#Cass is making everyone on Tumblr cry

[mmoofykins]

Something done for @somerandomdudelmao 's apocalyptic series! I haven't used color on anything for a while.

I've been wanting to do fanart for them for such a long time now but I'm a nervous internet person so I don't show myself much or know what to say or how it's okay to interact. HALF THE TIME I DONT EVEN DARE REPOST AND ITS KILLING ME BECAUSE I LVOE THIS SERIES SO MUCH I CRY, as I'm sure everyone can relate.

Raph had never really been my favorite, but lately everything about him makes me so soft and with cass's newest updates? There was no way I could just sit still. It was enough to draw me out of my "too scared to post"-cave and I'm glad.

Also currently saving to buy a new iPad cause mine is usable no more, so I'm borrowing my brother's. The pain of not being able to draw when I want wherever I want has never been greater. I do have some things I wanna show though so idk maybe 🤲

[gonnalosemydougdimmadomedamnmind]

It's literally impossible to read bat fanfiction because it's all based off those ridiculous fanon tropes that spread like crazy and people take as fucking biblical!!!!! Dick was never a jerk to Jason when he was Robin- they got along because Dick is mature as hell and in one retelling- Jason was a jerk to him!! And when he came back as Red Hood he had literally not a single damn reason to treat Dick like shit! Not a damn one! But he did, didn't he? Cause he's the fucking asshole! How dare you make Dick grovel towards that bastard! Dick has only ever tried to help him! Reached out during his Batman run, over and over! Also- Dick never put Jason in Arkham with Joker just a few cells down???? What the fuck! The Joker and all those other fuckers had been broken out of Arkham by Black Mask already for like the whole run??? Jason went to Arkham after losing to Dick, and Gordon put him in there because One he fucking deserved it, Two the literal circumstances?? And at that point!! Arkham was fucking rehabilitated itself!! By Dick!!! Because Bruce had him go undercover there for real, and Dick was actually tortured there before he got out!! So Dick put in the work to get that shit in order to actually help people!!

Dick never chose Damian over Tim- Tim refused to engage with him over his grief, shut him out, and left of his own devices! He never told Dick his suspicions on why Bruce was alive, never! And Tim is not the one to bring Bruce back either, there's a whole team at that point! Dick learns Bruce is alive through tossing his 'dead' body into a pit and the body comes to life as a zombie. Tim didn't tell him shit! Tim is also not a little crybaby- Damian cutting his line was a fucking blip on the page, he was momentarily shocked, that was it! He put Damian on his Hit List, which is why Damian cut his line. And his first attempt at "murder" is just pushing Tim off the dinosaur statue in the cave, he didn't go all assassin on him! Also Dick wasn't even there the first incident and wasn't told about the second incident. Alfred is the one who gave Damian Robin and Dick accepted him because he saw that Damian needed help! He needed guidance! He didn't fucking fire Tim the way Bruce fired him, and fuck all of you for thinking that Tim or Jason or fucking anyone has more right over Robin than Dick Fucking Grayson! He tried to promote Tim and Tim walked off. How dare yall make Dick fucking grovel towards that bastard!!!

Jason did try to kill all three of them!! Why does everyone just gloss over that like what the fuck??? Why does he get a pass for every shitty thing he's done??? "Bad writing" stfu this is the same dude that without hesitation kills random criminals, people who deal drugs, do you know how many random ass people deal drugs??? Jason doesn't give a single shit about being his own type of hero or saving Gotham his own way, nor do the people think of him as their savior!! Are you people fucking delusional?? I saw a post that said citizens would trust Jason over CASS and I cannot Believe the hallucinations yall are seeing???

It is literally downright impossible to find fics about Dick or Damian or Cass or fucking any of them that doesn't include these literal bullshit fanon takes!!! It's impossible!!! This fandom sucks!!!! You don't even need to go buy the comics, all these popular takes have been debunked right here on tumblr!!!! Also Dick can do literally everything!! He's hypercompetent as hell, die mad about it!! Jason doesn't like Wonder Woman???? Where the fuck did that come from??? Wayne Family Adventures is not real!!! Those people could not BE more out of character!!! Look at Bruce for crying out loud!!! Yall know that man ain't act like that!

Edit: leaving this here in case anyone wonders what my hot take is towards this question I was asked: "have you considered tho, that fanon is more fun..."

Well of course fanon is more fun if you're a fan of Jason or Tim. Fanon actively caters towards those two pasty white boys. Fanon actively shits on Dick and Damian though. And for Dick? He literally never did that shit! It is all made up! It's literal character assassination?? But by the fans?? And for Damian? He was 10!!! He grew up as an assassin! He was actively trying to grow with Dick's help! How can yall see him as the bad guy?? And not the literal bad guy, (Jason), and the 17 teen year old who literally fought him back btw, (Tim), like old boy did not act victimized the way you people portray. And Jesus for Cass? Cass is just a prop in fanon. So what exactly about this should be fun to me? Like seriously.

[milks-thoughts]

to the anon who request peepaw leo, bless your soul, I didnt know i need father figure peepaw in my life.

I got a idea, what if peepaw leo, take reader to the hidden city? to more aware of the yokai kind and stuff?

I WAS STRUGGLING WITH THIS AND A RANDOM TUMBLR POST BROUGHT ME IDEAS, also I can’t write shit without angst what the fuck happened here

TW: mentions of cheating, and overall wholesomeness

summary: Peepaw Leo takes Reader to the hidden city to make them feel better (reader is 16)

He Doesn’t Deserve You

⚔︎ Peepaw had gotten more than used to seeing you around the lair

⚔︎ it’s been like 3 years what is he saying-??

⚔︎ they even got you your own train car

⚔︎ you’d leave every day to go to school, then you’d come back

⚔︎ you were so giddy coming back one time with CJ everyone just HAD to know why

⚔︎ the moment you got a boyfriend he was suspicious- of the boyfriend- so was his younger counterpart so-!

⚔︎ can you blame him for being on edge? the boyfriend you got was like a frat boy

⚔︎ You we’re just sitting on the beanbags in the living room, scrolling through social media before you came across a post from this girls account. okay- maybe it’s his cousin! Yeah they look similar enough. You decided to read the caption, that’s when you paused. You stood up suddenly and walked to your train car, slamming the door closed you plopped down on your bed and started sobbing. Apparently you weren’t very quiet because the next thing you knew Mikey and Leo were sliding open the door “ what’s wrong? “ Mikey asked gently which only caused you to cry harder. You could only show them the phone before they looked back at you with a soft look “ oh it’s okay…it’ll all be okay “ Leo soothed before looking wearily at Mikey “ do you want us to get Big Blue? “ he asked you, you paused and nodded. You could really use one of his hugs right now, the crushing hug that’s a mix between warm and cold from the metal. He could wrap his arms around your entire body and cover you with a hug, so yes, you would like a hug from him. Leo nodded and stood up, he sent one more glance before closing the train car and walking away, your sniffles had been fluctuating from calm crying to bawling. Mikey had wrapped around your frame and hugged you, looking up you saw your father Leonardo standing there a soft look on his face when he took Mikey’s spot. He wrapped his arms around your frame and buried your head in his plastron. His arms tight around you as you curled up into a ball in his hold. A new round of sobs came up but they were filled with incoherent sentences. “ was I not good enough for him? “ you asked in a small voice, Leonardo hushed you quietly and rubbed your back “ why don’t we go into the hidden city? You can meet Bone man and see the mystic stuff “ Leo asked and Mikey nodded. You liked the idea, it’d help you get your mind off things. Leo smiled “ buuut me an everyone else have some plans, why don’t you and Big Blue go? “ You blinked and you swore you saw him calling CJ and Mikey texting someone..? Leonardo smiled and started walking, you were wearing enough, a black tank top and weird kinda muted orange sweats. As you two walked along you could help but let your mind wander. Why did Leo call CJ and why was Mikey texting April & Cass? When you came back to reality you were shocked, so this was the hidden city! You had brought your phone and it was going off with alerts. But every time you went to check Leonardo pulled away your attention and kept you hooked. You had gotten pizza at his favorite joint, seen the battle nexus and witch town. Your eyes sparkling with admiration every time you saw something new or unique. When you returned home, the lair was empty. The air in it was uncomfortable but Leonardo didn’t seem worried. It wasn’t long before everyone came back with dinner, you couldn’t help but question why Raph had some red on one of his spikes. You never voiced your concerns. Your ex had died in a breaking-and-entering gone wrong

[obsidianstrawberrymilk]

1 3 13 for that ask game!!

Character everyone gets wrong - oh damn, lotta answers I could give for this. Mmm... actually, because I haven't seen a lot of people talk about this one: Aizawa Shouta/Eraserhead. Like... imo both fans and people who hate him don't actually write his character properly; fans mainly writer 'Dadzawa' and him being this super caring dude who like saves every kid ever when like... in canon he's an incredibly flawed person who often does more to harm his students than he does help and has a shit ton of trauma that prevents him from being the support they really need. Yet at the same time I think a lot of the hate for him tends to hyperfocus on his flaws and act like he only cares about like two students, when he does care a lot about them and does try and help his students; also, no one ever takes into account his role as a homeroom teacher; his job isn't to improve their skills in a specific area like an English or Gym teacher, it's to make sure they get things like good internships or opportunities, and to make sure they more or less stay on track. He does seem to try at least. A lot of Aizawa's flaws as a teacher are the same flaws all the adults in the series share due to the errors in writing, really. Idk, both the pro Aizawa and anti Aizawa stuff I've read just kinda rubs me the wrong way.

3) Worst take you've seen on tumblr - oh SHIT. This could be a whole separate post in and of itself. I could say "Itachi was actually the most super awesome cool genius ever and he was 100% right and Sasuke's a little bitch for not doing exactly what his flawless plan decided and also Fugaku Uchiha was abusive so he's the real hero", because I will eat the esophagus of the next person who says that. Or "Cass is actually so mean and scary so all the civilians like Jason more because he protects women and children specially and also she's so mean to him :(" because I am willing to commit first degree murder of this. I could also say "Dabi-Touya/Fuyumi/Shouto/Natsuo/fucking REI are the real Abusers and Endeavour never did anything wrong actually", or maybe "Ben was abusive towards poor uwu boy Klaus who did nothing wrong ever". And that's just sticking within fandom. There are probably worse takes out there, but I refuse to remember them atm.

13) Worst Blorboification - oh, this one's easy, fucking TIM DRAKE. Blorboification is fine but he's been blorboed so hard the Tim Drake fandom isn't even a fan of the actual fucking character by any measure, there's like nothing left there. I try reading Tim Drake fanfic and I'm hit by Sad Pathetic White Boy Who Is So Tormented By The Cruelty Of Those Around Him And Can Do Nothing But Cry like NO. THATS NOT HIM AT ALL. I'M GOING TO EAT SOMEONE'S LUNGS NEXT TIME I HAVE TO READ THIS.

[fantasticgothicpeachsludge]

Hello it is I connection terminated the random Tumblr user!

Ideas had:

Directly after waking upafter being controlled by a bunch of psychotic clowns for like a year Michael went to Henry for help. Henry built him the end of skeleton shell so he could do stuff again But also made Michael internalized the idea that his life is basically useless unless he does vigilante stuff. Also the idea that it basically didn't matter at all what happened to Michael himself as long as he could still walk and punch...

"Nightguar" Michael Is introduced at a charity event hosted by William. (I think he definitely has a "oh you have dead parents I have dead children isn't that so sad" talk with Bruce at some point) Also Tim is there. Then suddenly as Williams giving this speech about "Look at these new robots I made they have a criminal detection system will protect Any children who walk into my establishments!". When Michael bursts in through the glass ceiling and tries to kidnap/maybe kill his dad. But because The crowd and Batman don't know the context it just looks like scary villain came down from the ceiling and is now trying to kill nice children's entertainer William Afton. Basically Michael runs after that and has a little rooftop fight with Tim. Throws down a flash Bang and then runs away.

