#I gave more attention to the story than to the drawing because I didn't have time.

[ephemerasnape]

I never thought it would come to this, but I feel the need to say something because the fandom is so small.

Some months ago, a new Victor Rookwood enjoyer came to my attention (by way of reaching out to me on X and asking to use a certain picture). She was purportedly a big fan of my works and I eagerly welcomed her into my discord servers and my life.

She was extremely active and supportive, creating and commissioning a lot of art and swag, some of which she gifted me.

She developed quite the attachment to Oswald as well, which was very welcome, and was ultimately a wonderful addition to our quiet little corner of the fandom.

Then, nearly a month ago, she read Devoutly - my most significant story - and absolutely lost the plot.

You read that correctly. My massive library of much more crass and repulsive works was fine, but Devoutly was a problem.

For those unfamiliar, Devoutly is my first attempt at a real story that is not centered around smut, and it is also of great personal significance.

First she accused it of depicting pedophilia (it doesn't, and definitely no more than any of my other works). Later she accused it of being "too serious," then said she dislikes that it involved Anne, a character she hates. It was somehow "worse" that I made Rookwood nuanced. It's hard to know the true reason, since it has changed so many times.

Lots of people won't read Devoutly because of the ship. No one is obligated to read it, not even my friends, and certainly no one is obligated to like it.

And it's okay to be irrationally triggered by a story. It happens. What's not okay is what happened next.

Referencing only "the author," she tore it apart - publicly, first in my own server, and then on X, lobbing accusations of it being "cheap" and that I'd "reduced [Victor Rookwood] to his dick." She didn't just dislike my depiction of Victor Rookwood - she framed it essentially as me being a shitty writer/person.

She even published fanart against my story, which has gained a disappointing amount of traction (unbeknownst to those who have liked and shared it, because they don't understand the context).

It's not to say I've never been upset by a story, but it's one thing to dislike a story, even strongly, but this reaction has been on another level, and has destroyed her friendship with me and probably everyone else in our server.

All this over a story that had existed long before she'd even heard of Victor Rookwood.

She put it perfectly herself:

"It’s like I walked into someone else’s house and flipped the table in a meltdown. That’s rude, and I know it."

And if it had stopped there, in those first few days, things could have been salvaged. I have done my best to try to preserve or repair our relationship, hoping that given a few days she would calm down and be able to resume her regular participation in our server.

All this time, the door has been open to her, should she only decide to behave reasonably.

That obviously has not happened.

This is not a teenage girl we're talking about - this is a 30-something married career woman with children, going on unhinged, passive-aggressive tirades about a fanfiction, at this point for nearly an entire month.

Just today she posted an unhinged conversation with ChatGPT extolling her virtues as a true Victor Rookwood fan, and condemning my "filthy" depictions of him.

When I asked her to get professional help rather than refer to ChatGPT, she blocked me on X, and I've discovered that she has also blocked me on Tumblr within the past few days.

The strangest part is, she continues to obsess over Oswald, who is my OC. While he does exist visually in the game, I named him, gave him a personality and a backstory, and have worked with him for more than a year and a half.

I love when people love Oswald, draw him, et cetera.. But it's not okay when that person seems to hate me and has been repeatedly attacked me.

I have asked this person to cease publishing things involving Oswald until she can treat his creator with respect, but I am not holding my breath that my request will be heeded.

She will probably continue to post about him here and on X, as well as more drawings based heavily on photos I've taken. I just need everyone to know that these actions are no longer sanctioned by me.

I'm too good at writing things very matter-of-factly, but I am actually very upset about this.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

[delucil]

Hello! Here´s a Sonic Movie sketch comic Christmas carol. I hope you like it!

I was thinking about this story before december and I wanted to do it for this christmas. (I dont have much time but at least I made this sketch comic for you!) Stay tunned for the next panels! First / Previous / Next

[fluer-the-fairy]

𝕶𝖊𝖗𝖔𝖇𝖊𝖗𝖔𝖘

Chapter 1 Batfam x Card-Captor!reader

♡ previous ♡ masterlist ♡ next ♡

"Y/N!!!!"

You're falling. Falling down from a height that could kill you with nothing to break your fall. The air hitting your face is suffocating, Too much for you little lungs to handle

But if only it was that. And not the fact that there was massive outer worldly bird trying to Impale you to death

'Pause'

Now how on earth did you of all people get here?

Y/n  L/n or Y/n Wayne depends on who you're asking.

A Fourth grader at Gotham elementary. 

Nothing special really. Yet here you are, with tiny yellow mascot yelling instructions at you while you playa around trying to figure out how to use the powers you had been gifted.

Let's rewind shall we? Recap on this came to be in the first place?

How about we go back.... 

to this morning!

"Damn It I'm late again!?" The young girls voice echo's as she dashes her way down the stairs. Speeding through the kitchen putting just about anything she finds into her mouth

"Young miss please eat slowly, You still have plenty time to get to school"  Alfred please, stopping you from eating a fork with nothing on it.

You stand unwavering, downing another slice of bread as quickly as your throat would let you "There no time I have to leave before that-" 

"Seems that the monster has awakened" Damian stands near the door, looking frustrated. You swear the more he furrows his brows like that the older he's going to look. Like an old greasy man.

You would say it to his face. But You would want him to beat you like he did on your first meeting.

The reason you go an hour early to school.

Not because you're in a million clubs you're in nor because your a class lead.

Because of him. Damian Wayne

The only one who gave you attention. Attention you don't need.

You're Half Brother. 

Don't call him that though. He'll have his stupid feelings hurt about being compared to a 'bastard'.

Every encounter with him is nothing short from exhausting.

You should've guessed that when he threatened your life the first time you met him. And yet poor naïve you, chased after them for their attention like a dog.

Thank god that's changed

Otherwise this your story would truly be obnoxious.

But leave it, he is just a minor obstacle in you're day. 

You quickly grab you're book bag before turning to leave. Of course not before stepping on Damian's foot. Rushing to the door putting on your roller skates  and skating out the door before the spawn of Satan can catch up to you.

Now, It's commonly know that Gotham isn't the safest. 

Being an unarmed civilian walking down the streets is enough to draw threats.

Now an unarmed young school girl, criminal's would have a field day!

But not with you apparently? You don't know why...

You've only been jumped once going down these streets and that time you had stabbed the assholes with the ends of your Rollerblades. Let's be honest you did more than that 

But surely, that alone is not enough scare away every fool who thinks of robbing you. Surely not!

Hahahahahaha... Of course not....

 Once in a while there's always an idiot whose ego defeats their logic. A dumbass who doesn't know how to be cautious. A dimwit who can't listen to other's warning.

"Drop you bag, a-a-and take off your skates while your at it-!"

Poor guy, seems like it's his first day robbing someone. Picked the wrong kid though...

You skate closer "My bag?"

"Y-yes..." he stutter's...

You smile, wide. That'll be the last thing he'll see before having the day lights knocked out of him.

.

...

....

Let's not talk about what happened back there okay? 

You totally did not kick that man head first into a dumpster. But hey its not even close to the worst you've done. You made 

sure he didn't bleed, oh how nice of you!

 Let's leave it at that.

Sliding your way through the school gate you finally get inside the entrance hall. A bit early...That's rare. Maybe it's going to rain today.

You take off your skates and place them in your locker. 

While we wait for you to finally get to class let's have a debrief shall we?

What on god green earth made you think it was a good idea to skate your way to school?

Well it's not like you had a choice! Sure your father is a multimillionaire-billionaire what ever-! And you probably could go to school with the rest of your siblings....in the car...with no danger.

Or! You could not interact with Damian what so ever and find your own way to school.

To you the second option sounds better.

"Oh! Good morning Y/n!" Chiharu beams. Rika, Naoko, and Tomoyo turn to you.

"I'm not late...am I?" 

"Nope You're early actually!" Tomoyo says as she walks 

towards you and hugs you tight.

"Good...I was so sure I was going to be late" You pat your chest. The adrenaline settling down.

The rest of the day went through a blur, Math, Science, Home Eco and finally cheer practice. Before you know it your one your way home. You used to go home with Alfred in the car, since your school time ends early. But ever since that roach  Damian joined your school you decided to take the long way home.

Toya and Yukito would usually walk you home. Tomoyo too when she doesn't have classes which is most days but not today. You'll just have to walk your self home...

It's quiet... a little too quiet. It's past 10 pm. Your sure that the family's out on their night business. Not that they know you know, but doesn't take a genius to guess. 

Especially since you live with them. 

But it's eerily quiet... So quiet that the sound of the wind makes you jump.

Slowly making your way out of your room into the long empty hallway. I doesn't help that the wing your room is in is barely maintained, making it even more creepy.

After what felt like an eternity of walking you stop. Infront of the library door.... Why were you here? 

A thud comes from inside. Followed by rustles. Did someon3 break in?? No dumbass there no way this house even a bit unprotected. Surely it's Alfred inside. I shouldn't bother him...

No...I can't leave without calming my nerves, there's no way I can sleep tonight with this much adrenaline

You slowly creak the door open. Peeking through the door before walking in. The rustling stopped but you could still hear this sound.

Following the sound lead you to the book. A red book with gold accents and a lion with angel wings on the front?

The clow...  was written on the top.

You really shouldn't be holding something like this... Yet something compelled you to open it.

You were only able to open the first few pages, the rest being glued with the center being cut out. Inside were a set of cards.

Pulling one out, Windy was the cards name. With a beautiful fairy as its image. Was this some kind of Rpg card game thing...? It looks fun...

"Windy..." You read out loud. You shouldn't have...

A magic circle forms underneath you as a gust of wind swirls around you. The cards fly out of the book following the wind before flying out in all directions.

What.

The.

■■■■-!?

Oh No No no no no no no no-! This bad- This is SO bad. You're ■■■■ your so ■■■■!

Your family life is shitty as it is. Now you've lost something from the library, Not to mention that it looked important. oh you dumb ■■■■ what were you thinking even stepping foot into this room-

Yawn  "How long have I been asleep for~" a yellow creature floats in front of you.

You stare at it as it stretches is plush arms and rub its dot eyes.

"Oh heya human didn't see yo- ah-" it yelped as you grabbed its body with your fist, shaking it vigorously like a toy.

"What the hell? A toy?? Where are the batteries at?" You say as you turn it around looking for the battery compartment.

"What the- I am not a toy you brat!" It replies finally freeing itself from your grab. 

" 'Ahem' I am Keroberos!"

"Kero.. You mean Cerberus? Like The three headed hellhound?"

"DO NOT COMPARE ME TO THAT BEHEMOTH OF A CREATURE!!!!"

...

"I am Keroberos the guardian of the Clow cards and clow reeds dutiful right hand!" He boast's

"Clow cards...? Oh like the cards in this book..." You look down at the book you were once holding now on the floor open with the contents missing. Then your gaze wonders to the card you were holding ... Windy...

Wait.

How did that even happen???  Were these cards magic? The moment you read its name out loud it glowed...

"Wait- Are the cards in the book...Magic?"

"Bingo! Those cards are one the strongest artifacts created by  one of the strongest magicians In~The~World!" He looks down at the book of clow, noticing the empty center.

"So where are they?" 

"Where is...what..?"

"The cards!" He asks joyfully

"They flew out..." You say meekly. 

"They want now" :D

. . .

"WHAT!?"

"I am sorry okay I kept hearing this sound from the book and I opened it and took out the Windy card and then I read the name out loud by accident I swear and then the HUGE gust of wind came out and made all the cards fly through the walls some how I'm so so sorry!"

"YOU LOST THE CARDS!?" Now Keroberos was panicking, He lost clows cards! His other half is going to kill him!

And not to me tonight now he has a child who know about their existence! What on earth is he going to do?????????

"...technically its also your fault."

. . .

"Excuse me."

"You were the guardian of the cards, the said cards that are now missing. And you were asleep when it happened, so one would argue that it was due to your negligence that the cards were released by my poor 10 year old incapable hands...."

This little-

"You have one big mouth now, don't you?" That's it he's going to loose his shit.

"Whose mouth are you calling big" Seems like your about to aswell.

But unfortunately before a brawl could commence A ear bleeding roar reached both your ears. Looking out from the closest window you could find.

A giant bird flying through the city, trying to wriggle its way past buildings only to crash into them.

"That's a clow card!" Keroberos exclaims. He flies down to the book of clow and rummage through it. He throws a charm at you which you catch with ease.

He'll just have to choose you as a candidate.. Not like he'd ever actually choose you. Then Yue won't know this was all an accident! And then he won't get his ass beat! Genius!

"Whats this" Of course he still needs to remember your just a clueless child, Unknowing of all the magic you two's little fuck up just released.

He'll have to properly explain everything to you later...But for now...

"The sealing staff, The artifact clow made in case the cards get released one day." 

"Since your the one who released the cards your going to seal them."

"What seriously!? Why me? Im way too under qualified for this-"

"I'll explain the specifics later! Just summon the staff!"

♡♡♡

"Key which hides the powers of the dark,

Reveal your true form before me.

I, [Y/N] [L/N], command you under our contract.

Release!"

♡♡♡

The charm enlarges into a staff. It almost resembles a cane. You grab onto it unsure of how you even managed to activate it.

"Some how the words just popped into my head..."

"Yeahhhh it does that.... well then let move. Come one we have a bird to catch"

That all leads us full circle. A 10 year old falling through the sky while a giant bird, the size of two air ship's tries to peck at them.

