#in the labyrinth of drakes

[thebloggingfox]

The Memoirs of Lady Trent are an incredible book series that are criminally underrated.

Dragon/period drama but set in a fantasy world with a lot of science and architecture alongside some incredible variety of dragons. Also pirates, politics and a surprising amount of lgbt shit for a period esq style.

I need more people to know about them.

[b-plot-butch]

“did you just ask for my hand in marriage?” MOMENT OF ALL TIME. ROMANCE BEGAN HERE.

[elliepassmore]

In the Labyrinth of Drakes review

5/5 stars Recommended if you like: epistolary narrative, light academia, dragons, adventure

A Natural History of Dragons review

The Tropic of Serpents review

Voyage of the Basilisk review

I think this book and Voyage are my two favorites in the series. There's so much about dragons in these two books and we get such varied locations. I also like the characters we meet in these two, though I have to say, I miss having Natalie around.

This book opens with a bit of a surprise: Tom and Isabella are hired by the Scirling Army to do some naturalist work for them. Specifically, they want the two to breed dragons in Akhia. While that's clearly written in the synopsis, it's still a bit of a surprise that Isabella agreed to it since she hasn't had the best experience with the Scirling Army in the past, but while that tension is still there a little, she'll do anything to study dragons.

Akhia is a fantasy version of some Middle Eastern country, I'm not sure which, but the language used is definitely Arabic. Like in Bayembe, Akhia is a very hot and dry country, though Isabella describes it as much hotter and much drier than the former. As such, there's a lot of accommodations made for the heat both in architecture and in travel accommodations and schedules. The 'Labyrinth of Drakes' actually poses a risk because the oases within can be difficult to locate and during the wet season it sometimes flash floods.

The religion in Akhia is distinctly Muslim, and Tom and Isabella largely have to follow those rules. It's astonishing how far Isabella has come since A Natural History (or even Tropic). While she still chafes at some of the rules, and finds workarounds for others, by and large she follows the religious customs well and even remarks on some of their importance to the religion's followers. One thing she seems to particularly appreciate is the way religious customs make room for things like female physicians.

As usual, there's some political mischief going on and Isabella ends up smack in the center of it. One aspect of politics comes up fairly quickly when it's made obvious the sheikh does not like Isabella...but it turns out not to be for the usual reasons. I actually found the animosity to be kind of humorous. But Isabella and Tom also face much more serious peril, and things actually end up getting pretty dangerous for Isabella in particular, and I think this is the most risk (from humans) that she's been in yet.

I really liked getting to focus more on the dragons and their behaviors. Since the army hired Isabella and Tom for a breeding program, that's the focus of much of this book, but I still found the scientific details interesting. Isabella also raises questions of how desert drakes behave in the wild, and a need for replicating those situations as much as possible in order to ensure survival of the dragons as well as successful mating. Along with observing the dragons, we also get to see some smaller experiments that Isabella runs to test the possible environmental ranges for successful breeding. She utilizes a smaller, dragon-adjacent species (sort of like Sparklings), but the experiment ends up having a huge impact, and I really liked seeing the various aspects of it.

As mentioned, Isabella has grown a lot from book 1, and I found it interesting to compare her behavior in this book to that one. Her passion for dragons remains, and I liked seeing how she's continued to bring in more interdisciplinary work into her naturalism. I also liked seeing her scheme with Tom about how to do best by the dragons (and science) while still meeting the requirements put to them by the Scirling Army.

Tom is a nice addition, as always, and provides a more level, but still passionate, head to Isabella's sometimes more reckless nature. That being said, he's just as incensed by the army's treatment of the dragons as Isabella is, and he's actually the one who comes up with a way to continue their research even when it becomes clear the army has no desire to. I enjoyed seeing the two of them come together once more and really enjoy their friendship and working relationship.

Suhail is back in this one as well! We parted with him prior to the ending of the previous book as his father died and he was called home by his family. Well, now we get to see him conducting his familial duty. There's some tension because he considers Isabella and Tom his friends and so he wants to interact with them and talk, but his duty won't allow him to...but no one here really follows the rules all the way, so we get some good interactions with them, especially toward the end of the book after Isabella and him come up with a certain 'work around' (I definitely saw this coming in Voyage and was pleased with how it played out). He hasn't been able to do much archaeology work, but Isabella was able to get a drawing of the inscription from Mouleen for him, and that lights his passion on fire again.

Actually, one of the big discoveries in this book is related to archaeology. Isabella may not have any big passion for Draconean culture, but she does have a knack for stumbling upon their ruins. The three of them + Isabella's brother, Andrew, stumble on a massive discovery that helps propel Suhail to fame and, to a lesser extent, Isabella and Tom as well. Like in Voyage, I enjoyed Suhail's translation and archaeological work.

Andrew is also back in this book, and for a much longer time. He's a soldier now and got himself stationed in Akhia when he learned his sister would be going there. He provides some good comedic relief while also adding a less-enthusiastic head to some of Isabella and Tom's plans. That being said, while Andrew might not be as passionate about dragons nor as academic, he is still more than eager to tag along on their adventures, and is equally as giddy about the big discovery at the end of the book as Suhail, Isabella, and Tom.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and think this one and Voyage tie as my favorite. I liked getting to see Akhia and digging deeper into the scientific details of dragons. I also appreciated getting to learn more about Draconean archaeology and linguistics.

[bookwyrminspiration]

I don’t care about romance except for what Suhail “the rumors of us not being kin or married and traveling together, I couldn’t do that to you” ibn Ramiz ibn Khalis al-Aritati and Isabella “let’s get married about it then” Camherst have going on

[checkoutmybookshelf]

This is a glorious, A+ mood, and one of the best ways to start a book.

