#he tells robin what that was all about and she talks him thru it a little

[hauntingblue]

Gear 5 luffy's laugh is so contagious I just hear the drums and go insane how does this work. What did he do to me

[incorrectbatfam]

Do the batfamily members ever get too into their undercover work? (Undercover in an office and theyre worried about spreadsheets, working in a warehouse and coming home complaining about missing parts)

Bruce: Status updates on your undercover missions. Dick, you first. What have you got down at the docks?

Dick: I haven't confirmed the Killer Croc sightings yet, but more importantly, our catch hasn't been measuring up to last year's. Tuna we're doing okay on, but the salmon population seems to be on the low end. I've contacted the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries but it'll be another 3-5 business days before they can come down and check it out.

Bruce: At least you're doing something to help. Jason?

Jason: Class was okay. I think the kids are warming up to me as their substitute while Mrs. Maloney is out on maternity leave. The average on the last vocabulary quiz was 83.53% so either I'm doing my job right or they need to be challenged. I'm worried about Tristan Lancy, though. He's normally a good student but his grades have been dropping recently and his parents don't seem like safe people to tell. I'll talk to him tomorrow and try to pair him up with a peer tutor if he needs it.

Bruce: Also see if he has any alternate contacts besides his parents. Tim, any updates at the chemical plant?

Tim: If by updates you mean OSHA violations, I could go on all week. We got a batch of new recruits today and they were just thrown into the work—no PPE, no safety training, nothing. This is what happens when you place production over employee well-being. I'm gonna file a complaint after this meeting. Also, I think the union will have something to say about the manager cutting people's lunch breaks short.

Bruce: I see. Damian? Please tell me you found something volunteering at the zoo.

Damian: Depends on how you define "found." While I have not obtained evidence of a mutant larvae black market, I did help some of the animals at the sanctuary make progress with their recovery. Bobo the monkey is healing from his broken arms and we're gradually getting him re-acclimated to climbing higher surfaces. Suzie the black bear was born a little prematurely but seems to be catching up to her peers in terms of growth. Lastly, we got a grant for additional wildcat research and enrichment. As an aside, we are having an educational seminar on European mountain goats this Friday at 3:30 and I expect all of you to be there.

Bruce: I'll put that on our calendars. Steph?

Steph: It's not really undercover work for me, just work. Anyway, yes the newest Batburger location is being used for money laundering. But I really need to vent about the customers for a sec. We don't open until 10 and at 9:30 this morning some moron was banging on our door demanding Jokerized cheese fries. Then right in the middle of the lunch rush, Janie got sick so I had to fill in as the cashier and it was hell. After that, I had to step in between a fight at the drive-thru because the customer claimed we only gave him nine pieces of his ten-piece Robin nuggets and tried to beat up the kid who took his order. And to top it all off, an entire high school hockey team came in five minutes before closing.

Bruce: Cass?

Cass, blowing balloons: Can't talk. Arranging bat mitzvah.

Bruce: Duke, you're my last hope.

Duke: Margie's bringing a peanut butter chocolate cake to the bake sale. I swiped her recipe and we can easily beat her. Her ganache is way too watery and just runs off the top of the cake, which isn't even leveled. She's also trying to do something with a raspberry filling that isn't working at all. It's like she couldn't decide on what to bring. The bake sale committee also asked if we can bring some apple pies because the original baker has to go out of town for a family emergency. I think we'll win if we bring them with some ice cream and a touch of caramel, even though this isn't a contest.

Bruce: Thank you. At least our most critical case has been taken care of.

Barbara: ...I'll save my book launch for later.

[gaypiece]

OP + how they take care of u on a bad mental health day

tbh this is mostly for me bc i been going thru it and i need law cuddles yesterday

☁︎ Ft. Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Luffy, Law, & Robin

☁︎ CW: slightly suggestive, mdni

Zoro:

Not a man of many words

Will give you space if he thinks that’s what you need

Will make sure you’re taking care of yourself, but tries to act casual about it (randomly asking when was the last time you ate/drank water etc)

If you just want to rest/stay in bed, but want the company, he will gladly sit with you. May even nap next to you will nap with you if you ask him nicely

If you need a distraction, he will try to get you to train with him, plus the exercise will release extra endorphins

Might suggest another form of exercise if you’re a couple ;)

Sanji:

Will make you all of your favorite comfort foods (I think this one is a given)

Might encourage you to hang out with him in the kitchen if you’ve been in bed all day (and may try to teach you a thing or two if you need a distraction)

Will bring you water unprompted

Encourages you to talk about what’s bothering you, is understanding if you don’t want to

Will absolutely hold you if you need it

If you’re a couple, will kiss you all over and incessantly remind you of how much he loves you and how beautiful and strong you are 🥹

Nami:

Will ask who hurt you so she can kill them

Babies the fuck out of you

Orders Sanji to bring you whatever food/drinks you want (he probably would have done it anyway, but Nami wants to make sure you’re taken care of)

If you’re stopped at an island, will offer to take you shopping and get you anything you want, her treat. Will also 100% play dress up in whatever clothing stores until the two of you get kicked out

May also get you a cute little gift that she will surprise you with once you get back to the Sunny 🥹

Teams up with Usopp to start shit between Zoro and Sanji bc you think it’s so funny when they bicker

Will cuddle the shit out of you, but makes sure you’re showered first esp if you struggle to take care of yourself on a bad day

Will offer to help you shower if you’re a couple ;)

Luffy:

Asks you what’s wrong. If you don’t want to talk about it, will beg you to tell him because he wants to help. If nothing is really wrong, and it’s just a bad day, he doesn’t really understand, but will still try to make you feel better

Honestly doesn’t really understand mental illness, but doesn’t like seeing you sad

Does anything and everything in his power to make you laugh

If he thinks you need a hug, will wrap his limbs around you as many times as possible and squeeze definitely a little too hard

Law:

100% understands that mental health is just as important as physical health, and will treat you as if you’re physically ill (but not contagious)

Encourages you to talk about what’s bothering you, is understanding if you don’t want to talk about it

Constantly in doctor mode, making sure you’re eating, drinking water, taking care of yourself, etc

Will surface the Polar Tang just so you can get out to the deck and get some sunlight

If you need company, he will absolutely sit with you, even if it’s just in silence. If he’s too busy, he will get Penguin and Shachi and/or others to spend time with you.

Might ask Bepo to give you cuddles if you need it

If you two are close, may cuddle you himself

If you’re a couple, will remind you of how much you mean to him, even though words are difficult for him

Might also show you what you mean to him ;) he’s more than happy to distract you

Robin:

Definitely the gentlest one on this list

Will listen better than anyone, and is understanding

Validates your feelings and may relate to them

Makes you a cup of tea

Gives cuddles, finds it cute if you fall asleep on her

Mommy Robin’s chest and thighs are the best pillows

If you’re a couple, funny business probably isn’t on the forefront of her mind but she is 100% down if you initiate it

[blacklegsanjiii]

i'm not really a sanji girlie but i've been watching skypeia so. what if skypeian sanji au (idk how tjis would work but maybe he escapes germa thru one of the other entrances to skypeia that are referenced? or he has skypeian heritage on his mom's side. idk i just had the thought of sanji with wings and antennae and my brain went brr)

There is a Skypiean!Sanji here. However this has been something I've wanted to expand upon, especially in the context of loved!Sanji. So here we go!

Skypeian!Sanji whose mother and father rule a kingdom in the North Blue and is a prince with basically no chance at the throne as he's the fourth born child and the third born son, but he has wings and antennae like his siblings and mother. His mother is Skypeian and teaching them the language as they prepare to head for the East Blue. Sanji knows what they are, there is no hiding it after the failures of their forefathers.

They're attacked as they cross over and they're doing their best to defend themselves when Sanji is grabbed from his hiding spot, the guards slaughtered in front of him as he is dragged out of a window and his mouth covered, muffling whatever screams came out of his mouth as he is ripped from his family and home. Sanji is held prisoner for months and he doesn't know if his family is going to come for him or if he's just dead to them.

The people holding him put him in the helmet and tie his wings down cover them and taunt him for months and there's nothing he can do except cry and remember the stories his mother told him of the All Blue and Skypiea and all of the fun he had with his siblings and father. He's in there for a long time, so long that he lost count until pirates attack the ship and he's dragged out of his cell he is screaming and crying and the pirate with his braided mustache stomps on his helmet hard enough to open the jaw part.

Then the ship goes down and Sanji wakes up on the rock with the pirate and is staring at him and he stares back as he's given a small bag of food and sent to the other side of the rock. He's waiting for a ship to come get them and hopes it's his family but they don't come. No one does. For months. He's waiting for everyone to come get him. Sanji goes and finds the man, lacking a leg with a bag of treasure and not food, Sanji is so frustrated and he cries again as the man watches him rip the jacket off his body and move a knife to one of his wings. Zeff stops him and pulls him close and tells him not to be dumb, those are more precious than his leg. Sanji loses his knife to the man.

When they are saved Zeff makes sure no one comments on the small boys wings, they work on getting the helmet off and everyone is surprised at the antennae sticking out of his matted blond hair and the swirly eyebrow that everyone realizes he's not supposed to be there. Zeff keeps the boy with him and refuses to let him be alone really. The kid doesn't talk about his family as what is canon continues, the only difference is Sanji covers his antennae. Even after he joins the crew. Everyone finds out over time though. Nami and Luffy and chopper find out on Drum, Robin on Skypiea when she hears the story of one of their girls running off with a prince who looks a lot like their cook. Usopp and Franky during Ennies Lobby/Water Seven. Brook on thriller Bark.

No one brings it up to the cook, lets him bring it up to them, though Luffy will preen his wings because they're so soft when Sanji is shirtless and not hiding them under his shirts and such. Sanji doesn't actually know what to do with how soft everyone is being with him. Zoro finds out on Sabaody when Sanji takes a particularly hard kick to the back and sees blood soaking through and someone shouts about his wings. They don't get to talk until after the time skip. When Sanji decides to forgo his bandana and coat in favor of his extra bits being free and not cramped.

Everyone always asks him why he didn't stay in Skypiea and he's like 'i know literally no one there, I have no idea who my family is there, they hated what my mother did' and just leaves it at that and things still go as Canon. Until Zou where there's a singular member of the Royal Family of Germa, not in anything from the 66, just her royal outfit as she tries to calm down the Strawhats, that Sanji is fine. She is doing well in taking their anger and the fact they keep saying she kidnapped the cook when she didn't. Her brothers did.

So the rescue team goes with Pink and meets Sanji's family who are also dealing with the Big Mom pirates. Pink unpins her antennae as they arrive and are let into the castle and led to a main sitting room where Sanji is being preened by an older woman and a man is laughing as three other Sanji's with different hair keep talking about the beast pirates and how Big Mom is also after Sanji after Fishman Island and as a swipe to them. Luffy yells and snaps to Sanji who catches him and curses him.

"This is him? How charming!" The woman coos as she pats Luffy's cheek.

"Yes, this is my captain, Luffy." Sanji sighs.

"You stole my cook!" Luffy snaps at her.

"Oh dear, he's possessive isn't he?" She laughs lightly. "My apologies, our children were so excited to be reunited they didn't seem to take into account what repercussions there could be." She apologizes.

