#basically alfred suffering plots

[unhetalia]

jealous England sounds fun until he realizes america truly has no clue when someone is flirting with him or not. I mean how is England going to woo him in the future?

I could never say how these two get together but in terms of what I like to read (and don't get enough of) I always ALWAYS want Arthur rescuing Alfred so that would be fun to think about...

Also, it kind of goes against any previous "Arthur badly courting Alfred" headcanons that I've previously talked about but recently my mind has flipped to a different relationship scenario between Arthur and Alfred.

Arthur is still a horndog who has way more sex than anyone expects (except Francis, who has been accidentally Arthur's best friend for many years).

Alfred, on the flipside, is either a virgin or someone who has sex very very rarely. Exclusively into men (does he know?), very demisexual. Doesn't have much interest in sex, but this is because he's either never been a good match with the men he's had sex with or, if he's a virgin, it just doesn't seem like it'll be that interesting.

Arthur has never seen Alfred as someone to be sexually interested in BECAUSE he's so busy living in the past aka wishing for the times that Alfred was a child.

Alfred is the one who has been in love with Arthur since before his revolution. I like the headcanon people have that his bid for independence was his attempt at getting Arthur to see him as an equal. (It doesn't work.)

It's near-modern times. Maybe late 90s or early 2000s, Alfred is VERY used to unrequited love. He and Arthur are... cordial, but they have different circles.

It's something that hurts Alfred a lot. How Arthur was never interested in Alfred when he grew up. Arthur only ever wanted a colony - and apparently Alfred wasn't even a colony Arthur considered important. He knows Arthur and India were together for a long time, and Alfred sees the longing looks they still throw at each other. She tells Alfred she's completely over Arthur, but how can you date someone for 50 years* and look at them like THAT and have it be "nothing"?

Then we have one of the bits that changes for me, depending on what fic I want. Something needs to happen to get Arthur to see Alfred as he is. I've talked about this before, but in previous posts I've always gone: friends -> fall in love -> get over revolution hang ups -> end up together. NOW, for England, I want to change it up to: get over revolution hang ups -> friends/fall in love (these two are interchangeable to me for England) -> lovers. Meanwhile, Alfred's journey is: fall in love -> everything else (I find his journey can be more flexible).

SO what can make Arthur get over himself? I think it would need to be something big that'll shake him up a little. Alfred-in-distress is one way. Arthur realises how much he wants to save Alfred-the-Nation, and not just who Alfred-the-Colony ended up being.

OR, with the jealousy theme we've been having: another Nation starts pursuing Alfred, and Arthur is forced to see Alfred as an object of desire for someone else, which then jiggles something loose inside him and allows him to see Alfred as someone who is incredibly desirable.

Alas, in the new ... dynamic? Timeline? that I have for these two, Arthur doesn't do any wooing - even when he does fall for Alfred, or becomes jealous of others wanting Alfred, he'll desperately want that shit HIDDEN, and will be glad Alfred's oblivious.

Them actually ending up together needs to somehow happen without planning. At this point in time I've thought myself into a corner with these two. The world might need to be near-ending before the feelings get squeezed out in the open.

[zahri-melitor]

Okay a loose Recent Reads roundup:

Birds of Prey: Sirens of Justice: so I was lured (tricked) into reading this as Gail Simone wrote one of the stories, even though it, sigh, contains far too much Harley Quinn due to movie synergy. The Dinah and Helena banter is decent, but otherwise this felt...aggressively fine. The Helena story is very pat in terms of how people tend to write Huntress shorts, though I guess it wasn't 'Helena worries about a student' this time.

The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage: very much in conversation with O'Neil's run, of course, and also clearly reacting to contemporaneous US racial discussions. Shifting Myra to be the Mayor's sister not wife definitely alters her position in the narrative, particularly in terms of her obligations and response to situations. It is incredibly bleak in places, but that simply reflects the run it is based on and is a tribute to.

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen: This is definitely for the Silver Age fan. Matt Fraction manages to string together solving a complex assassination plot over 12 issues by telling the story in short, 2-4 page sections that wildly jump around the timeline and are framed by 'the many ridiculous things that have happened to Jimmy Olsen'. I have absolutely no handle on the canonicity of some of this, particularly the extended Olsen family, and not knowing probably makes this read more easily. Looking at it as a whole, I'm impressed how well Fraction stitched what was effectively episodic 2 page fills into a complete narrative. The energy of the story is relentless. Best read in small doses.

Batman: Pennyworth R.I.P: god this comic could have been so much better than it was. It’s fine and accomplishes exactly what it was intended to do - tell a story of how Alfred influenced and looked out for each of Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian and Barbara - and sets everyone up to be mildly pissed at Bruce. But just for one example, it would have been HUGELY more powerful if they’d been able to use Dick, with his memories just restored, facing the fact he wasn’t there when Alfred needed him and his last interactions were so impersonal and spent pushing Alfred away.

Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular: again, underwhelming. Tom King played shipper and wrote his version of how the Helena Wayne story should work; the Dixon story felt 90s appropriate but the art was dire; Brubaker’s felt like a missing scene to his run; Dini’s honestly wasn’t up to the standard I’d hope for from Dini. The art pieces were great though; a lot of good commissions.

Robin 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular: I cannot work out who chose the covers used in the issue, which swing between 'iconic' and 'reminding everyone ASBAR exists was unnecessary, DC'.

Generally: they did manage to round up fairly iconic lineups for most of the stories, with some chopping and changing for a few.

Wolfman got another run at trying to frame the 'Dick quits v Bruce fires him' debate; Dixon and Grayson both submitted literal fills (Dixon's is a scene immediately after Nightwing #19 1996 and before #20; Grayson's is at least just an extra story that fits into #1-12 of her Titans 1999 run on a day all the second stringers didn't come to work). I don't actually have a problem with any of these - they're nice additional material, but mostly more of the same. Seeley & King's suffers from the usual Seeley problem for me where it would be vastly improved by having a different focus; but it does feel straight out of his Grayson run, with everything that implies (down to the St Hadrian's student I wish was not present). All of the Dick stories are basically "we got the team back together" creative line ups.

Jason, in contrast, makes it really obvious that nobody can define a definitive Jason run, and so gets the tiniest story with Winick and Dustin Nguyen. I checked, and Nguyen did draw part of UTRH, but I wouldn't have associated him as a character-defining artist for Jason. The story's cute. Winick sidestepped having to commit to anything about his opinions on post-Flashpoint Jason direction.

Tim got Adam Beechen (which honestly makes me happy, I don't care about anyone else's opinion) and luxuriates in Tim having to play civilian; Tynion gets a Rebirth story that I can't quite work out his timing on (it's supposed to be a prequel, but Dick is already back in costume as Nightwing and talking to Tim, suggesting that several issues of the Rebirth Nightwing take place significantly before 'Tec #934) that is a classic 'Tim tells everyone how he feels about his brothers' story. I realise everyone boring has complained about Tim calling Damian a 'horrible gremlin' but the thing is you see I can only read nicknames like that as full of affection. The back and forth is an important part of their relationship, as shown by Damian snapping 'you're only listening to the insults'.

Steph gets her 71 days as Robin slightly padded out and Amy Wolfram manages to pick up Willingham's tone pretty well; I suspect she liaised with Damion Scott quite a bit on this piece.

Damian has a Super Sons piece from Tomasi, because it's the most lighthearted option available and it sells very well (it's sickly sweet). Which was probably the right call as the other piece is clearly written by Robbie Thompson to accompany his Teen Titans run and for the downward spiral going on there. Which is honestly a bit of a pity for Damian, given everyone else got feature pieces from favourite runs, and he got the 'this slots into your current story' piece.

[esperata]

End of year wip round-up

Time to look through my files of notes and see what plots I have still waiting attention, and perhaps assess where they are in the scale of projects. Colour coded for riddlebird, hattercrow, wahsbands or octogoblin. I'm always open to questions on my projects. In fact, please do ask if you want to encourage them to be written.

Starting with some I have posted as unfinished works.

OTT (LEGO Batman) : I intend to post a second chapter for this, showing how well Riddler's plan turns out.

Gay Attorney (Gotham/Ace Attorney) : This is supposed to have multiple chapters with the various 'witnesses' taking the stand.

Little Bird (Batwoman) : Not sure where this is heading but a follow up chapter seems necessary.

P.I. Riddler (DC comics) : I have an outline of the idea for this but not sure how many chapters it will require to complete.

Urban Legends (Batman - all media) : There is going to be a continuation here with other rogues making an appearance.

What Is Reality? (Btas) : I already have a second chapter started and a concept of where its going, including a 'final' scene.

A few extra Mahou AU story ideas.

Killer Croc vs Jonathan (Arkhamverse) : This is an interesting conflict I'd like to write.

Grown up Ed gets powers (Burtonschumacher) : We only saw one half of this duo in my first story so it seems fair to bring in Riddler.

Take A Chance on Me (Arkhamverse) : Pitting the pair against the machinations of Hugo Strange.

Oz mentors Ed (The Batman) : Does what it says on the tin.

The Curse of Alice (1960s) : Again an interesting development I'd like to explore.

Future Hattercrow (Gotham) : Not sure about this but considering this pair twenty years further on.

The Telltale series.

You Only Live Twice : Oswald is being mentored but demands Edward treat him as an equal if he truly respects him.

For Your Eyes Only : Edward gets trapped by the Agency and suffers their virus before returning to Oswald.

The Spy Who Loved Me : Oswald helps Edward through the aftereffects, unwilling to lose anyone else to madness.

Live and Let Die : Riddler is planning his return to Gotham, letting Oswald into the secrets of his past to convince him.

The Living Daylights : A continuation of the story arc.

New stand alone ideas.

Babysitter : Wario is cajoled into babysitting Bowser's kids and calls Waluigi in for reinforcements.

Sherrif Wario : Waluigi rides into town and immediately gets called a trouble maker by the Mario bros. Wario makes his own assessment.

Good Omens : A friend suggested Alfred Molina as Aziraphale and Willem Dafoe as Crowley which is a fantastic idea.

Fate Or Something Like It : I really wanted to consider the timeline after Norman got back from No Way Home. How he might try to save Otto from his fate.

Old Friends, Bitter Enemies : I watched the Spider-man PS game and love the dynamic of Norman and Otto. It would be worth playing with.

Skyscraper : Basically a PWP. Be fun to write.

Misunderstandings : Oswald overhears Ed saying something he shouldn't.

Batman vs Dracula (2004 cartoon) : A re-write of the film except bringing Riddler into the story.

Halloween Topsy Turvy : A fancy dress party at the Lounge causes feelings to run high.

Streamer Ed (btas) : Ed works as a streamer, with Jon and Jervis as mods, and a habit of review Iceberg Lounge promotional videos.

Gotham Gossip (Gotham) : Newspaper column style fic charting their rising and falling relationship. I still like this concept but am struggling with the media.

Kids museum meeting (comics) : A look back at how they might have met as children.

Secret Admirer : Where both Oswald and Ed are the other's secret admirer.

Tattoos (comics) : Oswald has tattoos - Ed is intrigued.

Olga My Queen (1960s/Gotham) : What if the Queen of Cossacks was Oswald's maid?

