#i don't have ideas for some - even the alternatives

[momo-minomo]

Fic Fairy Friday: Batfamily Shenanigans

This week's fic rec post is dedicated to the Batfamily just BEING a family. The snark, the annoying nagging, the overprotectiveness, etc. I feel like we don't get to see the Batfamily together and friendly nearly enough. Some of these would fit in the comics, some are more Wayne Family Adventures coded, and some are full on AU. Enjoy!

Code Bat by Listentothelittlebird

Summary:

Within Gotham, the Bats are a tight-knit group - family - that runs like clockwork. Outside of Gotham, none of their teammates know they’re related. This series explores the shenanigans that the Bats get up to, as well as how this distinction would affect canon.

Momo's Notes: This one is a series rather than a single fic and I love it so much. When Dick first decides he wants to break away from Batman's shadow Bruce agrees to keep their affiliation with each other secret, with one caveat. If either of them call a 'code bat' the other drops everything immediately and comes to help. As they add on to the family the secrets they're keeping from their non-Gotham friends and teammates piles up but it serves to keep the younger, less trained members of the family safe from the older heroes' enemies so they keep it going, each new family member agreeing to the Code Bat protocol when outside of Gotham, complete with entirely different hero names and costumes. It's interesting seeing a Justice League, Titans, Outsiders, Outlaws, and Young Justice that has no idea the Batfamily even a thing even as certain team members sometimes act super shifty when dealing with other teams or after getting a sudden, secret message.

I'm not a villain, I swear! by CoyoteFang1987

Summary:

Tim wakes up in a world in which Batman doesn't exist. And by consequence, the Robins never became heroes. Dick is a Talon, Jason is Red Hood (a villain), and Damian is a League of Assassins assassin. And Tim apparently is a hero called Draken, who, frankly, sucks at being a hero. And in this weird alternate reality, something big is brewing and Batman isn't here to keep the Justice League from tearing itself apart. Tim is really really done with everything. Dick, Jason, and Damian aren't helping. Tim really really hates magic as well.

Momo's Notes: Tim, Dick, Jason, and Damian all wake up in a world where Batman doesn't exist, Bruce Wayne might be the new Lex Luthor, and 3/4 of the Batfam appear to be villains working for various organizations. There's a lot of fun shenanigans going on in this one and all four brothers have good relationships with each other so we get to see them being effortlessly badass together. The Dick/Wally in this is also adorable.

You, Me, and the Humanity in Between by JUBE514

Summary:

Bruce doesn’t know what’s wrong with his child, but he’s pretty sure kids aren’t meant to work like this. From the day he had looked up into the tops of the circus tent and saw a frightened mirror image of a boy who had just experienced the worst day of his life, Bruce had instantly gone into emergency mode. The Gotham PD had wanted to pass the boy off into the care of the circus. The circus had mumbled underneath their breaths about superstitions, about not having a boy like that with them, about not being able to handle something like Dick. So GCPD, not knowing what to do, had started talking about one of the handful of overburdened boy homes that handles a majority of Gotham’s unlucky orphans. All the while, the camera lights flash bright and loud, wanting to know everything. Bruce couldn’t let that happen. Not then, not ever again.

Momo's Notes: This is one of the most unique cryptid AUs I think I've ever read. Bruce's only human child in this is Damian and the variety of magical creature the older 3 batbros are is really neat. The way their abilities and nature interact with each other is also really sweet. For anyone who's a sucker for good dad Bruce, this one is sure to make you happy.

Keep Losing Sleep by incogneat_oh

Summary:

“When’d you last sleep?” Jay asks, curious. “Eleven years ago,” Tim says, at the same time as Dick says, “Tuesday.”

Momo's Notes: In a family as traumatized as this, it makes sense that more than one of them would have trouble sleeping. This is super short but a lovely little glance into the family just being there for each other when sleep won't come.

Brightly Colored Adhesive Papers by LuminaStarCrest

Summary:

Tim liked to show people that he loves them by leaving around sticky notes. Or, 5 times Tim left sticky notes for others to find, and 1 time he found sticky notes that he didn’t write

Momo's Notes: Another one that's short but sweet! My favorite part in this is probably the pure sass between Tim and Jason but Tim doing his emotional support Robin thing and making Bruce get some damn sleep is a close second lol

Cannonball by SunnyBlue

Summary:

Why is it always Tim that disappears? If it was any of the rest of them, it would be a lot less concerning. It’s not like Tim can’t hold his own in a fight — he’s a Bat, after all — but the kid has a tendency to form the craziest plans out of all of them, which often ends up putting him in the craziest situations. When Tim goes missing, it usually means he’s in some deep shit, and Tim in deep shit means Jason scrambling every time. Without fail. This fucking kid. Tim is missing and his brothers track him down and bring him home. Also everybody loves each other and isn't so incredibly emotionally constipated because I just want them to be happy and because I'm the author and I said so.

Momo's Notes: I kinda love Jason's pov in friendly Batfam fics. This one is Jason and Dick terrified and furious as they rush to Tim's rescue with bonus points for the quick bit of Tim and Damian bonding the author added.

Loading and Aspect Ratio by JUBE514

Summary:

So, it didn’t start out like this. Alfred would scoff at the statement, about how Bruce was trying to justify the whole situation to himself. It had started out as a simple design, black everything with black outlines and black hood. It got a little more intense as the world went on, got wind of his ghost on the streets, and became scared of The Bat . So Bruce got a little more creative with it, Alfred and him had a good laugh over the name, the scare, and Alfred had a vicious streak of humor that he had passed onto his ward- So now the suit had a visible bat-theme, an insignia to drape in the shadows and to paint across the streets of Gotham. It only took a year into the whole charade of heroism for Bruce to overhear a conversation between some goons- some low level thug hired by the Riddler this week- about nothing at all pertaining to what the hell the Riddler was doing in the sewers but instead: “ The Batman can fly, you know, I’ve seen his wings.” -- A world where nobody has wings, but people think they do, and that changes everything.

Momo's Notes: This is another fun AU with lots of Batfamily bonding and badassery. Bruce makes his cape wing shaped to further scare the hell out of Gotham criminals but it's little baby Dickie, freshly adopted and traumatized, who convinces him to make them actual capable of flight. The Batfam never claimed to be metas but the rest of the world, especially the Justice League, decided that's what they were anyway. It came in clutch tho. The main pairing in this is SuperBat and they are freaking adorable.

The Waynes, Damsels in Distress by hitthedeck

Summary:

Roses are red, violets are blue, Bruce Wayne and his kids get kidnapped every other week. Some things are just universal, undeniable facts of life.Or, in which Bruce Wayne is still Batman and his kids are still Robins, but they keep letting themselves get kidnapped because they think it's funny.

Momo's Notes: People forget that Bruce Wayne raised Dick Grayson to be how he is and the two of them share the same warped sense of humor that let them shout puns while beating up criminals and put "Bat" in front of freaking EVERYTHING with a straight face. This fic is just the Batfam fucking with the JLA for their own sick amusement. I love them.

Here's a Reminder (That You Haven't Fallen Through the Cracks) by popsunner

Summary:

If it’s a salesperson, he’ll shove them a hundred dollar tip and tell them to go away, if it’s some religious do gooder, he’ll direct them to Metropolis. If it’s a Rogue, he’ll tell them he’s busy and to please get in the fucking line. If it’s one of his siblings-- “Hey, Tim!” Dick says brightly, forearm braced against the doorframe. Dammit.

Momo's Notes: Finally a fic that gives Cass and Duke some love! This is a short one where Tim's siblings drive him up the wall out of love and concern for their workaholic weirdo brother. The snark and sass is flowing freely and the JLA's best detective/spies are being about as subtle as a brick to the head lol.

To Rescue a Bat by Blueseabird2

Summary:

Batman gets into a situation during an alien invasion and could use a rescue. Unfortunately, Dick and Jason don't think the Justice League is up for the task. At all. So Dick lets the League know that he will be handling the situation and to expect Batman back by the end of the night. He even promises that he won't be going alone. No one should stand in the way of a Batfamily rescue, even if the Justice League doesn't know there's a Batfamily at all.

