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daddecember · 2 months ago

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Welcome to DadDecember 2024!

Everyone who participated last year, welcome back! To everyone joining this year, welcome in! We cannot wait to see what you create.

Please make sure to read this post carefully, as many questions have been answered here already. We have also answered all the questions that were submitted through our anon voting form already. If you don’t find what you are looking for there, you are welcome to come to our ask box or ask questions in our Discord server here. The mod team will get back to you as soon as possible.

If you wish to give a comment to the mod team without a response, feel free to use our questions, comments, and concerns google form: https://forms.gle/fRcZq2TsV2pgoNs97

This year’s AO3 Collection → https://archiveofourown.org/collections/DadDecember2024

Event Info & Rules

DadDecember is an annual prompt month featuring platonic father and child relationships. We have a collection of prompts for each day meant to inspire works to be created.

*Due to the nature of this event being, do not submit father/child incestual content. That is not the point of this event. This event is strictly platonic. Thank you for understanding.

There are 62 prompts this year with 10 alternative prompts. Each day has two prompts, one situational/trope prompt and one dialogue prompt. You do not need to use both. While we do encourage you to mix and match prompts with different days to fit your specific WIP, we do ask that you tag the prompt you used, not just the day.

This is a prompt month meant to inspire works, so please don’t take any of the prompts too seriously! If you want to get silly with it or really angsty, that’s up to you! How much of the prompt you use and how you use it is all up to you! If you think it fits the prompt, then it does. There is no gatekeeping in DadDecember.

It’s up to the creator how much they want to produce or what media form they want to create in! Anything and everything counts (and if you’re really unsure, you can always ask!). The idea of the event is to create, no matter in the manner you do so.

As far as “how much do I need to do in order for it to count?” – Well, that’s up to you! All participants, regardless of how many works they put out, will be recognized for their efforts!

A google form will be sent out after December ends in which you will be able to say how many works you completed. Works do not need to be published in any way shape or form to count. Participants will be ranked by completion in a tumblr post after the form closes and a custom role will be available for completionists in our discord server.

Should you wish to upload some of your DadDec content to Tumblr, use these tags:

Required tags:

#daddecember

#daddecember2024

#sfw or #nsfw

Optional Tags (but appreciated if used)

#DadDec No.1, #DadDec No.2, #DadDec No.3, ect.

#fandom or #OC, … (ironman, originalcontent, oc …)

#teeth, #gore tw, #etc …..(trigger warnings and content warnings. Add “tw” or “cw” AFTER the trigger/content warning )

For the sfw/nsfw tag, please use your best judgment. A Mature or Explicit rating (for anything except gore) should be marked as nsfw.

Reblogging Policies:

Due to the nature of the blog and for the safety of all fellow participants, nsfw posts will not be reblogged. - These works are still very much welcome in the AO3 collection.

You MUST tag @daddecember if you wish for your work to be reblogged

If you notice your work has not been reblogged (+ you tagged us) and it has been 2+ days, please send us an ask! It is likely that tumblr ate the notification.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Do I have to do all 31 days?

Participate as much as you would like! Whether you can get out one piece between now and the end of December or 45, we are here to encourage you all along the way!

Q. Can I post early/late?

Yes, you can post whenever you want. Due to time constraints, we may not reblog posts outside of December (pinging @Mod Addri via discord will always get you reblogged, though, so you can always try that ;) ).

Q. Can I combine DadDecember with other creation challenges?

Yes, as long as the other challenges allow it as well. Please reference their rules.

Q. Can I use prompts to write a new chapter for an existing fic?

Yes.

Q. Can I use a prompt multiple times?

Yes, but it only will count once for your total completion number (unless combined with a different unused prompt).

Q. Do I have to finish a fic I started/can I post WIP’s?

Yes, you can post WIPs. Snippets or other forms of WIPs are completely fine and will still count for completion! As long as you started it, feel free to count it!

Q. Is collaborating allowed?

Absolutely, we even encourage it! Collaborations can be an amazing way to get full completion status (especially if you’re competitive) without as much work! It would count towards being a completionist for both/all of you.

Q. Can I combine prompts? Is there a limit on how many?

No limit and combine as many as you’d like.

Q. Can I start working on the prompts before December?

Absolutely! That’s why we post the prompts a little over a month in advance. We recognise how difficult it can be creating for 31 days in “real time” so feel free to start creating early!

Q. Do I have to use your required tags?

If you want your work reblogged, yes.

Q. Does combining prompts count towards completion?

Yes.

Note: This is a creation challenge, please don’t repost your old work under our tags (unless it’s been changed or edited for the event).

Best of luck,

Mod Addri

The full written-out list of prompts is below the cut.

2024 Prompts List:

1. Lost in the woods | "Cover your eyes"

2. Sick day | "I didn't know where else to go"

3. Accidents happen | "Are we there yet?"

4. Father's day | "Wait, wait, he's your father?"

5. Stars | "You're just like I remember"

6. First steps | "I have never hated you"

7. Learning to drive | "I'm sorry"

8. Alternate Universe - Age reversal / Role-swap | "Can you tell me a story?"

9. Tears | "Follow my lead"

10. Pillow fight | "Are you okay?"

11. Forever | "Can we do this every year?"

12. First pet | "Don't you dare..."

13. Demon Lord and Hero | "You're not my real dad"

14. Platonic Soulmates | "Can I have a hug?"

15. Similarities | "Please don't go"

16. Appearances | "Leave me alone"

17. Bring your kid to work day | "Can we make cookies?"

18. Promises | "I'll make it up to you, I promise"

19. Hypothermia | "What's with the long face?"

20. Time travel | "It's too late"

21. Finding a way home | "Be home by midnight"

22. Found family | "What did I say about..."

23. Patching each other up | "Santa isn't real"

24. Not quite asleep | "You came back?"

25. Holidays | "I'm proud of you"

26. Homework | "This is your birthright."

27. Bring your parent to school day | "Can you help me with this?"

28. Loss | "Happy birthday!"

29. Body Swap | "You remembered?"

30. Wings / Grooming | "Get down here this instant"

31. A new year | "Thank you."

Alternative Prompts:

1. A kind lie / A harsh truth

2. Giving gifts

3. Home alone

4. Snow day

5. Pillow fort

6. "Of all things"

7. Hidden

8. Another world - Universe Swap

9. Werewolves/Vampires

10. Family dinner

#daddecember #events #updates #multimedia events #multifandom events #daddecember2024 #fandom event #yearly events #prompt event

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opal-owl-flight · 2 days ago

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Something wicked this way flies….

Watched Wicked and was finally motivated to finish this piece I had in my wips for AGES

More abt this fella below!

Her name is Cynthia and shes mad ALL THE TIME. A simmering fury, always bubbling below her calm exterior.

Her reasons were mysterious to me for the longest time. I always thought she was just a bastard who likes to lord her power over everyone. To an extent she does enjoy doing so, but theres more beyond that.

Shes angry, shes frustrated, and she vents it on her foes in turf. Kids included. Especially the kids. Shithead.

Shes known as the Wicked Witch of Turf, the Iron Maiden, And EEEVERYONE wants her down.

She only has one person shes close to. Odessa.

Shes here bc she wants to tag along someone whos actually making waves in turf instead of messing with low-ranks that very much dont impress her... (among...other reasons)

Odessa only cared for her bc she thought she was pretty, but it slowly evolves into something deeper over time.

And...it makes Cynthia melt, I guess.

------

Cynthia's...from somewhere far, far away. She doesnt like talking about where she came from. Shes reviled there. Despised.

Reviled so much she became what everyone feared...She doesnt look bothered but she is.

Oh yeah and she has parent issues of course.

...she had ONE good friend from that place. Part of her anger is bc of him. She failed to protect him, or something. Or maybe hates the fact that she can never see him again. Never go home. Hates that she cant protect him anymore..? I just know that shes filled with such tragedy that she snapped.

-------

As time passes, she changes her attitude regarding the kids.

Shes....less harsh. But she doesnt hold back.

"If you cant handle me, you wont survive out there.

Be ready to lose..." she says with a glower.

"Youll be seeing their poses before you can do your own."

Odessa is shaking her head and rolling her eyes at her.

So Cynthia sighs.

"But youll win. Eventually. After much hard work. And youll lose less and less.

You have to be ready to lose before you start winning.

Be used to the sting of defeat before tasting victory. It makes it all the more sweet."

In a roundabout way, shes inspiring those kids -- to BEAT HER ASS!

Hah, shes become a figure one must defeat. A common enemy, just like the titular wicked witch.

When the kids eventually catch up to her, and defeat her, she nods her head in respect.

Odessa claps, "Youve defeated the wicked witch! Congratulations!"

"Go far, squirts."

--------

If 3 inspires people to believe in themselves, Cynthia inspires kids to win through SPITE. They dont approve and dislike her bc of it. (One of the few people 3 holds an active dislike for...)

