#my friend cass helped me with the actual animated part

[harrystylesfan2686]

Would you rather...?

Pairing: Cassian x Reader.

Summary: Trying a new game at game night raises some questions about feelings between friends.

A/N: hehe. First time writing for Cass. Sorry in advance for the mistakes this one's not edited. Here's the part 2.

Masterlist

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Game nights with inner circle are always fun. We've had this tradition of holding a game night every month and everyone had to attent it. No excuses.

After the war, it had taken time for everyone to loosen up, given the stress of the aftermath of war and of a certain archeron sister thats causing too much of a troube. We push aside all of it for just one night and just have the fun and refreshment we most definitely deserve.

But after a while the games get boring...

"I am not playing charades," Feyre begins and turns to Cassian. "or cards," She looks at Mor. "And definitely not Truth and Drink, again."

"Yes, please. It's boring now." Rhys adds.

Cassian eyes flickering between all of us and looks actually offened when he sees we all agree. "Oh come on, we play them every time!"

"Exactly." Amren rolls her eyes. Azriel silently nodding.

"But- it's a tradition. We always play cards at least once." He looks at Mor, his eyes silently begging her for help. But when she too shrugs, his jaw drops and he looks truly hurt. He pouts and crosses his arms in front of his chest, huffing like a child who just got his toy taken by his parents. My lips tug up at his adorable face.

Deciding to interfere, I sit up and say,"How bout we play a new game?". This gets me everyone's attention.

"What kind of game?" Rhys speaks everyone's questions.

"I don't know, um...," I search for a different kind of game. My eyes snapped to Feyre,"Do you remember that time we talked about your human life and you said there was a game that you and your sister's would play when you were little?" Her brows twist in confusion. "Mor was there too. Remember something like 'this or that' I think."

"Oh I remember! 'Would you rather?'" Mor exclaims. Feyre nods in understanding.

"Let's play that." I smile to everyone.

"How?"

"It's really easy. All you have to do is place two situations in front of somebody. Any two situations and the person has to choose one from those." Mor answers Rhys.

"What if the person doesn't choose from the choices given?" Cassians eyes show interest.

"Not allowed. They have to. It's a mandatory rule of the game." Feyre replies.

"Alright but what kind of situations are we talking about?" Cassian raises an eyebrow and everyone's suspicion grows at Mor's smirk.

And there begin, probably the most disgusting and interesting game they're played yet.

"Would you rather always have bad gas or always have really dry mouth?"

"Dry month." Feryre winces at the thought of having to former.

"Would you rather wear a constantly changing outfit or a constantly changing hairstyle?"

"Clothes. My hair are too good to be changed." Rhys smirks.

"Would you rather be reincarnated as a sea Animal or a land Animal?"

"Sea. At least there'll be quietness there." Azriel glances at Cassian to which cass tries to flick his head, fails and earns a flick to his head instead, earning laughs from everyone.

"Would you rather date your best friend or someone you don't know?"

Cassians question comes out of nowhere and I have to think about it a bit. Ignoring everyone's stare, I look into cassian's eyes and answer,"best friend." A moment passes and no one speaks. Something flashes in his eyes but is gone before I could register what is was and he averts his eyes.

"Would you rather be smacked in the face with a fish or farted on?"

"Smaked by a fish." Mor gags at the latter choice.

"Would you rather wear illyrian leathers for the rest of your life or wear a pink frock for the rest of your life?"

"The pink frock! Are you kidding me? The leathers get too hot." Everyone laughs at the image of cassian in a pink cute dress, they imagine.

"Would you rather have a huge booger hanging out of your nose for the rest of your life or a pimple on your forehead for the rest of your life?"

"Oh gods. A pimple. Definitely." Feyre throws her head back, laughing at her mates answer.

"Would you rather have you tounge pierced or tattooed?"

"Why should any of those things be on tounge?" Azriel winces but decides peirceing doesnt sound as bad as a tattoo on a tounge.

"Would you rather be born without knees or without elbows?"

"Oh elbows. Because how else will I be able to walk over my enemies ashes?" Mor gives a smug expression.

"Cassian," Mor has that evil glint in her eyes, she has when she's about to do something devilish. "Would you rather kiss Y/N or Nesta?" She smirks.

"Oh I am not answering that." Cassian scoffs. "Nono, nono. You have to, remember, it's mandatory. Right feyre?" Mor's smile widens when Feyre nods.

Everything silences. I expect everyone to get awkward but am shocked to see how they all look at cass, awaiting his answer.

I meet his eyes, scared and a little excited. I swallow when he clears his throat, obviously trying to enlonger his time.

"Oh would you look at that. Its been so long since we've been playing." He suddenly stands up. "I'm soooo tired." He fake yawns. "Well I'm gonna go to sleep. Got early morning training tomorrow." He starts towards the door as Mor yells out,"What no! You haven't answered yet!" But her words mean nothing as he is already out the door before anyone stops him.

After a moment of silence from his sudden disappearance everyone starts agreeing to the fact that it is quite late. I have to admit, we have been playing this all night. I didn't realise where time went.

Although I am a bit sad about not getting the answer to the last question, I don't let it show on my face as I wish everyone Goodnight and go to my own room. Laying on my bed I think that cassian will definitely choose Nesta if given the chance.

But maybe, just maybe, there is a chance that he chooses me given how he was looking at me earlier.

I guess we'll never know.

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[spicy-apple-pie]

I love fan art about finding family. In one popular fic which I read, the kindest, most clumsy, at times cruel to the offenders of his friends, man, just like Batman, without noticing it, actually adopted a dozen characters, who for the most part were either orphans or had cruel parents. All this time, “father” thought that for them he was just a figure of a reliable adult who did't exist in their lives. He didn't want to reopen their wounds related to their parents. And at one point, another character asks the youngest of the children if he considers “that guy” his dad. To this the younger replied light-heartedly: “Yes, of course, we all think so.” And the “father,” falling from his chair, lost consciousness from “an excess of happiness in his blood.” Bruce, in fact, also did't adopt at first, but simply took custody. Do you think he would have had the same reaction if at one point, for example, Cass had revealed the truth to Bruce in the same conversation?

Aww, I saw your ask about One Piece too! (sorry I didn't answer it earlier). My friend recommended it to me, and I saw some of the live action and really enjoyed it. I might pick up the anime, but I don't like things that are sooo long.

I love those fics where Bruce's kids call him dad behind his back and then he finds out and he cries with happiness. Because I don't think Bruce set out to be a dad for Dick when he first took him in a ward, only to make sure he was okay and had support. Same with Jason, he just saw a kid in need and wanted to help him. EXTRA POINTS if Bruce fully admits that he sees them as his kids, but understands if they don't see him as a parent and respects that.

That actually reminds me of a comic I was going to write where Duke gets arrested or otherwise in trouble for sticking up for another. Bruce absolutely tears whoever thought it was a good idea to mess with his kid a new one. And then Duke's upset because he got in fucking trouble and he hates that. And Bruce is like "oh fuck, I stepped over the line, I parented too close to the sun and he hates me now." and then something something they talk and Bruce is like.

"Duke, you... you are like a son to me. And that doesn't mean you have to see me as your father, I just- I wanted you to know that you are loved and I will do anything to protect-"

And then Duke cuts him off with a hug. He confesses that he doesn't see Bruce as a dad, but that support is something he really needed and is so thankful that Bruce is there for him.

[aboatist]

guess who spent 8 straight fucking hours on this

yeah it was me

i regret hyperfocus

anyway have the gif and plain image

if you like this art, consider reblogging it rather than just liking, or consider donating to my kofi

[maarriiii]

Rumors | Bat-Family

A/N: This popped up in my head while i was waiting in line at a bank. Also, this has Damian, Stephanie, Jason, and Dick. So, not all of them batfam but it does mention Tim and Cass. This is my attempt of being “funny” lol. Leave a comment, likes or reblogs because it makes my day when people does it.

Pairings: Dick Grayson/Nightwing x female!reader, Jason Todd/Red Hood x female!reader, Stephanie Brown/Spoiler x female!reader, Damian Wayne x female!reader (All platonic relationship)

Warnings: swearing

my masterlist :))

~~

"Un-fucking-believable." y/n stared at the tabloid in her hands, ignoring the looks thrown her way by passerby. On the cover of said tabloid was a picture of her and Dick, laughing and engaging in a conversation, with a completely false and clickbait rumor in big bright letters to attract readers. She knew exactly when and where this picture was taken, but her guard was down to notice any cameras following them.

About two weeks ago, Dick reached out to her. A case he was working in Blüdhaven seemed to have a correlation with her own in Gotham. After exchanging informations and brainstorming, y/n went with Dick to help solve his predicament and put an end to her own case.

After three days, the duo vigilante managed to apprehend a few corrupt politicians funding illegal smuggling, such as artworks, exotic animals, etcetera. Dick, ever the gentleman, treat her to lunch to celebrate their victory. y/n refused at first, saying that he shouldn't have to, but she just can't seem to say no to him.

"Mind your language, l/n," Damian reminded, sipping his beverage. "We're in public."

"Look at what they're saying about me!"

Damian took the tabloid from her hand and raised his brow. "You and Richard? Romantically involved? Tt, obviously these people have no idea what they're talking about."

"I know!" y/n snatched it back and flipped through the pages. "Look at this. They're saying I'm a gold digger and that Dick is my next target."

"If you are a gold digger, Father would've gotten rid of you a long time ago. Ignore that lies. I doubt anyone would read it."

"Oh, trust me, Damian. There are a lot of people who actually believe this crap. God, I can't afford this again. I've already been attack on Twitter that one time for letting Tim nap on my shoulder."

"They are imbeciles, then. Come l/n. We need to stop by the pet store before we return."

~~

"Hey y/n. Sorry I'm late. I was—woah, what's with the face?" y/n ignored Steph's greetings as she watched her phone. Steph observed her, a grey Gotham University hoodie with the hood covering her face, scowling at her phone as her thumb moved up and down. They both plan to meet at a café near where Step lived so they could discuss some things and just hang out. The blonde was late by just six minutes because some douchebag idiot decided to rob an old lady in broad daylight. She was satisfied seeing the crook run away in fear.

"I have been the subject of online bullying for the past two days ever since that stupid pictures of me and Dick went viral."

Steph grimaced. "Oh yeah, I heard about that. I feel your pain. Same thing happened to me when Tim and I first dated."

"That's not even the worst part, Steph." The plate and glass on the table rattled due to the force of her hands. "There were even reporters and cameras outside my apartment, waiting like a bunch of fucking vultures. I swear to god if I have one more camera shoved in my face, I'll hit someone."

Steph stood from her chair, a determined look on her face. "Okay, get up and stop scowling. You've been hanging out with Damian too much."

y/n furrowed her brows, but stood up anyway. "Wha—you just got here? Where are we going?"

"You, me, and Cass are going to have an impromptu girls night, er...day."

"No, Steph, it's fine. You don't have to. I'm overreacting."

Steph shushed her and looped her arm around her friend's arm, walking towards the exit. "You're telling me you don't want to stuff your face with ice cream and mess with those paps?"

"Okay, you win."

~~

"Shut up, Jay. It's not funny." In the rare times that Jason visited the manor, he always stick to the Batcave, his old bedroom, or wherever y/n or Alfred was in the large and maze like residence of the Wayne family. That day they were sparring on the cave, sweat rolled down their foreheads and clinging to their shirts. They were both holding a bo staff, circling on the mat, waiting for each other to make the first move. y/n had already taken down Jason first early in the sparring session. Jason just took her down—with dirty tactics she must add—just two minutes ago. y/n knew he was getting her riled up into making a sloppy move to use to his advantage by mentioning the dating rumor.

"Eh, it's kinda funny." He teasingly smiled. "I mean, everyone knows the two of you are just friends. But, isn't that what they always said?"

Her attack was blocked by Jason's staff and y/n wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug grin off of his face. "You're an ass, you know that right?"

"I've been told that many times actually. Thank you for noticing."

Their sparring session grew tense by the minute. Although, y/n managed to land some solid blow, it wasn't enough to take him down. But, she thought she was doing pretty well since she managed to block some of Jason's hits. y/n knew Jason was going to be hard to overpower. The second oldest of the family was as tall as Bruce and maybe even had more muscle mass. The only way to overpower him was to rely on her agility and speed and use his massive weight against him. She remembered a trick that Tim taught her with the bo staff. She haven't mastered the skill quite well, but she knew it well enough to do it. The worse thing that could happened was Jason gloating this loss over her head for days.

Making up her mind, y/n charged at him. He was already surprised by her sudden move, but it still wasn't enough. She executed a series of moves, mindful of her stamina and keeping a look out for Jason's weak spot. She attacked when she saw an opening and did it over and over again. After awhile, Jason was getting sloppy. He was charging at her without any thoughts behind his attacks. He just wanted her down. Using this to her advantage, y/n tried to strike his head. He took the bait and blocked the attack, leaving his lower body unprotected. She used the other end of her staff to hit him where the sun doesn't shine and Jason doubled in pain. She swiped his legs, making him collapsed on the mat and made a show by thrusting her staff only to stop merely inches from Jason's face.

"What was it that you said earlier?" y/n smirked. "Something about I can't take you down even if I try? Is that it, Jason? I think that's it. "

Jason rolled his eyes and stood up. "Alright, alright, fine. I won't bring up the rumor again. Jesus, where did you even learn that move?"

"Well, when you're the favorite one, you can pretty much get anything you want. I ask Tim to teach me that."

"If that's the case, can you ask Bruce to lend me the Bat-mobile?" Jason wiped his sweat with a towel and drank from his water bottle.

"Absolutely not. And why do you even need it?"

"Come on. I'll take good care of it."

"Not convinced."

"How about if I take you to dinner?" He flashed his flirtatious smile.

"Nope. Not happening, Jason."

~~

y/n was busying herself with chores one Saturday afternoon when her phone suddenly rang, replacing the catchy tune of a song that filled her apartment. Her singing and hand movements halted. She washed her hands, dried it on a towel over her shoulder, and frowned when the person calling her was none other than Dick Grayson. After about a week, the rumors about their supposed budding relationship had died down. Reporters and cameras had stop crowding outside of her apartment building and she received less hate comments on social media. y/n knew it was bound to happen. A story as insignificant as this one would be forgotten and replaced the moment something even more exciting happening. And that exciting thing was the trail of large and monstrous plants left by Poison Ivy just outside of Gotham City.

"Hey, Dick." y/n greeted, balancing her phone between her shoulder and head. "What's up?"

"Umm...nothing much." Dick stuttered, a rustling sound was heard on the background. "You?"

"Eh, just chores. You okay? You sound weird."

"Well, I was walking outside today and I found something...odd."

"Oh? Odd how?"

"Well," he hesitated, scratching the back of his head. "people seemed to be thinking that we're dating. Remember that time we went out for lunch?"

"Ugh, don't remind me. I just had the paparazzi off my back. They're a menace."

"Wait? You knew? And you didn't tell me?"

y/n frowned. "I thought you knew. It wasn't exactly a secret, Wing. We—well, mostly you—were trending everywhere. Wait, you don't have cameras following you around everywhere?"

"I do, but not too much. Just a couple here and there. Have they been harassing you?"

Those sons of bitches, y/n thought. Of course they were only targeting her. Dick was the adopted son of Bruce Wayne. They were probably too scared to crowd him they way they did with her because of him. They probably didn't want to get sue or pissed him off. Well, it was either that or the fact that Dick lived in Blüdhaven. A small part of y/n wanted the paparazzi to come back just so she could have their vengeance.

"No, it's fine, Dick. They're gone now, thank god. I'm surprised the others didn't tell you though. Jason was being an annoying little shit about it. Babs didn't say anything?"

"No, she didn't." Dick shook his head even if y/n can't see. "But, then again she's working on that case."

"Oh, yeah. Lucky you, then."

Dick let out a laugh. "I guess so. You sure they're not gonna bother you again?"

"Positive. Dami and I have a great plan to throw them off in case they show up."

"Should I even asked?" He questioned, worry etched in his voice.

"Nope, but don't worry." A wicked smile on her lips. "It won't involve any physical pain."

[shyestofhearts]

(Answering about Damian’s animals)

It was hard, at first, figuring out how to leave while not leaving his pets, his friends behind. If he was to be emancipated, that he had to have a job and a place to live. The good thing about Gotham, however, is that businesses are desperate for workers who aren’t afraid and are actually willing to stay in Gotham.

