#as the new Bat-patriarch

[lorbanery]

Sometimes I get the urge to do some real cringe shit like writing character study songfic like it's 2005 and we're all trawling Fan Fiction Dot Net with no idea of the doom to come.

[sonicman66]

DpxDc fic where Danny is just haunting the Bats and providing memes to the internet whilst being invisible

Because I read a fic ('the curious case of who lives in the walls' by RaccoonRobyn over on ao3) that has Danny chilling in the Wayne Manor's walls and commenting on the Wayne's habits and goings on and i just

Tl;dr danny has a twitter page where he invisibly follows the bats and documents their funny mistakes like a nature documentary.

One day a Gothamite spots a new twitter page on their feed. Its not got a lot of posts, but they're all pictures. And the first one is... Nightwing. Lying on the concrete, face-down, with another bat or bird very obviously laughing at him.

They think nothing of it. They compliment the photoshop for its realism, and move on. Except there's more pictures. All of them, every last one of them, has the Bats and Birds suffering from a trip, fall, a gaffe, a misstep, anything and everything.

And then they find a video

Its clearly a handheld or phone camera, pointed at Robin in an alleyway. Someone starts talking, in a very poor attempt at sounding like David Attenborough, narrating like a wildlife documentary. "Here we see the youngest of the Bat-brood partaking in one of its more private behaviors, unseen and unknown by its kin."

And Robin just. Steps further into the alleyway and gets swarmed by stray cats, all begging for food. He grins and starts feeding them, all whilst narration continues, talking about this like its an animal's behavior.

And they have more. So many more.

A video of Red Hood. He does a fancy gun twirl when nobody's around, bobbles it, and accidentally fires into the ground. He picks it up and acts like nothing happened. But the video sees all.

A video of Batman on a gargoyle on a skyscraper, with shaky footage from clearly around a corner, but on the same level. "Commentary on this specimen has been added in post, for reasons you will soon see. Batman, the patriarch of the Bat-Brood, is incredibly elusive to research, and for good reason." In the video, the camera jolts a little and Batman turns suddenly to the sound of rocks moving. The camera goes still, and Batman scans the area, seemingly seeing nothing. Then, his white eyes turn blue, and he looks directly into the camera. Footage ends.

The acc posts a screenshot of a dm that is very clearly an Oracle sockpuppet. She has sent something along the lines of 'how have you obtained this footage, this is dangerous,' etc etc. His response is 'i am in ur walls lol'

He is not aware of the level of Bat Paranoia this brings out.

[flamingpudding]

The Ghost King is my Uncle Drabbles #2

A/N: Some more linked to a prompt week writing I did

>>Masterpost

Original this builds on: Link

Rowdy Cousin

Batman swore internally, from the outside he stoically sat in his chair and did nothing to indicate the absolute chaos that was going on in his mind. The Meeting rooms light flickered and the speakers once more started up loudly blaring a song all over the Watchtower. He was pretty sure one of his sons had told him once that playing that song was a meme.

"Someone do something about that kid! He is Rickrolling us!" Green Lantern screamed above the music.

"Constantine is already trying to do something." Superman's hands covering his sensitive ears as the music must sound to him even louder.

Batman very much only looped one thought in his head. -It's only for world ending purpose, I cannot use it right now.-

He had a responsibility to uphold, he was the patriarch of the earth branch family. This was not something that required him to use that. No he would not use it. He refused. This was not a world ending matter. Surely Constantine or anyone else of the Justice League Dark would solve this problem any second now.

The screens flicker and Batman did anything he could in his mind to not let his eye twitch even if no one would be able to see it. Cat videos were playing where second earlier statistics and observatory programs had been running.

No he would not, they could handle this problem no need to involve family.

The music stopped and some of his hero colleagues let out a relieved sigh only for a familiar laugh to echo through the watchtower and a new song starting to play. One that apparently counts all 100 dumb ways to die.

"Why is Klarion even targeting the watchtower like this?!" The Flash shouted over the lyrics before turning to him.

"Did one of your kids piss him off or something?!"

"No." At least not as far as he knew, though considering the recent discovery as well as the surprise visits his uncle had done lately he might have a guess why the witch boy was targeting them right now. Didn't mean he would elaborate this reason to the other heroes present.

Before Wonder Woman could comment John Constantine stormed in the room and slammed his hands down onto the table staring right at Batman with blood shot eyes. "Call him."

"Who?"

"Don't play fucking dumb bats. You know who I mean. This is not the witch brat alone. There is another entity and if you don't want the fucking watchtower crashing into earth you call him right now."

"Bats, he is not talking about who I think he is?" Superman carefully asked while the other heroes looked at him just as questionable.

He held his staring contest with Constantine a little longer before he grunted and reached into his utility belt pulling out a small bat-shaped pendant. A personalized upgraded calling card, his uncle had gifted to him as well as each of his children and extended family members.

This was not how he imagined a meeting in regards to his new discoveries and a possible sure fire contingency plan against world ending emergencies would go. He rubbed his thumb against the engraving waiting for a short moment for it to pulse, before tapping the pendant three times, paused and tapped it two more times. This was a non-emergency call, even if his colleagues might disagree.

He still thought they could very well handle this situation without the help of his uncle.

"BABY BAT, YOU CALLED THIS IS THE FIRST TIME YOU DID!"

The present heroes watched in stunned fashion how a white haired, 20 years old man stepped out of a green portal and instantly zoomed across the room to hug THE Batman around his head rubbing his cheek against the bat's cowl mindful of the pointy parts.

And Batman was letting the man do that only looking resigned.

"We agreed that I would only call on you with this pendant for emergencies."

The white haired man only hummed before his head turned sharply and green glowing eyes narrowed at Constantine, who visibly paled and took a step back standing straight and looking very much like he regretted what he had asked Batman to do. "Trading game is not being rude to you is he?"

The bat only grunted and the white haired man finally let go of him, humming as he took in his surroundings, eyes glinting in mischievously as he saw the flickering lights, animal videos on screen and heard the blaring music over the speaker. "When I okey-ed Klarion to go playing with his cousins I didn't think he would seek you two out. He had been talking about his older cousins starting another game of 'who's the better demon lord' in different dimensions. I thought he was joining their bet."

Wait did he say two? Batman grunted and the white haired guy chuckled. "I will be back in a second."

Not even the Flash could react as fast as the white haired man disappeared and reappeared with Klarion next to him. Clearly pulling on the witch boy's ear like a father would when their child had been naughty. The flickering lights and blaring of music over the speakers had stopped.

"Ow DAD what in the name of chaos are you doing here."

"Your Cousin called me. You are disturbing his work and risking them crashing into earth with Technus' help."

"YOU SNITCHED TO MY DAD?!"

"Hn."

"Technus get out of their network or I will lock you up on a Medieval Island for three decades."

As if the present heroes weren't confused enough a face appeared on one of the screens. Glaring at the white haired man. "You wouldn't dare."

"Watch me, if you stay in there any longer. I will also dig out the old thermos and soup you additionally for a decade or more."

The face on screen grumbled and the heroes nearly flinched back as a ghostly, green skinned man came out of it, looking every bit frustrated and annoyed. "I was just getting a good look at this modern technology, you have banned me from any big shot Industries…"

"We had that discussion 100 years ago, Technus. Back to the Ghost Zone." The white haired man commanded by opening a portal next to them with the wave of his hand and surprisingly, the green skinned guy listened.

"Sorry about this Baby Bat and Little Demi. Klarion will be grounded for a bit and re-educated in how to bond without risking potentially killing any bystanders. Oh and remember I will come by later for Baby Ghost to get his checkup with Frostbite!"

"Dad, please no grounding! Anything but that!"

"I am sure your Grandpa will be happy to have your help during your grounding."

"Dad! NO! I don't want to keep time in order! I live for chaos not order!"

The man was just smiling and completely ignoring Klarion's complains as he turned towards Batman and Wonder Woman, for reasons the hero's didn't understand.

"Well we will be on our way then Baby Bat, Little Demi!"

Batman grunted and the white haired man chuckled, leaving through the portal and dragging along a whining Klarion, who apparently was that man's son.

Just before the portal closed, the man stuck his head back out looking towards Wonder Woman with a mischievous smile. "Oh before I forget! Pops Clockwork sents his regards Little Demi . He doesn't want me saying this, but he is glad about the path you choose. Says you're set on a pretty good timeline!"

The head disappeared into the portal again and it finally closed. Wonder Woman was left blinking at the empty space, her mouth slightly open with the silent question of "What?"

"Bats, who was that?" The Flash was the first to break the silence that had followed as eyes turned to the dark knight.

"His Uncle." / "The Ghost King."

Superman and Constantine spoke at the same time. The JLD member flinched back as he looked at the glowering bat. Muttering something the man took his leave or rather escaped the room as quickly as possible as Batman kept glaring. Meanwhile Wonder Woman was slowly having a crisis of her own as suddenly family relations that had been hinted to her through Pandora made sense. "Clockwork... no, Titan Cronus? The Ghost King... Uncle Daniel?"

Chaos broke among the present heroes.

"WHAT UNCLE?!"

[brucewaynehater101]

Do you think the bat kids ever look at how Bruce treats them or their siblings and how their own siblings treat them and

internalize that?

As some examples. . .

Tim Drake, the parentified Robin, looking at the way Batman treats Stephanie and Jason and noting down how not to act around Batman if he wants any of the progress he's made to stay

Damian seeing scars from when Batman---the so-called civilized and humane alternative to the League---brutalized Tim during training and fixated ever further on becoming his chosen heir

Duke, a gang leader himself, remembering news articles and gossip on what Batman had to say about Red Hood gang leader himself after coming under the patriarch's wing

Oh, absolutely. This isn't explored enough, but you are correct. The way that adults interact with your siblings does impact you as well. The lessons they are being taught will also have an impact on you (my therapist mentioned something about watching the abuse happening to your siblings is traumatic for you as well).

This checks out for the Batkids too.

One, your Duke example is stunning. I've never thought of it that way, but it's perfectly reasonable and understandable.

Two, the Damian one tugged on my heartstrings harshly. It's a good hc.

Three, definitely vibe with the Tim one, and I'd love to see more examples with different kids.

