#hope x cain

[obamerzslop]

Caine can get scary… so scary in fact that he breaks panel structure and gives himself mood lighting.

[sakuravalelp]

Don't eat anything else - Part 2 - DP X DC

Previous part

Masterpost

This is the only chapter where I'll tag people. Please, if you want to follow the story from this point on, follow the master post :).

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

"You both should stop eating the food." Came Babs voice through the comms. "Danny asked Tim to not eat anything else. We suspect the food may content poison."

Bruce subtly shared a look with Cass before returning to nodding at Masters' proud rambling about his latest contract. They had both stopped eating long ago. The soup was good; Masters’ words about Danny being a good cook weren’t a lie. However, Bruce couldn’t identify the chunks of meat in the soup.

He initially thought it was pork, though the texture seemed somewhat similar to veal. By the fourth piece of meat he ate, he could confidently say he didn't recognize it. When he looked at Cass, he saw her using her spoon to play with one of the pieces of meat on the edge of the plate, a frown hidden behind her polite smile. He was sure then that the meat couldn't be one they had tasted before.

Bruce has tasted every kind of meat that should be available to Masters. He has even tasted exotic meats that Masters would probably never encounter, having represented humanity in intergalactic meetings as Batman. Not being able to identify the meat discouraged Bruce from eating more, and it seemed to have had the same effect on Cass. They had kept their food mostly untouched, using the excuse of waiting for Tim and Danny to return before eating. It was a good call; the meat being poisoned could be the reason it was unrecognizable.

"If any of you feel any symptoms, turn off your comm." None of them made a move to do so, and after a couple of minutes Babs continued, "I'll call Bruce in 10 minutes to create an excuse for you guys to leave."

Bruce would have liked to think that they had not yet consumed enough poison for it to affect them, but there's always the possibility of it being a delayed-effect poison. If Masters' plan with the poison was to kill them, then a delayed-effect poison would allow Masters to avoid being immediately connected to their deaths.

However, Masters shouldn’t have a reason to kill Bruce Wayne and his wards. Unless the man had discovered that they were investigating his contracts, which Bruce doubted. It was more likely that the poison was some sort of chemical restraint or chemical submissive, which would explain why Masters' contracts always seemed to end ridiculously in his favor. It would be easy to make such deals with someone who was drugged to be more agreeable with you.

Not that Bruce would be willing to take the risk to find out, especially with Cass having also ingested the tainted meat. He was glad he had brought the poison antidote kit with him. Despite this, Bruce wasn't sure about cutting the visit short, at least not for all of them. Tim had been gone with Danny for a while now, and if Danny had informed Tim about the food, they were probably exchanging information at the moment. Maybe Tim was in the process of offering Danny help, and Bruce didn't want to interrupt that.

"Renovations will be starting next week, and I'm sure the place will end up being quite popular," Masters finally finished his rambling.

"It sure sounds like it will. You certainly got yourself a great deal with Kensington, Mr. Masters. I'm curious, what is your negotiation method?" Bruce asked, hoping to gather more information.

Masters had been surprisingly adept at avoiding any conversation about the negotiations themselves, always sidetracking the discussion or giving half-answers. Drugs in the food was a good hypothesis and would be the best outcome for them, as such substances usually shouldn’t take too long to get out of their system.

Yet, it didn't explain how Masters' business partners seemed to stay committed to their contracts long after they were made. The furthest they had gotten from them was confusion about how they had reached the point where they accepted the contract's conditions. However, they all seemed convinced they had gotten the best outcome possible, despite obviously getting the short end of the stick.

It pointed to something besides drug usage. Maybe Masters got blackmail material from them while they were drugged? It would be easier to draw conclusions if Masters had even the smallest slip about it.

Masters smiled, taking a sip from his wine. "Ah, it takes years of practice, Wayne. It isn't something one can learn in a day, and only those with the capacity can master it," he said. Then, before Bruce could ask any follow-up questions, he continued, "Now, Daniel and young Mr. Drake sure seem to be taking their time."

"Oh, that doesn't surprise me," Bruce said, shaking his head with a fond smile, playing farther into his "Brucie" persona while lamenting the lost opportunities to get more leads on what Masters was doing. "They're around the same age. Surely they got distracted talking about whatever is of interest to kids their age these days."

"I would be glad if my godson got along so well with your son, Mr. Wayne," Masters said with a practiced smile, though a hint of calculation flickered in his eyes. He gestured vaguely with his wine glass, his tone deceptively sympathetic. "The loss of his family hasn't been easy for him, and building a connection with someone like Mr. Drake could be beneficial. However, it is quite rude to leave the guests waiting. As his guardian, I must address this. I’ll go search for them." Masters stated, standing up from his seat.

Luckily, Bruce didn't need to interject to stop Masters from interrupting his son's conversation with Danny, since the two boys appeared by the door as if summoned by Masters' comment. Danny visibly tensed the moment he spotted Masters standing in his place.

"Daniel, it's good you're finally back. I was about to go search for you," Masters said, throwing Danny a stern look.

Danny opened his mouth, probably about to apologize for the wait, but Tim beat him to it.

"So sorry, Mr. Masters. I had to take a shower before changing clothes."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Mr. Drake," Masters said as he looked Tim up and down, evaluating if what Tim was saying was true. His eyes lingered on Tim's wet hair for a moment, and the tension in his eyes relaxed a bit. "It is Daniel's fault for throwing the soup on you. Now, shall we continue with the dinner?" Masters sat once more on his chair.

"Should—" Danny started, slightly stuttering when Masters' eyes returned to him. "Should I serve new portions? Since the ones on the table are probably cold by now?" the intensity of Masters gaze increased with every word Danny said. In response, Danny lowered his gaze to the floor, and shifted nervously.

