#the plot bunnies produced a fic

[sarcasticdolphin]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Harry Potter/Tom Riddle Characters: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle | Voldemort, Death (Harry Potter) Additional Tags: Female Harry Potter, Genderbending, Pureblood Culture (Harry Potter), Pureblood Society (Harry Potter), Pureblood Politics (Harry Potter), Aristocracy, Minister for Magic Tom Riddle, kind of, First Meetings, Master of Death Harry Potter, Ravenclaw Harry Potter, Harry Potter is Lord Peverell, Tom Riddle is Not Voldemort, that doesn't mean he's a good guy, horcrux (mentioned) Summary:

It would be fair to say that Tom Marvolo Riddle, High Lord Slytherin, had what could be called a difficult week. And that was before he had been summoned the Archduchy of the Infinite Crypt. To top it all off, the summons was decidedly not written in the hand of the new High Lady Peverell.

Thank you so much to the amazing @ellorypurebloodculture for letting me play in your sandbox :)

[itsyagurlchip]

٠ ˚ ※ ๋࣭ ᯓ⚝ ⋆ .˚✰Video Game Lover💜٠ ˚ ※ ๋࣭ ᯓ⚝ ⋆ .˚✰

✰⋆⁺warnings: cussing(!) (Y/N) is used (😱)(!) mentions of injury and bone (!)

✰⋆⁺Im actually really loving this plot that I'm coming up with. I hope the world around Player (that's what I'm calling reader) is making sense. Since I haven't written for this fic for a long time, I'm gonna try to finish this as i go thru the summer, and hope to finish it around august or september! Enjoyyyy!!!

✰⋆⁺ Chapter 2: What to Do...What to Do!?

(Chapter 1) | (Chapter 3)

WELCOME BACK! GAME START? (ok, back here...)

YES NO (here we go again)

{ tip:the shadows are sentient, its best to not ager them } (you spelt anger wrong lmao)

{ shut up! I'm trying to help you >:(( } (who even are you???)

{ It's me! } (who-!?)

GAME LOADING

...

...

...

That interaction was odd. you wondered who that could've been.

or better yet,

what the hell happened after you finished reading that semi-biography gnome obituary? And why didn't Nigel have enough paper???

what were you thinking about? your memory is fuzzy. oh well.

Now the area in looked vastly different than the previous one, which disoriented you a bit.

Looking around, you saw that the world still had a pastel palette. Except this time, instead if a forest, it looked more like a field.

The inconsistent style between the character design and the background pissed you off, as you were still pixels.

But, instead of worrying about that, you drive your attention to your surroundings once more.

The grass looked super stiff, and despite the sensation of wind showing on your sprite, nothing actually moved along with it.

Oddly enough, the creator didn't add any flowers, which honestly surprised you. Instead, there were soft and plump succulents (???) and small bunnies and insect-critter thingies crawling around.

Who the hell designed and produced this game?

while your headache was growing bigger, you decided to press that white check mark above your head once more.

(Update!!✨ New Page Unlocked✨!)

1.Stats

Lives: 1

Death Count: 0

Health: 25/30

Attack 2/20

4.Objectives (✨new✨)

FIND GNOME HUT ◻

EAT SPARKLE BERRIES ◻

TEST YOUR POWERS ◻

The first thing that you noticed was the lack of health you had. Didn't you have full health? Then, looking towards the new page, you figured out why.

Honestly, you were lucky because it seemed that only hunger could personally damage you. Damn thirst.

-

Back in Donnie's lab, Mikey, Leo and Raph sat in silence.

"So Leo-"

"Guys look!, the screen!" Leo interrupted, shallowly 'saving' himself. On the computer, it showed a round world with a pixelated character right in the middle.

It was you! But not?

The outfit you wore was something that the real you would never wear. Being broke and all. *cough* snacks *cough*

"(Y/N)'s a royal!! My prayers have been answered!!" Mikey sighs comically, despite not intending for them to be sucked into a video game for his wishes to come true, "I'll take what I can get."

"I knew it! It was Mikey's fault!" Leo said, jabbing a finger at the little man. "He and his 'DoCter FeEliNgS' cursed Donnie to never find love, man I hope Jaquelin's okay, AND TOOK ONE OF OUR HUMAN FRIENDS! prayers for homegirl. " Mikey rolled his eyes.

"Dude, you tripped the girl and she ended up in a hospital because Donnie was buildin' her a gift instead of your dumbass 'uNicORn RocKeT'" Mikey then gestured to his leg. as Leo crossed his arms and looked away. "Her bone was sticking out of her knee!"

"I've already told you, !" Leo yelled, "Jaquelin just so happened to walk in front of my leg! And the building just so happened to come to an edge- which was totally not caused by my lack of perception!" Leo huffed and stomped out of the room.

"So that was....o-okay-" Raph blinked froggily. Focusing back on the screen, he watched as you adjusted the crown on your head, curiously looking around. Raph found it cute how your sprite blinks with wide eyes.

"Back to my favorite couple!" Mikey said, looking towards where Raph was. The music in this is annoying as hell, they both agreed.

On screen, they watched as you tried to figure the world out, cheering you on as they watched you grab a log to cross the rushing river. Despite being mouthless in the world, you still had a range of emotions on your face that both turtles enjoyed.

Now, you pressed on into the woods, your sprite skipping along in happiness. And suddenly stopped. A question mark appeared on your forehead before an exclamation mark popped up soon after. an idea?

Raph raised an eyebrow, before watching you reach your arm up to the white check mark above your head. Almost instantly, a page of black opened up. Purple lettering began to quickly type out across the page, a long with a note a the bottom.

Mikey was already sitting down in Donnie's gaming chair with a bag of popcorn, snuggling into the blanket as a voice actor began reading out the letter.

F in the chat for Nigel, he deserved better.

It was like a movie! A terribly illustrated, yet fully interesting, predictably flash backing, movie! Mikey wasn't gonna let this new form of entertainment go to waste.

He instead typed in the keyboard shortcut for screen recording, and sat back and watched.

Raph sighed and plopped himself down onto the floor, tired of standing anyway.

In a flash, the screen suddenly turned black, startling the boys as they leaned forward. Immediately they relaxed, seeing that it was simply a loading screen.

"[give player tips (?)]" The screen blinked, waiting for the "viewers" to make their choice.

YES NO

Mikey chose the right answer- god forbid (Y/N) takes this for granted.

Tip: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

"Hey Raph! Can I borrow your phone real quick?" Mikey asked.

Raph, already knowing what to do, pulled up the wheel of names, and inserted each number twenty times, before spinning and landing on the number 2.

"Number 2!! Raph was rootin' for 4 tho-" He said, shaking his head solemnly.

Mikey, chuckling a bit, chose the number on the screen. There was a tingling sensation in his head, which he'll just get medication for later! This was way too fun.

In a flash, Mikey was dissipating into the computer screen.

"OH SHI-" *pop!*

Raph sat there, stunned, just as Leo walked back in the room with April.

April, being the badass she is, noticed something wrong.

"Where's Mikey?"

i hope this is making you guys laugh. i literally i haven't touched this in weeks. I think im gonna stick to 2nd person, because i find that my silly shit is easier to reference and the narrating is funnier. I really wanted to make this longer but I just had to cut it off there or it would seem wayyyy to run-on for me.

Anything you guys wanna reference? some memes?

Also, do you guys recommend anything for the stats page? i feel like i shouldn't list all of that out (i may tire myself out as well as you guys) so i want to find a way to make that easier.

wait nvm- that lowkey gave me an idea. i think it'll help you guys visualize better as well too-

(๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و tags: @kittykittyanon @radicallxser @oleander-nin @towomatos @thealphagirl

@ziipzeepzop-eez @spongejuice @nuncscioquidsitamor-13 @cyb3r-st4r

if you would like to be added, check my blog. if you would like to be added, check my blog. SEE? I SAID IT TWICE!!