A few other notes to consider: Does Bruce treat batkids of different attributes separately? Are the younger kids subjected to mannerisms distinct from the older ones? The kids who have killed someone? The ones without black hair? Gender? Socioeconomic background before Bruce? Sexuality? Caffeine intake? Hobbies? Fighting abilities?

I'm not saying that Bruce would do this on purpose or maliciously (I mean... he could), but our society is unfortunately filled with biases. You have been subjected to such, and in order to combat this, we need to constantly combat these mindsets. Because of this, Bruce might subconsciously treat his children differently due to common societal prejudices combined with his strict moral mindset (and tendency to sometimes have black and white thinking).

The bat kids may or may not pick up the exact type of category Bruce has subconsciously placed them in, but they will recognize who gets affected by separate mannerisms of Bruce.

All of the kids have distinct collections of treatment styles that Bruce gives them, but they share some traits with various siblings.

Some behaviors Bruce might do: who gets hair ruffles vs side hugs, who gets lectured vs asked to report, who does he help with small injuries, how long does he stay with each kid in the infirmary, who is yelled at vs given the silent treatment, who has a space in Batman's toolbelt for their items, who does he call first for unrelated incident types, etc.

Also, this extends past Bruce as well. How does Alfred treat them? Doctor Leslie? Mr. Fox? JL? Anyone whose opinion matters to the kids will have an effect on them.

[leviathanspain]

innocent son

regulus black x reader, sirius black x reader

synopsis: regulus was a messed up person, but he made you feel just as bad as him

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“god, regulus!” you pulled your arm out of his tight grip and walked towards the door.

“no, no no.” he shook his head and slammed a hand down on the door before you even pulled it open, “stay, y/n, please stay with me.” his voice cracked slightly and you heard the rumble of orion’s voice from down the steps and you shivered slightly. leave now and deal with the consequences of the black family patriarch who had a creepy fondness for you.

you let out a huge sigh and paused. your lips felt dry as you thought. your parents weren’t expecting you home, you lied and said you were spending the night with lily. but you and lily hadn’t talked for weeks since the incident.

sirius was walking just ahead of you and you moved quickly to catch up to him, “black!” you yelled and sirius turned around, rolling his eyes as he saw it was you. “yes, oh my dear y/n.” he remarked sarcastically.

you laughed dryly, “i suppose that you can’t help me study for my potions exam? i heard you had a rather interesting talent for it.”

sirius stopped walking and smirked slightly, “and just who, told you that?” sirius looked at the planes of your face and took in its image, a small blush was on your face as you thought.

“your brother.” you whispered.

sirius’ smile fell slightly and he hummed, “oh.” and continued to walk.

you, were blissfully unaware of the friction between the two brothers. you had just met regulus the other day after your friend decided it would be a good idea to try her new bat off the field, sending a slugger to the back of reg’s head.

“what’s wrong?” you reached out for sirius’ arm and pulled him back. sirius looked surprised that you had pulled him back, and raised an eyebrow, “nothing.. nothing.” he gave a stiff smile and looked at the floor, “i’ll help you. hardly do i ever study but for you, it wouldn’t hurt for a few hours.”

you practically squealed in happiness when he finished. you jumped up and down, reaching up to peck his cheek, “thank you, you handsome man!” you yelled, and ran off, seeing a group of girls from the class and catching up with them.

you flickered between that memory and the pain creasing regulus’ face.

you pulled him towards you, and you held him, “i’m sorry.” you had overreacted, regulus needed you, and as much as you didn’t want to believe it, you needed him too.

lily, james, remus and sirius were all gathered in the gryffindor common room when remus finally broke the silence.

“and you said yes?” sirius nodded and james let out a bitter laugh.

lily looked between them all and shook her head, “y/n is sweet! i don’t really see the issue.” she looked at sirius who was avoiding their gaze, and shrugged, “she’s just a friend, right?” she asked but lily seemed to already know the answer.

remus looked at lily and sighed, “she’s friends with regulus, that already makes her tainted fruit.” james agreed and sirius stayed silent.

he didn’t know why he had said yes.

“at least she called pads handsome.” james reminded him and nudged sirius, who was smiling shyly.

“just study with her. control your emotions and that whole word vomit thing that you do that always works for you but you end up regretting it later on.” lily warned sirius who nodded, “yes ma’am.” he held up a hand over his heart and his other to salute her in a sarcastic jab. the two boys laughed as lily rolled her eyes.

sirius found it harder and harder to keep himself contained next to you. he was like a boiling pot of water, threatening to spill with every hair flip and coy smile you gave him.

but he knew that there was one thing that would suppress him.

“how do you know my brother?” he cut in awkwardly, as you were reading the textbook silently.

you stopped, and looked up, “my friend batted a ball at his head. i walked with him to the infirmary when he remembered me in potions.”

sirius nodded, letting out a silent ‘oh’ before he carried on.

“what do you think of him?” he prodded, and you shrugged, “he’s nice. everyone else doesn’t really seem to think so, i see him alone most of the time, but he’s really sweet. and cute.” you mentioned, “i guess it runs in the family.” you looked up at sirius, who was struggling to hold his words in. he had a look in his eyes that you had seen only a handful of times, always when you were alone.

“i guess it does.” sirius muttered absentmindedly. and as you looked up, you felt hands cup your cheeks, and sirius kissed you.

for a second, you were frozen, until his tongue met yours and you were entangled in the kiss. gripping his hair, you pulled sirius closer to you as he grabbed your neck roughly. you moaned into the kiss as you felt his fingers press into the nape of your neck.

days passed by and you had avoided sirius. horribly bad timing, that night as you had finally torn your lips off sirius, a flush of regret washed over you, and even more so when regulus saw you walking down the corridor. it was late, late enough to warrant detention, but regulus was hardly ever caught. he saw you, and pulled you into the shadows where he stood.

a slip of moonlight showed your face to him and regulus noted the swollen lips, clearly from kissing someone. he swallowed thickly, “holiday is coming soon. my pretentious parents want to go to france, come with me.”

a boy whom you had just met a few days ago was now asking you to crash his family vacation.

“will sirius be there?” you asked and regulus shook his head, “no.”

“then yes.” the words left your lips before you could even think. regulus held you for a moment before nodding, “thank you.”

regulus was in front of you. your hand was in his as you breathed slightly on his neck. the bed was large enough for the both of you, and regulus had hardly moved in the last hour, frozen in your embrace.

“reg?” you asked and regulus hummed quietly, “why did you ask me to france?” why did you drag me into this, you wanted to add but you withheld that question, knowing it would only make him freeze you out.

“he wanted you. i saw the way he looked at you, how he gazed at your hands, your face, even the way you walked.” he swallowed thickly, “i couldn’t let him have you.”

him. him? the thought passed around in your head until it landed on the most obvious.

sirius.

sirius who was utterly heartbroken to hear you were going with regulus on holiday, seemingly sealing your fate as regulus’ bitch, the boys had forbidden you to see him. lily had communicated the thought and you couldn’t even protest. you could’ve stopped the kiss, could’ve told regulus no. so many decisions on your part that seemed to be all a jumbled mess anyway.

so you swallowed your pride and nodded, looking at lily, “tell sirius im sorry.” you whispered and lily nodded.

she wasn’t your friend, none of them were. so why did it hurt so bad to be shunned by them for hurting their golden boy?

you had been rubbing your thumb on the back of regulus’ hand, which ceased movement as he said that.

“what?” you asked, your voice sounding suddenly very far away.

your hearing moved to a buzz, a harsh buzz that made you blink in shock.

“are you telling me, that because sirius liked me, you sabotaged me?” regulus was not good for you. you had come to terms with that. the boy had too much emotional baggage that it was nauseating. not knowing how to feel, you pulled away from him and sat up on your side of the bed. you gripped the sheets slightly and regulus sat up.

“it’s not how i wanted to tell you. but, i fell in love with you! sirius would’ve thrown you away like a used tissue the minute you opened your legs for him, he would’ve used you.” regulus hissed and you shook your head, “that’s not a decision you should’ve made, reg!” you stood up, and knew very well this was a screaming match in the process.

orion would most likely have to break it up, and walburga would have to sit with you until orion had sorted regulus out. this was all predictable because it always happened. regulus said stupid things, and didn’t care how they hurt you.

“you cant say you love me, regulus.” it had been just weeks since school had started back up since the holiday. “we have sex under the moonlight, both drunk and emotional and suddenly that’s love?” you referenced the last night of your trip in france. heavy on the neurotic, little less romance, it could’ve passed for a really bad rendition of romeo and juliet.

“yes.” regulus looked at you, his eyes were red rimmed and his hair was a mess, “i told you i loved you then, and im telling you now. i love you!” he yelled, and the doors down the hall cracked open and you felt your ears heat up.

you didn’t want to go through with this again. you couldn’t deal with the consequences.

so you shushed regulus, who was shaking now. you turned his back towards the door and you embraced him tightly. regulus didn’t question it as he buried his head in your shoulder.

orion had opened the door, “everything alright?” he had a permanent frown on his face. his disdain for his own sons was clear, but he thought you had changed regulus for the better, the frequent fights were just a bump in the road. he was convinced you would be married by the end of hogwarts.

you nodded and the door shut quickly.

regulus hugged you, kissing your neck, “i’m sorry. im sorry.” he repeated, “tell me you love me.” he whispered.

“i love you.” you exhaled.

[8bitrosethorn]

I know the plot of the next ACOTAR book

Your girl’s back with a new theory and this time, it’s more receipts from ACOFAS. Continuing with my theory (link) that the next two novels in the ACOTAR series will be about Elain and Mor (in that order), I went back to look at the structure of ACOFAS and for any more clues on Elain’s book 🧐

Last night, something hit me on my latest reread. I wanted to look at how Cassian’s introductory chapters unfolded through a lens of what we now know of his and Nesta’s story in ACOSF, and use those parallels to look closer at Azriel and Elain’s chapters (as narrated by Feysand).

So let’s dive deeper…

THE EVIDENCE

Exhibit 1

In Chapter 2, we start with Rhysand’s POV. Here are the first 3 sentences.

🔻 Cassian was already pissed — the start of ACOSF has Cassian and Nesta both frustrated and at their lowest/feeling like failures (Cassian with the Illyrian problem, Nesta with herself/her sisters/her father's death).

