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#lost talon au
mossfrg · 11 months
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Talon and (almost) Reverse Robins; aka Lost Talon au
What if Dick was taken by the Court when he was Robin and never rescued?
When Dick’s 15, he starts pulling away from Bruce’s rules more. He goes on solo patrols, fights with Bruce, rinse and repeat. On one of these solo patrols, however, he’s taken by the Court. Bruce, assuming Dick is angry at him, doesn’t immediately check in on him.
But then a day goes by. Then two. Then four. Then Wally and Donna are asking where he is. And that’s when Bruce realizes there’s a problem.
They never find him. Bruce finds Jason about two months after Dick is declared dead. He takes him in and reluctantly trains him to be Robin, carrying on the mantle Dick died for (in the Labyrinth, Dick claws at the walls and begs for his dad to rescue him).
Jason doesn’t die, but he has a close call with Joker; Bruce makes it in time, not willing to loose another son. He gives up the Robin mantle to forge his own path, and Tim steps up in place. Damian follows shortly after. The three boys grow up under the shadow of Dick Grayson, the first sidekick who vanished without a trace. (Dick is 16 when they fully talonize him. He has spotty memories, vague feelings, but he knows that what he is now is wrong.)
It isn’t until (Dick would’ve been 27) Jason is 25, Tim is 22, and Damian is 14 that Bruce gets a lead on the Court. With the aid of Steph, Cass, Babs, and Duke, they infiltrate and take down the court. Jason and Bruce are left with the task of opening the coffins and disposing of the talons. Everything is fine until Bruce opens a coffin, tucked away in a corner.
It’s 18-year-old Dick, grayed skin and black veins. Sharp nails and wings pressed against his sides. When he opens his eyes, thawing out as Bruce stares in shock, they shine an unnatural gold. Babs screams at Bruce over the comms, trying to see if this is real, but Bruce can’t move as Dick’s face morphs into confusion and he speaks, voice low and raspy.
“‘uce? Wh’r ‘m I? ‘S goin on?”
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puppetmaster13u · 4 months
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Prompt 147
“It wasn’t my fault!” 
It really wasn’t. Natural portals open all the time, and it wasn’t like he was the one driving! They were just testing out some new gear in the Zone, and the motorcycle was for Jazz so she needed to know how to use it! 
So really, it’s not his fault they’re stuck in another world until another portal opens, nor is it his fault that they’re getting chased by a bunch of yellow-eyed undead. No Tucker, they aren’t your friends just because they have gold-eyes too- and Sam please don’t ask the plants to stab them, they don’t need ghost gold-eyed creeps after them! 
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precursorgod · 2 years
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all i want is third robin steph and owlmaster tim
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scionheart · 1 year
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Open AU RP || Infiltration
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So it begins. Of course they'd put him on this assignment, he knows exactly where to go and what to do as this area used to be owned by his family. Being split off from his clan of his own accord, this can't help but be personal in more ways than one. The place is teeming with Omnics and Hashimoto, a rival clan who took it over not long after he had left. Reclaiming it is the goal, but not under the name of the Shimada. Instead, reclaiming it under Blackwatch so they have another outpost.
Blackwatch had offered a chance for Hanzo. One he did not turn down. To regain his own foothold at the expense of their resources and of course, his service. Part of him regrets joining. The other part, a solid fire burning inside him for redemption. The desire to regain what he has lost.
Staying hidden behind a wall just outside the gates, a gloved hand caresses the edge. Slowly glancing to peek past the stone a little, two guards stand posted on either side of the entryway. Both Omnic. He recedes back out of sight, standing in thought for a moment. His mind is broken out of it's trance by the soft sound of another approaching his side. His eyes narrow, head turns and he releases a quiet humph.
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His duo has finally arrived.
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sunderwight · 3 months
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thinking about reverse SVSSS AU where the demon characters are human and the human characters are demons (LBH is still both), but cultivation society operates more like MDZS so that the demon characters can preserve their ruthless clan politics and inheritance systems, and but demon society (which the formerly human characters are now part of) operates more like the ghosts in TGCF, where it's mostly a free-for-all of powerful demons establishing whatever kind of system they please in whatever space they can carve out. I think that'd preserve the meritocracy elements and "twelve different sects in a trench coat" qualities that cang qiong has as an organization.
so the peaks are instead these sort of liminal space cities which are ruled by the most powerful/influential demons, who choose their successors (at least ostensibly) based purely on talent and ability. instead of the sprawling alternate dimension demonic realms of PIDW, they're more like pocket dimensions which can only be accessed if you know the secret ways, existing in the shadows of otherwise seemingly normal towns, mountains, cities, forests, etc. humans sometimes wander into them by mistake, although whether they can get back out again or not depends a lot on which demon lord's domain they were unlucky enough to stumble upon.
Mobei Jun and Sha Hualing are still the heirs of their respective sects/clans, which are among the most powerful sects around. The CQMS peak lords are the rulers of twelve allied demon settlements. Tianlang Jun was the heir of the strongest sect, sort of like Wen Ruohan if Wen Ruohan's biggest motivation was to have his Hot Girl Summer rather than conquering everything, but after his and Zhuzhi Lang's disappearances their sect lost a lot of clout. Su Xiyan hailed from a wealthy demon phantom palace, known for its exceptional hostility towards humans (this version of HHP definitely literally eats people).
The demons-turned-humans are still exactly as cutthroat and dubious as in PIDW. Sha Hualing still wants to kill her father to take his position, Mobei Jun's uncle still tries to assassinate him, the cultivation world has an underground business in trafficking demon body parts (officially decried, but unofficially often consumed to help boost cultivation or create certain tools), the sects often go to war with one another and tend to wreak havoc on the secular human governments and societies whenever they do. All that sort of stuff.
On the humans-turned-demons end, demons in this setting are sometimes born the same way as humans -- two parents of compatible genital orientation get it on and some months later etc etc, which is how siblings like Liu Qingge and Liu Mingyan happen. But sometimes demons also just sort of manifest out of concentrated pockets of demonic energy. Some demons come from humans (SJ and YQY were both born from the unquiet ghosts of slave children), some come from animals (SQH was a pet hamster who was tormented enough to become a demon hamster, and then cultivated enough to take on a human shape), some come from collisions of powerful elemental forces such as volcanoes or floods (Su Xiyan).
So demons have a lot of apprenticeship and teacher-and-student style familial relationships, and demons looking to build families often will risk venturing out into the human realms and trying to find other isolated demons to bring into their fold. Demons alone in the human world are highly vulnerable to being hunted, killed, or enslaved. This is also why there's such a high percentage of "orphans", and contributes even more to a demon like SJ (no parents) resenting a demon like Luo Binghe (found and adopted by a kindly older demon almost right away).
So in the original PIDW, Luo Binghe is a kid who thinks he's a demon and grows up under the cruel and resentful talons of the Lord of Qing Jing, Shen Qingqiu. Every twenty or so years the demon settlements manifest much more strongly in the human realms, during which time they are a lot more vulnerable to attacks from humans. To help deal with this this, the demon rulers traditionally host big, dramatic, scary events that bring everyone within a certain geographic range together, the better to put any righteous sects off the idea of trying to single them out and attack. Most of the smaller settlements clear out entirely in preparation, leaving "ghost towns" where the buildings appear but the demons and anything too valuable to risk leaving behind are all gone.
This Demonic Alliance Conference is a time for contests, trials, matchmaking, partying, festive hunts, trading, and big displays of power. What could be a massive weakness instead becomes a big celebration, and a time for mingling and making new connections.
In PIDW, after suffering years of abuse at the hands of his cruel master, Luo Binghe attends the DAC in hopes of securing some better place for himself in demonic society. But when the righteous sects launch an unprecedented attack on the event, his human heritage is revealed, and Shen Qingqiu tosses him into the twilight space between realms in disgust. Binghe is forced to navigate the hollow and desolate place, locked into his newly-revealed and very weak human form, until he bonds with the legendary Xin Mo blade and effects his escape. Then he sets about bringing the righteous sects to heel (his bloodline means he's heir to one of the biggest sects around, even if they've fallen on hard times the past 20 or so years) and of course conquering the demon realms, and taking revenge on Shen Qingqiu, all while accumulating a record number of wives.
Shen Yuan transmigrates into Demon Lord Shen Qingqiu, ruler of Qing Jin settlement, a haunted bamboo forest in the most cursed mountain range ever.
