#he’s kind of hard to grasp for me still but i think ive got how he looks in my mind there

[marsuro]

Not me getting my ass into Final Fantasy VII because I saw a new fave lmao

[refiwrites]

Can u write being el's first friend in california as popular fem!reader headcanons

el deserved better >:[ ive tried my best, hope you enjoy!

HCs of being Jane "Eleven" Hopper's first friend in California

New place, new school, new faces

El was hoping that she'd somehow blend right in, just in the background

Will was encouraging her although he also found it hard not seeing an inch of the faces he'd grown used to

The first few months passed, and El was beggining to slowly come out of her shell

But that's also when a girl named "Angela" had decided to start picking on El

D'yknow the presenation scene, yes that scene

Eleven felt her hands shake as the students in front of her laughed.

"Knock it off Angela, don't you have nothing else to do besides, I don't know, being an ass? Oh yeah I forgot, you're already one."

Eleven looked at where the source came from, there was you, giving Angela a smug smile as everyone now turned to snicker at her.

Then your eyes met Eleven's, and she saw you give her a small smile and a thumbs up.

Eleven knew she liked you better than anyone else here, except Will of course

"Ms. (l/n)! I will not be tolerating this kind of behaviour, meet me in detention later."

Eleven looked at the teacher and back at you, you gave a shrug and Eleven had the chance to continue her presentation

Now after class, and after freshly getting out of detention, you saw the girl or rather "Jane" as you could recall, walking towards a bench and sitting on it, placing her project on her lap.

It was the great time to approach

"Hey, I haven't seen you before... You're not from around here, aren't you?" You casually say after walking through the sea of students towards her.

Eleven tensed, but once she looked up to spot you, she felt herself calm down just a little bit

She shakes her head no, and you nod. You offered your hand and introduced yourself. "(Y/N) (L/N), you?"

Eleven looked at your hand and back at you

"I promise you I'm not like Angela, and I apologize for her behaviour, you know how animals act when they get out of their cage." You joked and that made Eleven audibly laugh

She shook your hand, uttering her name

"Jane, Jane Hopper."

"Well Jane Hopper, can I be your friend?"

Now this was the start of a rollercoaster of a friendship

You were the one to give the tour of everything, including the latest talks and such

Eleven was a bit overwhelmed at first, but with your reassurance she began to grasp things a little bit better

She also learned that you had quite put the reputation for yourself

Because you were known as that easy-going, reckless, and the funny type of popular

You were chaotic at times, but some would say you're one of the good ones

Don't get me wrong, you were still getting good grades (hopefully) but you just rather want to live in the moment

Eleven would often watch you in awe as you made the class erupt with laughter again

Will knew about this friendship and you got to meet him too, Will thinks you're cool and Eleven very much agrees

Few weeks in and you were already closer than ever

Going to Rink-O-Mania with her and Will

Having the time of your lives

Lucky for her, you were an expert in these things

You dragging Jane around as she laughs, trying to hold onto you so she doesn't fall

Will following you and laughing along when the three of you accidentally bumped into each other and falling on your butts

Over all having a good time

Also bonus

Defending Jane from the bullies

Eleven couldn't be more grateful, even though she's been around for a few months, the anxiety still hadn't settled in

But then Eleven suddenly had the thought of you getting hurt because of her

If ever that happens, Eleven knows that she'll protect you no matter what

You were her friend, and you were the only one who took their time getting to know her without any malice, even showing her all the cool stuff she'd been missing out

And you were respectful when she decides to stay silent when you ask her about herself

She wouldn't let anything happen to you

Although if she wanted to protect you it'll come with a cost

It meant telling you everything that happened, everything. Even all that's happened in Hawkins.

This often plagued her mind at night, what if they come for you?

But all she could do was hope that day would never happen.

[cowboy-robooty]

Robooty Reviews: Oni To Tengoku (8.9/10) ROBOOTY PERSONAL FAVORITE

(in my heart its a 10/10)

Atsurou Aoki is an english teacher who has some mad fuckin self esteem issues. hes our beautiful pathetic man protag and he ends up tangled up in a relationship of sorts with the school nurse, Manabu Tengoku. Its a dry premise and honestly the first volume requires you to sludge through a lot of average yaoi evil shit but please please please im begging you endure okay. i have been an oni to tengoku-er since 2019 and ive been following the development of the sequel (oni to tengoku sai) and the (now third) sequel (oni to tengoku kyuu) of this series and GOD. ILL BE REAL IM A MANIAC AND PROBABLY GOT A LOT MORE OUT OF THIS SERIES THAN THE AUTHOR INTENDED AT ALL BUT IDGAF PLEASE READ IT PERHAPS YOU CAN EXPERIENCE THE SAME ENLIGHTENING AS ME. READ MORE HAS SPOILERS BE WARNED (PART 1 CUZ OF TUMBLR IMAGE LIMIT)

this will be a little different than usual because i have a whole lot to say about aoki and tengoku. Really, a lot of this will be just talking about how and why i like their relationship so if you end up liking this you should most definately read the full manga to experience it for yourself

Despite all the fuckin bullshit of the first volume, the manga is really fucking good at interweving in its core themes and setting up the psychological basis of Aoki. Aoki was abused by his mother as a child, but i think the depiction of abuse is really realistic because even though she whittles down his self esteem and makes him feel worthless she hugs him afterwards and still is motherly towards him, this aoki doesnt hate his mother and fully cut her off per say but she is a demon to him. its pretty realistic imo where parents can do awful things but they buy you a donut and then its like ermm well.. they bought me a donut and do this in my best interest so its okay. Aoki is fucked in the head though. because he doesnt feel like he can be loved deep down and his entire career path is something he chose only because it was expected of him by his family (and his entire life is grasping at straws in an attempt to not disappoint people)

he wants more than anything to just not be an embarassment and be "worthy" of being loved. I like how this is depicted because again it feels more realistic in that he isnt outwardly a freak about it or anything he doesnt have breakdowns in public or anything thats enough to warrent himself to feel like he needs to get help. but he definately does need help of some sort because his way of thinking and the constant guilt and shame he feels is just something thats normal to him now. hes just tired and a bit worn down, but its not like anything is exceptionally bad, since humans are surprisingly adaptable and hes just lived with feeling like hes an embarassment who disappoints people his entire life so its norm.

Tengoku obviously doesnt mean it in the way aoki is taking is. but its things like this that make the themes feel well interwoven to me. Aoki doesnt look tengoku in the eye and say "i have mommy issues and feel like being an embarassment is the reason i cant be loved" but he still shows it in a way that we the audience can see he means, since we can put together aoki's lifestyle and viewpoint from his inner dialogues and flashbacks to his mother's abuse. Aoki wants more than anything else to be a good boy because only good boys can be loved. and unfortunately for aoki san this kind of means he has developed a praise kink and good boy fetish which tengoku just naturally leans towards so erm haha tengoku just pushing those buttons all willy nilly!

Tengoku isnt an idiot though, as he pursues aoki he can definately connect the dots and all that shit for how aoki ticks. This isnt exactly hard to do anyways, since aoki passively talks about himself to tengoku during non crazy scenes and its not like hes an enigma or anything because again, he thinks that the way he lives is completely normal for a guy like him. Tengoku likes aoki and chases him and aoki isnt exactly a willing participant. Tengoku likes aoki because hes a fun plaything and interesting and pure hearted and everything tengoku is not and aoki begins to form an affection for tengoku because he itches the mental illness brain damage spot by pursuing and wanting him consistently and not getting bored.

These panels are true brain damage pages because it hits upon how all aoki wants is for someone to look at him directly and still want him. His greatest wish (that he doesnt even believe could come true at the bottom of his heart) is to have someone that could see him for who he is and despite all his flaws. despite how hes useless, despite how hes not good at anything (to him), despite how hes bad at relationships, despite how he cant talk with other people, and despite what an embarassment he is, still love and want him. Seriously, I must recommend you to read this for yourself. Theres the yaoi bullshit sludge but every chapter has bits and pieces of Aoki's mindset that is an insanely good representation and depiction of how that kind of mentality and acceptance is like.

Volume 2 is where things really pick up. Yaoi sludge has been toned down to make way for FUCKING SWAG!!!! the set up for aoki's mentality is done now were onto getting into the way tengoku and aoki's personalities actually interact with eachother. Along with dipping into tengokus crazy bitch syndrome

Over this volume, were shown that actually aoki and tengoku are a good match for eachother. At least, tengoku provides something special for aoki in that he doesnt know from personal experience the feeling of needing to earn love, but because of that he bounces off well with aoki because he shows basic interest in going "well your feelings and thoughts do matter though. youre a person too". this isnt explicitly said, but its little things liks this that end up making aoki fall in love with him. Aoki falling in love with tengoku is also interesting because this is his first time actively liking someone else because its what he wants, not because its what the other person expects. Despite how terrible their relationship was at first, it set a ground where Aoki was able to create a strong connection with someone without the initial fear of disappointing them since he even didnt like tengoku at first. Honestly with the way Aoki is I think that is why hes able to love tengoku out of his volition, since he already has shown his shameful parts to him and tengoku still wants him-- in fact tengoku is the only person who has seen Aoki's shame and refused to let him go, this lets Aoki take a breather and think about what HE desires for once instead of how to keep someone with him or do whats good for the other person/not shameful.