🔻 the Illyrian Mountains — training and the climax of ACOSF all surround them and Ramiel (which is also featured in Chapter 3 when Cassian flies by it).

🔻 the gray peaks — characters in ACOTAR are continuously referenced with repeating colors, and Nesta’s most notably is gray (sometimes referred to as steel, which is a fun double entendre with weaponry).

And in Chapter 3, we have Cassian’s POV. Here are the first 3 paragraphs:

🔻 Devlon and his warriors — the Illyrian warriors are antagonists against Nesta in the Blood Rite

🔻 the murmurings of discontent — the motivation for that growing threat that Nesta faces in the Blood Rite and the patriarchal legacies that the Valkyries are upending

🔻 hell of a weapon against enemies in battle — Nesta’s new trove of weapons she Made: the greatsword, sword, and dagger.

In both of these chapters, there are other recurring themes and imagery, including The Blood Rite, Ramiel, fire/campfires/embers, and more interestingly, Cassian visiting his mother’s unmarked grave, something that Nesta literally does when she visits her father’s grave at the very end of ACOSF.

Every major plot that Nesta and Cassian faced as a couple was explored in the first two chapters reintroducing Cassian for the spinoff series.

Using this evidence, we can deduce that the next chapters exploring Azriel will feature the same sort of foreshadowing, setup, and potential payoff in the upcoming novel (which I predict will be Elain’s book).

Exhibit 2

In Chapter 7, we start again with Rhysand’s POV. Here are the first 3 paragraphs:

🔹 You really do know how to give Solstice presents, Az — We all know about the necklace for Elain at this point. But also interestingly, Elain gives Azriel two significant Solstice gifts, one of which he keeps by his nightstand to longingly look at every night, the other a pair of earplugs (which we can deduce will have their use in the upcoming book).

🔹 wall of windows — something I’ve noticed (and want to dive deeper on later) is that both Azriel and Elain are often associated with windows.

Azriel: grew up in a lightless, windowless room; stares out the window of the townhouse to the garden during ACOFAS, presumably to watch a gardener at work; in the HOW lounge area, his unofficial chair is nearest to the window.  Elain: during her time after becoming Fae, she sat near the bay windows in the HOW; during ACOFAS Solstice, she watches the snow fall outside the windows before Azriel joins her there; her smile was described by Nesta as being as bright as the setting sun beyond the windows.

Windows can symbolize freedom, desire to explore, and pathways to the outside world. They also focus on providing sight, something very important to a Seer who can look beyond the world in front of them to something more, but I digress!

🔹 private — Azriel is described as the most private, secretive of the Bat Boys (with both his emotions and his lovers), so I thought it was worth noting.

🔹 awash in the hues of the early morning — only one character is consistently described as glowing like the sun at dawn (even by Azriel himself, no less).

🔹 might as well have been stone — there is a wealth of repeating imagery of Elain associated with stone: sitting on a stone bench with her father surrounded by blue and pink flowers (haha, I see you SJM), Elain washed onto the stone floor by the Cauldron after becoming Fae, Elain hearing a heartbeat through stone, etc.

🔹 just after dawn — I see you again, SJM 😏

🔹 that sleep had been futile — although this is about Rhysand being tired, there is a wealth of sleep imagery surrounding both Azriel and Elain. Most notably Azriel’s inability to get a goodnight’s rest the past year as he’s been thinking of Elain at night. And Elain, who says she feels like “she’s always dreaming these days” in regards to her Seer powers.

I also want to dive into the sleep imagery surrounding these two and their potential Sleeping Beauty ties. But alas, a post for another day.

🔹 Tamlin and his borders — Conflict with the Human Lands, similar to Cassian’s with the Illyrians and the growing discontent, which then ties into the next part of the chapter.

Rhysand and Azriel move on to the next conflict at hand: Vassa, the Human Lands, and the sorcerer-lord’s curse, which they discuss after deeming Cassian to handle the growing Illyrian conflict, leaving Azriel to “continue to watch [the human queens]” and the “strange gathering” happening in the human lands. We also learn that the curse on Vassa by the sorcerer-lord might be woven into [Vassa’s] very blood (put a pin in this).

Finally, Rhysand and Azriel turn their attention to how they might get a handle on the situation to the south:

🔹 As our human emissary — While Lucien may have been considered the human emissary to the Night Court during ACOFAS, per Mor in ACOSF, Lucien can no longer be trusted as he is now living with Vassa and Jurian in the human lands. Does this perhaps leave an opening to a new human emissary of the Night Court? Maybe even Elain, who could convince anyone with a few smiles.

🔹 the tenseness — interesting of Rhysand to point out considering Azriel is usually impossible to read. Something is stressing him about this situation causing some sort of internal conflict

🔹 shadows veiling half of himself from the sunlight — an interesting parallel to the iconic carved, wooden rose scene in ACOSF when Nesta places the rose the exact same way, half-hidden in shadows.

🔹 elegant and cold as the legendary dagger at his side — elegant and cold are repeating descriptors for Azriel and Truth-Teller’s significance after HOFAS has only grown. 🗡

🔹 “He is Elain’s mate.” — one of our next conflicts: Elain’s mating bond (which is also supported by Azriel’s BC).

🔹 “invasion of her privacy” — interesting to me that privacy is brought up again… perhaps alluding to something secret or forbidden?

Towards the end of their discussion, Rhys and Azriel move on to Cassian's favorite subject, Bryaxis:

🔹 “No word on Byraxis, I take it.” / “Do you want me to hunt it down?” — Like hunting for the troves in ACOSF, I believe Azriel will hunt Bryaxis down in the next book. Given how he’s an ancient, shadowy monster, I’d be curious how Bryaxis could perhaps provide incite into Koschei 👀 Also, what does Bryaxis want installed in the library? A goddamn window.

🔹 beneath this mountain — perhaps we’ll see underneath another mountain explored, given Eris’s parting words to Cassian and Nesta at the end of ACOSF 🏔

🔹 My brother had a sly, wicked sense of humor — this also aligns with Elain, whose Solstice presents to Az have both been cheeky and made him laugh.

From this chapter alone, we can see the major plot points building: Azriel spying on the human lands, Vassa’s curse and Koschei’s control over her, Bryaxis still on the run, Truth-Teller’s significance, and Elain’s mating bond.

Which finally leads us to Feyre’s chapter where Elain is front and center.

Exhibit 3

In Chapter 15, Feyre and Elain visit the weaver’s shop while looking for Solstice presents for their family, where a very interesting conversation goes down:

🌸 the weaver paused the loom — similar to the the curse woven into Vassa’s very blood, weaver imagery surrounds the conflicts of both Vassa's curse and Elain’s mating bond, especially as mating bonds are described as threads, particularly as one tied to a rib by Elain. This also aligns with the multitude of Sleeping Beauty imagery surrounding Elain.

🌸 my sister’s gaze — lol, I mean, I love when SJM does this over and over. We know Elain’s gaze is special as a Seer.

🌸 “I call it Hope.” — Elain, who is constantly described as hope and having a different sort of strength, which aligns with Azriel, who Rhys declares taught him how to hope. Perhaps Elain and Azriel are connected by an iridescent, living silver thread that is bright despite the darkness?

🌸 “I made it after I mastered Void.” — Elain’s Seer abilities are often described as the murky realm, a void that she needed to be freed from when Azriel recognized her powers. She declares in ACOSF she can start reacquainting herself with her powers to help the Inner Circle. Since Nesta stepped in, we haven’t seen her truly do this yet. Also… the weaver Made it 😜

From this small conversation, we can see SJM is playing with classic Sleeping Beauty fairytale imagery and how it connects to Elain as not just a Seer, but as a light in the darkness. I believe for Elain’s book where she finds her voice, we will see her master the Void, aka her Seer powers, and perhaps weave something made from Hope, like a mating bond and healing Vassa’s curse.

CONCLUSION

SJM clearly laid out the stories to be explored in the next books with ACOFAS, a plan she said she’s had for years. This does not mean that we won’t see more from our other favorite characters (looking at you, Nesta and the Valkyries).

But based on the evidence I shared last time that Elain’s book is unequivocally next, here we can see that the storylines set up in ACOFAS were paid off for Cassian and Nesta in their book.

So, I can without a doubt say we know what’s coming:

Elain’s book, where she will explore the main conflicts of the growing threat in the human lands as possible human emissary, her mating bond with Lucien, her feelings for Azriel, mastering her Seer powers, Hope vs the Void, and breaking Vassa’s curse.

I can’t wait for the book announcement in the months to come for our favorite flower girl 🌸

Next time, I’ll explore Mor’s first chapters in the Hewn City and why I believe her story will be paired with the defeat of Koschei (There was no light in this place and eternal darkness dwelled in the Hewn City, anyone?).

Thanks for reading 💖

[mxtxfanatic]

Not really a JC ask, but more of a JC adjacent one.

Why didn't Jiang Fengmian ever divorce Madam Yu? I think you mentioned somewhere that JFM was also a victim to Madam Yu's abuse, and while I am not necessarily disagreeing, I do struggle to understand or even feel empathetic towards him for still being there and letting her act as she does with their children when she, factually, doesn't have any actual power over him or the sect.

In fact, she actively rejects the sect by keeping her maiden name and refusing to be Madam Jiang.

Looking at it in an objective way, Madam Yu... Doesn't have anything. She has Zidian. She has her strength. But none of that strength actually translate to the power that Sect Leader Jiang possesses as the sect leader of one of the Five Great Sects.

It's a reason why she's so insecure, because she knows that she has none of the political power necessary to hold onto her position.

Why didn't JFM divorce her, when the previous sect leader that had pushed for that marriage passed away? He didn't even want to marry her, did he?

I understand that abuse victims struggle to leave their abusers, and I do feel for that, but I am of the mind that if children are involved, then no matter your feelings you should protect them.

And by that I mean actually protect them, none of that half assed bullshit that's just placating everyone for the sake of a shaky peace that nobody is satisfied with.

It feels like a remix of Lan Xichen, who, in pursuit of making everyone content, ended up just ignoring the warnings and stood aside as everyone else around him suffered.

I find it interesting how JFM preached for the ideals of the sect, to "attempt the impossible", and yet he never dares try anything to actually help anyone around him.