[vinelark]

hello good morning i read the fic The Long Way Home by itsnatalie this week and finished it at 1am and had to stare through the ceiling processing for another full hour having emotions over tim and jason and a sentient labyrinth and the concept of choosing kindness when it would be so much easier to choose cruelty at every turn and NOW i am stumbling back here to recommend it to everyone who might want a tim & jason (& batfam) psychological horror longfic that will knock your socks off

testimonials once i was semi-coherent (mild spoilers):

[theredhoodedcryptid]

(MAJOR SPOILERS FOR GOTHAM KNIGHTS GAME, specifically the Labyrinth)

An analysis of the Labyrinth and the BatFam

(In other words this post is really long)

So, I was doing some research on the Labyrinth for my fic (Silent Hearts and Silent Knights) and I found something very interesting regarding each BatFam members experience from Gotham Knights.

I'm using Rubi's video compilation of characters as my reference, I played as Tim in my play through and it's exactly like this video's Tim so I'm going on the assumption that there are no other possible outcomes.

Here's my keynotes for those who don't want to watch the video.

(I would like to say that due to the fact it is a game, some things aren't concrete. Rubi just goes back and forth in certain areas to trigger stuff whereas I just went under things to continue on.)

Things that happen regardless of the character (I call this the Beginning Sequence):

Character wakes up and starts walking, making various little comments. (Anything notable will be put under said character)

Character runs into spikes on wall, dies and wakes up (If you duck under the spikes the character will not experience this)

(Female voice) “Inside of Gotham’s walls…”

(Male voice) ”Rule you one and all…”

Character enters the "Flame Room", a small puzzle requiring you find the right path out.

(Voice of the Court) “Give up, it would be.. So much easier”

Character immediately hits a dead end and turns around only to find a different path then before.

Character enters the "Rotating Spike Room", which is pretty self explanatory: three large spinning columns with an assortment of blades that the Character must find a way around.

Bruce's voice expresses disappointment in the Character. (I can't remember if at this point if it's same thing said for each Character, but the point is the same)

Character stumbles, clutching head as they approach the first room (This is something every character does entering a "Major Room" moving forward)

Now, this is where things get interesting because the order and experience is different.

Somethings I want to quickly point out that are the same for every character in this section, which is certain rooms I like to call predetermined sets (all have two passages, left and right, but from my understanding they lead to the same thing):

Table Room: room is a half circle table with three dead court members wearing suits, candles and scrolls on the table, it's covered with spiderwebs and blood appears to be on the floor, and two statues behind them. A moth is floating around one of the candles. Laughter starts when character enters the room

Phonograph Room: room has two green armchairs with a table in between them and a floor lamp behind the left chair, a red circular rug with the Court logo in gold is under all this. On the small side table is a phonograph that plays old distorted instrumental music. The music echoes and distorts even more as you walk away (I wasn't paying to close attention but I think the song is different for each character, or at least a different part of the same song is played.)

Computer Room: room is bathed in red light. Its a rather large computer/monitor set up, reminiscent to the set up in the Belfry and the tech hums, images of Court members with a red filter. A dead Alfred sits in a chair near the set up. After examining the body it disappears in a puff of smoke and ash.

Here is each character's experience:

Jason:

Jason need’s a moment once he stands up before letting go of the marble slab (they all wake up on), also mentions it smells but never can identify what it is.

After the beginning sequence he enters the Table Room.

After leaving the Table Room he had a weird vision of himself dropping from the void ceiling floating towards himself in the air choking, then floats back and then up into the void ceiling.

Enters the Phonograph Room, after leaving the room Bruce's voice says something rather mean to him (I can't remember anything Bruce said to each of them, but it wasn't nice. Ya know, the whole point of this place)

Enters the Computer Room. After leaving the room he has a vision of himself “teleporting” around, pointing his hand at his head, maybe a gun?  Disappears into smoke and ash when walked through.

Enters a room bathed in green, sees a Lazarus pit, sees himself in normal clothes rise out of it with a crowbar which he raises above his head and starts attacking Batman. Court Members actively encourage him to kill stating they are the same, Real Jason says they're not. Vision characters disappear but the pit stays.

Barbra:

After the beginning sequence enters the Phonograph Room.

After leaving the room sees herself (maybe wearing a court mask) randomly teleporting towards herself, tilting head creepily before disappearing.

Enters Computer Room.

After leaving the room Bruce's voice says mean things.

Next she enters a room where Bruce’s grave is open, bats fly out of it and his voice calls out that he needs Batgirl for help.

After exciting this room she see's Batman's body get dragged around a corner, but we never see who does it.

Bruce's voice says some more mean things.

She stumbles into Gordon’s old office, Gordon complains about Batgirl. There’s a recording of Gordon’s death on the table, Babs feels guilty for not being there.

Dick:

After the beginning sequence he enters the Phonograph Room.

After leaving this room he see’s himself just fall out of the void, like his parents. His vision body is very dead and disappears when walked through/by.

Immediately after there’s the broken Bat signal, GCPD officers crying out that the city is falling and wonder where Batman is.

He then enters the Table Room.

After leaving the room he see’s a vision of himself being creepy/ kinda teleporting around, like Babs.

Stumbles into the next room, see’s his dead parents at the circus. Interestingly when they disappear they leave behind Court masks (maybe this refers to Dick’s own hidden ties to the Court)

Tim:

Tim is the only one straight up fall after waking up and trying to stand up, he is also the only one to explicitly state that is smells like death.

After the beginning sequence he enters the Table Room.

First vision is also of him creepily teleporting around, but unlike Dick and Babs, his version walks past him then dissolves. D and B’s versions forced them to walk through their visions. T's forced itself through him.

He then Enters the Computer Room.

After leaving the room he has the same Bat-signal vision as Dick.