"And who might you all be?" Nami asks with a frown.

"My apologies, I am King Judge, this is my wife Queen Sora's and our children. Princess Reiju, our oldest and her younger brothers, the quadruplets and princes: Ichiji, Niji, Sanji whom you already know, and Yonji who is our youngest." The older man smiles kindly.

"You're a prince?!" Nami, Brook, and Chopper yell at him.

"I haven't been since I was eight?" Sanji asks with a look to his mother.

"Oh, you still are. Besides we seem to have a common enemy in Big Mom." Sora smiles.

"So you're the Skypiean who ran away?" Chopper asks her as they're led to a dining room to eat and Judge talks to Nami about things they can provide short term aid in the fight, not men but equipment. As they're prepping to leave a few days later they're staring Big Mom attacks and the crew and Germa begin fighting as Jinbei shows up.

When they escape and make it to Wano and the crew is gathered Luffy and Chopper tells everyone. The story of Vinsmoke Sora running with a Sea Dweller, their family, the lost prince who became a pirate. Sanji shrugs as Jinbei laughs heartily as that story, at least the first half, had been around for a long time. Over twenty five years at least.

"Yeah, that's about when my parents met. Hence the appearance." Sanji shrugs.

"Amazing." Jinbei laughs harder.

[pearbunny]

the bucket list ✘ [six.5]

series masterlist | prev | next [ ❀ spotify playlist ]

summary: Fly to Korea. Check. Buy a bouquet of flowers for a stranger. Check. Have said stranger come along with you to accomplish your bucket list? Well that wasn’t on the list, but falling in love was. 

pairing: han jisung x afab!reader

genre: 18+ [MDNI] strangers to lovers, non idol au, crack, mostly fluff, later chapters to include: angst, comfort, smut.

general warnings:  tourist!mc, adult themes including but not limited to: suggestive content, nudity, cursing, alcohol consumption, mentions of death in later chapters, overarching theme of mental health, eventual smut.

word count: ~2.2k 

chapter content: lots of dialogue, “girl talk”/talking about sex, o/c calls her dad. 

author's note: SURPRISE (not really). This is chapter 6.5 and it’s only labeled that because no actual bucket list item will be completed, however I do drop the biggest hint that i’ve ever slipped into the previous chapters. If you’ve read a couple of the author’s notes; you’d know. ;) ANYWAY, on to the chapter! As always, thank you for showing interest in TBL!  

You got back to the hotel after your night drive with Jisung at about midnight. It was late and the both of you were hungry, so you ended up just getting some drive-thru fast food and eating it in his car before heading back. 

The moment you walked through the door, Jisung bee-lined over for the couch in the corner of the hotel room and plopped down, groaning loudly. 

You convinced him to go to sleep first, telling him you would probably be awake for awhile since you were able to get some rest in during the car ride over. He agreed with sleepy sentiments and quickly washed up and got in bed. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Now, you were kneeled in front of your suitcase, grabbing some appropriate sleeping clothes and your toiletry bag for your skincare routine. 

A muted vibration sounds from your phone. You look around, trying to remember where you put it. You lift up the lid of your suitcase and snatch it off the floor. It was an incoming video call from your best friend, back home. ‘Robin’ it read, with a picture of a woman your age drinking straight from a mimosa pitcher.

You bring your phone, clothes, and toiletries to the bathroom, closing both the closet door and the bathroom door behind you to dampen the sound. “Hello?” You answer the video call with a whisper.

“Y/N!” Robin’’s high pitched voice echoes with the acoustics of the bathroom and you panic, propping the phone up against the mirror.

“Shhh, it’s like 2am here.”

“Oh, yeah, definitely middle of the day here, my bad. Where are you? You haven’t been answering my texts all day? Are you okay?” Robin is sitting on her laptop in a cafe with her oversized headphones on, the sun shining through the window to her left, casting a golden sheen on her skin. 

“I’m at a hotel.” You turn the faucet on very slightly so you can still hear her over the slow stream of running water. 

“Oh, did you ditch the roommate?” 

“No, I’m at the hotel… with him.” You put your hands under the tap to check the temperature, then bend forward to splash the water onto your face.

“Rewind.” Robin has a pen in her hand that she waves back and forth. 

You pump some cleanser into your hand, lather it with soap, then spread it onto your face. “We decided to do a little road trip to Busan. We’re staying at a hotel by the beach.” 

“In the same room?”

“In the same room.” You pick up your fancy electric face cleansing tool and gently glide it over your skin.

“In the same bed?”

“Well, he’s asleep right now… But yeah, same bed.” You glance towards the door where Jisung is surely asleep, probably even snoring.” I mean it wouldn't be the first time I guess.” You mumble the latter part of your sentence, hoping that Robin wouldn’t catch it.

“WHAT?!” People around Robin in the cafe look towards her sudden outburst.

“KEEP IT DOWN.” You whisper aggressively at her.

“You can’t just tell me you slept with a man and expect me to keep it down.” She mimics your tone, whispering although she has absolutely no need to in the noisy cafe.

“Okay, fair. You’re right; sorry.” You go back to cleansing your face, looking at your reflection in the mirror.

“So, spill.” Dramatically, Robin lifts her large coffee mug to her lips for a loud sip.

“Well, you know how I told you I was staying with Jisung.” You work the soap on your face into a bigger lather, inhaling the very mild herbal scent for your cleanser.

“M’hmmm, last name?” Robin pulls up her phone.

“Han.”

“Thanks.” She’s typing away on her phone, already trying to find him on Instagram. It doesn’t take too long, she just had to parse through all the other profiles that showed up before his. “He doesn’t post much, but he looks cute!”

“Anyway, I told you about how he’s willing to help me do stuff on the bucket list, well one of them was Sing Karaoke in front of people and … well he happens to be a bartender at this bar that was doing Norebang, so he took me to his work place.”

“You don’t even follow him on social media do you?” Robin looks at you through the phone with a deadpan expression.

“No, why?” You rinse the brush of your electric face scrubber and stand it on the sink counter to dry before pooling some of the water in the palm of your hands to wash your face from the soap.

“Why wasn’t that the first thing you looked up about this guy?” Robin clicks on a post on Jisung’s Instagram.

“Honestly… I don’t know.” Your eyes are shut as you blindly reach around for the face towel you remember being  neatly folded in the center of the counter.

“Well, one of the few pictures he has on Instagram is him bartending v it’s tagged at a place called ‘Loudmouth’, which I assume is his workplace. Y/N, you’re supposed to be the smart responsible one.”

“Yeah, well I think I left that part of me back home when I booked a ticket to Korea last second.” You pat yourself dry and place the face towel on the towel rack behind you. 

“Okay, we’re getting away from the good stuff.” Robin sets her phone aside and rests her hand on her chin, batting her eyes at you.

“So, we went to Loudmouth. His co-workers were really nice Minho and Changbin–” 

“Haha, Chang-bin and Ro-bin, I bet we’d be cute together.” 

You roll your eyes at her with a playful smile. "I was drinking because I needed the courage to sing. They all drank with me. I sang. They sent us home and gave him another week off. We went home, we drank more and then… You know.” 

“... Girl of course I know, but I want to know know.” It was Robin’s turn to roll her eyes, but of course, in classic Robin fashion, it had much more of a dramatic flare to it.

“Oh my god.” You cover your face with your hands, applying toner while doing so.

“Was it good?”

“Well, yea.” You gave a casual shrug, patting your toner in.

Robin holds up a not-so-menacing pen at you. “I swear to god, Y/N.” 

“I don’t know! What do you want me to say?!” You laugh quietly, holding your hands up in the air in shrug like gesture.

“Who initiated it?” Robin knew how this was going to work; she had to ask the questions.

“Me?”

“YOU DID?” This time, she whisper-shouted at you, not willing to be scolded by you again. Robin’s jaw drops in disbelief. Her little Y/N  made the first move?!

“Kind of? I mean, I did kiss him first.”

“Tell me more.” She leans forward in her seat again, eyes wide in anticipation.

“Okay, well he was super sweet. Like, too sweet. I kind of wished he just,” You raise your hands up to make sure your friend could see them. Then you dramatically grabbed at air, “You know what I mean?”

“Okay, but that’s cute still.” Robin gives you a smile, “He just wanted to make sure you were okay with it all, I mean the both of you were drunk after all.”

You start to apply your serum in your face, avoiding looking at your phone. “I mean we weren’t drunk enough that I forgot about it.” 

Robin squeals a little, “Okay, okay, back to me trying to get details out of you.” She does a little excited dance in her chair. “How big was he?”

You gawk at the crude question. You look up into the air and shift your weight onto one hip, pursing your lips together as you think of how to answer the question. “Well it was definitely knocking on my cervix.” 

Robin’s jaw dropped, but there was an animated expression on her face, “OKAY HAN JISU–”

You grab the phone, muffling the speaker. “Robbie!” You open the bathroom door that leads into the closet. The sound doesn’t echo like it does off the tile bathroom floors and walls. The carpet and wallpaper helps keep Robin’s voice from sounding so loud. That and you lowered the volume on the phone. You place the phone on the shelf, facing the ceiling and you change into a large tee shirt and some shorts. 

Robin’s attempt at hiding her giggles behind her hands over her mouth is futile. “So was it, like, vanilla?”

You tug the shirt over your head before grabbing the phone from the shelf and sitting in the corner of the closet, holding the phone in your hand. “Oh my god, Robbie. He did this thing,” You pause and lick the bottom of your lip and close your eyes, remembering the way Jisung cradled your jaw in his hand, “He made me look at him and–” You let a high pitched sound come from you as you slid down from the wall to lay with your back on the floor. 

Robin has her chin in her hands, observing you. “Hey, Y/N?”

You looked up at your phone that you held in the air above you. “Yea?”

“You look happy.” Robin’s voice is quiet, not to take away from how genuine she says those words. Tears prick at the corners of her eyes.

You give her a small smile and sit back up, nodding. “Yea. Or– or at least I’ve felt happy lately.” You shrink into yourself, slouching your shoulders as you lean back against the wall again. 

Robin continues on. “I’m glad you decided to go through with the list.”

“Take more risks. Be —a little— reckless… “ You absentmindedly play with your hair as you recall a specific item that seemed to be scribbled on the pages as an afterthought. 

A waiter passes by Robin and offers to take her cup, which she places on their tray. “For real, Y/N. I’m really relieved to see that you got on that plane. It sucked to see you in this monotonous routine. You barely ever wanted to come hang out with us and when you did I felt like you only came out because you felt like you couldn’t keep saying no.” You don’t have to look at Robin through the phone to know she was pouting, you could hear it in her voice. 

“I’m sorry,” You look at a loose thread in the carpet underneath you and start to pick at it. 

Robin shakes her head. “Don’t be. You were doing your best.” 

You nod and stay silent. 

“Anyway, how many more days do you have until you come back?”

You swipe down on your phone screen to check the time and date. “Like a week.”

Robin looks through her phone again, getting back on Instagram and scrolling through her feed. “Would it be so bad if you uploaded on Instagram? All our friends think something happened and I have to reassure them that you’re just in a completely different time zone.”