Danny's voice was way too small by the end of his sentence, but Bruce could sense some hidden urgency in his tone. Remembering that Danny was the one who had warned them about the food, Bruce could infer that he was trying to further prevent them from eating it. It gave Bruce the impression that Masters had also caught onto that fact, given how tense the man was.

He was grateful for the kid doing their best to protect them, but lamented putting them in a position where they had to risk confronting their abuser. Bruce really hoped Tim had convinced Danny to leave with them. It shouldn't be difficult to create a reasonable invitation for Danny after Masters' comment about how he was isolating himself.

"Good idea," Cass said with a gentle smile directed at Danny before Masters could make any move.

Masters' eyes narrowed slightly, but then he nodded. "Very well. Daniel, go ahead."

As Danny hurried to the kitchen, Bruce shared a subtle glance with Tim, who was retaking his seat beside Cass. Unfortunately, instead of the nod indicating that they could get Danny to leave with them if they created the opportunity, Tim just shrugged. It wasn't the sign for Danny refusing help, but the one for things being more complicated than they seemed. Bruce sighed, and before Danny returned from the kitchen, his phone rang. He excused himself to answer Babs' call, lamenting not being able to take Danny with them.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Bruce came back from his brief call with Babs with a worried face that Cass knew wasn't the one he made when actual "family emergencies" happened. It was exagerated and dramatic, it screamed "something terrible had happened," and was perfect for this kind of situations. Bruce quickly ushered Cass and Tim out, apologizing to Masters for the hasty departure. They barely had time to say goodbye to Danny, who had hurried back from the kitchen after Masters had shouted about seeing off the guests.

Cass noticed a subtle shift in Danny’s demeanor as they prepared to leave. His shoulders dropped slightly, and there was a fleeting look of relief in his eyes. However, that relief was overshadowed by the palpable fear that clung to him; his tense posture betrayed the anxiety he was trying to hide. It was hard to leave him behind, and Cass almost ran back when she caught sight of Vlad’s possessive hand on Danny’s shoulder and his venomous, angry eyes as she was walking out the door.

As soon as they were in the car, Tim immediately began checking the vehicle and himself for hidden microphones, with Bruce and Cass following his lead with little more than a raised eyebrow. Tim’s decision to search for bugs made sense once he explained that Danny’s room had been bugged,

"Honestly, Danny's so careful with his actions and words everywhere, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole property is bugged."

The drive back to the house they had rented was tense, the atmosphere in the car thick with unspoken concerns. Tim decided to use the ride home to update them on what he had seen. In turn, Bruce spoke about the dinner with Masters, detailing their regrettable failure to extract any additional information from the man. The evening ultimately boiled down to the suspicion that the food had been poisoned. Cass remained silent, not feeling up to talking.

She had her doubts about the food being poisoned; even if the poison hadn't shown any symptoms, her past training should have allowed her to identify it if she had consumed it. It seemed unlikely that Masters possessed a poison so sophisticated that she couldn’t detect it, and the thought only deepened her unease. She though back to how their hosts acted at the start of the dinner.

Danny looked like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. His eyes darted nervously between them and Masters, his hands trembling slightly as he served the food. The guilt and fear radiating from him were almost palpable, as if he believed he was committing an unforgivable sin by offering them the meal.

Masters, however, didn’t seem like he was planning to poison them. He behaved more like Damian’s classmates had when they once tried to trick him into eating non-vegan food at a gala. His smile was too easy, his gestures too casual, like someone who thought they were pulling off a harmless but cruel prank. It felt like he was purposely feeding them something he knew was outside their comfort zone and ethical beliefs, testing their reactions with a detached amusement.

From the very beginning, Cass had felt a deep discomfort about the food. The way Masters and Danny acted around it had set off her internal alarms. When she took the first bite of the meat, something immediately felt off. The texture was unfamiliar, and the taste was oddly unsettling—not in a way that clearly indicated poison, but in a manner that was subtly disturbing, she didn't know what she was eating. It made her skin crawl, and she couldn’t bring herself to take another bite.

The car coming to a stop in the house’s garage jolted Cass out of her thoughts. They all exited the vehicle, and Jason’s motorcycle was parked beside them as he opened the door. tightly clenched jaw. Like the rest of them, he was frustrated by their inability to take Danny with them, but he wasn’t vocalizing it because he was also worried about what they had eaten.

Once the door was opened, Bruce was ready to rush into his bedroom to get the poison antidote kit, but Jason stopped him,

"Hold on old man, I want to know what the note the kid gave Tim says. It may even say what poison was used; save us time."

"Mnn" Bruce said with a slight nod, and Tim started unfolding the paper in response.

The folded paper was as small as a pinky, but once unfolded, it revealed a full letter-sized sheet, and the text filled at least half of it. Tim skimmed the text as he usually did before reading aloud, but his face quickly drained of color. His eyes widened in horror and disgust. Instead of reading aloud, he kept running his eyes over the first line repeatedly, his gaze darting between Bruce and Cass. His jaw was clenched tightly, and he struggled to keep his composure, fighting against the bile rising in his throat. Cass couldn’t help but frown deeply, a growing sense of dread settling in as she wondered what the paper could possibly contain.

"Forgot how to read, replacement?" Jason said, his tone lacking its usual edge. He stood beside Tim, his expression a mix of uncertainty and concern, unsure whether to reach for the paper or not.

Tim takes a shudering breath, and Cass herself can't help but shift in her place, her anxiety growing, as they all wait for Tim to gain back his voice and finally read what Danny's note says.

"The meat on the food is human meat." Tim finally says with a strained voice.

There's a moment of silence in the room. Cass keeps her eyes on Tim, hoping, pleading, to find any signs that what she heard is wrong, but Tim only repeats the sentence. Her stomach churns violently as bile rises in her throat. Without effort, she sinks to the ground, her legs giving out as she begins to vomit. The pounding of her heart fills her ears, as black dots fill her sight and her hands tremble uncontrollably. She is dimly aware of Bruce doubling over beside her, and the sound of Jason hitting the wall.

