#cassandra scared the fuck out of me as a kid

[lifetimeoftired]

How to adopt a dead kid in three weeks or less

It's midnight and I'm hopped up on that ADHD juice. Been thinking on and off about this prompt and how things play out. Might clean this up for ao3 posting later but whatever.

Part 1 || Part 2

____

Danny can feel the weight of their stares like it’s physical. A last mournful glance at his pancakes- Actually no, fuck it. He grabs the last one from his plate, flashes the whole Wayne family a peace sign, and turns invisible. The pancake is eaten as he dashes out the door and away from the shouting and chaos he leaves the family in.

 -

“Where the FUCK did he go!?” Jason’s shout somehow made it above the din of the others- and got Bruce and Dick yelling ‘language’ back at him. The pricks.

“I say! Watch your tone Master Jason! As for the rest of you-” The whole family shut the immediate fuck up when Alfred speaks. His displeased expression more than enough to cow them into submission. “I expect you to clean up after yourselves today and a quiet trip to the batcave to find our new ward. Master Jason, you will be taking care of Master Danny’s plates, and I will hear of an apology from you for scaring that poor boy.”

There’s a chorus of ‘yes Alfred’ from the chastised bats, but Bruce- carefully mind you- presses.

“Alfred, how long has he been here? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“The young master has been staying for the past three weeks sir. And despite my best attempts, I have not yet been able to convince him to sleep in his own room.”

Bruce groans and rubs at his face before turning back to his other children, “Nobody thought to tell me!?”

The kids all look at each other, and then back at him with the most judgmental ‘are you serious’ looks they can muster. Except Cassandra, who very excitedly signs; New brother! All Bruce can do is sigh into his hands.

“We’ll discuss this later-”

“Why didn’t you notice then old man?” Jason grins, a little feral at Bruce’s dirty look but sue him.

“Okay okay, let’s hurry up and get this place cleaned up. There’s no telling how far Danny got- and the sooner we go after him the sooner we figure out what’s going on.” Dick said, quickly gathering his own plate. 

“And the sooner I can get all of you presents.” The entire family stops. Staring at Jason in shock. “Only the finest ‘World’s best detective’ mugs for all of you!” 

The groan he gets from all of them is perfect.

-

“I cannot believe you didn’t think to tell me either!” Batman scolds Oracle later. 

Everyone is out in force. Even Batwoman, Batwing, and Bluebird (after having a good laugh at Batman’s expense) had joined. They had all been searching for Danny the better part of the day. Batman had even agreed to let Red Robin and Robin join the search and skip school. That’s how seriously the kids knew he was taking this. And how important it was for one of them to get to Danny before Batman scared him off for good with his infamous paranoia.

“If you didn’t notice, that one’s on you Batman.” God Jason really loved Barbara sometimes. 

“Oracle would not have allowed a dangerous individual into our midst. She is thorough when it comes to such things.” Robin is moving fast, probably swinging right behind Batman. No doubt headed east where the nicer areas were and any sane person was bound to head.

“I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me, baby bat.”

“O, you wouldn’t happen to have a new update on Danny’s whereabouts would you? Or anything from his past?” Nightwing cuts in after Robin’s little ‘Tt’. He’s somewhere near the border to Bludhaven, in case Danny’s making it out that way.

“Nothing Nightwing.” They can hear her frustration, and concern, through the voice modulator. “The kid’s practically a ghost. All I can tell you is that he’s not from Gotham. What little I can find of his time here in Gotham is some security feeds of dumpster diving and sleeping on a bench.”

“He’s also definitely a meta.” Signal mutters, somewhere to the west and near the coast..

Jason remains quiet and lets them all talk. As funny as it is- and holy shit Jason will never let any of them live this down ever- it is a little strange this random kid would just... Show up out of nowhere. Meta or not. Alfred said he wouldn’t sleep in a bed of his own, but he also hadn’t left until after Jason questioned his existence. This ‘Danny’ had been around the manor, the bats coming and going, for weeks. He could’ve found out their secrets, and even if he hadn’t sold them out yet, there’s no telling who might pick him up and drag those secrets out of him. Or worse, if he was sent here by someone, then they needed to find out who. And fast…

….

Ugh. He sounded like Batman.

“Hey guys, how well do you even know Danny?” Jason pulls over near an abandoned apartment building. Cutting the engine to his bike to hear them all better. “He was there for a few weeks, pick up anything on him? Might help us figure out where he ran off to.” That last bit was added as an afterthought, not wanting to be too paranoid, but it was also true.

“I know how this is going to sound, but uh, well, he does seem really nice actually.” Signal helpfully offers. “Dick and I ran into Danny I think not long after he got there?”

“O’s camera feed tells us Danny arrived at the manor 28 days ago, Thursday night 11:38 PM. Looking at the records, he was picked up prior to that in front of Wayne Enterprises by one of our drivers- Archer Tenson. He’s reliable and honest, no record of any sort that would make him a suspect of subterfuge.” Nightwing rattles off the information pretty calmly, but they all know him well enough to hear the concern. “According to the records, he was going to pick up the caffeine addict after the cafe got an alert of his fourth Death Latte-” They all ignored Red Robin’s little ‘hey!’, “-and dropped him off safely at home.”

“Red Robin.” Batman’s parental disapproval was palpable through the comms. 

“There wasn’t a fourth Death Latte!” Red Robin protested from his place in the batcave. Aiding in the digital search and combing over the camera feeds over the past few weeks for any information about Danny. “The third Death Latte was the last one. An Alert at W.E. was the plan the whole night. Nobody made it back to the manor until sunrise and the cafe kept saying there wasn’t any more coffee and-!” He gasped, horrified! Outraged! And the rest were left to hold their snickers as Red Robin said, “He stole my last coffee!”

“That’s right, Danny said he was a caffeine addict too.” Batwing mused. Probably flying somewhere over the more open suburbia in case Danny was trying to make a break out of the city that way.

“Wait when did you meet Danny?” Spoiler asked- Jason knew she was patrolling nearby with Bluebird. Those two, Orphan and Signal were the only ones who were allowed to come close to Crime Alley. Mainly because they annoyed Jason the least, but also because they understood how bad the streets could get and looked the other way better than the others. Signal surprised him about that one.

“Start from the beginning.” Batman orders. “Nightwing, Signal, you met Danny when?”

“Looking back, it was actually the day after he got there it sounds like.” Signal sighs. “I was headed downstairs for breakfast, and saw Dick in one of the sitting rooms. I thought I saw our caffeine addict passed out on the couch and thought dick was going to wake him, so I went in to help…”

[rosemarydisaster]

This post inspired me to think about secret identity logistics and I think Cass being so cavalier with her secret identity would actually help. Like, it makes the rest of the family's secret identities better because Cassandra Cain is obviously Blackbat/Batgirl. By contrast they would look even more civilian and if someone is not going to realize their kid is a vigilante is Brucie Wayne.

"But wouldn't they connect the dots to the rest of the family?" Listen, If those were bats they'd simply get out of the kidnappings and hostage situations they get themselves into like Cassandra. The fact that they always need to be saved proves they're, indeed, civilians.

Also, I doubt the math would math unless you knew very specific internal things to connect each vigilante to their civilian identity. Brucie is, for starters, as civilian as can get and thanks to the Mandela effect everyone is convinced that he was caught on camera making out with Batman anyways. So that's a non-starter.

Dick Grayson is trying to be a regular person, so the public would know he exists and comes back to important things but he's mostly out of the public eye. Plus, he's a police officer, why would anyone assume he's in kahoots with his little sister that was adopted after he'd already left Gotham?? And when he came back to Gotham for a while to take care of things for his father, is not like there was a new vigilante. It was still batman and Robin (the Robin was new, but Dick Grayson is an adult so, not likely).

Then we get to the big one: Jason is legally dead. You can't assign him any vigilante because he's mmm super dead. I'm sure there's a true crime podcaster trying to argue that he was the second robin and died doing robin shit, that's why Batman and Bruce broke up. But even if it's compelling, it's also considered in really bad taste. Also, can't be tied to Cassandra because she arrived after his death.

Tim gets a similar reaction to Brucie in the sense that there's no way he is a vigilante. He's the immunocompromised Twink from Forbes "30 under 30". He's literally physically incapable of being a super hero due to both a lack of Muscles and a lack of time. That boy has to run an entire massive money making machine and, for all gothamites know, he may very well be asthmatic as well. Plus, he gets kidnapped like crazy. If he was a hero he would at least now how to avoid being put in those situations. They suspect he's covering for Cass though, since he's smart enough to realize his sister is freaking Batgirl.

This means that even if Cass is Batgirl they can't really trace Batman, Nightwing, Red Robin or Red hood back to the family (not to speak of Batwoman, Catwoman, Huntress, Batgirl a 1 and 2, Oracle or spoiler). So at this point why would you even try to connect the others? Clearly Cass is the exception, not the rule.

Like, sure, Duke did survive the Riddler ruling Gotham and if you put some effort, it wouldn't be impossible to tie him to the We Are Robin movement. But also ...is it because he's black? Is it because he's the only black person from Gotham you know of?? His sister is a vigilante, and he is black, so he must be the black vigilante of course (He would be the one making this comments in social media through his sock puppet accounts and the True Crime/conspiracy communities would be too scared to touch that one with a ten foot pole)

Damian is another one where I think Bruce would do what he can to protect him from the press (partially for his own good and partially because he's the opposite of media trained). Most of the info the tabloids would get is from people tangentially related to him. Like, sure, he does look a bit like the new robin, and his sister is Batgirl. But, unless you're one of the people claiming he's the lovechild of Bruce Wayne and Batman (test tube baby??? Batman trans???) it wouldn't make a lot of sense now, would it?

Like Cass is so fucking weird compared to the rest of her family's civilian identities it makes them look rock solid by comparison.

[robintherobiner]

What would the Wayne Family and the Bat Family post tiktok

Bruce: videos of him buying new outfits with the material girl sound over it because, according to one post, 'his kids said it was funny and he liked seeing them smile'. on his official account though (the wayne enterprises one) his 'social media manager' posts clips from interviews and soundbites.

Batman: does not have a tiktok.

Dick: posts videos of him either doing gymnastics or of him hanging out with his siblings. Most of the time he is throwing up a peace sign and then Tim and Damian are wrestling in the background and he captions it something along the lines of 'brothers drawing blood in Blud!'

Nightwing: posts videos of short self defense tips/poses, regularly collabs with Red Hood. (not that Jason knows this, Dick just sets up a camera and then goes and bothers his brother until he tries to punch him so he can teach people to block)

Barbara: Posts videos talking about accessibility (both whats available and what should be put in place). if one of the wayne's annoy her, she also will post a compilation of them doing something silly like tripping over thin air or being caught using a hairbrush as a microphone)

Oracle: posts clips of people doing non violent crimes (faces blurred out ofc) with the caption "the eye in the sky sees you, dumbass." because why would you try ack a car on a street with three non-hidden cameras

Jason: doesn't post. anymore. does have an account from when he was a teenager where it's just him doing sped up acting videos to sounds. he has tried to log in to take it down but Bruce changed the password. Brucie regularly comments on different videos like "my baby was such a star... rip sweetie 🕊️🕊️🕊️" and its Jason lip-syncing to fucking Justin Bieber or something

Red Hood: posts videos shitting on Batman. the comments were full of people saying "daddy issues" or "i wanna be a dealer just so you can shoot me babygirl" so he turned them off. sometimes someone (tim) turns them back on and Jason gets bombarded with "BRO IS SERVING CUNT"

Cassandra: posts videos of her doing ballet, or of her showing off her strength. Not on purpose though, she thinks its fun to post videos of her teasing her brothers and the comments are like "WHY DID SHE JUST PICK UP DICK GRAYSON WITHOUT EVEN BREAKING A SWEAT WHAT"

Orphan: has a shared account with Batgirl, but she doesn't post on it, just sort of stands in the background as Steph makes funny videos.

Stephanie: enjoys posting videos pretending to be dating both Tim and Cass because she thinks its funny when the internet call her a gold digger and cheater. Bernard (after going public with Tim) occasionally fuels the fire by commenting "lmao get ur bag girl" under a video of her dragging Tim to a resturant

Batgirl: posts videos of her making fun of rogues, and on her shared account with Cass, just joins in on trends but obviously mixing it to fit her (aka: "when Batman lectures you for breaking a criminals leg but your literally just a teenage girl")

Timothy: like Bruce, he has two accounts. One is professional, with him promoting Wayne Enterprises products or whatever. Second one is full of him doing wild shit like skateboarding down the manor stairs or him trying to confuse Bruce with cringey slang. his most popular video though, is of him using the Nepo Baby sound by Fox SZN

Red Robin: posts slideshows of pictures of Gotham. All very aesthetic ones, of good architecture and people laughing together and shit. His bio is "showing you guy why I do what I do." His account is very artsy fartsy but he also was the first batfamily member to get verified

Duke: doesn't post, just likes videos.

Signal: posts videos of him trying to scare the other vigilantes, cuz, yknow, he can go invisible. tell me you wouldn't do that either if you could be invisible. exactly, you can't. He also makes videos about how hard it is to be a teen vigilante.

Damian: videos of his pets doing tricks. also regularly stitches Tim's videos and just deadass insults him. Tim always comments on his stitches with just a singular emoji because he found out it pisses Damian off more when he doesn't have a big reaction

Robin: posts about resources for gothamites. also has a shared account with Superboy (Jon) where they try and sneak up on both Superman and Batman. They have yet to succeed on either one.

