#nagab!neil

[captain-danwilds]

WIP Wednesday 10/2

Happy Wednesday!

Please provide me external motivation to write by sending me asks. I'm hoping to have a couple chapters of Not all ghosts are buried to post in November for the fic's birthday.

NAGAB Neil (Raven!Neil)

NAGAB Noah (Vixens, Palmetto State Shenanigans and Hatfords)

The foxes RA

Prompt of your choosing

If you read the most recent WIP Wednesday snippets, you might see a little bit that looks familiar, but a lot of Jean and Nathaniel below the cut.

Once Nathaniel’s settled next to him on the bed, holding one of the pillows to his chest, he muttered darkly, “He’s an idiot.”  

Jean hums thoughtfully.  “As one would expect since he has one for a brother.”  

“I’m being serious.” Nathaniel shoves the pillow into Jean’s chest. 

“So am I. Suicidal plans to save everyone apparently run in the family.”  

This time it’s Nathaniel’s turn to laugh.  “You’re ridiculous. It’s not everyone.”

Jean groaned and gestured to himself. 

“That’s proactive self-defense.  You’re my partner.  You’re basically me.  That doesn’t count.”  

“And Gonzalez? Or what about Karim?”

“I don’t like how they scream when they mess up the drills.  It’s in my interest anyway.   Them understanding the drills faster means our team gets better.” 

“You practically let Brooks walk out of there with a warning and some screaming.” 

“I’m not letting Riko win.  That’s not suicidal.  That’s taking back control.”  Nathaniel flexed his right hand near his waist as if wishing for the knife he only had access to when Riko wanted his own sort of justice.  

Typically Riko liked feeling the dirty work himself, wrapping his own hands around the victim’s throat, having Nathaniel pin them down while he did the real damage.  But some things were too trivial for the King to deal with. Some subjects were beneath his attention.  

Nathaniel isn’t gentle with his subjects.  There needs to be evidence, bruises shown in the locker room, and screams heard by the neighboring rooms.  Nothing to let them know he’s fair game, that he’s gone soft.  The nest is a bird eats bird world after all.  If one wasn’t careful it could be your carcass feeding the carrion.   

“He’ll want to see you limping. Do I need to mark one of your legs so you remember? Or have you found your brain since practice?"

He doesn't need to dig the knife in most of the time. The threat of it is enough. They know better than to move when being educated. A Raven should understand that resisting only made things worse.   It was their own fault when the blood hit the sheets.  

At least that’s what he told himself.  Because he wasn’t lying to Ez-, Noah, he wasn’t lying to Noah. They’re changing him into a butcher or at least trying to.  And he can’t fight everything here.  But this is one battle he doesn’t think he can bear to lose.  

If he doesn’t act how Lola taught him, if he doesn’t draw out the process, if he doesn’t aim to break.  If he doesn’t truly use his father’s weapon they’re not the same. 

“Merde!”

Nathaniel doesn’t so much as register Jean until he has closed the gap between them, their knees touching, a hand squeezing his own tightly.

“I need you to focus on me.  Breathe with me.  In, Out.”  

Nathaniel knows he says more, but Nathaniel can’t focus on the words, just the lull of Jean’s voice.  He wiggles the hand between them.  All fingers accounted for, sore but not worrisome.  Back aching but the pain anchors him.  It’s the dull sort of ache from hard work and punishments past, not present worries.   He counts each of his toes in English, in French, in Japanese, in Italian and in Spanish.  The tutors have always prioritized reading over speaking.  It’s not every language he knows.   But it’s still grounding to think the sounds to himself.  

“Cody is convinced she can convince the nutritionists that she needs soul food, something rich and heavy, if they expect her to not blow away whenever she leaves the nest.  You can imagine how that’s going. I saw Akari roll her eyes and you know how-” 

“She should be arguing for extra protein.”  Nathaniel is able to force himself to say even though his mouth still feels like it’s full of cotton.  But he’s here, not stuck in his own head.  Listening to Jean complain about the rookie’s antics. 

“She’s still thinking about what she wants as opposed to how to solve the problem.”  Jean responds keeping his tone purposefully light. 

It’s an easy topic.  Nathaniel’s lived through eight seasons of rookies already.  They’re all the same really, desperate to improve and willing to test the boundaries until they break or fall in line.  It doesn’t matter that Cody is the same age as him,  he already knows how this plays out.   

Jean peers into his eyes to make sure Neil’s really here with him, not slipping back. 

“I shouldn’t have brought up the others.”  It’s not an apology, just an acknowledgment. 

“I was on edge already.”  The words are English instead of French now, although Nathaniel didn’t consciously make the switch.

“You’re pushing him away.” 

“Wouldn’t you?”  There’s so much more he could add, but for now that seems like enough. 

