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jenchan-writingmultis · 2 days

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What do the dorm leaders + a few more students do when you leave them without saying goodbye / you go missing? (Series: Part 2)

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Genre: Fluff/ Angst

Pairing: Leona x Gn Reader

A/n: Ooh It took me a while to create an update of this, I’m still in my second semester hell but I got a bit of time! So, I decided to write something for our dearest Lion, also I wanted to note that I’ll be doing this based on the book chapters, for example, Riddle First, Leona Second, Azul Third, and so on… I hope you like this part! I loved writing every part of it.

Credits: The design was made by me in Canva and the art that was used is all from the Official Twisted Wonderland Cards.

Warning: Cussing, OOC Crowley (lmao), smitten Leona, slight blood mention Part one (Riddle x Gn Reader)

──────⊱⁜⊰────── Sypnosis: You went off already, actually, they didn’t even know where you were right now, Grimm was worried about you, where have you gone? You just vanished into the mirror that you were talking to every midnight, he knew that he should have listened to his gut feeling when he realized that you were warning him about your sudden disappearance. The moment he went dashing out of Ramshackle, paws cold from the snow that he stepped on and it was really bad that when he needed Hornton he wasn’t there. Savanaclaw:

Leona: He was annoyed when Grim started screaming outside of his dorm in the middle of the night causing all beastmen to wake up due to his ruckus, but his annoyance vanished when he realized what the furball was saying. You were gone, while he looked indifferent outside, telling Grim to calm the fuck down because he can easily hear him without him screaming in his ears, he was a bit worried. (Just a bit)

“Oi, can you tone down your screaming?” he grabbed Grim by the collar as the kitty sobbed, “Calm down, we’ll help” He sighed, causing Ruggie to stare at him surprised, “What do you mean we?” Leona scoffed before he threw Grim at him.

“This furball will just keep on screaming if we leave him” He sighed, scratching the back of his neck. Ruggie huffed “Well, it’s surprising for you to immediately agree to help though” he whispered to himself, Leona could clearly hear him, but he ignored what the other said. It was rare for you to leave Grim all alone, you two were practically attached to the hip, so you vanishing out of nowhere was odd, did you finally get back to your homeland? You didn’t talk about it, but he can see how you look at others when they’re with their families and he knows that look. It was a look he had when he was younger, when Farena was the golden child, and he was the black sheep.

He wanted that kind of familial love from his parents before, but they never gave it to him. You probably missed your family in your original world, he understands the feeling, but he can’t help but feel a bitter ache in his heart. Did he and the others not make you feel at home here? Sure, they overblotted and probably could have killed an herbivore like you, but he’s a changed man, surely you didn’t leave because you got sick of him or the others, right?

Of course, he went to interrogate Grim, asking him various questions, and after a few hours of barking orders to his fellow beastmen, he went to Crowley personally to ask, he was running out of options, and he was starting to feel that his theory that you went home was right. The last time Grim saw you was you got sucked in the mirror that was inside your bedroom. He tried to check on that mirror too, he didn’t feel any type of magic in it, it was just an ordinary mirror. You’d know he’s already at the edge of his seat trying to find you when he asked Crowley out of all people for help, denying the feeling in his gut that you were truly wiped out of this world.

“You’re saying that the prefect vanished?” Crowley put his hand on his chin, he was a bit annoyed about how calm Crowley was, and he crossed his arms glaring at the guy. “Did you send them home?” He questioned, getting straight to the point, which made Crowley shake his head “No, I didn’t, I have yet to find the portal back to their homeland, but this is certainly worrisome, I’ll try to help you find them, and can you summon the other head wardens for a meeting?” Crowley walked past him, Leona’s eyes following him. “I’ll be getting the teachers involved, this is a missing student case after all” He murmured, now that’s the sight he likes to see, somehow his opinion of Crowley increased. He guessed Mc became important to him as well.

However, despite the ton of effort to find you, none of them got any leads, the ache he was feeling from before got worse, he found himself awake than asleep most of the time, his head was aching, it was affecting his health too. When the housewarden meeting along with the teachers happened, of course, the majority of them volunteered to have their housemates search for you outside and inside, Crowley couldn’t get any officers involved since you weren’t officially in Twisted Wonderland, you were a walking unregistered herbivore; it was dangerous, it could get the school closed so he had to ask his staffs and students to help around, which no one complained. Everyone cared for you, you helped them one way or another; helped them grow as a person and as a mage, it made him fascinated that you get to change almost everyone in this school in just a few months of your presence, and you’re magicless even.