Momo's Notes: I love the closeness Dick and Jason share in this one. Jason and Dick are two older brothers who both struggle with the towering rage simmering just below the surface at all times and in this fic they've come to lean on each other for support. When most of the JLA's leadership is captured and the ransom video shows Bruce to be on borrowed time Dick decides it's time to let that anger loose a little and Jason is ready to back him up (with attitude of course, but still). With their fellow Batfamily members (both official and honorary) right beside them they decide it's the perfect time to reveal their affiliation with Batman to save their dad. Bruce is SO fucking proud.

Monolith by CharlesWaterloo

Summary:

Diana realised with a jolt that none of them had actually asked him how he knew Batman. And she was just as curious as the rest of them about the “we”. It implied Batman worked with more people. ‘How did you come to know Batman? Does he have any other friends?’ His mouth fell open, and he snorted, which evolved into full-out laughter. ‘I’m sorry. Oh my god - friends?’ Diana felt a little hurt on Batman’s behalf. ‘Are you not his friend?' He shook his head. ‘Did B really not say anything? I’m hurt. No, I’m not his friend. I’m his son.’ (An AU where the Justice League haven't met any of Bruce's kids.)

Momo's Notes: The Justice League isn't aware of Batman's identity or that he's a father. When Dick needs to sub in for Bruce at a JL meeting, though, and he realizes this? Cue the sibling shenanigans! Bonus points for Duke, Cass, and Steph getting some attention and praise in this one!

Batman/men? by Bumpkin

Summary:

Batman wasn’t a founding member of the Justice League, and isn’t known for playing well with other heroes. But he does end up joining, and he does try to get along while still keeping his secrets close. It’s a delicate balancing act. Then comes a mission that requires Batman to be the lynchpin for their success. Except there’s a problem with the execution of the plan, Batman would have to be in several places at once. He’s confident he can do it. The Justice League, for lack of any alternatives, can only go along and in the process learn more about their reclusive teammate.

Momo's Notes: Another fic that's short but fun where the Justice League isn't aware of the Batfam's existence and it's entirely in non-Batfam povs over the course of an important mission where Batman seemingly needs to be in several places at once and… succeeds? Easily?

[nobibiname]

Dear Elriels & Nessian lovers,

I wrote a thing. This is my first story I'm sharing with the fandom, and I'd love for you to read it (and tell me what you think).

It's a Nessian fluff One Shot with strong hints of Elriel.

I got this idea a while back, and I loved writing it. 3.4k words took me a month to edit, so if I don't post now, I think I'll spend another month editing.

So I can't promise all of it makes sense, but if you read it I will be forever grateful (not on Ao3 yet) Story continues below the Cut.

Every Waterfall in Prythian

Summary: One evening Cassian's Point of View opens up to a world of infinite possibilities.

Word count: 3385 Warnings: somewhat graphic violence (just at the beginning)

With a spear piercing his throat, Cassian's defiance extinguished into a wisp of air. His head fell limp to the side, with a banality unworthy of the final act of the greatest general in all of Prythian. The pink hue of dawn brushed the horizon and for a fleeting moment the chaos of the battlefield shrunk to nothing but Feyre's piercing scream as the light left his once bright, hazel eyes.

"WHAT?!?!" "Oh no baby, they killed you in this one", Nesta reached behind her and lovingly tapped Cassian's cheek. "I probably would have killed you later," she said offhand. Nesta always chewed on her thumb when engrossed in thought, a persistent habit, that her mother was unable to squash. "YOU… WHAT?"

"I mean, If I was was writing this, I'd really want to drag out the despair, you know? At this point both you and Az are still alive. Which leaves a lot of hope for a final victory. You want to slowly erode that hope for maximal drama. So I would have killed you a few chapters later, and Az towards the end. It nails down the heroic climax for Feyre to bring down Hybern. This pacing is off, what are they even doing?"

Nesta and Cassian have carved out an intimate, domestic habit for themselves. They read the same book together, while she nestled in his lap. When she finished a page, she lightly scratched his arm, and when he did, he'd leave the lightest peck on her temple. It wordlessly let the other know, to turn the page. They never agreed on it, it simply emerged as their sweet, yet practical quirk. It was a silly thing to keep secret, but she cherished it so much she never shared it with her friends or sisters. Nesta had now been scratching at his arm for at least a few minutes.

"You would… what.? Nes, they got so many details of the war wrong… and what kind of historical record is this anyway? I am alive and… and why does Azriel get to live longer?" "This isn't historical Cassian, it's fanficton" she said, clearly not fully invested in the conversation. "Fan.. fiction? what kinds of fans of mine would KILL me? "

"Oh it's all the rage in Day. I guess those nerds in Day Court blow off steam from writing, reading and research, by doing more … writing, reading, and well, research. Though, I have to admit, they are still some of the best writers out there" She said and returned her focus to the text. Feyre was just so good in this one, but the rest?

"So, you're saying, Day Court wants me dead?" His serious tone rattled her out of her head and back into their bedroom. Nesta was unsure if she had heard him correctly, they didn't typically discuss politics in bed … wait, didn't he mean Summer? "Oh no, Cassian baby, it's fanfiction." She gently turned around and give him a soft look. The confusion etched on his face was unmistakable and somewhat adorable. Was this really the first time they've read fanfiction together?

"They write speculative stories about famous fae and events in Prythian, with alternate endings, or even diverge from the facts entirely. And usually with completely made up romances, which is frankly half the point." she sized him up carefully, and decided more explanation was needed. "And nobody actually wants you dead, baby. This is just a common device from the Nestelion stans. They need to get you out of the way for the plot, so it's usually some version of you traveling to faraway lands in search of adventure, or sometimes just killing you" She was casually gesturing while talking, this was no big deal, but when she glanced at him, his gorgeous hazel eyes were as wide as saucers "…but you usually die in an honorable way… majestically…. in battle."

"I prefer to be majestic and alive." Cassian mumbled miserably. "So, what are they making room for anyway?" "Nestalion, Nesta and Helion? It's an imaginary, completely made up ship, baby" "Ha! Dream on! Fat chance! I'd like to see that pompous rake give it a real good shot" The redundant phrasing, the overblown swagger… Nesta knew that Cassian was still confused, but now mostly annoyed.

"So… do we ever get together in these stories? Do they write stories about a 'Cassta'?" he awkwardly used his fingers for quotations. "It's 'Nessian' baby, and yes, though usually as a start to Nestalion stories, or sometimes in a thruple with Az or Thesan. I can't say I encourage this, but people rarely ship anyone already in a relationship. This is just a specialty of those Dawn freaks, they really love a good poly story". Nesta threw her hands up defensively, though if she were a bit more honest, she had read a lot of works from the talented "Dawn freaks" and didn't exactly hate them.

"Where do they get these ideas? And Helion and you make absolutely no sense. Who even wants to read that?" He was looking quite a bit puffed up now. She glanced briefly at the manuscript. She really wanted to finish it this evening, but it was time for some damage control.

He looked so delicious, even when puffed out like a tropical bird. Though, his wings were fanning out further than she knew was comfortable for him while lying on the bed. Nesta could definitely help him relax, and she didn't mind this kind of reading break. Lying on his chest now, she tenderly traced her fingers on his jaw while peppering his neck with little kisses.

"Baby, it's Day!" she said as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "They have been writing fanfiction of Helion for centuries in Day Court, it's nothing new. The only thing they love more than their High Lord is worshipping him in writing. They ship him with practically anything with a pulse. They are total, pathetic simps. There's even stories shipping him with the Suriel! The man is insatiable, everybody knows it, and that's how they like him. Do you know how many works of fiction begin, or end with the sentence 'Daddy's home' ? They could dedicate another library to that!" "A small, local library?" every word was punctuated with annoyance. No. "Sure."

Nesta locked into his eyes with a wicked smirk. She saw his lip twitch for a split second. So, he was going to keep pouting for a bit longer. That was fine with her, she could play this game blindfolded. As a matter of fact, she sometimes did.

