that I think he wouldn't get acess in Arkham). Do you have any thoughts about that too?

Recently I watched some videos that talk about John's possible disorders. How looks like he keeps switching from 'John' to 'Joker' and how he was way more "Joker" in Arkham, maybe having a kind of personality disorder. Sure, must be in that way because they wanted a different John from the one that we have in season one, but we can dream about this a little bit, can we?

That was long. Sorry for the errors, english it's not my language. Like your fics btw. The more I read some things, more I like the whole fan creation stuff and understand better too.

Thank you for the message, and for enjoying my fic! No worries about the length. I'll take your questions one by one:

John Doe and the Batfam

I think one of the reasons not a lot of people (including me) have incorporated the batfam into Telltale fic is that a big selling point for writing it is that the Telltale-verse is its own thing. There's much, much less history to complicate matters if you want to write a canon-compliant story, which includes there being no children to distract Bruce from his relationship with John, which a lot of fic focuses on. The batjokes is certainly what I enjoy! I don't have anything against the batfam (and I'm actually trying to read a little more about at least some of them), but since that interest has never been super high, my fic ideas never went in that direction.

If I do think about bringing in batfam, well, I get a little stuck.

While John is a lighter flavor of Joker, he's still a Joker, and Joker is not a parental person. In the comics he has had some interesting nonviolent interactions with kids, indulging or even protecting them, but that's not the same as being responsible for them. And one of the stronger Joker characteristics John has is his obsession with Bruce and wanting his attention. I don't think John would go all "Death of the Family" on a kid brought into the manor, but he would be wildly jealous. Like, my first plot bunny is John getting a visit from Bruce, who tells him about witnessing this tragic accident at the circus that left a poor child acrobat orphaned, and wanting to help him. Then over more visits, we get a story of little Dick Grayson insisting on investigating his parents murder, so intently that he becomes Bruce's vigilante partner. And John, who's been gnawing on his jealousy over Bruce spending all this time with some kid, loses his shit that an 8-year-old is a better vigilante than he ever was. Just spiraling about how Bruce is forgetting about him. He breaks out, insisting he can help, but just gets thrown back in again. A tragedy!

Okay, let's try one with John out of Arkham, and let's go non-chronological this time and say Bruce meets Jason Todd first. Jason's trying to steal the batmobile's tires, of course, but he's also a witness to a murder or something, so Bruce brings him home. This time John directly witnesses Bruce bonding with a troubled kid, and the jealousy is worse because John recognizes all the ways Bruce calms him down. John and Jason don't get along at all because John is constantly trying to get Bruce to shuttle this kid off to a nice foster home, but similar to the scenario above, Jason's moxy earns him a Robin spot. Then a twist! Jason has leaned into Bruce's mentoring because he wants to find his mother, who he's sure is alive! And John is like, well dang, I'll help you find her if it gets you out of my house. And in some eerie parallels to Jason's comic death, they end up overseas and find Sheila Haywood, who it turns out is defrauding the aid organization she works for. On being discovered, the men she's working with attack Jason, and John has this terrible opportunity to take his jealousy past the brink and let whatever happens to Jason happen-- but he doesn't. He saves Jason instead, not just because he knows Bruce would be wrecked but because he sees parts of himself reflected in Jason. There, that's sort of nicer! I still don't think John would be parental after that, but it would be nicer??

John's Self-Exploration

See, the thing with John having new experiences after getting out of Arkham is that they have to be limited, because that's key to what happens with his character in the game. He's really struggling with finding who he is, because he keeps trying to emulate other people rather than figure out what he personally wants to do with this life. (Which would be understandable even if he was the average person. It's easier to model yourself after somebody else than to put yourself out there again and again to figure out what works for you.) Before Bruce reappears, John is focused on being who he thinks Harley wants him to be and having a place with the gang. It ties into his hatred for Riddler, who just outright disdained of him instead of simply tolerating him like, say, Freeze.

He still naturally does some exploration, of course. He has to dress himself outside of Arkham, and he's a talkative guy so he managed to find, uh, acquaintances outside of the Pact at the Stacked Deck. It probably would have helped him a lot if he'd done more of that, but as much as he seems to act independently in the game, all too often it's in service of impressing Harley or then Bruce. If I were to write about John's exploration, it would probably be about restraint. He would be full of curiosity about the ways other people express themselves, and he'd stifle it because he's not sure if that's what Harley would want. Makeup would be a big curiosity for sure, but I can see John not indulging either because he doesn't see a lot of other guys wear it or because he asked Harley if he could try her kit and she decided to psych him out about it because she could.

