#I'm still going to explain what the “child-Titans” are

[marigoldwriter]

In my monstervese fanfic:

All the "child-Titans" having lapses of vision and being able to see through the Kaijus' eyes that they are linked: *suffering from extreme pain and discomfort since childhood*

Julian / G: Not me bitches!

[thevoidstaredback]

Honestly, Danny doesn't know how he gets into these situations. It's probably the fault of a deity or an Ancient or someone. It's most definitely Clockwork's fault.

Going on that mission with Constantine sounded like a good idea at the time, and Raven was going to be there! She's the best impulse control on the team. He realizes he should've clarified why Raven was going with them. Evidently, it was not to help or be impulse control for the Ghost King and the Alcoholic Soul Whore. (Don't tell Constantine that's his nickname) Raven was going along because she had business at Titan Tower. It should've been obvious, but Danny is not the most observant.

Either way, he was wrong. He thought going on this mission with John - there was a demon running around an apartment building and people were, apparently, quite upset about that - would deter the Justice League from hounding him like roaches. He was right about that, but also very wrong because the proteges took the opportunity to sniff him out like the bloodhounds they are. Unsurprisingly, Red Robin was at the head of the charge.

Raven, the traitor, sat back and laughed at him. She wasn't laughing, but it was obvious that she found his misery amusing.

Anyway, this lead to a citywide hunt for Danny. Anytime he spotted even a hint of any of the Titans chasing him, he was gone. He couldn't stray too far from Constantine, though, and Beast Boy had a nose like a damn elephant.

The chase lasted a solid three hours before he had to let them catch him, if only so that he could tell them to leave him alone because he's there on official JLD business. Not like that would actually work, but he had hope. Unfortunately, he forgot that Red Robin is Bat Trained.

Danny took a second for himself before the Titans caught up with him. Was this really better than Deadman harassing him about his first time in Gotham? No, it wasn't. It wasn't any worse, either, and he didn't know how to feel about that.

"Are you finally done running?" Red Robin asked, landing in a crouch in front of him.

Danny folded his legs to sit criss-cross in the air as the rest of the kids that had been chasing him joined RR. "You make it sound like I'm a criminal."

"You ran like one," Beast Boy pointed out. Fair, but rude. "And, dude, I don't know if you know this, but you smell horrible."

Danny placed a hand on his chest with a dramatic gasp. "How dare you! I took a shower just last week!"

Raven was now unamused.

Superboy gagged a bit. "He's right," A small shudder. "I couldn't smell it before, but I can now that you're so close to me."

He sighed with equal dramatics as his gasp. "I guess I can never get rid of the smell, even after all this time."

Wonder Girl tilted her head to the side slightly. "Oh? And what smell would that be?"

"The smell of death," John Constantine, ever a man of impeccable timing, turned onto the side street to join them. He largely ignored the kids in favor of the ghost child who isn't actually a child but no one listens to him when he explains that so he's probably going to stop trying. "It lingers. C'mon, kid, we've got a demon to exorcise."

Danny huffed like a petulant child, "Still not a kid!"

Constantine continued walking away. "Still don't care."

Part 4 Part 6

Tag List:

@zaiothe4th @someonebored0100 @wolfeyedwitch @angelheartgamer @nymanders @princessbelix @luminanightfall @kgne-k @bianca-hooks123 @reigning-catsanddogs @sassywombatranchhorse @dontfightmecauseillcry @soul-lime @anarinette

[levshany]

how do I put this. Even those who actually track our blogs and are interested in our Aus can get a little confused about what's going on here. but I'll try to explain anyway

we already mentioned the crossover between Anarchists and Tandem and even DRAWED them once, back when Tandem was in development (and by the way, this crossover is canonical for both AUs). Now this story has been continued >:D

Here's some context: It so happened that the Colibri wanted to see what alternative timelines looked like and ran into the king and the jester. Phil was delighted with Colibri and wanted to flirt with them. Jester Collie was categorically against it. so he immediately possessed Phill and tried to fight Tandem. he didn’t succeed because his fusion with Phil is extremely unstable. and here we are

Initially, @angstyhikka and I just drew these three pages, but then @lasymit supported the idea and made a drabble which she allowed me to add to the post :3

------------------------------------

"Let go, bitch! I'm not done with you yet!"

The savage creature desperately squirmed in Philip’s hands. It grabbed onto him, trying to either break free or, on the contrary, rush closer, glaring furiously and baring its shark teeth.

He held the clumsy, collapsing fusion at arm's length and looked at it with slight disgust. His tandem with the Collector was a strange but harmonious union. And what was writhing in front of them right now was the direct antipode of the word harmony.

“Well, I am,” he said distantly.

And with his other hand he grabbed the one sitting inside the demon’s body. Under the flesh soaked in titan blood, he felt a soft essence, like rubber or hot wax. The Collector from this universe felt completely different to the touch.

He stretched them, pulling them away from each other, disentangling them from each other. Paradoxically, bodies that should repel each other by the nature of their forces, like unipolar magnets, clung to each other very stubbornly. But Philip was still stronger with the power of the Collector in his hands, power which he clearly used better than the local... king of demons...

“Ouuuuch ouuuuch,” a boy in the robes of a jester, painted in red and black, shrank on the ground, wrapping his arms around his own chest.

He was not at all like his Collector. Philip had never seen his friend's material body before. But he knew he looked different. For some reason he knew this for sure.

"Who pulls a guy out like that!? Fuck!!", the now-green demon yelled nearby. And he clutched his head painfully.

What Idiots. They vomited three times while chasing him. Philip did them a favor by stopping this outrage.

Now these two were lying helplessly at his feet, groaning and gasping, trying to catch their breath and come to their senses. Now they are separated.

"What were you trying to achieve?" His question was almost rhetorical.

"It wasn’t me, it was all him!" like a child, pointing a sharp, protruding finger towards the Collector, the demon yelled. "I didn’t want to fight at all!"—here he gazed up at Philip with some strange look and batted his eyelashes expressively—"I wanted something else– something more interesting."

"Ohh fuck off, Maggie! You traitor!" came the shout from the red Collector. Philip silently decided to call him the Jester and the demon, by analogy, the King. Philip had already guessed his name. But he couldn’t bring himself to call this savage by that name. Not even in his mind. 

He ignored the King's vague attempts to take a tempting pose while still lying on the ground and grinding his teeth from the headache. He turned to the Jester.

"So you're in charge?"

Judging by King's behavior, it would indeed be reckless to put him in charge. But, having always been the decision-maker when paired with the Collector, by right of being the adult, Philip is accustomed to his friend almost never taking the leading role unless circumstances require it. Like a couple of years ago...

“Nuh-uh,” the Jester raised himself up on his elbow and rubbed his chest, inhaling deeply, greedily. "We're bros! Equal rights and stuff."

And he twirled his funny yellow gloved hand in the air.

Something in the Jester’s words pricked Philip. He didn't fully understand what exactly.. Until the King said, in a dramatic whisper:

"I no longer have a brother. You’re dead to me!"

And Philip stood there, trying to remember that the air was not hard, dense lumps, that it did not clog in the throat and did not press in the chest with a dull phantom pain. Meanwhile these two idiots, after a couple moments of aggressive looks, laughed out loud.

“Yes, I would strangle such a brother,” the King squeezed out, wheezing and squinting through laughter, “with my own-"

And he bent over, swallowing the end of the sentence with a cough as the toe of a boot hit him in the stomach.

"Philip! Philip... They've had enough... He doesn't know what he's talking about."

Philip's cheek twitched.

"Ouch... bro, save me!" the King squeaked hoarsely.

And this completely infuriated Philip. He swung his foot again, this time at the face. But he was met by an elastic wall. And the ground under Colibri’s feet, along with all the space, suddenly curved.

If it weren't for years with the Collector in his head, he wouldn't have realized what happened. But now he clearly saw how a couple of dimensions were distorted, folding space into a loop. He suddenly found himself not between the King and the Jester, but at a considerable distance. And these two were already close together. The boy helped his “brother” get up from the ground; King was now leaning on Jester’s shoulders, clutching his stomach. Perhaps Philip miscalculated his strength a little. This happens sometimes... Especially when it comes to emotions.

“Hey! Hitting people who are down is against the rules,” the Jester frowned. "Give us a timeout!"

Philip felt his jaw tighten. How the nodules rolled across his face. But the flaring rage, as it often happened to him, went away as easily as it filled the air in his chest, leaving reddish streaks before his eyes and pulsating power in his fingertips.

“Get out of the way,” he let his hands glow slightly.

"Ohhhh, what about a last kiss, star boy?" the King whined, clinging to the Jester and trying to straighten up next to him, as if hoping to reach Philip from a distance of ten steps and still get the coveted—

A kiss? Seriously, what the hell? Philip directed a confused, irritated look that bore all these unspoken questions at the Jester. He awkwardly shrugged his sharp shoulders, caught in the King’s grip.

"Don’t be mad... Philip, right? Don't be mad at him, Philip. His Majesty has a reason to be an idiot. And he didn’t mean it out of malice about the ‘brother’ thing.”

Philip looked at the Jester more carefully. The collector in his head was silent. But Philip sensed something from him. Philip also noticed the King’s uncomprehending expression.

“What’s wrong with ‘brother’?” The King sounded surprised.

And then Philip understood. And his face froze.

Yes... yes, what need is there to remember such things? He himself tried to forget for a long time... If he succeeded, would he be the same now as the king in front of him?

Looking at this wretched shell of a “King” who’d forgotten everything important about himself and the loyal “Jester” still standing steadily at his side, the Collector in Philip’s head began to sob. They both, it seems, had the same thought. It’s scary to look at the reflection of a future that never happened.

The jester smiled at him guiltily- at both of them. And then he confidently and widely showed about fifty teeth to his King.

"People don’t like such familiarity, you fool! You can’t just kiss someone the first time you meet."

"But it's okay to fight them when you first meet?" Philip was indignant...