“It isn’t me.”  Jean states firmly as if they haven’t carried the same burden since he arrived. 

“But did you see them at the banquet?  He’s still shorter than me.” 

“Truly a miracle.”  Jean snarked before he began humming a children’s tune and sat with an arm wrapped around Neil to feel the moment his breathing quickens.  

“Do you think you can sleep? I’m not going to carry you if you fall asleep on the court tomorrow?” 

“Like that’ll happen.”  Neil got up anyway to brush his teeth and turn off the lights.  

Tonight he’s the one closer to the wall, curled gently around Jean, letting their breathing fall into sync. He can see the door, but he isn't standing guard. It isn’t often that he lets Jean sleep in the danger spot so to speak, closer to whoever may enter, not that it really matters, the crack of the door will have both their eyes shooting open. 

[halcyone-of-the-sea]

wait i saw you said you’re more of a book person so book recs???

I got you.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells (Sci-Fi)

Stardust by Neil Gaiman (Fantasy)

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle (Fantasy)

Novice Dragoneer by E. E. Knight (Fantasy)

The Death House by Sarah Pinborough (Romance/Dystopian)

Beren and Luthien by J. R. R. Tolkien (Fantasy/Romance)

Star Wars: Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber (Horror/Sci-Fi) - the only horror book that genuinely made my skin crawl

East by Edith Pattou (Historical Fantasy/Norwegian Fairy Tale Retelling)

Dante's Inferno

The Summer Dragon by Todd Lockwood (Fantasy with a twist)

Red Rising by Pierce Brown (Sci-Fi/Dystopian) - MORE PEOPLE HAVE TO READ THIS SERIES IT'S SO GOOOD

Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler (Fantasy) (check warnings for this series - heavy stuff) - also one of my all-time favorites

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson (Fantasy)

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (Fantasy)

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (Fantasy)

Life as we knew it by Susan Beth Pfeffer (Sci-Fi with an interesting premise & told through journal entries)

Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman (Fantasy)

The Girl From the Other Side by Nagabe (Manga)

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (Historical Fantasy)

The Road by Cormac McCarthy (Post-Apocalyptic)

Mythology by Edith Hamilton (Collection of stories from different mythology)

The Illiad

Edgar Allan Poe as an author in general

This is all I can come up with off the top of my head!

[sophiechoir]

Books Read in 2022

In 2021, I aimed to finish 12 books and finished only 10. In 2022, I once again aimed to finish 12 books - and this year, I surpassed my goal and finished a full 30! :)

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Rilke's Book of Hours translated by Anita Barrow and Joanna Macy

The Fantastic Four by John Byrne - Vol. 2 Omnibus

Siuil, a Run - The Girl from the Other Side - Vol. 1 by Nagabe

Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe by John Boswell

A Collection of Poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

War is a Racket by Brigadier General Smedley D. Butley

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

To See a World in a Grain of Sand (a present)

6 assorted vintage comic books (WW, Conan, Vault of Evil, House of Mystery)

The Me You Love in the Dark by Skottie Young and Jorge Corona

Love Me, Love Me Not #1 by Io Sakisaka

The Celtic Twilight: Faerie and Folklore by W.B. Yeats

Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion

Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles #1 by Naru Narumi

Face by Rosario Villajos

Seeing the Getty Center

Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles #2 by Naru Narumi

Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsburg

Rainbook by Claire Wendling

The Cathedral is Dying by Auguste Rodin

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life (Vol. 1) by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Vol. 2) by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Rain Like Hammers #4 by Brandon Graham & The Sandman Convergence #39 by Neil Gaiman and John Watkiss

The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art by Don Thompson

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

The Epic of Gilgamesh

To be fair, some of the comic books that I bundled together were very slim, so I'm probably inflating my final count... but I remember and enjoyed every one of them, so they count to me >:)

Looking back, there are so many books here associated with distinct memories. I remember reading Howl on the plane from LA. I remember exactly where I sat at the kitchen counter reading Rodin's Facebook-style rant about cathedrals (and thoroughly enjoying it, it felt like sitting in his studio!). I dragged my boyfriend to the local ramen place after reading Ms. Koizumi. I still get angry about the translator's note at the end of the Rilke book that I picked up in Beloit lol (okay those translators LITERALLY deleted multiple lines from a poem that they translated because THEY DIDN'T LIKE THE CONCEPT THAT RILKE HAD ADDED THERE. I understand translation can require some creative interpretation but they COMPLETELY ALTERED the poem to better suit their taste, deliberately denying Rilke's intent, and called it translation. UGHHH)

I want to read a lot more Virginia Woolf - To the Lighthouse was a vision! She's a genius and has stolen my heart.