Is it too drastic to say that a John who had even trepidatious confidence for self-exploration might have found more balance and avoided his fate in the game? Maybe, but I have to wonder.

John In Arkham Versus Outside Arkham

Personally I tread lightly when it comes to assigning specific disorders to John. It's one thing if someone recognizes their own diagnosis in him and uses that to inform a fic. When it comes to the writing in the game, as far as I can tell, it was just working off characteristics common to the Joker: impulsive, manipulative, self-important, and infatuated with violence, with a poor sense of boundaries and an inappropriate sense of humor. Those traits may be consistent with certain disorders, but there aren't that many fic scenarios where I would feel the need to specify what applies to John, and in those cases I would be extremely careful. When it comes to pure speculation? I'm just not qualified. Heck, I have a fic where I gave John a heart diagnosis and I'm still hoping I wasn't super off-base.

As for the shift from "Joker" to "John," I ascribe to the fish-out-of-water explanation (which, yeah, papers over how Telltale simply needed to change his character for the story). John learned a more aggressive way to navigate life when he was incarcerated in a corrupt asylum, and when the rules he lived by there did not apply outside of it, he had to re-map. Not only did he have to learn different ways to behave, but he had to do it while feeling more off-kilter than usual, exposed and vulnerable. Make a mistake when living in Arkham, you just get put in a deeper hole in Arkham. Make a mistake outside of Arkham, you lose all your newfound freedom and get thrown back behind bars. I don't see a "switch" in John, just him reverting to more aggressive behavior at times, especially when he's under stress.

Well, I hope my thoughts were… interesting? I feel like I pushed back on most of your starting points and that's probably annoying. Sorry!

[dancingsunflowers-ocs]

𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗣𝗟𝗢𝗧 𝗕𝗨𝗡𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗦

The time has once again come for me to talk about some plot bunnies!! These are some all of the plot bunnies I currently have that I haven’t really talked about much - feel free to ask me any questions you might have about them!!

Solana Corzo, Glee OC, Artie Abrams ship.

-Childhood best friend of Claudia Green, before her move to Lima.

-Loves the colour pink, Disney films, Taylor Swift and old vintage sci-fi films/tv shows.

-She basically shocks people with her smarts when everyone thinks of her as an airhead like Brittany.

-Is the only person who gets Rachel, as much to the annoyance of both Claudia and Francesca who can’t stand her.

Pedro Fernandez, Glee OC, Kurt Hummel ship.

-Revamped version of James Green.

-Has been best friends with Ariel Berry since childhood.

-Bisexual disaster and proud!!

-Barista at the Lima Bean and a student at McKinney High.

-Tough guy with a soft heart. Initially, he comes across as aggressive, socially isolated, and simply not given a break in the world.

Matilda Thorpe Wednesday OC, Enid Sinclair ship.

-Based on Matilda from the Roald Dahl book of the same name.

-Her parents are neglectful, however, her brother Xavier takes care of her and acts as a surrogate parent to her.

-She’s a telekinetic, and also has the power to manipulate written words.

-She also has quite a close familial bond with Miss Thornhill, similar to Matilda from the book’s close bond with Miss Honey… But slightly off 

-Roommate, and eventually the best friend of Bianca.

-Is a huge reader, and is especially a fan of the Percy Jackson books which she gets Wednesday into.

Feyra Sherwood, The Chronicles of Narnia OC, Peter Pevensie ship.

-Is a school teacher in the 60’s/70’s flower power era.

-After losing her mom, she, her twin brother and cousin discover the world of Narnia through a portal in an old storybook when going through their mother’s belongings.

-Discovers that she has stellar manipulation powers while she’s in the fantasy world.

-She and Peter have a slow burn romance, and she eventually proposes to him with a mood ring from her era/world.

August Sherwood, The Chronicles of Narnia OC, Edmund Pevensie ship.

-Is the twin brother of Feyra Sherwood and the cousin of Joan Connelly.

-Works in the National History Museum in the 60’s/70’s era.