Also a new teacher is introduced who actually is one of the many guys Tengoku had play-boyed before who became a teacher just so he could try to win tengokus love lol. but he serves as a plot device for that yaoi jealousy arc WOOOHOOOO! I love the jealousy chapter a lot though because BOTH CHARACTERS experience jealousy in their own way. I'm not sure if what Aoki experiences can be classified under jealousy or not, but ill just say it is because thats easier. The chapter is wonderfully done though because see Tengoku has always been the one who chases Aoki but also the one who reminds him that he doesnt fall in love this is just a sex playboy thing. Aoki is the one who has fallen in love and does show this by treating Tengoku specially, but Tengoku obviously doesnt reciprocate this since the way he acts at least is more like Aoki is his favorite of a bunch of toys rather than his one and only like how Aoki sees him. Aoki feels bitterness over this because he wishes he could be loved by Tengoku since Tengoku is somewhat wishy washy and gives Aoki just enough to keep hope but also smushes that hope by refusing a drop more. (this is done though bc this is fucking yaoi ofc tengoku loves aoki to bits and pieces back but tengoku is just scared of liking aoki too much and showing it too much but hold on we havent gotten to tengokus insanity yet jeeeesus christ!). Also im kind of at the tumblr 10 image limit but I think showing these next three pages are really important so ermm me when i post this and then add a reblog or two with MORE BULLSHIT. I'll properly tag the versions with my reblogs

[smh-yoon]

Hidan Valentines Brainrot ✰

a/n: was writing a greek god au for my akatsuki book on wattpad and things got a little spicy, so im continuing it here. kind of a drabble. this is sort of a romantic and poetic type piece bc that’s what the whole chapter was about, so he may seem ooc here.

this is the first time ive written a whole smut scenario pls be nice :,)

genre: romance, smut

pairing: dionysus! hidan x fem bodied! reader

warnings: unprotected sex, fingering, mild dirty talk, semi-public sex, porn without plot, mildly-rough sex, mild degradation, spit swallowing, creampie, kind of dom/sub dynamics?

✰MINORS DNI - ageless or underaged blogs with be blocked ✰

• • • • • • •

hidan’s lips pressed kisses against your neck, continuing to graze his teeth over every new spot, swiping his tongue over your skin.

if you didn’t know any better, you think it was the wine getting to him, making him trail his fingers over the skin of your thighs, with the rest of olympus right outside the closed doors of his private parlor. suddenly this room that had previously had no real purpose, did serve for something.

“why are you so tense, love? i plan to tend to your every need.” his fingers dipped over the apex of your thighs, wrenching a gasp from you as he collected some of the wetness between your thighs, using it to draw slow circles into your clit. you gripped his forearm with one hand, goosebumps rising on your skin as you felt his lips move, smirking against your neck.

“what, are you nervous? or maybe.. excited?” he let out a scoff, dipping his fingers into your cunt. they slid in with ease, and you’d gotten so worked up your eyes almost rolled back at the feeling. his fingers were so thick, the edges of his rings meeting your flesh with every thrust of his fingers.

with his other hand hidan gripped your chin, turning you to meet his eyes. his gaze made your stomach turn, clenching around his fingers as he swiped his tongue over his teeth.

“open wide for me pretty.”

without a second of hesitation you dropped your jaw, sticking your tongue out against your bottom lip. breathy moans escaped as your brain began to buzz, body aching with need that hidan was quick to satiate.

a dark grin crossed his face, closing his mouth and clenching his jaw for a second before he lowered himself, mouth just above yours. his fingers dug into your chin, holding your mouth open with fire burning your skin at his every touch.

and then he spit, saliva dripping into your mouth and meeting your tongue. you moaned at the shame that came with tasting it, catching hidan’s lips as he finally kissed yours. his lips worked feverishly, tongue pressing into your mouth to massage your own, feeling you arch against his chest.

then he was pulling away, stilling his fingers fully inside your cunt as he pulled your dress down over your breasts.

“how could i forget about your pretty tits, hm?” he murmured, leaning down and capturing your nipple in his mouth. another moan left your mouth, wincing as he lightly nibbled over the delicate skin of your breasts.

it was all beginning to feel a little too hot. his fingers were too deep, caressing you a little too good, his body pressed a little too close against yours. hidan still hasn’t resumed his previous task of thrusting his fingers inside you, creating a mess as your wetness began to trickle down your thighs, onto the plush sofa beneath you.

“please..” hidan hummed at your gasp, pulling away from your nipples and taking his fingers out of your cunt. he grinned seeing the liquid coating his fingers, watching you squirm in embarrassment.

this was his favorite sight to see.

you, sprawled out beneath him, covering in marks from his mouth, hickies and teeth marks. your nipples were taught, hard from his warm mouth pulling away and meeting the cold air. your legs spread just for him, cunt glistening with arousal.

“did you need something from me?” he took satisfaction in the way your bottom lip trembled, grasping as his robes as you whined.

“you. please, hidan.”

“sorry, i didn’t quite understand you.” he sat back on the balls of his feet, taking another moment to admire the view.

his hand met your inner thigh, lightly slapping your skin, coercing another moan from your mouth.

“please hidan!” with a click of his tongue, his grin dropped, beginning to tug at the robes covering his body. as selfish as he was when it came to his pleasure, he got enough out of watching you come undone beneath him.

he tugged himself out of the clothing covering his bare lower half, trailing the trip of his cock over the wetness that had collected over your thighs. with a groan he pressed his tip right against your cunt, barely pushing in before pulling away. you were ready to cry, nearly trembling at his teasing.

“please! i need you.” his tongue trailed over his top lip, hand tugging at the base of his hardened cock.

“how could i deny you?”

with bated breath you watched as hidan shuffled forward on his knees, parting your legs further and pushing into you. he watched as your eyes rolled back at the sensation of his cock filling you up, pressing until his pelvis met yours.

for a moment, he didn’t move, savoring in the warmth that surrounded his shaft, the slick ease he had pushing into you. you were always so ready to take him, eager to please and be pleased.

just as you had gotten a grip back onto reality, he pulled out thrusting back into you at a fast pace. within seconds, he reached the perfect rhythm to make you fall apart, the veins along his cock pressing against your walls. each thrust into you was rewarded with another moan.

“needed my cock this bad, huh? bet you’re gonna cum already.” hidan grinned again, his composed demeanor as he steadily thrusted into you making tears well in your eyes.

something about how he made it seem so easy to have you begging for him pushed you further, your stomach twisting and pussy clenching around his cock. his hand reached up to grip your hair, pulling back as you arched up towards him. he took the opportunity to spit into your open mouth again, watching you swallow thickly and open your eyes to meet his.

suddenly he was thrusting faster, pressing more of his body against you as sweat beaded down your chest, hard nipples brushing against his bare chest.

at this point, you were sure there would be bruises on your hips, and your hair was going to need a lot of saving. tingling pleasure began to run along your spine, feeling a knot begin to build in your core. “h-hidan.. gonna.. cum!”

hidan just hiked your right leg over his shoulder, reaching even deeper inside you as he brushed against your clit with each thrust.

“go on, cum for me.”

his hand reached down, fingers circling your clit as he continued at his unfaltering pace. the bubbling in your core snapped, throwing your head back and moaning loudly, clenching down around him as your orgasm washed over you.

hidan groaned right after you, the feeling of you tightening around him sending him hurtling into his own orgasm, filling your cunt with his cum.

your body was tingling with the afterglow of your orgasm, shivering as you felt hidan pump his load into you. when he pulled out his cum began to leak out of you, making him grin.

“you’re gonna have to keep it in all night baby.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

[tacodemuerte]

sorry i know you probably get this ask a lot but!! how do you figure out how you want to draw new people/characters?? or like how do you manage to keep up the steam of drawing them even if they dont turn out exactly how you want the first go around... your arts always been such a massive inspiration to me and ive always wanted to be able to stick with drawing the same people as devotedly as you do!!

hello! and no worries about it i love answering this kind of question! and thank you!

lately i kind of just got into the habit of like, accepting that the first few times of drawing someone new, is always gonna look a bit like dookIE,,

like earlythis year i think was the first time i drew jungle boy, and these were the initial drawingS..

there's a lot of stiffness in these bc i had to try my hardest to not just make 'luke perry' . but like he DOES have some resemblance..but still has his own like.. facE NDIOSHFDSIF. it was hard trying to figure that out

so a lot of the drwaings of him came out kinda stiff or just clearly insecure. usually i'd let it ruin my month but now i only just let it ruin my week (HEHE..JOKES). i kinda of just let it go and accept that it's gonna be ugly and move on to the next attempt!

i do this over and over and over until i finally reach an 'aha!' moment for the face. and once i have it i RIDE IT TILL IT'S DRY BABYY

it helps a lot to doodle as much as u can! use doodle time to just attempt the face and let that me the moment you allow the ugliest shit you've ever witnessed..ive been recently doing this with christian cage, since my weakspot is older people..CRINGE

so with enough scribbling and mindless doodling (YES.. MINDLESS DOODLING!) , i eventually get to a point where im confident enough to draw these guys without reference or with an easier grasp on how to simplify them in my style!

(with jack i realized he sort of has luke perry's face but has a big cabbage patch head. but i also take note of his eyes which is something that stands out to me a lot!)

(with cage.. we are still working on that, but i know ill get it eventually, just need some more time and patience!)

i hope this helps!! remember, just don't stress too much about it. it only really matters for a guy to look consistently good if you're literally doing hand animation at disney in 2002 NFOIHJSFIODHIGOD have fun!! compare contrast and accept the uglies!