You chuckle while giving you a guilty nod. “I will, I will.” 

“Also, Y/N,” She looks at you seriously this time. 

“Call your dad. I know he doesn’t say or express it much, but he’s worried about you.” 

You grow quiet again, biting your inner cheek as the guilt grows. “Yeah, I know.” 

“Alright, well I have to get home, text me! Love you bye!”

“Bye, Robbie.” You end the video call with her. 

You look through your contacts and call up your dad. The phone rings three times before he answers. “Y/N?”

“Hey Dad,” Your voice is quiet, but being mindful of Jisung waking up isn’t the only reason for it. 

“Hey,” Your dad sighs on his end, relieved to hear your voice. “Are you okay over there? I can get on the next plane if I need to.”

You shake your head, even though he can’t see you. “I’m fine, I just wanted…” You thought over your next words. “I just wanted to let you know I think I’m going to be okay.” 

There’s silence between you two. A lot of things unsaid; things a bit too heavy to talk about at the moment. But the sentiment is still true; you’re going to be okay. 

“I know you are.” He smiles fondly, eyes soft and teary. 

“Anyway, it’s almost 3:30 in the morning here, Dad.”

“Okay, yea sorry. I’m glad to hear from you.”

“Good to hear your voice, too, Dad.”

“Hey, Peanut?” It had been awhile since you’ve heard that childhood nickname. 

“Yea?”

He pauses and you find yourself holding your breath. “She’d be proud of you, too.” 

A beep sounds off in your ear and it means he ended the call. You drop the phone into your lap and bring your knees to your chest, one arm grasping at your hair on the crown of your head. Your other hand covers your mouth, stifling your sobs as the tears fall from your tightly shut eyes. 

ending author's notes: Hope you enjoyed this one. More will be revealed in due time. I think I'll release the spotify playlist I've made for this soon. :) Reminder that the chapter 7 will not be until after September, possibly the second week. If you have any questions, concerns, or you just wanna talk about the chapter, my inbox is always always open! Small reminder that reblogs and comments are highly encouraged! taglist

@burningchaosdeer @bat-shark-repellant, @jisunglyricist, @captivq, @lixiel0ver, @channieandhisgoonsquad, @dalamjisung, @laylasbunbunny, @beanebabyy, @leyknowsbin, @vixensss, @hyunfilms, @cutiespaghetti, @hanjisunginc

[dailycass-cain]

How I Came to Appreciate Batgirl: Redemption Road More...

Once upon a time, I wasn't really fond of this story. I hated and loathed it. Since 2020 however, I gained a greater appreciation for the mini-series. Now it isn't on the top tier of Cassandra Cain stories, but I don't see it lower tier list anymore.

Why?

Well, I'm going to tell you, and maybe you'll appreciate this story too.

I fully confess this story more as a "Schrödinger's Cassandra Cain" story. There is a lot of bad in it, and yet there is a lot of good in it. First off, the one element I do enjoy is the art by Jim Calafiore.

There's a grit Calafiore brings to this story. It helps balance the good and the bad. The good is that he draws a very scary Cass. That and I do enjoy the opening homage to a certain two-clawed Wolverine in the opening spread:

Now for the very title of the series, you can interpret "redemption road" as two-fold: in writer Adam Beechen redeeming not only Cassandra in the eyes of the Bat-Family but redeeming himself with readers for well turning her heel back in Robin #150 and "Titans East" (Teen Titans #42-47). Cause let's face it-- it was not a good story by any means and did neither Cass or Beechen any further favors (but I digress, Geoff Johns, plotted that all out and there are "reasons" for Slade getting away free).

You have those factors and this little tale. So at Wizardworld Chicago 2008 I attended a panel where the infamous Dan DiDio revealed that Beechen bugged him for pitches and the one of approved was this mini.

He also revealed Beechen was the only one pitching stories on Cass (which was a half-lie, if you've seen my "Lost Tales of Cass" post, you know Chuck Dixon had a fill-in issue of Detective Comics ready to go telling how Cass/Bruce mended).

Course, by this time period Dixon was exiting Robin and Batman & the Outsiders so, yeah it was a "half-truth".

That made me angry back then, but now I see the why, and I'm okay with it. In his original ways of writing Cass, Beechen's attempts were-- not good. This was his chance to show readers he had really looked into the character's history and fix these issues that he himself put in.

Think about it we came from this in Robin #152:

To this. Beechen calling out the grand problem within the Bat-books (even now it seems). Cass is important in the Bat-Family, SO TREAT HER AS SUCH. Which he does by having Alfred (of course) pointing these things out.

But Alfred isn't the only one being meta in this story. I didn't even realize it, until 2020, but there is one other character playing a meta part in this comic, Nightwing.

If there's one HUGE gripe with this particular volume it is the relationship of Cass/Dick in it. We went to them being brother/sister.. to well. We have Dick literally acting like a dick to her.

Then it hit me.

Who was writing Nightwing at the time period? Peter Tomasi. Who treated the character of Cassandra like what Alfred says? Then suddenly Dick's characterization here began making sense much more sense (when you have this going right after this series as if that writer was flipping off Beechen) in Tomasi's final page of Nightwing:

Cass was supposedly living in the Manor at this time (per this story). Funny how she was "forgotten" in Nightwing. I guess Tomasi was REALLY spiteful because he revisited this subplot during the New 52 Batman & Robin too with Bruce even twisting the knife further:

Though for Beechen's purposes he revisits on WHY Cassandra should be a key member of the Bat-Family. Not only that, but Cass goes thru a journey that explores the limits of the Bat-Family's underlying culture of vengeance. And she reaches a natural conclusion to this (more on that later).

So let's get to the real bad. No not the 90s designed goons of David Cain or Deathstroke. No not the David Cain characterization. I'm talking about #1's wall of text that would make even Brian Michael Bendis blush.

This is only one page of it in the issue. We got TWO.

Until this issue, we never really got a "defined" timeline of Cass's EVIL period. We just figured OYL, Supergirl #14, Robin #161-162, and Titans East was how it happened. Turns out we were WRONG. Did we really need to see these pages of text? Not really.

In all honesty, I think a simpler solution would have been just tiny panels of Cass seeing the various people she killed when drugged up. At the very least, it would put faces on those Cass was forced to do. You could feel her rage on why she's hunting Slade/David Cain then.

Plus it feels like we're missing something as Tim was basically like Dick in Titans East. But now he's changed. Why? There could have been panels of Tim showing care for Cass in this. Instead, he just feels muted throughout this mini.

The first issue ends with Cass confronting another mystery lady murdering some of Slade/David Cain's assassins. And again, a problem I have with this mini.

These "children of Cain" feel so nameless save for Marque, who is the opposite of Cass. She embraces the violence that she was taught and is David Cain's own Frankenstein Monster. Throughout the mini she just comes off as superfluous and edgy. Really edgy...

I really think Beechen missed a prime chance here in having Cass trying to save someone like herself. Someone unlike Cass, didn't realize life as much as she did. That finally, Cain cracked the code (with help from the Slade juice). And Cass could try to redeem her.

So this whole theme of redemption could be all over the place then. Marque throughout this just feels, meh. Speaking of meh say hello to meaningless male love interest #3 for Cass.

This subplot just feels pretty meh. I get the why Beechen tried it. The writer from Batman: City of Light attempted this. Dylan Horrocks with Black Wind during his run on Vol. 1, and Andersen Gabrych attempted this in his run with Zero (and let's face it we only remember his name because he died).

The whole love subplot just feels so unnecessary here. Again we could have more stuff with Tim helping her. Something. Instead, we get someone we care little about. Because A.) we've seen it before and are so over it.

B.) Compare it with Shadow of the Batgirl which did this right. It balanced everything by showing Cass being the focus here (you know the actual main character), and less on the intended male love interest (until later when she gets to know him, Erik, more as the reader does too)

Which leads to this positive in #2. In one page we are given Babs realizing what Cass has been up too and is all for her going on this quest (probably knowing where this will end). Which is again, a good contrast to where Babs and Cass are here. Babs knows Cass needs this.

Bruce doesn't. Dick SOOOOO doesn't. But Babs fully understands. And I do love me some Babs being a good mentor.

Another positive in this issue does is laying the groundwork on how David Cain/Deathstroke forged this partnership when Cass/Marque visit a former colleague of both men.

That these two knowing one another was hinted at in Batgirl Vol. 1 by Kelley Puckett himself when Cain told Bruce in #5 of a job that was beneath him, Slade, and Lawton's talents. So in that regard, that's a nice callback.

Speaking of callbacks, you can't have Cass hunting Slade and not have run into Ravager (who was also actively hunting her father too during this time period of DC). And here the two's interaction is hit or miss.

Rose equally has a grudge against Slade for pulling the same stuff that he did to Cass. So they can easily relate to the other. Also, you have a built-in Rose going to more extremes than Cass (thanks to Sean McKeever's underrated Teen Titans run character arc involving her).

This is why Marque again comes off as the third wheel in all of this. If you're reading DC Comics at the time (or even now). You want the Cass/Rose interactions here. You don't care about the gritty edgy third person who's ruining the antics between the other two.

Like literally, the tension between Cass/Rose should be all that you need. There's history between them both. There are similar goals each wants. But it comes off as meh throughout this due to Marque. I mean look at this panel below and tell me who sticks out as the sore thumb?

Cause then you have panel later on in the book that makes you want to fist pump with these two now that are Marqueless. Who doesn't want to read THAT?!

Look, the idea of Marque is intriguing but there should have been a clear subject spawned from Deathstroke/David Cain's alliance. An assassin. A roadblock. A hurdle. Not nameless ninja assassins with badly designed outfits.

If this was just Marque fighting Rose/Cass then at least the fight could have meant more meaning. A face to go along with someone who's being down there as Rose/Cass got away from their murderdads.

Because there's no weight to any of these fights which should have more impact. Instead, they come off as weightless. And more blood spilled by Marque because the EDGE MUST FLOW!

But if #3 has another problem is Dick really being a bastard. Seriously, WHAT THE HELL DICK?! But then again, I get it now on why Dick is acting as such. Just that this bad characterization does come at the expense of Nightwing. Like WOW.

So here I am bashing the heck out of this third issue, with very little good finding in it. Well, there is one other additional good. That's the opening page/panel when Cass is out (due to Rose from last issue).

Where does this love of Cass/Shiva together come from? This comic! Beechen of all writers laid the seed that Bryan Edward Hill in Batman & the Outsiders and Michael Conrad & Becky Cloonan on Batgirls would use. The hidden desire Cass has: she wants Shiva to be a mother to her. Yes, Barbara is a good mother too (and dammit where is she in this panel above?!)

Regardless, Beechen does understand a want Cass has that James Tynion opened (and failed at) while Hill fleshed out WAAAAAAY more. So much more that now this has to be the standard of their relationship now. Literally, this is just gold between the two of them now.

But if you want to know where this hunger for Cass/Shiva to have an actual daughter/mother relationship came? You can thank Adam Beechen for that!

#4 finally has the long-awaited fight between Cass and Slade with it well being quite lackluster thanks in due part to Marque and the nameless daughters of Cain.

