#but yeah after Cass made that drawing i just had some emotions | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sohotthateveryonedied · 4 years ago

Text

Slipping Through My Fingers

Read here on AO3!

When it comes to his children, Bruce has very few regrets. He loves them completely, scars and all. He wouldn’t want to change a single part of them.

But he can’t lie and say that he doesn’t regret the timing with which each of these beautiful souls entered his life. Bruce has six children, but he’s never had a baby, and isn’t that wrong? Isn’t that a pity? He missed so much of their lives—so many milestones that every parent wants to remember forever but that he’s not even had glimpses of. He wasn’t there for the first steps or the lost teeth or learning how to ride a bike. He missed all of his children learning to talk, missed watching Sesame Street with them in the morning and making soapy mohawks in the bathtub. Bruce missed everything. He missed moments that he can’t get back, no matter how hard he yearns for a rewind. Take him back. Return to him the moments he lost without even knowing it until they’d already slipped through his fingers. Bruce has a few mementos to get him by, but they only grant him glimpses of the years he missed. Dick has a bin of old tapes from the Flying Graysons’ best performances that he likes to watch on bad days. Occasionally he’ll let Bruce watch with him. There’s something magical about watching the young boy in the tapes swing on the trapeze and pull gravity-defying moves, all the while knowing what a strong man that boy will one day become. Jason came to the manor with very little, having to travel light while on the streets. There’s a shoebox under the bed in his old room salvaged from his mother’s things, containing a handful of photos from Jason’s toddler years, a stuffed animal or two, some loose possessions. Bruce used to go through them after Jason’s death, just to give himself something to hold on to. Tim had more than Dick and Jason combined: plenty of photos, report cards, baby teeth, and coloring books all saved in storage. But as much as there was, Bruce still only had glimpses of the real Tim. Every family photo was stiff, like an assortment of plastic dolls. The papers and drawings that have been collected are too crisp, like they were shoved into a childhood folder and forgotten about without a second glance, not even making it to the refrigerator. All Bruce has of Cass’ childhood are videotapes of training sessions. He refuses to watch them, for both her sake and his own. Duke has a photo album he keeps in his bedroom, compiling plenty of baby pictures and family vacations. He’s only shown it to Bruce once. Otherwise, he keeps it in his bookshelf, untouched but for the handful of times he’s visited his parents, showing them old memories in case it will miraculously jog something and put the shards of them back together. The longer it doesn’t work, the less he’s willing to tell. The League of Assassins has an entire storage room of files on Damian’s development. Bruce has seen it. It’s like every move the boy made was monitored and catalogued, detailed without so much as a lick of emotion to remind anyone that this was a child being discussed. There were no shiny milestones to celebrate, only completed stages. No one commemorated his first word or first time seeing a butterfly, but his first time using a wakizashi sword earned five entire pages. If Bruce could go back in time, he would snatch up every one of his children and give them the lives they deserve, right from the start. No pain. No dead parents. No neglect, no heartache, no scavenging on the streets just to survive the night. He would wipe their slates clean if it meant he could stave off their suffering, just for a little while longer. He would do anything to go back.

Back when Bruce was a child and tragedy hadn’t yet torn his family to bloody shreds, there was one Fourth of July on which his parents took him to the circus. Alfred had an open invitation to accompany them, but, being a Brit, he politely declined from the day’s festivities. “I’ll have you know, young sir, that I served as a spy for the British forces and mentored Alexander Hamilton during his teenage years.” Bruce was ninety-nine percent sure that Alfred wasn’t alive during the American Revolution. That day was the first time Bruce had been to the circus. It was a local one, small with very few extravagant spectacles, but his father bought him peanuts and afterward the three of them watched the fireworks in Gotham Park. It was a day that imprinted itself on Bruce’s memory, sticking with him long after they were gone. So when he sees a flyer announcing that Haly’s International Traveling Circus is visiting Metropolis on the same day Bruce has an interview with Lois Lane for some column on America’s wealthiest men, how can he turn the opportunity down? The air is warmed by summer rays, the entire field radiating Metropolis’ natural brightness. The scent of peanuts and popcorn wafts from all sides and the classic tinkling circus music fills his ears. The show doesn’t start for another half hour, so Bruce settles on walking around, unsure of what to do with himself. He should get some photos to bring home for Alfred. He’s always had a fascination with jugglers. After some perusing, Bruce pulls up under a tree, shaded against the thick trunk. He’s just pressed send on the pictures to Alfred when he hears a voice from above. “Hey, mister.” Bruce looks up to discover a boy perched on a tree branch two feet above his head. The kid looks around six years old with black hair that curls around his ears. He’s wearing a bright red and green costume—obviously one of the performers. How a child his age came to be part of the circus, Bruce can’t begin to guess. He’s missing his front teeth and his skin, tan with a honey glow, makes his nationality hard to place. Bruce blinks up at the boy. “Hello.” The kid drops down and catches on the branch with his hands, dangling with his bare feet kicking in the air. “Whatcha doing here?” Now that he’s paying attention, Bruce can detect the slightest accent. Romani, perhaps? “Why does anyone come to the circus?” The boy laughs. “You don’t look like the kind of person who goes to the circus.” “Then what kind of person do I look like?” The boy thinks, swinging back and forth like a cartoon monkey. How his hands aren’t scraped raw from gripping the rough bark, Bruce doesn’t know. “A lawyer, maybe. Or a president.” The corner of Bruce’s mouth lifts. “I’m neither of those things, unfortunately.” “Well, I’m an acrobat.” “I can see that.” “But I do other stuff too,” the kid tells him, “like I know how to juggle and how to walk on stilts and how to throw knives at targets. I’m getting real good at that.” “Are you sure a kid your age should be playing with knives?” The boy laughs. “You think knives are scary? You should see it when they let me play with the tigers.” Bruce arches an eyebrow. “You play with tigers?” That can’t be safe. Maybe he should have a talk with the ringmaster and make sure someone is ensuring that no little boy heads are getting bitten off by mighty jaws. “Oh yeah, the tigers are the best.” The kid swings his body upward, letting go of the branch and pulling a heart-stopping somersault midair as he falls. He lands on his feet without a wobble. “I know all of their names and they’re huge, like they’re this big”—he stretches out his arms as far as they will go, which makes the tigers a whopping two and a half feet tall—”and sometimes I’m even allowed to ride them!” Bruce leans back against the tree trunk, crossing his arms with a smile. “Is that right?” “Yeah!” The kid then launches into a string of chatter, so fast that it takes all of Bruce’s focus to keep up. He tells Bruce all about the circus’ tigers: what breed they are, how many they have, what they eat, what their names are (their actual names and the names the kid gave them; Marshmallow is his favorite), and how his dad once gave him permission to hold a hoop while a tiger leapt through it. The entire time, Bruce can’t help but wonder, is this what childhood is supposed to be like? Swinging on tree branches and giving oral reports about your favorite animals to complete strangers? Is this what growing up is like for normal children? Bruce doesn’t know whether to be envious of this little boy or concerned. He’s so innocent; it bleeds from every grin. There’s nothing weighing this kid down—literally and figuratively—and Bruce finds himself silently praying to a being he doesn’t believe in that it never changes. Let this kid stay pure, untouched by the evils of the world. Let him go his whole life swinging on branches and talking about tigers without a single setback. After a good ten minutes when the boy’s tumbled into a handstand and has moved on to tell Bruce about his favorite elephant Zitka, a feminine voice rings, “There you are, Dick. I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” A beautiful woman approaches the pair, wearing an identical red and green leotard. She’s got matching black hair and blue eyes—too spitting of an image to be anyone but his mother. “Come on, sweetheart, we’re supposed to be backstage.” “Sorry, Mom,” Dick says, turning right-side up, but he hasn’t lost his grin. Now that he thinks of it, Bruce doesn’t recall it waning once in the entire time they’ve been talking. She takes in Bruce, suit and all, and plasters on a stage smile, sticking out her hand. “Mary Grayson. You’ll have to forgive my son, he gets excited easily. He’ll talk your ear off for hours if you let him.” But the glimmer in her eye gives Bruce an inclination that she has no problem being an audience for her son’s happy rants. Bruce shakes her hand. “Bruce. I take it you’re the Flying Graysons I’ve been hearing so much about?” “The very same. I hope you’ll be seeing our show tonight.” “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” He winks at the littlest Grayson, who beams. Mary ruffles Dick’s hair. “Well, this little robin and I should be getting ready now. It was a pleasure meeting you, Bruce.” “Likewise.” He leans down and shakes Dick’s small hand. “And if you ever come to Gotham, maybe you can tell me more about those tigers, eh?” Dick looks like he contains the sun itself. He’s sunshine incarnate. “Definitely!” He drags his feet when his mom starts leading him away, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. “Bye, Mr. Bruce!” He waves his hand like a windmill of its hinges, and Bruce can’t help but return it. Bruce hasn’t felt this content in a long time to the point where he has to stop in wonderment of it. It’s unlikely that Haly’s will end up coming to a place like Gotham anytime soon, but Bruce hopes for it anyway. After all, Gotham could use some sunshine.

Here’s the rest of it on AO3 because I don’t feel like formatting all 7,000 words on here lmao.

317 notes · View notes

enkelimagnus · 3 years ago

Text

Delacroix

Bucky Barnes Gen, 2565 words, rated T

Jewish Bucky Barnes, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Episode 5 Truth

Bucky spends a few days in Delacroix with Sam and his family. On one evening, as they both have a beer before dinner, watching the sun set, they have a conversation about life, about therapy, about work.

TW: US healthcare system and the military industrial complex, mental health

Read on AO3

Part 33 of Making a Home - the Jewish Bucky series

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

Sam’s family house is more of a home than anything Bucky’s lived in since he was deployed.

It’s warm and luminous, with big windows and light paint on the wood and the walls. There’s a poarch where they all end up sitting at the end of the day, when the sun sets over the bayou. The walls outside are blue and the roof is red. There are crayon drawings stuck with magnets to the fridge and mismatched furniture and containers. It’s been lived in, loved in.

A few days after his surprise arrival, Bucky stops feeling like a blood stain on the tapestry of life of the Wilson home.

Sarah’s nice and warm. He immediately takes a liking to her, and her to him, and he can see how much that infuriates Sam. What can he say? She’s a gorgeous woman, funny and bright and caring and her smile is honestly the kind that probably stopped a few hearts in her lifetime. Yes, she’s his sister, but he still has eyes, and he’ll be damned if he doesn’t at least show appreciation. Besides, she seems to enjoy it. He’d stop the second he’d sense uncomfort.

He hasn't gotten to flirt and be comfortable with flirting in a really long time. It seems to be the same for her. What if they’re just… enjoying the flirtation? And enjoying infuriating Sam? Bucky considers it his duty as Sam’s friend.

Delacroix is unlike anywhere he’s ever been. It’s half an island and half a town. It’s relaxing. And the food… Bucky doesn’t think he’s eaten as much seafood in his life as he had in the past week.

It’s a slow end of day in Louisiana when Bucky and Sam find themselves sitting on the plastic chairs out back, with beers, watching the surface of the water. There’s music playing in the house, the kids are doing their homework.

It’s simple. Bucky breathes in and out, unobstructed.

He hears Sam’s intake of breath and knows a hard conversation is coming from that alone. No, that’s a lie. Sam’s shifted, ten seconds ago. He’s looked between his beer and the water four times in the past minute.

“We haven’t had time to talk about Madripoor,” Sam starts and Bucky immediately tenses.

He’d almost forgotten he’d told Sam they’d talk about that later. Because still, he’s not ready to talk about it. He’s not ready to talk about that part of his past. It’s still an infected wound in him. It’s still hurting. He can’t do it. He’s about to say that when Sam holds up his hand.

“We don’t have to talk about it,” he says, surprisingly. “I don’t need to know shit if you’re not ready to tell.”

Bucky goes back to breathing. It’s a reprieve. Even if one day, Sam might expect him to be ready… it’s extra time. He’s so thankful for it.

“I’ll tell you though,” Sam keeps going. “You need a new therapist. Because if I know one thing, after everything, and what I saw in that precinct? it’s that Raynor’s not working for you. You need better. You deserve better.”

Bucky looks up at him then. Sam is looking at the water, but there is that look on his face. The look of determination, of drive, the look that Bucky knows… there’s no use in trying to go against what he is saying now.

No one has ever told him he deserved better.

He’s told himself that a few times, in the few moments where the clouds parted and he didn’t feel like the worst person in the world.

But he doesn’t think anyone has ever told him that. Even Steve. There was a couple ‘you deserved better’, but they were all in the past tense, all regarding Hydra, not Bucky’s current situation. Because his current situation is good. It’s great, compared to the past seventy years. Maybe even compared to what was there before. Because he doesn’t break his back in the factory during the day and in the docks at night anymore.

He’s so silent and shocked Sam just keeps going.

“And don’t give me bullshit about not needing help or whatever. I know your generation didn’t do therapy but that ain’t gonna fly with me. You deserve a therapist suited to your needs, and I know that’s gonna be hard to find, with your trunkload of decades of trauma, but we’ll find them.”

He says it with such determination, like it’s his new personal mission. He has much better to do than try to help Bucky more than he already has, and yet… Sam looks at him finally, for a long moment.

“Raynor’s not a bad doctor,” he says. “She’s just not the right fit. And that’s not uncommon. We just need to find you someone that’s better. And someone that’s not me. Because I can’t be your friend and your therapist, man. And out of the two, I’d much rather be your friend.”

Bucky’s still staring. He doesn’t know how to handle this. Nowhere in his databank of social interactions is there something that prepares him for this. He’s had long talks with people before, hell, even with fucking Zemo, but this is entirely different and he has no idea how to handle it.

“I’m sure you’re a great therapist,” Bucky says quietly after a moment, before he takes a big swig of a beer.

Sam chuckles, shaking his head. “You do realize I ain’t a therapist right? I’m a counselor.”

“You’ll have to give me the difference on that because we were still using alienist the last time I heard about psychoanalysis,” Bucky points out.

“There isn’t much of one. I guess I’m more about… finding practical solutions for people to deal with their trauma than really knowing the root cause of it. Probably because, since I worked with the VA, I knew what the root was.”

Bucky hums, nodding. That makes sense to him. More than the ‘how does that make you feel’s. “Either way, I’m still sure you’re a great counselor.”

“It ain’t difficult, with your experience,” Sam shrugs, watching him. “You don’t know better, old man.”

Bucky snorts at that, watching the water again. Sometimes, his eyes catch motion, but he’s never sure if it’s wildlife under the surface or just a trick of the light.

AJ and Cass seem to be debating with their mother whether they can finish their homework later, after dinner. Bucky barely knows them, but he already knows it won’t actually get done if they follow their plan. Kids are kids. Bucky’s sisters could never finish their homework after the radio show either. Too distracted, too tired.

He turns his attention back on Sam after a moment.

“Walker is in a bad shape,” Bucky says quietly. “Now, and before Hoskins died too. The second we saw him in Germany, I felt it. That guy didn’t get help.”

Sam sighs heavily. “Yeah. Not enough of them do, when they come back. You wouldn’t, if you weren’t forced to.”

Bucky can’t deny it. “Yeah, but I’m 107.”

If Sam noticed the year added to his age, he doesn’t mention it. At least for now.

“Some of it hasn’t changed that much,” Sam explains. “The army… You know that culture of toughness, right? Gotta be strong, gotta be a man. Can’t cry, can’t show you’re struggling. I’m sure they had that shit too, in your day, probably even worse.”

He’s not wrong. There were a lot of issues in his day but that was part of things. Emotional outbursts that weren’t from anger were frowned upon. Once they got to the war, it was even worse at first, until it started really getting hard. And then there were two options. Either you fucking cry with your buddies, or you end badly. Bucky had Steve, and the Howlies.

“Men like Walker… Because they’re these tough white guys, they’re encouraged to be like that. Aggressive, emotionally-closed off, fight-hungry. They’re the ones that shove you and call you a pussy for not laughing at their frankly horrible offensive jokes. It’s like they think the trauma we all face just won’t touch them. Or that they can’t show anyone it touched them. So they keep it all in. And the only way they get to be… emotional is in combat.”

Bucky nods quietly. They’re worse off than he thought.

It wasn’t good in his day either, but it just feels worse now. It churned and churned and got bigger with every spin, and now it’s all a giant fucked up stick of trauma cotton candy, all twisted in itself and sticking to itself.

“When I work for the SRT… Sometimes I see these kids,” Bucky mumbles. “They’re what? 22? And I ask them why they’re here, you know, try to pass time. And they tell me they enlisted for college. Or healthcare. And it’s…” He closes his eyes. “It’s been eighty fucking years…”

He takes a swig of the beer again, shaking his head. “When the crash hit, in the 30s, things were bad. No one could afford shit, there was polio, there was syphilis… It was really bad. And they made plans. They tried to get healthcare on the way, and they half succeeded. And more than like… two thirds of the population was for it too. And we had basically none of the resources we have now.”

He looks up at Sam for a moment. “It hurts to see… that it’s still… We’re still here. At least on that issue. On other stuff… Rights and all, that’s getting better.” He finishes. “But healthcare… and college…” He shakes his head. “It’s criminal. That’s what it is. It feels criminal.”

Sam bumps his shoulder with his fist, chuckling. “Don’t say shit like that next to journalists, they’ll say the Soviets put communism in your brain along with the murdering.”

Bucky chuckles at that. “Nah. That was all America. Living in it. Dying for it.”

Behind them, AJ and Cass have lost their battle of wits with their mother.

“You happy with what you’re doing?” Sam asks after a moment.

Bucky takes a deep breath. The answer is easy. “No,” he mutters. “But I don’t have a say in the matter. Until they decide I’ve done enough to undo the damage I perpetrated as the Soldier… I’m gonna be clearing Hydra safehouses. And after the shit I pulled with Zemo, I’m gonna be at it for a while longer, I think. But… I was expecting that.”

He can feel Sam’s eyes on him. “You knew what would happen.”

“Yep. On all accounts. With the Dora Milaje, with you, with Walker, with the U.S. government, and the GRC, and everything… Still did it.”

Sam huffs loudly. “Stubborn ass.” He shakes his head. He’s smiling, beautifully, brightly.

Bucky smiles at that. “You know it. Wouldn’t be alive without it.”

The sun is starting to set over the bayou. Every evening, Bucky finds himself thinking he’s never seen anything quite like it before.

“Whatever happens,” Sam points out after a moment, looking down at his empty beer bottle. “You got a couch here. Somewhere to crash. Somewhere to rest. I don’t know what your situation is, up north.”

Bucky sighs a little. “I got a house,” he answers, looking back at him. “A townhouse, in Brooklyn.”

Sam’s eyebrows rise up to meet the descending sun. “Well excuse us, mister.” He teases.

Bucky shakes his head. “It’s not like that,” he starts. Sam looks even less like he takes him seriously. “It’s a former Hydra safehouse,” he adds, and now his friend’s eyes get a little sadder, a little darker. “The army got tired of me taking space in their housing, so the second we raided a place within proper commute distance, they handed it over to me.”

Said like that, it sounds even worse than it actually was.

“It wasn’t like.. Full of Nazi or Hydra shit, or anything. It was just a house. They got rid of the bodies.”

The emotional journey on Sam’s face as he talks is worth a good dozen of sunrises.

“And you live there?” Sam asks. He’s struggling not to let his bewilderment and horror show, but he’s failing.

It makes sense. It sounds like an absolutely terrible situation to be in. It is an absolutely terrible situation to be in. As much as owning a townhouse in Brooklyn can be terrible.

It’s been about four months now since he signed those papers and moved his bag of things into that pretty house with the marks in the doorways and the basement he still hasn’t stepped foot in. And now that he’s been away long enough…

He guesses he kinda misses it.

He doesn’t miss the house in itself, much. He does miss… everything else though. Charlie, Miriam, the neighbor whose name he still doesn’t know, the familiar commute, the Chinese place he gets a lot of very late night food at, the proximity to his childhood streets, the way life feels there. He misses his night jogs in the relative quiet. He misses the weather, and the oven he baked kugel in for the first time.

Brooklyn has become familiar again, in all of its differences with his memories.

And he didn’t even realize it was happening.

“You should come, one of these days,” Bucky shrugs. “I have a couple guest bedrooms.”

