#and I don't even know how to prevent it from happening again

[linoxpudding]

Tension In Between Us - Lee Know

summary: the morning after the almost-kiss on the tent— tension lingers and it gets harder to ignore the way your heart skips around him

pairing: lee know x reader

genre: fluff, frenemies-to-lovers

word count: 3257 words

a/n: this is part 2 of lee know's portion in the fic "Inches In Between Us"

~°~

The morning after the tent incident felt weird, like in the way when something between you and someone changes, and suddenly you two don't know how to act.

You can feel Minho’s gaze flicking to you during breakfast, lingering just a second too long, and it’s impossible to pretend you don’t notice. 

But it’s even harder to pretend that you’re not thinking about last night — about how close he was, how you could feel the warmth of his breath on your skin, how the silence between you crackled with something unsaid. You almost kissed. You wanted to. And now, you can’t stop replaying that moment, wondering what would’ve happened if you had leaned in just a little more.

Chan appears beside you, balancing three mismatched mugs of hot chocolate. He hands one to you, one to Felix, and keeps one for himself. 

“Still cold from the night?” he asks with a gentle grin.

You nod, blowing into the cup. “I barely slept.”

Felix shoots a glance between you and Minho before smirking and mumbling under his breath, “Yeah, I bet.”

You choked, “Felix—”   

He just hummed innocently, sipping his own drink like he hadn’t just implied everything without saying a single word.

Chan chuckles, then adds with a smirk, “Honestly, I’m just surprised you and Min didn’t kill each other in that tent.”

You groan immediately, turning on your heel. “I’m leaving.”

Felix nearly chokes on his drink from laughing, and Chan just grins wider.

After breakfast, the group set off on the hiking trail, voices echoing through the trees as they climbed higher. You followed along, mostly because everyone else did, and also because the view was supposed to be worth it.

You lag behind the others for a moment to retie your boots and cringe looking how they’re muddy, soaked, and being a pain. You sigh, struggling to tighten the knot with your cold fingers.

“Seriously?” came Minho’s voice behind you.

You look up. “What?”

He kneels in front of you. “You suck at knots.”

“I don’t—”

“Shut up,” he says, but there’s no heat. His fingers brush yours as he takes over, tightening the laces with ease. “There. You won’t trip and die now. You’re welcome.”

You’re stunned into silence. When he stands, he looks down at you and swallows. The tension simmers again. It’s like something’s waiting to happen like last night but it doesn’t. He walks ahead, leaving you staring at his back.

You start walking again, picking your way carefully along the muddy trail. The others are already ahead, their laughter echoing faintly through the trees as they climb higher. You take in nature and try to enjoy the hiking, there was just  something about the quiet here that makes you want to pause.

The view was stunning and you get distracted so you pull out your phone and start snapping a few photos. 

By the time you look up, the rest of the group has moved on, just silhouettes between trees now. Except one.

Minho stands a few feet away, arms crossed, looking thoroughly unimpressed. His weight is on one foot, jaw tense, like he’s been standing there for a while.

You blink. “Why are you standing there like I’m holding you hostage?”

He shrugs, not moving. “Because if I go, you’ll probably trip on a stick and roll down the mountain.”

You raise a brow. “So now you’re my bodyguard?”

“I’m not,” he replies flatly. “This is just… preventative measures.”

You narrow your eyes, catching the way his gaze briefly drops to your bootlaces, then flicks back up.

“You know you could just say you were waiting for me.”

He shrugs, eyes dropping briefly to the trail before meeting yours again. “You get distracted easily.”

“You could’ve just gone ahead.”

“I did,” he says. “Then I realized you weren’t following.”

You swallow the flutter in your chest, forcing a smirk. “Wow. Concerned about me? That’s new.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” he says smoothly, stepping closer. “Just didn’t want to hear Chan complain if we had to call mountain rescue.”

You roll your eyes, but your voice is softer now. “Still. Thanks.”

He doesn’t respond right away. He just looks at you, gaze flickering like he's trying to figure something out. Like the words are right there, but he doesn't trust them yet.

Then finally, he says, “You done?”

“Yeah,” you murmur. “Let’s go.”

He falls into step beside you.

You walk quietly for a while, the air cool, your arms brushing now and then as the path narrows. Neither of you says anything, but it’s there again—that same electricity humming low beneath the quiet. That unspoken thing neither of you is quite brave enough to touch.

After a few winding turns and steep inclines, you catch sight of the rest of the group waiting at a scenic lookout point, chatting and catching their breath. 

Chan waves when he sees you. “Hey! Thought the mountain claimed you two.”

Felix wiggles his eyebrows. “Or maybe you just chose to take your time.”

You roll your eyes, brushing past them to enjoy the view — mountains layered in mist, treetops stretching out endlessly below. The hike was so worth it. Definitely worth it.

The rest of the hike passes in an easy rhythm. There’s laughter, water breaks, Changbin pretending to be a forest tour guide, and Han nearly slipping on a mossy rock to no one’s surprise. The sun climbs higher, warming your back, and by the time you all start descending, your legs ache but your heart feels light.

Back at the campsite, the group slowly disperses — some heading toward the tents to rest, others poking at the dwindling campfire or prepping snacks.

You unlace your muddy boots with a satisfied sigh and plop down on the cooler, wiping sweat from your face.

Minho passes by, brushing dirt from his sleeves. He doesn’t say anything, just tosses you a cold bottle of soda like it’s no big deal — like he didn’t stay behind just for you, like he hadn’t been watching your every step on that trail even if you never asked him to.

You catch it easily, a small smile tugging at your lips.

“Thanks, bodyguard.”

He scoffs without looking back. “Don’t get used to it.”

*************************************

By lunchtime, the campsite felt alive with warmth and laughter. Plates are passed around with a variety of meal options— egg sandwiches, fried rice, grilled chicken, leftover grilled veggies— to choose from. Everyone settled into the shade of a few trees. It’s the kind of meal that feels earned after a long hike, soft sunlight filters through the leaves and easy conversation floats through the air like a gentle breeze.

As the afternoon rolls in, Seungmin pulls out a small guitar he brought “just in case,” and Jeongin joins him, humming quietly before breaking into soft vocals. The songs are mellow, half-serious, half-joking, and the mood is perfect.

You’re sitting a little apart from the main circle, legs stretched out, still sipping from your water bottle and letting the music settle in your bones, when you sense someone approaching.

You glance up to see it was Minho.

He hesitates, hands in his pockets, eyes shifting to the sky and then back down to you. For a second, your heart jumps — maybe this is it. Maybe he’s going to bring it up. Finally.

You sit up straighter. “Hey,” you say softly, offering a cautious smile. Leaves crunch beneath his boots as he comes towards you.

He stands there for a second like he’s unsure whether to stay or walk away, hands tucked in his pockets. Then, slowly, he lowers himself to sit beside you, not too close but closer than necessary. His fingers fidget restlessly in his lap, tapping against each other. He doesn’t say anything at first, just stares ahead, jaw tight, brows slightly drawn.

You shift, heart picking up again. You open your mouth just as he does.

“So—”

“Well—”

You both stop, glancing at each other at the same time.

Minho lets out a small breath, almost a laugh, and runs a hand through his hair, cheeks faintly pink. “You go first,” he mumbles, eyes fixed somewhere near your knee.

Your lips part. You’re not even sure what you were going to say, but the moment is here. The weight of last night, the almost kiss, the hike, the way he waited for you—all of it lingers between you like fog that refuses to lift.

Just as you inhale to speak you get interrupted. Of course.

“Minho hyung!” Han’s voice cuts through the music. “Come here, quick! You gotta see this weird bird or rock or—whatever it is!”

Minho flinches like he’d forgotten there were other people around.

You let out a quiet, frustrated groan as Han bounds over and tugs Minho up by the wrist before he can even protest.

“Seriously?” you mutter under your breath.

“I’ll be back,” Minho says over his shoulder, giving you a look that almost seems apologetic—but it’s too late. He’s already being dragged off, and the moment slips through your fingers like water.

Another missed opportunity. With a sigh, you push yourself to your feet. If you stayed here any longer, you were going to go crazy waiting for a moment that kept slipping away.

So, you decide to explore the nature.

The air is warm with a soft breeze as you walk, weaving between trees, letting your footsteps carry you aimlessly until you stumble onto a quieter part of the woods. There, tucked between the greenery, is a little pond that captured the colors of the sky like a mirror.

You smile, taking out your phone and clicking on the camera icon. The sun hangs low, casting gold across the water’s surface. A few dragonflies skim along the edge. You take photo after photo, slowing down for the first time all day.

Your body feels heavy from the long hike and the hearty lunch, and before you know it, you sink down beside a tree, leaning your back against the bark. The quiet wraps around you like a blanket. Your eyes flutter shut.

Just for a second, you tell yourself. Before you know it, you’re dozing, the sounds of nature lulling you into a light, restless sleep.

Hours slip by.

Suddenly, you wake with a start, the sky now painted with deep oranges and purples. The sun is low, sinking fast behind the distant hills. Panic bubbles up in your chest. How long were you asleep? How far did you wander? The shadows stretch long and the woods around you feel suddenly unfamiliar and enormous.

You scramble to your feet, heart hammering, when a burst of frantic footsteps breaks the quiet.

Minho comes running into view, cheeks flushed, chest heaving with heavy breaths. His eyes are wild with worry as he spots you. Relief flashes across his face before it quickly turns into frustration.

“You idiot!” he yells, voice cracking with desperation. “How can you be alone here in this place, huh? Do you even care about your own safety?!”

Your jaw drops. “Excuse me?!”

“Do you have any idea how stressed I was?!”

You blink, still groggy. “What—?”

“No one knew where you were!” he snaps. “You disappeared. You weren’t on the trails, you weren’t by the tents—I ran around like a madman for almost two hours looking for you!”

“Minho—”

“You don’t get it,” he cuts in, voice cracking slightly. “You’re so—so stupid sometimes! You don’t think. You just wander off and fall asleep like you don’t matter, like someone wouldn’t go insane trying to find you!”

Your heart stumbles in your chest.

He stands there, fists clenched at his sides, breathing hard. His words hang between you like thunder. You can feel the panic that still clings to him, woven into every breath.

You swallow hard, voice quieter now. “Why do you even care?”

He laughs bitterly, throwing his arms out. “Because I do! Because I like you, okay? Because last night I couldn’t sleep thinking about how close we were and then you vanish in the morning like it meant nothing and—” He exhales sharply, cutting himself off before his voice cracks again.

You step closer. “Minho…”

“Don’t,” he mutters, turning his face slightly away like he doesn’t want you to see how much he’s unraveling. “Don’t look at me like that.”

You look at him worriedly, he looks like he’s close to having a panic attack so you decide to calm him down.

“Okay,” you whisper, reaching out gently. “Let’s sit down. Just—sit with me.”

He stares at you, caught between disbelief and something else, chest still rising and falling.

You pull him down by the wrist anyway, settling beside the pond once again. He doesn’t resist.

For a long moment, you both just sit there, shoulder to shoulder, the sky glowing above you and the water still rippling softly below.

Then, quietly, you ask, “You meant it?”

He nods once, eyes locked with yours, all traces of frustration gone. “I meant all of it. Last night when we almost kissed, I—”

He pauses, swallowing hard.

You wait, heart suddenly pounding.

“I wasn’t just caught in the moment,” he says, voice quieter now, almost shy. “I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time. I just… didn’t know if you’d ever feel the same.”

Your breath catches.

“Every time we fought, it wasn’t because I hated you. It’s because you made me feel so much, and I didn’t know how to deal with it,” he admits, rubbing the back of his neck. “Being around you drives me crazy in the best way.”

Your chest tightens in the softest way. You shift a little closer, knees brushing his as your hands reach for his.

“I didn’t think you were serious,” you whisper. “You always teased me. I thought… maybe you were just messing around.”

He leans in just slightly, his forehead brushing yours.

“I’d never joke about this,” he says, barely above a whisper.

You pull back just enough to look into his eyes. “Then say it.”

“What?”

“Say it like you mean it.”

He stares at you, gaze intense, then exhales — like this is the biggest risk he’s ever taken.

“I like you,” he says, steady now. “A lot. And I’m not going to pretend I don’t anymore.”

And before you can even respond, you cup his face gently and kiss him.

It’s soft at first as you’re asking his permission, then he answers, his hands finding your waist, pulling you closer and deepening the kiss, like he’s been waiting to do this forever.

When you finally pull apart, you’re both breathless, smiling like lovesick idiots.

You speak first, voice barely above a whisper.

“I like you a lot too. Last night… it kept repeating in my head the whole day. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. About you.”

He blinks, stunned quiet.

“When you looked at me this morning,” you smile, eyes flicking to his, “I felt this urge to just kiss you right then and there.” You pause. “But I freaked out and left because… I was scared. I didn’t know if it meant the same to you.”

His expression softens immediately. One of his hands comes up to cradle your jaw, thumb brushing your cheek.

“It meant everything to me,” he says, quietly but firmly. “You don’t have to be scared. Not with me.”

And just like that the tension melts. All the almosts, all the distance, everything you both tiptoed around finally feels safe enough to hold.

You lean into his touch, and he kisses you again slower this time, like he’s savoring this moment. And when you finally break apart, breathless, your foreheads press together as he closes his eyes and chuckles. 