Vision of himself kinda twitching and glitching on the floor before becoming limp and disappearing.

Enters the next room where the Robin suit is an a locker covered in cobwebs and "Wanted: looking for new Robin" posters. Bruce's voice is stating that he wants a Robin that's anyone other then Tim.

(I think I forgot it in a couple places, but every character experiences Bruce saying mean things)

And lastly every Character after their last vision sees Bruce stumble around a corner and disappear before starting the leaving the labyrinth sequence, which is the same for all of them.

So, here's my interpretations for all this. Specifically with how the Court plays on each of their fears:

Babs: When she became too injured to be Batgirl and became Oracle. They play on her fears about how she couldn't be there, even though it's not her fault. Mainly focusing on her dad.

Dick: Falling, literally. Failing both his parents and Bruce.

Tim: His fears about what Bruce thinks of him, about his place as Robin and his place in the family.

Jason: Here's where it's really interesting, Jason is the only one to have only one extra "room/vision" aside from the base ones they all experience. The Court tries once to hurt him with the Pit, and Jason firmly says that he's not that anymore. The court no longer tries after that. The others try to fight anything said, but rather weakly and they half believe it. Not Jason, he firmly says no. It's like after his death his fears aren't something the Court can understand or replicate.

I think it's also interesting how Tim differs from the others in some of the basic interactions, which I've already stated.

Anyways, it's rather late the time I'm writing this, but I thought it was really interesting. The developers could have stuck with the same base with only minor changes for each character, but they went pretty far out. It's one of the things that makes me love this game.

[knockbutimreading]

Read this.

[saturniiids]

Greek Mythology has been a major theme in Tim’s recent stories, mainly due to his relationship with Bernard and the cult of Dionysus. So when he sees the illusion of his father and fights him I was like “haha yeah that’s such a Greek mythology thing to do”… and then it dawned on me that yes it is…

So I want to link this thread with the myth of Zeus and Cronus. I’m not sure if it’s intentional but the themes just fit so well.

Essentially the myth is about a son repeating the mistakes of his father. In the myth Cronus’ father Uranus imprisons some of Gaia’s children leading Gaia to seek out Cronus’ help to get revenge. Cronus fought Uranus and won, taking the throne of the gods. But Cronus didn’t want a repeat of history so he decided to eat all of his children so they didn’t rise up against him. This upset Rhea, the children’s mother, who decided to hide her youngest son Zeus and not tell Cronus about him. When Zeus grew up he cut open Cronus to release his fully grown siblings from their fathers stomach and together they worked to take down Cronus and the other titans.

A common theme in TD:R is how Tim views himself and his place within his family. He notices parts of himself that are a bit too much like Bruce and thinks to change things and do them differently. This also ties in with Bruce’s current arc, involving Tim, where he talks about not wanting any of his children to be like him. In the most recent issue of TD:R we see Tim say how he wanted to be like Jack but implies that he doesn’t anymore. He takes ownership of the title Tim Drake and Robin over becoming either of his fathers. I think this can lead back to the themes of the myth.

Additionally, the myth could be considered as reflected through Bernard and Tim’s two families coming to assist him.

[weaverofink]

AU where Tim's family is connected to the Court of Owls rather than Dick's, and Tim decides to go undercover as a member of the Court

alt version and explanation under the cut

(Disclaimer: I know the court of owls storyline happens in the n52 continuity, but for my own sake (as i don't really like tim's whole deal in it lol) this AU is using pre-n52 backstories and characterizations)

In this AU, Janet Drake was a member of the Court of Owls, unbeknownst to Jack and Tim. Bruce eventually finds this out, but chooses to keep it from Tim to protect him. Tim, of course, finds out that Bruce is keeping this from him, and, feeling betrayed both by Bruce and his own mother, decides to infiltrate the Court on his own. The court has been sending him cryptic invitations ever since Bruce announced his initiative to improve Gotham, looking for a way into both the Wayne family and WE. As a member of the Court, Tim is able to gather information to help stop them, but in order to maintain his cover, he is forced into many situations where he is forced to choose between compromising his morals or compromising his position in the Court.

[a-sin-to-be-rin]

The Owl's Test: Tim's Version

Robin is trapped in the Court of Owls' not-so-fun house.

A Gotham Knights choose-your-own-adventure. Pick your favorite character to get whumped, or watch them all suffer :)

Jason's Version

Barbara's Version

Dick's Version

---

“Ugh.”

Tim’s brain feels like it was run over by a steamroller and then scraped off the pavement with a credit card and crammed into a waffle iron. He tries to sit up but gives up immediately, letting his head smack against the stone he’s lying on. He doesn’t know what day it is or how he got here or where “here” even is, and he almost doesn’t want to know. He just wants to close his eyes and try again later.

But Tim has never been given the luxury of “try again later.” He shoves himself upwards, cringing at the musty decay in the air. His head spins from the change in altitude, but Tim needs to get out of here. There’s no time to waste. He pushes himself off the stone.

And then he realizes that he forgot to swing his legs over the side. He crashes into the ground, head slamming against stone. His world shorts out for a microsecond, and when he comes to, everything hurts worse.

Tim groans, slowly standing up and holding his ground when the lights pulse around him. “Well, if I didn’t have a concussion before…” he grumbles.

When his vision clears up enough to see, Tim takes in the dismal ambience. Two angry owl statues glare down at him, like they’re about to list off his sins. The stone Tim was lying on is now, quite clearly, an altar.

Tim groans again. Altars are never a good sign. And worse still when you’re the one lying on one.

“Where am I?” Tim asks the stone owls. Unsurprisingly, they say nothing.