All of the fun times can easily disguise as humans everyone except baby is just really bad at acting normal. It's also not something they need to do much-

Michael has a lot of hang-ups about being the only non-human member of the bat family for so long. Like everyone else can kind of take off the mask and do normal people stuff (mostly). But Mike physically can't do that.... He also happens to live in a city where most of the metahumans are villains and most of the heroes are normal human people. He kind of sticks out and sometimes gets mistaken for a villain (Kind of a loose adaptation of the whole looking like William hence people wanting to attack him thing for cannon)

Whatever kind of ghost or something like that Michael Charlie and most of the other cast from fnaf are Makes anyone who is in the presence of them feel really Uneasy.. This kind of fades the more time you spend around the person. (This is a head cannon I have for normal fnaf too I just think it'll be fun here)

Cassidy's powers are based on how much pain herself and the people around her are in. Either emotional or physical. she shares a vessel with Evan (because it's easier To say then crying child) His constant sadness is A Perfect power booster! If you're wondering what her abilities are she can trap people in nightmares, Teleconesis, Telepathy, Reality bending,

Thank you for listening to my ramblings here's a sketch of Cassidy! More of a little concept sketch than her final design LOL but I hope you like it

Ah! Hi! Sorry for taking so long to answer I was recovering from my sister’s second baby shower (I didn’t have a panic attack at this one yay) but it’s been a few weeks and now I’m ready to type! (mainly hearts and key smashs)

HENRYYYYYYY!!!!!! I know you have good intentions but you are giving my blorbo even more of a complex than he already has :(

*lights up the bat signal to let Bruce know to make sure he has the emergency adoption papers ready*

Of course William would have the fucking audacity I want to hit him (and I know that that man is so good an actor probably the only member of the batfamily to notice anything off would be Cass and ether she’s not settled enough to go to galas yet or literally hasn’t joined the family)

There is no doubt in my mind that he pulled out the “I am so sorry about the loss of your son Mr Wayne. There is no pain worse than the loss of a child. I would know” I want to break his nose

Is it really a robin teen vigilante romance if it doesn’t start with a misunderstanding and a fight?

Of course she’s a good actor, she loves playing pretend. kill me

I have no words for this one just tears

Tim: Hey guys! this is my boyfriend Michael.

*the entirety of Young Justice about to beat up a corpse Because he has bad vibes*

Tim making distance between them with his bo: Back! Back I say!

I love her so much💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕 her little hat is everything to me

[ayamari-no-goshi]

Chasing Shadows (6)

AO3 -> first, last, next

Fandoms: Danny Phantom (DP) / DC universe

Summary:  THIS  IS A CROSSOVER.  As Bruce Wayne begins to slowly recover from the loss of his son, two   separate mysteries open up old wounds. Who is the unknown leaving clues   hinting at a return to Gotham, and who is the phantom pretending to be   his lost son? Is it just a coincidence they’re active in Gotham at the   same time? Or are they connected?  

Warnings: rated T for violence, mentions of death, and questionable mental health

Parings: none

Notes: originally uploaded to AO3. Cross-posted to tumblr

Stephanie was not going to cry. She wasn’t. Well, maybe she would after she was out of her current predicament and away from the prying eyes of the asshole known as Batman. Seriously, why was she trying to prove her worth to the man? Wait, it’s because he was freaking Batman, that’s why.

She just wanted to set up a situation that would show him her competence and that she was just as capable as Tim, or Dick, or Cass. It was never her intention to cause a city-wide gang war that threatened to take everyone and thing with it. That’s what she got for deciding to use one of Batman’s own contingency plans. For someone who made plans for everything, he liked leaving out important details like that the so-called crime boss Matches Malone, who was super important to making this plan work, was just one of his aliases.  So now, there was a massive power vacuum in the city during to most of the organized crime losing their heads and some of the lieutenants because she enacted that plan.

Even though Batman didn’t want to see her back on the streets, she had to do something. It was her fault this happened, and she needed to do something to help get things back under control. Sure, Batman, Nightwing, and Batgirl were doing their best. Catwoman and some other acquaintances were assisting too. Even Tim had been forced out of retirement and had taken up the Robin mantle again. Surprisingly, Phantom hadn’t shown himself to any of them, but they did have reports he was trying to keep the fighting away from some of the hospitals.

That didn’t matter right now. What did matter was finding Orpheus.

Orpheus was a newer vigilante in Gotham. Bruce did something to help get him trusted by the various gangs in the city, and since they couldn’t use the Matches Malone persona to get things under control, they were going to attempt to use Orpheus as a figurehead for the gangs instead. If all went well, it would stop the gang war. But, he’d gone worryingly dark, and Steph had made it her mission to find him. It was the least she could do to help fix things.

And that’s how she found her way into a trap. She managed to find Orpheus in one of his few safe houses (conveniently supplied by Bruce). For a brief moment, she thought everything would be okay as she began explaining what he needed to do. But something caught his attention, and she barely had time to respond when her world went temporarily black.

Coming to with a pounding headache, she found herself restrained on a chair with the villain known as Black Mask paced in front of her. With the exception of occasionally dealing with his organization, the False Face Society, she hadn’t personally met him before, but his appearance was unmistakable. Due to a fire he set when he first came on the scene, his face now looked like a blackened skull mask. He’d been slowly regaining power in the organized crime world of Gotham since his escape from Arkham. He was known to be ruthless with a penchant for torture which wouldn’t make her situation better.

“Ah, you’re awake. Good. I need to have a little chat with you, Girly.” He moved closer so she was forced to look at him. His putrid breath made her eyes water. “I know the Bat has some sort of plan to get this godforsaken mess under control. I was gonna ask that associate of yours, but he put up too much resistance.” His gaze moved to the side where Orpheus laid unmoving on the floor in a pool of blood. The ashy color to his skin suggested he was already dead.

This was all her fault. Not only did she set up the meeting that led to this war, now the guy they needed for being able to stop the needless bloodshed was gone.

What was she going to tell Bruce?

Why was she even thinking about that? She was currently bound to a chair by a madman and escaping intact needed to be her priority. Taking stock of her surroundings, she noticed that there was one door with light filtering underneath it. Moving shadows suggested there were people guarding the door. There was one window large enough for her to escape out of. Thankfully, it just looked closed as opposed to boarded shut. If needed, she could just break through it. Good. Now she just needed to get out of the restraints which thankfully just seemed to be rope.

Let’s see. Did he remove the hidden blade she kept in her gloves for this very reason? No? Good. Now, she just needed to grab it and cut the ropes while not cluing him into what she was doing. Easy enough.

Moving to the lone table in the room, Black Mask placed a briefcase that had been leaning against it on top of it. With a rather loud click, it popped open, and he began removing things such as a revolver, a hammer, a white mask, and what appeared to be an electric screwdriver. That one made her a little nervous.

“Nice, aren’t they?” Mask had noticed her watching him. “Just like you Bats, I like to be prepared when I ply my trade. You never know what you might need when you need to make someone talk.”

“Funny, that’s just what I was thinking.” The new mechanical voice seemed to come from the shadows.

Mask grabbed the revolver off the table and pointed it towards where he thought the voice came from. “I don’t know who you are, but I don’t particularly like being interrupted. So, I’ll give you the count of five to show yourself. One… Five.” He fired and put a hole in the wall, but there was no sign he hit anyone.

“Put that down before you hurt yourself with it.” The voice warned as someone emerged from the darkness in the same place where Mask shot. His red helmet glinted dangerously in the dim light: the Red Hood.

This situation just went from bad to worse. They had some reports he’d been dispatching any gang members who dared approach Crime Alley during the war. Once the gangs got the message to avoid the area, they started getting reports of him appearing in other areas of Gotham and doing the same thing. They even suspected he may have been the sniper who assisted Bruce and Cass during the assault on Tim’s school that caused him to come out of retirement. He seemed to have strict morals regarding who he would and wouldn’t attack as he only seemed to kill people who were known killers, traffickers, or high-ranking drug dealers. If they didn’t have those crimes, he tended to just knock out or incapacitate them. He was especially lenient with kids and teens.

Hopefully, that meant that he would help her escape. But with his unknown issues with Batman being enough that he harmed Tim, she wasn’t sure if he’d help Black Mask or not.

“And just who might you be?” Mask snapped as he pointed the gun at Hood. “Oh wait, I don’t really care.”

Hood made a noise which almost sounded like a scoff as he seemed to vanish back into the shadows. Panicked, Mask fired a few more shots without hitting anything.

“Enough of that.” Mask froze as Hood wrapped his arm around his neck from behind and held an unusual blade up to his throat. Was it a kris? Steph noted that Hood’s sleeves were rolled up and didn’t seem to have those strange markings Nightwing’s video of him showed. Had that been a temporary thing? Or was there something more to it? “I’m going to give you one warning. Go after Bats all you want, but the kids are off limit.”

“And just why should I listen to a nobody like you?” Mask hissed at him. “I can have dozens of men in here in an instant to kill you.”

“Go ahead and try.” Even through the helmet, Hood seemed amused. “You’ll find that they’re currently indisposed. But even if you decide I’m bluffing, do you really want to be caught in the crosshairs?” When Mask stopped struggling, Hood snickered. “That’s what I thought. As part of our little deal…”

“What deal?”

Hood pushed the knife a little more into Mask’s throat. “You leave the kids alone, and I don’t brutally murder you. That kind of deal.” Hood’s shoulders shook as if he was silently laughing. “Anyways, maybe I should give you some info about Batman as a show of good faith. I mean, Hush seemed to appreciate some of the information I provided him.”

“You’re the informant the Riddle mentioned?” The words slipped out before she could stop herself. They had no idea how much he knew about Bruce’s operations as Batman and personal life, but it seemed to be extensive. This was bad. Just how much damage could this man simply by selling that?

Hood glanced at her. Well, at least he seemed to. God, she wished he’d take off the damn helmet.

“I almost forgot we had an audience. Dove, can you get her to safety?” he seemed to ask the air.

“Can you seriously stop calling me that?” The sound of the disembodied voice made her jump. She briefly noted the air around her seemed to chill before it felt as if she was doused in ice water. The next thing she knew she was on the ground outside with Phantom worriedly floating beside her.

…

Bruce had been in the middle of reviewing the current situation on the streets with Dick, Tim, and Cass while Barbara chimed in from the comms when Stephanie hesitantly walked into the cave. Bruises covered her face, but other than those and the exhaustion seen in her shoulders, she seemed otherwise okay. She carried a paper bag which appeared to have something substantial within it.

“Steph, what happened?” Tim questioned as he and the others went to go help her. After Dick gently took the bag from her, double checked what it was, and placed it on one of the work benches, Tim and Cass supported her as they led her to the Med Bay.

“Black Mask happened. Batman,” she directly looked at him as her voice wavered with emotion, “he killed Orpheus.”

“Are you sure?”

She nodded. “Slit throat. Mask confirmed it, and I saw the body when I came to.”

Anger and frustration momentarily filled Bruce’s mind. He needed Orpheus to be able to stop this mess, and now that he was dead, everything they could do to help salvage the situation fell to pieces. Why was she even there with him? Was she the one who led Mask to Orpheus? But at the same time, he was glad she appeared to be okay. Sure, she wasn’t his, but he did care for her, even if he didn’t think she was currently good enough to be on the streets.

“When you came to? What happened?” Dick asked her while Alfred appeared and ran a diagnostic on her to check for hidden injuries before treating her.

Her lip quivered for a moment before she explained how Black Mask tied her up in hopes of getting information out of her. That was concerning. Sionis was well known for torturing people, but she didn’t appear to be severely injured. That was explained as she revealed that Red Hood appeared from the shadows and kept him at bay while Phantom helped her escape.