Sam punches him lightly in the shoulder. “Fancy ass ‘couple of guest bedrooms’.” He teases and Bucky smiles. “So I’m guessing I should try and find some good therapists for you in New York then,” he adds.

Bucky shrugs lightly. “I feel like… I have some stuff tethering me there.”

Sam’s expression shifts for an instant. “Like the SRT?”

Bucky shakes his head. “Nah. Like my childhood congregation, that somehow still exists, and has a shul not too far from where I live.” He points out.

“Shul?” Sam asks.

Bucky smiles lightly when he looks up at him. A few days ago, Sam spoke of his teetee and Bucky probably made the same face Sam’s making now.

“Synagogue,” Bucky explains. “Jewish temples. Shul’s yiddish.”

Sam makes a small ‘ah’ sound and nods. For a moment, they’re silent again. The noises of the world around them aren’t threatening to overwhelm them though, they’re… comforting. A warm tapestry in the background.

“You’re Jewish, I take it?”

“No, I’m Mormon,” Bucky replies with the straightest face he can muster before chuckling.

Sam punches him again, a little harder this time. “Come on, dude.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m Jewish.”

That’s the first time he says that out loud in… He’s never said it like that ever. This is the first time in his life that he says it that way. The first time he’s not afraid of the outcome of such an admission.

It’s a heady, wonderful feeling. He never thought he’d ever be comfortable enough to do that. Somehow, he might have Zemo to thank for that. Zemo and his fucking questioning. Not that he’s going to be asking much more questions from the Raft.

He’s Jewish. That’s a truth that doesn’t deserve to be hidden right now. Not when he can carry it. Not when he is strong enough to bear it proudly. He feels like his heart is going to burst with something he cannot name.

“Did Steve know?”

Bucky bursts out laughing.

#bucky barnes #sam wilson #jewish bucky barnes #jbu #marvel #mine #fic

7 notes · View notes

peppersonironi · 4 years ago

Text

Batfam/Avengers Crossover Chapter Six: Blooming Bromance

Tagging (Let me know if you want to be tagged): @the-fair-maiden-of-fandom

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Category: Gen

Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types

Relationships: Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne, Natasha Romanov & Damian Wayne, Clint Barton & Cassandra Cain, Tim Drake & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tim Drake & Duke Thomas, Pamela Isley/Harleen Quinzel, Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent, Dick Grayson/Wally West, Roy Harper/Koriand'r/Jason Todd,

Characters: Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle, Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, Barbara Gordon, Justice League (DCU), Alfred Pennyworth, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Clint Barton, Thor (Marvel), Bruce Banner, Peter Parker, Alfred the Cat (DCU), Bat-Cow (DCU), Goliath (DCU), Selina Kyle’s Cat Isis, Kate Kane (DCU), Duke Thomas,

Additional Tags: Batbrothers (DCU), Avengers Meet The Batfam, MCU/Batfam crossover, Crossover, no beta we die like robins, rated T for Jason’s language, I bleeped it out though. Just to be safe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, canon? What’s canon?, Deaf Clint Barton,Deaf Character, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Happy Batfamily (DCU), Birdflash and joyfire are implied/referenced,

Summary: Tim hangs out with the youngest Avenger. A bromance is blooming.

Tim sighed into his mug of coffee. Everyone in his family - minus Stephanie and Babs, since they didn’t live at the manor - had been gathered in the cave to discuss the ongoing conversation between some of the interdimensional visitors. They - consisting of Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Steve Rogers, and Tony Stark - seemed to have been really freaked out by some of Jason’s snide comments, and were now discussing if the bats were in fact trustworthy.

Tim blamed Jason for this whole mess. Jason couldn’t hold his stupid tounge, so now Bruce had called everyone - after Cass told him what was happening - together to spy on their guests and work out a plan.

Their conversation wasn’t that interesting either. It was everyone going back and forth, never changing their own arguments. The most interesting thing that happened was when Stark hopped on a computer and started to do research on them. Not that they found much.

“No way in f*** are we amicable!” Jason exclaimed when the article was brought up and read aloud.

“Aw, you sure little wing?” Dick asked, elbowing Jason.

“T-t,” Damian said, rolling his eyes. “Will you two imbeciles shut up? I’m trying to listen.”

Turns out there wasn’t much more. As soon as the Avengers dispersed, Tim turned off the computer. “Now what?”

Cass frowned. “They need trust. Show them.”

Bruce nodded. “Yes, it would be best if they trust us, as we are the ones sending them home. Lack of trust might provoke unnecessary responses from them. It would be best if we can work well together.”

“Show them.” Cass repeated vehemitaly.

“I agree with Cass,” Tim replied. “We shouldn’t just tell them to trust us. That could be taken quite badly. We need to show them.”

“How?” Duke asked. “I don’t know if you guys have noticed, but you are definitely not good at showing your emotions well.”

Bruce sighed heavily. “Yes, Duke, you have made that abundantly clear in the past.” Duke smiled at that, looking rather sheepish. Bruce frowned in concentration. “Let them make the first move. If they try to question you, don’t hold anything back. Try to be friendly.” Tim noticed he directed that last part at Damian and Jason.

“Don’t hold anything back?” Jason asked, an evil smirk growing on his face. Tim shuddered inwardly at whatever gruesome tale Jason was planning on sharing.

“Within reason,” Bruce growled.

Duke stood up. “Well, that sounds good for you guys, but I have Gotham to patrol.” Duke strolled off with a decidedly self satisfied smile on his face. He clearly thought that he was getting out of sharing his life story.

Bruce sighed once more. “Very well, Duke. Good luck.”

Duke nodded his thanks as he made his way to the changing rooms to get ready for his patrol.

*****

“Dude, this is incredible!” Peter had given Tim a chance to look at his web-shooters, and Tim was being a total fangirl over it.

“Thanks,” Peter replied, seeming quite proud. “The basic design is mine, Mr. Stark supplied some improvements though.”

Tim nodded as he continued to examine the device. “Are these veins turbine pumps?”

Peter grinned. “Yup! They compress the web fluid before shooting it out through the spinneret holes which cold-draws the solution and extrudes it through the air, where it solidifies.”

“And during the process the nylon gains a four-fold increase in tensile strength?”

“Exactly!”

Tim shook his head at the brilliance. “Wow, this is utterly brilliant!”

“Thanks! Do you want to see the chemical formula?” Peter asked. He seemed really eager to talk about it with someone his own age.

“Of course!” Tim hit his forehead. “Gosh, I’m sorry! I completely forgot you came to me to see if we could make more.”

Peter shrugged, “no worries. I’m glad you like the devices.”

Tim reached over to one of the coffee tables in the sitting room they were occupying and handing it to Peter, who promptly began to write down the formula.

Upon seeing it, Tim gasped uncontrollably. “Oh my god, this is the greatest thing I have seen in a long time!” Peter had to be a genius to come up with this, Tim decided.

Peter grinned at Tim. “Really?”

“Totally!”

“You guys done fangirling?” A voice came from the door. “ ‘cause we have some people to decimate!”

Tim looked over to find Jason leaning against the doorframe, two nerf guns in hand.

“Decimate?” Peter asked.

Jason rolled his eyes. “Capture the flag on the back lawn in five. Bring whatever non-lethal weapons you want. You can get ‘em approved before the game starts.” And with that, he strolled off.

“You guys play Capture The Flag?” Peter looked excited.

Tim stood up, organizing the notes, then setting them aside. “Yup! It can get pretty wild though. Think you can handle it?”

Peter grinned. “I think so.”

*****

“Welcome to the 67th annual Bat Fa-”

“It's not annual and you know it Dick.”

Dick pouted as he looked over at Tim. “Come on, Timbo, let me have this!”

“Drake is correct, Grayson. You are acting idiotically.”

Tim glanced over at Damian. “You’re admitting I’m right?”

Damian glowered at his brother. “Of course not.” “But you jus-”

“Are we playing or not?” Someone had managed to rope Bruce into the game, but he was being pretty snippy about it.

Dick sighed, looking defeated. “Fine. Capture the flag. You all know how to play?” Everyone nodded, except Thor.

“I am unfamiliar with this specific midgardian game.”

Dick nodded. “Ok, that’s fine. Good chance to go over the rules anyway. There are two teams, each take one side of the playing area. So each team has a flag, or item of some sort that they each place in a visible yet defendable position. Part of the team defends their flag, while the other part attempts to steal their opponents’. If you get caught on the opposite team's territory, they put you in jail. Only one of your teammates can get you out, by tapping you. Get it?”

Everyone nodded. “Good. A few extra rules that must be followed,” Dick looked pointedly at Jason and Damian as he continued, “ include: no maiming. Serious injuries of most kinds are off limits. Lethal weapons are also out, unless you know how to use them nonlethally. You are also not allowed to leave the playing area at any point. Nor are you allowed to use cookies as bait in any traps. Especially Alfred’s cookies.”

Dick looked pointedly at Tim during the last rule, much to Tim’s chagrin. It had been one time!

“And finally, no touching Alfred’s shrubbery.” Everyone with the exception of the Avengers cringed at that. “Everyone understand?”

There was a chorus of “Yups” “Yes’s” and “f*** yeah, b****!” Tim didn’t need to be the world’s second greatest detective to guess where that last one came from.

“Good,” Dick said, grinning. “We’ll have two teams. Captains are Bruce and me. Let’s get into a line and start dividing.”

Tim got in line, grumbling slightly. A few of the Avengers had also joined, specifically Peter, Thor, and Banner. Tim wasn’t sure how much of a help Banner could be without “Hulking out” as Peter put it, but the guy seemed smart. It seemed like it would be an interesting game.

“Lil’ D!” Dick called, quite predictably. Damian grumbled and walked over to Dick’s side.

Bruce took longer to choose. He examined the faces of each person, one by one. “Tim.” Tim smiled, he had been expecting Dick to choose him, but with Bruce, Tim didn’t have to deal with the demon brat.

Dick chose Thor next, then Bruce chose Jason. They continued back and forth till Dick’s team consisted of Damian, Thor, and Banner. Bruce had chosen Tim, Jason, and Peter. Cassandra had opted to Referee the game, much to everyone’s relief. They could play everyone against Cass, and his sister would still win.

“Flags?” Cass asked once everyone had assembled with their teams.

“I got these from Alfred!” Dick said as he grabbed two large banners from beside a tree. One was Green, the other Blue.

Cass nodded. “You get Blue. Bruce, green.” Once Dick had handed the other banner to Bruce, Cass continued. “Ten minutes to plan and hide flags. Then go.”

They split up, Tim following right behind Bruce. “Ideas?” he asked when they were all in the cover of the trees that they had chosen for their side.

“The flag will go up in the old oak tree, as high as you can get it, Peter. I want Jason on Guard Duty near the tree, I’ll be farther out doing a border patrol. Tim and Peter, you’re both on infiltration duty. Skirt the sides as much as possible. Dick will most likely be trying to cross over, avoid him if you can. Watch out for Damian, too. He'll be joining Dick. Thor will most likely be guarding their flag along with Banner. He won’t be able to resist the pun. They should be pretty easy to take down.” Bruce paused for a moment, thinking. “Dick will probably place his banner somewhere near the westward fountain. Use the ivy wall to the east as cover.”

Everyone nodded, and separated. Peter scrambled up the oak tree with ease, and placed the banner at the literal top. It’d be almost impossible for anyone to reach it, but Tim knew Dick would love the challenge.

A couple minutes later, the guard routes were established, and Tim had shown Peter the way to the flag by drawing a diagram in the dirt. Tim quickly wiped it away, however, when Cass sounded an Airhorn. Tim had no idea where she had gotten it, but didn’t bother trying to figure it out. Tim sprinted to the side almost immediately, Peter right behind them. They wove through the trees, keeping to the shadows. Peter wasn’t nearly as stealthy as Tim, but they both kept out of sight.

Right as they were about to cross over the border, Tim stopped them. “Let’s get an aerial view before we proceed.”

“Sounds good,” Peter replied as they started to climb a nearby tree. Turns out it was the right choice, because they were awarded front row seats to Bruce grabbing Damian by his collar.

“Not today, Damian. You’re going to jail.” Bruce smiled fondly as he carried his youngest son away from the border and off to the previously chosen prison.

“Grayson!” Damian shreeked. “How dare you abandon me! Unhand me this instant, Father! Grayson! You shall rue the day I make my escape! This insult has not gone unnoticed! I refuse to be kept against my will by plebeians! You had better drop everything to assist me Grayson, or -”

Damian’s outraged voice slowly faded away as he was hauled off.

“Oof,” Peter said. “Think Dick will get him out?”

Tim snorted before shaking his head. “Knowing Dick, he’ll be remorseful for a bit before completely forgetting about the kid.”

Peter nodded. “Well, one less person we have to deal with, right?”

Tim grinned. “Yup! We should probably get going.”

*****

“Mmff! Mfffff-mmmf!”

“I think we did a good job, whattaya say, bug-boy?” Tim and Peter grinned down at a bound and gagged Thor and Banner. Both trying and failing to escape their bonds.

“I think we did quite well, bird-boy.” Peter replied. “But we should probably get going.”

Tim nodded as he plucked the banner from atop the fountain, right where Bruce said it would be.

“Let’s go!” they race off towards the border.

It didn’t take them long for them to reach the wide patch of grass marked with a hastily placed length of rope, but their path was blocked. Thor had managed to get out of Peter’s webs, and chased after them. He stood facing them, his hammer out, pointing at their chests.

“Halt! I must not allow you any further.”

Tim grinned. “Bet I can take him down first.”

Peter grinned right back. “You’re on!”

Togather, they charged the norse god. Peter was flipped over Thor’s shoulder, shooting his webs out and pulling Thor’s helmet over his eyes, though he quickly pulled it up again. Tim unleashed a flurry of batarangs, which Thor dodged. This, however, set him off balance. Tim activated a smoke bomb, and expertly navigated the limited visuals to attack Thor, who was in the process of throwing Peter to the ground.

When the smoke cleared, Thor was once again on his back, taken down by Tim. Peter was also on his back.

“You okay there, Peter?”

Peter groaned and rolled over. “Yup. You won, though.”

Tim crowed. “Hah! Yeah, I did!” He offered his hand to his downed companion. You did a good job too though. We make a great team.”

Peter stood, and together they crossed over the border holding the banner just as Dick came out of the trees being chased by both Jason and Bruce.

“Aw, crap.” Dick said upon seeing Peter and Tim already back on their own territory.

Almost immediately, Cass appeared. A newly freed Banner also appeared. Well, he limped out of the trees.

“Team Grumpy Wins,” Cass says triumphantly. It took a moment for Tim to realise what she had said.

“Wait, I thought we didn’t use team names?”

Cass smiled and pointed at Bruce. “Grumpy.” She then turned to Dick. “Happy.”

Jason smirked. “That’s an accurate assessment.”

He and Cass high-fived.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Dick said good naturedly. “Good job guys. You up for another round?”

“Different teams this time,” Tim replied.

Dick smiled, “Sounds good! Maybe Dami should lead this time.” Dick’s eyes widened. “Crap! Damian!”

Everyone burst into laughter as Dick sprinted towards Team Grumpy’s jail.

#Avengers Meet The Batfam #dc/marvel crossover #batfam #avengers #batfam shenanigans #tim drake #peter parker #capture the flag #bruce wayne #dick grayson #alfred pennyworth #jason todd #duke thomas #damian wayne #natasha romanoff #cassandra cain #bruce banner #thor odinson

55 notes · View notes

dyketectivecomics · 4 years ago

Note

wait i wanna hear the conversation about how cass processes her anger

(its been so long since i made the original tag, but i hope you like this verifiable essay zaed lmao) (and uh, LONG POST warning for everyone else. this is a good 3k of Cited/Summed-Up Issues and Meta about Cass’ Batgirl run)

The reason why Cass processes differently from Bruce is because their traumas have different origin points and therefore have manifested differently. While Bruce’s vigilante drive is in avenging those who have been wronged and bringing villains to justice (bc of his perceived ‘failure’ to save his parents/bring Chill to justice), Cass’ drive is all about her absolution (bc of her continuous guilt for taking a life & later for any other person she feels she ‘failed’ along the way). That being said, while Cass herself is not a typically angry character, the anger that she displays throughout Batgirl (2000) usually has one of three origin points; the vindictiveness towards criminals that she’s learned from Bruce, her unresolved anger towards her father & mother, or the special cases, often where her inhibitions have been selectively lowered due to outside forces. Given that Cass is never given many healthy options to channel this anger, however, is how she ends up emulating Bruce, and is what makes exploring her anger so fascinating.

With that, let’s dive through the canon & Cass’ journey in Batgirl (2000).

I - Learning Vindictiveness

Again, all things considered, Cass isn’t an angry character at the start of her series! In issue #1, wordless as most of it is, there is a very telling moment when both she and Bruce are fighting together, and when she chases a goon into an alley. She watches while Bruce is a little overzealous in taking said goon out. For first-time Cass readers who may not have read NML, this can be a very telling moment. Cass has seen Bruce work. More than that, she’s seen him work in what’s likely one of the most stressful disasters to plague Gotham. But this is one of the first times that she’s really seeing him, and starting to pick up on how and why Bruce operates the way that he does. Admittedly, this is an undertone that I didn’t quite pick up on, during my first readthrough! But I mention it here bc I think it’s something to keep in mind. Because in #4, when Bruce makes his infamous “she’s perfect” speech, he specifically mentions how she ‘holds back’ even for criminals who he wouldn’t care if she was a little harsher with. I think that this is a big moment for Bruce, realizing how he excuses vindictiveness. However, he quickly backtracks on this when in #6, when Cass becomes so incensed (one of the first times we really see full-fledged anger from her) by seeing a criminal shooting arbitrarily that she stops his heart for a few seconds. And Bruce, hypocrite that he is, berates her for taking things a Step Too Far there.

Okay, might be getting a little harsh on Bruce, so in his defense, he doesn’t like the road he sees her heading down. At this point, he’s in denial of the Evidence that Cain has sent him so far that Cass has killed in the past. He’s fearful for what it might mean that he’s putting faith and trust in a potential killer (or rather is in flatout denial that Cass The Perfect Fighter could Ever Have Possibly Killed when she CLEARLY exhibits so much control. Killers must be all or nothing things, after all, right? Once one, aways one? (you’re absolutely wrong bruce but OKAY))

The point still remains, that Cass didn’t show vindictiveness on this level prior to issue #6. And more importantly, prior to Bruce showing her his own vengeful side. And the wildest thing about this… is that he continues to nurture and reward that vengefulness.

Issue #14 is a follow-up to a story where Cass had saved a man while out of costume, and Bruce learns that he had been killed regardless. Hoping to intercede before she finds out on her own, he leads Cass directly to the killers and allows her to punish (read: beat the crap out of) them for the man they killed. Now, there was some significant lead-up to this issue, the biggest shake-up also being that Cass is officially moved out of the Clocktower and into her own Cave. (Promotion or Isolation, it’s tough to speculate which exactly Bruce had in mind, given Cass’ behavior leading to this moment. None of it, I would label as quite angry, however. More... moderately rebellious.) So this can be seen as a kind of turning point where Bruce is explicitly putting faith in her again.

From here we begin to see more and more instances of children being put in danger & Cass being more vindictive in turn. Most especially in #16 (when Cass realizes the mastermind behind a heist is the father of the boy who sent her after them & she’s harsher with him than with many of the other crooks), and #18 (where she and Tim team up and she breaks a kidnapper’s hands when he threatened to kill the girl he had hostage). By this point in the series, Cass has also been working more consistently with others, and it’s easy to see how this has become a learned behavior, and a poor outlet for her growing anger towards the criminal element.

Cass, for all of her heart and training that she’s poured into her vigilantism, at this point in the series had been working towards one goal, to be ready to die by Shiva’s hands. Now, I want to put a pin in Shiva since she comes more into play in Part II, but just know that their fight in #25 was a turning point for Cass’ character, where she begins to care much more about the work Bruce does outside of simply fighting criminals, she begins to care about truly helping victims and for solving cases.

#34, specifically, opens with Cass and Bruce investigating a crime scene, where Cass can tell that a child was hurt. She asks Bruce to allow her to help solve it, but he benches her, telling her she’s ‘not ready’ for detective work. The rest of the issue is interspersed with Cass training until her knuckles are bleeding, and does end with her helping Bruce take down the group responsible! When Bruce asks at the end, however, if putting away One Killer is enough for her, she responds ‘No’, and Bruce expresses his pride in that declaration.