You're lucky there's an outbreak happening in the city below you other wise people would not be blind to the catastrophe happening in the sky.

"Kid! Snap out of it!!" Kero yells at you. Right you should probably focus on yourself right now.

"W-what do i do?" You manage to mutter out.

"Windy! Cast Windy!" The staff manifests under one hand as you reach for your pocket with your other.

"Windy!" You're throw the card and strike it with your staff. A magic circle appearing underneath you. The figure entrapped within the card floating out and assisting you. 

"Y/N!" Kero yells "Gosh I got it! I got it!" You fall onto the back of the bird and eventually stand up, raising the staff over your head. 

"Reclaim the guise you were meant to inhabit! Clow card!"

You strike with your staff, a card forming at the tip. A bright light envelops the birds body. The silhouette disfiguring and being absorbed into the card.

You grab the card before it flies away.

Fly

So that's what it's called. Fly.

"This isnt the time to be spacing out brat!" Oh yeah. Now that the birds gone you're not really standing on anything...

"CAST FLY CAST FLY CAST FLY CAST FLY CAST FLY CAST FLY CAST FLY-" 

"fly." Wings sprout from the tip of the staff. They start flapping as you sit on it, flying to safety. 

"Oh thank god-!" Kero exclaims.

You raise a brow. Why was he scared he could fly???

"Your surprisingly scared for someone who can fly"

"You're surprisingly calm for someone who was falling to their death! You could've died! Do you have no sense of survival!!!"

'Sigh' "No biggie now. Just fly back to your house, let's talk there..."

You replaced the charm of one of your necklaces with the charm Keroberos gave you. Putting it on while The yellow shit stares at the unopened pudding on the desk with a monstrous intensity.

"Cant believe you believe you bought 12 packs of premium pudding...just like that..." Seriously he's so dramatic, you could've sworn you saw a tear right then.

"You even bought a mini fridge..." He turns to the [f/c] mini fridge placed next the desk, its polished surface shining for all to see.

"I did it ... I struck gold...I'm so glad I picked a rich girl to be the Clow card candidate..." He mutters as he hugged the pudding, the condensed water droplets on the packages making his cheeks wet.

"Enough of that" You drag away the pudding opening it up for him and handing him a little plastic spoon that almost as tall as him. Almost.

"Alrighty then! Long ago, In a distant land-"

"Keroberos!"

"Fine fine. The clow cards are magical artifact created by clow reed, My master. I am the guardian of the seal and Therefore I am the one who chooses the candidates who get to be the new master of the clow cards!" He chuggs a spoonful of pudding. So fast you can actually see the lump going down to his stomach.

"And dear Y/n I choose you as a candidate. You don't have much of a choice considering that this all started cause of you....and also me."

"Lucky me...." You sigh. Of all 8 billion people on this world, you were the one person chosen to be in this shoujo manga.

Your shoulders slump as you hide your face in your hands.

The reality of everything finally dawning on you. What if someone saw you? Sure with the chaos going on below people were probably too busy to realize what was happening above them.

Still anyone could've seen it, Anyone could've seen you. to be fair the bird was pretty ■■■■-ing loud but If someone didn't see you or even a person. They can still figure out it you with I don't know video footage from the camera's-

Calm down Y/n if your really going to catch these cards then... your going to have to more careful than this.

"Cheer up chump! Atleast you have me now! And um I don't really know how the book ended up in your family's library but if there cam looking for me....?" Kero asked, plopped down next to the now empty pudding container.

"Don't worry the last place they'll check is if it's with me." You replied, Not looking up for your hands

"Hahaha Great...Great..." Keroberos replied, unable to keep the cheery atmosphere. 

Forgetting all the assumption he made about you in the library. You really are a sweet girl.

 But what bothered him was how no one questioned you were gone.

While trying to catch fly. He saw all the chaos happening on the ground, So after buying his pudding he made a million excuses for you to use once you got home, but no one was concerned.

He knows they saw you. He saw saw them see you. He saw them. But no one batted an eye. 

From your explanation. He understands this happens often in Gotham but....

He doesn't get why the looked at you like you were part of the wall

"Hey kiddo, While on the topic about your family..." He nervously ask's unsure of how to approach the subject.

"What is it.."

"Are you like..not close with them? Well I mean in a dangerous city as this one. I thought someone would be concerned that a kid as young as you were out all by your self..."

"Its a long story..." You try to brush off the subject.

( °꒳° ) 

"I have time" He smiles flying closer to you.

"And I don't. I have school tomorrow and I really need sleep." You get up from your chair. Keroberos following you. Begging you even as you get comfortable in your bed. 

"Oh come on. Y/n... Y/n!!!! Please. Please. Please. Tell me your family lore PLEASE"

 He plops on your stomach. No he will not falter. He may need sleep but he will stay up all night begging if he has to! 

You did eventually tell him everything that happened.

Considering that stayed up all night asking you to tell him. 

You had no choice! 

Needless to say your family now has beef with a century old sentient magical creature who takes the form of a plushie. 

And funny thing is they don't even know about it.

"I swear to you, when I catch those demon brats hands I'm gonna" Keroberos puffs out his cheek, throwing punches at the air

"Your not gonna do a thing..." You mumble sleepily

'scoff'  "Don't worry Y/n. You don't need them. I'll be your dad. 

I'll be the dad that stepped up." He says face full of determination.

You smile. Maybe this whole Card-captor thing is worth a try 

"Whatever. Good night Kero"

And with that you close your eye's

...

Kero pauses but the smiles at the nickname.

He curls up near you on the bed.

Maybe you weren't a bad choice.

"Goodnight. N/n."

The next day went as usual. Wake up, Scream that your late, stomp on Damian's foot. Rushing out in your roller-skates and reach school. Only this time there was a yellow plushie poking it's head out of your school bag, yapping the day off...

For something so tiny he sure does have a lot to say. 

You reach the school gates, and slide inside. Taking off your skates and placing them in your locker.

"Listen, you shouldn't talk now okay? If a teacher see's you they'll confiscate you. And if a kid sees you they'll probably 

steal you away."

"Considering how annoying you are, I could only hope someone steal me away"

"Not everyone has the resources to get you premium pudding"

You make your way to your home room class just mer seconds before your teacher comes in. 

Not late. Great....

"Y/N" tomoyo walks up to your desk camera in hand.

"Tomoyo! Hi~" You smile.

"Did you see happened last night?" She places her camera on the desk, the screen facing you.

"The outbreak? Yeah I kinda saw a few explosion's, nothing out of the ordinary though..." 

"I'm not talking about that, That happens everyday. Did you see the gaint bird in the sky yesterday?"

"G-gaint bird!? Wha- Hahahahhaha must've been too far away for me to see it." You laugh nervously. It's fine compared to a giant bird you were miniscule, no-one probably saw you struggling against that thing.

"Really?" Tomoyo ask's.... Almost... questioningly? Like she already knew everything that happened.

There's no way! Tomoyo wouldn't have seen you, I mean she probably saw the bird sure but even if she did see a person there no way she would have known it was you-

She turns on a camera. Moving through a bunch of videos before landing on one and playing it. She places it in front of you again.

The video shows... a moon?

"W-wow I didn't know it was a full moon yesterday hahaha" god you need to stop laughing it's only making you look more suspicious. She zooms into the moon, and you could see a tiny silhouette flying on what looks like a broom? But that could be anyone!

She zooms in again, and there it is. Your face. Clear as day.

Tomoyo smiles. Patiently waiting for an answer as your nervous laughter dies down. 

You've been caught

[nightwngz]

— 𝓐 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐨 ✮!! eng.

fratboy!wally west x fem!reader

𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀… drabble, porn with plot. smut. dirty talk, multiple orgasms, oral sex, fingering.

𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁. . . no copying of my work is allowed. Free translation is allowed as long as I am credited.

𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲. . . as I said in my other posts, English is not my first language. I have tried to make corrections with the translator, but as you all know, it is prone to making mistakes, so I apologize in advance for any mistakes or if anything sounds weird.

𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲. . . A friend of mine gave me the idea for this, so I said, 'Okay, this sounds good,' and decided to write it. I hope you like it.

Since you started university, you’ve always been part of the crowd. You never cared about being popular or standing out in class; you just wanted to get by like everyone else. You made an effort to fit in without drawing attention, avoiding conflict and focusing on passing with just enough.

Being part of the university meant interacting with certain people, even those you weren't particularly interested in but had to tolerate. Like the popular guys from a fraternity whose name you couldn’t quite remember, led by Richard Grayson and Wallace West—better known to their friends as Dick and Wally—or those slightly higher on the social ladder than you.

Dick Grayson was friendly, and his appearance clearly explained why he was so popular. He was also sweet and kind, so much so that if one of your friends asked you directly, you'd probably admit to having a crush on him. Wally, on the other hand, was a different story. Although he was funny and somewhat charming, and also popular because he was Dick's best friend, he didn't appeal to you as much. In fact, there were times when he would shamelessly try to flirt with you, but you would just respond with a gesture before completely ignoring him.

Conveniently, no matter how hard you tried to stay away from Wally, he always found a way to cross your path. Like the day you were sitting with Timothy Drake in the cafeteria when Dick Grayson came over to say hello to his brother. Wally seized the opportunity, walked up, grabbed Dick by the shoulders, and wasted no time flirting with you.

— Don't worry, babe. If you don't understand anatomy, I can give you a lesson or two.

You don't know what part of you thought it was a good idea to have Wally help you study. But you didn't realize how bad it was until the books fell off the bed where you were supposed to be studying and his face literally ended up between your legs.

You had never been with someone with such fast skills, so to speak. It was like being with The Flash himself. His tongue moved quickly over your wet pussy, causing your eyes to roll back in pleasure.

His tongue glided over your lips, tracing them from top to bottom, while his greenish gaze was fixed on yours. With one hand he helped you to spread your legs wider and with the other he filled your tight hole completely with two of his fingers. Then, growing restless, he moved to your clit, where he began to give you sweet, teasing licks. His mouth moved so quickly between your clit and your lips that it seemed he was caressing both at the same time.

And when you arched your back, with moans so intense that Wally was sure they could be heard in the hallway, he knew you would climax any moment, for the third time that night, with minimal effort on his part. It hadn’t even taken him more than five minutes.

Sweat trickled down your forehead as you reached your climax, and a wave of pleasure swept through your entire body. As you gasped, you watched as Wally pulled away from between your legs, a mischievous smile on his face. He looked beautiful, his mouth smeared with your fluids, and maybe that's why you didn't ask him to clean up.

— Damn, babe, that was so good. After what comes next, you'll be so dazed that the only name you'll remember from these books will be "Wally”.

You looked at him with wide eyes, confused by what he meant by 'after what comes next.' Hadn’t it ended? You wondered if you could handle more, given that you had already had more than you could bear.

— Oh, what? Did you think that was it? Unfortunately for you, we're not done yet. And I have enough stamina to fuck you for hours.

[siri-ike]

Gut feeling: Bad Ending

Bruce stared at himself in the bathroom mirror. He could have sworn he didn't need a stepstool before. He ran his hands over his naked scalp, his fingers along the two, long, surgical scars. Starting just behind each ear and curving all the way up to his temples. The stitches were coarse and sharp, but it didn't hurt.

A soft tumbling sound caught his attention. Frostbite fell into the bathtub. "You're brand new. You don't need a bath." He giggled, scooping his friend up and pretending to towel him off.

His ears perked up at the sound of the door to his room opening and footsteps entering the room. "Come on, dad promised to bring snacks."

His room was so boring and white, and not getting to leave it is a stupid rule. Just 'cause he could "get sick and die" or "horribly injure himself" due to his "impaired motor skills" and "partially exposed cranium." Bunch'a babies.

"You're not my dad." He accused.

"And you're not supposed to be out of bed." An old woman entered his room. "My name is Doctor Leslie Tompkins. Would you mind answering a few questions for me?"

The name sounded familiar, but he'd much rather his dad say if she's safe or not. "What kind of questions?" He tightened his grip on Frostbite.

"I would also like to run a few tests." She said as she pulled cards out of her bag. "I'll grade you if you like."

Ha! He's not gonna fall for that.

She gave him a look, "First I want you to write your name-"

"I know how to write my own name!" He defended. One day, he won't fall for that. Annoyed, he climbed into the bed and pulled out the tray table. Without an ounce of effort, he wrote his signature on one of the blank cards.

Danny F.

...

Danny F?

Who the hell is Danny?

He turned the card around and tried again.

Danny F.

Both look exactly the same. Like it was a practiced signature. But he'd never seen it before.

His name isn't Danny, it's... it's uh, drrr? Brrr. Baron? Boris? Bruce! His name's Bruce! Ofcorse it is.

He pulled another index card from the stack. This time slowly writing out the name Bruce Wayne. But, it's wrong. That's not his signature. It's sloppy and looks like any other word. The other one had personality. This one just looks like any other word. He tried a few more times until Leslie interrupted with a different test.

Drawing a clock, arranging pictures into a story, and pointing out objects in a picture was easy. But then she asked questions about his past. Names of places and people. He's lived in Gotham his whole life. There's no Casper high here! There's no Sam and Tucker! And there certainly isn't a portal to hell in his basement!

He's thinking clearer than ever, so why is he still full of shit?!

Dan- Bruce kicked at the table, and it swung back to the wall.

"I trust you'll want to handle this." Leslie exited the room and Nightwing entered.