But I do confess there are a few dialogue pieces in #4 I do enjoy. Like Slade twisting the mental knife to get the better of Cass here.

We get no cathartic scenes for either Rose or Cass here (everyone seems to get robbed of having them with Slade at this time period in DC). Just a rushed end to a rushed subplot.

Again, this could have been the point where Cass was reaching to Marque and that could have been the point for Slade to decide, "WHELP TIME TO EXPLODE AND RUN!" Setting up the next issue. Instead, these nameless kids all die and we the reader feel nothing for them.

When in fact we should feel more. But so it is comics and we get the abrupt ending of the Cass/Rose union. Because this is all we get of Slade and her after this issue. Which is a pity.

Again given how both have similarities with horrible fathers. There should be much pathos here between Cass/Rose. How Cass sees going down this path of vengeance can poison you still (as it is doing to Rose). With Marque being.. ugh.

If that wasn't enough we get again nameless male love interest and ugh. Yeah, I'm just not gonna post more of that. Other than Cass realizes just who Slade and her pop would target to announce their alliance but also hurt the heroes: Oracle.

Which makes complete sense. I just wish the comic did a better job with it like Bruce Wayne: Murderer did only now David Cain this time going after Barbara (as he went after Bruce in that event story). There's a lot of things this comic could have done better at.

#5 opens with Dick, Bruce, and Tim fighting Cass due to the former ratting out her plans to kill David Cain to the latter two. Still, it is kind of cathartic Dick getting punted.

...

I hate myself for enjoying that.

If you're expecting any sort of closure between Dick/Cass here you aren't going to get any in this series. Dick continues to be a dick to Cassandra in Frank Tieri's fill-in arc of Batman & the Outsiders #13-14. After that, Dick FINALLY stops acting so OOC.

Here we go back into the positives of this series. I do enjoy Cass scoping the eventual scene of the crime out. She looks at the evidence she's got and with her skills predicts how and where her father will try to take the shot at Babs.

These pages come to show that Cass indeed can be a fine detective on her own right (thanks to Babs, Bruce, and Tim teaching her). Knowing how and when the crime could occur before it even does with what she knows.

And so we get probably the second-best part of this series. These next two pages.

I mean it's not Damion Scott, but Calafiore does have the nice little details here and there. Also nice of Beechen to use TWO homages of Cass here. From this set-up shot from Vol. 1 from above too…

To Cain about to strike a Gordon down and once again, his daughter stops him from taking the killshot. There's a bit of poetry there.

So in some callbacks, the creative team does nail them. I have to confess other than Marque, #5 is probably the portion of the story where it actually gets good. Even if it does come at the small price of David Cain's characterization.

Look, yes David Cain is a monster, but there's a difference between monsters who aren't portrayed as human and the ones who are. Cain had a perfect balance of this in Vol. 1 The stuff in this volume (and until again Shadow of the Batgirl) David just is a complete monster.

In that regard, the pathos of the villain just feels more hollow. If save Slade talked to him while in prison. Told him he could perfect and deliver that perfect child soldier. Bring a reason for his life again. I'd buy that more than what we got here in Vol. 2.

Why going into the final issue why I go into that mindset. It helps the reasons flow better for the character then what we actually got. And the ultimate fight between the two is handled well.

I also love that both Babs/Bruce are doing crowd control here (both at this point knowing this is something Cass NEEDS). I love that Charlie sees what is going on and her first instinct is to help Cass.

It's a pity we never got more interactions between Charlie/Cass. If only there were some subplots that could have been dropped so we could have got that.

While we don't get the cathartic stuff with Slade we do get it with Cass going up against her father. Just unloading the life he never gave her with a fury.

It's an almost Return of the Jedi moment of Vader/Luke's final duel with Cass just unleashing it all on her own father who cannot defend himself against the rage of his child. And much like Vader/Luke there's that moment when the later realized what will happen if he continues.

Like Luke, Cass has that realization too. That if she has her vengeance what will it solve? All this pain. All this suffering that's she has dealt with these last few months. Will killing him solve it? Of course, we know the answer cause it's Cass.

No. Being a killer is not who she is. She is a hero. So she attempts to save her father, but well as we find out this is where Bruce and Tim were hiding. Waiting and watching to see if Cass would come to this realization.

And we come to the best moment of this comic where Bruce puts his batdad side full-on. I love that the focus is on Cass here. Hearing what Bruce is saying and you just see the raw emotion of her just cracking up wanting this so bad until...

The hug from her true dad with a proud brother looking on. If only you know a stupid tie-in didn't have to ruin the good moment making any readers go, "What the hell is R.I.P.?!"

Like seriously, I'm surprised no one has photoshopped that R.I.P. out of the panel. If you take it out. Damn does this work more. But by putting it in there. "Oh yeah, Bruce is about to die. ...." And that emotion just leaves you to do this.

So if any of you great Photoshoppers out there can take that R.I.P. out? That'd be just great.

So Batgirl vol. 2 looking under this lens isn't the worst Cass story, nor does have enough good to be amazing to recommend. It's just there with both good and bad. It's average.

Hence it is Schrödinger's Cass. It is exactly this. But it was worth talking about. Because it is a period of Cass that should be talked of more. Because it does redeem Adam Beechen with the character.

Along with redeeming Cass with the Bat-Family. It's just a pity only Frank Tieri decided to follow on this and NO OTHER WRITER. Sadly not soon after we'd be getting the teases that Babs would be back as Batgirl from the Blackest Night mini caps at the end of BoP and Nightwing.

For certain folk at DC already made up their mind with the character, and she wouldn't be Batgirl or apart of the Bat-Family that much longer. I guess they assumed this Volume would be considered a "gift". That Cass got closure... Ugh.

If you want to know more about DC meddling. Then see here when I go more into detail on that.

That said, Batgirl Vol. 2 gets a lot of bad rap, but it isn't all bad. It's highly flawed, but there is some good in it. … And here's me going all RoTJ fully with it. 😋

With that, I'm gonna call it a night. Because tomorrow there are things I hope for tomorrow. REALLY AMAZING THINGS for us Cass fans tomorrow at long last.

But not freaking Batman/Catwoman: Gotham War. That can go to hell...

[scoops-aboy86]

✨FrankenWIP game✨

@hotluncheddie tagged me, wooo!

Rules:

post 3-6 sentences of your most recent WIP's, with titles, and people can send you asks for more 3-6 sentence snippets! tag as many people as you want or just use this as a reason to add a few new sentences to your projects!

Tags:

If you wanna do this consider yourself tagged. *evil boop*

(snippets under the cut)

fool

And then the idiot had shocked them all by standing his ground, contributing to the unintentionally well-timed four-front blitz on Vecna and probably directly saving Dustin’s life from the bats.  Steve never would have expected to take it so hard, but being shoved against a wall one day and that “big boy” another had really weaseled their way into his head. So after the doctors clear Eddie to go home, Steve offers his because the guy no longer has one. Wayne moves in too, and for a while it feels like having family around again.  Kinda stops being strictly family when Eddie kisses him on the couch one night during an impromptu Star Wars marathon, but, yeah. Eddie’s shit starts gradually migrating up into Steve’s room until, a month or two later, he’s basically all moved in.

love spell, epilogue

It had been nearly a year since Starcourt, and Steve had forgotten. Maybe remembered in little moments when Eddie called him big boy in the RV or brought him lunch at Family Video that time, but those had just been glimmers. Pale reflected light, like the moon barely peeking through cloud cover, nothing like the real thing.  He remembers when Eddie is feeding him his chocolate pudding from a hospital bed; he apologizes after realizing he’d finished it off, but the words are hollow because he feels like he’s finally found sunshine again.  Steve remembers what he likes and how much, and it opens floodgates that he doesn’t even want to try to close.  And he doesn’t know how to bring it up.

not dating 2

“Steve, can you talk to me? You’re kind of freaking me out.” He glances at her, then drags his hands down his face and throws himself down onto her mostly-made bed with a muffled scream into the nearest pillow. Which is probably as close to a ‘Okay, just give me another minute and I’ll tell you everything Robs’ as she’s going to get. So she sits cross-legged on the bed next to him, passes him one of her childhood teddy bears because he likes soft things when he’s upset, and waits.  After a while, he lifts his head, says, “Eddie,” and drops his face back down.

ravening

Before the Upside Down, Steve’s bad dreams had often been about trying to find someone. His parents, but he didn’t know where they were or if they were even in town. Tommy and Carol, but he’d forgotten their addresses or phone numbers, or he just plain got lost in neighborhoods he’d known his entire life. Nancy, but she was studying in the school library which suddenly became a labyrinth. Sometimes he didn’t even know who, or what, he was looking for.  After everything with the Upside Down is finally done, Steve feels that aimlessness all the time. He doesn’t know what to do with himself now that the gates are closed and monsters aren’t crawling out of the walls anymore, and he’s driving home alone after dropping Robin off at college. His eyes are dry but so is his throat; he pulls into a ridiculous number of different drive thrus for something to drink on the road back to Hawkins.

[hxneyfarm]

wip wednesday

i was not tagged by anybody but because i have finally been given permission to talk about my steddiebang project, i'm goddamn gonna.

RULES

Post up to five (5) filenames of your WIPs; not titles, file names.

Post a snippet from one of them. Snippet must be words you wrote in the last 7 days. We’re posting progress here. This is an opportunity to flex your steddiebang - DO THAT.

After you’ve posted, people can send you an ask with one of your file names. You must then write 3 sentences in that file.

That’s it! You can invite others to join in or just post.

*Optional: Respond the the ask with the lines you wrote. (This is me holding myself accountable honestly)

WIPS - all my file names already have titles

batter up! (steddiebang!!!)

greatest hits (final update forthcoming... at some point...)

for the bit (fake dating au, currently going thru a full rebrand)

Early in the week, Wrigley Field welcomes the press for interviews about their upcoming games, the spring season now well underway, and a reporter from ESPN actually has the nerve to ask Steve about it.

“Yeah, of course I’ve listened to it,” Steve tells her, forcing a smile. “Eddie and I graduated high school together. He’s really made a name for himself, huh?”

“Well, you do know what the rumor is, don’t you? It’s been all over Reddit all week.”

Of course Steve knows what the going rumor is. It’s him, he is the rumor. He puts on his best doofus expression. “No, I hadn’t heard. I don’t spend much time online these days.”

He waits for her to say it, for the ESPN reporter he once went down on in the locker room after everybody else went home for the night to tell him that he is the subject of even more gay rumors, less than a year after he’d been caught fucking a teammate in the very same locker room where he fucked her.

What’s her name again…? Shelby? Sara? Samantha? Steve can’t fucking remember. She doesn’t say it, though; she puts a finger to her earpiece and smiles once again at the camera.

“Looks like that’s all we have time for,” she says instead. “This is Simone Tindell, signing off for ESPN.”

Simone. That’s right.

The camera shuts off, and Simone smacks Steve on the arm. “You do know, don’t you?”

“Off the record?” Simone nods. “Of course I know. That asshole hasn’t been subtle a day in his life. The album art? Cheap Cubs uniform? Number seven on his wristband? He practically gift-wrapped the rumors for me.”

“Is it about you, Steve?”