She ate human meat. It may have just been a bite, but she ate human meat. The dinner had been made from human meat. Her mind recoiled at the abhorrent thought. The thought of the soup they were served makes her vomit once more. She gasps for air, her body shaking as she fights against the rising tide of revulsion, desperately trying to rid herself of the lingering taste and the horrifying realization of what they ingested. She feels Tims hand doing smalls circles in her back and realizes that tears had been falling from her face.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Danny's hands trembled as he injected himself with another dose of ectoplasm. The shaking made the syringe jab painfully as he withdrew it, causing drops of blood and ectoplasm to fall to the floor while the injury quickly healed. Ten minutes of continuous electrical shocks wasn’t the worst punishment he had received from Vlad, but it had the most severe drawbacks. His body had a harder time recovering from electrical damage than from any other kind of harm, and Vlad often exploited this weakness.

He took a deep breath as the last of the Lichenberg marks disappeared from his legs and arms, leaving only the ones he’d gotten from his death. He sat on the bathroom floor, staring at the ceiling, his legs and arms still trembling. He wasn’t sure if the tremors were from the electrical aftershocks or his own anxiety. Vlad had been furious about his little stunt with the soup and had once again reminded him that they weren't eating Danny’s friends because he was such a "compassionate guardian."

The reminder had thrown Danny into a couple of panic attacks once he was allowed to return to his room. He thanks he's advanced dissociative abilities for not having those panics attacks in front of Vlad. He doesn't wan't to know how the man would try to exploit that.

But even as his whole body trembles and aches, he doesn’t regret his decisions. This is his only chance for things to change. The Waynes are a powerful family with connections to the Justice League. While the League has not interfered with what has happened in Amity Park up till now, they might get involved if the Waynes reach out to them. It’s wishful thinking, and he’s risking a lot, but this gut-wrenching dinner has become the first glimmer of hope he’s had since his family’s death, and he’ll hold onto it with his half-life.

Once he's body stops trembling and he's head feels a bit clearer, he needs to text Sam and Tucker. He'll depend on them for this to not backfire on all denizens.

[solhunder]

Could we get a LBM (or multiple >:3) terrorizing the batfam?

(also if you want to draw em snuggled up to Cass that'd be so damn cute)

They got very lost on their way home, but luckily they found someone willing to help!

I know approximately zero (0) things about the batmans so she is 100% based entirely on google image searches :')

[starryyskies]

Non sentient pomni?

you had me at non

@sm-baby

[lazysoftmilk]

Royalteeth/Kingleader 😭💖🎩♟️

[haveihitanerve]

Batman falls into a coma and the JL aren't too worried. The doctors said he’d recover, although a time frame was still escaping them, and as far as they knew, everyone who needed to be informed about it was a JL member. Until the others started showing up. 

“Shit shit shit shit shit man!” Flash muttered, pacing frantically in the main room. “Hey, dude, chill out.” Green Lantern lifted a hand and a massive green hand slowed the Flash’s speed. “Relax man. You heard the doctors. He will be fine. Eventually. When he wakes up.” “If.” Green Arrow added a little quieter. Lantern shot him a look. “Not helping.” “So what? When he wakes up, if! We still let the Batman get hit on a mission with us! He’ll never go out with us again!” Barry flopped onto the couch in dismay. “Hey man its okay.” Oliver reached over a comforting hand and placed it on the speedsters shoulder. “You never know. And it was an honest… issue. None of us saw the hit coming and… well there was nothing we could do.” Hal nodded his agreement. “Exactly. Relax a little Barry.” The Zeta Tubes flashed open and Wonder Woman and Superman arrived. The three men snapped up. “Where is he?” Clark asked. Barry sighed and led the way to the med room where Batman was laying. Clark and Diana went to his sides, staring down at him with a mix of concern and contemplation on their faces. “We don't know what to do.” Hal threw out, unnecessarily. “Should we remove the cowl? I mean it would break trust but to know who he is-” “you cant.” Diana interrupted before he could continue. The men all whipped around to look at her. She gestured to Batmans face, right next to her hand. “You cant. I tried. It must be some protective contingency. If hes unresponsive then the mask sort of.. Seals itself to his face.” She sounded almost impressed. “Freaky.” Barry muttered. “Leave it to Bats to not trust us even unconscious.” Hal muttered. “He does trust you.” Clark reprimanded, sending the Lantern a hard look. “Otherwise he wouldn't have gone on that mission with you.” At the mention of that all three men winced. “Anyway,” Oliver redirected the conversation. “What should we do?” “Contact anyone you know who is related to him in some way.” Hal gestured at them. “That would be us.” “What about Nightwing?” Clark asked. “He was Batmans robin.” Diana nodded. “Yeah but hes.. Hes just like a kid. And who knows if Bats even is connected to him like that.” Hal pointed out. Diana shrugged, pulling out her Justice League pager. “Better to inform him and him not to care than have him care and not know.” She countered, sending a quick message. They conceded to her point. “Besides if he doesn't have that connection, at least we’ll get to hang with him.” Oliver added. “Yeah.” Barry agreed. “He’s always so cheerful and fun!” But when they settled down in the main room to wait, when he arrived Nightwing was anything but.