I also want to return to Proust; finally check out Eliot, Shelley, Byron, Milton, etc beyond Tumblr snippets; conquer The Ambassadors; continue to pursue Dostoevsky, Yeats, LeGuin - I've got a taste and I want more!

Last year I was afraid of taking on too much. Now I'm afraid to take on too little :) I suppose I'll still aim for at least 12 books finished in 2023, but with the intent of matching/surpassing 30.

Right now I'm reading Grief Lessons: Four Plays by Euripides, translated by Anne Carson. Just finished crying over Herakles. It wasn't the tragedy but Theseus' love that made me break.

I can't wait for what 2023 will bring! Happy New Year, everyone! <3

[armchairambrose]

All books of 2022

I like to keep a list of all the books that I've read through the year, it helps me feel accomplished and that my relaxation time is not a waste. Without writing this list, I find myself unable to motivate to read, or stressed by the act. This is the list of everything that I had recorded, which is missing only a few manga or short stories.

-The Tower of Swallows, The Lady of the Lake, Season of Storms (Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski)

-The Tower of Fools, Warriors of God, Light Perpetual (Hussite trilogy by Andrzej Sapkowski)

-The Way of Shadows, Shadows Edge, Beyond the Shadows (Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks)

-Mycophilia (Eugenia Bone)

-Uzumaki, Gyo (Junji Ito, horror manga)

-Mr. Humble and Dr. Butcher (Brandy Shillace)

-The Order of Time, Helgoland (Dr. Carlo Rovelli)

-Your Inner Fish (Neil Shubin)

-Dinopedia; A Brief Compendium of Dinosaur Lore (Darren Nash)

-The Mosquito; A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator (Timothy Winegard)

-The Divine Comedy (Dante Alegherdi)

-Reconstructing Democracy (Taylor, Nanz, Taylor)

-Sexus Animalis (Emmanuel Povydebat)

-Islands of Abandonment (Cal Flyn)

-As Nature Made Him, The Boy Who Was Raised A Girl (John Colapinto)

-Atlas of a Lost World; Travels in Ice Age America (Craig Childs)

-Nothing But Blackened Teeth (Cassandra Khaw)

-Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)

-The Herb Almanac; A Seasonal Guide to Medicinal Plants (The Chelsea Garden)

-I'm Glad My Mom Died (Jenette McCurdy)

-The Things They Carried (Tim O'Brien)

-Idler (Collection of essays on lifestyles)

-Magical Boy (The Kaos)

-Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Jack Finney)

-Passing (Original title "Nig" by Nella Larsen)

-Monotone Blue (Nagabe)

-The Gay Who Turned Kaiju (Kazuki Minamoto)

-I Want To Eat Your Pancreas (Yuru Sumino (Story) and Idumi Kirihara (Art)

-Heal or Die; Psychotherapists Confront Nuclear Annihilation (Ken Porter, Deb Rinsler, Paul Olsen, and colleagues)

[likmacuhylang]

Results of 2022 Year

January

Empty month without big problem and war. I stay in country and hoped to go in Penza, start writing and create blog in insta. Cinema: "Forrest Gump" by Robert Zemeckis Manga: "Wild Yaoi"Cinema: "Vertigo" by Alfred Hitchcock Cinema: "Fargo" by Joel and Ethan Coen Cinema: "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion" by Woody Allen Cinema: "Annette" by Leos Carax Cinema: "Nomadland" by Chloe Zhao Cinema: "American Beauty" by Sam Mendes

Febrary

On the morning of Febrary 24, the war began. My country attaced Ukraine. Cinema: "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" by Terry Gilliam Cinema: "No Country for Old Men" by Joel and Ethan Coen Cinema: "The Green Mile" by Frank Darabont Cinema: "Yalda a Night for Forgiveness" by Massound Bakhshi Cinema: "Honey Sigar" by Kamir Ainouz

March

Whole month I cried, thinked and cheked news about war.In this period I often thinked, what I must was die. Saved myself only Art.

...If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

April

Cinema: "Titan" by Julia Ducournau Manga: "Love is Money" by Panda Manga: "Creepy Cat and My Strange Life" by Cotton Valent

May

Manga: "The Baker from First Floor" by Gyaga Manga: "Why did Men Stop Wearing High Heels" by KIM Jimmy Manga: "Demon Slayer" by GOTOUGE Koyoharu Manga: "Demon Slayer: Tamioka Giyuu Gaiden" by GOTOUGE Koyoharu Manga: "Demon Slayer: Rengoku" by GOTOUGE Koyoharu Manga: "Ka gari gari" by GOTOUGE Koyoharu Manga: "Brothers Monjushirou" by GOTOUGE Koyoharu Manga: "Rokkostu-san" GOTOUGE Koyoharu Manga: "Haeniwa no Zigzag" GOTOUGE Koyoharu Manga: "Total Eclipse of the Ethernal Heart" by Syundei Book: "Secretum" by Petrarca Franchesco Book: "Epistolae familiares" by Petrarca FranchescoManga: "People, who can't see" by Nagabe Anime: "Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid" by Yashiro Takemoto