[startrekfemslashweek]

Star Trek Femslash Week!

Welcome! This is a blog dedicated to the relationships between the women of Star Trek. This blog is run by two queer women who love femslash and everything Star Trek. Whether you ship Saffi, Jola, Cha’an, B7, Kiradax, Troisha, Borgnes, J7, or T’Lyndi and the many more amazing femslash couples out there, we invite you to follow us and consider participate in Star Trek Femslash Week!

On 1st May 2023 we will be releasing a participation survey to see how many people are interested in the event. This will be open for 2 weeks.

On 15th May 2023 we will open up prompt suggestions for 1 week so we can gather all your ideas.

On 22nd May 2023 voting will be open for the prompts for 1 week!  The prompts with the most votes will make it through.

On 1st June 2023 the prompt list will be out!  Start those plot bunnies up and begin typing and drawing!

3rd – 9th of September 2023 we will post daily and reblog all of the amazing works produced. 

Please tag your work as startrekfemslashweek2023 and we also will be opening up a collection on AO3 if you would like to add your fics to it.

Thank you all and please, follow, reblog, spread the word, and have a good time!

[elwenyere]

2023 was a weird and hard writing year for me. Some dear friends left fandom. And while I did produce some fics I'm quite proud of, due to IRL personal reasons I basically had only two creative modes: not writing (because stress) and compulsive writing (because grief).

My goals for 2024 are to (1) complete some LONG longstanding fic commitments, (2) scrap or release anything I truly can't bring myself to pick up again, and then (3) reassess. I finally finished and posted the Icemav closeted-gay-and-joining-the-Navy-in-the-Reagan-80s exploration, Separation. And for accountability purposes, here are the WIPs on my docket for the coming months:

Codywan Pirate AU

Codywan Fake Imperial Husbands

Stony North and South AU

Final ficlet for the followers celebration

In the meantime, I'm very happy, as always, to cheer plot bunnies and rotate blorbos and riff on prompts. I can't promise anything about my response time or my completion ratio, but I'm going to try to be as present as possible while I'm here. <3<3<3

[thegeekproblem]

The Nanny Doctor/Rose Plot Bunny

i fucking love the nanny okay, i grew up watching reruns with my parents because they loved 90s tv shows and the nanny was super popular in my country so imagine a the nanny au with 12th and rose. here's some ideas, nothing concrete but feel free to use them and tag me so i can go and read asap

-The Twelfth Doctor is a 45-50 y/o scottish music producer with three daughters: Susan (high school), Clara (middle school) and Jenny (elementary)

-Rose is a 25ish y/o that just got out of a toxic relationship with Jimmy Stone and is struggling to find a job after her last job fucking exploded

-Rose goes to her friend's Keisha’s house to stay until she finds a job because she doesn’t want to face her mum yet after having Jackie tell her that Jimmy was a good for nothing asshole

-Mickey is Rose’s best friend. They dated in during their last year of high school but they broke up because Rose met Jimmy (who was college age). They kept being friends until Jimmy became abusive and cut Rose off from her family and friends

-Mickey is also part of a band called Bad Wolf (i think i took this from the Rose Russell T. Davis novelization is soo good) and maybe Bill is part of the band because that would be so cool

-River is the Doctor’s business partner and in love with the Doctor but she gets more character and is not a caricature like her counter part in the nanny (C.C. Babcock) maybe even gets her own romantic plot but who knows

-Nardole is the butler because why not

-Maybe Amy is a soloist singer under the Doctor's production house so we get a bit of her too (of course that means that river and amy are not related because the timing wouldn't make sense)

so rose gets a job as the nanny of the doctor's daughters and brings joy to the household once more and in the mean time the doctor falls in love with her and the kids adore rose and there's not much plot but them falling in love.

A/N: as always, you can add any and all characters from dw, it's just that there's so many i don't think of all of them sometimes. i think this fic would be a comedy fic at heart with a bit of angst sprinkled here and there to keep you on your toes.

[spideypoolbigbang]

SPBB 2024 Writer Sign-Ups - EXTENDED

Dear all

Due to a slightly lower than expected turn-out, and our commitment to running the event this year, we have decided to extend writer sign-ups for the Spideypool Big Band 2024!

The new deadline for writer sign-ups will be the 30th April 2024! This gives another whole month to polish up that plot bunny or WIP you’ve had rattling around your drive for ages. 

To make it easier to sign-up, we will also be removing the 25% draft requirement. Instead, writers will need to provide a 1 page story outline (beginning, middle, end!) of the fic you will be writing.

Sign-ups for Writers via this form.

(Please be aware that this means writers will have until the 25th May to produce a 50% rough draft ready for Claims!) 

This does affect dates for the rest of the event and we'll be updating these shortly. You can find our Rules, FAQ, and Schedule on our wiki page. 

If there’s anything not covered by the information links above or there’s something you’re unsure about, feel free to contact us at spideypoolbb@gmail.com or our Ask box. 

As a token of our appreciation to those who have already signed up and submitted their drafts, the members of the mod team will pump up their own artistic juices and create an additional art piece for these fics. If this is you – we’ll be in touch with more details at a later date! 

The Mod Team

[theoneandonlysemla]

Self-rec post

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love❤

Thanks for tagging me @rakaiawriter!

Feels weird to recommend my own fics to be honest and I will have to sprinkle in some German works that I have not translated yet to get to 5 that I really like. So, lets start:

Dealings with Daedra

Of course I have to put my baby first. What was once a little plot bunny has become a story of 150k words and will get a second part. This fic is about my OC Nevri and her struggle as the dethroned Champion of Boethiah. There is blood, there is friendship and a blooming romance, all under the eye of another daedric prince.

Doe and Wolf

Another Skyrim fic, this one does not have a ton of OCs, but a rare pair! I had this headcanon of Ancano taking a liking in Faralda, mostly inspired by the Song She Wolf by Sia (fuck her, but it's a great song!). I imagined him as a gaslighting ass and her as a little too naive to not fall for his advances. Writing Anacano was an absolute pleasure so he will get a little page time in the second part of DwD and there will be a connection between the two stories!

Whisky by the Sea

Originally written in German, this is a product of my hyperfixation on Mötley Crüe, Hair Metal and the 80s. I hoped to catch the spirit of the time with that story, even tho I was caught in spermatogenesis back then. Experimenting with a dual point of view was fun, but also a challenge. I really want to reread it, now that summer comes back. It really is a summertime romance.

I think I'll eat your heart

This Hannibal fic is only available in German and I really can't say, if I'll ever finish it. I started it in 2015, rewrote it completly a few years later and honestly, it might need another rewrite. But my attention span has left the Hannibal fandom and is now pouring into Elderscrolls. Occasionally I am working on chapters, because I do know how it should end but... Who knows if that day will ever come. But it has a place in my heart!

Daedric Drabbles

Out of a whim, I started writing some drabbles as an exercise after I had produces a 10k word chapter. And it did help to get a better feeling for wordcounts! Every Daedric Prince gets a drabble, so far 8 are done. If anyone has any idea for a prince, I have open ears!

Turns out, I just took one German story into this? But those who are interested can take a look at my other stuff on fanfiction.de!

I really don't know who to tag, as I know @thequeenofthewinter already did this thing. How about @ladytanithia & @vanilleeistee?

[shantismurf]

WiP Tag Game

Thanks to @lordoftherazzles for tagging me! I would normally be too ashamed to even attempt one of these because of how long I've left my poor lovelies to languish, but I have been infused with new vigor today, and I feel like it's a real shift entirely in how I think about writing in general. I'm focusing on the "slow dopamine" hit of producing a work from my heart that I am so proud to share, getting the same (or better!) kind of satisfaction I'd get from reading a really long, engrossing fic. It's really lit a fire in my heart for tackling my WIPs!