Yes, it's Philip. He cannot refuse to call this man by his own name. Philip himself could one day become such a “king.”

------------------------------------

also @kenku97 helped us with translation and added this comment, I gotta show it to you ;v;

"I thought “The collector in his head sobbed” needed more context for people who aren’t as tightly wrapped up in these AUs as we all are. To understand why Collie’s crying, you need to point out how Tandem Collie sees himself in the Jester. They’re both caring for a Philip who is forgetting himself and the people closest to him. Jester is living out Tandem Collie’s worst fear: what will happen when Philip can’t remember anything anymore? What will become of their friendship? And it’s bittersweet because the King and the Jester are still friends, even though the Jester basically had to start over from the beginning. Jester Collie is quietly carrying all of those memories inside his heart of a friend who has basically disappeared while still learning about and loving the brand new person his friend has become. It’s so sweet and so sad.😭"

that's pretty much all for now It’s hard to return to drawing after the holidays. and this is not even a new art you see, but last year’s. therefore this comic cannot be considered the first work of this year sadly

[rubydubydoo122]

could you talk more about fanon vs canon tim drake? i havent gotten too far into the comics yet but have seen a lot of him (mis?)characterized by others

Just a preface, I'm not gonna crucify any Tim fans who find themselves writing these tropes, because it is fandom, and everyone's allowed their own interpretations of the character, I'm just personally not a fan of these takes on Tim because in my mind they just don't make sense for the character. If anyone has differing opinions, feel free to (politely) explain them to me, because I'm happy to hear them.

Ok, so much like Fanon Dick Grayson, there are two versions of fanon Tim Drake.

There's version A.) where where he's one minor inconvienience away from becoming a supervillain (I understand where this one comes from and I don't HATE it) and there's version B.) where he was criminally neglected as a kid and is infantalized (This version of Tim I Loathe)

I'll start with version A. I see where it comes from. Mainly the Red Robin 2009 run, but we have to remember that Tim was grieving pretty much everyone close to him during that era. He was being self destructive because of that grief, and yeah, grief changes a person, but Tim is the type of character who would still turn out good despite all the hurt handed to him. Oh! But Gun Batman-- Tim actively chose against being that. He would rather kill himself than let himself become a version of Batman who went against everything Batman stood for. I know there are multiple storylines where Tim meets and evil future version of himself, but those versions would constantly be like a weight on him to be good. All in all, if I had to choose between the fanon Tim Drakes, I would choose villain Tim Drake, as long as it's done in more of a character-study way rather than a 'He deserves to go evil, as a treat' because it's an interesting take with the right motives.

Now onto Version B. Loser Tim Drake. The reason I Loathe this version of Tim is because it usually involves Characters Assassination of the characters around him. Ok, so do I agree that Tim Drake was somewhat neglected? Yes. But goddamit, the way I see Jack and Janet portrayed, you would think that they were running from the feds or something. They were good people, just bad parents. Maybe a little immature to raise a child, but it wasn't to the point where they would probably need to call CPS. Neglect isn't black and white, and the Drakes fell into that grey-- which I personally believe to be a lighter shade. You do have to remember that a lot of Tim's introduction was written in the 90's where parenting styles were a lot different compared to Today. Still, they sent him to boarding school, meaning they made sure that some form of adult was taking care of Tim AND a lot of people try to make Jack Drake out to be the villain for stopping Tim from being Robin, and blackmailing Bruce for it, but... It's What Any Sane Parent Would Do? I'm 18, but I know if I ever had a kid, and then fell into a coma and then woke up and found out that my Kid was fighting crime in one of the most CRIME RIDDEN CITIES alongside my middle-aged neighbor who dresses up like a furry I WOULD CALL THE FUCKING COPS. But enough about the Drakes. Because not only does Loser Tim Drake assassinate their character, but why is 17 year old Tim the victim when it comes to 10 year old Damian-- "Oh he tried to kill him' They're both trained by assassins. They're both trained. They're both Trained. Why Is a Junior/Senior in high school hurt by the actions of a 5th grader. I have a similar age gap with my younger brother. We have had pretty brutal fights and the next day we're fine. I'm not going to get into "Attack on Titans Tower AUs" but I will say this, Every Time I Start To Read One Of Those, I Lose Half Of My Hair Because of How Bad the Characterization Of Both Jason And Tim are. Please, Read, The, Comic. Jason Wasn't Trying To Kill Tim. If He Was, Tim would Be Dead. ANd Tim was Snarking Jason Through The Entire Confrontation. Lastly, Why Has DICK 'BAMF' GRAYSON TURNED INTO TIM"S NUMBER ONE OP????!!!! DIck IS LITERALLY TiM's ChiLDHOOD HEro!!!!! NoT BAtMAN, DICK GRAYSON. And like, not only that, Dick and Tim are the most brotherly. I'm Begging, Please go read a 90's comic. Why is it, the only time I see Dicks Manipulative side in fanon, It's in opposition to Tim? I bet it's bc of Teen Titans Go. I bet the only Tim and Dick interaction they've seen is TTG Robin going "No BOdy cARes AbOuT TiM DrAke"

Sorry that ended up becoming rant-y, and less objective. Since actually reading comics, fanon Tim Drake gets on my nerves.

[cruilsummer]

the curse of freedom vs ymir's curse

Last night I finished attack on titan - it was something i had been dreading and postponing for a while, having received a few spoilers from the manga and seen mixed reactions from fans.

I'm not here to judge wether it was good or bad, or to make huge analysis of it as a finale - after all, i'm still digesting and understanding where i stand regarding that.

However, while watching these last chapters, I felt really close to Eren's character. It's funny, because he is purposefully pushing everyone away from him, and for most of the season, we barely see him. He is hiding not only from his friends, enemies and from everyone in between, but also from the watcher. And weirdly enough, that's when I got time to really think about him - and specially after the finale, i felt like sharing some of those thoughts.

When we think of young Eren, the child we are first introduced to, we know that freedom is a very important part of his character. He wants to see the world, to know the truth, to go beyond. He's also obstinate, vengeful and stubborn. Eren is a great main character not because he is the most powerful, the smartest or most skilled, but because he has a personality that is intersting to watch. He is flawed, he is human. And even after getting it wrong multiple times and not being the best, somehow he is magnetic enough to keep the best, wisest and most skilled around - either to protect him of protect others from him.

Jean Paul Sartre says that humanity has the curse of freedom - a burden. It makes us responsable for our choices, making it both a gift and a curse. I kept thinking about it the entire time I was watching this last part of the anime.

Because freedom has always been a key element to Eren's character. Both literally - the freedom of being away from the walls and seeing the world, and figuratively - the freedom of making his own choices, deciding who to trust, fighting for what he thought was fair...

And the worst thing that could happen to him, happens: he is the titan that bares the memories from everyone who has been in that position before. From the moment the touches Historia's hand on, he can't go back - now past, present and future coexist, and his choices don't feel like his anymore - it's just fate.

It's Ymir's curse robbing him from the humanity's curse.

He sees the outcome and knows it cannot be changed. It's impacting because, being Eren, he will try to change it. It's who he is: stubborn, obstinate, vengeful. Obsessed with justice, obsessed with freedom. But now he can't. His entire life he felt in charge, deciding his own destiny based on his perceptions of justice, his bonds, his story. But now he is not so sure - how much was already decided? How much was like that because of the ones that came before? And how does one just keeps living like that, not only questioning everything, but also being aware of all those different memories that used to constitute very different people? But how different can they be, if they all share the same memories?

That's the beginning of the end for him. And he knows that reaching the sea doesn't mean he is free, like he used to believe. He knows that killing every titan won't make him free either, and killing everyone outside Paradis won't either. He's lost his freedom, his gift.

On the other hand, we have Mikasa. Eren tells her that (just like him), she is not free. Her every action to protect him, her love for him, is just the Ackerman's curse. And that's where he gets it wrong. Because Mikasa is free. And it's a burden and a curse for her, unlike for Eren, because it would be easier if she didn't have to choose between saving the world and saving her best friend, the love of her life.

Parallel, Ymir's love for the King kept her hostage, wasn't healthy, made her unable to stop what became her curse, what would haunt all Eldians.

Mikasa loves Eren - and not because of her clan's curse. It's hard to explain what exactly makes us love - we simply do. But to make a long story short, and in an oversimplification, she loves him because of everything they lived together and because she knows him. And her love could be like Ymir's, and keep her hostage too. For the most part of the show, fans made fun of Mikasa for her love, called her a simp, said it made her weaker. But she was the one who killed Eren, because she knew that it was the right thing, even if it was the hard thing. She knew there was no other way. And, deep down, she knew that it was not Eren anymore - and at least she could be the one to, at last, free him. Give him what he had been seeking his entire life.

And that act alone is what touches Ymir and frees her as well. It's not Eren's death. It's Eren's death by Mikasa's hand. It's knowing that love can coexist with all sorts of mixed feelings, and that the freedom that comes with our condition as humans sometimes means that we make choices not only based on our love, and not only because they're easy.

Staying is easier because it means not changing anything - and it feels like no choice was made. We trick ourselves into thinking that leaving, changing and doing the hard things are the only decisions, because they imply movement. But staying is also a choice. Not changing is also a choice. That's our curse: living with the outcome of everything we chose to do and everything we chose not to do. Owning up and taking responsability for staying and for leaving. For hesitating or killing.

And don't get me wrong: it is not easy. As humans, we also have the burden of emotions, mixed feelings, traumas. Ymir's choice - and her love - were so complicated that they paralyzed her. And it was seeing that Mikasa's love was so equally deep that ultimately it made her move to do the right thing what moved Ymir too. And she could finally let go, even if it was the hard choice - because she had Mikasa's example.

Mikasa didn't stop loving Eren just because she killed him. She hadn't stopped loving him when he was terrible to her. She never loved him because of the Ackerman's curse - when the curses ended, she kept the scarf. She loved him when she mourned, and loved him even when she was ready to move on, and she died loving him still - altought love can change troughout somebody's life.