When people say that they wouldn't say he neglected his children, I beg to argue, because he absolutely did. Yes he couldn't say a word whenever his wife was around, but what could've possibly stopped him from keeping her from doing that, or, if inneficient, then to make er a non issue anymore.

The very patriarchal, classist and misogynist society he lives in wouldn't have batted an eye at that, because as a sect leader he had every right to do whatever he wanted with his own wife.

His inaction and cowardice fostered a cycle of abuse that every one of Madam Yu's victims could've been spared from had he just done anything, so I find it hard to consider his contribution in his family as anything more than gross negligence.

Obviously, she is terrible. She is abusive. JFM isn't any worse than her. But from where I'm standing, he was a bystander that let things happen and fostered an illusion of having his hands tied when he very much did not, and never did anything to actually help any of the children in his care, other than that time he broke Yanli's engagement after learning Jin Zixuan had disrespected her and that's...

Hardly anything in the grand scheme of things.

I don't disagree with you, anon. In fact, I think this is part of the larger critique that the novel leverages at modern society: instead of fighting for better even after being dealt a shit hand, people would rather fall into passivity and accept their recently received shit hand as their new status quo. Jiang Fengmian was forced into a political marriage with Yu Ziyuan, but even after his father died, he maintained the marriage along with all the dysfunction that came with it, leading to the destruction of his clan and its legacy. Despite the QishanWen kidnapping their heirs and almost killing them, no clan does anything. Despite the QishanWen having the Cloud Recesses burned, killing the former Nie Clan leader, chasing dangerous monsters into the territories of other clans, thereby endangering their people, and being responsible for the Lan Clan leader's death, not a single clan rebels until the Nie pick up the banner for the Sunshot Campaign after successfully repelling the invading Wen forces and killing the Wen heir. Until that moment, all the rest of the clans were willing to overlook the Wen's behavior and accept every escalation as the new norm. Jiang Fengmian is even shown to have traveled back and forth to Qishan to beg his disciples' swords off the Wen despite those people almost killing his son.

After the Sunshot Campaign, nobody says anything about the labor camps holding civilians, an issue Wei Wuxian made public. Nobody stuck up for Wei Wuxian being slandered except for Lan Wangji who was ignored and Mianmian who was then slandered. Nobody except Wei Wuxian said anything about the Jin Clan collecting clans former subsidiary to the QishanWen, and he's brushed aside. Nobody except Nie Mingjue says anything about Xue Yang's slaughtering of the Chen Clan, and then after he dies, nobody says anything about the multiple clan slaughters done at Jin Guangyao's own hands. Just as everyone was willing to accept the horribleness of the QishanWen as "business as usual" until it led to their own massacres, the fact that none of the post-war clans were willing to stand up for Wei Wuxian and the Wen remnants and, in fact, bayed for their slaughter is how whole-clan slaughters became "business as usual" to the post-war cultivation world.

So while I agree that Jiang Fengmian's decision to stay in his abusive marriage absolutely affects the quality and effectiveness of his parenting, I don't think we are meant to see this as a critique of the parenting capabilities of domestic abuse victims but as a critique on how people who don't truly stand for anything will passively welcome evil into their homes with little to no pushback, if they are not themselves throwing the doors wide open to welcome the evil in.

[lucrezianoin]

Wyll and Astarion banter (1/2)

Collection of all Wyll and Astarion banter I could find. I started compiling it for fanfic reasons (PART 1 of 2??, i will use the tag wyllstarion banter). Each picture is a different banter. But I added transcriptions:

Astarion: Ever heard of a vampire called Cazador, Wyll? Wyll (knows Astarion is a vampire): I don't think so. Why? Friend of yours? Wyll (doesn't know Astarion is a vampire): Doesn't ring a bell. Why? Gale: He's a patriarch of the Szarr family. Nasty fellow, if the histories are accurate. Astarion: I imagine they are. (note: Darkly, to self)

---

Wyll: I'm surprised I never saw you lurking in the shadows at any Baldurian balls, Astarion. Astarion: The city's elite was not my target audience, alas. People ask questions when members of the nobility disappear, and the last thing Cazador wanted was people asking questions.

---

Wyll: I'm feeling a bit parched and peckish. Astarion: Me too. Keep an eye out for any passing vagrants. Wyll: I'm afraid you'll have to content yourself with vagrant chickens.

---

Astarion (if player character): I know these cobbles well - the gate to the Upper City's just ahead. All that time and what's my legacy in Baldur's Gate? Missing friends and broken families. Wyll (also... if played??): You can't undo the past, Astarion. But you can craft a better future, if you so choose.

---

Astarion: Spent much time in the Underdark? Wyll (does not know Astarion is a vampire): I've slayed a death dog or six, crossed a few duergar. I never was scared of the shadows. Wyll (does not know Astarion is a vampire): Some. And you? Seems a perfect hunting ground for... you know. Astarion: Perfect? You try drinking an earth elemental's blood.

---

(more under cut)

Wyll: Astarion, how is the rat diet going? Astarion: It may soon come to an end if you don't shut your mouth.

---

Shadowheart: So, Astarion. Which of us would you rather feed on? If you had free rein? Astarion: Ah! Wyll. No question. He's strong, fast and righteous. I'm salivating already. Shadowheart: Hmm... interesting. Astarion: You sound disappointed. I'll bite you if you ask. Shadowheart: I'm sure you would. Don't sound so eager.

---

Wyll: Killed a few giant bats in my day, Astarion - but never hunted a vampire. Astarion: Just to remind you, I'm merely a spawn. It won't count. But if you want a true vampire, I'm happy to recommend one.

---

Wyll: The city fell under Gortash's charms without him casting nary a spell. Astarion: Well, most people are idiots, Wyll. You can lure them into a dragon's maw if you promise a bag of sweets. Wyll: The people aren't stupid, Astarion - they're scared. Gortash provoked a damned war, and then promised them safety. Astarion: Safety, sweets - it's the same principle.

---

Astarion: I used to be agog at everything when I first walked in the sun. Perhaps I'm adjusting to this new life. Wyll: It's when you use words like 'agog' that I remember you're actually two centuries old. Astarion: And it's when you think 'agog' is an impressive word that I remember you're just a child.

---

(This is ascended Astarion in a romance with player)

Wyll: The two of you are the unholiest union I can bloody imagine. Astarion: It's funny - I don't recall asking your opinion, Wyll. Wyll: You had the most precious thing - someone who would do everything for you - and you damn well took everything. 'Degenerate' doesn't half cut it.

---

Wyll: To think how vibrant this place must have once been. Children playing, merchants hawking. Real people living real lives. Astarion: I know, can you imagine the noise? This is much more peaceful. Wyll: Come, Astarion. I know you're not really as heartless as all that. Astarion: Of course not, I'm a pussycat really. Just ask anyone who's seen my claws.

(this is a dialogue for "CL_FishermansHut" which I am not sure what it is)

[justherefor000]

(Reblogs if you like)

What if Lamp teaches about CREATIVITY, What if Tony teaches about LOVE(CULT LEADER), What if Sketchbook teaches about DREAMS, etc. etc.

Here's something under incase you wanna read something.

Larry the Lightbulb:

Their quite the chipper fellow but very hyper and reckless with what they make, they cannot help it at times btw most of the things are weapons/little contraptions.

His episode teaches the trio on how to be creative like "Get WILD, get LIMITLESS, get CRAZYYY there is no limits on what you can do :) who cares what people REALLY think!" even though the trio get insane and hurt themselves or each other by sheer bliss.

They make stuff in art like a spiky baseball bat for example, reckless things so someone like tries to make sure he doesn't cause so much chaos(its Swap Shrignold/Michael)

He once liked Shrigony, now he hates him due to past stuff. Probably would be besties with Electracey hehe.

Shrigony the Toy-Heart Clock:

(He gaslights, gatekeep, girlboss everyone)

A patriarch of a Love Cult and calls home there his Wonderland, likes to have tea parties with people but warning its drugged and used it to brainwash members or incoming ones.

He seems friendlier and cheerier but he does things like freezing people like statues, trapping members to lonely boxes plus still out temperamental clock that loudly mehs he here just tries to hide it enough then becomes a passive agressive gentleman that has absolute malice in his metal heart.

Has some history in this au's Shrignold who is now called Michael, so the story he tells in his episode in Anthony! he now lives in the sewers???

Diary the Dream Diary:

They like to list people's dreams especially the trio and other teachers but even nightmares for giggles and sleep on the bed clouds they summon to laze around.

Goes to pranks with Larry, is kind of less strict but they got a sleeping schedule they like to follow, they don't like people who ruin their flow and becomes passive with some sass, they either haunt you in your dreams.

They may laze around a lot but they listen in to many things, so they know many secrets and sometimes starts rumors, but they don't involve themselves with the chaos, kind of a older sibling to the little lightbulb.

Btw their gender is BOOK/Nonbinary.

(Hi Raindrop, oh yeah we both made this au incase your new...)

[thewebcomicsreview]

Hamsteak Liveblog

A'ight hell tier update, and the first update is that they've changed the chapter select menu. It's now explicitly a chapter select where the chapters are numbered, whereas the old menu made it look like you were meant to choose your own order. Up next is "Chapter X", which appears to be Davepeta. My prediction is that we're done with the ghost cameos and Davepeta is going to give the moral of the story and then the final 8-ball update with be Vriska vs Vriska to bring it home.

I am almost immediately proven wrong. This is a "Meanwhile" where Davepeta is up to something. Is this screenshot even legible? Well, if you can't read it, computers can.

*dp hesitantly crawls up to their phone, curiously pawing at the device and feigning ignorance as though they don't know what the fuck it is because theyre kind of embarrassed to talk to the sprite^2 they know is at the other end*

Hm. What's "sprite^2" would be at "the other end" and not there. Jasprose? I guess it's basically only Jasprose it could be.

Oh shit I was able to guess which of the one possible people it could've been. I'm a fucking genius. This is why people read my liveblog, for the glaring insights that only I provide. Second question: Where the fuck is she? That background kind of makes me think of the Midnight Crew, but like the original Problem Sleuth bonus comics that introduced them where they were in some Problem Sleuth-y looking city.

Sort of interesting that Jasprose and Davepeta apparently don't like each other. Jasprose's main character trait in HS1 was being uninhibited and kind of uncomfortably horny, and she's Davepeta's....um....cousin? I guess? Where did I put that Homestuck family tree. Oh, I didn't add her, lemme do that.

