#reluctant war AU

[spacedace]

Had a thought about the Reluctant War and made myself a bit sad and I have no idea if it'll make it into the story proper so I'm going to inflict it upon all you guys:

Dick Grayson on the streets of Gotham trying to do everything he can to help as everyone join the ghosts in fighting the GIW, suddenly has a version of the GAV barreling down towards him and for some reason he can't get out of the way in time.

He thinks he's about to join the army of the dead in a whole new way, when the tank fo a vehicle is suddenly sent flying as something massive charged it from the side. He hears a familiar bellowing and then realizes that it's Zitka, a ghost after passing away peacefully a few years before.

She wasn't apart of the army of the ghosts, wasn't brought in to fight. She's just been following her tiny human child around all these years and now that there's enough ecto in the air to do so, she's going to protect him with all her might.

Dick is emotional, so thankful to have his old friend back, but the city is still in a state of chaos. He gets onto Zitka's back and they get to work, running - flying - around helping to grab the injured and whisk them away to safety or take out other GAVs and the like.

It's absurd and freeing and wonderful all at once to be literally flying through the skies of Gotham on the ghost of his elephant best friend, and if Dick wasn't already on the side of King Phantom he is *now* and -

He gets shot off Zitka's back.

A GIW agent was aiming for the Ghost elephant but somehow *missed* and hit Dick instead. Not enough to injure him too badly, but enough to send him flying off Zitka's back and plummeting to the ground. His grapple is broken, and Zitka is diving for him but she's being shot at and she's not going to make it in time and -

A hand, reaching out to him in midair, familiar with its callouses and strong grip as he reaches out and grasps it, body suddenly swinging in a different direction and muscles acting on memory as he falls into the old, achingly familiar routine of his childhood. His mother, ethereal and bright as she smiles down at him, hanging upside down from a bar suspended from nothing but open sky as they swing and he is let go, flipping on instinct and caught by the steady strong hands of his father.

The Flying Graysons reunited in the skies above Gotham, Dick's ghostly parents determined to ensure their little bird never falls the way they did.

[bisexualvader]

"what little light that's left, we need to keep it sacred"

[the-awakened-insomnis]

1st post of 2025 and it's Blitzbee. Fuckitweball

Left to Right, giving lore for everyone as this is AU is a giant cauldron from other iterations into one. There is crack, and there is plot.

Bumblebee: Is considered a hyrbid by Cybatronian standards and looked down for it. He alongside his twin/sparkbrother Cliffjumper, emerged to two creators. Bee taking after his Insecticon carrier whilst Cliff took after their Grounder sire. As a hybrid, it's hard to say where the Insecticon genes start and the Grounder genes end. He doesn't use his Alt-mode often. Like Cliff and their sire, Bee has a grounder engine and is incredibly fast, this along with his small size and agility gives him the edge on the racetrack and the battlefield.

He suffers from being the youngest and 'little guy' despite being a grown ass mech who swears like a sailor. The war was his childhood and he blames both Megatron & Optimus for it. He doesn't know how to give his kids a life he himself never lived. He has Blitzwing by his side but that only eases so much of his worries.

1 of his favorite hobbies is dancing on Sentinal Primes' last reserved nerve. He isn't afraid to get in his superiors faces and call them out on their bullshit.

Blitzwing: Was once an Overcharge serving a Quintesson, later leaving to join the Decepticons. After the Great War, he was rebuilt to be a Triple-Changer by Blackarachnia under Megatrons orders to better serve his cause. This left Blitzwing utterly scrambled mentally, his being torn into 3 distinct parts with little to no chance of reversing it. Blitz battled with himself on and off the battlefield, he suffered in the background and reveled in the carnage. He finds broken normalcy in the form of Bumblebee and their violent tango. The rest is history, but one he finds himself willing to relive.

Now he finds himself with a fear not even Unicron could instill in him. To protect something so precious not even Primus could replicate it. It's too much and everything all at the same time.

Osmia: The oldest and twin/spark-brother to Tataira. Certified Florida Man & twink. Named after the Osmia Calamintha Bee, his blue armor coloring which he inherited from Bees' dead sire. He's got an icy arrogance to him with a smart-ass mouth. More analytical & calculating than emotional but is a drama king deep down. Likes to challenge Optimus in riddles and hypothetical debates. Would live in the archives if he could. Not a huge people person and like his privacy.

Prefers Spring and Fall respectively but enjoys using his jets to 'skate' in Winter. The first to leave if shit goes sideways, he picks his battles. He can't stand being wrong or being kept in the dark, not knowing is dangerous. And he'll do anything for a tactical edge over any and everyone. He can't stand Sentinal and likes poking holes in his logic.

Tataira: Middle child and twin/spark-brother to Osmia. Arsonist & Semi-Professional Gaslighter. Named after the Oxytrigona Tataira Fire Bee. Equally hot tempered & passionate, quick to rain down fire and dare you to do something about it. Protective over what's dear to him & has no shame with expressing his emotions. Clashes with his brother constantly and is usually the one who has to check his ass. Loves Winter & Fall but fucking hates summer.

Has actually shot at Wasp with murderous intent and was pissed he missed. Spits fire at anyone he doesn't like, which was half of team prime when he was younger.

Riosa: The youngest by 5 years and Triple-Changer. A Jinx kin & a cannibal by choice. Named after the Giant Cliff Honeybee AKA Apis Laboriosa. The first one to throw morals out the window in the name of survival. Absolutely loves Earth and considers it home over Cybertron. Unpredictable and reckless, both with her emotions & actions. Always questioning authority and rebellious. While she can be sweet, there's something off with it. Is very chatty and enjoys fun conversation, she likes Jazz the most. Knows she's fucked up and she's sorta working on it.