Downsides -- he's of course destined to be dismembered and/or shoved into a pickle pot by the protagonist.
Upsides -- he's a demon with amazingly awesome demon traits! He has talons! Fangs! WINGS! Also, Binghe is a little demon bun and he is so cute, like a puppy with his fluffy wolf ears and baby claws and darling bright red eyes. Who could ever persecute such an adorable monster boy?! His tail literally wags when he's excited!
Plus Shen Yuan gets to spend as much time investigating cool beasts and other demons as he likes. He's in heaven. Well, not literally of course, but for his standards. Pretty close. Almost worth the price of admission!
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tarjapearce · 4 months
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Iridiscent (Pt. 4)
Pirate AU! Miguel O'Hara x Mermaid! Reader
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WARNING: Angst, mentions of violence, graphic depictions of violence, mild gore, political implications, character origins, character backgrounds, introduction of character, Greek mythology mentions.
Summary: The aftermath of a mermaid encounter brings an unexpected ally.
A/N: Pirate Miggy is back ❤️
Previous
Mermaids, sea witches, sirens, sea monsters. The latter was the most accurate name for what your mere existence rendered. And now, men eater.
Existing since way before humans understood the concept of civilizations, silent watchers of eons of evolution, yet unfortunate by the simple fact of being.
The permanence of the kin itself was a result of a fateful domino effect the God of the dead had unleashed by being invaded and bewitched by a mortal feeling. Love.
His whim had turned into obsession and this somehow morphed into love. A feeling so strong that made him kidnap the Spring goddess for himself, tired of the miserable companion solitude was in the underworld. And that was the moment everything changed.
The nymphs in charge of their queen's safety were turned into winged beings, as a punishment from none other than Demeter. Her wrath over them, ruthless and merciless as they were forced to look everywhere for their vanishing queen to no avail.
Some of the nymphs had escaped the aftermath to a recluse island, abandoning all purpose of finding Persephone, to follow the whims of their hearts in lieu. Singing and music.
But even so, Demeter's fury had no match, vengeful and blinded by anger she looked for the rebel ones to kill them, but these hid in the sea. Eventually, the feathers hardened, turning into scales. These etched and covered their legs. Securing them in a colorful long tail.
Bird's talons turned into beautiful and deadly hands, that once a prey was caught there was nothing it could do but to accept it's fate. Death.
Damned be Hades and his stupid obsession. Damned be Demeter and her blinding rage, and damned be the men that polluted the earth above with their existing and constant evolving.
Men. The real wretched creatures. The executioners of everything they decided unworthy of living. Stupid beings that played God in a self imposed role in  life's hierarchy.
Creatures that had hunted and killed your kin for ages, forcing to separate and face new dangers at every turn in the endless ocean. Humans, a little too praising title considering their acts and actions were everything but, had forced you to hide in the deepest waters and forbidden lands not many were brave enough to venture in.
A couple of centuries were more than enough for you to have a glimpse of their nature. Destructive, dangerous and merciless. They sullied and tarnished everything unfortunate enough to go under their hands.
They killed everything unknown or deemed too frightening for their existence and had no mercy while at it. The bloodier the better. A disgusting yet necessary example of behavior you had to follow in order to survive.
Humans had shaped your temper. Heart rejoicing at every sunken ship the sea swallowed. Even their flesh had lost the sizzle to be enjoyable enough, making your feeding habits more inclined towards other creatures within the sea.
You didn't eat men because you hated them. You ate them because their hatred had poisoned enough the seas, leaving you without resources, pushing you to consume them. And your refusal had made your body weak, it had been years since your body felt properly satisfied.
You collapsed.
How many days had passed, certainly was unknown. Time under the sea was measured by how long it took for a reef to go completely white, how often the ships let their nets in a single spot. Sometimes you remained on land, sea too dangerous to venture alone.
But none of that mattered anymore. Inanition wasn't exclusive of humans, the last thing in your mind was to curse Hades and the men.
But death escaped and picked you and others alike within a net. Pushing some survival instinct back in you as the net wriggled and broke. Injecting the right amount of life to hand you a buffet in a wooden platter. Gathering your bearings after the little commotion in your head, was quickly overlooked when the attention focused on the scene unfolding.
A ship full of men, that stared in wonder and fear. One of them stood out from the rest. It reminded you of Hercules. His physique unique, just as his eyes. A fine specimen and surely a delicious one. Their language was unknown, but it became clear the moment you kissed the fool before your apparent naive form. Absorbing his knowledge and a little more in that simple gesture. Which was little.
But enough to understand what the men said and whispered around you.
Foul and salty smelling, with a faint tinge of wine. He tasted sour and ashy, but edible enough to sate your rampant huger. You wanted to go for the herculean man in shackles, his scent rich in leather, voice like a soft and firm caress in the back of one's head. His cinnamon toned skin made your mouth water.
You were about to move for him, but Elliot, the idiot infront and your hunger kept you in place. You knew your initial prey would fight and would waste the little reserve of strength you had left. He was no fool.
As moronic as the man on your way  was, he'd save his purpose. The prey was subdued, flesh and bones devoured; bland and tasteless, but well welcomed within your body. Revitalizing energies and restocking the strength you had been lacking for a time.
Expected as it was, they attacked, all by the command of the shackled man, that had dared to injure you with a bullet. But you were too frenzied and hungry to care. Your meal hung in your maws, as you fought to get it off the ship.
Your Hercules watched in horror from afar, and never in your life had you felt more realized and satisfied to provoke such disturbing reaction in a man.
You could almost taste the fear behind his raged and shaky breathing, his shock in every powerful beat his heart did, the denial in his eyes as they widened the more your teeth sank into the corpse. It fueled you. And also ignited with new strength the already flickering purpose of your existence.
Destroy as many of them as possible.
You went under the ship, away from their archaical defense to eat and consume your food. Humans weren't definitely on the top, for a moment the hunter became the prey and didn't survive to brag about his new kill.
Skin and flesh was torn, consumed with such hunger it had you full and completely sated like never before, within matter of minutes. Elliot Jackdaw no longer existed, but served as a reminder that your kin prevailed and endured.
But also, had unleashed a new domino effect you weren't aware of.
The man in shackles, your forsaken greek god, was thrown at the sea. Your territory. You saw him move, fight against the current; trying to free himself from the heavy cuffs that weighed him down and reach back to the ship. And then nothing.
He became still and it made you frown. Where that bravado had gone? The smirk that was about to emerge in your lips faded as soon as a red cloud oozed and swallowed his head.
His scent was too rich and alluring, stagnant almost. Sickly sweet for your senses and he wasn't moving.
If you recalled, he was called a captain. What was a captain doing out of his ship drowning in the sea? Your lip twitched in scowl.
The lack of loyalty among his kindred was another reason to hate them. He wasn't the first nor the last you had saved in these conditions. Mostly women or little children that were expelled without much reasons other than being a burden.
As much as you cursed your heart for not turning its back to these sort of injustices, and your need to have a tiny taste of him, you hauled him up shore. Light as a feather in water, but heavy as lead on land. The heavy iron around his wrist didn't help, so you destroyed it, inflicting little cuts around his flesh in the process.
Ancient eyes scrutinized his form. Sharp cheekbones that could only match a sword. Strong features that screamed fighter in every direction you looked. A jagged and nasty cut on a side of his head, some strands obscuring his face, you removed them and some bloodied debris from his wound, inspecting it.
Not a too deep cut, the contusion of his head against the moving ship had been rough. A single cut in the upper right cheekbone, clothes clung to him like a second skin. His pockets however were too tempting to be left alone.
Sand and water on them, along a shiny pearl that had you staring and sniffing at the trinket for a close inspection, that didn't pay attention to the locket nesting deeper inside. The pearl was true, so you took it as it quickly etched to your skin, under the ribcage as a decor motif of the raggy top you used to cover your chest.
He'd surely serve as one of Aphrodite's lovers. His forearms laced in tiny and fading scars, that also loitered his solid and somewhat hairy chest. A man through and through. A natural enemy of yours, yet you had saved him.
Probably, he would hunt you too, like the scarce quantity of men you had pulled out of danger. The pearl was a token for saving his life.
You could kill him, filling your tabs with another number, but it wouldn't be honorable. Even if you were a different species, you refused to let some of their habits to rub on you. You opposed greatly to be like them, and so with a look that would suppose to be a final one back at him, you dipped back into the sea.