BTW. I NAMED HER CYNTHIA BC THE DPP OST WAS PLAYING IN THE BG WHILE I DESIGNED HER. Its a WILD coincidence that Elphaba is played by someone named Cynthia as well. Jesus christ

#splatoon #splatoon fanart #splatoon oc #character design #oc #original character #original design #opal owl’s nest

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darylbrainrot · 10 months ago

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CHAPTER 01: WIP

AIYGIWGWY || GOJO X READER

How would you—a part time guitarist and streamer, react when an upcoming streamer known as gojo admitted to liking your music and streams?

As he sat down on his chair with it dipping with his added weight, he reached to his PC to start it up. He was about 20 minutes early to stream so he had to get his streaming apps ready. He wanted to keep this stream chill, he was probably some background music playing to make his stream calming (as calming as possible with his screams from playing fortnite.) As he made the sudden decision to play music on his stream, he opened Spotify as soon as his computer turned on.

He opened one of his designated playlists for streaming, some relaxing music ranging from different artists. He made sure this playlist wasn't going to get him flagged on his Twitch, something he didn't want to happen again.

He finally had his necessities opened, his discord and Spotify opened on his first monitor, his Twitch ready to stream on his third monitor, and finally his main monitor with his game loading up. When he looked at the time, he had around 6 minutes to spare before starting up his stream. With his extra time, he decided to go out of his room to his shared dorm with suguru to grab some snacks.

As he made his way to the shared kitchen, he just decided to grab a Gatorade and some random candies he had stored for when he was craving them. As he was going to retreat back to his room, he heard his fellow roommate's door open.

"Suguru, you should join my stream please." He said, dragging out the please for dramatic effect.

"Hell nah, ima go to sleep anyway." The black-haired man says with a blank stare, passing Satoru as he makes a b line towards the restroom.

"What the flip man." Sighing as he made it back to his room to start up his stream.

—————————

"BROO, no fucking way he got me. He literally only got me for 50 shield." He said, falling back in his chair as his 2nd place ranking got displayed on his screen. His hands now going through his face, raking through his white hair. The soft melodies of 'Cologne' by Beabadoobee fill the stream when he is quiet. The song finished up when one of your songs replaced the quietness, it was a cover you made of 'Paul' by Big Theif.

This is when his chat started flooding with new messages, ranging from questions asking him if he liked your music to how long he's been listening to you. As his arms finally fell from his hair, he looked at his chat when he saw the flood of new texts.

"I didn't know you listened to y/n's music... of course, I listen to their music, she's like one of my favorite artists." He said after reading some questions in his chat. Snickering at his chats surprised reaction, "I'm surprised some of you guys didn't know this, I follow them on twitter and on insta and I know some of you guys stalk my following and shit" He said as he was going back to the home screen of his game, deciding that it was enough of fortnite for him after playing around 10 rounds.

“Have you seen shes working on a new song? She posted about it on her twitter” he mumbled, reading one of the texts that caught his eye. “Yeah I saw her post, hopefully she posts a clip of her song. I know it’s gonna be good though.” He grins, exited that one of his favorite artist might release a song soon.

"Anyways, ima stopping the stream here, I'm done with fortnite for today. I might stream again in the weekend though, I'll tweet about it if I do." Waving at his face cam as he ended the stream, making sure to double-check it was off. He closed off any extra tabs he had open before shutting down his PC. Once he was finally done with his computer, he stood up and went to scroll on his phone on his bed, finally relieving the ache in his back due to his bad posture.

< prev || masterlist || next >

Interact with this post to be a part of my taglist.

this isnt proof read so lmk if theres any mistakes D:

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

TAGLIST: OPEN

@bakananya, @lysaray, @reagan707, @cccccccccccleo, @samutoru, @sunaluvrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, @sur-i-ki, @rybunnie, @ramchu,

#gojosatoru #gojo #satoru #gojo x reader #gojo smau #jjk x reader #jjk smau #jujutsu kaisen #smau #jujutsu kaisen smau #jjk text #jjk tweets #jujutsu kaisen posts #jjk gojo #jujutsu kaisen gojo #jjk fanfic #jujutsu kaisen fanfic #jjk ff #jujutsu kaisen ff

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multifan2022 · 1 year ago

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Fearless

New story that I had in my WIPS lets see if theres any interest lol.

The water from the chasm was pouring down into the abyss below, sprinkles of the coolness hitting your face as you waited. Below people were starting to stir, leaving their rooms to find their way to the small shops or cafeteria. From your spot high on the wall they looked like ants, of course you weren't supposed to be up here..

Max would scalp you if he saw you. It was a tricky climb to this little alcove, the wall was wet from the waterfall next to it. Small little holes for your hands and feet, people such as Eric never would be able to make it. Even if he could he was too scared to try. That's why it was your favorite place in all of Dauntless.

"You better get down, Girl.. You gotta get to the train." A voice called from the ledge below, when you looked down you saw the person who was like a mother too you. Her hair slicked back, tattoos on display with a soft smile on her sharp face.

Tori.

She was and is the only person who ever looked out for you. Told you that you were strong, strong enough to face the trails as an initiate. Strong enough to get your first tattoo, strong enough when you got your ears pierced. Strong enough when Max ranked you in third when you should've been in second.

She was there the day you almost died at the hands of your 'friends'. There every day of your recovery. And there even now that you were one of the strongest, still in your corner even if you didn't need her.

Little did she know you would always need her.

Slipping down the wall, you could almost hear her eyes roll as you let go off the wall. The seconds of free fall giving you the little boost you need to make it through the day. When your booted feet meet the narrow walkway that has no rails, you turn to look at your mother figure. Confirming the eye roll you figured would be happening.

Smiling widely at her as she loops her arm through yours, pulling you down the walkway. You could tell she had something to say, she always said that you were one of the few people who could read her like a book. You also knew if she was waiting then it was important and needed to be private.

That proved to be true as she pulled you into the tattoo parlor, back into her room closing and locking the door before leaning against it. You stood hands folded together in front of her, waiting for whatever it was she was going to tell you. When she opened her eyes, your heart dropped, the line of tears waiting there was something you hadn't seen in two years.

Since the day after she administered your test.. Since the day she watched you roll off the net after jumping. You stepped closer to her, using your hands to rub her arms slowly as she took a few deep breaths. "Theres another of you.. Shes almost as.... strong.. as you.."

You felt all the muscles in your body freeze, you knew what she meant by 'strong'.

Divergent.

Before you could start asking questions the speakers turned on and announced that the trains into the city would be leaving soon. Both of your heads turned back to each other, her hands grabbing you as you had her. "I told her to stay with the Stiffs.. But I have a feeling shes too much like someone else I know." She had a soft smile on her face as her hands moved to your face, cupping both of your cheeks.

"If she chooses Dauntless.. You have to protect her as I have you.. As we both have Uriah.. Promise me Y/n." Tori begged, you knew there was no way you could say no. Even though you wanted too. Protecting one Divergent along with yourself was going to be enough work, now there was someone almost as fucked up as you? And shes a stiff??

You let out the breath you didn't realize you were holding as she leaned your forehead against her own. The buzzer went off again, you knew you were going to be questioned for being late. So you pulled away opening the door as Tori moved, pausing only to turn back and look at her. She had risked so much for you, how could you tell her no?

"Ill do what I can. But I wont risk myself or Uriah for someone, Zeke is one of my best friends. Riah is like a little brother too me, but I will do what I can. I promise Mom."

The entire train ride your stomach was in knots, bile heavy in your chest. Not only from not eating breakfast but from nerves. You watch Uriah talk and goof off with the other 16 year olds. You knew this was a big day for all of them, some would be coming home with you and some you would never speak too again. You couldn't help but wonder who would be going where, you remembered you own Choosing Ceremony.

The day that you left Amity behind.

Really nobody was surprised, you had never fit in there. Members of Amity are dedicated to peacefulness, kindness, forgiveness, trust, self-sufficiency, and neutrality. They are slow to anger and yet quick to forgive. None of which you are. You still held grudges from when you were five and your use to be brother ate the last pumpkin cake.

No.. Amity was not where you belonged. While you did miss the rolling fields, and the openness of having the outdoors right there. You were constantly in trouble, always being chastised and then forgiven for everything.

"Do not run through Y/n, we are all trying to meditate."

" Do not you think it would be kinder to offer the last one to someone older, maybe even younger? Be kinder Y/n."

"Dont worry young one, I forgive you for your stubbornness."

It was exhausting being there, the peacefulness and trust was all you missed. You were self-sufficient enough, part of being in Dauntless was being able to carry out orders without needing supervision. But you are quick to anger, slow to forgive and definitely biased.

The kids started yelping as the city came into view, most readying themselves to jump. It was then you noticed the two standing near the back. They looked around at there friends, the girl whos name you couldn't remember caught your eye. Her face paling before you sent her a small smile, making your way over to her.

Your voice was low, so low only she could hear you as you stood behind her. "Make the choice thats right for you. This is forever, dont think about anyone else. Just yourself. It'll be ok, I promise."

You could read the surprise on her face as you pushed her towards the door, where everyone was already jumping. A quick somersault was all you registered as you stood walking with the group towards the building. Your eyes scan the crowd like you would be able to spot the girl Tori told you about.