-Discovers with Feyra and Joan, in which he finds out he has earth/weather manipulation powers.

-When he and Edmund first met, they were both constantly bickering with each other, and were basically too stubborn to admit their romantic feelings for each other.

Joan Connelly, The Chronicles of Narnia OC, Lucy Pevensie ship.

-Is the cousin of Feyra and August Sherwood, and is like a younger sibling to them.

-Is a college student during the 60’s/70’s era who’s questioning their gender/sexuality.

-When they and the twins discover Narnia, they finds out that’s they’re really skilled at using weapons.

-They get so confused when animals just follow them around for no particular reason.

-They later befriend/adopt an orphan wolf cub, after some hesitation at first, which they name Akela who laters becomes their companion.

Cherry Hearts, Descendants OC, Ben Beast ship.

-Is the daughter of the Queen of Hearts, but their relationship with each other is very stained.

-Is in contact with her aunt, Mirana of Marmoreal/The White Queen who she considers more of a mother figure than her own.

-A member of the VKs, she wants desperately to be good and break away from her mother’s reputation, and dedicates herself to being better once the VKs choose good at the coronation.

-Smart and sarcastic by nature but not mean.

-Loves strawberries, red lipstick and graffiti.

Sofía Madrigal, Descendants OC, Evie Grimhilde ship.

-Is the daughter of Mirabel Madrigal.

-Like her mother, Sofía is a very optimistic and enthusiastic girl who loves her family above everything, and would do absolutely anything to make them proud of her.

-Many years after Casita was rebuilt, Alma passed away, and it was revealed to Mirabel that she had the most important role in the Madrigal family all along, as she was always destined to be the next holder of the family’s miracle casa.

-Is very skilled at sewing and playing the accordion.

-The day before she was sent off to auradon, Mirabel gifted her with a hand-sewn butterfly plush. She said that she would always be with her if she kept the butterfly close, so Sofía keeps the plush in her mochila bag, as she is extremely homesick & misses her mamá, familia & casa very much.

-Unlike her mother, Sofía was blessed on her fifth birthday with a magical gift, joining the rest of the Madrigal family. Sofía has the gift of light, meaning she can create, cease & manipulate it, making her the family’s real life miracle candle. However her power is defective due to Mirabel being giftless, so her gift is uncontrollable.

Wanda Darling, Descendants OC, Harry Hook ship.

-Is the daughter of Wendy Darling.

-Enemies-to-lovers trope!! She has the purest of hearts, is kind and sees only inner beauty, which causes some tension between her and Harry when they meet for the first time in the second movie.

-Wanda negates Harry’s narcissism and teaches him humility. (She basically baked him a big, humble pie.)

-Super shy and doesn’t talk a whole lot, but incredibly smart and loving. Has a huge interest in astronomy.

Tagging: @luucypevensie (since she helped me with many of these!!) @ginger-grimm @daughter-of-melpomene @ginevrastilinski-ocs @manyfandomocs

[randomkposts]

So what I can gather from this is that Devil summoners did look into orphanages for children with potential and took them aside for potential future training. As far as a place to look for them goes, orphans make sense as a place to find potentials.

Japans orphanages are overcrowded and understaffed, and extra hands with the kids are welcome. Sending kids with potential to a diffrent institute would make it easier to train them in some things, even if they don't grow up and become summoners, control of potential is probably appreciated.

From what I can tell, Arrow training as a devil summoner after he aged out of the system was a choice he made (he admired Raven)

In contrast Kaburagi was scouted by the Phantom Society

And taken there for training.

Arrow wonders what would have happened if Kaburagi had awakened first, would he have been taken by Yatagarasu?

And I'm thinking, no, it wouldn't have been as easy.

There is a diffrance between Arrow and Kaburagi, and that is Kaburagi has parents. Arrow does not. Kaburagi admits in Arrows memory that his is in there because he has abusive parents.

To try to keep this short, Kaburagi is still on his family registry." In Japan, biological family still retains legal custody of the children even if they have abandoned them, and although the birth child may be placed in the care of the state, the bio family has the ultimate say over the childs future and usually choose to send the child to an orphanage or institution rather then let them be adoptable. "

Both of the kids were able to see ghosts at that time, but Arrow was easier to transfer, as he didn't have any relitives to go through/convince, otherwise he probably would have initally been placed with a relitive first. But he seems to not have any alternative guardians. He was easier to aquire.