"It's nothing to worry about baby," She kissed his cheek. "Ever since the war, me and Elain have been the newest hot fae in town" She kissed his jaw, humming with delight for good measure. "Of course we show up in freaky fanfics all the time." She sucked on the delicate spot right under his ear. "Besides, the whole Nestalion vs. Ellion shipwar will end the moment the next hot young babe arrives. An actress, a singer, a young princess coming of age. Tale as old as time." She traced her nose down his neck with a tiny bite and a long kiss at his base of his neck . "Wait, Elain?? Our sweet Elain? "

Really? Now? "There are Elain and Helion stories? Well, what the hells happens in them?" She looked up at him again, a little surprised at all this interest in fanfiction. Generally speaking, Nesta got a kick out of reading any type of story about herself, but she had absolutely no patience for badly written Elain stories. She might have sent anonymous, but strongly worded letters to the editors of the prythian fanfiction archive expressing her displeasure at the truly rotten ones. They might have guessed the identity of the disgruntled reader.

"Well, some version of a magical long forgotten spell frees her from her mating bond, or sometimes Helion finds it in a scroll in a secret room in a library, then he and Elain fall in love. Usually because by accident they both go swimming in the moonlight in the same waterfall, or river, lake, lily pond. People love a lily pond in romance." As did she.

"That's utterly ridiculous. There's no such magic!" Correct, that was the ridiculous bit "Ok, so what about these Nestalion stories? Does he sweep you off your feet at some fancy ball? " he pursed his lips as he pointedly looked at her. "Oh no no, there's no balls. Usually we go on a secret quest to find a scroll or some eldritch magical artifact, and then it rains one night, and we have to stop at an inn. Of course the last remaining room has only one bed. And well… "

"ONLY. ONE. BED!" For a brief moment, Nesta panicked at her shortage of tact. Though, before she could even protest, Cassian burst out laughing. "So you're telling me, the only reason big Daddy Helion has a chance with even a fictional you, is that through a complicated series of events, you accidentally end up in the same bed?" "Well… yeah" She couldn't decide if she was more amused or relieved at this turn of events. Was Cassian actually enjoying this? She felt his roaring laughter through her entire chest, and it would have been comforting if he wasn't shaking the bed. Though she warmed up to the idea of shaking the bed more. Fingers slowly sliding down towards the buttons on his tunic, she kissed the top of his chest.

"So, Elain and waterfalls, huh" She passed her tongue along the swirl of an inky black tattoo, as she fiddled with the first button. "Oh yes, that one is very poplular. Elain and Helion have made love under every waterfall in Prythian." The second button relented. "What? Even in Winter?" Cassian scoffed dramatically. "Especially Winter." she sucked lightly on the skin of his chest. She was leaving blooming marks tonight. "Ok, how do you make love in a frozen waterfall?" Cassian lifted his right arm behind his head and got that adorable quizzical look on his face. She could take a moment to explain that, afterall she secretely loved the waterfall trick.

"You see, Helion has this spell, to allow the frozen water to pass around them, in these crystalline blue ice flowers and she's completely enchanted by their beauty. Also Elain nearly freezes to death, but is rescued by the warmth of his body and he's actually surprisingly romantic with her" Satisfied that the matter had finally been put to rest, Nesta resumed her exploration and hummed into his chest as she traced a hand along the muscles of his arm.

"Ok, but how did she get there?" "Cassian!!" I'm trying something here It was her turn to be annoyed, as she looked up to face him. "You said, they arrive and swim at the lake, or waterfall, separately, and accidentally at the same time. So, before the meeting, how was Elain hoping to swim under a frozen waterfall?" Was it her imagination or was she being… postponed? "I guess, … she was upset because Tarquin ends things with her for some reason of royal duty. She's heartbroken, and craves the opposite of Summer, so she goes exploring the glacial beauty of Winter's wilderness" The End. Can we move this along now?

"Tarquin now?" Nesta's sighed. "Yeah well, Summer is baffling. For a culture with no reason to wear many clothes, you wouldn't believe how prim and proper they are. Obsessed with courtly love and slow burn. Nothing good ever happens until promises are made. Bunch of prudes!"

"You know Nes, I've never pictured Elain with someone like Helion." Cassian mused, suddenly very pensive. Oh? "Really? Who did you picture her with then? " She sat up a bit trying to appear casual.

"Well I guess, if it weren't for her bond, maybe someone like Tarquin? He's uptight, but besides that they have a similar nature." Nesta wasn't entirely convinced this unusual pairing wasnt motivated by his desire to get back into Summer Court.

"But I guess to me it's always been Feyre and Rhys, and then you and me…", he looked at her meaningfully, "the epic legend of 'Nessian'. And then there's Elain and… ha! I almost said Az!" Nesta observed him with unusual quiet as he chuckled at his own slip up. In the unlikely event he knew something that she didn't, Nesta wondered how to pry it out of him. "Yes, that is silly." It was unconvincing, but Cassian didn't seem to notice.

"And what about my dear sweet brothers?" He gave her that naughty schoolboy look of his that she pretended not to adore. "Obviously people are kind of careful around Rhys. He's got a reputation after all. There's some dark romances from some anonymous writers. It's bold, but not as popular" "Aw poor Rhysie, not so many fans for him" Nesta shrugged at that.

"And Azriel? Are you telling me Prythian likes to write erotic stories about Az?" Gods yes, ALL of Prythian "Yes, some of Prythian" His gring grew in devilish proportions. "And this is popular in?" "The lunatics in Winter Court. It's always about shirtless winter sports with them. Brutal skating competitions on frozen lakes. The lovers are always some sort of athletic rivals." Nesta rolled her eyes. Winter has really allowed themselves to become predictable. "Bizzarely, also Spring. The Calanmai stories are… vivid and elaborate. As are the ones on, Samhain, Imbolc, Lughnasadh , the solctices, the equinoxes, any minor feast. Really, any excuse for … large group activities." "And Autumn?" "Never met a kink they didnt like." Cassian's laughter boomed through the room, large and indecent. Nesta thoroughly enjoyed his contradictions; this giant, formidable winged fae, captivated and earnest about sharing her fanciful interests. She gave him a big smile as she slowly wound her finger around one of his raven locks.

"Does he know?" "Yes, but I wouldn't mention it to him." Cassian was positively giddy, and somehow looked more wicked than Nesta had ever seen. "Cass I'm serious. He's aware, but very touchy about it. Last time I casually mentioned it I didn't see him for a week. The first thing he said to me afterwards was a lot of mumbling, which sounded an awful lot like 'saucy wench'. " "From what I'm hearing, the only saucy wench in Az's life is Thesan and I'm guessing…. also Helion?" "Yes, there are Azlion stories as well. Did you even have to ask? No waterfalls though." Nesta sighed deeply. "I mean it, Cassian, he is very sensitive on the subject." "Why though? Unless they're killing him too, it's kind of, flattering no? " "Oh I don't know… It's Az. He has his reasons"

Nesta recalled that one day in Elain's kitchen, sitting on the counter and kicking her feet as she shared her thoughts on the most recent Ellion story. The plot annoyed her, the twist was utterly predictable, the pacing was wrong, and she was incensed. Elain deserved better storytelling than that. She didn't even think Elain was listening. Pretty sure she tuned her out completely whenever Nesta went on about fanfiction, making a sharp point to focus on whisking, folding, measuring and … whatever tinkering baking seemed to involve. Which was the whole reason Nesta was spending the morning in the kitchen. Sunday was for breakfast buns, and this week they were lemon cream, her favorite. She was damned if she was to miss out on her batch, knowing otherwise Azriel would swoop in and devour it without a shred of remorse.