[gumy-shark]

okayh okay HI you said you wanted to know about the freedom/passion dichotomy thing? ive got the graph and i am going to do my best to explain this to you despite me barely having a grasp of it on myself. THIS IS VERY LONG IM SORRY.

so the first thing you need to know is this just started as a way to split my ocs and help me make character arcs and motivations, and it became a little bit of a habit to categorize my favorite characters this way as well. its is in no means a perfect dichotomy, and im constantly looking for ways to refine it, but for now the best way ive found to illustrate it is this:

basically its which think they represent most... or what they value the most? idk its kind of a case-by-case basis and is dictated by Vibe. like I said THIS IS VERY FLAWED so bare with me pls

when i first started watching lmk i sorted all of the characters i knew into either category. this was within the first four/five days are watching so some of it might be.. off? but i think its still worth something as my first impression of the characters, and it'll probably help illustrate what i mean

Wukong -> Freedom Macaque -> Passion Wukong and Macaque have this thing where one has too much freedom and is learning to temper that with passion (wukong) and the other has too MUCH emotion and is trying everything he can to gain true freedom (macaque) (this is true even when he isn't under LBD's control but is esp prevalent then). they each value the opposite thing they stand for and are trying to be more like the other, without even realizing it. MK -> Freedom Dont get me wrong! He very much has passion! He holds a lot of emotion in that body! but a lot of that passion is the passion for freedom. he just wants to be able to be himself and hang out with his friends, he doesn't do well with all this responsibility :C Mei -> Passion Does this need defending? High sense of duty (mainly towards her ancestors and her friends), and so incredibly passionate. and impulsive. She spits fire when angry! Nothing more to be said honestly. Red Son -> Passion Is a really good parallel to Mei, has too much passion to fit in his body. [In the original notes, I noted that he was 'scared of true freedom, but doesn't know that yet. I'm pretty sure this references his relationship to his parents? Smth smth he's too scared of making them angry so he doesn't explore who he is outside of his relation and loyalty to them?] Pigsy -> Passion this man doesn't need freedom when he as his passion for food. what does he need to be free from? he has everything he wants HEART EMOJI! Tang -> ...Its complicated The thing with tang is that he kind of gets like a character arc with like. Responsibility and his care for his friends? He goes from low passion/high freedom to low freedom/high passion over the course of the show. please note that i am insane about him and if i really wanted i could write a whole essay about him. Sandy -> ??? ONCE AGAIN ITS WEIRD. I WISH THE SHOW FOCUSED MORE ON HIS CHARACTER AND BACKSTORY BC I CANT GET A READ ON HIM.

okay thats the main cast, and HERES THE ALIGNMENT CHART ACCORDING TO THAT. WITH OTHERS AS WELL.

theres not a lot of people without any value of freedom and passion at the same time so the grey area is pretty empty LMAO.

ANYWAYS. I BROUGHT THIS UP TO BEGIN WITH BECAUSE OF THE CHARACTERS WITH EYE SCARS TRIFECTA!!! Basically i see them all of how i described macaque earlier. He's trapped in a situation that he doesn't want to be in, whether it be LBD's control or his situation wiht wukong or his own creepy and standoffish persona/his trust issues making it hard to make real connections with others.

(in contrast wukong loves doing his own thing and just Hanging Out and never stopping his own momentum, but he also has trouble caring about... a lot of things actually. he's just soo easygoing! responsibility harshes his vibe!)

But anyways, macaque's problems are very similar to quackity and tempest's, i feel. Quackity constantly feels trapped by physical threats like techno or dream, and also his own circumstances and trauma (a lot of it from schlatt and manburg). a lot of his actions are him trying to reclaim the freedom he used to feel when he was younger. tempest felt she couldn't be truly herself without her horn, but in trying to get it she got herself in a really bad situation where any wrong move could get her killed.

The passion part comes in play in different ways for them all. Quackity tried not to care about people for a while, but still can never stop being extremely loyal and protective of his friends. Tempest had lots of rage inside her and was so intensely driven to get to her goal. And Macaque canNOT stop obsessing over wukong honestly. All three of them are very passionate, and all three of them are constantly trying to gain more freedom.

This is a super long ask, but thank you for inviting me to ramble about this lmao. I think everyone represents freedom or passion in their own way, and this dichotomy really only matters for characters BUT I THINK ITS FUN. THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MY TEDTALK!!!!!

i had a whole Thing written out and i was so proud of it and then my phone decided to delete it before i could post and not save as draft. but yeah im putting this chart in the microwave and then eating it and then putting it in the fridge so i can keep it overnight and microwave and eat it again. this is so fucking Good. in their attempts for freedom macaque cquack and tempest all disown the people they were when they Were free, bc they want to be unbound entirely, but they Feel too deeply for that to ever be a possibility for them. so they do the next best thing and try to pass those "lessons" they've learned on to others OUGH it makes me sick!!!

[gofancyninjaworld]

as much as genos has proven himself to be a character damn near incapable of lying, i find it hard to believe the "becoming a cyborg" part of his backstory is recounted correctly. the human brain is weird and memory is fickle, especially surrounding traumatic events. kuseno just... doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would listen to a misguided childs plea for full-body cyborg modification and actually cave to it. it's entirely possible that ive gravely misunderstood his character, but im not buying the idea of a level-headed genius scientist having That Big of a lapse in judgement. i think it's more likely that genos's ability to recall events surrounding his villages destruction and cyborgification is lacking thanks to a whole lot of repressed trauma and his recollection of events isn't 100% accurate. hence, the whole "begging my doctor/adoptive grandfather to mechanize me almost entirely and quite possibly fuck me up mentally for life and having him actually go through with it" isn't an accurate retelling of what happened. kuseno still fucked up, but im inclined to believe he didn't fuck up quite that monumentally. ill leave off there, because if i continue this will quickly go from "short ask" to "full length college thesis" with how many hypotheticals are available to pick at when considering a situation like this, but id like to know what you personally make of it.

Oh, I believe Genos. Genos has stories to tell that sound totally unhinged and utterly unbelievable but are 100% true. However, we're missing something.

To get to that, let's go to Saitama and his incredible strength. If you ask Saitama how he got so strong, he says it's because he did 100 push ups, 100 squats, 100 sit ups, and ran 10 kilometers every day. Also, he didn't skip any meals, even if it was only a banana for breakfast, and he never used the heat or AC. That's all true, but that's not the whole story.

Flashy Flash is the only character to date who has grasped how utterly vital Saitama's environment was in enabling him to become who he is. Without living in a deprived part of town that slowly got beset by more and more powerful monsters, and dealing with the increasing loneliness of watching the people who once encouraged him pack up and leave, Saitama would never have had the graded challenges to break his limiter. He couldn't have done it anywhere else on the planet. But he has no idea.

Anyway, back to Genos. We are missing the context. As we've seen more of the pair, and we've learned more about cyborgs, it's become very clear that we're missing something important. Kuseno knows how to build powerful drones -- there's no need to endanger oneself personally. If one insists on being up close and personal, Kuseno has powerful body suits. And finally, extensive cyborg enhancements shorten one's life -- they don't save it or replace lost physical functionality. Brainwashing? No, ONE's writing of the Ninja Village shows that he understands coercive control very well and what its uses and limitations are. When it comes to Kuseno and Genos, most of the spokes in the wheel of control are missing: the doctor being happy to see Genos make his own money, associate with people he doesn't know, have conversations he's not privy to, and be overall more independent is the opposite of what a control freak does.

So, there's got to be a reason that the boy who would become Genos decided that only being a cyborg -- nay, only being an extreme cyborg -- would do. There's got to be a reason an old engineer took him up on it. We don't have this context. And we need it to understand. We don't need to agree, we don't need to approve. But ONE, at least let us understand.

Oh, the cyborg destroying towns thing? It's true. The only thing special about Genos's home town is that it's the LAST known massacre.

[fanboyzuko]

its been like two months since ive written and i got a whole scene today done yeeeeee

heres a snippet bc i love these kids heh

Zuko scowled. Fine, yes, Chanda was right they should be careful discussing it, especially because of what Zuko thought Aunt Wu’s words meant, but still! His hands shot up as he signed, “Chanda’s fortune was really lame.”

“Brat.”

Only the waiter returning with their drinks saved Chanda from Zuko’s brilliant comeback that he totally had. (There was no way to argue against Chanda calling him a brat without coming off as a brat no matter how he tried.) Amphon jumped in before Zuko tried regardless and said something stupid. 

“What did you ask Aunt Wu?” 

“Well, he’s not wrong. It was a bit of a let down, especially compared to some people’s.” Chanda grinned, nudging Zuko’s foot under the table in apology for teasing him. “I didn’t even ask her a question. She just spouted off some nonsense about being open to those around me, and that I’ll find myself in a blossoming romance if I do.”

Zuko snickered, remembering Chanda’s unimpressed look when Aunt Wu told her that. 

“Oh stuff it. Not all of us can have grand destinies guided by the spirits,” Chanda shot at him, kicking him again with a little more force. “Clearly she was grasping at straws for me. I’ve never been the center of some blossoming romance, and I doubt that’ll be happening any time soon.”

Romance just wasn’t something Zuko could even begin to want to consider with how much he was responsible for these days. He’d figured Chanda was of the same mindset, too busy to think about things like that. But if she was dismissing Aunt Wu’s fortune because she thought no one would want to be romantic with her, well, he couldn’t let that stand!