----
He was on land. Alive, heart beating along every single erratic breath. The sea waves washed over his hips, not cold neither lukewarm. Just the ideal temperature for the humid weather
I'm alive.
His mind couldn't comprehend what had happened. One moment he was in the sea, to then hurl himself back up and puke all the salty water his body had unwillingly ingested.
Miguel was dizzy, but alive. Beaten up, but still breathing. Pissed and ever ready to get his treasure back. But he had to recover some energies first.
Sighing and rising slowly, he turned around to kneel in the moist sand. Tiny grains of it etched to his moist skin, they were rough, altering his sensorial touch for a second. Feet finally got the strength to stand up, careful to not let the nauseas get to his head entirely. Skin burned, but he could bear the discomfort, what Miguel truly needed was a big gulp of water.
He remembered the sun being high on the sky, blazing with all it's glory and witnessing his crew marooning him for good. And now it was night. Somehow thankful that he didn't have to deal with the weather's inclemencies. Step by wobbly step he approached to the thickets and palms rooted in the soil, dressing up modestly the land he walked on.
As another wave of nauseas hit while his head pounded, Miguel stopped to rest in a nearby palm. Calloused hand cupping and covering his mouth to prevent the bile and vomit to spill out once more. Dehydrated as he was, Miguel also understood the dangers of drinking too much salty water.
If dehydration didn't kill him, puking too much without having any other resources on reach would. But none of his survival could be done with the unbridled headache that hammered in his head. A side of it was caked in dry blood, like some strands of his already matted and full of sand hair.
With careful steps he ventured in deeper into the jungle, looking for a spot to spent the night away from land's troubles. The island wasn't familiar for him, he didn't even know if it was big enough to harbor sustainable life, or if ships would pass nearby. With a gasp and a frantic move, he palmed his pockets.
Mierda, no! No
Panic rose upon not feeling the pearl, the sudden motion made his steps stutter as he puked, unable to hold it in anymore. But once he was done and wiped his mouth with the back of his arm, he searched into them.
Por favor
The pearl was gone, that was for sure, but relief washed over him upon feeling the fine golden chain of the locket. Hand clasped on it while he brought it to his chest and sighed.
He nearly gave up.
Heart pounding in his ears along his head, and only when he opened the locket, the tears flowed. Calloused fingers full of sandy grains probed the valuable mineral, feeling the dents of the shell shape he knew by heart at this point. Eyes drowning and his voice muffled into a silent and wrathful sob as he inhaled the trinket.
Perdóname, Gabi. (Forgive me)
A faint tickle of fresh home bread, coconut oil that he used to fry the fish, and the eucalyptus ointment that was always next to him brought back the bittersweet memories that flooded his mind about the last years he had with Gabriella. She adored when he cooked, and always smelled his fingers after using the oil.
It reminds me of you, Papa.
She loved freshly baked bread. But hated the smell of the eucalyptus ointment the doctor left her.
The only memento he now had of his beloved and long gone daughter. The only thing that mattered the most for him.
How dared them betraying him when he had been everything but fair and good?
How dared them into taking his ship and some important things he had hid inside? But most importantly, how dared life to show him that mermaids were real when the reason he believed in them in the first place was no longer with him?
Who was he supposed to tell that he saw a mermaid?
A karma for turning into a pirate, maybe. All his mind was able to remember was the way the creature looked at him, a clear assessment of her power. Fear invaded every fiber of his being, making him too stunned to actually think or act until he saw the creature devouring Elliot.
Another reason for him to respect the sea. Now that he had a glimpse of what laid underneath, Miguel wondered what other things crawled in it's depths. But he would think about it all tomorrow.
His eyes drooped in exhaustion. Thinking consumed the last bit of his energy reserves. Despite the thirst clawing at his throat with a vice grip, the headache and weariness were greater. Even though a thicket wasn't the right choice to spend the night, he hadn't the time nor the energies to be picky. He just collapsed once more and hoped whoever above to live another day.
----
The sunlight was slippery enough to leak through the dense foliage and reach patches of the humid and moss textured land, as well parts of his weathered face. With a wince he rolled to his side, avoiding the aurifeous and warm touch from the ever blazing sun.  Head clear from it's pain, and thoughts in order, like it should be.
With a sigh he rose and stretched, popping joints back in their place. Discomfort remaining in his head and wrists, that upon further examination he deducted the cuts in them were fresh, and undoubtedly someone had saved him from a certain death. Who, he didn't know but was grateful for the mysterious savior to let his revenge start.
With a rested yet hungry body, and a fresh head to think, he rolled his shoulders back and took a look around. Surveying his environment to decide which way to go. No weapons, no resources but packed with skills that were honed precisely for these sort of situations.
He still remembered the first time Mundaca had left him in an island with a single knife to fend for himself, since Miguel refused to accompany him in a slave hunting trip. At first he thought that Mundaca had left him for good or out of spite, but Fermín had only taught him a valuable surviving lesson. This time however, he didn't have that knife and would rely only on his hands, brain and brawns.
Naturally, Miguel headed for the north, palm trees left behind, instead acai palms, rubber trees and soursops begun gathering in the place. The scent of wet soil and rotting wood was pungent in the air, oddly, he liked it. Macaws and other birds cackled and cawed as he pushed deeper along some distant rustling.
The overgrown roots twisted and tangled here and there, weaving a walkable path free of them to his right, His eyes darted to the tail of a cobra slithering away from him, minding it's business.
The copious squaking of the birds was a good white noise along the crunching of his wet boots. His throat was beyond arid, that even spit couldn't form in it if he wished; stomach rumbled violently, begging him for some food. Breathings paused but deep.
Hours stretched for what seemed forever, he didn't know if he was walking in circles, the island was definitely not small. He had found some fruit trees along the way, but the things were so our of reach, that attempting to climb for them was a risk. He'd knew the wait would worth it.
Ears however perked at the gunshot given in the distance. Eyes widened, both in surprise and excitement at the thought that civilization was within. Cause that meant, food and water. And also weapons. And what a better way to confirm it than a booming gunshot that spooked away the nearby fawn.
With careful steps, he followed the echo, making the least of noise possible. As much as it thrilled to have a bite, he also understood the implications of such things. Armored men, guarded bodegas, overpowered foremen and probably slaves.
Time flew by, but his spirits lifted upon spotting the first red uniforms in a distance. Two of them. He approached closer to take a better look.
The soldiers had a rifle each, a belt full of ammo and firing at what were now dead slaves as shooting dummies. To his right, Miguel saw a few tents and supplies. Food and water tossed in a nearby bench, a fire was alight, serving as a cooking source for the pot placed above. His eyes however fell upon a machete. Probably belonging to one of the dead men tied up in the wooden posts.
After all, working tools had to be in perfect conditions, leaving no room for slacking off.
Miguel forayed slowly, moving within the foliage until he reached for the machete, with paced breathings he awaited for another shot to rumble to pull the weapon within his reach. The metallic drag was drowned. He couldn't eat until the men were disposed off.
Now that he was armored, a distraction was needed. The branches used for the iron's pot makeshift support were weak, the stew inside boiled. Miguel pushed the tip of the machete on the pot's edge, a little clink connected as the pot was pushed forward, but it barely tumbled it. He awaited for another gunshot to echo to push the pot entirely on the ground.
The lard immediately sent sparks on the floor as smoke surrounded the area. The noisy thud of the pot alarmed one of the guards that didn't waste time into blaming his companion for the shitty structure and how they'd have to go fishing again to get food done.
A little too late the guard noticed the fiery red eyes that glowered at him. Before he could even say something the sharp blade of the machete sliced through this throat in a firm thrust, all the guard could do was a gurgle, perturbed, before plummeting on the floor, staining the blade with a warm crimson as Miguel pulled it out of the body. Flesh sizzling at the contact of the hot coals and wood.
He took a rock that filled in his palm and aimed it for the head of the remaining guard, the other soldier yelped as he fell on the ground, the rock hitting his head with a lurid crack. Miguel lurched for him to end his misery by impaling the weapon in his back. Right in the middle. It was quick, deathly and effective.
Miguel panted but waited in case  another guard was around, but none approached, just the wing flapping of a macaw somewhere. With the machete in  hand he approached to the tent and wasted no time in gobbling down the water in a container, quenching his thirst, not really caring for the droplets that rolled down his neck.