And there he was, walking into the kitchen. Elain smiled shyly, as Az all but ignored Nesta. Sitting pretty on the counter between them, Nesta's head whipped from one to the other as they said hello. She observed nothing extraordinary, just polite, proper greetings, small, polite smiling, and polite questions about today's variety of polite breakfast buns. "They'll be cool in another half an hour" Again, nothing but the quietest smile from her lovely sister. Nesta narrowed her eyes hoping for some glimmer of recognition of Elain's tells. Nothing. There was either nothing to see or Elain had gotten even better at slipping through the cracks with her true thoughts and feelings undetected. "That's alright, I don't mind. I'll wait with you two"

Oh, so he did notice her. "Morning Nes!" He said as if she had been the rude one. Az moved to the little kitchen table and opened the Sunday Velaris Times. Nesta was more than happy to continue with her fanfiction tirade. And oh, they just had to hear about this incredibly well written, steamy story involving Az and a beautiful fae girl from Summer Court. She was downright obsessed, and hadn't even read formally published work as good as this in a long while. This was the kind of story that Elain deserved.Maybe she should reach out to the writer with an idea for a story about Elain, and "then we can finally read something of quality". She was already half way through the very salacious plot, working up to the bedrom scene, when she realized the uncomfortable quiet settling into the kitchen. Elain was pretending to wipe a bowl, that was clearly both clean and dry. It had still managed to slip her fingers and fall with several ungraceful clangs on the kitchen floor. "Oh my, well I guess it's a clumsy morning for me" Elain was rarely this ruffled anymore.

Az went professionally still, no longer flipping through the paper. And while his expression didn't reveal a single change, his shadows swirled in what seemed like annoyance. As much as mysterious shadows could be annoyed, Nesta supposed. The rest was incoherent mumbling. After Az grabbed his share of the breakfast buns in a neat cloth covered dish, he thanked Elain at least twice and actually flew out of the kitchen. Elain threw her a look that was somehow both dirty and embarrased. "Get off the counter…" struggling to be unpleasant, Elain's attemp at a bark came out as more of a yip. "… please, Nesta." Elain promptly handed her a dish of lemon cream breakfast buns, and with some flimsy excuse about proper cleaning, tossed Nesta from the kitchen.

"Yes, so they both appeared annoyed. I wouldn't say they're into fanfiction" She had left out some curious details and her suspicions, but gave Cassian the gist of "Neither Elain nor Azriel cared much for fanfiction"

Nesta had wondered about that interaction ever since. Why did it always feel like there is some quiet, even unspoken conversation she wasn't privy to, going on with these two?

Nesta always felt that she knew her sister and her manner of soft, nuanced interaction with the world. Was she mistaken? She could only speculate Elain's feelings flowed deeper, and warmer than polite conversation would have you believe. She had her theories, but had made it a point to keep them to herself.

"Huh, strange that." Cassian didn't appear to give it much thought, because he finally looked down at her nestled in his chest with a different kind of grin.

"So Nes, I wonder, have you gotten any interesting ideas to explore from these… bracing stories?" Definitely, at least the first couple pages of a long collated list. "Maybe… I might have?"

"You know, Nes, I noticed this room has only one bed." Cassian raised an eyebrow and smirked at her.

"Did you, now?" She giggled and felt the kind of brilliant levity that a life with Cassian always promised. "Mhm" His voice lower now, for a moment he just sat perfectly still and smoldering.

Before there was any room for protest, he suddenly grabbed her and in one fell swoop, flipped them around. Nesta gasped at the pure stealth and agility of the move. The war general with the confidence that came from generations of training was hovering mere inches above her and every muscle, every inch of her skin burned with excitement. Her breath hitched in anticipation and she tossed the manuscript haphazardly into a corner of the room.

"You know something else? " He whispered temptingly in her ear. "Tell me" "Daddy's home."

Their joined laughter exploded through the room, before he finally captured her mouth in a wild and promising kiss.

[castleofclouds]

ᴛᴏ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏʏꜱ ɪ'ᴠᴇ ᴅᴀᴛᴇᴅ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ.

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅ Nct Dream Alternative Universe OT7.

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅ pairings ; ot7 × reader (yn)

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅ disclaimer ; fiction, cursing, 18+ content, kms joke and many more.

Story are by © castleofclouds, do not copy or repost without watermark!

‧₊˚ ﹏𓊝﹏���﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖‧₊˚ ⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖‧₊˚ ࣪﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪sumarry : your life was peaceful until your stupid friends start giving you ideas of making thread about ur exes, stirring a whole new problems for you, suddenly one by one of your past start running back to you and opening old books of you and them, how do you act in this situation?

genre : gotta be fluff! texts (sometimes smau) angsty, slowburn, romance, humor, mention of 18+ content.

tag : @bluedbliss, @luvandletter, @1daily2lele7,

To All The Boys I've Dated Before : Headache.

Your head was aching so badly, you woke up in the middle of a familiar bedroom, with the pastel pink wallpaper all over it, your head feels like it's going to explode, you look around and caught a sight of your hand had been bruised covered by a lot of bandage all over it.

Huh, Weird.

You isn't usually the clumsy type, so this a bit shocking for you, you get up thinking of getting a sip of water because you could really use some hangover to wake you up completely, the glimpse of your figures on the mirror caught your attention.

You are a mess! (Not that you never one, but this is a mess mess type situation)

Your lipstick had been all over the place, your hair are tousled, every each strands of it is all over the place, and the horror in your face when I see a lot of small bruise like a tiny bite on your collarbone.

Each by each of last night scene play out in your mind, until you remember a man with blond hair was all over your face, you don't have to think pinpoint anybody else because you know very well who is that blonde muscular man.

“Jeno you fucker..”

Karina dialed you, she sounds worried with her tone half worried half relief that you are waking up fine, you muttered the courage to ask about last night, she hesitant as she take a deep breath.

“He walk you home last night that's all nothing more!”

You raised your eyebrows in disbelief, a simple walking home? With all this kissmark on you? Yeah aint no way, you had to interrogate her for more 5 minutes until she spills how last night you and him were all over the place, especially after playing those seven minutes in heaven.

You never want to facepalm your face hard, she even admitted that, before the seven minutes games there's also a spin of bottle game, and a dare of you to making out with him, the more you listen the more embarrassed you got.

“Thanks..” you said as you close the phone, you need your coffee, this morning had been too much.

—–—

On the other side of the line were your other ex, he was religiously looking at a polaroid picture of him and you back when you and him weren't a past things and actually in love.

“You know boss if you really miss her that much, ask her to get back together..” Xiaojun muttered, which Renjun respond with a slap at the nape.

“Ain't no way, we are done like years ago, getting back together? As if!” he exclaimed clearly bothered, yet his ears are turning red by each moment.

“Then at least stop using my phone to see her account will ya? You kept hesitating whether to like her post or not, it's annoying!” Hendery nagged as he stand besides the counter, Renjun tuck his two-toned hair back, “I paid to use your phone I can't even do that?” he ranting, unable to counter attack Hendery stopped trying and decided to stop talking further.

The bell rings, Renjun suddenly change into this sweet angel out of the heaven as if he doesn't just scolding his coworkers, he smiles brightly welcoming the customer, “Welcome to RCafe, how should I help.. Yn?” when his eyes realize the girl he was just contemplating about liking her post or not suddenly showed up at his door.

“One Caramel Macchiato.. Please?” your voice weak doesn't have any time to even pick a fight, RCafe is the only cafe within campus that opened up very early in the morning, Renjun were eyeing you up and down he looks worried, you look very pale and quite disheveled, when his mouth were opened to asked, a sight of a bruised on your collarbone stopping him.

“Oh. Alright, we'll bring it.” he quickly went back to the counter, his face red from angry completely pissed.

You tilt your head in confusion, he would usually fight back, but today he is specifically calm, like.. Almost too calm, you know that calm, here's the thing about Renjun, he never the type to talk what he is feeling, instead, he just show it and hoping for you to catch it, and as someone who had known him for quite a while that calm is calm before storm.

As you sat down, you could feel a glare against the back of your head, Renjun were death staring behind your ears like you are doing something very terrible to him, 5 minutes later Xiaojun came and bring your coffee, he smiles but not those ‘happy to see you’ smile but scared one, like there's a dagger up his throat.

You pick up the cup when a notes fell to your table, you look at it for a while, and look at Renjun, as he throw his face away, like a kid mad at his parents.