Her venom can intoxicate someone, which can be fun at parties, sometimes. Can have pretty bad episodes and self-medicates by ingesting her own venom. Listening to music keeps her calm for the most part. Enjoys racing in either of her alt-modes.

BlitzBee Love(?) Story: Bee and Blitzwing didn't know each other on Cybertron. They only met on Earth in battle, exchanging blows and outta pocket insults. If they weren't trying to kill each other they were hate-fuckin. The war had taken any sort of normalcy they could've hoped for; this was the closest to normal for them in the worst way. Neither had anything to lose, not even each other, Blitzwing ripped out Bees' vox and Bumblebee turning Blitzs' chest into Swiss cheese 2 seconds later.

This fucked up little routine would soon come to bite them in the aft...

Bumblebee woke up one morning to carrier protocols on his screen & processor. He left the base to wander in hopes of clearing his head but that proved to do the opposite. He didn't have the option to terminate, Energon is scarce, he's been waiting on Earth this whole time so he's alone. The dread of what Optimus and others would say or do to him and the sparkling sends him spiraling. On pure accident he runs into Blitzwing, the tension is thick and obvious. If Bumblebee got carrier protocols, then there's no doubt Blitzwing has sire protocols.

Bumblebee tears into Blitzwing, even without a vox he gets his point across. The reveal that there's a sparkling on the way isn't pretty, Bee is crying by the end of it, and he falls to the ground hugging himself. Blitzwing sits beside him, clearly not knowing what to do, the new protocols refusing to let the bots offline the other.

Now they have to navigate the inevitable and try not to die along the way.

"Do you think they'll be a Triple-Changer?"

"I hope not..."

[eli-little-workshop]

Ooooo someone's in trouble

Equivalent of getting a piercing without your parents knowing

[quirkle2]

Warriors smiles. It's bright and wide and warm, relieved and watery and wobbly, and he feels like his body has just been recreated. The mourning over losing his only family to portals and fate ebbs from his chest, escapes through the laugh he lets out, incredulous and elated, maybe slightly hysterical, but Legend lets one out that sounds much the same, so he feels a bit more justified in it.

Instantly, the present burn in his chest snuffs out, smoke in his lungs and soot on his bones, and the hello, good morning, I love you, wants to pour out of him like water to a rickety dam.

piece to accompany a wip fic of mine, cinnamon

[mwolf0epsilon]

Tulpa can't get a straight answer

Tulpa: Why is it that any time I ask you both about the 501st, you always find a way to avoid talking about them? Don't I get to know more about your first battalion? I don't even know what this guy's name is! -holding up his trooper doll which Dogma painted to look like Tup- Dogma, sweating: Is anyone thirsty? I got fresh juice, caf, tea... Sponge, amused: I'd like some juice. Tulpa, frustrated: See?! This is what I'm talking about! You never give me a straight answer! Dogma: Of course I never give you a straight answer! Son I thought by now you would have figured out that I'm gay! Sponge: And I'm bisexual. I don't do straight. Tulpa, flabbergasted: ... Dogma: Check-mate. Drink your juice. Tulpa, groaning: I hate this household.

[onedivinemisfit]

Izuru

AnS (c) Akizuki Sorata

Art: Me

[authortobenamedlater]

ATBNL’S AU MASTER POST

Because I am the master of AUs.

Got a major case of brain fog and couch lock today and went into my drafts to finish this FINALLY.

I will take asks and DMs about anything here. By which I mean I am begging for asks and DMs about anything here 😆

Star Trek AOS

The Pike-April Family Business: My oldest AU and the one with the least to show for it. This was the first AU in which I became really invested. I tried to revive it on AO3 a few years ago and just couldn’t get it going. I hope to one day find a way back to it. The older stories are still on my FFN.

I have tons of headcanons for this that have never seen the light of day and might not unless I get asks about them.

Tagged “pafb au”

Star Wars

Mandalore’s Reluctant Royals: Canon divergence from Mandalorian S2 finale. Bo-Katan comes up with a solution to the Darksaber problem that may be more than she or Din bargained for. A political “marriage” that eventually turns into the real thing.

I had a whole timeline and several WIPs and ideas for this AU most of which got lost when my computer crashed in May 2022. The series will never be what I envisioned, but I still love it and think about it a lot.

Tagged “mandalore’s reluctant royals”

Untitled ROTS Fix-It: A Winter Soldier-inspired AU that came from me looking at Sebastian Stan and Hayden Christensen’s similarly wild hair and “haha Samuel L. Jackson.” Someday I might do something with it, but it’s just been turning over in my head for about seven years. Couldn’t even think of a good image for it.

Tagged “rots mcu au” for want of anything better

Halo (TV)

Vital Record (Angel-117 on AO3): The fallout from Everyone’s Favorite Scene(tm) is S01E08. Starts from the eponymous fic and branches off into several AU possibilities. Canon divergence from S01E09.

This one lives mostly in headcanons on Tumblr as I have too many ideas for it to make anything cohesive 😂

Tagged “vital record au”

Halo (game)

(I wish I could get a grown-up picture of them.)

Married...With a Supercarrier: Get in loser, we’re going down the highway to rarepair hell. Chyler doesn’t die in Forward Unto Dawn and she and Lasky get their happy ending with the occasional lovers’ quarrel.

Tagged "married with a supercarrier au"

NCIS: Reach: Grew from a seemingly inconsequential crossover for International Fanworks Day 2023. I ended up finding these universes fit each other well and really enjoying the concept, though I haven’t written anything else for it (yet).