[heytherecentaurs]

The Bad Parents would see Kristen in crisis, sort of in free fall, and all endeavour to help her. She's a kid who had to leave home because her parents are bigots. Then she moved in with her girlfriend's family (which thankfully is also her best friend's family). But do you ever think she was scared, even briefly, that she'd have nowhere to go when she and Tracker broke up? Like maybe in the back of her mind she wondered if the grace they'd shown her was because she was Tracker's girlfriend.

I think the bad parents would have rallied around her. Jawbone who knows how hard she's been grinding at school. Sandra Lynn who fully understands what it's like to be a young woman in crisis. (And who is used to dealing with Fig's special brand of bullshit; Kristen's problems might seem easier to tackle.) Wilma and Digby who are so kind and understanding but don't put up with bullshit and won't be pushovers. Even Sklonda who didn't want Riz's friends exploiting him, but you can't tell me she wouldn't hear from Riz that Kristen is Acing her cleric classes and crushing it on the campaign, and now you're telling Sklonda this girl who's really applying herself in shitty circumstances is being punished for it and on top of that it's going to effect her own kid's academics and future. Get the fuck outta here.

Kristen just needs one adult to march into that school with her and say "You're out of order." Like the school may be able to push around some kid and force her through hoops, but Sklonda or Sandra Lynn? No way. "You can't expel her. Kristen has perfect grades and is an active student in extracurriculars. What do you mean, 'She fails because her deity is dead'? Does Kristen still believe in her? Yes. Does Kristen still have her magic? Yes. How then can her goddess be dead? Last I checked Cassandra is a goddess of mystery. Just because you don't understand the mystery doesn't mean you have the right to punish Kristen for it. In fact combined with the cleric teacher's behaviour, this constitutes discrimination on religious grounds." Like... "Who's in charge here? You don't have someone qualified at the head of your administrative faculty? I'm going to have a class action suit brought against the school on behalf of the student body and you don't have Arthur Aguefort here to protect you."

Kristen needs an adult to reasonably address these issues on her behalf and failing that, an adult who will be mean.

Put me in a room with whoever you want from that school and I'll eat them alive. I'll make them cry. I don't care if Jace Stardiamond is evil or not. And I certainly don't care what big tent megachurch bullshit Bobby Fucking Dawn slithered out from. Fuck him and his Kentucky-fried drawl. I'll crush him.

(Side note: Kristen should have immediately begun whatever emancipation process Solace has because Mac and Donna should not be making legal and medical decisions on her behalf.)

[nyx-is-missing]

SUNSET PART 1

Or early summer!

Clarisse La Rue x Cassandra De Young (oc! Apollo's kid)

Summary: When Cassandra gets involved in a scandal early in the day, she goes to camp early.

Warnings: men....thats all i could think of actualy.

First read this!

Part 2 is here!

Cassandra De Young

Im fucked.

That's it, that's all i can say.

I knew it as soon as my hand reached his face and stinged, as soon as i heard a camera's flash, and as soon as i stepped into my mom's apartment.

Let's just rewind a bit, okay?

My family own a big business, that you already know by now, the thing is, when they reeaally want to do business with someone they go extreme, the most common technique is to get on the good side of everyone in the family, everyone.

They research, pretend to have things in common, to like the same things, to have the same views of life, and to make it more believable they always go for the person who is closest in age with them.

Usually i dont get involved in this situations because im younger than everyone else, the only teen in the family.

The thing is, this family also had someone around my age.

A 18 year old guy.....eighteen.

Let me tell you, i really wasn't going for trouble today, i tought he may be a normal guy, just with a little money, someone i could have a conversation with, drink some coffe, laugh and go back home and think "hey, not so bad"

He.was.not.

All he could talk about is how much money his family had, where he went for winter break, his pure blood horse, that only ate (attention to this one) IMPORTED GRASS.

Overall a huge dick.

But that i could handle, i've met people like this, i could handle a shitty talk for some hours, what i could not handle was having to go through all this with his hand on my knee bellow the table.

And here i was, spending one of my last days of spring being tortured by the fates.

"You're not paying much attention to the conversation are you?" He said, and gods that accent was almost making me want to jump out of a cliff, or push him out of a cliff, both would work.

"Oh sorry i was-"

"No need to apologize, people get bored i know" Not that he did something criminal by not letting me finish my sentence but, my gods every action coming from him its making me want to die right now "Its okay, i could find some way to make you focus"

Okay, im done

"Im gonna need you to stop saying odd shit" I looked him dead in the eye with a bothered look, and by the surprised look he gave me back i was 100% sure nobody ever told him to shut up when he was saying nonsense.

"C'mon, dont be like that-" he said trying to get his hand a little but upwards, and i only realized i slapped him when i felt my hand burning.

"Oh my gods im sorry i-" And then i heard the camera flashes.

Im going to need you to imagine the scene, my hand was still up, his hand was till on his cheek, and he had a scared look in his face, as did most of the people at the fancy coffe shop.

Do i smile now? Strike a pose? This one is definetly getting front pages at every place.

I chose the safest choice, got out of that straight to my house.

No..i did not payed the bill.

The whole way home i was trying really hard to think of something to say that was not going to make my family mad, especially my grandfather, but considering whe has always mad with something, that felt like a impossible mission.

First thing i saw when i opened the door of the penthouse was my mom, standing in front of the television, and sure enough, my face was on it.

She turned to me, but before she could even say something i started to explain myself.

"Its not what it looks like mom, i swear, i didn't do it on pourpose, let me explain please-" i couldnt actually read the look on her face, but she didnt say anything, so  i took that as a go ahead.

When i explained her what happened her face relaxed a bit, but not completely, and she had a look that said your grandpa is getting in my nerves because of this.

"I'll talk to your grandfather about this, but you need to know that the way you acted wasn't appropriate, there is cameras all around and you need to be careful...lets just thank the gods you didnt pulled out a dagger right?" She walked closer to me, and i knew she was trying to comfort me, its a pitty actually, i knew she didnt wanted kids when she had me, i knew how grandpa treated her when he found out, to me, it was enough that she at least tried to love me enough.  "You already have your things packed to camp right? I know you have some more days of school but ill call them and tell them you are sick, its best for you to leave earlier this year, then your grandfather wont talk your ears out...you okay with that?"

"Yes mama, ill just finish packing some small things...do i leave today?" I felt her hands on my shoulders, and heard a silent im sorry.

"Yes, but dont be like that, think that you at least wont have to see the news talking about you..youll just be there, with your siblings, eating strawberies and..whatever else demigods do daily, right?"

Like i said, it is enough to me that she tries, even when she isnt great all the time, i know people who dont even have this.

I nodded and went to my room, making sure not to accidentally hit a new sculpture, placed in the corridor.

I didnt wait for her when i finished packing.

I knew she wouldnt be the one to take me there, she never is, she has things to do with the family business, its what ive always heard.

So when i got to the underground garage with my bags i automatically searched for one of the family drivers, sure enough, he was there.

He was a nice guy, but quiet, i knew that he probably had orders not to talk to the family members unless spoken to, grandpa did this with all of them, i also knew he never actually knows where hes been taking me, he takes me there almos every year, but always stops at the road in front of the forest, maybe this sad look he has on his face its because he thinks he is taking me to one of those crazy wilderness therapies as a punishment.

Granpa would absolutely do that if he hadnt had to live with a great public appearence.

"Miss? We are here" He looked at me in the rearview mirror, i only realized i had doze of when my eyes met his and i blinked. "Hold on tight, im going to help you with your luggage okay?"

"Oh..thank you mr bell" He opened the trunk, and then the back door for me, extending his hand to help me get out of the car "thank you, again"

"Sure miss, just let me take your bags out and we are all set okay?-"

Another car dor noise made us both look to the right, to find Clarisse La rue, closing a taxi door, with just one big suitcase in hand.

Now, my story with Clarisse is kind of complicated, i've met her when he were, eight i guess, her family bought some shares in the family business and we saw each other very regulaly, and ever since then everything everyone told me about her is that she is a troublesome girl, that i should stay far.

But she was the one who realized i was a demigodess, and took me straight to camp when a monster found me, and she was the one who, many times when we were little, comforted me when my family made me cry.

It seems like she forgot all of that because she never even looks at me.

If you ask her, she has never even met me at all actually.

"Clarisse, you're early"

"Cassandra, you too-"

"Cass actually, i prefer cass" i corrected her, to wich she just rolled her eyes and muffled a whatever. "Thats all you are taking? One suitcase?"

"And you are taking all that? How do you plan on walking the whole way with all that? Im assuming he wont go with you" she said looking at mr bell, and its true, he could not walk the whole way with me, and i could not walk with all that alone...fuck

"....you could help m-"

"No, dont even think about it"

"C'mon Clarisse!" She didnt even answered me this time actually. "Arent you a Ares-" i looked at the driver taking the suitcases out. "A ares...type of kid? You will pass on the oportunity to demonstrate your muscles or whatever?"

She started to walk away with a bored look, did i already said fuck?

"C'mon ill do whatever! I- i dont know.. 20 dracmas!, no?, ill help you with the cleaning duty you'll eventually have when you fuck it up? I..ill do that AND ill cure you anytime you want, everyday, no matter the time!"

She stopped walking.

Yes! I knew it, one of the many problems clarisse had its that she likes to go out at night to train alone, and when she gets hurt she cant ask anyone to help her, because she would get caught

"Give me those suitcases already and shut up-" she was interrupted by a very happy me hugging her.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouclarisse!"

I felt her hands on my arms and realized she was going to push me away, so i took a step back

"Geez Clarisse, you could've just told me to back off, dont be like that... just take these and ill take those"

I said pointing to the suitcases, and saying goodbye to mr bell.

Can i already welcome summer and his crazy energy? No? Okay.

[sparklingmineraltequila]

American Wasteland

Note: I suck at first chapters. Summer's here and I want to be somewhat productive, so this'll be my baby for the next months. Terrified by posting this given the sheer quality of other Rust fics and 'True Detective', itself. Updates are coming cause it's deliberately vague

'Don't fucking patronise me,' Cassandra spits, yanking out her packet of Marlboro Golds that are wedged between her calf and her cowboy boot. She palms the clammy pack, lighting up with trembling hands and raw nail beds.

'Stop acting like a fuckin' kid and I'll stop treatin' you like one,' Rust retorts, his stoic disposition almost managing to veil his simmering anger, only betrayed by the whites of his knuckles gripping the steering wheel.

'I appreciate you doing this and all, I really do, but don"t get it fucking twisted, Crash: you ain't my friend, you ain't my boyfriend and you sure as hell ain't my daddy.'

'You think this is some type territorial shit?' Rust grits out, the mounting rancour starting to permeate his tone. He looks over and plucks the cigarette from her lips, his tone mellowing to a drawl when he says 'You have no business smoking at your age.'

'I'm twenty.'

'Exactly.'

The blasé dismissal sends Cassandra into a mute rage; one she sees as a veritable demonstration of indignance. Rust, however, likens it more to a petulant child's tantrum. After a couple minutes, she's licked her wounds enough to pipe up,

'Nietzsche would agree with me, you know? I'm emerging from the confines of my slave morality and becoming an 'Untermenschen' through exercising courage and free will through smoking and, thus, breaking socio-cultural norms.'

Rust runs a hand over his stubble, more to hide the twitch of a smile than to express any real chagrin. 'I should've never leant you that book. Only thing I've done is encourage that smart ass mouth of yours.'

'You want me to be nice and docile? I can be sweet if you want, baby. Real sweet,' manoeuvring her body so that she's kneeling on the truck's bench, body pressed to his side. He gives her a side-long look, face impassive. Cassandra probably couldn't be sweet if her damn life depended on it. Actually, it had often depended on the exact opposite. Girls as beautiful as Cassandra don't make it this far unless they've got a brain to match the legs and a razor-blade wit to match their syrupy eyes. Rust knows he'd rather be fucking lacerated than choke in that thick molasses of her seduction. He was too damn smart and too damn jaded to be affected by a girl with the ass of a stripper and the face of one of those fucking shampoo models, the ones he'd see on the screen at the bar, during a big game's commercial break; hiding his adolescent flush of arousal from his father with his hunting jacket's sleeve.

Too cynical. Too exhausted. Too fucked up. But here he was: enough coke in him to alert Medellin's DEA and with Cassandra in his truck, now busy taking off her tight, leather jacket.

'Put that on again. Now.'

'Scared you'll see something you like?'

'Not on a twenty year old.'

'Most guys would see that as a turn on.'

'I ain't most guys.'

'No shit,' she slumps back into the truck bench, picking at the slight fray of her miniskirt. He pulls into some derelict diner, the neon light of the sign seeping into the crevices of his eyes and permeating into his brain. Nausea quickly follows and turns to a deep malaise. Then panic. A panic symptomatic of one he felt with Sofia.

Sofia. Does he see Sofia in Cassandra? The traces of juvenility in how she slumps in his truck like a scolded child. The mercy of an answer comes fast:

No. What he wants to do to Cassandra is anything but paternal.

'Get out. We're getting something to eat,' he says gruffly and, for once, she complies. 'Instinct,' he thinks, 'girls like Cassandra don't turn down a payed meal.' He watches as she hops out of the truck, her taught, tan limbs striding across the lot, cowboy boots clacking on still hot asphalt. A few truckers stare, some whistle. She knows they're looking, she doesn't care. Cassandra isn't one to entertain male attraction based on vanity. No, she has a perspicacity about her that only comes from blood, grit and experience of the sharp end of male entitlement. Not like the usual hookers or hang-ons that the Iron Crusaders frequented; women who needed to be spoon-fed dollops of dulcet encouragement, always wanting to be told how good they were for him, how badly he wanted them. Wants he had yet to facilitate. No, Cassandra was a different type of hungry. Hungry enough to know that spoon feeding was dangerous; it allows the giver to withhold, to control. Cassandra knew that sometimes you had to lick it off of the jagged edges yourself.