The improvement of the school happened because of you, and you just vanished out of thin air just like that, like some God who graced everyone with their presence only to leave once everything was sorted out. What about him?

Leona couldn’t help but feel numb, eyebags evident on his face, it was so unlike him to be overworking trying to find you, you were just a herbivore to him, someone who had the audacity to annoy him before just to gain his help. Ruggie was worried about him too, the guy tried to ease him into that he would try to use his “connections” to gain more manpower to search the whole twisted wonderland, it made him laugh, he was a second prince, he had more connections that can help with the search than Ruggie, plus he knew that you weren’t here anymore. He couldn’t accept it at first, it was just slapped on his face multiple times.

Your scent continued to fade as the days continued, he didn’t have any motivation to do anything else but try to find you, find you, and find you for the first few weeks health be damned, but when you manifested in his mind, festering him to do something else, to try to finish third year, then maybe during internship he can find leads to you. He decided that if he plans to continue to persevere, then he will. After all, he was known for his tenacity before.

Ruggie was surprised when one day, Leona started to become focus on his studies, Leona was sometimes going to class, just enough to the point he could be promoted to 4th year, where he could do internships. He thought that Leona might have forgotten about you, which kind of annoyed him, was Leona only good at doing stuff in the first place and abandoning it once he realized it was futile? Of course not! Ruggie slapped his cheeks and shook his head, Leona could never, he’s mischaracterizing his Housewarden.

While the search died down, plenty of students gave up because they kept reaching dead end after dead end in their search. Grim was often with Ace and Deuce, he noticed that the furball lost a lot of weight and he often seemed out of it. Most of the students who knew Grim understood the devastation of losing someone whom he treated as family. They try to get Grim to eat more, but he always ends up either overeating or not eating at all, the only housewardens who get him to eat normally are Vil and Riddle who have strict diets for him. Riddle is more lenient due to knowing Grim longer than Vil.

The housewardens get split custody of the Cat, and the main custody being with Riddle, Ace, and Deuce. Leona barely gets any time with Grim, and when he does, he usually just gives him to Ruggie. One time, Grim got really upset at him though.

Leona flinched in pain, blood seeping out of his arm, a scratch mark forming on it. Jack jolted and grabbed Grim’s arms, subduing him immediately. “Grim! What are you doing!?” Jack yelled out, gripping on the squirming cat.

“You! Out of everyone here, you’re the one who’s always so calm and relaxed!” Grim cried out, glaring at the Lion. Leona glared at him as he used his magic to heal his arm. “Do you even care! You just gave up after a few months!” He continued, biting Jack making Jack let go out of pain, and when Grim jumped on Leona. He got grabbed by the scuffle.

“What makes you think I stopped trying to find them?!” Leona snapped, gripping on the cat, as if he’s a cub misbehaving, this was annoying, people thinking that he doesn’t do a lot when in fact he’s been giving more than just effort “You think I’m not trying my best here!?” He lets Grim go who is surprised at his outburst. “Shit” He pinched the bridge of his nose, Jack carrying Grim again. “I’m really sorry Leona” He apologized on Grim’s behalf, but Leona just waved him off. “It’s fine,” he said, looking down at the cat. “But I want you to understand that some people just prefer doing work behind the scenes, just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean they’re not trying.”

He really was trying. The you that was cuddling him in his dreams, playing with his hair and kissing him, telling him to do his best. That had kept him sane while trying to find you. It was stupid and pathetic, but at least he knew that somehow, he never forgot your face, your scent, and your voice even if it took years. Even once he graduated, even if Falena tried to set him up with other Beastwomen or some high-ranking princess. He rejected them all, in favor of waiting for you, despite not knowing if you’ll ever come back.

He never even got to tell you his feelings before you vanished, if he did would that make you not go back to your own world? Even after a few years, your friends had already graduated, he was working in Sunset Savanna, temporarily because his brother asked him for help, he was busy jumping from place to place to maintain connections and build new ones so while his brother is gone, he was the one in charge, Cheka was already in Junior High school dreaming of getting inside Royal Sword Academy where his friends would be around as well as his father encouraging him to enroll there due to being an alumni, and his sister in law kept festering Leona about mates and stuff.

Right, did he tell you that he kept the mirror that you vanished from to his room? When he finally graduated, he felt that he needed the mirror, so he decided to buy it from Crowley, who graciously gave him the mirror without any complaints. Sometimes, he looks at himself in the mirror, hoping to see you behind it. He really wishes you would come back.

