#SPOILERS AHEAD >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

[softichill]

Those in the know

[laurellala-comics]

I finished watching a playthrough of the first Apollo Justice game WAAAAH NOBODY TALK TO ME I'M EMOTIONAL WAAAAAH THAT WAS SOOO SO EPIC AND GOOD. I'll draw nice things later, for now take these sillies

[sergeantbarnessdoll]

Okay, uhm *kinda thunderbolts spoilers ahead*

Can I please request something with (beefy thunderbolts) Bucky Barnes and a shy sweet female reader (maybe grumpy x sunshine)

With the prompts: “hell, okay shit that actually really fucking hurts.”, “just let me help you... please”

Valentina brought the reader to the tower as a new team member. The reader has healing powers and is so shy but kind and polite, everyone likes her. Bucky and the reader are falling for each other but of course they are not admitting it. Like glances from the other side of the room and the reader is so flustered. Somehow Bucky gets her to talk more and more (when the reader feels safe and trusts him, she talks like a waterfall) and they become friends.

Later the team is send to a mission and the enemies attacking the reader and Bucky runs infront of her to protect her and gets shot, then he fights with one of the the enemy. When he turns around to the reader (to check if she is okay) he gets distracted and Bucky gets stabbed. He fell to his knees and Alexei brings Bucky and the reader to the tower and went back to the others.

The reader brings Bucky to her room and is cleaning his wounds at first and takes care of him. Bucky notices that her hands are shaking and her eyes are full with tears (the reader thinks it's her fault but it's really not). He is comforting her and soothes her and she starts to heal him.

A moment later he is so caring and soft and they confess their feelings to each other 🥺❤️

I'm so sorry I got carried away, tell me if it’s too detailed or if you want an other scenario

Thank you so much 😌❤️

Not Your Fault » Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier

Pairings: Thunderbolts!Bucky Barnes x Enhanced!Female Reader with the Thunderbolts

Summary: Bucky gets injured while he’s trying to protect you during a mission and you feel like it’s your fault and he assures you that it’s not your fault.

Warnings: Fluff, language, flirting, blood, crying, kissing, pet names

A/N: @jackys-stuff-blog thank you for the lovely request🩵

Written on my phone. My apologies for any mistakes.

Header made by @buckyys-babydoll / divider made by me

GIF IS NOT MINE! Gif credit goes to the creator.

You nervously fidgeted with your fingers as you rode the elevator to the main room of the tower with Valentina. You got startled a little bit by the ding of the elevator when the doors opened. You followed Valentina out of the elevator and into the main room where there was a small group of people. The Thunderbolts gathered around when they seen Valentina.

“What do you want, Valentina?” Yelena asks with annoyance in her voice.

“I have a new team member for you guys.” Valentina says.

They looked over at you. You gave them a shy smile and a small wave. Valentina nudged you with her shoulder as a way of telling you to introduce yourself to them.

“I’m Y/N.” You finally introduced yourself to them.

“Enjoy your new team member.” Valentina says.

The Thunderbolts watched Valentina leave before turning their attention back to you. They all introduced themselves to you. They’re all really nice to you, but you still feel shy around them, which they don’t mind.

“Do you have powers or abilities we need to know about?” Yelena asks.

“I have healing powers.” You tell them.

“So you can heal cuts and stuff like that?” John asks.

“That’s what healing powers do, Walker.” Ava says.

Bucky was staring at you with heart eyes as you shyly talked to everyone. He thinks your shyness is cute.

“Would you like a tour of the place?” Bucky asks.

You nodded and smiled. Bucky showed you all around the tower, showing you to your bedroom last.

“And this is your room.” Bucky says as you followed him in the room.

“Where’s your room?” You curiously asked.

“My room is right next door.” He says, pointing to the right.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to sound weird or creepy. I was just curious.” You nervously rambled.

“It’s ok. I don’t think it’s weird or creepy at all. You’re welcome to come to my room at anytime of the night if you need anything late at night.” He says.

“Ok.” You replied softly and shyly.

“Do you have any questions?” He asks.

“Not right now, but I’ll let you know if I do.” You answered.

———

It didn’t take you long to adjust to living in the tower. Bucky made it easier for you to adjust too. Everyone loves you, especially Bucky. You hangout and talk to him more than the rest of the team. You and him have become best friends with the short amount of time you’ve been living there. He has gotten you to come out of your shell a little bit. Once he gets you talking, you don’t stop talking. Bucky listens to every word you say with the look of adoration on his face. Also, you have a huge crush on Bucky and he feels the same way about you, but neither of you have admitted to it yet. The team has noticed it too.

Right now, you and Bucky are watching movies. Actually, you fell asleep in the middle of the third movie. So did Bucky. Bucky woke up to the TV lighting up the living room and you snuggled up against him. He smiles at you before checking the time on his watch. It’s later than either of you expected. Bucky shut the TV off and picked you up bridal style, carrying you to your bedroom. He gently laid you down on your bed and covered you up with a blanket. In your sleep, you reached a hand out and grabbed Bucky’s arm before he could walk away. He decided to stay in your room for the night. There’s no harm in that, right? It’s just for one night. Bucky got in bed next to you and protectively wrapped his arms around you.

“Goodnight, doll.” Bucky whispers softly and kisses your cheek.

———

A few days later, you, Bucky, and the team had to go on a mission. You guys had a meeting before it and then suited up. During the mission, Bucky tried his best to protect you and do his part of the mission at the same time. While you were doing your part of the mission, Bucky sees someone aiming their gun at you. His eyes went wide and he ran over to you, shielding you from the bullet. Bucky got shot while he was shielding you from the bullet. Then he turned around to check on you. You had a look on your face like you were about to start freaking out.

“Are you ok, doll?” Bucky asks softly.

“I-I am now.” You stuttered in a shaky voice. “I didn’t see that guy.” You say.

“It’s ok. It happens.” He says.

You nodded. While Bucky was making sure you were ok, he wasn’t paying attention to anything around him. The guy who tried to shoot you, walked over to you and Bucky, stabbing him next to where he was shot. Your eyes widened in horror as he fell to his knees in pain.

“Bucky!” You screamed.

You dropped to your knees to check on him. You looked down to see his hand on his lower abdomen. You seen blood seeping behind his fingers. Your eyes teared up. Bucky noticed.

“Don’t cry, babydoll. I’m fine.” Bucky manages to say and then winces in pain.

“You’re bleeding.” Is all you say.

Alexei wasn’t too far from where you and Bucky are when he saw Bucky on his knees and in pain. He ran over to you guys. Without asking what happened, Alexei helped Bucky up and took him back to the tower. You followed beside them. Alexei took Bucky to your bedroom and helped him in your bed.

“Thank you, Alexei.” You say.

“You’re welcome, Y/N.” Alexei replies.

Alexei left your bedroom, making sure to close the door behind him. You got the first aid kit from your bathroom and sat down on the bed next to Bucky. Normally, Bucky can tolerate pain, but it hurts a lot more this time than it did in the past.

“Hell, ok, shit. That actually fucking hurts.” Bucky groans in pain, his hand still on his abdomen where he got shot and stabbed.

“Just let me help you… please?” You say softly.

Bucky nods and takes his hand off his abdomen. He leans up just enough to take his shirt off, wincing in pain as he did so. Your eyes teared up again when you see where he was shot and stabbed. You started with wiping the excess blood from his wounds and then put alcohol on both wounds so they didn’t get infected.

“Fuck!” He winces at the sting of the alcohol.

As you continued to clean his wounds, you couldn’t help but feel like this is your fault. If you have seen that guy who did this to Bucky, he wouldn’t be in this position right now. Bucky looks down, watching you clean his wounds, noticing that your hands are shaking. He also seen tears in your eyes.

“Hey, what’s wrong, babydoll?” Bucky asks softly, putting his hand on your arm.

“I’m sorry, Bucky. I’m so sorry.” You apologized profusely, your voice cracking and tears rolling down your cheeks.

“You have absolutely nothing to apologize for, doll.” He says.

“Yes I do. This is my fault. This shouldn’t have happened to you. I should’ve been paying attention.” You say.

Bucky props himself up on his vibranium elbow and cups your cheek with his right hand, wincing in pain as he sat up.

“I want you to listen to me when I say this, ok?” He begins. “This is not in any way your fault.” He assures softly.

“It feels like it.” You say.

“It could’ve happened to any one of us. If this happened to you, I would’ve dropped everything to patch you up.” He says softly. “I want you to understand that this is not your fault, ok?” He assures softly again.

“Ok.” You replied in a whisper.

Bucky wiped your tears away while looking deep in your eyes. Something about staring in Bucky’s blue eyes felt calming to you. He leaned up more and kissed you passionately. Now you definitely feel calmer. It’s like every worry you had in you left your body the second you felt Bucky’s soft lips on yours.

“How do you feel now?” Bucky asks softly.

“Calmer.” You answered softly.

“Good.” He replies softly.

Bucky lays back on the bed so you can finish cleaning up his wounds.

“I’m going to heal you now, ok?” You say softly.

“Ok.” Bucky replies.

“It shouldn’t hurt.” You say.

Bucky nods and looks down, watching as you hovered your hands over his wounds. A bright light shines in your hands as you healed his wounds. It took a few seconds to heal his wounds and then he was good as new and not in pain anymore. You moved your hands away to check the area of his abdomen where his wounds were. The wounds weren’t there anymore. He’s healed.

“How do you feel?” You asked.

“I’m not in pain anymore.” Bucky says.

“Good. That’s good.” You say softly.

You cleaned up everything and put away the first aid kit. Bucky noticed your hands were shaking again and your eyes were tearing up.

“Hey, look at me.” Bucky whispers. “I’m fine now.” He whispers again.

“I thought you were going to die before I got the chance to tell you that I love you.” You say, your voice cracking and your eyes tearing up again.

“You love me?” He asks, making sure he heard you right.

You nodded and sniffled.

“I love you too, doll.” Bucky says softly, cupping your cheeks.

You smiled when he said that. Bucky dips his head down to kiss you. This kiss had more passion in it than the first kiss.

“Be mine?” He asks in almost a whisper.

“I would love to be yours, Bucky.” You say softly.

Bucky smiles and kisses you once more.

“Thank you for healing me.” He says softly.

“You don’t have to thank me, Bucky. I would’ve healed you no matter what.” You say with a smile.

-Bucky’s Doll

[xuexing-lumi]

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞'𝐬 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 + 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐭 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 (𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞: 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬) Pt.2

This isn’t your average love reading. This is about the one, the soul who already exists in your energetic field, even if they haven’t stepped into your life yet.(Spoiler: yes, but not in the way you think).

🌸 before you dive into part 2... make sure you’ve read part 1 so everything clicks perfectly and you don’t miss any of the details ✨

📎 read part 1 here: How Does Your Pile Contact Their Soulmate?

trust me, it sets the mood just right for what’s coming next 💌 pink skies, soft energy, and deeper truths ahead 💕

Close your eyes, take a deep breathe and pick your piles.

𝓟𝓲𝓵𝓮 1

𝓟𝓲𝓵𝓮 2

𝓟𝓲𝓵𝓮 3

🌟𝓟𝓲𝓵𝓮 1 : Kunzite

Kunzite is a soft pink to lilac crystal known for its healing influence on the heart chakra, and most importantly, for its energy of receptive, childlike, pure love. It’s often associated with emotional vulnerability, spiritual awakening, and protection for those who’ve been hurt but still hope.

Part 2: How is Pile 1's Soulmate Doing in the Physical World Right Now?

(Seven of Pentacles, Six of Swords, Eight of Pentacles)

Right now, your soulmate is in a phase of deep evaluation. The Seven of Pentacles is a pause between planting and harvesting. In the physical world, they are likely investing their time, energy, and focus into something they care about deeply,this could be their career, studies, a personal healing journey, or even the slow, meticulous rebuilding of a life that once fell apart. They’re not rushing. In fact, they're exhausted from rushing. The kind of relationships or dreams they chased in the past may have left them drained, and this moment in their timeline is about intentionality. They are likely working hard at something but like they’re constantly questioning: “Is this worth it?” This applies not just to their job or health, but also to their emotional investments. Who they spend time with. Who they open up to. This person has become selective. Wise. Cautiously hopeful. They want a love they don’t have to recover from.