Setting Eren free, she sat Ymir free. And that made all Eldians free - well, as free as one can be, still bearing the burden of humanity. The ending shows exactly that: we can't control what people do with their freedom: what wars are started, whos justice empears, which cycles are repeated. But we can control what we do with our freedom, our choices.

And, just like it was Ymir's curse that ended Eren's freedom, it was humanity's curse, Mikasa's freedom, that ended Ymir’s curse.

[keirou-kun]

Rereading Nightwing: Year One and there's a section right at the front that's eating at me. Dick tells Bruce that he was late [to help with Clayface] due to Titans business, and that they'd just shut Brother Blood down for good [unfortunately the church is still there, but that's a problem for a later issue and they're not aware of that yet.]

Now, if you actually go back and read the New Teen Titans run from the 80s, you'll know exactly which plot this is; it's issues 40-41 [circa 1984; technically pre-Crisis but also the plotline immediately before The Judas Contract which was and from what I can tell remains Nightwing's 'official' public debut] and it basically involves the Titans trying to take down the Church of Blood again. Dick tries to go in undercover in the Church's homeland of Zandia and gets caught and brainwashed, and Blood tries to use him to kill the other Titans. It doesn't work, and Dick actually gets shot with some kind of energy-beam towards the end. So he's been out of the country, brainwashed, injured, comes home, sees the alert from Bruce, and immediately suits back up to get his ass to Gotham and help out.

Now, Bruce does not know any of the above happened; he just knows Dick didn't answer the beacon as fast as he maybe should have. There's already been friction between Dick and Bruce for a while now by this point; Dick's tired of being treated like a child, has been [rather successfully!] leading a team on his own for a good couple years at this point - a team which has literally saved the damn world by themselves, and knows better than to try for pity points with Bruce. So all he does is try to explain the basics of the Titans' latest mission, and Bruce shuts him down and snaps that Dick should have been at his side from the beginning. This, naturally, sparks another fight, which naturally does not end well, and the upshot of it all is that Bruce fires Dick and tells him to leave the Robin costume behind.

But I can't stop thinking about what Dick has just been through with his team. Wally has just retired for a bit, the whole Brother Blood mission that just went down and its brainwashing and Dick being already injured, and then Bruce giving him shit for not being dedicated enough to the cause and then firing him and forbidding him to be Robin…we don't actually get to see much of that argument, but Dick has never been the sort to throw his own troubles in someone else's face, so I can't imagine he'd bring up the injury/brainwashing. It's likely the argument focused more on his not wanting to be treated like a child, the fact that he has a team now Bruce and he's a leader and he can't be every-fucking-where at once and how dare you say he's not dedicated when this is literally his entire life and excuse him for looking out beyond Gotham City limits because there's a whole fucking world out there and honestly when these two get their blood up it just never ends well.

I don't really know where I'm going with this, it's just one more case of 'would things have been different, if Bruce had known the details?' Probably not, but you never know.

[celaenaeiln]

(catches me rummaging through the trash like a raccoon)

Tell me once again, I could have been anyone, anyone else

Before you made the choice for me (The vigilante bit was always Dick’s idea. But Nightwing was born from Bruce ripping Robin away from him.)

My feet knew the path

We walked in the dark, in the dark (the darkness surrounded both Dick and Bruce. it’s a familiar friend to them both)

I never gave a single thought to where it might lead (He was a child. How could Dick know what would happen to him in the future?)

All those empty rooms

We could have been anywhere, anywhere else (they could’ve been a functional family)

Instead I made a bed with apathy (“After the realisation of being used and shaped to become what the other person wanted, they’ve simply been resigned to where they ended up. Apathy.”)

My heart knew the weight

Ten years' worth of dust and neglect (Bruce was his dad… but did it really feel like it?)

We made our peace with weariness and let it be (but Dick, ever hopeful, lives on. hope masks his exhaustion.)

The moon will sing a song for me

I loved you like the sun

Bore the shadows that you made

With no light of my own

I shine only with the light you give me

(in my mind, i see it going both ways. early in life, it was Batman and Robin. they were so codependent of each other, they were basically one entity. Bruce could not stay afloat without Dick. Robin wasn’t able to shine without Batman. their relationship is borderline, mayhaps even truly, toxic. but neither can let go.)

Name your courage now

We could have had anything, anything else

Instead you hoarded all that's left of me (“These lines seem to indicate that the parent/partner/other person in the relationship with the singer was a control freak, perhaps even afraid of losing the singer. Instead, they resorted to manipulation to prevent this from happening.” well, do I need to explain?)

Swallowing your doubt

Like swords to the pit of my belly

I want to feel the fire that you kept from me (Dick, as Robin, wanted to rediscover himself with the Titans. without Bruce. Bruce wouldn’t let him.)

(jumps into the sewer grate and disappears)

*comes out with a leash only to glimpse a blur jumping into the sewer grate so ties up hair and starts climbing down, gagging all the way at the smell because my love for you will not be dulled by the scent of sewage*

The Moon Will Sing by The Crane Wives

I'm huge into songs with cadence because they're really addicting to listen to so when I started reading this, I could feel a rhythm so I thought I might like it. I was right!

Tell me once again, I could have been anyone, anyone else

This fits into the Oldest Daughter Syndrome post I wrote about where Dick on some level feels a sort of resentment towards Bruce. He loves him but the hurt from taking care of him when he could have been enjoying his childhood as much as teen vigilante can still lingers.

Before you made the choice for me (The vigilante bit was always Dick’s idea. But Nightwing was born from Bruce ripping Robin away from him.)

My feet knew the path

When he left he didn't know where to go or what to do but he knew what he wanted to be - a hero worthy of his own stage. And he knew subconsciously what needed to be done.

We walked in the dark, in the dark (the darkness surrounded both Dick and Bruce. it’s a familiar friend to them both)

All those nights patrolling together, laughing together, making the memories of a lifetime in a clouded gotham sky at twilight. They toured Gotham, flying through every crevices and warehouse over the years because they knew Gotham like the back of their hand.

I never gave a single thought to where it might lead (He was a child. How could Dick know what would happen to him in the future?)

Nightwing (1996) Issue #75

source: also @paladin-of-nerd-fandom65 because thank you so much for finding it because I spent a week looking for this 😭

He really didn't know. They both didn't.

All those empty rooms

this post. I often think of A Million Dreams song from the Greatest Showman because it's kinda portrayal of Dick's mindset as Robin and Nightwing. But there's one stanza that sticks out in particular in connection with this: There's a house we can build Every room inside is filled With things from far away The special things I compile Each one there to make you smile On a rainy day

And each time it just reminds me of how in the Golden Ages Dick and Bruce used to collect memorandum of their adventures together. And both of them look over it all and reminisce canonically. But Dick was the one who moved out, and I mentioned in my B&D relationship post long ago but Bruce literally sulks in a cave filled with adventures of their time together. When Dick leaves for college, Bruce actually shuts down the batcave and leaves the manor to settle in a new place to go on a journey of self-discovery to find himself anew/become more modern.

Batman (1940) Issue #217

We could have been anywhere, anywhere else (they could’ve been a functional family)

Instead I made a bed with apathy (“After the realisation of being used and shaped to become what the other person wanted, they’ve simply been resigned to where they ended up. Apathy.”)

Also how Bruce tried to kill his emotions are Dick left him behind so he wouldn't feel sorrow that he's gone.

My heart knew the weight

They both cried about each other leaving. Dick when Bruce fired him and Bruce when Dick left for college.

Batman (1940) Issue #217

Ten years' worth of dust and neglect (Bruce was his dad… but did it really feel like it?)

We made our peace with weariness and let it be (but Dick, ever hopeful, lives on. hope masks his exhaustion.)

The moon will sing a song for me

I loved you like the sun

Bore the shadows that you made

With no light of my own

Nightwing (1999) Issue #99

I shine only with the light you give me

(in my mind, i see it going both ways. early in life, it was Batman and Robin. they were so codependent of each other, they were basically one entity. Bruce could not stay afloat without Dick. Robin wasn’t able to shine without Batman. their relationship is borderline, mayhaps even truly, toxic. but neither can let go.)

Yes, that's canon.

Detective Comics (2016) Issue #1074

Name your courage now

We could have had anything, anything else

Batman vs Robin Issue #3

Instead you hoarded all that's left of me (“These lines seem to indicate that the parent/partner/other person in the relationship with the singer was a control freak, perhaps even afraid of losing the singer. Instead, they resorted to manipulation to prevent this from happening.” well, do I need to explain?)

There's just so many examples to give of this

Swallowing your doubt

Like swords to the pit of my belly

Batman vs Robin Issue #3

Quite on the nose actually. Or should I say sword.

I want to feel the fire that you kept from me (Dick, as Robin, wanted to rediscover himself with the Titans. without Bruce. Bruce wouldn’t let him.)

Teen Titans: Year One Issue #6

[hermesgoestojuvie]

do you have any permes hcs or fic ideas?

oh anon u have no idea what you've unleashed. the permes fic ideas are all i have some days, alas, im not that accomplished at the whole idea to words transition as i wish i was. i'll go into a few more concrete ones under the read more

Quick note: So like. All the things I plan to write happen when he’s 18+. and there's no sibling or parent incest. (bringing that up cause i got an. interesting dm once.) So this is just a quick disclaimer of sorts. And I’m not hating on anyone who wants to write or read something dark! I mean for instance I have a time travel Percy/Hermes brainworm that is considered dark and probably not what a lot of people want to read, so i'll tag it as such.

The One Where There is a War

Explained a little more in detail here but I have no problem talking a little about it again. It was inspired by this one perpollo fic that I'm still looking for so I can link it, bc trust me, it is GOOD. (edit: FOUND IT!!!! HERE it’s by @ghost-bxrd)The premise of that fic was a war between the gods and demigods, and my fic is meant to draw from that as well as some elements from Lore by Alexandra Bracken. It takes place post-second Giant war, but I'm toying with the idea of having the war and all related events, like gaea's rising, happen when percy is maybe 19-20? I'm not sure yet though. I might keep the timeline as is instead. For now, just know that it is post-second giant war.

