#i actually only watched the first episode of over the garden wall and I'm already in love

[ziggymightbeonfire]

I feel the need to ramble, so here I am

I just discovered Over The Garden Wall and OH MY LORD has it awoken something within me. That whole show feels likes a warm blanket being wrapped up around you while your drinking hot chocolate in a cabin in the woods. Deep within the woods. There's a sence of eerieness to it, but it isn't too disturbing in a sence that I can still watch it at night without feeling paranoid. And the soundtrack - oh, the soundtrack! It makes me sob in all honesty. Kind of like how the vast majority of In Case I Make It (but specifically White Noise) makes me cry. It's not a feeling of sadness, though. I can only describe it as warm. It's a weird feeling. Possibly nostalgic? I don't know. Whatever it is, I like it. It's the same feeling Gravity Falls gives to me. Just thinking about Gravity Falls makes me feel happy. Or I think it's happiness? I can't tell. Emotions are hard. Gravity Falls changed my life in one way or another. It was the first TV show I watched in it's entirty. Sometimes I wish I could thank everyone who's ever worked on that show because I don't know where I'd be without it.

I want to discuss that 'warm' feeling I've discussed earlier because I have no idea what it is. I think it's some sort of deja vu or nostalgia or something along the lines of that. It's annoying me that I can't describe it properly because I desperately crave answers. Well, whatever it is, I like it. That feeling usually only comes to me with these specific things: Kimya Dawson songs, some of Will Woods stuff, Over The Garden Wall, Gravity Falls and those stupid campfire songs that always end with the last word of a verse leading into the first word of a separate verse. I wish I had any sort of way to explain this feeling that does it justice, but I can't. All I know is that it makes me like living. It makes me think about the fact that out of everything I could've been, I'm me. And the thing is, this feeling almost never occurrs with my biggest interests.

I love liking things. I love the fact that I can name every HHN icon. I love the fact that I've learned and still am learning everything I can about The Director. I love the way I overlook literally the simplest metaphors in songs. I love being alive.

Thanks for reading this. Seriously, I hate the internet because it's mostly all negative stuff that just completely ruins any sort of good mood I get. And to you, random stranger. I hope everythings going well or okayish at the very least. You're still here and you should be proud of that. It's cheesy and an oversaid statement, but I don't care. You're aloud to be proud of yourself. Even if it's just getting out of bed, that's something you can say you did. Enjoy existing. You wouldn't be here if someone didn't need you.

[mdhwrites]

Reccomendations for cartoons to watch include: Gravity Falls, Adventure Time, Regular Show, the later seasons of MLP Friendship is Magic (for the sake of completing it and being able to properly evaluate the show), Steven Universe, DuckTales 2017, OK KO, Big City Greens, Star vs the Forces of Evil, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Kim Possible, Hilda, Helluva Boss, Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated, She Ra 2018, and the Ben 10 franchise.

I actually still have another ask that is mostly this same list but I think Hilda and Helluva Boss are new. Mostly responding because something I find interesting about myself given how ruthless I can be with TOH is that, well...

I probably will never truly be able to be some big reviewer because when I start disliking something, I drop it. That's actually the big reason I'm responding is because there is NO WAY I am watching the like 4+ seasons of MLP:FiM that I didn't watch because I just can't engage with stuff I dislike. I find no joy in it and while I can rant for a couple episodes, it just loses my interest.

I never seek things out because I think I'll dislike them. I just don't think life is enjoyable that way. It's why I have no plans to return to Helluva Boss. I absolutely believe people would potentially send me asks about it with how polarizing it is but I got to the episode when Moxie and Blitzo are interrogated, went "Ah, I see, the two characters I hate the most and don't even find funny (Stolas and Blitzo) are the actual main characters and the pilot was potentially kind of a lie for what the real focus of the show is. I'm out." And I haven't watched an episode since. My brain struggles to click with media after all so why would I bother with media I actively know I dislike already?

I'll comment on a couple others that I have at least had experience with on the list in a minute but since Amphibia, I've watched the first season of Craig of the Creek and think that show is just AMAZING. There's at least one episode I keep wanting to do a blog on just because it exemplifies how much the show understands the wonder of fantasy and childhood without actually being fantastical. I've also seen S1 of SpyxFamily and some of S2 but right now the only streaming service I have consistent access to is Hulu (the Disney+ I was borrowing cancelled theirs to swap to Hulu) and they only have S1 dubbed of SpyxFamily.