In contrast Kaburagi's would have needed to be convinced, a process which may have alerted the Phantom Society, where they moved to make a more convincing offer, or otherwise deal with the parents in a way that made the other relitives back away.

On the flip side, they could have both ended up in the Phantom Society, though I don't think Arrow would have been a happier person for it. Food for AU thought I suppose

[thetoyboxau]

WALLY WOLFHEART - (smiling critter oc)

Tw: blood (bandages)

EXPERIMENT 3307.

——————————————————————————————————

Wally is a really cool guy ! He’s always looking out for his best friend (Flurry)

Flurry and him have always been best friends, even when they where just orphans at the factory, at first it was just Flurry who was chosen for the bigger bodies initiative, but he didn’t want to be apart from his best friend and worked hard enough until he was chosen too! They’ve always been best friends, no matter the circumstances.

…even if those circumstances are dangerous. Wally works for the prototype cult along with Honey Bunny, the issue is is Wally is literally pretending with everything he does just because he wants to make sure he can somehow keep Fluffy alive, Flurry and Alice have no idea and Honey already has suspicions of him being a liar. Which may lead to a plot point, who knows!

[dragonoffantasyandreality]

An idea of a detective kids AU

A stupid idea: Charles Gray is a private detective, going around the world solving crimes and all. Until one day in London, he finds an orphaned Paul on the streets. He befriends the kid (later adopts him) and takes him to his family's mansion. Then, he adopts another one... And another one... And another one... Then he found himself a small army of smols in his arsenal (Edward just accidentally found himself in their "family". Not that he didn't mind).

All of the kids calls him "Colonel White" because of his whitening hair. Each of them have their own colour names because why not? And most of the cases is the Spectrum Kids helping him outsmart the bad guys and saving Charles' old arse sometimes, even when told repeatedly not too! 🤣

Just throwing this plot bunny into the void before its starts wrecking havoc in my brain! XD

[garunsdottir]

WIP Wednesday So, I was tagged by lovely @lord-aldhelm and decided to take part! <з

Please share your last sentence; or, if you don’t have one, share a plot bunny or idea!

If you follow my blog, then you probably know that I make gifs (mostly TLK & some other shows I'm currently watching), but I do write from time to time. Firstly, I share my wip gif project, which I hope to post this evening. Then I'll show something from my wip fan-fiction, but with a long ass explanation on how to perceive it lol

I. So, the gifs in progress:

Currently working on these two toxic boyfriends! It's gonna be a sort of 'web weaving post', so there are a lot of quotes and some paintings.

II. Now for the writing

The thing here is that I write in my native tongue, and, truth be told, I break a hella lot of rules. What is the point of knowing grammar perfectly if you are not going to butcher it later? I always play with grammatical cases and omit subjects (because the language allows it and the sentences are still comprehendable), invent weird-sounding descriptions, or let nouns drive the sentences. And when I write in English… Let's say it's complicated, as it is my second language, and I won't ever be able to convey my thoughts properly and with the depth that I was initially guided by. But yet, I've decided to try and exercise my brain a bit. So if you see strange grammatical constructions and incorrect word order - I'm sorry, but it is what it is, and sometimes I struggle to translate it.

background context: I write for small and strange fandoms, cause I love my characters and pairings. For instance, Ruby x Moody (awae), Warren x Layla (high sky), Jonas Baerb (RC: Psi), some modern hotd (mostly the greens), and Felix x Wendy (ouat). This super small part is from my wip 'Cheerful oblivion' in which Wendy is stuck in Storybrooke but is not being accepted by her former family because of how drastically she has changed on the island. Guess who is ready to open his arms in exchange for some fairy dust and help getting out of this shithole? Yep, Felix. Of course, they both had toxic connections with Pan. Of course, they both have an undeniable unhealthy attraction to each other.

***

Her tender smile, instead of an answer, slowly shakes her head from side to side.

This is her reality now.

Not going to high school, the iridescent chime of Grace's voice after classes, and coffee at Granny's. Wendy Darling doesn't wear skinny jeans, doesn't know how to use messengers, and, at seventeen (give or take one hundred years), doesn't know how to drive.

'Let's come to the table, or the food will go cold.'