Anyways, the premise is the new war the demigods have waged on the gods, when Percy, already a conflicted party to the war, comes across an injured Hermes when he is separated from his group of scouts.

2. Warning: Untitled For Now But It Is The Dark!Hermes One

you ever read child surprise by aphroditesfavorite or the breezeblocks series by violetmoreviolent?

Both are perpollo, and while I've not caught up to child surprise (i'm two chapters in, its been in my marked for later for a while, and ive had the tab open for ages, i just keep getting distracted lol) i know that it does deal with a time-travel trope, with percy, post-second giant and titan wars, waking up in the past, the day athena and poseidon compete over athens.

from what i hear, where child surprise is perpollo, there is a dark, forcecful hermes scene, which is absolutely not meant to be shippy btw! i heard from a friend who has gotten farther than me that the aphroditesfavorite has also stated that the shippy comments received about that hermes scene has made them uncomfortable so like, dont go reading it for that guys please.

breezeblocks meanwhile has a take on dark!apollo, a more ancient apollo, in a way. an apollo that you remember IS an olympian and all that may entail. i actually have caught up with the latest updates, and it takes place in the present. i dont want to go spoiling, but I will say that like, the way its all unraveling and unfolding is just so interesting, im high key invested.

@ashilrak and @mrthology have also written an absolutely heartbreaking, gutwrenching, exceptionally glorious banger of a fic, HAUNT ME, THEN- that also really captures the otherness and ancient, almost older, aspect of the olympians.

anyways, the reason i bring these fics up is because i just really love the idea that percy was born from the sea, while also acknowledging that one of my favorite parts of the whole book series in the first place is percy's connection to mortality and to his mother. reading child surprise really was root of a lot of ideas of percy emerging from the saltwater fountain in athens at the time of poseidon and athena's competition, with the idea that the trip to the past coincides with unwanted percy's ascension. it is not the birth of percy jackson the demigod, but in half, percy jackson the deity (the other half near coming to fruition in tartarus before he forced himself to stop.)

all that^ was just a very long way to say, this fic, im not sure WHAT it is yet, or where the direction its going in is, but we have established permes in the modern era, the time slipping happens when percy is struggling with keeping his impending ascension at bay, and then percy deals with a hermes at his like. prime? if thats the word. having to reconcile that with the softer versions they know later.

3. The One I've Been Struggling With

i'm just gonna copy/paste some stuff from my outline, like just the first two pages. this is the most concrete fic wip i have lmao. its all very rambly bc thats how the process goes for me so sorry abt that! anyways, starts below:-

an au that is not modern times, but perhaps in the past? Ancient Greek times? So more “ancient greek minded hermes.” Or if you think there is a better alternative, that would work too, I’m all ears. Trickster god Hermes (which he is) and minor immortal(?) Percy.

i dont know what percy's situation is yet. need to figure that out

i was looking at a comic and thought, trickster god Hermes would definitely pull something like this on Percy. And then I thought, what if, trickster god Hermes, sees this one man (Percy) and falls in love with him. But this man seems to pine for a woman who doesn’t love him back, and so Hermes takes her shape. (I don’t know who this woman would be. Annabeth? It could be her, but I also love the bond Percy and Annabath have in general, she and him are incredible friends. Rachel? I loved her friendship with Percy too.)

Anyways, Hermes taking their shape made me laugh a bit because wow Percy is getting catfished by a god. And then I was like WHAT IF- Percy himself is a minor immortal like. A young nymph-ish type. A prince of Atlantis? A demigod turned prince of Atlantis? I am not sure what he is, but, I am going to use nymph as a placeholder until I figure this out. 

So sure, Percy is immortal, newly or otherwise, but he’s young and still not fully like, aware (I don’t know if that's the right word) about what it means to be immortal because he literally was born 20 years ago, which is normal mortal young man age. And Percy is like, “I’m as old as them and I want to live as them. I was them.”

His father is protective of course, he is aware of the way of the gods and how they chase pretty people. Poseidon warned him about gods, how they come and go, how he should never fall for one because loving one usually ends in tragedy or heartbreak- that to them hearts are easily won by tricks and discarded as easily. (Thinking again: mortal Percy turned immortal by marrying/mating with Hermes? Except, then I thought, Poseidon wants Percy to be immortal–if he thought Hermes showing interest and Percy reciprocating would allow for Percy to choose to be immortal he would probably begrudgingly allow it. So then….immortal Percy? Need to think)

The big Hermes reveal is when Percy is attacked or injured, or some other god shows up, and Hermes saves him but reveals his true form in the process. 

BACK TO THE PLOT!!!

Hermes was like, I will have this nymph, and that is FINAL. And Percy is kind even though he is not necessarily always NICE, (it may be ancient greek but new yorker percy is timeless) he's sweet and cares so much. he’s a hero and so loyal. he's brave and mischievous and genuinely good, and Hermes is just. Blown away, by the way Percy loves, so deep and it consumes you, to be the one Percy cares for, Hermes thinks there is no feeling like it.

Hermes tells himself that Percy can't possibly be deserving of mortal love. So what if golden haired Annabeth (placeholder for now, still dont know if we're going the annabeth route?) is a warrior who can run like the deer and loves the very woods Percy does. No, he needs a god's adoration, a force to be reckoned with at his beck and call to fulfill his every whim the way Percy himself makes others feel. If people would be loved the way Percy loves, everyone would be a god. 

I am laughing at Hermes taking the shape of Annabeth while talking to Percy, but also using the moment to talk up Hermes. Like if Percy is in his starry eyed about Annabeth phase, Annabeth wanting to have a sit down would be so exciting for him, and Hermes as Annabeth would be petty enough to be like lemme proselytize about myself, “have you heard of the great wonderful god Hermes?”

Percy being like, “Yeah my dad tells me every day, stay away from these people and then gives me a list of gods, why?”

Hermes immediately pissy

Percy is still talking, “so yeah Hermes is on the list too- why, Annabeth? Did something happen? you look...not well. Are you sick?”

Hermes, through gritted teeth, “with all due respect to... your father, I think you should hear about the god Hermes because he's not... whatever it is your dad said.”

Percy: Well, apparently the god Hermes fixates on pretty people and tries to get into their pants using trickery.

Hermes as Annabeth: CHOKES

Hermes-Annabeth: THAT IS SUCH SLANDER. I have never.... ahem, i have never heard of that about the god Hermes

^That was the first two pages. there's 11 more of me realizing writing is hard and i have commitment issues. but hopefully i finish at some point bc this is the fic ive poured some serious time in!

anyways, that was the three main fic ideas ive been tackling. i have had more that i immediately forget about, but just know, i can think about them all day!

[tgrailwar-zero]

*bows*

Thank you Rikyu for your understanding and please pass along our sincere gratitude to Koma for staying your hand. Our earnest goal right now is to aid the Solar Cell in its fight against the Titan so that the Heavenly Deity need not wake and thus the humanity both within and without the Solar Cell may stay safe. Even if the rage was not our own, we were still the instruments it used to wreck destruction across this burgeoning land and so we pursue that goal to atone. In the name of full transparency, we also hope to reclaim at least the memories of who we were before we were made into a tool and perhaps even find a way to separate back into individual people.

RIKYU: "Very well then. If this 'Titan' is the one that is responsible for snuffing out so many innocent souls, then this 'Titan' will face the 'Blackness' within Rikyu, and we have a common enemy."

RIKYU: "However, the bout is in the morning, so we'd best rest ourselves."

With that, you gently guided by RIKYU back to the streets of the Megalopolis. MUSASHI approached, looking clearly a bit worried.

MUSASHI: "God, there you all are! I could feel my tether to you get real strained- what happened?"

She squinted at you, before sighing.

MUSASHI: "...Okay. We're going back. You've got a 'we just had a harrowing experience and we're mentally exhausted' energy about you, and I wouldn't want to exacerbate it. So let's just… get you back. We can chat about it in the morning."

It wasn't a long walk back to the hotel. The ritzy atmosphere was either relaxing or even more stuffy, depending on your perspective of things. Luckily, MUSASHI remembered the Room number for the key, and stuck close to you as she guided you down the hallway. You stopped at the door as she knocked.

MUSASHI: "Huh? Is Little Miss Empress not here?"

She put her hands on her hips, and then on her swords, as if considering cutting the door open. However, reason kicked in and she simply decided to walk back to the lobby with you to wait.

After a few minutes, you heard the gentle sound of snoring down the hallway and saw three figures approaching.

'LITTLE GUY': "Uooahh… zz…."

NERO: "Ah. You're back. I hope you weren't waiting outside for too long."

MUSASHI: "You two look nice. Well, Rider's dressed all dapper as usual, but you're… phew. Well, I better keep my thoughts to myself."

CONSTANTINE: "Antecessor Nero and I went out to investigate the city with the little one. He fell asleep about halfway through, though."

NERO: "Alas, with the little one in tow, I couldn't engage in some of the more… enticing vices presented by the city. However, it was a fine way of getting a feel for the locale."

CONSTANTINE: "Right. We met someone, 'Duryodhana', was his name. He had apparently met you all earlier in one of the casinos."

NERO: "We began discussing the upcoming Bout. You all were planning on registering, right? That man, 'Duryodhana', claimed that he would be a shoe-in for victory. I disagreed, and Constantinus made a wager before things got out of hand."

CONSTANTINE: "It's a rather simple gamble. If you place second, he promised us an audience with the Pharaoh. If you place first, then he'll grant an audience, and provide us with what he declared is a 'worthwhile prize'. If we don't fulfill either one of those goals, then we'll owe him a favor."

As the RIDER and the CASTER explained themselves, you walked back to the room, NERO fishing a key out from... well, somewhere, and using it to open the door.