The first fic can work for game or TV Halo, but the rest of the AU would be game-verse if I continued it.

Tagged “ncis reach au”

For Such a Time As This: An epic crossover that will almost surely never be finished entirely, taking off from some point in Spartan Ops. Infinity gets dropped like a rock into the Babylon 5 world. Halsey escapes and gets loose on the station and basically causes the Shadow War and all kinds of other problems.

I do not have the time or talent to pull this off and changing anything about the B5 storyline feels like sacrilege to me 😂 but I still enjoy playing with this AU.

Tagged “for such a time as this au”

[musewrangler]

Obi Wan heard Owen's rifle fire though he didn’t turn to look.

He kept his full attention on the five individuals before him. He could sense their dark torment, but he could not stay his hand in sympathy at what had caused their turn.

Luke’s life was on the line. Owen and Beru as well. They would be mercilessly slaughtered, and Luke would either be killed with them or he would be taken to a worse fate, just as his father had been.

“Kenobi,” laughed the leader. “We shall be doubly rewarded then when we present your head to His Majesty.”

Obi-Wan watched all the red blades ignite and he held the gaze of the leader.

“Sidious does not give rewards,” he said. “He gives only pain and death.”

“Which we get to deliver,” stated one of the women. The Third Sister, Obi-Wan saw. “You got away last time, Kenobi. And all to guard the spawn of Anakin Skywalker.”

“He is dead,” Obi-Wan said, flicking his own blue blade on. “But yes, I will protect the boy.”

[leuchtstabrebell]

Whumptober Day 7 /Prompt: Reluctant whumper

Leia is 15 and desperately waiting for the summer to finally be over. She could be doing important things, spending time with her friends, building important connections or studying. Instead, she is stuck with meaningless conversations and the uncomfortable dress that Palpatine is making her wear. The celebration honoring the coronation of Naboo's new queen ironically takes place on Coruscant, and while those in charge have tried their best to make the decorations reminiscent of the Emperor's home planet, it all seems so incredibly fake and superficial. Leia doesn't understand why Palpatine even bothers to seem interested in his former home world anymore.

Her father is here as well but doesn't leave the Emperor's side, as usual, and Luke is on an official inspection visit to some planets in the middle ring, ostensibly to demonstrate his diplomatic skills.

One of the few bright spots of the evening is the presence of Mon Mothma. Since Leia has known the Senator she has been the coolest person in every room she is in almost all of the time, and Leia is pretty sure that she plays an important role in the rebellion, although she can't prove it. Mon’s mental shields are some of the strongest Leia has ever encountered. She knows that Mon wants to save her from her father's influence, and Leia wishes she could talk openly about him, or even openly about anything in her life, so Mon would understand that it’s not him she is worried about.

"Ah, the young Lady Vader," Mon greets her, drink in hand.

"Hello Mon," Leia says, even though she knows Mon likes to insist on formality. “Where did you get that drink?” she grins.

Mon grimaces. "Really, Leia, where are your manners?"

“Oh, so now you’re on first name basis too,” Leia laughs. Mon can't help but smile with her. Leia knows she has a daughter close to her age, and sometimes something maternal comes through in her that Leia longs for.

“How’s school going? Do you know what you want to do after?” Mon asks, and Leia gives an evasive but acceptable answer, and so the conversation moves along.

Leia senses something is about to happen before she hears the shouts and screams in the next room.

She and Mon look at each other and, like most of the guests, make their way to the source of the commotion. In the middle of the crowd stands the emperor, and next to him, her father has captured a man, his arms twisted unnaturally behind his back. A blaster lies on the ground a few steps away. The man can't be older than 20, and his pupils are dilated with fear and pain. His one shoulder looks like it's been dislocated.

Palpatine has a hand pressed protectively to his chest, but Leia knows it's all an act. He likes the facade of the old, frail man, and her father as a dangerous monster who needs to be controlled. The entire party holds its breath, waiting to see what Palpatine will do next. He stands up and takes a few steps away from the young man, who is still being grabbed by her father.

“Please excuse the bother, dear friends,” Palpatine says. The man tries unsuccessfully to free himself from Vader's iron grip, curses and shouts: “You will pay for your actions, I promise. If I don't do it, someone else will!”

Palpatine ignores him. "It saddens me deeply to have to order this, but I think we must neutralize this threat to the public," he says, looking encouragingly at Vader. The thought no longer makes Leia's stomach churn. She has seen her father kill too many times for that.

But something is holding Vader back. She sees it in the way he stiffens, almost imperceptibly.

Leia, his voice rings in her mind, and she knows immediately that whatever her father is about to say is something terrible. He wants you to do it.

No, she thinks. She wishes she had asked Mon for a drink after all, then at least she could hold on to it now. She feels as if time has stood still.

“Leia,” her father’s voice booms through the silence. All eyes are suddenly on her. She wants to shake her head, wants to run away. Mon's presence next to her suddenly doesn't seem comforting at all. “Pick up the weapon,” Vader thunders. She knows these aren't her father's words, that Sidious is whispering them to him, but somehow that just makes it worse.

She doesn't look at her father - even without a mask, his blank expression wouldn't help her - but at Palpatine. He doesn't smile, but there's a darkness in his eyes that she knows all too well. “Don’t worry young lady, of course I would never expect you to take over your father’s work. Death is not a nice thing, even if it is sometimes necessary for the greater good.”

Leia swallows against her dry throat. Of course, Palpatine once again presents himself as the bastion of reason, the one who keeps the bloodthirsty monster Vader in check. And of course, it is this monster who now wants to get her hands covered in blood.