His eyes lit up, "dad -" the exitement drained away, and he slumped back down with realization. "Are... you?"

Nightwing took a deep breath. "No... I'm sorry."

Who was this guy? Just some imposter who somehow looked exactly like his dad? Or was it the same person? Has he just been pretending the whole time? No, no, that can't be. This has to be some trick. Of course, his dad's real! He's just pretending! Bruce glanced over to his signatures all over the floor. He's just pretending.

"But," Nightwing drew his attention. "I could be. If you want me to." He put his hand on his back. "But I might not be your best option." He joked, unsuccessfully.

"What's, what's your name?" He no longer spoke in Bruce's cadence.

Nightwing sat down on the bed next to "??" the boy. "My name is Dick." He whispered, careful not to let the doctor on the other side of the glass hear. Leslie and Duke (Currently dressed as "vague medical staff") were watching, but so was some random resident. "But in this outfit, I'm Nightwing." Normal volume this time

Without missing a beat. "Is that like, your Glam Rock alter ego?" That had to be Danny because it couldn't be Bruce.

Dick couldn't help but giggle. Not even laugh, giggle, like a child. "It's something like that."

He looked so satisfied with the reaction he'd garnered. "Why'd you let me think you were my dad?"

"You had enough to deal with. We considered plenty of potential outcomes, and in most of them, we found that letting you believe what you wanted was for the best." Nightwing slid his hand from the child's (he looked like he could be around 10 now) back down his arm and held his hand. He looked to the floor, covered in index cards, and gestured to the other to do the same.

"Bruce" hesitated to acknowledge the papers.

"It's ok. You can ask when you're ready." It's the right thing to say. Dick knows it. He checked. He prepared. But making the best choices in a bad situation doesn't guarantee a good outcome. And those sad little eyes looked so much like all his brothers when they were little. So small. In need. "But we'll need to call you something." He tried. "Maybe you could pick a, "Glam Rock" name, too."

He smiled brightly at the prompt. The game. Getting to pretend. He could be like his dad. It should be something similar. Little wing? Night- uh- feather?. He proudly announced, "Phantom." No, that's not-

"Ooh, spooky." Praised Nightwing.

Yeah, it's perfect.

[nneiljostenn]

i need to talk to you guys about the colors of the Cattons (Felix specifically) and Oliver. the clothes they are wearing are telling the story of Oliver taking over and leaving his mark throughout the whole movie, with Oliver's failures and successes and a final triumph. holy shit. get in. this is long and ends in ancient greek culture trivia. let;s talk please.

disclaimer: am starting from Oliver's arrival at Saltburn. before that the outfits are also very intentional, but it's a lot more complicated and it has been discussed before. the world distorts once we are at Saltburn and the story gets truly gothic there, and every detail—including color!—is enhanced in meaning. also, special thanks to @kivlaro for doing this with me, the thoughts on this specifically and the Saltburn craze on the whole. pics and detailed analysis under the cut!

let's start from the beginning. here is Oliver at the door. simple, blue shirt.

the shirt is sort of its own character. logically it makes sense as Oliver's suitcase is small and he spends the whole summer there, of course he'll rewear stuff a bunch. but it is blue.

in contrast to Felix, in yellow. yellow is one of Felix's colors (he is the sun, which i've talked about here btw, so this makes sense).

same to Pamela, in blue. first time we see her, she is next to Elspeth, wearing the color that is Oliver's, taking the place that he takes right away, in this very scene. the only other time she is physically present on screen is at dinner, in black and white, and black and white are a blank slate. she is stripped of color and gone very fast.

a bit of crucial data for later: Oliver, in blue, and Felix in pink. pink is very important on Felix. this is their first morning together. they are separate and opposite, solid, contained.

where it starts to get good is the morning after the vampire strike.

Venetia is a Felix extension, just as everyone in the house is to Oliver. i will eventually rant about Saltburn as a whole entity and Cattons as aspects of one self, and Oliver as psychosis, but not here. so, yes, Venetia is a pink riot, a euphoria of self-containment because Oliver gave her a piece of something she felt she lacked to feel whole (validation, attention, care), not a piece of blue, of himself. Oliver is expectedly solid blue. Felix is incredibly interesting and something i didn't pay much attention to at first: predominantly blue, incredibly upset at Oliver for ditching him, with a tile of bright red (on the left! close to heart! over-reaching here but like still!), which still tracks. i mean, really, if i had so much foreign color bleed into me and then abandoned, i'd be pissed, too. nice little touch is sir James' beloved hydrangeas, behind Felix, also pink, very pink, always pink; i don't think i've seen them blue in the movie, although the sort exists.

Farleigh. sweet baby Farleigh i love you. I'm not dead-set on my interpretation of this specifically but i think multiple things are happening with Oliver and Farleigh here. like Rent, which is their song, blue is their color of outsiders and the triers to fit in. Farleigh points out the favoritism and preference of Oliver to him and his mother here, so it may also be appropriation of color to draw attention to Farleigh as almost (but never quite) Oliver. it may also be as simple as that Farleigh, as much as he denies and resists, still retains Oliver's influence, which bleeds into him very slowly.

a nice little moment of Felix wearing blue swim shorts with just tiny specks of a pink pattern. Oliver's shorts also have a bit of pink, but less than Felix's. Oliver is pretty good at remaining unaffected and uninfluenced overall.

and we're getting to where it all clicked and started for me. the Quick family house, the failed reconciliation, and the immediate aftermath. oh it's so good.

on the drive there, Oliver is blue, Felix has a pink polo shirt with a solid blue pullover over it. this is the most blue Felix has ever been (this is the most blue he will ever be!), this is trust. however shaky and toxic it is, Felix loves Oliver and accepts him into his world. as a side note, Oliver's parents are also very blue, mom more so than dad. nice!

and then it crashes. immediately after, it's the evening of the same day, but Felix is not wearing the blue pullover anymore. this is very, very important. this is rejection. it's the end for Oliver in Felix's world and with his trust. Felix, again, in solid pink, Oliver in solid blue. Felix successfully rips him out with the roots and everything. ouch.

daddy. sorry. is that highlighter? sweat? fuck. let me- daddy. SORRY

no i actually have a point about this.

the clothes are replaced by the lights, but we roll with it. Oliver basks in the blue-green light, while Felix is on the other side, in pink and purple and red. sure, blue shines through, and Oliver also walks through the slashes of pink, but it is mostly pretty separate, Oliver watching Felix's pink in his own blue from a distance.

the morning after palette is deep. the wine color that is so prominent in these scenes is fascinating to me. if i were to over-reach again i'd say it's the Oliver in Felix's attributes and in his place that requires the robe to be so dark, not usual definite pink, because deep blue has leaked into the color itself, mixed with it, made itself integral to the shade. but it's also just a nice color, and it is pink in its core. the flowers (with sir James in the background) i think are also this specific shade for the same reason. you look at what remains of Felix everywhere here, and it is his color.

and finally oh the lunch scene. the last supper. the judgement day. the who's afraid of virginia woolf madness.

i think we've established what's up with Oliver, but i also think it's important that he is his own color at lunch but in Felix's pink/wine right before and after. lunch is where he attacks, whereas before and after is where he grieves and enjoys. Farleigh is almost completely blue save for a strip of the same deep pink, and he is soon cast out, and Venetia is striped, blue and pink/salmon, affected deeply by Oliver yet still clinging on to the Catton pink with grief, probably, but also love for Felix.

and after all this, Oliver leaves himself.

no, like, actually, literally himself. sure, he'd got a taste of the Cattons and the pink, but he is a monolith, a solid blue when he leaves Saltburn. he has not been affected by the house, he has taken what he wanted but stayed true and whole. what a power move, honestly.

but it's an even bigger deal that 16 years later, Elspeth runs into Oliver wearing all white and a blue scarf. oh, she's not let this go, alright; it was a long time ago, "but not to me," she says. What Oliver has been up to in that time is a great question, without a doubt he's been keeping tabs on the remaining family as much as he could; but Elspeth has never moved on, either. She has held on to Oliver's blue and the pink is not important at all now. Oliver, of course, is invariably, unwaveringly blue. welcome back to his show.

and welcome back to his triumph.

the only color (except for, again, white and black) we see him wear in the flashback about Saltburn inheritance is the all-too familiar deep pink. wine. bright pink mixed with deep blue.

now i will take a liberty and step back, over-reach, over-interpret and go insane. here's a fun bit on ancient greek culture trivia for you.

this is an interesting and complicated historiographical and linguistic debate that i will not even attempt to relay here, but the essence of it is this: for us, the sea is conventionally deep blue. historically, one of the most prominent civilizations considered "deep wine" to be the descriptor for it (not necessarily the color but the property. highly rec to look this up it's so fascinating). what it gives me here is that Oliver has changed color, but not his self. he has integrated, mixed, but persisted, completely winning over, triumphing. long live the king!

in conclusion, i would just like to propose "colors" by halsey as the next cattonquick anthem. thank you for your attention, please let me know your thoughts. yours, yes, you. cheers. god. peace out

[alwayscorvus]

Hello! Can I request a Honkai Star Rail and Wuthering Waves crossover with Jiyan? The reader can be of any faction and race you wish. I think a foxian reader, a self-destructor reader like Acheron or a Memokeeper would be interesting. Maybe even a Gallovian. Whatever you think is right, that's right. Thanks in advance 🌻🌻🌻

Once you are gone

memokeeper!foxian!malereader x Jiyan, fluff; warning!faction and "race" kinda reflect in reader's character

It took so frickin' long u probably forgot about it. Sorry. But I have like no time at all. Still thank u very much 4 the request!

And about it… tbh I played in hsr for only a brief while, because I stopped at the beginning of Penacony... (truly unfortunate turn of events) But I searched for help on internet. And after first few informations that I read, an idea popped into my head, so I decided to modify it suitably for a story. Hope its alright

In your life you have visited dozens if not hundreds of places, times and dimensions. You have met thousands of people, explored more than one story, learned new languages, traditions and habits. In the process, you have gained a lot of unique, rich and wonderful memories. However, none of them belonged to you.

You were a memokeeper. You had nothing. You dedicated your entire existence to your almighty Aeon. Your soul, experiences, memories, emotions, feelings. Everything belonged to him.

You were his best memokeeper. You always stole finest memories from most unique universes. You worked long for your title. You wanted to feel appreciated. That's why, once you noticed, that lately no memory had brought your lord to his former euphoria, you knew you had to try harder. Find something one of a kind. Everything for that one smile and few simple words of recognition.

You went on a journey. Where no memokeeper has yet managed to go. Next few worlds and their residents didn't seem really interesting. There was nothing there that your Lord hadn't already seen. But, you weren't willing to give up so easily. After all, you were the best of the best.

In the end, fate brought you to Solaris-3. At first it was a simple miscalculation. But after moments of reflection, you came to conclusion that such coincidences often led to the greatest results. Something was drawing you to Solaris. And especially to Huanglong. That's why you decided to settle there for a longer period of time. You focused your search on possible battlefields. After all, your Aeon gave them his special attention.

However, your focus wasn't drawn to trivial Midnight Rangers. Before you knew it all your attention turned to a certain teal-haired general… Even if it wasn't in your style. By the time you realized, it was too late. You drowned in curiosity. And what's even more surprising, you decided to trust your fox sixth sense.

At first you remained in the shadows. As always.

You watched him from afar. Drank in his view. His smile and gentle voice. You experienced what he did. Got to know him, his surroundings, people close to him and emotions that he showed.

Yet it wasn't enough for you.

You were greedy. You had to taste it yourself.

So you decided to take more advanced steps. And do what you were mostly not in the habit of doing. You decided to reveal yourself.

At first you planned to pretend to be an ordinary local resident. A poor, struggling victim who lost his home and all his belongings in face of war.

However, after a moments of consideration, you pushed that idea back into the shadows. You wouldn't feel right putting yourself in a weaker position than general and your rivals. You had to play a hero in this story.

Now all you had to do was to wait for the right moment. And it came faster than you could have thought.

A group of Midnight Rangers along with a general ran into an ambush. Typical, sunny afternoon. Any attack was definitely unexpected. In the blink of an eye, you jumped in front of Jiyan and covered him with your own body, countering the hit. You dealt a punch that spread destruction and left a deep crack in the ground, decorated with fainted bodies of your opponents.

You hastily turned towards your subject of interest. Jiyan stood there truly shocked with your sudden appearance.

You took a closer look at him. For the first time you had the opportunity to do so.

You saw this spark in his eyes. Full of admiration and fascination. You proceeded to the rescue before he could even react.

A sort of sudden, unfamiliar warmth spread through your body. You felt the need to help him more often.

That's how your relationship began. You were quickly dragged into the ranks of Midnight Rangers and even faster, Jiyan took you in his care.

Now you were able to experience everything he did firsthand. And you couldn't lie, you damn well enjoyed it.

Jiyan quickly took a liking to you. Just as you liked him. If you even knew the meaning of this term. Memokeepers were famous for their manipulative abilities. Extremely necessary when acquiring precious memories. Oddly enough, you didn't need to use them at all. Jiyan liked you for who you were.

At some point you became inseparable. You didn't feel the need to do anything unrelated to general and he neither could nor wanted to chase you away.

The more time you spent with him the more you learned. You even managed to come up with new ideas. Maybe your Aeon was so moody because he needed something different? Instead of war, maybe he should experience some love.