“What?!” Amphon leaned forward, lips pinched and brow furrowed as she signed. “And why not? Why shouldn’t you be in the center of a blossoming romance? There’s so much to like about you! You’re so smart. And funny. And kind! And strong! Really strong. I mean, all that machinery you work with and coal you haul around does amazing things for your arms- And I said smart, right? So smart! It’s amazing what you can do with a few gears and cogs. So what’s there not to fall in love with about you?”

Chanda sat back in her chair, hands limp in her lap as a vibrant blush filled her cheeks. She shook her head slightly, whether in rebuttal or disbelief Zuko didn’t know. But he wasn’t going to let her disagree with Amphon. 

“Exactly! I couldn’t have said it better!” He signed with a firm nod. “You’re a great person. Insightful, patient, considerate. We could keep going. Of course someone could fall for you!”

“Are you two trying to convince me or confess to me?” Chanda signed, head ducked and hands moving in front of her red face. 

Amphon, for some reason, made a weird noise as she jerked back into her chair. And then Jae snorted so hard she started choking on her tea. Zuko glanced at them, then rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Chanda. 

“Shut up and accept the compliments!”

“That’s rich coming from you.”

[axemetaphor]

my dad got his hands on a copy of Sonic 06 for the xbox and asked me to be his play-tester after having a lot of trouble with that speed level right at the beginning (catching up to Eggman's ship on the beach) and i got as far as the Silver battle before giving up, so here's my notes

DISCLAIMER this isnt an invitation to dunk on the game in the notes of this post alright we've seen enough of that. i dont hate the game. no, really, i dont. i respect everything it tried to be and feel bad for literally everyone working on it because, from what i gather, they were green and facing extreme crunch time. sucks for everyone involved. anyway:

the load times on xbox were VASTLY better, which makes a lot of sense, given from what i know the ps3 has a ... strange way of storing/retrieving/loading data, but they were still pretty long and a little too frequent for my liking. still, probably not anyone's fault, tbqh. i'll have to see if the emulator my dad's working on getting on his PC (finally, he's been trying to do that for years now lmao,) has the same issue to figure out if it's a programming problem or hardware. personally im pretty sure it's just hardware.

it's much easier to steer sonic if you use the camera and his movement, but the camera will still fuck you over. this isnt 06 specific though game cameras are Always hard to wrangle lmao

the animations for this game are so strange... i dont say this as a negative whatsoever. it looks like they were mocapped, which is fascinating to me, translating human proportions onto sonic--it doesnt always work, and i personally wouldn't've made the choice to do that, but it makes me want to study it lmao

the voice acting as well is strange, at least in english; im not knocking anyone's work, whatsoever. i still really love the performances. but i think back to this one tweet i made about silver's intro dialogue where i mentioned that i loved the performance, but the poor guy sounded like he'd done a hundred takes of the audio and was losing grasp of Words themselves (As happens to everybody) and Silver's english VA not only liked the tweet but started following me because of it. this was during the trend of not actually giving VAs context for their dialogue, and not really.. respecting them at all, and it makes me sad to think that maybe they did stick everyone in a box, hand them lists of lines, and make them say them over and over until the director got whatever they wanted--or, on the opposite end, were only given enough time for a single take out of the inherent disrespect for VAs that's present in Many fields

the environments are fucking gorgeous and i was genuinely surprised by how many things i could interact with in the levels. granted, i did get stuck on them sometimes, but i doubt the poor devs got any chance to fix that shit. i liked especially ramming Eggman's Cerberus into a statue instead of the wall and watching the statue completely shatter, that's genuinely pretty cool, they couldve just had it be like the walls, static and unreacting. i also liked how the Cerberus decimated those pillars, but thats mostly because the camera kept getting stuck on them

there's very little active direction in the game, save for the floating (?)s, which can sometimes be wordy enough that ive already fucked up and died before theyre done talking. that's probably on my dumbass though.

collision physics in this game ... sure is. i cant remember if all games from the 2000s were like this given i have more experience with older games (pre-00's) + brand fucken new ones so someone else weigh in on this s'il vous plait.

the pre-rendered cutscenes are still fucking gorgeous. delightful.

so much of this game is such a lovely awkward development-stage kind of thing, like awkward teen years. the homing-attack mechanics make me grateful for the auto-targeting of later games. the way he goes from 0 to 100 is in character but hard to play (unwieldy) and makes me glad for the more measured sliding scale of other games. the sprint parts of the game, where youre just steering him, are so fucking cool but i am so fucking bad at them and im glad that in future games the sensitivity of the controls was turned down. it took me some lives to get into a proper rhythm with it, get a sense of just how much of a hair trigger the directional changes were. tails' attacks in this game definitely felt like they could've been much better (throwing the bombs is So difficult to aim, thanks to the camera and how long the animation for it is) and i'm glad they're different in other games--the bombs is a cool idea, just needed to be implemented differently imo

if you knwo more about the development n shit of this game id love to hear it, all i know is they had serious crunch time to release the game alongside the ps3 as its flagship game and had to cut a lot of steps from the process/cut a lot of corners. i attribute a lot of its flaws (and "flaws") to that tbqh. sonic 06 is not a bad game, it's a game that was failed by its circumstances. i dont know fully, im just an animator, i have never in my life made a proper video game.

also this may just be me but i have a theory that this game was meant to be like the Shadow the Hedgehog game, and not rated E for Everyone after all. the darker storybeats (sonic's murder, elise's death, silver's future etc) all feel like they'd have been better-executed at a level closer to that. it feels To Me like they were developing the beginnings of this game (script, designs) in tandem with the endtail development of ShTH, and when it received pushback for the guns, swearing, and violence, they panicked and had to neuter the story. i have a lot of respect for what the game COULD have been.

[lunar-lair]

Oooh, can I hear about "Note: Hands and Heart Required for this Recipe"?

figured id answer these at the same time since you both asked! also hi charlie lmao @teenagemutantninjatrauma dw the masses will get to see the donnie madness. also adding a read more bc frankly this got LONG i really like this wip so i ended up talking abt it WAY too much alkfsdj

this is a little baking fic ive been putting together! the idea is that donnie starts out being offended that people in baking videos say macarons are hard and tries to make them with a stand mixer he made himself. he Fails Horrifically. then he goes back to brownies, and is Instantly compelled by the kind of science that baking entails. the thing as a whole is kinda of...it turns into a coping mechanism, for him to say, i have something other than tech, another way for him to be useful, a way to support emotionally as well as physically. hell make muffins when leo seems crabby, hell make bread when mikey has been down, hell make cake when raph's smile is straining, and hell smile the whole time, hell put his weight into kneading that dough, hell put his heart into this. thats why its called that! its kinda like those notes at the beginning of recipes like 'btw youre gonna need a stand mixer and a springform pan for this' but saying 'welcome to baking! pick up your heart and hold it close, and make sure your hands are ready, because while machines can do what we can, whats the point? dont give me that look, youll understand soon enough.'

initially this was going to be a oneshot but it QUICKLY evolved. i havent even finished writing the brownies part and its already about 4k. also leo appeared and made himself Known as he always does, so its a lot of disaster twins so far. i do have some of this one written though, so i can find a snippet! lemme see, uhhh...ok you guys are getting at LEAST two i cant choose. here, this first one is from earlier on, it points out the earlier reasoning/the theming kinda well:

He finally threw his hands in the air after an hour of this, giving a loud ‘UGH!’ and pausing it, setting his work aside. “Fine!” He huffed, stomping over to his blueprints table. “If you’re so insistent that it’s so difficult, I guess I’ll have to prove you wrong!” He’d already been proven wrong so many times that his tech, his projections, his work couldn’t stand up to a challenge. That it would crumble under the grasp of the sharp claws of a demon, or the megaton punch of a battle suit.  He was 15, and he was sore, and he wanted to prove himself.   Well, he’d thank himself later, but for now, he pulled out the blueprints and called, “Shelldon, pull up schematics for commercial stand mixers.” He’d proven he could do better, with Shelldon and with Raph’s eye and his shells.  He could do something as simple as this. 

dont ask me how shelldon is alive i didnt think that hard abt it. just . the robots alive get used to it. this next snippet is later on, and is more on the disaster twins/donnie knowing his family kind of side

Leo leaned back and curled into himself, hand rubbing at the back of his neck, eyes averted. Jeez, he really felt bad, huh? Well, in that sorry, man way and not I’m sorry I’m not good enough way, but still. “But this seems like you’re really getting into, you know? I didn’t wanna criticize you right when you started out. “ Donnie thought, for a moment.  A lot of times, Leo did things because he was projecting.  This was, often, perfectly fine. He rarely did it in a bad way, but in this sort of sense? When he was saying, I didn’t want to criticize you right when you’re starting out? Leo knew Donnie could take criticism.  It’s Leo who can’t.  And Donnie can still remember Raph asking if Leo could really memorize all that medical knowledge, and Mikey asking for Raph instead, and Donnie having to guide him through a lot of the bigger words, getting frustrated now and then.  Or when he started drinking tea, and they all called him an old man, because they expected him to bounce back, to bite back, to be fine with it.  Or when he got his first scarf from April and Donnie asked him why he was still wearing it around 2 days later. (Hypocrite.)  And he wondered why they rarely saw him drinking tea even if the bags dwindled, why those scarves disappeared for a year or two. 

ok i was lying take ONE more snippet. i really like this doc it all came together pretty well even if it isnt quite finished yet/i wrote it at 8-10 pm the night after an all nighter

The whole time, Leo had this smile on, a little childish and fun. Not…not quite as blinding as it had been in the past, or as blinding as it might ever be again, but big and bright and simply excited. Like eating the brownies his brother made by hand was the only thing on his mind.  It settled something worried and loving and warm in a corner of Donnie’s heart, the same something that settled when he made machines and modified security and kept careful watch when he noticed something amiss.  He let it happen, let it settle, let this be warm.  Leo was the one who was sent to tell the others there were brownies, because he was excited and Donnie had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to sit still around them while they cooled for longer than the two minutes he had already been sitting there.  Donnie only chuckled something fond under his breath as he gathered up some small plates. 

my favorite thing about this doc is just. leos so excited the whole time and its this part of him i dont get to discuss NEARLY enough when i write. hes so bouncy the WHOLE time and its genuinely perfect. donnie agrees, too, so it all works out, hehe.