For a long time by this point in the run and for quite a time after, Bruce has absolutely been molding Cass more and more into the same type of vigilante that he is. And Cass is perfectly fine with that! She sees Batman as something to aspire to, the symbol as something transformative and redemptive. And as long as she is channeling the anger that she feels at those who so clearly deserve that punishment, then she must be doing something right.

Because there certainly aren’t other outlets or alternatives that could be productive… could there?

II - Dad/Mom Issues

Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive is an extremely notable story arc, not only for the crossover event that it became, but for the impact and repercussions that it would have for Cass. While not expressing anger, per se, during this arc, Cass does show a lot of frustration towards both Dick and Barbara whenever they suggest theories of how/why Bruce may have actually committed the murder (which, spoiler, he was indeed framed for! By Cain, no less!). This is important to note because this arc highlights a few things; the faith and trust that Cass has put into Bruce that she’s willing to go to bat for him, the jealousy & proprietary nature that Cain displays over Cass, and finally the consequences that are had when that jealousy comes to light.

Another case opens up after this arc, and Cass is forced to confront Cain in #33 in an effort to gather intel on the criminal known as Alpha. When she goes in under the guise of a reporter and tries to interrogate him, she’s overcome with unresolved anger towards Cain, yelling “Who do you think you are?” and even breaking through the glass to get to him. This isn’t the first, nor the last time that Cass’ anger towards Cain is on display, but it’s certainly a prominent one, as while she makes physically aggressive moves towards him (and yeah, initially kicks him when breaking through the glass), she never outright lays a hand on him otherwise in this one. Threatens him, sure, but shows remarkable restraint given the high emotions.

Cass’ feelings about Cain and about the events of Murderer/Fugitive aren’t ever fully articulated, but given #37, I think we can draw some more definitive conclusions. This issue follows the thread given previously in #33, opening with Cain sending Cass a knife for her birthday. With it, she finally connects the dots that Cain is indeed her biological father, something that was speculated, but not fully confirmed before now. In her anger against everything he’s done to her, they close this issue with a rather dramatic shot of her doing everything possible to destroy the knife, leaving it unclear if she’s truly successful, however.

In later issues when Cass reminisces on her past and on those who have influenced her, Cain is always one of the shadows included. Unfortunate as it is, Cain will always be part of who Cass was, but from this point on in her series, she starts to let some of that anger go. Cain doesn’t decide her future. She does.

Juxtapose this idea, however, much later in #65, when Cass begins to suspect who her mother might be, but wants confirmation. This is what kicks off the final arc of her series, and effectively brings one of the longer running storylines to a close. Cass goes to Gotham to ask Bruce, who also has had his suspicions, but can’t confirm that Shiva is her mom. Since Cass is in town, she goes to train with Onyx (another former assassin-turned vigilante), and whether she’s doing it on purpose or because Shiva is on her mind, she begins to incorporate Shiva’s moves into her fighting, which Onyx points out. All this comes to a head when she confronts Cain for an answer, which he refuses (and we finally see her fully beat his ass lmao). Once again, she doesn’t express anger with Bruce or take out her frustrations on Onyx, but instead levels the blame entirely on Cain, and uses him as an outlet once she’s reached a breaking point.

Another moment to point out is in #67, when the Birds of Prey help Cass along in tracking down Shiva, and when Cass and Dinah train in the meantime. Dinah shows off her new moves (Shiva’s moves) to Cass, and Cass reacts badly, nearly choking Dinah out as she demands to know how Dinah learned those moves. She learns that Shiva’s been looking for a student/heir, and later on that she’s been working with the League of Assassins to help her to that end. I feel this moment highlights a growing trend, that feelings left bottled up will eventually spill over if they’re not properly acknowledged. Would Cass have otherwise reacted so poorly to Dinah showing her ‘new moves’ otherwise? But I digress.

Given that their first confrontation was in this same vein, of Shiva looking for one to either end her reign or take over her legacy, it’s kind of poetic for them to end on this note. The series concludes with Cass facing off against Shiva for the last time, Cass the unmitigated victor, with nothing left to prove to either of her parents or to herself. She’s finally at peace with her past, and that leaves her present a wide open mystery.

This, however, brings us to a topic that still bears exploration...

III - The Edge™

Because no matter how much Cass is able to hold back, even in her quest for justice. No matter the anger that she feels towards her parents. I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up the times that Cass has been pushed back to the worst possible edges.

The first, and most prominent of which, occurs in #15, when Cass is hit by a machine that causes her to hallucinate the Joker killing Bruce. The entire purpose of the machine was to push people into ‘deciding’ to kill others, and for most it would knock them out for a few minutes/hour before they would wake up and be compelled to commit a killing spree. For Cass, it was a matter of seconds that she ran through the scenario presented by her subconscious, and to make that ‘decision’. Cass is introspective at the end of the issue, and her concern for Bruce is made very clear. Her emotions towards that ‘decision’ however… is a lot less understood.

Now another issue I want to bring up is #19, a lot less for it being an issue where Cass’ outright anger is employed, but as another extreme case with high emotions. Cass hears that a man has been sentenced to die, and, believing that all life should be spared, actually goes to the trouble of breaking through the chamber where he’s being held and stops the process in its tracks. She truly does want to believe that anyone can be redeemed, and it’s an admirable part of her character. Ultimately, her efforts are for naught, the man is still sentenced to die and Cass is now forced to contend with a system she does not agree with. It’s an interesting idea to explore and highlights her idealism, but ultimately it’s not as fully understood or even really acknowledged, in my opinion, by the fandom at large. (Which is why I wish I had highlighted it in my previous meta, but I’m getting off topic again.)

Recalling that her ‘Perfect Year’ occurs during this next example, in #21 she almost kills the villain Shadowthief in her preparation for her first deathmatch with Shiva, and immediately regrets the lapse in judgement when she realizes what she had done. Stephanie was luckily nearby to help her resuscitate him, but it was nonetheless a very telling moment and lapse. It’s a harrowing reminder of what Cass IS capable of. Though she’s been preparing and training for a fight to the death, she’s still absolutely abhorred by the thought of taking another life. She’s not angry during this battle, she’s more playful than she’s been in a lot of issues leading up to this, actually. But the point remains, Cass will always be capable of taking another life, what she lacks is the willingness to knowingly do so, and now will always have a fear of the possibility.

With that we circle back around to two of the drug-induced cases, first in #46 where Cass accidentally ingests Soul. The stream of consciousness that materializes on the pages, shows that she HAS picked up on everything that everyone around her feels/sees in her, and that she’s internalized it to some degree. Cass does manage to fight through most of it and held her own against the drug runners she was fighting. Something to note, though, is that this incident is preceded by Cass learning that Babs and Dick are once again at odds, so once Babs sends Dick to check up on Cass, she responds (still in that drug-induced state mind you) by kicking Dick out a window on Babs’ behalf. Given that Cass has no previous history of turning on allies, (& won’t again until the incident with Dinah much later) even when frustrated or in disagreement with them, this moment certainly needs to be kept very carefully in context.

Following this issue, we see a slight personality change from Cass, where she’s becoming more reckless and frustrated. In #48 this culminates in her ignoring both Babs and Bruce’s calls, she ends up comprising his human trafficking investigation, and Bruce grounds her from being Batgirl in the meantime. #49 shows her going against Bruce’s wishes and operating in Babs’ old suit, something that angers Bruce when he discovers this.

This story arc finds its conclusion in #50, where both Cass and Bruce are gassed with Soul and they fight a pretty brutal battle while under its effects. They have their famous heart to heart after, where Bruce asks ‘once and for all’ where Cassandra’s loyalties lie. Bruce later posits that this fight was the ‘therapy’ that Cass needed bc “what other therapy will she understand?”.

While his heart may have been in the right place, this idea, that Cass can only respond to fighting and express herself through violence, is ultimately not a very healthy one. Cass’ default is already training and fighting, so any further strain that she puts on herself becomes something more akin to self-flagellation than anything near to a proper coping mechanism.

IV - Conclusion

And that’s where the parallel between Cass and Bruce really reaches an uncanny similarity for me. Because they pour everything they can into the mission, often to the detriment of their mental and emotional health. While Bruce’s degrees of self-awareness for his anger may vary by writer, Cass’ is fairly consistent across her Batgirl run. The outlets given to her were so few to begin with, and any effort to examine her emotions or to express herself through other outlets is… simply not given to her for all too long over the course of her series. It’s a rather tragic, and ultimately heartbreaking thing, because so soon after her series ends… DC seemed to decide the best thing to do with her, was to turn her into a villain.

I said at the beginning that Cass is not a naturally angry character, but it does need to be acknowledged that she’s absolutely capable of anger, and that that anger is often not expressed in the healthiest of ways. Whether this development is seen and acknowledged by the fandom at large, however, well… while that’s looking less and less likely by mainstream batfam stans, I am hopeful that Cass fans continue to highlight this aspect of her character in the content they create. And that I, too, can remember to acknowledge this in future fan content that I make as well.

#cassandra cain #randywritesmeta #asked and answered #jaccsonhyde #zaed tag #bruce wayne #*jazz hands* ITS AN ESSAY SOOO YKNOW #keep that in mind!!#hope yall like this ahhh #long post #(JUST in case tunglr acts weird!!)

38 notes · View notes

ultraglittercat · 4 years ago

Text

Drabble 76

Victory Party

(This fic is actually dedicated to @honeyxmonkey because they need positivity today!)

“People of Corona, I have an announcement.” said King Frederick, standing in the courtyard addressing all his subjects, with his wife and daughter by his side. “I know a lot has happened this past week, and I am proud of how valiantly all of you fought against the dreaded demon Zhan Tiri.”

There was a murmur of applause from the crowd.

“That is why I am proclaiming today a celebratory day and starting today we will have a victory party every year to commemorate the defeat of Zhan Tiri.” Frederick concluded.

The crowd erupted in cheers, but Eugene and his friends stayed silent. They were looking at Rapunzel, who they knew was wrestling with many emotions now that Cassandra had left. Frederick's announcement was probably at least partly meant as a distraction for her, but they could tell it wasn't completely working.

“You okay, Sunshine? I know you still miss Cass, but this party could be just what we need to lift our spirits.” said Eugene.

“I know.” replied Rapunzel. She tried to smile, but didn't quite pull it off.

“Yeah, I can make a fireworks display. Thanks to Lance, we know flynnolium has excellent pyrotechnic potential.” Varian put forth.

“See? I knew what I was doing.” Lance said smugly.

“Really?” Varian arched an eyebrow.

“Well, I mostly knew.” Lance amended.

“And just think of all the treats we'll have! Cupcakes, pies, candy...” Eugene rattled off a list.

“Dibs on the candy!” yelled Kiera.

“No fair, I wanted to call dibs!” Catalina pouted.

“I guess I could make an outdoor mural with chalk.” Rapunzel mused. “And we can all be on it, even Cassandra!”

“Tell you what, Sunshine. We can set out a lantern-- just one-- in honor of Cassandra and wherever she is, she'll be able to see it.” Eugene said.

“Oh, can we?” Rapunzel clasped Eugene's hand, looking genuinely happy for the first time that day.

“Of course. I loved Cass like a sister, but you I love more than anything.” Eugene told her.

“I love you too, Eugene. And just knowing how much you care about me, really helps right now. I think I might be able to enjoy the party after all.” she said.

“I knew you would.” Eugene replied, kissing her cheek. Rapunzel blushed and then she kissed him back. She was feeling much more like her usual, chipper self.

“Okay, gang. Let's go out there and help everyone make this a party to remember!” Rapunzel proclaimed.

“Yeah!” they all cheered. Kiera and Catalina went to help (mostly bother) Monty and Attila as they made the snacks. Lance tried to follow Varian over to where the teen planned to set up the fireworks but was told in no uncertain terms that he wasn't welcome around flynnolium. Varian did relent and say he could play with the lancide, a new compound which fizzled a lot and mostly made a mess of things. And Eugene and Rapunzel walked slowly arm in arm, watching their friends make preparations.

“It really is going to be a good day.” Rapunzel said, more to herself than anything.

“I know it is. Here's the chalk, Rapunzel. Go do your thing.” Eugene urged. And Rapunzel got down on her knees and began drawing an elaborate picture of her, Eugene, Pascal, Maximus, Lance, Kiera, Catalina, Varian, Ruddiger, Quirin, Frederick, Arianna, Cassandra, Fidella, Owl, and Cap. She even added Stan, Pete, Nigel, all the castle staff and some prominent citizens of Corona. It was a big picture, but Rapunzel had a big heart and room enough for all her friends.

The End

I hope I didn't forget anyone! I love what close friends the gang are. They may not be family by blood, but they are family by choice and that's just as good.

#tangled the series #tts #tts varian #tangled varian #varian #tts eugene #tangled eugene #eugene #eugene fitzherbert #team awesome #the whole gang #tts rapunzel #tangled rapunzel #rapunzel #fanfiction #fanfic #my fiction

28 notes · View notes

ladyloveandjustice · 5 years ago

Text

Shadow of the Batgirl: A review type thing

I just read the graphic novel Shadow of the Batgirl by Sarah Kuhn and Nicole Goux, which reimagines the superhero origin of Cassandra Cain.

It was overall good and EXTREMELY cute! If you want an awesome story about a teenage assassin running away from her shitty dad and finding a neat library, a community of cool ladies and the hero within herself, AND WHY WOULDN’T YOU WANT THAT, definitely get this!

It’s a standalone Batgirl story completely accessible to all and with none of the weird baggage and the complicated continuity of the regular Batman universe! it’s appropriate for younger teens but still a good read for adults, the art’s colorful and great, it’s packed to the brim with joy and hope.

And on top of all that, it gives a great character who’s been traditionally horribly neglected by mainstream comics for some reason (*cough its because she’s not white cough*) a spotlight and a chance to shine (and get written by an Asian American author for once!)! This also features one of my other faves, who had her disability and adult identity erased in the main universe, but not in this comic, hurray!

SO YEAH, if you like superheroes at all, highly recommend this!

NOW for a more detailed review, calling on all my expertise as a Cassandra Cain superfan and going into pros and cons. This’ll be long, but I’ll do it as a list to break it down.

Let’s start with the good stuff, there’s a lot of it:

- This story takes place in world where Barbara Gordon as Oracle (and former Batgirl) and Cassandra Cain as Batgirl exist, but Batman and The Killing Joke do not appear to. That is honestly transcendentally great to finally see this as an officially realized concept, Batgirl allowed to stand on its own as a legacy of powerful women, with all history of these characters being victimized for the sake of manpain erased. I am elated.

-The art was adorable, the designs were great, the clothes and Cass’s costumes were super cute, the setting was vibrant.

-Jackie was a really fun character and mentor figure for Cass. Loved her snark and how she and Babs basically become Cass’s two Moms and an awesome team in their own right. The relationships in this were just heartwarming. Loved the range of characters in general.

-Cass basically lived in a library aka my life dream. I mean, she did it because she was homeless and on the run from her assassin father, but like.

-Cassandra FINALLY knows her own race, (she’s half-Chinese) and gets to have a goddamn connection and basic feelings about it (Jackie bringing up what the bat means to Chinese culture), etc, god it should not have taken this long for this to happen.

(And it’s really important to have a version of Cass’s story where, y’know, the positive inspirational figures in her life include other Asian people, they aren’t just white people. it wasn’t until I read this it fully dawned on me how screwed up it is she never had that before.)

-For the first time in her entire existence, Cassandra Cain got to be in a canon romance that wasn’t fucking awful, can you believe it. Her love interest Erik was adorable, and him being a budding romance writer was an especially sweet touch- and I think there’s an implication/hint his dad’s the Bronze Tiger? Which is really cute Easter Egg for Cass fans, considering she had a strong friendship with the dude in her original series!

-The idea of Cass liking to draw and expressing herself through art is really fun and fitting. Her being visually focused, it makes a lot of sense.

-Cass extending her body language ability to sort of being able to guess at people’s underlying emotional problems from how they carry themselves is a really neat idea- it could have been implemented a little more smoothly but I like the concept.

-Cass going after the “evil-doers” in the library after becoming a hero was one of the best things I’ve ever seen. Deserves to be framed. I love what a huge nerd Cass got to be in this.

-The comic understood that core of Cass’s character is compassion and empathy, that how she reaches out for people, refuses to harm, and really believes in people and embodies change, rebirth, hope. THAT’S IT, THAT’S MY GIRL, THAT’S MY HERO..

-I’ve read a ton of comics with Barbara Gordon and this is the first one I’ve come across where she discussed her relationship with her mother having any sort of influence on her interests and personality, she isn’t even the main character of this and her mother matters more in it than every other comic I’ve read with her combined how sad is that

-I liked Babs just casually making gadgets and stuff all the time, and loved that she expressed she honestly preferred doing this and that was why she was giving Batgirl to Cass. MADE ME WANT TO SCREAM FUCK YOU DC ALL OVER AGAIN.

-Compared to the original Cass Batgirl comics, this story is obviously more accessible as a standalone, but it’s also just overall more appropriate for a wider range of ages since the darker elements of Cass’s story are way toned down. I was a young teenager when I read Cass’s series and was fine, but there are young teenagers that DON’T want like, graphic onscreen deaths in their comics, so it’s good there’s a lighter Cass story for them. It was just a really sweet, affirming story.

Now for some cons, none of them damning:

The romance was cute, but wish it’d had room to breathe. Ideally, it didn’t need to be happening alongside Cass’s origin, I think it would have been better if it was just hinted at and then was allowed to fully play out as an after-she-became-Batgirl thing, but I can get that Kuhn didn’t know if this would get a sequel and there were probably a lot of good reasons she wanted to include it.

-I think this came from Kuhn being used to writing as a YA author rather than doing comics, but it was weird to read a Cass comic with so much narration and the way it was used really detracted from the potential power of the story. We’re told through Cass’s super chatty narration she’s not a normal teen, she TELLS US that she barely knows how to read and speak and TELLS US she’s better at reading body language-but we never get a sense of this, not even at the beginning, because the story doesn’t trust the reader to take in the visuals without narration, and then she’s able to talk like a normal teen pretty much right off the bat.

I’m okay with Cass becoming a chatty girl, and her voice in this comic was fun- I know “silent Asian” has a lot baggage and Cass’s original character leaned into some stereotypes- but the first chapter/part would been far more powerful if it had her world be a little more silent and fully emphasized the visual, for her interactions with people and words be garbled and confusing, and if it gave us more of a sense of the world she comes from and how her perception of things differs from the average person. Cass’s original debut and the beginning of her original series did a really good job giving us a sense of this, and took great advantage of comics as a visual medium, and I missed that.

-Cass learns to read and talk SUPER EASILY and it just comes off as unbelievable. I do like the idea of her camping at a library, eavesdropping, and teaching herself, but I would have liked to see her actually struggle like a person would. Moreover, while I know the presentation of it was very flawed, Cass basically had a learning/language disability in the original series. I was kind of hoping this comic would lean into that, and actually give a more realistic and nuanced representation of that kind of disability (it could have been presented as something she always had that was exacerbated by how she was raised, not caused by it!).

Honestly, I think her romance with Erik would have been far more interesting and meaningful and tied in better if she’d actually struggled to read, maybe even discovered she was dyslexic and couldn’t quite read the same way he could. That could have been a source of development between them.

-David Cain’s a super flat as a character in this comic, he doesn’t have much presence, menacing or otherwise, and Cass’s complicated feelings and relationship with him is not nearly as painful as they were in her original series.This is partly because there wasn’t a lot of a space for it though, and that’s fine.

-Overall, the main thing that hurts the story is that we don’t see all that much of what Cass’s life was like as an assassin, and her life with David Cain was like. It’s harder to invest in Cass’s transformation into a hero when we don’t really have a sense of who she was before,it’s hard to appreciate her breaking free when we can’t get a sense of what kind of cage she was even in. How much language DID she know? How much of the world was she exposed to? What was she really deprived of? I hope if there’s a sequel we can see more of this.

-Babs isn’t the main character of course, so this isn’t a real complaint, but I did miss her cynical and angry edge. She’s pretty much just a chipper nerd with no sign of her own baggage in this, and it makes her relationship with Cass less interesting. It’s implied that her “accident” did affect her and she just managed to work through a lot of it before she met Cass, but I missed the element of their relationship where they both were hurting from losing “the world they knew” and working through it together, sometimes clashing, etc.