We saw the Six of Swords in your contact cards as well, which means that both you and your soulmate are undergoing parallel transitions. They may have just moved away from something emotionally painful similar to a breakup, grief, depression, toxic family entanglement, or even a version of themselves they no longer wish to be. Physically, they could be in a new city, a different job, or a quieter environment than they were in before. They are in a liminal space as a quiet chapter between endings and beginnings. It’s not glamorous. It’s not Instagrammable. It’s just real. A part of them still aches for comfort, but another part whispers, “I’m finally healing.” This card tells us they’ve released baggage, but they still look over their shoulder from time to time.

The Eight of Pentacles confirms that your soulmate is fully immersed in their self-betterment arc. This isn’t someone waiting around for love to fix them. They’re doing the hard work: improving their craft, learning emotional discipline, reparenting themselves, or healing their body. Whether they’re training for something, practicing new habits, going to therapy, or just trying to keep their inner world tidy AND they’re committed to the long game. This is a person who doesn’t want to offer a chaotic heart to someone ever again. They’ve done that. It didn’t end well. Now, they’re focused on becoming someone they themselves can be proud of before they let anyone new in. The way they’re showing up in the physical world is quietly consistent.

“You don’t have to be perfect to be loved.”

🌟𝓟𝓲𝓵𝓮 2: Pink Spinel

Pink Spinel is a stone of revitalization, emotional resilience, and regaining your spark after devastation, and we get a very specific kind of soul story.......this is someone who’s been cracked open and is trying to rise,but hasn’t yet let themselves fully break in order to heal properly.

Part 2: How is Pile 2's Soulmate Doing in the Physical World Right Now?

(Five of Wands reversed, The Tower reversed, and Queen of Pentacles reversed)

This person has been mentally and emotionally overwhelmed by conflict, but instead of confronting it or letting it flow through, they may be avoiding it, suppressing it, or trying to people-please their way out of it. In the upright, this card is chaos you can name: arguments, clashing egos, internal debates. But reversed, it’s messier like the chaos is happening inside. They may have just left a toxic situation or are still mentally trapped in one perhaps a job that drains them, a family environment filled with unspoken resentment, or even a friend group that subtly competes instead of supports. Either way, your soulmate is caught in a state of quiet combat. They're pretending things are fine on the surface, but their heart feels like a crowded, echoing room of arguments that were never resolved. They’re not just dealing with others like they’re at war with their own decisions.

This is the heart of their energy right now. The Tower reversed is a refusal to let go, fear of emotional collapse, and clinging to something that is no longer safe. Your soulmate is standing in the ruins of a situation that’s already cracked,maybe a relationship, a belief system, a way of living,but instead of surrendering to transformation, they’re resisting it. Why? Because letting go feels like death. And they’re scared of what comes after. They may be experiencing symptoms of burnout, insomnia, identity confusion, or sudden waves of anxiety. Their foundations what they thought was “stable”are crumbling.

In the reversed Queen of Pentacles, love becomes obligation. Care becomes exhaustion. They’ve poured so much of their soul into holding things together for others like friends, lovers, family that now they feel used, empty, and unworthy of receiving. They may even feel guilt at the idea of resting or putting themselves first. Their body might be showing signs: fatigue, hormonal imbalance, aches, disconnection from touch or pleasure.

“You’re not broken. You’re just tired of pretending you’re okay.”

🌟𝓟𝓲𝓵𝓮 3 : Rhodolite Garnet

Rhodolite Garnet ia a crystal of both the heart and root chakra, intensifies the theme of healing after manipulation, standing up for one’s truth, and learning how to love courageously again without self-betrayal.

Part 2: How is Pile 3's Soulmate Doing in the Physical World Right Now?

(Page of Swords, Ace of Pentacles, and Five of Swords)

Your soulmate is in a mental processing phase. They’re alert, curious, and perhaps even obsessed with understanding people like reading body language, observing conversations, doing their own inner research on who is safe and who is not. This person has been through something that sharpened their intuition but also made them slightly paranoid. They're wary of false promises and fake intentions. They may be someone who listens more than they speak. They might be a loner with strong online presence like scrolling through ideas, consuming a lot of information, but keeping their personal life private. In the physical world, they could be in a learning phase: a new job, new skill, or transitioning into a new role, but emotionally? They’re trying to figure out what love actually means when it doesn’t hurt.

This is a hopeful yet grounded card. Your soulmate may be manifesting a new lifestyle, new routine, or financial stability. There’s a desire in them to not just connect romantically but to build something real,something they can touch, taste, and trust.This card also suggests they are being given or will soon receive an opportunity that changes their direction. A job offer, relocation, new passion project, or even a surprising meeting could be the seed of transformation. Spiritually, this is the universe saying: “You’ve earned a clean slate.”

They may feel guarded, defensive, or even guilty for how they’ve had to cut people off. And this guilt becomes a block to love because part of them believes that protecting their peace made them selfish. But it didn’t. It made them free. Still, they're carrying emotional residue. Their mind replays old arguments. They wonder if they could’ve fixed things. They wonder if love always comes with pain.

"I want to start over… but it has to feel real this time."

✦ do you want a personal reading like this?

🌸 I offer:

Celebrity Tarot Reads (K-Pop, BTS, Actors) SP Manifestation Guidance Future Love + Shadow Work Spreads Moon-Coded Letter from Your Twin Flame Channeled Audio Readings + PDF Summaries ✧ First reading? Ask for a free pull!

—

📩 DMs Open: @xuexing-lumi Tumblr inbox

🖤 closing words from Lumi:

We ride or die, even through the mess. 💅 — Lumi, the Moon’s Bride 🌕💋

—

(ignore):

[tinyinkblots]

My Sweet, Sweet Boy

In honour of plotting a BobxOC fic, I went ahead and wrote, well, the smut first, sort of like an avant-première. No Thunderbolts* spoilers! (I LOVE BOB) Tags: mdni, unprotected sex, p-in-v, oral (m receiving), fingering, virgin!Bob, fluff (if you squint), overstimulation (Bob), praise kink (Bob/if you squint) & cockwarming at the end (lightly mentioned), fem!OC Word count: 4.4k (of pure smut)

How innocent could a man in his thirties really be?

When Rae blindfolded Bob and told him to wait on the bed, that she had a second gift for him—he didn’t overthink it. Not at first. He just smiled that soft, self-effacing smile, the one that never quite reached his eyes, and did what she asked.

Because he never expected much for his birthday. It had been years since anyone remembered, let alone celebrated his birthday. What was there to celebrate, when all he saw in the mirror was a failure, a man who had wasted countless second chances, breathing the air he didn’t deserve?

But Rae didn’t see him that way.

She looked at him like he was a blessing. Like loving him wasn’t a curse. Like he was the miracle, not her.

And for once, all the noise in his head—the guilt, the fear, the ever-present echo of you don’t deserve this—went quiet when the blindfold slipped off. As his eyes adjusted, the first thing he saw was her: on her knees, lips painted in that vivid, sinful red that always made his pulse spike.

His breath hitched. “Rae—what are you—” 

She tilted her chin down, playfully gesturing to herself as she smiled. “Happy Birthday,” she said.

She sounded confident, looked and acted like some grand seductress, but her heart was racing. Everything she planned—every move she was about to make—came from research. A lot of research. And porn. Too much porn. But none of it could fully prepare her for the way he was looking at her now.

Rae got the idea after a conversation following a heated kiss that left them tangled in the sheets, panting and buzzing. She'd asked, voice a little shy:

“Have you ever… had someone go down on you?”

“No,” he stammered, voice cracking a little. “I don’t—I mean. No.”

And Rae always remembered what Bob told her, even the littlest details. 

“You don’t have to—”

“I want to.”

That stopped him. His lips parted like he might argue again, but she leaned in and pressed a kiss to the inside of his thigh. He flinched, shocked by the contact, and groaned softly, the sound involuntary and hoarse.

“I want this,” she said again, voice lower now. “I’ve been thinking about it for weeks.”

Bob swallowed hard. “I’ve never… I don’t know what to do.”

“You don’t have to do anything,” she whispered, trailing her fingers up his hardening bulge. “I’ll take care of you.”

He let out a broken breath. “Rae…”

Her fingers curled around the waistband of his sweatpants, and Rae hesitated for half a second, not because she was unsure, but because she wanted to savor this. The look on his face. The way his chest rose and fell, tight with anticipation.

Then she tugged gently. “Lift your hips for me?”

Bob obeyed, cheeks flushed, arms tense at his sides like he didn’t know what to do with them. 

She eased his sweatpants and boxers down together, slow and careful, dragging them past his hips and thighs before throwing the bundle over her shoulders. His cock bobbed free—already half-hard, flushed and thick—resting against the soft line of his stomach. His size almost made her gasp but she bit down on her bottom lip to keep quiet, not wanting to scare Bob, who was clearly feeling more nervous than she was.

Instead, kissed the mole on his left hip and then, with the lightest flick of her tongue, she licked a slow stripe up the underside of his cock.

Bob gasped like he’d been shocked.

“Oh,” he choked out. “Oh god—”

Rae grinned wickedly around the head of his cock, her lips wrapping around it just long enough to swirl her tongue. He was already leaking—salty, hot, the taste sparking a nameless hunger inside her. She pulled back with a wet pop and looked up at him through her lashes, breathless and whiny as her tongue flicked against her bottom lip.

“You taste so good,” she moaned as she dragged her thumb over the slit of his cock, watching him shudder.

She pressed her palm firmly to his thigh, grounding him. “Easy,” she whispered, her voice low and coaxing. “I can show you how good this’ll feel, but you need to behave, baby.”

Bob let out a groan, and Rae could feel how hard he was trying—his thigh tensed beneath her hand, fists curled in the sheets as his chest rose and fell like he was running.

And then she leaned in again, lips just brushing the head of his cock, her breath warm and sweet where he was most sensitive. She didn’t rush—didn’t take him into her mouth yet, just hovered.

Close enough to drive him crazy.

“Good boy,” she said before taking him back in her mouth, down her throat.

His entire body shuddered—a full-body, helpless tremble that ran down his spine and bled into his thighs. Like the praise short-circuited something inside him.

He fisted the sheets hard enough to threaten a tear, forearms trembling with restraint, and his back arched slightly, hips twitching like he was trying so hard to stay still. His jaw slackened and his lips parted. 

A soft, broken sound slipped out—half gasp, half moan—his eyes fluttering shut for a moment like he couldn’t bear how good it felt, how intoxicating it was to be praised like this. 

And then he looked down at her.

God help him.

Rae was staring up at him with half-lidded eyes, dark and glossy and fixed entirely on him. Her mouth was wet, slick with spit and the shine of his precum smeared across her lips—a sight that made his stomach clench violently with arousal.

“You’re doing so good for me… my sweet, sweet boy.”

The praise dripped from her lips like honey, slow and thick, curling around his mind until it drowned out everything else. His cock twitched at the pet name, the last thread of rationality snapping as her words buried deep into his chest. All he could think about was being good for her, pleasing her, hearing her say it again, and again, and again.

My sweet boy.

His thoughts were a mess, heat and want tangled together, as her mouth worked him over. Every glide of her lips, every flutter of her throat had him gasping, panting, his eyes clenched shut as if the pleasure was too much to bear.

He was thick and heavy on her tongue, and she had to breathe through her nose as she took him deeper. Bob let out a strangled moan as he looked at her and felt like the world had stopped. His chest caved inward, breath caught somewhere between worship and horror.

“Rae—Rae, I can’t—”

She didn’t stop. She kept going, even when her eyes watered, even when her throat fluttered and her jaw ached. She gagged once, just barely, and the way he shuddered at that—

He didn’t mean to thrust.

But he did—once, but too deep.

She choked violently around him, and the sudden tight clench of her throat sent him straight over the edge.

Stars exploded behind his eyes.

Bob made a sound unlike anything he’d ever made—a half-shouted groan, strangled and raw. His body bowed forward, hands gripping her shoulders like it was the only thing anchoring him to reality as his cock throbbed violently in her mouth, spilling down her throat. 