"For the safety of the Empire," she says, forcing herself to go to the gun. Their footsteps echo loudly in the silence. The man looks at her pleadingly, but she forces herself to look through him. She comes to stand next to her father and suddenly has the childish desire to hide her face in his chest. Help me, she thinks out loud, and then, please, don't let this happen. She knows it's not fair to ask this of him, and yet she feels betrayed by him. But her father doesn't answer, and with trembling hands she takes the gun in her hand. It's loaded and cocked, and Leia presses the barrel against the back of the man's head. When she looks up, her eyes meet Mon's. Her expression is pointedly neutral, but beneath it lurks disappointment and horror, and Leia has to look away. Her finger on the trigger doesn't move.

"Do it," her father says, and they all think it's an order, but Leia hears the pleading in his voice. She sees that his hands, holding the man's arms in place, are also shaking. Then she pulls the trigger.

A bang and her father drops the lifeless body to the floor. Some blood has splattered on her face. She looks down at that terrible dress and there are some red spots there too. “The dress,” she whispers. “Papa, the dress is stained. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get it dirty.”

“We’ll get it cleaned later,” her father says.

A murmur arises in the room, whispering, excited conversation. The Emperor approaches and takes her hand, the one with which she was just holding the weapon (when did the blaster fall to the ground?). “Thank you for your drive and courage,” he says, and Leia hates him with every fiber of her being. She smiles at him in a daze, nods in all the right places, smiles, and finally says goodbye in the direction of Mon.

She wants to fall on her knees before her and ask for forgiveness. But when you spend your whole life on your knees, the gesture is worthless, and so she stumbles to Mon, who has since joined several other liberal senators, and doesn't fall or plead. She can see that politicians are having a hard time keeping their composure, that they don't quite know what to say. She is grateful to her father for playing the monster again, for giving her the opportunity to blame some of her actions on him. But murder isn't something you can just excuse with a father complex.

“Hello Mon,” she says and, without asking, takes the glass from her hand, drains it in one go and then makes a face. The stuff doesn't taste anything like the liquor one of her friends brought back from the academy, but maybe it's exactly what she needs right now.

[authortobenamedlater]

FINALLY ONE FOR ME

My original ship, they should have gotten married way before they did. Like sorry I would not have given @mrtobenamedlater 15 years to put a ring on it and he would not have waited around while I was consorting with a Klingon.

Almost as original as Will and Deanna. I have never really been in the LOTR fandom but I loved these two the second I met them. I was in first grade and Daddy ToBeNamedLater was reading the books to me. Most of my ships come back to this one somehow, you will probably notice.

I FREAKING LOVE THEM. I LOVE THEM YOU SHOULD TOO.

What’s not to love. Do I really need to add anything here?

There’s an element of pride here because I was one of the original DinBo shippers, and some of my best fic is for them. They love each other so much and everyone knows it but them. They might never have met and definitely wouldn’t have fallen in love if they hadn’t gotten basically stuck together. I will forever mourn the loss of so much MRR material in my computer crash.

I don’t read much MCU fic these days but I still love them.

*sigh* What might have been.

Best for last. Don’t ask me why I love them a ridiculous amount. I tried to not ship them and they wouldn’t let me. Someone in this messed-up universe deserves a happy ending, why shouldn’t it be these two?

Okay, FUCKERS, it’s time to expose yourselves for the FILTHY SINNERS you are and put your favorite hetero ship in the tags!!

[spacedace]

Reluctant War AU Part 2

Part One

...I ended up writing more for that Reluctant War AU...Like. Wrote this before work and started on part 3 with plans for part 4 more.

this was supposed to just be a brain worm what happened (also thank you @catastrophic-crow for the AU name <3 <3 <3 Also, also: welcome to the cult of Ancient of the Speedforce Elle! Membership includes nonsense, shenanigans and chaos haha)

-

Gotham had always been a place for ghosts.

Every corner haunted by death and tragedy.

Every street stained red at least once in its many years.

Every dark shadow holding the faint shadows and shades of the dead.

Gotham was, before all else, a grave yard.

Jason had known that his entire life. Every kid born and raised in the Alley did. Death came fast to Gotham’s streets. Especially for those the rest of the city turned its back on. He did his best to lighten the reaper’s load when it came to the people that called Crime Alley home. Well, mostly. He’d certainly added names to old Death’s list before, when the occasion called.

When the armies of the dead descended upon Gotham, the only surprise Jason could feel was that those white wearing pieces of shit had dared to try and hunker down in his city.

It was a sentiment shared by most of Gotham’s fine citizens. By the city itself - herself? Something to ask later, if there was a later - even if the impossible, living shadow that rose up out of Gotham’s many dark corners was anything to go by. He knew, almost instinctively, that the entity - skin of cracked pavement, mouth a bridge suspended too wide across the face, eyes of CCTV camera lenses and body built brick by grimy, bloody brick of the sharp skyline - was Gotham. Not a ghost but something bigger, greater. Something awfully, terribly alive in all its horrible, noble glory. His city, manifest in the shape almost human beneath the green glow of the torn apart sky above.

Phantom’s armies arrived without warning as they had everywhere else, and their enemies poured out in unforgivably unmarred white suits to meet them. Horrible and garish against the Gotham streets. How they’d ever managed to slink by unnoticed while being so blatantly, clearly not of Gotham Jason wasn’t sure he’d ever know.

If either side thought this would be like the battles they fought before, they were mistaken.

Gotham was a place for Ghosts.

A place the dead piled up, lingered well beyond their deaths. A place where the rules were different from everywhere else in the world. Where crime was rampant and chaos reigned but at the end of the day people said their thanks that they were born to this hellhole and not so cursed to call anywhere else in the world home.