The role of "mother"—Wendy has mastered it skillfully. Not exactly the best one, but impeccably needed. Once the one and only for boys on the island. Brutalised orphans demanded fairytales and medicines during the day, and at night they whined in her arms, writhing from screams in their own nightmares.

Wendy remembers everything: the first hunt, self-made spears, and arrows ineptly smeared with poison. The club on the shoulder of the great hunter, his sneaky, almost auricle-licking:

'The bird sings sweetly in the wild but looks much nicer in a cage.'

Prickly chills on the spine, aching tension in her calves—Wendy grabs the edge of the table, trying to keep her balance. Since then, she has also learned to run quite well.

From the living room, John screams something about an extra knife. The girl inhales the air into her lungs and raises her head, emerging from that deep maelstrom of rotten memory.

That's right, dinner.

The last one. The boys will be back in Boston tomorrow.

The food on the plate became cold because she had to tend to the pudding that was adored by the eldest as a child. The nervous laughter of the youngest, who is so eager to stuff himself with the second portion of the pie to make Wendy happy. The clatter of cutlery is annoying; the room begins to shrink, pressing against her temples.

A salt that John could go get on his own.

A thick mass of cream that seems too heavy to Michael, although Wendy took butter and milk in equal proportions.

Palms on her knees, right tops left one in an attempt to stop damaging nails and cuticles, shoulders lowered. Wendy's forehead itches at John's probing gaze.

'We'll find a way to get you out of here,' he says abruptly.

Michael freezes with a fork in his mouth. John's lips are a crooked line, a desperate attempt to make himself believe what he just said. He avoids her eyes, a torn scar on her lower lip, and an unseen habit of biting her nails.

As for Wendy…

Wendy'd just rather be left alone.

***

I don't know whom to tag, so if you see this and you want to participate, pray, do so!

[the-infamous-coat-of-baron-zemo]

Times Change and We With Time

Part 1 | ? |

First of all let me say, I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm going to roll with my crazy plot bunny. Also as a warning, my first foray into writing any kind of Star Trek, though I've watched a majority of all franchises.

This is a Christopher Pike / Reader story.

Lots of set up in this chapter, so bare with me.

----------

Q always drives home the point that time, is in fact, non-linear. So what happens when you realize that maybe a person's future, lies in the past?

'Times change and we change with them' - Latin Proverb

----------

Chapter One: So, That...Happened

Disclaimer | I am taking several liberties with Star Trek lore in order to mold the telling of this story. Mainly, Spock's disappearance when he went on the rescue mission to stop the destruction of Romulus's star system. We're going to negate the Kelvin timeline here and assume Spock surfaced and has been focusing on continued re-settling of the remaining Romulan inhabitants on Vashti.

OOOOO

Stardate: 2402.3

OOOOO

The Enterprise-G was quite a formidable ship. Previously known as the USS Titan, she was rechristened after the events of near Borg annihilation just a few short years ago.

You were walking back to your quarters, smiling and nodding at several familiar faces on the way.

Having served in an unofficial capacity on the Enterprise-E, you knew there was no other feeling in the world than being on a starship.

And for once, you were grateful for the lull in activity. Not racing against all odds to save the galaxy, worrying about the crew and their safety. As thrilling as that may be for some, it's nice to get back to what Star Fleet was all about, exploring.

Technically, you were never enlisted in Star Fleet. But here you were, having spent a majority of your life with them, all whom you've grown to call family. Protecting them fiercely.

With a genius mind that rivaled most all humans, you reveled in problem solving, tackling the most enigmatic challenges.

However, this came at a great personal cost. There have been many long sleepless nights, you just wished you were normal.

They say humanity has bettered themselves over the centuries. And yes, you suppose that may be true, but there are still those out there who wish to do harm. You learned that early on in life. Orphaned at such a young age, your family sacrificed their lives to protect you. Your intelligence sparked interest in parties who would use your mind to create chaos and destruction. You had to run constantly, never staying in one city too long on Earth. Though, you found the state of Montana to be quite lovely. You thought, if ever you were to retire one day, it would be there.

OOOOO

Okay, so when you mentioned you "served" on the USS Enterprise, it may have been an exaggeration. You were 10 and snuck aboard before leaving space port. The only reason you were allowed to stay was because of one, Beverly Crusher. You like to think of her as the adoptive mom you never had.