I'm hoping to sometime soon actually watch Over the Garden Wall finally and just have been kind of a mess as of late as for why I haven't yet. I've heard only good things, and shockingly few spoilers, and it's about time I gave it a proper shot.

ANYWAYS:

Steven Universe: Watched the first episode and only really liked Greg so just didn't bother watching more. Steven was fine but I actively hated all three of the gems because of how brain dead they were in both segments of the episode. As far as pilots go, I think SU might genuinely have one of the worst I've ever seen for convincing you to like a main cast.

Gravity Falls: I rewatched the first episode recently and went "This is oooookay." Something about Dipper's VA just bothers me. Not like they're doing a bad job but that it falls into an uncanny valley my brain doesn't love. I really wish I could better explain why that show refuses to properly click for me.

Regular Show: I forget why but I've seen a few episodes. It's not bad but I don't think it's really for me. I find Rigby and Mordecai annoying more than anything else. Not awful but I think without it feeling like they're actually meant to be learning something, they fall into the trap Randy and Howard from Randy Cunningham fell into eventually for me where I was like "Okay, assholes can be fun for a while but if that's all you're ever going to be, I don't care."

Adventure Time: I have seen as many episodes where Fiona and Cake show up in that show than I have Finn and Jake. XD I have genuinely liked what I've seen and just for some reason never sought it out. Maybe someday.

Star Vs: I need to give S2 a chance but MAN when I got told they break up Marco and Jackie for NO REASON I lost a lot of interest in the show. I like Marco more than Star, and I've only seen S1, and thought Marco and Jackie's relationship was genuinely really nice and kind of unique. Also knowing it's most people's cartoon punching bag doesn't exactly fill me with enthusiasm for it.

Kim Possible: I remember rewatching the pilot a couple years ago and being shocked by how much I didn't care for Kim. I think the fact that Bonnie is the only one who gives her shit but she's actually just genuinely amazing at everything and liked by most make her just not compelling to me which is a shame because I have REALLY fond memories of the show. I'd probably commit to a rewatch of Danny Phantom first though since it has been just as long since I watched that.

(Weird fact: I was looking at Hulu's unfortunately limited amount of cartoons and saw they had Kick Buttowski of all things which is WILD to me.)

She-Ra: I've seen literally one episode, thought it was good, and definitely is one of the ones I keep telling myself to watch because everything about it seems like it'd be up my alley. These are also my thoughts on Voltron though with how much... less divisive that last season of Voltron is, it's definitely below watching Princesses of Power.

Ben 10: Loved the original series as a kid, tried the first two spin offs that came out and didn't really jive with either but I thought Julie, the tennis girl Ben gets with, was super cute. I know a friend who would LOVE to see me get into Ben 10 and do some reviews of it.

And just as an anime shout out, a part of me is still tempted to give Little Witch Academia another try. Not only is it just an obvious next show for me to watch but it's one I REALLY want to like because I like a lot about it... I just absolutely despise Akko from the like four episodes I watched a good number of years ago now. I thought almost all of the supporting characters were great though.

Just... Consider this my weird, rambly blog late at night about cartoons and the fact that I do wish I engaged with media better. One of the worst elements of it is that I don't engage well with scripted content well if my brain isn't already in an alright place. Like I don't go to television for distraction and cheering me up. I vastly prefer streams for that as I can actually turn my brain off during those normally. It's something I've talked about before and something I'd like to change. Heck, I even at one point had a therapy goal to watch something at least once a week since that'd still be easier than streaming or writing. Whoops. *sigh*

I do also appreciate the recommendations! The reminders are good sometimes since I don't feel like I actually stay in the loop all that well. And since I kind of assume this is the same person who sent a list before, I decided I felt like actually responding, especially because the MLP pitch is an interesting one but man... That's a LOT of Starlight Glimmer I'd have to put up with when just like six episodes of her as a good guy made me want to light both her and Twilight on fire to put them out of their, and mine, misery. That's without me getting into the fact that I just think the characters in general got worse by then, almost like series shouldn't last for that long because finding new angles on characters becomes REALLY HARD (says the dumbass with a series of his own that honestly is longer than he should reasonably plan a story for.)