He went to sit down on the edge of his bed, sliding himself into the covers, his bed feeling cold and needing another, he stared at the ceiling, wishing in his mind that when he woke up, you’d be there, touching his cheek.

Drifting into sleep, he dreamt of you again, a dream that he saw multiple times after you vanished, his head laying on the soft plush of your thighs, he stared up at you, who was looking down at him with a soft smile, he nuzzled the hand that you placed on his cheek, placing his hand on it as he guides your hand to his lips, kissing it.

“I miss you” he murmured in his dream, your hand felt incredibly warm and soft right now, it felt… real. Maybe whatever Deity from above decided to pity him today and give him your touch that he was constantly seeking.

He didn’t want to wake up, the warmth of the sun hitting his body except for his face which you were shielding it from. The moment he lifted himself up, to go nearer your face, he wanted to kiss you now or else he might never feel this surreal experience ever again, a blinding light suddenly flashed in his vision, causing him to flinch.

“Oh, sorry Leona” a familiar voice apologized, making him groan and blink a few times, was he still dreaming? He felt his head resting on something else and not his pillow, it felt softer. When he finally was fully awake, he realized that he was in fact, not dreaming anymore. He looked up only to see you, in the same position as you did in his dream.

“Herbivore…” he froze as you rubbed his cheek gently. “Yes, I’m here” You hummed as you pushed away a bit of his hair just to see his face better. “Oh wow, Leona you became prettier!” you giggled, causing him to sit up, grabbing your cheeks, he examined you. He can’t believe it, it really is you, he’s not dreaming anymore.

“How? What?” he questioned, glaring at you maybe this was a trap, if this was some doppelganger or some shapeshifter, he’d turn you to dust, but the way you weren’t scared of his glare made his will falter, you were warm, you were there, your scent was there too, nobody can replicate that. “Herbivore you’re back” he finally caved in, pulling you into a crushing hug, which you gave back happily. “I’m back Leona, I’m sorry I vanished,” you said, burying your face into his shoulder. “You idiot, I definitely deserve an explanation for this” He growled out, not letting you go at all.

Word Count: 2,359

#twisted wonderland #angst #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted series #grim twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland leona #leona kingscholar #leona kingsholar x reader #fluff #disney twisted wonderland #disney twst #twst yuu #ruggie bucchi #twst fluff #twst ruggie #jack howl

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howtofightwrite · 2 days

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Most traditional boxing instructors will tell you that if the opponent is taller than you, has longer arms than you, or is heavier than you, you're fucked and you need to stay extremely aware and work really hard to compensate for all the advantage he has over you.

In a recent forensic survey, it was determined that most traditional boxing instructors who get into real world altercations die when they're shot in the head.

This is the problem with a lot of these kinds of arguments. No one practices traditional boxing. At least, no one does so publicly. How do I know this? Because traditionally boxers fought in the nude. Yeah, we're not seeing that, are we? Now, maybe they meant bare knuckle boxing, but really no one does that either, these days. Boxing without safety equipment is not a particularly good idea, for fairly obvious reasons.

The only reason the word, “traditional,” is in the ask is to lend their statement unearned credibility. It's an attempt to make their statement sound more authoritative, without offering any evidence to support the statement.

Who said that?

“Traditional people did.”

Okay, but, 'traditionally,' people cleaned shit off their ass with a stick. So, maybe appealing to Hellenic sports isn't the best gauge of how a fight will play out.

Also, I know I just said it, but, who are these authoritative sports guys? Because they're not named. We're simply told, “most,” of them agree. Which starts to sound a lot like “four out of five dentists agree.” Who are these instructors? What do they teach? Why are the currently in prison for indecent exposure? And how much did you pay them to get their uninformed opinion? Salient questions which may need to be answered, if the original question wasn't invalid on its face.

Why do I say it's invalid?

Because boxing isn't fighting.

Boxing is a sport.

Boxing has rules.

Kick your opponent in the groin, or shin, and you're punished.

Step on their foot, push them, and watch them tumble to the ground before you start stomping on them, and you'll be punished.

Throwing your opponent will be punished.

And of course, as mentioned at the top, pulling out a gun and expanding your opponent's mental horizons is extremely frowned upon.

These are all things that can happen in a real fight.

These are all things that do not benefit from increased height or reach.