Gotta Shape Up (Harley Quinn series) : ngl I lost impetus with this show but I still like this idea - Ed having to step up with Joshua after Oswald's demise.

The King Is Dead : Similar concept in that it looks at how Riddler might react in the wake of Penguin's demise.

Wrap You Around My Finger : Ed is new to Gotham and thinks it'll be easy to cajole favours from Penguin. He is wrong.

Western AU : I wanted a fic with Jonathan on a horse thus this idea was born.

Are We Friends? (Gotham) : Ed struggles to pin down just what their relationship is during Oswald's eye recovery period. Again, not super confident writing in this media now.

Rogues Go Skiing (LEGO) : Cutesy vacation style slice of life.

Arkham sitcom : Exactly as it says, chapters done with mini plots happening, all within Arkham asylum.

Bookshop (1960s) : Penguin owns a book store and has suitors competing for him - Riddler vs Bookworm

Pre-Arkham : What if Jon and Jervis met before either became rogues?

Trans Oswald (The Batman) : Not actually a romantic fic but more angsty, considering what if he'd had a child in his younger years.

Merman Oz (2004 cartoon) : I just like the visual of him as a mermaid.

What You Love Most (Arkhamverse) : Another angsty piece where Ed doesn't realise Oswald's feelings.

Drive-in Movie (Batwheels) : Simultaneous riddlebird and Ducky/Quizz.

Music Meister (Arkhamverse) : Don't tell me the concept of Oz being forced to sing isn't hilarious.

Rumour Mill : Jonathan steps in when rumours spread about Jervis.

Trans Ed (Arkhamverse) : I wanted to write Oz facing his own transphobia but I'm not sure I can do the topic with the required sensitivity.

Hypnotism : As a hattercrow fan, its almost a rite of passage to write Jervis using his powers on Jon.

Merry Little Batman : I'm always drawn to new media variations.

More continuations.

The World Is Your Oyster sequel : What would life be like living with an octo-person?

Post Game (Arkhamverse) : A possibly final installment to my arkham Games series.

Nobody Said It Was Going To Be Easy sequel (btas) : Not sure this is something I still want to do honestly.

The Boss (The Batman) : Picking up their story post film.

Angel!Ed/Demon!Oz (2004 cartoon) : Bringing the contrasting pair actually together.

Pax Penguina sequel (Gotham) : I have no impetus to continue this one at present.

The Real Deal sequel (btas) : Considering whether Ed might get his own larger than life Penguin doll.

The King Of Gotham sequel (comics) : Picking up where the story ends off. Not finished posting the original yet.

[koolkat9]

👀

Cardverse AU!

Sorry this took awhile anon, I forgot about this, and also I had to decide which au to choose. I'm going to go with my version of Cardverse. I actually have worked with some fics within a universe of Cardverse, but recently I started up a Cardverse rp that made me decide to tweak my old plot idea a bit. Also there is so much to this au but I'm going to focus on the main plot with GerEng.

Originally it was going to be a plot that the old Spades Monarchs (not Arthur and Al, the previous rulers/Arthur's parents decided to grow Spades' power and influence through arranged marriages. Though it was fun to write, the parents became very cartoon type villains and I wasn't always the happiest with that. So some changes.

Arthur's parents aren't around any more, dead and all that. I am going to take some notes from the British Empire and apply them to Spades. Spades used to be the most powerful of the four kingdoms. Everyone feared them. Ya da ya da ya da. But one day, their empire started to crumble. I'm thinking they had a war with Diamonds and lost a lot of land. Then clubs saw them weakened and took over some land. And by the end of those two wars, Spades was in debt. By the time Arthur was to take the throne they were a shell of who they used to be. It's especially hard on Arthur who takes on the throne, alone, because the former rulers have passed away and Alfred is too young to be crowned king.

Alfred is crowned at 18, and despite Arthur's best efforts to rebuild the kingdom, process is slow and Alfred realizes that they need some form of outside help. Arthur is against it, raised with the belief that Spades needs no one. They rose to power alone, they would get back on their feet alone. But as Arthur continues to see his people suffer, he realizes he needs to swallow his pride to improve their lives.

Alfred and Yao have been brainstorming and have secured a deal with Hearts, the youngest of the four kingdoms (meaning Spades hasn't done much to fuck up their relationship yet). It is an alliance by marriage, combining the two kingdoms into one. Hearts will provide them with the financial stability they need while Spades resources become Hearts and Hearts Spades. Arthur, knowing Al is still so young and having a crush on a Club noble man, offers to be the one to be married off to the newly crowned King of Hearts.

Traditionally in Spades, you wouldn't see your fiancé until the day of the wedding, but Hearts values connection between spouses so they convince the advisors of Spades (with the help of King Alfred) to give Arthur and the King of Hearts a courting period. So Arthur is sent to Hearts for a month.

Both Ludwig and Arthur are hesitant to this engagement. Arthur sees Ludwig as cold and calculating. All the other kingdoms joke that he's the heartless King of Hearts. Not cruel, but pretty much only cared about business', not really emotional other than with anger or indifference. Which on the one hand means that the relationship will remain strictly business, but on the other, it would be nice to have at least some form of warm relationship.

Ludwig sees Arthur as a hot headed, intimidating, ruling with an iron fist. Honestly, Ludwig is a little worried Arthur will be too control and basically takeover both kingdoms (after all Spades has been known in the past for their hunger for land and power). But they need the lumber and metals from Spades.

But when the two are finally able to meet when Arthur comes to visit they find they actually have a lot in common. Though at first it's a little rocky, there is an air of distance, only discussing the details of their alliance and spending the rest of the time separated.

Ludwig realizes Arthur has been cooped up in his room for the most part, so he decides to personally give Arthur a tour and perhaps get to know his future spouse a bit better. It's very awkward and silent until they get to the garden. It's filled to the brim with roses, Arthur's favourite flower. Though Arthur tries not to show his excitement, Ludwig catches him eyeing the flowers and cuts one for him. And from there they start to bond, finding shared interests and fear of being vulnerable and open about who they really were.

Some of my fav moments. Ludwig gifting Arthur the castle library Beauty and the Beast style. Ludwig and Arthur sneaking to the kitchen late at night to bake together with Ludwig having to climb up to Arthur's balcony and carry Arthur to the ground (Arthur hanging onto to Ludwig so tight because he's terrified of heights). Them being all shy when they hold hands for the first time. Getting into so many moments that are right out of romance novels that these two secretly read because they're hopeless romantics at heart.

They get married, Spades gets back on it's feet and an era of peace is ushered in with other Spade nobility marrying into other kingdoms which ends up creating a mega alliance or something (I don't know the details yet, I just want AmeLiet and Scotfra).

There is also a lot to say about Al and Arthur's relationship but it hasn't really changed from my other au and this is already long so if anyone wants to hear, I'll make a separate post.

[melissak2802]

Some my personal favourite Dame Agatha's characters that aren't detectives or antagonists:

The Lee family (as people who follow my Miraculous Agatha AU project probably guessed 🙂). Alfred, David and Harry for being relatable and admirable in different ways and their character development. Stephen and Conchita simply for being adorable (and among few romantic stories I sincerely ship). George and Magdalena for being satisfying satire. Lydia and Hilda for being strong and clever ladies in different ways and excellent match for their husbands.

Some from the supporting cast from Death on the Nile: Mrs Otterbourne and Miss Van Schuller are also satisfying satire and fun, Ferguson is fun too, while Rosalie and Cornelia are sympathetic (Cornelia may seem like a stereotypical Cinderella at first, but proves to be a wise and independent-thinking young woman by the final choice).

The Cloades - well-written, interesting source of drama in being too mentally dependent on the overprotective patriarch of the family who died unexpectedly and having not learnt in time to make responsible decisions. Each also is allowed to make a meaningful contribution in the plot. (Side note: no I don't approve of Lynn/Rowley ship with the canon motivation voiced in the final. These two are interesting characters on their own, through. The other Cloades - Jeremy and Frances, Lionel and Aunt Kathie, and Adela - are no less interesting)

The Crackenthorpes. Emma, Cedric and Brian are pretty similar to Alfred, Harry and David Lee respectively (and I came to love them earlier than I discovered an interest for the Lees). And Luther is basically a Simeon that is less of an asshole, to the point where he also keeps valuable minerals as collectibles) While Harold is the same type of satire as George)

Lucy Eyelesbarrow. Smart, active and compassionate young woman, a good professional, and one who turned a "lowly" job like domestic assistance into something to be seen seriously and not be ashamed of.

Roger and to an extent Philip Leonidis. Can relate to both, interesting psychological drama - one squeezed under too much attention of his father due to not being able to say no and as a result developing anger issues, the other suffering from lack of such attention due to not being able to express his emotions and adoration and as a result isolating himself. (Doesn't excuse him passing the lack of parental attention further) And Clemency and Magda are vivid as characters. (Side note, re-reading Taken at the Flood made me realise similarities between the Cloades and the Leonidis. Also, Magda is kind of Mrs. Otterbourne 2.0 and Clemency kind of Lydia Lee 2.0)

Gerry Wade and Ronny Devereux. I understand that's probably weird due to lack of screentime, but their story is so... something that can sadly happen to young people. And despite small amount if screentime I see them having distinct personalities based on what we know. I like Bundle and Bill quite much too, but they should be better listed under "detectives".

Some honourable mentions:

Everyone in And Then There Were None is well written and quite interesting to think about, but wouldn't call them specially personal favourite.

The young Boyntons - I like how they are written. Sarah King as well - a professional young woman, serious, honourable, protective and caring. I don't mind Nadine but she feels a bit like a Sarah copy in the same novel, so she's less interesting to me.

Amy Leatheran - another medical young woman but softer and gentler one, good narrator, open and curious person, good assistant to the investigation.

Angela Warren - despite her disability and the terrible tragedy of what happened to her sister, she grew up a successful and good person, a scholar to add. Also her special relationship with books.

Carrie-Louise Serrocold, I love the idea of her "naive wisdom".

Currently I am re-reading or planning to re-read Death Comes as the End, Sparkling Cyanide, The Hollow, Dead Man's Folly and probably Sleeping Murder, which may cause this list to grow.

[audreycritter]

i get your criticisms and i sympathize and people do make too much out of it but also tim as a plot device was there because they established that alfred couldn't get through to him. he just wouldn't LISTEN. alfred basically gives up. i don't think tim has suffered "the most" of the batkids but he did have a weird role reversal where he was sometimes telling bruce what to do because bruce wouldn't listen to anyone else.

i don't think it makes him Most Special, but it does have potentially really interesting conflicts to dig into about tim having a VERY different relationship (at least initially) with bruce than Jason or Dick.

slides into ur inbox as a tim-liker not to start a fight but to genuinely ask if i could gently change ur mind👀👀 bc tim's not that bad if you'd give him a chance (he is very cringe tho

It's not that I don't like him!! But sometimes it just gets exhausting to see "he suffered so much to keep the big bad bat alive" takes like Alfred wasn't right there

[nerds-arise]

I would say that it's funny how not a single scene from Joss Whedon's version of Justice League isn't made better in the Snyder Cut. Except it's not funny. At all. It's sad. It's sad because they took the vision of a man who had suffered one of the greatest tragedies possible, a parent losing their child, tore it to pieces and stuffed it back together with terrible additions in an attempt to make it more suited to making money in cinemas. I have no idea how a 4 hour movie would have gone over had it been released in cinemas, or how well it could have been reduced if they had allowed Zack Snyder to do it, as the extra time feels necessary for the story being told, but the Snyder Cut just works far better, especially when it comes to the characters.