Rae’s body hummed with arousal and she could feel it gathering between her thighs. She wanted to touch herself, the taste of him overwhelming her senses—too sweet, too salty, too hot—and he made her feel like one of those actresses she saw while researching. Glamorous women writhing under perfect lighting as they pleasured their partners, all sighs and desperation; she thought it was simple exaggeration to fulfill male fantasy but here she was, pussy clenching around air, drunk on the taste of his cum.

After swallowing all she could, she finally pulled away, lips swollen and the lipstick long gone, a thin string of spit and cum clinging between her mouth and the head of his cock. Her eyes were glassy and cheeks streaked with tears.

And yet, she smiled.

A proud little smile that made his stomach and his cock twitch, already too sensitive but still caught in her spell.

Bob looked at her and forgot how to breathe.

He didn’t know whether to feel guilty for hurting her, or aroused beyond belief that she looked so willing for him.

She didn’t wait—didn’t give him a moment to catch his breath. Her hand found him again, fingers curling around his still-swollen length. He wasn’t fully hard, not yet, but he twitched under her touch, already stiffening as she stroked over the flushed, oversensitive skin. Saliva slipped from her lips, warm and wet, beading at the head of his cock before gliding down his length, mixing with the slick already coating him.

“Rae—wait—” he gasped, hips jerking back instinctively.

Rae wrapped her pretty lips around his cock again, slurping loudly as she cleaned the mess she made, swallowing every single drop of his cum that she had missed.

“Oh God—Rae, no—I can’t—” Bob whimpered. “I just came—Rae, please—I can’t—oh God—”

But she was already moaning around him. Already sucking greedily, hollowing her cheeks as her tongue teased along the slit. And that sound—that sinful hum that made her throat vibrate around him—made him feel like a madman.

Bob’s body went rigid as she took him deeper, the head of his cock hitting the back of her throat.

And he saw stars again.

“Rae—I’m—too sensitive, you’re gonna—oh God—”

His thighs clenched, groaning and panting, his hands clutching the sheets like lifelines. But he didn't stop her—couldn't. The way her throat fluttered around him, gagging just a little as she pressed forward again?

He felt his vision go white at the edges.

“God, you’re gonna kill me,” he gasped, voice cracking, tears in his own eyes now.

She pulled back just long enough to catch her breath, lips glistening and drooling. She didn’t wipe it away. Didn’t need to.

If he hadn’t promised to behave, he would’ve hauled her up and kissed her right then, just to taste himself on her tongue, to feel her skin pressed against his, her heartbeat thudding against his chest, her scent flooding his lungs like oxygen.

She flashed him a crooked, knowing smile, wicked with purpose, and then she went back to work—slow and deliberate, the suction just enough to unravel him completely. It pulled broken sounds from his throat, noises he didn’t recognize as his own, so pathetic, so helpless. His body trembled beneath her touch, and when he came again—too fast, too hard—she took it all, swallowed every drop.

This time, before she could reach for him again, before her hand could touch his twitching, too-sensitive cock, Bob pulled her up.

“Come here,” he murmured, voice still shaky.

Rae let out a surprised squeak as he tugged her upward, wrapping his arms tight around her waist and pulling her against his chest. He fell back into the pillows with her on top of him, completely spent, like gravity had finally reclaimed him.

She blinked. “Are you okay?”

He didn’t answer immediately. Just held her, one hand spread wide between her shoulder blades, the other cradling the back of her head like he wasn’t ready to let go yet. His heart was still pounding under her cheek, wild and uneven.

“I think my soul left my body,” he mumbled.

Rae laughed, the sound muffled against his collarbone. “You’re ridiculous.”

“You’re dangerous,” he shot back, still breathless. “I almost had a heart attack.”

“You wanted me to stop?”

“No,” he said too quickly, squeezing her a little tighter. “Definitely not.”

There was a beat of silence, warm and sweet and humming with leftover adrenaline. Then Bob asked, a little too carefully, “Where… where did you learn how to do that?”

Rae pulled back slightly, just enough to look at him. His cheeks were flushed, still pink from exertion, and there was something boyish about the way his brows were knit—like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know the answer.

She tilted her head, smiling gently. “I didn’t.”

“You—you definitely did,” he said, eyes wide. “That was—like—you’re telling me that was …”

“Research,” she explained. “A lot of late-night Googling.”

He stared at her.

“And maybe some videos,” she added with a shrug.

Bob’s lips parted. “You did all that… for me?”

“Of course.” Rae smiled, brushing a thumb along the slope of his cheek. “I’d do anything for you.

Bob’s breath hitched. He blinked, like the weight of her words hit him somewhere deep.

“You mean that?”

“Of course I do.”

There was something raw in the way he looked at her now. Like he wasn’t sure what to do with that kind of devotion—like no one had ever offered it to him so freely before.

They lay like that for a while—Bob half-dazed, Rae tucked against his side, fingers tracing idle patterns along the line of his abs. 

She felt the shift before he spoke—how his hand that had been resting harmlessly on her waist twitched slightly, like he was thinking about something and trying to decide if he had permission.

Then, carefully, his voice, low and hesitant, he asked, “Are you… not wearing underwear?”

Rae smiled into his shoulder. “I was,” she murmured. “Took them off when I changed into this.”

She leaned back just enough to look at him, letting the silk of her nightgown shift slightly, thin straps slipping along her shoulder, the hem riding high on her thighs. 

Bob blinked. His gaze flicked down, salivating at the sight of her milky skin.

“Can I… touch you?” he asked after a moment of hesitation.

Her heart skipped—was it anxiety or excitement? “Yeah,” she answered, trying to mask her eagerness. “You can do whatever you want with me.”

He let out a breath like he’d been holding it, and his hand—warm, calloused but unbelievably tender—slid down, moving from the curve of her hip to the dip of her thigh. He hesitated there, fingers splayed wide.

She guided him, gently pressing her hand over his and shifting it higher. “Here,” she coaxed him. “A little more.”

Bob followed her lead, his fingers brushing against the bare heat between her thighs, and he gasped—like he hadn’t been expecting her to be this warm, this… wet. And he felt dizzy, knowing that she got this wet just from sucking him. 

“Feels… incredible,” he breathed out.

She pressed her hand lightly over his again, guiding his middle finger to her clit. “There. That’s the spot.”

He nodded slowly, eyes fixed on her face, and started to move—small, tentative circles, gentle at first like he wasn’t sure how much pressure to use.

But then his fingers adjusted, finding a rhythm that made her breath catch, squeeze her eyes shut, the movement smooth and just right, like instinct was taking over. Like he’d been born knowing how to touch her.

“Just like that,” Rae moaned, breath hitching. “You’re doing so good, Bob.”

Bob’s eyes flicked up to hers again, wide and reverent, as if he couldn’t believe the noises he was pulling from her. Like this moment was sacred—and to him, it was.

His touch grew more confident, more exploratory, and when she rolled her hips just slightly into his hand, his mouth fell open with awe.

“You’re so soft,” he murmured. “And warm. I… I didn’t know it would feel like this.”

She bit her lip, trying to stay quiet, but it was hard—the gentle swirl of his fingers, the way he watched her reactions like they were a map he was trying to burn into his mind, it was all too much.

“You’re a fast learner,” she breathed out.

He smiled, bashful and amazed. “Guess I just needed the right teacher.”

Rae laughed softly, hips twitching as he grazed her clit just right again. Her thighs trembled a little. “You're gonna make me cum if you keep doing that.”

His gaze darkened just a little—was it purely lust or something darker? More desperate? He craved to see her come undone in his hands, to hear her scream out his name.

And with the way he was touching her now, she was close to doing so.

His eyes never left her face. He looked like he was trying to memorize her—every twitch of her brows, every gasp, the way her lips parted when he circled just right.

Rae whined, hips shifting restlessly as she guided his hand lower, her own fingers wrapped gently around his wrist. She trusted him to follow.

And he did.

His fingers slid in slowly—two of them—careful and deliberate, and her body welcomed the stretch, the heat, the intimacy of it. She gasped loudly, feeling full.

A guttural sound tore free from his throat as he felt how warm, how soft she felt around him. He stilled for a moment, just to feel the way she pulsed, the quiet clench of her body drawing him in further.

“Is this okay?” he asked, voice soft with care.

Rae could barely nod. “Yes. Please—don’t stop.”

He kissed her shoulder, then her cheek, his thumb finding its rhythm again just above where his fingers moved inside her—gentle, steady, so achingly tender. His eyes stayed locked on hers, watching every reaction like she was something holy.

Her thighs trembled around his hand, her hands gripping at his shoulders now, her body caught between wanting to move and needing to hold still.

“You’re so beautiful like this,” he whispered. “So beautiful.”

She nearly cried at how sincere he sounded, his words tugging at her heart.

Unbeknownst to Rae, Bob also had a trick or two up his sleeve—something he read somewhere a lifetime ago. He curled his fingers just right, and her body seized around him, a strangled scream ripping from her throat.

The squelches got louder and louder as he continued on, and she would’ve felt embarrassed for being so needy, so wanton if he wasn’t fucking her so good with his fingers. So, she tugged his bottom lip with her lips before kissing him to hide the sounds that she was making.

When she broke the kiss, her head fell back, a scream tearing from her throat as her cunt clamped down hard around his fingers. Her voice trembled, fraying at the edges as she moaned his name again and again like a broken prayer.

“…You okay?” he asked quietly, blinking like he couldn’t believe what he’d just done.

Rae exhaled a laugh against his neck before pressing a tender kiss. “You’re not allowed to be this good on your first try.”

Bob flushed. “I just… paid attention.”

She leaned up just enough to kiss his cheek. “Remind me to make you ‘pay attention’ more often.”

“I can do that,” he said, perking up enthusiastically.

Bob gently pulled Rae on top of him, cradling her against his chest. The moment was tender, still and raw—the taste of intimacy dizzying, like drinking on an empty stomach. And desire stirred low in his stomach, curling tighter with every breath she took—her cunt was leaking over his cock, and he felt himself hardening again.

Bob swallowed thickly. “Rae?”

“Mhm?”

He lifted his fingers to his mouth, and he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. “Can I…?”

Rae knew what he meant. Her breath hitched, chest fluttering. She nodded, unable to speak, watching as he slid his fingers past his lips, moaning softly as he sucked them clean.

“Oh god,” he groaned. “You taste so sweet.”

Her sweet, innocent Bob.

She felt like the Devil for corrupting such a pure, innocent soul, but she found herself moving, slave to desire and lust, swinging a leg over his hips, and straddling him. 

He let out a laboured breath. She looked radiant like this: bare thighs framing his hips, nightgown rumpled around her waist, lips swollen and red from sucking his cock.

His fingers brushed along the outside of her thigh. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured.

She rocked her hips and his breath stuttered, the hard length of him slipping against her soaked folds, her slick coating him inch by inch. It pulled yet another broken sound from his throat, somewhere between a whimper and a plea.

Rae flushed, not knowing where she found the courage to be so daring and controlling, but she didn’t look away.

Her hand curled around his cock again, and she sighed, guiding him to her entrance. Slowly, she sank down, inch by inch, moaning openly at the stretch. Her walls burned around him, fluttering and pulsing with every inch she took.

Bob gasped, his hands flying to her thighs, back arching off the bed. Every muscle in him went taut, trembling. “You’re so—god, Rae—you’re so tight. So soft—”

She leaned down to kiss him, to soothe him, her breath still trembling. “Look at me,” she whispered, cupping his jaw gently.

And he did—wide-eyed and awestruck.

“You okay?”

He nodded vigorously, unable to speak. There were no words that could describe the emotions brewing inside him. It was more than love, wilder than lust—it gripped him like madness. He was given a taste of heaven—he had offered his innocence to his goddess, who then showed him what it meant to be wanted. To be loved.

And not for the parts of him he hid, but for all of it. For his quiet, hesitant heart. For the way he trembled under her touch. For the way he gave himself over so completely, so vulnerably, with nothing but trust in his eyes.

Rae smoothed his hair back gently, her fingers combing through the strands as he tried—and failed—to breathe evenly. And when she started to move, a slow roll of her hips, testing the rhythm, his head tipped back into the pillows with a low, wrecked groan.

Endless moans spilled from her lips, mixed with whimpers whenever his cock brushed past the soft, spongy spot inside her.