There is one genuinely accurate statement. In a fight, you do need to be very aware of what's going on around you. Everything else is the product of someone who's been punched in the head repeatedly until the CTEs got them thinking that boxing is analogous to a real fight in any way. (And, statistically, will probably end their career sitting in a jail cell over an aggravated assault charge, because their emotional self-control was completely destroyed by those same head injuries.)

The rules that boxers need to follow are designed to (somewhat) protect the participants. It reduces the dangers of a boxer being killed in the ring. In an observation that I would hope to be self-evident, those rules don't exist in actual combat.

It's also amusing, because the original Asker had to go so far as to single out an ill-defined, “traditional” boxing, because no other martial art they checked gave them the soundbite they wanted.

And, of course, women box. Historically, you could say, “traditionally,” there were even boxing matches between men and women. It wasn't until the 1880s that women were excluded from competitive boxing in the UK. (I'm not sure of the exact date when women were banned from boxing in the US, though that prohibition lasted for less than a century, before the modern return of women to the sport.)

So, either these “traditional instructors” don't know the history of their own sport... which doesn't sound particularly “traditional” to me, or they're full of shit.

My advice to everyone would be, maybe, don't take the advice of a sports coach about how he's secretly an absolute badass in all the delusional fantasies he's cooked up about how he'd like to inflict violence on others because they wouldn't date him.

-Starke

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#writing reference #writing advice #writing tips #how to fight write #starke answers

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cloudwhisper23 · 3 hours

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I have been very late with the latest chapter of Back in the Nightmare, but in my defense, @pixlokita drew an art, and I just absolutely needed to write fanfic regarding the art, and color it. Luckily, this is still in relation to Back in the Nightmare. It's just further along. Hope y'all enjoy! (fic below the cut)

Evan could tell Cassidy was feeling down after Charlie’s birthday party. How could he not? She’d clung so close to him before, and after Michael brought her out of the rain with his skin paler than a sheet of paper, she’d seemed almost distant.

She still listened when he spoke, but she no longer offered any opinions. Cassidy just seemed… off. There had to be something he could do to cheer her up, right?

Evan wanted to go to Fredbear’s for once because of the whole thing. Charlie said it was a great place to make friends and hang out, and with the atmosphere at home lately, it would be best if he could avoid hanging out there. Elizabeth bickered with her group on their project every night, and it always put their father in a bad mood.

Cassidy plus his father never seemed to end well, as both of them were perfectly polite to each other in a vicious way. Cassidy probably had been right about his father not wanting him to have friends after all, it seemed. Maybe that was why Mike used to scare them off?

Shaking the thought away, Evan fiddled with the strap of his backpack uncomfortably. Mike was grounded, and Lizzie was going to Susie’s house, which meant Evan was also supposed to be going home. Father didn’t like them staying unsupervised, after all.

But Evan wanted to do something nice for Cassidy. She had to run home right after school, not elaborating on why, but it did give him a perfect chance to get her a gift.

He still hesitated though. If his father found out he hadn’t gone straight home… Well, he just had to avoid getting caught then. Evan checked that Fredbear was still hidden at the bottom of his backpack, and then set off for the diner.

The prize corner always had a wide variety of things to win, but Evan had no idea where to even start on a gift for Cassidy. Yet again, he found himself hesitating.

“You have your eyes set on anything in particular?” Evan startled at the boy who’d appeared next to him. Gabe Simmons. Someone who didn’t usually talk to him.

“Uh, well, not for me. I want to get a gift for a friend.”

“Cassidy.” Gabe shot him an amused look as he pointedly looked away. “It’s not a secret that she’s one of your only friends, dude.”

“If she’s one of my only friends, why are you talking to me?”

“I’m bored. And Charlie won’t be here until later.” Gabe shrugged. “Do you have any idea what she likes?”

“Well…” Evan trailed off. What did Cassidy like? She’d seemed interested enough in his Fredbear plushie, once he’d been forcibly given it back. She’d wanted a favor regarding her hair, desperate enough to ask Michael of all people to fix it. Something like that, maybe? “I was thinking about that hair clip.”

He pointed to the row of animatronic themed hair pins and clips. “She likes Fredbear well enough.”

“That’s hardly worth the effort,” Gabe replied, wrinkling his nose. “You could get that easy.”

“I’d rather get her something she actually likes than something she wouldn’t like that’s worth more,” Evan replied quietly.

Gabe regarded him curiously. “I think I misjudged you in the past, Afton. You’re not as bad of a guy as I was expecting.”