The cat sticker and the ‘RJ’ initals are enough to explain who is it, Renjun are like this, back when both of you are still in relationship every time he is mad, he would just sent you a note asking about things, but not always, it's just something he do out of jealousy.

So he is jealous now? That's explained his attitude, you rolled your eyes at the notes, drinking your caramel macchiato as you finished it you went to the counter to pay, you look at Renjun at the cashier, as someone who is the manager of the cafe you don't understand why is he so worked up? He had 3 people work under him, you payed the coffee and when you almost leave you look back and muttered a response.

“Btw, it's not your concern who I'm with. So stop doing this, don't make us more uncomfortable with each other shall we?” you smiled and left the store, he looks hurt abit about it.

Hendery look at Renjun and give him a Pat at his back, “Cheer Up boss.” was all he said, Renjun shake his head and sigh. “She's right, we are not in that type of closeness to ask about something so private like that..” as he said that, a single drop of water run down his face.

“Wait.. Jun, you..” Xiaojun look at Renjun, as he smiled but his eyes aren't.

—-—

You walked back to your apartment, you felt bad about what you said to renjun this morning, you awkwardly scratch your nape in guilty, you saw Chenle, you want to walk past him when he stop on your track, “Morning,” He said joyfully, you smiled back as response.

“Did you sober yet? Want to grab a breakfast together?” he asked, his eyes caught the bruise on your collarbone, he sighs yet he still smiled, “Wait here..” he went to his apartment, you bewildered.

He came back with cute bandages and a medicine, he gave you, you taken aback by it, “What's this for?” you asked, he pointed at your collarbone, “You have a lot of mosquito bites on your collarbone.” he added, you want to protest that it's not a mosquito bites, but he just silenced you.

“Can you please not tell me if it's not a mosquito bites? I think I would feel at least more better about it, a simple lie wouldn't hurts right?”

You look at him, you never understand Chenle, but one thing for sure, Chenle isn't very happy today, yet for you he tried to look as if he is happy.

You want to hug him so much, embrace him and tell him that it's all a mistake, and you would never do it again, but the only thing you could do was nodded your head, as your head hung low.

“Can you at least do one favor for me?” he asked, you look up and nodded fast, “Let's grab a breakfast together? Spare your day with me today, that's if it's okay with you of course.” he waits for your answer as you laughed.

Chenle you will always have a special place in your heart, the way he is adoringly asked you and his fidgeting at the thought sold it, you beamed “Of course, let's have a pleasant day together.”

Previous, Masterlist, Next.

A/N

Hello? Do anybody still at the store? Haha, gosh can't believe this story are from last year! I came back, because I see some of you are actually waiting for this one? I'm sorry it's been quite a long time isn't it? What can I say last year of my college life is very tough with the upcoming schedule and such it's hard maintaining both hobby and responsibility, I hope everyone had a nice day! Here for a long long 2025 healthy and happy life! Let's talk alot next times! Dw I'm back now so wait more for me!

[project-sekai-facts]

(re-sending this after you said you deleted your asks, hope it's not a bother ^^") do you have any guesses as to what the what ifs for wl2 are gonna be? for l/n i'm 99.9% sure it's gonna be what if shiho joined standout and for wxs it's probably gonna be what if rui took asahi's offer. for mmj and vbs i can only think of them going on what ifs from the main stories, like what if minori passed her audition (or maybe if mmj managed to get signed?) or what if kohane never met an, but for niigo?? happy blogversary btw!!

hm. i think it will probably be different events for each character because it's hard to pinpoint exact moments where divergence would affect everyone. particularly with niigo and vbs. individual divergence points would also work better to expand on the more introspective (ish) nature of the wle1 stories, where it was more about looking back at their development and how they've changed and where they'll go now (lowkey it was like clipshow episodes for prsk in case people haven't been reading).

it's definitely gonna be what if shiho joined standout for her, however i could see the other girls using this too. 4=1 and all that, especially since choosing to go pro was a big character moment for all of them. alternatively i think something middle school related could come up for honami.

mmj is hard. probably something to do with what if haruka/airi/shizuku never quit? this will probably be haruka's one, or something similar like "what if mai never got hurt and retired". mainly because there's not a whole lot else you could diverge from with her. i could see it working for airi and shizuku too but it probably wouldn't be the most interesting thing ever because it would probably just be 'they don't like their jobs and everything is easily way better the way things went'. idk maybe they'll cook something crazy. minori is hard to guess because like. she wouldn't give up on auditioning. so i like the idea you brought up of her actually passing one of them, because then that eliminates mmj but she still got what she wanted, so it'd be an interesting thing to unpack.

for vbs an not meeting kohane will definitely be it for either an or kohane. i reckon with an they might try to lean more into something related to vivid street or her family, so i'll go with kohane. i'm not too sure with akito, maybe "what if he never quit football" but idk i don't see a whole lot of potential with that one? if you changed it so his team won the game maybe it could go somewhere but i'm still not sure. and again like with minori him giving up after say, fawo flashbacks or something feels out of the question. for toya "what if he didnt run away" feels inevitable, but uh. clpl has made some questionable decisions regarding that plot point recently so i'd kinda like for them to not touch it.

wxs is definitely arcland for rui. like that's inevitable imo and would be a good way to segue into the next wxs arc, which will also inevitably be about this because the boys' graduation is coming up fast. for emu probably like what if she didn't go with wxs at the end of ohe, or something to do with wonder stage following her grandfather's death (maybe not being able to save it/not hiring tsukasa?). for nene not having stage fright while in her middle school drama group, since that's what led to her even joining wxs in the first place. tsukasa's harder to guess but him actually passing his pxl audition would be funny imo.

niigo is really difficult because multiple points that would make for easy divergence would result in suicide which, yeah i don't think this is the kind of game that's gonna touch that. like, we do get the ideation but i doubt they'd go MCD. the playerbase is getting younger and i think that's a bit too morbid for the kids. that said, mafuyu not finding kanade's song makes the most sense for divergence there. in fact that works for ena and mizuki too. you might be able to do something with ena and art school though. and because i said no MCD for Kanade the most logical option seems to me to be what if her mom didn't die. because then that probably means her dad doesn't work overtime, which means kanade would still have a happy healthy life and niigo wouldn't exist.

[overthinkit-underscore]

we could also…

"... Renege on our terribly cataclysmic decision,"

by the Narrator's words.

- (Explore) [Take the blade.]

Cold… has no real reason to follow up with this. He's already made a decision. He's ferrying Spectre out of the Cabin. He HATES the Narrator, and has shed violence for an alternative path.

but, still. he's a passive Voice, and will never have it so you have to do anything you don't want to do. you're the Decider, not him.

- [Slay the Princess] Voice of the Cold - Isn’t that an interesting idea.

it is interesting. a more complex decision tree, a shift in the paradigm, an unexpected action.

The Spectre - I don’t want to die in you! I thought you finally understood me— [we did] —but instead you just wanted to hurt me again. [we did; these aren't necessarily mutually exclusive]

The Spectre - If only I could drag you with me and make you understand. But that’s not the way things get to go for me, is it? Voice of the Cold - It would certainly be interesting. Though being dead does sound dull. And you are about to be dead. Again.

Cold is interested in Soft!Spectre's proposed idea to "drag us with her and make us understand." he's interested in the concept of Empathy. he does still taunt her though. he has a retaliatory streak in him [see: Cold telling you you ought to 'return the favor' when proto-Wraith is 'making you dead'], what can you say?

for the record, here's the Princess's thoughts on Cold (and Hero and Narry), too:

The Spectre - Get away from me, you cold little freak!

- (Explore) If we're both here, then what happened to the others? The Princess - I don't know! I hope they're okay. Uh… some of them, at least. I didn't like the one that kept bossing you around. And that quiet one kind of gave me the creeps. The Princess - I liked that last one, though. He was nice. I hope he's okay.