The most cursed thing about this chart is that it's simplified.

The reason Vrissy's in "adoption jail" was because I made this chart for someone complaining that Vrissy dating Tavvy was incestuous, when Vrissy is basically the only character not related to anyone (this blog's tagline was "It's not incest if she's from space" for a bit as a result). Which makes this ironic because I think the reason Davepeta doesn't like Jasprose is that Jasprose keeps trying to fuck them.

Hey, I was right, it was the Problem Sleuth bonus comics.

One thing that's been bugging me a lot about HS2 and the epilogues is Homestuck already had a metaphor for canon in the form of the Alpha Timeline, and HS2 never really separated "canon" from "the alpha timeline" in a meaningful way, but now we're having the snapchat comics and the Problem Sleuth bonus comics references as "canonically deniable", so we're actually doing something new with the concept.

"Tall, dark, and loathsome" is the name of a song in the Midnight Crew: Drawing Dead album, so it's likely Jack Noir. The "Crocker Patriarch" is weird though. It can't be Jake, and Jane's dad is de-

Wait, hold on. Is this referring to the bonus comics? Dad Crocker is chasing after Jane who was kidnapped by Jasprose....but that's all in Meat! So this Jasprose is currently with the Meat version of Jane Crocker, being chased by Dad, Diamonds Droog, and possibly Problem Sleuth, and is somehow able to interact with Candy.

Maybe it's because Jaspers barely had any lines, but it's interesting how Jasprose is a unique individual with her own unique quirks while Davepeta is still very clearly Dave+Nepeta. She doesn't really talk like Rose at all. She's a little flowery in her language, but in a very different way.

Davepeta: Jasprose....you've been drinking? Jasprose: Please. You know it's only milk bars for me. Well, perhaps the occasional martini bar. Though with them, it's more difficult to find bartenders that won't bat an eye when I order a glass of that delectable matronal ambrosia Jasprose: Speaking of, I've made fantastic progress with the enchanting, yet problematic Ms. Crocker.

Man, that leap from "matronal ambrosia" to Jane Crocker is one of the most convoluted boob jokes I've ever seen. Speaking of, Jasprose finds Jane "enchanting". I kind of want to re-read the bonus comics to refresh myself on the context but they're glitching the fuck out for me right now and also....aren't very good.

This is referring, presumably, to Meat Jake, who I don't think has appearing in HS2 at all so far, having been ditched in the epilogues. I honestly thought we wouldn't be seeing Meat Jane/Jake again. Also, "pass her off"? To whom?

Anyway apparently Davepeta thinks the "therapy shit" isn't working well. Interesting to see them dropping the wise mentor act a little here. They also make it sound like this is something they're being compelled to do. Jasprose notes that it's been four years in there and that being Vriska it'll probably take 4 more to make it 8 and Davepeta is all "Ha ha, can you imagine" so the final chapter is obviously going to start "4 years later". This was a fairly short little chapter with a ton to speculate on. The sprites are working together and they're maybe working with (or for) someone else that Jane is going to get passed off to. Who could that be, I wonder? Dirk's made reference to having agents on the outside, but why would the sprites work for him? It's not Al, who was actively opposed to this. Could it be....

I don't know to what extent real-life person Andrew Hussie is involved with Beyond Canon, but his fictional stand-in has been mostly absent outside of the bonus comics, and has not yet appeared on-screen, but considering that Al has been shown to be nigh-worshipful of the original comic, it'd be interesting for her and AH to interact.

[dairy-farmer]

I have the first chapter of the Civilian AU done, it's just going through beta slowly, and I decided I wanted at least half of chapter 2 done before I posted since it's gone from 3 chapters to 4 somehow TT

But! In the meantime, do you remember the multi verse AU aside? Where canon or Canon adjacent BatFam meets Civilian AU BatFam? Well, currently I'm thinking about the reverse, for full Drama (tm).

A villain attacks a fancy gala event, a fundraiser for children's literacy programs in Gotham, planned by Tim, at Gotham oldest hotel, in the ballroom. The villain takes the building hostage kind of situation, but a child there is a meta kid whose powers of time and space manipulation, and manages to transport all 173 people to a new universe, where there is a hero named Red Robin.

Batman responds with Superman since a whole building being consumed by light and suddenly being replaced by a similar building, one without any snow and whose lights are all lit. He ends up calling Diana and Superman, plus a few other league members because he quickly realizes there's multiverse travel involved.

News channels abound by the first hour, interviewing scared guests, alternate versions of Gotham's elite and some underprivileged children and their parents. Among them is Bruce Wayne and a strange woman none of them recognize on his arm with a baby on her hip.

The woman is beautiful despite being chubbier then most socialites, but would be just curver anywhere else. She does wear the Wayne Family jewelry however, a keen Vicki Vale notes, cornering her while Superman talks with this new Bruce. And then she manages to get one of her most viewed clips

"Tim Wayne, but Mrs. Wayne is fine Ms. Vale."

"And who finally tamed Bruce Wayne? What's your maiden name, Mrs. Wayne?"

"Drake, Timothy Drake." And so the world (mostly gotham, goes fucking insane." Oh, of course they find out Tim was just his secretary but it calls everything else into light. New light is shone on Red Robin and Bats both in and out of cape, while people keep trying to save Tim Wayne from his bad situation. Jason Wayne is also there, trying to defend his step mom and Dad, while everyone else thinks they're like in a cult or something. The cult of Bruce as it were.

Red Robin is so into DILF Bruce and his wife and soon gets seen making out with Mrs. Wayne of course 🤭🤭🤭

-Lady Lilac aka ♡♡♡

😍😍😍😍😍!!!! i LOVEE canon-verse/canon adjacent interacting with the multiverse!!!!!!!!!

i love the idea that tim in the civilian secretary au is a real martha wayne type socialite! because even in red robin and batman's universe this sort of expected way that married socialites are supposed to behave and act. no matter how progressive society becomes high society very much has deeply patriarchal values and failing to adhere to them gets you excluded, shunned, and bad mouthed. so everyone, bruce too, needs to adhere to it. and as much as the whole 'playboy' thing may have been entertaining and funny for much of high society, the older he got meant more than a few people started...wondering why he wasn't settling down. it's not like he was short of choice. and him turning down their daughters and such would be alright with them if he brought around women of equal or better standing but instead he'd bring about the likes of miss....selina kyle. well then at that point more than a few people start getting offended. angry even. bruce has a lot of money and has done a lot of work to make sure civilians never perceive him as more than a harmless idiot and that's great. that helps a lot for his work as batman. but it damages the work he can do as bruce wayne. bruce's actions are seen as disrespectful towards people with very deep pockets, deep pockets who can do a lot for the city. while the batman of one universe has a lot of charitable endeavors and does well...he doesn't do nearly as well as the batman of another universe. a batman who got married to a wonderful, darling little wife. who had plenty of rosy cheeked babies that all the wealthy grandmamas at galas and balls would coo over and pinch. a batman who managed to not step on any toes with tim there to apologize for him and grease squeaky wheels, who worked with him as a well oiled machine to make sure every ambitious goal they had in mind for the city came to fruition (because it turns out that bruce is more at ease at those events if he has someone holding his hand). tim takes the reins of the good will and projects for a 'better gotham of tomorrow'. being held in high regard means more solid connections, ones that bruce doesn't have the luxary of like of the newest mayor who is listening very intently over hor d'oeuvres about improved city planning so all those abandoned factories that are all around the city can re-enter production (sure it will make some people are a lot richer than they need to be but it will also ensure that a boom of jobs occurs in gotham with it's struggling market). so tim has his "little projects" that the other wives and ergo their husbands attend.

because tim is VERY well received by high society and all its stuffiness because he plays dutiful, loving wife who supports his husband.

tim and bruce's eldest child is just starting elementary school and it brought out stories from jason about his first day in first grade and about how he'd been one of only three kids who had been able to read a handful of words by the end of the year. and tim...well he thinks of all those children in his step son's place who still don't have the resources. the gotham media eats up how tim always has a new project coming out. a few of the crueler journalists make a joke about how he almost pops out as many charities and benefits as he does kids. that particular online newspaper gets blacklisted from all WE events.

tim does a good job and its the first of his projects he's undertaken with jason helping him on. having jason around helps especially since tim is very far along with jason's latest baby sibling. the program for literacy is a success. it's also the biggest task they've undertaken since in their research they realized a significant portion of adults from the lower income bracket in gotham were also illiterate. jason is the one who comes up with the idea for making the program run on a tv channel. unlike when he was a kid, nowadays most people had tvs. and since there were no playgrounds or places to play that didnt have broken bottles or dirty needles lying around that meant most kids watched tv.

having the kid's program be on tv meant that other information like job resources, night schools, and other programs could be spread to the parents of the child who were either in the room or watching with them.

it's a success. jason is the happiest that bruce has ever seen him as he gets ready for the one year celebration at a nice vintage hotel that is popular with the older crowd of socialites. normally jason hates these events but he's more than willing to shake a few hands in order to see the looks on kids from his old neighborhood's face when they see that the night's goal for the benefit is converting some of those condemned apartment buildings into a multilevel afterschool care center.

damian is relieved he doesn't have to go and has volunteered to stay the night with his younger siblings (no one mentions about how dick is upstairs and could easily babysit).

tim is cooing to their sweet one year old that they're taking (with them because the baby can be a little fussy) and beautifully filling out the silk halter dress he's in. their poor baby is whining and pawing at his mother for milk even though they're trying to wean him.

bruce is happy and content to accompany his wife and sons to the event. that changes very quickly when some masked gunmen show up because of course something has to happen when they're doing something for the underprivileged part of gotham.

jason is furious and carefully shielding tim and his baby brother across the room while bruce is in agony having to watch them as they're ordered on their knees with their side of the room.

but then...something pops.

there's no other way to describe it. it's like a big shiny soap bubble in his ears inflate and...pop.

bruce recognizes the sensation. it'd be hard not to recognize the sensation of dimensional travel though....he doesn't recall it ever happening with such a massive group before. in fact it might be the whole building because the front doors suddenly let in a gust of icy gotham winter wind even though bruce knows for a fact it's july.