His hands then wiped his face as he scrubbed the caked blood and sand away, then scarfed down the leftovers left in a plate and devoured anything within reach that was cooked or preserved, Adia probably would scold him for eating like an animal, despite being starving.
Once he was satisfied and his strength back, he looked for other weapons he could use. As much as the machete proved a worthy aid, it was long and it made noise. The opposite of what he needed.
The Red Eyed Demon searched into the soldier's pockets, a couple of coins, bullets and gold teeth that seemed freshly pulled out of the bodies in the back. He took the bullets and left the rest, he also found a short ranged pistol, a combat knife and a rope.
Also, to his luck, some fresh clothes. As much as he was set into his vengeance he wouldn't waste the chance into being comfortable while at it. His boots were soiled full of sand and saline water, he changed them, like his pants. The shirt was the only thing he kept since none of the men actually wore his size.
Ridiculous as it was, one of the soldiers had abnormally larger feet. But were perfect for him. Pants still a bit too short but he'd had them any other day instead of walking around feeling uncomfortable and itchy by the salt etched to his skin and clothes.
He ventured deeper only to find a familiar scene before him. A state. Hacienda Valverde read in the overly embellished metal structure that held the sign.
----
So far, Miguel had done a good job in keeping himself hid, the least of attention he attracted, the more successful his escape plan would be. So far he had counted around fifteen soldiers in the property. Five of them scattered through the plantations, making sure the workforce didn't dally in their duties.
He ventured over the trees, avoiding unnecessary trouble, to then land nearly quietly in a mountain of hay. His breathings stopped at every time an unsuspected guard passed by him. Heart pounded in his ears when his steps brought him closer and closer to danger
The rest of the guards were scattered through the property, watching over the stables, the main storage room, inside the hacienda and of course, watching over the supply.
He had snuck in the warehouse, to his surprise the cells were empty, he went through each of them to see if anything worthy had been left behind, but the sound of the lock being picked made him hide behind a couple of haystacks.
"Stop, Stop!" A groan came from a wriggling man, "I told you the truth! Let me go!"
Miguel couldn't see who was the prisoner, peeking out would be too risky, but the lack of accent, gave him a hint. An American.
The man grunted as he kicked, managed to land a punch or two to the guards that only twisted his shackled hands backwards. This made the man whine and curse, blind hot pain shot in his ribcage as another soldier hit him with the base of his rifle.
"Shut your fucking gob!" With a rough shove, the fighting man was thrown into the cell, the enclosure's door stilled with a loud creak as the main door was slammed shut.
The only noises the pirate could hear was the pained grunts that only increased when the prisoner tried to pick himself up from the floor, and the shaky huffing that turned into whiny whimpers when he managed to recover some air.
The day was set to surprise him, cause in his life he had seen a white man being thrown in a slave cell. Until now.
The man was tall, lean muscle in his body, a five o'clock stubble in his narrow cheeks and blue eyes. Hair hapzardly peeking ontop of his head.
"Fuck..." He groaned but recoiled in his cell even further upon seeing the shade of red glinting at him behind the haystacks. Pain screamed in every breathing he did, but that didn't stop him from trying to get himself free.
"H-Hey"
The man's eyes widened as soon as Miguel came into full view. He had to crane his head upwards to meet his eyes and gulped as soon as he realized the color in the behemoth of a man. Breaths shallow but less erratic than before now that he knew he had company.
"Please. Help me out of here, pal"
He was definitely American.
"And why would I do that?"
Miguel’s bushy brow quirked while taking another look through the warehouse, searching for alternative escape routes.
"Cause my wife just gave birth and I wanna meet my little girl."
A red stare seized the blue one. His unwavering, but the man's rivalled against it. Miguel broke contact as his hands fisted briefly. The prisoner's chest heaved whole he rubbed the area he was hit on.
Lucky bastard
"I was supposed to arrive last week but I was taken from the ship."
"Why?"
Miguel looked through the haystacks and other corners he didn't have the chance to search thoroughly.
"That's what I'd like to know!" The man sat against the lateral bars and winced defeated, watching at the moving man.
"I was a merchant, on a trip to improve a little familiar business I have, but Nueva York isn't precisely friendly with the working class." He paused to take some air the hit had taken away, "So I came back. And that's where the english trapped me." His forehead rested ontop of his scrapped and bloodied knuckles. The spark that gave him a beating and his imprisonment.
"The English are press ganging civilians at sea."
Miguel's lip twitched in a scowl upon hearing the news. Of course they would, Americans and English were too deep in political wars that could barely stand eachother. But in the sea, the English were the masters and none was there to stop them. More like he wasn't there to sink as many of them as possible.
Yet.
"How old is your daughter?"
The pirate asked above his shoulder and this made the gaoler to look up.
"Three weeks old. According to my wife's last letter."
Miguel's shoulder slumped, and he turned to look at the man. A little hesitation passed over his eyes, but it vanished as soon as he saw an old acquaintance of him. Hope. Red eyes rolled annoyed, as if regretting the sudden decision he was about to make.
"Do you know how to use a weapon?"
The question surely threw the man off, but still managed to reply
"Y-Yeah. Not fond of them, but yeah."
"Fight?"
"Not a complete useless if that's what you're hinting at."
Miguel chuckled and approached closer to the cell, examining the lock while the detainee put on his pair of boots.
"Gimme a wire and I'll get myself out of here."
Miguel instead took a nearby shovel to destroy the lock in a couple of hits. The metal piece clanking on the floor as it fell.
"O-Or you could do that. Yeah."
The man stood on his feet and stretched before offering his hand to him, Miguel just stared at him for a moment before taking his hand in a firm shake. Peter hid a wince at the sheer display of strength and that he had grabbed his injured hand.
"Peter B. Parker. Merchant and lock master."
"Miguel O'Hara. Pirate."
Peter could only blink stupidly at him.
"Let's go."
But followed him without much thought.
-----
Taglist:
@nerdykat @munixumai @raiirai @sarapaprikas-blog @deputy-videogamer @rizahawkeye1380 @littlenyx @marit332 @iz-iplier @mad-hatter-rici @viriexo @obi-mom-kenobi @allysunny @lishdfish @not-ur-average-fangirl @freehentai @darksidecorner @winteringfalls @ellasarich @eustashh @nyxismoon @murnsondock @pluviophilis @oooof-ifellforyou @plusultrayokai @teacoffeeflavored @ctizu1 @dickfartcheesy @s0lm1n @vonev @iwumrndbm @azuredragonstrike @Iyykeyyy @arrozyfrijoles23 @frompeach @ghostlyworld @liamdasimp @straw-berry-ghoul
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audhd-nightwing · 2 months
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the eldritch Guardians of gotham notice batman when he first emerges- they see how he protects their city, so they gift him the abilities of a bat: wings, night vision, enhanced senses, fangs
bruce wayne becomes a shut-in after his parents die. then he travels the world only to come back the same old shut-in. he works from home, and doesn’t leave the manor. every window is covered. only lucius fox and alfred pennyworth ever enter or leave the house
one night the bat follows sirens to a circus tent, and he watches as a young boy is escorted out, crying for his parents. the next day alfred pennyworth shows up at gotham’s social services and requests to become a foster parent. a month later (money might speed the process along) dick grayson is out of juvie and the orphanage and into the safety of wayne manor
bruce tries to hide his wings when the boy arrives, but dick is fascinated by them and thinks they’re “awesome”. bruce explains how he got them, and that he is batman.
later, when batman gains a partner- robin- the Guardians of gotham bless the boy with gifts similar to his mentor: robin wings, enhanced senses, and nails that sharpen into talons
dick grayson becomes a shut-in like bruce, and is home-schooled by alfred. he doesn’t mind, he didn’t have friends his age in the circus either, and alfred and bruce are good company. bruce does let him get pets, though, a three-legged puppy he names Haley and a bloodhound named Ace
when he grows out of robin and away from gotham, the Guardians give him different wings (steller’s jay) to show they support his independence. he lives at titans tower for a while before moving to blüdhaven with his best friend donna troy. dick remains a shut-in, but takes online college courses and goes out often as a new hero- nightwing. he goes out in the mask during the day, something he never did in gotham, and spends most of his time as nightwing- not that he minds. (troia is only his nighttime vigilante partner since donna has an actual day job)
the cycle repeats with jason. however, when jason claws his way out of his grave, the Guardians guide him back to the manor where bruce finds him. when it seems like jason may never recover from his comatose state, the Guardians show bruce a lazarus pit beneath gotham, and despite his hesitation they assure him no harm will come to jason if they have a say in it
jason is revived without the nasty side effects (thanks, eldritch beings) and dick moves back to gotham. jason also leaves robin behind for a different name- red hood- and is gifted new wings (cardinal). in this au the bats & birds are more morally grey and will kill people, but only the worst of the worst/repeat offenders. jason still becomes a crime lord but he only kills when necessary and has no pit madness.