“I don’t understand, why would Red Hood help you?” Dick tilted his head in confusion. His own interaction with the man had greatly troubled him.

“Hood warned Mask not to harm me or any of the other kids,” she huffed in insult at the word, “helping Batman. When I demanded answers from Phantom about why he was working with that man, he said something strange. I don’t know if it was a slip or not. He said that ‘Hood would rather die again then let another teen hero die.’”

His eldest shared a look with Tim. Odd. Bruce knew they were investigating something on their own regarding Hood, even after Tim temporarily stepped down from the Robin mantle. That look must have something to do with their research. “Phantom joked with him not to die again when I eavesdropped on their conversation,” he explained slowly. “I hate to say it, but maybe both of them did have at least a brush with death.”

“It just doesn’t make sense. He clearly had an issue with Tim, but he came to my rescue?”

“I think he has more of an issue with Bruce than me,” Tim explained while tapping his arm as Alfred gently tended to Stephanie’s wounds. “Whatever it is, it’s bad enough for him to ignore his own morals.”

“Perhaps.” Bruce wasn’t so sure of that, but at least the man helped save one of their own this time around. It also continued to surprise him that Phantom would continue to willingly work with him. There was just something about their relationship they were missing. “Did you get anything else from Hood or Phantom.”

She shook her head. “Other than Hood confirmed he was Hush’s informant, no.”

“That man has a lot of information he shouldn’t have,” Babs murmured from over the coms. “I haven’t found any evidence of tampering in our systems. Bruce, I know it’s unlikely, but with Phantom being able to pass through walls, is it possible he managed to get into the cave?”

“I have considered that,” Bruce acknowledged. “However, I haven’t received any notifications on our security regarding Phantom’s unusual heat signature or anyone appearing from a place they shouldn’t. It doesn’t rule out the possibility, but it does seem unlikely at this point.”

A quiet rustling sound interrupted them. All of them glanced over to find Cass peeking inside the bag Stephanie brought in. “Plants? From Red Hood?”

“I almost forgot about that. Phantom told me to take it.” Stephanie made a face. “It’s pretty hefty, and I briefly thought it was a severed head. Phantom seemed offended by the idea. Though I’m not sure if that’s because I thought he’d give me a severed head or that Hood would have done that.”

“We might as well take a look,” Dick suggested. “It’s not like we’re making any breakthroughs with the current situation.”

As much as he didn’t like it, his son made a point. Besides, the temporary distraction might give him the needed break to be able to look at the war with fresh eyes once he returned to it.

Moving to the table, the others crowded around as he opened the bag and placed the contents on the table. What he found was an unusual plant with single stalk and large bulb that had six vines of another plant wrapped around it. The vines appeared to be morning glory, but he wasn’t sure of what the other one was. A piece of paper was tucked in between the vines which had written in typed letters, “Looks like you’re trapped between a rock and a hard place.”

Hood’s sense of humor wasn’t appreciated.

“I haven’t seen one of those in a long time,” Dick murmured before gesturing to the plant with the bulb. “I haven’t really seen them in the US, but they’re common in parts of the Mediterranean. It’s a Sea Squirt.”

Bruce hummed for a moment. The note most likely referenced the part in “The Odyssey” where Odysseus had to sail between the monsters Scylla and Charybdis, but these plants were more puzzling to him. After a few minutes of research, he found his answer.

Morning Glories were also sometimes referred to as a Messina Creeper, and the Strait of Messina has been put forth as the historical location of where the monsters lived due to a known whirlpool in the area. Hood must have decided its vines would nicely reference Scylla especially because the plant was also sometimes considered a symbol of life, death, and mortality.

The other plant, the Sea Squirt, almost made him chuckle. One of its many names was Charybdis Maritima which explained why he would have chosen it. But Bruce was surprised to find that the plant was sometimes used as a ward for evil spirits.

There was one other surprise waiting for them. When Bruce gently lifted the plants to double check if Hood might have made a mistake and left some sort of trace clue on it, he found another piece of paper gently tucked into the vines of the Morning Glory. Unfurling it, he found it was a note addressed to his alter ego of Matches Malone:

 “Malone, will tell Mask Orpheus was your lynch pin. Will try to convince him to impersonate Orpheus and rally the gangs. Use it to end this. Too many innocents involved.”

Was it just a coincidence? Or did Hood know what Bruce’s plans were supposed to be? There was a good chance the latter was true. However, there was also a chance he was lying to Mask to gain a bit of rapport with him for the moment. Bruce was going to have to not only up the security on his systems, but also review all security for any signs they might have missed.

“Stephanie, are you absolutely certain Orpheus was killed?” he turned to see the teen nervously standing behind Cass. When she nodded, he ran a hand over his face. “For now, keep an ear out for any reports of him. If Hood’s note is truthful, there’s a chance we can use that to turn this around.”

“Wait, you’re not going to just believe this guy?”

Bruce understood Barbara’s outrage. This man had been playing with them for months and had a growing body count. However, between the amicable relationship between the helpful Phantom and his almost desperate attempts to keep Crime Alley safe from more destructive crime, it wasn’t a stretch to think he did indeed want the war to end as quickly as possible.

“But if he’s being honest, this might give us the edge we need.” Dick seemed to choose his words carefully.

“Agreed. For now, we will work under the assumption things will continue the way they currently are. Keep your eyes and ears open for anything we might be able to use to get things under control,” Bruce instructed as he watched his kids and Stephanie interact. He’d been lucky today. As much as he hated to admit it, he owed Red Hood for keeping Stephanie safe.

…

It turned out, Red Hood had seemingly held up his promise. Someone posing as a very convincing Orpheus approached Bruce in the following days. However, thanks to Stephanie’s information, he knew to be vigilant for any signs it could be an imposter, and there were a couple very slight but telling slips. This was exactly what they needed to finally finish the war that ravaged Gotham.

After telling the imposter he was planning on getting what was let of the gangs into Robinson Park and place Orpheus at the led, he left the man and contacted the GCPD to start herding the groups in that direction. Even knowing that Black Mask was setting up a trap, the situation was still risky. He would need an extraction, so everyone would be on standby to make sure things went smoothly.

At the appointed time, he met up with the imposter. Through the coms, he knew everyone, including the GCPD, were in place to end this. Before there was a chance for him to get surrounded, Bruce sprung the trap and revealed it truly was Black Mask under the guise. As predicted, he tried to get the gangs to rally and attack him, but Dick did his part and managed to race in on one of his cycles and extract him before the GCPD started pelting the gangs with rubber bullets.

He had hoped that the GCPD would just stick to the rubber bullets, but at the urging of one of the captains, some switched to real ones, killing several of the criminals. It hurt. This was done specifically to try to end the bloodshed, but he should have known better. However, some of the better funded gangs started fighting back and managed to break through the police blockade. He knew that would happen and instructed the others, including Selena, who had offered to help, to take a couple of the different neighborhoods and capture the ones the police could not.

For the first time in days, Bruce believed there was hope on the horizon. At the same time, he couldn’t help feel as if this war wouldn’t end without at least one more damaging blow.

=====================

Notes:

Trying to work with the War Games arc in the comics is a pain. And I actually didn't know this until I was doing research, but Black Mask is a master of disguise. I mean... his family did own a cosmetic company... which he burned down. He had a habit of doing that.

With that out of the way, here's the Odyssey clue for stop 10: Scylla and Charybdis

Scylla is a monster with 6 heads who was once a beautiful woman - transformed by a jealous Circe into a monster. She lives in the rocks overlooking where Charybdis lived, chained to the bottom of the sea sucking in water and everything else while awake creating a massive whirlpool. This area, believed to be the Strait of Messina, is lined with rocky cliffs and to pass through the area either you lost everything if you strayed too near to Charybdis or lost 6 men to Scylla.

Why didn't they just go around? Well, the other way was to go through the Clashing Rocks (Symplegades) and Wandering/Roving Rocks (Planctae) which had only ever been passed successfully through once, and that was by Jason and the Argonauts, and their ship, the Argo, was still damaged in the process.

Anyways... this section of the Odyssey is believed to be a possible origin for the phrase "between a rock and a hard place." There is debate that this might have actually originated with a mine dispute in the southwestern USA, but semantics.

For the plants, firstly, the morning glory is sometimes also called the Messina Creeper. And, as we know, since it's a vine, it can have multiple arms which I'm using to represent the heads of Scylla here. Also, the plant can represent life, death, mortality, and love in vain which continues the life/death/undeath trend with the plants I've chosen.

The sea squill is a fun plant with a huge freaking bulb. It has a few scientific names, including Charybdis Maritima. How could I not use it? They do grow in Greece and interestingly, it's been used as a ward for evil spirits as well as a rat poison

[gilliebee]

tagged by the lovely @five4boarding and finally got around to actually doing it now! :D

name: gillian :)

pronouns: she/her

where do you call home?: pretty much anywhere in new england feels like Home 😌 but I will be using this section as an opportunity to drop a hot connecticut meme

and bc she's like an annoying older brother to me, a bonus massachusetts one!

favorite animals: mayhaps it is boring to say cats but I can't deny it when we have 4 of the stinky bastards and they bring me joy all day every day :3 I also love bears!! (semi related to the bruins, but it's more an amplification than anything)

cereal of choice: honeycomb for dry snacking w my hands, and honey bunches of oats WITH ALMONDS as like an actual cereal to eat w milk

are you visual, auditory or kinesthetic learner?: the only way I'm really gonna remember something is by doing it, I can't remember SHIT passively lmao (I can remember something read or heard if I talk/type/write about it afterwards) Which I guess is kinesthetic! all my knowledge...it's in these HANDS (ง •̀_•́)ง

first pet: JOJO our sweet lovely old english sheep dog-esque mutt that apparently hated everyone but like me, my sister, and my mom lol

favorite scent: hmmmm citrus fruits maybe? or a crisp autumn day when all the leaves are crunchy but the decay smells nice?

do you believe in astrology?: not actually but I CAN reach a state of mania where I can delude myself into it if the situation aligns itself just so 😬 so I gotta be careful about it lol

how many playlists do you have in apple music/spotify?: one...million. half of which are for otps but I don't want anyone to find them (I shan't present them if they're not in ye olde 8tracks form where everything is impeccably thought out, arranged, and defended!! the spotify ones I have are wild collections of vibes that are Just For Me)

sharpies or highlighters?: highlighers, I am the nightmare bitch that marks up every physical book I read. and the kokuyo beetle tip dual color ones are my religion!!!!!!

song that makes you cry: these days by nico ;-; sad world-weary listless not-quite-nostalgia roads-not-taken vibes MY WEAKNESS

song that makes you happy: don't let the good life pass you by mama cass :) WELL MAN WAS MADE FOR LOVING, NOT FOR BUYING <3

and finally: do you draw/write/create?: I draw all the time and also love making/ideating/planning out games/game mechanics and narratives! but those are mostly hobbies I keep private (maybe someday I'll share who knows!) Occasionally I make gifs and subject people to those though >:D

I'll tag @alavenderleaf @krugstrash @ghostgeno - no pressure, of course, it's just fun to be tagged I think lol (also I haven't had much time to spend on tumblr these last few weeks so idk who's already done this one or not lol so if you've already done this one and you see this, no you didn't 👼)

[drinkingcoffee-inthedark]

I do miss that shit 🫡🫡🫡 Ship request please. Let’s go. I’m kinda awkward at first before I know you but I’m just tryna feel out the vibe. Specifically what your tolerance level for me would be and see how crazy to get. Sarcastic with my close friends but nice to everyone else. Umm I like fighting and training mma/jiu jitsu in my free time. I’m also a social media manager so I gotta know everything about everything to stay relevant because job. I cry during every movie/tv show bc I’m secretly self-inserting and that shit hurts every time. Ngl I like smoking 🍃 and I just hit a phatty before opening tumblr. I’m a Scorpio idk does that matter. I like thoughtfulness. Like fr 😩that shit make my 🐱 go meow meow. I listen to the same 13 songs and cycle through them depending on which one is the most relevant at the time. I feel like I’ve given so much of myself away but like I said two things. Karaoke

I’m literally getting such Cassian vibes. I can picture the intense training sessions punctuated with so much colorful banter that even Azriel and Rhys can’t keep up with you two. Cassian would love how you challenged each other and brought out the best in each other.