-I read one of Sarah Kuhn’s YA novels in anticipation of this, and while I’m relieved this is better about it than her first book was (I expected it to be, writers improve, I definitely know how messy a first book is) there’s still some cringe-y ideas of how “average” teens talk creeping in, occasional clunky pacing etc.

But all in all? It was a really nice little story that did a lot of cool things, and I really want a sequel and want more of this version of Cass and her universe. As someone who was driven away from DC comics in part because of how badly they treated Cass, Oracle and the Batgirl legacy. it’s really like a salve on old wounds.

#cassandra cain #batgirl #shadow of the batgirl #oracle #barbara gordon #sarah kuhn #graphic novels #dc comics #my reviews #reviews #batfamily #nicole goux

80 notes · View notes

cassandrium360 · 5 years ago

Text

Holding Out

Hey! Here’s a bit of a mirror to Reaching Out you absolutely don’t have to read that though exploring Varian’s emotions after Once a Handmaiden..., hope you guys enjoy!!

Varian let out a shaky breath. Each powerful beat of his heart against his chest steadily sending a twang of guilt through his body. His eyes burned, yet no tears appeared as he stared down at the cloak in his hands. His gaze was distant, him not really registering anything in front of him, too consumed by his own thoughts.

The guilt rushed over him almost immediately after everyone had evacuated the kingdom. Or perhaps before, everything after Cass being trapped in the amber was a blur to him. One fact rang clear in his mind, the only one he was able to focus on. He did this. When Eugene had come to him seeking to protect the kingdom... he had agreed to create a weapon. To use on Cass. Using the substance that had nearly torn his life apart.

What had he been thinking? He hadn’t realized the weight, one seemingly tugging on his racing heart at that very moment, that would come with seeing her slowly overcome by the clear orange substance. It could have happened within a matter of seconds, and honestly probably had, but it felt like a lifetime to Varian. He should have done something... anything! Ran to help her, told Eugene to stand down...

But his limbs and mind had frozen. Every instinct that should’ve told him to run, move, do something had gone numb. A fear he hadn’t felt in years clawing at him for a moment until he saw her break free of the substance he created.

She had reached out to him. And he had done nothing. Hadn’t helped when she’d been hurting. And he hated himself for it.

Tears finally came to his dry eyes, a single one unconsciously slipping on the fabric he was clutching in his hands. He had sworn to himself he wouldn’t stop fighting for her. Would keep reaching out for the girl he knew was still in there. And he hadn’t. He had turned to fighting her.

This situation felt oddly familiar to Varian, though Varian now seemed to be on the other side of it, as if he was now looking into a window rather than out of it. And the pain that came with the realization he was now turning his back on Cass... just as Rapunzel had done to him, seemed to knock the air out of his lungs.

He breathing became more shallow, faint sobs shaking their way through as he ran his gloved fingers over the faded white seam of the cloak he grasped in his hands. It was the last piece of her he still held onto. The last one he could reach.

No, he couldn’t allow himself to believe that. He could reach her, as long as he never stopped fighting. He just... he needed another chance with her.

He turned the rough grey fabric in his hands, wondering what kind of material it was made of. He forced his mind to focus on the science behind the seemingly magic object rather than... than any of the crushing thoughts in his brain.

When Cass has worn it... she had appeared as someone else? He couldn’t have been sure, but it had seemed another maid was standing beside the princess before Cass had appeared. If that was the case, it could be used to seek into the palace.

Varian’s head was clear enough to know she wouldn’t let him, nor anyone else near the castle (and, in all honestly, wasn’t sure the princess would let him anywhere near the palace either), but perhaps she’d trust the one person working alongside her?

Varian visibly shuddered at that thought. The only one Cass had at the moment was an ancient warlock bent on destroying Corona. Because he and the others had given up on Cass.

He flicked a stray tear off of the grainy fabric, his hands trembling as he threw the cloak over his shoulders, the weight of the leather like substance placing an unfamiliar weight across them. The cloak was too big on him, providing much possibility for a fall, just as the situation he faced.

“If I don’t apologize, I’ll never make this right.” He whispered to himself, “She’ll be lost... forever.” He resolved, feigning as much courage in his soft voice as he could muster. He was terrified. Rapunzel had spoken of the creature Cass had been working with, and that, plus the legends gave him only one fact about what he would be facing. It wouldn’t end well. But... if he could be in that much danger then what of Cass?

His thoughts began to race, the guilt of everything happening coming back full force, causing Varian to practically sprint over to the door of the restaurant they had taken heed in, desperate to get away from them.

He shoved the door open, the cool evening air providing a welcome distraction as it clashed against his skin. He took an uncertain step away from the battered wooden threshold of the restaurant, he had no plan for when he reached her. He just needed to see her, to apologize, to fix the aftermath of his actions.

He stepped forward again, more confidently, more urgently as he continued to put space between him and the warmth of the Snuggly Duckling. If he didn’t reach her now, it might be too late.

“Varian!” A concerned voice called from the restaurant. Varian froze, his shoulders drawing closer to himself under the weight of the cloak as he heard his father. He couldn’t speak to him, not right now. Quirin would refuse Varian’s plan in an instant, words he had heard many times echoing in the back of his mind. Dangerous. Reckless. Impulsive.

And he would be lying if he said each one didn’t burn.

And to be honest... even if he turned around now, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to meet his father’s eye. After all, the substance that had nearly killed him.... Varian has willingly made more of it. Had used it against Cass, even if he hadn’t meant to. How could he face him after that? If Quirin knew what he had done... Varian was sure he would never forgive him.

Varian picked up his pace into a run, throwing himself behind one of the trees marking the beginning of the forest, his back pressing hard against the painfully rough bark. His heart was slamming against his chest, his breathing shallow as he tried to keep is as silent as he could. He couldn’t be caught. This was his only chance to fix all he had done. To... to make up for his past.

“Zhan Tiri.” He breathed, his voice trembling as he spoke her name, throwing the cloak’s hood over his head, hoping he would be able to use the magic, if he didn’t, he had no way of reaching the palace.

Varian wasn’t sure if he was relieved or terrified as a wave of magic seemed to course over him, a quick glance down showing a black lace dress and pale grey skin where he was sure had been some worn brown pants and scuffed black boots a minute ago. He pushed himself off of the tree, surprised his arms still had the strength to do so with how much they were trembling.

He could hear his father’s footsteps and concerned calls steadily getting closer.

Hands sweating and heart shaking, Varian ran deep into the woods, in the direction he knew would lead him to the palace.

——

Varian fought back a wince as his footsteps echoed off the imposing castle walls surrounding him. They towered over him, harsh blue shadows glinting off the rocks present all throughout the castle. The moonlight shone softly through the window, illuminating off the ragged black spikes and casting their discrepant shadows over him as he continued.

Under any other circumstances, Varian might’ve even called the soft moon’s glow in the lack of torch light gorgeous, but now it only sent a hollow feeling up his spine.

This wasn’t right. The last time he had seen the normally warm and welcoming interior of the castle this lifeless had been all those years ago, when the blizzard had nearly destroyed Corona, when he… The last time he had made a mistake this grave.

He felt himself shiver at that thought, pulling the cloak closer to his shoulders, in a vain hope it might provide him some sort of comfort. He couldn’t allow himself to focus on that, not now. He had to focus on reaching her, that was the only way he could save Corona, could save her.

His shoes connected with the floors more harshly than he had imagined, them now riddled with cracks from the out of place rocks penetrating them. Varian passed another cluster of them, a distorted view of his reflection making an appearance in the dim lighting, starting him a bit as he was met not with his familiar black hair and blue eyes, but rather a, what could only be described as creature, with a much too wide grin. He forced his eyes to the door at the end of the corridor, giving him a solid goal to force his mind to fix on, the melancholy sound reverberating in his ears once more.

The painting on the walls, ones of the royal family, seemed to judge him as he walked by. He was sure the king’s berating glare could only be fixed on him, despite the slight tear in the painting where a single rock had barely scraped the paper. And a feeling Varian couldn't shake told him he deserved this. Deserved their stares, their judgement. He couldn't even bring himself to meet the green gaze of the princess, sure his resolve would crack if he did.

If not for him, they wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. He never should've agreed to create that machine, never should've suggested they use the amber. He hadn't been thinking at the time, only stupidly focusing on restoring his own name in Corona. Yeah, he had done a great job there.

He stopped only at the last frame, allowing himself to look up at the now empty space. His heart sank. He knew which picture used to hang in its’ place. It had been one of Rapunzel and Cass, the day they had almost won the Contest of the Crowns. He had noticed it during one of the first times he visited the castle, remembering how Cass’ eyes had lit up when she had told him the story behind that painting. “Yeah, so maybe I lost a job, pretty sure I got something better though.” her soft words still seemed so fresh in his mind.

He reached up, his now much shorter arms not quite reaching the bottom of the golden frame, now empty of the memories it had once held. He felt a few tear prick the bottom of his vision, “Oh Cassie, I’m so sorry.” he whispered, speaking only to himself.

She was still in there. He believed that, and this time he wasn't hollowly convincing himself of that fact. And even if she would’ve done all of this anyway, he never should’ve turned from her. The best he could do now was make things right.

He scrubbed his hand over his eyes, with a newly found resolve as he shoved the door to the large throne room aside.

There Cass sat, looking oddly small on the throne where the princess had once sat. A few fragments of rocks seemed to be providing a guard around her.

Her gaze flicked up towards him, pulled from where it had been resting on absolutely nothing. She immediately set her feet on the ground, her heels colliding harshly with the floor as she moved them from where her knees had been curled into her chest mere moments ago. She sat rigid, her eyes filled with pain, and a sudden spark of anger as she seemed to process just who exactly was standing before her.

“You. I told you to leave me alone.” she bit, and the emptiness of her voice startled Varian more than the anger he had heard in it previously ever had. She looked… lost. Hurt. Betrayed.

Varian shook the shock off of himself, remembering why he had been there in the first place as he saw what he couldn't quite tell were tear stains trailing her face. The dim light casting only shadows over her pale skin. His heart felt heavier than it had a moment ago, though he hadn't thought it possible, a sinking feeling resting in him as he saw just how wrong he had been to think it was too late for Cass. This was her standing before him, even if she didn't quite know it herself.

He immediately pulled the hood of the cloak, breaking the spell lying over him immediately, revealing him standing where it had appeared Zhan Tiri had been a moment before.

“I’m sorry.” he chocked out, any words he had planned out forgotten as he shut his eyes, a single tear which had been brimming on his eyelid making its’ way down his cheek. “I’m so, so sorry Cassie. I never should’ve built that machine, I didn't know what I was thinking… I was so wrong to give up on you, I never should’ve—.” he rambled, his voice breaking more often than he would’ve liked it to, his eyes remaining shut as a few more tears escaped him. He trailed off slightly, managing a shaky breath before forcing his weak voice to continue, “And then when it fired, you must’ve thought we were attacking you, and… all of this is my fault.” he said, the weight of the fabric he thought he had adjusted to on his shoulders all too much all at once.

Cass’ throat felt too dry to speak, his words slamming against her heart almost as roughly as it was against her chest at the moment. The moonstone began to throb painfully in her chest, her pressing her hand firmly against in in hopes of quelling the pain. She shut her eyes, forcing the only clear words in her mind to formulate, “You… didn't fire it on purpose?” she asked, mentally berating herself for how desperate she sounded.

She should get a grip, after all, just look at the mess that had happened earlier because she couldn't control her emotions. She should be furious! With herself, for allowing a small piece of her heart to believe what he said, with him for showing up after all that had happened, with the kingdom for… she wasn't sure she could call it attacking. She wasn't sure of anything in the fog of the day’s events anymore. All Cass knew is that she was tired. She was so tired of facing herself to feel what her head told her she should. Tired of having to keep fighting a battle she no longer believed in.

Yes, at first it had been about her destiny, about grabbing a shot, any shot, for herself. But… where she was now? This wasn't herd destiny. This path had no future. She had stolen it. And she didn't know why she kept fighting. Perhaps it was fear, knowing no one could forgive all she had done. Or maybe she had convinced herself that a stolen, lonely, lost destiny was better than having no plan at all.

She wanted so desperately to trust him. To make all of this stop. To run, to forget all she had done.

She watched as he shook his head at that, scrubbing his teary eyes, “No! No, I would never! I don't know what happened, I was so caught up in the moment, I just… I never should've held it up but… it fired anyway. It must’ve malfunctioned. I’m so, so sorry Cassie.” He said, voice hoarse in the room they found themselves in.

Cass felt something in her heart shift, and she trusted him. Any rational part of her brain reasoned it was a trap… but maybe she really hadn't been all that good at being rational lately. She had forced her emotions aside in the name of finding her destiny, and while she had been convinced it had been for the best… maybe it’s what had brought her here in the first place. Even if she would regret it later, she couldn't hold it all in. Not anymore. This was wrong. The power of the moonstone thudding in her chest didn't belong there. This room, this castle, were not really hers.

She stood on shaky legs from the throne she couldn't call hers, not anymore, taking the few steps down to stand level with him.

And she fell to her knees, bowing her head as the sobs she had forced to quell for so long all crashed over her at once, her chest and heart trembling as hot tears fell from her faintly glowing blue eyes. “I’m so sorry. This… there’s no one else to blame for this. For me.” she managed to choke out, unsure he heard her. It hadn't been his fault.

The next thing she felt a pair of warm arms were wrapped around her shoulders, him shaking as much as she was as they held onto each other in the middle of this disaster.

Hope you guys enjoyed that!! I wanted to expand on the episode a bit, having Varian try a little more to reach out to Cass.

#tts #tangled #rta #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure #cassandra #varian #cassarian #once a handmaiden

56 notes · View notes

elisaphoenix13 · 4 years ago

Text

Stinger's Beginning

Yes I did get a donation to post this.

It had happened when she and Diana were baking cupcakes down on the Quill-Lang floor. Cassie had just put the batter in the oven to bake, and as soon as she closed the door to the oven, there was a loud noise. Normally, Cassie was used to loud noises in the tower. It was a given with all of the Avengers, and on their floor, Quill and her dad could be pretty clumsy. But this noise had been unfamiliar and loud enough to startle the teenager.

Something happened when she nearly jumped out of her skin too. One second Cassie was staring at the top of the counter, and the next she found herself face to face with Diana's shoes. The little girl had seen what happened and she carefully crouches down to look at her pseudo sister who was currently the size of an ant. Before Diana could pick her up or say anything though, Cassie grows back to her normal size, sending the little girl onto her bottom in surprise.

"Oh my god...what happened?!" Cassie gasps out.

"You were tiny!" Diana exclaims. "Do it again!"

"I...I don't know if I can." The teen mumbles.

"Maybe you did it because you were scared?" Diana wonders.

Cassie looks at her hands and then closes her eyes to try and see if she can do it again at will. She focuses on how she felt when the noise had startled her, and hears Diana gasp, causing her to open her eyes again.

She was back to staring at the little girl's shoes again.

"SISSY HAS POWERS!" Diana yells gleefully. "Uncle Scott! Uncle Quill!" She dashes up the stairs as Cassie grows back to her normal size a second time, and skids to a halt in the open doorway.

Scott was the one to join the little girl at the door. "What are you yelling about?"

"Cassie has powers!" Diana repeats with a grin before taking his hand and dragging him down to the kitchen with Quill following close behind.

Cassie was still trying to wrap her head around the new development. Diana's suggestion made her realize that at least being scared was connected to her new ability to shrink. Maybe her power was connected to her emotions? Could she grow too?

"Powers?" Quill asks with a raised eyebrow. "Did you sneeze sprinkles?" He jokes.

Cassie huffs. "No!" She says as Diana giggles out something along the lines of "sprinkle sneezes". "I...I shrunk."

Scott looks at her skeptically. "You look normal to me."

"Maybe she lost a couple of inches. She does look a little shorter." Quill chuckles.

Their comments were enough to annoy Cassie and she suddenly grew until her head hit the ceiling. Both of her parents jump back in surprise with a shout as she winces and rubs her head, and Diana just grins wider.

"See! I told you!"

Scott looks up at Cassie with wide eyes. "Peanut...have you been messing with my particles?"

"No! Of course not!" Cassie frowns.

Quill rubs his chin thoughtfully as the teenager shrinks down to size. "I wonder if you getting turned into a baby had anything to do with it."

Scott looks up at his husband. "A baby? When did this happen?"

"You were out of town. Cass was putting away our laundry and accidentally broke one of you vials--I didn't tell you about this?" Quill tells him.

"No!"

"Oh well...yeah. That happened." Quill rubs the back of his neck. "The particles turned her into a baby and Tony had to make something to change her back safely. Maybe her body absorbed the properties of the shrinking and growing formula."

Cassie drops her hand from her head. "Maybe Mom, Tony, and Bruce can check." She suggests.

The two men nod and Diana rushes ahead of them to get her parents. When the elevator comes back, Cassie takes it down to the medbay with Scott and Quill and finds Bruce already waiting for her. It wasn't a big surprise since he spent a lot of his time studying in the medbay if he wasn't on his floor with Thor. Cassie sits on the bed after he motions to it and he grabs everything he needs to draw some of her blood.

"Friday told me what happened. I'm going to draw some blood and see if there's anything different from an earlier sample we have." Bruce tells her.

Cassie nods. "Okay."

As the scientist draws blood, Stephen and Tony join them and walk over to stand by the holoscreen as Bruce finishes and tapes some cotton to the broken skin. He then brings the sample over to be tested along with Cassie's older sample and places them both in the machine.

"So what's this about Miss Sass having powers?" Tony asks.

"She grew right in front of us." Quill answers and Stephen walks over to do a quick check of her pulse and her eyes.

"How are you feeling? Tired?" He asks her.

"No. I'm okay."

"How much control do you have over it?" The sorcerer asks.

"Some? My emotions seem to have a part in it, but if I focus enough, I can get back to my normal size." Cassie tells him.

"Can you try and demonstrate?"

The teen nods, focuses on herself, and shrinks down until she's standing on the medical bed. The men look at her with wide eyes, but Stephen quickly recovers and nods before asking her to grow again. After another second of focus, Cassie grows, hitting her head on the ceiling again, and quickly shrinks back to normal to rub her head. Stephen checks her head and nods when he doesn't find any damage and smiles at her.

"Well, you fortunately seem to have reasonable control over your powers which is good. Whether or not you decide to use them to help us is up to you and your parents, but you still need training." Stephen finally says and Scott nods in agreement.

"I can help with training." He says. "I'd rather not have you on the field though."

Cassie shakes her head. "I don't mind staying behind with Dia and Val. At least these might be able to help me get them to safety if anything ever happens, and I'm already training when the boys do."

"Dr. Banner, the results are ready." Friday says and both Bruce and Tony turn to the holoscreen.

They go over the results in silence for a few minutes, flicking away mini screens or pulling more into it, and Cassie actually tilts her head curiously when Bruce's eyebrows fly up to his hairline. Both men turn to look at her and the teen straightens.

"The particles seemed to have mutated her DNA. Which makes sense since she's able to grow and shrink without the help of a suit or the particles." Tony says and shakes his head with a smirk. "So much for having a normal kid around."

Quill grins. "I can't wait to see Peter's reaction when he sees her."

Scott bursts into laughter while Cassie rolls her eyes. She was allowed to leave after that, and she took the elevator back up to her floor, leaving her parents behind to discuss her newfound abilities and probably what that meant for all of them. Before she could even consider any of it though, the smell of cupcakes spurs her to run over to the oven and pull them out with an oven mitt. She sets them on the counter to cool and turns to grab the cake decorating tools, only to come face to face with her boyfriend hanging upside down from the ceiling.

"PETER!" Cassie screeches and miraculously doesn't shrink down this time. "You scared me!"

Peter flips down from the ceiling and looks her over. "Are you okay?! Dia said something about you going down to the medbay! You're never in the medbay! At least not for yourself. Are you sick?" Peter rattles off and Cassie smiles after huffing fondly.

"I'm fine tiger. Bruce just ran some...tests." She says as she reaches behind him and grabs the tools.

Not before planting a kiss on his cheek though.

Peter, for his part, frowned instead of blushing like he usually did. "Why? What kind of tests?"

"Oh...you know...pregnancy tests--" Cassie says nonchalantly and Peter sputters as she turns back to the cupcakes.