At fourteen, Damian died. Then he came back to life, to Gotham. And he began to plan. He was already smarter than most, it wouldn’t be difficult to leave school, to either test out or just get a GED like his other siblings. He decided to test out. It wouldn’t happen this year, he knew he had to look smart, but not overly smart. So he takes online classes at the local community college during winter and spring trimester, AP classes the end of the school year. The work is annoying, and mundane, but manageable. Especially when he wasn’t “allowed” to go on patrol anymore.

He was fifteen when he started working. It had been twelve months since he was killed, ten since he returned to the lan of the living, and nine since he started his plan. Since he was so rarely let out on patrol, Damian needed to do something in his spare time. He applied to get a student working permit, which shocked many people in his family. Jason actually laughed, at the mere idea of him working. Bruce, thinking this was something he wanted to do simply as part of a ‘rebellious’ stage, signed off on it.

It was easy.

At first Damian was just a simple customer service assistant at the local library. Not many people came in, but it was nice. He was even allowed to work on his homework when it was slow. He went along with the afternoon shift, only working four hours a day, twenty a week, and saving each weekly paycheck for nearly an entire year. It wasn’t much, at the end, but enough to prove he was working. He also started selling his art online, knowing from his time at Galas where the rich in Gotham usually bought their expensive pieces. It wasn’t hard for him to network himself and his work, mainly because every dealer knew he was Damian Wayne. He didn’t really like that, but it got him an in.

With cost of living in certain parts of Gotham being so cheap, Damian debated whether he should live somewhere cheap but run down and possibly in danger every night (he scoffs, he’s always in danger) or if he could find affordable and safe housing for him and his animals. It’s actually the elderly librarian at his job who helps him out. She noticed that he was looking for housing, and considering he was a Wayne who was working, it wasn’t hard to piece together.

“You know,” She says quietly, “My nephew has a small loft open,” Damian stares at her, owlishly. “It’s kinda at the edge of town though. So it’s not the best of areas,” The librarian shrugs, “But the rent is cheap.” Damian gets her nephew’s number, and meets up.

Three weeks later, Damian brings up emancipation to his father. It does not go well.

Bruce is furious, and it seems like everyone beside Cass is confused, lost as to why Damian would want this. The last two years have been relatively calm, to them. Bruce rejects the idea, as if that will end the conversation. Damian, for the first time in a long time, feels fire burning in his stomach.

“Either you agree,” Damian says, “Or we go to court.” Bruce actually laughs at that. “There will be an investigation, they have to. Whether this means revealing all of my physical scars, or the fact that I’ve been living in neglect, I don’t care,”

“NEGLECT” Multiple people shout in outrage, as Bruce’s face grows hard and angry. Alfred, on the other hand, freezes, like he just was realizing something had been off for the last (nearly) two years. Grayson, who had been so busy with his life and Bludhaven, is staring hard between Damian and Bruce.

“Maybe,” He says, as if trying to diffuse a bomb, “You can come with me, if you are tired of the manor,”

Damian stays quiet for second, thinking the offer over. It could be a compromise, less permanent. But the thought of living with Dick, which would have once been a dream, leaves a sour taste in his mouth. Grayson wasn’t even there when he returned. He didn’t even look for him when he was missing. He went from brother to father to distant cousin within the six years Damian’s lived in the United States. And living with him, being reminded of that every day, that would just kill him more.

“No,” Damian says quietly. “I don’t want to live around, or with, any of you,” He looks at Dick. Both sorry and resolute. “I need to be around people care for me, and things that are good for me.” Dick’s jaw drops at the pointed words, as if he was hurt to find out that Damian thought Dick didn’t care for him. “And if that means living alone with just me and my pets, so be it.”

“You think that you can find an someplace to live, with the amount you make, and be able to care for the animals?” Jason asks harshly, “Wow, how out of touch—“

“Kent said Kent farm wouldn’t mind having Batcow and Jerry,” Damian glares at Jason, “And Titus and Alfred can come with me, will be comfortable with the surrounding woods near where I plan to live. He can hunt and hide there”

“You already have a place picked out,” Tim nods, looking blank, detective face on.

“Of course,”

“You’ve been planning this,” Duke says, rubbing a hand down his face before sitting down.

“Yes,”

“Quitting Robin, the accelerated track, the job,” Tim says slowly. “You’ve been planning on leaving this whole time.”

“Yes,” Damian answered once more, looking at Timothy. “And no one care enough to notice any of it before now. My leaving won’t really impact you, any of you,” all his once-siblings flinch at that, but he remains strong in his stance.

“This is ridiculous,” Bruce snaps, demanding everyone’s attention,

“No,” Damian grits out. “What I find ridiculous is that I died,twice, as Robin and you didn’t even care. You didn’t even look for me the second time!” He shouts, throat aching as he feels the phantom shackles around his throat. “None of you did! I gone two months, dead for TWO MONTHS. No one even buried me! I woke the same placed I died, only to get scolded for trying to save my life!” Everyone’s eyes are wide at his words.

“Listen,” Jason says, serious and soft, “We didn’t know—“

“Didn’t know? FUCK that! I had a gaping hole in my chest! You all didn’t fucking CARE,” Everything is silent as tears well up in Damian’s eyes.

There is a faint Click Clat as he hears Titus come forward, leaning against his human to give comfort. Damian sighs, collecting himself.

“You look at me like a monster, treat me as a mess—a mistake needing to be hidden or something you want to avoid.”

“Son—“ Bruce starts, face finally something besides a scowl or anger.

“No,” Damian says, shaking his head. “I’m not that either. I don’t want to be,” he can see the hurt that flashes on Bruce’s face, hear the gasp from Richard, and feel the guilty stares from the others. “I’m not going on a rampage, I’m not going after anyone, I’m not even running off to a different city.” Damian whispers. “I just want to be free,”

It’s quiet before Bruce walks over, and grabs the pen to fill out the forms.

“Despite this, Damian,” He says, handing the packet to Damian. “You will always have a place here, when you want to come back.”

Damian, chuckles, a wet sound.

It takes about three weeks, thanks to Bruce’s legal team expediting it. Damian managed to pack everything up in the meantime. A few times his former siblings approached him, but each time they couldn’t figure out what to say. The only one who actually apologized, properly, was Jason.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” Jason whispers quietly one night, as Damian packs the last of his things. He doesn’t need all of the items in his room. Just packs his school supplies, laptop, art supplies, and clothes that still fit him. It takes him more time to pack Titus and Alfred’s things. “I know what it’s like,” Jason continues. “To die as Robin, as a fourteen year old” He shakes his head. “To die because of your own mother,”

“That part didn’t really bother me,” Damian says after a moment of silence. He sits on the bed, stroking Alfred’s soft fur. “It was what came after that cut me,”

“And I know that too,” Jason nods, looking away. “All of us are so sorry, Damian.”

“Don’t be,” Damian looks at him, waiting for Jason to look back at him. “Do better,” He says, as Jason winces. “Let’s not pretend that there won’t be another Robin. There will always be a replacement,” Jason rubs a hand down his face, remembering how he felt learning about Tim becoming Robin. “Do better with them, be there for them,”

“We want to be there for you,” Jason stresses.

“I wanted that too,” Damian confesses. “But we both also wanted mothers who loved us, unconditionally, so both know we don’t always get what we want.”

Jason nods, wishing Damian good luck.

The day Damian leaves, he actually has Jon over to help with the move. He’s brought his family’s old truck, and had loaded everything in it.

“All packed, then?” Alfred asks, as Bruce eats at the dining table, unable to watch Damian leave. The others, Jason, Duke, Tim, Richard, even Cass, Barbra, and Brown are there. They don’t say much, because they know for Damian this isn’t just a “I’ll see you around” kind of leave.

“Yes, I think we will take our leave now,” Damian nods,

“You’ll always be welcomed here, Master Damian,” Alfred says, clasping his shoulder.

“Thank you for you kind words, Pennyworth,” Damian nods, before turning to face the man who spent the most time with. “But there was never really a place here for me. They were the chosen sons, children,” Damian amends. “I was just blood”

With that, Damian turns and leaves. Jon technically can’t drive, but Damian just got his license in the mail the other week.

“Ready for this?” Jon asks, Batcow’s trailer hitched to the truck, Titus in the back seat, and Alfred on his lap.

“Yeah,” Damian nods. “I guess I am,”

“To new beginnings,” Jon smiles at him, raising his fist for Damian to bump.

“With some old friends” Damian bumps fists, and smiles when Alfred copies him.

—🪡🧵

Crying, screaming but also the ending??? Sew I neeeeeeed a fic of this desperately

[watchtower-feed]

Waynesitter’s Runaway Bats

✧ Sometimes your job requires you to go on little excursions to drag back some family runaways. And when Alfred says little, it means Bruce intends for you to borrow the Batmobile.

✧ “Uhh… Thanks. But I’ll just use Tim’s Prius.”

✧ “Y/N, I insist.”

✧ “Mr. Wayne. I’d rather be bringing home your son and not another Arkham escapee.”

✧ Sometimes the others tag along with you when they’re awake, still alive, or generally just bored.

✧ “Oh my god, Tim. You have the worst songs.”

✧ “Apart from being dead weight in my car, Jason, what else are you good for?”

✧ “Tch. Y/N, Jason brought a gun again.”

✧ “Jason, I swear to god if you fire that gun you better shoot me first.”

✧ Whenever Dick runs away, he always goes to Amusement Mile, Gotham’s entertainment district, where Haley’s Circus used to be. When something really bad happens, Dick would actually leave town to follow the Circus’ tour. But for now, you pull over by the boardwalk.

✧ “Stay in the car.”

✧ “What if there’s trouble?”

✧ “I’ll light up a bat signal.”

✧ “Harhar, Y/N.”

✧ You quickly find Dick inside the large tent just sitting in the middle of the ring. He always greets you with a sheepish smile and pursed lips.

✧ “Time to go back already?”

✧ “I have two volatile children and Tim stuck in a Prius so…”

✧ Dick laughs and slowly gets up. “Okay.” When he reaches you, he stops and rests his head on your shoulder. You hear him sigh and quietly say, “I don’t know what I’m doing, Y/N. I’m no leader.”

✧ It’s one of those days. One when all the responsibility is on Dick’s shoulders and he feels like no one taught him how to be an adult. Not his parents. Not Bruce or Alfred. He still feels like a child. Most of the time you think he’s more a child than Damian. But the innocent kind. Not the murder you in your sleep kind. Or the annoying brat kind in general.

✧ “Y/N.”

✧ “Oh, sorry. I spaced out.”

✧ “Y/N!” he chuckles, “this is supposed to be the part where you say something that’ll motivate me to do the right thing.”

✧ “The right thing? I don’t even know the difference between laundry detergent and fabric conditioner. They both just clean clothes, right?” 

✧ He laughs. “Right.”

✧ “But Dick… No one’s ever going to say the exact thing you need to hear because only you know what that is. You just have to be patient with yourself and continue to listen to your gut. The fact that you’re here means you feel like you did something wrong. So it’s time to go and fix it.”

✧ As far as your speeches go, persuading Dick to go home is the easiest. But when it comes to Tim, you need to be a bit more creative. Or diabolical.

✧ “Uh, Robin. Your babysitter’s here to see you.”

✧ “Don’t let--”

✧ “Thanks, Beast Boy. Next time you’re in Gotham I’ll give you a tour of the cave. Oh hey, Tim. Fancy seeing you here.”

✧ “You’re in San Francisco. You’re at the Titans Tower. You know I would be here.”

✧ “Really? But why would you be all the way here when they need you in Gotham? BB just told me--”

✧ “BB??”

✧ “-- that the other Titans are home for the summer. Like you should be. Suspicious.”

✧ “Why are you here, Y/N?”

✧ You smile and take out a small folder from your bag. “I need help with Chemistry--”

✧ “Chemistry? You’re a lit maj-- Wait a minute… These are the compounds for Scarecrow’s fear toxin.”

✧ “Nope. Look at the bonding element.”

✧ “... It’s... It’s a mutation of Joker’s laughing gas!”

✧ Of course, once you get back, you’ll tell Tim you just fudged elements together and you’re surprised and proud of yourself for making up a whole new deadly chemical. By then, Damian or Jason is ready to apologize to Tim just like you practiced.

✧ On the other side of the spectrum, the least bat you have to worry about is Cass. Whenever she goes missing it’s the only time you volunteer to bring a Wayne back. Only because you always find her sitting on your couch hugging a bowl of popcorn.

✧ “What series are we binging tonight, Y/N?”

✧ “Legends of Tomorrow? It’s about a group of misfit superheroes who fixes history. You might recognize a few costumes.”

✧ Cass recognizes all of them. Sometimes you forget that Cass isn’t a civilian and she’s even more of a vigilante than the boys. That this is what most her life has been and she has no inclination to quit it.

✧ “Can I live with you?”

✧ “You can’t, Cass. You’ll know all my bad habits and then you won’t want to be my friend.”

✧ “You’re more than a friend, Y/N. You’re family.”

✧ “Oh god. I mean no offense, Cass. I love you, but the only reason you’re always trying to kill each other is because you’re family. I don’t want to be in your Lord of the Flies.”

✧ Cass doesn’t really get it. “They know every bad thing about me… but they still want me.”

✧ “Oh.”

✧ Cass is the most observant person you know. She knows exactly how the family feels about her and they would move Earths for her. But having never experienced any kind of love growing up and then jumping into their unconditional love, it shocks you and leaves you anxious about the day when the dream is over.

✧ “You can live with me one day but you gotta pay rent. I’m not letting you mooch off of me.”

✧ Cass smiles at you. You turn back to the TV and she curls up beside you all night before you take her home in the morning.

✧ Jason’s another one that’s easy to find. He always holes up in his own apartment because no one in his family would dare bother him there when he’s in a mood. This is one of those moments when you’re glad you’re not family.

✧ “Open up, Zombie boy!”

✧ “When are you going to stop calling me that?”

✧ “When you go to a derma and finally get rid of those autopsy scars. Seriously, Jason, they’re unsettling.”

✧ Jason touches his chest and then stays quiet the whole time you settle yourself in his apartment. With Jason, there are no words or tricks to play. Whenever he’s seen too much of the family he just needs time and distance. You’re only there to shorten that time and make sure the distance stays within city limits.

✧ “Can you sing it again?”

✧ But Jason makes you pay the highest price. Ever since he heard you whistle and sing The Dancing and the Dreaming from How to Train Your Dragon 2, he always asks you to sing it when he’s not particularly feeling high on his horse. So how could you refuse?

✧ “Sure. But could we not do a duet this time? It makes me feel like we’re having a Viking wedding.”

✧ “Damian would love that.”

✧ It’s bad. If Jason doesn’t fight you for that duet and just wants to close his eyes and listen, then something really bad happened. So you sing while you watch Jason relax in his chair. You maintain a slow tempo throughout the whole song.

✧ When Jason finally opens his eyes, tears slip through. He’s staring at you with wide eyes and he touches his cheeks, wondering why they’re wet. Your lips quiver and you bite them before you approach Jason and wipe his cheeks.

✧ “Was my singing that bad?”

✧ Jason blows on your face and laughs even though he’s still crying.

✧ You didn’t really know what to do when Alfred told you Damian ran back home. Isn’t this his home? But when you’re strapped in the batplane with the Batman, especially since he’s also your boss, you can’t really opt out anymore.

✧ “Mr. W-- Er Batman? Is it really smart to bring civilian me to the base of one of your mortal enemies?”

✧ “The League knows all of our identities--”

✧ “Yeah, but I think I’d feel a lot safer in a bullet-proof costume like yours. No offense.”

✧ “They use swords here, Y/N.”

✧ “Oh… kevlar can’t stop that?”

✧ When you arrive, the fortress is even more intimidating and terrifying than you imagined. You stick close to Batman, clutching his cape, and warily eye the assassins clad in all black, stationed at almost every corner.

✧ “It sort of feels like the cave. Maybe if you trained more bats, you can finally get some sleep or go to your 10 AM meetings.”

✧ Batman can’t suppress his grin. “Do you really want more of them to take care of?”

✧ “I would quit. Or make you quadruple my salary.”