However, there were no candidates in Jiyan's way. And you also didn't feel right with the idea of some stranger messing with general's heart. No one seemed suitable. So you decided to "sacrifice" yourself for the sake of this matter.

Few flirty comments, innocent brushes of hands.

Yet, you needed something more. You needed to create some kind of special memory.

It was one of the coldest nights of an entire year. You stationed in some remote area.

As you walked through narrow paths, between a shabby tents, you heard chattering of teeth. Pitch-black night got illuminated by lone stars and shyly sparkling campfires. Excluding a few tightly wrapped sentries, on your way you didn't come across any living soul.

You reached to the edge of a camp. Jiyan never liked to set up in the center.

You looked around awkwardly. There was no door, no way to knock. You weren't sure how to alert of your presence. But rushed by the cold, you began to call out a name of your general in a loud whisper.

Fortunately, awkward moment didn't last long and man heard you. Jiyan poked his head out of a tent. Sleepy eyes, messy hair. He looked so… vulnerable. He was completely unlike his highly, awe-inspiring general's self. Truly adorable. But you shook off these thoughts in panic.

-Can I come in?-you asked with a devious smirk.

And Jiyan, not yet fully aware of what was happening, only nodded his head and stepped back, thus letting you in.

Closing a tent behind you, you cut off all access to light. In small space you were able to find your way quickly. In the dark, you took off your shoes and, together with Jiyan, placed yourself in the middle of warm furs and sheets. Although Jiyan had never had you inside his tent before, it seemed so natural for the two of you. All those times when Jiyan accidentally fell asleep on your shoulder during long war planning… It added up to one thing.

Hearing a sluggish shuffling, you imagined Jiyan shyly approaching you as he sent you a pleading look. You bit your lower lip in desperation. You really wished you could see that right now.

You slowly raised your hand higher, tracing man's face. Gently grabbed his sharp jaw and pulled him towards you in a confident motion, placing his head on your chest. You felt as general's body relaxed.

You covered him with a thick layer of furs. Left one arm on his hip, when other began to soothingly stroke his hair. Cold slowly faded away in cozy atmosphere and comfort of each other body. Still, you couldn't help but notice Jiyan's gentle shivering. He was freezing. Yet it was you who just got back out of air. You squeezed him tighter. Twisted gently from side to side, releasing your tail, which hurriedly wrapped around Jiyan. General breathed a sigh of relief as he snuggled tighter into you. You knew he liked your tail. Although he never dared to touch it, considering it your private space. He sent it plenty of sneaking glances.

-When are you leaving?

He suddenly broke the silence and you froze.

-How-?

-That's easy to notice. When I talk about plans for the spring you look away. When I ask about your past you avoid the subject. When boys beg you to become their mentor, you turn it into a joke. It all adds up. I am not blind.

Pleasant atmosphere got taken over by a tension. Strange thrill of adrenaline set in your body. You clenched your teeth and hugged man tighter. You didn't know what to say.

-So?

-You can't wait for me to be gone, that much? - you couldn't stand the pressure so you tried to dismiss the subject.

Jiyan shook his head in denial.

-I don't want you to leave at all.

He answered sincerely and turned his face towards you, hoping that despite the darkness you could see his confident look and take his word for granted.

Your heart began to beat faster and you truly started to worry. You had never experienced anything like this. But you felt a sudden urge, to provide Jiyan's safety, just as you did during the ambush. Your instinct told you that you had to reassure him that everything would be fine.

Without much thought, as if guided by your inner self, you lifted your head and placed a gentle kiss on top of man's head.

-I'll be back, I promise - you swore.

It hurt you a lot, but he was right. You had to leave. You hadn't been in your home for long enough. Though you weren't sure anymore if you were still able to call that way a place by Aeon's side. You started to arrange in your head what would you say to Aeon.

But whatever your explanations might be, one thing was certain:

You will keep this memory only for yourself.

[missnightshade]

❝ TO MEND A SOUL ❞

Agatha Harkness x Reader

Requested: Yes! (I combined two requests into this.)

Summary: When her girlfriend starts to feel uneasy about herself and her place in their relationship, Agatha takes it into her own hands to ensure that her pretty girl is happy again.

Warnings: Hurt/comfort. Mentions of se!f-harm and anxiety (if this is a trigger for you, please, beware. ) Also: english is not my first language.

Word count: 861 (The next one will be bigger.)

The faint but comforting smell of lavender on her clothes were the only thing grounding the young woman's minds. As Agatha's slender fingers traveled down your scalp, the nails running against the top of your head made the dizziness subside. A shaky breath was taken and your whole body shook violently from the mental inflicted pain, taking her piercing blue eyes away from the book she settled on reading for the night.

"Something's brothering you, dear?"

The past few weeks were a plain confusion to her. After three and something years by your side, Agatha has never felt you so far away. And for someone who almost died in the hands of death herself, the situation was too unnerving. Maybe it was because she cared more about you than she cared for her own life. Maybe, the this "maybe" was a certainty, something she had few in her lifetime. She reveled in your happiness, one of the only things that made her truly enjoy life after her son's passing.

And for you, well...Agatha Harkness was no ordinary woman. You knew that coming in. Right of the bat, when she herself was only Agnes, her energywas unmatched. Sure, that version of Agatha was easier to fall in steps with your simple life. A suburban woman from Westview. And now you sat there, cuddle with the bundle of stories that the wordly Salem witch was. Agatha was exceptional in everything. In all the angles you took to merely eye at her, there was something so enlightening to see. How powerful she was. How beautifully those brown cascades would always flow behind her, framing the strong but feminine traits of her face. How those blue eyes could see miles and miles into your soul was a mystery you weren't sure you ready to dissect.

How could she settled with you was a completely unanswered question. One that gained a new depth with her present almost death experience.

You tried to hide your emotions from her, yet again, always. Shaking your head, the smile you gave was far from comfortable. Agatha moved and pulled you gently as you sat upright.

"Your lying abilities have gotten worse." the playfulness was there, but the attention she gave was heartbreaking. "Tell me, pretty girl. What is going on inside this precious mind of yours."

You gaped, words not coming out. The anxiety sunk in, heart hamming against your chest, vibrating in your head. The breath was short, and your lungs ached for more. Her hands rested upon yours, her nails grasping against your skin. Looking at her, you saw her eyes glued to your arms. Your long nails, mindlessly, maimed yourself as deeply as they could. There, along your veins, she recognized the faint lines from your past. Hurtful ones that only she knew about. Never again you tried, not until you draw blood from them again, right in front of her.

It wasn't that bad. Blood didn't scare Agatha, but the fear and sorrow she held as her hand gently parted you from yourself was devastating.

"Talk to me, my love.", she pleaded. "Please."

"I..dont know. It's just been too much." The voice coming from you was unsure, but the blured lines of that meaning had Agatha taken aback.

"What? Whats is?" her voice was gentle, but so much deeper than you've ever heard it.

"I...you. Not you but...me, to you."

As she heard your voice, shattered with a hint of stagnant cries, she held your face between her hands.

"Sweetie, breathe. Let it go. I'm right here to catch you." all the sweetness no one could have from her came crashing down.

"You...how can you be with me, Aggy?" She eyed you intently, thumb catching the first tears as they fell. "You're all - all everyone would ever want. And i'm just...me. Plain. Boring. "

The witch scoffed with a tearful laugh, as if you had the most idiot breakdown. But there was no judgment as she tugged you closer by the sleeves of her own shirt you were wearing.

"Oh, dear. You have no idea how amazing you are and how happy you make me. Y/N/N, look around. I'm building a life with you. After centuries of running, and ploting, scheming. This peace of mind...no one could ever give me that. No one could love me like you do."

The hiccups coming from your mouth made her eyes lock to yours.

"My pretty, pretty girl." her voice traced, full of love. "I love you. Remember, dear, that I've been around for ages. I've seen men rise and fall. I've met my share of people. Yet, I chose you. Y/N, I am choosing you at this moment. Everyday."

The weight of her words paired with how strong her gaze upon yourself was made you crumble. Your body gave into the pain as you were pulled into her. Almost straddling her lap, Agatha's warm embrace grounded you yet again. There were too many sorry you wanted to say, but as she shushed you into a lullaby meant only for your ears, the pieces were mended together. But as you lowered your face into her soft hair, her voice echoed against your left ear.

"Don't ever be afraid of telling me if something is bothering you. I'm yours and you're mine, my love." A soft kiss landed on your neck, lovingly. "You are safe."

[writingdevil]

hiiii i haven't seen a prompt with smitten and cheated yet and im very curious how ur take on their dynamic would be. could be platonic or romantic though knowing me im definitely partial to shipping them <3

stay awesome and thank you 🫶

(HI PINK! I hope you like this one, because I loved the story you showed me about them and all your thoughts on the ship, so I hope you enjoy this one! You stay awesome as well! 🫶)

Cheated liked to think that he had a pretty good sense for when something was wrong.

Some of the others thought he was just tempermental and a sore loser, but Cheated knew that they didn't understand how he operated-how lucky for him.

Cheated didn't enjoy standing by while others were either pushed aside unfairly, or using dirty tricks to get ahead of others. That's why he always defended Broken and heard Paranoid out, and why he didn't trust Oppy and picked fights with Stubborn. It was all because he wanted everyone to be on the same page as each other, because only then Cheated believe that they can get along.

Cheated didn't like getting angry, believe it or not. He didn't like yelling at something that may not ever change for good, but he found that being loud was the only way to get people to listen to him, to make them understand what the problem was.

But he found that yelling wouldn't solve this problem.

He had been the first person to even know that there was a problem in the first place, and Cheated hadn't even been paying that much attention. It just stood out that much to him.

It was a single moment-barely lasted a second-but Cheated knew something was up the instant it happened.

A group of them had been chatting in the living room, and while Cheated wasn't joining in the conversation, he was still paying attention to the people around him.

He was leaning against a wall, listening to Hero and Contrarian yap about whatever, when his gaze was beginning to drift away, to a small corner in the room that he normally wouldn't have cared about.

But Smitten was in that corner.

Cheated blinked, but Smitten was still there, hugging himself and pressing his back against a corner of the room, a wistful expression on his face as he watched the others in silence.

Cheated straightened up, studying the other more seriously, because that wasn't like Smitten at all.

Smitten was known to be loud and boisterous, his mere presence being able to lift the mood instantly. Being quiet and reserved? Making himself invisible and small? That wasn't the Smitten he knew, not one bit.

But Cheated knew better than to draw attention to it immediately, so he waited, now only half paying attention to the conversation, too busy trying to decipher the sad yearning in Smitten's eyes.

Eventually, the conversation came to a close-of which Smitten hadn't spoken up once- and people started to disperse. The second he saw Smitten begin to sheepishly move away from his little corner, was when Cheated walked up to him, trying to look as normal and not as confused as he could. He most likely failed.

Smitten didn't notice him at first, keeping his head bowed as he walked, and when Cheated put a gentle hand on his elbow, Smitten flinched.

"O-Oh!" Smitten exclaimed in fright, not so subtly moving away from Cheated's hand. "My sweet friend, I didn't see you there!"

Cheated narrowed his eyes at the slight movement, but still tried to keep his voice light and casual as he said, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to ask if you were alright."

Smitten blinked at him, as if surprised at Cheated's concern, before he gave him a reassuring smile, waving a hand through the air casually as he said, "Oh, what a silly question, dear. Of course I'm alright."

"Are you sure?" Cheated asked, and he saw the way Smitten's body tensed up, but Cheated couldn't think of how else to go about this. "You were acting a little different than usual. You kinda seemed a bit s-"

"Oh, I just remembered!" Smitten suddenly exclaimed, feathers puffing up in alarm, and Cheated couldn't help but think that they were acting as a barrier against him.

Smitten took a big step back, making sure not to touch Cheated, and blurted out, "I'm supposed to be meeting Skeptic for lunch today, silly me!"

Cheated tried reaching out to him, but Smitten quickly turned to rush out into the hallway, giving Cheated a quick wave and went, "Be seeing you, Cheated!"

Then that was that.

Cheated couldn't do anything but move on with his day, but his dumb brain couldn't get the sight of Smitten looking miserable out of his head all day.

Something was obviously wrong, but Cheated didn't think that it was his place to say anything just yet, not when Smitten was about to visit his brother. Skeptic will sniff out the problem immediately!

-Only in the days that passed, Smitten still looked upset.

It was all that Cheated could focus on anymore. He noticed the way Smitten's smile didn't reach his eyes anymore, his voice was lacking his usual passion and love, and he wasn't talking to anybody.

It was as if Smitten was becoming a shell of himself, and Cheated was felt a fearful knot in his chest each time he glanced at Smitten.

He confronted Skeptic about this, because surely Skeptic had a plan in the works. But when Cheated spoke to him, he said that he hasn't met up with Smitten in the last few days, and that he hadn't noticed that was anything was wrong with him.

Smitten lied? He was hiding something from his brother?

Now Cheated had to get involved, that urge to step in and help growing more and more, but unlike in other cases, where he would demand for justice and fairness and was ready to fight for that-he felt like he couldn't do that with Smitten.

Smitten, at his core, was a soft bird, who only wished to please and shower the others in love. He obviously had his more aggressive moments, but Cheated saw the way those moments disgusted Smitten. He didn't like being driven by hate and anger, and if Cheated confronted him in his usual manner, that might scare Smitten off.