normally bruce would be on alert. an entire building of people suddenly appearing must've set off every large energy monitor in the cave. if there's a batman in this dimension then...he must already be on his way.

the lights in the ballroom cut out for a moment but flicker back on. the gunmen are hunched over alongside many other guests who are in pain from sudden popped eardrums. many of the young children are crying including bruce's youngest child who is sobbing and burying his face in his mother's neck. the lights flicker again and bruce's knuckles throb from knocking out the gunmen as he crosses the ballroom to reach his family.

bruce is right about there being a batman in this universe and it appears this batman has wisely requested the justice league come help. and he does arrive. but not as fast as the gotham media who descend on this event like bloodhounds.

a few guests make calls on their phones, which apparently still work, asking for ambulances because a few of them panic at the blood leaking from their ears. ruptured eardrums are hardly something to panic about but bruce's heart aches at the sound of his baby sobbing. jason is helping comfort the other children while bruce carefully checks over tim, pressing firm fingers to tim's soft, pillowy sides.

bruce pulls himself from tim's side for only one reason and its at the sight of superman. his family might have thought he's turned into a softy ever since tim entered his life but if this is a universe with a hostile superman...well he'll deal with it.

it's not. clark is just as he remembers him. despite his firm voice in questioning and wary gaze as bruce approaches, dodging other reporters, there's a...softness...a relaxed sort of fondness that bruce hasn't seen in a while.

things had been awkward for a while after bruce married tim. and although clark may have come around there was an awkwardness between them. clark may not have said lois disapproved of their continued friendship- and maybe he did it to spare bruce's feelings but...he knew.

with this clark, once he figures out bruce isn't a threat by listening to his steady heartbeat, there's no...tension. no small lines of stress between his brow.

it's while he's talking with clark that the batman of this universe shows up and starts harshly interrogating him in low tones, quiet enough that surrounding guests being interviewed or attended to by paramedics don't hear. it's while theyre occupied that vicki vale makes her move.

bruce really shouldn't be surprised by the sharpness and readiness of the media. especially vicki. after all, it was those drama ridden articles she published about him and tim that was what landed her a talk show spot on good morning gotham.

the clip is circulating barely three hours later but within minutes of vicki finding out tim is his wife other reporters similarly descend and bruce has to leave the conversation to protect his wife from all their probing while dismissing their questions with tense words that they're frightening his wife and child.

jason swoops in for a rescue but grows hostile at the accusational questions about bruce and his and tim's relationship.

jason's harsh demand that they leave his mom alone elicits even more buzz. elicited and bloodthirsty buzz.

it reminds bruce a lot of how the media acted right after his surprise wedding announcement.

bruce is stuck dealing with a repeat of that so that means that fixing the whole dimensional mess falls to the batman and justice league of this world. thankfully keeping track of the guests is easy since they're in a hotel that had been on the decline for awhile and there are plenty of open rooms to house all the guests and families that attended.

turns out that in this universe this hotel was boarded up and shut down ages ago. that at least lightens concern about the hotel that is now in bruce's dimension.

it's been a while since bruce was enveloped in a media storm but thankfully, once they get over their shock, this dimension's batman and the justice league start gathering all the reporters up, trying to limit their probing into the situation given that the average person has no experience with alternate dimensions.

bruce appreciates it even if he catches a few of their grimaces and pursed lips. a few of the bats remain at the hotel to oversee and monitor the situation.

bruce recognizes all of them except one dressed in red and black wearing a cowl.

he catches the name. red robin. but can't quite pin the name to the suit.

until a few reporter photograph open windows and both he and the rest of gotham are treated to the sight of red robin and his tim wetly making out. black gloved hands squeeze his tim's plush waist and full tits and oh how bruce would recognize that pretty blush painting the visible part of red robin's face anywhere.

and well...bruce must admit he's only human. and given the stress of the situation he's certain that he's allowed a moment of weakness.

[greenaswildfire]

Guys, guys, I have a theory, certainly is a bit (a bit???) of a stretch, but we're here to have fun, so here's my "bat"shitcrazy (no pun intended haha) take on the matter. TG will laugh with me, TB probably curse me, but oh well.

Careful, for the comment is long and full of spoilers. I haven't read the books, so my comment relies mostly on what I could find on wiki and some discussion topics I found on reddit when I was unsure of an info.

A mutual shared with us a theory of hers about the possibility of Aemond and Alys being linked to the origins of House Whent, aka, Catelyn's mother House. I was curious so I watched it and let me tell you: last time I was this invested in researching something I was in my teenage years investigating all the refs in Saint Seiya.

So, I share with you the comment I made (with some more info I remembered at the last minute here) haha!

1-What do we know about Alys's ancestry: Alys is a Strong bastard, House Strong is said to exist since the Age of Heroes among other houses like Stark, Gardener, or Blackwood. Stark is known for their link to direwolves, House Gardener's patriarch was said to make land flourish, so I see high potential for special genes in House Strong as well, despite not knowing about any memorable Strong of this period.

2-The dance of the dragons: the Dance happens between 129 - 131 AC. Aemond dies in 130, but we do not know what happens to Alys after she claims, in 132, that the child she presents to the new government is Aemond's son. After all, Winter Fever strikes Westeros in that same year brought by, apparently, foreigners of Ib. We don't know what happened to them, but considering the stories about "the witch queen of Harrenhal" I don't doubt they've survived, magic people seem to be more difficult to get sick I think. Melisandre is there to prove it after all, not even cold or poison destroy this woman! haha

3-Info about House Whent: first I traced back its origin to see what I could find. House Whent of Harrenhal was born from a hedge knight in 233 AC who was given the castle by Maekar I, as prize for his help. The castle at that time belonged to House Lothston of Harrenhal. House Lothston exists as 'family name' since the time of Maegor I with Guy Lothston, but the title of the House as Lords of Harrenhal was given after the Dance, in 151, when Master-of-Arms Ser Lucas Lothston was ordered to marry Aegon IV's first mistress, Falena Stokeworth to remove her from Court. Aegon IV has consistently visited Harrenhal to see his mistresses: Falena and her daughter Jeyne Lothston (some people even think she's another bastard of Aegon passed off as Lothston). These meetings might have resulted in many bastards, with a new injection of special genes (and mad genes as well caused by !ncest, in Jeyne's case) but we have no info about children from any of these women after they are expelled from the Court because of pox acquired from Aegon IV.

4-More info about Lothston: In terms of Lothstons's future generations, we have Manfred Lothston who was part of the first Blackfyre rebellion and said to have betrayed Daemon Blackfyre. Then, Mad Danelle Lothston who answered Bloodraven's call to smash the second Blackfyre rebelion. However, the rumors of Mad Danelle making use of dark arts were spreading like wildfire and disturbing the peace in Westeros, which made King Maekar I take action and cause her downfall in 233 AC, in this fight, the Whent hedge knight rebels against Lothston and he's named the new Lord of Harrenhal. Important to note that on wiki they don't give the exact year of House Whent's founding year, because Martin apparently didn't tell it. Curious, very curious.

5-Whent and Lothston sigils: It's also curious, though, that House Whent's kept some elements of Lothston sigil: House Lothston was a huge bat upon a field of silver and gold. House Whent is 7 bats upon a golden field. If they're different houses, why the similarities? House Karstark for example, is a branch of House Stark and their sigil is different. The extinct House Greystark though, was the same sigil of House Stark, the colors being the only difference. What I'm trying to say is that House Whent could have picked something totally different from the previous House because they were nothing to each other, right? But they kept some things. Why? I imagine both houses were connected either by friendship or blood. But thinking better now, I believe blood is the most plausible answer, we all know that power or lands corrupt people and in Westeros this kind of thing is most likely to happen. Let's remember that the only Lothston alive was a single woman who was known for fiercely riding into battle with a black armor and we are not told about Danelle interested in marriage or something, she wasn't ladylike apparently, but was considered a vampire and we know that rumors and gossip are common weapon to try to sabotage women of power who were single. The fact that Maekar I named Whent the new lord of the place instead of, idk, any other house of the riverlands makes me think that this happens precisely because as secondary branch of the Lothston, the Whent hedge knight was chosen and rewarded for being loyal to the realm instead of joining forces with Lothston.

6-So, to wrap things up: We know that House Lothston already existed before Aemond, but considering we have zero info about Jeyne Lothston's or even Falena's descendants, now I imagine it's possible that Alys bastard child (or her grandchild, or her great-grandchild or whatever) was paired up with some unknown descendant of Jeyne Lothston or Falena Lothston, originating the Whents as a branch of Lothston.

If Alysmond descendant marries a Falena's descendant, nothing unusual here. But if Alysmond descendant marries a Jeyne's descendant, it would essentialy means the union between the greens and the blacks (if the rumors of Jeyne being actually another Aegon IV's daughter are to be trusted).

Do I believe it? Well... It's not impossible, imho. We all know how Martin loves to create intricate plots and family trees, it matches his gardener style of writing. The more complicated, the more likely is for Martin to come up with something like this, even more considering that we were never given a definitive founding year for House Whent. Like vampires, you are never sure how old is House Whent.

The info has a vital role, it's so important that Martin opted to let the info vague so he could have space to work better on the idea, he's a gardener yeah, but not everything he hints it's a seed, there's also foreshadowing and I guess that's the case with the link Whent-Lothston and alysmond. Let's remember that Cat, a POV character, was half Whent, so it has to be something important, if not for her character, for others like Littlefinger and Sansa.

And now talking about the TV show: who are the ones who end up monarchs in the end? Cat's descendants, Bran and Sansa! lol I know D&D ruined the show in many aspects, but I admit I laugh so much thinking about it now, the guys simplified everything in the most trashy way possible and even so, we were able to come up with a theory to fix their mess haha That's why Sansa didn't like Daenerys: Aemond genes were warning her about Rhaenyra's descendant lmao

If we think about it now:

-Rhaenyra's descendant does not survive;

-2 alysmond descendants become monarchs;

-1 alysmond descendant robbed Rhaenyra's descendants of their azor ahai role thanks to D&D; Woah thanks a lot Hess and Condal, you've tried to tone down Rhaenyra's ambition, by creating this Aegon prophecy thing, but in the end it meant nothing.

-the only dragon alive (that despite Condall and Hess fanservice we all know it was a dreamfyre egg) is actually a green dragon;

-and the last targaryen of Rhaenyra's bloodline is a Snow that will never rise against his siblings.