dick and jason notice their young neighbor tim drake is often home alone/without his parents and convince bruce to let him in on their secret and have him stay over at the manor. bruce eventually agrees and they later adopt tim. tim never becomes robin but he does know about their vigilante identities (og way- recognized dick as robin and connected the dots).
tim will help out on comms and basically this au’s Oracle. babs does not become a vigilante in this, instead she becomes a lawyer, but she is still paralyzed by the joker as a civilian (pre-jason’s death, bc bruce kills the joker after that)
steph works with the bats as Spoiler, and is eventually let it on their identities. she and tim bond over being the only ‘normal’ ones
when cass comes along, she is gifted the same powers as bruce, including bat wings. she goes by Black Bat and mostly communicates using sign language
bruce is never lost in time and damian eventually arrives in gotham. damian is given robin and the gifts that accompany it
since duke already has powers, the Guardians don’t give him any, but they protect him as their own
JUST. CRYPTID BATFAMILY <3
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charismabee · 4 months
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I like STP swap aus in theory but I find how I've seen people do them a little strange (not bad tho they're still cool n stuff and I like them very much)
Like they're just... making the princess bird shaped without actually examining what swapping the Shifting Mound and Long Quiet's role in the narrative would mean. (Not meant to be negative)
Let's take the Narrator for example. In Slay the Princess he wants to kill the Princess because he wants to stop death forever. But the Long Quiet isn't death, he's stillness, lack of change. This completely changes the Narrator's core motivation. It can work though. Maybe he's in a world that has stagnated, no change, no innovation. It feels like rot, so he decided he had to find a way to be rid of it. Or maybe some other explanation. This would change his core world view, what he might consider a good end, how he acts a bit, lots of things.
Speaking of the good end, that's definitely not going to be an eternity of stagnant bliss, we literally just killed the personanification of stagnation. You could think around that too. Remember I the stranger route when everything was happening at once and it was the same as nothing happening? Maybe that happens. Without stillness the Princess is met with a barrage of constant change and stimulation, everything happening at once. The Princess could realise it is Nothing as much as it is Everything and that gets her out of it.
The Long quiet would be interesting too, because he doesn't change, it isn't in his nature to. Instead, he fractures. Perhaps instead of finding his multitudes you are shattering him. Breaking off parts of him so he can see them from the outside and know them. Once enough pieces of him have been broken off he will shatter completely and finally be able to see all of him, would talons pick up his broken pieces, would wings made of textured nothingness wrap around them and embrace them tightly? Would he reside on a hill of squirming hands or bodies, lost in the centre of the shifting mound?
Perhaps without a need for agency, or someone to make a decision the Voices would just exist as their own thing. First one that claims to be a Hero, who claims to have agency in their story (a part of reflected in her, the Long Quiet does not need to shatter to be able to see him), quickly joined by a Paranoid and terrified victim, an Opportunist Scammer, a Stubborn opponent. Different, but not changed. Not the one person molded into another.
Even the construct itself would be changed by who it is created to kill. Perhaps when the Princess first arrives on the path in the woods it is autumn, a sign of the seasons changing, there is life and death and nature and cycles, but on that 3rd Chapter, it is summer. The leaves are green and waxy, everything is preserved in a completely silent stillness. Maybe there is a horror in that no matter how you get there those silent woods are always the same, unchanging.
Unlike the Long Quiet, the Shifting Mound does change. She is naturally malleable. She has no need for voices because whatever action you take becomes what she would have always done. Perhaps her body changes, giving her new advantages, the body of a vicious Beast stalks towards the cabin, hunger tinting your choices through a cabin twisted to suit her needs. A goddess glides towards her temple, willing it to be large enough to fit her. A dainty Princess hurries to find her Prince charming in a fairytale cabin. The land twists under her will, whether she realises that or not, only giving resistance when too close to the 'monster' kept down there. She is change, it is only natural she causes it.
Even stuff like how to get rid of him would change, because can you actually kill the absence of something? The natural state of things before they shift? The shifting mound is motion and for everything to be in motion all the time means nothing can ever really happen at all. There is no fulfilment in anything you do if your opinion on what to do changes every moment you exist. Perhaps to truly 'kill' him she needs to make him smaller, change what cannot be changed to make the stillness that will be broken, the things to be changed. Perhaps he will break them out of there and thank her. Perhaps without a way to know himself he slowly fades into a nothingness, trapped in an eternity of stagnation that change herself refused to save him from.
It is still a love story, he is naturally inclined to help her, she will always love him, but things have changed.
Anyway this is just a dumb little ramble because I was thinking and it's nearly 3am so this is probably nonsense anyway. I do really like swap ideas they're interesting and stuff <3
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cryptidclaw · 7 months
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Fogtalon!
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Design Notes:
pretty much just a redraw of my last design for her, only change is that she has two blind eyes caused by different things!
Character Bio:
Fogtalon
(White-eye/One-eye)
Lesbian; Molly; she/her
Age as of 1st arc's beginning: 12 cycles, 3 moons; ~65 Hyrs
Age as of 1st arc's end: 14 cycles, 1 moon; ~72 Hyrs
Title meaning: -talon = a cat who is very skilled in battle; they fight ferociously with their claws
Warrior -> Guard Charge -> Elder of Thunder Order
Mother: Harepounce
Father: Stagleap
Siblings: Specklesnap
Mate: Leopardfoot
Kits (donor: Sparrowpelt): Mousebite; Birdflight
Grandkits:  Sandstorm; Flint; Poppy
Other notable kin: Squirrelflight (grandkit); Leafpool (grandkit); Foxleap (grandkit); Icecloud (grandkit)
Character Summary:
As a kit Fogtalon contracted a horrible eye infection in one eye which left it permanently blind and cloudy. this didnt stop her from becoming one of the best warriors of the Order in her time. She even raised to the rank of Guard Charge before she retired.
Fogtalon's other eye was lost in battle but she was already close to retirement at the time so she chose to just fully retire. "Look i know I COULD still be a better warrior than most of you even if I cant see shit, but im fuckin old and tired so im retiring." - Fogtalon probably
Fogtalon had her first kit, Mousebite, with her good friend Sparrowpelt. They aren't mates, they just both wanted kits!
Fog later became mates with Leopardfoot after Star Pineheart left the Order. Fog decided to have a second litter after this with Sparrow as the sire again, this time however Leopard raised the resulting kit (Birdflight) alongside them!
Fog has a similar personality to Mousebite, they are both tough snarky ladies <3
Fog and Leopard retired to the elders den together and are two of the elders during TPB!
...
[Image ID: a digital drawing of Fogtalon an AU version of One-eye/White-eye from warrior cats. She is sitting with her left side showing and she is smiling with an amused expression on her face. She is a short furred light gray-blue ticked tabby molly with one missing eye and one cloudy white and yellow eye. She is mostly a light gray blue with darker gray blue stripes on her legs, tail and face. She has white on her muzzle, paws, chest and tail tip. She has tears in her ears, claw mark scars over her right eye which is an empty socket, and she has a few scars on the rest of her body. Her inner ears, nose and scars are all light pink./End ID]
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celaenaeiln · 5 months
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Hi, do you have any recommendations for Dick and Slade fics where their relationship is explored? It doesn't matter if it's a pairing or not. P.S.: I really love your posts
Thank you!!
And boy do I have them! All of these are my favorites. They're fics I specifically saved separately because I loved them. I hope you do too!