His hands slid up from her thighs to her waist, breath catching as he felt her clench around him. Rae's rhythm faltered—just slightly as her hips stuttered in their slow, steady roll. Her breath hitched. 

She gasped. “Oh—” eyes fluttering shut, her thighs trembling where they pressed against his sides.

As she lifted herself again, ready to sink back down, Bob’s grip tightened on her waist. She stilled above him, blinking in surprise.

“Bob?”

He didn’t answer, just looked up at her and then, suddenly, his hips snapped upward, catching her off guard. Her breath hitched, a sharp cry escaping her lips as he hit deeper than before; the pressure was sudden, toeing the edge of too much and not enough all at once.

She tried to move—instinctively—but his grip tightened yet again, anchoring her to him, holding her in place as he thrust up again and again and again, relentlessly, in a way that made her head spin. 

The sensation maddened her as he kept brushing that spot inside her, the one that made her toes curl and her breath catch in her throat. Her hands scrambled against his chest, nails digging deep into his skin. He didn’t flinch. He welcomed the sting, relished it—like her pleasure was something he wanted to etch onto his flesh.

“Bob—” she gasped. “I—what are you—”

“You looked like you needed help,” he murmured, voice thick with heat, rough around the edges. A little breathless. A little smug. Like he couldn’t believe he was the one doing this to her.

As he drove into her with a ruthless rhythm, making her moan in pleasure and in pain, the knot coiled deep in her belly finally snapped. Her mouth fell open in a silent cry, body seizing as pleasure tore through her in crashing, unstoppable waves. Every muscle locked, every nerve alight—her release all-consuming.

And Bob felt it: every pulse, every flutter of her cunt gripping his cock like a vice. The intensity stole the breath from his lungs, forced a strangled moan from his throat. She clenched around him again and again, and he swore he could feel her heartbeat inside her walls, dragging him closer to the edge with each desperate squeeze.

His control shattered.

A low, broken moan tore from his throat as he sloppily thrust into her a couple more times, driven purely by instinct and need, chasing the high that tore through him with raw, blinding force, as he spilled deep inside her.

“Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck—”

Rae’s back arched as he continued to fill her, thick pulses of cum spilling deep inside her, making her gasp as her body trembled around him, greedy and grateful all at once. She was still convulsing, her walls fluttering in the aftershocks of their shared release, when she collapsed onto his chest. His arms came around her, strong and grounding, holding her close.

For a long, blissful moment, Rae and Bob just stayed there, wrapped in each other’s arms, breath still uneven, skin warm with the afterglow. He hadn’t moved—still deep inside her, still holding her like he didn’t want to let go—and she was content to stay just like that, her cheek resting against his chest.

Then she shifted slightly, just enough to poke his cheek with one finger.

“Where did you learn how to do that,” Rae asked, cocking a brow..

The confident Bob—the one who’d taken control, driven her to the edge and right over it—was gone. In his place was the flustered, sweet man she adored, cheeks turning red.

“It just felt like the right thing to do,” he muttered, lips twitching as he fought off a bashful smile. “This might be the best birthday present ever.”

“Glad you think so,” Rae murmured, eyes fluttering shut again. “I don’t think I’ll be able to walk tomorrow.”

It was painfully clear that Bob had no idea just how… big he was. While Rae didn’t have much experience herself, courtesy of a hypocritical father who preached purity while practicing none of it, she still knew enough to recognize he was well above average. The lingering ache between her thighs was proof enough.

And yet, even through the soreness, even though her hips were aching from his iron grip, all she could think about was how good he’d felt in her mouth—heavy, warm, filling her like he was made for it. She found herself already looking forward to the next time she could taste him, to watch him fall apart for her all over again.

“I’ll carry you,” he offered without hesitation.

“Yeah, and let the others find out what we did?” she snorted. “Absolutely not.”

As if on cue, a muffled shout came through the wall: “WE HEARD EVERYTHING!”

Rae groaned and buried her face in Bob’s chest. He blinked, looking absolutely horrified.

“Oh no.”

[loser-mobile]

Future Lover - Chapter 3 - Jason Todd x Reader

Synopsis: Trying to make it in Gotham, you are dragged clawing and screaming into a time travel mess with a man who claims to be your future husband.

Author’s Note: Holy fucking shit you guys I cannot express how elated I am at the engagement from my last two posts. I have been thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking about how to beat my last chapter and make the next one something special, and I just spent the last 2-3 hours polishing this off. For reference, it is currently 3am where I am. I am one silly noodle.

I think now is officially the time for me to state MDNI. 18+, not just for this chapter, but more broadly for this fic because I am planning on having more explicit content in future.

Content: Mild mention of injuries, and SA implied.

Word Count: 4.2k (Somehow??)

The small backseat of the batmobile was cool. The dark gray seats felt like cold slate, and you awkwardly sat on your hands in an effort to warm them up. You peer out the dark tinted glass as the city passes you by. 

Your eyes dart forward, and timidly meet the eyes of Batman. The white lenses of his cowl are inscrutable. They look like they could be looking at you, and the road ahead, at the same time. All-knowing, the eyes of Batman. 

“Hey.”

You turn your head to the right. Sitting beside you in the backseat is Red Hood, well- the old, no, future Red Hood? Who exactly is this guy? He smiles at you warmly, red muzzle still pulled down to hang around his neck, domino mask still pressed firmly on his face. White lenses meet your gaze, and you stare at each other. 

He whispers again, in a hushed tone.

“He’s really not that bad, y’know. I know he looks scary, but he’s a big softie.”

You blink. “Who? Oh, yeah, Batman. Right.”

You chuckle breathily. 

He smiles back, a little awkward. But there's something else there too. He smiles at you like he expects you to know him. Like he can’t believe you don’t. 

You look away, a little flustered. What the fuck is his deal?

After the fight had concluded, you had watched as Batman made a series of executive decisions. It was awe-inspiring, simply watching the half-man half-legend expertly delegate tasks in his team. Red-Robin is injured, and can’t get back on his own. Spoiler voiced her prognosis, then agreed to meet back at the Cave. They help Red-Robin into the front passenger’s seat, the seat in front of you. 

Then they turned to you. The loose end, the civilian. Before they could say anything, Future Hood had stepped in front of you and insisted, insisted, that you come along. So, here you were. In the Batmobile. After getting caught up in a fight that nearly killed you. What a time to be alive.

You can see through the gaps in the seat, and hear the costumed vigilante groan and grunt in pain as he clutches his side. He thankfully received basic medical attention. You feel as if you should suggest going to a hospital, but you know better. Hell, they probably have one back at the… wherever you’re going. Cave? Okay.

Nightwing and Robin were charged with tracking the two attackers. Ophelia and Max… no… Ophelia and Fred.. Oh whatever, it doesn’t matter. 

Red Hood, that is to say, current Red Hood took his motorcycle, scowling the whole time at his counterpart, who regarded him with almost bemused apathy. Fuckin’ freak, he had said, under his breath to the older Hood, shaking his head. It was obvious that he wasn’t convinced of the Future Red Hood’s story, or whoever he claimed to be. Matter of fact, you weren’t entirely convinced either. There’s plenty of weirdos in Gotham. That’s why it’s so cheap to live here. 

It was disconcerting, being called someone’s wife, especially by a man that had at least 20 years on you. Especially since his current self was someone who, up until this point, had been more of a title than a real person. The Red Hood, the Child of Crime Alley. One of Batman’s army, a formidable adversary. Oh, and just by the way, your future husband! Your mind pictures a Married At First Sight style wedding, with you walking down the aisle in a beautiful white dress, and him at the end in a tux, still wearing that iconic red helmet. You snort softly. Yeah, right.

Future Red Hood shifts beside you, and you sense him looking at you. You shoot a glance over at him, wide-eyed, and catch a knowing smirk on his face, before turning to face the window again. The less yearning eye-contact, the better. Also I should stop binge-watching MAFS.

The batmobile pulls down a hidden tunnel, and out again into an area thickly shrouded with trees. You hear the dirt path under the tires of the sportscar as it peels around another corner and into another long tunnel, this one lined with cool-white lights. The engine whirs as the car glides down the ramp and into the alcove of a large cave. This must be it. 

Batman parks the engine and other vigilants are quick to arrive to aid Red Robin. He’s aided by Signal and Spoiler, as they guide him towards a chair, where an older man with a long face quickly attends to him. 

Future Red Hood hops out of the car, then reaches out his hand to help you out as well, a charming smile plastered on his rugged face. You pause, then decide to just ignore him and lift yourself out of the lowrider alone.

“C’mon, sweetheart, you can’t keep me in the doghouse forever!” He quips, amused. 

The hulking man stands before you, arms crossed now in a relaxed posture.

You gaze back up at him, wide-eyed and aloof. Taking him in again, you notice that if you stand too close to him, you are forced to crane your neck up to meet his gaze. Just who the hell does this guy think he is?!  Your jaw tightens defiantly, and you squint your eyes. 

“You-”

“Jason?” 

Your attention is pulled to your side, to see Signal approach the two of you. The bright yellow and black of his suit cuts through the sleek black surroundings of the cave.

“Jason, what the hell happened to you? You look like shit, man” Signal chuckles, dryly. His gaze shifts to face you. 

“And who’s this?”

Before either of you can respond, the rumble of Red Hood’s motorcycle cuts you off. He pulls up beside the Batmobile. Signal does a double take.

Batman approaches behind the three of you. His deep growl responds.

“Signal, we need to conduct a DNA test. Draw blood from the two Red Hoods and begin a profile match. We need to be sure.” 

Red Hood dismounts from his back and stomps past us. Under the mask, it’s impossible to tell, but deep in your gut you know he’s scowling. The Red Hood beside you chuckles.

“Always so broody.”

Signal huffs out a laugh. “Right?”

He turns to face Future Red Hood, and his smile falters as he receives the older man’s glare.

“My bad.”

-

You are later invited to take refuge on the dark gray modular couch in the Batcave, by the butler, who introduces himself as Alfred. As he gently tends to your scraped hands and knees, you glance around the large room. The sprawling computer, with its multiple monitors, towers over you as you sit, letting the older gentleman clean and dress your wounds. You would feel intimidated, if you weren’t so damn impressed with the whole operation.

Red Robin lays on the medical bed, getting some much-needed rest it seems. Spoiler leans on the side, her golden hair spilling out from under the hood of her purple cloak. Over by the computer, Batman, Signal and Red Hood speak in hushed voices, casting glances every so often towards you, or the older Red Hood, who seems undeterred by the suspicious attitudes, choosing instead to meander around the cave, looking like a mildly entertained museum-goer, and not like someone who is in the fucking Batcave. 

“Ma’am?”

You head snaps to the side.

“Huh?”

“I said, shall I prepare some tea, ma’am?”

“Hm? Oh, yes, that would be lovely. Thank you, Alfred.”

“Very good.” He nods sagely, then quietly walks off to disappear into an adjacent room. Christ, how big is this place?

You chew on your lip a moment, then decide to just go for it. Gingerly standing up, you slowly walk over to the older Red Hood, wrapping your hands around your arms to feebly self-soothe. You walk to stand beside him, as he observes at a ginormous green t-rex statue, arms crossed.

You don’t speak for a moment. You're not quite sure what to say. But you clear your throat.

“Hey.”

“Hey. All patched up?” He asks, softly.

“Yeah.” You nod. “Alfred, the butler. Although he seems to be much more than a butler, in terms of responsibilities.”

“He is.” Is the simple response you’re given by the older Red Hood. You turn to face him. He looks somber.

“So.. future husband, huh?”

“...Yeah. I know it sounds insane.” He sheepishly confesses, turning his head to finally face you.

You huff, dismissively. I mean it is, obviously, insane. He’s an insane person. But the DNA test will soon confirm that. May as well see why he’s so obsessed with you in the meantime. You decide to play along; be affable. 

“I live in Gotham. Nothing’s off the table here.”

He chuckles at that. Good. Good?

“You don't believe me, do you?”

“No, I- I never said that.” You rebut, a little frustrated now.

“You didn’t have to. I can read you.” He states, like it's a fact.

“Oh, yeah, cause you know me so well.” You scoff, dismissively. 

“I do. We’ve been married nearly 20 years now.”

That shuts you up quickly.