The Stiffs would already be in the building, walking up the stairs like the selfless people they are. 'Fuck that' You thought as you and Zeke broke from the group towards the front doors. The two of you were stationed outside, to make sure everything ran smoothly. That no one would come in and interrupt the ceremony once it started. You wanted to watch now that you knew what was happening, but it was too late.

Plus who better to work with than your best friend? The hours this would take would go by quickly by his side. The only person you would trade him for was Four, and really he wouldn't be good conversation here. You knew his father was in there, that would mean he would shut down and be rude.

He would be short and disgruntle. Which is why the last two times this had happened he stayed behind, ready to watch the first jump.

Inside you could hear them starting, "Decades ago our ancestors realized that it is not political ideology, religious belief, race, or nationalism that is to blame for a warring world. Rather, they determined that it was the fault of human personality—of humankind's inclination toward evil, in whatever form that is. They divided into factions that sought to eradicate those qualities they believed responsible for the world's disarray." Marcus started.

Your eyes rolled as you held your gun tightly, you had only heard this speech three times but it wore on your nerves. Before you could even think about how disrespectful it might be you started mocking him.

"ThOsE wHo BlAmEd AgGrEsSiOn FoRmEd AmItY."

Zeke followed directly after you, proving yet again why he was your best friend. "ThOsE wHo BlAmEd IgNoRaNcE bEcAmE tHe ErUdItE."

You both shook your head and chuckled, "Seriously, he needs to revamp his speech. Its getting old, like they dont learn about all that in school no matter the faction." Shifting from foot too foot you could feel yourself getting restless. You were good at following orders, but today something just felt off.

Zeke noticed almost immediately, you were antys. Moving around constantly, fingers tapping on the butt of your gun. Your face flush and slightly red like you were sweating. "Are you good? Because you look like your going to pass out." He said in a concerned tone, there was no judgement there like there would be with some others.

You cracked your neck, willing yourself to calm the hell down. Planting your feet and finding your stance you nodded once. "Yeah I didn't sleep well last night" ..Not a lie.. "I always get worried that I'll see my brother here and he will give me that judgy Erudite stare.. " Again not a lie.. Ok not a complete lie.

You really didn't care about any of Amity's opinions of you. The people whose feelings you cared about you could count on one hand. But for some reason the stare that your brother always gave you, even before you turned 16, always made your stomach turn. Like he knew something you didn't. Like he was disgusted by you.

Zeke shook his head "I know that's not the reason, but Ill let it go. Just know I'm always here if you need to talk." Silence fell between you two, you couldn't thank him for not pushing because that would confirm his doubts. After what felt like days the doors open and the few leaders are followed out by those who have chosen the fearless life you have.

Your eyes stay straight ahead as they all file pass you, walking behind the group where Zeke is in the middle. It isn't hard to pick out the Stiff, taking small but quick steps trying to keep up the kids who are whooping and smiling. Its always easy to pick out the transfers, of course the plain grey dress thing shes wearing helps.

Your feet move closer to her without you telling them too. Your lungs are pulling in air to speak even though your brain is telling you too shut up.. You made a promise, one that you unwilling would keep.

"Dont look at me.. Keep your eyes forward and your mouth closed. Just listen."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The blond girl next to you jumped as you spoke, clearly caught off guard. Either by you speaking to her in general or the tone that was clear even in whispers. Your grip on your weapon tightened as you tried to find the will to be reassuring like Tori was.

"Follow what the Dauntless born do. Don't hesitate when jumping on the train or you'll die." Great job y/n.. That was reassuring.."When we get to headquarters, when they ask for jumpers.. volunteer before the others. Dont ask questions, dont look for help.. Just do as I say and it will be fine.."

You didn't even look at her or give her the chance to respond before you started running. Didn't look back to see if she was running, or if she was falling behind. In no way would you allow it too look like you were helping her, because in the long run that would only make it worse. For both of you.

"What the hell is going on?" A transfer boy yells as people start passing him. You shake your head and wonder if these kids even know who they are joining. Had they ever watched the Dauntless? Did they know anything besides that the motto said?

We believe in freedom from fear, in ordinary acts of bravery, in defending those who cannot defend themselves.

Did they think that being part of this group came easily? That they would just walk into headquarters and be handed a gun and a job? Zeke was next to you jogging as the train horn sounded behind you. Jumping on and off things was one of his favorite things too do, anyone could see it in the way his face lite up.

"Oh no," mumbles the Erudite boy. "Are we supposed to hop on that thing?"

You hear the Stiff mumble "yes" and feel the tiniest bit better. Maybe she wouldn't be so bad, maybe she knew a little about what was about to happen. But it didn't mean she was prepared for the amount of lying that she was going to have to do. Dauntless begin to pile in, group by group, until only the new initiates are left. The Dauntless-born initiates are used to doing this by now, so in a second it's just faction transfers left.

You watch as they all start to panic, running next to the car you're in. You placed yourself in the last one, where all the others were in the first two. You watched them make it in one by one, the Stiff almost falling off. Had it not been from the girl from Candor she wouldn't have made it. You all watch A short Erudite boy with red hair pumps his arms as he tries to catch up to the train. An Erudite girl by the door reaches out to grab the boy's hand, straining, but he is too far behind. He falls to his knees next to the tracks as we sail away, and puts his head in his hands.

You should feel bad. Hes just failed the first test, hes now factionless. Less than thirty minutes after making his choice he has failed. But you know deep down its for the best, this is the easy part. If he couldn't make it onto the train what you and Four have planned for training would've killed him.

You listen to the Cador girl and the Abnegation girl talk, watch as she sits down and then instructs the other girl too. It is that moment you see her divergence. A true Dauntless would stay standing, be unafraid of the wind. Would find a way to show courage in the face of the speeding train and whipping wind.

This is going to be so much harder than you think, so much worse than you had planned. Thankfully Uriah was only a little divergent. His would be easy to hide, this girl.. Beatrice.. She would cause problems, problems you had already promised to try and solve.

"I guess we are going to Dauntless headquarters," She says after the other girl Christina speaks, "but I don't know where that is."

"Does anyone?" Christina shakes her head, grinning. "It's like they just popped out of a hole in the ground or something." You chuckle and cross your arms, pulling their attention towards you but you just keep looking out the train doors. If only they knew, you kinda do pop out of holes.

Then the wind rushes through the car, and the other faction transfers, hit with bursts of air, falling on top of one another. You pinch the bridge of your nose, sighing through it. "Pathetic" You say loud enough for them all to hear, Christina scoffs along with the tall boy from Candor. The rest smartly stay quiet, Beatrice's eyes falling on you silently.

"Arent you supposed to be like.. guiding us or something?" He says from his place on the floor, it's your turn to scoff. Turning back to the door grabbing the railing and leaning out, you hear the transfers gasp assuming you're going to fall. Like you haven't done this a million times, none of them know if you're a transfer or not. Younger kids don't go to the ceremony, they would have no idea if you were Dauntless born or not.

In the cars ahead you could see those your age looking back at you. Zeke, Eric and Shauna all smiling knowing what was coming next. The roof came into view as you all pulled back into the cars, you could hear the Dauntless born whooping again. Turning back to the transfers you smiled, before locking eyes with Beatrice. They were all standing now, frantically talking amongst themselves about jumping.

"Good luck" was all you said before running and throwing yourself from the train.

#tobias eaton #tobias eaton x reader #four x reader #divergent #theo james

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inky-duchess · 11 months ago

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Asks for a Royal WIP or a Royal AU.

What rank is your OC?

How are they addressed?

Do they always expect to be addressed formally at all times? Are they comfortable with it?

Where do they stand in the succession? How do they feel about this?

What sort of succession system is it? Agnatic? Primogeniture? Gender-biased?

What sort of monarchy does your OC belong to? Do they like this style?

What's your OC's opinion on Monarchy? Do they believe in it? Are they for or against? Reasons why?

How did the dynasty come to be?

What is the dynasty known for? Are they bloody like the Tudors? Are they fabulously wealthy like the Romanovs? Are they... A loving family like the Hapsburgs? *opening twangs of Sweet Home Alabama*

Is the dynasty old? Or new? How does this effect how they operate?

Are they traditionalists or modernise?

What do the people think of the royal family? Are they headed toward Monseiur Guillotine? Or treasured?

Is there a famous ancestor they look up to? One they would rather not speak about?

Are there any pretenders to the Crown? If so, who are they and why do they believe they have a right to the throne?

What are some monuments built by the dynasty?

What are some duties your OC is expected to perform? Military service? The bestowing of honours? Attending the monarch at large events?

Does your OC dislike living in the public eye? Or do they believe it's part of the job?

Where does your OC live?

How many palaces, castles and homes does your OC call home?

Has your OC ever been on a tour of their country? What's their favourite region?

How does your OC view politics? Are they a reformer or do they prefer to hide from change?

Your OC has a day engagement. What do they wear?

Your OC has a state occasion. What do they wear?

Does your OC enjoy ceremonial ornaments such as orders, tiaras, uniforms and crowns? If not, why? If so, why?

Do they enjoy large public occasions? Do they enjoy the pomp and ceremony?

Somebody has neglected to bow/curtsy in an effort to insult. What does your OC do in response?