“We’re dating,” he says with a dorky grin.

You laugh, forehead resting against his.

“Yeah,” you whisper, still dizzy from him. “We’re really dating.

*************************************

You and Minho finally walk back to the camp, the confession and kiss still echoing in your minds. His fingers were laced with yours, and he kept swinging your hands like it was the most natural thing in the world.

As you near the tents, laughter erupts.

“FINALLY!” Han yells, throwing his hands up dramatically from his seat by the fire.

Hyunjin claps like he just witnessed a marriage proposal. “Took you long enough. I was planning to fake a bear attack just to lock you two in the same tent again.”

Felix beams. “You guys are so cute, though.”

Seungmin deadpans, “Gross, but expected.”

Changbin squints suspiciously. “Wait. You kissed, didn’t you. YOU TOTALLY DID.”

You both freeze.

Minho opens his mouth then closes it. You glance at him. Then both of you burst out laughing. Neither of you answer the curious crowd but the blush creeping up both your necks is louder than words.

“OH MY GOD THEY DID!” Jeongin shouts from across the fire pit.

You hide your face in Minho’s shoulder, giggling.

He grins, one arm looping casually around your waist. “Yeah, yeah. Now go make marshmallows, losers.”

That night, after dinner and some more chaos, everyone retreats to their tents, you and Minho head toward yours. You’re giggling quietly again, nudging each other like you’re still in that warm afterglow of a new relationship.

Just as you’re about to unzip the tent, he gently grabs your wrist, stopping you.

You glance at him. “What?”

He looks at you, a glint in his eye, smile turning more smug. “Just so you know… I’m not holding back tonight.”

Your heart skips. “Oh really?” you tease, lifting a brow. “You think I’m scared?”

He steps closer, voice low and playful. “I know you are.”

You lean in, matching his energy. “Then you clearly don’t know me well enough.”

“Oh, but I know well enough. And I plan to kiss you the whole night,” he smirks, like it’s a threat.

You smirk, not missing a beat. “And I’ll hold you the whole night. Like a koala.”

He scoffs, “You? A koala? You kick in your sleep.”

You gasp. “I do not! You’re just mad I almost kneed you once last night!”

“Almost? You caught my stomach. I thought I was dying.”

You shove him lightly inside the tent, laughing. “Get inside, drama queen.”

He stumbles in with a scoff, but there’s a smile playing at his lips as you both crawl onto the small bed. It feels cozier tonight—maybe because the space between you is finally gone.

You settle in beside him, your leg brushing his. He glances over, eyes already soft. “Comfortable?”

You nod. “Very. You?”

“I mean…” He shifts closer until your faces are just inches apart. “I’m about to be.”

You roll your eyes at the cheesiness, but your heart does a full somersault when he leans in and kisses you again in a gentle and unhurried way, like he wants to memorize the feel of your lips.

When you pull back, his eyes are still closed and he hums thoughtfully.

He opens his eyes, his voice low and almost shy. “You taste like marshmallows.”

You laugh, of course he’d say that, that was such a Lee Minho thing to say.

“What even?”

He shrugs. “Sweet. A little sticky. Kinda addictive.”

You throw a pillow at him, laughing. “You're so annoying.”

He grins, catching it. “Yeah, but you love it.”

“…Unfortunately.”

He pulls you into his arms tightly and whispers, “Good. ‘Cause I’m not letting go.”

You sigh against his chest, melting. You could get used to this.

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

Permanent Taglist 1:

@lov3rachan @pixie-felix @ellemir2404 @willowhanji @skzimagines @wavetohannie @jamroses @vietjeb @kayleefriedchicken @kokinu09 @nightmarenyxx @my-neurodivergent-world @shuuporanglinos @silly250 @thecutiepieme @stay-tiny-things @inlovewithstraykids @skz-ot8-stay @emilyywhyy @havenwithleeknow @hungryhobbit815 @seungminnieinthebuilding @beabidoobee @geni-627 @ye0lkkot @yaorzu-blog @butterflybananabread @nightshadeblooming @rockstarkkami @finannn @poody1608 @scarlet789 @mbioooo0000 @icannotbelieveit @casperlynn23 @rtyuy1346 @maddy24207 @ari-hwanggg @jisuperboard @nougatjade @skzlover24 @velvetmoonlght @unintentionalbee @theeonlywanii @enhacolor @aria-again @millannniii @silentreadersthings @minhospuddin @sillyhal @darlingsoulbeautifulthoughts

[astronomical-light]

I (53M) strategically arranged a delivery of concrete pavers to be placed around a colleague’s car and block them from leaving their parking space, AITA?

u/fedupwithfuckheads • 3 hr ago

I'm having a debate with several coworkers about the ethics of what I have done, and one of them (35F) suggested I post the story here to get an unbiased opinion and settle the discussion once and for all. I tried to tell her that's not how biases work, but I don't think anyone cared. So now here I am.

For context, I (53M) work at an unnamed hospital in a relatively large urban area. For the past six months, I have been engaged in a systematic campaign against whoever the fuck works at this hospital, drives a flashy little red Porsche, and thinks they're the most important person in the entire known universe.

I do not know who owns this car, but I do know that I hate them. That's not what's up for debate. I will own my hatred. I will proudly lead a parade waving a flag proclaiming how much I think this person needs to have their license revoked and also their eyes tested, because surely anyone who is so incapable of parking between two (very generous!) white lines cannot be trusted to actually drive safely.

The first time I saw this car's egregious excuse for a park job, I brushed it off. Shit happens, it's a hospital, maybe there was an emergency? I can give anyone grace for a one-off offense, but then it happened again. And again. AND AGAIN.

My first plan of attack was to complain, loudly and at length, about this car to anyone who would listen, hoping that a sufficiently scornful public shaming would stop the culprit from flagrantly disregarding all sense of decency. Children can color in between the lines. This car? It is small. I definitely wouldn't fit comfortably in it. I am, quite honestly, impressed at the ability the driver holds, somehow managing to bend all known laws of space and physics to take up five (5) parking spots at once. I didn't think that was a thing that could be done, but I am willing to admit when I'm been wrong. Hence this post.

For a month, all I did was talk about this car. Even I was getting tired of hearing myself talk about it, but I'm? Not a quitter. I was going to see this thing through, one way or another. The problem is that the more I talked about this car, the worse it got.

My second attempt at maintaining order in the parking lot was very simple: I left a very kindly worded note. When the first note got ignored, I wrote a less kindly worded note on a bigger, more visible piece of paper. This continued until I covered the entire windshield with a poster board that simply said STOP, which I found ripped up and left on the ground at the end of my next shift. So not only was the owner of this car a potentially scientifically unforeseen level of asshole, they littered? At my hospital?

All I wanted to do was prevent the parking lot from becoming a lawless wasteland for the greater good of the entire hospital. Now, though? This shit was personal. The gauntlet had been thrown, and it was fucking ON.

So there I was, left wondering what phase three of my plan should be. I wanted to start a long game of psychological warfare by letting air out of a different tire every day, but my partner (49M) convinced me to not commit any actual crimes where the security cameras might catch me, so I begrudgingly listened to their advice. Don't let a vandalism charge stop you from seeing out your revenge, he said. Be smart, he said. You don't have advanced degrees for nothing, he said.

(If I still wanted to, that's neither here nor there. I know the security guys, is all I'm saying. The security guys like me. Worst case scenario, I think the fines would have been worth it.)

Anyway, here is a non-comprehensive list of alternate ideas presented to me to highlight how reasonable my idea was. Identities concealed to protect the not-so-innocent.

(26M): Just slash their tires, boss. Make sure you only do three, though, that way insurance won't cover it.

(29F): I know a guy who can change out the plates. We can get it impounded, and then we'll never see it again. Or, wait, do you think it would be more satisfying to have it scrapped for parts...?

(35M): Take all the wheels off, replace with four slightly differently sized wheels. Fuck the handling of that fancy car UP.

(42F): Key it.

Clearly, none of the aforementioned coworkers are the ones concerned with the ethics of what I eventually did.

Now, it's important to know that before it came to a head, I tried everything I could to figure out who the owner of this car was, outside of my partner's suggestion to just ask admin to look up who it's registered to? because that seemed like cheating, and I am an honorable man. I tried looking inside the car to see if there were any clues, but the windows were tinted so dark I couldn't make out much of the interior. They're definitely beyond the legal limit, by the way.

Ultimately, the perfect plan fell into my lap purely on accident. The hospital is undergoing some exterior landscaping upgrades, and part of those upgrades involve a whole hell of a lot of concrete paving stones that were to be delivered by pallet. Enough concrete paving stones to, say, completely surround a little red Porsche, thereby preventing the worst person I have never known from driving their stupid little car and inflicting their idiocy upon us all.

So there you have it. AITA?

p.s. the car is still stuck there, if that informs your verdict.

↑ 4.2k ↓ 💬249 🏅 → Share

Sort by: Top (default) ⌵

unluckyrabbitsfoot • 3 hr ago Top 1% Commenter

hey, I think you mean (49M, handsome with an edge) for your partner. it’s really important to get the details right so everyone can picture the story properly…

↑ 3.4k ↓

fedupwithfuckheads OP Sorry, let me correct that to reflect reality better. How does (49M, Major Pain in My Ass) sound?

cuckledoodledoo wow, no one needs to know that much information about your personal life

disposableaccount speak for your fuckin self, dude. dick pics? think of it as a tax for being in love or whatever

123456789O • 2 hr ago Top 1% Commenter

NTA, they got what was coming to them. they fucked around, now they're finding out. and i mean, you also kind of fucked yourself if the car is still there, so that seems like adequate karmic balance to me.

↑ 1.7k ↓

fedupwithfuckheads OP To be incredibly clear: I regret nothing.

terrorizingturtles • 3 hr ago Top 1% Commenter

YTA but like, in an absolute legend kind of way. i salute you, good sir.

↑ 1.2k ↓

69livekindly420 yo, what did those turtles ever do to you, huh?

tngmtntneetleteetle Don't be stupid. The turtles are DOING the terrorizing.

SHREDDERRRR FUCK THOSE TURTLES MAN

fedupwithfuckheads OP What the hell are any of you even talking about???

BarryMcKockinner • 1 hr ago

ESH, even if they definitely suck more. Objectively, that was a dick move. A real big dick move, if you will, but even iconic top of the pantheon assholery still counts as asshole behavior.

↑ 752 ↓

2slow2curious can't believe i had to scroll this far to see someone say this.

pewpewpew • 1 hr ago

ESH, and YT (justified) A, but also this is the funniest shit i’ve heard all day. i am GOING to need an update on this one, because i just know this is FAR from over

↑ 711 ↓

fedupwithfuckheads OP When there are further developments, and then I figure out how to do that, I will let you know.

w0tintarnation • 2 hr ago

NTA. Look, I don't know what you are, but I think "asshole" would ultimately be reductive to whatever the hell it is you've clearly got going on. Good job, though.

↑ 680 ↓

fedupwithfuckheads OP Thank you. That means a lot to me.

blueberrysunday96 • 1 hr ago

ESH. you should have gotten some people together and parked your cars around their car well before having to resort to this. classics are classic for a reason

↑ 607 ↓

fedupwithfuckheads OP I don't even drive to work. It's the PRINCIPLE.

deepfriedfuckery • 52m ago

NTA. Tell me the hospital and I'll send a glitter bomb to surgery, OP. Car like that, we all know who's responsible

↑ 581 ↓

definitelynotjeff i just viscerally recoiled at the idea of glitter being anywhere near an OR. excellent work at coming up with the most horrifying thing i've ever heard, even if surgeons who are innocent of driving like assholes don't deserve that kind of punishment

deepfriedfuckery >>even if surgeons who are innocent ERROR: implies there are surgeons innocent of crimes. they all deserve it, for one reason or another

unluckyrabbitsfoot This comment has been deleted.

getpwnedidiot • 3 hr ago

ESH, your wife must have the patient of a saint. reading all of this made me glad that i don't know you, and i truly hope i never meet you

↑ 2 ↓

unluckyrabbitsfoot well SOMEONE doesn't have any sense of whimsy. skill issue

lollerskateaccident some people are gay steven

⌵ View more comments

[beevean]

I don’t understand the point of the change/mischaracterization of juste Belmont. How is this an ‘improvement’ from the game?

Because show peak and games poopoo. That's the whole logic.