✧ When you finally see Damian after several days of his disappearance, you forget yourself and run to him, only to be met with the hilt of a sword an inch away from your neck.

✧ Damian’s eyes widen when he realizes it’s you and drops his sword. He looks horrified. Quickly forgetting your own shock, you bend down and pick him up to hold him tight in your arms. You can feel him sobbing against your shoulder.

✧ “Beloved. I see you’ve started involving your servants in your crusade.”

✧ “Don’t be jealous, Talia. She’s only family.”

✧ “Damian,” you whisper. “Ready to go home? I might need your help in stopping Bruce from adopting me.”

✧ Damian sniffs. “That mustn’t happen if we’re going to be married in the future.”

✧ You don’t leave Damian’s side until you get back to the manor. You stay later just to lie beside him in his bed until he falls asleep. You’re brushing his hair when a thought comes to you. “You know, in the future, maybe run away to Paris. I hear they have an old cave network there. It might take me days or weeks to bring you home.”

✧ Damian scoffs and smiles. He turns to his other side, away from you. “Y/N, I’m trying to sleep.”

✧ “Yeah, but think about it okay? What are you doing tomorrow?”

Notes: Here’s that version of the song YN sings to Jason. Fair warning, it’s a Drarry animation.

✧ Watchtower Masterlist ✧

[flyingupward]

spoilers for THE LEGEND OF VOX MACHINA episodes 10-12 under the cut. what a ride it’s been friends. is it time for season 2 yet ? she says knowing she’s in no way ready for that arc to be animated.

Episode 10

Interesting they have the gun rat Ripley out

OH SHIT CASSANDRA

“So was my family.” Damn.

“And here I thought you were the intelligent one.” It’s starting already lmao.

I love the way they’re having these spells work. That Detect Good and Evil was sick af

“Then trust me.” Cass I love you T.T

YES THEY INCLUDED THAT LINE

A Ripley filled death trap that’s terrifying and I love it

Grog trying to figure out the astral projection is adorable

Vex pls don’t rub it in he’s hurting

Ripley and her nerdiness gives me more life than it should

They’ve truly captured Ripley and Percy’s weird fucked up mirroring each other so well in so short a time and I love it

“Not a compliment” CASS I WOULD DIE FOR YOU

THE FLAME TONGUE DAGGER

“UNCLE NATHANIEL?!”

Keyleth trying to introduce herself to the dead De Rolos I am LOSING IT

Okay but the Cass/Ripley dynamic they’re setting up here is intriguing me

“I have more than enough worry to go around.” Percy, a summary

DAAAAAMN VAX call her out

Lmao them blaming Keyleth for everything is so funny and then it hurts because y’know… it’s accurate

CASSANDRAS NAAAAAME. The fact I knew but I’m still like DAMNNNN

Ooh that flash of yellow in Cassandra’s eyes was a really cool touch. Well done animators.

RIPLEY FLIPPING SYLAS OFF IM IN STITCHES

Also Anna and Delilah ima need you to stop flirting right now kthnx. Like Grey you didn’t need to have ur voice be that low on that line delivery pls.

Tbh having Ripley here for this is actually so much more interesting I kinda love it???

“Don’t you at least want to see Grog die?” SCANLAN PLEASE XD

“Oh great, Percy’s broken. Come here you little noodle.” This shouldn’t be making me laugh as hard as it is and yet…

Vex I would die for you

“But the people in this room? We’re not. We will never abandon you. You want your sister back and I want my brother.” SOBS

GROG OMG.

Ripley and Percy working together hell yeah

Okay the ziggurat looks sick as hell

Episode 11

THAR AMPHALA. WELL SHIT.

It’s the way I love the Briarwoods relationship way more than I should

Percy ACTIVELY having to fight off Orthax like that. Welp.

“Yes, Mother?” Made me more emotional than it should have. Also all those bite marks on Cassandra’s neck. Well damn.

Episode 11 aka “Sibling Rivalry comes to life”

Watching Pike hold her own against Sylas was pretty epic ngl

The way Percy and Cassandra snapped out of it for each other though. Even if Sylas ruined it a second later, I still think that’s incredibly powerful and I love them for it.

Vex PLEADING to Keyleth gets me.

KEYLETH AND THE SUN TREE OMG?!?!?!

“Help me be the light.”

Vex’s tears RIP

Sylas: I’ll take care of this. Me: That’s sunlight you dumb motherfucker?

Keyleth fucking WRECKING SYLAS hell yes

But also Delilah’s SCREAM. Grey holy shit.

“She’s running away.” “No, she’s doing something much worse.”

Tbh the whispered “I broke the world for us” is so much more devastating than the yelled one to me.

“I did everything you asked. Honor our bargain!” Okay I love that they’re putting this complexity in here tho because it’s the thing that makes Delilah a compelling character to me? Because yes she’s a villain and has done objectively terrible things and there’s no way around that, but also Vecna fucking used her and her grief and twisted it to his own ends and I think that’s a huge part of her character and what prevents her from being just a two dimensional villain.

KEYLETH SAVING VEX THOUGH. SHIT.

Episode 12

Wow Percy fuck you. I know it’s mostly Orthax talking but still...ouch.

Me knowing Grog’s gonna take the sword: GROG DONT DO IT

“Darling, take off the mask.” AND THE TEARS HAVE COME BACK. IM FINE.

“It won’t let me.”

This version of the Orthax fight (the way they’ve kept some of it external while showing it more internally) is both super interesting and super fucked up. Poor Percy honestly.

“You’re his sister, reach him.”

“Hate feels good. It drowns the pain.” I think people forget Cassandra is a De Rolo and also knows this feeling to a certain extent... Percy may have taken it to an extreme but Cassandra’s not a stranger to it...

“DONT FORFEIT YOUR OWN SOUL”

“I’m glad you forgave her, brother, but I could not.” I love you Cass

They kept Scanlan throwing the gun in the acid I’m so glad XD

I love that they’re showing Scanlan openly hitting on men

“They will see you as a survivor.” Percy you’re a good bean

“IM GONNA WALK AWAY”

“You need to get punched in the face now and then to know you’re alive.”

VEX AND KEYLETH!!!!

Okay that blush was very gay Keyleth

PERCY ACTUALLY SMILING

THE LITTLE BLOOMS OF LIFE

Oh that’s a really cool reason to make Diplomacy a thing!

“What, like now?” You know how you respond to a summons from the king?

Me: Sees everyone gathered. Me: Nope I’m concerned

Uriel: Starts making an announcement. Me: NOPE EVEN MORE CONCERNED

OH GOD NO ITS STARTING IM NOT READY

GOD I KNEW SEASON ONE WAS GONNA END THERE BUT I STILL WASNT READY????

[bestworstcase]

farran rereads lost lagoon: chapters 3-4

- a shot-put ball, according to my cursory research, weighs in the neighborhood of 6-16 pounds. leila howland expects me to believe that princess “hoisted an adult woman 70 ft into the air on the daily with nothing but a pulley and raw upper body strength” rapunzel has a hard time picking up a shot.

anyways

- rapunzel thinks about how she used to talk to herself in her tower when she was isolated (and lonely) but stopped once she came to corona, and this girl looked like she was talking to herself, and it gave rapunzel this weird sense of familiarity! now what in the world could that mean? its so subtle i can’t quite put my finger on it.

again, romance novel.

less sardonically - i will say that tts cass has never struck me as an especially lonely person. yes, rapunzel is quite possibly her first ever close friend, but cass also appears to be on pleasant terms with her coworkers and has at least one or two friendships or mentor-type relationships among the guards (stan and pete). animals in tts are anthropomorphized enough to qualify as humans, and cassandra is unequivocally friends with owl and fidella. she is friendly if not friends with at least one coronan citizen (monty). she’s utterly unfazed by crowley’s crabbiness. she’s able to get along with the pub thugs. in vardaros she befriends vex with ease and makes herself right at home among the citizenry at large. there is zero friction between her and lance - at most she rolls her eyes when he’s being ridiculous. and out of the main cast, cassandra is the one who seems closest to varian in s1 - like, she has actual bonding moments with him. 

THE POINT BEING, cassandra may not have a lot of close friends, but she is nevertheless personable and demonstrates the ability to adapt herself to suit a variety of social environments. maybe i’m projecting here - i have very few close offline friends because my preference for in-person socialization is for it to be very casual - but taken together this doesn’t scream ‘lonely person’ to me. it instead says ‘person who finds social fulfillment in a wide net of friendly acquaintanceships’ and possibly also ‘person who finds close, emotionally intimate relationships worthwhile but very demanding to maintain, and so seldom or never seeks them out.’

this, absolutely, a very subjective reading of her character - it is just as plausible for cass to be someone who is socially competent but feels inwardly unfulfilled until rapunzel comes along. but even in that reading, this implication that cassandra is as deeply lonely, as thoroughly isolated in corona as rapunzel was in her tower is baldly absurd.

- i think i will have more thoughts about how arianna is characterized and the relationship she and rapunzel have with each other later in the story. for now it feels rather mechanical, and like arianna exists in the story to facilitate cassunzel happening.

- cassandra comes across to me like she has an anxiety disorder written by someone who doesn’t quite know how to convey how that feels? she catastrophizes: what if rapunzel thinks cass attacked her? will she get in trouble? but then she stops to make snide comments about rapunzel’s security detail ‘[falling] down on the job’ and concludes with an impressive amount of certainty that rapunzel isn’t going to make a big deal of it, after all. that… isn’t how anxiety works?

then, immediately, she finds a note from her father scolding her for slacking off—making it clear that she is indeed in trouble, like she feared—and her response is to scoff and throw it away. zero concern about being in trouble. zero worry about the consequences she might face for refusing the pointed “offer” of being rapunzel’s lady-in-waiting. like… this isn’t anxiety. i’m positive it’s meant to convey anxiety, but it comes across as cassandra just being… melodramatic and rude and grumpy. like a teenager. it’s unpleasant. and it bears very little resemblance to tts cass, who expresses a clear and consistent anxiety regarding the security of her job and the looming threat of a convent.

- secondly: “Friedborg reported that you missed your afternoon duties AGAIN. Please be advised that this is unacceptable. The queen is looking for a lady-in-waiting to serve Princess Rapunzel. It would be a great opportunity for you, and you must show the queen how prepared you are to train her in the ways of the court.” i am 100% convinced that howland thought cass was rapunzel’s age or younger. if friedborg is effectively cassandra’s direct supervisor, and she is reporting absences to cassandra’s father instead of addressing this with cassandra directly, the only explanation that makes sense is that cassandra is not of legal age.

- “Ladies don’t wield weapons, lead military strategy meetings, or race on horseback. Ladies do needlework, flower arranging, and hairstyling.”

sighs.

i am not going to argue that corona, in any incarnation, isn’t culturally sexist. it is. there are no women in the guard, no women in trades, no female business owners in the vein of monty or xavier or feldspar. besides rapunzel and arianna - who as the monarch’s spouse has very little in the way of actual political power - there are no women in the upper echelons of the government. besides cassandra, the only gnc women around are criminals. cass is denied even a chance to join the guard for no evident reason, even though her father allows eugene - a man he openly despises - to take the tests and then begrudgingly hires him when he passes. no one sees an issue with this, even though cassandra is demonstrably overqualified.

however.

howland makes this cultural sexism explicit text, and she does so in such a way that it implies something pretty horrifying about the already pretty horrifying corona-saporia unification backstory.

i am talking, of course, about general shampanier. you know, the female saporian general whom herz der sonne married when the two kingdoms were unified. the female saporian general who personally dueled der sonne for hours, according to under raps. the female saporian general who, forget military strategy meetings, led an entire goddamn army. i will accept the possibility that shampanier did not ride horses, because rapunzel’s return suggests that saporians have some sort of cultural objection to that. but this book predates rapunzel’s return by a large margin, and it isn’t canon anyway, so odds are the general shampanier of this story rode a warhorse at some point or another in her illustrious career of being the general of an army!!!

this woman - general shampanier - became the queen, the wife of arguably corona’s most historically important king, at a defining moment in coronan political and cultural history. tts and lost lagoon would both have us believe that this was a romantic, peaceful union between two people and two nations, but a few hundred years later - this. ladies don’t fight. ladies don’t belong in the war tent. ladies don’t ride horses. cass takes these things for granted as facts of life. but general shampanier did all of those things, and she did them extremely well, and she became corona’s queen.

WHAT HAPPENED?! WHAT HAPPENED TO SHAMPANIER’S LEGACY?

how did corona go from a warrior-queen to this, in just a few hundred years? the most plausible answer is that the background radiation of sexism and, perhaps, anti-saporian bias was powerful enough to unravel any cultural impact she may have otherwise had, deep enough to render her an outlier, an aberration, an exception to the rule that women do not act like that.

even arguing here that ‘lady’ specifically means ‘noblewoman’ doesn’t add up - because, again, general shampanier became THE QUEEN. you don’t get more noblewoman than that!

it feels unfair to judge this book with details added in season 3—such as the fact that shampanier is evidently not buried with herz der sonne—but this total lack of a cultural impact from general shampanier, queen of corona, feels very telling even without taking those tidbits of extra-textual information into consideration.

and good god, saporia hasn’t even properly entered the narrative yet! this is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg!

*deep breath*

moving. on.

- continuing the theme of cass being a child larping as a guard recruit: she has a closetful of weapons which she maintains to the exacting standards of the handbook, but skips out on her job to “train” in secret because evidently she’ll do ANYTHING to get on the guard except, you know, demonstrate a modicum of responsibility with the job she has now.

- moreover while i think cartography is a neat hobby for cassandra to have, it… doesn’t make a lot of sense if it’s part of some nebulous plan to ~prove herself worthy~ of being on the guard. like, cartography straight up isn’t a relevant skill, and while knowing the countryside could certainly be helpful for guard work in the event a criminal goes to ground in the wilderness, it’s like… it’s like if i applied for my current job, which is in software/tech support, by focusing an intensive amount of energy on teaching myself spanish. fluency in spanish is a useful skill and one that i could turn into an asset within the bounds of my current job, and it might be the deciding factor in me getting hired over someone else with equivalent experience and skill in computing and tech support (which is what the job involves) because, yes, some of our clients are ESL spanish-speakers. but it’s—there’s a disconnect. if i were in a tight competition to get this job i would be pouring my time into sharpening my programming skill and polishing up a portfolio of relevant work. i wouldn’t be devoting hours upon hours to learning spanish. right?

on the other hand—if cartography is a hobby cassandra is passionate about, and she’s 16 or 17 or 18 and she really likes the idea of being on the guard and really feels like she can do it and is bored with her dumb teenager job and desperate to get her dad to make her a guard without actually grasping what being a guard entails or the kind of work it involves or what she actually, realistically needs to do to have a shot, then… yeah, skipping work to play pretend with her weapons and convincing herself that her favorite hobby is totally going to prove to her dad that she’s ready to be a guard!!! makes perfect sense. it’s no different from tts varian tunnel visioning so hard on this fantasy of ‘i’ll surprise my whole village with hot running water and then my dad will be proud of me!!!’ that he neglects basic safety measures and accidentally blows the whole system up. it’s not realistic. it’s a fantasy. it’s play.

- the only time cassandra brings up eugene’s criminal past in tts is to mock him for being a loser. like. literally. the plot of fitzherbert pi kicks off when she calls him a “two-bit hood” and then when he fires back that flynn rider was a LEGEND!!! she fires back “key word being was. and… what is it you do now?” and that’s the only time she brings it up. granted this is 6-7 months into their relationship but… still, frankly i never got the impression that “former thief” was anywhere close to the top of cassandra’s list of reasons for hating eugene. he’s just a dick. she doesn’t like him because he’s a huge selfish jerk and she warms up to him after her starts behaving better.

- rapunzel goes to the ty lee school of flirting. just… laugh really hard at everything your crush says even if it’s not funny.

- despite my… intense and rapidly growing dislike for how cassandra is characterized in this book, her experiencing an actual physical reaction when rapunzel enters her space without permission is good. it’s about the boundaries. it has always been about the boundaries, and rapunzel crossing them, and the intractable messiness that arises from that.

- in fact: how many times does rapunzel cross boundaries in just this one little scene? oh, let me count the ways!