"P-Pregn--what?! That's not possible! We haven't done anything to make that possible!" Peter pauses. "Have we?" He asks skeptically. "I know I tend to sleepwalk when I'm stressed…"

"No. I'm just teasing you, you big worry wart. Where's Dia?" Cassie laughs.

"Upstairs. She'll be back in a minute. What were the tests for then?" Peter persists.

"Nothing bad, but it's for me to know and you to find out." She tells him cheekily as she puts some color into frosting and stirs it in.

"... promise?"

"Promise." Cassie assures him. "Now help us decorate cupcakes."

"Yeah. Sure."

Cassie fills a piping bag and hands it to him, and after showing him how it was going to be done, they get to work decorating the cupcakes once they cool down enough. Diana joins them after a few minutes to help, and about halfway through, Scott and Quill return and join them in the kitchen. Scott grabs a beer for Quill and a juice for himself as the celestial sits at the breakfast bar by Peter. Quill waits to open his beer when Cassie hands him a cupcake and he tears off the bottom to squish on top before biting into it.

"So what's with the cupcakes?" He asks around his mouthful, and gets the back of his head whapped by Scott. "Ow…"

"It's for Dia's school picnic tomorrow." Cassie answers.

"Why isn't Stephen doing this?" He asks and Cassie smirks.

"Because, in his words, he is 'not a housewife'. He couldn't really do the decorating anyways because of his hands. I don't mind helping." She says.

"Maybe I should start calling you Mom instead." Quill jokes and takes another bite.

"Please don't." Cassie deadpans.

"She won't tell me what her tests were for." Peter grumbles.

Scott catches Cassie's look and comes to the rescue.

"It was just a physical really. She got everything checked out. Blood drawn, pee in a cup--"

"DAD!" Cassie interrupts with a blush.

"What?" Scott asks innocently. "Your boyfriend is concerned about you."

"I will throw your cupcake in your face." She threatens as she holds her arm back, armed with a cupcake.

"Nonono! You'll give Quill a reason to lick me like a dog!" Scott waves his hands frantically and both teens grimace.

"I don't need an excuse to do that that babe." Quill cackles when Peter and Cassie groan.

When Peter looks up from the cupcake he's currently decorating (pretty well since this wasn't the first time Cassie roped him into helping), he grins at her before looking back down. Cassie had a feeling she knew what he was thinking, and if she was right, she'd go along with it.

"Are you sure? She told me they were pregnancy tests." Peter says casually.

The reaction was instantaneous. Quill had popped the last of his cupcake into his mouth when Peter had said that, and the Celestial proceeded to choke. The older man attempted to cough and hit his chest to try and dislodge the treat, but he quickly turned blue and fell off the stool he was sitting on before Scott could help him. Peter stops again and looks down at the space pirate before looking back at Cassie as Scott helps revive his husband.

"I actually killed Quill."

Cassie shrugs. "He'll walk it off."

Quill gasps when Scott finally gets the cake to go down his throat, and he sits up and takes a few deep breaths before shouting,

"That's not funny!"

Peter and Cassie cackled anyway while Diana calmly continued to decorate. The little girl was completely unconcerned with her uncle's temporary death. He couldn't permanently die after all, and she was used to weird conversations.

"Is there any more blue?"

#spidersting #cassie lang #diana stark strange (oc)#scott lang #peter quill #peter parker #stephen strange #tony stark #mama bear au #bruce banner

12 notes · View notes

heyitsani · 4 years ago

Text

Secrets That You Keep

Word Count: 7517

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Jason swears and there’s mentions of past emotional trauma/abuse. There’s also mention of injury but not overly descriptive.

Pairing: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd

Summary: Dick begins noticing that Jason seems to have a strong relationship with each member of the Bat Clan. Except with him. It takes a near death experience for him to finally find out why that is.

Notes: This was my submission for the JayDick Summer Exchange for @captaindeadships and I’m so excited that I can finally share it here! This deals heavily with Dick’s inner thoughts and he’s a pretty unreliable narrator. Both boys are emotionally stunted and it dives head first into Dick’s death and his mission with Spyral.

You can also read this on AO3 here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dick didn’t notice it happening at first.

He knew that Jason and Tim had mended their issues and gotten close when Dick had been “dead” and doing his Spyral mission. He had seen the pair partner up on missions before, so Dick had brushed it off as simply finding common ground finally. He didn’t suspect anything when he called Tim and heard Jason’s voice in the background.

It became a regular occurrence whenever he called Tim and Dick had just come to accept it as the new normal. Hearing Jason’s voice rumbling in the background, snarky and rude as ever, was as close to normal as Dick really felt these days.

There had been a few moments before the Crime Syndicate had started the downward spiral of Dick’s life that he had been sure he and Jason could have had some kind of relationship. Looking back, he could see the friendship forming. Perhaps even something more, but Dick didn’t want to think about the possibility of what could have been. But the memories of meals shared on rooftops and wounds cared for by the other, he tried not to think about it. He had accepted that it wasn’t his to have anymore.

At least in the light of day, he had accepted it.

It was a different story when it was still dark out and Dick was lying in bed with nothing but his mind to occupy himself. When thoughts of Jason as he was now blended with memories of Jason from before he died. When Dick’s own emotions swirled and confused him enough that he wondered if what he felt for the younger man was something more than what it should be.

More than what Jason would ever allow them to be. Now.

Dick also didn’t suspect anything when he found Jason with Damian, sparring in the Cave one afternoon. Damian had confided in him how he remembered Jason’s presence among The League’s ranks. How Talia had brought Damian around plenty of times when she had overseen Jason’s training. Jason was also the only other Bat who spoke Arabic fluently (Dick not far behind but not quite at their level), so having the elder there was a taste of home. A comfort that not even Dick could provide the youngest Wayne.

And it was a home Dick knew Damian missed, if not for the people that came with it.

But despite those moments with Tim and Damian, Dick didn’t think twice about Jason spending time with them. He didn’t even linger on the moments for any reason other than to lament how much he wished he could bridge that gap between him and Jason. It wasn’t enough to raise suspicions though.

No, Dick didn’t suspect anything was going on until he found Jason with Cass.

He had arrived at the manor early in hopes of getting some time in on the rings before Cass came over from Barbara’s for their weekly dance workout. Other members of the family had enjoyed watching Cass dance, but Dick was really the only member who moved well enough to join her. So, they had arranged weekly times to get together and dance. And in order to get to the room where his acrobat equipment was kept, he had to pass the room where Bruce had created the perfect room for Cass to dance in.

And that was where he found Cass and Jason moving around to an old-school hip-hop song. But it wasn’t like when she and Dick danced. With him it was performative. This? This looked like fun. Jason was smiling. And an ache began to form in Dick’s chest at the sight of it.

Dick just remained frozen at the sight of the two of them, probably looking as shocked as he felt. At least until Jason noticed him in the doorway and froze up, drawing Cass’ attention. And while his sister brightened at the sight of him, Jason seemed to withdraw.

Damnit all to hell, that stung something fierce.

So yeah, he took notice of something going on then. And that night he found himself in his Bludhaven apartment with Red Robin and Spoiler covering his city while he made a list of all the times he’s seen Jason spend with the others and all the time he’s spent with Dick.

Zero.

Leaning back into his sofa, Dick let his eyes stare off at nothing as it sunk in. He could recall countless times he had seen Jason spend time with Tim, Damian, Cass, Duke, and hell even Steph. But he couldn’t recall a single moment where Jason had spent time with him. In or out of the suit. Not since he had returned from Spyral. And worse than that, he could recall multiple times where Dick entered a room and Jason immediately left. There was always some kind of excuse so Dick had never investigated it, but now he could see it for what it was. Avoidance. Jason was purposefully distancing himself from Dick and goddamn that really did hurt.

Dick knew he hadn’t been a good brother. He knew he could have been so much better for Jason, but he had been so hurt and so angry at the younger’s presence and the fact that he was Robin without even knowing what the name and the colors meant to Dick.

But Jason had told Dick he had been better than Jason had given him credit for, right? When he had joined Bizzaro, Artemis, and Jason on that Outlaw mission, he thought he and Jason had patched some of their old hurts. But maybe it had just been him who had done that.

Throwing his head back onto the couch, Dick stared at the ceiling and tried to think of anything he could have done in order to have Jason not want to be near him and though the faking his death thing had pissed the younger off, it didn’t seem like it would have been enough to get to this point. Plus, it had been years at this point. And nothing else stood out to him. He couldn’t think of a single, goddamn moment where he might have pushed Jason away to the point where he wanted nothing to do with Dick. And that was frustrating.

So, Dick gripped his hair and closed his eyes while keeping his head thrown back.

And that was the exact position Tim and Steph found him in an hour later as they slipped in through one of his windows to report how the patrol had gone.

“Dude, seriously? I thought you were working a case?” Tim teased him, laughing as Dick jolted forward and shoved all the papers on his coffee table into a folder and closed it so neither of them would see what it was he had been doing.

“I was. I mean, I am. I was thinking.” He stumbled over his words as he tried to compose himself from the shock of having not heard them coming. “How was it out there?” He watched Tim and Steph exchange a glance before Steph headed for his kitchen to undoubtedly help herself to something to eat.

“It was fine. Quiet except for that drop you knew was happening. It was an easy takedown.” Nodding his head, Dick pushed to his feet. “Dude, you okay?”

Swallowing, Dick clenched his jaw for a moment before taking a deep breath. “Yeah, just still stuck in that case. You two staying here tonight? There’s not much open, but I can order some food for you guys?” Tim’s eyes narrowed and Dick could tell he wanted to push the subject, but thankfully Steph stepped into the room.

“Yes, food. For the love of god, I’m starving,” she complained, dropping down into the spot Dick had just vacated. Nodding his head, Dick grabbed the file from the table and headed to his bedroom to tuck it away just in case Tim got curious. He would have to shred the papers later just to be sure no one else came across them. Slipping the file into the drawer where he kept his jeans, he closed the drawer and took a moment to lean his hands onto the edge of the dressed, head hanging as the weight of his discovery hit him again.

He allowed himself a moment before straightening up and putting on the mask of Dick Grayson, doting brother and friend. It was just another part to play, one he had playing for decades. And he had been saying it almost all his life:

The show must go on.

Life took pity on him after that night and Dick found himself too busy to really think about the situation with Jason. Busy with a new drug landing on the streets of his city and diverting all his resources into finding the chemist responsible for the seven overdoses in three nights.

“Have you looked at the composition at all?” Tim called out to Dick from his place at the lab table where he had been looking at the samples of the drug he had managed to get the night before. Dick looked away from the map of Bludhaven he and Damian had been marking off the deaths on and shook his head.

“No, I don’t have the right gear. That’s why I brought it here. Why?” He moved over toward Tim and waited to see if he’d put it up on the computer screen the magnifying glass was linked to. The screen flickered before coming to life and showing the very base structure of the drug that had been dubbed “Dreamer” for the vivid dreams it gave the user. “Is that…?”

“Fear toxin? It looks like it, doesn’t it?” Dick kept his eyes on the screen as Tim stood and grabbed a different slide that had been stored and slipped it in next to the Dreamer sample. “They have the same base.”

“But the base of Crane’s drug is Blue Flower,” Damian spoke up, drawing Dick’s gaze for a moment before he looked back to the screen.

“Could this be Crane?” Dick questioned, looking to Tim.

“I don’t think so. Crane didn’t design his toxin. He just replicates it.” Dick found his eyes moving back to the screen again as he crossed his arms over his chest and tried to think about what this possibly could mean. “This,” Tim pointed to the screen, “is Blue Flower. But the rest of it is something else. The analysis won’t be done for a few hours, but it should be able to tell us more. Maybe point you in the right direction.”

Dick opened his mouth to agree and thank Tim for his help, but he snapped his mouth shut at the familiar sound of Jason’s motorcycle coming into the cave. And all at once, Dick was reminded of what he had discovered the other night and the familiar pain in his chest flared up yet again.

“Oh good, I thought he was going to be late,” Dick looked over to find Duke headed down the stairs and beelining for Jason. And though Dick wanted to question it and find out yet another link that he could add to his list, he forced himself to turn back to the screen and analyze the drug. Tim didn’t say anything as he moved away, footsteps sounding toward where Jason and Duke were now talking about tickets of some sort and Dick just wanted to drown it out.

“Todd is taking him to a Knights game. Apparently, Thomas has never been,” Damian supplied as he moved to take the spot abandoned by Tim. Dick just hummed in response and didn’t bother saying anything in response, looking down at the younger man. And though he tried his best to keep his Dick Grayson mask on, he must have failed for a moment because Damian was suddenly looking at him with narrowed eyes. “You are upset.”

Shaking his head, Dick looked away. “I’m frustrated,” he admitted, knowing it could be about a multitude of things and not necessarily about Jason forming solid relationships with every family member but him.

“No.” Sapphire eyes turned back to green and Dick waited. “You think we don’t notice, but we can tell when you are wearing your mask without wearing one.”

“Why would I be wearing a mask, Little D? That’s just ridiculous.” He forced out an easy sounding laugh as he ruffled his brother’s hair before turning to move back over to the map. Unfortunately, that brought attention to the fact that he was there and when he glanced over, he found Jason staring at him with an unreadable expression on his face. But Dick couldn’t focus on that at the moment. He couldn’t waste his energy wondering why he was the pariah of the family in regard to Jason. Not when he had a case to solve.

But he did waste his energy on it because it was all he could think about.

Even long after he left the cave that night and returned home to his apartment in the ‘Haven. While he was flying through the sky, dressed in black and blue, and trying to get a handle on the Dreamer situation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Fuck, ‘Wing,” the modified voice hit him like a ton of bricks. When he had sent off the distress beacon, Red Hood was the very last person Dick had expected to answer.

“Hood,” he gasped, breaths coming out in quick, broken pants as he pressed a hand to his side. It had started firm, but he was fairly sure his efforts were for ‘naught at the moment. “You’re…I didn’t…” His mind was foggy and no matter what he tried, he couldn’t break through it enough to get a coherent thought out.

Jason dropped to his knees next to Dick as he sat propped against the wall of a random warehouse he had stumbled into after fleeing from the scene that had gotten him shot. “You’re fucking lucky I was already in the area, you dick,” Jason muttered, batting Dick’s hand away from his side and taking a look at the damage. “Shit, do you have a doctor you trust here? N? Nightwing!” Dick wasn’t sure when he had closed his eyes, but the feeling on Jason’s gloved hand smacking his cheek forced him to open them up again. “Doctor?” Dick blinked slowly, trying to make the question make sense. Then it clicked.

“Leslie.”

“Fuck,” Jason cursed, tapping something on the side of his helmet. “RR, I need an assist. N is bad and he doesn’t have a doc out here.” There was silence as Jason listened to whatever it was Tim was relaying, poking at Dick’s side while he did. “Copy.” Dick felt his eyes drifting shut again but shot them open again when Jason snapped his name. “We gotta get on the roof. Replacement is sending the Batwing.”

With a groan of pain, Dick tried his best to help Jason get his body in an upright position. But he knew there was no way he was going to get up to the roof without Jason doing all the work and when he said as much, all he got was a grunt in return. His focus hazed a bit until he was crying out in pain again as Jason heaved him up over his shoulder and carried him out of the warehouse.

Being thrown over his shoulder didn’t hurt as much as Dick had thought it would and briefly he wondered if he was going into shock from blood loss. Had the wound been that bad? Had it been long enough for him to have reached that point.

He wasn’t sure. He couldn’t clear the fog from his mind enough to think straight.

And when he tried to ask Jason about time frames, his words were slurred and garbled, causing Jason to snap, “Shut up, Dickhead. Just…just focus on not bleeding out.”

Dick told himself that the panic he heard in Jason’s voice was all in his head.

The sound of the plane landing on the rooftop they occupied was muffled and that was also concerning for his condition. But his focus was nonexistent at this point and he could only gasp when Jason rushed them into the plane the instant he could.

Things happened in flashes after Jason strapped him down onto the gurney with the help of Duke, who immediately started cutting away his suit. He remembered Jason removing his helmet and domino, pressing both his hands into the wound on Dick’s side, the elder being too far gone to complain about the spike of pain.

He remembered the warm face of Leslie Thompkins over him, mouth moving but words sounding far away. Almost as if he were underwater.

He remembered shouting and a steady beep beep beep that was followed by a hand pressed to his forehead and a familiar voice whispering go back to sleep.

He remembered coming to and finding a warm body pressed next to his uninjured side, smaller than his own and familiar from nights spent comforting nightmares on both sides of the relationship. There were also two hands clinging to the hand on his injured side, but when he tried to turn and see who it was the haze came back and everything faded back to black.

The next time he came to, there was more clarity. There was also a hell of a lot more pain.

“Dick,” he turned to find Bruce sitting in the chair next to him, relief smoothing over his face. He had apparently been approved to be moved to the cave medical wing since this wasn’t the clinic or hospital Jason and Duke had brought him to. But his vision was still fuzzy around the edges and he couldn’t quite focus to be sure. “Chum, you with us?”

“Wha-?” His voice cracked, unused and in desperate need of water. Bruce grabbed the cup next to his bed and slipped a straw in it before pressing it to his cracked lips, letting Dick take a few slow sips. He knew the drill by then. Since he had no way of knowing how long he had been out yet, he needed to be careful not to make himself sick.

Pulling the cup away, Bruce kept it in hand but sat back in his chair. “How are you feeling?”

“Hurts.”

“I’m sure it does. Whatever they shot you with went all the way through but tore up your side in the process. Leslie was not happy about the amount of damage she had to repair on the table,” Bruce told him. Dick blinked slowly, eyebrows creasing as he tried to remember what had happened.

“Shot gun of some kind,” he offered up, remembering the distinct sound of the cocking of the weapon before it was shot at him from behind. “These guys are low level, but-“ Bruce shook his head and placed a hand on Dick’s wrist.

“It doesn’t matter right now. We can figure it out later. Tim and Jason are already pulling together everything to see what they can do to help.” That caused Dick’s frown to deepen.

“Jason?” Bruce frowned in response.

“Yes, Jason. He’s the one who found you after you lit your beacon. Do you not remember?” Dick shook his head, more to try and clear the fog than to deny his memory. “He had already been coming out to find you to offer his help.” But that didn’t make sense. Jason had been avoiding him. He had gone out of his way to keep his distance. In a world where Jason didn’t hate him, it made sense that the anti-hero would come help. He had connections to the underworld that would prove invaluable in a case like this, but they didn’t live in a perfect world.

“Jason hates me.”

“I what now?” Dick’s gaze snapped to the doorway where Jason stood, still dressed in his Hood gear but without the helmet and mask. Unable to reconcile what Bruce had been saying with the Jason he had been faced with recently, Dick just stared at the imposing figure he created.

“You hate me?” Jason pinched his eyebrows together at that and took a few more steps into the room.

Bruce cleared his throat and Dick tore his eyes away from Jason’s to look at the older man. But Bruce wasn’t looking at Dick, his gaze was on Jason and Dick couldn’t see it clear enough to tell what he was thinking. “Anything to report?” There was a heavy pause before Jason answered.

“We knocked out a major supply chain and Tim’s staying at Dick’s to run the encryption on the files we lifted. He thinks he’ll have the chemist’s name before lunch.” The civility between the pair confused Dick even more than the fact that Jason hated him. When had that happened? How had he missed the fact that Jason, of all people, could work easily with Bruce?

Rubbing at his head to try and ward off the on-coming headache, Dick sighed and leaned further back into the pillows behind him. The pain in his side was starting to get to the point where he couldn’t ignore it and he wanted to go back to sleep. He definitely did not want to get into anything involving Jason right then.

“I’m going to go get Alfred. He can give you something, Dick,” Bruce said quietly, placing a hand on his shoulder before standing and heading out the door Jason had come in from. Instead of looking over at the other man still in the room with him, Dick just sighed and closed his eyes.

There was a shuffling noise for a moment before a woosh of air. “I don’t hate you.” Furrowing his brows, Dick opened his eyes and looked over to find Jason had taken over the chair Bruce had previously been in.

“Could have fooled me,” Dick replied, his voice taking on a bit more of a bitter edge than he had meant for it to. The look that flashed across Jason’s face made Dick feel slightly guilty, but then he remembered how he had basically been treated like an infectious disease for no reason and told himself he shouldn’t feel that way. But he did because it was Jason and it sucked to be on the outside looking in.