It's not like Juste had a personality if you bothered to read the text, even in the limited dialogue that a GBA game could afford. It's not like you can see in the game how driven and committed he is, how prone to fist-shaking anger he is. It's not like a big deal is made of how much he cares about his friends, to the point that you save Maxim from Dracula's influence by wearing their frendship bracelets in honor of their bond. It's not like you can tell from the good ending that he has a worrying overprotective streak, that compels him to hide the truth of what happened to Lydie and prevent Maxim to confess his guilt, leaving a ton of unspoken resentment and lies for the sake of keeping a good façade. It's not like a major theme of Harmony of Dissonance is the legacy of fate, to the point that Juste's very theme is called Successor of Fate, to the point that it's even included in the silly collectibles:

nahhhh game is stupid because characters don't swear enough so we're gonna turn everyone into a mean asshole :))))))))) Juste can become Trevor 2.0 because those stupid Belmonts, they're here to be laughed at for how cringefail they are, who even cares about them when we have Drolta's and Alucard's tiddies to flash :^) he can play as Maria's babysitter who gives a fuck about one of the strongest Belmonts in the series nahhhhhh

Why yes, Juste Belmont, the man who went through two nightmarish castles for the sake of Lydie and Maxim, would totally give up on life so badly if they died that he'd become a complete deadbeat dad/grandpa, instead of wrapping his family in cotton to make sure nothing would ever happen to them. Sure. Totally a well-thought out decision and not just a way for Richter to be all "well shit I don't want to become a sad pathetic fuck like this guy", so that he could unlock his powers again by reminiscing about the same asshole who mocked him for his lack of magic and was at the time calling him "useless as fuck" for daring to have trauma. Legacy? In my Juste and Richter Belmont, the ones who respectively strained and crumbled like a sand castle under the weight of their destiny? Who cares, when we have an Annette to glaze!!!

Speaking of which, my man Maxim would not die to a random ass vampire. How dare you insult his speedrunning ninja powers, not even talking about his personality and arc and how he affected Juste as a friend and rival. Also lovely of y'all to take one of the least developed girls in the series, but who was at least alive and well in the canon ending, and therefore could be fleshed out a bit more (not that I have any hopes for these writers to see women as anything more than sassy girlfriends, but you know, an attempt)... and straight up kill her off to fridge another woman! Again! As if Julia Belmont and Annette's mom weren't enough! This show is called woke, can you fucking believe it?!

Have I told you that Harmony of Dissonance is my second favorite game after Curse of Darkness? Have I told you that being a fan of those games is nothing but perpetual relentless misery? save me. save me. save me. can't face this life alone.

[doublejango]

"Fair enough. I wouldn't call it nice if I were in your shoes either," Jesse agreed, a tired half-smile briefly warming his face. Fuck, he was tired. It was always like this, when something snapped him out of those long, dangerous spells he so easily settled into after talks with His Eminence. Suppressing a shiver at the thought, he started to say something else, but then realized Ricky was waiting for him to go so he could get dressed.

"Sorry. Bout the--well, all of it. And you'll get your phone back. Think it's the same kind I got," he said, taking it out to look at it. "I'll plug it into the charger tonight." Feeling older than ever, he pocketed it again, tried to smile, and shook his head. "Alright. See you in a while with dinner. Just... don't hurt yourself, alright? I know this room is--it is what it is. It's a damn prison cell. But you won't be in here forever. And I ain't gonna let anyone do you like he did Jason, alright? Not that you gotta believe me, but... that was... that shouldn't have happened."

Another tight smile, a tiny nod, and Jesse stepped out, closing the door. It locked automatically, audibly, and he could be heard walking away down the tiled hallway.

-

Yves appreciated how honest Hank always was with him. Honesty and vulnerability weren't habitual for the man, they didn't come naturally anymore, but Voight was always trying for him it seemed, doing his best to stay consciously on top of it all, to be his best self for his lover, and it warmed Yves's nervous heart in return...

But the reality of what may have happened to Jay turned his blood to ice. Eyes widening, Yves slowly stood up, setting the old case file aside.

"I can... let me go? I can go and look--fly," he clarified, "in a little form, just a little bat, in and out of buildings. Tell me where to go to find this burnt car and I will start from there?" It was like searching for a needle in a haystack, but Jay was Hank's person, and even Yves was coming to be deeply fond of him by now. Besides. He had been a captive himself before, and prayed every day for rescue, when it became clear that no matter what he did or how he fought, he couldn't save himself.

Yves would do anything to prevent someone he cared about from suffering that fate.

One thing Voight would have never expected is how kind he is to Matt and how Matt had called him for help. It isn't as if Voight hates the guy but it's clear that Matt hates him so he'd made no real attempt to be nice to the guy. More like tolerated him, for Jay's sake.

It's clear they both care about Jay and if Matt is this worried, he's not going to sit around and do nothing. He'll look into this a little himself, see if he can figure out where they took Jay. The sooner he gets eyes on his detective, the better.

With the question spoken, Hank looks over at Yves while putting his phone down on the desk. "I'm fine." Yves knows him better than this by now. A simple I'm fine' wouldn't do much at all. "I'm worried." He corrects himself. "Jay's been taken to another location, his car torched, and I have no goddamn clue where he is. It doesn't settle right." At least the kiss to his knuckles helps soothe Hank a little, at least.

Damn it, he knew they should have figured out a way to better track him, even if logically he knows that that'd probably be the worst idea for him. "I'm not sitting around on my ass for Halstead to contact me. I need to figure out where he is." He won't interfere but finding out where Jay is will make him feel a hell of a lot better.

The pictures and addresses are sent over and it confirms everything that's been told to him. He lifts his phone to show Yves, because the demon is right here anyway and he trusts him with his entire being.

What leaves a sinking feeling in Voight's gut is the clothes. It's destroyed but they're clearly Jay's which means they'd stripped him off his clothes and that sends a sense of dread over him, nearly overwhelming. "Those are his clothes." Jay was right. There's something more going on here.

-----

The ride there is uneasy. With his eyes closed, he has no idea where he's going but he does count the seconds. Every single second counted in his mind so that he knows the distance from point a, which he recognized, to point b. He may not be able to know the exact location but when he gets his phone back, he'll be able to contact Voight and tell him so that it'll narrow it down.

His phone is not his normal use phone. It's a different one, bought specifically for Ricky instead of Jay. His made up brother under the name 'Steven' has had a few brotherly texts back and forth between them, the last couple of texts are from Ricky asking where the hell his brother is after he'd been arrested.

The phone is locked with a face ID. Not because he has anything to hide, everything on that phone is purposeful, but because it'd be weird to have a phone not be locked like that.

The entire time there and into the compound, Jay keeps his eyes closed until he is specifically told he can open them. He'd counted each step, filing it away for later use.

When he opens his eyes, he instantly finds himself scoffing at the sight of the room. A room that isn't a room at all. More like a prison cell.

"What the hell, dude? This isn't a room - it's a damn prison." Jay has no choice though, he knows this, so with a few inaudible grumbles he moves forward into the room.

Yeah, he'll deal with Anderson alright. One way or another. That bastard is either getting out of here in a body bag or in handcuffs, Jay will take either at this point.

"I came here willingly and I'm getting treated like a prisoner? This is bullshit, man." Jay makes a show of releasing a sigh of defeat. "Whatever. Will you just make sure I get my phone back? Doesn't have to be today but I've got family I have to stay in contact with. My dad's sick, man. Like - real sick." Which, if they somehow get into his phone, the proof of a sick dad will be right there in the text messages.

Jay picks up the sweats with one hand, the other keeping the tarp in place with the other, shaking his head back and forth. "Nah, no allergies." He looks from the sweats and over to Jesse. He won't let go of it until he's left alone in here, he's been exposed enough already and something tells him that Jesse doesn't like the idea of making Jay strip in the first place.

"I'd like to say it's nice to meet you, Jesse, but it doesn't exactly feel nice right now."

[daisywords]

yikes yikes yikes

[david-watts]

god. maybe I do want to kill myself

[alleecatblues]

INFORMATION ABOUT QUEER/ADULT CONTENT BEING DELISTED

Hey, I'm sure you've heard by now that several online retailers have blanket delisted queer/adult content. Information seems sporadic, so I want to create a masterpost of what happened, why it matters, and what you can do about it.

WHAT HAPPENED

You've probably heard that Steam and Itch.io have removed all of their adult/queer content from listings. Itch has even gone so far as to prevent creators from being able to get their payouts.

This is not Steam/Itch's fault. Mastercard and Visa have pressured them to remove their adult content. Visa and Mastercard collectively hold over 90% of the market share in payment processing. Unfortunately, if they cut you off, you pretty much lose over 90% of your gross income, which is a death sentence for basically any company.

This is also not just localized to Steam and Itch. Several anime/manga retailers have also been affected, and more companies are likely to follow. I would not be surprised if Patreon cracked down again soon, so if you have adult/queer content on there, I suggest you prepare accordingly.

The reason for this happening is not a response to the current US political climate, or these payment processors randomly deciding to force their puritanical views. It is a concerted effort by a group called Collective Shout, an anti-porn group masquerading as a feminist liberation org. (Look up the meaning of the word SWERF.)

Collective Shout has, allegedly, sent over 1,000 letters to Visa and Mastercard urging them to take action against certain digital retailers selling adult content. Which, thankfully gives us an avenue to respond. More on that in the third section.

WHY THIS MATTERS

For some of you, I don't need to explain why you should care. For others, let me explain to you why this is a massive cocern for everyone, not just adult content creators.

First of all, we've already seen perfectly sfw queer content catching strays from this. You should already be well aware that adult content and queer content are often conflated, and the two are pretty inextricably linked to each other. If you try to ban one, you will, inevitably, end up banning the other as well.

Secondly, this sets a precedent for "concerned citizens" to be able to pressure payment processors into removing whatever content they don't like from the internet. Even if you don't partake in adult content. Even if you're not queer. Even if this doesn't currently affect you or anyone you know right now, it will. They managed to do this with only 1,000 letters. If they get away with it, it'll only be the beginning.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Remember when I said they sent 1,000 letters to make this happen? I bet we can get more.

I wrote a form letter for Mastercard and for Visa. Fill in your name. Print them. Sign them. Mail them out. The addresses for the respective companies are at the top. It shouldn't cost much. Even international postage shouldn't be prohibitively expensive for most people.

Some people are sharing phone numbers and emails. That's fine, but I prefer a physical footprint. You can't see 1,000 phone calls. 1,000 emails don't take up physical volume. If you get 1,000 letters about something, you can see how much people care about it. That means something in this day and age.

SHARE THIS POST. Reblog it. Reblog it multiple times a day. Send it to everyone you know. Seriously. Everyone. Even if they're not on Tumblr. Get the word out. The most successful advertising is word of mouth. So use your voice and make sure people hear it. We've beaten this shit in the past and we'll do it again, but we still need to put in the work.

[yes-no-maybe-soo]

Okay so listing the shit Sylus has gone through from memory...

He is heavily implied to have been rejected or outright abandoned by his parents as a very young dragon

He was always an outcast. Not human enough. Not dragon enough.

He cut off his scales and his horns because he hated them so much. But they grew back no matter what he did (again as a child)

The only kin he had got slaughtered right in front of him. Leaving him as the last dragon alive.

The same humans who slaughtered his kin but spared him because of his appearance turn on him the moment they see he is not in fact human and try to kill him. Again, this all happens when he is young.

He is then persecuted by humans until at some point, he ends up sealed in the Abyss, a greatsword lodged in his chest, preventing him from moving freely even down there. He stays like that for 1,600 years, surviving on Wanderer Protocores

He meets MC, who frees him. They fall in love, split half their souls with each other, and are happy. But due to the dragon's curse, Sylus is destined to kill her one day because she is his beloved... or she him, because she is his destined archnemesis.

MC is taken from him. Sylus goes berserk and loses his mind, his dragon instincts taking over fully.

He sacrifices himself for MC last second before he can kill her. Breaking their curse. Giving her a chance at a life free from being used and abused, and himself eternal rest

Only, MC has other plans and curses him to eternal life, essentially. Only she can kill him.

At some point in time, Sylus is reincarnated together with MC in the nebula. There they are both locked up in a gladiatorial cage as mere children, forced to kill for public entertainment. Think Hunger Games.

They successfully escape together, but at a later point in time they are separated by the Deepspace Tunnel or as Sylus says "You were quietly moved to another garden in a foreign land".

Sylus ends up in space-time prison. We don't know how long he spent there or what was done to him, but I doubt it was in any way pleasant or easy.

He escapes and space pirates through the cosmos for MC, who he can probably sense is still out there. He eventually pinpoints her location, but is unable to properly reunite with her... because she has regressed to a young child. He frees her, but walks off... effectively losing her a third time. He also learns of the horrific torture that Gaia put her through. He watches over her from a distance, but never approaches her, valuing her autonomy too much to insert himself. But he waits for her. Hopes – no, knows – that she will find her way to him, if only to seek answers about her past.

The next 12 years – as most of his existence – are spent almost entirely alone, with no one except Mephie for companionship. He has no friends. No family. No close associates. Things do improve with Luke and Kieran's arrival.

14 years after he left her, he meets MC again. But she doesn't remember him, and worse, actively hates him and blames him for the death of her family, of which he had no part.

He is told straight to his face that MC – his soulmate and prime reason for living – rejects him, fears him, and is disgusted by him. Which very visibly hurts him.

Sees the Deepspace Tunnel again and with it, memories of losing MC. Again, the pain on his face is very visible.

In Death and Rebirth, he gets a hurtful reminder that he still doesn't have MC's full trust. And – yet again – the distress is apparent. Because their trust in each other is everything to him.

So... in summary: Sylus has been used, abused, isolated, and locked away for most of his life. He is so unused to kindness and to being treated like a human being that he doesn't know how to react when people wish him happy birthday.

Any care he was shown for the first millennia of his life came exclusively from MC, the one person to actually see him as something other than a Monster. Said soulmate is taken from him twice, tortured and repeatedly killed, her memories of him erased. When they meet again in current timeline, she hates him, and it takes a long time for Sylus to undo the damage of their first meeting.