1 - when cassandra goes to shut the door, rapunzel ducks under her arm to enter the room. (eugene attempts to enter as well, but cass succeeds in blocking him.)

2 - missing or ignoring cassandra’s first “go away” hint about only playing individual sports.

3 - missing or ignoring cassandra’s second “go away” hint (“I let the silence get awkward.”)

4 - arranging cassandra’s invitation to the feast of elodie the great with the captain beforehand, so cass can’t use him as an excuse to decline.

5 - missing or ignoring cassandra’s obvious discomfort with this news, taking cassandra’s attendance at the feast as a done deal, and skipping straight to asking cassandra to sit next to her.

6 - in response to cassandra’s very diplomatic signal of not wanting to do that (“I sit wherever I’m assigned”), she declares that she’ll make sure cassandra is assigned to sit next to her.

7 - touching without permission, which makes cassandra flinch.

all of which results in cassandra making what she considers to be a “tactical surrender.” and then shutting and locking her door, because she feels so rattled. as i recall, lagoon is actually a lot mellower on the boundary violations front - and rapunzel actually learns better over the course of the story, which is probably the biggest reason that lost lagoon is not canon and cannot be canon to tts - but it feels worth writing this sort of thing out because, well. it is one of the dead horses i keep clobbering.

[whitecatindisguise]

Vocalised

Okay, so I don’t usually do sequels to oneshots, because that’s what they are: oneshots. But Silenced (which you can read here) was really asking for one.

So, here it is. Let’s wrap this story up.

------

Rapunzel let out a deep sigh as she looked out of the balcony. The black rocks were everywhere, piercing through the buildings. The rebuilding of the capital will take some time, but right now, they could do nothing but wait for the rocks to disappear. At least, they weren’t growing anymore.

Princess closed her eyes, remembering the events from yesterday. The black rocks entered the capital, destroying homes and shops, moving straight towards the castle. Her father told her to run, but she refused, wanting nothing more but to help her subjects. By the time they finally noticed what, or rather who the rocks were after, it was too late. She was locked in the rock prison, surrounded from all sides.

Then, something unthinkable happened. When Rapunzel touched one of the rocks, they reacted in an explosion of blinding light and deafening sound. Once they were finally able to see, the rocks, at least most of them, reverted to the ground, creating a path towards the Corona’s Wall. 

Her father explained everything to her that day. How he was aware of the black rocks from the very beginning. How taking the Sundrop Flower summoned them to Corona. And how he never told her about it, because he knew exactly who they were targeting. 

They argued, she cried and shouted, not understanding why he would hide something so important from her. He tried to explain, cover behind his will to protect her. Rapunzel was glad her mother took side with her. She, too, didn’t approve of his actions. To put the whole kingdom at risk for the sake of protecting his daughter. Daughter, who was perfectly able to do so on her own. 

Rapunzel decided to follow the black rocks. She stated it as a fact, rather than asking for permission. She knew it was what she was meant to do. It was her destiny. And her father had to accept that. They agreed she would leave in a week, taking Cass, Eugene and Lance with her. 

Green eyes opened and, once again, gazed at the demolished landscape. Is this how Old Corona looked like? Was it the view Varian would see every day from his bedroom window? 

Her train of thoughts stopped abruptly. Her eyes widened in realisation and shock.

“Varian-!” She whispered, only now remembering the desperate plea all those months ago, on the day of the snow storm. How could she just forget about him? How could she not go and check on him once everything was resolved?

Rapunzel turned on her heel and ran out of her room, her braid flying behind her. She had to find Cass and Maximus. They needed to go to Old Corona!

~~~~~~

Eugene walked the cold corridors, a small shudder going up his spine. He never liked the dungeons. But he was here on a job, and he was determined to see it towards the end. 

After the black rocks attacked the castle, many of the rooms were destroyed and demolished. There were several casualties, but luckily, no dead. Many of the castle workers were sent to assess the size of damage. 

Eugene, along with Lance, volunteered to help the Royal Guard check the dungeons, making sure none of the prisoners escaped, as well as provide medical attention to those who needed it. So, there they were, travelling the dark corridors he never thought he would enter willingly. 

So far they didn’t find any major issues, only several cracked walls and some of the prisoners needing replacing. The two friends turned the corner and noticed one of the bigger rocks destroyed the door to the lower level completely. 

“Woah, this one doesn’t like doors.” Lance commented with a chuckle. Eugene smiled and rolled his eyes, bumping his adoptive brother’s shoulder. 

“Come on, let’s see what’s going on in there.” He said and the two carefully jumped over the rock and descended the stairs. 

This level was anything like the ones they’ve been through before. For one, it was extremely dark, a single torch slowly burning on the wall. Second of all, the cells there didn’t have bars, but rather sturdy wooden doors. 

“Looks creepy, if you ask me.” Lance said, shuddering a little at the eerie atmosphere. 

“Let’s check it out quickly and get out of here.” Eugene agreed and the two spread out to cover both sides of the corridor. 

Each room they checked was empty, and the brown-haired man was certain they would find nothing, when suddenly Lance took a sharp inhale. 

“Eugene, come here and tell me you’re not seeing what I’m seeing.” The large dark-skinned man said. 

Eugene raised an eyebrow at the statement and approached the door, taking the torch with him to get more light. He leaned over and peeked through the small window into the cell. At first he didn’t see anything, but then something moved in the corner of the room and Eugene felt his breath stop. 

“Oh my god!” He exclaimed in shock and horror, brown eyes staring at the small figure curled by the opposite wall. The light from the torch bounced off the cell walls and Eugene gasped when it illuminated the odd-coloured stripe on the prisoner’s hair. “It’s Varian!”

~~~~~~

Rapunzel stared in shock at the sight before her. Old Corona was even worse than the capital. There was no single building that was spared from the black rocks. The dark spires pierced the walls and roofs, rising tall above the houses. Worst of all, it seemed abandoned.

“This doesn’t look good, Raps.” Cassandra commented, jumping down to the ground and helping the princess off the horse. 

“I- I didn’t know it was that bad.” Rapunzel admitted, looking around in horror. “Cass, we have to find Varian.”

“Raps, I don’t think-” The handmaiden was trying to argue but the blond-haired woman was already rushing towards the alchemist’s house. 

She knocked several times, bouncing impatiently on her heels, as she waited for the answer. When none came, she hesitated for a moment, before pushing the door open and entering the silent house. 

“Varian? Are you there?” She called out, taking careful steps around. 

“That’s trespassing.” Cassandra hissed, following after the princess. “And the house is clearly abandoned for a long time. Look at all of this dust.”

“Cass, I let him be thrown away into the snowstorm. And didn’t check on him for months!” Rapunzel argued, moving towards the stairs she knew led to the boy’s lab. “I have to make sure he’s okay.”

“I’m sure he’s fine, Raps.” The dark-haired woman rolled her eyes as they descended to the basement. “The whole village probably moved somewhere else, seeing as nobody is here.”

Princess didn’t listen, as she pushed open the door to the lab. Just like the rest of the house, it was abandoned. What piqued their interest, however, was the enormous structure covered in tarp, taking up most of the room’s space. Curiosity taking over, Rapunzel approached it and in one movement pulled the cloth down. 

Both of them gasped in shock at the sight. The structure turned out to be a monolith amber with a person stuck inside it.

“Quirin…” Rapunzel whispered in horror, turning to her friend. “Cass, that’s- that’s Varian’s father!” 

“This doesn’t look good.” Cassandra repeated what she said back when they entered the village. But this time, the words had deeper meaning. If Varian’s father was inside the amber… then where was the alchemist?

A chitter from under the workbench startled both women. They turned abruptly and noticed Ruddiger, looking up at them. He seemed to search for something (or someone, as Rapunzel realised), and not finding what he hoped for, he lowered his ears and let out a saddened wail. 

“Oh, Ruddiger!” Rapunzel cried, kneeling down and picked up the raccoon, the animal not even protesting at the gesture. “Cass, if Ruddiger is here alone…”

“Then something must have happened to Varian.” The handmaiden nodded in understanding. 

~~~~~~

When both women came back to the castle with Ruddiger (not before checking the whole house and the village in the search of the alchemist), they were immediately met with Eugene and Lance waiting in the courtyard, both looking nervous and somewhat terrified. 

“Blondie, I’m so glad you’re back-” Eugene started but Rapunzel cut him off, jumping down from Max’s back and running up to her boyfriend. 

“Eugene! This is awful!” She cried, grabbing his shoulders. “Old Corona is completely destroyed, the villagers left, Varian’s dad is encased in amber in his lab and we can’t find him anywhere! We only found Ruddiger, and we all know, Varian doesn’t go anywhere without Ruddiger! Something bad must have happened to him. I just know it!” 

“Hey, hey. Sunshine. Deep breaths.” Eugene reached for her hands and took them off his shoulders, grabbing them between his. “This is actually something we wanted to talk to you about-”

“How can I be calm, Eugene?! He came to me for help and I not only refused it, but left him alone for months! And now we can’t find him anywhere and I’m sure something must have happened to him!” 

“Rapunzel, if you would just listen-.” The man tried again but was cut off by another wave of terrified thoughts.

“We searched the whole village. And his house. And even part of the forest. He is gone, Eugene! And I’m scared! So, so scared because I don’t know where he is and-” Rapunzel went on when suddenly it was Lance who cut her in. 

“He’s in the dungeons!” The dark-skinned man squeaked anxiously, and suddenly the Princess went silent. She stared at Lance and then back at Eugene.

“Is… Is this true?” She asked, her eyes pleading. Please, say it’s not true. Please, say it’s not true. 

Eugene sighed and looked down in sadness.

“I’m sorry, Sunshine, but Lance is right.” He said, looking up and into his girlfriend’s emerald eyes. “We’ve found him while checking the dungeons for damage after…” He waved his hand towards the black rocks. “He’s been locked on the deepest level, behind a sturdy wooden door. No light, no sound, small room.”

“Solitary confinement.” Cassandra muttered and Eugene nodded. That sounded just right.

“I- Rapunzel, I tried asking the Captain for the key. But he said…” He hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath and continuing. “He said it was an order from the King.” 

“N-no. That’s impossible. Dad would never-” Rapunzel tried to argue, eyes wide in shock.

“Raps, solitary confinement is something only the King can approve of.” Cassandra spoke up.

“And, not that I like speaking bad about you dad, but… it doesn’t sound so unrealistic, knowing what else he did to protect you from those rocks.” Eugene added. 

“How does imprisoning Varian agree with protecting me from the rocks?!” Princess shouted and the man took a small step back. 

“I- I don’t know, but the kid was researching those rocks.” Eugene reminded, trying to sound calm. “Maybe he learned something that your dad didn’t like and.. you know… he took precautions?”

Rapunzel furrowed her brows, anger visible on her face. 

“It seems me and dad need another talk about secrets.” She said with determination, stomping away and marching towards the castle. 

~~~~~~

Varian hugged his knees closer to his chest. It was cold. His whole body was trembling, and he pulled himself closer, hoping to keep some of the body warmth. 

He didn’t know what was going on. Several hours ago (at least he thought it was hours. He lost the track of time short after he was locked in, having nothing to help him calculate it) the whole castle shook tremendously, there were some crashing noises and screams. And then, everything fell into silence again.

Some more time passed and he heard people again, walking around the higher levels and talking silently. At some point he almost thought he heard someone enter the level he was in, people talking and someone saying his name. But when he looked up, he didn’t see anything and everything was silent again, so he decided he must have imagined it. 

He sighed and let his head drop onto his knees. His stomach had long since stopped rumbling, the feeling of emptiness already gone. His food didn’t come for few days now, he deduced. They must have decided to starve him now. He didn’t really see a point anymore. It’s not like he could do anything, stuck in this cell. 

Suddenly, he heard more voices, footsteps coming down the stairs, keys jingling. His heart stopped, thinking what it could possibly mean. Were they moving him somewhere else? It wasn’t food, there was a hatch at the bottom of the door for that, no need for keys. Or maybe the king finally decided on his fate (which probably didn’t mean anything good, seeing his treatment until now)? 

The footsteps stopped in front of his door and he heard the key being pushed into the lock and turned. He froze completely, trying his best to hide in the deepest corner of the cell. The door opened with a deafening creak, showing how much time has passed since they were opened last time. 

Several figures stood in the doorway and Varian pulled his legs closer, making himself as small as it was possible. 

“Varian…?” A cautious voice called, the one he knew but didn’t hear for a long time. But it wasn’t possible? Why would she be here? She had no reason to-

The figure who spoke took one tentative step inside and Varian sucked in his breath, body completely frozen. 

“Varian… it’s me. Rapunzel.” The figure, Rapunzel said, taking one more step forward. He stared at her with eyes wide open. It wasn’t possible. It wasn’t-

“Why…?” He somehow managed to crack out, his voice raspy from all the months of silence. She stopped and kneeled down, only few steps in front of him.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” She whispered and he could see tears in her eyes. She was crying. Why was she crying? “I thought- I thought you were in Old Corona. That whatever happened during the snowstorm… that you didn’t come back before everything was fine.”

He stared at her, not sure how to respond. She had to be lying. But then, why would she? It was, after all, the king who ordered those masked men to hunt him, to treat him like a criminal, to, finally, lock him in this cell. 

“I… Varian. I saw your dad.” Rapunzel continued and his eyes widened. Dad. He was still trapped. He had to save him. The Sundrop Flower. “I’m so sorry for what happened. I know I promised to help you, and I will.”

He looked up at her expectantly and she took it as a cue to continue.

“The black rocks… they were after me. They entered the capital yesterday, looking for me.” She said and Varian blinked. That explained the sounds he heard earlier. “They… when I touched them, they created a path. They are leading me somewhere. And I know, wherever that is, will help me find the way to get rid of them. And, I believe we can also find a way to free your father.”

“Why are you… telling me this?” His voice was still quiet and raspy. 

“Because I want you to go with me, with us.” Rapunzel smiled. “I can’t make up for what my father did to you, Varian. But I can help you make better memories. And, we could probably use your skills and knowledge, wherever the rocks are taking us.” She extended a hand in his direction and smiled some more. “What do you say?”

Varian pondered about the thought before nodding and taking her hand. Her smile grew wider and she helped him to his feet, stabilising him as he wobbled. A ball of grey fur ran up to him and up his frame, to finally set on his shoulders.

“Hey bud, missed you.” He whispered, a small smile on his face. Rapunzel led him out and Eugene put a reassuring hand on the teen’s shoulder. 

“Let’s get you looked up, okay kid?” He said with a smile. “You look like death itself.” 

“Okay.” Varian nodded and let himself be guided out of the dungeons and into the sunlit corridors of the castle.

------

So, that’s it. That’s the end. I won’t continue the story, but you can imagine how it went. Hope you guys liked it.

[pl-panda]

Damienette arranged marriage: part 7

Credits: Miraculous Ladybug team for the elements I take from MLB show. DC for their characters, @ozmav for the AU, @maribat-archive for giving me access to so many different stories to have take inspirations from, @thyladyanput for idea for Chat Damian and me for the plot.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Damienette arranged marriage: Part 7

NEXT!

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She was maybe the second person to learn the truth behind his name. Damian means to tame and his mother named him that because he was ultimate proof that she tamed The Bat. He expected her to laugh, but instead she pulled him into a hug to comfort him. He also revealed that he loved painting and went as far as to sketch her. She was happy to pose as long as he in turn allowed her to take measurements. 

Marinette brought out what was best in him and he would be damned if he let her just suffer in silence. 

Marinette was so tired that she found herself unable to sleep. This day was so full of emotions: both good and bad. 

When she first met Damian, back at the temple, he was rather cold and indifferent. He struck her as selfish even. But he was also dead honest and very serious about his loyalty. He even stabbed his own brother to defend her honor. Okay, after spending the day with him she was pretty convinced he would stab him for some more meager reason, but it was still… cute in some strange way. Nobody has ever done something like this before. Even Chat Noir never stabbed anyone to defend her honor. Hit on the head with a baton? Sure. But never stab. And he threatened Lila. Marinette was unsure if he wouldn’t actually follow up on his threat. 