'You coming, baby?' Cassandra calls to him, snapping him out of his train of thought. Not doubt, using the pet name to get a rise out of him. He walks over, not deigning her teasing with a reaction and walking inside the diner. She follows him, sliding into the same booth.

'Hardly even looking at me, huh? For a member of a fucking biker gang, you're very sanctimonious.'

He bristles, knowing she didn't mean it that way. How the fuck would she even know? It doesn't matter, one slip up and he gets a bullet to his head. Not that, with the way his capillaries throb and the sky and ground begin to bleed into one to the soundtrack of Sofia's gurgled choke, after a particularly loaded syringe, he wouldn't welcome it. Either way, he has to mitigate any suspicion.

'You ain't woman enough, yet, baby.'

He sees the hurt flash in her eyes. 'Good,' he thinks 'Better it hurt than I drag you down with me.' Ever the tenacious one, Cassandra almost immediately re-contrives her prior indifference,

'Your 'brothers' think different.'

He clenches his jaw.

'You gonna be this tightly wound, all the time?'

'Not if you behave.'

'I'm just making conversation.'

'You're a smart girl, Cass. I'm sure you can think of another topic aside from my aversion to fucking 20 year olds.'

The waitress comes to take their orders, looking pitifully at Cassandra, and then with indignation at Rust. 'Good,' he thinks, knowing damn well how a bloodshot biker, reading of malt liquor and Camels, must look next to a barely clothed young girl. Cassandra seems to relish the sordid appearance of them together, overtly pressing her tits over the table's edge, faux-innocence on display as she asks if he wants syrup with that.

'No,' he says frigidly, to both her and the waitress; the waitress taking that as her cue to leave. After a few minutes, Cassandra asks,

'If you don't want to have sex with me, why are you helping me out like this?'

'I'm not purely driven by my libido, Cass.'

'Most men are.'

'Fair enough,' he retorts dryly, the twitch of a barely perceptible smile on his lips.

'Don't avoid the question. You're not doing this out of pure fucking altruism.'

'Big words, baby,' noting the roll of her eyes, but also how her collarbones tinge pink at the praise.

'You're doing it again.'

He relinquishes, 'Because I sure as hell ain't altruistic but I ain't a complete monster, either. You may be tough but a girl like you out on the street...' His expression turns grim. 'You ain't lastin' the night. I can keep you safe.'

'What's your price, Crash?' eyeing him with trepidation.

'Here she is,' Rust thinks.

'Nothing. I just want you to get out of this goddamn American wasteland.'

'I don't trust you.'

'You shouldn't.'

'That's what the better people usually say.'

'I ain't no better than any motherfucker in your life, baby.'

She hums, unconvinced. 'So..I can stay with you, then? Just until I get back on my feet.'

He nods and, to his concealed amusement, she sits up a little straighter. He eyes her, wondering whether to nip her juvenile infatuation at the bud, but allows her it. Who knows the last time she allowed herself the luxury of genuine attraction.

'One question,' he breaks the silence, 'Why Cassandra?' She looks at him as if he's crazy. 'Name like that in a place like this,' he elaborates 'How did your dad come to that decision?'

'You ever read the Iliad?'

He raises his brow. 'Does it fuckin' look like I've read the Iliad?' The liquor in his bloodstream slowing his speech into a dry, lethargic drawl.

'You say that and then go lend me books by Nietzsche and Kierkegaard.'

'You keep that between us, you hear me?'

'Scared I'll taint your tough-guy act?'

'It ain't an act, baby,' a hint of warning and, even more subtle, disgust in his tone.

That shuts her up. They both know it isn't an act. No, she knows who he his; fuck Crash or Rustin Cohle, she sees him down to the bone. That endemic anger baked into his marrow and stitched into the sinew of his muscles. Anger that when focused is conducive, when not is devastating: the latter becoming more and more often, thanks to Crash.

'What about the Iliad?' he redirects the conversation, having sensed the trepidation in her eyes.

'Cassandra. She's one of the focal characters. Not that my parents kew that, but there was an abridged version on the waiting table of my mother's clinic. Liked the name. Evidently, didn't read the fucking book.'

'Why d'you say that?'

'Cause Cassandra is fucked from the beginning, middle and end. It's a fucking tragedy ,yeah, but she doesn't get a moment of love, hope or respite.' She stops to take a sip of her steaming coffee, noting Rust's raised eyebrow.

'Don't worry. Caffeine hardly affects me, anymore,' before continuing. 'But yeah, Apollo is taken by Cassandra and she refuses him. So, as any powerful man does when rejected, he takes what he wants, anyway. But the violation of rape isn't enough; he curses her with the gift of prophecy, but prophecy which no one will ever believe and everyone just calls her insane. Classic, huh? Beware the crazy bitch.'

'How does it end? The Iliad?'

She holds his gaze, that intelligence he loves burning through her eyes. Her carefully constructed veneer of saccharine sexiness is stripped away, leaving her at her rawest. Her rawest and angriest.

'The city fucking burns.'

He holds her gaze, rising to the game of chicken he knows she's inviting him to.

'You gonna be give me trouble, baby?'

'Definitely.'

[disillusioneddanny]

The Bats and TTPD Songs

This is just me sharing what songs I think matches each of the bats and why :> i take no criticism /j

Bruce Wayne-- Cassandra

Hear me out okay, the lyrics:

So, they killed Cassandra first 'cause she feared the worst And tried to tell the town So they filled my cell with snakes, I regret to say Do you believe me now?

This whole song just reminds me of Bruce and his contingencies, like he's constantly prepared for any situation and he's had people who have gotten mad at him for it before.

Dick Grayson-- Who's Afraid of Little Old Me

God where do I even start? I want to write a whole fucking fic based off of this song and Dick Grayson.

So I leap from the gallows and I levitate down your street Crash the party like a record scratch as I scream "Who's afraid of little old me?" I was tame, I was gentle 'til the circus life made me mean "Don't you worry, folks, we took out all her teeth" Who's afraid of little old me? Well, you should be

In this case, he was bright eyed and innocent until his parents were killed in front of him. Then he became Robin, then Nightwing and this man went through fucking hell and he has survived.

Everyone sees Dick for his smiles and his kindness but this man should not be crossed by any means. He's fucking lethal and has gone through so much shit in his life and he's just not the same bright eyed, innocent kid he once was. And you should be scared of him.

Jason Todd--Robin

So technically this song is about Christopher Robin from winnie the pooh, but I think it also captures Jason really well.

You have no idea The time will arrive for the cruel and the mean You'll learn to bounce back just like your trampoline But now we'll curtail your curiosity In sweetness Way to go, Tiger Higher and higher Wilder and lighter For you

I feel like this song focuses a lot on loss of innocence and growing up tbh, like the person this song is aimed at has no idea how hard the world is, how painful things can be but that they'll learn to handle it and bounce back. IDK the first time I heard it, it reminded me of how Jason believed that Robin is magic and maybe even like Bruce or Dick singing this to him knowing what was going to happen to him one day.

Tim Drake -- Clara Bow

okay, so there's not just one lyric that really sticks out to me but the overarching story that this song tells. It's all about being replaced with the next big thing. Taylor Swift is compared to Stevie Nicks who is compared to Clara Bow and one day T. Swift is going to be replaced with something shiny and new and that just reminds me of Tim.

Tim is the third Robin, he replaced Jason who replaced Dick and one day he himself is going to be replaced. There's a lot of HC where he's aware of this fact, that he knows that his role as Robin is not a permanent thing, that one day, he too will be replaced. And eventually, he is.

"You look like Taylor Swift In this light We're loving it. You've got edge she never did The future's bright ... Dazzling."

Cassandra Wayne -- The Albatross

okay Cass was really hard for me at first to pin down what song fit her but then I listened to The Albatross and holy cow.

The devil that you know Looks now more like an angel I'm the life you chose And all this terrible danger So cross your thoughtless heart She's the albatross She is here to destroy you

I don't know quite how to explain how this song makes me think of Cass except for how it just makes me think about how she decided to take her life in her own hands and become her own person. She was pretty much created with one thing in mind and that was all that was expected of her but she's become so much more than that. Now she's strong and powerful but in more ways than just how David Cain made her out to be. She's caring and loving and she's going to destroy the idea that she was ever just a weapon.

Stephanie Brown -- I Can Do It With a Broken Heart

Listen, listen, this woman has been through so freaking much and she has come out on top and with a smile on her face the entire time. She is resilient and she isn't scared to fight Bruce Wayne himself if she needs to.

'Cause I'm a real tough kid, I can handle my shit They said, "Babe, you gotta fake it 'til you make it" and I did

I know this song is about dealing with a break up but when I hear it, i think of everything that Steph has been through. Her dad who's a rogue, her mom who is struggling with addiction, getting pregnant and giving her baby up for adoption, not being considered good enough to be Robin, the list goes on and on and yet she does it. She rolls with the punches and she swallows it down and she smiles through it all and I just friggen love Stephanie Brown so much.

Duke Thomas -- Florida!!!

Admittedly, I don't know as much about Duke as the others (I'm so sorry, I just haven't gotten there in the comics quite yet, I'm just now getting to the aftermath of the Red Robin run and I haven't read New 52 yet. so this is purely based off of WFA )

Little did you know your home's really only The town you'll get arrested So you pack your life away just to wait out The shitstorm back in Texas

This song just makes me think about Duke because from what I've learned, kid's been through a lot and he's had to move in with the Waynes after what happened to his parents. I think of Florida as a song of starting over, picking up your broken pieces and finding yourself once again and that just feels like Duke.

He's been hurt and he's now having to figure out what to do and where to run. Now he's with the Waynes and he's slowly finding his place with their insanity.

Damian Wayne-- thanK you aIMee

Okay but imagine this song is Damian at Ra's al Ghul okay? Stick with me buddy.

I built a legacy that you can't undo But when I count the scars, there's a moment of truth That there wouldn't be this if there hadn't been you

And maybe you've reframed it And in your mind, you never beat my spirit black and blue I don't think you've changed much

Damian has grown so much since the days he was still with the LOA and he recognizes that not only has he grown but he's done it DESPITE what Ra's did to him and that maybe a part of him is created by Ra's and he has learned to love that part of himself and he recognizes he wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for Ra's and his mother being conniving and evil. He's created a name for himself as Robin that goes against so much of what Ra's brainwashed him to believe.

Barbara Gordon-- The Bolter

And I can confirm she made A curious child, ever reviled By everyone except her own father With a quite bewitching face Splendidly selfish, charmingly helpless Excellent fun till you get to know her Then she runs like it's a race

This song just gives the brave, strong, independent vibes of Babs. Someone who lives her life to the fullest and embraces who she is. She's just powerful and she knows that she's amazing and she doesn't expect anything less from herself. She has gone through hell and she's come out of it stronger. She rolls with the punches, she doesn't let it stop her from her dreams, her desires.

Alfred Pennyworth-- I Hate it Here

I hate it here so I will go to Secret gardens in my mind People need a key to get to The only one is mine

This song just makes me think of Alfred when Jason died. That time where it's just him and Bruce and he's struggling to take care of his ward and he's also going through his own grief and unable to heal. I think Alfred has his own methods for taking care of himself, I think he's like the world's greatest compartmentalizer.

oh my god that got so freaking long lol. I'm so sorry. Anyway, y'all can listen to these specific songs here

[radishhqueen]

okay this actually kept occupying my thoughts @rbtlvr

16. Meeting past/future self | Put That Guy in a SituationTM Ask Game

"Promise you won't get mad," was the first thing that Michelangelo said when Casey answered the phone, which alone was enough to make her preemptively furious. Never mind the fact that it was currently 11pm on a Tuesday night and some people had to get up for work in six hours and had just managed to fall asleep. 

"No. Tell me what I'm mad about," she said firmly, sitting up in bed and resting her forehead on her knees as she waited for him to just spit it out already. Grandma CJ's had just closed the deal with the flour don of New York; it had been weeks of negotiations and dancing around thinly veiled threats. She was tired.

There were a few seconds of hemming and hawing, before Michelangelo squawked, and Donatello started speaking instead. Thank fuck, Donatello knew how to cut to the chase. "Mikey has mystically kidnapped a child—"

"On accident!" the turtle in question interjected indignantly.

"—and we need your childcare expertise," he finished, the exasperation clear in his voice. "We're working on getting her home, but mystics are unnecessarily nonsensical, so…it may take a few hours."

Casey sighed, rolling out of bed and looking down at her sweatpants and baggy t-shirt. Yeah, that was a fine enough outfit to be seen in, whatever. "Yeah, sure, I'll be there. Gimme a few minutes." She hung up the phone, tilting her head back and staring at the crack that ran through her bedroom ceiling. You save a guy from getting his soul eaten by a big knife demon that you helped summon one time, and all of a sudden his kids were calling you at all hours of the night and getting you tangled up in their schemes. Fucking hell. 

She inhaled, taking a moment to pull her composure back together, finding her center. She did not dislike the Hamatos, for all they annoyed her. Sometimes it was hard to remember that, but that wasn't unique. She'd always had more anger than she knew what to do with. For all the ways the Foot Clan had failed her, they'd at least taught her how to keep her anger and hate all in one neat little package, a finely honed spear rather than a grenade. Another breath and she tilted her chin back down, focusing on her hands in front of her as she formed the seals, tearing open a portal to the Hamato household.