The JL members had all just about settled down when the Zeta Tube opened. Was flung open, more like it, and Nightwing came billowing out, face stormy. “Where is he?” He growled, and Barry swore lightning crackled in his hands. Hal’s finger shot up in the direction of the room. Nightwing stalked past them, hurrying into the room. The members exchanged looks and scuttled after him. Nightwing had taken a seat at Batman’s side, holding his hand with his own. “Oh B.” He murmured, voice unexpectedly gentle after the rage he had only just previously shown. “Um, Nightwing?” The man stood as they entered, though he kept a lose hold on Batman’s hand.  “What happened?” He asked. Ordered, was more like it. “We- we uh were on a mission at a nearby planet and uh,” Barry licked his lips nervously, caught off guard by Nightwing’s unwavering steely gaze, usually so friendly and open. “Uh well, we thought everything was clear to go when a hit came suddenly, right in the middle of us, exploding us in different directions. We uh, the rest of us,” He gestured between himself and the two Greens. “Landed okay but uh, Bats hit his head hard. He’s in a coma.” Nightwing’s jaw set. “The doctors are sure he will recover in due time.” Clark added hastily. Nightwing offered him a curt nod. “In what time?”  The silence was awkward and deafening. Nightwing’s eyes tightened. “I see.” He looked down at the Bat at his side. “Well, best to call the others then.” He sighed, looking up to meet their eyes. “You got any coffee?” 

Nightwing left soon after, downing his cup of coffee in one go and informing them he was going home to tell the others, and that he’d be back soon with some supplies and medical assistance. They barely had time to ask what on earth and who on earth before he was gone. “Well that went well-” Barry muttered, just as the Zeta Tube doors were flung opened for the second time in one day and a very large and very aggressive looking man stormed in the doors. “Um, excuse me hello?” Barry, Hal, and Oliver stood in his way. “Who the fuck are you?” The man squinted at them, eyes narrowing behind his red mask. “The name’s Red Hood. Wheres B?” Hal lifted his hand, ring glowing. “Now listen here-” He barely managed to spit out the last word before his hand was in the strangers and he was twisting, twisting twisting. Hal screamed as his fingers snapped, crumpling to the floor. The man, Red Hood apparently, looked down at him cooly. “Ill ask again: Wheres B?” Barry pointed a shaking hand to the room. Red Hood prowled past them, throwing open the door and making his way to Batmans side. “Gods B.” He groaned quietly, sitting down carefully at the edge of the bed. “Hypocrite.” He muttered, but they all cataloged the fact that he tucked the blanket tighter around Batman’s shoulders. “He broke my fucking fingers.” Hal hissed. Oliver barely glanced at his friend. “What you want us to let him break ours too to make you feel better? Theres gauze and a brace in the closet.” Hal sent him a dirty look as Barry helped him tape the fingers together, stabilizing them. “I made more coffee-” Clark started, freezing as he walked in. “What in the hell?” He gasped, examining Hal’s fingers. Hal pointed an accusing finger(the non broken one) at the med bay. “That sicko broke them when I tried to stop him from going in there.” Clark frowned, eyes narrowing. “Thats not-” 

The Zeta Tube dinged and opened, normally this time, instead of being thrown open, and two more others piled out. “So this is the Tower huh?” The one on the right mused, wearing a muted purple outfit. The man on her left nodded, wearing a red suit, a black X across the front. Both were wearing clearly emblazoned Bat symbols on their chests. “What a waste of money. He couldn't have spruced it up a bit?” The girl asked with distaste, but Hal swore he heard false cheerfulness in her voice. The man nudged her with his shoulder. Oliver coughed. The two turned to look at them. “Oh. Hello.” The girl greeted cheerfully. “Where’s B?” “Are you gonna break our fingers if we don't tell you?” Hal asked warily. The girl winced sympathetically. “We told Dickie we should've come first.” She sighed. “No, we won’t. At least, not yet.” Her smile was all the more terrifying after that statement. The boy rolled his eyes, shoving her. “Shut up you weirdo. I’m Red Robin.” He introduced. “My freaky friend here is Spoiler. We’re not in the business of breaking fingers….” he trailed off, a strange look overcoming his features. “We’re not in the business of breaking our not-fathers colleagues fingers.” Spoiler corrected for him cheerfully. Barry had a feeling she did everything terrifying cheerfully. Even if it sounded just a little forced. Hal paled. “Good to know.” Clark said a little weakly. Red Robin smiled faintly. “Yeah. Anyway, wheres B?” “Over here you nimrods.” the finger-breaker poked his head out the door. “Hood!” Spoiler hurried over and he held the door open for her to rush past. Red Robin excused himself as well, heading over. Clark, Oliver, and Diana, more intrigued than afraid(unlike Barry and Hal) also made their way over, hovering in the back. Spoiler perched on the side of the bed, reaching her hand for his face. “The mask wont come off.” Diana stopped her. “We’ve tried.” Red Robin sent them a look and Red Hood shuffled further away in disgust. Spoiler merely glanced casually over her shoulder. “Oh I wasn't gonna.” She trailed a finger down his cheek, resting it on his neck. “He’s alive S.” Red Robin murmured quietly, taking her hand. Spoiler nodded jerkily. “I would hope so or I just dragged poor doc up here for nothing.” Came another voice and Hal almost breathed a sigh of relief as Nightwing appeared, three more people with him. “The O’s are watching Gotham, but they said he’d better wake up before they hurts someone.” His gaze drifted to the Justice League for a quick second before darting away again. Barry swallowed. The child at his side, because thats what it was, a child, sniffed hauntily. “If they can get here in time.” Red Hood chuckled, reaching down to heft the boy onto his hip. “Thats what I’m saying Demon Brat.” Clark and Barry exchanged glances at the insulting nickname, somehow said fondly. “Oh leave it alone you insufferable children.” said a lofty voice. Said voice came from the woman at Nightwings side, and she drifted casually into the room, taking a seat next to the bed. “Catwoman?” Barry exclaimed in disbelief. She offered him, appropriately, a feline smile. “In the flesh.” Nightwing chuckled, nodding to the last person in his little entourage, another female, older, with wispy white hair. “Dr. Leslie Tompkins.” Nightwing introduced them. The, civilian, for her part, didn't flinch in the face of so many heroes, instead making a beeline for the bed where she began her work. “Ok- wait, why are you all here?” Oliver finally asked, running a hand through his hair in disbelief. The kids, because thats what they were, all laughed. “These lovely strays,” Catwoman introduced, smiling as she waved a hand around to encompass the company. “Are Batmans brood. His children.” She elaborated. “And we’re missing a few too.” Nightwing muttered. The JL stared at them with open mouths. “Ah, um, okay.” Hal stuttered out finally. “And uh, who are you?” Catwoman smiled, a smile that meant pure trouble. “Oh me? I’m no one.” She lifted her right hand to reveal the sparkly diamond ring on her finger. “Only his wife.” 