Tim limps past the owls into the hallway. “Smells like death,” he mutters. Then he pauses, waiting for one of the owls to object or vaporize him for the insult. But they remain silent, and Tim has the pleasure of knowing that he hasn’t angered any malevolent owl ghosts.

“Belfry?” he says, hoping his comm is picking him up. “Are you there?”

The earpiece is silent, and Tim huffs. “Something must be blocking comms.” Which is not great, because it means Tim is not only drugged, kidnapped, and trapped, but he’s also without backup.

And Tim hates being alone.

As Tim walks down the hall, his sight clears up a bit, balance improving, if only slightly. He’s able to walk a bit faster, but he slows down when he notices a deviation in the hallway’s uniform wall. There’s a block of holes against two adjacent walls. It’s a dead giveaway for a spike trap. And the slightly off-colored tiles between the walls further suggest danger. Fortunately, there’s enough space under the holes to crawl under, so Tim gets down and crawls his way across the space. The spikes still startle him when they - shing! - shoot out from the walls and clash at the center, but Tim is safely below the danger zone.

Tim stands up and carries on down the hall, but a bodiless voice echoes through the cavern. “Inside of Gotham’s walls…”

“Rule you one and all…” a different voice finishes.

There’s an animalistic shriek, like a tiger and a chicken roared and squawked (respectively) in unison. Then a dark shadow sprints across Tim’s path and scurries up the wall like the tiger-chicken-squirrel that it is.

“I… don’t like that,” Tim decides. He makes a note to keep an eye on the shadows. Who knows what else is hiding out there?

Tim ducks under another spike trap and comes upon a new room, this one glowing with a warm light. If Tim’s lucky, it’s an exit. If he isn’t, it’s a fiery owl statue-ghost that’s come to exact its belated revenge for Tim’s insolence.

In the end, Tim is neither lucky nor unlucky. He’s downright cursed. Sure, a giant bird of prey hasn’t charred him to ash. But that would be a quicker death than the intricate flamethrower trap he’s faced with. Every tile seems synced to a flamethrower above it. Step on the tile, and you activate the flamethrower, and bam. No hair. And also likely no body, because the human body does tend to burn like a candle.

Tim takes an agonizingly long time analyzing each tile. Stepping just carefully enough. Dodging flames at just the right moment. By the time he steps out into the new corridor, he’s drenched in sweat, heart racing against his ribs.

“Give up,” the voice calls. “It would be so much easier.”

And as if it can hear the voice, the hallway abruptly stops being a hallway, and Tim runs face-first into a wall.

“Ughhhh,” Tim groans, carefully prodding an already-swelling eye. It’ll be black before morning. (If he survives until morning, of course.) “This is so not fair.” He stands up and doubles back. He’s hoping that maybe he missed a turn after the torch room. He does not want to dance through that trap again.

But when Tim arrives at the antechamber, it’s not the same room as before. Instead, it contains a series of spinning pillars, each lined from ceiling-to-floor with saws and rotating spikes.

And this? This, Tim is fine with. Comfortable, even. This was one of the first obstacle courses Bruce ever put him through during his Robin training. He can do this with his eyes covered and hands tied. (And he has done this with his eyes covered and his hands tied.) It takes less than ten seconds to clear the room, and then he’s back to running down hallways.

Tim slows briefly as his comm crackles unhelpfully. “What is going on with this thing?” he wonders, but until it starts working, Tim needs to find a way out of here on his own. He can’t rely on the cavalry this time.

“I should never have recruited you.”

This voice is different than the others. Tim knows this voice.

Bruce.

The lights become brighter, colors smeared across Tim’s vision. His balance wavers, and he slows to an uneven walk, gripping his head as he tries to move forward. There’s something up ahead. Something… not right.

Tim manages his way to the new room, and yep. This is so messed up.

“Where were you, Robin?” Bruce is screaming. Furious.

Bats fly past Tim in a swarm, revealing a large, cold headstone and a closed casket. Tim doesn’t need to read the headstone to know whose it is.

“You were supposed to be by my side!” Bruce seethes. “Maybe then I wouldn’t be dead!”

“It’s not real,” Tim assures himself, but it certainly doesn’t feel that way. He shakes his head, taking the hall to the right.

There’s another shadow figure hiding in the corner, but this one is clearer. Less ambiguous. And it’s wearing a pale owl mask and the Robin suit. The suit Tim is wearing right now.

“Who are you?” Tim asks.

And then the fake him charges. Tim pulls out his bo staff, quick to defend himself, but the figure disappears in a puff of black fog.

“You begged me for the chance,” Bruce growls. “You begged me to be Robin. I should have known you’d fail.”

The words cut deep, but Tim pushes past it. His vision is blurring again, though, and his chest grows tight. He forces his legs forward, nearly collapsing from the effort.

Ahead of him is a familiar antique gramophone. An old, warped record plays, its flat, damaged notes leaving Tim uneasy. An armchair sits on either side of the gramophone. Tim manages his way up to the chairs but doesn’t dare sit down. He can’t rest. Not right now.

Cautiously, reverently, Tim runs his fingers down the fabric of one armchair. They look like the armchairs from the living room. In fact, there’s a dark red bloodstain on the arm of one, exactly like the stain from when Dick and Tim’s brotherly roughhousing had turned into an accidental bloodbath. Alfred had nearly had a heart attack when he saw the ruins of the chairs. But Bruce had laughed. He’d told Alfred that it was a parenting hazard and that he’d try to keep the children apart in the future. Then he’d put a record on the gramophone, likely in an attempt to ease the mood.

Alfred calmed down eventually. But here, with the chairs, listening to a demon version of a childhood song, Tim just feels nauseous. He moves on quickly, trying to escape the haunting tune, even as it chases him down the hall.

“You’re Robin now. You got what you wanted. Are you happy, Boy Wonder?”