There was less immediate chaos upon her arrival than she expected. She'd dropped herself off in the living room; it was the easiest target since she'd spent the most time there than anywhere else in the subway station. The lights were dimmed, and Cassandra very quickly put together that they were watching something on the projector, considering the way it was actively blinding her. 

"Case!" Raph cried, sounding relieved. She could only really see his silhouette against the couch, blinking rapidly as she maneuvered to stop being blinded by the projector. "Look, kiddo, I told you, this is one of our human friends! So you don't have to be scared of us." Ah, yeah, she could see how getting randomly teleported into an underground subway station full of mutants would be a bit alarming if you weren't already used to that sort of thing.

She cleared the projector light, blinking as her eyes readjusted to the darkness, focusing on the bundle of blankets sitting on the far end of the couch from Raph. "Hello," she said, holding a hand out in greeting. "My name is Cassandra."

A little face emerged from the blanket cocoon, glaring up at her with an anger that was more rooted in fear and uncertainty than anything Casey herself had done. It was an expression that she was extremely familiar with, on account of seeing it in the mirror more days than not. 

Actually, it really was like looking in a mirror. 

Her heart dropped out of her chest and all the way down to the bottom of her stomach as she watched the little girl examine her suspiciously. She couldn't breathe, not even when the kid reached out and grabbed her still-outstretched hand in a handshake too firm for her age. 

"My name's Cassandra, too," the little girl said. "But my friends all call me Casey."

[punishedcrow]

OKAY YALL MAJOR RESIDENT LOVER SPOILERS HERE IM THEORIZING

So far I've done the Cassandra, Donna and Bela routes. This order is important. I've started with Cassandra because I continued on my demo save and so far everything seemed normal with some hints of mystery here and there, but I didn't get too much out of the romance objective and yes I save scummed a lot so I know a little about Cassandra's bad ending, but haven't gone fully through with it, I've just had the scene with her where she's all creepy.

I knew I'd have to solve mysteries, but in a game where you start over and over again, how would the secrets I found matter? THATS WHERE DONNA'S PLAYTHROUGH COMES IN. AGAIN, MAJOR SPOILERS!!!

So her route was full of secrets I didn't pry on. I save scummed a couple times, but since I loved Donna so much, I didn't even go too much further to know what happened on the bad choices. Only on her playthrough, characters star mentioning "rounds" and "next time" and Donna talks about not letting this happen again. MC is really important to Mother Miranda and the whole purpose of the game is for you to find out why. I've found some stuff at Cassandra's playthrough by sneaking in the third floor, but that didn't give me much clues. On Donnas route I've looked at some stuff and went back to a save when she absolutely hated it, but it didn't trigger a "secret found" prompt.

Donna knows about Miranda's plans and her capabilities, but she seems to have some power too bc Miranda didn't pressure her as much as you'd think. Like she straight up fucking turns of Bela's heart with magic (I told you there's spoilers) as punishment, but she's just "boogey woogey imma scare you" with Donna. What is Donna capable of? I need to know, maybe on another playthrough with her where I snoop around and try as many options as possible? I need to know, specially because she knows.

And this is why the developers of this game are geniuses bc Dona FUCKING REMEMBERS MC. At Bela's playthrough, when you go to her flower shop, she blushes when greeting you. Donna does NOT act like that at first glance on her playthrough. And it happened right after, on this order. WHY THE HELL WOULD SHE ACT LIKE THAT IF SHE DIDN'T REMEMBER??? And it explains a lot why she was so jealous and possessive on her route. She knew she'd be seeing you with a bunch of other people over and over until eventually you came back to her (?). And also, even though Cassandra is flirty with everyone, she flirted with MC a lot at Donna's playthrough, when I still had a couple of Cassandra's saves registered. And at Bela's route, when I met Donna, I still had a couple of saves from the second playthrough. But none from Cassandra, since it had all been overwritten already and she didn't flirt with MC at all on Bela's playthrough, without her saves.

What I can deduce from the story I've seen so far is that the only Dimitrescu kid that has a hint of what's happening at this school is Bela, since she's been fucking cursed by Miranda. Donna knows because she's Miranda's "daughter" and Alcina's sister, who also knows about all the cult shit. But I cannot confirm if their remembrance is truly coded in the game. It probably is, because that is the point of this doki doki literature club time loop plotline. Like of course that's the plot line, come on, that's what's most fun about it.

Miranda wants something from MC, so imma leave her for last.

I've also noticed that Angie has been drinking more and more, specially on the third playthrough, after Donna, who's her aunt/mother. It almost felt like she was depressed everything was happening again and Donna would be depressed again (not the case apparently), so she got depressed too.

My game plan now is Dani, Angie, Alcina and Miranda. Let's see how this goes. After all that I'll mess around with Donna's route and others to see some bad endings with the creepy sprites like Cassandra covered in blood and zombie Bela killing my ass, that truly caught me off guard btw.

Oh and I'm really loving this game. The descriptions, the way it's written, it's all so well thought out to me. It's sensible, it's relatable, it's honestly quite captivating tbh. I love all those women and I don't feel like any of them are my super favorites, but maybe Donna bc I've always loved the character since I played RE Village. They're all so different and interesting that I like them all in different ways.

Honestly, I have no conclusion for this, but I know MC is important for some kind of ritual Miranda's cult is doing. What could it be? How does it connect to the time loop?

[justmeinadaze]

I'm In Control Part 21 (Steddie X You)

A/N: No real notes today :) Just hope y'all enjoy <3

Warnings: Daddy Steve and Sir Eddie and all that that implies. (I regret nothing!), An ex appears making the reader jealous and act out (more so just being a brat). Matthew comes to visit! (Yay!). These two siblings casually talk about their trauma and how the reader feels she isn't good enough for them (mentioned in last chapter), Smut for sure with slapping and spanks. Blindfolds and ice play. I believe that's it.

Word Count: 5061

“How do you not know where she is?”

“TJ, we aren’t her keeper. She said she had an errand to run but didn’t elaborate. It’s still her lunch hour. Calm down.”

Your boss glares at Steve. “Mr. Harrington, did you just tell me to calm down?”

“Depends. Did you like it?” The man winks cheekily at TJ as they both laugh. 

The door to your office opens and you lean against the doorway adorning a huge grin. 

“Where have you been, Y/N?”

“I had to pick something up.”

“’Ello, boys.” Matthew’s tall frame appears behind you as he waves. 

“Hey, man!” The boys get up to greet him as your brother smiles, pulling them in for a hug. 

“TJ and Avery, this is my little brother, Matthew.”

“Jesus. Another good-looking kid to make me feel old.” Your boss rises to shake his hand. “Now, you’re not like the other Y/L/N’s, right?”

“That is correct. Sex feels good, porn is alright, tattoos are cool, and churches scare me.” He chuckles as you lean back against him. “I also love my sister as is, you slut.”

“I love you to, heathen.”

“Hey, you should come with us to the club tonight. We’re all going together finally.”, Avery beams as Matthew nods.

“I actually have to drop off these two on a set but they will be coming by after. Speaking of, Eddie and Steve, we should probably go.”

##############

“Hey Derek.”, you grin at the director as he beams over at you.

“Hey mama! How are you?”

“I’m good. I brought your talent.” You gesture towards the guys who smile back at him.

“Great! Now, we had a slight mix up. Well, not really a mix up. The young lady you guys were going to be working with got sick so I had to reach out to a nearby agency to get a new actress.”

A gorgeous woman with a plethora of tattoos, mostly on her arms and legs, sauntered from down a nearby hallway. Her skin looked incredibly smooth and her long blond hair sat perfectly on her shoulders. Her smile glowed but there was something off about it that you couldn’t put your finger on. 

A breathy fuck came from your side and her eyes widened as she focused on theirs. You knew actors in this industry and honestly this girl in front of you was a fairly good one. She may have seemed shocked to see them but you saw the faint smirk twitch on her lips at their stunned expressions. 

“Guys this is—”

“Cassie Leigh.”, Eddie finished. 

“Oh shit. I’m, uh, I’ll just be in the car.” Matthew slowly backed away and exited the front door. 

You exhaled heavily as you turned to face them. “Oh? How do you guys know each other? Work?”

“Hey Derek, can we have a moment alone?” The director nodded at Steve as he went to check the cameras. “What are you doing here, Cassandra? Thought you moved back home.”

“I did but, you know, I saw your new show online and it just…motivated me to come back and try again. The industry I mean, not you two.”, she giggled.

“Yet you find yourself here on set with them. How odd.”, you smile at her as you turn your sarcasm to them. “So not just work then?”

“We had a relationship with her when we first moved down here.”, Eddie answers as his eyes finally meet yours. “More of an…arrangement.”

“I guess you could call it that especially since relationships weren’t really your thing.”

“How would you know? You left so quickly there wouldn’t have been time for one to evolve.”

“Oooo ‘evolve’. That’s a big word for you, Daddy.” 

Steve glares at her, stepping forward before you place your hand on his chest to stop him. 

“Haven’t changed at all have you, Cass?” Eddie’s tone is full of agitation. 

“Hm. Never seemed to bother you two.”

“Hey, Y/N. We’re ready. Is there a problem?” Derek asks from across the room. 

A sarcastic laugh escapes your lips as you push past them towards the door. 

“Hey! Hey, hey, hey.” Steve grabs your arm turning you back around. 

“I’ve got to say you two continue to fascinate me. I mean, I get why you would have a relationship…I mean ARRANGEMENT. My fault. I get why you would have an ARRANGEMENT with her. She’s a beautiful young woman but she doesn’t really seem like the submissive type.”

“Neither did you.”

You glare at Eddie as you pull yourself out of Steve’s grasp. “I imagine the sex was mind blowing which if your agreement with her was anything like ours then I get why she’s here.”

“Y/N, we aren’t in an agreement. We are in a relationship.” Steve was trying extremely hard to control his temper. “You can’t be jealous.”

“Excuse me, Mr. Harrington? Did I just hear you tell me how I’m not allowed to feel? You know what? You’re right. I can’t be jealous. This is just work, right? Go head. Fuck her all over the house for all I fucking care.”

You storm out as you stomp towards the car. Again, Steve’s hand reaches for you and spins you to face him. 

“The fact that you think we would, work or not, is very frustrating, Y/N. This isn’t work for her. They would have told her she would be partnering with us. She knew we’d be here.”

“I’m not fucking stupid, Steven.”

His face twitched at the name as his head tilted to the side. “Then why are you being a fucking brat right now?”

You both stared each other down until you felt someone standing behind you and gently but firmly reached for the man’s wrist. “Ok. I know everyone is a bit amped up but Steve I’m going to need you to let go of her now, ok?” Matthew’s voice matched his movement, ready to defend you if he needed to. 

Steve’s angry eyes flicked to your brother before letting you go who gently pushed you towards the passenger seat before coming back around to glance at them. 

“Do what you need to do but give her some space. If you come at her right now when you’re all like this she will shut down.”

#############

“Talk to me, Y/N!” Matthew shouted over the music of the club as you chugged back the martini in your hand, gesturing for the waiter to bring you another.

“I don’t want to! Just let me drink and be angry, okay?!”

“Okay but why are you angry?! It’s just work right?!”

There’s a lull in the music as you turn to sullenly look at him. “Yeah but—”

“She’s their ex.”

“It’s not even that but…”

“But what?”

A heavy bass fills the room before you can answer. You reach for his hand and bring him to a patio that’s outside, allowing him to reach in his pocket and light a cigarette. 

“I got incredibly sick last week and in my haze I told them I’m always worried they can do better.”

“Y/N…”

“I know. We talked about it and I believe them when they say they love me. That I’m the only one for them but then I saw that girl…she’s not like me.”

“Probably one of the many reasons they love you. Y/N, there is a reason they aren’t with this girl anymore. Also don’t forget, you met her for like, what… 5 minutes? You don’t know the whole story. You’re just letting our parents get in your brain again.”

You nod at his observation. “Matthew… our parents disowned me because I’m not perfect. What if—”

“No ma’am. Don’t even go there. Our parents disowned US because of their ignorance. Honey, being human means you’ll never be perfect but you’re perfect for them.”

You smile as you wrap your arms around him. “Thank you for being you.” He grins as he kisses the top of your head.  “I’m going to go grab another drink. I’ll be right back.”

As soon as you disappear, Eddie and Steve find Matthew outside. 

“Hey, man. Where is she?”, the metalhead asks. 

“She went to go grab another drink.” They nod at him as they take a sip from the glasses in their hands. “She told me you asked her to move in with you guys.” Steve meets his gaze as he nods again. “She also told me what happened at the wedding you guys went to before your impromptu trip to Indiana.”

Matthew squishes his cigarette in a nearby ashtray. “I like you guys a lot but I’m warning you now. Something like that is a big step for her and if you hurt her again like you guys did before…I will kill you.” He grins at them as he pats Eddie’s shoulder. “And I don’t mean that in like a sarcastic way. She’s been through enough.”

They glance at each other, knowing he means what he’s saying. After following him back into the club, they find you dancing and smiling with Avery. Your brother chuckles as he watches you have fun. “You never would have guessed we grew up in an uber religious house!” The boys laugh along with him as he nudges Steve with his elbow. “And not just because of the dancing, Daddy!”

Their eyes widen as they turn to face him making Matthew laugh harder. “She has bruises on her wrist and arms that look like fingerprints! My sister didn’t want to tell me at first but when I told her they look like the same kind of marks girls leave my bedroom with…! It’s kind of funny! In bed I always like to be control! I assumed it was because we never had any growing up!”

The music dies down again and you giggle as you wrap your arms around your client, heading back towards your brother. 

“You would think she would be the same but I guess not.”