June

Anime: "Magical Girl Ore" by Itsurou Kawasaki. Book: "A Guide to Art Nouveau Style" by William Hardy Anime: "No Matter How I Look at It, It's You Guy's Fault I'm Not Poppular!" by Shin Oonuma Book: "Time to Come to Your Senses!" Leo Tolstoy Book: "Alphonse Mucha" by Sarah Mucha Manga: "Yakedo Shoujo" by SATOMY Yuu

Jule

Manga: "xxxHolic" by CLAMP Anime: "Blood+" by Junchi Fujisaku Manga: "The Gokuraku District's Third Avenue Incident" by Sano Yuto Book: "Biography by Leonid Kannegisser" Cinema: "Knives Out" by Rian Johnson Cinema: "Pensione Edelweiss" by Ottorino Franco Bertolini and Victor Merenda Cinema: "The Truble with Harry" by Alfred Hitchcock Cinema: "The Shawshnk Redemption" by Frank Darabond Cinema: "Divorce Italian Style: Pieto Germi Book: "First Manifesto of Surrealism" by Andre Breton Book: "Language of Cinema" by Danila Kusnecov

Donna unmei ga matte irun darou Kuyamitakunai yo umareta koto

August

Book: "Mediocre as Social Danger" by Olga Sedakova. Manga: "Solo Leveling" by GEE So-Lyung. Cinema: "The Lord of Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" by Peter Jackson. Book: "About Psychological attractiveness  totalitarianism" by Bruno Bettelheim. Book: "Five Moral Pieces" by Umberto Eco.

September

Manga: "Cardcaptor Sakura" by CLAMP. Cinema: "The Evil Dead" by Sam Raimi. Cinema: "Eye Wide Shut" by Stanley Kubrik. Cinema: "Interview with the Vampire" by Neil Jordan. Cinema: "My Little Princess" by Eva Ionesco. Anime: "Visual Prison" by Tomoya Tanaka. Manga: "Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE" by CLAMP. Book: "Dark Carnival" by Ray Douglas Bradbury. Anime: "Beelzebub" by Yoshihiro Takamoto. Cinema: "Love and Death" by Woody Allen.

October

Cinema: "The Others" by Alejanro Amenabar. Cinema: "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" by Marcus Nispel. Book: "Lonf After Midnight" Ray Douglas Bradbury. Cinema: "Great Beauty" by Paolo Sorrentino. Cinema: "Neon Demon" by Nicolas Winding Fefn. Book: "Biography of Konstantin Savitsky" by Mihail Sokolnikov. Cinema: "Dead Poets Society" by Peter Weir. Cinema: "What We Do in the Shadows" by Taika Waititi. Book: "Room and a Half" Joseph Brodsy. Book: "Hallowe'en Party" Agatha Cristie. Cinema: "Decision to Leave" by Park Chan-wook. Cinema: "Crimson Peak" by Guilermodel Toro. Cinema: "Ready or Not" by Matt Bettin elli-Olpin.

November

Cinema: "The Shape of Water" by Guilero del Toro. Cinema: "Shutter Island" by Martin Scorsese. Cinema: "Requiem for a Dream" by Darren Aronofsky. Cinema: "The Naked Gun" by David Zuker. Cinema: "Death on the Nile" by Kenneth Branagh.

December

Cinema: "Death in Venice" by Luchino Visconti. Cinema: "The Must Beautiful Boy in the World" by Kristian Petri. Cinema: "Bullets over Broadway" by Woody Allen. Anime: "The Empire of Corpse" by Ryoutarou Makihara. Cinema: "Pale Blood" by Michael W. Leighton and V.V. Dachin Hsu. Series: "Alienist" Cinema: "Stalker" by Andrei Tarkovsky. Cinema: "Safe" by Todd Haynes. Cinema: "Inglurious Basterds" by Quentin Tarantino. Cinema: "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring" by Kim Ki-duk. Cinema: "The Banshees of Inesherin" Martin MacDonagh. Cinema: "Kives Out: Glass Onion" by Rian Johnson. Cinema: "Guilermo del Toro's Pinocchio" by Guilermo del Toro.