Tim used to feel safe and loved when Bruce called him that. But the way he spits the title makes Tim’s spirit die a little. Did Bruce ever see that as a fond nickname? Maybe he’d always used it as a way to compare him to Dick and Jason. As a way to remind Tim of how inadequate he is.

Tim keeps running.

The Batcomputer is sitting in the next antechamber, every screen glowing the same blood-soaked red and populated with foreboding figures in owl masks. As Tim gets closer, the chair in front of the computer spins around, revealing a mangled man slumped over the arm. Tim frowns, squinting against the harsh lighting.

“Wait… Alfred?” And he’s right. The man in the chair, while disfigured beyond human survivability, is now obviously Alfred. His neck is tipped too far, lips stained with blood.

“No,” Tim breathes. And then panic sets in. “No. No!”

And Alfred disappears in a cloud of ash.

For a long moment, Tim is frozen in place.

So that was all fake? Alfred is still alive? What is Tim supposed to believe anymore?

He doesn’t know, and he doesn’t want to stick around and find out. So he turns the corner, only to see another horror that will leave him with nightmares for the next week.

His own body, writhing on the floor. Gasping and groaning and wheezing in pain. Coughing up blood. Reaching out for a man who isn’t there. Who might never have been there. And then the Robin on the floor goes limp, head lolling to the side.

Dead.

“I’m seeing things,” Tim says. And he knows it to be true, but he just can’t get himself to believe it. He walks past the body, not looking to see if it disappears like all the others. He doesn’t want to linger here. He can’t-

“You were the death of me, Timothy Drake. My blood is on your hands.”

The hallway lights go out, and Tim feels like the world is spinning, spinning, spinning. He staggers to one knee, then pushes himself up and stumbles forward. A spotlight shines on the room ahead, but Tim can’t tell what’s inside.

“What is this place?”

“Four weeks with the new Robin,” Bruce spits. “No improvement.”

It’s a locker. The spotlight is highlighting a locker. Tim’s locker. His costume hangs inside, dull and lifeless under the light.

“Lacks Dick’s leadership. Jason’s boldness. An unworthy successor.”

Tim bites his tongue and balls his fists, nails cutting into his palms. This isn’t the real Bruce, but his voice is…

God. Bruce is saying everything. Everything Tim has fretted over. His slow start. His uncertainty in the field. His tendency to play it safe. Bruce never commented on it before, but Tim always wondered if Bruce thought he was inadequate.

“Tim was right,” Bruce continues. “Batman needs a Robin. But Robin needs to be someone - anyone - but Tim Drake.”

Tim’s jaw tightens, vision growing hazy. He’s noticed the posters hung up on the locker door now.

WE ARE HIRING, the first poster reads. NEW ROBIN WANTED, the second announces.

Tim tears his eyes away from the locker, moving down the next hallway. “Stay focused, Robin,” he tells himself. Because he is Robin. Bruce made him Robin. “This can’t be real.”

Tim crawls under a spike trap, and that’s when he sees the door in the distance. He starts running after it. Escape is just beyond it; Tim is certain. But the more he runs, the further the door gets.

“No escape…” a voice hisses. “No escape…”

Tim finally grabs hold of the door handle, but before he can wrench it open, the door is ripped from his hands, flying even further away.

Tim sprints. He’s so, so close now.

“Accept your fate.”

Catching up again, Tim rams his shoulder into the door. He grunts, the desperation fueling the intensity of his blows. The door gives way, and Tim falls into another room. The door slams shut behind him, leaving him alone.

This room is quieter. The voices have stopped. Tim’s vision is clearer, and the fog has faded from the ground. Even the shadows look brighter.

Tim climbs to his feet. “Am I out?”

The voices don’t respond.

“Yeah,” Tim decides. “I think I’m out.”

Jason's Version

Barbara's Version

Dick's Version

[iobsessoverfictionalmen]

Labyrinth AU - Sequel

Chapter 8

AN: This chapter contains mentions of sex and fighting.

Over the years, Dave had seen many of your glares.  For instance, there was the time that he stole your toy and tried to convince your mum that it was his to no avail and then there was the time that he’d changed the TV while you were watching one of your favourite cartoons.

The glares that he had seen growing up paled in significance to the glare that he saw on your face as he appeared in front of the castle doors along with Drake and Horvath.  Dave also wasn’t expecting to see the same glare mirrored on Balthazar’s face.  With a start, Dave remembered that he hadn’t actually told his mentor what he was planning to do before he left.

“At least it’s not just you she’s angry at this time.” A small voice in Dave’s mind piped up helpfully, “She’s angry at Horvath and Drake for leaving too.”

The words were a little comforting but before Dave could attempt to placate you as his group drew closer, Drake spoke up.

“Judging by the look on your face (Name), I can safely say that angry sex is definitely on the cards tonight.”

“That’s my sister,” Dave growled out from behind clenched teeth.

“That’s my friend.”  Balthazar responded in the same manner and tone.

Drake chuckled sheepishly before darting in between you and Balthazar and running into the castle.  You and Balthazar both turned to watch him as he ran up the steps and away from the both of you.

A smile spread across your face and you cocked your head to the side.  Clearly, you were listening to something but Dave didn’t know what it was.

“Hero…” To his surprise, Dave thought he detected a pleading note in the king’s voice.

His heart sank a little when he noticed Balthazar looking at him with amusement.

“Tell you what,” you spoke as your grin widened, “if the both of you can endure what is coming for one hour without using your magic, consider yourselves forgiven.”

“What’s coming?” Dave demanded, “Is it another sorcerer?  How come Drake doesn’t have to deal with this?”

“Oh, he does.” You promised, your grin was starting to make Dave nervous now, “And don’t fret, it’s not another sorcerer.”