In the Whedon version, as others have said, Cyborg was basically removed from the film, his entire arc removed to make him a support character. Flash had his best scenes deleted or swapped out for far worse ones. Wonder Woman was just disrespected in general, such as with the Whedon camera shots that felt out of place and wrong. Aquaman had fewer changes, but was still worse off. Batman was shoved full of so many awkward jokes and bad decisions it was painful to watch, especially the final battle, which was something that really annoyed me. Instead of risking himself to provide a distraction and clear a path, a character who is specifically known for being a brilliant strategist decides to basically just throw himself into a poorly/not at all thought out (even commented on by Alfred) and suicidal plan, which isn't even really necessary in that version. Steppenwolf is both more threatening and more understandable, with an actual backstory and doesn't constantly say "mother".

This leads into the plot discussion. The Snyder Cut is still a movie about getting together some macguffins, but the extra history, DeSaad and Darkseid scenes with Steppenwolf and Knightmare timeline glimpses make it much better. Superman is still an overpowered saviour at the end, but the added necessity of Cyborg and Flash does somewhat improve that.

Overall, while many people will not like the movie, as evidenced by the variety of reviews, for the ones who it matters to: the fans, the cast and especially Zack Snyder, this version, the TRUE version, represents more than just a movie. It's a righting of wrongs.

It's justice.

[brawltogethernow]

How would you, personally, go about writing a plot where twenty-something Dick Grayson has to take care of suddenly-deaged-to-just-after-his-parents'-deaths Bruce, who doesn't remember anything of his adult life? (I mean, other than Necessary Alfred.)

Well, the part of this concept that can really sock you in the face is. Dick knows exactly what Bruce needed to hear right after Martha and Thomas died.

Bruce, though not lacking for people trying to take care of him, did not get what he needed after becoming an orphan. He grew up, and he made the best of things, and he thought about what he needed from the world and didn’t get, and he became that, and that’s Batman, and that’s Bruce Wayne. When he saw a kid go through trauma very similar to his own, he had an entire playbook written by his own suffering and fixer tendencies ready to go. It wasn’t perfect, but it was the best thing in the world for Dick Grayson short of his family spontaneously coming back from the dead, and things were good for a long time.

And now Dick Grayson, age, I don’t know, maybe the same age Bruce was when they met to intensify the parallels, has this playbook memorized. So.

Brief, miscellaneous scenario that’s about to cause the de-aging, to establish adult Bruce’s voice. He is motivated and capable with a strong sense of deadpan humor, and there is a large mishealed wound at his core. He is aware of this. He is used to working around it. He isn’t even that bitter about it, most of the time. Basically any supporting cast members filling out the scene could be interesting, so lacking an established roster to pull from you can use anybody. I think I'd use heroes who aren’t in the Batfam - characters with their own concepts of Batman but who don’t all know Bruce’s entire life story from a personal or Gothamite perspective. Dick is not present.

So something goes zam or zap or “Go back to your beginning, hero!” —Actually yeah, I like someone using magic to try to turn Batman into a baby but the symbolism catching wrong and rewinding him to when Batman was “born” instead. Some heavy-handedness is good with DC.

Elementary age Bruce Wayne is deeply unsettling. He intuits most of the situation without assistance or effort. He also doesn’t care. You can’t expect a pile of shattered glass to care about some sci-fi nonsense suddenly happening. He is a million years old. He hates you. He should be dead, they shouldn’t be dead, nothing is right. Breathing hurts, or, doesn’t, but should. It’s unconscionable that it doesn’t hurt to breathe. This child's despair is actively uncomfortable to be around. The grit of a nascent Batman grants him immunity to being comforted by the surrounding gaggle of semiprofessional child comforters. —I’m of the opinion that Bruce Wayne was probably a weird child to match the weird adult he grew up into, just initially happy about it, which I’d gun to make clear in his reactions even with the bottomless agony.

You could also snug a very traumatizingly timed identity reveal moment in here if somebody was tagging along who can go, WHY do I recognize this face from old news... WAIT.

Now Dick can show up. To a JL workroom, or the batcave, or maybe the manor, because I would want to demonstrate that Alfred is well versed in this and is sent back to a not great mental place by it. The old coping methods rise easily to hand even after decades, but he feels he never properly figured out how to fix the problems Bruce had in this period instead of just working around them. Eventually Bruce started working around Alfred’s inability to help. —But anywhere you put that sequence seems like it would drag the pacing.

So Dick shows up, and he crouches down with his characteristic gymnast’s fluidity, and he puts his hands on this kid’s shoulders, and he says...something. It’s not going to be okay. How could this ever be okay? The people assuring you it will aren’t trying to lie to you, there just aren’t words for this. But you can stop this from happening to anyone else. Opening with a conscious deployment of Bruce’s own words from a decade and then some ago, because Dick has always understood this element of their dynamic.

Except then he’s touching this real child who is warm under his hands and small. The shoulders under Dick’s hands are bony, which is a brain-meltingly irreconcilable detail with adult Bruce Wayne the meat slab. When Dick says, “My parents were killed when I was your age, too,” it’s a completely unintentional verbatim quote that crawls up out of his throat like a toad in a fairy tale. He hates that; he has a whole snarled up capital-T Thing about unconsciously parroting Bruce. But also it’s not like he’s going to stop comforting the actual child who now has a complicated look in his eyes—like he was drowning and then Dick threw him a life preserver and told him to hang on until they get to land because it’s impossible to reel him back up to the boat.

So then we go to the manor, and finally get to do some domestic nonsense, but hideous. Ugly conversations about coping and grief in your socks in the kitchen—when your parents just died, the sentence “The weather looks bad” is about your dead parents—because Alfred is coping by airing out whatever rooms Bruce used when he was smol he doesn’t now so hard you’ll never know they were shut up, which leaves Dick free to feed the child a fortifying dinner of instant oatmeal. (Mourning and food have a complex relationship, and I don’t feel food you actively enjoy is always a good choice!) This process involves Dick walking on the counter unnecessarily, which entertains Bruce for a quarter second before he’s swamped by guilt at having the audacity to enjoy something.

It’s miserable, but there’s a distinct glimmer of something promising under the murk. There’s this building surety that this could lead to something good. Bruce gave Dick the tools he needed to heal once, and as an adult Dick could repay that to this version of Bruce with interest.

And then Bruce pops back to normal, because that’s not how time works, with all of the ways that his emotional wounds healed wrong and healed open intact. But also with this Escher-like doubled recollection of the most formatively terrible point of his life, a short new version layered over the original that was pointing distinctly in a direction that would have sucked less.

[gotham]

What's your The Batman 2 wishlist?

1️⃣ Bruce to remain the same pathetic depressed bratty man child he was in the first film. i don't want some miraculous time jump wellness achievement, he should still be unable to make basic eye contact with people, he should still have the disposition of someone who has perpetual wet socks, he still shouldn't know how to even boil an egg on his own and is too scared to ask alfred at this point. like yes he's trying, he's not the total nocturnal reclusive gremlin he was in the first film and he's working on how to actually use the Bruce Wayne persona for good, but man, he's still fucking terrible at it (and yes he should still have the hair cut--and dress like--a teenager from 2006).

2️⃣ For Bruce's relationship with Alfred to be explored a little more (tell us more about how Alfred taught him to fight and all his MI6 training), and for it to be steadier than it was in the previous film but its still fucking weird. Now Bruce has acknowledged he cares about Alfred and he would be sad if he died (which is like probably the most vulnerable thing he's ever said to anyone which is very sad) they should get along better and do all their little unhinged bat projects together but Bruce is still very bad at relationship and his entitlement is insane so he should still be that brat boy who is very rude to his dad-employee-teacher-housewife.

3️⃣ I want it to have one main clear villain, hopefully one we've not seen before who can reveal/highlight something about Batman/Bruce or his family legacy. I don't want it to suffer with a too many villains problem, I actually don't care about seeing riddler or joker again because both would need their own plots to really shine as they're big picture kinda villains and would be wasted on the side-lines. i just don't want the film to get cluttered and bloated bc they think characters have to be there. I'd prefer these films to be stand alone adventures instead of one continuous story.

4️⃣ Speaking of Bruce's family history, I'd love to know more about the Arkhams and Martha, I feel like its such a tease to have Bruce learn that his mother struggled w/ mental illness and to not explore that. It must terrify him that he's like her and she was institutionalised (she probably witnessed her own parents death or found their bodies too like COME ON) or maybe it's a comfort to know they share something and there's more of a reason for him to be like he is. in any case, its time for bruce's mummy issues to be explored, daddy issues are so done 🥱

5️⃣ For it to still be small scale. One of the best things about The Batman was it was just a case batman was solving, it was just a mystery about regular people in Gotham and nothing more catastrophic than a sick car chase happened and the city got flooded at the end. And you were so much more invested in that than some laser pointing in the sky and the world ending. Keep to those stakes, keep it a human story--a detective story--above all else.

[f4nd0m-fun]

Because you enjoyed this I dug up my old document on it. Also be warned, Pariah Dark is a mother hen in this. 😂

-the fact he has an heir now, Pariah is a lot calmer, if not worse of a hen than Clockwork.

I'll give you a link but I'll also post some excerpts, I have to get ready for a few things but let me know what you think ^^

Also, there was a bit of an idea that there's a few different families who have wings in Gotham alone, even if the bloodlines aren't pure enough to actually let them fly with them (in fact, the ones who can fly usually redid some version of the original deal to do so).

BTW, this is the version I made with DP, in this Jonathan Crane is descended from both the Fentons and the Nightingales (oof).

Also, the story itself was gonna be 'Good parents Fenton send Danny away to fix things so their tech doesn't hurt him) or something similar, so he gets sent to Jack's brother.

Also that Fenton wings were more genetic based (so Maddie couldn't grow any) while the Nightingales are more magic based, so the adopted kids can gain wings and if Bruce marries there's a nearly-lost ritual he can use.

=====||=====||=====||======||=====||=====||=====

Panic Attack Warning

Also, bully teacher who is most likely getting fired.

Danny was no stranger to bullies, whether it be lunch money, tests, or a punching bag they were after. He was also used to teachers who pushed their rules, who played favorites and sneered at those they thought of as less. At least he had his cloak, a secure weight upon his shoulders, much lighter than the crown he would day wear.

Mr. Welch seemed to zero in on his sour mood. "Nightingale?"

A sigh escaped his lips, his fist digging into the feathers. "Yes, sir?"

"Tell me, in the Silmarillion, what is the moral behind the oath of Fëanor?"

He stared at the board a bit before glancing at the book in front of him. "I'm not certain, I think it’s that you shouldn’t promise something if you can’t actually do it?"

The teacher sighed. “No, Nightingale.”

There was a snicker behind him, Danny ignored it.

“Yes, Atkins? Can you answer?”

“Choosing violence in the heat of the moment will almost always end with suffering.”

“Good job.” He looked at Danny. “Now, was that so hard?”

“But-”

“You got it wrong, Nightingale.”