I also feel like modern Cass would definitely be 420 friendly 🤣 You’d follow up your training session with a smoke session. To “relax the mind and muscles” is what Cassian would say.

[batarangsoundsdumb]

guess fucking what? my inbox is so fucking full right now i'm unloading all of this shit in one post.

For the 11th gotham memes: gothamites react to bruce being jacked in a tiktok he made with kids, like super yoked, ripped as hell

fucking hilarious thanks. i think i did it in one meme post, but i genuinely don't remember which one

i dunno which of the batfam would do this but one time i was sleeping over at a friends house and ended up on the floor bc the bed was so very small and i just stayed there because the rug was soft

that's a drunk jason move i don't know what to tell you

tim and jason are "i listen to pop punk" solidarity. whenever jason highjacks the batmobile theyll go on long ass car rides blaring mcr and paramore and then never talk about it again

as they should!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! tim: no jason it's my turn using the aux cord i gotta put on my jams jason: don't you dare put on weird shit tim: don't worry, you're gonna love this *plays fearless (taylor's version)

hear me out hear me out, red hood stans 🤝 nightwing stans t h i g h s

holy shit yes.

SNL au: Bruce breaks character when pretending to superman and says something like "I'm not superman! You've seen his gps!! It's from 2001!!!" @sabeanybabe

superman flies past the snl building the next day just to say 'actually it's from 2005, i'm not a heathen'

does your back hurt from carrying the batfam fandom

it hurts more from the exotic rock collection i keep in my backpack, but thanks for the concern.

I love your posts by why would you always leave the best parts in the tags?

as a treat for the people that check the tags ;) (and also because i'm committed to the short post aesthetic)

somehow your playlist was everything i never knew i needed. i mean it. this is my new favorite playlist.

and don't you dare get a new favourite playlist!

babe ur stoner tim playlist is exactly too perfect, earth is literally blessed by ur existence

babe thanks so much! i love my stoner tim playlist because it's just my usual playlist but people think it's an artistic choice that i put taylor swift and britney spears in there, when it's just what i unironically like listening to

JANDKSKDK BILLY RAY CYRUS ON THE STONER TIM PLAYLIST I LOVE IT IT

again it's not even an ironic choice, i know every single word and i genuinely like the song

The last chapter of Fundamentals of Casework has me crying at work. Thanks I love it @dudelookitsalesbian

oh babe, i'm sorry, but also, not sorry i love chapter 4 so much it's my lovechild with the 'mental illness' tag

soooo....stumbled on your tumblr by some stroke of fate??? read your DC fanfic first. which is PHENOMENAL btw. then found all the batmemes; the funniest thing EVER bc everyone forgets about regular old gothamites. kept scrolling and your blog pops up as recommended. clicked on the ao3 for shits and giggles and waddaya know?!?!? it's YOU!!! you're LEGEND!!!! ever seen that meme? it's a video of a cat that got into a baseball field and the two announcers get really invested in his escape attempt and start giving a play by play of the cat instead of the game. memeable moment: "GREAT stuff from the Cat!!!"

i seriously think about this ask every single day and it's so fucking funny to me that i've never seen the meme you're referencing, but i still find myself going 'GREAT stuff from the Cat!!!' whenever i see something funny. but wow i'm glad you liked this steaming pile of garbage

Fav dc character overall? And fav batfamily character?

don't ask me to pick between the loves of my life, but i can tell you i've cried about every single batfamily member and also wally west (my beloved)

What's your opinion on fans having a problem with batfam being "too big"? And some even claim that batfam is just "Bruce Alfred Dick Damian" and the rest of them are just "friends and allies" (source: reddit) Personally, I like batfam because of this reason but idk

stupid. a family can never be too big. i'm not that big a fan of like huge batfam stuff with everybody from every single universe, because as much as it's funny for bruce to have like 30 kids, it just feels a little too OOC for me.

This is the best tag I've seen involving the batfam, thanks for thinking of it

This is canon now @nctxrejects

lmao yeah i think at that point alfred has had to sit through like at least a dozen coming out talks and just has a pride flag collection in the attic that he pulls out whenever a kid comes out

idk why batfam hits different as compared to any other superhero family

bc it's found family and usually the other superhero families are almost all genetically related in one way or another

I don't know if you watch the umbrella academy but I saw your last post about batcest and saw the similarities. But the thing is (although I think it's weird) in TUA, they addressed it by saying "they were raised as weapons, not siblings" or something along those lines, which is simply not the case with batfam.

yeah i watched tua but i also thought it was ridiculous and they still treated each other as siblings so i didn't like the luthor/allison thing, and am glad they stopped doing that shit bc it fucking sucked.

Hot take: Batcest shippers are the same people who believe adopted siblings are not actual siblings

smoking hot take: batcest shippers are the people who watch 'my sister got stuck in the washing machine' porn

Duke was adopted by Bruce?

not technically no, but do i, tumblr user batarangsoundsdumb, look like i care?

True story but I had to change my freaking name because it used to be "Damien" and most people would go "OH LIKE DAMIAN WAYNE" like please I'm just tryna live

true story, but i don't actually think of damian when i hear the name damian, literally the first thing that pops up is damian darkh like bruh what?

apparently dc comics company supported comic stores by giving out new titles and stuff during the beginning of the pandemic to help them run and I just think that's wholesome

ah yeah that's so fucking cool, still don't like dc, the company, because this world is a capitalist hellhole and we're all owned by warner brothers or disney with no in between.

ayo looking at tumblr head canons and finding out bruce is actually a terrible father is a punch in the gut

lmao yes, in like 50% of comics bruce is a terrible father and it gives me whiplash

oooh I just saw the jason todd vs winter soldier post and the real question is: batman vs iron man

while iron man has like hundreds of cases of armor, batman could throw out an emp and have the guy dropping out of the sky in 2 seconds.

dickfast = fastdick = quickdick = quickie

magnum hot take

hey bata(?) just thought I'd let you know I have copied the obnoxious emoji and Billy Ray post for use on simping men going forth

thank you 😘🌷 (@spacebarsidecar)

why would you do that to your followers???? i get why i did it, but why would you???

what is scarecrow made the nightwing funko pop himself, like those diy-ers that paint over other ones

oh god no, horrible take, horrible take, that's a disgusting thought oh no

I see your HC that Bruce and Oliver fucked and raise you this: Dick and Roy ALSO fucked

yes they did and it was a horrible moment for jason to find out dick has fucked both of his best friends

"at this rate bruce adds like 1 child to his family every decade or so" Duke is introduced in 2013, Damian as Damian, not as an unnamed child, in 2006. And he is already 14 years old, Robins rarely remain Robins after 16 😬 It looks like a new Robin and Batkid will appear in a couple of years

i mean i can't wait? but somebody will probably die first tho, we're due for another major character death. my money's on either cass or duke this time.

BRO you're so right all of your Bruce's ex headcanons are amazing but they aren't ships, that's kinda wild. Like I don't want any peeks into how their relationship was I just want to see everyone make fun of them

lmao YES it's just i love bruce being a slut, like good for him.

I am in love with your posts your honour thank you

omg thanks are we like,, gonna kiss now?

The justice league needs to have a meeting to discuss how many of their members/partners have slept with bruce. Because through a combination of cannon & fannon (if DC wasn’t homophobic) we have AT LEAST: 1) clark 2) lois 3) oliver 4) dinah 5) john

Thats not counting villains or random civilians @dudelookitsalesbian

yes yes yes, they'll have a yearly meeting about how many of their collective exes could be out for revenge and batman's list just keeps getting longer.

tim was like "i'm drake now" and everyone was like ahh so your fursona is a dragon and tim was like pffffft no. ducks.

and what about it?

when steph's fighting livewire and she zaps her with lighting and nothing happens and then they both just. stand there awkwardly for a second and talk. yeah i couldn't stop laughing at that batgirl steph is the BEST

oh yeah that was fucking hilarious and i think it would be so cool and sexy of dc to give steph a little comic series,,, as a treat

Hi I absolutely adore all of yours "Bruce and Oliver very badly pretending they didn't fuck each other" memes

lmao i do too

I need you to know that “Bruce Wayne had frosted tips” is one of my favorite Bruce takes of all time it’s so galaxy brained. you’re right and you should say it

he also painted his hair blonde once when he was travelling and in conclusion, this is why he's being blackmailed by the gotham gazette.

you know my thing about gordon being branded as the only good cop in gotham is its a load of shit like arguably he's a good person and not working to screw people over or anything but the fact that he also works w. batman makes him a shit cop. like yea batman is better than the mob but its still illegal its still an abuse of power he just not making bank

babe, all cops are bad cops. (but yeah youre absolutely right, working with vigilantes makes you a shit cop, but also working against vigilantes just makes you an asshole cop yanno?)

ruh roh i think i’m about to add “so not yeehaw” every time i don’t like something

that's a very good vocabulary upgrade

somehow i feel like steph already knew. like babs obviously knew but i feel like bruce got high/drunk in front of steph and started telling his boarding school stories and steph was just like “oh you fucked up i’m never gonna forget this”

steph and bruce have weird uncle/rebellious niece dynamic and they just hang out sometimes and bruce will be like 'i once broke my arm when i tripped over a hedge when i was drunk so oliver drove me to the hospital on an electric scooter' and steph will just have to sit there with that knowledge in her head.

Hello I just wanted to tell you you are So right in all your steph opinions bc she is, in fact amazing and I think that's very sexy of you. Ps. Your Bruce/Oliver fic is hilarious

babe, thank you so much and yes steph is amazing and i love her and she deserves the world and she's the best member of the batfam hands down. also thanks

In Supersons we see a couple of kids that are implied to be Damian and Jon's children and the boy has laser eyes and can fly, so I asume he's not adopted. The girl, who calls Bruce grandpa, can also fly, btw. So it's canon (probably by accident) that Jon can have kids and he must have married one of Bruce's kids. (I'm hoping for Damian, mostly because any other of his children would be waaaaaaaaaaaaay too old.) @artemisa97

lmao that was probably an accident seeing as jon is a 17 year old superhero in the year 3000 (by the jonas brothers)

You know, I'm a die hard fan of your memes, but I gotta say one thing: if Gothamites actually took gas mask everywhere with them, then the Scarecrow would just be a weird dude in a weird costume, and not a villain oh so scary. DC really should just takes notes from you.

bold of you to assume there's no gothamite anti-maskers

How does it feel being the funniest person on this app?

horrible, next question.

I can't listen to Green Day or Billy Joel without thinking of your post about how Bruce got arrested at a Billy Joel concert @nightwings-kid

yeah that's your mistake, i on the other hand can't enjoy billy joel without thinking about the glee rendition of 'uptown girl'

I've FINALLY been watching the Batman animated series and I gotta say, after watching "the gray ghost" I am CONVINCED that Batman is a closeted super hero geek who was 100% freaking out the first time he met Superman and is just REALLY good at hiding it.

superman: so what do you do in your free time? batman, thinking about the superman fanfiction he's writing on the batcomputer: i have no free time

bruce and oliver be like boyfriends to co-workers 401k (do the justice leagues get 401ks??? not that bruce and ollie would need them, but-)

lmao yes just 400 thousand words of bruce realising 'oh dip oliver is such a fucking dumbass' (also i don't know what a 401 k is but i assume they don't?)