The dead came to fight

And Gotham, a thing so alive it was sickening to look upon, rose up to fight right along side them all.

The agents were ready and prepared for the incursion of the dead. It’d been two weeks since the first volley of attacks. Two weeks spent shoring up defenses and ramping up weapons and strategizing ways to kill what was already dead. They were, as best as they were able to be considering how endless the armies that came for them, prepared.

They weren’t prepared for Gotham.

Weren’t prepared for the city itself to rise up and take spectral, eldritch shape. Jagged building spire and shattered glass teeth bared in a snarl that spanned miles. Screaming rage in a voice made of gunfire and the concussive boom of explosions and the shrieks of a furious crowd.

Weren’t prepared for its people to ignore the gentle ushering of the dead trying to push them away to safety and instead press forward to fight shoulder to shoulder with the ghostly armies.

Weren’t prepared to have brick and bottles and trash and debris rain down upon them from the jeering living. Weren’t prepared for dirty faced children with hard eyes to light up rags stuffed into chipped beer bottles filled with gas and kerosene and throw them with more speed an accuracy than any professional baseball player. Weren’t ready for Gotham’s motley crew of terrifying Rogues to band together with the citizens they so often accosted and worried and bring down wave after wave of chaos and Goons.

Weren’t prepared for Red Hood to swap out his rubber bullets for the real deal and start mowing the fuckers in white down, his own crew at his back, the rest of the Outlaws on their way.

The Justice League was trying to find a peaceful resolution. Trying to play go between to the US Government and the infinite dead. Too wound up in US politics to side with the dead outright, too disgusted by what the American government had done to ever want to stand with them. All it had gotten them was spun wheels and confusion and the slow creeping realization that the time to try and play negotiators had well passed.

Red Hood wasn’t a member of the Justice League.

He had no obligation to try and find a way to talk things out.

What he had was a grave he’d dug his way out of, enough ammunition to arm a sizable country, and a burning need to make things right.

Gotham had always been a place for ghosts, and Jason had long accepted that he was one of them.

Haunting the streets he’d survived as a child, the city he protected as Robin, the family he’d loved and lost a thousand and one times before and after his death.

The sky cracked open above his home, and it was not an invading army that came rushing out but a native one. Friends, neighbors, strangers on the street you caught from the corner of your eye. The people of Gotham knew their own and fought for them. Only Gotham was allowed to fucked with Gotham and they’d been screwed over enough by the government themselves to know what side they were on.

He lifted his guns and fired, teeth bared in vicious satisfaction beneath his helmet as white was splattered bright red.

A hissing electric whine of a weapon, a flash of green from the edge of his vision.

“Down!”

He was thrown bodily to the cracked and ruined street beneath him, the body shielding him warm and living as one of the agent’s weapon fired a blast of energy right where he’d been a second before. He’d seen that same weapon reduce one of the raging dead to dripping green and screams of agony the dead should not be capable of making.

Before he could shove himself up and respond in kind, the body above him was in motion and the air above him cracking with the snapping-popping-roar of a gun of a much higher power than even what he had. The fucker in white that had shot at him dissolved into a mist of red viscera, body seizing and shuttering in the briefest moment it had before it was obliterated completely.

“Watch yourself.” He looked up - and up - and wondered at the lovely, fierce face he found staring down at him. “Even without shooting at them you’re Liminal enough to trip their sensors.”

She was tall enough to be an amazon, six inches in height on him at least. Body strong beneath the pitch black armor she work - as deep and dark as the depths of space, etched with starlight, a familiar crest upon her chest in the dizzying burst of a supernova - she held herself with confidence. Strands of hair the color of a warning sunrise escaped out from beneath the helm she wore, bright against her pale skin, warming the glass-sharp teal eyes that had pinned him in place.

The hand not holding the gun she’d just used to delete the asshole that had just tried to shoot him - a strange, impossible thing that made him taste lightning at the back of his throat to look at it - stretched out to help him up.

He accepted it.

Something pulsed to life in his chest. A piece forgotten where it’d been left behind, half buried in grave dirt and broken pieces of a casket he’d clawed his way out of. It burned like a hot coal in his chest, froze him with the same aching cold of a blizzard, crackled his nerves to life with lightning even as his brain popped and fried with the same sizzling energy.

On his feet, hair on end and body and Core pulsing with the need to fight, to rend and tear and scream for all done to him, his people, his home, he met the eyes of the woman before him. Her cool gaze softened, just a moment, just a second as she seemed to realize what had happened. Her hand, lighter than the armor she wore should allow it to be, tightened on his just a moment, mouth tilting from determined frown to soft understanding.

Gotham had always been a place for ghosts.

Jason had long accepted that he was one of them.

---

Part Three

[cleitherphobiamonsters]

No offense but the only thing I'm willing to accept right now from this hypothetical season three people are talking about...

Is the existence of Ragnar Vizsla.

I'm not really feeling the rest of this plot people have been thinking up, sounds like it needs a little bit of a reread and editing before being presented. Might just be me, but hey there's potential in the idea.

Of course I can't really talk since most of my fanfiction about Mandalorians aren't about the show so eh. We'll just have to see if this hypothetical season three will happen, season two ended pretty nicely so it's not like we desperately need another one.....