The man has not had it easy, nor has he gotten to feel much joy.

So it'd be understandable to become bitter. Cruel. Cold.

But he doesn't

Hell, he never even crashes out (as far as we know).

Instead he's compassionate, an animal and nature lover, attends and donates at charity events, takes in the two orphans that tried to kill him, is the King of Consent, very emotionally mature etc.

Sylus is so strong, man... he never lost himself. He never lost his innate kindness despite a life (or lives ig) where nearly none was ever shown him.

[infiniteglitterfall]

know someone who enjoys horror stories? share this one! it's true!

hahahahahahahahahaha aarrggghhhhhhhhhh 3,000,000 deaths due to COVID-19 last year. Globally. Three million. Case rates higher than 90% of the rest of the pandemic. The reason people are still worried about COVID is because it has a way of quietly fucking up your body. And the risk is cumulative.

I'm going to say that again: the risk is cumulative.

It's not just that a lot of people get bad long-term effects from it. One in seven or so? Enough that it's kind of the Russian Roulette of diseases. It's also that the more times you get it, the higher that risk becomes. Like if each time you survived Russian Roulette, the empty chamber was removed from the gun entirely. The worst part is that, psychologically, we have the absolute opposite reaction. If we survive something with no ill effects, we assume it's pretty safe. It is really, really hard to override that sense of, "Ok, well, I got it and now I probably have a lot of immunity and also it wasn't that bad." It is not a respiratory disease. Airborne, yes. Respiratory disease, no: not a cold, not a flu, not RSV.

Like measles (or maybe chickenpox?), it starts with respiratory symptoms. And then it moves to other parts of your body. It seems to target the lungs, the digestive system, the heart, and the brain the most.

It also hits the immune system really hard - a lot of people are suddenly more susceptible to completely unrelated viruses. People get brain fog, migraines, forget things they used to know.

(I really, really hate that it can cross the blood-brain barrier. NOTHING SHOULD EVER CROSS THE BLOOD-BRAIN BARRIER IT IS THERE FOR A REASON.) Anecdotal examples of this shit are horrifying. I've seen people talk about coworkers who've had COVID five or more times, and now their work... just often doesn't make sense? They send emails that say things like, "Sorry, I didn't mean Los Angeles, I meant Los Angeles."

Or they insist they've never heard of some project that they were actually in charge of a year or two before.

Or their work is just kind of falling apart, and they don't seem to be aware of it.

People talk about how they don't want to get the person in trouble, so their team just works around it. Or they describe neighbors and relatives who had COVID repeatedly, were nearly hospitalized, talked about how incredibly sick they felt at the time... and now swear they've only had it once and it wasn't bad, they barely even noticed it.

(As someone who lived with severe dissociation for most of my life, this is a genuinely terrifying idea to me. I've already spent my whole life being like, "but what if I told them that already? but what if I did do that? what if that did happen to me and I just don't remember?") One of its known effects in the brain is to increase impulsivity and risk-taking, which is real fucking convenient honestly. What a fantastic fucking mutation. So happy for it on that one. Yes, please make it seem less important to wear a mask and get vaccinated. I'm not screaming internally at all now.

I saw a tweet from someone last year whose family hadn't had COVID yet, who were still masking in public, including school.

She said that her son was no kind of an athlete. Solidly bottom middle of the pack in gym.

And suddenly, this year, he was absolutely blowing past all the other kids who had to run the mile. He wasn't running any faster. His times weren't fantastic or anything. It's just that the rest of the kids were worse than him now. For some reason. I think about that a lot. (Like my incredibly active six-year-old getting a cold, and suddenly developing post-viral asthma that looked like pneumonia.

He went back to school the day before yesterday, after being home for a month and using preventative inhalers for almost week.

He told me that it was GREAT - except that he couldn't run as much at recess, because he immediately got really tired. Like how I went outside with him to do some yard work and felt like my body couldn't figure out how to increase breathing and heart rate.

I wasn't physically out of breath, but I felt like I was out of breath. That COVID feeling people describe, of "I'm not getting enough air." Except that I didn't have that problem when I had COVID.) Some people don't observe any long (or medium) term side effects after they have it.

But researchers have found viral reservoirs of COVID-19 in everyone they've studied who had it.

It just seems to hang out, dormant, for... well, longer than we've had an opportunity to observe it, so far.

(I definitely watched that literal horror movie. I think that's an entire genre. The alien dormant under ice in the Arctic.)

(oh hey I don't like that either!!!!!!!!!) All of which is to explain why we should still care about avoiding it, and how it manages to still cause excess deaths. Measuring excess deaths has been a standard tool in public health for a long time.

We know how many people usually die from all different causes, every year. So we can tell if, for example, deaths from heart disease have gone way up in the past three years, and look for reasons. Those are excess deaths: deaths that, four years ago, would not have happened. During the pandemic, excess death rates have been a really important tool. For all sorts of reasons. Like, sometimes people die from COVID without ever getting tested, and the official cause is listed as something else because nobody knows they had COVID. But also, people are dying from cardiovascular illness much younger now.

People are having strokes and heart attacks younger, and more often, than they did before the pandemic started. COVID causes a lot of problems. And some of those problems kill people. And some of them make it easier for other things to kill us. Lung damage from COVID leading to lungs collapsing, or to pneumonia, or to a pulmonary embolism, for example. The Economist built a machine-learning model with a 95% confidence interval that gauges excess death statistics around the world, to tell them what the true toll of the ongoing COVID pandemic has been so far.

Total excess deaths globally in 2023: Three million.

3,000,000.

Official COVID-19 deaths globally so far: Seven million. 7,000,000. Total excess deaths during COVID so far: Thirty-five point two million. 35,200,000.

Five times as many.

That's bad. I don't like that at all. I'm glad last year was less than a tenth of that. I'm not particularly confident about that continuing, though, because last year we started a period of really high COVID transmission. Case rates higher than 90% of the rest of the pandemic. Here's their data, and charts you can play with, and links to detailed information on how they did all of this:

Here's a non-paywalled link to it:

https://archive.vn/2024.01.26-012536/https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/coronavirus-excess-deaths-estimates

Oh: here's a link to where you can buy comfy, effective N95 masks in all sizes:

Those ones are about a buck each after shipping - about $30 for a box of 30. They also have sample packs for a dollar, so you can try a couple of different sizes and styles.

You can wear an N95 mask for about 40 total hours before the effectiveness really drops, so that's like a dollar for a week of wear.

They're also family-owned and have cat-shaped masks and I really love them. These ones are cuter and in a much wider range of colors, prints, and styles, but they're also more expensive; they range from $1.80 to $3 for a mask. ($18-$30 for a box of ten.)

[apple-crunch]

what if... caleb got into an "accident"

warnings: none, just fluff .𖥔 ݁ ˖ : inspired by this :)

An emergency landing. Or at least that was what Caleb said to you over the phone.

You were confident in him, that's for sure. But sometimes you just can't shake the worry of something going wrong during a mission. So when you got a call from Caleb himself informing you of his emergency landing, your heart rate immediately picked up— mind racing to the possibilities.

Was he hurt? Where is he? What happened? Will he get home? Is he okay? Is it bad?

Caleb tried to calm you down, you wanted him to turn his camera on to see him but he insisted no due to confidentiality of the mission— when in reality, he just wanted to hide his bloody state from you to keep you from being hysterical.

Coincidentally, you were in the middle of watching a TV show when he called, it was on commercial now but when screen flashed breaking news reporting a crash site of one of the Farspace Fleets crafts holding the current colonel you immediately started crying and sobbing over the phone.

"YOU SAID IT WAS AN EMERGENCY LANDING! CALEB THAT'S CALLED A CRASH!" You sobbed at him, raising your voice so loud that you could barely hear what the TV was saying.

"Hey- look, it's not that bad I promise, just a cras-"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN JUST A CRASH!? CALEB GO HOME NOW. I DON'T WANT YOU THERE, PLEASE!" Your voice was cracking both from your crying and screaming but you didn't care, eyes drifting to the screen— you cried even harder seeing how bad the wreck was. "Pips-"

"NO. HOME. NOW."

» »

To say that the wait was torture would be an understatement. After your scream at him to go home, Caleb only sighed and whispered a small okay before ending the call— only for you to ring him again urging to stay on the phone in case anything happens.

Caleb smiled at himself seeing how worried you are. You really do care about him a lot, and today just magnified that. It was cute hearing your voice despite it cracking and raspy, however, it did break his heart just a little bit; hearing your sniffles while he drives and your ting voice asking him where he was.

The two of you barely talked during the drive, just quick questions and even quicker answers. You wanted to rest your voice and Caleb knew that, thus, he stayed relatively quiet. Just small hums to let you know he was still there.

He didn't had the time to make himself look presentable, just poorly wrapped a badge around his cut right arm to prevent infection and stop bleeding— other than that, he looked like a mess. Torn, bloody, dirty uniform and just an overall unkept apperance. Thank the heavens for his handsome face to save the look.

You were waiting at the very doorstep of his front door. Phone sat on the granite floor, red teary eyes, puffy face, and a very evident pout on your lips. So cute; Caleb thought. You weren't even sitting, you were standing while waiting for him. Under watchful eyes, Caleb got out of the car— a gasp left your mouth and you immediately ran to him.

You wanted to hug him but stopped just a foot away from him even though he already had his arms open. For the probably nth time today, you started crying again.

"Oh, pips.. It's okay, I'm okay." Caleb cooed, patting your head twice before pressing it to his chest to embrace you in a hug. Your hands immediately wrapped around his torso, nuzzling your face deeper into him as you cried. Looking up at him and cradling his face in your hands. "Don't you ever! Do that again!" You scold him, lines burrowing between your eyebrows.

Caleb chuckles, nodding his head and leaning in to kiss your forehead, then your nose, then your lips. He bends his body to math your height before saying "I promise, never again. Especially now that I know how sad my boss baby gets."

Your lips wobble as more tears build up in your eyes. Your hands explore his body, feeling every bit of dust, blood, and torn fabric on his uniform. His tough left hand, and then finally his right hand where a porrly wrapped gash wrapped around it. Eyes widening, you look at him and he cocks his head sideways at you.

"Y- you're hurt.. Caleb! Why didn't you tend to it! Do you want both your arms to be metal now or something!" You scold him once more, now glaring at him. "Awe, my pips is so worried about me!"

"Caleb!" You softly hit his chest.

"It's only a small cut squeak, I'll be fine."

"Don't care! Get inside, you're wounded and it needs to be healed." You tug on his metal arm as you drag him inside the house. Once in, you assist him in taking his coat and boots off before guiding him to the bathroom and getting the very used and handy first aid kit.

Caleb's already took of the second layer of his uniform leaving him only in a white long sleeve button up. Slowly, he unbottons it with his left hand as you carefully take of the gash on his right. You pout even more when you see how deep the cut was on his skin.

You begin to do your work in silence, focus completely on sanitizing and treating his wound. He watches in adoration as you move on him, long gone the brave tough colonel Caleb of the Farspace Fleet as a crippling fear builds within him. He can't lose you, he can't lose this.

"Be more careful nextime, please Caleb. I don't want to lose you anymore." You look at him directly in the eye after finishing your work. Caleb's eyes soften when you embrace him in a hug, resting your face on his exposed skin while he rests his head on top of yours.

You hear his heartbeat, pressing yourself even more. Never letting go of your touch on him.

While the two of you clean yourself in the bathtub, your touch on him lingers as you wash his hair, massaging his scalp in the process.

While he cooks for dinner in the kitchen, you cling on him like a koala, wrapping your legs around his waist while you piggy back him.

While you lay in bed telling each other recaps of what happened while each other was away as you always do, your hand lays on his chest feelings his heartbeat. Legs intertwined so as your arms, and ultimately— your soul.

An unspoken promise of forever.

[darkfaceuwu]

What kind of Ex-boyfriends are they?

Featuring: Phainon, Mydei, Anaxa, Aventurine, Sunday, Dr. Ratio, Boothill.

-how they feel, think, and try to remedy their mistakes.

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

Ex-boyfriend Phainon is the most cheesiest, the most whiniest guy you could find. He's overbearing in a good way. Even after a break-up, he instists to text you, to check upon you, and gives you hints to take him back. For example he texts you: "Hey, how're you doing. Today, I've been sparring with Mydei and heard he's going through break-up. CRAZY RIGHT? Like, I don't want to match with him in that single era. If someone could help me?👀 ". You replied to him: "Good luck with that Phainon 👍" He can only answer you back: Was it too soon to ask? 💔🥹 You replied to him: ???

Let's say he's a heartbroken zombie. He's whining to everyone of his crisis. For him, this is the end of the world. It's a pure cycle of the suffering he's going through, and right now, he hopes he could start from the beginning again. Start a new cycle where he would give you a world, his soul, his everything just to hold you in his arms again and happily gaze with you at the dawn of sunlight.

