#wip2

[lavrach]

amen or ey men (in a gay way)

[huis-one-man-show]

WIP#2, also known as "what-if-dick-gave-up-vigilantism-to-be-a-brother AU"

SO. Let me preface by saying, canon who? Canon is a tragedy and sibling relationships make me weep on a good day, so here I am with my wholesome/fluff/slice-of-life agenda and happy endings magic wand because holy shit, the Batfam is deficient in this area. I am also a sucker for magic, so there's going to be a magical touch to this series.

The heart of this series, the overarching theme, is relationships and hope and it starts with a primordial being, ■■ (that's what I've been calling her, yes it's ORV inspired), being brought into existence because the universe was lonely. My soul sister, let's call her A, once said to me:

“one thing I do think about (when it comes to the topic of hope) is how hope is often triggered in moments of isolation, hoping to one day not be so lonely or hoping to one day be heard, be seen, be understood – but I feel like hope is cultivated the most once within a collective, or within support, or community. Less seeking out hope but generally being more hopeful.”

I'll go into more detail about this particular line of lore eventually (let me know if you want to know more :O), but at the end of the day, ■■ was the first being to be worshipped as a symbol of hope, love and resilience. As civilisation advances, her origin is forgotten and she is reborn into various religions that all remember her differently – Guan Yin, Freyja, Durga, etc.

Dick comes from the last line of ■■ worshippers that remember what she represents (courtesy of his mother o7). As with any higher being (and being a fantasy/action sucker, sue me), per tradition the first born of each generation becomes her vessel and can wield ✨ magic ✨ ohohoho

How does this fit into everything else? Well, it's one of the deciding factors that makes Dick pick family over vigilantism.

I've kicked canon to the curb and squished down the age gaps of our lovely BatFam so that my timeline works out. Dick has 7 amazing years of being an only child before meeting Jason at the age of 14 (Jason is brought home at 12). About a year into staying with them, but prior to Ethiopia (I just shot canon point-blank in my backyard), Jason runs away from home which is the pivoting point for Dick to come to terms with what it means being Robin.

In Robin Wars, each of the Batboys were talking about what it meant to be Robin and Dick's answer, "Robin is Family" really did not help with my emotional investment into this AU. My selective reading took it, and ran away with it cackling. Along with the fact that Robin was a parent's nickname for their son, that he essentially became Robin in honour of his parents, it makes sense for Dick to prioritise his younger brother because family looks out for each other. To him, being Robin is about protecting your loved ones and showing up, and Jason needs that. It's not a hard decision to make at the end of the day.

And there you have it, the context for what birthed this entire mega AU.

It's a massive series I'm planning with three main parts and a shit ton of side adventures. The three main parts are broken up into the prologue (when it was just Alfred, Bruce and Dick), pre-canon (seeing how events change as Dick grows into being an older sibling, giving context for the main story) and the main story (the "current day" you could call it; it's a coming-of-age with heavy occultism and refusal of the call flavourings). I have also thought of what-if's for my what-if AU, I am too deep into this.

So far I've been writing the pre-canon chapters and finished writing some of the side adventures stories. I cannot stop coming up with new prompts for the series and I am just enjoying the writing process tbh haha

I think I've covered the major points of this AU. If you are curious and want to know more about this universe, feel free to ask, I am excited to share and to hear your thoughts! I am also open to prompts too B-)

p.s. I have cherry picked some events from the canon timeline to be a part of this universe. Characterisations are a mix of fanon and canon and whatever homebrew that's going on in my head 🤠✌🏼

(side note: recently I've been toeing the Teen Titan's line and I'm so screwed because their dynamics and friendship just resonates with the core AU theme help mE—)

[the-bed-gremlins-reading-list]

Code Name: Oracle

This project is in the very early stages of development – everything here is highly variable as I keep working out the details. That said, please send in any questions you like about this project or Phoenix Knight! I’m saving anything to do with PK bugs and fixes until a later date since I’m going to take a break from writing it, but I’m still happy to answer questions about the RO’s and setting.