“Well then what…” Dave trailed off as he heard the thunderous sound of multiple footsteps.

“Hero…” Horvath tried again.

You shook your head once as you and Balthazar stepped to the side of the doors in front of you.  Dave blinked and then suddenly his vision was filled with hundreds of goblins.  Some of them were still wearing their armour and brandishing weapons.

“THE KING HAS RETURNED!”

“HE IS VICTORIOUS!”

“THE EVIL SORCERER HAS BEEN PERMANENTLY DEFEATED BY OUR KING AND HIS ALLIES!”

“WE MUST PLAN A BALL IN HONOUR OF OUR KING’S SUCCESS!”

“A GRAND BALL?!”

“A GRAND BALL!”

Dave winced at the loud voices of the goblins and he raised his hands to cover his ears in an attempt to protect his hearing.  As he did so, he noticed you watching from atop the stairs.

“You are evil!” He mouthed, “Utterly evil.  I love you (Name).”

You winked and crossed your arms as you leant on the railing at the edge of the balcony making no effort to hide your amusement.

“I love you too Dave.” You mouthed back, “Don’t worry.  You only have fifty minutes to go.”

Dave groaned. 

Three days later, Dave walked into the grandest ballroom he had ever seen in a suit that the goblins had created for him.  The ballroom was almost filled to the brim with people.  If Dave had to guess, he would say that they were dignitaries and nobles from multiple other realms.

Dave searched the ballroom for you, weaving around people to avoid bumping into them.  He glimpsed Balthazar, also wearing a suit, speaking intently with a woman who had mahogany brown hair that fell to her waist.  There were a few times where he needed to stop and introduce himself to the guests as Drake had advised him.

Speaking of Drake, Dave spotted the man lounging against the wall chatting animatedly with two elves.  Dave was pretty sure that they were elves because of the pointed tips of their ears although, he’d learnt that the fae were quite mischievous and they could also be shape shifters so Dave wasn’t entirely sure.

Drake pointed in his direction with his glass and the elves turned.  Dave lifted his hand in greeting before ducking out of sight in an attempt to resume his search.

“Looking for someone?”

Dave spun around to see Bennett and another very familiar face staring back at him with amazement on their faces.

Millions of thoughts raced through Dave’s mind at the sight of the two but when he opened his mouth, all that came out was “Huh?”

“Becky and I have been coming into this realm since we were twelve.  We actually met here because my mum is a dream walker.”

“We’ve been coming here every summer.” Becky added, “My dad’s a fae.”

Dave’s tongue darted out to wet his dry lips, “Becky?  Becky Barnes?”

“Oh, shoot!” Bennett smacked his forehead, “I forgot to introduce you.  Becky, this is…”

“Dave Stutler.” Becky breathed, “How in the world did you end up here?”

“Ah, about that…” Dave prepared to explain just how he had ended up in the labyrinth both times when a hush fell over the room.  Bennett poked him in the back and he turned around to gaze up at the beautifully decorated staircase that lead to the balcony where a goblin stood.  Dave had to hand it to the goblins.  They really knew how to organise a ball.

“PRESENTING THE KING, MAXIM HORVATH AND HIS QUEEN, (NAME) STUTLER!” The goblin bellowed before bowing and backing away amid a wave of applause.

“Your sister is the queen?” Becky exclaimed but Dave didn’t hear her over the applause.  His eyes remained fixed on the balcony and he watched as you and Horvath came into view.  His hand was wrapped around yours as he led you forwards.  Both you and the king were dressed regally in expensive looking clothes.  The realisation that you were queen of the labyrinth sunk in for Dave and he began to grasp the enormity of your role.

The applause grew even louder as the two of you descended the steps.  The crowd parted as you and the king stepped forwards, moving into the centre of the ballroom.  You smiled as you walked past Dave and Bennett.  Dave spotted a few marks on your neck and collarbone that looked suspiciously like hickies.  Dave shivered and chose to ignore their existence instead focusing on the intricately designed new sigils that decorated the skin of your arms.

He realised that you and Horvath had reached the centre of the room and you were now standing opposite Horvath with one of your hands resting on his shoulder and the other encased in his.  The band started playing and Dave watched mesmerised as the two of you danced.

Gradually, more couples made their way to the dance floor but they were careful not to move too close to you or the king.

Dave spent the ball explaining his adventures in the labyrinth to an awestruck Bennett and Becky.

“Dude,” Bennett gaped, “you are definitely participating.”  He held out his hand for a fist bump.

Dave smiled as he watched Horvath spin you into his embrace.  Anyone in that ballroom at that moment would have had to be incredibly unobservant to not be able to see the love that the two of you shared or the magic that danced around you both.

“Yeah, I guess I am.”  Dave bumped Bennett’s fist with his own.

[starry-bi-sky]

Out of Context Stuff for a Danyal Al Ghul au i haven't posted - Pit Beast Danyal

Damian, 13: Look, Danyal, -- I am so sorry for everything that happened between us in the League, I hope you can forgive me.

Danny, 10 (allegedly): (has been secretly plotting to murder Damian this whole time, is still gonna do it obvs, but is going to make it significantly less painful now)

Danny: I-- of course, older brother. :]

--------

Bruce: what do you have there, Damian?

Damian:

Danny: (a hulking 10ft pit beast standing beside him, growling idly with ram horns gouging out his eyes and a second set of horns jutting into the air, spines down his back, and a long, spiked tail with an animalistic, skull-like face)

Damian, who smuggled him in (they've made amends): a smoothie, father

----------

Damian: this is my little brother Danyal, i murdered him when he was five. He festered in rage for the last half-a decade, took over a League mountain base in Switzerland, murdered everyone inside and then tried to murder me when I went to investigate with Drake.