Again, late night rambling while my brain deals with suddenly snapping out of a hyper focus on a game for three days and doesn't deal with that well. *sigh* Have a good night everyone, take care of yourself and see you next tale.

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I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[pynkhues]

Do you watch cartoons? If so do you have any favorites?

I do, anon! Fun fact, I actually wanted to be an animator for a really long time, but I ended up pursuing writing instead. I'm really passionate about animation as a medium though, and I wish it was taken more seriously overall because I think some of the best TV of the last twenty years has come out of it.

Off the top of my head though, I'd say:

As Told by Ginger – an always profound and emotionally rich coming of age story, and a perfect middle-grade-to-ya-transition-series. It's genuinely magic, and the creator would go on to write for Parks and Recreation and create Suburgatory, so you know she's p great.

Bob's Burgers – probably my favourite sitcom currently airing, I just love it so much. Bob and Linda run a burger restaurant while raising their three delightfully weird kids, in a delightfully weird suburb. It's sweet, sharp, and funnier than it has any right to be.

Bojack Horseman – gosh, what's there to say about Bojack that hasn't been said a million times already? It's dark and it's deep and it's introspective about the nature of addiction, fame and family, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Futurama – a formative series for me honestly. I grew up with Futurama, and it (along with, funnily enough, Charmed), I think really marked me carving out my own interest in TV as a tween. Futurama has a lot that speaks to me in a show – found family and a deep love of the stories that came before it, along with a pretty great sense of humour. It's high sci-fi at it's absolute best.

Justice League / Justice League Unlimited – there are a lot of great animated DC series, and I was really tossing up between this, Batman Begins, Young Justice and Teen Titans, but ended up settling on JLU because of the depth of storyworld and the way it really felt like it grew to me. It feels like such a realised universe, and watching characters drift in and out is often fun, but always affecting. If you like superhero stuff in particular, you really need to check this series out.

Over the Garden Wall – god, this is just good. It's beautiful animation with a story that never feels the need to explain itself too much, which isn't an easy feat. It's a great story well-told, and all the more special for it.

Paranoia Agent – I'm a huge fan of Satoshi Kon, and he's made some of my favourite movies. He only made the one TV show, but Paranoia Agent is brilliant for the way it merges what's effectively a psychological thriller with a profoundly rich character study. It's complicated, and weird, but it's also a deeply nuanced story about the impact events can have on society and the ways in which hysteria can seep into a community. It's excellent TV.

Steven Universe – This show got me through a pretty dark chapter in my life, and it's one I'm forever grateful for. It's a little slow to start, but once it gets going it really gets going, and feels like a rich exploration of the relationships we form, an homage to magical girl anime, and an empathetic look at mental health, which is - - well. Pretty magic.

The Weekenders – this is another one I feel is actually a pretty perfect sitcom. Yeah, it's a kids series and yeah, it's about what a group of teens get up to on the weekend, but it also touches on so many deeper topics including single parenthood and being the child of migrants and retaining your identity when you enter new relationships. It's fun and lived in, and one of the first animated series where I saw characters have wardrobes instead of wearing the same clothes every episode, and that's always stood out to me. I re-watched it during lockdown last year, and honestly, it's aged really, really well.

Your Lie in April – I don't watch a ton of romance anime (although there are a few I really enjoy like Fruits Basket and Lovely Complex) but Your Lie in April is probably my favourite. It's really emotionally complicated, and it's exploration of grief, identity and music feels deeply realised. The score for it is beautiful and works really well to centre the characters, and if you feel like watching something that'll make you cry a lot, it's pretty much perfect.

What about you guys though? I'm actually craving some good animation myself at the moment, so any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

[screaming-into-my-void]

I've nearly finished my seasonal watch of Over The Garden Wall and I have some thoughts on setting in fiction I feel the need to talk at you about

Okay, so, I have watched a lot of shows, both animated and live-action, that have quite different worlds from ours. Specifically, I want to talk about the ones that don't really talk about their settings, and just show the elements and mechanics of their world.