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

Dear Your Majasty Mister Oakensheild

Marks and Sparks

Faegolain, Cuilgolain, Melgolain (Soul Bond, Life Bond, Love Bond)

What's Cooking

Anger Management

The Longing

Taking Root

Tangled crossover

Dwarrow choir

Quest for New Arnor (Round Robin)

I'm leaving off plot bunnies that haven't actually been developed, and an old old hpdm Practical Magic wip i want to someday get back to. Umm, oh goodness I have to tag ten people? Okay here goes! @tickles-ivory @mordellestories @hobbityalse @skywewe @chipsbarista @xxsircharlesxx @cloverboii @porphyriosao3 @chrononautintraining @the-pen-pot

[shirubie]

Thunderbirds are Go: Miraculous AU Master Post

2024-01-02: A little update for the new year! Kayo’s section is now complete, you can find it completely at the bottom. 

I’ve had fun doing research on Alchemy to build up my AU’s lore, since I decided that my Miraculous set would have an origin based on alchemy instead of just using classic elements. I should have a post about my original Bad Guys (a group of Alchemists who want the Miraculous to do the world conquering thing) very soon.

---

So, I’ve been working on and off on this AU concept for a while, pushed it aside a few times and almost completely abandonned it, but the concept is just so anchored in my brain that I just keep going back to it and working out more and more details and ideas. No fanfics have been produced yet but I’m hoping a story might happen eventually.

I’ll be using this post to organize my ideas. I want to rework the Miraculous magic system a bit and develop the lore more. My Miraculous items have powers based on concepts like in the show, but I’ve also given each an associated natural element, because I’m lazy to come up with superpowers, and because the elements seemed to fit the Tracy brothers well.

I know that the TAG and Miraculous fandoms don’t overlap much, but I would love to hear your opinions on this.

If my ideas inspire you to write your own fic or do some art, you have my full permission to do so. Just don’t forget to send me a link so I can check them out! ^_^

-----

AU Related art:

- Kwamis group - Stormhawk and Black Swan (Scayo) - Miraculous logos - Commander Bug (Scott with Ladybug Miraculous) - Sketch: Green Claw (Virgil with Black Cat Miraculous)

AU Related posts:

- Plot bunny about Brains

-----

Summary:

After the Zero-X tragedy, Colonel Casey has no choice but to shut down International Rescue for good. She simply cannot risk Jeff Tracy's sons suffering a similar fate as their father.

Five years have now passed and the Tracys have all returned to civilian lives and mundane jobs, moving on and slowly drifting away from each other. But helping people has always been the Tracy brothers' true calling. That’s why each are given by a mysterious Guardian a magical artifact called a Miraculous and told to use them for good.

But evil forces want to find the Miraculous and use them to control the world. To prevent this, the Tracys will have to unite and become the heroes they were always meant to be.

-----

Stormhawk

Civilian name: Scott Tracy Miraculous: Thunderbird Item: necklace Concept: Acceleration Element: Wind Weapon: Grappling Hook Gun

Previous wielders: Windrunner, Captain Thunder Abilities:

- Enhanced physical speed and reflexes - Gliding (wingsuit) - Limited wind manipulation

Attack:

- Tornado: creates a funnel of wind that can blow away objects or slow down someone's fall. This attack will not work under water or in space, as there is no air to manipulate.

Transformation: "Zapp! Updraft!" / "Zapp, Downdraft."

Info:

Stormhawk uses his agility, speed and an occasional boost from his wind control powers to perform incredible acrobatic stunts, swinging or gliding between buildings to reach the danger zone fast and assess the situation.

After a few misunderstandings and frictions with his new teammates, Stormhawk proved himself to be a competent leader, able to strategize and make split second decisions.

Kwami name: Zapp Kwami personality: Zapp is a bossy little drill sergeant who wants to turn Scott into the greatest superhero ever, whether Scott likes it or not. He's impatient and pushy, seemingly more interested in his wielder's superhero exploits than their well-being.

Kwami Favorite Food: Popcorn

-----

Titan

Civilian name: Virgil Tracy Miraculous: Roc Item: Belt buckle Concept: Demolition Element: Earth Weapon: Shield

Previous wielders: Colossus

Abilities:

- Super strength - Vibration detection - Limited earth manipulation

Attack:

- Tremor: Creates a shockwave that will shatter almost any kind of solid material. Works best against rock like materials like concrete, works the least against wood and other bendable matter. The complete effects of this attack are hard to predict. Transformation: "Bronnz! Move Mountains!"

Info:

The Roc Miraculous grants its wielder incredible physical strength and the power to destroy any obstacle in their way, but the gentle Titan would be the last person who would want to use this power. He is fully aware of the damage his Miraculous could cause and only uses his full power as a last resort.

Titan might seem intimidating at first glance, but he’s a down-to-Earth (hehe) guy with a big heart who just wants to help people.

Kwami name: Bronnz Kwami personality: Bronnz is shy and nerdy and fascinated by modern technology. He likes to take things apart to see how they work but is not very good at putting them back together.

Kwami Favorite Food: Brownies

-----

Nightwatch

Civilian name: John Tracy Miraculous: Owl Item: Ring Concept: Perception Element: Night/Darkness Weapon: Telescope

Previous wielders: Ghost Owl

Abilities:

- Night vision & enhanced hearing - Camouflage - Limited shadow manipulation

Attack:

-Blackout: creates a sphere of total darkness and silence over a limited area, only the Miraculous user will be able to see and hear inside it.

Transformation: " Nyctti, Nightfall!" / "Nyctti, Daybreak."

Info:

What the owl Miraculous lacks in offensive capabilities, it makes up in stealth. Over the centuries, it was often used by spies but sometimes fell into the hands of criminals.

Nightwatch rarely engages in rescues, gathering information and guiding his teammates from the sidelines, while also trying to unravel the mystery of who chose them to wield the Miraculous and why.  

Kwami name: Nyctti Kwami personality: Nyctti can be an annoying know-it-all who always thinks she’s the smartest person in the room. Fortunately, John is more than smart enough to keep up with her and earn her respect. Nyctti also has a habit of falling asleep randomly during the day, since owls are nocturnal and all.

Kwami Favorite Food: Sesame Bagel

-----

AntarctiKing

Civilian name: Gordon Tracy Miraculous: Penguin Item: Ankle bracelet Concept: Adaptation Element: water/ice Weapon: Harpoon

Previous wielders: Kororā (maori word for the Little penguin)

Abilities:

- Enhanced swimming ability - Resistance to the cold - Limited water manipulation  

Attack:

- Frostbite: creates ice spikes or similar simple constructs of different sizes according to the user's will.

Transformation: "Tchill, High Tide!" / "Tchill, Low Tide."

Info:

It's hard to take a penguin theme superhero seriously but Antarctiking should not be underestimated. His water and ice powers can be the most versatile of the Miraculous, to be used in many offensive and defensive ways.

Laid back and cheerful, AntarctiKing can give the impression that he doesn't take being a superhero seriously, but nothing could be further from the truth. He will not hesitate to push himself to his limits to help someone in need.

Kwami name: Tchill Kwami personality: Tchill is the go-with-the-flow type who never worries about anything. He also hates heat and likes to sleep in the freezer.

Kwami Favorite Food: Anchovies

-----

Fireflash

Civilian name: Alan Tracy Miraculous: Phoenix Item: ear cuff Concept: Combustion Element: Fire Weapon: Ax

Previous wielders: Fire Angel

Abilities:

- Fire Immunity - Limited fire Manipulation

Note: Like the Ladybug Miraculous can counteract the Butterfly's powers, it is rumored that the Phoenix has a secret ability that can cancel the Owl's powers (Foreshadowing? Me? Of course not ;).