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

Ex-boyfriend Mydei is even quieter than before. He's more vulnerable to questions. He's never been the one to open up, but he's also a very honest person . Since break-up, he has many thoughts about what he could prevent from happening. Unfortunately for him, people notice this slight change in his behavior. Cough* Cough* Phainon is the one who delivers questions in the middle of sparring. "It's weird for you to be this sloppy. I mean, your girlfriend didn't come to cheer for you today. I totally understand how terrible it is . But maybe you should go to her? I mean, this is way too easy. I need to impress someone very important about my so-called victory, you know Mydei, who am I talking about, hmm?" He wiggles his eyebrows at him. Mydei pauses, looks at Phainon, and then he mumbles: "If I could go, I would be there already." Phainon looks at him, and slowly, his face morphs into a giant gasp . "No way , I'm so sorry for your loss, Mydeimos." Mydei straight up glares at him and utters in disgust : "No, you fool. They are alive." Phainon's eyes widen, and then he whips his phone out. Mydei's eye twitches, and he starts debating himself if he should knock him out or leave. He chose to leave. Normally, he would knock him out, but after break-up, he is weakened . That's what he thinks. After that, he has a resolve to amend his mistakes.

He really tried to be nonchalant about this break-up, respect your wishes, but he can't. As a Kremnons warrior, he can't show weakness. As a Kremnons warrior, he will fix it by cooking you Golden Honeycakes. After all, dedication has to go through the stomach and then energize the soul to be ready for the next battle. And he hopes to win this "battle" after all . If it doesn't go right, then he would be ready to finally leave you and leave everything behind. He would accept ascension to Nikkador and march to a never-ending battle against a black tide.

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

Ex-boyfriend Anaxa is bewildered. He can't believe this happened to him. He researched everything about relationships, and he failed one . He didn't pass. Well, he tries to solve this unique phenomenon. But he only thinks of his perspective. Anaxa has a hard time admitting he might be in the wrong. He's way too proud of that. So his solution is very simple. He's ready to debunk your arguments of his wrongdoings, a.k.a. gaslight you. The first thing what he has to do is to find you. He strolls around the marketplace of Okhema and looks among the stalls. He recognizes a Chrysos Heir among the people. A gloomy-looking Kremnon prince with a basket , comparing the size of an egg to one other. Strange thinks Anaxa, and then he sees a silouthe of you . His pace fastened. He caught up to you, and he breathed out: " I need to discuss some things with you." As you two leave a crowd , silence remains between you.

Anaxa confidently breaks a silence by calling out your name. Ready to throw his prepared arguments, but then he gazes at you . And the solution clicks in his head. "I would like to offer you an exchange of my feelings how I still feel about you, and i would like to make this equalent . I hope to hear from you the same share of your feelings. I fear that if yours will differentiate from mine, it is a failure of my equalent exchange, and I may never gaze at you with my one eye again. " He ends this sentence with a sad smile on his face.

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

Ex-boyfriend Aventurine is meddlesome. He only starts to meddle with you when he sees your daily life problems rise up . He has a phone with apps that track your activity and what you're doing and what you are looking for. And now he can see you're starving. Of course you are. Without him, it's hard to eat alone. He's not totally panicking that you're moving on and do your chores like any normal person do. You're browsing through the grocery shop app and searching for their weekly sale of products. Aventurine sees that, and he thinks now his chance to woo you back. As you scroll through an app, your phone rings a notification. Aventurine sent you $ +50,000 with a note "Don't starve yourself darling~" through his bank account. You swiftly go through contacts unblock him because, yes, he's been spamming you all the time . You send him back his money and write him one massage, ignoring his happy massages of you finally unblocking him. "Aventurine, your money does not flatter me any slightly. Don't send me any if you want to fix this . It won't be through money. " And after that, you block him again. Aventurine is stunned for a second, then rereads a massage and sighs . So there's a chance to fix it. He immediately cancels his plans to cheer his dear friend Ratio from heartbreak. This is way more important in his eyes. Now he needs to meet you, but how to notify you? Well, this physically hurts him, but send, and now he has to wait for your response.

$+0,01 from Aventurine in a note: " I would like to meet with you this evening, come to an IPC spaceship at this hour. Can't wait to see you, gemstone~." You, of course, debate yourself if you should go . But in the end you want to see him so you go there. Aventurine waits for you at the spaceship. When he finally sees you, he sighs a relief. Complimenting you like always, giving you favorite flowers and setting a dinner for you two only. You start to think maybe he ignored your massage, but then you gaze through a window, and your breath hitches. You can see a planet, Signonia IV. Aventurine stood up from a chair, and he started to compare you and his homeland . How important you are to him. He admits that you're the one gemstone that he won't let IPC to own.

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

Ex-boyfriend Sunday is tender in a way he speaks to you. He respects your sudden distance. He wishes for another chance to explain himself, but he won't push you. He starts to reminisce about you. About early memories of you being happy. Now, when you two meet each other in a parlor car of Astral Express, your eyes try to distract themselves from his presence before you. Your eyes land in an advertisement of an article :" Is planet Amphoreus destroyed of wrongdoings from heartbroken deity? By The production of The Herta.com ." Not only does this tears his soul to shreds, but it devastates him to his core to see you unhappy. In his dream, he wishes for pure land, happiness, and never-ending laughter, and it takes a shape of paradise . In this paradise, you are the centrum, a last shine after sunset, and a remaining calmness afterward. Without you, how can he build a paradise ? A paradise he is longing for the most. As days passes the silence remains, and only occasional greetings and farewells are bid to each other.

He needs to step up for his dream to become true even though he might never reach it. He utters your name dreamily and looks at you like you descended from heaven. He starts to confess his feelings again . What you really mean to him . And he makes a vow to you. "Oh, tripple-faced soul , if I break your trust again, please sear my tongue and palms with hot iron so that I will not able to fabricate false vows and I shall be able to let you go from my heart cage to your new freedom" He ends the prayer and he looks at you , uncovering his soul to you : "If you could take me back I would be the happiest man alive but if it's not what you wish . I will let go of you dove . In our past sweet dreams, only I will remain. " He ends this with closed eyes and defeated smile.

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

Ex-boyfriend Ratio is the most infuriating person ever. This break-up has hurt his ego. Not only did you break up, but you talked back to him with such weak arguments and refused to listen to him. Him? The Veritas Ratio? How foolish. He can only seeathe his teeth at everyone and furrows his eyebrows deeper. Of course, a nuisance like Aventurine claims to be the one to help his dearest friend in need and then cancels him out of nowhere. Proclaiming he 've got a very important lady to manage. Ratio can only tsk at him. If you pass nearby, he stops everything that he's doing and marches towards you. Immediately accuse you of your mistakes in the intelligence guild , making drama out of nowhere so he could have recognition from you. Days go by, and your banter with him never ceases. Everything that you do . He has to have a say in it. It's so frustrating for you, honestly. It's up to you now when you seclude him from the halls. You ask him simple question : " What do you want from me ?" And this startles him.

He claims himself to be self knowing. But he doesn't have an answer suitable for the truth. You are someone who was able to stir so much emotion out of him in these past few days. He knows he misses you . You were his muse. Someone he could sculpt about in his imagination. And now he lost you. As you look at him expectingly. His gaze lowers down, and he can give only a sigh of exhaustion. " The utter truth of my past behavior is of my yearning of you. I do need you. And I admit that for you, I fallen to a bliss of ignorance. Discarded my true motive to talk to you and only angered you further. As far as this makes me an overheels idiot for you. " He gives you a frustrated look , expecting to be humiliated by you. After your stunned silence, he can only wait with a slight glimmer of a hope for your answer of truth.

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

Ex-boyfriend Boothill after break-up is out of it. He's slowed down . He can only sit at the bar and sigh to himself. What now? How do I apologize thoughtfully? He always jumps recklessly into an action with his gun. As a cowboy, it's only his nature. But now he can only sulk. He slowly stood up and dragged his feet out of the bar. Maybe he should visit next town . After all, no one is here for him anymore. Also, no one to assassinate from IPC. As he drags himself further into an alley, he notices a small crowd surrounding the area. Some of the bloodhounds sniff around that area. He should leave and not alert them. As he turns around, someone briefly passes him, humming cheerful tone and running his hand through his blonde hair multiple times. Of course, Boothill recognizes him. It's an IPC's stoneheart, Aventurine. And he's headed into a space docks. Boothill slowly chuckles, reaching for his gun to give him a proper hello from him. When he starts to walk behind him, he hears a ruckus going from the crowd behind him, a certain someone voice. And Fudge him , it's your voice, and you sound troubled! No good. He immediately spins around with newfound energy towards you. Uttering words to a blonde man behind him: "You're fudging excuse of a lucky twink man." Aventurine stops in his tracks, blinking confused. Faraway from him, Boothill leaps into air and starts blasting his gun around the crowd, no question asked. As he startles your "agressors" in a process, he destroys some of the Penacony festival stalls. A stall with flowers were hit, and from the impact, some of them flew far away, hitting certain blondie.

You stumble back from shock. Almost hitting a ground. Boothill immediately swoops you into his arms, looks down at you lovingly with a rose in his mouth. Why does he have a rose ? Well, he tried to swallow a bullet for a round two, but somehow, a rose from flower shop came in. In the moment, destroyed fireworks started to explode into a red explosions. It looks like you're in a romantic cutscene, lights shining around this town, and in the middle, it's just you two. This scene doesn't last long enough as a crowd starts to unite. Boothill chooses to retreat with you in his arms. Everything happens so fast . Now you find yourself at the top of the building with Boothill. You two stare at each other. His hold doesn't waver, but his eyes do . He gives you an apology. " I'm sorry we have to find each other this close again, partner, but the truth is this galaxy ranger cowboy misses you fudging much. And I would be forked if I wouldn't ask you for another chance. Would you climb in the saddle and take off for a ride with me for the rest of our lives?". This is his way of proposing and offering his remaining human heart.

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

The End~

[star-anise]

I always feel kind of uneasy when people who are apologizing say, "I don't even know who the person who did that was. They feel like a totally different person from who I really am."

Sweetie, I'm sorry, but you have to get to know that person. If this person you apparently detest on every level just occasionally hijacks your body and does something awful, your understanding of how and when and why that happens is essential to your ability to promise anyone else that they won't be on the receiving end of that.

It might sound a little backward, that the key to avoiding destructive behaviour is not forcibly repressing that detestable energy inside yourself. You can deny those feelings and force them into exile, but they're going to come back and take over sometime in the future when your defences are down.

If self-loathing actually got shit done, I'd still be in favour of it. Unfortunately, it's only good at satisfying emotions in the short run, so you can really feel like you're putting in serious effort. It's not a winning strategy if you want to genuinely change your behaviour or thought patterns or emotional responses.

Self-reflection is not supposed to be a lesson in flagellating yourself. It is more brutal and gentler, because it rakes over the twisted shards of what happened in your mind with the dispassion of an engineer assessing a bridge collapse and says, "What really happened here? How can we prevent it from happening again in the future?"

It's possible to get to know your shadow, but not be consumed by it. You could eventually feel able to turn over the rocks in your brain, and catalogue and understand all the things squirming beneath. The shame won't kill you.

And being able to understand your triggers and tells, spotting your brain taking off before it's completely left atmosphere, is an incredibly important part of that.

[nebulousmoon3990]

GHOSTS OF THE PAST (Batfam x neglected hero reader)

III𓂃› SPIDER

Warning: violence, swearing, sensitive topics, bad things, spelling mistakes (English is not my first language) and the reader has black hair and blue eyes (sorry), female reader!, I accept criticism, but please don't be rude, everything is fictional!

Hey guys! I'm really sorry it took me so long to post (I was sorting out some things in my life). well, enjoy the chapter!♡

Clark really didn't know what he was getting himself into.

He had expected to come to New York to do a simple interview for the Daily Planet, write the report and spreadsheet right here while eating at a café and if possible bring back some souvenirs for Lois and Jon.

Fighting a supervillain was definitely not in his plans.

It had happened out of nowhere, while he was waiting for the meeting with the businessman, the urgent news on television warning about a monster attacking the city made him leave urgently. He could solve this and finish it in time.

He just didn't know that he wouldn't need to solve it.

While flying, now as Superman, he easily found the villain, it wasn't very difficult to see him in fact. He was the size of a building of at least nine or ten stories, his skin was rocky and hard, made purely of stone. Clark was about to attack the giant when he heard a scream.

Looking through the villain a helicopter was in the way, the pilot tried to maneuver away but they would be enveloped in the confusion. Using his speed, Clark tried to get closer to the helicopter, however it was not enough since it was still far away.

The rocky hand would catch the vehicle before him.

Well, he is not alone.

Before the walking rock caught the propeller and possibly destroyed the vehicle something got attached to the hand and pulled it up, bringing the villain's focus to another place, his distraction was enough for him to catch the helicopter. He noticed as he moved away that what had stopped the giant was... a web? He followed with his gaze the path of the white rope and saw a figure pass quickly on it.

What?

Leaving the helicopter on top of a landing area of ​​a nearby building, he approached the frightened journalists. "Are you hurt?"

The one who answered was the cameraman, who was still breathing heavily, "N-no, Mr. Superman. We're fine-"

"IT'S HER! TYLER FILM, FILM!" The woman's excitement made the man quickly grab his camera. She looked at him and gave a shy smile while holding the microphone, perhaps a little embarrassed by her euphoria. "Oh, Superman, thank you very much. It's just that we never get clear images of her, so you can understand our excitement."

She? She who?

No one needed to answer his question because when he looked at the monster he saw the "she".