“I know everything about you.” He murmurs, looming a bit closer. When did he move closer? It doesn’t matter, the only thing you can look at are his eyes.

“DNA doesn’t lie. You should come clean now, while you still can.”

“I’ll prove it. You’re 22 at present, so right now, you’re living with..” He takes a beat, turns his head to the side and closes his eyes briefly, seemingly conjuring up a memory. “Alice, Harrison, Mike and Sarah.”

“Tch. Any creep with Facebook would know that.” You cross your arms and arch yourself up to him, puffing your chest out defiantly. This guy has done his research.

“Harrison recently hooked up with a guy who turned out to have a wife, and Alice broke your favourite bowl a few months ago.”

That one gets you. Your eyes widen for just a moment. You take a step back. That’s too eerie to be from Facebook.

“Stalker.”

“No. Your husband.”

You practically hiss back. “Get a grip.”

“Your favourite band is-” 

Signal’s voice rings out and interrupts him. “We have the results!” 

You quickly walk towards where he stands, with Batman and the other Red Hood. Older Red Hood trails behind, hands in the pockets of his worn cargo pants.

Signal and Batman part to reveal the screen, showing the results of a positive match. You turn, facing both Red Hoods, who now seem to be in some sort of glare-off. 

“It’s a match.” You state, a bit in shock.

“Whatta surprise. Told ya so.” Older Red Hood replies, eyes not leaving his younger counterpart.

“How did you get here?” Batman booms to your left.

“I already told you. I followed Ophidia and Felix through, after my daughter was taken. Our daughter.” He says the last bit to you, pointedly. 

“This doesn’t prove anything! You could still be lying about us being married!” You protest back.

“She’s right. I don’t know her from Adam, and you’re telling me we’re gonna get married?” Younger Red Hood pipes up, voice slightly muffled under the muzzle still. “I’ve never met this woman before in my life. This isn’t Married At First Sight!” 

HolyshitheknowsMAFS. Your heart lurches for a moment at the mention of your current viewing obsession, before your brain brings you back down to Earth. The two Red Hoods continue bickering, each one getting louder and louder, before Batman interrupts.

“Enough!”

They both fall silent. It’s almost comical how close in age Batman and the Red Hood from the future seem to be, and yet he falls in line almost quicker and more obediently than current-day Red Hood. There’s a reverence, a gleamingly proud respect that your so-called future husband has for the caped crusader. It’s almost like he’s honoured to be in the presence of Batman at all.

“The argument can wait. We have two new super-powered threats loose on the streets of Gotham and people are in danger. We need to focus.”

“Three.”

“What?”

“There’s three. Ophidia and Felix. He’s otherwise known as Bullseye. You met them both today. But their leader, Sergio. He’s the real threat. And he has Iris. Our girl. She’s only fifteen.”

You stare at him, this time without malice or suspicion. Despite everything he might be lying about, you can see the very real fear for his daughter’s safety. 

Then, there’s the name. 

Iris

“Iris.” you murmur, quietly, to yourself.

“What’s their angle?” Current-day Red Hood pipes up, interrupting your internal spiral.

The older Red Hood responds. “They want me to suffer. They’ll do that by hurting everyone I love. And Sergio… Sergio.. plans to hurt her. Our Iris. Says he wants her to… start over with. Make a family.”

You can’t hold back the gasp that slips from your throat, as your eyes widen in horror. Despite yourself, your heart sinks to your feet. 

Beside you, Signal bristles, while Batman remains as stoic as a statue. But you watch as the two Red Hoods have virtually the same reaction. Jaws tightening, fists clenching, shoulders tense. Despite having delivered the news himself, the older Red Hood seems to have no easier time containing his reaction to the disturbing revelation, as if he had been trying to put it out of his mind for a while now.

“I have some leads.” He announces.

You step aside to allow him to access the computer keypad, as he marks down several locations on the giant map of Gotham. Nightwing and Robin's trackers are shown to be somewhere near the Cave, seemingly retreating after losing the scent of Bullseye and Ophidia. 

The older Red Hood begins to explain as he clacks away at the keyboard. “Sergio Sharp. He and I have history. I disrupted his father’s plans to create a machine that could essentially bend space and time. The project was being funded by Lex Luthor, and it was for a client of his that was… well, he wasn’t a saint, alright? But they were getting real close in their research, and I was only going in there to convince him to stop and put an end to the research, but…”

He takes a beat, and straightens up.

“Sergio’s father ended up being killed. It was… unintentional.” 

We all look at the older Red Hood as he provides us with some much-needed context. His shoulders slouch as he recalls the events that led to his daughter’s capture, and you can clearly see his remorse over Dr. Sharp’s death. It’s quiet for a moment.

But the younger Red Hood speaks up. “Well I’ve never heard of these guys. The Sharps, you said? When did you say you first met them?”

His older counterpart replies. “I didn’t. Dr. Sharp died in November of 2025.”

“That’s only a few months from now.” Signal remarks.

“Exactly. Sergio is likely trying to track his father down right now to give him the completed research and save his life. We do have an advantage, though. Sergio, his father, and their team were kept in a secure location during the course of their research. Secure, and unknown, even to them.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Red Robin pipes up from a few feet away, voice slightly weary from his injury.

“They slept, ate and worked in the same place for years. They weren’t allowed to leave, and when they did, they were drugged. LexCorp did it for “security” reasons, but we all know it was to avoid loose ends. Sergio doesn’t know where the hell he or his father are at this time. But I do.”

“So, let’s go there!” Young Red Hood exclaims.

“We can’t” Batman shuts him down quickly. “We need to regroup. Breaking into a LexCorp facility is a risky process, and we don’t even know if the older Sergio is there yet.”

“He’s right” The older Red Hood nods his head. “Besides, our main priority right now should be getting Iris.”

You feel that familiar maternal instinct swell up inside your chest. From your years working as a social worker, you’d learnt to balance that instinct with practical solutions and a healthy dose of boundaries, but this time it felt… different. Unshakeable.

You sigh. “Where do you think he’s taken her?”

Both of the Red Hoods look at you, but the older Red Hood meets your concerned gaze. “I have a few ideas, but we’re gonna need to do some digging. Cards on the table, this guy has the upperhand on me in many ways. He’s been obsessed with me for nearly twenty years, and I- I haven’t thought about him in a long time.”

“So, you’re saying we need to do some detective work. The family of detectives need to do some detecting” Signal’s voice chirps over from where she sits and listens with Red Robin.

“Tch. Yup.” Comes his response. “Think you can handle it?”

“Let's get to work.” Batman concludes.

“Just one more thing.” The voice comes from behind you. Nightwing. And, in tow, a scowling Robin. You hadn’t noticed them come in.

“What about her?” Nightwing points to you, smirking softly.

“What about her?” The older Red Hood quips back, defensively.

“Well, what does she get to know, B? And do we really believe she’s Hood’s future wife?”

“Not future. Very much current.” The older Red Hood pulls out a chain from under his outfit, and dangles it above his chest. On it is a simple silver wedding band. Smart. Avoiding degloving. 

“You know what I mean, man.” Comes the retort from the black-and-blue vigilante.

Alright, that's enough. 

“Do I get a say in this? Like, at all?” You pipe up, a little ticked off.

A somewhat tired sigh comes from Batman, as he considers all that they’ve just learned.

“Well, thats up to you.” He states, plainly. 

You shift your gaze from him, to Signal, and then finally back to the two Red Hoods, who now stand slightly adjacent to each other. You make eye contact with the older Red Hood.

“You said her name was Iris, right? Our- your daughter.”

He nods once.

You take a pause, and breathe in deeply.

“Th-”

The older Red Hood interrupts you. 

“That was your best friend’s name. From when you were little.”

You stare up at him, wide eyed. 

“She died when you were 9. Before she did, she gave you a locket, with a butterfly engraved inside. You used to say you were the butterfly girls.”

Your mouth parts slowly, and you feel like you can barely breathe, though your heart is pounding against your ribcage, like a rabbit in a cage.

“And you made a promise, when she died, that you'd name your daughter after her.”

Holy shit. He wasn’t lying. 

“And you loved her. Loved her dearly. But after she passed, you couldn’t speak about her anymore.” He concludes.

Tears well up in your eyes, and you feel your face scrunch in emotion that you can’t control. “I.. I haven’t told anyone that. Any of that.. I never- I couldn’t. Hurt too much.”

Hot tears spill down from your eyes and your hands rush up to cover your face, but he’s curled his arms around you in an instant. The faint smell of sweat and smoke, and the feeling of his leather jacket envelope you as you shudder into him, letting the sobs come out. After a long day of nothing but fear, confusion and frustration, it’s all too much.

“So it’s true.” You hear from behind him, the familiar voice of Signal.

No response is heard, but the room seems to concur. That this Red Hood, the one holding you right now as you cry, has been telling the truth. He’s from the future, he’s the same man as the current Red Hood, and eventually, the two of you will, inexplicably, be married.

You sniffle. “I’m okay, I’m okay.” You blubber, composing yourself as you peel away from the Future Red Hood’s arms. “I’m sorry, it’s just-”

“Don’t apologise. Never apologise.” The tall man responds, seemingly reluctant to let go of you as you break from his arms.

From your right, Signal holds out a box of batman-branded tissues for you to use, and you chuckle softly and take one, thanking him. He smiles warmly.

Steadying yourself with a deep breath, and composing yourself as much as one can after breaking down in front of the Batfamily, you turn to face Batman, and nod.

“I think he’s telling the truth. Iris is someone very few people know about. And he knows details about her I’ve never told anyone. Ever.” You confirm, voice slightly wobbly still.

Batman meets your gaze, and is silent for a moment, before nodding. “Very well.”

Then, without hesitation, pulls off the cowl to reveal..

Bruce Wayne.

He smiles at you, and nods slightly.

Your eyes practically bulge out of your head. But before you can say anything, Signal removes his helmet, and sticks out his hand.

“Duke Thomas. Ward of Bruce Wayne.”

You mechanically meet his hand with yours, still glancing from him to Mr. Wayne in shock.

From behind you, Nightwing clears his throat and removes his white-lensed domino mask, revealing the iconic blue eyes of Dick Grayson. One of Gotham’s heartthrobs, and adoptive son of Mr. Wayne. Beside him, Robin groans. 

“Yes, yes, you’re all very impressive. Perhaps we can do our introductions to this complete stranger later?" The short teenager huffs, practically stomping away. You bite back a grin, and share a mirthful look with Duke.

“He’s always like this, don’t worry.” Duke whispers to you.

“I heard that!” Comes the biting, yet admittedly high-pitched response from the little Robin.

Turning from Duke as he rolls his eyes, you face the two Red Hoods. One gleams at you, with all the familiarity and affection that comes from nearly decades of marriage. Well, you can only assume.

The other has his arms crossed, and though you still can’t see him under the mask and muzzle, you just know he’s not happy. You swallow apprehensively. He doesn’t seem convinced. 

“They could both be lying, you know.” He says, addressing Mr. Wayne. “Some sorta long-con.”

“Jason, why would they lie? I mean, why would your future self lie?” Dick counters.

“I’m just employing some healthy skepticism, that’s all.” The younger Red Hood replies, somewhat haughty.

“She’s not lying, asshole. She wouldn’t lie about something like that.” The older Red Hood steps forward towards him, his broad back partially obscuring your view of the impending dick-measuring contest.

“And why should I believe you, prick?” Comes the retort, as the younger Red Hood steps up to the challenge. “You could be a clone, a freak that she made to infiltrate us, or to stalk me!”

“You arrogant piece of shit!” The older Red Hood swings a clenched fist at the younger one, which is swiftly blocked.

“Enough! ENOUGH!” Bruce’s deep voice cuts through the fight before it really even starts, and both men back off, steam practically billowing out of their ears.

Nightwing pipes up, chuckling humorlessly. “Yeah, that’s you, Jaybird. Ain’t no way to clone that kinda rage.” It earns him a glare from both Red Hoods.

You cut through, trying to refocus the two fuming men. 

“So… are you gonna tell me who you are? I mean, I already know your first name; Jason, right?” The request comes out more timid than you would’ve liked it to, but oh well.