Danny hadn’t realized how close the teacher was until the cloak was yanked off his shoulders, feathers scattering. “No! Give that back!”

“You can have it after class is over, clearly it's distracting you.”

The laughter that had been bouncing through the room suddenly stopped at that; all the students knew better than to take another’s prized possession. Some money, maybe their homework, or even a jacket? All fair game. But anything that was clearly precious? You never knew how the kid would lash out, especially the corvids.

Danny watched as the teacher walked away, but he did not take stock of the room itself. His wings, they were gone, seared away again. And he shook, like the shocks that wracked his form, mouth aiming to scream the silent terror that took over as his vocal cords were fried and healed time and time again until he had made his way out, wings in tatters, the scent of burning meat hovering over his f-

“Ghostling, you are not experiencing that anymore...” The tone was deep and stern, the barest hint of kindness underneath the ancient voice, mingling with a soft sorrow..

Danny continued to shake, but leaned into the cold warmth of armor and shadow. He had no idea where he was or how he’d arrived, but he was glad his p̸a̴t̷r̵o̸ was here for him.

“I guided you to a dark space as well as I could, it is hard for me to show after all.”

Danny didn’t pay too much heed to the words, merely listening to the soothing tones and trying to calm himself.

Pariah was determined to get that cloak back quickly, It was an important gift to his heir, and was too powerful to be left in the wrong hands. But, right now? All his focus was on the ghostling. “You can see the glow of my eyes, yes?”

Danny slowly looked up at his face and nodded weakly.

“What else?” Pariah mused as he waited for a response.

“The... light under the door...”

“Good. Again.” Perhaps it was a good thing Tik had trapped them together in a loop until Pariah learned how to help the ghostling.

“Uh... there’s shelves in here.”

“Can you find anything else?” Thankfully, ghosts could see well in darkness, though Shadow Cores like himself did even better.

“I think I see a mop? P̸a̷t̵r̴o̷, are we in a closet?”

“Are you feeling better? Can you name something you can feel?” He hoped he didn’t forget anything until Danny was fully calmed.

“A... bit.”

He felt a smaller hand grab the figment of his own.

“I... can feel you, sorta. Your armor, your... essence..?”

He nodded. “What else?”

“The... floor. It’s solid.”

“Good. Give me ano-” Before he could finish, Pariah’s connection to the shadows was lost as the door opened. His form lasted not even a second in the light, but his hearing caught the reaction of both his heir and the intruder. Suddenly, the door was slammed and he felt the connection grow again, sighing softly as he returned. “Call your uncle,” he hesitantly began, hugging the ghostling again. “I don’t think you should stay here the rest of the day.”

“But your- my-”

“The cloak will be returned, I assure you, and whoever picks you up will make certain it is returned.”

Danny sighed heavily, and clung to Pariah as he fished his phone out of his pocket.

=====||=====||=====||======||=====||=====||=====

1) I again like the idea that the Batman has baby wings as they Alfred grants them their adult wings. Also the idea that the Wayne adoptees get wings though magical adoption or something. Maybe they hide the wings as robins and batgirls but Alfred Gifts them once they move to a new name.

2) He's probably even more of a fuck off about Gotham, he's not stepping in there unless you get some rabid hellhounds to drag him in, so he probably assumes it's a Gotham thing. Of course, if he ever meets Alfred... well, I'm laughing at the idea of Alfred pretty much magically slapping him in the face with one of his soul shards and basically saying 'the inflation for this is just not worth it anymore, it's gotten ridiculous, take it back at once before I change my mind." and Constantine just REELS or something.

3) What if Alfred is Bound to Gotham as part of his deal with the Waynes? And Joker knows that it's dangerous to hurt a bird in Gotham, so maybe he'll mosey along that way and pray to whatever demon he's working with.

4) That would explain Bruce's recovery after Bane broke his back.

5) WINGS! I love your ideas. Personally I liked the idea that Bruce has owl wings because of the Court but those are GORGEOUS. Also, my document details the ideas I had for the wings. And yeah, lil Galaxy baby.

What's funny is Dark Ages with Little Danny is basically the Origin Trio of Pokemon - Time, Space, and Void.

@f4nd0m-fun here (I hope they allow us to ask with secondary blogs soon)

Just how wild do you like your Batfam cryptids? I've got ideas for days.

One is a wing fic where all the bats essentially end up half demon. Thomas and Martha make a deal with Alfred to help fix the city and clean up the curses and everything, and. Alfred asks for 'the souls of your descendants' at the point, not caring much for humanity but hoping to get ahead of those pesky demons in his soul collection (so and so said he has Constantine's soul but that's only a piece! What about a bunch of souls that have been tainted by the spirit of a city that has never had reason to hope? Now those are some rare and dark souls).

The Waynes were hoping he'd take their souls instead but he refuses (maybe they're too full of hope or something) but, over time, he grows attached and ends up giving Bruce a shard of his power, allowing him to transform into a demonic winged form based on an animal for his protection after his parents die. When he's young the form is a snowy owl, but once he come back and became Batman his wings have changed. Each of the babies is the same way. As Robin, they gain their baby wings, but, once they move to a new name, their wings evolve.

'The Demon's Head' isn't just a fancy title, the Al'ghul's are demon descended, so Damien is at least a quarter demon even at the beginning, but Alfred's power can't be passed genetically like they thought, so he was born grounded. In this, he shows up sooner, Talkia asking Jason to take Damien with him to his father since she knows her father will kill him for being wingless.

Tim, poor baby. He couldn't fly as Robin because his wings were a shattered mimicry of Jason's Robin wings. He felt like he was in the shadow of the previous Robin, making the 'replacement' nickname sting even more, but, eventually, he grows into the wings of a cardinal and learns to fly.

I'm not sure if Alfred marks Barbara as his person, but if not, maybe he regrets not doing so, thinking that she might not have ended up paralyzed if he'd given her power. But also she's not really considered a 'Wayne descendant' life the kids Bruce adopted, so he'd have to directly make the deal with her. Maybe he does this with Stephanie when she comes along, still thinking about how Barbara might've been better off with a deal. Also, he keeps trying to hold off on gathering their souls because he's grown attached. I figure he'd probably end up wanting to turn them into proper demons too tho when they eventually die but, for now, until the city has been restored (if it ever will be), the Batfam is essentially immortal, and Alfred might be pulling some strings so no one realizes the Waynes are as well. As a side note, I debated Alfred x Lady Gotham for this story.

-

Then I had a dpxdc version of this where the wings were still demonic in origin but basically Scarecrow and Bruce are many many family lines removed cousins from an ancestor who was siblings with Jack Nightingale. On top of that, Danny had wings but they got charred when he was electrocuted. This one also has Clock x Pariah and they have wings due to something to do with ghosts, Danny gets a cloak made out of their feathers while his ghost side slowly grows its own wings (but he'll never have wings as a living again).

-----

Sorry for the long send, I got a bit carried away, but if you want I can dig up my AU again and share what I have for the wings at least, not sure what else I've got written down.

#colony of bats AU

Honestly I love both of these ideas, but what if they were say, combined.

Alfred gifts Bruce a shard of his power- everyone knows the Waynes have wings, even if in most cases too small to fly. But the wings are feathered, usually bright and flashy for the men who inherit the trait.

Which means they're very identifiable. But like you said, Alfred gets (ugh) attached to this little mortal. He's practically raised him and honestly thinks it's adorable watching him manipulate the other richfolk at galas into thinking he's such a "polite young man." Bruce is practically his baby!

So he gifts him a bit of his blood (which we know via Constantine can extend ones lifespan including giving them a bit of healing) and an itty bitty piece of his own power. Just enough for Bruce to be able to willingly call upon it. Just enough for him to disappear into shadows. Just enough for his eyes to gain a hint of an unholy glow. Just enough for a hint of claws. Just enough for feathered wings to shift into jagged mimicries of his own.

You know what could be an interesting thing? The wings are Realms in origin. We know the FentonNightingales separated into the Fentons and Nightingales some time after Jack, so whose to say that the Nightingales didn't get into magic. Perhaps they were given a gift to thank them after a bit of protection or assistance. And the infinite realms are well, infinite. It attaches to all worlds, including say the more demonic ones. But whose to say none of the Fentons made a deal or three in the generations following. They were witch hunters after all, perhaps they need something to keep up with the "traitors" of their bloodline.

Perhaps a deal which resulted in those matching wings.

Now, how could they find out their relation with the Fentons? While there could be the adoption route, what if instead it was right after Danny's accident.

He died screaming, visibly got electrocuted, his wings are torched, there's no way they're not taking him to the hospital. Which means things like blood tests, maybe even a donated organ or two because someone doesn't get blasted with that much electricity without consequences.

Which, it's the batfamily, they definitely have alarms set up for any sort of family pings for both themselves and their rogues. Just in case.

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

Also had no idea where to put it but if this includes demons and ghosts feeding on fear, or emotions in general, then Scarecrow could be instinctively attempting to feed and grow his wings. Also he deserves raven or rook wings. Maybe a jay's if you wanna go for color.

Oh my gosh, even if Alfred and Gotham don't get together, they definitely have tea together and spar. They're definitely co-parenting either platonically or romantically, it doesn't matter this is their specialist lil boy. Who then brings even more of the specialist lil ones ever!

God I love the implications of Clockwork and Pariah creating a cloak of wings for a ghostling for them to use as their feathers slowly grow back. Love what that implies for the culture of the ghost zone. Love the idea of it maybe having an influence on Danny's wings in ghost form since a ghost's appearance is influenced by their image about themself.

[thesorcerersapprentice]

🌿  R U P E R T 🌿

Rupert is the dastardly 95-year-old protagonist of ‘The Birthday Party.’ Keep reading to view his complete profile and plotted arc! *I will update this page as I come up with new details. 

TW: (Fictional) Homophobia, Suicide, Homicide, Racism. TAG LIST: (ask to be + or - ) @the-finch-address @violetboy

Image Credits: Lost Tales, a world inbetween - Rose Moreno

🌿  I D - CARD 

Full Name: Rupert (meaning: ”bright” & “fame”) Ozymandias (meaning: “tyrant” & “megalomaniac”) Alfred (meaning: “elf” & “council”) Cromwell (meaning “lives by the winding stream.”) Age: 95 Sex & Gender: Male Sex/Cisgender. Sexuality: Gay? Straight? I can’t decide. Can having a villainous gay protagonist work? On the one hand, I'm afraid of writing a protagonist who can potentially fuel hatred towards the LGBTQ+ community, but on the other hand, that's who he (the protagonist) is. What to do? Note: I haven't written him to demonize the community. The story doesn't state that he is evil because he is gay. I've just written a person who makes questionable moral choices, who also just so happens to be gay (in fact, his openness about his sexuality is pretty much one of his only redeeming qualities). It should also be noted that his antagonist, the novel's " hero, " is also a part of the LGBTQ+ community. Race & Ethnicity: White, British. Physical Description: Rupert has blue-green eyes that have clouded over to a certain degree with age. At the time the novel is set in, he’s suffering from macular degeneration and has to go for weekly eye injections to preserve what vision he has left (he can read if the print is enormous.) He has very fine, white hair and a receding hairline; a square jaw, an attractive, albeit wrinkled, face, and a deep, handsome laugh. In his old age, he’s become top-heavy, with a protruding belly balanced upon stilt-like (but sturdy) legs. Since his hip surgery, he walks with the assistance of a walking stick and shuffles rather than strides. When angered, his face goes red.  Occupation: A famous writer of plays and novels (has won all the prizes you could think of.) He has also been known to design the sets for his own productions. 