A super heroine

Her figure swayed between the giant and the buildings. She wore a suit that covered her entire body, leaving no room to see any of her features. All Clark could see was that she was short, perhaps indicating that she was a teenager.

The monster tried to grab her with its free hand, moving much faster than it had when it was with the helicopter. She, however, brought her webbed wrist towards the giant's face, causing him punched his own face. Swinging away from him, she taunted, her voice echoing off the buildings. "Hey big guy, is that all you know how to do? For someone so tough, you're softer than jelly!"

Hit a nerve, for sure.

"Who is she?" He asked the man who was filming the action with the reporter, even in a situation like that the cameraman looked at the heroine with a glint in his eye, a glint that intrigued Clark.

"Her? She's Spider-Woman."

Spider Woman, he had never heard of this superheroine, but that didn't matter now.The "Spider Woman" swung again on her webs at the stone man's aggression towards her. Superman moved away from the reporters and headed towards the brute. He was quick to bump his fist with the giant's, preventing him from punching a building. The action made the heroine finally notice the Kryptonian. She widened the white eyes of the mask when she saw him flying. "Superman?"

She hung from a building, climbing the glass to get closer to him, she looked at the monster and then at him, her head spinning until she realized something, knowing that he would help her she addressed him. "Hey, Superman. Can you immobilize him for me for at least a few seconds?"

The Kryptonian looked at her, hesitating a little, but then a smile appeared on his lips "Leave it to me."

They moved together at that moment. Clark used his freezing breath on the stone legs, freezing them and immobilizing him to the ground. With the giant still, the spider woman climbed on his back and reached his neck. While the monster struggled, he saw her take a syringe and apply it to the rocky neck. With the liquid entering the monster's veins, he began to scream. Clark was about to intervene when the thunderous scream stopped.

Slowly, pieces of stone fell from the giant, and when they found their end on the ground, they turned into sand, being carried away by the wind. Little by little, the monster began to disintegrate until there was nothing left of him, just a cloud of dust in the place. Approaching to see the damage, he went down and came across the individuals.

The villain, once gigantic and grotesque, was now a thin and small man, passed out in the heroine's arms, while his breathing stabilized, Clark for the first time observed Spider-Woman up close, without being in the heat of battle.

The costume she wore was outlined in black and golden, the fabric was a mix of a dull color and another bright color, the symbol of a spider displayed proudly on her chest, the hood covered the mask on her face, making it difficult to see the white eyes of the mask. What intrigued him most was that it was not common fabric, since when he tried to use his x-ray vision he could not see Spider-Woman's identity.

She certainly knew how to hide her identity.

Just like someone he knew.

"Looking at he now, he doesn't look like a villain."

"And he isn't, they forced him, he's just an ordinary citizen." The dust slowly cleared, now revealing the street they were on. "Honestly, it's a surprise to see you here, shouldn't you be in Metropolis?"

Clark started to sweat a little. True, he should be in Metropolis, not New York, but he couldn't just watch everything on TV, there was a villain attacking the city! And he didn't know New York had a heroine to protect them! How careless of him. "Yeah, actually, I was..."

"was?"

"I-I flew past here! That's it." Spider-woman looked at him before starting to laugh, well at least he tried to hide it, in fact the excuse had been pretty bad.

"Okay, I'll take this as truth, you must have your reasons, don't you, Mr. Clark?"

The aforementioned froze, looking at the spider, who stood up carrying the injured man. The sounds of sirens were heard in the distance, indicating that the police were coming. "What?"

This time, it was the spider woman who froze, realizing her carelessness too late. She looked at him, and even with the mask on her face, he could have sworn a bead of sweat was on his forehead. "Ah, I and my big mouth."

"Do you know my identity? How did you-"

"L-look, I swear it wasn't intentional, seriously! I have... my reasons to know, but I promise! I didn't tell anyone and I won't tell anyone." Superman just looked at her in astonishment, it wasn't intentional? How did she find out then? While the police and ambulance finally arrived, the woman was quick to hand the man over to the police and briefly explained everything, she distanced herself from the police, ready to leave as quickly as possible when he approached her.

"Who are you? Like, really?" She looked at him, clearly anxious to get out of there. "That's... a secret, but like I said, I won't tell anyone, don't worry."

She pulled away from him again, releasing a web from her wrist, already trapping her in a building to resume her run. But before that, she turned to Clark, the tone of her words showing no lies, only truths. "After all..."

"If I wanted to do this, I would have done it nine months ago."

And with that she was gone.

Again, Clark didn't know what he was doing.

It had been a few days since his encounter with Spider-Woman, the revelation that she knew his identity disturbed him, but that wasn't what was going through Clark's head now.

That was who she was.

That woman (or teenager?, Clark doesn't know) had been saving New York for at least a year and absolutely no one in the league knew, she was literally under their noses the whole time and no one knew! But while they didn't know anything, but New York knew, you weren't liked by everyone but most definitely liked you, you gave those people security every day and they trusted you.

You were a real mystery.

In addition, there was the identity issue. Clark wasn't rich, so he didn't have spectacular security to hide his identity, but he always took precautions. You, however, found out so easily. Clark knew that your "it wasn't intentional" statement might be wrong, but whether it was intentional or not, you still did it.

Clark knew that you wouldn't reveal your identity to the world. Your statement made that very clear, but even so, his head itched and itched to meet you.

Maybe he was being hasty, but you were a great heroine, there was no denying that. You fought well, you were smart, and you had experience. You could be a good ally. Besides, Clark doesn't know if you're an adult, so it would be a good way to keep you under supervision.

That's why he's heading back to New York now.

The sun had already set, giving him a view of the beautiful night that had fallen while he was flying, but at that moment Clark was trying to find you.

He didn't know where you could be, in fact he didn't know what to do when he found you, he didn't even know what sparked his interest, he simply... felt. Something about how you were, the mystery surrounding you intrigued him, and Clark simply followed that instinct.

His thoughts were interrupted when his super hearing picked up a sound, of what sounded like running, it could have been anything but his instincts told him to follow the sound, to find the source.

He did.

And thank goodness he did, because he found you.

You were jumping over the buildings, like he had seen you do before, and it was only when you stopped that he could approach you. You were on the edge of the building, looking down at the floors. Clark intended to approach you, but it seemed like you had other plans.

"I thought you had already left." Your voice was neutral, showing no irritation or pleading, it was as white as a sheet, which made him stop, a little surprised that you had discovered him. "I did."

You turned to him, the eyes of the mask you were wearing showing him your confusion, looking him up and down, your reasoning led you to realize why he was here. "You- wait, are you following me?!"

"Following is a very strong word-"

"But you just admitted that you went to the metropolis and came to New York again!" Your arms gestured so quickly thanks to your nervousness that when you realized it you put one of them on your waist and the other you ran your hand over your face.

Clark couldn't help but find this cute.

"Look if this is because of the identity-"

"More or less, but that's not all." Clark's mouth turned into a gentle smile, your brain thinking about the possibilities again, all while you looked at him.

Silence reigned between the two, neither of them wanting to comment before the other, but it seems that Spider-Woman didn't have much time because a sound came from her gauntlet, she quickly accessed it and Clark saw that the "bracelet" was a type of miniature screen attached to the fabric of the suit, you looked at the messages before turning to Clark.

"I'm sorry but I have to go." You looked at the city below, looking at the lights that illuminated the place. Clark was about to speak when you cut him off before. "No offense Superman, but I think it's better if you go back to Metropolis, I don't have time to talk."

You spread your arms wide as you leaned towards the edge of the building, your eyes narrowed affectionately, which contradicted your voice full of irony. "Then this is our last meeting, thank you~"

And then you threw yourself.

Clark flew to the edge, ready to catch up with you, only to be faced with the emptiness of the city, you disappeared before their eyes, like a ghost.

"Then this is our last meeting."

No, it wouldn't be.

And it wasn't.

For the past four months, Clark has been bothering you, appearing out of nowhere, scaring you, helping you, making you more irritated by his constant appearances, making you more dynamic, more ironic, but happy.

It was a confusion of emotions, to tell the truth.

You expected that after a while he would stop doing this, after all he had things to take care of, for example: a city called Metropolis.

But Clark apparently didn't agree with that, because at least once every two weeks he would go to New York just to talk. The weirdest thing is that he started talking about his life to you as if he had known you for years! He talked about how he loved Lois, his relationship with John and Conner, GOD! He even talked about the Daily Planet!

Dude, he didn't even know who you were and he was just talking about his life to you?

You, however, always listened to him, you didn't tell him anything about your life but you didn't stop listening to him either.

Honestly, if you wanted to, you could very well mess with his life.

Good thing you're the heroine here.

As you jumped between buildings, your danger sensor beeped, warning you of something approaching. Knowing who it could be, you went down to the terrace of a building. Your suspicions were confirmed when you felt a gust of air from above. Turning around, you came face to face with the hero who had been on your tail for the last few months: Superman.

Clark had a gentle smile on his face, the smile of a hero, something that conveyed confidence and comfort. And it really did.

"Hello, Mr. Super, you look as happy as ever."

"Yeah, you look as relaxed as ever." He landed in front of you as you leaned against the building's railing, your elbows keeping your body steady as you assumed a carefree posture. Clark glanced at the buildings behind you nervously, uneasy about something. "I hope you don't mind, but we have company today."

You arched an eyebrow in doubt as your danger sensor went off like crazy, you had a few seconds before you turned around and launched a web at the person. You expected to find a criminal or even a super villain, but you were faced with the sunglasses of a teenager in a costume similar to Superman. "Yeah, she's really fast like you said."

What?

Before you could react, a much smaller figure appeared in front of you, just like the teenager (the difference was that he was a child and didn't wear glasses) he also looked a lot like Clark, he floated in front of you, bright and excited eyes directed at you. "Wow! You're so much cooler in person!"

A drop appeared on your head, turning to the man of steel you muttered to him. "Who are-"

"John and Conner." He chuckled softly, seeing your eyes narrow in irritation. "John really wanted to meet you and Conner ended up joining too."

"Oh." You pulled away from John a little as sarcasm flooded your lips. "That's great!"

Conner chuckled softly as you released him from your web, he approached you as he bent down a little to speak to you, since he was taller. "I thought you'd be happy to see us, it's not every day three Kryptonians come to New York to help with crimes." His voice held an undeniable teasing, the low and deep tone of his voice having the words dragged in his speech, it seemed almost sensual.

You stopped as you watched the other two, John and Clark froze, their gazes fixed on Conner, who you had confirmed was trying to subtly court you.

But you're not the shy girl here.

You approached him, close enough to be face to face, your breath could be felt on his mask. Conner, surprised by your bold move, leaned back, his cheeks flushed with your approach. "Well, New York is already protected by its heroine every day, so I don't need help." The smile on your face grew when Conner turned redder at the sound of your voice.

You quickly moved away from him and hung on the ledge, you turned to him, your figure shining with the lights in the city. "Then watch me do my job, mini super."

You fell from the building, the wind shaking your hood as you fell. Before hitting the ground, you threw a web up and climbed up again, hanging on one at a time. As your figure moved away, Conner and John looked at you. "Damn."

"You better come, or we'll end up losing her."

The night would be very long.

"OH GOSH, I'm so tired!" You yawned as you hung on the webs, it was almost four in the morning and you decided to go home. The supers had already left, you believe they were tired too (Especially Conner, where you and he played flirting all night).

You stopped on the terrace while looking around, seeing if someone or something had followed you, seeing no threat you hung on your web and slowly fell to your apartment, you opened the balcony door and as soon as you entered you were greeted by a satisfied meow.

Looking at the sofa in the living room, you saw Mooly lying on the cushion, the little black kitten moving and going to your ankle, cunning for affection. You laughed softly and picked her up gently, while placing her in your arms. "Hey, haven't you gone to sleep yet?"

As you petted the little one, footsteps were heard throughout the house, when you looked up you came across a large white vinyl robot, its form being embraced by its shadows, its round eyes shining in the dark space.

You looked at it and it did the same, the atmosphere apparently cold and tense to those looking from the outside, but completely the opposite for those who live in this house. The robot bowed respectfully, its voice, calm and tobotic, showed deep down a contained joy, reserved only for those close to it.

"It's so good to see you home." He stood up from his position, round eyes blinking slightly in the darkness of the apartment.

"Master (Name)."

You smiled as you set Mooly down on the couch again, you raised your hand to his neck and squeezed it, causing his mask to retract, revealing his identity. His face, the face of someone forgotten is a frequent presence on the walls here.

(Name) Wayne, the Spider-Woman, the missing daughter, the useless Wayne. His face was older than before, aged like red wine, clearly showing that you took after your father, since your face was just like his. Beautiful and exquisite, cold and deadly.

"It's good to be home Mark, where's Alex?" You asked as you squeezed your shoulder, which was a bit sore from today's patrol.

"Mrs. Alex is already asleep, she said she couldn't stand listening to you flirting with Superboy anymore."This made you laugh out loud, you could imagine Alex covering his ears so he wouldn't hear the two of you. You pressed the bracelet on your wrist and in a flash your suit retracted into the bracelet, showing your figure that had a loose blouse and pants. You stretched, heading towards the bathroom.

"Well, I guess I better go too, tomorrow I have a college project and Mrs. Vivian wants me early at the coffee shop" before you could get there Mark called you, his voice echoing through the house. "You got a message from Master Billy."