“Master Richard, so glad to see you awake,” Alfred’s voice cut off anything Jason might have said in response. And Dick welcomed the interruption because he was in too much pain to focus on anything Jason might have had to say. “Master Bruce said you are in pain? Let’s take a look at everything and then I will give you something to take care of that. The next time you wake, we should be able to move you upstairs to your room. I assume you’ll be more comfortable up there than in the cave.”

Alfred’s words were familiar as he looked over the various monitors Dick was attached to before pulling the sheet down and lifting the shirt Dick had been changed into up so he could look under the bandage on his side. It was a familiar routine and he was thankful for that.

“This looks to be healing nicely. Dr. Thompkins shall be coming by tomorrow to look at it herself, but I will report to her that infection seems to be a nonissue.” The bandage was replaced, and the shirt pulled back down before Alfred was off to grab a syringe and a vial of what Dick assumed was the good pain medication.

It was then that he made the mistake of looking at Jason, who was staring hard at the spot where Dick’s wound was hidden by his shirt and bandages.

Dick didn’t know what to make of that look on his face.

“Now, this will put you out rather quickly but when you awake again I shall have some soup for you and we will move you upstairs,” Alfred explained as he added the medication to the IV drip Dick was hooked up to already.

“How long was I out?”

“A little over three days. Though, to be fair, we did keep you under for the first two on purpose. There was a lot of damage and Dr. Thompkins needed time to repair it.” Dick nodded and shifted down as much as he could without bothering his side too much. He had known his side was pretty much swiss cheese after that gunshot.

“Thanks, Alfie.” The older man hummed and placed a hand on his shoulder, just like Bruce had, and Dick spared one last glance to Jason as he felt the pull of sleep hit him. That haunted look was gone from his face, but his eyes were still glued to Dick’s side.

“Sleep well, Master Richard.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Can we talk?”

Dick looked up from the laptop he had managed to convince Bruce to let him have and found Tim standing in the doorway of his bedroom. Nodding his head, he waved his brother in while shutting the computer with a soft click.

“What’s up, Tim?” He watched the younger move into the room and assess the area before choosing to sit on the side of the bed away from Dick’s injury, near the window instead of the door.

“I found something at you place and I think there’s some things you need to know. Some things I don’t think you’re going to get out of the person who should be telling you.” Both of Dick’s eyebrows rose at that and he would happily admit that his curiosity was piqued.

“What did you find?”

“Your lists about all the things Jason has done with the entire family vs what he’s done with you.” Oh. Damn. He knew he should have shredded those.

“Timmy….”

“No, just listen for a minute, okay?” Shifting uncomfortably, Dick nodded. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know whatever it was Tim was planning on saying. The air in the room was stifling and Dick hated it. He hated that there was always this undercurrent between the two of them, ever since he “returned from the dead”. Part of Dick wondered if he should sit Tim and Jason down and tell them the real reason he had agreed to do Bruce’s mission. But then the idea of them having to wear that burden, that truth of their father figure, made him think twice. He might not be okay with Bruce like they used to be, but he wasn’t going to destroy Tim’s image of the man and he wasn’t going to be the cause of Jason pulling away from the family again.

He refused.

Focusing back on Tim after his thoughts drifted, Dick realized his brother had been speaking. “Sorry Tim, I zoned. The meds are still kicking.” Tim’s flat look and annoyed quirk of his brow told Dick the younger man didn’t believe him for a moment.

“I was saying that Jason doesn’t hate you.” Now it was Dick’s turn to not believe Tim. “No, really. I know you made those lists and I can see why you drew that conclusion, but he really doesn’t. I can’t explain why he doesn’t, he definitely needs to be the one to share that information, but just know that he doesn’t.”

“Tim, I appreciate you trying to help,” Dick started but was interrupted by a throat clearing at the door of his bedroom. Jumping slightly, Dick turned to find Jason in the doorway. Flinching at the burning pain the movement caused, he pressed a hand to his side and hissed.

“Shit, Dick. Sorry!” Jason rushed forward and looked like he was going to press a hand over Dick’s but stopped short.

“Are you okay? Do we need Alfred?”

“No, I’m okay,” Dick waved off Tim’s question. He breathed through the pain before slowly relaxing back into the pillows behind him, warily watching Jason have some kind of silent conversation with Tim. “Did you need Tim for something, Jason?”

Turquoise eyes looked over at him before his shoulders heaved in a sigh.

“Tim, can you give us a minute?”

“Yeah, okay.” Dick kept his eyes on Jason, but saw Tim stand out of the corner of his eye and head out of the room. Though not before stopping to squeeze Jason’s arm, and Dick’s not sure he hid the pain that gesture caused him from his face well enough because Jason frowned.

“You can sit, you know?” Dick gestured to the chair Tim had vacated and watched Jason eye it for a moment before he settled for pulling himself up onto the desk across from the bed. It was familiar and Dick could remember Jason doing just that on the rare occasion that Dick had stayed at the manor before Jason had died. It made him feel even more heartbroken at what he and Jason had become.

The silence stretched thin between them and Dick shifted, more out of awkwardness than pain. He wasn’t sure what was about to happen between them, but he was curious what Jason would be willing to reveal.

“Were you ever going to tell anyone about before you left for Spyral?”

Frowning, “I’m pretty sure the entire superhero community knows about what happened.” His frown deepened when Jason rolled his eyes with a shake of his head. “What? You guys all knew about the Crime Syndicate and me being hooked up to the Murder Machine.”

“After that, Dickhead.”

Dick considered what he was saying and thought about the only event that had really taken place between his actual death and him leaving for Spyral.

“How did you find out about that?” He knew for a fact Bruce would never tell anyone that he had beaten his son into submission. And Dick had only told one other person who had no association to the family.

“You didn’t find it odd at all that after hating you for so long, Timmy all of the sudden “forgave” you?” He had, actually. He had wondered why the hell Tim had suddenly felt like Dick was worthy again, but he hadn’t wanted to push his luck, so he didn’t ask. It had felt too wonderful to have one of his brothers back that he hadn’t questioned. “I never watched it, but he gave me the cliff notes.”

“So what?” Dick asked, shrugging his shoulders. Tim had forgiven him because he had seen Dick had basically been given no choice. But Jason apparently didn’t feel the same as their younger brother.

Jason sighed, “You let us be pissed at you for over a year. You let me punch you and accuse you of some pretty terrible shit. You could have told us at any point, and we would have believed you.” Jason paused and Dick didn’t know if he was wanting him to say something, but he didn’t. He just remained silent and took the judgment as he always did. “You’re doing it right now! For fuck’s sake, Dick. Stop being such a fucking martyr all the time and realize that it doesn’t always have to fall on your shoulders!”

“It’s not about being a martyr, Jason.” Dick held up a hand when it looked like Jason was going to argue. “It’s not. You both had already made up your minds about what happened. And I was on a timetable. Then when I was back for good, I…” He had had too much trauma he needed to deal with, and he didn’t have the energy to dredge it all up again just so his brothers would forgive him. “It didn’t matter in the end. Going to Spyral had always felt like a punishment and having you and Tim be upset fell in line.”

“Punishment for what?”

“For so much,” he admitted softly. “So much more than any of you will ever know about. But mostly for getting caught by the Syndicate and for letting Lex kill me.” He watched Jason blanch a bit and though Dick wanted to comfort him, he just didn’t have it in him.

“I trained you to live, and I watched you die.”

“And the longer it went without explanation, the less it seemed to matter.”

“And you don’t think we deserved to know the truth about what Bruce did?”

“No. You didn’t deserve that. And I would go back in time to make sure Tim never witnessed it if I could. But you? Especially not you.” And maybe Dick was wrong for feeling that way, but he would always want to protect his family. He would always do whatever he could to make sure they were safe. They all knew it and Bruce had capitalized upon it.

“Because I’m so fucking fragile that I might go insane again if I knew Bruce had beat the shit out of you just to get you to agree to go undercover and lie to the whole family?” Dick knew Jason was baiting him for a fight at this point, but he was too tired to engage.

Rubbing at his forehead, Dick closed his eyes. “Jay, I hated when you were back, but you weren’t with us. I hated having that distance between us.” And he had done everything he could think of to bring Jason back. He had given him chance after chance, even though he kept doing unspeakable things. “And then things started getting better between us and I was so relieved. I thought it was just a matter of time before you came home.” But it had taken Dick’s death to really mend the bridges that had been destroyed. “I didn’t want to be the reason you separated yourself from the family again. And don’t try to tell me it’s not a valid concern.”

He watched Jason huff out an affirmative noise, shaking his head. But Dick knew he was right. Jason might be good with members of the family, but his relationship with Bruce would always be fragile.

“I have been noticing it for months now, your relationships with everyone. How when I call Tim, you’re usually there in the background. How you take Duke places, dance with Cass, and even spar with Damian. Steph mentions you all the time when she’s around and I saw you with Bruce in the medbay.” The all too familiar ache he felt in his chest when he noticed these things came back and Dick rubbed at it. “I’ve watched all of this at a distance because that’s where you’ve kept me. No matter what I’ve tried, I have been on the outside looking in. And I just don’t understand. You can move forward with Bruce, maybe you even forgave him. But you can’t do that with me?”

Jason pushed off the desk and walked over to the window, turning his back to Dick. And the older man would never admit how much that hurt. He just didn’t understand how, especially if he knew the truth, Jason could still be so upset with him that he would shut him out like that.

“Why does it bother you so much?”

“What?”

“Why do you care that I have relationships with all of the others but not you?”

“I-“ Dick wasn’t sure how to answer that. Why did it matter? He and Jason had been at odds for almost the entire time they had known each other. With the exception of maybe that last year before his death, when they had finally began developing a friendship or whatever it was that had been happening between them, they had almost always been fire and ice.

But Dick also knew that he cared for Jason. That even though he was outcasted by the man, the man Dick watched blossom over the years was one that he cared deeply about. One he wanted to be part of his own life. But it was more than that, something whispered in his mind. It was more than he was willing to admit.

“I was so angry with you when you came back from Spyral and I wanted nothing more than to beat the shit out of you for it,” Jason admitted, turning to look at Dick. And Dick could only nod, understanding. “Then I had Tim calling me in the middle of the night panicking because he came across the crowl footage of the fight you had with Bruce and I wondered why the hell you would keep that from us. Why would you not tell us the real story and just let us blame you.”

“I ultimately still made the decision to go.”

“The hell you did, Dick! The hell you did.” Jason’s temper was flaring again, and it took Dick by surprise. He had seen Jason mad plenty of times, more than he could ever recall. But he had never seen Jason mad for him. “You begged. You mentioned us all by name. You knew that after Damian, it would be too much.”

And that was true. It was exactly why he had begged Bruce to let him come home. “But he also made a valid point. Someone had to do it. Someone had to make sure they didn’t do to anyone else what the Syndicate had done to me.”

“But you didn’t have to be dead for that. At least not to us.” Jason paused and moved closer to the bed. “We didn’t have to mourn you.”

“He had my funeral before he even told me about the mission. I doubt Timmy found that information. He kept me in a chemically induced coma so I could heal up and he could make all the arrangements.” From the look on his face, Dick had a feeling that was the wrong thing to say to Jason. So he tried to say something to calm him down a bit. “No matter what any of you say, Jay, protecting you all will always be my job. I will always sacrifice myself for all of you.”

“And that’s the problem. That’s why I have been keeping my distance.” Dick frowned and searched Jason for some kind of silent answer. But the look on his face gave nothing away. “I don’t want to mourn you again. Not when-” He cut himself off, shaking his head. Dick could see the muscles in his jaw clenching.

“Jay?”

“Before everything turned to shit, we were good. Right?” Nodding his head, he remained silent to see where Jason was going. “I thought so too. There was…something happening. And maybe it was wishful thinking on my end. A childhood crush that not even the Pit could erase.” His laugh was self-deprecating, and Dick hated it. But his words confirmed that Dick hadn’t been the only one thinking there had been something more between them back then.

“It wasn’t wishful thinking,” Dick offered, softly and carefully. And for a moment, Jason just stared at Dick with his emotions so blatantly on display. It was the most open Jason had probably ever been with him and his chest began to ache for a reason other than missing the other man. “But what does this have to do with me protecting you all?”

“I don’t want to mourn someone I’m in love with. Again.”

The words hit Dick right in the gut, stealing all his breath. Jason was in love with him. Not just Jason loved him. No, he was in love with him he said. And he didn’t want to experience what it felt like to lose someone he was in love with again.

“So, you don’t hate me?” Dick asked, dazed. And the laugh that escaped Jason was surprised and emotionally strained.

“No, you fucking asshole. I don’t hate you.”

“You never said?” Right? Dick sorted through his memories as quickly as he could from when things were good between them and couldn’t recall that admission. There were moments where maybe the look in Jason’s eye could have been a confession, but Dick had been so worried about screwing everything up that he had missed it.

“I never said,” Jason confirmed. “And by the time I was certain, I was standing at your grave and it was too late.” He closed the remaining space between them and carefully sat down on the bed, looking as though he was searching for something in Dick’s eyes. “And when you came back, the anger pushed all those feelings away. It was easier to feel betrayed.” Nodding his head, Dick looked down at his blanket covered lap. He could understand that. “But then Tim called and I was faced with the fact that you had done all of it against your will and I couldn’t ignore my feelings anymore.”

Dick sighed, “But you still stayed away.”

“I did. Because it just reminded me of how much it had hurt to bury you and how you would always be this self-sacrificing idiot who put everyone else before himself.” Dick couldn’t argue with that assessment. He had always been of the mind that his life meant so much less than the people he cared for. He would be happy to die if they could live. He didn’t want to actually die, but he would if it saved them all.

What didn’t make sense was what had suddenly changed. Dick wasn’t sure why Jason was telling him any of this now. “What’s different?”

“What?” Jason sounded confused and Dick looked up at him.

“What’s different now? You didn’t have to tell me all of this. You could have let me keep on believing you hate me.” He could have kept protecting his heart.

“You almost died, Dick. When I found you in that warehouse, I thought you were going to die. Duke even asked what we were supposed to do if you died on our way back because we didn't have paddles on the plane for some reason. Tim thought you were dead already when we rolled you out.” Jason licked his lips and shifted, looking like he was debating something internally. Dick found out what that something was the moment Jason’s hands pressed against his cheeks. “You almost died, and I was faced with the fact that I was still going to have to mourn someone I loved if you did. And when Leslie said you would live after we spent hours wondering if you’d make it through surgery, I knew I didn’t want to pretend anymore.”

“Little wing…” Dick whispered, reaching up one hand to wrap his fingers around one of Jason’s wrists. His breathing was coming out heavier than before, the confession sucking the air from his lungs.

“I am so fucking in love with you, Dick Grayson. And I don’t want you to die thinking I feel anything less than that.”

Before he could respond, Jason was pressing his lips to Dick’s in the softest kiss Dick had ever received. A gentle press of one mouth to another. But it was the most emotionally charged kiss the older man had ever received. Ever.

It was over more quickly than Dick wanted it to be, but Jason looked like he had more to say.

“I don’t expect you to feel the same. Not with the way things have been on your end since you came back,” Jason told him, rubbing a thumb against Dick’s cheekbone. His other hand dropped away from Dick’s face. “I can wait until you’re ready. But like I said, I didn’t want to keep pretending.”

And that was a sentiment that Dick could appreciate. He was happy to know Jason wasn’t expecting him to say he loved him back because he was still adjusting to the idea that Jason didn’t hate him. He cared deeply for the younger man, but there was too much to sort through in his head before he could confirm love. He had rushed into things too many times in the past and it had turned out poorly each and every time.

“You know Tim is going to take credit for your confession, right?” Dick chuckled as Jason rolled his eyes.

“Replacement is a shit. He’s been bugging me about talking to you for ages. He’s too observant for his own good.” Yes, that was definitely the truth.

There was a moment of silence between them and Dick turned his head to kiss the inside of Jason’s wrist on the hand still cupping his cheek. “I can’t say it yet. But I don’t think I’m far off. In the meantime, maybe we can just…”

“Hang out?”

Dick chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, hang out. And maybe kiss some more. Because that was a teaser and I’m not going to be up for much more for a while.”

“Leslie would have my head if I did anything to slow your healing.” Dick hummed. “But yeah, we can do the kissing thing,” he muttered as he leaned forward again.

And as Dick sighed into the feeling of Jason’s lips against his again, he was silently thankful for the asshole who had decided to use a crappy shot gun as his weapon of choice.

7 notes · View notes

buns-with-a-book · 5 years ago

Text

Deflowered

A sequel to Flowers of White, completely spicy. So much spice. Includes SDT spice.

There’s two poems in this fic. The second one was written by furyeclipse

Fandom: Devil May Cry Characters: OC/Vergil, Dante Tags: @nimnox @furyeclipse @synchronmurmurs @harlot-of-oblivion @queenmuzz

Summary: Vergil despises the scent of another man, of Draco, on the person he considers his. The scent infuriates him, enough to make him act on more base desires.

Days after they crashed her ‘wedding’, he can still smell him on her.

His demonic blood gave him heightened senses, hearing and smell and speed. It usually was a blessing but, in this moment, it was a curse. He can smell that scum, the scent of silver and sage and too-expensive cologne, still lingering around her. A part of him, a deep base beast that he sometimes wishes would just quiet down, snarls every time she passed by him before promptly filling him with shame for snarling at her when the whole affair was no fault of her own.

How dare Draco, a pathetic excuse of a man who had shown nothing but disapproval and dismissal, believe himself worthy of Cassandra? Cassandra was nothing short of extraordinary, the blood of a warrior-saint in her veins. A part of him was always in awe of how she maneuvered herself on the battlefield, brave and bold and unafraid of the demons they faced. That fool would never know the joy that burned in those deep green eyes of hers when they got paid for exterminating demons, the determination when they clashed in the training room, the way they sparkled with amusement at whatever foolery Dante got into. Draco would never know that and he was certain he didn’t care.

Cassandra was far more than just her ancestor, far more than just the daughter of a warrior-saint. She was a queen. A queen that Draco would never respect, would never appreciate, never be worthy of. (And, if he was honest with himself, he wondered if he himself was worthy of her as well).

“Verge? Earth to Verge?”

Vergil blinked, seeing Dante’s hand waving in front of his face. He was sitting on the couch in Devil May Cry, the setting sun casting long shadows across the shop. Dante was hovering next to him, a curious but playful smile on his face.

“Dante, I’m right here.” Vergil slapped his brother’s hand away from his face.

“Yeah, sure you were.” He smiled and sat down, the couch dipping as he settled next to his twin. “I know that look of yours when you’re thinking really hard. What’s stewin?”

“The best way to get rid of you.” Vergil replied dryly, a spectral sword appearing by his will and pointed at Dante. Dante laughed, of course he would laugh.

“Nah, I feel like trying my luck.”

“Your very horrible luck, you mean.” Vergil raised an eyebrow. Despite his mild irritation, it wasn’t enough to skewer him yet. “I believe even Lady can attest to how rotten it can be.”

“I can be lucky every once in a while!”

“Like a broken clock can be right twice a day.” Vergil snapped his book shut, finally admitting defeat. “I’m...afraid my mind still wanders back to the day we crashed Draco’s wedding. I can still smell him and it infuriates me, like an unwelcome stench that refuses to leave.”

“Yeah, I understand.” Dante hummed. “You two should go on a date.” Vergil could feel heat rising in his cheeks.

“A...date?”

“Yeah! Get your mind off the whole wedding shit.” Dante waved his hand. Vergil closed his eyes in thought.

“Perhaps star-gazing. It’s nice and relaxing, a reprieve we need from...that event.” Even mentioning it left a foul taste in his mouth, Vergil thought with a scowl. Dante let out a soft chuckle, seemingly unaware of Vergil’s inner turmoil...but Vergil noticed the mischievous glimmer in his eyes.

“Well, there’s this nice forest outside of Red Grave. You can hike to the top and maybe get some ac- OOF!” Vergil promptly whacked him upside the head. “OW! Jeez, I’m trying to help...”

“Your idea of help is not actually help.”