🌿  PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE

Rupert’s Five (SEVEN?) Dimensions: Graphic needs updating. For a complete list of traits, see below. 

Rupert’s Seven Dimensions, Expanded: 

Generous v. Stingy: Rupert is known to host lavish parties at his own expense, shower his guests with luxurious gifts, and donate funds to various social programs. The idea that he is a generous person is very important to him, and he is often overtaken by emotionally ecstatic fantasies of his own benevolence (e.g., he may be watching a program about orphans and erupt into tears and heartfelt promises to adopt one.) However, his generosity is selective and limited. Basically, he’s never going to adopt an orphan; he just likes thinking that he might. Rupert only gives gifts to people (or organizations) when he reasonably expects to reap some benefit later (usually social status). The higher the person's status, the more luxurious the gift, and the more public the generosity. The lower the person's status, the less likely he will lift a finger. Rupert is also known to be overcome by bouts of impulsive generosity, which he later regrets; he can and will send someone to ask for his ‘gift’ back (he won’t do this himself. To understand why see “Cowardly” Trait below). Additionally, if a lower-status person requests something from him and he does decide to acquiesce, they can be sure to receive less than requested.

Rational vs. Mercurial: He is a best-selling, award-winning author known for scathing and intuitive deconstructions of the current milieu. His shrewd intelligence has earned him a place among the intellectual giants of his time. He is also socially intelligent; Rupert knows who’s feet to step on and who’s to avoid. However, this measured, astute demeanor is underscored by a quick, ferocious temper that lurks below the surface. If questioned or criticized, Rupert will explode. He is susceptible to accusations of stinginess and loathes being out-shone but will just as quickly erupt into a rage at the slightest annoyance on a bad day. His background in the BDSM community has equipped him with a broad and shocking spectrum of insults. When high (on pot), he becomes highly unpredictable. 

Sensitive vs. Sadistic: Rupert’s ability to empathize contributes to his professional and social success. He is approachable, able to understand emotionally complex situations, and has a gift for putting people at ease. He knows right from wrong; he can recognize an injustice when one presents itself and immediately sympathize. However, Rupert also derives satisfaction from seeing and inflicting pain (of being the author of injustice.) The delight he gets from this is heightened by his ability to fully empathize with the suffering individual (is it, therefore, a sort of self-harm, I wonder? An externalized form of self-loathing and catharsis?) His sadistic side has led him to lead a secret BDSM life, where he sometimes plays the penitent and sometimes the merciless punisher. His intelligence makes him exceptionally gifted at spontaneous degrading speeches.

Brave vs. Cowardly: Rupert is openly gay, which requires enormous bravery given the LGBTQ+ hostile era he lives in and his less-than-tolerant social circle. He is also openly left-wing and socialist among staunchly conservative friends. Beyond that, he is an immigrant, which means at one point, he had to risk everything he’d ever known to migrate to the USA. He is bold, adventurous, and a risk-taker. However, although Rupert will demand people respect who he is, that doesn’t mean he will do the same for others. He will throw everyone else under the proverbial bus to keep his social status (he particularly despises lesbians and will make fun of them endlessly.) Incidentally, he also finds women’s voices (especially news presenter’s) shrill and annoying (is he a bit of a misogynist?) There is no value he will not betray, no low he will not stoop to, to keep his comfortable life going (including allowing Beatrice to discreetly drown her husband in front of him?)

Charming vs. Insecure: The most dangerous thing about Rupert is how charming he is. It is almost impossible not to like him. When he speaks to you, he makes you feel that you’re in on the joke, that you’ve been in on the joke for years, that you are fast friends, special.

Worldly vs. Immature:

Proper vs. Wild:

Fears: To be updated. Desires: To be updated.

🌿  PUBLIC PROFILE

Social Class: Born privileged. British Boarding School Background. Probably Oxford or Cambridge Educated. Moral Values: If asked, he’ll tell you he supports leftist politics, abortion, women's rights, and gay marriage. He’ll let you know he cries over TV specials of dying children, attends charity galas, and has adopted a rescue cat. However, you’d be hard-pressed to see him do a charitable thing he doesn’t somehow benefit from (oh, and he got his cat’s vocal cords removed.) Living Arrangements: Rupert inhabits an enormous (rectangular) New York/London Apartment he bought for a pittance twenty years ago. The apartment itself is so fabulously decorated in an ‘Haute-Bohemian’ style (by Rupert himself) that it’s been featured in numerous high-end magazines. This is a front; Rupert is so talented at creating stage sets that he’s designed the apartment to convince people he’s extremely wealthy when he’s actually not. If you look closely, you’ll see there’s hardly a piece of furniture without a chip in it or that you couldn’t get at a junk sale. Furthermore, his bedroom is unconventionally situated right in the center of the apartment, the so-called “beating heart” of the home. Rupert opted for this layout for two reasons: first, he can hear anything in the apartment at any given time; second, no one can walk through the apartment without walking past him. It allows him to play the part of the minotaur at the center of the maze. 

🌿  RELATIONSHIPS

~

🌿  EXTRAS

Likes: Figs/Red Wine/Younger Men/ Voluptuous Women/ Coronation Chicken/Turquoise/Smoking Pot/Being the Centre of Attention/The Opera. Dislikes: Small Food Portions (Haute Cuisine)/ Rowdy Restaurants/ Name-Dropping (by others, he loves doing this himself)/ Indie Music/ Women News Presenters/ Being Called Out. 

🌿 ARC: To be updated.

[zahri-melitor]

Okay, general roundup of New 52 titles I have read so far, now I am well into 2013 in my read through:-

Batwoman, J.H. Williams run – genuinely great. This is a highlight of the New 52, honestly. If DC had stopped occasionally remembering that Kate Kane is now Bruce’s cousin and had let Kate and Maggie get married, it would be perfect.

Blue Beetle – it’s not the best Jaime run I’ve ever read, but in terms of restructuring Jaime’s origin to simplify it and remove the heavy connection with Infinite Crisis shenanigans, it worked far better than the Rebirth reboot. Let down by getting cancelled just as it started becoming more interesting (aka had finally finished the retread of Jaime’s origin story and started him having new adventures).

Threshold – this was certainly a comic I read entirely to see Jaime in it. If you are lucky enough to know nothing about it, it’s basically a planet of foxhunting tagged ‘criminals’, where Jaime ends up one of the tagged. It’s meandering, pointless and bad. I think if you’re a Lantern fan you’d also think it was bad. Deservedly knocked off after 8 issues.

Justice League Dark – I made it through 6 issues. My biggest takeaways were that everyone here was just so miserable and Boston Brand was dating Dawn Granger for reasons that surpassed understanding. I want to like it more than I do, for the cast it has.

Batgirl, Gail Simone run – appealing and infuriating in turn. There’s some genuinely beautiful writing here (the WWII paper balloons!) and Babs is recognisable as Babs, but it’s horribly let down by the fact that ‘healing’ Barbara means that she’s now both not allowed to operate as Oracle (by editorial dictat) AND she’s having trouble as a street vigilante as she’s still recovering from her injuries. It makes sense but it also makes Barbara doubly incompetent which is maddening as they’ve taken away everything that was hers specifically. Also James Gordon Jnr is always intensely irritating to have around and I am never going to get over giving Babs a villain called ‘Knightfall’ in the run immediately after healing her back. Yes. I got the reference. It’s not that funny.

Birds of Prey – it’s hmmm still finding its feet. Lacks the soul of the original run, but there are flashes of the old magic occasionally. It is hilarious to me that they decided to merge Dinah Drake and Dinah Lance back into a single character for this run, creating a bizarre new ex-husband for Dinah in Kurt Lance (seriously, Kurt Lance, why do you exist you’re so weird) and then within 6 issues or so abruptly realised WHY Dinah Drake and Dinah Lance have been separate characters since 1983 and reinvented a new Dinah Drake mother for the character. Spectacular. Sheer evidence that nobody involved in new 52 was actually spending much time thinking about how an all new origin reboot would affect characterisation.

Batman – I have my differences with Scott Snyder over his run, but he at least manages to make things interesting and spend time interrogating Bruce’s identity. It feels in conversation with the Loeb and Dini storylines around Thomas Elliot and that whole crowd of elite Gothamites. Lots of interesting set ups let down by execution or obsession with conspiracy theories. Love his work with Harper Row as a character.

Batman & Robin – okay folk, I do agree, this is a far far better Batman & Robin run than 2009. I feel like I’ve spent more time with Damian showing me his character rather than being informed by Morrison via Alfred mouthpiece about Damian’s character. There’s some lovely character work in here. It’s still suffering from getting New 52ed but it’s honestly the first run anywhere that’s actually really good for Damian characterisation (plus or minus the Damian and Colin Wilkes fight Zsasz plot in Streets of Gotham or Gates of Gotham).

Batman Incorporated – fuck you Grant Morrison. Nobody reading this title is having a good time. If you’re here for actual Batman Inc characters well I’m sorry, they’re mostly standing around the sidelines of a plot about Bruce, Talia and Damian. If you’re here for Talia I’m so sorry for you. If you’re here to read Bruce and/or Damian you get like 3-4 sweet scenes that I am sure you have already seen in screencapped panels floating around with no context. DC would be a better place if this book hadn’t been approved (also Cyril might still be alive)

Nightwing – this comic so far is obsessed with Haly’s Circus. Now I don’t like the whole Talon retcon (I think it cheapens a lot of things about Dick’s backstory as a character) but I will admit it’s nice to see Dick spending time with his Haly’s Circus friends and Dick’s optimistic side coming out in the ‘let’s just rebuild Amusement Mile as a place that isn’t Joker-haunted!’ Tragically of course because we’re never allowed to have nice plotlines involving Haly’s Circus it gets blown up again and lots of people die. But at least Dick’s back to owning the circus, amirite? (For bizarre ‘Pop Haly left it to him in his will’ reasons rather than Dick buying it out with his inheritance money that is totally not one of the many occasions Bruce has lied to Dick and told him that this trust fund is 100% based on investments of his parents assets, rather than Bruce attempting to give Dick Wayne money again so he stops living out of cardboard boxes in a tiny apartment)

Red Hood and the Outlaws – I have now suffered through three whole issues of this comic (actually 4 but I paged through that one to read like one scene at the end) and it is determined to make me hate everyone involved with it in terms of its disrespect for Roy and Kory. Also all the issues kept trying to convince me that Jason and Tim have always been each others�� favourite brothers, which lol. (If that’s actually ever true for Jason it’s the most hilarisad thing ever).

Teen Titans – I made it through two issues for crossover purposes. I am tempted to come back as I think I will get some stuff out of it once I’ve finished my Teen Titans 2003 read (and look there does actually appear to be some things in here I may enjoy). Can’t believe Kurt Lance shows up in this comic. I swear he’s my new nemesis.