FAVORITE!! The thrill I get when I read this. The high. It's almost incomparable. Sladick in cyberspace. I don't even like cyber punk but I loved this fic - Gray Area
FAVORITE!! I talked about this one before but it's the perfect fic for apprentice Sladick. Read it so many times, I can't get enough of it. - Nightwing Protocol
FAVORITE!! This is one of my comfort fics, I love the whole collections so much. Slade and Dick get married and run off to the Maldives - I Guess Time Will Tell What the Come Down is Like
Slade comes for his Talon. That's his Dick Grayson dammit - Reclaiming an Owl
Favorite! I hope you don't mind but I'm sneaking in this Tiger/Dick fic forgive mee. Tiger's infuriatingly attracted to Dick's lips - Soft lips
FAVORITE!! Jedi Dick meets Sith Slade. And their relationship is always the same - Breathe With Confidence
Slade and Dick are soulmates much to the displeasure of Joey and the happiness of Rose - family in any form
Slade is a god of war and Dick is the demigod of shadows. They meet on the battlefield - Echoes of the Battlefield
Dick is a bartender. And Slade doesn't have identification - The Barkeeper
FAVORITE!! Dick is Aphrodite and Slade is Ares but Dick is a terrifying figure when spurned - Contradiction
FAVORITE!! Dick is Persephone and Slade is Hades and the story fits perfectly - When September Ends
FAVORITE!! Dick and Slade are both Alphas but that's not going to stop Slade in the force of his attraction for Dick - Ready or Knot
Favorite! Dick comes back with bruises, Jason thinks he lost a fight, Tim knows better, and the truth accidentally comes out - B is for Bruises
Series of prompts for Omega Dick and Sladick - Omega!Dick Week
Sladick if Dick had become Slade's apprentice from the start. He's coming back home - Home for the Holidays
FAVORITE!! Slade and Dick take care of each other - Follow Me (Don't Be Such a Fool)
Favorite! Slade takes Dick along South to a bar and Dick has some new discoveries - As Sweet As Strawberry Wine
Favorite! The whole collection! I really love the one with Deadshot but here's the first one with Slade! Remember when Dick paid of Deathstroke not to take a hit on Amy? Here's what happened after - Sell Your Soul
Slade's straight. So is Tiger. And so is most of the harem. They just like him - Attack of the Exes
FAVORITE!! The whole freaking collection?! Star Wars AU of Sladick. Taken to the dark side - Want is a Full Contract
Actually victoriousscarf's stuff is just too good - victoriousscarf
Dick basically goes fuck it. I'm tired of being good. and butts off to be slade's apprentice - Subverting Expectation
Favorite! Dick is a witch and the massive bloody wolf at his door is obviously just a wolf, right? - My Beloved Deathstroke
Slade can't just let Dick stay as Ric. He's too good for that - Madness Started the Moment We Met
FAVORITE!! Ric meets a man at the fight club. And that man is a little too interesting to let go - Like a Virus
FAVORITE!! Dick receives some interesting videos from Slade. Slade has always been good at enticing Dick - Puppet Show
FAVORITE!! Supernatural AU where Dick is Sam and Slade is Ruby. Jason's gone but Dick's gonna get his little brother back. No matter what it takes - On the Head of a Pin
FAVORITE!! Same as above! - Point of Fracture
FAVORITE!! I will sink my teeth into this collection and shake it because it's so good. YJ! Dick becomes the spy instead of Kaldur - Foundations
Favorite! Slade visits Dick in the hospital but Dick's not awake. Although Mar'i is - Give Us This Day
FAVORITE!! Midnighter/Dick/Slade. Dick's gone, right? Then who is then man with a swirling face that reminds Slade of him? - The Third Kind
Favorite! Dick is a sailor and Slade is a merman - I am a Sailor, and you are the Sea
Another Star Wars AU - Resolute in Resurrection
FAVORITE!! Slade acted so unaffected before. There's none of that now - every shadow filled up with doubt
Dick swears he's only here to rescue Damian. It's not his fault Slade was also locked up - (practice our prayers) until some hope crystallizes
FAVORITE!! Dick's mother always told him never to deal with the Fae. But some situations call for it - deal with the devil
FAVORITE!! They had a deal. But Slade's deal never was supposed to be about catching feelings - Maroon Haze
FAVORITE!! Dick has magic and Slade is cursed - i have hurt and hungered before (flesh against flesh)
FAVORITE!! I have read this fic over and over again. I love the younger Slade and Older Dick dynamic - running fever
Not a ship
FAVORITE!! When Slade took in Robin as an apprentice, he was a kid. A teenager. Get woke slade. Funny!! - Why did I think this was a good idea?
Dick is Robin and Slade's protective father instincts kick in - Made Peace
FAVORITE!! One of my all time favorites. Dick's name gets pulled out of the hogwarts cup as the Hogwarts Champion. But..he never put his in - heavy is the crown
Favorite! Bruce doesn't get to get away with Spyral. Dick leaves Bruce for Slade - deeds of men depraved
I have way more but this is a good starting point I think. Lemme know if you're interested in more!
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mlim8 · 1 year
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Hand-to-Hand Combat
Jaydick Week Day 1 and 4: Reverse Robins + Talons/Court of Owls @jaydick-week​
[PART 1] [PART 2] [PART 3]​​
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[PART 1] [PART 2] [PART 3]​​
*sobs* I FINISHED IT. ... Kind of an idea I had for a while... it was only suppose to be Page 3, but then it got longer... and longer... and longer... ;w; I actually also have a Bonus ending couple of pages I’ll add later when I finish fjioejlksefkle Much love to @nerd-by-definition​ and @allthatsentimentalcandyfloss​ for love and support ;w;
Here is Bluejay (lol my agendaaaa) Jason, put on recon ONLY because the rest of the Batfam doesn’t want Jason near danger and action after they lost Dick [mumbles and suitable amount of time] ago. He runs into a Talon, who’s just a kid, so Jason thinks he’s got a chance. Plus he’s antsy from just sitting all night!
Notes and Easter Eggs:
1) I’ve been calling this version of Talon!Dick a Cockroach for a while now lol starting with this post
2) Talon!Dick’s eyes have become yellow, so I changed his speech bubble colour to reflect that as well
3) Talon!Dick is left handed for no good reason
4) I used so many references for this, especially because action scenes are not my forte lol Gusari’s works were inspiration and references for a lot of them
5) Blackbird refers to Damian in this AU
6) Jason probably would be the best at hand-to-hand combat. Maybe not in his young age right now, but Dami would be able to notice his unpolished skill uwu
7) Originally, I had Jason’s line about being the best at H2H combat talking about how Talon!Dick was good, but he never trained with Batman himself... xD and then realized I couldn’t do that because teeeeechnically, Dick has lol
It’s nearly 2am as I queue this lol I’m sorry if none of this makes any sense :3
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mossfrg · 11 months
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Lost Talon au 3/?
Imagine Jason’s reaction to Dick being brought back. Like, Jason was the Robin right after Dick died— he had the biggest shoes to fill, coming immediately after the original. He was constantly trying to live up to the standards Dick unknowingly set. After he nearly died by the Joker’s hand and made his own identity, Jason felt more comfortable with himself and out to bed his worries.
But then Dick comes back, and he comes back wrong.
Jason had always privately hoped that one day this older brother would appear and take the reigns for him. The he would get to meet The Dick Grayson, have that man as an older brother.
Instead, Jason is still the oldest, and now has to deal with a half-brainwashed (non-consensually!!) genetically modified 18-year-old almost assassin who’s 12ish years out of place. What the fuck. He did not sign up for this.
Tim feels much the same way. He’s older than Dick, and that’s not something that should’ve ever happened. Tim remembers seeing Dick at galas, remembers his warm tanned skin and bright blue eyes when he’d smile. Remembers being taught how to do a flip and a cartwheel by a boy who claimed to fly from chandeliers. Remembers a kind older boy sneaking him into the gardens when things got too loud and he was so young and couldn’t handle the way his parents looked at him but this older boy was giving him the time of day-
And now that boy is younger than him. Blue eyes replaced by cold, unflinching gold. Skin still tan, but paler with a gray tint to it; black veins crawl up his throat and down his arms. He’s cold to the touch. He’s still kind, but much more hesitant in showing that softness; more likely to flash his claws than return a gentle hug. And that’s not to mention the wings, over 20ft of feathers and muscle tucked between his shoulders (he still perches on chandeliers though).
Damian had never met the First Son his Father had taken in. He’s heard countless stories of the brave, kind, caring, innocent child who creates the Robin mantle. Who didn’t kill, who made jokes, who was kind and sweet and friendly. Damian, unlike the other two, didn’t worry about living up to Grayson, but to living up to the innocent he brought. How could Damian ever be a good Robin when his hands were stained with blood?