“Thanks?”

Gabe wandered off without another word.

Weird. Still, Evan needed to get the clip fast if he wanted to get home before he got caught.

He did not succeed. Despite the fact that Evan hadn’t spotted his father once at the diner, and he’d beaten him home, somehow he still found out that Evan hadn’t come straight home.

Evan gritted his teeth as he faced his punishment, determined not to scream. Still, the ruler stung against his bare arm, and Evan knew he was going to be wearing long-sleeved shirts for at least a week or two after this.

“Behave,” his father said sternly, gesturing for Evan to leave and close the door on the way out.

“Yes Father,” Evan answered quietly before going to his room.

Tomorrow is another day.

The hair clip burned in Evan’s pocket as he looked around before school the following morning. He wanted to surprise her with it, but he never usually had luck finding her before school. Today was no different. His mouth twisted downward, but Evan did not feel tears welling up. This was expected, after all.

The morning was chilly for once, and Evan felt a bit relieved that he’d been forced to wear longer sleeves today. The wind stirred the trees at the front of the school as Evan waited for the bell to ring.

He went through his classes in somewhat of a daze, not really paying much attention to anything. It struck him briefly that he didn’t really have any classes with Cassidy. None in the morning anyway.

His arm ached as he went from class to class, despite how carefully he was trying to carry his things without jarring it. Evan carried on the only way he knew how: by thinking about anything else.

Today’s distraction topic was, unsurprisingly, Cassidy. The way she normally hung on his every word with a faint smile, the way she checked in with him constantly and gave people a hard time if they tried to mess with him. It gave him a warm feeling to think about her, grateful that she’d decided to be friends with him, even if he still suspected he was some kind of pity project.

Lizzie liked to tease him about having a crush on her, but the thought didn’t bother him so much. If he had a crush, then he had a crush. And if considering the thought that he had a crush on Cassidy made his cheeks burn, then so be it. He wouldn’t be the first boy in the world to have a crush on a girl.

Thankfully, Evan only had to wait until lunch to talk to Cassidy. She seemed just as distracted as before, and it made Evan’s heart ache. Still, he forced a smile to his face and greeted her brightly.

She smiled back, a weaker smile than his own and poked at her food with disinterest. Cassidy hardly looked at him.

“Cass, are you feeling okay?” he blurted out. He hadn’t asked before, thinking that she probably hadn’t wanted to talk about it, but after remembering how she used to smile and talk to him, he couldn’t help himself.

She looked startled by the question, dropping her fork back onto the tray. “I-“

“You’ve just seemed so occupied lately, and I know I should mind my business and wait for you to be ready to say something, but I’m worried about you.”

“Oh…” Cassidy’s eyebrows creased at that, and it was the first time she’d seemed to actually absorb his words since Charlie’s party. “I guess I… Well…” Cassidy struggled to gather her thoughts. “I’ve been having nightmares. I didn’t want to say anything because I don’t think they’re as big of a deal as yours, and I didn’t want to devalue your problems.”

“Cassidy, we’re friends. Just because I have constant problems doesn’t mean you can’t talk about yours at all. Besides, I’ve been doing better since Mikey started letting me sleep in his room again.” Evan put his hand on her arm reassuringly. “I’m here to listen, if you need to share.”

Cassidy smiled weakly. “Thanks, Ev. It’s probably stupid, but when I was at that party, I thought I heard something outside, and I went to go see. When I tried to get back in, the door was locked. And then…” Cassidy trailed off, her left hand twitching before resting on top of Evan’s. “Well, this car started coming up the alley way, and I just felt so scared, scared like I’ve never felt in my life, and I ran away from it, but it felt like the car was chasing me. So I’ve been having different dreams where I do get caught by the car, and sometimes I die, sometimes I watch other people die, and… yeah…” Cassidy squeezed his hand tightly.

Evan’s eyebrows scrunched tightly. “Have you told anyone besides me?”

“No,” Cassidy admitted. “But I don’t want to worry anyone.”

“Maybe at least tell your brother? I’m sure he’d want to know if you’re struggling to sleep or focus, Cass.”

Cassidy shrugged. “It won’t change anything. Travis would just worry. And he’s not tiny like you and your brother. If I tried to sleep in my brother’s bed with him, I would fall off the bed and hurt myself.”

“I’m not that small!” Evan protested, but he saw Cassidy’s point. Weirdly enough, it presented the perfect opportunity for him. “But, I may have an idea for you.”