What I am suggesting is that, if two shows have about the same amount of exposition, and both take a show don't tell approach to worldbuilding, it is still fully possible to notice when more effort has been put into worldbuilding. I think it's a sense that you get from well world built settings, independent of how much they show off about their world. I have a good and bad example here as worldbuilding goes, these are very different shows though so I'm not comparing quality. The two shows are Over The Garden Wall, and Final Space. The first time I watched Over The Garden Wall was in 2018, and after I finished it I felt that I didn't really understand the mechanics of the world. This is usually a bad thing, but it wasn't a "That made no sense" type of not understanding, it was more an "I feel like there is so much depth to that world that I've only had a glimpse of through these 10 episodes". These are very different feelings. Basically, the impression I had was that I came away with a lot of questions about the Unknown and the version of our world Wirt and Greg came from, and the mechanics and characters and all that jazz, but I also had a strong sense that there were actual answers, I felt like somewhere in one of the writers' offices there is a copy of a guide doc that has so much more specific information about the Unknown than I could ever think of, and that all of my questions were probably in there.

It's a bit of an overused metaphor at this point, but it really did feel like the show was the tip of a massive iceberg, and the fact that I would never know most of it drew me to the show like a moth to a flame. Also, bit of a side note, but the Over The Garden Wall fandom is one of the friendliest communities I have ever been in, it's that level of small fandom experience you really don't get with bigger shows.

Anyway, time to rip Final Space a new one in the worldbuilding department. I like the aesthetic of this show, I like most of the characters and the stories just fine. But the world-building is just... There's a reason this is my bad worldbuilding example.

This is a show that has a save the world plot as its first season arc. That is already a hard position you're putting yourself in, especially with a sci-fi show where many of the characters may not even care about saving the earth for any personal reason apart from it being something that they should probably do. I'll get back to the issues this causes after I go over the worldbuilding

This is also a show with mostly show don't tell worldbuilding, but you get the sense that it is stretching itself way too thin. This is a show with a very large scope for its setting and bare minimum worldbuilding, which leads to everything having very shallow feeling to it. They have a veneer of sci-fi and comedy, but that's all there is. It feels surface level, and that is really not ideal for the type of story they are telling.

Over The Garden Wall is not about the Unknown. It is primarily about the characters of Wirt, Greg, and Beatrice, with the dynamic of The Beast and The Woodsman forming more connective tissue between episodes. Most of the early episodes involve the trio interacting with the weirdos that reside within The Unknown, and later episodes (say, 6 onwards) mainly delve more into the group dynamics and relationships. Mostly by putting them under massive strain. But the main goal of the main characters never changes, Beatrice wants to undo the curse she put her family under, and Wirt and Greg want to get home. Even though characters have moments when they feel that they can't go on, when they find another way to reach their goal they are right back on it. Final Space is not about characters, it's about plot. And the plot goes from saving the world to saving the universe, essentially saving the setting. The setting we don't know nearly enough about, with characters that haven't been developed well enough to understand what personal stake they have in saving their setting. Again, aside from "it would be bad" Final Space fails where Over The Garden Wall succeeds in this aspect, in my opinion, is that not only does it not communicate it's setting as well through tone and that level of behind the scenes worldbuilding where you don't see much of it outside the fact that everything you do see moves together really well, Final Space fails at this because it puts all the focus of its story from the start on it's setting.

The audience needs to care about your setting in a save the world plot, if Final Space wanted to do what it attempted it should have gone with the most comedic option for it's setting, which is having Gary and his interactions with everyone else be the main focus, and all of the plot happening be happening slightly out of focus in the background. This massive space epic that we only catch glimpses of because the audience's main source on the world and what is going on is too caught up in trying to be likable to both the people he is romantically and platonically interested in to pay attention to the actual stakes.

This got away from me very quickly, I tore a lot more into Final Space than I meant to. I do think it's a decent show, I just have a lot of issues with the basis of its storytelling.

That makes it sound even worse

Anyway in conclusion to wrap up what has become yet another stream of consciousness post: 1. World Building can be done fully behind the curtain and your audience will still pick up that it is there

2. Plots that center around a threat to the setting need good development, but the number one priority is the characters' investment in the setting. If the characters don't care the audience won't. If your characters don't care about the plot then that can't be the main focus, their characters and their interactions with each over need to be

3. Not doing character investment or worldbuilding well while focusing on saving the setting makes you Final Space. Don't be final space

4. If Over The Garden Wall was about saving the Unknown its type of worldbuilding would not have worked. It worked because the focus was on character.