But then Grayson, Richard, had been found. And he had blood on his hands. Less so than Damian himself, of course, and less than even Todd or Drake. But still. It was blood. And he’d gone under much the same training Damian himself had. The First Robin, trained and bloodied like Damian. Who took one look at Damian wearing his family’s name and colors and beamed for the first time since they’d brought him home, wings extending to wrap around him as he cooed, who’d heard that Todd and Drake had also shared the mantle and dragged them into the hug too, proclaiming them family and his flock, “or colony if you really want to stick with the bat theme, B, but I think it’s telling that 4/4 of your sidekicks went with a bird theme, maybe you should think of being Birdman-“
Richard Grayson, who despite everything, still managed to be himself after 12 years. Damian thinks it gives him a little hope and privately, thinks that if Richard can be so good after what he’s been through, there’s a chance Damian can be good too. Not that he’s ever say that aloud; he’s the Blood Son after all, even if Richard was the First Son.
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kiragecko · 11 months
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One of the main reasons I love things like Reverse Robins AUs, is how they can help you figure out what's important to a character, and then look at those things through a fun house mirror to learn them better.
This is why my new favourite Reverse Robins concept is Tim, the second Robin, dying protecting a 4 year old Dick Grayson and his parents from the Court of Owls.
Part of why he dies is that Damian has made showing weakness so painful that he doesn't call for help. Dick leaves Gotham with his parents and gets another 5 years of happiness before they're killed by Tony Zucco. Tim becomes a Talon. He becomes active in Gotham when Jason is 16, and nobody knows who he is until Dick has become the newest Robin and the Court sentences Batman and Robin to death, a year and a half later.
Things that I find really satisfying about this idea:
It keeps the canon Dick+Tim 'Relationship Transformed by Kindness and Death' dynamic, but flips it. Instead of Dick being trapped in the place of his tragedy, surrounded by reminders, and Tim growing up silently watching him; we have Dick being whisked away from his tragedy, growing up surrounded by reminders of what's been saved.
It allows us to play with Jason's 'I Can't let Go of My Death and So I've Lost Myself and Everything I Loved' issues. Tim can't let go of his death, and it's his only link to himself and everything he's lost. He remembers saying 'The Flying Grayson's will fly again!' Keeping Dick alive is more important than avoiding being thrown back in the Labyrinth. Protecting Dick from the Court is his path back to his family.
It keeps the obsession and connection between Tim and Dick, instead of trying to convince the reader that Tim idealized Damian. I've struggled to translate Tim's motivation for becoming Robin in a reversed setting, and I can't make it work. This gives that motivation to Dick, instead, and allows us to explore how DICK would have been transformed by that one meeting. He didn't need love and affection in the same way Tim did. But I can see him holding on to the hope and heroism he saw, and instead of getting consumed by his rage when his parent's die, he's motivated to live up to Robin's legacy.
It gives a reason for my favourite reversed dynamic: instead of Bruce being broken by Jason's death, Bruce is convinced to step up by Tim's. In this universe, Bruce didn't choose either of his first 2 kids, and found it easier and safer to deny Tim even WAS his kid. (During Tim's tenure, Batman and Robin start patrol from the central Wayne Ent. Batcave, leaving the Manor to Damian, because it's easier than keeping Damian's vicious resentment and jealousy in line. Tim learns to mostly avoid the Waynes as civilians. Bruce deals with anything he sees, but doesn't confront the roots of the issues, and Tim loves being Robin but never feels particularly safe in the role.) Bruce 'got a kid killed' by holding him at arms length, and so, when Jason comes into his life and Bruce's attempts to find him a better place are stopped by corruption at every turn, Bruce chooses to truly become a parent.
One of the few things Tim remembers is his certainty that Robins aren't safe around Damian. This lets me keep Dick's canon struggles with Tim and Damian's conflicting needs. Both want to protect him, but Tim wants to protect him FROM Damian, and clingy baby Dick idolizes Tim, but NEEDS to hang off various parts of Damian for as much of the day as possible. Damian is drowning in guilt and wants to make Tim as comfortable as possible, but has committed to raising Dick. He can't let Tim stay between the 2 of them at all times.
It doesn't give as many hooks for Tim and Jason's relationship as I like. And I remain conflicted about whether Cass and Steph should come before Tim (to properly reverse canon) or after Tim (to make them contemporary with Jason, because he deserves to have contemporaries in AUs. Canon denied him). Duke is swapped with Babs, and I have fun thoughts about him, but that's a different post.
I don't think I can write this, but I want to see it!
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sparkbeast20 · 2 years
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Demonic/Monstrous Headcanons
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This is a basic headcanon for my Demonic/Monstrous!AU
Summary: There are three stages of demon forms after the "Suppress" form (Aka the normal and more human looking demon form) which gets more feral and unhinge further to the forms.
Mid form: Which develop some traits of their Tame form. The Most Human looking with their sclera are black and their arms and legs change into Talon, scales, and insectoid/arachnid like hands and feet.
Tamed form: This form is more on the line of feral without sinister and animalistic instinct. Just think feral form by standing upright bipedally and be able to talk normally.
Feral form: No human traits whatsoever. All are on all fours (or more), have an instinct to corrupt or devour humans and other demons. Higher demons tend to see each other as threats and will attack and try to kill one other with or without familial ties.
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In general: 
At the beginning: Feral >  Mid > Suppress form With the Tamed forms is a product of Demons learning to control their demon urges while in their Feral forms, fall angels will develop self-hatred, self deprecating, and other negative thoughts and idea to themselves or beings they consider important to them.
While pure demons have to develop or learn empathy which is a difficult task unto itself.
Suppress forms has become the default for most of the demons, but in rare occasions or in extreme situations Demon can revert back to any of the two forms (Mid or Tamed) with Feral forms as the last resort or if the demon can’t suppress their demon urges anymore. 
Which is why in order to avoid transforming back to feral forms, either demons consume a supressvies flower known as blue lotus petals. Or shift to their tamed form once in a while. 
If demons stop consuming the petals, and suppress their other form for too long. The transformation back to the other forms is going to be painful, with some changes can last longer depending on if the demon is resisting the change. The last one is necessary to maintain some sense of control, otherwise if the demon fails to do so, they are forced into a slow transformation to their feral form, with no control of their urges.
There are exceptions, demons who are insectoid/arachnid (Asmodeus and Beelzebub) and Amphibian (Barbatos) go through a metamorphosis transformation where they enter a Pupa/Chrysalis stage.
There is a hierarchy like Lesser demons fear higher/stronger demons, with the brothers, the royals, and some noble demons are at the top of the food chain and their real threat is each other. However, lesser demons can climb the ranks, and it changes their forms as a result.
Higher/Stronger demons have certain power, magic, and ability unique depending on subspecies class.
Yes, once reverting or being able to change back to either of the three forms with the negative drawbacks demons will go to Rut/Heat. Which happens once a year, Males will be territorial towards other male demons who aren’t their mates. Even be aggressive towards demons that they consider as Familial.
In all three forms their sense of smell is heightened and they will develop a specific scent of their own that demons, angels and even humans can smell. To humans they can smell something that will associate with death or just reminds them of death. It varies from person to person.
However demons (Like Asmodeus) can mimic other demons' scents. Most of the time it's been used to protect themselves for lower demons who are in a group or pack. The demon will change their scent into that of a demon who is high rank to fool the lower demons. 
Other specific demons that are Reptilian or Amphibian (like Leviathan, Diavolo and Barbatos) can regrow lost limbs. However how fast the regeneration depends on which form they are in, with the feral form, the regeneration is quicker.
Avian demons (Like Lucifer and Mammon) have the ability to mimic and create sounds. They usually use this to trick humans into a trap. But either making eerie sounds around the human to push them towards a certain direction or mimic a voice that the human knows.
Feral demons can see human souls, and can tell if the human is weak willed or can easily be corrupted. But this is reserved when a demon is high rank. More specifically the seven avatars and the royal line.
They can also slowly devour the human soul without the human knowing it. They just have to keep close to their prey so they can, they have to have some sort of close contact, like skin to skin contact or through mouth to mouth.
Now when a demon has a mate, they will make sure that other demons know that this is their mate. With marking (Biting, Scratches and Blood mark: Blood marks is when a demon and said mate exchange blood like a blood oath) or scenting. The higher the demon's rank is, the stronger scent they have to put on their mate.