[mylifeissuperboring]

Books Read in 2020

[2017] [2018] [2019]

January (8 books)

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore (Non-fiction) All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders (Fiction) Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson (Non-fiction) The Toll by Neal Shusterman (Fiction) Big Mushy Happy Lump by Sarah Anderson (Non-fiction, Comic) How to Be a Bawse by Lilly Singh (Non-fiction) Dead Beat by Jim Butcher (Fiction) Squirrel Girl Vol. 11 by Ryan North (Comic)

February (8 books)

Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery (Non-fiction) The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater (Fiction) Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (Fiction) Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (Fiction) Dear Ijeawele by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi (Non-fiction) Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Magge Stiefvater (Fiction) How To by Randall Munroe (Non-fiction) Ms. Marvel Vol. 10 by G. Willow Wilson (Comic)

March (17 books)

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater (Fiction) Why Do I Feel Like an Imposter by Sandi Mann (Non-fiction) Way of the House Husband Vol. 2 by Kousuke Ouno (Manga) A Man & His Cat by Umi Sakurai (Manga) Sorry for My Familiar Vol. 1 by Tekka Yaguraba (Manga) Delicious in Dungeon Vol. 7 by Ryoko Kui (Manga) The Girl from the Other Side Vol. 7 by Nagabe (Manga) My Brother’s Husband Vol. 2 by Gengoroh Tagame (Manga) A Silent Voice Vol. 1 by Yoshitoki Oima (Manga) A Silent Voice Vol. 2 by Yoshitoki Oima (Manga) A Silent Voice Vol. 3 by Yoshitoki Oima (Manga) A Silent Voice Vol. 4 by Yoshitoki Oima (Manga) A Silent Voice Vol. 5 by Yoshitoki Oima (Manga) A Silent Voice Vol. 6 by Yoshitoki Oima (Manga) A Silent Voice Vol. 7 by Yoshitoki Oima (Manga) The Middle Finger Project by Ash Ambirge (Non-fiction) Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher (Fiction)

April (1 book)

Grow a Sustainable Diet by Cindy Conner (Non-fiction)

May (4 books)

When They Call You a Terrorist by Patrisse Khan-Cullors (Non-fiction) To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf (Fiction) The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett (Fiction) If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won’t) by Betty White (Non-fiction)

June (6 books)

Company Town by Madeline Ashby (Fiction) Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed (Non-fiction) Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly (Fiction) Sorry for my Familiar Vol. 2 by Tekka Yaguraba (Manga) On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder (Non-fiction) Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett (Fiction)

July (5 books)

How to Survive a Plague by David France (Non-fiction) The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon (Fiction) Ms. Marvel Teamup by Eve Ewing (Comic) The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch by Neil Gaiman (Comic) The Nice and Accurate Good Omens TV Companion by Matt Whyman (Non-fiction)

August (2 books)

I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai (Non-fiction) White Night by Jim Butcher (Fiction)

September (3 books)

Necessary Trouble by Sarah Jaffe (Non-fiction) Buy Yourself the Fucking Lilies by Tara Schuster (Non-fiction) Squirrel Girl Vol. 12 by Ryan North (Comic)

October (4 books)

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemison (Fiction) White Rage by Carol Anderson (Non-fiction) Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling (Non-fiction) Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 6 by Hiromu Arakawa (Manga)

November (10 books)

Under My Hat by Various (Fiction) Adventures in the Dream Trade by Neil Gaiman (Non-fiction) The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett (Fiction) Deadpool Classic Vol. 9 by Gail Simone (Comic) Small Favor by Jim Butcher (Fiction) Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (Non-fiction) The View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman (Non-fiction) Delicious in Dungeon Vol. 8 by Ryoko Kui (Manga) Night of the Hunter by R.A. Salvatore (Fiction) The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish (Non-fiction)

December (6 books)

The Future of the Mind by Michio Kaku (Non-Fiction) The Crystal Shard by R.A. Salvatore (Fiction) Streams of Silver by R.A. Salvatore (Fiction) The Halfling’s Gem by R.A. Salvatore (Fiction) The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar (Fiction) The Truth by Terry Pratchett (Fiction)

YEAR TOTAL: 74 Fiction: 26 Non-fiction: 26 Comic/Manga: 22

Female author: 43 Male author: 30 Other author: 1* POC author: 29

*”Other” in this case was an anthology with various authors, not a non-binary author

[alias-design]

My favourite comics! Scroll to see them all! Comics have always been a big part of my life so I wanted to share some of my favourites with you. I couldn't recommend them enough! 10. Fables Vol 1: by Bill Willingham and Lan Medina on pencils 9. Fritz The Cat by R.Crumb 8. Batman: Ego and Other Tails by Darwyn Cooke 7. Hellboy: The Troll Witch and Others by Mike Mignola 6. From Hell by Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell 5. Batman the Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller 4. Sandman The Kindly Ones: by Neil Gaiman and a buttload of other artists 3. The Girl from the Other Side: by Nagabe 2. Batman A Serious House on Serious Hill by Grant Morrison and Dave Mckean (the book that made me want to write comics) 1. Sandman: Season of Mists: by Neil Gaiman (my all time favourite comic) Let me know what your favourite is! #comics #graphicnovels #manga https://www.instagram.com/p/Bth9M59Be7o/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=p5i8kntvfjno

[captain-danwilds]

WIP Wednesday: 10/9/24

Happy Wednesday!