“Yeah? Is it to get a ratty old Fredbear plush and carry it everywhere?” Cassidy asked skeptically. “Because I don’t think that works for everyone.”

“That implies that I do it because I want to,” Evan muttered to himself, but he shook his head at Cassidy, digging into his pocket. “No, I was thinking something a bit more your style.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, something like this.” Evan pulled the hairclip from his pocket. “I went to Fredbear’s yesterday and won it at the prize counter. Think of it as a way for me to defend you from your nightmares.”

Cassidy blinked at him, her mouth opening like she wanted to speak. Then she closed her mouth and blinked again. It took Evan a moment to realize she was speechless. And about to cry?

“It’s, um. If you don’t want it, it’s no big deal-“

“No, that’s very sweet actually,” Cassidy interrupted him, pulling her arm from under his hand. “Can you help me put it in? On the right side?”

“Oh, sure.” Evan fumbled with the hairclip, and Cassidy laughed lightly as he got to his feet to put the clip in her hair. “Like that?”

“A little further up,” Cassidy guided his hands, and Evan was sure his face was on fire. “Right there.”

Evan sighed in relief as he retracted his hands. His sleeve had slipped a little ways down his arm, and he quickly pulled it back down. Not fast enough, apparently, as Cassidy frowned.

Her eyes fixed on his sleeve, and she reached out to grab his elbow. Evan let her push his sleeve back to reveal the raw, bruised skin. “What happened here? Did-“

“I got in trouble.” Evan bit his lip and glanced away. “Mike is grounded, and if I’m not supervised, then-“

“Your dad did this?” Cassidy’s voice seemed tight, but Evan squeezed his eyes shut instead of looking at her expression.

“Yeah. But it’s better to face smaller fears than big ones, right?” Evan replied weakly.

Cassidy fell silent again. Her grip tightened on his elbow, and she let out a quiet sigh. “You’re unbelievable.”

“In a good way, though. Right?” Evan finally turned back to Cassidy. She seemed on the verge of tears as she looked at him.

The faintest smile came across her face. “Of course. Of course, Evie.”

She dragged him into a tight hug, and Evan hugged her back, unable to make himself care about how things looked to the rest of the room.

Everything was going to be just fine.

#cloud speaks #cloud writes #cloud colors #back in the nightmare au #uhhhhhh #cassidy fnaf #cc fnaf #evan afton #cw bruises #tw bruises #This will be in a later chapter I promise #just not right now #gotta get through Charlie's birthday first #haha

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soleminisanction · 10 hours

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Why did TD:R fail? Was it a flop? I could tolerate the art style but I’d feel bad if it was just for that.

There's no way for anybody on the outside to know for sure. You'd have to ask someone at DC, and they might not be able to tell you depending on the current NDA situation over there.

From the outside, I can tell you it sure felt like the art on the first arc is what tanked the series. I didn't have a problem with it either because I like stylized art (barring a few exceptions -- the coloring on Batgirls triggers my migraines), and because I gave it a shot I saw what they were going for. It was the art style that best suited the Clayface-gone-wrong tech the villains were using, and for establishing the quirky, offbeat and (some would say) off-putting setting and characters of the Gotham Marina.

But when the series was running, all you ever heard were two discussion points over and over again: the art is ugly, and how dare there be gay boys romance in my superhero comic, with people acting like Bernard was getting sooooo much more page time than, say... Lois Lane. Iris and Linda West. Selina Kyle. The romance between Dick and Babs over in Nightwing. The romance between Harley and Ivy in everything they're in. You get me.

(As if that relationship wasn't the thing that got the book greenlit in the first place, given that it scored DC a shitton of free mainstream press the year before.)

And the thing is, people are always going to bitch about the writing on an ongoing book. Always. Gestures vaguely at current comics discourse. It's a big-ass fandom, somebody's always unhappy with what they're doing, they always, always blame the writers, and that goes double for anything written by a young woman like Meghan Fitzmartin. Double double if that young women happened to shake up the status quo in a majorly progressive way, like say, making an established character canonically queer.

So if it had just been that the book probably could've gone on at least as long as Batgirls did. And when they switched artists, people who were invested in the Tim/Ber relationship and in Tim's ongoing story started paying attention again and actually talking about the story. But by then it was too late, the book had already been canceled and was wrapping up, and it was genuinely a shame.