The date she went on was great. She felt the freedom unlike ever before. She knew she could tell him anything since they already knew each others’ greatest secrets. She could freely tell him about her adventures as Ladybug. And he was also quite handsome when he smiled. Not that he wasn’t when he was not smiling, but she liked his smile. His actual smile not the malicious grin he often wore. Damian played the cold and closed mean guy, but he was actually quite soft. He loved animals and painting. He even wanted to sketch her! Damian was yet very grounded person. He had this no-nonsense aura around himself. But he was patient enough to endure with her small panic attacks. She remembered his gentle touch on  her hands. His words of encouragement. And his deep green eyes. They were two whirlpools of emerald. So majestic, yet so caring. With that image imprinted on her mind she finally fell asleep. Her dreams were undisturbed by a knocking on her window.

-------------

Next day Marinette woke up still tired, but in much better mood. She was ready for school. Well, good for her since she was almost late like usual. In panic, she quickly grabbed her purse and was about to run downstairs when Tikki flew in front of her.

“Marinette! Aren’t you forgetting something?” The girl looked around and didn’t catch what Kwami ment. “Your clothes!” Marinette looked down and saw she was still in her pijama. In record time she managed to dress up and was about to run downstairs when Tikki stopped her again. “Backpack?” Once again Marinette rushed to grab her things and get down and not get late. Her parents were already waiting for her in the bakery. 

“Here is your breakfast cherie.” Her mother smiled handing her a box of pastries. 

“And here is something special for you to share with your boy.” Her father smiled and handed her a box of macaroons. They both had a smile.

“And remember Mari. If he hurts you, just say a word and I will break his every bone into dozen pieces.” Her mother gave her most prominent smile ever. Somehow, it made the threat even more real.

“I will maman. Bye papa! Bye maman!” Marinette shouted and run away before they offered more ‘help’. She loved them, but after yesterday’s evening she was not sure she would allow them to meet Damian any times soon. She couldn’t protect him forever, seeing as he was technically her husband, but she could at least give them some time to get used to the idea of her dating someone. Maybe once Hawkmoth was gone. She did not want to have to escape from another thorny prison. Or maybe after the trip to gotham. They should be happy to see her back that they might not outright kill him for marrying her without their knowledge. She fully planned on telling them everything once there was no threat looming over their heads. Marinette giggled imagining Talia facing her mother. It was funny that somehow the confrontation would always go in favor of Sabine. 

She barged into class almost right when the bell rang. None of her classmates cared enough to even batch an eye at her. She did notice Damian in the back and made her way to him.

“I swear… If that harlot tries telling another lie about me or my family, I will not even need the bleacher. They will never know where to look in the first place.” He growled.

“What did she say?” Marinette grasped. While Damian had a soft side, she also knew he would not hesitate to stab her, making it look like a nasty incident. 

“She kept babbling about how she knows the Waynes and She and Me have an on and off ‘thing’ and probably this whole trip is because we had a fight and now I want to apologize that way.” His hand twitched dangerously close to his sword. Why did he bring the sword today?

“I can’t let you just stab her. And it’s not like you can convince any of them change their minds that way.” Marinette placed her hand over his, at the same time making sure it would make it harder for him to grab the sword if he heard something more from Lila. “Here. My parents made them for us.” She opened the box of macaroons. 

“I am not a fan of sweets.” He answered, but with relief she noticed he stopped glaring daggers at Lila. 

“Then try this one.” She pointed to the yellow one. “It’s made with a bit of lemon juice to add more sourness.”

Damian reluctantly picked the treat and took a bite. Suddenly, the corners of his lips went up. She proudly watched the ‘ice prince’ smile at something so common as a macaroon. “This is a very good macaroon. I am sure it could rival whatever Alfred makes.” He exclaimed, trying not to sound overly excited.

“Somehow I feel like this is better compliment than when Uncle Jagged offered to write a song about my parents’ bakery…” She giggled. Damian looked at her stumped. She only giggled again. “You should’ve seen how Tim reacted when he heard. Suddenly next day Wayne enterprises ordered catering for the whole building. Apparently the CEO wanted to celebrate some deal. I am not sure if any worker besides Tim saw the pastries though.” 

“Knowing him? I have no idea. If it was Jason or Dick, they wouldn’t even make it to the building before this morons ate it all.” Then, a dark realization dawned on Damian. “Was by any chance a blonde with him when they picked up the order?”

“Uh… I don’t know. I was at school when it happened. Why?” 

Damian groaned. He should have connected the dots sooner. Brown was suddenly not hanging in the mansion twenty-four/seven and she was not seen on patrols. Father said that he was aware of her location. “If Brown is here too, then I am almost sure this pastries didn’t make it. And she might be causing a sudden jump in the bakery’s revenue.”

“Huh?” Marinette wasn’t following.

“Stephanie Brown is Drake’s girlfriend. Saying she has a sweet tooth is understatement of the century. More of a sweet jaw if you ask me. She can smell sweets from mile and always get there before you. Especially when Alfred is baking. And she can rival Cass in her stealth skill when it comes to stealing them.” Damian explained to Marinette and watched her stiffen another giggle. What was it with girls and giggling? But Damian had to admit Marinette looked cute when she did. Slow down Romeo or you will crash into a stop sign.

“Well then. I will be happy to bake her something. But Tim didn’t mention her.”

“He said he is running his independent investigation, so I assume you do not see him often?”

“Yeah. He is quite busy at the office. Isn’t he missing the school though?”

“Drake is seventeen and already has three P.H.D. He goes to school either to hang out with his less intelligent friends or to argue with the underpaid teachers by pointing every mistake and inaccuracy.” 

“Sounds like fun.” The mention of the teacher suddenly made Marinette aware that Madame Bustier was nowhere to be seen. “We’ve been sitting here for almost twenty minutes now. Maybe I will go check for her…” Marinette suggested more to herself than Damian. She was about to stand up when Madame Bustier walked into the class with Chloe following her. Only now anyone noticed that the blonde was gone. 

“Children. Chloe wanted to say something to all of you.” The teacher started.

“Yes. I wanted to apologize for my utterly ridiculous behavior in the past and hope that you will give me chance to earn forgiveness from the better part of you.” Chloe stated nonchalantly.

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Taglist (sorry if I missed you)@pheonixashtree @sassakitty @unabashedbookworm @vixen-uchiha @maggiecc12 @actualdisasterwoman @tired-butterfly @shizukiryuu @floralfi @imanerddealwith @northernbluetongue @krispydefendorpolice @toodaloo-kangaroo @dast218 @bluesoulblueheart @theatreandcomicfreak @disneyfoxuniverse @mindfulmagics @alwaysnumberonetruth @nyaabinch @jardimazul @lenamau @rosep16 @dramatic-squirrel @sonif50 @daminett4life @lulutheawkwardess @weird-pale-blonde-person @mooshoon @jeminiikrystal @mochegato @moonlightstar64 @dragonflyswing @silverwhiteraven @shamefullove @magic-miraculous @valeks-princess @heaven428 @mlbchaosqueen @winter-gardenflower @spicybelladonna @emo-elaine13 @vetilora @karukofox21 @my-name-is-michell  @sturchling @lokiifriggasonn @redscarlet95 @melicmusicmagic @interobanginyourmom @the-fusionist @razzledazzle247 @miss-mysterys-blog @darkthunder1589 @i-is-mysterious @catthhay @the-one-woman-army @zestyzealot @dahjokester @write-for-your-life2 @mermaidreject @peachedpocky

[hintofcolor]

Things I’ve managed to convince myself are canon:

Dick was born in Romania and spent his entire childhood traveling with the circus not once settling down therefore when his parents died in America (supposedly just another country they stopped in) he was forced to stay there. Meaning dick was an illegal immigrant for a long time while Bruce constantly was trying to use his money and power to get Dick legal without him leaving the country OR anyone finding out

This also means Dick couldn’t really speak English when he moved in with Bruce (this is backed up by him constantly dismantling the English language in the YJ cartoon)

All of the bat kids were bullied brutally in school

Bruce encouraged them to fight back just like Alfred did with him (“never throw the first punch but if get hit make sure they’re the ones that stay down”)

Dick spent a couple weeks in juvie after his parents died and it was the worst couple weeks of his life

Dick had a childhood crush on Wally (who is straight) when dick was 16 he sat Wally down and told him. He told him he expected nothing out of this confession he just hated feeling like he was lying to Wally, Wally understood and was really nonchalant about it nothing changed in their relationship

Jason grew up loving wonder woman and considered her his greatest inspiration in being a hero when he was robin

In return Diana absolutely adored Jason

When Jason got older his respect for Diana only grew and Diana constantly stood up for him, even going as far as (subtly) threatening Bruce a couple times

Jason can’t handle the smell of drugs at all, he always has to wear a filtered mask during drug busts just in case

Jason used to smoke but ever since coming back the smoke just reminds him of the explosion (I saw this somewhere I can’t remember where shout out to you tho)

Jason hates the color green

Tim was severely neglected as a child

Tim learned multiple different languages from all the nanny’s he’s had

Tim is an amazing photographer

All of Bruce’s kids are really close with Selina and go to her to talk or just if they need a break from Bruce and she absolutely adores it

This is one of the main reasons Bruce wanted to marry her

Bruce might be a little awkward and socially inept but he is a good father and loves all of his kids and even tho he might slip up sometimes he would NEVER (I’m looking at you Tim king) NEVER EVER intentionally hurt one of his kids physically or mentally BECAUSE THAT IS EXTEREMELY OUT OF CHARACTER @ ANY WRITER WHO HAS MADE BRUCE A JERK GOD LEARN YOUR CHARACTER JEEZ

Damian is a phenomenal artist and is considered a prodigy

It is something he keeps to himself however

Both Dick and Tim have gone and worked under Selina during thier robin days for a few weeks

The only person who is close to Dicks level when it comes to acrobatics is Selina

There are days where you are only allowed to speak in your native tongue to help Everyone keep up their language skills (Tim speaks Filipino dick speaks Romani Jason speaks Italian Stephanie speaks Portuguese Damian speaks Arabic bruce switches Cassie speaks Chinese) these are the days duke feels like slamming his head through a wall

All of the bat kids have green lantern shirts

Tim has a habit of stealing clothes from literally anyone

Tim prefers tea over coffee

Ace and Titus are both trained service dog however Titus is Damians specifically while Ace is trained to alert Alfred of Bruce and to alert Bruce of Dick Tim and Jason

Bruce is think about getting another dog for Cassie steph and duke because he doesn’t want to overwhelm Ace with 3 more people

Nobody in that spoiled family except for Jason and Alfred can make ANYTHING other that ramen cereal and toast

Dick is insanely healthy because that’s how he grew up in the circus AND the manor

Bruce once lit the refrigerator on fire trying to cook. No one knows how. He denies he ever did such to this day

Dick was considered a heartthrob as a teen and actually was featured on vogue in native dress and took the opportunity to talk about his culture

Vickie was fuming but so was Lois

Dick dresses like Harry styles. Convince me otherwise. I dare you.

However his go to look is a Hawaiian short tucked into black skinny jeans and black converse

Just like Selina everyone in the batfamily has a tendency to confide in Dinah

No homophobia sexism or racism is allowed in the Wayne house hold if you display any of the following you will promptly be kicked out. It has happened before

Cassie has punched lex Luther in the face at a gala

Bruce laughed

Cass has also only worn sweats and a sports bra to a gala

Cass is a ballet dancer and likes teaching her brothers the moves she has learned

When Bruce came back from the dead and found out the justice league thought Tim was going insane with grief and didn’t do anything about it he yelled and screamed for a solid hour. Then he went silent. for weeks he didn’t say a word. It was the most terrifying he had ever been

Duke hangs on to the fact that he is the only meta allowed in Gotham with absolute pride

All the robins check in on the kids from the ‘we are robin’ movement every now and again just to make sure they are okay

Adults are terrified of the bats however children love them

Every member of the batfamily has been called over by child screaming out their window only to spend the next hour helping said child with their homework

Batman makes sure he is approachable to children he wants them to feel safe enough around him to ask for his help no matter what

That has led to him: 1. Patching up stuff animals 2. Calming down imaginary friends 3. Giving opinions on important matters such as which color is the best 4. Helping with homework 5. Trying to be persuaded into convincing the parents not to make broccoli anymore. It’s his favorite part about putting on a mask

Teenagers tho a little more hesitant also approach him with a little more serious matters and more for advice. (How can I help my friend with depression? How can I help my anxiety? I think friend is doing drugs how can I help. I don’t think these are good people I’m hanging out with but now I’m too scared to stop)

However if teens catch any bat sitting on a rooftop close to their windows they ask more stupid type of questions

“Hey nightwing how do you ask out a girl?” “Red hood I’m trying to write this book so hypothetically how long does it take some one to bleed out?” “If I payed you would you take my physical for PE for me?” “How good do you think you would do on the pacer test?” “Can you tell my little sister to shut up, she’ll listen to you?” “How much do I have to pay you to scare my friend?”

Talks between people and the vigilantes from rooftop to window happen a lot and it is always the highlight of the patrol. They like that the people of Gotham trust them.

Jason was brought back via whatever that superboy reset was (I’m still a little fuzzy, sue me) clawed his way out of his grave and then found by Talia. He was then but in the pit for his head injuries. Making it easier for the shadows to manipulate and brainwash him into hating Bruce. However that’s the only thing they manipulated him into. Jason didn’t go ‘insane by the pit’ and his thoughts and stances on killing are his own. And the way Bruce handles Jason being back is what made Jason continue hating Bruce even aged the brainwashing ‘wore off’

The day his dad died was what Jason considered the best day of his life

Dick is extremely intelligent and was considered a child prodigy (this isn’t a headcanon this is actually canon some of y’all just forget and need to be reminded)

Dick loves math (also canon)

Jason can sing. Like really really well.

Theater Nerd™️ Jason Todd

Jason is scared of thunderstorms

Damian is afraid of heights

Lady shiva absolutely adores Tim

They have all been arrested a few times each for varying reasons when they were teenagers

If Alfred or Bruce yell one thier full names the other kids will cover for them but ONLY if they use the full name other wise it’s every man for himself

I know this one isn’t batfam but I think kon playes the electric guitar and has a really unique punk-ish vibe type singing voice (think hobo Johnson)

Dick has naturally curly hair

[mediaevalmusereads]

The Only Good Indians. By Stephen Graham Jones. New York: Little, Brown Books, 2017.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Genre: literary fiction, horror (?)

Part of a Series? No

Summary: The creeping horror of Paul Tremblay meets Tommy Orange’s There There in a dark novel of revenge, cultural identity, and the cost of breaking from tradition in this latest novel from the Jordan Peele of horror literature, Stephen Graham Jones. Seamlessly blending classic horror and a dramatic narrative with sharp social commentary, The Only Good Indians follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.

***Full review under the cut.***

Content Warnings: blood, gore, animal death, violence

Overview: A friend who teaches horror fiction at the college level recommended this book to me, and I had fairly high expectations. I love a creepy novel, and I was looking forward to an Indigenous horror story that played with some of the tropes I was accustomed to seeing. Unfortunately for me, I had mixed feelings when I turned the final page. While some scenes were definitely evocative, and I liked some of the imagery, I ultimately wanted more of a sense of dread. I also found Jones’s prose style to be hit or miss (depending on the section), so as a result, this book is a 3-star read for me. Readers who enjoy horror, however, might like this a little more than I did. I’m admittedly a little picky when it comes to the genre.

Writing: Jones’s prose seemed to work really well for me at times and really hold me back at others. Especially towards the beginning, I personally found it hard to follow, in part because it felt like Jones was using a lot of slang I didn’t understand along with some unclear syntax here and there. There were also some sentences that felt like they were rambling, and while I think Jones was going for was a kind of laid-back style that imitates speech patterns, and that may work for some, it didn’t always work for me.

There were moments, however, when the laid-back style really set the mood of a particular scene. I think Jones’s rambling sentences and casual tone helped illustrate what life feels like for characters struggling not to become Native stereotypes, and I liked seeing the characters in their day-to-day lives (before the horror happens).

There were moments in these types of scenes, however, where I felt like Jones relied on a lot of telling over showing. Sometimes, Jones describes a character or object or event and then he’ll give a sentence or two of backstory or explain the significance of the thing, or else reference something that happens off-page or in the past, and it felt like I was being asked to absorb that significance right away so that the events in the moment had more meaning. I understand that a lot of these references are meant to evoke a kind of lived experience or “realistic” vibe, and overall, it wasn’t an overwhelming problem. I just happened to notice some sentences here and there.