Gothamites would totally boo superman as he saves Gotham while batman is out. @meenje

he's like 'okay think about that next time you want to be saved from an alien octopus'

I just took long break from dc comics and I come back to see ric grayson ??

i think it's very cool and sexy of dc to see dick and just think 'you know what? let's just give him a traumatic brain injury' and then didn't develop his character in any real way

SPEAKING OF RIC GRAYSON, gothamites making confused memes out of ric grayson is much needed

'dick grayson is my taxi driver? can anyone explain what the fuck happened he looks like an italian plumber?'

i hate to say it but batfam are def "marvel characters" in that sense they are characters who are human but become superheroes unlike most dc characters who are gods trying to be human maybe this is why I like batfam

fair enough

[happylittletrees3]

NEW FICS FOR THE NEW YEAR

Year three of our recommendation list is here! Last years list can be found here if you're interested. This year I was fueled by nostalgia and the ATLA revival and it really shows.

I did not write any of these stories! As always, I've tagged authors who had Tumblr with their Tumblrs and attached AO3 profiles for those whose Tumblrs I could not find. If I've made a mistake there, please let me know.

If your story is on this list and you would like to removed, reach out and I will not hesitate to fix that. If any links are incorrect it is equally encouraged to reach out! I want everyone to be able to enjoy this.

PLEASE check the tags for all stories. I've not included TW for any stories as its just a small review, so please take care of yourselves with the following content if you need to.

ON WITH THE SHOW!

Appa and Momo Screw the Timeline by @keetajet

This is one of many ATLA fics I read this year because the Capitalism gods blessed me with the show on Netflix and we went down the rabbit hole FAST. Its a bit of a time travel fix it but its handled SO well and Zuko gets his redemption arc early and we just stan all of this. Never thought I would enjoy a story revolving around Appa and Momo being traumatized but it really is just *chefs kiss*

Bury A Friend by @rweoutofthewoods

Along with the ATLA rabbit hole I somehow reverted back to Voltron but in a good way, you know? This, however, made me reconsider how life works. Lance continues to be the self-sacrificing idiot we all love but god if I wasn't on the verge of tears the whole time. If you need a good cry and are feeling nostalgic, this is the fic for you.

Flames Beneath the Earth by @ilya-boltagon

Another ATLA fic and through this I discovered the beauty of Lu Ten. In this story Lu Ten never died and instead becomes some sort of mildly wanted vigilante trying to keep his cousin alive while dealing with his fathers secret group of old men. Would gladly give my life for Lu Ten after this ngl.

Kevlar and Bubblewrap (Series) by @hedgiwithapen

Not going to lie, I definitely didn't start this year planning on reading Big Hero Six fanfiction. This was recommended to me however, and we just kept going uphill from there. Tadashi surviving mixed with heaping angst and Aunt Cass being a badass confirmed for me that I can in fact enjoy fanfiction from almost everywhere given good circumstances (and trust me, everything was just wonderful).

Once Upon a Time AU (Series) by Compass Rose

I would give my soul for this story any day any time. Everything just fit in ways I never thought it could but it was done so well??? Took me by surprise and I will stand by this forever, its just wonderful. I want more OUA crossovers done this well. I can't wait to see where this story goes and I'm thrilled to be along for the ride.

Son of Sea Foam (Series) by @caffeinatedflumadiddlebutpjo

Percy Jackson being a son of Aphrodite was not something I ever though could work but goddamit does it here. Its all a ruse, but MAN is it pulled of spectacularly with even better writing that managed to sell me on ships other than percabeth for Percy. That's a feat right there, it changes so much about Percy but still keeps him Percy, you know? 10/10 recommend, this may have come out of a surge of nostalgia like the Voltron ones but its so worth it.

Spider-Man Klance AU (Series) by @iwriteshipsnotsailthem

Another aid towards by nostalgia induced fervor a few months ago that was just such a fun time. A friend recommended this to me and I'm so glad for them doing that because it just hits all the things you love from Spider-Man with Klance thrown in there and Voltron shenanigans and I want more people to scream about it with, come join me.

Where the Water Meets the Sky by @speakswords

Yes its another Voltron fic and yes its the last one but if this Mermaid AU (yes, bear with me) didn't grab me by the heart and make me feel alive then nothing ever really existed, did it? The shift from childhood innocence to life impacting them in the fullest way possible is just so well done and made me really think about how many fics I've overlooked with similar premises that could have been written by gods on earth as we have here.

Zukos Honor by Cursed Loaf

This may have been the very fic to sell me on Zukka as a ship, I genuinely can't remember, but happy Zukko in Ba Sing Se with Iroh and Sokka just being Sokka was just??? Amazing??? And refreshing, I really did turn into a softie for these two after this. Please read it.

Mother, I Can Hear You by @harringrovecryptid

This year was really the year of me reading stories from fandoms I never thought I would. I just casually had this thrown at me by a friend and like? I desperately want more Stranger Things fanficiton now. This is one of my more recent reads, and I'm trying to catch up on updates or I would have found more by now. The angst of the series as well as developing on characters that really only got named in cannon was so refreshing and the writings style just made me happy. Ironic, given the track record for the series as a whole.

Thats it for our list this year folks! If you have any stories to recommend to me I'd love to hear it! This is all my opinion at the end of the day but I hope you're able to find a good story from this regardless.

And for those following me for my own writing, there will be an update on my (lack of) progress soon, I swear I'm not dead.

Happy New Year everybody!

[river-bottom-nightmare]

hi, I was wondering if you had any fic recs for dc? i dont mind what ship/character they might include so you can just go wild. also, I love your blog and writing!! thanks in advance if you answer this <3

oh but of course, babe! i’ve got so many fic recs dear lord. hopefully the ones on here will be ones that i haven’t already recced before. and also ahhhh thank you so so much!! 

a heart just cant contain all of this empty space by TheMermaidLord (if anyone knows their tumblr, please let me know!) ~27k. the young justice universe, except after season 1, the canon events of the batfamily get woven in. you get to see dick leaving robin, jason joining then dying, how tim first meets the team, how they react to learning jason’s alive again all through the eyes of the yj team (mainly artemis, wally, and dick, but there are others.) this fic is beautiful and heartbreaking and oh so satisfying.

Candle Light and Plastic Bats by @jackdaw-kraai 10k. you know all those hc and concept fics about the relationship batman has with the city of gotham? well this fic is an absolutely gorgeous homage to that. told from the pov of the people of lower gotham, it goes through their relationship with this demon that seemed to haunt their city, going from mistrust and fear to acceptance and kinship. just a really really beautiful fic. 

Detective Work by @bekkoni ~8k. i don’t actually ship superbat for a multitude of reasons, but this fic was so goddamn hilarious and cute that i can’t not love it. set in the jlu universe, wally discovers that superman and batman are acting a little ~odd.~ then he does a little more snooping and dear god the consequences are hilarious. featuring identity porn by the bucket-load. 

It’s Your Right to Hurt Me Baby (If You Wanted To) by @pluckyredhead  8k. granted, jayroy doesn’t make much sense outside of specific rhato runs, but inside those runs its an actually beautiful ship, and this fic is just one of many testaments to that. smut with feelings, and jason gets the love and affection he sorely needs. 

Little Talks by @theo-ography 26k. who here doesn’t love dumb boys in love finally talking about their feelings?? because i love it more than words, but this author somehow did the impossible and managed to put it in words. in this series, dick and wally have some important conversations, do some cuddling, and finally get together. gosh, i love birdflash so. fucking. much. 

The Maybe Man by @dustorange ~48k. this is me, screaming about dustorange’s works again because i am such a fangirl for her writing oh my god. after dick leaves bruce and while jason is robin, dick gets abducted and tortured by the court of owls, and then is sent to kill bruce. and bruce fights with every fiber of his being to get his son back. also, jason and bruce’s relationship is so good in this jesus christ. i love reading fics that show just how close jason and bruce were before jason was killed, and this fic had that and more. 

Those Who Wait by @last01standing 11k. in a reverse robins fic done beautifully well, this entire fic is written from jon’s pov, and explores damian and jon’s relationship over the years. (basically, jon just falling more and more hopelessly in love with damian.) also, everyone ships it because jon is basically all of the kids’ “uncle jon” and it’s hilarious and i love it. one of my favourite damijon fics, and the p i n i n g is just AHHHH.

un haeng il chi by @danishsweethearts 17k. i can’t actually put into words how much i love this fic, so everyone needs to just go and read it right now so you feel what i feel when finishing this fic. a cass centric fic, this piece of art has the literal best characterizations and metaphors for those characterizations i’ve ever read in my entire life. cass’ relationship with each member of the batfam is unique and beautiful and dear god i could reread this fic a thousand times over without ever getting tired of it. 

Watch This by snackbaskets (again, if anyone knows their tumblr, please let me know!) ~2k. this fic is just a oneshot of pure adorableness. the league meets little baby robin!dick for the first time. hal and barry are, at first, terrified for the kid’s life, and then terrified of the devious little mastermind in bright green hotpants. this is just humor and fluff and i love it. 

Yesterday’s Voices by @lemonadegarden 49k. oh god i cannot scream my love for this fic enough. bruce, in a time with most of the batfam (including up to steph, damian, cass), gets de-aged to a time where jason was robin and dick was barely speaking to him. and it’s absolutely heartbreaking, because the rest of the batfam get to see how open, kind, and less jaded bruce used to be. if you want a good cry but a happy ending, this fic is wonderful.

if it were deemed socially acceptable, i would build a shrine to all of these wonderful authors in the middle of the street, but unfortunately i have neither the time nor the resources to do that, so i guess screaming about how talented and brilliant they are will have to do instead. hope you enjoy reading these babe!

[srose-foxfire]

“First Impressions” Part: 6 (Finale) Damirae Pic

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

A/N: Hello Everyone. We finally made it to the finale of “First Impressions” I wanna thank you all for being with me and following along with this fic. This started out as a one-shot but after writing part 1; I couldn’t just stay there and decided to make it into a longer fic. I hoped you enjoy it thus far. This part in particular is longer than the other parts.

I would also like to take the time and wishing Happy Birthday / Belated Birthday to @ravenfan1242 . I wanna personally say thank you so much for all the support you give to artists and writers, like myself in the Damirae community. You may not know this, but you were my very fist commenter on my very first Damirae fic I had written when I first joined tumblr. Your words cheered me right up and gave me the confidence I needed to continue writing. I hope you enjoy this small gift from me. Thank you.

Without further ado, enjoy the story!

~ Simona R.  

-- -- --

Part: 6

Where in his right mind did Damian think this was a good idea? He stood in front of his bathroom mirror and looked at the ‘work of art’ his sisters and Raven had done on him. Layers of foundation, contour, and highlight were plastered all over his face. His eyes were covered in a golden-brown eyeshadow, the girls then added some golden shimmer over it. Cass went ahead and nearly poked his eyes out when she used a liquid eyeliner to create a cat-eye look over his eyes. Stephanie was adding a light peach blush onto Damian’s cheeks. As for Raven who looked like she was actually enjoying torturing him, finished his ‘look’ with a dark purple matte liquid lipstick.

When he saw Cass grabbing her phone, Damian made a run for the door and dashed towards his bedroom. Damian touched his cheek, debating the choices he made that ended him looking like this. He turned on the faucet with warm running water and soaked a hand towel in it. Damian then started scrubbing his face clean; he looked hideous. The make-up wasn’t coming off easily and instead was smudging across his face, why did girls enjoy this, Damian had to wonder. He felt dirty and his face felt thick and tight from all the stuff that was plaster onto his face. Damian turned the water off and threw the hand towel in the sink. Lost in thought. He could had just said no, but he didn’t.