MUSASHI: "Ooooh, making bets on the Master's behalf? Rather careless of you, isn't it?"

CONSTANTINE: "It's not ideal, but I figured the odds were in our favor. That, and it was the only way to swiftly de-escalate the argument. If I've overstepped, I can find Duryodhana in the morning and tell him that the deal is off."

He sighed, adjusting the child on his back.

CONSTANTINE: "…I'm going to put this one to bed. You all should rest as well. Nero says there should be enough rooms for everyone, at least with our group split as it is. See you in the morning, Masters."

With that, CONSTANTINE walked up the stairs to the suite, cradling the LITTLE GUY in his arms. You felt the magical 'tug' from his presence lighten slightly, but not go entirely slack. With the type of person your RIDER was, he was most likely finding a good position to keep vigil, either over the room or the building, you weren't sure.

MUSASHI: "That's not a terrible idea. I think I'll just meditate in my Spirit Form, though. Night, Masters! Let's kick some butt tomorrow, okay?"

Like the wind, she vanished. The only one left being the CASTER.

NERO: "…"

The Emperor stared at you for a moment, as if trying to discern something. Whether she found what she was looking for or not, she smiled and lightly clapped her hands together.

NERO: "I'm going to bed. If you require something of me, at least knock first so that I may make myself decent. Or not, I have no shame in my body. Either way... goodnight, my Ensemble. Sweet dreams."

You watched her walk up the steps, claiming a room to herself.

It was quiet now. Really just you and your collective barrage of thoughts. Even with the big day tomorrow, it seemed like there was a lot riding on your shoulders. The Solar Cell, the Void Cell, your past… question�� after question… after question. You could feel exhaustion on your shoulders, though it wasn't that deep into the night.

You found your way into a room, and for the first time in what seemed like a long time, had an actually restful night's sleep.

Which was good. Because you felt as if you were going to have a VERY busy few days coming up with the Flaming Bout.

[seleneprince]

I need help to make a decision.

I'm writing a female Percy Jackson fic and I'm deciding on the name. I have two options, each has their own symbolism and heavy meaning in the narrative, since I'm gonna follow the canon fact that Sally wanted her child's name to have a strong influence in his life (and that most mothers of demigods choose names that tie them to the gods).

I'll explain my reasons for each one and then I hope you can help me because I really can't decide:

First one is Persea. I know, sounds like just Perseus with an added "a", but it's more than that. In Greek mythology, Persea was one of the Oceanids, who were all water nymphs daughters of the Titan Oceanus and Thethys. Other variations of her name are Perse, Persa, Perseide and Perseis. She married Helios, God of the Sun, and was the mother of Circe. Also, her name in Ancient Greek literally means "destroyer".

Amphitrite, Poseidon's wife, is a water nymph too and, depending of which interpretation of her origins you prefer, she's a sister or cousin of Persea. Since she has a rather important role in my au, it wouldn't be weird that Sally chooses a name that endears her daughter to Amphitrite, a name that honours her stepmother in some way. Unlike other goddesses, she was actually kind to Poseidon's demigod children, and in the books she even bakes cookies for Percy when he stays at her and Poseidon's palace. Maybe this small detail with the name would make her like Percy even more. And this way, she still keeps her unfamous nickname. "Sea" would also be a nickname for her, which I think fits perfectly with her theme.

Then we have Ariadna. My explanation for this one is much shorter, because the symbolism here would be more about the romantic aspect of the narrative than her identity as whole. Ariadna (or Ariadne) was a daughter of King Minos, son of Zeus, and Pasiphaë, daughter of Helios with his wife Persea, which also made her half-sister of the Minotaur. There are many interpretations of her myth, but in all of them she falls for Theseus, helps him kill the Minotaur to escape the labyrinth and he abandons her on an island while she was sleeping. Then Dionysus finds her, becomes determined to make her happy again, and in the process they fall in love, eventually getting married. In the books, their marriage is described as a loving one, so you could say Ariadna was one of the few heroes that got a happy ending, like Perseus.

In my au, she's going to have a rather complicated relationship with Luke through the story (let's leave it like that), and Ariadna is very conscious about her namesake's myth, because it's a cautionary tale as much as a hopeful one. Ariadna finds happiness after facing her own tribulations, sure, but the reason of her suffering starts because she trusted her heart to a man that was only using her for his goals, who pretended to love her as well. Ariadna Jackson sees Luke as the Theseus of her story, a boy who has her heart but also causes her pain. She knows trusting him could easily end in disaster, and she refuses to commit the same mistake the original Ariadna did. At the same time, it's not clear wether Luke only wants to use her or holds genuine feelings for her. It's all a mess.

This could be a somewhat comedic point in her interactions with Dionysus/Mr D when they meet, because the reason he despises heroes is for what Theseus did to his wife, but then this kid, this aspiring hero, is named after said wife. It'll be confusing, maybe uncomfortable for both. He either hates her or treats her somewhat kindly, and she can't understand for the life of hers what the fuck did her namesake saw in this man. She feels weird with the situation, even disgusted at being named after such man's wife.

Her nickname would be Aria. Aria Jackson. It certainly has a nice ring to it.

[bluegarners]

Do you think Dick Grayson actually has Eldest Daughter Syndrome? He's not really around his siblings in terms of when they first became Robin and were being raised as such. Like, he certainly played older sibling with Tim, and the lines were more or less blurred with Damian seeing as Dick took on the role of Batman/parental figure for his first time as Robin, but I'm not sure if Eldest Daughter fits Dick. Bruce didn't really pass on the duty of raising any of the Robins to Dick and it was more out of obligation/his inherent kindness that made Dick play any kind of role with his successors.

heyy anon!

i do not actually! i know my most recent fic would say that i do believe he has eldest daughter syndrome, and i only briefly explained my thoughts on it in the first chapter note, but i really don't think dick has EDS. he has traits and shares some similarities, but 1) he is not a daughter (which is integral to what eldest daughter syndrome represents- the loss of a daughter role mixed in with the role of parent/mother to siblings and the actual parents) and 2) dick isn't quite in a place to care that much. <- that sounds a bit harsh but i think it is mostly true. yes, like you said anon, dick has looked after his siblings and bruce out of his inherent goodness of heart/kindness and the obligation that comes with being under the bat symbol (you look after your own), and under a certain lens that can be skewed as EDS in the way that dick is the oldest/first and the bat unit resembles a family unit. however, dick has been shown time and time again being comfortable with leaving when things get too... oppressive isn't the right word, but i think dick is somewhere on that scale of "if it sucks, hit the bricks." when being robin became more of a minion of batman and not an individual, dick left to be with the titans. when being the leader of the titans as robin became too much, he became nightwing and stationed himself in bludhaven. when he does go back to gotham, it's not usually to see anyone in particular, it's almost always surrounding a case or a crime he wants to investigate/was invited to investigate personally. there's the bonus of hanging around whoever happens to be in gotham at the time, and we've gotten some great, cute scenes of dick being a good older brother to tim and damian, but otherwise, dick isn't one to stick around

now, all of that to say, i think dick has a version of EDS that can just be shortened to eldest syndrome. like i said earlier, a lot of dick's issues stem from being the first child/son/robin of batman/bruce. and the dichotomy between how he interacts with bruce versus batman as dick grayson or robin is... something, to say the least. dick wasn't initially brought into the fold as an adopted son. for the papers and outside world that was how it was seen, but both dick and bruce started their relationship as a partnership in justice. over time they became more to each other than just coworkers living in the same house, but at the start, that's what they were. to add to that, the complexity of what batman and robin mean to each other is another layer, which tim's robin aptly puts as batman needing robin as a moral compass/a light to keep him out of the dark. from as young as 9 years old (depending on the iteration) dick was in charge of keeping bruce in line, keeping him from leaning too far into the dark abyss of violence and easy injustice. that's a lot to place on a child, keeping the city's protector on the straight and narrow, but along with that, dick was also still under the guardianship of an adult-- actually, two adults. the adults are the ones who are supposed to tell the child right from wrong, this from that, but dick used what his parents taught him and applied that to the new adults in his life, adults who saw vigilantism as the norm. bruce had no experience with children/how to raise them, and alfred isn't exactly a model caretaker seeing as he allowed bruce to fall into such a dark place as to resort to becoming a man like batman. they did their best and never meant any harm towards dick, but i don't think anyone is giving them a trophy for world's best parents

EXCEPT

dick totally would. and that's where i think that eldest syndrome comes into play because dick doesn't see another path for him outside of the life he was raised in. i can't remember the issue, but dick made the observation that bruce would trade his current life for one in which his parents were alive. dick, however, observes that he would not trade his current life for his old one. there is no going back for dick grayson- he loves bruce, he loves batman, and he loves being a vigilante. and because his belief in this lifestyle is so strong, he's going to defend the way he was raised with all his might. he's going to defend bruce with all his might. bruce and alfred are on such high pedestals for dick, unattainable, in a place where dick believes he's never going to reach. they are it to him, the best of the best, and dick's entire life has been dedicated to living up to their expectations that, honestly, are not there. to bruce and alfred, dick is the best of the best, better than them, but to dick, he believes that he still has so much to live up to and that he's never going to amount to enough to take on batman's legacy (a legacy he does not want at all but fears that he'll fail- which his fears come to life when he does become batman but that's another discussion). however, even though bruce and alfred believe dick is what their lifestyle as vigilantes should represent, they don't ever really tell dick and actually do quite a lot to contradict their beliefs. dick and bruce's falling out is legendary, i've made a few web weaves on it before, but they keep coming back to each other because it's all they know. they love each other and that love is too great at times and leads them to reveal the very worst parts of themselves because so much of what they are is reflected back onto the other

@/dustorange said it best once: "the thing with dick is that dick is about FREEDOM and DISCIPLINE which can coexist but then there’s bruce and what dick has for bruce is DEVOTION which means the sacrifice of freedom which is dick’s defining desire and"

to me, dick's love for bruce and his family is what keeps him coming back to them again and again despite his misgivings that he refuses to acknowledge. dick wants to live independently and without the restriction of knowing that should bruce call he would come running. however, he can't. he is and always will be tied to the obligations that come with being bruce's son and batman's first robin. that sense of needing to be there for a grown man since childhood never quite goes away for dick. he tires over and over again to separate himself from gotham and robin, but there is no use in doing so because he loves those things even if they have hurt him- even if the people attached to those things continue to hurt him. in current canon, things are better between dick and bruce and everyone else, but the decades of the "will they won't they" reformation of whether dick can coexist with his ideals and grounded obligations can't be erased from his character

so, to sum, no i don't believe that dick has eldest daughter syndrome, but i do believe that so much of his character is inherently intertwined with his roles as robin and as a son of bruce wayne. a separation of the two cannot exist peacefully, so his identity as a singular person cannot be defined in a way that matters, both to him and as observers of his character

[itsdragonfire13]

Young Justice Crossover Rec

Been reading Young Justice fanfics again and wanted to deliever some of my favorite crossovers with different fandoms. Almost none of these are on AO3, or at least I didn't find them on AO3.