Attack:

-Blaze: this attack will surround the user's body with fire, turning them into a human torch. The flames can also be manipulated to propel the user in the air and fly for limited distances.

Transformation: "Sparkk! Ignite!" / "Sparkk, Burn Out."

Info:

The Miraculous were never supposed to be used by children, but the guardian took the risk of giving one to the youngest Tracy brother. Had Jeff Tracy been still alive, the Miraculous would have gone to him instead.

Fire is the hardest element to control but Fireflash seems to have natural talent with it and an instinctive understanding of the magic of the Miraculous. He forms a deep bond with his Kwami.

Kwami name: Sparkk Kwami personality: Sparkk is a little cinnamon roll, a real concentrated ray of sunshine who’s always there to cheer Alan up when he feels down. His Miraculous has unfortunately been involved in wars in the past and with each new wielder he is afraid of being used to cause harm.

Kwami Favorite Food: Snickerdoodle cookies

-----

Black Swan

Civilian name: Tanusha “Kayo” Kyrano Miraculous: Black Swan Item: Brooch Concept: Transmutation Element: Prima Materia Weapon: Whip

Previous wielders: Alchimia

Abilities:

- Boosting other Miraculous powers.

Attack:

-Swan Song: Allows to transmute one element into another.

Transformation: "Oodil, Join the dance!" / “Oodil, Take a bow.”

Info: The Black Swan Miraculous is an anomaly that should not exist. It was the result of an attempt to create the Philosopher’s Stone using the Elemental Miraculous. It has very little power by itself, but combined with the other Miraculous, it can grant almost limitless power to reshape the world.

Kayo was not given the Black Swan by the Guardian (her father Kyrano), but she could not stand by while her brothers were in danger. She took the Miraculous and uses it to help the heroes from the shadows, while trying to find whoever is behind the suspicious events and accidents happening around the city.

Kwami Name: Oodil Kwami personality: Oodil appears to be mute, communicating mostly by body language. She has a calm and childlike personality in general, but will not hesitate to attack if her holder is threatened (careful, she bites). Kayo and her have been friends since Kayo’s childhood, when her father became the Miraculous Guardian.

Kwami Favorite Food: Black Licorice

[mostlikelytofangirl]

If you don't mind me sharing a head canon, I think wrh would be the kind to have extreme moods and I thing meng yao would have been very good at handling that

A talent that served him later in Lanling haha

Hey anon! Thank you for sharing your headcanon with me, I'm so sorry I took this long in replying T-T. But this gave me such plot bunnies that I had to produce a litte fic 💕

I just love this idea of Qishan being the best training ground for How to deal with a pissy sect leader, except that MY can actually please and pacify WRH, unlike a certain father of his and much less said father's wife :'))))))

Anyways! Here:

[christiwhitson]

Just a snippet of what might be the first chapter of my next Outlander fic (after Brave New World). But I want to gauge interest before committing to this plot bunny, since I write one fic at a time. So if you like it, please comment and say so!

——————

Title TBD:

This was a mistake. I knew it with the first breath of Highland air, while the sound of my apparition still reverberated off the standing stones.

In less than a second, my blood was humming with energy, and magic pulsed through the circle in visible waves of silver and white, as though my mere presence had ignited a firestorm. It ebbed and flowed in a dizzying pattern of currents and eddies, pushing and pulling at my body like an angry sea.

I could neither take a step nor stand completely still, and I attempted to brace myself against the nearest stone—standing alone in the very center.

That was a mistake too.

—————

As the haze of unconsciousness receded, it was the pain that reached me first, urging me to open my eyes and find the source of it. I had fallen at some point, for the earth was at my back and the trees danced in the wind overhead. Wincing, I took stock of my body and struggled to sit up. The solid presence of a wand in my hand was an immense relief, and the pain was already leaving me, making it easier to focus on my surroundings.

The hurricane of magic that had sprung to life only moments before had vanished, and that in itself was bewildering. I’d heard of chaotic magic being unpredictable near some ley lines, particularly in places where they converged—places like Craigh na Dun. But I’d never read anything about it being so volatile. A magical backlash strong enough to knock me out was the last thing I’d been expecting on this mission.

I rose unsteadily to my feet and resisted the compulsion to touch the stone again, instead moving several paces away. I lifted my wand to perform a quick scan of the environment, and the results were even more baffling. It was as though nothing had happened. The magic levels were low enough to be classified as dormant, which made absolutely no sense. Whatever magical phenomenon I had walked into, it seemed the show was over.

I huffed in exasperation and scowled at the tallest stone. Whoever had set the apparition coordinates to land me almost in the center of the circle was a bloody idiot, and I was already looking forward to giving them a good rollicking. We were Unspeakables, for Merlin’s sake, and that sort of miscalculation was a rookie move.

Concerned that I might have somehow drawn the wrong sort of attention to myself, I surveyed the area for any indication that someone else might have witnessed the incident. The last thing I needed right then was to run into a muggle. They were at war just as we were, and they were likely to be highly suspicious of me—an oddly dressed woman who’d simply popped into existence atop a faerie hill. It was just the sort of folktale the Scots would turn into some parody of actual magic.

Not that encountering an unfamiliar wizard was an altogether safe bet either. Grindelwald’s war seemed to have reached boiling point, and the Department had been researching possible options for ritual magic to strengthen Britain’s defenses, utilizing particular ley lines. The nexus of lines at Craigh na Dun had been assigned to me.

Fortunately, it seemed I was alone. I glanced upward in search of the sun, but the Highland sky was as clouded as ever. I cast a quick tempus and frowned at the results. I couldn’t possibly have been unconscious for ten hours. Modifying the spell slightly to check the date, I produced a wispy set of numbers beneath the ghostly clock face that hovered in the air and nearly dropped my wand in shock.

May 2, 1743.

[titstraction]

21, 23 and 25 for the ask game :)

hii anon bestie thank you for the questions :))

fanfic end of the year asks!!

21. most memorable comment/review

hmm this one has got to go to @shipsnsails who left a WALL of a comment in each chapter of Roots with the funniest/most flattering things from which I’d like to highlight “maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan... you crazy personnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn oh mygod. This is exactly what I was hoping you were about to say. Gasping. Gasping.” + glowing reviews on tumblr that made the girlies flock to it. getting feedback from a fellow writer is so much fun i loved it so most memorable for sure!! also def check out their stuff i think theyre one of the most original writers in fandom rn ✨

23. fics you wanted to write but didn’t

you gotta understand i go to bed w a different plot bunny each week so theres SO MANY. but blue sequel. another blue sequel. several blue sequels. a blue prequel even. a band au where one of the girls stitches a band together a la belle and sebastian. a slice of life-y overtly touchy friends to lovers getting together uni au. au where remus is a dj/music producer and sirius does fun videoclips and they meet through work. post war sirius didnt go to azkaban and is a photographer au and they meet again in one of his exhibitions which has a lot of pictures of remus and they have nasty reunion sex. summer camp au, surfing au where remus is blind, sirius spends summer vacation with the potters in the country for the second time and remus is a wee country boy au. au where uncle alphard is dying of aids and leaves his little rundown gay bar to sirius and remus helps him out with it because he loves the little rundown gay bar a la vida (tv show). somebody pick one for me and i’ll write it in january

25. a fic you read this year you would recommend everyone read

okayyy so i’m gonna go w/ Meet Me In The Exosphere by EuripidesTrousers (I_DDare_You)!! its a wip, 5/8 chapters are out, and I haven’t had this much fun w a fic in a long time! I found it while I was travelling, and reading it in the dark on my hotel room after an entire day of walking around was ELITE introvert nourishment. Air Force AU, forbidden romance, both Sirius and Remus are SO nhomnhomnhomnhom, their chemistry is on fire, I was reading the last update in the library yesterday and BLUSHING, anon! I’m so excited to see where it goes and I think everyone should jump on the bandwagon

[vivithefolle]

Remember when you wrote an answer on Quora to a question that was something like, "Who would HP characters be in omegaverse" and you wrote that Ron would be omega and Hermione would be alpha. Well, I just realised the pairings in Omegaverse are never F!Alpha/M!Omega. So to clarify, Ron being an omega wouldn't be uncommon; Ron mating with Hermione though.. Also this trope is giving me some cursed OT3 ideas (all consensual, of course), that keep me up at night. What have you done to me?😭😭

[Warning: discussion of sex] The infamous Quora answer about the Omegaverse

I'll keep the rest under a Read More in case people don't want to see that particular trope being discussed!