See y'all in hell, goodnight tri-state area

[imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl]

Dangerous Love (Pt. 06 of 13)

Pairing: Bruce Wayne (Batman) X Harley Quinn's sister!Reader

Summary: You're Harley Quinn's sister, Havoc, one of the many villain's of Gotham. But you've been caught, and has been tortured constantly for an year in Belle Reve. But when your think your life can't be anything else than the nightmare you find yourself into, Bruce Wayne, the Batman, takes you in for a project. He has a program to rehabilitate villains, and you're his lab rat. But soon enough confusing feelings start getting in the way. You know falling for Bruce is stupid. But can you keep your heart under control?

Word count: 2.5K

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{Justice League - DC Masterlist}

×

Dance With Me

Bruce kept his promise and brought you a TV. He also streamed the first season of Game Of Thrones before giving you the second book, and the old deal remains. You'll watch the second season when you're done with the book. But you don't mind. They did leave a lot out of the TV show, and you want to know everything that happens. He even stayed to watch some of the episodes with you. You cried when one of the characters died. You and Bruce have the same favorite characters. Daenerys, Jon, Arya, and Tyrion. And you love to talk about it with Bruce.

The week goes by quickly, and now you have a digital clock too, so you'll know which time and day it is. And that's how you know your birthday is coming.

Today is Saturday, and Bruce is hosting a party. You can see many people down in the garden already, making things ready.

“Alfred will bring you dinner tonight.” Bruce reminds you, as you eat lunch. “But I'll come tomorrow.”

“I'll forgive you if you promise to have fun today. For both of us.” It's so damn hard not to think about that blonde woman. “Try to dance a little.”

“I will.”

He stays for a little longer until he has to go.

In the next following hours, you focus on the book. The noise gets louder, and the music starts playing as soon as the night falls. You also take a shower, long and warm, washing your hair. Patiently, you dry and brush it, struggling with your thoughts. Then you try reading again, but you can't seem to focus.

That woman is down there, and the image of her and Bruce dancing fills your head, like torture. Her beautiful blonde hair, kind eyes... She will pull him close, and he won't resist her touch. Why would he?

He will pull her against his chest, and what you can only dream about, she will feel it. How lucky she is.

You go to the window, a knot on my throat. Why do you want to cry? Why do you feel so terribly sad over a freaking scenario you just imagined?

“Because it'll probably happen...” You tell yourself.

And if not her, with some other girl. Looking through the window, you see the pretty lights on the garden, and some people, smiling, talking... A soft music start playing, and you see as some couples get together, slow dancing.

Smiling, you close your eyes as you step away from the window, resting your back against the wall.

You imagine yourself down there, among the people, and they don't bother you. You're comfortable, wearing one of those pretty dresses. You're not a villain, you're a normal woman, someone people won't be afraid of... Someone Bruce could love. You would walk around the house, the gardens, and you finally get to see all of it. And then, you'd find Bruce...

Opening your eyes again, you walk to the bathroom to wash your face. Wash away the tears. What is going on with you? You can't let this happen. Not with Bruce. You've never been through this, you never needed or wanted someone so bad. It's weird. You don't want this to be love, you can't let this be love. Punching the sink, you ignore the pain that spreads through your fist.

“Remember who you are,” you tell the girl in the mirror. “Remember who you are.”

But it doesn't work. Who you are, or who you were, is a distant memory. He's succeeding, Bruce is changing you, he's making you see who you are behind the villain mask you had on. And you don't think you can go back there. You don't want to... You want him...

You're crazy. Now you're finally going crazy. Bruce won't like you. And you can't expect him to. You can't want him to. A loud laugh coming from the garden gets your attention, and you run back to the window. You can see a couple, happy, in each other's arms. You envy them... You won't ever have anything like that.

When the door clicks, you dry off the stubborn tears that came rolling down again. “Alfred, tell Bruce everything is beautiful.” You say, trying to keep your voice steady.

“It's me.”

Your heart skips a beat as you turn around, seeing Bruce by the door. He looks amazing in his tuxedo, so handsome. You step forward abruptly, an impulse, ready to run into his arms, but you manage to control yourself, biting your lip to hold back a smile.