Suicide Squad – I am 100% not reading this comic, I only opened it for crossover issues. What have they done to Amanda Waller. (Also why is Harley Quinn trying to date Floyd Lawton, did editorial suddenly realise how many people are into his deep uh comradery with Thomas Blake and overreact trying to remove the gay cooties or something?)

Catwoman and Detective Comics – honestly I haven’t got a good enough read on either yet from the few issues I’ve read, but ‘Tec is running a Penguin plot and I’m not in the mood for a Penguin plot at the moment.

So far, my recommendations: Batwoman I recommend without hesitation. Batman & Robin has been embroidered in fans’ memories but is worthwhile in any case. Batman is interesting stories sometimes let down in execution and may actually read better if you avoid touching any tie-in issues for a readthrough.

Nightwing, Batgirl, Birds of Prey and Blue Beetle are “these are some of my favourite characters, I want to know even if I don’t always like it” reads. They’re still the same characters, just trapped in a maddening world.

[sheepibum]

{ Re:Zero Fic Masterlist }

I said I'd make one to keep track of all my projects for this fandom, since it honestly got me through most of last year's lockdown. I will be super slow in getting anything done, but this is probably one of the series I've found easy to write, so there's hope!

The list is pretty damn long so it's under the cut.

[Standalone]

⚜ please don’t call this ‘gardening’ [Complete]

Summary: Love rattles in his lungs.

A hanahaki AU, bc I love suffering.

⚜ this purgatory between hells [i have bits and pieces]

Summary: While Subaru builds ladders out of his own mortality, those who wish to save him are doomed to slide down the snakes born from their failures. (Or, the various failures of the Subaru faction.)

Written mostly for me, might count as attempt #1 at writing some sort of ‘reaction’ fic, except for the part that, instead of a theater we have an empty, blank space in which some characters relevant to the plot, rather than see what Subaru has been through, are allowed to have their memories from the if timelines and their goal is to keep Subaru from going off the rails like that, which, as you can probably guess from the number of existing ifs, doesn’t always work. It doesn't make much sense if I explain it, huh? :/

⚜ a little glow and dance [concept only]

Summary: Subaru dies, a minor spirit wakes up and falls in love too many times to count, Subaru returns to fulfill a promise; in that order.

To say: “I am Lazarus, come from the dead,

Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all”—

T. S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

Right, so I don’t want to spoil the whole thing, but basically after Subaru dies, a minor spirit is adopted by people who miss him because it reminds them of him.

⚜ To Sin, Perchance to Grieve [concept only]

Summary: In a familiar, unfamiliar dream, Subaru is confronted by those who made different choices. A madman, a despot, a coward, a pervert, a tool, an idiot—all of them wearing Subaru’s face.

Subaru has a ‘conversation’ with the if’s assortment of Subarus, who blame him (of course) for not becoming them.

⚜ The Days of Our End [concept only]

Summary: This is just an ending, not the worst, not the best, not even truly worth writing about. But it’s the ending Subaru achieved, after all his sacrifices; an ending he’s not sure he’s satisfied with, with the thrumming in his chest constantly beating ‘you should have done better’ against his ribs.

Well, at some point before finishing Arc 6, I got thinking about a ‘neutral ending’, as in videogames good/bad/true ending, this was one when you don’t complete all the missions you should and get stuck in a meh ending. Lots of consequences and weird ships bc I decided I wanted to have fun with Lugunica’s views on relationships.

⚜ The WC Insider (Issue #664 How To Live Love Laugh With Your New Archbishop!) [concept only]

Summary: Subaru is feeling a terrible cocktail of pity, second-hand embarrasment and morbid fascination, because he knew everyone who had made a conscious decision to join something like the Witch Cult had to be a bit touched in the head, but how are these people still alive? That title alone should be grounds for execution via firing squad.

Otto, accurately interpreting his silence as only a friend, nay, a best friend could, cringed in his chair.

“Please don’t mention the title, I tried bringing it up, but apparently is all they have left of their deceased leader so they don’t want to change it.”

“Wow, their leader was an asshole.”

Just pure crack. AU, most likely taking place right after Arc 3, where Subaru decides to infiltrate the Witch Cult, which somehow is a bigger mess than he is. Inspired by a discord conversation!

⚜ Kindertotenlieder [0/2]

Summary: Songs on the Death of Children, and the nightmares that haunt (as they should) those who do not know that the child in question should be mourned.

A second attempt at not writing a react fic, sort of. So, basically, a bunch of characters have nightmares about some of Subaru’s bad endings without any context whatsoever and don’t exactly take it well. That’s it, that’s the whole plot.

⚜ for those lost and those lesser [3/3] [Complete]

Summary: Crusch loses herself, Subaru loses Rem; briefly, they find each other.

In the end, everyone is aware of this: nobody keeps any of what he has, and life is only a borrowing of bones. Pablo Neruda, “October Fullness”

My Crusch/Subaru fic for the Re:Zero Gift Exchange. It's another sad introspection stream of thoughts, tho. :/ At least it was fun to try to write Crusch.

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[Multichapter Fic]

🌠⚡ Start, From Minus [3/5]

Summary: Freshly isekai’d Subaru runs into a master swordman who saves him, and gets involved in the Royal Selection of Lugunica in order to help his employer. All of that sounds the same, save for the fact that everything is different.

Or: six months before his supposed otherworldly adventure should have begun, Subaru ends up being summoned to the Vollachia Empire, meets a Divine General and starts hacking away at the plot.

This fic came to me in a vision.

No, but really. I had just finished reading the if stories, with Wrath being my favorite by far, when I had the fortune of stumbling upon a comic with a small AU ft. Subaru and Cecilius (thanks, pixiv); I, of course, have no idea what the comic was about bc I can’t read Japanese kanji, but it made an Impression on me and next thing I knew I had devoted a few hours every day for a week in a draft that was the most complete draft I have ever put to paper; for reference, my ‘drafts’ tend to look like this:

While the draft I wrote down for this thing looks like this:

I need to revise and edit the whole thing, but I have a good 18k words written already, so it’s definitely happening at some point. Also, no wonder I have such a hard time cleaning up my drafts, huh? Ugh.

update: I have finished posting the chapters that I had in my draft, so updates will be very slow, unless I get another vision or something, idk ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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[Series]

🌺 flowers for you

�� for you to be spring [10/10] [Complete]

Summary: Soul marks appear in pairs and each pair blooms only once; these are the things Subaru learns: an important person, an important event, an once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. As if Subaru should be so lucky.

A soulmate AU, bc it's one of my weaknesses. Also, flowers as soul marks bc flowers and flower language are two other weaknesses I have. The last chapter should be up in a couple of hours or so.

🍁 I’ll dig a grave for fall [7/7; in hiatus until we get more Ifs]

Summary: These bouquets of poisonous flowers bloom whether he wants it or not because such is the nature of the world he has been summoned to—it is only fair that Subaru answers in kind.

Soulmate AU, but for the If stories. It should be fun, but like in the masochistic sense. But this is a re:zero fic, so it's pretty much expected.

I have tentative titles for at least another 3 ifs (envy, vainglory and melancholy, if we ever get them), and titles for the next two installments of the series for Arc 5-6 and Arc 7 and beyond (if we ever get them animated).

◾◽◾◽◾

🍒 the minor sin of indulgence

🌙 the difference between starlight and moonshine [0/5]

Summary: The shenanigans of Natsuki Subaru and friends when they’re not busy fighting for their (but mostly his) lives. (Or: a collection of self-indulgent minifics using the overused tropes and AUs I should despise, but am actually weak to. )

Well, this one’s exactly what it says on the tin. My parody ABO fic is going to be here.

🎭 I’ll find you believing I’ll be found [4/10]

Summary: These may be different worlds, but they still manage to find each other, for better or worse.

Crossover AUs, in which I shove the Re:Zero cast into the world of some other series and watch them struggle with it, so far with terrible results, but at least one of these AUs will be sort of happier, I promise.

🌟 just a little bit of blood in your hands [0/5]

Summary: A medley of heroes and villains and everything in between with familiar faces, where anyone can wear a mask whether it suits them or not, and not everyone manages to be on the right side of anything for long.

Heroes & Villains Aus, mostly with superpowers, Subaru-centric and Reinhard-centric because I say so. At least one is heavily inspired by the Tiger & Bunny’s brand of heroics.

👑 Coins in a Wishing Well [3/5]

Summary: It’s common knowledge by now that stories repeated a thousand times are like an invasive species; they can dig their roots where you least expect it and wrap their vines around whichever actors they fancy to be retold.

Fantasy AUs! From ghosts to gods to fairy tale retellings, and probably my favorite stories so far. A couple of these are already half-written.

update: finally posted what is my favorite chapter so far! It's a Beaty and the Beast retelling! I worked very hard on it!!

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💟 the shameless raisuba major sin of decadence

Right, so this 'series' is just to have somewhere to dump my raisuba fics, no-plot-just-feels raisuba fics, mostly AU raisuba fics. Low effort/high shipping needs fics written by me for me about my rarepair of choice for this fandom :)

💗 To Have and To Hoard [i dunno, i have exactly one scene and a half and it feels like it’s half done]

Summary: So maybe falling in bed with his overpowered knight friend wasn’t the best idea Subaru had ever had, but he really couldn’t think of a safer place to hide for a little while before he died horribly again. Of course, in true Subaru fashion, Subaru goes on to not die like a champ after that.

This is the first bad plotbunny I had for this ship and now I must write it. Please expect it to be every bit as bad as it sounds. Sorry in advance.

💖 The Broom Waltz [i have the beginning and the end and no idea what to do in the middle]

Summary: A story in which Subaru is a loyal servant and Reinhard is looking for the next Queen, but with a twist (or: the Cinderella remix).

I mean, it is inspired by the fairy tale, but there’s technically no magic in this one so I couldn’t put it in my fantasy AUs.

💘 someone will call you love (this is how it begins) [Complete]

Summary: Reinhard gets lovingly smacked into next week with the holy frying pan of smitten (not to be confused with the holy frying pan of smiting).

Because once, while watching the end of the first arc for the hundredth time, I thought to myself: one day I am going to writea shippy retelling of this shoujo worthy second meeting, and that is a threat. And here we are.

I managed to finish this one for the 2022 Iridescent Pride event, but it unfortunately lost all the crack it was supposed to have in the process; it got kind of sad, sorry.

💝 with all the pieces of the broken-hearted [1/5]

Summary: Their hearts and the ways they both have broken are entirely different, but there’s something to be said for how they still manage to build something out of their wreckages.

This is the self-indulgent pit, the bottom of the barrel for my need to ship these two, low brain/low effort minifics with terrible plots and more ‘well I think it’d be funny’ than sense. Like, if someone was going to arrest me for fic crimes, it’d be because of this thing. One chapter is finished, so I will be uploading something soon-ish.

There, first chapter is up and it's all downhill from here.

[hetalia-reacts]

Hi, I'm new to the hetalia fandom. And I was wondering can you do soft platonic Yandere Allies and/ or Axis that just discovered a new colony ( I recently just watched Kolkol's video about how countries are born as babies ). So what is the Allies going to do when they find the new baby ( their a tiny newborn btw ) country peacefully sleeping in a pretty flower field. And when the new country wakes up, they start squealing happily and star reaching out to them with a cute gummy smile. Now the countries has new baby sister.