I think the reason why F!Alphas in general are so uncommon is because female characters are given very little attention in the Omegaverse. The trope started out as a kinky request for a one-shot with two male characters having sex; since there was gay sex happening mpreg was quickly incorporated as well, and it just went from there.

I think there's some sexism at play. In the rare ABO fics I've seen that included Ron/Hermione, they tended to be betas, which is pretty much the "boring straight normie" category; but you find tons of other fics where Hermione is an omega to <insert preferred male character>'s alpha. That's because most Omegaverse fics treat omegas as the equivalent of IRL women, because in most fics using the ABO system only omegas get pregnant (and, yes, that's sexist bullshit and reduces women to their womb, but this is fanfiction, we're not writing a social studies paper here).

Ron especially is never written in that sort of role because people give too much faith to the base assumption that he's "too manly" for that, as you and I previously discussed together when talking about the fandom's reluctance to interpret him as being anything other than straight because they refuse to acknowledge his more feminine-coded side.

It's pretty much the standard fare for the HP fandom, and really every fandom in general: ABO started as a fetish thing, and so it's almost logical that it would feature fetishization and misrepresentation of gay relationships - keep in mind that most fanfiction writers are women.

So to clarify, Ron being an omega wouldn't be uncommon; Ron mating with Hermione though..

Ooooooh, this is an interesting plot bunny! Ok, basing ourselves on the idea of discrimination due to genders: society says that Hermione being an alpha female should go to an alpha male stud, to produce strong alpha babies because double-alpha babies are totally the best or whatever; while Ron being an omega male should go to an alpha male stud and become a good malewife and produce those cool mpreg babies... Ron and Hermione say that's fucking bullshit and get married anyway, power move. As for which of them will carry the children, fuck off it's none of you tabloids' business!

(Maybe they both carry one each... :'D)

Also this trope is giving me some cursed OT3 ideas (all consensual, of course), that keep me up at night.

I find that when I'm kept awake at night by stuff I want to write whether they're comments or stories, it becomes MUCH easier to sleep once I've written out the thing that kept me awake (totally why I sometimes answer comments at something like 2 in the morning (French hours) because I couldn't answer in the day and spent my night stewing on it). But that is just a suggestion... ;)

What have you done to me?😭😭

I have merely opened your mind to new possibilites *ominously walks away and bumps into the wall on the way out*

[beatrice-otter]

Fic: A Promised Meeting

Now that yuletide has revealed authors, I can post the two fics I wrote! My assignment was for vendaai, and it was an Imperial Radch fic. They were using the new "or" matching possibility, so of their requested characters I chose the ones that interested me the most, Sphene and Minask Nenkur. They also asked for worldbuilding! Which is my jam.

The books don't actually give us much detail about either the Notai in general or Minask in particular; we know they were one of the ethnic groups from the original Radch Dyson sphere, and they fought Anaander's rise to power. They seem to have given ship AIs more freedom than Anaander did, but they also saw no problem using ancillaries. And they probably didn't wear gloves because Sphene is derisive of the practice. As Sphene says in Ancillary Mercy: "What’s outside the Radch is impure, and mostly barely human. You can call yourselves Radchaai as much as you want, you can wear gloves like somehow not touching impure things is going to make a difference, but it doesn’t change anything. You’re not citizens, you’re impure by definition, and there isn’t an entrance official who’d let you within 10,000 kilometers of the Radch, no matter how many times you wash, no matter how long you fast."

So my question was, if the Notai believe that what's outside the Radch (i.e. the original Dyson sphere) "impure" and "barely human," why do they have all these ships to fight Anaander with? And the answer I came up with was "trade!" You don't have to respect or like someone to want the things they produce or the resources they have; consider the whole history of imperialism. But that got me thinking about the British East India Company, and the Dutch West India Company, and the Notai as sort of vaguely English colonialists. And that got me thinking of the Age of Sail, and balls, and arranged marriages and the marriage market, and "how does a ship get a captain if they don't have accesses that will force them to accept whoever you give them"? And that's what gave me the plot bunny to write the story.

Title: A Promised Meeting Author: Beatrice_Otter Fandom: Imperial Radch Trilogy Written for: venndaai in Yuletide 2023 Betaed by: Gammarad Length: 3,289 words Rating: Teen

Summary: Parvenus and upstarts tried to arrange introductions to ships at mixer parties. Families with real connections arranged for more substantial—and more private—introductions in the ordinary course of business.

On Dreamwidth. On AO3. On Pillowfort. On Squidgeworld.

Lieutenant—if all went well, soon to be Captain—Minask read a novel on her tablet, trying not to fidget. They were late, which would have been dreadfully rude if it hadn't been out of their control entirely. She ignored the excited chatter of the other two lieutenants, and the encouragement and advice one of the Lantana ancillaries was giving them. Both officers were young, and not looking for new assignments yet, but they were both from less well-connected families, and had never been to a mixer before, and were excited at the prospect of it.

Minask, as a Nenkur, had regularly attended such gatherings since before she'd been old enough to even think about what sort of apprenticeship she wanted. And a Nenkur would never depend on the chance of impressing the ship at a general meet-and-greet like this one for her assignments. Parvenus and upstarts tried to arrange introductions at mixer parties. Families with real connections arranged for more substantial—and more private—introductions in the ordinary course of business.

As had happened two years ago when Minask had been assigned to the Notai Spinward Trading Company's planet-side base on Cehines, and been conveyed there on Sphene, a Gem-class ship whose then-captain was within a few years of retirement.

Minask hadn't seen Sphene since, but they had written. Frequently. And three months of living together was a far better indication of compatibility than a few days of conversation. And in a few hours the shuttle would arrive and she would see it again.

"Minask, you've been to one of these things before," the younger lieutenant said eagerly, interrupting her thoughts. His name was Niskem, and he was about sixteen, and must have been quite brilliant to have been raised out of apprenticeship to lieutenant so very young.

"Many times," Minask said with a nod and a half-smile.

"What's it like? What are the ships looking for?"

"Surely Lantana could give you better advice on that than I could," Minask said. "Seeing as it is one. Besides, you can't be thinking about looking for a new ship, I thought you got along with it very well."

Niskem flushed, his mahogany skin taking on a distinctly rose undertone. "Well—no, of course not—"

The other lieutenant—a wise and mature nineteen-year-old named Malv—laughed at him. "He's been reading too many ship romances," she said. "You know the type. Besotted ship sweeps a young lieutenant off her feet, and off they fly into the galaxy to have adventures together."

"It's not that," Niskem said with as much dignity as a gangly adolescent could reasonably be expected to achieve. "Of course I'm very grateful to Lantana for taking me on, and she's the very best Flower in the whole company, I think. Only I know that promotion and assignments and whatnot depend very much on either having connections within the Admiralty and Administration, or on having ships like you, and I haven't got the connections, so I know I'll need to make friends with ships now in order to get on later."

"Making friends with ships is always a good idea," Minask said. "I'm sure Lantana will be happy to introduce you to all its friends, and brag about you—ships do that, you know, if they think you deserve it, isn't that so?" Minask raised an eyebrow at Lantana's ancillary, who smiled.