So despite everything Cheated stood for, he decided to be patient and wait, but constantly being on the lookout for any changes in Smitten's behaviour, anything to explain why Smitten was acting this way.

But day after day, all Cheated saw was Smitten distancing himself further from the flock. He just started to shine less, and Cheated was terrified of seeing that light go out fully, for the day that Smitten didn't smile and express his love in the ways that he knew best.

Cheated couldn't understand why, though. What happened to draw out this behaviour in him? Nothing particularly traumatic or devastating has happened in a while, so what was troubling Smitten so much?

Cheated couldn't stand it. Smitten deserved to be happy and to be loved just as much as anyone else, and Cheated refused to let him wither away without telling him that Cheated was here for him.

He wanted to let one of the more gentler ones take the lead, like Skeptic and Hero, but Smitten appeared to have them both fooled into thinking that he was alright, so it was up to Cheated and his loud nature to knock some sense into Smitten.

The very next day, Cheated searched all over the house for Smitten, swearing under his breath for every minute that he couldn't find him.

It was Hunted, that ended up telling him that Smitten had gone on a walk up the hill not far from where they lived.

"Fuck, I hate hills," Cheated muttered under his breath as his legs ached at the steep climb he was forced to go up.

Smitten didn't seem to notice him at first, or if he did, he didn't have the energy to run away from Cheated anymore.

Cheated could imagine what Smitten would've been like in that moment-he would probably make an effort to help Cheated up, maybe talk about how- 'I feel your pain as if it were my own. Allow me to relive you of your suffering.'

He would most likely try to pick up Cheated, and the thought of that made Cheated flush-along with the reminder that he needed to get to the bottom of Smitten's plight.

He groaned loudly once he reached the top, and he saw that Smitten had been idly making a flower crown in his lap. Were flower crowns easy to make or was Cheated just that slow?

He felt Smitten's wary gaze on him as he tried to catch his breath, and the first thing out of his mouth was, "How can you do that walk? Aren't you dying by the time you get up here?"

Smitten wore a blank expression, which honestly creeped Cheated put, and then Smitten tilted his head to the side and spread one perfectly preened wing out and said, "I flew up here. Did you not think to do that?"

Cheated huffed at the question. "Can't, remember?" Cheated flapped his stupid wings that weren't big enough to hold his stupid weight enough to fly. Ridiculous.

"Oh," Smitten said, realisation dawning on his face. "I guess you were dealt a bad hand in that regard."

"I've been dealt a bad hand in everything," Cheated retorted with, before sitting down next to Smitten-who inched slightly away from him.

They sat on top of that hill in silence, and if there wasn't a pressing issue at hand, Cheated would've called the moment quite relaxing.

He bunched his hands into fists and stared out down at their house and softly asked, "What's wrong, Smitten?"

"Nothing's wrong, Cheated."

"That's bull-" Cheated stopped, taking a deep breath before he snapped at Smitten and ruin everything. That could still happen, if he's being honest.

"I've seen you, Smitten," Cheated said. "You're really upset over something, I can tell."

A pause. "You can?"

"Yeah, of course." Cheated twisted to face him fully now. "I can see it clear as day on your face that something's up."

Smitten was staring down at his flower crown as he quietly said, "Nobody else seems to feel that way."

"Yeah, that's because they're not looking for the right thing. I am. I can see what's really going on with people, no matter how hard they try to hide it."

Smitten hummed, twisting the intricate crown of daisy's in his hands, and then asked, "You don't have to concern yourself with looking at me. You won't like what you find."

"What do you mean?" Smitten sighed, lifting his head just enough to gaze down at the house where the rest of their flock resided.

Smitten looked so sorrowful as he said, "All I've ever wanted was to let others know how much I adore them, that I would devote myself to them no matter the cost."

"Okay?" Cheated said, cringing at how rude it came out. "What's the matter with that?"

Smitten didn't immediately answer, instead placing the flower crown on the ground between the two of them so that he could tuck his knees up under his chin.

"The problem is that I hurt people with my love," Smitten revealed, his trembling voice on the verge of a whisper. He took a shaky breath in, blinking furiously up at the sky, then continued, "My love for others does nothing but harm them. I did it to our beloved princess, and I did it to the Long Quiet."

Smitten glared up with a viciousness that Cheated wasn't used to seeing in him. "My love is just a poison that infects everyone around me, and I refuse to hurt people anymore."

That's why he had been avoiding touching people, and not bringing as much attention to himself. He was afraid of getting too close and letting himself lose control with passion.

Cheated gazed at Smitten in sympathy, and no matter how hard the other tried to spin it, the only thing that was clear to Cheated was that Smitten was so lonely now.

He was literally depriving himself of properly being with the people he loved, making himself miserable all for the sake of them.

The thought made something twist within Cheated.

"Well," Cheated slowly said, glaring at the grass below him, "what about us, then?"

"You're all better off without me-"

"No, what about our love?"

Cheated watched in satisfaction, as Smitten's face scrunched up in confusion, before he finally looked at Cheated.

"How come you're the only one that's considered dangerous, huh? You don't think we're fucked up enough to do something crazy?"

"What?" Smitten blurted out, bafflement all over over his face. "I am trying to keep you safe from me-"

"Then who's gonna keep us safe from when Stubborn goes mad? Or when Hunted goes feral? Why do you have to be considered more dangerous than the rest of us?"

Smitten's jaw was hanging open, and Cheated could practically see him frantically trying to come up with an argument.

"How is it fair," Cheated snapped, leaning in closer to Smitten and glaring at him, "to think that we can't hurt you just as much as you could hurt us? Why do you need to be punished while we get to live our lives without any fear?"

"I am trying not to hurt you with my love!" Smitten exclaimed indignantly. "Well don't," Cheated retorted, "because that's a stupid fucking argument." Smitten looked appalled, as if in disbelief at the way Cheated was talking to him.

Cheated gave him a serious look and said, "We could all hurt each other-badly. But that doesn't stop us from loving each other, and it definitely shouldn't stop you, because I could tell that you were fucking miserable."

Smitten was staring at him more softly now, less shocked and more surprised.

Cheated instinctively clutched at the grass beneath them, sighing heavily, and then said with a rising blush, "You're always saying that love is the greatest force in the world or whatever, but that goes two ways as well. We love you Smitten, and our love for each other is definitely stronger than whatever demons you've got inside you."

Cheated averted his eyes, staring down at the flower crown instead. "I know I'm not the best person for you to talk to, that I'm too rough with my words where you deserve someone soft to help you. But I'm not gonna just sit around while you torture yourself."

Cheated then delicately picked up the flower crown with a soft smile, admiring its beautiful and the person behind it, and then gently placed it atop Smitten's head, who was completely stunned into silence.

"You deserve to be protected too," Cheated softly said, watching the way Smitten's eyes slowly lit up with that light that he had missed so much.

They sat there like that for a few seconds, as Cheated gave Smitten time to process his words. He couldn't tell what Smitten was feeling-all he knew was that Smitten was staring off into the distance, and more and more life returned to his face, until Cheated felt like he had made his point.

He turned away from Smitten, rubbing the back of of his neck and going, "Well, I'll leave you alone and stop spewing curses at you." He started to stand up, saying at the same time, "Sorry if I came off a little rude-"

But he froze at the feeling of Smitten grabbing his arm.

Cheated froze, letting Smitten drag him back down beside him so that he could cuddle into his side, and Cheated's brain was stuck in that moment, too busy focusing on the warmth that he had missed so much from the other bird.

Then Smitten placed a soft kiss to his cheek, and Cheated truly was done for in that moment.

"It was perfect," Smitten whispered, and then he rested his head against Cheated's shoulder. "You were absolutely perfect for me."

[saltynsassy31]

Hi my friennnnnd what about you tell me EXACTLY why you love Swerve so much. Also draw him pls. Any version

Drawing him as human because God forbid I draw another mech today, I will lose my mind + bonus doodle of him in the bird au. I really have been wanting to draw him after you suggested him as a robin, but then I realised I'm going to have to figure out his headshape and I gave up half way through LOL but have the rough draft of it anyway XD

Anyway, as to why I like him?

....

(Had to put a break cuz shit got LONG lol and I hate scrolling on mobile)

Oh boy, where do I even begin? Like, I don't even know how I started to like him. And trust me, we searched. All I remember was that we were looking for a friend to give Newflight (OC for an au I'm working with my sis and a friend, it's in my pinned post) and I suggested him. But that wasn't the point I got obsessed with him, no. Looking back at our old messages, I simple knew of him and "his description in the wiki matched with Newflight" so we went with him. I don't even remember how I found out about him to begin with because I wasn't reading the comics yet, I only started to read beacause of him.

I guess, in the search to learn more about him since he was going to become a permanent member of the cast, I got obsesssed? I think it also had to do with Keferon's aus, specifically when Blurr x Swerve was introduced, and I think that was the beginning of my downfall XD

But I didn't become OBSESSED obsessed until I found a post about issue 42 going over the whole Swearth thing. I think just the fact he's such a tragic character that everyone often looks over is what caught my attention? I was soooooo sad for him and started to look more into him after that (more than I already was for the Newflight au) and just kept getting more and more obsessed with him.

I related a lot to him, and desperetly wished he'd get the same healing journey I went through and just wanted him to so badly know he's loved.

Here, oh my god, I even have a picture of when it all started XD

It just-

It just shattered me and from then on I HAD to show my love to this guy. And seeing how little (at the time at least) attention he seemed to be getting, idk, I just wanted more for him. He was always the background character in most fanfics and aus, even in stories that were supposed to be about HIM people tended to push him aside (still sorta do?)

Not always, duh, but it was a common trend.

He's so sweet and goofy, and silly and depressing. Behind that big, goofy smile lies so much sadness and I want that explored. I also love so many smaller details about him! Like the fact he's a metallurgist and has extra sensors in his fingers that allows him to read such things (honestly found that out through a fanfic lol), but he chooses to be a Bartender, it's his life long dream! But it doesn't take away that he's still a scientist. A lot of people seem to forget that (which I don't blame, heck, I don't think a lot of people even know that. When I told a friend who had been in the fandom longer, they were utterly surprised lol), but in more than one iteration (including IDW) he's listed as a scientist.

Idk, it's really hard not to love this guy! There is so much to explore with him and I am so excited to do that and stuff.

And I want more people to show him more appriciation because istg the Lost Light would be in shambles without him there.

[yamujiburo]

I'm so thankful for you sharing the importance of protecting minors from sexual content. My parents and I didn't have much knowledge back then and I was exposed to this kind of stuff too early. I developed bad habits. I somehow deceived my family into trusting me way too much and, when I saw I had lost control and I asked for help, I saw my family was also hurt and they spent a lot on therapy and my anxiety medication. I have forgiven them for not knowing back them. But I still haven't forgiven myself for getting them through all that stuff. It's important to understand how much we need to protect minors from sexual content. Family members and artists, please pay attention to the content young audience is exposed to.

Of course! I can relate a lot to this. My parents were really good at monitoring what I was doing online for a while but they started trusting me more and I unfortunately started seeing a lot of stuff I shouldn't have but would keep it secret. Gonna talk about my experience a lil bit under the cut just bc I've been reflecting on it a lot recently (tw for grooming)

I gained a following of around 25K on deviantart by the time I was around 15/16. It was in the worst fandom too (mlp). I'd have a lot of much older men talking to me, drawing/writing nsfw of my characters who were underaged (they'd draw nsfw of myself and my sonas as well). It was so normalized for me and I didn't see anything wrong with it at the time.

I'd shipped Spike and Rarity at the time (very much do not anymore) and adult men would use that ship as a basis for trying to talk to me or get in a relationship. "We're just like Sparity! You're young but you're very mature for your age, so it's fine." I remember one guy trying REALLY hard to try and get me to move in with him. I was pretty creeped out then, but like holy shit that's SUPER creepy and I'm fortunate that he didn't keep trying after I gave him a hard "no".

It bled into my real life a bit when I met a 22 y/o man who asked me out when I was just 16 just turning 17. Luckily the relationship was NOT long lasting (I think he realized that I'm a very boring person LMAO) but I think about how I thought that that was a perfectly normal. I'd date go on to date people who were probably too old for me.

Also around when I was 16/17, people started shipping me with another artist in the fandom who was several years older than I was (side note: nothing wrong with an age gap! but it's very not okay when there's "waiting" for someone to be of legal age involved). I did end up dating said artist after I turned 18 and it was fine, I wasn't hurt or anything but I did find weird that we were shipped when I was still a teenager looking back (there was also nsfw drawn of us together before/when we were dating)

I just had such a warped sense of reality for a long because of this shit. I'm glad there's more conversations about this stuff and it's more known that adults should have little to no personal interaction with kids on the internet and vice versa. There's way too many stories of kids getting taken advantage of in fandom spaces. I think I got off fairly lucky all things considered. But bottom line YES kids need to be protected online and their exposure to sexual content/adult spaces should be limited or monitored. It's also really tough though because not all kids have adults in their real life that they can trust or go to to ask questions about sex so they seek solace in adults online and it's just a constant cycle.

I'm honestly unsure of what to do about that and I don't have all the answers but I ultimately just don't want kids online to end up in similar positions I was in when I was younger. I just do my best

[class1akids]

I know salty stans always claim that the author has a personal grudge against their favorite character, but do you think that's genuinely the case with Dabi? Because at this point its clearly apparent that Horikoshi is Endeavor's #1 glazer and everyone know how much Endeavor's glazers hate Dabi, which is the only explanation I could come up as to why Horikoshi is paying dust to one of the series most prominent and popular characters.