Please provide me external motivation to write by sending me asks. I'm hoping to have a couple chapters of Not all ghosts are buried to post in November for the fic's birthday. Options on offer:

NAGAB Neil (Raven!Neil)

NAGAB Noah (Vixens, Palmetto State Shenanigans and Hatfords)

The foxes RA (unposted, but I think self-explanatory)

My WIP Wednesday rules that may differ from others: Send as many asks as you want. I can post this and get 0 asks (AKA what happened last week), so if there's something you want to see, you'll have to ask for it. You can include a specific thing you're interested in seeing in the fic or just the work's name in your ask.

You don't need to be caught up on what I've written but previous Snippets linked here.

NAGAB Neil below the cut. Jumping back in time from last week's snippet.

Nathaniel doesn't know how he feels about Jean yet. It's like holding a heavy racket after playing for years with a light one. Sure he knows this is probably good for him, that he can't keep existing as he has been - talking to the voice in his head and stealing occasional moments when Kevin is slightly less of a dick than he could be. But he's also grown used to the solitude. It feels uncomfortable to look out for someone else again

Especially someone who can't get their new situation through their thick skulls.

"How do you expect to learn the drills if you don't even try?"

Jean glared at him. "I do not need to try. I will be leaving soon."

This isn't some vacation.

"That is obvious. No one finds Exy restful." Jean drawled, swinging the stick back and forth along the ground but refusing to hit the ball.

If you don't start bending, they will break you.

Jean eyes focused on Nathaniel's bruises and the splint on one of his fingers. "They will do that anyway."

[captain-danwilds]

WIP Wednesday: August 14

The last time I tried this was a while back, but I want to do it again. Submit an ask from whichever one you'd like to see a snippet of.

Options are:

NAGAB Neil (Raven!Neil)

NAGAB Noah (Vixens)

The foxes RA

Prompt of your choosing

NAGAB Snippet featuring Neil and Jean below the cut:

Jean had seemed fine until he suddenly wasn't.  When Nathaniel looked up again, Jean was too still, even as his eyes darted around. 

He pulled the laptop into his hands and read, his heart sinking as he got further along.  Jean's Google News alerts on Marseilles were having a field day.  Nathaniel quickly found the article that had likely sparked the panic.

Local Businessmen and Family Perish in Fire

Firefighters were alerted to a raging housefire at the home of multi-million-dollar businessman Pierre Moreau around four this morning. Despite his fame, help was not dispatched until the house was already on the verge of collapse.  Upon putting out the fire, two charred bodies later identified on Moreau and his wife, Cecilia Moreau nee Roche, were found.  Their fifteen-year-old daughter is missing, likely deceased as no body was found. The speed and heat of the fire have caused the fire department to launch a preliminary arson investigation.  

Moreau is known for his vast real-estate empire within the city with no accurate estimate of his net worth.  Information regarding business dealings stored in his home office are presumed to have been destroyed. 

Nathaniel closed the laptop with a decisive snap.  He pushed his own things haphazardly into his bookbag before starting on Jean's since the other boy still hadn't moved.   He carefully marked Jean's place in the textbook, knowing otherwise he'd be scolded for it later.   When he was finally done Nathaniel slung both bags on, he hovered his hand over Jean's shoulder. 

"It's just me.  It's Nathaniel.  I'm taking you somewhere safe."  Nathaniel wasn't sure if Jean could hear him.   He just knew that he wasn't going to be one more person taking away his decision.  

He waited a few seconds before gripping Jean's shoulder tightly and leading him through the black hallways.  If he thought Jean had been still before, it was different actually touching him.  Every muscle in the much taller boy's body was flexed, itching to fight or run or both. 

[captain-danwilds]

Can I please request either NAGAB Neil or Noah?

THANK YOU!!! Oh, I'm so excited! (Technically Neil with a focus on Noah.)

WIP Wednesday NAGAB

Nathaniel wasn't sure when he started to breathe again.  This wasn't happening.  Couldn't be happening.  He hadn't spent his entire life keeping his brother safe just for Ezra to waltz into enemy territory like nothing was the matter.       

He tried to keep his head down.  He had simple orders for the night.  Intimidate Kevin using the list of approved insults.   Well, Jean said there was a list of approved insults.  Riko hadn't handed him anything directly, so he assumed he was allowed to let himself go wild. 