They encounter somebody who doesn't recognise them but they are friendly. Does your OC a) immediately inform them b) leave them off and just have a nice chat c) other option.

Are they known for their fashion taste?

Does your OC do any charity work? What are some charities they support?

How does the press characterize your OC? Are they a darling or a devil?

Your OC has been the target of some bad press. What to they do to straighten out the story?

Has your OC ever escaped the palace for an adventure?

What are some famous pieces of jewellery owned by the royal family?

How does jewellery work in the family? Who can wear what pieces? Who decides this?

Do they have servants? Is your OC liked by the servants? If not, why?

Are they close to anybody who isn't royal? A servant? A companion?

Does your OC ever hate being born royal?

Are there any restrictions on them because they are royal? Can they marry as they like? Live how they want? Is there anything they are utterly barred from doing?

What are some expectations your OC must live up to? Can they fulfil them? If not, why not?

What are some ridiculous rules they must follow?

How rigid is royal life?

What privileges are they entitled to?

How does being royal effect how they act? Are they predisposed to snobbery? Or do they believe themselves above others?

Have they ever had a scandal? If so, details.

What is your OC known for? Their hardwork? Their duty? Their wild social life?

If your OC ever had to choose between what's best for the Crown or themselves, what would they choose?

If they are ever offered the chance of power, would they oust the monarch?

If the monarch was in danger of running the country into the ground, would your OC rebel against them?

There's a revolution and everyone wants the royals dead. What does your OC do? A) Join the Revolution B) RUN C) Stay and keeping living the high life (god that mob is getting close) D) Betray their family and give them to the mob to save themselves.

Your OC has been invited to a large party on the eve of a very bad disaster which has killed and wounded many. Do they attend the party? Or head to the site to help or at very least show they care?

I will accept asks for Misha, Olezka, Katya, Sergei.

#OC ask game #Royal OC ask game #Royal ocs #Royal au #OC asks #Royal #writing #writeblr #writing resources #writing reference #writing advice #writer #spilled words #writers

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ladykailitha · 7 months ago

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Well Met By Moonlight Part 13

Hey, guys do you all remember that period of time when I was working on this story but refused to show you snippets of it on WIP Wednesdays? Yeah, this is that chapter. (I'm pretty sure, anyway. Because this shit was super spoilery.)

We finally get what happened to Steve and why he didn't grow up as Pack. This chapter does get a little dark in its themes so be careful when you read and if you need specifics, DM me and I'll fill you in.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12

****

Eddie and Wayne landed in front of their trailer with a deft touch. Eddie still wasn’t over the joy of being able to fucking fly. Like sure when he was younger, Wayne would take him for flights occasionally, but nothing beat banking on a breeze as the wind lifted him higher and higher.

“Your boy’s got a mouth on him,” Wayne said gruffly as he walked up the stairs to their trailer.

Eddie chuckled. “Always had. Even in school.”

Wayne huffed out a laugh. “True enough.”

As soon as they were safe inside, Eddie asked, “Hey, do you remember that couple who took Stevie in when his parents died?”

Wayne frowned. “You mean the Franklins?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.

Eddie snapped his fingers. “Yeah, them. Why was Steve placed with them? And not, I don’t know, the pack?”

“Ah.”

Wayne went to the kitchen and pulled out a six pack of beers. “That’s a bit of story. Drink up, you’ll need it for this.”

Eddie opened up a can of beer and settled in for story time.

Wayne downed an entire beer and wiped his mouth off with his sleeve.

“Hopper had gotten bad,” Wayne began. “Like real bad.”

“You’ve mentioned that before. That was around the time I came to live with you, right?”

Wayne nodded. “It wasn’t just drinking. It was drugs, too. And not just weed, either. I’m talking the heavy stuff.”

Eddie nodded. He had sold said heavy stuff to Hopper just before he cleaned up with El coming into his life. When Wayne asked him why, Eddie told him that he had no idea what he was doing with it and honestly didn’t care.

Knowing what Eddie did now, he regretted it, but he was so close to being able to afford his Warlock that that was all he cared about at the time.

“Steve’s dad Clint Harrington was getting ready to challenge Hopper for the position of alpha,” Wayne continued. “He knew that he might kill Hopper, but at that point it probably would have been a mercy.”

Eddie nodded solemnly. Maybe if Clint Harrington had lived, lived to be the alpha, the town wouldn’t be experiencing the troubles it was now.

“So what happened?” he asked gravely.

“Allison’s father died out in New York,” Wayne said. “The timing of it was so suspect, Ed. Like, you know I hate conspiracies with every fiber of my being, because there rarely is one. But this smelled rank from the get go.”

“You think whoever had the Harringtons killed,” Eddie said, “you think also popped off Granpappy, too, don’t you?”

Wayne glared at him, but conceded the point. “Whatever happened to the Harringtons was bad, boy. Like their bodies were savaged–”

He stopped and his eyes went wide. “It was exactly like this morning. I couldn’t tell the scent then, just like I couldn’t now.”

Eddie nodded. “As near as I could tell, there wasn’t a scent to be had. Whatever it was who killed the Harringtons and attacked Patrick, didn’t leave behind a scent.”

“There are very few things in this world that leave a scent so minuscule I could barely detect it,” Wayne said.

Eddie nodded. “So what happened with Steve after they died?” He was interested in the other thing, but he was really worried about his boyfriend.

“The old mayor, Larry Kline and I,” Wayne said amused, “made the decision that the pack wasn’t safe for Steve. But despite what Steve thinks the Franklins weren’t human.”

Eddie frowned. “They weren’t?”

“They were Were too,” he said with wary tilt of his head. “Were-bat. We figured that with them being at least Weres would be able to teach him how to shift and how to shift back comfortably.”

“So what went wrong?” Eddie asked, moving closer to Wayne on the sofa. “Because holy hell, pops, if Steve had been human CPS would have been called and fast.”

Wayne drank more of his beer and then rubbed one eye with the other hand. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t. There were no indications that Steve was anything other than a kid who’s parents died and was adjusting to it. Yeah, he wasn’t exactly happy, but we didn’t expect him to be, you know?”

“So what changed?”

Wayne drank the last of his beer and set it on the coffee table. “They were away on a trip and I don’t know if they forgot, didn’t care, or planned it... but Steve wolfed out for the first in his entire life when he was eighteen.”

“What?!”

Weres were supposed to shift for the first time when they hit puberty. Early teens for most of them. But to not shift until you were eighteen was just begging for the Were to go insane.

“Fucking hell, Uncle Wayne,” Eddie groaned. “Whoever this is is playing a long ass game. Jesus Christ. They were hoping he would go crazy, ending the Harrington line for good. So what happened?”

Wayne licked his lips. “Steve ran to me. He was frightened. Terrified out of his mind. Old Mack nearly shot the poor bastard as he came tearing through the trailer park.”

“Jesus H. Christ...” Eddie whispered.

Wayne chuckled. “It wouldn’ve done shit, it was just a regular bullet, it wouldn’ve even slowed him down.”

Eddie breathed a sigh of relief. “So what stayed Mack’s hand then?”

“You’ve seen your boy in wolf form,” Wayne said, “can you imagine how beautiful he looked then? The cream of his under belly blending with the warm brown of his back and face as he tore down the gravel pavement?”

Eddie could imagine it in fact. Steve was gorgeous as a human, but as a werewolf? He was exquisite. It came from his mixed breeding of being born from another born werewolf and his turned wife. Born werewolves tended to be more timber wolf in their appearance. Almost dire wolf-esque. Big, with course fur and fierce. Bitten werewolves tended toward the smaller red wolves. Quick, slender, and cunning as hell.

Steve was a mix of these two breeds and it made him the most beautiful thing on four legs Eddie have ever scene.

“To fire at something so majestic would have been a travesty,” Wayne was saying when Eddie came back from his revery. “So Mack just stood there, rifle in hand as Steve made straight for my door.”

Eddie frowned. “Where was I? I don’t remember this.”

“You and your friends had gone to Indy for some concert or another,” Wayne said. “I don’t rightly recall.”

Eddie’s frown got deeper, he’d only gone to one concert with his friends in Indy because one of the ‘85 Hellfire Club members had gotten tickets for graduation and had taken all of them.

“Is that why you weren’t home when I got back into Hawkins?” he asked. “You were dealing with Steve?”

Wayne nodded and popped open another bottle of beer. He held one up to Eddie, but he shook his head. Eddie held up his still mostly full can. Wayne licked his lips.

“You’ll want to drink more of that,” he muttered.

Eddie did as he was told and it took the edge off of his anxiety but settled sour in his stomach.

“After I got Steve sedated,” Wayne said, “and yes it was fucked up I even had to in the first place, I went a paid the Franklins a visit.”

“That sounds ominous,” Eddie said flatly.

Wayne grinned. “They tried to tell me that they were frightened of Steve. That as a wolf he was much bigger than they were as bats. That all it would take was one snap of his giant jaw and they would be but a morsel to the boy.”

Eddie blinked at his uncle in confusion. “What now? His first change would have been a literal puppy. He wouldn’t have even been able toddle after them, let alone get within biting distance.”