Like other characters were also done dirty don't get me wrong, but he at least handled those characters with some type of dignity and it never felt like he went out of his way to purposely exclude them or minimize their panels-time/impact for no good reason.

I mean comparing Dabi to Toga will leave you in despair, because Toga is clearly one of Hori's biggest favorites (to the point of some creepy attachment to her). This is evidenced by the sheer number of Toga twitter sketches, how the last art exhibition had 2 different Toga art when many characters got nothing. I would also posit that the excessive focus on Uraraka in 431 was less about Ochako and more of Hori wanting to force Toga into the ending.

But also I feel like the attention to Toga is a very "male-gaze" kind of attention, but the exploration of her background is pretty repetitive and how much she's drawn is not really in proportion to the actual impact on the narrative or even exploration of themes.

Unlike Touya - whose backstory is more nuanced with his family acting like actual people making bad decisions and he himself makes some bad decisions - Toga is just a victim of cartoonish paper villain parents who don't matter, having an obsession with blood which than gets retconned into not a real need, etc.

So I don't know if Hori hates Touya or he just doesn't really care about him and wanted to use him for aura. I think it's clear that Hori abandoned the idea of exploring Shouto's and Endeavor's relationship in Act 3 and bring it to forgiveness, probably due to a lot of fan backlash and also just the sheer amount of damage Enji did to Shouto and the lack of any real way to undo any of it.

So he focused instead on Dabi and Endeavor, making "Dabi" unhinged, unlikeable and cruel and then have Endeavor atone for "Dabi's sins" instead of his own crimes against the family, while using "Touya" "to show that "it was all very complex, Endeavor was bad, but also tried, but not hard enough, but it wasn't his fault alone anyway".

I think Touya could have died on the battlefield after a short reconciliation with the family, but he needed to stay alive to give Endeavor his atonement time. I also feel that Hori didn't know where to land the Todoroki family in 426, so he gave them a real wishy-washy ending where nothing really got resolved and then he didn't want to touch it anymore.

I truly feel that this part of the story stressed him out a lot. He was always sick during Todofam chapters, there were short chapters, lot of revision. I think he just wanted a spicy setting and draw funny scenes like Shouto and Natsuo slurping soba at Endeavor, but without realizing and properly planning, he grabbed more than he could really chew. Fans were invested, many people had personal stories that resonated with all of this and it became a very complex and sensitive subject that Hori had no appetite to properly handle or take a stance on.

There may be also some annoyance by Hori that Dabi is the highest ranked villain in the end and despite his best efforts, Toga never reached the same popularity she had during MVA which may cause some malice.

But I think most of it is just simply him not having the writing chops to handle a story like the Todoroki family with gravitas and once 426 was well received (at least in Japan, though still controversial), he didn't want to pick it back up again.

[sweetbillwriting]

In The Dead of Night

ELEVEN

Characters: AU Eric played by Bill Skarsgård from The Crow (2024)

Setting: This story is set in A WHOLE OTHER WORLD than the movie. Shelley isn't a part of this story. Eric will be different from the movie.

Warnings: 18+, NSFW, heavy themes.

×

“He was in a coma six months ago? For how long?” I asked in shock, but Robin didn't react to it.

“A month, I think? I learned about it after a couple of weeks. His friends didn't know if they should call me and... Heroin. I thought he had stopped with that shit, but one of his weird friends told me he had overdosed on purpose because of depression.”

I looked down at the ground, thinking back on my dreams. Could it be that Eric was in a coma? Believing he was dead? I dragged my hands over my face and shook my head in disbelief. I had started to believe the dreams were just dreams, but now I thought back on it again. The Spotify playlist, the name of his biological mom, the places and drawings he had shown me... Could he in some way visit my dreams while he was in a coma?

“Are you listening?” Asked Robin a little irritated, and I nodded.

“Yeah, yeah. It's just so much… He hasn't told me this.”

“He's probably embarrassed. He has overdosed twice and lived while other people who do something with their lives die of diseases. He gets saved.”

I sat with my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands, trying to digest everything. I started to get a headache from it all and dragged my hands through my hair, but still I had questions.

“Do you see him as your brother? You cried when you found out he was in a coma, but you talk about him like an invader in your family.”

Robin bent down in a similar way as I and looked down at Odin laying on the ground.

“No. He's just Eric to me. He's my parents foster kid, but he's nothing to me. I get that sounds harsh, but I never understood who he was as a kid, and then in my teens he moved in with us permanently and made everything difficult. But… They also favored him so hard. Dad cut down work hours to be home with him; mom was with him all the time, and they gave him expensive gifts, and we traveled more.”

I looked at Robin’s sad face and how he dragged his feet through the wet leaves on the ground. Maybe it was actually true? Maybe they actually gave Eric all that. I could imagine they wanted to give him all the things he had never gotten to lay a bandage over the abuse and trauma his mom caused him, but it was too much to not get Robin's attention. On top of that, Eric had magical powers? I wanted to laugh at my own thoughts but couldn't do that when Robin sat next to me, but it really seemed like Eric was something more. He talked with animals, was kind to everyone, liked by everyone, and could escape death and visit my dreams. He sounded like a Disney princess.

Robin was quiet just like me for a while, but he wasn't thinking about Snow White; he prepared a confession.

“I never told mom and dad I was gay... It would have given them one more reason to love him more than me. Instead, I was the weird one, never meeting a girl. Did you know he slept with my best friend? And later, two other friends. He was clearly straight and on top of that an asshole. Now he has slept with a fourth friend of mine…”

I looked at Robin up and down uncomfortably. I didn't want to believe Eric had slept with his friends, but I could also see how that could have happened. Eric had been tall, hot, and sexy since his late teens, and on top of that, he had taken drugs then already. I swallowed hard when I thought about how many he probably had slept with.

“I'm sorry, Robin... I don't even know what to say, but… He didn't know we were friends. I've lied to him too…”

Robin shook his head to himself and looked down at his hands playing with Odin's leash, then he sighed.

“I guess I can't decide who you date… But can you promise me you will never force me to like him? And that you're careful? He is an addict, whatever you say.”

I smiled with relief, happy to have his blessing, but it fell when I thought about Eric. He would never forgive me.

“I don't think we need to talk about that even… He will never forgive me…” I took a deep breath to calm myself down because I could feel the tears pushing behind my eyes.

“Ehm, before I talk about him, can we go home? I don't want to sit here and ugly cry in front of everyone.”

Robin nodded quickly and fixed Odin's leash around his hand.

“Of course, of course.”

We went to my home, and with a big cup of tea each, I told him about my love for Eric. How he had pulled me in at once and how I couldn't stop myself from loving him from the first time we met.

“I had these dreams about him when I thought he was dead and… He really was everything I ever wanted from a guy. Nothing like Dante, then I met him, and he was the same, and… He really sees me. He really cares for me, and even if you can't see it, he makes me feel safe.”

I cried so hard, I didn't know if Robin could hear me, but it seemed like it. He looked uncomfortable, even upset, but nodded slowly.

“I… Well, okay, I guess. If you feel like that, I will not say that it isn't true; it's just that I can't see anything else than how manipulative and selfish he is. That's my picture of him, but… Clearly, you see other sides in him…”

I nodded and dried my wet cheeks, but new tears came.

“But it's too late now…”

Robin shook his head.

“In rehab, they talk quite a lot about how to ask for forgiveness and to forgive others. If he learned anything there, he would listen. It's worth a try. You should call him.”

I looked at Robin, who met my eyes. It was big of him saying these things even if he didn't like Eric. Once again, I dried my tears, and then I gave him a hug. At least he was a true friend to me.

I waited until Robin had left to call Eric, and then a bit longer after that. I didn't dare at first. Maybe he was really angry and would curse at me. I wouldn't be able to handle that. I thought about leaving it be, so I could imagine him not being angry and grieve what was of our relationship. However, in the long run it wouldn't give me anything, so I collected myself and called him with shaking hands. I heard signal after signal, and the fourth I thought about hanging up, but just when the fifth started, he answered.

“Hey,” he said shortly.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“Hey… Ehm… I don't know what to say, Eric, more than I'm so, so sorry for… everything,” I said with a dry throat and was forced to even cough after I had spoke.

“Yeah…” he said with his thinking voice. I knew he was in deep thought just in the way he answered.

“I love you. I love you, so so much,” I said desperately. Eric was quiet, so I continued to talk.

“I just wanted to be with you. From the first time I saw your photo, I was—”

Eric cleared his voice awkwardly. It was probably a bit much hearing me explain my love for his photo.

“Maybe, maybe we can talk for real?” He said it in a dreamlike tone, and for a second I would have believed he had smoked marijuana recently, but I knew he often sounded like that when he tried to master his big feelings and sensitive heart. “I can come to you tomorrow?”

My own heart beated hard. I didn't want anything more than that.

“Of course, of course!” I said excitedly, I couldn't contain my happiness.

“Good… I'm sorry, by the way?”

“What? For What?” I answered with a giggle, like he was joking. I couldn't control the euphoria I felt of just knowing I would be close to him soon.

“For what happened with Nick and all that… I guess drugs are the thing I think about when life sucks. Like when you had those extreme menstrual cramps and you asked for—”

“Stop!” I said with a loud laugh, and Eric laughed too. It was a joke, a joke about that time I had such horrible period cramps that my ass cramped so I had begged him for anal sex like it was the only thing that could save my life.

Fortunately, it subsided by itself before we had time to do it, and then it felt awfully scary.

I could hear Eric's sweet little giggle in my ear, and I sighed with love.

“I really love you the most in the entire world, you know.”

“I love you most in the entire world, too, babe,” he said warmly before we hung up.

×××

“I'm sorry, but it sounds super weird you dreamed about me,” he said after thinking about what I had said for a while. I had told him I dreamed about him, but I didn't dare say I believed it was actually him visiting my dreams. It would be too much and sound a bit like an excuse from a stalker.

“It was! After the first time seeing your photo, I started to dream about you, and you were amazing in the dream, just as amazing as you are now, and yeah, I just wanted to meet you for real. And you were so different from Dante. Even the person you were in my dream was everything I wanted.”

Eric looked at me with big eyes and nodded. He put down his cup on the coffee table, then he moved closer to me smoothly.

“You have said many times that Dante was a really bad guy… What does that mean?” He searched my eyes, but I just looked away. I didn't want to talk about Dante like that.

“You can talk to me… I hope you know that.”

I moved closer to Eric and looked into his kind eyes. I was safe with him.

“He hit me a couple of times.”

I looked at Eric's Adam’s apple bob in his throat.

“He hit you?”

“It was just a few times, but I provoked him, so it's just embarrassing to talk about. I don't want people to know how annoying I-”

“Hey!” Said Eric, upset, and it made me jump. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry,” he said softly when he realized he had scared me. “No guy has any right to hit you, even if you're annoying as hell. I don't care what you say about yourself, he is the one in the wrong.” He looked at me seriously but suddenly looked scared. “You know I would never do that, right? I know people say it's a bigger risk for abused kids to become abusive adults, but I would never ever in my life do that. I would kill myself if I ever did that.”

His words were sincere and worried, and his face, cute. I kissed his full lips and dragged my hand over his smooth cheek.

“I know that, Eric. That's why I love you so much. I would never doubt your kindness.” I kissed him again, and it led to us making out a bit. I crawled up in his lap, and he took his chance to pull down my tank top straps so he could play with my chest with his big hands. His lips found a nipple, and once again he sucked so hard it felt like he thought his next dinner was there. I dragged my hands over his head and cradled him against my chest while he found comfort against me.

“My boy… I'm sorry for everything that has happened to you in life…” I whispered and made him look at me, still with my nipple between his lips.

“I'm sorry that your biological mom didn't treat you well and that you met so many others that have hurt you…”

Eric released my nipple and looked away but still lay against my chest.

“I know it's her fault I am the way I am. That I crave... That I need drugs to calm my loud thoughts down, but I'm not mad anymore. She was disturbed. She was sick. The men… They're just faceless idiots to me, so there is no one to be angry with.”

He sounded so mature and calm, and I felt proud and smiled at him a little. It would be a good person like Eric who could see life from that angle.

“But when you are depressed, what is that about?”

He shrugged his shoulders and sat up.

“Depression doesn't always have an explanation. It's just like everything drops for me. Like nothing is important. It just falls to the ground, and I can't see an end. Of course I can have nightmares about the men who kicked me around or the times Linda tied me to the radiator for a day or two.” I gave him an upset look, but he didn't seem to notice. “But it's not those memories that make me depressed. That's just my brain shutting off.”

Eric looked at me and then smiled a little.

“You don't need to look so worried; it was fifteen years ago. And Linda is dead. She died of a failing liver when I was eighteen or something.”

I nodded a little and patted his cheeks. It was hard thinking that a kind soul as Eric had gotten treated like that, and it made both my chest and stomach hurt. I kissed his lips softly a few times, but I noticed quickly that Eric wanted more than that. I giggled when he pulled down my tank top again to touch my chest and when he licked my lips to be able to get permission to dance with my tongue.

Deep tongue kisses made Eric pleasurably groan, and when I moved in his lap, I could clearly feel he was hard. I dragged myself over his sex and could feel his cock grow to its full size in the loose-fit track pants. Eric knew what he wanted but also what I wanted, so he stood up and let me hang around him like a koala bear.