[xmoriartea]

— We need to talk about Ives

Who is Ives?

Well he's the undying warlock I brought to a Dragon Heist-Elemental Evils campaign.

What is Ives?

Short answer? A gods damn disaster. Long answer? Well, even I only know part of it and that part... Ho boy. Let's roll it back a bit.

Ives woke up about 4 years ago in the company of a stranger. Ives was grievously wounded, heavily bandaged, and the stranger - Anwar - told him he'd been found not far from Anwar's tower on the verge of death. Anwar, a very talented mage, did what he could to save him and brought Ives back to his tower to recover. Ives couldn't remember what attacked him, but beyond that... all mental facilities seemed in tact. Even with the head wound that was costing him half his vision.

So Ives stayed at the tower, recovered with Anwar's aid, and as the days turned to weeks turned to months, they became close. Ives wanted to repay his new-dear friend. And as he got his strength back, found himself hesitant to return to his previous life. He wanted to stay at the tower.

And then he learned just the funniest thing about his good friend -

Anwar is a lich.

Not a terribly ancient one, still within mortal years, but past his human life expectancy by far. Still a lich. And though Ives knew about liches and the atrocities that seem to come with them, that didn't make sense for Anwar. It didn't add up. And he soon learned about the extents Anwar went through to avoid innocent sacrifice to take his power, how he used the souls of evil artifacts and irredeemable mages to craft his own phylactery.

But there was now an issue with that phylactery, and Anwar's existence was on rocky footing. And Anwar had an idea. A very foolish one, he admitted, to try a ritual that would bind his soul to another. Not a phylactery, but something more. An ibshut. And he asked Ives to be that soul to bind to his. He could say no, of course he could, it was risky, it was high magic of the most dangerous kind, but it would give Ives protection, and a connection to Anwar even we'll beyond the tower.

And Ives said yes.

A year of preparations and planning later, Anwar painted the sigils and runes across Ives's skin to anchor his soul to him. It was excruciating, it was intense, it was probably a very silly thing to do for a crush — but at the end of the day, it worked. And Ives could not only feel the tether to Anwar, but pull on it. He wasn't just a vessel. He was a warlock.

And that's a lot, isn't it? The traveling arcanist hiding the fact he's a warlock with exclusive ties to a lich? That's intrigue and drama. But let me pull you back to an earlier phrase:

—all mental facilities seemed in tact.

Seemed. Ives has a unique problem, y'all: he doesn't know he's missing memories. It seems that whatever accident he was in left a nasty curse on him. And while he thought he was fine, certain truths are missing. His mind just slips right off the memories and forgets there should be something there he can't grasp.

Family? History? The accident itself? All of it's just gone. He knows he's from a noble family, knows he went to some academy somewhere, but there are no details. Looking for them gives him a migraine. And for 4 years it was never addressed, never brought up, never noticed by him.

But now that he's travelling with adventuring sorts? Knows a noble who knew of his family? Found a fey that knew of him? Well... all these missing pieces are suddenly at the forefront and leaving so many wonderful questions:

What happened 4 years ago?

What of his family?

His childhood?

His affinity for healing magic?

And why, in 4 years, did Anwar never try to address these gaps in his memory the way these adventurers have?

So you know. He's having a normal one now that finally even he is aware of the missing gaps. Not like thinking to hard on those gaps makes him want to-slash-actually pass out or anything like that, right? Right??

art by elgatitolunar @ YCH and local-tithonia @ TH

[smerzbeliever]

Okay lets get into this guys. Bc im struggling in a relationship. We both do love each other but have some major differences. At what point is it not acceptable anymore to be with the other person? Also what do yall mean when u say u cant chose who you love

ok if i'm being fully honest that other anon was a little bit on one and i didn't fully grasp what was going on but i liked the vibe. and idk ive only ever been in one relationship and am still in it 6 years later so i don't think i'm in a position to like make blanket statements abt relationships in general but first i think differences are good because variety is the spice of life. and i think it's normal to like. get mad and sometimes feel general resentment towards your partner because that's inevitable in any long term human relationship romantic or not like with parents friends whatever sometimes you feel hatred because emotions are unpredictable and not always logical.. but i would venture that one big difference is frequency of actual fighting and like how much it has an emotional toll on you. like my bf and i rarely if ever get into Fight Mode like we have tiffs and then resolve them or move on from them after we cool down and like neither of us are ever blatantly disrespectful of the other, whatever the argument is about it stays about that and doesn't broaden at least not out loud. like the other day without asking i opened a bottle of wine that he found at work and brought home bc to me it's just another bottle of wine and he doesn't even really like wine but he got miffed because the seal on that specific bottle felt special to him and he wanted to open it and in that moment in my head i was like omg what a baby but then i just stopped caring the next day because ultimately it's minor and ppl have a right to be different and assign value to different things. i think if overall the relationship has a net positive on your quality of life and the health of your soul then by all means stay in it because relationships are gonna be hard. but im curious what the "differences" are that you're describing. bc like in my case i respect and admire my bf on a foundational level like his values and his outlook etc and i don't think i would still be with him if there were huge ideological differences like if he were a libertarian or something or if he were a combative aggressive type we never would have even dated. our differences tend to be like, he's more of a homebody, he's more risk averse while im more sensation seeking, he doesn't like to have the ac on and i do, i'm more messy and he's more tidy, little things that ultimately don't cause huge clashes but sometimes can be frustrating and kind of inflate themselves in the moment to the point where i'm like omg i wanna smash you with hammers but then it passes. but we both value harmony and kindness and like don't go out of our way to pick fights and that restraint has done a lot for us i think. so i would say as an uneducated nobody that the point of no return is when you lose the fundamental mutual respect and admiration or find that your values or lifestyles have irreconcilable differences that cause you actual misery. like if you're getting into fights where actual mean personal attacks are getting thrown around i don't think that's acceptable anymore because if you truly respect someone and don't want to cause them harm you bite your tongue. i'm also not trying to brag about my relationship i hope that's not how this comes off i'm just speaking from the only experience i have lol. anyway i know that was kind of all over the place idk if it was helpful at all but whatever happens i hope things improve ❤️

[passionextraction]

i remember needing something to love from a very young age; something that was mine and mine alone, something i could carry. it’s always been much easier to care about anything else but myself. some of my friends did art, but my kindergarten teacher tried holding me back for not coloring inside the lines. quite frankly, i just didn’t have the time to give. it was boring. some people could play music but there was no one around to teach me or even hear my interest. in the panhandle, you basically had two choices: play sports or be nobody. at the time, i don’t really think i grasped the idea, but my mother did so i played sports from the second i was old enough to.

i played soccer and hated it because it gave my bullies an excuse to kick me in the shins and push me down. my mother made me do it for four years anyway. i could ride a horse decently well, mostly everyone could, so i rodeoed. i really enjoyed it but could tell that i was not the type to be successful long term in that lifestyle. i don’t know how or why i was able to recognize that so early on. i was good at running because i could go on forever and recover in under a minute, until i started smoking cigarettes. by that time id already decided basketball was what i would commit to.

in the summertime, i didn’t have school to escape to and summer camps don’t really exist in keyes so we had to do it old school and just play outside. barbarian, i know. my grandpa, my step fathers father, was one of the most genuinely sweet men ive ever met. he taught me to drive and how to be kind. he also installed a basketball hoop in my driveway so i would have something to practice on.

i spent nearly 8 hours a day on that basket for several years, even moving it to boise city with us when we left. i shot on that basket until i graduated high school.

i still remember being 8 years old and coming in after a long, hot summer day. i was thrilled because i had made a shot from the furthest i’d ever been from the goal and had perfected some dribble move. my mother was depressed, and uninterested in my enthusiasm. attempting to give her some of my own joy, i told her treat when i made it to the wnba, we’d never have to worry about anything ever again. my mother laughed and said “yeah right.” the concept of failure hadn’t really entered my realm yet, especially with all of the high standards i made sure to meet. puzzled, i asked for clarification, “well do you think ill at least be able to play in college?” her demeanor changed as she realized i was being serious. my mother has always insisted on telling the truth, even though she often chooses which truth to believe. a look of calm washed over her and she looked me deep in the eye when she said “no, i don’t think you will.”

for the next ten years i dedicated myself to the game of basketball and it loved me back. i made friends, learned valuable lessons about hard work and success and working together with other people. my dry mannered basketball coach paid me a compliment in my senior year that i will never forget, and embarrassingly sometimes shout out at parties when im winning a game of beer pong. “bratcher didn’t call me the best three point shooter in this half of the state for nothing!” i know, it doesn’t seem like much, but you have to understand the type of encouraging i was accustomed to receiving— none. it would be several years before i realized how much she had impacted me as a human being.

anyway, i got the scholarship. one day after my 18th birthday, and the most traumatic event of my adolescence, i signed to play basketball at southwestern college. this was my chance to show everyone exactly what they’d been missing, including my mother.

i was suspended twice and overdosed after being on the team for a year and two months. i played maybe 5 junior varsity games, for two minutes at the end of each half. i was more worried about losing someone who could’ve cared less than even thinking about what i had really cost myself. i’m often worried my life will play out in the same way, and wonder what i would be like if things had been different when i was 8 years old.