Woah... we have a lot to learn from the patient old men of Oldtown in terms of "fight a war without saying you're fighting a war".

Anyway, thanks Jessie Bear for the theory that sparked my interest for this madness, I went full obsessed mode this afternoon because of that and it was so much fun! XD

[soleminisanction]

Do you think Tim redefined Robin as Batman’s partner instead of his sidekick like Dick? I mean Tim’s run as Robin was that he was more independent and set upon a boundary. For Dick, Batman was the hero and he needed to set out and become his own hero. Comics are always in flux but I think it’s kind of why I like Tim as Robin.

No, I don't. I adore Tim and I think his perspective on Robin as Batman's partner is the best one, but it's not at all something that started with him. The relationship between Dick and Bruce in the gold and silver age was very much a partnership, much more so than a lot of the kid sidekick copycats that came after. And that got even more true after the Adam West series, when they aged Dick up to match Burt Ward's portrayal. It wasn't until the 80s when they decided they wanted more drama and an excuse to spin Dick off into the New Teen Titans that they introduced the idea that being Robin somehow made him lesser, like it was anything other than the name Dick Grayson chose to use as a hero. Heck, go back and read some of the Elseworlds from the 90s -- Dick is far more often portrayed as Bruce's BROTHER than as his chiId.

The idea of Batman as parental figure got introduced a little with Jason's tenure, but not nearly as much as fandom would have you believe -- which is why anyone who gets mad about the "Good Soldier" epitaph frankly just doesn't know what they're talking about. That was a sign of respect for a fallen partner. The idea that Robin is a child's role, and specifically that Batman is supposed to be his father figure, is EXTREMELY recent, and trying to read a lot of the old stuff through that lens is, honestly, kind of disingenuous.

People might not believe me when I blame Damian for skewing this perspective, but I swear to you, the fixation on the Bat-family as a semi-traditional nuclear family unit didn't really exist my first time through the fandom, before he was introduced. They were a found family, for sure, but the idea of it being specifically structured as a patriarch and his kids? That came with Damian more than anyone else.

And that's why I get super frustrated by anyone who tries to argue that Robin is a kid's role to be grown out of. It's not. That's all just an excuse to justify promoting Damian, an inherently immature and childish character entirely defined by being Batman's Son.

[brucewaynehater101]

Breaking in because some months ago you posted an AU idea where Dick kills Batman before Damian arrives but imagine if Dick realized that Batman got so bad a child resorted to being brutalized because he thinks he's needed to fix him

So then Dick ends up killing Batman BEFORE Jason ever arrives, and disposes of the body in such a way, that trying to ressurect Bruce w/ Lazarus waters is pointless

There's two three four ways we can do this

a. Jason only learns of Batman dying after coming back to Gotham and before meeting the Batclan

b. Jason learns Batman died while still with the League, something that throws him, Thalia, Ra's, and whoever else for a loop

c. Jason doesn't even know Bruce is dead after getting to Gotham, and it takes time until he learns Dick is Batman

d. Jason and the League only knows of Batman being replaced or missing himself, and only later learn he's been found or announced dead

When the newest Red Hood tries to pull shit? Dick (the new Batman) has none of it as he is extrq protective of his Robins (Tim and Stephanie) after Jason died and Tim was abused

Now what to do w/ Bruce and Wayne Enterprises? I mean, Dick w/ Barbara and Tim's help can become the new patriarch and owner/CEO but there's also the fact that tjey need to navitage the chaos that is either Brucie Wayne dying or going missing qnd being qnnounced deqd unsuspiciously

There's also the idea that Dick (+any accomplices) would have to navigate relations with the Justice League whilst hiding his murder, and Gotham has to deal w/ the changes a new Batman introduces

Suddenly Batman is putting the wellbeing of the people, especially his kids, over justice and his ideals, and whether or not anybody suspects or knows this new Batman "took care" of the old one leaves a lot of potential for plotlines

Also Cassandra, if she still joins the Bats, has to grapple with the patriarch being a killer because the previous patriarch was an abuser

Gosh how will this affect Damian and how he's raised? How will the LOA respond to Bruce's death?

Oh yeah Jason, I can't imagine Dick would leave Joker alive either after what happened to Jason, especially if there was a Joker Junior incident

It's gonna be a mindfuck for he, he needs wanted for his father to prove himself as still being his dad, for Bruce to choose him over "The Right Thing To Do" even if Jason became something Batman would hate

Except Jason doesn't even get the closure of his father proving himself a failure of a father, because Bruce already failed as a father to Dick to such a degree that his reward was death

Jason doesn't know who his father is or would have beenanymore, just that Dick is to Tim, Stephanie and so on what Jay dad wasn't as he was in the League, training for an encounter that would never come

Ooh! But let's add on more, shall we?

I don't remember the og post you're referencing, but let's be mean to Dick :)

I like the many many possibilities for Jason you've listed out, but imma get specific on how Dick killed Bruce.

To be cruel, let it be an accident.

For the exact stage, perhaps the JJ incident still happened, but after Tim was Robin. Dick didn't find out about it because Bruce never informed him, and Dick was busy with Bludhaven and the Titans (it was another unfortunate timing for Dick).

About a year or so after the event, Tim is doing much better. He's been on the field for a bit and doesn't relapse as much (either into thinking he's JJ, Joker's his dad, or the laughing spells).

Joker captures Tim again and calls him "Junior." Dick has never seen Tim react the way he did to that name.

They have history. A bad one.

Bruce isn't surprised.

Bruce hid this from Dick.

The young adult has to take several breaths, but he holds his reservations. Maybe Bruce was respecting Tim's boundaries (yeah fucking right).

Fighting happens ya da ya da and Dick learns what Joker did to Tim.

He's fucking enraged. Joker has touched another sibling of his.

Then, the Joker and Tim are in a precarious position. Dick rushes to save Tim and barely manages to get him in time.

When Dick looks up, the Joker is perfectly fine. Nightwing feels his blood start to boil.

His baby brother almost slipped out of his grasp when he rushed as fast as he could to save him. Dick moved, without hesitation, to save Tim.

Batman would have had to move, without hesitation, to save Joker over saving Robin.

Batman put Joker's safety over Robin's.

The flip is instantaneous.

Nightwing starts pummeling the shit out of both Joker and Batman. Due to the element of surprise, Dick had the upper hand. He gets broken ribs and a concussion for his troubles, but Batman is beneath his fist taking the beating Nightwing is dealing out.

He never realizes Bruce has stopped breathing until he feels a hand on his elbow.

Tim's expression is grim as he focuses on Dick. The teen is heavily dissociating as he takes in the scene.

Tim's lips, when he glances down at Batman, start to tremble. He presses them together to try to keep a calm facade.

The teen closes his eyes, breathes in, breathes out, nods to himself, and then opens them.

Bruce is dead. Joker is dead.