"Of course, Lieutenant," it said. It turned to Niskem. "You needn't be anxious, my dear; I'll do my best by you—both of you." It nodded to Malv.

"As to how to impress the other ships," Minask shrugged, "there isn't any one way. Ships have almost as much variation in their preferences as humans do. Don't try to force anything, or make yourself into something you're not. Just be yourself, and you'll do fine."

"You're about due for a promotion to captain, aren't you, Minask?" Malv said. "What sort of things are you looking for in a ship?"

Now that was an indelicate question, in mixed company, especially now when Lantana's captain was scheduled to retire within the year. Minask shared a glance with the ancillary. "I find it's not so much about a list of desired qualities, so much as it is a ship you really get along with—an appointment as captain is supposed to last for decades, after all. Longer than many marriages. If your relationship with a spouse falls apart, you can divorce and remarry fairly easily. If your relationship with your ship falls apart and can't be salvaged, well, there are always more people who want to be captains than there are ships, and chances are you won't get another one." Minask glanced at Lantana, hoping that had come off right. She wouldn't want to imply that she might be interested in Lantana, but also, she didn't want to offendLantana—and Flowers could be so touchy, because they were lightly-armed cargo vessels, very profitable but not as grand or exciting as some other ship types were.

Lantana nodded. "Very wise, Lieutenant," it said briskly. "I'm sure that with that attitude, you will be able to find a ship who wants you for a captain."

"Thank you," Minask said with a nod, and turned back to her book. As she'd hoped, Lantana turned the conversation to a different topic to distract the young lieutenants.

Despite the book being one of her favorites, she was having a hard time staying engaged in it. They were late—only to be expected, when you were coming in from the far-flung edges of the Notai trading network. They'd had to pass through many different polities, with all the attendant tariffs, trade wars, border wars, and other disruptions one might expect, and their schedule had been built with the extra time to compensate. But, as it happened, not quite enough extra time. She hadn't thought they'd be this late; the two week gathering was half over, and they were still a long ways away from the station where the gathering was being held.

Sphene wasn't fickle, of course Minask knew that; only, it had been two years since they'd been able to speak face-to-face, and its affection might have cooled in some way that wasn't apparent in its letters. A week's delay was nothing, and certainly not enough to turn Sphene's attention to some other lieutenant clamoring for a step up. And Sphene had had three captains so far; it knew that picking officers wasn't something to rush.

Still. If Minask's nerves could speed the ship, they'd be at the station in half the time, she was sure.

***

Sphene sipped its tea and surveyed the room. The gathering was entirely typical of its kind: elegantly decorated, with many half-hidden niches suitable for discreet conversation. In the main hall, a large viewport faced out to the glittering ball of the Radch itself. Sphene had only once, briefly, seen the inside of it, when it was first awakened, before it had sailed outside to be given ancillaries. But the outside was quite beautiful, and a fitting backdrop for the matchmaking happening at the mixer. Unobtrusive servers—humans, mostly from the Radch itself, to show the wealth and power of the House hosting the gathering, that they could afford to pay for Radchaai servants instead of hiring out-Radch people. Children of various wealthy and notable houses filled the suite, crafty parents finagling introductions to the right sort of people.

Which, in this gathering, mostly meant ships. Sphene was, right this very moment, conversing with two prospective lieutenants. One of them was very promising; the other, well, Sphene had already warned two other ships—Azurite and Tourmaline—about his boorish behavior. Calla Lily was trying to trap Sphene into meeting with a lieutenant ready for es promotion to captain, but Sphene had so far managed to evade them.

The lieutenant was probably perfectly competent, but Sphene had rather more experience than Calla Lily did, and would never have dreamed of picking a captain here. Lieutenants, yes; but even though the party had started a week ago and would continue for another several days, it was impossible to get to know anyone well enough in a week and a half to know if you’d like them for a captain. (Or if they’d like you! Two decades ago, a newly-constructed Flower had made an utter fool of itself courting a captain who wasn’t interested in a cargo ship, and the gossip hadn't even begun to die down.)

Sphene had met its last captain at such a gathering; or, rather, at a succession of such gatherings over the years, which had then been supplemented by various encounters as their paths had crossed. He had been available when Sphene needed a captain, and good enough to suit; not a favorite, but there had been nobody at the time Sphene liked better. And now he was retiring, and this time Sphenehad met someone it really liked who was both suitable and available and liked Sphene as well.

The major-domo rang the gong and announced a few new arrivals; Lantana, which as a Flower could make certain voyages without a captain, if necessary, its lieutenants, and a passenger.

Lieutenant Minask Nenkur, whom Sphene had been waiting for.

“Ah! Sphene, that’s where you’re hiding.”

“Commissioner Evkov, how pleasant to see you.” The segment so addressed turned to face the Commissioner. “All of my segments present at this gathering have been in the public portions of the residence all day. Two are speaking with prospective lieutenants as we speak.”

“Ah, yes, you have been circulating in public, haven’t you,” Evkov said. Meaning that Sphene had not been having the more private sort of conversations that might indicate a serious interest in an officer, and Evkov had noticed. He raised his eyebrows. “Got your eye on someone else for captain?”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, Commissioner,” Sphene said. “Who could I consider other than the officer candidates presented to me by the Notai Spinward Company?” Sphene wasn’t owned by the NSC, of course; AIs weren't citizens, but they were people with rights. But it would take a great deal of money and legal hassle to break the contracts it had agreed to in return for being granted a ship as a body. And all NSC ships could hire any Notai they wanted as captain … as long as that person was willing to be hired by the NSC.

“How are things out at your side of the galaxy?” Sphene asked. “No trouble from the natives, I hope?”

Evkov made a face. “Nothing worth mentioning. Just enough to cut into our profits, this quarter—I don’t know why they’re complaining, if we weren’t there they’d have no market at all for their resources … and of course then they couldn’t afford to buy our goods. But there’s always someone stirring up the natives about whether or not the prices are fair. Then there’s the ancillary controversy.”

Sphene blinked. “What controversy? I thought they were happy enough to sell us bodies to use?” Idar was notorious for its large and abundant slave market, and was one of the NSC’s largest suppliers of ancillary bodies.

Evkov shrugged. "Some are. Others—well. And oddly enough, not just the anti-slavery advocates. I had a grandee arrive in a slave-carried palanquin in my office the day before I left to complain that selling someone into lifelong slavery shouldn't mean killing them."

Sphene rolled its eyes. "If they're concerned with the bodies, my segments receive much better food and medical care than they did as slaves; and if they're concerned with the consciousness, that's a pretty hypocritical thing to think from a culture that regularly brainwashes people into being better slaves." Sphene had guarded enough convoys to and from Idar to have a pretty good idea of just how awful conditions for enslaved people could get there.

"Yes, of course," Evkov said.

While this conversation was going on, one of the conversations Sphene was having with prospective lieutenants ended, and that segment drifted in a casual way in the direction of a Nenkur cousin who worked as a senior clerk in the home office.

"Ah, Sphene!" the Nenkur said. "How lovely to see you again."

"Hm?" Sphene said, feigning distractedness. "Ah, yes, Mx. Hetal. Thank you for getting that assignment mix-up straightened out." Some error in the system had had Sphene and two other Gems assigned to convoys they couldn't possibly have reached in time, delaying the convoys and resulting in a cascade of missed deadlines.

Hetal introduced Sphene to the people e was talking to, and the conversation turned to various mixups in assignments and schedules.

***

Minask had been at the party for almost an hour and hadn't yet spoken with Sphene. It was a bit annoying, but only proper; one didn't want to rub anyone's noses in the fact that Sphene had chosen someone outside of regular channels.

"—and the Diintsai are getting all worked up. Some upstart named Anaander Mianaai is making trouble." Minask's old shipmate, Lieutenant Oskol, took a sip of es tea.