-- -- --

A few minutes earlier Damian had stood outside of Cass’s room when Raven entered to confess, she made up Jasper Sky. One may call him a stalker for leaning against the doorway, but Damian was there for Raven’s sake. He had promised to be there in case the confession had gone bad. Cass’s bedroom became extremely quiet, Damian couldn’t make out words anymore. He concentrated and heard a soft cry. Panicked and worry made him throw the door open to find his sisters hugging Raven, while Raven cried happily in their arms.

His sisters shocked at his outburst both cursed and questioned him what he was doing. Damian shot a quick glance towards Raven who was starting to flush. His sisters didn’t know the promise he had made to Raven. In order to save them both from being interrogated by his sisters, Damian had to come up with a quick plan. The first and only thing that popped in Damian’s mind was “I would like to try that make-over!”

-- -- --

Damian exited his bathroom and tirelessly fell onto his bed. He looked up to the ceiling and watch his ceiling fan just spun. At some point the girls would need to eat, Damian thought. Which would give him a chance to sneak into Cass’s room and take some facial cleansing wipes to clean his face. He should had been more patient and waited for Raven to come out, but the thought of her crying only terrified him greatly. He never wanted to see her cry or be scared, but even he could never stop that. But Damian hope he could be the one to bring Raven comfort, if she allowed him.

Damian’s thoughts were interrupted when someone was heard knocking onto his bedroom door. He turned his head towards the sound and contemplated if he should even open it. If it was one of his older brothers and found him in the state he was in, they would make Damian the laughing stalk of his family till he died. Though Damian rather die if it turned out either his father or Alfred ever saw him in his ridiculous state. How did the heir to Wayne Enterprises come to this? The knocking continued as Damian thought of the last person he would want to see. Cass. Damian knew very well, out of all his siblings, Cass has the largest following in her social media. What if she was trying to take a picture and post it to the whole world?! Worse she was actually coming to get him and drag him back to her room so they could add more cosmetics?

Please no more. What more could they possible add? The door was now being banged and each knocked sounded more frantic than the next. Damian groined into his hands, got up and walked towards his door. “Damn it Cass, enough is enough. I am not going back out there.”

“Actually, it’s me Damian.”Upon hearing her voice, Damian immediately unlocked his door and opened to find Raven holding some facial wipes and a few bottles, which he presumed to be used to remove cosmetics. “I brought some stuff to help clean your face.” She said softly.

Damian lifted a brow and then peek through the doorway before retuning his gaze to her. “It’s just you right? The she-devils aren’t near?”

“She-devils? Your sisters? Damian that’s mean and no they’re busy applying each other a facial mask.”

“Come in.”

Very timidly Raven walked into his room as Damian closed the door behind him. Damian continued to study her as she carefully walked like a frightened doe. What was she so afraid of him? Did she think he be upset with her over the make-over? Then he came to a realization, this was the first time Raven had entered his room. Every time she came over to the manor, the only places he would find her was in Cass’s room, the manor’s library, and the kitchen. Damian had never once invited her to his room.

As Damian continue to think of what he could say to comfort Raven in this most awkward situation, Raven had cleared her throat. “Where would you like to sit?” She asked very shyly.

Damian looked around his room and wished his desk had two chairs instead of one. He walked past her and sat down on the thick carpet, reclining against his bed. Raven followed him and bended down to her knees, she carefully placed the box of facial wipes in front of her and laid a few bottles next to them. She pulled out a wipe and carefully started rubbing his left cheek.

At first Damian tried keeping his gaze towards the carpet floor and count each thread. But his will betray him, he would catch himself side-glancing towards Raven as she carefully continues to clean his face. Afraid he would be caught; Damian closed his eyes and focused on how soft she was being with him. It felt like a massage and the tense knots he had in his face loosened under her touch. Damian leaned his head back against his bed and let out a deep sigh.

“So, my sisters forgave you, correct?”

“They did. Is as you said, they don’t hold grudges though they wanted a complete explanation on why I had to come up with Jasper Sky.”

“Like what?”

“Well I told them something specifically, and with that they backed down.” Raven carefully rubbed his brows clean. The room then became quiet and the only sound heard was the rubbing on his skin.

“I’m sorry.” Raven said in the most-lowest voice possible. “You’re like this because of me and… sigh… I’m sorry.”

Raven pulled away as she threw some used wipes into one pile. Damian looked at her and noticed how some of her lashes had grouped together due to her crying earlier. Remembering how thathad made him feel. Damian looked down at her hands and without even noticing with himself wrapped his hand around hers making Raven look up into his eyes.

“Don’t be.” Damian said as he pulled Raven’s hand closer to his chest. “You have nothing to apologize for, I put myself in this situation and… I would do it again to make sure you’re alright.”

Raven looked shocked at his words. She was right to be. Though now that he revealed this to her, Damian need to tell her more and come clean of his own feelings. He took a deep breath and allowed his heart to speak, “Raven, I have fallen in love with you. My heart beats every-time I am with you, my day lights up at the mention of your name. You are the most unique and most beautiful girl I have ever met. You view the world with a sense of wonder and I would like to see it through your eyes. I-”

Damian stopped when he saw Raven’s eyes watered. What had he done? This was too much and too soon for her.  He sighed, “just forget I said anything-”

Raven slammed her lips onto his, she cupped his face between her palms. She was actually squishing his face, but Damian didn’t feel any pain or didn’t knowhow to react since his brain decided not to function anymore. The poor boy was left in shock, Raven then released his face and slowly pulled away. Hiding her palms between her thighs. Her face was ridiculous flushed, but she was so beautiful, and Damian couldn’t help but stare. “I fallen in love with you too, Damian. I…I love you.”

Damian gave her a warm smile, he touched her cheek and pulled her onto his lap. Once she was settled, Raven wrapped one arm around his neck while the other stroke his check. The two youth continue to smile before both of them leaned into each other for another kiss. This kiss was slow almost as if though this kiss alone they could tell each other their true feelings and leaving themselves open to one another. They pulled and just looked at each other for what felt like an eternity. 

Raven giggled in his arms as she wrapped both arms around his neck, “I actually had a crush on you since before we met.” Damian raised a brow at her as he waited for her to continue, “Your family would tell me stories about you and well I couldn’t wait to me the Damian Wayne.”

“Well lucky for me, I just hope I didn’t raise any concerns after my first impression.”

“Actually, after calming down the whole incident made you look hot. I found out just how much your father’s books meant to you and the lengths you would go to protect the people you loved. Only made the crush I had on you grow.”

Damian only smiled at her and gave her a quick peck on her temple, Raven sighed and rested her head against his chest. “Is there a way for you to sneak away from my sisters tomorrow? I would like to take you out on an official date.”

“I will let them know I won’t be available for a few hours but I’m sure they will be okay with it… they did give me their blessing to date you.”

Before Damian had a chance to ask her what she meant by that, his bedroom door was blasted open, with all his siblings coming through popping confetti poppers and Cass holding up her phone snapping a picture of them, “Damn right you have our blessing Rae, whoo welcome to the family, sister!”

[ultimatetornshipper]

Daminette December Day 7

@daminette-december2019-2020

((Note: If you’re a confused little muffin who saw our ship in the top 100 list and you want to know what in the ever loving fuck we are, feel free to dm me or mention me in a post or even to send an ask. do be warned tho that if u send me hate i will block and report u (and not just to tumblr, to everyone I know who is part of this fandom). our little sub fandom is not a toxic space and no one is allowed to make it one or there will be a fucking war))

And we’re back to our anxiety induced in denial Damian. I love this kid. Tho I do wanna make him slightly more… how do I say this… like cold? I dunno maybe I can bring that in with other people and his interactions. I just wanna write him with his proper grammar and what not and like lbh this boi is already a simp for Mari. But I don’t wanna let things happen too quickly, y’know?

Anyway, maybe I should make the theme of this chapter the fact that he has absolutely no chill. Lmao, I think that’s hilarious ngl. Also I’m just gonna pretend certain things existed back then for the sake of my sanity I can’t keep coming up with words that make sense for explaining what a thing is without saying the actual word because it didn’t exist yet. The hologram in that one chapter was hard enough bruh

Ok here we go, thanks for reading! I hope u enjoy it

Princes and Pedestals

Chapter 7 – Chill

Previous

Next

Damian rolled the ring between his fingers as the morning light filtered through his windows. She’d put the choice in his hands, it was a kind thing to do, smart too. It made sense, if this role was as important as she made it sound it needed someone who could commit to it.

The miraculous was the kind of black that seemed to stretch on forever. It had a bright green paw print on it. He hadn’t put it on yet but from what he could gather it’s kwami would appear as soon as he put it on.

He'd be one of the leaders of an entire Order. He had no idea how big it was. His mother had raised him to lead but that was an entirely different organization. How would Marinette react to that? Could he handle the responsibility?

These thoughts had been plaguing him from the moment he picked up the ring.

But that wasn’t what got to him the most. She was just so… good. She had even agreed to move her entire court to Gotham for his sake. To uproot her entire life and move everyone involved just so that he could stay with his family.

There had to be a catch.

There always is.

He sighed, overthinking everything wasn’t going to help him make this decision.

There was only one thing he could do.

He put on the ring and a bright light caught him off guard. A small floating cat like being appeared in front of him.

“Kid?” he kept his eyes closed as though he didn’t want to see who was in front of him, his voice breaking slightly.

Slowly, the kwami – Plagg if he remembered correctly - opened his eyes. Damian stared at him as disappointment flitted across the creature’s face.

He lifted his brow and asked, “Hope to see someone else, Plagg?”

He chuckled slightly, sadness lacing the sound, “My previous holder, thought maybe I'd get the chance to say goodbye this time,”

Damian frowned, “What do you mean?”

Plagg frowned, “You don’t know about my previous holder? Who gave you my miraculous?”

“Marinette did,” he said, simply, “She actually just gave me the chance to consider the offer of the position, I have the rest of the day to get to know you and make my decision,”

Plagg seemed to consider what he said, he then sat down on the bed in front of Damian. He explained the basics of the miraculous to him, the phrases he needed to use as well as what those phrases would do. The things he’d need as well as what behaviors he might pick up.

“Purring?” Damian said in a disbelieving voice, “You’re telling me I might start purring in my civilian form?”

Plagg cackled, “Yeah, don’t worry it’s not that bad,”

“Tt, what exactly is the purpose of it? In fact what exactly is my purpose? It seems like she has the leadership thing under control,”

Plagg seemed to sober up at the question, he flew up right in front of Damian’s face and looked him in the eyes, “Her job is to lead and look after her court,” his look sharpened and he narrowed his eyes, “Your job is to look after her, your job is to protect her, your job is to see her. Your purpose is to make hers as easy as possible. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll have other official responsibilities and you will rule alongside her, but your real job? Your purpose? You have to help her remember that she’s only human and that that’s okay,”

Damian stared at Plagg, the kwami stared back. It couldn’t be that simple, could it? There had to be something. Some kind of catch.

Before he could grill the kwami, Dick burst into his room.

Damian could see his brother’s clear panic and immediately stood. Dick’s eyes found his, “She’s gone,”

Damian felt himself spiral, memories flew through his mind. All the times he or any of his siblings had been taken. Cass didn’t speak for a month after the last incident. Jason’s “secret" panic attacks had increased tremendously. Tim stayed up for nights on end, only sleeping when he passed out. Damian sparred for hours and hours, hating the feeling of being useless. 

His father and Dick weren’t in Gotham at the time and Selina was helping Harley with one of her ‘projects’.

When they got Steph back after a week, she was so shook up that she kept waking up screaming from nightmares for months.

They all blamed themselves.