Wayne huffed. “Right in one, boy. And if they had been teaching him from his first change on, he wouldn’t have thought of them as prey at all. Not even on moon nights.”

Eddie rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“And then they tried to attack me,” Wayne continued.

“They did what?” Eddie squawked.

“They probably would have succeeded, too,” he said, “but apparently Steve is a hard wolf to keep down and followed me like a lost puppy. When he saw Dick Franklin raise a fucking yew stake to stab me in the back, Steve leapt on him.”

“Where the fuck did they get a yew stake?”

Wayne just shook his head. “The hell if I know, kid. But in comes this wolf and just snatches the damn thing out of Dick’s hand. He runs off with it Ella Franklin hot on his heels in bat form. Bats are fast and she catches up quickly. The problem is that in or out of bat form she knows she no match for Steve, so she tries to blind him by going for his eyes.”

Eddie’s hand covered his mouth as he listened to him go on about this horrible night.

“But despite what a lot of people think,” Wayne continued, “your boy ain’t dumb. He keeps his head down and makes right for the Creel House. He tosses the thrall on duty the stake and suddenly a werebat is face to face with Tammy Thompson, now holding a yew stake as Steve just continues running past the Coven.”

Eddie blinked. “I didn’t realize that Tammy’s family were thralls.”

“Just like the Perkins, Buckleys, and Hagans are hereditary keepers,” Wayne said with a nod, “the Thompsons, Carmichaels, and Bensons have always been hereditary thralls.”

Eddie was starting to think that he really should have paid closer attention to the hierarchies in school, they were a lot more important than he knew.

“Anywho,” Wayne said with a shake of his head. “Ella flies back to their house to find me beating the hell out of Dick. She manages to distract me long enough for Dick to get on his feet, but now it’s two against one and they’re still strong in their human forms, but wicked fast. I was able to take out Dick, the coward that he was, but Ella was proving to be too fast. She was going to get away.”

Eddie drank the rest of his beer and popped open another one. He leaned forward so that he was on the edge of the sofa, and his knee began to shake.

Wayne put his hand his knee to settle it, but Eddie stared at him wild eyed.

“I don’t have to finish if this bothering, Ed,” he said warmly. “I can give you the Cliffnotes.”

Eddie shook his head. “What happened next?”

“Just as she took flight, the thing they had always feared happened,” he said softly. “Steve’s jaws came down on her with a sickening crunch. Dick started spewing all sorts of curse words and things I didn’t understand. Something about how werewolves were a plague among the Weres and that they had to be exterminated and how if Steve hadn’t had my protection they would have drowned the bastard in the bathtub.”

“What. The. Fuck?” Eddie asked, can crumpling in his fist as it tightened on it.

“It didn’t mean anything until the events going on now,” Wayne said with a heavy sigh. He crumpled his can one handed and stared at the twisted mass. “But I think whoever it is who is trying to tear this community apart is getting desperate. They’re starting to make mistakes. And I think one day soon, this is all going to blow up in our faces.”

Eddie gulped, but nodded.

****

Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20

Tag List:

@mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @emly03

@spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @gregre369 @a-little-unsteddie

@chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @danili666

@goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog

@justforthedead89 @vecnuthy @irregular-child @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690

@anne-bennett-cosplayer @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten @genderless-spoon

@cinnamon-mushroomabomination @dragonmama76 @scheodingers-muppet @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt

@useless-nb-bisexual @angels-of-hades @mugloversonly @y4r3luv @greeniebean911

@birbsauce @acingthecounts @cryptid-system @counting-dollars-counting-stars @kultiras

#my writing #stranger things #steddie #ladykailtiha writes #werewolf steve harrington #vampire eddie munson #supernatural creatures

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pia55tri · 4 months ago

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Plz share wag/hab Carlo, TP Carlos, RB Carlos with the class plz

i was only going to share a few bits bc they're all very messy wips, but i talk too much, so... (please talk carcar with me tho, i will always welcome it)

WAG/HAB carlos

the longest of my wips, with the longest timeline (starts in 2021...)

super self-indulgent. they get together relatively early in the timeline, and then spend the rest of it being disgustingly in love.

carlos sees first oscar first. there's a f2 quali in the same city as his tournament, so he goes. he switched his career and started playing golf professionally a little later than most, but he's raced his whole life. it's in his blood. he knows when he's looking at a great driver on the track. so he stays through the session and ends up seeing oscar piastri take his helmet, and then his balaclava off. his hair poofs about his head, and carlos is sold. he is endeared, charmed. he thinks that he'd like to see more of this young man.

they meet some race weekends later in barcelona. carlos has now been to a few of oscar's races, has cheered for him even. oscar doesn't recognise him — he isn't a fan of golf, after all. oscar is still riding the high of a good race and a new trophy to his name. it's the endorphins and the adrenaline rushing through him that makes him more outwardly happy than he'd otherwise be. it's also why he doesn't shy away when a handsome stranger congratulates him for a brilliant drive.

“I just think you’re brilliant,” he says, with his big brown doe eyes and plush lips pulled into a smile. Like he means it. Oscar doesn’t know what to do with that. He continues earnestly, “I believe that you’re going great places. That you’ll be a Formula One World Champion someday.”

Oscar laughs. “Yeah? You know a lot of World Champions?”

The outrageously handsome man smiles wider, looking even more outrageously handsome. Oscar wants to file a complaint to God himself for sculpting him. “You could say that I know enough World Champions quite well.”

they get together in early 2022... oscar becomes a test driver... carlos climbs the world ranks... summer breaks and off-seasons are spent together... carlos teaches oscar how to play golf... racing each other in the sainzes's estate... oscar moves to monaco and takes carlos with him...

while oscar is a test/reserve driver, carlos still visits the track, but doesn't linger in the alpine hospitality. instead, he bothers his only close friend there — max. max, of course, finds it all to be hilarious. (“I don’t think I’ve seen you so often since you quit,” Max observes one day as he enters his room to find Carlos laid on his sofa. “Do you just miss me or do you get too lonely when loverboy is busy?”)

the wag/hab part comes after oscar is signed to mclaren and suddenly there are more cameras on him and his entourage. carlos can be often found around the mclaren hospitality or garage, and it's always a treat when the cameras zoom in on him. he's also not shy about posting on his socials when he's with oscar, not shy about sharing oscar's post-race posts either.

tl;dr: au where carlos is a pro golfer, and oscar is the same. in 2024, oscar is a race winner and carlos is an olympic athlete and also oscar's gorgeous friend who's always in the paddocks. all sorts of worlds are colliding, and those with the eyes to see are Looking.

TP carlos

short and sweet (hopefully?)

au in which carlos comes out of a retirement no one was really expecting (least of all himself) to join his old team as their team principal.

oscar is new to the grid. he'd signed literally just before carlos was kicked, so they haven't intersected yet, not really.

so oscar doesn't know what to think of their new tp, who's just a bit too young and too handsome and too there.

Oscar doesn’t know what to make of Carlos Sainz. He knows him, of course. He knows every Formula One winner in the last few years, and even before then. He’s seen Sainz on magazines, on the television, on his phone, and even on Lando’s. Carlos Sainz is a familiar figure to anyone who’s touched Formula One racing in the last half decade. But that’s Carlos Sainz, the handsome Ferrari driver.

This is Carlos Sainz, McLaren’s new TP and test driver. It is an absurd situation, but everyone in the team is seemingly happy to have him around. It makes it exceedingly obvious, how young Oscar is, and how new he is to this space.

carlos is a very hands on tp who values driver input in every step of the process. he's also already rather familiar with oscar's teammate. this means a lot of meetings, phonecalls, and late night meetings with room service...

RB carlos

essentially, an au where things are just slightly different.

in which carlos grits his teeth and sticks through toro rosso until a rb promotion.

oscar signs with mclaren. that same year, carlos sainz, jr. becomes the 2023 wdc, the second spanish driver to do so in the history of the sport.

more or less a character study (?) of how it'd be if carlos stuck with rb despite everything. in this au, he's less friendly with the other drivers, more serious (not that he isn't already hh), and just generally a little exhausted all the time. his two closest friends are max and charles, and spends time with other drivers through their association only.

oscar piastri, however, is not the bright-eyed rookie carlos had been expecting. there is Something about him, and suddenly carlos is interested in someone outside his racecar, outside his very tight circle. carlos is so intrigued and so charmed. oscar is reserved, subdued, quiet. but there's a sharpness in him, a harshness that comes out only, it seems, when carlos rubs him the wrong way on track. it makes carlos wants to peel away his layers, see who he is beneath the pr training and the papaya fireproofs. maybe even beneath those.

oscar doesn't really like sainz. he knows he's spanish racing royalty and lando has put him on this pedestal as one of the greatest drivers ever, but he's just... a boring bloke. a vicious driver, sure. handsome with a nice smile, but rarely with anything behind it. serious. a little sad. he's winning races — and ruining oscar's, while he's at it — so really, if anyone should be upset, it should be oscar and not mr perfect.

max — along with charles and lando — is of the belief that they could be good together. meddling ensues.

tl;dr: carlos and oscar Noticing each other, but not doing anything about it until their friends catch on.