“Hi.” It's all you manage to say.

“Why do you always keep the lights off?” He inquires.

“I'm just used to it, I guess... I... I tried to read, then I tried to sleep, so...” Walking away from the window, you move closer to where he's standing.

“I'm sorry if the noise is disturbing you.”

It's not the noise that's keeping you awake, it's him, and all the things you shouldn't be feeling. “That's not it. I don't sleep too much, remember?” Taking a deep breath, you avoid his gaze. You must look so bad, in your black tank top and sweatpants... The girls down there look so beautiful... “What-what are you doing here? The party seems to be going very well.” You gesture at the window, the only sight you have of outside.

“It's considered polite for the host to dance with the single ladies.” He reaches out his hand, and you wonder what it means.

“I... I'm not at the party...” His hand doesn't move, so slowly, very slowly, you take it.

“You're here. That's what matters.”

“I don't know how to, remember? I don't–”

“Relax, (Y/N).” Bruce pulls you close, wrapping his arms around your waist. It feels like a drug, inebriating. “Just follow my pace.”

Why is he doing this? Why does he care enough to come here instead of focusing on the party he's hosting? Bruce will be the one to drive you crazy.

You start moving, from side to side, following the rhythm of the soft song playing down there. The distance he first put in between your bodies disappears as you move until you're very, very close.

“You... Why did you come here? I-I mean... Don't you have enough girls down there? To dance with? You shouldn't lose your time with me.” You whisper, stuttering. Hesitantly, you look up, meeting his eyes. It's breathtaking.

“Thought you would like a dance.” He keeps his voice low as if the didn't want to disturb the darkness. “Was I wrong?”

“No.” You burst out, too fast. Suddenly, you decide to tiptoe. “This is how I'd be like if I were wearing high heels. And you can pretend I'm wearing a pretty, long dress.” Smiling, you notice your face is closer to his now. His lips get your attention, so you close your eyes.

“You're beautiful, just like this.” His voice is so low that it's hard to hear it. But does he really mean it? Can he find you pretty in such simple clothes? “Sorry I can't take you to the actual party.”

“It's alright. I... I wouldn't feel comfortable, I think... Among the people.” Bruce moves your arms, from where they were laying, on his biceps, to be around his neck.

It's hard not to look at him, but you feel that if you do, you won't be able to control yourself. “I would be by your side the whole time.”

“But what about that... That woman I saw...”

You're begging yourself not to do this. Not to ask something that will make you feel bad to know the answer. But you need to. “Wouldn't she... Wouldn't she want to have you too? I know you're just saying that to make me feel better, I... I shouldn't even be saying that. Just ignore it.” That's embarrassing. Good thing he won't see you blush in the dark.

“Angela is an old friend,” Bruce says, taking your hand and pushing you away in a smooth motion. You've seen this move in some movie, and you're happy to know what to do. You step away for a moment, and then, you spin around, back to his arms. But you miscalculated the movement, so you end up with your back against his chest.

“Sorry.” You quickly say, but before you can turn around, Bruce softly holds you there, swinging to the song. His arms are like a cage, but a good kind of cage... One that makes you feel safe. You feel his breath on your hair, and how his chest moves as he breaths.

“Relax, it's alright.” You close your eyes to hear his voice. “And don't worry about Angela. She's married.”

“Oh... That's good. For her. That's good for her.” You hate how you're always so damn nervous around Bruce. He probably thinks you're stupid.

“I guess it is.” He spins you around again, as the song ends, and pulls you close, strong arms encircling your waist.

Taking a deep breath, you gather all the courage you have to tiptoe again. Your faces are only a few inches away, despite the height difference. He'd have to bend down a little to kiss you. Would he want to kiss you? Would he even consider it? Your stomach feels funny, like butterflies. A hand comes to touch his face, your fingers caressing his skin. You're about to pull him, to end the last inch separating you when you hear someone saying his name out there.

Freezing, you step down, catching your breath. Bruce is breathing fast too, but you're not sure why. “I have to go.”

“Sure.” Smiling, you nod. “Go get them, Batman.”

“Thank you for the dance.” Bruce doesn't let go of your hand, but eventually, he moves away. You can only watch as his fingers let go of yours.