Danny: hello!

Damian: we're cool now

----------

Damian: thoughts on resurrection

Danny, (a full ghost): i will succeed in murdering you if you try it

Damian: we'll put a pin in it then

----------

Danny (still instilled with League values): why don't we just murder him??

Damian, on patrol (Danny followed him): we don't murder people, Danyal

Danyal:,,,,are you sick, Dami?? Have you been possessed? Why not!?

(There is raucous laughing through the comms)

----------

Danny, five, pre-death: Dami! :D

Danny, dead, vengeful: Older brother (:

Danny, post-forgiveness: Dami! :]

-------

For some actual context: Danny is fully dead in this au, its a result of the classic DPxDC Demon Twins "death duel" trope but instead of Danny getting revived, he stays fully dead. Danny was five, Damian was seven. His ghost lingered though, and due to the proximity of the pits his ghost steadily absorbed the ambient energy it was letting off. The pits are not corrupted ectoplasm in this au, it's just liquid ecto.

Which means Danny's corruption from an angry and hurt little ghost boy to an unrecognizable monster is from his own doing. It's a result of him stewing in his hurt and anger for years, it physically warped him. He's very powerful. Danny can travel between League Bases but chose a small, out-of-the-way base in the Swiss mountains to fester in and then just. Never Left.

His influence steeped into the very foundations of the building, allowing him to transform and warp the rooms and hallways for his own bidding, Meaning he could turn it into a seemingly unending labyrinth if he so wished to, and block the entrance.

Eventually, blinded (both metaphorically and physically) by his own rage, Danny grew powerful enough to appear physically in the living realm and attacked everyone in the base, slaughtering them all and leaving the base abandoned. He attacks anyone who dares enter -- whether that be other league members, or the unfortunate hiker who stumbled across the base. His conscious is steeped into every nook and cranny of the building, there is nowhere you can hide where he can't find. Nobody leaves without his explicit say so. Nobody ever does.

Him appearing as ten years old before Damian in the skits above is his own physical doing. First it was to prevent Damian from being suspicious of him. Damian initially thought Danny was revived with the pits, he was too busy with his own training afterwards to notice that Danny never showed up again, and when he did notice, he assumed it was because Danny was too ashamed of his loss to face him. He'd always forget to ask about him.

Then it becomes a personal choice to appear as ten. It's how old he would've been had he been alive.

danny forgiving Damian is kinda for an offshoot branch of the main au. Whereas the main au takes the form of a ps4 first person horror game where Damian and Tim are investigating the Base for Plot Reasons. There's no sign of the rumored "monster" living inside until the end, where Danny, who was found inside the Base and has been happily "helping" them look around, manages to persuade Damian into splitting off from Tim in order to "show him something."

This something turns out to be Danny revealing that he never really forgave Damian for that fight, and he reveals through a horrifying transformation, that he was the monster the whole time. Which the game subtly hints at throughout as Danny's strange behavior becomes harder to ignore.

First from his insistence to only refer to Damian as "older brother" (when before the duel he always called him Damian or Dami), to him right off the bat denying the existence of a monster when questioned. ("There's no monster here, older brother. It's just me.") To other various things, like his knowledge of the outside world not matching up to modern times or things going on with the league outside of the base, or what happened to the other league members.

This whole idea was inspired by the song "Scylla" from Epic the Musical, with Danyal being the voice of Scylla as well as Odysseus, while Damian stands as Eurylochus. The instrumentals after Scylla says "hello" is him turning into the pit beast, and Scylla's "drown in your sorrow and fears" part is danny, as the pit beast, snarling at Damian while he attacks him.

There's a Good Ending, a Bad Ending, and a True Ending. The Bad Ending results in Damian being killed by Danny, it happens when Damian decides not to question or suspect Danny and treats him kindly. The Bad Ending is a cutscene, where Danny kills Damian quick and painlessly.

Meanwhile the Good Ending is Damian killing Danny. This is a boss fight, and it happens when Damian treats Danny coldly and suspiciously the whole time. Danny as a result, decides to make Damian's death painful as he had planned to, which is why it's a boss fight because it only causes him to double down on his anger.

The True Ending is Damian escapes with Tim. It happens when you treat Danny warmly up until the last minute, where when Danny proposes to Damian that he wants to show him something, Damian goes to talk to Tim and finally, reluctantly agrees that something is off with Danny, and that he'll be careful going in. It starts off with the boss fight until a third through, where it then changes to a cutscene where Tim manages to get the door open and Damian escapes out. It's then a chase scene down a never-ending hallway as the building actively works to keep you trapped inside. But you eventually make it to the exit so long as you avoid all the projectiles and doors.

Remember when I mentioned that Danny only lets people leave when he wants them to? That's where the treating Danny kindly throughout the game comes into play. It causes him to second guess himself and, eventually, reawaken and strengthen the love and admiration he had for Damian prior to his murder. It's why in the Bad Ending he kills Damian quickly -- because by then, he loves him enough that he doesn't want him to suffer, but is still so consumed by his rage and need for vengeance that he kills him anyways. That quiet part is what allows Damian (and Tim) to find the exit, because some part of Danny still loves Damian enough that he wants him to live.

The True Ending ends with a cutscene of Damian and Tim tumbling out into the snow/grass outside of the base. Damian looks up back to the entrance to see Danny standing there. But rather than a ten year old boy, there's a little five year old Danyal Al Ghul instead. He stares at Damian emotionlessly, blood seeping from his chest, staining his clothes, and little, bloody sword in his hands and tearstains on his cheeks, before he turns away and disappears back into the building.