- Did you mean to take me with you? The Princess - Oh! You're here! I thought I was going to be alone again. The Princess - I didn't mean to bring you with me. I'm happy I only seem to have brought you… that's not nice of me to say, they weren't all bad, but they were definitely mostly bad. The Princess - Maybe…. this means things between us can get better. Maybe everything that went wrong just came from them. I hope. Because I really wouldn't like to be stabbed a third time.

with some luck, Princess, we may just have it that way. first impressions only matter so much…

[FOR CONTEXT: The Princess’s response to The Dragon’s apologizes for stabbing them both and claiming they saw themselves as The Hero.] The Princess - That’s okay. I’m sure you had your reasons. I don’t think it’s good to hold on to the past like that, anyways. It’s better if we choose to move forward together. The Princess - Well, maybe you’re just misguided. And the story’s not over yet. We might still find a happy ending. But I think it’s time we start a new chapter. Hmmm. How about…

as far as the thematic narrative is concerned, how you start never has to be how you end. and, going from that… even if things may appear scary, looks only matter so much.

[FOR CONTEXT: the Dragon is incessantly questioning their appearance.] The Princess - I think so? You're��� kind of scary looking. Like, really scary looking. The Princess - You're… you? You've always looked like this. You're scary, sometimes, but looks only matter so much. The Princess - Now you know how I felt when I first saw you. But I got used to it pretty quick. I'm sure you will too.

now, Princess And The Dragon is more about the Princess than the Dragon.

but there are certain tidbits we can glean from reading between the lines here and there. one of the more open aspects:

Voice of the Cold - How dull. We’ve already had our discussions in private. I’d rather not keep listening to the rest of you run in circles repeating the same arguments again and again and again. It was so much more interesting when we had someone to mediate.

if the Princess does not reveal the Decider is with her, Cold openly talks about missing the Decider. unprompted, really. the Decider, for all Cold knows, is not here. they aren't here at all. he's not saying this for their sake, or for the Princess's*. but he's recognizing that they're gone, and seeing the space they left behind.

* if Cold wanted to reveal that they're missing a part of themselves, he'd just say it. he doesn't do secrecy, or sidebars. all subtlety comes from his personal inabilities to recognize and reconcile his internal world and responses. he purely spoke up to stop the Voices from bickering amongst themselves again. that final line, mentioning the Decider's absence, is not practical.

he says their presence was "interesting." "interesting," the opposite of "boredom." the boredom of which he detests and loathes, to the point he'd rather kill himself than experience it, to the point he'd throw himself into any number of dangerous situations just to avoid it. "interesting," the object of intrigue, the emotion of which he's constantly seeking. maybe even "something that feels like home…?"

we also have Cold directly admitting "we" [inclusive to himself] missed the Decider.

Voice of the Hero - Welcome back, by the way. Voice of the Cold - Yes. We all missed you so very much. Voice of the Opportunist - I missed you the most. Voice of the Hero - You weren’t even here until he was gone.

but how sincere he is beneath his mocking sarcasm is entirely dependent on personal reading, interpretation, and perspective. the line read itself from Johnathan Sims could be read either way, or somewhere in the middle.

DISCLAIMER: INCOMING SPECULATION

maybe he genuinely believes he's being wholly sarcastic, but there's a little sincerity beneath those words he can't quite shake. maybe Hero says what Cold can't, emotes in his place.

SPECULATION OVER

also: Cold is rather polite, oddly enough.

The Princess - I… can’t hear what’s going on in there anymore now that I’m back in my own body. Do you want to… share your thoughts? It’d only be polite, really. [FOR CONTEXT: the above and below dialogues don’t happen consecutively.] The Princess - Um… Excuse me? Voice of the Cold - My apologizes. They’re really being quite dull in here. Voice of the Cold - I think they want to kill you. At least the new one does. He’s very, very passionate about it. The Princess - Can you… tell him not to? Voice of the Opportunist - Your opinion has been duly noted, annnnnnnnd disregarded. In fact, I think a decision’s been made. Two birds with one stone. How tempting.

Cold isn't going to stop the sidebar from happening, no matter how much he disapproves of it. but he understands the Princess & Quiet (in this dialogue, Cold is aware of them)'s want to listen in on their conversation. even if it's alarmingly obvious what Opportunist's interests are, it's still nice of Cold to fill us in.

and, if the Princess hasn't told the gang about Quiet yet…

The Princess - Hey I said I’m talking now will you listen to me?! Voice of the Cold - So you are. And very loudly. Do you have something to say? The Princess - Oops. I mean, yeah! I already know about all that ‘privileged information.’ because he's in here. With me. Voice of the Cold - Oh? How very interesting.

Cold is less receptive* to the Princess. but he finds the news that Quiet is with her … "how very interesting". * i say he's less receptive not just because he calls the Princess "loud," but also because the Princess has to interject multiple times before getting fed up and shouting at the Dragon. whereas, in the earlier case, Cold apologizes as soon as the Princess interjects. she's being ignored when Cold doesn't know we're with her.

Note on Cold's dialogue: "oh" is Cold's go-to Intrigue Noise.

Voice of the Hero - Yeah. That changes things, doesn't it?

Hero's agreement with Cold's "oh?" moment kinda spells out that Cold & Hero are aligned in Dragon. i mean technically Oli chimes in with "we get to kill two birds with one stone!" but Cold clearly hates that fucker so. process of elimination.

DISCLAIMER: INCOMING SPECULATION

Silence, for just a moment, as cold eyes regard you. And then silence still as soft eyes hesitate. Fear as your legs wobble, and then as — [FOR CONTEXT: The Princess is stabbed at the right side of her chest, closer to her right shoulder than her heart.] The Narrator - —Princess collapses against the wall.

both Cold and Hero hesitate before you get stabbed, and Opportunist misses. the difference between "regard you" and "hesitate" is pretty massive, actually, because it implies Hero is actively fighting the urge whereas Cold is somehow observing you. he's inarguably acting against Oppy by overriding his control, but what is Cold observing? maybe the best place to redirect the blade's trajectory, when Hero inevitably fails?

Opportunist isn't inept. if given the chance, he will stab you in the heart, and he will NOT miss.

[FOR CONTEXT: the Dragon tried to cut the Princess free on their own.] Voice of the Opportunist - Sorry, girlie, but we're seeing this through! The monster in front of you pulls the blade back and drives it into your heart.

and you know what? i know why he was able to do it the second time. it's the same reason Broken can stab you the first time in Tower: because Hero is caught off-guard.

The Narrator - You can feel a creaking tension between body and will as you slowly rise to your feet, like two foes forced into an unhappy truce. The Narrator - Your body is sluggish and unresponsive, actively fighting against you, but you do your best to stagger forward. One step at a time, you move towards the Princess. Voice of the Hero - Don’t— The Narrator - As you take another step forward, the blade digs into your ribs, slicing through flesh with ease. It somehow feels like an entirely natural thing to do, while the simple act of walking has become an arduous impossibility.

Note the similarities between “The monster in front of you pulls the blade back and drives it into your heart.” and the visuals of Voice of the Broken pulling the blade back before “the blade digs into your ribs”!

The Narrator - You, ‘heroic’ one! What are you doing? Don’t just let this happen. Stop him from killing you! Voice of the Hero - I’m on it! The Narrator - Your other hand locks around your wrist, struggling to keep it from perforating vital organs. But the blade still flails towards you, managing to slice bits of skin that plop to the floor to join the growing pile of blood and gore beneath you. Despite the pain, you manage to keep yourself in one piece. At least for now. The Narrator - My influence only goes so far […] The best I can do right now is to continue to drive you forward. Believe me, this whole ordeal would be so much easier if I didn’t have to contend with free will.

even when Hero is actively resisting Broken (plus Tower, which in Dragon's case would be replaced by the Narrator), he's only somewhat capable of saving you. that Hero and Cold could pause the assault for that brief narration is noteworthy.

"the blade still [flailing] towards you, managing to slice bits of skin" in Tower implies that Hero wouldn't be able to hold out forever against the combined force of [Outside Agent & Traitorous Voice]. Cold is likely better at recognizing this, hence why he's "observing," and why i think he's somewhat to blame for the blade missing your heart in the first place.