Justice League/Justice League Unlimited

How to Outrun Death by Lore55 Website: Fanfiction.net

Summary: Being dead was different from what he'd thought it would be like. In fact, as far as Wally could tell death felt an awful lot like laying on the snow in an insulated, friction proof suit.

Chapters 22; WIP. This is like the fic of Wally being the JLU Wally it's one of my favorites and I re-read it a lot.

They're Us by Goldenbrook15 Website: fanfiction.net

Summary: When the Young Justice land themselves in another dimension by accident and then manage to escape the entire Justice League (who strangely don't know them at all) and flee into the world outside, Batman can only come to one conclusion, "They're us, from a different world."

Chapters 27; WIP. The author did post their outline for the fic in the last chapter explaining how it was going to end, so in a way it is 'complete'

Better Late by Kyogre Website: fanfiction.net

Summary: In Endgame, Wally accidentally transports himself a universe or four over, into a world where there is no Flash or Justice League. At least, not yet.

Chapters 10; Complete. This is a short but still good one

We Meet Again by Takebuo Ishimatsu Website: fanfiction.net

Summary: Young Justice is accidentally transported to another dimension in which their mentors have no idea who they are. Things get complicated. Fast. YJ cartoon crossover into a world similar to JL cartoon.

Chapters 5; WIP. It's so good, but sadly only 5 chapters, even if the chapters are pretty long.

Of Masters and Students by monroesherlock Website: fanfiction.net

Summary: The Young Justice team wakes up trapped in another universe, one where their team has never existed. It's up to them to prove themselves worthy all over again to a group of rather unwilling mentors. AU TeamFamilyCentric

Chapters 28; Complete. This has to be one of my all-time favorite of the original Team getting sent to another dimension fics. I always love when I re-read it.

Return Stroke by viecamille Website AO3

Summary: No one in Young Justice has ever heard of the Speedforce. No one on Earth-12 has ever heard of the Flash. Super-speed isn’t always an easy power to handle. None of these facts are conducive to Wally’s return home.

Or: Wally’s stranded, Dick’s haunted, the JL are confused, and superpowers have a tendency to drive physicists insane. Oh, and Wally West is a founding member of the Justice League now. Whoops?

Chapters 1 WIP; Only 1 chapter so far, but it was made in March and it's so good.

Catching Icarus by Fantasyfire Website AO3

Summary: A bad encounter with magic banishes Superboy into another world. Stranded, the Kryptonian clone must deal with a whole new league and a much different Superman.

Chapters 13 WIP; I'm only on ch3 but I really love how it's going the relationship that building between JLU Superman and Conner is top tier.

Teen Titans

Brick by Brick by HookahPop Website AO3

Summary:

The Team was just trying to tie up loose ends. The light had been defeated, so they needed to make sure they stayed down. Robin was never supposed to be caught in the blast.

The Titans were just going on a simple mission. Control Freak would take two minutes tops, then they'd go out for pizza. Slade wasn't supposed to interfere and single Robin out.

The two Robins switch places, and no one is prepared for the consequences.

Chapters 12 WIP; A fun birdflash one, but also it's 12/15 chapters, so close to being finished.

Avengers/Marvel

Child Soldiers by McKennaC Website: fanfiction.net

Summary: When the Avengers investigate an illegal lab that's putting off radiation similar to the Tesseract, they find three young boys from another universe. While trying to send them home, they discover that the kids have abilities that rival their own. How can they handle having three child heroes in the tower?

Chapters 17; WIP. This is set before the start of Young Justice, by a few years, when Robin, Speedy, and Kid Flash were the only sidekicks.

Away From Home by JJ100051 Website: fanfiction.net

Summary: During a run in with Klarion, Young Justice is sent to an alternate universe where the Justice League doesn't exist, But instead the unorganized and scattered avengers do. Inspired by the great Avengers movie and Sparked by Canaryhowl

Chapters 10; WIP. Fun to see how the team would hold up against SHIELD when they let loose.

[enchantedchocolatebars]

Another small snippet from Chapter 1 (Our Story Begins) of my big chapter fic “A Winsome Witch And A Happy Human” (Fic is very canon divergent. Context from first snippet here. Commission cover art here.)

(I'm currently at 867 words in the wip and I'm trying to reach 1000 or more. Will hopefully have the full chapter posted tomorrow.)

...

He puts the pawns in front, then lines up the other pieces symmetrically with the king and queen in the middle.

Next, the Titan walks over and, with extra care and very gentle claws, picks up his little eggling in the blue baseball cap.

Heading over to its chair, he produces a plump white pillow from thin air onto it and carefully sets it down.

Two more plump pillows are conjured across from the table as the Titan picks up his other two eggs and settles them down on their seats.

They were going to watch their papa play against their sibling in a match.

Upon taking his seat at the table, the Titan casts a sunny smile across his scruffy face as he gazed at his child.

"I know this is your first time playing chess," he began in a kind and understanding voice before continuing.

"So I'll share with you what I know."

"..." went the egg to its father.

Such an innocently childlike response led to the Titan's soft chuckle, his bony smile reaching all the way up to his round, hollow eyes.

"Don't worry," he reassured to his unhatched egg softly.

"I'll explain all the basics to you, and we'll start slowly and take our time while playing."

Chess was a challenging and complex game, he knew that.

The Titan wasn't very fond of the classic board game at first when he first started playing it with a man with blonde hair and a forelock.

However, as their games progressed and the man taught him the basics, his liking for it increased.

"..." asked the egg.

The Titan nodded. "Promise," he said as their chess lesson began.

The two most crucial pieces in the game are reached for by clawed hands.

"See these two guys here?" The Titan asked his egg, holding the pieces in his hand before continuing.

"In chess, we call them kings. Each player only gets one, and they're the most important pieces in the game. You want to attack your opponent's king while also keeping your own king safe and protected."

King.

Safe.

Protected.

The Titan's mind was filled with memories of his son, who was still alive.

He sighs of bliss from the memories before continuing with his explanation.

"Once the king is captured, the game ends, so always remember to keep him shielded."

As the Titan lists off the other pieces, he points at them.

"Each player controls 16 pieces: 8 pawns, 2 bishops, 2 knights, 2 rooks, 1 king, and 1 queen."

"..."

Papa Titan chuckles. "The knights are the little horse heads, and the rooks are the little castle towers," he told his little one.

"Each chess piece has its own unique way of moving across the board and potentially capturing your opponent's pieces as it goes."

He points at the pawns.

"Pawns have the ability to move one square forward per turn, except for their first turn when they have the ability to move two squares forward. Pawns move diagonally forward by capturing other pieces diagonally. They cannot move backward."

[melishade]

Number 18?

This ask game

Initially I was going to do the Peaceful Timeline, but then I thought...why not make some Gabi haters happy? This is Starscream killing Gabi in the Revenge Timeline. Part 2: Gabi’s death

"Oh, dear," The Warrior Cadets froze in fear with their bound hands when they saw a massive metal titan stepping of off his thrown and coming into light. They could all see this colorful titan grinning at them with an expression that looked so unhinged.

"It looks like you humans are so far away from home, aren't you?" Starscream taunted.

"W-What do you want with us?!" Colt stuttered, "You already have Marley! Just let us go!"

"I'm sorry. I can't do that." Starscream didn't seem apologetic, "Sure I have my control over Marley, and I have this."

The Cadets flinched when the titan pulled a long, ragged, sword from his back. It was uneven, crooked, glowing a bright purple, and they definitely felt something off about it.

"The Dark Star Saber," he explained, "Forged from the Blood of Unicron with the ability to cut mountains in two."

"Um...what exactly is Unicron?" Udo ended up asking.

"Udo, shut up!" Zofia hissed.

Starscream just looked annoyed as he put the sword back on his back. "Uncultured little insects, I swear to Primus."

"Let us go!" Gabi shouted at him, "If you don't, you'll be sorry! Our Warriors will come and-!"

Starscream started cackling in response. "Your 'Warriors' fled like cowards! They abandoned you and let Marley deal with me all by itself."

"No," Gabi gasped. Reiner...Reiner wouldn't leave them behind. Reiner wouldn't leave her behind to danger! "You lie!"

"I only speak the truth," Starscream smirked, "Those titan were fleeing on a ship and I was prepared to take them into custody, but then Megatron made an appearance. I was more than happy to put him in his place."

"Who is Megatron?" Falco asked. The child didn't like the way Starscream's grin grew wider.

"Oh right, you poor, wretched things have no idea who you've been staying with," Starscream proclaimed.

"Know what?!" Colt demanded. He didn't like being kept in suspense.

"Well Megatron is the name of what you call the 'Flying Titan'," Starscream put the word in air quotes, "But you lot know him by a different name: Matthew Hayes."