Plot: This book primarily follows four friends as they are “hunted” down by a vengeful elk spirit (?). Without giving anything away, I will say that I didn’t quite feel an overwhelming sense of dread while reading, and I think it’s because I didn’t feel the psychological impact of the horror or past event. While characters were definitely affected by creepy images and phenomena, and there were probably some cultural implications that went over my head, I ultimately didn’t feel like the characters were mentally or psychologically affected by what happened in the past. Maybe I could say something about Lewis’ paranoia - and indeed, I think that was well done. But the others... not so much.

I also think the pacing felt a little off, and events didn’t really build on one another. While I did like reading about the characters’ everyday lives, it ultimately felt like I was reading literary fiction punctuated by a gory scene here and there. I’m picky about my horror, though, so this criticism might be personal preference. As a piece of literary fiction, this book would have absolutely worked for me. As horror, not so much.

Aside from that, there were moments where I thought characters ended up in situations or did certain things that weren’t wholly believable, and it made me think that Jones was writing them so plot things could happen. For example, in part two, Cass’s girlfriend, Jo, is hiding under the truck for some reason (did she see the elk spirit? We don’t actually know), and doesn’t come out when she hears Cass and Gabe fighting. She needs to be under the truck for something to happen (which I won’t spoil), and it just felt odd to me.

Characters: This book primarily follows 4 characters’ POV: Lewis (in part one), Gabe and Cass (part two), and Gabe’s daughter, Denorah (part 3). Personally, I found the character studies (rather than the horror plot) to be the best parts of this book.

Lewis is interesting in that he’s left the reservation and tried to make a life for himself with a white woman. I liked that he had his quirks - he liked to read trashy fantasy novels and worked on his motorcycle a lot - and I liked that his paranoia about the elk spirit created a kind of tension in the narrative. While reading his perspective, I wasn’t sure if the elk spirit was literal or something Lewis made up to symbolize his guilt, and I think Jones did a good job showing that Lewis’s paranoia made him think and act in strange ways.

Gabe and Cass are also well-developed in that they have their own lives on the reservation, but struggle to keep their head above water, so to speak. I appreciated getting a glimpse into what challenges they faced and how some of those challenges come from a clash between “traditional” and “modern/contemporary” culture. While I didn’t quite find Gabe and Cass as interesting as Lewis (in part because they barely remember the event from the past that triggers this whole “vengeful elk spirit” plot), they weren’t bad characters by any means. I liked Cass’s focus on horses and his plans for a future with Jo; and I also liked Gabe’s complicated relationship with his daughter.

Denorah was sympathetic in that she had some very clear goals for her life, and as a reader, I wanted very much for her to achieve those goals. She loves basketball, and readers can see that in the way she acts and thinks. But as much as I liked Denorah, I think her section (part 3) tended to drag out a little bit, perhaps because Denorah comes face-to-face with the elk spirit and the spirit’s vengeance felt a little misdirected. I also think the book as a whole ended somewhat abruptly; because the book ends with Denorah, I wanted a little more from her, like a commentary on the past and how she takes the pain of the past and uses it to move forward. Instead, it felt a little like a bunch of bad things happened at random, and there wasn’t much of a “lesson” (not that books need them, but I’m picky about my horror - I like the scary things to comment on something).

Supporting characters such as Lewis’s wife (Peta), Lewis’s coworker (Shaney), Cass’s girlfriend (Jo), etc. were likewise well-written and seemed complex. I don’t have much to say about them without giving away plot points, but I do think they served their purposes.

The elk spirit was... complicated. As a character, I didn’t really connect with her, despite Jones writing a couple of chapters from her POV. While I understand the desire for vengeance, I didn’t really feel it in my bones, so all the violence in the book that the spirit commits feels random and superficial. I think I would have connected with the spirit more if Jones had included more passages from her POV, getting us to empathize with her pain a little more or at least providing some kind of commentary on the rights of nature or something. But this might be personal preference, so take this criticism with a grain of salt.

TL;DR: Despite a lack of dread or suspense, The Only Good Indians is a welcome addition to the horror genre, using spooky, disturbing imagery to underline the struggle of four Blackfeet characters trying to make a life for themselves. While die-hard horror fans might find this book lacking, Jones’s novel will absolutely appeal to literary fiction readers, as the character studies are the strongest and most compelling parts of the book.

[lowkeysaurus]

Queen of My Heart ; Draco Malfoy

summary: draco’s always loved watching you do your hair. prompt: "until that day, you know you are the queen of my heart.” requested? “ would you be open to doing a draco x black fem reader where they have a kid and she’s teaching how to do their hair :) and then draco can’t help but to boast that he did their hair everytime his family or someone compliments it :) “ pairings: draco malfoy/reader warnings: n/a, pure fluff notes: black!female!reader

Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research, thereby I do not own the rights to any of the characters shown in the below writing.

Draco had always loved watching you do your hair. The first time he’d met you, he’d been absolutely enamored. He’d seen people of colour before of course, he wasn’t surprised by that, but by the simple and yet elegant way your hair was done. He’d quickly befriended you and he’d always been very respectful, had been willing to listen to you complain about your struggles, how it always took ages to do your hair, how social prejudice held you back from doing the things you love even as a child, and how dehumanizing it was for random people to come up and ask you if they could touch your hair. He remembered your words clearly, it was fourth year, shortly before you’d begun dating; “I hate it, Draco. I get it, they like my hair, but for years I’ve been treated differently for it and I just want it to stop. It’s like they treat me like a dog, like they can just come up and ask my owner if they can pet me. I’m not an animal, for merlin’s sake.” she’d ranted, head laying in his lap as his hand stroked her arm, thumb rubbing in circular patterns. Back then he’d thanked the heavens that he’d never asked that, he’d never want to make you feel like that. Maybe that’s why it didn’t shock him when he’d lashed out that one time in fourth year when everyone was putting their names in the goblet, one of the durmstrang boys had been walking confidently down the aisle, trying to subtly edge around him to get to the goblet, and had pat your hair and winked at you in passing. Maybe the boy had thought he was being kind, but Draco had watched your face fall and your hands clasp in your eyes, and within seconds his fist had flew forward and, with a mighty crack, he’d broken the boy’s nose. he’d got detention for to weeks for physical assault, but he’d never felt sorry for what he’d done. When asked by Dumbledore in his office to apologize, he’d refused. He remembered your look of awe as he spoke; “With all due respect, I’m not going to apologize for something I’m not sorry for, Professor.” You kissed him after you’d both left the office, knocked the wind right out of him in fact, and gained yourself an evening’s detention from Snape for indecent behavior and public displays of affection.

These days it was both the same and different. You have a son and a daughter, Scorpius and Cassiopeia, Cass for short. Scorpius took after his father for the most part, his skin an orange-brown, almost tawny in shade, though his hair was the same as yours; cloudy, luxurious umber curls. He has his father’s eyes, however; a striking, icy blue-grey. Cass, though, at the age of seven wasn’t particularly satisfied with her hair. She went to a normal wizarding primary school, though she’d quickly noticed how her hair was much different from the others, how her skin was much different too. The first time she’d questioned her father about it, you could swear he had a heart attack. Draco wasn’t the most skilled on 4C hair, in any departments, whether it was actually doing it or just knowing about it. That being said, he’d tried to use you as an example of how beautiful her natural hair was, only for you to walk through the door wearing a weave. To say he felt like crap in that moment was an understatement. After she’d walked off to her room, her shoulders down and her feet dragging dejectedly, he’d explained everything to you. The next day, Draco took Scorpius to get his hair done; he’d come back with a fade and finger-waves, and your daughter had loved it. Scorpius had too, but he was much less vocal about it; he went to school with Blaise’s son, and he’d made friends with Dean Thomas’s daughter, too, and he was also just on a whole not as bothered about hair. Your daughter, though, couldn’t stop gushing. She’d tug on her father’s hand incessantly, eyes wide and bright as ever while her lips pulled into the widest smile he’d seen her wear in weeks, and asked if he could do her hair. He agreed, he’d never been able to refuse the true queen of his heart; only to have to get you to show him how to do it on your own head the same night. You were exhausted the next day, it took some time to teach him and the tugging at your scalp from both of you had left your head sore, and Draco was equally as tired, and so the day after that he’d sat your daughter down in front of your dressing table and he’d done her hair. The style they had decided on was crochet braids. The day before, you’d gone out and bought the bundles even as tired as you were, and today he set to work. It took hours, as Draco wasn’t the most experienced. They took plenty of breaks when his back began to hurt, or when her neck began to hurt, or her head or his fingers, but they got it done. And oh, didn’t she look beautiful. Your husband had done his best to achieve the look she wanted, and while not the neatest, he’d kept going until he got it right. He’d tried his very best, and she looked amazing. To you, you could see how some of the curls had gotten loose with all the fiddling, how some of the braids weren’t as tight as they would have been if you’d done it, but you were so very proud of him anyway. Cass insisted on calling her friends, Lily and Rose and their brothers over to show them her hair. You’d tried to compromise with sending pictures to their parents, knowing how Draco hadn’t been the best of friends with their parents during school, but she’d insisted, and Draco had always been soft for his daughter. Scorpius had managed to wrangle you into calling Blaise and Dean over too, and by extension Seamus and Neville, and with Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny came George and Luna, too. To say the manor was full that day was an understatement. Lucius and Narcissa still stayed with you, though Draco’s grandfather had died while you were still at school, and Narcissa had insisted on Andromeda and Teddy coming too. You didn’t object, only watched all of the children play with Draco and Dean, dogpiling the two adults while joyful laughter filled the air. You sipped your tea and hummed, smiling as Draco eventually escaped and made his way towards your. When Hermione turned to you with a wide grin on her face and laid her hand on your shoulder, you paused at her words, allowing Draco to speak. You watched with barely concealed pride as her eyes widened in surprise, and she began to giggle along with Harry and Ron, and Blaise jabbed at your husbands ribs in jest. “Oh, don’t go complimenting her like that, Granger. That was all me.” You could never be prouder.

[miss-choco-chips]

Young Just us college au

Rent a room, Dick said. It’ll be a nice experience. Don’t just buy a flat, that’s boring and lonely.

Tim had tried to tell his brother that maybe he prefered lonely to crazy, but Dick had insisted. And everyone knew just how difficult dealing with that could be, so he knew better than to resist.

At least, he had tried to comfort himself, he knew the people he’d be rooming with. They were all his friends, an odd assortment of assholes he’d picked up on school, summer camps, vacation trips, scientific events, even comic cons, and just… fell platonically in love with them.

Maybe, as Dick said, it would be fine.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

No, it wasn’t fine.

-Jay -he whispered into the phone, hoping he wouldn't be heard by the others on the other side of the door- Jay, they are crazy. I need extraction asap. We could fake my death and I can go to University somewhere else.

The older man laughed in the other end of the receiver, the sound of pages rustling indicating Tim had caught him during his daily grading paper sesion. That was the sound of crying students dying over carefully demolished arguments.

-They are all your friends, Timbo. If you fake your death, you’ll need to start over again and meet new people.

Tim hissed.

-Exactly, babybird. Also, this is day one of sharing a house, how bad can it possibly be?

-Jay, they left the kitchen lights on. It’s daytime! Why the hell do they need the lights on? Aren’t they aware of how big the bill is gonna be if they are like this?

-...Timmy, you… you are a billionaire. I think that should be the last of your concerns.

-That’s not the only thing. It’s so noisy, Jay. I choose the attic room hoping it’ll be nice and quiet. It’s not. I can hear everything. What do I do if some of them pair up? I’ll be stuck here listening to them having sex forever!

-...I don’t know where to begin.

-You can start by contacting B for me. He was right when he said it wasn’t a good idea for me to live with other people. But I can’t call him to help me out of this, because I think Dick blocked my number in his phone, and my emails don’t seem to be reaching him.

-He said it because you are the purest of his children, and he knew college was corruptive enough without adding dorm sharing to it; that was his version of helicopter parenting. But Timbo, it’s moving day. You’ve been there for less than five hours. And you already emailed B?

-The first thing Slobo did when he came in was to fart. In the middle of the living room. I can’t live with them, they are animals!

-They are your best friends, you’ve known them forever.

-But I never had to deal with them in a closed space for an unlimited amount of time!!! I’m trapped here.

-...

-...!

-...Are you hiding in a closet?

-...no. That would be stupid, in a three story house where I have my own/

-You are, ain’tcha?

-I am. Please help me?

Long sigh- I’ll meet you for coffee on the place near the Economics building so you have an excuse to be out for the evening while the others finish their moving. You’re done with your part, right?

-Yes! Thank you!

-You owe me.

-Next time Dick wants bonding time, I’ll sacrifice myself volunteering so you can run.

-And this is why you’re my favorite. Be there in ten.

-.-.-.-.-.-

-Tim? Tim! Here you are!

Blinking was a thing Tim suddenly remembered he needed to do, and he did it a few times as his eyes were dragged away from his book by a pair of hands on his cheeks.

-Kon? What are you doing in the library?

The other boy was panting slightly, flushed from what Tim guessed was a desperate run there.

-I was looking for you! You never came back after classes were done for the day, and you didn’t pick up your phone. We were very worried, dude. 

-I was just studying, chill.

-It’s almost midnight.

No, it couldn’t be.

-No, it isn’t.  I haven’t been here that long.

Serious and slightly worried, Conner thrusted his own phone in Tim’s face and… uh. Look at that. It was nearly midnight.

-Oh. Got distracted with research, sorry.

-It’s been barely two weeks, how much can you possibly need to study?

Unprompted, Kon started to help him pack his books and papers. He seemed utterly amazed by the almost illegible graphs and charts.

-No, this isn’t homework. I’m working on a thing for WE…

The rest of the way home was spent with Tim talking Conner’s ear off about shit he had absolutely no idea about, but didn’t complain, just holding Tim’s backpack with one hand while steering his sleep deprived friend back home with the other.

-.-.-.-.-.

-Bart? -Tim yawned, getting into the kitchen and raising a confused eyebrow at his friend- It’s… three am. What are you doing awake?

-Stress baking -the smaller boy replied, never stopping stirring the bowl- You?

-Papers and presentations.

-Classes or WE?

-Bit of both. What are you making?

-Cupcakes. Want some?

-They’ll go great with coffee, thanks.

They spent the next half hour waiting for the oven to do its magic talking about video games, classes and evil teachers.

-Your brother is the worst. TA. Ever. He always grades my papers and he’s a bitch about them.

-He relishes in the pain. It’s what keeps him young. I swear he never grew  past fifteen.

-It’s scary, and honestly so annoying. Like, I get pointing out mistakes, but he doesn’t need to be a passive aggressive ass about it.

-I’ll let him know what you think.

-Please don’t. I’m afraid of him, and the power he holds in his hands. The power to make me fail Creative Writing.

-Why are you even taking that class? Actually, what even is your major?

A shrug, and before Bart could open his mouth to reply, the timer let them know the cupcakes where done.

-You can have one before bedtime, dude. The circles under your eyes look like make up at this point. 

-You are one to talk, mister Stress Baking at Three in the Morning.

-But unlike you, I don’t have to be up at the ass of dawn. C’mon, have one of these and back up you go.

-Bite me.

-I’d rather bite this peanut butter miracle, but if you insist…

-No! Bart, get away from me!

-Then go to bed!

-Go to hell!

-I AM in hell! I have Jason Fucking Todd as my TA!

-IF YOU DON’T GO BACK TO BED RIGHT NOW, I’LL KICK YOU BOTH ALL THE WAY THERE! -Cassie’s voice echoed in the walls, and they both blanched at the reminder that her room was, in fact, in ground floor.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A part of college Tim had never considered, let alone readied himself for, was the… party bit. 

-What do you mean, of course you’re coming -laughed Anita, clutches firm on Tim’s sleeve as she dragged him into hers and Cassie’s room.

-No, I have to study for…

-You don’t have any midterm or final this week. I know, because I checked. No papers due either. This is literally the perfect time for you to party. 

-I can’t, I…

-Suck at socializing? Yeah, cher, I’m aware. That’s why awesome me is taking you as my plus one for this party. No need to thank me, glad to be your social buffer whenever you need me.

Tim started to resist in earnest when they got into the room and he caught a glimpse of the clothing Anita had apparently chosen for him.