#carcar #5581 #askbox #wip #fic #i spend more time thinking about these wips than actually working on them lmfao #as i was answering this ask i literally started an alpha/alpha wip please send help

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wangxianficrecs · 4 months ago

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An Unscheduled Stream by trippednfell

An Unscheduled Stream

by trippednfell (@trippednfell)

M, WIP, 29k, Wangxian

Summary: A viral video sweeps through the internet, which appears to show the 1st disciple of Yunmeng Jiang take on a full nest of evil beings in an attempt to protect five juniors from his sect. The unscheduled livestream captures everyone's attention, but there has to be more there than meets the eye. The Lan assign their own 1st disciple, Lan Wangji, to investigate. That investigation will take him years into the future and miles away from Gusu as he seeks to find the truth. When he does find it, it has a far greater impact on his life than he could ever imagine. Kay's comments: I just stumbled over this story and immediately binged it, because it ticked all the right boxes for me. The Wei-Wen found family vibes are impeccable and Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian just met in the most recent chapter after Lan Wangji has been obsessing over Wei Wuxian for the last years, so I'm really excited to see where the story goes next. Excerpt: The matter was closed. Lan Wangji had spent hours at his desk, typing and formatting the report for its inclusion in the Lan Archives. He needed to stretch, move his body, meditate and quiet his mind. But he hesitated, before shutting down his computer. The mystery of Wei Wuxian worried at him, pulling his focus. He navigated to the official cultivator rankings, and searched his name. There were zero hits. That was impossible. Every sect had to register their disciples, it was required. People who could wield power of any kind had to be identified and traced. He pulled up Yunmeng Jiang, and visually scanned through their listings. Jiang Wanyin was now listed as first disciple and heir in waiting, and Wei Wuxian’s name did not appear, not even in the “formerly affiliated” section. Yunmeng Jiang had erased any evidence of his existence. Lan Wangji then navigated to sites he typically avoided as much as possible. But needs must, and if all the official sites no longer contained any information on him, he would have to go to the fan sites. Immediately he found that he was not the only one looking into it. Yunmeng Jiang dominated the forums, with the number one thread being one titled: What the fuck happened with YMJ? Lan Wangji settled in to read.

pov alternating, canon divergence, modern setting, modern with magic, minor character death, rogue cultivator wei wuxian, demonic cultivator wei wuxian, bamf wei wuxian, lan wangji/wei wuxian get a happy ending, time skips, not yunmeng jiang sect friendly, families of choice, getting to know each other, developing relationship, slow burn

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

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y-rhywbeth2 · 7 months ago

Text

Lore: Baldur's Gate #3

The Law and Legal System

Link: Disclaimer regarding D&D "canon" & Index [tldr: D&D lore is a giant conflicting mess. Larian's lore is also a conflicting mess. There's a lot of lore; I don't know everything. You learn to take what you want and leave the rest]

The City #1 | Demographics | Law & Legal System | Administration & Government | ??? - WIP

There is a surprising amount of information on laws, and also on the legal system and law enforcement of Baldur's Gate. ...And it's fucking terrible! This is so long because there's so. Much. Terrible.

OK, let's see... corruption, corruption, corruption... • 9/10 crimes never go to trial: the police are your judge, jury and executioners. You do have rights; let's hope they care. • The four classifications of crimes. (Nobles get away with so much. Also, frankly, the clergy.) • The Flaming Fist - the police, the military and the secret police in one nifty corrupt package. • Courts of Law and Magistrates • Alternate courses of justice: The Crews. Also, have you considered praying for your tormentor's horrible death? No, seriously. • The Code Legal: the actual laws, the crimes and their punishments • How the temples might self-police and how a recap on how the law gets... flexible with evil-aligned faiths.

Arrests and Processing Crimes

Baldur's Gate, like most of the Western Heartlands (and frankly, a lot of Faerûn beyond that), follows the precedent set by the Warerdhavian Code Legal in setting its laws. Local variations may occur, but they're near enough the same.

The Code lays down the crimes, which are matched to whatever punishment the law of the land has deemed appropriate.

For the most part, where the Gate is concerned, this usually leads to "cut and dry" cases. The crime and accused will be assessed by a member of the Flaming Fist (or the Watch, if it's in the upper city) who will make their own judgement as to guilt and follow out the punishment as laid down in the Code.

Crimes only go to court in one of two conditions, firstly that the officer assessing the crime doesn't feel that the situation is clear enough for them to make a judgement - and secondly, when high ranking members of society (Patriars, clergy, etc) for whatever reason want to step in and have it taken to court.

The majority of crimes will never see court. "Flaming Fist patrols react to threats with indiscriminate violence," and even those that don't often turn a blind eye.

Once upon a time, like a century ago, Baldur's Gate was known for being a well policed place with a low crime rate and very little corruption. That's... very much not the case any longer. An influx of refugees from the Spellplage and rapid population growth in the back half of the 14th century saw the end of that as the Upper City started closing in on itself and the Outer City was formed, creating a large population outside of jurisdiction. The murder rates are so bad out there that there are whole alleys where people dump bodies called 'snuff streets.'

The extremes seen in the 15th century are a reaction to the increase in the intrigues of the Upper City and the crime rate of the more recent Outer City both spreading into the Lower City. Now the average citizen contends with both of those and police brutality every day. Even prior to the foundation of the Outer City, policing was heavy due to the strength and spread of the Thieves Guid.

There is something of a 75% chance that arrests will not follow protocol: those members of the Fist not inclined to police brutality and starting "bidding wars" (whoever can offer the highest bribe is let go: everyone else gets arrested) are often too overwhelmed with a myriad of other crimes they're trying to handle. The Watch is less inclined to violence and corruption (at least, in comparison), but they're also the Upper City's personal guard and prone to discriminate heavily against the poor (or those who look it) in their arrests.

Due to the upper classes being notoriously self-interested and corrupt, and judges often being in the pocket of the Thieves Guild, there is also little trust in any justice coming from there. Ulder Ravengard certainly doesn't have any. Ulder has been commander since 1482 DR, and held high rank and influence before that. He is "the incarnation of militarism", and his stance when directing the Fist has been of the "the ends justify the means" variety. There is a chance that in 1482, due to Bhaal - at the time too weak to directly influence people - subconsciously urging him to give into his dictatorship leanings and "murderous intentions", that Ulder also led the Fist into an even darker place involving military law and a lot of mutilation and murder, but I'm uncertain how much of that is part of mainstream canon.

Often, if the accused is a noble or a high ranking member of the clergy and the crime is not "serious", they will be let go - perhaps with a slap on the wrist. These groups also tend to police their own behind closed doors to avoid public backlash and scandals.

"Nobles enjoy many protections under the law and in some cases can escape punishment for assault, provocation, or the outright murder of a commoner."

Generally though, they'll avoid such obvious and crude crimes. A lot of noble crimes and schemes involve hiring adventurers - outsiders with no connection to the city or protection under the law - to do their dirty work. More serious crimes will either never see the light of day, or if it can't be hidden, scapegoating and appeasement will follow.

Crimes are only crimes within the confines of the land in question. A crime in Baldur's Gate is not a crime outside its walls, and if a crime without those walls is committed then the legal system of the Gate has no jurisdiction with which to arrest of punish the offender. As such clergy and nobles who must be punished may well receive temporary exile, where they will be appointed to a different temple/sent to live with relatives somewhere else in the realms.

Crimes are also not necessarily crimes if the victim in question is not a citizen (generally classified as never having had their name on official city documentation or owned property within the city).

Technically visitors and foreign agents to the city should have licenses marking them as such and stating that their presence in the city is legal. Without these permits their lives are forfeit to the whims of the "important people". Technically new arrivals should be told by officials stationed at the city gates to report to the High Hall to be interviewed (in case the individual means harm to the city) and then handed their license, but your average visitor is never even told of this law.

"Outer City residents are classified as "visiting economic interests," which affords them some rights. However, with a word from a duke of a peer, that classification could change to "visiting diplomat," which offers numerous perks, or "invader," which is essentially a death sentence." - Murder in Baldur's Gate

Baldur's Gate will nevertheless strive not to be an obviously oppressive hellhole however, as trade cities wish to show a welcoming and tolerant face to the world: merchants will not come if they feel they will be risking their safety. In fact visiting merchants, particularly wealthy ones, are liable to receive somewhat better treatment than the average permanent citizen of the Gate.

Covert corruption is favoured:

"Any rigging of results must be done behind the scenes rather than in public. For instance, you could avoid someone’s being brought to trial, or arrange a prisoner escape."

Offenses are split into four categories:

1) Crimes Against the Lords The name may be subject to change, depending on region and governance; it's likely slightly different in Baldur's Gate. This is essentially crimes against the state officials and nobility.

2) Crimes Against the City Arson, littering, public brawling, carrying weapons in public, etc.

3) Crimes Against the Gods Blasphemy against the gods and their servants (who are their own, outside the box tier of nobles, in a way)

4) Crimes Against Citizens "Low level" offenses that don't threaten to upset anybody important or disrupt the city functioning.