[elliepassmore]

Within the Sanctuary of Wings review

5/5 stars Recommended if you like: adventure, light academia, dragons, epistolary narrative

A Natural History of Dragons review

The Tropic of Serpents review

Voyage of the Basilisk review

In the Labyrinth of Drakes review

So...I still enjoyed this book, but I'm not totally sure how I feel about the big discovery made in this one. I do think it's a little odd and abrupt, but I can also see how the groundwork was laid in prior books.

This book opens 6 years (I think) after Labyrinth with Suhail giving a talk on Draconean linguistics and translation. The 'Cataract Stone' Isabella found in Mouleen provided a bilingual transcription that Suhail and other linguists were able to use to begin cracking the code of the Draconean language. Since the discovery of the stone and the bigger discovery of the mostly intact ruins in the Labyrinth of Drakes, there has been a huge boom of all things Draconean in Scirling society. For those familiar with the Victorian era, this tracks very closely with the Egyptian boom that occurred and, obviously, the Cataract Stone here is analogous to the Rosetta Stone in our world--Draconean art has always been described in a way analogous to Egyptian art, so I thought this was very nice continuity.

Toward the end of the first chapter, a Yelangese rebel and mountain climber, Mr. Thu, approaches Isabella to tell her about a dead dragon he found in the Mrtyahaima mountain range (i.e., Himalayas). Due to her past with Yelang, she's obviously wary, but it involves dragons, so obviously she, Tom, Suhail, and Andrew take off for Mrtyahaima. Caeligers are much more prominent now and there's even an event called the Aerial War that's occurring concurrently in the world. Thus, traveling to a remote and treacherous mountain range is a bit easier than when Isabella and Tom did it in book 1. Of course, getting to the mountain range is one thing, getting around once there is another.

Suhail's archaeological and linguistic work plays an important role in this book, but Isabella's theory of reproductive lability comes back in a big way as well. I liked seeing the convergence of some of these ideas, and I did appreciate that language was a bigger aspect in this one than in some of the other books (while I did study anthropology and find it fascinating, linguistics is my passion).

It's hard to talk too much about this book without giving away some very big spoilers that have been building for the entire series. I will say though that Isabella spends much of this book separated from her loved ones, and that a lot of her scientific work is done via observation. While this is true of most of the series, we were treated to some of her hands-on work in Labyrinth, so really this is just her going back to her usual style of fieldwork. The discovery and actions she takes in this book are the reason she goes from Dame Trent to Lady Trent, and is essentially a household name in Scirling forevermore.

I will say, for all her grumbling about not being good at politics, Isabella is actually very smooth when it comes to political maneuvering in this book. First she has to convince the Scirling government to let her go to Vidwatha (India) and Tser-nga (I am guessing Nepal) on the word of a Mr. Thu who, in exchange, wants her to pledge support to the revolutionary movement in Yelang. Then she runs into political problems later on with another group she runs across, and then she finds a surprising, but completely Isabella, way of following through on her promise of supporting the Yelangese revolution.

When the whole group is together, I enjoy their interactions and the way they're all familiar enough with one another to essentially read each other's minds. As usual, Suhail and Tom both have academic interest in the same/similar things as Isabella, and so the three of them are excited at the prospect of new discoveries. I like that Andrew has essentially become a member of their little group despite not being an academic. He's able to provide support in interesting ways.

Overall, a good and surprising ending to the series that combines the work Isabella and Tom have been doing for 5 books with Suhail's work. I'm definitely excited to read the spinoff/sequel/companion and see how the discoveries here have impacted things down the line.

[bookwyrminspiration]

god forbid a woman do anything

[checkoutmybookshelf]

You Have My Attention: The Lady Trent Memoir First Lines

New Bookshelf to check out, and trying to do something a little artsy with this picture! The adorable little dragon figure in front was hand painted for me by my partner, and he was inspired by General Chu from the Temeraire books. But what we're focusing on now is how Marie Brennan catches her readers. For these books, because the prefaces are just that good and kind of meta, I will give you the first lines of the prefaces and the first chapters. If you want to know more about the series than first lines, I talk about the series in this post.

"Not a day goes by that the post does not bring me at least one letter from a young person (or sometimes one not so young) who wishes to follow in my footsteps as a dragon naturalist."

-- "Preface," A Natural History of Dragons

"When I was seven, I found a sparkling lying dead on a bench at the edge of the woods which formed the back boundary of our garden, that the groundskeeper had not yet cleared away."

-- "One," A Natural History of Dragons

"Public opinion is a fickle thing. Nowadays I am hailed from one end of Scirland to the other as a testament to the intelligence and derring-do of our race; indeed, if I am not the most famous Scirling woman in the world, I daresay I give Her Majesty the Queen a good fight."

-- "Preface," The Tropic of Serpents

"Not long before I embarked on my journey to Eriga, I girded my loins and set out for a destination I conisdered much more dangerous: Falchester."

-- "One," The Tropic of Serpents

"Depending upon yout temperament, you may be either pleased or puzzled to see that I have chosen to include my time upon the Basilisk in my memoirs."

-- "Preface," Voyage of the Basilisk

"At no point did I form the conscious intention of founding an ad hoc univeristy in my sitting room."

-- "One," Voyage of the Basilisk

"I suspect a percentage of my readership will see the title of this volume and experct the entireity of what is contined herein to be devoted to a certain discovery that took place in the Labyrinth of Drakes."

-- "Preface," In the Labyrinth of Drakes

"There is very little pleasure in being snubbed over a task for which one is well qualified. There is, however, quite a bit of pleasure in watching the ones who did the snubbing later eat their own words."

-- "One," In the Labyrinth of Drakes

"Writing the final volume of one's memoirs is a very peculiar experience."

-- "Preface," Within the Sanctuary of Wings

"Members of the peerage, I need hardly tell you, are not always well behaved."

-- "One," Within the Sanctuary of Wings