They've got work to do.

~~~

In this AU, Steph becomes Robin during Tim's recovery stage from JJ and after this incident. Tim takes a step back after helping Dick dismantle and hide Batman's body to consolidate Dick's position as Wayne heir, majority shareholder, and Batman. He works with Babs to aid Dick in these various transitions.

Lucius is the acting CEO, which takes a huge load off of Dick's shoulders.

Dick is obviously not doing fine about accidentally murdering his dad. At least he killed Joker too, though.

Tim's not doing great either, but it's fine. He eventually steps back into the cape. Steph and him like to play pranks on Gotham. They both vehemently deny that there's two Robins running around at the same time.

I don't think Alfred would stick around after they murdered and covered up the murder of Bruce :/ I wish he would, but maybe he takes a nice retirement in England.

Babs, Tim, and Dick are good at covering their tracks. There's rumors that the new Batman killed the old one, but there's also rumors that he eats people.

The LoA don't know who killed Bruce, but they know he's dead. Tim and Dick still grieve him (feelings are fun like that), so they aren't on the suspect list.

Red Hood shows up demanding answers.

Batman (Dick) confirms that he *will* put his family first. Always.

[jacqcrisis]

Okay, this idea compelled me so here's a bad end to Left Turn, but instead of the inciting incident being at the end of the story, it's before it ever even began where Zeke and Caleb never met.

So, Zeke gets caught during his initial escape attempt from his commune and they immediately send him off to one in western Oklahoma for fear he'll try again. There, he's kept on a tight leash, goes through a pretty awful indoctrination re-education, and gets paired up with a local girl once he seems subdued enough. He's absolutely miserable, of course, prone to avoiding most of his new commune and his soon to be bride while also making a few escape attempts that go nowhere and gaining a reputation for being a rude argumentative jackass.

Forced into marriage, he has two kids, the only times he's touched his wife after vague threats from the commune patriarch and copious amounts of alcohol, but something about having children to care for makes him calm a little. On top of that, he's a dedicated husband, doing everything he can to be good to his mate to make up for the intimacy he cannot give her, as it is in no way her fault for the life hes been forced into. Despite ridicule from the other women in the commune and her own suffering in a sexless marriage, Zeke's wife willingly and openly goes to bat for him for being, at the very least, extremely caring and good with the children, something the other women can't attest to.

Despite this, Zeke still has a reputation and a nasty attitude toward the leadership of the commune who have blocked any kind of happiness from him. Hes in constant fights with the patriarch about what he's supposed to be doing and refuses to cooperate at the best of times, but overall, after nearly 20 years of being here, hes been worn down, not constantly trying to run away anymore since he needs to be there for his family. Thus, they trust him enough to go into the nearby have-not town to sell goods with the commune children, with supervision, which he finds a lot of joy in as he enjoys and yearns for the have-not's lifestyle, often daydreaming what it would be like to have not been a changeling and to be able to find a man and fall in love and have that like he's desperate for.

Enter, Caleb, a new physical therapist moving into town with his own three person family of himself, Brittany, and their daughter. Caleb gets pulled into the local witch coven pretty quick considering his regular office hours and his personable nature and his want to be away from his wife as much as possible. Its here he gets introduced to one of the duties the coven take on, which is checking up on the changeling commune monthly where they test out the wards that keep them off the map and recharge the various charms they use to keep up appearances and keep their members in check, including the masking charm Zeke uses to go into town.

And Zeke is enamored with him when they meet one fateful day as Caleb is getting introduced to the commune, never having a witch so boldy shake his hand considering they keep a fair distance, nor had one that attractive has ever looked him in the eye and engaged in small talk. He meets him again when he goes into town to sell, and again during those monthly visits, actively searching for him and not so subtly excited to talk to him, however awkwardly. This Zeke has that hard edge and he hasn't spent all that much time with people who aren't changelings so he comes off as weird and stilted and sarcastic but this Caleb guy takes it, works with, doesn't seem all that bothered (whether because he's nice or a people person or just kind of dumb are all likely possibilities).

They start meeting outside of these standard places, going on walks in the nearby hiking trails and in town as Zeke sneaks away from his handler and the kids selling goods. It's clear there's something between them, but Zekes not the same confident man as he is in canon and maybe the way Caleb is so loose about touching him and putting an arm around him is just how witches are with friends. There's a lot riding on reading it wrong, and Zeke may hate his life, but Caleb makes it better and he doesn't want to lose that even he's head over heels for this beefcake dumbass who likes to spend time with him for some reason.

Of course, it comes to a head, they sleep together, Zeke bites the fuck out of Caleb, there's a confession when Caleb comes back to see him, and together they gotta figure out a way to get Zeke and his family out safely while somehow navigating this new relationship. Idk, but I didn't get a lot sleep last night thinking about it.

[idlebeks]

Random MDZS Recs Part 2

I found some more gems hiding in my bookmarks. The sheer number of MDZS/Untamed fics that I have found worth bookmarking is kind of remarkable. Part 1 and 2 of these lists make up less than half of the whole selection. This is such a prolific and talented fandom. This is another collection of favorites that I have enjoyed reading more than once, or that were compelling and/or unforgettable in some way. Same warnings as my other lists, all ratings and categories apply with no discernible organization at all.

we're starting at the end by Miss_Enthusiasimal

When Wei Wuxian fell at Nightless City he was, unknowingly to him, brought back in time to when Wen Chao pushed him into the Burial Mounds. Believing himself to be dead, and this afterlife to be some sort of punishment, he resigns himself to a painful existence. Until Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng rescue him, and he realises he has a chance to change things for the better - if he hasn't messed everything up already.

You are what you eat by deliciousblizzardshark

“What happened to you?” Jiang Cheng demands.

Wei Wuxian sighs. “I already said I don’t know. This conversation is so boring,” he says. “I’m hungry. Can’t we get some food? They’re all too dead,” he adds, flicking a hand at the dead Wen guards, “to be tasty.”

and

Then there’s a sound like someone hacking something up and Wei Ying comes back into the room and, with a very proud expression drops a handful of teeth on the map table. Human teeth. They’re bloody and… wet…

“What?” Jiang Cheng asks. “What’s this?”

“Wen Chao’s teeth!” Wei Ying says proudly.

and

Lan Wangji wants to hold him tight in his arms and cry. He wants to eat him out. He wants to perform an exorcism.

in this place where we don't have a prayer by Cerusee, Mikkeneko

And now it’s time for the canon divergence AU where Jin Zixun has the tactical sense to station archers on both sides of Qiongqi Path for his murder ambush, and Jin Zixuan shows up fifteen minutes late with Starbucks.

Heart and Hand - Daemon AU by updatebug

One month after Wei Ying first disappeared, twelve days since Lan Zhan learned of this and joined the search, Wei Ying's daemon landed in his lap. She was terrified, injured and, most importantly, alone.

She does not know what has happened to Wei Ying. No one does

from the other side of sorrow by Sour_Idealist

Yu Ziyuan cuts off Wei Wuxian's hand. The cultivation world changes.

The One-Body Problem by metisket

The good news is that Lan Jingyi has found a mentor, friend, and constant companion through the difficulties in life.

The bad news is that that’s because he’s been accidentally possessed by the Yiling Patriarch.

Fated Meeting by LtLJ 

Lan Wangji had come to Carp Tower to seal an alliance with the Yiling Patriarch, in order to prevent a war the Lan Sect couldn't win. But the deal was brokered by the Jin sect for reasons of their own, and instead Lan Wangji found himself all but coerced into an unexpected marriage.

Ticket to Ride by mistresscurvy

After one final look at the profile photo, Lan Zhan closed Grindr.

"Not even a flame?"

Startled, Lan Zhan turned to his left.

"I know not everyone wants to start chatting right off the bat, but you spent long enough looking at my face," said the man from the app, who was sitting at the bar.

Or: Lan Zhan gets stranded at the airport, decides to scroll through Grindr, and meets someone new.

Where the Lonely Ones Go by CSHfic, VSfic

“When did you arrive?” Lan Zhan asks, but he’s looking at the child in Wei Wuxian's arms, and the question is clearly, whose baby is this, and maybe, should I be concerned?

or

Accidental (haunted) baby acquisition

Wearing Down Every Bone by CSHfic, VSfic

“Sizhui, tell me,” Wei Wuxian says. “Does this feel... familiar to you?”

or

After running into Lan Zhan on a night hunt, Wei Wuxian is cursed to live the same day over and over and over.

climbing up that coastal shelf by Sour_Idealist

Jin Ling had begun to suspect years ago that there were parts of his family history that had been crossed out; long streaks of black where Wei Wuxian had been. The truth is more like whole books being brought up from their hiding places again.

Or: Jin Ling tries to figure out what family means, now.

he's still left with the river by Keiya

Jiang Cheng knows that he is dreaming because his silver bell won't make a sound no matter how much Jiang Cheng shakes it. He also knows he's dreaming because Wei Wuxian keeps acting as Jiang Cheng wishes he would, and that has never been a thing in real life.

Jiang Cheng knows he's dreaming. It doesn't help.

when the sun goes out by travelingneuritis

Wei Ying was so strong, that was the thing. He needn't have sought out alternate methods at all. He didn't need to use talismans, he only did it for his own amusement. He invented new ones all the time. Useless ones, and silly ones; inventing just for the sake of it. He talked about tech cultivation like it was fun, not an embarrassment.

The stuffed bunny, the beautiful nephew, and other gifts from Lan Qiren by deliciousblizzardshark

Wei Ying was pretty sure his next door neighbor Lan Qiren hated him until he adopted A-Yuan. Now he’s bringing by disgustingly healthy food, taking Wei Ying and A-Yuan to family dinners, and let’s not even mention the nephews he keeps hinting Wei Ying should meet. Is it possible Wei Ying, consummate orphan, has found a family in his grumpy old neighbor?

The Children's Crusade by natcat5

Innocence isn't the only thing to die in war. Propriety is the last thing on the minds of the teenaged generals, the orphan clan leaders of the Sunshot campaign.

Jin Guangshan is the only leader who ascended as an adult, who didn't have his parents murdered by the Wen, who didn't come of age during a war. The last adult standing, the only one with experience and age. He assumes this will put him in the most advantageous position, once the war ends. That the infant leaders of the other clans will gladly fall into step within his shadow.

He is wrong.

Star Cluster by hypermoyashi

Born within the Empire are those who were able to break the confines of the possible and soar through the air with the strength of their minds alone. Wei Wuxian was one of these people, but in honor of his late mother's wishes and fear of the Empire itself, Wei Wuxian kept his feet firmly on the ground.

It wasn't all that bad. At least he had his two siblings to keep him rooted.

We Are the Afterlife by NevillesGran

Jiang Yanli wasn't breathing anymore.

Wei Wuxian lifted the Stygian Tiger Seal above his head and raised every dead thing in Wen Ruohan’s thrice-damned Nightless City.

Every dead thing but one. His sister, he dropped to his knees beside and began drawing every talisman he had ever used on Wen Ning.

A Corpse Called By Name by jaemyun

She loses her brother in a hoard of the undead.

She finds a corpse wearing his face in a convenience store.

The corpse calls her name.

Joy In the Midst of These Things by Glitterbombshell

“Wei Wuxian,” the man grits out, and he pauses with one hand reaching for the door handle. The disciple who had come in to speak to Lan Qiren brushes past him and exits the pavilion without a backwards glance. Wei Wuxian turns back to Master Lan, one eyebrow tilting up in question. “An urgent matter has come up,” Lan Qiren says, every word sounding like it’s being forcibly dragged from him. “His Excellency requests my presence. Their current instructor is ill, I was meant to take over classes for today,” he continues, gesturing towards the tiny juniors. He swallows heavily, and the next sentence sounds bitter. Choked. “I cannot leave them unattended.”

Wei Wuxian just blinks at him.

Or

Wei Wuxian is asked (under duress) to babysit a class of tiny Lan cultivators for just a few minutes. A few minutes turns into an hour, turns into two hours, turns into an impromptu literal field trip and now there's an entire class that is weeks ahead of their curriculum, their most junior disciples have apparently imprinted on Wei Wuxian like baby birds, and Lan Qiren has no one to blame but himself.

Like Arrows Pointing to the Sky by runningondreams

Oneshots from the Sunshot Campaign.

quail by celialoveslwj

“a-Xian,” Jiang Yanli calls, and he races to her, same as he ever has. “Help me with my hair.”

He is gentle, still. He slowly pries every knotted hair strand with the sharp edge of Wen-guniang’s hair stick, whiling away the hours on bent knees, picking through the muck and dried blood as if he had all the time in the world. He asks her now and again how she feels: if she is tired, unwell, or bored in a general way.

Jiang Yanli is dead, and quite literally beyond such trivial things.

She tells him, soft as she is able, that she is well.

or, rather than retaliate against the masses, Wei Wuxian takes Jiang Yanli's body and flees to Luanzang Gang.

one hundred, twenty thousand, thirty million by Mikkeneko

The Untamed... IN SPACE!

A retelling of the xianxia story The Untamed in a futuristic setting where spells and golden cores are replaced with cyberware and computer programming, sects become space stations, swordsmen become fighter pilots, resentful energy becomes killer nanobots, and love and sacrifice and heartbreak... well, they stay just the same.

floodplain (silt) by astronicht

Wei Ying’s neck is twinged because he fell asleep on the sofa watching celebrity dance-offs. His left wrist is twinged because two days ago he tracked down a daolao gui in the underground metro. They throw off venomous darts, and Wei Ying caught one between the two bones of his forearm. Radius and ulna.

(Or, "I need you to come and get me")