“You think Robin would let me say one way or another?” Steve asks, holding his hands out in a placating gesture. “And you can say as much as you want that you won’t tell anyone if I confirm it, but you’re a reporter above all else, Simone. If you get the scoop, you gotta run it.”

“Can you tell me what your favorite song is, at least?”

“No,” Steve says, short and simple. “I’m not talking about it. If I talk about it too much, the rumors will just get worse, and I really, honestly wanted to keep a low profile this season.”

“Are you mad at Eddie for releasing the album when he did?”

“No comment, Simone, okay? Let it drop already.”

“Are you done flirting?” calls one of his teammates.

“Fuck you, Carver.”

“Fuck me yourself, Harrington,” Jason Carver says with a wink.

“Better stay away from that one this season,” Simone teases. 

“Learned my lesson last year,” Steve says, nodding in agreement.

It got really bad last year. Carver had been deeper in the closet than Steve at the time, with the gold crucifix practically glued to his neck and the sign of the cross in the batter’s box every time he stepped up to the plate. 

The media storm overshadowed the team’s eight-win streak and put Steve in a vat of hot water.

Not both of them, just Steve. Because he already had a reputation before Carver even joined the team. And now on top of being a bitch and a slut, here he was corrupting a good Catholic boy from the Bible Belt, tempting him into sin. The accusations had sent Steve reeling, because they were the very same types of accusations Eddie had gotten after… well, after everything. 

With Carver last year it was never serious, so after getting caught it was easy for them to put a stop to it, but it has been months and they are both still being asked about their relationship. And Jason fucking Carver is still doing the absolute fucking most when there are cameras around that might see him within arm’s reach of Steve. Carver’s stats are garbage, so like… anything to have his name in print, right? Even if the only leg he’s got left to stand on is whatever relationship they may have had last year.

There never was a relationship, is the thing. They fucked around a couple of times here and there, and Steve was finished with him the one singular time he brought Carver back to his condo and watched him push his cat off the bed. Petty? Maybe, but he was never worth the headache in the first place.

In the months since the thing between them that had never even been a thing to begin with, Steve has continued to date around. He went out with a tattoo artist for a few weeks before dropping him when he realized he hated the way the guy laughed. And then there was the girl he’d gone out with a few times that had a cockatiel. He dumped her because she had a cockatiel. 

That’s another thing; Steve Harrington, serial dater, can’t commit.

It was never like that with Eddie. Sure, things between them ended badly, and way sooner than either of them would have liked, but that was justified. When you’re eighteen, threats about college and a beating from your dad outweighs every good thing in your life. Especially when every good thing runs away from the fight and leaves you to deal with it on your own, even after all the promises you made to each other.

Steve doesn’t know if he’s ready to reconcile with Eddie; he doesn’t know if he should. They were good in high school, an unlikely but compatible match in almost every way. They argued sometimes, about what they were to one another, because Steve wasn’t ready to be out, but the time they spent alone together remains some of the best memories of Steve’s high school career. Not even state championships could compare.

tagging literally all my followers and mutuals who are taking part in the bang. please join in, today's the wednesday to do it! even if you're not doing the bang and working on something else, please join in!

[steveiscaitiesbabygirl]

for the ships vibe post:

stoncy

qpr stobin

starygle

Thank you for sending an ask! Sorry it took me so long to get to this.

Stoncy:

Nancy loves her gfs, u cannot tell me that Nancy doesn’t use them as little dolls and dresses them up. They give me major vibes of snuggling during a snowstorm, all sharing a blanket to conserve body heat ofc. Jonathan and steve can’t kiss in public cuz of well obvious reasons, so they’ll kiss Nancy on the cheek and she’ll turn and continue the train by kissing the other boy. Nancy and steve r truly Jonathan’s muses. He will watch them do anything from the most mundane things to having sex, and u bet he will pull out his camera to savor the moment. Steve loves seeing them in his clothes because it makes him feel like he’s keeping them safe even when he can’t be with them in person.

QPR Stobin:

Literally cuddle all the time. Robin is either the big spoon or she just lays her entire body on steve. This doesn’t change even when they get into romantic relationships like that is Robin’s emotional support himbo. They’re also definitely like that SpongeBob where it’s “what do U do all day when I’m gone?” “Wait for u to get back”. Steal each other’s clothes all the time. Robin takes all of Steve’s jackets and steve wears her pants. They give each other forehead and cheek kisses all the time. I can honestly see them getting married to protect robins secret. Even once gay marriage is legal I still think they would choose to stay together cuz they can’t imagine vowing to spend the rest of their lives with anyone else. Platonic soulmates at their finest <3

Stargyle:

Argyle can see how stressed out steve is from a mile away and immediately offers him some palm tree delight. I can see them laying on the couch and playing with each other’s hair, talking about how no one understands how important it is to take care of their hair, and they end up sharing tips. Argue over whether Surfer Boy Pizza or Scoops ahoy is a better work place (it’s Surfer Boys). Exchange lip balm thru kisses <3 Steve loves spending time with argyle cuz he doesn’t have to keep up appearances and they can just sit in silence, enjoying each other’s company. Hold on to each other when going thru haunted houses

[jackiedaytona]

slut eras MEmajor!henry and businessmajor! steve first kiss was during some game of truth or dare and everyone at the party was like “ooooooooh steve’s scared hes gonna like it” and henry is halfway gone and giggly so hes just down as long as steve is. they do and for steve its like living that one scene from ratatouille where colours are exploding around him, hes sitting on the couch Stuck. meanwhile henry has already actually found a guy hes going home with (its eddie, we dont have time to dive into them rn just know henry is walking out with a pretty boy discount tomorrow morning)

next morning steve is frantic trying to figure out where he is (at home robin dragged him off a couch) and trying to find him “was he here?? did you see him leave?? WHERE IS HE??”

“HE WHO WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??”

“THE GUY I KISS LAST NIGHT WAS HE HERE?!”

“YOU KISSED A GUY LAST NIGHT?!?!”

“not just any guy!!! i kissed my soulmate! he kissed me like he wanted a house with a white picket fence and 2 1/2 kids with me we had a dog and a garden”

robin still in shock, “you, steve harrington, kissed a man last night…”

“oh shit”

“and you liked it…”

“okay”

“okay?”

“well”

and he goes through all of that within a span of 30 minutes bc he has class so hes going about his day going thru mini little crisis meanwhile henry has halfway forgotten about just regretful of mixing weed and way too much alcohol. he sits down in one of his classes and out the corner of his eye he can feel someone staring at him and he turns and its steve. anyone whos ever been to a party on campus knows at least of steve and so henry just trying not to panic cus “why the fuck is he looking at me like that” and hes just trying so hard not to look bothered but as soon as class ends hes making a mad dash to the door and steve is basically chasing after him calling for him

i have more for this but i have to clock in now 😭😭😭

anon i'm going to need you to clock back into writing in my inbox.

this is so good i Love it. the ratatouille analogy, robin's "you kissed a GUY last night?" steve just staring at henry knowing he's his soulmate but also not knowing how to tell him and also freaking out over feeling this way about a guy in the first place, the idea that steve would see their whole future in one kiss.

i like to imagine that when steve finally tells robin that it was henry he kissed she's like ".....oh." and he's like "oh? OH?!" "no, no, steve. henry's really cool and nice. i really like him, he just... doesn't seem like he's particularly interested in a white picket fence right now. or even a boyfriend." and that sends him spiraling. he's already got a shortlist for their kid's names

also i like the idea of when henry finds out steve is convinced he's the love of his life, he's very skeptical. like "if you didn't realize you liked boys until i kissed you, of course you'd be convinced i'm your soulmate. go kiss some other guys, i'm sure you'll be fine."

maybe it ends up with henry letting steve kiss him stone cold sober, if only to get it out of his system and convince him that the alcohol and realization had just gotten to him, and then--

henry sees his own white picket fence.

meanwhile, eddie in this entire thing:

[magniloquent-raven]

steve's always known that he likes kissing boys. when he was ten a friend he made at summer camp planted one on him. he threatened to break steve's nose if he told anyone, but the kiss was still nice. when he was fourteen him and tommy got well and truly drunk for the first time, and ended up fooling around in the harringtons' dining room, clumsy and splayed out on the cold floor.

things like that kept happening to steve, and he was fine with it. as long as no one knew it was just some harmless fun.

because the thing is, he knows that's all it can ever be. he knows it. men can't ever love each other the way he loved nancy. it's just not how things work.

everyone says so, right. that it's not love when it's two men. it's just...sexual perversion or what the fuck ever. and steve's cool with that. he's not a prude. people can get all shitty and judgy about him sleeping with men because they think it's wrong but it's no different than people calling the girls he sleeps with sluts and getting all uptight about sex in general.

and sure, just because everyone says so doesn't make it true, but...well you just know some things, right? it's a gut instinct. he's never gotten butterflies over a guy, never gotten all warm and sappy with one the way he did with nancy. so it just makes sense. that's the way things are.

which...is why it's really confusing when billy asks him out.

they're friends now. they hang out. he actually likes billy, wonder of wonders. the whole mind flayer thing really mellowed him out. it's sad, sometimes, how much it broke him down, but steve can't help being selfishly grateful because he knows they never would have gotten to know each other otherwise.

and they've...y'know. had some fun too. billy kissed him two months ago, sloppy and urgent, still tasting like the beer he shotgunned. it was just the two of them, on the porch outside hop's old trailer—now billy's. and it was nice. it was fucking awesome, actually. and so was everything else they did after that.

billy was a little weird about it the next morning, so steve made sure to let him know he wasn't gonna freak out or anything. he'd done this before, they're still friends, it'll stay a secret, etc. etc.

it didn't help much, 'cause billy didn't talk to him for like, a week after, which sucked immensely, but steve's forgiving. it was probably billy's first time with a guy or something.

anyways, they worked it out. stayed friends who sometimes touch each other's dicks. it's all good. maybe a little intense sometimes, the way billy always clings to him right before he comes is honestly the best thing ever, the desperate way his nails dig in and he curls his whole body into it. and lately they've been getting a little less rushed, a little more familiar about it. but steve's never slept with the same guy this many times, so maybe that's normal.

what isn't normal is the nervous tension in billy's shoulders and the way he bites his nails and stumbles over his words, and then asks steve out.

because. like. why?

he just...doesn't understand. any of it. why billy's looking at him like that, his usual cool mask cracked down the middle, vulnerable bits shining through, making him all soft around the edges. why his stomach clenches, tumbles over itself, anxiety and something sour twisting in his gut. why his hands are shaking, and he can't quite breathe, and the thought of this ruining what they already have is digging its claws in.

and he can't...he just can't. can't give billy what he wants, because he doesn't even know what that is, and...he can't wrap his fucking head around why this is even happening.

it hurts when billy closes off and walks away, his quiet nevermind, i—forget i said anything hits like a punch in the chest.

he goes home that night thinking about every time they ever touched. every time billy looked at him with something in his expression that steve couldn't put his finger on. something warm that he wanted to reach out and hold.

he calls robin at one in the morning. she's annoyed until she hears his voice. then she promises she'll be there in ten minutes.

steve hasn't cried in front of anyone since he was six. but that night he curls up with his head in robin's lap and sobs, trying so, so hard to let it wash away all the things he's gotten muddied up and confused over. but when he's out of breath and out of tears, there's still a knot in his chest that he has no idea how to untangle.