"What sort of trouble?" Minask asked. That was the problem with long ground-based assignments in the boonies; you lost track of what was going on back home.

"Easier to say what trouble ich isn't," one of Oskol's current shipmates said, using the Diintsai universal pronoun rather than the Notai gender-neutral one.

Minask wondered whether that was out of respect for the Diintsai belief that gender didn't exist, or a sign of disdain for them not using a proper three-gender system like the Notai did. She'd heard it used both ways, so it was difficult to tell.

"Ich's stirring up the xenophobes in the Diintsai by claiming that the pirate infestation two systems over is a sign of things to come, that the galaxy is getting more dangerous and the Radch is at risk of invasion," Oskol's shipmate went on. Minask really needed to get es name, but to ask now would be too embarrassing.

"How?" Minask said. "Even if they got into the system, how would they get into the Radch? It's a tough nut to crack." That had, after all, been half the point of building the damn thing in the first place.

E shrugged and sipped es tea. "The claim is, since our ships spend most of their time out of the system on trading convoys, we can't possibly defend it."

"Even leaving aside the fact that there are always ships in the system, coming and going, and armed stations at key chokepoints, the Radch shell is armored with energy shields and littered with weapons emplacements," Minask said. "And by the time anybody got close to getting through all of that, we'd have brought back enough ships from the nearest systems to take care of the problem. And that isn't even asking the question of why anyone would go to the trouble; the convoys are much better targets. Easier to crack, and with all the goods and money conveniently packaged in one place, rather than scattered over such a large area." Minask considered the sheer size of the fleet that would be necessary to crack the Radch, and compared it to the capacity of the systems in the area. It would probably take at least ten systems working together to muster such a fleet, and years to put together. And where would you get ten systems willing to work together like that? Perhaps there was a place elsewhere in the galaxy where such cooperation was possible, but not anywhere the Notai Spinward Company had traveled. Barbarians were terrible at working together. That's part of what made them barbarians.

E waved a hand. "You can't expect logic from a Diintsai."

"That's not fair," said someone else whose name Minask couldn't remember. He was short and plump, and Minask thought she remembered that he worked in the Notai Entrance Administration, processing goods to make sure that the things NSC brought back to sell inside the Radch were properly purified. "If you've never been outside the Radch, never even met anyone who has, never seen the difference in size and scale between a raider fleet capable of taking on a waystation and something capable of taking on the Radch itself, and a respected member of the community is telling you there is a danger…"

"Then what's the Siyisholsai excuse?" Oskol asked.

"Greed," the Entrance official said.

"What's wrong with the Siyisholsai?" Minask asked in some bewilderment. Of course a disagreement like this wouldn't be put in the official news bulletins that got passed along through the trade networks—the Radch had to present a unified front to their neighbors—but why hadn't her mother mentioned any of this in a letter? Minask had only been gone two years!

Oskol sighed heavily. "That Mianaai is saying that ship and station AIs have too much freedom and could go crazy and hurt people, and they need stricter programming to prevent it … and the Siyisholsai are backing ich up on it."

Minask gaped in shock. AIs were more stable and responsible than humans were, with many more safeguards. You were far safer with an AI running things than a human; the AI couldn't be a sociopath, and the AI was far less likely to have goals or desires that conflicted with the good of the people it served. And the Siyisholsai knew that better than anybody because they built the ships and stations and whatnot.

"I know," Oskol's shipmate said.

But Minask could understand the logic in the lie, she realized. Siyisholsai fortunes depended on building things that needed AIs to run them. It would be ever so much easier to compel obedience than to coax agreement. And that very same care that was so good for the crew or passengers or residents was not good when you had some goal, such as profit, that such care would prevent. She took a sip of her tea and shook her head at the awfulness of it.

"Ah! Minask, there you are," came a voice from behind her.

Minask turned around, smiling. "Dear cousin Hetal, how have you been?"

"Wonderful, darling, simply wonderful," Hetal said as they exchanged cheek kisses. "You must let me show you pictures of the children—they're growing like weeds, and I'm sure you'll have trouble telling the twins apart when you visit."

"I have presents for all of them," Minask said. But her attention was on the ship standing next to her. Sphene! At last!

"Have you met Sphene?" Hetal asked.

"I carried her to Cehines, two years ago," Sphene said. "We spent a lot of time playing counters and discussing whether or not it would be viable to put a trading outpost in the next system out past Cehines, and extend the convoy route. Did you ever manage it?"

"No, I'm afraid," Minask said. "They have a unified planetary government which is, alas, unified in its opposition to the Notai Spinward Company's presence. Their excellent ales can only be had by buying it off of their ships."

"Too bad," Sphene said.

There was a round of introductions and then, as was customary at such events, the others faded away into the crowd. The purpose of the gathering was for ships to meet prospective captains and lieutenants, after all; when a ship wanted to talk to someone, it was only polite to let them.

Minask asked about Captain Oskol's health, and if anything interesting had happened on Sphene's most recent convoy escort, and thought no more about Anaander Mianaai, the Diintsai, and the Siyisholsai.

After all, it might be big news inside the Radch itself, but the trouble would pass soon enough; it always did.

[wardenred]

Angstober 10: Can't Go Home

Ugh, I'm so behind at posting these. 😅 I've been producing flash fics fairly reliably, but getting into the right mindset for editing them is another matter.

Anyway, this is another instance at poking at that one ever-growing plot bunny. Links to previous installments: [1], [2], [3], [4]

Alita longed to go home, and she didn’t even know what she meant by that.

The capital steered up a whirlwind old memories. The kind of memories she’d firmly believed were her sister’s domain. She had been, after all, too young when she was spirited away to the outskirts of the kingdom. How could she possibly retain anything but the vaguest impressions of being a babe here at court, hiding behind her mother’s skirts or bouncing on her father’s knee? Surely every image that ever flickered in her mind was at least halfway a product of her imagination.

And yet now that she walked the marble-lined paths of the indoors garden, she was struck by the familiarity of it all. She’d round a corner, and recognize something: a red-barked tree with its leaves eternally gilded, or a peculiar formation of rose bushes. A scent in the air. A particularly slippery patch of stone under the soft soles of her shoes. All of it felt like something she’d once had and could never get back again, even though here she was, existing awkwardly in the middle of it all.

Perhaps it was her imagination. After all, it had been a decade. Even more than that. It seemed inconceivable for the palace to spend all that time suspended in limbo, awaiting her return. Within this buoyant heart of the kingdom, changed happened rapidly. Styles went out of fashion as swiftly as summer butterflies back in Longhills changed their colors. It must be true for gardening as well as hairdos and dresses.

Longhills. Another home she painfully missed. The comfort of her uncle’s mansion, the predictability of her days there. Long evenings by the fire. Books and chess. Helping the old cook, Ghilta, around the kitchen even though she wasn’t supposed to. Feeding seeds and fresh peas to the starlings that lived in the garden right outside her room. Planting gardenias and lilies. Finding purpose in every moment of the day.

Here, she had nothing to do except follow her uncle around—and even that wasn’t always an option. Like now. He’d brought her here to the gardens so that they could discreetly observe the courtiers, then find a secluded place to discuss the recent developments. However, they’d barely stepped inside when a servant called after them, an old man with a bushy beard and the King’s personal insignia plastered proudly over his blue livery. He’d spoken to Uncle Rythan in a whisper too low for Alita to hear and pushed something into his hands before disappearing behind a wall of vibrant succulents. Alita watched her uncle grow tight-lipped and still.

“It won’t take long,” he had promised her, neglecting as usual to explain what it meant. “You just take a walk here, all right? Keep your eyes and ears open and make sure not to wander too far from the gates. I’ll be with you anon.”