That was one thing that Nathaniel had allowed Riko to take advantage of.  It didn't mean much that he could seemingly narrow in on someone's biggest insecurities without a second thought.  It wasn't like knives, he wasn't like his father.  There was something delicate and precise about words in a way knives never were.  You could deny words were a weapon entirely.  Just walk away leaving nothing but a sharp grin.

After dinner, there might be a chance to talk to Noah if he played his cards right and he needed to play his cards right.  

[captain-danwilds]

WIP Wednesday: 10/23/24

I am once again open for asks related to my current projects:

NAGAB Neil (Raven!Neil)

NAGAB Noah (Vixens, Palmetto State Shenanigans and Hatfords)

The foxes RA

If you have a specific character or aspect you’re interested in, feel free to include that in your ask. I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to include it, but I’ll try.

NAGAB Neil below the cut. (Nothing graphic but it's the nest)

“The master won’t be happy.  But you’re not getting on that court today.”   Jean’s voice had a harsh edge that it typically lacked as he forcibly pulled Nathaniel back to the present. 

But then it softened ,“You shouldn’t have let them do it.” 

Nathaniel forced himself upward ignoring the stabbing sensation in his ribs.  He wanted to be able to look Jean in the eyes for this conversation.

 “It wasn’t letting them do anything.  Riko owns us.  It’s merely being put to use.”  His words echoed last night’s taunts, but they felt truer in the light of morning with every part of his body screaming.    

Jean stilled next to him.  Typically, Nathaniel was the headstrong one, picking his battles carefully, but ultimately fighting things, bending to submission only because doing so allowed him to keep playing Exy.   There were few times outside of Riko or the Master’s presence where he’ll admit to being owned.  Like if he didn’t mention it, that tedious little fact of existence will disappear. 

If Jean was someone else, he might try to illustrate that Nathaniel was so much more than property. To string together pretty words that painted Nathaniel’s strengths and his failings, and how he was a person not a thing.  

But Jean wasn’t someone else.  He didn’t have the optimism to say such things after six years in the Nest.  More often than not it’s Nathaniel who had to do those things, who monitors the pain pills and sleeping aids on bad days.  It’s no wonder Jean felt so awkward about this reversal.   

“They were asking about Kevin.  They would have stopped if you said something.”  

Nathaniel gave a wry smile that turned into a grimace,  “But that requires knowing something, doesn’t it?”  

[captain-danwilds]

some nagab neil please!

- @you-know-i-get-itt

Oh my goodness thank you so much!!!

Some NAGAB Neil coming right up. (Actually, 2 little snippets since I'm super excited that you sent an ask.)

1 carrying on directly from yesterday's snippet left off

When they were safely in their room, Nathaniel guided Jean until he was sitting on the bed before maneuvering one of the desk chairs in front of the doorknob.  It wouldn't hold long, and they'd likely be punished if anyone discovered they hadn't had free access to their room, but for now, they couldn't have any surprises. 

Nathaniel looked back at Jean who still didn't move, but he didn't know how to reach him.  Typically he'd recited little details about his childhood home, the eleven steps it took to get upstairs, the outrageous drawings that Elodie had drawn for him and he'd proudly taped to his bedroom wall complete with a written description of what the scribbles were supposed to be in case either one of them forgot as they grew up.  Nathaniel might describe the glint of the sunlight off the Mediterranean even though he'd never seen it or what it felt like to bury Elodie partially in the sand so she had a mermaid tail even if he had to redo it several times since she couldn't stay still. 

Those were happy memories. Memories that you savor so that everything else can seem manageable.  It was the hope that one day, might not be anytime soon, but one day Jean would see his sister again.  That if he was famous enough, wealthy enough, he'd be able to steal moments on international travel to find the one person who owned his heart so completely and likely didn't even remember him. 

Now, there wasn't any hope left.

2.

Once Nathaniel’s settled next to him on the bed, holding one of the pillows to his chest, he muttered darkly, “He’s an idiot.”  

Jean hums thoughtfully.  “As one would expect since he has one for a brother.”  

“I’m being serious.” Nathaniel shoves the pillow into Jean’s chest. 

“So am I. Suicidal plans to save everyone apparently run in the family.”  

This time it’s Nathaniel’s turn to laugh.  “You’re ridiculous. It’s not everyone.”

Jean groaned and gestured to himself. 

“That’s proactive self-defense.  You’re my partner.  You’re basically me.  That doesn’t count.”  

[captain-danwilds]

This isn’t NAGAB canon but just imagine this potential Nathaniel and Ichirou interaction.

Ichirou staring dramatically at Riko “I never had a chance to be his brother.”

Nathaniel Internally thinking of Noah and the Moreaus: That’s unfortunately how shit works around here.