The older Red Hood, or Jason, looks over to the younger one, who stands further away from you. He squints in response, then groans out his response. He unbuckles the muzzle fully, then removes the domino mask, and runs a hand through his hair. His… white striped hair..

Hang on, is that the crazy guy from the bus? The one no-one would sit next to?

He steps closer towards you and holds out his hand. His face is neutral, a little stern.

“Jason. Jason Todd.”

You take his hand, and shake it firmly.

“Nice to meet you, Jason Todd. My name is-”

Epilogue

Later that evening

Stephanie Brown swoons theatrically, trailing a very unhappy Jason through the hallways of Wayne Manor. Beside her walks Duke, hands in the pockets of his jeans, with a puzzled look on his face.

“How does it feel to be living my dream, Jason? I mean, you’ve got living, breathing confirmation that you’re not gonna die alone. Well, not again, at least.” Steph prods him.

She doesn’t get much more out of him than a grumble.

Duke chimes in, with seemingly more concerning matters to discuss. Seemingly.

“What I’m wondering is, what do we call you now. Y’know, since there’s two of you. Future Jason, and Current Jason? That's a bit of a mouthful. Jason One and Jason Two?”

“Nah, that’s too ‘Cat in the Hat’.” Steph comments.

“You can call me absolutely nothing, and fuck off.” Jason spits back, shoulders hunched defensively as he ascends the stairs.

Steph and Duke exchange a wide-eyed look as he disappears into the second floor of the manor.

“Drama-queen…” Stephanie warbles softly, making Duke giggle softly.

“How about… Red Hood and Blue Hood?” Tim peers from behind a corner.

“Again, we’re not looking for Dr. Seuss references, Tim.” Duke dismisses him. “This is strictly strategic. Battlefield. Code names.”

“Well, maybe you should ask the older Jason. He seems kinda okay.” Tim suggests.

“Mm.. he’s kinda scary, no? Besides, what if he tells me my future? What if I hate it?” Stephanie responds, biting her lip anxiously. Duke nods in agreement.

“Well,” Tim remarks. “Guess we’re just gonna have to sleep on it. G’night, guys.”

“Goodnight.”

“Night”

A/N: K so obviously that last bit (pre-epilogue) was you saying your name, but I refuse to put y/n after that goddamn hilarious y/n meme on tiktok, so you can all use ya brains!

Just kidding. love you.

Also I hope my ability to write well is still alright. Since I am writing the majority of these at night/early morning like a bloody nutjob, I am a little nervous that I just ramble. And this chapter is... like... 2k longer than the two before. Anyway, like always my DMs are open for feedback and I love reading your responses in the comments/tags :)

So I'm not sure if it's completely obvious at this point but I'm not a super avid comics reader, so if the characters are a bit mischaracterised, I'm sorry, but tbh im NOT SORRY and these are MY DOLLS and I'll play with them how I WANT.

okay goodnight love you MWAH

Taglist:

@c4xcocoa

@coffeemin

@theendofthematerialgworl

@daffy-the-duck

@phoenix666stuff

@coralineyouareinterribledanger

@sinnamon-bunn

@ohgodimgoungtodie

@4rachn3

@ye-olde-trash-panda

@truthdaze

@arkham-hoods

@salvatt1

@krys0210

Biting my hair right now im so friggin excited for you guys to read this.

[girl-singing-in-the-wreckage]

William Afton character rambling (SOTM spoilers ahead)

I see a lot of people complaining that Afton’s character has “changed” and that he’s “turned him from a villain with a backstory to a one dimensional villain who’s just evil to be evil.”

I hate to burst your bubble, but he’s always been that way. The point of William Afton as a character is that he’s a total loser who hides in a fucking rabbit suit. He’s not some overpowered supervillain, he’s a loser obsessed with becoming overpowered and knocking people off their pedestals so he can take it over.

Why do you think he targets children? They are smaller than him, easily manipulated. Adults are mostly killed by him in a secondhand way (possessed animatronics that he manipulated into doing his bidding), but he’s never the one doing that work.

Why do you think he sends Michael to the bunker? Because he doesn’t care if Michael dies. He knows the risks, but he views his own son as more of a tool.

The Silver Eyes straight up describes him as someone who spent a some of his life mistreated (whether that be he came from an abusive home, or something else), and rather than growing from that and being good — he “takes on the bitter mantle of sadism himself.” If you read between the lines of TSE trilogy, the journals are pointing out that he’s so obsessed with Henry’s abilities that it’s essentially just the incessant rambles of a madman. What does he do? He kills Charlie, which effectively drives Henry to kill himself. With Henry gone, William starts ripping his shit from him.

Sounds familiar? That’s literally what happens in SOTM. Edwin is just TSE Henry with a fake mustache slapped on him. William snatching shit and causing downfalls isn’t a new concept, it’s at the core of his character. He’s an evil man for the sake of self-serving to get what he wants. He doesn’t care about what he has to do, or who he has to knock out of his way, he only cares for himself. The people he surrounds himself are just stepping stools he uses to boost himself, and when he doesn’t need them, he rids of them (we see this in the movie with Vanessa. When she stands in the way of getting to Abby and Mike, he tries to kill her).

William is literally a grown up, bratty kid who throws tantrums when things don’t go their way.

He isn’t a villain born from tragedy, William Afton is a villain of his own making because he likes it that way. He gets joy out of destruction and taking things for himself.

And before anyone tries to bring up “but fnaf 4 is showing that his son died!!” I beg you to put yourself back in the fnaf 1-4 era where one of the biggest questions was “why the hell do nightguards keep coming back night after night?”

Because fnaf 4 wasn’t showing William’s motive, it was showing Michael’s motivation and why he goes through hell to try and undo everything. Michael made a mistake that he’s trying to redeem himself for. A child’s death wasn’t what marked the downfall of William Afton, William did it to himself by being a shady, selfish businessman.

[puprdou]

HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD

people don't recognize tokyo revengers for what it really is.

i feel as though people don’t speak enough about ’love’ in tokyo revengers. i understand tokyo revengers for what it is as an animanga: angsty, dramatic and filled with action. i am aware of the kind of animanga tokyo revengers is, but i truly wished it was spoken about more how much of a love story tokyo revengers is.

there is so many different examples throughout the animanga that showed genuine love. whether or not it was platonic, familial or romantic, there are so many different kind of relationships throughout the series that i feel aren’t spoken about enough for how they truly are and are unmistakably overshadowed by the angst of the series.

like, takemichi and mikey for example. they were destined to meet since they were mere first graders, as shown when takemichi was given the time traveling power by shinichiro at a young age. whether you ship them or not, they are soulmates, platonic or romantic. takemichi’s mission went from saving hina, to saving his friends, to being unable to stop until he saved mikey. he abandoned his own wedding and got himself murdered solely to see mikey once more so that he could save him. even as his last words were spoken in the kanto arc after being stabbed with a katana by mikey, he still solemnly swore that no matter how many times it took, he would save him, mikey, the man who killed him in that timeline.

or, like draken and emma. it was obvious from the early animanga that she was in love with draken, and did things in desperation hoping that he would notice her, recognize her want and need for him. emma died believing that draken didn’t love her, and draken died thinking about emma and his friends as his final thoughts. the entire time, draken reciprocated her feelings despite his obliviousness to her advancements on him.

you could also use kakucho and izana as a good example. again, whether or not it is platonic or romanticly the way you view them together, i believe they were still meant to be. i feel their trope was overshadowed, the fact that kaku never supported or believed anything izana did or wanted was good, but did anything he wanted without questioning because he’s devoted to him. it’s so different from most tropes, and that i truly enjoy about them. izana died to save kakucho, his ’servant’, because kaku was the only person he felt he could truly consider someone he loves and cares about, as the only person he truly has in his life being him. kaku died thinking about being together with izana again two years after the incident.

or the haitani brothers and the kawata twins. the haitani brothers are always together, always going as to ’match’ each other in some sort of way and to stand out from the rest. the way ran screamed rindou’s name in the tenjiku arc when angry was about to hurt him showed genuine concern and fear for his little brother. smiley was worried about angry because he knew he would cry, even if smiley wasn’t there. they are brothers, they care about eachother most in the world. they come in duos and shouldn’t be seperated.

even kisaki and hanma can be used as an example of love, whether romantic or platonic, either way. even if it was silly, hanma’s interest in kisaki grew more with each event that happened. the way hanma cried for the first time when he saw kisaki’s death showed his genuine care for him, even if kisaki saw him as only a pawn for him to use.

mikey and baji, draken and mitsuya, pah-chin and peh-yan, kazutora and baji, chifuyu and baji, izana and shinichiro, akkun and takemichi, kokonoi and inui. i could list so many more duos that are undervalued for their love stories, platonic, familial and romantic alike.

fuck, shinichiro literally killed someone in desperation just for things to be better in the original timeline, to see emma again, to see mikey smile.

there is so many fantastic examples of true and genuine love in tokyo revengers and i wish it wasn’t so ignored and overshadowed by peoples beliefs, headcanons, views and just the general angst of the story of tokyo revengers.

i truly wish it was spoken about more of how tokyo revengers is more than just an angsty action story about takemichi, who time trvaeled to save his former love and gained new friends on the way.

it’s more than that. it’s a story about love, family and hurt. and that alone needs to be valued way more than it really is in the fandom.

and i know that this can be seen as ’my own opinion’ and ’my own belief’, and i can accept that for what it is, because it is my opinion and my belief on tokyo revengers. but if you just payed attention to see these things you would realize it too.

tokyo revengers is a story about love. yes, it includes angst, action, fantasy and more but it is an overall story about love. more people need to realize that.

[lyerra]

(deltarune chapter 4 spoilers)

Noelle says her friendship with Kris was forced, but she has a cactus named Krismas and a photo of them on her computer's cycling wallpaper. I think that makes it clear that she never felt forced to be Kris' friends, but rather that she thinks that's how Kris felt.

They became friends because their parents (and their respective siblings) were friends, but since Kris was weird and kinda creepy, Noelle never figured out if they liked her. Noelle, however, LOVES creepy and weird stuff - I don't think I have to explain this. And that probably extends to people given that she has a crush on Susie whom she feels (or felt) is really scary.

And since Kris distanced themself from her after the incident (whatever it was that happened), when their families stopped seeing each other, she thought that was all there was to their friendship, that Kris was forced to hang out with her and never really wanted to in the first place.

I don't think that's true, though. During the closet scene, Kris blushes when Susie brings up the ferris wheel photo of Kris and Noelle (same as when she mentions they're good at flirting lol). The Noelle tea in chapter two also shows that they truly like her even if they've grown apart.

[chap 4 weird route spoilers start]

Also, in the weird route, Kris went to see Noelle to comfort her and tell her it was all a dream. If the player forces Noelle to equip the ThornRing again, they burst into rage and kick the hell out of the Soul in the bathroom. If given the opportunity to, they take Noelle and run away from the room. It's obvious they care and how much it hurts them to see her hurt.

[chap 4 weird route spoilers end]

I think the reason Kris took their distance after the incident was either that they isolated themselves, or that maybe(?) they felt responsible(?) for what happened(?) and decided not to see Noelle anymore. That's really just speculation since we don't know what happened yet, but those could be possible explanations given what we know at the moment.

Anyways, I think Noelle and Kris still really do care for each other deeply. I hope future chapters will give them more opportunities to talk about their relationship and mend their friendship.

(getting a little bit ahead of myself here, but if the girl in the prophecy is Noelle and not Susie as I've seen some theorize, and Kris knows, it could also explain why they distanced themself... I guess...?)

[terriblepersongreatseamonster]

A thought about the reunion scene below (spoilers ahead, you've been warned)...

Ok, I've now read many posts about the reunion scene. Some people liked it, some didn't. I appreciate the well-thought out takes from both sides of the argument. I've gone back & watched the scene a few times now & here's my opinion, and keep in mind this is just one person's opinion.

Personally, I really enjoyed the scene overall. I am still a little bummed that we didn't get to hear Maomao wonder if Jinshi was there to rescue her. That's honestly my biggest issue.

I loved that Jinshi walked toward Maomao & then she walked toward him. I'm so happy that they kept the request for him to protect her as the first thing she says to him. Maomao is probably the softest with Jinshi that I've ever seen her in this scene. And when she starts to smile because she's missed "this atmosphere" it's such a pure, sweet smile that begins to form. She's looking right up at him and she starts to genuinely smile.