“Am I not heavy?” I said with a giggle. I knew I wasn't for him, but I wanted to hear it.

“Fuck no, you don't weigh a thing.” He said, shaking his head. He probably knew I just wanted to hear that but answered seriously so it would feel even more real for me. I giggled and leaned back while being in his safe arms. I could lean back a long way, and Eric let out a sound of admiration.

“Fuck you're sexy,” he said, and then put me down in bed. His words made me feel my self esteem grow, and I smirked while taking off my clothes while lying in bed. I moved sensually, letting him be my small little audience while I started my masturbation show for him. Eric stood and looked at me with an open mouth and pulled off his big gray t-shirt. I looked at his muscles shamelessly, and even if he was so close, I fantasized about having him even closer. I sat up, drunk of hornyness, and pulled him closer to me with a grip of the elastic to his dark blue pants.

From his navel down to the hem of his pants, I made a small trail of kisses. I licked the lines going down to his groin while teasingly pushing down his pants with his boxers. Eric chuckled a little when I licked closer and closer to his loins and helped me take the last of his clothes when my lips moved closer and closer to the root of his cock. He kicked the pants and boxers away with his socks and then turned around. His idea was to just attack my lips with his, but I stopped him because I wanted to look at him. Eric scratched his ear while I looked at his body up and down.

“Damn boy,” I teased and bit my lip. Eric chuckled, embarrassed but also proudly. He had a hobby you could see clearly how much he worked on, but also, he won a lottery in anatomy.

“Can I fuck you now?” He said and moved closer to me, and I nodded with a giggle. With a smile, he kissed me and moved over me, his body so broad it felt like it swallowed me up. He smelled like one of his expensive perfumes, mixed with herbal tea, and even that smell was intoxicating. With a swift motion, he had pushed me down on my stomach in bed so he could enter me from behind while he held me close to his body. I wonder if I could ever get used to his size or strength. I hoped not because every time he was close, I felt so blessed and protected, and I hoped I would never take that feeling for granted.

×××

Eric fell asleep after our lovemaking; most of the time he had held me up against the wall, and I could see that would even be much for him, but I couldn't deny what a feeling it was to be held like that. I felt small and vulnerable in his arms, full, overwhelmed, and light as air. He had instead held me up by the thighs while also moving in and out of me with fast, hard strokes. No wonder he was tired.

I swept my finger over his nose, following the straight nose bridge out to the upturned tip. He wasn't bothered by it; he just continued to sleep. Warmth rose in my chest while I looked at him, but another feeling started to take over. Hadn't it been very easy for me to be forgiven by him? I had lied and gone behind his back, but he forgave me after just a few minutes, then slept with me in the best way. The last time I saw him, he had also laid in a bed but had asked for drugs. Did that craving just disappear? I thought back to the moment in his bed and what he had said. He had wanted the morphine pills he had seen in the bathroom. Pills I hadn't hidden away before his visit. I stood up from bed and pulled on a floral kimono as I walked to the bathroom on light feet. I know you can guess what I found—nothing. The pills weren't anywhere to be found. I searched over and over in the bathroom, but there weren't any pills. I could feel the panic grow because I didn't want to believe it, but still it was there; Eric had just forgiven me and slept with me to steal my morphine pills.

I stood and looked at myself in the bathroom mirror, more or less waiting for the inevitable breakdown. I loved him so much, but he clearly loved other things more than me, even if he had said he loved me most in the entire world. I waited for the breakdown, but it never came; maybe it had just been too much the last few days and there were no tears left.

I walked back to the bedroom, where he still slept with just the cover on his hips. I looked at all the badly made tattoos, the clues to what life he had lived and probably would soon live again. I wondered if he was high on something while we slept together. Maybe it was amphetamine that gave him his stamina. I kicked his shin with my foot over and over. That was the only way I wanted to touch him; otherwise, I wouldn't be able to keep my cool. I kicked quite hard after a while to make him wake up, and after three hard kicks, he looked up at me confused.

“I'm sorry, have I slept a long time?” He said with a raspy voice and rubbed his eyes.

“Did you just sleep with me to be able to take my pills?” I said crass with furrowed brows. He sat up and scratched his chest. He looked adorable with his big eyes shifting, but for me, that was just proof he had taken them; he couldn't even look at me.

“What?”

“My morphine pills; you have taken them!”

“What? No?”

“God, I never thought this about you, Eric!”

“But I haven't-”

“Don't lie to me!”

“But I-”

“Maybe you are just the fucking junkie everyone says you are!”

Even if he was the one in the wrong, I swallowed hard when he looked at me hurt.

Without a word, he stood up and started to dress. My instinct was to say I was sorry and beg him to stay, but he had used me for drugs, so there was no hope for us.

I stood with crossed arms and shiny eyes while his naked body disappeared into soft fabrics. He walked by me without a look, out to the hallway.

“Can I have the pills?” I tried to sound cold but didn't know if I succeeded very well. The question made him finally look up at me with sad eyes.

“I don't have them.”

I sighed and looked down at the ground disappointedly. It wasn't like him to lie to me right in the face, but I guessed drugs made him into someone else. I looked at him while he pulled on his bomber jacket and turned on his heel to the door. The jackets were the only place he could have them, and for a few seconds I regretted not looking in his pockets but brushed that away; it didn't make any difference. Eric closed the door silently behind him; he would probably never be the kind to be violent in front of a woman. I stared at the door for a long time after he had left with tears in my eyes. I couldn't say why, but it felt like something didn't add up, but I tried to say to myself that it was just me who wanted it to be that way.

I sat down on the couch where our teacups still stood on the coffee table. I breathed heavily, trying to find acceptance, but it seemed like other thoughts knocked on the door and wanted in.

He hadn't even been in the bathroom. He had been by my side all the time.

I thought back to his visit, trying in every way to find a time he could have taken the pills, but there wasn't a time. In panic, I ran to the bathroom, looking again through every cabinet and box after the pills. I threw things out on the floor to see everything better, but they were nowhere to be found. I cried hysterically because I couldn't find an explanation.

“Maybe you are just the fucking junkie everyone says you are!”

Even if he was the one in the wrong, I swallowed hard when he looked at me hurt.

Without a word, he stood up and started to dress. My instinct was to say I was sorry and beg him to stay, but he had used me for drugs, so there was no hope for us.

I stood with crossed arms and shiny eyes while his naked body disappeared into soft fabrics. He walked by me without a look, out to the hallway.

“Can I have the pills?” I tried to sound cold but didn't know if I succeeded very well. The question made him finally look up at me with sad eyes.

“I don't have them.”

I sighed and looked down at the ground disappointedly. It wasn't like him to lie to me right in the face, but I guessed drugs made him into someone else. I looked at him while he pulled on his bomber jacket and turned on his heel to the door. The jackets were the only place he could have them, and for a few seconds I regretted not looking in his pockets but brushed that away; it didn't make any difference. Eric closed the door silently behind him; he would probably never be the kind to be violent in front of a woman. I stared at the door for a long time after he had left with tears in my eyes. I couldn't say why, but it felt like something didn't add up, but I tried to say to myself that it was just me who wanted it to be that way.

I sat down on the couch where our teacups still stood on the coffee table. I breathed heavily, trying to find acceptance, but it seemed like other thoughts knocked on the door and wanted in.

He hadn't even been in the bathroom. He had been by my side all the time.

I thought back to his visit, trying in every way to find a time he could have taken the pills, but there wasn't a time. In panic, I ran to the bathroom, looking again through every cabinet and box after the pills. I threw things out on the floor to see everything better, but they were nowhere to be found. I cried hysterically because I couldn't find an explanation.

“Maybe you are just the fucking junkie everyone says you are!”

I heard my own words in my head. Had I thrown that in his face, and he hadn't even taken the pills? He must have taken them. Where else were they? I needed to talk to someone, someone that could tell me I had done the right thing. I called Robin with shaking hands, sitting on the toilet lid with legs bobbing up and down in panic.

“My morphine pills were gone, so he must have taken them, but I don't know when he could have done it, but he must have, right? Right? I mean, where are they otherwise? He came here and pretended to be the perfect boyfriend again just to take them!” I rambled with a runny nose.

Robin was quiet on the line. I wasn't prepared for that; I thought he would just say I had done the right thing.

“I have them.”

I didn't understand what he was saying and furrowed my brows in confusion.

“What?”

Robin sighed deeply.

“I'm sorry, I thought I did both of you a favor by taking them away. So he wouldn't be tempted.”

“Huh?” My heart beated hard against my chest.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I had accused Eric of stealing my pills without any proof, and here I now sat with the truth. Eric was really the perfect boyfriend, but I had called him a junkie.

“I didn't want to do a thing out of it because I was afraid you would be angry if I said anything that could be critical to your relationship.”

Robin sounded sincere, but right at that moment I didn't care. I had called Eric a fucking junkie. I thought about his hurt expression but how calm he still continued to be. Always so respectful and sweet, even when hearing such things.

“Oh my god... Oh my god…” I said with a shaking voice and laid a hand over my mouth to cover my sobs.

“I'm really sorry, Della; this wasn't my plan at all!” Said Robin with guilt and stress in his voice. I didn't say anything because I was busy trying to control my tears.

“I would never do such a thing to you. Him, yes, but not you. I can punish him with mom and all that, but I wouldn't-” he interrupted himself, and I could almost hear his panic.

“...how do you punish Eric? What? How do you punish Eric??” I said, upset, and raised my voice. I had a bad feeling—a really bad feeling and ideas about what he had done to Eric spun around in my head.

“Nothing!” Robin sounded mad, but I was quite sure it was a way to mask that he had said way too much.

“Tell me now!”

Robin was quiet on the line. “Is it something about him not seeing Lotti? Huh? Have you kept them from each other?”

Robin sighed like he was irritated, but instead of saying anything, he hung up in my ear.

×

[bensonoliviasstuff]

“Turning Page”

Chapter two! “ Loml”

Masterlist for “Turning Page”

Bucky Barnes x reader

Summary: Once Bucky regained consciousness and was no longer the Winter Soldier, all he missed from the 40s was his wife. But maybe she's closer than he thought.

Warnings: English is NOT my first language, so I'm sorry if there are too many errors. Futhermore i don't think there are many warnings, a little bit of angst, memory loss, betrayal, trauma, Insecurities and other things that you will discover throughout the story. And the best part: Thanos doesn't exist here

“Steve?” You said with a mixture of shock and joy. “Long time no see!”

Bucky frowned as he saw Steve smile at the beautiful nurse before them.

“I thought you were still in Washington” Steve flinched when you gave him a hug, squeezing the bruise that threatened to form on his rib.

“Did you get into another fight?” You said observing the dried blood on his cheekbone “Some things never change”

As you turned to grab the material you would use to clean Steve's face, Bucky discreetly elbowed his best friend before whispering. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your pretty friend?”

Steve rolled his eyes before you turned your attention back to him. “Y/N, this is Bucky, Bucky Barnes, I already told you about him” Steve pointed to his smiling friend next to him “Bucky, this is Y/N Y/L/N, my friend and ex neighbor since we were 16 .”

You looked up at Bucky and it seemed to him that things went in slow motion when you smiled, he almost didn't hear you when you said “Nice to meet you”.

He gave a slight shake of his head to regain consciousness and turned to Steve. “If you've been friends for so long, why have I never met this beautiful girl?” You gave a sheepish smile as you bandaged Steve.

“First: you would flirt with her exactly like you are doing now” You laughed softly and Bucky was sure that was how angels laughed. “Second: She went to nursing school in Washington a while ago, I didn’t know she had come back until now.”

“I'm sorry I didn't warn you, I came back a little while ago and things have been busy, but we'll see each other more often from now on.” You said, taking off your gloves.

“That’s a splendid idea” Bucky said, if you had gone to college maybe Bucky should start improving his vocabulary.

You smiled at him before turning to Steve “I finished, you can go, I have to do a blood draw, but let's plan to have a milkshake, I missed you” then you turned to Bucky. “I hope to see you again, Bucky Barnes.”

“You can count on it” He winked at you before you left the room shaking your head.

“Look, we've been friends for a long time, don't even think about it” Steve pointed his finger at Bucky who was smiling with hearts in his eyes. “I'm serious, if she doesn't want to be my friend anymore because I introduced you two, I'll break you”

Steve stood up and left, Bucky behind him muttering “It’s easier for her to break me” with a smile.

After that day, it was quite funny for you to see Bucky every day in the hospital with some mysterious illness that only you could treat.

Sometimes he would arrive saying he had a really bad migraine, sometimes he would arrive with a terrible stomach ache, all this when he didn't arrive saying he had a fever only for you to put your hand on his forehead and say his temperature was normal.

Your friends from work at the hospital were already more excited than you were, always talking about how that handsome man was wooing you.

You always laughed at these crazy ideas, for you he was just a flirt who flirted with all the girls, but you had to admit that you were starting to get attached to his visits to the hospital.

One day in particular changed your view of him.

Your duty was almost over, you had already changed your clothes and grabbed your bag to leave, Bucky hadn't come to see you today.

You were sad, you spent half of the duty wondering what could have happened, you had come to the conclusion that he had found another girl and lost interest in you.

You said goodbye to your friends and were leaning against the reception desk, looking for a hair tie in your bag.

You had found it and were finally tying up your hair when you heard a familiar voice call out to you.