-There’s no way I’m fitting into those pants! Let me go!

-I’ve seen you squeezing your butt into the vent that one time when Kon threw the key to the coffee maker cabinet inside it. If you could get in there, these pants are a piece of cake.

-No!

-Don’t make me hurt you, Drake.

-Anita…!

-Ugh! -she stopped, dropping Tim on her bed and crossing her arms. She averted her eyes- My ex is gonna be at the party. I might have been exaggerating a bit when I said I was over him, but I already promised my friends I was gonna be there. I… could really use your help here. I know it’s not your scene, but Kon and Bart have midterms, Slobo would straight up punch my ex with his astounding lack of subtlety, Miguel is away dealing with family stuff, and the girls are awesome but not really what I need right now.

A pause.

-Okay, but I’m absolutely not putting on that crop top. And we better not end up wasted, I have a reputation to uphold.

Spoiler alert: he did put on the crop top. And they had to call Conner to walk them home after the third time Tim walked into a lamp post and Anita fell into the campus’ pond.

-.-.-.-.-

They were walking back home late on a Friday when they were approached by a group of stupid, drunk dudebros. Tim was already dreading the moments to come before they even spoke, just by the way they kept eyeing Cassie’s legs and Anita’s rack. Cissie herself was wearing loose pants and a sweater, so she was safe from their disgusting examination. Not that it kept her from crossing her arms and looking down at the assholes.

-Heyyyyy, ladies. Wanna go clubbing with us?

Tim shrugged- He’s talking to you, girls. I’m out. Have fun.

Cassie caught him by his hoodie before he could take a single step. He heard her warning clear as day and sighed, defeated.

-Yess, you can go -slurred Dudebro number two, waving him away- There’ three of us, and three of those pretty things. You can get lost. 

-See, Cass? Hear the gentlemen. You don’t need me here.

Anita kicked him in the shin.

-No. We just got our nails done. You either solve this peacefully, or take care of it if it turns dirty. Why do you even walk us home if not to protect us from creepers like these?

A loud ‘hey’ came from the dudebros, but Tim ignored them. Silently, he pointed at Cassie’s legs (he had seen her crushing a watermelon between them once), Cissie’s arms (a thing of beauty that made multiple lesbians all around campus cry) and Anita’s katana (that she wasn’t supposed to keep on her person around other students, but who was gonna enforce any rules on the girl with the giant knife?).

-Excuse me? You three should be protecting me. I’m a rich, sheltered boy.

Apparently done being ignored, the three idiots decided this was a good time to throw the first punch. Which Tim dodged, without breaking eye contact with Cassie. She raised her eyebrow, not moving an inch. Cissie was examining her nails. Anita’s eyes promised hell.

He sighed, turned around, caught the second coming punch, and used the hand under his palm to force the dudebro to his knees. A knee to the face and then he turned to the other two. 

Next time, Slobo was walking with them.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Flip side:  the attic room had its own bathroom. Significantly smaller than the ones on the other two floors, but hey, no sharing. 

The downside: apparently, the bathroom vents all connected with one another, and because of their aligning schedules, he often took showers at the same time Miguel did.

Flip side: Miguel had the singing voice of an angel, and the acoustic was fantastic. Showers were rarely boring now.

Downside again: Tim often forgot himself and sang along, but his voice… wasn’t as pretty.

Flip side again: at least, judging by Miguel’s smile, he found it adorable rather than pathetic.

Downside number three: Greta and Cissie’s room, by some unsolved mystery, also had connecting vents to the bathroom, and the archer girl was… less charitable about Tim’s inability to sing.

Flip side: Greta liked him better than most of their house mates, and she had more than enough dirt on Cissie to keep her from sharing the secret of Tim’s awful voice. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

-Hey, baby bird. Sorry I’m calling just now, it’s been a while.

-Hey Jay. Don’t worry, you’re busy grading papers.

-How do you know?

-Bart was crying in the tub this morning. Completely clothed and eating nachos with whipped cream, I might add.

-What is that boy even studying? I know he has Chem classes, Roy is his TA, and Kory saw him in the designer’s building. 

-That is an unsolved mystery for the ages. 

-Hey, speaking of your housemates, how’s it going?

Tim stopped on his way out of the kitchen, eyes growing fond as he examined the group on the living room. They were fighting over that night’s movie choice. He didn’t know why they tried, Greta was gonna win. Nobody could resist her and Miguel’s puppy eyes. 

-It’s… it’s been great, actually.

-Uh huh.

-But don’t tell Dick. He’ll be unbearably smug.

-Of course I won’t. You still have that time I crashed B’s favorite car on me.

-Oh, Oh fuck! -came Slobo’s voice- TIM, BRING THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER!

A loud crash. Tim winced, eyes leaving his friend in favor of the wall. If he didn’t see it, it wasn’t happening.

-TIM, BUD, WE NEED SOME HELP HERE!

-...what was that, Timbo?

-Nothing.

-TIM, TIM, THE TV IS ON FIRE!!! COME QUICKLY BEFORE IT REACHES THE XBOX OR SO HELP ME GOD I’M MURDERING EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM!

-...Tim?

-Don’t tell B.

-Gotcha. Going to save their lives?

-More like hiding in my room until they sort themselves out or die. Good luck on those papers.

-Good luck on surviving.

[lightwormlol]

ACOFAS REVIEW -INC SPOILERS

4.5 stars.

Okay, so! This was the first book I was able to finish in 2021. I've kinda been in a reading slump, and struggling to get past the 30-50% of books. I think its because I took essentially 3 months off my normal (daily) reading schedule and have been prioritising other things (health, fitness, job applications etc) - I think it's a testament to how addicted I was to this that I finished and consumed this at the rate I did! I recently went back and added some things to my ACOWAR review. To briefly summarise, I feel that, at the time I read it, it kind of gave me what I needed, but it definitely isn't getting a re read - my love for feysand has definitely lessened over time, but honestly i'm not that mad at sarah for this, as I find that whenever I've passed the sexual tension part of relationships in books, I tend to get bored of the domestic bliss. Like, leave that shit for an epilogue and keep it at that? As someone generally averse to relationships, but there is definitely a grace period for how long I can actively be smitten with a couple... before it becomes sickly. Taking all this into account, I honestly was nervous for this book, its release date totally took me by surprise, and I read it on a whim. As a Nessian shipper (I mean we didn't really have a choice after acomaf but to delve into the world of fanfic to keep us going) - this book gave me most of what I wanted and needed from them! I think,(some) kudos to SJM, for not disappointing in their relationship. This was definitely a character > plot driven story. In terms of the plot, I wasn't really invested until around the 38% mark? I'm not sure if I was adjusting to the writing style (lots of dramatic. sentences. that. are. so. abrupt. Nesta Archeron. Death etc) - or if it was bc I hadn't read an SJM book since the novella, which I basically skimmed. I was obviously reading for Nessian, but I didn't really feel intrigued by the wider plot (death gods, the human queens? Given I had lost my previous obsession with the world/ have outgrown 'fandom' culture, that made me actively update my knowledge, I couldn't remember a lot!) I think its clear that SJM excels character driven stories, but I think her worldbuilding and execution is significantly better in the throne of glass franchise. Now, I did say this was a character driven story. This is mostly regarding Nesta, Cassian and Azriel. I loved pretty much any interaction they had! I love a good training montage. Ngl though, I think, unless you possess an ardent love for Nessian, you're not going to be particularly wowed by this, if you've read heir of fire, or even acomaf. I obviously am never going to be able to be objective, because I've loved nessian so much from 2017-now, but I loved the dynamic those two (and three - friendship wise between nes/cass/az). One of the highlights of ACOWAR for me was the snippets of Az, showing tenderness, and opening up to the newer members of the inner circle (and i'm excluding any hint of an Elriel ship because FUCK THAT LOL) For me, the tip with SJM books is: once you outgrow them/the particular mode of narrative style, is to not anticipate anything other than a character driven story, albeit one riddled with smut. I personally am a romance heavy reader, so I'm honestly deconditioned to it at this point, (like, when I see reviewers scandalised I'm like... wow, the amount of trash I have consumed in the last five years loool.) While I disagree with the fact SJM marketed this series as y/a (or maybe it wasn't her per se, but the key booksellers definitely did this for her) - I think its clear enough now she's descended into the adult/borderline erotica genre.(very mild imo). I personally like to adopt a policy of skimming sex scenes when I find the dialogue cringy (most the time it is lets be honest any talking is v second hand embarrassment). Cassian and Nesta were definitely better than Rhys and Feyre post chapter 55 though! I was so glad there weren't a million moments of Cass/Nesta betraying their arousal with their scents, in front of everyone (like feysand, the voyeuristic pda pricks they are). I found the slowburn ish nature of their relationship great, and I actually think if you're a virgo/emotionally stunted reader, you will be happy with their relationship dynamic. It contrasts with the daemati sexual snark of acomaf, but it felt right, and authentic. This book was a journey of personal growth, for Nesta. It is clear SJM loves books about strong women, and maybe thats what makes me love this book so much. I think, out of all the archeron sisters, I love Nesta the most. This is for my Rose Calloway fans, my misunderstood, somewhat cold/left out girls, who are less receptive to being vulnerable. If you're a slowburn fan, it's not Mariana Zapata levels of slowburn, imo it's the perfect combo. Addictive enough that I don't want to put it down, but not so fast moving that I couldn't believe it. I loved the sex without emotion relationship they had!! This is honestly never done in mainstream n/a fantasy, unless its a caricature of a 'slut' that normally rivals the main character, lmao. Even if their inner conflict was p transparent, this gave me everything I needed! I know this is vapid lol but I also love the physical dynamic between the two, they just look so good together, the amount of fanart I'm going to reacquaint myself with after this review!! I adored seeing Nesta grow, (even if towards the end I kind of resented her sudden acceptance into the inner circle, i get SJM loves her and just wanted a fluffy ending, but, as a Nesta like character, it's awkward and stilted on her end to adjust to the inner circle like this - i mean, hugging rhys, really??)

I think, if I had to compare this to any other SJM book, I would say Chaols book (though I obviously preferred this). That being said, I felt less attached to new characters in this book than I was in even Chaols book (and even then ngl I remember nothing?) Obviously I loved what it represented, as a trio of traumatised women. I just, didn't love this the way I loved other inner circle members! I get that they gave Nesta exactly what they needed, a family that doesn't hold the history of her sisters, who she doesn't have to worry about holding preconceived notions of disappointment. I loved this for her! Even then.. I just wasn't attached to either of them. I found their interactions cute - but boring. Towards the end, when their stories/pasts are revealed, I couldn't help but cringe slightly, I can't put my finger on why, but I just didn't buy it. Maybe it's the brit in me but I couldn't be moved by this slightly forced bonding moment.. which was so anticlimactic. My 'aww how cute' tolerance is defo deserved for characters whose tropes I love. Maybe they just didn't fit into this list. Maybe I'm just being a cow here?

Now, let's speak about the real star of the show.... A FUCKING MAGICAL HOUSE FRIEND??? YESSSSSSS. IF YOU ARE AN ILONA ANDREWS INNKEEPERS CHRONICLES FAN, U WILL LOVE! How was the animation of this somehow more touching than all of nesta's other friendships combined? Exactly what I ordered, thank you. This trope somehow touches more than any material bonding!! The cute witch x house dynamic (also maybe howls moving castle vibes?) I loved the trying to reach the target of 10,000 steps (a little Celaena HOF). I think this, heir of fire and acomaf are my favourite SJM books for this reason. Gripes: I definitely had some personal gripes with how other members of the inner circle treated Nesta (rhys i'm looking at you. Disappointed doesn't even cover it.) I inherently take offence to any elain scene, as i'm so over bland characters whose existence is reduced to wanting to fucking plant flowers?? like?? really? To go from moriel to that is such a downgrade, even if I fell out of love with Mor due to the way she snubbed Nesta (you're a 500 year old being and you can't see someone is clearly traumatised?). I adore Az so much, but if it aint polyamorous, I cannot see any pairing with Elain making me happy. (wouldn’t mind gwyn though) I think the whole mating bond that I do not want is a good dynamic, but I really hate that everyone has to be mates in this world. I don't think we were that surprised, but it would've been nice if the somehow, idk, developed a strong bond over time, without it being preordained? Like, even if they do not all actively stay with their mate, given how disproportionate mates are among the general population, what's the likelihood 6 members of the inner circle (including lucien) have mates?

My advice? Read this book if you love nessian and the acotar world in general, but don't expect the world building to be consistent with greater fantasy series'. This style of story is obviously what to expect. She writes what she likes, and if her fantasy is this - then who are we, as readers, to expect otherwise?

Final rating: 4.5 (no, i'm not objective, but objectivity does not exist if you are a real, human being, lol)

Original Characters: 5/5 (nessian/az/house wise) 1/5 (feysand - really over how they essentially take over the very end of the book - ugh, I wanted nesta's arc to be wholly separate from them) Writing style: 3.5 Cringe Scale: Low, with the exception of some dialogue. New Characters: 2 Plot: I went into it with a 2 and came out with a 4. Not in terms of complexity, but in terms of how addictive and enjoyable this reading experience was! (less)

[glacecakes]

Alchemy Lullaby (7/?)

Of all the changes that came with living in the castle, becoming a father was not one he anticipated. When Eugene encounters a small child suffering like he did, he gives them the opportunity to grow up the way he never did... helping them both heal. (AU where Varian is 4 and gets adopted by Eugene)

Part 7: Varian spends his first Christmas with his family. There is no actual plot it's just fluff

Read the rest on AO3 

Part of an art trade for the lovely @finnoky once again! Finn is my partner in crime on this au so major shout out to him <3 Yes we are aware it is Halloween season but a) the timeline dictates Christmas and b) JUST LET ME HAVE MY CHRISTMAS SEROTONIN

Also a massive shoutout to the Scar Varian discord, who's support has cured my depression. And all of you! Seriously, the love for this fic is insane I don't know how to handle it lol. If you want more baby Varian content dm me! The Scar Varian server is where we brainstorm baby ideas like, daily. And it's a riot. If you have any ideas you wanna see for this AU send me an ask!  Also the next chapter is gonna be a world of pain enjoy this while it lasts

The castle was abuzz with joy. The maids flitted around the halls, some even humming as they strung up lights and garlands. The frosted windows shone light through their wreaths, basking everything in a wintery-white glow. Even Old Lady Crowley seemed less angry than normal, barking out orders at only half volume. 

Spinning around, Rapunzel hums an old Christmas song. She’s always loved this time of year! Christmas was watching snow, and cuddling up by the fire with chocolate, and cooking gingerbread…! There was so much to be excited about! Even if she never had an official Christmas with her family yet, her steps were light as a feather, confident in this year’s success. Her previous Christmases had been quiet, just her and sometimes Gothel. Now, she had a mother, a father, a boyfriend, and his son! To think, exactly one year ago she never would have thought this could be possible.

The princess twirled to a stop in the throne room. The place was decked to the nines, ribbons and garland and all sorts of red decorated every inch. And in the corner sat a perfect pine, already decorated head to toe. The candles shone down on a confused, pudgy face.

Varian tugged at one of the ornaments. Not hard enough for it to fall, but enough for it to jingle.

Oh, that’s right! She’s not the only one celebrating a first Christmas with family!

The little boy fiddled with the pine needles, marvelling at the bristles and poking soft fingers into needles. He stuck his tongue out and stood on his tiptoes, reaching for a candy cane tied to a higher branch. If only he was a little taller…!

Strong, warm hands wrapped around his stomach and lifted him skyward. 

“Need a hand?” 

Varian looked up at the princess and beamed. “Hi Punzel!”

“Hello, Varian. Did you want the candy cane?”

Varian blinked, confused. “No, I wanted the red hook.” He grabbed the candy cane off the tree and held up his prize. “See?” 

“That’s a candy cane, but it’s just for decoration. If you want actual candy canes, you can head down to the kitchens.” the princess gently took the decor from his hands. 

He frowned, trying to commit the term to memory. “What’s it for?”

“The candy canes?”

“No, the tree!” He yelled right into her ear. 

“Woah, inside voice.” Varian zipped his lip. “It’s for Christmas.”

“Ooooh. What’s that?” he asked.

Rapunzel’s smile fell off her face near instantly. How do you explain a holiday to a toddler…?