The Warrior Cadets were in stun shock. Mattew? Matthew was the Flying Titan. Starscream reveled in their devastated expressions and continued.

"I never thought I would see my former master demean himself to the status of a human, but I suppose it was too easy, considering no one thought that his behavior or even his optics were wrong!" Starscream laughed again, "By the Allspark, his optics were still red and none of you humans caught on! No wonder he got away with it so easily."

"No...," Gabi shook her head in disbelief, "No! You liar! You devil! Demon bastard!"

"Ooo, some spark in you." Starscream was amused, "But I speak the truth. I was there when your Warriors fled and I was there when Megatron dropped his cover to buy time for your Warriors to escape. He helped your Warrior run away in fear of me! Oh, it's something I can't stop myself of reveling in!"

"Matthew is not the Flying Titan!" Gabi screamed at him, "Matthew is our friend!"

"Friend?!" Starscream cackled, "I would hardly count Megatron as a friend, but tell me: what makes 'Matthew' so special to you? I highly doubt that Megatron is even capable of kindness, and you Eldians are always treated as devils yourself. But please, enlighten me."

“Don’t mock him like that! Stop lying! Matthew is good! And kind! He’s the only non-Eldian who doesn’t insult us and call us devils!”

“Oh really,” Starscream chuckled.

“He helps us grow and get stronger! He gives us food and tells us stories!” Gabi continued.

“…hm,” Starscream didn’t sound too amused at that.

“Sure he’s harsh, but he doesn’t insult us or attack us just for existing!” Gabi yelled as she took a step forward.

Falco noticed the way that Starscream’s expression turned from amusement…into anger and disbelief. It looked unhinged! Mad!

“Gabi!” Falco called for her, “Gabi stop!”

“No I’m not done!” Gabi took another step forward, “I’m not going to let this devil trick us into think that Matthew is the enemy and that Reiner would abandon us! He’s a good person! He wouldn’t lie or betray us!”

Starscream could only hear that human’s shrill screams, but the context of her words were drowned out by his swirling thoughts. Megatron…a good person? No. That was wrong. Megatron is a liar. A brute. An utter fool. Who abandoned the Decepticon cause and left him at the servos of those Predacons he allowed to be created! All those years of torment and abuse! All those years of getting hit and beaten into the ground! The scorn! Ridicule! Now he’s playing nice with humans?! Insects?! He values humans more than his own second command!

“He even set up a mock burial for our fallen comrade after he died!” He…he did what?! Starscream wasn’t allowed time to even grieve for his trine! But Megatron decides to give humans closure! This was wrong! THIS WAS ALL WRONG! Megatron doesn’t get to be happy! To have closure! MEGATRON DOESN’T GET TO MOVE ON!

Falco noticed the way Starscream clutches his head and his eyes twitching in fury. Everyone in the room did. Everyone except for Gabi who kept trying to make her case. “Gabi! Gabi, stop! Please!”

“No! I’ll never stop defending my friends!” Gabi declared.

“Will you JUST SHUT YOUR MOUTH INSECT?!” Gabi gasped when Starscream transformed his servo into a blaster and aimed it directly at her. She stared down the barrel of the gun, the situation not catching up to her brain.

“Gabi!” Falco tried to reach for her, but Colt tackled him away and shielded him from the sight as Starscream fired at her. Udo and Zofia ended up getting blown back from the blaster while the bounty hunters watched in surprise. Falco could hear Gabi's scream of terror as he saw a red light consume her and incinerate her to the bone. When the light disappeared, Falco saw there was nothing left except the charred floor where the impact happened.

"G-gabi..." Falco felt tears forming in his eyes as Colt sat up. The older brother's shock was also replaced with tears. Udo and Zofia were also horrified at the sight. They all walked over to the charred space and kneeled down before they started sobbing.

The bounty hunters turned their attention to Starscream, who seemed to slowly recollect himself from his moment of insanity. He turned to them with a dark expression.

"Take them to their cells," Starscream ordered.

Roughedge looked over at his comrades, unsure if he should follow, but the Vehicon and Insecticon were already picking up the crying humans, telling them to shut up. Looks like he had no choice in the matter. Not unless he wanted to keep his pay.

(Gabi haters enjoy. Free game: 44-46,10,14, 19, 22,23,26, 32,34-37,39.)

[kindestegg]

Platinum Bones Week: Day 6!!! WE ARE ALMOST THERE!! AAAAAAAH!!

This one is "Reconciliation"! Following the teenage King and Collector series, Collector's looking after some school kids who came over for a field trip at the Archives, but they have some... awkward questions. I'll admit, this one's pretty short and sweet, I've been running outta gas over here!

"And here..." Collector tapped the display glass case lightly. "Is a remnant of Emperor Belos' portal door, prior only to the current one we have today!"

The children had their eyes dutifully following wherever he pointed, and gave a cry of awe while staring at the broken off archway with a wing-like design.

"He kept this hidden from pretty much all of the Isles, however eye witnesses and engineers who worked on the portal have given detail on its creation and development." Collector paced around a bit, then put a hand to their chest. "One of such being yours truly."

"My daddy told me you were friends with him!" One of the demons, a little spider girl, raised a hand.

"Uh, yeah, but-" Collector tried to explain himself, but was cut off again.

"No, no, they exploded him!" A many horned goat demon corrected.

"Ah, that's true!" Collector nodded.

"Yeah but they took over the Isles and made a big mess anyway, that's what my big sister said!" The spider girl continued.

"And I'm very sorry for that." They put their hands on their knees and leaned over slightly, eyes shut and giving a little smile, trying to seem passive.  "But on the plus side, I'm here to teach everyone about what you missed out on now, and everything's okay!"

"My mom says you're a monster." A third child, a witchling with puffy hair covering their eyes chimed in.

"... where is your teacher?" Collector wondered aloud as he stared at the group of children brought in for a field trip at the Archives.

"Collector!" King broke the ice by running into the room calling for him. "Hey buddy! You willing to trade a non duplicate rare plush for something you might want?"

Collector immediately beamed, and turned to King. "Depends. What is it?"

"Feast your eyes on this!" King raised up a a small toy donkey, one that had bright pastel colors, rainbow hair and an ornate saddle even. "An authentic 1985 Fancy Prancer Rose Bouquet!"

"Whaaat!!!" Collector yelled, eyes sparkling, pigtails flying in the air as they rushed to look at the toy King had presented. "She's so beautiful! How did you get her?!"

"Luz actually found her at a garage sale. Family didn't know what they had." King shrugged. "Y'know she's more of a Tiny Biomes person so she thought of giving it to you."

"And your first thought was to instead use it to get a rare trade out of me." Collector put their hands on their hips, shaking their head, though their grin showed some sportsmanship. "I'd be mad if I didn't find it so cute when you show your bad boy side."

King held Rose Bouquet close to his chest. "You're still trading me though, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, you big dummy." Collector playfully hit him on his shoulder.

"Hey. I'm sorry, but, you're King, right?" One of the kids finally broke the stunned silence they had all fallen into, going up to the titan's tail and tugging it lightly.

"Hm?" The titan hummed, turning to the child. "Yes I am, what's up?"

"You're the last titan." The child looked up at him with awe. "And a hero! What's it like?"

"Oh, well, it's uh... interesting?" King wasn't sure how to answer, awkwardly giving a smile. "Those two things are uh, well they feel pretty different."

"Hey, aren't you two supposed to hate each other?" The spider girl asked, pointing to both King and Collector.

The two teenagers eyed each other for a second.

"Heh, that's funny you say that, King is my best friend." Collector spoke with an awkward brsak in his voice.

"But collectors hunted titans! You can say that all you want but I bet he only says he likes you because he's scared of you!" The goat demon stomped their hoof.

"Ah, uhm." Collector averted his gaze, tugging on his pigtail slightly, looking pretty uncomfortable. "Well, it's not... like that, I mean, if he didn't want to, I mean, I wouldn't force him..."

King let out a scoff and abruptly put his arm around Collector, pulling him close. "Well that's where you're wrong, because I do want to be Colly's best friend."

Collector didn't say anything, but looked up at him and gave him a little smile.

"And besides." King turned his snout up with pride. "You forget how strong titans are! There's a reason titans went toe to toe with collectors! Our magic is so strong we can cancel out their magic, and my dad was responsible for imprisoning Collector once!"

That got all the kids to gasp in awe again.

"Ohhhh, I get it! So if he tries anything you can totally fight back!" The spider girl made a motion of punching the air.

"Mmmyeah, but I'd rather not, I trust Colly to behave." King smiled slightly and tucked his snout under Collector's chin affectionately, giving a nuzzle.

Collector held his horns in response and gave a mischievous grin. "Yeah but what if I wanna play fight?"

King grinned and growled playfully, tail wagging. "Right here? You better have reinforced those display cases!"

"Hey, what about our tour?" One of the kids protested, reminding the two they were still there.

"You still wanna take care of those kids?" King asked Collector. "Where'd their teacher go anyway?"

"Maybe we can look for them together!" Collector held King's paws. "I know they're a bit blunt, but I know what it's like to be a kid who annoys others."

"Yeah, me too." King looked down and gave an awkward little smile.

"Hey, we're still right here!" The goat kid called.

Collector gave a little laugh. "Alright, alright, let's go find your teacher."

They offered their hands to each be held by a kid and walked on, the others also following them.

[dmitri-smerdyakov]

In the notes of your Newtina titanic story you said that you wanted to write about Tina/Theseus’ marriage and life, and all the bits in between Newt dying when the ship sank and Tina dying as an old lady, so I just wanted to ask what things you had in mind about them? There’s not a lot of Theseus/Tina in the fandom but it intrigues me, and I feel like there’s a lot to be said about them getting married after the deaths of their respective lovers etc. Hope that makes sense, have a good day!

Hello! First, I'm glad you seemed to like my story and are curious about it, I like when people ask me about my writing!