[itsapeterthing]

Milestone || Bucky Barnes

pairing: bucky barnes x avenger!reader

summary: a journey through some of the biggest milestones in yours and bucky’s relationship from the day you first met to sharing a home of your own

a/n: in this we’re gonna pretend that bucky didn’t get dusted! also reader has powers similar to those of wanda’s. reblogs and replies are super appreciated!!

word count: 3.4k

warnings: none, fluff

masterlist || request || taglist

The First Time You Met

Running down the hallway of the airport, you watched as Peter was swept off of his feet and into the air by none other than Falcon, leaving the man you recognized as the Winter Soldier in your midst. Your shoes squeaking against the floor as you stopped short, you threw your arms into the air, stopping the man from moving.

Snapping his attention towards you, he furrowed his eyebrows and you could feel him fighting against your magic. Squeezing your eyes shut you tried your hardest to keep him contained but with only so much experience, he broke through it in a minute, coming for you straight after.

“Shit.” You cursed to yourself, watching as he strode over to you.

Clasping your hands together before pulling them apart, you created a baton of sorts in just enough time to hold it in front of yourself as Bucky cornered you into a wall. Pushing him back with the beam, you grunted, trying your hardest to keep the magic from dying out.

“You’re not very good at this.” He commented, attempting to pull the magical beam from your hands.

“I’m...” You grunted. “.... new.”

Using all of your force, you shoved him back. Taking the first opportunity you saw, you began shooting blasts of magic at him while he stumbled backwards. Attempting to dodge the blasts, he moved forward, putting his hands in the air.

“Look,” He said. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

Watching as he stumbled backwards, closer to a ledge, you halted the blasts, tilting your head sideways.

“Lucky me.”

As soon as the words fell from your mouth, you used the rest of your force, swinging your arms backwards and then pushing forward to shove him through the railing and over the edge, his eyes wide as he fell backwards. When he fell, he took the Falcon with him. 

Glancing up above, you saw Peter, shooting a web to hold the two men to the ground. Feeling the energy in your palms, you floated down to the floor they were held to, standing above them.

“Look guys, I would love to keep this up but I’ve only got one job here today and I’ve gotta impress Mr. Stark, so I’m really sorry-” You watched as the drone took Peter’s web and pulled him through the window cutting him short, Peter screaming as it did.

Turning back to the men, you pulled the hood of your cloak over your head.

“Don’t worry about the drone thing,” You said. “I know when to see myself out.”

Turning to make your way towards the exit of the airport, you heard Bucky call from behind you.

“Hey!” He shouted. “Who are you?”

Bucky didn’t know why he was asking. He could barely even remember facts about himself, never mind keep track of every super human person he came across, but there was something nagging in his mind, begging him to learn more.

Glancing over your shoulder, looking at the Winter Soldier one last time, you smirked.

“Y/n.”

And with that you left the airport.

First Touch

The hatch to the ship opening, you stumbled down the steps, gripping Nebula’s arm to keep your balance. As Steve took hold of Tony, Pepper rushing to his side, you looked up to find the familiar face of Rhodey making his way towards you.

“I chose the wrong day to go see who Dr. Strange was.” You chuckled somberly, trying to make light of the situation.

Grabbing your arm to steady you as you slowly walked down the steps, Rhodey shook his head.

“The fight wasn't much better back here.” He said. “At least we had oxygen though. You’re not looking so good, kid.”

Too afraid to have looked at your deteriorating reflection the past three weeks, you knew he was being too kind.

It had been nearly three weeks since Thanos snapped away a half of the universe’s population, leaving you, Tony and Nebula stranded in space. You had run out of fuel weeks ago and had nearly lost hope of ever returning home as the oxygen supply began dwindling until Captain Marvel had found your ship and brought you all safely back to the Avengers Compound.

Despite being back, three weeks in space had left you exhausted, starving and dehydrated- just to name a few.

Biting back the dizziness you felt, you sighed.

“I’m- I’m fine, Rhodes.” You said, beginning to feel lightheaded. “It’s nothing-”

Missing your footing on the step, you tripped, losing your balance from Rhodey, about to hit the ground until you felt an arm wrap around your torso and the cool touch of metal grasp your hand. Looking up, you were met with the familiar face of the man you had fought two years ago at the airport in Germany, his hair cut shorter since the last time you had seen him, but recognizable nonetheless.

“Bucky Barnes?” You asked, standing up straighter with his assistance.

“Y/n.” He replied, shooting you a gentle smile.

Although you had what many would consider super-human abilities with your magic, due to being discovered after the civil war between the Avengers that had effectively split up the group- you weren't used to being recognized. Hearing your name fall from his lips felt somewhat gratifying.

“You remember my name?” You asked in disbelief

“Hard to forget the name of the woman who kicked my ass.” Bucky chuckled, helping you walk towards the doors of the Compound. “Doesn't happen often.”

For the first time in weeks you allowed yourself to smile as you gazed up at the man holding you steady, making sure you didn’t fall. When his blue eyes met yours, you adverted your gaze, turning your attention towards Natasha who wheeled a wheelchair through the doors of the Compound and towards the two of you.

Moving his flesh hand to rest on your lower back, his vibranium one still in yours, he helped you slowly ease into the chair. When you sat back in the chair, resting your feet on the footrests, you looked up at the super soldier and smiled.

“Not looking for a rematch are you?” You asked, slipping your hand out of his and resting it on your abdomen. “‘Cause I think I’m gonna need a raincheck.”

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he laughed shaking his head.

“No, I think I’m done with fighting.” He said.

Feeling Natasha pulling back on the wheelchair, about to spin your chair around and towards the doors, you threw him one last smile.

“That makes two of us.”

Just when Bucky was about to turn around and walk away as Nat wheeled you through the doors, the chair stopped and he watched as you glanced over your shoulder.

“And Sarge?” You called.

“Yeah?”

“I like the new arm.”

For the first time in decades, Bucky felt heat rise to his cheeks as he watched you tiredly speak to Natasha until you left his line of sight.

First Kiss

It had taken you nearly a month to recover from your time in space since returning back to Earth. Although you understood that there wasn’t much to be done since Thanos had wiped out half of the universe, you still felt guilty taking up space in the Compound when all you would do was lay in bed, attached to an IV. 

The one thing that made your time on bedrest a little more bearable was none other than Bucky Barnes.

Throughout your stay in bed he had consistently visited you. Though at first he was a bit shy, you had proven to be someone he could trust- assuring him that he could never be a bother to you and that you genuinely enjoyed having his company- maybe a bit too much, but you would never tell him that.

Bucky himself was surprised that he had put himself so out there with you after living such a solitary life for nearly the past 80 years, but there was just something about you that drew him to you time and time again. He couldn’t pinpoint it- whether it was your kindness, humor or intelligence- he found both joy and peace in your presence- something he had almost forgotten what it felt like to be in.

So, despite the voice in the back of his head telling him that you didn’t want to see him, he had visited you while you got better in bed, taking care of you in the littlest of ways until he watched the dark circles under your eyes fade away and your ability to walk without his assistance return.

Finally feeling somewhat better, you had insisted to bucky that you were ready to train again and no matter how many times he tried to convince you that you weren’t, he could never say no once you squeezed his hand and pouted up at him.

He was regretting not saying no to you as he now stood across from you in the training room.

“Y/n, I really don’t think this is a good idea.” He said, watching you sway in your spot despite your feet being planted to the mat.

“C’mon Barnes,” You taunted, raising your hands. “You scared?”

Just as he was about to open his mouth again, you shot a blast of magic towards him, Bucky dodging it just as it whooshed past his head.

“I wasn’t even ready!” Bucky exclaimed.

Shrugging your shoulders you formed another beam made of magic, holding either ends of it with your hands as Bucky came towards you.

Trying to plant your feet to the ground, feeling another hit of dizziness wash over you, you pushed him back with the beam, but before you could do anything more, his leg swept under yours, making you lose your balance. 

Before you fell to the ground, however, the magic in your hands diminished as you gripped your hands into Bucky’s shirt bringing him down with you.

Flipping over before you fell, you landed on top of the super soldier, your hands planted firmly on his chest. With his hands above his head that was inches away from yours, you both stared at each other- you finally noticing just how much you liked the scruff that coated his jawline and him admiring the color of your eyes and how he swore he could lose himself in them if only he had the chance.

Opening your mouth, you felt the thumping of Bucky’s heart against your fingertips that were resting on his chest as he gazed up at you.

“Your heart is beating really fast.” You whispered, out of breath despite you barely having trained.

“Yeah, it does that when I see you.”

You could barely believe what you were hearing until you felt Bucky’s hands come up and cup your face, glancing down at your lips before back to your eyes, asking wordlessly for your approval. 

Unable to form a coherent sentence, you eagerly nodded back at him.

Before you could even process it, you felt Bucky’s lips meeting yours as he pulled you into a kiss, his hands moving from cupping your face to wrapping around your body, pulling you tight against him. All you could remember thinking was that despite his tough exterior, his lips were soft and you could lose yourself in the comfort of having his arms around you all day if he let you.

Pulling away first, a beaming smile spread across Bucky’s face as he rubbed circles against your back.