“Look, I know what’s going on with you. You’re pissy another dude touched Cass when that’s your job. God Verge, you’re so easy to read when you’re angry.” Dante crossed his arms. Vergil just stared at him, not sure what to say. On one hand, Dante wasn’t wrong: the thought of Draco touching Cassandra in any capacity infuriated him to no end. On the other hand...did he have to say it so brazenly?! It always infuriated him that Dante had no shame. While Cassandra was more than willing to encourage him in his shamelessness (because she found it hilarious when that very shamelessness got him in trouble), Vergil had to draw the line somewhere.

“...if she consents.” Vergil said, standing up stiffly. “I will ask about...a date.”

“If you don’t run away from being awk-” And that was when the sword slammed down into the floor, barely missing Dante’s knee. “Hey!” Vergil ignored his exclamation as he made his way into the kitchen, where he saw Cassandra enter. Sliding his book into his jacket, he entered the kitchen to see Cassandra hard at work. A savory scent wafted through the kitchen as Cassandra stirred up waffle batter for baking. Aside her stirring bowl was cheese, tomato sauce, and herbs. He smirked, knowing that tonight’s dinner was pizza waffles.

“Hi Vergil.” Cassandra said quickly. “What do you need? As long as it’s not pestering me to finish up din-”

“No, no, it’s not that.” Vergil shook his head, earning a confused noise from her. “I would like to know if you would like to go on a date with me.”

“You sound like you’re trying to ask me out for the first time.” Cassandra said with a soft chuckle. Before he could object, she continued. “I’d love to go on a date. A nice simple date, maybe we can go stargazing on the roof.”

“On the roof of Devil May Cry?” He asked.

“Not in the mood to go anywhere for a bit. If we can stay home, I’d go for it.” A part of him, that hungry beast inside him, purred appreciatively at the idea. He watched her work on dinner.

“As you wish.” A faint smile crept on his face as he watched her work. It seemed like that little affair was nothing more than a bad memory, a memory that was rapidly fading. As she poured the finished batter into the waffle-maker, Vergil’s eyes fluttered closed as he leaned against the doorframe. The sound of her making dinner was...surprisingly soothing. The fact that he could indulge in domestic scenarios like this was a feeling he couldn’t quite describe. He could only barely remember the last time he was this peaceful, the feeling of contentment with his life being foreign to him. If he had to recall, it would be back in his childhood, before the attack that changed his fate forever. But now, he had that...peace in his life. Reunited with his brother, slowly bonding over the son he only recently found out existed, and with a woman who cared about Nero just as much as he did (but more openly. Vergil being open with his emotions remained a struggle that he tried hard to work through), he was just...happy.

He opened his eyes, watching as Cassandra finished with the waffles. She drizzled tomato sauce, cheese, and basil all over them. Setting the plate on the table, she walked past him. His nose caught her scent, of herbs and morning mist and too-expensive colog-

No. That was Draco. The beast roiled at the scent. He flinched, thankful that Cassandra wasn’t nearby to notice it.

“Dante! Dinner!” She called before slipping back into the kitchen, followed by Dante padding his way after her call. He rounded around Vergil, pausing next to his brother.

“Did you ask her out?” He asked, ice blue eyes glimmering mischievously.

“Yes.”

“Did she say yes?”

“Of course I did Dante.�� Cassandra huffed. “We’re gonna go stargazing on the roof of Devil May Cry in the future.”

“How romantic.” Dante hummed. “I mean, aside from the whole ‘sitting on the roof’-”

“I’m sure it’ll be romantic somehow. Vergil’s very good at reciting poetry.” Cassandra said as she prepared a second plate of pizza waffles. She ignored the sound of Dante gagging. “Yeah yeah, you keep gagging all you want mister ‘has rotten luck with the ladies’.”

“Ow!” Dante whined. “That huuurts.”

“It hurts because it’s true.” Vergil added.

“Beating up on your own brother…” He sighed in mock defeat. “You two are mean.”

“That’s our job.” Cassandra winked at Dante before handing Vergil the plate of pizza waffles. Vergil took the plate and the fork Cassandra offered before sitting down next to Dante. Cassandra made one last plate of pizza waffles for herself, humming softly as the waffle-maker did it’s work. Vergil closed his eyes, quietly eating what she had served. He remembered the first time she made this meal, and how quickly he made his distaste known until he actually tried it. It was this very dish that made him only occasionally question what Cassandra made (most of the time, as he had come to understand it, some of her more stranger options was just to get Dante to eat more than just pizza and sundaes).

His mind moved away from that memory, to that promised date. If the devil within decided to behave, perhaps it would be just a gentle and loving affair, as she deserved after such tribulation. But it all hinged on if the devil inside him behaved. And if even the slightest hint of that scum’s scent sent it into a huffy rage…

He wasn’t too sure how he would deal with that.

---

The skies of Red Grave City were clear, the summer stars shining brightly above them. As most of Red Grave had been ripped apart, the light pollution was not as strong as it used to be, providing one with a clear view of the stars above. Normally, every reminder of the destruction of the city stung Vergil’s heart with guilt, even if he wasn’t in the right mind when he did stab himself with Yamato.

It was here, on the roof of Devil May Cry, that Vergil found Cassandra. In his hand were three books of poetry, one of Shakespearean Sonnets, his prized book of Blake, and a small notebook he kept in his coat pocket. Cassandra had given it to him on his birthday (a day he usually forgot). He had taken that notebook and tried his own hand at poetry. It’s quality was...questionable but, according to Nero, it was passable. Cassandra was busy smoothing out a large plush blanket on the floor of the roof. Not too far away was a basket, full of sweet and savory snacks to pass the time. Very faintly, in the far distance, he swore he heard a piano playing. Returning his gaze to Cassandra, her attire was a simple deep blue dress, the thin linen fluttering with her movements.

He was right, he thought with a soft smirk. Blue did look good on her.

“Vergil, I can feel you staring.” Her words, accented with a tease, made his heart jump. He hid his brief surprise as he strode to her, sitting down on the blanket next to her. She smiled to him, laying herself down on the soft blanket. Vergil shed his coat, setting it next to the blasket of food. He set the books down on his coat. She laid down on the blanket, Vergil settling himself next to her as he took out his book of Shakespearean sonnets.

“Shakespear?” She asked, staring at the beautifully decorated book curiously.

“Why not?” He asked in turn. Cassandra laughed.

“You got me there, Mr. Poetry.” She pecked his cheek before laying down. Vergil settled down next to her and opened the book, flipping through the sonnets until he found an acceptable one. With that, he began to read.

Take all my loves, my love, yea take them all; What hast thou then more than thou hadst before? No love, my love, that thou mayst true love call; All mine was thine, before thou hadst this more. Then if for my love thou my love receivest, I cannot blame thee, for my love thou usest; But yet be blam'd, if thou thyself deceivest By wilful taste of what thyself refusest. I do forgive thy robbery, gentle thief, Although thou steal thee all my poverty; And yet, love knows, it is a greater grief To bear love's wrong, than hate's known injury. Lascivious grace, in whom all ill well shows, Kill me with spites, yet we must not be foes.

Cassandra hummed thoughtfully as he finished reading. “That’s not 18, is it?”

“No. Too overdone. This one is his fortieth sonnet.” Vergil explained.

“Hm. 18 is a classic for a reason.” She hummed.

“Every man woos their lover with 18.” He countered. “But you are no ordinary woman, Cassandra.”

“I’m the only one that’s knocked you on your ass.” She said proudly, earning a chuckle from him.

“I believe that was because you pulled a cheap tactic on me.”

“That was one time Vergil!” Cassandra playfully whacked his shoulder. Vergil sat up, placing the book of Shakespere away. His hand took his small notebook, to which Cassandra raised an eyebrow at. “What’s that for?”

“...I’ve been practicing poetry myself.” He admitted, flipping through the pages. “It’s a hobby I’ve been working on when I am not busy.”

“Aww…” She smiled, retaking her place at his side. She rest her head on his shoulder. “Which one are you going to read?”

“Reclaim. My 78th poem.”

“78!? You either have a lot of downtime or you have a lot of ideas to immortalize in poetic form.”

“A little of both.” He smiled at her surprise. “Shall I begin?”

“Yes, please.” She rested a hand on his chest. He wrapped his arm around her, his hand resting on her back, and began to read.

The rightful queen came home today. She came back with her head high, Proudly bringing the slain man's head for all to see. The dress of white was gifted to the winds and carried away. It's shameful imitation of fabric no longer touched her. Now she's taken back her rightful crown, The light basked in her glory as she came to her knight.

She tilted her head, just a little, and suddenly that scent came back to him. Caught off guard, he let go of the book. It landed on his face rather ungracefully, earning a surprised gasp from Cassandra.

“Vergil?”

“I...I’m fine.” He grumbled.

“I doubt it. You’ve been...stiff ever since we came back from Rothes.” She sat up a little. “What’s going on?” Vergil lifted the notebook off his face, meeting her dark green eyes. They were searching him, trying to find out the answer to his state. He let out a sigh, setting the notebook back with his books. He sat up, helping her into a sitting up position, and turned to her.

“That man...Draco, his stench clings to you. It infuriates the devil inside me. It is of no fault of your own. You did what you had to do to save Nero and I am grateful for your bravery.” He paused, taking in a breath. “It still does not change the fact that Draco dared to touch you, dared to be in your presence when he is not worthy of it…”

“You’re jealous.” And there it was, that simple succinct phrase. “Does that mean your devil considers me a mate or something?”

“Along that line, yes.” He sighed.

“So…” Cassandra’s eyes were closed, the spellblade warrior deep in thought. “Your devil considers me as a mate and Draco’s shit caused them to get jealous and see Draco as competition. Does that sound right?” She opened her eyes, seeing Vergil’s confirmation. He nodded. “Ok, so, how do we deal with this problem?” There was a quiet that fell between them, Vergil’s eyes fluttering closed to think. He could feel Cassandra’s gaze on him, intense and searching for an answer to the predicament. Vergil knew the answer but his pride refused to let him say it. “Is it sex.”

“What?” He blinked.

“If it wasn’t something like that, then you would’ve said it by now.” Vergil looked away, a blush on his face. “What? I’m not wrong. You never mince words about what needs to be done to solve a problem unless it’s salacious.” And indeed, she wasn’t wrong. Vergil let out a sigh.

“You are...correct. Specifically, it involves scenting.” He could feel his face burn as he spoke. “It’s...messy.”

“We have a bath. And we paid the water bill for the month.” Cassandra said. “Are you afraid I won’t like it? Or I won’t like what will happen.”

“No. It is the fact that all this was born out of a desire to possess you. And you deserve more than someone who refuses to let go.” Cassandra mulled over his words.

“Earthmother help me, you’re such a gentleman deep down.” She said with a smile. She gently took Vergil’s chin, guiding him to face her. “If you’re worried about me consenting, then don’t worry. Of course I’d consent. I know you know your strength and I trust you to not break me too much.” Her hand moved down to take his hands. “You wield Yamato so skillfully, after all. I’m sure you can control yourself or drive me mad with pleasure.” She glanced up and gave him a wink. “I’ll be fine.”

“You’re insatiable.” He breathed.

“I know.” With that, she leaned forward to kiss him. Her hand rested on his hip, the other threading through his silvery-white hair. She gently nipped at his lips, earning a soft surprised gasp. She slid her tongue inside quickly, taking advantage of his surprise to establish her dominance. He chuckled into the kiss, slowly tipping her back onto the blanket. The hand on his hip moved to rub his groin, earning a low groan from the half-devil above her. He pulled back, earning a soft gasp from her. He leaned back, pulling the dress off her. She aided him in the effort, pulling the soft fabric off her. He leaned back, carefully pulling off his vest. He could see the hunger and appreciation in her eyes, she didn’t even try to hide it. Placing the vest next to her dress, he worked on sliding his pants off. His eyes flicked to Cassandra, who was reaching back to undo her bra. He took in a soft breath, watching as it fell away. He pulled off his pants, noticing how Cassandra’s gaze flicked down to his groin and thighs.

“Yes?”

“Lace underwear, huh?” Cassandra asked, quite obviously amused. He tensed for a moment.

“The other options chafe. It’s distracting.”

“I like it.” She leaned forward, pulling the waistband of his underwear and pulling it back and down, exposing his cock. “And it makes your dick look that much more appetizing.” She smirked at his blushing face, pulling him out of his underwear. “And those thighs? To die for.”

“Are you going to spend the rest of the night showering me with compliments?”

“I might.” She winked. “But I’m not wrong.” She reached down, stroking Vergil’s cock. He let out a grunt, eyes fluttering closed. “That’s a look…” She murmured.

“You drive me mad.” She felt his hand grab her hair. “You insatiable harlot.” She grinned at him, meeting his smirk. Before she could reply, he forced her down onto her back. He presented his cock to her. Quickly getting the hint, she took the tip into her mouth and sucked, swirling her tongue around the slit. He let out a grunt, his hand gripping just a little tighter on her hair. He remained still, groaning softly as she leaned forward, bobbing her head on his cock. Vergil groaned as she worked, her hands moving up to massage his thighs, the very part of him she praised to high heavens.

Well, not that hers were lacking in any manner. But that was neither here nor there. His more immediate focus was on Cassandra, his ice blue eyes meeting her dark green. That half-lidded sultry look made him shiver, a look that shot down his spine and made his cock throb. That deep base beast rumbled with approval at the sight...and it wanted more. Despite his attempts to stay in control, the beast within refused. He could feel his body shift and change, slowly as his control loosened. He growled as his load poured down her throat. With the last of his control, he moved back. In moments, he transformed with a burst of demonic energy.

Cassandra stared at the now transformed devil hovering over her, wings flared out behind him. The chill of the oncoming night was gone, replaced by the warmth that radiated from the very devil she was admiring. The devil let out a slow exhale, blue meeting green. She looked up and down the devil’s armored body, the deep blue that pulsated like a glowing heart from his chest to his flared wings. She could hear his tail swaying slowly behind him, faintly seeing the sharpened tip from behind his wings. He shifted back a little, as if he was worried that he had startled her.

“Wow...hot.” Cassandra said, earning an amused rumble from the devil hovering above her. Cassandra sat up, her hand reaching up to cup the side of his face. The devil leaned into her hand, warm against her skin. She smiled at the sight. “What? You thought I would be running for my life at the sight of you?”

“...a little.” He rumbled, voice warped from the demonic energy. “From the shock of my transformation.”

“You’re such a gentleman.” She took his hand and gave the warm palm a kiss. With a pleased rumble, he slowly moved his way down to her thighs. He pushed her thighs apart, noticing Cassandra shiver at the claws that pressed into her skin. Vergil leaned forward, his tongue rubbing slowly against her cunt. It rubbed up and down her slick folds, occasionally rolling around her clit, before moving down to push inside her. She gasped out, her hand reaching down to grab his horn. She pulled him closer to her, wanting to feel more of his tongue against her. Her body shook as he gave her more of what she wanted, his tongue lapping up her juices. Cassandra began to grind her hips against his mouth, shivering at the sensations.

He pulled back, letting out a pleased rumble. Cassandra lifted herself up a little by her elbows, looking down to Vergil’s groin. The carapace protecting his cock had split open, revealing a girthy slick blue cock. The bulbous head was slightly larger than the ridged shaft and, at what she presumed was at the base of his sac, was a knot. The scent that reached her made her shiver, a wave of arousal washing over her.

“Shit…” She panted. What was it about the heady scent that just seemed to make her wetter? She was certain Vergil could tell she was more than aroused, more than ready for him, but he restrained himself. “Veergill…” She whined.

“Yes, my love?”

“Nnn...please, just fuck me.” She panted. She could barely think, the heat at her core was almost overwhelming. She faintly heard a soft but warm hum before the tip of his cock rubbed at her entrance. Her body burned with unbridled lust at the contact, a cry of pleasure ripped from her. The devil pushed the tip into her, earning breathy moans from his writhing mate. With the tip inside her, he paused and looked at her. Even with only the tip inside, he could sense her trying to pull him in. He leaned down, resting his forehead against hers. She reached up, holding tight onto his scaled body. She let out a whine as he pushed forward, sinking more of his cock into her. He could feel her walls squeeze and ripple around him, a sensation that made it difficult to not start thrusting right then and there. The devil let out a slow exhale, trying to not thrust with wild abandon, not yet.

Until she pulled him close, pressing her lips against his fangs. It did him in.

With an aroused growl, the devil began to thrust hard. He felt her legs hoist around his armored midsection. In the back of his mind, he knew she would come out of this scratched up. He would take care of that later, his mind too focused on the unbridled lust that was spurred on by her moans and cries of pleasure. His wings dug into the blanket below, growling as he thrust into her shaking form. The warmth that surrounded them felt as if it was pooling in his core, his thrusts devolving into short harsh movements. He panted as the knot at the base of his cock began to swell and with it, the oncoming orgasm.

“Vergil! I-I’m close!” He heard Cassandra pant. He could feel it, it was so close. With a final thrust, he pushed the knot into her and roared, warm seed pouring into her. With him, he heard her cry out and tense up around his knot, body shaking as her orgasm finally hit her. After a few tense moments, he felt her body go lax. He looked down, seeing her breathing heavily underneath him. His gaze moved down her body to her stomach, slightly swollen from the seed that he poured into her. If he was capable of blushing, he would be doing it. He stayed there for what felt like hours, the knot slowly deswelling. He pulled out, letting out a soft groan. Settling himself next to her, the devil disappeared with a flash of blue, revealing an exhausted flushed Vergil. She turned to him, reaching out to pull him into a brief kiss.

“Cassandra…” Vergil murmured. “I apologize-”

“Don’t.” She smiled at him. “That was...phew, that was something.”

“I could have hurt you.”

“Not much more than sore hips and some scratches, which isn’t a bad thing.” Cassandra slowly sat up, letting out a hiss. “Oof...can you go run a bath? I think I’ll be here for a bit…”

“And leave you alone? Never.” He swiftly picked her up, earning a hiss from her.

“Yowch! Jeez, rail my brains out and all that gentleman behavior goes out the window.”

“You were all for it.” He pointed out. She noticed the hint of a playful smile on his lips.

“Yeah yeah…” Cassandra waved her hand as he slipped back into the shop. Stepping into the bathroom, he laid her in the bathtub. He turned on the water, letting cool water pour from the faucet into the tub. “So, uh…” Vergil glanced at her. “Do I still smell of Draco?”

“No, thankfully.” Vergil sighed.

“Good. I’d rather smell of you than of an old bully.” Vergil wondered if she knew the implication of her words. He turned off the faucet. “I’ll be ok here, you should go get everything up on the roof.”

“Are you sure? It would be remiss if I left you her-”

“Vergil. I’ll be fine. I can bathe myself. You should get that basket of snacks and put it next to our bed so we can munch on those before dozing off.” Cassandra told him firmly. Vergil sighed and stood.

“As you wish.” He left the room. Cassandra went to work on bathing herself, humming softly. She swore she heard swift footsteps, perhaps Vergil pulling on some unknown demon ability. Super speed or something, she didn’t worry herself with it. She continued to wash her body.

“It’s done.” Cassandra jumped and looked up, seeing Vergil back by her side in pants. She stared at him, still shocked at his sudden appearance.

“...fucking hell.” She ran her hand through her damp hair. “I love you Vergil but there’s just some things that surprise me about you.” He chuckled at her mild frustration. Cassandra finished bathing and stepped out of the tub, right into a towel Vergil had for her. She leaned into his strong arms as he dried her body, relaxing. When her body was dry, she leaned against the wall as he drained the tub. As the tub drained, he picked her up bridal style and carried her to their bedroom.

“Would you like me to read to you?” He asked, setting her down on their shared bed.

“Of course.” She smiled at him. “But I’d like to hear some of your works.” Vergil blinked at her before nodding, sliding into bed next to her. He pulled out the notebook and allowed her to cuddle up against his side.

“As you wish, my wild rose.”

#devil may cry #devil may cry oc #devil may cry vergil #spicy #lemon

43 notes · View notes

bigherosixfeels · 5 years ago

Text

Hiro The Villain REVIEW

I think it's safe to say that Momakase is on the "Would Adopt Hiro" list now.

The episode begins with Gogo, Wasabi, Honey Lemon and Fred going up against Momakase and what appears to be a sidekick. After a great fight sequence, the sidekick turning on her and Honey removing their mask, they discover that her partner in crime is Hiro. His friends obviously want an explanation as to why he decided to team up with her. The story begins two days prior when Momakase escaped from prison (again). Not being able to scan for her, the team agrees to risk night patrol despite to police being after them. Although Hiro and Baymax fail to find her right away, Momakase patiently waits for Hiro in his garage. She blackmails him into helping her steal something, threatening to reveal his and the rest of the teams' identities if he doesn't cooperate. With a lot on the line, Hiro reluctantly obliges.