The book is fine. It's not a masterpiece, but it's fun and perfectly workmanlike and it loves Tim without shitting on other characters -- even when he does get a "issue where he fights the other Robins" (I assume this was an editorial mandate because both Jason and Damian had similar issues in their solos around the same time and that feels like way too much of a coincidence) it's a) not actually them and b) mostly about praising them for how good they are and how the copies are inferior.

The above statement, admittedly, does not apply to the marketing around the book, which I can only imagine didn't help matters because it was very cringe.

So yeah, that's the long and short of it by my estimations. TD:R took a big artistic swing in its first arc that failed to connect with its audience and then was just never given the chance to recover. It's sad.

#tim drake robin #tim drake #dc comics asks #dc comics #meta #robin #batfam

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gee-arid · 2 days

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Hey, about your Veilleuse and Ailes Rouge au, how would the episode Silencer go? Also it would be purrfect right? (pun intended)

The main progress point of this episode would be Luka recognising Ailes Rouges 'heart song' (he can keep his magical powers :3 theres a whole subsection of magic thats hinted at in mlb that never really gets touched on, but its still kinda cool).

This would probably lead to Luka getting closer to Nath in an attempt to help him. This could then lead to either romance conflict (although i think any attraction towards Luka would be one-sided), or mutual appreciation of taste.

Context:

I headcanon Luka has known Nathaniel for atleast a few years, not very well mind you, but in the way one knows vaguely of their little sisters strange classmates.

Nath was pretty... introverted before being pushed by Tikki and later Marc, so while Juleka and Nathaniel would work together on school projects (when Rose and Alix werent available) out of quiet kid solidarity, they probably didnt know too much about eachother. Still- Luka has been around him enough to pick up his song, especially once Nath starts being more friendly and actually making friends with Jules.

Marc however hasnt been hanging around the boat house that long, if ever, so Luka doesnt recognise him.

Anyway, silly episode bits:

Nathaniel is brought in by KS to help design the costumes. Hes a costume guy while Marinettes a fashion gal. He and Marinette work together to fix up the costumes.

(Silencer off camera having stolen Ailes voice)

Ailes does loose his voice to Silencer. But this doesnt affect them all that much, excluding being immediately thrown off. Upon meeting up our boys figure, as long as they can break his helmet and catch a voice to use, it doesnt matter if they have a charm or not. Besides, Ailes has gotten better at catching little flying things.

Neither Ailes or Vei like Bob Ross at all, and do make him spill on live TV in the end. Probably less subtly than Ladybug and Chat Noir did. Our heroes are artists and dont stand for art thieves.

Bonus Kitty Section! and Silencer!Luka designs:

Im... not completely happy with them. But i wanted Silencer to resemble the Kitty Section costume. And his 'cape' flickers when he 'talks' (through the speakers on his hands and chest) like audio recordings.

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judgeanon · 2 days

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So about that DETECTIVE COMICS #1084...

As a big Shiva fan, I really, really liked that. Maybe my favorite issue with her since Hill's Outsiders run. I made a thread in another site about it but I liked that issue so much that I'm gonna take a sec to repost it here too, so hit that jump if you wanna read an in-depth analysis of 'Tec #1084... or at least, its backup feature!

I'm kinda kidding, I actually enjoyed the main story too. I liked seeing Bruce and Talia reunited in a very touching moment of romance that gives way to grim tension as the unfortunate complications of the strange and violent world they live being to slowly rip them apart once more... and then Shiva happens. For one panel and in a flashback but it was really fun to see Talia call her a friend for a bunch of reasons.

The most serious one is that I genuinely think that, given enough room to work with, Talia and Shiva could be a very compelling pair. Shiva is known to be interested in people who are in a state of flux, who find themselves in crossroads trying to figure out where their true path really lies. And Talia, for better or worse, has been there for, like... years now. I've always thought that Talia, endlessly torn between her love for Bruce, her love for her father, and her love for the world, might even find something tempting about Shiva's absolute detachment, about her comparative freedom from all connections. Which would be fun to explore.

The other reason comes from the issue's backup story by Alex Paknadel and Robbi Rodriguez, which I didn't expect at all but ended up being a huge treat for me, since it aligned so much with a lot of what I consider the most interesting elements and perspectives in Shiva and Cass' relationship.

Right from the start, we have Shiva being able to read Cass and figure out what's wrong with her just from a couple of fighting moves, which I absolutely adore. What looks like a fight is really just them having a conversation, at least for Shiva, who is very quickly able to get at the deeper emotions troubling Cass and holding her back.