Needless to say, when Batman finally woke up, he was met with the sight of his entire family, his doctor, and a very confused Justice League. The first thing he did, after kissing his wife hello and hugging all of his children, was groan. "Oh alright already." He muttered, and slipped off his cowl. "Hello Justice League, my name is Bruce Wayne." Oliver fainted.

[amilfdala]

romance is when:

she backhands you across the face and splits your lip open.

you drop her midair and rescue her only seconds before she plummets to death.

seducing her into drinking pomegranate juice from a deer skull you used to crush the fruit in whilst inside a church.

meanwhile she hallucinates you holding a human skull with blood in it instead of said deer skull with pomegranate juice.

tracing your fingers down her stomach as you tell her about sacrificial murders where a woman’s womb is cut open for religious cult practices.

constantly checking for her reactions for even the miniscule of things when she is the most emotionally unavailable person on the planet.

[theoldkyokodied]

dooooodles :^)

[choco-dawn]

New obsession just dropped >:D my friend recommended me a wonderful IF called Shepherds of Haven and i just had to get had to get my grubby drawing hands on this and try to draw every character in my style (Ignoring the last girl thats my just my MC I added her to make it even- i love her tho) alongside a bunch of other silly doodles cause i love the writing!!! and these characters!!!! i love the found family!!!!!!!!!!!! go read it!!!!!!!

[cherpiet]

Digital God

i see a lot of people depicting caine as a god , i thought it was neat

also i tried to humanise caine- hope it looks ok :' D

[obamerzslop]

can you draw caine rizzing up kinger pretty please with a cherry on top

Caine may be confident but I don't think he'd be able to flirt for the life of him

[anonymouscheeses]

Day 01: Digital Feast

Not a feast. But it's food.

[ask-caine]

ok ok what’s yours and moons love story. Beginning to end

OOC POST

It's a bit of a crazy story, actually!

We originally met online through TADC, when she messaged all the Caine accounts she could find for a shitpost "wedding" thing. We ended up hitting it off and talking about random things for a while. It started with my random fact about Kentucky marriage laws and how a couple used them to get married by cocaine bear (hence the below picture)

We ended up learning about a shared interest in plague doctors, as well as discussing several very random topics. Anyways, she invited all the Caines to a discord server, and I ended up being the only one who actually showed up. We would end up talking for hours upon hours day after day there. It was genuinely shocking how much we had in common.

At this point, I had been kinda been picking up on some of the flirtatious undertones behind some of the things she was saying, but I wasn't 100% sure about it yet and was still kinda testing the waters. I'd heard the term love at first sight, and looking back on it, that's pretty much what it felt like. I had been developing a crush on her up to this point, and I kept thinking about her as I was getting ready for bed. I had to keep stopping myself from falling head over heels, reminding myself we barely even knew each other and telling myself "no, she's just being nice. Don't be weird, there's nothing behind this, she's just being friendly."

...As it turned out, she wanted to be a little more than friends... Given my feelings up to this point, I was a little overwhelmed when she told me. I had to take a minute to collect my thoughts, to process everything (hence her jokes about me pulling a Caine and running away). But I liked her, too, and was willing to try a long-distance relationship. So, that's what we did.

It was only a few days after we first got together officially that I told her I loved her. It just felt right. Apparently I caught both of us off-guard with it, since she was sure that she'd be the one who would've said it first. ...We both dived in a little too headfirst from there. From my side of things, it was just so exciting and exhilerating to have this feeling I'd been searching for all my life, and I wanted more of it. We took a step back and both agreed to try and take things at a more reasonable pace from here on out.

We ended up learning a lot about each other. It was like we were the same person, split apart and put in two entirely different situations but turning out the same way anyway. ...This similarity became concerning when we realized we both had the same last name, as well as the fact that we both had Scottish ancestry. But, one family search check later, we confirmed that we are not, in fact, related. Just another insane coincidence that further proves that we were made for each other...

We shared a lot with each other. Our interests, hobbies, ideals, feelings on various topics. Our experiences throughout life, good and bad. The darkest parts of us. Every day, we grew closer. There was no denying that there was something special between us.

That isn't to say everything was perfect. We both still had a lot to learn about ourselves and about each other. There were ups and downs. Things were far from easy. There was a lot of avoidable pain both ways. As time went on, we started to become a little more distant...

Eventually, the stress of life and school and worries and everything going on got to be too much, and she called for us to take a break from the relationship. This hurt, of course... But, taking a break and being done are very different things. I was okay with taking a break, since we would still hang out and such sometimes, just not as romantically.

But, that still wasn't enough. Everything continued to be really stressful, and she felt like she wasn't a net positive in my life and was dragging me down (though the truth was exactly the opposite). So, she decided to fully end the relationship. Which... Really hurt me. Badly.

I kind of fell into a depressive state for a while. I had opened myself up like never before, let myself be more vulnerable than at any point in my life. I had finally found love, the one thing I'd truly wanted all my life, the only thing I've ever needed, and then it was just taken right away. The one thing I feared more than anything else in the world had come to pass.