Nathaniel Externally: “The Universe looked out for you on this one. He’s mentally unbalanced and infected with delusions of grandeur.”

[captain-danwilds]

WIP: Not All Ghosts are Buried

Updated: 10/2/24

Not All Ghosts Are Buried: Neil Josten has a Twin; Raven!Neil; Vixen, Hatford, and Raven OCs; Eventual Andreil 

Summary: Despite being twins Nathaniel Abram and Noah Ezra Wesninski have been separated since they were ten. Upon learning his brother is not dead but has been kept in the Nest at the Moriyama's mercy, Noah hatches a plan to free him that somehow involves joining the Palmetto Vixens Cheerleading team. Both brothers are about to realize how far they're willing to go for someone they no longer know.

This started as a 2020 NaNoWriMo attempt and I never admitted defeat. It's sometimes referred to as the Vixen Centric or Raven!Neil fic.

WIP Snippets:

Neil/Nathaniel Snippets: 1, 2 3 4

Noah Snippets (Vixens): 1, 2,

Meta Content Related to this Fic:

Raven!Neil would have been a dealer. (You can’t change my mind.) 

Neil was so little when he went to Evermore.

Who are Martin and Luke?

Fun fact: When Neil first met Kevin at Evermore, he was over a foot shorter

This isn't NAGAB canon, but...

Nathaniel and Ichirou interaction

[captain-danwilds]

Raven!Neil? I'm always down for Raven!Neil

For WIP Wednesday: NAGAB Neil

The conversations in his head kept getting shorter until they finally disappeared all together. 

He couldn’t remember what Ezra’s voice sounded like anymore. 

If it was even the same.

Puberty was wrecking havoc on his own voice

Muldani kept calling him squeaky.  Which despite being more than one syllable, she deemed an appropriate nickname since there was no way in hell he was letting her call him Nat. 

He’d chucked a ball at her head, but it hadn’t actually hit her, so she seemed to take that as his seal of approval. 

God, she was obnoxious. 

And Jean liked her which meant there was no getting rid of her. 

[captain-danwilds]

WIP Wednesday: October 16

I was pleasantly surprised by the interest in Sam, the Exy RA last week. Thank you so much.

I am once again open for asks related to my current projects:

NAGAB Neil (Raven!Neil)

NAGAB Noah (Vixens, Palmetto State Shenanigans and Hatfords)

The foxes RA

If you have a specific character or aspect you're interested in, feel free to include that in your ask. I can't guarantee I'll be able to include it, but I'll try. Also, work was a lot today, so my apologies if I don't get to your ask right away.

NAGAB Noah and Andrew confrontation below the cut

Noah merely raised an eyebrow at Andrew's glare. He was used to being pushed around. He had been told what to do by much scarier people.  As frightening as Andrew's reputation was, he'd only hurt four men, in a fit of rage. Maybe not even that if the school newspaper wasn’t above making shit up.  The man was on parole.  Getting into a fight like that would violate it and then bye bye bodyguard. 

Besides, Noah didn't know how many men he'd hurt by this point.  As much as his mother wanted him kept out of the family business, that wasn't always a possibility.   It didn't help that Andrew was barely above five feet even in his mammoth platform boots.   He didn't look peaceful by any means with his armbands full of knifes (standard assortment, quick draw possible on the four and six inch, none well-balanced enough for efficient throwing), but there was a difference between a threat Noah could handle and one he couldn't.    

"Are you referring to Kevin or your cousin?" Their earlier confrontations had made it clear that Andrew thought Noah played a larger threat to Kevin than he did to anyone else but considering this was after Nicky had decided to help him, things were definitely in flux.  

“I protect what's mine."   Andrew clenched one of his fists at his sides as if resisting the urge to draw a knife in broad daylight in a very public parking lot. 

Noah had been startled for sure, but there were also limits to how far Andrew could get when anyone could walk by.  The fact he was currently violating parole could only make that worse.  

"It does matter,"  Noah walked past Andrew. "Kevin isn't going to be an issue, but I need Nicky." 

That comment made Andrew narrow his eyes slightly.  "You need to be at the banquet." 

It was another statement of fact.  Andrew didn't seem the type to bother with questions.  On one level Noah appreciated it, no questions meant giving up no secrets, no lying to a man who seemed like his own lie detector.   But it also made him want to grind his teeth together.  

"I do."  Noah wasn't about to answer more than he had to.  

Andrew peered at his face.  "I don't deal in half-truths especially from the likes of you, an opportunistic nobody who can do some fancy flips. Especially when your timing is interesting." 

"Timing?"

"You showed up as they're preparing to move south."

"You think I'm working for Edgar Allen?"  

"And the little birdie gets it."