“Maybe it’s because after she left your parent’s house, she had to learn how to handle things by herself. That can be exhausting.” Matthew raises his eyebrow inquisitively as he gives his full attention to Eddie. “Especially when you feel like… it will all fall apart if you don’t have everything together.”

“What she doesn’t realize though is”, Steve continues. “She has way more control in and out of the bedroom than she thinks she does. Y/N has us wrapped around her finger.”

“Hey! You guys came.”, Avery clapped excitedly. “How was your shoot?”

The men across from you watched as your eyes fall to the floor. 

“We wouldn’t know. We left right after Y/N did.”

“Oh? What took you so long to get here then?”, you ask. 

Their eyes shift to Avery before turning to your brother. 

“Hey Av. I’m sick of these whiskey whatevers. Take me to the bar and order me the best drink on the menu. My sister says you come here a lot so I trust your judgement.”

Your client grins as Matthew extends his elbow to him and the boy loops his arm through as they head to the counter. 

“We had a conversation with Cass about this stunt she pulled. She won’t be doing it again.”

Your eyes flicked to Steve before looking down at the contents of your glass. “Yeah, because she seems extremely trustworthy…Why…why haven’t you guys mentioned her before? Or at least told me someone you dated was in the industry so I could look out for you guys.”

They frustratingly sigh, looking around the club before Steve heads down a hallway and Eddie takes your hand to follow. After turning into a nearby open door and locking it, they marvel at the room you three find yourself in. 

It’s small with couches along the mirror lined walls. In the middle, a stripper pole welcomes anyone to use with a stereo in the corner for ambiance. 

“Did…did we just walk into one of our movies?” Eddie’s eyes scan the room and you can’t help but laugh. 

“I mean, the club is called Fantasy.”

Steve hastily guides you to one of the sofas, throwing you both down as he takes your hands in his. “Y/N, I swear we didn’t purposely hide her from you or anything like that. We thought Cassie was back in New York.” Your brows furrow together as Eddie throws himself down next to you. 

“We met her on set a little after we moved here and had our little arrangement for about two months. She was the first person we tried it with and she was all for it. The last time we saw her she was spending the night at our place and the next morning she was gone. Left a note and everything.”

“Actually, a note would have been better. She placed a sticky note on Eddie’s phone that said something like ‘I can’t do this anymore. I’m going home.’ When we called her agency, they said she had flown back home to New York.”

“Did you have feelings for her?”

“Not like we do for you.”

You roll your eyes at Steve’s answer. “I’m not a child. Just answer my question and DON’T tell me it doesn’t matter!”, you turn to warn Eddie.

“It doesn’t! Do you know why? Because she left without so much as a fucking goodbye.”

“Like we were trash.” You sighed at Steve’s comment as his eyes squint in your direction. “Y/N, she’s not nor will she ever be better than you in anyway way shape or form.”

“Is that why your jealous? Jesus Christ.”, Eddie whines in annoyance. “That little snippet you witnessed? Not new for her. She could be aggressively bratty and not in a fun way.”

“Why did you stay with her then? I mean why did you even bother?”

“Because the sex was good.”, Steve cringed as he looked at you. “It was. Again, not as good as—”

“Okay, Mr. Harrington. Calm down. I don’t need you to keep stroking my ego.”, you interrupt with a small smile. 

“I’m sure you understand with your own experiences. Not that I need my ego stroked but…”, he grins. Your smile grows as you look down at your hands. “Whoa, what was that?”

“What was what?”

“Wow, Munson. Look at her face. Did all your past sexual encounters suck?”

“So, a stripper pole in the middle of the room, huh? That’s so cliché.” As you start to slide off the couch, two strong hands grip your biceps and pull you back. They both beam down at you with big, amused yet admiration filled eyes. “I did say you had way more sexual experience than me.”

“Yeah but, I mean, had you ever even cum before?”

“I thought I had. I really did! Until I got in this business. Then I thought I was doing something wrong because I couldn’t…get there. Then…”, your eyes squeeze shut as you gesture your head towards Eddie.

“Oh, this is too good.”, the metalhead chuckles. “Talk about stroking the ego. Your first orgasm EVER was because of my fingers WHILE watching Steve get his shitty blow job.” You both make a face at him as he laughs harder. “Well, you’re welcome.”

The door to the room abruptly opens as a bouncer flies in. “Guys, these rooms aren’t ready yet. You have to get out. Come on now! Now!”

##############

“I will be coming back. Jesus, you always hug me like I’m going away forever.”

“It feels like it.”, you wrap your arms around your brother tighter as he chuckles. 

Matthew points at the guys behind you. “Remember what I said, yeah?” They nod as he unhooks your arms from around his waist to look down at your face. “You to. Don’t let our parents live rent free in there, okay?” He points to your temple as you smile and respond with a tiny ok.

After revving his bike a few times, he delivers you one final wave before speeding off and disappearing over the hill. 

“Are you ok?”, Steve asks as he hugs you from behind. When you nod, he suddenly lifts you in the air and throws you over his shoulder. “Good. Then the punishment can begin.”

“Daddy!”, you giggle as he carries you back inside. “What are you talking about?! I didn’t do anything!”

“Oh, really? I specifically remember you being a brat yesterday and then the cherry on top was you calling me Steven.”

“Fuck. But I apologized!”

He reached up and smacked your ass before flinging you onto the mattress. “Watch your mouth. So, Ed, what we thinking?” The man places his hands on his hips as he looks to his friend. “Do you want to do it?”

You watch them with eager eyes as they whisper to each other. Eddie grins as Steve leaves the room and removes his pants before falling on to the bed with his bare back to the headboard. “Come here, princess.” He pats the space between his legs and you kiss his cheek as you place yourself where he wants you. 

The other man returns with a bowl but before you can peek at what’s inside the metalhead grips your chin, forcing you to look ahead. “Eyes forward.”

“Yes, Sir.” 

His lips tenderly kiss the back of your head as he lifts your shirt and tosses it to the floor. “Do you want your hair up or down?”

“Oh, um. I don’t know, Sir. I don’t know what’s happening. What do you think?”

The boy glances at Steve who shrugs. “You can just keep it out of her face with your hand if you need to. Can you hold it up for me though while I put this on her?”

On instinct, you move your head to look towards him to see what they are putting on you but Eddie immediately pulls your chin, forcing your face forward. “If you move your head again, you won’t like the punishment that follows. Do you understand me?”

“Y-yes, Sir. I’m sorry.”

He loosens his grip as he holds your hair up in a makeshift ponytail. Something soft and velvet blinds you as they place it over your eyes.

“How’s that, honey? Can you see anything? Be honest.”

“No, Daddy. It feels really nice actually. Can I adjust it a little bit?” When he gives you permission, you reach up tug it down a bit more so it’s fully and comfortably resting on your face. 

When lips gently meet yours, a little gasp escapes you. “Whoa.” You reach out with your hand to caress Steve’s face. “It’s so weird but in a good way. You…taste different. Stronger.” You feel his smile spread across his lips before reaching behind you blindly to find Eddie. “Can…Can I—”

His palm reaches for your cheek and guides your mouth to his own. You instantly taste nicotine but also the lingering savoriness that makes up the man you love amplified to an intoxicating degree. 

“Ok. Hey, hey now. This is supposed to be a punishment.” Steve grabs your jaw and turns you away from the other man as you both try and catch your breath. “You got her, Munson?”, he chuckles. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I got her. Fuck me.” Eddie’s arms looped around yours, bringing them behind your back as his heels slide over your ankles to hold them down. 

“Alright, little one. The rules of this punishment are simple. Don’t make any noise or say a word. If you do…?” While Steve was speaking, the metalhead had shifted so your wrists were held with one hand as his other came back around to the front of your body. When his friend paused, his palm came down hard on your inner thigh. “Do you understand?”

“Yes, Daddy. I understand.”

“What do you think, bud? I’m thinking 15 min of silence.”

“Sounds good to me. Start over every time she fails.”

“Every time I fail. You both are so cocky, I swear.”, you giggle until you feel Eddie’s chest lean away from you and a firm hand slaps your cheek.

“You’re already failing, little girl.”, Steve whispers. 

It feels like an eternity before any movement is made. The pads of the man’s fingers glide lightly along your legs and up your thighs, stopping right before he reaches you sex and repeating his actions. 

“Now I know what you’re thinking, babe. This is punishment for the way you behaved at the shoot but it’s not.” The bed dipped in front of you and you bit your lip as you felt him trace along your tummy. His fingers trailed back down and you whined when his fingers skipped your pussy again. 

A hand came down to slap your thigh and Steve chuckled. “I guess we’re starting over.”

He began caressing your skin again, purposely avoiding all the sensitive areas you wanted him to touch so desperately. “You are being punished because you, little one, don’t value yourself like you should.”

Steve’s hand rested on your cheek as you turned your head to press into it. His thumb pulled at your bottom lip and you silently kissed it, hearing him let out a small sigh of pleasure. “Honey, we love you so much. There is no other woman we would rather be with than you.” Tugging his palm away, he gradually slides down your body and you jump when his thumb pressed against your clit.

“You don’t need us to tell you how amazing you are and you shouldn’t allow bitches like Cassie Leigh or your bigoted parents make you feel less than.” 

You tried to hold in your whine but he wasn’t moving his thumb fast or hard enough to get you where you needed to be. As soon as it left your mouth, Steve removed his hand and Eddie slapped between your legs making you cry out. 

You felt the atmosphere shift and heard the sound of something being moved. 

“Jesus fucking Christ!”, you shout as something cold and wet touches your calf.

That earned you two hard slaps on your thighs. “Watch. Your. Mouth.”, Eddie growled in your ear. You apologized and slowly came to realize that the cold, wet thing was ice. Your legs began to tremble as he brought the cube between your thighs. You so badly wanted him to touch you with it as your hips involuntarily started to grind. 

“Oh, honey. So needy. This is the furthest you’ve gotten so far. 10 minutes left. Do you think you can make it?”

He guided the ice to your nipple, startling you but you managed not to make a sound. 

“So beautiful, sweetheart.”

Switching to caress your other breast with the cube, Steve mouth enveloped your erect bud, swirling his tongue along your flesh. Your head fell back on Eddie’s shoulder as you stifled your moans. 

“You want to try, Eddie?” The metalhead slides out from behind you as the other man grips your wrists and places your hands against the headboard above you as you fall to your back. 

“I could handcuff you but I’m trusting you, okay? Do NOT move your hands from this spot.”

You nod, fearing that if you reply properly, they will restart the timer. “Good girl. I’m going to help keep that mouth quiet.”

Eddie reaches into the bowl on your nightstand and picks up where his friend left off while Steve places himself by your face and positions his cock by your mouth. “Open up, little miss.”

You do as your told and he hisses at the feeling as your lips wrap around him. His hand grips the side of your head, turning you so you can take more of his length as he does small thrusts with his hips. 

As Eddie brings the ice down your stomach, you feel his tongue trail after liquid and it takes every fiber of your being not to moan. 

“Good girl, baby. You’re doing so well. You have a couple more minutes. I’m, f-fuck, I’m gonna fuck that pretty little mouth, baby girl.”

While Steve picks up his pace, the metalhead rubs the cubed along your clit as he pushes two of his fingers into your entrance. The euphoria of feeling them finally touch you where you want is almost too much to handle and you know you want last long. You assume the ice in Eddie’s hand melts because the cold sensation is replaced by his warm tongue as he flicks at your nub. 

Steve’s watch beeps and he groans as he pulls his cock out of your mouth. 

“Sir, yes. Please, please, please! Daddy, can I cum?”

As soon as he gives you permission, your legs clamp around Eddie’s head as you stumble over the edge. He forcefully shoves your thighs against the mattress as his tongue rides you through it. 

Eddie climbs your body, hurling the mask off your eyes, and pushing your legs wider apart with his knees before guiding his cock into your entrance. His motions are slow at first, pumping himself into you as deep as he can, gradually picking up his pace. You glance at Steve who was still beside you on his elbow as he watched your face contort in ecstasy.

“Can I—mmm—can I move my…hands, Daddy?”

“Yes, you can.”

Eddie mewled as you palms wrapped him and your nails dragged down his back.

“Harder, Sir. Please.”

His body fell against yours as he placed his head to the other side of your own. “Like this, baby?” He clings to you as his hips slam into yours, your eyes rolling back. 

“Yes, Sir. Just like that. You feel so good.”

“Cum for me, princess. Please.” He whispers his last word so low you barely heard him, grunting as your pussy clenched around him. Eddie’s neck craned as he watched you come undone. “Good girl. That’s my sweet girl. Fuck.”

His hips faltered as he thrust his seed into your cunt. You tenderly ran your fingers through his hair as he panted against your neck. 

“You ready for Daddy, baby?”

You nod, shakily crawling to him as he rises on to his knees, wrapping his arms around you, and lifting you so your back was against his chest. 

Steve reached between you two, spitting into his hand as you moaned, feeling the tip of his hard cock press against you. 

“Fuck, Daddy.”, you whimpered as he guided himself into your ass.  

His fingers roughly pinched your cheeks, pushing your head back against his shoulder as he began pumping his hips. 

“Just because the punishment ended—mmm—doesn’t mean you can curse. You…you didn’t do that with him. What makes…you think you can get away with it…with me, little girl? Hm?”

“I’m…I’m sorry, Daddy.” Your hands clung to his arms that were encircled around your waist as he thrust into you harder.  

“Did his long, thick fingers and cock…make you fucking…fucking dumb?”

You cried out when you suddenly felt fingers between your legs, opening your eyes to see Eddie on his knees in front of you. His forehead fell on yours as he pushed two of his fingers inside of your entrance, matching Steve’s pace. 