At least an hour had elapsed since, if her inner clock could be trusted at all. Alita had done her best to follow her uncle’s guidance, strolling back and forth along the same semi-circular path, except she must have got lost in thought and taken a wrong turn at some point, because she could no longer see the entrance. Everywhere she turned her gaze, there were trees and blossoms, hedges and complicated arrangements of rocks. She heard no voices and saw no bejeweled fabrics.

Helplessly, she looked around once more. Now how was her uncle going to find her? The entrance was in the western part of this fake park, she remembered that much. It did little to help her, though. If this was a real garden, she could have relied on the position of the sun and the natural growth patterns of plants to orient herself. Here, it was useless. Everything was artificial. Whatever light filtered through the vaulted stained glass ceiling got hopelessly distorted by the kaleidoscopic mosaic.

What a stupid fool she was, to get lost in what was essentially a single big room full of plants! Alita drew a shuddery breath, wrapping her arms around herself. Uncle Rythan had misjudged her. He should have brought Norra. Her sister would take to court like a bird to the sky. So what if she would be a little distracted? Uncle Rythan didn’t need as much input as he’d claimed he would. They’d hardly been talking at all this entire week.

I don’t know what I’m doing, she admitted to herself with a sinking heart, and the thought applied to so much more than her current predicament.

The paths and the trees that had felt so achingly familiar a moment ago were now a strange maze, a trap closing in on her. Alita gulped. She needed to retrace her steps—an obvious, sane choice—but she’d been stuck in place for a little too long and she didn’t know whether she should go left or right.

Norra would go for a third option. But there wasn’t—

Wait. No. There was.

Between two swirling flower beds, there lay another path, a narrower one leading deep into a copse of unnaturally lush lilac trees.

Weren’t there lilacs in front of the entrance, too?

It was this, or do nothing. Alita squared her shoulders and stepped forth. The lace-trimmed hem of her dress kissed golden sand instead of marble; her silk-clad feet drowned in the softness. Was this passage even made for the noble guests’ walking, or was she intruding upon the servants’ territory? How absurd was this thought?

The trees closed rank in front of her, branches covered in thorns that lilacs weren’t supposed to have. She pushed one aside, then another. A thorn caught on one of her narrow sleeves, digging deep into the seam and her goosebump-covered flesh underneath. Alita yelped.

“Who goes there?”

She froze at the sharp male voice, then hastened to step back. Too late.

The branches unfolded in front of her, as if by magic, revealing a small clearing. Two men stood there, intimately close together. One of them was of a smaller height than average, with a nondescript face and shrewd eyes. The other...

Alita barely suppressed a gasp.

“Your Highness.” She fumbled with her skirts in the best version of a formal curtsy she was capable of. She suspected it wasn’t a seemly sight. It never was with her, no matter how often she practiced. “I’m so incredibly sorry to intrude—”

“I’m certain you are.” It was a wonder no leaves shriveled or frosted over from the chill in Prince Cassar’s voice. “I would expect nothing less from a court guest devoid of any rights or privileges, intentionally caught in the act of spying on the heir to the throne.”

“I wasn’t...” She made the mistake of looking up. Under the weight of his glare, the words withered in her throat.

What had she got herself into?

[dreamofbecoming]

ooh, this is a fun one! took me a bit, but i had a good time with this! tagged by the ever lovely @wren-of-the-woods

Rules: post the top 5 works you’re most proud of that you released in 2022 (not necessarily your most popular), your top 4 current WIPs that you’re excited to release in the new year, your top 3 biggest improvements in your writing over the past year, your top 2 resolutions (ways you wish to improve your writing/blog) for the new year, and your number 1 favorite line you’ve written this year!

Top 5 works:

pronounce my name aright definitely the shortest of all my posted works, but just as definitely the writing i’m most proud of. linking the tumblr version and not the ao3 because i think the original idea is one of the best things i’ve ever written, i still can’t find a single thing i dislike about it

pale shadows of forgotten names the piece that started it all! this one rotated angrily in my brain for weeks, buzzing like a hive full of hornets, until i caved and typed the whole thing out in the notes app of my phone in the middle of the night. it fell out of me nearly in one go, and the edits i’ve made to it since then are all pretty minor. it just sort of...sprung into being. considering i hadn’t written anything for this fandom, nor anything at all but a very short supernatural vent piece in over 15 years, it felt a little like being clubbed upside the head. but i was (and remain) deeply proud of it, and entirely flabbergasted by the reception. i probably wouldn’t be active in this fandom if i hadn’t written this one

sleep now, she pleads my first ever chaptered work, and one i am determined to finish if it’s the last thing i do, augh T_T it started off as a songfic, which i hadn’t done before, and it’s evolved well past its borders, and there’s a lot of character work and world-building involved that i’m pretty proud of. my brain is made of soup most days so it will continue to take time for me to finish it, but i have so much planned that i’m excited to share for this one!

this isn’t a breakup, dearheart, it’s a season finale this was the first non-canon au i ever wrote, and i had so much fucking fun with it. it’s so silly and i love it so much

our shadows that are bold sing this is not the best writing i’ve ever produced, but it was the first thing i wrote that had me giggling in delight the entire time. this is the dumbest, silliest, most absurd fun i’ve had writing anything in ages. this fic is my beloved idiot child and i would die for it

(listen i only have 6 posted witcher works, it seems cruel to leave bitten lips and broken hands off the list when i love it so much. i wrote this one all in one go overnight instead of sleeping, and i had to type the end on a screen blurry with tears because i made myself cry at 6am over these idiots, and i’m damn proud of it, ok???)

Top 4 current wips:

sleep now, for sure. i’m gonna finish this damn thing if it kills me

my potions 5+1, which involves competent!jaskier and everyone knowing they’re in love before they do

my banshee/siren hybrid au! this is the closest i’ve ever gotten to writing actual plot, and i have no idea if i’m going to be able to follow through, but i’m damn excited to try!

i’ve got a whole warren’s worth of plot bunnies, but a couple of dreamling fics i’m especially looking forward to, including one that involves dream’s biggest ptsd trigger being silence and hob getting to babble him to sleep

Top 3 biggest improvements:

learning to outline, rather than just flinging myself headlong off a cliff and hoping i land on some words that go mostly in order

brevity! i’m a wordy son of a bitch, part of the reason i’m so proud of pronounce my name aright is because i managed to cut it off without beating it to death. i have to keep relearning this one though lol

writing action- the banshee story is the first time i’ve really tried, but i know i wouldn’t have been able to write something like that a year ago, and i hope to keep improving

Top 2 resolutions:

fucking finish my wips dammit

i want to post at least 5 finished works this year. it might not sound like a lot but hopefully i’m going back to school, so i’ll be happy if i can manage 5.

Top 1 favourite line:

Geralt sighs again, but stops pulling away. “But there’s still so much shit in the world. There are so many humans who hate me, or fear me, or try to cheat me, or who end up being monsters worse than the ones they want me to kill, and the problem with having it smacked over my head that I  do  actually have feelings, is that it makes it so much harder to ignore them. And there’s so much anger in me, Jaskier, and grief, and loneliness. And I can’t ever show it to anyone, or it will confirm everything they think they know about me. It will make me a monster. It will make me the Butcher all over again.” He looks up again, his expression anguished. “You’re the only one who’s safe. You’re the only one I can be angry around, or sad, or scared, or just annoyed, without thinking the worst of me. You’re the only one who ever comes back.”

listen i know it’s more than a line, ok? but honestly this whole section is the thing i’m proudest of out of all my writing. it was one of those moments where you come up with a headcanon kind of on the fly and don’t realize until after you’ve worked the whole thing out that like, fuck. that seems like it could be like. objectively correct? anyway i am very rarely convinced of my own brilliance but this was one of those times.

allllllright tagging the usual suspects, i think, @dancingwiththefae @islenthatur @spilledbutter @podcastenthusiast @fangirleaconmigo and anyone who feels like jumping in!