“Her kwami showed us a letter she left but someone could’ve faked it to buy time, they’re searching the village,” Jason said, coming into his room, holding a piece of parchment.

Damian barely registered the way Plagg seemed to study his reactions. They needed to find her, it was already afternoon, who knows how far gone she could be?

They spent hours scouring the castle. Before he knew it the moon was rising and they were all gathered in the living room, going over possibilities.

“I’m going to go get Alfred and Bruce, this has been going on long enough, it’s time to call in back up. It’s already passed nightfall and she’s not back yet,” Dick walked out of the room, barely two seconds passed before he shouted something to them, “Guys I found her!”

They were out quicker than a lightning bolt. He ignored his siblings as they all flocked around her. He took her in.

She was wearing a cloak, which Jason quickly took and gave to a passing maid. She wore one of her black dresses. Her hair was in a braid.

But the cloak was dirty, the dress had tears and the braid was messy.

But it was her eyes that got him. The blue irises looked like someone had taken every drop of sadness in the world and left it in them. They were red rimmed and puffy and there were black bags under them.

She’d been crying and she hadn’t slept. It didn’t take a genius to figure it out.

Somewhere along the line, they moved back into the living room. Cass was sitting next to Marinette on the couch and the others were arguing.

Damian couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She was here. She was safe. She wasn’t taken.

Cass tapped his arm, he turned to look at her and she started signing. (a/n ok yeah I know that sign language might not have existed but do I really care?)

Get her out of here, she’s tired, Cass signed.

Damian nodded and after asking her permission and scolding his siblings, he escorted her to her room.

Plagg whispered something to her that he couldn’t hear. 

Then she apologized for scaring him and he explained his thought process. She explained that he would’ve been able to know via their miraculous whether she was in trouble or not. He made a mental note to ask Plagg more about that.

When they got to her room he opened her door. She was about to go in but he grabbed her hand, stopping her. She looked at him expectantly. He searched her gaze, he had so much he wanted to ask her, why she’d been crying was at the top of that list.

But she looked so tired, and Damian just couldn’t get himself to form the words. Instead he bid her goodnight and went back to the living room where his siblings were waiting.

All eyes turned to him when he entered. He didn’t know what to say. Instead of thinking his words through he blurted out the first thing he thought.

“She didn’t flinch when our eyes met,” he said. They all stared at him for a few seconds. Usually they would’ve laughed at his bluntness, Damian is certain, but there was something about the haunted look on her face that sapped all humor out of the situation.

Jason was crouched in front of the fire. Stephanie sat on one of the chairs while Dick leaned against its armrest. Damian was next to Cassandra on the couch and the five of them sat in silence.

Millions of questions danced through the air, the answers all just out of reach.

Little did they know that they weren’t the only ones with questions.

Outside, three pairs of eyes were watching the oblivious siblings closely.

Damian felt a chill go down his spine and turned towards the window. He walked over and stared out into the forest, he didn’t see anyone but the uneasy feeling wouldn’t leave him.

He closed the curtains.

The smallest of the three chuckled slightly, “She got herself a paranoid one, huh?”

“We need to head back,” the only guy out of the three said to the others.

They nodded and followed him deeper into the forest.

Taglist:

@animegirlweeb @loysydark @toodaloo-kangaroo @forgottenfriends @wolf-for-life @heyitsbugette @f-rget-lt @fusser90

[danny-chase]

Writer Questions Game

Thank you for the tag @daringyounggrayson ( •̀ ω •́ )✧

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

25

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

106365... i have not checked that before and oh my god... oh my god when did that happen 😭

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Nightwing, Batman, (Teen) Titans, Batgirl - they’re a bunch of DC’s comics

4) What are your top five fics by kudos?

Everyone Hates Dick (551)

One more reason to leave with you (250)

Dick Hates Everyone (224)

Pneumonia (220)

Delirium (206)

5) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do, comments make me happy so I like responding to people and thanking them!

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Usually I don’t write angsty endings cuz i like ending on a happy note. I did cry while writing Insomnia though and One more reason to stay with you doesn’t have a happy ending cuz i gave up on writing it :/

7) Do you write crossovers?

Yes, but only in the notes app on my phone (batfam pokemon AU when-) and in my head. I wrote a few starts of stories down but they’re a little bit intimidating to start/make progress on 

8) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Nope, everyone’s been very nice!

9) Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Nope

10) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope

11) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

12) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope

13) What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Titans polycule for the win 👌

14) What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I wanted to do a 5 + 1 story about Cass dancing with her siblings but I don’t think it’s going to go anywhere. I finished Damian’s section and got stuck on Duke’s and gave up ):

15) What are your writing strengths?

I’m pretty good at focusing and just cranking things out when I want to write the story. Also i adore alliteration 

16) What are your writing weaknesses?

Pretty much everything??? I kind of consider writing in general one of my weaknesses. I’m significantly better at math/science and am in my senior year of college, going to a technical school for an engineering degree so like... yeah i never really thought I’d end up enjoying writing. I don’t really know what I’m doing lmao, i should probably look up some storytelling/creative writing lessons sometime, but idk i write for fun in my free time so like, eh, classes sound boring, but also learning about story structure would definitely help me improve

17) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

Personally I would never even attempt this, it would end up being garbo

18) What was the first fandom you ever wrote for?

Predictably, Nightwing

19) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I’m not really sure, but Don’t it just grind your gears? was very fun/cathartic to write. Usually whatever I’m working on is my favorite lol

20) Who do you tag?

I’ll tag @charleswaterloo if you want to do it!

Edit: idk why the 25 is so big, i guess tumblr thinks it’s funny kafjksdjf

[redisriding]

I finished ACOSF last night, and I absolutely loved it. It didn’t go in the direction that I thought it was going to go in, not that I really had a strong idea as to where the story was going to go, and honestly, I was just happy to read anything about Nesta and Cassian.

I do however have some thoughts:

Spoilers below…

- I think the book could have done with a better edit. A long time was spent at the House of Wind, and maybe this slow progression towards the climatic 100 pages or so is to reflect Nesta’s own slow struggles with dealing with her mental health, but compared to ACOWAR which covered SO MUCH ground, this was a little slow for me.

- Related to this, I think there were some scenes that SJM put in just because she wanted Nesta and Cassian in those situations rather than things happening to be integral to the plot.

- Actually, I found the plot a little lacking, both in the fantasy side and the romance. Again, some of the scenes just seemed loose strung together than driving the story in any real direction.

- That said, I think this book did a lot of leg work for the set up in the next books, so WATCH THIS SPACE.

- In respect of Nesta obtaining the Mask, Harp and Crown, I thought those scenes moved a little quickly, I would have loved to have had some more drama/suspense in these elements, maybe making the scenes longer and cutting back a little on all the House of Wind training session scenes.

- This is particularly true in respect of the last 100 pages in the book. If the Blood Rite was going to happen I would have loved to see more of it. It all just seemed a little easy for Nesta, Gwyn and Emerie having only trained for a few months up against Illyrian warriors who had been training for years, and it being something that Rhys, Cass, and Az really struggled to achieve. Again, I would have had this section of the book extended, maybe making up the last 200 pages of the book (and really ramping up the tension) at the loss of some of the training scenes.

- Connected to this, Cassian and his espionage with Az while Nesta was in the Blood Rite. I would have loved a little more internal dialogue here, to see Cass really suffering knowing that his mate was in the Blood Rite, but again, this was rather glossed over.

- The scene however when Cassian hugged Nesta and then whispered into her hair that he had to kill her was PHENOMENAL. My heart honestly skipped a beat when I read that. Again, would have like an extended battle scene - student beating the master kind of thing.

- Speaking of my heart skipping a beat…I love a slow burn, and actually think some of the Nesta/Cassian scenes in ACOWAR were more tension building than the scenes in ACOSF. That said, maybe a slow burn was never going to be on the cards for this pair, it just doesn’t really suit their personalities (Elriel, anyone?) and I certainly wasn’t complaining about all the spicy hot scenes of them fucking each other. After a while though, I needed some more emotional investment, and Gods did I get that with the solstice scene. Again, wish it had come a little earlier in the book, but I have no real complaints.

- I wish we’d been in Cassian’s head a bit more for when that mating bond finally “snapped” for him and what it felt like to actually know what he suspected for a long time. They were both crying as they “made love” so this was indication enough, but again, would have liked some more explicit feels.

- This really is a fantasy romance than a romantic fantasy, but I love love love romance and am excited to see where SJM goes with the rest of this series in a new direction.

- The banter in the middle section of the book had me grinning like an idiot at the page, and I LOVED it.

- I wish the relationship between Nesta and Mor had been developed a bit more. Mor said some really cruel things to Nesta at the start of the book about her reminding her of her family, which she most certainly is not. Mor should be able to see the wounded animal that Nesta is at that point. Later in the book Mor teaches Nesta the traditional fae dances, but it’s all off the page. I would have liked to see this dynamic. 

- I felt some of the characters were written a little thinly. I’ve seen some people complaining about Gwyn and while I enjoyed her presence she didn’t really “click” for me until the second half of the book. Honestly I thought she was going to die in that last scene in the Rite but alas.

- Merrill is Miranda Priestly though, can we all agree on that?

- Eris at one point makes a comment about the Illyrian’s not being brave enough to look under Ramiel to see whether it has tunnels carved under it. I really thought that this was going to come back and have something to do with how Nesta and the other’s got through the Rite, but that never came. I wonder if it is a set up for another book.

- Baltasar anyone?

- Overall, I’m not sure I love the whole Nesta becoming a Warrior and trying to build a new legion amongst the priestesses (I think I would have preferred it if she tried amongst the Illyrian women) but if it’s just a “hell yeah we’re badass strong women” than actually fighting in another war then I’m into it.

- That heartbreaking scene with Feyre almost dying was beautiful. Again, wish it had been longer and more suspenseful. I still cried.

- The ending was really beautiful, but I think I would have enjoyed an on the page reconnection of the sisters and each saying things to each other. Presumably we just have to take Nesta’s “I love you” to Feyre as proof of this happening.

- Rhys only really coming around to Nesta after she saved his mate and son’s lives. Not the best, but unsurprising. I thought that Nesta was going to be the one to save them as soon as that plot point was introduced. Still enjoyed it though.

- And her altering her pelvis so she can have Cassian’s babies one day…what better way could she tell him that she loved him? (Certainly not with a stale biscuit). The question remains, did she afford Elain with the same curtesy knowing how Azriel feels about Lucien. Heck, how Elain feels about Lucien.

- I would have loved a little more internal anguish were they both realise that they love the other and are too afraid to tell the other. This does happen, but it’s not as explicitly on the page as I would have liked.

- The ending, they’re getting mated, in front of all of their friends and family. It’s the most beautiful sentiment and they both deserve to stand up and declare the love, that they kept hidden for so long, to everyone.

Wow, I didn’t realise that I had so many opinions on ACOSF but apparently I do (thanks for reading this far, if you have!)

Overall, I really, really, enjoyed ACOSF. I love Nesta and Cassian so much and it was so great to finally read their story. The book wasn’t as crushingly “this is perfection” as I felt about ACOMAF but it was still pretty fantastic.

Right now, I’m heading off to begin my reread of ACOSF (every SJM book has to be read twice as soon as it comes out - this book series brings true comfort to my soul and makes me sob like a baby and I LOVE it). I’ll be back on Tumblr (properly) from this weekend and CANNOT WAIT to see all of the takes, memes, fan art, etc about this book. Feel free to slide into my DMs or Asks if you want to chat.

Speak soon,

Red

[julemmaes]

Let Me In - October 2nd

Nesta Archeron x Cassian

Prompt sent by @noorismee (I’m sorry Tumblr kinda sucks and deleted the ask, I hope it’s just a one-time thing cause I could go insane)

“I didn’t get soaked wet through walking to your house for you to say no to pizza. I have beer too. I know you’re sad, so let me in.”