The other man closed his eyes, panting at the sound of your moans. “Cum, honey. Please. You sound so fucking beautiful. I need to hear it.”

He presses you tightly to him and your body shakes as you cum, lips attaching to his as his tongue mingles with yours. Steve’s grunts hit your face as he leans his nose to your cheek, his own body trembling as he releases inside of you.

“Please…”, you beg as you push at Eddie’s hand. 

Steve grips your hips as he carefully lifts you off his lap before bringing you with him as he falls flat on the mattress on his side. The metalhead follows you both down, pushing some of your damp hair out of your face. 

As he starts to get up, you quickly reach out to grab his arm. “Wait…Wait. Not yet.”

Eddie smiles as lays back down beside you. “Are you okay?” You nod, placing your hand on his cheek. “Ah, Ah, Ah. This is what I was afraid of. Wake up, sweetheart.”, he tuts as your eyes start to close. 

A small, sleepy grin spreads along your face. “You can’t tell me what to do.”

Steve snorts behind you as he laughs making your grin stretch further along your face. 

“Such a pain in the ass. You’re lucky we love you.” Eddie kisses your forehead before heading towards the bathroom and turning on the shower. The other man groans as he rolls off the bed and lifts you into his arms, setting you down under the water. 

“Can I ask a question?”

“Yes, you can sit down.” 

“No, you goof.”, you playfully slap Eddie’s arm. “You guys said I’m the first girl you actually had a relationship with, right? So, you’ve never had a girl move in with you?”

Their actions slow as they listen, Steve freezing completely. “That’s right.”

“So, um, I know that when I sleepover or vice versa, we fall asleep together but at your house you both have your own room…”

The metalhead turns off the shower, drying himself before reaching for you and gently running the towel over your body. “Princess, you’re doing that thing again where you dance around the topic instead of asking what you actually want to ask.”

“I was just thinking… I mean…do you both need your own room?”

Steve throws on some boxers and reaches for a clean shirt to throw over your head. “I like falling asleep with you.”

“Me to.”, Eddie chimes in. “I was thinking…hypothetically… if you moved in with us, we could turn one of our rooms into like an office or something for you.”

“You do bring a lot of your work home. Not including us, of course.” 

You giggle as you climb back into bed and they follow, your eyes shifting back and forth between them. “Okay.”

“Okay like ‘good to know’ or okay like ‘I want to move in with you guys?’”, Steve asked in a nervous tone. 

“I’d like to move in. If…if you still want me to.”

“Fuck yes!”, Eddie shouts before clearing his throat. “I mean, yeah, of course we still want you to.”

“Matthew already threatened us to so you’re good to go.”

################

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[jq37]

The Report Card – Fantasy High Junior Year Ep 5

Attack of the Rage Mages

Welcome back to the Report Card where the Bad Kids are ready to fucking fight dude! Even the battle episodes this season are super beefy and I am having a crazy busy week so I’m going to do my best to try and strike a balance between giving y’all all the key details and being efficient. 

To remind you guys of the setup: The Bad Kids have just been portaled to the Synod Mall by Adaine who was working there when Cassandra (there with Kalina to pamphlet) suddenly cried out in pain and started expelling crystal shards that are turning the mages that interact with them into beefy rage monsters who are attacking indiscriminately.

Also, a detail I didn’t mention last recap but is relevant in this one, hanging from the ceiling, kinda looking like the one in Grand Central Station, is a shifting interdimensional clock (since people visit the Synod from lots of places/dimensions and need to know their specific time). 

OK, that’s everything you need to know! I’m gonna do this fight in bullets and focus on just the key points, and then jump into the things that matter more in the thoughts section. Onward!

Adaine clocks the crystals as being from the school of Enchantment. She uses Dimension Door to get Kristen right next to Cass who is getting bigger and more pissed. She’s even MORE pissed when Adaine asks Kristen if she should hit her with her sword. 

Cass tries to cast Hold Monster on Kristen (ow) and Fig dispels it. Cass is also not happy about that and her skull flashes to her Nightmare King form for a moment. 

Fabian clocks that things are about to get real and then does a TON of very cool, very impressive combo fighter/bard stuff. Everyone is playing really mechanically smart this episode but I have to say, he especially impressed me. 

Riz checks the clock and sees that even though it’s only been a few seconds in the Synod, it’s been like 40 minutes in Spyre. Fabian checks in with the Hangman telepathically so he can do damage control and Fig wonders if they can use the clock to go back in time and not be late for the party. 

Kalina goes invisible but Adaine can see her with her Divination powers and can see that her eyes are slitted and narrow and her tail is twitching. 

Several of the red crystals have infected mages at this point and after Riz goes, using Tasha’s Hideous Laughter to distract one of the mages, the crystals whisper Cass’s name and the mages who aren’t distracted go for her. 

Fabian attacks one (an attack of opportunity I believe) and Brennan notes as he slices them that they seem to have way more blood than usual under a lot of pressure, which is odd enough that I wanted to note it. 

One of the mages does a whirlwind attack that hits Kristen, Adaine, Kalina and Cass. Cass and Kristen have at least this in common: they both fail the save and take the full 30 points. Cass yells for the mages to stop attacking and the red within her glows brighter.

Fig uses Suggestion to recruit one of the uninfected mages to help by Counterspelling anything harmful cast on Kristen. Luckily, Conor Counterpsell happened to be at the mall that day and is now at her service! She also hits Cass with a bardic saying that they’re there for her and that she doesn’t think she’s scared so much as pissed which is totally valid. Very rock and roll. 

Cass commands everyone to get back and does a wave of necrotic damage to everyone around her. It seems a bit indiscriminate–even Kalina is hit which she wouldn’t usually do on purpose even as the NK. 

Gorgug asks for an insight check to know if the crystals here are in any way related to the crystal in Lydia Barkrock’s chest that is keeping some evil at bay with her constant rage. Brennan gives a surprised but pleased Cheshire Cat grin. No roll necessary: they’re def related in some way. These pulse and move much more rapidly though. Hers pulses like a heartbeat. 

On Kristen’s turn, she gives Cass a heartfelt apology about dropping the ball in general and missing this meeting specifically. She says she didn’t realize she was supposed to be here this time and she understands Cass being upset. Because this is season 3, I don’t even need to tell you what Ally rolls on this Persuasion check. But I will, because that’s what a recap is. 

On Kristen’s Nat 20 (this is why she keeps getting gods despite her track record), Cassandra is instantly calmed and brought down to her regular size. She expels 7 more of those shatter star crystals and she’s bleeding and scared. She clearly internalized what Fig told her though because she also says that she’s pissed. All she wanted was to help! The red in her pulses as she says, “It isn’t f–” She doesn’t seem to be able to get out the word “fair”. And she sees that she’s freaking out Kristen with the red pulse so she tries to calm down. 

Round 2 (Breaking This Up Because Tumblr Hates Big Text Blocks)

Adaine summons a mall cop but even a wizard mall cap is still a mall cop and thus, useless. Adaine offers to Dimension Door Cass away but Cass wants to stay and fight. “How are they back here?” Cass says about the stars. “I thought you were dead.” (On an Insight check, Kirsten doesn’t think that this is NK related).  

Adaine has her coolest moment of the episode here (imo) where she casts True Strike and Steel Wind strike and then attacks again and again and again with her Sword of SIght doing 41 damage each to 4 of the stars. Brennan narrates it as the hits being foretold by her divination. It’s very cool and I’m glad Adaine can do melee attacks now. 

Kalina turns back visible as it looks like the battle is turning in their favor. She shoots Riz  a low, playful , “Hey Riz,” because of course she does. 

It’s now Cass’s turn. She’s back to herself, she’s a goddess, it looks like she’s about to end this fight super early into the runtime. But then…

OK, things go bonkers for a sec. Stick with me. 

Cass thanks Fig for the advice–seemingly utilizing her Bardic. She’s about to do some kind of Mass Dispelling. But then Fig starts to feel all weird and hot and her stomach gurgles. A fire elemental who I assume is on autopilot offers Fig a sample of shrimp and, for SOME REASON, despite her stomach feeling weird and them being in PITCHED COMBAT (Ally’s words lol), Fig takes a shrimp. The plate flips which starts a series of Rube Goldberg ass events that end with Cass choking on a piece of shrimp/having an allergic reaction (a thing that can apparently happen to a god) and going unconscious. At the table, the Intrepid Heroes are baffled except for Emily who is laughing hysterically. 

Riz notices a drip of tartar sauce on Fig's shirt and finally realizes that she’s exhibiting some real Gilear behavior. He puts together that the effect that Cass didn’t save from (hmmm) was somehow connected to Fig giving her Bardic. 

Fig quickly explains what happened with her unlocking something to help with the Night Yorb fight in ep 1 (she calls it an ancestral curse which is funny bc she’s not blood related to Gilear. Diversity win! This ancestral curse recognizes that non-traditional family structures are still just as valid!). Conor Counterspell is like Y’ALL there is a FIGHT happening to try and get them back on task. Before she does though, Fig (and Adaine) see a vision of the gleaming, golden Pride armor from the Bottomless Pit that Gilear wore back in SY. A voice says, “It was not yours to take” Ominous! Adaine’s vision has a fun Oracle bonus: Fig in the Pride armor, years in the future, causing Gilear-esque bullshit to happen on an apocalyptic scale. Goofy yet still ominous! 

Adaine almost gets all raged up by a shatter star but she saves. Conor gets hit (much to Emily’s dismay) but he doesn’t turn on them. Put a pin in that. 

Kalina yells for her mistress as she goes down but then also gets hit with a shatter star. Before the rage overtakes her she struggles to get out last words to Riz, “Ragh Barkrock.” And then she doesn’t grow, but she becomes very still. 

Fabian is still VERY shrimp party focused and wants to try and use the clock to turn back time or something similar. He climbs up and sees a vision of an old version of himself lamenting the fact that he never got to be a maximum legend. Now he’s even MORE party focused. He tries to get the wizards to fight on the premise that they finally have the chance to beat up some jocks but they refrain because they know the rage mage’s are possessed and not true jocks. Welp, worth a shot! 

Kalina gets the shrimp out of Cass’s throat to bring her back up which is enough time for Cass to give a hazy, “Kalina,” before her familiar says, “I liked you better as the Nightmare King” and slits her throat. Cass drops to zero. 

Riz casts Compelled Duel on Kalina and Adaine uses a portent roll to make Kalina fail her save. He then hides. Some attacks happen, Kalina vanishes–away from Adaine’s 10 feet of vision but still within range of Riz because of the Compelled Duel. 

The mages attack, dropping Kristen. Cass does a TON of saves and only fails one with a Nat 1. But that’s enough to trigger her partial transformation. She comes to, once again getting huge and riddled with red light through her veins. 

Fig brings up Kristen. Cass gets even bigger and redder. She’s furious, but not at them anymore. She looks like she wants to murder Kalina. Kristen, with decent Insight, sees that the Rage is giving her power but it’s making her unstable. This isn’t like healthy embracing of valid emotions, this needs to be stopped. 

She jumps on Cass’s back and says, “There's plenty of time to be angry! We can definitely talk this through, and your anger is not scary to me. I totally understand.” She casts Dispel Magic with her Staff of Doubt. A DC 23 is needed and she rolls with advantage. She missed by ONE. Brennan lets her roll again with advantage. Even worse rolls. She gets two more chances with Advantage. Nope. She rolls AGAIN, with an added d4. STILL NO. By my account that’s NINE rolls, none of them successes. Adaine tries as well and just misses. The dice REALLY don’t want this to happen it seems. 

Cass prepares to cast a 9th Level Circle of Death (14d6 necrotic or half on a save). Fig and Adaine both try to Counterspell it and Fig tells Conor to do it as well. He says he has bigger fish to fry. She doesn’t see how that can be possible, but they’re OK because Adaine succeeds. 

Conor then throws his staff at the clocks and shatters it, sending them through a trippy Labyrinth-esque (think Sarah falling out of the World Falls Down ball) scene that lands them back at Seacaster manor, ten seconds before they left. As they leave, Cass is getting bigger and bigger and she throws some kind of twilight energy spell at Kristen that follows them out. It seems like Conor saved them from something major that was about to go down. 

But now, they’re back at the manor, watching themselves about to walk into the Synod fight. They yell some advice and their doubles disappear. Fig rolls a Nat 20 to understand time loops. She’s been a secret honor student this whole time is what I’m getting from this season.  

Riz questions whether they won or not but this feels like a situation where if you have to ask, the answer is no. 

OK, phew. That was a lot, but we still have a bit more to go. 

Kristen tries to check in with Cass and she gets this ominous message: “She is at my side once more.” The Bad Kids try to parse that but don’t come up with a clear answer. The voice asks Kristen if she wishes for divinity and says they’ll give her the master she deserves. A portal opens and a slimy, rotted, Yes! slides out like a sick joke. Kristen dispels it and when the voice says, “I am coming for you. And when I find you, I will break you in a way that none who loved you will recognize the ruin I have wrought. Lean your soul in closer, that I might give you more than words,” she breaks the connection. 

She also gets some images of the shattered mall, the dead mages floating in Astral Space, and she puts together that the Astral Realm is both where the mall is (*was) and where dead gods go. 

Ragh shows up all buttered (sure) to tell them that the ramp is buttered (sure) and though Riz wants to question him right away (both because of Gorgug’s epiphany and Kalina’s last words), this party is HAPPENING so it’s gonna have to wait. They decide to go with the Fig Disguised As Kristen plan for the shrimp jump because Kristen is, very understandably, having an existential crisis. Riz makes her invisible and Fig goes to do the jump (much to the Hangman’s delight who likes her much better than Kristen). 