You turned around and found Bucky a few feet away, holding a bouquet of colorful flowers.

Your friends who were behind the desk began to sigh and squeal excitedly, you placed a hand over your mouth, hiding the wide smile that was about to spread across your cheeks.

“Oh Bucky, what happened now?” You teased, crossing your arms against your chest. “Pollen allergy?”

He laughed, hiding his face behind the flowers. “Actually, miss, it's a very serious allergy to 'being away from you'” You blushed when he approached and your friends sang a chorus of “Ownnn how cute!”.

“This one should be easier to deal with” you said as he approached.

“There is only one treatment option” He said with conviction, making you laugh.

"And what would be?"

“You agree to go out with me” he said and extended the flowers towards her.

You took them and smiled “I would love to.”

“Exams state that she has some internal injuries that have not been treated correctly, her brain has been badly affected so she is going to be treated for the headaches that will definitely bother her for the rest of her life” Tony was listing while Steve and Bucky followed him towards the medical wing with quick steps.

“She's also going to need physical therapy because apparently her shoulder ligament was torn at least three times, and lastly most importantly…” Tony stopped in front of a door turning to Steve and Bucky with a hard look “She She hasn’t spoken a word since she opened her eye, we don’t know if she just didn’t want to talk or if there was something behind it.”

Bucky was shaking, he couldn't even imagine what your reaction would be like.

Tony opened the door and walked in, Steve was right behind him when Bucky pulled him out of the room.

“I don’t know if I should go” Bucky said unsure, Steve frowned.

“Bucky, she’s still your wife, why don’t you want to see her after so many years apart?” Steve grabbed his friend by the shoulders.

“That’s the point Steve, I want to see her more than anything, but what if she doesn’t want to see me?” Bucky asked nervously. “What if she doesn’t even remember me? What should i say? ‘Hi, I’m your husband, we’ve been married for almost eighty years, bizarre right’?” Bucky acted out to Steve. “I'm no longer the Bucky she fell in love with, I'm no longer the person who made her laugh until her stomach hurts, I haven't made anyone laugh in over seventy years” He said scratching the back of his head nervously.

“What if she doesn’t like the new Bucky? What if she doesn’t like sleeping hugged by a metal arm?” He raised his left hand, showing the wedding ring above the metal finger. “What if she doesn’t love grumpy Bucky?”

“What if she does?” Steve interrupted before he could continue. “What if she likes the metal arm? What if she starts to love annoying a Bucky who gets stressed about everything?”

Steve raised his arms, dropping them to his sides. “As far as I remember, the last time I saw her she even loved Bucky who was supposedly not alive.”

“She probably doesn’t remember that” Bucky ran a hand over his face.

“So make her remember, if today you remember so can she, you heard what the scientist said, she always ended up remembering you” Steve put his hand on the door “You haven't changed enough to have stopped loving her"

Steve entered the room, and Bucky unconsciously held his breath as he did the same.

You didn't see him right away, you were paying attention to what Tony was doing with the equipment next to you.

Bucky kept close to the door, thinking he could slip away without being noticed if he was lucky, but that was when you turned your head towards him.

It was exactly the same as when he saw you for the first time, your eyes met his and everything seemed to be in slow motion, if he ignored everything and just kept looking at you, he could easily believe that it was still the summer of 1941.

You didn't know why, but you couldn't look away, something about that man made you want to keep looking at him, his blue eyes were familiar to the butterflies in your stomach.

“Y/n... Do you know them two?” Tony pointed at Steve and Bucky.

You looked away from the man with blue eyes that made your stomach do somersaults and glanced at the blonde who was looking at you expectantly.

Something about him made you have a déjà vu about a smaller man.

You looked away from him and looked at Tony before he speaks: “That’s Bucky, and that’s Steve” You looked back at the men, you assumed the brunette was Bucky.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I know them” You apologized, seeing Bucky’s gaze drop as if you had just broken the news that someone had died. “I… I’m sorry, should I?”

“No, it’s okay” Steve said, with a sad smile.

Tony picked up a bag and placed it on the furniture next to him. “Here are some clean, comfortable clothes, I believe they are in your size, let’s wait outside while you change.”

Tony dragged the other two out of the room and started messing with something on his cell phone.

“Tony?” Bucky called cautiously, “Thank you for what you’re doing.”

“Don’t thank me” Tony looked up “We both know I still don’t like you”

Steve gave a weak smile at Tony's statement, Bucky nodded, raising his hands in surrender.

“But I know what I would feel if Pepper forgot about me” Tony looked away. “That’s why I’m helping.”

"I thank you for that"

The three looked to the door when they heard it open.

Bucky held his breath when you walked out of there wearing sweatpants and a “S.H.I.E.L.D” sweatshirt.

“Great, the clothes fit, now let’s go” Tony said, putting away his cell phone “That brunette over there is going to show you to your room”

“There are two bedrooms here” The real estate agent continued walking around the apartment. “This is where our Tour ends, I think it's the perfect apartment for you, it has a beautiful view of the city, it's close to the hospital where you work, and there's plenty of space for two people, or even three if you're thinking of start a family soon.”

You turned to Bucky with a smile on your face, the apartment was a bit trashed, but you could perfectly imagine everything you and Bucky would change in it to make it 'home'.

“What do you think, doll?” Bucky asked with a smile.

“I don’t think it could be more perfect”

This is the kitchen” Bucky said, showing the room that Tony made sure was empty.

After almost killing Tony and Steve for leaving him alone with you, he followed the path beside you, He tried a few times to make comments, but you just looked at him, smiled and responded with a nod.

He then stayed quiet, taking every opportunity he had to just keep his eyes on you, he would never pass up the chance to watch you bite your nails or bite your bottom lip, everything you did was like the best movie in the catalog for Bucky.

He watched with an adoring look as you walked around the kitchen, taking in every detail, you did the same in every other room, taking in everything and not saying a word.

“There are coffee grounds in the disposal” It was the first time you said anything since they left the hospital room.

Bucky gave the most genuine laugh he'd ever had since he could remember being Bucky Barnes, he felt so much joy over such a stupid comment because it sounded exactly like something you would say.

You couldn't help but smile at his laugh, something about that man made you feel like you couldn't avoid many things.

"Yes! Tony always complains about it, no one ever listens.”

You licked your lips, hiding your smile.

“The next thing I’m going to show you is your room” Bucky said, now smiling.

“Do I have a room?” you frowned when Bucky nodded like it was obvious. “Why are you being so nice?”

Bucky felt his heart beat faster, Is this when he says he loves you?

I mean...” you continued before he made a decision. That man in armor took me out of that horrible place, gave me medicine, did tests, and now you’re going to keep me sleeping here?” You shrugged your shoulders “You guys don’t even know me”

“This is what we do” he lied, it was all a lie, He never did for anyone what he would do for you “We help people who need help” lie, his brain screamed that he was lying, he knew you, he knows you, only he knows how you hate the dark and are afraid of needles even though you are a nurse, His heart screamed, asking him to tell you that only he knew you better than you knew yourself. “I would do this for anyone”

“Even by those you don't even know? What if I were dangerous?” You weren't, you asked him to kill every cockroach that ever appeared in your apartment, He knew you, it was killing him to be in front of you saying he didn't know who you were.

“I trust you” His vocal chords were trembling

“Why?”

“I feel like I should” Holy Ghost, you were the love of his life, even if he didn't want to he would trust you.

You stayed silent, looking at the man who looked like he was in physical pain with every word that left his mouth.

“I feel like I should trust you too” felt like the right thing to say.

Bucky felt all the fireworks in the world going off inside his stomach.

“I will prove to you that you can trust me” That was a promise, both for you and for him, at that moment he promised that he would win you over, just like he did the first time, You were the loss of his life for a long time, but now he would have you back

[balkanradfem]

I have an update, for people invested in the story of me vs the attractive woman who moved into the building, who I cannot figure out. I still don't know if she's interested in women, if she likes me at all. She has short hair and is 9 years older than me which makes her irresistible.

So my main point of confusion was that she always reacted extremely friendly to me, even as far as yelling my name excitedly and waving when she sees me, but then when we talk she talks to me as if I'm a small child maybe, using words you'd use with children. So I've been on the fence on whether she just sees me as a small lost child who needs attention, or if I could potentially ask her out. I've met her a few times more, only briefly, but one of those times she called my name in an iteration that means small, she added a suffix that you would add to a child's name. (She added '-ica' to my name, for croatian speakers).

And this was too much for me, I had to draw a line at the small iteration of my name, I do not enjoy being viewed as a child, and will not have a crush on someone who makes me feel like I'm not a grownup >: (. So I decided, this is a lost cause romantically, I'm no longer into her, she obviously sees me as a child. It's fair, I also see anyone 9 years younger than me as a tiny baby who I can only be friends with, but I do think that's very cool of lesbians, that we're the exact opposite of pedophiles.

So I calmed down about her, but then I thought, okay, now that I'm not having my brain scrambled by the yearning, I could actually try to ask her to come over so I can meet her and see if we could be friends. She still acted very sweet towards me, one day I opened the door of the building, she was standing right outside, and jumped when I said 'Hi!' loudly. I apologized for scaring her, and she said 'It's okay, I just wasn't even hoping for you.'

How am I supposed to deal with that. That is adorable. I had to go immediately that day, but I decided to calm down, and wait for an opportunity to see if I can get to know her better.

The opportunity came today! I stumbled on her while biking outside, got her attention, and then told her 'Hey, you seem like an interesting person, and I'd love to sit down and talk to you sometimes, I want to know more about you. Could I invite you over for tea?'. And she said, 'Okay, give me your number!', and then she realized, she didn't take her phone with, because it was raining. I grabbed my phone to take her number, but my battery was 1% and the screen was too dark to see. We were both standing there without functional phones, laughing at ourselves. Then she grabbed a pen from her bag, asked me to give her my hand, and wrote her number on it. I've never had a woman write down her number on my hand! It was a great experience. She stopped to ask if it was hurting me, and I was smiling and giggling because I was thrilled, and told her to keep writing. Her handwriting is very neat! I promised to quick-call her as soon as I got home, so her phone will have my number as well.

So now I have her number on my hand, and I did give her a very short ring, so she has my number too. Now I'm nervous! I cleaned up the place because I don't know when she's going to come over, and I'm plagued by the anxiety that I won't be able to offer her a sweet treat because I never make any. I gave her an open invitation so she can just randomly decide to come and I will seem like a person with no food in my kitchen because I only make food when I'm hungry and then eat it immediately. Do you think pan-fried apples is an acceptable treat for a guest? I'm being so normal about this.

[littlepadika]

If you aren't taking requests it's otay but I'd REALLY love to read one of daddy Joel getting us ready for bed. Bottle, changing into pjs, story and tucking in pwease!!!!!!

ahhh bb you inspired me!! I loved imagining this one.

warnings: ddlg, little!reader, jackson Joel, sucking on daddy fingies

Joel and your house in Jackson was small, one bedroom, so you sleep in daddy's bed with him. You were very needy so even if you could have your own room you'd still want to be in daddy's bed.

Joel would play some guitar to wind down at night and you'd sing along until you were rubbing your eyes.

"Ready for bed, petal?" He'd stop playing with a small smile. You were just too cute.

"No wan one more song." You'd protest even through a big yawn.

"Mmmm I think it's time for bed." Joel would respond, and you knew not to argue with daddy. "Come on, little one." He'd take your hand and lead you into the bedroom. "Up." He'd instruct helping you take off your clothes of the day and slip into one of his shirts. Your PJs is one of Joel's t-shirts. He asked you many times if you wanted a nicer set but you always said no. You liked how it smelled like him and how it made you feel safe.

"Thankie daddy." You'd hug his middle.

"My pleasure, petal." He'd hum. He sits you on his lap next and gently brushes your hair. Depending on if you showered or not sometimes it would take a long time to get all the tangles out. He could feel the tension leaving his body with every pass through your hair. He'd sometime go for a few minutes longer than necessary just to relax some more. He feels you slump against him as you get more sleepy.

"mmm such a good girl." He kisses your head.

He has to lift you up to the top of the bed because you're so sleepy. You blink slowly taking, basking in his loving touches. He tucks you into bed with april next to you. The sheets were an off white and a bit scratchy but they were heaven compared to a hard ground he was used to. The blanket was wool and a bit scratchy. Joel was going to get a softer one once it got a little cooler, something that suited you more.

He usually sits on the edge of the bed until you fall asleep, singing or telling stories. Tonight you do something unexpected and start sucking on your fingers for comfort.

"What are you doing, silly girl?" Joel gently pulls your fingers from your mouth.

"Wan somefing." You mumble. You wanted something to comfort you as you drifted off.

Joel didn't have any bottles. He'd have to trade for one without drawing too much attention. So that night he gave you his fingers to suckle on until you were drifting off to sleep. You held his big hand with your two small ones. It wasn't arousing but more endearing. You were so so little and precious and beautiful and strong. Joel felt an intense urge to curl around you so nothing could ever hurt you.

"Hush little baby don't you cry. Daddy's gonna sing you a lullaby..." He found himself singing low in his chest.

"Sweet dreams, my petal." He whispered as your lips slackened around his fingers. "Daddy's gonna get you everything you need."

He slowly stood up and started changing into his pajamas, every now and then looking back at you to make sure you were still asleep. As soon as he slid under the blanket you twisted around him like a baby koala.

~~~~~~~

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