But what if the demon’s mate is a human? The human must be careful with their demon mate. Like they said before, humans are fragile and with the demon bringing in any of the three forms, there will be a chance that the demon will lose control and hurt the human. Even with strong protection magic, there will be a chance of bruises or a broken bone. But the human’s voice can serve as an anchor of sorts, to ground the demon back in control. What works are names that are specific to that demon (aka pet names).
Throughout the decades, demons will perform a certain mating ritual known as The Hunt, where the demon will hunt their mates for fun. Usually they do this in the woods, but in recent years demons who have control over they’re different forms will perform a hunt in high populated areas like a city which is a longer game of cat and mouse. And when the demon catch their mate, the ritual will end with an act of sexual intercourse. If the mate is a human, make sure said human is sure of this last act, because the ritual is complete the demon will be even more possessive than before. 
Warning: Some demons will have (Double, and Knots) and expect them to be… big.
Note: I wanted to add specific info for each of the demons, but I drew a blank with some of them. I might do another headcanon with specific headcanons for each characters another time. I'm open with suggestion from my fellow Monster fucker Lover :D
For those who are new to content and want more demonic/monstrous. I already made long fics on Lucifer and Mammon (🦚The Pain of Love and 🦅You’re my Treasure) with Levi's still ongoing (🐍 The Sea for Two)
If there’s grammar or spelling error, please let me know and don’t be shy to leave a comment or reblogging with cute tags. I just love to see you guys thoughts on this :3
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ghost-bxrd · 2 months
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So I posted this on my blog, but I really wanted to share it directly with you. This AU has me in a chokehold, and I literally woke up in the middle of night dreaming about this, so imagine:
Based on @lynzine‘s prompt: Dick hears Red Hood make chirps or hoots, and then freaks out thinking Red Hood is a member of the Court and is targeting Tim.
So, what if, instead of Dick offering himself up as a sacrifice, Dick gets angry.
Dick hunts down the Red Hood, stalking him all over Gotham. When Dick sees him, he immediately attacks with the intent to kill. (The court wants his owlet. He already lost one, he can’t loose this one, he will not fail—). Jason doesn’t want to fight Dick, but Dick is vicious.
And the fight just confirms Dick’s assumption that Jason is a part of the Court. Because not only does Jason probably have some training from Dick himself — back when he was Robin — but now he has even more assassin training via the League. Dick sees this, and he’s so so convinced this is a member of the court—
But then part of the helmet cracks and falls off. Part of Jason’s face (his owlet’s face) is visible.
Dick freezes.
Jason shoots.
(It’s not fatal, but it’s a close thing.)
Bruce rescues Dick, but Jason is long gone by then. Between the shock and the injuries, everything is kinda hazy for him. But Dick knows what he saw, and he realizes… he just tried to kill his owlet. His owlet is alive again, somehow, and Dick almost killed him again.
Dick becomes depressed and devastated, which results in him basically ignoring everyone — including Tim. He stops making nests and refuses to cuddle. He becomes almost catatonic.
But that’s okay. Tim’s worried for Dick. Tim’s used to being ignored.
Danggggg, okay, ooookay, I see you went for even more angst! Which I can totally respect, but still, how dare you 😭 alright, okidoki, let’s get to angsting my friend!
So we know that Jason’s beef probably wouldn’t be with Dick if he were to resurrect like in canon, mostly because, well, Joker made it a hot day after killing Jason before Dick tracked him down and distributed him all over Gotham like confetti.
As such it would stand to reason that Dick attacking Hood wasn’t part of the plan. The altercation happened by chance and, ok, fair, Jason was kind of targeting Tim so mayyybe he should have counted on that. What he DIDN’T count on was his mask coming off and Dick just—- freezing. And there’s this split second of absolute horror in both their eyes— for Dick because he thinks the Court took his owlet’s dead body without him noticing, and for Jason because he already pulled the trigger but dick isn’t moving out of the way—
Jason flees, only staying long enough to press a trembling hand to Dick’s pulse point and ascertain that Dick is alive— that he didn’t kill his brother, before fleeing and leaving Bruce and Tim to pick up the pieces.
Dick is adrift for a long while and neither Bruce or Tim can figure out what’s wrong because Dick refuses to tell them what happened, that Jason is alive. Because now that Dick knows— he’s terrified. And guilt ridden.
Somehow, he missed the Court taking Jason’s body. And now he thinks his owlet had been subjected to the same horrors that Dick was, turned into the same monster Dick spent years believing himself to be. And Dick— Dick is a talon. Dick will always BE a talon. He should have realized that Hood is Jason. Should have realized that’s his owlet under that helmet, instead he attacked him, aimed to kill him, and Dick knows how deep betrayal can run when you’re running mostly on instinct and half remembered emotions. Dick had Jason, Jason saved him when he all Dick knew was how to kill, and when Jason came back to him after Dick thought him lost forever—- Dick attempted to kill him.
Jason is… confused. And reluctantly worried. Batman and Robin are rarely seen on the streets after the altercation and Nightwing is gone altogether. He knows he didn’t kill Dick. He made triple sure of it. Even went as far as to sneak onto manor grounds and hang out in a tree until he’d caught a glimpse of the talon.
I think Jason wouldn’t be able to curb is growing concern for long, maybe a couple weeks, before he goes back and breaks into the manor while Batman and Robin are out on the streets hunting rumors of the Red Hood’s whereabouts
(Jason is horrified when he finds Dick sprawled listlessly in a heap of blankets that certainly looks like someone tried to arrange it into a nest, but failed miserably.)
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Text
“Hello, I’m the friendly wizard _____. My name got taken by a fey prince but it hasn’t really hampered my life. Anyways I am new to this wider wizard community and would like to get along. I have a magic book, a cart, and a friend. His name is Jerry, he is a fungus colony that has taken over my magic book and acts sort of as my patron. He…is a little weird but great fun.”
*sound of an explosion in the background, a book flys by being chased by goblin shamans casting fire ball*
“He is…”
“He is fine.”
“Anyways, I am here to sell goods and make a small profit. If you need something I’ll see what I can do : ) ”
“Also apparently I helped smuggle an amnesiac @fattocatto-wizard out of the city in my wagon. That was a shock, though he was just a cat.
Character Cheat sheet
( 3 currency to 16 silver crowns and 2 copper crowns)
(Current balance 76,921.750001 currency, one penny, 23 meat pucks, 14 pounds, 2 gold coins one with Julius Cesar on it, 3 naturally-grown mana stones, 2 highly enchant able metal pieces, and one bar, 1 special bug corpse, 675 gold, silver 13, 70 aus, 5kg silver, magic dirt house size. 24 counterfeit currency. Moss/lichen-coded bio stone. An inverse cold torch. 99 BG silver. EMERALD LINCOLN, GOLDEN CARROT, 200 SALTED MEAT DISKS, 200 POLISHED ROCKS, 82 FIGET SPINNERS!, A FULLY EQUIPPED LICH'S DUNGEON, and a cardboard box (magic black marble).” Invisibility stone, a bundle of drake feathers, quantum locked rock, raw gold. 9 Gold coming from the green goblin empire, 50 mushrooms, 92 secret society emblem. 5 trans enchanted gold coins, 2 skull coin, ancient lost civilization fragment, 5 glistening green metallic coin, 31 writhing bugs of gold, jade coin. Pile of gold coins and gold coin bugs)
(Currently holding baby frost dragon.)
(Jerry’s balance 13 gold, a fancy rock, 1 coin, flower petals (snacks for later), harpy eyes, feathers, vocal cords, and talons)
(Warlocks of Jerry @fungal-boy-witch-yay @ignisuadaroleplay @life-is-okay-rn2 I think that is who it was…)
(Possessions - wealth stone, Antidote stone)
Owner of membership cards
——————————
@the-final-knight-2
@confused-sorcerer
@bi-gender-sorcerer
@the-mighty-dalob
@detectivewizzard
@goblin-wizard-in-the-making
@serious-tabaxi
@weltreths-wanderings
@ignisuadaroleplay (will)
@shittest-wizard-ever
@wizard-wylin-wylerian
@akronus-and-associates (the primordials)
—————————————
@hallowed-the-silver-gun
@jormungand-seas-champion
@crow-natures-wrath
@antros-ember-of-fear
@akronus-the-redeemed
@clockwork-time-watcher
@aldira-born-anew
——————————
@wizard-ghost
@yeast-wizard
@crickled-thorn-thug
———
Perks
———
5% off all purchases
Special requested items
More favorable bartering
———
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