We would still talk occasionally, but not like before. I already hurt so much, and just talking with her without being able to say the love I still felt was torture for me. So, I distanced myself a bit. I dealt with things on my own. I learned a lot about myself as I came to terms with how things had ended up.

Eventually, I started to feel a little more okay. I knew I could never stop loving her, so I decided to try and turn that love from romantic to platonic and still try to be a friend. Because while I may have lost her, she didn't want me out of her life completely. I could make do as just friends.

But, when I started to come back and we started to talk more again, she realized how much she had been missing me while we were apart. She figured out that some of the things she'd been feeling had been more than she'd realized. She learned that she actually was happier when we were together, and that she still really enjoyed being with me.

So, she began to give little hints again, like before. And, again, I picked up on them, but I didn't want to believe them 100% because of how much I'd been hurt last time. I told myself that she was just showing platonic love, the same way I was. Things would never be the same again. They couldn't be. If I was good for her before, she wouldn't have left...

It was actually Randy who got us actually talking again, first on our blogs, and then regarding what we were being sent. This eventually led to us talking just in general, about all sorts of things... Including what had happened between us. It was emotional, but we both came out of it feeling better about things.

That said, it took until this post before I realized she still loved me and that it was okay to love her back, the way I'd been holding in all this time. We had a heartfelt reunion, though we weren't officially dating again just yet. It still took me a while after that to fully accept everything and let down my guard again, after how much I was still hurting from last time...

But I didn't like the feeling of keeping her away. Of having a barrier between us. I desperately craved that deep, personal connection of love with her again. So, I opened my heart up again. And I'm so incredibly grateful that I did.

Soon after that point, Randy showed up and all those shenanigans ensued. But they only managed to get us talking more about things and uniting against it, which actually brought us even closer together. So, I guess if one good thing's come out of that dumpster fire of stress and stupidity, it's that.

Things have been absolutely wonderful since we got back together. We both learned a lot about ourselves in our time apart, and things have been much better between us. The rocky, uncertain road from before the break had smoothed over. And we fell so much deeper in love the second time.

Add in the stress of the past several weeks, with all the Tumblr drama with these blogs and the hiatus and everything (which I'm not getting into because you can see all that for yourself by looking through our blogs), and you're caught up to the present day. Life is still very stressful for us both, but a lot less so than when we first got together. We understand ourselves and each other so much better, which helps us make less mistakes and treat each other more tenderly and personally in the ways that we need most.

As for the future, immediately after finishing school, I plan to find work and save up to visit her in Canada sometime in the summer. After that is a little hazy at the moment, but we'll figure out our lives and put together a plan to find stable jobs and create a good life for ourselves up there.

And that's it, that's our story. From when we met all the way to the present day. You said beginning to end, but I'm afraid there is no end to our love. The story's still being written. Our lives are still being lived. I hope to be able to add to this years into the future, when we're living together and when we start our own family. But it might still take a while to reach that point.

[thescarletnargacuga]

CHANDELIER

A HARLEQUIN AU SHOWTIME ONESHOT

AU credit: @tadc-harlequin-au @iamespecter

Inspired by THIS

WARNING: alcohol and a bit suggestive

Caine slouched heavily in his chair as he drained an entire bottle of liquor in his mouth. The bitter liquid sloshed over his teeth, dribbled down his chest and over his exposed heart. The numbing rush of alcohol relaxed him further. He tossed the empty bottle, and it shattered against the pile of other empties. He groaned into the silence of his study as he stretched. "Finally...a good buzz." He leaned his chair back with his feet up on his desk with the intent on taking a short nap.

The door slammed open with the force of a raging bull. "CAINE!!"

He jumped and the chair fell backwards. His legs folded over his head, landing ass up. "Hello Pomni, to what do I owe the pleasure?" He was muffled from his own body weight holding down his mouth.

"You know DAMN well why I'm here!" She threw her sword unceremoniously onto his desk, it was warped and covered in strange burn marks. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SWORD!?" She was seething from every pore.

Caine struggled to right himself. He flopped over on his side and slowly climbed the desk to his knees. He blinked the haze from his eyes and focused on the heavily damaged weapon in front of him. He was pretty far gone and his memory was as clear as a foggy day at sea. "Uh....I don't know...." He answered honestly.

She grabbed him by the collar from her side of the desk and yanked him to his feet. She spoke through her teeth, her eyes promised death. "What do you mean you don't know? It didn't magically end up like this."

That sobered him up a bit. "Actually, now that you mention it, that is probably exactly how it ended up like that. I think I was tinkering and I had some ideas to improve your weapon." He chuckled nervously.

"Let me get this straight. You STOLE my sword. BROKE it. Then PUT IT BACK LIKE I WOULDN'T NOTICE!?" She was ready to start kicking him across the manor.

Caine snapped into survival mode. "POMNI, Pomni, whatever happened can be fixed, I assure you. I just need some time, alright? I don't remember anything after I started tinkering. I- uh...." He looked to the side.

Pomni's eyes followed his to the pile of broken bottles. She let go of him and he dropped to the desk top chest first. "Are you kidding me? You were drinking while working?? What is WRONG with you!?"

He stood and fixed his shirt. "A lot, my dear. But we aren't ready for that conversation." He picked up the damaged sword and examined it as best he could through his drunken stupor. He couldn't make heads or tails of what he had done, but it was bad. The sword's structural integrity was completely compromised and was barely in one piece. He put it back down and took another bottle out of the top drawer of his desk.

Pomni snatched the bottle. "What are you doing? You need to fix my sword!"

"My dear, even if I sobered up right this second, I'm afraid that sword is useless. The damage is far too extensive. I'll have to forge you a whole new one, and that will take time."