SPECULATION OVER

anyway. Oppy does his thing. and when we're pulled back across the threshold…

[FOR CONTEXT: Voice of the Opportunist is talking to Voice of the Hero about how life is all about taking the “easy wins.” Hero believes hard word is important.] Voice of the Cold - Eh. Hard work often goes unappreciated. Why bother?

Cold's unveiling some Good Ending angst, and revealing a subtle, hidden character arc in doing so. he's come to the conclusion "violence gets us nowhere" ON HIS OWN, even without Hero's appeal to his pragmaticism. PATD is a near-perfect mirror of Chapter I's proto-Spectre events. (Soft!Dragon gets you proto-Spectre-parallel events, i.e. taking the knife and easily slaying the Princess with little doubt. Cold!Dragon gets you proto-Adversary/Tower-parallel events, i.e. the Princess refusing to be taken off-guard and fighting back.)

if Opportunist succeeds here, not only will the Decider potentially be gone, but the Narrator will have another opportunity to lock them away in a timeless void again. and Cold doesn't care for that. Dragon!Opportunist prefers to make the same mistake, over and over… while Dragon!Cold… has learned just the tiniest bit of Empathy, over his Chapter 2 counterpart.

Voice of the Cold - I don’t think there’s much you can do about it if that’s the choice he makes.

Voice of the Cold - No. I think I’d like to see what happens.

Another instance of Cold narrating his own dialogue and suppositions, this time with “I think.” Note that Cold isn’t unsure at all here. This is how he speaks on his own behalf.

- [Give her the blade.] The Narrator - Sigh. Fine. Whatever. You stoop to the floor and pick up the pristine blade, only rather than using it for its intended purpose, you… Voice of the Cold - Go on. The Narrator - You hand it to the Princess, who gingerly cuts herself free from her bindings. You maniac.

Cold rushes through [Saving the Princess]. he'll have no defiance of this decision. no one will make the Decider do anything they don't want to do. their choices will be respected. and Cold would like to see what happens next. Cold didn't like slaying the Princess a second time. he didn't like offering her freedom, then shutting the door on her. it was a new experience, and interesting for how it played out, but he's done with violence.

in fact, this Cold isn't just done with violence. he might even be opposed to further harming the Princess entirely…

The Princess - You’re not even going to answer me. What did I ever do to deserve you? Voice of the Cold - Nothing.

Soft!Dragon!Cold feels empathy. there is nothing "pragmatic" about responding to the Princess in a voice she can no longer hear.

To New Beginnings!

or at least the beginnings of a kinder worldview...

AN EMPIRE OF FRIGID NOTHING (SPECTRE)

"Which came first, the Chicken or the Egg?"

There are two major ways to interpret how Voice Hatching works:

The Voices Spawn. The manner in which the Decider behaves, the things they experience, and the trauma they endure influence the Voice hatched upon their death. Their personality, philosophy, and perspective are informed by what Quiet collectively has gone through. The Egg (previous iterations of the Decider) hatches into The Chicken (Voice).

The Voices Always Existed. The options provided to a player are reactions to their environment and circumstances, adulterated with the impulses and personality of nascent Voices waiting to hatch. The Chicken (Voice) lays The Egg (options the Decider picked in the previous Chapter).

There are more than two ways to interpret how Voices operate, and most you ask this question to will say something in-between these two black and white options. Ultimately, it's inarguable that a Voice is always influenced in some manner by events preceding their hatching. It is not that fact of influence the debate is centered on, but the interpretable extent. The fact is openly supported by the text.

Certain Voices will take credit for actions taken in the previous Chapter (ex: Cold claiming to have killed Damsel in Burned!Grey) or the previous life (ex: every Voice, bar Hero & Cheated, in Razor's Chapter IIIs), and many others will remember events long before they hatch (ex: Smitten recalling the entire narrative up to Chapter III - The Thorn, Cheated recalling everything that happens before Chapter III - The Wraith).

With this background information in mind, we can examine the events in Chapter I - The Hero and The Princess leading into Chapter II - The Spectre mindful of how specific choices made by the Decider or certain events they encounter may influence Voice of the Cold moving forward.

[FOR CONTEXT: [Take the blade] once at the cabin, hereby accepting the Narrator's premise and following His word.] Voice of the Hero - She’s so coldly beautiful… is she really a threat to the world?

The Narrator - You step forward, your grip tightening as you steel your resolve. The Narrator - You lunge forward without a moment’s hesitation. The Narrator - You feel flesh easily give way and look down to see your blade already sinking deep into her heart. Voice of the Hero - But is it over? Really over? - Of course it is. She’s dead.

The Narrator - You did kill someone. Greater good or not, something would be very wrong with you if you didn’t feel at least a little bad. But it was for the greater good. One of these days, that will sink in and help ease your guilty conscience.

The Narrator - You open the cabin door, ready to return to a world saved from certain doom.

The Narrator - Only, a world saved from certain doom isn’t what you find. Instead, what you find is nothing at all. Where a lush forest stood mere minutes ago, the only thing in front of you now is the vast emptiness of some place far away. Voice of the Hero - What… happened? The Narrator - Everyone is fine, it’s just that you and the cabin are now far away from them. Don’t worry. You’ll be safe here. This is good. Everyone is happy. You’ll be happy.

- I was kind of hoping I’d get a better ending for saving the world. The Narrator - This isn’t an ending. In fact, now that the Princess has been slain, endings are a thing of the past. No… this is the beginning of eternity. Your reward. The Narrator - This is what’s best for everyone. Trust me. The Narrator - Time passes. You can’t be sure if it’s days, or months, or years or even decades. It’s all a wonderful, boring blur. You’ve never been happier.

Voice of the Hero - Pst! Hey! We’re not just going to stay here forever right? Voice of the Hero - Are we really happy, or is He just telling us that we are? - Hmm, okay maybe I’m not happy. And I’m not just saying that because you’re the last person I talked to. Voice of the Hero - Good, because I have an idea to get us out of here. Though you’re probably not going to like it. Voice of the Hero - The blade. We can use the blade to get out of this.

The Narrator - Do you hear that? It wants to take this happiness away from you. It wants this wonderful place to end. Voice of the Hero - Do you not? There’s more for us to do, and the only way for us to do it is to take that blade and use it. The Narrator - Don’t you dare. - Anything to get out of this hell. Voice of the Hero - Thank you. The Narrator - I made this happy little place for you! Is this not a good enough reward for saving the world? An eternity of bliss? You… you ingrate! The Narrator - Fine. Whatever. For the first time since time stopped meaning anything, you throw open the door to the basement and walk down the stairs. The Narrator - You pick up the blade, you stab yourself, and you die. The Narrator - The end. Nice knowing you.

a set of directions from the Narrator, dutifully carried out by the Decider without the slightest hint of doubt, ignoring their conscience until faced with an utterly detestable "reward" for their compliance. critically, the timelessness perceived in that moment between opening the door to stare into the abyss and slaying oneself to be rid of the stagnation is so dilated in Quiet's perception that the Princess's corpse is reduced to a skeleton by the time the Decider plucks the Pristine Blade from its ribcage.

i could commentate further on this, or i could include one particularly noteworthy dialogue screenshot ---

- (Explore) Wouldn’t ‘using’ the blade… you know, kill us? Wouldn’t we be dead? The Narrator - How astute. You’re absolutely correct. Using the blade to kill yourself would kill you and you shouldn’t do it. Voice of the Hero - In a sense, we’d die, but looking at things from another angle, are we even really alive anymore? This place… it’s nothing! It’s absolutely nothing. It’s just the same thing, constantly, forever. Voice of the Hero - I know this is out there, but trust me. I know using the blade will work.

--- and let Cold speak for himself on the matter:

[FOR CONTEXT: in response to the Narrator saying we're only here because we died, which probably only happened because we didn't listen to Him] Voice of the Cold - Oh, we listened to you plenty. We slew the Princess, just like you asked us to. And then you locked us away in an empty void for eternity. So we slew ourselves, too.