I know many people feel the scene was really rushed & yes it is pretty quick. However, unlike the frog scene where they were alone & had some time, this time there's just not that much time to work with. The building is on fire. The battle is still ongoing. Shishou & Loulan still have to be tracked down.

I also think that as relieved as Jinshi is to find her, there's also so much anxiety/uncertainty churning inside him. The last time they saw each other he was still Jinshi the eunuch. He bursts into the room & Maomao is suddenly seeing this man she knows but he's no longer the eunuch. He's in armor, his voice isn't all honeyed. He's not hiding behind a facade anymore. He also has Gaoshun's words in his head about how he's going to have to interact differently with Maomao now. And then someone calls him the crown prince & even though he tells them that's not who he is anymore, you can see him watching Maomao, trying to gauge her response to all of this. He'd tried to tell her before, but had never succeeded. And now she knows. Is she still going to hold to her promise that he'll always be Master Jinshi to her, or is she going to pull away even more because she's so certain that he outranks her even more than she already thought? She doesn't immediately do any of the things he's probably been terrified she might do once she found out his identity. (Hence him being far more tense around her than usual.) She takes the news pretty calmly, & even goes so far as to gently tease him.

I think (fingers crossed, knock on wood, etc...) that we're going to get the much more heavy emotional impact in the carriage scene. No idea if that will be the end of next episode or beginning of the last episode. I could see them pulling another frog scene & starting it at the end of next episode & leaving us on a cliffhanger for a week. Maybe Jinshi comes in, is investigating her condition & right as she wakes up & sees him, the credits roll.

Back to the reunion scene, I think I wasn't disappointed because this was exactly how it had played out in my head when I read it.

I'm sorry if the scene disappointed you. I do understand feeling let down by a big moment in a show. Especially when it's a scene that's been anxiously anticipated. That's incredibly frustrating.

If you enjoyed the scene, I'm happy for you. It really was good to see Jinmao back together.

[indecisivekatz]

DAY 1 OF KPOP DEMON HUNTER ANALYSIS!: Analysing the Costume Designs in KPop Demon Hunters And Subtle Visual Storytelling Before it Releases

Oh yes, you heard me right-- I've only got this theory and another one in the works, but I might think of some other things to hyperanalyse eventually!!

(Contains potential spoilers for the movie!!)

And warning, as my inner analyst comes out, and I start speaking both formal and casual back and forth-- XD Andd-- I uhh, I'm sorta writing this in one go, so if I start repeating myself, I'm sorry lol XD

The Starting Stage Outfits:

Something I really loved about the HUNTR/X's design is how they balanced looking both uniform and unique! And you can REALLY see that with their outfits at what I'm pretty sure is the beginning of the movie.

I like how they establish Rumi as being different to Mira and Zoey (more on this soon), as they put all their yellow around their lower parts of their designs, whilst Rumi keeps it to her jacket.

I especially love how the designers chose purple for Rumi's hair as it's almost complimentary on the colour wheel against the yellows of her jacket, so there's a really high contrast of colours in her design which again, helps her stand out from the two. She seems to have a more rectangular shape in her design (the jacket, the short pants, the bulky platform boots), and rectangles have often been associated with 'sturdiness'. And judging what we've heard about Rumi, this matches her perfectionist personality.

It's interesting that her hair is the one thing that's not 'rectangular', but it still matches her perfectionist personality as it's super high up (which can at times be uncomfortable). Hair symbolism is a lot of fun- but I'm getting ahead of myself, I swear I'll come back to this later on in the post.

Zoey's outfit features very baggy trousers, which goes well with her round buns. Round shapes are often associated with 'good' characters and safety. In this case, I'm pretty sure it captures her fun goofy personality. She's also different from Rumi and Mira who both sport boots. She instead wears sneakers, which potentially indicates that she values comfort over what's aesthetically pleasing. This theory is further corroborated by how she's the only one of the two who hasn't dyed her hair (assuming she wasn't a brown haired aha).

Mira on the other hand has a "very sharp" (not super sharp honestly, but noticeable enough) design with the sharp half pigtails in her hair and sharp sidebangs in her fringe. Her skirt has a very triangular sharp which further exacerbates her sharp design, and whereas Rumi has much bulkier boots (which I assume would be easier to walk in, but don't quote me, sneakers all the way lol), she wears "pointed" boots (not the sharp ended kinda ones you see in high-heel pumps). I think this is indicative of her seemingly more harsh personality...? We haven't seen too much of these girls, so I can't be too sure about this note lol.

A little crumb of a much bigger theory I'm going to talk about, but I also like how Mira and Zoey have black in their tops, whereas Rumi wears white. Once again, making her stand out.

The HUNTR/X's Awards Outfits

So this one I can't really talk about without getting into my bigger theory but, the there's more shape language in this with the 'belts' for the girls! Zoey's got these half-round jewellery (??) stuff that connect her belt. Whereas Mira's got a long fabric knot thingy (I'm sorry I don't know the name 😭) which kindaaa calls to her triangular shape language.

Honestly, Rumi's is the most obvious one, with her rectangular belt.

(EDIT: These outfits are not to be confused with these ones

because if I acknowledge this version of their outfits, everything I'm about to say will be undone- LOL XD)

Pyjamas:

Nothing too much to note, but I love how Mira and Zoey both have purple in their pyjamas, indicating what might likely be a subconscious show of their love and respect for Rumi.

Okay, onto our favourite bad boy band:

The Saja Boys:

On Wednesdays, we wear pink yellow. Except if you're Jinu--

I'M SORRY- there's not much I can really analyse since we don't know too much about these boys. But I find it interesting how these guys copied the HUNTR/X by all of them (except Jinu) wear yellow + pink together what I assume to be their public debut.

Love that Jinu's the only one who didn't dye his hair. I like to think he tricked the other four into thinking he was going to dye it, but then backed out immediately after the others did it. "Actually, as the leader of this team, I don't need to dye my hair. It.... uhh- makes me stand out. Yeah!"

Saja Boys After Watching Mean Girls

Jinu finally got the memo that you need to MATCH your bandmates.

Nothing TOO much to say just that if you look carefully Jinu's shirt patterns have got a tiger stripe design! These guys aren't very subtle.

Notice how now suddenly, the boys are all wearing pink... they're starting to all look the same in terms of uniform. But hey, there's still some distinction in their outfit styles!

The Boys After Watching Wednesday ON Wednesday:

Nothing too much to say again (this one is likely gonna be saved for my next theory in a different post), but their tiger markings are starting to show off in their outfits!

"Okay, it looks like our fans don't we care if we're demon-looking, so long as we're hot and can sing enough, they'll love us regardless lol":

Notice how now these guys are completely uniform, and they now kinda lose their individuality (apart from their hair WHICH, mind you is mostly covered by their hats).

I really like how what I'm pretty sure is going to be their final outfits in the battle, they're all pretty much the same. Any of their personalities in their outfits are just gone. It's likely that it's not considered important to them anymore, since they think they're gonna win.

It's really noticeable in the trailer how when they're in their Jeoseung Saja fits, they're really unindistinguishable for each other, especially in the dark.

It could indicate the Saja Boys' way of thinking, a more 'collective mind' sorta thing. Maybe they put aside some of their own wants and desires in pursuit of pleasing whoever the Big Bad is. (assuming Jinu isn't. And let's be real, it likely isn't him). Isn't it suspicious how we don't have any of the other Saja Boys names but Jinu? Maybe they're all gonna go nameless until the very end of the film.

We all know that identity is going to be one of the main themes of Kpop Demon Hunters, so for the Saja Boys to slowly strip themselves of their identities in favour of unity is really interesting!

THEORY TERRITORY:

Okay now we're into the meat of this post. The part I was the most excited to write for and decided to make this entire post on a dime.

So there's this theory floating around that SPOILERSSS! LAST CHANCE!!

Rumi might possibly be a demon! Or half! And I'm not gonna go into all these specifics about that, since plenty of people have already done that buttt- It's been noted that Rumi tends to cover her arms and neck with her outfits, which is pretty visually obvious ^^

So you know how I mentioned hair symbolism? I think the fact that Rumi has her hair up in a high braided ponytail, it's supposed to symbolise how 'trapped' she is in trying to make herself look utterly perfect. The hairstyle is very likely painful (it looks kind of tight) but it stops her hair from running wild everywhere. Just like how Rumi might be trying to hold back on being her true self.

But you know what's not too visually obvious? The OTHER ways Rumi's character outfits are always just slightly different to the other girls. Let's bring back those outfits again!

This could be coughed up to how Rumi is the leader and therefore, she must always have her outfit be different to the other girls, but I find it very intriguing how it's around the upper area, which is where Rumi always hides her skin the most (potentially due to having demonic marks there), is where she always seems to differentiate from the other girls.

And in this set of outfits case, not only is Rumi the only one wearing white compared to the other girls who wear black on their shirts, but she's the only one wearing the yellow in that area too!

Although, we do see a hint of black on her jacket!

We see this again in their awards outfits:

Notice how Mira and Zoey both wear black shirts, whilst Rumi wears a white shirt?? And how she's the only one with a black jacket. Again, this could possibly just to help her stand out. But I'm wondering if it's symbolic of how she's got a 'good' heart deep inside, but her 'outside' nature as potentially being a demon distracts from that.

And I think there's something to be said about Mira and Zoey having white on the outside, but black on the inside too! Perhaps it's symbolic of how they too are struggling too with appearances, though in their case it's more metaphorical. They want to appear perfect on the outside, but deep down, they have all these 'imperfections' which they consider to be bad, so they do their best to hide them with the white (perfection).

Alternatively, the black could be symbolic of their lives as Hunters. Rumi believes her job as a hunter to be everything, hence why she has a black jacket, it's all consuming her, wrapping itself against her tightly. Whereas with the girls, it's more of their 'inner selfs' and they're a bit more comfortable with it....? If I'm making any sense.

Now this one is really interesting. (I know I've said interesting like a hundred times already) Notice how when the girls first see the Saja Boys, Rumi is all consumed in pink, which is what I'm pretty sure is the Saja Boy's theme colour. And this time, Rumi's covered in black alongside the pink. And she's once again, visually separated from Mira and Zoey who both wear white.

And hey, Rumi's not the only one who does this sorta stuff! Jinu, the leader of the Saja Boys (a fun foil in designs), whilst not as obviously, also differentiates himself from the group. He's the only one who doesn't initially match the Saja Boys in their supposed debut. And if not for Abs Saja (believe me, I'm going to get into that guy next time!!!) he'd be the only one wearing short sleeves, actively promoting his demonic marks in comparison to Rumi who distracts everyone with her big hair (vs Jinu's natural hair colour) and covers her upper body up (verse Jinu who doesn't wear long sleeves)

Anyway, there might be more I have to say, so I may end up editing this later on, but I hope y'all enjoyed the analysis XD AND- I may end up making a following post to this when the movie comes out!

Stay tuned next time for when I talk about why Abs Saja both hates and admires Jinu.... yes, that's actually the next theory coming.

[so-mordor-itis]

(Kinda Clair Obscur spoilers? Read at your own risk ;w;)

Verso's love...

Verso’s love is quiet. It’s sneaky, lurking. He’s never there at all once, careful not to give too much of himself away. You get pieces of his personality, pieces of his humor. He slides you facts about himself as if you two were interrogating each other and he wanted to pass you at least one more secret before something unexpected happens, as if he knows the world will explode but does not have the heart to inform you. Verso has trained himself to observe, not wanting to know every crafted detail, but at least enough where he can plan ahead. He reads your body language. He’ll know if you want something before you even open your mouth. 

When he realizes you’re growing fond of him, maybe even more than that, his heart drops. Growing close to someone is painful, especially in the circumstance he finds himself in. Yet, a part of him wants desperately for a connection like this. He wants to love, to feel love, to give it. He craves it, but he doesn’t even know entirely why. Is it because of how many years he’s been alive? Is it because if he gives into loving someone, he can attempt to erase his doubts? (He knows the latter is a childish wish, but a human one nonetheless.) 