I don't know if I ever will write a fic one day - if I did, it would probably just be a series of oneshots for my own amusement, including some "what if" Newt survived that night on the Titanic ideas - so I don't want to go into too much detail just in case, but I'll tell you the general idea I had in mind when I was writing the fic.

Some of these are mentioned in the fic, but I thought I'd give a full outline just to clear it all up:

As stated in the final chapter of the story, Theseus and Tina got married so that her son wouldn't be a bastard, and because Theseus knew his brother would want him to take care of Tina/the baby - he felt like he had to. Neither of them had any intentions to become anymore than friends, and - as Theseus said before they agreed to marry - if in a few years Tina had fallen in love with someone else, he would have agreed to an annulment so that she could have had a marriage of love. It was a tough decision for Tina because she had just escaped a loveless engagement with an abusive man, but she also knew that Theseus' proposal came from a place of genuine care, and it was also practical given that she couldn't have afforded to raise the child on her own with the small money she was making.

They started sharing a bed a month after the baby was born, but NOTHING (I feel I have to stress this) happened between them; it was, again, a matter of practicality because the apartment they lived in was tiny, and poor Theseus was putting his back out sleeping on the couch every night. If anything, they were like really good friends who lived together, with him helping Tina raise his nephew. Neither of them had any desire to have any relationships after losing their lovers on the Titanic; they had loved Newt and Lally far too much to consider it, and the loss of them hurt for the rest of their lives.

When the child - Leo - started calling Theseus "Dad," Theseus wanted to correct his nephew but Tina didn't see the point - the whole point of the marriage was so that she wouldn't have be seen as an unwed mother, that no one would know that her son was born out of a four-day affair on a doomed ocean liner, and it would be too confusing to explain that to a child. They always said, "we'll tell him one day, when he's older", but that day never came because Theseus and Tina couldn't bear to talk about Titanic as they continued to live their lives.

Theseus went off to fight in World War I, obviously, and was a war hero. It was only once he'd been called to fight and was gone that Tina realised how much she had - against her better judgement - come to care for him and depend on him. Whatever the reason for their circumstances, they were raising a child and living together, and that had inevitably brought them closer. It wasn't that she needed him - she was independent, proudly so - but more that she wanted him in her life by this point, because she had already lost so many people in her life. When he came home, it was a happy day for all of the family because Theseus had missed her and the little boy terribly too.

It was during the time that Theseus was off fighting that Tina took up writing, thinking about how a freckled and kind man she still loved had wanted to write a book about the animals that he loved so dearly - and she knew she had to do it in his place now that he was gone, knew that she had to because he was the only reason she was alive and free.

April 14th and April 15th were always the hardest two days for Theseus and Tina - the night and day that haunted them constantly. They always passed those two days without comment, merely keeping to themselves and sometimes sitting together with tea and books. Neither of them could think of the right words to say, no matter how many years passed, and it was easier to just not talk about it.

On April 15th 1919 - the seventh anniversary of the sinking - that Tina turned to him in the early hours of the morning and buried her face into his neck. This was not in itself unusual, at this point they were both fairly comfortable with each other, and for a while they had just laid there finding comfort in that embrace, not speaking. It was then that she realised how safe she felt with him, how much she cared for him, and she didn't think before her mouth was suddenly seeking his desperately. When he gave a start, she softly pleaded with him and - despite the fact his brain was screaming that it was wrong - he melted; he couldn't turn her away.

Let's be honest, neither of them had had sex with anyone since Titanic; the last time for Theseus had been the night before the collision, when Newt (and the Swedish man sharing their cabin) hadn't been around, and for Tina it was mere hours before the collision - it had been seven years for both of them.

(That first time between them can be found in the fanfic, obviously, and while I could very well have written a much steamier and longer scene to show it, I decided against it at the time because the fic was monstrously long and I was scared of pissing people off. I may choose to extend it one day, who knows? The point is, they slept together.)

After it was over, she cried and he slept on the couch that night, both of them very lonely. The next day, despite being angry at themselves for allowing it to happen, they talked it out together; truthfully, neither of them saw the other as their deceased lovers, and while the love wasn't the same as she had once had with Newt - and he with Lally - there was still love there. Perhaps it was in part because they had gone through that very same traumatic event, they had both lost someone, they were both haunted by what they had lost... but they did have love for each other.

They agreed that they didn't want to talk about Newt, Lally or Titanic ever again - the memories were too painful. This is actually something many Titanic survivors (including crew) in real life experienced; the memories of that night, the fact that most of the survivors had lost loved ones, meant that they didn't want to talk about it because it was just too painful and traumatic to remember/discuss.

Theseus and Tina had a daughter in November 1921, and no one would have ever been able to guess that there was a difference between Leo and Evelyn. They were treated exactly the same, and neither of them ever had any inkling of what happened in their parents' past. (It does also mean that they were half-siblings AND kind of cousins which...is not something I considered until now, but oh well). The family moved to a small but cosy house shortly before the new baby arrived, and Tina asked Theseus if he had ever considered going back to England; despite their agreement to never discuss that night, Theseus just smiled wryly at her and muttered, "Tell me, do you really want to get back on a boat after...?" and that was that.

After nearly a decade of hard work, Tina published her first book - a concise but still somewhat charming encyclopedia that was titled Fantastic Beasts. She had written it more for herself, more to ease an ache in her chest, but it - to her surprise - started to sell extremely well. Many an animal enthusiast and zoologist found inspiration reading it growing up, something she found herself rather proud of.

Over the years, their family went from being dirt poor to thriving; Tina began to write more and more books, from fiction to non-fiction, from thrillers to children's novels (though not romance - never romance), and earned many prizes during her career. Theseus started working as a patrolman, later moving up to police work and even within the government; he liked to joke that Tina would have done well in the job herself, but he meant it - her crime novels were scarily accurate and brilliant. The Scamanders weren't "rich", per say, but they were comfortable as the years went on.

Tina never did see Seraphina or her sister again - but she saw in the newspaper one day that Queenie was marrying someone called "Kowalski", an infamous baker in the New York area whose shop was constantly thriving and who had plans of expanding his business further into a franchise. Tina's eyes were filled with relieved but happy tears when she saw the photo of her beautiful little sister printed in a paper, the headline "Socialite Marries Star Baker" far less interesting and heartwarming than the clearly joyous look on the bride's face as she held her husband's arm.

The children went off to college and began to lead their own lives; Evelyn later married and had three girls of her own. Leo got married twice; his first wife, Amara, was a woman he met during his travels shortly after university, and they had a son together - Rolf (b. 1952). Not long after Rolf was born, Leo and his wife had an amicable divorce, and he remarried to someone called Elizabeth (who, thankfully, loved Rolf as if he were her own); he and his second wife had a son called Arthur (b. 1955), and he and Rolf were inseparable growing up.

Leo died in 1979, at the age of 66, from cancer; his wife died a year or so later. It was, understandably, very difficult for Tina; the only solace that she had was that both of her grandsons were enough like their father that the memory and spirit of the man she'd once loved didn't die completely.

In mid-January 1981, a week after what would have been Leo's 68th birthday, Arthur and his wife welcomed a daughter who they named Ellie - a small but healthy little thing with reddish-brown hair and big blue eyes. She wasn't the first great-grandchild, but she was the one Tina undeniably had a soft-spot for (despite how much she tried to deny it)

It was a shock when Ellie's parents died in an accident two years later; there were limited options for where she'd go - Theseus and Tina, and then Rolf (her grandparents on her other side were, to put it simply, on the other side of the world and not interested in taking care of her given that she had shown "behavioural issues" which were in fact just early signs of autism). Tina and Theseus, despite their advancing age, didn't hesitate to take her in; technically, Rolf was her legal guardian but he travelled often, so she was with her great-grandparents for most of her life.

Much like Newt was autistic (undiagnosed, of course, given the time period he lived in), Ellie was too - she was diagnosed as a child; Tina and Theseus knew when they noticed that - like Newt - she struggled with eye contact, when she liked to stim, when she cried at certain noises or lights... she was like him in a lot of ways, perhaps even more than she was like her strong formidable great-grandma.

"great-grandma" and "great-grandpa" were a mouthful for a toddler/young child, by the way, so all of the great-grandchildren called Tina and Theseus "Nana" and "Pops".

Theseus died in 1988, aged 104; Tina was 93 by this point, and while she was still pretty healthy and kick-ass for her age, Rolf made the decision then to stay with her and help her look after his niece. It was an admittedly strange family to live in - a great-grandmother, an uncle and a teenager - but it worked for the leftover Scamanders.

Theseus had almost-exactly the same experience that Tina later had when he died; he was young again, walking up the grand staircase, the people waiting for him, his brother smiling and squeezing him tight, thanking him for looking after Tina and the family - and Lally, as beautiful as the day he last saw her, grinning as she threw her arms around him and kissed him full on the mouth without a care in the world.

Ellie's special interest in Titanic began about three years before the events of the story after reading a book about it that she'd borrowed from the library; Tina knew about how obsessed her great-granddaughter got, and a few times she considered saying something to her, but every time she thought about it she ended up with a horrible lump in her throat that she couldn't get rid of. Besides, at eleven years old, it was probably too young to give her all the details.

Tina truly had no intentions of ever telling anyone what happened on Titanic - but then she saw Luna Lovegood on the television, saw the long-lost drawing, and she knew that the time had come to unburden herself.

And...yeah, that's pretty much a detailed summary of it all. I know it's a super long summary, probably a little too long, but these ideas were all written (in much shorter bullet points and less detail) at the bottom of the document I used to write the story (the entire story was written on one document that ended up reaching 179 pages in total), and I wanted to put it all into the fic originally. But at the end of the day, it is in fact a Newtina story at its very core, and I felt that writing paragraphs upon paragraphs about Theseus/Tina at the end of the fic was unnecessary, especially as most of the blanks can be easily filled in by the reader.

Anyway, I've spent WAY too long delving into explicit detail about a fic I know very few people read, so I'm going to end it here. Have a good day, anon, and thank you for indulging me!