Everyone gives Fig buffs but she does need it as she rolls a NAT 20. She uses her leftover spell slots to do some flashy pyrotechnics and leaves the tartar sauce filled pooled “like Daenerys”. The crow is in tearful awe. They cheer, they cry, they declare Fabian a minimum legend. They know for a fact that this is gonna be a killer year. 

Honor Roll

Gorgug for Some Serious Sleuthing 

At least once per season Zac has a genuine Jimmy Neutron Brain Blast about a plot thing and this was it for Junior Year. What a pull. He def beat me to it by a WIDE margin. And it ties in super neatly to things Gorgug would notice and have a sense about since he knows Lydia and knows rage. I don’t care what any of his teachers say; he’s smart in all the ways that count. 

Detention 

Adaine for Poor Timing

Adaine I love you so much but mayhaps, “Your God is dying again, you’re gonna fail junior year” isn’t the most helpful thing to say in the middle of a traumatic life event that is also a life or death battle. 

Random Thoughts

Unironically the biggest W of this combat? Adaine losing her job. That was gonna cause more issues than it solved and she CAN get a better one. Or, you know, road trip with Aelwyn for some light matricide. Either would be better than her leaving school to work an 8 hour graveyard shift. 

I wonder if Brennan meant for that clock to have time traveling properties and the party just clocked it (ha) before it came up or if they said it and then he used it to snatch them out of the fight that it didn’t seem like he wanted them to auto fail because he gave them so many rolls to try and save Cass! I really badly wanna know what he was hoping for out of this fight. 

OK so I’m Pepe Silvia-ing a bit. In the previous episodes, there have been at least two moments where Brennan describes a character getting kinda hot under the collar. One is when Kristen is confronting her parents and the other is when Riz is mad about the Rat Grinders. And in the Kristen instance, she then got advantage on her next roll but Brennan didn’t say why. It struck me as odd both times and now I’m wondering if it’s related to whatever these shatter stars are.

Speaking of, we get a lot of tidbits about them but no real info. Cass saying, “I thought you were dead,” and also there’s a moment that didn’t make the recap where the stars almost go for something but then don’t because it wouldn’t be tactically the smartest and that feels like a level of active sentence, right? Plus the fact that they literally said Cass’s name to get the wizards to attack her. I wonder what a Detect Thoughts would have gleaned. 

Lmao at Brennan making Emily profile the minis. 

“By the laws of this ancient mall.” Bruh, it JUST opened! 

Shocked that when Brennan described the crystals moving like a flock of birds, he resisted the opportunity to use the word “murmuration”. 

Cass doesn’t seem able to get the word “Fair” out. She’s struggling like there’s a geas spell on her or something else compelling her. The obvious thing to jump to is KP’s campaign which emphasized “fairness under the rules” but it’s hard to see how those things are connected yet. Just throwing some stuff up on the conspiracy board for later.

Also, while pseudo-connections are being made, I wonder if Gorgug’s rage storyline is going to intertwine with whatever is happening with these rage stars.  There was mention of like rage that is helpful vs rage that makes you unstable and that reminded me of Porter talking about how Gorgug only really rages to protect his friends. I dunno. We’ll see if it ends up going further than just the parallels. 

My favorite moment of the ep didn’t make the recap but I wanted to highlight it here. When Adaine is targeted by the rage star, she saves but Brennan asks her what the world would look like if she was consumed by rage and she said Falinel would be destroyed as revenge and Sylvaire would be destroyed–not on purpose but as collateral damage in the quest to hunt her mother. I think questions like that for flavor and character insight are so fun! 

The Hangman’s adoration of Fig is so cute. He was lamenting his shrimp costume that he of course had to wear for the shrimp jump (shoutout Torek) but when Fig said she thought it was cute he got all blushy. I love him. 

I have to mention that Riz cast Tasha’s Hideous Laughter by flossing (like the dance). Who taught that goblin how to floss? Is Riz on Fantasy TikTok?

Lmao at Kristen suddenly being like, Shh, don’t mention the arty-Pay in from of ass-Cay in this fight as if she hasn’t been putting her foot in her mouth for the past four eps. Took 5 eps but her tact finally arrived. 

“Your anger isn’t scary to me,” is a genuinely sweet sentiment in this context. 

When the Bad Kids are speculating about what the hell happened after the fight, someone asks Kristen if Cass has a dad or something she can talk to. Idk if she has a dad exactly but closest would be that Sol and Galicaea are her older siblings, right? (I thiiink that’s right. Def about Gal. Taking the wiki's word for it re Sol). I’m more and more suspicious about this turning into a family affair. And it would make sense for them to get involved right? It parallels Kristen’s relationship with her family coming back to the forefront. And Tracker is still in the mix as Gal’s cleric. I dunno, it feels like it’s gonna be important. 

It’s likely that Kalina prob met whatever fate Cass did but we’ve seen that Kalina can operate kinda separated from Cass (like she did in SY) and Brennan said that Cass can’t truly die unless Kristen and Craig do so I guess we’ll see where that goes. 

Are Fig’s Bardics now a game of Russian Roulette? If so, uh-oh! We don’t have a ton to go on for the exact mechanics of what’s going on yet, but it seems certain that a trip to hell is gonna be necessary to start getting this sorted (which she really needs to do anyway being an archdevil with responsibilities and all). 

These have been getting too long for Tumblr to handle lately so I’ll end on these last two bullets. In the AP, Ally said that Kristen really does want to be a cleric to Cass, she’s just suffering for lack of organization. And at least to me, that’s not how it’s come across so far, but taking that into account puts her actions in a different light. It’s still all irresponsible of course but if it’s supposed to be more just genuinely scattered than callous/indifferent then this feels more like a storyline about looking for middle ground than finding yet another new path whole cloth. She was for sure more in serious mode this ep than she has been the last four eps so we’ll see if this side of her sticks around.

I ended the last recap by saying I was worried for Cass and, guess what? Still am! Galicaea, help your sister!  

[burr-ell]

🤍, 🖤?

🤍: Which character is not as morally bad as everyone else seems to think?

So this is gonna seem contradictory to my reblog of blorb's post; this is not intended to be read as a counter to it, but as a complement: Percy.

If I'm being honest, one of the things that kinda bothers me about C1 group fanart is when I see everyone else in the party at their fully developed state, like with their Vestiges and powerups and everything, and then Percy's out here...with Orthax. Whom he expelled from himself with a natural 20 wisdom save, for the record, in episode 35. He spent more time without Orthax than with him!

It is objectively true that Percy invented the gun knowing what harm it could do but did it anyway. He once permanently maimed an innocent boy because he wasn't giving the answers he wanted. He gave Grog a cursed sword and didn't tell anyone because he didn't want it to be his responsibility and he thought Grog could handle it. It is also objectively true that he expressed doubts about what he was doing even during the Briarwood arc and admitted he was scared of who he was becoming and outright asked the group to stop him if they thought they should. He publicly apologized to Desmond and admitted his wrong and assured him recompense in both money and job security. He participated in a resurrection ritual for a child he didn't know who got caught in the crossfire of a battle. He fought to provide the people of Westruun a safe haven in their city, while still encouraging people to leave if they wished, because he wanted to honor the fact that what they had built there was important to them.

I think Percy is one of those characters that people view as either a silly little Human Disaster™ or as Vox Machina's Token Evil Teammate (the audience who projected onto him as the Facts and Logic guy seems to have dissipated after it became clear that he was. very much not doing that), and neither of those things are true. When Laura remarked that she looked at Percy and said "I can fix him", it was very clearly a joke, but I think people take that seriously and think Vex is the only reason he's not Lawful Evil or something. (Taliesin once said that without Vex's influence Percy could potentially have turned out Lawful Good—Laura's reaction was "eugh".) Percy didn't believe he could EVER be worthy of Vex and never once intended to act on his feelings; the change in him between episodes 35 and 68 was because he personally chose to be better, over and over again—even through several instances of him having Fucked Up Big Time—for its own sake. His forgiveness of Ripley is what inspired Vex, and I don't think people acknowledge that enough.

🖤: Which character is not as morally good as everyone else seems to think?

I kind of alluded to this in the ship question but to be clear at the outset, I think Vax is a good person*, but I also think his flaws tend to be overlooked. He gets Soft Boy'd a lot, and while I don't think characters who operate on emotion are bad or stupid by default (my favorite superhero is Starfire), I think fandom tends to assume people who operate on emotion are good by default. Vax does a lot of reckless things that he's repeatedly called out for by everyone in the group, and he generally lets it roll off him because his metric for success is "but did you die". He saw a kid that he thought needed some tough love, and his first response was "bludgeon him over the back of the head and instantly knock him unconscious". He ran into a trap that nearly got Cassandra killed and never once apologized to her. He ran after Raishan and attacked, an action that actually did get Vex and Scanlan killed, and not only did he never apologize to them, he openly said in front of them that he didn't regret doing it (after being rightfully angry with Percy for getting Vex killed and having seen some proof that Scanlan might not be doing great!).

Like, to be clear, again, none of those things make him a bad person; I think overall he's a good person, and I think they're good character choices!* What I'm saying is that he has some genuine rough edges to him, and I think a lot of that gets ignored or sanded down in fanon to make him "the nice twin" or a perfect YA Hero love interest for a Keyleth who is being projected onto, and that simply isn't the character Liam played.

*I wouldn't normally put in that kind of good-person caveat—I don't think the end-all be-all is whether or not a fictional character is a good person—but a) this is a question about morality and b) some folks are weird about Liam.

unpopular opinions asks

[secondstar-acorn]

season 2 means the world to me and now that it's over it's time for me to Elaborate (while I SOB how dare you anthony)

it being a more complex and less easily fixable storyline fits because they're teens! it really resonates with my early-20s-ass!!! i love season one it's incredible but their goals being more clearly set out also makes sense! all they really want is to get their kids home. the teens have to save the world and kill willy and reconcile with their parents and and and---

also idk why but in season 1 i really only had one dad that i Latched Onto and that was henry. i love darryl and glenn and ron obviously but henry just hit different for some reason and we're not gonna examine that because then i'll have to schedule a therapy appointment. but this season i have latched on to every single one of the teens. they're all extremely, WILDLY important to me and i'm gonna talk about it (scotty mute your dash)

let's talk about taylor first because i ADORE him. i am so freaking proud of him, y'all. he started off the season asking cassandra who his dad was and he ended the season by realizing that all he needs is his mom! that's a fantastic moment of character development. he cares so much about his friends! he knows who he is and he puts on a confident attitude, but he's still just a scared kid a lot of the time. he's so supportive 24/7 (HELL YEAH MY MAN) and if norm is the glue, taylor is the emotional support glitter on the craft project that is team stunt teens. he brings up the mood! he adds pizzazz! he's not. afraid to shine but he's also kinda fragile! that's my fucking guy!!!

ok moving on to my absolute beloved scary marlowe. i was one of those people who started off not really liking scary and not understanding her Deal but i finally GOT her in halt and catch fireball and from then on i've been obsessed with her. she falls into my favourite category of fictional character which is morally grey woman with insane amounts of power who just desperately wants to be accepted by people (i.e. jean grey, morgana pendragon, etc.) she stares willy in the eye as he dies!!! she tells her bio dad to fuck off and she accepts terry as her dad and remembers her mom is her best friend and GODDD SCARY MARLOWE. she's one of the most performative of the teens but she's also one of the most genuine. she is quick to defend each of her friends and once she's back in, she's BACK IN. she backs up every single one of them whenever they need her support, and her friendship with normal especially is extremely special to me. they're siblings your honour. the thesis of scary marlowe's character (imo) is "what if my friends love me more than i hate me" and that is a POWERFUL ASS choice that beth made. that's every teenager i know!!! that's me in high school!!! she's fucked up and she's imperfect but she is trying and she's learning to forgive herself for caring and i could write more but i'm not gonna because this is already getting so long and we're only halfway through.

okay this one is. god. normal oak. you put an oak in front of me and i start crying immediately. normal is no exception. hermie may be the theatre kid but normal has the theatre kid energy of trying so SO hard for attention and love but never getting the appreciation he wants. every single relationship he has is FUCKED. he lives off of validation and he's never learned to love himself as is. (please fucking god get this kid to samantha stampler he needs to hear that he's enough just as he is). he hasn't been loved by his parents the way he should, he's fighting to meet impossible expectations, he's been inadvertently pitted against his sister since birth, and he starts the season filled with the naive sort of joy that comes from doing No self reflection whatsoever and ends it deeply self-reflective and clearly still dealing with his trauma. but now he has friends who accept and love him no matter what. friends who will pull him onto the dance floor! he's the cheerleader! he's constantly giving out the validation he's wanted his whole life. he is so generous and so kind and so fucking sad and he breaks my heart. i need a campaign exclusively about normal going to college and learning how to live without his parents constantly in his business and learning who he really is and wants to be. he is. god. normal oak swallows garcia has been living with two conflicting philosophies his entire life, from sparrow "love wolf" oak garcia to lark "bring this glock to school" oak garcia. it's no wonder his mom is a centrist because who ELSE could love both of those men. (rebecca and morgan should meet up. side note.) and he chooses love every time!!! WE HAVE TO HELP IT. i love normal. i hope he's gone to therapy in the past twenty years and i hope he sees that he's had the people who care about him and love him all along in the form of his friends. i was normal normal was me and i am so proud of him. because even though everything has sucked shit he keeps pushing through. he's resilient and i love him for that.