“If you wanted to kiss me so bad,” He teased. “You could’ve just asked.”

First “I Love You”

Sitting on the edge of the rooftop, your legs swinging in the air, you offered the bag of popcorn in your hand to your boyfriend who was sat beside you. Taking his eyes off of the view in front of him, he grabbed a fistful of the salty treat from the bag, popping it in his mouth.

“Did you have stuff like this back in the olden times?” You asked, laying your head on his shoulder.

“What?” He asked despite his mouth being full. “You mean fireworks? How old do you think I am?”

Laughing at how he mocked offense over your question, you sat up straight, pecking his cheek.

“One hundred doesn’t sound much better, babe.”

Rolling his eyes, knowing that you loved him anyway, he brushed off the remaining salt from his fingertips, wrapping his vibranium arm around your shoulders to pull you closer to him.

Just as he pressed a gentle kiss against your temple, he jumped in his spot as he heard the loud sound of the first firework shooting up into the air over the water before “popping” and bursting into an array of color.

“Look!” You exclaimed, pointing towards the display. “It’s starting!”

Although he took a quick glance at the firework display, his attention was purely focused on you. He couldn’t help but admire the way the colorful lights reflected on your skin or how you had a hint of an open smile on your face watching as the fireworks burst midair. No show could compare to looking at you.

He couldn't help but feel his heart race in his chest, breath caught in his throat as he admired your beauty- even when you were still in your suit from watching over the parade with him earlier that evening. He was convinced there wasn’t a single thing about you that he wasn’t completely enamored with and you only gave him more reasons to love you every single day.

Before he even realized what he was saying, admiring you in complete bliss and utter awe, the words slipped out of his mouth.

“I love you.”

He thought you wouldn’t be able to hear, the sound of another firework popping ringing in his ear, but when you turned towards him, your eyes wide and mouth agape, he knew you had.

“Did you just say that you love me?” You asked, fireworks continuing to burst behind you.

Not one to lie- especially not to you- he nodded his head.

“Yeah.”

A smile beginning to form on your face, you grabbed the strap on his jacket, pulling him closer to you.

“I love you too.”

Leaning in, you pressed your lips against his, the sound of the finale of the display ringing behind you as the fireworks burst one after another in air, every color imaginable washing over your joined figures sitting on the edge of the rooftop on that cool summer night, almost as if it were taking the feeling shared between the two of you and bringing it to life for the world to see.

First Home

“Okay!” You nodded, pointing to the corner of your living room. “That one can go over there. Thank you so much for your help, Steve.”

“I helped Buck move into his first apartment, Y/n.” Steve said wiping his hands on his pants. “I wouldn’t miss stuff like this for anything.”

Smiling at Steve’s comment, you felt Bucky’s vibranium hand land on your lower back, pulling you closer. Leaning into his touch, you wrapped your arm around him in return, staring up at your boyfriend.

“Yeah and the first time he was about a foot shorter and a hundred pounds lighter.” Bucky chuckled. “This is easy for him.”

Watching Natasha set down the last box on top of a pile of the others in the kitchen, you excused yourself from your boyfriend and his best friend, making your way into the other room.

When you had left the two of them’s earshot, Bucky watching as you left, Steve rested his hand on Bucky's shoulder, squeezing it gently.

“You know,” Steve said. “I’m happy for you, Buck. I think this is gonna be good for you.”

Bucky couldn’t help but smile at his friend’s comment- despite how cheesy it was- because he knew it was true.

When Bucky’s memory had finally been cleared, a part of him had always feared that even though he had been given a new chance at life, he would never have a normal one. Although he knew “normal” was a strong term for the life you two shared together given that he was a century old super soldier and you had magical abilities- you had given him a chance at a peaceful life full of love and contentment which was all he could ever dream of asking for. 

The idea of finding love and having a family was something that he worried was left eighty years in the past, but you proved to him that life didn’t end for him when he fell from that train- if anything it brought him the beginning he had always hoped for.

“Sure you won’t miss me too bad, pal?” Bucky asked.

Taking his hand back from Bucky’s shoulder, Steve laughed shoving his hand in his pockets.

“No, I think I’m used to it by now.” Steve chuckled. “It’s just like you to be able to find a woman with shared life experience even when half the world disappears.”

Shaking his head at his friend’s joke, he shoved him playfully.

“C’mon, ya’know this is different.” Bucky said. “I think this is the last one for me.”

Without missing a beat, Steve smiled.

“I know.”

Hearing the sound of you and Natasha’s footsteps stepping back into the room, Bucky kept his mouth shut, feeling your hand run over his shoulder as you stood beside him.

“Don’t forget about me now that you have your own place, okay Y/n?” Nat said crossing her arms.

“Don’t worry.” You told her. “I’ll come visit every day.”

“Well, not every day-” Bucky interjected.

“No. I meant what I said. Every day, Nat. You’ll wish you never said anything.”

Once the laughter that had erupted in the room settled, Steve and Nat said their goodbyes to you and your boyfriend, you both waving them off as you shut the door behind them. When the door was shut and you and Bucky were left in your new apartment alone together, you rushed over to your bag by the door, pulling a neatly wrapped gift out of it.

“What’s this?” Bucky asked as you handed him the present.

“Just a little housewarming gift.” You smiled.

Gazing at your smiling face, a smile finding its way onto his, he looked down at the present in his hands, carefully tearing the paper off of the gift to reveal a framed photo of the two of you.

A framed photo of the two of you fighting in an airport three years ago on the day you first met.

“So, Tony had put a camera in Peter’s suit back before we went and fought you guys.” You explained. “And I thought it had to be gone since Peter was... you know... but it turned out that Tony still had the footage so I was able to find some from that day at the airport and in it there was this quick little shot of us fighting and I just had to have it, Buck.”

Flipping the frame around at you, he raised his eyebrows.

“A photo of us fighting?”

“Yes!” You told him. “Do you like it?”

Despite the fact that it was a photo of the two of you fighting- a fight that he had gotten his ass kicked in no less- he loved it more than anything else you could have possibly given him because it was the day he met you. It was the day his life changed and he didn’t even know it in the moment.

Although your story was far from “normal” it was your story and that’s what mattered the most to him.

“I love it, doll.” He said, pulling you into his embrace. “This is a crazy story to tell our kids though, huh?”

“All of them are.” You laughed into his chest. “But I wouldn't have it any other way, Buck. I love you.”

Pressing a kiss to the top of your head, a photograph of the day your story first began in his hand, he smiled.

“I love you too.”

[negansbackdoorwhore]

Love Bites Chp. 8

Summary: Negan falls back into his depression and Y/N is eaten up by the last encounter with Negan

Warnings: smut, swearing, angst, fluff, non apocalyptic AU

Negan wallowed in his own depression as he kept replaying his stupid as fuck decision. He had resorted to drinking and emptied out a bottle of whiskey nearly every night. His guilt filed the pit of his stomach and yet the kiss was absolutely amazing. Y/N was like a drug to him and just that small taste had him more hooked onto her. He imagined what could’ve happened if she didn’t pull away from him. Too many scenarios ran throughout his head. He cursed himself and sipped at his bottle to empty out his head. Soon he slipped into sleep on the floor of his living room.

-

Simon held Y/N in his arms while she read through a book. After the fight they had it’s kind of helped there relationship. Mostly with much better communication and Y/N showing way more love toward Simon. The love she felt he deserved after putting up with her and Negan’s drama. The name hasn’t left her mouth the past couple weeks. Although their kiss was hard to forget and how she would curse herself when she recalled the not so awful event. Simon was still hanging out with Negan and being like usual “bros”. But everytime he went out with Negan, he invited Y/N. But the answer was always no. He wouldn’t push it and just did whatever with him.

“Hey babe.”

“Yes?”

“You wanna come out with us tonight?”

“No, I’m fine here.”

“You sure? I mean it’s just you’ve been all cooped up inside.”

“Yes I’m fine. Go have fun.”

Simon shrugged it off and got off the couch to start getting dressed. Before he left, he gave Y/N a quick kiss.

-

“Hey man it’s Simon. Open the fuck up!”

Simon said as knocking on the door wasn’t working. He was questioning what was going on especially because he saw Negan’s bike. Still continuing to knock and even called multiple times but got sent straight to voicemail.

“Fuck.” He breathed out and searched for the spare key in his mailbox. Rushing to unlock his door and looking around to see empty whiskey bottles on the ground. Simon cursed and frantically looked up to see Negan lying unconscious on his couch loosely holding a bottle in his hand.

“Hey man. Wake up.”

Simon knelt in front of the couch and shook his body. Negan wasn’t responding to him at all. He even resorted to slapping him with all his strength.

“Fuck you! You better wake up Negan.”

Simon grasped the collar of his shirt and tossed the bottle into the trash. He stretched his arms and did his best to sit him up.

“C’mon man, work with me.”

Simon tried thinking of what to do, so he brought the other man onto his back. People gave him weird looks and he snapped at the pedestrians to fuck off and mind their business. He didn’t know what to do but drive him to the hospital. Simon did his best to carry him into the ER and immediately nurses came to his aid.

-

Y/N was felt like she was loosing her mind when Simon called, what the fuck happened to Negan? Her car was zooming past various cars and possibly breaking many traffic laws. This was so scary. Y/N arrived and saw Simon sitting in the waiting area, shaking his leg anxiously.

“Is he okay?”

“I don’t know yet. I’m waiting to see him at the moment.”

“I’ll see if we’re allowed real quick.”