You stopped and looked at Mark, the notification displayed on his cute belly from an ologram. "Did he send it at this time?" The robot shook his head and handed the phone to you.

Opening your messages you went straight to Billy's contact, concern starting to creep in on you, but then again, you should know how Billy is.

Because when you saw the message you felt your stomach churn.

Billy Batson was eating the most beautiful and delicious candy you had ever seen in your entire life, and he sent it to you even though he knew about your addiction to sweets.

That little shit-

You quickly typed furiously on the cell phone keyboard, not caring that it was late, just wanting to curse Batson for making you feel hungry when you planned on not having dinner.

'Fuck, I hate you Batson ಥ_ಥ'

His answer didn't take more than a few seconds to come, his response irritating you even more.

'HEY, you finally answered me, I was already worried. Besides, I know you love me 𖹭𖹭𖹭(∪ ◡ ∪)'

'I promise I'll buy one for you, good night little spider ツ'

'...good night Billy.'

You wanted to cry, that's it.

Especially because you were hungry now.

Knowing your fate, you threw the cellphone on the couch and turned on the kitchen light, you heard Mooly and Mark's footsteps following you.

"I think there are still ingredients for a mug cake, right?" eating now wouldn't hurt.

"Bruce? BRUCE!" The aforementioned looked at the entrance of the batcave where Tim and Jason had rushed in. The two looked like they had seen a ghost, sweaty and pale, still in their suits. "Tim, what is it?"

"You- You need to see this!" He sighed heavily as he threw himself into the chair at the control panel, his fingers typing faster than he had seen them on missions. Bruce looked at Jason, who was standing next to him, who had a burning look on his face, hope hidden behind his eyes.

What's going on?

Bruce didn't need to ask, because Tim began to explain to him. "Since the accident with... (Name), I've never found any clues..." Bruce shuddered at the sound of your name, they didn't talk about that subject.

Even after three years it still hurt.

"But that was because I wasn't looking in the right place!" The teenager put up the pictures of the bus that had been carrying you that day, only the wreckage that was left was in the picture. "But now-now I know where to look."

"Last year, Star City had several people kidnapped suddenly, just like (Name) no one found any clues about the case, but Jason and Roy investigated thoroughly and managed to find a kind of underground dungeon where the kidnapped people would be."

Now on the computer was the picture of the bus and of a kind of what Bruce would call a mental hospital. The place was so rotten and filthy that Bruce wondered if anyone lived there. "Apparently there's nothing, but if you look behind each of the huge graffiti on the wall..."

Tim, using the program, removed the graffiti, which gave Bruce a view of the white walls, but in the middle of them, pieces of something nonsensical resided there. "... and put them together."

The movement in Tim's hands moved the images on the wall, distorting and shaping them until one completed the other, making the nonsensical make sense.

"A symbol."

The symbol of a womb wrapped around a two-headed serpent.

"Do you know where else this symbol is?" Tim again returned to the image of the bus wreckage, he shaped the image and put together pieces of the walls that resulted in the same symbol, but with small parts missing. "So you mean-"

"That the same people who kidnapped the people in Star City were the ones who kidnapped (Name)." Jason answered for the two, his tone as dejected as Bruce's.

He can't blame him, he's in a similar state.

"The problem is that I can't find out what it means, I've tried on the Internet, in history books, even on Wikipedia! But I haven't found anything."

The crushing silence suffocated those present, leaving invisible marks on their being. "It has to have a meaning, anything- okay, what does it mean to a womb?!"

"Jason, this is stupid-"

"No, but we have to try! Shit, you only looked in science books or-or whatever, but have you tried to look for anything related to mythology?" Tim thought for a moment, but shook his head negatively.

"The womb refers to the woman, the mother. Now, what does a two-headed snake refer to?" Bruce asked no one in particular, his thoughts searching for the knowledge he had about it.

"Would it be a mother snake? That's nonsense."

Jason thought for a moment and realized something. "Technically, it's not." The red hood searched the control panel while talking to Robin and Batman.

"In Greek mythology, there was a creature that was half snake and half woman." The mythological image appeared next to the symbol. The grotesque figure of the creature somehow referred to the symbol.

"She was known as the mother of monsters."

"Echidna."

HI GUYS, this chapter was a lot of work, I had a lot of blockages but I managed to do it.

Now I have a question to ask: Is Conner treated as Clark's son or brother?

You already know that I haven't read the comics, I've watched Young Justice (at least there it gave the impression that Conner would be treated as Clark's son) but on Wikipedia it says that Conner is treated as John's uncle, please answer me 😭.

I'm also doing a reader drawing (NON-CANONIC), I think I'll do headcanons too. I'll possibly leave a link below.

Ok, let's go to the Tag list \(•◡•)/:

@daiyanomochi - @amber-content - @wizzerreblogs - @foggyv-oid - @kore-of-the-underworld - @theunknowntravel3r - @space1crow - @shortnsweetsposts - @popursocks - @sugasweettea - @salfishers - @itachisank - @jsprien213 - @infirebaby - @yhin-gg -@h-ib @bunbunboysworld - @h-ib - @sheep-from-rad - @tatsuri-zomushiki - @the-holy-pigeon - @geminis93 - @horror-lover-69 - @mybones537 - @eyeless-kun - @timotheechalametswifeys - @justabreadslice - @nymphzy0 - @1-800-g00ber - @pix-stuff - @jsprien213

sorry for any mistakes.

Bye 𖹭

[iamthatonefangirl]

tension - nsfw bucky barnes

word count: 1.8k based on this ask. disclaimer: rough sex. fully consensual by all parties. a/n: I love u all sm

~~~

“Bucky, goddamnit!" you yell, "you know better by now! you can’t be putting yourself in danger like that!”

you’ve only just retreated to your private quarters, your anger finally boiling over in response to his reckless actions on the field.

“you’re not invincible, you hear me?” you continue to yell at him when he doesn’t say anything, too focused on yanking at his bootstraps, not bothering to respond. 

“so, what? you’re just going to ignore me? real mature,” you continue, crossing your arms over your chest as you stand there in wait. after a moment, before you can speak up again, he finally kicks off his boots and stands to face you.

“everything we do out there is dangerous! I know you’re not so naive that you don't know that,” he tries to argue with you. he’s not quite yelling, not yet. not like you are.

“there is a difference between putting ourselves in danger for the greater good and deliberately being reckless in the process!” you reason. does he seriously not get it? does he not understand that you’re worried about him, concerned for his safety?

“you don’t like the way I do things, fine. you don’t have to. but I am still your boss–”

“oh, fuck that!” you interrupt him. “don’t pull the ‘boss’ card on me. we are partners first and foremost. don’t pull that shit with me.”

he sighs in frustration. “fine. yes, fine, you’re right. but–”

you proceed to interrupt him again, still upset. angry. because you love him, you need him to be careful, to realize that it’s not just him anymore. 

“yes! I am right! but you’re not listening to me!” you yell out in your frustration. you don’t know what to say, how to get your point across with your mind being dragged in so many different directions.

“I am trying to listen, but–”

“no! you’re not, Bucky!” 

he says your name once, twice, a few more times as you continue yelling at him about how he isn't listening, he never listens–

suddenly, all the air is pushed from your lungs, your back being shoved up against the wall. 

“I am listening,” he grits in your ear. “now it’s time you listen to me.”

only then do you realize the position you’re in. 

his vibranium arm is pressing against your chest, exerting just enough strength to hold you in place against the wall. he’s breathing heavily, eyes staring you down, glaring daggers through you. 

he’s pissed, but he’s waiting. he’s looking back and forth between your eyes.

waiting.

you barely give him a nod before he’s grabbing your hips tightly, ripping you away from the wall and dragging you to the floor underneath him. he moves so quickly, you’re hardly even aware of the change as it’s happening. 

“you’re gonna be good and keep your mouth shut while I fuck you, you hear me?” he says, glaring down into your eyes. he doesn’t move a muscle, his weight on top of you preventing you from going anywhere. he’s straddling you, hands gripping you with a strength that reminds you you’re not going anywhere.

there’s nothing behind his eyes. they’ve gone cold, grey, lifeless…

it almost reminds you of him.

your whole body shivers. 

and then he’s moving again with fervor, reaching for the zippers of your suit and tugging at them to expose you to him as quickly as possible. 

“fuck, it's about time you listened,” he grits, all while tugging the fabric out of the way, ridding you of your suit as fast as possible. he never once attempts to remove his own gear.

when you make to reach a hand for the hem of his jacket, hoping to get your hands on him, too, a metal hand reaches out and stops you in your tracks. he holds your wrist so tightly, you can't move.

“did I say you could do that?” he hisses, stopping all of his motions and glaring you down. you’re stunned, once again frozen from the weight of his gaze staring deep into your eyes. 

“no,” you whisper, forcing yourself to respond in your trepidation. he lets go of your hand with a careless flick of his wrist. 

something about the demandingness of his tone, the forcefulness of his actions makes you crave it, need him to take you, use you–

except the second you open your mouth to say something, you remember what he told you: keep your mouth shut.

you could speak up, piss him off even more, convince him to be as rough with you as possible and relish every second of it. 

or you can keep quiet and maybe he won’t spend hours tormenting you before letting you come. 

you shut your mouth in the hopes of the latter. 

he’s gripping tightly at your flesh, now bared to him in nothing but your undergarments, his hold on you never once letting you squirm away from the cold floor beneath you. his fingers dig into your skin as he brings his mouth to your chest, nipping over your collarbone as he goes. 

“so goddamn pretty, and yet you’ve still got that mouth on you,” he comments between soft bites at your skin. “thought I’d fixed that by now.” 

something about those words makes you want to beg, plead with him to rail you into oblivion until you can’t speak a single word. you try like hell to stay quiet, but you can’t help the soft whimper that arises from the back of your throat. 

“oh, you like that, huh? were you trying to rile me up just so I’d put you in your place?” he asks, and you have to bite down on your lip to keep yourself from moaning out. 

“yeah. you're so fucking eager for it, I bet you were,” he continues. at that moment, he yanks the cup of your bra out of place, surging down to wrap his lips around your nipple.

he’s trying to force you to respond, to break his rule, you determine, when he bites down just hard enough to make you gasp out in shock. he wants you to break, wants you to give him all the more reason to be rough with you. 

you’re almost inclined to give in. 

you let out another tentative moan, louder this time, just to see what he’ll do. 

he responds with a sharp slap to your outer thigh, making you gasp at the sting.

“that’s enough of that,” he mumbles, pulling his mouth away from you to watch as he rips your underwear clean off your body. he brings two flesh fingers between your legs, pressing up against your hole, teasing you. “shit, you like it when I slap you around a little bit? hmm? maybe I ought to do this to you more often,” he grits, pulling his hand back and placing another harsh smack to your thigh. 

you’re a mess, your mind starting to go cloudy the more he touches you like this. you give it your all to stay quiet, all the while you’re blissfully unaware of the way you begin to drool down your chin. 

“think I like you better this way. goin’ all stupid and making a mess of yourself,” he tells you while reaching his metal hand up to wipe your chin dry. “yeah, how about I be real nice and help you keep quiet, yeah?” he taunts as he begins to press his thumb into your mouth. your body responds before you can tell it to, immediately sucking on the vibranium like a lifeline. 

your eyes have fallen shut, stuck in a stupor and completely unaware of the pleased expression on his face.

you stay there, focused on nothing but keeping quiet and holding his thumb in your mouth as he pops the button of his cargo pants just enough to shove them out of his way. 

“now, baby, you’re gonna be real good for me, aren’t you?” he asks. 

you nod your agreement, not once opening your eyes. 

“so fucking needy for me,” he mutters under his breath. 

and by god, he doesn’t waste another second before brutally thrusting into you like his life depends on it. 

it’s all you can do to hang on for dear life as he shoves your thighs further apart, giving him a better view of the absolute debauched sight between your legs. he’s relentless, taking out all his pent-up stress on you and watching the way your cunt opens up for him.

“she’ll take it no matter what, won’t she? any way I give it to you, you’ll beg for it all the same.” his words are clipped, breathy as he lets go of the rest of his post-mission energy. 

you’re not even listening anymore, no longer able to keep yourself quiet with the way he's using you. you never even stood a chance. 

but he’s clearly distracted, no longer concerned with keeping you quiet as all his focus goes towards taking what he wants from between your legs. 

your lower back begins to ache from the force of him repeatedly pounding into you while you’re stuck on the hard floor, uncomfortably stuck and made to just take it over and over again. your jaw grows sore from his grip on you, surely making a mess of yourself once more as his thumb presses down on your tongue. 

just as you consider signalling to him I’m done, he pipes up. 

“you gonna talk back to me like that ever again?”

you shake your head vehemently no.

“you sure?” 

you nod yes. 

“good girl,” he says, and with that, you feel him letting go, filling you to the brim with his release. the aches throughout your body begin to relax as he eases his grip on your jaw and your hip, giving you a reprieve from his rough treatment. 

“you okay?” he whispers to you, and you nod, still out of it.

next thing you know, he’s helping you off the floor and carrying you bridal style to the bed. once he lays you down, he brushes your hair out of your face and observes your facial expressions carefully as you begin to come back to yourself.

“I was worried about you, Bucky,” you tell him quietly. “I need you to be careful. it’s not just you anymore, okay?” you open your eyes just then to look at him.

he knows. he knows he acted like a reckless idiot, scaring the hell out of you and turning around and excusing his own behavior.

“I know. I’m sorry, baby,” he tells you. “I’m sorry for worrying you.”

“please, when we’re out there… I need you to remember what we’re fighting for. I need you to remember that I care about you, I love you. I need you to come back in one piece.”

he sees how sad your eyes look, how scared you are that something is going to happen to him. 

“I know. you’re right, I know,” he says, leaning in to press his lips to yours.

after a moment, you pull back. “now fuck me like you love me,” you smirk.

“yes, ma’am.”