~~tag liiist ppl sorry for the angst lol @spreckle @growup-thatbeautiful 💕~~

[warmaidensrevenge]

Eddie Munson x Plus size reader If you want to read my other work you can find it HERE

This was a request by @generouspuppypuppy

Can I request a Eddie Munson x plus!size reader where the reader 🤮 in the morning and she hasn't had her monthly and she takes a test and finds out she is pregnant and is to scared to tell Eddie so she ignores him at school and his calls bc she is scared that he will leave her but Eddie has had enough of her ignoring him so he goes to her house and ask her why she is ignoring him she tells him and why she was ignoring him ,😄sorry if it's long I haven't been feeling 👍

Oh baby 😉

One shot

Warnings: mentions of unprotected sex, slight talk of abortion.

��🧑‍🍼

"Honey are you ok?" Your mom knocked on the bathroom door. You just got done puking your guts out.

"Yeah I think I have the stomach flu."

" ok. I'm gonna go to the store and get some soup." Your mom said

"Ok" you replied.

You finally brushed your teeth and went downstairs for breakfast. But the smell of eggs made you nauseous again.

" Hey honey do you need anymore tampons?"

Your eyes widen. Shit no no no.

"Honey?"

"Uhh no mom. I'm good"

"Ok I'll be back soon."

As soon as she left you went to your room to grabbed your bag. Your ruffled thru it and pulled out your round pale pink compact. Shit shit . You sighed in relief that you didn't forget to take your birth control. So you went to your calendar flipping to the previous month. Oh God. You didn't see the marks you usually made during your time of the month

..

" Uhh" you looked at your best friend. Eyes wide open looking down at the pregnancy test you just took.

" Please Robin. Don't tell me I'm -" you pleaded with her like she was the one who controlled the results.

" I uhhh." Robin sighed. " Umm. Tell me Munson is not that stupid."

Oh man oh man this could not be happening. You were dating Eddie for about 6 months now. You guys had sex all the time without condoms because you were allergic to the latex. Fuck.

" He's not. I was taking birth control" You sobbed

"You know it's like 91% effective right?"

"Seriously?! What are the chances?" You said

" ummm about 9 out of 100." Robin tried to lighten the mood. "The only method that's 100% is to not to."

"Oh common Robin just cuz you're a prude doesn't mean I have to be too."

" Well if me being a prude means I'm not 18 and pregnant then by all means."

You started to cry harder at her words

"Shit y/n I'm sorry. What are you gonna do? Do you want to get rid-"

" God no Robin." You cut her off.

" Okay then what? You guys haven't even graduated yet."

" I know. But I can do this. But Eddie...He's gonna leave"

"No he won't. Looked at me." You turned to Robin. " Eddie is in love with you. Everyone knows it. He's never been like that with any one."

You shook your head. Robin hugged you trying her best to comfort you.

" y/n You gotta tell him."

Robin was right you had too. But you wanted to make sure 100% that you were. So you had to try and ignore Eddie until you knew for sure. How were you gonna do that? You guys practically slept together every night. It was spring break so at least you were going down to Florida to visit family for a week so you could go to the free clinic there. No one would know you so you wouldn't have to worry about anyone telling Eddie.. But when you got back you knew you couldn't keep him away. Oh man he's gonna bolt. I just know it.

...

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE PUT ME THRU?!" Eddie was beyond pissed.

" Eddie I'm sorry." You sighed

" SORRY YOU'RE SORRY!" Eddie paused for a second to calm down." Y/n it's been 11 days, 7 hours, 27 minutes and 38-39 seconds since I've seen or spoke to you."

"Eddie that's just weird."

"I don't give a crap. You knew who I was when we started dating."

You sighed and leaned against the kitchen wall. You were fidgeting with the phone cord.

"You ok sweet girl?" Eddie said finally calm.

" Yeah...I'm good."

" Are you home?"

" Uh yeah Eddie I'm home."

" What's wrong?"

You hesitate for a while." Eddie i-" you took a deep breath. " Eddie I don't think we should see each other anymore."

Eddie was quiet for a second on the other end of the line. Then he blurted out laughing.

" Ok babe you got me. So I'm gonna head over."

"Eddie" you whimpered. Just the way you said it Eddie knew you weren't joking.

"Wait w-what? N-no not happening. I-i " Eddie was a stuttering mess.

" I'm sorry Eddie."

" What d-did I do? I'm sorry. W-whatever I did tell me. So i-i can fix it."

"Eddie you can't. There's nothing to fix."

" Is there someone else?"

" No. There's no one. How could you ask me that?"

" Well then what is it? Tell me y/n."

" Eddie I don't love you anymore." That was the biggest lie you have ever told.

" You don't mean that..."

" I got to go." You said before hanging up.

"You ok Honey?"

"Yeah mom. It's just better this way."

Your mom knew about the situation though she didn't understand why you would break up with Eddie she just wanted what was best for you.

" Ok honey. I'm gonna go to work. Call me if you need anything."

You nodded and she kissed you on the top of your head and left.

...

It wasn't even 20 minutes after the phone conversation when Eddie was pounding on the door.

" Y/n if you don't open this door right now. I swear to God-"

You opened the door and that stopped Eddie from finishing his sentence.

" What?! You think that you can just have me fall in love with you and then drop me like I meant nothing." Eddie's eyes were red and puffy from crying. You could see the tears marks left on his cheeks.

"Eddie..."

"No. Whatever this is. We have to work it out. We need to. You love me. I know you do."

You swallowed the lump that was building in your throat.

" Y/n please . What's going on? You can tell me. I promise I won't be upset."

" Eddie I'm pregnant." The words came out like vomit. You didn't look at him. You couldn't watch him high tail it out of there."

Eddie cleared his throat. " uhh I thought you were on-"

"I am or I was. Can't now."

"When did you find out?"

" uh just before I left for Florida."

"What?! Why did you wait so long to tell me?"

" I-I was scared."

" Of me? Y/n you never have to be scared of me."

" I'm not scared of you Eddie." You kept your eyes on the floor. You had the thought that the floor never looked so good. " I was scared that you-"

" That I was gonna leave.....oh my love. The light of my life. The reason I live and breath."

"Eds."

Eddie knew that he messed around a lot. He was always over the top. But when you said his name like that he knew you need him to be serious.

" Do you want to keep it?"

You nodded. " Eddie you don't have to stay. I can-"

Eddies laugh caught you of guard. That's when your eyes finally met. He was smiling.

" I don't understand." You were so confused

That's when Eddie hugged you and lifted you up spinning you around. Yeah Eddie was crazy strong. But it still surprised you that he could lift you with such ease.

"Of course I'm gonna stay. I'm gonna take care of you and our??" Eddie said while putting you down.

" It's too early to tell."

"Well whatever they are I'm happy. As a matter of fact." Eddie pulled your hand leading you towards your room." I'm gonna make sure my seed took."

"Ed's are you sure about this?"

Eddie stopped and turn to you. " What did you think this was?" Eddie pointed his finger between you two. " This is forever and I mean that. There is no one in this world-in this universe that I want to be the mother of my children other than you. I swear."

...

After doing what got you in this predicament in the first place Eddie held you rubbing your back.

" Oh God. I'm gonna gain so much weight."

" Yeah so?" Eddie said lifting his head to look at you.

" Eddie I already look like a baby elephant."

"Hey don't say that about my child's mother....you are beautiful." Eddie lifted your chin to kiss you. " And sexy" he landed another kiss.

" Eddie you know that we can't have sex for like 6 weeks after the baby's born."

Eddie sat up and hovered over your face while you got comfy under him. " Guess we are gonna have to make up for it right now."

"Eddie" you whined

"Y/n" Eddie mimicking your whine. He looked down to your tummy and started talking to your unborn baby.

" Look son I'm gonna need you to close your eyes and cover your ears, cuz daddy's gonna do something to your mommy that you are way to young to see."

You giggle and Eddie looked back up to you. Kissing you again.

"Ready my sweet girl?"

You nodded and pulled Eddie in for another kiss.

[fandom-imagination-ss]

Imagine: trying to Help Steve after he’s injured but he’s not wanting you anywhere near him

Imagine: Trying to Help Steve after he's injured but he's not wanting you anywhere near him

******Slight spoiler*************

"why is Y\N  coming with us?" Steve was already in your driveway unconvinced you should join today. Robin was fixing her eyeliner as she spoke 'you love Y/N you just said yesterday how she was adorable wearing that crop top and overalls yesterday. you called her a "sexy farmer"

Steve sighed heavily rubbing his face, "I know! it's just- I can't form  sentences around here." Robin couldn’t help but smile hearing that. She loved hearing Steve gush about you.

Y/n was Navie too the way they made Steve a complete mess. Robin thinks you’re just naive and too innocent to see How you affect Steve, While Dustin calls you an idiot for Not realizing you made the King of Hawkins the Smoothest player he has ever met. He’s best friend Steve a Bumbling Mess! Dustin told Robin once how he saw him Drooling over you. Litterally. Dustin caught him and Steven swore to kick his ass if he ever told anyone. So naturally Dustin told everyone.

you walked out wearing a Jean overall dress with a tank top with your hair up in a messy bun. With a cross over pink bag that was simple and Steve already knew what was inside it, a pack of gum, 20 dollars, A tiny First-aid Kit, Chapstick, And a tiny bag of Peanuts. and an emergency Napkin just in case.  you always bring just those things. you hated carrying a purse and you hated your arms restricted. you walked into the Car smiling brightly at your friends. Robin introduced you to Steve when they worked in the mall together. When Steve was in Hawkin high he didn't know you. he was far too focused on Every other girl and Nancy to notice you. but now you were close friends. And Steve. Couldn’t understand How you slipped thur his fingers when he was in school. With your y/c/h that shinned and was the texture he just wanted to slip his fingers thru your hair. You never really paid much attention to your looks. You weren’t “beautiful” at Best you been called “cute” and you had a awful reflection to that word. But you never cared. You were more then appearance. Any bit of “beauty” will fade eventually and the only thing that wont fade is your personality and compassion so you thrived to be opened minded, kind. And saw more value in inner beauty vs outer. Robin loved you for that, wishing she wasn’t so insecure. Telling her you were still insecure about Every decision you make when trying to make yourself less “Cute” and more hot. Robin always just laughed thankful to have a female friend. You scooted into the car. Sitting behind Robin as Steve smiled brightly saying Hi as she smiled saying Hi also as Robin told him to drive already.

the Day was supposed to be Fun. Steve always wanted you to have fun, when you were happy you smiled. And Steve loved it. He loved seeing your bright smile. that sank into his soul. he spent hours dreaming about and memorizing every line around your mouth. He wasn't expecting their short shift to bother you. You loved going to the movie store and wanted a job there. But they weren’t hiring. Steve has spent hours begging to hire you to his boss. Who has seen you and Steve together and figured No work would get done if you worked there. Steve was to taken by you. That the boss wasn’t going to risk it. Today wasn’t any differnt. You came to entertain them/ Rent a movie. It was. A short 4 hour shift and you wanted to hang with your best friends. It was a typical normal day. When you came to hang out. You and Robin always chatted and Steve and to force himself to work. Cause he just wanted to sit next you to and take in all the wonder you said. But things had to get done. When Robin got called away you would go over to Steve to bug him. Secretly he would be praying to Every person who came in that they wanted Robins help vs his . Cause he knew you would hop over to chat and he wanted one on one time with you. Even if you make him unable to talk. He just loved when you looked at him. And he knew he had your complete attention. It was a typical day you were leaning on the counter talking to Steve about a movie. It was a good day. Until Dustin and Max would come barging into the movie rental and start talking about Eddie Munson being innocent. it was all over the news that a teenager died but Steve didn't care. as long it wasn't you. he didn't really pay attention to who it was. was.

you knew about the upside-down, you were almost in the battle at the Mall but Steve last minute pulled you away from the others and he begged you. to go home. you didn’t want to. you wanted to Stay and Fight but you never saw the worry in Steve's eyes before he was terrified. you agreed but hugged him begging him to be safe and to come back safe and sound. he promised and also promised to himself that after they survived he would ask you out.. he chickened out.