[gffa]

Hey, are you feeling salty about STAR WARS for no reason whatsoever, just totally happened randomly, and want some fic that reflects the Jedi Order of the movies and TCW? Ones that are novel-length time travel fix-its to really make yourself feel better? Then I have some ones that I've been reading and really enjoying! Because I think maybe we could all use a bunch of fic to get lost in over the weekend, just 'cause. STAR WARS TIME TRAVEL FIC RECS: ✦ there is no death ashkav, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & cal & quinlan & ocs & cast, time travel, 134.9k wip Darth Vader is a cataclysmic event, and Cal, delirious with pain, scrambles to catch the hilt of his saber as he begins to drag it out their corpses – and that’s what he and Cere are, corpses, with only a last few seconds of misfiring neurons left in them, no matter how much BD-1 trills and punches stim after stim into his arm – they are tipping past that point of no return now, and Cal needs to do something right now before it’s too late for – for what?

✦ Take it from the top and try again by mauvera, obi-wan & anakin & qui-gon & padme & mace & dooku & cast, time travel, 142.3k wip     Five years into his self imposed exile on Tattooine, Obi-Wan Kenobi is gifted the chance to go back and bring hope back to the galaxy. With hindsight on his side, he fully intends to save his master, save his padawan, make some new and old friends again, prepare the Jedi for a war they’ll hopefully never see and begin to pull apart all the many tangled threads of the Sith Lord’s plans. Should be relatively easy. Right?

✦ Let Go by Micillyn, qui-gon & obi-wan & anakin & padme & cast, time travel, 101.5k Qui-Gon did not expect to die on Naboo. Nor did he realise that by insisting for Anakin to be trained as a Jedi, the boy would one day fall and become Darth Vader. Foresight, it seems, did not confer the gift of infallibility, yet if it took all those tragedies to destroy the Sith and restore balance to the Force and hope to the galaxy, then perhaps it wasn't so bad after all. Or, the story as happened in the movies is the fix-it, and this is the story of the disaster that happened before the time-travel happened.

✦ a distant fire is burning by e_va, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & cal & cast, time travel, 47.4k wip Cal Kestis can move backwards in time (kinda-sorta-not really), and his confrontation with Darth Vader in the Fortress Inquisitorius plays out a lot differently. Fixing the timeline while stuck in his 10-year-old body will be quite the task, but Cal is up to it. He has to be.

✦ Reprise by Elfpen, obi-wan & anakin & qui-gon & mace & cast, time travel, 558.9k wip Ben Kenobi dies aboard the Death Star in the year 0 BBY. He wakes up shortly thereafter in the Jedi temple in the year 41 BBY. Haunted by memories and regret, Ben must forge a new path for himself in the Jedi Order of his youth while navigating the murky waters of time travel. Crafting a better future from bitter experience is hard, but learning to heal is even harder. Major AU.

✦ Unexpected Awakening (The Rewrite) by Rhiw, obi-wan & qui-gon & anakin & feemor & bruck & jango & cast, time travel, 135.1k wip     The life of General Kenobi is cut short at the hands of his Padawan, but the sight that greets his eyes upon awakening is not that of blinding light of the Force, but the Jedi Temple he knew when he was still a youth. As he struggles to understand the path laid out before him, Obi-Wan unwittingly captures the attention of a singularly unusual Temple Guard, and that of a reluctant Qui-Gon Jinn.

✦ Averting Galactic Destruction by kj_feybarn, obi-wan & anakin & quinlan & rex & cody & fives & dogma & wolffe & plo & shaak & dooku & sidious, time travel, 44.3k     AKA The Time the Force Sent Obi-Wan Back in Time and Quinlan Vos kept him from Going Kamikaze because let’s be Honest, Being Forced to Come Back in Time Would Suck.

[authortobenamedlater]

Oooooh send me all of these for my pet freaks

oc asks: not-so-nice edition

alone: How does your OC deal with loneliness? Have they ever been completely alone before? How do they act when there's no one around to see them?

betrayal: Has your OC ever been betrayed by someone they thought they could trust? Has your OC ever betrayed someone who trusted them?

bound: Has your OC ever been imprisoned or captured? What happened? How did they get out? Did the experience leave any scars?

break: What would cause your OC to break down completely? What do they look like when that happens? Has anyone ever seen them at their lowest?

desire: What's one thing your OC wants more than anything in the world? Are they open with that desire? Why or why not? What would they do to fulfill it?

failure: What's your OC's greatest failure? Have they been able to move past it? Does anyone else know about it?

fear: What is your OC's greatest fear? What do they do when confronted with it? Are they open with their fear, or do they hide it away?

future: What's the worst possible future for your OC? Are they taking steps to avoid that outcome? Are they even aware it's a possibility?

ghost: Who or what haunts your OC? What happened? How do they live with their ghosts?

guilt: What is your OC guilty about? How do they handle their guilt? Do they try to avoid guilt, or do they accept it?

hate: What does your OC hate? Why? How do they act towards the object of their hatred?

heartbreak: Have they ever had a relationship that ended badly? Experienced some other kind of heartbreak? What happened?

hide: What does your OC hide? Why do they hide it?

hunt: Who or what is your OC hunted by? A person, a feeling, a past mistake? Is your OC able to let their guard down, or are they constantly alert?

mask: Does your OC wear a mask, literally or figuratively? What goes on beneath it? Is there anyone in their life who gets to see who they are under the mask?

midnight: What keeps your OC up at night? Do they have nightmares? Fears? Anxieties? What do they do in the small hours of the morning when they should be sleeping?

mistake: What's the worst mistake your OC ever made? What led to them making it? Have they been able to fix it? How have they moved on?

monster: Is your OC monstrous in any way? Is there something that makes them monstrous? Are they aware of their own monstrosity? Do they accept it or reject it?

nightmare: What does your OC have nightmares about? How do they deal with their nightmares? Do they tell people, or keep it to themself?

pain: What's the worst pain your OC has ever felt? Do they have a high pain tolerance?

secret: What's one secret your OC never wants anyone to know about them?

skin: How comfortable is your OC in their skin? Do they grapple with anything that lives inside them—a beast, a curse, a failure, a monster? How do they face the smallest, weakest, most horrible version of themself? Are they able to acknowledge it at all?

torture: Has your OC ever been tortured? Would your OC ever torture someone else?

wound: How does your OC handle being wounded? Are their wounds mostly physical? Mental? Emotional? What's the worst wound your OC has ever experienced?