~~~

✦ masterlist ~ join a tag list ✦

bucky tag list part 1: (send an ask or dm to be removed)

@avengersfan25 @thewiselionessss @hextech-bros @a-book-lover-things @ruexj283 @mrsnikstan @sleepysongbirdsings @sapphirebarnes @multiversefanfics @winchestert101 @andziabarnes @chrisevansleftnipple @daisydark @luckyhornet @maryevm @avengemepercy @mandoloriancookie @starstruck-cowgirl @doubledizzy22 @yvespecially @shereadzzz @blaineandergel @flow33didontsmoke @iiamlynn @belovedmoony @tellybearryyyy @doilooklikeagiveafrack @analovesmarvel @izzy698 @ketchumid24 @annabethboleyn @luv4kook @buckyseternaldoll @planetzeidy @thegirlfatherr @cieraboobear @wint3rbarnes @quinnofdrama @jeannie-beannie @buckysslut @peaceinourtime82 @poiscntree @sooberrt @yaboyguzma69 @dragonsoverall @barnesonly @drxies @morgan-getty

[serenity-loves-red]

How would the Chrisos Heirs act if the reader comes home a bit beat up? Whether it's because family/relationship problems, friends/bully problems, or on accident (like bumping into a pole because reader was playing hsr on their phone), or just low iron?

Do you think they'd show their concerns loudly by barking/meowing at them as if asking "WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO YOU?" Or would they be quiet and affectionate even if they dont know what really happened?

You don't have to do this ask if you feel uncomfortable, of course! I love your cat-atstrophically chaotic fic!! Be sure to take care!!

I’ve already wrote something similar but lemme just- ✍️ you could think of this as part 2 of that side story or stand alone– your pick🤓

Ps. Thanks for liking the series💞! Srry for taking this long I’m alive chat just being lazy lol

Imagine:

Phainon

Becomes a mother hen cat? and won’t leave you alone. Either by sticking close to you at all times or won’t let you out of his sight.

I mean, he’s already clingy on daily basis, so what’s more if he saw you had a bad day– him being clingy would be the least of your worries.

He likes plop on your lap when you sat down, looking at you with wide blue eyes, nuzzling at your chin. And if you go somewhere, he’ll follow you, then rub his body on your legs to remind you of his presence.

If you got hurt on accident, he will fuse over you but if someone hurts you? Won’t you be a darling and tell him who? He won’t see vengeance he promise. He’s a cat, what worse could he do? You’re definitely not having a demiurge!cat licking it’s bloody paws trust

During this time, will be all ears when you rant and let you squeeze him or hug him on your arms. He doesn’t mind since this is the most he could do with his circumstance. He will just have to make do with this situation.

And alas, if only he can turn back to human again to properly comfort you in his arms, giving you all hugs and kisses to make you feel better and to chase away all those problems.

But until then, just you know you have a cat who loves you and doesn’t want you to shoulder all your problems alone.

Mydei

He is the first one to seek you. Unlike Phainon who fuse and questions himself what happened to you, he will walk cautiously towards you before laying on your side.

Normally, Mydei is somewhat reserved and will only let you pet and play with him just a handful of times. Unlike Phainon, Mydei will mostly watch you from afar to prevent you to do things that crosses beyond the line and to keep both of your honors and prevent any further embarrassment he feels for you on daily basis– now he just doesn’t care anymore.

You are clearly upset and beat down– what kind of spouse he is to be if he doesn’t show concern to his wife?!

So he will paw your thighs softly and giving hesitant barks. Judging from your reaction, he will either stay at your side and let you caress head or he will move to your lap and cuddle close to your tummy.

He will give few barks if you started to rant to encourage you to say more. If someone hurts you–heh–consider them well taken care of. You don’t have to worry about those insignificant people anymore. He is quite sure that the Deliverer doesn’t mind to get his paws dirty to help you with your problems.

It is his honor to help, so now just continue your rants and let him comfort you as he could. Maybe if he isn’t feeling shy he will give you kisses to help you ease from your problems.

Tribios

These 3 cuties will look at you with wide bead eyes. With their given forms, they can’t cuddle you or hug you. They remember that whenever they feel down or sad, their mama will hug them to comfort them but unlike Phainon and Mydei, they simply can’t.

So they will try to lift your spirits up by entertaining you and acting cute. Tribbie was the one who planned while Trianne and Trinnon pitched their ideas. Together, they will show you how cuteness can cheer you up!

Trianne will show you new tricks she learned, backflips and acrobatics! Trinnon will stay plop like a puddle of water and Tribbie will bring you random things she found that she thinks you’ll like.

If they got tired, they will do this synchronized movement and will plop their bodies on your hand.

They are really happy to see how you smiled and play with them. This means that you feel entertained hm? Hehe then let them show you new cool tricks while Phainon and Mydei do their jobs.

Tribios is the best support and wingman, they cheered inwardly.

Taglist: @speedycoffeedelight @kiransalt @sunsethw4 @wispfish @syntaxandpi @hoo-hoo @aerisevx @wixsvem @reminiscingthesea @hquntinghunter @n8mareee @larettajudith @vashyuu @superbfuryfest @shio225 @line-viper @hiqhkey @fuji-sen @takeyomikamakura @raaawwwr @hoshinosama @shonwithnohope @naOyak1 @whatamoodhoney @violetisreadinghush @shio225 @blushho @bloodrrose @kazudare @monoclesnapple @elymint @jambajuicedrinker @lovesickdaydreamss

[the-bloody-ruby]

Yan!Baldwin IV X Reincarnation!Reader

✎Summary✐ you got reincarnated as Baldwin's wife.

⚠Warnings⚠ historically inaccurate mentions of death, guy of lusignan, racism?(I don't if it counts as racism btw it has nothing to do with skin color).

✎Note✐ reader is a female in this. Author hates this but decided to post it anyway. This is not the actual historical figure but the figure from KoH movie.

✎Tags✐ @jsprien213

✎Part 2✐

➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹

You don't understand how it happened.

How did you end up in Jerusalem?. It's Not our modern day Jerusalem, it's 1181 AD.

From what you understood, you are during the anjou household reign of Jerusalem, most likely during king Baldwin IV time due to Saladin's name being mentioned so it must be around that time. But that's just a guess, if it is true then The king must be about 19 at this point.

When you first opened your eyes you found yourself laying on an a soft mattress, According to who they seemed to be maids, you had fainted while walking through the garden. You do have some blur memories of walking through a grand garden even though you know for sure that you did not walk through such garden ever in your life.

the last thing you remember, that you know that you actually did, that you went to sleep on your bed in your home, that's it. You didn't die while sleeping, did you?.

maybe you somehow took someone's else life, a someone from history none the less. It may sound bazaar but it's the only logical explanation in this unlogical situation.

While you were dozing off, trying to think of a solution to this disaster, The door was pushed wide open. a woman with fine clothing and jewelry enters with servants following her in. "I see you have finally decided to wake up." Her tone was sharp so was her glare.

You stared back at her, not with the same coldness but with confusion. "Who are you..?" You do know that she has to be a noble due to her clothing, but which noble? And why did she visit you? Why is her tone was as if you two know each other?.

She scoffed "It seems like the maids were right, It seems like you actually went mad this time." 'This bitch-' you thought to yourself, you can only say such things in your mind because you don't want to insult someone who might has the power to execute you on the spot. "Who are you?." You ask again, this time with determination.

"Sibylla of Jerusalem." You face went pale, you thought knowing her identify would make you understand the situation better but it only confused you more, why would she visit you?.

You look away, you feel like you're gonna faint again. "Tsk.. Pathetic.." She mumbles as you grip on the bedsheets, she grabs your chin and makes you look directly to blue eyes. "Hold yourself better, you are no common girl, remember that you are queen of Jerusalem, wife to my brother, you are y/n of Jerusalem.. Even if I don't deem you worth of such honour yet here we are.."

You are not sure if she wanted to scold you or mock you, either way her words hurt you even though you don't know why, it just stungs.

"We're having dinner this evening, you should be fine by then." She stated as she turned her to leave. you wanted to protest, you are in no condition to join a stupid dinner. "But-" "absence is unacceptable." she cuts you, she doesn't even bother to turn around to look at you yet her words held a warning in them. With that she finally left you alone.

Now you know whose life you are in, yes life not body because you are 100% sure that this is your own body, whatever. In history her name was forgotten so she's only known as Baldwin's IV wife or the Saracen queen.

Basically Baldwin and her got married to secure an alliance between Jerusalem and some Saracens, and to prevent Saladin from getting anymore power since your people are also in odds with Saladin.

You pity her.

No one cared about her, she was just a tool for her family to gain more power, Jerusalem's court despited her because she is still a filthy Saracen in their eyes and not to mention that king Baldwin IV, her own husband did not spare her a single glance during the entire of their marriage. It's not personal, it's just she's the least of his concerns.

In the end of the day she was executed because she attempted to poison to Sibylla but failed, it is unclear whatever she was truly guilty or framed.

No.. No. You won't die like this.. You won't live like this! You don't want to die with sorrow and tears!.

You won't allow history to repeat itself, you don't care if it's gonna change tomorrow's history or not, you value your happiness more than history that you might not live to see.

If you want a peaceful life, you have two potions.

you earn the King's favor and then you will live peaceful as the queen.

Which you are mostly to take, run away after securing a good amount of money.

Just in case, you're gonna try to secure both plans. You will try to earns his favor while earning enough money to escape.

➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹

Evening came fast.

You didn't want to leave bed but you also didn't want to piss off sibylla so it sucks to suck. Even though you still don't understand, how can she threaten you?! I mean yes she is a princess but you are the queen here for God's sake!. Damn was the old owner this weak that no one respected her title as queen?, however this will change, You didn't die to live again to take bullshit again.

The maids may not be fond of you but they sure did well in dressing you up, you don't like you're about to throw up at any given moment at all But the hard part isn't not looking like you're about to throw up, the hard part is not actually throwing up in front of everyone.

"Come on y/n!." You cheer up on yourself in front of mirror, you were right about the body thing, it is your body. you look like you, not like the actual historical figure (even though there is no surviving portraits of her but okay). 'I'm happy that i didn't lose you, my sweet sexy asf face' you wink at yourself before someone's voice interpreted your flirting session with yourself. "What are you doing?." God.. Why can't they leave you the fuck alone?. First Sibylla, now this?.

"wHaT aRe YoU dOiNg?." You repeat mockingly before turning around only to see Baldwin IV in flesh and blood standing in front of you, you recognized him easily due to the mask. Your face went paler then it went with sibylla, why is God doing this to you? You are praying for the ground to open in half and sallow you.

His blue eyes just stared into yours, it felt like he is staring right through your soul. "..." He didn't mutter a word, You don't know what he is thinking but whatever it is, it doesn't seems like something you want to know about.

You wanted to cry, really. But not in front of him because it would only worsen the situation, after all you just mocked a king.

"..."

It's been quite the few minutes, he didn't say anything yet. 'You know what? I already ate shit so let's just walk away and pretend that nothing has happened.. Maybe he will just ignore it and then I'll get to keep my head..' You thought to yourself.

You proceeded your plan and it actually worked! He let you walk away although you felt his eyes still watching you like a hawk.

Dinner was as awkward as you'd expect. You tried your best to just focus on your platte and ignore everyone else on the table. "Are you alright?." It's Sibylla, even though her words seems out of concern, her voice holds no kindness to it.

You looked up from your plate, you stare back at her but this time with more confidence since the last time you two spoke. "Yes, I am fine." You replied to her question with a calm yet confident note.

That caused sybilla to stare at you. You have never acted like this before, you were always quiet and shy, never once you looked right into her eyes with such directness.

"I heard that you fainted in the gardens today. you should look out for your health more your Highness... It would be a shame if you become so sickly like someone we know.." Said the man who is seated next to Sibylla, who you assume is guy of lusignan.

At his words Baldwin looked up at him, that caused guy to shift uncomfortably in his seat, he hated everything about Baldwin, especially his blue eyes when they stared right through his soul.

'God.. It's so awkward...' You thought before deciding to gamble with fate again. "Your majesty.. Your food will get cold.. Please eat." You hold his gloved hands in yours as you tried to give the kindest smile you could manage. He moved his eyes from guy's to yours before he pulled his hands away and continued his meal.

That went as smooth as possible.. You could feel Sibylla's glare but you couldn't care less, what matters now is to earn Baldwin's favor.

➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹

Im back from the dead 💪🏻.

Idk if you guys will like this but enjoy and if you got any notes for me then go ahead 💃🏻.