Different realms and city states will also have their own unique laws, for example it's illegal in Baldur's Gate to disobey an order from an officer of the Fist if they're in uniform under threat of martial discipline (loss of an ear, a hand, their tongue, or even their life). While theoretically, this law exists for emergencies, it is very much abused for personal gain.

As said, generally the handling of crimes won't progress past the jurisdiction of the Flaming Fist - who hold many roles: mercenary company, city military, city police, "secret police" (spymaster is a position within the organisation and plainclothes officers are everywhere)... and generally, studying the pattern, it seems that one of the Grand Dukes on the Council of Four is going to be their commander.

Generally, candidates seeking to join the Fist are screened for "strong loyalty and stronger morals." Not sure that's working.

There are usually a few rules regarding investigations amongst Faerûnian law enforcement which should be followed (and watched closely public scrutiny to ensure it is):

• Confiscated items may not be kept. When searching a location, nothing except evidence is to be confiscated. • Items must be returned to their owners, if identified. • Citizens must be kept informed of the whys and hows of an investigation: when you disrupt daily life, somebody must be on hand to answer their questions and explain - leaving out no detail - what is happening and why. "Authorities have very few justifiable grounds for not telling citizens anything they ask about (though “the king’s will” [government business, for which Baldurians would use a different term] is a justifiable ground)." • Magic and magical items involved in the crime must be examined, and typically dispelled, and citizens must be told "the whole truth about what magic was found, where it came from, and what it was intended for" • Disputes over property must be handled in public.

By the 15th century, the organisation has been noted to have become insanely corrupt. Should the Flaming Fist lapse into illegal behaviours like vigilantism, kangaroo courts and police brutality (including cutting out people's tongues and hanging them in their own doorways), the government will generally do nothing to intervene, as long as it doesn't start to affect the patriars (who make up said government). If the commander - or acting commander - happens to be corrupt then the whole organisation generally goes downhill.

If Orin and the Dark Urge have been doing their jobs right, then the ranks of the Fist will have been infiltrated by Bhaalists to serve the interests of the church within the city and its laws.

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Legal Courts

Should a case proceed to the courts it will be taken before one of the dukes, presided over in the courts at the High Hall. There was an attempted (and failed) coup by Grand Duke Valarken a few decades back to seize control of the city saw the patriars succeed in a naked power grab and the establishment of the Parliament of Peers, a governing body composed of mostly patriars and a smattering of Guildmasters and the other wealthy, who can buy and network/kiss enough patriar asses to elbow their way into power.

The dukes have since been able to delegate cases to one of the peers, who will serve as magistrate in their place. This worked out pretty well at first, and then went downhill:

"Proxy judges are not paid a salary, yet a temporary assignment to the High Hall's bench is a plum duty for any patriar, because hefty gifts and bribes flow to the judges from the [Thieves] Guid, from those grateful to be exonerated, and from those hoping to be exonerated."

For patriars who were called upon to handle a case the High Hall has several small libraries containing legal books, civic documentation (tax, property, censuses, etc etc), past court records and other relevant information to aid them with their duty. The libraries are also a disorganised mess, and volunteers from the local Oghmanyte clergy (followers of the god of knowledge, which technically includes legal lore) have their hands full trying to organise it and seem to be the only people who know how to find anything in there.

I have no information on how the court worked prior to the formation of the Peers in the 15th century, but if the Council of Four delegated back then then they most likely still picked from amongst the same people - the wealthy, mostly patriar, citizens of the Upper City who would be in their social and business circles enough for them to know each other.

If the accused desires legal defence, they have a few options.

In order for a legal representative to be considered valid, the court must be informed of your choice ahead of the court date. Sometimes it's only permitted to people who would struggle to represent themselves due to disability or language barriers (Common is not useful for daily conversation, let alone complex legal proceedings).

Baldur's Gate, unusually, has a few rare official barristers one may hire to represent one in court. These are generally far out of the pay range of the average citizen.

"The Realms does not have lawyers, robed and wigged or otherwise. There are some “advocates,” paid orators who will speak in court (always in the presence of an accused, not appearing in their stead) and who might know something of the law and can give advice to an accused. Some advocates are real performers who mimic the voices of people, act out scenes, tell jokes, and engage in furious debate in court—which, being great entertainment, is seldom cut short even by angry judges or rulers, because the commoners like it." - Elminster's Forgotten Realms

Tyrran clergy are also willing to defend the innocent and ensure that trials are fair and free of corruption, and the two groups are likely to overlap:

"In civilised areas (settlements), Tyrrans (inevitably called "tyrants" behind their back by nonbelievers) become legal experts and serve as the lawyers of Faerûn by dispensing advice and "speaking for" accused persons in trials." - Faiths and Avatars

(They still tend to charge for the service, although some will likely go pro bono as Tyrrans are also meant to be devoted to righting wrongs and ensuring the law serves the good of the people) Tyrrans are not a major faith in Baldur's Gate and don't wield a lot of influence, however - and to make matters worse, Tyr has been dead for a generation, and while the god returned in the Second Sundering, his clergy are still in recovery.

Magistrates may have the right to call upon divination spells - cast by mages or clergy - to root out the truth, although the wealthy and the nobility often have privileges and rights regarding this that are unavailable to the common class.

- Alternative Justice

As the citizens do not trust their legal system an inch, the common people band together in informal groups called "crews" for mutual protection. How they function depends on the crew (guarding each other's property, self-policing a shared street or neighbourhood, pooling funds, simply backing you up if you get mugged, etc)

The Gate has an unofficial system called burl, if you're fleeing persecution, be it from criminals or the Fist, and knock on a door three times the people inside owe you shelter and safety, no questions asked.

Another alternate route of justice exists - turning to the gods.

Tyrrans seek out criminals who escaped their sentence and slipped through the cracks - if you can't be brought to justice, they will bring it to you. They also work to change or protect laws for the betterment of people. Prior to the Spellplague Tyr's portfolio concerned the letter of the law, however during his death that passed to Torm (god of loyalty, and thus now loyalty to whatever my liege says is the law) and Tyr's focus is on benevolent readings of the spirit of the law. As said, they have been out of commission for around a generation, so Tyrran activity in the city will only have resumed with legal and divine backing for about a decade or two.

Ilmatari are permitted a tenday's worth of respite, where Ilmater temporarily releases from their vows - technically this is time meant for self-care and mental health, but Ilmatari have been known to use this freedom from their oath of non-violence to shank abusers and tyrants. They also engage in non-violent forms of protest and disruption against corruption and cruelty while under their oaths, and it's generally not a good idea to harm them because Ilmatari are very popular amongst the common people of Faerûn for their charity work.

There is a Helmite faction within the Gate - the Order of the Gauntlet - that covertly sponsors vigilantes. Their calling card is Helm's symbol, branded onto the flesh of either dead criminals or live ones left anonymously on the doorstep of the Flaming Fist.

And then there's Hoar; God of Vengeance; the Doombringer:

"Hoar charges his clergy to uphold true and fitting justice and to maintain the spirit of the law, not the letter of the law. Fitting recompense will always accrue for one's actions. Violence will meet violence and evil pay back evil, but good will also come to those who do good."

In Western Faerûn Hoar's clergy are not many and they do not build temples, but they wander the realms seeking victims of injustice. They listen to their stories, investigate to establish the veracity of their accounts, and if they're satisfied the person is being honest they will track down the perpetrator and deliver ironic punishments upon them. While they're considered criminals in the eyes of the law, to the common people of Faerûn hail them as champions of the underdog. On the darker side, Hoar and Bhaal are allies, and their followers share similar habits and a tendency to be retributive justice for hire. (Though Hoar is in it for vengeance, and Bhaal for the killings and bloodlust.)

Sharrans also present themselves as avengers in a world full of corrupt governments who don't care about you, and go out of their way to try and steal "jobs" from the Hoarites.

The temple of Bhaal will be sending priests up to the marketplaces and other gathering places - likely mostly in the Outer City, where it's impossible to break the city's laws - to listen to people's grievances and offer their services as killers. Bhaalists are also employable as freelance bounty hunters, and are obligated by their faith to train anybody who asks to fight and use weapons and are technically available as self-defence trainers (with an aim of "your opponent should not get back up"). They also usually select criminals for their sacrificial targets, and in private setting will turn these into public displays for the pleasure of the mob.

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The Code Legal

There is no such thing as copyright law or libel and slander laws- unless they're offensive to clergy, rulers, nobility or whathaveyou. Authors on Toril are having great fun with the copyright thing, and often get ripped off by their publishers stealing their work. Also child labour is involved with the printing, but that's not the topic on hand.

When the punishment for a crime is arrest then the highborn, wealthy and influential will be placed under house arrest instead of spending their time in a jail cell.

Crimes Against the Lords A category that includes government officials, rulers, nobility, the extremely wealthy and influential, and generally high priests/temple leaders (are you going to blaspheme argue with somebody who speaks directly to a god? On Faerûn the answer is "no".)