“Well, um,” she started. “It’s a day where we all get together and celebrate being a family. We exchange gifts under the tree, and eat snacks, and sing songs… there’s a lot of stuff to do! It’s very fun, you’ll like it a lot, I promise.” 

Thankfully, that seemed to satisfy him. “Celebrate family… like momma?”

“More like you, and me, and Eugene,” Well, and Cass and Lance and her parents, but no overwhelming the baby. Little at a time. 

Baby blue eyes glanced down at the floor. “But… momma is family.” 

There was no denying the wasps in her heart, stinging at the mention of Varian’s mother. How they burrowed deep, whispering how the boy saw Eugene as his father, but not Rapunzel as his mother. It was selfish, she knew it. Varian was much closer to Eugene, he was practically the man’s shadow. But as Eugene’s girlfriend (and hopefully future wife), there was no denying the wish for Varian to see her in a similar light.

Varian still saw that woman as family? That’s ok, he still needed time. Or maybe he’d always see her as family. That was ok too. But hopefully, they could assure Varian that his real family, his loving family, was there for him this Christmas.  

“Varian,” she whispered, gently lifting his chin to face him. “Family loves you, protects you. It’s ok if you still love your momma, but you weren’t safe with her. That’s why you have us now! We’re your family too, and we’ll celebrate Christmas with you, ok?” 

Varian nodded weakly, wrapping short arms around her waist. Outstretched arms squeezed him tight. Then, he broke off, skittering out of the throne room and likely towards the kitchen for those treats.

Rapunzel sighed as she watched him go. He was a smart little thing, learning faster than anyone could teach. On more than one occasion she spotted the precocious kid trying to heave a too heavy book around the library. One thing he was particularly fond of were the sciences. From Astronomy to Zoology, Varian ate it all up, greedily grabbing any book that even looked like it was informational. He was also a big fan of the Flynn Rider series, but that may be more because Eugene was so eager to share it with him. Ever since Lance told him Eugene used to be Flynn Rider, Varian assumed he’d meant the book Flynn, and his love for his dad became near fervent in nature. 

But while Varian adored learning about the world around him, there were certain things he struggled to pick up. Social cues were a big one. He was dreadfully shy around strangers, and a little hellion to those he knew. On one memorable occasion, Varian had insisted on dressing himself, resulting in a day of backwards shirts and missing pants. Anytime Eugene tried to fix it, he’d screamed like the man was stabbing him. 

Poor Eugene had needed a drink after that. 

The point is, Varian loved to learn, but he still struggled with sociability, not unlike Rapunzel when she first came home. It sounded like he grew up in the same way, isolated from other people, relying only on a controlling mother. Thankfully, Varian was saved at a much younger age. Rapunzel could only pray that meant he’d flourish now.

-

Varian struggled to understand the world around him sometimes. 

There were some things he understood perfectly well, like how Ruddiger was his friend. There were some things he knew were true but didn’t really get why, like how his family hated his momma. And there were some things he was completely lost on, which in this case, was Christmas. 

Everyone around him was so cheery, so lively, even more so than usual. Whenever he asked why, he got the same answer: It’s almost Christmas! Christmas is tomorrow! But when he asked what Christmas was, what Rapunzel meant by singing and eating and gifts, everyone had a different answer! How was he supposed to figure it out if everyone had a different idea of what Christmas was? 

Everyone was busy preparing for… something. Varian wasn’t sure what. A party, maybe? So soon after the last one? That party sucked, but at least he got to introduce Ruddiger to everyone.

After that debacle, Eugene hadn’t been so keen on letting Varian keep the baby raccoon. The boy wasn’t even 5 yet, how was he supposed to care for his own pet? Rapunzel mentioned she’d been about his age when she met Pascal, but apparently a chameleon and raccoon are two very different things. Bummer.

Eventually, they settled on a compromise: Ruddiger was an outdoor animal who belonged outdoors, but during the winter and night he was allowed to be inside. And once Varian got older, he might be allowed to keep Ruddiger full time! 

Since it was snowing today, Ruddiger got to happily trail the child, keeping close to his feet as they traversed the castle. He said hi to the maids and guards as he walked by, but right now, Varian was trying to find his family. He technically wasn’t allowed to wander the castle alone, but King Frederick was really the only stickler about that rule. Varian had survived 6 months on the street, he could survive the short walk to and fro. 

Just as he passed the kitchens, a sweet smell tickled his nose, followed by a deep, familiar voice singing. His pet noticed it too, already waddling into the kitchen. Varian followed, and sure, enough, Eugene’s best friend was there.

“Hi Lance!” Varian squeaked. He latched onto the burly man’s legs. 

Lance leaned down from his place by the stove. He’d just finished taking the gingerbread out of the oven, the golden brown sizzling on the sheet. Carefully, so as not to drop the sheet on the child, Lance set the cookies down with one hand and ruffled black hair with another. 

“Hey there, kiddo! I thought I told you to call me Uncle Lance,” he grinned at how Varian squirmed under his palm.

Varian giggled. “Eugene said you’re not really my uncle.” Those giggles doubled at Lance’s mock offended face. 

“After everything we’ve been through, after all I’ve done for him, and he won’t call me a brother!” He gripped his chest, and his knees sunk to the floor. “It hurts… my heart…” with an overdramatic wail, Lance fell back and squished Varian to the floor. His weight wasn’t entirely on this child, he didn’t want to crush him, but it was enough to send Varian sprawling. 

Honestly, Varian didn’t get why Eugene was so against him calling Lance his uncle. He didn’t even know what an Uncle was! Shrieking laughter emanated from the toddler. “Lance!! Get off!” He said.

“Sorry, can’t, Lance is dead.”

“Nooooo!”

“Yesssss, the only cure,” the thief sighed, “Is for a brave, smart kid to call him… uncle…”

“Uncle Lance!” Varian shrieked. “Uncle Lance get off!” Almost instantly he sat upright, freeing his prisoner. 

“I live!” He cried, scooping Varian up and standing. “Thank you, sweet child!” He smushed their cheeks together in joy, only letting go when he had to bat Ruddiger away from his creation. 

“No bud! Gingerbread is bad for raccoons… probably,” 

Varian hadn’t heard that word before. “Gingerbread?” It smelled so good, surely Lance wouldn’t mind if he stole one, right? The guy adored him.

“Ah-ah!” Lance spun away from the stove, cookies now out of reach. He ignored the whines. “Gingerbread cookies can only be eaten if they’re decorated.” Setting Varian on a nearby counter, the man grabbed a few icing pipettes and candy pieces. “Gingerbread men need gingerbread clothes!” 

The next hour was filled with messy cookies and sprawling icing. White sugar covered nearly every surface, as Varian couldn’t figure out the right pressure to use a pipette. Eventually he gave up, letting Lance do the drawing while he added buttons and eyes in the form of candies. Every so often, Varian would hand a small treat to Ruddiger, enjoying fuzzy whiskers that tickled his hand. It was a comfortable silence, both of them invested in their individual activity. By the time Lance finally spoke again, the sun had tracked across the room and shone through the window. 

“So,” he said, tongue sticking out as he drew a face onto his cookie. “Why Eugene?” His companion stuck his head up, confused. He licked the sugar off his fingers. “What about him made you want to stay with him?”

Varian glanced down, deep in thought. “He’s nice,” he started. “He gives me lots of hugs, and makes me laugh.”

“Yea? What else?”

“Eugene is… super cool! He’s pretty, and he let me keep Ruddiger, and he loves me…” his small voice trailed off. The heat from sunlight warmed his bones, layering him in laziness. A yawn escaped him. 

He was just about to doze off, mind still trying to think of compliments, when soft knocking shook him awake. Cassandra nodded at him, bundled up in her winter coat. 

“It’s high time someone got fresh air,” She said in her monotone voice, so Varian slid off the counter to join her. He waved to Lance on the way out, and off they went. 

No sooner than they left, Rapunzel peeked her head in. “Hey Lance! I have an idea…”

-

Ruddiger zoomed ahead, happily digging up snow and dirt to catch a meal. The winter sun was bright yet also weak, sparkling off snow mounds. Varian’s small boots kicked up powder as he walked, each step more exaggerated than need be. He gripped Cassandra’s hand tightly. Out of everyone Varian frequently interacted with, she scared him the most… except maybe for the King. But he trusted her not to let him get hurt, not after saving him from the Stabbingtons. 

Sure enough, she whispered “Careful, it’s slippery.” And lifted him up and over the patch of ice with just her hands. 

“Wow, you’re really strong,” She raised her eyebrow at him. 

“I have to be, it’s my job to keep Rapunzel safe.”

Just Rapunzel? Not him, not Eugene? What about the king? Didn’t they need protecting? Thankfully, Cassandra saw his confused face and smiled faintly. “And you, someone’s gotta clean up after you.”

“Eugene said it’s rude to leave things for the maids to clean up.” 

A look akin to shock overtook her face. She stopped walking, temporarily startled, forcing Varian to stop with her. “He said that?” A nod. “Huh. Guess he’s not a terrible father after all.”

That caught the child’s attention. Rage simmered in his gut, bubbling and twisting his insides around. He glared up at her with a look he hoped was intimidating, but judging by her veiled laughter, he’d failed. A booted foot stomped the snow, and by his side small black spikes sprouted. It wasn’t noticeable, only as tall as his shoelaces, but it was there regardless. Just as fast as it appeared, the rage fell down his body and leaked out into the earth.

“Don’t call Eugene bad,” Varian pouted, cheeks puffing up and lip jutting out. “He’s the best!”

“Oh yea? Why’s that?” Cassandra teased, resuming their walk. 

“He’s a reallllllly good reader. Like, really good. And he’s smart,” That got a laugh. “And he saved me!” 

“So did I,” she reminded him, but that just got her frustrated boot shuffles. At last the handmaiden took pity on him. “Ok, ok. I’m sorry I called Eugene a bad dad. He loves you very much, and you love him.” He preened. 

He went to speak, but soft crunches interrupted his train of thought. From around the bend, two familiar and burly men step into view. 

“...no word from either of them, but Hector never answers my letters anyway-” Quirin was speaking, with Frederick hanging onto his every word. Their faces were both solemn, stoic and businesslike. Whatever they were talking about, it was likely serious. But the seriousness evaporates when Quirin catches sight of the young child. “Hello there!” Frederick’s face remains impassive, but he seems to let the subject drop. At least for now. 

Something about Quirin just screams welcoming to Varian. It’s strange. His time on the streets as well as his encounter with the Stabbingtons should have made Varian terrified of men like him, but Quirin’s autumn scent and warm smile relaxed Varian. He grinned his toothy smile and waved. 

“Your majesty,” Cassandra bowed. The King nodded, and she stood back up. He gave Varian a nod as well, but he had no idea to react. Bow? Smile? Hide? All of those options sounded like a bad idea, so he just stood still for now. 

“Hello, Cassandra, Varian.” The latter name was said with a hint of apprehension. “Enjoying the weather?”

“Yes sir,” The lady-in-waiting responded, and she gently nudged Varian. He nodded frantically, so fast his head might as well have flown off. Quirin seemed amused, at least. 

“Don’t stay out too long, we don’t want this young man to catch a cold,” Quirin ruffled Varian’s hair, and the child blushed. 

“We won’t, sir.” Cassandra bowed to him as well. Satisfied, they moved on, leaving Varian and Cassandra to finish their walk around the castle ground. “Cassie? Who is Quirin?” 

She seemed surprised by the question. “Who is he? I think he’s an advisor, or something.”

“A what?”

“He helps the king.”

Varian’s mouth dropped open in an “o” shape. Who knew Kings needed help? Not him, that’s for sure! 

“Come on, let’s go inside, it’s getting cold.” She led him away, until Varian couldn’t see either man when he turned around. 

“As I was saying, Adira is hard to track down, but-” Quirin’s words halted as he stumbled over something. “What the…” A small cluster of black rocks, innocent and unflinching. The men shared a nervous glance. 

When Cassandra dropped Varian off inside, she watched as Varian toddled off to find Eugene, turned around, and came face to face with a Rapunzel grinning like a maniac. 

The princess covered her friend’s mouth before she could scream. “Come on! I need your help. We only have a few more hours!” Without any explanation, Cass found herself being dragged off to god knows where. 

-

Waking up on the early side was not new to Varian. Ever since he’d come to the castle, Eugene would drag him out of bed no later than 9:30 am. And he’d learned to adapt, even if Varian preferred to get up when the sun’s rays were directly overhead. But 7 was really pushing it. 

“Noooo!” He whined, clutching his sheets like a lifeline. “I don’t wanna get up!” 

Eugene grunted from where he was holding his legs. For a 4 year old Varian had a hell of a grip. “Come on, kid, you can go back to sleep when we’re done if you want! Don’t have to change out of your pjs either. But you gotta get up now or you’re gonna miss your surprise.” 

“Nooooo!” Varian wailed, burying his head into the duvet. 

“Yesssss.” 

With one final tug, Eugene managed to dislodge his child from his bed, sending them both sprawling on the floor. They laid there for a moment. Eugene questioned his life choices as Ruddiger rounded the bed and licked his face. 

He carried Varian down the corridor to the throne room. At this early hour, the only people about were night shift guards preparing to turn in. A strange quiet filled the castle, a sense of peace lingered. It would be a nice experience if Varian wasn’t bone-tired. Honestly who decided that 7 am was a normal time to get up? It was understandable during the summer, but not at Christmas!

Grand doors swung upon, revealing the same setup as yesterday, only several people sat under the tree. Familiar blonde hair swung around to reveal Rapunzel’s exuberant face. By her side stood her family plus Lance and Cass, all looking tired but content. Presents sat scattered, surrounded by pine needles that had fallen. 

“Merry Christmas!” She cried as she stood up and ran over. Both boys found themselves in a trademark bear hug. “It’s our first Christmas as a family, how exciting!” 

“Sunshine, you’re squishing meeee!” Eugene wheezed, face turning red. The princess paid him no heed, leading him (and by extension, Varian) over to the pile. Several gifts with multiple names in fun colors and patterns awaited them. It was at this time Varian realized he knew how to read most things, but his name was not one of them. Thankfully, Rapunzel was eager to hand out everyone’s gifts. Slowly Varian’s pile grew larger and larger.

Cassandra winced. “I think you went a little overboard, Raps,” 

“Nonsense! What makes you say that?” Cassandra pointed to where Varian sat by a pile larger than himself. He leaned against Eugene, eyes drooping. 

The man rustled his shoulder. “Wake up, kiddo, open your presents.”

“My what?”

“All those boxes, they’re for you! They have fun stuff inside them.”

“Like what?”

The gathering broke into chuckles. “Why don’t you find out?” asked Arianna. 

Curious eyes grabbed the largest box and fingers ran across its paper. Happy snowmen decorated the outside, and he was loathe to destroy it. But Rapunzel gave him a thumbs up, and that was all the invitation needed. With a war cry, Varian ripped off smiling snowmen with claw and fang. Even Ruddiger joined in on the mayhem, happily shaking his head as he held a piece of wrapping paper. The box gave way to…. Another box? But this one was on wheels.

A cart! A painted cart! It was light blue, just like his hair, and painted on the side was a name. Varian ran his fingers over it in confusion. 

“Ruddiger,” Eugene whispered. “It says Ruddiger. So he can stay with you.” Varian’s eyes lit up in understanding. Without any pomp, he scooped up the raccoon and plopped him straight into the cart, much to Ruddiger’s confusion. Then, like a shot out of a canon, they were off. Varian screeched with delight as he zoomed around the throne room, wheels clacking against the marble floor as Ruddiger chittered in similar joy. 

“So, I think he likes it!” Rapunzel chimed. 

“He better,” Cassandra muttered. She was not a fan of staying up till midnight to help Rapunzel wrap her last-minute Christmas gifts. Lance got to do the easy part, too. All he had to do was sign! Meanwhile Cassandra nearly broke her nail for that one gift. 

“Varian, you can play with that some more after the rest of your gifts! Come say thank you!” Eugene called. The child skidded to a stop, happily launching himself at Rapunzel for a hug. 

“Thank you Punzel! Love you!” He pressed a wet kiss to her cheek. It should’ve been gross, but to her, it was perfect.

Eugene smiled from his seat on the floor. It was pretty damn perfect to him too.