A/N: This was so cute to write and I really really miss my friends right now, cause I’ve just started uni and I don’t understand how many things works so I haven’t seen them in a very long time and writing about them is always kinda emotional. I hope y’all enjoy!

p.s. yesterday I made a mistake, cause I put the acotar general tag list instead of the tog one, so, sorry for the ones who found themselves there eheh

Word count: 2,587

Nesta wanted to cry. She wanted to cry so bad.

She had tried to take this exam four times in the last year. Twice in the winter session and twice in the summer one. Everyone had reassured her that the fifth time would be the good one, that this time she would be able to pass it with full marks.

"I'm sure you'll be the best in the class." Elain had told her only the day before.

So when she had arrived home, today, and had opened the email with the rankings and saw that she had failed again, she had screamed in frustration.

She grunted and dropped her head on the table, banging her forehead hard enough on the wood to make a loud thump. She rubbed her hands over her eyes, yawning and jerking when a flash of lightning lit the room as if it were daytime. She put her hands over her ears, waiting for the thunder and staring at the raindrops racing on the window glass, and when the noise stopped, she started reading one of the billions of theorems she had been studying for months.

She turned the pages until she found the chapter on the Fourier series and started to rewrite everything she needed to assimilate every little connotation of the theory so that she could apply it in practice.

She had been flipping through the book for hours, writing things and doing calculations that she knew by heart now. How was it possible that she knew everything so perfectly when she was at home and when she found herself in front of the test sheet, she forgot the logic behind it?

She picked up the phone to see the time and saw that it was ten forty-nine. She would not go to sleep until she had solved all the problems in the book.

A message appeared on the screen just as she was about to turn it off and she raised an eyebrow seeing who the sender was.

She had immediately informed him when she knew that she had failed the exam again, but then she hadn't waited for an answer and had put her phone aside.

Scrolling through the dozens of notifications - most of them from her best friend - she saw messages from her classmates asking her if she had passed.

When she got to the bottom of the list, she grimaced.

‘Did you eat?’

And a few minutes later, ‘Nesta?’

‘If you don't answer me within an hour and a half, I'm coming to your place.’

And then, exactly ninety minutes later, he had sent another message saying: ‘You asked for it. I'll be at your's in twenty minutes, half an hour max.’ followed by a strangely threatening text, ‘I'm pissed.’

Nesta grinned, muttering to herself, "Joke's on you, I won't open the door." and returned without too much thought to her math book.

Five minutes passed before she heard someone aggressively knocking on the door. She sighed, lifting her eyes from the numbers and pondering whether it was better to let him in or let him die outside in the cold and frost. She was about to get up, tell him that he should leave, when Cassian knocked harder on the door. She frowned.

"Arche! Open the fucking door, I'm freezing out here!" shouted the boy. Nesta laughed, looking at him through the peephole and leaning her hip against the wall.

She spoke loudly enough so that Cassian could hear her through the door, "And don't you think you should have asked my permission before coming here and busting my balls?"

She heard him snort and could imagine him closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, "Nesta, please," he seemed exasperated, "open this door and let me feed you."

Nesta raised an eyebrow, chuckling, "Feed me? What am I? A dog?"

"No, you idiot." he laughed on the other side, then, in a more serious tone he asked, "Have you eaten something?"

Nesta hesitated, "Sure."

"I can hear the bullshit from here." a little pause, "Come on, open up."

She opened the door slightly, watching him step forward and Nesta closed the door ajar, shaking her head, "Cassian I have to study." if she had let him in she wouldn't have been able to do anything.

His hair was damp and his usually dark-grey jacket was now black.

"Cassian," he repeated in a mocking tone and making a disgusted face, "what? Are you mad?"

She shook her head puffing, tapping her foot on the ground repeatedly. He followed the movement with his eyes. Looking back at her face, he said, "Even if you were, you wouldn't have the right to. I'm not the one who ignored his best friend all day." he put one hand on the door and pushed it, holding the pizza with the other.

When Nesta struggled to keep it closed again, Cassian laughed. They both knew very well that if he wanted to force his way into her apartment, he would have no problem doing so.

He took one look at her and made what she called whipped-dog-eyes, "I didn't get soaked wet through walking to your house for you to say no to pizza. I have beer too. I know you're sad, so let me in." She noticed only in that moment the bag hanging from his fingers. She leaned forward to help him hold it. She hated plastic bags so much, they always stretched out to cut off her hands when she had to carry them around.

Then she metabolized his words and opened her eyes wide, "Did you come on foot?"

She opened the door, stepped aside and let him in. Cassian trotted into the apartment, shaking his jacket off and passing the pizza to her, who moved so as not to get wet, "Are you crazy? It's four degrees outside and it's pouring."

He looked so pleased to finally be inside the house that he didn't seem to hear her.

Nesta placed the food and beer on the kitchen table, careful not to wet the books. She hurried to put everything aside and when Cassian came in and saw what she was doing she tightened her jaw. Nesta noticed.

"What?" she asked abruptly, "Everyone has their problems. You are a fool for leaving the house at ten o'clock without an umbrella and walking for half an hour in the middle of a storm and I am trying to make sure I have a future by studying, and if I have to do it in the evening, that's not going to stop me".

Cassian shrugged, "Az stole my umbrella and my mom needed the car."

A twinge of pain tightened her heart.

She shook her head, "Wait here, I'll go get you a dry sweatshirt, I should have one of yours."

He nodded and Nesta saw him as he started cutting the pizza, taking what necessary and setting the table. When he came back he was shirtless and was rattling his hair, squeezing it into the sink.

She froze on the kitchen door, admiring how the muscles on his back tensed with every slightest movement. It was not the first time she saw him without clothes, there had been many occasions, but it was rare for him to undress in front of her in such intimate surroundings. She cleared her voice, drawing Cassian's attention.

He turned towards her, smiling at her and Nesta thought she was going to die. It wasn't the usual cocky smile he usually gave everyone, it was sweet and sincere. She handed him the sweatshirt without saying anything and sat down.

The first bite of pizza - although it was gummy and cold - was an explosion of happiness in her stomach. She closed his eyes, moaning and took another bite out of the slice. Cassian sniggered, watching her as she finished her first slice.

"Geez, it's so good," said Nesta, with her mouth full of food. Cassian had an amused expression on his face. He nodded his head to the cartoon, "Have some more."

Nesta didn't hesitate and threw herself on the pizza, filling her plate. They ate in silence, enjoying each other's company. She thanked him only when she had cleaned the plate with the last crumb. He had belittled the whole thing by waving his hand mid-air, just saying that she didn't need to thank him, that it was his job to make sure she survived through this exam session.

When Cassian leaned forward on the table to grab a bottle of beer, Nesta stood up, grabbed the bottle opener and handed it to him. He was about to open the second one, when Nesta stopped him, "I'm not going to drink Cass, as soon as you leave I'll go back to studying and you know what alcohol does to me."

Cassian laughed and opened it anyway, pushing it towards her, "Come on Arche," she did not move and looked him in the eyes more serious than ever, "if you put it like that," he took back the beer and the smile died on his lips. He moved his gaze toward the window, "But I'm not leaving".

She moaned, "What the fuck, Cass." she put her hand in her hair, raising one leg and putting her foot on the chair, leaning her chin against her knee.

"I'm not leaving and I don't want to hear your lame excuses about why I can't stay" he looked at her and the worry in his features made Nesta stand at attention.

His tone became more gentle, "What happened today?"

She wiggled her head for the millionth time, frowning, "What do you mean? Nothing happened," and before he could answer her, she added, "except that I failed the mathematical analysis exam for the fifth time."

"Nes..." he passed his hand through his hair, unwinding it and dropping little water left and right. His eyes never left her face, looking for any sign that would give away her apparent calm.

"Cass." she repeated with the same tone. How could he be so good at reading through the lines? Lines that she hadn't even written, considering how good she had been at ignoring him all day long. She figured, that was also a clear sign that something was wrong.

Not even Tomas, her boyfriend, could understand that something was wrong and she had explicitly texted him "I don't feel very well, I'd rather be alone for today" to which he replied with a simple "Ok, talk to you tomorrow".

Maybe he didn't even care what was bothering his girlfriend so much. Surely he would have been angry, though, when he found out that Cassian had spent the night on her couch.

Cassian sighed, also putting down his beer, "You know, you need to talk about anything, I'm always here."

Nesta felt a lump forming in her throat, so she nodded weakly, not trusting her voice.

He looked into her eyes for a few more seconds and when she could no longer hold his gaze, she turned to her books, staring at the sheets of paper that came out of the pages.

"So," said Cassian, changing the subject for her sake, "what don't you understand about mathematical analysis?

She turned to him in surprise, "These aren't things you would understand."

She wasn't trying to insult him or make him feel less intelligent than she were, but the subjects that were studied in the third year of a math degree course required a broad knowledge of previous subjects. Subjects that Cassian would never have even approached while studying foreign languages and literatures.

"Oh, I know, I don't have a sufficiently developed brain for those things, but you need to be distracted and since you want to study so much, maybe you could repeat it to me." he smiled at her, getting up and standing in front of her, pointing to the living room with a nod of his chin, "Couch?

Nesta stared at him, wondering how it was possible that Cassian was her friend. She nodded, following him into the living room and sitting in front of him, her legs bent under her.

The second she opened the book, the black letters on the white pages seemed to cross over. They seemed to dance, not allowing her to read. She would have been able to explain it without reading, but fatigue was taking over. She closed the book, staring at the cover.

"Everything okay?" he asked with a hint of concern in his tone.

Nesta closed her eyes, carrying a hand over her eyes. Her breath started to tremble. She did not want to cry.

She felt Cassian move on the couch and then he hugged her, "Sweetheart?" he stroked her hair, while Nesta took the book out from among them and dropped it on the floor. She clutched to his chest and took a deep breath. The warmth of him seemed to relax her little or nothing and Nesta only wanted to stop feeling this icy cold that seemed to have been poured into her bones.

"I miss my mom," she whispered.

She heard Cassian swallowing, "I figured," he said in an equally silent tone, holding her tighter, "It's normal Arche, her anniversary is approaching."

Right. The anniversary of Amanda Archeron's death would be in a couple of weeks.

Nesta was convinced that Tomas couldn't even remember the month of her mother's death.

"She was so good. She graduated on time. She did everything perfectly. And I'm here and I can't pass this stupid exam," she said against his chest. Her mother went to the same university, she attended classes in the same halls. She had graduated with the highest grades.

Cassian moved slightly, placing his hand on one of her cheeks, caressing her just under the eye. He had a determined look in his eyes and when he spoke, Nesta knew she wouldn't be able to talk back.

"You managed to get this far for a reason. You are not stupid and the test you are trying to take is not easy. Your mother was a genius, it's true, and I understand that you think you are expected to do the same, but no one is going to use such a thing against you," he reassured her. "We are all on your side. The only one who doesn't believe in you, it seems, is also the only one who should." he smiled sweetly at her.

Nesta moved, fleeing that touch so familiar, so comforting.

"I'm sorry." she murmured.

Cassian was still hugging her, "For what?"

"For making you worry, I should have called you and told you right away. You wouldn't have had to come all the way here." she looked him in the face and found an amused expression there.

"I would have come anyway, Nes. Only sooner."

She smiled at him and hugged him again.

They watched an action movie until two in the morning, hugging on her couch. They didn't go to class the next day, staying locked in the house, eating all the junk they had managed to buy on their little trip to the mini market down the street.

Cassian had also managed to convince her not to touch the books for the day and it had taken a while for her to accept.

She just needed her person.

Looking to her right, she stretched her feet over his lap and he smiled at her.

She was kinda screwed.

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