and now. the teen who came out of nowhere and stole all the space in my brain. the true surprise of the season for me. LINCOLN LI FUCKING WILSON. god what to say about lincoln. so so much. i am so overcome by emotion whenever i think of lincoln that it is nearly impossible to put it into words. i understand this kid on a spiritual level. he has one goal and one passion his entire life. he loves his dads so much and he defines himself by what he loves and what he's interested in. he's never been confronted with the real world before. and then he is. and suddenly his world is no longer soccer and dads and his small house and fifa. now he is realizing that oh, the world is a little fucked up actually, and oh, the man i idolized for 14-15(???) years is kind of the one who fucked it up. he means the best for me but by sheltering me too much i am woefully unprepared for the world i'm living in and now all of my false hopes and aspirations are crashing down around me and the only way i can deal with that is to not care anymore. he has to shut it all out or he'll actually have to Think about how awful it is. his dad has killed people. he was found on the titanic?? scary, the person he immediately latched onto once he started doubting his dad, betrays him, and then he's floating again. and scary comes back!! and they eventually get married!!! and future lincoln has learned to forgive and understand that maybe, if he can forgive scary and love her and know her for who she really is and accept her even though she killed that guy that one time, maybe he can learn how to do the same for his dad. i'll say it. lincoln is the luke skywalker of this season. he is throwing away that lightsaber. he is saving grant from his self-hatred by choosing to love him at the end of the season. he tries to change himself as a way to get space. he hates hermie but he tries to be there for normal. he's best friends (...)with taylor and he finds his first REAL friend that isn't one of his dads through taylor!!! taylor inspires him to finally rebel and steal that laffy taffy!! high school lets him start to figure out who he is. he's able to forgive his dads. his sense of morality is maybe a little fucked up but he's probably working on it now!! he's absolutely the bitchiest out of all the teens and i love him for that!! he does his dads' taxes??????? he's been forced to handle WAY too much responsibility on literally all fronts and he shuts down to try and cope. he is canonically autistic to ME. the way he thinks about everything is Insane. he's besties with a bunch of dolphins. soccer is his safe place. when he loves something he holds on TIGHT. this is an incredibly long-winded way of saying i love lincoln and i will spend the rest of my life losing my mind over this character.

my point here is i love season 2. it's weird! it's freaky! it's eldritch! it's brightly coloured and also dark as shit!! i love season 2!!!!!!!

and don't get me started on dood because then we'll be here for hours.

[toonbly]

thinking about like. taylor dndads and how he fits into s2s theming of like. “teens and having their identities and worldviews thrown into chaos as they realize their parents views aren’t always correct and how they react to that” bc honestly i think taylor Differs from the group in this sense? in that he’s like. the MOST secure in his identity and worldviews out of all of them.

normal has an identity crisis when sparrow reveals he’s not actually proud of his peppy teen mascot personality, now wondering if he should be himself or be what his dad wants him to be. it clearly causes a lot of confusion for normal and even resentment for his dad. he’s spent his whole life thinking he’s been accepted for who he is only to find out he never was, and it makes him wonder “Who am I supposed to be?” instead of “Who do I want to be?”

scary struggles with the duality of herself, she doesn’t believe she can be the goth-punk seeker of darkness who rebels against her new stepdad AND a peppy soccer player who considers herself and her mother to be a “just us against the world” duo. she doesn’t realize that she can be multifaceted, because i mean she’s a teenager you really don’t comprehend nuance at that age and it makes figuring out your identity confusing and frustrating.

lincoln struggles with his innocent worldview being shattered, desiring to be like his father who he believed to be pure and good up until grant confessed his more violent tendencies to him and BEGGED lincoln to be NOTHING like him, his world has been thrown into chaos and it’s clear such a sheltered kid doesn’t know how to react to this. he’s scared and for the first time he’s dealing with that fear without his dads backing him up.

but taylors like. he’s the most SECURE in knowing who he is, so much so to the point that he doesn’t react much to being told he’s half demon because he’s always believed he’s destined for greatness. like, “oh of COURSE that makes sense, obviously i’m special because that’s what i’m meant to be.” taylor is who he Wants to be and he doesn’t listen to what OTHERS want him to be. a clear example being when nick tells him to abandon his friends for a life of solitude, taylor turns back to save lincoln from the fbi agents because that’s what HE wants to do. it seems to me that a lot of taylor’s decisions are dictated solely by what he wants and what he believes. there’s also his mother, cassandra, who’s clearly supportive of all of taylor’s interests which contributes to taylor’s feeling of security in himself. unlike the other teens, there’s no tangible insecurity there at least not that i’ve noticed. so i think taylor’s arc isn’t about grappling with the shattered pieces of his worldview, but instead it’s about having his worldview knocked down a peg and how that NEEDS to happen.

now i wouldn’t call taylor selfish by any means-- as mentioned before he turned back into danger just to save a friend of his, no doubt about it that taylor is an EXTREMELY loyal kid-- but he obviously has a pretty damn big ego. he sees everything like it’s an anime that he’s the main character of, and honestly you could argue cassandra spoils taylor rotten. his worldview is very skewed by his upbringing-- he thinks he’s the main character, that he’s special, he doesn’t understand what “jobs” really are and believes there’s a GRAND MAGICAL DESTINY out there for him.

 but he’s not the main character, he’s part of a team. there is no magical destiny, just a series of fuck ups and trauma passed down from generation to generation. i don’t think taylor’s arc is grappling with insecurity, it’s grappling with reality. maybe one day it’s gonna hit him that he’s NOT special, he’s just like the rest of the kids he’s adventuring with. he’s not the main character, these people aren’t his sidekicks, they’re his team and he’s not even the leader of that team. he’s a member of it, just like everyone else.

i think the way that taylor fits into the themeing of this story isn’t that his worldview and identity is questioned from the Start, but rather his arc is the process of that worldview and identity slowly being picked apart until he crashes back down to earth and the reality of everything finally becomes clear to him. and i dunno i just think it’s SUPER interesting how he kinda stands out like that, as ironic as it is.

[solsticethebatearedfox]

The map is so cool!

The tabletop is so fucking cool i'm so happy it looks sick as hell

Sad that Adaine hasn't taken Jawbone's last name

I love her dog Moggy the Doggy

Omg mini of Moggy and Boggy aaaaaaaaaa

the production quality is insane

okay i was hoping for Fabian/Riz or even fabian/Aelwyn but i think it's just gonna be Fabian/Ecaf

Lou why the heck have you kept the bad die what the hell

???????

Fabian????? Is already prone????? oh no

Ecaf is iconic, going "Jesus Christ" and "This fucking kid" absolute icon

"Sire! Oh shit you're under there!" From the hangman also iconic

How many times has that bike saved the day because it's way more than it should be I think

I agree with Siobhan the die is cursed

geniunely curious how many minis rick perry made for this season

This yorbie sounds like a brennan self-insert

Lolololololol the hymn in the background

Again, production quality is off the charts

I just noticed the background of the dome. very immersive. i do hope it's just regular colours in non-battle scenes tho, that's too iconic to lose

but the art is so gorgeous

Ally pulling out the first nat 20 makes so much sense

Omg the smoke so cool

Woooooooo nat 20 off Fig! "I fear not darkness. I am from hell." So sick i might add that to my jacket

I should make a fantasy high jacket ngl that'd be so sick. Dimension 20 battle jacket

Riz is so hot. I'm ace and so is he but man

Ooooo art of Cassandra looks like sophomore year Kristen!!!! as above so below ig. she looks hot. i love her

"I'm just gonna go ahead and Eldritch Blast the Night Yorb" epic line

Squeem nooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ngl teary eyed over that

Geniunely think the sig figs could tank yorbie's popularity by writing a diss track

Oooooo Adaine can cast 5th level spells??? hell yeah

Brennan rolling a handful of dice scares me

Kristen is such a butch lesbian I love her

Nooooooo Adaine is done

"lemony yellow" "sickening gurgling"???? is gilear a fucking demon/devil now??????? i can never remember the difference but what the hell????????

the theme song at the end is sick as hell, feels like an episode of a cool drama series

[cephalog0d]

Batfic - "Haunted AF"

HAPPY SPOOKYWEEN here's some silly Batkids! (Shoutout to @dangerousdan-dan for motivating me to finish this even though it's very last minute XD)

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Category: Gen Characters/Relationships: Cassandra Cain & Dick Grayson & Duke Thomas & Jason Todd & Stephanie Brown & Tim Drake Additional Tags: Humor, Ghosts, Dick Grayson is a Troll, Jason Todd is a Troll, Batkids Being Batsibs

Summary:

“I mean, would you want to spend Halloween in a haunted fucking house?” Jason asked. He received a collection of blank stares and frowns for a second before anyone realized what he meant. “Jason, the Manor is not haunted,” Tim said with a truly impressive eye roll.

“Has Bruce worked out Halloween patrols yet?” Steph asked as she flopped sideways into an arm chair. “I mean I assume there’s going to be some kind of catastrophe to deal with.”

“Last I heard he was still narrowing down leads. I think I’m supposed to review some data scrapes from Babs later,” Tim said, frowning absently into his mug. Either because he was remembering the work he had to do or because he’d just realized his drink was gone, it wasn’t entirely clear.

“Ooh, fun,” Steph said with a smirk.

“Yeah, well. Failure to prepare is preparing to fail and all that.”

“What, did you swallow a motivational calendar?” Jason asked without looking up from his book.

“Too blessed to be stressed,” Tim intoned flatly.

“Hashtag blessed,” Cass corrected him with a grin. Steph made a choking noise and clapped a hand over her mouth to avoid spraying her drink all over herself while Jason shot both of them a look of outright disgust.

“Does the Manor get, like, trick or treaters and stuff?” Duke asked thoughtfully. “I mean it’s way out in the middle of nowhere.”

“I dunno, actually,” Tim said with a frown. “Nobody’s usually home on Halloween anyway, considering…” He gestured vaguely at all of them in a way that was apparently meant to indicate “being a vigilante in Gotham on Halloween”.

“I mean, would you want to spend Halloween in a haunted fucking house?” Jason asked. He received a collection of blank stares and frowns for a second before anyone realized what he meant.

“Jason, the Manor is not haunted,” Tim said with a truly impressive eye roll.

“What, are you kidding me? It’s Gotham. Gotham is hella haunted-”

“Don’t say hella.”

“-just in general and the Manor is definitely included in that. You know how old that place is? How many people used to live there before Bruce turned into the Bat Hermit? How much tragedy those walls have borne witness to?”

“‘Borne witness’?” Cass repeated softly to herself.

“There are no ghosts in Wayne Manor,” Tim said firmly. “I’ve never noticed anything strange. Or, you know, strange compared to our normal level of weird.”

“You barely lived there. I saw all sorts of weird shit when I was a kid. Stuff getting moved around even though no one was home, doors opening and closing on their own, weird shadows that shouldn’t be there moving around. That was the worst. Headed up the stairs in the dark, seeing someone lurking up ahead, assuming it’s Bruce, and then nope, he’s behind you and nobody’s there. Scared the shit out of me when I was little.”

“So a bunch of stuff that’s easily explained as a child’s imagination?” Tim asked, unimpressed.

“There’s also the mirror.”

“The mirror?” Steph repeated in a mockingly serious voice.

“One of the bathroom mirrors back in the back hall would always have handprints up in the top corner no matter how many times we cleaned it. Alfred just thought it was me and Dick messing with him. Eventually he decided it must’ve been stained somehow and just replaced the mirror, but the handprints came back pretty much immediately.”

“You are so full of shit!” Steph laughed loudly. Tim was silent but the hard stare he was directing at Jason was more than eloquent.

“I heard yelling, what’s going on?” Dick said from the hall, poking his head around the doorway.

“Just telling them about the ghosts,” Jason said evenly. Whatever reaction the others expected of Dick (probably either rolling his eyes or sternly telling Jason to knock it off), they didn’t get it. Dick just nodded, entirely unsurprised, as if that was a perfectly reasonable answer, eliciting another round of Looks between the kids as he wandered over to stand by Jason’s chair.

“Oh, yeah,” Dick said matter-of-factly. “The attic one who breaks glass at stupid o’clock in the morning or the one who leaves creepy handprints in the downstairs bathroom mirror?”

“Wait, that’s real?” Tim demanded incredulously.

“Yeah, and that thing in the tiny guest room that blows on your neck if you stay there too long.”

“Ugh, I hate that one,” Dick agreed with a shudder. “So creepy.”

The other four exchanged a complicated series of looks.

“Okay, so you’re both full of shit,” Steph said with less conviction than before.

“Believe what you want,” Jason said levelly. Dick just looked slightly confused at their skepticism.

“I...need to check something,” Tim said as he hurriedly packed up his laptop and phone.

“Oh, yeah, you want some help?” Steph offered.

“Uh, sure, I’m just gonna…” Tim did not actually finish explaining what he was going to do as he left, Steph and Cass trailing along behind him. Duke watched them go, glanced at Dick and Jason, then shrugged and went to follow.

“They’re totally going to spend all night ghost hunting,” Jason said once they were gone.

“Yup,” Dick grinned, holding out a hand in Jason’s direction. Jason rolled his eyes, but fist bumped him anyway.

“Should we make sure they find something?” he suggested with a smirk. Dick blinked at him, looking slightly confused again.

“You don’t think they will?” he asked innocently. Jason narrowed his eyes suspiciously. That was absolutely one of Dick’s “I’m full of shit” voices.

“Of course they won’t, because the Manor’s not haunted,” Jason said slowly. “That was all bullshit.”

“Oh, right! Of course,” Dick agreed with a (fake as hell) easy smile.

“Dick.”

“Do you think Bruce has finished his patrol schedules yet?” Dick asked as he headed out of the room.

“Dick! You said you made it up! Dick!”