[yurozo]

holidays headcanons (resident evil)

┌─── ∘°❉°∘ ───┐ characters: chris, leon, jill, claire, rebecca, carlos, luis, ada, wesker warnings: mentions of alcohol, some swearing.

a/n: i know this is late but all the recent love for the restaurant au inspired me!! check that one out here! love u pookies and i hope you had a great holidays <3 if you want me to cover anyone else, or have any other suggestions for au's please let me know! └─── °∘❉∘° ───┘

chris redfield:

this man comes for one reason and one reason alone: the food. you best believe chris redfield is grabbing two plates piled sky-high and scarfing it down before the rest have even served themselves. because of a particular incident involving leon and a nerf gun, chris has been banished to the kids table for the foreseeable future. he gets to sit there with (baby) sherry in a shitty little plastic barbie chair that claire bought off amazon-- the legs are bowing under his weight and are clearly destined to snap during some point in the night. as for the games, chris takes no part in it. why? he's stone cold passed out in the lazyboy. i'm talking full on snoring, scratching at his chest, mouth open, and drooling asleep. nothing is waking that man up from his food coma, other than literally firing a gun three inches away from his ears.

as for you, chris softens a little bit. he'll reluctantly indulge whatever you want to do, even if he's grumbling about it a little the whole time. this man is a practical gift giver, unless claire gets involved and gets you something indulgent in chris' name. if it were up to chris alone, he's replacing whatever you have that's worn down or unusable. he just wants to see you comfortable and stress-free, and he really doesn't have the mind for other things.

leon kennedy:

respectfully, he's the typical white dad of the group. he eats a good amount of mashed potatoes and roast beef, downs a couple whiskeys, and he's out for the count. there's been a couple occasions that he's gotten a little too rowdy, and relentlessly barraged the dinner table with whatever one-liners or borderline traumatic stories that come to his mind. he's fine, he swears, it really was funny that time he almost got blown up.

god forbid sherry grows up and starts bringing partners around the place, leon takes it upon themselves to act like her personal bodyguard. he'll sit in an armchair and stare daggers at them every time they so much as touch her, and it takes a while for him to warm up to them. for the games, do NOT ask that man to play charades. honestly, it will just be embarrassing for the both of you.

leon really does try his best when it comes to you. his gifts are usually something you eyed while out with him somewhere, which he very sneakily bought while you weren't looking. however, he's downright terrible at hiding it for you if he buys it ahead of time. you have to just act surprised and loving about the whole thing, and leon's putty in your hands. there's always a hand around your waist when you're in the vicinity, and leon loves to brag about your title in casual conversations. (eg. "yeah, my wife/husband is a pretty good cook. it's no big deal")

jill valentine:

jill's been banned from helping in the kitchen for five years. it's not her fault, honestly, she got a little too distracted sharing war stories with the others that she forgot the yorkshires were still in the oven. she'll happily eat everything though, or bring a store-bought dessert if need be. every single year, she takes photos of chris passed out in the armchair until she can make a photo album to gift him. there's a framed photo of chris mid-fall after the barbie chair finally gave way that's hanging above the fireplace, courtesy of her. also likes to take lil sips of leons whiskey when he's not looking since he always brings the good stuff.

she claims that she doesn't get into the games, but she gets super intense about charades to the point that everyone's reluctant to team up with her. she's shouting answers like there's a ticking bomb that will go off when the time runs out, and she'll scold you if she thinks your acting performance wasn't oscar worthy. she's flinging around a beer can during the whole thing and nearly soaking everyone in the vicinity.

when you start coming around for the holidays, jill visibly relaxes. she can let a lot of her guard down, and everyone likes to give her shit about how lovesick and happy she becomes. she's also a victim of the practical gift giving trait, but occasionally she likes to buy you something just because she thinks you would look nice in it. but there's always an extra gift at home that she won't let you open in front of the others, she has to maintain some sort of dignity.

claire redfield:

her and rebecca are the only reasons this tradition goes on for as long as it does. rebecca does most of the logistics, claire is the one who keeps that ship running while it's happening. the two of them are such a scary pair when they want shit done, that everyone else just has to follow along. claire is the one that banished chris to the kids table, but still lingers around to keep an eye on sherry and make sure she's eating enough. when sherry's old enough to bring partners around, she's the welcoming one, and will secretly jab leon in the ribs whenever he starts acting up.

claire likes to experiment with the games every single year, usually after incidents or fights break out. white elephant got banned after four different people just bought gift cards to the gun store (im assuming this exists there, im canadian). she's shaking the box of names aggressively at anyone who tries to get away, and will tip chris right out of that damn chair. they rarely get to be together with all the missions, so help her god they're going to enjoy it.

you're the first person claire actually brings around. sure, she's had relationships, but bringing you around to family christmas is a big deal. and don't worry, everyone else will tell you just how much of a big deal it is. you're the first person she tells everything too, and on the drive there, she's giving you a full run down on what she thinks of everyone (claire has very strong opinions). for gifts, she loves to buy you things. her favourite gifts are outfits either you can wear on her motorcycle, or matching clothes she painted herself.