[FOR CONTEXT: in response to the Narrator asking what would've happened to the world we left behind had we failed to slay the Princess] Voice of the Cold - It doesn’t matter, because we didn’t fail to slay her, and if she’s really back, which I doubt, it’ll be just as easy to do it again. But after that nasty trick you pulled on us, maybe she’s not the only one around here in need of slaying.

[FOR CONTEXT: in the cabin with Spectre, talking to the Narrator about the ghost-Princess after having talked to Him previously in the woods about the looping] The Narrator - What do you mean, ‘after’? Voice of the Cold - You already know what we mean, don’t you? So why don’t you go ahead and tell us? Are you going to try and lock us away in a timeless void again? Because I didn’t much care for that. The Narrator - I’m not going to lock you anywhere. Voice of the Cold - What an interesting choice of emphasis.

- (Explore) If anything, the world ended after I slew her. When I tried to leave, everything was gone. Voice of the Hero - That’s a good point. How do we know we didn’t have things backwards? Maybe slaying the Princess was what ended the world, not the other way around. Voice of the Cold - Yes, maybe this whole thing was a trick to get us to end the world. And now we get to go through the whole charade again wholly aware of what’s waiting for us at the end. Voice of the Cold - But that’s assuming she’s alive in that cabin. We did kill her, after all.

Voice of the Cold - This is boring. He’s clearly not interested in talking, so let’s just do as He says and maybe He’ll stop bothering us.

Cold is interesting because, as I'll point out later (both in this analysis and whenever i seek out Cold's other appearances), you need to read between the lines and in the negative spaces quite often to gauge what he's thinking. here, though, back in the woods again, Cold's an open book. "we listened to you and you locked us in an empty void for eternity. i really didn't care for that. it was a 'nasty trick.' we slew ourselves." note that Cold isn't expressing regret or remorse for anything that happened. he doesn't feel guilty about [Slaying the Princess], and he's outright convinced we're capable of doing it again. note twice, though, that Cold doesn't think we need to. he's fully convinced that her death sticks, even if ours didn't. he isn't readying up, either. it's just a job to him. (Something he was asked to do. a task, some dirty work. he holds no real opinion on the act of [Slaying the Princess], not here, and not now.) A job that, as he's seen, has no good rewards. In fact, the end result of completing this task is not something he wants at all. But he also really, really, really wants the Narrator to shut up, and trying to talk to Him isn't getting anything done.

[retributory]

when you think about it clive and flora are actually perfect narrative foils on complete accident. like what's up with that. professor layton and the completely imagined literary devices

[icewindandboringhorror]

It's always interesting to hear about people's weird/unexpected "alternate life paths". Like, something that you could have done with your life, a job you almost took, a school you almost went to, etc - that was still actually realistic enough that it could have happened, but NOW it seems to not suit your current personality.

Like for example, I currently hate advertising (how manipulative it is, brands trying to be 'relatable', social media amplifying it to an obnoxious extreme, etc.) so much that even seeing a little ad before a youtube video is grating to even witness, but there was a point in time where I was genuinely seriously considering going into marketing/making commercials as a career lol. Or like, I have a relative who was very inclined to be a pastor when they were younger, even though today they're a super strong atheist, etc. etc.

[maryasmorevna]

if only i could pull off a convincing harrowhark nonagesimus cosplay for the next lucca comics.....

[grim-echoes]

unironically though i think smt may be one of my current favorite examples of creatively implementing theological concepts into its narratives in a way that completely recontextualizes the roles they play. and i don't necessarily mean in the way that god represents law and lucifer represents chaos which are Nuanced Actually i mean that there's usually god and lucifer but then also a dozen other different names for god and lucifer that are basically the same guy irl but in the context of smt they occupy completely different roles with particular philosophies often all within the same game to the point where you'll have both lucifer and satan and maybe an antichrist/anti-messiah who is neither of the former two people and then god who isn't simply god but YHVH but may also be named the creator but who is also subordinate to a greater will and none of these closely related culturally distinct takes on the same idea will step on eachother's toes and i think it's such a fun way to approach ideas like this

[a-s-levynn]

So i had a dream last night which wasn't a nightmare and i even remember most of it! which is super exciting. I barely ever remember dreams that are just simply that so this is a fairly rare occasion for me.

It was weird tho

But it was.. i don't even know what it was so let me ramble about it in the tags a bit

[lord-squiggletits]

NGL I think one of my least favorite "gotchas" that I see/get while critiquing stories is "so how would you fix it? oh so you don't have an idea of how to rewrite the story to make it better? oh so basically you're just complaining that you don't like it and don't have actual critique."

Buddy.

Sometimes the reason I don't have a "solution" to how the author should've rewritten their story to be better, is because I'm not privy to the author's thought process, what their alternate story ideas were, what they talked about with their editor, what they might've been forced to do by deadlines, or even what they might've thought they were writing towards at first but then later changed the trajectory of their story to be about something else.

It's all well and good for me to say something like, idk, "I think Character A should've gotten more narrative focus because their story could have helped fix XYZ Plot Hole," but it could very well be that the author never intended for Character A to be a prominent character (just a secondary or tertiary character). Maybe using Character A to solve one Plot Hole would've gone against the writer's plans because then it would open up a different plot hole for something else they had planned later in the story. If it's an ongoing story, maybe something I see as a "plot hole" is actually a deliberate mystery that the creator left open to write about later-- or maybe the plot hole is because there was a deadline crunch and the author had to drop a certain character/plot point/etc because they couldn't fit it into the story any more. Maybe having Character A be a more prominent part of the story is just based on MY personal tastes and what I would want to write in MY version of the story, but completely clashes with the characters/conflicts the author wanted to focus on.

Because yes, there are some story critiques that are as simple as "part A doesn't make sense, you could just fix it by doing B", but there are also some story critiques where suggesting a viable "solution" would require BEING the author or someone involved in the production of the story to understand what limitations or plans were involved in the selection of that flawed plot point. There are also some story critiques where even if there is a "problem" and my critique offers a "solution," there could be another "solution" or even dozens that do just as good of a job fixing the issue, but involve vastly different characters, plot ideas, so on and so forth.

Being a good critic isn't (just) about going "the story would've been better if X happened" because the story is ultimately in control of the author and their vision, and without knowing what the author's vision was (something that you almost exclusively know if you're 1. the author or 2. their beta reader), it's impossible to definitively say "this plot point should've been cut/[completely different thing] should've happened instead" because THAT is the point at which you're complaining, not critiquing. I would argue that in some cases, trying to "fix" a story yourself actually makes your critique worse, not better, because it ends up being a case of you simply imposing your artistic vision over the author's to say "I think it would've been better this way."

At least if you just say "this part of the story was flawed because XYZ" without saying "it should have been ABC instead", then you're stating your grievances with the story without being presumptuous enough to assume that YOUR version of the story would fit the author's original vision, or the constraints they were working under, or the other versions of the story that they were debating over at the time before ultimately settling on one version (even if flawed).

There's a point at which "this plot is flawed, that should've happened instead" is just fix-it fan fiction and not actual critique that could help the writer write their story in a way that fits their vision.

[aerithisms]

i still have so many questions about the ff7 remake story. why did aerith even have knowledge of the future in remake to begin with? from a watsonion perspective, why does she lose that knowledge after the end of remake when sephiroth doesn't? (i'm fully aware the doylist reason is that having a character who knows the future would totally break the plot but i'm still curious if there's more to what they were doing with aerith's remake character or if this is it). what was her motivation to encourage the party to fight the whispers in the original game when she knew the party would defeat sephiroth in the end if events followed fate? was it simply that she wanted the chance to live? because that makes me want to lie down and cry!!!!

[aqqleshiqqing-archive]

im a bit late to talking about this since this was related to my recent appleshipping art, but

now that I see it. they have so many similar characteristics what do you mean they aren't SIBLINGS....

[lunarharp]

if i just told you i love you would this world change

[purble-gaymer]

*blacks out for three days and wakes up with this open on my computer* what the fuck

[irritablepoe]

writing ranpoe hurt/comfort//whump is so great they hit all my weak points