I like this idea~ Also welcome to the fandom! I’m an old fan back from the dead for season 7 ^^

America

Alfred was kind of lost at first when he saw a literal baby laying in a field of flowers

I mean even as a yandere he would never do something like leave a child to die

This is about when he realizes that maybe the kid wasn’t actually a human child, but the new colony he’s heard about

It’s 100% likely that Alfred has never seen a baby country before, not a newborn and not a chibi one either

The closest he’s seen to a baby country was probably Sealand

Alfred was about to pick up the kid and pawn them off to someone else because he’s got important things to do, but they opened their eyes and looked right at him

And then the kid smiled?? Reaching out for him??

You could literally hear his psyche snap

Alfred decides then and there that no one would be getting a hold of this kid other than him

He really changes more than he ever has when he has his yandere moments

Alfred become exactly what this kid needs, a responsible big brother that protects and teaches them, and by god does he do his job

This child will never know sadness, yes even if Alfred is a yandere and has his more violent moments where he basically barricades the child inside he could never truly hurt them

No one will ever lay a hand on them without facing the consequences

I also suspect that because this child is well, a baby, and will never be a love interest to him, Alfred will allow the child to leave and be somewhat free once they get older and can care for themselves

His condition though is that they have to call him and visit him every so often and tell him everything, even about the guy that bumped into them without apologizing 2 weeks ago

Canada

Matthew is very confused at first

I mean what kind of monster leaves a defenseless newborn out in a field of flowers?

It’s only when he sees the child does he realize they aren’t human but in fact the new colony that was near Canada

He never planned to not raise this child, I mean it was near him and he’d be damned if he was letting Alfred care for this baby instead

However, the baby finally opened its eyes and immediately started smiling and laughing at him, even trying to grab onto him

Matthew kind of gets a dark aura around him, if anyone were to have seen him at this moment they probably wouldn’t even recognize him

It’s at this moment he decides to be this baby’s big brother forever, to protect them, to keep them away from war and everything else that could hurt them even at his own expense

Matthew doesn’t change much, he’s already very responsible and he knows the basic baby care

But his attitude is different around others now

Unlike Alfred who would keep the baby away from others Matthew will at the very least show them to those he trusts, so France or Cuba, maybe even England too

He wouldn’t hesitate to snatch them up or even yell at whoever is holding them too long or making them cry

Matthew won’t let the child go far once they grow up

They may not have to live with him, but they aren’t going to leave for their country by themselves or live in a completely different province than him

He just has to protect the baby, even when they aren’t a baby anymore,

he will even lose his polite Canadian facade to protect them

England

This isn’t Arthur’s first rodeo

he knows from the moment he sees the baby in the flowers what happened and what it means

And what it means is that he’s a big brother again

Already without even getting close to the baby does he decide to kill anyone who would dare hurt them or take them away

But when he does get closer and they wake up giggling and reaching for him

Oh boy is he all the more smitten and determined now

The baby will likely never see anyone other than him or ever even learn about anyone other than him and themselves

Arthur is afraid they’ll choose someone over him and leave him all alone again

so he just refuses to tell them anything other than the edited version of British history and the baby’s history

He will fight and destroy anyone who comes to see the baby or tries to tell him he’s acting insane

He just doesn’t buy it, this is normal big brother behavior, it’s his duty to protect and shield them from the world

As stated before the baby will likely know nothing other than him when they grow up, they won’t be allowed to leave either

He’ll make up any excuse to keep them inside

Kind of like a Tangled situation where he tells scary stories of the outside to make them fear ever leaving his house or its perimeters

France

Just like Arthur, he knew the second he saw the child that it was no ordinary human baby

Francis was going to take care of them regardless of what or who the baby was

He was content and already falling in love with the baby while it was peacefully sleeping

But then they opened their eyes and squealed in happiness at seeing him!!

Francis’ yandere side becomes more apparent after this point

He’s also one of the few who would raise the baby to call him papa or dad, while he likes being big brother he feels it’s different in this situation since he’s going to raise them from their newborn state

The baby will only see people Francis approves of, people he knows won’t steal the baby away from him or convince him he wasn’t stable enough to raise them

So Canada, Monaco, and Seychelles

England will never even know of the child, Francis can’t trust that he won’t try and fight him for the baby

He will tell the baby everything, the child will grow up knowing the world, but Francis twists some things to boost himself and his history up so that his child will always hold him in high regards

The baby will never lift a finger growing up, Francis will do everything for them

Clothes, accessories, decor, entertainment, food, pets, anything the child asked for would be placed at their feet

That’s kind of Francis’ plot to keep the child with him forever

They won’t want to leave and live on their own if they don’t know how to do anything without him

But he would let them leave if they really wanted to, they would have to live close by though

He needs to come and visit them as often as he wants and possibly figure out who he needs to get rid of if his baby ever gets hurt

Russia

While I don’t think Ivan has had any experience seeing or raising a newborn nation he knows what the baby is

He’s concerned though, this child is a new colony more than likely near his home, so it must be freezing out here for the little thing

He feels for it, his yandere side is angry and protective for the small baby, how could Mother Nature just birth them in such a cold and unforgiving place

He plans to keep the baby after holding them, he becomes attached just like that, I mean they were so cute sleeping like that totally unaware of everything

Ah but then they open their eyes and reach out for him, laughing and happy to see him

His crueler side agrees that anyone and everyone must suffer if they attempt to steal his little sunshine away

Even Belarus won’t scare him anymore when it comes to his new little sibling

Since Russia is known to not have friends no one will be seeing the baby, and Belarus might catch a glimpse but will otherwise not be allowed to ever interact with them

Lithuania might be the only one allowed to ever see the baby actually, Ivan likes him the most and if he were to come over he would allow Lithuania the honor of meeting and even holding you

He just better be careful

Ivan will protect them from everyone, even his own sisters

The baby won’t grow up knowing anything about the world other than it is cruel and unforgiving to people like them

Ivan will make sure that the child depends on him and him alone as a provider and protector

He won’t let them leave his house, the baby, the colony, their people, it’s his, and he promises to take good care of them

Everyone who gets close to the child will ultimately disappear if they seem to begin liking them more than Ivan, and no one is allowed to be a big brother or even sister other than himself

China

Yao of course knows a baby country when he sees one

This was the perfect spot, after all, a nice flowery field with no human town or village nearby

Perfect for nurturing a newborn country and also incredibly unlikely that it was a living human newborn

When he gets close enough to see them fully his yandere possessive side is already going crazy, he wants to protect them and be their big brother more than he wants to breathe

And it doesn’t help any when they finally wake up from sleeping and excitedly reach for him

Yao feels so loved at that moment

He decides only a few will see the new baby, Japan, Vietnam, and maybe South Korea

These are people that probably won’t do much to stop him from raising and being possessive over the baby

Japan and Vietnam surely won’t start a war to stop him and he won’t mind any rude comments they may make towards him since he will just cut them off from his life and South Korea wants his approval so if anything he’d support Yao’s decision

The baby will grow up sheltered, only hearing the good things about China and Chinese history

he will teach them very little about other Asian cultures and probably nothing of Western cultures

The only exception was if their culture was considered Western, then he would teach only their western culture to them that approved of

The baby was also never going to get the option to leave

Yao will raise them so they can be strong when he isn’t there but he won’t raise them to be completely independent

Surprisingly though, he would let them live on their own, even in their own country, when the time comes, but they will never truly be free

they will always be a part of China and he will make sure of it

Germany

Ludwig is also very clueless as to what the baby is

I mean, obviously a baby, but it’s strange how someone left them here considering it was quite a ways away from the nearest town and this baby didn’t look old enough to be more than a few days old

He will eventually realize that they were a colony that popped up near Germany

This is where his possessiveness starts, they were his colony in his mind and he was going to be their big brother

Ludwig gets really hooked however when they open their eyes from sleeping and make such cute happy noises he can’t help but become scarily possessive and protective over them

No one but a few of the other Germanic countries will see the child

Prussia is a given, though Ludwig is not afraid to threaten, reprimand, or cut him off for anything dangerous or harmful he may do to the baby

And Austria and Hungary will see his new sibling, though he will be keeping a close eye on Hungary as she is the biggest threat to taking them away from him

The baby will grow up cared for and knowledgeable but will follow a strict way of life

They aren’t to mock him or others, they must exercise and train, they must study history and learn about the past both their own and others, Ludwig values intelligence and strength and wishes them onto his sibling

He will not tolerate anyone messing with them however, even if they become strong or stronger than him he will always protect them in the long run since he doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty for revenge

Ludwig would let the child leave when they got older, out of everyone he is the least possessive when they grow up

His yandere tendencies seem to have only been strongly attached to baby them and while he would certainly destroy anyone who messed with them, he isn’t as possessive as he used to be, just protective now

Italy

Feliciano knows what that little baby in the flower field is

I mean, he was once one and Grandpa Rome often told him about when he found him and his older brother

He wasn’t sure if he could raise the baby though

He knows he isn’t super strong, not the best role model sometimes too, so he planned to see if someone like Austria or Spain would want to raise them

That all changed when they opened their eyes and immediately reached out for him in happiness

His more possessive yandere self couldn’t help but get immediately enamored by their charm

Since Feliciano got attached and he’s yandere, he becomes stingy with the baby

No one gets to see them, not Austria, Hungary, especially not Germany, Japan, or even Romano would be allowed to see the baby

Feliciano feels like they would outshine him, if he allowed the baby to look at them and see how much more capable they were he knew they wouldn’t stay with him

Because while he could and will kill for the child, he can’t fight fairly or intimidate anyone like the others could

He would teach them everything about Italy though! And of course their own culture too

But he would leave out everything else and always avoid teaching them about anyone else

The child would also be spoiled, Feliciano is similar to Francis in that aspect

He just wants them to be happy and to rely on him

They probably would never get to leave his house though, he really is stingy and really good at manipulating them into staying

Feliciano just really wants to be depended on for as long as he can get them too

Japan

Kiku knew what this child was

I mean, they obviously weren’t a human as they surely would’ve died at this point or even be crying hysterically for help

He had no plans to raise them, yandere or not, he’s still not the fondest of touch and them being a child didn’t help as they would not understand the concept of personal space or not wanting to be touched

So he was about ready to phone China or even Germany for help

But before he could do anything the baby woke up, smiling and cooing at him as if they were waiting for him and loved him already

You can hear his last shred of non-yandere sanity and rationality snap

He immediately becomes protective of them

They would be his little colony, he would take care of them and their people and he would make sure there was never any problems

No one would see them and they would never be allowed to make human friends either

He would isolate them from everyone, even to the point where he ruins his own progress of coming out of his shell just so they can isolate themselves together

He will make sure the child comes to know the world as a lovely and beautiful place, but one that they should never see without him

His sibling becomes spoiled, but unlike Italy and France, the child isn’t going to be waited on or just simply given everything

They will be spoiled by everything they could ever want but it’s only if they behave

No mentioning leaving or visiting places unless he brought it up and they must be respectful

Kiku will not be the big brother or someone who doesn’t know at the very least basic manners and respect

The child won’t be leaving when they grow up either, if anything Kiku would’ve successfully discouraged them from wanting to be social and molded them into basically a mini him

Romano

Lovino unlike Feliciano probably did not ever get told how he came to be or what a newborn colony/country looks like