"WHAT!?!? You-! Why-! ARGH!" She tore the cork out of the bottle with her teeth and started chugging. It was either do that or kill Caine, but if she did that, she'd have no sword.

Caine breathed a sigh of relief. That was the closest he'd been to death in awhile. He brought out yet another bottle and leaned against the desk to top off his lost drunkenness.

Pomni got half way through her bottle before she took a breath. She steadied herself against the desk next to Caine, taking a few more swigs of the strong drink.

Caine set his bottle down as the alcohol poured against his heart. "I'm sorry, Pomni. I promise you'll have a new sword as soon as possible. You have my word."

Pomni scoffed. "As if your word means much."

Caine looked down. "It's...not what it used to be. Like a lot of things. But, when I say I'll do something for you, I mean it. I hope you can trust me that far."

Pomni wiped a dribble of drink from her chin. "I trust you enough to know you'll save your own skin by making me a new sword."

"...fair enough." He threw the newly emptied bottle on the pile.

A stiff silence fell between them. Pomni polished off her bottle and she started to feel lighter. The anger successfully drowned and she felt more relaxed. "You got more?" She added her bottle to the collection of the broken and empty.

Caine went to a bookshelf and pulled a huge tome from its place. He opened it to reveal two purple bottles hidden in the pages. "As if that's really a question." He smirked and handed her one as he took the other for himself. He put the large book back. "This is a special blend. My own creation. Don't let the size of bottle fool you, it packs a hell of a punch."

"Don't worry, Caine. When it comes to you, size has never mattered." She said dryly.

He dropped his bottle in his mouth, losing grip in surprise. "What's that supposed to mean??" He coughed.

Pomni laughed at his flustered reaction. "I refuse to elaborate." She threw back her drink. The liquid made her feel warm from the inside out. She swayed in place as the alcohol took effect and the world started to tilt. "God, you weren't kidding. This is....wow."

"I'm afraid that was the last in my study, but there's plenty more in the lounge." He dramatically offered his arm to her like a gentleman. "Shall I escort you, my dear?"

She shoved him away by the face. "No." She unsteadily showed herself out, Caine trailing behind.

They tore the lounge apart looking for the secret stashes Caine had hidden everywhere. Bottle after bottle, they downed everything they found until they were chasing each other around like children for each find.

"Give it to me!" Pomni tackled Caine's legs and he tripped. The bottle rolled under a lounger and they scrambled after it. Caine shoved Pomni to the side and stuck his arm under the furniture. He almost had it when Pomni grabbed his ankles and dragged him out of reach. "I said that's mine!"

"I found it first!" Caine kicked his legs free and used his cane to fish the bottle out of its hiding place. The bottle rolled over a rug and he tried to grab the corner to pull it closer but Pomni got the other end first. They tug-of-wared with the rug. Caine braced himself against a heavy table from the floor and Pomni leaned her whole body weight from a standing position. The table leg gave out, forcing Caine to let go of the rug to save himself from the falling table. Pomni stumbled backwards from her own strength. The rug whipped the bottle up into the air and it got caught in the chandelier. They both looked at the out of reach drink and then each other.

"MINE!" Pomni got to her feet quickly and starting climbing the furniture. She jumped, completely missed and belly flopped in the fountain.

Caine lost his mind with laughter. "Please, tell me that wasn't your plan? You're better than that."

Pomni gave Caine a dirty look as she rolled out of the fountain, soaked, and drunkenly ran at the wall. She did a perfect wall jump entirely by chance and grabbed the bottom of the chandelier. "Wooo!" She cheered as she swung.

Caine climbed on a ornate dresser, getting himself just within reach of Pomni's legs. "Hold tight!" He grabbed on and started climbing her.

"Wha- HEY!" She tried to shake him off without letting go of the chandelier. She couldn't make that wall jump twice in a row if she tried.

"Hold still! You're making this difficult!" He used what little focus he had left to keep his grip on her respectful. Her wet clothes clung to her figure and he did his best to imagine he was just climbing a weird screaming rope.

"YOU'RE the one making this difficult! I can't climb up with you holding me down! Let go!" Her grip held fast but she couldn't hold it forever.

"Give me a minute, woman! You're so impatient!" He wrapped his legs around her waist to free his arms and reach the chandelier himself. Pomni was too focused on her target to really think about the position they were in. Caine released his leg lock on her when he had a good hold on the chandelier. "There. Better?"

"Much." She kicked him.

"OW! Why!?" He angled his hips away from her keep his groin clear of her wrath.

"A lot of reasons, but mostly because I felt like it." She started hoisting herself up.

Caine struggled from his position. The swinging of the chandelier mixed with the copious amount of drink he had that day made him feel dizzy.

Pomni stood on the chandelier, holding onto the chain connected to the ceiling for balance, and claimed her prize. "Yes!" She held the bottle up, victorious. "I told you it was mine!" She started swinging the chandelier, watching Caine struggle to hold on. "Having fun down there!?"

Caine narrowed his eyes at her. "Oh yeah? You wanna swing!? Let's SWING!" He fought through the dizziness out of pure spite and swung his legs with the chandelier, making it arc higher and higher until it was apexing mere inches from the ceiling.

Pomni held tight but her own drunken state made balancing on a violently swinging pendulum nearly impossible. She slipped and her legs caught as she hung outside down in front of Caine. She still held onto the bottle.

Caine kicked off the ceiling when the chandelier swung to the highest point, pushing them down even faster. The force of the swing sent the chandelier crashing into the ceiling on the other side. Caine used the momentum to grab the bottle and fall away from Pomni. She watched in shock as she swung away with the chandelier, legs still stuck. He blew her a kiss goodbye and fell back first into the fountain with her bottle.

Pomni frantically tried to free herself. Her legs were stuck tight but she managed to wiggle them free as the chandelier swung back around towards Caine.