Steve instantly tried to convince you to stay away from this new encounter but you knew Eddie. he was your friend. you guys sat in homeroom together Debuting over what was better. "Hobbit or lord of the rings. he was teaching you how to play D&D. he was the leader of the Hellfire group. and so far. you weren't understanding the game.

you ignored Steve and decided to help Dustin. and Max. the days were long you ended up telling your parents you were with Robin sleeping over at her place and she did the same.

somehow it got to the Lake and Steve jumped in to find a gate. Nancy was now with you all as Steve was dragged down under the water. you jumped in. Fighting flying monsters you were all taking cover under a ledge as Nancy was helping Eddie as you looked at Steve he was shirtless and impressive. You never realized how Hot Steve was until he was standing there shirtless. I mean Sure he had the killer hair and the big brown eyes but he was Steve. Your friend and the King of Hawkings you were smarter then that o falls or someone like steve. Steve was Steve your best friend. But seeing him standing there breathing heavily shirtless. You were speechless. Until you realized yes he was shirtless but he was bleeding. Your brain snapped out of it’s trance of Steve and you looked down at your bag. opening it and grabbing your Tiny First aid kit. Steve noticed as you walked over to help him but he was visibly aware he was half naked and he felt. Uncomfortable and flustered having you walk over to him. He felt his body warm up as he suggested maybe Nancy help him instead.

Your heart twinged a bit hearing him other have his ex girlfriend then you. Touch his chest or stoumch to fix him up. But you weren’t going to trust Nancy to help him. You weren’t a huge fan of Nancy. Sure she was pretty and ridiculously smart but after how you heard how she dumped him for Jonathan. You weren’t Kin on her. And you weren’t risking Steve getting a infection because she didn’t do the bandaids properly "Don’t be a baby I’m trained."

he looked over at Robin who was loving the scene unfolding. Seeing Steve was Bet Red in the face as he tried to look away and control. His thoughts feeling your skillful hands work on him. Your fingers brushing against his chest, he’s stoumch. He was extremely embarrassed and caught Robin smiling brightly enjoying the free show and he too a mental reminder to kill her later. you paid attention to the wounds on Steve, not noticing the blush, or Robin’s face. You did notice him being tensed under your touch. Which you thought was weird. You weren’t don’t anything “werid” you were helping a friend. =]’, you saw his hands go to his hair as he was quiet. and pail. you were worried he was about to be Sick as your hands were on his stomach softly you were crouched down cleaning up the wound with a napkin. that was dosed in rubbing alcohol, he tensed up as you said sorry as you started putting the gauze around his waist. you had to reach around him almost giving him a bear hug as he spoke, "whoa!"

"relax!" you said getting up to be eye level with him.  as you put the bandaid on him and took your shoes off. "what you doing?" he looked stunned as you held his shoulder to steady yourself as you spoke, 'Well my bandaid is tiny but you need pressure on that wound. So have to compromise." you bent down slipping your Pantyhose off. Steve looked away as his face was beating read as you wrapped it over his waist to help his wound as he rubbed his face as you finished you patted his shoulders, "there you go. all better."

His face beat red as he said thanks as you walked over to help Nancy with Eddie Robin walked over to Steve patting his shoulder as she chuckled, "Breath Steve"

"she's going to Kill me."

robin chuckled looking over at you. you were must rougher on helping Eddie than you were with Steve as Robin spoke, "you should tell her."

Steve agreed. Once they are saved he will defiantly tell you.

[erectionsandtea]

cym as your poly party headcanons

This got away from me but I apologize for nothing bc it was so much fun xD no angst was allowed.

You: when Will and Mike have a tiring day, they just want to curl up under a blanket on the couch and cuddle and be tired. And then El is like "there's no room for me" so she sits at their feet, and tugs the blanket just enough to wrap around her shoulders. And then Max, who's always up for teasing the boys, comes in to cuddle with El and pulls the blanket even more, so now they have more of it than the boys do. And Mike is like "Lucas, can you make your girlfriend stop stealing our blanket?" And Lucas is like "bro, I can barely control my girlfriend, ask yours to stop" and El just looks up at him with this innocent smile that's so pure, and Mike just sighs. And Will says, "can you just bring us another blanket?" And Lucas is like 🙄 but he does it anyway, lol

@willthecleric : El goes to see Will and finds he has a bunch of crumpled up papers all around him. She picks one up and looks at it, and it's obvsly about Mike (Will is trying to comprehend his feelings thru his art), and she knows it means that he has feelings for Mike. She also knows that her bf Mike likes him back (as he has talked to her about it multiple times - bc they are still besties). She tells Will he should tell Mike and Will is like "why?" And friends don't lie but she also promised Mike she wouldn't tell, so just "trust me." "is it bad?" She shakes her head, and Will knows she wouldn't lie to him. So he goes over to Mike's, where El has actually just been, telling Mike he needs to tell Will his feelings.

Later, while watching soaps, she gets a phone call and Mike is just like "I can't believe you told him" but she can hear he's happy which means everything went well, and she's just like "I didn't tell him anything"

(also Mike totally sees all the crumpled up drawings later bc El uncrumpled and saved them, and he loves all of them, and Will is a little embarrassed)

@thief-and-dragonfly : when any of the couples are being sweet and cute, Will will draw them (he has a bunch, like a stack of drawings, lol). When Will is part of the sweet and cute, El practices her art by drawing them. They're not as good as Will's, but everyone loves them.

@bi-max-mayfield : Max isn't generally soft, but when she is it's more with El than with Lucas. El teases her about it, being like "you're soft" and Max is like "shut up, I am not". And Lucas says to El one day, "you should hang out with her more, I kinda like soft Max" and Max is stuck in goldfish mode, her mind between "I am NOT soft" and "wait, what do you mean 'kinda'???". And whenever Max gets annoyed at him, Lucas will call El like "come quick, I need you to make Max soft again" before she throws a pillow at him, lol

@bisexual-mike-wheeler : whenever the above does happen, Mike is laughing his ass off, and he's just like "I'm so glad you're soft" at Will and Will is just like "bitch, I am not soft" and Mike is like "pls" and so Will shoves some popcorn in his face for that

@ghostgirlinsatin : Duzie, whenever some shit/chaos goes down, like "well, they're doing it again, do we need to intervene?" "no, I think they can figure it out for themselves this time"

@strangercoco : the teens figuring everything out before the kids do, and while Nancy and Jonathan try to help the kids with their figuring out, Robin is just like "this is golden" *eats popcorn* and Steve is like "bro, I wouldn't even know where to start"

@tsugarubecker : Joyce and Karen being able to talk the kids (all of them, lol) thru their crises, bc Hopper just can't fuckin do it xD (literally, he just doesn't know), but they also assure the kids that he's okay with it, he just doesn't express himself very well

@mike-wheeler-is-gay : Dustin conspiring with the teens to help everyone finally figure their shit out, and the teens are like "it's kind of weird that you're this invested in your friends' love lives" and he's like "about as weird as you two being this invested in your brothers' love lives" and they're like "...okay, you can help"

@strangerbug08 : the party needs to restart the movie they're watching bc they spend the first 20-30 minutes trying to figure out a seating configuration so all the couples can be together, bc somehow no one thought of this ahead of time xD (the arrangement they come up with is the one they use at every movie night following)

@lilithisamess : chaos!party, lol. during the movie, people get distracted. Lumax is tossing snacks at each other, except when Lucas misses and gets a popcorn in El's hair, who is listening to Byler trying to explain the meaning behind a specific scene (they can't agree and just end up debating, lol). Mike brushes the tossed popcorn out of El's hair, and while he's distracted by that, the movie scene changes, meaning the debate is over (and therefore, a very smug Will wins bc he was the last one to say something).

@wise-the-will : the notes that get passed around during school, omg "hey, can you give this to El next period?" "put this in Will's locker when you have a chance" "next time you see Lucas, tell him-" etc. lol

@beepboop358 : Mike writes stories and Will draws pictures to go along with them, and then Max reads them to El as bedtime stories (don't even tell me El doesn't get bedtime stories, lolll)

@argyle3is9pan4 : until they can get a van, everyone has to squeeze into a tiny five-seater. Max isn't allowed to drive, lol, so Dustin does, and Suzie is his navigator. the order of the backseat is Will, Mike, El, Max, and then Lucas. this arrangement only works bc Mike is so skinny, and he basically gets squished, especially when El and Will lean across him to talk to each other.

I'm sorry some of you got longer ones than others, but please believe me when I say that the same amount of love and thought went into every single one (I hope that helps). <3

IF I FORGOT SOMEONE, MESSAGE ME AND I'LL WRITE ONE FOR YOU :D <3

[bluebeetle]

ooo those comic asks let's go 1, 2, 9, 12, 15, 23, 34, 42 sorry that's so much i just want your comic takes

answering this was difficult bc my cat decided she needed to walk all over me and my laptop the moment you sent this

1. How has DC/Marvel/publishing company wronged you, specifically?

oh god in many ways. For dc:

>making talia evil >making cass evil and then ignorable

>making jason suddenly an antihero with no development to go from villain to hero

>letting babs walk again

>the whole mess with wally west after the reboot and the two wallys. also he hasnt talked to pied piper YET ITS BEEN YEARS

>almost everything about the n52 reboot honestly

>countdowns existence but esp the plotpoint where they took my fave minor character pied piper and handcuffed him to trickster and then had trickster be homophobic to him for most of the 52 issues; this is not treated as a bad thing. also trickster has known pied piper for years and was never homophobic before i hate dan didio

for marvel:

>constantly making the comics more like the MCU pls fucking STOP i hat you so much

>trying to make loki evil again. die.