Summary: Life in Delphi City is pretty much like life anywhere – there’s problems, lots of them, but there’s good points too – maybe a bit fewer. But whatever your feelings are about it - it is home. It is also the city with the highest concentration of super villainy on the planet.

The Guardians are the local superhero team, made up of ‘Paths’ – the people with powers – that are on the side of what is good and right, and approved by the government. Their job is to take care of the villains with powers – and sometimes the ones just smart enough to build doomsday weapons. That kind of thing.

The stuff that’s way above your paygrade.

You might be one of the city’s most skilled detectives but you’re still just a detective. Your bad guys don’t have powers (usually). And messing with one that does ends in a world of pain – kidnapped and experimented on by a previously unknown mad scientist type you’re eventually rescued by a hydrokinetic path.

When your powers are discovered, you’re a chance for the Guardians to snatch up an in-house investigator - a part of the crime fighting process they’d previously been forced to rely on the police and other agencies for. And with people beginning to develop into Paths at previously unheard of rates for some unknown reason, Delphi City needs its Guardians to find the answer.

But now they have you. Formerly one of the best detectives in the city but now... after everything that’s happened, you don’t know what you are, but they have decided what they want you to be:

Their very own Oracle.

Features

An +18 rating, again, more for my own peace of mind than what I believe the content will actually be, but I ask that it’s respected.

Warnings: imprisonment, experimentation, police, injuries, genre-typical violence, more to be added.

Planned Features Include:

Customizable Skill Approach - What kind of detective were you known to be. Are you the sort of detective that is good with getting people to tell you what you need to know? Are you the sort that can chase down and catch and answer even if it has you sprinting across rooftops? Are you the sort that notices the details and can put them together? And is that still your style?

Customizable pronouns (with an option in the player menu to reset them as desired)

Decide why you joined the police in the first place. Also decide how you feel about your maverick big brother.

Four romance routes currently planned: Siren, Warren, Cal, and Victoria

Characters

The Detective – Gender Selectable - MC – A legacy cop, whose grandfather and father were both respected life-long officers, your family has a reputation in the DCPD - one that your older brother managed to thoroughly trash, or redeem, depending on who you ask while you were still on the beat. Your position is hard won but no one can deny your skills as an investigator, family name or no. But when your kidnapping results in the development of powers, making you a ‘Path’ you’re put into the Guardians, not as a costumed hero, but as an investigative specialist.

The Villain: “Siren” – Gender Selectable – RO - Without any evidence to prove that the mysterious Siren was a supervillain and not just a very clever criminal the detective and their partner were originally assigned to attempt to apprehend them – or, otherwise, gather enough evidence to make the Siren the Guardian’s problem and not the DCPD’s.  Now you’re a Guardian and in the six months since that stakeout  and it’s very much your job to catch them – but why are they being so damn helpful?

The Leader: Warren Hughes, “Commander Truth” – NB – RO – The Guardian’s telepathic leader, Warren is a strict person with high expectations for everyone around them, but perhaps the highest set for themself. You know Commander Truth best by their black-and-white-lightning bolt costume from the situations where the police have had to work with the Guardians. You definitely didn’t expect your brother’s best friend – and a vague shadow in your life since Adrian went to high school and first met Warren - to be the one under the mask.

The Rookie: Callum Lindsey, “Titan” – M – RO – The newest member of the Guardians, apart from you, Cal has only been in Delphi City for eight months. The blue-and-gold clad ferrokinetic path who can twist buildings out of shape with his abilities is not who you were expecting to be the team’s grinning cinnamon roll, but Cal is definitely the warmest welcome you get to the team.