Caine pulled himself out of the fountain. Drenched and disheveled, he sat on the edge with his prize. "Finally-" He was tackled from above by the mistle that was Pomni. They both went into the fountain again. The water wasn't deep but it was enough to submerge in when laying down. They thrashed like angry sharks as they both had a hold on the bottle and wrestled wet tooth and nail to keep it.

Caine managed to stand up again, trying to pull the bottle from Pomni but she used his force against him. She lunged forward, pushing him off balance and over the edge of the fountain. She kept her hold on the bottle so she fell with him. Caine laid out on the floor with his arms over his head, his hands held down under the bottle and Pomni. She straddled his waist to keep him from rolling away. Caine couldn't move but still had grip on the bottle. Pomni had Caine immobilized because she held the bottle down on him, she couldn't move either or he'd get away.

"It seems...we're at...a stalemate." Caine gasped.

"Yeah...again." Pomni was just as out of breath.

Caine gave a breathy chuckle. "We really need to stop meeting like this." He looked up at her with a smile. He wasn't going to complain in the slightest about how the fight ended.

Pomni got a mischievous glint in her eye and leaned forward. Her face inches from his. "Why? Sick of me already?"

His eyes widened and he felt the heat in his chest rush to his face. He couldn't stop himself from stealing a glance at her lips. "Never. I-..." He stopped himself. He shouldn't say it. He was drunk, not stupid. Pomni leaned closer. Now only a whisper away, if he moved even a centimeter, he'd touch her. He felt her boozed breath on his gums.

"You what? What's on that clever mind of yours?" Her voice was a sultry whisper that sent shivers down Caine's entire being. The heat is his face decreased in favor of being elsewhere in that moment. He lost himself in her eyes, she was rarely this close to him without trying to also kill him.

"I...I-" He couldn't get more that out before Pomni was gone. She snatched the bottle from his loosened grip and rolled away from him. Caine laid there stunned over what just happened.

Pomni popped the cork, dropped herself on the nearest comfortable surface and took a victory swig.

"That vixen." Caine muttered under his breath. He couldn't believe it. She'd successfully used a mind game against him. He was both incredibly proud and ashamed that it worked. He sat up and gave her a slow clap. "Well done. Very well done, my dear. You've earned that drink."

She held the bottle up to him in salute. "You put up a hell of a fight for it. Is this your last one or something?"

"Nope." He hit his elbow against the base of the fountain and another compartment opened to reveal several more bottles. He took one and poured a small amount over his tongue.

Pomni gaped. She shouldn't be surprised, but that made her question how many hidden spots there had to be all over the manor if there were this many just in the lounge. She looked around, taking in the damage they did to the room. From the hole in the ceiling where the chandelier crashed into it to the broken furniture to the soaked floor around the fountain. "Ragatha's gonna have a cow when she sees this."

Caine shrugged. "She'll get over it. It's just stuff. Stuff can be fixed."

"Unlike us." Pomni sighed and leaned her head back.

"Hey now, don't start depression spiraling on me." Caine went to her and pulled her to her feet. She stumbled forward into him as she found her footing. He had one hand on her, one on a bottle. "I think there's plenty more trouble we could get ourselves into. This is supposed to be freeing, my dear."

"It has been. I managed to kick your ass didn't I?" She grinned.

"Only because you resorted to low dirty tactics." He grumbled

She looked at him smugly. "You enjoyed it."

"Did not."

"Do I have your word on that?" She smirked.

His words caught in his throat.

Pomni chuckled. "Thought so."

"You're going to be the death of me." Caine resigned.

They stumbled off together to find entertainment elsewhere, arms over each other. After they left the room, the damaged chandelier finally came loose from the ceiling and crashed to the floor.

[elizart5]

Caine

Caine was not originally on board with the first digital circus. After all, he and his estranged brother were the only humans able to blend in with the AI. In this world, humans are the lowest class, seen as inferior freaks in the perfect world of AI. Caine and Able created this world and knew how to blend in with the AI and were able to get away without being scorned by the computers. However, after years of humans going in and going insane, Able decided to start a digital circus in which humans could meet up and interact with each other whilst also working on a way to raise their importance to the AI. This made Able an outcast to the upper "Pure" AI society and Caine had to turn his back on his brother in order to focus on making an exit. After Able got the circus off the ground, he found his brother and convinced him to join. There, Caine let out his true, eccentric personality being a great ringleader for the group. Along with this, he met the female acrobat Pomni, and was immediately infatuated with her. He spends a lot of time trying to find ways to connect with her and eventually, it works. In the end, Able hands the circus off to Caine who eventually comes clean that he is not AI to pomni.

[tadc-harlequin-au]

I just wrote a painful canon grieving Kinger story.

Please gimme a fluffy and/or spicy showtime headcanon fir harlequin pleaseeee

There are two ways to make Pomni and Caine be at their most intimate without "compromising" their "friendship" status with each other:

Amidst a battle/sparing session;

and drinking.

Which is funny, because both options are supposed to be unhealthy by human nature standards, yet this is possible because they are at their most free and genuine selves in this state, when otherwise their idiotic brains would continue to deny that there is something between them.

Sparring for Pomni (especially with Caine) helps clear her mind momentarily of the stress of the rather overpowering directive pressuring her into doing more and more brutal fights, while drinking for Caine helps him slip into his old, more cheerful ways.

Of course, you can't deny that this is STILL an unhealthy coping mechanism, at the end of the day. Which is why as the story progresses, these terrible coping methods slowly go away as they become better versions of their initial selves, and recover from their rather immature ways of dealing with their issues, with the help of one another's presence.

This is why I've made jokes about Caine taking away Pomni's sword, or Pomni limiting Caine's alcohol intake. It's not that obvious, but it's actually an integral part of their character arcs :)