But like everyone else close in your life, she had disappeared too. That is until she resurface with her son Jack. You weren't even angry she up and poofed out of existence for 20 years. There was only hurt and sadness. You were used to people abandoning you.

So after crying and lots of hugging, of course you understood, but the loss was still palpable over those two decades.

It's funny, during your time on the Enterprise-E, once you were old enough, you essentially became a Consultant to the Captain, which is what Jack's position on this ship currently is.

That kid. What a handful. And a shameless flirt, who does not seem to care that you are nearly a decade and a half older than he is. You mostly roll your eyes at him, but occasionally, he'll get a good laugh out of you.

Over the last 20 years or so since leaving the Enterprise-E in 2379, you had bounced around from ship to ship, consulting on various odd ball requests. Still never commissioned, but Star Fleet also understood why there was a reason to keep a low profile. Those terrorists that hunted you as a child, were still out there searching for you. So, keeping your name off any official databases was pretty handy.

Until - it wasn't.

OOOOO

Your communicator beeped just as you arrived at the front door to your quarters. Entering, you tap the communicator on your jacket.

"Go ahead."

A loud sigh can be heard over the comm line, "You ready to go? We're at the transporter pad, waiting to beam down."

"Hold your horses. I just need to grab my backpack and PADD Commander Musiker."

You may have responded a bit cheekily, but you don't often use your honorary rank.

"Sorry, ma'am."

Shaking your head and laughing, you gather the remaining items stuffing them in your backpack, "Raffi, just head down to the surface with the away team, I'll follow suit in a couple minutes."

"I can wait," a very distinct male voice piped in.

"Commander, I am definitely ordering you to take Ensign Crusher planet side, now."

You could hear the abrupt rounds of laughter floating through the comm system.

"Copy that. We're heading down."

Yeah. Today was going to be a good day.

OOOOO

Away missions aren't generally something you venture out on too often. Just due to the nature of your position in Star Fleet, but you made a special request for this one.

A class M planet in the Beta Quadrant had been producing unusual anomalies since the Romulus sun went supernova. The readings were sparce and intermittent from the probe recently sent. So, to get a better understanding, command sent the Enterprise out to get more concrete findings. The data was so mystifying it even piqued Ambassador Spock's interest as well. He planned to meet you down on the planet near one of the anomalies.

But still, something seemed, off.

You beamed down within a reasonable amount of time from your last communication with Raffi. The team appeared to be setting up camp and already taking readings of the area, though you aren't sure why everyone is peering over the edge of a cliff.

Quietly approaching, you clear your throat from a fair distance behind the team, making your presence known.

Jack spins around.

"There she is. You've got to take a look at this."

He really does act like a happy golden retriever sometimes, and it is ridiculously infectious.

"Hi friends. What have we got?" You wave at everyone before leaning your head over the edge of the barren cliff. The area reminded you of the Grand Canyon. "Oh, uh - now that is trippy," your eyebrows nearly stretch all the way up to your hairline in surprise.

You weren't really sure what you were looking at. A flattened dark swirling mass of....distorting matter? You pull your backpack from around you and grab your tricorder. Giddy with excitement you attempt to get as close to the edge as possible.

"Easy there tiger, let's not fall off. We all know how clumsy you are," Raffi's voice carries nearby.

You huffed annoyed, but bite back any remarks, because - okay, you were a tad clumsy. But mostly it's because you're occupied with your head in a book or data and randomly bump into things as you walk.

Mumbling to yourself, "Seriously, what is this thing?"

"That is a temporal rift."

Your head snaps up, turning towards the newcomer.

"Spock!"

Smiling you, make your way over to greet one of your closest friends. It still shocks the hell out of you, to think you became friends with one of Star Fleet's most highly decorated.

You don't see each other very often in person anymore, but you both have a bi-monthly communication, catching up on what's going on in each other's lives. But honestly, you just enjoy listening to Spock reminisce about serving on the Enterprise. Lately, he had been sharing more and more stories about Captain Christopher Pike. And they were so good.

"You still accept hugs from friends?" Stopping short, you hold out your arms tentatively.

You know hugs aren't always his thing, but you've managed to wrangle one or two out him in the past.

"Perhaps not in front of the away team, Fleet Admiral."

Out of your peripheral, you see the team trying to look inconspicuous, as if they aren't eavesdropping on your conversation.