(Also, that one panel of Snake Style ThodThodThod's really made me smile. I love the idea of Shiva using stranger, more exotic martial arts than anyone else, especially in Gotham)

On my first read I wasn't really onboard with Shiva's words about not killing Cass, like there was something about them that didn't quite click, but after mulling them over for a while I feel like they can be read as Shiva intentionally picking at Cass' perfectionist nature and competitive spirit. It's less "I spared you and now you owe me" and more "You trying to be Batman makes you suck, here's why, now be better." But I might be reaching a bit there.

Still, it does work, which I really enjoy. I like Shiva being able to prod Cass into reaching deep within her, figuring out what's wrong and improving herself. And we get a lot of that in the next couple of pages, where Cass grapples with the Azmer while also grappling with her own nature. Cass' training with David is an extremely defining element of her character. It's her instincts, her mother tongue, her main method of expression, but it's also something that causes her a ton of inner turmoil, due to the intentions of that training.

Cass is presented in this story as someone inwardly ashamed by her nature, worried of the assassin skills that are weaved into her very nature and what that may say about her. Of course, this is something that Cass has been through before and has developed quite a bit, maybe even outgrown but with Batman dead and gone, it probably makes sense for her to lapse a bit back into self-loathing without that symbol to guide her and with her failure at trying to emulate it. Which I think is a very human thing to happen. Your worst traits are never really gone, and tend to slip back into you when you're at a low point.

Which is why I really like the last few panels of this story.

Although first, Shiva calling Talia an "associate" makes me giggle a bit. C'mon Shivs, don't be so tsun-tsun... anyway.

On the most basic level, we have Shiva offering Cass some solid advice that ties the whole story in a neat bow. But it takes on an even stronger quality when you remember this is Lady Shiva talking here. Shiva, who we know wants Cass to be more than just a Bat. Shiva, who understands the strength that comes from finding your own path and following it. Shiva, who maybe more than anyone knows exactly how strong Cass can be once she embraces all aspects of her own nature and finds harmony in herself.

From almost any other character, that last phrase would just be a nice little canned moral. From Shiva's lips, it carries the weight of decades of character work for both Cass and Shiva. It's a solid ending that's elevated by the history between its characters. It hits SO many of the notes I want to see, the things that I think make Shiva's relationship with Cass genuinely compelling. Shiva being able to "read" Cass through a fight, her wanting Cass to be herself more than anything else, and all of it unhindered by any kind of easy moral judgment from Cass or the story itself.

Shiva is not presented as a monstrous villainess who Cass must reject, but as her own character with her own story that happpens to cross with Cass' for a moment. And from Shiva, there's no berating Cass for being a hero or choosing not to kill. There is berating, sure, but it works because it speaks to something a lot more personal for both characters than generic notions of good or evil. It speaks about Cass' need to find and be herself and stick with it no matter what.

(Which this arc also touched upon a couple months ago in 'Tec #1082, which very elegantly made it clear that Cass had the heart of a hero before she even knew what a Batman was -- an incredibly powerful statement made in just two captions)

So this is a story that hits pretty much all the right notes for me. I wish it would hit them a bit longer, or in a few different ways that didn't involve Batman, but it's just a perfect example of most of the elements that I think make this relationship worth exploring. Even the fact that this makes it the sixth major appearance of Lady Shiva in a row that is ultimately dedicated to her relationship with Cass doesn't bother me because this is precisely how I want this relationship to be written. If they were all this good, I wouldn't even mind.

And on top of all that, this issue is also a good example of something I'm always thinking about: tempting as it is, you don't need to make every Shiva appearance be huge and bombastic and lead to some massive story arc. It can be something small but meaningful, a quick appearance with some very choice words, Shiva walking into an ongoing story to, in her own way, help others get through an inflection point.

If I had to say something I disliked about it, I do think it's a little blunt in its themes and execution. Paknadel has Shiva quite literally spell out the problem for Cass, which I guess is fine given how short the story is, but it does lose a bit of elegance because of it. Still, it was a great little treat and while I know Ram's 'Tec run is coming to its end, I do hope he'll find a place for one last bit of Shiva in it.

And I also hope he gets to write her for more than just one wordless balloon because Ram V's Lady Shiva is a dream book in my book.

#DC #Comics #Batman #Lady Shiva #Batgirl #Cassandra Cain #Alex Paknadel #Robbi Rodriguez #Ram V

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