Making her way over to the desk and waiting for nurses to assist.

“Can I help you ma’am?”

“Yes, I’m wanting to see Negan Smith.”

“Are you family?”

“No, but me and my boyfriend are good friends.”

“Then I’m afriad you can’t see him.”

“I don’t care. We’re all he’s got. So you better let us see him.”

The nurse just cut her eyes at Y/N before giving her a room number. She then motioned for Simon to follow behind her. They both see Negan’s eyes barely open and an IV hooked in his arm.

“Oh my goodness. Are you okay?”

Y/N rushed over to his side and held his hand. Simon felt a twinge of jealousy but didn’t let it take over.

“I’m fucking fine.”

“What did the doctor say?”

“Just dehydration and to cut back on my drinking.”

“Drinking?”

“Yeah, I found him and the several empty bottles.”

She stayed silent and squeezed his hand tightly. Simon ran a hand over his face and went to grab a coffee. That left her alone with Negan.

“Why are you drinking so much?”

Negan turned his head away from her and bit his lip. He didn’t want to admit his feelings for her. But her persistence pushed him.

“Please talk to me. I know that kiss happened but I still care for you Negan.”

“Fine. Fuck.”

He sighed and adjusted himself to sit up straight. His head hurt from the pain of moving a bit too fast.

“You really wanna know?”

“Of course I do.”

“I’m in love with you.”

Y/N stood still and felt her heart drop into her stomach. Not only was she shocked but Negan looked over to see Simon standing in the doorway.

[daringyounggrayson]

whumptober day 4: pushed (AO3)

It’s raining. Normally, that’s a non-issue; Dick’s Nightwing suit is mostly waterproof, and his boots are designed to have excellent traction, even in less-than-ideal conditions. But this is pushing it. He’s on top of a moving train, his vision is limited due to the rain and his mask’s broken night vision, and his shoes are struggling to plant themselves firmly on the slippery train roof. And the rain is heavy, coming down in sheets, and the wind is howling, nearly knocking him over on more than one occasion—it’s the worst storm Bludhaven has had in years.

And then there’re the goons trying to knock him off the train. Now their fight has become a strange dance where Dick is trying to dodge blows while also making sure they don’t fall off in their attempts to kill him. The ridiculousness of trying to keep people who are trying to harm him safe is not lost on Dick.

If he could, he’d just stick trackers on them and call it a night, but that’s not an option—there are bombs hidden somewhere in the train and/or along its route. People could die.

A branch from a nearby tree falls onto the train, causing all three men to jump back, seeking cover. Dick nearly slips off again, and from their screams, he’s sure the other two do too. Dick is on his hands and knees, balancing there as he tries to figure out how to use this to his advantage. There’s an entrance a few cars ahead. If he’s quiet and stays out of their line of sight, they’ll probably assume he fell off the train. He could easily get past them and slip inside to stop the train and get everyone off before these two fools can even set off their bombs. Ideally, Dick would also find and disarm the bombs, but replacing a train and some of its tracks is something Dick can live with so long as no one gets hurt.

He lies down on his stomach, army crawling across the train’s roof, letting the branch block him from his enemies’ view. When he gets to the ladder, he slides his legs over the edge until his foot hits a rung. Then he leaps from one ladder to the next, catching the next rung with a tight grip. It would be faster to simply jump across the rooftops, but he needs to be as discrete as possible.

He’s nearly there—just a few yards left to go—when a gun goes off. He instinctively stills and covers his head, and a bullet bounces off the train several feet away from him. Normally, gunshots wouldn’t be a shock in this kind of scenario, but Dick’s already disarmed them, he—

He looks up to find a third partner. He’s just exited from the same place Dick was hoping to enter through, and he’s holding a gun with a shaking hand. Fantastic.

Dick moves like lightning—he charges the man and knocks the gun out of his hand before his trembling fingers can find the trigger.

“How many of your people are here right now?” Dick shouts above the wind, holding the man in a headlock.

“It doesn’t matter. it’s too late,” the man sneers. “You can’t stop us now.”

“That’s what they all say.” Dick swipes his legs and knocks him to the ground, pulling out handcuffs and attaching him to a nearby bar. “But you know what? I kind of like being underestimated.”

Dick stands, planning to walk back to the hatch and enter the train. He hasn’t even taken his first step when heavy footsteps charge toward him. Dick ducks just in time to avoid being body-slammed by one of the goons from the other train car, and the man stumbles, losing his balance and sliding along the length of the roof. He’s quick to get back up and charge Dick again, this time with raised fists and an animalistic screech.

“I’m kind of on a tight schedule here,” Dick calls as he engages in the fight. He really doesn’t have time for this; the train’s picking up speed.

A large gust of wind nearly knocks him over again, and his boots squeak as they try and fail to find traction. The thug lunges at him, tripping over his own feet but managing to land a weak hit against Dick’s shoulder.

It’s ridiculous that it’s enough to send him tipping over the edge.

He tries and fails to find his footing, only managing to slip backward further. He reflexively reaches out for the attacker’s hand, but he forces himself to retract; the odds of Dick pulling him down and killing him are higher than the odds of the man managing to hold their combined weight. As he falls over the edge, the tips of his fingers brush against the train car’s safety bar, but the rain prevents him from grasping it.

He hits the ground, tries to roll with the fall. The initial impact knocks the wind out of him, and he’s left gasping as sharp pain explodes over his head and back. When he finally stops, he’s covered in mud and blood, and every inch of him feels sore. It wasn’t a long fall, but it was fast and hard.

He pushes himself up on shaking elbows, watches as the blurry figures on the roof disappear into the train car. He’s not going to get back there; even if he had the time, even if he had super speed, he doesn’t think he can move. He needs help.

Dick presses his emergency beacon and calls Wally on his comms. He thinks he says something, but he must pass out, because next thing he knows, Wally’s tapping his cheek, begging him to wake up. He’s blurry, which doesn’t make sense, because Wally’s not running—the only thing moving is his hand, and it’s slow.

Instead of voicing his confusion, Dick vomits. Wally rolls him onto his side, talking too fast for Dick to understand.

In between gasps, Dick says, “The train. Bombs.” His voice sounds wrong to his own ears, slurred.

“You’re hurt,” Wally points out, hesitant. His hands are bloody. How did Wally get blood on his hands already?

“I don’t care—you have to save them!” Dick says, gritting his teeth and closing his eyes as the pain builds in his head. “Medical is on their way—go!”

oOo

Dick isn’t awake when the medical team arrives, but he does wake up, so he figures they did show up.

He raises his hand to rub at his eyes and finds an IV sticking out of it, stuck to his hand with clear tape. He turns his head, taking in the machines and monitors. He must be in the Watchtower’s ICU.

“Hey,” someone—Wally—whispers on the other side of the bed. “Are you awake?”

“Mmhmm,” Dick mumbles. He turns his head to face Wally, wincing. “Bombs?”

“I took care of it; no one got hurt,” Wally promises.

“Thanks.” Dick closes his eyes. The lights are dim, but they still feel too bright. “How long have I been out?”

“As in unconscious?” Wally sighs, and his chair creaks. “Well, uh, you were in a coma for almost three days. You woke up yesterday, but you’ve been pretty out of it. I’m honestly not confident that you’ll even remember this conversation.”

“Wanna bet?” Dick asks, a loopy smile crossing his face.

Wally laughs. “Sure, I could use ten dollars.”

“I’m going to remember.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I am.” This time Wally doesn’t protest, and Dick takes it as a win. After a moment, he asks, “I’m okay, though, right?”

“Oh sure. Spinal bruising and a brain hemorrhage have nothing on the Justice League’s medical technology and your stubbornness,” Wally says lightly. “What happened to you anyway?”

“Got pushed off a train,” Dick mumbles, words slurring together as he gets closer and closer to unconsciousness. “Probably landed head first on a rock.” He can barely remember the fight, barely remembers falling. Instead of a solid memory, it’s just a bunch of non-chronological snapshots.

“That tracks.” Wally shifts in his chair, and his fingers find their way to the back of Dick’s hand. “It was scary, finding you like that. I thought you were going to die.”

And Dick had told Wally to leave him anyway. He doesn’t regret doing it—someone has to make the hard calls—but he doesn’t envy Wally. “I’m fine,” he tries to reassure.

Wally’s voice is tight when he speaks. “Yeah, you’re going to be fine, because you’re you—but you weren’t fine. And you’re still not. Hell, you’re hooked up to a bunch of machines and you can’t even keep your eyes open.”

Dick opens his eyes and finds that Wally’s are shiny with unshed tears. “Wally.”

“Sorry, it’s just—” Wally shakes his head, wipes the back of his hand across his eyes. “Uh, can I get you anything? Last time I was here you were nauseous.”

“No, stomach’s fine, just tired.” He must be on a million drugs, too. He wonders how many he’ll have to add to his regimen because of this.

Wally nods, then looks down at his watch when it beeps. “I have to go—Watchtower duty. The rest of the original Titans said they were going to stop by later today, and Alfred and Bruce are outside waiting for me to finish, so you won’t be alone.”

Dick hums in acknowledgment. Then he says, “Thanks for coming, the other day and now.”

Wally leans in and hugs him gently, carefully. “Anytime. And take as much time as you need to heal. Seriously—the Titans will be okay without you for a while, even if Roy ends up leading.”

Dick laughs and nods into Wally’s shoulder, and then they let go. Wally leaves with a promise to be back soon, and Dick, determined to remember this conversation, reminds him to bring his ten dollars when he does.