Sighing you drop your arms and walk closer to Spock. You jut your head over to a grouping of rocks a few meters from your friends.

"Ambassador Spock and I are going to have a quick chat. We won't go far."

You stuff your hands into pockets and gesture for him to follow.

"You know Spock, you don't have to call me Fleet Admiral."

Having fallen in step with you, his hands are steepled in front of him, "It is your rank, is it not?"

"Yes, but - it's just an honorary rank. And we're friends, you can call me by my name, you know?"

You peer up at him, knowingly.

"Indeed I do."

Chuckling to yourself, you hoist yourself onto one of the large boulders nearby.

"Okay. Time for the important questions. Why are you really here? As happy as I am to see you, this doesn't seem like something you would waste your energy on," you watch Spock stand next to you as he peers out over the vast canyon.

"You have always been incredibly perceptive for a human. You also carry with you an innate compassion for others and a will to never give up. So logic dictates, you would likely continue questioning my motives until I bare them to you."

"You would be correct," eyebrow raising in interest.

You heard a soft chuckle from the Vulcan. Spock dipped his head slightly before facing you once more.

"You remind me very much of a Captain I once served under."

Your eyeballs grew comically wide.

"What?" You drag out slowly. Narrowing your eyes, you continue "I'm assuming you aren't referring to James Kirk?"

"I am not. You may be centuries apart, but many of the endearing qualities I see in you are also the same ones reflected in Christopher Pike." Spock paused briefly, sighing quietly before continuing, "Had you have met, I believe you both would have found great value in one another."

Your jaw drops open slightly in shock.

Blinking rapidly, your brain is trying to discern what exactly Spock is implying. Great value in one another?

"Uh - thank you?" You say confusingly. Then a thought comes to mind and you perk up, "Is this why you keep telling me stories about him?"

"It is one reason, but not the only one."

You tilt your head to the side, "I'm not following. What other reason could there be?"

"Today will be the last day I see you, as I am now," Spock answers.

"That isn't exactly the response, I was hoping for. Why is today the last day I see you? Are you not well?" Alarm creeps into your voice, sounding a growing concern for your friend.

"You will understand in due time."

Standing, you rubbed a hand over your face in frustration.

"Could you not be so cryptic in your Vulcan-y ways?"

You were about to start in again, but a communicator went off.

It wasn't yours.

"Spock here," he taps on his badge.

"Ship's ready sir, just let us know when you're ready to beam back aboard," an officer's voice filtered through.

"Momentarily, Spock out."

"So, you aren't here for the mission," you reply, crossing your arms in front.

"No. I am not."

"Then why?"

"I came to say goodbye to an old friend," Spock replies softly.

Looking up at him, you notice now how somber his eyes are.

"I still don't understand."

Bobbing his head, Spock gives a look of contemplation, "I know.”

Suddenly, you're pulled into a hug.

You were grateful for the comfort, but terribly concerned. Spock normally doesn't initiate hugs, and this conversation has been very confounding to say the least.

But you trust Spock. If something were seriously amiss, he would tell you, wouldn't he?

Pulling back, you give him a fond questioning look.

Spock raised his hand to the Vulcan salute, "It has been the one of the greatest privileges of my life to have known you. You shall and always will be my friend."

"I - yes, Spock, same to you, as well," you were stumbling over yourself, stunned by his action and words.

"Live long and prosper," Spock fondly says, a small smile gracing his features.

You see him tap on his comm badge, "One to beam up, energize."

"Wha - ?"

Before you have time to responds, he's gone from your sight.

Why that sneaky Vulcan! How could just up and leave like that? Next communication session you plan on giving him an earful.

OOOOO

You make your way back over to the away team, dusting off your jeans as you walk. Spinning around slowly, you check to make sure you got all the sand off you. You weren't a true field commissioned Star Fleet officer, so you tend to only wear your uniform when you absolutely have to.

"What was all that about?" Jack says, striding up to you.

"Your guess is as good as mine," you reply dazed.

"So, Ambassador Spock is not staying for the readouts, I take it?" Raffi sarcastically chimes in.

You look over and just shake your head exasperated.

"Vulcans, what are ya going to do?" You throw your hands up in the air.