Later on, Momakase reveals that they'll be stealing from Yama's headquarters. She needs a genius level of expertise to get past high-tech security cameras and gives him two days to find a way to do so. Hiro demands to know what she's stealing, unwilling to help if it could harm people, but Momakase insists that he'll just have to trust her. While messing around with sonic waves, a quick visit from Fred in regards to fixing his Fredmeleon suit inspires him to use the Flexible Display Technology. Once he meets up with Momakase, he reveals that he designed a mask. Both of them wear one and between the invisibility and Hiro's sonic waves destroying the cameras, they get through the building with ease.

In Yama's office, Momakase finds what she's looking for; a pair of swords. Before they leave, Hiro questions why she wanted to steal them since she has graphene blades. She reveals that they're a family heirloom. Her father traded them when gangsters threatened her family and she had been searching for them her whole life. They're all she has left of her family. Ultimately, Hiro understands her motives, knowing how important holding onto that memory is. Unfortunately, Yama, who was recently let out of jail early in exchange for information on Momakase, catches up to them. Luckily, with the ability to turn invisible, they knock him and his goons down and make a quick escape. They arrive in an alley where the rest of Big Hero 6 (minus Baymax) corner them. This is pretty much where the episode began, so the episode skips through the majority of the fight scene. Hiro has officially gotten his friends up to speed. The police have unfortunately gotten closer to them all, but Momakase decides to lead them away so Hiro and the others can get away safely. Hiro refuses, not allowing her to hurt anyone, but Momakase says she won't...this time. She then takes off, letting the police chase after her. Our heroes are able to safely make it to their headquarters. The others are grateful that Hiro went through such lengths to keep their identites a secret. They all feel secure believing that their secret is still unknown...

...Except Super Sleuth Megan Cruz spends this episode digging further into her Big Hero 6 story. In the beginning, she's about ready to call her news story quits. However, Hiro accidentally tells her information that leads to her discovering more about the team. She goes around San Fransokyo, interviewing Krei and Granville since multiple occurrences with Big Hero 6 have happened at Krei Tech and SFIT. Both refuse to give her any information.

Meanwhile, Chief Cruz conducts an interview with Callaghan for his investigation on the team. Thankfully, our origin story villain reveals nothing as well, telling Cruz that he's wrong about Big Hero 6 being vigilantes. Later on at home, the Chief and his daughter voice their frustrations about not getting answers. Curious about what was said during Callaghan's interview, Megan takes her dad's phone. After hearing her father mention a fire at SFIT, Megan does some research, immediately discovering that it was the fire Tadashi perished in.

By the end of the episode, her conspiracy wall is complete with multiple strings of red yarn connecting to a photo of Hiro.

Things I Liked:

The entire opening scene was amazing! It draws you right in from the beginning.

“And that’s why Krei wears a cow costume every Mother’s Day.” I’ve mentioned it before, but I really need a full story on this.

Fred comforting Baymax even though he doesn’t feel emotion.

Hiro mentioning to Megan about Krei being poisoned by Momakase unintentionally benefiting her investigation.

Callaghan’s alias Yokai finally being mentioned in canon!

I’m going to mention this now, but something I really loved is that this episode mentioned a lot of call-backs. Both from earlier in the series and as far back as the movie. The way it was done was great!

All of those Employee of the Month photos. The one of Hiro with the cow costume. All of the ones of Judy. The Buddy Guards are on the wall the most out of everyone.

That small moment where Hiro looked at Tadashi’s hat before going on night patrol with Baymax!!

Low battery Baymax wanting to start a tickle fight with Hiro

After seeing Momakase in Hiro’s garage, Hiro’s immediate concern was about Aunt Cass

Momakase’s blackmail was very clever

Both Krei and Granville not telling Megan anything about Big Hero 6

Hiro refusing to help Momakase if what she plans on stealing could hurt people.

Chief Cruz’s interview with Callaghan. I had no doubt that he’d be unwilling to provide more information to Cruz. He handled the whole thing very well and it makes me like his character even more.

Hiro’s sonic waves

As much as Chief Cruz annoys me, him putting his police hat on Megan’s head was adorable

A new Tadashi photo!!.....BUT AT WHAT COST

All the Tadashi, Obake and Karmi mentions. I miss them all so much.

Hiro and Baymax making dinner for Aunt Cass!! Yeah, the combo was definitely unsettling, but that’s so sweet!

THE FAMILY HUG

“Your friends and Aunt Cass trust your instincts. So did Tadashi.” MY HEART

THAT HUG BETWEEN HIRO AND BAYMAX I’M SOFT

The masks Hiro designed making it so both him and Momakase could sneak in Yama’s headquarters undetected!! Brilliant!

The animation during this entire scene was phenomenal. It was really cool to see outlines of Momakase as she would beat up Yama’s goons

Hiro and Momakase honestly make a great team!

Momakase stealing swords which belonged to her family.

Hiro sympathizing with her

Momakase: You do good work. Hiro: Yeah I do.

Hiro trying his best to jump from building to building

MOMAKASE LEADING THE POLICE AWAY FROM THE TEAM SO THEY COULD GET AWAY FROM THE POLICE SAFELY!!!

The others being grateful for Hiro doing what he did to keep their identities a secret

Megan has figured out Hiro’s identity

Things I Disliked:

You know, I really don’t have a major dislike for any particular moment in this episode. Both of the plots were both incredibly intriguing in their own ways. While the A plot left me extremely satisfied, the B plot leaves me excited for what will come next. Everything about this episode flowed wonderfully together. Momakase has been one of my favorite villains and in my opinion this was her best episode yet. This episode made me enjoy her character so much that she might as well be tied with Obake for favorite villain. It was also great to see Megan dig really deep into figuring out who Big Hero 6 is. In the end, Tadashi was the final piece that connected all the dots to Hiro which was really well done. Also, not that I’ve had anything against this arc, but the episode really made me love where the second arc of Season 2 is going. This is definitely one of the best episodes of the season and the entire series so far. I’m blown away by this episode.

On a scale of 1 to 10....I’d rate Hiro The Villain a 9.7!

54 notes · View notes

tangledaddict · 5 years ago

Text

Ranking Tangled the Series Season 2 Episodes

Where I rank these are based on my opinion. In this season, it especially has to do with the best of new dream moments...

1. Destinies Collide: Episode 21

This is the only episode where I react the same way I do when I first watched it. I am still shook with everything that happened. The HIATUS after this was the WORST…waiting to know what happens next. Anyway, to know Eugene’s parents now feels so good. I’m glad Eugene now knows his whole story. Of course, I wish he met his mother. Eugene and Rapunzel never gave up on each other and still loved each other every second in that episode even though Eugene almost betrayed Rapunzel. Even Lance and Casssandra knew Eugene wasn’t trying to hurt her. The ending of this episode, yes I am VERY MAD EVERY TIME I WATCH IT. Overall, this episode was REALLY GOOD and the most SHOCKING episode of all time in the series

2. Beyond the Corona Walls: Episode 1

This episode had my heart all over the place. I was crying. All the songs were beautiful. New Dream was at the next level of love. Eugene finally understood that Rapunzel was still not ready yet because she is waiting to reach her destiny. It’s interesting that Stalyn was the one that made Eugene realize proposing was not the right time. I really hate awkward moments, I hate them so much I have to cover my eyes and there were some awkward moments in this episode. Anyway, I can go on and on about this episode. It was emotionally amazing.

3. Rapunzel and the Great Tree:Episode 14

This was almost a tie for me with my number 1 choice. I enjoyed this episode very much. Waiting in the Wings and Buddy Song is a bop, many cute New Dream moments (especially when they were sleeping together). Eugene and Lance are such a great duo, It was funny to see them act like they were drunk. Also, RAPUNZEL WENT GOTH.

4. Lost and Found: Episode 20

Lots of cute New Dream moments. Rapunzel gave a birthday for Eugene, she tried to make him happy on his day, Eugene saying he has faith because of Rapunzel…yeah. It was great to finally meet Lord Demanitus. The ending of this episode always has me shook.

5. Vigor the Visionary: Episode 6

The fact this episode started with Eugene and Rapunzel looking at each other with heart eyes, Eugene spinning Rapunzel, and they went out on a date is already on the top of my list. Not only that, but they focused on finding Angry’s fortune together.

6. You’re Kidding Me! :Episode 18

Rapunzel and Eugene being parents in this episode was something we totally needed. I never thought about Eugene being the assertive parent. But, it makes sense. I’m not surprised though that Rapunzel was being the sweet one. Of course, I loved the discussion New Dream had at the end talking about how they were going to be parents…I was like OMGGGGGGG.

7. Rapunzeltopia: Episode 19

The episode where Cassandra meet Zhan Tiri and we didn’t know at the time oooohhh. Anyway, I hate the fact that Eugene in Rapunzels dream was a lot like the actual Eugene. I hate that because I wish some of those moments they had in her dream were real. Rapunzel and Rapunzel was something I didn’t know I needed and I am glad it exists.

8. There’s Something About Hookfoot: Episode 9

I wasn’t expecting hook foot to fall in love with a mermaid. But, the date was cute and it was also cute how they met. Rapunzel and Eugene were adorable together in this episode. Yes, they argued. But, at the end of the day, they agreed with each other and love each other more after setting up this date for hookfoot.

9. Curses! Episode 12

I really loved the encouragement Rapunzel and Eugene shared together in this episode. It was great to hear them talk about conversations they had awhile back. It wasn’t great that Eugene lied to Rapunzel about the tooth. But, he clearly lied to make her happy. So, now we all know that Eugene would literally do anything for Rapunzel, even if it means lying to make her happy.

10. Mirror, Mirror: Episode 17

No surprise Eugene was the first to be trapped in that mirror lol. But, it was funny seeing that other Eugene trying to do the smoulder and Eugene doing the smoulder on the other Rapunzel. Also, how they all reacted to Shorty eating like an actual human being, LOL.

11. The Forest of No Return: Episode 4

Eugene and Rapunzel were so cute in this episode! This was one of those episode where Eugene needs to stop completely relying on only himself and start relying on others. It’s amazing to see how much Rapunzel has changed. I really liked Adira the best in this episode, I feel like this is the only episode we got to really see her personality because in the other episodes she’s in, she seems pretty quiet.

12. Happiness is… Episode 10

This episode was very relatable because I easily get homesick. So, I understand why Rapunzel was fighting for that thing. It was funny when everyone was fighting for it, even Eugene was practicing his smoulder for her and I am the crab that fell lol. I also like how the lanterns ended up on that island and went Rapunzel sent the lantern back, it went back to Corona. So, I’m happy to see that her parents got the lantern.

13. Rapunzel: Day One : Episode 16

So.many.movie.references!!! It was good to see Rapunzel’s past self. She changed so much since she was in that tower. She’s learned so much, explored the outside world, and has become so much stronger. Without this episode, I feel like a lot of us would forget how much she’s changed.

14. King Pascal: Episode 8

The outfits were cute, I love the tree house that Cass and Rapunzel built, and Eugene’s outfit and wet hair is sexy. This felt like a different version of the Pascal Story episode but not as emotional but instead comical. To me, it was cute and funny that Pascal was being treated like a leader, he’s just a chameleon. ;)

15. The Eye of Pincosta: Episode 13

I’m glad they gave more screen time to Stalyn. But, I wish we saw her earlier in the season and Eugene was there. I wanted to hear more about Stalyn and Eugene’s relationship. But, it was barely brought up. Still, it was funny that Eugene got arrested very quickly and amazing that this time Rapunzel sacrificed her life to get the object that would free Eugene and her friends. In the previous episode, Eugene lied to make Rapunzel happy. In this episode, Rapunzel did all she could to free Eugene. I liked how these episodes are right next to each other.

16. Keeper of the Spire: Episode 7

Everyone was so annoyed in this episode and because of that I LOVED it. But, I also felt sorry for them because Calliope was annoying to me.

17. Max and Eugene in Peril on the High Seas: Episode 11

If you are a fan of Eugene, you will love this episode. Since Eugene is my favorite character, this episode made me love him more. I’m really glad he kept that book over his chest because if he didn’t omg what a twist of events this episode could’ve turned into. Also, I loved the graphics in this episode (The book, the knife, the intro title to the episode).

18. The Brother’s Hook: Episode 15

It was great to see they brought back a character from the movie in this episode. The seal wedding was really cute! I shipped these seals and the baby seals are REALLY cute!

19. Freebird: Episode 5

This episode was definitely different. Something I would have never imagined. But, it was interesting to see the characters as birds! I’m not surprised Rapunzel loved flying. Clearly she’ll do anything for flying.

20. Goodbye and Goodwill: Episode 3

Cassandra and Rapunzel’s relationship in this episode was by far the best! Their arguments were hysterical and when they were cuffed together omg, hysterical! Eugene’s drawing of a gopher was so funny and inaccurate! Also, there were some cute New Dream moments.

21. The Return of Quaid: Episode 2

I understand why this episode exists. But, it’s not my favorite. I wish this episode was instead about learning about Eugene and Stalyn’s past. But, they never went into a story about that and I wish they did! Anyway, this episode really showed more of Rapunzel. She really cares about things that really aren’t any of her business. And she saves a town that is a long drive away from Corona! There were a lot of small funny moments between Cass, Eugene, Rapunzel, Lance, and Maximus.

#tangled #tangled the series #rapunzels tangled adventure #ranking

15 notes · View notes

bigskydreaming · 5 years ago

Text

tremsing82 replied to your post:

Feeling a mood to write some...

I would love for Jason to find out about Bruce’s abuse to Dick. Like Jason is from a abusive household and after he returned as red hood Bruce didn’t hold back but for Jason to find out the abuse Dick received from Bruce outside of the mask would be interesting to read.

This won’t be a prompt I use for this, solely because this is actually a BIG thing with me, and something that pops up a lot in various of the longer projects I work on off and on in my spare time. Mostly in a series of one-shots that are meant as a BFTC fix-it, that pretty much revolves around the idea of Dick and Jason eventually reconciling in the aftermath of Bruce’s perceived death, and bonding over the idea that they’re pretty much the only two people in the world who knew Bruce the way they did - at both his best and his worst.

How to grieve for someone who at times you both loved and hated, who helped you and who hurt you, who was everything you wanted to be and everything you never wanted to be, all at the same time, at different times, at the strangest times.

So Jason finding out about the things Bruce has done to Dick, like in NTT #55, is of course a central part of that, as is Dick finding out the specifics of what happened between Bruce and Jason in UTRH (because I firmly and forever believe that Dick has zero idea about the batarang to the neck, just like I have trouble seeing any way in which Dick would have known about RHATO #25 before being shot and not had a serious reaction with Bruce). To me, a huge central part of these two brothers’ conflict in specific, is this perception they both have (with valid reasons) that the other has at various points had a relationship with Bruce that they would kill for.....even while being perfectly aware that at other times, their relationship has been nonexistent.

But these specific actions of Bruce would inevitably be the cold shock of reality to them both, because I firmly believe this is the thing they could never explain away or justify to themselves.....they can reconcile the idea of Bruce hurting them on specific occasions, and not deem it abuse even as intimately acquainted as they are with the realities of abuse given everything they’ve lived, seen, and fought against in others....because they don’t want to accept that Bruce is capable of that, that they’re capable of....’submitting’ to that, so to speak, without leaving him behind...a huge part of them needs to keep him on a pedestal even when they’re furious at him. He played such a large role in shaping their lives in ways that they are grateful for that they have trouble juggling that with this perception of him too.

And due to their own individual self-esteem issues and negative self-perceptions (as well as desperate need for his approval, even when they vehemently deny they need or want it)....they’ve always been largely able to justify to themselves, or explain away his worst treatment of them.....but only so long as they’ve been able to convince themselves it was just them. That Bruce was only this way with them.

Because one of Dick and Jason’s commonalities is that their self-deprecation is only the equivalent of their willingness to throw themselves under the knife for someone they care about, and that their negative self-perceptions are constantly being reinforced with what they perceive as additional evidence that various others are better than them. Do deserve more than them. Don’t deserve to suffer the things they’ve suffered. So IMO, my take has always been that Dick and Jason deep down love Bruce and the specific image of him they want and at times even need him to be....to such an extent that they can justify or explain away most anything he does to them at his worst....but I don’t believe for a second that either of them could ever do that if confronted with some of Bruce’s worst behavior with the other, or someone else they cared about.

So, the illusion born of their best memories of Bruce and that has so much to do with their inability to call him out on his shit even when faced with the reality of him in their worst memories of him.....can only hold, so long as they’re both one hundred percent convinced that it was just them. No one else. Because they must have deserved it. But that’s not an argument they’d ever make for anyone else, especially not one of their brothers.

But yeah, so this is a topic that as you can see, I’ve thought a lot about, lol, so its definitely something I’ve written about in depth in various WIPs that will at some point see the light of day (I’m posting WIP-phobic these days, due to uh....several years between updates on various published WIPs). Like I said, mostly the BFTC fix-it fic, but it pops up in various other things as well. There though, it has a super large presence because I personally can’t imagine all of that not coming up in their grieving processes for Bruce, because as much as most of us would like to romanticize deceased loved ones at all times, and never think of them without rose-colored glasses on, I can only draw upon my own experiences and its been mine that this isn’t always true, even when you really, truly and deeply love the person in question. Grief is an ugly, messy process, and it dredges up a lot. You’re often confronted with everything you don’t want to remember every bit as much as the stuff you fight to hold on to.

So I’ve always really wanted to tackle that, as well as the dichotomy of being an abused kid who loves their abuser as much as he hates them, because with parents its just not as simple as pretending that the good emotions don’t exist, or ignoring the memories that truly are positive and had a positive influence on you and who you became, the parts you’re genuinely grateful to them for and wouldn’t want to imagine being without, even if you could. Its not easy to love some people, but its no easier to hate them, and to me, that’s Bruce and his relationship with his two eldest in particular, to like a T.

Plus, I’ve always really liked the idea of exploring what kind of relationship Dick and Jason could have if these two brothers whose relationship at so many points has been largely at a distance and based off hearsay or imagined beliefs....like, in the aftermath of a tragedy like this, only finally started to really get to know who the other was, as adults, once the illusions they’d both been clinging to about their varying relationships with Bruce was finally stripped away. Also, I really wanted to explore the family dynamics that would result from the two of them specifically, with their contentious relationships with Bruce at some of his worse moments...like, forming a united front to kind of ‘protect’ Cass, Tim and Damian’s perceptions of Bruce, because for the most part at that point in time Bruce was still their hero, for all intents and purposes. Tim hadn’t yet IMO truly been disillusioned with Bruce at that point, Cass certainly hadn’t, and Damian might not have perceived things in the same way the others had, even if he had been fully aware of everything, but Bruce to him at that point was still kind of...a larger than life, mythic kind of figure.

And I wanted to delve into the idea of Bruce’s two eldest children, who perhaps deep down wished that they had been left with just their cherished childhood memories of him and never had to remember the times that made them feel disillusioned with their father, like....the two of them acting in concert to kinda...protect their younger siblings’ own various cherished views of their dad, like....I just see that as being something very important to them, for reasons they’re not entirely clear on (or perhaps just don’t want to examine too closely).

Plus, of course, Bruce eventually returns as we all know, so.....holy conflicting emotions, Batfam.

But you’re absolutely right that Jason does and will have a LOT of thoughts and a lot to say on the subject of NTT #55′s events, both to Dick, to Bruce eventually, his therapist, etc.

Because not only does Jason NOT like the idea of his second father having abused his elder brother at all, to any degree, for any reason.....

You better fucking believe it that IMO, Jason Peter Todd has a fucking LOT to say about their dad using HIM, the child he ‘saved’ from an abusive home, as his EXCUSE to abuse his other child.

"Oh, I’m sorry, you were so fucked up about your previously-abused-kid dying that you thought a good way to handle it would be to abuse your other kid so that maybe when one day he died too, he and I would finally have some things to talk about? Yeah I think the fuck not, Pops!”

Anyway. Like I said. I obviously will not be expanding on that particular topic at this point in time.

Obviously.

Not even a little bit.

#abuse cw

45 notes · View notes