A/N: I have been inching a long a little, and actually wrote a couple hundred words this week! So have a prompting fill for a scene that's more of an omake and definitely non-canon to the fic.
Tara smiled as she looked around, having finally gotten the loop correct and made the day end well. Having seen the Music Meister part, she opened the door to the kitchen where everyone was standing.
Looking at their expressions, Tara frowned. She thought they would be happier to have had such a successful mission last night. At least Gregor would be happy to have the coup attempt dealt with, and Brion seemed outright haunted. Maybe seeing their uncle being torn apart was too much?
"Tara, we remember everything," Artemis said with a shake.
"Everything?"
"All the previous time loops."
Brion stared off into the distance. "I have felt death's grasp so many times. I have seen the lady with the golden ankh offering to take me to my final rest."
"I can explain!"
"I think. We all might need some therapy," Gregor said, rubbing his chest. Tara noted it was the same spot Deathstroke had run him through with a sword.
"You killed me," Beast Boy said. "I mean. I'm not mad. Just. Noted."
"Does it help that I was not trying to?"
Halo took a sip. "Am I the only one who did not die in a previous loop?"
Yes this is the fic I've been stuck on for over a year even though it's so close to finished
It's set in YJ, with the idea that Tara gets to redo the 24 hours between her alerting Deathstroke and the finale as many times as it takes to get right. But she keeps on getting it wrong, and not realizing she doesn't have all the facts, and people keep on dying- so can she get it right before she loses it? (And I am 100% going to tag it 'everyone but Halo dies' so. A lot of death. I lost count of how many times I've killed Brion.)
It's a really fun character exploration!
Have a snippet:
She didn’t bother answering him. She strode forward, staring at Bedlam. “I used to hate you more than anyone. But now I see you are a mere pawn that wants to be king. How pathetic.”
“Tara, you were working for Deathstroke? How could you?” The words caused her to snap her head towards Brion. The crowd, the camera, other heroes, even the Markovian government official in the background no longer mattered.
“How could I? How could I? Did you think that once I was rescued I would be your sweet little sister without any scars, so eager to be saved? Did you think that I would forget about the fact I was alone at the embassy because you invited me there and then abandoned me? Or how about the fact that for all the ‘poor Princess Tara’, the people of Markovia did nothing to rescue me and instead made sure I would not be able to return home even if rescued? Did you expect me to just fall in line as you decided to become a murderer, kinslayer, and usurper? Because if nothing else, I have never killed someone I shared blood with!”
Brion took a step back from her and raised his hands, bafflement and horror painting his face. Normally Tara would have stopped and apologized. She should be more well mannered as she was raised. He couldn’t have known, she kept this from him. Normally Tara would not have judged the brother she loved so harshly, tempering rage with love.
Normally Tara could keep her worst impulses in check.
For the ask game: ▵ pick a fic and I’ll tell you my favorite line
Your favorite line from Evermore?
A/N: There's a lot of good lines I like here, but these ones are the ones I feel emphasizes the themes with Tara the best. (On a comedic example, I'd like to take credit for the "Gregor did what?" line, but that was pure Hedgi)
Gregor lowered his head then nodded. "Very well. Then, as your brother, I ask this. Tara, what do you want to do?"
Lightning going through her would be less electrifying. Possibilities floated through her mind and the world opened up. Thoughts of being a doctor, an artist, an architect floated through her mind.
For the Unusual Author asks how about Tara Time-loop: perspective flip?
Perspective Flip: I’ll write a scene from [that fic] from another character’s point-of-view (The main issue with writing this was I could do so many)
As the news alerts about the coup came on, Anja knew what to do even without orders.
"The Nazis shot those who would not comply with their orders, and the Soviets finished off those who stayed with their head down."
Bedlam- a man no longer worthy of title or sharing a family name with the woman he murdered- would definitely execute any official he did not feel toe the line. Even if an army supporting King Gregor came in tomorrow, such a loss could devastate the government for years to come.
Her family had fought too hard for Markovia for Anja to let that happen now. She knocked on every door, trying to get as many people out as possible. It was becoming harder with those loyal to Bedlam wandering the halls.
She came to the Ambassador's door. He was not her favorite man, but as long as he was no traitor he did not deserve to die on his knees.
Anja knocked, then opened it. “Ambassa- you are not the Ambassador.”
Taking the second to take stock of the situation, she noticed the cyborg, the Quaraci refugee, and the princess.
The girl had short hair and lacked the same careless joy of old, but Anja would know a Markov anywhere.
“Your Royal Grace Princess Tara? You are alive and free? Who are they?” Anja gripped her gun tighter. She knew that His Royal Grace Prince Brion and heroes had found Tara, but anything could happen in a short time.
“They are friends and heroes, here to help me investigate the corruption that led to my kidnapping. I must ask that you identify yourself fully before speaking further.”
Anja lowered her gun fully and straightened up into parade rest. “I am Anja Ozols, of the Markovian Intelligence Bureau. His Highness King Gregor put me in charge of seeing who else was in league with Bedlam. Your Royal Grace, we have to go. Your uncle has initiated a coup, and has the support of Prime Minister Vittings.”
“I know. But we found information that Ambassador Baazovi is also in league with Markovia’s enemies. All the information is on that laptop, and Cyborg hacked into it to find it.”
That information lanced through Anja's heart. Realistically, she knew her bureau could not catch everything. But it was their job to find leads, investigate, and catch threats long before they weaseled in.
“So that’s where the dog lies buried,” Anja muttered. “I was suspicious of his politics, but found no connection between him and Bedlam. Thank you Your Royal Grace, this is excellent work. But I must ask, what are you and your friends planning to do?”
29. Share a bit from a fic you’ll never post OR from a scene that was cut from an already posted fic. (If you don’t have either, just share a random fic idea you have that you don’t plan on getting to.)
Funny enough, Evermore (the Tara time loop) ended up going in many ways very differently from where I thought! The initial structure was going to be Tara messing up a lot, then learning various lessons from her Teammates until the success loop.
Here is some cut dialogue from that:
Tara: Your ideals have never been tested! You’ve never been helpless and reliant on only your self, never seen those you love die over and over. What good are your ideals then?
Tara Time Loop started so good- I wrote half of it within a month!- but as I get near to the end there are so many minor stumbling blocks. It's not a huge plot point, but 'how do I get from point b to c so d can happen' that keeps on delaying it by months.
5. what is the next moment you need to write that’s interesting to you?
For either Outlaws or Time Loop, your choice
I'll do both!
For Tara Time Loop, I kinda want to close out the current loop and get to the last loop. I've already written large sections of the end, but I just need to get there and to put it all together.
For Outlaws, I'm uncertain if I want more Team/Outlaws clashes, perhaps the moment where Jason saves a Team member by killing a bad guy, or more Outlaws team bonding with Kory learning about Earth and Rose getting an education.