You noticed other members of the crew had separated out in pairs to collect data. The plan was to only spend one day on the planet and then return the findings to Star Fleet command, with a recommendation on what to do about the anomalies and if they posed a danger to inhabitants.

Reaching for your tricorder again, you stopped short when you heard a shuffling from a section of the area North that hadn't been scouted.

"Commander do you hear that?"

Raffi straightened up, looking around. She holds up her hand, "Everyone quiet."

The shuffling noise was becoming more prominent, closer.

"Phasers out," the Commander replied.

Funny thing. You didn't have one on you. You should really be better prepared.

Craning your neck, you try to see if there's any danger, but there are boulders everywhere.

Raffi was starting to run security protocols with the crew when you saw them.

"Commander, left at 2 o'clock," you shout.

A small group of what looks to be raiders are making their way forward to advance on the team.

And they have weapons. Wonderful.

"Take cover," Jack shouted, grabbing you and darting for the nearest section of boulders to crouch down behind.

You hear a phaser go off and shouting from members of the away team, calling out positions.

Well, this turned ugly fast, you think.

You tighten the backpack strap across your chest in a nervous gesture.

Knowing you don't have a weapon to help your team, you hit your comm badge, "Enterprise, status - we are under fire. Repeat, we are under fire. Request immediate beam up."

No response.

You tap your badge again. Nothing.

Enemy fires grazes the top of the rock you're hiding next to. You look around and see the young Crusher, side stepping his way around to the outer rim - firing every so often, but you can hear the weapons discharging from either side at increased rates. It's only a matter of time before someone gets seriously injured.

Raffi is several feet in front of you around another set of rocks, taking cover and giving orders while keeping her own attackers at bay.

Peering up from over the boulder you're at, you notice a pair of raiders closing in on Jack, who has now isolated himself near the edge of the cliff. You never thought he was extremely reckless, but his mother would be furious if anything happened to him.

Distracted by another raider to his right, you see the ensign focus and hit his target, but he's failed to see the other two closing in on him.

You see one of the two fractioned raiders raise their weapon, ready to fire.

Without hesitation, you sprint from your hiding place and tackle Jack to the ground barely missing the shot fired.

"Are you insane Crusher?" You yell.

"I could say the same thing about you!"

"Can we not do this right now?"

More weapons discharge over the next several minutes. The exchange finally stops after seeing another attacker go down. The Commander is calling out for a perimeter sweep and ordering a Lieutenant to find a way to get in contact with the Enterprise.

Jack stands up and offers you a hand once the all clear is given.

"Thanks for that," he replied bashfully, gesturing to the area where he was saved.

Both of you head start to head over to Commander Musiker, walking along the cliff edge.

"Yeah, well your mother would murder me if something happened -"

Cutting off your snarky reply, you're thrown back by the force of something piercing your shoulder. You cry out in pain, stumbling backwards.

Okay, maybe this wasn't as great a day as you imagined.

Vaguely, you can hear both Raffi and Jack shouting, but your ears are ringing. You reach you towards Crusher with your good arm, but you lose your footing and the next thing you know you're falling in darkness.

OOOOO

[manyfandomocs]

Plot Bunny: Six of Crows + Kaz Brekker

Alright alright here we go first Grishaverse OC on the blog but don’t worry after this post you’ll see 9 more

Anka Fedin (Kaz Brekker ship)

It wasn’t always easy being Grisha, especially when you aren’t worried about training at the Little Palace and instead are worried about being hunted all your life. Her father was Fjerdan, all she knew from him growing up was that Grisha were evil witches, and her mother was Kaelish, all she knew from her was that Grisha should be killed for their curing blood, so when she found out she was capable of creating poisons with ease, she didn’t tell a soul. Until her family went on a trip. It shouldn’t have been hard, going further down to Novyi Zem by boat, but the seas were rough, and the ship went under. Anka survived, but only by swimming until she got the attention of a merchant ship that only had one stop, Ketterdam. Orphaned and alone in a city where she didn’t understand the language, it was hard for her to survive at first. She got a job at a coffee house and was doing her best to make do, until she decided to try her luck at gambling. Anka was abysmal, but the Crow Club led her to meeting Kaz Brekker, an interesting man who somehow learns of her skills, and offers her an interesting opportunity

Send me a fandom / love interest / faceclaim (one or all of those) and I’ll make a plot bunny