The Protector: Victoria Aragorn, “Starlight” – F – RO – One of the longest serving Guardians, she joined the official superhero line-up at the same time that Commander Truth did. Though her abilities as a Path give her control over fire – and to a lesser degree light and warmth – she is most famous for her skilled usage of traditional martial weapons and unarmed combat forms. Before Victoria put in the red and black suit of Delphi City’s ‘Starlight’ she worked for the government doing the sort of things only a Path could. (A/N: Victoria’s code name might change later on, but right now I’m amused by the idea of Siren giving her hell over it via “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” so it’s what I’ve got for now.)

The Partner: Theresa ‘Tessa’ Graves – F – Tessa and you have been partners for two years now, and friends for longer than that. She was there on the stakeout the night when everything changed. Her injuries might have forced her to retire from police work but after everything you’ve been through together she’s definitely not retiring from being your best friend. No matter what your opinion on the matter actually is.

The Brother: Adrian – M – Your elder brother is the only family you have left these days, not that that feels all that new. He’s also the one responsible for ruining the family’s sterling reputation when his work uncovered a massive amount of corruption in the police related to bribes and deals made with the city’s supervillain community and he didn’t do the brass the courtesy of backing down quietly about it – instead handing the entirety of his evidence over to the Guardians to pursue and, what was safe to, over to reporters the same day that he handed in his resignation. He claims he’s much happier these days, working as a PI and writing what he reassures you is going to be ‘the worst novel of all time’.

The Doctor: Elis Mercy - M - The doctor in charge of looking after the Guardians, and because of your position and the circumstances around your kidnapping he’s also been your doctor since your rescue. In addition to being one of the only doctors in the city that specializes in caring for Empathic people, his own Path allows him to heal injuries. But just those of the trauma variety - broken bones, bruises, cuts and lacerations, not infections and not poisons. (A/N: The doc’s name is a stand-in, I’m not happy with it. So I’m going to keep fishing around for one that fits him.)

[ultraconspiratorial]

marzena’s longing.

poem by violet-woods.blogspot.com / tumblr user @ghuolboy / apollo pursuing daphne, rené-antoine houasse / women dancing in a circle, warren b. davis / community gardens, the scary jokes / unknown artist / big yellow taxi, joni mitchell

[mercutioswriting]

first line tag!

tagged by @yikescomma, thank u!

this is the beginning of ‘WIP2′:

     Jesse didn’t mean to run away. But when you are fifteen and have just cut off your hair and dyed what remains the color of rose petals, you prefer to put off the inevitable parental conflict.

tagging @sanguinewritings, @coffehousecreations, and @touchingmadness

[shadedfantasy]

WIP 2 of these boys!

It’s been taking me longer than I expected to get it done (bc I’ve been having job interviews!!!!) but the markings are going well! I’m so pleased with Uongo’s Cloudburst Mist! I downloaded a whole bunch of new brushes and texture packs to get the cloudy effect and then ended up only using two and one was a default texture lmao. Right now I’m getting ready to do his Blue Dapple and I have absolutely no idea where to begin lmao. The image file looks like Xylax did a solid marking and then erased patches of it, so I’m going to try that. Here’s hoping it goes well! If anyone has any tips I would 110% love to hear them!!

[brittani-photo]

Banjo

I promised him I would love him no matter how nasty he is.

Make a promise to a living animal. Take a picture of you shaking said animal's hand to signify the promise.

[meltedmercury]

what do your main ocs look like?

Andy: hella tall, skinny and pale, dark brownish-red hair. (Not a ginger PLEASE he’s not a ginger). Hazel-brown eyes, narrow face, v straight & triangular nose. A little like thomas sanders or adam parrish, if you know them. (there are other mcs but its mostly from his pov)

Jesse: very short curly hair, naturally dark brown but dyed pinkish-red. Brown eyes, mixed race (native american, vietnamese, latino and white). Small mouth and nose, roundish ears very slightly stick out. 5′8, always wears leather wristbands and a stack of varying bangles on their wrists. 

go check out my writblr mercutioswriting for updates!