Then, you're all alone again. You're waiting for the familiar click that separates you from Bruce, but it doesn't come. Letting yourself fall on the bed, you cover your face with both hands. You're going mad. Would you really kiss him? What would you do when he pushed you away? You need to take these thoughts out of your head. So you hide under the blankets, eyes closed, trying to sleep. Sleeping is the only way to stop thinking, and right now, the nightmares are the least of your worries.

•••

You're staring at the digital clock. 4 a.m. The party ended two hours ago, and the house is silent. Your head keeps going back to what happened earlier. The dance, and the kiss that almost happened... You're tired of thinking about it, you need to stop. You're caught between trying to understand what's going on and trying to ignore it. To forget it.

But there you go again, replaying everything... Even in the very end, how it seemed like he didn't want to let go of your hand... And then... The click of the lock...

The click that didn't happen.

The door is open.

You jump up, running to the door. Hesitantly, slowly, you turn the handle. And you were right. It's open. A rush of adrenaline sets you in motion, and you swing the door open, running through the hall, to the stairs, and to the first floor. You don't know where you're going, you don't even remember where you went when you first tried to run. You know the front door will be locked, so you run straight past it. You end up in the kitchen, just as you did on your first day here. Your attention is caught by the window above the sink, and in your rush, you try to push it open, but it doesn't move.

You can actually go now. Nobody knows you're here. Taking the blender that's on the kitchen counter, you throw it against the glass until it breaks. You need to move fast now because the noise might wake up Bruce. Climbing on the sink, you use your hand to remove the last bits of glass of the way out...

Bruce...

You made a promise to him. And you know that, if you go on with this, there are chances that you'll end up back in Belle Reve. And Bruce would be sad... Right? You remember how it felt to be so close to him earlier today. His arms holding you... He touches you like no one else did. He's not disgusted... That's probably just Bruce being kind... But even so, you can't do it.

You're looking outside, to the rock path you'd have to take to get to the gates. Slowly, you step down the sink, a sharp pain on your left hand. Looking down, you see a cut in the palm. Taking a deep breath, you start making your way back to your room. On your way out of the kitchen, you see Alfred coming from the hall. He stares at you, wide eyes.

“Sorry for the glass,” you mutter before running upstairs again.

You close the door behind your back, crawling to the bed. You leave the bleeding hand hanging off so the blood won't stain the sheets. You shouldn't have done that. It happened so fast, your body just moved. You just had to get out of the room, and running felt so good. It doesn't take much time for the door to open, and you know it's Bruce. He turns the lights on, and soon you feel the mattress moving when he sits on the bed, but you can't even look at him, so you keep your eyes on the wall.

“I saw you in the kitchen.” He says, his voice soft. Why isn't he mad?

“Hiding in the shadows?” You can feel his eyes on you.

“Something like it.” Bruce takes your hand, and you hear him opening something. The first aid kit, probably. You feel as he starts cleaning the cut.

“Aren't you mad? Or disappointed?”

“Why should I be? You didn't run.” He goes silent, and slowly, you look at him. He's focused on the wound, but it doesn't seem to be too serious. He wraps a bandage around it before laying it on the mattress.

“Was it a test? You left the door unlocked.”

“I forgot. I have a lot going on in my head.”

You want to know what is it he thinks so much about. “I'm sorry about the glass.”

“Why did you change your mind?”

“I can't tell you.” You sit up, and when you do, you're suddenly very close to him. You know you should move away, rest your back on the headboard, but you're frozen, looking into his eyes. Bruce doesn't move either.

“Alright. I'm glad you decided to stay.”

You don't think you wanted to run. You just needed to get out of the room. “Bruce, my... My birthday is coming.”

“I know.” He says with a smile.

“Can I ask something?”

“Sure.”

“Can I... Can I see the gardens?” The moment you say it, you regret. He won't let you out just like this. “You know what, nevermind. A cake would be just fine.”

His face softens, and his hand comes to your face, fingers softly caressing your skin.

Bruce needs to stop doing that because it's sending you the wrong signs, and you should probably tell him to. His touch is so different from anything else, is addicting.

You're falling for him. You're just about to fall in love with Bruce Wayne. And that will probably the your biggest mistake.

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