Verso is fighting himself as he speaks to you. His heart stirs seeing your cheeks curve with your smile, his eyes falling to your lips again and again. He forces himself to smile back when you reply to something he previously said. He doesn’t remember what he said, but if it made you smile he supposes it was good. Perhaps, for a little longer, he’ll continue to watch you. The war in his head will wage on, even if something sparks. 

He just wishes his happiness didn’t require swallowing large truths.

[tech-sapphy]

got some more fic food for the krusie fans under the cut! (spoilers ahead) cross-posted on ao3, title "pull me from the dark"

—

Susie couldn’t stand when people weren’t honest with her. Especially when they didn’t even outright lie, but instead just…kept things from her. Important things. Things that she wish she had known about, so that she could’ve made different choices, or even just so that she would KNOW. Because what’s the point in lying when the truth is gonna come out one way or another?

She thought Kris understood that. She thought Kris was one of the few people who would stick with her. They didn’t talk a lot, but she never thought that was because they were hiding things. 

She had snuck into their house while Toriel was at rehearsal. With everything going on, she just wanted to surprise them. Maybe go by Castle Town again, hang out, get some time to just have fun. 

But she heard some broken voice coming from Kris’s room, a voice that very much was not theirs. It was coming through what sounded like their phone. Telling them ominous things that didn’t really make sense. Things about the fountains. She wished she got there earlier, if only to hear the beginning of the call, maybe it would’ve made more sense then. 

And Kris was silent. Took it in. Said nothing. 

As Susie listened, she realized…how long had Kris been talking to this person? Since the beginning of the week? How long had Kris known things about the fountains and never said a word?

Susie felt a pit in her stomach as she realized. Anger started bubbling up, and she felt her mind going haywire. Who the fuck are they talking to, why did it sound like the person on the other end was speaking another language?

And why didn’t Kris SAY anything about this? Did they not trust her? Did they think she would just…get in their way?

If it was that last one, then maybe they were right. Because when Susie overheard that call from outside Kris’s room, with this unnervingly broken voice starting to say things she could understand, things about sacrifice and promises, Kris’s absolute silence, and eventually the bang of something being knocked over… 

And when she peeked inside the room’s cracked open door, seeing the birdcage on the ground with Kris kneeling over it, their head in their hands and their body heaving, as if they were crying…

She wouldn’t let Kris keep going like this. Not when they clearly hated it. Not when they were in this kind of danger.

—

The look on their face was almost enough to make her regret it.

She was surprised at her own restraint, not confronting Kris right then and there, instead waiting until they were at Castle Town. Having asked Ralsei to talk to Kris alone, with both she and Kris insisting that he go up to his room to decorate it with their finds from the church’s dark world, he was too far away to see or hear.

The moment she brought up the phone call, Kris stiffened up, and refused to say a word. Then they ran. 

Susie had to physically stop them from running, but Kris was both shorter and faster than her. They kept out-maneuvering her, she kept reaching out and stopping them, and the cycle repeated.

The Darkners that were in the castle lobby cleared out pretty quickly when they saw this. Susie offhandedly thought about how that made sense, since Darkners had this whole weird purpose thing that made them want to make sure that Lightners were only every happy… maybe Ralsei was the exception to the rule, and no one else would really be able to handle Lightners at their most upset.

The next time Susie got a hold of Kris, she steeled her nerves and did the only thing she could think of. She pulled them into a hug, catching them off guard for just long enough before pulling away so she could look them in the eyes.

“C’mon, Kris, you CAN’T just keep running like this forever. You gotta talk to me. That phone call was…” She didn’t want to let on just how fucking scared she was. “Weird. It sounds like you’re…in with something you shouldn’t be. What’s…what’s going on?”

Her voice slipped, and she almost didn’t recognize the soft, scared tone of her last question. 

If the look on Kris’s face said anything, they felt the same way. It was what she could only describe as some mix of dread, sadness, and fear, creating an expression that Susie never wanted to see them wear ever again. She wanted to see them with a shit-eating grin accompanied by their laughter, or a soft little smile like the one they had given her at the diner. 

But right now, all Susie had from them was this miserable look and silence. She kept looking at them, giving them a moment to speak up.

But Kris looked down, their hair covered their eyes, and the room remained silent. It was deafening. 

She didn’t want to get angry. Not at Kris, not when she knew that something was so wrong, but their silence…after how they had bonded, after how much she had come to trust them…

Something bitter bubbled up to her throat. 

“Heh. Should’ve known I’d never be in the clear.”

Kris shifted at that. Their head was still mostly down, but tilted upwards just slightly. Enough that she could see one of their eyes peeking out of the curtain of their hair. 

Their eyebrows were furrowed in what looked like confusion and a little bit of dread. That was all she could really read from them. Their hands shook, just a little, and for a brief moment, Susie’s mind stopped in its tracks. She wasn’t so sure, all of a sudden, about what she was gonna say. 

“Another person who’s not just gonna tell me the fucking truth.”

She wishes her mouth didn’t run faster than her mind. 

Despite feeling just as angry, she regretted those words the instant she said them. She was even more sure that she made a mistake when Kris fully looked down again, stiffening up, their hands shaking even more as they started mumbling.

“trying to…protect…”

Susie was almost too stunned to say anything, but managed to get her question out.

“What did you-“

“I’m trying to PROTECT YOU!”

Suddenly, a switch had flipped. Their head whipped up, both of their eyes fully visible to her and their expression teeming with anger. The fury and clarity in their voice was something that she’d never even imagined.

Despite everything, she couldn’t stop looking at them.

….Had the room turned red while she wasn’t looking?

It felt like it as Kris came up to her and pushed her back, not with nearly enough force to hurt, but enough to make a point. 

“Kris—“

“STOP!” They pushed her again. 

More prepared this time, she recovered quickly, only to be met with another frantic shove. They tried again, and—

“KRIS!” Susie braced herself and grabbed both of their wrists. They thrashed in her grasp, but she held steadfast. 

“Stop it! Just—let me…. stop….”

Their resistance became weaker and weaker until they eventually started slouching. Kris’s hands balled up into weak fists on her chest and their head fell. Their voice became mumbly again, repeating “stop” and “just let me…”

Suddenly, Susie could hear what Noelle was talking about the other day. Kris’s voice was different. 

In any other situation, Susie would be all over the opportunity to say that she didn’t need protection, if anything, Kris and Ralsei needed hers. But the way Kris was talking, and how they were shaking in her arms… 

Something was unbelievably wrong. And she’d be damned if she let Kris face it alone.

“Kris, what’s… seriously, what is going on?” 

She looked down to get a better look at them and saw that their eyes were wide, with…oh, they were crying… 

But they were still quiet. If they really thought they were protecting Susie by not saying anything, then she had a feeling that they would be here forever. She would just keep asking, and Kris would just keep spiraling. She needed to change her strategy. It took a moment before Kris started to let out a weak mumble.

“please, just…let me…”

“Hell no.”

Kris startled, but their tears stopped flowing and they had brought their head up just a little. They were still averting away from her gaze, but she could see their eyes again.

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know who you were on the phone with, or why you were talking to them. And maybe you’ve got a reason you’re not telling me. But something… something’s wrong. And I’m not just gonna watch you deal with it by yourself. Whatever’s got you like this, we’re gonna face it together. You, me, Ralsei, like always. And if you try to stop me…”

In an instinctive act of boldness, she brought a hand to their chin and held their head up so that they were looking at each other in the eyes.

“I’m gonna fight you, too.” 

—

Kris couldn’t stop looking at her. Her smile wicked and wide, her eyes burning with determination, her hold on their chin firm. It took all of the willpower they had left to not lean into her hand, to not move closer to her. 

They knew she said that in a half-joking way, but she didn’t realize how likely it actually was. 

So she probably also didn’t realize how desperately they wanted that.

If anyone is going to stop them, if someone is going to cut their strings and most likely cut into Kris’s own flesh in an attempt to do so…

They want it to be her.

[affogato-analysis]

Susie and freedom

Deltarune is consuming me, the symbolism around her is eating my brain and i love her to death. so, Susie.

spoilers ahead all the way to chapter 4's ending and potential speculations for the future.

I did write about that in a reblog like, two days or so ago but i wanted to detail it.

Susie is Freedom and it's so obvious.

she does not abide by the prophecy: there's the first switching side moment, when she decides to be a bad guy with Lancer instead of following the prophecy, there's also her asking Ralsei to take off his hood even though he's represented wearing it in the prophecy (could be linked to him not being the prince from the prophecy too). There's obviously the clear "we're not gonna let that happen" when she finds out about the prophecy's ending too and her refusal to accept the tragedy.

there's the freedom she brings to Kris by her friendship (see the actions that are so obviously theirs, like the drinks at church. see also the mirror dialogue "for some reason, seeing susie standing with you… You feel like things might actually be ok." (and yeah there's the whole question of who 'you' is in these lines but i'm pretty positive these are about Kris even if the Soul is in control).

there's the Dark World adventure where she constantly is the free and freeing one: in Lancer's castle, Noelle in Queen's tower, Toriel in chapter 3 and almost Undyne (she's certainly the one fighting the most out of her own freewill), then chapter 4 where she delivers a letter on Gerson's behalf to his son, therefore delivering one of his guilt and the other of his sense of duty (kinda, not exactly sure what to call it because insecurities feel too tame for what it is).

She also challenges the rules of the Dark World. In chapter 3, despite Tenna's comment on censorship, she can and does write ass as her name and has a "kiss the my ass" on her apron. Instead of just throwing Kris at the Titan at the end of chapter 4, she jumps with them, even if they are the only one able to seal the fountain. She learns a healing spell and refuses to give up despite not being meant to.

In the Light World, she's constantly defying expectations (see Alphys thinking Susie will make fun of her for her juice combo when she's just kinda curious about it) and also is the savior: she fights Berdly and Mayor Carol for Noelle's freedom. Also, in a way, since she's the one distracting Noelle, she's the one to give Kris freedom of action (or tries, because Kris does not have half a second's worth of freedom in this god forsaken game).

MEANING! the great power of contrast, Susie has so much more freedom than ANYONE ELSE. She fights for a lot of them though!

Kris is trapped by many things, including the Soul, that small town where they obviously don't fit anymore and that voice on the other side of the phone, and the promise they made. Which Susie fights every time: the freedom she brings through her friendship, the reaching them even at their worst (see the "Kris is surprisingly good at flirting" which stops them from their trying to murder the Soul and the mirror dialogue again).

Ralsei is dutifully abiding by the prophecy and unable to escape his role, at least partly because he doesn't try until Susie makes him (when he tells her he'll try to be more honest with her and Kris in the future in chapter 4). He doesn't even try to exist for himself ("we must not make the lightners worry", "i don't need a room") and every time she reaches out to tell him off (telling they're real friends, planning a surprise for him and trying to arrange him a room).

Noelle has her father at the hospital, her strict and potentially abusive mother, Berdly's creepy behavior towards her, her own expectations, even Queen's obsession to trap her. Susie fights all of these, by being there at the hospital (even if we bring her), telling her mother off, telling Berdly off and literally rescuing her out of Queen's grasp like a romance novel.

Herself. No one frees Susie. She breaks out of jail and the mold on her own, encouraged by her own will to do just that. She sees freedom and reaches for it, all on her own (well, we're with her, but she goes for it out of her own volition). She learns piano, her spelling is bad but she writes the letter for Gerson, she goes to church and immediately ditches the church clothes when she feels trapped in them.

I love her your honor, she is so brave.

And yeah, that opens an entire conversation about can she subvert the prophecy or is it going to catch up with her dramatically? Is she even the girl from the prophecy? Can Ralsei and Kris escape the prophecy? Can Kris and the Soul escape each other? (because we also did not choose Kris. We specifically didn't choose Kris actually, but our vessel was discarded.) And from there, we expand to the rest of the Light World: can Kris and Susie escape their own backgrounds and families, can they grow past their circumstances, can she lift Kris up the same way she does when they're climbing, offering a safe spot and tossing them up towards greater heights?

Or is this all going to end in tears with the prophecy overpowering her freedom? 'cause i would cry so bad

[shelldrawsandanimates]

Deltarune Chapter 4 spoilers ahead!!!

[[Part 1]] [[Part 2]] [[Part 3]] [[Part 4]]

This comic was inspired by the “Toriel is an alcoholic” theory.