Assaulting a Lord: death

Impersonating a Lord: death

Assaulting or impersonating an official or noble: flogging, imprisonment for up to a tenday, and a fine up to a max of 500gp depending on severity

Blackmailing an official: flogging and exile up to 10 years

Bribery or attempted bribery of an official: exile up to 20 years and a fine up to double the bribe amount.

Murder of a Lord, official or noble: death

Using magic to influence a Lord without consent: imprisonment up to a year, and fine or damages up to 1,000gp

While killing a commoner may be split into murder and justified self-defence, no such clause exists for killing a noble, which is always met with the death penalty.

"In many lands, common-born people are bound by law to defer to their betters, the lords and ladies of the nobility. Even if the law does not require deference, it’s usually a good idea." - Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting

For the Gate, the nobility are the patriars.

Merchants and powerful Guildmasters (the trade guild, not the Thieves Guid) may have the money and connections to worm their way into this special treatment.

"The wealthiest merchants are virtually indistinguishable from mighty lords, Even if born from peasant stock, a merchant whose enterprises span-a kingdom might style himself "lord" and get away with it." - Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting

While you might get away with styling yourself a lord, as Gortash does, the patriars nevertheless insist on maintaining boundaries between themselves and the new money. I believe they've also occasionally introduced fun additional little laws like who is not allowed to wear what (colours, fabrics) so as not to be confused with the wealthy merchants and lowborn of the city with their inferior breeding. True nobility is a matter of birthright, after all.

Still money opens a lot of doors, especially in a major trade hub like Baldur's Gate.

Crimes against the City

Arson: death or hard labour up to 1 year, with fines -and/or- damages covering the cost of repairs plus 2,000gp

Brandishing weapons without due cause: imprisonment up to a tenday -and/or- fine up to 10gp

Espionage: death -or- permanent exile

Fencing stolen goods: fine equal to the value of the stolen goods and edict

Forgery of an official document: flogging and exile for 10 summers (years)

Hampering justice: fine up to 200gp and hard labour up to a tenday

Littering: fine up to 2gp and an edict

Poisoning a city well: death

Theft: flogging, followed by imprisonment up to a tenday -or- hard labour up to a year -or- a fine equivalent to the value of the stolen good/s. Maiming, either through flogging or loss of limb. Baldur's Gate decided to edit this one for the extreme.

Treason: death

Vandalism: imprisonment up to a tenday plus fine - and/or - damages covering the cost of repairs plus up to 100gp

Using magic to influence an official without consent: fine -or -damages up to 1,000gp and edict

Crimes against Citizens

Assaulting a citizen: imprisonment up to a tenday, flogging and damages up to 1,000gp depending on severity

Blackmailing or intimidating a citizen: fine or damages up to 500gp and an edict (presumably in the form of a restraining order)

Burglary: imprisonment up to 3 months and damages equal to the value of the stolen goods plus 500gp

Damaging property or livestock: damages covering the cost of repairs or replacement plus up to 500gp

Disturbing the peace: fine up to 25gp and edict

Murdering a citizen without justification: death - or - hard labour up to 10 years, and damages up to 1,000gp paid to the victim's kin

Murdering a citizen with justification: exile up to 5 years -or- hard labour up to 3 years -or- damages up to 1,000gp paid to the victim's kin

Robbery: hard labour up to 1 month and damages equal to the value of the stolen goods plus 500gp

Slavery: flogging and hard labour up to 10 years

Using magic to influence a citizen without consent: fine -or- damages up to 1,000gp and an edict

Crimes Against the Gods

Assaulting a priest or lay worshipper: imprisonment up to a tenday and damages up to 500gp

Disorderly conduct within a temple: fine up to 5gp and edict

Public blasphemy against a god or church: edict

Theft of temple goods or offerings: imprisonment up to a tenday and damages up to double the cost of the stolen items

Tomb-robbing: imprisonment up to a tenday and damages covering the cost of repairs plus 500gp

"In a polytheistic setting such as this one, it’s important to stand back from any real-life religious views of “absolute good"". - Elminster's Forgotten Realms

"Baldur's Gate has widely adopted a "do no harm" policy when it comes to faiths and organizations operating in the city. Any group is welcome to operate openly so long as the city's important citizens aren't harmed [and as long as they don't disrupt trade]." - Descent into Avernus

"Important citizens" is an interesting distinction. Usually the rule is "so long as citizens - in general - aren't harmed".

A familiar refrain on this blog, which I have already talked about at length, but from a Torilian perspective: just because the god is evil and howling for the blood of the innocent doesn't make their priests criminals for providing it unless they get caught in the act or breach their "understanding" with the government. Evil or Good (or neither), the gods are holy, and to offend any is blasphemy. There are no gods whose worship is illegal in Baldur's Gate, so long as their clergy aren't stupid about it. (Sharrans usually prefer to go underground anyway, because they'd rather preach sedition and do crime than play nice, which will get them outlawed.)

Crimes against the clergy make people nervous, as it is attacking a god, in a way. Still, most crimes against priests fall under either crimes against citizens or crimes against the lords. Generally, high ranking priests are closer to the latter, and lower ranking to the former, though it does depend on the strength and influence of the temple and larger church in the city/region:

"The powerful temples of Faerûn's deities parallel the king's authority. The lowest-ranking acolytes and mendicants are rarely reckoned beneath the station of a well-off merchant, and any cleric or priest in charge of a temple holds power comparable to that of a baronet or lord. The high priests of a faith favoured in a particular land are equal to the highest nobility." - Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting

That said, the clergy are wise not to push their luck too far, as people will risk the wrath of a god if they feel the need to defend themselves, and the law will turn on the temple for disturbing the peace and disrupting trade.

The Gate has four active temples: Tymora, goddess of luck; Umberlee, goddess of the sea; Gond, god of artificers; and - of course - Bhaal, god of murder. The leading priests of each of these - the High; the Wavelord/Wavemistress; the Artificer or High Artificer; and the High Primate/Primistress and the Primate/Primistress - will generally be afforded the kind of treatment and leniency by the law that nobility may expect so as not to offend any gods (though this will not extend so much to the lower ranks of the faith), and of these, Gond's church wields the most power.

As the most recent addition to the four, still in recovery due to their deity being out of commission for a century, the Bhaalists wield the least political power and the existence of their temple is a rumour, however "[the faiths of the Dead Three] still command respect and fear throughout Baldur's Gate." and Bhaal's worship is 'darkly popular.' Also there's a rumour that some important political figure or other is a Bhaalspawn, and it might be the High Primate, but these have always been proven to be smear campaigns.

Beneath these are the other well established faiths, who have shrines (though no temple heads): Ilmater, Lathander, Oghma and Helm.

And then a smattering of every other god on Toril, presumably represented by anything from a handful of priests to one. Also the Banites, who have been doing a fantastic job of climbing the ranks. Couldn't be anything to do with the systemic corruption and tolerance of evil, nah.

Still, clergy will not necessarily bother to take offenders to task and often take offenses against their deity into their own hands. Churches and secular powers tend to have some friction between them, as the government feels that its rules should hold sway while priests consider themselves (and the government) to be beholden to the wills of a higher power that takes precedence over those mere mortals in the High Hall.

Punishments vary according to faith and offense, and may range from placing a quest (gaes) upon the offender, enslaving them to the church, to simply murdering them and discretely disposing of the body. That last one may involve ritual sacrifice unto the deity of the temple, if appropriate. When the offender escapes the temple, the priests may call for the aid of their rural siblings in faith to hunt them down - wandering paladins, the Deathstalkers, etc. Many clergy have some amount of priests that don't stay still.

Churches have their own law enforcement systems. Temple guards are commonly seen, and in larger temples will answer to a paladin. Temples are often home to animals - selected from the deity's holy animals - who serve as security and defence. Certain deities will also have undead bound to the temple's service.

When one of their own ranks is caught breaking a law (say, murder) the priests usually prefer to deal with it themselves. The most common result of getting caught rocking the boat is either for the church to excommunicate the priest, or else for that priest to suddenly, silently be removed from their post and reassigned by the church somewhere else outside of the jurisdiction of the realm with the promise to secular authorities that they will be disciplined, which is accepted. The latter happens "more often than the general public would be pleased to know".

Evil-aligned religions are also held to another set of rules, whose terms are negotiated between the rulers and the church, but generally go thusly:

1) The church owes fealty and service to the government when demanded (assassins, spymasters, mercenaries, whatever) 2) Activities like human sacrifice are to be kept to agreed upon limits: no more than necessary, and the targets must not be "innocents, citizens, or government representatives." - random vagrants and criminals are fine. 3) Clergy must not attempt to overthrow the ruling class, 4) Nor cause too much distress in the general public (people are resigned to the existence of evil and accept and worship the evil deities, but they should not be pushed to the point where daily life is disrupted.) 5) Shrines and temples must be kept out of public view. 6) Keep your identity as a priest and your identity as a citizen separate: the public must not be able to identify you - the Gate has slightly looser restrictions on this, it seems 7) No forced conversions.

#I am screaming internally louder and louder with each piece of information #Also: “There's rumours a political figure - probably the leader of the Bhaalists - is a Bhaalspawn.”#“Nah that's ridiculous. Slander.”#long post #lore stuff

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