So he definitely thinks someone just left a human baby in some flowers

Eventually, it will click that hey, a new colony appeared, a baby in a flower patch far away from any humans but relatively close to Southern Italy, ah it’s a baby country

Lovino most definitely won’t want the baby at first, he’s got some...other...priorities and some issues

He wants to call Spain asap and get the kid somewhere relatively safe

But as he’s walking away with the kid it opens its eyes and reaches out for him happily squealing

Any rationality Lovino may have had is gone now, everything his yandere side craves, love, affection, dependency, it’s all this child could give him by being his little sibling

As seen, he wants to be praised by his brother so this baby is like his second chance, his saving grace to be successful and a hero in someone’s eyes

Because of this the child will never meet anyone, he can’t afford for them to meet Feliciano or Spain because he knows deep down they would certainly like them more than him

Lovino will teach them about Southern Italy, about their culture, and maybe even about some Northern Italian and Spanish culture and traditions but under the guise that it was actually his

He won’t want this child to know anything but him and his house, no friends, no family other than him, he would make the child a recluse

He’s not necessarily the nicest sometimes, he’s prone to aggravate easily and he hates when they mention outside or seeing other people so sometimes he can come off as a little mean

But he always apologizes to them and makes it up to them since he wants them to be happy and to love him

The child won’t be allowed to be independent and leave, Lovino really will do anything to keep them together because he really doesn’t want to lose them or their love

Prussia

Gilbert is old let’s face it, he knows a newborn country when he sees one

I mean he’s likely helped raise a lot of Germanic countries and states before so this is nothing new

He obviously wants to be the baby’s new older brother, he doesn’t need any more convincing or thinking on that matter

It’s just when the baby did wake up and start squealing and reaching out for him, Gilbert realizes this won’t be the same as raising Germany

He can instantly feel the deep connection, the deep need to protect and shelter them for the rest of time

The possessiveness to not let anyone see the baby or take their attention away from him is immense

So that’s what he does

He stops relying on Germany, moves out, and forbids anyone and everyone from ever entering or coming to his home

He can't afford for this child to meet anyone else, he knows he’s no one’s favorite in the end and they would pick someone else

He knows this baby would choose Germany, Austria, or Hungary over him in a heartbeat so he won’t give them the chance

He teaches the child about Prussian history only, he wants his new sibling to be raised on his same values and culture

He wants them to feel a kinship with him and him alone

He will also isolate them from everyone since no one is coming and he would never let them anyways

he puts his own mind at ease by telling them scary stories about war, wars like he’s been in so that they will never have the urge to go out and think he is undefeatable and strong

Prussia, along with Russia, is another very big one that would very much destroy even another country if they tried to mess with his new sibling and/or steal them away

[koolkat9]

Cardverse Fic - GerEng is the main focus, but there will also be Itapan, probably some platonic Al and Art, platonic Arthur and Yao, Scotfra, and so much more. Don’t know when it will be posted since I want to finish one of my other multichapter fics before jumping onto another. 

👀

I actually made a post outlining it before but...

Basically Spades used to be a great empire but then after a war with Clubs and Diamonds and the death of their Queen and then their king, they suffered a great loss. Arthur takes the thrown following the war and is left to pick up the pieces alone as the next King is still too young to be crowned.

Despite his best efforts, they remain between a rock and a hard place. People are starving without their farmland (taken during the war), they're deep in debt, their trading partners have severed ties. Yao proposes an alliance with Hearts, the newest kingdom, but because they remained neutral and avoided the war, was no in an era of prosperity and catching up to the other kingdoms who were now riddled with war debt. But in order to truly combine the kingdoms so resources can be shared more freely, a marriage to seal the alliance is in Spades' best interest.

Arthur is opposed to it at first, citing that Spades came into power alone and he'll bring Spades prosperity alone too.

Yao counters that Arthur said he wants to put the people first. They don't have the time to rebuild on their own, plus now Diamonds and Clubs have the upper hand and are breathing down their backs. Plus, Alfred will be crowned soon, so he can take over the duties in Spades while Arthur focuses on the alliance.

In the end, Arthur agrees.

Lud and Art get off on the wrong footing with Lud putting off meeting Arthur because he's nervous.

But they meet. Slowly fall in love. There is also a side plot with ScotFra I'm still hashing out all the details on where Allie was sent to spy on Diamonds because he had a fling with the King when they were teens, but they actually fall in love.

Matthew falling in love with a noble from each kingdom mayhaps. Leading to the creation of an alliance between the four kingdoms (and give Matt his harem). One of them being the rightful king of Clubs (Kateryna).

Also AmeLiet with Alfred housing a runaway Club's noble and them falling in love.

Very much make love not war lol

[nightwingmyboi]

Hey so I was wondering about Dick's Romanian heritage. Is it mentioned a lot in comics or media? Is he dark skinned in any adaptations? Is it true he originally went to Juvie after his parents died? Where would I go to find this stuff out? Thanks!

Sure! So, Dick’s heritage is a pretty complex topic. I think it’s best to leave the explanation to [this post]. Since I know not everyone will click the link, just to briefly clarify something: Dick is Romani, not Romanian. Being Romanian means being from the country of Romania. Romani people are scattered across the world. Also, Dick is typically depicted with light skin in canon...him being Romani would not conflict with this, because the Romani people have a large range of skin tones. Not at all opposed to him being depicted with darker skin, but just so that you know. Very, very strongly recommend checking out the post for the whole story (edit: and checking the reblogs for the counterpoint to said post!!) 

Robin (1993) Annual #4

As for your other question...in one version of Dick’s origin story, following his parents’ deaths, Dick was sent to Gotham’s Youth Center. This center was essentially a juvenile detention center; most of the kids were sent there for committing what are described in comic as “adult crimes.” It was a very rough environment for Dick, especially in the aftermath of his parents’ deaths. 

Dick going to the center after his parents died is technically a retcon of his origin (ie it was something added later). I know for some reason certain people hear the word retcon and immediately are like “then it doesn’t count!!!” but I think that is very much the wrong approach. True enough, some retcons are bad--that is, those that completely ignore previously established characterizations or plot points, and in doing so often radically change the story for the worse. It’s fine if people want to ignore those bad retcons, I do so myself. But, that’s not true for every retcon lmao. I’d say the juvie origin retcon is a great example of a good retcon. It really helps to clarify and enhance the original story, and I don’t think it should be dismissed. Hear me out here: 

1.) The juvie origin doesn’t replace any previous origin story--it really only adds to and improves upon the timeline of Dick’s original origin. 

For the most part, in previous tellings of the story, Dick’s origin went pretty much straight from his parents dying to him and Bruce in Wayne Manor. It’s a pretty sudden, jarring jump; the in-between was largely left to the reader’s imaginations or implied to not exist at all. And I’ll be real...the pacing and immediacy of events is pretty wonky and unreasonable. In one of the most extreme speed runs through Dick’s origin I’ve seen, Dick’s parents die and Batman immediately swings down from the rafters and tells Dick that he’ll solve the case...while Dick’s parents’ bodies are still cooling a couple feet away (Batman #436). Yeah, that is absolutely ridiculous lmao, as is the idea that Bruce just immediately adopted Dick the day his parents died. I think that the juvie origin very nicely slows things down and helps to organically fill in the gap of time that would and should exist between Dick losing his parents and being taken in by Bruce. 

2.) The juvie origin helps to rationalize Bruce’s reasoning for taking Dick in. 

In previous origin stories, Bruce’s main motivation for taking Dick in is that he saw his own suffering reflected in Dick and wanted to help him. I dig the parallels between Bruce and Dick...but this is very flimsy reasoning to adopt someone lmao. With all the tragedy that occurs in Gotham, you cannot tell me that Bruce had not run across some orphans before. Bruce sympathizing with Dick certainly should be part of what motivates him, but there needed to be something more. If there is not some immediate, urgent reason to adopt Dick, then it makes zero sense that Bruce would try to raise him honestly. Why would Bruce tear Dick away from his remaining family and friends at the circus? Why would Dick want to leave? And even if Dick could no longer remain at the circus, why wouldn’t Bruce allow Dick to go to a good foster home, especially since Bruce is so laser focused on his solo crusade against Gotham’s crime that he doesn’t even allow himself to have a steady girlfriend half the time? Lots of plot holes here!

The juvie origin fixes a lot of these issues! Staying at the circus is not an option for Dick, not because Bruce just snatches him away, but because legally Gotham Juvenile Services says that the circus is an inadequate environment for raising a child. Dick is sent to juvie, and the comic makes a point of showing Dick nearly being beaten to death almost immediately upon arriving. 

Dick is in danger and he’s lost in the system, so there is no longer a possibility for him to land in a good home. Initially, when Bruce goes to find Dick, he’s still tracking him down only with the intention of getting justice for Dick by solving his parent’s murder. But Bruce is a good person at heart. When Batman finds Dick trying to escape from the juvenile hall, beaten to hell, he intervenes. The next morning Dick is taken in by Bruce Wayne. 

So now, taking in Dick isn’t Bruce tearing Dick away from the chance of having a loving family and throwing him into the dangerous life of a crime fighter; taking Dick in is Bruce saving Dick from a horrible situation, possibly even saving his life. The only way to get Dick out of the potentially deadly situation he was in quickly was for Bruce to take him in as a foster parent. Bruce’s actions actually make a lot of sense! And Bruce is forced by necessity to take on a fatherly role that he does not feel suited or prepared for, rather than him adopting Dick on a whim. The juvie origin gives this scenario the urgency and necessity that it desperately needed. 

3.) The juvie origin has been around for a long time, and pretty successfully adds nuance to Dick’s character without completely altering or changing who he is. 

The juvie origin is a retcon that has been established for about 25 years, fyi. Robin Annual #4, which is where this idea first came into play, was released in 1995. There are also references to this origin story in Nightwing Vol. 2, and that comic series ran from 1996 to 2009, so it’s not like the juvie origin is completely baseless or totally removed from the narrative. 

Nightwing (1996) #11

Also...Dick Grayson has been around for 80 years. In DC comics, I’m pretty sure he is predated only by Superman and Batman. You are inevitably going to have to add nuance to his character as time goes on. The juvie origin adds a very interesting complexity to the character and his fight against crime, considering he himself has been in the system...there’s so much untapped potential there!! So yeah, I feel like the juvie retcon is a very valid addition to Dick Grayson’s origin story. Plus, Robin Annual #4 is just a very well written and well thought out comic book that really fleshes out Bruce, Dick, and Alfred’s initial relationships to one another in a realistic way, and more people should check it out. 

What I’m saying...is that more people need to get on board and accept the juvie origin guys!! It’s my favorite origin for Dick, hands down. Thanks for giving me an excuse to talk about it anon. 

As for where to go for more info…well, you can always check out Dick’s DC wiki, or anyone else’s, for basic summary info. For me, I always like going straight to the source. You could find a comic rec list that focuses on what you’re interested in and just dive in and build your knowledge that way. Sometimes if you google around, you can find neat creator interviews that address questions like the ones you asked. If nothing else, I’m sure there are people on tumblr (like me :D) or elsewhere online who are willing to help you out and point you in the right direction if you’re curious about something in particular. Idk if other people know of a good resource for things like this?