>everything theyve done to wanda. everything. but esp making her not related to magneto again. or the incest thing in ultimates. ugh

2. What character death for the sake of drama was the worst?

dc: hmmmm most of the deaths i can think of i dont mind. i guess most ppls deaths in Heroes in Crisis, esp roy's. that was so dumb ugh. not big on them killing damian but the writing in batman and robin was rly good so it makes up for it. im sure theres someone im forgetting--oh WAIT

bart allens death in the flash it sucked so bad and one of his creators was so upset and died before bart allen was revived. that one definitely that one.

i blocked it from my mind

marvel: WANDA WANDA WANDA WANDA WANDA STOP KILLING ER OFF FOR DRAMA DEAR GODDDDDDDDDDDDD

9. What’s the worst plotline you’ve read?

oh boy. does all star batman and robin count its rly bad ghhgf i also didnt rly get checkmate (2021). also i guess theres a lot of talias bad writing that i went thru for damian ):

for marvel uhhhh i dont read enough marvel so i have nothing to say. maybe when i read house of M well say that one lol. i did read some of civil war in middle school?

12. Are there any comics you’ve read knowing they’re bad and why?

not many. all star batman and robin bc its so bad its funny. parts of rhato for that jason content but ive never finished it and i think rhato vol 2 isnt always bad.

for marvel, nah

15. Tell me about a plotline that could have been interesting if anyone else wrote it.

anything devon grayson does tbh like dealing with dicks stress over murder and guilt or him being romani (Tho him not knowing is dumb). it was so bad and racist ugh. other than that I think the spyral and ric grayson arcs coulda been good if they were like, combined maybe? and shorter. lmao

also the current robin 2021 run tbh... i think the idea of a tournment and damian grappling with guilt could be fun but the writer cares waaaaaay too much about his ocs to give damian real breathing room

speaking of damian: teen titans 2016 coulda been SO fun if they werent so racist and wanting to make damian a bad guy for caring about immigrants and people of colour lol. i rly loved what few good moments he had with wally, emiko, jackson, and the others.

for marvel... mybe trial of magneto coulda worked if the writers cared about magneto and wanda lol. or x-factor 2020 it had some good ideas but was ruined by the writers weirdness about akihiro and david... like just the racism combined with weird views of bi men lol

23. If you could erase one comic book from canon, what would it be?

oh this one is so hard.... either heroes in crisis (wally being a mass murderer) or batgirl 2011--no more abled babs she doesnt exist.

or countdown. i rly fucking hate countdown.

for marvel idk. can i just destroy the mcu instead

oh wait. ultimates avengers. pls i dont want to think about the ultimates universe maximoff twins ever AGAIN

34. Which retcon do you hate the most?

for DC, four come to mind:

>Parallax isn't Hal Jordans fault

so if u dont know hal jordan back in the 90s broke down after his city was destroyed by doomsday and he lost many loved ones. as a result he went full on villain (parallax) and ended up destroying most of the green lantern corps and caused the zero hour event

he then was killed and later came back as the hero spectre, basically being a ghost hero and trying to atone for his actions he did in the lowest point of his life

anyways later on geoff johns got the reins and revived Hal and said it wasn't hal's fult at all, he was just possessed by an evil space bug made of fear, the real Parallax.

aaaand i hate that. I hate taking away Hals role in everything and making him a victim. I dont mind the other retcons Geoff Johns did to GL lore--hell i prefer it because he really fleshed things out and added the other colours and explained the weakness to yellow even!--but I think it all could have been done without stripping Hal of any wrong doings or guilt. Its rly lame.

>Babs can walk again!

ok not rly a retcon bc she was still shot but i hate it i hate it so much die die die die die die die die

>Jason was actually a rly mean, stupid, and bad robin and no one liked him and his death was inevitable

He had his momentts of violence, yes but his anger had a trigger; he wasnt angry all the time, he was a sweet and intelligent kid who loved Bruce a lot and had a rocky relationship with Dick at first but they did eventually get along. He had a few friends, knew the titans, and was well liked by his family.

too many stories stress his violence and impulsiveness and make him out to be a bad person with at least trying to explore why he is that way and sympathsize with him.

not only that but the treating of his death as inevitable or his fault or anything like that frustrates me so fucking much bc the weight of death in the family, of its aftermath and a lonely place of dying, of under the red hood, really hinges on the fact that jasons death was a tragedy, one that shook Bruce like no other. because he lost his child who he loved!!!!!

wait fourth one

>theres two wally wests with the same powers

super lame. shoulda either made the black wally into bart allen with some explaination for the fake name or just kept the black wally and given him white wallys memories and stuff. maybe aged him up idk. it was such a cop out

for marvel. well we all kn ow what its gonna be

>WHY THE FUYCK IS MAGNETO NOT WANDA AND PIETROS DAD ANYMORE? WHAT THE FUCK? IT RUINS SO MANY STORIES AND ITS STUPID AND ITS JUST STUPID MCU BULLSHIT I HATE IT SO MUCH FUCKING UNDO IT

42. What’s a fandom trope you hate?

oh boy.

>Dick and/or Damian get rescued by the mean racists by Bruce and/or Tim and/or Jason. Cass and Duke are mysteriously absent.

>Bruce has all his kids with him! Who's Cassandra? (....who's duke?)

>Jason was manipulated by the big mean Talia into hating his dad. He has never done anything wrong in his life, its all Talia who hates Bruce so much she wants to marry him or something idk i never read a talia comic in my life

>Redhead jason. let it fucking DIE

>tim is the best robin ever and a lil uwu bean and damian and jason are just soooo mean and always wrong esp damian whos 10

>whats a woman

>did you guys know you make Dick hot without making him a '''''slut'''' esp since hes an SA victim.....

>im so tired of jokes about republican wally esp since none of these ppl have ever read his flash run or even know who linda park or hartley rathaway are

>making jack drake way more abusive than he actually is in canon (hes neglectful at times yes) for sad white boy points or making jason a victim of CSA for sad white boy points (also you guys know someone doesnt have to have been assaulted to hate sexual assault right????)

>making tim asian and jason latino. holy racist stereotypes batman

im sure theres WAY more i could do but theyve been blocked out of my mind for now

for marvel tbh i dont deal with the marvel fandom much so!

the most i could say is

>forgetting loki is bi and genderfluid bc they wanna fuck a white cishet boy

i did all of this and realised i only talked about dc and had to go back and add marvel btw jvfdhghfdhgfdh

[dailycass-cain]

Harley Quinn & the Legion of Bats #6 concluded the series last week. What did Cass do in the issue and what becomes of her? How is Cass's overall appearance in the comic?   Questions. So many questions.  Time for answers.

Naturally, every plot thread in the comic is wrapped up this issue by writer Tee Franklin with a nice tidy bow. No loose plot threads. Everything is contained and ended that the story created.

Harley and Ivy are the centers of the story, with each doing their thing well. I found the ending quite cute. That and it's not nice to mess with Mother Nature.

So what about Cass? What did I think about this issue aka the million-dollar question probably on many's minds? It didn't bother me at all.

Already at the core, Harley Quinn: TAS is flawed by having Babs as a college kid and Batgirl. So anything done with Cass is burdened with a lot of rules from the get-go.

#1 She has to be younger than Babs. 

 #2 She can't be Batgirl. 

 #3 She can't fully be with the Bat-Family. 

#4 She has to be written out to "preserve" continuity.

Course the question becomes will Harley Season 4 even acknowledge this mini? I hope it does, but odds are likely it won't.

Which odds are even more likely there will be 0 Cass in Season 4. 😖

So with ALL these rules, Franklin does a very admirable job with Cass. You can tell she likes the character (along with Tiffany Fox). Still surprised this series had 0 Stephanie Brown. Figured Franklin would go full League of Batgirls homage with three out of the four.

Now I want to reread the comic as a whole to see if she fully slipped it in there. I'm a bit surprised Tiffany or Cass didn't have a line like, "WE WANT TO BE BATGIRLS!" But I digress, we did get a few nods of other things with Cass.

So let's talk about the “bat in the room” first aka the thing many fans freaked out about.  Cass pecks Damian on the cheek.

I get the "why" fans are ticked. It's a common Batgirl trope outside media (mainly Babs) where the Batgirl is used as nothing more than a love interest for a Robin or even Batman himself.  The idea itself is 🤢🤢🤢 HOWEVER--

I took this kiss on the cheek as a nod to the past.  Namely showing kindness as best she can to kind people. Nothing romantic per se, just Cass expressing thankfulness for the kindness.

See for this ENTIRE series Damian's been there for her.  Not Babs. Not Dick. Damian. I know Franklin couldn't fully showcase "the why", but given the two's similar origin paths. It’s more of showing then telling.

I think Damian realized after last issue's Cass owning of Babs and putting together the facts that she and Vixen's case involved children used as weapons. I think it's a rare case of Damian showing some humanity. Something he's barely shown in the HQ series.

The other is well-- someone to bond with. Damian has teenagers and adults he deals with constantly. No one HIS AGE. Cass and Tiffany are the first kids he's met and is vigilanting with. It reminds me of Steph coming to this realization in Batgirl Vol 3. That deep down thru all the ice Damian gives us, he’s a lonely kid who was denied this. So he’s giving Cass something he never got. 

This was one of the few times he let the walls fade and we saw him for who he truly was: lonely. Even the panel prior gives it away. Cass can see it in his body language.

That he's not a punk kid and is adept enough to recognize things and showed Cass something she hasn't ever seen-- kindness.

So I feel the kiss on the cheek was Cass thanking Damian in her own way along with it being the only dialogue she had in the series.

I don't take it anything romantic at all between the two for the scene. Just Cass being Cass and Damian showing deep down he's kind of a softie and her being eternally grateful for that.

I really don't think Franklin was going with this trope AT ALL.  I found this mini to be a small love letter to the character, and Franklin doing the best she had with the limitations she's got.

Speaking of which, given that this was the end of the series what becomes of Cass? That was the question I was asking myself. Could she end up with the Bat-Family?

Doubtful, again given the "rules".

A happy ending with an adoptive family was what I thought was going to occur. Nope, and the twist Franklin gave us surprised me...

Cass is going to Themyscira and being adopted by the Amazons with Diana as her "big sis".

For years Cass fans wanted this to a degree and well ironically we got this from TWO separate writers who decided, "WISH GRANTED!"

Now writer Tom Taylor's Cass from Dark Knights of Steel was more a sleeper agent of Bruce's who bonded with the Amazon ways.

I think it's quite nice to have two writers reach this conclusion with Cassandra on their own and weave this take.

By doing this, Franklin takes the restraints and leaves it open for the possibility of this Cass coming back (if she's given another series).  But if not? We got a firm seed that she can return.

That is if the actual cartoon will ever acknowledge this (it probably won't).  Though I think it should.

Cause Franklin took the stuff that Season 3 left and did an excellent job doing her own thing with these characters.

Like a sweet dessert after a hearty main course.

I'm not going to begrudge Franklin for not fully defining Cass here. She had six issues with MULTIPLE characters (and Cass wasn't a main). This was just a nice nod to the character.

Something at the very least the main series SHOULD have given us. I'm thankful for this gift. Because anything Cass should be cherished.

But that's just me. I'm just this way after this long road I've been on with the character.  I'm more open to new paths for the character and ones that open new readers to them.

I'll take this a hundred times over than what we got in Gotham Knights which was the same old same old. So yeah I want to thank the creators for this series for this fun story. I had a kick and I want more.

I really want to thank Tee Franklin for doing this. She didn't have to include Tiffany or Cass in this series, but she did. And they both stole it for me.  I mean obviously Cass for me because...