rebecca chambers:

the holidays are a stressful time for her. not only does she have to cook for the most ravenous group of people that definitely do not cook for themselves enough, but she has to make sure they don't kill each other during it. despite that, dinner is always amazing, and the desserts are just to die for. she takes a special pride in her desserts, and if a couple extra supplements sneak themselves into the dinner, she definitely does not know anything about that. one of the few things that gets her through the holidays is the extra sweet hot chocolate and egg nog concoction that she makes for herself. leon tried it one time by accident and nearly gagged at just how sweet it was.

rebecca is very into the games and gifts section. it's the one time she gets to sit down and relax a little bit, and she does love how intense everyone gets about the whole thing. she's just happy that everyone can get together, and maybe relax after everything that's happened. despite her enthusiasm and smarts, she is downright terrible at charades. her answers are always way too complex for the minute they have to guess whatever she's miming. how the hell is anyone supposed to guess t-011 from hand gestures?

rebecca is by far the best gift giver out of the bunch. whatever she buys you is well-thought out, personal, and helpful. she likes to have you hang around the kitchen while she cooks, and will always feed you little spoonfuls under the guise of taste-testing. really, she just wants to make sure you eat, especially before chris can get his grubby little hands on the entrees.

luis sera:

leon invited him a total of one time, and luis had just become a permanent fixture of the whole thing. you best believe luis is bringing a karaoke machine and performing bad renditions of holiday music complete with an improvised choreography. he tried to bring leon into it one time, and nearly got roundhoused so hard that rebecca had to take them both out like misbehaving dogs. despite that, he always brings around a home-cooked entree to dinner, which rebecca appreciated greatly. luis also has the tendency to spin great tales about what he did during the year, which are definitely all lies.

in part two of the party, luis likes to be a little tipsy for the whole thing. who can blame him, he likes a party. just don't get him talking about his work, he'll talk about it for hours with increasingly complicated language that only rebecca can understand. like her too, he also gets really into the games section. luis is mentally keeping track of the stores, and will argue with anyone that tries to get the one up on him. i mean, he really deserved the point on the last one, so what if he buffs the numbers a little?

luis love to brag about you to all the others, you're his lovely partner and somehow agreed to date him, how could he not? his gifts for you are always a little extravagant, because he wants everyone else to know just what a good boyfriend he is. you're also the reason why he got chewed out over pda during the holidays. luis is just not the kind of man that can keep his hands off you, it's the season of romance.

carlos oliveira:

he's the one person who rebecca allows in the kitchen. carlos is always willing to help, and he'll even do it with a cheesy little apron on. it just makes his ass look nice, and these people deserve a treat on the holidays. god forbid carlos, leon, and jill are sitting together for dinner. they're throwing around the worst jokes known to man, and cackling loudly the whole time, especially if they're a couple beers deep. he's used to a big family, so this kind of gathering is right in his element. he makes sure there's enough food and drink for everyone, even if he's next to chris in eating it all.

another victim of getting too into the games. he likes to have fun and joke around, so he's definitely energetic, but doesn't take it too seriously. carlos is ultimately there to have a good time, and if a pretty woman is telling him to play, he's definitely not going to say no. he's relaxing back in his chair, beer in hand, yelling out suggestions and laughing loudly.

for you, he's just happy to bring you around and show you a good time. you don't have to worry about a damn thing during the holidays, carlos is doing everything so you can just lay back and enjoy the festivities. your drink is empty? carlos is already up and heading to the fridge. you want more dessert? there's another plate already in your hands.

ada wong:

no one really knows the reason she's here. people suspect she found out the location through her own means and just started showing up. or that wesker invited her for insurance reasons. she'll offer to help in the kitchen, and they always turn her down because she's definitely overdressed and they don't want to risk her getting dirty. during the dinner, she just like to witness the inevitable trash fire, or chatting quietly with luis about whatever work drama happening with him.

she's not playing any games. don't ask her. ada will give you a mean glare until you leave her alone. she wants to sit there and watch the wreckage and drink her little drink, she is not playing charades even if there's a gun to her head. get her to gossip though? she will happily engage in telling you dirty secrets about everyone else ( no one can figure out how the hell she knows these things).

ada's rigging the whole thing so you win. she wants to see you happy, and you'll be even happier when you see what she's got you. again, there's no way to tell exactly how she knows what you wanted, but you can be sure you're getting it. and it's in a pretty box, carefully put together and wrapped with a red bow. there's also a mistletoe in her pocket, for when she can finally get you alone.

albert wesker:

no one knows who invited him. no one knows where he is the whole time (he's in the bedroom, pointedly avoiding everyone else). he'll come down to dinner, eat his food, say nothing, and go back upstairs. he's also not going to engage in any sort of ugly sweater tradition, he's wearing all black, and god help anyone who tries to get him to wear anything else. wesker will speak up about his open disdain for chris, but it's quickly shut down by rebecca before he can start a fight.

he doesn't really come around all that often. he prefers to do his work, have his own celebration, and pretend all these people don't exist. after certain events, he becomes a bit of an unspoken topic amongst everyone else-- just a person that used to come around thats' been replaced by their new family.

the only way he'll do anything for the holidays is if you're there. yes, he's going to complain and say he has better things to do, and he would much rather have your own private celebration, but he'll reluctantly do it if you bother him enough. he's giving you his present in private and away from prying eyes, because that relationship is just between you two, not these other people unworthy of even looking at you. whatever you tell him you want, he'll buy. money's no object for him, and anything that will make you happy while he works on other things.